The Bookkeeper

Raiden inhaled deeply, his hand finding Ash's head. Her condition held at a maddening standstill—stable enough to avoid immediate crisis, yet too severe for any real recovery. 

She was caught in this middle ground, breath coming in heavy gasps, temperature climbing without pause, her wounds weeping blood that never seemed to slow.

Standing from the bed, Raiden glanced once more at Ash, pocketed Speed's necklace, and headed for the exit. A week of silence stretched behind them. No attacks, no confrontations. The quiet felt ominous.

He walked out onto the grassy field where Leo and Levi were putting the captured goblins through their paces, the same creatures Raiden had subdued days ago. The sounds of combat barely registered. His attention was fixed elsewhere entirely—on the sky.

He looked up at the apparent emptiness, but the feeling wouldn't leave him—someone was watching. His danger senses stayed dormant, unusually quiet, yet his assassin's training ran bone-deep. He'd spent too many years in that world not to recognize the weight of hidden observation.

Yet nothing revealed itself. He'd scanned every inch of the surrounding area. Frustrated, he retreated back into the house and activated his invisibility, hoping to detect the heat signature of whoever—or whatever—was spying on them. Again, he found nothing.

The sensation had been plaguing him for two days now, but with no concrete evidence to support his instincts, he decided to abandon the search. With a resigned exhale, he allowed himself to become visible again.

Turning left, he made his way toward the group. Raiden's initial orders had been simple: kill the goblins. But Leo and Levi had slaughtered most of them within minutes. With the three remaining creatures, he'd painted ink marks on the backs of their necks and revised the exercise—erase the ink without taking their lives.

He'd designed the exercise to improve their reflexes, battle awareness, and decision-making under pressure. But one look at the current situation had him shaking his head, hand slapping against his forehead in obvious disappointment.

They were both pursuing the same flawed strategy: pin down the goblins, then scrape off the ink by brute force. True, the creatures' obstinate nature and sharp self-preservation instincts made them difficult to catch despite their weak physiques, and some cunning would be necessary. However, this wasn't the skill Raiden wanted them to develop.

"Stand down," Raiden ordered, walking past them and approaching one of the cornered goblins.

"They're monsters. The only thing they have over you is raw survival instinct." He turned back toward Leo and Levi while the winded goblins bent forward, hands on their knees, still maintaining their death grip on their wooden sticks.

"You're human—you can think and reason, unlike them." He gestured back toward the goblins, then closed his eyes and drew in a slow breath. In his mind, he visualized mana flowing through the silent pathways he'd carved throughout his body, filling every vein with energy.

It was a gamble, but with the goblins' attention elsewhere, he acted. His hand cut through the air with fluid precision, making no sound whatsoever. One moment the goblin stood unmarked by his approach; the next, Raiden's hand had connected with its neck, the ink already gone.

The speed had been extraordinary, beyond what Raiden thought himself capable of, moving so quickly it never triggered the goblin's detection. Utterly confused by the sudden absence of its mark, the creature turned to its brother, spouting garbled nonsense in their guttural tongue.

Turning to Leo and Levi, Raiden said, "This is the standard I'm looking for."

"Would've been nice to know that upfront," Levi muttered, stepping around Raiden to face the remaining goblin. "Watch and learn." His cocky grin earned him nothing more than Raiden's tired stare.

Mimicking Raiden's breathing technique, Levi drew air into his lungs. The strike that followed was instantaneous—his hand connected with the goblin's neck and wiped away the ink in a movement that exceeded even Raiden's demonstration, moving at exactly twice the velocity.

Raiden stared in shock at Levi, who stood there wearing that same cocky grin, his own eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. Was this the true potential of someone in the 7th realm?

The torrent of thoughts crystallized into grudging respect, marked by a slight smirk. "Not bad, Levi."

Levi's smugness needed no verbal accompaniment. He simply retrieved a dagger from his pocket and started playing with the blade, letting his cocky silence fill the space.

"Leo, the ink is gone now, but you can still attempt to strike those exact spots."

Leo nodded his understanding and stepped up to the challenge. After taking his preparatory breath, he struck—too slowly. The goblin reacted instantly, its stick whistling past Leo's head in a vicious counter. He regrouped and attempted the move again, but his timing remained off.

A sigh escaped Raiden's lips. "You need to augment your physicality the way 7s do. That's how I managed it."

