The sun was high, the trail long, and Kaito was humming some nonsense tune. Every so often, he'd add a "Yeehaw!" for no reason other than it felt right.
In the back, Rika had her legs kicked up while Nanami and Dante sat across from her.
Dante and Rika were in the back catching Nanami up with everything they did before meeting her. From the hunter, to Veloria. Before he could backtrack to explaining who Nyla was Rika cut in.
"Yeah," Rika said, flipping a coin between her fingers. "Still can't believe the Veloria bulb got stolen, though. That's wild."
Nanami's head shot up, ears twitching. "Wild? It's catastrophic! Do you have any idea how dangerous that is? Crystia bulbs power entire city grids! They stabilize Elara flow! Without one, Veloria's basically..."
Rika blinked. "Okay, okay, science girl, breathe."
"It's not science, it's common sense!" Nanami crossed her arms, muttering under her breath about "reckless ignorance of power cores" and "structural instability."
Rika grinned. "You get all fired up about this stuff, huh?"
Before Nanami could respond, Rika's eyes widened mischievously. "Wait a second… you've got a tail."
Nanami froze. "Wh.... what? No I don't!"
Rika leaned in with a teasing smile. "Oh yes you do."
She reached out, but Nanami whipped around, hugging her tail protectively. "D-don't touch it! That's... that's rude!"
"Aww, she's embarrassed," Rika cooed. "She's cute when she's mad."
"I'm not cute!"
"Confirmed. Super cute."
Dante sighed. "Rika, quit tormenting her before she has a meltdown."
He leaned back against the side of the cart, finally allowing himself to relax. "Still, it's nice to be in a good spot for once. We've got food, some coin, not rich, but not starving either."
Rika laughed. "We can afford jellies!"
"I mean it!" Dante said, ignoring her. "Maybe when we reach where we're going, I'll finally get myself an S-tier weapon. Something shiny. Really nice I can get off a merchant.
Nanami tilted her head. "That's financially impossible unless you plan to rob a noble."
"Don't give her ideas," Dante muttered, pointing at Rika.
Rika smirked. "Too late. Tried that once. Almost died. Ten outta ten, would not recommend."
Dante blinked. "You're so casual about that."
"Hey, live and learn."
The cart suddenly jolted, tossing them all off balance.
"Whoa... Kaito!" Dante shouted. "What are you..."
Then everyone realized. "Wait...." "Kaito...?" Then they all panicked. "KAITO'S DRIVING!?"
"Testing the cart!" Kaito yelled, laughing as the cart bounced over uneven ground. "It's got great shocks!"
"Kaito, slow down!" Nanami cried, clutching the side.
"Relax! I got this!"
Crash.
The cart skidded sideways, hitting a small mound of rubble and stopping with a sharp thunk. Dust settled around them as everyone groaned.
Nanami slowly stood, twitching. "I… just finished building this cart."
Kaito looked sheepish. "Okay, okay, my bad. But... hey, good news! It's still in one piece!"
She exhaled through her nose, visibly restraining herself. "Barely."
Rika coughed out dust. "Driver of the year, everyone."
But when the air cleared, they realized where they were, a sprawling ruin of marble pillars and vine-covered walls, sunlight spilling through collapsed ceilings.
Dante whistled. "Now this… this is something."
Nanami's eyes widened behind her glasses. "These ruins... they're ancient. The architecture predates Crystia usage. Look at the etchings! This could be a preserved archive or maybe even a royal site!"
Kaito smiled. "You wanna check it out, don't you?"
Nanami blinked. "W-well, it would be academically irresponsible not to."
He laughed. "Thought so. Let's go."
Inside, the ruins were massive. a maze of cracked marble, pillars half-buried in dust.
Rika's eyes sparkled. "Oh, I like this place. Feels like treasure's hiding behind every wall."
"Feels like a trap," Dante said flatly.
"You're just paranoid." She rebuttled.
"You're always the reason I'm paranoid." He clapped back.
