The day began with rain.
Not a violent storm, but that persistent, thin rain that seems to wash the city without hurry. From the top of the mansion's balcony, I watched Vaillor wake more slowly than usual. The streets shone wet, carts moved carefully, and the distant sound of conversations seemed muffled.
It was the kind of morning that matched how I felt.
After the tournament, after the victory, after the name of humans echoed throughout the continent… came the silence. A silence full of expectation, heavy like armor that has not yet been worn.
Behind me, I heard light footsteps.
"You didn't sleep well," Liriel said.
"Neither did you," I replied without turning.
She approached, resting her arms on the balcony railing. Her golden hair fell loose, still slightly damp from a recent bath.
"When we win something big like that, the world gets strange," she commented. "As if it's waiting for the next thing."
"I preferred when the next thing was just paying off a debt," I said.
She smiled faintly. "Me too."
Later, everyone gathered for breakfast. Elara was strangely quiet, moving her food around without much appetite. Vespera seemed restless, bouncing her leg, eyes attentive to everything. Rai'kanna sat a little apart, but not distant. It was as if she was trying to understand what her place was now.
"Messages arrived," Vespera said, breaking the silence. "From other guilds. Invitations disguised as requests for dialogue."
"It's already started," Elara murmured.
"Invitations for what?" Rai'kanna asked.
"Alliances. Exchanges. Mutual protection," I replied. "Nothing is free."
Liriel intertwined her fingers on the table. "And we refuse?"
"For now, yes," I answered. "I don't want our first move after the tournament to be political."
Rai'kanna nodded slowly. "Good decision. When politics enters, truth leaves."
After breakfast, we decided to go out into the city again. Not for meetings, not for the guild. Just to walk. We needed to remember what it was like to be there without being watched like symbols.
We failed miserably.
In the central square, a small group approached. Merchants. A craftsman. A man in simple clothes, but with a firm posture.
"Mr. Takumi," he said, bowing his head. "We are grateful for what you did. The victory of the humans gave us hope."
I swallowed hard. "We just did our job."
"Even so," he continued, "we wanted to offer this."
He extended a small carved wooden medallion. Nothing magical. Nothing valuable. Just a local symbol of protection.
I accepted it.
"Thank you," I said. And this time, it was sincere.
When the group walked away, Elara looked at me. "You realize this is going to repeat itself, right?"
"I know."
"And each person will place a different weight on you."
We kept walking. The rain lessened. The sky gradually cleared.
Near the old wall, we found Scarlet.
She was leaning against a stone column, arms crossed, expression far too relaxed for someone so dangerous.
"You're popular," she commented.
"You're not helping either," I replied.
She laughed. "Maybe. But I'm being honest. The entire continent is watching you now."
"And you?" Vespera asked. "What are you still doing here?"
Scarlet looked directly at me. "Evaluating."
"And the verdict?" I asked.
"You are not weak," she said. "But you're not yet what the world will demand."
"And what does the world demand?" Rai'kanna asked, her voice tense.
"Monsters," Scarlet replied without hesitation. "Or martyrs."
The silence that followed was heavy.
"I don't intend to be either," I finally said.
She smiled faintly. "Good luck with that."
Scarlet walked away shortly after, without farewells.
We returned to the mansion in the late afternoon. The servants had already prepared dinner. The routine seemed normal, but nothing was the same.
During the meal, we talked about small things. Food. The rain. Old stories. It was a clear attempt to keep our feet on the ground.
Later, when everyone began to retire, I remained alone in the hall. The fireplace was lit. The flames danced, hypnotic.
I thought about the tournament. About Rai'kanna fighting to her limit. About Scarlet crushing opponents. About us, winning something that had seemed impossible.
And I thought about what came next.
Not an immediate battle. Not an enemy appearing out of nowhere.
But decisions. Paths. Consequences.
When I went up to the bedroom, I found them all already there. Liriel, Elara, Vespera… and Rai'kanna too. They didn't say anything. They simply shared the space, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
I lay down among them, feeling the human, real weight around me.
As sleep slowly came, a certainty settled.
The victory in the tournament had placed us at the top.
Now, the world wanted to know if we would fall… or if we would learn how to walk up there.
And that thought closed the day.