When Iria and Skylin reached Riven, Iria burst out laughing the moment she saw him.
"Hahaha! Riven, did you offend the doctor or something? Why are you wrapped up like a rice dumpling? This is way too funny!"
Riven felt like he'd heard those exact words somewhere before.
Suddenly, he turned around and glanced at Kael sitting on the bench.
Wasn't that exactly what Kael had said earlier?
Noticing his reaction, Iria leaned forward and looked toward the bench as well. When she saw Kael, she gasped.
"Ah!! Y-you—aren't you the guy who crashed into my house last night?!"
Hearing that, Riven asked in surprise,
"Iria, when did you meet my good brother Kael?"
He didn't remember Kael ever meeting Iria before.
Skylin was just as surprised. When had her usually carefree best friend met such a handsome guy without her knowing?
"We last night—" Iria started to explain.
Before she could finish, a calm, steady voice interrupted.
"We met last night."
Kael had walked over to Riven's side and spoke solemnly.
"Thank you so much to your whole family. Without you, I might not have made it through the night."
Kael was genuinely grateful. Without Iria's family, he truly might have died.
"There's no need," Iria said quickly, shaking her head. "You were injured protecting us. We just did what we could."
If Kael hadn't been there last night, their residential area might have been devastated by those demonized beasts. The casualties would have been unimaginable.
So she really didn't feel she deserved his thanks.
"One thing is one thing," Kael insisted. "Let's exchange contact information. If you ever need help, you can contact me."
As he spoke, he took out his phone.
"Oh—okay. Then let's be friends," Iria said, quickly pulling out her pink phone.
After exchanging contact details, Riven stared at them in disbelief.
"You two… just exchanged numbers like that?"
Skylin looked equally stunned. When had her best friend become so efficient? She'd gotten a handsome guy's contact in no time at all.
Kael rolled his eyes at Riven. It wasn't like he was flirting—he was just expressing gratitude.
"Kael? So you're here."
A familiar voice reached his ears.
Turning toward the sound, Kael saw two familiar figures walking over.
It was Aria and Elayne.
When the two girls arrived and saw three unfamiliar faces, they asked curiously,
"Kael, who are they?"
"This is my good brother Riven," Kael explained. "These two girls are his classmates—"
He was about to introduce Iria and Skylin, but then realized he hadn't actually asked their names yet. He paused and looked at them.
Iria and Skylin immediately introduced themselves.
"Hi, I'm Iria. You can call me Iria."
"Hello, I'm Skylin."
Iria was lively and enthusiastic, while Skylin was more reserved and concise.
Aria and Elayne followed suit.
"I'm Aria. Just call me Aria."
"I'm Elayne. You can call me Elayne."
After everyone got acquainted, an awkward silence fell over the group. After all, both sides had just met and didn't know what to talk about.
"Riven, we won't disturb you catching up with your classmates," Kael said, breaking the silence. "We'll head off first."
The atmosphere was just too awkward, so he took the initiative to leave.
"Alright. Let's meet at the usual place next time," Riven replied, then left with Iria and Skylin.
As for Ursaring, it would find Riven on its own later. With its keen sense of smell, that would be easy.
After the three left, Kael turned to Aria and Elayne.
"Aria, Elayne—why did you come to the hospital?"
"Of course we came to see you," Aria said, eyeing the bandages on him reproachfully. "Honestly, you just got back from a secret realm, and now you're injured again."
Though her words sounded like a scolding, they were filled with concern.
"Exactly. Kael, you really don't give people any peace of mind," Elayne added, her tone just as worried.
"Heh… there's no helping it," Kael said helplessly. "This is our responsibility as Trainers."
If it hadn't been necessary, he wouldn't have gone that far. He'd participated in many secret realm incidents and seen countless people lose their lives for Yanxia.
It stirred his blood—what used to be a rather laid-back heart had grown passionate.
For Trainers in this world, the saying truly applied: the greater the power, the greater the responsibility.
They risked their lives to protect their homeland.
In fact, semi-official Trainers like him had it better than official ones. At least they weren't bound by such strict constraints.
Official Trainers sacrificed far more.
"You still don't need to risk your life like that," Aria said softly.
Elayne nodded in agreement.
Kael hurriedly promised that he would be more careful in the future.
Being cared about by two beautiful girls was something he couldn't deny he enjoyed—after all, most men would.
(With a few special exceptions.)
Soon, the three of them sat together on a bench, chatting about other things.
Kael also learned that several classmates had been hospitalized as well.
He couldn't help but sigh.
What an unlucky day.
Almost all the Trainers from Chunfeng High had ended up in the hospital.
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