Stellar Echo: Heart of the Myst-Chapter 135: VOL 2 - 80: Moon walk.

The group of masters, disciple, and maid appeared with a flash above the moon that just minutes before Erik had been gazing at with longing. Upon arrival, the runes on Erik's suit gently illuminated, instantly generating something akin to an invisible force field around him, keeping him safe from the void while simultaneously allowing him to breathe normally.

Visibly euphoric, like a child in an amusement park, Erik looked in wonder at the ground beneath his feet, which appeared as a canvas of fine, gray dust that stretched out in gentle undulations toward the horizon—a horizon that looked much closer and displayed a curvature that was incredibly evident to the naked eye, with craters of various sizes dotting the surface, almost like indelible scars recounting the history of countless impacts the moon had suffered throughout its existence.

In the distance, the planet Aranta hung in the sky like an orb of vibrant blues and greens, surrounded by a halo of white atmospheric light—a breathtaking and moving spectacle, especially for Erik, who scanned his surroundings with excitement. This sight brought affectionate smiles to Seraphina, Eleonora, and Sigrún; they truly missed seeing him act so adorably—a behavior that only emerged when he was faced with something "new".

Although for beings of their level, the void of space posed no challenge—and they only donned their suits to match their beloved Erik—the three women nevertheless activated them in order to create a suitable environment for their dear Erik to enjoy his "space adventure" in the best possible way.

"This is fascinating..."

Almost dazed as he surveyed his surroundings, Erik softly remarked. The sound of his voice reached the three women despite the void of space thanks to their suits—even though, in truth, they didn't really need them to communicate; they were simply very important for setting the mood.

"So, what are you waiting for? Let's begin your first 'space exploration'."

Sigrún said with a loving smile. Erik nodded excitedly and stepped forward, but the excitement on his face soon turned to a slightly troubled expression as he realized that the gravity he felt was the same as that of the University planet.

"Fufufu"

Imagining what was going through the mind of her beloved disciple by his expression, Eleonora let out a small, amused giggle from her beautiful lips before gently touching Erik's suit. At that moment, she added cheerfully.

"The gravitational simulation functions are now deactivated."

"Thank you, Master!"

With bright eyes, Erik thanked her and quickly returned to his original position while erasing with a ghostly hand the mark he had left in the sand. He then took another step, floating slightly in the air—a sensation that filled him with immense joy, so much so that he couldn't contain himself and ended up uttering one of his all-time favorite phrases.

"One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

The three beautiful women looked at Erik somewhat confusedly, who was overflowing with happiness from having said that curious phrase—which, although it sounded marvelous, honestly made no sense to them. After all, visiting a moon was so inexpensive that anyone with free time could do it, yet apparently for Erik, it was something very special.

With a broad smile on his face, immediately after uttering the phrase, Erik pulled his notebook from his storage ring and scribbled something in it before quickly tucking it away. He then retrieved from a different storage ring a glass box in which he placed, with extreme care, a small fragment of the moon's surface marked by his footprint—a capture obtained with the aid of a spell.

The women looked at Erik with tenderness as he seemed to be living the best moment of his life. They followed him to play for a while on the moon—building sandcastles and exploring the inhospitable terrain—all while Erik stubbornly refused to activate the gravitational simulator on his suit. Even though, on several occasions, he nearly ended up flying off the moon because he couldn't properly gauge the force of his jumps.

Although the moon wasn't exactly a fun place, and the feats he achieved in weightlessness were things he could easily perform in normal gravity thanks to his super strength. For Erik, being able to stroll on the moon and build a sandcastle was an indescribable fantasy. A joy that he believed no one else could understand, since they would not grasp the context of the situation or what such an experience meant in his past life.

...

"Erik wants to make a flag?"

After playing for a while on the moon, Erik suddenly sat down in the sand and began to pull from his storage ring two platinum rods, a piece of blue fabric, needles, threads, ink, and a brush—an assortment that prompted Sigrún to ask in confusion, to which Eleonora could only nod somewhat uncertainly.

"That seems to be the case..."

