After their helping at the ramen shop, it had took them the entire night to set all that up, so even afternoon they were still sleeping at the inn, Dante still rolled over in bed sleeping, and Rika who had thrown both her legs over Kaito snores loudly.
Kaito is the first to wake up. He sat up quickly accidentally sending Rika to the floor, "hey! I was still sleeping!" She pouts.
Kaito laughs while stretching, "sorry Rika." He yawns after still waking up, "at least you're up we gotta go!" Kaito says.
Rika shakes her head. "Where are we even going, like, where were you two heading when it was just you."
Kaito thinks, but he can't recall the name so he throws a pillow at Dante, waking him up.
Dante slowly sits up. Squinting his eyes in a disapproving look. "What." He says his irritation barely hidden.
"Where were we going before me met Rika?" Kaito asks.
Dante rubs his eyes. "How'd you forget? We were going to the coalition remember?" Dante says.
Rika's bang dances on her head. "Ouu so we're heading towards Veloria then?" She asks.
"What's Veloria?" Kaito asks. Rika looks so shocked he doesn't know but Dante waves it.
"He grew up in a forest remember?" He answers.
Rika snaps her fingers, "right," she then stands up, her scarf flying itself around her neck. "Well Veloria is nicknamed the city of the bridge. It's got these HUGE, bridges that connect the land. It's the only reasonable way to get to the coalition from here." She explains.
Kaito thinks and Dante shows him a picture of one of the bridges in his book. Kaito's jaw drops! "We have to go there!" He shouts.
Dante nods, "well it's up next on the towns, just gotta cross a few places to get there."
Kaito leaps up and heads out and the others follow.
As they were about to leave however, the topic of food on the road came up again.
Dante taps at a book he made to keep track of how they spend. "I think we should get more rations before we leave." He says
But Rika groans, "instead of eating boring rations, we should get pork belly roast!" Rika says.
Dante shakes his head. "Just one serving of that stuff is gonna cost us all of our savings, what kind of blastie do you think we have?" He denies the offer.
But Kaito's mouth is watering. "Pork belly roast?!"
Dante rubs his eyes. "We're never gonna save any blastie." He says but they all end up getting pork belly roast.
After the meal, they were on the road again.
"Alright guys, how many regular people do you think it would take to beat 1 mage." Rika asks they boys.
Dante thinks. "What kind of mage?" Dante asks. "Lets say like, a C rank mage but his magic is like he gets extra hands." Rika explains.
"Do the hands come with extra arms?" Kaito asks. Rika shakes her head,
The trio debate on this topic for honestly way too long before they reach the deaden valley passageway. However they are disappointed to see that the empire has setup a check point due to suspicious activity.
The trio hides behind some bushes, scoping out the area beforehand.
The gate is guarded by ten or so guards. One of which looks exceptionally dangerous.
"They only wanna ask questions right?" Dante asks. Kaito nods. "Yeah it might not be a problem." He responds.
Another adventurer approaches the checkpoint. Being too far away the trio can't hear the conversation, but what they do see is the man being crushed into the ground by the powerful guard.
They duck back into their bush. "So what now?" Dante asks.
A lightbulb appears above Rika's head. No really a visible lightbulb is above her shocking Kaito and Dante. "All hope may not be lost yet." Rika says as she begins to swirl her magic in her hands.
Rika raised her hands with a theatrical flourish, like a magician ready to pull rabbits from several hats. In a shimmer of arcane light, she conjured a dazzling illusion: her hair coiled into elegant waves, her dress turned from travel-worn to royally radiant, and a soft glow outlined her figure like she'd just walked out of a storybook romance.
Then, with a dramatic twirl that would've made a stage performer proud, she flicked the illusion over Dante and Kaito like a glimmering cape. In an instant, they were transformed—shimmering empire-style armor, polished boots, and the vague aura of men who had definitely yelled "FOR THE EMPEROR" at some point in their lives.
