On a quiet morning, a pair of moon-like silver eyes reluctantly opened. The morning sun bloomed through the curtains, illuminating the room in soft, warm light.
"Mmnh… Yawn…"
Luna rubbed her eyes, blinking twice and thrice before tossing her blanket to the side. Getting off the bed, her nightgown smoothly slid to her feet.
Her white dress came on effortlessly; on top was a black and white bell-sleeved cloak with exposed shoulders. Then came the finishing touches as soon as she finished carefully combing her hair: a frilled pastel blue headdress with a bow on her pretty black and silver hair, a crescent moon hairpin, and finally white thigh-highs.
Looking cute and pretty like a doll, Luna additionally cast a cleansing spell on herself, practically gleaming.
Today's training is another field test simulation. I wonder if we should start extending the simulations to last weeks. Mm. I suppose I'll have to consult with Chely and Amethely.
With those thoughts crossing her mind, she headed toward the cafeteria. Usually, she'd have attendants come to her room in the mornings to serve her, but ever since she was invited to eat with the others, she saw no reason to go back to the old routine.
The food and treats certainly were lower quality than what she had before, but Luna did not care, to put it bluntly. If it was sweet, it was probably tasty to her, even tastier if they were high quality. That was it.
After arriving in the cafeteria, a familiar girl came into view: Miu Nanase, one of her best friends—white fluffy-looking hair, ruby eyes, and… a noticeable bosom compared to her own.
Noticing her stare, Miu tilted her head as if to ask, "What is it, Luna-chi?"
Luna shook her head and approached the white-haired girl.
"Morning," Luna said, picked up a tray, and stood beside her.
Miu smiled. "Yeah, good morning!"
After Miu greeted her, the others began greeting her as well.
"Good morning, Princess!"
Luna lightly nodded.
Still, she couldn't help but think how pretty Miu was today as well. Even in a standard uniform. Long black pants, a white blouse or shirt, and a black cloak.
Compared to Luna's custom-made uniform, it was almost basic with no personality. Luna herself wouldn't complain if she were to wear something like that. But there would be complaints from the higher-ups—mainly her uncle, telling her to uphold the imperial image. Though with that said, said uncle probably didn't care either—he must've been nagged, or something, Luna thought, and the culprits were likely her parents.
A little later, Amethely and Noel joined them, but Chely was nowhere to be seen.
"Chely's not here yet?" Noel asked with a hint of disappointment.
"What? Are you disappointed with us as your company?" Luna teased.
Noel scoffed a little playfully, seeing how her expression was deadpan as ever. "No comment," he chuckled.
"Noel… that in itself is an answer," Miu added with a light slap on his shoulder, joining in on the teasing.
Then, Amethely joined in on the fun as well.
"Don't worry, Noel. Big Sis is strict, but your life is safe with her."
"Ugh… not you too, Ame," Noel groaned.
The others began joining in, saying they'd tell Chely, causing him to shudder at the thought.
And then, during warm-up, Chely was still missing. Neither Luna nor Amethely had been informed, but they could guess it was something important.
Just as the practical simulation began, Noel was called by Alver. But just as he left, Chely entered the simulation facility, missing him by a few seconds. Her eyes naturally wandered in search of him.
"Where is Noel?" she asked, her eyebrows furrowing a little.
"He just left with Mr. Alver a moment ago," Luna calmly replied. "Why?" she asked.
"…"
That… was certainly not something Chely wanted to hear.
Rigeld… You!?
..
It was Noel's first time in the control center, or more specifically, an office within the control center. A little curious, his eyes wandered down through the massive space filled with floating screens, holograms, and working officers.
He knew this world was magically advanced, but parts of it felt more like sci-fi rather than magic and fantasy. But then again, at some point, the lines blur, he thought.
And the man beside him was none other than Rigeld Ilifel himself. The former emperor and the current Head Command at HQ. The screens illuminated the room in a blue, dim light.
When Noel first entered the room, Rigeld had his back turned toward him, silhouette enveloped in soft but cold blue light. Noel just excused himself as he walked over. It was only the two of them. Alver had left the room the moment Noel stepped in.
