The first half of the trip was marked by congested roads and near-crashes with messengers on speeding horses, but nearly three hours in, things had calmed down significantly. The roads had multiplied and widened once they'd left the outskirts of the city, and apart from a rushing carriage that had kicked dust in the air and nearly suffocated Noel, there had been no incidents ever since they'd entered the forest.

Marine was sleeping, her strange hat pulled down to cover her face from the sun. Flare and Rushia had had sporadic chats, usually initiated by the half-elf, but they too had been quiet for a while. Apart from chirping birds and the rhythmic clopping of the horse, their surroundings were silent, and Noel couldn't suppress a yawn from coming out. She wished to sit next to Flare and rest on her shoulder, but outside of the passed-out Marine she was the only one that knew how to steer a horse, and stopping to rest was an option she'd rather not take. The faster they made it to the next village, the better.

Lulled by the sounds of nature, Noel was near asleep when she heard a yell. It came from somewhere deeper within the forest, but the path took a sharp curve not long ahead, and the tall vegetation prevented her from seeing anything.

"Did you hear that?" she turned back and asked.

Flare nodded. "It sounded like a girl. You don't think it could be..:"

"Bandits?" Noel finished her sentence. "I'm not sure. Maybe someone just hurt themselves. Wake Marine up, we might have to help."

Or fight. Noel thought. She gently slapped the horse on its side, prompting it to launch into a quick trot. She wasn't partial to the prospect of fighting without any armor against a likely large group of miscreants. With only four of them, three of which had no weapons, they'd be at a disadvantage even with Flare's magic.

My knights…

It was in this type of situation that the professionalism and cool-headedness of the Shirogane Knights shined. She was no pushover, but there was no denying their presence would have made her feel safer.

As they made the turn, Noel's fears were concretized. A couple of dozen meters from them on the beaten forest road was a group of several burly men, most armed with axes, bats, or swords, and a few who were handling crossbows. They circled around a fallen carriage, rummaging through its insides. One of them threw a wooden box on the ground, breaking it and howling in delight when it was revealed to have contained coins. There was no sign of the previous owners of the vehicle.

Hopefully whoever was in there escaped. Noel thought. Bandits seldom took people's lives unless they resisted.

She didn't need to ponder on what to do for long. Deserter or not, she was still a knight. And her pride as one wouldn't let her ignore this scene. Even if they weren't able to return the goods to their original owners, they could at least prevent the bandits from taking them away, and hopefully stop them from committing any more robberies. She took a look back. Everyone seemed to understand the situation. Marine had opened her eyes and was staring at the group ahead, and although Rushia looked scared, Noel was fairly certain she didn't need to worry about her. Kintsuba, Flare's fairy familiar, was floating next to her, a sign she would be ready to deploy magic when needed. Noel took a deep breath and slowly approached the looters.

The first one to notice them was a lanky bald man. His clothes were new and clean, and he was one of the few wielding a steel sword. However, what first caught Noel's attention were actually his eyes. One could tell a lot from a man just by looking at his eyes, and these were cold and calculating, regarding the group not with hostility but with interest. A chill ran down her spine. This was very obviously the leader of the gang, and the manner in which he carried himself showed that position wasn't just for show.

"Well hello there." The man said in an excessively loud voice, attracting the attention of the rest of his comrades.

"I see you've gotten lucky today." Noel replied dispassionately.

"You could say so, yes." The man smirked. "We've gotten quite a haul out of this carriage. Though its occupants fled."

The bandit took a few steps to the side and glanced at the girls behind Noel. "In fact, they ran away so fast it was almost too easy. My men came ready for a fight and now they have only containers to take their anger out on." He shrugged his shoulders in an exaggerated gesture.

"Is that so?" Noel could feel her mace pressing against her skin from inside its sheath.

"Your arrival was in perfect timing… Or so I would say if I was a fool." He spat on the ground. "You're a competent warrior, the elf behind you has some sort of creature I'd rather not mess with, and the redhead already has her hand on a gun."

Marine has a gun?! She hoped her surprise hadn't shown on her face.

"You don't look rich, and although I can almost feel the lust from these fools behind me, I'm not the type to forcefully take women, especially if it would cost some of my men's lives." The man flashed a set of yellow teeth at her.

"How noble of you." Noel replied in a sarcastic tone. Still, no matter how much of a low-life the bandit was, his observation skills proved he wasn't someone she could belittle.

"We'll pretend we didn't see you, and you will do the same."

Noel jumped out of her horse and dusted herself off, ignoring the leers of the bandits.

"Unfortunately, though I look like this now, I am a knight, and can't simply let this go. I'll have you captured and return those goods to their owners."

"Oh? I see. A shame, really."

"Flare, watch your right!" Noel commanded.

