My face is filled with pure happiness. I’m completely joyful and excited for my brother and Ivad — they’re both going to be parents! I never had the chance to be an uncle in my previous world, and I carried that ache in my chest for a long time. I always wished I could be that cool uncle you turn to when things are hard or when you can’t talk to your parents.

  “Thank you, Maki. Your brother was right, you really are the most excited one in the whole family.” I feel a little embarrassed by my reaction. Sers is laughing — I can see it thanks to my Personal World — and the rest of my family looks happy as well. Brendu is staring at Ivad’s belly while touching her own. I’ll ignore that for now.

  “Aren’t you going to congratulate your brother? You know, I’m doing my part in this pregnancy too.” Sers steps closer, rests his head on his girlfriend’s shoulder, and gently rubs her belly with his remaining hand.

  “Yeah… you’re doing your part too.” I give him the most suspicious look I can, and I can practically feel his heart breaking. “I’m kidding, Sers. Congratulations to both of you. I’m sure you’ll be wonderful parents.” I give my brother a strong hug.

  Brendu subtly approaches from behind. “Congratulations, Sers and Ivad. Becoming parents is a blessing.” Her words are well received by my brother; my sister-in-law thanks her, though she looks a bit confused — she has no idea who Brendu is.

  “She’s Brendu Qolud, princess of the Juka Kingdom. Apparently, she’s engaged to Maki.” Sers’s voice is soft, but loud enough for everyone nearby to hear.

  Ivad’s eyes open wide. She looks at the three of us in sequence for several seconds, and when all the pieces finally click in her head, she speaks. “Please forgive my poor manners. I didn’t know who you were. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Princess. My name is Ivad Oter.” She makes a small bow, but before she can continue speaking, Brendu interrupts her.

  “Don’t worry about being so formal, we’re almost family. It’s a pleasure to meet both of you. Maki has spoken a lot about you.” Brendu smiles naturally — today, that usual formal smile isn’t there. She looks Sers straight in the eyes. “Our engagement is real. My family has already approved my engagement with your brother, your family has already given me their approval, I’m happy to become his wife, and Maki…” She looks at me, waiting for my response. Everyone is suddenly anxious.

  “Well… I’m still thinking about it…” The moment I see Brendu’s eyes, I realize this is not the time for jokes. “I’m deeply in love with her. I feel blessed to have been chosen by someone so magnificent.” Her gaze sends a chill down my spine.

  I can feel everyone holding back laughter — even my grandmother is looking to the side, struggling not to laugh. Brendu is the first one to burst out laughing, and once she does, everyone else stops holding back. It seems I’ve been spared. My thoughts were wrong — when she comes closer to hug me, she pinches my back. No one notices.

  We all return home to have dinner together. Along the way, we see people celebrating having survived such a powerful stampede, and some families mourning the fallen. “I’ll go offer my condolences on behalf of the family.” I volunteer, and everyone agrees.

  “I’m deeply sorry for the loss of your loved ones. I come on behalf of my family to offer our condolences. They were all great people — it’s a great loss for everyone. The place where we live remains safe thanks to them. I hope they can rest wherever they are.” Most of the fallen had no family — only three of them did.

  For a moment, I expected insults or looks of hatred. After all, their relatives died partly because of me. But none of that happened. They simply thanked me, and we spoke for a bit. Everyone looked very sad, but in a world where death is always breathing down your neck, it’s easier to accept the loss of a family member.

  I feel calmer, my mind clearer after offering condolences to the families of those who died in battle. In moments like these, the lives of all the citizens rest on our family’s shoulders. We can’t stop disasters from happening out of nowhere — all we can do is face them and hope for the best.

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  Dinner helps me relax even more. I can feel each problem slowly fade from my body. Home-cooked food is completely different from restaurant food. I can’t really explain it — it’s just different. Maybe it’s all mental.

  We move to the same place where we always gather as a family. The atmosphere becomes a bit heavy when we revisit what happened just hours ago, especially the topic of that deranged Diamond-rank woman.

