I am running toward my apartment. For a moment I froze after being teleported; my thoughts took a few seconds to sort themselves out. Susan left me stunned with her last words. Brendu had been so worried about me, to the point of even talking to her family to find a way to locate me.

  I would be lying to myself if I denied that I missed Brendu, Sol, Arisa, and Marga while I was locked inside that dungeon for so many months alone. Unfortunately, I am separated from the other three girls and won’t be able to see them for a few more weeks.

  I want to see Brendu. I want to see Brendu. My feelings stirred as I arrived at the building where my apartment is located. For a moment my mind went blank. What should I say to her? Should I just show up as if nothing had happened? How am I supposed to react to these situations?

  My body hesitates for a moment. My desire to hug her hasn’t diminished even a bit; I just don’t like dealing with these kinds of situations. Deep down, I feel like I am constantly worrying her, that at every moment something strange happens around me.

  I keep getting attacked by idiots from some group or hired by someone, there are even Ruby-rank assassins among them. There’s also the issue of disappearing for a while or getting into trouble inside dungeons. I know it well—she has avoided talking about these things, postponing them for a long time, and I’ve done the same. I don’t want to face it directly.

  I teleport to the rooftop of the building and sit on the edge. Brendu hasn’t said anything for some reason; I’ve noticed it in her Imra every time we meet after something dangerous happens. She has tried to hide it every time, but small threads of those feelings have leaked out, and that has been enough for me to understand.

  If it were up to her, she would have already locked me inside the school, one of the safest places in the world, and after that she would take me to her family’s castle to live a calm and safe life. She doesn’t do it because she knows me and loves me as I am. I’ve felt this same feeling from Arisa, Sol, and Marga in the past; the intensity was stronger because they couldn’t properly control their Imra.

  Thousands of situations come to my mind, making me doubt how I should react. I’m sure I’ve already crossed the limit and she’ll want to talk in more detail. I understand her; I would do the same if all these unpleasant situations happened to her. I wouldn’t let her go anywhere alone, or I’d always be worried when she went somewhere by herself.

  It takes me a few minutes to realize how much of an idiot I’m being. My mind becomes more and more confused as I imagine situations that surely won’t happen. “My uncle would have given me a good smack for being this stupid…” Ever since I was a child, I always hesitated. Above all, my uncle taught me life with small pushes—if I don’t face things head-on, I can’t solve them. The only solution is not to avoid the issue and confront it.

  I hit my forehead just like my uncle would have done. The mark of three fingers must be noticeable on my face; I used a bit too much force. I jump off the building, float before touching the ground, and head toward the apartment. I had already sensed Brendu inside since the moment I arrived.

  In front of the door, I hesitate again for a few seconds. My brain is trying to be as brave as my heart. Not even four seconds pass; just as I’m about to knock, my hand stops because someone turns the doorknob. The door opens, and Brendu is staring at me—she felt me.

  She is holding back the urge to cry. I can see her pressing her lips together to contain the tears. Her expression goes from confusion, to a bit of anger, and at the same time her eyes look very sad. After several seconds, I see a flash of happiness.

  I step closer and give her a tight hug. At first she just brings her arms together in front of her chest and lets herself be hugged. After a few seconds, she wraps me with her slender, delicate arms. The strength of her embrace shows how much she missed me.

  "You never stop worrying me." Her words are a whisper; if I were even a little farther away, I wouldn’t have been able to hear her. "Why do you always have to get into trouble? Why do the world and fate want to drag you into everything dangerous? Sometimes I feel like you yourself run toward these situations." I lift her slightly and step into the apartment with her.

  "I’m sorry…" I try to apologize, but I’m interrupted.

  "You don’t have to. It’s not your fault. I just… I just want to vent these feelings a little. Why is life sometimes so unfair to you?" I stay silent; I don’t know how to answer Brendu’s question. I can only imagine and assimilate—that’s something I do when I can’t speak at the moment.

  I let her cry and vent for a few minutes, her frustration slowly fading away. For the most part, she just stays sitting on the sofa, hugging me while releasing all that accumulated stress from the previous situations.

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  "I’m sorry…" Her gaze pierces me for a moment. "Don’t be mad. I know it’s not my fault, but it feels wrong not to apologize." For a moment I feel an attempt to hit me; it disappears quickly and she just laughs.

  "I missed you. I missed every little part of you, from those beautiful violet eyes to the mature way you always act—even when you look like a small child discovering something new. Every part of you is special to me." She moves some hair away from my eyes. "I’m very happy to see you return. I don’t care how many times you leave or get into life-and-death situations. Obviously I’ll be very angry, but I’ll be happy as long as you come back in the end. That’s enough for me." For a moment my eyes turn glassy and my fa?ade almost breaks; with sheer willpower, I hold back the tears.

