Outside the village, the makeshift search party of Tetsuya, Chelsea, Jason, and Lady Astrid began their frantic search for the missing children. Tetsuya struggled to keep up the pace with the other three. He was already winded, struggling to catch his breath. Years of his sedentary lifestyle was rearing its ugly head at the most inopportune of times. But he pushed himself on, not wanting to fall behind. He was terrified out of his mind, and he knew deep down that if it came down to a fight, there was not much he could do. But a voice was screaming inside of him, he had to do something, anything. He couldn't sit around and wait within the safety of the village gates. Not while those children were in danger. Not while Chelsea and the others were putting themselves in danger.

"The dire wolves are coming from the south," Jason said. "Eliminating them should be our top priority. Thankfully, they tend to stay within the safety of their pack, so we don't have to worry about splitting up and hunting each dire wolf one by one.

"What about the children?" Chelsea asked, worried for their safety.

"The biggest threat to those children right now are those dire wolves," Jason explained his reasoning. "If we let them run around free, those dire wolves track down those children much faster than we can. We eliminate them the dire wolves first, then we can look for the children."

"I can take care of the dire wolves by myself," Lady Astrid said. "You three should look for the children."

"What? We can't leave you to fight all those dire wolves on your own," Tetsuya said out of genuine concern.

Lady Astrid gave him an admonishing look as if to chastise him for telling a joke at such an inappropriate time.

"She's right," Chelsea said. "The dire wolves might be the biggest threat, but there are other threats out here. Orthruses, goblins, manticores... We can't take the chance just and just leave those children out alone. Those dire wolves shouldn't be a problem for Lady Astrid."

Suddenly, the screams of children pierced the silence of the night, followed by a cacophony of vicious howls. The children were close by, and so were the dire wolves.

"Let's go," Lady Astrid said, a sense of urgency in her voice.

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Wasting little time, the group ran towards the direction of the screams. They found the three faun children unharmed. A dozen dire wolves were stalking them from a distance, ready to strike at any given moment. Jason quickly put himself between the children and the dire wolves. Tetsuya stood beside him, Chelsea's dagger in his hand.

Chelsea drew her battle axe and braced herself for the grueling battle at hand. Dire wolves are highly intelligent, highly organized. As savage and as mindless as they look, their attacks are extremely well coordinated. Not only that, but these beast are incredibly fast and their jaws are powerful enough to bite through bones and mangle limbs. Chelsea knew that in this battle, there would be no room for errors.

Out of the corner of her eye, Chelsea saw what appeared to be a flash of lighting followed by a dire wolf's bisected body falling to the ground. Lady Astrid's longsword crackled, lightning magic coursing through its blade. Lady Astrid was a magic knight, a warrior highly adept at using magic. This particular fighting technique was called the spellblade; instead of casting an offensive magic spell at a target, the magic knight infuses the magic spell directly into their weapon, causing both physical and magical damage with each strike, Two more dire wolves leaped in the air, going for Lady Astrid's jugular, she struck them down with ease. A dire wolf ran past her, setting its sights on Chelsea.

Chelsea raised her battle axe in the air to attack, but the dire wolf was much too fast for her. Its razor sharp fangs sank deep into her right leg, digging right into her bones. She managed to drive her axe into its body, forcing the wounded animal to loosen its grip before it did any further damage to her leg. She brought down her axe again, cleaving its skull and finishing off the animal. Before she could take a breather, another dire wolf had leaped into the air and sand its teeth into her left shoulder. Chelsea took her axe in one hand and drove the blade into the neck of the beast at an awkward angle, but the stubborn beast would not loosen its grip on her shoulder. She continued to frantically hack away at its neck, she put all her might in one final blow and completely severed the dire wolf's head. Chelsea looked up ahead and saw that in the same amount of time it took her to dispatch of the two dire wolves, Lady Astrid had eradicated five more bringing her total kill count up to eight, all without breaking a sweat. Chelsea braced herself as one more dire wolf charged in her direction.

"Why doesn't Lady Astrid help her?" Tetsuya demanded, infuriated at seeing Chelsea take so much punishment. "I get it, she never needed any of our help. Why does she have to let Chelsea get hurt if she can just kill all these dire wolves by herself?"

"Because Lady Astrid acknowledges your friend as a true warrior," Jason replied. "She wants Chelsea to stand on this battlefield proudly, on her own two feet. She doesn't want to trample on her warrior's pride."

"Besides, look at her face," Jason said, pointing to Chelsea.

Tetsuya noticed that despite her injuries, Chelsea was grinning from ear to ear.

