After arriving at the pirate village across the sea and burying the pirates who fell in the battle against the Ateras Kingdom warship yesterday, the next day, Vahn escorted Ard, Eva, and the others to the edge of the village as they prepared to depart.

"Alright, travel safe. If any of you ever need my help, send a letter immediately. My crew and I are ready to assist you," Vahn said, extending his hand to Ard and Eva.

"We will. Thank you once again, Vahn, and please accept our condolences for your loss," Eva said, shaking Vahn's hand.

"Hahaha... they were pirates and bandits. They were ready to die, and we who are still alive will carry on their spirit," Vahn said, smiling and releasing Eva's hand.

"You're right, Vahn. We will contact you if we genuinely need assistance," Ard said, shaking Vahn's hand.

"Perfect. If you happen to need a naval commander in your new kingdom, I volunteer," Vahn said, winking with a smile.

"Why are you assuming we're going to start a kingdom?" Ard asked.

"A Prince from a great kingdom and a Princess from the world's largest empire together? It's like uniting the whole world, right? I'm waiting for that day to happen, hahaha," Vahn replied.

"Hmph... well, I hope your wish comes true," Ard countered.

"I'm certain the two of you can make it happen," Vahn added.

After that, Alicia, Milia, Geoffrey, Irwin, Patricia, Ainsley, Rosalind, and Beatrice also shook hands with Vahn. Mirea followed suit to shake his hand, and Claudia immediately hugged Vahn, saying they would meet again someday. Then, they all turned and started their journey toward the barbarian village, which was not far from the pirate settlement. They turned back and waved to Vahn and the residents of the pirate village, who waved back at them.

They continued walking along a road that stretched across a vast, hilly grassland. After walking for almost a whole day, and as it approached evening,

"How about we camp here first and continue the journey tomorrow morning?" Geoffrey asked.

"Good idea, but we should find a hill because there are a lot of dire wolves and saber tigers hunting prey in this grassland," Claudia replied.

"That's true. They're common monsters in the northern continent," Ainsley added.

"All that's missing is the fire bear called the fire grizzly, right?" Mirea asked.

"Yes, that's right. Wow, you know a lot, don't you?" Ainsley replied.

"I come here often," Mirea countered.

"Oh... really?" Claudia asked.

"Of course. My father is a merchant from Ateras, and my mother is a merchant from Durnhill, so I'm the result," Mirea answered.

"Oh... I didn't know that. So Mirea is from Ateras but also from Durnhill... no wonder you're close with Prince Nikolai," Milia said.

"Nikolai and I have been friends since childhood. He used to sneak out of the palace and into the city to play with me, although I didn't know he was a prince back then. I only found out he was a prince when he invited me to the palace. I was scared to death being led through a secret route into the palace," Mirea said.

"Wow, so Prince Nikolai was a bit of a troublemaker when he was little," Alicia replied.

"Something like that, until he finally got caught and started inviting me to the palace. Although I was initially reluctant because I felt unworthy, I finally agreed because his butler and guards forced me," Mirea explained.

"Are you close with Prince Julius too?" Geoffrey asked.

"No. I know him, but we're not close," Mirea answered briefly, clearly unwilling to elaborate.

"Hmm... I see. No wonder he doesn't seem to respect you at all, even though his older brother seems very close to you," Geoffrey replied.

"That's how it is. Anyway, let's not talk about him," Mirea countered.

They found a safe and spacious hill to set up their camp on the grassland. Ard and Eva pulled all their camping equipment from their dimensional storage, and then they began setting up tents, building a campfire, and cooking food and bottles of water that were neatly stored and kept fresh inside Ard's and Eva's dimensional storage. After finishing setting up the tents, and as darkness began to settle, they sat around the campfire enjoying their meal.

"Alright, I'll take the first watch with Geoffrey, okay, bro?" Ard asked.

"Sounds good. We'll take turns guarding every three hours," Geoffrey replied.

"After that, Irwin and I," Irwin added.

"Okay, agreed," Patricia replied.

"Rosalind and I are next," Ainsley added, adjusting his glasses.

"The rest of you just sleep, especially Princess Beatrice. Even though you're not seasick anymore, you're still pale, understand, Princess?" Rosalind asked.

"Yes, I know... uuuugh... I hate camping... it's itchy," Beatrice complained.

