Gloria stared at the front door, mentally bidding Alex farewell as he headed out on yet another mission. Once again, she found herself reflecting on how drastically her life had changed since that rainy night when she found him bleeding out in a dark alley. Back then, she hesitated, unsure whether she should get involved.
But something inside told her she had to help him. She couldn't quite grasp what this feeling was, but she decided to trust her instincts. Thoughts gnawed at her—maybe Alex was part of a gang or a corporate faction. Yet all doubts vanished when she cleaned his wounds and found not a single cyberimplant.
From the moment Alex woke up, her life began to change. She had saved a mage who, as it turned out, was a Demon King. In her eyes, it was just a small favor, but in reality, she had gained much more: Alex became a source of support, helping her cope with the loss of the most precious thing in her life. He didn't just comfort her—he promised to fulfill her most cherished dream: to go to the Moon and scatter her son's ashes there.
When Alex mentioned he needed work, she introduced him to some acquaintances who could help. Day by day, Gloria got to know Alex better and realized that he had become an irreplaceable part of her life. He was the only glimmer of light in this grim city steeped in blood and death. Unexpectedly, she noticed how their feelings began to evolve quickly.
At first, Gloria thought it was wrong—having feelings for a guy much younger than her. She was a widow who had lived through the death of her grown son. But everything changed when Alex introduced her to his family. She realized that age meant nothing to goddesses who were much older than her and far more experienced in the ways of life.
Freya once told her, «Don't hold back your feelings, or you'll regret it later.» Since then, Gloria decided to stop hiding her emotions and grow closer to Alex.
«Enough of this thinking,» she muttered under her breath, glancing again at the front door. «I need to find something useful to do while the house is quiet.»
Gloria returned to the living room and looked around for something to occupy herself with. Sitting down on the couch, she turned on the TV, hoping to find something interesting. As usual, there were only commercials on every channel—from new cyberimplants to tickets for a concert of some popular girl band.
Flipping through the channels, she stumbled upon more news about a mysterious attack on Arasaka by a group of people in masks, pretending to be corporate employees. Seeing this report, Gloria sighed. She had no idea how she would explain this to Hephaestus when Alex finally had the chance to return to his own world.
She recalled the conversation with Alex when he suggested taking her and the others with him. She had agreed immediately—there was nothing left for her in this world. A job? It could go to hell. Friends? All that remained were Maine and his crew, who had supported her after her losses.
Suddenly, Gloria remembered Lucy's question about what Alex would do if someone from the team refused to go with him. His answer had stunned her: 'I'd just kidnap them.' She chuckled, realizing how much her life had changed since Alex had entered it.
She wasn't watching the TV anymore—her thoughts had drifted into memories. Even meeting goddesses, which had once seemed strange and unreal, no longer surprised her. Gloria had learned to accept magic and miracles, though not long ago, it all seemed absurd to her. She smiled, recalling how Alex explained the principles behind the creation of their robotic dog, GIR. When she first found out that it contained a miniature sun inside, she had been scared, but eventually, she got used to it and even grew fond of the quirky, albeit strange, robo-dog.
«What should I do?» Gloria muttered, leaning back on the couch.
Usually, there was always someone at home. Either Valerie, who loved lounging on the couch watching series or anime, or Rebecca, who would stroll around the apartment in nothing but her underwear. Alex and Gloria had long battled against that habit, but to no avail. Not to mention Lucy, whose belongings were scattered across the apartment, and lazy Valerie, whose room always looked like a dump.
If not for Alex's magic, the house would have descended into chaos long ago. Gloria was grateful that Alex valued order, though his workshop was always a mess.
«That's it!» she exclaimed, suddenly realizing how she could keep herself busy. «I'll clean up Alex's workshop.»
Feeling inspired, she got up from the couch. Aside from cooking, Gloria rarely found anything to do at home. Rebecca often tinkered with things, Lucy worked on her tablet, while Valerie and GIR watched shows and recorded funny videos. Sometimes, Gloria felt a bit out of place. She was glad she had insisted on cooking; otherwise, Alex would have probably done that with magic too.
Shaking her head with a smile, she headed toward the workshop. Peeking inside, she noticed how the massive room had expanded even more since her last visit.
