That night, fireworks bloomed, sparkling in different colors. But Amethely doesn't remember most of what happened after she hugged Alum. Her mind was in a haze as she rolled around in her bed.
She'd just changed the beddings earlier today, which usually meant she'd fall asleep basked in the new pleasant scent. However… her heart was racing out of control; arcs filled with jitters made her unrest. She would hug her pillow, turning from one side to the other, sometimes unable to stop kicking her feet, humming melodically all the while.
"Hmm-hmm-hmm-hmm~♪"
He actually hugged me… He did, he did! The love-struck Amethely thought as she squealed, squeezing her pillow tighter.
All she could remember from that night was how firmly he'd held her. His frame was larger; he was sturdy. She remembers resting her cheeks on his subtly muscular chest until they slowly sunk to the ground.
He really does smell nice… she thought when she recalled resting her head on his shoulders while she nestled against his neck.
"Ehe-ehehe-hehe~"
Amethely couldn't help but giggle when all she could think about was their warm embrace—it's making me feel all mushy again, she thought.
She stopped, peeking from her pillow and looking at the ceiling. Her completely flushed face practically glowed in the dark, while her shaky, dazzling eyes couldn't wait for morning to come.
"I hope he's okay…" she murmured before curling up and closing her eyes. "Sigh… I want to see you again…"
..
Three days passed, and Amethely was at her desk, spaced out as she'd just finished all her work. She'd taken care of all her plants, sparred with the paladins earlier, even finished the custom IU core design, and went to the café with Keilyn during the past three days—Amethely was unable to distract herself anymore.
"I wanna see hiiiim! Al, I want to see youuu!" she groaned as her head slumped down on her desk.
Amethely knew it was difficult for them to meet again. She really does. But the fact that he hadn't come to see her once festered her anxiety—and it wasn't like she could freely enter the military base to see Chely or Alum, for that matter.
She'd gone to the park every day the time they met—hoping she'd run into him—only for it to be of no avail.
—Should I ask Sis for help…? She wondered.
…
..
Meanwhile, at the military base, Alum found himself downing paperwork—what could he do? Rigeld called him daily and taught him the ropes because of his ability to process information.
Apparently, unlike the others, he wasn't given a choice to join the military or to be adopted into other families—no, he was to be stationed under the military head command, Rigeld.
"…"
Noticing Alum's glare, Rigeld shrugged.
"Hey, hey, why are you looking at me like that? It was the decision of The Four," he casually remarked.
"And you presumably proposed the idea," Alum replied calmly.
"Aw c'mon, why the complaint? And you get to see Luna every day; how's that bad?"
"…It's not, I'm not complaining," Alum sighed.
"Then what is it?" Rigeld tilted his head, the bird coral bird on his shoulder did the same.
"…"
—I haven't been able to meet Ame… Alum thought.
"Besides, you asked for it—status comes with responsibility, after all, and if you want to climb fast, you gotta work hard, no?" Rigeld grinned playfully.
"…"
"Listen, they all need rest, so we can't test their magical capabilities yet. Still, I'm surprised most of them decided to stay," Rigeld chuckled as he looked at the list.
"I suppose it's due to Noel and Miu's influence, and Emy stays where I stay," Alum stated as he compiled data.
"Well, we do have great things to offer, too," Rigeld chuckled.
When Rigeld mentioned the options to the wanderers, most decided to stay despite having a week to decide. They were then allocated to one of the dorms near beautiful nature. There, they'd also have a whole section to build or decorate.
Of course, the wanderers were skeptical about it at first. But when it was mentioned Luna was the one that offered a part of her section to them, they could somewhat trust her since they knew how she treated Alum. So, while the leaders were still the triad, Noel, Emely, and Oliver, they were officially under Luna.
Previously, they stayed as guests at Boail's company, where four other commanders shared the building—just like how Luna's now platoon shared a building with Chely and three other commanders.
Each commander had a section of the building for their company, which they could customize how they wanted. If a couple wanted to live with one another, they could tear down a wall to make their living space larger. They could even receive permission from the commander to build a private bathroom, kitchen, and whatnot.
Except for the different sections belonging to each company, everything else, like the cafeteria, hygiene area, training ground, bar, and lounges, was shared.
