The town square had been transformed overnight. White tents dotted the normally open space, and lines of nervous-looking townspeople shuffled between them. Ryo stood in one of these lines, deliberately fidgeting with his sleeve while watching the proceedings through careful eyes.

  "Stop looking so worried," Old Man Turner said from behind him. "You're making me nervous just watching you."

  Ryo forced his hands to still. He'd spent half the night debating whether to use the iron ring or take the female knight's implied offer about mana scarring. In the end, he'd decided on a third option – one that required perfect control and timing.

  "Next!" called a voice from the tent ahead.

  The line shuffled forward. Ryo could see inside now: a table with three evaluators, the measuring crystal prominently displayed in the center. The crystal was larger than he'd expected, about the size of a melon, and it pulsed with a soft blue light. What worried him more were the additional instruments arranged around it – detection tools he recognized from his studies but shouldn't have known about.

  "Name?" one of the evaluators asked the farmer currently being tested.

  "Tom Wells, sir."

  "Place your hand on the crystal."

  The crystal glowed slightly brighter, showing a pale green color – indicating minimal magical potential. The farmer was quickly processed and sent on his way.

  Two more people went through similar tests. One showed slightly higher potential, earning a few additional questions before being dismissed. Ryo mentally rehearsed his plan one last time.

  "Next!"

  It was his turn. Ryo stepped forward, making sure to stumble slightly on the tent's entrance flap. He heard a few sympathetic chuckles from the line behind him.

  "Name?" asked the central evaluator, a bored-looking man with gray-streaked hair.

  "Ryo. Just Ryo." He kept his voice appropriately nervous. "I run the Sleeping Dragon Tavern."

  "Occupation already noted," the man said, checking a list. "Place your hand on the crystal."

  Ryo hesitated, then reached out with a trembling hand. This was the crucial moment. As his fingers touched the crystal's surface, he executed his plan with precise timing.

  First, he let out a small portion of his power – just enough to register as unusual. Then, in the split second before the crystal could fully measure it, he twisted his mana in a specific way, creating a feedback loop that would appear like damaged channels to any measuring device.

  The crystal flared bright red for an instant, then dulled to a sickly purple color. All three evaluators sat up straighter.

  "Something's wrong with your crystal," said the evaluator on the left, frowning at the readings.

  "No," said a familiar voice from the tent's entrance. The female knight from yesterday stepped in, her timing suspiciously perfect. "The crystal is working fine. This is consistent with severe mana scarring."

  The head evaluator looked up sharply. "Knight-Captain Elena, you know this subject?"

  "I investigated his background yesterday," she said smoothly. "There were indicators that suggested this condition. The readings confirm it."

  Ryo kept his expression carefully confused and worried, though internally he was analyzing every word. She'd clearly been waiting for his evaluation, but was she helping him or setting him up?

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  "Mana scarring?" the third evaluator asked, reaching for a different instrument. "That's extremely rare. We should do additional tests to confirm—"

  "That won't be necessary," She interrupted. "I've already documented the case for the Royal Academy's records. Unless you wish to question my assessment?"

  There was something in her tone that made the other evaluators hesitate. Ryo watched the exchange with growing suspicion. This was too smooth, too convenient.

  "Very well," the head evaluator said finally. He stamped Ryo's document with more force than necessary. "You're cleared. Move along."

  Ryo took the document, bowed awkwardly, and turned to leave. He felt Elena's eyes on his back as he exited the tent.

  "How'd it go?" Turner asked as Ryo rejoined the crowd.

  "I think I passed?" Ryo said, maintaining his confused act. "They said something about scarred mana channels..."

  "Mana scarring?" Anna had apparently finished her own evaluation and joined them. "Oh, you poor dear. That explains so much! Why didn't you tell us?"

  Ryo rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I didn't know? I just thought I was bad at magic..."

  The conversation was interrupted by a commotion from one of the other tents. A young man was arguing loudly with the evaluators.

  "What do you mean, 'additional testing'? I just want to get this over with!"

  Ryo noticed Elena and the other knights moving toward the disturbance. The young man's crystal reading must have shown something interesting – exactly what Ryo had been trying to avoid.

  "Let's get back to the tavern," he suggested, trying to draw his friends away from the scene. "First round's on the house to celebrate passing the evaluation."

  "Now you're talking!" Turner said, already heading in that direction. "Though should you be celebrating? That scarring condition sounds serious."

  "Oh, it's not dangerous," Anna assured them as they walked. "It just means his magic won't work normally. No wonder you've been having such trouble with basic spells!"

  They reached the tavern, and Ryo busied himself serving drinks and listening to everyone's evaluation stories. But his mind was working overtime, processing everything that had happened.

  Elena had been too prepared, too conveniently placed. The other knights had deferred to her too quickly. Something bigger was going on, and he had a feeling his carefully constructed quiet life was about to get more complicated.

  As if summoned by his thoughts, the tavern door opened and Elena walked in. The conversations died down as she approached the bar.

  "A word in private, if you don't mind," she said. It wasn't really a request.

  Ryo nodded, gesturing to the back room. Once they were alone, he dropped some of his usual clumsy mannerisms – there was no point pretending now.

  "That was quite a performance at the evaluation," she said, watching him carefully.

  "I could say the same to you, Knight-Captain," he replied, letting a hint of his real self show through. "You seemed very prepared for my condition."

  "A condition that appeared rather suddenly, wouldn't you say?" She smiled slightly. "Your technique for simulating mana scarring was impressive. I've only seen it done that well once before."

  Ryo kept his face neutral, but his mind raced. She'd recognized the technique, which meant she knew exactly what he'd done. The question was, what did she want?

  "I'm not sure what you mean," he tried one last time to maintain his cover. "I just did what they asked..."

  "Let's stop playing games," Elena said, her voice hardening slightly. "You're not what you pretend to be. The question is whether you're hiding your abilities for personal reasons."

  "I just want to run my tavern," Ryo said, and this time he let his genuine frustration show. "I have no interest in politics or power plays."

  "Unfortunately," Elena replied, "your abilities make you a person of interest, whether you want to be or not. The Kingdom is facing challenges recently that require people with your... potential."

  "And if I refuse?"

  "Then I suppose someone might start asking questions about how a tavern keeper learned such an advanced technique for manipulating mana readings. Or why monsters and bandits avoid this area. Or perhaps about your convenient appearance in this town a year ago with no background or history."

  Ryo felt a headache building. This was exactly what he'd been trying to avoid – being forced into the spotlight, being pulled into larger conflicts.

  "What exactly do you want from me?" he asked, dropping all pretense of the bumbling tavern keeper.

  "For now? Nothing." Elena moved toward the door. "Continue running your tavern. Continue pretending to be magically inept. But when I return – and I will return – be ready to make a choice about how your abilities could serve a greater purpose."

  She left, leaving Ryo alone with his thoughts and the sounds of his customers in the main room. He could run – he'd prepared for that possibility. But running would mean leaving behind everything he'd built here, everyone he'd grown to care about.

  "Just wanted a quiet life," he muttered, reaching for a bottle of his actual good alcohol hidden behind the cheap stuff. "Is that too much to ask?"

  The bottle stopped halfway to his lips as he sensed something at the edge of his awareness. A magical disturbance, far enough away that most would miss it, but powerful enough to catch his attention. He set the bottle down untouched.

  More complications. Just what he needed.