The afternoon sun hung high over Baoahong, casting a warm golden light across the barracks. Kei woke first, staring up at the bare rafters. Across the room, Vincent was already sitting up, rolling his shoulders to loosen the stiffness from the previous night's watch.
Before they could go looking for the creature in the woods, there were routines to tend to first. Along the coast, hwa-samurai rarely bathed in the morning, as it was often too cold. They waited instead for the afternoon heat to warm the inland shallows.
Hajun poked his head into the room, a linen cloth over his shoulder. "You two finally awake? Come on, we're heading down to the stream before evening shifts start."
Kei and Vincent grabbed their wraps and followed him out into the sunlight. Three other retainers — Hwiseong, Kiro, and Mojun — joined them, chatting easily as they followed a dirt path behind the garrison.
A few hundred paces inland, the trees opened onto a wide, shallow river running over smooth stones. It was quiet and hidden from the village road.
The men stripped off their boots and tunics without ceremony. Vincent tossed his shirt onto a boulder and waded straight in, groaning with satisfaction as he splashed water on his face. "Now this is a blessing. Not freezing like the morning, not boiling either. Just right."
Kei set his daggers and cloak on a flat rock. He removed his top, revealing his lean body frame and pale old scars. He waded in and ducked under, slicking his wet hair back as he surfaced.
Hajun jumped in with a splash, laughing as he soaked Kiro. "Sorry I only asked you two to come today," he said, paddling toward Vincent. "You're always so busy — training, patrols, rooftop watches. You're as bad as Lady Yejin and Lady Tsuyu. Is running missions really the only fun you Fabled Class types have?"
Vincent laughed, floating on his back. "Absolutely not. Don't lump me in with Kei."
Kei turned his head slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"Man, don't even ask about it," Vincent said, grinning. "Given the choice between a banquet and an alley full of monsters, you'd pick the alley every time."
The others burst out laughing.
"I believe that," Hwiseong said, dunking his head to wash off the road dust.
Hajun splashed water toward the bank. "So — either of you two ever had a girlfriend?"
Vincent laughed. "In this line of work? We're never in one place long enough."
"I don't know, Vincent," Kiro said, leaning on a boulder. "With looks like yours and Kei's, you could turn heads across the whole province. Might even make the Crown Princess look twice. Look at Yul."
"Yul has my full respect," Hajun agreed. "I mean, the guy's ridiculously handsome. Half the noble ladies in Goryeong trip over their own robes when he walks by."
"I've never had time for that," Kei said flatly.
"No way!" Hajun swam closer, intrigued. "Not even once? Come on, Kei. Be honest — how do you see Lady Yejin? If she fell for you, would you turn her down?"
Kei watched a water spider skate across the surface and said nothing, hoping the question would pass.
"How can you not answer that?" Kiro pressed. "She's one of the Three-petal Flower of Iona — Crown Princess Akira, Maiden Raine of Shengyowon, and Yejin, the Rose-Thorn Princess. Men would give up their savings for a cup of tea with her. Even hypothetically, how could you not say yes?"
"I completely agree," Hwiseong added, chin on his crossed arms. "She's exactly my type. Beautiful, skilled with a blade, kind to everyone. You'd have to be out of your mind to turn her down."
Vincent splashed water toward the group, smirking. "You're wasting your breath. Kei's only real romance is with hunting fiends. I'm the charming one — he's my total opposite."
"That much is obvious," Hajun teased, grinning at Kei.
Hwiseong's smirk faded into something more thoughtful. "Speaking of fiends — Vincent, I've wondered since that rift opened in the square. What are they actually like to fight? Are they as dangerous as people say?"
The mood shifted.
Vincent's expression sobered as he treaded water. "On average, a fiend — whatever kind — is stronger and faster than a regular foot soldier. No fear, no fatigue, and their bodies don't break the way ours do."
"So how do we measure up?" Kiro asked, tension creeping into his voice. "A trained hwa-samurai, one of us?"
