The ship with which Adam and the others traveled reached its first destination. It was a planet that was part of the Raizel family's area of influence but was also under the jurisdiction of one of Julius's friends.
The planet itself was already considered part of the main Empire's territory because the influence of the high-level Lords expanded to such an extent.
Adam was about to get off of the ship and Liu, Zax, and the two imperial soldiers sent him off.
After this, Liu would still have to travel for a few hours to reach the main planet which was considered the capital of the Empire.
"Take care of you, Adam. I hope we can meet again soon," Zax said, and she was genuinely sad about their parting even though it was just temporary. She went through a lot of roller coaster of emotions during these last few days with Adam, so she developed a certain attachment to him.
Adam patted Zax's head and didn't say anything much, and his face didn't show any particular emotion. "See you soon," He said.
After that, Adam looked at Liu, but the woman in front of him was as unreadable as always. She didn't appear particularly sad or showed any hint of desire for Adam to stay a bit longer.
In his mind, Adam had already known that this woman would never reveal her true feeling to him that openly, but somewhere deep inside of his heart, he had hoped for something different.
Nonetheless, in the end, Adam also couldn't bring himself to tell Liu his true feelings whatever the nature of these feelings was.
"Convey my regard to your parent," Liu said.
Adam didn't want Liu and Zax to meet his parents for the time being because he had a lot of things that he needed to discuss with them. He didn't want his parents to put on fake faces in front of the two girls for the sake of being polite.
"I will. Well, take care," Adam said, then he turned and walked away.
Liu looked at Adam's back and slightly squinted her eyes, then she also turned and returned to the ship.
The only person who looked like she found what was happening was Zax, and even after Liu and Adam left, she still stood there with a puzzled face.
"Miss Zax, we need to go now," one of the Imperial soldiers said, looking at Zax like she was a little girl who witnessed her parents parting ways.
After Liu walked for a while, she glanced back at Zax but she was unable to say anything nor had any idea of what to say in such a situation.
Meeting Adam changed her as a person and she was aware of that, but there were also changes that she wasn't yet aware of and would probably discover by herself later.
Despite that, she had seen a glimpse of what Adam was dealing with, but she couldn't describe it and didn't even understand what it was. In the end, It was just a feeling.
However, she had also her battles that had yet to come so she was not in the position of helping him, and Adam appeared to not want to involve her in his problems.
Of course, Liu knew that it might be just her imagination, and maybe she was trying to find excuses. Yet, she couldn't understand why would she find excuses in the first place.
'It's not like I...' Liu knew that she shouldn't be thinking about such a thing, so she dismissed every thought that popped inside of her mind about this matter.
*****
Adam had undergone an insane growth in just a short amount of time, and it was visible just by looking at his physical appearance.
He became taller, and his face was sharp and more mature looking despite his age.
Nevertheless, it was not the only thing about him that had reached a new level.
"A-dam! Adam!" His mother shouted in tears when she saw the silhouette of his only son who had gone missing for almost a year.
For Adam, it might have been just a few weeks, but for his parents, the fact of not receiving any news about their son for a year was worse than seeing their planet swallowed by a gigantic monster.
Because Adam had now a sharper mind, he instantly understood that he had underestimated the seriousness of the situation, and most of the time he was still only thinking about himself.
It was true that worrying about his parents too much wouldn't do anything good for him and the others while he was trying to survive, he could now feel the weight of this whole incident.
Adam's eyes were locked on the man who was sitting in a wheelchair next to his crying mother.
At that time, Adam felt something that he didn't want to feel again. He blamed himself.
His father looked back at him and smiled faintly, but Adam hesitated to walk forward.
Getting power-ups and new cool abilities were indeed cool, and it was not like what happened was his fault, because he was also a victim.
Nevertheless, his father was now missing a leg, and half of his face was covered with ugly scars, and Adam couldn't do anything about it even with his newly acquired abilities.
His parents and his planet was just the victim of horrible coincidences. But if it wasn't? What if he could have prevented it, or so Adam thought?
Again, there was no use to think about such a thing, and Adam knew this. All he could do was face the reality. However, he swore to himself that he wouldn't let his parents die no matter what happens in the future.
These two individuals were the closest to Adam in this world, and even though he could always act like he didn't care about them, which would be easier, he didn't want to lose the last bit of humanity in him.
Acting like he was special and so he didn't need anyone else to get what he wanted was indeed easy, but facing people and their sincere emotions was always hard in every world.
"I am sorry, Mom, Dad," Adam said sincerely and he almost couldn't keep his emotions in check.
However, his mother hugged him tightly without saying anything.
The past couldn't be changed because Adam wouldn't have become what he was at the moment if it was modified.
"Why are you looking at me like that? I am fine! Come here!" His father said, flexing his biceps.
Adam knew that his father tried to not make him worry about what happened to him, but Adam knew that parents would always avoid exposing their worries to their children. He already experienced this when his mother was about to die in his previous life.
He was also smart enough to understand what the consequences of his father's conditions were and it implied.
Adam kneeled in front of his father and his father put his hands on his head.
"I will become someone that you can be proud of father. You don't have to worry about a thing," Adam said, and he was sincere, casting away his fake character while he was with his parents.
"I never doubted that you will become a great man, Adam. I was just worried that I would lose you before that happens," Julius said, and he his tone was filled with regret.
There were other people present there but they didn't dare to utter words looking at this scene.
Moreover, even though his parents couldn't feel it, the other people present there who looked like Adam could feel the pressure of his aura because at that moment he failed to control it.
The Lord who accepted to receive Julius and Marie as well as the survivors from their planet was the most shocked by Adam's appearance.
He witnessed what happened during Adam's coming to age ceremony, and seeing Adam again made him doubt his eyes.
'He is almost like a completely different person. I can't even tell how powerful this young man is, even though he doesn't look strong at all. There is something mysterious about him, and something is telling me that I should not interrupt their reunion," the Lord thought, however, when he looked around, he realized that everyone else also didn't move from where they stood.
After that, Adam stood up and approached the Lord and his family, then bowed his head.
"I express my deepest gratitude for what you have done for my family and the people living on my planet. I will never forget your kindness," Adam said.
Even though there were a lot of lords who had vast territories, they find it bothersome to welcome the survivors, but this friend of Julius insisted on helping Julius. He was truly a good friend and a generous man despite being a high-level noble himself. He prioritized his good relationship with his trusted friend despite not getting much from it. After all, Julius was just a mere level 5 noble.
"Your words make my actions worth it. You will be always welcome here and I will make sure that your family and people live comfortably," the Lord said.
Adam was genuinely surprised to see this kind of person existed.
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