The afternoon sun hung lazily in the sky, warming the cobblestone streets as the trio stepped from Candessa's shop. The marketplace was yet alive with merchants calling out prices, kids darting through crowds, and adventurers showing off gear.
Today, however, everybody's eyes seemed attached to Yukio.
Whispers followed him like a trail:
"Is that Mythril?!"
"That armor looks enchanted…"
"Who's that newbie dressed like a hero?"
Yukio was attempting to appear casual but could not stop the smug little grin tugging at his lips.
Kaede groaned loudly.
"This… THIS is why I shouldn't spoil people. Look at him, he's already acting like royalty."
Michibiki slid up behind Kaede, her hands falling gently onto her shoulders.
"Well, leaving that aside,"
She said,
"How do you and Candessa know each other, anyway?"
Kaede sighed, though a small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
"We grew up together. Our dads met serving on the front lines against demons, ended up becoming best friends."
She gestured vaguely.
"Candessa's mom is a noble-big merchant family. When her dad got deployed again, our parents set up playdates at their estate to keep us company."
Michibiki blinked.
"Playdates?"
"Yeah,"
Kaede shrugged.
"And when my dad got sent out to fight again, I even lived with them for a while. So yeah—we're close. Annoyingly close."
Yukio blinked, processing all of that.
"Wait. But Tharos is here in town now, working as a blacksmith… so he retired?"
Kaede froze. Slowly turned.
And lightly slapped the side of his head.
"Pretty much, genius."
Yukio rubbed his head.
"Ow okay, you could've just said yes"
Kaede cut him off, voice dropping a little.
"When you watch your best friend die to a demon right in front of you… and you can't do anything to stop it… it changes you."
Michibiki and Yukio stopped walking.
The silence fell around them, the market noise dying down where they sat.
Michibiki tried to speak.
"Kaede… I didn't know"
Yukio swallowed.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to"
Kaede spun around and flicked both their foreheads at once.
"Stop acting weird, you two. My old man's fine. That happened ten years ago."
She forced a smile.
"He's doing alright now. Grumpy, but alright."
Before they could react, Kaede grasped both their hands and tugged them forward.
"Now come on, you idiots. We've got bandits to catch."
Yukio stumbled.
"Wha! HEY, let go! I can walk on my own!"
Michibiki threw his hands up in defeat.
"This is our life now, huh".
Kaede only laughed.
---
They stood outside Primordia's walls, a dirt trail beneath their feet, rolling plains, and a distant treeline stretching out before them. The breeze carried the scent of wild grass, and the afternoon sun painted everything gold.
Yukio held up Candessa's map, squinting at the markings.
"Alright,"
He said, tapping one of the circled paths.
"We'll hit this route first. It's closest."
Michibiki nodded.
"Obviously, yeah."
Kaede crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at him with a teasing grin.
"And who made you leader, huh?"
Before Yukio could fire back—
FWOSH
Michibiki flipped her wrist, casting a spell.
"Wind Magic: Wind Sail."
A current of air sprang up under her and swept her upwards, so she hovered metres above the ground, hair and sleeves flying.
Kaede snorted.
"Oh, we're doing that?"
She crouched on her knees and bounced upwards.
"Wind Magic: Wind Rider!"
Air compacted beneath her feet into stepping stones, visible only to her. She could move forward with ease, the feeling of running through the sky.
Yukio stared at them.
Then he stared at his feet.
"Oh. Nice. Cool. Love this for me."
Kaede looked back, registered the situation—and immediately started loud, obnoxious laughter.
"BAHAHA, wait, WAIT, don't tell me... Yukio, Mr. All-Elementalist, can't use a SINGLE wind spell?!"
Yukio felt his face grow hot.
"I... Not yet! I haven't learned any!"
Michibiki slowly walked towards him, shaking her head in amusement.
"So dramatic,"
She murmured.
"Come here, land-locked child."
Before he could protest, she reached down and scooped him up in both arms cradled sideways, one arm under his back and the other behind his knees.
Yukio froze.
"Wait, WAIT, Michibiki, this is literally a princess carry"
"I know,"
She said calmly.
"You're helpless. Deal with it."
Kaede laughed so hard that she nearly missed her footing on her wind platforms.
"Oh my gods, Yukio—this is GOLD"
"Can we NOT!?"
Michibiki shifted her grip on him slightly, to keep him steady.
"Alright, princess,"
She added with a small smirk,
"hold still."
Kaede wiped tears from her eyes, still cackling.
"Okay, okay, for real this time—let's go!"
And with that, two airborne mages streaked off down the path…
…and one thoroughly mortified Yukio was carried along for the ride.
---
The wind carried them above the tree line until Michibiki gently lowered Yukio onto solid ground. Before them, through thinning trees, a faint column of smoke curled upwards.
Kaede narrowed her eyes.
"There. Cooking fire. Bandit camp, no doubt."
