The early afternoon sun beat down on them as Nico stood before Raiden, his body soaked in perspiration. With hands locked behind his head, his small legs quivered under the strain of relentless squats.

Resources were scarce in the Kingdom of Noor, especially in their isolated corner. Raiden had to make do with nature's offerings: rough tree bark for conditioning Nico's strikes, dangerous wildlife to hone his reflexes and survival skills, and whatever water sources they could find for swimming training.

Yet with his promise made and Nico's persistent encouragement, he felt obligated to develop these abilities in whatever ways he could manage.

Raiden remained still, arms folded over his chest, hoping his unreliable thoughts might provide a better idea since he lacked control over his own mental processes. It was then that Mr. Black stepped out of the building and headed their way.

Each step he took was guarded and precise, his movements suggesting the kind of stiffness that comes from spending endless hours in the same position behind a merchant's counter.

"You are really giving him a tough time this afternoon…" Black said, staring at Nico with a teasing smile.

Raiden's only response was a gentle smile as he observed the shopkeeper drawing closer.

Black turned in Raiden's direction, his smile turning lustful as he cleared his throat. "I heard you took down five corrupt crest bearers yesterday."

Raiden held his gaze and kept smiling, the desire to respond clear in his eyes even though no words would come.

Mr. Black playfully hit him on the shoulder. "From the moment I saw you, I knew you were strong… you reminded me of someone who came here not long ago."

"Really?" A word finally found Raiden.

"Yes… they were two, but he was the most memorable. And his smiles, they were genuine from the start."

Raiden looked toward Black while Leo's face flickered through his consciousness.

Given that there had been two visitors, and Raiden apparently resembled one of them, it seemed likely that Leo was the person in question, since he and MK had been in this area not too long before. ᴛʜɪs ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ ɪs ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ʙʏ novelꜰire.net

"But, you seem happy now…" Mr. Black glanced at Raiden, his rotting teeth showing through his smile.

However, his smile faded not long after. "Not many people seem to understand the goal of the Smiling Sanctum."

"Why so?"

"They say smiling means you're soft…" he finally smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

"It's not about softness. It's about truth. A smile doesn't beg, it doesn't demand… it just exists, you know?"

Raiden nodded.

"And sometimes, when you need it most, it slips past the walls you swore were unbreakable." He glanced at his palm, his hand trembling as though he was a drunk.

"A smile is all we the homeless got…"

Raiden held his gaze for a long moment, letting the shopkeeper's words sink into his heart. He had spent so long viewing smiles as deceptive weapons—tools of manipulation hiding true intentions behind false warmth.

His parents had never explicitly taught him to distrust smiles, but it was a lesson he'd absorbed somewhere along the way as he matured.

The sight of his parents wearing gentle smiles while ending lives, coupled with those exact same serene expressions turned on him during punishment—these experiences had carved this dark understanding of smiles deep into his psyche.

Was it possible? Could something as simple as a genuine smile be the key to happiness he'd been searching for?

While he wandered through his fragmented thoughts, an unsettling grin creeping across Black's features drew his focus, jolting him back to the present.

"Since you are strong…" his remaining decaying teeth clenched against each other as he turned to Raiden. "You'll have to kill more corrupt crest bearers."

A flicker of bewilderment crossed Raiden's features. The work was simply part of their existing agreement for housing—something he'd planned to do anyway.

Black's strange emphasis left him unsettled, though he couldn't pinpoint why. He nodded curtly and watched the man walk away with an enthusiasm that felt somehow wrong.

As soon as Black disappeared, Raiden's wounded psyche returned to contemplating the simple power of a genuine smile. Could it really be this easy? Had his long quest for meaning and joy finally reached its end?

Those thoughts filled him with deep unease. He was no longer himself, not even a shadow of his previous beliefs and worldview after this devastating experience. But perhaps what he'd truly needed for happiness all along was that narrow way of thinking?

Standing there in contemplation, he noticed Nico waving after completing his workout routine. Immediately, he headed in his direction.

"I want more…" Nico said with his teeth clenched in excitement.

Raiden smiled and nodded.

Throughout the hours that followed, Raiden buried his empathy and subjected Nico to grueling training. They cycled through exercise after exercise, and by the end he was silently hoping for some way to convince Nico to finally call it quits.

But the thought that the kid couldn't grow strong in a single day didn't enter his mind, and so, when evening came, Nico could hardly keep himself standing.

Even so, Nico still had a lot of desires. "Now, let me teach you my dancing moves."

Raiden stood there, mouth parted in confusion with his gaze fixated on Nico.

He understood the boy's desperation. Nico possessed no magical abilities in a world dominated by magic, making survival itself a challenge for people like him. At only eleven years old, he already grasped this harsh reality.

But Nico insisted on reciprocity. Their initial encounter—water for information—might have shaped his belief that nothing should be given or taken freely. Then again, this principle of fair exchange could have been ingrained in him long before Raiden arrived.

"Don't… worry," Nico muttered through his tired chest. "It's very simple…"

Raiden smiled with a gentle nod. If this was what Nico genuinely wanted, then he would give in.

Nico struggled upright and spread his arms wide, motioning for Raiden to mirror him. With his bright, eager smile, he stepped a few times to the left, once to the right, snapping his fingers with every move.

Raiden's throat tightened. The moves looked straightforward, but he knew he'd struggle; dancing was definitely not one of his talents.

"Okay… do it, Hero."

Nodding skeptically, Raiden took a deep breath and started copying Nico's movements, snapping along with each gesture.

But he stopped soon after and looked at Nico, whose face showed clear disappointment.

"You are really terrible at dancing," Nico said and shook his head. Then, a decent smile followed. "But you can do it. I believe in you."

Raiden returned the smile and threw himself into the dance again.

"Yes! Yes!… that's it," Nico said with pride as he cheered Raiden and that moment Raiden couldn't help but laugh.

"You aren't that bad after all, Hero."

Nico said and walked before Raiden. "Once you are done with this phase, you slap and move on to the next phase, and on the third phase, we return to phase one after the slap."

They practiced for hours until Raiden finally grasped every phase of the dance. Then something magical happened as they moved together, their laughter filling the air.

And now, he knew without a doubt that he had something to hold onto.