The familiar mountain air of Dwargo greeted them once again. This time, the cold wind brushed against their cloaks like a nostalgic whisper, and the faint scent of smelted metal mixed with wild cow cheese drifted in from the mountain city's bustling forge district. The twelve elf children stood at the gate, cloaks fluttering, weapons freshly upgraded and spirits still a little high from their recent victory over the blue griffon.
The dwarven gate guard, the same one from their first visit, squinted as the group approached. Recognition lit up his expression the moment he spotted the pink-twintail-haired girl at the front.
"You again," he said, chuckling, his thick beard bouncing with the movement. "The loud one."
Fahleena stepped forward dramatically, twintails slicing the air with theatrical flair. She pointed her keyblade to the sky, eyes glinting.
"The Dreamweaver of Radiant Epochs has returned to the Crucible of Stone and Flame! Let the anvils tremble, for my fate has led me once more to the Heart of Molten Eternity!"
The guard laughed heartily, slapping his armored knee. "Still speakin' the same nonsense, I see."
Gabyola sighed, stepping forward with practiced ease. "She means: hello again, good sir. We're honored to revisit your city."
The guard grinned. "Aye, welcome back, Elf Children. The Chief's in a meeting, but you're welcome to enter. Just don't melt anything this time."
"We make no promises," Kyle said, already scanning the inner walls for anything he could tinker with.
Fuhiken gave a quick bow. "Thank you. We'll just do a bit of sightseeing."
---
Once inside the city, the party scattered slightly, drifting toward the various merchant streets and forge-lined alleys. The dwarves had clearly expanded since their last visit; new banners flew between stone archways, and more stalls had been added to the central marketplace. Smiths hammered away on anvils, sparks flying into the air, while others barked out prices for armor, weapons, and curious trinkets only a dwarf could invent.
Gabyola strolled past a row of leather armor shops, eyes scanning the mannequins lined with studded tunics, padded shoulder guards, and elegant sashes. One particular set caught her attention: a sleek, silver-stitched dark leather armor with light plating. It was elegant, refined, and very her.
The price tag, however, was not.
She turned to the shopkeeper, tried a soft negotiation, and eventually settled for a simpler, still practical version with a leaf motif. As she fastened the belt around her waist, she smiled faintly. It wasn't about luxury. It was about feeling like herself in a world filled with chaos.
Meanwhile, Yuuna stood in place near the plaza. The stone-paved ground beneath her boots radiated the lingering warmth of forge fires, and the distant clang of hammers echoed through the air. She barely noticed. Her brows furrowed, her expression unreadable as always, but the slight frown tugging at the corner of her lips betrayed her deep thought. In one hand, she held her notebook; in the other, her pen gently tapped against her chin in a rhythmic pattern, more a thinking tic than a conscious motion. The plaza bustled around her, merchants calling out, dwarves passing by with crates and carts, but Yuuna remained still amid the motion, entirely absorbed by the puzzle forming in her mind. frowning slightly and tapping her chin with her pen.
"We need a transportation vehicle," she muttered to no one in particular.
Jessica glanced over. "Huh?"
Yuuna opened her notebook, flipping through a dozen pages of scrawled blueprints, notes, and quick sketches. "A carriage. One that doesn't need a horse. Something stable. Mobile. Efficient."
"Oh!" Kyle piped in. "What about a cow? Cows are cool."
"We're not using livestock," Yuuna replied.
"Then a bull," Adiw suggested, cracking his knuckles. "Bulls are powerful."
"Also no," Yuuna said flatly.
"A griffon!" Yetsan said, raising a finger. "We've already fought one. We know it works."
Fahleena twirled. "Indeed! A Griffon-Pulled Chariot of Twilight Ascension! Let it glide upon the wind!"
Fuhiken groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose. "We are not chaining a griffon to a cart."
"Something fluffy, maybe?" Gabyola offered, laughing lightly. "Like a moon sheep?"
"Absolutely not," the entire party answered at once.
Kyle lit up. "Then we mount a rifle on it!"
Adiw nodded. "Big cannon on the front. Makes sense."
The girls exchanged alarmed looks. Jessica's eyes widened slightly, her grip on the hilt of her katana tightening as if preparing for another ridiculous suggestion. Gabyola furrowed her brow, clearly torn between diplomacy and shutting down the idea with firm elegance. Orchid tilted her head, trying to understand the concern while still holding the pot of her questionable culinary experiment. Fahleena, unusually quiet for once, blinked in momentary confusion before her expression shifted to exaggerated drama. Even Yuuna, usually stoic, paused her scribbling and glanced up, her flat stare silently conveying her disapproval. The collective unease was immediate and unanimous, an unspoken agreement that they had reached the edge of absurdity.
