Clark smiled involuntarily as he drove into the familiar-looking street. This is his home, after staying away for so long there was no way that he would not miss it, home is simply priceless. He was finally back after years of roaming around and training in his military base. The sports car drew a lot of attention from passersby, a lot of people stared at it after being attracted by its sparkling and neat appearance. He already transmitted a message through his implant to his house’s A.I. On arriving, the gate automatically slid open as he smoothly drove inside the compound. They all finally came down, after he parked the car at the parking lot. “The house looks exactly the same as three years ago, technology really makes things more convenient,” he thought in appreciation. “Benny, Leo, welcome to my home. It’s not too big, but it’s better than some other homes”. He finally turned to face his friends, as he officially welcomed them. “Haha!! Clark, what are you saying? The house is completely fine, it’s even better than I expected,” Leo commented with a laugh, as he admired the building. Despite the small talks, they didn’t linger in one place as they quickly entered the house. Clark plopped down directly on the sofa, as he finally felt the strain from the 6 hours speedy journey seeping in. He admired his house again, as, despite no one staying in it for years, it was still neat and without blemish. On the way here, he already ordered food from a local restaurant. So they just relaxed to spend the waiting time, as they were pretty tired from the journey and the hunger. The courier arrived with the food shortly after. He already paid online after ordering it, so the delivery man directly returned after dropping it. The other 2 guys were pretty famished also, as Leo smiled gratefully at him before they wolved down the food together. He fell asleep on the sofa not too long after eating. Leo and Benny relaxed, as they switched on the television. They leisurely selected a channel, as a comedy program started being shown. The comedy program was not too funny in the end, as they also slept shortly after, leaving the television on. ... Clark finally woke up in the night to find both Leo and Benny already asleep on the sofa. He went out to wash his face, before coming back. He decided not to disturb their sleep, as he got a blanket to cover them with. After doing this, he finally took in the surrounding of his familiar house thoroughly. The building's A. I finally welcomed him officially, as it discovered that both of his friends were already asleep. It had a lot of abilities, so nothing in the house could be hidden from its omniscient programmed detection abilities. A. Is were originally designed to not reveal themselves to outsiders and visitors. So that in case of an assault, it can surprise the assaulters by erecting hidden defenses and counter-measures. “Good evening master Clark, welcome back home”. It finally communicated with him, by amplifying its voice through the speakers installed in the house. After the official welcoming, it transferred a bunch of documents to his implant about the expenses for the last 3 years. He simply ignored the notifications that he received, as he was not in the mood to look through what this A. I did for the last 3 years. “I don’t have the time for all that,” he muttered in a contemplative tone with a wave of his hand, as he supported his chin with his left hand.After settling down, he finally started planning where he would take his two companions to tomorrow and a lot of other things. He finally slept in his bedroom, after making some series of decisions for the next day. ... The vestiges of the morning finally started emerging, as the golden rays of the sun shone into the room, brightening the atmosphere. Clark stretched and yawned, before finally standing up to answer the rules of nature. “Woah!! It’s already to 800 am, I think those two guys are already awake”. He was startled on seeing the time, as he silently muttered to himself. “Good morning master”, the A. I greeted, materializing as a robot in the form of a digital projection. He already instructed it last night that it could appear before his friends, so there was no secret spy sudden appearance again. After stretching some more, he went downstairs, where he saw the 2 boys watching another program on the television. “As expected, 2 uncultured pieces of shit,” he cursed on seeing the childish action of his friends. “Ah, Clark you are awake. Good morning, come and join us, this comedian is really funny”. Leo immediately chatted away on seeing Clark, while ignoring the glowering expression on his face. “Are the 2 of you not hungry? You both woke up, instead of cooking, you are here watching a comedy program. What type of childish country bumpkins are these?”