Durman walked steadily beside Ruki as they headed toward the merchants’ guild. The city bustled around them; the sound of metal against anvils faded away, gradually replaced by the incessant murmurs of merchants haggling with their customers. Ruki, frowning, arms crossed, showed obvious discontent.

— Ruki — I can’t believe you didn’t attend the meeting, Durman. The Marquis and the temple representatives aren’t ones to tolerate any snubs.

— Durman — I had more urgent matters — he replied without stopping walking.

— Ruki — More pressing matters! More important than the stability of our guild? — Durman sighed and glanced at Ruki out of the corner of his eye.

— Durman — I don’t see the city falling apart because of my absence.

Ruki gritted his teeth, but chose not to continue arguing. The two continued in silence until they reached the merchants’ guild.

Sena’s office was illuminated by the dim morning light, casting long shadows on the walls lined with shelves filled with books and documents. In the center of the room, an elegant dark wooden table held a steaming tea set. Around it, Sena, her sister Selene, and Tor, the adventurers’ guild master, conversed quietly while waiting for Durman’s arrival.

When the door finally opened, Ruki entered first, followed by Durman, who, despite his bulk, walked lightly. As soon as he sat down, recriminations about his absence from the meeting with the marquis and the church quickly began to arise.

— Sena —Because I’m not surprised to see you here, Ruki — she said with a crooked smile — But tell me, Durman, what could have been so important as to ignore a meeting of such caliber?

— Durman — Something I can’t ignore. — Tor crossed his arms.

— Tor — So if Durman doesn’t want to talk, Sena, why did you call us? —

The atmosphere changed when Selene, who had remained silent until then, placed a small artifact on the table. It was a piece of crystal intricately engraved with runes that emitted a faint blue glow.

“Selene—I received it last night from Hunt,” he explained without giving much detail. Durman, intrigued, took it and examined it closely.

— Durman — It’s a sound suppression device, — he said in amazement. — Only a Grandmaster of runes could have created it. — After a brief pause, he looked at Selene. — Do you know if Hunt knows someone named Neo? — he asked immediately. Selene shook her head confidently.

— Selene — We had a long conversation, but she never mentioned that name.—

Durman took a piece of paper and began to draw, attempting to replicate the iron-carbon diagram, explaining to everyone how it works and what properties can be gleaned from it. Tor, after silently examining the diagram, nodded gravely.

— Tor — This isn’t just blacksmithing. It’s something completely different from the blacksmithing we know. —

The conversation took an unexpected turn when Tor mentioned that Neo and Hunt’s physical descriptions matched those of two outsiders who had transformed the statue of Tolmas. A heavy silence fell over the room. Sena tried to downplay the theory.

— Sena — It’s just a coincidence. — He said before drinking some tea.

Ruki took the paper firmly and put it in his pocket for later.

— Ruki — Durman, you must go to the temple to ask the high priest for forgiveness and then go to the marquis’s palace to apologize.

With a brief farewell, he left with Ruki, leaving behind an air of uncertainty in Sena’s office. Resigned, Durman stood up. Inside the temple, the high priest greeted him with a stern look.

— Anita’s High Priest —Imagine having disrespected an envoy of Tolmas— He declared. —Would you simply apologize?—

Durman lowered his head in apparent submission, but in his mind he couldn’t help but think:

(— Durman — If this one… knew that an envoy of Tolmas was sleeping in my workshop, his stupid face would fall off. —)

After a long silence, the high priest nodded and reminded him of the importance of the balance between the guilds and sacred institutions. Finally, he urged him to fulfill his next duty.

Then, Durman and Ruki headed to the marquis’s palace. Upon arrival, they were led to a large hall where the marquis awaited them with a grim expression.

— Ignar Tervain — I hope you have a good reason for your absence —said the marquis coldly.

Durman maintained his composure.

— Durman — It wasn’t an act of contempt. It was a decision made for reasons I considered more urgent. —

The marquis regarded him with silent contempt before speaking again.

“Ignar Tervain,” he said, “I will accept your apology on one condition… I will allow you to forge an exceptional sword for my son. Consider this proof of your skill and loyalty. His birthday is in three days; I assume he will receive it for his banquet.”

Durman nodded seriously, understanding the magnitude of the task entrusted to him. He threw a wicked smile at Ruki.

==+-+H+-+==

After Selene said goodbye, I tried to contact Neo. Minutes passed as I stared at the ceiling, waiting for a reply. Seeing that more than half an hour had passed without any news, I rolled over in bed until I landed at the entrance to the subdimension.

