《My Bothersome Life》


 -1 One day Celebration

    I woke up from the bright sunlight creeping into my room as I saw I didn''t have a lot of time left before my first class.


    I quickly changed into my uniform so I could go get breakfast. It was scary whenever I slept in because Luke would just drag me to the classroom and give me a bar of chocolate to survive on until lunch.


    I went to the cafeteria to order a big meal where I saw a limited edition menu pop up. Strangely there was two options: a western turkey, mashed potato and pasta combo or asian noodles, acorn pudding and spice combo.


    Was this what I thought it was?


    These were the food that I ate for thanksgiving in my past life! I was surprised that this holiday was still applicable here where I had no vacation whatsoever!


    I ordered the western combo as the aroma of the food just drifted into the air. The bountiful food in front of me was just enchanting as I took a deep breath as I absorbed the scene.


    "Wow Rika how are you going to finish all this food in time for class?" Shelly came up to me and asked.


    "How much time is left before class?"


    "Five minutes."


    Huk! I choked on my food while thinking how I was going to finish all this in a short period of time.


    Wait. Did I even need to finish this? There was never a rule in school that doesn''t officially allow to not eat in class. As long as Luke doesn''t notice I''ll be fine, won''t I?


    "Shelly! Do you have some containers and utensils with you?"


    "Umm. I think I have them in my storage box. I''ll give them to you right now."


    A storage box was a high class item that someone could store items in where the state of the item wouldn''t change. The size of the storage box depended on the amount of mana you possessed and it was really convenient to carry around.


    Once Shelly passed me the containers that were made out of pure crystal and gold utensils, I put my food inside and stored it in my own storage box.


    "Let''s go to class now!"


    Shelly looked at me like ''are you sure Luke won''t figure out?''


    I glanced back, ''I''m a pretty good actor."


    Shelly oddly smiled back as she looked like she wasn''t convinced.


    We headed towards the classroom together with thankfully not meeting Luke along the way. We sat down on our seats as class soon started.


    Twenty minutes later:


    I was feeling really hungry because I barely had a bit of my breakfast. I pulled out the food from my storage box and got out the utensils to start eating.


    Maybe it was because of the smell, but everyone looked toward me when I pulled off the lid to start eating.


    "Rika, you know it''s class time right?" The math teacher asked.


    "Yes, but there was no rule in the school handbook that a student couldn''t eat in class." I replied back.


    I guess they never considered to put that rule in the handbook because this school could never imagine their students from mostly the finest households to not have ''proper'' manners ingrained into them.


    During class, I managed to finish eat the western thanksgiving combo while taking notes. It was easy to pretend not to notice the interesting looks around me with the applause of my multitasking skills and concentration.


    Once the first set of classes were over, Luke angrily approached me with a grim expression.


    "Really Rika! You''re really do the most unexpected things don''t you?"


    "I''m not so sure about that, I was really hungry so I did whatever I needed in order to survive and I knew I wouldn''t be able to survive with a mere chocolate bar."


    I knew this was going to happen but this was way to harsh! Luke demanded that I handed over my share of the points and said that he''ll buy my meals for me instead.


    Sob. Luke and I had very different tastes so this would be a torture until his anger dissipated.


    I started to brainwash myself that my life was going to get better after this!


    I am thankful I have a roof over my head.


    I am thankful I have good friends.


    I am thankful I have a good family.

 1 It seems that even God makes mistakes

    A young girl with chestnut brown hair wearing her nice ironed high school uniform walks towards the subway station in the gaze of the warm purple sky to get back home in time for dinner. She was thinking of which anime to watch when she gets home, as she remembers that a new episode of "Shokugeki no soma" has come out that day. Suddenly, she sees a young child wearing a beige polo T-shirt with soft blue shorts tripping towards the steep stairs. On the impulse, the school girl grabs the young boy and clings onto his body as they both slowly fall towards the ground. And then she blanked out with the sounds of, "Call the ambulance!" and "Is she dead?"


    I regained my consciousness in an empty white room. The first thing that came into my mind was: Is this what people call heaven? It didn''t seem like this room had an end to it, as it seemed to run infinitely in whatever direction I looked in. Suddenly, a man in about his twenties promptly appeared in front of my eyes. "Hello, I am guessing you must be very confused right now," said the man who was wearing a suit dressed in white.


    "More like, I was sure I died just a moment ago," I replied simply.


    The man made a strained smile as he was thinking what he should say. In a way, he looked pitiful as he had an expression like he was a salaryman just doing his job. After a minute, he suddenly bowed down. "I''m sorry, I didn''t mean to kill you. It was just that I was overworked lately by my superior and I just wanted some time to relax and vent my stress out," he confessed.


    Looking at my confused expression he added, "Oh, I''m this being that you human beings call God. I guess this explanation isn''t helping as your expression just looks more confused. You see: this realm has an hierarchy that manages the souls of human beings. Currently, I''m near the bottom of the hierarchy, as I am forced to do most of the work. So, it isn''t strange that I would play my favourite video games from the human realm when I finally got a day off yesterday."


    My expression got darker, as I started to feel that I didn''t want to know what happened afterwards. God continued, "So, I was snacking on a bowl of potato chips, you know that whenever you play video games, you must have potato chips."


    "Uh huh, and- ", I responded grimly.


    "So, while, I was snacking, I accidently dropped one potato chip into the human realm where the child tripped over the potato chip onto a den of steep stairs. You died while absorbing the shock of the fall while protecting the boy." He exclaimed in a panic.


    "So, what happens next?" I asked not expecting a proper answer.


    By then, I pretty much wasn''t expecting anything from the person who caused my death by accidentally spilling a potato chip into the human realm, however God suddenly laid out many cards in front of me. I was assuming these pictures on those cards would contain the ability I may get to use in the next world. "Since, I''m a generous person, I''ll let you pick three cheats, as three is my lucky number." He exclaimed while gesturing towards the cards.


    I had to admit that there were some very interesting abilities, such as unlimited MP potential (the magician), the sword master (the knight), the massive intellect (the ruler) and such and such more. After deliberating for a while, I saw an interesting card, it looked like a goddess holding a book (infinite library). I asked, "what is the ability of the infinite library?"


    God perked up and replied, "the infinite library is a dimension space where you can access any kind of knowledge in the world. The knowledge is presented in books where they are placed inside the dimensional library." In my past life, I really liked reading books, manga and light novels, so I knew I had to choose this card. Plus, if I get transported to a medieval like setting, I could access the library to get more knowledge about the world. Getting to know the common sense of the world is important!


    In the end, I said, "I will choose the unlimited MP, the dimensional library and the second chance card!" The second chance card was another interesting card that I discovered. If I happened to die early on in the other life I would be reincarnated into, I would like to have an advantage when I would get my restarted life. I wouldn''t want to be possibility reincarnated into a worm or a cow.

 2 Hell-like School

    I looked up to find a large building intimidatingly stare back at me.


    The entrance to the school was blocked by tall formal black gates with additional security from the hired guards standing in front of the gate like it was their duty to protect the important people behind its gate.


    It was hard to believe that this school was built for children that did not even reach the age of six.


    Once the guards checked the license plate of my mother''s car, my mom drove me to the entrance to the enormous school with their approval.


    The size of the school and its facilities resembled an average University campus from the world I originally came from.


    Maybe everything appeared to be massive due to my small figure as I analyzed that this campus was bigger than the college near my house in my former life.


    The building continued to tower in front of me once I got out of the car. I was impressed of the carefully sculpted stone cravings on its exterior walls when I explored the entrance of the building.


    There were no traces of the building aged from the flow of time as there were a lack of any yellowing of the sparkling white bricks nor the rusting of the iron embellishments that decorated the door.


    I had no clue where to go since I just got reincarnated into this new world. It rendered my excellent directional sense I have built up in my former life as most of my knowledge was useless.


    I continued to observe my surroundings in one spot as I turned when a young child-like voice called my name.


    "Rika! What are you doing there? It''s almost time for class!" The dazzling sunlight glazed over his large worried blue eyes that reflected back a clear flowing river in the midst of an untouched forest.


    The young toddler possessed a fair face with his carefully carved features that made him appear as beautiful as a breath of fresh air.


    A touch of his glistening silver hair created a boy that came out of a fairy tale while he wore a fine collared shirt with a plaid pattern tie created from the finest silk and shining dress pants with shoes.


    When he wore the male equivalent of my uniform, I saw a child model that was advertising the exquisite school uniform instead of an ordinary student.


    I could immediately foresee that he would break many women''s hearts when he grew up.


    There was no way that he would grow up to be ordinary with his gorgeous young features he currently possessed.


    The young toddler grabbed my hand and started to drag me inside the huge facility while my eyes widened from his assertiveness.


    The tuition for this had to be expensive due to the high operation costs from running the school. The school had invested all their money into upgrading the student''s learning experience from the quality of the equipment they placed in the classroom.


    I briefly questioned how my new family afforded to send me to such an extravagant school as they seemed to be from an average middle-class family.


    The boy gestured me to sit in the desk beside him as the teacher who looked like in her thirties with sleekly trimmed black hair walked into the glittering classroom with a professional aura.


    "Today, we are going to learn how to graph a straight line on the x-y plane based on the formula that you learned to make last week," the teacher announced with her confident marble-black eyes that reflected in the gazes of my classmates and I.


    I tilted my head in confusion as I wondered if I was really in a kindergarten class for the ages of four. Even though I had died at a young age of seventeen years old in my past life, I clearly remembered learning the same level of math when I was eleven.


    I blocked the teacher''s explanation from my mind as the material was just repetitive knowledge that was the foundations of what I had practiced daily for the SATs.


    Even if I were to be tested, this level of material couldn''t compare to the days where I concentrated on passing the SATs with every fabric of my body ever since I entered high school.


    Every student in my country had to write entrance exams where the exam would determine their futures. The entrance exams were excruciatingly competitive to the point that it became a norm for students to wake up at 7AM to go to school by 8AM and go to cram schools for extra schooling until 12AM. Unfortunately, the day didn''t end until they finished their homework given from their cram schools and the actual schools they attended.


    When they were finally finished with their miserable daily routine, they would sleep at about 2AM while hoping that the next day would never come.


    Unfortunately, I was not exempt from this exact routine that caused life to be hell in high school as I struggled to keep up with my peers while I balanced my otaku lifestyle.


    I sighed as I didn''t wish to go to a world where I would have to repeat the same thing over again even though I hoped to go to a world with modern technology.


    The world I came from considered my country to be abnormally strict and hard with education compared to other countries.


    However, not even a strict country whose norms that had high levels of strict education was this cruel! We only started these miserable routines when we were at least ten years old.


    No one forced a young child that was in kindergarten to study the X-Y plane that the teacher was devoting her heart out onto the electronic white board.


    I started to open my foreign laptop as I glanced at my fellow classmates opening their laptops. I already begun to conclude that this reincarnation to be difficult in the future as my peers had their workbooks out as I just started to look through my bag for it.


    When I finally started to pay attention to the front of the class, I found another teacher with odd blue hair coming into the room while the math teacher elegantly left the class after her lesson.


    I wasn''t surprised with the strange coloured hair the people from this world possessed. I appreciated how these strange combinations added more value to their beautiful appearance.


    It reminded me of all the anime characters who possessed bright neon colours as their character profiles.


    "Hi! Today we will be learning about the history of this country. Today we will go to page 1006." The new teacher brightly announced.


    I struggled to find the file since I was unfamiliar with the folders within the laptop.


    I reluctantly asked the adorable toddler beside me for help after my previous failures, "How do I get to the textbook?"


    The silver haired boy quickly erased his wonderment as to why I would not know to how to get to the textbook before he started explaining efficiently.


    "You go onto to the history file and then go to this grade and to this book," His head slightly drooped as I observed his long eyelashes.


    I sighed from the short unfortunate interaction with him as I was interrupted by the teacher beginning to ramble on the facts for today''s lesson.


    After the 2nd class ended, another teacher walked into the classroom right away after the history teacher greeted his farewells to the class.


    From my short interaction with the schooling system, I was able to determine that each class to be about two hours. I stopped paying relatively any attention to the lessons as I gave up after the first thirty minutes.


    I knew that if I concentrated into the high-quality lessons that the teachers had carefully prepared for its students, I would be both physically and mentally exhausted.


    Even though I already knew most of the material, the lesson itself was quickly paced. This meant that if I missed a single second of the lecture, I would likely miss an important fact that would probably be essential to comprehending what was given.


    I waited patiently for a break as the teachers kept switching in and out of the classroom.


    I kept my concentration up to hear the sounds of a bell for a break after the 3rd class. However, no such bell existed until the eighth class that I tried to stay awake for.


    I tried to convince myself that I wasn''t dead as I hung my head down on the desk for both physical and mental support.


    I had to admit to myself that I had never felt this exhausted in my life as I included my experience of studying for the SATs from my former life.


    My stomach grumbled from its more frequent pangs of hunger as I struggled to not slam my fists on the expensive desk and leave the classroom.


    Eventually, I gave up on spending energy on any non-essential thoughts as I pretended to prepare myself for next excruciatingly painful class.


    "Rika, you''re not going to get lunch?" An angel''s voice rang inside my ear.


    I was slowly being healed from the small trembles of his warm pure gaze that adorably reflected worry in his bright translucent ocean eyes.


    I was seeing invisible splendid wings behind the young boy who waited for me while he held out his hand for support.


    "Is this all over?" I hopefully wished to go back to the house I woke up in today.


    The angel cautiously encouraged me, "We''re half way there. Lunch is the only break we have, so you''re going to get hungry again if you end up sleeping in the infirmary room instead of going to the cafeteria as usual."


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    I could understand why my ''past self'' would sleep instead of eating. I felt like doing the same as my hunger pangs wore off after I stopped thinking altogether during class.


    The angel grabbed my hand as my body familiarly accepted his gesture while he dragged me into the cafeteria.


    The cafeteria sparkled as not a single stain or mess was to be seen. Everyone sat down orderly in a seat at the long wooden table.


    The staff served us the simple, but lavish food that filled our tiny plates.


    "Hey Luke! Want to compete after you''re done eating?" A pink haired boy with crimson eyes asked.


    I discovered the name of the angel who took care of me.


    ''Luke,'' I smiled when the word echoed inside my head.


    "Not today, Slivest. I have to make sure that Rika eats today or else she''s going to faint during class again," Luke politely declined Slivest''s offer.


    I did question myself many times when he would warmly look over me during class, but the thought of why Luke was taking care of me stubbornly remained in my head. He could have just ignored me and did whatever he wanted to do like all my other classmates.


    I wondered what my relation to Luke was.


    ''Cousin? Distant relative?'' The words instantly popped up in my mind.


    "Luke, why are you so concerned about me?" I voiced my thoughts out loud.


    "It''s because we''re engaged to each other." Luke stated as if it was a fact.


    I struggled to maintain my uninterested expression as my jaws instantly dropped from hearing about my sudden engagement.


    ''How? What? How can four year olds get already engaged?'' I turned to look at Luke and myself repeatedly until my neck was sore.


    "Why? How?" I exclaimed as I could not stop my astonishment of the news that could not be true.


    "By lottery. Once you enter this school at two years of age, you get a partner with the opposite gender to accumulate points together. Once you accumulate points, you can get access to superior class education to eventually unlock the next grade level class. In school, they use the partner system in order to teach teamwork and social skills." Luke gave me a through explanation of the situation I was placed in.


    I could not stop gaping my mouth as I admired his efficient but effective explanation that perfectly communicated the things I needed to know.


    Luke gave me an impression that unmatched his age due to his competency and maturity to the point that it was almost creepy.


    ''Maybe this was normal in the new world I arrived in'' I thought to convince myself that this angel was only unexpectedly brilliant due to the different norms from the world I came from.


    "But wouldn''t the sky be normally dark after ten hours of classes?" I accidentally spilled my thoughts out loud again.


    "They use space-time magic within the classroom to make sure that the time goes slower inside the classroom than outside. But, you already know about this Rika. Why ask all these questions now?" Luke stared at me silently while he waited for an explanation.


    He was right. Rika would already know all things as part of the knowledge she accumulated that served as common sense in this world.


    "It''s just that I kind of forgot. It must be from fainting all the time?" I tried to curry favour with Luke as I hoped that he would not find out that the ''Rika'' he knew wasn''t in this body anymore.


    An announcement came from the speakers as it saved me from answering his suspicions: "Students, only ten more minutes of break time!"


    "Rika, hurry up and eat," Luke started to push more food into my mouth with his small hands.


    I accepted the fork full of food into my mouth as Luke begun to scoop up more forks filled with the various dishes laid in front of me.


    I started to eat as fast as possible with Luke''s help because I somehow knew I would die during the next ten hours if I didn''t.


    As soon as the bell rung to indicate the break was over, Luke started to drag me back into that hell-like classroom that had earned my hatred due to its intense schedule.


    I had never thought that I would greatly suffer for the next ten hours while I had to sit in one spot with great tediousness as soon as I arrived in the world that God had sent me to.


    By the time ''class-time'' or more like hell was finished, I felt both mentally and physically unable to function.


    "Wow S-class students are really different from other people!" I heard while Luke supported me as I walked in the spacious hallway.


    "Look! They''re so handsome and pretty ~"


    "I heard they''re really smart as well!"


    "When will I be able to accumulate enough points... My partner is way too stupid!"


    I gasped as I knew the situation I was just in was somewhat suspicious.


    There was no way that normal children in the ages of kindergarten would normally sit in a classmate with no complaints for twenty-hours.


    "Do all people our age have classes this long?" I confronted Luke.


    I did not have to go through this while other children went on with their normal childhood. I had already suffered enough when I died before being to take my SATs. I was not going to willingly go through the next-level suffering of almost the same thing.


    "No, your classes get longer as you get into higher ranking classes," Luke replied.


    I confirmed my weird suspicions as I turned to convince Luke to find another partner who was willing to go through this hell with him.


    I was not willing to give up my only chance to play no matter how good-looking that opponent was.


    "Please find another partner," I asked the young toddler who was likely a victim of a lost childhood as I would be if I continued this road with him.


    The sixteen desks that I glanced inside the special classroom blinked back at me.

 3 New School

    I gave the angel one final glance with thanks as I packed my bag to go home as I alternated few plans in my head to convince my new parents my departure from the special class.


    However, the angel instantly stopped smiling as he stared at me coldly like ice that could not be melted.


    I immediately felt the pressure in the air drop as I froze from his unexpected change in his attitude. The caring warm gaze was replaced with a face void of all expressions.


    When I started to walk out of the classroom, I was stopped by a person who suddenly tightly grabbed onto my wrist.


    "Where are you going?" Luke icily asked me with the same expression when he heard my plead.


    "Home," I replied as the angel started to morph into a beautiful unfeeling statue.


    I was startled by his sudden change in his demeanor as I was able to find out the reason why most students admired him from afar.


    I mustered a bit of pity for him as he scared away all his admirers with his cool wind of an unapproachable aura with his elegant features when he erased most of his emotions.


    "Did you forget that you promised me last year that we would have five-hour study sessions after school is over?" Luke did not let go of my wrist.