  My mother knows exactly when to ask the right questions to shift everyone’s mood. We talk about everything that happened over the past few months — the city’s improvements, some small problems that caused headaches — and throughout it all, jokes are made about Sers. My brother becomes the easy target, especially when his girlfriend brings up embarrassing moments.

  “Sers came home with headaches every day. Numbers caused him more trouble than some monsters. He didn’t complain this much even when he lost his arm. I’m proud of how he handled everything — he no longer has problems with finances. He’s a new man.” Ivad hugs my brother tightly.

  “Ivad’s right… it was a terrible headache at first. Without Patt’s or Dad’s support, it would’ve taken me much longer.” Sers speaks after kissing his girlfriend on the head. I can see the three of them supporting each other — all three are much better at throwing punches than sitting behind a desk.

  “That’s enough about us. Now let’s get to what matters — I want to know everything about you.” My mother looks at us with a smile. Everyone turns toward us expectantly.

  “Yes… tell us everything. I’m very curious to hear the story.” My grandmother joins in, her smile and gaze clearly saying: I told you so, I knew it.

  I blatantly ignore her intentions. “It’s your turn to tell it.” I wink at Brendu. I already told our story at the royal family’s palace.

  Her smile makes the hair on my arms stand up. This can’t mean anything good. She spent almost the entire time calling me a magnet for women and trouble, telling my family embarrassing stories about me — she held nothing back, unlike me with her family. Brendu feels comfortable here; she’s almost told everything about us.

  Sers nearly cries laughing at some points, getting back at me for the times I teased him. He and my father agree when they find out I beat up some idiot nobles in a bathroom. My mother, grandmother, and Ivad are more focused on other kinds of stories.

  “I don’t know how many times I casually looked in a certain direction only to find girls staring at him, and when I don’t see him, he’s getting into trouble — always fighting some monster or someone.” Brendu continues complaining a bit as she finishes.

  “I don’t understand how you never noticed other women’s looks with that ability of yours.” She asks jokingly.

  “My brain filters out unimportant things. I have an automatic information filter — I’d get a massive headache if I processed every subtle movement or action within my perception sphere.” I only turn off that filter during combat; otherwise, I ignore everything unnecessary.

  I see Brendu pout — she was clearly expecting a different answer. “And the most important reason is that they’re not on your level. I’d never even look at them.” My response comes out a bit awkward; my brain works overtime in seconds to say something coherent.

  For a moment, I consider saying, “They can’t compare to you,” then remember Sol, Arisa, and Marga. That answer would’ve sounded like I was belittling everyone, so I had to rethink it. Damn it, this is confusing.

  “Ritmo should arrive tomorrow. He said he’d come with a couple of surprises.” Sers looks cheerful as he speaks — we’re all happy to see Ritmo again.

  “It’s been a long time since I last saw him. Many years have passed.” I haven’t been able to meet him during all this time, and I’m excited to have the whole family together again.

  As the conversation ends, I remember something important — something I hadn’t told them because when I talked about my school days, I kept getting interrupted with questions and the topic drifted away.

  “Family, technically I’m three years older now. Remember when Brendu mentioned I saved a village in her kingdom? Well, before that…” I tell them about being trapped on that damn prison-like island. It only felt like three months, but for my body, it was three years.

  “So that’s why you look so different… I just assumed adulthood hit you early or something like that.” My father speaks as soon as I finish.

  “Did you suffer any side effects? I don’t know how healthy it is for your body to experience several years in such a short time.” My mother looks worried; my grandmother does too.

  “I don’t think so. I haven’t felt anything strange. I feel the same as when I entered the island. If I had any minor internal damage, it should already be healed by my ability — my body sometimes heals before I even notice.” Everyone seems to accept the answer, though some still have doubts.

  Since it’s late at night, we all decide to go to sleep. We need to be ready for my brother’s arrival tomorrow.

  Sol, Arisa, and Marga should arrive soon — most likely tomorrow night or the day after. I need to prepare myself mentally for that situation. I’ll ask my grandmother for advice.

  They let Brendu and me sleep together in the small guest house. The main bedroom has a bed big enough for five people or more… my family has already thought of everything.