CHAPTER 202: GOING INTO THE SOLARI EMPIRE (2)

Choose.

Riku looked at the four of them. He saw Lila’s hopeful plea. He saw Sherry’s challenging glare. He saw Lysaria’s quiet resolve. He saw Elara’s innocent request.

He felt a bead of sweat trickle down his temple. This was more terrifying than facing a Knight-Captain. This was more stressful than negotiating with a Flaco and his men.

"You guys.... can decide among yourselves!!"

He did the only thing a sane man could do.

He ran.

With a speed that left them all blinking, Riku dashed past them, vaulted into the driver’s seat of the first carriage, and slammed the door shut behind him.

The four girls stood in a silent, tense standoff. They watched as Riku, their fearless leader, hid from them in his carriage like a frightened turtle.

Lila was the first to break the silence. She turned to Sherry, her arms crossed. "Well, I hope you’re happy," she grumbled. "If you hadn’t opened your big mouth, I’d be riding with Riku right now."

Sherry scoffed. "Me? You were the one who just assumed you had the spot. It was incredibly presumptuous."

"It was not!" Lila retorted, her face flushing. "It was logical!"

"Alright, both of you," Lysaria said, stepping between them. Her voice was calm and reasonable. "Arguing is not going to solve this. Riku has made his decision, as cowardly as it was."

"He’s not a coward," Elara whispered, defending him.

"No," Sherry agreed with a dry smirk. "He’s just terrified of us. We need a system. A fair one."

Lila sighed, her anger deflating. "She’s right. We can’t all ride with him at once. We should take turns."

"I agree," Lysaria said. "Perhaps one of us each day?"

"Fine," Sherry said. "But who goes first? We’ll just end up arguing again." She looked around, her eyes landing on a small, withered bush by the side of the road. "We leave it to chance. We draw lots."

The idea was simple. It was fair. They all agreed.

Lila walked over to the bush. She carefully broke off four small, dry twigs. She made sure each one was a slightly different length.

She returned to the group, holding the twigs in her fist. Only the tops were visible. They were all perfectly even.

"Alright," Lila announced, her expression serious. "The shortest twig rides with Riku today. The longest twig gets the last day. Agreed?"

Sherry, Lysaria, and Elara all nodded.

"I’ll go first," Sherry said, stepping forward. She pulled a twig from Lila’s hand with a quick, decisive motion.

Lysaria went next. She chose her twig with a calm, thoughtful expression.

Elara was last. She hesitated for a moment, then gently pulled the final twig from Lila’s grasp.

Lila was left with the one remaining in her hand.

"Okay," Lila said, taking a deep breath. "On three. One... two... three. Show them."

They all opened their hands.

Lila looked down at her own twig. It was the longest one. A groan of pure disappointment escaped her lips. "Last? Really?"

Sherry looked at hers. It was the second shortest. "Second. I can live with that."

Lysaria examined her twig. It was the second longest. "Third, then. A perfectly respectable position."

They all turned to Elara.

She was holding the shortest twig. A tiny, almost comically small piece of wood. She had the first turn.

Elara’s eyes widened. A faint blush crept up her cheeks. "Oh," she whispered. "Me?"

Lila walked over and gave her an encouraging nudge. "Go on, Elara. You won." She smiled, but then added with a playful, teasing glint in her eye, "Just be yourself. Or, you know, if you’re too scared, you could always let me go first. I don’t mind, really."

"No.. But... what do I say?" Elara asked, suddenly nervous.

"Just be yourself," Lysaria said with a kind smile.

Sherry just grunted. "Try not to let him run away again. Also, do not try anything funny. We are watching you."

Elara took a deep breath. She clutched her small travel bag and walked the short distance across the road. She stopped in front of the carriage where Riku was hiding.

She raised a small, hesitant hand.

She knocked on the door.

Inside, Riku sighed in relief when he heard the soft, hesitant knock. The girls had probably calmed down.

He opened the door.

"Elara," he said, a gentle smile on his face. "Come in."

She climbed into the carriage, her eyes fixed on the floorboards. She sat down opposite him, her hands clasped tightly in her lap.

