A soft breeze straddled the plains.

Hurried footsteps trampled down the blue-tinged grass as the remnants of the once-massive kobold horde gathered together and reformed behind the solid core of their army - their elites.

These disciplined catmen formed a line across the plains from the sith formation. They waited, silently, as more and more of their panicked brethren rallied behind them, and readied for a second bout.

Tsk. They aren't just going to charge in? That's a bother. My army's better on the defensive...

Just as Sylphia thought this, a single black streak flew overhead. A high-pitched whistle accompanied it, screeching in for but a split second before fading away just as quickly.

A moment later, a scream rang out from the formation behind her.

"Eh-" She choked on her own breath. "What the hell was that!?"

Behind her, the Home Guard fell into chaos. A sith at the very front laid dead, an arrow piercing his forehead. The siths barked amongst one another and clustered around the corpse, but none could save him now.

They have ranged weapons!? And bows, at that!? How the hell did they make bowstrings!? There isn't any material here for that!

"Shit!" Sylphia grabbed Letty's hands and dragged her behind the Assault Company. "Assault Company! Shields up!"

Letty screamed as she staggered behind her. "Kyaa! Sylphie!?"

"Stay down, if you don't want to get killed!"

"Eeeeh!?"

"Letty, listen to me!" Sylphia then put both her hands over the panicked scribe's cheeks. "I need you to stay behind this wall. It will protect you from the arrows. Can you fire back at them from down here?"

"W-what, fire?"

"Your spell!"

"A-ah! Y-yes, but I need to see where it's going so I can direct it..."

"That's fine! There's a bit of space in between the shields, right?"

"Eh?" Letty's brows fell. "That space is too small! I can't see much through that!"

"It doesn't matter if it misses! If you can just make them scatter and stop firing at us, that's more than enough!"

"S-Sylphie..." She lowered her head, clasping her hands on her chest.

"Letty!" Sylphia clasped her hands around the hesitant scribe's. "Please, I need your help!"

She bit down on her lower lip.

She hesitated for another moment before taking a deep breath. Her mind clear, she then nodded and said, "O... okay..."

With a single swipe of her hand, the book flipped open, releasing a cloud of blue magic around her. She twirled her fingers around, shaping the cloud to its movements, before pointing it forwards and squeezing its misty body between the mythril shields. It traveled at a sluggish pace, but it mattered not when the enemy was immobile.

Fireballs soon erupted around the kobold elites. Though they avoided getting caught within its flames, their line fell into chaos and the arrows immediately stopped flying.

Alright.

She took a deep breath.

Calm down. Take this one by one. First, we need to resist the bombardment. The regular troops are well armored, but the militia are sitting ducks. Hardly half of them have shields...

Sylphia stood up. "Letty, keep up the fire support!"

"I-I'll try!"

"Home Guards, raise all shields!"

The black haze then wrapped around her poorly equipped conscripts. Among them who had shields, most were jury-rigged with junk material such as dried mushroom caps. Furthermore, all but a handful were essentially naked, with just a few having a few parts of armor, such as a single gauntlet, or only greaves. Nevertheless, their shields were enough to ward off a few arrows. Clumped together, about three siths could even hide beneath a single shield.

"Sylphie!" screamed Letty.

"What is it!? I'm busy here!"

"You need to see this! They're coming closer!"

 Sylphia's heart jumped. "What!? Are you seriousl!?"

Did the bombardment rock them off their nerves? Pfft. Haha! In the end they are nothing but filthy savages!

"Alright!" She then swept her fan in the air as she ran back. "All units brace!"

"No, Sylphie, look!"

"What!?"

When she hooked back up with Letty, she did see the kobold elites coming closer. Some of them. Precisely, the tall hob-kobolds.

"Eh...?" Sylphia raised an eyebrow. "W-what are they doing?"

"I-I don't know..." Letty's voice trembled. "but... I feel magic sickness coming on..."

"Eh what!? Letty!? Are you okay!?"

