After calling it a night and going to their separate inns, they agreed to reconvene at the center of town where there stood a large statue of an explorer (that Silica didn’t know). It was early in the morning with only a handful of people roaming the streets when Silica and Jil reached the statue.

“Looks like we’re the first ones here.” She observed while Jil perched herself on Silica’s shoulder. Silica leaned her back against the statue, gazing blankly into the blue sky. Having spent so long yesterday underground, the open sky seemed to provide more of a comfort to Silica than it usually would.

“You seem in a good mood,” Jil observed.

“I am?”

“You seem more uplifted than you were the previous day.”

“Hm… guess so,” Silica shrugged. “Guess I’m just excited for our new teammates. For most of my life, it’s mostly been exploring with Liana and one of the adults from Holbourgh. Never gone out with other people my age before.”

Jil smiled. “I suppose when you put it like that I see why you seem more cheery.” She took flight, perching herself on top of Silica’s head. “Let us hope Mar and Soma help to rein in some of your bad habits out in the field.”

“Hey!” Silica snapped.

“Morning sis. Morning Jil.” Liana was the next to arrive, giving the two a short wave. “I hope you slept well.”

“Yeah. I was dead to the world,” Silica yawned while stretching.

“She isn’t joking. I had to wake her up when the sun arose,” Jil said.

“Yeah… I know,” Silica rubbed her right eye as the fairy took flight. The main reason why those two were the first to arrive was that Jil had woken Silica up by pulling on her right eyelid.

Liana couldn’t help but laugh as she imagined what could have happened. “You two already act like the best of friends already,”

“Wh-we are not?” Silica pouted.

“We are mutually beneficial acquaintances,” Jil said, folding her arms and huffing.

“That’s called friends,” Liana said.

“Yoooo!”

Mar and Soma arrived together, with the former waving at the girls before they approached.

“I hope you haven’t been waiting long,” Soma said as the men reached them.

“No. We just got here,” Liana said while Silica gave them a small wave.

“Morning guys,” She said as she pulled away from the statue.

Mar gave her a wave back. “So, shall we head to the guild first? See if there are any jobs for us to tackle.”

“That’s the plan,” Silica nodded. “Hopefully they’ll be something good.”

“Something not as dangerous as the last one,” Jil frowned.

“Yeah yeah,” Silica shrugged before walking away from the statue with her hands resting behind her head. She took the lead with the others following behind her.

“Before we leave the gates, we should stop by the market to pick up some supplies,” Soma suggested.

“That’s a good idea. I need to restock on some arrows.” Liana said looking at her half-empty quiver.

“I need to pick up some food and potions. I lost everything when the orcs attacked the camp,” Mar groaned. “Could’ve used some of it in the mines. All we had to eat was the dried meat I had on me,”

Soma gave a weary chuckle. “I’m in a similar situation. All I had was the book and the clothes off my back.”

“You had nothing else in that thing?” Silica asked, referring to Soma’s bag. The young boy shook his head.

“Just the book. I wouldn’t risk putting anything else in that could damage it in any way.”

“That seems a little illogical,” Jil said, turning around flying backward.

“Maybe, but that’s how important it is to me,” Soma said, adjusting the straps on his bag. “I just can’t risk anything damaging it in any sort of way,”

“Then what did you use to carry all that stuff you need? A second bag?” Silica asked.

“…. Yes,” Soma said bashfully adjusting his cap. “And that was lost in the attack….”

“Sorry I asked,”

****

The guild was more lively than it was in the evening, yet it was clear most of the patrons weren’t adventures. It wasn’t that much of a surprise for Silica, as the Poached eel back home served everyone on the island despite the small adventurer’s presence. Yanes was behind the counter, cleaning small glasses before noticing the party.

“Ah, there you are.” He said as the party walked in. “So you’re all sticking together?”

“For now, yeah,” Silica said, resting her hands over her head. “Sides, I’d say we made a very good team,”

Yanes chuckled. “It’s good to see you all up and about following the events of yesterday. I was half expecting you all to still be sleeping.”

