The bear waited.

Patiently.

Entirely unaware that its future currently depended on Seraphina’s naming abilities.

A terrifying reality.

The inn had become unusually quiet.

Even nearby customers were listening.

The crow—

No.

Tax.

Tax sat proudly on Seraphina’s shoulder.

Already acting like he’d held the position for years.

The bear nudged her arm again.

A large hopeful mountain of fur.

Waiting.

Trusting.

Believing.

A mistake.

A terrible mistake.

Because Seraphina immediately pointed at him.

"I have options."

Kael frowned.

That sentence alone was dangerous.

Daren looked nervous.

Rowan looked interested.

Tax looked entertained.

The bear looked happy.

The bear shouldn’t have been happy.

The bear didn’t know what was coming.

"Option one."

Seraphina raised a finger.

"Sir Floofington."

The bear blinked.

Daren laughed.

Kael immediately said no.

"Option two."

Another finger.

"Destroyer of Economies."

The bear looked proud.

The group looked alarmed.

Because that one was accurate.

Far too accurate.

"Option three."

A dramatic pause.

"The Hunger That Walks."

The innkeeper immediately pointed.

"That one."

Everyone turned.

The innkeeper folded his arms.

"That one is completely accurate."

The bear looked pleased.

Tax cawed.

Possibly laughing.

Several villagers joined the discussion.

Unfortunately.

Suggestions immediately started flying.

"Thunderpaw!"

"Mountain Fang!"

"Forest King!"

"Golden Claw!"

The bear happily accepted all praise.

The naming process had somehow become a public event.

Kael watched the disaster unfold.

Then looked at Seraphina.

Then looked at the bear.

Then sighed.

Because despite all the jokes—

The bear genuinely cared.

Not about the name.

About Seraphina choosing it.

The realization made him pause.

The bear had followed her everywhere.

Protected her.

Stayed beside her.

Even when food wasn’t involved.

Which was honestly impressive.

The room gradually quieted.

Seraphina finally stopped joking.

A rare event.

A very rare event.

The bear immediately noticed.

Tax noticed too.

Rowan leaned back.

Watching.

The atmosphere shifted slightly.

Not dramatically.

Just enough.

The bear had become important.

Not a pet.

Not a tool.

Part of the group.

Part of the family they were accidentally creating.

Seraphina reached forward.

Scratching beneath the bear’s chin.

The giant creature instantly melted.

A horrifying sight.

Several hundred kilograms of apex predator suddenly became a giant puppy.

Then she smiled.

A genuine smile.

Not a mischievous one.

Not a dramatic one.

A real one.

"You know..."

The bear tilted its head.

"When I first met you..."

The bear listened carefully.

"You were scary."

The bear looked offended.

"You were."

The bear remained offended.

"You nearly gave me a heart attack."

The bear looked less offended.

Because that was true.

The inn waited.

Nobody interrupted.

Then Seraphina continued.

"But every time things got difficult..."

She smiled slightly.

"You were there."

The bear’s tail started moving.

Slowly.

Dangerously.

Several chairs died.

Nobody commented.

People valued their lives.

"So..."

She tapped the bear’s forehead gently.

"I think I’ll call you Atlas."

Silence.

The bear blinked.

Everyone blinked.

Daren spoke first.

"Atlas?"

Seraphina nodded.

"Because he keeps carrying everything."

The bear.

The luggage.

The monster parts.

The food.

The chaos.

Sometimes even Seraphina herself.

"And somehow he never complains."

The bear immediately made a happy noise.

A very happy noise.

Then shoved his entire head against her shoulder.

Nearly knocking her from the chair.

Tax almost fell off.

The crow looked offended.

Atlas looked delighted.

The name had been accepted.

Officially.

Immediately.

Completely.

The innkeeper nodded.

"That’s actually a good name."

Rowan agreed.

Daren agreed.

Even Kael approved.

Which was rare.

Extremely rare.

Tax flew onto Atlas’s head.

The bear didn’t mind.

The crow settled comfortably.

