– Frey Starlight's Pov –
Lately, fragments of old memories I thought long buried had begun resurfacing .. memories of my high school days, hanging out with friends, and the carefree moments that once defined my life.
Perhaps my ongoing effort to adapt to this new reality has stirred those echoes from the past ... especially now.
It was the weekend. We were allowed to leave the temple for a few days if we wished, or just stay holed up in our rooms ... something I usually would have done.
But not this time.
Standing in front of a towering skyscraper, I stared in silence. Snow was on my right, Ghost on my left.
We weren't the only ones. Danzo, Ragna, and even Dawn were with us.
"We're here! Come on, everyone!"
Danzo called out cheerfully, leading the way as we followed. We now stood at the entrance of his home, right in the heart of Belgrade's capital district.
And yes—it was exactly what it looked like.
A few days ago, while the elite class guys were still licking their wounds from that humiliating defeat at the hands of the girls, Danzo ... realizing most of us weren't planning to leave the temple offered to host a sleepover.
Honestly, I had no real reason to accept or decline. In the past, I would've refused, arguing I didn't want to form bonds with characters from my own story. But things had changed. And so, here I was.
"This whole building is your house?"
Dawn asked, visibly impressed, as he looked up at the massive structure that towered above us.
Danzo replied casually, "Yep. I live here with my father. We own the entire building, but we only use one floor."
"Amazing," Snow commented.
He managed to keep a neutral expression, but I knew he was the most affected. After all, he'd spent most of his life without a home.
Without thinking, I gently patted his shoulder.
No need to hide it, my dear hero .. I understand more than anyone.
Snow seemed like he wanted to say something but chose to remain silent, as if coming to terms with something unspoken.
Inside the building ... which apparently was Danzo's house ... we were greeted by a few sharply dressed individuals in formal black suits, each bearing the emblem of a silver dragon. I assumed it was the symbol of Danzo's father's guild.
They didn't approach us once they saw Danzo among us, allowing us to proceed to the elevator without interruption.
Danzo pressed the button for the 27th floor.
"Why the 27th floor?" Snow asked.
"When we moved in, we just picked a random floor. Ended up on 27, so we stuck with it."
"That's a weird way to decide where you'll spend the rest of your life…"
"Does it really matter, though?"
The elevator carried us up.
Even though most of the elite class guys were here, there were some notable absences. The prince, for one. I figured Danzo wasn't quite sure how to invite someone of his status.
And then there was another name missing…
"Where's Daemon?"
The moment I asked, Danzo sighed with clear irritation.
"I did invite him. But the one thing he wanted... wasn't available."
"And what was that?"
Danzo recalled what the blond tank had asked him.
"He wanted to know if any girls would be coming. When I said no, he told me he wasn't interested in sleeping over with a bunch of guys."
"Ah…"
I could understand Daemon's sarcasm. Despite his age, who would've guessed he was that type?
"Screw him. It's not like we need some brainless musclehead around anyway."
Danzo grumbled. Ghost looked like he was about to say something, but I stopped him. I knew exactly what he was going to point out.
No need to remind Danzo he's also a musclehead.
Anyway, once we finally reached the floor, the elevator doors opened ...
And what we saw next was the last thing I expected to witness today.
A hulking man stood in the hallway. There had to be a limit to how many muscles one body could carry ... but this guy looked like he'd broken that rule and eaten bodybuilders for breakfast. His chest alone was about the size of my entire torso.
But that wasn't the shocking part.
It was the frilly pink kitchen apron barely clinging to his waist... and the gleaming bald head catching the light like a polished gem.
Standing before us was none other than Adam Smasher ... Danzo's father.
"Ooooh! Danzo, you finally brought your friends!"
The infamous leader of the Silver Dragon Guild had come to welcome us himself.
Just… not in the way anyone expected.
That apron certainly didn't suit the image of a man who led a powerful guild. But the aura surrounding him didn't lie ...not for a second.
"Dad! What are you doing?!"
Danzo yelled at his father, who only laughed in response.
"I made dinner for you all! Look at you skinny runts ... where are your muscles? Where's your manhood?!"
We all greeted the hulking tank of a man, but it was clear we were far too scrawny to catch his eye ... especially Ghost, whom Adam smacked on the head the moment he saw him. For a brief moment, he actually thought Ghost was about to die… from the sheer lack of muscle and how thin his body was.
Danzo was the only one who barely met the standards of his muscle-obsessed father.
Eventually, Danzo shoved him aside, trying to get rid of him.
Adam Smasher kept laughing until the end. He genuinely looked happy seeing his son bring home this many people.
Weird as he was, there was no denying it ... he truly loved his son.
"Sorry about that, guys… Let's head to my room. It's just through that door over th—"
Danzo turned to gesture at the room behind him, only to find me already standing in the doorway.
I'd opened it without thinking, and now everyone was staring.
"What?"
I instantly realized my mistake and scrambled to cover it.
"Sorry for opening the door… I just had a feeling it was your room."
Of course, that was a lie ... I already knew the layout of this place from using the third-person pov on Danzo before.
They didn't know that, though. I had to be more careful moving forward.
Luckily, no one suspected anything, and we entered the room without issue.
"Your dad's amazing," Dawn commented. "I never thought I'd see the legendary Adam Smasher wearing a kitchen apron."
"He does this from time to time," Danzo replied. "Especially since Mom passed away… It's just the two of us now."
"Oh… Sorry. I didn't mean to bring up a bad memory."
"It's fine. It happened a long time ago. Doesn't really matter anymore."
Danzo smiled and quickly changed the subject.
Still, what he said gave me a new insight into his character—his mother had passed away.
My respect for Adam Smasher rose unconsciously in that moment. What a father.
The night was just beginning, and we hadn't even started yet. But somehow, after Danzo mentioned his mother, the conversation naturally drifted toward deeper topics. There was a lot we didn't know about each other, after all. Plenty to talk about, plenty to do.
Time flew by, and to my surprise, I found myself genuinely enjoying the sleepover.
They might be fierce warriors… but they were still just teenagers barely eighteen.
Guys their age were bound to enjoy themselves and forget the weight life had thrown on their backs.
Me, on the other hand—I was an old man in a young body. I was worried I wouldn't be able to fit in.
But thankfully… that fear faded quickly.
Turns out there was still a kid somewhere deep inside me. And moments like these helped me forget, if only for a while, the looming problem I had to solve within the next twenty days.
Surrounded by friends… I felt like I'd just started living.