"Let's go, Zephyra," Pandora says now, pulling my hand to explore the city. I was going to show the city to her, and now she's the one pulling me.

"Look, Zephyra, what do you think of that statue? Pretty cool, right?" Pandora says with a smile, losing that serious expression and getting more excited.

"Yes... it's very beautiful," I say as I see a statue of Pandora in the center of the city, a larger version of the statue where she was sitting on the back of the goddess of humans.

In this one, Pandora has her foot on the head of the goddess of humans, who is kneeling with her head on the ground. I don't know why Pandora likes these provocative statues insulting the goddess of humans, but the statue is undoubtedly very well done.

"It perfectly captures your smile," I say, seeing the frightening smile of the statue, which is malicious, just like Pandora's smile when she's about to do mischief.

"Hahaha, of course it does. I made the base design for the creation of this statue myself," she says as she observes the statue with pride.

"Why? I didn't exactly understand why this specific goddess..."

"I don't like her, so it's fun to mock her with these statues. It also demonstrates my power, like a warning for her future, you know?" Pandora says with a huge smile on her face.

"I see..." I can't say I understand her desire, but it's not my problem either.

"You don't need to be jealous, my queen. The next statue will be of us two cuddling," she says, holding my waist as she guides me to the bench below the statue.

"That's not necessary," I say, embarrassed by this. I can't believe she wants to portray me in that way.

"Of course it is, you're the queen," she says as I briefly look at the statue.

"Why is the statue made of this strange ore and not gold?" I ask, seeing that the statue is made of a black and gray ore, beautiful but also very unusual for a statue.

"Gold... it doesn't fit well with my image. Moreover, gold doesn't have all this symbolic value for me. In short, I don't care about the ore, but rather the image of the statue."

"Anyway, shall we leave here? Let's go to a more private place," Pandora says, getting up while holding my hand, running with me down the street to the sidewalk.

She gives a little twirl, pulling me and holding my waist in an embrace, and then we appear in another place.

"Did you like it? A quick trip, very convenient," she says as I see that we are on a rooftop.

"It was me who wanted to show you the city," I say as she averts her gaze.

"I can't help but try to dictate the path, you know I'm quite controlling," she says, giving me a little kiss on the forehead.

"Yes... I know," I say to her as she holds my hand, caressing my fingers, looking at the ring she gave me. I never take this ring off my finger; it's beautiful, and I think Pandora likes that.

"Do you like this ring, Zephyra?" She says, caressing my finger where the ring is. This beautiful ring, darker than obsidian, with a very beautiful red gem I still don't know what mineral it is, but it's very pretty, so I like this ring.

"Yes, I like it. It's beautiful," I say, which makes her smile.

"I'm glad you like it. I put a lot of effort into creating this ring," she says, surprising me.

"You made it?"

"Yes, I learned a bit about forging. Unfortunately, when I made this ring, I was terrible at it, and could only create things with shape, but without giving them anything special. So this ring doesn't really have any power," she says with false lament.

"This ring is made from a part of my body, you know?" She says, which surprises me even more.

"This black mineral is a piece of my tail that I crystallized, and the red gem is my blood that I transformed into Celestial Stone. I wanted you to always have something of mine, even when you're away from me," she says as I look into her eyes.

That depth that seems to be infinite, and which I've learned to like she may treat me in this romantic way, but there's no way to hide her gaze, which is never less than slightly frightening.

"I like it. It's a beautiful ring, and knowing that you made it for me makes it even more special," I say, which makes her blush with a genuine smile that I rarely see from her, a smile that gives her a pleasant touch of innocence.

"I'm glad you like it. I try my best to take care of each of you and show how much I love you. I don't know if I'm doing a good job, but I'm doing my best to give you my time and attention," she says, kissing my hand.

"Zephyra, shall we do a trust test?" She says out of the blue, and I think a bit before nodding yes, as it's close to her birthday anyway.

"..." As soon as I accept, her smile becomes disturbing, and her wings appear. She holds my waist, flying quickly into the sky, and I wonder what she's going to do.

'Is she going to drop me?' If this is a trust test and she's rising, I guess she's going to drop me from up there, but I'm not afraid.

The air starts to get cold as we quickly reach a very high altitude, and I see the entire city from up here as she stops.

