The next morning, warm sunlight shone on Zac’s face while the faint murmurs of people talking slowly pulled him out of sleep. He opened his eyes with a tired groan, his mind still buried under the haze of last night.

He could only remember bits and pieces from last night. But even those few memories were enough to turn his face like a tomato.

The vivid memories of what he had done with Lima the previous night came crashing back into his mind all at once.

"God..."

Zac immediately tried to clear his thoughts and attempted to move his body, but the moment he did, pain surged over his body.

Other than pain, he couldn’t feel anything below his neck. "What the hell is happening...?"

With great difficulty, he slightly tilted his head and looked towards where the sound was coming from.

Lima stood outside of the room in her combat attire, talking with a middle-aged man. Zac immediately recognized the man as Joseph Milroy, the same examiner he saw in Maroon City.

"He must’ve come here as backup support. That’s probably why the exam was suddenly stopped midway too."

The moment Lima and Joseph noticed that Zac was awake, they both walked toward him.

Joseph looked down at him and asked directly, "Can you move your body?"

Zac let out a dry laugh, saying, "What do you think?"

Joseph stared at him for a moment before exhaling deeply.

"I honestly don’t know how you managed to survive and make it back here alive," Joseph said with a sigh. "No sane person would charge alone into a beast tide like that. And going anywhere near an A-Rank monster without proper backup?"

He shook his head in complete disbelief.

"I genuinely can’t decide whether I should admire your courage... or curse your stupidity."

"I’d appreciate it if you did neither," Zac replied with an awkward grin before his gaze unconsciously drifted toward Lima.

But unlike him, Lima acted like nothing had happened between them. Her face remained completely calm, without even the slightest hint of embarrassment.

"I’ve already informed the association members, they’ll escort you to your home." She casually said it and started walking towards the door.

"Sir Joseph!" Joseph stopped mid-step and glanced back at Zac.

"Captain," he corrected calmly. "It’s Captain Joseph for you."

"Uh... sorry. Captain Joseph," Zac said awkwardly. "Could you give me a moment with Ms. Lima?"

Before Joseph could respond, Lima immediately stepped in. "No. Whatever it is, it can wait until you’re fully recovered. And I have to immediately report to the association of what happened here."

Zac shook his head. "No, this is important. I really need to talk to you about something."

Lima hesitated for a brief moment. Meanwhile, Joseph silently observed the two of them.

Ever since seeing the footage of Zac cutting down a monster during the beast tide, he already knew the boy wasn’t ordinary. But even then, it still felt strange watching someone like Zac speak to Lima so casually, almost like they were equals.

After thinking for a few seconds, Joseph simply sighed and walked away, leaving the room to the two of them.

The moment the door closed, Lima crossed her arms and looked at Zac directly.

"If you’re going to talk about what happened last night," she said immediately, "then don’t. I need time to think and am not in the right state of mind to talk about... that."

Zac blinked for a moment before quickly shaking his head. "No, I wasn’t going to bring that up. Even though I really want to," he admitted honestly. "I’m still not going to talk about it right now."

Lima gave him a suspicious look. Unbeknownst to her, something inside her felt wrong hearing what he said. "Then what exactly do you want to talk about?"

Zac’s expression slowly turned serious. "It’s about the reason I came to Mellow City in the first place. I...I need a favor from you."

"And here I thought you came back to save me. My poor heart is so broken."

"Can you stop teasing me considering the situation we are in?" Lima frowned, looking at him. Zac took a small breath before answering.

"During the exam... inside the portal... I did something."

Lima raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"I want you to remove that part from the recording."

This time, Lima gave him a genuine side-eye. "What exactly did you do?"

Zac awkwardly looked away. "You’ll understand once you see it."

Lima stared at him for a few silent seconds before speaking again. "Was it really so important that you came all the way here and nearly got yourself killed in a city overrun by monsters?"

"If it wasn’t important," Zac replied seriously, "I never would’ve come here."

Lima quietly looked at him for a moment.

"So... you really didn’t come here for me, huh?" she muttered softly under her breath.

"Hm? What?" Zac asked immediately. "I didn’t hear what you said."

Lima instantly looked away. "Nothing. I didn’t say anything. Anyway, what makes you think I even have the authority to get access to those recordings?"

"Well..." Zac hesitated. "You’re an A-Ranker and also the vice chief of the Variant Association..."

"Branch," Lima corrected.

"Right. Branch Association."

"And you think that’s enough power for me to casually tamper with official examination recordings?"

"Of course not," Zac replied honestly.

That answer caught her slightly off guard.

A faint grin appeared on Zac’s face. "Did you honestly believe I wouldn’t notice your last name?"

Lima’s expression changed. "You know about me?"

"Who doesn’t know the famous Martel family?"

For the first time since entering the room, Lima genuinely looked surprised. After a few moments of silence, she sighed softly. "Fine. I’ll see what I can do."

"I’d really appreciate it." Then his tone turned unusually serious. "If someone sees that recording before it’s removed... there’s a real chance I could end up dead."

"I honestly don’t know what you could’ve possibly done."

Zac simply smiled faintly.

Lima stared at him for another moment before finally turning around. "Fine. If that’s everything, I’ll leave now."

She started walking toward the door, but just before she stepped outside, Zac’s voice sounded again. "Do you really not want to talk about what happened last night?"

Lima’s footsteps faltered for a brief second. Without turning back, she quietly replied, "Not right now. And consider this a repayment for saving me."

The moment the door closed, a slow grin spread across Zac’s face.

"Not right now... Ah," he muttered to himself with a smug smile appearing on his face despite his paralyzed body. 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"It doesn’t mean not at all."

***

A little while later, two association members carefully carried Zac back to his house. By the time they arrived, Martha, Carrie, Marty, and Marty’s parents were already waiting anxiously outside his house.

The moment they saw Zac being carried in while completely motionless, panic instantly spread across their faces.

Martha’s and Carrie’s faces turned pale and terrified, looking at him. But before anyone could break down, Zac suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs.

"I’m fine! Nothing happened to me!" Only after hearing his voice did everyone calm down.

The two association members carefully handed Zac over to Marty.

Martha immediately stepped forward in panic. "What happened to my son?"

"He recklessly charged against the beast tide. If it weren’t for a superior from the Association, he would’ve killed."

"And as for why he’s paralyzed, we don’t know anything about that yet. Maybe he got poisoned by some beast."

After saying that, the two association members quietly left. Marty carried Zac into his room and carefully laid him on the bed.

While Zac remained completely motionless. The atmosphere inside the house instantly became heavy.

Marty stood beside him silently, while behind him stood Martha, Carrie, and Marty’s parents, all staring at Zac with worried expressions.