A Blastie stash.

Kaito wakes up the next day, slobber all over himself, with Lucki still sleeping soundly next to him. He rubs his eyes before sitting at the side of the bed, a sharp sting quickly reminding him of yesterday's battles.

He wonders what he was doing the night before—and then he remembers. Kaito recalls his energy fission and wonders how it works. "Repurpose energy?" he thinks to himself.

He focuses his body's energy on his wound. A fresh, cooling sensation washes over him as the pain becomes a bit more bearable. He looks down and sees it healing in real time.

Quickly, the cooling sensation turns into exhaustion, followed by an intense hunger. He decides to stop using energy fission. "So it's healing?" Kaito thinks he understands, but right now, he needs to eat.

Leaving the room, he starts looking around. In the kitchen, he finds a pantry and grabs a pastry treat.

Sitting on the ground, he eats—until a dusty old box catches his eye from the corner of the room. Curiosity guiding him, he opens it, revealing a pile of Blastie.

Suddenly, Dante runs over and slams the box shut in a hurry. "Please don't steal it, Kaito, please!" Dante pleads.

Kaito looks at him, confused. "Why would I steal that? It's just a bunch of paper and metal," he says.

Realizing Kaito wasn't actually trying to steal anything, Dante gets embarrassed and sits up. "It's not just paper. It's Blastie I've been saving," he explains.

Kaito tilts his head, eating another pastry. "What's it for?" he asks with a mouthful of food.

Dante laughs. "It's for my mom. Mom has always put what I want over what she does. She would buy me stuff even if it meant risking our house—year after year," Dante explains.

He takes a seat next to Kaito on the pantry floor. Kaito listens while munching on another pastry.

"This year will be different, though. Mom's birthday is coming up, and I'm gonna surprise her by getting a jewel my dad gave her fixed," Dante says. But then, rubbing his head in frustration, he adds, "It's super expensive, though, so I've worked jobs all over town to save all this Blastie for her!"

Kaito nods, appreciating that Dante just wants to do something nice for his mom. "Why not be an adventurer? They make Blastie, right?" Kaito asks.

Dante looks away. "I actually can't use magic," he admits.

Kaito is shocked—Dante can't use magic? He thought everyone could.

"I'm from a family of mages, and I can't use magic. But I really want to. I've always wanted to be an adventurer, since I've never actually left the barrier. But I've read and watched tons of stuff all about the world!" Dante says excitedly.

Kaito feels a sort of kinship with him—an understanding. He knows the feeling of wanting to travel but being unable to. The scar on his eye is a reminder of what happens when you go out unprepared.

Dante checks the time and suddenly panics. "I'm gonna be late to one of my part-time jobs!" he exclaims. "Hey, Kaito, do me a favor and help Mom, would you?!" Before Kaito can even answer, Dante is gone.

With a stomach full of pastries, Kaito stands up and looks for Dante's mother.

She actually ends up finding him as he's wandering around. She quickly checks on him.

"What are you doing out of bed?!" she questions. "With how serious your injuries were, you shouldn't even be able to walk!" she shouts.

Her worry reminds Kaito of his own mother. He thinks about how she used to react whenever he got hurt—constantly worrying.

"I'm fine, Ms. Dante's Mom," Kaito responds quickly.

She looks offended. "I don't like the sound of that. Just call me Ms. Lilah, okay?" she tells him.

"Okay, Ms. Lilah," Kaito agrees.

She looks him over now that he's up and moving, quickly realizing that he probably doesn't have any money. "How about this, Kaito—you seem to get along with Dante, so instead of paying while you recover, you can just help out around the inn," she proposes.

Kaito thinks on it for a while, but he realizes that with his injuries, he most likely won't be heading anywhere anytime soon.

Now that he's more aware, he takes in who Lilah is. She has a soft but sharp face, long dark blue hair, and matching eyes—just like her son. She wears simple, comfortable attire, all fitting her role as a mother.

Kaito nods. "Alright, I'll help out around the inn."