The pale light of the morning sun hitting the snowy roofs of Yellow City and the movement of people rising to go to work made it clear what time it was. These were the final days of winter. Inside the room, while Mais was trying to put on his heavy, embroidered gray robe, Valeria was struggling to help him with trembling fingers. After the events of that evening, Valeria had adopted a more determined and focused state of mind, as if wanting to repay her debt to Mais. However, this excessive eagerness did not bring success. While trying to straighten the folds of the fabric, she mixed up the buttons and simply could not get the belt to sit right. Valeria was not very good at such things.
After watching Valeria's breathless efforts in silence for a while, Mais said calmly, "Wait." He stopped her by placing his hand over the young girl's hand. "Don't force it; you can't do it."
Valeria pulled back and bowed her head in embarrassment. "I'm sorry... I... I wanted to be more useful."
Mais shook his head. He wanted to tell Valeria that she didn't have to, but in the end, the words did not come out.
"How is your father?" Mais asked instead, as if talking about the weather. He had a distinct talent for hiding his interest.
Valeria's eyes sparkled. Still trying not to give an exaggerated reaction but unable to suppress the excitement in her voice, she said, "Much better. These days he can get out of bed and even eat. Thank you so, so much."
Mais did not respond to these thanks. There was not the slightest sign of softening on his face. He was acting as if the child who had laughed and played with snowballs in the snow that night had never existed, as if it were just a beautiful dream Valeria had seen. He had returned to his cold-blooded, distant, and equally dignified nature. Valeria was used to this attitude; she knew that Mais was different from other people, that his soul stood in a much older and more tired place.
"I was so afraid of losing him," Valeria whispered, caught in a moment of sadness. "When I lost my mother to illness a few years ago, I felt like the end of the world had come. If my father went too..."
Mais remained silent again. Although Valeria attributed this silence to indifference, in truth, the dusty pages of his own past were opening in Mais's mind. The times in the golden corridors, but even earlier. The times before he could walk, when he was a beloved baby in someone's arms. He remembered even those times. After a long silence, Mais unexpectedly began to speak.
"When my mother abandoned us..." Mais said, his voice colder than the room temperature. "My father came to see me. He probably never thought I would remember those moments, or that a child of that age could comprehend so much."
Mais did not mention what his father had said to him that day. He just stood there, his gaze fixed on an empty point in the room. He seemed to be arguing within his own thoughts and transforming into someone even different from the one Valeria knew. Valeria felt the pressure descending upon her making her heart beat even faster. She could feel the anger, even if it didn't belong to her. Then Mais slowly turned to Valeria. Those dull, gray eyes silently scanned over her. At that moment, even though the temperature of the room hadn't changed, a terrifying shiver passed through Valeria to her very marrow. In the body of this charismatic young man before her, she felt an indescribably ancient and disturbing presence, perhaps an intent. That "thing" inside Mais seemed to have surfaced for a second.
And "it" was full of rage.
"Now both are dead," Mais said in a flat voice.
Valeria did not know what to do for a moment in the face of this sudden and deep sense of loneliness. Afterward, she realized she had taken a step forward. With steps that were not fast but not slow either, she came to his side and hugged Mais. When she wrapped her small arms around his waist, the freezing aura around Mais slowly began to dissipate, leaving its place once more to that distant calm she was accustomed to.
Mais hesitated, but then realized he was hurting Valeria by holding these emotions so tightly. Thus, Valeria's embrace blocked his anger.
Gently slipping out of Valeria's hug, Mais asked her a strange question: "Tell me, Valeria, what do you look like?"
Valeria did not understand the purpose of the question, but giving up on being serious for a moment, she cheered up and began to describe herself. "Well... actually, I'm very beautiful!" she said with an exaggerated air. "Especially my eyes... a bright green like jade, everyone says how captivating they are. My facial features are flawless, and..."
Valeria continued to explain. Mais was clever enough to realize she was skipping some things, and he knew Valeria. Mais reached out his hand toward Valeria and touched the young girl's ears. The little girl didn't even realize what was happening. She stared at Mais's face in surprise. With this movement of Mais, her face turned red like a tomato. She was very embarrassed. When Mais's fingers grasped Valeria's slightly protruding, "jug-handle" ears, he smiled slightly. "I see you've skipped some parts," Mais said mockingly. "Your eyes may be beautiful, but these ears seem designed to better catch the wind."
Turning even redder, Valeria covered her ears with her hands. "Mais! That is not kind at all!"
Meanwhile, there was movement downstairs. Hideo Yun, one of the respected Core Experts of Yellow City, had arrived and was waiting in the salon with Kasuur. Hideo Yun was a man who drew attention with his bright orange hair and curious, round eyes, maintaining a perfect balance between politeness and distance. Kasuur, on the other hand, did not know how to speak to this refined man, making the situation even more awkward with his crude manners.
Moreover, he was moving too much on the sofa. The sofa had begun to creak excessively, and Hideo was waiting impatiently to see if this sofa would break before his eyes.
When Mais went downstairs, Hideo Yun stood up and greeted him. After a short introduction ceremony, Mais offered, "Shall we take a walk, Mr. Hideo?"
When the two went outside and began to walk silently over the snow, Hideo got to the point. "You look healthy these days, sir. I assume your wounds have healed."
Mais smiled. He knew this man was quite cunning. After all, he had hired his father for the same reason.
"Why don't you ask the real thing you want to ask?"
Hideo Yun smiled. He could see that this small child did not resemble Kasuur at all.
"Why did you take the risk of me appearing? The City Lord will no longer trust me and my father because of my being seen with you."
"I don't need him to trust you. Before you could even reach Baro, you would have been stuck with Commander Wur anyway. And for what? For the sake of information I could obtain from other sources? I will not waste such a valuable Sage for mere information."
Tenma Yun was Hideo's father. Apparently, he had chosen the side of the wealthy Mais instead of the powerful Baro. Hideo's presence here today would likely confirm most suspicions and significantly reduce Baro's chance of trusting them.
At this point, Hideo did not know Mais's plan for them, but as his father had said, he believed it was better to follow such a high-potential and powerful alchemist. While one represented wealth, the other represented the military. It was clear which was closer to death and which to life.
Furthermore, while in the army, he had noticed that the City Lord had very high ambitions, yet the city lord lacked the resources to push his army to that position aside from his individual talent. Mais did not.
At that point, Hideo noticed that the sunlight now fully illuminated the city and the street had become quite crowded. Many people were also looking at them.
"The formations have been sent to the towns as you said. The soldiers have settled in and started training," he said, changing the subject. This was the main reason he had come here today.
Mais nodded in approval. He wanted to see the formations he had received from Sage Wugui working at full efficiency. "Good. Two months from now, I want you to visit these towns personally. Examine not only their physical development but also their minds. I do not know the leaders of these 300-man groups well. Discern if there are any rebellious thoughts or signs of disloyalty. I don't want all of this to be for nothing."
Hideo was impressed by Mais's strategic depth. "Understood. And what then?"
Mais looked toward the horizon, where the sunlight illuminated the city. "Then, we will go on a journey. We will move to the next stage."