Jumping up from his bed, Roland felt fully healed and in top form. Something to be expected after he spend an entire day doing nothing but studying and relaxing.

Getting her to a doctor is the most important thing, of course that is only possible if she shows symptoms already. Hopefully she is still at home, the faster we find her the better.

Roland put the time of the accident at around one or two in the afternoon. Which should be quite accurate, as he had learned everything he could about measuring time according to the sun after realizing the one in his visions was accurate.

Already feeling a hundred times more confident than last time, he still kept a more serious disposition than normally. If today ended successfully he might tone it down.

“Thomas,” Roland called out to his friend while getting dressed. For once rousing the chaotic boy from slumber in a normal way. “Wake up.”

Sleepily mumbling something unintelligible, Thomas’s eyes fluttered half open. He looked way more tired than usual.

He was already asleep by the time I came back. What where those two up to yesterday?

“Get dressed and come to the front gate,” Roland told his drowsy friend before the latter could say anything back. “It is important to be fast, so we will skip breakfast.” Taking a small piece of paper and a worn-down pen he started heading outside.

Exiting their room, Roland felt an aura of despair clawing at his back, where the now very much awake Thomas was having a breakdown after hearing his leader’s blasphemous words.

The hallway and courtyard appeared mostly desolate. Something to be expected at such an early hour. As was the large figure standing next to the gate, reading a tiny booklet.

For Arthur years of getting his marching orders at the same time each day had created a habit of getting up frighteningly early. Luckily the person too undisciplined to create such a habit slept right next to their commander. Something which in previous years had not been the case, leading to quite a lot of headaches. Mostly due to Thomas’ whining over being excluded because no one came to wake him up.

“Morning, Boss,” Arthur greeted his leader, choosing not to ask how his wounds were after seeing Roland’s grave face.

“Go over to old Taylor and tell him to keep a bed free no matter what,” skipping any greeting Roland got right down to business. “If you see any of Stephan’s brats tell them to send him to you. Once he gets there you both should follow the directions on here.”

Handing the paper he had filled with directions to the scene of the incident to his companion, Roland continued, “If you cannot get a hold of Stephan come back on your own instead. But absolutely make sure Taylor keeps a bed free, even if you have to get a big rough. Understood?”

“Yes, Sir,” Arthur saluted, completely resolute, before grabbing the paper and instantly running off. He had taken his leader’s tone extremely seriously.

Roland’s brows creased as he briefly wondered whether creating such a scene for what should be an easy operation was the way to go. But when images of a destroyed railing flitted through his mind the somber expression came back swiftly. Although it would be easy to blame Ayer or the unknown Knight, fact remained he had failed to uphold his duty. Everything else was simply an excuse.

Thrown out of his brief reverie by approaching footsteps, and their accompanying heavy breathing, he turned towards the approaching Thomas.

When the main building entered his sight, a violent shock suddenly went through Roland’s entire being. The plaque that had greeted him almost every morning of his life suddenly felt reproachful. The silver stars and moon above it seemed saddened by the sight before them, and their sadness pierced deep.

A winded and haphazardly dressed Thomas arrived next to his leader, looking extremely happy for not having been left behind.

“I’m here, Boss,” Thomas declared triumphantly, taking deep breaths as he held his side with one hand and adjusted his clothing using the other. “Ready for everything, even horrible starvation!” The determination in his eyes was truly admirable

“Good for you,” Roland replied, still slightly out of it. “Looks like we forgot the daily prayer.”

Almost in a trance he walked towards the circle in front of the main building, a momentarily confused Thomas quickly waddling after him.

Hand on his heart, raised into an arc above the head ending at his side, before taking a bow. The normally familiar movements felt strange to Roland. He had done them thousands of times in the past, but for some reason his limbs felt rigid today, resulting in a performance that would make people think it was his first time performing this prayer.

“You still tired, Roland?” wondered the luckily only other person around, slightly concerned while performing the same movements, displaying the grace of a particularly flexible cow. Which still ended up being miles better than whatever weird animal Roland had channeled.

