By the time he stepped out, he was fully dressed and armed. The dagger sat hidden inside his belt.
Kyle found Mira at the bottom of the inn's stairs, and she had regained her composure. When she saw him, she sniffed and started walking first.
They moved through the streets together, the city lit by lanterns and late-night noise.
Stonehelm at night was different. More music, laughter, and the smell of food. As if mornings were for work and nights were for enjoyment
They arrived at a tavern that looked busy even from outside. The place spilled light and voices through its windows, and someone inside was already shouting a toast loudly enough to be heard from the street.
Mira pushed the door open. Kyle felt the warmth on his face, as well as the noise.
At a table near the window, Weston sat with a mug in hand, looking more relaxed than Kyle had ever seen him. He wasn't in priest gear—just a simple tunic with rolled sleeves.
Leo looked... almost normal too, without armor. Still built like a wall, of course, but he had a clean shirt on, and his usual seriousness had softened into something tolerable.
And Alara wasn't wearing her armor either. Instead, she wore a dark shirt and tight pants that hugged her fit hips. Her clothes were practical but neat. Her black hair was tied in a ponytail and styled in a cleaner way.
When Mira and Kyle approached, Leo raised an eyebrow. "Took you long enough."
Mira sat down immediately. "Shut up."
Weston chuckled. "Welcome."
Alara's gaze flicked to Kyle.
"You came," she said simply.
Kyle sat down. "I was kidnapped."
Mira kicked him lightly under the table.
Kyle didn't react. He just smirked.
Leo stared between them. "You two are weird."
"We're not weird," Mira said instantly.
Kyle ordered coffee instead of alcohol like the rest of the group.
Alara noticed this. "Don't you drink alcohol?"
Kyle shook his head. "I don't like what makes me lose my mind."
Alara didn't say anything else, but her eyes shone with a hidden curiosity. The rest of the group didn't care about that and started drinking.
Weston leaned back, sighing happily. "I missed this."
"You missed alcohol," Leo corrected.
Weston smiled. "That too."
Alara waited until everyone had something in front of them—mug, cup, whatever—then she stood slightly and lifted hers.
The table quieted.
"Tonight," she said, voice steady, "we celebrate completing a difficult mission."
Mira grinned. "And not dying!"
Alara allowed a small exhale that almost counted as a laugh.
"And," Alara continued, "we celebrate something else."
Her gaze turned to Kyle. "Kyle is officially part of this party as a full member."
Weston raised his mug. "Welcome properly."
Mira lifted hers too, smiling brightly. "Welcome!"
Kyle lifted his cup slowly and tapped it gently against theirs.
"To surviving," Kyle said.
Mira grinned. "To getting paid."
Leo added, "To not camping anytime soon."
Weston chuckled. "Amen."
They drank.
And for a while, the night was... normal.
They ate. They argued about who hit the boss hardest.
Mira exaggerated everything with her hands.
Leo corrected her every time.
Weston tried to keep the peace and somehow ended up laughing the most.
Even Alara relaxed enough to let her shoulders drop, just a little, as if for one night she could stop being the leader and be a person.
Kyle sat among them, listening, smiling at the right moments. And thinking.
`This is what it looks like when people start to accept you... But are their feelings real?`
They didn't accept him because they loved him, but because the command ingrained in their minds forced them to.
Does this mean their feelings are fake? Well... not necessarily.
All Kyle comanded them was to feel comfortable with him, and the rest came smoothly. His command was a means to an end, but not for domination.
Does this mean that Kyle can't completely change their feelings? He can, but does he want to?
Kyle took another sip. And his smile stayed calm.
Tonight was a celebration... and he will make sure to enjoy it.
---
While laughter and clinking mugs filled a tavern on the other side of Stonehelm, another room in the city was quiet—too quiet for a party that had just arrived and stolen everyone's attention that morning.
A candle burned low on a wooden table, its flame steady, casting warm light across three newly issued badges—B-rank.
They appeared to be new—fresh metal, clean engraving, still smelling faintly of the guild's workshop.
Arthur sat with his elbows on the table, turning his badge between his fingers. The silver armor he'd worn earlier was stacked neatly nearby.
Across from him, Kaia lounged back in her chair, boots crossed at the ankles, bow resting against the wall. She twirled one of her arrows between her fingers, expression half-amused, half-irritated.
Celestia sat with her back straight, hands folded, posture elegant even in a simple room. Her white veil was set aside, her hair falling softly behind her shoulders. The candlelight turned it almost silver.
Arthur cleared his throat, trying to sound composed.
"So…" he began, then paused like he was choosing the most heroic wording. "The guildmaster agreed."
Kaia's mouth curled. "After you stared at him like you were about to challenge him to a duel, yeah."
Arthur shot her a look. "I didn't stare."
"You did," Kaia said, then lifted her arrow like a judge's gavel. "But it's fine. It's your face. It does that when you're trying not to look excited."
Arthur's ears warmed. "I'm not excited."
