Reading Between The Lines

"Hmmm…"

As Rey finished listening to the last recording of his classmates, he couldn't help but squirm a bit uncomfortably on his bed.

After all, he had heard some pretty personal things from the girl side of things.

'I should have asked Ater to filter it…'

Rey definitely didn't need to learn about Belle's boob issues and Trisha's thick thighs.

He felt especially bad because he was one of the boys who stared hard at those parts of the girls' bodies, and he now realized how much they disliked it.

'Alicia even called those who do it creeps. She basically called me a creep…'

Rey had never thought of it like that before, but he was now seeing things from a different light.

'On a more serious note, though… I can't believe all of these issues exist with them.'

Rey wasn't just thinking about the girls, but every single one of his classmates.

'It seems they all have issues that I never even thought about before.'

Rey never deeply considered what his classmates felt about being trapped in this new world—unable to return home.

The way it seemed, most people had given up on returning to Earth.

'According to Seraph, we would have died anyway. So what's the point?'

Still, he felt like Alicia was a special case for seeking a way to return home.

'I never expected there to be others. Justin wants to return home, and even Clark wants to do so if he can take his superpower with him…'

There could be a few others among the girls, as well as in his own group, who shared the same sentiment.

'That's important to know.' As he rubbed his chin, a thought came to him.

It was a fleeting one, but it appeared regardless.

"Would I ever get an ability that allows me to cross realities? Is it possible?"

As he mumbled these words, he noticed a slight movement in front of him.

'A-ah, I forgot I wasn't alone.'

Ater was floating right in front of him in his same seated posture. He was waiting for Rey's review of the entire plan. no doubt.

"Good job." Rey said as he set aside his other thoughts for a separate time.

"I can now understand them a lot more… all thanks to you."

It was all due to Ater's actions and thorough planning that he was able to naturally learn a lot more about his teammates, and also ensure they bonded in a sense.

"The plan wasn't completely effective on the girls, unfortunately. Would you like me to try again?"

As Ater brought that topic up, Rey felt his cheeks flush in embarrassment.

Memories of the girls and what they said at the very end of their conversation struck him.

"Which guy are you most interested in at the moment?"

The response the girls gave to that question was forever etched in his mind.

'They're all interested in me? For real?'

Rey didn't think he could believe it.

If it wasn't that Ater recorded it, he would have thought someone was pulling some kind of prank on him.

'Well, maybe the interest they mean is just simple curiosity…'

Rey realized he had stood out in a few ways, so it was possible for the girls to find him interesting. Plus, he was the supposed weakest, so that made him unique in his own way.

'But why would they all give such a unanimous answer?'

They could think of a couple more reasons, and one of them was the influence of a particular girl among the group.

"Belle… she was definitely up to something."

Rey noticed Ater nodding in front of him, but he was too engrossed in his thoughts to properly pay him any mind.

'Did she say my name in order to get on Alicia's mind? Then what of Trisha? She probably meant it innocently. That leaves Alicia…'

Rey's cheeks turned even redder the moment he thought of Alicia.

His racing heart doubled in speed, and he felt like he would have a heart attack just thinking of the possibilities attached to her words.

'To be honest, if they all liked me that way… I don't know what I would do.'

He found Belle to be completely out of the option and entirely disturbing.

'I still think she's just trying to cause trouble with Alicia.'

Seeing that she was the one who asked the question, it was also clear that she did everything on purpose.

Rey didn't even want to think of her in that way at all.

'As for Trisha, I don't know…'

It was still more likely that Trisha was simply curious rather than romantically attracted to him.

'What do I know about romance, though? Haha…'

The one he desperately wished to be true was Alicia's confession.

'I like her, so if she likes me… maybe I can finally confess or something.'

Doing so would mean he would reveal his identity as Ralyks, but Rey didn't think it would make too much of a difference.

'Alicia doesn't like Ralyks too much, sure. But if I explain everything to her, I'm sure she'll understand… right?'

He still wasn't sure, and his heart was pounding abnormally.

'I probably shouldn't think about it too much. At least, not right now.'

It would be stupid for him to try anything during such a pertinent period in their training and growth.

'Maybe after the Raid is over…' Rey had a nervous smile on his face, but his face was lit with some kind of excitement.

'I can't wait!'

"I have a question, Master." Ater interrupted Rey's thoughts, causing the boy to look up.

"Yeah? What is it?"

"You could have easily controlled them to do your bidding and reveal everything about themselves. So why didn't you?"

Ater's concerns about the most efficient route remained, and based on his Beast mindset, it was clear that Rey had chosen the effective method.

"I know what you mean. I could have gotten even more information from them, and I could have also made them get closer without any need for the organic process."

Ater nodded and waited for his Master's reasons.

Rey simply chuckled and shrugged, collapsing his back on the soft bed.

"I still operate under the bounds of my moral restraints, Ater."

Closing both of his eyes, he smiled to himself.

"There are lines I don't cross."