Niala and David got up early, getting ready for the day, with Niala insisting on cooking up a big breakfast for her boyfriend.

  Her mastery of spices and seasonings wafted all the way to Linzy's room, waking her up and summoning her downstairs, where she loaded up a plate about twice that of David's, her eyes shining.

  A quarter-bell to the seventh, Leandro hammered at the front door, shouting that David had better be ready to go. Niala let him in and into the kitchen, who, used to functional military meals, somehow managed not to openly salivate as he stole a few envious glances at the food on offer.

  Niala began offering him to join them for breakfast, and didn't get to finish her sentence, the man having already started to load up a plate, rivalling Linzy's own.

  They had the same table manners, which was to say they shovelled their plates into their gullet, in a race to see who would finish first.

  Niala had a beaming smile on her face as the people happily devoured her food. A smile that grew wider when David got up to take seconds, giving her a peck on the cheek, and whispering, “Compliment to the beautiful chef.”

  Leandro, in between two shovelfuls of food, quirked an eyebrow at the sight but remained silent.

  The seventh bell rang, and the two men left, David's instructor pushing him out the door before he could help Niala clean up. She didn't seem to mind, as she waved him goodbye with a smile on her face and a wish in her eyes.

  Linzy took up David's place and helped clean up before her new boss gave her a proper tour of the house and began explaining how she operated, what her logistics looked like, and other questions that the goblin sent her way.

  Ninth bell rang, and soon after, the day's first customer showed up.

  Linzy, atop a chair behind the counter, greeted them with an ear--to-ear smile.

  The customer froze in place, a concerned bead of sweat rolling down his brow, wondering why he felt like he was something's dinner.

  The two rows of porcelain-white jagged teeth adorned by rapacious red eyes probably had something to do with it.

  Leandro brought David to what had been a wide paved path a few minutes south of Niala's shop. On both sides of it, the remains of what looked like storefronts and small warehouses. An old shopping district?

  His instructor walked up to a small pile of equipment that leaned against one of the few remaining walls. Among them was something that jellied David's knees when he spotted it.

  “...that's a yoke.”

  “Indeed it is, boy!”

  “And those are buckets with rocks in them.”

  “Your eyes do not deceive you!”

  He tried giving Leandro his best representation of puppy eyes.

  “Boy, I have had thousands of fresh recruits subject me to that kind of face, and I will tell you the exact same thing I told every single one of them.”

  David's shoulders slumped. “What was it?”

  “That my pity belongs to my enemies and nobody else.” The knight brought out an intricate bellglass, resting a finger on its timer button. “Now, get running, to and from the two big rocks I set at either end of the road. Start slow, I will time each run and have you speed up with each lap. No boosting, of course. Pure muscles only. Go.”

  David tried to guess the distance; about 100 metres? He looked back at Leandro, who narrowed his eyes at David.

  He sighed and trotted over to one end and began running back and forth under Leandro's critical eye.

  They spent the rest of the morning assessing David's abilities, with grunts and nods as his only feedback, thrown his way in between barked orders to perform a different exercise.

  Partway through, a few of the town guards had shown up and spectated the grizzled veteran who ran the young man ragged, before Leandro used his command voice and had them running the length of the road alongside David in short order.

  Every time they tried to explain that they had a patrol to resume, the veteran bellowed, haranguing them to keep going and to do so faster.

  Ma-Ke-Lo, the town guard captain, eventually came to investigate why one of his patrols was missing, much to the rejoicing of the beleaguered guards, hoping they'd finally be spared the man's ministration.

  Their face fell forlorn when Ma-Ke-Lo shook Leandro's hand, having taken up the veteran's offer to run drills for the town guards.

  After all, he lived here. He might as well help the guards be as strong as they could, and he needed something to occupy his time, now that he was retired and had too much of it.

  David walked up to the slumped, panting guards and put a hand on the squad leader's shoulders, offering him a brotherly nod of support.

  By the morning's end, the guards had collapsed, and only sheer defiance kept David up on his legs.

  Leandro finished dressing down the guards, listing their many deficiencies, which he promised to address properly, and sent them on their much-awaited ways.

  He walked up to David, who was resting on a log, with a gourd of water in hand, taking the occasional sip.

  “Your girl. What does she know?” Leandro asked.

  “Niala? Enough that you don't have to watch what you say in her presence.”

  “You trust her?”

  “With my life.” He opened his eyes and stared at the massive man. “It's not a figure of speech. We saved each other's lives.”

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  Leandro grunted and rubbed his chin as he thought.

  Putting the matter aside, he gave David an appraising look.

  “You have good stamina, and you clearly kept up your aerobic training, but I am disappointed with your muscle mass.” He informed him.

  David looked Leandro up and down before huffing.

  “Compared to you, everyone is lacking in muscle mass.”

  “Something anyone can easily remedy, with a little bit of time and effort!” The large man boasted.

  “Hmm. I did say I wanted to train, but I meant my abilities, my boosting. I have enough muscles.”

  That earned him a slap to the back of the head. The whack sent some nearby birds flying.

  David put his hand to the back of his head reflexively. “Oow!”

  “Foolish boy. Just like every other Azure recruit. Worse, in your case, because you were taught better.”

  David sent a one-eyed glare at Leandro.

  “Oh oh! The pup shows its defiance?” He said, cracking his knuckles.

