"His clan house is just three streets down, sitting right on the border of the Noble Ward. You can't miss it. It's the massive estate with the black iron gates. 'Thousand Strings' bought a bankrupt duke's foreclosed manor and turned it into his headquarters. The nobles absolutely despise him for moving into their neighborhood, but they are too terrified to actually do anything about it."
Elen stepped forward, her brow furrowed in deep confusion. "Wait a minute. The guards at the city gate warned us to stay far away from that clan house. They acted like he was going to kill us just for walking past it. Why are you pointing out exactly where it is so casually?"
The receptionist chuckled, waving her hand dismissively. She leaned closer across the desk, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper. "Don't mind those guards. The knights here heavily dislike Adventurers because of their own pride. There are so many high-level criminal cases and monster outbreaks that the knights completely fail to solve, and they are forced to rely on high-ranking Adventurers to clean up their messes. It embarrasses them. That is exactly why they spread those ridiculous, scary rumors about the high-level guys."
The receptionist smiled fondly. "Kian Astor is incredibly dangerous if he is your enemy, yes. The things he does to his opponents and assassins are... well, they are quite creative. But he is a good guy deep down. I've known him since the very first day he came here to register in the Association as a rookie."
Aria's eyes sparkled with intense intrigue. She desperately wanted to ask the receptionist to tell her more stories about his early days, to hear how her savior had climbed the ranks of this massive city. But she held her tongue, tightly controlling her excitement so she wouldn't cause trouble or hold up the line for the receptionist.
"Just remember one thing," the receptionist added, her tone suddenly shifting to something much more serious. "Do not, under any circumstances, offend him."
Elen gulped, her grip tightening on her wooden staff. "Offend him? Is he going to execute us if we accidentally say the wrong thing to him?"
"No," the receptionist clarified quickly, shaking her head. "Kian Astor is surprisingly patient. He will probably ignore you or forgive you if it's your first offense. But his party members will not." A shadow passed over the receptionist's face. "His party is made up of absolute monsters. If you disrespect their Clan Master, they will hunt you down through the streets. They are heavily feared here in the Imperial Capital. Even the other fellow high level adventurers avoid talking back to them."
Instead of feeling terrified, the girls felt a sudden, electric jolt of adrenaline.
They were the strongest party in Aethelgard. Aria was a recognized Sword Prodigy. Hearing that there was another party out there, serving directly under the man who had saved Aria's life, and that they were feared in the capital, instantly sparked their deep, competitive curiosity.
Anyone in their position would want to see these legendary monsters with their own eyes.
Thanking the receptionist, they turned and walked quickly back out into the sunlight.
They boarded their carriage once more, directing toward the noble district. It didn't take long. Just three streets down from the Association, the carriage slowed to a halt.
Aria stepped out and looked up, her breath catching in her throat.
The Hidden Origin clan house was not just a building; it was a stolen piece of high society. Sitting right on the dividing line between the loud commercial streets and the quiet, pristine Noble Ward, the estate was surrounded by towering black iron gates.
Because it used to belong to a fallen duke, the main building was built from dark, polished stone with sweeping roofs and massive glass windows. But it had clearly been taken over by Adventurers.
The beautifully manicured front gardens had been paved over to create a massive outdoor lounge and sparring ring for Adventurers. It perfectly matched the image of a man who could slap the face of the nobility and rule the city from the shadows.
Dozens of other Adventurers were walking past the estate, throwing respectful, nervous glances toward the gates.
When Aria and her party walked up the paved path toward the front doors, the Adventurers lingering on the street and sitting in the outdoor lounge areas stopped talking. Once again, Aria's flawless appearance and their clean, confident strides drew immediate stares of admiration and heavy whispers.
Aria didn't care who was looking at her. She placed her hand lightly on the hilt of her sword. Her heart was hammering, completely flooded with absolute excitement. After four grueling years of training, she was finally here.
She took a deep breath, looked at her friends, and stepped through the massive, wide-open entryways. The moment they crossed the threshold, they were hit by the low hum of conversation, the rustle of quest parchments, and the sharp scent of polished steel and brewed coffee.
