The little one crawled with his trembling body toward the sleeping Alvin, slapping him hard across the face to wake him quickly before the monsters attacked. Alvin groaned from the successive hits and suddenly opened his eyes to find Tulip beside him, his expression grim.
"Tulip?" Alvin sat up in alarm, recalling the last events before he lost consciousness. He looked around until he saw Meryl and Elena sleeping nearby.
Tulip shook him and resumed hitting his chest. Alvin looked at him, then followed the direction the child was pointing. Dozens of scorpion-like creatures surrounded them. What happened? he wondered. Why are they here? And where is that monster?
He crawled on his knees toward Elena, pulling the frightened Tulip along with him. Her body was fine, her pulse steady—and the same applied to Meryl. That meant they were only asleep. Judging by how the creatures kept their distance, they were afraid to get closer because beneath them lay the tunnel of the Drivalisk.
— [I thought you wouldn't wake up.]
Alvin read Mr. Pie's message and wanted to respond, but his priority was the frightened child beside him. So he said, "Don't be scared, Tulip; they won't attack us. Now, go wake Elena and Meryl."
The child nodded hesitantly, then reached out to wake the two girls, while Alvin focused on his conversation with his planet. "What happened after I lost consciousness?"
— [Not much. I sent someone on my behalf to rescue you.]
— [What happened was my fault. I should've stopped you from going to the creature.]
"It was a mission we couldn't cancel…" Alvin paused mid-message, suddenly remembering the mission.
He deleted his previous message and quickly typed another: "Where's the monster? Elena has to kill it!" He sent it, then turned toward Elena, who was staring at the creatures with concern, while beside her, Meryl was doing something with her system.
— [Don't worry, the mission's been canceled. Your girlfriend is safe now.]
— [As for the creature, it went with the one who helped you.]
"She's not my girlfriend."
— [But you love her. :')]
"That's not true. I don't love her in any way, shape, or form." Alvin typed quickly and sent it. He turned toward the others when Meryl called out to him, "Come on, let's go home."
Alvin gazed at Elena for a few moments—she seemed to be doing well. Just as he remembered her over the past years: long black hair, black clothes, mostly quiet, and sparing with words.
Elena was holding Tulip's hand as they walked along the stone pavement of the house garden. She smiled gently at the child beside her… and that… bothered Alvin. He returned to his conversation with his master and wrote: "I hate her. I've never hated anyone as much as I hate her."
— [Then why do you always protect her? Why do you keep helping her?]
"I hate seeing others hurt her." He sent the message and stepped into the garden as well. He watched the golden sands fade away, the massive creatures growing smaller the higher they rose into the sky.
— [All that, and you hate her? Then what will you do if you love her?]
What would he do if he loved Elena? Alvin had never thought about that—he never expected a day would come when he'd love her. To him, Elena was like a flower surrounded by thorns, and he loved the pain he felt whenever he gripped those thorns tightly.
The four of them sat in the living room—Alvin lying on the couch, still messaging his planet. Tulip was on the floor mattress, trying to relax, soothed by the faint coolness radiating from the thread of life within him.
Elena sat behind the table, facing Meryl, who was recounting what had happened after being informed by her master.
"That's why the mission was removed from the system," Elena said calmly. "But who is that young man?"
Meryl shook her head with a hint of disappointment. "My master said he doesn't know him." Glasses of juice floated into the living room along with plates of biscuits. "But you know what, Elena? My master said he's very handsome!"
Elena stared at her for a few moments, her expression unreadable, then asked suspiciously, "Meryl, don't tell me you've got a crush on him?"
"That's not true!" Meryl defended herself, flustered, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. "I'm just telling you what my master said!"
"Maybe your master said that just to see if you'd fall for the mysterious guy." Elena took a bite of a biscuit and added, in a disappointed tone, "Poor guy—your master's heart is probably shattered right now!"
"Why would her master's heart be broken?" Tulip sent curiously into the chat as he grabbed another biscuit to eat.
"It's nothing, dear Tulip. Elena is just joking," Meryl called out, embarrassed.
"Aah!" said Elena dramatically. "Sir Meryl has a crush on her, and there's a chance they might get married in the future."
Stop it! That's embarrassing and not true!" Meryl shouted in frustration, but Elena paid her no mind and continued speaking to Tulip, who was completely engrossed by the topic due to his curiosity:
"Very soon, there'll be kids for you to play with... Meryl's and her planet's kids!"
Meryl hid her head under the table from sheer embarrassment. It was just a joke—how did it end up with kids being mentioned?! The real disaster was that Master Elyor had been listening to their entire conversation through Meryl's system.
"Elena, how are children made?" Tulip asked curiously, his gray eyes locked on Elena, who now felt a wave of awkwardness wash over her. She was just teasing Meryl, and now she had to deal with this question?
"Well... I'll try to explain," Elena spoke hesitantly. Meryl emerged from under the table, heart pounding with dread, convinced Elena was about to say something inappropriate.
"When two people get married, they bring lots of candy and put it under their pillow, and in the morning, when they wake up, they find a little baby there."
Tulip's eyes widened in awe at the beauty of the child-making process, a new idea already forming in his mind. But it didn't last—his expression turned into a frown when Alvin said coldly,
"That's not true. That's not how children come into the world."
"Sir Alvin, could you please keep your thoughts to yourself?" Meryl said with a small smile, hoping not to confuse Tulip.
"I can't," Alvin replied coolly. "From the look on his face earlier, I'm sure he was already planning to put candy under his pillow."
"That's not true. Tulip is smart and wouldn't do something like that. Right…?" Tulip looked truly angry, with all those creases on his face.
"Tulip?" she called out in confusion. When he didn't write a message, she shot a sharp glance at the silent Elena, thinking they were in this situation because of her—while she just sat there calmly sipping her juice.
Alvin got off the couch and sat down next to Elena, nudging her slightly so he could sit more comfortably. He grabbed a piece of biscuit and a glass of juice, then said, "Don't worry about this stuff—you'll figure it out on your own when you grow up and become a man."
"On my own?" Tulip typed in surprise.
"Yeah. Also, there are way better things than having a child that you can do with your girlfriend." Alvin ended his sentence with a wink at the boy.
"Stop! That's not something you say to a child!" Meryl snapped sharply.
"I only learned about this stuff when I was twenty, and look at me now—living my best life," Alvin said sarcastically. "Unlike your narrow-minded thinking, Miss Meryl, knowing about these things makes little boys love life."
Meryl sighed in frustration. Talking to Alvin was clearly pointless. She turned to Elena, hoping for some support. "Aren't you going to say something?"
"If Tulip's going to love life because of these topics, then let them talk about it until morning," Elena replied calmly. Meryl sighed helplessly. Those two really did think alike—maybe that's why they were still together.
"Alvin, what are the things couples do?" Tulip sent another message, and Meryl wished kicking Alvin out would've been enough to end this embarrassing conversation.