"Say that again?" Alex thought he heard wrong so he asked one more time.
Alicia just sighed.
"What is it with men and thinking that they are loved just because a woman slept with them once?" She asked a rhetorical question.
She chuckled again but didn't think her thoughts mattered much. She really didn't like Alex that way. Although she thought he was hot and a good man, she didn't want to be with him forever. Something her mother always told her was to be careful of knowing when she was lusting and when she was loving.
The next days after their night together, she spent analyzing her feelings and came to the conclusion that it was just a moment of lust. He was an attractive man and she was a pent up female, so with him pushing the right buttons, she spread her legs for him.
She would probably do it again for him if the moment was right but she wouldn't want to spend the rest of her life with him. She also thought he was an adventurer, and those people were notorious for never staying in one spot for too long. They were like nomads who always followed monsters and cashed in bounties.
Alex on the other hand was glad and mad at the same time. Glad that she wasn't in love, making it easier for him to leave when the time came, but mad that he was turned down so easily like that. 'Did she just insult me?' That is what he first thought but then shook his head.
She probably just meant it another way but it didn't mean her words didn't hurt. Alicia could see his downcast face and giggled. She reached her hand up to his cheek.
"You aren't in love with me, right? You shouldn't fall for a girl after getting into her pants, it's not good for the heart." She teased him and that managed to bring him out of his short depression.
He grabbed her by the waist and kissed her again. This time he gave her some tongue which she gladly accepted.
"Mmmm~" She moaned into his mouth and let herself be held by him.
If anyone were to see them right now, it would be quite the sight to see. Illuminated by moonlight, Alex leaned over Alicia with their lips connected passionately like a prince taking his lover for the first time.
Alicia eventually pushed him away half-heartedly.
"Stop this is not the time to do that!" She was very red and tried to look angry but she kept smiling.
Alex smirked, "So this is more than a one-time thing?"
Her words made it sound like there would be a next time so he wanted to confirm. She took a shaky deep breath just remembering all the pleasure she felt. She could only imagine how good it will feel the next time they are together.
"Y-yes," She nodded, "but don't think we are lovers. We are just having casual sex."
Alex nodded, "Wouldn't have it any other way."
They were both glad the other had the same thought as them. While they enjoyed each other's company, they didn't want to settle down. They had their own paths in life and unfortunately, those paths didn't cross except for now. In the future, it was unknown if they would see each other again.
"Alright, I need to go, I've already spent too much time here."
Alicia said seriously and dragged Alex out of the showers by the hand. Alex looked at their hands and smiled. It felt good to hold her hand and was quite proud to have her as a friend with benefits.
When they got outside Alicia looked at their hands and let go. When she did she noticed the ring tattoo on Alex's arm since he rolled his sleeves up. She took his hand once again and asked,
"What's this? Is this a ring?" She looked interested but was confused.
This wasn't what she thought rings looked like. Forgetting about Alan's words for a moment, Alex quickly put his sleeves back down and looked around to make sure they were alone.
"Yes but do not tell anyone about this, according to Alan, my ring could cause everyone here to die. I can tell you more about it later if you promise to take this to your grave." Alex whispered seriously.
Alicia could tell how serious he was being so she nodded seriously. She knew he was different than anyone else but just didn't know to the extent. And she believed it even more if Alan said it.
Alex sighed, feeling he just escaped death. To lighten the mood, Alicia changed the subject.
"You're clothes will be done in another 20 minutes or so. Just go to the 2nd door from the left of the office and you'll find the laundry room. Since you are technically working here you should be fine entering there.
"Just ask someone for help if you can't find your clothes."
Alex sighed in relief.
"Thank you. You've done so much for me and we barely know each other still. If it wasn't for you, I'd probably go nuts with all the hate I get."
Alicia furrowed her brow, "What hate? Is someone bullying you?"
'She doesn't know?' Alex thought.
"Have you not heard the rumors going around? They're pretty crazy if you ask me but just about everyone in this building and maybe even the city hates me except for you, Alan, and Emma but I'm still not sure about those two. I haven't met Mrs. Setter yet so I don't know what she thinks of me."
"I haven't heard any rumors." She clenched her fists. "I'll ask my roommate about it to see what they are but they are definitely not true whatever they are. I'm sure you just made a bad impression on everyone so you have to work to change their opinion about you."