"So," Riku began, trying to break the awkward silence. "What happened out there?"

"We... we decided to take turns," Elara explained, her voice a shy whisper. "To be fair." She looked up at him, a faint blush on her cheeks. "We drew lots. I got the shortest stick. So... it’s my turn today."

"Yes!" Clara’s voice cheered in Riku’s mind. It was a sound of pure, maternal triumph. "Of course, she did! My brilliant daughter! It was destiny! The Light itself wishes for her to go first!"

Riku had to suppress a chuckle. He looked at Elara. He saw how nervous she was. Her hands were trembling slightly in her lap.

He reached across the small space between them. He gently took her hand in his. "I’m glad it was you," he said, his voice soft.

Elara’s head snapped up. Her blush deepened to a bright crimson. She stared at their joined hands, her heart pounding in her chest.

Just then, a flicker of movement outside the carriage window caught Riku’s eye.

He looked over.

Peeking over the edge of the window frame were three heads. Lila, Sherry, and Lysaria were huddled together. They were staring at them with narrowed, suspicious eyes.

Riku immediately let go of Elara’s hand as if it were on fire. He held his own hands up in a gesture of pure innocence.

Lila’s voice came through the slightly open window. It was sharp and playful. "No funny business in there, Riku! We’re watching you!"

Sherry’s voice followed. It was much chiding and spooky. "If you dare make a move on Elara, I will personally—"

She didn’t finish the sentence. Instead, she held up two fingers and made a sharp, snipping motion.

Riku felt a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

"I have no such plans!" he called out, his voice a little too loud. "We were just talking! Go away!"

He leaned over and quickly closed the curtains, plunging the carriage into a comfortable dimness.

---------------

The next ten days on the road were a fun and enjoyable stretch..

The system they had devised worked surprisingly well. Each day, one of the girls would ride with Riku, while the other three followed in the second carriage. The tension of the "lottery" was replaced by a lighthearted anticipation.

Sherry rode with him on the second day. She spent most of the journey grilling him for information about the northern territories, her knowledge proving to be an invaluable asset. Riku, in turn, learned more about the strict, unforgiving culture she had grown up in.

Lysaria’s day was filled with quiet, thoughtful conversations. She asked about his world, about his beliefs. She spoke of her own struggles to reconcile her faith with the corruption she had witnessed. They found a surprising amount of common ground.

Lila’s day, when it finally came, was the most comfortable. They didn’t need to fill the silence with constant talk. They just enjoyed each other’s company, sharing stories of Elowen and dreams for its future.

Their journey was remarkably smooth. On days when the road was long and the towns were far apart, they did not have to make camp in the wilderness. After the first night spent in a cramped, drafty inn, Riku had realized their long journey would require a better solution.

So, when they stopped in a secluded grove the next evening, he had gathered them together. "Time to go home for the night," he had said, before transporting them all to his private dimension.

He had spent a huge amount of his Goodwill Points then. He had brought up the menu, selected the ’Structures’ tab, and purchased a large, comfortable manor, complete with all the basic furnishings.

The house had appeared in the center of the grassy field. It was a perfect, expanded version of the longhouse. It had comfortable bedrooms for everyone, a large kitchen, and a warm, spacious common room.

Now, it was their sanctuary. Each night, they would leave the bumpy carriages and the dangers of the road behind. They would share a proper meal at a long wooden table. Afterwards, Riku taught them games from his old world.

He showed them how to play "Rock, Paper, Scissors" to settle arguments. He drew a rough grid in the dirt and taught them the basic strategy of Tic-Tac-Toe. The simple games were a revelation. They sparked a playful, competitive spirit among the girls. Soon, every decision, from who got the last piece of bread to who had to fetch water, was decided by a quick, fierce round of Rock, Paper, Scissors. The journey was never dull.

They grew closer. Not just to Riku, but to each other as well. The shared experience of the road, the nightly games, the quiet conversations... it forged them into a family. A strange, mismatched family of a village girl, a vestal, an exiled member of the dark empire, an orphaned merchant girl, and a boy who one day just appeared in this world.

But it was a nice feeling.

Finally, on the tenth day, they arrived at the border.