    I instantly derived that my previous self was not the type to study. There was a clear reason how Luke was able to get into the S-class with such a partner. However, I was going to rely on the same impression as I definitely did not plan to change a single thing.


    I was immediately pushed into a room in an anciently decorated library overfilled with endless shelves of books.


    I felt like I was in a state-of-the-art government facility where everything was wonderfully advanced with knowledge and created through the calculated use of space.


    The former angel turned the dial before entering the small room with a large desk, few chairs and a white board inside the room.


    It was a small room that greatly resembled the special classroom I was previously tortured in earlier.


    I observed the dial closely to see that there were little ticks and numbers to indicate the time in terms of hours.


    "What is this?" I was forgetting my initial purpose to escape the school.


    "A dial where you can adjust speed of time within the rooms by using the space-time magic." Luke responded while he pulled some blank notebooks out.


    I confusedly stared at Luke for the reason why he took out all the workbooks from class. There were also the laptops with the folders full of notes provided from the school that littered the homepage.


    I sat there silently in bewilderment as Luke drilled in everything that we learned in class today. This was a Spartan method that I was familiar with from the numerous cram schools I went to.


    Luke seemed pleased after he finished rambling about the contents of the lectures. I strained through the remaining energy within my body as I unconsciously used every last bit of my past life''s memory to get through the classes and Luke''s study sessions.


    I wondered why Luke appeared to be desperate to stay in the special class as his face beamed with a sense of accomplishment.


    ''Why did does this child seem so motivated?'' I forgot about going home.


    When my stomach repeatedly complained due to my high-energy consumption, I remembered that I planned to arrive as soon as possible to convince my parents to break off this partnership.


    "Can I go home now?" I asked reluctantly as I started to pack my belongings into my bag again.


    Before Luke could reply, I ran outside the building to find my mother''s car.


    I was briefly surprised that my mother''s car arrived as I ran out, but was too interested in escaping the hell-like building as soon as possible.


    This was why I did not get out of my mother''s car the next day when I failed to convince her to break off the partnership.


    I had no chance to mention the topic as my mother appeared to be extremely busy while she was occupied with the piled-up house chores.


    However, I was eventually kicked out of the car as my mother had to get to work to get there in time for her shift.


    I walked carefully inside the spacious hallways as I tried to avoid Luke at all costs. I didn''t want to face the not-so-angelic child who had great ambitions in his education.


    I was determined to be not deceived by the chibi ikemen in this world anymore as I cautiously probed through the crowd of young children near the notice board close to the entrance of the special classroom.


    An large announcement was posted on the board as it read: ''Exams for accumulating points are conducted one week from today''


    I calmly sat in my seat as I pretended to know nothing about the announcement. I tried hard not to frown when the serious toddler next to me was reviewing his notes taken from yesterday.


    ''Right. He sat right next to me,'' I attempted to stop studying his unrealistic gorgeous face.


    I wished he would look up as I desired to get a better view of his face. I had neglected his investment he put towards me yesterday as he strived to stay in the special class while he collected points using any means possible.


    I struggled to resist examining at the rest of my new surroundings as it was getting harder to pretend like I was paying attention to class.


    Once I figured out the trick of using the corners of my eyes to observe the particular objects that were nonexistent in my former life, it wasn''t that hard to patiently wait for ten hours before the break came.


    When the bell resonated throughout the great spaces of the school, I was unable to defy my instincts in exploring the rest of the school campus.


    I similarly ran outside the classroom like all the other children who ran outside to begin playing with their friends.


    I followed the crowd of toddlers who sprinted towards a vast courtyard that spanned endlessly in the perspective of my tiny physique.


    I drifted my hand in the soft grassy field that could replace a bed with its warmness heated from the natural sunlight.


    The indulgent flowers that sparkled with oozing colours of the shades of mystical blues alleviated the spiky feeling of the pokey individual strands of grass.


    It was a beautiful place where I could imagine sleeping in. I closed my eyes in peace as I laid down on the comforting ground as the flowers and grass enveloped me inside.


    It was hard to believe that I was in the same miserable classroom when I opened my eyes. I pinched myself to find that there were no signs of the pleasant wind calming my mood nor the enjoyable rustling sounds of the grass and high-pitched laughter from the children.


    When I faced the back of the room, I discovered that there was still five minutes until break ended. I was certain that I was bathing under the warm sun in the courtyard when I briefly closed my eyes to relax.


    I sadly wondered who silently moved my unconscious body onto a stiff hallow chair. Unfortunately, I discovered my answer when I read a white sheet of lined paper on top of my desk.


    The writing was very neat and concise. There was a chocolate bar wrapped in exquisite gold wrapping paper to relieve the hints of threats contained inside the letter.


    My head started to throb with annoyance when I read the twisted letter from the cute little boy who sat next to me.


    ''I found you in the courtyard today. I had expected more from you as my partner, but I was disappointed when Slivest found you sleeping in the courtyard. I gave you a chocolate bar to keep you awake for the next seventeen hours while I arrange another study session. Luke.''


    It was hard to focus on the lecture when class eventually started as my head was filled with thoughts to get away from the unsettling inhumane-like creature who sat beside me.


    I aimed for a peaceful and relaxing life in this world. It was obvious that my childhood would be robbed the more I stayed with the adult-like child who determined to drag me along with him.


    I determined to run away and leave the school grounds once all the classes ended as I rushed towards to large doors at the other side of the school. However, I forgot to consider that my weak physique was no match for an energetic young toddler who quickly caught up with me.


    "Why?" He questioned me before dragging my unwilling self into the familiar study room I was pushed into yesterday.


    I didn''t dare to take another glance at his handsome face as I knew I wouldn''t be able to win against him while I admired his inhumane picturesque appearance.


    My stomach grumbled loudly as I only had a mere chocolate bar for lunch while I thought of ripping the letter into shreds.


    "I need to eat," I pleaded to him as the rumbling noises from my stomach filled the room.


    Luke passed me another small luxurious chocolate bar that I gracefully accepted with both of my hands.


    Although, the heartless child was getting scarier the longer I interacted with him, his chocolate bars tasted like the most rich and divine dessert that I have ever tasted in my whole existence.


    I quickly gobbled up the chocolate as I pulled on his nicely ironed shirt for some more.


    The celestial being passed me more of his heavenly dessert as I consumed each bar at a aggressively fast speed.


    I couldn''t stop eating until I faced a table full of littered shining gold wrapping paper as he had completely emptied his bag full of my rations.


    "Are you ready now?" The celestial being warmly smiled like you could never guess what he was scheming.


    I nodded my head as I immersed myself in the world of lavish desserts as he immediately began his study session.


    I didn''t even notice that he increased the study session for one hour more than yesterday as he passed me the most scrumptious strawberry pudding once he ran out of chocolate bars.


    When he walked with me to my mother''s car, I was still in the world of the most amazing desserts while I was accompanied by an angelic child.


    It wasn''t hard to answer his striking questions while I focused most of my attention on the luxurious desserts that filled his bag.


    I made use of my abundant knowledge from studying the SATs as Luke rewarded me with a variety of more posh desserts for every correct answer.


    I helplessly smiled as if I was in my own delusional world full of delicious sweets as the same cycle repeated for the entire week until the day of the exam.


    On the day of the exam, my eyes widened from the stock of the easy questions that stared back at me.


    I finished the first booklet like it was natural to breath. The questions that the celestial being had asked me with his dazzling smile was harder to answer than the questions that mocked me to solve them.


    The other nine exam booklets were the same as I resolved myself to get this huge pain quickly over with.


    When I closed all my exam booklets, the whole package faintly glowed in hues of baby blue. I widened my eyes with surprise when I found a script of text that was not previously there which held all the booklets together.


    ''Mark: 100%; Points Given: 10,000; Please go to the classroom to the right of the one you are in''


    The two guards that normally protected the gates from visitors that were not expected to come escorted me into a new classroom that resembled the same one I was in before.


    There was no difference between the rooms for the exception that there were a fewer number of desks and that there was a strange hut in the middle of the room.


    The hut was made of patterned red and white stripes. I found the celestial boy inside the hut that would not be out of place in carnivals or festivals when I hesitatingly went inside with the guards blocking the exit of the classroom.


    "Congratulations! With the accumulated points of 25 000, you have unlocked the SA class. From tomorrow and onwards please go to the entrance of this new building with this map!" The speakers that was attached the ceiling of the hut announced.


    I blinked as a bright light made me jump with surprise as a loud click was heard with my ears.


    ''Were they taking our picture?'' I thought as this overwhelming scene rolled out in front of me.


    I was unable to look away from Luke''s magnificently happy smile as he was unable to keep his excitement bottled up.


    "This is the highest-level class for this grade!" Luke clasped onto my hands and started thanking me.


    ''What was he talking about?'' I didn''t listen to the announcement made from the speakers. Luke had regained his childish features as his face was full of various expressions that resembled large unsettling ocean waves that clashed each other with conflicting emotions.


    I smiled as I joined into the light happy atmosphere of the room while my familiar teachers who went in and out of the classroom I was imprisoned in had started to congratulate me.


    I ignored my weird suspicions and instincts as I knew how hard Luke worked in the special class to be favoured by the teachers at school.


    However, it was strange that the teachers were congratulating him for being in the highest-level class just for a good mark.


    It wasn''t like the exams were part of a competition. We didn''t win an award or place in nationals from this one exam.


    I repeated the scene to my mother the next day in the morning as I asked her what I missed out on that scene. I was clearly the only one who didn''t have an idea on what was happening as my mother appeared to be both happy and sad at the same time.


    "I''m going to miss you Rika, but it''s great that you managed to achieve what both your mother and father couldn''t have done!" My mother whispered with tears streaming down her cheeks.


    My mother''s youthful face looked lovely even with her tears as she tried to encourage me.


    I wondered why my mother acted like we were not going to see other for a long time when we were going to see each other after school. I had an uneasy feeling that kept on piling up in my chest while my mother drove to an unfamiliar school building.


    The commute spanned for hours as my anxiety increased. The scenery outside my window changed multiple times as I swung my short legs inside the car.


    I observed a landscape full of white snow from a field of blooming flowers facing the warm sunlight. I shivered as the air strangely felt colder and colder while the scenery resembled the depths of winter rather the fresh summery breeze I was used to during the last couple of days.


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    "Where are we going mother?" I asked my mother with a slight hint of fear.


    My mother didn''t answer me as she continued to drive until we arrived at a large estate that was bigger than my school building that I still got intimidated from.


    I ignored the slight pangs of pain drifting into my heart as a slight crying sound coming from the front was being desperately stifled after my innocent question.


    When I noticed a smaller but extraordinary extravagant building that was labelled as ''dormitory'' beside the huge estate, I had discovered the reason for my mother''s silence.


    My mother had tried to prevent herself from crying when she was giving me up to live in the dormitory of this new estate. I had a hunch that I would be living here for the next few years of my life from the sullen atmosphere inside the car.


    My mother did not want to give me up but she was abandoning me into a large rich facility for reasons that I could not come up with. My mind was starting to blank out as I mindlessly was carried by my mother who left me on the steps of the entrance of the unfamiliar cold building.


    When I was able to regain a sense of my surroundings after a nulling my feelings of sad abandonment, I was shocked to face the same celestial angel who grinned while he walked up the stairs.


    We appeared to be the exact opposite of each other as I was definitely miserable to be separated from my new parents while another celebrated his entry with a stunning embracing smile.


    I tried to distract myself with the heavenly appearance of a doll-like boy who focused his attention on a tall figure who came out of the entrance of the daunting building to greet us.


    He appeared to be a prince with his nice clean white suit that was able to come into comparison with God''s heavenly clothing. The adult had gentle albino-like features with his nicely arranged pale blond hair and charming cherished hazelnut eyes that mirrored into my eyes.


    He generously smiled while he introduced himself, "We don''t usually get transfer students, so the current students will be excited to hear about you! I''m Christopher De Welmington and I will guide you around the school."


    I hesitantly took his hand as I realized I was in a school.


    I didn''t feel abandoned anymore as I thought my mother was giving me up to another family with her intense conflicting emotions. It turned out to be that she would sad about leaving me alone in this new school!


    Luke and I confidentially entered the new school while I had no idea that this would the start of a new hell-like world or maybe the so-called end of the world.

 4 How Did My Situation Get Worse Than Before?

    "This school is the most top ranking education facility for young people like you!" Christopher exclaimed.


    A weird fusion of the new and the old gave off odd combinations of automatic glass doors and glossy marble tiles mixed with rows of antiques. The exquisite golden velvet wallpaper plastered the wide hallways while expensive oil paintings were found very few metres we walked.


    I was impressed by the school''s efforts to decorate the school as an expensive hobby for the rich as they had mixed in all the luxurious furnishings throughout the times.


    "How many students are within the school?" I asked when I noticed that the large facility was void of students.


    I could not recall seeing any student during the duration of the tour. It was odd how empty the school was during one of its busiest hours.


    "There are about ten students per grade level in this school. I am your homeroom teacher that will help you adjust into the school properly." Christopher led us into the deeper parts of the school.


    I tried not to face Luke''s enthusiasm as his eyes sparkled with excessive pride and excitement. Luke struggled to keep his poker face with a big smile plastered over his angelic face.


    I was sure that if he always appeared with a grin, he would gather a massive number of followers with his innocent appearance. There was no one more handsome than a good-looking person who smiled at you.


    "First of all, I''ll give you your timetables for the remaining year of your grade level. It''ll be hard catching up to rest of the students but as long as you work hard, I feel like you will be able to mingle well with your peers soon." Christopher handed us a thick document that contained our timetables.


    I wondered why a timetable would be as thick as a slapstick until I unfortunately glanced at the outline.


    My inhumanely looking timetable reflected my devastated eyes that desperately wanted a break from studying. I had died before I could enjoy my life after writing the SATs. It seemed that I would never get to enjoy my life while I almost sobbed at my new schedule.


    Timetable


    6AM: Breakfast


    7AM: History


    8AM: Math


    9AM: Mana Training


    10AM: Language Class


    11 AM: Piano


    12PM: Etiquette


    1PM: Lunch Break


    2PM: Biology


    3PM: Additional Instrument


    4PM: Physics


    5PM: Chemistry


    6PM: Physical Education


    7PM: Dinner


    8PM: Accounting


    9PM: Geography


    10PM: Economics


    11PM: Computer Courses


    12AM: Free Time


    In a study, it was proven that children in Finland performed better than other countries because they had the shortest hours of class and homework.


    However, it appeared that the people in this world never conducted the same study as they overwhelmed its students with the longest classes.


    I could not imagine how much homework I would get from all of these classes. I predicted it was going to be tedious to go over everything I had despised in my former life.


    I sighed as I had a miserable feeling that Luke would drag me out to "extra study sessions" in the free time period with the lure of using his luxurious desserts.


    I couldn''t complain about being in the S-class now during the past several of days. I guessed this was what happened when you didn''t know how privileged you were. In S-class, I got to eat dinner with my family, but I only had one hour breaks in the hell-like schedule.


    I contemplated whether I would sanely graduate kindergarten in my right mind as I slowly lost my bright smile while I despondently studied for my SATs.


    I hit both of my cheeks to try to stay positive as I overwhelmed myself with negative thoughts.


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    "When does this schedule start?" I reluctantly asked as I determined that this new schedule would not define who I would become.


    "Tomorrow," Christopher passed me some ice to help with the pain of my red cheeks.


    I was losing my sight of a life with manga, light novels and anime that drifted away from me every second I remained in the intense high-ranked school.


    I convinced myself that I would not faint when I was losing sight of my daydreams of taking long naps in a plain kindergarten.


    The good times of a wholesome childhood slammed in front of me like a guillotine that killed dreams.


    I was led into cafeteria after several detours that had a small caf¨¦. I found cute furnishings of adorable small wooden tables and cute white laced chairs that had their heights adjusted for its use mainly purposed towards young children. The warm reddish brown floors gave off a comfy and homey feel like it was trying to fill in the space from separating young children from their families.


    The glass walls allowed the sunshine to tumble through into the caf¨¦ as it pleasantly lighted up the entire atmosphere.


    However, the caf¨¦ was similarly empty like the rest of the facility as there were no signs of any staff. There was a long flat tablet on every table that grabbed my interest after I studied the refreshing caf¨¦.


    "What''s that?" I asked while pointing at the tablets.


    "You order food from the tablets and the food will appear on your table immediately on the metal circle on each table." Luke answered.


    No wonder I didn''t know why there were no staff. This world seemed to have some magical properties that my past life didn''t have, otherwise the immediate appearance of the two worlds looked very similar to each other.


    Afterwards, we were led to the music classroom where Christopher asked us to choose one instrument that we wanted to play for the rest of kindergarten. Luke immediately chose the violin and forced me to choose the same.


    I did play the violin in my past life and it was pretty miserable to your ears when you got to the higher pitches with the wrong tune. However, since I had the experience, I didn''t argue with choosing the violin as I concluded that it wouldn''t be as bad as choosing another instrument that I would have to learn from scratch.


    We exited the music room as Christopher gave us a tour of all the remaining classrooms for academic learning purposes. They were duplicates of the S-class classroom in my old school. Why was I not surprised?


    After exploring all the normal academic classrooms, we led into the dark spiralled stairs into the basement to finally arrive in front of the mana training room. Christopher opened up the metal steel door that led to a huge open space of endless white walls and floors.


    "This is where you will learn how to manipulate and control mana!" Christopher started to explain.


    "This is a class that you didn''t do at your old school, so look forward to it!" Christopher let us look around the mana training room before we were escorted back up to the surface.


    While I explored the fascinating endless room that spanned into infinity, Christopher yelled that we had free time to look around until 6PM to meet back at the cafeteria.


    I felt faint after exploring the ancient, but well-maintained building as I blinked frequently to keep myself awake.


    While Luke was glancing at the fancy paintings, I retraced my steps to the glass greenhouse that I saw during the tour. I avoided Luke''s observant line of sight as I stifled my emerging happiness when I noticed a comfy bed in the middle of the greenhouse.


    The picturesque view of blooming flowers surrounding a white sheeted bed left a great impression in my memory.


    ''Is this a painting?'' I appreciated the lovely view.


    I tried opening the door to the greenhouse to see that it wasn''t locked! I went inside to lay down on bed almost immediately. The king-sized bed had white fluffy pillows with soft white blankets. I flopped onto the bed with a big slump as I embraced the cosiness enveloping me inside with nice fragrant aroma coming from the flowers.


    ''Ahh. So this was what paradise was like~ .'' I relaxed as I closed my eyes in peace.


    I opened my eyes when I couldn''t ignore a feeling of a piercing stare urged me to get up while interrupting my sentiment of harmony with the luscious flowers.


    It took a few flutters of my orange-speckled pupils to widen up by shock while I admired the mirage of a child standing in front of me. The child that was around the age of four with bright purple amethyst eyes with flowing hazelnut splattered hair wore a square patterned red and beige blazer with a white shirt combined with a silk red tie. The formal beige knee-length coloured shorts with shiny dark brown shoes made me thought that the uniform must have cost a lot.