"Are you ready for the test?" She says, and I nod, ready to be dropped, but contrary to my expectation, she points her hand towards the city and forms a black sphere in her hand that makes a crackling sound.

"P-Pandora?"

"The test is this: this is 50% of my mana, half the mana of a being at level 100,000. Enough to evaporate the city down there. The castle will be fine, after all, Lilith is there."

"However, the entire area around the castle will be completely destroyed," she says with a chilling calm.

"So, Zephyra, tell me, do you choose to save their lives? Or do you choose me?" She speaks as if the act of destroying everything she has built is nothing, which sends shivers down my spine.

"Pandora..." I look into her eyes. This is not a joke or a prank. The magic in her hands is also something serious. She is really considering the idea of completely evaporating the city.

"Choose, love. Your answer will determine the future of 80% of the population down there," she says as I think about what to say.

"I choose you," I say, hugging her and closing my eyes, hearing a unpleasant hum coming from the mana sphere.

Soon I hear a unpleasant crackling sound followed by an explosion, but the sound is more like a suction and shattering glass, while the wind is stirring as if it's being pulled.

I open my eyes to see that Pandora has thrown it up, and the entire sky is covered in darkness that begins to diminish. It's a terrifying destructive power, far exceeding the size of the kingdom.

"Flowers...?" I see black roses falling like raindrops, while Pandora gives me a smile. Soon she gives me a deep kiss, catching me by surprise.

"H-Hmm..." She sticks her tongue in my mouth with desire while hugging me tightly.

"You passed, love," she says with shining eyes of desire as she breaks the kiss.

"I passed?"

"Yes, I wanted to truly see how much you believe in me, not because I don't trust you, but because I wanted to see how well you know me, or if you're just acting as I want."

"What's the difference?"

"If you really know me well, you would know that this was not an empty threat, and that if you had chosen the population, I would have really sent everything to hell. I know you love me."

"Your colors give that away, but between me and the population, who would be your final choice? Do you know me well enough to always put me first above everything else?"

"I wanted to see, and I'm glad with the result. You chose me... scared?"

"You're the only one who would threaten millions of lives for a proof of affection," I say as she picks up one of the roses falling from the sky.

"This is the best birthday present you could give me," she says, leaving me confused.

"Really?"

"Zephyra, I'm someone who can have everything I want. Material goods don't have as much value as a gift for me, but there's something that even power or money can't conquer, and that's genuine feelings."

"Seeing that you would genuinely choose me even if millions died is enough to make me happy," she says, handing me the rose as she begins to descend.

That giant thing made of mana in the sky starts to dissipate as the mana becomes dispersed in the environment, which soon makes the sky return to its blue color.

"I passed then?"

"More than that, you showed that you know me well, that you're really trying to learn about me... and that gives me confidence in you," she says, surprising me more than when she threatened the city she built.

"Confidence... in me?" I thought she would never have real trust in me again, always thinking she would have at least a little distrust, to the point of always limiting me.

"Yes, I trust you. For me, merit is important. You've shown that you're worthy of trust, which means that secrets, future plans, and even the administration of the kingdom can be discussed with you."

"Know that for me to trust someone is a rarity. Even some of my closest subordinates don't have my exact trust. To give you an idea, I only trust Elena, Lilith, and as ironic as it may seem, Kaelith," she says with a sweet smile.

"So... I've achieved something incredible today?"

"Yes, you've earned the trust of someone as paranoid as me, and that, my love, is priceless. And as a sign of this trust, you are now free to explore things more."

"Lilith no longer has the function of keeping you in line, but only the function of protecting you," she says, accelerating my heart. Before, Lilith was not just a guard, but also a watcher who observed me.

Knowing that Pandora now trusts me to the point that Lilith is just security encourages me. I never thought I would gain real trust for things like this.

"Thank you for the gift, love. I love you so much," Pandora says, kissing me as we land on a rooftop. That attack of hers has now completely stopped, while the black roses on the ground begin to slowly dissolve.

"Shall we go to a hotel?" She says, and I know what she wants.

"Yes, let's go. After all, it's better if you don't go to the castle," I say as she pulls me by the waist.

"Great, then let's take this time to carefully study each other's bodies," she says with a sweet smile as I approve.