Kaia leaned forward slightly and lowered her voice in a mock whisper. "Sure, Arthur. 'The future dragon-slayer' is totally calm."
Arthur opened his mouth—then closed it, annoyed... but the corner of his lips twitched despite himself.
Celestia's voice slipped between them—smooth, controlled.
"He agreed because it benefits the guild," she said calmly. "A red dragon that old is a threat to trade routes, patrol routes, and the city's reputation. If the guild can remove it, they gain money, influence, and security."
Arthur tightened his grip on the badge. "Still. One month."
Kaia's eyebrow lifted. "You're impatient."
Arthur coughed once. "I'm motivated."
`A dragon.` The thought slipped in before he could stop it. `A real old dragon. The kind that gets songs written about you.`
He forced his face back into something neutral, like a hero was supposed to look.
Celestia watched him without turning her head much. She smiled a little, and her eyes softened with something close to knowing.
"Motivated is fine," she said. "But remember why we're here."
Arthur's jaw clenched slightly. "I know."
Celestia tapped the B-rank badge lightly with one finger, making it click against the wood.
"The guildmaster did what he could," she said. "B-rank is the highest he can assign to us in this branch without provoking paperwork, complaints, and politics."
Kaia rolled her shoulders. "Basically: You're strong, but you're not proven."
Arthur bristled. "We are proven."
Kaia tilted her head. "You're prophesied. That's different."
Arthur opened his mouth, then closed it again. He didn't like it, but he didn't argue. Because she was right.
Celestia's gaze drifted to the window for a moment. The city outside was alive with night noise—music, footsteps, tavern laughter carried on the wind.
Celestia didn't share in it.
She turned back, voice quieter now.
"The guildmaster isn't convinced we came here for glory and experience alone," she said. "He agreed because refusing would look like disrespect... and because he believes the campaign will happen with or without us."
Kaia chuckled. "He looked like: I've buried stronger men than you."
Arthur stiffened a little. Kaia noticed and added immediately—lighter, warmer.
"But relax. He wasn't looking down on you. He was measuring you." She flicked the arrow once between her fingers. "That's what strong people do."
Arthur's shoulders eased—barely.
Celestia didn't comment. Instead, she slid a folded piece of parchment from her sleeve and placed it on the table.
The seal on it wasn't the guild's. It was the church's.
Even Kaia's playful expression faded a little.
Arthur's excitement dimmed, replaced by focus.
Celestia laid two fingers on the broken seal, which had been opened previously.
"This is what matters," she said.
Kaia leaned closer, nodding. "That's why we came all this way."
Arthur swallowed. `Right. The real reason.`
Celestia finally unfolded the parchment slowly. The handwriting on it was clean and precise—written by someone who believed every word mattered.
"One of the High Priests," she said, "gave us verified information."
Kaia's fingers tightened around her arrow. "Verified how?"
Celestia didn't answer directly. She didn't have to. Instead, she continued.
"The first Hero's sword was forged in Stonehelm. The story says it was lost centuries ago." Her eyes lifted briefly. "That story was meant to be believed."
Arthur frowned. "So it wasn't lost?"
"It was stolen from one of the former demon kings." Celestia corrected.
Kaya raised an eyebrow. "And now you're saying they found it here? In Stonehelm?"
Celestia shook her head. "Not in Stonehelm specifically..."
Kaia frowned slightly, then her eyes widened as she took it all in. "Blackroot Mountains..."
Celestia nodded once. "Yes. Specifically... in the cave now occupied by the red dragon."
Arthur sat back slightly, the weight of it hitting him all at once. "So that's why you said we should join the dragon-slaying campaign."
He leaned forward. "Then why not tell the guildmaster? If he helps us kill the dragon, we—"
"No," Celestia said, cutting him off so smoothly it didn't sound like a command... but it was.
Arthur stopped instantly.
She continued, tone calm, as if she were explaining something obvious to children.
"The legendary sword of the first hero is so valuable that it attracts many eyes... We cannot trust the guild master."
Then she frowned a little as she continued. "Also, the moment the guild knows, the moment anyone outside this room knows, word will reach the other faction inside the church."
Arthur clenched his fingers. "Those who against you."
Celestia nodded. "Against us."
Kaia narrowed her eyes. "Then they'll try to take it."
"They'll try to stop us first," Celestia said. "And if they fail... yes. They'll try to claim it."
Arthur forced a breath. "So the plan stays the same."
Celestia nodded. "We let the world believe we're here to slay a dragon for glory."
Kaia smirked at Arthur. "Which isn't entirely a lie."
Arthur's face heated. "Kaia!"
She lifted a hand in surrender—still smiling. "Fine. I'll stop."
Celestia smiled softly. "Obtaining the sword will greatly increase our strength."
Kaia chuckled. "And you'll look great holding it."
Arthur's eyes gleamed as he thought quietly. `Once we have it... no one can deny me.`
Celestia stood, gathering the parchment and sliding it back into her sleeve. "We have one month until the campaign. During that time, we will prepare ourselves well."