    Maybe from I was struck with a loss of words from just staring at him due to his carefully sculpted face that I didn''t immediately notice that he held a long sword in one of his hands.


    A highly-decorated katana sword in shiny blue casing with gold and white embellishments bloomed like vigilantly engraved lilies.


    The sword was resembled an ornament more than a weapon for practical use. I respected the well-made piece of craftsmanship with the tiny details finely making it look pleasing to the eye.


    Maybe I should have noticed the oddness that such a young child possessed a weapon that could kill. A sword that possessed hints of regularly being sharpened with its fierce shine around the deathly edges.


    I clasped my hands together as my eyes sparkled with pure appreciation. The tint of tears in my eyes created an adorable silhouette as I asked, "Wow~ This sword looks so prewttty. Can I try holding onto it?"


    I could try holding onto the beautiful weapon while taking the dangerous item away from the child who probably didn''t know the purpose of the fine ornament he held. Who knew what a young child could do with such a weapon?


    The boy handed me his sword with no hesitation which I try to receive with both of my hands.


    However, I barely got to touch the sword for more than a second as I was surprised by its heavy weight. My fingers and arms instantly ached from overexerting them from the brief second.


    The sword clattered onto the glassy floors as I dropped the precious heirloom onto the floor the next second.


    I was deceived by my initial impression of its weight as the young child had held the sword with quite a bit of ease. I could not find a single sign of the toddler struggling as he casually walked around lightly like he held nothing.


    ''How could a small sword be this heavy?'' I detected all the heavy metals like pure diamonds and gold infused into the sword. The metallic silver and white gold mix gleamed with its sharp edges.


    Wait. Wasn''t I trying to take his sword away from him? When I was able to drift out of my own thoughts, the child picked up the sword with ease and placed it into his carrier on his waist.


    ''This child does look experienced,'' I convinced myself as I chose to remain ignorant that a young toddler held a deadly sword.


    Maybe it was better to just leave it with him, I deluded myself.


    To distract the doll-like creature in front of me, I decided to introduce myself. "Hello! I''m Rika!"


    "I know, you''re the person whose partner is Luke." The child responded quite indifferently.


    "How do you know Luke?" I asked curiously as I knew that Luke was new to this school as much as I was.


    "Luke''s family and mine has been friends for a long time. We used to be very close before we drifted apart a little when Luke failed to get into this school because of his partner," The boy threw me a fleeting accusing glance, which I somehow discerned couldn''t be any good news.


    No wonder Luke wanted to get into this school so badly. It was because all his friends were there. I felt apologetic to Luke, but I''m glad I didn''t get into this school in the beginning.


    I was thankful that I was able to be with my new parents or else I wouldn''t have the chance to know about their warmth that would encourage me to survive with this crazy schedule without falling ill all the time.


    I stopped overthinking as I sunk back into the bed to relieve my incoming waves of stress when I recalled the insane schedule I would go through tomorrow.


    ''Let''s go back to sleep for now,'' I started to relax in the scenery in front of me.


    "Alex, have you seen Rika?" Luke came in with tired frown when I just started to enjoy myself while I bathed in the warm sunlight.


    Alex pointed to the bed while I quickly pretended that I was already asleep. I knew that I couldn''t trust Alex after he said that he used to be close with Luke! What regret! I could have escaped to somewhere else by then I became lured in with Luke''s bribes.


    Luke walked towards the bed as he yelled, "Rika, I know you''re awake. Stop pretending to be sleeping."


    It was creepy how Luke was way too capable while Alex emitted a similar aura as him. I discovered that a combo of two strangely mature chibi ikemen that were together was than one chibi ikemen.


    I stopped laying down and sprung up from the bed as I asked with annoyance, "What do you want?"


    Luke lightly flicked me my forehand as he frowned, "It''s already 5:50. We need to head back to the cafeteria."


    I was dragged into the cafeteria to eat dinner with Christopher. Surprisingly, the food melted into my mouth with the carbonara pasta with bread and fruits for dessert. I couldn''t stop eating until I found my disappointing empty plate.


    When my empty plates disappeared when I put them towards the center of the table while I followed Luke, Christopher announced that he would lead us to the dormitory like building.


    I thought we would enter one of those fancy rooms with crystal chandeliers and fluffy huge beds, but we were led to a basement with rock walls and stairs resembling the medieval times. Christopher led us to a room with rock floors, an old wooden door, and straw beds. The only thing that looked modern was the uniforms hung on the hanger and our backpacks that contained all the necessary materials needed for studying.


    I cringed when I found the washroom was unfortunately the same with the toilet resembling the ancient times with only a wooden pail to take a shower from the water that came from a well. I faced the dark well compromised of rocks right beside the room where you had to pull the rope to gather the water from another wooden pail.


    I honestly felt like crying. I grabbed Luke''s hand for comfort and lost all hope for the future. Just to make sure we weren''t in the wrong place, I asked, "Are we supposed to live here?"


    I stuffed my tears that seemed to pour out any moment as Christopher answered with a generous smile, "Well, it depends on you. As soon as you accumulate enough points, you can ''buy'' things to upgrade your rooms. Points are granted based on the results of your exams and tests."


    I guessed this was the solution to motivate young children to study in those insane schedules. Planting a trauma in these children''s lives was what they unfortunately used. Even I had to admit that it worked at least for me because today was the day that I swore to myself that I would study harder to get to at least sleep in a decent bed.

 5 Accumulating Points

    Ugh! I couldn''t sleep last night because of the straw beds. So I ended up using Luke as a pillow, I''m sorry Luke!


    I got up at 4:30 to get ready for breakfast, I put my uniform on and woke Luke up to devise a strategy to get ourselves out of here as soon as possible. Luke looked astonishingly surprised that I got up earlier than him as he quickly got ready for breakfast. Before Luke went to grab his school bag on the wooden hanger, I grabbed his wrist and said, "I think it''s time to make a strategy to make our living space more liveable."


    When we got our insane schedules, we also got the schedule for exams and testing. When we first enter into each class, we have a orientation test. Meaning that the school is trying to test out our initial levels upon entering the school and how it compares to others. In fine print, the handout said that if the student and the partner gets a score that is higher than the top pair already enrolled, we get 10 000 points. However, if Luke and I manage to get last place, we get minus points.


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    That means that if Luke and I get last place, we get -10 000 points. However, if we are in the upper middle, we get 5000 points.


    What I was aiming for was the upper middle of the class. I knew that it would be probably almost impossible to get better scores than the top pair that have enrolled into this brutal schedule since the age of two. However, Luke was a very capable person, well at least to me. Plus, I had my past life memories that could help out a little and maybe I could use the "cheats" given by God.


    So if we managed to get 5000 points per subject, then we could finally live in a decent housing area (well at least middle class)!


    After I repeated everything I had in mind to Luke with the exclusion of my reincarnation, Luke nodded which meant that he agreed.


    The first class that we had a test for was history. Since, I had just come from a different world just over a week ago, I had to cram all the content within my brain for a week when we had to write a exam about three days ago.


    Surprisingly, the history book was like a light novel! This world was split into six different districts, where each one would represent a different era in time. The vague summary was that the first district was the futuristic era where people had hover cars and robots to do most of their work for them with their huge mana. The second district was the science era where people were just starting to develop a new world where they would discover the existence of magic from science. The third district was where I came from, which was the technology era, where people started to develop smartphones and laptops. The fourth district was the industrial revolution era where people just started to develop new technologies. The fifth district was the Victorian era where people were ruled by the monarchy. Lastly, the sixth district was the time where people just started to live in civilizations with other people.


    I didn''t get to the part with details, but I felt that the third district and below was like the history of my old world! Plus, Luke fully crammed the first and second district''s details to me (which I thought was pretty much nonsense), but I was on the edge of believing it after reading the light novel like history book.


    Christopher led Luke and I to two vacant seats and placed the exam booklet on the desks after we sat down. I soon opened the exam booklet and started to write.


    After I finished the exam, Christopher announced the results of our combined score, "Not bad! You placed 4th out of six pairs. Which means that you get zero points! Let''s move onto the next subject!"


    I''m sorry Luke, I really am. I know I was the one who brought you down. However, this really showed how capable the other four year olds were at this facility. Sigh.


    The next class was math. Math was the one subject I was confident with from my past life and in this world. When Christopher announced the results for this subject, we got second place. Meaning we got 7500 points! I was almost in tears because my hard work from my past life paid off!


    Soon after, we went down the stairs into the basement for mana training class. I didn''t know how well I would do in this class because I have never used mana before. However, I have read a lot of manga and light novels and the protagonists almost always gets to use extraordinary magic! Most times, they do this by using their imagination to conquer up a clear image of what kind of magic they want to produce. So I planned to do the same.

 6 Falling Sick

    "Rika! Wake up!" (Luke)


    I opened my eyes to find myself inside the library study room with a pile of books stacked up in front of me. "I''m up, so stop shaking me," I groaned.


    "How long was I sleeping for?" (Rika)


    "About the time it took me to read all those books in that pile that you brought in. You were sleeping for such a long time and I was going to leave because I finished reading all those books. So I woke you up to tell you that I was going back to our room to get some sleep. Maybe if you''re feeling tired you should leave as well and tackle those books tomorrow." (Luke)


    I shook my head while refusing Luke''s advice, and grabbed another book from the pile to start reading. "No, I''m not feeling that tired anymore. I''m going to stay here until I finish reading all these books. I''ll go back to the room later when I feel like I''m confident to pass the exam with at least 100%."


    Luke looked at me like: Are you sure that''s even possible? I''m sorry Luke, not everyone is inhumanly capable as you. Luke left the room as I drifted my focus onto these never ending pile of books.


    When I finally finished reading all the books that I took from the dimensional library, I stood up to take a break. I stretched a little and quickly got back to work to search through the dimensional library for more relevant books.


    --------------------------------------------------------------


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    I felt sick and exhausted, maybe I even had a fever. I was sure that after my second pile of books, I was still feeling fine, but maybe it was starting from the fourth round that I felt I was starting to feel a little dizzy.


    At this rate, I realized that I probably couldn''t even walk anymore. Since I couldn''t move my legs anyways, I sat back in my chair to finish the seventh pile of books I got from the dimensional library. I was thankful that I still had the stamina to move my arms, although this ability probably got transferred from my past life where I had to study for majority of my time.


    I knew that with this much studying, I would get at least a 95% on the exam. However, that was 5% short of what I wanted. That 5% would prevent me from buying a decent bed, clothes, the necessary furniture and more!


    I tried to move my legs before Luke would enter the room, however things did not go as it was planned. I tried moving my arms after I couldn''t move my legs, but my body wouldn''t listen to me. Luke entered the room one minute later to see me lying down on the floor unable to move.


    I tried to come up with a decent excuse to explain why I was on the floor. "This is a kind of exercise to help someone study better for a exam." (Rika)


    "So in order to do ''some kind of exercise'' a person lays on the floor with flushed cheeks with a burning hot body temperature to prepare for a exam?" Luke asked suspiciously while touching my forehead.


    "I learned it from the history book that people from district five do this often." Well, I wasn''t exactly lying because people from district five did do weird stuff in the past like witch hunts.


    Luke was silent for a moment with a loss of words. After he looked like he finished pondering what to do, he lifted me up in a princess carry to the infirmary room.


    I wondered how a four year old would have enough muscle or stamina to carry a 18kg girl with his stick thin arms that looked very fragile. When a doctor noticed Luke placing me onto a empty bed, she exclaimed in great worry: "This patient looks like she has a high fever!"


    "What medicine do I have to take to get better fast enough to prepare for the upcoming exam," I fainted asked.


    "Even with the medicine it''s going to take at least half a day to recover." The doctor answered gently.


    Wow! The medical system of this world is astoundingly more impressive than my past life. In my past life, it took at least three days to get better from a high fever. Well, I guess I''ll resume my studying after a few hours so that I can recover.


    I took the medicine the doctor fed me to drink and rested on the nice bed for a couple hours. When I got back the ability to move again, I tested my body to see if I was fine. I was feeling a bit dizzy, but that would be fine because I would be taking another break again after finishing the seventh pile of books.


    I got up to walk towards the exit of the infirmary room to see Luke behind the exit grabbing onto a piece of melon bread and a bottle of strawberry milk. "Are these for me?"


    Luke nodded, "I thought you would be feeling a bit hungry after studying for a long time in the library."


    "Thanks!"


    I grabbed the melon bread and strawberry milk and walked towards the library to finish the rest of the books in that pile.


    "Where are you going? The washroom nor the infirmary is that way." Luke asked with a frown.


    "To the library," I replied.


    "To the library you say." Luke frowns.


    "I know I was sick a few hours ago, but I feel that if I keep on staying in bed, I''d be wasting my precious time for studying for the exams." I replied.


    Every second was precious especially when the time was closer to exams. Well, I did technically have a week left because I was using the space-time room, but I wasn''t going to take any chances.


    "Why are you so desperate to get a good mark? It''s just very confusing Rika because ever since you came here you have changed." Luke asked while tilting his head.


    It''s more like why haven''t you caught on yet. It''s because I want to sleep in a decent bed and buy more cute clothes and daily necessities.


    "It''s because I want to sleep in a decent room with at least the daily necessities without worrying about the amount of points we have." There! I framed it nicely.


    "Rika, if you were worried about these things you should''ve told me. There are a lot of events to gather more points at this school, but once you get sick, you can''t even participate in these events." Luke answered in a worried tone.


    Yes Luke. Of course there are more events, like midterms and finals coming up in the future. However, you know if you get sick you can just defer them with a doctor''s note. Plus, you''re probably not as stressed about it as I am because you''re good at everything!


    "Well what events excluding exams? I''m not a genius like you Luke that can do everything in a short period of time! Didn''t you want me to study more anyways? In our last school, you kept on dragging me to your ''extra study sessions''!" I yelled in anger.


    I didn''t know why, but I started to feel a little angry and annoyed from Luke even though I knew he was just trying to help.


    Luke looked like he had a face where he wanted to cry. Maybe I overdid it? He is a four year old in the end. However, my body had a reflex where whenever it was embarrassed, it would hide behind things or run away. Yes. I was trying to run away right now after looking at Luke''s expression. And at this really bad timing, I have tripped over nothing.


    My body was about to slam against the floor, but I was leaning towards the other way when Luke grabbed my wrist and pulled it towards him. How did he get here so fast?


    "Let go!" I yelled when I realized Luke was still holding onto my wrist.


    Luke let go of my wrist in exchange for a tight hug. He gently patted my back while I started to burst into tears. I wondered at this point how my old family was doing in my past life and maybe my current family in my current life. If I didn''t go to this school, I would be sleeping in a fluffy big bed with meals made by my mom in my warm house.


    Maybe it was because my body regressed to this young child that my mind was starting to regress as well.


    When I finally started to calm down, Luke asked gently, "Are you alright now?"


    I nodded my head while thinking that Luke must be feeling homesick as well, but he never showed it. I guess it was me that was unreliable with throwing tantrums everywhere and suddenly crying that made Luke have nobody to depend on.


    Luke led me back to the infirmary without me knowing, and said, "You should really rest Rika"

 7 Glass Walls

    I fluttered my eyes open as I was getting tired of sleeping inside the infirmary. The first thing that I saw was the square shaped lamp that was the only source of constant light that was on. I grabbed onto the lamp and got out of my bed to start exploring the infirmary room.


    I started to walk around barefoot with the lamp in my hands. The light of the lamp shone through the glass walls of the infirmary where I saw a adolescence girl with wavy silver hair toppling around her waist wearing a white gown meant for patients. She was standing on her barefoot looking at me with her orange speckled pupils widening at the sight of another person.


    She looked like an small celestial ethereal being. Her slender pale arms and legs complemented her small face as she started to walk towards me on the other side of the glass wall. She started to say something as her twinkling eyes started to swell up and tears ran down onto her cheeks. "I don''t have that much time, but promise me - !"


    I wondered what she was trying to say. After I heard the first part of her bell-like voice that wanted to promise me something, I couldn''t hear the rest of what she wanted to say.


    A boy that was around the same age as the young girl that was wearing a plaid ocean blue and white shirt and navy coloured pants that matched his silver hair with ocean blue eyes entered the room at the other side of the glass wall. He grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards her bed and made her sit down with a frown and said, "You should know that you shouldn''t get out of bed! What were you thinking getting up and ruining your health!"


    The boy oddly resembled Luke with his matured features. Now thinking of it, the beautiful adolescence girl with magnificent sparkling eyes resembled my orange pupil eyes.


    "At this rate, you''ll never let me out of this room! It''s been one year since I''ve been trapped inside here." The girl yelled in frustration as more tears ran down her face.


    "It''s not fair... It''s not fair. It''s not like my health will get better from staying in bed all day anyways" The girl started whimpering while pouting.


    The boy ignored her complaints and sat down onto her bed and whispered a weird chant while touching the girl''s shoulders. The girl who was once awake soon fainted and lost her consciousness onto his hands. After making sure the girl was not awake anymore, he sighed and left the room.


    However, right after the boy left the room, the girl''s eyes fluttered open and she started to walk towards me. She whispered softly towards me with her fierce eyes, "I don''t have that much time, but promise me that you will meet me in the place you are right now every first night of the month at this time."


    And the dark night that was swallowing up the room slowly broke into a room with faint sunlight dripping through the walls. However strangely, instead of standing in front of the glass walls, I found myself lying down on the floor where I was supposed to be standing. I slowly got up to see Luke standing right in front of me.


    Luke was staring down at me with a expression like: Why are you lying down on the floor instead of the bed?


    Seeing how the room was already filled with sunlight I asked, "What time is it?"


    "9AM." Luke replied with a frown.


    Whoa. Well i guess it did kind of made sense, Luke wouldn''t be here in the middle of the night, right?


    "The bed was way too warm, so I ended up sleeping on the floor," I tried to explain myself.


    "Yes, I see." Luke replied sarcastically.


    "So I think I''m better now so I''ll go to the library to go and study." (Rika)


    "Are you sure you''re already better? I don''t think someone exactly in their right mind would choose to sleep on the floor no matter how warm their bed was." (Luke)


    "Then let''s go together!" (Rika)

 8 Time Skip

    I felt a piercing stare from the back of my head as Luke tried to keep me in his sight for the entire day to check if I wasn''t overexerting myself.


    I sighed as my studying wasn''t efficient as before since I felt that jabbing gaze from Luke even after I wrote the exam few days ago. It wasn''t like I didn''t understand because I knew he an eye on me ever since I ended up going to the infirmary.


    But still, it was too much!


    That was why I was happy to meet my classmates after the weekend was over. It was tiring to be stuck with only one person all the time even though he was like a mannequin doll.


    But strangely, I stared back at a small group of four children in the wide classroom.


    "I thought there were a total of twelve people in our grade?" I asked due to the small class.


    "Yes, but in order to enhance the students'' learning, we decided to split the class into two to make smaller classes" Christopher explained.


    Twelve people already seemed small enough, but maybe it was too big for a kindergarten class.