“Ah, I’d get too antsy if I did nothing,” Mar said. “I’m aiming to be a platinum adventure. Gotta keep on top of my game.”

“We were looking to see if there were any jobs posted,” Liana said.

“You’re ready to go back out?” Yanes asked.

“Hey, we’re going to Free Port. Can’t go there with an empty coin purse,” Silica said grinning.

“That is true,” Yanes nodded. “Though after yesterday, I would advise against taking on anything too strenuous. It would not do anyone any good if you were to burn yourself out,”

“That is our intent,” Jil said. Yanes checked under the counter and brought out a large ledger, flipping it to a page in the middle.

“… You are in luck. With the recent turmoil on the island, there’s no shortage of work to be found. The island guard has put in several jobs for culling the local monster population.”

“Looks like we’ll be busy till we leave for Free Port,” Silica said enthusiastically.

“You’ll only get one for today though,” Yanes added, putting a damper on Silica’s enthusiasm.

“What?”

“You all went through quite an ordeal yesterday so I’m not going to throw you all out into the wolves as it were.”

“Ahhh…You’re starting to sound like Garo,”

Liana couldn’t help but chuckle as her sister slumped. Jil was less amused.

“I think one job for the day would be wise,” Soma said. “And hopefully one that’s closer to the town. Anything like that?”

Yanes studied the book. “…. Yes. There’s a job posting to cull some of the insect population at the foot of the mountain range. The recent invasion has brought out a lot of them, especially around Fawn itself. For this job though, you’ll be going to the grazing fields where there’s a large number of them roaming around killing livestock in the area.”

“That sounds simple enough,” Liana said, taking out her notebook and jotting down the details. “At least it won't be anything like the last one.”

“If you’ve expelled orcs, then you will be more than a match to the insect monsters.” Yanes closed the book. “Oh, speaking of-” He put the book away behind the counter, when he came up he handed Silica a heavy pouch. “2000 libs, courtesy of the Testcan administration for your efforts in expelling the orcs from Faw.”

“Sweet,” Silica cheered as she looked at the sliver and bronze coins swirling in the pouch. “Wait, 2000? That’s it?” Given everything that had happened yesterday, the entire experience 2000 libs didn’t seem like proper compensation.

“Technically the job was to aid the expedition to expel the orcs,” Yanes said sheepishly while adjusting his glasses. “I did protest but it was ignored.”

Silica let out a deep sigh.

“A-at least we got something for it,” Liana said, tapping Silica on the back. “Eight thousand is still a substantial sum to pay out, even for an island governor.”

“Uh, not quite,” Yanes adjusted his glasses. “2000 between the four of you,”

“…… Wha?!” Silica lifted the coin purse. “This is everything we’re getting for all that work?!”

“That’s… even less than I was expecting,” Soma said.

“I’m sorry. I wish I could help but there’s not much I can do.”

Silica let a long loud sigh, resting a hand on her hip while bouncing the money in her left hand. “Oh boy do I love our governor,”

Liana let out an awkward laugh, joined in by both Mar and Soma.

“Well, thanks for trying,” Silica waved at Yanes before the party exited the guild.

“Do be careful!” Yanes called back.

****

“Geez, all that for this,” Silica brooded as the party exited the guild.

“Shit… even Braum would throw up a storm with that much,” Mar said as Silica tossed the pouch in the air and grabbed it with one hand.

“And you wonder why I hate the empire?” She said to Liana.

“H-hate’s a strong word sis,” Liana smiled wryly.

“I never quite understood this aspect of you mortals,” Jil said, landing on Silica’s shoulder. “You always seem to be ever consumed by the accumulation of money and treasure even over your own wellbeing.”

“Well, you need money for literally everything in this world.” Silica explained. “If you have a big hall of treasure you’re pretty much set up for life. Grow up in the boonies like we are and it’s harder to get your hands on.”

“Especially in a town like Holbourgh where there’s nothing of value besides fishing,” Liana said. “That’s why a lot of people from the colonies turn to adventure.”

“I still find this a little ridiculous, tying everything to a system of metal,” Jil said before taking flight.

