Chapter : 690

Luna lay flat on the metal bench beside Ken. She used a rolled-up jacket as a pillow. She rubbed her sleepy eyes. She let out a massive, dramatic yawn.

"Can everyone please stop talking about food?" Luna mumbled lazily. She closed her eyes. "The engine is vibrating. The seats are very hard. I am trying to take a nap. You are all too loud. My ears are very tired."

Sayma pushed her thick glasses up the bridge of her nose. The intelligent Vice-Captain sat near the window. She held her neat notebook. She clicked her silver pen rapidly. Click. Click. Click.

"We need to stay alert, Luna," Sayma instructed politely. "We are approaching the outer perimeter of the 5 Wastelands. The environmental hazards will begin soon. We must mentally prepare ourselves for the toxic zone."

Princess Iris sat quietly near the front doors. She wore her simple silver dress. She held her silver rapier across her lap. She listened to her team talk.

She smiled a gentle, calm smile. She loved listening to their casual banter. She loved how Ken always made silly jokes. His lazy attitude erased the fear in the room. They were heading into a deadly, unknown territory, but the transport felt warm and safe.

But not everyone felt safe.

Ken finished his potato chips. He wiped his hands on his pants. He looked across the transport.

Risa sat in the farthest corner of the metal bench.

The sweet pink-haired healer looked small. She wore her simple pastel dress. She hugged her stuffed brown teddy bear tightly against her chest. Her knuckles were white from gripping the toy so hard.

Risa did not speak. She did not ask for any snacks. She did not laugh at Ken's jokes.

She just stared down at her own hands. Her small shoulders trembled constantly. She breathed in short, fast breaths. She looked terrified. She looked miserable.

Ken stopped smiling. His sleepy dark eyes focused on the young girl.

He knew what was wrong. He knew she was not scared of the missing artifact. She was not scared of the secret laboratory.

She was scared of herself.

Risa possessed highly unstable nature magic. Her magic reacted violently to her emotions. If she panicked, massive, aggressive vines would erupt from her body. The vines would destroy everything around her. The 5 Wastelands was a dead, poisoned environment. It was full of toxic radiation. It was the worst place for a nature mage to visit.

Risa was convinced she was going to lose control. She believed she was going to explode and hurt her friends. She felt like a walking, ticking disaster.

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Sayma noticed Ken looking at Risa.

Sayma slowly reached her hand out. She gently nudged Ken's knee. She gave him a very meaningful, very serious look.

Sayma glanced down at Ken's sweatpants pocket.

Ken knew what Sayma meant. Princess Iris had given Ken a highly advanced piece of technology. It was a specialized containment stabilizing device. It looked like a thick silver bracelet with glowing blue lights. The device was designed to monitor and suppress erratic mana.

Princess Iris gave Ken strict orders. She told him to act as Risa's caretaker. She told him to place the metal bracelet on Risa if her magic spiked. The device would lock her powers down. It would prevent an explosion.

Sayma's dark eyes urged him to use the device right now. Sayma wanted to secure Risa before they even reached the toxic zone. Sayma wanted to eliminate the mathematical risk .

Ken looked at his pocket. He could feel the cold metal bracelet resting against his leg.

He looked back at Risa. He saw a tear slowly roll down her cheek. She tried to hide her face behind her teddy bear. She looked like a scared prisoner waiting for a punishment.

Ken slouched his shoulders. He made a very simple, decision.

He did not reach into his pocket. He ignored the metal containment device. He refused to treat his friend like a dangerous weapon.

Instead, Ken reached both hands back into his massive canvas bag. He dug past the bags of potato chips. He dug past the gummy worms. He searched for something very specific.

He found a small, rectangular object wrapped in shiny gold foil.

It was a premium, highly expensive chocolate bar. It was made of solid milk chocolate with tiny pieces of roasted almonds inside. It was the best snack in his entire inventory.

Ken pulled the gold chocolate bar out of his bag. He held it in his right hand. He dropped his serious observation. He put his goofy, lazy smile right back onto his face.

The transport hit a bump in the road. The metal walls rattled loudly.

Ken prepared to execute a flawless psychological maneuver. He prepared to use his ultimate slacker logic to save a friend.

---

The armored transport vehicle continued to rumble down the dirt path. The engine hummed constantly.

Risa sat in the corner of the metal bench. She squeezed her brown teddy bear. Her green eyes were wide with fear. Her mind raced with terrible thoughts. She imagined the toxic air. She imagined her vines breaking through the floor. She imagined Naomi and Iris getting hurt because of her mistake.

"I should have stayed home," Risa whispered silently to herself. She trembled. "I am going to ruin everything. I cannot control it. I am a monster."

Suddenly, something flew through the air.

It moved in a perfect, gentle arc across the inside of the transport.

The object landed directly on top of Risa's stuffed teddy bear. It made a soft little tapping sound.

Risa blinked. She stopped trembling for a single second. She looked down at her toy.

A rectangular chocolate bar sat on the bear's head. The chocolate bar was wrapped in shiny, pristine gold foil. It looked very expensive.

Risa looked up in total confusion. She looked across the transport.

Ken Eliot slouched on his bench. His hands were empty. He smiled a very bright, goofy grin. He pointed a lazy finger directly at the gold chocolate bar.

"You need to be very careful with that, Risa," Ken announced casually. His voice was relaxed. It carried zero fear.

Risa picked up the chocolate bar with her shaking fingers. She tilted her head.

"What is it?" Risa asked softly. Her voice cracked slightly.

"It is the ultimate premium almond chocolate bar," Ken explained. He leaned back against the metal wall. "I bought it at a very fancy bakery in the Inner City. It cost me an entire week of my allowance. It is rare. The chocolate is imported."

Naomi watched the interaction. She did not interrupt. She smiled a very soft smile. She knew Ken was doing something special.

Ken crossed his arms over his chest. He put on a highly dramatic, very serious pout.

"I am trusting you with my most valuable treasure," Ken declared lazily. "You can eat it. But I have one very strict condition."

Risa wiped a stray tear from her cheek. She looked at Ken. "A condition?"