Vincent thought it over. "One-on-one, a skilled hwa-samurai can handle four or five ordinary Crawlers or Gouls alone, as long as you keep distance and don't panic. But a Goliath, or anything bigger, and you're in trouble. If a Keres drops out of the sky, you won't survive it without speed like Tsuyu's."
Hwiseong groaned dramatically. "So we're doomed if a big rift opens?"
"That's not what I said," Vincent replied, steady. "You won't fight them all alone, right? Of course, you bring your comrades with you. That's how you flip the trajectory of the fight."
Hwiseong and Kiro let out relieved sighs, nodding.
Hajun waded to the bank and pulled himself out, water running down his legs. He grabbed a cloth to dry off. "That's enough lounging. Hwiseong, Kiro, Mojun — let's head back. Vincent and Kei have their own business, and if we linger, Lady Tsuyu will scold us."
"All right," Kiro said, scrambling out.
The four dressed in their crimson uniforms, strapped on their swords, and jogged back toward the village, leaving Kei and Vincent alone in the river.
Once their footsteps faded, Vincent paddled over to where Kei floated on his back.
"Now that it's just us," Vincent said, lowering his voice. "Tell me the truth. What do you actually think of Princess Yejin?"
Kei drifted in the current, eyes on the canopy above. A long pause passed before he answered.
"What do I say? She's kind, smart, strong, independent, brave. She's also fragile, short-tempered, reckless, dependent on others, easily frightened."
Vincent stopped paddling and blinked at him. "What kind of answer is that? You just listed a bunch of things and then contradicted every one of them."
"It makes perfect sense," Kei said, still watching the clouds. "A person can be two things at once. No one is strong all the time. When she's leading her soldiers, she's steady. She has moments of brilliance and moments where she acts purely on feeling."
Vincent stared at him, then chuckled. "So you're saying, she's just like everyone else."
Kei nodded once and smiled. "Are you expecting me to say how she's special?"
Vincent chuckled. "Of course, Princess Yejin is not just anyone else. You made it sound like she's ordinary."
"Because she is, but it does not mean she's not special to me or to anyone else. Can we drop it now? What's the plan for tonight?"
"Man, what a let down," Vincent leaned back into the water, exhaling. "We look for abandoned structures. If that creature took a child last month, it couldn't have been living out in the open without someone noticing. There has to be a cellar, ruins, or a cave nearby where it takes its prey."
"An underground den, you think?" Kei asked.
"Most likely," Vincent said. "I don't know but evil monsters always want somewhere dark. It's like all the evil things are drawn to it."
"Wait until you meet an evil person who pretends to be good," Kei said. "Let's tell Princess Yejin about this."
He pushed himself up out of the water and onto the bank, droplets running down his pale skin as he shook the water from his hair. Just as he reached for the linen cloth, a familiar voice called out from the bushes.
"Kei? Vincent? Are you down here?"
"Over here," Kei answered plainly, without thinking.
The willow branches rustled, and Princess Yejin stepped into the clearing holding a scroll. "Tsuyu's been looking for you two, she said—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
Her eyes went wide. Standing barely five paces away was Kei, shirtless and dripping in the sunlight.
"Argh!" Yejin spun on her heel, clapping both hands over her face, her ears burning red. "You idiot! You could've warned me!"
Kei tilted his head, genuinely puzzled. "What's wrong?"
"Put some clothes on! Right now!" she shouted, back still turned.
"I can't yet," Kei said, calm as ever. "I'm still wet. If I dress now the fabric will stick to my skin."
Vincent, still waist-deep, burst out laughing, slapping the water. "This is priceless! Princess, you should see his face—he has no idea why you're screaming!"
"Shut up, Vincent!" Yejin snapped, flustered. She took a breath to steady herself, eyes fixed on the trees. "I... came to give you an urgent update."
