One Saturday, with the first rays of sunlight entering through the window and lighting the room, Rito woke up like any other day.
From the position he was in, it seemed like he had moved a lot while sleeping, but that was normal for him, so he did not give it much importance.
After yawning and sitting on the edge of the bed, he checked his phone.
"Only seven", he murmured.
Seeing that it was still very early, he decided to go for a jog for a while, feeling that he had a lot to think about.
Careful not to wake anyone, he quietly got up and left the house, jogging in the direction of the park.
Unfortunately for Rito, he was not very smart, because he ran toward the worst possible place.
Although his mind cleared while jogging, the moment he arrived at the plaza the memories surfaced.
Memories of when this whole problem began.
It had been a little over two months ago.
It had been a completely normal day for Rito, go to school, try to get closer to Haruna without success, hang out with Saruyama, return home and get lectured by his younger sister for being irresponsible.
Even so, for Rito that day had been exhausting, because he realized he was not moving forward. Every day was nothing more than a repetition of the previous one.
Rito desperately wished to move forward, but when the moment came he would lose his courage.
That day he went to take a bath looking for peace and relaxation, and there, thinking about his situation, he wished for a change, something that would force him to move forward.
Rito knew he was a coward and that he would not dare move forward on his own, so he wanted something that would force him to do it, he wished for it with all his soul.
And to his surprise, his wish came true.
In a mysterious mist a naked girl appeared in front of him, someone who advanced much faster than he ever could.
The next thing he knew, she was an alien princess and somehow he ended up engaged to her.
Not only Lala, that was also the day he met him, Yuuji Rito, a name so similar to his but a person so different.
Just as Rito had wished, from that day everything changed.
His monotonous life changed completely.
Every day he faced strange things, from inventions going wrong because of Lala to aliens who wanted his position as her fiancé.
More than that, his situation with Haruna finally changed, even if only a little. With a fiancée, Rito was forced to move forward if he did not want to lose Haruna. He was forced to interact more with her and explain his situation, that he did not love Lala and that they had only ended up engaged by coincidence.
Somehow he started getting closer to Haruna, and Rito, in the middle of the chaos, managed to glimpse a small ray of hope that she might share his feelings.
However, this situation also had an adverse effect.
He explained so many times that he did not have a real relationship with Lala that other people began trying to approach her with other intentions.
Rito did not really mind. Not only did he not feel love for Lala, but those people also did not have real feelings for her.
Even though Lala was innocent most of the time, she could still easily identify the feelings others had toward her because of her upbringing, so Rito knew she would reject them all without hesitation, and that is exactly what happened.
She kindly rejected everyone's approaches.
Everyone except one.
Yuuji Rito.
When Rito met Yuuji he felt something strange. He could not describe it, but he felt that he was a person completely opposite to him.
Contrary to Rito's monotonous and boring life, Yuuji appeared before them flying and using strange abilities.
Contrary to Rito, who could do nothing against Lala's pursuers and could only try to run away unsuccessfully, Yuuji had escaped without anyone even realizing.
The next time they saw him was when he transferred to their school. From the murmurs of the others he learned that he was the heir of the most powerful family in the country.
When everyone was too nervous to say anything in front of him, the one who spoke was the only person in the entire class who did not care about that kind of thing.
Lala shouted his name immediately and called him.
Although Lala had been angry with him for abandoning her last time, she quickly forgave him and they became friends.
Too much friends.
It is not an exaggeration to say that since that moment ninety percent of Lala's time at school is spent with Yuuji.
Not only Lala, Yuuji quickly integrated into the group and began sharing friends with them.
But Rito always considered him something separate, as if despite being right beside him he belonged to another world.
Contrary to the mediocre Rito, Yuuji had perfect grades.
Contrary to Rito, who usually follows others and gives in easily, Yuuji slept in class without worrying about anyone's opinion.
Contrary to Rito, who blushed and could not speak to Haruna, Yuuji spoke with Lala with complete naturalness.
Of course, that last one should not be a problem.
At least that was what Rito thought.
It was only after Mikan told him that Yuuji liked Lala that Rito started noticing it on his own.
