“Hi, Brie!” Elaine shouted back, picking her up and swinging her around in her arms.

  Brie, you betrayer. How could you go over to the dark side and let Elaine carry you? This was blasphemy!

  “Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Tyro,” Elaine said, shifting Brie to just one arm and using the other to wave. As she did so, the arm carrying Brie flexed, showing off her bulging muscles.

  Colby glared at them. Had they gotten bigger? He refused to believe so. Must’ve been a trick of the light.

  “Hi, Port,” she waved again, looking down at his tattered shirt but not saying anything.

  “Hi, Elaine!” he waved back.

  “And hello to you, little Colby,” she said with a smirk.

  He wasn’t little! He was average height for his age! It was her who was overgrown.

  “Hi, little Broby,” Brie echoed, giggling.

  “I’m not little,” Colby said.

  Elaine walked closer, her imposing presence causing him to take a step back. “Oh, really? You look little to me from up here.”

  “I’m average height. Not little. You’re just six-two and way too tall.”

  “I think you mean, six-three.”

  Colby turned up to look at her face. She was smiling, bright white teeth mocking him from up there.

  “You grew again?”

  “Of course.” She smirked. “Didn’t you?”

  Colby folded his arms and turned around. “Of course, I did.”

  He had grown in mind and spirit. Now, if only his body would do the same.

  “Really? Because you look the same to me. A little shorter even.”

  “I’m not shorter,” he said, refusing to look at her. Instead, he saw his parents. They both simply smiled, shaking their heads at the display in front of them.

  “Nice to see you again, Elaine,” his mother said. Her eyes drifted down to her chest, specifically the oyster held up by two large waves. “Did you…”

  “Yup! I’m officially a Knight-in-training.”

  “That’s amazing. Congratulations!”

  “Congratulations,” Jack and Porter echoed.

  “Laine Laine is a knight knight?” Brie asked, looking up at her.

  “Not yet. But I’m training to become one. I’ll be the best knight ever and make sure you and your little big brother are safe.”

  “Yay!” Brie shouted, hugging Elaine tighter. “Laine Laine is knight knight.”

  Traitor sister. Traitor family. Traitor best friend. Traitor ex-best friend. Elaine had lost her best friend rights the moment she outgrew him—which was really early on in their friendship, but that wasn't the point.

  As much as Colby hated it, congratulations were in order. It was easy to get conscripted into the army: the condition being alive. It wasn't easy becoming a Knight-in-training.

  Multiple grueling tests, both mentally and physically. Most failed. But Elaine wasn't most. The fact that she had become a Knight-in-training said so. There was also the fact that she was six-three and more jacked than his father, who was literally called Jack.

  “Congratulations, Elaine,” he said.

  “That's the spirit,” she said, finally putting Brie down.

  “I’ll show you spirit,” he spat, an idea on how to knock her down a size brewing in his mind, before he turned towards his parents. “Mom. Dad. I know I don’t deserve it, but do you think I can take the rest of the day off to go out and celebrate Elaine’s huge accomplishment?”

  “Are you sure, Colby?” his mom asked. “Don’t you think it might be better to do it in the shop? Didn’t Porter say you were chased by adventurers?”

  “Chased? Someone actually dared to hurt you?” Elaine asked, hand snapping to the handle of her sword.

  “Oh, it’s nothing,” Colby said. “They’re just a bunch of low-ranked adventurers. The bottom of the barrel kind. Nothing a little Porter delivery service can’t fix. Right, Port?”

  “Right!” Porter exclaimed, still rocking himself back and forth on the stool.

  “And now that the Elaine defense service is here, no adventurers, especially super low-ranked ones, can harm us.” Colby turned to Elaine. “Unless, of course, you’re not really a Knight-in-training.”

  Elaine squinted her eyes. “I know what you’re doing, and I don’t like it. But at the same time, my ego just can’t say no to a challenge.” She turned to face his parents. “So, yes, Mr. and Mrs. Tyro. With me around, no one would harm a single hair on Colby’s head, other than me.”

