The guards and the hooded man left together.
The captain rose first. The chair legs scraped lightly against the stone floor. The hooded figure did not look at Shion or Eren as he stepped toward the door, but his pause at the threshold lasted half a breath too long to be accidental.
Then they were gone.
The door shut with a solid, wooden thud.
Silence settled again, but it felt different now. Less like pressure. More like suspension.
The lantern fixed high on the wall burned steadily, its flame wavering each time a draft slipped under the door. The room smelled faintly of oil and old paper.
Eren remained standing for a moment, jaw tight, shoulders drawn slightly upward as if bracing for something that had not yet happened.
Shion leaned back in her chair, one forearm resting against the table, fingers loosely interlocked. Her posture was composed, but her eyes remained on the closed door.
"So" She said at last, tilting her head slightly toward Eren "How is this usually handled?"
Eren let out a short breath, more irritation than amusement.
"Not sure" She replied. She began pacing once, from one wall to the other "This isn't usual procedure. None of this is covered in training. Guards are supposed to protect people, not drag them into empty rooms over paperwork"
Her hand brushed the hilt at her belt out of habit, then dropped again.
Protect the town's people. Their captain's voice echoed in memory. They're the most important thing for you as a guard.
She stopped pacing.
Now she wasn't sure which side of that statement she stood on.
"We can just walk out," Eren said suddenly, turning toward Shion. "They never said we were under arrest. No restraints. No formal charge. So technically, we're free."
Shion studied her for a moment, measuring tone rather than words.
She gave a small nod.
"If you're certain."
Eren crossed to the door. Her hand hesitated on the handle for less than a second before she pressed it down and pulled.
The latch clicked.
The corridor beyond was empty.
They stepped out together, boots echoing softly against stone. The hallway lanterns cast long shadows against the walls, stretching their silhouettes thin and uneven as they moved.
At the entrance to the post, the two guards who had accompanied the captain stood near the door, one leaning a shoulder against the wall, the other adjusting the strap of his gauntlet.
Both straightened immediately when they saw them.
"Hey," the nearer one said, pushing off the wall. "The captain told you to stay."
Eren did not slow her pace. She stopped just short of him, leaving a careful distance between them.
"He never said we were under arrest," she replied.
The second guard stepped forward now, brows drawn. "He told you to stay there."
Eren inhaled slowly, then folded her hands behind her back — the same posture drilled into her during training.
"He said 'stay here,'" she answered evenly. "He never specified 'in the room.' That could just as easily mean 'within the city.' We haven't left."
The first guard frowned.
The second glanced toward the corridor behind them, as if expecting the captain to reappear and resolve the ambiguity.
Shion remained beside Eren, weight shifted slightly onto one hip, hands relaxed at her sides. She watched their uncertainty rather than their faces.
She enjoys technical ground, Shion thought.
It was not recklessness.
It was leverage.
The guards did not reach for their weapons.
But neither did they step aside.
The air between them tightened — not with violence, but with hesitation.
Authority, when clearly defined, moves without pause.
This did not.
And in that narrow space between command and enforcement, Shion and Eren stood calmly — waiting to see whether the structure would clarify itself, or fracture further.
The captain stepped inside, removing his gloves finger by finger as he did so. His gaze swept the entrance hall once and immediately registered the arrangement: two guards standing rigid, Shion and Eren near the doorway, no visible restraint, but no resolution either.
"What's going on in here?" he asked.
His voice was not raised.
It did not need to be.
"Captain, the prisoners were—"
"They're not prisoners," he interrupted sharply, not looking at the guard who had spoken. "And you two should have waited for me as instructed."
Eren straightened instinctively at the tone.
Behind the captain, another figure entered.
He wore a deep red coat tailored close to the body, the fabric thick and clean despite the dust of the streets. Dark gloves. Polished boots. His posture was upright without stiffness, his expression composed in the way of someone accustomed to rooms falling silent when he entered them.
He carried no weapon.
He did not need to.
"My apologies" The man said smoothly, his voice warm but controlled "Are we interrupting something?"
"Not particularly" The captain replied, stepping slightly aside to allow him forward "Our guests here couldn't wait and were going to meet us halfway"
His gaze flicked briefly toward Shion and Eren.
"Miss Shion, Miss Eren, allow me to introduce you to Mr. Lucien Hansen. He works for the town's administration"
The man in red inclined his head in a small, practiced gesture of respect. Not deep enough to suggest subservience, not shallow enough to be dismissive.
"A pleasure," Lucien Hansen said.
His eyes lingered just a fraction longer than courtesy required.
"I came here to discuss certain topic" He continued, glancing briefly toward the guards before returning his attention to the two women "Of considerable importance to Reka"
The phrasing was careful.
General enough for bystanders.
Specific enough for those who understood.
Shion's gaze did not waver.
"How do you know our names? We didn't mention them" Shion pointed out.
The captain allowed himself the faintest hint of a smile.
"The city of Reka has contacts too" He said "People notice patterns. You train every morning. You file reports. You're not invisible"
It was delivered lightly.
It did not feel light.
Shion did not respond.
Spies, then.
Or observers.
The hooded man never revealed his face, and sure enough mercenaries don't talk that often within the association unless it's necessary, so his voice wouldn't ring a bell.
"If you will ladies" Lucien said "Please accompany us back to the 'talking' room so I can ask you a couple questions"
His hand remained extended just long enough to imply invitation.
Not command.
The corridor behind them stretched in shadow, the lanterns light flickering against stone walls that had heard enough conversations already that evening.
Shion glanced once at Eren.
Then back at Lucien.
And without further comment, she turned toward the hallway from which they had just emerged.