A few hours later in Inox's room.
The prince slowly opened his eyes. With some lingering doubts in his mind, he sat up on his bed, scratching his head as he focused on the two people to his right.
"Aqua?" He observed the beautiful girl who was eating a carrot in small bites. She returned his gaze as a smile appeared on her face, "Hehehe, hi. This is a good carrot, by the way, delicious... really delicious."
The girl in blue nodded to herself a couple of times before taking a step forward. "By the way, you owe me your life, so why don't you join the Axis Cult...?" Before the girl could continue, a hand grabbed her by the collar.
"Tsk... Useless goddess, what are you talking about?! Besides..." Following the voice, Inox could see an acquaintance of his, Kazuma. "Apologize for stealing Mr. Inox's food," the boy pointed to the nearby table with potted plants on it.
Dirt had been scattered all around the pot and several carrots were scattered across the table, a sign that they had been roughly yanked out.
Aqua's eyes began to water as she slightly lowered her head. Kazuma turned his head to look at Inox before rubbing his hair and forcing a smile. "Mr. Inox, I apologize for my companion. She falsely accused you at the construction site and also stole your food."
The prince's eyes, however, didn't linger on Kazuma. Instead, he looked at his own body with admiration: his arms completely healed, his ribs perfect, his skull intact.
His mouth fell open as he focused on the two teenagers in front of him. Then, he lowered his gaze slightly before quickly getting out of bed, kneeling down, and bowing his head.
Through his confusion, he had understood what happened. His mind left that state where he remembered having the hand of death squeezing his neck, and he finally reached a conclusion.
The hairs on his skin stood on end, his cheeks were hot, his lips pursed, and his mind chaotic. "Thank you, thank you so much!!!" he shouted with fervor, with strength, with courage.
If his father saw him in this situation, he might think he was dreaming. After all, the crown prince, despite everything, bowed to no one.
He had seen his life flash before his eyes. He remembered the body of that blond guy disguised as Dust. "Is this what it feels like to be part of the common people?" he thought for the fourteenth time since he was exiled.
His heart roared, pumping like never before. "Ha-ha-ha." The smile on his face was the most genuine he had ever shown. "I'm... alive..." he finally murmured before raising his head and observing the confused teenagers.
A few moments later, Inox finally understood what had happened.
Kazuma had found out about what happened with Aqua and how she had misunderstood things with Inox at the construction site.
Out of embarrassment, Kazuma had looked for Dust after work, finally got the address of where Inox lived, and they found him on the verge of death. Aqua used a healing spell in a flash and prevented him from returning to the cycle of reincarnation.
Eventually, they ended up in a loop where Inox kept thanking them, and Kazuma kept apologizing for the confusion and the carrots Aqua had devoured while the two of them were talking.
Ignoring any words from the system that popped into his mind, Inox offered to treat them to dinner at the adventurers' tavern that day.
Guild Tavern.
"Eeehh..." Aqua opened her mouth, letting out a high-pitched sound before smiling brightly at the sight of the delicious plate of roast meat in front of her. She didn't hesitate anymore; she grabbed a fork and started eating.
Kazuma, on the other hand, shook his head before letting out a deep sigh and grimacing, but then he smiled. "Thank you for the dinner, Mr. Inox."
The prince, who was observing Aqua, was interrupted. He noted the boy's microexpressions with interest before opening his mouth, "It seems your companion is draining your mental health..." he smiled.
Kazuma nodded a couple of times, "Indeed, indeed. I mean, Aqua is good at her job, however..." He began to recount everything that had happened with the water goddess since he arrived in this world.
Of course, he avoided bringing up the topic of his reincarnation, focusing only on how Aqua used to take his money to buy sweets, how she picked fights with people on the street, how she was useless as a companion in an adventurer party, and so on.
Inox nodded repeatedly, but a frown appeared on his face at certain phrases. "But this girl's healing magic is on the level of the kingdom's High Priests. Is that useless?" he thought.
He focused his gaze on the beautiful girl who had traces of food on her cheeks, puffed out like a squirrel's, as she choked on her food before patting her chest and drinking some wine to clear her throat.
"Hehehe..." a small chuckle escaped his lips. Kazuma finished complaining and simply focused on his food.
Once Aqua let out a big sigh and licked her lips while narrowing her eyes, Inox spoke again, "Aqua, do you like wine?"
The girl tilted her head as she opened her mouth before closing it. Then she flashed her white teeth, "What kind of stupid question is that? Of course I like it!!!" she exclaimed, drawing the attention of many more people in the tavern.
"Hahahaha!!!" The prince let out a loud laugh.
"Hmph," the girl puffed out her cheeks. "What are you laughing at? Listen to me, Inox, wine is incredible. When you drink it, you usually don't think so much about how people look at you or what they expect from you."
She brought an index finger to her mouth before leaning a little closer to the prince. "You can be a little freer, without so much elegant nonsense, and you're happy. It's important to be happy, don't you think?" Her eyes sparkled.
Inox's eyes met hers. For a moment, he found himself staring into that blue sea in her pupils, those bright red lips, and that beautiful face that had looked like a squirrel's earlier.
"You are already very free and hardly elegant, Miss Aqua," Inox calmly patted the girl's head.
"Soft, like golden threads of the highest quality silk," he narrowed his eyes, an unconscious smile on his face. The texture against his palm wasn't just soft; it was slightly warm. Each strand of that bright blue hair carried a distinct sensation.
Aqua was about to talk more about wine when she noticed this. Her eyes widened, her mouth fell open, her hands trembled, and she gritted her teeth tightly before backing away.
"How dare you pet the head of a goddess?!!!" she let out a loud shout, pointing a finger right at Inox's face.
Aqua's slightly flushed face, her stiff posture, her bright eyes full of indignation, and her accusing finger made Inox smile even wider.
It wasn't until he bought 100,000 Eris worth of two high-quality wines that Aqua forgave him.
In the end, before saying goodbye to Kazuma and Aqua, Inox thanked them one more time before saying, "Mr. Kazuma, do you remember when you suffered over some toy or piece of candy in your childhood?"
The Japanese boy nodded, his eyes narrowed. "You probably think now that it was silly or stupid, but the pain you felt in that moment, that suffering, was real. Perhaps it was even more painful than many things you consider important today," Inox added.
"So, please, try to understand Miss Aqua a little better. Because just as the pain over something that now seems stupid to you was real, the pain she feels is real, even if the reason seems stupid to you." He bowed slightly before turning his back on the Japanese boy and walking away.