Near the entrance, members of Hephaestus Familia were controlling the flow of visitors.
A Guild employee was also present, and Ganesha Familia had sent guards to keep order.
That alone eased Daphne's expression a little.
"At least they're not letting people run wild."
Cassandra nodded, but her unease did not fade.
The dream had shown people laughing at her warnings, and the street around her was full of laughter now.
Some of it was harmless excitement, but some sounded exactly like the laughter she had heard in her sleep.
Then she heard a group of adventurers nearby.
"So the first guy failed?"
"Obviously. He was just some poor Level 1."
"I heard he cried."
"I heard he saw his dead brother."
"That's creepy."
"Creepy or not, he survived. Maybe the sword isn't as dangerous as they say."
One of them laughed.
"If a nobody like that can survive, maybe I should try too."
Cassandra turned toward them before she could stop herself.
"You shouldn't."
The adventurers looked at her and Daphne's face immediately tightened.
The man who had spoken looked Cassandra up and down, then smirked.
"Hah? What's that supposed to mean?"
"That sword shows people things they don't want to see. If you touch it carelessly, you might not come back properly."
The man stared at her for a moment.
Then he laughed.
His companions followed.
Cassandra's fingers curled into her skirt as Daphne stepped forward with a sharp expression.
"That's enough. We're leaving."
"Wait, is she a fortune-teller or something?"
"Maybe she had a vision."
"Hey, can you tell me if I'll get rich too?"
The laughter grew louder.
Cassandra's face turned pale, but she still tried to speak.
"I'm serious! Please don't touch it if you only want to test your luck."
The man's smile faded into annoyance.
"Who asked you?"
Daphne grabbed Cassandra's wrist and pulled her back before the situation could worsen.
"That's enough."
"But Daphne-san—"
"I said enough!"
Daphne's voice was firm.
Cassandra lowered her head.
The men behind them continued laughing, and every step away from them felt like stepping away from a disaster she had failed to stop.
...
Inside the second floor of Hephaestus Weapon Shop, Rayleigh stood near the window and watched the street below.
He had noticed Cassandra before she spoke, his attention drawn first by the faint tremor from the sealed Zanpakutō downstairs.
Her silver hair was easy enough to spot in a crowd, but the sword's reaction was what truly caught his attention.
It had reacted.
Only slightly, but that was enough.
Rayleigh's gaze followed Cassandra as Daphne pulled her away from the group of mocking adventurers.
"So that's her?"
Hephaestus stood beside him with her arms folded.
"Cassandra Ilion," Rayleigh said. "Apollo Familia."
"The girl with the strange dreams?"
"You've heard of her?"
"Only rumors. Most people treat her as a gloomy child who says unsettling things."
"That's because most people are idiots."
Hephaestus glanced at him.
"You sound more annoyed than usual."
Rayleigh watched Cassandra lower her head while Daphne spoke to her.
"I dislike people who laugh at warnings just because the person giving them is weak."
Hephaestus's expression softened slightly.
"Is she the one?"
"I don't know."
"But you think she might be."
"Yes."
Hephaestus looked toward the display room below.
"And the sword?"
"It reacted at least."
That made Hephaestus fall silent.
After a while, she asked, "Are you going to call her in?"
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because if I do, Apollo will smell something interesting and come running."
Hephaestus's mouth twitched.
"That is a very unpleasant way to describe it, but you're probably right."
Rayleigh turned away from the window.
"For now, we let the trial continue. If she comes forward on her own, that will mean more than me inviting her."
"And if someone else gets hurt first?"
"I'll stop it before it goes too far."
Hephaestus looked at him with a mixture of trust and worry.
"You say that like it's simple."
"It isn't." Rayleigh smiled faintly.
"But I'm the one who put the sword here. I'll take responsibility."
...
Cassandra and Daphne did not return to Apollo Familia immediately.
Instead, Daphne dragged her into a nearby alley where the noise from the street was quieter before finally letting go of her wrist.
"What were you thinking?"
Cassandra lowered her head.
"I wanted to warn them."
"And did they listen?"
"No..."
"Then what did you accomplish?"
Cassandra bit her lip.
Daphne looked at her pale face and sighed, her anger fading.
"I'm not saying you did something wrong. But you can't throw yourself at every person who refuses to listen. You'll break before the future changes."
Cassandra's voice was small.
"Then what should I do?"
Daphne had no answer right away.
That question had never been easy.
For all her complaints, she knew Cassandra was sincere.
The girl truly believed what she saw, and sometimes, even Daphne had to admit that Cassandra's dreams became uncomfortably accurate after the fact.
The problem was that Cassandra could never explain them in a way that made people believe her beforehand.
Daphne leaned against the alley wall and folded her arms.
"For now, we report nothing to Apollo-sama."
Cassandra looked up in surprise.
"Really?"
"Yes. If he hears about this from us, he'll definitely become interested. I'd rather he learn about it from someone else later than drag us into the center of it right now."
"But he'll hear about it anyway."
"Probably."
Daphne clicked her tongue.
"That god hears about every troublesome thing eventually."
Cassandra looked back toward the street.
The crowd outside Hephaestus Weapon Shop was still growing.
The pressure from her dream remained in her chest, but something else had joined it now.
The sword had felt close, almost as if it had noticed her, and as if the voice beneath the water had followed her into the waking world.
"Daphne-san."
"What?"
"If I said I need to try touching that sword... would you stop me?"
Daphne stared at her.
"Yes."
Cassandra flinched.
Daphne continued without hesitation.
"I'd stop you, drag you home, lock the door, and sit in front of it if I had to."
"I see..."
"But if you still tried after that, I'd probably end up following you."
Cassandra slowly lifted her eyes.
Daphne looked away, annoyed by her own words.
"Don't look so happy. I said probably."
Cassandra's lips trembled into a faint smile.
"Thank you, Daphne-san."
"Don't thank me! I already regret saying it."
...
That evening, Apollo finally heard the rumor.
He was lounging in his hall when one of his children excitedly reported that Yōtōsai had placed a Zanpakutō on public sale at Hephaestus Weapon Shop.
At first, Apollo only listened with mild interest, but the moment he heard that the sword chose its own master, his eyes brightened.
"A sword that chooses its wielder?"
His smile widened.
"How romantic."
The members of Apollo Familia around him began speaking at once.
Some praised the sword. Some wondered whether it was truly as powerful as the rumors claimed.
Others suggested that Apollo Familia should send a challenger.
Cassandra stood quietly near the back of the hall, her fingers tightening around her sleeve.
Daphne, who stood beside her, noticed.
Their eyes met, and Daphne's expression said the same thing Cassandra was thinking.
Too late.
Apollo rose from his seat with graceful excitement.
"A weapon that chooses its own hero... How could I ignore such a beautiful event?"
Cassandra's face went pale.
Apollo smiled brightly.
"Tomorrow, we shall go to Hephaestus's shop ourselves!"
Then his gaze swept over his children.
"And if that sword is truly searching for a worthy soul, perhaps one of you will be chosen."
Cassandra felt the dream close around her again, carrying the black scabbard, the dark water, and the voice waiting beneath the lake.
She lowered her head and clenched both hands.
'No one will believe me.'
That thought still hurt, but for the first time, another thought followed it.
'Even so... I already saw it.'
And because she had seen it, she could not pretend she knew nothing.