A few days later, the chaos in London had finally settled, and Kouga was preparing to head back to St. Freya. His bag was slung over his shoulder as he crossed the hotel courtyard—only to pause when he spotted Durandal sitting on a bench beneath the morning sun.
She wasn't alone.
On her lap, curled comfortably like a spoiled house pet, was Stan. Durandal absently scratched under its chin, earning a lazy purr from the creature. The sight was so disarming that Kouga almost forgot she was one of the strongest Valkyries alive.
Durandal glanced up as she sensed him approaching."Kouga. You're returning to St. Freya already?"
"Yeah," he nodded, adjusting the strap on his shoulder. "Mission's done. Otto said my team would get some vacation time after this mess, so I'm cashing in before he changes his mind."
Durandal smiled faintly. "Understandable."
Kouga's thoughts briefly drifted back to the incident only a few days earlier. From what Otto later explained, the kid had intended to send the locomotive into the Sea of Quanta to bury the 2nd Divine Key forever. Kouga had been seconds away from summoning Magishine's Magical Train: Travelion Express to follow them across dimensions—
—only for Durandal to reappear less than three minutes later, stepping out of thin air with the train and the Divine Key in tow.
To this day, Kouga wasn't sure which part of that impressed him the most.
Returning to the present, he noticed something perched on Durandal's arm—something small.
The boy.
Or rather, what Otto had called an ELF: a relic from the Previous Era, an autonomous combat construct… and one that apparently wielded a mimicry of the Judgment of Shamash. Watching the tiny figure cling to Durandal's arm was surreal, almost comical after how fiercely he had fought them.
Kouga gestured toward him."So… what are you planning to do with that guy?"
Durandal glanced down at the ELF."I've decided to keep him with me. If you're ever too busy to spar with me, he can act as a training partner."
Kouga's face went still.
Then the sweatdrop came.
"…Right. Yeah. Sounds… good luck with that," he muttered.
Durandal only smiled, as serene as ever.
With nothing else left to say—and not wanting to imagine what training with a kid-sized living weapon looked like—Kouga waved them goodbye and started toward the transport arranged for him.
St. Freya awaited.