Outside the dorms were other facilities, such as libraries, workshops, and a flea market run by off-duty soldiers in the evening. The base was pretty self-sufficient and was like a small city.
"—Ah! That was such a great idea, hahaha!" Rigeld laughed in satisfaction as he managed to keep the wanderers away from shrewd individuals.
"…" Alum frowned at the sight; he could vaguely guess Rigeld's thoughts.
The only reason Luna suggested it was because Rigeld made the suggestion for her, and she had to agree reluctantly. Apparently, it was because he'd seen how well she taught Alum about their world—in other words, he just found out she was a good teacher.
But that wasn't all. Recruits were also joining straight from the military academy a month later—which should have been enough time for the wanderers to settle in and participate in training along recruit.
Strangely enough, the best teachers around were the ten members of Luna's squad—The Wyvern Squad, which both Luna and Rigeld found out yesterday when the wanderers moved in under the squad's care.
"But I must ask, what made you think you couldn't be with her due to the status difference?" Rigeld teased, grinning playfully as he found Alum's reason for wanting to gain fame intriguing.
"…It's like that in our world."
—and because it's usually that way in Noel's books… he cursed inwardly.
"Well, that's usually the case here too. It may not be written in the laws, but people always have their opinions," Rigeld shrugged. "You may not care what people think about you, but could it be that you care what people think of her? You wouldn't want to drag down her reputation for going out with a nobody, right?"
Rigeld had hit the mark. Alum couldn't care less what people thought of him, but when he learned that relationships sort of had to work—especially with people in her standing. He couldn't afford to be a nobody, even if the social barrier didn't stop them.
"…Why ask when you answer them yourself?" Alum tilted his head.
"If it doesn't work out… it usually is to be forgiven once or twice depending on how far the couple has gone—but she's a saint; there is no such option." Rigeld leaned, casually resting on his palm. "You do realize that you either marry her or face social execution, right? There's still time if you want to back out."
"I know. But that would also be the case if Luna and I went along with your ploys—" Alum remarked. He stopped work and took a cookie.
"…" Taken by surprise, Rigeld froze. "Whatever do you mean?" he feigned ignorance.
"Could you have been less obvious?" Alum replied sarcastically, smiling somewhat smugly at the thought of having shattered Rigeld's plan.
"Sigh… can you blame me?" Rigeld chuckled. "Besides, I wasn't trying to be subtle—I wear my heart on my sleeve!"
As he declared, he turned over the loose pocket on his chest upwards; underneath was a heart print—only for him to sigh afterward as he slumped down on the desk, glancing at Alum like a lost animal.
"I've never seen that girl be so close to someone before," he whimpered.
"…" Alum wasn't falling for it as he blankly stared back.
"…"
"…"
"…Anyways, I didn't think someone like you cared about status—you used to have the money and fame you'd ever wanted, right? But you don't seem bothered about having lost it all."
"Why would I bother when none of it was my own?" Alum's chilly, indifferent voice rang. "It was merely a tool which I later had no use for."
"Is that so? But if the name of the house were here, then all that land, all that money, and all that fame—everything would be easier, right?"
Rigeld's fangs were sharp, jabbing at the fact he'd become a nobody despite the status back in his world. But despite that, it didn't cut through Alum's thick skin.
Alum shifted his gaze casually, looking at the paper in his hands to make sure his work was correct. "Practically, I suppose. But not really," he replied indifferently. "I never cared for any of it—my home is where Emy is. I'll make her comfortable wherever we are."
"…You sure love her," Rigeld smiled warmly.
"I do. I love my friends, too," Alum replied casually.
"Oh? Does that include Luna?" Rigeld inquired teasingly.
"It does."
"Have you told her?"
"No," Alum said, looking up from his work.
"You should," Rigeld suggested as he chuckled.
"…"
"People get happy being told they're loved, you know? I don't think Luna is any different—she'll be happy to hear you treasure your bond."
"…" Alum averted his gaze, his cheeks flushed slightly.
"…" Rigeld blankly stared, bewildered by his reaction.
"…" Alum seemed to shrink.
"Could it be that you've never… Say, have you ever told Emely you love her…?" Rigeld questioned, his eyes widening in astonishment.