"M-mm... I just... overexerted myself... aheh..." She wiped the cold sweat off her forehead. "I've never used so much magic all at once..."

Geez, if you were reaching your limit you could have just stopped, you idiot!

Clasping her hands around her friend's shaking hands, the little girl smiled. "Thank you, Letty. You can rest now."

The bashful scribe turned away and bit down on the inside of her cheeks, in an attempt to hide the budding smile on her lips.

Turning her gaze back to the mysterious figures, the so-called kobold elites had come a good deal closer that it was possible to pick out the detail between the individuals. In particular, the three tall silhouettes appeared nothing like the kobolds they left behind them.

But they looked incredibly familiar.

Too familiar.

Ack! Sylphia grit her teeth.

"All units, hold position!" she screamed. As soon as she said this, she blasted forth beyond the Assault Company's protective shield wall.

"S-Sylphie, wait!" Letty chased Sylphia as she passed the line, soon fell on her knees. "Where are you going!?"

"The siths can't make or use a bow!"

Not only are there no good materials in this cave to make one, but even just looking at their physical structure...

She continued, "The kobolds couldn't do so either! Therefore, there's only one person in this entire cave who has a bow and arrow!"

"Eeeeeeeh!? You mean-" Thus, with all of her might, Letty pushed herself off the ground and followed behind the little girl.

Another clue was that, as soon as the three figures began their descent, the arrows, too, stopped falling.

She also knew our frontliners were heavily armored, and it's obvious due to the glow of mythril... so she aimed where the glow isn't as stark - the rear. Our unarmored militia.

Tsk. So she's as good as she brags, huh?

Soon, the three figures became more distinct. The details of their dress, their weapons, and their body faded into view.

The dead giveaway was when one of them raised her hand and waved gleefully side-to-side as they approached.

Geez. I thought so.

There, right in front of her, Sylphia saw the three people she came to rescue. On one end was Rika, giggling and still waving her hands at her. In the middle was Ruth, hanging his arms lazily behind his head. And finally, on the other end was Ceressa, still holding an arrow to her bowstring.

Something felt off, however.

As they finally came into earshot, Sylphia finally got a close look of what was bothering her - there appeared to be some sort of growth on top of Rika's head.

A mushroom, to be precise.

And finally, the entire party met face-to-face.

"Eeeeeh!?" Ceressa's eyes popped wide open. "What the heck are you guys doing here!?"

"That's my line, isn't it!?" Sylphia said, "We're supposed to be rescuing you!"

"No, no, no, no, no." She vigorously shook her head. "That's the other way around."

"Ah, whatever!" said Rika, as she flung herself at Sylphia, "What's important is, we're all safe!"

"Hnnf-" Sylphia grunted.

"That's true..." Letty said, with a meek smile upon her face.

"Man," said Ruth, "it's a great relief to see you both safe and sound."

It had been a long time since they saw each other. Rika's clothes had several tears on them, and they weren't washed very carefully. In comparison, her own were in much better condition, despite having its share of rips and tears that even Letty could not fix due to lack of materials.

"Well, yeah, that's great and all," she said, as she pushed her palm into Rika's cheek, in an effort to keep her at bay, "but wait a second, what in the hell is that thing on your head?"

Just as her initial observation, it was indeed a mushroom. A mushroom cap as large as a sombrero covered Rika's head. It still retained its fleshy, beige color, and flopped lightly down the sides of her head.

"Eh!? Ah, er... i-it's a hat!" Rika flinched, pulling down both ends of her new headwear, as if to hide her embarrassment.

"Huh?" She winced. "Did you eat some magic mushrooms or did living underground finally make you lose your mind?" she said, swirling a finger around her ear. "Take it off, you look ridiculous. Besides, you don't even need a hat since the sun doesn't shine in this damn cave."

"Ahaha..." Rika's lips jerked awkwardly as she tried to eke out a smile. "so you don't like it, huh? T-that's a shame... I actually think it's pretty cute!"

Sylphia leered at her with sharp, judgemental eyes. Eyes that asked, ‘how does a cute girl have no idea what is and isn't cute?' To her, it was the closest thing to heresy.