“That’s the world for you.” Silica said before turning to Mar. “Here,”

Mar caught it with one hand, looking back confused.

“You two went through more than we did so it’s only fair,”

Mar looked back at the pouch, perplexed. “A-are you sure? We probably wouldn’t even be here if you guys hadn’t come,”

“Na, I didn’t do much there either,” Silica replied. Reflecting on the expedition, the only thing Silica could think of that was even remotely noteworthy was her fight with the black swordsman, where she was defeated. “Don’t worry. We’re gonna be making more before we head out to Free Port anyhow,”

Soma took the pouch from Mar, throwing it up once before catching it. “We’re a team though, so this is still for all of us.” He threw it back at Silica. “So why not use it for the team?”

“Hey, good idea,” Liana clapped her hands together. “We were just saying how we needed a few things before we venture out into the wilderness again. Why not use that money to get what we need.”

Silica, Mar, and Jil all looked at one another, all sharing the same thought. Smiling, Silica throws up the pouch again and catches it with a backhand.

The party then set off from the guild, moving back towards the ports where the marketplace was located. As morning set in, the port was more lively with fishermen and merchants setting up shops peddling their wares. Around the circular district were various shops made for seamen, soldiers, and adventures alike. Silica didn’t have a good look when she arrived since it was nightfall by then, and the next day was when they set off for Fawn.

It was her first real experience in a market outside of Holbourgh so she was feeling excited. Even in the colonies, the market was far more lively than it had been back in her home which had a very local market, with more exodic wear coming from whatever merchant came from Tesctan or beyond.

“Sis,” Liana handed her a small pouch with 500 libs. “Use this to get what you need. We’ll meet back at the statue where we met.”

“Got it,” Silica said. She saw both Mar and Soma had splintered off into several different directions.

“Jil, make sure sis doesn’t cause any trouble,”

“Hey!”

“I will do my best,” Jil said proudly. Liana chuckled before waving and walking away.

“I’m not that much of a walking disaster,” Silica pouted before resting her hands on the back of her head before walking off. Jil fluttered beside her.

“What are we searching for?” Jil asked.

“Uh… stuff I guess,” Silica shrugged.

“Should you not have a clear idea as to what to acquire like your comrades?”

“Hey, I just can’t think of anything.” Silica blankly gazed out into the sea as she approached the docks. Ships were beginning to come in, none of which would be taking them to Free Port.

“How did you usually prepare for your previous excursions into the catacombs?” Jil asked again to which Silica shrugged.

“Just grabbed what I had and went down most of the time,”

Jil let out a loud sigh. “I may not be completely well versed in the affairs of humans, but even I know that you must adequately prepare for any such expedition no matter how minor.”

“Geez, you’re starting to sound like Liana,” Silica frowned. “Alright, how about I leave you in charge of shopping, seeing as you’re not doing anything other than fly around like a little bug.”

“Do not refer to me like an insect!” Jil snapped before folding her arms. “.... What are these potions that Mar and Soma mentioned?”

“Uh, they help with healing cuts,” Silica said. “Some give you a temporary buff in strength and speed. Didn’t use them much in Chadd since we don’t really have an apothecary who can mix this stuff. Mostly had to make do with what Carla made.”

“Then I would recommend starting with procuring such items. Given your fighting style, I believe you’ll need an adequate supply of both healing and speed.” Jil said. “You may also want to acquire some food to take. You hardly eat in the mine and I feel it may have caused you to lose some of your strength.”

Silica was about to protest, but when she thought back on it, she hadn’t eaten anything yesterday beside’s breakfast and dinner as most of her time was spent down in the mine fighting the orcs.

“Also, I’d recommend having some level of ranged weapon. Something to utilize in a split second,”

“Ohh… I didn’t think of that,” Silica mumbled. “Guess I can find some kinda throwing knives.”

“I presume our budget is limited so I’d recommend acquiring those three items,” Jil said, resting her hands on her hips. “I’m honestly shocked you did not think any of this,”

Silica pouted at the fairy’s jap, “I just focus on where I’m going, that’s all.”

