Isher Notra

That was... an unforeseen reaction.

Stella was back on the bed, staring dumbfounded at the pacing and ranting Knight, now confirmed to be a Human just like her.

"And I had planned the perfect reveal! After you had proved yourself to the queen, she would say something about you being the only Human in Sayama." He finally stopped and turned to her. "Then! I would say, 'Or is she?' then dramatically remove my helmet!"

Stella's eyes followed him unblinkingly. Her mind was racing with a repeated: "What the fuck." Then she finally snapped back to reality when she finally processed his words. "Wait, wait, wait! What was that about proving myself?"

The Knight's positive, heroic demeanor was no more. He was genuinely hurt by the early reveal. "Yeah, there would be these tasks we would put you through to test your morality. Completing those would take you to the queen at the end, and she would judge you. But now..."

He plopped on the bed, looking like a depressive drunkard. The girl felt terrible for ruining his theatrics. She hadn't imagined the work he put into it.

She sighed. "I'm so sorry, dude." She clapped, trying to cheer him up. "We can still make the tests! Nobody would know!"

"No, that would be going against their principle! I can't do that! What role model would I be?!"

He was still going on about his heroism and virtue, huh? The only other Human in this forest was a freaking weirdo. How lucky she was!

After a minute of sulking, the hero shuffled back to sitting. "How did you find out?"

She could pretend it was all because of her immaculate detective skills or some naturally high IQ. However, she wasn't in the mood for that anymore. It would be better if she was direct.

"I suppose it all started with that shield incident. While Grýla bombarded us, you asked for MY help. Even though Lien knows more about Saniya than me."

He gently tapped his knuckle into his helmet. "Of course..."

"I only noticed that little hole after we were safe from that hag. When Kaku told me about their book about Saniya, I knew it would enlighten me about that event."

"You read Kaku's book?!" It was good seeing him cheering up. "Amazing, isn't it?!"

Stella blushed and scratched the back of her head. "Well... I needed someone else to read it for me."

He tilted his head. "But the book was in English. Wait..." He leaned closer. "Stella, you don't know how to read?"

Oh boy, that was so embarrassing. "I-I mean, that's not important."

"Stella, this is absolutely important!" He insisted. "How old are you, anyway?"

"Twelve. But we can worry about that later!" She tried to dismiss this tangent as much as she could. "When we read through Saniya auras, nothing about the golden color was mentioned. There wasn't a single Monoke species with such an energy. But I did when I drank that weird stuff, just like you!"

The girl poked her right temple. "Now that got me thinking, what if you weren't a Monoke in the first place?!" She held her palms at him. "Of course, I didn't share my suspicions with anyone, I assure you."

After a few seconds of absorbing this information, the guard praised her. "That was some fine detective work, Stella. I'm impressed." He straightened his posture. "Indeed, I couldn't ask Lien to strengthen the shield. Human and Monoke Saniya don't mix well. The shield could have dissolved immediately or worse."

Nice. Another mystery was solved. Now, the only thing left was...

The hero grasped his helmet with two hands. "Time for the grand reveal!" He tried to conjure his usual enthusiasm, emphasis on "tried."

Finally, after all that suspense, Stella would see the man behind the helmet and tacky poses, and...

......

He was white. Damn it!

He had ruffled brown hair, a thin beard forming on his face, noticeable bags under his eyes, and a small, faint scar on his left cheek. Overall, the girl found him handsome, even though he looked like he hadn't slept for days.

Her standards for male beauty were less about personal opinion and more about what the women she met and movies show as good-looking men. She never truly got what the fuss was about. Boys never struck her fancy, although she shrugged it off as being a late bloomer or something similar.

That was until she met Sofia. They were only friends, but Stella's feelings about her grew stronger by the day. That was when she truly understood what her tastes were about.

Unfortunately, she was too late to act upon them. And now, she was feeling something similar with Lien...

That was so fucked.

"Focus, Stella!" She rubbed her temples.

"Is something wrong?" Asra asked.

"Yeah, it's just..." She sighed. "It's a lot to take in, you know?"

The girl then could stare at her savior's true face at last. "Hey, Asra."

He was now acting surprisingly shy, more akin to the black Wolf. "Hi..." He opened his arms, tapping into a shred of his knightly voice. "You are not the only Human in Sayama. Ta-dah..."

If Stella knew it would get this uncomfortable, she wouldn't have bothered him in the first place. It was too late for regrets, though!

"Uh... Nice to meet you?" Stella was tempted to run away and pretend this conversation never happened.

"Nice to meet you too, Stella. I'm sorry for not telling you earlier. I just wanted to make your stay here fun." At that point, he gave up on the goofy voice.

She shook her hand dismissively. "It's alright, dude." Then, she started with the actual questions. "But now that we're past that bullshit, please answer my questions for real."

Asra nodded.

"Okay, first. Why did you come to Sayama?"

He rubbed his hand on his neck, seemingly uncomfortable with the question. "I wanted to do something meaningful with my life."

Stella blinked twice. "Really? How?" That sounded awfully similar to her own motives.

He took off his gloves. "The truth is, I knew about the Monoke before venturing through these woods. I wanted to see how they lived and how I could assist them."

Stella was baffled. "How the hell did you know about them before going in? I am almost 100% sure these guys existing is not common knowledge!"

He clasped his hands together, then pointed them at her. "Another astute observation. Only a select group of Humans kept that knowledge after centuries since the Monoke's imprisonment."

Stella's mind flared with inquisitiveness. "Is this, like, a government conspiracy?! Is the royalty involved?!"

