Two weeks later, Iseria returned to Ezera. It appeared she did not only train students in Reingar, but also soldiers in Ezera. Before going back, Iseria and Al had another date and Al gave her some advice with Alexa. Sooner or later, it bettered if she expressed her true feelings for her instead of avoiding or hiding it. Whether if Alexa liked it or not, it did not matter since it was Iseria's true thoughts and if she felt annoying or thankful, she should just express it. In exchange, Al had to promise that he would not slack off.

But things went off after Iseria left. The next week passed quickly and there was something that made Al avoided his female friends. He met and chat with them less than before. At first, they thought he was busy studying and did not notice at all.

One day, Charles was walking on a forest outside Reingar's wall with King Aither. Suddenly, he felt strong and enormous magic. Someone was using a powerful magic skill nearby and it made Charles curious. Later, he found Al was standing in the middle of an open place. He was training and at this time, he could fully control two guns. However, something was wrong with him.

When Al ordered his guns to fire rapidly, he did not target anything but blind firing. He destroyed the whole place and turned the grasses into dust. And when the guns came back to him, Al kneeled down and his nose bled.

The young king was impressed with Al's ability but Charles did not. When he looked at the Knight Commander, Aither startled because he had never seen Charles that angry. The old commander did not say anything but held his sword tightly. Instantly, Al noticed him and he was ready.

Charles charged to Al and he dodged it successfully before he controlled two guns to shoot at Charles but it did not give the Knight Commander any challenge. Al knew it as well and he increased the fire rate while Charles swung his sword. Two explosions banged and the battle turned into a place full of smoke.

When the smoke faded away, Aither was surprised that Charles had dropped his sword and Al had the advantage. Having no weapons left, Al charged to Charles. "Foolishness," Charles mumbled when Al closed to him. The Knight Commander then punched Al and he did not need to use his dominant hand to knock him down instantly.

That night, Al woke up just to see Charles sitting next to his sickbed. He looked disappointed when he looked at him.

"Easily falling into a simple trap, I expected more than that from you," Charles sighed when he crossed his arms.

Al did not know what to say, "I'm sorry."

"Why should you be sorry?" Charles leaned his back.

"Because… I failed you?" Al had no idea what Charles wanted from him.

"So? You're just being sorry because you "think" you failed me. Why don't you think that you don't need to satisfy me instead?" Charles asked and Al had no answer. "I heard some rumors recently and what you have been doing. Avoiding your friends won't make those rumors go away."

Al kept silent for a while. His mind was a mess and he could not think clearly. He then said, "I thought it would be the best for them…"

When he said that, Charles understood his feeling and he did not angry at all. Instead, he softly commented, "It is "your" thoughts, not theirs. You don't want your friends to be sad but you don't even bother to understand how they feel. Why do you impose your thoughts on others, without letting them express what they think?"

Hearing what Charles said, Al could not say anything anymore.

"There will be a time you will struggle, but hurt yourself won't do anything well," Charles stood up and slapped his shoulder softly. "It's been a tiring day. Take some rest," he said and left afterward.

One week after the rumors surfaced, Tamarinne was working in the kitchen with some female friends for the "Cooking with idols". Strangely, she was losing her focus. In the morning, she met Al after practicing but instead of spending some time with her like usual, he acted abnormal and kept distant with her, before he left in a hurry. It made Tamarinne wonder why he acted so.

"Tamarinne, it's burning!"

A female student shouted out loud, which made Tamarinne startled and quickly turned off the cook. Unfortunately, the meal she was cooking was totally burnt badly and could not be used for the show. Luckily, they still had a lot of time to prepare another one.

"Are you okay? If you're not, then postpone the show," the female student who warned Tamarinne suggested. She looked worried.

"No, I'm okay," Tamarinne smiled at her.

"I've never seen you careless before. There must be something going on," another female student commented. "Is it because of the rumors?"

Tamarinne was surprised when she heard the question. She then asked, "What rumors?"

"Well…." The two students looked at each other. They were not sure if they should tell Tamarinne. They were afraid that it would affect her.

Seeing they were struggling, Tamarinne insisted, "Please, just tell me."

"It's about you, Carrot, Lady Iseria… and Al," the two students had no choice but to tell her.

"Wait, what?" Tamarinne was surprised.

