"I-I’m fine..." Alina said quickly, sitting upright and wiping the blood from her nose.

Her fingers trembled slightly as she touched the necklace resting on her collarbone. "I know you said you would give me something when you found it, but I thought you were joking and would give it to the Saintess."

"Why the Saintess?" Ren asked, turning his sister around gently.

The area around them went quiet.

"If you chase after a person once or twice and they clearly don’t want anything to do with you... what’s the right thing to do?"

"Stop chasing them?" Alina answered carefully.

"Yes, you stop chasing." Ren clasped the necklace carefully behind her neck, making sure the chain sat right. "Why waste your time on someone who doesn’t want you, when I have a cute little sister right here I can spoil with gifts?"

He stepped back and looked at her.

The necklace sat perfectly against her collarbone with the six beads catching the restaurant light. He genuinely didn’t understand what the original Ren saw in the Saintess.

Between Alina, Reina, and even random noble girls he barely knew, the Saintess felt like the worst possible pick.

Chasing someone who looked through you like glass while ignoring the people who actually cared... that was the original Ren’s whole personality summed up.

"Th-thank you, Big Brother." Alina whispered.

She turned and hugged him tight with her arms squeezing hard around his waist. She felt like her heart was glowing and she didn’t trust herself to say anything else.

The nobles around them went completely speechless.

Rowan’s chest swelled so much he had to look away.

For the first time, his son had dropped that ridiculous one-sided obsession on his own with no nudging or intervention too? Stella would absolutely cry when she heard this.

Esmeralda stood beside Ren and stared at him.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out five candy bars stolen from the Evermere heir’s storage ring. "You like chocolates, right?"

"I’m not a kid." Esmeralda puffed her cheeks and turned her head away, but her eyes betrayed her immediately as they flickered to the sweets. "Are they sweet though?"

"Totally." Ren answered, and she snapped them out of his hand like a wild animal. She hid them behind her back like she hadn’t just done that.

...

Rowan stretched with a satisfied sigh as their griffins glided through the sky toward the capital.

"Wow, today was relaxing."

"You got to chill in a pool while I fought noble sons," Ren raised an eyebrow. "How unfair."

Alina leaned back against him on Reo’s back, touching her necklace.

’I can’t wait to tell Mama about this.’

"Hey, little sis, are you hungry?" Ren asked.

Her stomach answered before she could. A loud grumble echoed in the wind and she buried her face in her hands. "...Yes, I’m hungry."

Rowan looked down at the city below.

Being elite nobles gave them the privilege of flying griffins into the capital without permits and there was a well-known restaurant was within sight.

"Let’s eat there..." Rowan said, urging Eli forward.

The restaurant’s back courtyard was built for griffin landings with workers rushing out the moment they touched down.

"Welcome..." the workers said, bowing. They moved fast, placing feed and water in front of the griffins.

"Are there any free seats?" Rowan asked.

"Yes, my lord... actually the entire place is cleared out today." the worker replied. "It’s because the Hero and the Saintess made a reservation. I’ll check if you may enter."

Even elite nobles couldn’t compare to a Hero’s status, that was how it was... The Hero would save them from the blight of the Demon Lord after all.

Alina glanced at Ren’s face with a worried look but found him completely calm.

"Big brother, are you alright?" she whispered.

"Of course." Ren smiled.

The worker returned and bowed.

"The Hero says you may come in."

They stepped inside.

At the center of the hall sat a large table where Jace and Lumi were feeding each other food with an intimacy that would make a poet uncomfortable.

The rest of the restaurant was completely empty around them with staff hovering at a respectful distance and the violinist playing softly in the corner.

"Welcome!" Jace, The Hero stood and bowed with enthusiasm that filled the entire room. "It’s a pleasure to meet all of you."

He turned specifically to Ren with a bright grin. "How’re you doing Riv—"

Ren walked straight past him without breaking stride with no acknowledgement of any kind.

Jace was left frozen mid-syllable with his hand stuck in the air and his mouth still open around a word he never finished. Ren simply continued to a window seat and sat down like Jace wasn’t in the room at all.

