Kay looked at them again and decided to discreetly approach someone else.

“Did you see anything passing by there?” the prince asked, noticing a movement.

“Anything?” Mira looked at the flowers around her.

“It must have been nothing! Please continue!” the prince said.

“I found a lost child!” Kay said, appearing behind a girl who was also hiding behind the wall.

The girl screamed, but Kay quickly covered her mouth.

“Did you hear that? It sounded like a girl’s voice,” Mira said.

“I didn’t hear anything,” the prince replied.

“It must have been my imagination!” Mira concluded, still looking around.

“I’m sorry to scare you. I’m going to let you go, but you can’t scream, understand?” Kay said, looking into the girl’s eyes, who nodded silently.

Kay let her go.

“You’re the boy who received the medal!” the girl said, looking at him curiously.

“Yes, were you at the meeting too?” — Kay asked, surprised.

Mira's stomach suddenly growled, and she apologized, embarrassed, saying that she hadn't had lunch yet.

“I'll bring you…” — Kay began, but was interrupted.

“The cooks must have already prepared something. I'll take you to the kitchen!” — the prince said, smiling at Mira.

“Are you sure?” — Mira exclaimed.

“Yes, you are an honored guest!” — the prince said, standing up with a smile.

“Thank you!” — Mira said, following him.

“They're already going to eat, what should I do with this now?” thought Kay, looking at the sweets in his hands.

“Excuse me!” — said the girl next to him.

“Would you like to eat some sweets with me?” — Kay asked excitedly.

“Sweets?” — the girl exclaimed, confused.

The scene changes.

“Is this your room? It's quite big!” — Kay said, amazed.

“A little before the meeting, the maid brought tea. It will go well with the sweets! — explained the girl.

“I see. You’re smart, good job.” — Kay smiled, satisfied.

“Thank you!” — said the girl, blushing a little.

“So, what did you want to ask me?” — asked Kay, curious.

The girl served tea for both of them.

— Tell me about your fights against the Ghouls! — she said, her eyes shining with interest.

— Do you like soldiers? — Kay asked, noticing her excitement.

— Yes! They protect our people, they are heroes! — the girl replied with conviction.

— That's a lot to tell in just one day! — Kay said, amused.

— Okay! Tell me in great detail, don't forget to say anything! — the girl insisted, excited.

A few minutes later.

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— S-stop, tell me in less detail... — the girl asked, a little scared.

— You're right. Hearing that is too much for a child! I'll tell you in less detail about the death of the Ghouls. — Kay tried to soften the story, carefully resuming.

A few minutes later.

"Where did Kay get to?" Mira thought, looking for him all over the headquarters. "The banquet has already started and he hasn't shown up. Did he get lost? ...No, this is Kay we're talking about, so he must have gotten into some trouble," she thought, increasingly worried.

"You look worried!" said the queen, approaching accompanied by some guards.

"R-queen! I was distracted, forgive me!" said Mira, quickly getting out of the way.

"Are you worried about your colleague?" asked the queen.

"Yes, do you know where he is?" asked Mira, anxious.

"I'll go get him. Escort this young lady to the banquet!" ordered the queen to the guards.

"Thank you!" said Mira, relieved.

"This banquet is for you. Enjoy it!" said the queen before leaving.

"The royal family... they're all so kind!" thought Mira, smiling.

Still inside the room.

"You've always fought using the same stick, and it's never broken. How strong is it?" asked the girl, curious.

— What the army gave me is more resistant, so I'll keep my father's staff as a souvenir! — Kay said.

— The things you say are so crazy that they're hard to believe. — The girl laughed.

— You seemed excited listening. — Kay smiled.

— Yes, but you killing Ghouls without a suit and without a weapon made by the army, and every month... it's hard to believe. — The girl said, amazed.

— Keep what I told you a secret. Mira doesn't know that I killed Ghouls often; she thinks I only killed the first one. — Kay looked at her seriously.

