"We''ll have to be traveling by foot, huh..." Leo mumbled to himself as he sat there on the chair, resting his head on the table. "Now that my brain is more awake after sleeping and eating breakfast, I can''t help but wonder. Is this really fine? Tatsuya told each of us that individually earlier ago but...shouldn''t we try to get to the Ignifera Kingdom as fast as we can?"


    "That''s a fair point but going for stealth and gaining info about the ongoings outside of the kingdoms is important in its own way too," I replied while putting supplies into a backpack, then let out a sigh. "I do admit it''s a gambit since we''re losing more time this way and might be more dangerous but..."


    "At the very least, from what the prince told me, it''s the only option we have. That kingdom is currently in a state of chaos and he assumed it''ll take a while for it to go down," Vin explained, sitting and leaning back onto the couch with his arms crossed over his chest. "Besides, rushing in by fortifying our bodies with magic to get there faster will lead to excessive mana expenditure, especially since we''ll also need to mask our trail. If we get into a fight along the way, we won''t be at peak performance and will instead be handicapped due to fatigue."


    "Not only that, we''ll also expose ourselves as mages and that''ll raise the chances of us being barred from entry," I added in, frowning. "Though, Leo isn''t really a mage per say but they''ll assume he is because the spells we''ll need to teach to him are from the Academy only."


    The blonde is quiet for a bit, then shrugs. "Suppose it can''t be helped. We''re going on an adventure so I''m not complaining," he admits with a chuckle. "Though, I guess the next question is how are we going to get out of the kingdom fast? We''re currently in the capital and that''s in the middle of the kingdom..."


    His question causes me to remember something that I''ve heard a while back. "Ah, right, while I was in the Academy, I heard that they set up a teleportation system. The ones responsible were an organization of mages that had a love for technology and wished to see the advent of tech combined with magic is what I heard."


    Vin perks up upon hearing that, giving us an unexpected smile. "Ah, them! They''re called the Machina of Dawn. I''ve worked with them before, especially since they''re the main supplier of the ammo I need," he commented with a light-hearted laugh. "They get in trouble from time to time but that''s because of their experimentations going awry at times like that time they tried to make a huge mech suit. They don''t normally mean any harm. Knowing them, it''s reliable as can be! So there''s no need to worry! ...besides, if it wasn''t, the group would be in huge trouble by now for letting something shoddy being used for public use."


    I looked at him in surprise, caught off-guard by his reaction. Apparently, Leo did the same, causing the archangel to sigh and roll his eyes.


    "What? I can''t be excited when talking about my fellow comrades from back then?" he complained, frowning.


    I quickly shook my hands back and forth in front of me, nervously laughing. "No, no, it''s not that! It''s just we''re surprised since you''re normally so serious other than that sass from our first encounter..." I said as the angel nodded his head in agreement.


    Vin stared at the two of us and soon looked away, deep in thought. I wonder if that bothered him, somehow? A part of me wanted to ask but at the same time, I didn''t want to risk coming across as prying. Well, if he doesn''t mind us knowing, he''ll tell, I guess.


    "Anyways, once we''re all ready, we''ll go to the teleportation station," I declared as I put the last item I needed into my stuffed bag. "Vin is familiar with them so he''ll lead the way."


    "Sure, I doubt they relocated anyways. Having to move all that machinery, undo all that setup, reset it back up again in the new spot, and then make sure everything is working properly would kill their motivation pretty fast. It''s why they make sure the client is absolutely sure about where to put it," the archangel commented while getting the traveling backpack on the floor near him and putting it on. "It doesn''t help if the technology they''re moving is sensitive to magical input too so unless if they have a person specialized for that, they''re forced to do it the old-fashioned way."


    ...sounds both complicated and tedious. It''s times like these where I''m glad magic lets you create your own territory, but it does come at the cost of a lot of energy to both establish it and keep it up. ...which is something most people can''t afford to do. With a small sigh, I put on the pack, silently noting that Leo got up from his chair and went into his room to get his stuff.


    "Stella, if you don''t mind, I have an important question to ask."


    I turned to look at Vin, who was now off the couch and was standing there with a serious, grim look on his face. Oh no, why am I getting a bad feeling about this? I fought back the nervousness threatening to rise and spoke up before my emotions can get the better of me.


    "Sure, fire away. I see no reason to decline," I replied as I gave him a small smile.


    "I''m sure you''re aware because you''re a mage but we''ll be designated traitors by the Academy, sooner or later. When that time comes, they''ll hound us down relentlessly," he pointed out, frowning. "Even so, do you still intend to go on with this adventure? You still have time to go back to your usual life and pretend nothing happened. The Academy will be none the wiser either since Rex probably interfered somehow."


    I bit my lip but tried to remain resolute as I gazed into his purple eyes. "I''m aware. Even so, I''ll still take part in this adventure, regardless," I stated. "I have no intentions of standing by and doing nothing. I''d hate myself if I remained a bystander, not helping those who are risking their lives to protect this world."


    "Hah, so that''s where your moral compass stands, huh? Well, as long as you''re aware, then I won''t stop you," Vin commented with a grin. "Besides, I work better with people who are brave and defiant so I''m not complaining. If you chose to go back to your usual life, I would understand why you chose that but I''d admittedly be disappointed. I''d have to reevaluate my views on you."


    "Now then, Miss Stella, you better not wimp out now. We have a world to save, after all." That''s what he said when he first met. If including what he said now, I wonder if he dislikes dealing with weak-willed cowards...? However, I decided against saying that out loud. This isn''t the time and place for that, anyways. Talking can be done while we''re traveling to the Ignifera kingdom. For now, we need to get moving.


