37 - Adventure Awaits!

“That should do it.” Mars swiped the dirt off his hands, admiring his handiwork.

The stone marking my mother’s grave was replaced with a wooden tablet, engraved with her name. I cleaned the pouch I retrieved from the mana beast as best I could, placing it atop her grave.

Our final stop before leaving the highlands was of course, the field of flowers where my mother was buried.

“Sure you don’t want to stay longer? We still got some time.”

“No. Riko okay.”

I didn’t have any final farewells to say, for I knew I would be back to tell her of the sights I’ll see in the outside world.

“Uh, everyone? We got company-!”

Estelle nervously placed a hand on her weapon, but I rushed to the front before a confrontation could occur.

“Hello,” I said as I reached out to pet the wolf’s head.

“Riko? Explain?!”

“Friend of mama, friend of Riko,” I said to the confused Estelle.

Though bigger than I was, the wolf whined, lowering his head as I ruffled his mane. Without the mana beast to influence them any longer, the wolves can go back to roaming the highlands.

As we descended the mountain, we passed the great lake, the Dark Forest, and then arrived at the farthest point I’d ever reached; the place where it all began. I stood there for a few moments, overwhelmed as I stared into the distant lands. The endless plains untainted by human hands, a clear blue sky that showed a countless array of stars in the night, the continent further than the eye could see beneath the mountain…

“Look at all that.”

“Any idea how much of it’s been mapped?”

“Why’re you asking me? Go check in with the office when we get back.”

“Where do you want to go after Rustal, Riko?”

“Stelle, she doesn’t know anything beyond the highlands…”

“Riko know where Riko want to go.”

“See, Edel? She does have a destination in mind-”

“Riko go everywhere, no destination. Because if Riko have destination, Riko no leave home. Because final destination, always home.”

“… I think Ricolette’s more eloquent than you, Estelle.”

“No she isn’t!”

“Give Edelweiss a couple more years to fix that.”

As the two began their banter once more, Edelweiss pointed to the distant sky.

“Hey, look! It’s an airship.”

“That time of the year again, huh?”

I looked up to see a sight I hadn’t seen in a while; a tiny blip in the sky, my eyes just barely able to make out the white sails and outstretched mechanical wings. And even farther into the distance-

“What that?” I pointed to the faint, translucent creature floating amongst the clouds.

“Ooh! That’s a sky whale—a megafauna.”

“Megafauna?”

“Massive creatures that defy our understanding. There is a theory of balanced scaling, where all life in Allstoria conform to a specific set of-”

“Come on Edel, You’re ruining the moment! You don’t see sky whales everyday.”

“… Fine. Ask me again later, Riko. I’ll give you a lecture worthy of a prodigy. Riko?”

“Woah…” I watched the sky whale float across the sky, as if weightless like air.

“Say, Riko. How’re you feeling now?” Estelle placed her hand on my shoulder.

How am I feeling now?

If I had to encapsulated everything into one word, there’s only one I could think of. That is-

“Exciting.”

“You mean, excited.”

“Quit. Ruining. The. Moment. Edel!”

“Owowow-! My stomach-”

“That was weeks ago!”

The party returned to their usual banter as we set off once again, quipping about nothing in particular. I was the last to turn to the road ahead, taking in as much of the magnificent view as I could.

“Riko? Come on! There’ll be more to see when we arrive in Rustal! We’ll show you the massive bridges we got, Stone Diora arcade, oh, the canals should have unfrozen by now- and my favorite food stalls-”

“Quit spoiling it!”

“Heh… hahaha!”

“Muu?”

“Right, Woolie? Everyone, fun bunch!”

At last, I took my first step into the unknown world, a new beginning for the lone highlander girl.

As they always say in those novels and movies-

“Adventure awaits.”