“Exalted Princess, with the Moon as our witness we honor your sacrifice.”

“Radiant Moon, may the Princesses’ wish eternally brighten your night sky.”

Two voiced rang through the empty courtyard. One still slightly sleepy but nonetheless jovial. The other started parched, like its owner hadn't drunk any water for days, before it slowly turned back to normal, until finally it was filled with real strength during the last words.

Raising his head, Thomas got surprised when Roland still remained in a bow. Considerations about lowering his head again to pretend he never raised it in the first place were interrupted by Roland finally rising, after what could very well be the longest bow of his life so far.

“What are you waiting for, Tommy?” Roland asked as he turned towards his stumped friend, smiling brightly. “We don’t have the whole day. So, whoever gets there last has to skip lunch!”

Driving his joke a little harder, he instantly started sprinting towards the gate, getting an expected reaction out of his friend.

“Wait!” Thomas shouted in fear, eyes wide at the prospect of missing breakfast AND lunch, before running after Roland. “That’s not fair. And where are we even going?”

Roland meanwhile felt his feet bound lightly across the ground, worries falling away from him with each step. He felt like had spent the last few days standing in the middle of a seesaw, trying to keep his balance as two absolutely enormous kids went to town on it, giving him some serious whiplash.

Just now their parents suddenly called them away, leaving him on his own again. He still needed to balance himself, but compared to the earlier storm he might as well have been walking on solid ground now.

Let’s save the old lady and get what we deserve from those officers at the public training, or at least something close to it. Sounds like a good day in my book. And food for Tommy would probably be a good idea.

Looking at the huffing boy behind him barely keeping up, Roland couldn’t help but grin. Thinking about how much further he should run until slowing to a more appropriate tempo, they left the main gate, heading straight towards today’s destination.

Should be about twenty minutes, give or take a couple to get there. You better not be a morning owl, Lady!

Roland knew something strange had happened, and common sense would have him ask some serious question. Preferably to the nearest available priestess.

But the relief which flooded throughout his entire being prevented him from getting to the bottom of things. He was too afraid it would turn into a mirage, fading away once he closed in on it. Afraid the steel gauntlet of duty would once again take hold of his soul.

For now, he remained content with considering this an unexpected blessing from above. After all, the Lunar Church, despite being named after the Moon, worshiped the Princess above all else. The moon was their patron and the source of most of their magic, she however was the deity they prayed to.

The Princess that gave her life for the continent. Born a human just like him. Roland had been taught to thank her from the moment he could speak, and lived by her grace in this place, that despite being dreary he still called his home.

If I can’t even trust in the Princess, I might as well be better off dead.

*

The five apartment buildings in front of them were slowly coming to life, inhabitants leaving for work or heading towards the market. Those living here couldn’t afford to sleep in, dreaded rent always at the back of their minds. One day of work missed could easily turn into a week of skipped dinners. If they ate dinner at all. Going to sleep on an empty stomach was textbook frugality after all.

Roland stood on the other side of the street joined by his winded friend, both of them observing the entrance to a certain unfortunate lady’s building.

Thomas assumed a lowered position to observe from a different angle than his leader. He was under no circumstances lying down on the dirty sidewalk to rest.

I really overdid it.

Roland lamented mentally, regretting his rash commands from earlier and at the same time being relieved that he had calmed down now.

We’ll look like the most suspicious bunch ever once Arthur and Stephan join in. What the hell was I thinking. At least sending him to Taylor was a good move, though I hope he doesn’t actually threaten him. Not many halfway decent doctors left over there.

Ironically the increased security and public order enforced after the City Lord’s arrival made the medical situation in Soren’s backstreets worse. Medical practitioners, previously forced to work for chump change due to unfair debts or simple extortion, were now able to turn over a new leaf and establish themselves in official positions.

The new hospital on its own single-handedly ensnared more than half of them using its fair remuneration and standardized work hours. People nowadays simple didn’t know how to appreciate a fatigued doctor, working in a dimly lit cellar surrounded by rats the size of dogs.

Idle thoughts about possible health risks and enormous rodents set aside, Roland considered their next move.

