The Moon was out, and so was Stella.

She weakly groaned while lying next to Dwayne. That son of a gun would have to be put in his place another day because, somehow, this was the most brutal training session the Knight had put her through.

Speaking of the armor-clad devil...

"Impeccable work, you two! I thought I'd need to compensate Buth for any damages for a second!" He sheepishly laughed.

"You two?" Oh, right. Lien was here, surprisingly even more spent, as shown by her hanging tongue and loud, hefty breathing. It was somewhat her fault for insisting on carrying the heavier packages.

"So? Anyone fancy some rock-lifting right now?!"

He was answered by the combined groan of the exhausted tweens.

"Kidding!" He slowly approached Stella and touched his hand on her forehead. "You deserve a little boost," he said.

The hero's Healing Light slowly doused the burning pain that spread through her muscles. After the girl regained enough energy to move again, Lien was next in line.

"Phew! That's better!" Lien made short hops to express her regained vitality. "I wasn't expecting this level from your training, Knight!"

"Of course!" He flexed his biceps. "I couldn't be the bastion of righteousness as I am today if I wasn't pushing myself day after day!" To get his point across, he lept a couple of feet in the air, backflipping all his way back to the ground! "Whether it's your body or mind, never let yourself be complacent!" He pointed his thumb at himself. "That's The Silver Knight's philosophy!"

What a heartfelt speech. Stella could almost cry...

Lien bought into his rhetoric, as expected. "Yessir! I won't back down!" She saluted him.

Stella only mustered a half-smile, amused by her two friends' shenanigans.

Huh... Asra was practically her only friend who wasn't the pup. She wasn't sure Kristal counted as one, all things considered.

Two new friendships in such a short time. Herself from a few years ago would squirm in jealousy.

Even after being healed, Lien stretched her arms and let out a cute yet loud yawn. "Mom's gonna be shocked when she sees me in bed early." She waved at them. "Bye, guys! See ya tomorrow!"

Minutes past the pup's leave, Asra clutched his helmet. "Drat! I forgot to tell her I won't be in Pantsti for the next few days!"

Stella blinked twice, taking a bit longer to process this information. "Excuse me?"

"Oh." A concerned emoticon popped on his visor, including a faux sweat drop. "I forgot to tell YOU, either..."

"Yep." Her eyebrows furrowed. "Where are you going, anyway?"

"Queen Malka reminded me of my weekly patrol through Sayama. I'm the only one who possesses light magic in the whole queendom."

Stella's eyes fixated on him. "Why's that?"

"Long story short, it's a type of magic exclusive to Humans. Or, at least, there are no records of Monoke wielding such power." His gaze was focused on his palm. Was he checking out any tear on his glove?

"Regardless, I can patrol the entire forest leagues faster than anyone else. Another reason why the queen has put so much trust in me. I can't let her down!" Determination bled through his words differently than what Stella had seen before. Did he sound... desperate? No, that must be the girl's weary mind making things up.

"How many days?" She asked.

Asra shook his head. "Hard to say. My shortest patrol yet lasted three days. There's no shortage of Monoke needing aid or the occasional evildoer to punish!"

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Stella pressed on. "Is that why you wanted me to help that Crow guy? A 'heroing' class?"

The guard's emote turned more confident. "Of course! There are many layers to my training!" Then, his fake eyes softened. "However, Buth was seriously needing help with delivering. His family often goes to a religious mass in the capital. They are strict followers of the Weaver of Shadows, but Buth thinks his business can't pause for that long, so he always stays. The problem is-"

"There's no one left to help him at the store." Stella finished his sentence. "That's pretty noble of you, man."

He flashed a thumbs-up. "Only what's expected from the moonlight that pierces through the darkness!"

Her smile widened. "I wish I could be that selfless."

Asra sat beside her, joining her as they stared at the starry atmosphere. "A few days ago, you strongly reacted against me teaching you how to write and read." He had abandoned his heroic tone.

The girl scoffed, averting her gaze towards the darkened woods. "It wasn't THAT bad."