"They said that he was trying to take advantage of three of you."

"How ridiculous! We are just friends."

"Apparently, they don't think so."

At that moment, Tamarinne started having a clear picture. She knew Al for too long, enough to know who he was. He was very sensitive and those rumors must get him hard. He was afraid that those rumors would affect the three of them. It was why he acted so strangely whenever she met him. And then, Tamarinne started worrying about him. She wondered what she could do to help him overcome it.

At the shooting range, Al was gazing on the new type of gun which he was introduced by some friendly students. Normally, he would jump in excitedly but it did not happen this time. Many groups of students nearby were mumbling while they were looking at him. Despite the hatred, they did not dare to push things further. They knew that Charles was fond of him and they knew what he was capable of.

While looking at the other groups, a male student slapped Al's shoulder and asked, "You okay, buddy?"

Startling, Al replied, "Hm! Oh… Uhm… I'm okay, thanks."

"They really have a lot of free time, spreading ridiculous rumors like that," a female student commented. She started feeling annoying when she looked around and she comforted Al afterward, "Listen, you don't have to waste your time with them."

"I know that," Al nodded but it was not as easy as they advised.

"But I have to ask if you don't mind…" another male student looked at Al and spoke, but he paused. It seemed he was doubting himself.

"It's okay, just ask," Al said.

"Well… you know…. Do you…" the male student stuttered but a female student slapped his back and looked at him seriously. Calming himself, he went straight to the point, "Do you have a thing to Tamarinne?"

"A… what?" Al was surprised by the question.

"He asked if you and Tamarinne are a couple," the female student made it clearer.

"Really? How can you think it's possible?" Al sighed. He did not like the question at all.

"What do you mean?" one of them asked.

"Let's say…" Al looked at the sky and he started thinking. He looked very sad and all of the students wondered if they should not ask the question. After a few minutes, when Al was gazing on the air lifelessly, they decided to let it pass but Al answered them. "Let's start with Iseria first. You know she is an elf, right?"

"Yeah?" they nodded.

"The elves can live for hundreds of years, maybe a thousand. Meanwhile, we only live for like 100 years. Comparing to each other, our lifespan is nothing than a short dream of the elves. In the end, one of us will die sooner than the other."

"Ah, I see what you mean," a female student quickly caught the idea. Then she asked, "But don't you think it's still great that both of you have some beautiful time together?"

"But it is short, do you think it's worth for her?" Al replied. From his expression, they could clearly see he would not change his mind. He continued, "An elf should marry an elf so that they can walk together until the end. Isn't it what a life partner is? Aside from that, she holds a very important role in Ezera. Comparing to her, what do I have to be worthy of her?"

As Al said, he was very frankly with his thoughts. Iseria was in a high place and he thought the distance between them was too big. He did not want anything that could affect her. Comparing to her, he did not have anything in his hand.

He then continued, "For Carrot, she is a researcher and we all know how important her work is, and how busy she is. I really don't want to bother her too much and the fact that she still spends sometimes to teach me study is enough. I don't want anything that possibly distracted her from her career."

"So… what about Tamarinne?" the male student was curious.

"As for Tamarinne…"

Al said and paused again. He could not lie to himself that Tamarinne did not hold a special place in his heart. She was the first person who opened him to a new world. Whenever he was doubting himself, or whatever he did, she was always there encouraging him and it was why he could move forward. He owned her too much and he could do anything for her. And he also knew how rough of the path she chose.

"As for Tamarinne…" Al repeated his line, "… she is so special. The first time I heard her song, I was… so attached to it. I've never heard anyone who sings so beautifully like that before. I swear I can hear her songs again and again. From outside, it looks like she is having a great career but…" he paused, and then finished his line, "…one day, I read an article about how tough of being an idol."

"What do you mean?" the students asked.

"Tamarinne always trains hard days by days and she had to keep her form, which means she had to keep her diet. The training is very tough and tired, to both mind and body. Despite that, she still burdens them all and brings joy and happiness to others. And then, when it comes to her fans, it said that no one wants their idol to be taken away. A career of an idol can keep going or be ruined depends on their fan more than I can imagine. I cannot lie that I'm not a fan of her, and I don't want to see her stop singing because of me."