As they walked, Rika's hand brushed against a strange groove on the wall. "Huh… what's this...." she rubbed at the wall. "Treasure senses.... tingling..."
Kaito leaned over her shoulder. "Push it."
Nanami frowned. "Don't push it."
Rika pushed it.
The wall rumbled open, revealing a dim chamber lit by filtered light. A throne sat at the center, and on it, a corpse in fine robes, crown still resting on its head.
Rika grinned. "Jackpot."
Dante groaned. "Oh no."
"Don't," Nanami warned.
Rika picked up the crown anyway and plopped it onto her head. "Behold, Queen Rika of Riches."
For a second, nothing happened. Then the corpse's eyes snapped open.
"Rika!" Dante barked.
Rika froze as the body slowly rose, its movements jerky and stiff.
"Oh that's... that's not good." Rika shrunk
"Take it off!" Dante ylled.
"Okay, okay!" She lifted the crown halfway, then gasped. "Wait, I think I'm controlling him!"
Kaito blinked. "That's awesome!"
Nanami backed up, ears twitching. "That's necromantic resonance. Dark magic! Very bad!"
"Yeah, I'm getting that!" Rika playfully said.
"Rika!" Dante said sharply. "Take it off now!"
She hesitated, then reluctantly did so. The corpse slumped back down, lifeless once more.
"What's the big deal Dante?" She asked.
Dante sighed. "You don't mess with Dark magic of any kind, it's awful, the things it can do to your mind." He said.
Nanami nodded. "That very crown is probably what led this man to be here all alone." She said.
Rika groaned, "but it could go for a fortune then." Her greed speaks.
Dante shakes his head and she gives.
They left the chamber, but when the others were gone, Rika had slipped the crown into her bag, the sound of their footsteps fading into the corridors.
Moments later, another group entered the same room — rough-looking scavengers with torches and maps.
"The crown's gone!" one shouted.
"Gone?! Oh, we're dead! The boss is gonna."
"Relax," said a man in the back, stepping forward with a calm smirk. His eyes followed the faint trail of footprints leading out of the ruins.
"I saw who took it," he said quietly. "That white hair one, I met him before in the mountains." He said shaking his head. "Same ones from Veloria."
The others went pale. "You mean?"
He nodded, biting his tongue as he watched the distant trail of dust from their departing cart.
"Yeah," he muttered. " His name was... Kaito."
His smirk returned. Giddy at the possibility of revenge. "Looks like fate just handed me a second chance."
Hours later The road stretched out ahead, quiet, peaceful, maybe too peaceful. Dante lounged in the back of the cart, staring at the sky as the wheels clattered over stone.
"You know what we need?" Dante said suddenly. "A bard."
Kaito, reins in hand, tilted his head. "A what?"
"A bard. Y'know, music, songs, poems, whatever."
Kaito squinted. "Like… the traveling songs villagers sing on festival days?" The only reference Kaito had was back from his home.
"No, like, professionals. People whose whole job is music."
Kaito blinked in genuine awe. "There are people who do only that? For a whole job?"
Rika nodded sagely. "A bard is essential. Every real adventure group has one. Someone's gotta tell the story in case all of us die horrible deaths."
Dante frowned. "Why do you always go straight to 'we die'?"
She shrugged. "It's realistic! And brandable."
Nanami, sitting off to the side with her notebook, mumbled, "W-well, from a functional standpoint, I don't think a bard adds much to our combat efficacy. We don't even have a main tank… or a healer… or anything really resembling stable defense patterns. I'm already drifting into a DPS role, and-"
"Booooo," Rika groaned, dropping back dramatically. "You haven't even made a weapon yet!"
"I, I have!" Nanami snapped, cheeks puffing. "It's an idea of one, inertia-fed Elara-kinetic conduit, basically channeling atmospheric elara through directional motion."
"That sounds SO BORING," Rika declared at full volume.
Nanami threw her notebook up in exasperation. "It is NOT boring!"
Dante grinned. "Actually, it sounds kinda cool."
