Chapter 80: Home

A red magic circle silently unfolded across the floor of Jet’s bedroom.

Thin lines of crimson light spread through the familiar room, connecting into the intricate pattern of his Beyond Anchor before growing brighter.

Space within the circle distorted for several seconds, and Jet’s translucent figure gradually took shape at its center. His boots became solid first, followed by the rest of his body, until the final traces of crimson light retreated beneath him and the magic circle disappeared completely.

Jet remained where he was for several moments.

His bedroom looked exactly as he had left it.

The bed was still pushed against the same wall, the curtains were drawn halfway across the windows, and several small things he had barely noticed before leaving suddenly seemed strangely familiar after a week of sleeping in Zenith Citadel and temporary camps throughout the Thousand Boughs.

Nothing about the room was impressive, especially compared to some of the places he had seen in the Beyond, yet standing inside it again brought a sense of comfort that surprised him.

Then he breathed.

Jet’s expression immediately changed.

He slowly filled his lungs and held the breath for several seconds before releasing it, only to take another one almost immediately.

Earth air lacked the constant Mana density of the Beyond. It didn’t carry the strange scents of enormous forests, monster territories, blood, unfamiliar vegetation and whatever else seemed to linger throughout the Thousand Boughs.

The difference was so obvious after a full week away that ordinary air somehow felt refreshing.

Jet closed his eyes and inhaled deeply enough that an almost intoxicated expression crossed his face. "Damn. I didn’t know normal air could smell this good."

The feeling lasted until he became aware of himself.

His clothes carried several days of sweat despite the opportunities they had taken to clean themselves, his hair needed attention, and there was probably enough dust from the Thousand Boughs buried in his equipment to bring a small portion of the forest back with him. Jet immediately removed what he didn’t need, secured his equipment inside the bedroom and headed for the bathroom.

The shower lasted much longer than necessary.

Hot water ran over his head and shoulders as Jet stood beneath it without moving for the first few minutes, allowing the accumulated grime and tension of the expedition to disappear down the drain.

There had been places to wash in Zenith and ways to clean themselves while traveling, but none of them compared to returning to his own bathroom and knowing there wasn’t a monster territory several kilometers away.

By the time Jet finally emerged, he felt almost human again.

He changed into comfortable clothes rather than anything suitable for combat, choosing loose trousers and a simple long sleeve shirt before drying his hair. The last thing he put on was the bandana.

Jet adjusted it carefully across his forehead until the small Primal Yin-Yang Divine Rune was completely hidden, then checked his reflection to make certain no part of the symbol remained visible.

Only after that did he leave his bedroom.

He had barely stepped into the hallway when he heard shouting from the living room.

Jet paused.

The voices were familiar enough that his mouth curved upward before he had even reached the end of the corridor.

"You pushed me!" Inez shouted indignantly from somewhere ahead. "You can’t just push my car whenever I’m about to pass you!"

Nadia’s laughter followed almost immediately, accompanied by frantic clicking from a game controller. "I didn’t push you. You drove into me because you can’t take a corner properly, and now you’re trying to blame me because I’m winning."

"You are cheating!"

"Inez, you say I’m cheating every time you’re losing."

Jet reached the entrance to the living room and leaned against the frame without announcing himself immediately.

Inez and Nadia were sitting beside each other on the sofa with controllers clutched in their hands. A racing game covered the large television in front of them, two cars speeding around a brightly illuminated track while Inez leaned forward so far that she looked ready to fall from the sofa.

Nadia appeared considerably more relaxed, although the rapid movement of her thumbs betrayed how seriously she was actually taking the race.

Neither had noticed him.

Jet watched Inez’s car slam against a barrier while Nadia overtook her, and his younger sister immediately began protesting loudly enough that he finally decided to intervene.

"I’ve been home for less than an hour, and somehow Inez is already accusing somebody of cheating. I’m starting to think the problem might not be everyone else."

Both controllers stopped moving.

Inez froze.

Her car continued along the screen without her input, struck another barrier and spun across the track, but she didn’t even look at it. Her eyes widened as she slowly turned toward the entrance.

Jet stood there smiling.

"BIG BROTHER!"

The controller dropped onto the sofa.

Inez launched herself from the seat and sprinted across the living room with enough enthusiasm that Jet had to brace himself before she crashed into him.

Her arms wrapped around his waist while Jet immediately returned the embrace, one hand settling against her back and the other rubbing gently over her platinum hair.

For several seconds, Inez didn’t say anything.

She simply held him tighter.

Jet’s smile softened when he felt her face press against his shirt. He had known she would miss him, but knowing it intellectually was different from returning after an entire week and feeling how desperately she clung to him.

