I wanted to take it slow on that day and rest properly, but Amit apparently had different plans than me and woke me up by knocking on my door.

- Peter! Peter! We would like to talk to you, Peter!

- Go away! - I yelled while turning from one side to the other.

- I'm not going. Suck it up, and get out of the bed!

- Fuck off!

- No! Get out!

- Leave! Leave me alone! I want to sleep more.

- You will have plenty of rest when you are dead. Now move your ass. There are things to talk about.

I sighed and annoyed finally got out of my bed.

- I brought you food - said Amit when I opened the door.

He had a bowl of hot goulash in his hand, with a few slices of bread sticking out alongside a wooden spoon.

I took it and started shoving the food inside my mouth.

- There is plenty of time for you to eat it. There is no reason for such a rush - he said with a little grin on his face.

He clearly found my behavior funny, and I was just simply hungry. Hungry for proper food that I didn't have for over a month. I did the same yesterday in the cafeteria. Moreover, I wanted to be quickly done with whatever he and Hatta wanted from me.

He waited patiently until I finished with a smirk on his face.

- You are an asshole Amit - I said wiping my mouth.

- I'm just keeping you in check, so all that fame won't mess with your head too much.

- Excuses.

- Well.. yeah. I'm just messing with you. We simply need to talk with you, and later we will be too busy. Since we don't know when you will run away to the woods again, I just had to come.

I sighed.

- Let's just be done with this.

- Come - he said, and started walking.

I followed him, straight to Hatta's office. He was already fighting with papers that covered his whole desk.

- Morning - I said, and that made him drop the work.

- Good to see you, Peter. Sorry that it had to be so early, but it's urgent.

- Hit me then.

- I hate to say it, but we need your help with crystals - he raised up a bunch of papers.

I noticed a few sketches of siege equipment, and lists filled with numbers.

- We don't know when the next invasion might happen, and we should be prepared for it. Although Blue and Jayadeva helped me to prepare a great defensive strategy, we need the crystals to construct the machines and change the structure of the walls. Everybody is working hard, but with our current tempo, we won't be ready even in a couple of months. And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

- I already brought a bunch of crystals to Rishi.

- He and his father are working on completely different things. Will is preparing a group to go to the canyon soon, but even with the crystals from there, we will be able to cover the expenses in siege equipment. We want to have arquebalists and cannons up there, but we need to change the structure of the walls, and that's just... It's pricy. I can show you the plans. I can show you the calculations.

I sighed.

- How much do you need?

- As much as you can bring.

I snorted.

- Do you think I'm some kind of crystal factory? Do you think for me those crystals grow on trees? I have what I have because I work the hardest here.

- I know Peter and trust me. I wouldn't have asked if I could do it myself. Unfortunately, nobody can do the thing you can. Nobody can hunt just like you can.historical

For I moment I even considered selling him Rishi's bear hunting tactic, and just go after a different spot, but in the end, I didn't. It was better when I was in control of that spot.

- Fine, but in exchange, you will get rishi class points. As many as he needs. I don't care if you will need to kick other people from a hunting ground. And tell him they are from me.

- Thank you, Peter. The whole city really appreciates what you are doing for us.

- Yeah, I heard. What the hell that is about?

- Aisha and Will. They are behind it. They want people to respect you, so you won't have an angry mob against you, as you did before. You are pretty damn terrible with people, you know, Peter?

- I've noticed.

- Well... You are doing incredible things for the city, and you deserve a respect for that. That's what I think.

- I never cared for respect.

- I know, but you live in society, and others are not like you. They see you. They won't ignore you, not you. Among us, you are one of the few that can not be ignored, and you can't run from that, so stop trying and embrace it. Use it.

- Exactly - said Amit. - Stop being so stubborn.

- I'm not good with people. I never was.

- At least try. Who knows, maybe you are better than you think? You never know if you won't try - Amit came closer, and patter me on the shoulder.

- I think about it. I guess we are done here... So I'm gonna go, and leave you to your things. Have the worst day ever. Both of you.

Amit just laughed it off.

- We love you too, Peter - was Hatta's response.

I left. They made me think a lot. I was never a social person, but here I changed. I changed a lot, so maybe, just maybe I could also change how I was with people? It was at least worth trying. If it didn't work out, then I could say to their faces: "I told you so".

And if it somehow worked, then maybe I could get rid of some of that pain in my soul.. I decided to give it a shot, but first, I needed to swing by Jayadeva's workshop to talk with Rishi.