The partnership was complete.

Atlas and Tax.

A duo nobody had requested.

A duo nobody understood.

A duo that would almost certainly create future problems.

Meanwhile—

Dinner arrived.

A lot of dinner.

Far too much dinner.

Most of it disappeared into Atlas.

The rest disappeared into everyone else.

For the first time in days—

Nobody talked about mysterious estates.

Nobody talked about erased noble families.

Nobody talked about missing caravans.

Nobody talked about survivors.

Just food.

Stories.

Laughter.

Normal things.

The kind of moments people rarely appreciated while living them.

Then—

Halfway through dinner—

Tax suddenly dropped something onto the table.

Clink.

Silence.

Everyone looked.

A key.

Old.

Golden.

Ancient.

The room froze.

Tax stared proudly.

Atlas stared proudly.

Seraphina stared.

Kael stared.

Rowan slowly sat forward.

Because this wasn’t jewelry.

This wasn’t a coin.

This wasn’t random treasure.

It was a key.

A very specific key.

And engraved onto its surface—

Was the same symbol they had seen on the map earlier.

The twisted circle.

The three crossing lines.

The symbol connected to House Valemont.

The symbol connected to the estate.

The symbol connected to the mystery they had spent all day avoiding.

Nobody spoke.

Nobody moved.

Then Seraphina slowly looked at Tax.

Tax looked back.

Completely innocent.

Completely proud.

And completely unaware that he had just thrown their peaceful plans directly into a river.

The entire table stared at the key.

The key stared back.

Well.

Metaphorically.

Because keys generally lacked eyes.

Tax, however, looked extremely pleased with himself.

The crow puffed out his chest.

Proud.

Victorious.

Like he’d just solved a major problem.

Instead—

He had created one.

Kael slowly reached for the key.

Tax immediately pecked his hand.

"No."

Tax cawed.

The key belonged to Seraphina apparently.

Nobody knew when this decision had been made.

Tax clearly did.

Seraphina picked up the key.

Turned it over.

Examined the symbol.

Then immediately put it down.

"Nope."

Silence.

Everyone looked at her.

"What do you mean nope?"

Daren asked.

"I mean nope."

An inspiring explanation.

A truly educational one.

"The mystery people can mystery by themselves."

Rowan looked unconvinced.

The key literally connected to everything they’d been discussing.

House Valemont.

The estate.

The attacks.

The symbol.

Everything.

Yet somehow—

Seraphina was completely focused on something else.

She suddenly pointed at Atlas.

Then at Tax.

Then slammed both hands onto the table dramatically.

A dangerous sign.

A very dangerous sign.

"I just realized something."

Kael immediately disliked where this was going.

"What."

"We never celebrated."

Nobody understood.

"What."

Atlas.

Tax.

"Their birthdays."

Silence.

Pure silence.

The innkeeper blinked.

Daren blinked.

Rowan blinked.

The young man blinked.

Even Tax looked confused.

Kael rubbed his forehead.

"They don’t have birthdays."

"They do now."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Ratio."

Silence.

Daren slowly looked at Rowan.

"What does that mean?"

"I have no idea."

Kael knew.

Unfortunately.

And somehow that made things worse.

Seraphina stood up.

A terrible decision.

Whenever Seraphina stood dramatically, reality suffered.

"Today is Atlas and Tax’s birthday."

The inn immediately exploded into discussion.

Some people laughed.

Others joined immediately.

One old man raised his mug.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!"

Atlas looked delighted.

Tax looked delighted.

Neither knew what birthdays were.

Neither cared.

They liked the attention.

That was enough.

Then—

Seraphina turned toward Kael.

The smile appeared.

The smile.

The one Kael feared.

The one that usually cost money.

"Aina, no."

Wrong.

Kael immediately realized his mistake.

Only he used that nickname.

And he’d said it automatically.

Seraphina’s smile widened.

Dangerously.

"Kael."

"No."

"Kael."

"No."

"Kael."

"No."

She placed both hands on her hips.