After a quick shower, I checked the chat, but Neo still wasn’t responding. My gaze fell on the cupcakes on the table, and as I tried one, I noticed they tasted exactly like the vegan cupcakes I used to eat with my ex-girlfriend.

(If there’s no livestock in this world, what ingredients does this pastry have? I seem to remember that vegetable margarine uses coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil...)

While eating, I checked the level of the mana batteries and, on my way to the control room, I received a notification from Neo.

(●— I’ll read all your messages later, bro, but I’m going to sleep because I’m so tired. —)

(And who knows where he stayed to sleep...?)

My uncertainty didn’t last long. On the control room’s central screen, thousands of new entries appeared: nearly 100,000 people analyzed, over 100 new types of meat, tens of thousands of records about food and materials, a complete map of the city, and Neo’s last location.

Furthermore, the information on the individuals was organized. The last entries were for the owners of a house, the Blackforges. However, what surprised me most was a book Neo had scanned. It was a complete volume on runes, with thousands of his annotations, including corrections to documents I had created myself on rune use and carving.

(This bastard used quick thinking to analyze all this in less than 20 minutes…)

Fast thinking is a dangerous technique; it can cause extreme headaches and, according to our hypothesis, even a stroke, although we haven’t confirmed this yet.

In addition to refining almost all of my rune notes, Neo had also designed a magical stove. Its functionality was impressive, good enough to be used, but its aesthetics left a lot to be desired. Simple round plates on a piece of wood? (Neo, you’re better than that.) But when analyzing the energy flow, something didn’t add up.

(Wait… this doesn’t make sense. Neo is transferring 100% of the mana energy into the steel plate with no losses. But that’s impossible. There’s no dissipation, no waste, nothing. It’s a total violation of the laws of thermodynamics. How the hell is he doing this? But look how dumb he is… Haha, he got a sign wrong. —)

I spent the next few hours reading all the rules in the guild’s rulebook and analyzing Neo’s new notes on runecraft.

==+-+N+-+==

When I woke up, the light filtering through the window told me it was already late. I sat up reluctantly, feeling my muscles numb, and shuffled out of the room.

In the dining room, Joan, Eliz, and Astrid were chatting. I rubbed my eyes and gave them a lazy look.

“What time is it?” I murmured, my voice still raspy. Joan turned her head toward me, her expression relaxed.

— Joan — It’s almost mid-morning. —

I nodded, without much haste, and sank into one of the chairs. He looked at me with a half smile and, without giving me a chance to say anything else, asked

— Astrid —Do you want something for breakfast? —

●— Yes, whatever there is — I answered without thinking too much.

The women slowly left the dining room and headed for the storeroom. I was left alone, silently eating the soup I’d reheated from the night before. It still had the same intense flavor, but a little more concentrated from the time it had stood, but I didn’t mind.

The kitchen door opened. Dalia appeared with a carefree expression, her hair messy but tied back in a messy bun with the help of a white ribbon. Her eyes scanned the table before settling on me.

“Dalia,” she called out, “Are there any apples left for breakfast?” She pushed open the door with her shoulder, but when her eyes met mine, she finished the question quietly. “Or are they gone?”

I didn’t know what to say. I felt strangely aware of the way he watched me eat. He bit his lip and, looking away, turned and disappeared behind the kitchen door.

When she returned, she’d already fixed her hair and was carrying a bowl of soup. She sat down as far away from me as possible, and without a word, the dining room fell into an awkward but curious silence. We continued eating, but not without that silly staring match neither of us seemed to want to admit to. Whenever I caught her looking at me, her eyes quickly shifted to my plate. Whenever she looked up, it was my turn to pretend I was interested in something else.

The moment was interrupted when Astrid returned, wearing a crooked smile that betrayed she’d seen more than she could handle.

“Astrid—“Am I interrupting something?” he asked, drawing out his words slightly.

Dalia and I tensed simultaneously. Astrid seemed amused, and without missing a chance, she crossed her arms, leaning forward slightly.

— Astrid — Wow, you’re all quiet. How about you come a little closer and start a conversation?

Before we could react, Astrid smiled mischievously and snapped her fingers.

— Astrid — Actually, I just remembered I need to pick up some things at the market. You two can come with me. —

It wasn’t an invitation, but rather an order disguised as a suggestion. Her playful tone had a firmness that left no room for refusal. Dalia opened her mouth as if about to protest, but Astrid had already decisively grabbed her wrist. Then, without much ceremony, she pushed me by the shoulder so I could stand up as well.

— Astrid — Come on, come on. I don’t take “no” for an answer. —

Dalia sighed in resignation. There was no escape. Astrid had caught us.