The Invitation

"So… what now?"

The voice echoed from Justin, his eyes directly placed on Adonis.

"If Sir Ralyks planned all of this, then surely he would have thought of taking care of the aftermath."

The question was valid, and everyone began to stare at Adonis, though a few cast their gazes on Rey as well, since he too supported Ralyks.

"How exactly are we going to get back to the—?"

Before Justin could utter another word, a massive portal appeared underneath them, causing all nine—ten, if you included the Familiar—to descend into the swirling spatial rift.

~WHUSH!~

In no time at all, their bodies were laid flat within the living room of their quarters.

Astonished expressions filled the Otherworlders as they looked around the familiar setting, all of them pretty much unable to deny the facts any longer.

Sir Ralyks had been in control from the start!

Even in the possible scenario of them losing to the Boss Monster of the Thirteenth Floor, it was now clear that Ralyks would have sent them away from danger.

No one knew how he was able to utilize Spatial Magic in such a way, despite being absent from the scene.

However, they all knew one thing.

"Sir Ralyks really is amazing!"

********

With everyone now in their living quarters, they quickly found out that it was already evening.

Many of the Otherworlders were already sleepy, and others just wanted to rest on a soft, comfy surface—in essence, the beds in their rooms.

Who could blame them?

Even Adonis looked exhausted beyond measure.

"Well… I guess this is the point where we retire to our rooms. I'll see you all tomorrow morning."

Upon saying that, Adonis basically crawled to his room.

He wasn't the only one.

Literally all the Otherworlders had to crawl to their respective rooms—some acting like worms, while others behaving like turtles.

Their hands and legs were pretty much spent, but if they relied on potions to do the work for them, it would essentially render all their hard work useless.

Despite not leveling up, it was a given that they would gain a lot of Stats just from exerting themselves so much.

What they needed right now was rest.

"W-well… this is farewell, Alicia." Rey smiled at her as he began to squirm away like a worm.

He was no exception to the rule, after all.

"W-wait, Rey. There's something… I want to tell you."

Most of the students had already gone to their rooms, except Belle who was just sleeping in the living room.

Adonis had been kind enough to place her on the couch, but no one was going to carry her to her room—especially since no one could enter without her consent.

In any case, the living room was essentially deserted, but Alicia still wouldn't budge.

She looked at Rey intensely as he turned back to look at her face.

"Something you want to tell me?" He asked.

"Yes. It's about… that time… that I went missing."

Her face was clouded with something indescribable, but she still struggled to let those words out.

"I think I'm ready now." Slowly, her complexion turned into a brighter hue, and she smiled a little.

"O-okay…" Rey could only mutter as he looked at Alicia.

He knew she wasn't one to inconvenience anyone. She could have easily postponed it, yet she chose to have it at that exact moment.

The whole thing must have been eating at her inside for too long.

"O-or maybe we can talk about it late—"

"No. I'd like to hear it all now, please." Rey responded, reciprocating her brave smile.

"Thank you, Rey."

The boy simply nodded, and for a moment, the two of them stood still… watching their eyes sparkle as they stared at each other.

"My goodness, get a room already." Belle's voice suddenly woke the both of them from their reverie as she crawled away from her sofa into her room.

She had a frown her face, clicking her tongue as she shut the door in a menacing manner.

"Oof… grumpy much?"

The moment Rey said this, Alicia burst out laughing, and he did the same as well.

"Pffft! Hahaha!"

"Hahaahahaha!"

They were practically the only ones left in the living room, and seeing as their posture was just them laying on the floor, the entire thing felt weird.

"Come on, Rey. Lets go and talk in my room."

"E-eh…?" Rey's brain nearly shut down once he heard those words.

"What? Why do you look so surprised?"

"W-well… I mean…"

"Don't tell me you've never entered a girl's room before." Alicia suddenly gave a slick smile as she narrowed her gaze on Rey.

At that moment, the inner man within Rey didn't want to lose.

He couldn't stand for such humiliation.

"Of course, I have… ahem!" He struggled hard not to say anything more.

"Ohhh? I wonder who the girl is."

Her smug smile, coupled with how she sounded, made Rey regret ever admitting to his actions.

"She's… not important. And it was a while back." He could only spit out.

"Hmmm…"

Rey gulped as her eyes pierced deeper into his own.

He could only hope she bought it.

"Haha! It's fine. I guess I just like pulling your legs so much."

Alicia's grin made Rey feel like a buffoon for getting so worked up like that, though her next statement nearly made him freak out twice as much.

"You know… yours was the first guys' room I ever entered."

"…"

"I know. Surprising, right?"

"…"

"In any case… let's go." Alicia quickly changed topics, doing her best to ward off the awkward tension that was thick in the air.

"… Okay."

Rey's face was beet red as he looked at her. He felt so embarrassed that he wanted to simply cover himself in a blanket and float away.

The situation wouldn't allow it, though.

'My first time in Alicia's room… let's just think about that.' He calmed his mind and soothed his thoughts.

And so, like a lamb led to the slaughter, Rey crawled to the second girl's room he would be visiting.