"…"
"Well, since we're heading down to my training facility later, you could practice—I am pretty adept in illusion magic—just declare 'I LOVE YOU!!!!!' shout and yell your lungs out!" Rigeld exaggerated with a hand on his chest as if he were singing.
"You can't be serious…" Alum sighed.
"After that, you should be able to tell them you love them effortlessly," Rigeld said, ignoring Alum's comment.
"…"
He's serious!? Alum exclaimed internally.
…
..
That evening, Alum and Rigeld headed underground to his personal training facility; they met Alver exiting the elevator. He nodded toward Alum and saluted with a palm on his heart, bowing toward Rigeld.
"Greetings, Sir Rigeld, Young Man. Are you two heading toward your personalized facility?" he calmly inquired.
"Alver! It's been a while," Rigeld replied, resting his hands on Alver's shoulders. "It's been a while," he grinned.
"It sure has, Sir."
"—Oh, yeah. We're heading toward the facility, but how does the recruitment process look?"
Alver glanced toward Alum. "The Young Man should have summarized and finely compiled the data—it was in our systems since yesterday—I honestly do not know how you manage, Young Man."
"Data is data," Alum replied.
"…" Alver and Rigeld silently glanced at each other and thought—maybe we should hook up the Diloth System to the simulations—then he wouldn't be this arrogant… they considered for a moment as they chuckled inwardly.
"A-Ahem…" Rigeld cleared his throat. "Anyways, I wanted to hear it from you, old friend. So? Which of the students seemed promising?" he asked, stroking his chin.
"…Hmm," Alver mused. "Considering the squads they want to join and the platoons' decision, I would have to say those who exceeded in the theoretical and practical TA and SPC tests above level 4 with grade 3 or above would be a valuable asset, though many who didn't score that high in theory are talented in CC and HH levels 5, averaging grade 4," Alver replied.
"Oh? How many of them?"
"…" Alum and Alver exchanged glances—he hasn't looked, they thought.
Feeling their tired gaze, Rigeld brought up Alum's score on the Tactical Assault and Strategic Planning and Countering.
"Oh—right! Did you know Al here got a perfect score on theoretical TA and SPC levels 5?!" he exclaimed excitedly.
"…" Alum sighed.
"…All grade 5 in level 5?"
Wide-eyed, Alver stared at Alum in astonishment—the tests were notoriously difficult to pass, especially when they reached stage 5, but a perfect score?
"I do not consider it to be fair since the students were on a field simulation—while I do not disregard the impressive achievement of the Young Man, who has only been here for a few days, I presume he took the test inside an illusion simulation? But how did he get a perfect score?"
"Ah-hahaha…!" Rigeld laughed nervously.
"…I see. Did he somehow exploit the processor? Young Man, did you presumably learn from the recruitment data and predict the mob and terrain generation? I must say that it is impressive on its own. But you then abused the processing used for the simulation—it should be impossible to cheat, but you managed to cheat…?" Alver inquired.
"Mm…. got caught," Alum said nonchalantly.
Upon hearing his words, Rigeld froze into a solid statue—Alver had read Rigeld like a book. It was true that studying the data from the recruits' answers would help get a higher score, but… unlike one or two samples. Alum was the one who compiled the answers, which were in the hundredths—if he remembered at least half of it, then he could predict how the simulation would respond to different scenarios.
"Wait… really?" Rigeld uttered, with feigning astonishment.
"It was a predictable result. I would naturally find out how the simulated tests work and use it to my advantage," Alum replied, stunning Alver with his bluntness. "Don't you guys exploit weaknesses?" he asked, tilting his head.
"…" Rigeld averted his gaze from Alver's blank stare.
"Ahem… then… What about CC & HH? The average was level 5 and grade 4—an almost perfect score," Alver noted.
"Oh… we're actually going to do hand-to-hand right now—he should be able to use basic mana spells such as [Mana Armor] and [Mana Reinforce]," Rigeld grinned. "Of course, I'm his opponent!" he laughed.
Alum wasn't amused as he wasn't told this, and Alver could tell despite Alum's unchanged demeanor.
"Oh, and in Combat Cast, he reached level 8 with a grade 4 using elemental manipulation alone—this lad's a monster—imagine if he learned spells! Haha!" Rigeld laughed heartfully. "Although, he might score higher on Combat Cast, hahaha!"
