They walked the length of the market street, Ludger slowing their pace just enough to point things out.

“See that?” He nodded toward a vendor piling golden apples high on a cloth-covered crate. “The brightest fruit on top, the bruised ones underneath. Don’t pay until you check the bottom.”

Viola leaned in, squinting. “Oh… sneaky.”

“Common,” Ludger corrected. A little further down, he motioned at a spice seller waving his arms dramatically. “And that one’s yelling too much about his prices. If it’s really good, he doesn’t need to scream.”

Viola frowned, nodding along, her brows knit in concentration. “So… talk less, watch more?”

“Exactly,” Ludger said. “Most people tell you what they’re hiding without realizing it.”

She was just opening her mouth to ask another question when a familiar voice cut through the crowd.

“Ludger. Lady Viola.”

They turned to see Luna approaching, moving with her usual unhurried stride. In her arms she carried a neat cloth bag, its shape betraying loaves of bread, wrapped fruit, and even a stoppered jar of something heavier. Not a hair on her head was out of place despite the bustle of the market.

Viola blinked. “Wait—you already got breakfast?!”

Luna inclined her head. “It seemed natural. Supplies as well. We’ll need them if the guild continues to provide nothing.”

Ludger’s eyes flicked to the bag, then back to her calm expression. He hadn’t given her coin, and yet she moved as though she’d had everything planned from the start.

She was ready for this before I even thought about it. Figures.

Viola groaned, half-impressed, half-frustrated. “Ugh, you always make me look unprepared.”

“Because you are,” Ludger muttered, smirking faintly.

Luna offered the bag toward them. “Shall we eat before discussing today’s tasks?”

Ludger took it without ceremony. “Good. Saves me the trouble.”

He glanced at Viola, still pouting at being outdone. At least one of us is ready for everything. Which means I’ll have to push the other even harder.

They found a shaded corner near the outer market where the noise of haggling was muted, and Ludger unwrapped the bag Luna had brought back. Bread, crisp on the outside and soft within. Apples, fresh enough to still carry the scent of orchard soil. Even a small jar of honey.

Viola tore into a loaf like she hadn’t eaten in days, while Ludger ate slower, more methodically, waiting for Luna to speak.

She did, after a measured pause. “I asked around this morning. The guild’s decline wasn’t sudden. It began about ten years ago.”

Ludger glanced up from his bread. “Why then?”

Luna’s eyes lowered slightly, her tone calm but edged with weight. “Because the guildmaster lost his wife and daughter in one of the mines.”

Viola froze mid-bite, blinking. “…What?”

“They often went with him,” Luna continued. “But that day, for reasons no one could explain, he stayed behind. A cave-in struck. By the time he reached them, it was already too late.”

The bread in Viola’s hands lowered slowly. “So… that’s why he drinks like that.”

Ludger chewed once, twice, before setting his crust aside. His expression didn’t change, but his eyes narrowed. So that’s the root. Not incompetence. Not greed. Grief.

Luna folded her hands neatly in her lap. “The guild began to rot from then. With its leader broken, its reputation crumbled. Clients left. Members defected. Ten years later, all that’s left is… this.”

Silence hung heavy for a moment, broken only by Viola’s small voice. “…That’s awful.”

Ludger leaned back, smirk faint but humorless. “Awful, yes. But not useless. At least now we know what broke him.”

He glanced back toward the slums, where the guildhall loomed faintly in the distance. And maybe what Torvares expects me to fix.

Ludger sat back against the wall, bread forgotten in his hand. Luna’s words hung in the air, heavier than the morning heat.

Family drama? I’ve had enough of that in two lifetimes. Overbearing parents, suffocating expectations, cold silences around a dinner table. But this… He exhaled through his nose, eyes narrowing. This is darker. Losing your wife and daughter under a mountain of stone. Watching them die while you stood too far away to stop it. That’s a wound that never closes.

His lips pressed into a thin line. And how am I supposed to sympathize with that? I’m not even really eight. I’m a man who died once already. My whole existence is borrowed. What do I say—“I know how you feel”? No. I don’t. I can’t. It would be too hypocritical.

He glanced at Viola, who sat hunched over her bread, clearly shaken, her face caught between pity and stubborn anger. Then at Luna, calm as ever, but her eyes carried the weight of someone who thought the man’s grief explained everything.

I can’t put myself in his shoes, Ludger thought, smirking faintly though there was no humor in it. But maybe I don’t need to. I’m not here to heal his heart. I’m here to figure out what Torvares wants me to learn from him—and how to make him useful.

He tore another bite from the bread, chewing slowly.

Ludger brushed the crumbs from his fingers and leaned forward, voice low but steady.