«It seems it's grown again,» Gloria murmured as she looked around.
Stepping into the workshop, she was surprised to see that the room had become even larger than she remembered. It used to take up an entire floor of the Megabuilding, but now it seemed like its size had doubled, with the ceiling towering impossibly high.
The first time she saw it, she had been so stunned that she couldn't utter a word—Alex had somehow managed to turn a small storage room into an enormous space. She, like the other girls, had been curious about how he did it.
But after yet another long explanation about how space and expansion runes worked, they all concluded that the workshop essentially existed in a separate dimension. This became especially clear after Rebecca complained about the complexity of the explanations.
Gloria made her way toward Alex's workbench, where he spent most of his time. Passing by Rebecca's table, cluttered with all sorts of weapon parts and ammunition, she decided not to touch anything.
The risk of something exploding at the slightest touch was too high, unlike Alex's items, which always had built-in safety mechanisms.
«Now I see why he needed so much space. It's probably because Rebecca needs a testing range,» she muttered, walking past the weapon testing stands.
Paying no further attention to the range, Gloria continued toward Alex's desk, passing by the weapon racks filled with various melee weapons—from medieval swords to modern blades. She stopped at one of the newer racks. It surprised her how Alex found the time to create all this weaponry without actually using it.
When she once asked him why he did it, his answer had left her speechless. He said it was for his collection or, in the future, to throw at enemies. Gloria couldn't help but picture Alex hurling all these weapons at some unlucky soul, and she shuddered. Calming herself, she resumed her path to the workbench.
On Alex's desk, various notes and blueprints were scattered around. Gloria had helped him sort through the mess many times before, remembering Hephaestus' advice: if you leave everything as it is, it will quickly turn into chaos.
Every time she asked Alex about the mess, he would always quote Einstein, which only made her sigh heavily. In the end, she would simply kick him out to tidy up in peace.
«Alright, let's get to it,» Gloria said, rolling up her sleeves.
She began sorting through the blueprints. Weapons in one pile, explosives in another, and anything that looked ridiculous went into the last one. The logic was simple: if the blueprints posed an obvious threat, they went into the weapons category, but if they had silly designs or strange annotations, they went into the folder for useless projects.
Humming along to music, Gloria felt like the secretary of a mad scientist. Though, she soon corrected herself: not a secretary, but the wife of a mad scientist.
When she reached the last blueprint, her attention was drawn to a peculiar project titled «MIMI.» She picked it up and started studying it. To her surprise, it was a version of their robo-dog GIR, but with a bow near its ear.
Apparently, Alex had decided to create a more stable model, naming it GIR's sister. Imagining yet another crazy robo-dog in their house, she involuntarily shuddered, realizing how noisy things could get.
However, as she examined the notes, Gloria saw that Alex had found a way to avoid the issues GIR had. Still, she hoped MIMI wouldn't start quoting Codexes and praising the Emperor.
Not knowing where to put the blueprint, Gloria decided to leave it on the desk. After finishing with the sorting, she glanced around to make sure nothing else needed to be cleaned. Checking the time, she realized that tidying up had taken her an entire hour.
«Well, that's done. What should I do now?» she muttered, looking around the workshop.
Her gaze fell on Rebecca's workstation again, and she immediately dismissed the idea. There was no way she was going to touch anything on Rebecca's desk. Ever since Alex gave her a workspace, things had exploded more than once, which was probably one of the reasons for the workshop's expansion and the installation of the weapon testing range.
Not finding anything else to do, Gloria decided to go shopping. With that thought, she left the workshop and headed to her room to change. As she walked in, her eyes landed on the bed where she and Alex had spent the previous night.
Before that, their relationship had been limited to kisses and hugs, but that night, after a date and with the others away, she had finally decided to take things to the next level. Gloria felt like a schoolgirl, in love for the first time.
«You're a grown woman, why are you still getting embarrassed about this?» she said to herself, pushing away the shy thoughts.
After changing, Gloria headed downstairs and looked around, trying to remember if she had forgotten anything. Making sure she had everything she needed, she left the apartment and headed toward the parking lot out of habit.
Lost in thought, she didn't notice when she reached the spot where Alex usually parked his motorcycle or car. Stopping in her tracks, she suddenly realized she had been acting on autopilot.
