Ray, Alice, and Cecilia walked from one corridor to another to find the location of the dinner being held. After a while, they arrived at the venue where the dinner was taking place.
There were some guards with swords in their sheaths positioned in various corners of the room. High school students from another world were having dinner together with the princess who welcomed their arrival to the other world. They were seen chatting with each other excitedly. Although some people looked at the princess with disdainful eyes because they didn't like her selfish ways, more than half of them didn't hold any grudges against her, which made those who disliked her unable to act due to being outnumbered.
From a distance, Ray understood the situation, but he was more concerned about something else that was far more important. However, he was already too late, as some people there had already eaten food without knowing whether it was safe or not. Ray could only hope that everything he saw was just a dream and wouldn't come true.
Seeing his other friends still alive in front of him made Ray start to consider that all the horrifying memories from that time were just a figment of his imagination.
Jimmy noticed Ray's presence and the arrival of the others at the dinner. Jimmy immediately stopped talking to the princess and others and welcomed Ray.
"Ray, come here," Jimmy said while waving his hand.
Ray suddenly felt embarrassed being the center of attention in the whole room. Some people clicked their tongues in annoyance at Ray's presence. Some others seemed indifferent and unconcerned about Ray's presence. Only the princess, Jimmy, and Jimmy's three friends cared about Ray's presence at that moment.
"That's Ray you were talking about, Jimmy?" the princess asked.
"Yes, Princess, that's Ray I was referring to. He seems a bit better now..." Jimmy replied.
"I see, well then, that's good," the princess said, smiling at Ray.
Ray's feelings were mixed with happiness seeing the princess smile at him. But he also felt like he was the subject of their previous conversation. The thought of what negative things about Jimmy might have told the princess occupied Ray's mind. Ray knew that Jimmy probably wouldn't do something like that to tarnish someone's reputation, but he couldn't shake off that feeling in his mind.
However, behind his mixed feelings, there was one thing that was certain and made him feel relieved. The fact that everyone there was still alive gave him a sense of peace.
Alice was invited to sit with the others, and she followed her friends' suggestion and took a seat.
"Come, Ray, let's have dinner together," the princess said, inviting Ray to join.
Ray smiled, feeling appreciated by someone. But he still felt uncomfortable, thinking that some of his other classmates might not like his presence there.
He wanted to leave and refuse to have dinner together. But doing so would only make him appear arrogant and rude, Ray was sure of that.
A fake smile appeared on Ray's face as he walked towards the empty seat next to Jimmy. At first, Ray hesitated to take the seat, but Jimmy insisted that he sit there after considering a girl who had previously sat there. The girl in question was the one who tried to wake Ray up with Jimmy before Ray passed out.
Ray felt guilty for taking the girl's seat and felt uneasy sitting next to her. The girl was observing Ray, which made him uncomfortable. Ray pretended not to notice her, even though the girl didn't seem angry, the feeling of discomfort continued to linger in Ray's heart.
Jimmy, who was sitting next to him, and the princess, who was in the host's seat, served food in front of Ray with kindness.
Their kindness made Ray feel hurt because he felt guilty. It was because Ray always considered everyone around him to be hypocritical, except for his own sister. But the kindness of Jimmy and the princess made Ray feel happy and guilty at the same time.
I don't actually hate you, Jimmy... Honestly, I was just jealous of you, and I only realized it now.
No... Actually, from the beginning, I knew that
I was just jealous of you...
But that jealousy turned into hatred over time...
Although Ray still didn't fully trust the two of them, this time Ray planned to try to accept their kindness. The incident with Anderson made him want to experience happiness, even if it was just a lie.
Several high school students and the princess were having dinner and discussing many things together. But in the middle of their conversation, the fleeting happiness was shattered by the arrival of someone.
That person had white hair and a face that Ray recognized very well. It was Anderson from his previous memories.
Everyone in the room hadn't had a chance to react to Anderson's sudden arrival. When everyone realized Anderson's presence, one of the princess's personal guards who was always by her side was already dead at Anderson's hands. Anderson easily pierced the guard's chest. With the help of a small flame in his hand, he burned the guard's skin and flesh, piercing through the heart to the front of the guard's chest.
The princess, being the first to react, realized that someone was activating magic around them. The princess, who realized that her guard next to her was dead, was shocked. Her face wrinkled in fear as she said, "Level 2 magic... How can level 2 magic be that powerful... Who are you? Who are you really!?"
The princess and everyone else moved away from the person. Including Ray, who couldn't believe what he was seeing now. Anderson's presence in front of him at that moment made Ray's mind even more confused between confusion and fear.
On the other hand, he knew that there was nothing he could do at the moment because Ray knew that Anderson wasn't alone. But deep down in his heart, he wished that all his memories were just false memories or just a dream.
But reality remained reality, and several other guards who were guarding their dinner suddenly stabbed several high school students from another world, including Jimmy.