Jyn took a bow, and so did Lilia.

“Thank you for the bout,” Jyn said. “I never would have expected you to be such a natural talent.”

“O-oh, please, it’s nothing special…”

Jyn chuckled. “Then what is? It does not hurt to acknowledge your relative skill. You fought a Knight at Sword Proficiency 6 to a stalemate. Of course, we were not out to kill—still!”

The watching crowd had already dispersed, the two’s bout leaving some pumped up to try their own hand at making their sword more confident than before.

One, however, hopped down from the stands and clapped as she approached the pair. She donned a dress of gambeson, and a longsword was strapped to her back. Her golden hair was tied in a bun, and her face remained mysteriously unblemished.

The way she walked made no sound.

“Very well done!” she said, cooing like a nurse would to a baby. “Are you two, perhaps, intending to join the Company?”

“I—”

“Greetings,” Jyn interrupted Lilia. “I am Knight Jyn, friend to one who does intend to. It wouldn’t be this one, however.”

“A Knight?” Her friendly face twisted into something else. “Y’came here to get yer arse handed to ya? Tis no place for ye here.”

What’s that meanie doing to Jyn? Page thought as she climbed into the Pit.

Jyn was taken aback. What? “I simply escorted them here for training. Some of them, at least, will be joining you, or perhaps you prefer untrained fodder?”

“That’s rich, coming from a Knight,” the woman spat. “All you nobles are the same.”

“… ‘Noble’?”

Page, who was about to say something, hid behind Lilia.

“Don’t ye say you’re not!”

Then what can I say! “I know of no noble who raised her siblings and saw blood at the end of a spear at the age of 15. I will have you know I have a Grade 4 salary, and I am due for an upgrade next year.”

Grade 4 was “good, but won’t let you retire”—in a place where the concept of pension didn’t exist. Jyn also elected not to mention the fact that her salary's status was actually up in the air owing to her special circumstances.

The armored woman’s cheeks flushed. “K-knights are all the same!”

It was in this moment Kalender and Minimine chose to appear at the top of the steps. Page made eye contact with him, and her pleading eyes said half of everything.

“What’s going on here?” he asked, coming down the steps.

The woman eyed Kalender, then Minimine. The Knight had mentioned a “friend” who wanted to join. What? This guy? He has a daughter! Does he want to orphan his kid that badly!

“You, are you the one she says wants to join?” she asked.

“Huh? Oh, the Company? Yeah, why?”

“Introductions are in order. I’m Hunter Zee. You ain’t knowing of how things work here, so here’s how. Greenhorn shows up in the Pit. Greenhorn shows off. Greenhorn gets scouted by someone like me. Get where I’m going?”

“Ah. Well, I really was just supposed to ask around today, so it’s no problem.”

“I see.” Zee looked him up and down—then to Minimime, then back to him. “I’m telling ye right now, yer not Company material. Or you’ve got some bullshit magic.”

“I’ve … got bullshit magic?”

“How fuckin’ honest of ye. I ain’t the one scoutin’ your type. Just come back here and jack up your luck with that magic of yours. Maybe you’ll find Aunt Cage. Wears a parking cone.”

She started off, but stopped for one last parting shot.

“That Knight yer friend? Knights ain’t allowed.”

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She stormed off.

“Well… That was something,” Kalender said. “I can’t imagine you doing anything to tick her off, but … Jyn?”

She shook her head. “She sounds as if she has history with noble Knights.”

“What’s the big difference, anyway? Noble and commoner knights, I mean.” It’s been bugging him for a while. He hoped to figure out Zee’s issue, and it started with basic context. He didn’t want his potential coworkers picking on his friends unto eternity just because he couldn’t tell the difference between a knight and a Knight.

Jyn explained, "The kingdom only used to employ nobles as knights, and commoners in militias and levies. The noble knights gained the Knight Occupation, while the commoners gained Guard or Soldier.

“However, around 10 years ago, the kingdom revised its army, and it formed a corps of commoners armed and armored like knights, equipment paid out of the royal treasury. Most of the new commoner knights gained the Soldier Occupation, but a few, like myself, became Knights.”

“I think I just got more confused… I mean, why?”

“I believe in honor and true nobility. Even if my nobility is only granted by my sword and armor.”

I think I get it. “And Soldiers only saw themselves as soldiers?”

“We believe it is like that. The Priesthood of Civilas says much the same—that it is exactly how the Occupation stat works.”

Civilas? Ah, right, the goddess dealing with Occupations. He’d read about her on his downtime. Having a literal walking library as a friend had its advantages … speaking of—

“Oh, right—Page!”

