Ayva woke up on the third day, thinking the last two days was a dream.

He was distracted yesterday, however, he was determined to find out what is wrong with Aeana today. And then there was the whole business with Micah, he hasn't addressed it all ever since arriving. It was because while he felt pity for Micah, there was nothing he can do, he absolutely rejects that way of thinking.

Getting dressed, he found Eliza loitering out at the reception. She has been treating him better lately, however, he knows that it was a fake Eliza.

The Eliza that he knows off doesn't act like that.

"Are you okay Ayva?"

"I'm fine. All of my injuries have healed. I have fun yesterday." He says

The girl smiles, it touches something inside Ayva's heart, a nostalgia for a better time. However, Ayva was quickly reminded that that time of innocence was long gone.

"I'm fine. Honest Elly." Ayva says, shifting the attention from himself.

"What about you? How have you been lately? Did you have fun on the trip?" Ayva asks

"It was not fun at all, getting stuck with that princess. She doesn't like me, I don't like her either. The feeling is mutual, and recently, with her peop-" Suddenly Eliza bites down on her tongue as if she was speaking something she shouldn't have.

"We bicker a lot. It was the most miserable time I have ever had."

"Hah, that sounds like fun." Ayva remarks.

Eliza just looks up at him and smiles.

As, expected, she didn't respond to that remark at all. Normally, she would be all over him with that unfunny remarks, berating him with all her worth.

Eliza grew up a quiet kid. Her mother abandoned home, leaving her to her father. When she was 5, her father passed away due to tuberculosis. The village chief and his wife took her in because she was a smart kid. She was raised with the chief' other adopted children, Leonel, however, she was not close to him at all at the start.

Ayva knows her for longer, she was a more lively kid when her father was alive. Her personality was exactly as she is now, spitting fire when there is something she doesn't like. However, when her father died, she closed her heart, not showing any of her emotion.

She grew up being a quiet kid, hiding behind her book.

One day, while playing, Eliza fell down the edge of a cliff.

Luckily, Ayva was there. He managed to grab hold of her hand and dragged her back to the world of the living. However, she has hurt her legs, and there was no adults in sight.

The smart thing to do was to run back to the village and call for an adult. However, Ayva was never that smart, and Eliza was crying ceaselessly. So he carried her back, however, he could only carried her half way. Leonel who was out looking for Eliza found them and carried for the final leg of the journey.

And then

And then the three becomes a group and the girl becomes more instead of a shy girl hiding behind her book. She was a salty loser who is always critical of things. She was critical of all things, with a sweet and sour mouth, berating both Leonel and Ayva.

However, the sweet and sour girl stopped appearing in front of Leonel. She has stopped acting hot and cold with him probably ever since that day. The day she fell in love with him and his personality.

To Ayva though, Eliza remains the same. So, for Leonel, he has the privilege of seeing a girl in love, while Ayva sees the girl from back then as she grew up and fell in love.

However, Eliza did not change.

She remains the same girl, only in love this time, and so she did not show the part of her that she perceives as unsightly.

"It is alright." Suddenly, Ayva says like a whisper

He puts a hand on Eliza's shoulder.

"As you can see, I'm completely fine. So don't worry about me okay?"

Ayva says.

He understands his meaning. She understands it too. For the last few days, Eliza and Leonel have been acting extremely delicate. They were acting as if Ayva was a delicate glass that will break into pieces upon the first sight of trouble. They danced around him on tip toe, treating him with a kid glove. Even princess Aries mostly avoids him.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The event of yesterday too, was something that Eliza and Leonel planned. They should definitely know that Ayva likes cooking even if he isn't good at it. It is a way to cheer their friend who has been through a precarious situation up.

However, haven't they been treating him too delicately?

Eliza is putting on a facade like a girl that Ayva does not know. An agreeable girl who never says any mean thing to you.

However good friends know that the more you know a person, the more of their bad side you will see. It is a side of familiarity, the more familiar to a person you are, the more that person will expose their bad side that they didn't want anyone to see.

However, the girl Ayva is seeing in front of him right now is not the girl that he knows. It is the shy girl hiding behind her book putting on a facade so that he will like it.

"...if only I have been there..." Eliza says, her body literally shaking.

"But you weren't, and it was not your fault. I'm pretty sure that if you were there, you could easily save me with your healing magic. You, me and Leonel, we make a good team. This time, it is my fault for underestimating them. I only put on the monster detecting skill because I thought human was not dangerous, and I didn't even change my skill set ever since we beat the demon. So don't blame yourself okay. You don't have to put on this act for my sake. In the end, I was fine, and that should be the end of that."

"You were burned all over your body and whimpering in pain Ayva." 'Wait I did that?' Ayva thought, how unmanly.

"It is my fault. I didn't expect the sleep magic either. If I have acted a bit quicker, I could have defeated them all before they know it. However, circumstances lead to one another and next thing I know, I were already sleeping." Ayva says, to the increasingly shaking girl.

"...while you faced off against a wizard, Micah only has a stab wound and that girl didn't have any wound at all..."

"Oh, it is not their fault. We split up while fighting. I was supposed to deal with the archer but was ambushed by the wizard. We all got hit by the sleep spell, only Micah stay awake I think. Though it went quite well at the end. If we didn't split our force like that, if the fireball has hit either Micah or Aeana instead of me, they won't be standing here anymore."

"You... YOU IDIOT!"

Suddenly, Eliza punches Ayva in the chest, causing him to wheeze. It was a familiar action, one that has repeated so many times before.

"Who care about them? You are our friend okay? We are supposed to be heroes. When we come home, it is with all three of us. Why are you always acting so idiotic. Why do you even care about them. If we get rid of the stupid princess and we three stay together, we will be invincible.

IDIOT! IDIOT! IDIOT!"

Eliza continues beating on Ayva's chest like a drum. After a while, the girl starts crying because of the extreme emotions running rampant. However, spent, she finally stop.

"See? I'm fine." Ayva says, causing the girl to smile and punches him one last time.

"We will always be going on adventures Eliza, the three of us. I promise." He says reassuring her.

Leonel who has been eavesdropping on the whole conversation since a while ago should be smiling too. Seeing him hiding behind a corner, Ayva signals him to comes out and distracts Eliza. She has quite an emotional outburst.

"You should take her back to her room Leo" Ayva says, surprising Eliza who turns around.

Instantly, her tears were replaced with smile.

The other boy nods and proceeds to take her hand. However, one last time, before leaving, Eliza even turns around and says to Ayva

"You are on my side in the end right Ayva?"

"Right."

As Ayva watches his childhood friends walk away, suddenly he was reminded of a saying.

'If you love something, set it free'

'Don't use pity for me as baggage to drag them down' Ayva told himself