By the time Kael and Rhea returned to Branch Director Halren’s office, the atmosphere inside had changed considerably.
Several appraisal reports were spread across the desk, each carrying the Guild’s verification seal, while the Deepheart Crystal Kael had casually offered as an entrance fee earlier was now sitting inside a padded wooden case as though someone feared even breathing too heavily near it.
Halren gestured toward the chairs opposite him.
“We’ve completed the preliminary appraisal.
The Deepheart Crystal can be purchased directly by the Greyhaven branch, along with the silver mineral you provided.
The remaining materials will require more extensive evaluation.
A few are rare enough that I would prefer specialists from the regional branch to confirm them before giving you a final price.” Kael had no objection.
He had collected those things over the years without any particular purpose, and whether they remained somewhere in the Hollow Depth or inside a Guild warehouse made little difference to him.
“How much for those two?” Halren stated the amount.
Rhea immediately looked toward Kael.
Kael looked back.
“Do I need that much?” “You currently own nothing.” Kael considered the statement and found no flaw in it.
“Then probably.” The transaction was completed shortly afterward.
Most of the payment was placed into a Guild-backed account connected to Kael’s temporary identification, while a smaller amount was given to him in physical currency.
Rhea took it upon herself to explain the denominations as they left Halren’s office, starting with copper before moving through silver and gold.
To her surprise, Kael understood everything immediately.
“So one gold is a hundred silver, and one silver is a hundred copper.” “Yes.” “And that meal earlier was six copper.” “Yes.” “The entrance fee was twelve.” “Exactly.” Kael nodded.
“Simple.” Rhea stared at him.
“You understand all that?” “I understand numbers.” “Then why were you going to pay twelve copper with a Deepheart Crystal?” “I didn’t know what the crystal was worth.” Rhea stopped.
That was annoyingly reasonable.
Her master was apparently not incapable of understanding money.
He simply possessed absolutely no understanding of what normal things cost, which might actually be more dangerous considering the collection of rare materials he had described as shiny stones.
Before they left the Guild, Halren offered Kael temporary accommodation in one of the rooms maintained for visiting hunters and officials.
It was a practical solution, particularly while Kael’s registration was being processed.
Kael listened before looking at Rhea.
“Where are you staying?” “My house.” “Alone?” “My housemate is on an expedition.” Kael nodded.
“I’ll stay with you.” Rhea stared at him.
Halren became very interested in one of the documents on his desk.
“Master, you can’t just decide you’re living in someone’s house.” Kael thought about that.
“Can I stay?” Rhea’s mouth opened.
He had technically corrected the problem immediately.
She sighed.
“Yes.” “Problem solved.” Rhea had the uncomfortable suspicion that this would not be the last time Kael solved one of her objections by taking it completely literally.
They left the Guild soon afterward.
Walking through Greyhaven with Kael was an unusual experience.
He did not stare at the city like someone seeing civilization for the first time.
He understood shops, streets, workshops, inns, and markets without needing explanations.
What caught his attention were smaller conveniences.
A public bathhouse earned a longer glance than Greyhaven’s defensive walls.
A bakery interested him more than a monument standing in the central square.
He stopped outside a tailor long enough for Rhea to ask whether something was wrong.
“Clothes.” “What about them?” “I should buy some.” Rhea looked at what he was wearing.
His clothes were clean enough, but they were simple and had clearly been repaired several times.
“You only have those?” “I have others.” “Where?” “Hollow Depth.” Rhea waited for more.
None came.
The strange thing was that Kael never behaved like someone unfamiliar with human society.
He knew what everything was.
He simply reacted like someone who had not needed any of it for an extremely long time.
That thought stayed with Rhea until they reached her home.
The house stood on a quieter street away from Greyhaven’s central market.
It was small, consisting of a main room, kitchen, two bedrooms, and a narrow training yard enclosed behind the building.
For a Silver-ranked hunter, it was respectable without being luxurious.
Rhea opened the spare bedroom.
“You can use this.” Kael entered.
There was a wooden wardrobe, a small table, and a bed.
Kael stopped.
Rhea watched him sit on the mattress.
Then he lay down.
Several seconds passed.
“Master?” Kael stared at the ceiling.
“I’m keeping this.” “The bed?” “Yes.” “It’s part of the room.” “Good.” Rhea leaned against the doorway.
“When was the last time you slept in a bed?” Kael became quiet.
That silence lasted long enough for Rhea’s expression to change.
Eventually he sat up.
“A while.” Rhea had already learned that a while could mean something deeply concerning when Kael said it.
She decided not to investigate yet.
Dinner became considerably easier now that they were inside Greyhaven.
Rhea purchased fresh vegetables, meat, spices, and bread from nearby shops, while Kael contributed by carrying the bags despite repeatedly claiming he could simply be in the house and market simultaneously.
Rhea refused.
She still had not recovered from seeing three of him around a campfire.
While the stew cooked, Kael sat near the kitchen table.
He eventually asked, “Why are you a hunter?” Rhea looked over her shoulder.
It was the first personal question he had asked her.
“I needed work at first.” “That’s all?” “At first.” She stirred the pot before continuing.
“My family isn’t important.
No famous bloodline, no powerful hunters.
My father repairs agricultural equipment in a town south of Greyhaven, and my mother runs a small shop.