    ''Young children did indeed need more care in their early childhood.'' The two girls who stood before us smiled as they started to introduce themselves while I lost in thinking about the class size.


    "Hello, pleased to meet you! My name is said to be Michelle de Locast." The elegant girl with silken black hair curtsied.


    "And my name is Helena de Nicole." The lovely girl with platinum bronze bob gratefully introduced herself.


    " My name is Allan de Krista and this is Alex de Monete." The boy with gleaming navy blue hair gestured towards Alex.


    "And as some may already know, I am Luke de Roselia and this is my partner Rika Shanes." Luke naturally replied back in the same formal setting.


    I instantly noticed that everyone''s names had ''de'' before their last name. Did everyone in the first district have the same characteristic?


    "Why does everyone have ''de'' in their names?" I subtly whispered into Luke''s ear.


    "Everyone from the first district has ''de'' in their names if they''re from a clan that has high status and power." Luke whispered back.


    Everyone here were elites except for me. I wondered why I was here at this school with Luke as I now knew the partnering system wasn''t a truly a lottery system like he had previously mentioned.


    Although I would understand Luke attending the school as he seamlessly blended in with the group of highly educated children who had elegance ingrained within their bones.


    "Now that everyone has finished introducing themselves, everyone has free time for the rest of the day today to have time to interact with the new transfer students." Christopher announced to the class.


    "Will you be willing to drink some tea with me during our leisure time?" I tried to replicate their graceful manner of speaking to Helena and Michelle.


    "Of course," Helena answered.


    "But how about we go to the cafeteria to have our discussion?" Helena suggested.


    I nodded my head as I soon found myself holding a beautiful glass teacup alongside the doll-like children.


    When half of my cup was empty, I started to ask some questions to break the silence, "Do you think the partner system is a lottery?"


    "I think? We''re matched with someone with a similar amount of mana and the rest is uncertain from what I know." Helena replied with abundant knowledge.


    "Why is there a partnering system in the first place?" I tried to figure out the origin of the concept.


    "I''m not sure. But I think it''s because it''s easier to form relationships with other people with similar status that way?" Michelle questioned herself.


    Hmm. These four-year olds had more knowledge about the situation than I thought they would. As expected from the highest-ranking school in the first district.


    "I''m sorry for asking. It''s because Luke wouldn''t tell me about these things because our relationship is strained lately." I flawlessly lied.


    Luke didn''t answer any of my questions simply because I didn''t ask him any. He usually answered every question I had quite simply.


    "It''s the same with Alex as well. He just keeps on telling me to study to accumulate more points! Helena has it lucky with Allan. Allan doesn''t tell her to do anything." Michelle complained while pouting.


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    "It''s more like I have to take care of Allan so that he doesn''t get make us lose more points than he already has," Helena grumbled.


    Of course, points were everything to these children. Without points, you lived a miserable life where the way of living resembled the middle ages.


    "Are children from the first district usually very capable like Luke?" I asked due to their highly-educated upbringing.


    "The Roselia and the Monete family are well known in the first district for their strict upbringing in their children from a young age," Michelle answered.


    Ahh. Both Alex and Luke was special case in the first district as well. I figured.


    While we got closer to one another from talking about our partners, the day deepened into the evening.


    Time quickly passed as I graduated from elementary with the same classmates.


    I know that there''s a huge skip from kindergarten to before middle school, but let me fill in the gaps.


    After getting close with Helena and Michelle. I eventually got more familiar with their pairs, which were Allan and Alex.


    Another thing was that Luke and I eventually upgraded our room so that we got to live quite decently in kindergarten. Since I already learnt most of the things while studying for the SATs, getting more points wasn''t a struggle as long as I didn''t mess up on the minor details.


    We proudly passed smoothly onto the next grade and eventually graduated from kindergarten to enter a prestigious new elementary school with the same people from our class of six people.


    At this rate, there was no way Luke and I would be dropping to a lower ranking school with Luke''s capabilities and my motivation of earning more points after being dumped into a medieval-like room. After getting traumatized by that room, I obediently studied with Luke even without his bribes of stockpiles of luxurious desserts.


    Sadly, I only ended up meeting the adolescence girl at the other side of the glass wall one more time where she would give me helpful tips about how to handle the life here. Surprisingly, she gave me lessons on how to "train" Luke. However, I never got to know her true identity as she was determined to keep it a secret.


    After entering elementary school, our schedule remained the same as kindergarten except that we had longer classes that were more theoretical based. At this rate, I knew we were learning about stuff we would learn in university from my past life so my grades never went up after kindergarten.


    However, the worse thing about entering elementary was that the accumulated points that we piled up got deleted and we had to start from scratch. I almost cried when we started from that medieval-like room again except that this time we weren''t provided any meals. I was shocked because this meant that we had to get our meals by using our points which left less room to upgrade our room.


    This was when I discovered they were going easy on us before because we were ''young''. After starving very occasionally to get a decent room again, Luke and I started to get a constant flow of points that led us to live peacefully for the next five years.


    I felt really sorry towards Luke at first because I was making him starve since I didn''t exactly get the decent grades ever since I started to learn the new material. However, I was feeling grateful towards him because he never once complained or got mad at me for bringing him down. Instead, he worked hard at tutoring me at the stuff that I was weak at to bring my grades back up.


    At this rate, how would I survive without Luke?


    Today was the graduation ceremony at my elementary school. Last month, Luke and I got a decent mark to get into another prestigious middle school, so I wasn''t worried about getting in a decent middle school anymore.


    However, ever since I came to this world, I was never able to take a summer break to accumulate more points (or else Luke and I would have the potential of losing points the next year). But, this year was a bit special! I was going to get a well-deserved summer break!


    This meant that I would finally be allowed to go home! Ever since I entered that hell-like kindergarten, I never got to meet my parents. I was way too busy studying during my holidays! But now, I had an entire week of free time before entering middle school!


    I bowed gracefully while retrieving my diploma from the elementary school dean. I elegantly walked back to my seat beside Luke ingrained from my etiquette lessons.


    I stared at Luke''s familiar handsome face that was blooming into a beautiful flower as he grew older.


    His ocean blue eyes sparkled from the sunlight with his silver hair swaying from the gentle breeze. As he lost more of his baby fat, his features started to get more distinct with his high bridged nose and slender jaw-line. His looks resembled a very good-looking child model from my previous life that would later on gain fame as an prominent actor in their life.


    A pure visual to feast upon the eyes.


    Maybe it was because I was staring at his face for a long time, Luke asked in a soft tone, "Is something wrong Rika?"


    "Nope. It was just that I was reminiscing about the old days," I reminisced about the old days.


    The ceremony soon finished while I was drifted off in a film of my memories from the long speeches. I greeted everyone their farewells as I soon got into the school''s car where it would drive me back home.


    When I arrived at the cozy house that I have missed for six years, I open the door with the keys that my mom had passed onto me before leaving me alone in kindergarten. "I''m home," I yelled.


    However, since both my parents were still working, I walked into the empty house to hear my yell resounding in the house.


    ''I guess I''ll wait in my room until they come back.'' I disappointedly thought.


    I opened the door to my room to see that it was left exactly the same as before. There was the same canopy red bed in the pink walled room with the pink furniture.

 9 Going to the Mall

    I woke up at 6AM from the bright sunlight drowning into my room. I guess old habits die hard, as Luke always woke me up at 5:50AM.


    I tried to change out of my elementary school uniform and opened my closet. My closet was almost empty. The only clothes I had inside was from when I was about four years old. I guess I''ll go out and buy my clothes today. Too bad there wasn''t something like a tablet that would spring up some clothes as long as I had enough points. I guess life was really convenient at school if you had an affluent amount of points. This was where I apologized to Luke again in my heart with my low grades bringing him down.


    With my school uniform on, I went downstairs into the dining room where I saw my parents eating breakfast that my mother made. It was a french toast with a cabbage salad as a side dish with fruits. I sat down at a empty seat as my parents both had a hint of shock on their faces for a while. "Is there anything wrong?" I asked.


    "Are you Rika?" My father asked.


    "If I''m not Rika, who else do you think I am?" (Rika)


    "It''s just that we didn''t think that you''d be coming back today." My mom said.


    "Well, I''m back! And I''ll be staying for about a week and I''ll be returning to school afterwards." (Rika)


    "It''s just that you grew up so much while you were in school." My dad said sadly.


    "Ahh! That reminds me! When I looked through my closet, I couldn''t find anything to wear! Is there anywhere I can go to buy some clothes?" I asked.


    My mom ran upstairs and quickly came back down with a card in her hands. "While you weren''t here, we put all your allowance in this card. You can use it today to buy some clothes at the nearby shopping mall."


    "More like you can use it all because we don''t know when you''re coming back again." My dad said with a sad face.


    "Thank you very much," I replied with some tears beginning to swell up in my eyes.


    I didn''t have that much of a attachment to my current family because I only got to stay with them for a little more than a week after my reincarnation. But when I saw them thinking of me all this time, I felt very bittersweet as my eyes started to get pink.


    "But, we won''t be going shopping with you though. We have to get to work." My mom said sadly.


    "It''s ok, I''ll call a friend to go together!" (Rika)


    After I finished eating breakfast, I went up to my room and pulled out a transparent blue marble from my pocket. I poured my mana into the marble to call Helena and Michelle.


    I pressed a button to go to my contacts and called Helena first. I smiled as Helena got the call in her mansion. "Hey Ellen!"


    This was her nickname from kindergarten after we started to get really close. "Hey Rika! What happened today?"


    "Do you have some free time in the afternoon today to go shopping in the third district together?"


    Ellen clapped her hands with her pouting face. "Sorry, my parents are making me study to get ready for middle school. Maybe ten years later when I''m out of school?"


    Wow. People from the first district were really strict with their children.


    "No, it''s ok. I''ll ask Shelly instead."


    Shelly was a nickname for Michelle that also started in my last year at kindergarten.


    "I think it''s better not to ask." Ellen frowned.


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    "Why not?" I tilted my head.


    "Shelly''s family is even worse than mine. She probably already been assigned loads of things to do to get ready for school. But maybe you should try asking Luke."


    "Wouldn''t Luke be even busier than you guys?"


    "I heard that Luke''s parents had nothing to give him because he did all the work that they assigned before our graduation."


    "Wow. He did that willingly?" Right, this was Luke we were talking about. Of course he would have done all the work beforehand.


    I ended my call with Ellen and called Luke as my last resort. "Hey! Are you free today? I heard from Ellen that you aren''t so busy this week. So let''s meet at this location one hour from now. Ok?"


    I knew that with Luke''s personality, if I made a deal with him, he would keep it. So before he had the chance to say anything, I hung up quickly while looking at a glimpse of his flustered expression.


    I was originally going to go shopping in the afternoon if Shelly and Ellen agreed, but why wait that long if Luke''s the one I''m going with?


    I said farewell to my parents as I exited the house to start walking towards the nearly bus station. I got on the bus with the bus card I just got from my parents and sat down on a empty seat nearby.


    But I wondered why I was getting weird looks from my surroundings. "Are you here alone?" A teen with long pigtails asked.


    "Yes." I replied.


    "Are you here to do some errands for your parents?" (Commuter)


    So that''s why I was getting these weird glances! Maybe because the current age of this body was ten years old. Since the third district was similar to where I lived in my past life, I would get why people would get concerned about a young child riding the bus all alone.


    "No, I''m here to get to the nearby shopping mall to meet my friend." I answered.


    "Oh! Then you should get off at the next stop!" The teen said while looking flustered.


    "I will. Thank you!" I replied.


    I got off the bus a few minutes later to see myself dropped off right in front of the mall. I soon arrived at 3rd entrance of the mall to see that Luke was already there.


    Of course Luke was already here waiting. He was the type to come earlier than the time that we were supposed to meet.


    He was wearing a white collared shirt with formal blue shorts and navy blue dress shoes. Wasn''t he dressed way too formal?


    "How long were you waiting for?" I asked frankly.


    "Ten minutes. I didn''t know where the location was as I''m not that familiar with the third district. So I just entered the location inside the teleportation gate near my house and arrived here ten minutes earlier." Luke answered with no expression.


    Right. The first district was very futuristic.

 10 Regrets

    \"Well it does seem more ancient than ordering things with a tablet,\" I nonchalantly replied.


    The food that came from the tablet probably tasted better and fancier than this restaurant. Plus, the food from the tablet would instantly appear after the order, which meant that there were no people involved in serving or making the food.


    While Luke looked around the humble-looking restaurant, the server placed our food onto our table about ten minutes later. Even though the food didn''t look bad, I could tell it was inferior to the food that came from the tablet. However, both Luke and I were starving after all that shopping that we gobbled up all the food to leave the restaurant shortly after.


    I wondered what we should do next after checking off all the items on my list in things I could do. The only item left was going to the bookstore.


    ''There would be things like manga and light novels, right?'' I thought while walking towards the map.


    It seemed that the bookstore was all the way across the other side of the mall. I spotted the hours of operation on the bottom of the map.


    ''Four hours before the mall closed.'' I concluded after I subtracted the time remaining.


    It was enough time to look through all the books that I was hungry for after landing in this world. I quickly ran towards the bookstore while Luke was nowhere to be seen when I occasionally looked back.


    ''He is probably struggling with the bags,'' I dismissed the thought of Luke.


    Whenever I was in the bookstore in my past life, I wouldn''t leave until the store closed as I got too engrossed in the books. My eyes tinkled as I entered the manga section hidden in the second floor near the back.


    When I immediately picked up the familiar ''book'' and I couldn''t stop reading.


    ''It''s been six years since I picked up a decent ''book'' like this,'' I almost cried from the thought.


    Maybe that was why I didn''t notice the marble that kept on vibrating in my pocket. When the bookstore announced that it was about to close, I ended up buying several interesting new ''books''. I pleasantly skipped out of the mall towards the same entrance I entered to catch the bus.


    I frowned when I detected a young boy with panicked eyes with tons of bags in both his hands pleading for help to the people around him. Naturally, he was surrounded by a large crowd that couldn''t ignore an beautiful child asking around if they had seen a young girl with red hair and unique orange eyes.


    I instantly turned my gaze away from Luke with a great amass of guilt immediately after he spotted me outside.


    \"Hey Luke!\" I nervously greeted him.


    I forgot to contact Luke after I was engrossed in reading some manga in the bookstore. I did feel some faint vibration in my pocket, but I ended up ignoring it while telling myself that I would answer the call later.


    Luke dropped the bags he was holding while he promptly sprinted towards me. He lightly pinched my cheeks while I pretended to wince in pain.


    \"I''ll hold the bags from now on?\" I asked cautiously.


    I bent down to pick up the bags, as Luke let go of my cheeks after he relieved some of his former panic.


    The crowd dispersed while some passersby sighed with relief.


    \"Well, I''m going to go catch my bus now. See you next we - eekk?\" I was stopped from running to the bus stop after I picked up my bags.


    Luke stood frozen in his spot while he grabbed onto my wrist.


    The next time I blinked, I found myself standing in front of a large mansion.


    \"Can you grab Rika''s bags and deliver it to her house?\" Luke asked to the maid coming towards us.


    Luke''s mansion towered over me as I immersed myself into his other worldly life. I guessed rich people really did live a different life than my average room filled with cheap stuffed dolls and princess dresses from when I was four.


    When the maid took my bags away, Luke grabbed my hand to drag me into a room that resembled a fancy living room with fancy leather couches and crystal glass tables. He signalled me to sit down as I silently sat down onto his couch.


    \"Do you know why you''re here?\" Luke angrily asked.


    At this rate, it looked like Luke was going to start another lecture again. I knew when his eyes started to narrow with a certain smile plastered over his face, I was in for another scolding.


    I made myself swell up some tears and started to knell down on the couch to make me seem more pitiful, \"I know it was irresponsible of me to behave this way, but when I picked up a book in the bookstore, I lost track of time.\"


    \"Next time, I''ll make sure to get your calls when we go out like today and I''ll go shopping on my own to not get you involved,\" I added when Luke was still eerily smiling.


    These lectures usually started when I slacked off too much in our study sessions together. I struggled to keep my focus up for long periods of time as I was tortured with preparing with the SATs every day in my former life. But even when I studied for the SAT, I would reward myself with tiny breaks by sleeping throughout the night.


    However, I couldn''t even have that small reward in this life due to the time-space rooms. It would feel like an eternity had passed by once I left the study room with great exhaustion.


    Every time I felt like I was going to pass out from all the studying, my respect for Luke grew as he displayed no signs of exhaustion even though he was going through the same things.


    \"I''m not mad because you called me out to go shopping together. It''s because you ran off on your own and I had no way to contract you as you weren''t getting my calls.\" Luke replied madly.


    \"I told you that we should stick together. I read that the third district is dangerous because it''s still underdeveloped compared to the second and first district.\" Luke added to support his initial message.


    \"Well nothing happened today,\" I softly muttered.


    \"I hope you figure out what you''ve done wrong in this room tonight. The maid already left a message for your parents that you''ll be sleeping over tonight.\" Luke left me alone in the room.


    Sometimes, Luke tried to act like my second parent. I knew I appeared a little unreliable due to my lost memories of my early childhood, but sometimes Luke stepped over the line like today.


    I took out the new ''book'' that I bought earlier today out of my shirt and starting reading as I had no intention on ''reflecting''.


    In my second year of elementary school, I started to order my uniforms a little bigger than my actual size when I realized it was practical for hiding stuff. I hid my secret stash of junk food I bought from the tablet into my pyjamas to snack on during the night.


    Oddly, it eventually became a habit of mine as I kept on putting small things inside my shirt that I wanted to hide from Luke.


    Half-way through the book, I heard footsteps coming towards the room. I quickly hid the book back into my shirt before I heard the door opening. Luke entered the room with a tray full of lavish food that was likely my dinner. The waft of delicious food entered into my nose.


    \"I''m not so hungry, so you can take the food back.\" I told him when he was about to place the tray onto the table.


    Unfortunately, I ate half of my stash of junk food to commemorate reading some manga for the first time in six years. I reminisced about the best thing I did in my former life and it was eating junk food while reading a piece of manga.


    Since I wasn''t planning to eat any more food today, I pushed the tray back towards him.


    Luke''s eyes started to narrow with his familiar eerie smile instantly plastered onto his face.


    \"What are you hiding Rika?\" He studied me carefully.


    \"Nothing!\" I answered with a bit of panic in my voice.


    I abruptly took a step back for every step Luke took towards me. Unfortunately, I encountered a dead end few steps later as Luke observed me intensely to try to find the ''thing'' I was supposedly hiding.


    Luke suddenly grabbed my shoulders to shake me lightly to revolve his suspicions. My book awkwardly fell out of shirt, but luckily my secret stash of junk food was taped to the inside of my shirt so it didn''t fall out.


    I always carried around a tiny roll of tape in my pocket of my school blazer. Thankfully nobody ever imagined someone carrying a practical item on their bodies in the first district other than sparkling accessories.


    \"What''s this?\" Luke asked.


