The trip was now over, everyone was packing up and getting ready to head back.
"Damon, Where is Seyden? Kari asked. Damon looked at his phone. "I just got some people to send him to the plane. He should be there right now currently."
Kari grabbed her backpack, slinging it over her shoulder.
"I will go off first then. Seyden might feel uncomfortable right now."
Damon nodded, "Okay, Stay safe. I will inform the others that you went off first."
Kari thanked him and she flagged a taxi, asking the driver to go to the airport.
Flashing her card, the employee let her through.
Climbing up the stairs to the plane, Kari entered and saw the familiar interior.
She looked around and spotted Seyden sitting at one of the seats, clutching the phone she had handed him.
Kari smiled and walked up to him.
Hearing footsteps, Seyden look up and his eyes lit up, seeing a familiar person.
"Hey, Seyden!" Kari waved at him as she set down her bag on the floor next to the seat across from him.
"Hello...." He said softly.
"How are you? Are you feeling fine?" Kari asked.
"Yes...Uhm...where are we going?
Kari paused before answering. "To our school. You will be staying there for a while. It's the safest place right now. Most people do not know the existence of your country. So if they find out...who knows what they will do..." Kari muttered, showing a complicated expression.
Seyden stayed silent as his eyes flashed an unknown emotion.
Kari broke the silence. "Well, I came here early to check up on you. Looks like you are fine, I'm gonna go over to the buffet table for a while. I'm quite hungry since I didn't eat anything in the morning. You can do whatever you want, if you need any help, just call out to me mkay?" Kari said before walking in the direction of the buffet table.
____________________________________
Chatters could be heard as Xlec and the boys entered with Amelia following behind, seeing Kari.
Amelia immediately gave a wide smile as she pounced onto her.
Kari almost fell faceplanted as she held onto the sudden heavy weight on her back.
Groaning, "Amelia..." Amelia immediately got off her back and showed a sheepish expression before clinging to Kari's arm.
If Amelia was a cat, you could see her tail just swinging from side to side from the satisfaction of being near Kari, her best friend.
Kari sighed as she dragged Amelia over to her seat and sat down.
She could feel questioning looks from Seyden and she gave him a deadpanned expression that speak out 'Don't ask'.
Seyden sweatdropped as he kept his mouth shut. Feeling a shred of sympathy for Kari who had a very clingy and dependant friend.
____________________________________
When they got back from Dirus, Seyden was immediately snuck secretly to the prince's dorm. Whilst, Kari had gone back to her dorm to ask Shadi about Seyden.
"Shadi." Kari called out as she entered her space room. Shadi turned in her direction and let out a 'hm?'.
"I never heard of the country called Archert." Kari frowned, "Where the hell did he come from?" Shadi kept silent.
He spoke quietly, "Olivia-" He called out using her real name which startled her. "Do you really think everything is still a game? A programmed code?"
Kari furrowed her eyebrows, "Are they not?" Shadi gave a laugh, "Have you not noticed how much you have changed the script? Tell me, the things that are happening right now....did it happen in the game?"
"I-" Kari couldn't let out a sentence. He was right...Nothing was going along the script except for the scripted events...but the things that happen in between?
None of it was happening. Because from the very start, Kari should have been bullying Amelia.
A villain. A villain is a character that always pushes the protagonists to opportunities or a person.
A villain's role is extremely important. And not many people know that. They think of it as a nuisance. When a villain helps them, it was helping them as well. Because it helps build up 'climax'.
Shadi's chuckle brought her out of her thoughts. "I will give you time to think." Kari kept silent as she quietly exited the space room.
Making her way over to her bed, Kari laid down. Her thoughts were a complete mess. 'That's right...I've always been thinking of everything as a character. A code that was programmed.'
Kari felt guilty as she thought of it. But she felt uneasy now.
From the very start, Kari had not adapted to the new world when she was reincarnated. She had been comforted by the fact that she knew what would happen in the future and lived by that.
She wasn't like those other reincarnators who suddenly died and just woke up the next day in a new world, completely fine and ignoring the fact that they had just died.
Tears appeared for the first time in Kari's eyes. She started sobbing quietly. To let out all the things she had been feeling lately.
Maybe tomorrow would be a better day...
==============================
Xlec stared at the big screen in front of him as Damon started typing on his laptop, trying to locate something.
"Found the hacker yet Damon?" Xlec asked. Damon frowned and after a few more seconds start to shake his head. "No...the hacker isn't online. I checked around the Dark Web."
"How about asking the others about them?" Arties suggested. Damon quickly started typing, "I will do it. Hold up.
×After a few more minutes×
Damon sighed in defeat, "No luck.....the hacker hasn't been online for months they said." Kain pursued his lips as he snacked on another potato chip. "Their schedule....how is it?"
"Rather messy, the hacker would rarely appear on the Dark Web. And at most, if they did appear. they would only stay for a day or two. So when we saw them in the act. It was a lucky chance." Damon said.
Xlec sighed, he got up from the sofa he was sitting on.
"Let's resume our search to finding them for now. We have others things on our plate we have to eat up first." Xlec said as he exited the room.
The rest nodded in agreement and they left the room as well.