I came here because hunters could earn more in one successful expedition than I could make in months back home.” Kael listened without interruption.
“I was decent at it,” Rhea continued.
“Better than I expected.
I reached Silver faster than most hunters who registered around the same time.” “But?” She glanced at him.
“You knew there was a but?” “There usually is.” Rhea smiled faintly.
“I’ve been stuck for almost two years.
My techniques improve, but slowly.
Every instructor tells me the same thing.
Keep practicing, strengthen my circulation, gain more experience.” “And then you saw me.” “I saw you kill something our entire team couldn’t injure.” “So you asked a stranger to become your master.” “When you say it like that, it sounds stupid.” “It was.” Rhea pointed the wooden spoon at him.
“It worked.” Kael considered that.
“Also true.” Rhea lowered the spoon.
“I didn’t actually know whether you’d teach me.” “Neither did I.” Her hand tightened around the spoon.
For one dangerous moment, she seriously considered throwing it.
Kael looked amused.
After dinner, they moved into the training yard.
Rhea expected another correction to her striking technique.
Instead, Kael said, “Forget it.” She blinked.
“Forget what?” “Your technique.” Rhea stared at him.
“The technique I’ve practiced for six years?” “Yes.” “No.” Kael shrugged.
“Then keep doing it wrong.” Rhea’s eye twitched.
“What’s wrong with it?” “You built habits around mistakes.
Fixing the strike doesn’t fix everything before the strike.” He stepped closer and touched her shoulder.
“You tense here before you begin moving.
Your hip compensates.
Then your leg changes position to compensate for your hip.
By the time the force reaches your weapon, you’ve corrected one mistake with three more.” Rhea slowly lost her irritation.
Nobody had ever described her technique that way.
“How can you tell?” “I can see it.” “You mean from watching?” “No.” Kael pointed toward her chest, then her shoulder and leg.
“I can perceive the force moving through you.
Muscles too.
Joints.
Breathing.
Balance.” Rhea became still.
“Inside my body?” “Yes.” “Through my clothes?” “Obviously.” Rhea stared at him.
Then another thought occurred to her.
“What if I’m behind a wall?” “Doesn’t matter.” “A concealment technique?” “No.” “A barrier?” “No.” “What if someone has an ability specifically designed to hide?” “No.” Rhea narrowed her eyes.
“What if some ancient law prevents you from sensing what’s inside?” Kael thought about it.
“No.” She stared at him.
“Is there anything you can’t see?” “Things outside the range.” That answer was considerably more frightening than Rhea had expected.
Before she could ask how large that range was, Kael continued.
“Tomorrow, basics.” Rhea looked offended again.
“How basic?” “Standing.” “I know how to stand.” “Badly.” “Master.” A knock sounded from inside the house.
Rhea stopped.
Her expression changed.
Kael had already perceived the visitor before his hand touched the door.
A young man stood outside wearing expensive hunting clothes beneath a dark coat.
His equipment was considerably better than anything Rhea owned, and the pressure surrounding him was stronger than Daren’s.
Rhea sighed.
“Garron.” “You know him.” “Unfortunately.” She returned inside and opened the door.
Garron Vale entered with obvious relief.
“Rhea.
I heard you returned.” “I’m fine.” “You disappeared for days.
Half the Guild thought your team was dead.” “We nearly were.” His expression softened briefly before his attention moved past her.
Kael had returned to the table and was finishing what remained of dinner.
Garron’s eyes narrowed.
“Who’s he?” Rhea already knew this conversation was going somewhere unpleasant.
“My master.” “Your what?” “Master.” Garron examined Kael.
He sensed nothing.
No pressure.
No recognizable strength.
Nothing that explained why Rhea would call him master.
“You took some unknown man as your master after nearly dying?” “He saved us.” Garron looked unconvinced.
He stepped farther inside.
“You’ve had a difficult expedition.
You’re exhausted.
We can discuss whatever happened tomorrow.” Rhea’s expression hardened.
“There’s nothing to discuss.” Garron ignored that and looked directly at Kael.
“You.
Leave.” Kael continued eating.
Garron’s jaw tightened.
“Did you hear me?” “Yes.” “Then get out.” Kael finally looked toward Rhea.
“Do you want me to leave?” “No.” Kael returned his attention to his food.
“Then no.” Garron stared at him.
A faint pressure began spreading through the room as the strength of a Gold-ranked hunter emerged around him.
Rhea noticed immediately.
“Garron.
Don’t.” He misunderstood the warning completely.
“You don’t know who this man is, Rhea.” “Neither do you.” “I’m trying to help you.” “No, you’re trying to decide things for me again.” Garron’s expression darkened.
He stepped toward Kael.
“Do you even know who you’re speaking to?” Kael’s spoon stopped halfway to his mouth.
Rhea closed her eyes.
Of all the sentences Garron could have chosen, he had somehow selected one that sounded almost perfectly designed to annoy her master.
Kael looked at him.
“No.” Garron’s mouth curved slightly.
Kael continued before he could speak.
“Did your mother forget to tell you?” The room became completely silent.
Rhea slowly opened her eyes.
Garron’s face had frozen.
Kael calmly took another bite of stew.
Rhea looked between the two men and suddenly realized that she was no longer worried about what Garron might do to Kael.
She was worried about whether she could convince Kael to leave enough of Garron intact to walk home.