When Amelia next opened her eyes, she was looking up at the night sky. This confused her and caused her to look around.

“Yo.”

That’s when she saw Rory sitting near the edge of whatever they were sitting on. He was drinking from a bottle of liquor while staring in the distance.

“What happened?”

Amelia asked.

“You lost.”

Rory answered.

“I see.”

Amelia had a disappointed expression. Despite knowing that she couldn’t beat Rory, she has been experiencing victory after victory for quite sometime, no matter how stacked the odds were against her. She had hoped that she could pull off a miracle, but life wasn’t that easy.

“Never hope for a miracle when fighting. It will only dull your judgement.”

Rory answered without looking at her.

“Did you read my heart?”

He shook his head.

“I already told, that skill shouldn’t be used too often. I just observe the gloomy aura you were giving off and made a judgement. You don’t always need a special skill to realize something. You can just rely on natural observation skills.”

He said.

“Anyway, Elia. You shouldn’t feel upset or anything. You did pretty well. You even surpassed my expectations.”

“…….”

Despite Rory’s praise, Amelia still felt disappointed in herself and frustrated at her lack of strength.

“While it’s good that you’re feeling frustrated, because it means that you still have the will to become stronger, don’t get carried away. Most people who started to crave strength for the pure reason of satisfying their ego, walked down the path of ruin to never return.”

Rory said.

Amelia nodded.

“I understand.”

Rory was right. She was already progressing at a good pace, there was no need to get impatient.

“How many hours have I been out?”

She asked.

“Hours? You’ve been out for a week.”

“What?!”

Amelia was shocked to hear that.

“Why was I out so long?! Was I that injured?!”

She asked.

“Yes and no.”

Rory replied.

“The reason why you were out was because I made it so that you wouldn’t wake up. Otherwise, you would’ve probably woken up in a day or two.”

“Why?”

Amelia asked with a confused expressions.

“Because I wanted to throughly patch you up. Over the week that the tournament occurred, you’ve accumulated a great amount of damage and strain to the body. While I did give you treatment during that time, it was only so that you could continue the tournament. It was more of a first-aid treatment, more than anything.”

Rory replied.

“After the tournament, I forced you into a coma and seriously worked to give you proper treatment. I fixed every damage nerve, torn muscles, fractured bone, and injured organ. You can say that I repaired you.”

He said.

It was only after she heard what he said that she started to examine her body.

“My wounds are all healed….”

She astonished. There wasn’t even the slightest sign of wound on her body. She stood up and realized that her body felt a bit uncomfortable.

“You’ve been inactive for a week. You’ll naturally feel weak. Just resume your normal routine and you’ll be fine in no time.”

Rory said.

“This is really amazing.”

She looked at Rory.

“With skills like these, you could enter the medical field.”

“Do I look like a saint to you? Why would I needlessly go around saving people. Healing you was quite exhausting you know. I haven’t slept in days because I wanted you to return to full health as quickly as possible.”

Rory replied.

“Wait. I would be interested in being a gynecologist.”

Amelia ignored his remark and checked her body again. No matter how she look at it, Rory had indeed healed her.

She looked at his back that was facing her with a tender gaze.

“Thank you, Rory. I know that it must have been difficult to fix me up as quickly and as good as you did. I really appreciate it.”

“No thanks is necessary. I’m someone who does things because it benefits me in some way. I am not a good person in the least. Besides, you’re my partner. So I only did what was expected of me.”

Rory replied.

“Either way, thank you.”

Amelia replied.

“……..”

Rory stayed quiet for a while before saying-

“Your welcome.”

“By the way, where are we?”

Amelia asked.

It was obvious that they were outdoors, but she didn’t know why, or where they were.

“We’re on a the roof of the royal palace.”

Rory answered and took a drink of liquor.

“The royal palace?!”

Amelia was shocked.

“Why are we here?”

“I thought that you were getting fed up of being locked up all day, so I brought you out to get some fresh air.”

“But why the palace?”

“It was the place with the best view. Did you know? Liquor tastes better when you’re looking at something beautiful.”

He looked at the city that was illuminated by the countless lights from the buildings.

“This place is beautiful.”

He took out a smaller bottle and threw towards Amelia who caught it.

“Come enjoy the view with me. There’s no telling that it will remain like this tomorrow.”

He said.

Amelia looked at the bottle. It was an non-alcoholic drink. Rory was tactful enough to not offer her liquor, after hearing her bashing it so many times.

She stood up and walked up beside Rory and took a seat. Immediately she could she a sea of lights in front of her. There were lights of different colors, some shining brightly, while some were dull. Even so, they all had their own beauty to them.

“How is it?”

Rory asked.

“It’s beautiful.”

Amelia answered honestly.

“Do you know the flower this country is named after, Marigold?”

Rory asked.

Amelia shook her head.

“It’s a beautiful flower that contains the colors of a sunset in the tropics.”

