Moments of Peace

he golden fields stretched far beyond the city's outskirts, swaying under a crisp breeze. Rows of crops lined the dirt paths, green and full of life, while livestock wandered lazily in open pastures. Despite the looming war, this land remained untouched—a quiet refuge from the chaos beyond Mars' defenses.

Arnik wiped the sweat from his forehead, setting down a bundle of freshly harvested produce. The soil was rich, clinging to his hands as he worked alongside the farmers.

"You didn't have to do this, you know, young man," an older farmer said, adjusting the heavy sack on his back.

Arnik flashed a warm smile. "Oh no, it's no problem. Keeps me busy."

Nearby, Markus leaned against a metal fence, arms crossed, watching Arnik work. His gaze swept across the fields before he exhaled. "Remind me why we don't use machines for this?"

The farmer chuckled. "Crops grown outside Earth are delicate. Machines risk damaging them." He patted a crate filled with produce. "We need every bit of food we can get in case Lionel breaks through."

Arnik's fingers tightened around a bundle of crops. "Right. You're at war."

He kept working. It had been two months since they completed basic training.

The farmer wiped his brow, staring at the freshly dug field with wide eyes. The land stretched far and deep, the soil freshly turned, ready for planting.

"You did all this… by hand?" The disbelief in his voice was clear.

Arnik dusted off his palms, grinning. "Strength training. Besides, there's more farmland than machines can handle. Figured I'd help out."

There were so many cargo ships needing to be filled that they had to rely on manpower. Every day, food was shipped out to reinforce Mars' defenses, and every set of hands made a difference.

Nearby, Markus noticed some workers struggling to load the heavy crates onto the ships. Without a word, he stepped forward.

"Hey, don't worry—I got that."

In one fluid motion, he hoisted multiple crates at once, stacking them into place with ease. The workers gawked at his strength, but Markus barely broke a sweat.

Arnik glanced over, his lips curling into a small smile. It seems this work is helping with our sanity… we did see a lot during that fateful day. Especially Markus.

His gaze lingered on his friend. It's good to see him returning to his old self.

For the first time in a long while, Markus looked… at peace. He was even smiling a little.

Arnik was glad.

As the sun dipped below the horizon, the day's work came to an end. Sitting under a small wooden awning, Arnik gulped down a cold glass of milk.

"Ahhh, that hit the spot." He leaned back, stretching. "Isn't this great, Markus? It's easy to forget we're in war times."

Markus leaned against the fence, arms crossed, his expression unreadable. "You could say that… but I don't tend to forget important things so easily."

Arnik groaned. "Oh, come on, lighten up! You seemed to be enjoying yourself earlier!"

Before Markus could respond, a little girl ran up to him, clutching something behind her back.

"Here!" She held out a flower crown, beaming.

Markus blinked. "For me?"

"Yes, mister! You're so kind to us! You helped Papa plant the fields after his back got hurty!"

Markus hesitated for a moment, then reached out, patting her head with a small smile. "Well… thank you."

Arnik smirked. "Someone seems popular."

Markus scoffed. "Me? No."

"Yes! You're more popular than me! Which is surprising! Your face usually keeps people away!"

Markus rolled his eyes. "Maybe my kindness is more potent," he said with a smirk.

Arnik snorted. "I'm not that popular, seriously."

Before he could finish, a group of farmers approached, holding armfuls of baked goods.

"Here, Markus! Take these!"

Markus stared at the overflowing pile of bread, pastries, and sweets in their hands. "For me?"

"Yes! You've been such a huge help!"

Arnik was grinning at first—until he realized how much food Markus was getting.

Then—jealousy.

Until a little boy toddled up to him, holding a small cake. "For you, mister!"

Arnik froze. His throat tightened.

A single tear nearly escaped.

Markus arched a brow. "Seriously? Crying?"

"N-No, I'm not!!"

The farmers laughed. "We didn't forget about you, Arnik!"

Soon, they were both drowning in so many sweets they didn't know what to do.

—

Let's see how the rest of the team is doing.

Kai sighed, rubbing his temples as he stared at the crates stacked high in front of him. The shipment of magic items had arrived early that morning, and now it was his job to inspect them.

He frowned. "Why am I stuck babysitting you two?"

Rose grinned, leaning lazily against one of the crates. "Because we finished our tasks already! C'mon, we just wanna hang out."

Aika yawned, barely keeping her eyes open as she shuffled forward. "Mmhmm…"

Kai exhaled, crossing his arms. "Fine… Just try not to get into trouble."

Rose gasped dramatically. "Kai! Do I look like the kind of person who causes trouble?"

Kai shot her a deadpan look. "Yes."

She laughed. "Fair enough."

Rose smirked, nudging Kai with her elbow. "Just be thankful you have two beautiful women surrounding you."

"Shut up," Kai muttered, rolling his eyes as he continued his inspection.

His eyes suddenly narrowed as he picked up one of the weapons from the crate. He turned it over in his hands, examining it closely.

"Excuse me, sir," he called to the officer overseeing the shipment.

The man approached. "Yes?"

Kai's grip tightened around the weapon. "When did this shipment arrive?"

"Just this morning. Why?"

Kai bent the barrel of the magic firearm with ease.

Rose's ears perked up. "Uh… pretty sure that's not supposed to happen."

Kai's expression darkened. "This is a magic dupe."

The officer paled. "A… what?"

Kai turned to face him fully. "Some of these weapons have been stolen and replaced with fakes.

