Cough... Cough...
Minato opened his eyes to the bright sunlight passing through a familiar-looking window. The wind flowed inside, briefly hitting him on the face; it felt really good to Minato.
Instantly, everything came back to him: the giant at the supermarket, the fights, his blood abilities, everything hit him all at once.
Minato then grabbed his head for a second; it felt painful, like his head was about to explode.
Then his eyes widened as he saw her, Amelia standing on his balcony, her yellow hair flowing with the rhythm of the wind.
She stood there nonchalantly, holding the summoning book Minato had given her earlier, The Realms of Eternity, reading it. For a few minutes, while Minato was breathless.
Eventually, she turned around and noticed him watching her from his bed.
"How are you feeling now?" she asked softly, suddenly closing the book in her hands. With a gentle smile, she stepped inside the living room and pulled the glass doors to the balcony shut behind her.
Minato blinked twice, easily caught off guard by the softness in her voice. He gave a little smile, though his shoulders seemed heavy from his fight with the giant.
"…I feel better, now that you've asked," he murmured, lowering his eyes for a moment before meeting hers again.
Her expression softened even more, and she moved closer, as though her presence alone could ease the weight he carried... "If you feel pain in any part of your body, please let me know."
Minato, still confused about everything, questioned her, knitting his eyebrows together.
"Amelia… what about the giant at the supermarket?" he asked her, his tone edged with disbelief.
She paused for a few seconds, tilting her head backward slightly as her fingers pinched at her jawline in thought.
"Hm," she breathed with a small smile, her eyes drifting toward the ceiling as if she was recalling a trivial memory. "I killed it."
Her tone was so matter-of-fact, so casual, that it left Minato staring at her for a few minutes in shock and stunned silence.
Minato blinked once, then twice, his mouth opened wide.
"You… killed it?" His voice dropped low, almost like he was murmuring. "Then what about the supermarket? The people… what happened to them? A lot of them were hurt, and a lot of them saw me fighting that giant, Amelia. They must've…"
His words trailed off with his emotions, the weight of the whole situation finally sinking in. If so many people had witnessed it, what did that mean for him? Was his normal everyday life over?
Amelia lowered her hand from her jaw and looked at him, her red eyes fixated in his direction, as calm as ever. It carried no doubt, no hesitation, only that same royal confidence.
"I erased all their memories."
Her words struck Minato like a cold breeze to the chest. He stared at her again, but this time he was completely speechless, his mouth parting as if to speak, but nothing came out.
"All of them," she continued, adding more details while brushing an invisible speck of dust from her sleeve. "The supermarket, the streets, the fight scene...gone. To them, it was a natural disaster."
Her soft, feminine voice carried no trace of guilt, no hesitation. Only certainty and execution.
He had seen her status in the system, knew she was strong and broken, but not to this extent.
"Good... Good." He added, exhaling while proceeding to rest his head on his bed pillow.
But to his surprise, Amelia stood there in front of him, quieter than usual. Then she spoke.
"Minato... you have a death mark."
"Wait... a... what?" He immediately leaned forward, his heart skipping a few beats.
"I said you have a death mark," Amelia repeated the sentence once again. "Which means you're wanted."
Minato narrowed his eyelids in confusion and with a rising, dreadful feeling. "For what? And by who?"
Amelia's red eyes focused on him, her pink lips pressed into a thin line.
"The Elves," she answered straightforwardly and quietly.
"The Elves?" Minato repeated after her, his whole face twisting in confusion. "How are you so sure? Besides, I've never even seen an elf in this world... except in anime and movies."
He sat upright facing her, his eyebrows narrowing as he tried to make sense of it.
"And you're my first summoned person."
Amelia watched him calmly; her expression was unreadable, as though she had been expecting his disbelief and answer.
"That's the problem, Minato." She sighed, folding her hands in her breast. "You're wanted because you summoned me here. In my world, summoning spells are usually the work of Elves or high-ranking vampires... aside from them, it's basically banned across every continent."
"But it's worse than that. You used the Realm Tree's power, and that sent up a flare the Elves can't ignore. That's why they sent a titan to eliminate you. Your existence is tearing at the flow of space and time."
Minato's stomach dropped instantly, and his breathing was caught in his throat. "W–wait… space and time?!" He leaned forward, eyes filled with panic. "That doesn't even make any sense! How could I just summon you be breaking something that big?!"
Amelia's eyes softened a little bit, but her tone remained as steady as ever. "It doesn't matter if it makes sense to you. To them, it's enough of a threat. The titan was just their first response... a test."
"A test for what exactly?" He countered her words.
"A test to see how strong you are. And now that Titan has been killed, so they'll escalate it more."
Minato ran his fingers through his hair, his pulse pounding. "Escalate how?"
Her eyes and his met; she didn't flinch. "They won't send another mindless Titan next time. They'll send assassins. The Elves are quite skilled in bending magic and time itself. Once they decide you're dangerous, they won't stop until you're erased completely."
Minato swallowed hard, his mind racing faster than a Lamborghini. Then it came to him.
He bowed down in front of Amelia. "Amelia, please… for the time being, stay by my side..."
Silence...
Then he slowly looked up, only for him to find her blushing cutely. "Huh?"
"Amelia..." he called out her name. "Are you good?"
"Hmm." She started playing with her hair.
[DING]
[FAMILIAR AFFECTION INCREASED: 10%]