Rule three: Always aim for the easiest solution.

Rule nine: Don’t single out anyone without good justification.

If she comes out and shows obvious signs of illness the concerned passerby excuse will be good enough. We were just waiting for our friends to show up when an obviously ill woman walked past. Perfectly acceptable.

Sighing at his optimistic train of thought, Roland had no choice but to consider the more likely scenario of them having to convince a mostly healthy woman to follow them into a shady backstreet clinic. Luckily, they had a bit of a reputation to help them out.

A bunch of helpful children reminding people to keep an eye on their health should work. Hopefully Stephan gets here, he’s going to absolutely hate this.

Looking forward to getting his wily companion involved for the betterment of public health, and his personal amusement, Roland gave one more look at the apartment’s window, still seeing no movement in it.

Their other companions would need some more time to get here, as the larger part of Soren’s commercial district separated the Backstreets and this residential area.

“What were you and Arthur up to yesterday?” Roland asked Thomas once the latter had gathered some strength. The chubby boy was however still being overly familiar with the ground. “Not often I see you knocked out before me.”

The quickly changing expressions of glee and horror visible on his friend’s face served to further intrigue Roland. I expected Arthur to run him a little ragged after the Ayer incident. Seeing strong people always puts him in a training focused mood. More so than usual.

“We patrolled,” Thomas finally revealed after gathering the few thoughts he could muster. “And food flew in my mouth.”

It does have a tendency to do that.

“Sounds mighty convenient,” Roland commented. “How’d it happen?”

Groaning like a particularly small bear currently awakening from hibernation, Thomas finally stood up.

“We were patrolling real quick, running here and there and here again,” the descriptive boy told his harrowing tale. “Taxing stuff like that, you know, so it was nice when Claire found us and we stopped to talk for a bit.”

That’s surprising. Claire was with them yesterday, but didn’t try to talk to me? Maybe she is embarrassed? Though that doesn’t sound like her. I actually dreaded a way too heartfelt apology coming my way.

“She was really sorry about something, not exactly sure what,” Thomas continued, once again oblivious when it came to serious matters. “Arthur replied calmly at first, saying ‘It’s fine’ and stuff like that, but when she asked if she could join us on our patrol he declined. So Claire left and we started torturing our legs again. And a while later she suddenly came back, carrying some tasty looking waffles with strawberries and cream.”

Eyes glittering like stars, Thomas’ mouth hung open, no doubt recalling the exquisite treats in their fullest.

I can see where this is going. Trying to bribe Arthur the same way as Mister sweet tooth over here most definitely annoyed him to no end. Never a good idea to make him feel like a child.

The image of Claire trying to hand the gigantic boy a peace offering in the form of baked goods was simply too good. Roland regretted not being there in person. Amused expression on his face he motioned for the enraptured Thomas to continue.

“Arthur for some weird reason got angry at her and just dragged me away. Total meanie,” Thomas tearfully recalled. “But Claire kept running after us talking about a bunch of things that were not waffles with strawberries and cream.”

“What did she talk about?” Roland questioned, hoping Claire and Arthur did not argue too hard. He’d prefer at least a modicum of harmony in his group.

“Things that were not waffles with strawberries and cream,” Thomas repeated himself, mighty confused and wondering why he put such an effort into his tales if this was how things ended up. “You should listen better, Boss.”

The urge to slap his involuntarily cheeky friend was turned into action as Roland gave Thomas a friendly pat on the head. Using his fist.

“Ow!” Thomas cried out, dramatically recoiling from his savage companion. “Domestic violence! I’m being abused, help!”

He was however neither fair nor a maiden, so nobody gave a rat’s ass.

“Do I look like Stephan, you little brat? Going to need better acting than that if you want to get me flustered,” Roland criticized his unconvincingly performing friend. “Get on with your story. What happened between Arthur and Claire?”

Instantly calming back down, Thomas rummaged through the darkest recesses of his brain, trying to find both the information his boss wanted, as well as a way to pay him back for the head bonk. Had he known Roland was interested in such boring things he would have stored them somewhere less remote.