With a determined nod, Leo inhaled deeply and made another attempt, but his strike went wide again. Exhaling in defeat, he looked back at Raiden. "I can tell this will take a while, so you guys don't need to wait around. I'll keep working until I get it right."

With a decisive nod, Raiden gestured for Levi to accompany him inside.

"Are we really going to just leave him like that?" Levi questioned as they entered the house.

"It's what he wanted. He can handle himself."

Upon entering, they walked toward Speed's new accommodations. He was still barely alive, his survival uncertain from moment to moment. Considering both his injuries and the prospect of forming an alliance, they'd upgraded his lodging to match the quality of their own sovereign quarters.

"Do you have any sense of our location? Could we still be somewhere in Persia City?" Raiden asked, pushing the door open as Levi followed.

"I don't think so. It's not Nyx City either, considering they lack the landmass for this kind of forest."

Raiden acknowledged the observation with a nod and walked over to Speed's bedside. The injured figure lay still beneath the covers, bandages encircling his head while his golden ears moved alertly, following their faces.

"You're conscious—that's fantastic." Raiden offered a warm smile, acting as though he hadn't already known Speed had been awake for some time.

Speed's only response was a wordless stare, but Raiden had anticipated this reaction. The silent treatment had gone on long enough to become their established pattern.

Nevertheless, Raiden breathed deeply and took a seat at the bedside. "You're not well enough for bargaining under normal circumstances, but this situation can't wait."

Leaning in slightly, Raiden continued. "The details about your sister aren't clear to me, but I believe the Dawnbringers have her—and they're using her safety to ensure your compliance."

He held Speed's stare and smirked knowingly. "I've had my share of dealings with power-hungry and money-obsessed individuals. Your circumstances don't fit that pattern—that's what led me to this assessment."

Raiden's eyes narrowed to slits as he locked gazes with Speed, their expressions matching in stubborn resolve. The staring contest continued until Raiden reached into his pocket, withdrawing Speed's necklace and setting it gently on him.

"If saving your sister was part of our bargain, would you consider signing a contract with me?"

Speed said nothing, continuing to stare at Raiden with obvious disbelief written across his features.

"Your skepticism is warranted," Raiden smirked. "I'd have the same reaction in your place."

Rising from the bed, he moved to stand by the canopy. "This is why I'm suggesting we rescue her as the first step. I'll bring her back here, prove to you that she's alive and well, and only after that do we sign anything."

Speed's eyes narrowed fractionally, the silence stretching between them. When he eventually spoke, his words brought a satisfied gleam to Raiden's expression.

"How exactly do you plan to pull that off?" he rasped, his voice carrying a bitter edge.

"That's not your concern. Simply give me your word, and consider it done."

Speed watched Raiden intently for a moment, then looked away, his gaze settling on the wall beside him.

"It's going to be challenging. She's being used for experiments—not by the Dawnbringers, but by Mack Jasper, the man who accompanied me."

Raiden's eyes narrowed slightly. A different family entirely—he hadn't seen that coming. So what was Mack, if not a Dawnbringer?

"The Jaspers are allies of the Dawnbringers. Small household, but their roots go back to the Kingdom of Eldon—that's where they get their love of research and experimentation."

Raiden's expression softened but was still uneasy.

"So the Dawnbringers themselves are yet to attack us?" Levi asked as he stood on a stair leading toward the bed area.

Speed remained silent for a moment and then ignored Levi's question entirely. "I accept the deal… save my sister, and I will form a contract with you."

Raiden stared at Speed for a moment. There was clearly something Speed didn't want them to know—but if he managed to get him as his slave, he'd milk everything out of him. So he simply smiled.

"That's great, Speed."

"The Jasper house is two blocks away, to the left of the Dawnbringers' home… sits right on the third town square—the queen's square."

Raiden didn't want to press the matter any longer—he was going to take a risk that might put them in huge trouble, and that needed attention and concern. He smiled at Speed and gestured for Levi to follow him.

The moment they got out, his expression grew dark. "Can you do it?"

"I don't know how strong Mack is, but if he is 7 just like me, then I can take him on," Levi said, his voice tinged with pride as he wore a confident smirk.

"Great, then I'll brief you on everything you need to know about his ability," Raiden said as they arrived at the living room.

At that moment, Leo hurried into the room, his shirt soaked in sweat and a confident, proud smile on his face.

"I just turned 7!"