The combat grounds had become silent.
Not completely.
Students were still training.
Instructors were still shouting.
Weapons still clashed.
Magic still exploded in distant practice fields.
Yet around Kel and Valeryn—
A strange bubble of silence had formed.
Because everyone had seen it.
Everyone.
The devastating shot.
The hidden fourth form.
The arrow that had transformed an ordinary training target into a distant memory.
Even now, smoke still rose from the trench carved across the practice grounds.
Several academy workers had already begun walking toward the damaged area.
Their expressions suggested they were questioning their career choices.
Meanwhile—
Valeryn wasn't looking at the destroyed target.
She wasn't looking at the trench.
She wasn't even looking at the students.
Her eyes remained locked onto one thing.
The weapon.
Kel's weapon.
The transforming bow.
The transforming sword.
The transforming dual swords.
The transforming portable siege weapon.
The more she looked at it—
The more she wanted it.
Dangerously so.
The noblewoman slowly stood.
Her crimson eyes never left the weapon.
Kel noticed immediately.
Years of experience taught him when someone was interested in an object.
Valeryn wasn't interested.
She was obsessed.
A dangerous difference.
Then—
Without hesitation—
She spoke.
"Aedon."
Kel immediately felt trouble approaching.
"Yes?"
Valeryn pointed directly at the weapon.
"I want it."
Silence.
Nearby students froze.
The directness of the statement caught everyone off guard.
Even Kel blinked.
"You want it?"
"Yes."
The answer arrived instantly.
Without shame.
Without hesitation.
Without diplomacy.
Valeryn continued.
"That weapon can function as a bow."
She raised one finger.
"A sword."
A second finger.
"Dual swords."
A third.
"And apparently whatever that fourth thing was."
Her eyes narrowed.
"A weapon capable of adapting to almost every combat situation is extraordinarily valuable."
Then—
To everyone's surprise—
She pulled her own sword from its sheath.
The blade gleamed beneath the sunlight.
Ancient runes shimmered faintly along its edge.
Even a novice could recognize its quality.
"I'll trade."
The nearby students gasped.
Several nearly fainted.
One boy actually sat down.
Because Valeryn's sword was famous.
The heirloom blade of a Darkhart descendant.
A weapon many students dreamed about touching once.
And she was casually offering it in exchange.
Kel stared.
Then looked at the sword.
Then at his weapon.
Then back at her.
Several seconds passed.
Finally—
"No."
The answer arrived immediately.
Valeryn blinked.
The students blinked.
The world blinked.
"No?"
Kel nodded.
"No."
The noblewoman stared.
Her crimson eyes narrowed.
"Do you understand what I'm offering?"
"I do."
"And?"
Kel looked toward the sword.
Then politely explained.
"Your specialty is swordsmanship."
Valeryn blinked.
What?
Kel continued.
"The weapon suits you."
"It complements your combat style."
"It amplifies your strengths."
His gaze shifted toward her.
"If I take it, one of us gains."
A brief pause followed.
Then he lifted his own weapon.
"If you take this, one of us loses."
Valeryn stared.
The logic irritated her.
Because it made sense.
Unfortunately.
The noblewoman folded her arms.
"Then I'll add money."
Kel blinked.
"You'll what?"
"I'll add money."
The surrounding students looked horrified.
Negotiations had escalated.
Very quickly.
Valeryn continued.
"Name a number."
Kel immediately shook his head.
"No."
The answer came even faster this time.
Valeryn's eye twitched.
A very small twitch.
The first warning sign.
Several students watching from afar immediately recognized it.
Danger level increasing.
Meanwhile—
Kel remained blissfully unaware.
Or perhaps he simply didn't care.
A difficult distinction.
The noblewoman inhaled slowly.
Then spoke with surprising patience.
"Aedon."
"Yes?"
"Most people negotiate."
"I am negotiating."
"You're rejecting."
"A form of negotiation."
Valeryn stared.
The surrounding students nodded.
Unfortunately.
That sounded exactly like something Aedon would say.
Then—
Something happened.
A tiny thing.
A microscopic thing.
Something so subtle that most people completely missed it.
Valeryn pouted.
Only slightly.
Barely noticeable.
The corners of her lips moved perhaps a fraction.
Nothing more.
A tiny expression of dissatisfaction.
Gone almost immediately.
Most students never noticed.
Most instructors never noticed.
Most people never noticed.
