Alexander couldn't tell how long he had been unconscious, but when he woke up, he was lying on a bed.

  His head felt like it was going to explode with pain, and his body didn't seem much better than his head.

  Struggling and with great difficulty, Alexander managed to sit up on the bed to see what was around him: four people and Ocean.

  The moment those present realized that Alexander had woken up, the person he didn't know left, Diana's parents sighed with relief, and Diana herself—whose eyes were already swollen from so much crying—started crying again.

  "How long was I unconscious?" asked Alexander.

  "I'm not sure," replied Diana's father. "But I think two hours."

  "Thank you," sighed Alexander, very relieved. "Luckily I wasn't unconscious for too long."

  After wiping her tears, Diana wanted to say something, but she didn’t have the opportunity.

  The door was opened by a physically imposing man with a very serious face. "Sorry to interrupt, but the matter is urgent. My name is Marcus, and I am the master of this branch of the adventurers' guild."

  "I know you are tired and recovering, but I need some information—after all, it's been over 2 hours since you arrived in the city and we have no sign of the Wave," explained the guildmaster of this branch, serious. "I sent several scouts halfway to the village and they also found nothing… You couldn't be joking about something like that, could you?"

  "That wave won't reach the city anymore," explained Alexander. "What was left of it dissipated—or at least seemed to have dissipated—after I killed the {Forest King Bear} that was leading it."

  To prove his words—even in pain—he pulled Diana—who was in the way—onto the bed and took the bear's body out of the [Ring of the Thief God], pretending to take it from the other storage item.

  Even though the distance to the floor was small, the impact the bear's body caused surprised everyone nearby.

  Even the guild master couldn't help but frown and reevaluate Alexander.

  "Could you explain to me how this happened?" asked Marcus.

  "I'm a hybrid style student at the Twin Combats Academy with a magical affinity for water," explained Alexander. "Jumping into a lake to fight me wasn't the best idea that bear ever had in its life."

  "Just look inside the bear if you need proof," said Alexander upon seeing the analytical face of that branch's master. "I guarantee it will be full of water."

  Feeling that the story made sense, the master of that guild branch began analyzing the bear's body to confirm the story.

  "It's true," agreed Marcus after analyzing the bear's body. "It suffered several attacks, but the main cause of death was drowning…"

  "Congratulations, young man. You managed to accomplish a great feat," said Marcus, truly impressed. "If it were up to me alone, I would promote you to the rank of a gold-level adventurer right now."

  "But since our institution has some rules for the gold level and above, I can only put you under evaluation for promotion and give you a worthy reward," pointed out the branch master.

  "Thank you for your cooperation," said Marcus at the end of his questions. "However, now that I know the wave won't appear, I have to manage things to normalize the situation in the city."

  "No problem," replied Alexander. "But could you ask someone to take and disassemble this bear for me? I’m a bit weak right now."

  "Alright," agreed the guild master as he left the room.

  As soon as a guild employee appeared and took away the bear's body, the room became strangely quiet until Diana punched Alexander in the chest.

  She literally almost made him spit blood.

  "You idiot! How could you do this to me?" complained Diana, starting to cry again. "Do you have any idea how worried I was when you sent me away and stayed behind?"

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  "Or when Ocean took me to you only to find you unconscious on the ground?" she added, still hitting him.

  Diana kept hitting Alexander while complaining, but as the words stuck in her throat were freed, she hit him slower and slower—until she finally hugged him when she finished speaking.

  "Don't be like that Diana," pleaded Alexander. "You know how difficult it would be to send you back if it were any other way... I barely survived that situation, much less if I had to protect both of us."

  Diana tightened her hug in response to Alexander. "I know. I understand that… But that choice should still have been mine. You shouldn't have done that."

  Venting, Diana finally eased her grip and relaxed—allowing Alexander to stroke her head. "It's okay, Diana. If there's a next time, I'll let you choose."

  "But you'll have to strive to become stronger and stronger," joked Alexander. "That way we'll have more chances to survive."

  "Alright," agreed Diana, smiling, but with a touch of seriousness in her voice. "I'll strive to become stronger and stronger and help you."

