The training concluded around noon by 12:45. Demien took off his training bib and cleaned the sweat dripping down his forehead. His legs were dead but in a good way. Six straight days training with Luca had been brutal—way harder than anything they’d thrown at him in Milan.
A chime went off in his head.
「Total Earned: 95 TP」
「Current Balance: 130 TP, 3 SP, 0 MP」
He dismissed the floating text and reached for his water bottle. Across the pitch, Coach Rizzo was already gathering up cones.
"Good work this week." Rizzo didn’t look up from the equipment bag. "I think both of you ready."
Luca had laid on the ground, still trying to catch his breath. "Thanks, Coach."
The walk back felt longer than usual. The Sun was beating down, and the was heat coming up from the grass. Demien had finished his water in three long gulps.
"Bathroom," he said. "Where’s the closest one?"
"When you go upstairs, the second door on the left is the restroom," Luca said, waving toward the house. "I’ll grab drinks and meet you in the living room."
Demien started jogging. When he stepped inside, the blast of air conditioning hit him so hard it felt electric after the heat; he flew up the steps two at a time.
Second door on the left. Easy. He counted them off as he walked down the hall. One, two. grabbed the handle and pushed through.
There was a girl standing behind the bed, her back to him. She had a bag open and was removing clothes from it. She turned around.
For a second, neither of them moved.
"Oh my god, sorry!" Demien moved backward, his hands were frozen on the doorknob.
Demien watched her blink. Then her face let go, turning into a smile. "It’s fine. You’re Demien, right?"
"Uh. Yeah?" His voice felt tight. "How’d you—"
"Luca brought you up this morning." She moved some dark hair behind her ear. *"I’m Sofia. His sister."*
"Oh. Right." Heat crept up his neck. "I was trying to find the bathroom."
"Third door down." She pointed past him, still smiling. "Happens all the time."
"Yeah. Sorry. My bad." He backed out fast and pulled the door shut maybe a little too loud.
The bathroom was exactly where she said. He locked the door and splashed cold water on his face. In the mirror, his cheeks were fire-engine red. Great.
Downstairs, Luca had two juices on the counter.
"What took so long?" Luca asked. "Get lost or something?"
"Nah. Just needed a minute."
Luca looked at him weird. "Why’s your face all red?"
"We’ve been training in the heat for a week straight. You never look like that."
"I’m good." Demien grabbed a bottle and chugged half of it without stopping.
Luca looked like he wanted to say something else, but Coach Rizzo called him over. Something about Monday’s plans. Demien used the chance to drop onto the couch way across the room.
Maybe twenty minutes passed. He heard footsteps. Sofia came down in a totally different outfit—a white sundress, hair done. She looked ready for something, not like she just finished unpacking.
"Luca." She walked into the living room. *"You never told me your friend was here all week."*
Luca didn’t look up from his phone. "I told you like three times."
"Must’ve spaced out." She turned and looked right at Demien. "Anyway. Nice to actually meet you. You know, without me being walked in on."
The heat came back to Demien’s face right away. "Yeah. About that—"
"Don’t worry about it." She dropped into the chair across from them. *"So Luca said you guys have a trial Monday?"
"Atalanta." Luca put his phone down. "Two week trial. U23 team."
"Wow, that’s really good." Her smile seemed real. "Glad you’re finally doing it."
"Sofia models," Luca said for no reason. "Owns a clothing line, too."
Sofia’s eyebrow went up. "Actually, we met already. Upstairs."
Luca’s head snapped toward Demien. "What?"
"I opened her door by mistake," Demien said fast. "Thought it was the bathroom."
*"That’s why you came down looking like a tomato,"* Luca said.
Demien wanted to sink into the couch. "Can we just—"
"He apologized about five times," Sofia cut in. Her voice had this playful sound. "Very polite about the whole thing."
They talked for a few more minutes. The trial, what would happen, how the team worked. Sofia asked questions that actually made sense—like she’d looked stuff up or something. Wasn’t just being fake nice for Luca.
Finally, Demien stood up. "I should probably take off."
Sofia walked with them to the door. The golf cart was waiting outside.
"Good luck on Monday,"* she called out.
"Thanks." Demien turned to wave fast and immediately hooked his foot on the cart’s step. He stumbled forward and barely grabbed the frame.
Sofia burst out laughing. *"Careful!"*
His ears were on fire. He climbed into the passenger seat and kept his eyes forward as the driver pulled away.
Back at the entrance, Sofia was still leaning against the doorframe. Luca stood next to her, arms crossed.
"Your friend’s cute," she said.
Luca stared at her. "What’s wrong with you today?"
"Nothing." She pushed off the wall and headed back inside. "Just saying."
Luca’s driver dropped Demien off at his apartment building. He went inside and saw his mom in the kitchen.
"How was training?" Isabella asked as Demien walked through the door.
"Good." He dropped his bag. His legs had that deep, satisfying ache. "Really good."
She looked at his face while stirring the sauce. "Food will be ready in thirty-five minutes. Go get cleaned up."
"Okay, Mom." He went to his room and took a quick shower.
They ate in comfortable quiet. The pasta was perfect, the way his mother always made it. Demien cleaned his plate, then helped wash the dishes without being asked.
After dinner, he went to his room and shut the door. The apartment was quiet now, just the faint sound of the television from the living room.
*"UG,"* he said low. *"I’m ready."*
The system panel flickered into view.
「Welcome back. You’ve completed today’s training task. Would you like to review your progress?」 ᴛhis chapter is ᴜpdated by 𝘯𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭⚫𝘧𝘪𝘳𝘦⚫𝘯𝘦𝘵
"I want to open a pack. Show me what I can afford."
「Current Balance: 130 TP | 3 SP | 0 MP」
「Available Packs: Bronze Pack - 100 TP (Can afford) Silver Pack - 200 TP (Cannot afford)」
Then UG chimed in: 「Completion bonus activated.」
Demien felt a surge of hope. A bonus for the whole week of training?
「Correct. You’ve earned a training completion bonus.」
「BONUS GRANTED: 100 TP」 「New Balance: 230 TP | 3 SP | 0 MP」
"Now we’re talking." Demien sat on his bed. *"Open Bronze Pack."*