“I suppose there’s no fault in that,” Jil smiled. “I will take it upon myself to ensure you prepare properly in the future,”

“Thanks… I guess,” Silica sighed. As irritating as Jil could be when she was snark her insight was sharp. “Well, we’re in the port so, guess food first.”

****

It was a little overwhelming at first given Silica’s background on the small island of Chadd that only had a handful of items from the rather limited stock available. By contrast, Tesctan was far more lively and bustling, which was understandable given the level of trade that passed through the town. The merchants stood by the stands, proudly peddling their wares as Silica walked by. A few did take note of the strange flying creature at her back. When asked by one merchant, Silica told him she was her pet pixie, taking Soma’s advice to heart. Jil was annoyed by it but didn’t say anything to refute it.

Silica was able to get some dried meat and perishables from one of the stalls and was glad to leave the market. The noise was certainly more than she was used to and proved a little much for her.

“I feel my ears ringing,” Jil said, laying on her front on top of Silica’s head. She had found the experience more taxing given her lack of experience in human markets.

“They’ll be more like it in Free Port? And bigger,” Silica chuckled.

The next port of call was between a blacksmith and an apothecary. Silica found the former first, an outlet close to the port. It differed from Torburn’s shop in that the forge was in a separate location from the front store. It felt strange not being washed over with heat as Silica walked through the door. It had weapons racked neatly, from swords to spears. Even firearms were sold, though the previous models could only fire one shot with the modern variant able to fire five.

Ignoring the weapons, Silica bought a new belt that had slots for her to place ten throwing knives, buying herself a handful while moving her pouch over. The entire thing had set her back more than she thought, leaving her only 342 libs left for potions.

“Damn that old geezer,” Silica grumbled as she slotted the knives into their slots.

“He did insist you replace that belt for you to acquire the knives,” Jil said. “And yours looked as though it was falling apart.”

“Hey, I had that belt for seven years and….! Okay, maybe he had a point.” Silica sighed. “Let’s hope I have enough to get something.”

Sadly the apothecary was a fair distance from the port, going down the Main Street that Silica had walked down when she first arrived. It was a relatively small, and cramped store, but it had the healing potions Silica was after, and luckily had enough left to buy three small bottles that could fit in her pouch.

“Okay, that’s everything.” Silica said after leaving the shop, adjusting the straps on her pouch. “Let’s go meet with everyone.” She said to Jil before walking forwards.

Jil was about to fly after her when something stopped her. She looked off into the distance, seeing a man with long dark hair staring at her, dressed in a strange attire she had yet to see on the island. There was also a powerful emotion radiating from him, a threat of violence-

“Jil! Come on!”

Jil’s concentration was broken when Silica called her. She looked back but the man had gone, vanishing into the crowd.

“C-Coming….”

Everyone reconvened at the statue like planned before setting off out of the gates of the town.

“Alright, let’s get moving!” Silica said pumping a fist. “So… where’s the job?”

“Let’s see…” Liana brought out a map of the island and her notebook. “According to the request we’re looking for a farm by the foot of the spine.” She pointed south. “Should be at the southern point of the island.”

“So we’re just taking out a bunch of monsters. Sounds simple enough,” Mar said as he drew his spear.

“We should be cautious. With the chaos of the invasion, the local monsters are probably more active.” Soma suggested. “We should be cautious as we- uh…”

Silica meanwhile was already walking off towards the south. “Hm? Say something?”

“He was saying we need to be cautious,” Jil scolded.

“Ah what’s the worst that can happen?” Silica shrugged.

“I can think of a number of things!”

The duo continued onwards as the others began to move to catch up.

“She was always doing this back home,” Liana said chuckling.

“I can imagine,” Soma sighed.

****

The journey this time was far less arduous. Only once did the party encounter monsters, the large insects that were endemic to tesctan. Due to Silica’s lax posture, she was taken by surprise but quickly recovered to kill one with Caliburn while Liana and Mar handled the others. The encounter ended fast and with no one being touched, although Silica was not spared a lecture from Jil for letting her guard down, a lecture she ignored. Annoyed the fairy plucked one of her hairs.

“… They’ve just begun working together?” Soma said as the party watched Silica trying to swat Jil in retribution.

