"Welcome, travelers!"
A thin man stepped forward, he had lazy eyes and a calm smile. "You've come at the perfect time. The feast is about to begin."
"The feast?" Sol repeated with his brows raised.
"Yes," the man said, spreading his arms dramatically. "To celebrate The Silence."
Axel frowned. "This doesn't sound very silent to me."
The man chuckled softly. "That's the irony, my friend. We celebrate noise, laughter and life before the silence takes it away."
Before he could continue, Garron stepped forward with his horse, clearly uninterested in festivities.
"We're not here for a feast," he said flatly. "We're here for orders. Tell me the directions to the city hall?"
The man's smile faded slightly, as if disappointed.
"Ah, always business before pleasure. Take the west road until you reach the plaza. The city hall is the large stone building located next to the plaza. You can't miss it."
"Good." Garron gave him a curt nod and motioned for the others to follow.
They walked through the crowded streets, passing stalls covered in colored cloth, spices, and banners announcing The Silence festival.
The air smelled like roasted meat and sweet pastries.
When they reached the town hall, the large doors were open. Revealing polished floors and banners marked with the city's crest.
And inside, a woman sat behind a long marble counter with papers stacked around her.
Garron approached her and said, "We're looking for this city's Lieutenant. I'm escorting this group from the Belmon University for their assignment here."
The secretary didn't even look up from her writing. "The lieutenant isn't available today."
Garron frowned. "Then when will he be?"
"Tomorrow," she replied dryly. "He's attending to border matters. You'll have to return in the morning."
Sol leaned closer to Axel. "Guess our grand mission will have to wait."
Garron sighed and turned to the group. "You heard her. Go explore the city today but be here at sunrise tomorrow."
As the group stepped outside, the warm afternoon light hit them again. Noor folded her arms. "So we have to wait? That's it?"
"Seems like it," Axel said. "He's the one with our mission details."
Achie rubbed his stomach. "Good that he isn't here, because I'm starving."
"Same," Noor said with a small grin. "Let's find somewhere to eat."
They asked around and everyone they spoke to mentioned the same thing. The annual cooking contest that took over the streets.
Dozens of food stalls lined the roads, filled with aromas so rich it was almost overwhelming.
"Looks like we've found our food," Sol said, eyeing some pastries.
"Don't eat too much, we still gotta find a dinner spot," Noor responded to him.
But something caught Axel's attention. A small stand near the corner, where a young blonde boy with glasses stood nervously behind his counter. Unlike the other stalls, his was empty.
Axel tilted his head. "Weird. No one's eating from that one."
Noor shrugged. "Maybe his food's bad?"
"Only one way to find out," Axel said, already walking over.
The boy looked up, startled as Axel approached. He couldn't have been more than sixteen or seventeen.
Just a bit younger than Axel, with bright blue eyes behind his glasses and a chef's apron that was too big for him.
"Hey," Axel said. "You're not getting much business, chef."
The boy gave a sheepish smile. "Yeah… I'm trying to make it to the next round of the city's cooking contest. But, uh… no one really wants to try my food."
Axel peered over the counter. "What are you making?"
"Sweet pastries," the boy said, holding one up carefully. "It's a recipe I've been working on for months."
Axel picked one up and took a bite without hesitation. The sweetness hit perfectly, soft inside and crispy on the outside, with a light citrus glaze. He blinked in surprise.
"This is actually amazing."
The boy brightened. "You think so?"
"Definitely," Axel said as he tossed a gold coin onto the counter. "Keep the change."
The boy shook his head quickly. "But it's much more than—"
"Keep it," Axel replied with a smile.
The boy looked down, mumbling, "Thanks… but in this contest, taste isn't enough. The judges also look at how many people buy your food. That's part of your score."
Axel grinned. "So the more sales you get, the better your chances?"
"Exactly."
"Well... let's fix that."
Before the boy say anything, Axel turned toward the crowd and shouted, "HEY! You guys have to try this! Best thing I've had all day!"
