Epilogue

“It’s not often that you agree to help if you’re not getting anything out of it, Captain,” says the very short lady standing next to Stubble, who’s wearing his wide-brimmed hat. She peers into the hole in the floor.

“Would you quit it? I’m the kind of guy who’s always nice to others, and good to himself, too.”

He flicks the brim of his hat and sets one foot atop the rubble, probably trying to strike a pose, but it’s met with a cold reaction from his teammates. Two young men, their only distinction being their red and white heads of hair, heave a loud sigh.

“Captain knows how valuable Boxxo is. You haven’t forgotten our goal, have you?” begins a woman impassively, explaining to her teammates as she runs a hand through her beautiful, wavy blue hair. “If we want to slay the stratum lords here and in other strata… Those will be long expeditions, and Boxxo is indispensable. If we make a name for ourselves with him, it should be easier to lure him into the Menagerie. At least, that’s the captain’s dirty— I mean, well-thought-out plan.”

“Vice Captain Filmina, did you just make fun of me?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Captain Kerioyl. I am ever your obedient subordinate…probably.”

She muttered the last word under her breath, but the captain seems to have heard. Veins pop out at his temples.

“But it’s true—if we can use that magic item, long expeditions will be easy!”

“Right? You get me. We have a goal. We need to use anything, any means to accomplish it. We can’t make our dream—the Menagerie of Fools’ dream—come true without Boxxo.”

Suddenly, the expressiveness on the teammates’ faces thins out and vanishes. Their banter is gone without a trace; standing there now are beast-like predators, eyes sharp, targeting their prey.

The girl embraces the magic-item box down in the collapsed hole, and they watch it carefully.