The following morning was far too bright for what lay hidden beneath it.
Sunlight passed through the tall windows of the mansion and illuminated the main hall, reflecting on the polished floor. It was beautiful. Comfortable. Far too silent. The kind of silence that does not mean peace, but waiting.
I woke up early, before everyone else. Not out of discipline, but because my mind simply refused to rest. Scarlet's words still echoed. "Dangerous to those who like to control things."
I dressed slowly and went down the stairs. The mansion seemed larger when empty. Each step echoed, reminding me that this place had not been built for people like us. Not originally.
In the kitchen, I found one of the maids already awake, arranging the breakfast table.
"Good morning, Mr. Takumi."
It still felt strange to hear that.
"Good morning," I replied. "You don't need to call me that."
She smiled politely but did not correct herself. Some things did not change just because I wanted them to.
I took a cup of coffee and went out to the garden. The air was fresh. The flowers were far too well cared for a group that, months ago, shared a cramped room in a noisy inn.
"You woke up early."
I turned. Elara was coming along the stone path, her hair loose, a tired expression on her face.
"You too," I replied.
She sat beside me on the wooden bench. We stayed silent for a few seconds.
"Since the tournament," she finally said, "everyone expects something from us."
"I know."
"Before, they only expected us to take missions. Now… they expect decisions."
That hurt more than any wound.
Liriel and Vespera appeared shortly after. Rai'kanna showed up soon after, still clearly bothered by the recent events. Lyannis remained at the entrance of the garden, observing without interrupting.
It was strange. Even together, there was an invisible tension. Not between us, but around us.
"I received messages from the guild," Vespera said. "Requests for support. Mediation. Some guilds want our opinion on internal disputes."
"Opinion turns into influence," Liriel commented. "Influence turns into responsibility."
I took a deep breath. "And responsibility turns into a target."
No one disagreed.
We decided to go into the city. Not as adventurers on a mission, but as citizens. We wanted to feel the real atmosphere, outside the meeting rooms.
The streets were crowded, but people's behavior had changed. Before, we were just another group passing by. Now, whispers arose. Gazes lingered longer than usual. Some waved. Others simply watched, as if memorizing our faces.
In front of a tavern, we heard a conversation abruptly stop when we passed.
"They think we don't hear," Rai'kanna murmured.
"They think we are always paying attention," Elara replied.
We entered the guild shortly after. The environment was restless. Representatives of various races argued in small groups. The mission board was almost empty. Large missions were being postponed. No one wanted to move without knowing which side the others were on.
The guild master called us into a side room.
"This is spreading fast," he said. "You won the tournament. That broke an old balance."
"A balance based on fear?" I asked.
"Based on predictability," he replied. "Now, no one knows how far you can go."
"Neither do we," Vespera said.
He nodded. "That's what scares them."
We stayed there for a while, listening to reports, rumors, names that were beginning to appear far too often. No direct enemy. No clear threat. Only movements.
When we left, Scarlet was waiting for us outside.
"They confirmed more things," she said. "Some guilds are being pressured to take a stand against Vaillor."
"By whom?" Liriel asked.
Scarlet shrugged. "Still no one important enough to show their face."
We returned to the mansion in the late afternoon. The sky was heavy, clouds slowly gathering.
At night, we gathered everyone in the hall. It wasn't a strategic meeting. It was something simpler. We needed to align what we were now.
"I don't want this to turn us into something we're not," I said. "We are not an army. We are not rulers."
"But we are strong," Elara said. "And that changes the way the world uses us."
"Or tries to use us," Vespera added.
Rai'kanna crossed her arms. "If someone tries to push us into a war we didn't choose, I won't accept it."
"Neither will I," Liriel said.
The consensus was simple. We would not act under pressure. We would not move out of fear. And above all, we would not sacrifice who we were to maintain a status.
Later, already in the bedroom, lying on the far-too-large bed, I thought about everything that had changed.
My name now carried weight. Expectations. Consequences.
Before, I only needed to survive. Now, I needed to choose.
I closed my eyes, knowing that that stretch of calm was coming to an end. Not with an explosion, but with something far more dangerous.
The attention of the world.
And, at that moment, I understood that the next conflict would not be won by strength alone.