«Didn't he take his bike?» Gloria said in surprise, seeing the motorcycle still there.
Gloria thought about it and concluded that Alex had probably run to his meeting on foot instead of taking his bike. After a brief moment of reflection, she decided to use his bike to go grocery shopping.
When Gloria sat on the motorcycle, she was surprised at how much bigger it felt from the driver's seat. Settling in comfortably to avoid falling off, she started the engine and, leaving the underground parking, headed to the nearest supermarket.
Upon arrival, she parked the bike and walked into the store. Soon, the bike caught the attention of passersby, especially the children playing nearby. They curiously examined the bike, as they had never seen anything like it.
The inquisitive kids immediately started searching the internet for information about the model, but their searches were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, Gloria wandered the aisles, looking for the necessary groceries. Unfortunately, not everything she needed was in stock, and she realized she'd have to stop by another store.
When she stepped outside, she was greeted by a surprise — the kids had surrounded the bike and were inspecting it from all angles. She smiled and shook her head, amused by their enthusiasm. As she approached, she immediately became the center of attention, with the children bombarding her with questions about what model the bike was and why it wasn't for sale.
«Sorry, guys, but I don't know what model it is either. My husband built this bike himself, so it's not available for purchase,» Gloria said, saying the first thing that came to mind.
Unexpectedly, she referred to Alex as her husband so easily, even though their relationship was more like that of a boyfriend and girlfriend. But the thought that it would one day become true made her smile.
Hearing that the bike was handmade only fueled the kids' excitement — the idea that someone could build such a thing with their own hands amazed them. Seeing their awe, Gloria decided to delight them even more. She walked over to the bike and pressed a button that opened the weapon compartment.
The kids, whose eyes were already glowing with excitement, were now frozen in awe. However, when Gloria started loading groceries into the compartment, the more observant kids frowned slightly — they clearly knew the compartment wasn't meant for groceries.
Starting the engine, Gloria headed to the next store, enjoying the ride. She couldn't help but compare it to riding with Alex. When he was behind the wheel, the trip always felt more romantic, although at first, she had been terrified, remembering how during their first ride, she had almost fallen off at the turns.
And when GIR, their robo-assistant, got behind the wheel, she realized he was just as reckless as Alex. Gloria tried explaining the traffic rules to him, but it all boiled down to him saying, 'This way is faster,' and she simply asked him not to drive like a maniac and not to insult other drivers.
She remembered overhearing GIR cursing at other drivers one day and immediately knew where that came from. Besides Alex, there was only one other person in the apartment who wasn't shy about using colorful language — Rebecca, who could swear so intensely that even grown men might cry if they were her target. It seemed GIR had picked up not only her curses but also her way of threatening those who acted too bold.
Lost in her thoughts, Gloria didn't even notice when she reached the next supermarket. Parking the bike, she checked her shopping list again and went inside.
After buying everything she needed, Gloria loaded the groceries into the bike's compartment and checked the time. She had spent far less time than she expected. In the past, she had to carefully budget every cent to make sure everything was enough.
But now, with everyone in her new family contributing to the household budget, life had become much easier. Of course, she also had to buy more groceries now. Whereas before, she had only lived with David, their apartment had since become a haven for several 'hungry mouths.'
Alex insisted that they start cooking real food because in the world they lived in, real food was considered a luxury only available to the rich, while everyone else had to settle for synthetic substitutes.
Gloria returned home, parking in the underground garage, turned off the bike, and sighed as she looked at the mountain of groceries.
«I miss you, GIR,» she muttered, remembering her assistant, who always carried the heavy bags for her.
Now, she had to manage this task herself. Grabbing as many bags as she could, she kicked the compartment shut and headed to the elevator. Once inside, she pressed the button for her floor and began the ride up.
On one of the floors, the elevator doors opened, and in walked the landlord—the very same one Alex had nearly thrown out of a window once. Seeing Gloria, he immediately went pale and began glancing around, clearly checking to see if Alex was nearby.
After making sure he wasn't, the landlord gave Gloria a nervous nod and silently stood in the corner. Gloria politely nodded back, waiting quietly for her floor.
