“…Are you sure this is just a few things?” Karl said, glancing at the table filled with all kinds of delicacies. And not just those that could be found in the canteen. From cakes and pies to medicinal broths of herbs that could be found only in depths of the Bright Light Forest, the dishes served before them would be a luxury even back in their clans. In the Lost City…

  “Stop worrying so much,” Alnea said, wolfing down a cake twice the size of his fist, before washing it down with a red stew. An act that made quite a few people stare at him with weird eyes, including a few of his ignorant teammates, but he did not care. He was hungry. And he ate as he liked. “It is just some food…”

  “…That is the problem. Who spends over ten thousand Blood Coins on just some food. And that too, in just one meal?”

  “…It is just ten thousand Blood Coins. We had over a hundred times that amount even before we went to Final World. And the city gave us even more generous rewards for clearing the Final Trial. Splurging a little of it on our celebratory feast is not going to hurt anyone.”

  “…It hurts my Heart,” Karl said, clutching his chest, with a contorted expression on his face. “Besides, you were the only one with over a million Blood Coins. The rest of us did not have even a hundred thousand Blood Coins to our name.”

  “Speak for yourself,” Zain said, as he followed Alnea’s example to wolf down a pie. They were disappearing faster than he expected. “I had much more than a hundred thousand Blood Coins in my Blood Card.”

  “…If I remember correctly, you had only a hundred and twenty thousand Blood Coins.”

  “That is still more than a hundred thousand,” Zain said, before pointing to the girls. “And I think you are forgetting about some people.”

  “…Alright, maybe a few people had a little more than a hundred thousand Blood Coins, but none of our savings could compare with yours. Not to mention that we had to spend it all on our preparation for the Final Trial.”

  “But we got everything back after we updated our Blood Cards,” Alnea said, while chewing on the tender meat mixed in with the stew, almost melting in his mouth, its spicy juices mixing in with the aftertaste of the cake…

  “And it is not like you are the one paying for this feast. This is my treat.”

  “That still does not justify spending over ten thousand Blood Coins on a meal. There is so much more that you can do with your Blood Coins…”

  “Which I will have no use of once I leave the city,” Alnea said, using some juice to wash down the strong aftertaste in his mouth. Maybe mixing cake and stew in the same bite was not a good idea.

  “Might as well use it all before I leave.”

  The Star Seekers all paused and turned towards their Captain. Even the girls.

  “…What?”

  “…When are you leaving?”

  “I am not sure. Maybe a day. Maybe a week. But it will only be after we enter the inner city.”

  “A day…”

  “Why are you making long faces again? Have we not decided already? Even if we part ways, we will always be Star Seekers.”

  “…I know… but…”

  “No buts,” Alnea said, and picked up a pie, before shoving it into Karl’s mouth.

  “Just enjoy the feast.”

  Laughter broke out among the Star Seekers, dispelling the gloom lingering on their table. But it could not do anything to the gloom lingering in their Hearts. Yet, no one showed it on the surface. It was a feast, after all. Both, of celebration, and of farewell. Maybe that was why Karl was so reluctant to partake in the feast. And why the girls were so silent. Even Ralph and Norren hardly spoke out to taunt Zain’s sudden change in attitude, while Aren just mindlessly chewed on his food.

  On the surface, however, everyone had a smile on their faces. They even joked around from time to time, stealing food from each other’s plates. Though the latter was probably because of the sudden disappearance of sweets from their table. And the reason why Alnea had been urging everyone to focus on their food. But no one listened to him, until they saw the terrifying truth. One that they dare not say out loud.

  In the end, for the sake of the ten thousand Blood Coins spent by their Captain, the Star Seekers decided to enjoy their feast wholeheartedly. Even if that meant fighting for the last pieces of sweets left on each other’s plates. Or a certain medicinal broth, which one claimed was better suited for his injuries, only for the other to loosen his robe and show the scars on his chest, turning their fight into a contest of bragging.

