Sylvie blinked at Astron's words, his tone quiet but unmistakably firm.
"Really?" she asked softly, still processing everything. "You think more will co?"
Astron's gaze didn't waver. "Indeed."
He shifted slightly in his seat, resting one elbow on the table, eyes briefly scanning the surrounding space as if mapping the invisible network of interest already converging.
"The scouting network functions like a web," he said. "Connections between guilds, factions, private sponsors. Information spreads fast, especially when soone steps out of their expected box."
Sylvie lowered her gaze slightly, absorbing his words.
"And," Astron added, "we're on Irina's team."
That drew a faint hum from Irina, who didn't object—just sipped her drink with a flicker of amusent in her eyes.
Astron continued, "Scouts were already paying attention to her. To the Emberheart na. By extension, to all of us. Today just gave them a reason to stop and look closer."
"Oh," Sylvie murmured. It wasn't disbelief this ti—just the quiet weight of reality settling in.
Then, Astron's eyes swept across the table, landing briefly on each of them before settling again on Sylvie.
And his next question ca simply, without edge, but it landed heavy.
"Do you want to deal with all these scouts now?"
There was a stillness after that—one of those monts where the weight behind a simple question cracked open a wider reality.
Because that was the question now.
Not if she'd be noticed again.
But whether she was ready for what that attention would bring.
Irina leaned forward slightly, her expression calm but sharpened by sothing colder than usual. Her amber eyes, still faintly glowing from the earlier dungeon heat, flicked toward Sylvie with unmistakable seriousness.
"We should go," she said. "Now."
Layla raised a brow. "Why? We just sat down."
Irina didn't look at her. Her gaze remained locked on Sylvie. "Because I know how this industry works."
Sylvie blinked. "What do you an?"
Irina's lips pressed into a thin line. "Scouts don't just watch. They probe. They charm. They dig where it's soft—and right now?" She gestured subtly toward the door where Calera had exited. "You're soft. Naive, unprepared, easy to mold."
Sylvie tensed.
"They'll say the right words," Irina continued, voice smooth but hardening beneath the surface. "Promise ntorship. Protection. The best gear. But most of them aren't offering opportunities. They're setting hooks."
Jasmine frowned. "That woman didn't seem—"
"She was polite," Irina cut in. "That's not the sa thing."
Layla's playful smirk faded slightly. Sylvie's heart thudded again, but this ti with a different rhythm.
Irina's gaze narrowed, and her next words dropped low, almost a whisper, but they hit like steel.
"You should know it, too."
Sylvie's breath caught. I should…?
And then it ca back to her.
The Headmaster's warning.
"Your performance will attract eyes," he had said. "But eyes co with offers. Offers co with leverage. And leverage? That cos with chains you don't see until they're already locked."
At the ti, she hadn't fully understood.
Now she did.
Irina leaned back, her voice cooling. "If a scout is serious, they'll go through official channels. The academy has legal handlers for that. Witnesses. Contracts. Structures that protect cadets. If they don't—then they're not soone worth trusting."
Sylvie lowered her gaze, processing it all. Then slowly, she nodded.
"...Alright. Let's go."
Irina's shoulders eased slightly.
Astron stood first, as if the decision had been made the mont Irina spoke. He didn't say a word—just picked up his coat and began walking.
Jasmine sighed, standing with a stretch. "Well, there goes our al."
Layla grinned faintly, following. "Yeah, but at least we're not walking out with a leash."
Sylvie stood last.
And this ti, she didn't glance back.
****
The group walked in relative silence down the broad, cobbled path that led away from the restaurant district. The sun had begun its descent past the highest towers of the academy, casting long, amber shadows across the walls and glass-paneled corridors.
They didn't rush—but the mood had shifted. The victory of the dungeon, the high spirits after the battle, the warmth of shared food… all of it had cooled, replaced by a more sobering clarity.
Sylvie walked beside Irina, her expression thoughtful, brows drawn slightly in concern. She hadn't spoken since they left the table.
But eventually, she did.
"What am I supposed to do now?" she asked, her voice quiet—almost fragile beneath the composure she was trying to hold onto.
Irina didn't answer imdiately. Her eyes were forward, sharp as always, but her voice was gentler when she finally spoke.
"For now?" she said. "Stay low."
Sylvie blinked. "Low?"
Irina nodded. "The scouts have rules. Most of them. They can't approach repeatedly without going through proper channels, especially after you've been flagged. That ans for now, you're probably safe."
"Probably?" Layla muttered behind them. "That's comforting."
Irina didn't dignify that with a glance. "What it ans is that Sylvie has ti. But not much. Every move she makes will be watched a little closer now. So she has to be smart."
Sylvie looked down at her hands—fingers that had held healing glyphs, woven support sigils mid-combat without pause. They were trembling again. Barely. But enough for her to notice.
"I'm not used to this," she admitted softly.
"I know," Irina said. "That's why I'm telling you now."
Then she turned slightly, her amber gaze cutting through the dusk-light with clinical precision.
"If you want my advice," she said, voice low but unwavering, "Don't accept any of their offers."
Sylvie looked up. "None of them?"
Irina shook her head once. "Absolutely not."
Even Jasmine, walking just behind, turned her head at that. "You really an that?"
"I do," Irina said. "Scouts are opportunists first. Even the good ones. They'll say what they need to say to get what they want. Right now, Sylvie is a na on their list, a tric on a slate. Not a person."
She looked at Sylvie again, this ti with sothing like empathy buried behind the steel.
"You're not ready to sign your future away. Not yet. And especially not while you're still figuring out what you want from it."
Sylvie nodded slowly, the weight of the words grounding her again. "I… understand."
Irina gave a faint nod. "Good. Then stay hidden. Stay careful. And most importantly—keep your answers as vague as possible."
Jasmine blew out a breath. "So no scout-dates, no private etings, no mystery letters?"
"Exactly," Irina replied, eyes narrowing. "Because the mont they think they can isolate you, they'll do it."
Astron, walking a few steps ahead, didn't turn around. But he spoke in his usual even voice.
"And if they try anyway?"
Irina's lips curved into a faint smile—cold, protective.
"Then they'll find out what happens when they corner soone under the Emberheart na."
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