When it came to the Common language, Beatris had a partial understanding.
Most of that understanding came from her skill.
And yet, despite that, some words simply did not make sense to her.
For example, the word succubus.
Roughly translated, it meant lust demon.
Lust meant a passionate desire for something.
Demon meant a creature that originated from the hells.
So essentially, they were aliens who liked to steal stuff.
Despite this, the others did not seem to enjoy the premise.
Only Aiden and Beatris had voted to go in.
Personally, Beatris wanted to see what alien thieves would look like.
And the word gameshow seemed fun from what the translation gave her.
Aiden, on the other hand, was given strange looks by the others. He tried to argue that the XP would be nice and might even help them get their evolutions, but Jax ended up turning down the request.
So Beatris was sent up to sit in the passenger seat as they continued down the road.
Aiden stared forward.
Beatris stared forward.
Then she asked, "Were you curious what they would look like too?"
"..."
"..."
"...Yeah."
For a while, they drove in silence.
The hillside rolled past them as they continued on.
After a bit, Aiden seemed to grow more serious.
He turned to her.
"Hey, Beatris," Aiden asked, "how's Jax doing?"
Beatris turned, trying her best to hide her worry.
She thought Aiden caught it anyway.
She gulped and shrugged.
"He's doing okay," she said. "Maybe a bit clingy as of late."
"Bea," Aiden said, "I've been with Jax the longest out of everyone in this group."
His eyes stayed on the road.
"And while that really is only by a few months, I know how he is. Something has been off for a bit now. We were going to talk about it after the plate games, but the whole Zilla thing happened."
Beatris stayed silent.
Aiden kept watching the road before glancing back to her.
It felt like he was not trying to pressure her.
But also like he was pressing her for answers at the same time.
Beatris stayed quiet for a moment, unsure what to do.
Then she turned to Aiden, about to answer.
A knocking came from the trailer.
"Bathroom break already?" Aiden called back. "We just started going like an hour ago. We're going to stop for camp in a minute. Can it wait?"
Beatris turned back to see Jax stick his head out the window.
"Not a bathroom," Jax said. "Thalia said she knows a place nearby she wants to check out."
Aiden seemed to think for a minute.
Then he pulled to the side of the road and parked the A.T.V.
Everyone in the back hopped out as well.
Thalia was looking down at a small booklet they had received when they passed into the kingdom of Helofan.
"Apparently, there's a set of ruins about a mile north of here," Thalia said. "They used to belong to a kingdom. The name was lost to history, so people just call it the Redwashed Kingdom."
Thalia began leading the way up a nearby hill.
The rest of them followed.
"W-Why is it called the Redwashed Kingdom?" Selene asked, trying to peer over Thalia's shoulder.
Thalia handed her the booklet, then turned to face them while walking backward.
"Apparently, there was a time before Helofan when this ruin used to be a capital city," Thalia said. "However, the Mask came through and destroyed the kingdom, declaring that any kingdom that dared keep records of it in history would also be wiped out."
She glanced back toward the path.
"After three days, he destroyed two more kingdoms because they didn't listen. It's how Helofan, Desrium, and Fortunz became the kingdoms they are today."
Beatris turned to Thalia with a concerned look, trying to imagine the figure that had been described to her before.
"So," Beatris asked, slight concern etching into her voice, "why exactly are we going to a city deemed taboo by the Mask?"
In the distance, the peaks of small, decrepit stone structures loomed.
"Don't worry," Thalia said. "This place is visited by groups from time to time. There are even occasional dungeons that form in the ruins, so adventurers come by often."
There was still a heavy sense of worry creeping up Beatris's hackles.
But she followed anyway.
They finally arrived at what seemed to be an empty archway that might once have held a set of large wooden doors.
Even from where they stood at the entrance, Beatris could see two other adventurer teams exploring the ruins.
One group even waved as they walked into the city.
Only the stonework remained.
Cobbles, the remains of a fountain, and other pieces marked what might have once been a town square. Around the roadway were the bases of old structures that had probably been houses.
"Okay," Jax said, turning to Thalia with a bit of boredom on his face, "so we're here. Now what?"
"What else?" Thalia asked. "Explore. Look around. See what remains and what you get from it."
Behind her, Selene and Liora were already looking around.
Selene mostly studied what must have been old sections of cobble wall, probably judging their strategic value.
Liora stood by the fountain, studying the carvings that had once guided the water.
On the other side of excitement stood Aiden, who looked like he was pretending to enjoy himself while his mind was elsewhere.
Jax, who was openly not enjoying himself.
And Beatris, who had no idea how to enjoy herself here.
The excited three began heading down a road.
Liora called back that they would meet at the A.T.V. in an hour if the others would rather set up camp.
So Beatris, Aiden, and Jax turned and began heading back.
"Would have figured you were more of a history nut, Aiden," Jax said, nudging him as they walked.
Aiden chuckled.
"Eh, not really," Aiden said. "I think some stuff is interesting, but if it's a landmine that destroyed kingdoms when people stepped on it, I'm much less inclined."
As they walked, Beatris saw Aiden watching Jax.
Jax was a few steps ahead of them.
Aiden wore a look of curiosity with small hints of concern in it.
"Hey, Jax," Aiden asked, "how is—"
Aiden was cut off as he accidentally stepped too close to where Beatris was walking.
His boot scraped the side of her leg.
Not enough to really hurt.
But enough to make her unconsciously yip.
Aiden turned to give a quick apology.
Then stopped.
His body dropped into a crouched combat stance.
Both his and Beatris's eyes darted toward Jax.
The obsession inside him surged.
It even appeared as an inky substance drifting from his body.
Jax's entire body shook, probably from effort.
Beatris quickly ran over.
The obsession settled slightly.
Not fully.
But enough.
Jax released the tension and let out a few shaky gasps.
"D-Didn't catch what you said," Jax said, trying to play it cool. "What's up?"
Beatris could see the deep concern in Aiden's eyes.
"Well," Aiden said, "I was going to ask if you were doing okay with the whole issue from the games."
His eyes narrowed.
"But it seems like it's getting worse."