After Nanami's announcement all eyes were drawn on her, however she simply couldn't work under such pressure so she requested Haruko give her a lab.
While they were waiting Kaito had more questions for Haruko. "I thought we were helping the trades guild, were you supposed to be a bodyguard?"
Haruko laughed at this. "No silly, I had a feeling they'd get robbed, so I went because I knew she'd ask me for help."
This made Jessie snicker, but Dante just shook his head. "If you knew an attack would happen you could've stopped it."
Haruko playfully wagged her finger. "I didn't know anything. I just made an educated guess!"
As the conversation continued Nanami had made her return to the room. All eyes were on her again, she nervously coughed.
Nanami exhaled slowly, folding her arms as the others watched her. "I've been involved with Cristia for… most of my life," she said, her voice steady but edged with something older than the moment. "Long enough to understand what happens when it's properly harnessed."
She paused, glancing between them.
"And what happens when it isn't."
A faint hum filled the space as she reached into her bag and pulled out a compact deviceslee, its surface flickering with soft pulses of light. With a tap, a projection sprang to life, a shifting map with a blinking trail carving its way across it.
"An unharnessed compound," Nanami continued, "especially one that unstable, doesn't just sit quietly. It leaks. It distorts. It leaves a signature." She gestured to the moving signal. "And that makes it easy to track."
Ashley leaned in, squinting at the display. "And we're just supposed to believe that's them? How do you even know this thing works?"
Nanami didn't look at her. "Explaining it to a mind that simple would do no good."
Ashley's lip curled, a low snarl escaping before she could stop it. "Excuse me!"
"Enough," Haruko cut in smoothly, stepping between them with a calm that carried weight. She glanced at the projection, then at Nanami, a small, approving smile forming. "It's impressive. Truly."
Nanami blinked, visibly caught off guard. "It's… nothing special," she muttered, though her grip on the device tightened.
The tension broke as Haruko clapped her hands once, sharp and decisive. "Well then," she said, turning toward the others, energy rising in her voice, "no point standing around."
She swung her bag over her shoulder, a spark of mischief dancing in her eyes as her grin caught the light.
"Time for a proper, old-fashioned adventure."
Though, by her standards, old-fashioned meant something entirely different.
She led them to a cart waiting quietly at the roadside, at first glance, unassuming, no larger than any ordinary carriage. But its frame shimmered faintly, as though reality itself hesitated around it, and soft runes glowed like sleeping embers along its edges. It was no simple vehicle. Magic clung to it.
The moment they stepped inside, the world unfolded.
What had been a modest cart blossomed into something vast, a manor in miniature. Polished floors stretched beneath their feet, lanternlight drifted warmly overhead, and the air carried the faint scent of cedar and spellwork. The outside had lied; the inside told the truth.
Kaito darted in and out of the doorway, half-laughing, half-bewildered. "How is this even possible?!"
Haruko only smiled, pleased with herself. "I had a mage weave a liminal enchantment into it. The interior and exterior exist… separately."
Kaito immediately lunged for the front, as he always did, but Haruko caught him by the collar and shoved him back with a laugh. "Easy there, second place."
Toni stepped inside more carefully, eyes wide as she turned in a slow circle. "I thought ours was impressive… but this? This is unreal."
Nanami followed, already studying the structure with a thoughtful gleam. "I'll need to take notes," she murmured. "For my next creation."
They begin going on their travels. The adventure was smooth throughout the day. Haruko had a neat trick, where she had the ability to cast portals through the use of spacial magic. So she was keeping watch through the day.
With Haruko on watch the day was uneventful for the most parts. Until night came, bringing them to a stop, Kaito volunteered himself for the watch, no one argued him he usually did.
Night stretched quietly around the cart, the air cool, almost like invisible pollen suspended in the dark. The others slept within the impossible manor-space, their breaths soft and steady, while Kaito leaned against the doorway, eyes scanning the tree line.
A rustle.
Then another.
Small shapes slipped between the brush, quick, hunched, whispering in guttural tones.
Goblins.
Kaito sighed, rolling his shoulders as he stepped forward. "Seriously? At this hour?"
They lunged first.
He moved faster.
What followed wasn't a battle so much as a blur, precise, controlled, almost effortless. Kaito weaved between them, disarming claws, redirecting momentum, striking pressure points with just enough force to drop them without lasting harm. One by one, they collapsed into the grass, dazed, groaning, very much alive.
The last goblin barely had time to blink before Kaito flicked its weapon away and tapped it sharply on the forehead. It crumpled.
Silence returned.
Kaito exhaled, stretching his arms. "There. Done."
A ripple in the air formed beside him, space folding in on itself like fabric being pinched. A small portal bloomed open, glowing softly. Haruko's face appeared within it, upside down at first before correcting itself.
"Well," she said, amused, "that was unnecessary."
