Tereza literally jumps into the air, startled by Alex’s sudden move. As soon as she does, Alex finishes his little joke and catches her mid-air in a princess carry, his arms holding her securely.
“Sorry for that,” Alex says with a playful grin, looking down at Tereza’s face, which is a mix of confusion, anger, and a hint of sha. “But you deserved it for being silly.”
“Let’s take a walk; we’ll be back soon, Rishi. Give us a few minutes,” Alex calls out, already heading toward a shadowy corner of the camp behind a supply tent.
Still cradling Tereza in his arms, he glances down at her and says, “Let’s talk, okay?”
“Will you put down already? Then we can talk!” she snaps back almost instantly, her voice sharp but tinged with embarrassnt.
“No, I think I’ll hold you like this a little longer,” Alex replies, tightening his grip just enough to make his point clear.
“...”
“You… you carried behind this tent, nobody is around and now you’re just standing here in silence! Talk already!” Tereza demands, her frustration bubbling to the surface.
“Sure, Princess,” Alex says, his smile softening. “What do you want to talk about first?”
“You. What’s wrong with you suddenly?” she asks, her tone a mix of annoyance and sothing else, sothing vulnerable.
Okay, enough playing around, I guess.
Alex takes a deep breath, his expression shifting to sothing more serious. “I think I’m acting more or less like I usually do, maybe just taking a small step forward here and there. But let’s talk about you. Now that I’ve got you in my arms and you’re temporarily grounded, I’m not letting you dodge the topic again. Do you really want to disappear one day and try to make it through the Realm all by yourself?”
“No! Of course not!” she fires back imdiately, her voice firm but her eyes betraying a flicker of uncertainty.
“Then why do you think I care about that now-defunct contract? Why did you even bother counting the items we shared, saying it’s not worth investing more in you? Do you really think I’d only keep you around for the contract? I can’t believe you’d see as soone who only cares about profit. Not after everything we’ve been through together,” Alex says, his voice steady but carrying a weight that makes Tereza pause.
“I don’t… it’s just…I fear being alone…” she stamrs, her words trailing off as she struggles to find the right response.
Alex takes a guess and presses on. “I hate it when people force to talk about the past, especially the parts I’d rather forget. But you know what? It’s not our past that matters most; it’s our present. I can’t stand it when soone in a movie finally opens up after a long, painful struggle, shares their sad story, and suddenly everything’s supposed to be fixed, it doesn’t work like that. I get it, you’ve been through so terrible things, and it’s left you with trust issues. Trust , I’ve been there too. But here’s the thing: I don’t even care about what happened back then. What I care about is you, what happens to you now. If you ever want to tell , I’ll listen. But the most important thing is this: whatever happened in your past isn’t going to repeat itself. I can promise you that, 100%.”
Tereza lies silently in Alex’s arms, her face unreadable but her vulnerability shining through more clearly than ever. It’s a side of her Alex hasn’t seen since their first encounter, when they stood face to face, weapons drawn, each trying to kill the other. He rembers that mont vividly, the look in her eyes when he had the chance to strike her down.
“You don’t look too good. Calm down,” he says softly, his hand gently stroking her smooth brown hair. He savors the feeling of her smooth, slightly cool strands slipping through his fingers, a small comfort in the midst of the tension.
“For now, maybe I should do the talking,” Alex continues, his voice steady but warm. “I’m not going to lie and say I fell head over heels for you at first sight, like in so silly movie or love story. But I do care about you—a lot. Over the last few days, I’ve found myself watching you more often than I’d like to admit. From the very start, I’ve always seen you as my trusted teammate, soone I’d trust with my life. That silly contract? It’s gone now, but nothing’s changed. To , it was just a worthless piece of paper anyway. So, if you’re willing, I’d like you to be a little more open with and with Rishi, too. We’re not going to abandon you. If things ever get tough, we’ll either make it out together, or it’s ga over for all of us. Running away and leaving you behind? That’s not even an option for . Not after everything we’ve been through.”
With that, Alex gently lowers Tereza to the ground and sits down beside her. She doesn’t move, her head resting on his lap as she lies there in silence.
Alex gazes down at her, his eyes lingering on her hazelnut-brown ones. But she blushes faintly and closes them, her face calm but her emotions clearly swirling beneath the surface.
One more step.
Alex begins to speak again, his tone thoughtful but firm. “I hate speculating about other people, but I think your antics, your sotis crazy, erratic, even hostile behavior—and even your extrely affectionate displays of love toward nchi, while still keeping at arm’s length, show you’re scared of trusting people too much. You instinctively pull away once you get close enough to soone, in this case, . You never stay too far away from either constantly approaching again and again, but the second we get a little closer, you push away. It’s a constant back-and-forth that leads nowhere. With nchi, though, you don’t hold back because you don’t see her as soone serious. And, to be frank, that’s pretty obvious, especially since you two have beco just good friends after just a few days of playing around without a hint of romance involved. In fact, I can see a bit of pain in your eyes; maybe it happened too fast.”
