Chapter 3: Alternative Energy

Lito listened carefully as Luna explained how the artifact he and Truth had worked so hard on was now damaged. She had come to ask for his advice. After hearing everything, Lito decided there was no better way than to check the artifact himself. Luna promptly led him toward Truth's laboratory.

When they arrived, Luna politely opened the lab door and gestured for Lito to enter first. He stepped inside, smiling warmly at the sight of Truth, who immediately, almost reflexively, bowed so deeply she nearly toppled over.

"There's no need to bow like that, Truth. I'm here as your friend, not your boss," Lito said softly, trying to ease her nerves.

"But you're the king... and I am a humble follower... Submission is only right!" Truth said, her face serious and her voice stubborn.

Lito sighed, smiling awkwardly. "I don't like being treated like some golden statue, you know."

"A master is a master. It's the natural order!" Truth said, still bowing slightly.

Lito gave up, scratching the back of his head. "Alright, alright… But what matters most — you're not hurt, right?"

He gently took her hand, checking her over. Truth stiffened, her face immediately turning a bright shade of red. She looked like a kettle about to explode.

Luna saw it too, and if glares could kill, Truth would have vaporized on the spot.

After a moment, Lito smiled in relief. "Good. No injuries at all."

"Thank you... for worrying about me, Lito..." Truth whispered, barely able to look him in the eyes.

"Of course! We're comrades, after all!" Lito said, giving her a big, comforting grin.

Ahem! Luna cleared her throat loudly, arms crossed under her chest, tapping her foot impatiently. "Enough flirting. We're here for the *artifact,* remember?"

"Ah… r-right! Sorry, Luna!" Lito stammered, backing away like a guilty cat. "Where's the artifact?"

Luna and Truth pointed to a broken lump of metal and wires on the workbench. It looked more like a crushed cookie than a magical device.

"Hm…" Lito picked it up carefully. "An electrical artifact, huh? This… wasn't gonna power a whole city anyway."

Truth's face fell. "Then… what do we do? I thought this would be Eden's main power source…"

Lito grinned. "No worries. There's always a backup plan."

"Backup plan?" Luna asked, frowning suspiciously, like she didn't trust the word 'plan' and 'Lito' in the same sentence.

"There are far greater energy sources out there than this little thing," Lito explained.

"Like what?" Truth leaned in, wide-eyed.

"Well, let's start with the basics: what are the six magic elements?" Lito quizzed them, smirking like a teacher setting a pop quiz.

"Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and Dark!" Luna answered quickly, her competitive spirit kicking in.

"And each element has strengths and weaknesses," Truth added, smiling proudly like a model student.

"Exactly!" Lito clapped his hands. "But what's the one thing they all share?"

The two girls blinked.

"They're limitless. Their energy never runs out!" Lito declared dramatically, throwing his arms open wide like a magician revealing a trick.

Truth and Luna gasped as if he'd just announced he could turn rocks into gold.

"If we tap into natural elemental energy," Lito continued, now pacing around like a philosopher, "we can fuel the entire kingdom without fear of running dry!"

Truth and Luna looked at each other, then back at him with sparkling eyes full of admiration.

"…Though," Truth added after a beat, "we still have no idea *how* to actually do that."

Lito nearly tripped over his own feet. "Details, details! We'll figure it out!"

Truth tilted her head. "So what's the plan?"

"First, we find a location to install the energy collector. Second, we connect it to the natural energy. Third, we wire the city with magic cables!" Lito said, counting on his fingers.

"Sounds simple enough… but we still need to choose *which* energy source to use first," Luna said, tapping her chin thoughtfully.

"For that," Lito said proudly, "we already have options! Truth, hand me the map!"

Truth unfurled a map of Eden, covering half the table. Lito pointed to two spots — the river and the mountain nearby.

"We'll use water and wind energy," he said. "Two reliable, renewable sources."

"Why these two?" Luna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, they're close to the kingdom… and thanks to Yune's expedition last week, we know they're safe — sort of," Lito said, rubbing his neck.

"Sort of?" Luna repeated, suspicious.

"Well… Yune did report finding animal carcasses and strange footprints, possibly from some apex predators wandering outside their usual territory…" Lito admitted sheepishly.

Luna's face turned pale. "Apex predators?! Near the royal city?! You're joking, right?!"

"Nope. It's something called *Crossing Path,* where monsters cross into places they usually avoid," Lito explained calmly.

Luna and Truth both turned into statues, mouths slightly open in horror.

"Well… even if it's dangerous, your plan is our best shot," Luna finally said with a deep sigh.

"Exactly! That's the spirit!" Lito cheered.

They all spent the rest of the day cleaning the lab and repairing what they could. Lito also called in a carpenter for the heavy lifting. By nightfall, exhausted but optimistic, Lito stumbled into his bedroom, tossed his artifact necklace, ring, and bracelet onto a chair, and collapsed onto his bed.

He stared at the ceiling with a tired smile.

"Alternative energy… Ha… I probably just fed them a whole cartload of nonsense," he muttered.

But he closed his eyes with a quiet laugh.

"…Still… maybe… just maybe, a miracle will happen tomorrow."

---

The next morning, Lito, Luna, and Truth donned their usual traveling clothes and equipped their artifacts, ready to set off toward their marked locations.

But as they passed through the busy marketplace, they heard loud shouting. A commotion had broken out.

Curious (and slightly worried), the three hurried toward the chaos and found three Orc thugs bullying a merchant couple — a wood elf and a water spirit.

Lito stepped forward, trying to look calm and important.

"Excuse me, what's happening here?" he asked politely.

One of the Orcs turned and sneered. "Huh? What do you want, you scrawny human?"

"I just want to know what's going on," Lito said, still smiling awkwardly.

"Mind your own business, shrimp! Beat it!" the Orc barked.

"But—" Lito tried to say, only to be *shoved hard* onto the ground like a ragdoll.

Luna and Truth immediately tensed, ready to throw punches of their own, but Lito subtly raised a hand from the ground to stop them.

Standing up and brushing dust off his pants, Lito smiled dryly. "You guys are pretty strong. Maybe try using that strength for good things instead of terrorizing innocent people?"

"You dare mock me?!" the Orc thug roared and swung a massive punch at Lito's face.

Lito flinched and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing for impact.

WHAM!

...But instead of pain, Lito heard a CRACK — and cautiously opened his eyes.

Standing before him, hand firmly gripping the Orc's face and pinning him into the ground so hard the stone cracked, was a fiery woman with short red hair, orange eyes, and red armor. Small flames flickered from her mouth like a dragon about to breathe fire.

It was Nia, the fire spirit Guardian — also known as Eden's Punisher.

With a voice that shook the marketplace, she shouted,

"Anyone who dares lay a hand on my sunshine — my SAVIOR — will burn until there's nothing left but ASHES!"

The thugs froze. The merchants stared in awe. Luna facepalmed. Truth sighed with a tiny, knowing smile.

Lito, still sitting awkwardly on the ground, could only think:

"Well... guess that's one way to negotiate."

To be continued…