We all turned our eyes toward the exit.
I blinked and glanced at the three Lieutenants — they looked determined to win.
So I stepped back, which made them look at me.
"Nyssa?" asked Lieutenant Ren.
I smiled and checked the timer.
Only a few seconds were left before the entire maze would self-destruct.
Before they could say anything else, I kicked all three of them out of the exit.
They screamed as they tumbled out — and disappeared into the white light.
The maze immediately began to shake.
High walls collapsed, and suddenly, something sucked me in.
I felt a hand on my shoulder.
I opened my eyes and saw Captain Xu, now with the others, standing beside a small hut.
"Well done," she said with a smile.
"Thanks?" I replied vaguely.
We then approached Captain Masashi.
Lieutenant Ren, Lieutenant Leigh, and Lieutenant Eisha were still clutching their hips — the ones I had kicked earlier.
I just smiled at them and chuckled quietly.
"The winners are the three Lieutenants. That means they'll receive the reward," Captain Masashi announced as he stood up. "I'll have it delivered to your offices tomorrow." He added with a grin.
"Wait… that doesn't seem fair. What about Nyssa—" Eisha started, but I cut her off.
"I'm kidding," I said, glaring at her.
"No problem, Lieutenant."
"I told you," I heard Zeid say, glancing at me.
I raised an eyebrow at his comment.
"Huh?"
"Oh yeah, oh yeah — your rewards will be sent tomorrow too," said Captain Kei with a smile.
We all stretched — that mission had been exhausting.
"Boring~," muttered Lieutenant Arla, though she was already laughing.
Before we reached the exit, so much had happened.
We almost fell into traps multiple times.
Eisha nearly stepped on a bomb.
I still wasn't sure if Captain Kei wanted us dead or was just messing with us.
But the important thing? We all survived.
"Okay, let's eat!" shouted Lieutenant Leigh, who seemed to have just come from the kitchen.
Wait… how did she cook that fast? She's weird.
We exchanged glances and headed to the outdoor table.
"Waaahh, that was intense," Lieutenant Eisha said between hiccups.
"You were right, Captain Zeid," Captain Masashi said with a smile.
"Tsk," Zeid replied simply.
What does that even mean?
"Hey Nyssa, sit down before Ren eats all the food," Eisha teased.
"Hey!" Lieutenant Ren protested — but Eisha stuffed a rice cake into his mouth.
He shot her a glare, which only made us laugh.
I sat down and we began eating.
Zeid sat next to me — on my left. On my right was Captain Xu, chatting with Captain Kaito, who was seated in front of him.
I felt Eisha's foot tapping my leg from across the table.
Since we were sitting opposite each other, she nudged me and pointed at Zeid, who was completely absorbed in his meal, unfazed by anything.
I tilted my head slightly to the right and raised an eyebrow.
She smiled and did something strange.
Immediately, Zeid looked up and glared at Eisha — but then nudged me while chuckling.
"Huh?" I asked, exchanging a glance with Zeid.
I shook my head quickly. "I didn't do anything."
"Tsk," he muttered and went back to eating seriously.
Eisha just grinned at me.
She nudged my foot again, so I nudged hers back.
"Eisha," I said, grabbing a rice cake and taking a bite.
But then I felt her foot again — this time on my thigh.
So I kicked it away.
It seemed to land on Zeid's leg.
We all shared a glance.
"Can you two stop fooling around while eating?" Zeid said, glaring — at me. Why me?
"Sorry," I replied.
I looked at Eisha and signaled for her to stop, then gave her a smile.
What's his deal?
"Do it again and I'll tie your legs," he said — and somehow, we all sat properly after that.
I gulped. I really didn't want him to do that.
"S-Sorry already," I said, picking up a piece of fried salmon and placing it on the edge of his plate as a peace offering.
He looked at me.
"Peace," I said.
His expression softened. Then he looked at the salmon.
"Mira…" I heard him say. Mira?! I didn't respond, so he continued.
"She likes to give me a piece of fried salmon as a peace offering… or when she wants to apologize." He said before digging in.
I swallowed hard.
Did he just… open up to me?
I sighed and went back to eating.
After the meal, we prepared to head home.
I loaded my gear into the carriage, but something felt off — they seemed to be carrying more stuff than usual.
Just as I was about to board the nearly full carriage, Eisha appeared and smiled.
"Sorry, Nyssa. No space for you. We already told Captain Zeid to take you with him. Hope that's okay?" she said, giving me a meaningful look.
I furrowed my brow but sighed.
"Okay," I said, letting them close the carriage door and leave ahead. The other carriages had already departed. The last one stopped in front of me and opened its door. Lieutenant Ren peeked out and smiled.
"Hop in, Nyssa!" he said.
I got in and noticed there was gear next to him, so there wasn't room beside him.
Zeid looked at me with a raised brow.
"Sit down," he said.
I didn't want to argue, so I sat beside him.
"Sorry. We're still packed like sardines," I said.
"Don't include us in that," Zeid replied quickly, making me blush.
"H-Hey, that's not what I meant. I didn't mean the look—" I tried to explain, but he interrupted by shoving a book in my face — clear sign he wasn't interested.
Mmp. Classic.
No wonder he's still single.
Just kidding.
"So… how's Maxson doing?" Lieutenant Ren asked.
I looked at him and shrugged.
"Not sure. He's probably fine."
"Isn't he busy with anything?"
"Mmm, yeah. Our family business in Hiyosko. I don't even know if he's still going to places where he might meet women."
"Mmm… I see," he said.
"Do you need something from him?"
He shook his head and smiled.
"Nope. And even if I did…" He leaned slightly toward me. "It's a secret."
I just smiled and sighed. Probably a girl.
The cheerful mood was broken when the carriage suddenly jolted.
I yelped as my butt slammed into the seat.
A strong arm immediately wrapped around my waist and pulled me closer.
The carriage stopped, and we looked at each other.
"T-Thank you!" I blurted and jumped out.
They got out too and saw the coachman had already dismounted.
"What happened?" Zeid asked, serious.
"Captain, there are huge rocks up ahead. Looks like part of the road collapsed," the coachman replied.
There were indeed massive boulders.
Wait… if the road had partially collapsed and things were this bad, shouldn't the earlier carriages have stopped?
If they went ahead first, fine — but these boulders were huge now.
It felt like someone wanted to block our way.
I had the same thought.
"Stay here. Lieutenant Ren, keep watch. I'll go scout the area," Zeid said, disappearing quickly.
What is going on now? And… who's behind this?
Judging by the collapsed terrain, this wasn't a natural landslide. It looked like the ravine was blown up on purpose.
"We need to be careful," Lieutenant Ren warned, scanning the surroundings.
"No problem," I replied.