____________________________________
Kari look in the mirror and groaned. "Ugh..." Her voice is hoarse. "I look like shit...."
Kari washed her face with water and brushed her teeth.
Wearing on her uniform, she slings her bag over her shoulder and put on her shoes.
Making her way over to the Prince's dormitory.
She knocked on their door. Meeting with a sleepy Kain, still in pyjamas and clutching a booster in his hands and rubbing his eyes, yawning.
"Kari...Hah...Good morning...." Kain greeted her sleepily.
Kari greeted him back with a good morning as Kain asked her what she needed.
"I'm here to visit Seyden."
"Oh..ok...follow me." Kain said, bringing Kari in.
Going up the stairs, Kain brought Kari over to one of the doors further down the hallway.
"Here...I'm gonna go back to sleep...do whatever you want." Kain yawned again as he went back to his room.
Kari knocked on the door quietly, receiving no response.
Kari knocked again, achieving the same result. Kari contemplated whether to not enter the room or enter the room and chose the latter.
Slowly pushing the door open, she was met with the sight of Seyden sleeping peacefully on his bed. Kari sighed in relief as she had not woken him up from the knocking.
Walking slowly to Seyden, she stared at him for a while. Kari then saw Seyden's eye start twitching before he blinked multiple times and opened his eyes.
Seyden would have fallen off his bed in shock if it weren't for Kari catching him.
"Sorry for scaring you..." Kari apologised with a sheepish expression on her face.
Seyden flushed a bright red as he recalled the sight before. "It's....ok...." He muttered shyly.
Kari smiled at his shy behaviour, "Aren't you shy?" She teased him.
Seyden turned a brighter colour of red, his face almost representing close to the colour of a tomato.
He turned away, "Can you...uh...wait outside...?"
Kari compiled without a thought.
She waved at him, "See you in the living room!" Before closing the door on him.
Seyden sat alone on his bed, hugging his knees.
"She's...really pretty...and nice...." He said quietly. He shakes himself out of his thoughts.
"I should go get ready...Can't have Kari waiting..." He quickly got off his bed and made his way to the bathroom.
Kari looked through the fridge of the kitchen, before frowning in distaste and going for the freezer instead.
Spotting a popsicle packet, she grinned and took it without hesitation.
Going into the living room, she saw Seyden waiting on the sofa quietly.
Making her way over to him, she sneaked up behind him. Tiptoeing silently, "Rawr!" She bellowed, scaring poor Seyden who fell off the sofa on his hands and feet.
Kari giggled as she went over to help him up.
"You get scared so easily!" She laughed. "Have you had breakfast yet?" She asked, sticking the popsicle in her mouth.
Seyden shakes his head. "Wanna go downtown to eat breakfast then?"
Seyden agreed and Kari brought him out.
"What do you wanna eat?" Kari asked,
"Anything you might wanna eat? Chicken?"
Seyden looks around, "I don't really know anything..."
This was his first time eating foreign food.
"I know a good cafe then! Come on!" Kari grab Seyden's wrist and dragged him to the cafe.
Swinging her legs as she looks at the menu, she glances up to see Seyden looking uneasily at the menu.
"Do you want me to order for you?" She asked.
Seyden nodded.
"Alright, hm, Salty or no? Spicy? Sweet?" She asked, looking through the menu.
"Do you normally have like pancakes for breakfast?" Kari asked, Seyden widened his eyes in surprise.
"Yes...How Do you know?" Kari pursued her lips.
'So Western-style food...I can assume he probably doesn't eat rice for breakfast. It's like earth...'
"I think I can order something you are familiar with then," Kari said as she called out to the waiter.
A plate and a bowl were placed down on the table, the contents inside completely different from each other.
The one that had been placed in front of Seyden had cooked slices of bacon, eggs, butter toast and hash browns. A cup of orange juice was placed next to the plate.
Meanwhile, the bowl that had been placed in front of Kari was simply riced porridge or congee in other words.
It had minced pork and green onions as its toppings.
Seyden looks down in surprise at his breakfast.
It was extremely similar if not almost identical to what he ate.
However, he was foreign to the food that had been placed in front of Kari. 'What was that...? Wet rice?'
Kari caught Seyden staring curiously at her food and she laughed.
"Curious?" She asked with a smile.
Seyden nodded, "What..exactly is it? It looks like wet rice.." Seyden commented before covering his mouth, "Ah! I didn't mean to be rude. It doesn't look like wet rice at all...hahaha....."
He laughed awkwardly, poking the sausage on his plate nervously as he sweated.
Kari waved it off, "It is wet rice! No worries! You didn't offend me or anything!"
She grabbed a spoon and scoop up some, and blew on it before shoving it in her mouth.
She look at Seyden who was still poking the sausage.
"What are you waiting for? Dig in!" She said. Seyden went out of his thoughts and hurriedly nodded.
Eating along with Kari, Seyden felt nostalgic at the familiar taste of the food which reminded him of his homeland.
'But do I really want to go back through...?' He thought bitterly, downcast.
Kari felt the dampened atmosphere from Seyden and didn't ask any questions and remained quiet. 'He must miss his homeland...'
Kari quietly ate with Seyden.