Kaito blinked. "Unnecessary? There were goblins."
"There were goblins," she echoed. "In my zone."
He frowned. "Your… zone?"
"A mile radius," she said casually. "Anything that enters it, I know about."
Kaito stared at her through the portal. "Then why didn't you help?"
Haruko tilted her head, studying him for a moment. "…I was wondering why you were fighting them at all."
There was a pause.
Then, a small smile tugged at her lips. "Still… not bad."
The portal shimmered faintly before closing, leaving Kaito alone again under the quiet sky.
He glanced down at his hands.
"…Not bad, huh?"
But the words didn't quite settle the way they should have.
Morning arrived wrapped in golden light and soft chatter.
Haruko gathered them just outside the cart, where the grass stretched wide and open, glimmering faintly with ambient Elara.
"I'm going to show you something useful," she said, crouching slightly as she plucked a single blade of grass from the ground.
She held it up between her fingers.
"This," she began, "can be a weapon."
Kaito raised a brow. Toni leaned in. Nanami's eyes sharpened instantly.
"Elara isn't just something you use to enhance your body," Haruko continued. "It's everywhere. In the air, in the ground, in everything around you. If you can feel it… you can use it."
The blade of grass shimmered faintly.
"For most of you, enhancement magic is internal. But this?" She flicked her wrist.
The grass sliced clean through a nearby stone.
"…is external."
A beat of silence.
Ashley let out a low whistle. "And here I thought we were doing well."
She leaned back against the cart, smirking as the others began attempting it. "Wow. This is painful to watch."
Jessie nudged her lightly. "You know, you could try being supportive. Maybe make some friends your age?"
Ashley scoffed. "I have standards."
"Lower them," Jessie shot back.
Nearby, Bein puffed out his chest. "I already know how to do this."
No one responded.
"…Hello?" he added.
Still nothing.
Jin watched quietly from the side, arms crossed, observing each attempt with a calm, unreadable expression.
Nanami stepped forward first.
She closed her eyes, steadying her breath. The air around her seemed to still, just slightly, as though listening. Then, with a careful motion, she lifted her hand.
A fragment of Elara gathered.
The twig in her fingers shimmered, and snapped cleanly through a small rock.
She opened her eyes, a slow, satisfied smile forming. "I see."
"I knew it," she added, almost to herself.
Dante was next.
He fumbled at first, muttering under his breath, but something clicked quicker than expected. His second attempt carved a shallow line into the ground.
He blinked. "…Huh."
Even Toni managed it after a few tries, his success punctuated by a surprised laugh. "Okay, okay, that's actually amazing!"
Kaito watched.
Then tried.
Again.
Nothing.
He adjusted his stance, narrowed his focus, reached, felt the Elara brush past him like wind he couldn't quite grasp.
Again.
Still nothing.
Laughter echoed nearby. Success.
Not his.
His jaw tightened, just slightly.
He tried again.
And again.
By the time Toni succeeded, something in his chest twisted, unwelcome.
He smiled anyway. Like always.
Haruko approached, tilting her head. "How's it going?"
Kaito rubbed the back of his neck, laughing lightly. "Ah… sorry. I'm taking longer than I thought."
"Why are you apologizing?" she asked, genuinely puzzled.
"I've got it," he said quickly. "Just... give me a bit more time."
Haruko watched him for a moment.
Then stepped closer.
"Slow down," she said gently.
He blinked. "Huh?"
"It's fine if you don't get it right away."
Kaito shook his head, still smiling. "No, no, I can do it, I just..."
She reached out and lightly tapped his hand, lowering it.
"Different approach," she said.
Kaito paused, then laughed. "I thought you were about to hit me."
Haruko laughed too, bright and unbothered. "That's a bit dramatic."
She gestured around them. "Some people learn faster. Some don't. It doesn't matter."
Her tone softened, just slightly.
"As long as you're trying, that's enough."
Kaito went still.
For a moment, the noise around him faded, his shoulders loosened.
"…Right."
His grin returned, but this time it felt lighter. "Thanks."
He exhaled slowly, closing his eyes, not forcing it, not chasing it.
Just… feeling.
The air shifted.
Something clicked.
When he opened his eyes, the blade of grass in his hand shimmered faintly.
A small, clean cut traced across the ground.
Kaito blinked, then laughed, bright and unrestrained. "Oh, that's how!"
Haruko smiled.
"See?"
Before he could celebrate further, she reached into her sleeve and pulled out a single sheet of paper.
"Now watch closely."
Kaito barely had time to react.
The paper flicked forward, and struck.
A sharp burst of force sent him stumbling back, landing flat on the grass.
"…You just hit me with paper."
Haruko held it up between her fingers, entirely pleased. "Deadly, isn't it?"
Kaito stared at her.
Then started laughing again.