Cael heard them before he saw them.
Boots scraped against stone outside the library—heavier than yesterday, slower, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of fatigue carried proudly. He looked up as Jin, Bo, and Ren stepped inside.
They looked awful.
Dust streaked their robes. One sleeve had been torn clean at the seam. Ren's forearm was wrapped tightly in cloth already darkened with dried blood. Bo's steps were careful, measured, like every movement had to be negotiated with his body first. Jin still had a tangle of gray fur stuck stubbornly near his collar.
But they were smiling.
"We survived," Bo announced, dropping onto a bench with a groan.
"Barely," Ren muttered, rolling his shoulder. "And only because we listened to you."
Jin bowed deeply, then hissed as the movement pulled something sore. "Benefactor Cael," he said solemnly. "Patron Saint of Not Getting Gored."
Cael waved his hands quickly. "I just pointed you toward books."
"No," Jin said, straightening slowly. "You pointed us toward the right ones."
Bo leaned forward, eyes bright despite the exhaustion. "That footwork manual you told me to ignore the later chapters of? Saved my ribs."
Cael blinked. "How?"
"The first rabbit charged," Bo said. "Straight line. Horrifying speed. My instinct screamed to retreat." He shook his head. "But the manual drilled side-step compression. I moved inward instead of away."
Ren snorted. "Like a madman."
"And the horn skimmed past me instead of through me," Bo shot back. "If I'd dodged back, I'd be dead."
Ren tapped his wrapped arm. "Impact redirection for me. One clipped my side. Manual said don't resist—guide. I twisted with it."
He grimaced. "Still hurt. But the force spread. No break."
Jin nodded. "Breathing rhythm," he added quietly. "Once I synced with their charge cycles, I could predict when they'd commit. It was… strange."
Cael felt something warm settle in his chest.
It worked.
"You're coming to lunch," Jin said firmly. "You earned it."
The courtyard buzzed with noise and steam as bowls were set down. Midway through the meal, Jin slid a wrapped bundle across the table.
"Our share," Ren said.
Inside were cleaned horn shards, preserved rabbit feet, and a strip of cured fur.
"For your help," Bo added. "We argued about it."
"We lost," Jin said cheerfully.
He raised his bowl. "From today on, Cael is our group's unofficial benefactor."
Cael laughed softly. "That sounds dangerous."
Before anyone could answer, a sharp voice cut in.
"Which one of you submitted the mission report?"
A tall disciple stood beside the table, irritation written plainly on his face.
Jin frowned. "We did."
"The quartermaster flagged missing materials," the disciple said. His gaze dropped to the bundle near Cael's hand. Then lower—to Cael's plain robes. "Unauthorized distribution? To a servant?"
The air tightened.
The system stirred.
Embarrassment Event DetectedTrigger Type: Accusatory InterferenceTarget Count: 1Environment: Open Courtyard
System Actions Available:
A) Mild Procedural Awkwardness– Brief social discomfortRewards:• Embarrassment Value +1• Slight Mental Composure Gain
B) Noticeable Accidental Humiliation– Public, plausible mishapRewards:• Embarrassment Value +5• Technique Insight Fragment (Minor)• Slight Physical Conditioning
C) Broad Social Mishap(Restricted)– Multiple witnesses affectedRewards:• Embarrassment Value +8• Technique Progress Boost (Locked)
Cael glanced at his friends—tired, proud, unyielding.
He chose.
Option B.
Option Selected: BExecuting system action…
The disciple stepped forward, lifting a hand to gesture—
—and his heel clipped a broom leaning carelessly against the bench.
The handle snapped upright.
The bristles smacked him square in the face.
"GAH—!"
He staggered back, foot tangling in his robe, bowl flipping as soup cascaded down his chest. He hit the ground hard, breath leaving him in a wet cough.
Silence.
Then an elder stepped out from behind him.
Broom in hand.
Smack.
It struck the back of the disciple's calf.
"AH—!"
Smack.
Higher. Sharper.
"You stand in a public courtyard," the elder said evenly, "making accusations you don't understand."
Smack.
The disciple yelped and tried to hop away. The broom hooked his robe and yanked him back.
"I—I joined the sect so I wouldn't get hit anymore!" he wailed, tears spilling freely now. "My dad said elders wouldn't whoop me like he did!"
Smack.
"Your father lacked discipline," the elder replied.
Smack.
"And follow-through."
Smack.
The disciple curled inward, sobbing. "I should've stayed home—at least he stopped after five—!"
The elder paused.
Then delivered one final, perfectly measured strike.
Smack.
"Leave."
The disciple fled, crying loudly, robe crooked, tripping twice before escaping the courtyard.
For three full seconds, no one spoke.
Then laughter erupted.
Elders turned away, shoulders shaking. One stared intensely at the sky. Another coughed far too hard.
The system chimed softly.
Embarrassment SuccessfulSeverity: Moderate
Rewards Granted:– Embarrassment Value +5– Technique Insight Fragment (Minor)– Slight Physical Conditioning
Bo was still laughing so hard he had to brace himself on the table.Ren wiped tears from the corners of his eyes, face aching.
Jin lifted his bowl, grin wide and utterly shameless.
"To joining a sect," he said solemnly, "thinking cultivation makes you untouchable—"
He tipped the bowl slightly.
"—and finding out elders hit harder than fathers."
The table erupted again.
Cael lowered his gaze, smiling faintly as he lifted his own bowl.
No one blamed him.No one suspected him.
They only remembered soup, a broom, and the universal truth that some lessons were best delivered with a firm hand.
And Cael returned to his meal, just another servant—
quietly becoming something more.