Hmm… Does a cool aura run in Luna's family or something? Noel wondered to himself as he cast Rigeld a subtle side glance.
Without turning his gaze, Rigeld began to speak.
"So, do you know why I called you here?"
"I do not, Sir."
"Good," Rigeld replied, casting Noel a slightly intimidating glance. "As you can guess, nothing about what I'm about to tell you leaves this room."
"…Affirmative."
"To put it bluntly. Parts of the ruin expedition team have gone missing."
"…"
Noel's eyes widened slightly, but Rigeld's tone remained cool.
"Cadet Alum Miller is missing, and so are the royal members of the Ilis family, Ethym Ilis and Emerine Ilis. A rescue team has been formed, and the leader for this operation is Commander Boail Howlshock."
Why… is he telling me this?
Seeing the shocked and confused expression on Noel's face, Rigeld continued.
"How about it, Noel Karlsson? Will you join the rescue operation?"
"Huh?" A dumbfounded gasp left Noel's lips. "W-Wait… with all due respect, Sir. How will someone of my caliber contribute?"
"How?" Rigeld mused, his smile was more cunning than amused. "By following orders and doing your job. It's as simple as that."
"…"
Rigeld knew his words sounded harsh, and Noel might not even have the required skills for what was asked of him. So, naturally, Noel's mind went blank for a moment.
"So? What will it be?" Rigeld snapped him out of it.
"I…"
What? Seriously, what? Alum? missing? And so are Chely's parents? Rescue operation? What can I even do if I go? Follow orders? Naturally. But… why me? I don't even have practical experience outside of the simulations… And he asks me to join a rescue? I don't get it!
But… What I do know is that people I care about need help.
"I'll do it. I'll go."
Hearing those words, Rigeld's expression softened a little. Seeing how Noel went from confused to determined, presumably still confused, decided to go.
"That's a relief. You'll mainly be a live translator for the rescue team. If anything comes up, I believe you can put up a good fight to defend yourself, no?"
A bead of sweat ran down Noel's temple.
"To the best of my abilities…"
"That's good enough. You'll be with our best. It's also an opportunity to learn from them firsthand, don't you think? So, go pack and meet up with Boail at port-003. Alver will guide you."
"Yes, Sir."
Just like that, he was assigned his first mission. Everything was abrupt, and he was supposed to be in training for another 6 months. But since the matter seemed to be urgent, he didn't have much of a choice.
He wanted to help save his best friend, and he wanted to help his future in-laws. Also… He didn't want to see Chely sad. He could already picture her face hearing about the news.
If I can be of any help at all. I'll do it… he swore to himself in his heart.
But when he left the security alongside Alver, a certain ash-brown-haired girl came into view, crossing her arms while leaning on a wall.
Chely…
"Did you plan on not saying a word?"
Even though Chely appeared stoic and her voice steady. He could tell she was infuriated. Her usually ditzy-looking light-emerald eyes were now cold, sending chills down his spine.
"You wouldn't even let me send you off?"
This time, the irritation in her voice was apparent.
"That's not true…"
Naturally, Noel reflexively averted his eyes.
"Alver… does he have some time to spare?"
Taking the hint, Alver nodded. "He does, Lady Hero."
"…"
"Noel… talk to me… please."
When those meek words left her mouth, Noel couldn't help but look her in the eyes. At the corner of those green eyes were small dewdrops, ready to spill over at any moment.
"!?"
Closing the gap, he embraced her.
Seriously… What am I doing, making her cry?
"Yeah, let's chat a little."
He cupped her face, flashing her a playful grin, gently wiping her tears.
"Idiot…"
..
After calming Chely down a little, they walked together with Alver, who was waiting by the corner. Though, Alver sensed that they still needed to talk.
"I'll wait by the entrance. Will 30 minutes suffice? You only need the necessities and the rest is taken care of."
"That's more than enough," Noel replied.
Chely nodded, albeit reluctantly. She firmly held his hand, and he kind of wished she'd taken off the metal glove before squeezing his hand so hard.
"…"
It's fine… Probably. I might need healing if something is fractured, though.
And so, when they arrived in Noel's room, they began packing. Usually, they'd be in Chely's room, so it had been a while since she went inside this room.
