The next morning.

The first rays of sunlight came through the window, illuminating the room. The soldiers woke up as usual, one by one, while the sounds of the camp began to intensify. Yan went to Kay's room door, knocking firmly and leaving a bottle of coffee there.

"He's not here!" Sky said, looking around.

"What do you mean he woke up early?" Yan exclaimed, shocked by Kay's absence.

"When we woke up, he was already gone. He must have gone to train like he did when he joined the army!" Kratos said, crossing his arms.

"They haven't even been here a week!" Yan insisted, still in disbelief.

"I'll help you look for him!" Sky offered, determined.

"Okay, I'll leave it here if he wants. He'll come get it!" Yan said, leaving the bottle of coffee on the table, resigned.

"I'll train after breakfast. I don't know what kind of exercise he'll give to those who weren't successful in meditation. Anyway, training is after breakfast! — Yan concluded, shaking his head.

“Okay!” — the three said.

Yan left, and the other soldiers began to prepare for the day ahead.

In the hallway

“Will he take training seriously now? If so, that’s good!” — Yan thought, excited.

During breakfast

“We have a problem!” — Fernanda said, in front of the recruits’ table.

“What?” — Mira exclaimed, worried.

“Kay is killing ghouls!” — Fernanda announced.

“It’s normal for him... Wait, what do you mean by killing ghouls? He’s not here at the base?” — Mira exclaimed, euphoric.

“What’s this story?” — Yan exclaimed, approaching with the other leaders.

Fernanda placed her cell phone on the table and turned up the volume. Sword noises and ghouls’ groans of pain were heard.

— Ninety-eight! — Kay shouted. — Only you two left and Mineford will be clean, and I will have killed over a hundred ghouls! This is fun, but I'm still very angry! — Kay laughed.

Two gunshots were heard.

— What was the flare again? I think it's the green one! — Kay shouted.

The sound of the flare echoed.

— What the hell is this? — Yan exclaimed, irritated.

— Hey, hey, hey! He said Mineford is clean. Does that mean he killed all the ghouls that were there? — Ryuji exclaimed.

— There's no way! There were too many ghouls there; even our division would suffer too much damage to recover a lost kingdom! — Lena said, worried.

— How did Kay know about this kingdom? — Kratos asked, perplexed.

— It was my fault. I read it to him the day the news came out in the newspaper. Kay was very angry! — Mira revealed.

— But that was seven years ago! — Yan exclaimed.

Helicopter noise was heard on the cell phone.

— I thought it was to take something to the captain. That's why the helicopter left; I didn't think it was Kay! — Joana said.

Everyone's radio started to crackle.

— Can you hear me? Pilot from Joana's squadron reporting. Mineford has been recovered, repeating: Mineford has been recovered! Requesting permission to shoot the ghouls outside the wall.

— Permission granted! — Joana said over the radio.

— Understood! — the pilot replied over the radio.

Machine gunfire sounds were heard on the cell phone.

— For the first time in this country, a lost kingdom has been recovered. The captain will go crazy when he finds out! — Joana said excitedly.

Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

— He's going to be punished, and it shouldn't be something light! — Yan warned.

— Why? Did you hear what just happened? This is something that will go down in history! — Ryuji exclaimed.

— Misconduct, improper and unauthorized use of army vehicles and equipment, and leaving without authorization! Do you still want more reasons? — Yan retorted.

— Complete elimination. How should I proceed? — the pilot asked over the radio.

— Keep aerial surveillance and eliminate any ghouls you see! We're heading there! — Joana ordered over the radio.

— Understood! Proceeding with the order! — the pilot replied over the radio.

— Do you understand? Let's check this out with our own eyes. The rest of you wait for us to return! — Joana said, leaving nervously.

— Can I go too? — Mira exclaimed.

— Okay! — Joana confirmed.

— We're already in the suit, just grab your weapons and go straight to the helicopter! — Yan said, determined.

— Okay! — Mira replied, leaving.

— I want to see this. Let me go too! — Raven asked.

— Be quick! — Yan said, leaving.

The leaders and Raven left.

— I'll send a message to the captain! — Fernanda said, grabbing her cell phone and leaving.

— We lost our chance to go too! — Thais lamented.

— Lost kingdoms were declared irrecoverable by the army. Kay recovered them alone; what will happen from now on? — Viviane exclaimed.

— He helped me become stronger and showed me the way. I don't want to see a colleague suffer! — Sarah said, worried.

"That will depend on the captain, but according to the leaders, there is nothing we can do now to help Kay. I also did not support what he did; he might have died! Kratos stated.