. He questioned, with an exaggerated resigned expression on his face. “Chill man, my guy Benny already cooked, we were just waiting for you”. Leo replied, with a stop behaving like a kid expression on his face. “Oh…, if that’s it, let's eat then”. Clark said while feeling slightly awkward and weird. He dryly coughed to hide his burning face, as he quickly stole some glances at the comedian that was performing on the television. He already knew Leo well enough to know his thoughts, but this new Benny was actually the diligent type. To even think of cooking after waking up was impressive in his perspective, as he was sure that neither he nor Leo would do that, instead opting to eat in a restaurant. ... After eating and settling every urgent need, the 3 soldiers finally got ready to go out and spend their day. They went outside on completely brand-new clothes after nicing up. Surprisingly, Benny bought identical clothes and shoes for the 3 of them. Clark offered to pay, but this guy vehemently refused. “I can’t pay for a battle art now, but this is completely within my budget, so chill man”. He fiercely argued with this reasoning. Well, this was saving money for him. So Clark ended it with the typical it's because you're close to me, or I won't allow it tactic. To him, this was not shamelessness, its being flexible. They didn’t take the car as they were prepared to go on a sight-seeing journey around his neighborhood for the whole day. This was kind of like a short vacation to them, and they were prepared to waste it in the way that they liked. After entering the streets, the hallow of being the best student finally started showing for him. They were surprised, as some rich men on luxurious cars frequently stopped to greet and speak with them, after seeing them on the way. Most of these people asked for him to have a photo with their kids. He figured that most of these kids were probably the new fans that he got, he was completely speechless. Not everyone recognized him though. A lot of the people here, especially the poor and average ones didn’t recognize him as they didn’t watch their graduation ceremony.Only the rich fellows recognized him, as they frequently stopped to greet them politely. This was just one of the advantages of being a soldier, the identity alone was enough to propel them into the higher ranks of society. The first place that he took his friends to was a place he went to almost on a daily basis when he was younger, his favorite restaurant, “Eat with delight”. They quickly arrived as he directly led them inside. Leo and Benny naturally complained about how they’ve already eaten, but he easily nullified their complaints. This was his turf. He smiled involuntarily on going in, as he saw the owner of the restaurant at the corner. The aging woman sat at her favorite spot as always. He was surprised as despite it already being 3 years, she still recognized him on sight. “Little Clark, is that you,” the old woman asked with undisguised surprise. His face showed a faint grin as he smiled wider on hearing this, he quickly went forward to give her a hug. “It’s really you. little Clark, you are already this big. How are you? Where have you been? I thought you left this area after your parent’s death”. The old woman immediately bombarded him with questions in a concerned tone.They both quickly ignored the 2 staring dumfounded boys at the side, as he told her about his experiences for the past 3 years. She smiled proudly at him, as she continued listening to his story. This old woman occupied a very special place in his heart, she was kind of his mom in a sense. His parents frequently brought him to eat here when he was smaller, that was when they still stayed mostly at home with him. Though they became cramped with work shortly after gaining promotion, he gained a lot of beautiful memories here. After his parents went on their deployments, he alone started coming back here and slowly developed a bond with the old woman after some time. She took him as her child, as her husband was already dead and she didn’t have any biological child. He grew so fond of her that when his parents started to go for their deployments, he came to stay with her every day. Her food was also very delicious, so he simply ate at her place for free. As he narrated his experiences throughout the years, he felt a feeling of fulfillment fill his heart. When he saw her proud expression after finishing his story, he was even more satisfied.She joked with him a little before congratulating him on his graduation. She finally paid attention to his 2 ignored friends, she greeted them, advised them before serving them free food. She never took money from him for her food since she started taking him as her small kid. Even if he insists on it till forever, she would still remain adamant on her decision. After packaging another food for them as takeaway, she finally sent them on their way with a benevolent smile on her face. Leo complained severely as they left about the reason why they came to a restaurant, but Clark wasn’t even listening to him as his mom’s word of advice still resounded in his mind. Your mom is your pride, she is your crown of protection and guidance. This saying was forever true.