Dozens of rough-looking Adventurers brushed past them as they entered.
Among the crowd, a young woman with messy pink hair casually walked past their group, heading straight for the exit. She looked completely ordinary, her hands stuffed into her pockets, her expression bored and sleepy.
She slipped past them without a sound and disappeared into the sunny street outside.
It was a completely normal passing. But suddenly, Brielle stopped dead in her tracks.
Aria turned around when she noticed her friend wasn't following. Brielle was standing completely rigid. Her hands, resting near the hilts of her twin daggers, were shaking violently.
"Brielle?" Aria asked, her hand instantly drifting to her own sword. "What's going on?"
"That girl..." Brielle whispered, her voice barely squeezing out of her throat. "That girl with the pink hair. I couldn't sense her."
Elen let out a nervous little laugh. "You're kidding, right? Thieves can naturally feel the warmth and breathing of anyone nearby. You can sense a goblin through a solid rock wall."
"I am completely serious," Brielle snapped, her eyes wide.
The four girls instantly froze. Realizing they were blocking the main doorway and drawing looks from the Adventurers trying to pass, Aria quickly grabbed Brielle's arm and pulled her off to the side, pressing their group against the stone wall of the lobby.
"Alright, calm down," Aria said, keeping her voice low. "Tell us what you saw."
Brielle swallowed hard, rubbing her trembling hands together. "I don't know. I don't even understand what just happened."
The party's Archer crossed her arms and sighed. "What's the big deal? You didn't sense her. So what? Maybe she just has really weak mana, or she's just a normal civilian running errands for the Association."
Brielle shot the Archer a dark, terrifying glare. It was a mix of pure fear and heavy annoyance. "She wasn't a normal civilian. I saw her eyes. She looked right at me when she walked past. It was so incredibly fast I thought I was hallucinating, but she looked right at my neck."
The Archer went quiet, her dismissive attitude vanishing. She looked at Brielle's pale, sweating face. Brielle never made jokes when she was in this state.
Whenever the Thief started trembling, it meant a deadly enemy was right on top of them. Brielle's sharp instincts had saved them from countless dungeon traps and forest ambushes back home. If Brielle was scared, they all needed to be scared.
Aria stepped closer, her expression turning dead serious. "Brielle, listen to me. Thieves can feel the natural life force that constantly leaks out of every living being. That is how our party avoids ambushes. It's how we hunt down monsters in the dark. If a Thief cannot detect a person, then the Thief class would be completely useless."
Aria looked toward the open doors where the pink-haired girl had vanished. "It is an absolute rule of the world. Everything that lives gives off a presence. Are you really sure you couldn't sense her at all?"
Elen nodded worriedly, resting a hand on Brielle's shoulder. "Aria is right, Brielle. It's just not possible for a living human to have zero presence. Maybe you're just not feeling well? The carriage ride was exhausting."
"I am perfectly fine!" Brielle hissed, her voice cracking with frustration.
She pointed a shaking finger at the crowded, noisy area of the clan house. "I can sense the life force of every single person in this building right now. I can feel their breathing, their movements, their pulsing mana. But how do you explain what just happened? That girl with pink hair was inches away from me. Our shoulders almost brushed. And yet, there was absolutely nothing there. It felt like empty air."
"Worse than empty," Brielle whispered, her fingers digging into her arms. "You guys only look for 'Aura.' When someone wants to fight, they forcefully push their internal 'Mana' outside to coat their sword or reinforce their skin. That's Aura, and anyone can sense that kind of dense pressure."
Brielle swallowed hard, staring at the empty doorway. "But Thieves don't look for Aura. Just like what Aria said, we look for Life Force. It's the involuntary leak. Every breathing creature, even a sleeping rat or a hidden dungeon trap, constantly bleeds a microscopic trace of raw mana into the air just by existing. You can't turn it off. It's the natural hum of being alive. But that girl? She completely sealed it. Not a single drop of life force escaped her skin. She is a walking void. It doesn't make any sense at all."