Shane's gaze slid to Shalotte—sharp, deliberate, allowing no room for misunderstanding.
"It's time."
Shalotte swallowed. He nodded a beat too fast, pushed himself up from the chair, and nearly sent it toppling backward. He caught it with his knee, winced, and murmured a quiet apology to the furniture. Planting his staff carefully against the floorboards, he closed his eyes and drew in a measured breath.
"—Silent Veil."
The air shifted.
A faint, glassy shimmer spread from the staff's tip, rolling outward like ripples in still water. It crawled over the walls, climbed the ceiling beams, and sank into the floor. Sound folded inward, compressed into nothing. The tavern's distant laughter, the clink of mugs, even the faint creak of wood—gone.
The room felt isolated from the world.
Maddy slid back into her seat with a sharp motion, arms crossing as she shot Shalotte a glare sharp enough to flay skin. Shalotte immediately sat down, clutching his staff like a lifeline and fixing his eyes on the map.
Shane straightened. "Since we're all here," he said evenly, "we can begin."
Ulon raised a hand, already grinning. "Before that—are we kicking Klaus now, or are we saving it for dessert?"
Klaus lounged deeper into his chair, arms folded behind his head. "I appreciate the transparency."
"Not yet," Shane replied without looking at him. "Unless you have someone who can replace what Klaus does."
Maddy exhaled through her nose. "Then why don't we just recruit a mage?"
Shalotte shook his head so fast his hat nearly slid off. "Bad idea. Explosion-type skills are already flagged. Parties with explosion-based mages were already monitored. Inviting a mage to the party is like giving ourselves to the authority."
He hesitated, then glanced at Klaus. "Right now, the reason they don't scrutinize us is him."
Shane nodded. "Explosion skills are common for mages. Rare for warriors. For the scouts?" His eyes flicked briefly to Klaus. "Almost nonexistent. Removing him and adding mage instead puts a spotlight on us."
Ulon clicked his tongue. "Lucky bastard."
Klaus didn't react. Ulon's bluntness wasn't mockery—it was concern wrapped in noise. Everyone in the party has the same idea as him; however, he's the only loudmouth to say it. No one wanted dead weight, especially not in a gold-rank party.
Shane leaned forward, hands resting on the already unrolled map. Its surface was weathered, edges frayed, marked with routes, notes, and stains that no amount of scrubbing ever removed.
He placed a silver coin on the desert road between Pedleton and Crowvale, right where the Khal'gur sands began to swallow the path.
Then he set a gold coin farther west, where Crowvale, Hallosbel, and Solrien boundaries touched.
Petra's fingers tightened on her knee. Kiel leaned in, eyes gleaming. Even Ulon stopped rocking his chair.
"The Alliance wants a Sand Wyrm eliminated," Shane said, tapping the silver coin. "Pedleton–Crowvale route. Class S threat."
He slid a parchment beside it—detailed sketches of a massive, plated serpent-like creature, descriptions, sightings, and attack patterns annotated in tight handwriting.
Ulon whistled low. "Class S? Level two hundred ten." He rubbed his chin. "If we split—"
"We're not splitting," Shane cut in.
Ulon shrugged and jabbed a finger at the gold coin. "Then what's that?"
"One of the confirmed routes for next month's Merchant Auction convoy to Hallosbel," Shane replied. "Merchants from Noxvar, Eldwyn Solrien, and Pedleton. High traffic. High value."
Maddy frowned. "So we're choosing," she said slowly. "Wyrm… or convoy."
Shane shook his head once.
"No," he said. "We are neither Shieldbreaker acting as subjugators—nor shadow thieves."
He paused just long enough for the words to sink in.
"We're both."
Klaus's smile returned, faint and knowing.
Maddy frowned, fingers drumming against her arm. "How exactly do we do that, boss?" she demanded. "You just said we're not splitting. We can't be in two places at once."
Around the table, the same confusion rippled. Ulon leaned back, chair creaking. Kiel tilted his head. Petra shifted in her seat, eyes flicking between the coins on the map.
Shane didn't answer immediately.
He looked at Klaus.