An arrow flew through the air, only to meet a sudden gust of wind that veered it wildly off course. Flare high-fived the panda fairy.

"I wish I had overestimated you, but you truly seem to be skilled." The man had an annoyed look on his face.

"I wouldn't call it skilled. Anyone with experience could tell your archers moved into position as soon as we started talking." Noel unsheathed her mace and slowly approached the man.

"Flank the ones in the back, they only have ranged weapons!" The bandit leader shouted. "I'll take the woman knight."

Metal collided with metal as the man closed the distance between them in an instant. Noel focused on parrying his blows. He was fast, fast enough to take her by surprise, but his technique was amateurish. It was clear he had had no formal instruction. A stronger blow took him off-balance, and he quickly jumped back to avoid being hit.

Noel took advantage of this short reprise to assess her surroundings. Flare and Marine were keeping the remaining bandits at bay, and two had already been knocked out. A dark bolt flew through the air and hit a third, who fell to the ground instantly.

"Careful! The green-haired girl is also a spellcaster!" another one cried out.

She suppressed a smile. They had no idea.

"Tch…You knights and your meddling habits. All you had to do was run away once you saw us."

Noel didn't deign to answer him, instead going on the offensive. The man might have been quick, but Noel's powerful hits were slowly draining his strength.

This is not a battle I can lose.

Almost as if he heard her thoughts, the bandit's leader launched a desperate series of attacks. His blade flailed wildly, but it was little more threatening than a child swinging a stick. Just as she prepared to deliver the final blow though, Noel's vision went red as her right arm exploded in pain. She took a few steps back to distance herself from her opponent, but as if he had been waiting for that exact moment, the man swiftly went for a strike. She attempted to deflect it, but her arm felt weak, and she could only manage a clumsy defense. A second attack ripped the mace off her hands and onto the ground. As she glanced over, she saw it. An arrow was hanging from her shoulder, the tip deeply penetrating her skin.

"Sorry about that. No honor among thieves, you know. Did you forget there was a second bowman?" He mocked.

Noel broke into a cold sweat. She knew hand-to-hand combat, but being weaponless against a sword user was far too dangerous. She attempted to edge away, but the man did not let her gain any distance.

"I'd like to be done with you here, but it seems my men are having a bit of trouble with your friends, so you'll have to serve as a hostage."

Before Noel could react, the man had the tip of his blade next to her throat.

"Don't move now." He threatened. "Listen up! Stop resisting or miss knight here will go meet the gods."

"Noel!" Flare yelped.

"That's what I like to hear. I want all your belongings on the ground now. And you'll be using your magic to heal my men."

Noel couldn't afford a look, but she reveled in the fact that the trio had probably taken down most of the brigands.

If only it wasn't for my mistake… I focused too much on him. That desperate attack was just a distraction. She frowned. To make such a simple error was a sign she hadn't been training enough.

"I'm not seeing you move." The man tapped his foot in impatience. "Don't you care what happens to her?!" The man moved the blade closer, and Noel could feel the cold metal on her skin now. A bead of sweat fell down her face.

He's too jittery. He'll get careless soon enough, and I'll get away. She attempted to calm herself. She'd been in dangerous situations before, but this time her nerves were getting the better of her. Perhaps it was the pulsating pain coming from her injured arm, or the fact that even gulping would be enough to draw blood.

Behind her, Noel heard the sound of bags hitting the ground.

"Seems like the elf values your life, at least." the man mocked.

Flare.

Of course. That was the cause of her agitation. She didn't want Flare to see her like this and, more importantly, she didn't want her to suffer. They had just gotten closer than ever, and now she let herself get into a dangerous position where the half-elf couldn't help her. Her anxiety slowly turned to fury and then frustration as she realized she could do nothing to alleviate Flare's distress. What was she doing, letting herself become a hostage? Wasn't she the knight? Wasn't she the one who should be protecting Flare? Noel wanted nothing more than to get rid of the man in front of her and go apologize to her partner. But no matter how angry she got, he hadn't taken her eyes off her, and she couldn't find an opening to escape.

Ough… My arm hurts so much. I hope she knows some good healing magic.

"C-C-Chief!" One of the bandits suddenly yelled.

"Huh? Whaddya want?" The man growled.

"B-behind…" The bandit's face was ghastly white.

Noel looked up, and what she saw made her forget all her pain in an instant.

A ghastly figure was floating behind the bandit's leader. It dwarfed the man in size, with an uncovered blueish torso and long, disproportionate arms. Its hair was long and of the deepest black, covering both eyes and disappearing into nothing before it hit the ground, much like the monster's lower half. The creature's parted lips revealed a set of yellow, broken teeth, in a scene Noel could only describe as blood-curdling.

