Holding the cold, frosting metal box in his hands, he called out:
"Madame Xere—"
"Call me Grammy," she insisted.
Michael shook his head. How could he refer to the Xere Montgomery as Grammy?
"Uh, here’s a little gift of mine."
He handed over an identical box of Ice Cream, before walking back to the door with Yuna waiting for him.
As they left, the door closed behind them, leaving Xere alone in her white palace.
"See? I told you, right?"
Another female voice came out from one of the corners.
Xere nodded in reply. "You were right. He does seem like a special one."
A split in reality appeared right next to Xere, before Claudia stepped out of the Sanctum World.
"That boy’s acumen in business is unparalleled even in the upper echelons," Claudia said. "His products will surprise even the Conglomerates. My niece couldn’t have chosen a better person."
Xere nodded. "That is good. Now, let us talk about something more serious."
With a subtle nod from Xere, Claudia immediately waved her hands and made Aubility Power threads spontaneously appear wrapped around her hands.
Then, with a flourish, Claudia created a Sanctum around them that was completely separate from the world. No one could hear them here.
"The Ersatz. Tell me the current situation."
Claudia nodded. "We’ve heard of a big development in their Strongholds. It seems that someone..."
Xere’s eyebrows raised as she began to hear this incredibly surprising turn of events. She couldn’t help but smile at the misfortune of the Ersatz.
She might not know what kind of organization was able to create such chaos within the Ersatz rule, but she knew that they were definitely on the right side of history.
"Then we’ll probably find the Grandmaster sooner than we thought."
...
...
...
Michael and Yuna spent most of the day simply enjoying their time in the Nation of Reborn, lounging in the skies and eating ice cream.
She praised him for once again perfectly creating another ’innovation’ in this world. In fact, this ice cream seemed even better than any of the 5-star ’gelato’ or ’sorbets’ from their previous world.
But perhaps it was because of who she was with, that made the ice cream taste that much better than before.
Spending their time together, time seemed to fly like a rocket. They didn’t even know how much time had passed, and eventually, the sun set into the west and the familiar lambent light of the moon effused the environment of the Parched Lands.
Michael escorted Yuna back to her house.
"Thanks... for today," Yuna said, her hands behind her back.
Under the moonlight, she seemed even more ethereal than before.
"No problem. Just try not to disappear on me again. I wouldn’t want madame Xere to get mad at me."
Yuna stifled a chuckle. "Yeah, we wouldn’t want that. Then I guess you’re going to have to be with me all the time, huh?"
Mihael awkwardly rubbed his head. "Yeah, I guess."
The two went silent for a second. Michael opened his mouth to say something, but Yuna spoke first.
"I—"
"Do you have any more Ice Cream? I want to show it to Neytiri. She’ll definitely appreciate this new desert."
Michael immediately nodded. "Yeah. I have a lot of flavors back home. I’ll send it to you."
She smiled. "Thanks."
He nodded before turning his body slightly away. "I’ll go home. I’ll see you tomorrow—"
But just as he was about to descend into his shadow, Yuna suddenly pulled him close towards her.
She gave him a kiss on the cheek.
The kiss probably lasted only for a second at most, yet it completely threw Michael for a loop. He felt like he was just put into a spell that made him experience the same moment a million times for an eternity!
Even with his brain split into a thousand compartments, allowing him to have a thousand times the calculating capacity, he still couldn’t understand what happened.
He was... kissed? By Yuna? Yuna Kim? The idol he’d had a crush on for both his lives?
By the time he figured out that this wasn’t a dream, Yuna had already stepped into her home, the sound of her door closing snapping him out of his reverie.
He touched his cheek, before he couldn’t help himself and jumped giddily like he just won the lottery.
He ignored the looks everyone was giving him and inwardly celebrated.
Did this mean that there was a chance that... they could be more than friends?
Meanwhile, on the opposite side of the door, Yuna collapsed on the floor, her entire body flushed like a tomato. Steam was smoking out of her ears.
She didn’t know how she got the courage to do that. But in the heat of the moment, she let her feelings take control of her body.
And in the end, she was finally able to do what she was so afraid to do. Show her feelings.
Then, she heard a muffled shriek from behind the door.
It seemed that her kiss had a very positive reception.
A smile broke out on her face.
...
...
...
Michael returned to the Nation of Reborn with an idiotic smile plastered on his face.
He looked like he was drunk, stumbling and tripping on completely flat ground. His memory just kept flashing to that moment.
Just then, two shadows emerged right in front of Michael.
Narito and Sasuki appeared in front of him with tattered clothes and armors, yet there was an excited smile on his face.
" BU TO TO! Lord Michael, I am proud to announce—"
Sasuki immediately punched Narito’s bulbous stomach, stopping his prepared speech completely.
"Hey, I told you I was going to be the one to deliver the good news to Lord Michael," Sasuki complained.
Narito shook his head. "I made no such promise. I arrived here first, so I should have the honor of bringing untold joy and exultation to Lord Michael."
" RAH TA TA, you fat bastard!" Sasuki cursed him. "Lord Michael, I’m the one who shall tell you about our—"
But when they turned towards Michael, they realized that he had already walked past them.
It looked like he didn’t even realize they were there!