Prospera Familia

Honestly, I couldn’t wait to visit the school library and browse the physical books that weren’t available in the virtual library.

"Rin!" A familiar female voice called out.

It was Eliza Nonus Rosa, my childhood friend and my girlfriend since the last year of junior high.

"Liz, it’s been a while," I said jokingly, knowing that we’d spent every evening of the entire vacation chatting virtually before going to sleep.

She playfully tapped my right arm, catching on to the sarcasm as she always does.

She and her family had been away in GRID 10 for the entire vacation.

"I wish you’d come with us on the trip," she said, pouting.

"You know I couldn’t," I replied, gently patting her head.

"I know," she sighed. "Dad explained it to me. The Prospera Familia are Protectors, after all."

She looked a little worried as she continued, "Your family is one of the families responsible for keeping the GRIDs safe from the remnants of the Great Mechanical War and anything else that could threaten the current peace."

"That’s true," I admitted.

"Dad and Grandpa don’t want me to follow in their footsteps, but I want to learn what I can while I still have the chance. Who knows when it might come in handy?" I replied.

Looking at her sad face, I decided to use this free period to make up for not being able to join her vacation, even if just a little.

"Want to grab some sweet dessert?" I asked, breaking the silence.

Her eyes lit up with excitement, like she usually does when hearing something she likes.

"I’d love to eat some parfait!" she said with a wide smile.

"Sure, let’s get some," I replied, not concerned about the cost since I’d earned a decent point allowance during my summer training with Grandpa and Dad.

While you can share the items you buy with your points, the points themselves aren’t transferable.

In simple terms, the only way to earn points is through doing daily activities whether it’s a mundane task or an important role.

She took my left arm and led the way to the school cafe.

After about a hundred steps, we found ourselves seated at a quiet corner table with a glass window overlooking the school garden.

"Liz, what flavor do you want?" I asked.

"Um… chocolate! No, strawberry. Wait… chocolate," she said, her indecision making me chuckle.

I used the table’s panel to order one chocolate and one strawberry parfait, each topped with a generous assortment of toppings.

Within a couple of minutes the server bot put two parfaits on the table.

Liz looked a bit surprised since normally, a student can gain points enough to buy a single dessert ,a lunch meal and some noon snacks.

Dessert costs a bit more compared to a lunch meal. I know that she likes strawberry flavor, from ice cream, ice shaving, cakes and any dessert but from time to time she tries other flavors.

She ordered chocolate because she knew I liked it and just planned to share it.

I handed her a strawberry parfait.

She just looked at me a bit worried. “I got some point allowance during summer”, I stated..

She smiled and started eating her parfait.

“I got some too after taking pictures of some marine animals on GRID 10”, she said proudly.

“Today noon snacks are on me”, she added as she continued to enjoy her parfait.

“So Luxury Ramen set today”?, she asked suddenly.

“Yeah”, I said thinking that she really looks out for what I do.

During middle school I ate a different luxury meal each day, since there are a couple thousand luxury dishes available on the menu and I made it a mission to taste them all.

Plus Liz would probably ask me another dish recommendation in the foreseeable future.

After all, for some reason Liz likes to try the things she usually sees me doing.

I had barely finished half of my chocolate parfait when I looked over at Liz, she had already finished hers.

"Can you finish the rest, Liz?" I asked, offering her the remaining half of my parfait, knowing how much she loves sweets.

"Really? Thanks, Rin!" she said, her excitement clear.

I smiled as I handed her the half-eaten parfait. Watching her enjoy her food was one of the many things I love to watch when spending time with her.

"You’re probably thinking, ‘I’ll get fat,’" she said suddenly, finishing off the chocolate parfait.

"Of course not. I just love looking at you," I said, being true to what I felt.

Her cheeks flushed slightly at my words.

"Want to burn some calories?" she asked out of nowhere, changing the subject quickly.

"Sure," I agreed.

I guess she’s worried about getting fat, after all, I thought to myself.

"Let’s do some routine course training," she said, pulling me by the left arm toward the obstacle course area.

Liz was referring to the routine course, a 150-meter track with running, swimming, and climbing sections. Completing the course would earn us points, and ranking well would give us enough points to buy another luxury meal or a tasty afternoon snack.

We separated for a bit to change into our gym uniforms in the nearby changing rooms before heading over to the routine course.

As expected, there were already a few people lined up to try the routine course. We waited about fifteen minutes, watching students complete the routine course while we waited our turn.

"I’m going, Rin," she said as she walked to the starting area, ready to begin.

"Enjoy, and be careful, Liz," I replied, knowing she was a great runner and a fast swimmer.

Liz completed the 50-meter dash and swim in under thirty seconds, but the 50-meter vertical wall took her a little longer.

She’s afraid of heights, but she pushes herself to conquer that fear every time or more like forced to conquer the fear.

After about five minutes, she finally made it to the top of the vertical wall.

The top-ranked person finishes in one minute, while second place doubles that time.

Looks like it's time to break your record, Dad, and earn some points.

"Akasha, permission to remove the limiter," I requested, addressing the Observer Akasha.

"Permission granted. Partial physical limitations removed," Akasha’s voice echoed in my mind through the black choker.

In just 15 seconds, I completed both the running and swimming segments. When I reached the vertical wall, I jumped towards the climbing holds and continued leaping five more times until I reached the top.

Total time: 29 seconds.

As I jumped down, Akasha’s voice sounded again, informing me that the limiter had been reactivated.

Neomen can enhance their physical abilities, but Akasha only permits the use of these enhancements during battles or situations that require them.

Even though Neomen, or "Enhanced Humans" as our ancestors called us, are genetically modified to be far stronger and faster than regular humans, we can't control this strength or speed without years of training.

That’s why Akasha implemented a limiter, to prevent neomen from harming ourselves or others.

After all, not everyone needs monstrous strength or speed.

Some students were amazed, but most expected it. After all, the top eight rankings were all held by members of the Prospera Familia, the protectors of GRID 25.

"Prospera Familia really is something," one student remarked.

"I can only respect them for having the courage to fight those corrupted remnants," another added.

"Without their familia, it’s likely those monsters would have gotten much closer to GRID 25 in the last twenty years," a third student said.

In truth, the main reason the corrupted remnants hadn’t been able to approach the GRIDs was Akasha, the thousands of guard machines equipped with anti-material rifles on the outer GRIDs, and the countless scout drones patrolling the area.

"You didn’t even break a sweat, Rin," Liz teased.

"Let’s change and head to the school library," she added, surprising me a bit. Liz is more of an outgoing person, while I’m the book nerd who loves reading.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"I was curious about why you loved reading books so much in middle school, so I decided to try reading one myself," she replied.

"At first, I wasn’t sure what to read, but when I found the Classic Fiction shelf and picked up a small book, I got completely captivated by the story," she continued.

"Hmm… really? So, which Classic Fiction did you pick up?" I asked.

"If I remember correctly the book title is The Little Prince," she said, her voice filled with excitement.

"No wonder it captivated you. It’s also one of my favorite stories too. It kind of reminds me of you, Liz," I said.

She blushed slightly.

"Then always come back to me. After all, I’m your rose, Rin," she said, suddenly kissing my left cheek.

I will always be back to your side after all it's my favorite place, I thought while looking at her with a smile.