As the carriage approached the large gated entrance, the sounds of the bustling village grew louder. Guards armed with spears outside the gate signaled the coachman to halt. He complied with their order, stopping the carriage in front of the gate as a guard approached him while the other went around to the back of the carriage.

"Sorry sir, but we'll have to do an inspection. Standard procedure."

"I understand." The coachman nodded.

The second guard pulled back the fabric to find six rangers staring back at him. He didn't so much as flinch after coming face to face with passengers who were all armed. Yakeru assumed rangers must travel to Yama village often enough for him to be so non-reactive. Instead, he calmly asked, "You guys rangers?"

"Sure are," Kazeki replied.

"Alright, I'll just need to confirm. Please hand me your rank IDs and you can be on your way."

They nodded in agreement before handing their IDs over one at a time. After confirming their identities, he handed them back to their respective owners.

"Welcome to Yama Village."

He rounded the corner, giving a thumbs-up to his partner, signaling him to pull a lever and granting them passage. Soon after the metallic gates parted and the coachman directed the horses into the village.

Stepping out onto the road, Kazeki flung his arms in the air in an exaggerated stretch.

"Man, I was startin' to cramp."

Yakeru and Kenji walked up to the coachman and reached into their pockets. Before they could pull their money out to pay the fee, Kazeki had already placed a heavy pouch in the man's hand.

"Don't worry guys, I got it."

"Are you sure?" Kenji questioned. "We don't have a problem chipping in."

He waved a dismissive hand while shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. But if you guys really feel bad about it, you could pay me back when we head back to the capital."

Kenji smiled at his kind gesture.

"Will do."

Sauntering down the paved road, the group of Rangers was greeted with a lively atmosphere. Manmade structures made from stone and timber seamlessly blended with the natural, rugged terrain.

Terraces jutted out from the mountainside, providing breathtaking views of the horizon. Cobblestone steps winded up and down slopes, connecting clusters of homes and shops.

Villagers of all ages roamed the streets. Wet and dried clothes hung overhead from ropes connecting from one building to another. Looking over, they spotted water cascading from the colossal rocky walls, meandering through the village in streams. Aoi smiled to herself as she spectated children playing and splashing around with their friends.

"Wow, this place looks wonderful," she commented.

They crossed the bridge over a stream, coming across what looked to be a food market. Vendors were organized along a spacious road with merchants selling their products.

"This seems more like a town than a village, don't you think?" Yakeru asked.

"My thoughts exactly," Kazeki replied before analyzing the mission sheet. "Looks like the dungeon is a couple miles below us. But since we're on this pointy rock, we'll be making a lot of twists and turns just to get there."

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The sun was gradually setting at this point. Kobolds usually hunt at night meaning the dungeon would be mostly vacant during evening hours.

"How 'bout we crash for the night? We can raid the dungeon tomorrow morning."

Yakeru immediately drew parallels to the vamp-crawler dungeon.

'Hopefully, things won't go horribly wrong this time.'

Unlike his first dungeon raid, he'd be accompanied by a full team of rangers. What made these circumstances better was the fact that a B and A-rank were accompanying them on a D-rank mission. Kenji wouldn't have as much of an issue with this.

"Good idea," Kenji replied. "That way the kobolds can all be in one place."

The group asked around to find the nearest inn and after navigating through the bustling streets they located one. But something caught their attention as they approached, their eyes widening.

"Woah," Yakeru muttered.

Standing on a stone pedestal were four metallic statues—two warriors wielding a sword and dual daggers while the other two seemed to be conjurers. The rangers' gazes traced up the statues in awe, the sunlight gleaming off their polished surface.

"Cool," Kazeki remarked.

"It's so beautiful and well-kept. I wonder who they are?"

"The Iris Party." a voice said behind them.

They turned to face the source of the familiar voice to see Fuyumi gazing up at the statues.

"They founded this village back when higher-tiered monsters were more abundant in the inner rim."

"I see that you're very knowledgeable, Fuyumi." Aoi complimented.

"It will be welcoming to have such a comrade fighting alongside us." Kateshi grinned.

They gushed over Fuyumi. However, Yakeru and Kenji stared at her in shock as they'd never heard their more aloof party member speak so much at a time. She never shared anything about herself or what she knew before so it was almost frightening that she was doing it now so suddenly.

Fuyumi was about to continue but caught herself after realizing she was drawing an unbearable amount of attention to herself. She shifted her gaze to a random kid kicking a soccer ball with his friends, looking quite flustered.

"Yeah, whatever."

She nearly let her guard down. By keeping her cards close to her chest she could avoid prying eyes. Besides, she wasn't experienced with communicating her feelings—or communicating, period. Kazeki and his two companions returned their gazes to the statues but Yakeru and Kenji still needed time to process Fuyumi's sudden change in character. They didn't realize they were staring until Fuyumi wanted to look back at the statue but instead locked eyes with them. Her eyes narrowed into a cold glare.

"What are you two staring at?"

"Nothing!" the two exclaimed in unison as they whipped their heads in the opposite direction, concealing the sweat accumulating on their faces.

As they did, they had a clear view of the horizon. The earth and sky, bathed in a vibrant orange, seemingly merged into infinity. The vast landscape was adorned with rolling hills and flowing rivers. Below them, they could faintly hear the howls of monsters lurking beneath the lush greenery of a jungle.

Yakeru took a moment to relax before turning back to the group.

"Night's coming, we should check in now." He suggested.

They snapped out of their trance and proceeded inside the inn. A light bell rang above them as they entered, alerting the well-dressed receptionist behind the desk to their presence.

"Welcome to Yama Inn! How may I help you?" the wavy-haired man asked with a welcoming smile.

Walking up to him, they had a better view of the lobby. The polished wooden floors reflected its surroundings and decorations hung from the stone walls.

Beyond the lobby was a cafeteria with an elongated counter filled with various foods, a few guests already feasting with their families and friends.

They approached the receptionist and reserved a couple of rooms.

"Our inn is packed right now since the Iris Festival is this week and we're a bit understaffed. It'll take some time to prepare your rooms. I apologize for the inconvenience."

"The Iris Festival?" Kazeki inquired.

"Yes. Every year, we hold a festival that lasts for a week to honor the founders of this village."

"I see," he turned to the rest of the group. "What do you guys think about checking out this festival while they get our rooms situated?"

"That's a wonderful idea. It'd be a good opportunity to experience the village's culture." Aoi beamed.

The group agreed with his proposal as Fuyumi already started making her exit.

"You all go ahead. I'm going to look around." She excused herself.

"Oh, okay," Aoi responded as Fuyumi disappeared through the door.

Aoi and her group formed puzzled expressions in response. Fuyumi had been giving off mixed impressions lately so they weren't sure what to think.

"I hope she's not leaving because of something I said." Aoi worried.

"Don't worry," Yakeru reassured. "She's just like that. We'll see her again."

Aoi breathed a sigh of relief.

"I didn't think we'd be cooped up in that carriage for so long. You guys wanna grab some food while we're at it?" Kazeki suggested.

"Absolutely! It will give us time to learn more about our new comrades." Kateshi agreed, walking behind Yakeru and Kenji, placing his bear-sized hands on their shoulders.

"Sure." Yakeru accepted, excited to hear more of their stories.

"That's not a bad idea." Kenji concurred.

"Then it is settled! We shall feast together!" Kateshi harrumphed, marching out the door.

"Slow down, ya big ape."