Kei dried his chest with a smaller towel. "You can turn around now. What happened?"
Yejin turned slowly, one hand half-raised just in case, cheeks still faintly pink. "A messenger wisp arrived from Lingwen Fortress. From the Mistress of Shengyowon."
Kei stopped drying his hair, eyes narrowing.
Vincent waded to the bank's edge, leaning in. "The Mistress? What did she want?"
"She wants you, Vincent, and Haein to travel to Lingwen Fortress once your assignment here is finished," Yejin said.
Vincent raised an eyebrow. "Really? Did she say why? Is she finally letting us into the vault?"
"She didn't explain," Yejin said. "The message was short — you'll find out when you get there. I wanted to ride with you, but my father's given me orders. We only have three days left on patrol here. Once that's up, the Shogun wants me back at Goryeong Fortress."
"What about the rest of the Blood Rose?" Vincent asked, pulling his trousers on behind a bush.
"Tsuyu's taking the main division to reinforce Hokaishin," Yejin said. "So she can't travel with you either. Once we regroup on the mainland, I might ask Yul to escort you there."
Vincent pulled his coat on and stepped back onto the grass, grinning. "Don't worry about us, Princess. We're renowned heroes now, remember? We can manage the trip."
Yejin smiled despite herself, the last of the redness fading from her cheeks. "True enough. You two brought down southern commanders. Just be sure to meet us at Hokaishin once your business with Mistress Lizhan is done."
"Understood," Vincent said.
She turned to leave, but Vincent remembered something and called after her. "Wait, Princess, do you know of any caves or old tunnels on this island?"
Yejin paused, thinking. "I couldn't say. I haven't explored the interior much — my patrols mostly cover the coastline, watching for pirate skiffs and southern ships."
"Ah. Thanks anyway," Vincent said, scratching his chin.
"Don't look so disappointed," she said, waving a hand. "I'll send Tsuyu to meet you — she knows the island better than I do."
Vincent's face brightened. "That would help a lot. We'll head back to the barracks. Send her our way."
"I will," Yejin said with a nod. She shot Kei one last half-amused glare before heading down the trail toward the village.
Kei finished fastening his cloak, then checked his daggers into their sheaths. "Let's go."
They returned to the garrison, where the courtyard was quiet except for a few soldiers cleaning gear. Inside the main hall, Tsuyu stood near the weapon rack, checking the fletching on a bundle of arrows. She set them down and crossed her arms as they approached.
"Lady Yejin says you're asking about underground places on Baoahong," she said, straight to the point.
"We are," Vincent confirmed. "We think whatever took that boy might be hiding in a cave or an old cellar. Know of anything like that?"
Tsuyu nodded. "There's one place I know. Decades ago, before the navy built the coastal watchtowers, pirate raids were far worse. The villagers dug a shelter into the rocky ridge near the northern woods — somewhere to hide women, children, and food stores whenever black sails appeared."
"Is it still used?" Kei asked.
"No," Tsuyu said. "Once the Crown ordered the defense development on this island and that the towers went up, they stopped using it. Parts of it have collapsed over the years, and most young people don't even know it's there."
"Can you take us there?" Vincent asked.
"I can," Tsuyu said, fastening her short sword to her belt. "Follow me."
They left the village behind, past the terraced fields and into the dense woods bordering the northern hills. The trail soon vanished under dead leaves and tangled weeds, the trees growing close enough to block most of the light and cool the damp soil beneath.
After twenty minutes climbing uphill, Tsuyu stopped at a steep, moss-covered limestone outcrop.
At first it looked like solid rock. But when she pushed aside a curtain of vines and fern branches, a narrow, jagged opening appeared in the stone — barely wide enough for a man to slip through sideways, so well hidden by roots and brush that anyone walking even a few steps away would never notice it.
Kei stepped up to the entrance, his eyes narrowing as he peered into the black tunnel beyond.
Vincent smiled. "This must be what we're looking for," he said.