The girl's enthusiasm easily contaminated Asra. "Yes! Exactly! The king, the queen, the nobles, and some families that remained loyal to the crown formed a secret organization called 'The Knights of Namadi'!"

"Aw, man! That's so cool! So you're a member, too?!" She felt like a child again. Technically, she still was. It was hard to remember that, sometimes.

He clarified. "I was. A scientist, even though I went through combat and Saniya training. How do you think I got this powerful?"

Of course, that led to another inquiry. "Why did you leave?"

The man's tone softened. "I spent my whole life being taught that the Monoke were perversions of a false god, a pale imitation of Namadi's gift."

"Wait, Namadi actually exists?" Stella was never religious, but she had heard a few sermons.

He shrugged. "I have no idea. But every member of the organization does worship the Goddess of Light. They only seek to enforce her will, which includes guarding Sayama's border and preparing for a potential Monoke uprising."

So those guys with weird armor barring anyone from approaching the forest must be them. Nobody she asked seemed to have a concrete answer to what they were, only theories. The only thing known was that they were government agents, nothing else.

"Do you think that can happen?" Stella asked, a bit concerned.

The hero closed his eyes and shook his head. "Impossible. The Monoke are powerful but vastly unprepared against the Knights' power and weapons. No magic they could muster would ever withstand a nuclear bomb, on the worst case scenario."

The girl felt somewhat relieved. She didn't care much about the city but preferred that Humanity wouldn't go extinct.

The man continued. "After questioning their beliefs, I went to the forest on an unofficial reconnaissance mission."

Stella interjected. "So, you went rogue."

"Pretty much! After silently watching the Monoke go about their lives for the first time, I saw the truth. They are sentient beings just like us. Sure, some can be pricks, but that's how it goes!"

The girl comprehended after going through so much in the last few days. She saw the good and the bad in these creatures, not much different from their society.

They had lives, hopes, dreams, and a culture. Of course, these Knights' were full of crap! The Royal Family was full of crap! Though she was well aware of the latter for a long time.

But like a hydra, with each answer, two other questions appeared. "So, is that why you made yourself a superhero? How did you convince the queen of that?"

Asra smiled. "Well, after spending about two years with her, I've gained a bit of her trust." He chuckled. "I made this super flashy presentation of my hero persona, which I created intending to strengthen the Monoke's trust towards Humans."

Stella scrunched her face in confusion. "But your identity is a secret, right?"

The man snapped his fingers. "Correct! The plan is to remain in action for at least a decade, then when the people of Sayama get comfortable with me around, I reveal myself to the public!"

Stella nodded, acknowledging all of her fellow Human's explanation. "So, does that mean I should get myself a disguise?"

"Oh, no! You don't need to do that if you don't want to!" He assured her. "Actually, I think your surprise appearance is the perfect thing to help with our goal! You already made friends with Lien, and the Lycan Squad seems comfortable with your presence."

Well, that wasn't the whole truth. The girl always felt Capt. Tash's gaze was constantly on her, ready to pounce at any wrong movement. At least, that was her impression.

But then the Knight's words made Stella remember something else. "Right. It's like what you told me yesterday. Creating a good image and whatnot."

"Exactly! Especially since... Well..."

That hesitation... What was it now?

"You can't leave Sayama. And it's not the Monoke who will make sure of that." He averted his gaze. "I'm sorry."

Stella was taken by surprise, of course. That meant she was some enemy of the state. If she was honest, it was a thrilling thought, even.

But more importantly...

"You want to know something funny? I don't want to go back."

His gaze focused back on her, and his jaw dropped. "What?"

The girl's eyes shifted to her calloused feet. "I only came here as a last attempt to be known. If I could cross the infamous Sayama Forest, people would notice me, and maybe..."

Asra shifted closer to her. "Maybe what?"

A huge lump formed in her throat. However, she fought through it for a few seconds, finally muttering. "Maybe I would find a family..."

Opening up was always hard for Stella. Even so, she couldn't imagine how only these revealing this much would affect her. Her vision blurred with the upcoming tears.

"I-I... I hadn't thought I would even survive this place, honestly. But..." She wept. "I don't know what else I could do. Nothing else worked! I tried being a good kid! B-But..."

She tried to cover her eyes so Asra couldn't see her tears. They seeped through her fingers, anyway. Her body tensed when his hand touched her shoulder. "Stella, it's-"

By instinct, she rejected his touch and got up. She stared at his eyes, observing his concern growing by the second.

Her heart pounded. She hated this. She hated the situation she put herself in. She loathed herself for making Asra reveal his identity only to end like this. What the hell was her problem?! It was no mystery why no one wanted her.

"Stella, it's okay. I'm he-"

"NIGHT!" She darted at the exit, then busted the door open! She plugged her ears with her hands so she could not hear his voice before locking herself in her room.

Lien was buried deep in her sleep. If Stella was silent, she would have the time and space to curl herself into a ball and keep to her own thoughts, which were exclusively about how a colossal fuck-up she was. She just met another Human, and that was the first impression she made?!

What a fucking joke. The girl silently sobbed like a weak child in hopes that someone would pity and comfort her. But the truth was, this wasn't in the cards for her.

"Stop crying, you pathetic bitch! Get yourself together!"

Slowly, she convinced her feet to stand up and drag her to bed. The creaking sound of the wooden floor was a welcome distraction, not as much as the softness of the sheets greeting her face.

She would definitely apologize to Asra later. But for now, she wanted some rest.

Her eyelids got heavier as her muscles relaxed. Tomorrow wouldn't suck as bad, right?