Earth, Seventh Universe of the Greater Realm
Night had fallen.
The sky was dark and dim, and the vast mountains and wilderness lay in complete silence.
Yamiru's figure appeared soundlessly. He took a slow, deep breath and exhaled, smiling as he thought to himself—Earth's air truly smelled fresh and familiar.
"The Shenron is already gone… Well, that makes sense. Strictly speaking, it was the Dragon God who granted my wish this time…"
Turning his head, he found himself standing outside the Capsule House—the exact place where he and Tights had summoned… or rather, "served up" the Shenron and made their wishes.
Nodding slightly, he thought, "I returned from the Earth Island in the Spiritual Realm to the corresponding location in the Greater Realm's Earth—down to the exact spot."
The lights in the Capsule House's windows were still on.
"Tights must have been waiting for a long time…"
He walked up to the repaired door, swiped his keycard, and stepped inside.
The indoor temperature, humidity, and cleanliness were all at a perfectly comfortable level, making Yamiru feel a bit more at ease. However, the spacious living room was empty—Tights wasn't on the couch. Instead, her manuscript papers and pen lay scattered on the coffee table, along with a messy blanket. At a glance, he could tell she had been waiting for him for a long time, only to doze off and eventually head to the bedroom to sleep.
Sure enough, activating his Golden Gaze, Yamiru saw Tights fast asleep in the bedroom.
He didn't knock on the bedroom door. Instead, he headed to the kitchen and touched the pot—it was still warm. Lifting the lid, he was immediately greeted by the rich aroma of rice and cooked dishes.
A sticky note was attached to the pot:
"Eat first, then wake me up right away. I need to know you're okay. Love you."
Smiling slightly, Yamiru peeled off the note.
After being dragged into the Dragon Realm and then getting into a lengthy debate with the old Dragon God in the Spiritual Realm, he was, unsurprisingly, quite hungry. So, he sat down and helped himself to the meal Tights had left for him.
It seemed the Dragon God had long since transcended the concept of "eating" and, in his excitement, completely overlooked the fact that Yamiru, a mere human, still needed food. On top of that, given the dietary habits of Namekians, it appeared that dragons could survive solely on sunlight and water, without ever needing to consume grains or regular food.
Since he was eating alone, Yamiru didn't bother with table manners—he just dug in right there in the kitchen, swiftly finishing everything and cleaning out the pot.
After washing and putting away the dishes, he walked up to the bedroom door and knocked—tok tok tok, tok tok tok—neither too light nor too heavy.
When focusing his attention, an expert like Yamiru could sharpen his five senses dramatically—just as they could perceive motion too fast for normal eyes, their hearing was also far beyond ordinary people. Even through the well-insulated bedroom door, he heard the faint rustling of the blanket shifting.
Tights was still half-asleep at first. Then, suddenly—thump!
Yamiru could picture it perfectly in his mind—Tights' eyes snapping wide open as she realized who was knocking. Sure enough, this was followed by a rapid series of sounds—blanket being thrown aside, bare feet hitting the floor, and hurried steps rushing toward the door.
Even without mastering Ki perception, Yamiru's heightened senses allowed him to piece together what was happening inside the room just from sound alone.
Hearing with his ears and mentally reconstructing the scene… Was that really so different from directly sensing it through Ki?
A slight doubt crossed his mind.
Could it be that warriors like Freeza and other powerful cosmic fighters had such exceptional eyesight and motion-tracking abilities that they never developed Ki sensing techniques?
Yet, when one focused intently, their vision and hearing naturally sharpened…
As he pondered, the bedroom door opened.
Tights, her golden hair a mess, immediately threw her arms around Yamiru.
He held her as he stepped inside, nudging the door shut with his foot.
"Sorry for worrying you," Yamiru murmured near her ear. "I finished the food—it was delicious."
Tights buried her head against him and nodded. After a moment, she finally let go and smiled. "Actually, after you disappeared, the Shenron told me where you went. But I was still really worried…"
"The Shenron… Oh, you mean Dorag," Yamiru said in realization.
"Dorag?" Tights looked puzzled.
"Wait a moment, I'll explain everything to you." Yamiru chuckled. "But now I'm sure—the emotions I sensed might have been real... So, did Shenron just disappear afterward?"
Tights tilted her head, smiling in puzzlement, and shook her head. "No. I originally planned to wait for you, but Shenron seemed to notice and directly told me that you might not return for a while. So, it gave me the option to make another wish or let it leave immediately. If I let it leave right away, the Dragon Balls wouldn't lose their power for a whole year, and I could use them again as soon as they were gathered."
"So, you just let it leave?" Yamiru asked. He understood that his wish in the Spiritual Realm had already been granted directly by the Dragon God. However, in accordance with the usual process, Shenron—remotely controlled by Dorag from the Dragon Realm—could only leave after fulfilling a wish or receiving an order from the summoner.
"I was going to, since I didn't really have anything I wanted to wish for." Tights giggled. "But in the end, I did make a wish, and then the Dragon Balls scattered across the world… If I want to use them again, I'll have to collect them one by one." She stuck out her tongue. "I don't have your skills—jumping into the sky to catch them or trapping all seven Dragon Balls under a rice cooker…" Remembering Yamiru's past antics, she couldn't help but laugh.
"That's no problem. It's not like the Dragon Balls belong to me." Yamiru shrugged. Besides, he had no other wishes he wanted to make. He asked curiously, "Since you didn't have any wishes, what did you end up wishing for?"
Tights pushed him playfully and laughed. "I'll tell you after you take a bath. Go on."
"I already showered earlier today…" Yamiru grumbled, pretending to complain.
Tights pushed him again, coaxing, "Come on, just go take another one. Then I'll tell you. It's time to rest."
With no other choice, Yamiru complied.
After freshening up, he wrapped himself in a towel, jumped onto the bed, and hugged Tights.
"There, now I smell nice and fresh." Yamiru said.
Tights turned around in his embrace, facing him. Yamiru asked again about her wish, but she simply buried her face and chuckled to herself.
Seeing his usually bold girlfriend act so shy only made Yamiru even more curious. He lowered his voice and pressed her for an answer.
Realizing she couldn't escape, Tights finally leaned in and whispered into his ear.
"..." Yamiru was stunned. "You could wish for that? And it actually worked?"
"No making fun of me!" Tights quickly covered his mouth, trying to look fierce, but eventually admitted, "Yeah… it worked."
Yamiru took her hand and kissed it gently. "Why would I laugh at you? But… are you ready for that?"
Tights shook her head. "Not right now. But someday, probably? I do think about the future from time to time…"
They embraced, lost in each other's warmth, and the night passed in quiet intimacy.
The next morning.
After finishing his morning training, Yamiru felt both physically and mentally refreshed as he sat down for breakfast with Tights.
"So you said the Dragon God ultimately created the Spiritual Realm," Tights asked curiously. "What's it like? Does it match everything you described?"
"For the most part, yeah."
Yamiru nodded and sighed. "But there's an extra addition… It's a real headache."
Tights was intrigued. Yamiru told her she would understand once he took her there after breakfast.
That was all the motivation she needed to start eating faster.