When she stepped out of the elevator under the landlord's watchful gaze, Gloria headed toward her apartment. As she approached, her attention was caught by an unfamiliar figure near the door—a small girl dressed in strange clothing. What surprised her the most were the girl's snow-white hair, so bright it almost seemed to shimmer. Gloria stared at her, confused about what such a child was doing near her apartment. Getting closer, she decided to find out what was going on.
«Hi there, sweetie. Are you lost?» Gloria asked cautiously, addressing the girl.
The girl's outfit seemed even more unusual up close. She wore a black dress with many ruffles, which appeared to shimmer like a starry sky. Gloria pushed aside the strange thought, deciding that such a dress couldn't be real. When the girl turned toward her voice, Gloria noticed her eyes—they were a haunting yellow, with an ancient wisdom shining deep within them, something not typical for children. It reminded her strongly of Alex's eyes, just as mysterious and strange.
«I'm looking for the one who has lived, is living, and will live here,» the girl said in a quiet, monotone voice.
The child's voice was beautiful and melodic, far beyond her years, despite the lack of emotion. Gloria couldn't help but notice how stunning the girl was—comparable to the goddess Freya herself. However, her words confused Gloria.
«Do you know someone who lives here?» Gloria asked, hoping to make sense of the situation.
The girl nodded, not breaking her gaze from Gloria, which made her feel slightly uncomfortable.
«Are you looking for Rebecca, Lucy, or Valerie?» Gloria tried, listing familiar names.
But the girl shook her head, rejecting each option.
«Maybe Alex?» Gloria asked, thinking of the last possibility.
The little visitor nodded, confirming her guess.
«Yes, that is what he was, is, and will be called,» she said.
Gloria froze, trying to comprehend how this girl could know Alex. He had never mentioned her, and she was well aware of his charitable activities in the past world. Even in this city, when he helped children, there hadn't been a girl like her.
«Why are you looking for him?» Gloria asked, hoping to get more information.
The girl pulled an empty candy wrapper from her pocket and showed it to Gloria.
«He gives me candy,» she answered simply in her monotone voice.
Gloria glanced at the familiar packaging—it was the same as the one Alex had given her on the day they met. Thinking she couldn't leave a child outside, Gloria invited her in.
«Alex is at work right now and will be back later. You can wait inside if you want,» she said, beckoning the girl into the house.
The girl didn't hesitate and accepted Gloria's invitation. Seeing this, Gloria opened the door and let her in. As soon as they entered the apartment, the girl headed straight for the couch without waiting for permission, which surprised Gloria slightly. However, she didn't stop her, considering the child harmless and not wanting to dwell too long on her behavior.
Gathering the grocery bags, Gloria went to the kitchen to put away the food. As she passed the living room, she noticed the girl sitting on the couch with a blank expression, staring off into space. Gloria paused for a moment and decided to treat her to something so the girl wouldn't get bored while waiting for Alex. Placing the bags on the table, she took out some juice, poured it into a glass, and walked over to the guest.
«Here, drink this,» Gloria said, setting the glass of juice in front of the girl.
The little guest shifted her gaze from Gloria to the glass, and then, as if prompted by her gaze, she picked it up and began to drink. After taking a sip, she looked at Gloria with her piercing yellow eyes.
«You're as kind as he is,» the girl said in her same monotone voice, staring straight into her eyes.
Gloria smiled, not giving the words much thought, and returned to the kitchen to finish with the groceries. When everything was put away, she peeked into the living room again and saw that the glass of juice was empty and the girl was still sitting on the couch, staring at one point. Gloria sat down nearby and decided to start a conversation.
«Should I call Alex to find out when he'll be back?» she suggested, trying to catch the girl's attention.
The girl slowly turned her head and looked at Gloria.
«No need. He will either come back or has already returned,» the girl replied, speaking enigmatically once more.
Gloria frowned. She was puzzled by why this girl spoke so strangely, as if referring to the past, present, and future all at once. Who was she? Why had she come to see Alex? And all of this because of candy? These questions swirled in Gloria's mind, but she knew it would be difficult to get answers from the girl—she spoke too mysteriously and confusingly.
Deciding to wait for Alex to find out everything from him, Gloria relaxed. She felt that the girl wasn't going to cause any harm, and so, calming down a bit, she turned on the television to pass the time while waiting for his return.
To be continued...