Everyone just froze, staring at them.
Noah took a step forward, a bit protective, not sure if this was really the right place for Eri.
"Cool?" one of the guys with huge tattooed arms repeated, grinning.
And in a split second, the hall exploded back into noise again.
"Of course it's cool! Wacht this!" another shouted, punching his buddy in the shoulder—suddenly a new fight broke out.
The crowd went right back to their chaos, while Eri, completely unafraid, started walking toward them like a curious child.
Noah stood there frozen, reaching out to stop her—but she was already gone.
She was way too excited to stay still.
One of the men, whose left eye was completely white with no pupil, threw an arm around Eri's shoulders and pulled her closer into the crowd. "Come on, kid! Let's see what you've got—how about a little fight, huh?"
The whole crowd cheered in agreement for no reason at all—and honestly, Eri looked like she was totally fine with it too.
Now Noah was sure this was a terrible place for her.
She got impressed way too easily.
But before she could start doing anything stupid, Noah rushed in.
"What the hell do you think you're doing with her? She's just a kid!" he snapped, stepping between them and pulling Eri out of the man's grip.
Making sure she was safely behind him, he glared at the one-eyed man, who was still grinning like an idiot. "We're just here to see Bigbro!"
The one-eyed man shrugged and pointed toward the last room at the end of the hall. "Boss is in there."
As soon as their short exchange ended, Noah realized Eri was no longer behind him.
'...Come on!'
He quickly scanned the noisy hall—and spotted her standing by a crowded table.
A bald guy with a wide grin was slowly pushing a giant foamy mug of beer toward her.
Eri, smiling ear to ear, grabbed the mug with both hands.
But before she could even lift it, Noah's hand slammed down on it.
"You're not drinking this, Eri!" he warned, glaring at the men who had dared offer such trash to a kid.
He grabbed her firmly by the arm and pushed his way through the crowd toward Bigbro's room.
He couldn't even tell how many damn races were crammed into this place.
After fighting through the chaos, they finally reached the door—only to be stopped by a massive orc blocking the entrance, his gray, stone-like skin marked with a deep, earthen red.
The sudden presence of him made Noah flinch.
He would've sworn—absolutely sworn—that when he'd looked toward the door from a distance, the orc hadn't been there.
Then he saw it—the orc's Shadow Nexus... So even a giant orc could wield shadow concealment…
"One person only," the orc said flatly, standing there like a wall.
Noah glanced between Eri and the wild crowd behind her.
Yeah... Worst possible idea to leave her alone here—even for a second.
"Damn it…" he muttered under his breath, then gave Eri a sharp look. "No eating, No drinking, No punching anyone! For the love of angels, don't move till I'm back!" He begged, then finally walked in.
Eri stared at the orc by the door for a moment, wondering why he didn't even blink once.
Eventually, she gave up and turned her attention to a nearby table—where a thin but well-built man sat a little away from the crowd.
She noticed his weird, spiky pink hair, and—out of pure curiosity—poked one of the spikes with her fingertip.
When it pricked her and drew a drop of blood, she just stared at it wide-eyed. "How's it so sharp?"
The man chuckled softly. "I'm a hedgehog Arkin." His voice was calm, gestured to the seat beside him. "You guys heading to Valkani, right?"
Eri quickly sat down, surprised he already knew. "How'd you know, Mr. Hedgehog?"
"You're a Nameless." He pointed to her right wrist. "We've seen thousands like you. Took them to different lands. Not that rare for us."
.
.
When the door closed behind Noah, the noise from the hall instantly faded. Silence filled Bigbro's office.
Before taking another step, Noah scanned the room carefully.
Unlike the chaos outside, this place was clean and surprisingly organized—shelves packed with documents and maps, a giant world map pinned to the wall, and a ship model beside it.
A massive desk sat in the middle, with an oversized chair turned away from him, hiding whoever sat there.
Noah walked closer. Everything here was bigger than usual—and suddenly, he understood why they called him Bigbro.
He braced himself, ready to face some massive, intimidating figure as the chair turned around—
"Are you the one they call Big—bro—" Noah froze mid-sentence.
He blinked several times, trying to process what he was seeing.
Sitting in the chair was… a dwarf.
A dwarf with a giant X-shaped scar across his face.
Bigbro clasped his hands together. "So, what dragged you all the way down here, young man? You running from The Honoring? Or you got a Nameless in your care?" His tone was firm, but not cold.