"…"
That's impressive… I can manage level 10 at my age… he's at least 35 years younger than me… Alver thought. Despite looking as if he's in his early 30s, he's a half-elf around the same age as Rigeld—55.
"Oh, my score is—"
"It's 50," Alver stated blankly.
"…" Rigeld sulked, shoulders slumped. "…Aww, you're no fun…" he groaned.
Alver rolled his eyes. "In any case… I have finished work. If possible…"
"—I don't mind," Rigeld replied before he could finish the sentence. "Al, you don't mind Alver tagging along, do you?" he asked.
"I don't," Alum calmly replied, glancing at the resigned Alver, who'd been cut off mid-sentence.
"Thank you…" he said.
…
..
In a quiet, well-lit hall, Alum followed Rigeld and Alver—Rigeld casually spoke to Alver while Alver politely replied nonchalantly to Rigeld's musings.
The hall was made of some kind of white reinforced metal, unlike the wooden walls above the ground. Although he tried not to display discomfort, he remained composed. There were no staff down here. Only cleaning golems appeared now and then.
For an odd reason, they'd follow Alum for a little while and then stop. Rigeld and Alver found it amusing, telling him that the lesser spirits seemed interested in him.
"—Like those in the park?" he quired.
"No," Alver replied calmly. "The ones in the central park are animalistic spirits—the lesser spirits occupying the golems are called lesser spirits because they cannot materialize a body, nor are they fully self-aware," he added as he glanced at a golem that curiously clung to Alum's arm.
"I see."
Alum gave the golem a few pokes before it let go to continue its work. And seeing Alum's reluctance to see his new friend go, Alver chuckled softly.
"Are you curious about spirits?" he asked.
"Mm." Alum nodded. His eyes were that of a curious child.
"Well. Where do I begin?" Alver mused before delivering his explanation. "There are a few categories of spirits, but I will simplify it. Is that alright?"
"Sure, I'll read about them later myself, but an insight from an elder is always appreciated—"
—Cough, cough cough
Alver and Alum glanced at Rigeld, who cleared his throat as if saying, "Is that the case?" with his gesture.
"…"
"Sorry, it went down the wrong pipe," he laughed casually. "What? Go on?" he prompted.
Alum and Alver sighed inwardly, both having no idea why Rigeld was jealous. Thus, Alver explained about lesser spirits and how they are born from natural mana as they slowly gained consciousness.
They leveraged their ability to draw in natural mana by having them host a core, meaning they weren't reliant on replacement cores. The core acted like a womb for the spirits to slowly grow sentient, and the excess mana was used to power the golem. However, once they become sentient enough, they can pilot the golem or leave to grow somewhere else of their own volition.
Thus, they become an elemental spirit from a lesser spirit, depending on which element they resonated with the most.
Elemental spirits were the most common ones; they take different forms, and some are even demigods. But… there are also death spirits—born from resentment of the dead sentient being—mainly mortals.
Unlike normal spirits, these spirits are born with a sense of sentience—they chose to evolve into phantoms or wraiths or other haunting abominations—some materialize into an inorganic being known as a Deathblade—horrifyingly morphed beings with bladed limbs and bodies with the only purpose of an endless hunt.
"A Deathblade?" Alum asked curiously.
"They are one of the most dangerous species out in the wild—they take pleasure in killing and will often watch their prey suffer before ending them," Rigeld added instead of Alver. "You already know that many abominations out there become more intelligent as they eat the brains of other beings? Right? Whose brains do you think the Deathblade eats?" he asked, his tone stern and dark.
"…" Alum didn't need to answer—it was apparent by the way Rigeld and Alver reacted.
Before long, they'd reach Rigeld's personal training facility. Rigeld's dark mood turned more playful as the door opened.
"Al—no holding back today—you're leaning into your strengths, right?" he grinned. "You're not hitting practice targets—but me, hahaha, best of luck."
Lean into his strengths? Alver wondered as his eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Who knows?" Alum replied, masking his reluctance with nonchalance. "I don't need luck," he added.
"Really?" Rigeld raised his eyebrow. "Luck's a pretty good skill to have," he shrugged, teasingly nudging Alver with his elbow. "Don't cha think?"