It was then, that she noticed, that even from her low-angle, Rika's bangs were gone. Even if she were wearing a hat, there'd at least be a few stray strands wobbling down, anyway.

But there was precisely none.

Curious, the little girl pointed at her own forehead and said, with an inquisitive tone, "Hey, did you get a haircut?"

"Eh, huh!?" Rika flinched. "N-no, why would you ask?" She averted her eyes and attempted to whistle, but only silent air blew out of her lips.

Wow, I've never actually met anyone who lies as bad as this.

"Take it off." Sylphia motioned her finger flicking off a hat off her own head.

But instead, Rika pulled her hat further down. "No."

An awkward silence passed between them.

"Oh, by the way-" Sylphia's eyes narrowed. "-look what I found."

She then threw her fan towards Rika.

"Eh?"

Grabbing the opportunity when Rika reached her hand out to catch Sebastian, Sylphia then leaped up and swiped the hat right off the gullible girl's head.

Flustered, Rika screamed. "A- hey! What are-"

Both the fan and Sylphia's jaw dropped right to the ground.

Though she tried to cover her head, Rika's hands could not hide the fact that her neck-length hair was no more. All that remained was a mat of crimson stubbles.

"Uhh..." Sylphia was at a loss for words. "What's... why the crew cut...?"

Then, like a bubble burst up inside her, she puffed out her cheek and snorted.

"Pfft, it really doesn't fit...!" Stifling her laughter, covered her mouth and pinched her nose.

Rika turned bright red. "Aaaaaah!? Are you laughing at me!?"

She looked away. "N-no, I didn't!?"

"Hey! What's with that!?" The flustered girl puffed her cheeks out.

"N-never mind that! What the hell happened to you!?" Her muffled voice seeped out from behind her hands. As she tried to face Rika once more, she could not prevent her chuckles from escaping.

"Sylphie, you dummy!" Angry, Rika then ran behind Ceressa, and heckled, "Flat chest!"

That struck a nerve.

"Hey!" the little girl waved her fist, "That has nothing to do with it, you idiot! What happened to you anyway!? Were you hit in the head so hard that you decided to replace your hair with a mushroom!?"

"Gnng... Stop calling me an idiot, you meanie!" The redhead yelled back, sticking her tongue out.

"Now, now, Rika, Miss Sylphia, calm down." Ruth finally stepped between them and faced the irate young girl. "Look, we can explain."

"Fine. Explain!"

"Yes, yes, just calm down..."

The three would then narrate their little escapade while they were separated.

"...and that's how we got here." Ruth said, with a conclusive nod.

With dead eyes and stretched out frown, Sylphia muttered, "Hey, are you serious?"

Ruth nodded again.

"Why the hell did you accept their challenge!?"

"It was the only choice we had!" He clenched his fist. "When we got separated, we feared for the worst... It was fortunate that the kobolds had no desire to hurt us, even after the short battle we fought, but saving Miss Sylphie and Miss Letty was a different question altogether!"

"That's right." Ceressa crossed her arms. "You saw how the dogs fought off the kobolds despite having fewer guys? Ruth and I were barely able to beat the kobolds matched against us. There's no way we could have stormed the sith village and come out alive."

"Yeah." Ruth nodded. "So we needed the help of the kobolds. That's why we needed to accept their challenge."

"Urk-" Sylphia clenched her teeth. "But still... why'd you let Rika fight!? You know she's just an apprentice, right!"

He lowered his head. "I know... but those were the terms the kobolds gave us! We each needed to prove our strength so they could accept our request."

"But why did it entail getting Rika's hair shaved off!?"

"Well... as I said, the two of us barely made it, but Miss Rika was terribly beaten."

At that moment, the once-spry redhead clutched her arm and meekly looked away. "Sorry..."

"It's okay, Rika. We didn't want to give up." He crouched onto his knee and placed his hand on Sylphia's shoulder. "I- We can't leave this dungeon without all of our party."

