Martin watched the red line inside his visitor token turn toward the paneled wall.
Rias moved closer to the darkened storefront and opened their private channel without looking back.
"Keep the link active," she said. "If I call, follow the direction line through the same wall. Until then, make sure everyone remembers you and no one notices I left."
"How am I supposed to do that?"
Rias glanced at a display filled with matching flask charms, commemorative cups, and other couple-branded souvenirs. "You'll think of something humiliating."
The attendant with the black case was already crossing the threshold. As the wall panel began to slide shut behind him, Rias stepped into the shadow of the nearest display.
Darkness gathered around her boots as she crossed the open floor unnoticed and caught the strip of shadow behind the moving panel. The wall sealed a breath after she slipped through.