"Sigh… I suppose," Alver replied.
..
Upon entering the spacious, brightly lit facility, Alum steeled himself. He glanced at Rigeld, who began activating the protective barrier systems—he threw Alum a triangular badge.
"Are you ready?" he asked, grinning.
"Mm," Alum nodded.
He placed the badge on his chest—it snapped onto his uniform like a magnet. It began to calibrate and resonate with the rest of the barrier—pulsating a faint green light until it faded.
Rigeld smirked. "Aren't you picking a practice weapon?" he asked.
"No, I've never used weapons—it'd only hold me back," Alum answered as he adjusted his uniform.
"—It suits you," Rigeld remarked, but Alum couldn't tell if he meant the slightly customized uniform or something else. "Oh, also don't forget to remove the amulet—unless you only want to…" his words trailed off, but Alum could tell what he was getting at.
Naturally, the flow of their conversation confused Alver—unless what? He pondered.
"Alver," Rigeld called out to his old friend.
"Yes?" he replied, his eyes widen a little.
"Kick me with all that you've got."
"…" Alver nodded.
"Al, you can go all out. Don't worry about me—"
—BOOM!
But before Rigeld could finish his explanation, Alver had delivered a powerful kick—in an instant. The chamber pulsed in a soft green light as Rigeld crashed onto a wall on the other side—but surprisingly, there was barely any echo.
"—Haah. It does not look like I had to go all out," Alver scoffed with a blank expression and suppressed a smile.
"…" Alum watched in silence—he wasn't gonna comment.
He could barely tell what happened, but the instance before the kick—he sensed a burst of mana from Alver. Even though it all happened so fast, Rigeld was able to cross-block the kick delivered to his chest.
"OI!" Rigeld exclaimed, exasperated that he'd just been sent flying 100 meters. "AVLER?!" he cried in protest. "YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO DO THAT AFTER THE EXPLANATION! EXPLANATION!" he reiterated.
"You were not specific, Sir."
"…"
"…"
After a short staring contest with Alver, Rigeld turned toward Alum.
"Al, come! Attack me with all that you've got—ah! Don't worry if I retaliate; as you can see, I was fine after that bastard's kick!"
"…"
Without hesitation, Alum removed the amulet and threw it toward Alver. His mana busted as his body was enhanced with newfound strength—he used [Mana Reinforce], the first magic spell he learned.
Surged with power, he dashed toward Rigeld—the latter smiled, and before he knew it—KABOOM!
"Guh…" Alum gasped, blood dripping from his lips as he stared at the floor.
The moment he began closing the distance between him and Rigeld, the latter engulfed himself in flames—illuminating the chamber in an intense coral light before appearing right before him.
"Didn't think you'd just run in like that," Rigeld chuckled with a grin.
Alum didn't even have time to react before he was sent to the ceiling by a punch.
"…"
As he fell toward the floor, he adjusted himself and softly landed—his golden eyes chilled, his surroundings became chilled—frost formed everywhere as the chamber dropped under zero degrees.
"Oh? Ready to take it seriously?" Rigeld inquired playfully as he wiped away Alum's blood stuck on his cheek.
"…" Alum paused. "I am," he affirmed, his eyes glowing a faint blue.
"…" Rigeld smiled—just like in the illusion, he commented inwardly. "Good!" he exclaimed, charging toward him.
The instant Rigeld disappeared, Alum braced himself—BOOM! An explosion of hot coral flames sent him straight into a wall as the barrier pulsated rapidly while the ice shattered, crunching behind his back.
Before Rigeld could reach Alum again, high ice walls emerged—Rigeld burned through them instantly, but Alum was nowhere to be seen—he could be anywhere as it seemed like Alum had made a labyrinth of thick ice with three floors.
"Hmm?" Rigeld mused, stroking his chin—should I play along? He wondered.
Rigeld listened carefully as he heard a skiing sound in the distant corner near the ceiling.
"…"
Mana erupted from his hand. A pink coral flame ball emerged as a concentrated mass of energy, one of his original spells—[Raved Flames]. He threw the flame casually, watching it melt everything in its path for five seconds until it hit the barrier—engulfing half the top layers of Alum's labyrinth, leaving only some parts of it and scorching steam as everything sizzled.