Meanwhile, Seraphina—who had remained silently at the side, maintaining a professional and respectful demeanor—did not forget to take pictures of her adorable young master. She made sure not to miss a single detail; after all, moments like these were now very rare, and as her young master continued learning and experiencing new things, they would become even rarer. Thus, she had to record them in lavish detail to treasure them as they deserved.

With all the materials in hand, Erik began welding the platinum rods with fire magic, then proceeded to inscribe his name onto the fabric using a spell, since the brush proved of little use—something that should have been obvious, though his excitement was clouding his judgment somewhat.

After fashioning the frame and sewing the fabric, Erik completed a striking flag, which he planted into the ground with an enormous smile. He then retrieved his portable shelter—the same one he'd used in the tournament—from his storage ring, and set up a small scene where he began taking all kinds of photographs with the aid of a small crystal orb.

Meanwhile, Eleonora, Sigrún, and Seraphina watched with surprise and affection as Erik had fun like a small child, snapping photos of the improvised set he had assembled. Every so often, he nodded in self-satisfaction as he examined the pictures he'd taken. After a while, he turned to look at them and said in a cheerful tone.

"Masters, Seraphina, come on—we have to take a family photo, hehehe."

Those simple words caused the expressions on the three women's faces to melt with love, and before they could say a word, they were already gathered in front of their beloved Erik. He quickly led them to the shelter, then he made the orb float at a good distance from them. After checking that everything was in order, Erik arranged for Seraphina to stand between his masters, then wrapped his arms around all of them from behind and snapped several photos.

As Erik took 'family photographs' in various poses and settings, Eleonora, Sigrún, and Seraphina looked on tenderly at the enormous smile on his face—a smile that was probably one of the happiest they had ever seen on him in all the time they'd been together. This sight filled them with boundless joy—not only because they saw him so happy, but also because they now discovered a new facet of him, which made them feel much closer to him and would undoubtedly strengthen their bond.

Not long after, Ebonique and Ignis joined the photo session, helping the wolves stay afloat in the void of space so that they, too, could appear in the photos. The wolves tried to show their gratitude with a friendly lick, only to be playfully smacked on the head by the spirits. Erik quickly avenged the pups, returning the playful hit and chiding them for not understanding the little, helpless puppies.

...

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"You really enjoyed this 'Moon walk'..."

After an "exhausting" photo session, Eleonora commented with a small smile while embracing Erik's left arm, as he gathered his belongings with the help of his ghostly hands. He replied, visibly happy.

"Hahaha, yes, it was great."

"Then the trip was worth it..." Sigrún wrapped her arm around Erik's right side, speaking with a beaming smile. Erik nodded in satisfaction and said in a contented tone.

"It was well worth it."

"It is a joy that the young master enjoyed it so much."

Seraphina, who had chosen to remain silent like the perfect maid she was, couldn't help but comment with a joyful smile on her face upon seeing her young master's happiness. Certainly not because she wanted to divert attention from the dark shadows covering the sandcastles Erik had built in the distance, only to then vanish into nothingness. No, of course not.

After a few more words, the group vanished from the moon with a flash, returning to the cruiser once again brimming with smiles and joy. There, they enjoyed a pleasant and sumptuous dinner together, with Erik "forcing" Seraphina to sit with them under the pretext of celebrating a very important occasion—leaving the perfect maid with no choice but to obey.

"With all these, where are the siblings?"

After finishing his meal—which he devoured as if there were no tomorrow—Erik asked somewhat curious, without even bothering to extend his Mystical Awareness into the ship, since he knew it would be blocked. Seated to his left with a perfectly professional expression, Seraphina replied in a serious tone.

"They are sleeping, young master; they ate too much."

"Oh, I see."

Erik said with understanding. After all, this had happened to him a couple of times before, if he ate too much, his body would fill with so much mana and nutrients that it needed everything to process them—and that made him sleep. At that moment, Eleonora, who was on his right, took his hand and remarked in a soft, calm voice.

"We should also go to sleep; it's already late..."

"You're right, it is late..."