Slowly, one by one, everyone else did too.
Ulon squinted. "Boss," he said carefully, "don't tell me—"
"Yes," Shane replied. He extended a finger and tapped the gold coin on the map. "I'm sending Klaus here."
Maddy straightened. "Alone?"
"Yes. He'll be doing the raid alone." Shane said calmly.
Maddy's brow furrowed, "But why him?"
"Diversion. Shadow thieves created too much noise. We need another player," Shane explained.
Maddy shot to her feet. "That's it? That's your plan? Send him alone to stir trouble and hope the authorities bite?"
Shalotte shifted the grip of his staff, nodding despite himself. "Strategically… it's feasible. A high-profile disturbance near a merchant route would draw eyes away from the shadow thieves."
"But," Ulon cut in, pointing at Klaus, "can he actually do it? I mean—really do it?"
Maddy crossed her arms. "Exactly. Besides slacking off and blowing things up, I don't see what he brings to the table."
Klaus pressed a hand to his chest. "That wounds me, Maddy."
She didn't even look at him. "Stop acting. You don't care about people's whispers about you."
Shane interjected, "Klaus is a three-star subjugator, one rank below us. But he's already a level 172 scout." He glanced around. "That's slightly higher than everyone here. He had some tricks on his sleeve."
Maddy blinked. "Then why hasn't he passed the rank-up exam?"
Kiel raised a finger. "Maybe Mr. Klaus was too lazy to finish it."
Petra hesitated, then spoke softly. "I… I have a friend in the assessment office." She swallowed. "They said Mr. Klaus slept during the exam and scored zero."
Klaus turned to her, eyebrows raised. "You have a friend?"
Petra nodded, cheeks pink beneath her helm.
Ulon burst out laughing. "Hah! That explains everything."
Shalotte cleared his throat. "Even if he can do it, there's still trust. Klaus values gold more than anything."
Ulon nodded vigorously. "True. Greedier than the boss himself. I wouldn't entrust treasure to him."
Petra's hands clenched. "I trust him," she said, voice quiet but steady. "He's greedy—but he never cheats."
Kiel nodded eagerly. "Yeah! I trust Mr. Klaus too."
Shane folded his hands. "Then one of you can volunteer to accompany him."
Silence.
No one moved.
Klaus leaned forward, resting his chin on his palm, eyes sliding to Petra and Kiel. "You both said you trusted me. Care to prove it?"
Petra looked down, hands clamped together.
Kiel scratched the back of his neck. "I trust you, Mr. Klaus. I just… worry you'll slack off during the raid."
A chorus of nods followed.
Klaus sighed theatrically. "My reputation's killing me."
Shane gave a small nod. "Then I'll go with him."
Maddy spun toward him. "Boss, then who leads us?"
Shane scanned the table and stopped at Shalotte.
"You," he said.
Shalotte nearly fell off his chair. "M-me?"
"You're too cautious," Shane said. "But you know when to retreat. I don't want unnecessary casualties—even if the mission fails."
Shalotte swallowed hard, then nodded.
No one objected.
Ulon rubbed his chin, clearly thinking better of arguing. Maddy opened her mouth, then closed it again, jaw tight, eyes flicking briefly to Klaus before she looked away. Petra sat straighter, hands folded, as if accepting an order rather than agreeing to it. Kiel rocked once on his heels, excitement and nerves tangling in his grin. Shalotte swallowed and hugged his staff a little closer, already mentally rehearsing commands he hoped he wouldn't have to give.
Shane let the silence breathe for a moment longer, then reached forward and swept the coins back into his palm.
"That's settled," he said.
He rolled the parchment closed with precise movements and stood. The chair legs scraped quietly against the floor as he pushed it back.
"You may go," Shane continued. His eyes passed over each of them, lingering just a fraction longer on Klaus. "We'll regroup at the town's gate. Day after tomorrow. Dawn."
Shalotte exhaled and released his spell. The Silent Veil peeled away like mist under sunlight. Sound rushed back in—the tavern's murmur, distant footsteps, the world reclaiming the room.
The meeting was over. Soon, only Klaus and Shane were left.