When Al explained, the female students hit the male students from the back and stared at them. The male students did not know what Tamarinne had been through to become an idol and how hard she had to keep being an idol. They just saw she sang and danced and enjoyed them. And they were very disturbing when the rumors between Al and Tamarinne spreading around. But when they knew Al's feelings, they wanted to apologize to him.

Back to Al, he still remembered what Charles said to him, that he imposed his thoughts on others, without letting them express how they felt. Al said he wanted the best for them but it was his thoughts, not theirs. But it could not help him to stop doing so. He was so afraid of talking with them and he chose to stay away from them. He knew that it was not the best option but he did not know what to do.

Suddenly, while they were all silent, the students saw a familiar face was heading to them. Giggling, they decided to leave and let them have their time. But before that, a female student asked, "So Al, what do you think about Tamarinne, like, what do you like about her?"

"She's…" Al replied weakly. He was not sure how to answer that question. It was not because he did not know the idea, he simply did not know where to start. After a while, he answered, "She's kind and generous. Despite feeling embarrassed, she always tries her best and doesn't even know she does it better than she expects. She always encourages her friend to do the same thing. She's also good at singing, more like, way too good. She's always so beautiful when she sings and dances. And she…"

At he went on and on, Al turned back just to see the person she was describing standing there, looking at him with her joyful smile. Her face was a little pink when he praised her. Being surprised and shocked, Al could not even react to her appearance. Meanwhile, his friends already left and gave the two of them some private time. Although they still felt uneasy and annoying from the other groups, they had high hope that they would not dare to cross the line.

The two of them looked at each other for a while, simply because they did not know what to speak. And when they started hearing voices from the other students, Al turned away and used the shotgun on his hand to distract him from her. He then said, "I thought you are preparing for the show afternoon?"

"I'm on the break," Tamarinne replied. One thing for sure, she did not like how Al dodged her. Looking around, she thought it was not the right place for them. She suggested, "There's something in my mind and I would like to have someone accompanying me, for a walk."

"I'm sure you have a lot of people who will so," Al said.

"Can't it be you?"

As Tamarinne asked, Al wanted to say no. But when he looked at her worrying eyes, he could not bring himself up to reject it. Finally, he took a deep breath and placed the shotgun on the table, before he answered, "Okay, if it makes you better."

No need to say, Tamarinne was happy when he agreed and they both left the shooting range afterward, leaving all the jealous students behind. When they were walking on the stone road inside a park, they both kept silent again. However, the two of them felt secured and joyful when they were alone together. But for Al, he wondered if it could go on for a little longer.

When they stopped at a lake and sat on a rock bench, Al asked, "Do you feel better?"

"A little," Tamarinne replied.

Just like him, she wanted to spend more time with him. She wanted to lean on him but she knew it would be too sudden. The more she stayed with him, the more she wanted it to last. She did not like the rumors at all, and she started hating those who started and spread it. But thinking of them would not do anything well. Knowing Al, she had to stand up instead of waiting for things or someone else appeared and solved it for her, just like it always happened before.

"Do those rumors bother you?" Tamarinne asked.

"Yeah…" Al nodded, "… but I don't care about them much. What about you? I hope it won't affect you."

"They already did," Tamarinne stated, "They affected a person closed to me, making him feel uneasy and keep distant from me."

Al was stunned and he kept his silence.

"They are just rumors, you shouldn't let it affect you," Tamarinne advised.

"It's not about me, it's about you," Al replied, "I'm… worried that it will ruin your career and your fans will hate you."

"So?" Tamarinne looked at him and Al could not believe the seriousness in her eyes. "Everything has its time. Sooner or later, my career will end and somebody will take my place. It happens a lot, or, every time in my world, and maybe in this world, too."

"You know…" Al stopped. He crossed his fingers and leaned his back while looking at the blue sky. "I read an article about the life of idols. I picked it when we went to your world. When I read it, I realized that I only saw the glory of the outside and I didn't even have an idea of how you suffered and struggled."

"Oh…"

Tamarinne was surprised when Al gave the newspaper to her. He always kept it with him as an item to remind him of things around the idols. Tamarinne realized it the moment she read the article. But it did not make her hate him, but even admired and respected him more than before. He was so worried about her that he would not risk things that could affect her.

"I just… don't know how you can do it…" Al stated.