    \"The ''book'' I bought at the bookstore today.\" I replied back while wincing at the folded cover of my new ''book''.


    A friendly cat-girl brightly smiled as she posed in a typical Japanese school uniform. She was hugged by her similar loli friend with white bunny ears that complemented her long neon-colored hair. I sighed as the book with a semi perverted cover had to be the one that fell.


    Luke picked up the book on the ground, \"Is this ''thing'' the reason you''re not eating dinner?\"


    I rushed towards the tray of food on the table as I flushed with embarrassment and grabbed a fork to start eating, \"No, I''ll eat the dinner that you brought me now.\"


    I forced myself to eat some egg salad as I tried to appear obedient after taking a quick glance at Luke''s scary expression.


    Luke walked over to sit on the couch to look over the ''book'' more closely.


    His eyes widened up as he flipped through the fascinating graphics of the girls clinging onto the male protagonist to become energized with more power. Occasionally, I found Luke''s eyes to broaden from interest when he encountered something he had never imagined before. Unfortunately, most times it happened, it was bad news.


    He probably never picked up a ''book'' like manga before because he grew up in a sheltered family in the first district. Luke''s curiosity quickly turned into disapproval as he frowned after closing the ''book''.


    After I finished stuffing more food into my mouth, I asked, \"Can I have my ''book'' back now?\"


    \"I''ll be confiscating it for now,\" Luke avoided my hands that tried to grab for the book.


    \"Please finish the rest of the food to -\"


    \"I''m not hungry anymore, I can''t eat more than this. Plus, I want to go back home now. I''m pretty sure I learned my lesson now, so I think you can stop with the lecturing.\" I whined as I interrupted him while my hands captured air instead of the ''book''.


    \"I''m sorry that I ran off on my own and I promise from now on I''ll stick with you if we ever go out.\" I continued while sulking.


    I promised myself that I would never go out with Luke in my holiday again. It was bad enough to stare at his expressionless while he analyzed the manga with his bright eyes. I blamed myself as it was my fault for inviting him during our precious break time as I hid from the shame of carrying a mildly perverted shounen manga.


    Maybe it looked as if I was reflecting with my head down from my depression of others reading my embarrassing book.


    Luke walked to sit beside me to pat my head while comforting me, \"I''ll let you go back home today because I think you have figured out what you have done wrong. However, I''m still going to take that book.\"


    ''Please don''t take that book!'' I internally screamed.


    However, I needed to get home soon to organize my thoughts. I blindly nodded as Luke escorted me to the teleportation gate in his mansion.


    When I fully regained my awareness of my surroundings, I found myself back in my bedroom with a toppling number of fancy shopping bags placed in front of my bed.


    I jumped into my fluffy bed to cheer myself up as I tried to get rid of bad thoughts.


    I could always hope that Luke would throw out the book on his own. Even though I was curious to read the other half of the ''book'', I always had the chance to the library to borrow one out.


    After going through the eventful day like a fast- forwarding spiraling film, I sank into the darkness as I thought: ''I''m never ever bringing Luke anywhere with me if possible anymore~,'' with great regrets.

 11 Starting Middle School

    Summer break was pretty nice with spending time with my family to frequently visiting the library nearby to read some manga and light novels. But, this district was starting to feel a bit inconvenient when going to different places every time I needed something instead of having a tablet that instantly delivered the goods. I guess staying in a school meant for elites in the first district to attend was starting to spoil me in a different sense.


    I changed my middle school uniform that was delivered to my front door a few days ago. The uniform consisted a white collared shirt with a beige and maroon plaided vest. There was also a cute mini maroon pleated skirt that landed right before the middle of my upper thighs. I put on my knee high socks and my black dress shoes and got into the car owned by the school. The car was driven by itself so there was no such thing as a driver, since it came from the second district.


    If we were to bring out hover cars from the first district, it would cause a mess in the third district. So the school decided to bring a car that resembled something from the third district, but came from the second district.


    When I arrived in front of the school, I saw Luke talking to Alex. When they both saw me looking in their direction, the new teacher came out of the school entrance, \"Welcome!\"


    \"My name is Daniel de Whemms and I will be your instructor for the next three years for the class of six people.\" His deep voice resounded.


    When I looked behind my shoulder, I saw both Ellen and Shelly getting out of their hover cars in a hurry.


    \"Let''s go in!\" His voice boomed.


    The group of six people including me was led to a large classroom. This was where Daniel started to explain the structure of the school. Basically, it was the same as elementary school except, \"I''ll be giving you a assignment every month to test your practical skills, but I''ll give you the first assignment one week from now to let you settle in!\"


    I wondered what ''practical skills'' the teacher meant. While I was in a dilemma, I was led to a clean room with two beds and two private bathrooms. \"This is where you and your partner will stay for the first week,\" the teacher said while gesturing to Luke.


    It was nice that we weren''t thrown into a medieval room this time. But, it was god-given we didn''t have to worry about points for the first week as well.


    Luke and I settled into the room and took a nice break for the rest of the day doing our own respective things.


    ***


    One week later.


    OMG. I was finally liberated from Luke for the next month. Being partnered up with Luke wasn''t so bad with his genius like capabilities, however because he had high expectations of me that I had to follow, I was restricted in terms of what I could do.


    Luke didn''t let me rest if I didn''t get a certain grade and dragged me to these hell-like study sessions ever since kindergarten. I couldn''t utter a complaint especially starting from elementary school because he was doing this so we can afford to buy our daily necessities. However, when I overdid studying on my own, I would get severely lectured by Luke for hours.


    When it came to weekends and holidays, I didn''t have any. At first it was because we had to accumulate more points, but later on when we got a certain amount of freedom with the amount of points we accumulated, it was because Luke simply had a habit of making me study so that I didn''t slack off. So whenever I complained it was too much, Luke would increase the amount of studying I would have to do while adding another hour of more lecturing of how I should behave.


    When I asked why he cared so much with how I behaved, Luke replied that, \"It''s because you''re my fianc¨¦e and you have to act accordingly to match the standards of the Roselia house in the future.\"


    It was more like Luke was trying to brainwash me to absorb some good habits. So when I was occasionally able to escape from Luke''s radar, I went to Shelly and Ellen to go complain my heart out while drinking some tea. I didn''t get to indulge with games, TV shows or other forms of entertainment since I wasn''t allowed to go home. So I had to entertain myself with talking with Ellen and Shelly with how our days went.


    But only recently, I got hold of some manga and light novels and secretly brought them to school. However, I was only able to sneak in about ten of them into my vest. Sigh.


    How was I able to sneak in ten? Don''t even ask. It was hard enough to keep them hidden from Luke with both my secret stash of junk food and the books. That''s why I wasn''t getting a proper amount of sleep lately. Sigh.


    \"I''ll give you guys thirty minutes to pack up your stuff from your rooms to come back to this classroom. The thirty minutes starts - now!\" Daniel proclaimed.

 12 A New Side of Allan

    When Allan woke up, he said, \"Please tell me it was a dream. It was a illusion right? You failing every exam and it balancing out to - 100 000 points!\"


    Well that was rude! I passed one subject you know! \"Nope, it wasn''t a dream, but I have some food in this room that I snuck from home so we won''t have to starve,\" I replied cheerfully to cheer him up.


    When Allan was about to faint again, I grabbed his shoulders so he wouldn''t lose his consciousness again. \"- 100 000 points,\" Allan kept muttering repeatedly afterwards.


    Well, I did understand it was going to hard to go back to having at least zero points. I knew this wasn''t a good thing, but it was almost a repeat of when I first entered elementary school.


    After I took the my first exam in elementary school, I got one 40, some 50s and 60s. This made the points of Luke and I to balance out to -30 000. So it was basically a less extreme version of now. But, it was hard back then to recover to back to zero points. From what I remembered, it took us almost three months to get it back to a stable surplus of points above zero.


    However, I wasn''t going to spend two weeks trying to recover the impossible. \"Well at least you have some free time to play around! You know that it''s absolutely impossible to recover -100 000 points in two weeks anyways no matter what we do. So we can lay back and relax for the next two weeks!\" I said while smiling.


    I took some water from the well and boiled it with my mana to put into the two cup ramen that was on the floor. After the noodles were about done, I gave one to Allan.


    Allan reluctantly took the cup ramen and finished it within five minutes! Wow. I guess he was really hungry.


    After taking care of Allan''s meal, I grabbed the light novel that was on my straw bed and resumed reading. Allan was way too traumatized about the -100 000 points incident that he got back into his bed to sleep after eating to convince himself that it was a dream.


    The next day, I found a empty bed next to my bed. I wondered what time it was as Allan was nowhere to be seen. Shoot! It was already 2PM! I guess I slept in. Since I already skipped almost half of my classes, I decided to stay inside the room instead of attending the rest of my classes.


    Few minutes later I see Allan entering the room while saying, \"I came to wake you up Rika!\"


    When Allan opened the door, I replied, \"I''m already awake!\"


    \"Then you should get ready for the next class,\" Allan answered back softly.


    \"Nay. I''ll just skip the rest of the classes for today.\" I said.


    Allan suddenly started to search through my bed and pulled out my uniform, \"You should really get going Rika.\"


    Allan''s face scarily started to resemble Luke as his amber eyes started to narrow in anger with a eery smile plastered all over his face while holding my uniform. I knew this wasn''t good news, as I started to back away to eventually break into a run to run away from our room in my pyjamas.


    I ran towards the back exit of the school where there was a teleportation gate. I didn''t know how to use it, but I would figure it out. However, I was really surprised to see Allan running after me still holding onto my uniform. At this rate, he was going to catch up I thought. And unfortunately he did.


    Allan managed to grab onto my wrist while trying to catch his breath. \"This is not what it seems,\" I said to try to calm him down.


    However, Allan''s amber eyes looked like it was burning in anger. \"Change! Before I get more mad than I am now!\" He yelled.


    \"I can''t change here though,\" I replied back while reading the mood.


    So Allan and I ended up walking back to our rooms again so that I could get changed. When I finally got changed, Allan and I returned back to class late.


    My wavy red hair and Allan''s navy blue hair looked like a mess when we came inside the classroom. \"Well, you''re back.\" The teacher reluctantly said while reading the mood.


    After finishing up the last class, Allan walked towards me and said, \"I think we should have a talk.\"


    He grabbed my hand and pulled me to the field behind the classroom while the others were still packing their stuff. \"I know that you don''t care if you miss class or get more minus points, but I care. It reflects back bad on me that I have a partner who misbehaves even though it''s only for two weeks.\"


    At this point, I knew I was being cruel to Allan, but I didn''t care. I cared more about my freedom that I would even rarely get in the first place. \"So what? So what you care? What are you going to do about it?\" I asked.


    \"You weren''t like this with Luke,\" Allan replied.


    Gosh! And I thought that Allan was the kind of person who liked to laze around with Ellen''s constant complaints about him.


    \"Well if that''s all you wanted to ask, I''m going back to the classroom to finish packing up my stuff and go back to our room.\" (Rika)


    Allan tightly grabbed onto my hand and asked, \" What should I do to get you to at least attend class?\"


    He kneeled down onto the floor while he started to beg, \"I don''t know why you''re behaving this way, but please stop. I''ll do anything to make you at least attend class. I got really flustered this morning when you wouldn''t wake up when I tried waking you up for almost an hour. So I attended class alone to get asked by everyone where you were. If that wasn''t enough, I got asked by every teacher who came into the room where you were and got scolded many times for not bringing you to class. I''d be lying to say I wasn''t upset about the -100 000 points, but as long you attend class, I''ll be willing to overlook that one blunder as the representative of the Krista family. So please at least attend class!\"


    At this rate, he was threatening and begging me. After living for 16 years in my past life + almost 7 years my current life, I wasn''t falling for his sweet words. I shook his hand off and went back to the classroom to pack up my stuff, not giving Allan an answer.


    When I was about to leave the classroom, I got stopped by Ellen near the exit. \"Aren''t you being way too harsh Rika?\"


    \"Nope. I''m helping you by letting Allan taste a bit of his own medicine,\" I replied.


    \"Rika~ You don''t have to go this far for me though. Thanks for caring though.\" (Ellen)


    Well, I wasn''t doing this for her, but for me. However, I couldn''t say it like that so I framed it differently.


    \"No, Ellen you''re way too nice! I''ll just do this for a couple of more days and I''ll stop!\" (Rika)


    Ellen reluctantly got out of my way with a concerned looking face while I started to walk towards my room.


    When I got to my room to finish reading the rest of my light novel, I wondered why it wasn''t so fun anymore. The plot didn''t seem to be going anywhere while the junk food that I was eating started to lose its taste. This was when I heard some voices outside the door, \"I saw Allan still kneeling outside at that field even though it''s been over four hours!\" One voice said.


    \"That long? When I saw him outside, only two hours has passed!\" Another voice whispered.


    \"I wondered what happened.\" The first voice answered back.


    Maybe it was the book that was boring, I tried to convince myself. I switched to another book, while I heard someone knocking on the door.


    I learned that in kindergarten that no one could open the door to the room if the owner of the room wasn''t the pair itself. So it meant the person that was knocking on the door, wasn''t Allan.


    I ignored the knocking until I heard Luke''s voice, \"I know that you''re inside Rika. Let me in or you won''t know what will happen to you next month.\"


    I ignored Luke''s threats as I flipped another page in the light novel. I wondered if this book was boring as well, as I began to pick up a new book.


    One book later, I began to get thirsty. So I opened the door to get myself some water from the well. Unfortunately, when I opened the door, I saw the angry face of Luke.


    I quickly tried to close the door when I saw his face, but Luke already barged into the room. \"What were you thinking Rika?\" Luke asked angrily while grabbing onto my shoulders.


    \"Nothing much.\" I replied back.


    I started to shrink back as I saw myself reflected back from Luke''s genuinely stormy ocean blue eyes.

 13 Reconciling Before Switching Partners

    Luke gestured me to sit down on the straw bed with his stormy ocean blue eyes. I sat down beside him as he opened his mouth, \"I didn''t raise you to act like this Rika. What were you thinking making your new partner kneel in the field for over six hours?\"


    \"I don''t know. He''s the one who chose to kneel down for that long,\" I replied while turning my head away from his stabbing glares.


    I wondered why Luke was acting like this. I clearly wasn''t his partner for the next month and what was happening between Allan and I was clearly only between us.


    ''Plus, he raised me? Oh please, we''re both in the same age! And I was mentally at least ten years older than him!'' My anger started to swell up in my chest even further.


    \"The Allan that I know wouldn''t kneel down in that field for no reason. What happened Rika?\" Luke gave me a chance to explain what had happened.


    I decided to confess everything as I determined I had nothing to lose, \"It was because I refused to attend class today that Allan threatened me with his family name that he would forgive me if I went to class for the next two weeks.\"


    Luke didn''t look angry anymore, instead he was frozen in shock. \"You decided to not attend class today?\"


    \"Only today, I didn''t say anything about tomorrow or the rest of the week,\" I honestly told him.


    The room was silent for a moment while Luke tried to recollect his thoughts.


    \"Why? You know how much content we go through even if it''s just a day,\" Luke couldn''t understand.


    \"When I returned home, I realized what I was missing out on when I was spending all my time at school. Everyday at school, I was pressured into studying and constantly had to push myself to the brink to survive through this hell! But, I didn''t even know it was hell to me because I got used to it! When I was at home during summer break, I got to play some video games while catching up with some ''books''. I finally got decent time to myself and I was free of expectations for once. I got time to do some shopping everyday and spent some time with my parents. I even had the time to get angry at myself when my parents tried to conceal their sad faces because they knew I would be spending only a week with them! Do you even know how I felt when I saw their faces back then?\" I unintentionally yelled out.


    \"You''re in the first district now. Your parents chose to send you to this school for your future. You know the more you slack off, the more you go to lower class schools and drop through the districts. Or else we wouldn''t be studying this hard,\" Luke tried to reason with me.


    \"I know! It''s because I know that I was going to rest for only today!\" I yelled while tears ran down my face.


    I was confronted with the cold hard truth that I ran away from.


    \"Then I hope you rest well while torturing your innocent partner that has nothing to do with this!\" Luke said sarcastically.


    Luke left the room as he shut the door behind him while looking disappointed in me.


    ''Maybe I was wrong with treating Allan this way because I wanted a good break even though it was only for a day. All that he asked me was to attend class for the reminder of the day and maybe I was being selfish with denying that one request.'' I tried to convince myself after looking at Luke''s great disappointment in me.


    I walked back into the field behind my classroom to see Allan still kneeling down on the grass.


    \"I''m sorry\" I attempted to pull him up.


    Allan nodded while looking barely conscious as if he had forgiven me for ''my mistake''.


    \"Then should we head back to our room?\" I ended up supporting him all the way back to our room as Allan toppled as soon as he got up.


    I grabbed a light novel and ended up falling asleep without turning one page after I safely put him down on his bed.


    I woke up early the next morning to get ready for school. I guessed old habits die hard. When I was almost finished changing into my uniform, Allan woke up as if yesterday''s incident did not happen.


    \"Good morning!\" I greeted Allan.


    \"Good morning!\" Allan friendly replied back.


    We were on good terms now as we walked towards the classroom together while the day resumed as normal. I talked to Ellen and Shelly during the break and studied hard during class as usual.


    But, when I noticed Allan interacting with Alex with his bright laid back smile, I didn''t dare to look at Luke that was right beside them as his disappointed face flashed across my mind.


    I was surprised when Luke threw the bag into the garbage as I pulled out my bag of chips and started to open the bag during lunch time.


    Luke ordered another set of foods for me on the tablet as he soon passed over the tray of food to me. When I worriedly looked over at Allan, I was relieved when Ellen shared some of her food with him.


    I was glad Luke ordered another potion of food for me as I was getting sick of junk food. I decided to forgive him with throwing my chips away and accepted the tray of food.


    I guessed that meant that Luke wasn''t mad at me anymore as my favourite dishes was on the tray in front of me.


    These peaceful days continued until an entire two weeks quickly passed by and the teacher announced we were going to switch partners again.


    \"It was nice being paired up with you Allan\" I pulled out my hand to shake hands with him.


    \"While it wasn''t exactly a pleasant situation, it was a unique experience.\" Allan shook my hand to commemorate our time together.


    I didn''t know why, but I was heard some soft hints of laugher from Ellen and Shelly from Allan''s reply. I still wondered to this day what was so funny.


    \"I''m going to rearrange your partners again. Starting from today, Helena will be with Allan while Rika will be with Alex and Michelle will be with Luke. There''s going to be another exam again to re-evaluate your points again tomorrow. So study hard and I''ll see you tomorrow!\" Daniel announced after we sat back down in our seats.


    When I started to head back to the medieval-like room to pack up my stuff, Daniel stopped me claiming that my room wouldn''t change. I watched Allan happily packed his stuff while moving to another room as Alex carefully brought his stuff inside with wary eyes.


    Before I could hide my collection of lights novels and manga with my bad intuition coming towards me, my books were instantly burnt to ashes.


    \"Don''t think I''ll be as lenient as Allan was.\" Alex showed no signs of guilt from harming other people''s private properties.


