"This is nice," Aaron commented as he casually put his feet up on the table. Everyone in the room was puzzled by how calm he remained despite the chaotic circumstances.
"You're the disaster, aren't you?" the guy with owl-like features said. Aaron didn't bother learning his name and simply referred to him as "Sparrow guy."
Clearly not fond of the guy's attitude, Aaron smiled and replied, "Me, the disaster? Well, if I were the disaster, you would all probably be dead by now, thanks to a Jamato."
"What makes you so confident that you won't get voted out?" Sae asked, visibly annoyed by his behavior. She was determined not to let him walk all over her anymore.
"Just a gut feeling," Aaron replied nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. "Although Mitsume told me to stop relying on that," he added, remembering Mitsume's advice.
Suddenly, Aaron felt himself being grabbed and lifted up. He lazily looked down to see Ace gripping his collar tightly.
"How do you know that name?" Ace demanded, his hold on Aaron's collar tightening.
"She's great at cooking and used to keep my bed warm," Aaron replied, smirking at Ace.
Ace's grip tightened further as Aaron continued to smile down at him. "You're starting to piss me off," Ace growled, his grip now constricting Aaron's throat.
Aaron felt the grip on his collar tightens as he just smile looking down at the boy that was currently holding him.
Most of the people in the room were confused by the sudden altercation, witnessing Ace's anger for the first time. Some were surprised by Aaron's carefree attitude, while others were shocked by Ace's outburst. The navigator, on the other hand, was stunned by Aaron's mention of Mitsume.
What was happening right now, some of the sponsors were very entertained by what was happening while some others were curious about him.
In the midst of the chaos, Keiwa intervened and managed to make Ace release Aaron's throat, though Ace still seemed ready to break it.
"Ace stop this you are hurting him," Keiwa said getting in between the two of them.
Laughing, Aaron held his throat and taunted Ace, "This brings back memories of how I used to hold her neck—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Ace punched him in the face. Aaron took the blow and started giggling. Looking back up at Ace, who was now seething with anger, Aaron provocatively said, "Did I hit a sweet spot for you, Star-sama?"
Aaron's words insinuating a relationship with Ace's mother caused a surge of rage in Ace, bringing him dangerously close to transforming.
That wasn't truly Aaron's fault as to him the possibility of Ace and that lady being related are near if not close to zero, as that would either mean that Ace is actually very old or he is somehow reincarnating which to him would be plausible as he had seen worst scenarios.
Time skip
The room was divided, with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. However, Aaron managed to draw a line on the girl's side, claiming that it was unfair for the girls to have half the room when there were only two of them, while there were four boys.
Leaving the room, Aaron strolled through the hallway, his hands in his pockets. The facility was vast, with numerous doors waiting to be explored.
After five minutes of exploring, he found the exit. As he reached for the door handle, Tsumuri's hand stopped him. He turned around to see her standing there.
"You're not allowed to leave the facility," Tsumuri stated firmly.
"I'm not leaving, I just won't be here," Aaron replied with a smile, but Tsumuri gave him a deadpan look.
"Come on, I just need to go buy a Pepsi and something to eat. I'm starving," Aaron pleaded, looking at her with hopeful eyes.
"We have vending machines here," she said bluntly.
"Oh, right, the vending machines. How could I forget? But I don't have any money," Aaron said, scratching the back of his head.
"How were you planning to buy anything outside if you don't have any cash?" she asked, her tone devoid of emotion.
"I didn't think that far ahead," Aaron admitted,
still scratching his head.
Time skip
"Thank you for that," Aaron said, bowing politely to Tsumuri after she used the vending machine to buy him something to eat.
She didn't respond, just nodded politely before walking away. Aaron looked at the food in his hands and started eating. In less than a minute, he devoured everything and washed it down with a drink—either Coca-Cola or Pepsi would do.