"That's the Adventurer's Honor." Ceressa added.

With a passionate expression, Rika then said, "And I'd never leave without Sylphie! No matter what! Even if it meant begging for help to do it!"

Sylphia's eyes sharpened.

"Begged, you say…?"

Rika nodded. "And he said he'd do it, under one condition..."

Ruth continued, "He apparently came to admire the color of Miss Rika's hair. He said that he would help us if he could have it, to decorate his helmet."

Her eye twitched.

His helmet!?

All at once, Sylphia's blood hit a roaring boil.

So that red mane... is Rika's hair!?

Her brows furled and her eyes lit into a frenzy. With gnashing of teeth a terrifying expression would be borne upon the girl's face.

"S-Sylphie...?" said Rika, holding her hands over her chest, "Listen! They, really, absolutely, did not force me! Ceressa even covered for me, offering her own hair instead, but since he only wanted my hair, I offered it to him! I did it so we can save you, Sylphie! Okay? So please, don't be angry..." She then smiled. Though the once bright glint her eyes had been tarnished with weariness, it did not lessen, in any way, its warmth. "So, let's go? Since we're all here, let's go home!"

"Hmm..." Sylphia tapped her feet in the ground. After her friend's appeal, there was no way she could retain her anger, but at the same time, she could not so easily let go of it. "Still... that just doesn't sit right with me."

"...Huh?"

She bent down, grabbed Sebastian off the ground and pointed him at Rika. "They dared lay a finger on you without my permission." Her eyes narrowed. "I can't let that slide."

"E-eh...?" She cocked her head to the side, "...what are you talking about, Sylphie?"

"Geez, enough of this." Ceressa grumbled. "In short, come with us, you two. The exit of the cave is in kobold territory so those stupid mutts can't chase us out there."

"Huh?" Sylphia raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me? No." She then jabbed her fan up at Ceressa's chest. "Those ‘stupid mutts' were just about to wipe the floor with these dumb cats and save your asses. Come with us. Once my army crushes the kobolds, then we can go home."

"Your army?" She grimaced. "What are you talking about? And where the heck did you get that fan anyway?"

"Heheh." She smirked. "It's exactly as I said. These guys are my army! All of them have pledged their undying loyalty to me!" She then glanced behind her and yelled, "Ain't that right!?"

"Awoo! Awoo!" The siths drove their spears against the ground in unison, shaking the earth beneath them.

"Huh!?" All three of them dropped their jaws in bafflement.

"Is... is that true, Miss Letty?" Ruth asked.

"E-erm..." The timid scribe who, despite standing right behind Sylphia, had kept silent the entire time, scratched her head. "...yes."

"Gnnnnn...!" Ceressa clenched her fists. "There's no way you can win! The kobolds outnumber you three-to-one!"

"Just three?" Sylphia shrugged. "That's nothing. They'd need to outnumber us at least five-no, seven-to-one to even stand a fighting chance! Hahahaha!"

"Grrrr!"

After releasing her steam, the frustrated archer pulled herself back and shook her head. "Look," she said, "either way doesn't matter anymore. Since it looks like neither the kobolds nor those dogs will hurt us, let‘s all just go home. Okay? I really want to eat something other than mushrooms and fish..."

Sylphia flinched. "W-well, you got me there... but I can't go right now."

"Huh!? Why!?" Ceressa screamed. "We've been trapped here for more than two weeks, you know!? People might think we're dead!"

"Don't get me wrong." She crossed her arms and looked away, dismissively. "I'm absolutely dying to sleep on anything other than cold, damp dirt. But I'm not ready to go home just yet. Letty and I have some business to take care of."

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"E-eeeh...?" Letty tapped Sylphia's shoulder. "W-why can't we go home...?"

"Huh?" She winced. "Don't tell me you've forgotten."

"Eh?" Flustered, she looked around and twiddled her fingers for a moment but eventually gave up. "S-sorry... I-I was so happy to see them again that..."

