Slowly, the carriage followed after the caravan. Serah and the others were relatively behaved during this time, and for the most part, tried to stay out of trouble. But, curious about the three beautiful girls following after their caravan, several people couldn't help but stop by to greet them.

“So why are you guys going to Karolen anyways?” Serah asks as she chews on the steak the man brought her. Serah didn't care about appearances and proceeded to casually rip into the meat with her hands and without consideration for the grease on her face.

The man clears his throat as he watches the savage display. “Most of us here are tradesmen. We all heard the news. Far to the Southeast, across the vast Heart Ocean, a new continent has been discovered. A group of mages has sent out the news that they are gathering workers in the Riot Kingdom, to immigrate to the New World. Apparently they have already set up a teleportation link to the new continent.” The man explains.

Serah raises an eyebrow. “A group of mages? Do they work for the Riot Kingdom?” She asks, her interest caught.

The man lets out a chuckle. “Do you not know about the Riot Kingdom? It’s a kingdom of free men! The kingdom doesn’t have any real official forces like other kingdoms. Most of it is made up of a bunch of merchant families and mercenary groups, and their private armies. As for whether those mages are working for one of them, I don’t know.” The man says, giving Serah some insight into the Riot Kingdom.

Serah furrows her brows. “Hmm…” She hums, pondering the matter. Suddenly, she sets the steak aside, and stands up before walking over to the man.

The man raises an eyebrow, wondering what this lady was doing.

Serah doesn’t hesitate, and approaches the man before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

The man’s eyes widen. What’s going on? He wonders to himself as a small fire begins to burn in his loins.

Serah smiles. “Thank you for the information. You may take your kiss and go.” She says dismissively before walking back to the carriage.

The man’s eyes widen in realization. It was payment!? He thinks before his face begins to burn red with slight embarrassment. But the man couldn’t deny it, this was along the lines of what he was looking for.

…

…

“Mages gathering workers?” Samantha asks with a raised eyebrow. “Do you think they’re the mages we’re looking for?” She asks, hoping to learn more.

Serah takes a big gulp of water and lets out a breath. “Maybe. If it is them, they would have more reason than anyone to escape the continent since the college is hunting them down. But they seem to have bigger plans than simply escaping. It’s like they want to start a city over there, or maybe a kingdom.” She says.

Samantha smirks. “Ambitious. For a bunch of runaways.” She says, not sure if she should be impressed.

Serah smiles. “Hey, if the dream is there, why not reach for it? Are you listening to this Nickie? You should be taking notes.” She says with a light chuckle.

Nickie waves her hand dismissively and continues to read her book. “As long as I have food to eat and mommy by my side, I’m satisfied.” She says, unimpressed.

Samantha frowns. “Can you tell her to stop calling you that? It’s getting on my nerves. And if anything, I should be the mommy!” Samantha says, dissatisfied.

Nickie smirks. “I can call you big sister if you’d like.” She says in a teasing manner.

Serah lets out a laugh.

Samantha’s cheeks begin to blush. “Maybe…” She says, a little intrigued by the offer.