Before they could leave, Ryke suddenly stopped.
"Wait."
He looked toward Pythia.
"...You have a spatial ring, right?"
Pythia glanced at him.
"...Yes. Why?"
Ryke looked around the street.
"...How much space would you say it has?"
Pythia stared at him.
Kaelira also turned toward him.
"...Why are you asking?"
Ryke gestured around them.
"...Just look."
Abandoned vehicles were scattered throughout the street.
Some had been left with their doors hanging open.
Others had simply been abandoned in the middle of the road, their owners having fled without even bothering to secure them.
Ryke's eyes began to gleam.
"...Don't tell me you aren't tempted."
Pythia looked around.
For a moment—
she remained silent.
Then—
"...I would be."
Ryke immediately grinned.
"See?"
He pointed toward one of the nearby vehicles.
"...They're just sitting there."
"...We grab one or two."
"...Even if we sell them on the black market, we'd make a huge amount of money."
He tapped the side of his head.
"...We just put them inside your spatial ring and keep moving like nothing happened."
Pythia hesitated.
"...Alright."
Ryke blinked.
"...Alright?"
Pythia continued.
"...But my ring isn't meant to store something that large."
She paused.
"There are already precious items stored inside."
Silence.
Ryke stared at her.
"...So what was the 'alright' for?"
Kaelira nodded.
"...Yeah."
"You could've just said that."
Pythia's expression tightened.
"Both of you, shut up."
"...Don't judge me."
Ryke immediately raised both hands.
"I wasn't judging you."
Pythia looked away.
"...And I wasn't finished."
She glanced toward Kaelira.
"I was going to ask whether we could check my Lord's belongings."
Ryke frowned.
"...What does this have to do with him?"
Pythia's gaze shifted toward the ring on Kaelira's finger.
"...His items."
"...And his spatial ring."
Kaelira looked down at her own hand.
"...Oh."
She stretched out her arm, allowing the ring to become clearly visible.
Pythia examined it carefully.
"...That's a Fourth-Star artifact."
Ryke's eyes widened slightly.
"Fourth Star?"
Pythia nodded.
"...Higher than my three-star ring."
She continued examining it.
"...There should be more than enough space inside."
Ryke considered that for a moment.
"...Yeah."
Then he frowned.
"Wait."
"...Even if it's here, can we actually use it?"
He glanced toward Kaelira.
"...Pissing off the Demon King's son isn't exactly something I want to do."
He paused.
"...And doesn't the ring have restrictions?"
Kaelira shook her head.
"No."
Both Pythia and Ryke looked at her.
Kaelira continued.
"Back when we were escaping from the arena..."
Her gaze briefly shifted toward Ryke.
Ryke immediately noticed.
"...Don't give me that look."
"I wasn't even saying anything."
"I know what you're thinking."
Kaelira continued.
"...The mage who owned the ring was forced to remove the restrictions before Master killed him."
Pythia's eyes narrowed slightly.
"...I see."
She thought for a moment.
"...Then we should be able to use it."
Ryke frowned.
"Couldn't he have placed another restriction afterward?"
Pythia shook her head.
"...Unlikely."
"My Lord possesses no control over his mana, so he couldn't have placed another restriction himself."
Ryke scratched his head.
"...Someone else could've done it."
Before Pythia could answer—
Kaelira had already walked toward one of the abandoned vehicles.
She placed her hand against its side.
"...The ring is here."
Mana flowed through her arm.
The spatial ring immediately responded.
A faint glow appeared around it.
Then—
the vehicle vanished.
**WHOOSH!**
Kaelira looked back at them.
"...See?"
"...Easy."
She shrugged.
"Should've just done it already."
Ryke stared for a moment.
Then—
"...Alright."
He pointed toward another vehicle.
"Put another one in."
Kaelira nodded.
"Sure."
Ryke pointed toward another abandoned vehicle.
"...Put that one inside too."
Kaelira shrugged.
"...Alright."
She extended her hand.
Mana flowed into the spatial ring.
The vehicle vanished.
**WHOOSH!**
Ryke's eyes lit up.
"...Another."
Kaelira sighed.
"...You're really enjoying this, aren't you?"
"Of course."
Ryke pointed toward another vehicle.
"...Look at all this free money."
Pythia's expression remained stern.
"...We are supposed to be heading toward the spatial port."
Ryke ignored her.
"...Just one more."
Kaelira rolled her eyes.
"...Fine."
Another vehicle disappeared.
Then another.
And another.
Each time—
**WHOOSH!**
The abandoned vehicles vanished into the spatial ring.
Eventually—
Kaelira reached toward a sixth vehicle.
Mana flowed into the ring.
Nothing happened.
She frowned.
"...Huh?"
She tried again.
Still nothing.
Kaelira glanced down at the ring.
"...It can't enter anymore."
Ryke blinked.
"...What?"
Kaelira turned toward him.
"...It's full."
Ryke stared at her.
"...Already?"
Pythia walked closer.
"...How many vehicles did you store?"
Kaelira thought for a moment.
"...Six."
Ryke's expression immediately fell.
"...Six?"
He looked around at the countless abandoned vehicles scattered throughout the street.
"...That's all?"
Kaelira nodded.
"...Looks like it."
Ryke stared at the ring.
Then—
at the empty space where the vehicles had disappeared.
Then back at the ring.
"...A Fourth-Star artifact..."
"...and it can only hold six vehicles?"
Pythia frowned.
"...Don't misunderstand."
"...The capacity of the ring itself may be much greater."
She looked at Kaelira.
"...The vehicles may simply be taking up too much space."
Kaelira glanced toward the ring.
"...So that's why it filled up so quickly?"
Pythia nodded.
"...Most likely."
Ryke scratched his head.
"...Then there's no point trying to stuff anything else inside."
Kaelira shrugged.
"...We already have six."
Ryke sighed.
"...Yeah."
He looked around at the abandoned vehicles scattered across the street.
Then—
he looked back at the ring.
"...That's still pretty damn impressive."
Pythia remained silent for a moment.
Her gaze shifted toward the entrance of the spatial port.
People were still rushing toward it.
Soldiers were struggling to maintain order.
Nobles and wealthy merchants were surrounded by guards as they pushed toward the entrance.
Civilians crowded together, desperately trying to secure a place among those being allowed inside.
The situation was becoming increasingly chaotic.
Pythia's expression hardened.
"...Enough."
She turned toward the others.
"...We need to move."
Kaelira nodded.
"...Right."
Ryke glanced at the vehicles one last time.
"...What a waste."
Kaelira immediately started walking.
"...You can mourn about it all you want, but keep moving."
Ryke followed.
"...I'm just saying."
Pythia moved ahead of them.
"...Stay close."
"...We don't know what is happening inside the port."
The three approached the entrance.
The closer they got—
the louder the crowd became.
Voices overlapped.
People shouted.
Some demanded to be allowed through.
Others begged the guards to let their families pass.
Soldiers attempted to force everyone into organized lines.
Several guards checked identification while others struggled to keep nobles, merchants, and ordinary civilians from pushing past one another.
Ryke frowned.
"...This is worse than I expected."
Kaelira's ears twitched.
She scanned the crowd carefully.
"...There's too many people."
Pythia nodded.
"...Which means getting through unnoticed won't be difficult."
Ryke looked toward the soldiers guarding the entrance.
"...So much for sneaking in."
Pythia looked toward the entrance again.
Her eyes quietly surveyed the guards, the barriers, and the movement of people entering the spatial port.
"...We'll observe first."
She paused.
"...Then we'll decide how to proceed."
The three slowed their steps.
They remained among the crowd—
watching.
Waiting.
And searching for an opening.