"The children need cake."

"They are not children."

Atlas sneezed.

Tax stole a shiny button.

Neither behavior helped Kael’s argument.

"The children need cake."

"No."

"The birthday children need cake."

"No."

"The birthday babies need cake."

"Absolutely not."

"The birthday kings need cake."

"No."

Atlas looked personally offended.

Tax joined him.

Traitors.

Both of them.

Daren was crying from laughter by now.

The innkeeper had abandoned all attempts at professionalism.

Even Rowan looked amused.

A rare sight.

Then Seraphina used her ultimate weapon.

A devastating attack.

One that should honestly be illegal.

She pointed dramatically toward the window.

Toward the distant town.

Toward the future.

"Imagine Atlas helping carry materials for my future fashion shop."

Kael froze.

Critical damage.

"Imagine Tax bringing customers."

Additional damage.

"Imagine the profits."

Direct hit.

Kael knew exactly what she was doing.

And worse—

It was working.

The fashion shop.

Her dream.

The one thing capable of defeating his common sense.

Daren immediately pointed.

"She’s doing the thing."

"The thing?"

The young man asked.

"She’s weaponizing the shop."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Oh."

A moment of silence followed.

Then Kael sighed.

The sigh of a man accepting defeat.

Again.

The sigh of a man who had lost this exact battle hundreds of times.

The sigh of a man whose wallet was currently experiencing emotional damage.

"One cake."

Victory.

Absolute victory.

The inn erupted.

Atlas stood up so fast two chairs died.

Tax launched himself into the air.

The crow immediately began doing victory circles around the room.

A little girl started cheering.

Several villagers joined.

The situation deteriorated rapidly.

Within minutes—

A cake appeared.

Not because the inn sold cakes.

Because the entire village apparently wanted to participate.

Someone brought frosting.

Someone brought berries.

Someone brought candles.

Someone brought decorations.

Nobody knew how this happened.

It simply did.

The cake ended up nearly larger than the table.

Atlas stared.

Tax stared.

Both looked completely mesmerized.

The innkeeper placed it down proudly.

Then frowned.

"Wait."

Everyone paused.

"What do we write on it?"

Silence.

A very important question.

Seraphina immediately answered.

"Happy First Birthday Atlas and Tax."

"First?"

Daren asked.

"They look older than one."

"They are emotionally one."

Fair.

The candles were lit.

Everyone gathered around.

The entire inn somehow became involved.

Atlas sat proudly.

Tax sat on Atlas’s head proudly.

The duo looked unstoppable.

Then—

Seraphina started singing.

Not one of her monster-insult songs.

Not one of her random songs.

A genuinely cheerful one.

Halfway through—

The lyrics switched languages.

Accidentally.

The room froze.

Again.

Because nobody understood a word.

The melody was beautiful.

The words were not.

At least not to them.

Foreign.

Strange.

Old.

A piece of a world nobody knew.

When she finished—

The inn remained quiet for several seconds.

Then Daren pointed.

"There."

Seraphina blinked.

"What."

"That."

"What."

"The weird language."

"Oh."

An excellent response.

A terrible explanation.

Kael folded his arms.

"You keep doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Saying things nobody understands."

Tax cawed.

Atlas huffed.

Even they seemed curious.

The room waited.

Seraphina looked at the candles.

Then at the cake.

Then at Atlas and Tax.

For the briefest moment—

A strange nostalgia crossed her face.

Gone almost immediately.

Like a shooting star.

Then she smiled.

"It’s a language from somewhere very far away."

The room became quieter.

Not because the answer explained anything.

Because somehow—

It sounded sad.

Just a little.

Just enough.

Then Seraphina immediately ruined the moment.

She pointed at the cake.

"Anyway."

The emotional atmosphere died instantly.

"Birthday children."

Atlas sat up.

Tax sat up.

"Attack."

Chaos followed.

Glorious chaos.

For one night—

There was only cake.

Friends.

Laughter.

And two very spoiled birthday kids named Atlas and Tax.