"Brother Kiyeri!", the woman with the bun stepped forward, stretching out her arms for a hug.

"Sister Mia,“ Kiyeri replied with the same gesture. Immediately after that, he turned to the second woman, also hugging her “Sister Elanta."

Of course, they were not sisters, neither to Kiyeri nor to each other. The Solarians used this form of address everywhere, to acquaintances and strangers, with and without names, and sometimes even to their own parents, an extremely strange culture for foreigners. When Kiyeri visited there for the first time, he was sure for a long time that they had simply forgotten his name.

"So, what winds blew the brothers and sister to south?", Mia asked.

"We came to the harvest festival." Kiyeri pointed to the noisy crowd below.

Mia looked at Kiyeri from head to toe "Ah, I see, I see, you really look great, brother."

"Where‘s Ashiya?" Ruki interrupted.

Everyone started looking around, the younger Sun Elanta gasped “What? Ashiya here as well?”

Mia didn’t miss the opportunity. “And when was he alone?”  both of them started giggling.

And indeed. All potential Sigil Bearers were sent to the Kingdom of the Sun several times a year to deepen their knowledge, where they met these sisters. The Solarians found it very funny to see how Kiyeri struggled to take care of and discipline two royals who followed him everywhere. He seemed to be always exhausted.

Seyre was overcome by a feeling of shame and turned away from those giggles.

Kiyeri tactfully waited for the laughter to die down, “Ashi went away for a moment, he promised to return soon.”

“Great! Have you stayed somewhere yet? Our group bought out the entire inn not far from here, if it’s convenient for you, we can continue our chat there.” Mia invited.

"Our inn is a bit further, but we'd be happy to join you, we can start with lunch.", Kiyeri said and at the exact moment, he saw Ashiya climbing the stairs, wrapped in a new black cloak carrying a matching one in his hands. After a quick hug with sisters, he handed the cloak to Kiyeri without saying a word. Kiyeri wrapped himself up, "Thank you."

After Mia showed the direction, everyone walked towards the inn, chatting about old times. Kiyeri discreetly exchanged glances with his people, reminding them subtly to choose their words carefully.

All the troubles of the Moon Kingdom were naturally a secret from the neighboring regions. If word spread about such problems in the military mana division, other countries would quickly find a way to take advantage of the situation. Although the Sun Kingdom maintains the best relations with them and even has open borders, such information cannot be revealed even to them. Even if a decision were made to ask the Soliarians for help, such decisions are not for this group to make on their own.

Sitting at the table in the inn, everyone ordered. Some had wine, some had snacks, and some were really hungry. Amidst the meaningless chatter, Kiyeri was waiting for an opportunity to ask more important questions without being noticed, but suddenly he remembered - he had never arranged the Sigil. Only when he thought about it, at the most unfortunate moment, Mia asked, "So tell me how the ceremony went. You are holding it on the equinoxes, it will soon be a year. We haven’t received any news. The delegation is eager to arrive and congratulate the newly elected."

Kiyeri‘s brain was working overtime, he let out a demonstrative sigh, "Everything went almost smoothly, but the palace is still undergoing reconstruction. Due to the lack of materials from the east, all work is delayed, in this condition we cannot receive guests, so the invitations were not sent out, but as soon as everything is finished, we will definitely call you."

The excuse was pulled from the ass. While traveling, Kiyeri had heard about the floods in the east that had washed away entire regions, and how much inconvenience everyone was experiencing with the halted trade and skyrocketing prices. Plus, repairs are not a common topic among diplomats, who, according to Seyre and Dali, avoided talking about the ceremony with foreigners at all, so this story would work, at least for a while.

"Ah, of course. Then, we will wait for invitations for the official part, and for now, an informal friendly greeting." Both Mia and Elanta stood up and bowed low to the group, resting their arms across their hearts. The Moon people were of course familiar with these traditions and returned the gesture.

"So, show your Sigils, come on!", Mia urged the assembled crowd, waving her hands happily.

Ashiya suddenly took the initiative, slowly unbuttoning the top of his tunic, thus showing the others to cooperate and buy time for Kiyeri. After showing the Fire Sigil, which looked like a flaming moon, he spoke to them with a few more sentences, sharing his impressions. The other participants looked at each other, apparently realizing that the previously planned cover had somehow failed.

The next in the spotlight was Seyre, who, unbuttoning his shirt, showed a circle with a rhombus in the center - the earth Sigil, and also began to discuss the effectiveness and challenges of his new abilities.

Kiyeri’s palms began to sweat, but he tried his best not to show it on his face. He and Ashiya exchanged glances, still hadn't figured out how to get out of the situation. The circle was there, but inside it the grilles, which symbolized metal, was missing. Thoughts flew like lightning, but none struck true. Any excuse not to show the mark - or a sudden exit with Ashiya - would look suspicious.. The Solarians are very sensitive to energy, if Kiyeri tried to forge a marking here, they would immediately catch it.

In the meantime, it was Dali's turn, he opened the front of his bleached tunic, revealing the Sigil of Life: a circled curve, similar to a vine. But he didn't think it was necessary to talk about it.

As if reading Kiyeri's thoughts, Ruki "turned on" the embarrassed girl mode and began to fidget, not wanting to show even a bit of naked skin when people were sitting around them at other tables. The Solarians laughed at this, but they didn't intend to offend the young lady and suggested that they go to a corner of the inn and hide themselves there quietly. They all stood up and stepped back.

Kiyeri's thoughts went blank, his mind was white, completely white. He was lured to go to the Sun Kingdom, but his own goal was to speak to the most important Sun Sigil Bearer privately, without an official invitation, without revealing his intentions to his other colleagues. But if he showed these sisters what he was wearing so openly in front of everyone, the plan would fail, everyone would run away and Kiyeri would never get this chance again.

While Ruki kept up the act of being a delicate girl in the corner, the men's eyes locked on Kiyeri, silently urging him to do something.. Kiyeri gritted his teeth and grabbed the most convincing idea. Approaching Ashiya, he whispered in his ear, to which the latter responded with a look of annoyance. Realizing that there was no time to argue, Ashiya pulled Kiyeri's collar and put his hand in, placing his fingers in the center of the circle. Immediately after this, he instructed the other two to stand in a circle as if something had happened. At the same time, Kiyeri drew his dagger and cut his palm with it, then exchanged glances with Ashiya and nodded.

Ashiya burned the grid in Kiyeri's skin with one hand, and with the other hand, he grabbed the wrist of that injured palm sending a small amount of energy as if "accidentally". Thus masking the true purpose.

The sisters had already finished admiring Ruki, but she kept them in the corner chatting. As soon as they felt the use of mana, they both turned around and saw the men huddled around Kiyeri and rushed over.

Before they could reach the crowd, the burning was finished and Kiyeri sent mana to both places at once, his chest and his hand. The sisters jumped up to him, asking what happened. Ashiya watched the healing grid closely, if he didn't stop the healing in time, everything would be in vain. After a moment, he nudged Kiyeri and he immediately stopped healing the mark. Turning to Ashiya, he received a nod of approval.

"It‘s okay, I held my hand in the wrong place when I pulled out the dagger, I must have drunk too much wine, - explained Kiyeri, laughing awkwardly, but his already pounding heart suddenly dropped to his heels when he realized, "THE SMELL".