Part 1
Morning arrived with a clear sky and the fresh scent of the lake still lingering in the air.
The group moved around the camp, packing up what little they had, getting ready to depart.
Kaito adjusted his cloak, casting quick glances at Seri, who still looked half-asleep while trying to fold up her tent... not very successfully.
"Are you sure you want to handle that on your own?" he asked.
"I can do it! I don't need help with a simple tent!" Seri protested, wrestling with the ropes like they were wild snakes.
Beside her, Eve watched the scene in silence, head slightly tilted.
"Recommendation: allowing Seri to complete the task on her own will increase her manual experience by 0.7%. Additional comment: may also result in chaos, confusion, and possible accidental fire."
Kaito burst out laughing.
Ayame, sitting near the extinguished fire, observed quietly, hugging her summoning staff like a charm. Her ears twitched softly at the jokes. She still didn't dare join in… but for the first time, she seemed to be smiling.
The air between them was light. Almost as if the weight of the previous night… had never existed.
Kaito finished securing his belongings and looked toward the path that led into the forest.
"We still have about three days left to reach Aldoria."
Seri, having finally defeated the tent—or more accurately, crammed it into her magic bag—raised her fist with energy.
"Nobody can beat the great Seri Flames! Heh, heh, heh!"
All three clapped at the same time, as if she'd just defeated a dungeon boss.
Eve pulled a small notebook from her pocket and began scribbling something.
"Note: fire elves lack intelligence. They seem very dumb. I wonder if this is unique to Seri or a common trait of the entire race. Further investigation required."
"Hey! Who are you calling dumb?!" Seri snapped, frowning deeply.
Meanwhile, Kaito and Ayame were already walking ahead, completely ignoring the two of them.
"Beautiful day, isn't it?" Kaito said, pointing to a small bird soaring through the sky.
"Yes… Nature is so beautiful," Ayame replied with a gentle smile.
"Hey! Don't ignore us!" Seri shouted, puffing up like an angry cat.
Eve, cranking up the drama to unnecessary levels, collapsed to the ground theatrically.
An invisible spotlight seemed to shine on her in the middle of the path, as if she were on a tragic stage.
"The master has succumbed to his carnal desires and left us behind... sob… sob…" she said, fake tears obviously nonexistent.
Determined to ignore them, Kaito pointed to something in the woods.
"Look, a squirrel," he said with a smile.
"So cute! I've never seen an orange squirrel before. It's adorable," Ayame added, glowing with innocence.
Silence…
A tumbleweed rolled past in front of Seri and Eve, as if the universe itself was mocking them.
"Tch... We've been replaced by that fox girl," Seri muttered, crossing her arms.
"Seems the master is insatiable… and requires many women," Eve added in her usual neutral tone, only making things worse.
A vein popped in Kaito's temple.
He stopped.
Turned around slowly.
And without another word, smacked both of them on the head.
"Enough! Let's just keep moving! Stop imagining things!" he yelled, red as a tomato from embarrassment.
With all the madness behind them, the group resumed their steady march toward the academic city of Aldoria, the bastion of Estelaris, where the kingdom trains its future heroes, soldiers, and adventurers.
In the capital of the Kingdom of Estelaris, beneath the stained glass windows of the grand Cathedral of Mizuki, a secret meeting was underway.
A sealed room.
No guards.
No King Itsukigami.
No witnesses.
Only them.
The true players of the kingdom… conspiring against their king.
At the head of the table sat Cardinal Marcel Delacroix, guiding the meeting with a solemn smile.
"Brothers of the Order of the Sun," he intoned deeply. "May you be blessed by the grace of the goddess Minerva."
"Marcel, Marcel…" interrupted a refined blonde woman, waving an ornate fan in front of her face.
"Spare us the monologue. We want to know what happened especially how you lost the kitsune I lent you."
Lady Elara Beaumont. Soul trafficker. Slave merchant. Keeper of many secrets.
Marcel sighed.
"I apologize, Elara. It seems the false hero has surrounded himself with truly formidable companions."
As he spoke, he slid several hand-drawn wanted posters across the table.
The attendees examined them closely.
"Is this… an elf?" asked a burly man, clearly a military type. He was General Danilo Krieg, one of the commanders of the Royal Guard.