"Because I always have people who support me, like you," Tamarinne replied. And when she said, Al looked at her as if he wondered if she was not joking. But the young idol stood firmly. And then, she retold her idol life, "At first, my parents were very skeptical and suggested me not to become an idol. But it was my dream when I was a little girl. Fortunately, after long hours of persuading them, they finally accepted it. Then I signed my name for an idol company.

The first days were very tough. We sang and danced every day. Some attendants gave up and left. I felt very sad for them but the manager said only the best ones could stand until the last. Then I got my first debut and… it went over expectation. I still remember the day the manager told me that I got the 1st rank on the billboard.

But nothing good lasted forever. One day, a person from a famous company wanted to sign a contract with my company. Then the company's director wanted to meet me… personally. The manager felt something wrong and she told me that if anything happened, I must run away. I thought she was exaggerating but she wasn't. When I met the director, he wanted me to strip my clothes and sat on the bathtub, and said that he wanted to take a bath with me to test my skills…"

"What an asshole," Al quickly got the idea and he could not hold his rage.

"Thankfully, the manager and some people stormed in time and pulled me out. The director didn't forget to threaten us. But the manager was determined and the next day, the director was arrested and imprisoned for sexual harassment. And I was not his first victim. Until this day, I still could not believe how lucky I was."

"Yeah…" Al was not sure what he should say anymore.

"But I still remembered what the manager told me. She said that my career is a thing, but if I have a chance to find my true happiness, then I should pursue it. So, if one day, I have someone stays by my side, even if my idol time comes to an end, I won't mind it after all."

As she said, Tamarinne looked at Al and he asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothing," Tamarinne turned away while smiling.

It was not that Al did not get what she said. He wondered if he could be what Tamarinne expected. He was scared that he could not. Until this time, he still kept distant with every girl he met but for Tamarinne, he started having the same feelings as he had with Elena. He had to hide them. He did not want to be with Tamarinne just because she was a famous idol and he wanted her to consider carefully. But in the end, it was his thoughts, not hers. After all, he was afraid of falling in love again.

"I am so lucky…" he spoke with his trembling voice, "… that I met you, and be a fan of you. It's enough to make me happy and I really don't want to push things further. You're so amazing in many aspects. I… don't want to see you… as a replacement."

When he said that, Tamarinne realized he had not got over the pain he had before, the pain of the unrequited love. But it did not change her feelings for him and only made her respected him more. Nevertheless, she wanted to give him more time, as long as he needed it.

"Elena, it is her name, right?" Tamarinne asked and Al nodded. She continued, "You told me that you didn't want to force her, instead, you respected her choice. If I said that I already have my choice right here, right now, will you force me to abandon it?"

"I…" Al could not speak anything when Tamarinne leaned on him. He could feel the warmth of her skin when their bodies touched each other. He could not think clearly and Tamarinne was right. He did not want to force Elena and let her make her own decision.

"When you keep distant from me, I was very scared. I thought that you would leave without saying goodbye. Please, don't do it," Tamarinne said and she grabbed his hand. Then they stopped talking and crossed their fingers.

Later, the two of them returned to the kitchen. They spent their time for too long that it passed the time of the show. Thankfully, the students who were their friends quickly announced that the show would be held a bit later and would not be completely postponed. It also meant they had to act faster.

When they came to the kitchen, the two female students who helped Tamarinne to cook the food for the show quickly moved out and left the kitchen for both of them, which made them uncomprehensive but they did not have the time to think.

Meanwhile, the group of students who were friends of Al and Tamarinne, were looking at them from outside stealthily. A female student commented, "Looks like the situation is handled pretty well."

"Somehow, I can hear the scream of her male fans," a male student said.

"Aren't you the same?" another male student commented.

At the same time, Tamarinne and Al were preparing the food and the students were surprised at how perfectly sync they were.

"The ducks are cooked," Al said when he checked the fried duck meats in the pan.

"Okay. Place them on the disc, above a bamboo leaf," Tamarinne said when she looked at the duck meats.

Al opened a wooden cabin below him, "No disc here."

"Check the left one."

"Got it," Al put of several while discs and opened a fridge. He saw a box of bamboo leaves and opened it. Then he said, "They are small."

Tamarinne stopped and replied, "Check the box on the right, floor three."

"See' em."