“Pretending we don’t know about his past is a waste of time. He’s broken, not blind. The second Viola tries to act like she doesn’t know, she’ll give herself away.”

Viola nearly choked on her bread. “Hey! Why me?!”

“Because you’re terrible at acting,” Ludger said flatly. “Your face shows everything you’re thinking. Subtlety isn’t your strong point.”

Her cheeks flared red. “That’s—! I can—!” She clamped her mouth shut, realizing he’d just proven his point.

Ludger smirked faintly and shook his head. “See?”

Luna hid a small smile behind her hand but didn’t intervene.

“Anyway,” Ludger went on, his tone sharpening again. “We’re not here to play pretend. We’re here to learn. If he refuses coin and ignores orders, then the only way forward is to make him teach us something he thinks is fair. Something he finds necessary.”

Viola frowned, hugging her knees. “Like what?”

“That’s what we’ll have to figure out.” Ludger’s eyes narrowed slightly, mind already ticking. Grief or not, a man like that has principles buried under the rot. The trick is digging them out without wasting months on pity.

Luna nodded once, calm as ever. “Direct. Practical. That is the best approach.”

Viola groaned. “Ugh… this is going to be so annoying, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Ludger said dryly. “But if we want results, we’ll make it work.”

Ludger finished the last bite of his bread and wiped his hands on the cloth. “Before we waste more time—what’s his name? And what was the guild called?”

Luna didn’t hesitate. “The man is Gaius Bront. Once known as ‘Stonefist Gaius,’ an earth mage of considerable renown. The guild was called the Iron Vein. At its height, it was one of the most respected in this region. Reliable, disciplined, and skilled in both mining and labyrinth work. Many noble families and merchants contracted them.”

Viola perked up, blinking. “Wait—that guy? He was famous?”

Luna inclined her head slightly. “Yes. Until the cave-in.”

Viola groaned, slumping back. “Ugh. So now he’s just a washed-up drunk with a tragic backstory.”

Ludger smirked faintly, though his eyes stayed sharp. Gaius Bront. Stonefist. A man with that kind of reputation doesn’t lose his edge completely. Which means her Grandfather sent us here because he knows there’s still something worth dragging out of him.

He stood, brushing dust from his trousers. “Alright. We don’t press him today. If he’s going to teach, we’ll have to bait out whatever he still values. Until then, we watch. See how the city remembers him, and what parts of his pride he hasn’t thrown away.”

Viola groaned louder. “More waiting?!”

“Yes,” Ludger said simply. “Try not to explode before it pays off.”

As they walked back toward the slums, Ludger glanced sidelong at Luna. “What about the labyrinth here? What do you know?”

For the first time that morning, she hesitated. A faint crease formed between her brows. “I didn’t look for details on the labyrinth,” she admitted. “I didn’t expect you to agree with Lady Viola’s request.”

Viola puffed up immediately, grinning. “Ha! See? Even Luna thought you’d say no!”

Ludger ignored her, eyes steady on Luna. “So? What do you know, then?”

Luna’s voice returned to its calm cadence, though there was still a hint of reluctance. “The labyrinth beneath this city is an iron vein that mutated over decades. When enough mana gathers around deposits of ore, sometimes the iron itself takes shape. That’s where the iron elementals come from.”

Viola tilted her head, frowning. “Elementals? Like… golems?”

“Similar,” Luna said, shaking her head lightly. “But not the same. Their bodies look humanoid—two arms, two legs, a torso. But the pieces don’t connect. Limbs float where they should be joined, like magnets holding them together. Their strikes are heavy, and their iron hides make them hard to kill. Worse, they can use earth magic at range… their attacks are not mindless.”

Ludger’s eyes narrowed thoughtfully. So… tough hides, strong swings, and ranged support. Fighting them in tight tunnels would be a nightmare for anyone who panics.

Viola leaned forward, excitement sparking in her eyes. “That sounds amazing! Fighting something like that—”

“Would crush you flat if you don’t think,” Ludger cut in dryly.

She pouted, but he didn’t soften his tone. “We’ll only go down there once you can prove you won’t get yourself killed in the first ten minutes. Until then, it’s out of the question.”

Viola groaned. “You’re impossible!”

“I am not. I do exist.,” Ludger corrected.

They reached the edge of the slums again, the broken guildhall looming in the distance like a corpse left to rot. Ludger stopped, dusting his hands off, and turned to Luna.

“Forget just the guild,” he said flatly. “We need more than that. Find out everything useful about this city—its politics, who pulls the strings, which groups to avoid. We’re not in Torvares territory anymore, and we don’t have allies watching our backs. Trouble here will come faster than we can blink if we’re careless.”

Luna’s expression didn’t change, but her eyes sharpened with focus. “Understood.”