Sylphia sighed. "We're supposed to beat the kobolds for the siths, remember? We can't just leave it like this, now that we've come so far."

"A-ahh... Mm. You're right."

"What!?" Ceressa yelled, "Not you too, Miss Letty!?"

She shied away, muttering, "S-sorry... um... I... sort of promised some of my student- err... um... the siths, I'd help them..."

"Eeeeh...!?" The archer's shoulders dropped. She quickly collected herself, however, and said, "W-well, there's no way you can win! So why don't you just give up already!?"

"Huh? No way!" The corner of Sylphia's mouth twitched upward. "You know how much effort I spent to whip these guys into shape!?"

"Who cares!? Let's just get out of this dump already!"

"That's easy for you to say!"

"Aaaah!" Ceressa clutched her head and screamed. "That's it!"

Finally, the frustration boiled over, and the young woman brought her foot down.

"Alright!" She furled her brows. "I'm going to poke out your little toys' eye sockets and drag you out with us, if I have to! Hmph!"

As she turned away from the little girl, she also pulled Ruth along with her. "Let's go!"

"Ah, w-wait!" Ruth struggled. "I can walk by myself!"

"Hmph!" Similarly, Sylphia turned around and walked away.

"E-eeeh!? Sylphie!?" Letty whimpered as she followed behind her, "Wait! Can't we just..."

"Rika, come on!" Sylphia called out.

"Rika, let's go!" And so did Ceressa.

"Eh!? Eh...!?" Rika, unable to pick between them, stamped her feet and pouted. "Geez! I'm not taking part in this!" She then stormed away from both of them.

Once the two opposing sides returned to their lines, Sylphia looked around for Rika. She soon found her friend-and-bodyguard, sitting in her lonesome on a hill overlooking the battlefield.

Ironically, that might be the safest place for Rika to be.

She smirked. "That also means I don't need to hold back!"

"Sylphie..." Letty pulled on her sleeves. "Ruth and Ceressa are still over there, you know?"

"I'm sure they can handle themselves!" She winked.

"Uuuu..." The soft-spoken scribe whimpered.

Sylphia thus deployed her forces as they were against the kobold horde. On both flanks, the two pike companies held their square formations. In the center-front, the Assault Company provided shield cover for the home guards at the back, who huddled together beneath whoever amongst them bothered to bring a shield that day.

On the other side, the kobold elites, including both Ruth and Ceressa, formed a tight clump in front of the now reformed horde of surviving kobolds.

Both armies marched ever closer.

Their footfalls were as thunder, rolling across the hills. The rumble grew louder and louder as the noise concentrated around a smaller and smaller area.

Until finally, the two sides clashed.

"Drill it into them!" Sylphia yelled, pumping her fist forward.

No more than a few feet in front of her, the front line of the Assault Company clashed with the hardened tip of the kobold horde - the kobold elites. The snarling beasts duked it out against each other with unrestrained brutality.

"Hiyaaah!" As part of the kobold's frontline, Ruth towered over most of the siths around him. In his hand, he held a mythril sword which left a silvery green trail in its wake as he parried and slashed at the siths of the Assault Company before him.

"Hey!" Sylphia yelled at him, "Where the hell did you get that!? Don't tell me you've changed your job class to thief!"

"It's not like that!" He said as he parried lunge from an assault sith. "The kobolds gave it to me as a gift!"

"Heeeh!? Is that so!? Tell you what, if you switch sides right now, I'll get you not just a sword but a full plate of mythril!"

"W-what, really!? Urk-" He shook his head. "Stop it, Miss Sylphie! You can't play that dirty!"

"Tsk," she then muttered to herself, "with that attitude, I bet you'll die a virgin!"

"Wha-!?"

Next, it was Ceressa's turn to heckle her. "What, are you going to stand in the back all day!?" She stood beside Ruth, using her twin daggers to parry any sith who tried to sneak up on him. "Come up here and fight!"

"What are you, an idiot?" Sylphia smirked and waved her remark away. "What sort of general fights at the front line? But please, do keep my minions company!"

