It was a tumultuous time for everyone, especially for the ones that fought for their lives. Hours passed after getting out of the tower and Cronus' men managed to get them on time before any further mishap happened.

Zeke was thankful for that because according to Cerulean, the other nobles were starting to raise a fuss about the men that went into the tower to 'support' the team that required their aid.

Just that thought alone made Zeke seethe. But he was too tired, and his body was burning and aching in ways he can't even imagine. Even now, he had to take a sip of concentrated health potions just to get by with the pain even with his Pain Resistance. It's the sort of residual pain that filtered deep into his soul after his skill fusion.

Still, it was worth it, even after everything that happened. The tower was cleared and the otherworders were saved. In a sense, it was a successful mission. However, they just found out about Hamil's demise, and found an enemy that was difficult enough to squash them all if it weren't for Cerulean.

Still, he forced himself to keep thinking positive thoughts. Right now, as his tired body traveled across great distances to reach the capital city, he felt healed as he and Mikella finally found Clara to return to.

Hearing her scream their names and run at them in full force already fixed the disturbed mindset he had this entire time. It was as though her very presence healed his injuries way more than any potion or rest ever could. It was proof that he returned alive, and his notifications after clearing the tower was proof of it.

But right now, he didn't care about everything he received. Sure, he'll definitely care tomorrow, but tonight, all he wanted to do was rest and play with his little sister. Alissa was also there but she left as soon as they returned once she saw them enter her house, her job as a liaison for Cronus never finished.

They forgo sleep as rather than being exhausted, their minds were too active to actually sleep. Zeke and Mikella played with Clara and told her everything they went through, including more otherworlders that she can meet. Her formerly introverted self was gone as she excitedly waited to see them again.

As for Zoan, she was asleep. Apparently, at some point, Zoan just dropped out of nowhere into a deep slumber, scaring the shit out of Clara and Alissa both. After that, she rested in Clara's room all this time, never wavering from her slumber this entire time. Zeke worried whether she was doing something that might actually go against them, but there was nothing they could do except wait for her to wake up.

Eventually, time passed long enough that Clara got too tired, her uninitialized body unable to keep up with the Journeymen as she slept deeply in Zoan's room. Zeke was in his own room, but he knew about it when Mikella came in to tell him about it.

At the moment, he was just sitting on his bed, the lights still on while he stared at his status screen. He gained a lot over the day, but he wasn't able to properly secure everything. When Mikella came in, he half expected her to ask about what to improve for their next battle.

What she said next stumped him a bit.

"Zeke, there's something I need to talk to you about… it's really personal, so I need you to be ready."

Zeke tilted his head as he offered her a seat on his bed. It wasn't anything weird, they usually do this–but this time Mikella felt almost stiff as she sat near him, keeping a healthy distance away. Strangely, she had a hard time facing him despite wanting to talk with him.

"Sure…" Zeke said, pausing slightly after noticing her behavior. "What's up?"

It's as though she was fighting a personal battle with herself, and once she gathered enough courage after taking a deep breath, she faced him with furled brows.

"Zeke, it's about the time when the festival was going on. I know you don't remember what happened, after being drunk and all… but I gotta get this out of my chest before anything else happens. With everything that did happen, I didn't really get a chance to explain myself, but–"

"Oh, you mean when I talked to you about my past and how we kissed?"

Her bombardment of words ceased when Zeke recognized what she was talking about. It wasn't something they had a chance to talk about since after what happened, they immediately found Lyle and Janet and got busy trying to train with them before getting notified about the tower. Even after weeks on end, it just wasn't something that came up due to everything that was happening.

Mikella paused mid-sentence, her mouth agape as she stared at Zeke in disbelief. He felt a bit awkward just saying it all like that, but he honestly thought it would be a good way to break the ice.

Apparently it broke Mikella. He didn't know what else to say before Mikella suddenly shouted.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Wait, wait, wait! How do you even know about that? Did you know?! Did you know this whole time?!"

"Umm… yes?" Zeke answered hesitantly. "I knew I was drunk so I wasn't really sure on the specific details, but after some time passed I remembered everything. It just didn't feel like it was worth bringing up with everything that's happening."

"Then…" Mikella's cheeks burned red as she pushed her hands to her face in shame. "God, just kill me now."

"H-Hey, it's okay," Zeke raised his hands placatingly. "I wanted to talk to you about this for a long time too. And about my past… I'm sorry for not telling you about it before. I should've told you about it a long while ago. It was the least I could do after spending so much time together…"

"Listen, I don't mind at all," Mikella shook her head. "It was private, and after what you told me; I get it. So no hard feelings there."