"What don't you hate? You hate everything outside your palace, right?" Eva asked.

"Not really. I like my bed at the academy," Beatrice replied.

"That's the same thing. Stop complaining, you spoiled princess," Eva countered.

"Grr... I am not spoiled! I just never leave the palace," Beatrice protested, pouting.

"That's enough, stop. Don't keep it going, or you'll fight again," Claudia said.

"Relax, I don't want to fight with her anymore. I actually want to tell her that there are fun things outside the palace," Eva said.

"Fun things? Taking a carriage is boring, being on a ship makes me sick, camping is itchy, the forest is dark and noisy—nothing is comfortable," Beatrice complained.

"I said fun, not comfortable, you slowpoke," Eva retorted.

"Okay, here we go again," Milia said.

"Yep, go ahead and argue till morning. I'm going to sleep after this," Alicia replied.

"Please, when you sleep, don't be messy. I don't want your feet kicking me again like last time," Eva warned Milia and Alicia.

"Huh... who sleeps messy?" Milia and Alicia asked simultaneously.

"The two of you, and Beatrice," Eva answered.

"Huh... why am I included? I don't think I sleep messy," Beatrice said.

"That's because you sleep like a rock and can't be woken up!" Eva, Milia, and Alicia yelled simultaneously.

"Alright, alright. Eva can sleep with Claudia and me. Problem solved," Mirea said.

"Wait, then where do I sleep?" Patricia asked, pointing to her own nose.

"You can sleep in their tent," Mirea answered.

"Huh... no way. I'll sleep with Rosalind," Patricia countered.

"I won't be sleeping tonight," Rosalind replied.

"Ugh... seriously, what are we going to do?" Patricia said.

"What's wrong with sleeping with Milia and me, huh?" Alicia asked, annoyed.

"Yeah, why are you avoiding us?" Milia asked, annoyed.

"You guys... sleep messy. I'm telling the honest-to-god truth," Patricia replied in a very quiet voice.

"What?" Alicia and Milia yelled together.

"So... sorry," Patricia replied.

Finally, they started squabbling again, trying to determine who would sleep with whom. The argument only grew more tense. Geoffrey, Irwin, and Ainsley shifted closer to Ard, who looked amused watching the girls argue.

"They're starting up again," Irwin said.

"This is going to take a while. A beautiful, supposed-to-be-quiet night is turning loud," Ainsley said, looking at the stars beginning to appear in the sky.

"Jeez, they get worked up so easily," Geoffrey said, shaking his head.

Then Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin turned to look at Ard, who was smiling at the girls' argument in front of him.

"Why are you so relaxed?" Irwin asked.

"Yeah, smiling like that, it's weird," Ainsley added.

"They really are close, aren't they?" Ard murmured.

"Huh... they're always fighting. How is that close?" Ainsley asked.

"Well... it means they care about each other, right? That's good. They'll be synchronized in everything," Ard replied casually.

"Hmm... I know why he's smiling like that watching them fight. Usually, he's the one they fight over. Now he's watching from the outside, and that's why he's calm. Don't act all wise, bro," Geoffrey said, holding Ard's shoulder.

"Huh... who? That's not true," Ard said, turning his head away, his face flushing.

"Okay, Geoffrey's guess is right. He's relieved because he's not the subject of the fight, not because the girls are close. I get it now," Irwin said.

"Yep, exactly. He's enjoying the fact that the girls are arguing without fighting over him. That's terrible... but it's understandable why he's smiling to himself and feeling relieved," Ainsley added, adjusting his glasses.

"What do you mean? I don't feel that way at all. You guys are completely wrong. Enough. I'm going to walk around and make sure everything's safe," Ard said, standing up and leaving.

Geoffrey, Ainsley, and Irwin watched Ard turn and walk away, starting down the hill. All three shook their heads.

"He's embarrassed," Irwin said.

"Yep, that's why he ran off," Ainsley added, adjusting his glasses.

"Lame, hahahaha," Geoffrey said, laughing.

Then they sat down comfortably just outside the camping area, enjoying the continuing—and even more intense—drama of who would sleep with whom in front of them, amplified by the clear, star-filled night sky.

"Hey, why are we watching them too?" Irwin asked.

"I don't know... you figure it out," Geoffrey replied.

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