"You brat!" She clenched her teeth. "Well, if you're not going to come forward..." She grabbed the bow on her back and pulled and arrow from the quiver on her hip. "Then I'll come for you!" Its loud twang rose even over the screams of the grinding front. The arrow flew right into the sith beside Sylphia, stunning him for a moment, before he broke the arrow lodged into his armor.

"Hey!" Sylphia screamed. "That was close! Are you crazy!? That could've killed me!"

"Don't worry! I won't hit any major organs!" She pulled her bowstring back once more, this time aiming directly at Sylphia. "Just... gonna.. immobilize you!"

Another arrow flew into the air.

"Kyaaa!" She reflexively crouched down behind the armored sith in front of her. "You're crazy! Absolutely crazy!"

It then flew overhead and struck one of the Assault Company in the eye, causing the dogman to fall over Sylphia.

"Ahyaaaa!" Sylhpia screamed. "What have you done! That's one my best guys! I'll get you for that!"

Letty, meanwhile, sat beside her, hiding behind the armored bodies of the siths. "Uuuu..." She whimpered, holding her hat down with both hands. "Sylphie... please, let's stop fighting!"

The little girl clicked her tongue. "Tell that to them!"

"Uuu...!"

Damnit, those two are pretty good. I didn't expect them to hold out against trained soldiers! She bit on the nail of her thumb. Gotta take them out of the equation.

She then turned to Letty. The timid scribe trembled beneath the sheer chaos of the surrounding battlefield. She took her hand. "Letty," she said, "you should get out of here. I'll meet you back at the village with all three of them. I promise!"

Unable to speak, Letty simply shook her head and flipped her hand around, before squeezing Sylphia's hand.

A shallow breath escaped her lips.

This must be terrifying for her...

Finally, she squeezed back at Letty's hand and stood up. "Fine," she said, her steely gaze centered on her frightened master, "then, I'll need your help one more time."

"H-huh...?" She looked up at Sylphia with tearful eyes.

"Let's end this."

She sobbed. Then, after wiping her own tears away, Letty said, "Okay."

The two stood up, facing their two adventuring companions on the other side of a chaotic melee.

"Oh? Ready to play again?" Ceressa said. "I thought you wouldn't show your face again!"

Ignoring the provocation, Sylphia uttered, "Playtime's over. Letty's had enough."

"Miss Letty...?" Her expression turned serious. "I think I've had enough, too. We should end this."

"Agreed. And you're coming with us." She then placed her hand in front of her mouth, miming once more the megaphone in her hand.

At the same time, Ceressa took aim. "That's my line, you know?"

Sylphia imaged it vividly in her mind's eye. Its shape. Its texture. Its function. And all around her, the black haze appeared, and collected into the shape she imagined.

Letty plugged her ears.

"Hey! What are you doing!?" Ceressa ran behind her partner. "Ruth, be careful!"

"Right!" The swordsman raised his shield, hiding both of them behind it.

All at once, the siths in front of Sylphia stepped behind her and took cover behind their shields. This left a hole in the front line, a hole the kobolds, were eager to fill and exploit.

And with a deep breath, Sylphia released her magic.

"Aaaaaaaaaah!"

Like the sound of thunder, her voice ripped into the sky. The air shimmered as the shockwave travelled in a cone of destruction in front of her. It blew away even the kobold elites, regardless of their mythril armor, like paper dolls. Even Ruth and Ceressa, who were much heavier on account of being humans, could not help but fall off their feet, as its crest plowed into them like a mad bull.

"Now, Letty!" Sylphia swung her arm forward, covering Letty with the black haze. "Keep the kobolds away!"

"I understand!"

The scribe whispered into her book as she flipped its cover open. A haze blue mist then flew out, formed a half-circle behind Ruth and Ceressa.

"Ignite!"

A blinding spark erupted around the two adventurers. As soon as they opened their eyes, they realized that a ring of fire had formed between them and the rest of the kobold army. The fizzling tower of fire rose almost to Ruth's height, belching putrid black smoke into the air.