With all the effort they put in, the show was held perfectly. After the hard-working, Tamarinne and Al could finally sigh in relief. When they brought all the tools back to the kitchen, their friends helped them to clean up, and when the two of them left the kitchen after a short persuasion. For some reason, they could hear some cracking noises from the kitchen, along with some shoutings and screamings.

"What a tiring day," Al commented when he walked with Tamarinne back to her room.

"But it's fun," Tamarinne smiled, and later, she grabbed his arm and pretended she needed something to lean on, which Al also pretended he did not see or feel anything.

Suddenly, Tamarinne saw something behind them through the glass window. She turned back and saw a male student, and he was holding a knife. Without saying anything, he charged at Al. Before Al could react, Tamarinne jumped out and blocked him from the attack. And the knife brutally pierced her chest. Al quickly caught Tamarinne when she fell down in the shock of him and the attacker. Blood bled more and more every second.

"Don't do this to me! Please, don't do this to me!" Al spoke in fear. He never felt this much fear and pain in his life. Stroking her face, he could feel she was weakening. Her eyes slowly closing until it completely shut.

When Al turned to the attacker, he felt nothing but furious. He placed Tamarinne on the ground and attacked the student. He could not control his rage for the attacker and the anger of failing to protect Tamarinne. He grabbed and put the student on the ground and rapidly punched him to the face. Then he picked up a vase nearby and smashed it right to the student's face. The noise of the one-sided battle attached some students nearby. They rushed in and saw the terrifying situation. Some male students quickly pulled Al out before he killed the culprit. Fortunately, the lieutenant of the Reingar security passed by.

"Stop it, Al!" Karin shouted. Al startled and he stopped. While the male students held Al, Karin checked Tamarinne's pulse. She then looked at Al and said, "She's still breathing but she was very weak. We have to hurry. Let me take care of the culprit. You should go with her."

Al was very surprised at how calm and reasonable Karin was. It looked like she was a completely different person he met before. The first impression they had to each other was a battle between them, which came from a misjudge from Karin. But it was not the right time to think anything else aside from Tamarinne's life. When a medical stretcher was brought, Al quickly placed Tamarinne on it and he rushed with some student to the nearest medic station.

When the medic station's door was opened, the doctors and the nurses stationing inside instantly understood the situation. They pulled the stretcher inside and asked Al to stay outside. While sitting on a bench next to the medic station's door, Al blamed himself for being careless.

Later, Yuna rushed and saw Al. He was crossing his fingers so tightly that bleed himself and he did not even notice it. Yuna quickly detached his fingers and snapped him out of his thoughts. She then asked, "What happened?" When Al retold her, Yuna was shocked. She would not think that such a terrible thing would happen. Then she thought that everything was the same, no matter where they were.

"It was my fault…" Al blamed himself. If something bad happened to Tamarinne, he would never forgive himself.

"Don't say that. It was so sudden," Yuna tried to comfort him.

Later, a nurse came out and asked if Yuna could come with him. When she came in, she could not believe her eyes. The doctors already put a white blanket on Tamarinne's face. According to them, the knife pierced through her heart and damaged it badly. Yuna walked to her friend and shook her body as if she thought Tamarinne was kidding.

"Hey, Somi," Yuna called her friend her real name with her shaking voice. She then touched and shook her arm. Tears rolled on her eyes as she called her name again and again. "You're kidding, right? Please tell me you're kidding. It's not funny."

And then, Yuna could not stop crying. The doctors and the nurses stood there in silence.

Sitting outside, Al still had no idea of the situation. He then started something he had never done before. He crossed his fingers again, and prayed, "Goddess Diche, if you hear me, please don't let Tamarinne leave this world."

Suddenly, the door opened and a nurse came out. Looking at him, Al was hoping for the best but sometimes, the truth was cruel. The nurse shook his head and Al thought he was joking. And when he came outside, seeing Yuna was crying on Tamarinne's surgery bed, Al collapsed on his knees.

"Hey, Yuna..." he called the president's name with his shaking voice and shocking eyes. Yuna turned back just to see Al was kneeling there. Al then said, "She's just sleeping, right?"

Yuna could not answer. She just shook her head.

Al slammed both his fists on the ground, touching his forehead on the floor and cries. He punched the floor rapidly and even bleeding himself, but the pain of losing a loved one could never be compared to anything else.