"What the…"

The bandit leader's eyes widened as he turned to the apparition. All but forgetting his hostage, he instinctively swung his sword. However, it was no more effective than trying to slice up the air, and the blade hit the ground without finding any resistance. His face contorted in terror before the monstrous creature smacked his chest. The sheer force of the hit sent him flying several meters, only stopping when he hit a tree trunk. The man fell with a grunt, his sword dropping to the ground unceremoniously.

There was a moment of silence before every bandit that was still able to do so fled away in panic. Some went deeper into the forest, while others ran past Noel and down the road they'd come from. There was some small joy in knowing they would likely no longer be tormenting passengers.

But now, she had to worry about whatever had just appeared in front of her. She'd never believed in ghosts, phantoms, or any kind of supernatural entities, but there was no other explanation for what she was seeing. Her mace was still lying on the ground, far from her reach, and she wasn't even sure if the monster had a physical body she could harm.

Suddenly, the figure drew closer, and Noel's body felt as if it could suddenly move again after being petrified for an eternity. She attempted to run away, but in her panic tripped and fell on the grassy road.

"Hiii!" She shrieked, closing her eyes. She was trained to deal with humans, not creatures from below!

"Good job!" A small voice came from behind her. Rushia skipped to the fiend, to the astonished faces of the other three.

The monstrous creature bowed his head and gave what one could very generously describe as an attempt at a smile as Rushia patted his head, much like one would a pet dog or cat.

Oh. Right. I… guess that's a necromancer for you.

"Thank you so much for helping us out!" Rushia giggled, and the nightmarish being rubbed his hands in what could only be a show of bashfulness. The knight would have laughed if she still had the energy to do so.

"Noel!" Flare ran to her as she let her head fall down on the earth, her body too drained to even support itself.

"Flare." Noel forced a smile. "I'm fine. Sorry for worrying you."

"You're not fine! Kintsuba, help me here!" Flare started casting a healing spell. Her body became lighter as fatigue was quite literally drained from her, but the pain in her arm remained.

"You can't do it like that. You need to remove the arrow first." Marine cautioned. She'd been tying up the passed-out bandits to a tree. The knots she was making were complex and nothing like any Noel had ever seen, but they did seem to keep the bandits restricted enough.

"But… Won't that hurt her even more?"

"You won't be able to heal anything if that thing's stuck in there."

"I-I'll help!" Rushia spoke up. "I know some healing magic." She waved to the specter, who disappeared in a cloud of mist, and ran back to Flare's side.

"Rushia." Noel started. "I want to apologize. If it wasn't for you, I don't know what would've happened."

"...It's okay. I know knights don't like necromancers." A shy smile formed on her lips.

"It's not like- ow." Noel complained.

"Don't speak. You need to rest now." Flare ordered. "This will hurt a bit."

Noel winced as the arrow was removed from her arm. Rushia and Flare started their chants, and she was enveloped by a warm, green light. Noel closed her eyes.

While she truly hadn't believed a benevolent necromancer could exist, that didn't excuse her attitude toward Rushia. She'd been rude to her and even wished she wouldn't have joined them, and yet the necromancer had not only saved her but also had had no qualms about using magical energy to heal her wounds…

How foolish of me. I suppose I should have been more open-minded.

Though staying in a tight-knit village community had a lot of perks, seeing the same faces every day did tend to make people less open to different experiences. She'd seen it happen before but didn't think she'd be a victim of this phenomenon as well.

It seems I still have a lot to learn… I'll have to make it up to her somehow. She thought. Knights never forgot their debts.

"It should be done now."

Noel looked at her arm. The white sweater they'd bought the previous day was now stained red and had a hole in it, but the skin where the arrow had been was now pure white. She hesitantly rotated her arm. Her muscles complained, but that was the aftertaste of any fight. The pain had completely disappeared.

"It's good." She announced. "Thank you, Rushia, Fla-"

Flare embraced her.

"Please don't do anything that dangerous again. If something happened to you, I… I wouldn't know what to do with myself."

Noel gave a sad smile. "I'm sorry I ruined the clothes you picked up for me."

"That doesn't matter. That doesn't matter at all, as long as you're safe."

The two hugged each other in a silence interrupted only by Flare's sniffling. The pair was completely oblivious to the world around them, including to Rushia who had never been in this kind of situation and was in a small panic wondering if there was anything she should say or do, and to Marine who had shrugged and gone back to tie up the unconscious bandit leader.

The quiet made the cracking sound that followed much louder than it would've been and prompted all four to look up into the mass of trees that converged in the sky.

"Did one of them climb up?" Marine murmured.

"Waaaaaa! Watch pekout!"

From the canopy fell a girl, who hit butt-first into Marine and knocked her out into the ground.

