Augusto turned his face toward Zafira, who had gone quiet while Trafalgar bought his own items, though the interest was easy enough to notice.

"You wanted a bracelet, ring, or gloves," he said, tapping the edge of the box once. "Something that helps with fine mana control and keeps it stable after release. Correct?"

Zafira gave a small nod. "You remembered it perfectly."

"Of course I did." He said proudly.

He extended his palm. A ring appeared over it in a brief shimmer of light, narrow and dark, with a slim crimson crystal set into the band. Augusto picked it up between two fingers and held it out for her to see properly.

"This is the Red Spindle Ring. Epic Rank as well." His mouth twisted faintly. "Unfortunately, I don’t have anything of a higher rank. My business is doing well, but not well enough to play around buying and selling legendary items. A shame, really. I’d enjoy it."

He lifted the ring slightly.

"Anyway. Its two effects are simple, but good."

Effect 1: Reduces mana loss when maintaining fine external constructs after release.

Effect 2: Increases tension stability and response speed when manipulating multiple thread-like mana constructs at once.

Zafira’s attention sharpened at once.

Trafalgar noticed it.

In truth, with all the time they had spent knowing each other, he could not remember ever seeing her class properly. Not in his own experience, and not in the old Trafalgar’s memories either. That alone made the curiosity natural. She had always been strong, always controlled, but whatever sat beneath that had stayed hers.

Zafira reached out and took the ring from Augusto’s hand.

"How much?" she asked.

Augusto answered without hesitation.

"Since it’s you, I’ll leave it at one hundred gold."

Trafalgar actually turned at that.

The reaction escaped him before he could stop it.

"What?"

Both of them shifted toward him.

Augusto scratched the back of his neck, suddenly looking far less offended than a merchant in his position should have.

"What? What was that tone for?" he said. "Am I not allowed to make a good impression? Lady Zafira is beautiful, noble, and dressed like that today on top of it. Would you really have me let her leave with a poor opinion of my shop?" His ears flicked once. "I’m a merchant. Relationships are part of the work."

A smile touched Zafira’s mouth.

"Deal," she said. "You’re a good merchant, Mister Augusto."

"There. You see?" Augusto placed a hand against his chest. "Someone who appreciates my charms immediately." 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

Trafalgar gave him a flat look. "You’re not sending me to any mines this time?"

Augusto let out a short laugh.

"Times have changed, Trafalgar. Mostly thanks to you. These days I only ask for what I actually need, and not much more." He spread one hand. "You know I’m grateful. And the price wasn’t bad, was it?"

"No," Trafalgar admitted. "It’s a good price, a very good one in fact. I appreciate it."

Zafira closed her fingers around the ring, and a second later it dissolved into her inventory.

[Item Acquired: Red Spindle Ring – Epic Rank]

Type: Ring

Effect 1: Reduces mana loss when maintaining fine external constructs after release.

Effect 2: Increases tension stability and response speed when manipulating multiple thread-like mana constructs at once.

Description: A slim dark ring set with a narrow crimson crystal. It was crafted for users who value precision over force, allowing delicate mana constructs to remain clean, taut, and responsive for longer than they should.

Trafalgar pulled his hood back up. Zafira did the same.

"That’s all from our side," he said. "Thanks, Augusto. We’ll see you around."

"And try not to take another year to come back," Augusto replied.

They turned toward the entrance.

Behind them, Augusto called out one last time, voice carrying easily through the shop.

"Thanks for stopping by, Trafalgar. Lady Zafira. I hope I’ll see both of you again when you need something."

Trafalgar lifted a hand without turning.

"We will," Zafira said.

By the time they stepped back outside, the guard from earlier was already moving in again. He held himself much stiffer now than before, which was not surprising considering he knew exactly who had just walked out of the place. A short line had formed behind him as well, five people at least, all waiting to enter.

The guard raised his voice.

"Alright. One by one, in order. Watch your hands inside. I want everything to stay where it belongs."

Trafalgar and Zafira kept walking.

The shop sat far enough from the main port that it would still take a few minutes to return to the busier part of Mariven. The streets here were quieter, built more for warehouses, workshops, and larger back-lot businesses than passing crowds. Their steps carried softly over the stone.

After a short distance, Zafira summoned the ring back into her hand.

Trafalgar noticed immediately.

"Now that I think about it," he said, "I’ve never seen your class. Did you really need the ring that much?"

Zafira slid it onto one finger.

"My class needs exquisite mana manipulation," she said. "It’s... unusual. So yes. I wanted to take the chance and buy something suited for it. It should help quite a bit."

She stopped walking.

Trafalgar did the same.

For a breath, nothing happened. Then the air around them changed in a way so slight most people would have missed it. Zafira stood where she was, one hand lowered, the ring faint under the daylight. Fine red lines began to form around her, so thin they were almost not there at all. They spread from her fingers and fixed themselves through the space around them, across the alley’s width, between stone corners, along the edge of a wall, low near the ground, high enough to catch the light only when the angle turned cruel.

They were threads.

Crimson, nearly invisible, drawn so finely that they seemed less created than discovered.

Trafalgar watched them stretch outward.

"Threads?"

Zafira’s mouth curved slightly. "Correct. Threads."

More of them spread while she spoke, subtle and precise, anchoring themselves through the space around them with impossible delicacy.

"I control threads," she said. "And I can do quite a lot with them."

It took real focus to follow where they ran. A worse pair of eyes would have lost them immediately. They crossed the street, climbed the wall, tied one shadowed corner to another, and layered themselves through the surroundings until the place no longer felt empty.

Trafalgar kept studying the web she had laid down.

"And? Is it better with the ring?"

"Much better." Zafira flexed her fingers once, and several threads adjusted with barely any visible shake. "Holding them like this is easier than before. I don’t need to be focused on all of them, which relieves mental fatigue."

That alone was enough to tell him plenty.

Zafira let the threads remain where they were for a brief instant longer, testing the tension, feeling them out, and then began walking again. Trafalgar followed beside her.

They had only taken a few steps when her voice reached him, lower now.

"There’s someone following us."

Trafalgar did not turn his head.

"Are you sure? Where?"

"In the rooftop to the left, he is a little further behind us."

He kept moving at the same pace. "How do you know?"

Zafira’s answer came just as softly.

"While I was testing the threads, one of them was stepped on more than once." Her fingers moved once at her side. "The vibrations were clear. Whoever it is has been moving along the roofline and watching us from above."