"But now, five days later, what have you achieved?"

After short yet agonizing seconds of silence, she was forced to swallow her pride. "I can write my name in the ugliest way possible."

He struck a light punch on her shoulder, barely more intense than a gentle tap. "It doesn't matter how well you do something at your first successful attempt. What matters is how you'll cultivate those skills afterward. The same goes for heroism."

Stella hadn't responded. She didn't know how to.

"No one is born knowing how to do what's right. It is a skill we must exercise until it becomes second nature. It goes far beyond defeating a powerful villain. It's about dedicating your life to the benefit of the collective so society can thrive with hope for a better tomorrow."

The girl understood his words somewhat. It sounded like an overwhelming responsibility that could consume her entirely if she made a single misstep.

As always, Asra seemed to read Stella's mind with such ease she suspected it was far from a figure of speech. Hōkō had made her rightfully paranoid.

He brought a hand on her shoulder. "I know I talk a lot about sidekicks, but it's only for the act. You don't need to join me in my cornball crusade. As I said in Grýla's lair, I only want you to find your place in Sayama." Stella could almost see his cheeky grin through the helmet. "Besides, I know how you look at my totally-not-lame performance."

That finally took a snort out of her. "I mean, you're a weird-ass dude!" Her cheeks burned. "But... I kinda see what you're all about. You're okay."

He nodded. "I'm glad you feel this way."

After a few more minutes of contemplative silence, the two Humans prepared to return to their hut. Thankfully, the road back to Pantsti was littered with lanterns.

"Take these next few days as your day off! Use your free time to make more friends! Establishing a solid network of friendships is perfect for your new life among the Monoke!" The Knight instructed.

"Calm down, dude!" Stella jokingly protested. "Not everyone is a friend-making professional like you!"

Then, in an unexpected twist, the hero burst into laughter, forcing them both to stop. "Oh, you silly girl! I don't think I have any friends in Sayama!"

The girl raised an eyebrow. "Very funny."

"I-I'm serious!" Asra had to take about thirty seconds to quell his cackling. "My busy hero/scientist schedule and secret identity make it impossible. I know it's not great, but it is what it is."

That raised a few questions...

"You seem close to the Lycan Squad. What about them?"

"They're fantastic coworkers, and I'm blessed each time I work with them. Regardless, the aforementioned secret identity puts a wall between us. Our most intimate interaction was exchanging gifts. I've introduced them to a few wonders of Human society."

Stella rubbed her temples. "What about the queen? You live together, right?"

"Technically, yes. But our interactions are often business-related. The queen comes up to check on my progress on one of the countless urban or military projects I'm cooking once a day. She does cook our meals, but that's about it."

Wow... So Asra was even lonelier than her? That sounded so... unsettling.

He shrugged off any concern from Stella. "You don't need to worry about me. Just focus on your own growth for now, okay? I can handle my business just fine."

That sounded awfully familiar. The hypocrite couldn't even see how he was talking just like her.

With all this talk of self-improvement, Stella would gladly give him a dose of his own medicine...

A mischievous smile crossed her lips. Her plans for her short vacation were already settled.

----------------------------------------

Lien:

"HEY! LIEN!"

The Wolf rocketed out of her sleeping bag! Was it morning already?! Why did that voice sound so familiar?

The strange interloper chuckled. "Sorry! I couldn't resist the chance of getting back at you for all those times you woke me up!"

Gasp! It was Stella!

The pup did not waste any time hugging her. It became a tradition at that point. She couldn't point out why, but something about the Human's embrace felt comforting.

"Good to see you too, Lien." The hug was slowly broken. "But I'm here for business! Is your mother here?"

Lien shrugged. "If you haven't seen her, she must be with all the other captains at the meeting hut. Why?"

Stella clutched the pup's shoulders. "I need you for a super-hyper-mega special mission!" She started to whisper. "It's about the Knight."

The Wolf's tail wagged with energy. "W-What is it?! Tell me!"

She could only hear Stella's giggling before...

"We need to throw a party."