"That's right," Marcel nodded. "Seri Flames, a fire elf according to my spies."
Krieg scowled.
"We must tread carefully… provoking an elf is to provoke the Grand Forest of Mythara."
"And we don't want that."
Another man, with a scholarly air, wore the robes of the Crown's Magi. Magnus Fitzroy, headmaster of Aldoria Academy, studied the drawings and added in a calm tone:
"They also have an automaton from Zarakov. A very curious party indeed."
"And don't forget my kitsune," Elara snapped, slapping the fan against the table. "I want her back."
"For now, everything is proceeding as planned," Marcel reassured.
Elara raised an eyebrow.
"'Proceeding'? I was informed the elf destroyed a quarter of Mareen Forest with a single attack."
Krieg grunted.
"Elves have always been dangerous. That's why we avoid provoking them—or setting foot in their lands."
"Don't worry," Marcel said. "They'll reach Aldoria soon. The king still suspects nothing… not even that there are missing heroes. He believes there are only three."
"Who will keep an eye on this peculiar group?" Elara asked.
Magnus smiled—a cold, calculated smile.
"I will."
"After all… I am the headmaster of the Academy."
"Let me handle them. But I ask you all not to interfere."
Marcel looked around the table.
"Any objections?"
Everyone nodded in silence.
"Good," Marcel concluded. "As for the kitsune… You will receive three times her original price, Elara. Do you accept?"
"I accept," she said sweetly, though her voice dripped with venom. "I'll recover her… personally."
"Very well. Let's move on to the next item."
Krieg stood and rolled out a large map across the table.
"Let's talk about General Velmont's forces," Krieg announced. "An obstacle that may complicate our plans more than expected..."
The meeting continued beneath the temple's cold lights.
In secret.
In silence.
Like venom already coursing through the Kingdom's veins.
Far from there, unaware of the schemes being spun in the shadows, Kaito's group continued their journey.
After a long day —marked by encounters with wild beasts and a couple of minor scares (nothing Eve couldn't dismantle, classify, and store in her inventory)— night once again cloaked the Mareen Forest under a star-covered sky.
The campfire crackled gently. The forest night had wrapped itself in silence. The fire's soft crackling filled the void with its warm, flickering dance.
Seri stared into the flames as if they were telling a story only she could understand. The wind played with her hair while the fire moved… as if the two shared a distant memory.
Kaito approached quietly, holding a steaming bowl of food in his hands.
"Are you alright?" he asked softly, sitting beside her.
Seri took a moment before answering.
"Oh… Kaito. Yeah. I was just… thinking about what happened yesterday."
"I see," he said, offering her the bowl. "I was honestly a bit shocked at first. I didn't know you could do something like that."
She took it gently. She wasn't hungry, but she accepted it anyway.
"I didn't know either…" she murmured. "Or maybe I did. But… I always thought that if I ever used it, I'd end up destroying something I didn't want to."
Kaito watched the fire with her.
"And yet… you used it to protect us."
Seri lowered her gaze.
"Do you think I did the right thing?"
He smiled—not the kind of smile meant to make someone feel better, but one that came from genuine belief.
"Seri… If you hadn't, that monster would've killed all of us.
And if you ask me, that ability is amazing."
For a moment, Seri didn't know what to say. Kaito's words felt like a healing balm she hadn't realized she needed.
"Thank you…" she whispered softly.
Kaito stood and affectionately ruffled her hair, the way he did when he wanted to avoid getting too sentimental.
"You're an amazing mage… and also incredibly kind. I know you have a great future ahead of you."
Seri looked up at him with a shy smile… and inside, the fire began to burn again.
"You're right," she said with quiet conviction. "I didn't get it before. But now I know one thing for sure."
She raised her gaze, resolute.
"Now I have a family to protect!"
Kaito chuckled softly.
"That's the Seri I like—bursting with energy."
"I'm not afraid of people thinking I'm a monster anymore," she added, clenching her fist with determination.
She glanced over at Eve and Ayame, both asleep near the fire, sharing a makeshift blanket.
Seri's eyes shone with quiet resolve.
"After all… I'm not alone anymore."