Suddenly, Karzan, the guardian of time appeared from thin air. He was shocked by what he was witnessing but more importantly, both him and his Heir, Yuna, could feel the strange and sinister aura from Al. Yuna was surprised at first but then she remembered what Karzan told her before. Just like Karzan, Al was a guardian but more importantly, if he suffered a strong negative emotion, he would be corrupted and became a monster.

As Karzan was preparing to kill Al before he transformed, the time stopped suddenly, everything and everyone stopped moving. From the air, a stunningly beautiful woman appeared. She was so beautiful as if no one could compare to her. She had long blonde hair and her body was glowing golden light. She looked at Al and smiled. Then she stepped close to Tamarinne. She looked at the young idol, smiling and surfing her finger on Tamarinne's wound before she disappeared. When everything returned to normal, Yuna heard a beep sound from the electrocardiogram screen nearby, she then shouted immediately to stop Karzan. After that, the doctors checked carefully and Tamarinne's heart beat again in the shock of everyone. Nobody could explain what just happened. As for Yuna, she signed in relief. When she looked at Al, she was very happy that nothing bad happened.

As for Al, he was still shocked at the miracle that happened in front of his eyes. He could not believe that Tamarinne was going to make it after a lethal wound. Nevertheless, he could not hide and hold his happiness that she was still alive and that was more important than anything else. As for Karzan, just like others, he did not understand what happened. As a close friend of Al, he did not want to kill him if it was not the last option. However, no matter what just happened, it was a good thing.

One week later, Tamarinne opened her eyes, and slowly, she realized she was in a recovery room. When she turned to her left, she was surprised that Al was there, sitting on a chair next to her sickbed and sleeping. On a small table next to him, several paper cranes were placed on it.

Yuna opened the door and stepped in. She was so happy that Tamarinne finally awoke. She quickly rushed to her friend and said in tears, "Tamarinne, you're back."

"Sorry for making you worry," Tamarinne smiled and Yuna helped her getting up.

Leaning her back on a white pillow, Tamarinne looked at Al before she turned to Yuna, "How long has he been here?"

"Everyday," Yuna replied. "He barely left the room and stayed with you the whole week, except when the nurses washed your body, of course," Yuna continued and laughed joyfully.

"Yeah yeah," Tamarinne shook her head slightly but she was still happy when she heard that. Looking at those paper cranes, she asked, "What are they?"

"Oh, that?" Yuna looked at the paper cranes on the desk and answered, "A nurse said to Al that if he folded one thousand paper cranes, you would recover faster. Then he asked her how to fold them. He has spent the whole week to fold them but could only fold like a dozen. And they all look wrinkled."

"They're all beautiful," Tamarinne said when she picked up a paper crane. As Yuna said, the paper crane was not perfect. It looked ugly and wrinkled but Tamarinne did not even care. Remembering something, Tamarinne asked, "Do you know the guy who attacked us?"

"Oh, he is a fan of yours," Yuna replied, "Well, a crazy and obsessed one. He didn't like how close you and Al were and his motivation was to keep you "away from danger". Honestly, I wouldn't expect to see it happen, although I did hear something similar happened in our world."

"Let's just stop here," Tamarinne suggested but it was because she did not want to wake Al up. Yuna understood her intention and she left afterward.

When Al woke up, no need to say, he was speechless to see Tamarinne was safe and sound. Then he felt very embarrassed when Tamarinne was holding a paper crane folded by him on her hands. While chatting, Tamarinne suddenly asked him to turn away for a few seconds. Even though Al had no idea why she asked so, he did it anyway and Tamarinne used this chance to kiss him on his cheek, which stunned him afterward. When he saw her happy smile, he could not say anything and smiled at her.

Later, when he brought her a hot soup. Tamarinne looked at him when he sat down and asked, "Can you feed me?"

"Wait, why?" Al could not believe what he just heard.

"Come on, I'm on a sickbed," Tamarinne smiled and Al could not resist it.

"Okay, okay," he gave up and did as she said. When Tamarinne ate the first spoon, he asked, "How is it?"

"It's tasty," she replied in happiness. "Who cooked it?"

"Take a guess," Al smiled at her. Tamarinne instantly got the answer and it made her even happier.