After retrieving his phone from Alysia, Austin found himself busy responding to the numerous messages flooding his inbox.
There were dozens of unread messages, mainly from his dorm mates who seemed genuinely concerned.
When he left for a quick trip outside the previous night, he had only mentioned buying some snacks and would return shortly after.
They wouldn't have expected him to suddenly venture into the old campus, sneak inside the haunted Art Faculty Building One, witness a supernatural showdown between a demon and a ghost, narrowly avoid possession by the ghost, meet his demise at the hands of Alysia, transform into a demon, and finally, wake up in the home of Alysia and Eris.
Now that he thought about it, a lot of stuff really happened yesterday.
Surprisingly, he felt oddly calm and even a bit excited. It was weird, given that his life was on the brink of a major transformation, and such changes, while brimming with fascinating elements, also brought potential dangers.
It was as if his heart had long anticipated this moment.
"Strange... Have I been reading too many fantasy novels lately? Is that why I'm having these kinds of emotions?" Austin mused aloud.
He soon focused his attention on his phone again and began typing his reply.
However, he paused at his actions before promptly going to the group chat consisting of his dormmates. It would be a waste of time replying to their messages one by one.
Soon after his message popped in the group chat, a reply emerged just a few seconds later.
(Discord Moderator) Lester asked impatiently: "Who's this impostor?! Identify yourself!"
"Holy cow! Fatty! It's 7 a.m. in the morning, how could you have already woken up? Did the sun finally rise from the west?" Austin ridiculed.
"Fuck, who's responsible for that nickname next to my name? Miguel, is it your doing?! I swear I won't drop your account MMR by more than two hundred if you admit to it! And you, impostor, how do you know about my habit of waking up late? Did you force Austin to spill the beans after kidnapping him?" (Discord Moderator) Lester said in rage.
(Virgin Casanova) Miguel: "Dare using my account, and I'll break your waifu figures into pieces, fatty! And I didn't set up these ridiculous nicknames, you idiot!"
"Look at this, I've got these silly nicknames too!" he complained.
(Reliable Leader) Harry joined in: "What's with this lively atmosphere? Wait, is it really you, Austin?"
"Yeah, it's me," Austin replied and sent a wave of hand emoji.
(Reliable Leader) Harry asked: Harry asked: "Where have you been? You've been missing for like ten hours or so! We were planning to report your disappearance to the police if you still hadn't shown up in the morning class."
"Sorry for worrying everyone. My cousin contacted me out of the blue, needing help fixing something. By the time I finished, it was already late, and my cousin suggested I stay overnight. That's when I realized my phone had died, and when I attempted to charge it, the electricity went out. It only got restored this dawn." Austin fabricated a story he had prepared in advance.
Although Alysia never explicitly mentioned that he was prohibited from revealing his current whereabouts and situation, excluding the supernatural part, he wasn't foolish enough to disclose the truth to his friends.
Moreover, even if he were to tell them the truth about his staying at Alysia's house, it would be impossible for them to believe him.
After all, from their perspective, he was just an ugly duckling, while Alysia was akin to a proud and beautiful peacock, adored by everyone.
Their habitats were naturally different, like two distinct worlds. Unless a miracle occurred, their paths were unlikely to cross.
Little did they know that such a miracle had actually happened, and the ugly duckling had inadvertently found himself swimming toward the peacock's path.
"A night without electricity in this weather? That sounds like a rough night," (Reliable Leader) Harry commented.
"Your cousin? Is it a beautiful woman? And what are you fixing? It's not a washing machine, is it?" (Discord Moderator) Lester asked quickly.
"It is indeed the washing machine," Austin replied.
"Don't tell me your cousin also got stuck in the washing machine?!"
"Holy shit! Is your surname actually Nostradamus? Otherwise, how could you guess everything correctly? It's almost as if you were right beside me the previous night!" Austin said in a surprised tone. "My cousin did get stuck in the washing machine. My cousin had huge assets, so that's likely the cause of it."
"Big assets? You fucking animal! Go die and rot in hell!" (Discord Moderator) Lester cursed.
He was extremely jealous. He could almost imagine when Austin entered his cousin's house, a feminine voice suddenly ringing out.
"Help me, cousin, I'm stuck."
And then Austin would follow the direction of the voice and be greeted by the sight of a big ass sticking out from the washing machine, wriggling seductively.
Then, in the next minutes, the room would be filled with nothing but moans and groans of pleasure.
The more he imagined the scene, the stronger the flame of jealousy burned inside his heart. In the end, he couldn't resist slamming his fist into his desk and cursing. "Animal. Fucking animal!"
...
Austin almost laughed out loud reading Lester's message. He could already imagine Lester's reaction and even through the screen, he sensed the scent of jealousy, guessing the state Lester was in.
