"See ya soon, lads! It's been a great time. Next time you wanna go somewhere, call me!"
Kevin's voice rang out across the dock, loud and proud as ever. He stood at the helm of his ship like he was born to belong nowhere else but the sea.
I stood there, waving with Wanora and Evena, watching the sails unfurl with a stubborn grace as the wind tugged at them. Kevin's ship was already cutting the waves, already chasing the horizon.
A man who loved his ship more than anything else. I respected him for that. For that… and the fact that he saved us.
I turned to Evena, who stood silently beside me. "Let's go then."
She didn't speak. Just nodded, eyes fixed ahead, listening—always listening, but rarely speaking.
"Uhh, Evena. Do you wanna come?" I asked, hesitant.
She looked at me again and nodded once more.
"Okay then, haha… but seriously, if you don't want to, just say it. No one's going to harm you anymore."
She didn't answer. Just stared—quietly, pensively. Before i could say more, Wanora's voice broke through the moment.
"ALRIGHT, LET'S GO! I'M TIRED! TEACH HER WHATEVER YOU WANT AT HOME!"
"Yea, yea…" I mumbled, letting her loudness bulldoze over my thoughts. The three of us left the dock, and just ahead, we spotted a carriage. It came to a halt the moment the driver noticed us.
"Well, guess we'll take this carriage," I said.
A lady stepped out—pale skin glowing under the morning sun, black hair cascading like shadows.
"Hello," she smiled. "I'm Katherine."
"Ah, hello. Can you drop us to Menyurl?"
"Why not?" she smiled again. "Please, get in—"
A blast of fire tore through the air before she could finish. The carriage burst into flames.
"Huh?" I blinked, spinning toward Wanora. "H-Hey… why did you burn it?"
Panic rippled through the people around us. They scattered like leaves in the wind. But Katherine—she didn't flinch. She just kept smiling.
"So it was you, huh?"
Wanora stood firm. "I'm not giving the artifact. So fuck off."
"Oh? Did you assume we wanted it?"
Wanora's tone sharpened like a blade unsheathed. "Five seconds, and I'll kill you if you don't get out of here."
"Woah, woah, calm down, Wanora," I said quickly, stepping between them—and immediately regretting it. Her eyes flared with rage, locking onto me like they could pierce straight through my skin. My mouth sealed itself, and I instinctively backed up behind Evena.
Katherine chuckled, voice silky and cold. "Look, it's not that deep. We just wanted to ask you why you did it. You'll report it to us, won't you?" She took a step forward, locking eyes with Wanora. "Besides… you wouldn't want to make an enemy of the Authority, would you?"
Wanora didn't blink.
Then—out of nowhere—she said, "Sure. Take him." She pointed directly at me.
"ME? WHY?"
I looked to her in disbelief. But her glare shut me up again. My protests evaporated in my throat.
Wanora continued, "But not today. When we're rested. He'll give you the details. Is that alright?"
Katherine smiled. "Okay." She snapped her fingers—and just like that, she walked away.
My head tilted. "Why would she snap her fingers?"
Evena silently pointed to a house nearby. I followed her finger and spotted someone watching us. The moment he heard the snap, he turned and walked away.
"Oh… you saw that?"
She nodded.
"I can't use my Clarion right now," I said. "I overexhausted it. I need to rest… avoid using it."
"Alright. Let's go now, shall we?"
We approached another carriage. I waved to the driver. "Hey, can you drop us to Menyurl?"
The man's eyes met ours—and he bolted. The carriage sped off down the road like it had just seen the Devil.
"Huh? Why?" I looked around. Eyes were darting away from us. People were steering clear like we were cursed.
"WHY?" I turned slowly, gaze falling back on the scorched wreckage of Katherine's carriage. "Yeah… I think they're scared now."
"Thanks, Wanora," I said with a wry smile.
She didn't laugh.
She stormed up to another carriage driver, tossed him a bag, and grabbed his collar. "Take us to Menyurl."
The man took one glance inside the bag and immediately nodded, voice dry and trembling. "Y-Yes, right away. Please… get in."
As the three of us climbed in, I couldn't help but ask, "Hey… how did you convince him, anyway? We didn't have any gold. We lost most of our stuff on the island."
"I gave him the artifact I had for preventing the deity from taking our soul," Wanora replied. "It's Wise Scholar tier. For people like them, it's enough to buy a month's luxury food if sold in a proper place."
"Still… you should stop making yourself seem so evil. I mean, I doubt anyone would wanna talk to you."
She shot me another glare.
I shut up again, retreating behind Evena with a sheepish grin as Wanora chuckled softly for once.
"Well, it ended well, I think." She leaned back and looked out the window, her voice lighter. The carriage rolled forward, leaving behind a burning wreck and the morning sun behind us.