As the night settled over the forest, the Blue Bound members gathered around a blazing campfire, their laughter rising with the crackle of burning wood.

The scent of grilled steak, thick beef stew, and red wine filled the air, weaving together into a warm celebration of survival and victory with their latest quest.

Blas poured another drink, his cheeks already tinted with the deep color of the bottle's contents. "Now this is how you celebrate!"

He roared, raising his cup toward the moonlight before downing it in one go.

"I assume you don't do wine?"

Auren asked, noticing Essel's untouched glass beside her bowl of stew.

The beautiful and gentle healer quietly sipped her tea instead, her expression calm and distant even as everyone else was halfway to tipsy.

Essel smiled faintly,

"We Workers of Light have many strict rules to follow under our Divine Oath to the heavens. One of those rules forbids the consumption of alcohol."

Auren frowned.

"Does that have something to do with your class requirement?"

"Yes," she nodded softly.

"If I fail to follow even one of our sacred rules, I could be stripped of my class and lose access to my skills."

"What!?" Auren nearly choked on his stew. "That's ridiculous!"

"That's true,"

Alyssa cut in with a laugh, taking a confident sip of wine.

"The reason Light Workers are so rare is because of those damn rules. They have it worse than knights under royal contracts."

"And apparently," Blas added, waving his half-empty cup for emphasis,

"they're not even allowed to date. No falling in love, no cursing, no fighting unless it's defensive, no... pretty much anything fun."

Buuuurp~

He burped loudly, earning a playful smack from Alyssa.

"Personally, I think those rules are bullsh*t."

Auren turned back to Essel, genuinely curious. "And what happens if you break one of those rules?"

Essel hesitated, eyes lowering to the reflection of the fire in her cup.

"First, I would lose access to my skills—especially my healing." Her voice grew quieter.

"And then..."

Alyssa sighed and took over, saving her friend the pain of saying it.

"And then the Light Monastery sends a Judge. If they confirm the violation, the worker is imprisoned for life—or executed—for the sin of betraying the will of the heavens."

She spat the words bitterly, swirling her wine with annoyance.

"Personally, I think the heavens are just control freaks hiding behind pretty words."

"That's too much," Auren muttered.

"They call it divine service, but it sounds more like divine slavery."

He'd read about them in books—how all Light Workers were born female, chosen by their Divine Frames at birth.

Once identified, they were taken by imperial decree to the Light Monastery not far from the capital of the Wha-Lah Empire, no questions asked.

From childhood, they trained together with her own fellow Light Workers for fifteen years before being dispatched to serve as healers across the surrounding kingdoms.

Their entire lives—who they spoke to, what they ate, even what they felt—were monitored.

Auren's gaze drifted toward the silver ring around Essel's finger.

He'd seen something similar before—an enchanted tracker forged by the Empire's high priests. It pulsed faintly with divine light, feeding the monastery updates about her condition and location. heck, its probably even listening to them as they speak.

A leash disguised as holy jewelry.

He hated it.

Still, Essel only smiled softly, her composure unbroken.

"You get used to it. Not to mention, I enjoyed my job to healing those who needs my healing."

Then Alyssa leaned forward, her elbows resting on her knees.

"You know, as much as I respect the Light Workers, they kind of suck."

Blas snorted. "Here we go."

"No, really," Alyssa continued, her tone sharper.

"They call themselves servants of the Light, but they've got no will of their own. Everything they do is by some old man's rule written hundreds of years ago. If I had the power, I'd burn those rules to ash and let them live according to their own will."

Essel blinked, taken aback but not offended.

There was a small smile forming at the corner of her lips. "You always say the most reckless things, Alyssa."

"And you always need someone reckless around to shake the world a bit," Alyssa replied, grinning.

Auren chuckled at their banter.

"Alright then, since we're getting personal—what's everyone's ultimate goal? Why become adventurers in the first place?"

Blas instantly raised his cup, his face already swelling red from wine he drank.

"That's easy! I'm going to be the best damn archer this continent's ever seen."

His grin widened as he puffed his chest.

"Then I'll earn enough gold to buy a mansion for my ladies, settle down, and raise a lot of family. Maybe even get invited to the Heroes' Party someday."