— I won't tell anyone! I just wanted to hear your stories! — The girl replied, excited.

— I still have a lot to tell you, but it's almost the same as always: the Ghouls appear, and I eliminate them! — Kay said.

— I want to hear it! — The girl insisted.

— I'll tell you later. There's someone behind the door! — Kay warned.

— Hide! — the girl whispered.

The door opened, and the queen entered.

“Did you know that you could be beheaded for sneaking into a princess’s room?” — the queen exclaimed.

“You’re a princess?!” — Kay exclaimed, surprised.

“I was there with my father. I thought you knew!” — the princess replied.

“I see... And who is this?” — Kay asked, looking at the woman.

“My mother, the queen! I’m the one who invited him here,” said the princess.

“I know, I heard everything, but if he had any common sense, he wouldn’t go into a girl’s room alone!” — the queen said seriously.

“True! Emilia, I’ll tell you another time!” — Kay said, standing up.

“The army is very busy. When will the next opportunity be?” — Emilia asked, worried.

“I don’t know, let’s see how the future will be! It was nice meeting you!” — Kay said.

— Likewise, Kay. I appreciate you giving me your time! — Emilia replied.

— No need to thank me, we are friends now! — Kay smiled.

— Friends? — Emilia exclaimed, surprised.

— Don't you want to? — Kay asked, joking.

— Yes, we are friends! — Emilia said, smiling.

— Madam, I'm sorry for entering your daughter's room without warning. I will be more careful in the future! — Kay said, respectfully.

— I hope you will be! — the queen said, firmly.

— Excuse me! — Kay said, leaving the room.

"What do you mean 'I will be careful in the future'?" thought the queen, confused.

— A friend? — Emilia murmured, smiling.

— Let's talk about it! — the queen said, looking at her daughter.

The scene was silent.

— How tiring! — Kay said, throwing herself on the bed.

— You left the base... was it trouble? — Sky exclaimed, curious.

Kratos and Slayer didn't want to intrude, but they were also curious.

"No..." Kay replied, already sleepy.

"So what was it? It seemed serious!" Sky said, trying to understand.

"A real reward..." Kay replied, before falling asleep.

"What do you mean?!" Sky exclaimed, even more intrigued.

But Kay was already fast asleep.

"Explain it properly!" Sky said, frustrated.

"Hey, look, there's a ribbon around his neck!" Sky observed.

Kratos, worried that Kay might suffocate, immediately reached out for the ribbon and pulled it, but it didn't come off.

"Is it a medal?" Kratos exclaimed, surprised.

"A medal?" Slayer and Sky repeated, approaching.

Kratos pulled the medal out of Kay's shirt, revealing it. Both he and Slayer were left open-mouthed.

"What's wrong with that medal?" Sky asked, curious.

— You're not from the capital, so you might not know this. Take a closer look! — Slayer said, turning the medal over.

— Those coats of arms! — Sky said, amazed.

— Exactly! This medal is only awarded to people recognized by these institutions! Until now, the only ones who have received it were the captain of the first division, some world-famous scientists and a few politicians who contributed significantly to the advancement of technologies against the ghouls! — Kratos explained.

— But... why did he receive one? — Sky asked, even more intrigued.

— I have an idea. He and Mira were talking about ghouls with the ability to fly... They must have seen it happen! It's likely that the captain informed the Research Institute about what happened — Kratos said.

— So it was true. When you told me, I thought it was just a joke on their part! — Slayer said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Kratos carefully took off the medal and placed it next to Kay's old staff, which was next to his bed.

— So that means Mira must have received one too! — Sky commented.

— Maybe. And if that's true, when the news spreads, our squad will attract a lot of attention! — Kratos said, pondering.

— Unnecessary attention... — Slayer murmured, suspicious.

— Didn't he seem irritated? — Sky asked.

— I think he was normal — Kratos replied.

— It must have just been my imagination! — Sky said.

— It seems he's already eaten, so let's have dinner! — Kratos said.

The next morning