Aika blinked herself awake, rubbing her eyes. "Huh? Investigation magic? Oh—right."

She snapped her fingers, her magic activating. A faint glow surrounded the crate as the air rippled, distorting like a mirage. Slowly, an illusion played out before them—a past recording of the scene.

A worker opened the shipment the moment it arrived, inspecting the contents. The image flickered, fast-forwarding. Hours passed. Then, in the dead of night, figures slipped in, moving with practiced ease. They replaced several weapons with near-identical fakes, their faces obscured by hoods.

Kai crossed his arms. "I see. They made the switch right after the shipment arrived… had to be when we were on break."

The officer swallowed hard. "I'm so sorry, sir—"

Kai sighed, rubbing his temple. "It's fine. Just a pain."

Rose leaned on his shoulder. "Well, genius, how do you expect us to find them?"

Kai examined the scene, his sharp eyes scanning the projected memory. Then, a smirk formed on his lips. "I've got a pretty good guess."

An Old Market Storage House

The scent of damp wood and rusted metal lingered in the air. The warehouse was dimly lit, moonlight filtering through cracked windows, casting jagged shadows across the floor. Stacks of crates lined the walls, their labels peeling and faded from time. Dust swirled in the silence, disturbed only by the quiet murmurs of men counting their stolen goods.

"Score! Ten brand-new magic weapons, easy pickings!" A man grinned, hoisting a rifle over his shoulder.

Another snickered, twirling a dagger between his fingers. "Security here's pathetic. It's like they want us to take this stuff."

Outside, hidden in the darkness, Kai and Rose crouched behind a stack of discarded crates, peering through a cracked window.

Rose raised an eyebrow. "Alright, I'll bite. How the hell did you know they'd be here?"

Kai adjusted his glasses, his smirk never fading. "Easy. Part of my training involved memorizing the entire city layout."

Rose's ears twitched. "Wait—WHAT?! People actually do that?!"

Kai shrugged. "It's simple deduction. Judging by the weight of the weapons, their transport time, and how far they could've gotten unnoticed—"

"Shut up, nerd."

"Fine," Kai sighed. "Let's just bust them."

Rose cracked her knuckles. "No killing."

Kai smirked. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Good."

With that, they moved.

The door crashed open.

The smug grins of the thieves vanished the moment the door burst open.

"What?! How did they find us so quickly?!" one of them shouted, scrambling for his weapon.

"Just shoot them!" another yelled, already raising his rifle.

BZZZT!

A translucent barrier flickered to life in front of Kai as the first shot fired, deflecting the bullets harmlessly into the walls. His eyes gleamed behind his glasses. "Predictable."

"Rose, now!"

"Got it!"

She was already moving. A blur of motion, she darted across the room before anyone could react. In one fluid motion, she leaped off a crate and slammed her heel into the nearest thief's chest. The man wheezed as he was sent flying into a stack of stolen goods, knocking over crates and weapons in a messy heap.

Chains erupted from the ground.

Aika, now fully awake and channeling her magic, extended her hands. The glowing chains twisted and coiled like serpents, lashing out and wrapping around the arms and legs of several men. They struggled, grunting, but the magic bindings only tightened in response.

"Tch—damn it! We can't move!" one of them cursed, trying to wriggle free.

Kai lifted his gun, the barrel glowing with charged energy. He watched the struggling thieves with a bored expression.

"Yeah… you're done."

He pulled the trigger.

A bolt of paralyzing magic shot forward, striking one of the thieves square in the chest. The man twitched, his body locking up before he collapsed to the floor.

"Take this!" Another thief raised a magic-infused knife, lunging toward Kai.

Kai sidestepped effortlessly, grabbing the attacker's wrist mid-strike. He twisted, wrenching the weapon free before landing a sharp elbow to the man's gut. The thief gasped, crumpling to the ground.

Rose spun mid-air, dodging a desperate swing from one of the men still free. Before he could recover, she was already behind him. A swift, brutal kick to the back of his knee sent him collapsing forward, and she followed it up with a punch to the side of his head. He hit the ground—hard.

The last remaining thief, trembling, fumbled for a gun on the floor.

Kai sighed, raising his pistol. "Don't bother."

The final shot rang out—a paralyzing bolt slamming into the thief's chest, sending him crashing down with the rest of them.

Silence.

Aika dusted off her hands. "That was easier than I expected."

Rose stretched, cracking her knuckles. "You did take out half of them with those chains."

Kai adjusted his glasses, scanning the unconscious bodies. "Well, that's that. Let's report this in."

Rose smirked. "See? Aren't you glad you let us tag along?"

Kai groaned. "I don't want to talk about it."

The three of them turned, stepping over the scattered weapons and stolen goods as they left the warehouse. The mission was a success.

"Alright, I'm calling it in."

He tapped his comm, relaying the situation. Within minutes, backup arrived, soldiers moving in to secure the stolen weapons and drag the criminals away.

Rose stretched her arms over her head, her tail flicking lazily. "Well, that was fun."

Aika yawned, rubbing her eyes. "What a long day…"

Kai shot her a look. "You really didn't do much."

"Excuse me?" Aika puffed her cheeks. "I was the one who found them in the first place!"

Rose snickered. "And then you immediately went back to sleep."

Aika pouted but had no argument.

Kai ran a hand through his hair, exhaling. "Whatever. Let's just get some food."

Rose grinned. "For once, we agree."

With the mission handled, the three of them walked off into the city, the neon lights flickering above them as the streets bustled with life.