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    As if on cue, Leo got out of his room with his bag in tow. "I''ve got everything I''ll need. Surprisingly, these bags sure hold a lot more than they let on," the blonde said as he closed the door behind him, clearly astonished. "So this is the power of the magically enhanced backpacks, huh...? No wonder so many people covet them so much!"


    "And they''re expensive too. Seriously, how did Rex get all these supplies and money?" Vin asked with a frown as he crossed his arms over his chest. "He''s also doing his mission solo as far as I know. Precognition is a useful ability but I don''t think it makes someone that competent. What did he go through to make him like this...?"


    "If he''s doing it solo, he might''ve gone through a lot, especially if he''s been at this for so long. He would have no one to rely on to immediately help him, after all. Besides, we also have no idea how strong his precognition is, either, so who knows," I pointed out, causing the male to nod his head and admit that I''ve got a point.


    "Well, Vin already checked everything before and there was nothing suspicious so for now, let''s just be glad Rex is on our side and go out on an adventure!" Leo announced, heading to the door leading outside. "I don''t want more thinking so let''s go!"


    I couldn''t help but laugh a little at his antics while the male beside me lets out a sigh. "Leo''s got a point. At the moment, speculating about it won''t get us anywhere so it''s better we get a move on," I said as I sent a smile towards the archangel. "For now, let''s reserve our brain power for later incidents."


    "...fine," he conceded, then walked towards the door. "I''m still curious but I''ll leave it for next time."


    I follow behind him and once we reach Leo, the blonde grins at us and opens the door. Once all three of us walked out, I closed the door behind me and got out the key in my pocket. After locking the door, I put it away, then return my attention to the other two. Vin was looking around while the angel was smiling at me, clearly excited.


    "Right, nothing suspicious around. Let''s get going, then." Vin declared, which Leo and I responded with a nod of our heads.


    As we followed him, I couldn''t help but look around. People were still going on about, doing their usual day-to-day activities. There was a sense of nervousness that a few people gave off but overall, it was fairly light-hearted and jovial. Even the guards were pretty upbeat too, surprisingly. ...they sure are putting a lot of faith in the prince, huh? He always came across as the strong reliable type so I shouldn''t be surprised. ...though, I wonder if he hid the fact that there''s a spell cleverly hidden by the Sun from them? Would make sense to do so since it would just cause unnecessary stress to the public. After all, why bring up an issue if you have no solution to provide?


    All of a sudden, I felt someone nudge me on the side, forcibly yanking me away from my train of thought. I glanced at the person who did it and saw it was Leo. He was pouting, clearly upset by something. ...was Leo saying stuff to me, then realized I wasn''t listening at all...?


    "W-what is it...?" I nervously questioned, causing the blonde to sigh.


    "You weren''t listening at all, huh..." the angel grumbled out. "I guess I should''ve figured. You always think so much so I should''ve checked if you were actually paying attention first..."


    "All he asked was if you ever traveled to other kingdoms or outside of the kingdom," Vin explained as he took a quick glance at the two of us. "Knowing how the mage laws are, you never did, right? Permission is required to travel abroad and that permission is annoyingly hard to get for some reason."


    Leo looked at Vin in surprise while I nodded my head. "Pretty much. Though, I have heard that law isn''t enforced that much so most mages don''t normally need to bother with getting permission," I answered, frowning. "I never tried it out to see if that was legit or not because I didn''t want to take the risk just out of curiosity."


    "That''s...weird. It''s almost like it''s an empty threat," the blonde said and the rest of us gave our verbal agreements. "Well, let''s hope it still rings true for us..."


    As we continued walking, I occasionally took a peek at Leo, who was busy taking in his surroundings. Guess he decided to do that over chatting, huh? I wondered if he actually wanted to gush about stuff but wasn''t sure if it''s okay since neither Vin nor I haven''t bothered to initiate the conversation. I honestly wouldn''t mind but I wasn''t sure about the archangel, on the other hand. I glanced at him out of curiosity, but he had his backside to us so I couldn''t tell what was on his mind. Vin would sometimes look back and check up on us but other than that and leading us to our destination, there was nothing else.


    With a sigh, I decided to attempt to chat with the blonde but Vin spoke up before I could. "We''ve reached our destination. As a heads-up, some of the members from the Machina of Dawn will be here," the male warned as he glanced back at us. "A lot of them are wayward types but I''m sure the really weird kinds won''t be present there. They have to uphold some sort of public image, after all."


    "So they''re mostly the chill, rebellious types, huh?" Leo commented. "Sounds like a nice group, if you ignore them probably getting into trouble from time to time and the extremely eccentric people."


    "...out of curiosity, just how bad is the really weird ones...?" I asked, causing the archangel to look away.


    "...I''ll be honest, I''d rather not talk about them," Vin admitted with a sigh. "I want nothing to do with them and I would prefer to pretend they don''t exist..."


    T-that bad? It''s certainly worrying that his views on them would be like that. I couldn''t help but feel really apprehensive, making me wonder what should I do if I were to encounter one of them.


    "Anyways, let''s get going. By the way, the teleporter that leads to the Ignifera kingdom is probably down for safety reasons so if you were hoping to use that, then tough luck."


    Go figure. Of course, things wouldn''t be easy but it makes sense. Don''t want the conflict spreading to the other kingdoms. With a sigh, I follow behind Leo and Vin as we go into the station.