Chapter 36: The Noise Outside

Stepping out of the Tower this time felt… different.
Not because the air had changed.
Not because the world outside had shifted.
But because people were watching.

Kael noticed it first.
Of course she did.

The glances lingered longer than usual. Conversations dipped slightly as they passed, then resumed in quieter tones. Some eyes held curiosity, some doubt, some something closer to judgment. It wasn’t loud, not direct—but it was there.
Aerin frowned slightly. “Why is everyone looking at us?”
Mira crossed her arms lightly. “You noticed now?”

Kael didn’t answer.
She already understood.

They didn’t stop.
They moved straight to the guild.

Not for rank upgrades.
Not yet.

For trade.

The materials they carried spoke for themselves once again—clean, refined, and more consistent than what most lower-ranked climbers brought back. The clerk processed everything without unnecessary commentary, though even he paused once or twice longer than usual while inspecting their haul.
“Efficient,” he muttered again, almost under his breath.

They were paid.
Fairly.

No questions were asked.
But that didn’t mean none existed.

After that, they separated.

Aerin went home first.

The moment he stepped inside, the shift was immediate.
His parents didn’t greet him with relief.
They greeted him with concern.

“You’ve been inside too long,” his mother said, her voice tight.
“You don’t need to stay in that team,” his father added, more direct. “You’re strong now. You’ve proven that. You can join better climbers—real teams.”

Aerin frowned. “They are a real team.”

“They’re holding you back,” his father replied. “You said it yourself—they take too long, they don’t move like others—”
“They train,” Aerin cut in, his voice firmer than usual.

His parents exchanged a glance.

“You don’t understand,” his mother said more softly. “People talk. That team—”
“I don’t care what people say,” Aerin replied.

And for once—
He didn’t back down.

“They didn’t leave me,” he added, quieter now but heavier. “That’s enough.”

The conversation didn’t end cleanly.
But it ended.

Aerin didn’t change his decision.

Mira’s situation wasn’t much different.

At the orphanage, the moment she arrived, she was surrounded—not just by the younger ones who looked up to her, but by the caretakers who carried a different kind of concern.
“You’ve been gone too long.”
“You shouldn’t be pushing yourself like this.”
“You’re still a child—”

“I’m not,” Mira replied sharply.

They tried to reason with her, softer than Aerin’s parents, but no less firm.
“You don’t need to do this alone.”
“You can wait.”
“You don’t have to rush into danger.”

Mira listened.
For a while.

Then shook her head.

“I do,” she said simply.

Because unlike them—
She wasn’t guessing.

She knew why she was climbing.

And that didn’t change.

Kael—
Didn’t go home.

Not immediately.

Her steps took her somewhere else first.

Her shop.

It had been closed for weeks now, the shutters untouched, the space quiet in a way that felt unfamiliar. For a moment, she just stood there, looking at it—not with nostalgia, not with hesitation, just… acknowledgment.
Then she opened it.

Inside, nothing had changed.
Dust had settled lightly, but everything was where she had left it.

She didn’t stay alone for long.

Dain and Lera arrived not long after, as if they had been waiting for the moment.

“Well, look who decided to remember she owns a shop,” Dain said with a grin.

Lera crossed her arms, though her eyes carried a softer expression. “We were starting to think you’ve become too important for us.”

Kael rolled her eyes. “You talk too much.”

They laughed.

The atmosphere shifted easily, like nothing had changed.

Kael brought out part of what they had gathered—materials she had already separated, cleaner, more useful pieces.
“For you,” she said, placing them down.

Lera raised an eyebrow. “You’re copying us now?”

Kael shrugged lightly. “Don’t get used to it.”

Dain chuckled. “Too late.”

They talked for a while after that—not about anything heavy, not immediately. Small things, familiar things, the kind of conversations that didn’t need effort.
But eventually—
The topic shifted.

“You’ve been making quite a name,” Dain said casually.

Kael glanced at him once. “Is that so?”

“Not the good kind,” Lera added.

“Snails,” Dain said with a smirk.

Kael didn’t react.

“They say you take forever on each floor,” Lera continued. “Some think you’re stuck. Some think you’re just bad.”

“And some,” Dain added, “are very confused.”

Kael leaned slightly against the counter.
“People talk,” she said.

“They do,” Lera agreed. “But we’re just glad you’re alive.”

Dain nodded. “And famous.”

Kael rolled her eyes again.

Then—
Lera’s expression shifted slightly.

“Any news about him?” she asked.

Riven.

Kael paused for a moment.
Then shook her head.

“Not yet.”

They didn’t push further.

After that, Kael cleaned the shop.
Not because it needed it.
But because she wanted to.

When she finally left, the sky had darkened.

She returned to her small, shabby house and slept.

Properly.

The next morning—
She opened the shop.

And this time—
People noticed.

Climbers stopped.
Stared.
Whispered.

“You’re back?”
“I thought you left for the Tower.”
“Did you quit already?”

Kael didn’t stop working as she answered.
“I’m going back tonight.”

That was enough to confuse them further.

“Then why are you here?”

Kael glanced up briefly.

“Because I can be,” she said.

Then added, almost absentmindedly—
“I still have work here.”

Trade.

The thing she had always done.

The thing she still chose to do.

Even now.

Because no matter how far she climbed—
She hadn’t forgotten where she started.

And she wasn’t planning to.

End of Chapter 36