    I dropped down to my knees from shock.


    ''My precious babies,'' I scooped the ashes into my hands as I despaired over the parts I didn''t read yet.


    Even Luke wasn''t this cruel. Luke would just confiscate it from me, he wouldn''t burn them right in front of me.


    Fortunately, the most of light novels I didn''t read yet were still inside the box underneath my clothes and my secret stash of junk food remained inside the box as well.


    I ignored Alex while he unpacked his stuff. I decided to go to sleep to convince myself it was all a dream and hugged one light novel that I placed inside my vest to comfort myself.


    Just when I was about to fall asleep, Alex pulled out something that resembled a water gun from my previous life.


    \"What do you want?\" I quickly sat up and asked before he could shoot me with the whatever was inside the gun.


    \"We need to start studying for the exams. I can''t afford to get -100 000 points like you and Allan did. It would be a great humiliation to the Monete family. I was surprised that Allan was able to forgive you after sullying his family name!\" Alex couldn''t find what was wrong with his approach.


    \"Can we start studying one hour later? At this rate, I will put myself to sleep even though I want to get a good mark on the exam this time. Plus, I read a book in elementary school that people retain less information when they''re in a state where they''re about to fall asleep.\" I tried to negotiate with Alex as I needed time to mentally recover from my precious gems being burnt.


    \"It''s ok. I''m sure after some constant encounters with water, you''ll be wide awake!\" Alex warned me as he dragged me with force to the study room


    ''Another characteristic that was similar to Luke,'' I thought as Luke frequently dragged me to the study room for his intense study sessions.


    Alex kept frowning as my skills weren''t up to his expectations since I didn''t do any reviewing for two weeks and only attended class. Apparently, I was in a worse situation than Alex thought I would be as he decided to extend the study session. However, I ended up falling asleep half-way through even though I was drenched from his water gun. I did end up sleeping late during the past several of days to finish my piles of light novels and manga I brought from the third district and it must have accumulated.


    This was how I ended up with a really bad cold the next day. Alex couldn''t wake me up no matter what methods he used while I fell asleep drenched in the study room.


    Currently, Alex was busy pouring all his mana into my forehead to try to at least get rid of my dizziness before the exam started. Most of it was his fault anyways from not letting me take a one hour nap.


    I decided to take the exam anyways as the school didn''t have exceptions for deferring exams when you switched partners as it was an assignment itself. I didn''t want to suffer from a lack of points again because I would be getting a zero if I didn''t end up writing it.


    Unfortunately, we soon ran out of time and had no choice but to write the exam. With the combination of my throbbing forehead and Alex''s tired body from pouring most of mana inside my body we both heavily sighed after managing to finish the exam.


    The results instantly projected onto the whiteboard.


    [Helena and Allan: 87 000 points]


    [Rika and Alex: - 110 000 points]


    [Michelle and Luke: 110 000 points]


    ''-110 000 points. A new record! How fascinating!'' I felt hot and dizzy while the room started to feel like it was spinning.


    Alex stumbled onto the floor from shock while Allan didn''t seem surprised as he tried to help Alex stand back up. However, the other five people, which included the teacher, had their jaws dropped to the floor again.


    ''This wasn''t my fault this time,'' I warned Alex with a short glare before I limped to the infirmary with the support of Shelly and Ellen.


    In many ways, the infirmary was better than medieval-like room I was currently in. Shelly and Ellen carefully placed me down on the bed as I kept myself from throwing up. I was soon given congee by the doctor after she noticed my condition while she mentioned to rest well during the next couple of days.


    At this point, the point system didn''t apply to me since I was sick in bed unable to move. However, Alex was not exempt even though he was my pair.


    I learned this in elementary school when I got sick while Luke was still fine. Luke had to work like a workaholic as he had to go out to earn enough points everyday (including my share) until I got better.


    However, we were in a much better situation than what Alex and I was tangled up in. We had a stable amount of points that we had accumulated to help us out. But, Alex and I possessed minus points right now. It wasn''t just something like -50 or -100 points, but -110 000 points.

 14 Alexs Perspective

    -110 000 points. I stumbled onto the floor because I was so shocked. I was thankful to Allan as he tried to help me back up. I already guessed Allan wasn''t surprised because he went through this experience two weeks ago. But, it was really different when you were the one that was actually in this situation.


    The worse thing was that I was the one that brought upon this situation. When Rika asked me for a one hour nap, I refused and kept on spraying more water on Rika so she wouldn''t fall asleep. This led Rika to get a bad cold. Since she got a bad cold, she couldn''t focus on the exam and got even worse grades than last time.


    This was a how I got minus points for the first time in my life.


    However, what I didn''t expect was that Rika would get a fever later from her cold two days later. That meant that I had to earn 2x the amount of points to earn enough for both of us and get rid of minus points.


    I guess this was how Luke felt when Rika got sick last time. I was wondering why Luke volunteered himself for many events when they had a stable amount of points. But I guess there was no way his points were safe with a partner like Rika. I was starting to feel sorry for Luke now.


    Now thinking about it, Luke did seem very busy all the time, spending almost all his time with Rika. While Michelle and I were partners, we didn''t spend that much time with each other and would only talk to each other when it was necessary. That''s why I spent more time with Allan than Michelle.


    Luke. You worked hard for your own survival. Spending almost all your free time teaching Rika and watching her health to make sure it didn''t backfire on you.


    I started to walk to the billboard full of events posted to earn some points. When I looked at the top right, there was this one event where I would get 80 000 points:


    Teacher''s Assistant Wanted For One Day!


    The duties include preparing all the classroom materials and doing whatever the teachers need help with.


    Well, it was only for one day. I was sure that it couldn''t be that bad, so I took the posting and decided to take this job.


    One day later.


    I took that all back! I was forced to hold all the stuff to wherever the teachers wanted, take part in the teachers'' mana experimentation research, do some of their work for them and the list never ended! No wonder it was 80 000 points!


    Well now we had -30 000 points. Sigh. \"Alex, did you get ready for the exam today?\" Luke asked worriedly as I looked busy yesterday.


    At this point, I was glad I liked to learn class materials ahead of time.


    After I wrote the exam, I got an additional 40 000 points. Finally! I had 10 000 points! I bought myself a meal from the cafeteria for the first time in five days!


    When Luke was about to share some of his portion of food as usual while thinking I didn''t eat again, I told him, \"I bought myself a meal already with the points I earned.\"


    Luke looked surprised. So I told him about the points I earned from the exam and the unique event. \"I guess the teachers felt bad making Rika write a exam when she was really sick. So that''s why they posted a event like this for the first time ever.\" Luke replied softly.


    There was never a event like this? \"How do you know that this event never existed before?\" I asked.


    \"I went to the event billboard almost every single day in elementary school when Rika got sick for a week.\" Luke answered back.


    Of course Luke did. \"It must have been hard,\" I said consolingly.


    \"Well I''m used to it.\" Luke said while smiling gently.


    \"I''m just waiting till Rika grows up a bit so I could get some more free time of my own like I have right now.\" Luke added.


    At this rate, Luke was like Rika''s mother. Not that I didn''t understand why Luke became this way.


    Ever since Luke and I were born, we hung out together until we were two years old. Since we were both born in strict families, we had tutors attending to our education at the age of one once we learned how to talk. Our families would use the space-time rooms so that we would get into a prestigious school that was fitting to our family names.


    However, Luke failed to get into the same school as he got matched with Rika. The reason being was that Rika had an unusual high amount of mana. It was so outstanding that no one in the first district could come close to her level of mana except for Luke who was praised to have the greatest amount of mana in his family. Luke''s family came from a powerhouse of people with extremely high levels of mana that showed their high status and influence in the first district. So they were delighted when they had a son like Luke.


    So while they were disappointed with Luke failing to get into the school that they wanted him to attend, his parents were pretty satisfied with his partner as this would secure the next generation of the Roselia house.


    After eating my dinner, I was heading to meet Allan to practice mana together. While I was walking to the mana practice room, I encountered Michelle talking to someone using her translucent marble.


    \"Sure, I''ll transfer the files over right now.\" Michelle said cheerfully.


    \"Thanks!\"


    The person on the other side of the call, reminded me of Rika. Even though I have only occasionally met Rika few times ever since kindergarten, I had a long-lasting memory of her each time we met due to her eccentric behaviour.


    However, there was especially two that stood out lately:


    One was when she made Allan kneel down at the field for about six hours. Both Helena and I knew that whenever Allan doesn''t get what he really wants, he throws tantrums by sitting down somewhere and not moving from that spot until he gets what he wants.


    That was the tactic that Allan used to persuade Rika when she thought of doing a very ''Rika-thing'' to do and decided not to attend any classes. Anyone who grew up in the first district couldn''t imagine skipping classes due to our strict upbringing ingrained within us ever since we were born.


    Allan told me he was absolutely shocked when he heard that from Rika (not that I blame him though). At that time, both Allan and I felt even worse for Luke that had to keep Rika in check all the time.


    Another one was where we got -110 000 points. Of course, the minus points shocked me, but Rika getting sick for about one week was surprising. When I sneaked into the infirmary room to check up on how she was doing, Rika looked very pale and somber.


    I suddenly felt really ashamed of myself for trying to keep Rika awake with a water gun. I knew I had to apologize sometime, but I didn''t know how. At that time, I just didn''t want to get -100 000 points like Allan did.


    I rarely apologized to other people, because my family had a high standing even in the first district. The only families that could rival our status and power was the families of Luke and Michelle.


    So after pondering for a while, I decided to go where Rika was and get the apology over with and asked Michelle where Rika may be.


    I hoped Rika wouldn''t overexert herself after she got better, or else I would have to continue earning enough points for the two of us.

 15 Recovered?

    What started off as a bad cold suddenly turned into a fever. I was panting to catch my breath with my flushed cheeks and sore throat. The only benefit from getting sick was that I didn''t have to attend class. Sob. I couldn''t even say which one was the better of the two evils.


    While I was struggling to recover from my cold, I wondered how Alex was doing. Was he even eating? If he wasn''t, we would both be in the same situation. I couldn''t eat anymore because my fever while he couldn''t eat because of our -110 000 points.


    * * *


    One week later, I finally recovered. From today and onwards, I swore to myself that I would take better care of my body.


    I see Alex''s flushed cheeks as he silently walks with me back to our room. Maybe he was holding hands with me knowing I was feeling a little dizzy?


    I was touched by his actions, but I felt like a older sister watching her younger brother trying to grow up.


    I thought of myself as about twenty three years old now. I spent 17 years in my past life and six years in this life. Even though my academic skills were a bit lacking compared to these bright ten and eleven year olds, I was mentally over ten years older than them.


    I gave Alex a warm smile to thank him for guiding the way. When our eyes met, he quickly looked away to the other direction and resumed walking while avoiding my face.


    Aww. How cute.


    Luke wasn''t as cute as Alex. He would look at me directly and nag me all the time to behave a certain way.


    When we got to our room, Alex didn''t let go of my hand as his grip became tighter. \"I think we need to have a talk.\" Alex said in a serious tone.


    \"What do you want to say?\" I asked very confused.


    \"I''m not as good as Luke when it comes to looking over your health, but I think you shouldn''t overexert yourself right after you got out of the infirmary room. I apologize for my behaviour a week ago when I pushed you to study after you asked for a break. However-\" (Alex)


    Oh. So that awkward atmosphere was because Alex was looking for a timing to apologize. \"It''s not your fault!\" I interrupted him.


    \"I should have been able to look after my own health more and I didn''t. I didn''t want to burden you with more minus points,\" I said with convincingly.


    \"Well, you don''t have to worry about that. Just work on getting better!\" Alex said sincerely.


    I nodded and got into my bed to rest onto my new pillow and blanket. If Alex was getting this worried, I was going to rest for the weekend.


    * * *


    I was on the way of walking towards my room when I saw Alex eating in the cafeteria. I went into the cafeteria curious of the situation. I tapped on Alex''s shoulders to ask, \"What happened while I was away?\"


    He managed to get rid of -110 000! I was shocked. He managed to do something that even Luke couldn''t do.


    \"Since you''re here, why don''t you eat too Rika?\" Alex added.


    After struggling to digest even porridge during the last few days made my appetite go away. Even yesterday, I could only drink water and swallow some pills to get my nutrition.


    \"No. I''ll start eating tomorrow.\" I answered back.


    \"Are you sure?\"


    \"Yea. My stomach is still feeling unwell so I''ll just take my nutritional pills again.\"


    I left Alex so that he could resume eating in the cafeteria. I returned to my room to see that there were few changes. Instead of just a straw bed, there were two fluffy pillows and blankets.


    Wow. Pillows and blankets were something like a luxury good to me lately. I was moved. Instead of grabbing another light novel as usual from my cardboard box full of clothes, food and books, I exited the room to go to the faculty office. After seeing how hard Alex worked, I didn''t want to burden him with tutoring me since I was one week behind others in my studies. So I decided to ask my teachers instead for help.


    But what I didn''t expect was the faculty office to be closed! Right, it was the weekend so maybe that was the reason why? Maybe I wasn''t used to concept of weekends of holidays that I forgot.


    Oh well, maybe tomorrow.


    I took out my marble and called Shelly. \"Are you free?\"


    \"Yea, why?\"


    \"Can you give me your notes so I can catch up on what I missed?\"


    \"Sure, I''ll transfer the files over right now.\"


    On the my static screen projected from my translucent marble, a message appeared: Would you like to accept the files?


    I pressed yes and the files came all at once.


    Wow. There was over 1000 pages of notes. \"Thanks Shelly!\"


    I ended the call while Shelly smiled back. Another useful function of the marble was that we could transfer files while we''re in a conversation almost instantly.


    I learned this in elementary when I got sick for an entire week and Luke would occasionally call me to check up how I was doing in the infirmary and to send me his notes.


    Sigh. How was I supposed to cram about 1000 pages of notes?


    I went to the library study room to start studying. Let''s start from calculus!


    500 pages later.


    I was exhausted. Maybe I overdid it? I was limping towards the door to exit the room. I turned the door knob to open the door. Just when I opened the door, someone from the other side of the same door opened for door as well. I was about to fall onto the floor, however a warm hand pulled me up and I landed on his chest.


    When I looked up, I saw expressionless darkened purple amethyst eyes and long eyelashes. \"Are you here to study as well?\" I asked.


    \"No, I''m here to ask you when you''re planning to return to our room?\"


    Why did Alex care?


    \"Why?\" (Rika)


    \"Shelly was worried you may be over exerting yourself to catch up.\" (Alex)


    \"Well, you finally got us out of minus points and I don''t to burden you with more minus points again.\" I sulked.


    \"I was going to return to our room right now anyways, so you can use this room afterwards if you want.\" I said smoothly.


    \"...\" (Alex)


    I was really awkward with Alex because I wasn''t that close to him. He seemed like he was from another world with Luke and Allan. In their own little world that seemed unapproachable.


    Even Shelly didn''t talk to Alex that often even though they were partners. I guessed different pairs had different relationships.


    I got up from leaning against his chest and started to walk towards the room. I felt my vision wavering a bit as I suddenly felt dizzy.


    This was a bad habit that came from my past life. I would overdo it with my studying when it came to desperate situations like upcoming exams.


    In my past life, it was based on your marks in exams that would determine your standing in going to a good university. I was sadly always be in the middle and would develop a cold after my exams.


    Maybe I overdid it again in order to not burden Alex?


    When I was about to take another step, someone grabbed my hand before I lost my consciousness.

 16 Passageway

    I zipped up my track suit and put on my favourite white running shoes to get ready for gym class.


    I smiled as this was the last class on the Friday and my favourite subject.


    Imagine physical education class meant to train national athletes to compare the level of difficulty for theoretic classes to be beyond university level.


    Starting from elementary school, physical education meant that you would practice moving your body while infusing it with your mana.


    All those fantasy-like things such as gliding through the air or increasing your speed was possible. To glide through the air, you had to manipulate the mana in your body to make it weightless to make it easier to float. But increasing your speed meant that you focused most of your mana in a certain part of your body that you wanted to move faster.


    I stretched my body before joining in the usual exercise of attempting to run 50 laps per person around the school as a marathon. Except that with the partner system, Alex and I would rotate every ten laps that would eventually sum up to one hundred laps.


    I lightly placed my hand above my ankles to infuse my mana into my leg as the area glowed golden blue from the spell.


    \"Start!\" Daniel yelled as he gestured to start the marathon.


    I ran around the school with my lightning fast speed as my hair whooshed from the fast movements. Not even one minute after, I lightly stopped at the place where Alex was waiting for his turn after finishing 10 laps without breaking into a sweat.


    The more mana you had meant that you could run even faster if you knew how to use it properly. Two hours later, both Alex and I finished running one hundred laps. I guessed Alex had less than half of my mana because it took him much more longer time to run while I waited for him while resting in the courtyard. But no one would know except for me that anyone would have less mana than me because I had unlimited amount of MP.


    The next item on the list was mana practicing class. I walked down the long spiraling stairs into the basement as I followed behind Alex. Apparently, all mana practice rooms were in the basement because mana was easily combustible, such as fire and explosion magic.


    \"Please hit this mannequin doll with lightning magic.\" Daniel instructed as he pointed to the limp doll.


    I imagined the crackling blue electric sparks from when I unplugged the cord from the outlet in my former life. The electric sparks were dyed with bits of purple and blue as it fizzed out flickers out of the palm of my hands. I visualized aiming those electric sparks to that mannequin doll made out of hay about one twenty metres ahead of me as I closed my eyes to increase my focus. When I had opened my eyes, mannequin doll burned up in flames and the fire quickly spread like an uncontrollable wildfire to the other mannequins around it.


    \"As usual, Rika learn to control your mana flow!\" Daniel sternly scolded me.


    \"We will be moving onto another exercise since the mannequins are unusable.\" Daniel carried on while he looked in my direction.


    Daniel led us to a room where there were magical cannons. The cannons gleamed from its great maintenance from its exquisite polishing as not a single sign of it being worn down was seen. It reminded me of the weapons used a little past the medieval times in my former life.


    \"Focus your mana inside the cannons and imagine a ball coming out aimed towards the middle of the dart board.\" Daniel instructed.


    I followed his guidance as I poured my mana into the cannon while imagining my mana to be like gasoline that would fuel the cannon to create a fireball that would be thrown by the cannon.


    My mana hummed inside me like it was singing a little song until I stopped pouring waves of my mana into the cannon. While I wasn''t paying attention, the room rumbled from a sudden uncontrollable force creating a great force in the space.


    When I finally came to my senses, I found multiple large balls of fire being thrown by the cannon towards the dart board which instantly destroyed the dart board.


    Daniel walked towards me with a frown as he cleaned up my mess with a snap of his fingers, \"Rika! What did I say about controlling your mana? The reason why the whole class is doing all these tedious exercises is because of you who can''t control the huge amount of mana you possess!\"


    The destroyed ashes of the dartboard were instantly restored back to its former glory and he fixed the room that had shaken from the abrupt force.


    \"I''m sorry,\" I apologized while sulking.


