A soft voice broke through the haze of blood and banter.
"I believe I owe you both my thanks."
Kael turned, Dane half-turned, fingers twitching near a dagger that wasn't there anymore.
She stepped out from behind the carriage.
A woman—elegant in movement, composed despite the chaos. Her traveling cloak was dusty and worn from the road, but it couldn't hide the quality of the fabric, nor the posture of someone used to standing above others. Long golden hair fell in soft waves down her back, and her eyes—ice-blue and searching—moved between the two men with measured curiosity.
Kael blinked. "And you are…?"
"Virellia," she said with a light smile. "Just Virellia. A traveler, like you."
Dane raised a brow, clearly not buying it. "Bit too polished for a traveler. Not many of those walk around smelling like jasmine and not panic."
She laughed, soft and brief. "I suppose I travel differently."
Kael scratched the back of his neck, eyes darting to the splintered carriage and scorched grass. "Well… Miss Virellia, we're just glad you didn't end up part of the wreckage."
She stepped closer, gaze locking on Dane.
"And you. You fought like a force of nature. I've never seen anyone move like that. You—tore someone's pants off… with their flesh?"
Kael winced. "Yeah, he gets creative when he's having fun."
Dane grinned, wiping dried blood from his knuckles. "It's a hobby. Like gardening. But messier."
"You saved our lives," Virellia said, ignoring the chaos in his smile. "Bandits are one thing, but a Pale Flame cultist?" Her gaze darkened, just for a moment. "They don't show up without purpose."
Kael's grin faded a notch. "Yeah, about that. Any reason they'd be sniffing around your caravan?"
"None I'm aware of," Virellia said smoothly. Too smoothly.
Dane narrowed his eyes. "You smell like secrets."
Kael elbowed him. "Dane."
"What? She does!"
Virellia chuckled again. "I assure you, I'm just a scholar. Traveling to a remote archive past the southern cliffs. Research. Nothing dramatic."
Kael folded his arms, unconvinced but too polite to press. "Well, your 'nothing dramatic' nearly got a bunch of guards killed."
"They were brave," she said, voice softer now. "But unprepared. Without you, it would've been much worse."
She looked between the two men, as if weighing something.
"If I may… Would you be willing to travel with us? At least until the next town? I imagine no one would dare strike again with the two of you nearby."
Kael looked at Dane. Dane looked positively giddy at the thought of more chaos.
Kael sighed. "Sure. Why not. Beats walking alone. And if more bandits show up, I won't have to listen to Dane whine about being bored."
Dane pointed at him. "I don't whine. I plot."
Lady Virellia smiled, something calculating behind her eyes despite her friendly tone.
"Wonderful. I'm certain the journey ahead will be… enlightening."
Kael didn't catch the flicker of interest in her eyes as she turned away.
But Dane did.
And he smiled like someone who recognized the scent of hidden intentions.
The road south of the clearing — an hour later.
The sun dipped lower, casting amber light over the winding trail. The broken carriage limped forward, its wheels clacking unevenly. The guards flanked it, tense but alive. Kael walked ahead, occasionally swatting at bugs the size of coins. Dane strolled beside him, humming something off-key and sharpening a throwing knife on a bone. Virellia followed a short distance behind, deep in thought.
Kael glanced sideways. "You always hum that song after a fight?"
"It's not a song," Dane replied. "It's the sound my enemies hear in the afterlife."
Kael snorted. "Catchy."
Dane's eyes flicked down to his wrist—a flicker of glyph-light shimmered across a small embedded rune-comm. Hidden under a leather bracer, a discreet interface blinked once.
📱Group Chat: JIGGLYPUFFS
🟢 Status: Active
👥 Members: Jax, Alex, Riley, Kael, Dane (recently unbanned)
Dane:🎣Found a noble pretending not to be one. Smells like secrets and jasmine.🔥 Cult ambush. Bandits. Skull masks. Lots of screaming. 9/10.👀 Requesting background check on "Virellia." Blonde, blue eyes, carriage class: Fancy Dead Giveaway™.
Riley:👓Jasmine? That's custom-tier perfume. High-end nobles use that to mark inheritance lines. You got a house name?
Dane: Nope. She just said "Virellia." No titles. No crest. Just vibes.
Jax: Kill her?
Alex: NO. Observe. Report. Interact strategically. Confirm motive.
Kael:(seen message)
Kael: bro stop using the group chat for dating apps
Dane: This isn't a dating app. I don't swipe right on cult bait.
