Scene 1
"Madam Caretaker."
The Red Witch bowed the instant my presence finished resolving.
Good instincts.
I let my attention pass over her without pause and settled it instead on the boy behind her.
The Twenty-Fifth Night.
Baam stood quietly among the rookies, posture straight, expression neutral. He didn't bow. He didn't stare. He simply registered me—felt the difference in standing and adjusted without panic.
The softness people mistook for innocence thinned into awareness.
Acceptable.
"I apologize for the lack of a proper greeting," Hwa Ryun said evenly. "These are rookie Regulars. They aren't aware of who you are. If you'd prefer, we can relocate to a location better suited to your tastes, Madam."
I waited a breath.
The Tower didn't require my voice to understand ownership.
"No."
The word settled into the floor like a seal.
"This place is mine, young one."
Routes tightened. Possibility collapsed into compliance.
"I've come bearing a message," I continued. "From Lord Crow."
The name altered the room—not fear, but recognition. Even those who didn't understand why felt it.
"He's requested that supplies be delivered to the hidden sections of the Twenty-Seventh Floor."
Hwa Ryun reacted immediately, as expected.
"Madam," she said carefully, "those sections are sealed by abandoned and tribal routes. Without proper Eyes, uncharted traversal—"
I shook my head once.
"This is not an Eyes problem."
That single correction reframed everything.
This wasn't a request.
It was a measurement.
"Consider it a test," I said. "If you can reach the Ice Ogre entrance, someone will guide you the remainder of the way. To me."
Ice Ogre.
A gate disguised as a location. A permission-bound threshold. Not something foresight alone could force open.
Baam remained silent behind her.
Good.
He was learning when adults spoke.
"Upon success," I continued, "I'll provide formal training."
The air shifted again. That promise carried weight—even among those who didn't understand why.
"And Crow," I added, because omission would have been dishonest, "remains under your guidance."
Hwa Ryun straightened slightly.
Then I finished the thought.
"He is too volatile for you to handle alone."
No accusation.
No criticism.
A fact acknowledged by the system.
I tapped my staff once.
The floor didn't open.
It folded.
The Twenty-Fourth Floor swallowed me whole, collapsing my presence into the hidden arterial paths Caretakers used—leaving no residual route, no mark, no guide-thread to follow.
Clean.
Efficient.
I didn't look back.
Hwa Ryun would understand what had been done.
The Workshop was approaching.
And she would not ignore a test issued by a Caretaker.
Especially not one involving Crow.
Scene 2
We stepped into a side room away from the rookies. The moment the door shut, the air felt tighter—less noise to hide behind.
"Baam," Hwa Ryun said immediately, "focus on making it through your test. I'll handle the request from Lord Crow."
She said it like the route was already decided.
"If Crow needs something," I said carefully, "then I want to help. It's only right."
She turned as if the conversation was over.
Heat rose in my chest.
I closed the door with my hand before she could leave. The click sounded louder than it should have.
"This is a discussion," I said. "Not a 'listen to orders' moment. You of all people should be glad I'm trying to do more."
She turned slowly and looked me up and down—not like a teammate, but like a Guide deciding whether a piece was finally learning to move.
"This is not a discussion," she said flatly. "There isn't anything you can do here concerning supplies."
My fists tightened.
"This isn't fighting," she continued. "It's logistics. Hidden routes. Permissions. Time. And this team already has more issues than trying to solve a supply chain."
It stung because I couldn't argue with it.
My shoulders lowered.
Then a name surfaced—one Crow had mentioned casually before, like it was normal.
"Yuri Ha," I said.
Hwa Ryun paused.
"The Princess of the Ha Family," I continued. "If anyone can move supplies into places we shouldn't be able to reach, it's her."
I held her gaze without blinking.
For a moment, she said nothing.
Then—just barely—her mouth curved.
Not a smile.
A confirmation.
"Then I'll leave you to it, Young Master Baam."
She bowed once, opened the door, and left like my resistance had been expected all along.
I exhaled, pulled out my pocket, and opened a secure channel.
My fingers hesitated.
Then I sent the message.
Scene 3
She arrived like the Tower had been waiting for her.
Not with spectacle—Yuri never needed it—but with that subtle shift in the air that made everyone nearby aware they were no longer the strongest presence in the room.
"Nope."
She didn't even let me speak.
"If you want my help," Yuri said lazily from the couch, "then me and Evan tag along."
Hwa Ryun stood a few steps away, irritation tightening her posture. Yuri noticed immediately and grinned wider.
"Neither of you has the supplies," Yuri continued, "or the time to get them if you're aiming for the Workshop. And last I checked, neither of you can afford my favors."
Her eyes flicked past me.
"So I'm charging the one this is actually for."
Hwa Ryun's eye narrowed. "You mean Crow."
"Obviously," Yuri replied. "If Crow wants this done fast, Crow pays. You're just the button I had to press."
Evan cleared his throat.
"That's why two Guides are better than one, Red Witch. He's already been claimed by your Elders. We Silver Dwarfs have no claim unless we want a repeat of the Navigator War."
Yuri blinked.
I blinked.
"…Navigator war?" she asked, genuinely confused.
Hwa Ryun cut in sharply.
"Lady Selena is in charge of Crow. I was never worried about you stealing our charges like you did with the Ten Heads."
Evan's face went red.
"And Lord Crow," Hwa Ryun added calmly, "doesn't want a man following him into Shinsoo pools to judge him."
Evan muttered, "You bastard."
Yuri laughed like she'd just been handed a gift.
I stepped back.
My role was finished.
Yuri and Hwa Ryun would handle the politics, the routes, the supplies. Evan would handle navigation. Crow would pay whatever price Yuri decided was appropriate.
I turned toward the door.
"I'm going to train," I said quietly.
No one stopped me.
Because even with everything moving, I still had a test to pass.
And Crow still had something waiting beyond the Ice Ogre entrance.