"I understand, but things are certain now, aren't they?" Why does he need to be punished? Dan exclaimed, hopeful.

"The captain will decide!" For now, let's focus on our training. We still have two more days until the captain returns! — affirms Slayer.

A young dinner. Helicopters were flying over Mineford, searching for living ghouls.

"Look at the size of this kingdom!" How did he kill all the ghouls here in just an hour? That doesn't make sense! Joanna said, confused.

"Both inside and outside the wall, the ghouls were defeated." Let's go out and find him! Yan said, decisively.

The helicopter landed on the ground with a soft thud, raising a cloud of dust that lingered in the air for a few moments. The leaders, already with their combat suits fitted and armed, quickly disembarked from the aircraft.

"Let's pay attention!" Yan said, his voice firm, as he looked around.

Finally, they spotted an open clearing, and what they found left them in shock: Kay was lying on the floor, completely relaxed, with the gun at her side. The sun was shining on his face, and he seemed to be sleeping deeply, as if he had not just fought a fierce battle.

"And he still dares to sleep!" Yan exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"It's impossible!" Mira said, with a mixture of concern and anger. "He can't just act like that after everything that happened!"

As the helicopter moved away from the ground, the town of Mineford grew smaller and smaller beneath them. Kay continued to sleep, alert to the frantic movement around her. Joana watched the sky, a mixture of worry and disbelief in her heart.

"Or what was he thinking?" thought Joana, worried

As soon as they saw the base approaching, a new wave of adrenaline took over the group. The helicopter landed safely, and everyone began to descend.

As soon as the helicopter's propellers stopped completely, Fernanda, accompanied by some soldiers, approached with firm steps and a serious expression.

"Captain's orders," Fernanda announced. "Before the bodies disappear, let us inform the government that Mineford has been retaken by our army." I'm back to report the details. A vehicle is already on its way to pick up the captain.

"And what are we going to do with him?" asked Joana, looking at Kay, still unconscious.

"Is he hurt?" asked Fernanda, with a look of contained concern.

"No, he's just sleeping, as if he had spent the day on a routine mission," replied Joana, a little incredulously.

Fernanda sighed, pondering the captain's orders. "Let's not stop the lonely." The captain will want to talk to him there.

Joan nodded. "Let's get up!" he ordered, gesturing to Yan.

Carefully, Yan supported Kay on his shoulder, carrying him. As soon as Yan and Kay disappeared down the hallway, Joana turned to the assembled soldiers. — Things are going to get hectic around here. Don't expect any rest in the next few days!

/

The soldiers looked at each other, discouraged, aware that Kay's unexpected action was about to trigger a series of consequences.

— Show me the statistics of his suit today! — Joana said, with a determined look.

— Come to my office — Fernanda replied, indicating the way.

— You are dismissed until further notice! — Joana announced to the soldiers before following Fernanda.

After they left, the soldiers remained silent for a moment, until Ravena broke the silence:

— Some of us came from Mineford. During the attack, we lost our homes and were forced to seek shelter in another kingdom. I won't owe Kay anything, but... I thank you — Ravena said, with a tone of gratitude and a distant look.

— Were you from there? — Mira exclaimed, surprised.

— Yes. I was very young at the time... I didn't even remember it properly anymore — Raven said, trying to sound indifferent.

— That's a lie. Seven years isn't enough to make you forget your home. Otherwise, you wouldn't be crying — Mira replied, observing Raven's restrained expression.

Raven tried to compose herself, looking away. — "Getting attached to material things isn't suitable for a soldier," she thought, trying to keep her posture firm.

— Look closely, Raven. You're not the only one trying to stay strong — Mira said, empathetically, as she looked around.

Other soldiers, who had approached with Fernanda, were also former residents of Mineford, and many had the same moved expression as Raven.

— I don't know why Kay did this, but... if we can motivate him again, maybe we can recover other kingdoms, like Longtail and Ynar! — Mira commented, hopefully.

— Those areas are impossible. The concentration of ghouls there makes it impossible for even helicopters to get close! — said Raven, with a worried tone.

“What about the helicopters?” — asked Mira, alarmed.

“If they shoot the ghouls outside the walls, the ones inside will come out, and there’s a risk they’ll come here!” — explained Raven.

“So that’s why they don’t risk it! I’m glad I didn’t tell Kay about those areas,” sighed Mira, relieved.

“The idiot would have gone there!” — replied Raven, laughing.

“Her laugh is actually cute... but it’s rare to see her laugh,” thought Mira, smiling.

The scene changes to an indoor environment.