"That would make it look like a murder cart," Jessica muttered.
"It's not about aesthetics," Yuuna replied, scribbling furiously now. "It's about structural integrity, propulsion system, and, no, never mind, this is already spiraling into disaster."
Gigih, lounging on a crate, raised a hand lazily. "As long as I don't have to walk, I'm fine."
Fuhiken looked from Yuuna's increasingly chaotic notes to the rest of the group and sighed deeply. "Please, Yuuna. Don't let this become another hoverboard incident."
Yuuna didn't answer. Her pen paused mid-stroke, and for a long moment, she simply stared at the blueprint.
A six-wheeled carriage, that was the base. Yuuna envisioned large, durable wheels with enough clearance to traverse rocky terrain and uneven mountain paths without issue. The frame would be constructed from tempered iron, reinforced at key stress points to ensure structural integrity. To lighten the load without sacrificing durability, she planned wood-reinforced siding, using a specific type of sturdy timber she recalled seeing in the outskirts of Dwargo's forest.
At its core, literally, would be the internal mana chamber, a carefully contained system where a refined mana stone could act as both engine and fuel. Fully automagic. No need for reins or beasts. No biological unpredictability. Just controlled propulsion and mechanical efficiency.
She drew a thick line beneath her last note, then added more forcefully than before: No cows. Absolutely no sheep. And underlined twice, no guns mounted to the sides.
She paused.
Then, hesitated before writing the final line in small, careful letters at the bottom of the page, as if afraid it might somehow summon consequences into reality: and absolutely no summoning a demonlord to wreck the world by making him pull the cart. Maybe.
"Suspension needs reinforcement," she muttered.
---
Some distance away, Orchid was unusually quiet. Her brows furrowed, she stood at the edge of a quiet alley, stirring something in a small pot set atop a compact flame crystal. Her focus was intense, not her usual clumsy air-headedness. A pouch of powdered wild cow milk sat beside her, along with chunks of something that vaguely resembled chocolate.
Sakura peeked over her shoulder. "What are you making?"
Orchid didn't look up. "A masterpiece."
The mixture thickened, turned into a strange, semi-translucent brown gel that smelled halfway between sweet cream and metal. She poked it. It jiggled ominously.
"Want to try?" Orchid offered innocently.
Sakura took a bite, her expression curious but unassuming as she brought the strange brown substance to her lips. The texture was odd, halfway between soft cheese and hardened jelly, and it wobbled slightly as her teeth sank in. The taste hit her a second later: sweet, but with an undercurrent of something metallic and suspiciously herbal. She paused mid-chew, her jaw halting as her mind tried to process the flavor. Her eyes widened faintly. Then she blinked once, slowly. Then again, this time more rapidly, as if trying to reset her vision. A third blink followed, and her gaze unfocused slightly, pupils dilating with subtle confusion. For a moment, she just stood there, frozen, as though her brain had momentarily disconnected from reality.
Then she smiled serenely and said, "The sky is talking to me. It says the cheese is the key."
"Huh," Orchid muttered. "Might need less cow magic."
Fuhiken arrived just in time to see Adiw pick up the cheese with two fingers.
"Don't eat it," Fuhiken warned.
Adiw looked at it, sniffed, and promptly launched it out of the city with a full swing of his greatsword. The cheese flew like a comet.
Several minutes later, a wild red cow near the outskirts of Dwargo blinked in confusion, sniffed the strange brown object, and took a bite. It stood still for a moment. Then it began tap dancing.
Back in the city, Yuuna finally snapped her notebook shut.
"No prototypes today. We need materials. Iron, good wood, mana stones. I'll draft it properly tonight."
"No cows," Fuhiken added.
"No cheese," Jessica whispered.
"Maybe some fireworks," Kyle offered.
Gabyola just smiled. "Let's go find an inn."
They walked through the stone corridors, dwarves waving as they passed. The chaos had returned, but it was familiar. Somehow, comforting.
As the sky dimmed outside and lanterns lit up inside Dwargo, the twelve elf children settled down in their guesthouse. Tomorrow, they'd build something new. But for now, they'd rest, share food, and make sure no one, especially not cows, ate any more of Orchid's cheese.