Inez eventually looked up, her rare white eyes already watery. "Big Brother, I missed you. You said you were going away, but you were gone for so long."

Jet immediately felt guilty.

He scratched lightly at the back of his head while keeping one arm around her. "I’m sorry. The trip ended up taking longer than I originally expected, and I should’ve prepared you better before leaving. I didn’t mean to make you worry."

That apology produced an astonishing transformation.

The tears disappeared.

Inez’s expression tightened, and she pushed against his stomach until Jet released her enough for her to step backward. She planted both hands on her hips and stared up at him with the unmistakable expression of someone who had spent several days preparing a speech.

Jet knew he was in trouble.

"You always say things like that after you come back," Inez began, pointing one small finger at him. "Do you know how many sleeps one week is? Seven! I counted all of them. Nadia came to stay with me, and I went to school, and I did my homework, and every day I checked if you were back. You weren’t back yesterday, or the day before yesterday, or the day before that either. You can’t disappear for that long and then come home smiling like everything is fine."

Jet stood in silence as the lecture continued, scratching the back of his head with an increasingly awkward smile.

He had faced Greater-ranked monsters, survived the Palladium expedition and spent the last several days testing abilities capable of tearing apart sections of forest, yet there was apparently no useful combat response to an angry seven-year-old sister cataloguing every day of his absence.

Nadia certainly wasn’t helping.

She remained on the sofa with one hand covering her mouth, shoulders shaking as she tried unsuccessfully to suppress her laughter. When Jet looked toward her for assistance, she immediately turned her face away as though she hadn’t noticed.

Inez finally reached the end of her grievances and folded her arms. "And next time you go to the Beyond for that long, you have to tell me properly first. I’m not saying you can’t go because I’m not a baby, but you have to tell me."

Jet crouched until they were closer to eye level and gently placed a hand on her head. "That’s fair. Next time I know I’m going to the Beyond for several days, I’ll explain it properly before I leave. I can’t promise every trip will end exactly when I expect, but I can promise I won’t make you feel like I’ve simply disappeared."

Inez studied his face as though determining whether the agreement met her standards. After several seconds, she gave a satisfied nod before stepping closer and hugging him again, apparently deciding his punishment had been sufficient.

Jet laughed quietly and hugged her back.

Only then did he look toward Nadia.

She had finally paused the abandoned racing game and placed both controllers on the table. There was still amusement in her expression, but Jet could also see genuine surprise beneath it.

From her perspective, he had simply left for whatever Awakener business he had vaguely explained before disappearing for a week. She knew he had awakened, but she didn’t know anything about the Beyond, his ten SSS-Rank Divine Runes or what he and Frey had actually been doing.

Jet straightened while keeping one hand resting on Inez’s head. "Seriously, Nadia, thank you for looking after her while I was gone. I know you didn’t have to keep coming over, especially with your own schedule."

Nadia waved away the gratitude before leaning back against the sofa. "You don’t owe me thanks for spending time with her. I like having her around, although I think she owes me compensation for repeatedly accusing me of cheating whenever she loses."

Inez immediately looked offended again, but Nadia raised a hand before another argument could begin. Her attention returned to Jet as she added, "Besides, if you really want to thank me, you still owe me dinner. I haven’t forgotten about that."

Jet remembered the promise and nodded. After being away for a week, sitting somewhere normal and eating dinner sounded considerably better than he would have expected before the expedition. "Then let’s do it tomorrow. Frey and I agreed we’re taking three days off before we start anything else, so I’m completely free tomorrow."

Nadia thought about it briefly before checking something on her phone. "I don’t have anything planned tomorrow either, so that works. It’s a date."

Jet was about to answer when the small figure beside him suddenly moved.

Inez stepped between them and looked from Nadia to Jet with immediate suspicion. "I’m coming too."

Nadia burst out laughing.

Jet looked down at his sister, whose expression made it obvious that she considered the matter already decided, and any thought of arguing disappeared before it properly formed. He rubbed her platinum hair until she tried to push his hand away.

"All right, you can come," Jet told her with a smile. "The three of us will go together."

Inez immediately brightened, apparently satisfied now that she had secured her place in whatever plans the adults thought they were making without her. She hurried back toward the sofa and grabbed her controller, demanding that Nadia resume the race because the previous one obviously didn’t count after Jet interrupted it.

Jet remained near the entrance for another moment, watching the two of them begin arguing over whether restarting the race was fair.

A week ago, he had entered the Thousand Boughs thinking about Monster Cores, Rune development and everything he needed to accomplish before the future caught up with him. Those things hadn’t become any less important.

For tonight, however, he was home.