Moments before the mission’s completion, at the Observatory--

“Grr...”

I was impatiently tapping the console as I watched Elma and Dorthaunzee meld with the crowd of targets. It had been some minutes since they entered that lounge.

Svilran giggled behind me. “Aww, is someone jealous?”

“I’m not jealous. I just don’t like that they have to do this.”

“Well, if it really bothers you, you could let them know what kinds of things you would prefer they not do.”

I looked away, a little embarrassed at how I sounded. “I shouldn’t be telling the girls how to do their job that aggressively...” I shook my head and sighed. “Well, Elma’s a grown woman who knows what’s she’s doing. She’s been through more than most people will go through in three lives... but Dorth is innocence incarnate. I don’t enjoy having to see her do something so uncomfortable.”

“Dorth?” Svilran asked while wagging her brows. “Someone’s getting really attached.”

I stayed quiet. Truth be told, I was. And not just to Dorth, but to Elma too. As I watched her on the screen, I kept thinking of the girl that couldn’t keep down her food. I knew I shouldn’t, but that was just a few days ago. I knew she was doing her best to be strong and embrace her new life, but that person I saw the other day was still in there. I just didn’t want anything to break her down again.

Then, I saw the bastard grab her tit--

“Hey! That’s uncalled for!”

“I agree!” Svilran followed. “Unhand her, you brute!”

Then we watched as she slit the man’s throat. My eyes were wide.

“Uhh...”

“Fainn, that was scary... Was that really hero-like?”

Elma began her assault on the party, moving quickly and brutally. Svilran held onto my shoulders as she hid behind me. She was tense--her fingers were really digging into me. That said--still amazing. It was like her nails were laced with some kind of muscle relaxant. 

Elma’s assault went by quickly, and at the end, it seemed she had picked three of the men out to give some sort of message to.

“I wish we had audio...” I said, trying to read her lips.

“I... don’t know if I want it.”

We watched as Elma started making her escape--

“Fainn! Overtime is over, and they’re in a blind spot! They’re going to be transported!”

“Oh, really? Wow! Come on! Let’s go greet them!” 

We ran out the door as the girls disappeared.

***

The girls appeared from the portal a few moments after we got there.

“Welcome back!” Svilran enthusiastically said, her arms raised in celebration.

Elma waved, cool as ever. “Hey, Madam Goddess, hey Fainn--Mmm?!”

I didn’t really know what came over me.

“I’m so glad!”

I had gone and ran up to them like an embarrassing old man and hugged the two of them.

“You two did great!” I said as I tried to hold back happy tears.

“H-Hey--“ Elma said.

Dorthaunzee, meanwhile, nuzzled up to me, rubbing her cheek against mine and reciprocating the hug. Elma, too, I was pretty sure, came closer and reciprocated a little... It was hard to tell--I was too swept up by my feelings.

“Yay! Group hug!” Svilran yelled before she jumped into the three of us.

“Madam Goddess!?” Elma yelped.

“Svilran!” I yelled. “You’re going to topple us over!”

This woman wasn’t a child. There were well over a hundred pounds that she was packing on that thin frame. We fell over, all bracing to hit the ground when--

“Huh?”

“No way...”

Elma and I were amazed that a tentacle had sprung out from Dorthaunzee and gently caught the three of us.

Dorth smiled with her eyes, but her hands were trembling. 

“Wait to go, Partner,” Elma said. “Still, after seeing how these things were when they ran wild, it’s amazing how they cower before Fainn...”

We shared a small laugh, and all got ourselves together once more. Becoming a little more serious, we stood before the <Portal> and had a quick chat. While we did that, I glanced at the After-Mission screens.

“Any matter, I wasn’t expecting such a quick trip back,” Elma said. “Did we finish the job up adequately?”

Svilran chuckled dryly. “I guess you could say that.”

Dorthaunzee, meanwhile, ran up to me and had one of her shrooms pop up on me.

“Hey, whoa there,” I said, suddenly overwhelmed. “You’re upset about your staff not making the trip with you?”

Elma looked down at her clothes and shook her head. “Darn. I forgot that I had to pick up the gear we left behind.” Elma bowed. “My apologies--“

“Don’t worry about it,” I said.

Elma looked up to see her stuff and Dorthaunzee’s staff in my hands. Dorth was overjoyed and quickly took her staff back. Elma, too, came up to me with a smile and received her belongings.

“So, you guys did something called ‘Overtime,’ and for your efforts,” I said, “we were given a slap-on-the-wrist when it came to your items. Your items made the trip back with you, but we got the note saying that it’ll only be the stuff you have on your person that returns at the mission’s end next time.”

“It’s nice to know the feature exists,” Svilran said. “I wonder if there’s some way of unlocking it through Hero Hub development.”

“That would be nice, but I’m hoping for a more elegant solution,” I replied.

“I’m just happy to have our stuff,” Elma said, echoing Dorth’s sentiment. “So, should we find out the results? I’m curious as to how much Hero Merit I earned.”

“Oh yes! Let’s--“

I held my hand out in front of Svilran’s face, stopping her from looking at the menu. “I already checked it,” I said. “It looks like the results are still being calculated? It must be because of the Overtime.” I shrugged. “Maybe the property damage is factoring into the final numbers.”

I glanced at Svilran, who looked perplexed. I prayed she would just drop it and let me lie for now.

Come on, Svilran. Get the hint. We need to talk about THESE results before sharing them.

Elma nodded along. “Fair enough then.” Elma stretched and yawned. Dorthaunzee mimicked her actions, except the part that involved a mouth. “Well, if that’s everything, would you be displeased if I went for a rest in my room?”

“Not at all,” I said. “Svilran and I need to return to the <Observatory> and check on a few things.”

“Very well.” Elma bowed her head. “If you’ll excuse me then...” 

She turned to walk to the dorms. Dorth, however, ran up and hugged me one more time before jogging after Elma. Elma saw it and quickly turned on her heels. I thought she was going to hug me too (I would be so blessed) but instead, she got on her tiptoes and whispered into my ear.

“Were you all able to hear what we talked about?”

“Oh, uhh, no, we can’t get sounds, only visuals.”

Elma smiled and nodded as she backed away. “Good!” She spun around and ran up to Dorthaunzee.

I watched them depart, perplexed. “Wow, Elma was getting a little flushed. She must have been exhausted.”

“Fainn... the calculations never take long. They’re done by deific forces.”

“I know. Can we go to the <Observatory> before you open the results?”