Somewhere in heaven. Veyra's room.
She had been planning the tournament arc for three weeks.
Not casually. Properly. The way she planned things when she was genuinely invested in the outcome. She had the bracket mapped. She had identified the opponents who would make Kael look ridiculous in specific and entertaining ways. She had noted the moment in round two where his literacy would become a problem because the participant briefing documents were dense and formal and required a reading level he had not yet achieved. She had the church observer's reaction to the resurrection documented in advance as a highlight moment. She had flagged the scene where Rael's father appeared in the gallery as a significant emotional beat with high viewership potential.
She had, in short, done an enormous amount of preparatory work for an arc she was very much looking forward to.
Then Mira and Senna got kidnapped.
…
Veyra stared at her screen.
The screen showed Kael and Rael sitting at a table with two empty chairs eating what appeared to be the result of someone applying maximum effort to a potato and achieving minimum outcome.
She watched in silence.
The divine mirror chimed softly.
Caelum.
Veyra answered.
Caelum looked at her expression. Then at the screen. Her left eye followed the surface. Her right eye—the pale silver one—tilted slightly, like something had shifted beneath it.
"…Bad time."
"My tournament arc just got derailed."
"How."
"Two of his party were taken last night. Human trafficking. Something tied to a demon supply chain."
Caelum's gaze moved to the empty chairs.
To the book on the floor.
…
"I had the whole bracket planned," Veyra said.
"I can see that."
"Round two was going to be spectacular."
"I believe you."
"The literacy problem alone was going to—"
"Veyra."
She stopped.
Looked up.
Caelum wasn't smiling.
"That does go to show," Caelum said, "we don't see everything."
"I am a goddess," Veyra said. "I am supposed to."
"You see a lot."
"I didn't see this."
"No."
…
"…Because humans are unpredictable."
"They always are."
…
Veyra looked back at the screen.
At Kael.
At the empty chairs.
"…I was looking forward to that arc."
"Start a new one."
Veyra leaned forward slightly.
"That version of him is gone."
"Yes."
"And I didn't place what comes next."
A faint smile from Caelum.
"Then watch."
The mirror dimmed.
…
Silence.
…
Veyra leaned in closer.
Eyes sharper now.
Interested.
Let's see what you do.
Kael.
Three days.
Three days, and I was eating burnt potatoes for the third morning in a row.
"This is really good," I said.
Dead serious.
Completely fake.
Rael looked at me.
"Crispy," I added.
…
Clink.
She set her fork down.
"If you can do better, go into the kitchen."
I looked at the kitchen.
The kitchen looked back.
We understood each other.
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"You are asking me to enter a shared combat zone occupied by sleep-deprived adventurers with knives."
"It's a kitchen."
"It's a war zone with cookware."
"Cook," she said, "or eat."
I ate.
Crunch.
…
It was terrible.
…
Not normal terrible.
…
This was—
CRUNCH.
—violent.
"We could eat at the dining hall," she said.
"We could. If we wanted to financially collapse before sunset."
No reaction.
"Three copper per person. Two meals. Twelve copper a day." I lifted the potato. "This is not food. This is a defensive strategy."
"You're eating it."
"I'm surviving it."
"You sound like you want to sleep with us."
…
"…You need to fix how you say things."
"I meant one room."
"I know. It got worse anyway."
…
Crunch.
…
We both stopped.
At the same time.
Looked at the chairs.
Two.
Empty.
Mira's.
Senna's.
Senna's book was still on the floor. Open.
Mira's cup still on the table. Empty.
Waiting.
…
Three days.
"I miss Mira's cooking."
…
Rael's grip tightened slightly.
"…Same."
We ate again.
Didn't taste anything.
I put the fork down.
Clink.
"I'm filing a missing persons report."
Rael didn't look up.
"That's going to cost you."
"No."
She glanced at me.
"It's going to cost us."
…
"What."
"Because I hold our money."
…
"Your money."
"Our money."
…
"I pay our debt with our money. Not mine."
…
Tap.
She stopped moving.
"We have that?"
"Barely."
"And if it does nothing."
"Then we spend another five."
…
Silence.
…
She looked at the chairs again.
Longer.
Then stood.
"The potatoes were terrible."
"They were crispy."
"They were a mistake."
"Next time lower heat."
"Okay."
"I'm not apologizing."
"I didn't ask."
"…Lower heat."
"I heard you."
…
She grabbed her coat.
"Let's go."
The guild was loud.
Too loud.
Too normal.
I put five silver on the counter.
Clink.
"Missing persons report. Two. Party members. Three days."
Polla moved immediately.
Form. Pen. Writing.
No hesitation.
No wasted motion.
When she finished—
She paused.
Looked at the paper.
Then at me.
"You're the third this month."
…
I didn't move.
"…Say that again."
"Third report. Same pattern. Women. A few children. Eight months. Increasing."
Rael stepped forward.
"And nothing was done."
"Priority follows guild standing."
"So no one worth acting for."
A pause.
"…That is how it was treated."
…
The guild noise continued.
Like nothing had changed.
I looked at the form.
Their names.
Three days.
Eight months.
"They were taken before."
"They've been disappearing."
"And nobody stopped it."
"No one with reason to."
…
I nodded.
"That changes now."
STAMP.
"The investigation will be posted this afternoon."
She moved on.
Like always.
Outside.
Morning.
People talking.
Laughing.
Moving.
Normal.
"Eight months," Rael said.
"That's what she said."
"And it took us."
"It always does."
She looked at the guild window.
"Mira knew."
"She saw something."
Rael's eyes shifted.
"What."
"A face. Someone she recognized."
"And she said nothing."
"She said enough to know it was bad."
"That's not enough."
"No. It's not."
…
"She handled it alone."
"She thought it was her problem."
…
Silence.
…
"We are going to find them."
Flat.
Certain.
I nodded.
"Yeah."
…
"And when we do…"
My voice dropped.
"…I'm going to deal with whoever is behind it."
Rael glanced at me.
"…Good."
Noon.
The board updated.
Three reports.
One investigation.
We took it immediately.
Snatch.
Five silver gone.
Debt still there.
We went back.
The chairs were still empty.
The cup still waiting.
The book still open.
…
I looked at them.
Just for a second.
…
Then I sat down.
Opened the commission.
Rael sat across from me.
No jokes.
No pretending.
No waiting.
…
We got to work.