“Ahaha… yeah,” Liana laughed awkwardly, scratching her cheek.

Once the two had calmed down, the party continued onwards to their destination, a farm located at the base of the mountains close to the southern tip of the farm. It was a grazing field that would be full of livestock. However, the fields were now infested with insect monsters who had made nests.

“This the place?” Mar asked. Liana nodded.

“According to the client,” She brought out her notebook. “The monsters began showing up a few hours after the orc invasion. The farmers were able to move the livestock before things got worse, but he’s eager to return to his home.”

“So all we gotta do is clear them out,” Silica punched her palm. “Easy.”

“Let us proceed with caution-” Jil began before being transformed into Caliburn. “Did you learn nothing from last time!?”

“Nope!” Silica vaulted over the fence before her comrades could stop her and slashed at the nearest monster, slicing it in half.

Behind the fence, Liana let out a deep sigh. “Mar, could you go with sis. Make sure she doesn’t do anything too reckless.”

The boy nodded. “Leave her to me.” With a thumbs-up, Mar vaulted the fence to catch up with Silica.

“I suppose it’s up to us to take care of the nests,” Soma said as Liana put her notebook away.

“I can make a few fire arrows to burn them, but,”

Soma nodded raising his staff. “My magic should be more than sufficient to destroy the nests. I’ll need some time to prepare so you’ll have to watch my back.”

Liana nodded as she drew her bow.

****

“That’s two!” Silica said as Caliburn sliced through the insect’s carapace with relative ease. Four more were beginning to approach, with the nearby hive reacting to the new threat. “Ha, that’ll be easy.”

“May I say how reckless this is?” Jil said. Silica paid her no heed as she jumped back from an insect that lunged at her. She counterattacked by plunging her blade into its head. Another lunged at her but Mar appeared at its flank and impaled it from the side.

“Need a hand?” He asked as a joke as he withdrew his spear and lunged it at another monster.

“I can handle myself,” Silica snickered as she contended with another monster, slicing off its left pincer and stabbing it between the eyes.

****

One insect emerged from the nest- a large burrow in the ground- before an arrow struck it in its head. Liana and Soma rushed to the hive.

“Here’s the first one,” Soma said as he approached. An insect emerged close by. Liana quickly drew an arrow and fired as Soma charged mana in the crystal of his staff. He released the charge into a small ball that flew down the hole. There was a small blast from the hole followed by a plume of smoke. “Okay. On to the next.”

Liana had retrieved her arrow and fired it at another insect that was coming toward them. They went to the next nest, hoping that Silica and Mar were keeping the hive distracted.

“Alright, number two.” Soma reached the next nest first and prepared another mana ball to throw into the nest. He was so focused that he didn’t notice one insect emerging from the ground behind him, snapping its pincers as it prepared to lunge. Just as the young wizard got wind of the danger facing him, Liana leaped on it, balancing herself on its back as she drew an arrow and fired directly into its head. “Th-thanks…” Soma nodded with a smile. Liana returned a smile as she loaded another arrow and fired it at another insect.

****

Silica skidded across the ground, avoiding the snapping pincers of the enemy that was coming after her. Mar appeared behind it and plunged his spear directly into its head. He withdrew his spear and lunged again at another enemy, running it through the head. One tried to flank him before Silica intercepted it, slicing through its outer shell with Caliburn, cutting it in two. The two halves wriggled on the ground before Silica finished it off by stabbing her blade through its head.

Silica gave her new partner a thumbs up.

“Behind you!”

Slightly taken aback by the loud voice in her head, Silica turned and rolled away from an insect that had lunged at her, following up with a counter-attack that sliced off a pincer before using two more strikes to kill the monster.

“Don’t yell in my ear-Uh head- uh, whatever!” Silica snapped.

“Then please focus on the unfolding situation before you instead of showing off.”

Silica scowled as Mar rushed up to her, stabbing another insect close by.

“Was it Jil?”

“Who else…”

“Ha, must be strange having a voice in your head.”

