As I opened my eyes, the room was back to its normal state as the lights were on, and the bright sun was once again shining through the windows.


    It all seemed... like a dream or something artificial.


    Yet, as I stared at the proof, lying on the bed beside Zach''s motionless body, I couldn''t deny what had just happened.


    "you know what... Raven can take a pay cut for a bit. I''m sure he''ll be happy if he knows it''s going to the good cause of feeding my cat premium beef every day!"


    Alya, opening her eyes a secondter than me, surveyed our surroundings before immediately rushing to the bed where Zachy.


    Using my skill, dash, I arrived at the bed earlier than her, immediately and carefully lifting up my cat.


    As the cat crawled into my arms, with its eyes still closed, Zach''s eyes finally flickered open.


    Leaving Zach behind, I carefully ced the cat into the bed I had bought before turning around.


    On the bed, Alya was helping Zach get up from the bed, already bombarding him with questions.


    "Do you feel any better, Zach?"


    Rubbing his eyes, Zach stared down at his hands and body for a moment before confusedly saying.


    "I-i can''t see any change... but I don''t know how to describe it. It feels like I''ve gotten better."


    Walking up in front of Zach, I curiously asked.


    "What do you remember from thest minute?"


    Scratching his head, Zach quickly replied.


    "I remember the pain of being hit in the face by a paw... but from there, it''s all jungled up. I went from being in this dorm room... to being back in the academy to being back in my old... house."


    Indeed, the purification ritual sent its user into their soul, so what Zach was seeing were probably his most important and cherished memories.


    Could I see her again in my soul if I got purified...?


    "No... it''d be no use. That wouldn''t be my mother... just one created by my memories."


    A smile appeared on Zach''s previous emotionless face, and Alya reciprocated his happiness before helping him off the bed.


    Walking around the room, Zach''s smile only grew as he seemed to realize that it wasn''t just an illusion... his incurable conditions had been cured... or not yet.


    Seeing the two smile so brightly, I turned to Zach and said.


    "This isn''t the end of it. The ritual takes three days toplete... so you''ll have toe here every day for three days at this time."


    "If you don''t do this, you''ll be reverted to your original states... and then, you''ll truly be in trouble."


    Nodding his head, Zach quickly checked the time using my clock on the wall before taking out his smartwatch.


    Getting off the bed, Alya slowly approached me with a grateful expression.


    "I-i didn''t think it would work this fast... we just discussed today at lunch."


    Shaking my head, I replied.


    "Take it as a lesson. Nothing wille if you just wallow in self-pity and give up instead of doing something about your circumstances."


    Wiping a small drop of water that seemed to be sweat from her face, Alya chuckled.


    "And, you''re some kind of inspirational speaker now? But... I am truly grateful. If you do need anything EVER in the future, please do contact me."


    Nodding my head, I also let a smile creep onto my face as Alya led the recovered Zach out of my dorm room... or at least tried to.


    "THANK YOU, REN!"


    "I''M SORRY FOR EVER THINKING ANYTHING BAD AB-"


    "YOU''RE AMAZING!"


    Zach, refusing to leave, bombarded me with grateful words as Alya attempted to drag him out.


    Then, just as Alya got distracted while opening the door, Zach rushed out of her control, sprinting towards me.


    With a wide smile, Zach opened his two arms widely while approaching me.


    Then, with full force, making it feel like a bear hug, Zach wrapped his hands around me.


    Slowly pushing him away, I simply replied.


    "It was the least I could do."


    After a minute of Zach attempting to hug me and thank me, Alya finally managed to get him to leave.


    "Guess... it''s just me and you again."


    Turning to my cat, who was fast asleep on the bed I had bought him, I smiled for a moment.


    Although I didn''t like to rely on the cat due to its mysterious nature... whenever I did rely on it, the oue was always sessful.


    Walking to the kitchen, I opened the cab before digging deep inside and finding a premium steak that I had been saving for a special asion.


    Boiling up the pan with a basic fire spell, cooking the steak to perfection, I looked out the window, admiring the clear-blue sky onest time.


    *BZZT*


    Putting down the pan and ting the steak, I took out my smartwatch as a sudden vibration shocked me.


    [Ruby: You''re a hero; final answer.]


    Maybe I am?


    Maybe I''m not?


    In the end, does it really matter as long as I''m doing what I want to?


    Washing my hands, I promptly replied.


    [Ren: You do know, I would have taken either answer, right?]


    [Ruby: ...what does that mean?]


    [Ren: We both do what we said or in other words, even if you got it correct, you have to mess with Liam for me.]


    [Ruby: That doesn''t seem fair.]


    [Ren: Seems fair to me!]


    [Ruby: I''ll remember this when it''s the day I get tomand you around.]


    Smiling, I put down my smartwatch before walking over to my bed and sitting down.


    Earlier, I had nned to watch over the uing incident to ensure the main cast was all right... yet Astrid had already beaten me to it.


    Without even knowing it, Astrid had discovered the cause of the breach...not for the ballroom but the Winter Wondend incident.


    All the work that I had put off and had been worried about for the past week... had just disappeared.


    "hah... who am I kidding? Something''s bound to go wrong."