She peeked out from behind Lilia. “Yes?”

“How about lets move the date forward to…uh…how does ‘in a few minutes’ sound?”

“She hasn’t trained yet,” Jyn interrupted.

“Oh? Wait, so who’s—” Only then did Kalender notice the sheathed sword in Lilia’s hand. Is it still ’sheathed’* if it’s in a scabbard? Curious. Wait, that’s not important.* “You and Lilia fought?”

“She’s very good,” Jyn said. The girl in question was bashful over it, but she didn’t say anything.

“H-huh…” Noticing Lilia’s almost childish fiddling with the sword in her hand, Kalender had a thought. “Do you wanna join the Company, Lilia?”

She was surprised. “I…might think about it.”

“No pressure.” Kalender smiled.

“Kalender, why do you ask?” Jyn said.

“I mean, she looked like she wanted to.”

Jyn looked between him and Lilia. “Do you have a Telepathy skill, perchance?”

Kalender chuckled. “I wish I did.”

Jyn chuckled. It likely wouldn’t make a difference. “Anyhow, I came here to train Page, first and foremost. Please postpone your d-date.”

Kalender heard something there. “How about you? You wanna go out tomorrow?”

“If you are to mean walking with me, I would be happy to … but are you not afraid of the busy days ahead?”

Kalender squinted. “What do you mean?”

Sensing the curiosities of the others, Jyn took him aside by the wrist, away from the others’ concerns. She faced him with a serious expression. “Do you not…worry about the enemies you will face?”

What? “Enemies? Why—why would I have enemies?”

“Do you not remember? When you made a god your enemy? In front of Inquisitor Yal, you swore that you would break the curse, somehow, someway. Don’t you remember?”

Understanding dawned on Kalender. He’d been thinking in small-picture for so long, moving from point A to point B this whole time.

He would—he has made enemies, and first among them was a full-fledged god, hell-bent on making evil on this world. He remembered the indignation of knowing that Jyn had, at least at that time, essentially been given a death sentence for something that he didn’t mean to do.

He looked up to Jyn. She must have been worrying about how to fight their future enemies this whole time.

“I understand,” he said. Jyn almost gasped. His voice had been the lowest she’s ever heard, and shadows flickered under his eyes, even if just for an instant.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to—”

“No, it’s okay—”

“But I don’t want you to make that face.”

Kalender froze. He recalled something Sherry had mentioned, a long, long time ago—well, it was just a few days ago, really.

“The only ones who survive the path to power are the ones who do not lose themselves in it.”

He took a long, careful look at Jyn, tracing the features of her eyes in his mind. He knew those eyes: when they were angry, when they were dead, when they were amused, when they were jealous, and when they were in comfort—and it’s only been a month.

“K-kalender?” she said. She might not survive a few more seconds of staring.

“Sorry.” He chuckled. “I just got reminded by how much we’ve been through.”

“Is that right?”

“Yeah.” Kalender sighed. “You know what, you’re right. I gotta prepare for the future—but I have to ask you, let me take Page out for the day. It’s really important.”

“Did the Harem Priest tell you something?”

“Yeah. I don’t think it’s anything too difficult, but I’m only saying that because it’s still early.”

“I see…” If it’s a Kalender problem, then meet it with a Kalender solution. Such was Jyn’s arrow-proof logic.

“Also, all the more reason to go out with you soon.”

“I—see? Wait, is there also a problem with me?”

“Nah, I just think we haven’t gone out lately, just the two of us.”

“I—well, of course, we’re traveling with others. How can we be alone?”

“Well, now we’re not.”

“Huh?”

“We’re not traveling, are we?”

“I—well, I…I see.”

“So we’re going out? Sometime in a few days?”

“I…suppose.” She was looking away.

“Don’t think too hard about it. We’re just going for a walk. I also found this, um, ice cream place. It’s not far from where we’re staying.” Welp. Looks like no ice cream for Page today. People liked having special memories, so bringing two people to the same place felt…off.

They joined with the others; Page was harassing Lilia with terrible words, like “That was so amazing!” and “I wish I could be as good as you!”—truly, anyone with imposter syndrome would cower from these words.

“Pa~ge, let’s go~” Kalender grabbed her by the shoulders, turned her around, and pushed her towards the stairs. The girl was saying things like “Wait, so I’m not gonna train?” and “B-but, flashy sword go whoosh—but, d-date!”

Even if she had No Inhibitions, it did nothing to help her choose between two equally-exciting choices. Well, it made no difference. The choice was made for her.