    I changed back into my uncomfortable uniform as I headed back to my room. Instead of staying in my uniform like usual, I changed into the clothes that I bought from the mall. I wore a pink laced dress with a white ribbon made out of silk on my waist matched with my white flats and my cute ivory cardigan.


    Today, Shelly promised to treat me to some pudding at the school cafe. However, we were also there to confirm a rumor circulating inside the school. Apparently, Shelly heard from the rare encounters of our upperclassmen that the school cafe was connected to a tunnel that led to the second district. I eagerly supported her in finding out the truth as we decided to meet up today.


    \"You look cute today Rika!\" Shelly waved at me.


    \"You too Shelly!\" I hugged Shelly before taking my seat.


    Unfortunately, Ellen was busy with some private family affairs today, so she wasn''t able to join us. But, we promised to fill her in on what we discovered today.


    Shelly wore a pretty red and blue striped T-shirt and a white tennis skirt matched with her blue flats. She looked absolutely lovely with her silky black hair and luring silver eyes.


    \"You know Alex was really worried for you the other day,\" Shelly told me when I lost my consciousness last weekend.


    \"I just remember waking up in my room after collapsing onto my bed,\" I couldn''t remember meeting with Alex that day.


    I knew I remembered talking to Alex in the cafeteria earlier on in the day that day, but I couldn''t remember much after that.


    My brain was somehow fuzzy whenever I tried to remember more than what I currently did. It was like someone was trying to block those memories on purpose. I didn''t look further into it, but it was suspicious. Who would want to tamper with my memories and why?


    Shelly tried to change the serious mood as she ordered some delicious strawberry jelly pudding with her points. Once we elegantly finished our desserts, we dropped all the pleasantries as we hurriedly got down into business.


    It wouldn''t be long until Alex would come through the doors while demanding another carefully planned study session. Apparently, Alex received some advice from Luke about his intense study sessions with me throughout the years we have been together. I wasn''t looking forward to what Alex got out of it as I shivered from what was to come.


    \"I wonder where the entrance to tunnel may be.\" I looked around the cafe.


    ''Of course, the tunnel wouldn''t be where it was exactly noticeable to the customers. What was I thinking? It would probably be in somewhere only the staff can enter (not that there was any staff anyways),'' I tried to identify where the tunnel could be.


    \"Maybe it would be inside that staff only room!\" I whispered to Shelly as a lightbulb lit up in my head.


    There was a staff only door right at the back of the last table near the washroom. However, there were no staff in this caf¨¦, since everything was served by robots through the tablet.


    \"It is weird that there is a staff only room even though there is no staff in this cafe,\" Shelly answered while raising one of her eyebrows.


    Shelly and I walked toward the staff only door as I carefully turned the door knob to find it surprisingly unlocked.


    At first, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary. There were cleaning supplies such as mops and stored ingredients to make our desserts on the tall shelves.


    ''This is where there''s a secret lair when you search the floor disguised as a trap door or take out one of the ingredients off the shelves to have one of them turn to lead to a secret passage.'' I randomly lifted a medium-sized bag of cake flour off one of the shelves.


    Maybe I was lucky that day, but Shelly''s eyes widened in surprise as the shelf turned to open an entrance into one of the school''s secret passageways.


    The walls looked like they were made of cold cement and there was long staircase rather than a room after few steps into the passageway.


    The air felt dry with presumed ventilated air as we travelled deeper down the stairs with firm determination.


    \"I feel like these stairs are never going to end,\" I said while panting.


    After two hours of going down the spiral staircase, the stairs never seemed to end. I checked the time on my marble as Shelly and I were noticeably exhausted from the workout. As the two of us mostly spent our time sitting down as we desperately studied for our next exam, we never exercised as much as we did today. We chose to spend out free time at our usual caf¨¦ while enjoying desserts. Not like Alex and Luke who strangely immersed themselves with practicing with a wooden sword as they spared against each other.


    It was like the stairs were a never-ending illusion schemed to deceive people. I sighed as at this rate, it would be faster to fall down to the tunnel rather than to keep walking down.


    \"Shelly! Are you ok with falling?\" I was going through the worse that could happen from the result of my new plan in my head.


    \"Huh? What do you mean by falling?\" Shelly suddenly became more alert.


    Shelly looked very pale with her clothes and hair disheveled. She was constantly panting to catch her breath and appeared like she was going to faint any minute.


    With Shelly''s silence, I took it as a ''yes'' as I pitied both of our appearance.


    I closed my eyes and imagined a laser beam shooting down a step below where I was standing to visualize the spell better. The laser beam would destroy the whole set of stairs underneath as well and all I had to was to yell, \"Releeeaaassseee!\"

 17 The Second Distric

    When I opened my eyes, Shelly and I were standing in front of a tunnel that resembled a futuristic high-tech underground tunnel surrounded by metal and glass.


    There was a badly broken metal vault in front of us that seemed like the entrance to this tunnel. Strangely, there was a huge hole in the vault like it was melted from a huge laser beam?


    Well, since the hole looked like it was big enough for both Shelly and I to pass through one by one, I asked, \"Shall we get going?\"


    \"...Sure.\" Shelly replied looking confused like she didn''t know what was going on.


    We walked through the tunnel to find ourselves bathed in warm sunlight again in the scenery of hover cars, high sky rise condos and many people outside with their smartphones. Wow! So this was the second district!


    When we exited the tunnel, and I looked back, I couldn''t find the tunnel anymore. Strange~. Maybe this was another illusion, if not, we''ll somehow find ourselves the way back.


    \"Have you been to the second district before,\" I asked.


    \"Well, other than school, I''ve only been to the first district,\" Shelly replied.


    \"Since this our only chance to explore the second district, let''s enter that cute cafe below the cliff!\" I said cheerfully while winking.


    It took us some time to walk towards the city, but one hour later, we found ourselves standing in front of a homey cafe that looked like it was made out of wood.


    We entered the cafe to find ourselves greeting a waiter in a butler uniform saying, \"I''ll escort you to a table, maladies.\"


    Wow. Was this one of those butler and maid cafes? When I looked back to see Shelly''s expression, she seemed unsurprised. Instead, she had a calm demeanor on like she was used to this kind of environment.


    Right~. When I forcefully went to Luke''s mansion, there was maids and butlers everywhere. I guessed rich elites were used to these kinds of things.


    We were led to a wooden table with cute antique looking chairs and the waiter handed us the menu. I wondered how we would pay for this because the payment method per district seemed to differ.


    On the menu, instead of the money presented in like points, dollar and etc. It was written like a strawberry shortcake costed 40 crystals, while milk tea costed 30 crystals.


    I looked at Shelly in confusion while she ordered, \"Please give me a white chocolate tiramisu with milk tea.\"


    I guess that''s a hint telling me to order what I wanted as well, \"As well as a strawberry shortcake with milk tea,\" I added.


    When the waiter took our order and disappeared into the kitchen like looking room, I asked, \"Do we have the money (crystals)?


    \"Of course we do! I brought some crystals with me because I knew we would go to the second district!\" Shelly sulked with my distrust.


    All of the sudden, two adolescent boys who looked like they were in their first year of high school came up to us and asked, \"Can we sit here?\"


    They were wearing a beige school uniform with a crest on their left side of their chest. I went through my memories of Luke and I in elementary school when we were looking through the other schools in other districts as a backup. The beige uniform with a crest of two tigers holding swords that crossed each other like the letter ''X'' was the thirtieth ranking high school in this world. Meaning this school was the number one school in the second district.


    \"Sure,\" I replied with a smile. This cafe seemed very popular at this time as all the other tables were soon filled up with people before Shelly and I noticed while we were looking through the menu.


    The waiter got two extra chairs and handed two sets of menus to the new customers. \"Hello! My name is Ben and the my friend beside me is Hubert!\" The boy with dashing opaque blue eyes with honey brown hair said.


    Ben was pretty much the type I would have a crush on in my past life with his good looks. Luke was better looking, but since he was a child and he liked nagging me a lot, I didn''t see him as a romantic partner.


    Ben had a personality that resembled a being called an ''idol'' in my past life as well. ''Idols'' were good looking young singers and dancers who cheered people up.


    Since they introduced themselves, it was about time that we introduced ourselves as well. \"Hello! My name is Rika and this is my friend Michelle.\" I responded back in a daze of Ben''s good looks.


    \"As you see, we just got back from Signhert Academy high school because it''s the weekend. How about you?\" Ben winked while asking.


    \"We''re from Abright Institute Academy middle school. We came to explore the second district since we rarely have this much free time.\" I responded while smiling back.


    \"Isn''t that the number one school in the first district!\" Ben exclaimed in shock.


    \"Yes - \"


    \"Wow! You guys must be really smart!\" Ben interrupted with his glittering eyes.


    When I looked back at Shelly for support, she was engrossed in a conversation with Hubert (Ben''s friend). \"Not really...\" I replied back while trying to refuse by frantically waving my hands .


    Ben smiled as he mumbled, \"and pretty too.\"


    At this rate, I was swooning over Ben with his charming words and good looks. Ben looked like he was close to my age in my past life, so I started to blush at his mumbled words.


    This was a nice change of pace. This was much better than a eleven year old child that kept on nagging all the time, a ten year old child that was supposed to be easygoing who apparently was very strict on attending classes and another eleven year old child who liked using water guns to threaten someone into studying. Sigh. What was with all the good looking children around me?


    Why couldn''t they resemble Ben even just a little bit! I mustered up my courage and asked, \"Do, do you want to exchange numbers?\" I asked while stammering on my words.


    \"Sure!\" Ben responded with a smile. At this rate, Ben was a good looking angel wasn''t he? I could see a halo on top of his head.


    We exchanged numbers while I used my marble and Ben used his smartphone. When I looked back at Shelly to see how she was doing with Hubert, I saw her face coloured pink with her frequent blushes. Wow this was rare! Not that I didn''t understand why I rarely saw this side of Shelly.


    The waiter soon gave us all our orders at once and I received my strawberry shortcake and my milk tea.


    I grabbed my fork and took a bite of the cake. It was a bit lacking in taste compared to the food at school, however it tasted fantastic when I ate it with a good looking guy in front of me with his gorgeous smile.


    Sigh. I should visit the second district more often.

 18 Breaking News

    "Sure!" Ben didn''t hesitate to exchange numbers with me.


    I could see at brilliant halo on top of his head. At this moment, he even rivalled Luke in terms of his angelic appearance.


    I pulled out my marble while Ben used his smartphone. When I turned to check up on Shelly, her face was fiercely dyed in shades of pink with her frequent blushes.


    This was rare! Not that I didn''t understand why I rarely saw this side of Shelly. Shelly didn''t get along with Alex as they coldly talked to each other whenever they discussed about their school work.


    The waiter soon gave us all our orders all at once and I received my strawberry shortcake and my milk tea.


    I grabbed my fork and took a bite of the cake. It was a bit lacking in taste compared to the food at school, however it tasted fantastic when I ate it with a good-looking guy in front of me with his gorgeous smile.


    I turned to admire the scenery outside the window after overdosing on Ben''s gorgeous face. However, I strangely saw a young boy with silky silver hair and ocean blue eyes accompanied by another boy with hazelnut splattered hair and bright purple amethyst eyes wearing our school uniform. They roamed around the street while asking random passersby a question like they were trying to find a missing item.


    I started shaking Shelly''s shoulders while interrupting their conversation as I gestured my hand toward the window where I saw the familiar faces.


    Shelly''s eyes started to widen up in surprise as she whispered, "Should we go to another place?"


    "Maybe it would be better to stay here and use Hubert and Ben as a camouflage. The more people, the less noticeable we will be, especially in a busy cafe like this." I whispered back.


    I smiled and turned my head toward Ben and asked, "Sorry for my sudden misbehaviour, should we resume our conversation?"


    Ben nodded as he seemed a little bit surprised of my formal lady-like behaviour and smiled to try to resume the conversation. I guessed this was the one-time Luke''s constant nagging with my ''unladylike'' behavior payed off.


    "How is school in the second district?" I began the conversation with a new topic.


    "It''s pretty much the usual with going to class for long periods of time while trying to accumulate points." Ben sadly smiled.


    I could totally understand. There were many factors that made a high-ranking school miserable. I wondered what peculiar about school was making him make such a sad smile. Maybe his partner?


    "Is school not enjoyable?" I tilted my head from curiosity.


    "It''s not that dislike it nor I like it. But, that''s enough about me. Why don''t you tell me a bit about your school life Rika?" Ben tried to return a genuine smile.


    "Well -"


    "What are you doing here Rika?" A boy with furrowed eyebrows wearing our school uniform came up to us.


    "Not really~." I shrugged as I casually pretended they weren''t there.


    ''When did they come into this cafe? I''m sure we weren''t as noticeable in our casual clothes in this homey caf¨¦.''


    "Quit pretending and let''s go back Rika. Don''t drag Michelle into this your messes as well. You know better than to behave like this!" The boy continued his familiar nagging.


    "Well you''re not my partner anymore anyways so why do you care so much?" I mumbled back quietly.


    ''It would be horrible to leave a bad impression of me on Ben,'' I sighed with troubled thoughts.


    "Well because I''m not your partner for this week, I may not care so much as I will one week later, but you should look at your current partner''s face that''s right beside me." The boy pointed out.


    He was right. The boy beside him with burning amethyst eyes started to melt my heart into a frantic scare. He was oozing out an aura full of indescribable amount of anger rather than disappointment.


    "You almost got us a suspension from earning any points if you''re wondering why we''re angry." Alex clenched his fists as his fingers dug into his palms.


    I didn''t think the punishment was going to be this harsh. No wonder the perfect, model student Alex appeared like he was going to murder me in about any second.


    I grabbed both the hands of Alex and Luke as I yelled, "I''ll contact you later Ben!"


    Ben nodded his head in confusion while I tried to pull Alex and Luke out of the cafe. Meanwhile, Shelly took out the crystals to pay for our meals and ran to catch up with us a few blocks away from the cafe.


    "What do you mean how we almost got suspended from earning any points? All four of us or only us two?" I turned to face Alex.


    "ALL FOUR OF US!" Alex yelled while earning us the glances of the nearby people passing by.


    "You know how partners are responsible for each other''s behaviour. You broke a big rule by sneaking into another district without the school''s permission." Luke slowly stroked Alex''s shoulder to calm him down.


    "And the school is willing to forgive us for this big blunder as long as you come back within the next eight hours. As they gave us a deadline of twelve hours to go find you inside the second district and bring you back." Alex trembled in anger.


    "W- well we were in in w-wrong, now let''s g-go b-back." Shelly stuttered while attempting to appease both Alex and Luke.


    Instead of going along with Shelly, I mustered up my courage, "Well since we have eight hours left, why don''t we spend the rest of the time in the second district for a while? We''re already in trouble anyways and I''m sure we won''t get the chance to come here soon anyways. So, don''t we have nothing to lose!"


    Shelly stood there with her hand over her face while sighing. Alex started to take small steps towards me while he roared in even more anger than before while Luke continued his calming pats like he predicted this would happen.


    I knew it wouldn''t be long until Alex blew up as Luke''s gentle pats were slowly becoming more ineffective. Before Alex could try to unleash his anger on me, I grabbed Shelly''s hand and started to run into a lingerie shop that caught my eye.


    This was a place where both Luke and Alex couldn''t easily enter. I picked up some mature looking nightgowns with Shelly and pretended I wanted to try them on when I entered the store. However, Alex unexpectedly entered the store with his intense blushing face and grabbed my wrist to drag me out of the store. Meanwhile, Shelly paid for the mature looking nightgown I held onto as she quickly tried to catch up to Alex and I.


    Before Alex could open his mouth, I declared, "If you don''t let me explore the second district with Shelly, then I''ll change into this nightgown right this instant and go back to school with you."


    The nightgown seemed to be created from the finest ivory silk with transparent lace right above the chest. Even though it seemed mature, it wouldn''t look provocative on a young child with no curves.


    Alex hugged the air as he tried to snatch the nightgown away from me while I started to take off my cardigan in the middle of the streets. Alex determined I was ''serious'' when I held my cardigan in my arms and started to take off one of the sleeves of my dress.


    "Fine! I give up!" He yelled as his pale face was smeared with shades of red.


    I grinned while I pulled up my loose sleeve as I ignored Luke''s eerie smile that strangely popped out when I started to take off my cardigan.


    "Where should we go next?" I cheerfully asked Shelly.


    "Maybe the nearby Ferris wheel," Shelly said hesitantly.


    "Then let''s go!" I linked my arm inside Shelly arm to run toward the Ferris wheel together.


    We quickly got inside the glass container in one of the carts since lunchtime was over and there wasn''t a special holiday today. Shelly and I sat looked outside the glass windows as we enjoyed the view.


    It was a whole other experience from looking down at the city from the hill. The people and cars didn''t appear as ants but rather a scene from a movie in a bird eye''s view. I could see the exterior of the caf¨¦ we were in with greater detail as I observed the lively marketplace.


    "Ben was sooo dreamy today. I never get to be around decent guys so it was a nice change of pace." I broke the silence between us.


    "Yea~ . Hubert was nice too with his silky aqua hair and lively emerald eyes." Shelly swooned.


    "Maybe when you get the chance to closer to him later on, you can date him if you like him that much." I teased Shelly.


    "There''s no way. I''m engaged to Alex, remember? As long I''m partnered up with him, there''s no way I can ''date'' someone else. It''s the same for you Rika." Shelly pouted while she immediately dismissed the thought.


    "I thought everyone was partnered up with another person for academic purposes?" I sputtered out as I leaned forward.


    "Well that''s not it. Only people with mana are matched with another person as a future marriage partner." Shelly sadly revealed the news.


    I thought Luke was exaggerating the fianc¨¦e part in kindergarten. His naggings suddenly started to make a lot more sense with his strict demeanor of trying to have me act like a ''lady of the Roselia house''.


    "Does that mean I have to marry Luke in the future?" I hoped it wasn''t the case.

 19 A Person from the Second District?

    \"Yea, what a coincidence,\" I awkwardly replied back.


    Ben sadly smiled toward me and asked, \"Is there something that you want from me?\"


    \"No, but I came to ask if I said anything wrong at that cafe because your face looks a bit depressed after I asked about your school life.\" I responded back with my boldness.


    \"Well, it''s nothing that a kid like you has to worry about.\" Ben answered back kindly while patting my head.


    He saw me as a kid. A kid. I did have the body of a ten year old child that was going to turn eleven soon in december, but still. Was it too much to ask? No wonder he treated me so kindly, thinking that I was a runaway child with Shelly or somewhere along those lines.


    My first love. Sigh. I never really got to know his age anyways did I? Fine! I''ll use that thinking as an advantage to get close to him!


    \"I want to listen though. I loove listening to new stories.\" I whined while stomping my feet to pretend that I looked upset.


    Ben kindly replied while crouching down to meet my line of sigh and asked, \"Do you want to go somewhere else then to talk about this?\"


    I fiercely nodded my head while we headed towards the fancy restaurant nearby the area while he held onto my hand.


