Morning in Valthorin did not begin with sunlight.
It began with sound.
Bells rang from crystal towers. Merchants shouted from the streets below. Wagon wheels clattered across stone roads. Somewhere nearby, a woman yelled threats involving a frying pan and unpaid rent.
Kyūsei's eyes snapped open.
For one disoriented second, he thought he was back in the apartment.
Then he saw the clean ceiling.
The open window.
Blue morning light spilling across wooden floors.
And no locked door.
He sat up slowly.
The second bed was empty.
Panic struck before logic.
"Kazuto?"
No answer.
Kyūsei stood too quickly, nearly stumbled, then rushed downstairs.
The inn's common room was crowded with breakfast customers. Plates clattered. Steam rose from soup bowls. A bard in the corner tuned an instrument badly enough to be considered violence.
Kyūsei scanned the room.
No Kazuto.
His chest tightened.
Of course.
Why would a stranger stay?
Why would anyone choose to?
The old feeling crept in fast—abandonment, cold and familiar.
Then a loaf of bread smacked him in the face.
He yelped.
Kazuto stood in the doorway carrying two paper bags and laughing shamelessly.
"You should've seen your face."
Kyūsei glared, clutching the bread.
"You disappeared."
"I bought breakfast."
"You could've said something."
Kazuto blinked once.
Then his grin softened.
"…Right."
He tossed the second bag onto a table.
"I'll announce my sacred bread pilgrimage next time."
Kyūsei looked away, embarrassed by how much that had affected him.
Kazuto noticed.
He always seemed to notice.
They sat.
Inside the bags were warm meat buns, fruit slices, and pastries dusted with sugar.
Kyūsei stared.
"This is breakfast?"
"No," Kazuto said. "This is motivation."
Kyūsei took one bite and nearly ascended.
"What is this?"
"Food."
"No, this one."
"Sweet cream pastry."
Kyūsei ate the rest in three bites.
Kazuto snorted.
"Careful. You look like you're discovering civilization."
Maybe he was.
After breakfast, they stepped back into the streets.
Valthorin was even busier than yesterday. Morning crowds flowed like rivers between stone buildings. Crystal lamps dimmed one by one as daylight strengthened, their blue glow fading into the city's natural brightness.
Kazuto walked fast.
Kyūsei had to hurry to keep up.
"Where are we going exactly?"
"The Adventurer Guild."
"You said that yesterday, but what is it?"
Kazuto gave him a sideways look.
"You really weren't exaggerating."
"I told you."
He sighed dramatically.
"The Guild manages dungeon expeditions, monster hunts, escort jobs, city requests, rank promotions, bounty notices, missing persons, and occasional idiots."
"What category am I?"
"Unclassified."
They turned a corner.
Then Kyūsei saw it.
A massive building of black stone and blue glass rose over the district like a fortress merged with a palace. Banners bearing a silver sword crossed over a crystal hung from pillars.
People came and went constantly—armored warriors, robed mages, archers, beast tamers, healers, mercenaries.
The energy around the place felt sharp.
Dangerous.
Alive.
Kazuto spread his arms.
"Welcome to the beating heart of poor life decisions."
Inside was chaos.
Quest boards covered entire walls.
A giant boar carcass was being dragged across the floor by three exhausted men.
Two mages argued over whose fire spell had caused more "artistic damage."
Someone was asleep face-down on a table.
A woman in green armor was arm-wrestling two men at once.
Kyūsei whispered, "This is legal?"
"Mostly."
Kazuto led him to the front counter.
Behind it stood a woman with silver hair tied in a severe bun and glasses sharp enough to wound.
She looked up.
"Kazuto."
"Lena."
"You're late on two reports."
"I was emotionally recovering."
"You were drinking."
"Also true."
Her eyes shifted to Kyūsei.
"This one looks lost."
"He's with me."
"That explains nothing."
Kazuto leaned on the counter.
"I need beginner registration and a Core Detection."
Lena adjusted her glasses.
"For him?"
"For the handsome one, yes."
She ignored him expertly.
"Name?"
Kyūsei straightened.
"Kyūsei."
She paused.
"Family name?"
He froze.
He had never thought about it.
Kazuto smoothly stepped in.
"Just Kyūsei."
Lena looked between them.
Then, surprisingly, she asked no further questions.
"Very well. Temporary single-name registration."
She slid papers across the desk.
"Sign here."
Kyūsei stared at the writing.
The symbols were unfamiliar… yet somehow understandable.
He frowned.
"What is it?"
Kazuto blinked.
"You can read it, right?"
