The common room was noticeably busier than it had been the previous evening, the space hummed with energy. Word of Veylan's swift capture had traveled fast through the streets of Reka, and while most of the patrons weren't openly broadcasting the gossip, Shion caught scattered fragments of their conversations the second she stepped through the door. Merchants huddled over ink-stained ledgers and tankards of ale, weary laborers claimed the wide tables nearest the roaring hearth, and a pair of caravan guards loitered by the entrance, loudly debating the safest trade routes heading eastward. The rich, savory aroma of thick stew drifted heavily through the air, mingling with the scent of fresh-baked bread and roasting meat.
Shion spotted Eren almost immediately, tucked away at a table near one of the large windows overlooking the street. The former guard had a half-empty mug sitting in front of her and appeared thoroughly entranced by the evening crowds shuffling past outside. Eren noticed her approach and shook her head in disbelief before Shion could even pull out a chair.
"You actually spent the entire afternoon reading," Eren noted.
"Mostly," Shion replied, setting the book she carried down on the wood before taking a seat across from her.
Eren sighed, leaning forward. "I still don't understand how someone voluntarily chooses to do that."
"Let me guess. You spent your afternoon staring at buildings," Shion countered dryly.
"That isn't the same thing."
"It seems remarkably similar."
"It absolutely is not," Eren protested, but before she could launch into a full defense of her sightseeing, a serving girl arrived at their table with some hesitation. She quickly took their orders and vanished back toward the kitchens, leaving them to the background noise of the tavern. Tankards slammed against heavy tabletops, wooden chairs scraped across the old floorboards, and someone over by the hearth erupted into a laugh loud enough to draw half the room's attention.
Eren eventually leaned back in her chair, watching the ambient chaos. "I think I finally understand why people like traveling."
Shion glanced up from the table. "You didn't understand it before?"
"I understood it in theory," Eren admitted, resting an elbow on the table. "But now? I just spent an entire afternoon doing absolutely nothing useful, and somehow, I thoroughly enjoyed it."
That managed to earn the faintest hint of amusement from Shion. Eren spent the next several minutes eagerly detailing her day—not because Shion had pressed for details, but simply because she genuinely wanted to talk about it. She rattled on about the sharp-eyed elderly fruit seller who had instantly clocked her as an outsider, the street performers drawing crowds near the plazas, and how she'd nearly collided with several pedestrians because she was too busy staring at the rooftops instead of watching where her boots were landing.
The conversation drifted back toward the city gates. "The inspections are still causing absolute chaos," Eren said, shaking her head. "The lines stretching outside the walls are enormous."
"Still?" Shion asked.
Eren nodded. "There were merchants waiting in the dirt whenever I passed close a gate."
"Somebody is clearly unhappy."
"Try several hundred people," Eren said, which finally coaxed a slight smile out of Shion. Eren's expression softened slightly as she looked back out the window. "The guards looked completely exhausted. There must have been three different relief groups rotating through while I was standing there."
Shion watched her closely. "You miss it?"
The question caught Eren entirely off guard. She went quiet, genuinely weighing the thought in her mind for a moment. "A little," she admitted, pausing before she added, "But honestly, less than I expected."
Shion accepted the answer with a quiet nod, offering no further comment as their food arrived. The timely interruption gave them both a welcome excuse to stop talking for a bit. The stew was thick, piping hot, and filling, packed tight with root vegetables and more than enough meat to satisfy a traveler's appetite. A basket of fresh, dense bread followed immediately after. The innkeeper clearly understood his clientele; mercenaries rarely gave a damn about elegant presentation—they cared about portions.
Once they had eaten enough to finally take the sharp edge off their hunger, Eren nodded toward the leather-bound book resting beside Shion's bowl. "So, did you actually learn anything useful in there?"
"A few things," Shion said.
"That's disappointingly vague."
"It depends entirely on what you consider useful."
Eren pointed her spoon threateningly across the table. "Don't start."
Shion casually tore off a thick piece of bread from the loaf. "The military texts were useful."
" I should have guessed you'd say that." Eren replied immediately.
"There was a chapter specifically discussing how conventional infantry formations adapt when fighting hostile mages."
That immediately caught Eren's professional attention. Her spoon lowered. "I didn't know there were actual formations for dealing with magic."
"There are formations for almost everything," Shion replied.
"That sounds thoroughly miserable to drill."
"It probably was." Eren let out a brief laugh at that, prompting Shion to continue. "The magic books, however, were more interesting."
"Interesting how?"
"Most of the authors completely disagreed with each other."
Eren chuckled, shaking her head. "That sounds significantly less useful."
"It was," Shion agreed, taking a drink from her cup. "One author spent three entire chapters arguing that raw mana naturally seeks out structural patterns. The very next author spent an entire volume explaining exactly why that theory was complete nonsense."
"And which one was actually right?"
"I have absolutely no idea."
"How comforting," Eren muttered.
"It gets worse."
Eren groaned aloud. "Oh no."
"The rune texts were slightly easier," Shion explained, wiping her hands. "Mainly because they assumed I already understood basic geometry. The alchemy texts, on the other hand, assumed I understood what could be traded."
That finally made Eren pause, her eyebrows knitting together. "Traded?"
Shion nodded grimly. "One of the books argued that every single transmutation has an inherent, inescapable cost."
"Well, that makes logical sense."
"The author never bothered to explain who exactly decides whether the cost you pay is enough."
The silence that settled over the table lasted only a few seconds, but it felt much longer. Eren slowly set her spoon down against the wood. "That sounds like the sort of thing I'd rather not experiment with."
"Agreed," Shion said simply.
They both returned to their meals, letting the topic rest. Around them, the ambient of the common room was uninterrupted. Nobody in their right mind nearby seemed remotely concerned with mysterious alchemical exchanges, ancient runes, or the unseen metaphysical principles governing the universe. Most of the folks in the tavern were entirely focused on the immediate realities of hot food, strong drink, and securing a warm, dry bed before the morning sun came up.
After a while, Eren looked up from her empty bowl again. "So, what exactly do alchemists do all day if nobody actually understands the rules?"
"They write very expensive books," Shion deadpanned.
The blunt answer caught Eren completely by surprise. A sudden laugh escaped her lips before she could clamp a hand over her mouth. Shion waited patiently for her to recover before driving the point home.
"And then," Shion added, "they argue with each other. I read two specific authors who spent nearly forty pages bitterly disagreeing over the proper preparation of a basic healing compound."
"Forty pages?" Eren asked, incredulous.
"Approximately."
"That sounds infinitely worse than listening to a bunch of city guards argue over minor patrol regulations."
"It probably is."
Eren shook her head, tearing off another piece of bread. "Every single time I learn something new about scholars, I become drastically less interested in ever becoming one."
"I don't think that was ever a realistic risk for you."
"No," Eren smiled, popping the bread into her mouth. "It wasn't."
From there, the conversation wandered aimlessly without any real direction or purpose. They spoke casually about the local market, laughed about the absurdly overpriced equipment neither of them could hope to afford, debated the ridiculous cost of enchanted weaponry. And whether they were prepared enough for tomorrow's task.
Outside, the last bleeding traces of twilight finally disappeared beyond the pitched rooftops of Reka. Inside, the common room only grew louder and denser as more travelers filtered in off the dark roads. Shion reached for another piece of bread while Eren turned back toward the window, watching the lanterns appear one by one along the street.