"You alive out there!?" Rigeld yelled, asking playfully.
Alum didn't reply, causing him to wonder what the boy was up to. The boy always has something up his sleeve, and Rigeld knew it better than anyone here. Because, back in the alley incident, Alum had hidden a levitating blade behind his back—but he had the suppression amulet on, which meant it couldn't have been mana-based.
Suddenly, spikes emerged from ice walls as the walls quickly collapsed into him—predictable, Rigeld thought as he melted everything before anything could reach him. But…
—FOSHHH
A massive wave crashed toward him—he quickly covered himself in a burning barrier that evaporated the water rush, but then something strange happened. The water stopped boiling, and the pressure caused the barrier to pulsate rapidly.
Rigeld grinned. "Haha-ha-ha—what a shrewd kid," he laughed lightheartedly.
He was trapped underwater with significant pressure—it was enough for his flames not to evaporate the water outright, only boil it as it was quickly replaced with new 'cool' water.
Meanwhile, as Rigeld mused, Alum gasped as he'd barely dodged [Raved Flames] while hanging right above Rigeld. Alum had tried to collapse all the ice on him as a distraction, but even with the badge, he could feel the heat from the steam get to him.
As he crashed the waves and replaced all the water to buy time—it all suddenly was pushed to the side from an intense burst of winds with Rigeld in the middle—he even sucked all the mist into a ball at the top of his hand—revealing Alum hanging from the ceiling.
The room became engulfed in [Phoenix Flames], and everything evaporated—the lights in the chamber blinked red as all the mist was sucked out.
That's cheating… Alum thought, his consciousness flicked as he slowly fell toward the floor—thuk…
—Thud-thud-thud…
Slowly, Rigeld walked toward Alum, who seemed to have spent his entire mana pool—the headache must be immense, Rigeld mused to himself as he saw Alum struggle to stay conscious.
"You did well—but I already know how capable you are in elemental manipulation," he remarked casually. "Well, in hand-to-hand, I suppose you're weaker than a recruit—but it's nothing we can't work on," he laughed playfully.
"Dammed old man…" Alum cursed under his breath while he clicked his tongue.
"Hey! That hurts~" Rigeld sobbed, wiping the nonexistent tear from the corner of his eye. "But…" his voice turned serious. "What about it? If you use everything you've got to hit me with your fist, I'll give you a day off tomorrow. If you fail, you'll do all my work instead. Of course, I'll not use mana!" he exclaimed.
"Ahem!" Watching from the sidelines, Alver cleared his throat. "Sir! He is not allowed to do 'your' work!" he sternly protested.
"…But there's no fun without any stakes, right~?!" Rigeld retorted.
"Say that when there is a punishment for you if he succeeds!" Alver scolded back, pointing at him.
"There is!" Rigeld pointed to himself. "I'd have to do all that work alone!" he cried.
"…"
"…"
"Just get a secretary already," Alver sighed, facepalming.
But by that time, Alum had managed to get back on his feet—his eyes hazy; his body was heavy like his breaths—almost like he was gasping for air.
"Just… just once… right?" Alum stammered a little, breathing slowly but heavily.
"That's right!" Rigeld grinned confidently—but his eyes widened as he saw a cold smile on Alum's face—he reached his hand toward him, causing him to dodge backward instinctively.
"Bend," Alum uttered sinisterly, almost breathless—his eyes were glowing molten gold.
In that instant, Rigeld felt immense pressure on his body—he'd likely fallen to his knees if it wasn't for the residue from [Mana Reinforce]. He broke free as Alum fell to his knees; his eyes stopped glowing as he lightly coughed blood.
"What the…" Rigeld murmured as he saw the bent metal floor where he stood—the barrier hadn't reacted at all. But suddenly, he froze. "Huh…?" he couldn't move his body at all.
In that instance, Alum jumped, barely reaching Rigeld's chest with his fist before a soft punch landed—only for him to fall on his back—thud…
"I won… our… little bet…" Alum said, panting heavily. "Aha-haha… Luck really is a skill…" he murmured before his consciousness faded into nothingness.