  David sighed. “No... please continue.”

  “Muscles, boy. Having better muscles will make your boost all that more efficient, but that is only a side benefit!”

  David raised an eyebrow.

  “Ah! You finally show interest when I speak of power! Young bucks are all the same...” Leandro said, shaking his head.

  “Listen up, boy. The reason people like us put on muscle is because of the process. When you train, you learn to listen to your body, to feel its needs, to touch upon its limits.”

  He flexed an arm, his biceps straining against his short-sleeved shirt. “You think you own your body, but you are only renting it. When you move an arm, you think to move your arm, and it does so.”

  Leandro walked up to David and held one of his arms up, squeezing it. “It is a vague command. You do not truly know your body. Only when you do, and fully so, will you be able to properly use the boost.”

  He stepped in front of David.

  “Tell me, boy, have you pushed your limits? Went as far as you could with your boosting?”

  Thinking back to the time he almost broke himself chasing after Niala when she'd been mind-controlled, he nodded.

  “And tell me, did you feel in control?”

  He explored his memory. The feeling of being on edge, one wrong muscle twitch away from losing... control. He stared up at Leandro.

  “Ah! I can see it in your eyes. You did not! Because you were not. You have no vision within your own body. You merely pour in your mana and hope for the best. Is that how you think a warrior wins? By hoping for the best?”

  It wasn't really a question.

  David threw a hand. “So, what, I need to meditate? Find my inner sight?”

  Leandro flinched back, blinking, before guffawing. “Bwa ha ha ha! Meditate? Boy, I'm training a warrior here, not a priest! The only meditation you will be doing is meditating on how to push past your limits!”

  He grabbed David by the scruff of his shirt and, at arm's length, set him back up on his feet as if he'd picked up a big stick.

  “And now that I know what your limits are.” He grinned. “We push past them!”

  He walked over to the piled equipment and came back with the yoke and rock-filled buckets.

  David's eyes widened, pleading no with his head.

  Leandro affirmed yes with his.

  David stumbled back home by the end of the afternoon. Niala came to greet him, and he managed a smile in return, but kept dragging himself to the tub in the upstairs bathroom, where he rolled his sweat-soaked clothes off his back and collapsed in the bathtub, letting warm, steamy water slowly fill it up.

  A few minutes later, Niala knocked on the bathroom door and creaked it open, a slight blush on her cheeks and a gentle smile on her face. She squeezed through the door, closing it behind her.

  She was wearing her bathrobe and carried a small tray with a few bottles on it. Kneeling down behind the tub, at his back, she poured a sweet-smelling liquid into the water, agitating it with a hand.

  The aroma filled his lungs, and he felt his muscles relax. He turned to ask her what it was, but she put a finger to his lips and shook her head.

  Instead, she took another bottle, put some of its contents on her hands, rubbed them together, and pushed his back forward, giving her access to it. With a gentle firmness, she began massaging his aches away.

  His body felt like putty under her fingers, several grunts of pleasure escaping his throat.

  After much too short a time, her ministration stopped. She hung a small towel against the tub's side and pulled him to rest the back of his neck upon it.

  He heard her open a bottle and drink its contents. He began to turn his head, but she stopped him with a hand.

  He heard her untie her bathrobe, its rustling as it fell to the floor. Again, he tried to turn his head, but again, she stopped him.

  With delicate fingers, she closed his eyelids.

  He heard her get up. He didn't hear the shuffling of clothes.

  She padded to the side of the tub, a faint splash sounded as she put in one leg, then the next.

  He felt her body and her warmth as she sat down on his lap, resting her head against his chest, her hair just below his nose. Her body and smell became his world.

  She took his hands and placed them over her body.

  He squinted one eye open and glanced back at the tray. The potion Niala had drunk was a contraceptive.

  Oh.

  Linzy grinned as she glanced between Niala and David during dinner that night. She, her cheeks red as tomatoes, he, trying to appear stoic and failing at being anything but hypnotized by Niala's presence.

  “So. Pretty energetic bath that you gu-”

  “The basement would make for a nice apartment.” David cut her off. “The door locks from the outside.” He said, staring at Linzy, whose grin didn't abate at all.

  “David, we can't have her live in the basement...”

  “Hey, don't mind me. I'm just a tiny goblin, you won't even notice me.” Linzy said.

  They both stared at her.

  “What? As long as I'm living here, I'm bound to see you guys f-”

  “We have a shed out back. It's nice because it's outside.” David cut her off again.

  “David!”

  He sighed.

  “How about the attic? We put that isolating foam of yours in the ceiling when we ripped out the floorboard and had to pull all the wool away. Didn't you say it drowns out noise as well?” He suggested.

  Niala's eyes widened, her tail swishing. “Oh! That's a great idea!” She turned to Linzy. “Would an attic work? The ceiling is a bit low, but with your size, it should be plenty, and we did fully renovate the entire thing. It's probably the cleanest place in the house!”

  Linzy thought for a second before nodding. “Yeah. Yeah, an attic could work. Do I get to choose where I put my bed?”

  “No,” David said.

  “Tsk, worth a shot. Show me after dinner, will ya?”

  “Of course!” Niala said.

  “And you know, if you guys ever want to see what a three-s-”

  “Instead of the attic, how about the bat refuge out by the swamp?” David interrupted.

  Linzy's grin never left her face.

  fun.