"…Yes."
The god.
He must have done something.
Kyūsei signed carefully.
Lena collected the form.
"Follow me."
She led them into a side chamber lined with shelves of crystals, books, and strange instruments.
At the center stood a clear orb mounted on silver claws.
The room felt quieter than the main hall.
More serious.
Lena gestured.
"Place your hand on the Detection Orb."
Kyūsei hesitated.
"What if nothing happens?"
"Then Kazuto owes me five silver."
Kazuto scoffed.
"Everyone has a core."
Kyūsei slowly placed his palm on the orb.
Cold spread through his fingers.
The crystal dimmed.
Then light burst inside it.
Red flames spiraled upward.
Green wind circled around them.
The orb hummed.
Lena nodded once.
"Dual affinity. Fire and Wind."
Kazuto whistled.
"Not bad for a starving stray."
Kyūsei blinked.
"That means I can use magic?"
"It means," Lena said dryly, "you possess the potential to fail at magic."
Kazuto laughed loudly.
"But yes," he added. "It means you can learn."
Kyūsei stared at his own hand.
Fire.
Wind.
Power.
Something impossible yesterday… now belonged to him.
Yet beneath the excitement, he felt something else.
For one brief second during the test—
Another presence.
Cold.
Hungry.
Watching from deep inside.
Then it vanished.
He withdrew his hand quickly.
Lena didn't seem to notice.
Kazuto did.
"You okay?"
"…Yeah."
A lie.
Lena returned with a black metal card engraved in silver.
She handed it over.
KYŪSEI
Rank E
Kyūsei turned it in his hand.
"This is mine?"
"Lose it and I charge you double," Lena said.
Kazuto slung an arm around his shoulders.
"Congratulations. You're officially employable."
"I don't know if that's good."
"It isn't."
They left the chamber.
As they crossed the main hall, a loud voice cut through the room.
"Well, well. If it isn't Kazuto the coward."
The noise around them softened.
People looked over.
A tall man in polished armor stood near the quest board. Blond hair. Broad shoulders. Smug expression refined through years of practice.
Three others stood behind him.
Kazuto sighed.
"Morning, Brakus."
The man's eyes shifted to Kyūsei.
Then narrowed.
"You recruiting beggars now?"
Kyūsei stiffened.
Kazuto's smile vanished.
"Careful."
Brakus chuckled.
"Touchy today."
He stepped closer.
"I heard you turned down the Deep Gate expedition."
Kazuto shrugged.
"Bad pay."
"You mean bad courage."
The room waited.
Tension sharpened like drawn wire.
Kyūsei looked between them.
Kazuto seemed relaxed.
But the air around him had changed.
Brakus smirked.
"A-rank, and still wasting time in city jobs. Maybe they overestimated you."
Before Kyūsei could blink, Kazuto moved.
He was suddenly nose-to-nose with Brakus.
No sword drawn.
No threat spoken.
Yet everyone nearby took a step back.
Kazuto smiled pleasantly.
"And maybe," he said softly, "you talk too much because no one's corrected you yet."
Brakus's jaw tightened.
Mana flickered around his gauntlet.
Lena's voice cracked like ice across the hall.
"Damage one chair and I suspend all of you."
Both men stepped back instantly.
The hall exhaled.
Brakus sneered.
"This isn't over."
Kazuto waved lazily.
"I hope not. You still owe me for cards."
Brakus stormed out with his group.
Kyūsei stared.
"…Do things like that happen often?"
Kazuto thought about it.
"Only on weekdays."
Outside, they walked in silence for a bit.
Then Kyūsei asked quietly,
"Why did he call you coward?"
Kazuto's grin returned, but weaker.
"Because I said no to a dungeon expedition."
"That's it?"
"No."
He looked ahead.
"People hate when you survive by choosing wisely."
Kyūsei considered that.
Then asked the question that had been building since yesterday.
"How did you know my name?"
Kazuto stopped walking.
The city noise continued around them.
Vendors shouted.
Boots passed.
Crystal bells rang.
But for a moment, it felt distant.
"You told me," Kazuto said lightly.
"No," Kyūsei replied. "Before that."
Kazuto's eyes met his.
There it was again—that strange unreadable look.
Something old.
Something painful.
Then he flicked Kyūsei's forehead.
"Ow!"
"You think too much."
He started walking again.
"Come on. If we're late, all the weak monsters get taken."
Kyūsei rubbed his forehead and followed.
But the question remained.
Because he was certain.
When Kazuto first saw him in the forest…
He had reacted before Kyūsei ever spoke.