Silica slashed through another monster. “More annoying than strange. It's as if the voice in your head was an annoying little fly that can shout at the top of her lungs into your ear with no way to block it out.”

“This little fly can still hear everything you say.” Jil sounded irritated. “Now eyes front so you don’t get hurt.”

Silica rolled back from the snapping jaws of another insect before counter-attacking. Her attack sliced through a part of the pincer, sending it flying into the air, landing on the ground as Silica stabbed it in the head.

Behind her, Mar was keeping the insects at bay using the long reach of his spear to his advantage, perching through the monster's carapace before they could get close to hurt him. The fighting brought the two back to back where they swerved and took out the enemies the other was fighting. This earned them a brief respite, seeing the other two in the distance, leaving behind a long line of smoke behind them. It seemed they were nearly finished with destroying the nests.

“Looks like we’re nearly finished,” Mar said triumphantly as they made their way over to their companions.

“Too easy.” Silica chuffed. “Wish they sent something stronger our way.”

“I for one believe we have seen enough action for one day,” Jil said, sounding somewhat irritated.

“Can’t you at least sound proud of me for once?” Silica groaned.

“Huh?” Mar looked puzzled. Silica forgot she was the only one who could hear her.

“Oh, I mean Jil, not you.” The ground then shook. “Huh?”

“I believe you asked for something stronger….”

Something then erupted from the ground in front of the two. Silica and Mar jumped back and readied their weapons as they came face to face with a massive insect with four pincers and a large rear with hairs.

“Uh, guess this is the queen,” Mar took a step back, holding his spear at the ready.

“And it looks angry,” Silica took her stance.

The queen hissed loudly, snapping its pincers before lunging at the two adventures before it. Silica rolled out of the way while Mar leaped back before taking a quick stab at the queen. His spear tip made a small impression in its carapace.

“Shit!” Mar withdrew his spear and leaped back as the queen reared its body before slamming into the ground, snapping its pincers.

Silica had just gotten back to her feet as the monster turned its attention on her partner.

“Silica! Mar!”

She heard Liana’s voice in the distance. Behind her, both Liana and Soma were rushing toward them to help.

“No! We got this!” Silica waved at them. “You take out the last nest!”

Liana and Mar stopped, both nodding before turning back. “Don’t do anything stupid!” Her sister added.

“Cause she’d say that,” Silica sighed. “So? Are you gonna scold me for that?”

“No. It’s surprisingly pragmatic of you I must say.”

“Hey!”

“Even so, do not let your guard down. This queen is enraged by the loss of its hives. It will certainly lash at you all with all its strength.”

Mist seeped from Caliburn as Silica channeled her mana through it. “It’s not my first giant insect or my last.” With a grin, Silica charged at the monster unleashing her art.

Dimension slash!

Her art slashed into the monster’s left side, scaring the carapace. The queen turned her attention towards Silica. “Bring it on!” She boasted before leaping back to avoid the pincers. Mar rushed it again, red mist seeping from the tip of his spear as he plunged it into the queen’s right flank. This time the spear pierced through the carapace.

The queen retreated, scattering across the ground circling the two before rearing its head. Its small mouth opened with green goo leaking.

“You need to dodge that?!”

Silica rolled as the creature spat out a trail of the green goop at her and Mar, missing both. “Eww.” Silica looked back at the goo, seeing smoke rising from it as the ground beneath began to shrink. “That’s new…”

“Acid!” Mar held his spear out. “Don’t let even a drop get onto your skin or it’ll melt through!”

“You don’t say!” Silica leaped out of the way as the queen rushed into her again. Silica made another slash at the main body, cutting into the underbelly. She then leaped back to avoid getting crushed, retreating as the monster lashed about, trying to crush her or snap her in half with its pincers.

“Jil! Any ideas?!”

“Do not get hit.”

Silica ducked under the pincers. “Very helpful!” She rushed past Mar who charged toward the monster as it prepared to spit acid. He stabbed it in its risen underbelly before retreating just as it spat.

Both dodged the goo before the queen moved closer toward Silica.

“It seems to be going for you over Mar.”

“Yeah! I noticed!”