Alex: Dane. Keep playing dumb. Let Kael take lead with her. You're too volatile for subtle intel gathering.
Dane : You wound me.💔💔💔💔💔💔
—
Back on the road...
Kael yawned mid-step. "How much longer until this town she mentioned?"
"Few more hours," Serah Valen, riding alongside, said over her shoulder. "If the wheels hold."
Virellia moved up beside them, cloak fluttering in the breeze. "If it's not too forward," she began, "what are you two doing out here in the middle of nowhere? Mercenaries?"
Kael puffed his chest. "Adventurers. Heroes. Occasionally public nuisances."
Dane raised his hand. "Mostly nuisances."
Kael jabbed a thumb at himself. "I break things. Dane sets them on fire. The others clean up the mess."
"Others?" Virellia tilted her head.
"Team of five," Kael said proudly. "We're like... a tactical mess with friendship problems."
Dane muttered, "Speak for yourself. I'm delightful."
Virellia smiled, but her fingers curled tighter around the reins. "Fascinating. And your group just happened to be near my caravan when it was attacked?"
Kael shrugged. "Bandits are loud. Dane's louder. We heard the fight."
Virellia studied them both. "Well... then I'm fortunate you were nearby."
Dane suddenly looked up from his blade. "You ever seen a Pale Flame ritual up close, Virellia?"
Her expression stiffened. "No. And I'd rather not."
Kael elbowed him. "Dude."
"What?" Dane said innocently. "Just checking if she's got cult trauma. It's important."
Kael looked at Virellia, embarrassed. "Sorry. He doesn't have a filter. Or brakes."
"I've noticed," she said with a hint of dry amusement.
Dane glanced over at her, squinting like he was trying to solve a riddle in human form. "Hey, Virellia. Can I call you Lia for short? Your name's kinda hardcore to pronounce when I'm bleeding or on fire."
Kael groaned. "Dane…"
But Virellia… blinked.
Then, slowly, her lips curved upward into something far warmer than before. Her brows lifted just a touch, and for a moment, the composed, cloaked woman wasn't a noble with secrets, or a scholar with carefully chosen words—just someone genuinely caught off guard in the best way.
"…Lia," she repeated softly, like she was testing the shape of it. "No one's ever shortened my name before."
Dane grinned. "First time for everything."
She looked away for a heartbeat, but not before Kael caught the faint pink rising to her cheeks. "It's… nice," she admitted, voice quieter now. "Surprisingly nice."
Kael raised a brow at Dane. "You accidentally made someone feel something. You okay?"
"Don't make it weird," Dane said, but he was grinning, twirling the knife between his fingers like he had just won something.
Lia—because now it was Lia—tilted her head, amusement dancing in her eyes. "If you're going to give me a nickname, does that mean I get to give you one, too?"
Dane paused mid-twirl. "...I don't like where this is going."
Kael laughed. "Oh no. You opened the door. You live in the nickname house now."
Lia tapped her chin, clearly enjoying this. "Hmm. Let's see. You strike me as a… Chaos Goblin."
Kael choked. "That's too accurate."
"Hey!" Dane protested. "I'm way taller than a goblin!"
"Emotionally, though," Kael added helpfully. "Goblin-sized."
Lia laughed—a real laugh this time, bright and clear. Even the nearby guards looked over, startled by the sound. It was the kind of laugh that momentarily erased the blood, the burnt grass, the tension.
"You two are funny," she said between giggles, brushing a strand of golden hair behind her ear.
"You haven't even met the rest of the team," Kael said proudly. "Wait till Jax tries to sell you his signature stew-slash-chemical weapon."
"And Riley explains your psychological profile using color-coded graphs," Dane added. "You'll be begging for bandits."
Lia smiled, still clearly not used to the warmth but starting to lean into it.
"Well, I look forward to it," she said sincerely.
And for a moment, even Dane didn't have a snarky comeback.
📱Group Chat: JIGGLYPUFFS
Dane: Codename "Lia" accepted. Subject responded positively to nickname. Emotional vulnerability detected. Mission intimacy level: ++ Omega
Riley: You're not supposed to flirt with the suspects.
Dane: I'm not flirting. I'm trauma-bonding with flair.
Alex: Careful. Emotional infiltration can backfire. Stay detached.
Kael: He already named her. It's over. She's in the squad now.
