A few weeks has passed after Ryo's coming of age ceremony, he received a letter for the very first time since he came here, while lazing about in his bed reading a book.
"Master, you received a letter from Mr. Alarick Beowulf, shall I destroy it?" Zilthai asked as he held the letter, ready to destroy it.
He was well aware of how relaxed his master's personality was, so he concluded that Ryo would be too engrossed in reading a book to care about the letter. The said letter was in a ruby red envelope that was smooth to the touch that it would leave one to caress it a little more. It also carried a sweetly floral scent of jasmine, giving a relaxing feeling to one and could help soothe one's fatigue.
The envelope had no unnecessary designs, making it look rather simple however it did not make one feel that it was just casually sent as although it looked simple, it also carried an elegant feeling. The envelope alone was a special kind of paper as it was not susceptible to getting crumpled or torn apart and could maintain its current appearance and scent as long as it's not destroyed. It would also not get burned unless the fire used came from a wizard or creature in the intermediate level and above.
Ryo looked up at Zilthai who was ready to destroy the letter once he utter his consent. Ryo would've agreed immediately however the name was quite familiar to him so he thought twice and asked.
"From who?"
"Alarick Beowulf, master."
"That name sounds really familiar. Who is he again?" Ryo asked as if he was really thinking hard to remember.
"Your father is friends with his father named Adolphus Beowulf. Alarick Beowulf is the youngest son of Sir Adolphus Beowulf and is classified as an Alpha however his physical appearance resembles that of an omega. He's 14 years old this year." Zilthai answered that made Ryo scrunch his eyebrows together as he now tried to recall the person.
"Alarick…Alarick-Ah! The crybaby in the greenhouse! I remember now. Let me see the letter then." Ryo said and gestured for Zilthai to give the letter to him.
Zilthai handed the letter to Ryo with no qualms this time. Ryo gently opened the envelope and was surprised to see an old looking ring. Although it looked old, one could see that the owner carefully kept the ring and didn't neglect cleaning it as well. Ryo held the ring in one hand while he held the letter in the other.
Ryo was awed when he saw the handwriting of the letter. The strokes were neat and tidy and were consistently in line evenly. On the left corner of the paper, there was a jasmine flower attached. The appearance of the jasmine flower was maintained as if it was just plucked, even though it was attached on the paper.
This made Ryo raise an eyebrow with a slight smirk. Ryo could feel Alarick's effort in making the letter which made him feel amused, coupled with the relaxing scent of jasmine, this set him in a benevolent mood so he decided to carefully read what that kid has to say.
'Dear Ryo,
I hope you don't mind me using your first name to address you. It just didn't feel right to me to use your surname as it feels like I am writing to your father. I apologize if you do mind it. I wrote this letter to you to express my utmost gratitude and sincerity I was unable to show and tell you that night. Being in your company that night really lifted up my spirits and I was able to gain the determination I was lacking through our conversation that night.
As you may have seen, along this letter is a ring that is more important than anything else to me. I'm giving you that ring, hoping to establish friendship with you. You can refuse this request of mine but I do hope you still keep that ring for me as just giving that ring to you is enough to make me happy. I hope you're in good health and safe always.
Sincerely, Alarick'
Ryo smelled the jasmine scent from the paper for a while before folding the paper and putting it back inside the envelope. Ryo felt a tiny bit giddy from receiving a letter and was also touched when he read the content of the letter. He looked at the ring he was holding then placed it on his ring finger to see if it looked good on him.
The ring initially looked like it was too big for him so he was quite surprised when it adjusted it's size according to the size of his finger once he put it on. He can't help but admire how good looking his hands were, adding the ring just made his hands look more wonderful which satisfied him. Once he was done admiring the view, he pulled the ring off to keep it in a safe place.
However he couldn't pull it off. He tried again and again but he still couldn't pull it off even with Zilthai's assistance. Ryo felt annoyed and was about to let his anger out on the letter when the paper inside slipped out and the folded paper opened upon hitting his bed, revealing the content he already read. He took the paper and accidentally saw another content he overlooked.
'P.S The ring adjusts itself according to the size of your finger also, it can't be removed so only wear the ring if you have fully accepted my friendship.'
Ryo read the ps sign a few more times before the information finally drilled in his annoyed brain. Ryo took a few deep breaths to calm the raging fire in his chest. He wanted to vent his annoyance but this annoyance was caused by himself so he felt stifled. He gritted his teeth before letting out a sigh.
"Whatever. It looks good on my hand anyway." Ryo muttered as he looked at the ring on his hand.
When he smelled the scent of jasmine from the paper, he finally calmed down and was able to accept the situation rather quickly and calmly because of his 'it is what it is' mentality. Ryo plopled back on his bed and gazed at the ceiling while still thinking about the content of the letter.
'Friendship, huh. Doesn't sound so bad.'
Later on, he wrote his reply personally which was an achievement since he barely did his own shit ever since crossing over to this world Except the activities he found interesting, as well as the lessons.
After a few days, he received a letter from Alarick once again, expressing how joyful Alarick felt when Ryo accepted his offer of friendship. Since then, they started exchanging letters to one another without fail no matter how nonsense the content was. This way, they were able to lay the foundations of their friendship.
3 years have passed and a lot of things have changed. Hiromi was able to finally fit into Ryo's family. She also received guidance from Katsumi, which helped mold her into a fine young lady. The initial air of naivety and foolishness was now gone, only elegance, confidence, and kindness were ever present. She also learned how to take good care of herself and also learned self defense magic as well as in physical combat. However, one of the things that didn't change was her being a bro-con towards Ryo. Much to Ryo's dismay.