With her final thoughts, she nodded and dragged him back into the building. They had been gone for a while and she still had work to do. Right before they entered, Alicia said one more thing.
"I'm off in 3 days, I'm expecting you to be free as well."
She didn't turn to look at him and only went on to finish her duties. Alex thought for a moment before realizing her intentions. He grinned and shook his head before going to get a quick meal.
'Oh shoot, I forgot to ask why she was sent to help me instead of someone else.' Alex thought as he reached the kitchen.
He was unsure why she was sent to help him after they were found out.
When he entered the kitchen, everyone looked to him and glared like normal. He had started getting numb to all the looks.
This time however someone approached him. It was the redhead beauty married to Alan, Sharla.
"Alex right? Can I speak to you for a moment?" She voice was soothing and she smiled brightly.
Alex was taken back at the sudden smile. After all, everyone pretty much glared or looked at him indifferently unless it's Alicia.
"Sure." He responded and Sharla gestures for him to turn around.
The workers watched them leave before going back to work. They stepped into the hall for employees before she led him to a set of couches in the hall.
They sat and she immediately started, "I don't think we've officially met yet by I am Sharla Setter, my husband has complained a lot about you."
She sure didn't mince her words even though she seemed so lovely. Alex sighed and nodded.
"It's nice to meet you, Sharla, I'm Alex. I'm sorry for all the trouble I've caused you."
She chuckled before continuing, "It's fine but you are quite lucky I know healing magic or you probably wouldn't be here today."
"I thank you for that as well, I owe you my life."
"Don't be like that," she commented, "I learned healing magic to help people, not to earn favors. If I did that, I would've moved to the capital long ago."
She rolled her eyes as she mentioned the capital. He was curious about it but it wasn't necessary to know right now.
"We have some time to talk again later but I wanted to tell you that I was the one who asked Alan to let Alicia be your 'helper.'"
Alex was confused but she continued, "If you haven't noticed but she is a shy girl and hasn't made many friends. Although I don't approve of what you two did together during work hours, she seems to have opened up a lot more because of you.
"I'm giving you a chance to pay back some of that debt by being her friend. She needs someone to talk to and she hasn't really connected with her roommates yet. I don't think you are the best choice for her, but she seems to have opened up to you the fastest."
"I planned to be her friend even if she didn't say anything. She is great to have around and has been the only person who hasn't treated me like shit so I will cherish her even after my debt has been paid."
Alex spoke from the heart. Regardless of what others thought of him, as long as they were still friends, he was fine being here.
Sharla smiled at his words. Although she thought it was an exaggeration to think everyone hated him, she nodded at his words.
She apparently hadn't heard the rumors yet either.
"Well, that's all I wanted to say since I could hear you two in the hall earlier," She smiled and Alex cursed how they couldn't seem to hide anything from the people here.
"As long as you behave, you call on her when you need her. She is currently in charge of cleaning the bath areas and the other 'dirty work,' as we like to call it, so you should learn what she does for the time when you will take over."
Alex nodded in agreement. He was originally supposed to clean everything but Alicia ended up getting his job. He still felt guilty about it but he couldn't argue with Sharla or her husband since they were the bosses.
She gave him a quick pat on the shoulder and stood up. Alex followed and went ahead to the Dining area after a quick goodbye to Sharla. After eating he went and grabbed his laundry without an issue.
It was easy to find and his clothes were already on top of one of the many E-stone-powered washer/dryers in the room. He then went back upstairs and removed his clothes to sleep naked. Now that he got a new pair of clothes, he didn't want to get them sweaty while he slept.
He also unconsciously took better care of it since Alicia gave it to him. He fell asleep, dreaming no dreams once again due to exhaustion but could care less.
In the morning, he repeated all the same routines. Morning spar, eat, personal training, eat, more sparing, eat and shower, then sleep. The days felt long with all the training he had to do but the basic weapon mastery skill showed its worth and allowed him to quickly regain the necessary knowledge to bring out his best when it came to a sword.
Over the last few days, he had become more comfortable in his own skin. Originally it felt weird since he had just entered a new body, but now he could confidently say this was his body.
With the same routine day in and day out, the end of the week quickly approached.