Tereza finally responds, her voice quiet but carrying a weight of emotion. “Things with nchi… they are not serious, obviously. But concerning you… If you fly too close to the sun…”
“You might get burned and crash down, especially if you’re so Greek idiot from a myth who made his wings out of wax and feathers. But honestly, that’s such a silly saying. I’d rather risk getting burned and crashing down than spend my whole life staying below the clouds in the dark,” Alex says, his voice steady but passionate.
“You’re quite poetic sotis, and this ti I’m not even kidding… So, you’re saying you’d rather risk losing it all than hold yourself back. I’m a bit greedy, but this much… it’s too much to ask for. I’m afraid of … surviving the crash… alone,” Tereza replies, her voice filled with hesitation.
"..."
You know what? Screw this!
Alex stays silent for a mont, then laughs.
“What’s so funny?” she asks, confused.
“I tried to co up with another great saying or example, but honestly? Screw this. Let’s use simple words, the ones I like best but am often too afraid to say,” Alex says, his tone shifting to sothing more direct.
“Stop thinking I’ll abandon you. What you consider the sun is just sothing natural for most people. At this height, the sun isn’t even enough to warm you up, so you’d better bring a damn jacket. Stop thinking that once you’re no longer useful to , or my ‘investnt’ doesn’t work out, I’ll throw you away. Stop thinking I’ll leave you alone by dying, hell I’m invincible, I could solo any mission with ease! Stop holding yourself back. I’ve always liked your strong will and your honesty, even if so of it might have been deliberate or an act. I want you to act however you like, and I promise you, we’ll make it through this together. If I’m being completely honest, you seem to enjoy this too, and I can’t help but admit that I’ve enjoyed nearly every single day after my so-called death. Sure, things get hard sotis, but we’ll make it through together. In the worst case, we’ll crash and burn, but we’ll do that together, too, after having a hell of a good ti before that. So, let’s aim for the big miracle and do our best to last until the very end. Until then, we’ll enjoy our ti as much as we can. Don’t hold back, okay?” Alex asks, leaning down until his face is directly above hers.
Tereza opens her eyes and stares into Alex’s, her cheeks flushing slightly. Finally, she whispers, “Okay…”
Alex gives her a quick kiss on the cheek, then gently helps her up until they’re standing side by side.
“Thank you for listening to ,” he says, turning to walk back toward the camp.
“Alex… there’s one thing,” she says, stopping him in his tracks.
“Yeah? What is it?” Alex asks, starting to turn around.
But before he can fully face her—
SLAP
A sharp, stinging sensation hits Alex’s backside, and he lets out a soft scream.
“That one felt good,” Tereza says with a big smile. “Now we’re even!”
This woman…
“No, we aren’t! We were even before; now it’s 2 to 1, not even counting all the other shenanigans you’ve pulled!” Alex protests, rubbing the spot where she’d slapped him.
“Yeah, and that’s how I like it. I’ll stay just a tiny bit ahead of you. You’d better keep chasing endlessly,” she says with a grin. Then, surprising him, she pulls his head toward her and kisses him.
After a few monts, she releases him and says with a confident voice, staring straight into his eyes, “You’d better keep taking care of , showering with even more gifts, and keep adding new beautiful girls as supporters that I can play around with, and…”
“Are you serious…” Alex sighs, cutting her off, unable to believe what he’s hearing.
“Just kidding… but there’s one thing I am serious about. I love you,” she says, her smile unwavering as she looks directly into his face.
Alex’s face flushes slightly in embarrassnt after hearing these words, words he hasn’t heard before, but Tereza doesn’t give him any ti to respond. “Thank you for everything. I feel a lot better now! Let’s get back. We can talk more later… Oh, and before I forget, here.” She hands over her 5 [Gem of Corruption] and 2 [Essence of Corruption]. “Give that [Quintessence of Corruption] so I can buy my [Healing Magic Skillbook].”
Hmph, looks like she’s at least a little more honest now. She seems strangely refreshed. Let’s just hope she doesn’t get even bolder than she already is, or I’ll have to buy a damn leash to contain her.
The two exchange their items, and Tereza kisses Alex softly once more. She then grabs his hand and pulls him back to Rishi, who’s waiting a fair distance away from Firenze, looking as calm as ever.
“Finally done? You both look good. I can see so interesting colors when I look at you. I have to say, these 45 minutes of waiting were certainly worth it looking at these results,” Rishi says, his eyes flicking between Tereza and Alex, who are still holding hands.
Alex tries to pull away, but Tereza tightens her grip, refusing to let go.
“Let’s exchange our items for Tokens and get our rewards!” she says with a confident voice, leading the way towards Firenze, pulling Alex along.
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