On the desk was a picture frame—there were a total of five people.
Noticing where her gaze had landed, Noel chuckled.
"It's a family portrait; Al drew it."
"Al did?" she asked, surprised. "Can I take a closer look?"
"Yeah, go ahead."
"Hmm…" Chely picked up the picture frame, trying to burn their faces into her memory. She blushed a little, and a faint smile appeared. "So this is your family…"
"Yeah. I asked him to draw it when he had time. I honestly wasn't sure how he got them so accurate, but I'm glad. This is exactly how I remembered them."
"I see… Are you taking it with you?"
"I'm not."
Noel shook his head, which came as a surprise to her. She knew he was homesick, and while it had gotten better since, she knew that even though he said he'd stay with her if he had the choice to go back, he would stay. Those words were true, but she also knew about the deep-seated loneliness he carried.
She had to ask.
"…Why not?"
"It's simple, really. I want you to keep it."
"Huh…?"
He flashed her a grin and took out a pendant. When he opened it, there was a picture of the two of them. Noel grinned as he hugged her from behind, giving her bunny ears; Chely had awkwardly placed a hand on his arm with an adorable smile. One had to do a double-take to realize it was Chely, the Hero herself.
"I've got this."
"That picture…" Chely's face reddened slightly. "You're not showing it to others… Are you?" she glared.
"Of course not! It's a feast only for my eyes," he retorted.
"You're exaggerating…" she sighed. "Still… is it really okay if I keep it?"
"Yup. I want you to," he softly replied. "It might sound strange, but… you're here. And they are not. It's a memory now. But you are the one I want to return to, Chely."
Noel embraced her from behind, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"O-Okay… Is that so?" Chely stammered a little.
She leaned her head on his, and it was just quiet for a moment. But then Noel placed a light kiss on her neck.
"Nnh… it tickles a little…"
"How adorable," Noel teased, his hand wandering from her hips and up. "You're usually so stoic, but get so meek when I get touchy like this."
At this point, Chely's face had gone completely red.
"I-I can't help it… If you're touching me so… Sensually," Chely paused. "Wh-What are you making me say!?"
"Pffts… You're adorable."
"Hmph!" Chely huffed and freed herself from his clutches, but immediately turned around to hug him head-on. "With this, your lecherous hands can't wander."
"I wonder about that…" Noel chuckled, his finger swirling her coccyx.
"…!?" Chely was still beet red.
But then he said, "Oh, but your chest is soft today. I thought you wore armor underneath just a few moments ago."
"I-I-Idiot! Can't you just enjoy it quietly?! Also, what was that supposed to mean!? Aren't they always soft—ugh, fine… Yeah, I dematerialized it a little earlier… Happy? Wait… you were groping me all over—there is no way you didn't know!"
Hmm… you sure made it sound more scandalous than it actually was…
Noel had gone silent, but he wasn't going to point it out. Chely looked tired looking at him, but for some odd reason he looked at the ceiling instead.
"Yeah… I'm savoring it. I'm so happy I can ascend," he muttered something stupid.
"…"
Chely was left exasperated.
"It's not even the first time… I don't get what's so exciting about it."
"Hmmmm~"
Noel didn't comment on her rapidly beating heart hammering his chest—he knew she was just as excited. Instead, he simply laughed while stroking her hair.
Chely said nothing either, knowing that he knew. Thus, she let him rest his chin on her head while he stroked her hair. Comforted like this, she couldn't help but unconsciously press her body closer to his.
"Noel… I love you…" A faint murmur escaped her lips.
Noel looked down at her silvery-brown hair. "And I love you too, Chely," and placed a kiss on top of her head.
"…" Chely squirmed a bit, even swooning a bit before giving his collarbone a light peck.
"It tickles," Noel remarked.
"Shut up…" Chely fired back, her tone playful.
"…"
"…"
Noel loosened his hold, placing his hands on her shoulders. Chely looked a little disappointed as she looked up. Her light emerald eyes quivered before they closed. Her lips parted slightly before her face leaned closer to his.
Seriously… the contrast of her character. How cute can my girlfriend be?
With those thoughts crossing his mind, he gently placed his lips on hers.
