The morning air was cool, but the carriage felt suffocating.
After leaving the inn, no one spoke.
Lily sat by the window, her gaze fixed outside, though she wasn't really looking at anything. Trees passed, hills rolled by, and the dirt road stretched endlessly forward—but her mind was elsewhere.
Kane sat across from her.
Silent.
Still.
Not even a glance.
Christina, sitting between them, shifted uncomfortably. Her eyes moved back and forth, trying to read the tension that hung thick in the air.
What… happened last night? she wondered.
Even John, who usually had something to say, stayed quiet.
Only the creaking of wood and the steady turning of wheels filled the carriage. Time dragged, each second stretching longer than the last.
It felt endless.
Until—
The carriage lurched to a sudden stop.
"Ah—!"
Christina was thrown forward, barely catching herself, while Lily and Kane were jolted back against their seats.
Benson's voice rang out from the front.
"There's a group of bandits ahead," he called. "They're robbing another carriage."
A pause.
Then, calmly but firmly—
"Prepare yourselves. We're ambushing them."
The tension in the carriage shifted instantly.
The stillness shattered.
Lily tightened her grip on her staff.
Kane's fingers curled around his wand.
The awkward silence from before didn't disappear
As Benson guided their carriage forward, the scene came into view.
A merchant's carriage stood stopped on the road, surrounded by a group of rough-looking men. Some held blades to the merchants, others were already rummaging through goods, laughing loudly.
One of the bandits stepped forward as Benson approached.
He looked Benson up and down, smirking.
"You look pretty strong," he said. "Who're you guarding, pal?"
His eyes flicked toward the carriage behind Benson.
"Think they'd fetch a good price?"
Laughter erupted from the group behind him.
Some didn't even bother looking over, too busy threatening the merchants.
Benson's expression hardened.
He opened his mouth to speak—
But the carriage doors burst open.
On both sides.
Lily and Kane leapt out at the same time.
No hesitation.
No coordination.
Yet perfectly in sync.
"Wind blades!"
"Earth spikes!"
The air screamed.
Invisible blades tore forward, slashing through the front line of bandits before they could react. Several dropped instantly, others stumbled back, clutching their wounds in shock.
At the same time, the ground beneath the rear group erupted.
Jagged spikes of earth shot upward without warning, piercing through the bandits who had been looting the merchant's carriage.
Screams filled the air.
Then silence.
The fight ended almost as soon as it began.
A few bandits remained, trembling, weapons slipping from their hands as they realized how outmatched they were.
The sudden, overwhelming violence had crushed any will to resist.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Lily and Kane stood there, breathing lightly.
The agitation from earlier…
Gone.
Or at least, buried.
Benson stepped down from the carriage, his expression stern.
"That was reckless," he said.
They didn't respond.
Benson sighed, rubbing his forehead.
"What if they had taken hostages?" he continued. "What would you have done then?"
Still nothing.
Lily glanced away.
Kane looked disinterested.
Neither of them felt guilty.
But after a brief pause, they both lowered their gazes slightly—just enough to look like they were reflecting.
Benson stared at them for a moment longer.
Then sighed again.
"…Forget it."
There were more important things to deal with.
After ensuring the remaining bandits were tied up, Benson approached the robbed carriage.
The merchant, still shaken, thanked him repeatedly.
With Benson's help, the stolen goods were recovered, and order was quickly restored.
As promised, the merchant handed over a reward.
A heavy pouch of coins.
When Benson returned, he split the reward in half and handed it to Lily and Kane.
Lily froze when the weight of the pouch settled in her hands.
Her eyes widened.
She had never held this much money before.
Kane, on the other hand, simply glanced inside and closed it again, his expression unchanged.
Behind them, John leaned toward Benson, whispering.
"Is it really okay to give them that much?"
Christina nodded quietly in agreement.
Benson shrugged.
"The merchant insisted. Besides…" he added, reaching into the carriage, "that's not all."
He pulled out several small bags and dropped them onto the ground.
Five in total.
"The bandits' money," he said. "Pick one."
The group stepped forward.
No one argued.
No one spoke.
Each took a bag.
John got the heaviest—later counting twenty silvers inside.
The others weren't far behind.
With the bandits tied to the back of the carriage, they resumed their journey.
By the time they returned to the Adventurer's Guild, the sun had begun to dip.
The criminals were handed over.
The quest was completed.
And the final reward was distributed.
Lily received another twenty-five silvers.
Kane received the same.
They left the guild together.
This time, the silence was… different.
Less tense.
But not gone.
They talked—lightly, casually—but something still lingered beneath the surface.
Eventually, the group split.
Kane turned down a different road.
"I'll report back home," he said simply.
Then he left.
Lily watched him go.
For just a moment.
Then turned away.
Back at the Mages Guild, Lily sat on her bed.
She placed all her coins carefully into the small box hidden beneath it.
The soft clinking sound echoed faintly in the quiet room.
She paused.
Then closed the lid.
She was richer than she had ever been.
But that wasn't what stayed on her mind.
Lily lay back, staring at the ceiling.
Her body sank into the bed as exhaustion caught up with her.
The past few days replayed in fragments—
The battle.
The danger.
The silence.
and-Kane.
Her eyes slowly closed.
"I'm tired…"
And just like that—
She drifted into sleep.