"There's no particular reason, I guess? I don't mind using your name," Reylin replied, then said, "Maya. See? Do you have any plans for your birthday?"

  Maya smiled widely, then said, "I don't! I am sure mom and dad will buy a cake, but that's all. I don't feel like partying……"

  "It feels like you want to stay home. If you don't mind company, let's order some food and watch a movie. How about it?" Reylin asked and went with his plan.

  Hearing his words, Maya nodded brightly, then stood up. She took a seat next to him, then turned on the TV.

  Her following words made Reylin suck a lot of air, "There's a new movie with William as the main actor! He's so good!"

  "……He is." Reylin rolled his eyes.

  And from that point, he was forced to watch a movie with his brother as the leading actor. He looked at the screen with narrowed eyes all the time, and the word 'Cringe' often bypassed his lips.

  At one point, the hero clenched her left hand and smashed it on his thigh, "Cringe! Cringe! Cringe! I will show you what's cringe!"

  "You actually like that movie?" Reylin asked in bewilderment.

  "Look at this!" Maya clicked on the remote, then the clip appeared on the screen.

  The Red Sky - The First Appearance!

  It was a fantastic moment for Maya, but after knowing Reylin, the effects were different. He also made her quite angry right now! She crossed her arms and looked away, "That's the cringe."

  "Cringe, but good," Reylin's lips curved into a smile, and he drank the juice with a proud expression, holding the can with thumb and middle fingers.

  Maya peeked at it, and her shoulder dropped in a loss.

  Both of them returned to watching the movie with the best actor as the lead. This time, the hero punched Reylin's face each time he tried to say the word cringe. Since it was an uncontrollable feeling for both of them, there were a few punches.

  Reylin couldn't stop himself from cringing, and Maya's fist did no damage at all.

  Her little hand just sank into his cheeks, and it was a relatively mild feeling.

  Reylin coughed, "Don't turn me into a typical high school player."

  He wouldn't allow himself to enjoy the annoyed hero for too long.

  Reylin proceeded with his plan, and he wrapped his arm around Maya's shoulder. The mood was already eased up, and the hero genuinely enjoyed their time. Maybe she felt too lonely, as even the gaming time was harsh on her.

  Maya flinched at first but turned her eyes to him and waited for his words.

  He asked, "So, why are you skipping school? Two weeks is a lot of content for you."

  "That's not…… your problem……" Maya faintly replied, but under Reylin's eyes, she just added, "I am already seventeen years old! If I want to skip, I skip! I did it for myself."

  "What a cheap excuse…… Quite childish as well," Reylin smirked, and his words struck the hero's heart.

  He continued, "That incident is still haunting you, isn't it?"

  With those words, Reylin started his theory. He said what he thought aloud, and Maya couldn't help but tremble from how accurate he was.

  "In a nutshell, Maya wants strength. You don't believe you can become stronger in real life?" Reylin chuckled, "Go to school and join my club. We have a lot of girls here as well, and they will take good care of you.

  Besides, you can also buy pepper spray. It's no good if you exclude yourself from the life you've liked all this time.

  And you know I have a good uncle bringing me back home. I can get you back home after school every day."

  "Why are you so nice to me?" Maya asked.

  Reylin was also prepared for this question, "Lioness kept poaching you, so I am doing the same. But frankly, I do consider you as my friend. Isn't that enough of a reason?"

  It wasn't like Maya's friends didn't try to speak with her, but she blatantly ignored their concerns.

  Reylin had the advantage that he knew about the crux of her plight, and he carefully helped her. He made points from both real and game life, then explained everything nicely so that the hero believed in herself.

  Maya ended up bursting with cries, and she hid her face within Reylin's clothes.

  She blew her nose on his clothes like a little elephant, causing Reylin's face to distort funnily.

  He ended up patting her hair, then his eyes shifted to the size, "Oh…… Mrs. Mother?"

  Not just Mrs. Mother, but also Mr. Father stood indoors leading to the living room. It looked like they both returned quicker from their weekend work, and they even had a cake prepared for their daughter.

  Maya's mother stood in silence, her eyes going between Reylin and Maya.

  On the other hand, Mr. Father kept waving his hands while flustered. He didn't know whether it was too early or not for the relationships as that was how it looked outside. He wondered about it while trembling.

  Reylin saw that Maya inherited from both of them.

  Mrs. Mother was quite cute and chubby, while Mr. Father's flustered state reminded him of the hero.

  Reylin raised his hand, "Take a seat."

  "T-That's not your house!" Maya woke up from her blushing and pinched the pyromaniac!

  "There's a movie Maya likes, but we are already mid-way through it…… How about we watch something else then?" Reylin ignored the hero's pinches and invited the parents in.

  They were pretty overwhelmed by the sudden visitor. They followed him, but a good family mood quickly unfurled before them as Reylin conducted himself well before Maya's parents.

  They kept asking various questions, and Maya also admitted that she had been skipping school for more than two weeks!

  But as Reylin helped her already, Maya swore to work harder, and she would become a better and stronger lady!

  "Cringe……"

  "Oh, stop it! It's the third movie already!" This time, the hero slapped Reylin's thigh three times.

  "Does it mean Maya gets stronger through watching movies? This is a predicament I didn't expect……" Reylin sighed as he shook his head.

  A cute bear growled at him amidst her parent's eyes.

  They spent some time together, then these two were left alone. When alone, Reylin and Maya mainly spoke about gaming and Reylin's club where he trains his martial arts.

  Maya already swore to go here and become stronger!

  In such a way, time flew faster than anyone thought.

  And soon, midnight struck.

  Maya saw it, and she turned her eyes to Reylin, "Happy Birthday!"

  "It's my turn now?" Reylin chuckled.

  His friend nodded, and she took the cake's leftovers. On a fork, she presented it to Reylin, who casually took it.

  "Nothing has changed, though. I would say that more problems came," Reylin said while munching the cake.

  Maya didn't know what kind of problems he mentioned, so Reylin replied to her big curious eyes, "School will end sooner than you think. And then, my parents won't let me stay jobless for a long time. I made some moves in the game as I plan to turn my gaming into something lucrative."

  "I see……" That kind of topic felt too early for Maya. She just stared at Reylin.

  He smiled back, "You have become the owner of a city. But since the whole province is in a plight, you can take advantage of it. The whole province will pay the guild master Ferocious Bear."

  "Hehe…… That sounds like a good goal……" Maya faintly giggled.

  "That's why don't give up on it."

  "You also know about it?" Maya asked with a shock on her face.

  Reylin just replied, "About what?" He smiled widely, and the hero shook her head a few times.

  He ended up patting her hair, which was quite common in Maya's house, "You can support your parents so that they don't have to work on weekends."

  "Yes!" That sounded so nice to the hero's ears!

  "Well…… It's quite late, so I will be going. See you tomorrow, Maya," Reylin bid farewell and patted the hero's hair for the last time.

  Outside, Sebastian was already waiting, but as per Reylin's orders, he didn't leave the car to open the doors.

  Maya saw Reylin back, then as he disappeared from her sight, she took a step outside. A few steps more, and she found herself below the starry sky.

  It was scary to step outside, especially alone, but be it darkness or the cold night, everything felt great, and she inhaled deeply!

  But it was pretty too cold, so the hero hugged herself and skipped back home with a trembling body.

  Fortunately, she didn't catch a cold!

  Lucky hero!-

  [In a car]

  "Sebastian."

  "Yes, Young Master?"

  "I don't fucking know."

  "……"