Shawza and I had reached the city’s outskirts when I spotted Lynne, who had come out to greet us. She eyed my face, looking concerned.
“Welcome back, Instructor. Are you hurt?”
“No, not at all. I was pretty worried at first, since everyone kept touting the golems’ strength, but Shawza and I were enough in the end.”
“I observed your battle from afar.” Lynne smiled. “It was breathtaking.”
Ines brought up the rear. She was smiling, like her lady, though her expression bore its usual stiffness. “Noor, it would appear you didn’t need my assistance after all.” She turned to the man at my side. “Shawza, I expect you heard what I said before you departed. Please, allow me to apologize. I was wrong to doubt you.”
“Don’t bother,” Shawza replied. “You were only doing your job.”
“I shall interpret that as acceptance. Thank you.” A professional air settled over her. “Were those all the golems sent in the attack?”
“Seems that way. No promises, though—we only eliminated the ones we could see.”
“I understand. In that case, may I trouble you to brief me on what else you know of them?”
“Fine. I’ll share what I can.”
“You have my thanks. My lady, may I remain here for a while?”
“Of course,” Lynne said. “I’ll return to the complex and start preparing for our departure.”
“Understood. I will rejoin you once I’ve finished.”
“Then I shall take my leave. See you soon, Instructor.”
“Hmm?” I turned to her. “Oh, right. See you.”
No sooner had Lynne hurried away than Ines and Shawza launched into a deep conversation about security. Though their expressions were grave, they seemed a little more relaxed around each other.
I had nothing to contribute to the pair’s exchange, and the thought of waiting around didn’t much appeal to me, so I bid them a quick farewell and strolled into town. I hadn’t made it very far when a strange sight stopped me in my tracks.
“What...is that?”
I spied a large group of monsters lazing about on the sand. Upon taking a closer look, I noticed Rolo at the center of them, being...not attacked, but definitely mobbed. He spotted me from among the crush of creatures, all several times his size, and gave me a gentle smile.
“Noor. You’re okay.”
“Yeah, it all worked out somehow. What’s going on here?”
“The golems’ footsteps really scared the monsters in the colosseum. They were in such a frenzy that they risked causing serious damage, so I asked Melissa if I could take them outside to calm them down.”
“Yeah?”
“Well, being able to see the golems only scared them more. They’ve settled down now, at least. They haven’t gotten to sunbathe in a while, so they’re in a good mood.”
Rolo was right—the ferocious-looking monsters were sprawled out on the sand, enjoying the sun’s rays. The peaceful atmosphere made them seem like pet cats and dogs, despite some of them being as large as the green dragon I’d encountered before. Had I come with food, I suspected they might even have bounded toward me, their tails wagging with excitement. Not that I wanted a pack of scary monsters to charge at me...
“How did you get them all out here, though?” I asked. “Some of them look too big to fit through the entrance.”
“I used this.” Rolo held up his hand, showing me a ring embedded with a tiny crimson gem.
“Ah, that’d do it.” I recognized it as the same ring he’d used to summon Rala in Mithra. “I didn’t know you could keep other creatures in there too.”
“It wasn’t made just for Rala. In fact, it can hold most monsters, as long as they don’t fight against it. Watch.” Rolo gestured, and several nearby monsters scattered into dazzling red light that quickly vanished into the ring’s crimson gem.
“Wow. I’m surprised it has room for them.”
“Well, it has enough space for Rala, and none of the monsters here even come close to matching her size. I can fit them all in at once without much trouble.”
“That’s pretty spectacular.”
“Apparently, it’s quite nice on the inside; the monsters don’t get hungry or anything. It doesn’t compare to fresh air and freedom, of course, but— Ah, that’s enough, everyone. Thanks.” Rolo made another gesture, and the ring flashed, releasing the monsters inside.
Rolo could use the ring a lot more casually than I’d expected. I was impressed; he seemed to be picking up useful new talents left and right.
“Now that you mention it,” I said, “I guess Rala didn’t come along this time.”
“She was sad that she wouldn’t get to see you, but we decided it was best if she stayed in the capital. She has an important job to do.”
“Yeah? That’s a...shame?” For a moment, I really did regret that she hadn’t come with us. Then it struck me that, in the event of an emergency, we might’ve had to ride around on her back again. I didn’t feel good about it, but my fear of heights made me glad she’d stayed behind.
“By the way, Noor—can I ask a favor?”
“A favor?”
“Can I bring a few of my friends here with us? They find it much too cramped indoors.”
“Oh, of course. I don’t mind.”
“Thanks. And don’t worry—I’m sure they’re capable of sourcing their own food and such.”
“Sure. If they need any help, though, let me know. I’ve got more coin than I know what to do with.”
“Mm-hmm. I will.”
A green dragon nuzzled up to Rolo and got its chin rubbed in return. It seemed to be enjoying itself. My eyes started to wander, and only then did I realize Sirene was sitting atop its head, still as a statue. Her bow was in her hands, as always, but she looked to be spacing out; her gaze was locked on Ines and Shawza, who were still engaged in conversation some distance away. She didn’t seem to have noticed me—a rare occurrence, given how wary she normally was of me being around her weapon.
“Sirene? Are you okay?” I asked. “What’s wrong?”
“Huh...? A-Ah, Noor?! Wh-When did you get here? Um, welcome back!”
Sirene hopped down from the dragon’s head without another moment’s hesitation and landed gracefully in front of me. Her eyes were less clouded than before, but I could tell something was still eating away at her. The way she kept glancing around made that obvious.
“Those golems looked quite fearsome,” she said. “Are you o— Um, well, I suppose you are. You seem fine...”
“Yeah, they couldn’t even scratch me.”
“Amazing... I would love to learn how your body works.”
“Are you okay? You look like you’ve got something on your mind.”
“I-It’s nothing, really. Oh, um, right—is Shawza okay?”
“Yeah. He roughed up his palms a little, but he assured me it wasn’t anything serious.”
“I...see. I’m glad you’re both unharmed. I was here on guard, but I didn’t see as much as a single sand rat.”
“You can thank Shawza for that. He couldn’t have been more thorough.”
As if on cue, our man of the hour came our way. He must have finished his conversation with Ines. Rather than stopping when he reached us, he pressed on, not even taking a moment to meet our eyes.
“U-Um, Shawza,” Sirene called out to him.
The man stopped. “Yes? Need something else from me?”
“Um... I...” Sirene went quiet, clearly having some trouble saying whatever was on her mind. Her silence continued for a little while longer before her mouth opened again. “Thank you for helping Noor.”
Shawza shot her a quick glance, then turned his eyes forward again. “You have no reason to thank me. I acted out of duty, not altruism.”
“That so?” I said. “Then I’ll say it. Thanks. You saved me back there.”
“You have even less reason to thank me...”
“Huh? Why’s that...?”
There was a drawn-out pause. “Doesn’t matter. We worked together to save each other some trouble. Don’t take it as anything more than that.”
On that note, Shawza took his leave. Sirene’s eyes didn’t stray from his back.
“Hey there, Noor. Impressive work out there. You’re not hurt, are you?”
The distinctive, cheery voice belonged to Rashid. How many times had people asked me that question today...?
“Nah, not one bit. The clothes you lent me are a little worse for wear, though.”
“So much wealth, and that’s what concerns you? You never fail to entertain. Feel free to ruin as many suits as you please—they’re yours now, after all.”
“Sure, but...isn’t it a waste? They seem pretty high-end.” I suddenly recalled my destructive sprint through the complex—yet another thing I would need to fix.