Noah crossed his arms, unimpressed by the Bigbro's size or title. "Doesn't matter. Just tell me the price and the terms for getting to Valkani."
Bigbro slid a paper toward him and leaned back. "For Valkani, a normal passenger's fare—including one meal a day—is ten thousand Ren. For a Nameless, it's double. And if you want a Code for her, it's triple."
Noah picked up the paper, eyes widening at the rows of zeros. Thirty thousand Ren for Eri alone?! Together, that'd be forty thousand total!
For someone whose entire travel funds were only ten thousand—which V had already robbed—it was insane.
'If this isn't a scam, what is it?' he thought, jaw tightening.
"Listen, kid," Bigbro said sharply, snatching the paper back. "Before you start whining about prices, let's get something straight. Moving people across borders is already dangerous. And most folks who come here are 'Fleds'—fugitives, criminals, or people hunted by the Severan Legions. You think we risk our lives for free? Every single Ren we ask for, we earn it. So? You paying or not? Decide fast—we're leaving tomorrow!"
Noah clenched his fists, looking down.
He'd already lost this plan before it began.
The knights had flooded all of Arindor, searching for Eri—and there was no way he could gather that much money in time.
.
.
The door swung open, and Noah stepped out, his head still spinning, desperately trying to think of another way to reach Valkani.
But the moment he noticed Eri missing, his thoughts vanished.
He looked toward the hall—and there she was, surrounded by a cheering crowd.
Eri was holding a massive sword with both hands, the blade so heavy its tip scraped the floor.
With the men around her shouting encouragement, she tried to lift it—struggling, her face red with effort. After one huge swing, she managed to lift it up—only for the weight to throw her completely off balance. The sword fell backward, its tip slamming into the floor behind her as Eri bent back awkwardly, still gripping the hilt with both hands, trying to pull it forward again.
Noah had absolutely no idea what she was doing—or why the idiots around her were screaming like this was the greatest show on earth.
He stormed over, grabbed the back of her collar, and started dragging her straight through the crowd. "Coming here was a terrible idea!"
Eri blinked, startled, but didn't resist.
As Noah pulled her away, she waved cheerfully at her new 'friends'. "Bye, guys! See you later!"
The men yelled back goodbyes, protests, and a bunch of nonsense words as the two made their way to the exit.
Before they left, the hedgehog Arkin reached out, handing Eri her cloak and a small dagger.
"Keep this, might come in handy someday," he said with a kind smile, waving goodbye.
Noah narrowed his eyes at the guy, and quickly dragged Eri out of that insane place, slamming the door behind them.
He exhaled deeply—only to look up and see the endless staircase waiting for them.
"Ugh… This is ridiculous…" he groaned, already exhausted just thinking about climbing all those damn stairs again.
-
Harold sat in the corner of the cell, his back against the wall. Everything was dark, thick with dust and silence.
After what felt like hours of being alone, a familiar voice suddenly echoed down the narrow corridor.
"What the hell did you do?" the King's furious voice roared through the dungeon. "I told you to bring them to the palace, not arrest them! Give me that damn key!"
Hearing that voice, Harold instantly jumped up and rushed to the bars. "Rick?" he called out desperately.
The King's angry footsteps approached fast. Without hesitation, he unlocked the cell.
"I can't believe the idiots I have working for me," the King muttered. "Harold, I'm really sorry. Those fools went too far."
Harold stepped out of the cell, letting out a long sigh of relief. "It's alright. I knew it had to be some kind of mistake."
.
.
They started walking side by side, the King leading him from the dark prison toward the bright hallways of the palace.
It became clear that Rick had only wanted to meet Harold's family, but the soldiers—still holding grudges from the past—had twisted his order on purpose to torment Harold, the former commander of the Royal Guard.
It was pure spite and old bitterness. Or… maybe there's some other scheme going on under the surface…
Rick stopped in front of a room and gently placed a hand on Harold's shoulder. "Try to stay calm, alright?"
Harold looked at his old friend's sad face, feeling dread rising in his chest.
"Rick… what's wrong?" he asked, his mind already racing through terrible possibilities.
The King couldn't answer.
He just opened the door and stepped aside, letting Harold enter first.
Harold hesitated for a moment, then quickly walked inside—
—and froze.
There was a double bed in the middle of the room.
On the right side lay Rosita, her eyes closed.