"To be acknowledged as a warrior by a member of the Queensguard, It's a great honor for any warrior," Jason explained.

The dire wolf lunged at Chelsea, but this time it was different. She had quickly learned from her mistakes dealing with the first two dire wolves. Now, she had a better feel for the speed and pattern of their attacks. Chelsea let out a primal scream and brought her axe down on its skull, cleaving it in half before it could even touch her.

The final dire wolf made its move, rushing past Chelsea, its sights set on the faun children. Chelsea chased after the beast, but she knew that there was no way she could make it in time. Tetsuya and Jason braced themselves, they were both determined to protect the children at any cost. The dire wolf leaped in the air, its sharp fangs hungering for flesh. In a flash, Lady Astrid was in front of the beast. She skewered the beast with her sword. Lady Astrid grinned as she discharged her lightning magic, causing the dire wolf to explode, blood and flesh and bones splattering in every direction. It was a small glimpse of the true power of a member of the Queensguard.

Chelsea was absolutely ecstatic that she was able to witness such power with her own two eyes. To be able to fight side by side by a member of the Queensguard, Lady Astrid, a woman that she idolized, it was like a dream come true for her. Chelsea stumbled forward, the injury to her leg compounded by her fatigue and blood loss made her lose her balance. Tetsuya rushed to catch her, almost falling over as well under her weight, she threw her arm around him and leaned on him to regain her balance. They shared a smile, both breathing a sigh of relief. It was all over. The battle was won and the children were safe.

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One of the faun children ran up to her and hugged her leg tightly. The other two were behind. All three of them looked up at Chelsea teary eye. The looks on their faces said more than words ever could. Chelsea smiled at them, trying to hold back her tears of happiness.

"She's hurt. Give her some space," Jason said gently to the children as he herded them away.

"Can you help me to that tree over there? I need to sit down for a bit," Chelsea said,

Tetsuya nodded and helped Chelsea to the foot of the tree. "We need to get you back to the village," he said. "Princess Deirdre can use her magic to heal you."

"There's no need for that," Lady Astrid said as she knelt down beside Chelsea. She reached out her hand and began casting a healing spell on her wounds. Chelsea's flesh and bones twisted and reconnected until they were back in their proper place. The wounds slowly sealed shut, leaving behind not even a single scratch.

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"Did you know that she could do that?" Tetsuya he whispered to Chelsea.

"Every member of the Queensguard is expected to know advanced healing magic," Lady Astrid said. "Races not adept at magic are required to carry a Healing, Grade V artifact with them at all times."

"You fight like a dwarf." Lady Astrid said, sitting down next to Chelsea.

Chelsea burst out laughing, caught off guard by such a comment. "I was raised by Roland Eicher," she explained. "He taught me everything I know about fighting."

"That explains it." Lady Astrid said. "Dwarven warriors are taught to follow their instincts above all else when it comes to battle. The problem is that without the proper experience, your instincts will often times betray you. You'll strike when you shouldn't, dodge too early, parry too late. The only thing you can do is to take on more quests, go on more hunts, take part in more battles. It's a rough road. You're going to take hits, and you're going to get knocked down. But if you have the guts to get back up on your feet, then you'll come out in the end as a better warrior. That's what it means to fight like a dwarf."

Chelsea nodded, listening intently, taking in the invaluable insights of one of the Queensguard.

"How did a half-orc come to be raised by a dwarf?" Lady Astrid asked, taking an interest in the young woman.

"Roland found me when he took part in a raid on an orc camp, back when he was still a knight in the Myrkheimian army," Chelsea explained. "I was only a young child at the time. His fellow knights called me a monster. Told him to leave me behind. That there was no room in the Kingdom of Myrkheim for a monster like me."

"He renounced his title as a knight right on the spot. Took me to the Free City of Midgard to raise me and he never looked back," Chelsea said.

"Giving up the only life he knew for a child he only met, one who he has no blood ties to," Lady Astrid wondered, "What would possess someone to sacrifice so much?"

"I asked him once when I was a little older," Chelsea said. "He told me that only a monster would leave behind a child in need of protection."

Chelsea looked at the three faun children from a distance. They smiled and waved to her, she waved to them back.

"I want to be someone he can be proud of," Chelsea said. "I don't want him to regret all the sacrifices he made for me."

"Is that why you want to be a Queensguard?" Lady Astrid asked.

"How did you know that I-" Chelsea wondered.

"It's written on your face," Lady Astrid replied. "You couldn't make it any more obvious."

"That's right," Chelsea declared. "I want to become a member of the Queensguard. I want to prove that I'm one of the best warriors in this world. And I want to bring honor to the man who has sacrificed so much for me."

