The marketplace breathed with life — voices rising, laughter falling, vendors calling out spices, fabrics, jewels, freshly baked bread. Colors danced in the air like banners on the wind. Horses clopped, children darted between stalls, and merchants haggled with practiced aggression. It was loud, busy, annoyingly cheerful.
Reider stood still in the middle of it, a calm drop of ink in a watercolor painting. He didn't browse, didn't haggle, didn't even look particularly impressed. His expression was carved from stone — unreadable, quiet, detached. People flowed around him like water around an immovable rock.
He watched the street the way a predator might watch a meadow — not hunting, not hiding, just existing with the silent certainty that nothing here could threaten him.
Then the air changed.
The sound of boots cutting through noise. The metallic clank of armor. The faint ripple of authority — not earned, but demanded.
The crowd parted.
Armored knights approached, cloaks bearing the mark of the church — Lucian's church. Their gauntlets gleamed, faces stern, posture sharp. Like good little zealots trained to obey without thinking.
Reider turned his head slowly.
Silver-haired, sharp-eyed, and full of self-importance, the lead knight stepped forward. "Reider. We've been looking for you."
Reider blinked once. The most disrespectful response possible.
"Is that so?"
The lead knight's jaw tightened. Another knight, younger, clearly fresh out of religious brainwashing academy, stepped up gripping his sword like it might give him courage.
"You need to come with us. The Holy Order demands your presence."
Reider tilted his head. "And if I say no?"
Silence rippled across the marketplace. A few civilians paused mid–step, sensing trouble. Others pretended not to notice — survival instinct.
The lead knight inhaled sharply. He stepped closer, shadows falling across him. "This is not a request. Lord Lucian himself ordered us to retrieve you."
The crowd thinned further. People muttered, stepping back. Danger clung to the air like frost.
Reider didn't move. Didn't flinch. Didn't show anger, fear, annoyance — nothing.
He was simply there.
The young knight swallowed hard. "Something's… off about him," he whispered.
The lead knight ignored him, voice rising with forced authority. "Lucian has been merciful so far. But mercy has limits. Resist, and we are authorized to use force."
Reider breathed in slowly, as though deeply unimpressed. "Mercy," he murmured. "Funny choice of words."
The knights stiffened.
Something in the air shifted — subtle, yet massive. Like standing before a storm cloud that hadn't decided where to strike yet.
Reider didn't move, yet the world seemed to brace itself.
The lead knight hesitated — instincts whispering warnings humans didn't normally hear. It felt like they weren't facing a person. They were facing something else.
You came all this way… yet you don't even understand what you're standing in front of, Reider thought.
Out loud, he said, "You came all this way… yet you don't even understand what you're standing in front of, do you?"
The young knight's hand trembled. "W-What are you talking about?"
Reider raised one hand slowly. The knights jerked back like startled animals — expecting magic, violence, death.
Reider simply brushed hair from his face.
"You don't have the power to take me anywhere."
Arrogant? Yes. True? Also yes.
The lead knight gritted his teeth. "We are knights of the Holy Church. Do you truly believe you can stand against us?"
Reider's eyes faintly glowed. "I don't need to believe," he murmured. "I already know."
The pressure in the air thickened — invisible weight pressing on bone, breath, courage.
The lead knight's sword came free with a metallic ring, echoing through the marketplace like a declaration. The others followed — steel flashing in the sun.
The crowd fled fully now — panic, whispers, gasps. One woman clutched a child and ran.
Reider didn't move. Didn't defend. Didn't even posture.
Just existed.
And somehow, that was worse than any stance he could have taken.
He sighed softly. "You people never learn."
The knights charged.
Metal boots thundered. Steel shone. The lead knight's blade raised high—
Wind roared.
Not from motion — from presence.
The knight froze mid–strike, instincts screaming louder than faith. The others froze too, mid–attack, hairs rising, hearts stuttering.
Reider's hand lifted a fraction.
"Go back to Lucian," he said softly. "Tell him…"
The air warped around him, a faint distortion — pressure, threat, promise.
"I am not his to claim."
Their bodies spasmed as if gravity suddenly remembered them. Sweat beaded. Fear crawled beneath armor.
The lead knight's breathing shook. He lowered his sword.
"Let's go."
Boots retreated fast, almost stumbling in their rush to escape.
Reider didn't watch them leave. He already knew they'd go. He already knew they'd report back. He already knew Lucian would take this poorly.
Reider just stood there, quiet again, letting life resume around him — or rather, letting it try to pretend nothing just happened.
---
Return to the Room
The inn room door creaked open softly.
Vael sat by the window, tail lazily curling, pretending to read but clearly alert. Mei sat drying her hair, relaxed now — until the door moved.
They both looked up.
Vael smirked. "You're back. I thought you'd run off to introduce us as your wives to more strangers."
Reider walked inside like he'd just gone for bread. "The church's knights found me."
Book lowered. Towel froze.
Mei stood slightly. "What?! What did they say?"
"They wanted to take me back to Lucian. They tried to threaten me."
Vael leaned forward, voice dropping serious. "And what did you do?"
"I told them no."
Mei blinked. "Just 'no'?"
Reider's lips twitched. "Well… I might've scared them a little."
Vael narrowed her eyes. "Define 'a little.'"
"Enough that they ran before I lifted a finger."
Mei rubbed her face. "Reider… you need to be careful. If Lucian sent knights, he won't stop."
Vael stared out the window, thoughtful. "If he knows you're here, we leave sooner than planned."
Reider nodded. "He's afraid of me. That much I know."
Mei's voice softened into steel. "He killed my family. I won't let him take you too."
Reider looked at her, unwavering. "He won't."
Vael smirked faintly. "Look at you, acting reliable. Maybe you are grown up — for a two-month-old."
Reider deadpanned, "Still older than you if we count by creation."
Vael choked on air, tail flicking. "That's not how age works, kid."
Mei giggled lightly. "Still… you came back to us."
"I said I would."
Vael stood, serious again. "Lucian's desperate. He'll send stronger next."
"Then we leave at first light," Reider said. "I'll make sure he can't follow."
Mei nodded firmly. "We stick together."
Vael smirked. "And I keep an eye on you. Wouldn't want you charming more townspeople into thinking we're married."
Reider shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"
Both women blushed. Stared. Refused to speak.
Mei nudged Vael. "Maybe I'll let them think I'm married to him. You're the one calling him a kid."
Vael's ears burned. "As if I'd—!!"
Reider smirked.
Mei leaned forward teasingly. "Someone has to keep this overpowered kid out of trouble."
Vael turned away, flustered. "Idiots…"
Reider walked to the window, eyes cold now.
Lucian… you'll regret coming after them.
Vael and Mei exchanged a glance — realization sinking, unspoken but clear.
He wasn't just protecting himself anymore.
The window view drew back — city lights, calm night wind, three figures preparing to move again.
Calm before the storm.