When the three of us walked through the front doors, the silence didn't just break. It shattered.
I could feel the stares. They were sticky and heavy, crawling over my skin as we moved toward the VIP lifts. It wasn't just about me anymore. An F-Rank—well, D-Rank now—returning with a grumpy B-Rank assistant was one thing. But walking in with a legend who had been missing for three years?
That was enough to make the receptionists forget how to breathe.
"Roonie," I said, keeping my eyes fixed on the elevator doors. "Take Hana to HR. Get the paperwork started. I don't care how many forms you have to forge, just make it official before the rumors reach the top floor."
"I don't forge forms, Elara," Roonie muttered, though he was already steering Hana toward the administrative wing. "I optimize them."
Hana didn't say anything. She just gave me a small, quiet nod before disappearing into the crowd with Roonie.
I was alone.
I took the lift up to the 37th floor. My heart was doing a frantic little dance against my ribs, and it wasn't just from the altitude. It was guilt. It was a heavy, hot lump in my throat that I couldn't swallow.
I kept telling myself it was a tactical necessity. A move on the board. I had to save Hana, and the bond was the only way. It was work. It was just work.
But as I reached the door to our joint office, my hand hovered over the handle.
I was excited. I was terrified. And I felt like a total fraud.
I pushed the door open.
Seraphina was there. She was sitting at her desk, her back to the door as she looked out the floor-to-ceiling window. The city below was a blur of gray and neon, but she looked like she was staring at something miles away. Wistful. Lonely.
Then she heard the door.
She didn't just turn. She jumped. Her chair scraped against the floor as she spun around, her blue eyes widening as they landed on me.
"Elara..."
She stood up, her fingers twisting into the fabric of her skirt. She hesitated. She looked like she wanted to run toward me and back away at the same time.
I didn't give her the chance to decide.
I rushed forward. I didn't care about the etiquette or the "Ice Queen" persona or the fact that I was probably shivering from the cold she naturally radiated. I wrapped my arms around her in a tight, desperate hug.
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"I'm back," I whispered into her shoulder.
Seraphina went stiff for a second. Then, slowly, she melted. Her arms came up to hold me back, her touch as cool and refreshing as a spring rain.
"Have you been well?" I asked, pulling back just enough to look at her.
"Yes," she said. Her voice was soft, a little shaky. "And you? Your outing? Was it... successful?"
"I finished everything," I said, trying to ignore the way my heart spiked at the word successful. "I brought her back. Hana Ryu is officially joining the team."
Seraphina blinked. "The Weaponizer? I heard the reports while you were gone. Gloria mentioned her. She is... a very strong addition."
She said it so simply. No professional jealousy. No worry about another high-ranker entering her space. Seraphina really was a different breed. She didn't see a threat. She just saw a teammate.
We sat down over a pot of tea. The steam rose in delicate curls between us, the only heat in a room that always felt like the inside of a refrigerator.
We talked about the town. I told her about the mountains and the fog. I left out the part about the alleyway and the basement. I definitely left out the part about the kiss.
But the atmosphere was thick with something else.
Every time our hands grazed over the sugar bowl or the tea cups, a jolt went through me. A sharp, electric hum of the bond. Seraphina didn't look away. Her gaze kept drifting down to my lips, lingering there for a second too long before snapping back to my eyes.
She knew. Or maybe she just felt the shift in the mana.
The door knocked, breaking the tension like a hammer to glass. Roonie walked in, followed by Hana Ryu.
Hana looked different in the light of the city. She had a new guild badge pinned to her trench coat, and her shadow was dark and solid behind her.
"Vice-Leader," Hana said, acknowledging me first. Then she turned to Seraphina and bowed. "Leader Seraphina. It is an honor."
She tapped a device on her wrist, and a translucent blue window shimmered into existence between us.
"My data," Hana said. "For the roster."
[STATUS: HANA RYU]
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Rank: A
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Level: 52
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Title: [The Weaponizer] [Shadowless (Cured)]
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Status: Normal
[CORE STATS]
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Strength: 88
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Agility: 94
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Stamina: 72
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Constitution: 65
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Mana: 110
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Willpower: 85
[CORE SKILLS]
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Weaponize (Rank A)
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Description: Pour mana into any non-biological object to grant it weapon properties. The object's durability and lethality scale with mana input.
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Current Sub-Skills: [Sharp Edge], [Projected Force], [Hardened Structure]
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Folding Art (Rank B)
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Description: Manipulate the physical dimensions of weaponized objects. Allows for the creation of complex origami weaponry and projectile curves.
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Omni-Tool Master (Rank B)
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Description: Passive. Increases proficiency and combat effectiveness with any object currently registered as a 'Weapon' by the system.
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[NEW] Shadow Integration (Rank C)
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Description: A passive result of the Twilight Seal. Increases stealth and reaction speed during night-time operations.
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I stared at the numbers. They were insane. She was a monster on paper and even worse in person.
Seraphina looked at the window, then at me, then back at Hana. She looked a little confused. Not about the stats, but about how to actually lead this.
"It is... impressive," Seraphina said.
She looked at me, a small, tentative smile playing on her lips.
"We should go for an outing," she said. "The three of us. A team-building exercise."
She paused, her eyes softening.
"I remember when we were out together, Elara. It was nice. We should show Hana the city."
I nodded, though my stomach did a little flip. A team-building outing. Me, the Ice Queen, and the girl I’d just bonded with in a mountain basement.
What could possibly go wrong?