Just before the queen attacked, an arrow embedded itself in its left side. Blue bots followed, burning through the carapace. The creature screeched before collapsing to the ground. Silica looked to the origin of the shot. She saw Liana and Soma standing with their weapons drawn. Behind them was a smoldering nest with several dead insects littered around.

“Sis!” Liana waved. “Finish it off!”

Silica nodded as Mar came alongside her. “Ready?”

“Had just about enough of this thing!”

Mar charged in first as the queen tried to heave its body off the ground, red mist seeping from his spear as he prepared his art.

His attack pierced through the monster’s underbelly, bursting out from a spot in its back. As Mar held its place, Silica was up next, leaping off the ground as mist seeped from her weapon.

“SO LONG!” She yelled triumphantly as her art opened a deep, fatal wound in its underbelly. Mar leaped back first as the queen raised its body before collapsing again.

“Whew… finally,” Mar collapsed on the ground, taking in a deep breath.

“Ha! No problem,” Silica said turning to face the boy and giving him a v sign with her fingers. She was completely unaware that the monster behind her was still moving.

“…. It’s not dead. SILICA IT’S NOT DEAD?!!!” Jil suddenly screamed in Silica’s head. Irritated, Silica rubbed the back of her head, gritting her teeth as her head rattled.

“What’s not-?” A shadow covered Silica. The queen had risen. Despite it's grievous wounds it was still able to snap its pincers, ready to snap Silica in two.

BANG!

A gunshot echoed as a bullet struck the queen’s face, blowing off its left pincer. Silica scrambled out of the way as the monster collapsed to the ground again, this time for good.

“Wh-What just happened…?” She gasped as Jil reverted.

"I am.... not entirely sure..." the fairy said.

“What happened was that ya thought you’d won, then ya got careless.” Silica looked to her left and saw a man walking towards her, oddly dressed in clothes she hadn’t seen before, wearing a small fedora with a rifle in his hand. “Plenty of youngin’s like you meet their end that way.” He walked past Silica and Mar, casually strolling up to the queen, placing a leather boot on its face, twirling his rifle in his hand before aiming point-blank at the center.

“Here’s some advice,” He pulled the trigger. The sound of the gun’s discharge echoed as a large hole was blown into the front of the creature’s face. “When ya think ya took out critters like this,” The man turned about, resting his rifle on his shoulder with one hand while moving the tip of his fedora with his thumb, “make sure it’s dead.”

Silica and Mar looked absentmindedly at their savior, both bewildered by his strange clothes. “Uh… thanks?” Silica ended up saying. It was hard to put words together, so taken aback by the man’s outlandish attire.

“Silica! Jil! Mar!” Just then, Liana and Soma had rushed to their comrade’s side. “Are you guys okay?”

“Y-yeah, we’re fine.” Mar waved. “Got this guy to thank,”

“No problem,” the man twirled his rifle before slotting it onto its holster on his back. “But you guys did most of the work so I can’t take much credit.”

“You were watching us?” Silica scowled. “Lemme guess; Yanes sent you to keep an eye on us,”

“Haha! Nope. I had my own business to take care of and I just happened to stumble across this scrap.” The man explained. “As newbies, I thought you’d wanna take care of it yourself so I hung back,”

“What makes you think we’re newbies?” Silica scoffed resting her hands on her hips. “For your information, I’ve been doing this for years.”

“But still a stone rank,” Liana added. Both her and Jil chuckled as Silica flustered.

“Sorry about my sister,” Liana said to the man. “We appreciate the help uh… ser?”

“Donald Rochesc. Gold rank, and no need for that formal crap,” with a small grin, Donald scratched his chin as he approached Liana. “And it’s nice to finally meet you… Liana?” Liana was surprised. “Ha, you really do look like you’re mommy, and just as pretty. Though that hair definitely comes from Kline, no doubts about it.”

“Y-You know my parents?” Liana asked brushing the side of her hair. Silica knew it well, her reaction to anyone calling her pretty.

“Yeah, Kline and I go way back.”

“Funny… he’s never mentioned you…” Silica muttered.