  “What was that?” Colby said.

  She cracked her knuckles. “I’m no Porter. Do you really think my defense services are free of charge?”

  “For me? Yes.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “Just be safe,” his mom said, interrupting the banter. “Knight-in-training or not, you still need to be careful, okay, Elaine?”

  “Don’t worry, Mrs. Tyro. I always am. Especially with Colby around.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “A lot of things,” she said, ruffling his hair.

  Colby knocked her hand out of the way, glaring up at her.

  Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  Elaine turned to face his parents again. “Don’t worry, Mr. and Mrs. Tyro. I’ll have Colby back before midnight.”

  With that, she grabbed him by the back of his shirt. He crossed his hands, refusing to move from the spot, but that did little to stop Elaine from dragging him toward the door without much effort on her part.

  “Bye bye, Broby! Bye bye, Laine Laine!” Brie waved.

  “Bye, Brie,” Colby waved back, still being dragged by Elaine.

  He watched Porter get off the stool, pick it up, run behind the counter, and place it down before waving goodbye to his parents. As for Brie, he handed her a tiny piece of candy that he fished out of his Inventory. She screamed in delight, rushing forward to hug him.

  “Yay! Thanks, Port Port!” she squealed.

  “It’s no biggie. And sorry, gotta go,” he said.

  “Okay, Port Port. Bye bye, Port Port,” she said.

  Right outside the shop, Elaine finally let go of him. Without anything to support him, gravity got its grubby little hands on him and he tumbled to the ground, his tush greeting the floor for the third time today.

  “Really?” Colby asked, standing up and rubbing his sore behind.

  “Really.”

  “Colby!” Porter shouted. “Are you okay?”

  “No, I’m Colby,” he giggled.

  Elaine groaned. “I regret being friends with you. And Port, you know not to say those words, right?”

  “Sorry, Elaine. I forgot.”

  “It’s okay, Port. Just don’t give Colbs any fuel.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m going to pretend that you didn’t just ask a dumb question.”

  “You don’t have to pretend. I never ask dumb questions.”

  Elaine looked at him with a blank stare. “Maybe we should just leave him behind. What do you say, Port?”

  “But I want all three of us to celebrate your accomplishment.”

  “Exactly, Laine. Plus, we gotta celebrate Port expanding to a Tier 1 Core.”

  “Wait, you expanded to a Tier 1 Core, Port? Why didn’t you say so?”

  “Your accomplishment is way more important than a Tier 1 Core. It’s no biggie, Elaine.”

  “Yes, it is, Port. And what about you, Colbs? Anything celebration worthy?”

  “Well, I did manage to not get robbed today.”

  Elaine scowled, hand instinctively snapping to her sword, though she never drew it. “And who are these adventurers who tried to rob you?”

  “A bunch of nobodies, really.”

  “Still. Give me their descriptions. It’s a Knight’s duty to uphold the peace of the Kingdom.”

  “Sure, but could you not do this here? You’re scaring away the customers.”

  Elaine dropped her scowl, eyes flicking around the street of shophouses. A small crowd had formed, faces turned towards her, whispers rippling through the audience. Some onlookers turned away, pretending to browse the nearby shops, though their gazes kept sneaking back to her.

  Plus, it didn’t help that she literally stood out of the crowd with how much she towered over everyone else—the insignia on her chest only drawing more scrutiny.

  “Fair enough,” she said. “The usual place?”

  “You know it.”

  “Yeah. We can discuss more about those thugs who tried to rob you, then figure out how we want to celebrate. What do you say, Port?”

  “Sounds good.”

  “You sure? No other suggestions?”

  “Nope,” he said, shaking his head.

  “I have a suggestion,” Colby said. This was the idea that had hatched in his mind, the moment Elaine started to gloat about how much taller she was. “How about a race?”

