“My God, this is all your fault. We’re going to be late to your brother’s breakfast because you made me stay up so late.” Brendu is getting ready in the bathroom, and I can hear her shouting from the bed where I’m lying. I’ve been ready for more than twenty minutes already.

  According to her, she’ll be ready in another ten minutes. I’m not sure if I should believe her.

  Anyone hearing those words would think something completely different. The reason we stayed up late wasn’t anything exciting or happy, she just spent the whole time scolding me for being suicidal. I listened to her complain about how I should value my life more, about how the people around me would feel if something happened to me… well, in the end, she’s right.

  I would scold any of the girls if they had the same mindset. The closest one to that was Arisa, but little by little she changed thanks to Marga’s and Sol’s influence, even though they still haven’t erased her love for fighting and that characteristic spark of hers completely.

  “I’m going to get some mental magic mage to put a seal on you, that way you won’t be able to do such reckless things all the time.” I curl up on the bed, wanting to believe she’s joking. Yes, she’s definitely joking.

  “You look beautiful, that dress fits you perfectly.” Brendu comes out of the bathroom changed, and to my surprise she really did get ready in ten minutes.

  “Your compliments won’t fix anything.” Her reply sounds harsh, but her gestures say the opposite. I can see the slight blush on her cheeks after my praise. At least I managed to calm the dragon a little. Just thinking that three more are on their way gives me a mild headache.

  We both head toward my family’s main house. The fresh morning air brushes against our faces. Brendu’s yellow dress flutters in the wind. Today she’s dressed completely in yellow, from her hair accessory to her shoes. I’m wearing a simple white shirt, silk trousers, and cream-colored shoes.

  We go to the usual hall, the same place where my family gathers for these occasions and other important days. From a distance I can feel my grandmother, Sers, and Ivad sitting there.

  My parents haven’t arrived yet. Arriving after Sers is something that had never happened to me before, but at least we’re not late.

  We all greet each other cheerfully. “Where are Mom and Dad?” I ask Sers. He’s dressed similarly to me. The difference is the color of his pants and shoes, which are brown. His girlfriend is also wearing a brown dress, a little looser because of her pregnancy.

  “They went to receive Ritmo, he arrived a minute ago.” Now I understand why they’re not here. At last, I’m going to see my older brother after so many years.

  “Are you far from reaching Ruby rank?” I can’t help noticing the empty space where his arm should be. I’ve asked almost every Diamond and Ruby ranker I’ve met, and they all had similar answers. Most likely, my brother will be able to recover his arm at that point. A good healer could restore it without much risk.

  “Not that far. I could push my core to the limit and get it in a few months, but if I want to evolve with a solid foundation, it’ll take almost two years. Not all of us have as many advantages and freedom as you do.” He punches my shoulder with his only arm.

  “To be honest with you, I’ve already gotten used to fighting with just one arm. I gained a skill to shape lightning, and I can create a mana arm.” He makes a small demonstration. The lightning arm looks quite solid, and there’s no difference if you ignore that it’s completely made of electric mana. “Don’t make that face. Of course I want to recover my arm. There are things that can only be conveyed through physical contact. When I feel ready, I’ll rank up.” I feel happy about his answer.

  “These might help you.” I take out several elixirs, potions, and specialized cores. All of these were part of my reward from the congress. I don’t need them, it’ll be better if Sers uses them. And that’s just part of the reward.

  The congress took the matter of investigating me seriously. Most of the reward items aren’t for me, but for my territory. I received some state-of-the-art carriages, a lot of high-level technology to train soldiers, and I even got close to two hundred sets of armor. Calling them armor might be exaggerating a little since they look more like fabric suits, but they’re damn resistant. Very few grade 3 monsters could even scratch them.

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  Out of all that, the only thing useful to me is the storage bracelet, but I can’t complain. This will help keep the territory safer. I feel a bit stupid for only now remembering the rewards. If Brendu hadn’t asked me for something specific inside the bracelet, I wouldn’t have remembered.

  “You don’t need them? I can recognize many of these, they’re all very expensive and useful for any Sapphire ranker.” Sers looks quite perplexed, hesitating whether to take them or not.

  “No… I can reach Ruby rank right now if I want. My foundation is very solid. I just need to adjust a few more points and I’ll be ready.” I push all the items against his chest.