Alyssa laughed.

"You? The Heroes' Party? You can't even shoot straight when you're drunk."

Blas pointed dramatically.

"Mock me all you want, but remember my words. The name 'Blas the Bold' will echo across the land!"

"More like Blas the Bald," Auren teased.

"If you keep drinking like that, your liver will quit before your archery career starts."

Their laughter filled the camp again, easy and genuine.

For a moment, it felt like they were ordinary people, not wanderers with scars and painful secrets.

Then Essel spoke, her tone quieter but steady.

"I want to reach A-class Adventurer rank."

Blas raised a brow. "A healer aiming for A-class? That's ambitious. But not impossible."

"I have to," she said, meeting his gaze.

"It's the only way to qualify for my class advancement—Saint Candidate. Once I achieve it, I can amplify my healing magic tenfold and, hopefully, fight beside Alyssa when she reaches her own goal when the time is right."

Auren leaned forward, intrigued. "And what's your goal, Alyssa? You've got Essel dedicating herself to you. That's... something."

Alyssa's smirk faltered for a second, replaced by a flicker of memory.

"When I first met Essel, she was being dragged off by bandits. They had raided the town she was assigned to heal."

Essel's eyes darkened slightly, her hand brushing over her teacup.

"I killed them all," Alyssa said simply while staring at the shining sword and shield on her side. "Since then, we've traveled together. She wanted to repay the favor, but honestly... I think we just needed each other."

Silence followed, filled only by the crackling of firewood and the chirping of crickets in the distance.

Then Alyssa's eyes sharpened with determination.

"As for me... I have someone important back in Austerra. A family and friend who's carrying the weight of justice in a corrupt kingdom."

Auren flinched hearing her words.

'Why do I have a feeling I know who she's talking about.'

Her tone carried an unspoken name—Austaire.

"I plan to reach A-rank too. Once I advance, I'll have enough strength to offer my service and help her bring real justice to that wretched Kingdom. And when I do,"

she said, turning toward Auren with a confident smirk,

"I'll be strong enough to kill even an enemy as strong as that Nameless Freak who ruined her family's life."

Auren froze, the world going quiet for a heartbeat.

The fire's reflection flickered in his eyes as guilt crawled into his chest.

"Thats.. great. Keep it up." He managed a small smile, hiding it under a mask of calm.

"I will be cheering you one," he said softly, though every word felt heavier than steel.

Alyssa nodded, taking another sip of wine. "So, what about you, Herbon? You've been d throwing questions all night. I think it's our turn to know what's your plan?"

Auren scratched the back of his neck.

"Me? I guess I just want to reach A-rank too."

Blas groaned. "Oh, come on, that's so vague!"

"No, hear me out," Auren said quickly, smiling. "I want access to the Tastafe Canyon route."

"Tastafe? Are you sure? What do you even want to do in that desolate place?"

Auren smiled, "From there, I can travel farther west... all the way to Thaasa."

The camp went dead silent. Even the crickets seemed to pause.

"Thaasa?" Essel repeated slowly, as if testing the word.

Blas blinked, then burst out laughing so hard he nearly spilled his drink.

"You can't be serious!"

Alyssa laughed too, shaking her head.

"You're dreaming of a fairy tale, Auren. Thaasa is just a myth—some lost kingdom beyond the edges of the world. No one's ever gone there and come back."

"Yeah," Blas added between laughs,

"you'd have better luck wrestling a dragon barehanded than finding Thaasa."

Auren crossed his arms, pretending not to mind their laughter.

"Maybe so. But every legend starts with someone foolish enough to chase it."

Essel smiled faintly. "Then I suppose you're the fool in ours."

Auren chuckled. "Guess so."

The fire cracked louder, sending a spray of sparks into the dark. The warmth of the night wrapped around them, soft and golden, yet something deeper stirred in Auren's chest—a quiet pulse of fate.

He looked up at the stars, their light scattered across the heavens like silver dust. "

Laugh all you want," he murmured, his tone low but firm.

"I'll prove to you that Thaasa exists."

The others fell silent, their laughter fading into thoughtful quiet.

And somewhere in that silence, under the vast night sky, destiny stirred—listening.

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