  "I’ll always come back. I already promised you that." I hug Brendu tightly, all her emotions transmitted like a powerful torrent of water.

  "Now tell me everything." She’s much calmer now, her usual captivating smile back in place as she touches my hair again. "Why the hell has your hair grown so much? It doesn’t look bad, you just look cuter with short hair. No, it’s not just your hair—your height has changed too." She examines every centimeter of my body; her accusatory look makes me smile as I explain everything to her.

  "These kinds of extravagant situations can only happen to you." Brendu rubs her forehead softly, trying to process everything. "Well, at least now our age difference is only one year." Brendu’s birthday is two days before mine; she is already seventeen, and right now I’m sixteen. The gap has shrunk considerably.

  I’m still surprised at how we look about twenty-two years old. In this world, people mature physically very fast due to natural conditions—they must become as strong as possible as soon as they can. From the age of fourteen, you’re already considered a full adult, and you look like one.

  "Thank you for saving the citizens of my kingdom, Maki. I’m glad you were sent to that place; all of them would have died. Not only that small town—the next one would have also been wiped out by those monsters and that damned Withered Tree group. Thank you, even if it’s part of your responsibility as a future prince." She squeezes my cheeks and gives me many kisses.

  "I’ll talk to my father. Surely the king will reward you when you meet him, and we must find a way to eradicate that damned plague." She looks furious; she must hate that criminal group just as much as I do. I try to refuse any reward—I didn’t do it for that—but in the end it’s impossible to convince her. Her family won’t let me leave without some kind of compensation.

  Brendu takes out a hair tie from her dimensional bracelet and ties my hair in different ways, choosing her favorite. "You’ll go to the dinner like this, though first you need to take a good bath." She covers her nose; I’m sure I don’t smell bad, since I bathed in the morning before coming here.

  I get up from the sofa, take off my shirt, walk toward the bedroom, and halfway there I turn to look at her. "Aren’t you coming to shower with me?" A mischievous smile forms on my face, and at the same time Brendu slowly starts to turn red. "Just kidding." I wink at her and immediately duck as a pillow reinforced with her Imra and mana flies straight toward my head.

  I finish showering and put on very comfortable pajamas; there are still a few hours left until dinner. "Here!" Brendu hands me a small box. "Happy late birthday, Maki." I take the small box, and when I open it I see a pair of lovely hoop earrings—quite small, beautiful, and purple. She points to her ears; I can see the same design and color.

  "Thank you, Brendu… I don’t have anything for you. I’ll buy you something tomorrow." I take the earrings and instantly make a hole, one in each ear. I give the princess a tight hug.

  "It doesn’t matter, but if you insist so much, I won’t refuse. Now inject your Imra—these will lightly bond with your cube. It doesn’t matter if you lose them; they’ll return to you, and they’re made of a very resistant and regenerative material powered by ambient mana." I do as she says, feeling how the connection between the earrings and my cube is very light, yet somehow they have bonded.

  We keep talking until it’s time to go to dinner. Brendu chooses a beautiful lilac dress, right in the perfect range between elegant and casual. On her, it looks incredible—her presence is so imposing that the dress makes her look as if she were going to a wedding. I’m wearing blue pants, a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and comfortable shoes.

  "Happy birthday!" As I enter, I’m greeted by Areci, Shawu, my other friends, Susan, Lucio, and many more people. Everyone shouts again at the same time, Happy birthday!

  I freeze for a moment, noticing that Brendu already knew about this surprise party. "Thank you, everyone." At the same time, Shawu and Areci move like lightning, jumping on top of me. Brendu dodges them, and I let myself be caught, falling to the ground with them.

  The party was very entertaining. I talked with almost everyone at different moments, the food was delicious, there were many jokes and laughs all the time. I felt loved by everyone around me—a feeling I hadn’t felt for several months while I was locked away. You realize the value of something when you lose it and then get it back.

  In the end, we all sat on Susan’s rooftop, talking and drinking alcohol without thinking about tomorrow. After all, it’s the weekend. I want to keep these beautiful moments forever in my heart; they’re one of the reasons why life isn’t so bad.

  Lucio pleasantly surprised me at the party. He’s quite fun, though a bit disrespectful and blunt at times. I suppose that’s part of his charm. He seems very comfortable talking with everyone; he’s been the most talkative, especially while telling very entertaining stories about his travels across the continent.

  Overall, it’s been a great day. I’m very happy to be welcomed like this after so many months alone. A huge smile forms on my face—I’m deeply grateful to these people. Thank you, everyone! I thank everyone present in my thoughts; it’s time to keep enjoying the party until the end.