“Something about ‘not going to happen again in the future’. And Arthur was all like 'worthless promises' and stuff,” Thomas wracked his brain harshly to deliver this detailed retelling. A sharp glint which suddenly appeared in his eyes was quickly hidden. “That annoyed Claire for some reason. She didn’t get as angry as the blonde lady last time, though still pretty angry.”

“Blonde lady?” Roland inquired, fully knowing it would derail the conversation, but feeling like he missed something of importance. “You mean Tanya?”

“Yeah, the one with the floating stick,” Thomas nodded his head happily, mischievous glint flashing in his eyes. “She really laid into Arthur. I didn’t really hear what she said because the world was spinning so much.”

Should have probably asked them what happened after I left. I was so focused on myself yesterday, didn’t even consider it. And on the day of I wasn’t really in working order. Well, better late than never. And not like the situation is overly important. Arthur probably said something mean to Claire after I got ‘escorted’ away.

Roland felt that the small future priestess, although sharp tongued and exceedingly not fond of them, was nonetheless a decent person. The alteration between her Arthur would not get out of hand, unlike if it were another noble in her stead.

Best case she starts complaining about him instead of me from now on.

“It’s a sword not a stick,” Roland corrected his friend, secretly somewhat happy Arthur ended up getting angry on his behalf. No matter that the outcome had been a little girl shouting at him. “And it belongs to Claire not her.”

“It can’t be a sword if it isn’t made out of metal. Even kids know that,” Thomas disagreed with furrowed brows, for some reason looking really confrontational. Any earlier fatigue seemed to be gone, or at least hidden. Possibly behind his respectable belly. “And how do you know it belongs to Claire?”

“The sword is always next to her,” Roland remarked, exasperated by his friend’s theatrical mood. “Of course it belongs to her.”

“Ever heard of coincidences? It could just be floating there by chance,” Thomas retorted, if you could call it that. “You shouldn’t make baseless assumptions just because you don’t know better.”

I see what your game is. Two people can play that.

“And why do you think it belongs to Tanya?” Roland asked, thinking Thomas had also seen the weird movements Claire’s sword made after the bishop’s daughter arrived.

“It looked really happy next to the blonde girl. Way happier than floating sticks normally do,” Thomas argued confidently. “Fairly obvious that it actually belongs to her and she simply lend it to Claire.”

“Sounds like a textbook baseless assumption to me, Tommy. I thought one shouldn’t make those,” Roland happily commented, seemingly having bested his companion.

“Apples and Oranges,” Thomas declared, voice seeped in disdain. And for some reason the slightest hint of anticipation. “I didn’t know you were such a stickler, Boss.”

A tremor ran through Roland, eyes twitching while he seriously considered just how much of a beating he could excuse as being playful.

“You’ve been pretty cheeky these last few days.” Roland observed resignedly, remembering yesterday’s lunch.

“Well, everyone is always arguing or doing something without telling me,” Thomas replied instantly, trembling in literal excitement as his eyes took on a crazed look. “Seems only fair that I get a bit cranky.”

Roland was taken aback, not used to Thomas having serious complaints. Eyes narrowing, he regarded his friend with suspicion. Seeing Thomas take a deep breath, he finally realized what was happening and quickly tried to stop him. Alas, this pitiful leader had noticed his subordinate’s machinations too late. The reckoning had already started.

Running into the middle of the street, Thomas performed a graceless flourish and turned towards his still in the unknown audience. Victory almost assured.

“I know it’s part of growing up. We stop being little kids and suddenly have responsibilities and things like that,” voice full of wisdom way beyond his years, Thomas laid open his heart. “I can't help and remember our past selves, who so innocently played around in the mud. No worry on their minds expect what’s for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack-time!”

As Thomas’ voice echoed throughout the surrounding street, many people stopped in their tracks to listen to his gospel. Or watch his arms swish through the air in what appeared to be a highly advanced technique to make sound travel further. The possibilities appeared endless.

