“Wiene!”, Rei the siren cried out as she wrapped her wings around the monster girl, both women beginning to cry as they embraced once again. Several other Xenos let out loud noises of joy when they realized that the prodigal child had returned, many moving in for a group hug. Arles joined in, but when they broke it up, she chittered enthusiastically and tried to direct their attention to another figure. The Xenos looked around but were confused when they saw no one else in the shelter with them. Arles was even more shocked when she realized the same thing. She looked around, but the simple fact was that Adama had vanished.

  The moment he’d dropped Wiene off; Adama had dashed back up the Dungeon hallway. He had nothing against the other Xenos, but they were strangers to him. There was no need to detract from their reunion party with his presence. Also, he had certain other motivations…

  It was well into midafternoon when Adama emerged from the Dungeon. The swordsman didn’t slow as he left the lobby, running out onto the street and jumping up to the city's rooftops. He reached the city’s edge quickly, leaping over the outermost wall and taking off across the fields of the countryside. It wasn’t long before he neared his destination, only to suddenly feel a sensation of grave danger. While running, Adama was forced to bend over backwards at his mid-section, allowing a projectile to fly harmlessly overhead. He snapped back up and drew his sword, but no other attacks were forthcoming. All he saw was a lone female figure stepping into his vision, her golden eyes glaring at him something fierce. Aiz folded her arms grumpily, “You’re late.”

  Adama had promised her that he’d be available for training at around noon today. He’d been hoping to finish training Theresa then come back and grab an hour or two of sleep before heading into the forest. Thanks to his little detour to rescue Wiene, he was, in fact, quite late. He turned his head to look back at the tree behind him, raising an eyebrow as he beheld one of their wooden training swords, buried hilt-first into its trunk. Cracks slowly spread along the tree’s bark as Adama watched, a slight creaking noise simultaneously reaching his ears. He turned around very slowly, raising another eyebrow to indicate exactly what he was thinking:

  “A bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?”

  Aiz had the grace to look mildly ashamed. She pouted slightly before looking away, twirling a lock of hair in two fingers as she muttered, “Still getting used to Level 6 strength.”

  Adama nodded, making perfect use of the segue as he responded, “Then let’s get to training.”

  The swordsman had gotten some time to recover while training Theresa. However, he still wasn’t in top form, as he’d been fighting and training nearly non-stop for days now. All the fatigue was starting to catch up to him, giving Aiz an edge that she hadn’t had in their last session. Furthermore, Take hadn’t shown up. Aiz explained that the divinity had sent word that something had come up and that they should start without him. Adama was curious, of course, but he shelved the impulse and focused on the battle in front of him. If it mattered, he’d learn about it sooner or later.

  That aside, Take’s absence meant that Adama wouldn’t be able to have the war god and Aiz go a few rounds while he recovered. Thus, he had no real way to deal with the fatigue as he and Aiz danced around atop the poles, the duo evenly matched this time. He pushed through it, digging deep and putting on the best performance of his new life so far. His attacks had never been sharper, his parries never quicker as each of his moves was further infused with a depth that went beyond normal swordsmanship. He was no war god, not yet anyway, but it was enough for him to bring Aiz to a standstill. For a few hours, at least.

  Finally, Adama’s bubble of focus was popped as one of his swings was just a little too slow. Aiz turned the attack away easily, hunching slightly and delivering a roundhouse kick to his exposed midriff. With a quiet woomph, Adama was sent flying back into the treeline. Bushes rustled and branches snapped as he tumbled through the undergrowth, before finally sliding to a stop. Whole body aching, he stood up and spat out some dirt. He gazed up and realized that twilight had begun to fall, draping the sky above in an orange blanket. The sight reminded him of the promise he’d made to Theresa and Hestia, namely that he’d be home in time for dinner. He waved down Aiz, indicating that they should stop for the day. She folded her arms sassily, and he half-expected a jibe about him losing or about his tardiness, only for her to surprise him again, “Get good sleep tonight. Train together again tomorrow?”