Nanami brightened instantly. "Thank you!"
Rika rolled her eyes. "Teacher's pet."
They continued down the trail, until they spotted a man crumpled on the side of the road.
Rika groaned. "Ugh. Another person."
Dante elbowed her as Nanami stopped the cart. "Hey! Are you alright?"
The man lifted his head slowly. "Ah… thank you. Hurt my leg."
"Hop in," Kaito said immediately.
Nanami blinked. "That quickly?"
"We're helping him!" Kaito declared.
A moment later the stranger climbed aboard, settling beside the crates. Rika crossed her arms.
"Alright, buddy. What's your budget? You want the standard rescue or the deluxe safe escort package..."
Kaito and Dante both snapped, "Rika!"
The man laughed kindly. "No need. I… don't have any blastie."
"Throw him out," Rika said instantly.
Dante bonked her on the head.
They chatted as the cart rolled on, though Nanami's ears twitched the longer he spoke. Something was… off. His tone was too polite. His eyes darted all over. And he never once told them what town he belonged to.
Then suddenly....
"Stop the cart."
Kaito blinked. "Here?"
They were in the middle of absolute nowhere. Just empty plains and quiet wind.
"Yes. Here is fine." The man hopped off quickly, gave them an overly formal bow, and hurried away without looking back.
"What a weird dude," Rika muttered.
Nanami frowned. "Why stop here of all places? There's..."
Her nose twitched.
Something sharp. Something rotten. Something… wrong.
"Do you… smell that?" she whispered.
Kaito sniffed. "Smells like dirt."
"No," Nanami said, ears flattening. "Something else."
Before she could analyze further, the earth beneath them rumbled, deep and heavy, like thunder rolling underground.
Kaito's eyes widened. "Uh oh."
From behind them, the soil split open as a hulking creature erupted upward, massive limbs churning up the ground, its roar shaking the grass around them.
A monster.
"OH COME ON!" Rika shrieked. "I'M TOO YOUNG AND TOO CUTE TO DIE!"
Kaito lashed out with a blast of fire, he had meant to channel ice, but the bolt bounced off the monster's stone-plated hide like a pebble thrown at a fortress.
"Why isn't it working!?" he yelled.
"Because it's a GARGANTUAN!" Dante shouted, gripping the side of the cart. "Their plating is insane, don't bother attacking!"
"It's not even that big!" Kaito argued.
Dante stared at him. "Not SIZE WISE! CLASS WISE!"
The monster barreled toward them.
Kaito slid under the cart. "Hold on! I'm gonna."
"KAITO!" they all screamed.
He channeled wind magic and he blasted them forwards. The cart lurched forward at full speed, wheels clattering wildly as they raced down the dirt path.
But ahead, Rika's eyes widened.
A canyon.
A wide one.
"Oh, perfect," she muttered. Then louder. "I'm taking over!"
She scrambled over crates, grabbed the bulb, and climbed onto the front seat.
"Rika, what are you?!" Dante choked.
She grinned like a maniac.
"I'm gonna jump it."
Kaito gasped happily. "Really?!"
"Hang on to your butts!"
She whipped the bulb, yelling at the top of her lungs.
"WE'RE NOT DYING TODAY!"
The cart picked up even more speed as the canyon edge raced toward them.
Rika leans forward like she's in a video game. "We can totally make this!"
Dante stares at her, horrified. "We're not in a fantasy racing game, Rika! That's a canyon!"
"Slow down!" Nanami pleads.
Kaito pops up front. "Okay, everyone hands up high!"
But Rika's in her own action movie now. She narrows her eyes. "We're absolutely making this jump."
The beast launches off the cliff. Mid-air, Rika throws her arms up. "We're gonna make it!"
Gravity politely disagrees. Their momentum stalls, and the carriage starts its majestic fall into the abyss.
"We're not gonna make it!" Rika screams, backpedaling hard.
"You've killed us all!" Dante yells, already composing his I-told-you-so.