“I’m Riki… and she’s not my girlfriend.” he said, wiping his face with a wet cloth Kirk gave him. There was a lot more dirt and blood that had come off onto the cloth than he realized. He wasn’t exactly hurting, so he was surprised just how covered it was. His fingers wrapped around the cloth as he felt the carriage pass over a small dent in the path.

As far as he can tell, this was his first time riding a carriage powered solely by a steam engine. In fact, this was the first time he had ridden anything for that matter according to his memory. The seat exposed to the elements had a high-class feel as expected by how visually ‘mechanical’ the design of the carriage looked.

“She was just someone I found on the road. By the time I saw her, she already had those burn marks so I really have no clue what happened to her.” Riki continued.

“Ahaha, just kidding there mate! Figured that much!” Kirk tossed an innocent smile in his direction without even a hint of sarcasm.

...I’m not sure how to feel about that.

Riki peered over his own shoulder to see the white-haired girl who hadn't moved from where she was placed at all. He couldn’t help but to feel worried for her. Even though the two didn’t know a single thing about each other, he felt her life was resting in his hands.

“But yes, it’s a shame that a beauty like her had her looks tainted like that.” Kirk said, eyeing the road, “That girl seems to be from a certain village far north. The reason her complexion is so pale is due to the climate up there, where it hardly gets any sun. Trust me, the weather can get pretty extreme and can get pretty depressing not being able to see the sky after a while. To be frank though, I’m not sure why the miss sustained so many burns and why she appears so malnourished.”

“A village? Could it be why she looks so malnourished is because her village was just poor or something?”

“No, a malnourished person such as this lady could not possibly have traveled that far on foot like this. Still, I can’t quite think of why this lady is here. From my experience as a traveler, the distance from here to all the way over there is astronomical. And I believe her people usually keep to themselves, for a lady like her to be here would conflict with the core way of life of her life.”

Riki felt goosebumps creep up his arms the moment he imagined himself trekking that distance. He had seen the world map before, so he had an idea of the geography of the world and the possible location Kirk had described. If running for 15 minutes was already draining for him, then he had no right to complain as long as that girl existed. Kirk, too, made a dismal expression and continued on.

“Anyways, I know a good doctor back home. She has her fair share of experience with injured people...though she can get a little sadistic with her patients sometimes.” Seeing him shudder and his face stiffen, Riki decided to spare him from elaborating on any details, whatever they might be.

“You’re way too nice, Kirk. I’m really sorry for interrupting you when you were going about your business... Were you going to the capital just now?”

“Fallway, eh? I guess you can say that.” he said, taken off-guard by his question, “I’m a skilled tradesperson who works mainly with energy efficiency. While it’s true I’m on a run to retrieve something from a supplier, I feel like that can wait. A person’s life can’t wait on the other hand, you see.”

Riki only nodded, still feeling a little bit of guilt by the fact that he disturbed someone’s work.

“So?” Kirk asked.

“...So?”

“What’s going on with you? I have to ask, why did you look so beaten up back then?”

“To be completely honest,” Riki said, “I… don’t know. I had somehow lost my memories. I can’t remember a single thing before I found that girl on the path just now.”

“Well that’s something else. Never seen a person with actual amnesia before. You know, the way you looked back then, I’m sure you slammed your head hard in a pack of dirt which jumbled your brain. Ha ha!”

Was I…? I don’t even know anymore.

“So that means you technically don’t have anywhere else to go now, huh. How about this. Tell you what, does the idea of staying a few days in Chordia seem good to you? In the meantime you can wait for both, the recovery of the lady, and for you memories to come back.”

“...Now I’m really gonna feel guilty if I say yes.”

Kirk had already shown much kindness for the sake of Riki and the girl, so accepting the offer would make him overstep his boundaries. Yet, the man was right that he didn’t have any options left. The thought killed him, but he finally said, “Okay, I’ll do it. I’ll take up your offer.” For a second, Kirk closed his eyes and smiled before returning to the road ahead.

“You said you were from Chordia, right?” Riki asked.

“That’s right.”

“...So… does that mean a person living there would be called… a chordian?”

“...Sir if I have to hear that joke one more time, I will—”

・・・・・

After quite some time gazing at the rolling landscape, Riki couldn’t help but be aware of the temperature that had only increased over the course of half an hour. It only took so much time airing the collar of his shirt to begin to complain.

“Uh, Kirk? Is it normal that the carriage gets this hot when it runs?”