Heads turned. People hesitated at first, but curiosity quickly won. Within seconds, a small crowd formed around the boy's stall.
The aroma did the rest. Laughter, chatter and the sound of coins hitting the counter filled the air.
The boy looked stunned.
Axel smirked. "Now I expect to see you in the finals."
The boy's face lit up as more customers arrived. "I'll make sure I do! Thank you!"
Axel waved it off and walked away, weaving back into the busy street. When he spotted the others, things didn't look peaceful.
Achie had his fists clenched, standing face-to-face with a stall owner, while Noor tried to calm him down.
Sol was standing in between them, one hand on Achie's chest and telling him "By the grace of God,Achie, it's not worth it."
Axel rushed over. "What's going on?"
Noor looked frustrated. "We tried some cookies from this guy's stall. When we asked the price after, he said "one gold coin each."
"That's robbery!" Achie shouted, glaring at the vendor. "He's a damn thief!"
The stall owner slammed his fist on the table. "You ate them, you pay! Don't waste my time!"
Axel sighed, stepping forward. "How much do they owe you?"
"Three gold coins," the man repeated.
Axel tossed three coins onto the counter. "There! Problem solved."
Achie froze, jaw tight. "You didn't have to do that."
"It's fine," Axel assuered him. "It's not worth getting in trouble over."
Achie looked at him sharply. "Money's the most important thing in the world. You don't just throw it away."
"Money is the second most important currency in the world," Axel responded.
Both of them stared at him. "What would that be?" Sol asked.
Axel smirked faintly. "Never mind. The point is, we're a team now. My money is your money."
They all blinked in disbelief. Noor tilted her head. "You're serious?"
"Why are you all so surprised?" Axel asked, amused.
Sol chuckled and tapped him on the back. "That's my brother for yah."
Axel smiled faintly, while recalling Hector's words: to survive beyond the walls, you'll need to build trust between each other.
Then he turned to Sol and asked, "Aren't you going to do the same? You got prize money too for placing in the top five, didn't you?"
Sol sighed. "Yeah... everything is gone. As my punishment they wiped everything. No captain's disciple, no rank, no credits."
Axel blinked. "So you're broke?"
Sol grinned. "Completely."
They laughed together as the sun began slowly to set, painting the streets gold. The smell of food still lingered in the air, and music echoed faintly from the plaza.
Later at that same street, the contest judges walked between the stalls to grade the last few competitors.
When they reached the boy's booth that Axel helped, he stood proudly behind his now-empty trays with just one pastery left for the judges.
One of the judges tasted a piece and nodded. "Excellent. With this amount of sales and quality... You will be moving to the next round."
The boy bowed deeply. "Thank you very much, sir."
The crowd began to disperse and as he cleaned up his stand, three other participants that were much older approached him.
"Hey," one said coldly. "You're not from this city, are you?"
The boy froze up. "No. Why?"
The man sneered. "Then you shouldn't be competing in this cooking contest."
Before the boy could respond, one of them grabbed him by the collar and dragged him into a nearby alley.
"You think you can just walk in here and participate?"
The boy said nothing. His glasses had slipped down his nose, eyes hidden behind the glare.
"Say something!" another hissed, raising his hand.
But before it could land, his body froze mid-motion… and then his body went up in flames and turned to ash, disintegrating into a pile of gray dust.
The other two stumbled back, eyes wide with horror. The boy calmly pushed his hair back and his friendly smile was now gone.
His eyes glowed faint red beneath the fading light. His voice was cold and detached.
"This," he said softly, "is more like it... The look on your faces makes my day."
The men trembled. "Who… who are you?"
The boy tilted his head, while his lips turned into a creepy smirk. "Your worst nightmare."
He moved faster than they could react, placing a hand on each of their shoulders. And just like that, their bodies turned into a pile of ashes aswell.
The alley went silent as the boy adjusted his glasses, brushed the dust from his sleeve and stepped back into the street.
His calm and innocent expression returning as if nothing had happened.
"Let's move to the next stage"