Unfortunately—
There existed a small group of students who observed Valeryn far more than was healthy.
The dedicated admirers.
The devoted fans.
The academy's unofficial Valeryn observation society.
A completely unofficial organization.
Probably.
Maybe.
The moment they saw the tiny pout—
Their souls ascended.
One boy grabbed another's shoulder.
Violently.
"Did you see it?"
The second boy immediately nodded.
His eyes contained tears.
"I saw it."
"The pout."
"The pout."
Their voices trembled.
A third student looked upward toward heaven.
As though thanking every god simultaneously.
Nearby, Luna witnessed the scene.
Then quietly moved away.
Because she wanted absolutely no involvement.
None.
Meanwhile—
Valeryn resumed negotiations.
"Aedon."
"Yes?"
"What if I add three thousand gold?"
"No."
"Five thousand?"
"No."
"Ten thousand?"
"No."
The noblewoman's eye twitched again.
Then—
The tiny pout returned.
Briefly.
Very briefly.
Gone almost instantly.
Unfortunately—
The observation society noticed again.
One student immediately fainted.
Another began writing notes.
A third looked ready to frame the memory forever.
The situation had become absurd.
Meanwhile—
Kel remained entirely focused on practical matters.
The poor man had no idea what was happening around him.
Far away beneath Scarder Lake—
Seiren spoke.
"This is fascinating."
Kel immediately became suspicious.
"What is?"
"Nothing."
The answer guaranteed it was something.
Kel ignored her.
A dangerous mistake.
Meanwhile—
Valeryn wasn't giving up.
The noblewoman crossed her arms.
"Aedon."
"Hm?"
"What if I commission an artificer to build you another one?"
Kel considered.
Valeryn's eyes brightened.
Then—
"No."
The brightness disappeared.
Instantly.
Another tiny pout.
The observation society collectively suffered emotional damage.
One student physically sat on the ground.
Another whispered.
"She's adorable."
His friend nodded.
"She's terrifying."
The first student nodded.
"Both can be true."
Reasonable.
Very reasonable.
Meanwhile—
Valeryn finally narrowed her eyes.
The negotiation had reached a critical point.
"Aedon."
"Yes?"
"Are you deliberately making this difficult?"
Kel thought carefully.
Then answered honestly.
"No."
The answer somehow made everything worse.
Because he genuinely wasn't.
From his perspective—
The weapon was simply useful.
Exceptionally useful.
Giving it away made no sense.
Valeryn understood that.
Which was exactly why she couldn't argue.
The realization irritated her.
Greatly.
Then suddenly—
Kel spoke.
The noblewoman blinked.
"What?"
Kel pointed toward her sword.
"A question."
Valeryn nodded.
"Go ahead."
"If your sword gained a fourth hidden function today..."
The noblewoman listened carefully.
"And then someone immediately asked to trade for it..."
A brief pause followed.
"What would you say?"
Silence.
Complete silence.
Valeryn opened her mouth.
Then closed it.
Then opened it again.
No words emerged.
Because unfortunately—
She already knew the answer.
"No."
Kel smiled.
"Exactly."
The surrounding students immediately lost control.
Laughter erupted everywhere.
Several people collapsed.
Others nearly choked.
One instructor actually turned away to hide his amusement.
Valeryn stood motionless.
Defeated by logic.
Again.
The worst kind of defeat.
Then—
To everyone's surprise—
The noblewoman laughed.
A genuine laugh.
Bright.
Natural.
Unrestrained.
The sound echoed across the training grounds.
Even Kel looked surprised.
Valeryn shook her head.
Then sheathed her sword.
"I dislike how reasonable that argument was."
Kel nodded.
"Understandable."
The noblewoman sighed.
Then glanced toward his weapon one final time.
The desire remained.
Very much remained.
But the negotiation was lost.
At least for today.
Meanwhile—
The small group of dedicated observers remained frozen.
Because they had witnessed something even rarer than the pout.
Valeryn laughing.
One student quietly whispered.
"This has been the greatest day of my academy life."
Another nodded.
"Same."
A third wiped away tears.
"Same."
Far away beneath Scarder Lake—
Seiren laughed again.
"Congratulations."
Kel sighed.
"What now?"
"You've achieved the impossible."
The goddess sounded delighted.
"You made a Darkhart heir pout."
Kel blinked.
"What?"
"Never mind."
Unfortunately—
Judging by the strange expressions around him—
Something told him he had missed a very important detail.