On the left side knelt a young light elf girl with Life Nexus—and a metal collar around her neck.
She was pressing a small cloth to Rosita's chest, and faint light was shimmering through it.
Because of the Code, girls could only use about half of their energy. So to heal Rosita, the girl used a piece of Life Crystal cloth as a medium to channel more power.
The moment Harold and Rick entered, the girl quickly snatched the cloth away, jumped off the bed, and bowed deeply to the King.
When Harold saw his wife lying unconscious, his breath caught.
"W-What happened?" he gasped, rushing to the bed.
The King glanced at the girl and nodded, giving her permission to speak.
The girl nervously clutched the cloth in her sweaty hands and lifted her head just a little.
"S-She was wounded by a Shadow Blade," she stammered, then looked down again, her voice trembling. "T-The wound wasn't deep, and even though it was near the heart, it… it didn't cause any serious damage. S-She took the antidote for Shadow poison right away, so… her heart and lungs weren't harmed. But... but the antidote was pure and strong, s-so it'll take a while before she wakes up…"
When she finished, the King gently patted her shoulder. "Thank you, Five. You can go now."
Without a moment's delay, Five darted out of the room.
Of course, she wanted to stay with her masters—but since they'd asked her to help the King, she didn't have much choice.
When she left, the King made sure the door was shut and then walked toward the bed.
"Five's a slave to the nobles," the King said, sitting down in the chair beside the bed. "She's still young, but talented. So don't worry. If Five says Rosita's fine, then she is."
Harold held his wife's hand tightly, his eyes never leaving her face. "I see... I guess calling a doctor wasn't an option anyway."
He was right.
If someone was injured by a Shadow Knight's blade, it meant the Knights had already marked that person for death.
No doctor would ever dare to treat them.
The King leaned forward, looking at Harold. "So, are you going to tell me what exactly made the Shadow Knights turn against you?"
Harold hesitated for a long moment, then finally sighed.
Yeah… it was time to admit it.
At the center of all this—was his daughter, Eri.
.
.
Rick had his head in his hands, already feeling a headache coming on. "So you're telling me… Eri randomly found your house, and before the Knights arrived, you handed her over to your Guardian to take her to the border?"
Harold nodded.
Rick shook his head slowly—he'd already figured it out. "It wasn't random. I bet the man you called 'V'… Master Valdrik was the one who led her to your house."
Harold gave him a puzzled look, totally lost. "Master Valdrik? Wait—V's a slave trader?"
"Not a slave trader," the King said seriously. "When I say Master, I mean it literally—Master Valdrik."
Harold blinked several times—then his eyes widened in shock. "You—you're joking, right?
But Rick was dead serious—not a hint of humor in his face.
That alone made Harold fall silent for a long moment, his mind spinning. He started replaying every single thing he'd said and done around V, searching for even the tiniest moment of disrespect.
There's a rumor out there—that if a Master ever holds a grudge against you, the price is death.
And that was definitely the last thing Harold wanted.
"Don't you think we've got a bigger problem than some rumor?" Rick crossed his arms. "The antidote for Shadow poison... you're not in the black market, so how the hell did Rosita even get her hands on that?"
"I'm not sure… but," Harold squeezed Rosita's hand gently—their wedding rings glowed faintly, and a thin thread shimmered between them. "But I can feel it —she's grateful to someone."
Rick frowned. "Someone? Who?"
-
Captain Lu's group—and the small unit of ten that joined them last night—were all standing outside the inn, getting ready for departure.
As usual, Arindor's weather had started shifting early, growing warmer by the hour.
The sun was sharper today, the air heavier.
Anyone had already ditched their cloaks and armor, left only in thin shirts and their swords strapped to their belts.
Of course, Aro wasn't one of those people—and since Eri had stolen his cloak, he'd proudly claimed Eric's cloak as his 'spoils of war' last night in the room.
Now, under Arindor's blazing heat, he honestly looked like an idiot who'd volunteered to suffer in hell.
One of the knights beside Lu was checking the list, organizing the group while Lu—half-asleep—stared blankly at the ground.
He clearly hadn't slept at all last night—mainly because he hadn't even entered his room.
Maya quietly approached from behind, trying her best to look like a random passerby heading in or out of the inn.
Aro's gaze caught her—
Right then, Maya lunged forward, darting behind Lu.
A dagger flashing in her hand.
Less than a second, blood began dripping onto the ground.