Elara leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, her eyes narrowing at Astro.
"You look far too comfortable sitting there. People might mistake you for the owner of this house."
Astro lounged back in the chair, folding his hands behind his head.
"Maybe I should be. At least then someone would finally take proper care of the place."
Her eyes widened. "Excuse me? I'll have you know this house is spotless."
He glanced at the cluttered shelf, then at the pile of half-finished laundry. He now understood why Elara invited him outside yesterday and didn't let him set foot here.
"…Spotless, huh?"
Elara coughed and swiftly changed the subject. "So—why are you here again?"
Astro tilted his head at her, his tone suddenly serious.
"What do you really think about the dark guild running this city?"
Elara's smile vanished, as though snuffed out like a candle. Her fingers tightened against her sleeve.
"…What do I think?" she repeated softly. "I hate FogSerpent. With everything I have."
Astro stayed quiet, watching as she straightened, eyes burning with years of frustration.
"They've ruined lives here," she said. "Families torn apart, children left with nothing. And the worst part? Nothing can be done. Bosco's royal family doesn't care about individual cities, and the so-called light guild here refuses to fight them. Why would they? Abel's right hand man Riser, he waves around papers proving their guild is registered as 'light.'"
Astro's brows furrowed. "Registered? Officially?"..He was surprised to hear this, but it's not like it's a problem for him.
Elara gave a bitter nod. "On paper, they're legitimate. The mayor himself vouched for FogSerpent—no doubt with his pockets lined in bribes. If I stand up and call them a criminal, I'm just a crazy woman slandering a legal guild."
Astro's jaw tightened, but he let her continue.
"I even thought about leaving once," she admitted, her voice cracking. "Going to Fiore, begging for help. But what would I bring them? A 'dark guild' that's officially a light guild, backed by Bosco's government? No one would touch that. Too much politics. Too much risk. Easier to look away."
The room fell quiet, broken only by Kael shifting in his chair, his eyes downcast, jaw clenched.
Astro leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. The levity in his tone was gone.
"So what you're saying is… no one's coming. No help. No backup."
Elara met his gaze without flinching. "That's right. If Abel falls, it won't be because the world cared. It'll be because someone here made it happen."
Astro's lips curved into a grin. "Then how about we force them to care?"
He tapped his finger against the table like a drumbeat only he heard. "There's a loophole in guild law. If a guild's members are attacked first, then their guild has the right to retaliate with everything they've got."
Elara leaned in, a flicker of hope lighting her eyes. "Meaning… if Abel's men strike first, the light guilds can finally fight back?"
"Exactly." His grin sharpened, though his eyes held the spark of youthful mischief. "And once they do, Abel's disguise will crumble."
Kael's voice was cautious. "Abel's men aren't idiots. They won't start fights out of nowhere."
"That's true," Elara agreed, folding her arms. "So what—are you going to make them attack first?"
Astro's grin widened, boyish now. "Maybe."
Elara narrowed her eyes. "That's all you're giving us?"
"Think of it as a surprise," he said, leaning back with a smirk. "Trust me—it'll be worth the wait."
"You sound like you're planning a prank," Elara muttered, though the corner of her mouth twitched with amusement.
"Sometimes the best strategies feel like pranks," Astro said with a wink. "Just bigger. And deadlier."
For a moment, the mask slipped. He looked less like the tactician and more like what he was—a teenager on the cusp of eighteen, thrilled by the thought of outsmarting grown men.
Kael exhaled, low and heavy. "…You're enjoying this too much."
Astro chuckled. "Maybe. Or maybe I just like watching bullies trip over their own feet."
Elara shook her head, though a small laugh escaped. "You're impossible."
"Not impossible," Astro grinned. "Just unpredictable."
He lowered his voice, tracing lines across the map with his finger as he explained the plan. Elara listened closely, her eyes flicking between him and Kael. By the time he leaned back, the air was thick with tension.
"…That's insane," Elara whispered, then exhaled a laugh. "And yet… it just might work."
Kael said nothing, but his silence wasn't disagreement.
"Good," Astro said, standing. "Then it's settled. I'll handle the rest."
He stepped outside before either of them could press further. The late afternoon air was calm, the sky streaked with thin clouds. Astro let out a long breath.
Three years. Three long years in this world—scraping by in Inca, fighting here and there on his journey, stumbling through dangers. He had learned to survive, to scheme, to fight. But here, in this stubborn, warmhearted city, something inside him was changing.
A faint smile touched his lips. Around these people, he loosened. He laughed, he joked,he got teased. he promised things he had no right to promise. He was becoming a child again, little by little. And strangely—he didn't hate it.
It felt warm. Familiar. Almost like how he used to be with his sister, Maria, in the other world. His chest tightened at the memory, but then new faces rose in his mind: Kael's steady gaze,Akiko and the children at the church, Elara's sharp tongue and shy smiles, even the neighbors who had welcomed him without question.
They weren't characters in a story. They weren't pieces on a board. They were people.
His smile deepened, quiet and resolute.
"This isn't a game anymore," he whispered. "But I still want to win. For me… and for this city."
Purple smoke curled from his body as he vanished into the streets, his mind sharpening around the words Lucien, the assassin, had whispered.
If Lucien spoke the truth, Riser—the right hand of Abel—would be there. That would be the first step toward Abel's downfall. I stumbled into this fight out of curiosity once… but now I'll see it through. Not for me—but for the strangely warm hearted people in this city. A city like this shouldn't be buried in darkness."
Astro made a vow to himself, eyes burning with resolve as he disappeared into the distance.