There were already carriages waiting for us. We boarded one to return to the city. According to the coachman, they had been taking turns every day, waiting for the dungeon to be destroyed.

  The trip back was silent—most of us either slept or simply stayed quiet. We would go to the city first; the council elder who had hired them had already set aside a house in advance. After that, I would go back to the school in the same carriage.

  “Come visit us soon. We’ll be in the city for a week before heading to your territory.” Joaki is much calmer now; this week is going to be very heavy for all of them.

  “Yes, I’ll visit at least a couple of times. I’m going to send a letter to my grandmother and give one to you as well—she’ll know what to do when you arrive. See you soon, guys.” They all wave their hands to say goodbye. I get back on the carriage and it’s time to return to the academy—happy to have met such a fascinating group, but sad to come back with one person missing.

  When we arrive, I step off the carriage slowly. “Young man, excuse me…” The coachman, an elderly man of about sixty-five with white hair, a perfectly shaved beard, and a clean suit, addresses me. “I know it may be a bit inappropriate to ask, given what you’re going through, but… could I please ask for a photo and an autograph for my daughter?” I hesitate for a moment.

  The coachman quickly continues, a little scared. “We saw you fight in the inauguration tournament, and my daughter was captivated by you. I can’t miss this chance—most likely I’ll never see you again.” At first, I thought about refusing, but after hearing his explanation, my heart softened. I can’t deny an elderly man worried about his daughter.

  “It’s no problem.” The old man pulls out something like a square box—it looks like a much bigger, less advanced camera. He makes sure to calculate the angle by placing it on top of the carriage, then runs over and stands completely straight like a pole. I try to smile as best as I can.

  I sign four sheets for him—one for him and his wife, and three more for each of his children. Then a picture develops on a paper sheet, very similar to the cameras of my previous world. The old man bows deeply, then gets into his carriage with a huge smile and I watch him leave.

  I feel sticky and disgusting after all those days in the dungeon. Some people have already started staring at me from afar; not wanting to deal with pointless conversations, I sprint at full speed toward my apartment, using Dimensional Step halfway through to get there even faster.

  I sit in the bathtub and think about everything that happened these days. A new type of dungeon that’s being corrupted by the intervention of some criminal group or cult. The ridiculous difficulty of clearing them. If one of these dungeons is given enough time, it’ll become a nest of grade 3 monsters with grade 4 power—that would be a complete disaster.

  Gator comes to mind—his mischievous smile, his wavy black hair, and cat-like green eyes. Rotu, the other tank, appears as well. He was buried where he died, and his group cried for hours. They made that decision because they didn’t know how long it would take to find the boss, and the body rots after more than a week in a storage bracelet.

  The owl group lost two brothers in this mission. They must be remembering their other comrade right now too—I didn’t know him, so I didn’t feel grief for him. But those people must be completely devastated now; when someone calms down, memories hit even harder.

  After a couple of hours wandering through different thoughts, I finish my shower. My body is completely exhausted—I haven’t slept well these last few days, and the feeling of coming home is overwhelming. The moment I touch my bed, I almost faint.

  I open my eyes a few hours later—the sound of the door opening wakes me up.

  “Maki? Are you back? Maki, are you really back?” I hear Brendu’s voice from the entrance. Before I can answer, I feel space itself twist from a skill, and less than a second later she’s standing in front of me.

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  “You’re back!” Just before jumping on me, she freezes. I follow her gaze and see that I’m wearing only a towel tied around my lower half, and everything is pretty visible. “Did you become an exhibitionist during this week outside?” Her voice carries mockery and annoyance.

  “Do you not like what you see?” I consider myself well above average—this shouldn’t be a problem.

  “No comments.” I can see her face turning as red as a tomato. I stand up to put on a small pair of pajama shorts.

  She dashes to the bathroom to put on her pajamas, and in a single jump she’s back at my side. She hugs me so tightly I feel every broken piece in me being put back together and slowly healed. We look at each other for a moment, her face full of happiness—then it suddenly changes.

