The map was no longer just parchment and ink; it was a diagnostic chart, and the Barony was the patient. Kaito's finger traced a route from Whitepeak City, a slow, deliberate circuit that would take him through the most likely epicenters of magical contamination. He would start with the most pressing, most "normal" seeming threats to maintain his cover.
His plan was simple, elegant in its duplicity. He would return to the guild in the morning and select a C-rank quest, something that would justify his rapid ascent from the wolf pelts. Perhaps a report of a rogue Earth Elemental disturbing a mine in the foothills—a perfect excuse to use his Terrakinesis openly and investigate the geological stability of the region. From there, he could move into the Murkwood under the pretense of hunting a corrupted Treant, allowing him to study the effect of the mana surge on flora. Each step would be a legitimate advancement in the eyes of the guild, while secretly being a reconnaissance and cleanup mission for himself.
This was the new rhythm of his existence. A dual life, lived in the stark contrast between the guild's brass rankings, the silent truth of his nature.
As he stood to leave the quiet tavern, a shadow fell over his table. It was one of the City Watch, but not the Castellan this time. This guardsman had the weary look of a man who had been given a tedious, specific task.
"Kaito, the adventurer?" the guard asked, his tone bored.
Kaito nodded, a coil of tension tightening in his stomach.
"Lord Valerius's compliments. He requests your presence at the keep at your earliest convenience tomorrow morning. He has… questions regarding the mutated fauna you encountered north of the city." The guard delivered the message as if reading from a shopping list, then turned and left without waiting for a reply.
The message was a stone dropped into the still pond of his plans. The city's ruler, the man responsible for its defense, now knew his name and had connected him to the anomaly. This was no longer just Seraphina's academic curiosity. This was the attention of the state. What would he ask? How much did he suspect?
[The attention of local governance was an anticipated variable. Recommend maintaining the "Pacification Specialist" narrative. Divulge only the directly observable facts of the wolf encounter.]
[I know,] Kaito thought back, the weight of the coming interrogation settling on him. He was prepared for magical scrutiny, but the cold, logical scrutiny of a politician was a different kind of challenge.
He paid for his meal and stepped out into the twilight. The city was settling into a wary quiet, the day's fears tucked away behind closed shutters. As he walked back towards the Oakwood Lodge, his heightened senses picked up a flicker of movement in a narrow alleyway. He paused, his hand instinctively tightening on his staff.
There was no threat. It was Seraphina. She wasn't following him; she was already there, leaning against the wall as if waiting for the night air. Her robes were a deeper shade of blue in the dim light, making her seem like a piece of the falling night itself. She made no move to approach him, offered no greeting. She simply watched him walk past, her expression unreadable.
But her presence was a message as clear as the guard's had been. She was watching. She was waiting. She knew the threads were connected, and she was patient enough to see where they led.
Kaito entered his room and closed the door, leaning against it for a moment. The four walls, which had felt like a sanctuary hours before, now felt like the edges of a stage. He was at the center of a web, that much was true. But he was beginning to realize that he might not be the spider. He was the fly, and the real spiders—the sharp intellect of a mage, the calculating mind of a ruler—were just beginning to take notice. Tomorrow, he would have to dance for the Castellan. And he had to be perfect.
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An Audience with the Castellan
The Castellan's study was a monument to weary pragmatism. There were no trophies of war or gilded ornaments, only maps weighted down by river stones, towering stacks of ledgers, and a single, functional sword resting on a stand by the large oak desk. Lord Valerius himself looked as if he had been carved from the same weary wood. He did not rise as a guardsman ushered Kaito in, merely gesturing to the simple chair opposite him.
"Kaito. Thank you for coming," Valerius began, his voice a low, measured baritone. He picked up a report from his desk—Kaito recognized Lyra's neat script on it. "Your guild filing is... sparse. 'Pacification Specialist.' A rare title. And your first official quest netted you not only mutated pelts but a soul core from a creature that, by all rights, should not possess one." He set the paper down and steepled his fingers, his gaze direct and unnervingly calm. "Explain."
It was not a request. It was a command from a man used to having them obeyed. Kaito felt the weight of the city in that gaze.
[Maintain narrative. Focus on observed behavior, not causation.]
"The pack was not normal, my lord," Kaito began, keeping his voice even. "They moved with a coordination beyond beasts. Their leader exhibited signs of... magical affinity. It projected a wave of force. I subdued it by disrupting its connection to that energy. The rest of the pack lost their will to fight." Every word was true, yet a lie by omission.
Valerius listened, his expression unchanging. "You disrupted its connection. A fascinating skill. And where, in your professional opinion, did this 'connection' come from? My mages tell me such mutations take generations in a high-mana zone, or exposure to a catastrophic magical event."
The question was a trap, laid with bureaucratic precision. Kaito could feel the walls of the study closing in. "I cannot say for certain, my lord. The energy was wild, unstable. Like a poison." This, too, was true. It was the poison he had spilled across the land.
Valerius leaned back, his chair creaking. "A poison. An apt description." He picked up a different document, this one bearing the royal seal. "Reports from across the Barony are... concerning. Blighted crops that withered in a day. Livestock giving birth to twisted young. And now, aggressive fauna evolving in a matter of weeks." He looked from the document to Kaito. "You appear to have a unique talent for finding the epicenter of these disturbances, Adventurer. Or perhaps for causing them."
The air left the room. Kaito's adaptive immortality was useless against an accusation. He could only meet the Castellan's gaze. "I am here to help, my lord."
For a long moment, Valerius said nothing, his eyes searching Kaito's for a flicker of deceit. Finally, he sighed, a sound of profound exhaustion. "I believe you are. Or, at least, you believe you are." He gestured dismissively. "The Crown is... preoccupied. The war with the Monster King drains our true strength. That leaves men like me to handle the oddities and the aftermath. Consider yourself deputized, in an unofficial capacity."
Kaito blinked. "Deputized?"
"Keep doing what you're doing," Valerius said, turning his attention to a new ledger. "Take your quests. Climb your ranks. But when you find these... pockets of poison... you will report the details directly to me. Not the guild. Is that clear?"
It was not a request. It was conscription. The Castellan was turning Kaito's own secret mission into his intelligence network. He was being used, but in a way that perfectly aligned with his own goals.
"Perfectly clear, my lord," Kaito said, rising.
"Good. Dismissed."
As Kaito walked out of the keep, the morning sun felt colder. He was no longer just an adventurer or a warden. He was now an agent of the state, bound to a man who saw him as a useful, if suspicious, tool. The path to A-rank was now paved with official scrutiny. Every step he took would be watched by two sets of eyes: one of brilliant, sapphire curiosity, and the other of weary, calculating grey. The web was tightening, and he was dancing faster than ever.,