By midday, the Legends Booth was no longer wobbling in embarrassment.
It was wobbling from traffic.
A small line had formed. Nothing dramatic — no war cries, no desperate pleas — just townsfolk with practical needs and limited patience.
Gaius had finally been untied.
Not because they felt guilty.
Because the rope was needed to reinforce the back wall of the booth.
He stood beside Emilia now, sleeves rolled up, expression resigned but functional.
"Next," Emilia called.
Request One: The Fruit Caravan
A stout fruit vendor stepped forward, wiping sweat from his brow.
"I need these baskets delivered to the west square," he said, pointing to six heavy crates overflowing with apples, pears, and something purple that looked mildly suspicious. "Careful with the pears."
Kirian stepped forward immediately.
"You have come to the right heroes."
"They're just fruit," the vendor replied.
"Yes," Kirian nodded gravely. "But fruit carries destiny."
Emilia ignored him and bent to lift one of the baskets.
It did not budge.
"…Gaius."
He sighed and crouched beside her, lifting two at once with practical ease.
"Walk steadily," he said calmly. "If you swing them, the weight shifts and the fruit bruises."
Emilia narrowed her eyes.
"You sound experienced."
"I live with five children," he replied flatly. "Fruit is fragile. Like order."
They formed a small procession through town. Kirian walked in front like a ceremonial escort. Lili trailed behind, umbrella tilted against the sun.
Halfway there, Kirian attempted to demonstrate "efficient heroic carrying posture" and nearly tipped his basket.
Gaius caught it without looking.
"Less speech. More balance."
They delivered the fruit intact.
The vendor blinked at them in mild surprise.
"Not bad," he admitted, handing them a small pouch of coins.
Lili leaned in.
"Any snack samples?" she asked gently.
The vendor hesitated… then handed her a candied pear slice.
She examined it like a gemstone.
"For quality control," she clarified.
Request Two: The Fire-Breathing Poultry Incident
They returned to the booth just in time for chaos.
A farmer was waving his hat wildly.
"They're loose again! The hens! And the roosters!"
Emilia perked up.
"How dangerous?"
"They breathe fire!"
Kirian froze.
"Excuse me?"
"And the roosters know kickboxing!"
There was a beat of silence.
Lili smiled faintly.
"I am suddenly interested."
The farm was only a short walk outside town. Smoke drifted lazily above a fenced yard.
The first hen spotted them.
It puffed up.
Then sneezed a tiny spark.
Kirian stepped back.
"That is not a normal chicken."
A rooster launched from a fence post and performed a spinning kick mid-air.
Emilia barely dodged.
"WHY does it know that move?!"
The farmer shouted from a safe distance, "They got into some alchemist feed last year!"
One hen exhaled a weak but determined burst of flame that singed Kirian's sleeve.
"THIS IS ASSAULT," he declared.
Lili calmly opened her umbrella and used it like a shield.
Gaius assessed the yard in silence.
"Emilia," he said, "get the grain sack. Kirian, stop provoking them."
"I am not provoking—"
A rooster kicked him again.
Gaius poured a controlled line of grain leading back toward the coop.
"Animals respond to routine," he said. "Not theatrics."
Slowly, cautiously, the hens followed the grain trail. The roosters hesitated, suspicious.
One squared up in front of Kirian again.
Kirian raised his fists instinctively.
"No," Gaius said firmly.
He stepped forward instead, lowered his posture slightly, and simply stared.
Not aggressive. Not fearful.
The rooster blinked.
Then lowered its wings.
Balance restored.
Within minutes, the fiery poultry were secured.
The farmer wiped tears from his eyes.
"You're legends!"
Kirian straightened immediately.
"Yes. Yes, we are."
Gaius brushed ash from his sleeve.
"They're chickens."
Request Three: The Thirty-Minute Siege
They should have refused this one.
They didn't.
An elderly woman approached, leaning on a cane.
"I need someone to watch my grandbabies while I fetch groceries," she said sweetly. "Just thirty minutes."
Gaius froze.
"How old?" he asked cautiously.
"Toddlers," she replied.
Emilia waved dismissively. "Easy."
Thirty minutes later, Emilia would deeply regret that word.
The house was deceptively quiet at first.
Three toddlers sat on the floor.
They stared.
Unblinking.
Lili whispered, "They are assessing us."
The smallest one stood.
Without breaking eye contact with Emilia, he reached into her pouch and removed three coins.
Emilia gasped. "HEY—"
He ran.
Another toddler waddled toward Lili.
Lili maintained composure.
The toddler lifted the edge of her dress curiously.
Lili's umbrella snapped open instantly.
"Absolutely not," she said calmly.
Meanwhile, the third toddler climbed onto a chair and struck a dramatic pose.
"I AM HERO!" he declared, pointing at Kirian.
Kirian gasped.
"A challenger."
Within seconds, the living room had become a battlefield of chaos.
Coins scattered.
One toddler attempted to climb the curtains.
Another was testing whether furniture could be flipped.
Emilia tried to grab one and ended up spinning in circles.
"These are tiny criminals!"
Lili blocked another attempt at dress inspection with graceful umbrella maneuvers.
Kirian was now engaged in a full heroic speech contest with the standing toddler.
"I fight for justice!" Kirian declared.
"I FIGHT FOR COOKIE!" the toddler shouted louder.
Gaius stood in the center.
Watching.
Breathing.
Calculating.
Then he clapped once. Sharp. Clear.
All three toddlers paused.
"You want a game?" he asked calmly.
They stared at him.
He crouched to their level.
"Hero contest," he said. "But real heroes protect treasure."
He pointed to a pile of building blocks.
"These are the kingdom walls. If they fall, the monsters win."
The toddlers exchanged serious looks.
"Monster?" one whispered.
"Yes," Gaius nodded gravely. "Tickle monsters."
All three gasped.
Within moments, they were scrambling to stack blocks with intense concentration.
Kirian blinked.
"…That worked."
"Redirect energy," Gaius said quietly. "Not fight it."
Emilia gathered her coins back, stunned.
Lili lowered her umbrella slowly.
The toddlers became fully absorbed in defending their block kingdom.
When the elderly woman returned, the children were sitting neatly in a row.
She beamed.
"Oh my! They're so well behaved!"
The trio stared at Gaius.
He shrugged lightly.
"I live with children."
Outside, as they walked back toward the booth, Emilia nudged him.
"You're scary when you're calm."
He didn't respond.
Kirian puffed his chest.
"Today we have carried fruit, defeated flame poultry, and survived toddlers."
Lili adjusted her umbrella thoughtfully.
"Yes," she said. "Minor tasks."
Across the square, someone pointed at their cardboard booth.
"Those are the Legends."
The word carried.
Light. Casual.
But louder than before.
And for the first time, it didn't sound entirely like a joke.