Night had fallen, and silence blanketed the world. At this hour, nearly everyone was resting. Hielaina tiptoed out of her room, doing her best not to disturb the stillness. Yet she miscalculated—the old wooden door creaked loudly as it opened, forcing her to freeze mid-movement. She anxiously glanced back at Arcia, who was still lying on the bed.
She hadn't woken her, it seemed. Arcia remained in the same position, her breathing calm and regular. One might not even notice her chest rising and falling unless they looked closely.
Hielaina was being so cautious because she didn't want anyone to know she was sneaking out. Tonight, she was going to meet someone very important to her.
As the door quietly shut behind her, Arcia's eyes slowly opened. After a moment, they gently closed again. The room returned to silence.
Once away from the third floor where the others slept, Hielaina unconsciously quickened her pace. She descended the last flight of stairs, passed through the cozy, lived-in living room, and stepped into the backyard through the rear door. She looked around, but saw no trace of the person she had longed for so much.
"Oof—"
Something lightly knocked against her head. Hielaina rubbed the sore spot and looked up. Bathed in the silvery moonlight, the very person she was searching for was sitting atop the roof!
"Get down here!"
She waved and called out in a hushed voice, trying to contain her excitement.
The figure above clearly sensed her urgency and, without hesitation, leapt gracefully from the eight-meter-high roof. She landed without a sound, as nimble as a cat.
"Shatiel!!"
Overcome with joy, Hielaina ran forward and threw her arms around her.
"Princess..."
Shatiel stumbled a few steps backward, but returned the embrace tightly. The familiar scent of the girl in her arms filled her nose, and the warmth of their bodies soothed their hearts.
"I thought I'd never see you again..."
The girl in her arms spoke with a trembling voice, tears streaming down her beautiful face and falling onto Shatiel's shoulder.
"There was nothing I could do back then... I'm sorry, Hielaina."
Shatiel gently stroked Hielaina's hair. Though she said little, her longing had tormented her deeply.
"You have no idea how happy I was when Bariny told me you were safe... Don't you ever leave me again..."
Those tear-filled eyes pierced Shatiel's heart. She brushed back her hair and gently kissed those soft, trembling lips.
"I am your personal guard, after all... but don't worry. I won't let it happen again."
Blushing, Hielaina buried her face into Shatiel's chest once more.
"You're too adorable when you act like this... how can I resist?"
Even Shatiel was surprised by how desperately she yearned for the girl before her.
"Then kiss me again."
This time, it was Hielaina who initiated it. Standing on her toes, she kissed Shatiel again, catching her off guard.
...
"So you joined the platoon as a second-generation Night Knight?"
After their emotional reunion, the two sat on a bench in the courtyard, talking quietly.
"Yeah. I was converted after I recovered from my injuries. To skip unnecessary training, I simply kept the identity as a cover."
"Your injury..."
Shatiel pulled back her collar, revealing a scar on her right shoulder.
"Does it hurt?"
With a pained expression, Hielaina gently traced the bullet scar, as if the pain were her own.
"It wasn't as bad as I imagined."
A light breeze swept past. Hielaina buttoned Shatiel's collar back up.
"I have a bullet wound too. Left shoulder. Makes a nice pair."
Hielaina lifted her clothes slightly to reveal the scar from her injury in Ripova.
"This ordeal left marks on both of us..."
That stark scar on her otherwise flawless white skin filled Shatiel with guilt. If only they had reunited sooner, she might have been able to protect her.
"Ahaha... that tickles... We just got intimate, didn't we..."
Shatiel's lips brushed over the scar, her warm breath sending a shiver through Hielaina.
"I won't let you get hurt again."
...
Morning sunlight filtered into the dark room through the curtains. Sennia opened her eyes and sat up.
She looked over at Arcia's bed. The blanket had been folded neatly at the headboard. Turning her head, she saw Arcia sitting at the desk, sipping coffee.
"How did you sleep?"
It was a neutral, casual greeting, yet Sennia's face turned red instantly.
"I-I slept well. Better than I expected, really..."
"Good."
Arcia set her cup down and stood up from the chair.
"Get ready. We're meeting in the conference room in thirty minutes. That coffee is for you."
"O-okay. Thank you."
Sennia had found unexpected comfort in that night's rest. She felt soft, relaxed—not good, she needed to focus!
After washing and changing, she tied her hair back the way she always did. After downing the coffee Arcia had prepared, her motivation slowly returned.
"Morning."
By the time Sennia arrived at the conference room, others were already there. Arcia sat in a corner reading an unknown book. Otto and Nordhausen stood over a map, pointing and discussing strategy. Edwin and Darrick hadn't yet arrived, but the other intelligence operatives were already present.
"Morning," Otto and Nordhausen greeted her before diving back into their planning. The agents acknowledged her with efficient nods.
"Yawn—"
Finally, Edwin stumbled into the room, yawning.
"I'm not late, am I?"
Hands on his hips, he joined them by the map. Dark circles hung under his eyes.
"No, the meeting hasn't started yet. Didn't sleep well?"
"Didn't sleep at all."
It was rare to see Edwin so out of sorts.
"There were a ton of mosquitoes in my room. I spent all night fighting them with one of the intel guys. Ended up using half a vial of Type-3 to finally wipe them out."
Wait, reinforcement serums could be used to kill mosquitoes? Sennia learned something new.
"That's so you," Otto chuckled, giving him a thumbs-up. Edwin squinted but didn't have the energy to retort.
"Alright, everyone's here. Let's begin."
Otto raised his voice slightly to get the room's attention.
"Where's Darrick?"
"He's on a mission," Nordhausen replied, then fell silent.
"Alright. I'll keep this short. We've decided to use the Hekar supply depot's trucks for cover. As a major transport hub, Hekar routes a lot of supplies to the front lines, so there's a dedicated depot in the city. If we can get the shift schedule, we can disguise ourselves as supply soldiers and load the prisoners into the trucks. That way, if we encounter enemy patrols during extraction, it'll help us stay under the radar."
Everyone pondered this for a moment, and eventually, consensus formed: it was a solid plan.
"Great. Now for assignments. Sennia, Arcia—you two will approach the depot disguised as civilians, just like when we first arrived. Get the shift schedule. Nordhausen, Edwin—scout the Hekar military warehouse. We'll need some gear from there later. Intel team—I need you to report how many operatives you can allocate to direct combat. That's all."
The meeting was brief. There wasn't much left to discuss.
Sennia and Arcia changed back into the same clothes they wore on arrival and left the safehouse together, posing as mistress and servant. Nordhausen and Edwin also dressed in plain civilian attire—no one would question what infiltrators wore. Otto stood by the window, watching them go.
The mission had officially begun.