  This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

  He nodded, and she jumped off the obstacle course and started walking away, a slight pep in her step. Adama raised an eyebrow but chose not to comment as he followed her, brushing the dirt off his clothes. They said goodbye at the city gates, and Adama stopped off at the city bathhouse before heading home. The warm water was heaven on his sore muscles and joints, the release of tension causing a series of cracking and popping sounds as he stepped into a heated pool. Adama let out a long breath from his nose and allowed himself a few seconds of relaxation before getting to scrubbing. He was up and out of the bath after five minutes, the dirt and grime of several days’ work completely gone. He quickly shaved, cleaned his clothes, dressed, then stepped out. The visit was efficient yet healing, and he felt pleasantly rejuvenated as he strolled back to his house.

  “Welcome home!” Hestia called from the dining room as Adama stepped inside, “The food’s still warm!”

  Adama walked inside the dining room to find that they’d waited for him. Emily sat with perfect posture, patiently waiting with a slight smile on her face. Lilli was looking up at him with a grin of her own, though she was simultaneously tucking away a document that she’d been writing on. Theresa looked at him with a raised eyebrow, huffed, then looked away. Adama was mildly irritated by the reaction, though it did prompt the resurgence of a memory. While he’d been training with Aiz, he’d felt a pair of eyes observing them from deeper within the forest. He’d kept his guard up, waiting for the observer to do something, but the sensation of being watched vanished without incident. Had the observer been Theresa? And if so, why would his extra training bother her? Or was this something completely different?

  Shaking his head, Adama shrugged off Theresa’s reaction and took his place at the head of the table. He hadn’t figured out women in his past life. No reason to believe he’d figure them out now.

  Hestia sat in front of him at the foot of the table. Typically, the family’s divinity would sit at the head of the table, but when Adama had offered the seat to her in the past, she’d offered him a teasing grin and said, “Well, you’re the man of the household, aren’t you? And the only man, at that. You lucky dog.”

  He hadn’t dignified her needling with a response then, choosing to take his seat at the head with as much grace as possible. He caught Hestia’s eye right now, and she gave him another warm smile, which Adama was surprised to find himself returning. As they all dug into the food, Lilli and Hestia started chatting about the day’s tasks, while Emily tried to get Theresa to engage her in a talk about Orario’s fashion culture. Theresa tried to pretend to be uninterested, but she eventually folded and started energetically questioning the silver-haired woman about what city girls liked to wear. For his part, the swordsman was happy to sit in silence, savoring his perfectly prepared steak-and-potatoes.

  Much to Adama's surprise, a warm feeling began to spread from his stomach to the rest of his body as he ate, a feeling that had little to do with the steak itself. He looked around and tried to place the source of the feeling as the warmth grew even better. His muscles relaxed, and he began to wonder if he’d been poisoned. However, there was no weakness, only calm, and he eventually started to figure it out. Adama felt like he had while he’d been in the bath, like a weight had come off his shoulders. Like he had a safe, calm sanctuary right here, one where he could let his guard down without difficulty. He puzzled a bit further before he finally touched on the answer.

  This was the feeling of home.

  Adama took another look around the room, meditating further on the feeling. This feeling of home was dangerous. It could lull him into a false sense of security or dull his edge. A part of him wanted to resist. To flee. To become a lone wolf once more. The old Adama would have. And yet…maybe this feeling wasn’t so bad after all? Muscles needed to relax in order to heal, just like they had in the bath. While Adama liked to push himself hard, he recognized the importance of recovery in training. Maybe his emotions were the same way? Perhaps he could afford to simmer in this comfortable feeling as a recovery technique, while retaining his mental and emotional edge through regular fighting?

  Even as he turned over the thought skeptically, he realized that he’d been operating that way unconsciously the entire time. Every night out with the others, every dinner with the Familia…even if he’d never felt something this powerful before, he’d been relaxing ever so slightly this entire time. And he’d only grown stronger.

  As Adama contemplated all this, the dinner was suddenly interrupted by the distant sound of explosions.