“And for their sake I need to continue being a bit of a brat myself. To keep their memory alive! Do you understand, Boss?” addressing Roland, but dramatically looking towards the sky instead, he finished his revelation. “It’s not that I find it hilarious to tease you guys. I do this for deeply philosophical reasons. Maybe even metaphysical ones. Gotta look up what that word means first to be sure.”

Confident in his victory Thomas triumphantly turned back towards his leader. Embarrassment held no sway over him, but it was the strongest weapon against his friends at his disposal. And Roland effortlessly swatting away an attack which would have reddened Stephan, to at the very least mild chili pepper levels, had ignited his competitive spirit.

However, one single look at his supposedly defeated leader made Thomas freeze up on the spot, dumbfounded look on his face.

Roland sported a cheeky grin that should have belonged to Thomas, using both hands to cover his ears. He had employed the secret technique known as ‘what I can’t hear can’t embarrass me’ to completely block Thomas’ speech. And as the auditory part made up at least two thirds of the embarrassment, a surefire kill attack had turned into a mere flesh wound.

Luckily, I don’t need my ears to keep watch. Wouldn't do for me to get bested by twice in a row by little Tommy. And a Victory is a victory, no matter how extremely unimpressive looking mine was.

All of Thomas’ strength left him as he collapsed weakly onto the ground. Any of his previous enthusiasm and joy were gone, only an empty husk of a boy remaining. Instead of being happy with his achievements he had foolishly attempted to reach for the sun.

Such an act of arrogance from a mere mortal ultimately led to him being burned to ashes for his transgression.

“Up with you,” Roland said, smiling lightly after having uncovered his ears. He stepped towards the defeated enemy, and in an act of unfathomable mercy extended his hand. To think someone could show such compassion towards a foe he had just bitterly fought against. “You’re blocking traffic.”

Maybe not a future saint in the making after all.

Roland dragged his friend back towards a place where he could be a more personal nuisance, instead of a public one, deftly ignoring the disturbing mutterings about having ‘seen the other side’ coming out of the traumatized Thomas.

Making such a big scene should have made the two of them very conspicuous, but in a way seeing two kids play around randomly was as normal as it got. While it might be unwelcome in the industrial area or near workshops, nobody would bother about children playing in the street here.

Unless they though the kids were Rats plotting to steal something. A highly unlikely possibility if one factored in Roland’s friendly smile, or Thomas’ impressive gut.

“What ended up happening?” Roland wondered, returning to the actual conversation which had been long lost in the wake of sticks, swords and ownership disputes. Legal proceedings truly got tedious at times, no matter how much of a spectacle people tried to make out of them.

“Claire told me to come patrol with her instead, because Arthur was being unreasonable,” the sulking Thomas replied, once again on the ground. This time however due a broken heart instead of fatigued legs.

“And?” Roland probed further, amusing premonition about what went down forming in his mind.

“Of course I joined Claire,” Thomas replied like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “She had waffles after all. You know those with strawberries and cream I mentioned earlier. And afterwards she got other tasty stuff for me.”

Roland couldn’t help but mourn for the years of friendship which had crumbled when pit against the temptation of sweet baked goods.

And here I thought Thomas was the most loyal of us all. Though I guess it is less him running of with any person offering him food, and more him seeing Claire as another friend to trust. If he has to pick between a friend with sweets and one without, there ain't much competition.

“I assume this is what you meant about the food flying into your mouth?” Roland inquired, wondering how Arthur had taken their friends savage betrayal. Better ask him later to confirm some things. I feel like I am picking up a lot of unreliable information from little Tommy.

“The waffles with strawberries and cream, fried dough sticks, one gigantic pretzel...” Thomas suddenly started listlessly listing a bunch of snacks, being able to recall any type of food at command.

He continued recounting yesterday's culinary escapades, slowly getting more and more lively, before ultimately jumping to his feet in an impressively wobbly motion, recent defeat completely forgotten. Certainly, a unique way to get one's motivation back.

Fully restored to peak form, Thomas excitedly extolled his newest talent, “Later on Claire made up a shockingly great game. She threw these little chocolate balls in the air and I had to catch them with my mouth. I thought it would be really hard, but they somehow always ended up right where I wanted them. That’s definitely what people mean when they talk about one in a century talent!”

