Meanwhile—
the people who had been watching the group continued following them through the Night Market.
They moved carefully.
None of them wanted to approach too early.
They were waiting.
Watching.
Looking for the perfect opportunity.
Then—
one of them suddenly stopped.
"...Huh?"
He looked ahead.
The group was gone.
His eyes widened.
"What?"
He quickly looked around.
"They disappeared?"
Another man rushed over.
"What happened?"
"I don't know!"
He pointed toward the street.
"They were right there a moment ago!"
Several others immediately began searching the surrounding area.
"They couldn't have gone far!"
"Check the nearby streets!"
"Find them!"
"They must still be somewhere in the market!"
The people scattered.
They searched between the stalls.
They checked the surrounding alleys.
They even questioned a few merchants.
But—
nothing.
The group had vanished without leaving a trace.
One of the men clenched his fists.
"Where the hell did they go?"
Another looked around nervously.
"I don't know."
"They couldn't have just disappeared."
"Then find them!"
---
Elsewhere—
on a quiet roadside outside the Night Market—
a taxi was parked beside the street.
The door suddenly closed.
**THUD!**
The vehicle began moving.
Inside—
Draven sat comfortably in the back.
Pythia sat beside him.
Kaelira was across from them, while Ryke sat near the other side.
Aldric leaned back in his seat.
The city continued passing by outside the windows.
Ryke looked toward the Night Market behind them.
Then—
he turned back.
"That was close."
Kaelira looked at him.
"What was?"
"All those people watching us."
Ryke sighed.
"I thought they were going to follow us."
Aldric remained calm.
"They were."
Ryke stared at him.
"...They were?"
Aldric nodded.
"Several of them even were coming."
Pythia smiled faintly.
"But we left before they had the opportunity to do anything."
Ryke glanced toward Draven.
"So that was why you wanted to leave?"
Draven looked out the window.
"We were starting to attract too much attention."
"Staying any longer would've been pointless."
Ryke nodded.
"Honestly..."
He leaned back.
"I agree."
"If we stayed, someone would've eventually tried something."
Kaelira looked toward Draven.
"So you used magic to get us out?"
"Yeah."
Draven had used a simple concealment spell to make their departure difficult to track.
They had slipped away from the market without drawing attention.
No confrontation.
No unnecessary fighting.
Just—
gone.
Ryke sighed in relief.
"Good."
"I'd rather not deal with something like that today."
Aldric scoffed.
"You're always trying to avoid everything like a damn rat."
Ryke looked at him.
"Because unlike you, I don't enjoy almost dying."
Aldric shrugged.
"That's your problem."
Ryke sighed.
"Of course."
---
Kaelira, however—
wasn't paying attention to their conversation anymore.
She was staring at her hand.
More specifically—
the spatial ring on her finger.
She turned it slightly.
A small smile appeared on her face.
Inside the ring—
all the things she had bought at the Night Market were safely stored.
She began counting them mentally.
"The necklace..."
She raised another finger.
"The bracelet."
Another.
"That little crystal thing."
Her smile widened.
"And those earrings."
Ryke glanced toward her.
"You bought a lot."
Kaelira nodded proudly.
"Yeah."
She looked at her ring again.
"And I still have some money left."
Pythia smiled.
"You certainly seemed to enjoy yourself."
"I did!"
Kaelira smiled.
"There were so many interesting things."
She looked toward Draven.
"Actually..."
Her hand moved toward her spatial ring.
"I got something for you."
Draven glanced at her.
"Huh?"
Kaelira reached into her ring.
Then—
she pulled out a small pair of earrings.
They were simple but elegant, each one containing a faintly glowing crystal.
Kaelira held one of them out toward Draven.
"Here."
Draven stared at it.
"For me?"
Kaelira nodded.
"I bought them with you in mind."
She smiled.
"If we both wear one, we can communicate with each other even from really far away."
She tapped the earring in her other hand.
"Just like you and Vaelith."
Draven looked at the earring for a moment.
Then—
he took it.
"Alright."
He immediately put it on.
Kaelira's smile widened.
She quickly put the other earring on herself.
"There."
She looked pleased.
"Now we can talk whenever we want."
Pythia watched her.
"Kaelira, you seem really happy."
Kaelira's ears twitched.
Her tail swayed behind her.
She simply smiled.
Ryke stared at her for a moment.
Then—
without thinking—
he smiled.
"What a good girl."
Kaelira's ears immediately stood straight up.
Ryke's smile froze.
Her tail stopped moving.
Kaelira slowly turned her head toward him.
Then—
**WHOOSH!**
She disappeared.
Ryke's eyes widened.
"Huh—?"
In an instant—
Kaelira appeared directly in front of him.
Ryke immediately pulled himself backward.
"What the hell?!"
Kaelira glared at him.
Her eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What did you just say?"
Ryke swallowed.
"Did I hear that right?"
Ryke's expression stiffened.
"N-Nothing."
He immediately raised both hands.
"Sorry. I'm sorry."
"It was nothing."
Kaelira continued staring at him.
Ryke's heart pounded.
*Crap.*
*I had a feeling she wouldn't like that.*
*But this is overboard.*
*What the hell?*
*It's like she's about to kill me.*
*Damn it.*
*I should've just kept my mouth shut.*
Kaelira stared at him for several seconds.
Then—
she turned away.
Ryke slowly exhaled.
*Thank God.*
Kaelira reached into her spatial ring again.
A moment later—
she pulled out another pair of earrings.
She turned toward Pythia.
"Pythia."
Pythia looked toward her.
"Yes?"
Kaelira smiled.
"This one is yours."
She held one of the earrings out toward her.
Pythia blinked.
"For me?"
Kaelira nodded.
"Yeah."
Pythia accepted it.
"Thank you."
Kaelira smiled.
"No problem."
She immediately put the other earring on herself.
Pythia looked at the earring in her hand.
Then—
she smiled.
"I suppose I'll have to take good care of it."
Kaelira nodded happily.
Ryke watched the exchange from the side.
*That was scary.*
His eyes shifted toward Kaelira.
*What the hell made her react like that?*
*Was it the "good girl" part?*
*Or was it me calling her cute?*
He shook his head.
*Either way...*
*I'm never doing that again.*
Ryke slowly raised his gaze.
Aldric was staring directly at him.
His expression was completely serious.
Ryke's eyes narrowed.
"...What?"
Aldric chuckled.
"You're walking on a really thin string around us."
He looked at Ryke.
"One slip..."
His smile widened.
"...and bye-bye."
Ryke stared at him.
Aldric laughed quietly.
"That's fucking laughable."
Ryke's expression twitched.
*Damn bastard.*