Everyone turned to look at this new sudden arrival.

"Ouch… That hurt peko…"

The figure sitting on top of the stunned Marine was not one of the bandits. Donning a white and blue coat dress that matched her hair with some sort of suit below, and fancy accessories ranging from a strange-looking fluffy white scarf to a garter, she was already far too well dressed to be anyone whose business was to steal. There were still other signs, such as the carrots that were intertwined in her braided twin-tails, and perhaps the most telling of all, a pair of long, white ears that protruded from the top of her head in much the same way as they would in a bunny.

"A moon rabbit…" Rushia let out.

Everyone knew about moon rabbits. Back in the capital, there were few who didn't have a story about some distant relative or friend that claimed to have seen one during the full moon. They weren't a myth; the kingdom recognized their existence, and Noel wouldn't be surprised if a few of the people that claimed to have sighted one truly did so. Still, they were exceedingly rare. No one knew where they came from, how many existed, or even what they were capable of. After all, moon rabbits seldom appeared in crowded places, and when they did it was a huge event that was recorded in books and almanacs all over the continent. Of course, this led to several superstitions surrounding them, ranging from the idea that they could make medicine that cured any ailment to the wild belief that they could communicate with the gods themselves. Nonetheless, there was something most could agree on seeing one was a sign of fortune.

"Erm… What is a moon rabbit doing here?" Noel was the first to snap out of her baffled state, and she couldn't help but utter those words.

"How rude-peko! I was just passing by when I saw those bandits looting the cart. I climbed on top of the trees so they wouldn't see me, but then you girls arrived. I thought of helping, but you seemed strong enough to take them on." the rabbit shrugged. "When I was leaving one of the branches broke and I fell. Honestly, trees here are so much weaker than in Pekoland."

So you were just watching as I had a sword at my neck? the thought passed through Noel's head.

In the matter of someone who was clearly used to doing so, Pekora took a carrot out of her hair and quickly replaced it with a new one from her coat's pocket. As she took it closer to her mouth though, her scarf jumped out and took a large bite out of it, promptly wrapping itself around the rabbit's neck afterward.

"Don-chan! What did I tell you about eating my carrots!" She angrily reprimanded the creature. "Anyway, I've said my part. What are you guys doing there?" Pekora asked nonchalantly.

"We… we're going to the port town. There's a war starting, and…" Noel managed.

"Oh yeah, I've noticed there's a bunch of humans pekoing through this road lately. Why are you going there?" Pekora interrupted.
"We're trying to get to Hololive." Flare replied. It crossed everyone's minds for a moment that this rabbit didn't know about the war, and didn't seem to particularly care for it either.
"I've heard about that place." Pekora pointed the half-eaten carrot to the elf. "They say it's a good country to live in." She paused, seemingly in thought. For a moment, Noel thought she could see her face contort into a devious grin, more fitting of a criminal than of a moon rabbit.

"Actually, can I join you guys? I don't have much else to do, and I've always wanted to visit Hololive." Her smile was as pure as a young child's.

Did I imagine that? Noel wondered.

"That's…" Flare hesitated. It seemed even she had her own limits, and Noel agreed. Traveling with what was essentially a near-legendary creature, especially one with such a chaotic personality, would definitely not end well. At the very least, they'd be the talk of whatever town they stopped at, and Noel didn't want to harbor any more attention than they needed to.

"Great idea!" Marine suddenly said, prompting Pekora to get up with a shriek.

"Kyah! You're alive?!" No one, much less the rabbit, had noticed Marine had come to her senses quite a while ago and had been ogling Pekora's features.

"Marine!"

"Flare said I should be the one to decide who gets to come with us, right? I think a cute bunny would be a nice addition to our party!" Her eyes were almost shining with glee.

"Gross…"

"Gross…"

"Gross-peko…"

"Come on! I'm sure meeting Miss Pekora here was fate! They say moon rabbits bring good luck, right?" Marine stood up and casually put her hands on the moon rabbit's bare shoulders.

"Hiii?! Don't touch me!" Pekora jumped away.

"That's just a superstition…" Flare started, but Marine was already attempting to strike up a conversation with the rabbit, who was in turn ignoring her as much as one can ignore a loud, obnoxious person right in your face.

Noel could only sigh. She'd enjoyed the short reprise from Marine's weirdness, but it seemed she had fully recovered from her headache now. Whether the pirate captain truly believed the idea that Pekora would bring them luck, or was just infatuated with her just as she had been with Rushia the day before, she didn't know.

Still, their goal was closer than ever. Even if the rabbit ended up joining them, if they were careful, maybe they'd be able to arrive at Hololive without any more incidents, she thought.

She was wrong, of course, but Noel had always been an optimist.