“Th-this pce… it’s really expensive. Are you sure we can afford this?” Hazel asked uncertainly as her eyes roamed over the menu.

  “It’s fine. Get what you want.”

  It wasn’t that I didn’t understand Hazel’s sentiment. It wasn’t so long ago when I was in her seat. This café was just a high-css pce. A small meal cost what would have been a rge meal at a fine restaurant based on my old standards. However, the pce was quiet and you were afforded a lot of privacy. Since meeting Mizuki and Lily, I had been slowly starting to change my opinion on cost and excess.

  My sister wasn’t used to any of that yet. She hadn’t seen where I lived, nor did she know how much money I was bringing in. I had avoided telling them those things so they wouldn’t ask questions or grow too concerned. It was getting time though I’d have to come clean with them. I wondered how Hazel would react if I invited her back to my suite. She’d probably be jealous. Well, I would share my wealth with my family soon.

  “You’ve… changed,” Hazel spoke so quietly I almost didn’t hear her.

  “I had to change,” I admitted, causing her to jerk. “The life we were all living… that wasn’t a life for any of us.”

  “At least, back then, I thought I understood you. Now, I don’t know what you’re thinking anymore.”

  “Good…”

  “Brother!” She gave me a pouty look.

  I chuckled as the waitress came to the table. We both gave our orders and then she left. Hazel looked like she wanted to say more, but she also seemed slightly awkward. Although she looked pretty enough to be in this café, it was clear she was out of her element. As beautiful as my sister was, it was a shame that she had to live such a squalor life where even this much excess made her uncomfortable. She picked up her gss of water with both hands and sipped on it carefully, her eyes wandering anywhere by me.

  “You sounded like you needed to talk.” I finally spoke up.

  “R-right!” Her body straightened for a moment, but then immediately went limp again. “It’s nothing.”

  She had put up such a ruckus that even Cecelia felt like she had to step in and say something. I couldn’t just leave it at that. It was clear to me that Hazel had something to say.

  “Just spit it out already.”

  I know I wasn’t being delicate, but I never was good at being delicate when it came to my sister, especially when she was being difficult. Hazel gave me an annoyed look as she crossed her arms under her chest, but after a moment she sighed.

  “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” She spoke cautiously. “I’ve been having strange dreams tely.”

  “Dreams?” I asked, leaning forward.

  “They are very distorted.” She scrunched up her brow. “I had a dream that someone came out of your room and attacked me.”

  “You don’t say…” I responded noncommittally.

  I shifted slightly in my seat. I had never known exactly what had happened to Hazel after Marshal kidnapped her. I had presumed she had been knocked out and put in that suspended animation chamber shortly after. She hadn’t seemed to have any memory of what had happened, so I decided not to bring it up and risk her remembering things that she shouldn’t.

  As for what Marshal’s pn had been, I didn’t know. I didn’t get his reasoning at all. He decided to sell Hazel as soon as he kidnapped her, and he had also frozen her and tried to put her off as some kind of prewar relic. This was one of the reasons I needed to get into the Cock and Balls ir. I felt like there were answers I’d only get there.

  “It’s not just that,” Hazel responded, afraid that I wasn’t taking her seriously. “There are other dreams too. There was this pce… and this bright light. People were talking over me.”

  “Doesn’t that sound like an alien abduction?” I tried to deflect.

  “I’m being serious!” She frowned. “You were there, and… and…”

  “And?”

  “I saw you die!” She cried out, covering her mouth as she realized she spoke too loudly.

  “Oh.” I felt a bit cold as she said that.

  “What?” She asked.

  “Isn’t that the dream with the magic and you were an action star or something?”

  I didn’t feel any pleasure in trying to gaslight my sister, but I didn’t want her to remember what happened either. As far as my family should be concerned, there was no such thing as that other world. I just wished she’d let it go.

  “I’m not talking about that.” She responded, looking a bit sullen.

  “You’re not?”

  Her cheeks turned slightly pink. “I’ve had other dreams. I’ve had dreams where I saw you die other ways.”

  I slowly shook my head and let out a sigh. “Hazel, I’m fine. You can see that. I didn’t die. You’re just stressed because I’ve been leaving and you’re afraid that one day I won’t come back.”

  That part wasn’t a lie. It seemed like she wasn’t talking about the vivid dream she had when she had woken up in that world. It had caused some kind of trauma in the back of her psyche and she was having dreams of me dying. If that was the case, I could understand where they were coming from.

  “Will you come back?” She asked.

  “What?”

  “Will you come back from… wherever you’re going?” When she looked at me, her eyes gave off a strange intensity and she didn’t blink.

  “Of course,” I responded, but I felt my heart tighten slightly.

  I remembered how many times my life had been put in danger since I started traveling to that world. There were the raiders who had captured and tortured me. There was the beast colony. There was that underground abomination. By all accounts, I could have and perhaps should have died. Had that happened, my family would have never known what was happening. They would have been left confused. It made me feel awkward like I was somehow letting them down by taking risks.

  “Okay…”

  Although my words didn’t sound convincing to me, they were enough for my sister. She trusted me, and that only made my heart tighten even more. I had already promised myself I wouldn’t take any more risks. Then again, I was talking about walking into an enemy headquarters with Jacques, a guy I could already call dubious in trust and loyalty.

  Thankfully, I didn’t need to think about such hard things as the food arrived and I stuffed my face to keep from having to talk very much. Hazel rexed a bit and spent most of the meal talking about herself and how mom has been doing since I left. They both seemed to be doing well. Will the bill collectors off her back and a real job, her situation at home had become to improve. Mom was sad that I was gone though, and often called Gabriel to compin about it.

  I could probably count how many times my mom had called Gabriel, as I received a phone call from Gabrielle after nearly every one of them. I was gd that I had Cecelia as a filter, as I didn’t want to have to listen to those messages.

  “Will that be all?” the waitress asked, her hand touching the top of my fingers as I pushed the bill toward her.

  “No, I’m good,” I responded shortly as I pulled my hand away.

  Her lips tightened and she took my card and left. Hazel was staring at the pair of us with a furrowed eyebrow.

  “Brother is still as clueless as always, at least.” She spoke quietly to herself.

  I’d hardly say I was clueless. The waitress had seen my bck VIP card and knew just enough to know what it meant. She was probably looking for a rich pyboy to pick her up and take her how. They could then shower her with all kinds of gifts. With just a look at her, I was already sure she was that type. I wasn’t the kind of guy who would waste my time on gold diggers. She just missed out, as that guy who had been bothering Hazel would be perfect for her. What was his name? Trevor?

  “Please don’t disappear, brother,” Hazel added as we gave our farewells.

  I bought her a rideshare back to mom’s pce and then waited until she was gone. Once I was on my own, I looked at my Perco.

  “Do we have a time and pce to meet Caleb?”

  “Of course, you will meet him in thirty minutes.”

  I jumped. “Thirty minutes! You could have given me some warning.”

  It was getting te, but I still had some time, so I was caught off guard.

  “Hmph, who do you think you’re talking to? I was able to properly calcute how long you’d take. I was accurate within thirty seconds. Your rideshare will bring you there within five minutes of the scheduled time. My preemptive scheduling is fwless!”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Do I detect the sound of pride in your voice?”

  “P-pride? How could I like being your secretary? If I’m going to do any task, I will naturally do it to the peak of my ability.”

  “As you say…” I responded, not wanting to get into any further fight with her, however, I did wonder whether Cecelia’s programming would change given enough time.

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