Looks like Claire and Tommy could make a career for themselves at the circus, if being the City Lord’s daughter somehow isn’t appealing enough for her.

Imagining the heartwarming tale of a lost noble lady, spreading joy and laughter throughout the world with her pet monkey, many things fell in place for Roland.

I understand. It’s not that Thomas is cranky because he is tired. He simply ended up in a sugar coma yesterday, and now it has worn off. There probably aren’t a lot of people who can say they ever experienced a sugar hangover, good going buddy.

Had Roland uttered his current thoughts out aloud, the collective conscience of overweight nobles everywhere might have laughed in his face. Spit, flying food crumbs, and all that goodness included. Thomas may be a trailblazer in many things, but when it came to gorging oneself there were many people vastly more experienced. For now.

As the newly energized boy busied himself by performing a physical reenactment of how he heroically caught a literal barrage of chocolate coming his way, Roland finally saw movement. He had been keeping an eye on their target’s building all this time, and just now spotted a silhouette walking past one of the windows.

The vegetables she was preparing seemed fresh. Which makes sense, seeing it takes less than five minutes to find some good ones around here. So at least for lunch she must have gone to a market or greengrocer. The question is what she did before that. If she worked somewhere during the morning hours it will be hard to save her while still making it in time for the public training.

Roland idly continued his observation, accompanied by Thomas’ helpful performance, who gave him an easy thing to pretend to look at. Their target however showed no signs of leaving her apartment whatsoever.

Having worked off his excitement, Thomas returned to his personal favorite spot on the ground, glancing at Roland from time to time.

“Hey, Boss,” Thomas spoke after some time, voice a lot more reserved than normally. “Theoretically, if Claire wanted to make up for what happened recently, what should she do? Just asking so I can compare it to what she ends up doing, you know.” The way he quickly averted his eyes upon Roland’s interested look couldn’t be more obvious.

I hope this isn’t teaching Claire anything weird. Getting children to like you using sweets is questionable at the best of times. Though she should be fine. I think.

As for Claire making it up to him, Roland scoffed at the very idea. Having someone with little to no fault of their own be apologetic about a situation was uncomfortable beyond belief.

“Best thing she could do is not talk about it, though I feel like she won’t be satisfied by that,” Roland remarked wryly. “Tell her to give me the quickest apology she can think off. And afterwards, focusing on the future would be in everyone’s best interest.”

“Why would I tell her that?” Thomas questioned in mock surprise, miffed at his leader’s once again lacking listening comprehension. “Only way Claire would ever hear what you just told me is if I talk to myself loudly and she coincidentally happens to be in earshot. Seems highly unlikely in my humble opinion.”

Not about to jump into another rabbit hole Roland left it at that, hoping Thomas wouldn’t mess around too much.

If he tells her I said she should never talk to me again, and Claire gets even more earnest as a result, I might seriously consider putting him on a diet. Probably for the best considering how many snacks he has been eating recently. I could get Stephan to organize some healthy stuff.

Further thoughts about Thomas’ future culinary restriction remained shelved as more immediate things required Roland’s attention. It wasn’t however the target but instead their two companions, who had finally made their way over.

Stretching himself after a long time spend standing idly, Roland looked forward to what came next. The tragic fainting woman had stayed in her home so far. And due to that sealed the fate of his three companions and everyone else remaining behind in four of these five apartment buildings.

Smiling brightly, Roland waved towards his approaching friends, drawing a surprised expression out of Arthur, who had remained deadly serious since his leader’s stern early morning commands. As well as a look of relief from Stephan, who looked like he just got out of bed, and probably expected the worst after being dragged here.

Wonder how long your relief will last. Trying to keep his grin from showing, Roland thought about the most interesting way to debrief his companions for their next mission. It was about time to stop brooding over last times unfortunate failure and give the world a taste of real Crescent Moon Helper ingenuity. Confused citizens and embarrassment basically guaranteed.