“Would be surprised if he did. Man knows I like my privacy.” Donald said as he approached Silica, staring at her face. He narrowed his eyes when looking directly into her odd-colored eyes.

“Wh-What?” Silica turned her face taking a step back.

“Ha, I’m guessing you’re the kid they adopted,” He said leaning back. “S-Siluca?”

“Silica,” Silica said more forcefully than she intended.

“Pleasure,” Donald nodded folding his arms. Jil was staring at him intently, trying to read his emotions. Donald seemed to notice as he looked directly at Jil. The fairy was startled, flying closer to Silica. “And you’re little friend?”

“Uh-Oh this is Jil,” Silica said. “She’s my-” She looked at Jil and briefly made eye contact with Soma. He was giving her a serious look. “My pet pixy.” She said quickly. Jil didn’t speak but nodded quickly.

“Rrrright….” Donald stroked the back of his stubble on his chin. He then looked towards the fallen queen. “Welp, my work here’s done. You’d better haul somethin back to Yanes before it gets dark.” With a backward wave, he began to walk away. He then stopped suddenly. “Oh before I forget,” He glanced over his shoulder, raising his fedora. “Word on the street is the governor’s up to something. Watch you’re back.”

“The… governor?” Liana repeated puzzled. “What do you mean?”

“Not much info to go on, only rumors that something’s got his eye. Even released a certain someone from the dungeon under the fort. Someone very dangerous.” With a smile, he began to walk again. “Cause, it’s just a rumor,”

“Wh-what do you mean a rumor?!” Mar asked. Donald simply waved over his head. “What a weird guy,”

“Yeah, never seen anyone dressed like that,” Silica said with her hands on her hips.

“It looked like he was from Southend,” Soma said.

“Southend?”

“It’s a port city on the Northwest of the Verspenga desert.” He explained. “It use to be an old Erstin colony but it declared its independence.”

“Sheesh…” Silica huffed.

“Vespenga… Isn’t that Mahama?” Liana asked.

“Most of the continent is, yes. The desert though is largely uninhabitable. Mahama only controls the savanna in the southwest with one satrapy on the east coast. The North was used as a smuggling coast for years with the hidden pirate port of Libertalia said to be hidden somewhere there.” Soma continued. “The empire attempted to set up its own colony there; that was Southend. The region was largely abandoned with a small coup overthrowing the imperial governor and establishing itself as an independent city-state.”

Everyone stared blankly at Soma, who lowered his cap in embarrassment. “I-I spent a lot of my youth looking at maps, and aiding the professor in his research I picked up on the locations of the old civilizations,”

Mar whistled, “Amazing. I barely know anything outside of my home.”

Soma gave a small embarrassed smile.

“What that man said…” Jil spoke. She had held her tongue for so long Silica was surprised when she finally spoke. “It seemed pretty ominous,”

“About the governor?” Liana looked in the distance. Donald was just visible and walking towards the fort. “… Yeah, that is worrying.”

“Ah, what’s that fat mainland noble gonna do anyway?” Silica said unconcernedly resting her hands over her head. “Come on, let’s grab something and head back to Yanes.”

“Could you at least pretend to act concerned?” Jil frowned. “I could feel that man’s emotions. When he spoke of it, I sensed no lie.”

“Yeah, but what’s he gonna do?” Silica huffed as she approached the queen. “Side’s, as governor he should be focusing on rebuilding Fawn after the orcs. Or if he is as much a bastard as I think, he’s properly taken his personal barge to run back to the mainland.”

“Silica….” Liana scowled as Silica ripped off a piece of the queen. “Sides, Yanes told us not to get any rough scrapes after the orcs, right?” She winked.

Both Liana and Jil let out a collective sigh as Silica began to walk away.

“I… can’t say I disagree,” Soma chuckled. “But realistically speaking, there’s not much he can do legally. Governor’s powers are not absolute.”

“Besides, we’re the ones who beat the orcs,” Mar thumped his chest before rushing to catch up with Silica. “If anything, we’re heroes!”

Liana shrugged her shoulders as she looked at Jil and Soma. "I suppose there's no reason to stay out here. Let's head back and give Yanes the good news."