"Hone your skills, keep pushing forward, let nothing stop you from achieving your goal," Lady Astrid said.

Chelsea's face lit up. Hearing such kind words from someone she admired so much renewed the zeal within her heart.

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Their walk back to the village was peaceful and without any further incidents. The children were reunited with their mother and the village resumed their festivities into the night. Once the festivities had ended, Princess Deirdre and her Queensguard said their goodbyes and took their leave, heading back to the Kingdom of Alfheim.

Tetsuya found himself sharing a tent with Chelsea for the night.

"You would think that they'd give the big heroes their own tent to sleep in," Testuya complained, rolling from side to side, trying to find a comfortable position in the cramped tent.

"Well, to be fair, you didn't really do much," Chelsea teased.

"Neither did you," Tetsuya said grumpily. "You said it yourself, Lady Astrid could have taken care of the dire wolves fine without your help."

"Fair enough," Chelsea said, throwing her leather cuirass at Tetsuya.

"Oww," Tetsuya said. "Fine, I deserved that."

Tetsuya rolled over and saw Chelsea stripping off the rest of her clothes. "What are you doing? Why are you naked?" he yelled as he rolled back to avoid staring at her bare body.

"I sleep naked," Chelsea replied as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Please, put some clothes on," Tetsuya pleaded nervously.

"Why?" Chelsea asked, a bit upset. "Does my body disgust you?"

"No! Of course not!" Tetsuya exclaimed defensively.

"A warrior's body is sculpted by every single battle that they've fought," Chelsea said proudly. "It's something to take pride in, something to show off to the world."

"Your body is fine!" Tetsuya exclaimed. "It's just that, I'm a man..."

"You're a boy," Chelsea corrected.

"I'm a man!" Tetsuya insisted. "And you're a woman. We shouldn't see each other naked!"

"Is it not normal for men and women to sleep together naked where you're from?" Chelsea asked, tilting her head to the side curiously.

"No! I mean, it depends," Tetsuya tried to explain. "Personally, I've never seen..."

"Then how do your people make babies?" Chelsea asked, sprawling out on the ground, casually picking out the lint from her belly button.

"W-what?" Tetsuya stammered nervously. "B-babies? What are you trying to... Sleeping together and 'sleeping together' are two very different things!"

"It seems to me that a nation where men and women have trouble sleeping together naked would have a questionably low birthrate," Chelsea thought pensively. "A stable population is vital for the future of any nation. Your people must start sleeping together naked more. Get married, have children, for the sake of your nation's future."

"Mr. Prime Minister, please stop..." Tetsuya said flatly.

"Huh, did you say something?" Chelsea asked.

"N-nothing," Tetsuya replied.

Tetsuya laid quietly in the tent, taking in the tranquility of his surroundings. In spite of the cramped accommodations, fear of dire wolves killing him in his sleep and his heart racing a million miles per second due to the naked half-orc lady laying beside him, Tetsuya felt oddly at ease.

"I'll be heading back to Midgard tomorrow," Chelsea said, breaking the silence. "I have to collect my pay from the Adventurer's Guild. Then, I'll probably take up a new quest or two. How about you? Where will you go from here?"

Tetsuya's heart sank. A part of him wanted to believe that they would stay together for a bit longer. Travel the world together, go on adventures together. A part of him wanted to believe that she saw him as a friend. But the reality is that they were complete strangers, knowing each other for only a day. She never had any attachments to him, no sense of obligation, no reason to stay with him. It would make no sense for the two of them to continue as they were.

"I don't know," Tetsuya said. "I don't really have a place to go. I don't know what to do. I don't know anything about this world."

"Then why don't you come with me?" Chelsea offered. "The road gets lonely, and I wouldn't mind a companion."

Tetsuya's face lit up. "Do you really mean it?" he asked.

"Sure... Sure..." Chelsea replied drowsily in her half asleep state. "If you need a place to stay, I'm sure Roland wouldn't mind letting you live with us."

"This seems likes a pretty big commitment for someone who's half asleep," Tetsuya thought. "I wonder if she'll even remember this conversation when she wakes up in the morning."

"Umph!" Tetsuya felt like he got the wind knocked out of him as Chelsea draped a heavy, muscular arm around him.

"H-Hey. Chelsea," Tetsuya whispered. "I can't breathe."

He was answered by the sound of Chelsea's loud snoring.

"So, this is what being a dakimakura must feel like." he thought to himself.

"Well, this was my first night in this strange new world," Tetsuya thought. "I wonder what fun, crazy adventures tomorrow is going to bring. Please, no more fucking dire wolves."