"While we were worried about you all night, you had the audacity to spend a pleasant night with your cousin! Screw you! How dare you throw away our promises like that. We promised to stay virgins until we graduated!"
"Look at Miguel. He's handsome, rich, and obviously has many women willingly lowering their panties for him without asking for anything. Yet, he's still a virgin. That's how a true brother, a Chad should behave," (Discord Moderator) Lester brought out an example.
"Pfft, are you kidding? Fatty, did you actually forget that Miguel stayed a virgin because he had a serious case of ED? If not for that, he probably wouldn't even bother coming back to the dorm and spending time with us lowly mortals. He'd likely prefer building his own love nest and filling it with his endless supply of lovers." Austin said ruthlessly.
"Damn you, Austin! Did I do something to upset you? Why are you accusing me of things I haven't even done yet? Are you trying to start a fight?" (Virgin Casanova) Miguel sent a string of middle-finger emojis.
"Everyone, let's all just calm down, especially you, Lester. Why is your mind always filled with perverted thoughts?" (Reliable Leader) Harry said with a hint of helplessness.
"Me? Perverted thoughts? Are you sure about that? I think the real pervert here is going to be Austin from now on. Not only did he break our promise, but he also had the audacity to put his oily, dirty hands on his cousin! I mean, it's his cousin, for goodness sake! Among us, he's truly the animal here!" (Discord Moderator) Lester couldn't resist taking another jab at Austin.
"Lester, didn't you notice that Austin never specified his cousin's gender? Did it not occur to you that his cousin might be a man instead of a woman?" (Reliable Leader) Harry tried to explain.
"Huh? But he mentioned his cousin having big assets." (Discord Moderator) Lester argued.
"Big assets could mean a lot of things. What if he's referring to his cousin's big muscles?"
"Hmm, there's no way... wait, your words do make sense. Hahahaha, it looks like he was just messing with us. I should've realized this. There's no way Austin could rizz a girl with his looks. Haha, I should've known better!" (Discord Moderator) Lester said with a joyful mood.
Despite Lester's words lacking any explicit profanity this time, Austin felt an even stronger urge to strangle him.
"Wait, so if his cousin is a guy, does that mean Austin's officially gay for fooling around with his male cousin, now?" (Virgin Casanova) Miguel suddenly asked.
Austin's face turned as dark as the bottom of a kettle. He ended up responding with just two words. "Get lost!"
...
"Let's go," Alysia's voice broke Austin from his reverie.
He looked up and instinctively scrutinized the person before him.
From the first time he met Alysia a couple of months ago, she always appeared dressed in light-colored clothes, and he never saw her in darker shades.
He initially thought she avoided such colors because they wouldn't complement her radiant and bubbly demeanor.
However, he now realized that his initial assumption was incorrect because, at the moment, she looked no less charming in her full black attire.
Currently, she wore tight-fitting dark pants that showcased her long, slim legs and perfectly shaped butt.
As for her top, she donned a slightly black blank shirt as the base and paired it with a darker cardigan, accentuating not only her slim waist but also highlighting her excellent bust. The contrast brought out a different side of her style that Austin hadn't noticed before.
Normally, the combination of three dark-colored garments would make anyone appear gloomy and depressed.
However, such a rule didn't apply to Alysia.
Her natural, radiant pink hair shone brightly, erasing any trace of gloominess. Her oceanic blue eyes were vibrant, washing away any remnants of depression.
Around her neckline, there was a tear-shaped necklace in the same blue shade as her eyes, glinting subtly under the sunlight.
When she wore light-colored clothes, combined with her radiant bearing, it created an outstanding sense of a goddess-like aura that was exceptionally bright—so much so that people around her would naturally be overshadowed and repressed.
However, when she wore dark attire, her aura didn't appear overbearing. Instead, it became balanced and comfortable to look at. It just suited her and felt right to the eyes of people.
...
"Do you like how I look right now?" Alysia tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear and smiled shyly.
"If I said I don't, will you go change?" Austin smiled in response.
"Hmph! Of course not! You're not my boyfriend, so why should I listen to your opinion?" Alysia harrumphed and returned to her haughty self.
"Then why are you asking for my opinion in the first place?" Austin replied helplessly.
"You fool! If a woman ever asks you about her appearance, you should only reply with compliments like 'You're gorgeous,' 'You're beautiful no matter what you wear,' etc. Why can't you understand this basic rule?" Alysia chided.
"Yes, yes, ma'am. I'm sorry, I was wrong," Austin admitted, though his eyes still held a smile.
"Your expression irked me. Wipe that smile off your face," Alysia ordered.
"Yes, ma'am," Austin replied obediently and assumed his normal expression.
"Good, now follow me," Alysia turned around.
"Where are we going?" Austin asked.
Alysia replied without stopping her stride. "We're heading to a funeral."