“Don’t underestimate the power of steam my boy, but you are right to be observant. Gotta admit, it shouldn’t be this hot. I ought to take this to my workshop after this.”

This didn’t convince Riki of the greatness of using steam as fuel, but he refrained from speaking his mind. The only thing he was worried about was that the girl would overheat in this situation considering she didn’t had the luxury of cooling herself. As he turned his head around to look at her one more time, a flash of blue blinded him for a second. Confused, he turned around back. Where his eyes led him as he shifted his gaze to the source was the side mirror attached to the brim of the seat by a metal wire. The mirror itself gave off an illuminated blue shade. Strange, Kirk didn’t seem that type of person to outfit his vehicle with accents like that.

Wait. No, of course not. Don’t tell me...

Riki looked over his shoulder, afraid of what he was going to see. A moment of stillness arrived, where all motion seemed to cease. At that moment, he knew he didn’t need to shield his eyes from the light of the sun. That was when he was blinded by the blue fish of flames barreling down at them. It was beauty and destruction in its purest form. There were five of them, all the size of an adult human and all tailing the carriage’s rear.

Someone is attacking us using their Aoi!

“Uhh… Kirk?! I hope this carriage has the same capabilities as a supercar.”

“Why’s that?”

“Check your side mirror.”

“...DEAR GOD. That is NOT something you see every day.” While he was initially baffled at the sight of the flames, Kirk put on a smirk and let out a chuckle. He had been waiting so long for the right moment, and all of that waiting had paid off.

“...Haha. Young man, you know nothing yet of the true power of STEAM ACCELERATION!”

“H—huh?!”

“What an opportunity this is to test out a feature of this hunk of mechanical work. This form of engine incorporates a secret adjustment to be used only in emergencies! I’ll crank it up to two hundred fifty-six times its normal output!”

With his right hand, Kirk pulled on multiple levers and switches that were between the driver and passenger seat. As he snapped his arm back to pull on the final lever, the whistle of the carriage howled as the overwhelming smell of vaporized water flooded their noses.

“WOAH—”

The intense acceleration caused Riki to scrunch up in his seat so he wouldn’t get launched out. He looked back again to see the difference it made, but quickly grimaced as soon as he twisted his body. It was like nothing had happened. The carriage was already hurtling at ludicrous speed, but the flames moved even faster.

These things are fast! Are we being chased by these fish flames because of the girl? I mean, there’s no way that isn’t the reason. It’s all too coincidental. Still, I’m not gonna let her be engulfed in flames like this.

If these things were left the way they are now, then the carriage would lead them into a town with real, innocent people residing there. A bead of sweat formed on his cheek and he swore that he could feel it sizzle from the heat. Biting his lip, Riki supported himself and stood up onto the seat. He glanced at the girl, and then steeled himself.

“Oi, I’d advise you not to stand up in a moving vehicle, especially in one going at its maximum performance!”

“Yeah, well I’d rather not have us get burned!”

He brought his right elbow back with his forearm parallel to the ground, and a sphere of light slowly formed within his hand. His arm felt warm, but it was a different type of warmth compared to the heat around him.

“Riki?! Y—You’re a stargazer?!”

“Stargazer? Uh, I can’t remember the last time I saw the night sky though.”

“What’dya mean? You’re using an Aoi right now! That means you’re probably a member of Azure, right?”

“Sorry, but I can’t really talk right now. I need to concentrate on shooting these fire balls of death and creating these light spheres take a lot of effort!”

Anyways, my Aoi might be able to hold them off. It’s light, but I’m pretty sure it's more than just light. I know it defle… deflected…?

A jolt of pain enveloped his head for a brief second. He brought his hand to his face and clenched his eyes shut in shock. Somehow, a picture of the lavender flower he carried in his pocket emerged in his mind. It was brief, yet visible alongside the pain. But this was not the time to be wincing against the discomfort. Forcing his eyes back open, he stretched out his palm.

“Ah! Screw it!”

The light sphere launched from his hand and collided with the closest flame fish. The subsequent blast as they collided was bright and loud enough to make Riki shield his eyes for the brief time it occurred. As the dust settled, he found that it had knocked back a few meters, and appeared to have shrunk in size.

“Holy shit it works!” He shouted, fist pumping. Kirk turned his head around and whistled at the sight.

“Think you can manage that a few more times?”

Greedily stealing his thunder, he stared at the four others yet to be blasted. A small wave of anxiety washed over him making him slump his shoulders.

“Errf. I could try.”

At this rate, it would have probably taken at least seven of those to completely diminish one of the flame fishes. Unfortunately, there were five of them, all not going to give him time to slow them down.