  “Seriously? That’s impressive. You truly are a monster of flesh and blood. Thanks, Maki.” I ignore his comment. He stores everything away without any more objections.

  We keep talking, and a few minutes later I feel some people entering my sphere of perception. I recognize three of them immediately: my parents and my brother. The other person is a woman walking hand in hand with Ritmo. Is she one of the surprises? I don’t say anything to the others, I want them to be as surprised as I am.

  I can feel the small smile on my grandmother’s face. She must have noticed too thanks to her perception ability. I reduce the range of my perception to just a few meters around me. I don’t want to spoil the rest of the surprises. Just today I’ve already spoiled a few for myself.

  “Your parents are coming, I can see Ritmo too, and he’s holding hands with… Reku Weri?” Ivad opens her eyes wide and shakes my brother by the shoulders. “Did you know Ritmo is dating the Count’s daughter?” She bombards her boyfriend with questions.

  “No… I just found out too. I figured he stayed longer than planned for some reason, now we know why.” My brother looks just as surprised as everyone else.

  As for me, I didn’t know who Reku Weri was. If Ivad hadn’t mentioned she’s the Count’s daughter, I would’ve just thought she was some relative. They still haven’t noticed the most important thing yet. I move a little to the side to get a good look at their faces when they realize it.

  Brendu looks at me a bit confused, then follows me and stands beside me. I wink at her and gesture for her to look at my future sister-in-law. It takes her a moment to notice, but she stays calm. Sers and Ivad are very surprised, still talking among themselves, and haven’t seen it yet.

  Our parents finally arrive with Ritmo and his girlfriend. “It’s been a long time, I’m glad to see you’re all healthy and strong.” Ritmo, as always, speaks in his calm voice, scanning everyone with a quick look.

  “This is Riku, some of you already know her.” He looks at me and Brendu. “She’s the daughter of Count Weri. We got engaged a little over a year ago.” He must know I’m not very interested in noble affairs, I don’t know most nobles, and Brendu is completely new to him.

  “It’s a pleasure to see you all again.” Riku smiles perfectly, like a noble would, then her gaze settles on me. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Maki. Your brother has told me a lot about you.” The Count’s daughter has silky black hair down to her waist. Her eyes are different colors, one black and one green. I understand that’s a distinction of the Weri family.

  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Riku.” I take Brendu’s hand and step forward to greet her. “I hope he mentioned good things about me. I also want to introduce someone to you. This is Brendu Qolud, princess of the Juka Kingdom, my fiancée.” Ritmo’s and Riku’s faces are pure poetry. I pinch my thighs with my left hand so I don’t laugh at their reactions. I can’t say the same for Sers and Ivad.

  “No matter how much time passes, you always surprise me.” Ritmo rubs his face for a moment, then returns to his usual self. He introduces himself politely to Brendu, much better than Sers did. His fiancée does the same. When they finish with us, they move on to Sers and his girlfriend, who apparently were already friends, and finally they end with my grandmother, the most important one.

  When the greetings are over, Ritmo finally seems ready to drop the second piece of news. “Family, my brothers aren’t the only ones full of surprises.” He looks at Ivad’s belly and continues. “I also want to announce something. I want to start planning my wedding with Riku and form a family with our future child.” Ritmo gently rubs his fiancée’s belly.

  Everyone bursts into joy, each of us stepping forward to congratulate them. This time I held back about my next nephew, I just promised to give everything I have if any of them ever need me. When I mentioned declaring war on any idiot who tried to hurt them, I was the only one laughing. Everyone thought I was serious. I wasn’t lying, but it was a small joke.

  “The three of us are finally together again after many years.” Ritmo calls Sers and me aside after a few hours. We sit at another table a few meters away.

  “Yes, last time Maki was just a kid and I still had two arms.” Sers says with a big smile.

  “We’ve all had very busy years. At least now we’ll be closer.” I reply to my two brothers. We’ll be closer because Ritmo said he’ll get married in our territory and they’ll live here. He has to take on more responsibilities with the territory and apply everything he’s learned. It’s his time now.

  “We need to catch up, especially you, prodigy. I talk quite often with Sers, but you only send letters occasionally. Tell us a bit about everything, especially to me. Give me a summary of your life since the last time we saw each other.” Ritmo puts his arm around my shoulders. He looks a little drunk, and he probably is. He’s never this expressive.

  “A lot has happened since the last time we met…” A long story is coming.