Jax: THE HELL YOU MEAN YOU ALREADY COOKING WITH A GIRL WHILE I'M STILL SEARCHING FOR THE SWORD GIRL WITH TRAUMA IN MY ISEKAI STORY!?
Kael: We can add her to your harem list if she stabs something iconic.
Dane: She stabbed my heart with her awkward charm. That count?
Riley: Honestly? Yes.
Alex: Focus.
Jax: I demand equal narrative screentime with emotionally complicated women.
Back on the road…
The sun dipped below the edge of the distant cliffs, painting the trail in soft amber and casting their long shadows like stories not yet told. The clatter of the injured carriage wheels filled the silence between conversations, but it wasn't uncomfortable anymore.
Lia rode beside them, the silence companionable now. She wasn't entirely sure when the shift had happened—when the guarded mask had slipped—but she found herself smiling at nothing, her eyes softer, posture relaxed.
The rhythmic clunk of hooves against packed dirt was soon accompanied by the heavier tread of armored boots as Serah Valen finally caught up to the group, walking in perfect pace beside the carriage.
Kael tilted his head toward her with a crooked smile. "Knight Captain Valen. Still suspicious of us, or have we passed the 'not a threat' test?"
Serah, ever stone-faced, responded without missing a beat. "You passed the 'not immediate threat' test. Long-term threat is still pending."
"Ouch," Kael grinned. "That's a B- at best."
"B- is generous," she said coolly, but the faintest twitch of her lip hinted at amusement.
Dane, from just ahead, twisted in his saddle with a grin. "I like her. She's got the same emotional tone as an armored door. You two should definitely give each other nicknames."
Serah raised a brow. "Nicknames?"
"Squad tradition," Kael said casually. "Unspoken rule. You get one if you hang around long enough."
"Who makes these rules?" Serah asked.
"I do," Kael said, immediately followed by, "And I ignore them," from Dane.
Lia leaned forward from her spot, intrigued. "Do I get to give a nickname too?"
Kael glanced at her, feigning horror. "No! You've barely earned yours! You can't start naming others until your probationary goblin assessment is complete."
Dane smirked. "She already named me Chaos Goblin. It's canon now."
Lia gave an exaggerated shrug. "I stand by it."
Dane pointed at Serah. "Alright then, Lady Stoic over there needs one. I nominate... 'Steel Mom.'"
Serah gave him a long, withering look.
Kael scratched his chin. "Nah, too maternal. How about 'Blade Nun'? She's scary and holy."
Serah blinked slowly. "I am neither celibate nor a nun."
Lia chuckled. "That escalated fast."
"Alright, alright," Kael said, holding up his hands. "We'll keep it dignified. How about… 'Iron Vow'? Sounds like a legendary boss fight and perfectly fits your whole 'honor and threat evaluation' thing."
Serah didn't respond immediately.
Then, quietly, "...Acceptable."
"Whoa!" Dane said. "She approved a nickname! That's basically marriage in our book."
Kael mock-swooned. "Be still my heart, Iron Vow."
Lia was practically glowing from laughter. "Okay, wait—if Serah gets a nickname, does that mean I get to name one of you now?"
"Dangerous game," Dane warned. "You might accidentally summon a spirit if you pick too many names."
"I'll risk it," Lia said proudly. Then her eyes gleamed with mischief as she turned toward Serah.
"But before that… Serah, dear—" she smiled sweetly, "I, Lia, give you the divine right to assign Kael an official nickname. One from the soul. One that cuts."
Kael froze mid-step. "Hold on. Wait. Can we not—?"
Serah didn't blink. "Acknowledged."
Kael looked visibly nervous now. "I take it back. I revoke all previous naming rights—"
But Serah had already stepped closer. Her gaze swept over Kael like she was scanning a threat matrix. Slowly, she spoke:
"...Golden Retriever."
Lia howled with laughter.
Dane gasped like he'd just seen a god descend from the clouds. "She went back to it! It's canon now!"
"Loyal. Loud. Overexcited. Tail-wagging energy," Serah said, as if listing military assets. "Also easily distracted and occasionally prone to rolling in metaphorical mud."
Kael groaned. "I'm never going to live this down."
"Oh, you will," Lia giggled. "Because we will never stop reminding you."
Dane held up an invisible medal. "Knight-Captain Serah Valen, for services in psychological warfare, I hereby promote you to Nickname Commander."
Kael sighed and dramatically placed a hand on his chest. "At least make it 'Golden Blade' or something cool. Please. Anything."
"No," Serah said.