"Either way," Zeke shook his own head. "It wasn't right. You're someone I trust with my life. You know everything about me as much as I know everything about you. I should've just admitted it rather than use being drunk as an excuse to talk about it."

"Zeke, that's not an excuse. I basically forced you to tell me when you weren't even conscious of it. At least I thought you weren't. I shouldn't have done that, no matter how long we spent time together."

The two might as well have kept apologizing to each other all night at this rate. Zeke could only feel joyful at her insistence, a smile on his lips.

"That's why I trust you. Out of everyone, you're the one I rely on the most. So… from now on, don't hesitate to ask me anything you want. If it's you, I'll answer anything you throw at me."

Zeke offered while staring at her in the eyes, knowing that's how she liked to have conversations. Mikella did the same, and a slight blush appeared over her cheeks. After wondering what she was thinking about, she went ahead herself.

"Then… what do you think about 'us'?"

The wording made Zeke pause, but honestly, not long enough to know an answer for that.

"...If we're being completely honest," Zeke said, but after glancing over at her side to see her nodding, he admitted truthfully. "I actually … have… feelings… for you."

It took all of his willpower to say it, yet he could only say it like a wind up doll needing a tune-up. He cursed to himself as he slapped his face with his hands, surprising Mikella as he just kept speaking from the heart.

He already opened up Pandora's box. There's no going back now.

"I didn't want anything to happen between us at first," Zeke admitted. "I wanted to show that I care for you. Not just someone that wants to get into your pants and stuff. I also didn't want you to think I was just getting along with Clara just to get to you. I truly, honestly love Clara like a little sister. I just…"

He closed his eyes. He still felt like a scumbag even though he tried to do everything he could to not be one.

"I couldn't help but admire you. Whenever I think you might get swept up by another guy, it stung in ways I can't even imagine. But I'd hate it even more if you thought you had no other choice but to go out with me or else I'd just abandon you and Clara; or worse, take advantage of Clara if you don't accept my feelings."

He considered that, after everything that happened so far, revealing his feelings for Mikella was the lowest bar to hurdle through. But he still felt, at the back of his mind, that he was making horrible mistakes that he could never take back.

From an outside perspective, it might be seen that he planned all of this to reach this moment. Now that he thought about it, he tried to say that it wasn't the case, probably adding more fuel to the fire; But then he noticed Mikella staring at him with a startled look.

"Wow, that's…" Mikella's eyes widened. "I never once thought about that, like at all."

"Wait, really?" Zeke asked, dumbstruck.

"I mean, in a sense?" Mikella shrugged. "But honestly, I already knew you weren't the type to do something so scummy. And besides, that wouldn't work even if you did. If I even got a sense that you were some jackass, I would've dropped you so hard and just dragged Clara away from you as much as I can. I already took her away from one horrible place, I can do it again, no problem."

Zeke pursed his lips, actually seeing that with ease in his mind. Why did he thought Mikella was this fragile damsel that needed a man to take care of her? She wasn't dumb enough to try to do things all on her own, but she also wasn't so codependent on someone that she would drop everything just to appease anyone. She was her own woman, and she can make her own decisions regardless of whether Zeke was there or not.

As Zeke thought of that, completely taken aback by how obvious that scenario would have ran in his mind, Mikella chuckled, staring directly at Zeke with those bright yellow eyes.

"You're really sweet, Zeke," She said, and in one half of his mind, he dreaded what she was about to say.

'You're really sweet, but you're not my type'. If she were to say that, his heart would break, for real. He didn't even think about her feelings on this matter. Even so, he was prepared to take on anything, even a broken heart. That will still not stop him from taking care of both Mikella and Clara.

"And if there's anyone in this entire world that's perfect for me, it's definitely you," She said, pulling on a devious smile.

He looked back at her, his heart slamming against his chest. Even Mikella looked a bit bashful, smiling while turning her head down a bit.

Her fingers combed her long brown hair, even giving it a twirl with her dexterous fingers. She looked at him this time, the lightning around the room showing her blushing face even more.

"And I think it's about time I show it to you. How 'bout it?" She smiled a grin, half-excited and half-nervous.

He didn't even have to use his soul link to figure out what she meant to say.

From the other side of the door, The lights of the room shut off. However, not a single resident from inside the room got out for the night.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.