’I can’t be bothered keeping up this rivalry... Who even cares about Jace?’

Jace gulped as he watched Ren walk away. The complete lack of acknowledgment hit harder than any sword. A waiter hurried to the Crowhurst table leaving Jace standing there.

’Is something wrong?’ Jace wondered. He thought Ren was throwing another tantrum meanwhile Lumi rolled her eyes.

"He’s probably in a mood, Jace... Don’t focus on him." Lumi nudged his shoulder. "We’re on a date so you should focus on me."

"...Right." Jace murmured as she lifted noodles toward his lips.

Lumi didn’t hate Ren.

She just didn’t think about him at all.

He was a noble boy with too much attachment and too little humility while Jace, like her was a commoner who became Hero while she became the Saintess.

That shared "against-the-world" story made them feel like the natural match.

"I’d like some spaghetti..." Ren said, tapping the menu. "And a soft drink."

Alina peeked up from her menu. "Brother... should I get spaghetti and meatballs or chicken wings?"

"Why not both? Dad’s paying." Ren said without looking up.

Rowan exhaled as his wallet spiritually caught fire while Alina giggled and nodded happily.

The waiter took their orders and ran.

’I just need to relax now,’ Ren thought while leaning back. ’I don’t want to interact with them at all.’

Then a purple tab opened.

『Ding』

『You have received a Side Mission』

『Minor Mission: Collect your gifts back from Saintess Lumi』

『Reward: Spell: Lightning Blade (B)』

『Assigned by the 「Honored Venerable God of Games」』

’Damn.’ Ren groaned internally.

Lumi was the last person he wanted to deal with today but Lightning Blade was an actual offensive spell he desperately needed.

His combat relied too much on bullying people with sword, well lightning blade was a blade but Ren was a lot less useful without a sword.

He stood up and Alina looked up immediately.

"Big brother, did something happen?"

Ren didn’t answer, he walked forward expressionlessly.

Rowan sighed into his palm.

’After that whole speech about dropping his obsession... here he goes again.’

Ren stopped in front of Jace and Lumi’s table.

"Saintess Lumi..." Ren said.

"No, I’m not interested in going out with you." Lumi said flatly before even looking up. When she finally did, she looked irritated. "Can’t you see I’m with the Hero?"

"I wasn’t asking for that." Ren blinked. "Do you still have the gifts I gave you?"

"Of course." Lumi said while flipping her hair. "I have most of them in my storage ring. Did you think I’d actually use the gi—"

"Great." Ren clapped once. "I need all of them back."

Lumi’s fork hit the table.

"Huh?" she said.

"You can do whatever you want with the Hero, I don’t care." Ren waved a hand. "You’re not my type anymore so I’ll need ALL the gifts back."

Lumi stared at him. Taking back gifts wasn’t just rude... it was a declaration of war on someone’s dignity.

Every person in the restaurant who could hear this conversation had gone very still and her hand tightened around her storage ring slowly.

"I’m wearing some of them right now..." she said with a stiff voice.

"You can take them off." Ren replied without missing a beat. "I need everything back then we go our separate ways and nobody has to deal with this again."

Jace blinked several times, slowly, like he was processing information at reduced speed. Rowan at the Crowhurst table choked on air but was privately the proudest he had been all year.

Lumi... the Saintess of the Empire, beloved by millions was being asked to peel off every accessory Ren had ever given her... on a date.

"Y-you can’t be serious..." Lumi said with a shaky voice.

"I’m very serious." Ren sighed. "Look, you clearly don’t want anything to do with me romantically and that’s fine. I’m not chasing after you anymore."

Her lips parted but she said nothing.

"And besides..." Ren continued. "...I could really use the money. Those gifts weren’t cheap."

Jace’s eye twitched. "Are you... taking back gifts because you didn’t budget properly?"

Ren looked at him calmly.

"Hero, she’s your woman now. Why is she still wearing gifts I gave her in the first place?"

Lumi’s jaw dropped completely and Ren clapped once.

"Alright then... Start returning them, I’ll be waiting right here or I could charge you to the Royal court if you refuse to comply."