"…"
[Flame Cleanse]—a burst of coral flames engulfed Rigeld. He became able to move again after realizing he'd been poisoned somehow—it was probably the blood Alum spilled on his cheek the first time they collided.
His blood is a neurotoxin…? Rigeld eyes shook, baffled as he didn't sense any danger from it. No… he activated it the exact moment he used his strange powers on me, he thought with a bemused smile.
"I suppose he's free tomorrow," Alver chuckled.
"…"
Rigeld was stunned—he'd momentarily forgotten since he was so impressed.
..
Not long after the spar, Alum regained consciousness; as he blinked a few times, he saw Rigeld's face and realized he was sleeping on his lap.
"…"
"Oh? You're awake," Rigeld greeted him casually as he put down the book in his hands. "Hey? What's with that face? What? Wished it was a beautiful girl instead?" he teased while grinning smugly.
"I wasn't thinking that," Alum replied as he got up—he was sore all over, and his body was practically burning as he felt the scorching heat at every pulse of his heart.
"Aww~ Really? I'd call Luna next time if you said yes—oh well," he shrugged.
"…"
"Anyways, it's time for the "I LOVE YOU!" practice," Rigeld casually mentioned.
"…" Alum froze on the spot.
—He was serious…? He exasperated inwardly.
…
..
Afterward, Alum stumbled forward with hazy eyes in the hallways, sighing. His throat was sore, and his face was slightly flushed from embarrassment—even those walking by seemed surprised.
But as he reached the Wyvern section, everything became increasingly quiet. Everyone had presumably gone to sleep as it was a long day. He eventually reached the section allocated to them—The Wanderers.
However… a cross-armed figure stood by his door—it was Chely. She wore a more casual outfit than the full armor he usually saw her in. What he meant was—Chely was more feminine than usual.
While she was gracefully pretty before—but now, even Alum found her cute. Which honestly confused him a little.
"Hey, what took you so long?" Chely called out to him. "And why are you staring?" she added.
Alum paused. "You look cute," he remarked bluntly.
Surprised, Chely giggled softly, gesturing a 'shh' with a finger on her lips. "Say that to Ame instead," she teased.
"…I'll try," he replied, his voice still slightly raspy from all the shouting.
"Nn!" she nodded as if satisfied with the answer.
Alum shuddered. Chely was like an entirely different person from the last time they met—but it did make sense considering Amethely was her younger sister. However, their personalities couldn't have been more different.
"But Little Al, you seem exhausted—want me to pamper you?"
"…" Alum was baffled—Little Al? He frowned slightly.
If Rigeld was nudging him toward Luna and acted like an uncle—then Chely was essentially his older sister now… and from what Rigeld had told him, she was unexpectedly the doting type. So… that made him 'the cute little brother' in her eyes.
"I have caramels. By the way, Ame made them, so can I come in to talk—"
"Why, welcome to my modest abode," Alum instantly replied as Chely showed him a bag of caramels.
Huh…? Chely froze on the spot—is it that easy…? She wondered.
Initially, she was reluctant to accept that Amethely liked him—but when Amethely told her about the heart-melting embrace they shared, she, too, melted as it ignited the flame of support for them.
As the door slid open, they were presented with a dark room. But as the lights illuminated the room in a soft, warm hue, a boy with platinum blond hair casually slept on the comfortable armchair, looking cozy.
On the bed was a girl with silver-black hair, sleeping soundly. She cuddled the only pillow, and there was another girl with soft, snow-like white hair cuddling her. There was yet another girl, but this one had jet-black hair and was Alum's cousin—Emely, snuggly asleep on the other armchair.
"…" Chely had no idea what she was witnessing.
"…" Alum, on the other hand, also questioned what it was that he walked in on. "I… Mm," he checked. "It is my room…"
"…It is, isn't it?" Chely sighed.
Alum also sighed, convincing Chely that he had no clue about this—not only were Luna and Miu sleeping comfortably on his bed—but so were Noel and Emely.
Chely clenched her fists—I'm upset for some reason, she thought as she stared coldly at Noel—who'd been alone with three beautiful women in a room.
Alum turned a blind eye, pretending he didn't notice her apparent but internal cold rage—but he was glad it wasn't only the girls in his room—thanks Noel… he thanked his best friend internally.