  “What happened? You’re sad—I’ve never seen you like this.” Brendu lies beside me. “Tell me everything. Don’t leave out a single detail.” Her Imra brushes gently against my body, and I lower my defenses to let it in.

  I explain everything from the beginning to the end. I don’t omit any details about the dungeon. If a dungeon like that appeared in this territory, there’s a huge chance the same thing could happen in her kingdom. If she has the information, she can avoid a catastrophe.

  When I reach the final part, my voice cracks a bit. I have to use my mental skill to keep myself from crying so I can finish explaining why I’m sad. My strong willpower lets me finish the story without breaking down again.

  Brendu stays silent the whole time—she only speaks once I’m done. “I’m proud of you, Maki. You’re strong, brave, and you have a big heart. Life is unfair sometimes, and we have to live with that.”

  She takes a breath. “At least you have me right now.” She leans closer to hug me, presses her nose against mine, and I feel her lips touching mine softly. The warmth lasts a few seconds, then she moves back.

  “You earned it a long time ago—I just didn’t have the courage to make the first move earlier.” She surprises me; I can only react by returning the gesture.

  “Thank you for being here when I need you, spoiled princess. I’m glad I came to this academy and met you.” We both smile and share another tight hug.

  “I won’t tease you tonight—tomorrow I will. You need to sleep early so you have energy to return to your routine tomorrow.” Brendu strokes my hair as she talks.

  “I’m not going to classes or teaching tomorrow. I’ll probably have a meeting with Susan.” I want at least one day of rest.

  “Then I won’t go either. We can visit several places together—maybe even greet your new friends.” Brendu grabs my hand and pulls my body with strength. “Let’s eat something before we sleep. Tomorrow will be a relaxing day for both of us.” When I stand up, she walks toward the door and rests her hand on the doorknob.

  “You know, Maki… I was scared this whole time. Scared of losing you and never seeing you again. I’m really happy you came back.” She wipes her tears with her hand.

  “I promised I’d return. A knight can’t leave his princess alone, you know.” I hear a snort-like laugh escape from her lips.

  Dinner with her feels completely different now—a broken part of me slowly starts to mend. Sitting in my living room with her, like we’ve been doing for weeks, is something I wouldn’t trade for anything. Before, it was something nice to share. Now, after being away for days, I truly appreciate every small detail.

  Arisa, Marga, and Sol come to mind. I stay in contact with them every week—I take the time to write each of them a letter. Even if the content is similar, it doesn’t feel right to send only one for all three.

  I want to see them soon. I could return to my territory during summer break. I don’t have many reasons to spend my vacation here—I don’t need to take new courses, nor train intensely for the next semester, nor work for money.

  “Brendu, do you have plans for the end-of-year vacation?” I ask the princess, who is playing footsie with me while scrolling through something like a tablet.

  “Not really. I was thinking of going home to greet my parents. Why—did you have something in mind?” She looks excited by my question.

  “Would you like to visit my family’s territory? You could meet my whole family and…” I stop for a moment, unsure how to phrase the part about meeting the people she’ll be sharing me with.

  “The other girls? Don’t be afraid to say it. We’ve talked about this many times.” She smiles and relaxes me a bit. “I’d love to. I want to meet your whole family and everyone you care about.” She stands up and sits on my lap.

  “We’ll go to your territory with one condition.” That mischievous smile of hers is suspicious. “First, we must stop by my kingdom. I want to introduce you to my family too. They already have a good opinion of you thanks to the news about your participation in the inauguration tournament—I even wrote to them saying that wasn’t your full strength.” She puffs out her chest proudly.

  “Your family wants to meet me?” I freeze for a moment and sigh before answering. “I don’t mind—I want to meet them too. They’ll be my family soon.” I try to sound as calm as possible, but inside I’m already nervous.

  “Excellent, then it’s a deal. I’ll tell you the other condition once you meet my father. It’s nothing important, just a small detail.” Suspicious… her voice makes me doubt. It sounds important.