First came the sense of hearing, the sound similar to white noise of the room was the first thing, he felt like an annoying buzzing resonated inside his ear for several seconds.

Then the touch, the feeling of the sheets and the soft bed against his back. Finally, light started to filter through his eyelids, causing both eyes to slowly open.

The shining light of the room stabbed his eyes, forcing him to close them again, until he gradually got used to it; Aiden regained consciousness.

One by one all his senses returned to function correctly, it was then when he could think clearly that he reacted to the place where he had awakened.

—This place is… the dorm bedroom?

He tried to get up suddenly, but a sharp pain that ran from one of his legs through his spine to the tips of his fingers.

With all his strength, he tightened the sheets that covered him up to the neck, his breathing regained its rhythm. Then another thought came to his mind.

—Maika! —he exclaimed with the little strength he had—. Maika, are you okay!? And the angel!? What happened with the angel? If we're here, does it mean you defeated it? Or maybe it managed to escape! Then—Aiden's sudden outburst was interrupted by a voice that came from next to the bed where he had awakened.

—The first thing you ask is if I'm okay, huh? Are you the protagonist of one of those animated series that are trendy?

The sarcastic voice was a familiar and warm one, he wanted to jump out of bed, but Aiden couldn't even stand up. The pain, despite the painkillers, was so terrible that he thought he would cry at any second, but hearing that confident voice, the tears that were about to overcome him were for quite the different reason from before.

Maika was sitting in one of the wooden chairs in the room next to the bed. Aiden held back his tears, but his intentions were obvious, you could say it was written on his face. He was happy to see her.

Before he could say anything, Maika was the first to break the silence that had been created a few moments ago when their eyes met.

—There are still around forty minutes until dawn, this time it took you less to wake up, at this rate you're going to get used to it, to losing consciousness. —The young mage spoke in a joking tone, but her words carried a very concerned undertone to them, enough that Aiden could feel it too—. Just so you know, I'm against it, I don't like the idea of you getting used to losing consciousness.

He himself didn't like the idea of getting used to losing consciousness, but for certain reasons that would normally be unreasonable, he had done nothing but fall unconscious every time he was involved in those situations. After all, Aiden was a common and ordinary student until recently.

How pathetic, Aiden thought. Without taking his gaze off her, he tilted his head slightly enough to see through the window and check if what she said was true. Not that he doubted her, it was more like a natural impulse caused by the new information and the lack of information he had from just waking up.

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—Thank goodness you woke up, really.

When she brought Aiden to the bedroom in that state and carefully placed him on the bed, he looked like a corpse. His breathing was so light, it was practically non-existent. To keep Aiden alive, she had to attend to his wounds; but, even then, all she did was cover the wounds to prevent Aiden from bleeding out. Since then, she had been waiting by his side for him to wake up.

—You woke up.

Seeing her, Aiden felt great relief himself, not understanding why, it was born when their gazes met. Swallowing the tearful pain, he faced Maika with an expression equal to hers.

—If we're here it means you killed that monster, tell me I'm not mistaken, right? —Aiden asked, now a little calmer.

—I wish you didn't see me as such a cold person, but yes, there is no homunculus or angel in this city.

—That's good.

He closed his eyes for a moment, thought about everything he had overcome to survive until now.

It was an incredible adventure for the books and equally ridiculous and dangerous, if he could avoid all of this that happened, he would do it without hesitation, but, if possible, he would like to meet her again. That's what the young man who wasn't completely honest with his feelings thought.

—I'm sorry, for being so reckless and making you worry so much about me, but the fact that you were the first person I see when I wake up, almost makes it worth all this craziness.

—Well… that… Y-yes… Of course, it would be me the first.

—Huh? Did you really wait all this time for me to wake up?

Maika's face became red, she didn't know how to answer, the truth was that she did wait for him, but she would rather not admit it.

—I-I just wanted to make sure.

Aiden smiled, he knew that her words were not entirely true, but he didn't want to push the matter further. Right before he said his due gratitude and either changed the topic or went back to rest, Maika intruded herself.

—Of course, I’ve been by your side the whole damn time, you punk!

Everything. Her words spoken in an impulse, the embarrassed expression that she couldn't hide, like how she unconsciously gathered her shoulders as a response to the intentional harassment from Aiden. Everything created a unique harmony in front of anyone's eyes, and now it only belonged to Aiden.

—Hah… Gh..Jhk.. Haha, I think it's enough with the jokes.

He tried to stand up again, this time only by the movement of his head he felt dizzy for a moment, as soon as he recovered after a few seconds he continued.

—Thank you for being here, if it wasn't for you being the first person I saw when I woke up, I don't know how I would have reacted.

Maika let out a slight, but friendly and charming smile.

—You're welcome. —she said softly—. Later you'll pay me back for all of them, Mr. Cheater.

Both young people smiled at each other. He wouldn't know whether he was the only one or not, but Aiden certainly savored the moment of silence.