  “Why?” Elaine asked.

  “Because it’ll be fun.”

  “You do realize that Porter runs for a living and cardio is a very important part of being a Knight, right?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “And you’re still suggesting a race?”

  “Sounds like someone is scared.”

  “Scared of losing to a guy who runs maybe once a year? Not really, no. Why don’t you just reveal whatever it is you’re scheming, Colbs?”

  Colby grinned, his fingers rapping against each other. “Last one there’s the shortest.”

  “You do realize that doesn’t make any sense, right?”

  “Maybe to you. But think of it this way, it’s a race to determine who gets the title of ‘Shortest’ in the group.”

  “And if I decline to race?”

  “You’re automatically labelled as the ‘Shortest’ amongst us.”

  “If we do this, will you finally admit your height complex?”

  “No comment.”

  Elaine sighed, “Fine. You in, Port?”

  “Are you sure we have to race?” Porter asked, looking at the seriousness on his face.

  “Of course,” Colby said. “I need to reestablish the hierarchy here. The height-archy, if you will.”

  “Maybe if you jumped as often as you worked on your puns, you’d be taller.”

  Colby grumbled. He’d show her. Just because she was a Knight-in-training, with huge muscles and really long legs, didn’t mean she’d beat him in a race.

  Porter leaned in close, “Do you want me to lose the match? It’d be no biggie. Plus, I am the shortest anyway.”

  “No, Porter, you may not.”

  “Yeah, Port,” Elaine said. “This is the best chance to get Colbs to do some exercise. We all know how much he needs it.”

  “Rude,” Colby said.

  Elaine turned her head around, hands over her eyes. “Did someone say something? I couldn’t hear them from up here.”

  Colby ignored her. They’d just settle it in a race. Though, realistically, there was no way for him to come in any place other than last. Between the physically fit Elaine, who had managed to pass all of the tests to become a Knight-in-training, and Porter, whose job was literally running from place to place in a timely manner, it’s no wonder Elaine was confident he’d be last.

  But that underestimation was what was going to bite her in the rump.

  She could underestimate him all she wanted, but never underestimate the power of cheese.

  “Are you ready?” Elaine asked, stretching as she pulled one leg behind.

  “Always,” Colby said, stretching as well by pulling his arms across his chest. With one eye closed—the one facing away from Elaine—he was quietly preparing a fresh batch of mozzarella within his Core.

  Normally, the mozzarella he made for customers was a single large ball. However, there were different sizes available, though most didn’t know that. What he was making right now was bocconici, in other words, small balls.

  Stove heated up the Daisy Cow milk within Pottingham. Once they had curdled, Curd-Cutter would come and slice the curds into a checkerboard pattern. Following that, the fusion of Cheese Bowl and Cheese-lander, otherwise known as Bowl-lander, would lift Pottingham into the air, dumping his contents into themselves. Bowl-lander would simultaneously drain away the whey while kneading and stretching the smooth and shiny curds.

  However, there was now one more step in the process. Colby would grab that huge lump of deliciousness and break them up into tiny, marble-sized pieces. His other Core Construct, Temp-tation, was an expert at handling balls. She used those glass noodle-like limbs of hers, rolling, pinching, and squeezing the mozzarella into numerous balls, like she was playing with them.

  With the preparations complete, it was time for the race to finally start.

  “You ready, Port?” Colby asked, noticing his friend just standing there, twiddling his thumbs.

  “I guess?” the scrawny boy replied. “Do we really have to do this?”

  “Yup,” Elaine said. “Last one there’s the shortest.”

  “Get ready to shrink,” Colby spat.

  “Sure, tiny. Sure.”

  The three of them lined up next to each other, leaning forward as they prepared to race.

  “Three!” Colby shouted.

  “Two!” Elaine followed up.

  “One,” Porter said in a meek voice, uncertain beneath the rising tension.

  “Start!” Colby and Elaine yelled in unison.