He touched her head.

“Just like your hair. It’s said to represent the sun and light.”

He explained.

“According to history, this country was one big marigold field at the beginning. The founders decided to name the country after the flower in hope of it becoming as beautiful as the flower.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

Amelia asked.

“Because you said you wanted to know about the country when we were coming here.”

Rory answered.

“Also, you might become deeply a part of this country in the near future.”

He stood up.

“It’s good that you learn more of the country, even if it’s just its roots.”

He looked towards the city again. There was no emotion in his eyes. He just looked at the sight in front him.

“Well, just follow your instincts and you’ll be fine.”

“What are you talking about?”

Rory looked at her and placed his finger on his lips.

“If I tell you, it will spoil the fun.”

Amelia opened her mouth to say something, but before she could she felt a presence behind her.

She looked behind her and saw Sir Allen. He was dressed casually in a blue jeans and white top.

“If the two of you are free, the king would like to meet the two of in the morning. For now, he’s offering you two accommodation in the palace.”

He said with a bow.

“Tell him that we’ll meet him in the morning, but will have to pass on the accommodation. I’m in a romantic mood, so I’ll sleep under the stars tonight.”

After he said that, Rory laid out on his back and looked up at the starry night.

Allen could only smile and shake his head. He then looked towards Amelia.

“And you, Ms. Rosa.”

Amelia looked down at Rory and then looked back at Allen.

“I’ll sleep here as well.”

‘I feel safer around Rory.’

She thought to herself.

“I see. That’s unfortunate.”

Allen replied.

“Then, we’ll welcome you two in the morning.”

Amelia nodded while Rory just closed his eyes and seemingly dozed off.

Seeing that, Allen disappeared from where he stood with a spark of electricity.

‘His lightning skills are far superior to my own.’

Amelia thought, after seeing how fast Allen left.

She then looked down on the sleeping Rory, and laid on her back and stared into the starry night. She had been asleep for a week, so she didn’t feel sleepy at all.

With the free time, Amelia started to review every battle she fought in the tournament and the ones she watched.

She replayed them in her mind over and over again, and then simulate how the battles could’ve gone if she or her opponents had taken different actions.

She continued to do this until she finally fell asleep not too far from Rory.

A few hours later, the morning sun shone on her body and woke her from her sleep. She sat up and saw that Rory was standing on the edge of the roof.

“Freshen up. We’re about to meet the one running this country.”

He turned to her and said.

30 minutes later, the two could be seen in the yard of the royal palace. There were guards everywhere they looked, who were all looking at them with cautious gazes.

“They seem to be on high alert.”

Said Amelia.

“Well, to them we’re total strangers with strength that surpasses some their countries heroes, and we’re about to meet the king. It’s natural that they’re on edge.”

Rory said.

They started walking while ignoring all the gazes they were getting. They walked up to the entrance of the palace where they saw a servant waiting for them.

This servant had dark hair and skin, brown eyes, and was dressed in a tuxedo. He was quite handsome and had a friendly smile on his face.

“Lord Rory, Lady Amelia.”

The servant greeted them with a bow.

“My name is Richard, and I’ve been tasked by the king to lead you to where he is.”

“………”

Rory looked at the servant in silence for a while, before smiling.

“Alright. Please lead the way.”

Richard nodded and gestured them to follow him. While they were walking behind him, Amelia couldn’t help but to notice that Rory was looking at Richard in a funny way.

“Don’t tell me you swing that way.”

She said.

“What do you think?”

Rory replied.

Amelia didn’t answer because she was only making a joke.

“Elia, this is the last piece of advice I’ll give you for our duration in this kingdom.”

Rory looked at her.

“Not everything is like what it seems.”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean what I said. From here on out, trust your instincts and make the moves you wanna make.”

After that he turned around and looked at Richard.

They walked through the halls of the palace for a while until they came across a huge door with a golden flower on it.

It was the Marigold Flower.

Richard stopped before the door and stepped aside.

“His Majesty is inside. You’re permitted to enter.”

He said.

“Thanks.”

Rory walked up to the door and threw a kick.

*Bam!*

The door flung open and he walked inside ignoring Amelia’s shocked face. He looked down on the person lying on the floor and then looked at the person sitting on the throne.

“Still trying to test my skills even after I defeated your entire country? A meaningless action.”

“Hahahaha! Forgive me, forgive me. It’s just that some people were not convinced so I set up this test to shut them up.”

Said the person sitting on the throne.

“This voice…”

Amelia walked inside the room after hearing the familiar voice. There she saw a man wearing a familiar white mask.

“The announcer?!”

Yes, it was indeed the tournament announcer.

The announcer took off the mask and revealed his face. He had fair skin, grey eyes and brown hair. His face was one of a prankster, despite being handsome.

“My name is Xavier. I am the king of the Marigold kingdom.”

He showed a huge grin.

“Welcome!”