Clasping her hands daintily, Rika stepped forward with the air of someone who had never had to open her own door in her life.
"Excuse me," she said sweetly, chin high. The guards, two burly men who looked like they ate gravel for breakfast, glanced down at the petite vision of nobility standing before them.
"What can we do for you, ma'am?" one asked, clearly trying to remember if they were supposed to bow.
Rika let out a delicate sigh, the kind usually followed by tragic tales and fan-waving. "I've been most dreadfully separated from my caravan! Bandits, wolves, and an ill-timed tea break—it's a miracle I survived. Luckily, my two most loyal guards remained with me." She gestured to Dante and Kaito, who both stiffened and tried to look important instead of mildly confused.
The guard blinked, halfway impressed. "That so? What's your name, miss?"
Rika fluttered her lashes like a noble trying to remember her fifth middle name. "Lady Torchy of House… Torchenshire."
The guard furrowed his brow and pulled out a clipboard that looked like it hadn't known peace since paperwork was invented. "Hang on... just gotta check the list."
Rika smiled on the outside. On the inside, she was screaming.
The seconds stretched like taffy. Her hands began to sweat. Dante coughed behind her, either trying to help or actively dying from secondhand embarrassment.
Then, salvation.
"Ah! You must be Miss Torchy!" the guard exclaimed.
Rika lit up like a chandelier. "But of course," she replied, laying on the accent so thick it could butter toast.
"Glad you made it on time despite the mix-up," the guard said with a nod.
Rika spun on her heel and shot the boys a covert thumbs-up. Dante gave a small sigh of relief. Kaito beamed proudly. Everything was going smoothly.
And then the ground rumbled.
Everyone turned.
A real caravan rolled into view, banners flying high.
"MAKE WAY FOR MISS TORCHY'S CARAVAN!" an attendant bellowed like it was the Queen's coronation.
Dante rubbed his eyes. "You've got to be kidding me."
From the luxurious lead carriage stepped a woman in gold and velvet, flanked by guards who looked ready to duel a dragon for fun.
"What is the hold-up?" Torchy asked, frowning with all the power of someone who paid extra for express passage and wasn't afraid to write a letter of complaint.
Rika turned to the guards, then back to her noble doppelgänger. Her eyes widened. Her voice rose in theatrical outrage.
"What do we have here?!" she cried, pointing dramatically at Torchy.
Torchy blinked. "I… beg your pardon?"
Rika gasped like she'd just seen someone wear last season's fashion. "Are you seriously pretending to be me? And these—" she waved at the caravan—"are supposed to be my attendants? That one's holding a fruit basket!"
The real Torchy scoffed. "Oh please, I have the identification cards."
"Really?" Rika tilted her head and subtly waved a hand, enchanting the cards so they now read Totally Fake ID in big glittering letters.
Torchy held them up with smug satisfaction. The guards squinted.
"…Huh," one of them said. "These don't look... real."
"Guards!" Rika shouted, drawing herself up to her full height (still much shorter than the guards, but it was the energy that mattered). "Arrest this imposter at once! She dares impersonate a noble of the realm!"
Before anyone could blink, the guards tackled Torchy with the enthusiasm of men who had just been given permission to cause a scene.
"The nerve of you scoundrels!" Torchy shrieked as she flailed. "I will have you all BEHEADED!"
Rika, Dante, and Kaito took this as their cue to bolt past the checkpoint, laughing all the way like kids who had just egged a mansion.
"I can't believe that actually worked!" Rika giggled breathlessly.
"You were amazing!" Kaito said, practically skipping.
Rika tossed her hair with a triumphant grin. "Well, what can I say? I am a very resourceful mage."
Rika is sure to snap a quick picture as they run.
"Could I do the next distraction?" Kaito asks, clearly impressed by Rika.
Rika smiles to the ground dramatically. "Of course fair child, you may even learn from the master herself!" She says.