Grace, Bella, and Adro walked Sarah to the departure gate. The girls hugged each other tightly, and Bella and Grace couldn't help but shed tears as they had to part with Sarah for a long time.
"I'll miss you so much, Sarah," Grace said, hugging Sarah once again.
Sarah smiled faintly and patted Grace's back. "Me too. Take care, Grace. Avoid stress because it will make you age quickly. Chase your dreams, and don't listen to what others say. They just want to see you fall, so don't be too kind to give it to them."
Grace nodded. "I know. Don't forget to call me whenever you have time."
"I will. My time might be limited after this, but I'll try to save a little for you two," Sarah replied.
When Sarah felt Grace was about to release the hug, she tightened her arms around Grace's back. "And, Grace. Remember not to be too kind and trust people easily, especially men."
"We can't judge someone's heart just by their appearance and words, right? Be cautious, because you never know where demons hide. Remember that I'll help you if anything bad happens. You should remember that I'm not just anyone," She continued while her eyes fixed on Adro, who was standing behind Grace.
Adro's eyebrows furrowed as he stared back at Sarah. He didn't need to be a genius to realize that Sarah was subtly mocking him or even threatening him.
Blinking a few times, Grace cleared her throat and nodded. "I know. Thank you, Sarah," she said before releasing the hug.
Sarah smiled. "Well, then, I'm going inside. Take care of yourselves. See you again."
Grace's brown eyes stared at the black-haired girl walking away. Sarah was leaving - Leaving her. All this time, Grace had relied on Sarah. The fierce girl was like her closest family. But in the end, just like everyone else, she left her alone.
Even though Grace always said that she would be all right, deep in her heart, she was scared and worried about whom she could depend on. She wasn't sure if she was psychologically independent or if she was capable of taking care of herself.
Suddenly, Grace was pulled out of all those thoughts when she felt a warm palm resting on her shoulder. She looked at the hand, then shifted her gaze to its owner to find a smile and a pair of crystal blue eyes greeting her.
"You will be all right," Adro said.
***
Sarah had left. With Bella, who hadn't played as big a role in her life from the start, Grace somehow felt like half of her soul was leaving.
"I'm sorry I can't hang with you longer, Grace," Bella said.
Grace smiled and shook her head. "You don't have to. I know you're busy."
Turning her gaze to Adro, Bella cleared her throat and said, "I hope you can take care of my friend."
"Hey... It's not necessary, Bella," Grace interrupted.
"Worry not. You can see that Grace is still fine now." Adro replied casually, but there was firmness in his tone.
Bella squinted her eyes briefly as Adro gave her a meaningful look. She knew the meaning behind Adro's subtle emphasis. He was aware of what was on her and Sarah's minds. Well... who wouldn't? They made it clear that they didn't trust him.
"Well, then, I'm leaving. See you at the campus," Bella hugged Grace briefly before stepping away and waving.
"If we meet," Grace mumbled amidst her smile and wave.
Besides Grace, Adro kept watching her. He had to admit that the more he got to know about her life, the more he felt sorry for her.
"What are we going to do next?" Adro asked, waking Grace from her reverie.
"Well... I'm not sure, actually. I think I'll spend some time with Bella, at least until the evening. Now that she's left, I don't have any other plans except going home," Grace answered.
"I remembered that you said gold and silver have value here. I thought of exchanging them for local money. Can we do that today?"
Grace's eyebrows lifted. "Ups! I'm sorry, I forgot. I think we can do that today. Did you bring those coins?"
"Unfortunately, I left them all at your house. But since you said you have no other activities today, is it possible for us to pick them up and take them to the exchange place?" Adro asked.
After a moment of thought, Grace took out her cell phone. "Please wait a minute; I'll check something."
As Grace turned her back and checked something on her phone, Adro used his tall body to sneak a peek at her cellphone screen. He might not understand how to use a cell phone very well, but he saw numbers displayed on the screen. Seeing Grace thinking and counting with her fingers covertly, he understood that she was estimating whether her money would be enough if she continued to take a taxi.
When Grace put her phone back in her sling bag, Adro immediately stepped back and pretended to be looking elsewhere.
"All right! We need to hurry before the place closes." Grace said.
***
After returning home to get the coins Adro had brought from his world, they once again took a taxi to a gold dealer shop. The night was falling, but they arrived just in time before the store closed.
"Are you sure you want to sell all of these? This world's money is not valid in your world, right?" Grace whispered.
"It doesn't matter. If I go back, I'll give you the money from selling those coins."
"Wh-what?" Grace's eyes widened.
Adro chuckled as he stared at her. "I'm a future king, remember? Those pieces of coin don't mean much to me."
Wiping her droll, Grace grinned. "I forgot about that. But thanks for your kindness. I mean it."
"It's nothing," Adro chuckled again.
Then, the shop owner returned with all the gold and silver coins he had just checked for purity. "These are all pure gold and silver."
"Of course, they are pure," Adro replied. He didn't know there was impure gold and silver in this world. Besides, who would be foolish enough to mix these two materials with others?
Worried that Adro would say unnecessary things, Grace quickly took over. "Can you count the total? We'll sell everything. Please match it with the current prices of gold and silver if possible."
As soon as Grace and Adro were done with the transaction, the owner closed the shop as he ran out of cash. Unfortunately, they couldn't get good prices because they didn't have a legal certificate for the gold.
An astonished expression was still stuck on Grace's face. She felt like she was dreaming after seeing the amount of money in her savings account. In her life, this was the first time she had seen such a large sum. Not only the money in her account but also the cash in her wallet. Previously, Adro asked the shop owner to pay through a bank transfer and a little cash.
"It looks like you need to have your own wallet, Adro. I'm not sure I feel secure carrying that much money that doesn't belong to me," Grace said.
"I see. I also need to buy some additional clothes, don't I? What if we go to that clothing store from yesterday? But do you feel tired?" Adro asked.
Grace shook her head. "My ankle is in the recovery stage. It seems like walking a little more won't affect me."
"Let me know if you start getting tired," Adro said before stepping forward to hail a taxi.
A flash of a smile crossed Grace's face. Seeing Adro now, she often forgets that he came from a different world. He could adapt and learn new things well and quickly. He was a reliable man.