The guards did not look around the room the way outsiders usually did when entering the Association. Their pace was steady, measured, and directed. They were not here to observe.
They were here for something specific.
Conversations softened rather than stopped. The mercenaries at the tables shifted their legs inward to clear the path without being told. One of the guards placed a firm hand on Eren's upper arm as he passed, guiding her a half step back so they could reach the desk without obstruction.
It was not violent.
It was not polite either.
Eren frowned immediately. "We were—"
"It's fine" Shion said quietly before she could finish.
The guards did not acknowledge either of them.
They reached the counter in a straight line, the captain standing at the front while the other two remained just behind his shoulders, close enough to suggest presence, far enough to avoid crowding the clerk.
The captain kept his gloves on.
"A retrieval contract was posted yesterday. We require the names of the mercenaries who fulfilled it" he asked.
His tone was even. Not aggressive. Not casual.
The clerk did not seem surprised by the question. She turned her ledger around, flipped through a few pages with careful fingers, and scanned a line she had written earlier that evening. She made a note before answering.
Her expression did not change.
She raised her hand and indicated across the room.
"Those two."
Several heads turned more openly this time.
Eren felt it immediately.
She leaned slightly toward Shion. "They can't just walk in and push people aside like that."
Shion did not take her eyes off the captain. "Not all guards are at the service of whoever stands in front of them," she replied in a low voice. "Sometimes they answer to someone higher. When that happens, things are handled a certain way. Quietly."
Eren did not look convinced, but she did not argue further.
The captain turned to face them fully now. His gaze moved first to Shion, then to Eren, weighing without obvious hostility.
"You will accompany us," he said.
There was no explanation attached to the instruction.
No accusation either.
The two guards behind him shifted slightly, creating space for them to approach the desk while also making it clear that lingering where they stood was not an option.
The building remained silent.
No one objected. No one asked what this was about. A few mercenaries watched with open curiosity, but none interfered.
Shion tied the mouth of the coin pouch securely at her belt before stepping forward. She did not rush, but she did not delay.
Eren followed half a breath later.
Whatever this was, it had already been decided elsewhere.
The walk through the administrative district was short and silent.
No chains. No drawn weapons.
Only direction.
The guards did not speak to them as they crossed the stone streets and approached the post. The building was narrower than the main barracks, built for paperwork and controlled conversations rather than patrol rotations. Iron lanterns burned low on each side of the entrance.
One of the guards opened the door and gestured.
"Inside"
The interior smelled faintly of oil and damp stone.
They were led down a corridor lined with closed doors, past a table stacked with sealed documents, and into a room that had been cleared of anything unnecessary. A single wooden table stood at the center. Four chairs. No windows.
Someone was already there.
The hooded figure stood near the far wall, hands folded behind his back. He had removed neither hood nor gloves. His posture was relaxed, but not casual.
He did not greet them.
The three guards stepped inside after Shion and Eren. The door closed with deliberate finality.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then the captain moved around the table and took a seat opposite them. The other two guards remained standing.
"You completed a retrieval contract yesterday," he began, as if resuming a conversation already underway. "Stolen goods if I'm not mistaken."
"Yes," Shion replied.
"It turned out to be a piece of paper, a page of a book."
There was no inflection in his voice.
Shion did not look toward the hooded man.
"Yes."
"Where is that page now?"
"It was delivered" Eren answered "To the person indicated by the client"
"Name."
"Can't tell" Shion said firmly
"And where did this delivery occur?"
"Can't tell" Shion said "As specified in the contract"
The captain's gaze did not shift, but something in his shoulders tightened.
The hooded figure finally spoke.
"You are aware the page contains a restricted formula."
It was not phrased as a question.
Shion held his gaze evenly. "We are not responsible for evaluating the contents of recovered property. We retrieve what is listed. We deliver it to the person recorded in the job's posting. Nothing else"
A pause.
"If there is an official order to confiscate specific materials" Eren continued "it can be filed through the Mercenaries Association. The item can then be retrieved formally"
The captain's fingers tapped once against the tabletop before going still.
"This matter may require discretion" He said.
"Discretion does not override procedure" Eren replied.
The two standing guards exchanged a brief glance.
The hesitation entered the room then, subtle but unmistakable.
If this was official, it would already be documented.
If it was not, their authority rested on uncertain ground.
"Are we to understand" Shion asked calmly "That this is an official seizure order?"
The captain did not answer immediately.
The hooded figure shifted slightly, the movement controlled.
"The formula describes a catalytic suspension" he said at last "An alchemical process that stabilizes volatile arcane residue"
Neither Shion nor Eren reacted outwardly.
"It allows the completion of a formula to transmute things into gold" He continued "The issue is not the transmutation itself, it explains how to do it at a scale by sacrificing countless lives"
Silence settled heavier this time.
The captain's voice lowered.
"In practical terms, the completed formula produces an alchemical circle that could wipe villages. Towns. Cities."
Eren's expression hardened almost imperceptibly.
"That's... " She couldn't complete the idea.
"In the wrong hands, could be the death of us" the hooded man completed.
"A weapon" Shion replied evenly.
The hooded figure did not contradict her.
"The knowledge to produce it is incomplete without that page" he said instead. "But in capable hands, it becomes profit"
The room felt smaller.
"And yet" Shion said "No formal order was issued before you attempted to acquire it privately"
The captain's jaw tightened.
No one denied it.
If this were entirely sanctioned, the Association would already have been served notice. Records would exist. Signatures. Seals.
Instead, there had been surveillance.
An offer of coin.
An attempt at quiet correction.
Only now, after failure, had uniforms been sent.
Eren folded her arms loosely. "If the Crown considers it illegal, then file the order. Retrieve it properly"
The hesitation returned.
Because to file it properly would mean acknowledging its existence in record.
And records could be read.
The hooded figure finally inclined his head slightly.
"You remain here until we get answers" He said. "This matter is not concluded"
Shion did not look away.
"It never is" she replied.