"Now! Assault Company!" Sylphia said, "Capture those two! And don't you dare hurt them!"

"Arf!" the Assault Captain barked, "As the Goddess wills! Arf! Follow me!"

The siths then surged into the opening, quickly surrounding the still-dazed adventurers.

"W-wha-!?" Ceressa mumbled. Still crouched on the ground, she poked her fingers into her ears in an attempt to regain her hearing. "What just... happened!?"

Behind the line of siths emerged Sylphia.

"Come on, you two." She smiled. "Let's get Rika and get out of here."

Ruth, bent down on one knee, lifted his face. "Miss... Sylphie...?" Then, as if he made a sudden realization, his eyes darted towards the siths around them. Finally, his shoulders fell, and he let out a sigh, "Ahh... we lost, huh...?" He then stood up. "That was well fought, Miss Letty, Miss Sylphie."

Letty shook her hands in front of her and said, "A-ah, no...! I-it was all Sylphie's..."

"Tsk." Finally, Ceressa also stood up. She had a dissatisfied expression the whole time and refused to look at Sylphia in the eye. She muttered beneath her breath, "I can't believe we lost to that brat..."

Ruth scratched his head. "Sorry, Ceressa. I really let you down, this time, huh?"

"Eh!?" She flinched. "N-no! It's..." Her face flushed red, she turned away and crossed her arms. "It's not your fault. Tsk."

"Hmmmm...?" Sylphia's lips stretched out on one side as she leaned her face closer to the flustered archer. "Ohoho, what is this?"

"W-what!?" She glanced down at the smug little girl.

"Tsun. tsun." She said, as she poked her finger at Ceressa's flanks.

She slapped away Sylphia's hands and yelled, "W-what are you doing!? Stop it!"

Letty let out a sigh. "We're finally together again..."

"We made you worry, didn't we? Sorry, Miss Letty." Ruth placed his hand on the scribe‘s shoulder.

She shook her head. "I was sure you three would be alright...but I'm glad that we're all here now."

He snickered. "Us too." He then tapped Ceressa over the arm. "Right?"

"H-huh!? What!?" The irritated archer snarled at him.

He stepped back. "U-uh... well, I'm sure that's her happy face."

Letty chuckled.

"What!?" Ceressa yelled, "What did you say!?"

Watching over them, Sylphia laughed to herself.

The battle lines had been broken. With the kobold elites down their three human members, and the others unceremoniously tossed around by Sylphia's magic, the horde broke once more and started routing all across the front.

Well, I guess it's time to mop them up.

Sylphia raised her fan in the air. "Assault Company, Companies A and B reform at the back! Home Guard, you're up! Time to mop up!"

"Awoo!" The siths barked once more in unison.

And with that, Sylphia finally turned to her three companions. "Now, let's go?"

"Mm." Ruth nodded.

"Ah, wait. Let's just go get Rika. Where was she again?"

"Hmm?" Ceressa said as she looked into the distance. "Didn't she walk over there?" The area she pointed at did not bear any trace of Rika, nor her peculiar headgear, however.

"No. She's not there." The little girl scratched her head. "Agh, I can't remember which way is up in this goddamn cave."

While they searched for their missing companion, a high-pitched meow rang out in the distance.

"Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! You fools, meow!" The kobold leader screeched. "I always knew you furless shouldn't be trusted, meow! And now you're allying with the vile dogkin, meow!? Despicable, meow!"

"Ugh..." Ruth scratched his head. "Well it certainly looks like that from afar..."

"But I happen to know your weakness, meow!" He then flashed his paw up into the air. "Nyaaaaa!"

Sylphia's heart dropped.

In front of the kobold leader knelt a young woman. She held her head down as her hands were bound behind her back by the two kobolds flanking her on either side.

The kobold leader then walked beside her and lifted her head forcibly.

"Nguh...! S-Sylphie...!" the captured redhead sobbed.

Rika!?