Suddenly, that thing Rito considered to belong to another world began invading his own world by force, threatening to change everything.
"How is this possible? I have been in love with Haruna for years and I cannot get close to her without stuttering. Meanwhile Yuuji keeps getting closer to the person he likes in just two months... he even missed an entire month of school, so it is even less time", Rito complained.
"No... maybe it is fine. Lala and Yuuji seem to fit well. Yuuji is the kind of rational and understanding person Lala needs, while Lala's chaos seems to entertain Yuuji a lot.
But... if Lala leaves... would my life not return to how it was before? Without any kind of progress?
But I do not want to chain Lala down either..."
Rito sighed, disappointed in himself not because he could not choose, but because he refused to choose the obvious option simply out of selfishness.
"In the end, even after everything that has happened, I am still the same coward as always.
Should I continue with the current situation? Being happy but sacrificing Lala's happiness? Or return to the starting point and end things with Lala?"
Rito sat on a bench looking at the sky while reflecting, time passed slowly.
Only after almost an hour did he turn his gaze when he noticed a familiar figure.
On a nearby street he saw a man with short light brown hair wearing bone armor guiding a small woman somewhere.
Recognizing the direction they were heading, Rito decided to follow them discreetly.
And just as he imagined, Zastin led the small woman to his own house.
Rito could not hear what they were saying, but from their gestures he recognized that they were saying goodbye.
---
Lala woke up that day feeling very happy, just like the entire week.
Everything began when Zastin offered Yuuji a job.
The moment she heard that, Lala became defensive. She had bad experiences with people who claimed to be her friends but treated her as if she were some kind of superior.
But on the other hand, she did not want to interfere with Yuuji's desire to explore the universe.
As someone who loved creating inventions, Lala knew what it meant to have something you truly loved, so she did not want to deprive him of that.
But even knowing that, Lala did not want Yuuji to accept Zastin's offer.
It was one of the few times she decided to be selfish.
She was ready to tell him to reject the offer or ask her father not to accept him into the Deviluke forces.
But to her disappointment, contrary to a normal person who would take some time to make such a decision, when Yuuji arrived at school he had already decided to join.
After that Lala was in a bad mood for a while.
At least until she noticed that Yuuji continued treating her completely normally.
Lala had been happy many times in her life, but that moment was definitely one of the greatest.
A Yuuji who treated her normally despite technically working for her did not only mean a friend who would not treat her differently no matter what, it also meant a truly close friend.
A problem Lala had often had lately was that humans were very fragile. Rito and his school friends often panicked when one of Lala's inventions went wrong or when they faced a fairly weak alien.
Although Lala appreciated her new friends very much, she knew they came from very different worlds and that she could not do even half the things she would like to do with them, like visiting more dangerous planets.
But Yuuji not only had the means to do it and endure it, Lala was also quite sure he would love to accompany her on an adventure to another planet on his own.
Speaking of that... it has almost been a month since Yuuji and I went to another world, right? Lala thought while stretching.
The sheet covering her fell to the floor and her naked body was illuminated by the rays of the morning sun, outlining her curvy figure.
Lala walked out of habit toward the door and was about to open it when she looked down by coincidence, remembering she was not wearing clothes.
"Peke"
"Miss Lala, lately you dress more often than usual. Did you not normally go downstairs naked?" the small robot asked while coming out from a shelf where he rested like a plush toy and transforming into Lala's clothes.
"Is it not normal to be dressed on Earth? Besides... being seen without clothes is a little embarrassing", Lala said while scratching her cheek, slightly embarrassed.
"Oh, that is very unusual for you, Miss Lala. Is it because Mr. Yuuji saw you naked?"
"W-what does that have to do with anything? My embarrassment has nothing to do with him!" Lala snapped.
"Is that so? I remember the first time you felt embarrassed on this planet was when you left the simulated world you created, correct?"
"I do not know what you are talking about, Peke."
"Then why did you pretend not to remember anything at that moment?"
"La la la la la, I do not know what you are talking about. Yuuji is just a friend, Rito is my fiancé."
Lala ran out of the room covering her ears while shouting childishly in the direction of Rito's room.
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+15 chapters in advance on Patreon.
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(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)