"How the hell did these bastards get so rich?" Wanni exclaimed, cracking open the spatial storage of her fallen foes. The others shared her shock as they inventoried their spoils - even Cassian, the wealthiest among them, raised an eyebrow at the unexpected bounty. While the rings contained mostly gold and silver ornaments rather than the mana stones he'd hoped for, the rest of the team marveled at their newfound riches.
Robert, having scored the most kills, hit the jackpot. "I won't need to work another day in my life," he crowed, carefully securing the rings in his shirt's hidden pocket. The spatial rings themselves were valuable, let alone their contents. He turned to Lumine, the team's second-highest killer, with a grin. "I pulled about eight thousand gold and double that in silver. What about you?"
"Six thousand gold," Lumine replied, counting quietly, "and just a few hundred silver short of your haul."
The entire team exchanged impressed glances. Even the lowest earner among them had claimed enough wealth to upgrade their gear to the highest quality available. For mercenaries and warriors like themselves, this windfall meant more than comfort - it meant survival, better equipment, and perhaps even early retirement.
Cassian remained far wealthier than the others even after this windfall. The rewards from handling the Valtross Academy incident and other recent missions still sat untouched in his coffers. While he hadn't managed to loot the spatial rings from the three cultists he'd killed earlier, the military had compensated him with gold—only slightly less than what Robert had just claimed.
Theon's grim remark cut through their celebration like a blade. "Let's just hope we're the ones who get to spend this... not our families."
The team's excited smiles faded. They'd won the battle, but the cost had been steep. A hundred and fifty of their fellow soldiers lay dead, with twice that number wounded. While they'd slaughtered nearly five hundred enemies—including circle warriors and mages—their own side had lost several circle-ranked fighters as well.
This marked the bloodiest engagement Magisteria's forces had faced since the war began. Before tonight, casualties had been light—one or two deaths per skirmish at most. Now, the toll had skyrocketed into the triple digits.
The caravan had no choice but to halt and make camp. Their commander had already sent for reinforcements—they still needed to deliver the promised thousands of soldiers to Karmen Earldom, and this ambush had proven they couldn't afford to proceed understrength.
Cassian pulled a crisp apple from his pack and took a loud bite before asking, "How long do you think we're stuck here, Wanni?" He noticed Lumine watching him and held up another apple. "Want one?"
Lumine shook her head while Wanni wiped her bloodstained hands on her pants. "Commander sent a fifth-circle warrior back to headquarters right after the fight," she said. "Even traveling by carriage, reinforcements probably won't arrive until late afternoon."
Cassian devoured the rest of his apple in two more bites. "Then everyone should rest while we can. No telling when we'll get another chance."
Althea wrinkled her nose at her own stench. "Rest? I can't sleep covered in this much blood and sweat." She sniffed her sleeve and grimaced. "There's a river just west of camp - maybe ten minutes' walk. Who's coming to wash up?"
One by one, the others caught whiffs of themselves - the metallic tang of dried blood mixing with stale sweat. The decision was unanimous.
As the group filed out, Wanni paused at the tent entrance, noticing Cassian still lounging and Lumine lingering behind. "You two not coming?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
"We'll catch up in a minute," Lumine replied smoothly, though her slight frown betrayed her own confusion - Cassian had subtly signaled for her to stay.
Wanni hesitated, then shrugged and disappeared after the others. The moment the tent flap closed, Lumine turned to Cassian. "Alright, what's this about?" she demanded, crossing her arms. "Why'd you stop me?"
Cassian grinned, stretching lazily as he stood. "We haven't had any time alone lately. Thought we could walk to the river together - just us two."
Lumine arched an eyebrow, amusement dancing in her eyes. "By 'walk to the lake,' you mean we'd be washing there? Alone?"
"Hadn't considered that," Cassian lied, his smirk betraying him as he moved toward the tent flap. "But now that you mention it..."
"Right, of course you hadn't," Lumine deadpanned, following him out while muttering under her breath, "Pervert."
A bunch of soldiers were headed to the river to clean up after a rough battle. The monsoon heat and humidity made being all sweaty super annoying. They'd split the spot by now—guys washing on one side of some big rocks, girls on the other. But Lumine and Cassian snuck off to a quieter spot a few minutes away, where a little waterfall spilled into the river, tucked by a small hill.
"Think we're good here," Cassian said, glancing back to make sure no one was around. Lumine, kinda shy and nervous, nodded as he started peeling off his shirt. "Yeah, but let's make it quick," she said. "Don't wanna get caught butt-naked if someone comes to pee or another couple shows up."
"Chill, nobody's coming out here," Cassian said, helping Lumine out of her armor while already stripped out of his own. "It's not like we're doing anything sketchy, just getting cleaned up, yeah?"
"Still, it's kinda embarrassing…" Lumine muttered, trying to keep her blush in check as she got used to being naked around Cassian.
Fully out of his clothes, Cassian noticed Lumine still hesitating. "You'll be fine," he said with a playful grin, stepping into the chilly water, the soft splash of the nearby waterfall echoing. He dunked his head, washing off the battle's grime, then glanced back at Lumine, who was lingering on the shore. "Come on, it's awesome. Washes away all that sweat."
Lumine clutched her arms, slowly letting her bra drop, then her panties, ignoring Cassian's gaze but stealing one last nervous glance around, half-expecting someone to jump out from the trees. "Okay, okay," she grumbled, easing into the river. The cold water made her gasp, but it felt good against her sticky skin. She waded in up to her knees, keeping some space from Cassian, who was already scrubbing his arms with a content hum.