The first thing I noticed was that people were looking at us differently.
It wasn't immediate or exaggerated. No applause or shouting. It was more subtle than that. A brief silence when we passed by. Gazes that lingered too long. Conversations that stopped in the middle of a sentence.
The world had started to watch us.
We left the mansion right after breakfast. There was no mission scheduled, but I wanted to go to the guild in person. Something inside me said that staying still was not a good idea. Liriel walked beside me, calm as always, but attentive to everything. Elara seemed overly cheerful for someone who also felt that tension in the air. Vespera kept her eyes forward, serious.
When we crossed the city's main gate, I was sure it wasn't my imagination.
"They're whispering," Elara murmured, not hiding a small smile. "It's about us, isn't it?"
"It is," I replied. "But it's not pure admiration."
Liriel nodded. "It's expectation."
The guild was more crowded than usual. The kind of movement that doesn't happen by chance. When I pushed the door open, several heads turned at the same time. Some adventurers stared at us without disguise. Others looked away far too quickly.
The attendant swallowed before speaking. "Takumi. You arrived early."
"We didn't come to take a mission," I replied. "We just wanted to… feel the atmosphere."
He let out a nervous laugh. "Then you've already felt it."
I leaned on the counter. "What are they saying?"
He hesitated for a second. Then sighed. "That you defeated three great demon generals. That you are the most dangerous group in the kingdom. That wherever you go, the war follows soon after."
Elara frowned. "Three?"
"You defeated one directly," he explained. "And you were involved in the fall of two others indirectly. The stories grew."
Vespera crossed her arms. "Stories always grow."
Liriel asked quietly, "And what else?"
The attendant lowered his voice. "That the King is watching you closely. And that other kingdoms are as well."
That echoed in my mind.
We left the guild shortly after. Outside, the sun was shining too brightly for such a heavy day. We walked without direction for a while, until we reached a smaller square, far from the center.
"I don't like this," Elara said, sitting on the edge of a fountain. "When we were just adventurers trying to pay off debts, everything was simple."
"It was hard," I corrected.
"But simple," she insisted.
Vespera agreed. "Now every step we take carries meaning."
I looked at the three of them. At the group that started by sharing a bad room in some random inn. At the group that almost died countless times. At the group that now had a mansion, titles, and too many eyes upon them.
"Do you regret it?" I asked.
Liriel answered first. "No."
Elara shook her head. "Not for a second."
Vespera took longer. "No. But that doesn't mean it isn't dangerous."
We returned to the mansion in the middle of the afternoon. A messenger was waiting for us at the gate, this time wearing the kingdom's colors. He handed over a sealed document and left without saying much.
I opened it right there.
It wasn't an order. Nor a request.
It was a polite warning.
The Royal Council was aware of our growing influence. The King remained grateful. But also attentive. As were other eyes that did not sign letters.
"Now it's official," I murmured. "We are no longer just adventurers."
Elara laughed without humor. "We are pieces."
I spent the rest of the day restless. I walked through the corridors, went up and down the stairs, watched the city from the top of the mansion's tower. Everything looked small from up there. The people, the streets, the rooftops.
"Is this how it started for the others?" I thought. "With this feeling of being watched?"
At night, we had dinner together, as always. We spoke little. Not out of discomfort, but out of exhaustion.
When I finally lay down, I felt the weight of the day fall over me all at once. The lights were put out. Silence took over the room.
I closed my eyes.
And that's when the world decided to speak to me.
The dream came heavy, dark. There was no clear landscape. Only a deep emptiness, like a hall without end.
A voice echoed, deep, ancient.
"So it is you."
I tried to move. I couldn't.
"You have already defeated some of my generals," the voice continued, far too calm. "The world is beginning to call you a hero."
A chill ran down my spine.
"Do not think that this means anything," the voice said. "The path ahead is still long. Very long."
The presence drew closer, even without a visible form.
"When we truly meet," it concluded, "I want to see if you will still have that confidence."
I woke up suddenly, my body covered in sweat, my heart racing.
The room was dark. Silent.
But the feeling remained.
The world was watching.
And something much greater had just noticed me.