Once again, the soldiers gather at The Illustrious Mop, a tavern and inn located within the confines of the third wall. Marcus and his group barely enter and occupy a table, they are surrounded by their fellow soldiers, several waitresses, and casual visitors attracted by the victorious attitude of the troop.

"Is the third path really so hard as rumored?" asks a female soldier, her attention focused on Marcus. She is not a cowardly person, but Hilda's warnings left her thoughtful and uneasy about future training.

"I don't know if we should tell," Marcus says with a nervous smile. But after a couple mugs of mead, the young soldier feels more confident to speak, "Well, it's true, is really hard!"

"And a real risk of dying" Balto says while taking a swig of beer "But for well-trained soldiers like us all, the challenge can be solved"

"Including destroying the giant undead," adds Pit with a chuckle, and raises a fist, "Glory to Stoicus, first shield of mankind!"

"Glory to Stoicus!"

The soldiers around join in the cheer chorus. What follows is an ambience of good humor. A pretty waitress asks if the undead was big and scary, and Balto didn't hesitate to add a few extra ribcages to show himself braver in the combat story.

"Although congratulations must go to this one here," Balto reaches out and slaps Marcus hard on the back. "Marcus hit the final punch to the beast. You should have seen him, a real hero"

Marcus smiles nervously in front the torrent of applause. It wasn't an unpleasant experience, but he still wasn't used to it. Part of him wondered how Captain Axiel could deal with the fame without being overwhelmed.

"The undead was already on its last legs, Pit did most of the work" says Marcus to turn the attention to the big guy, which he succeeds in doing. Pit raises his arms to show the marks the bone left on the armor plates.

Now without so many people watching him, Marcus finishes his drink and notices Harris silently walking away. Marcus calls out to the boy, Harris startles and looks at him with wide eyes, like Marcus has caught him in the middle of a crime.

"I have to go. I can't wait. Sorry" Harris walks away and leaves the bar. Marcus, sensing possible discomfort, is tempted for a moment to chase Harris and ask what's going on.

"What's wrong?" Balto asks when sees Marcus so thoughtful.

"Harris left... I think he was affected by the training"

"Actually, the kid's been like that for a couple of weeks now, sneaking out whenever he can..."

"Huh? Really...?" Marcus doesn't understand how he missed it.

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

"Most likely the kid got a girlfriend. He's already at that age," Balto says with a half-smile.

"Is that the case, why doesn't he tell us? We could advise him. We are all brothers in arms, and I don't want Harris to feel left out of the group"

"Maybe he's just afraid another man will catch his girl's interest" Balto leans over and places a hand on Marcus's shoulder.

Marcus doesn't understand the point Balto is getting at.

...

Harris sneaks through the darkest, most decrepit alleys, always looking over his shoulder to make sure nobody is following him. His soldier's instinct tells him there are shadows stalking behind corners. Possibly thieves. But he doesn't worry about them, bandits usually look for vulnerable prey, while Harris is by all accounts a soldier, he has armor and a sword. There are simpler presses to which a criminal could aspire.

Corpses still remain in the deepest and poorest parts of the kingdom. A trinity of skeletons impaled on wooden trunks decorates the subtraction of an alley. A reflection of the invaders' cruelty, who took more time than necessary torturing humans. Harris stares at the impaled corpses for a couple of minutes, the sensible side of him screaming:

They are monsters, and none of these beings can be redeemed!

But a more sentimental side seeks to understand the invaders and even justify them. Don't humans also commit atrocities in war...? Isn't it wrong to throw a whole species into the same bag?

"I'm an idiot..." Harris mutters and lowers his head. He understands that the right thing to do is go with Captain Lynel and report his mistake, but his legs and heart push him to go deeper, to a ramshackle hut with a half-ruined roof. Before entering, check his saddlebag: there's wine, water, cheese, bread, some rice and boiled potatoes. "I wish I could give more..."

The hut door is off its hinges. Harris knocks three times on the wood to indicate his presence. He carefully moves the door and enters the house. Light from outside streams in through the roof hole. On the floor is an unlit oil lamp, wooden buckets, a sponge, and a couple of scattered books. On a bed made up of stacked sheets, a slender, short figure moves to sit down.

"You said you'd be early. I waited for you since dawn, it's not like I can do more"

Despite the complaint and the grumpiness in the voice, Harris can only sketch a goofy grin at that sound he considers melodious. The boy apologizes wholeheartedly.

"Did you bring the priest this time?" The figure stands up and approaches the light coming through the ceiling. Limp, uses a makeshift cane that is a table leg. The reason? A missing leg. Despite the lost limb, Harris is still blushing when his gaze falls on the girl's eyes. Quickly the young soldier turns his face away.

"No, I'm sorry. I still haven't found a way to pay a priest and convince him to keep the secret"

Shadowkiss keeps her mouth closed and squints, as if thinking what to say.

The dark elf's missing leg was a consequence of the invasion's ending. Her armor began to crumble, and all the humans were infected by a second breath of fighting and murderous fury. Shadowkiss tried to escape in flight, but an archer wounded her in the leg and knocked her down. She fell among the alleys, breaking a few bones. Managed to crawl back to the abandoned hut, though with little chance of survival.

Even if her body had miraculously healed, she was still surrounded by humans who would not hesitate to turn her into ground meat and feed the dogs. At least until Harris, during a patrol in that area of the kingdom, found her by accident.

Lying in the shadows, bloodstained, her leg turned into an increasingly foul-smelling strip of flesh, and red eyes staring at the soldier with a mixture of anger and despair. In that first encounter, Harris brought a hand to the hilt of his sword but was unable to draw.

Despite Shadowkiss' disastrous state, and the innate hatred a soldier should feel towards a cruel invader, Harris was deeply in love with her.