She inclined her head, then moved with her usual graceful efficiency into the crowd, vanishing as easily as a shadow slipping into the cracks.

Viola slumped against the wall, arms crossed. “Always so serious. We’re just here to learn from that drunk, aren’t we? Do we really need to worry about all that?”

“Yes,” Ludger said without hesitation. “One wrong move in the wrong city, and you’ll find yourself sold, dead, or worse. You don’t get to rely on your family name here.”

Viola wrinkled her nose. “You make it sound so dramatic.”

Ludger smirked faintly, though his eyes stayed cold. “It’s not drama if it’s true.”

He watched the path where Luna had disappeared, his thoughts sharp. With her digging up details and Viola forced to keep her head down, we’ll stay one step ahead. Until then, patience.

Viola kicked at a loose stone, her scowl deepening. “So if we’re not going into the labyrinth, then what are we doing? Just waiting around until that drunk feels like teaching us?”

Ludger folded his arms. “No. We’re training.”

Her head snapped up, eyes brightening. “Finally! About time!”

“Don’t get excited,” Ludger said dryly. “You know how to swing your sword. What you don’t know is how to stay alive when someone’s firing spells at your head.”

Viola blinked, tilting her head. “...Spells? You mean you’re going to—”

“Yes.” He smirked faintly. “I’ll throw magic at you until you stop panicking and learn to move properly. If you can’t get used to it here, you’ll get flattened in the labyrinth.”

Viola’s face split into a grin. “That sounds amazing!”

Ludger’s eyebrow twitched. “No. It sounds painful. For you.”

“I can take it,” she said, puffing out her chest.

“Good,” Ludger replied. “Because I won’t hold back much. If you want the labyrinth, you’ll earn it by surviving me first.”

Her grin widened, reckless and eager. “Deal!”

Ludger smirked faintly, though his eyes stayed sharp. Let’s see if you’re still smiling after the first firebolt.

Ludger stood with his arms folded, his tone flat and merciless. “You want the labyrinth? Fine. You don’t get near it until you can reach me. That means dodging—or blocking—my mana bolts. Until then, forget it.”

Viola grinned wide, practically bouncing on her toes. “Easy! I’ll just smack them away or dodge like this—” She mimed swinging her wooden sword and twisting her body with exaggerated flourish.

Ludger didn’t bother replying. He scanned the courtyard outside the guildhall until his eyes landed on a rotting barrel leaning against the wall. Perfect.

He extended one hand, focused, and summoned: [Mana Bolt].

The sphere of condensed blue light launched with a sharp crack, slamming into the barrel. The explosion shredded the wood into splinters, scattering debris across the dirt. The bolt didn’t stop there—it drilled into the ground, leaving a neat, smoldering hole nearly twenty centimeters deep.

Smoke curled upward.

Viola froze mid-pose, her smile stiffening. Sweat broke out on her forehead as she stared at the smoking crater. “…O-okay,” she said, forcing a laugh. “Blocking that should be… easy.”

Her voice wavered, and her attempt at confidence looked about as convincing as a beggar claiming royalty.

Ludger smirked faintly. “Sure. Easy.” He tilted his head, eyes narrowing. “Let’s see how long it takes before you stop shaking.”

Viola swallowed hard, her knuckles white around her wooden sword, but she still managed to snap back, “I-I’m not shaking! You’ll see!”

Ludger’s grin sharpened. This is going to be fun.

Ludger didn’t waste a word. His hand lifted, mana gathering with a faint crackle before snapping into shape. A [Mana Bolt] hissed through the air toward Viola.

She tensed, her stance awkward, shoulders tight. But as the glowing sphere closed in, she realized—it wasn’t nearly as fast or massive as the one that had gutted the barrel. This one was smaller, slower, deliberate.

Her eyes sharpened. “Fine, I got this!”

She swung her wooden sword upward with all her strength. The blade connected with the bolt in a flare of sparks and heat. The sphere shattered, bursting into harmless fragments of dissipating mana.

The victory lasted half a second. Then the tremor hit. The force rattled up her arms, the wooden blade quivering so violently she almost lost her grip.

Viola’s eyes widened. If he’d gone any harder, my sword would’ve snapped in half…

Her jaw clenched, but she forced a shaky grin, pretending it didn’t faze her. “S-see? Easy.”

Ludger’s smirk was thin and merciless. “Not bad. But if that toy broke, you’d be bleeding already. Don’t complain when I test your grip next time.”

Viola’s forced grin twitched, but she lifted her sword again. “I can handle it!”

“Good,” Ludger said, raising his hand again. “Because I’m not stopping.”

The next bolt snapped into being, faster than the last.

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