Kana

Late at night, summoned by Libertas, Kana stepped into the dimly lit tent.

"You're late."
"You called me this late and expected me to show up early?"
"...Sit down."

No reprimand? Kana narrowed her eyes slightly and took a seat. After a calm breath, Libertas slowly began to speak.

Pharos, the Moon Shadow Cult, Pereus.

After recounting this complex and entangled tale, Kana asked in a less-than-friendly tone:

"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Isn't this part of our contract? That I would share everything related to the witches without holding anything back."

Kana scoffed at Libertas' response.

"I thought it was something serious. I'm going to sleep. Call me again when you actually need something."

As she exited the tent, the blinding moonlight made her squint. It had been the same that night. A night with the moon hanging high. She had hidden in a pitch-black closet, watching her family die at the hands of the Moon Shadow Cult.

By the time she regained her senses, she had wandered deep into the forest, far from the mercenary camp. Kana bit her lip, summoned her weapon, and struck a tree with all her might. With a deafening crash, the massive tree—several times her height—fell without resistance.

Even with the power to fell such a tree, even with the strength to defeat countless cultists, she was still powerless. The Moon Shadow Cult remained strong, and what she had lost could never be recovered.

"Damn it..."

Oh! Just in time! I was about to tell you about my results!

You already proved how perfect my stretching routine is, right? So I wanted the others to know how amazing my training was too! But guess what? No one wanted to try it! Weird rumors even started spreading about my stretches!

Those guys actually went and complained to the Captain about my training! Normally, the Captain trusts my advice on physical training, but with so many objections, even she had to step back a little. Cowards! Spreading rumors without even trying it—how could they treat me like this when I’ve worked so hard to train them?!

So I had to take special measures. You wanna know what I did? I had the Captain try the stretches herself! Let her experience it firsthand and make an objective judgment!

And guess what? The Captain gave it a glowing review! She even told everyone to try it before complaining. Thanks to her, even those complainers lined up to do my stretches. Of course, once they started, they couldn't say a single word—because they realized how good it really is!

See? If they had just done this from the start, it would've saved everyone the trouble!

And of course, the biggest hero of this whole situation is you! I even mentioned your name when convincing the Captain. Without you, such an amazing method might’ve been lost forever. So please keep helping me out next time too!

I'm Nosa. How have you been lately?

I've been super busy every day. Normally, people who join the Kamp Mercenaries prove a particular skill and focus on that area of work. But as you know, I got in through sheer effort, so now I'm trying hard to figure out what I'm really good at.

Lately, I've been trying all sorts of things under the guidance of our officers. Like learning how to handle paperwork from Vice Captain Enas, picking up basic first aid from Li Xiang, and even studying trap-making from Machina. Honestly, taking all of this on at once is a bit overwhelming.

The hardest part? Hmm… to be honest, I really can’t keep up with Kana’s physical training. Ah, I’m not saying she’s bad at teaching—actually, she’s surprisingly good! She explains monster traits, combat strategies, weapon techniques, and it’s all really helpful.

The problem is… her training is totally intimidating. Running laps with huge boulders, smashing trees with massive swords… After every session, I’m trembling all over.

But I believe that someday, I’ll be able to keep up with Kana’s training! Probably… maybe…