—Yeah… her keeping her gloves back then was on purpose…
A/N
I just want to say that I'll be moving the schedule to the 25th every month. This update is an exception and just to inform you, dear readers. Hopefully, the release will be more consistent, and you'll know what to expect. Mm, I should probably set a time too… also, I'm going back to 4-6k word chapters, so they'll be longer than the 2.5-3k ones as of late.
Also, apparently, my novel is flagged as AI in some detectors, which is well… whatever, I guess?
My prose apparently reads like it, lul.
Mind you, I don't really know how writers construct their visual scenes. I just kinda write it how I'd compose a photo, which might be why it's flagged or smt
Like, you read this: "The morning sun bloomed through the curtains, illuminating the room in soft, warm light." And be like, wtf is dude talking about. Lemme explain. So, in photography, there is this thing called bloom. Basically, highlights spill over and create a soft light. So when it hit the curtains, the harsh light gets softened, thus spreading a soft and more even light. And we call that diffused light. Nifty, ey.
I'm low-key realizing how strange some of my sentences sound to others. Meanwhile, I'm like, yeah, sounds about right.
Also, I high-key regret designing Luna the way I did. I basically threw her all the cool visuals I could think of and was like, "Nice." The cold silver moon, black/white chess theme, and slightly gothic clothing. I like modest clothing, but I also like exposed shoulders. Dunno what it is, honestly; it feels elegant to me. Like, I can understand back exposure in a dress, but an exposed stomach doesn't make much sense to me. And before you can say anything about chest windows, I guess they do serve a purpose other than, y'know, looking. Not a huge fan, but understandably so; if it's hot, a little breeze helps.
As for Amethely, I think her inspiration is pretty clear. Her name is based on amethyst, and her overall theme is lul. Like how she's a saint, and the gemstone is generally known for its connection to the spiritual. Tho I didn't want to make them just purple, I wanted it to be a more magenta type of amethyst, hence the pink-amethyst eyes.
Her clothing, ahem, in her own words, she likes it simple, and it's kept pretty simple. White blouse, white silk shorts, white/gold dress-robe, white thigh-highs, a brown/gold sash over the dress-robe wrapped around the stomach, high brown boots, same theme as the sash, long black veil(not those for weddings, but nun ones, lol). Then, finally, some accessories. A crystal pin, the same color as her eyes, and a red silk ribbon. Very innocent-looking and endearing. I kinda min-maxed her too, just not in the same way I did Luna, where I just threw a bunch of my favorite designs and called it a day, haha.
Then you might be asking, why not do that for Amethely? Simple, it wouldn't be Amethely.
Then there's Alum. He's a guy, so… just throw a white long-sleeved shirt on him and black pants. A cloak with a custom golden-gear crest, and, eh, I call it a day. Legit it. He's very minimalistic, so I wanted to keep it that way. He's still described in other ways, ofc, but his whole style is minimalism bordering on apathy.
Now, you might've remembered he's based on aluminium. His nickname is legit Al, too, so why not give him silver eyes, but gold? Good question. I like golden eyes and jet-black hair. Like, I didn't want to name him goldish, and I thought that Alum and Amethely sound really good together. It's just that simple, haha.
As for Noel, he's in the basic uniform for now, same with Miu. I feel like I did Miu dirty so many times. I'm starting to wonder why I keep doing her like that.
Chely's also an interesting case. At first, she was just armor, but after falling for Noel, she tried becoming more feminine. But like Alum, she's very minimal; her theme is pastel greens, yellows, and brown, but also eclipses. I think she's really pretty, and the nature colors are just healing.
Though… as for her name, Chely is inspired by shells. But not those shells… so… Chely's a hero, right? She's basically a super weapon, so instead of shells from like… Clams… It's more like artillery shells… And well, eclipses are a popular sign known as "The End of the World," kinda thing. Basically, she could end the world if she wanted to. That's how overpowered I made her, hehe.
Yeah, either I'm cooking, or I was drunk. Probably the latter, cuz the first original chapter I wrote was when I was wasted on liquor.
And you might wonder, but Seal, nobody asked. I know. But I wanted to share it either way, even if I'm going on a slightly long tangent.