  After saying everything she wanted and calming down, Diana finally realized she had been all this time "in Alexander's arms," in front of her parents.

  Like a frightened pup, she jumped off the bed.

  Feeling she had become the center of attention, Diana lowered her head and began to blush completely.

  Her father didn't seem very happy with the situation, but didn't do anything. Her mother just smiled, as if she were very happy with the situation.

  Even surprised to find himself a bit embarrassed, Alexander still tried to help Diana shift everyone's focus to something else. "Hmm… I know it's a bit late to ask, but where are we?"

  "In a treatment room at the adventurers' guild," replied Diana's mother, still smiling. "The moment you arrived in the city, your wolf felt your presence. Then, she picked up Diana and went to you—where they found you and the guild master ordered you to be treated."

  "Thank you. Now I more or less understand my situation," said Alexander.

  "Speaking of us already being in the city, have you told them about your surprise?" asked Alexander, making Diana's father frown even more, and her mother widen her smile even further.

  "Not yet," replied Diana, getting excited again. "With everything that happened, I didn't have the time or mind for it."

  "You can tell... But I'm fine, just a bit tired," assured Alexander, smiling. "This will help improve the mood after these events. I won't have any problems accompanying them with Ocean's help."

  "Alright then," said Diana, extremely excited. "I'll tell them."

  "Since that's the case, why don't we go to 'that' place?" suggested Alexander. "There shouldn't be a better place than that to talk about it."

  "You're right," agreed Diana.

  Hearing the conversation between them, the face of Diana's father tightened further, if that was possible, while her mother's smile seemed to grow bigger and bigger, if that was also possible.

  After leaving the guild and walking for some time through the city streets, the group arrived at the door of the house Diana had bought—which at the moment was simply the behavior of a humble family’s dream.

  Diana's parents, who were following her, were confused by the sudden stop and questioned her about it: "What happened? Why did we stop?"

  "Dad, Mom, you worked so hard to raise me, and even more to help me get into the Twin Combats Academy," said Diana, her eyes completely misty. "I always wanted to repay all your effort, but the truth is I wasn't doing very well at the academy."

  "You silly child," said Diana's mother, smiling. "You don't need to repay us for anything. We are your parents."

  Diana then pulled out the cord with her silver identification—the symbol of a silver-level adventurer which was hidden inside her clothes—and showed it to them. "Yet I met Alexander and Ocean—who helped me improve a lot—and I gave my best. Now I am a silver-rank adventurer."

  The last part of Diana's words greatly surprised her parents.

  They knew their daughter and knew she had difficulty relating and taking initiative due to shyness—something vital for an adventurer.

  "This is our new house," said Diana, no longer able to hold back the tears. "I bought it for you. So you can have a better and safer life."

  Stunned, her parents exchanged surprised glances.

  "Just for the record, this house was bought exclusively with Diana's money," pointed out Alexander, serious. "She even reduced the amount I offered—matching her share to what would normally be allocated to support in other groups."

  "She wanted to be proud of buying a beautiful house for you with her own effort," he explained.

  Even before Alexander finished explaining, Diana's mother had already started crying, much more than Diana herself.

  Diana's father, who was more serious, couldn't help but cry when the three hugged each other.

  Observing that situation, Alexander took a few steps back to give more space to the family while they cried and thanked each other continuously.

  A very strange scene to see, but one that couldn't help but warm the heart of anyone who knew that family's story.

  After some time, when the three calmed down and regained their composure, Diana called Alexander and the group entered the house.

  The moment the group entered, Diana's parents cried a little more. The house was painted, furnished, tidy, decorated, and very charming.

  The living room was very spacious, and the kitchen, so large that it was divided into a preparation area and a dining area.

  The main bedrooms had their own bathroom.

  All the bathrooms were spacious and equipped with a large couple's bathtub.

  There was even a guest room for potential visitors.

  "The property also has a very large area," said Diana with a beautiful smile of satisfaction. "Alexander even had some gifts prepared for you there… Let's see how it turned out."

  As soon as the group headed to the internal courtyard of the property, they came across an almost paradisiacal scene.

  The grass was well-trimmed, there were beautiful leafy trees and wooden benches strategically placed in the shaded areas.

  Everything impeccably clean and new.