Yukio knelt behind a bush, peering through leaves. The camp was situated between boulders and trees, perhaps twenty or so bandits milling around. Some sharpened weapons. Others were arguing loud. Others were cooking something that smelled like burnt socks.
Michibiki wrinkled her nose.
"Yep. Criminals with the culinary skills of a raccoon."
Kaede cracked her knuckles, whispering,
"Alright. We go in fast and— "
"No killing,"
Yukio said immediately.
Both girls looked at him.
Kaede blinked.
"…who said anything about killing?"
Michibiki gave him a flat stare.
"Yukio. Do you think we're murder happy gremlins?"
Yukio slowly lifted a finger towards Kaede.
"You said you punched a wyvern so hard it skipped like a rock."
Kaede hissed,
"THAT WAS ONE TIME—!"
Just before she could argue more, a loud crunch echoed from the camp.
A bandit near the edge of the camp said,
"…did the bushes just argue?"
Kaede suddenly grabbed Yukio and Michibiki and whispered to them harshly,
"Okay, new plan: we walk in casually and act confident."
Yukio blinked.
"That's the plan?"
Michibiki shrugged.
"It's worked before."
---
The three of them stepped out from the bushes, as if they were arriving at a festival.
Bandits froze.
Tools dropped. Pots spilled. One guy fell off a log.
The bandits stared in wide-eyed wonder at the gleaming armor of Yukio.
"Uh… boss?"
One whispered.
"That guy looks important."
Another whispered back,
"Yeah, but important in a please don't hurt us kinda way, or important in a we should run kinda way?"
The apparent bandit leader stepped forward, scar over his nose, rough leather armor, and the aura of someone who screamed mid-level tutorial enemy.
He raised his weapon cautiously.
"…state your business."
Yukio opened his mouth—but Kaede beat him to it.
"We're on patrol for Candessa Luminelle,"
She said, crossing her arms.
"You know, the merchant whose stuff you keep stealing? Ringing any bells?"
A few bandits paled.
The leader forced a weak laugh.
"L-look, it's not personal. Times are hard"
Yukio took a step forward.
"Before anything happens,
He said,
"I want to try something."
Kaede huffed loudly.
"Oh GREAT."
Yukio ignored that.
He focused… and that's when he heard it.
A familiar, smug, feminine voice rang inside his head:
"Hey genius, you know you have magic that can solve this instantly, right?"
Yukio blinked.
"…Wheel? Why are you sounding sarcastic?"
"Because you're lining up like you're about to give a speech when you could just nudge fate and make them embarrass themselves. Minimal effort. Maximum humiliation."
Yukio scowled inside.
"That's… allowed?"
"Please. This is the least catastrophic thing you have used me for. Just tell them to trip.
"Trip on what?"
He thought.
"I don't know, AIR? Their own life choices? Just say something dramatic and let fate do the paperwork."
Yukio grinned.
Kaede and Michibiki noticed the grin and groaned just as quickly.
Kaede groaned.
"Please don't let it be weird."
Yukio smirked and pointed right at the bandit leader.
"Everyone here… trip."
The leader blinked.
"Trip? On what?"
Yukio extended his hand.
"On oxygen."
The Threads of Fate hummed faintly around him, enough for a tiny probability nudge.
A soft, gold shimmer passed through the clearing.
Then
BAM
Every single bandit tripped.
Not dramatically.
Not painfully.
Just stupidly.
One guy tripped over his own foot and faceplanted.
Another one tried to stand but went down like a collapsing tent.
Two tripped in perfect sync and fell into the cooking pot.
The leader fell sideways shouting,
"THERE'S NOTHING HERE TO—AAAAAAH!"
Kaede choked.
"Oh gods—YUKIO—HAHAHAHA—WHAT DID YOU—?!"
Michibiki bent over, laughing.
"I can't... this is...t his must be the dumbest fate manipulation I'VE EVER SEEN!"
The bandits scrambled, trying to get up-
Only to immediately trip again.
Yukio raised both hands.
"Hey, hey, stop moving! You'll just fall harder!"
One bandit yelled from the ground,
"WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING!"
Another screamed,
"WHY IS AIR THE ENEMY?!"
Within thirty seconds, the whole bandit camp was a heap of groaning, confused, embarrassed criminals who couldn't stand up even if they tried.
Kaede wiped away her tears.
"Okay—okay—this might be the funniest mission I've ever been on."
Michibiki nudged Yukio with her elbow.
"Well done, princess. You have weaponized stupidity."
Yukio pumped a fist.
"Justice delivered. Non-lethally. And stylishly."
Kaede smirked.
Let's tie them up before they try to trip their way to freedom.
As they began collecting ropes from the camp, the leader of the bandits muttered miserably,
"…we didn't even get attacked… we just lost to AIR…"
Michibiki patted his shoulder as she tied him.
"Better than losing to Kaede's hammer. Trust me."
Kaede nodded cheerfully.
"Yeah, I break legs."
"STOP TALKING YOU BASTARDS!"
The tied-up bandit cried.