Erik replied in a calm tone while discreetly studying, with his gaze, the hand and expression of his master with golden eyes. At that moment, Ebonique and Ignis—who were nearby in their small forms—flew over to perch on his shoulders.

"Yes, let's go to sleep." Ebonique said in a calm, casual tone, which made the pair of masters smile gently. Sigrún then added with a small smile.

"Ebonique, Ignis, why don't you rest in the spiritual realm? I think that would be much more comfortable for you."

"There is not the slightest possibility of that happening."

Surprisingly, Ignis responded with a firm, sharp tone—a response that mildly surprised Sigrún, who was already accustomed to that unfaithful spirit betraying her to go off with her beloved disciple. Not giving it much importance, she quickly replied cheerfully, though with evident mockery in her tone,

"Ignis, it is very rude to interfere in an 'intimate' moment between master and disciple; what a naughty girl you are..."

"Hmph, it is our duty to save Erik from a couple of perverted masters..." Ebonique quickly joined the fray, taking Ignis's side, which made her nod with pride. Inevitably, Eleonora elegantly interjected.

"Perverted masters? What are you talking about, Ebonique?"

"Hmph, what else could it be?" Ebonique retorted with an annoyed snort, to which Sigrún responded with a defiant smile.

"Yes, what could it be? I really can't understand it—after all, we are still pure maidens."

"Are you insinuating that we are not?" Ebonique quickly shot back, letting her murderous intent show, and Ignis added in a tone of genuine offense.

"Besides, you may be 'maidens' but 'pure'? Hehe."

"Ohh, it seems someone wants to fight..."

Sigrún commented in a dark, almost murderous tone, a vein throbbing on her forehead with anger. This prompted Ignis and Ebonique to let their auras flare, ready for battle. But just then, they heard a voice of a terribly bad actress trying to sound sorrowful.

"Oh no, I feel so sad, you have hurt my feelings... Erik, what can I do...? Do you think I'm not 'pure'...?"

Eleonora commented softly as she clung to the arm of her beloved Erik, who was clearly trying to play dead to avoid getting involved. She let her body fall onto her beloved disciple while looking at him with 'sad' and 'regretful' eyes, which only made the star-haired boy sigh. Shortly after, he spoke in a tired tone.

"Ebonique, Ignis, stop fighting with my masters. Besides, do you have any proof or evidence that they aren't 'pure' or that they're perverts?"

"No..." Almost deflated and visibly saddened by the reprimand, Ignis and Ebonique replied in unison. Erik nodded and said in a serious tone.

"Then apologize to my masters and, in the future, refrain from making comments of that sort."

The pair of spirits—possessing an unimaginable form and status—quickly nodded like little scolded children, then looked at Eleonora and Sigrún and meekly asked for forgiveness in low, sorrowful voices.

"Sorry..."

Seeing the adorable spirits so dejected, Erik couldn't help but be moved. He quickly extended his hands to grant them a generous portion of his mana, which visibly lifted their moods. At that moment, Sigrún said very seriously, as if discussing a matter of vital importance,

"Erik, to be clear, I am indeed 'pure'—I have never been with anyone in any way. Do not get the wrong idea."

"The same goes for me; I haven't even kissed anyone."

Upon hearing Sigrún, Eleonora quickly added, understanding the importance of avoiding any unpleasant misunderstandings, to which Erik could only nod, somewhat confused.

"I understand; I won't get the wrong idea..."

Seeing his masters nod in satisfaction, Erik couldn't help but shake his head. In the galaxy, far too much importance seemed to be placed on "purity" or, in other words, virginity—a notion that, to him, was honestly a bit silly. Although he couldn't deny that a virgin had her charm, he had grown old in his past life, and by that age one learned to enjoy other things. Moreover, an important lesson he learned was that inexperience is dangerous and can bring about unexpected and disastrous changes.

...

The day ended with a small internal war in Erik's room. Seraphina, Eleonora, and Sigrún wanted to sleep with Erik, but Ignis and Ebonique adamantly refused to relinquish their spots on the bed. In the end, the problem was solved by bringing out a larger bed, and everyone slept together in the company of the wolves, who howled lamentably so as not to be left out.

***

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