Moon opened the door to find Selene standing in the hallway wearing a black nightgown that reached just above her knees, and a pair of simple slippers that had a white cat with a red bow on its left ear.

Her hair was down, falling loosely around her shoulders, free from the tie she usually kept it in. She wasn’t wearing any of her equipment.

She looked different like this. Selene looked softer, and more like a normal girl in her late teens.

Her eyes met his for a brief second before darting away.

"Come in." Moon stepped aside.

Selene walked past him into the room, her arms folded loosely in front of her. She stood in the middle of the space, looking at everything except him.

"You can sit on the bed." Moon said, gesturing toward it.

Selene’s cheeks turned a faint shade of pink. She sat on the edge of the mattress, her hands placed neatly on her knees, her back straight as if she was sitting for a formal interview rather than visiting a friend’s room.

Moon sat in the chair across from her.

"Is everything okay?"

Selene nodded quickly. A little too quickly. "Yes. E-Everything is fine."

Moon realised that, but chose not to comment.

She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. Then untucked it. Then tucked it again.

"Hey, Moon."

"Yeah?"

"Are you... excited about tomorrow?"

"A little." Moon tilted his head. "Why?"

"Just curious." She said, her gaze fixed firmly on the floor between her feet. The pink in her cheeks had deepened.

Silence settled over the room. Several seconds passed. The clock on the wall ticked steadily. Neither of them spoke.

Moon watched her. She was fidgeting with the hem of her nightgown, pinching the fabric between her fingers and releasing it over and over. Her lips kept parting as if she was about to say something, then pressing shut before the words could escape.

Then, without warning, Selene stood up.

"W-Well! Good night!" She blurted out in a hurry. "You should sleep early! Tomorrow is important! Rest well! Okay bye!"

She was at the door before Moon could respond. Her hand grabbed the handle, pulled it open, stepped through, and shut it behind her in a single motion that took less than two seconds.

The door clicked shut.

On the other side, Selene pressed her back against the wood and placed both hands over her chest. Her heart was hammering so hard she could hear it in her ears. Her face was burning. Her legs felt like they were made of something that wasn’t bone.

’What was I even doing?’

She squeezed her eyes shut and slid down the door until she was sitting on the hallway floor, her nightgown pooling around her.

’Stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid. I couldn’t even tell him about my brother...’

She sat there for a long moment, her face buried in her hands, before finally standing up and padding back to her room. She was afraid that he would understand that as some sort of proposal, and in turn reject her.

Moon was one of her very few friends in this world. In fact, he was the closest friend she had, they had went through so much together. Life and death, bread and butter...and everything in between. She couldn’t think about how things would become if she strained their relationship.

Although she wanted to advance it more...learn more about him, about his past... she couldn’t bring herself to.

Inside his room, Moon stared at the closed door.

He blinked once. He felt Selene laying there in-front of the door for a second, but he decided not to intervene.

Seeing how flustered she was, he knew that she would turn redder than a tomato had he opened the door to find her there.

A small, warm smile crossed his face.

"Good night, Selene."

***

Before heading to sleep, Moon sat on the edge of his bed, the turtle egg resting in its container beside him.

In just over ten hours hours, he would be walking into one of the most prestigious tournaments in the entire kingdom. The grounds would be filled with Evolvers from every corner of the nation, but more importantly, Ascenders would be present too.

Watching, evaluating, and...probing the younger generation.

His runes had improved drastically since he evolved Runemaster. But they still weren’t strong enough to stop an Ascender from sensing what was inside the container if they actively tried. And at a tournament of this scale, probing eyes were everywhere.

Leaving the egg at home was an option. But Moon dismissed it immediately. His accommodation was secure by evolver standards, but evolver standards meant nothing when the item in question was a supreme ranked turtle egg.

Trusting Tom was another option. The old fox had resources, facilities, and subordinates who could guard the egg around the clock. It was less risky than leaving it at home.

But it was still a risk.

Moon was a firm believer in a simple truth. A person’s true nature is revealed at times of the greatest adversity. He and Tom had built a strong relationship based on mutual benefit. Tom had invested in Moon, provided him with resources, equipment, and opportunities. Their partnership was real and friendly.

But when a creature as powerful and as rare as a Supreme-Rank turtle was involved, there was no telling what the old fox might do. Not out of malice or hatred for himself, but out of simple pragmatism. Tom was a shrewd businessman before he was anything else.

So Moon looked for a third, more safer option for his egg. An option that he had been thinking about for some time, but never got to fully delve into because of his previous circumstances

"Well, it’s not like there is any loss in trying." Moon said.

He opened his status screen, his eyes landing on the one skill that might solve the problem of hiding the beast egg from others entirely.