5 times 7 is 35… That’s not a problem.

This time, Riki held out both arms and formed a light sphere in each hand. Raising them, he took aim at the two flames closest to the steam carriage.

“Oi, Riki! I’ve realized something about your Aoi!” Kirk shouted, knocking him out of his concentration.

“...I’m a little busy here!”

“Well listen anyways, the orbs you make, I feel like they are actually energy!”

“En… Energy…?!” he shouted, passing a glance at Kirk.

“See… I work with different types of machinery alongside many self-proclaimed engineers back in my day, and throughout my work I’ve had the grandest opportunity to—“

“Just cut to the relevant part!”

“...What I’m saying is that they’re not just light like what you said, but really a concentration of energy. A physical manifestation of pure radiant energy!”

“Well, that’s pretty cool!”

That instant, Riki’s vision was enveloped by a flurry of light as he bombarded the five fish flames. The sight was nothing more than a light show. Under the influence of adrenaline, he forgot to count how much ammo he had shot out. He didn’t stop until he felt his arms start to feel heavy. As soon as he did, the remaining fish flames emerged from the cloud of dust, all appeared much smaller than before. Despite how close he was to snuffing the flames out, Riki took the time to recover as his whole body felt heavily drained.

“Did ya get em?” Kirk shouted.

“If you say that, then I obviously won’t...”

As if predicting it perfectly, the worn flames flashed white for a brief moment before flickering. Their shape no longer retained their shape of fish, but morphed into that resembling a human. The first thing he thought of when Riki laid eyes on them was blue flame spirits. In place of their forearms were nothing but fire swaying against the wind. Their faces were blank and featureless.

Are you serious?

Still. At the very least, he could not succumb to the sight. This didn’t discourage him from creating two more energy spheres in his hands. He launched them at the two closest flame spirits once more, hoping for the same results. But that hope quickly crumbled one second later as he watched the outcome of the collision. It... had no effect. The fish flames he had countered before were embers compared to now.

“...That’s bad.”

“Ha ha, I’m all the more impressed that this lady was able to fend off against these things. I ain’t mad at all.”

“Do you have any sense of mortality?”

His Aoi was the only one remaining thing he had to defend against the flames. If even that became ineffective, then he was left with nothing to do to stop them. Once again, Riki felt the pressure of the dire situation crush him. He only had one goal: to rescue the girl. Even then it appeared that he failed this as he watched the fire spirits almost touch the metal frame of the carriage. It was certainly pressing on him. Pressing. Pressing….

That’s right, I can charge up these things can’t I? These energy spheres. I did it last time—

Another flash of pain came as soon as he finished his thought, but he couldn’t have cared less. He took this pain as motivation to brace himself. A single energy sphere formed in his right hand. Riki leaned forward and extended his arm backward. Straining his entire body, the light grew brighter. In order to fight back against the world, he put his all in this one attack.

“Urrraaaaahh!”

The sphere radiated brighter and brighter with each passing second. It was at the moment, Kirk knew, his light surpassed the spirits’. With what little room he had in the seat, Riki shifted his weight to his right foot, lifted his left knee, slammed his foot down, pivoted his entire body, and propelled the energy sphere with all of his might straight towards the closest fire spirit. With a flash of light, the subsequent impact of Riki’s and Kirk’s hearing soon followed.

They both held their breaths, waiting to see the results of the blast. Sure enough, with the fruits of his labor, the fire spirit had been reduced to cinders.

“It… worked… but…” Riki was all but worn out by now. There was no possible way for him to create another charge blast let alone four of those to annihilate the rest. He felt too drained mentally to even punch the seat in shame. Kirk didn’t bat an eye, rather he stared straight ahead. He wasn’t concerned with the spirits at this point, because he spotted something else more pressing. Soon after did Riki hear Kirk shout a command. It wasn’t for him though, it was directed in front of the carriage.

“Hey you! On the road! Move! Move out of the way!!!” he shouted as he flailed his arm.

Riki turned around to see what caused Kirk to call out, and the instant he did, it only took him one second to realize the source of the flames were in front of them. Somehow, by instinct, he knew the two of them were the ones in danger. With a split second decision, he steeled himself one last time.

“I’m sorry—!”

Exceeding his physical limits, he shoved Kirk out of his seat and onto the road. After muttering an apology, Riki hopped over the seat to the back and held the white-haired girl up to him. With a breath held, he leaped by the rear just in time to hear the screeching of metal behind him.