“Hmm… ah, which is better? I can’t choose…”

Frustrated groans filled the small room as they slipped past the blue-haired man’s lips.

His brows knit together, lips pursed in a slight frown, eyes flicking back and forth between the two roses in his hands—one crimson red, the other pure white.

—At last, Pisces Aphrodite turned to you, his gaze softening as he silently pleaded for your help.

“I have a duel coming up soon,” he sighed. “I have to decide which color of rose I’ll appear with!”

He stepped closer, lifting the white rose first and holding it near his face, studying his reflection with exaggerated seriousness.

“The white one makes my skin look clearer… brighter,” he mused, “almost divine.”

Then he switched to the red rose, twirling it between his fingers, a slow, pleased smile curving his lips.

“But the red—ah,” he sighed softly, “it makes my hair shine so beautifully. Don’t you think it suits me a little too well?”

He glanced back at you, clearly enjoying the dilemma more than he let on.

His childhood friend. A Silver Saint.

You had known each other since the earliest days at the Orphanage of the Eighty-Eight Children. Despite how close you once were, fate had eventually drawn a line between you—Aphrodite rising to the rank of Gold Saint, his overwhelming power making separation inevitable.

And yet… what did that matter now?

After all these years, he stood before you once more—alive, radiant, unchanged in the ways that truly mattered.

He was deeply grateful that you had survived, that you continued to strive toward becoming a Gold Saint yourself. though he never missed the chance to tease you with a smug smile, reminding you that he had beaten you to it.