The plan was to spend an hour exploring.
But, due to their long conversation, the incredible amount of fun they were having, and just the reluctance to leave each other… the two ended up spending nearly four hours together.
It was already getting dark at this point, as the evening had aged into night.
Rey walked side by side with Alicia, as they found themselves under the night sky, enjoying the cool ambiance of the world around them.
None of them said anything. They were just soaked in the world around them as they felt the warmth of their hands.
Yes, they were holding hands.
Even Rey didn't know when this started, but they just happened to do so. So far, their activities had included a lot of sightseeing and eating tons of local delicacies.
They didn't taste as good as the Royal Estate meals, but just as Rey noted during his time with Noah, the food in the city had a certain flavor that made it stand out to the senses.
Nonetheless, they had tons of fun.
'Is this a date?' At some point Rey had to ask himself.
He looked at Alicia and observed her smile. She seemed happy—very happy—with him. Didn't that mean that she liked him?
'But what if it's just as a friend and I'm overthinking it?'
If that was the case, then he would ruin their friendship by confessing to her. That had been what was holding him back for so long.
Well, that and his secret as Ralyks.
'I can't keep running from my feelings. I'll confront them once I reveal myself as Ralyks and tell her the truth!'
He was still scared about what her reaction was going to be. However, since he really believed that he had to be honest with the person he really loved… he just had to take the leap and hope for the best.
'I'll tell her about it in private first. Then, I'll reveal it to everyone else…' It would be when Lucielle and Brutus arrived, so he wouldn't have to explain himself again.
Even now, he got goosebumbs about the whole thing.
"Hey, Rey…" Alicia's voice broke him out of his thoughts, and he looked at her with his most attentive face ever.
"Yes?"
"I… well, this was a lot of fun." She muttered, her eyes glistening as she turned to look at him. "I had a lot of fun."
"Me too…"
Somehow, Rey felt like there was a lot more that Alicia wanted to say. He desired to ask, but something told him to hold off and be patient.
And so, he was.
He waited to see what she would tell him, his eyes beaming as it reflected hers.
"To be honest, I was a little worried before. About you, and about… us." Something about how Alicia said he 'us' made Rey's heart nearly skip a beat.
Still, he creased his brows the moment he heard such a dark revelation.
"Worried? Why?"
"Well, is that even a question? You've been acting pretty distant lately. It's like one moment you're here and the next moment you're not."
It was really at that moment that Rey realized just how much of an effect his absence had affected his relationship with Alicia.
"I know this makes me sound needy and stuff. I hate how gross that makes me, which is why I didn't want to say anything for the longest time…" She sighed, shrugging and throwing her hands up.
"I didn't want to say anything before, but then after tonight, this time with you, there's just such a difference that I wonder why you were acting that way before."
Alicia went on to talk about the instances when he acted weird, and when Rey heard some of those things, he wanted to kill himself.
He literally wished the ground would swallow him that very moment.
'I did all of those things? The heck?!' He already knew his duplicate was a poor imitation of him, personality-wise, but this was just next-level bad.
"I know it sounds a bit cringe, but I want us to have more moments like this, you know? Ahh, I hope I'm not ranting too much or anything. I just…"
Alicia paused a little before looking away—at the ground—and then back at Rey.
"… I missed you."
Once Rey heard that, he felt something in his heart tell him two things.
One was that he was such an insensitive idiot for not paying enough attention to Alicia. They were close friends, yet he just left her with a clone of him to deal with business.
That was just next-level despicable.
However, apart from the self-loathing, there was something else that oozed within him. It was impossible to ignore the chemistry in the air that night, and Rey felt like the mood was just perfect.
It was a quiet night, and they now sat at a secluded corner, just the two of them, under the darkness of the sky.
'Should I… go for it?' He saw her moist lips and gulped instantly.
They seemed to call him nearer, and he just couldn't refuse the instinctive act of man.
'What am I doing? I'm going to make her mad! She's going to hate me! She's going to slap me and walk away!'
All those thoughts played over in his mind as he drew closer.
Much to his surprise, though, Alicia also seemed to be drawing closer.
It wasn't just his imagination! Her body arched close to his, and her lips also seemed ready for his own.
'I-is this it? Does this mean…?!'
Rey threw aside all his hesitation and decided to risk it all in this gamble. His heart felt like it would explode at any moment, but he endured and pulled closer.
He didn't even care that this wasn't his real body.
Rey just wanted her.
Then, before he realized it, the distance between both of their faces was near non-existent.
Any moment now, and—
"Oh? Is that you, Rey?" A loudvoice echoed from behind the two of them, instantly halting their motion.
"Alicia too? What are the both of you doing alone here? Without your disguises too."
Both of them already recognized the voice, and as the person drew closer, the mood was instantly ruined.
Rey couldn't help but grit his teeth and sigh.
'Justin… you idiot!'