  “…Do you see this scab? This is from the sword I took for…”

  “…That’s nothing. I had to face off against eighty…”

  “…It’s not the number of enemies you fought that matters, but the number of them you defeated…”

  “…If its just about the number of enemies killed, then I…”

  Soon, the Star Seekers forgot about everything. Even the feast lying before their eyes. Most of them had already had their fill anyway. And bragging did not stop them from munching on a few dishes from time to time. Neither did it stop them from smiling. Or laughing. And not just for show, but truly laughing, from the depths of their Hearts. Perhaps, that was the reason why even Forne joined in with them.

  Stupid—

  No, not stupid. It may be a little annoying at times, but the cat was not stupid. And it was not just a cat. It—She, was a Star Seeker, just like all the Wanderers sitting around the table. An honour, that she had earned for herself. Enough for Alnea to reach out and pet the back of her head. He did not even mind when she dodged his hand and hissed at him. Instead, he smiled back at her, before reaching out once again. This time, to scratch the back of her ears.

  “…By the way, Captain, there is something that I want to ask,” Ralph said, breaking Alnea out of his thoughts, and bringing everyone’s attention to himself. “Why did that woman look so surprised when she saw your updated Blood Card?”

  “…Probably because she did not expect me to clear our Final Trial,” Alnea said, laughing awkwardly. “She has always had a prejudice against me. And the Trial was indeed a little difficult.”

  “…A little would be an understatement, but that was not it. Though she looked surprised to see us come back alive, she already knew that we had cleared our Trial when she took our Blood Cards to update our status and privileges. There must be another reason for her surprise.”

  “Do you even need to ask?” Norren said, adjusting his robe. “He must have broken another record.”

  “…But we were in the same Trial. If he broke any records, it should have also reflected on our rewards. Yet, I did not see her showing any excessive reaction to our Blood Cards. Or our ridiculous privileges.”

  “…Maybe it was a person record. He did defeat most of our enemies, after all.”

  “That makes sense…”

  “…Alright. That’s enough about me. I—

  “What record did you break this time, Captain?”

  “…It was not exactly a record…”

  “But you did do something to surprise her.”

  “Something even more surprising than clearing that ridiculous Trial…”

  “…I would go so far as to compare it with our Trial… The only reason she looked so surprised was probably because she never expected me to do those things…”

  “Now, you are piquing my interest,” Vestia said, narrowing her eyes, while raising the edge of her lips in a sly grin. “Is it related to your privilege level?”

  “…You can say that…”

  “Huh? If it is just about privileges, then she should have been surprised by our Blood Cards too, right?”

  “…Unless…”

  “…Are you saying that his privilege is even higher than ours?”

  “But our privileges are already so high!”

  “And if his privileges are higher than even ours…”

  “…Can you show us your Blood Card, Captain?”

  “…Right now? In the canteen?”

  “What is the problem?”

  “…Look around you.”

  “…These people, who are avoiding us like plague? Do you really think that they would dare to spy on us?”

  “Besides, you are going to leave the city anyway. What are you worried about?”

  “…Still…”

  “I get it,” Norren said, slamming his palms on the table, with a look of enlightenment on his face. “You are shy about showing us Blood Card.”

  “…No—

  “I see,” Ralph mumbled. “Now that you mention it, asking us to show your Blood Card is the same as asking you to show us all your detail. No wonder you are so reluctant…”

  “…You have—

  “How about this. We will all place our Blood Cards on the table at the same time. That way, you will not be the only one showing his details. And it could also be considered as a commemorative event for our team. Sharing our details with each other one last time before we go apart on our ways…”

  The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

  “…That sounds like a good idea…”

  “I am for it.”

  “Count me in too.”

  “It sounds interesting…”

  “You, too, Vestia?”

  “What? Can I not even share my opinion?”

  “…Forget it.”

  Alnea glanced at the eager expression of his teammates and let out a sigh.

  “Just do not blame me for hitting your self confidence later.”

  “…I think you are underestimating us a little too much, Captain.”

  “We have cleared the most difficult Final Trial in the history of the Lost City.”

  “…It was the first Final Trial.”

  “And it will become the most iconic Final Trial, ever.”

  “One that would be talked about for thousands of years.”

  “…Just take out your Blood Cards,” Alnea said, and reached out into the folds of his robe to take out his Blood Card. But he did not place it on the table right away. Instead, he waited until everyone had taken out their Blood Cards.

  “On the count of three.”

  “One.”

  “Two.”

  “Three.”