The last fragment of the Ice Eclipse shattered, leaving absolute silence in its wake.

"D-Did we really defeat it?" I asked, disbelieving.

"Yes. Its mana core was destroyed, so it’s completely gone. That creature won’t threaten anyone again." The redhead adjusted her cape. "By the way, I’m Zara."

Maya crossed her arms upon hearing the name, her expression turning grave.

"So it’s true."

"What is?" I asked.

"Rumors about someone who wields lightning magic. They call her Zara, ‘The Voice of Thunder’, because of the thunderclaps her spells create."

"Ugh. That nickname." Zara scowled. "No idea when people started calling me that." She eyed Maya. "And judging by your flaming sword, you must be Maya, ‘The Amber Flame’."

"Huhuhu!" Maya grinned proudly. "Correct. Seems my reputation reaches even these parts."

Both girls turned to me expectantly.

"I’m... Ren."

The silence that followed was so thick you could choke on it.

"Hahaha." Zara let out a light chuckle. "You’re interesting, Ren."

Her comment caught me off guard. Was I blushing?

"O-Of course Ren’s interesting! He’s my party member, after all!" Maya interjected.

"Wasn’t it a temporary party?"

"Ah!" Maya’s face said she’d forgotten.

The tension eased. We were all clearly relieved after the battle.

"Speaking of which," Zara studied me intently, "what exactly are you? Seeing mana cores isn’t normal... nor is conjuring lightning like mine."

"Uh... well..." How do I talk my way out of this?

"Yeah! First you seemed like a clueless weakling, then pulled trick after trick! What are you?" Maya joined the interrogation.

"Anyway!" I abruptly changed subjects. "Since the dragon’s dead, we should report back to Lumis."

"Don’t dodge the question!" Maya protested.

Zara frowned, as if remembering something urgent.

"You’re right. I need to reach Lumis by tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? But it’s three days from here," I said.

"Three... days..." She looked down, frustrated.

"Ha! Lucky for you, Lightning Girl." Maya triumphantly produced a scroll. "I’ve got a teleport scroll! Takes us straight to Lumis’ gates."

I stared in disbelief.

"YOU HAD THAT ALL ALONG?! WE COULD’VE ESCAPED WHEN THE DRAGON WAS ABOUT TO KILL US!"

"ESCAPE?!" Maya’s eyes sparked. "I don’t run from fights! Besides, that dragon was nothing!"

Zara watched us, amused.

"You two... get along well."

Maya turned tomato-red.

"T-That’s irrelevant! Let’s use the scroll. It requires... holding hands." She hesitated, eyeing my hands.

"No problem." Zara took my left hand without hesitation—though I noticed she stood closer than necessary.

Maya exploded.

"I CAN DO IT TOO!" She crushed my right hand with rock-shattering force.

"Ow! Maya, you’re—"

TELEPORT!

Everything turned white. The next second, we stood in Lumis’ central plaza, surrounded by gaping civilians, adventurers, and children.

"We’re... drawing attention," I whispered. "Maya, wasn’t this supposed to take us to the gates?"

"L-LET GO OF ME ALREADY, IDIOT!" Maya released my hand like it burned, her cheeks blazing. "Must’ve miscalculated."

CRASH!

"Ow!" A flowerpot shattered on my head. Among the debris was a note:

"UNFAITHFUL."

Zara leaned over.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I’m fine." I rubbed my head, sighing at the sky.

"It’s not what it looks like, Purin."