NOVPUB"Young Lord, it's about time."
"Ah!" Austin woke up from his slumber, his chest heaving as he turned his head to the left.
All he saw was empty space...even though he felt he heard him.
His heart was restless, a not-so-rare occurrence these days.
After the war, this was the seventh time he heard Sebastian's voice, waking him up...but there was no one.
It was one of his regular habits to wake Austin up for his morning training...the man never failed to wake up earlier than Austin.
And now, it still feels that he was around...looking after him from the afterlife. Smiling brightly...proudly.
"Haah..." Austin got up and sat at the edge of the bed. His eyes were on the ground, and his hands were clutching the sheet.
He hasn't told anyone about it. What could be said? Everyone who has seen the war was traumatized...recovering from the incident, which has changed many people.
Austin was not immune to it as well. He was a human, too, after all.
He didn't know how his other version handled himself seeing such bloodshed, or whether he had ever lost someone close to him. However, the current him was shaken up.
The grief of losing Sebastian wasn't leaving him.
'I need a bath...' Deciding to engage himself in something else, he dove into the warm pool inside the bathroom, after stripping off his clothes.
Once inside, he rested his head against the edge and asked the system, "How are you today?"
[Still beautiful as ever.]
She chimed, her voice lively as ever.
Austin chuckled, "You chose to switch to serious mode when you have to reject my requests and inform me of something unfortunate."
[Can't let my actual voice become a source of despair for the host.]
She seemed quite talkative today. Well, he wanted to talk.
Valerie must be training at the moment, all by herself,, since Austin told her that he wouldn't come.
He said he might sleep in today and will see her in class. But now, it was only near dawn, so he was thinking of going and meeting his lover.
Silence descended in the bathroom, with the only sound heard being the ripples of water as Austin shifted his body slightly.
There was a brief pause before Austin asked, "System… is there a way to reverse time or something?"
Even as the words left his mouth, he knew how absurd they sounded. He hadn't really thought it through—he just said it on impulse. But deep down, he already knew the answer.
There was no way.
Not even for the system—the same system that had given him abilities beyond imagination—could turn back time.
…Right?
System? he asked again, frowning as the silence stretched on.
No response.
A minute passed before a familiar bundle of light shimmered into view in front of him. Wordlessly, Austin reached out.
"You okay?" he asked softly.
This was only the second time she had ever appeared to him. The first was back in that dungeon, when he was broken and hopeless.
But now… it was different.
Now, she looked like the one who was broken.
She had no face, no eyes or mouth, but Austin could tell—she was hurting. Grieving.
The orbs of golden light shifted gently, as though she was lifting her head to meet his gaze.
A message appeared before him.
[Words can't describe how much I want to help you. But when your friends become the obstacles… there's nothing I can do.]
She rarely ever used "I." It only happened when she wasn't speaking as the system… but as herself.
Austin sat there, not sure what to say. He didn't even fully understand what she meant. But something in her unsteady voice pushed the words out of him.
"It's not your fault," he said quietly. "We'll get through this… somehow."
She said nothing.
So he inched closer and pulled the bundle of light into a gentle embrace.
He didn't know what she really was—an ancient being, a guardian, or something else entirely. Maybe she was just a presence hiding behind the system screen.
But one thing he did know:
She was his closest, most loyal ally.
The one who had never let go, no matter how bad things got.
Someone he could trust with everything.
.....
[Inside the classroom]
"Are you sure you're okay?" Valerie asked again—the second time since morning.
She couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about him. It wasn't the usual signs—he still smiled, he still laughed, but...
It was the way he drifted, like his body was there, but part of him wasn't.
Like she was talking to someone standing in front of her, yet their heart was somewhere far away.
How could she explain it?
Austin gave her a warm smile, gentle and familiar. "It's nothing big," he said softly. "If it was, you know I wouldn't hide it from you."
Valerie was silenced. If he was saying so...she should trust him.
"Hey, are you free after this?" Sheldon, who was sitting on a seat in front of them, asked after turning over his shoulder.
Austin nodded, "Yeah...need help with another assessment?"
Sheldon shook his head, a bit of hesitation could be sensed from him, before he revealed, "Actually, Anna's birthday is coming...so I was thinking of buying a gift. Can you help me select one?"
Austin chuckled, "Lady's department? I am an expert in that."
Valerie blinked and turned towards her husband, wide-eyed.
Austin realized that he might have made a wrong move, declaring that based on his experience as Luke.
He softly smiled at her, a bit awkwardly, when the doors parted, the teacher walked into the classroom.
"Okay, students. Good news." She said as soon as she took the podium.
Austin found a perfect distraction, so he urged her, "Come on, let's hear what it is."
Valerie wasn't thrilled.
Not a bit.
But still, she turned towards the teacher, and everyone heard her saying,
"For the first time, our school has arranged a fun activity for the students." With a grin, she added, "We are going to the beach!"
°°°°°°°°
A/N:- Ah yeah, the classic swimsuit episode. Drop a comment.