"Nyaaaahahaha!" screeched the kobold leader, "I know you furless aim to rescue your kin, meow! So if you don't want to leave here carrying a dead body, you will surrender now, meow!"

Sylphia clenched her teeth.

"Arf! Vile catling, is there no depravity to which you will not stoop!? Arf! Threatening the Gods-" The Assault Captain growled. "what boundless heresy!"

With him, the other siths growled, clutching their weapons in their paws.

"Arf! My Goddess, give us the command, and we shall deliver righteous judgement on this fool!"

However, Sylphia barred her arm in front of him and said, "Stand down."

"Arf!?"

"Nyaaaaahahaha!" the catman laughed, "Good, good. Now, all you furless, drop all of your weapons and come here, meow!"

Ceressa clicked her tongue. "Sylphie, that's a bad idea. If we go there, then we're going to be taken hostage."

"I know." Cornered, the little girl clenched her fist. "I know, but...!"

"Nyaaaa! I'm getting impatient, meow! If you don't do something, my paw might slip, meow! Like this, meow!" He then swiped his nails across Rika's face.

"Aaaaaack!" Three red lines were drawn on the girl's face. From the center one, a trail of blood dripped down and around her nose, and onto her lips.

"Rika!" Sylphia screamed.

"Damnit!" Ruth grumbled. "That's going over the line!"

Goddamnit!

She kicked the dirt on her feet, scatterings specks of dust into the air.

What do I do!? Do I leave her behind!? Do I risk it and sic the siths at them!?

She rolled her fingers so tightly that her nails embedded themselves into her skin.

In that moment, she heard Rika's voice in the distance. "No, Sylphie! Run away!"

"Nyaaa! Shut up, meow!" The catman then gave her a slap across the face.

Fuck!

Sylphia's brows knotted so tight that creases formed around her eyes.

Like hell I'll let Rika die! But if I let them get their way, then we'll just all die!

"Hey, brat." Ceressa tapped her shoulder.

Her eye twitched. "What!?"

"Aren't you over thinking this?"

"Huh!?"

"I'm saying - it's simple, isn't it?"

Ruth stepped forward. "He clearly doesn't have any intention of letting us leave alive. Not anymore, at least. That means there's only one thing we need to do."

Letty nodded. "We need to save Rika."

Sylphia looked at them with mouth agape. Each of them looked at her with expectant eyes as if they were looking for some sort of reply - but she could not figure out what it was.

Ceressa patted her back so hard that it shook her head back and forth. "Heh. We can do it, right?"

"A-" Snapping out of her trance, she shook her head. She looked to one side and muttered, "M-maybe...."

"Heh!" Ruth grinned. "That translates to ‘guaranteed' in the Adventurer's Handbook!"

Ceressa shrugged. "Well..."

"We don't leave anyone behind." He raised his fist, pointing it at his partner.

"Hmph." She then tapped her fist into his. "That's the Adventurer's Honor."

The two gave each other a glance and laughed.

Next, Letty then wrapped her arms around Sylphia and muttered in her ear, "You're not alone, Sylphie. You can count on us."

Sylphia muttered beneath her breath, "You guys..."

Can we really save her? Will we really take the gamble...?

No, that's not quite right.

The gamble is our only hope.

Sylphia took a deep breath. It was as though the cloud that shrouded her head were lifted.

She turned to them and said, "We have one shot."

Ceressa smirked. Pulling the last arrow from her quiver, she said, "That's all I need."

Ruth threw his mythril sword to one side and pulled out the one in his scabbard. "If you can somehow get me to Miss Rika, I promise - Demonbane and I will protect her, no matter what."

Letty then blurted out, "I-I...! Um, I've actually been thinking of other ways I could use my spells... Like, how I only ever used ignition to light lamps and stuff... I... I think I could help too!"

"You guys..." Sylphia trembled, but not out of fear, or sorrow, but of an overwhelming sense of gratitude. She scanned through the dictionary in her mind, for something to say that could convey what she felt at that moment. But in the end, she settled on something simple.

With a glimmering smile drawn across her face, she said,

"Thank you!"