It was a really huge contrast to the Hiromi in the game, which was the player's character. The game started on the first day of school. Since she grew up in a protected and love filled environment, she developed a naive and pure personality. She was almost clueless and clumsy about everything despite getting praised by her etiquette teacher. It was baffling. The character's personality was one of the many reasons why Ryo dropped the game.
Rei was an outstanding vampire to begin with so it was no wonder that he was able to achieve the career he wanted even though he was still so young. His relationship with Ryo finally eased up which enabled him to fully express his affection to his dear little brother. Everything is going well with his career except that one coworker who really irks Rei to no end. Nonetheless, it didn't hinder him being a total bro-con. Much to Ryo's despair.
Ryo, who was the center of his siblings' affection, felt like running away with how sticky they were to him. He's not that introverted but he's not really used to people being sticky with him no matter who they are. Fortunately though Zilthai was around so he had more room to breathe. Zilthai was always protecting him however the two bro-cons were not to be underestimated. There were a few times where they could break in Zilthai's defenses to get to him.
Ryo was really grateful that he'll be starting school today. Meaning, he'll live in the school dormitory until he graduates so that's one less sticky sibling. Also, the male and female dormitories are separated by a few buildings, giving him much more space from Hiromi. Zilthai was fixing the vest of his uniform while he checked himself out in the mirror.
White long sleeves with a navy blue vest covered his upper body. There were golden linings at the ends of the collar of the inner wear as well as the ends or the vest. His vest was also adorned with 3 gold buttons. In between his inner wear and vest was a navy blue necktie. On his arm was a gold armlet with navy blue gemstone in the middle, fitting snugly around his bicep. His inner wear was tucked in neatly in the navy blue slacks that showed the outline of his long legs whenever he walked.
There was a satisfied smirk on his face once he was done checking himself out. He then went to the carriage that will take them to the Academy. He was expecting a relaxing journey since he thought he was the only one in the carriage but to his utter dismay, both his sticky siblings were inside. Before they could greet him, he cut them off with a question.
"What are you guys doing here?" Ryo asked as he sat down, sandwiched between Rei and Hiromi.
"I want to make sure that your journey will be safe. You might encounter an ambush, we can't have that ever, right?" Rei said with a gentle smile like a good older brother but his hands were already inching close to squish Ryo's cheeks.
"Elder brother is right! I can rest assured if I see brother arriving in the academy safely personally." Hiromi said as she wrapped her hand around Ryo's arm sneakily.
Although their reason sounded good, he was well aware that these two just wanted to spend more time with him, especially Rei since Ryo won't be back for a few years. He just sighed as he let them do whatever they pleased. When they arrived at the teleporting station, there were quite a few carriages ahead of them so they had to stop for a few minutes.
While waiting, Ryo inadvertently thought of Alarick whom he was penpals with. In the past three years they only exchanged letters, not even a conversation through the orb used for communication. Ryo didn't feel anything about it before but now that he was entering the academy where Alarick was also studying he couldn't help but look forward to meeting his good old friend.
There was a sudden warp in space and before Ryo could comprehend what was happening, the carriage he was in was already heading towards the opened gates of the academy. He blinked his eyes and finally realized that the warp in space was them getting teleported to this place.
They got off the carriage since it was no longer allowed ahead. Rei suddenly pulled Ryo in a hug, ignoring Hiromi who was itching to pull them apart.
"My dear Ryo. Don't miss me too much. I'll make sure to visit you whenever I can. Take good care of yourself and keep yourself safe from those creatures that get close to you. Especially Alarick. I don't really feel good about him—"
"Alright. I know already. Be careful on your way back." Ryo said and without waiting for Rei's reply, he ran ahead with Hiromi following closely behind him.
She also didn't forget to taunt Rei by sticking her tongue out to him.
Students were bustling about everywhere in the campus to mingle with their friends or to explore their surroundings. Although there were so many students walking around, it didn't look crowded at all as the academy was big enough to accommodate five times the current student population.
With so many freshmen this year, the student council were busy as a bee as they prepared for the student's orientation. The student council had a different color of armring to differentiate themselves from the student body. Their armring was obsidian black with red gemstone in the middle. It looked imposing although it depends on the one wearing it.
Alarick, who was wearing the said armring, was occupied directing the other SC members for the finishing touches. Although he was ordering them around, he didn't look bossy at all. He was gentle and patient, not unnecessarily lashing out and if an unexpected situation occurred, he would come up with ideas to salvage the situation. He looked confident and energetic however today, he looked more energized, obviously in a very good mood.
If Ryo saw his current appearance, he would be deeply shocked by his transformation. The timid and snivelling kid was no more. It was as if there was a new soul occupying Alarick's body. At least that's how it'd look to Ryo.
Alarick was indeed in a very good mood as finally, after three full years, he'll finally meet his friend again. In those three years, he longed to see Ryo personally but at that time he was not yet confident enough to face him. He was honestly ashamed that in their first encounter, he was in a mess and he was really unpresentable. However, now that he was confident enough, now that he achieved something he could be proud of, he can finally face him.
Ryo was the very first friend he ever made and did not discriminate against him (regarding his physique, the alpha gender but with Omega's physical appearance). He gave Alarick the push to step forward that he was afraid to take. He was what he was now due to Ryo's encouragement and that he was really grateful to him for. This time, he'll be able to show Ryo this new, improved, him and change Ryo's first impression of him.
He really looks forward to meeting Ryo.