    I wondered if he was rich or had a family that was influential in the second district, as the restaurant looked like it was for elites.


    The waiter quickly led us to a table for two and Ben pulled out a seat for me to sit in. What a gentleman!


    After Ben ordered our meal, he started to tell his story, \"I''m not actually from the second district. I''m actually from the first district like you and your friend and I came here undercover with my friend for a school assignment.\"


    When I nodded my head to gesture him to continue on, Ben finally revealed his true identity, \"I''m in my first year of Welms Collegiate Academy high school. It''s three levels down from your school in the first district and I''m the partner of Alexis Marcell. However, my friend likes my partner and I like my friend''s partner and it''s mutual love.\"


    So this was what Shelly was talking about. A love that was never to be bloomed due to the partner system.


    \"Then why can''t you switch partners?\" I asked if they and their partners were both consenting.


    \"It''s because the partner system has a lot of politics involved within it. Part of it is based on the amount of mana a family possesses, but the other part is based on what connections your family may need in the future.\" Ben replied sadly.


    \"So you can''t not get married to your original partner easily?\" I asked again.


    \"That''s almost never the case.\" Ben said with a downcast smile.


    \"Didn''t your partner come today to find you as well?\" (Ben)


    Ben looked utterly surprised, \"You snuck into the second district! Not that you got permission to come here?\"


    \"Well it was the weekend and my friend and I was bored of staying at school all the time. My friend heard of a secret pathway to the second district so we decided to sneak out together to have some fun.\" I replied back while fidgeting.


    \"In normal circumstances, you get severely punished if you do so. Next time you should try getting permission instead of sneaking out,\" Ben warned me.


    \"No wonder your partners looked really mad,\" Ben mumbled.


    \"Well, it''s because both of my partners are too controlling all the time I wanted a nice decent break that''s far away from them.\" I said while pouting.


    \"My original partner is like, ''you have to behave properly as the future lady of the Roselia house Rika!'' and my current partner is like, ''you have to study hard in order to not tarnish the Monette family name.'' What''s with all these pride with family names?\" I said angrily.


    \"The Roselia and Monette family?\" Ben almost yelled out in astonishment.


    \"Well, yes?\" I answered back confused with Ben''s reaction.


    \"As expected of the number one ranking school in the first district! The Roselia and the Monette family are the part of the top five most influential families in the first district other than the Locast family who are also growing in power lately.\" Ben explained.


    \"Actually my friend Shelly who was with me before in the cafe is from the Locast family.\" I added.


    I knew that Luke, Shelly and Alex were from influential families to a certain extent, but I had a tough time believing that they were one of the most influential in this entire district. No wonder Luke and Alex were so stuck up about their family names! Sigh.


    Ben looked surprised again as his jaw almost dropped to the floor. \"Now I have a question to ask you,\" I said while smiling.


    \"How did my partner find me so fast?\" I asked.


    Ben had an expression like ''oh, so we start from there''. \"Well, each partner can track where their partner is as an emergency precaution with the marble you were given. You will get many dangerous assignments in the future so they train you to use it at an early age.\"


    And why didn''t I know about this? Maybe I should have payed more attention to that lecture in the beginning of elementary school when they explained how to use the marble.


    Sigh. No wonder Luke knew almost where I was all the time. I felt like he was using the tracking device almost everyday.


    \"Is there any way to stop the tracking as it can get a little bothersome?\" I asked to sustain my private life.


    \"Well, it''s not recommended, but you can turn the tracking off by blocking the person you visualize with your mana and pour it into the marble. However, it''s only temporary as you can do it for 24 hours.\" Ben responded back.


    24 hours would be enough. I closed my eyes and visualized Luke as the person I wanted to block. I then poured my image I had in mind into the marble with my mana and my marble glowed a hint of white light instead of its usual translucent blue.


    \"Like this?\" I asked.


    \"Yea. Exactly like that.\" Ben said as he strangely smiled.


    It was about this time that our order finally came out. Ben ordered us two pieces of tender steak with mashed potatoes and a shrimp salad as a side.


    It looked appetizing. Now in order to enjoy my meal, I used my mana again to block Alex from the tracking just in case he would be able to use it as well.


    \"Rika if it''s ok to ask this, can I ask how much mana you have? Normally people at your age wouldn''t be able to do what you did, as they don''t have that much excess mana.\" Ben asked hesitantly.


    \"The teacher said that it looks like I almost don''t have a limit on how much excess mana that I have.\" I replied while eating a piece of steak.


    Ben looked utterly shocked at this point. Oopps. Did I reveal too much about myself?


    I looked outside the window to hide my flustered face, as I saw a group of young children asking the people around them if they saw a ''young child with gradient red hair and orange pupil eyes wearing a pink lace dress''. This couldn''t be good news could it?


    And they were frighteningly close to where I was now. When Ben noticed my gaze towards the window, he said, \"I think it''s better you get back to them now. It looks like your partners are quite worried about you since you put the tracking off.\"


    No way. I can imagine how bad their lectures are going to be. When Ben paid for our meal and we exited the restaurant, the ''frightening young group of children'' spotted me almost right away.


    Shelly ran to hug me and said, \"We were worried when both Alex and Luke suddenly couldn''t track you!\"


    Sob. Shelly, you''re such a nice person trying to buy me some time before my doom, as I saw some eerie smiles on two children behind her.


    When Ben looked at the horrible reunion, he said to me, \"I''ll get going now. It was nice meeting you Rika.\"


    I nodded back. It was nice knowing you too before I get killed at any moment here.


    \"Rika!\" Two voices simultaneously said.


    \"Let''s remain in a calm manner,\" I replied while slowly turning back.


    \"In a calm manner you say. At this point, I feel sorry for Luke who has you as his original partner!\" Alex almost yelled while raising one of his eyebrows and crossing his arms.


    \"At this rate, we''re going to get the attention of people nearby. Look! They''re already starting to stare!\" I pointed out.


    Alex angrily grabbed my hand and said, \"We''re going back to school. Now!\"


    Sure why not? At least it was better than this place. I reluctantly let Alex drag me back to that cliff for one hour while we exchanged no words among us.


    Wow. Today was going to be a long day. Wasn''t it?

 20 Returning Back to School

    I silently came back to the school cafe that Shelly and I were in the beginning of our journey. It was then that Luke gestured me to sit down while I was anticipating a long lecture.


    However, Daniel (the homeroom teacher) came into the cafe and asked us to come to the dean''s office.


    Few minutes later, we all sat down on a couch at the dean''s office while facing the dean. I guessed this really was a serious incident.


    The ever so confident Alex looked ashamed while Luke kept a calm demeanor on and Shelly just grabbed onto my arm trembling in fear.


    The dean opened his mouth after a moment of silence, \"As you guys know, this is a very serious incident. We have never had this incident before in the Abright school because most children are well behaved. However, since there has been an mistake on our part as well, we will give you a warning this time as we promised. However, there will not be an incident like this that will be tolerated again. Understood!\"


    \"Yes sir.\" We all replied.


    \"Now go back to your rooms for the rest of the day!\" The dean yelled.


    We headed back to our rooms as Alex clenched his hands into fists like he was holding back his anger. I knew it would be wise at this time to head back to bed even though it was only evening.


    So I headed towards my bed while trying to avoid Alex''s gaze. However, Alex grabbed onto my hand while almost shouting, \"Don''t you dare think it ends here!\"


    I started to shrink back in Alex''s angry aura while he wouldn''t let go of my hand.


    \"Do you know how I feel about this? Have you ever tried thinking in your partner''s position? Do you know how the name of the Monette family will be sullied now!\" Alex tried to say while trying to calm himself down.


    \"Well, it is inevitable to not make any mistakes as human beings. But if what you were saying was the case, wouldn''t the Monette family be already plastered with mistakes?\" I said while trying to seem reasonable.


    \"Oh really! Then how come we never had a incident where a main member of the family got minus points in school before? We also never got called to the dean''s office for any negative news as well!\" Alex tried to point out.


    \"You know the minus point situation was your fault! I wouldn''t have gotten sick if you didn''t keep on hitting me with water. But I do admit that the dean''s office thing was kind of my fault, however it wasn''t mine completely.\" I answered back.


    Alex looked like he had no words to say back with my response, but, he quickly recovered to ask, \"Don''t you feel sorry for Luke?\"


    \"I never wanted to become Luke''a partner,\" I replied back.


    So you felt sorry for Luke, but not for me who was dragged into this mess of a school by Luke. Well, it technically wasn''t anybody''s fault except for the partner system and everyone else were victims. Including Ben, Hubert, Shelly, Luke and the list went on. I had to keep reminding myself of this fact to keep myself sane from slapping Alex in the face.


    \"I do, or else I wouldn''t be in this school.\" I mumbled back.


    I got myself out of Alex''s tight grip as I headed back toward my bed. I ignored Alex''s stares for the rest of the day while I grabbed my light novel to start reading.


    Sigh. Did I have to be stuck with this person for the next three days?


    We ended up not talking to each other the next day as well. I hung out with Shelly and Ellen while Alex hung out with only Luke and Allan. It was like our small class of six people were split into two groups.


    We didn''t stay inside our room except for sleeping, because we knew we would run into each other. But strangely, near the end of Sunday, I saw Shelly and Alex together talking about something seriously.


    I got ready to sleep early tonight so that I could wake up early tomorrow for class. I couldn''t wait to get rid of Alex, even though I had to be with Luke afterwards.


    However, once I was about to head towards my bed, Alex stood in front of me blocking my pathway very awkwardly.


    \"Do you have something to say to me?\" I asked annoyed.


    \"I apologize for my misunderstanding of the situation. I thought that you were the one that had the idea of going to the second district, but Michelle told me earlier today that it was her idea to go and that she couldn''t tolerate all the blame going towards you anymore.\" Alex said while bowing his head.


    \"I also apologize for saying bad stuff about your family and your friend,\" I replied back to his genuine apology. Both Shelly and I had the idea to go to the second district equally, so it was still half my fault, but I didn''t want to ruin this nice moment so I also apologized as well.


    It was clear now we had repaired our relationship. We weren''t that close to each other in the first place, meaning that we had many assumptions about each other in the past two weeks.


    But, I was glad we were able to make up before this whole partner switching thing ended because it would be awkward to keep on avoiding each other.

 21 Controlling Mana

    It was Monday today.


    The teacher announced that I would be paired up with Luke again, while Ellen and Shelly exchanged partners with each other.


    Since we would be starting all over again, I packed up my stuff to head towards another medieval-like room again. This time the change was permanent. So I decided I would study really hard to get a nice upgraded room and an abundant amount of points to get a decent meal as well.


    There was an exam tomorrow determining how I would live for the next few years in middle school. I saw Luke already unpacking his stuff, while I placed my stuff on top of the straw bed. Sigh. If I could, I didn''t want to live like this anymore.


    \"Should we head towards the library?\" I asked Luke.


    Luke looked genuinely surprised by my question as he thought I didn''t like his intense study sessions. Well, it was true I didn''t like studying with Luke, but it brought good results. And I was tired of sleeping on a straw bed for the past month.


    So we went to the library study room together and we spent over forty eight hours just cramming all the materials that I had to catch up to from the past month.


    By the time it was morning, I felt that we could at least avoid getting minus points with losing a night''s worth of sleep.


    So when I finished all my exams, I was looking forward to the results unlike the previous times.


    When the results came out, everyone looked utterly surprised except for Luke and I. Well that was rude!


    The monitor displayed:


    Helena and Alex: 100 000 points


    Rika and Luke: 20 000 points


    Michelle and Allan: 90 000 points


    \"Rika didn''t get any minus points this time!\" Alex said while looking astonished.


    \"As expected of Luke!\" Daniel praised Luke after he unfroze himself from the shock.


    \"...\" Allan, Ellen and Shelly looked back at me wordlessly.


    Was this really that surprising? You know we usually got a bit more than this amount of points in elementary school so you shouldn''t get surprised!


    When we got back into our rooms, I happily asked Luke, \"How should we spend the points?\"


    I wanted to move into a good room right away so I could sleep without the moldy smell of the rock walls covered with a bit of moss.


    \"Well, since moving to a smaller, but better room cost about 15 000 points, I think we should refrain from moving just yet-\" (Luke)


    I clasped my hands while making myself look pitiful as I pouted, \"Please~. I promise I''ll study harder for the next exam that''s one week from now!\"


    Luke gave in to my constant begging as he reluctantly decided to upgrade the room, leaving the rest of the 4800 points for our meals and rented two straw beds to sleep on for the next week for 200 points.


    I wondered if there was a cheat in the dimensional library that would allow me to absorb all the materials instead of cramming it into my brain all the time. So when I made sure that Luke fallen into a deep sleep, I opened the dimensional library.


    I asked the guide for the nth time, \"Is there any way I could absorb all the contents inside the books instead?\"


    \"Since you''re in middle school now and your brain is more developed. You have obtained the ability to absorb a maximum of two books per day!\"


    Finally! I knew there was a cheat in the dimensional library! But to think it would take this long. Since the exam was next week for sixteen subjects, and I had seven days left to study, I should absorb as much books as possible. Meaning I only had to work on physical education and practicing my mana!


    Sob. Why couldn''t god give me this ability earlier? I picked two books covering this week''s materials for two subjects and felt the knowledge sweeping through my head naturally. So this was how it was like for someone who studied regularly and thoroughly?


    I was feeling great for this exam and I headed back to sleep with a smile.


    Today was Tuesday.


    I went to the mana practice room to learn to control my mana so that I could earn more points from the exam.


    I was always doing well on my physical education exam, so there was no need to practice for that subject. However, having too much mana was a problem because it was harder to control.


    I wondered what my problem was all this time? Why was my mana running out of control? It wasn''t like I was putting way too much power into it with my visualizations.


    Maybe I should try casting mana while opening my eyes? I only closed my eyes because it was easier to visualize and it kept me from distracting myself.


    Maybe this would work! I imagined a fire dart heading towards the bullseye while opening my eyes and it ended up exploding the entire target area! Why!


    Today was Wednesday.


    After attending all my classes, and absorbing my books in secret, I went to the mana practice room to attempt to control my mana again.


    However after destroying the target area again, I soon got kicked out by the teacher and I went back into my room to think what I''ve been doing wrong.


    Maybe Luke would know the answer after I deliberated for a while. I was told that Luke had huge amounts of mana that could even potentially come close to mine, however I never saw Luke''s mana coming out of control like mine did.


    I went to the library to see him studying for next week''s exams with Alex. I knew he would be in the library because Luke was the type who would make sure that he would get perfect results on the exams to balance out my miserable results.


    I went up to him and asked, \"Do you have some extra time today?\"


    Luke looked up in amazement as he soon asked, \"Does it have to be now?\"


    \"Well it can whenever you have extra time today.\" I answered back.


    \"No, I''ll go now. I''ll meet you later Alex!\" Luke said almost immediately.


    I led Luke to the field where I saw a few upperclassmen practice their mana. \"Can you tell me how you control your mana?\" I asked.


    \"I don''t know why my mana is always running out of control, and I heard from the teacher that you also have a similar amount of mana that comes close to mine. However, I never seen your mana getting out of control,\" I said while pouting.

 22 Spending Points

    \"Well, I think you''re putting way too much mana into your visualizations Rika.\" Luke replied.


    \"I used to be like that when I was born, but I was told that you have to pour in a small fraction of mana that what you actually visualize in order to get the result that you want.\" Luke said while holding a small ball of fire in his hand.


    Listening to what Luke has just told me, I poured in a tiny bit of mana to fuel a small ball of fire onto my hand. When the ball of fire was on my hand, it resembled a very tall bonfire with a small base rather than the small ball of fire that Luke was holding in his hand.


    It was better than the day before, but there was still something really strange about this ''small ball of fire''. I quickly erased the large ball of fire in my hand as I sighed.


    \"Since your mana is very large, try putting only a drop of your mana instead of pouring your mana into your visualization.\" Luke suggested.


    So I put only a drop of my mana to produce a ball of fire and I finally succeeded! A small ball of fire that was about the size of Luke''s was on my hand! Wow. Luke was actually useful for once.


    I quickly erased the fireball to create another one to make sure it wasn''t a fluke. Sure enough, it wasn''t! I hugged Luke in thanks and let him return to the library while I practiced until it was time to go to bed.


    ************


    It was Monday today.


    During this past week, Luke wasn''t dragging me to his extra study sessions because he knew how hard I was practicing in order to control my mana for the exam.


    I was getting better and better at controlling my mana, as Daniel started to move on from the mana control classes as I was improving.


    Today was the day of the exam as this would be an nice opportunity to earn some points! After smoothly finishing the theoretical part of the exams after absorbing all those books, we moved on to the practical part of the exam.


    As usual, I aced the physical education part with Luke as we were having a flying race resembling track and field from my past life.


    Now it was time for the mana control exam. The exam was relatively simple. I had to pour in enough mana to make sure it produced a wanted number on the machine.


    Daniel called out, \"Five thousand\".


    So I imagined putting only five drops of mana into the machine. The machine showed a number of nine thousand. Well close enough!


    \"Well done! You didn''t break the machine this time, so I''m going to specially reward you 50 000 points for your first success.\" Daniel said proudly.


    When all the exams came to a close, the results came out on the monitor. Strangely and very oddly, everyone almost fainted in surprise of the results.


    The monitor displayed:


    Helena and Alex: 25 000 points


    Rika and Luke: 400 000 points


    Michelle and Allan: 19 000 points


    The reason why the other pairs received low amount of points was because Luke and I got first place for every single subject. This was how the point system was extremely bias towards the already wealthy students with the most points. Sigh.


    I did feel sorry for Ellen and Shelly, but I guessed I could buy them food as they have done for me previously. Now let''s move to a better room with actual beds inside them!


    Luke and I returned back to our cosy room. \"See~. I told you I studied really hard this week.\" I playfully said to Luke.


    I grabbed the tablet and happily upgraded the room to a big room with a turning wall splitting the room in half. It was a large twenty meter white room with luxurious bathrooms with both a jacuzzi and a shower. The closets were wide as it was three meter squared with already twenty hangers inside each closet. The best part was that all this cost 90 000 points!


    It was nice being rich with points for once. After I upgraded the room, I passed the tablet onto Luke. Luke decided to buy two luxurious king sized beds packaged with things like pillows and blankets. Another thing I saw Luke buy were some necessities that we both needed like pyjamas, toothbrushes, cups and the list went on.


    By the time we finished buying all the stuff we thought we needed, we were still left with 95 000 points!


    So this was how it felt to be rich with points~.


    Currently both Luke and I were mentally exhausted after the long dilemma of what to buy. So Luke soon left the room to go to the cafeteria for dinner ahead of me, while I decided to take a short break inside our new luxurious room. Another reason that I stayed was to get the chance to open the dimensional library to start preparing for the next exam to earn more points.


    I grabbed a book from the library covering this month''s material and tried to absorb the material. However, I couldn''t absorb the material! \"Why isn''t the absorption working?\" I asked the guide.


    \"You can only absorb a maximum of two books per day for one week once a month.\" The guide replied.


    \"However, if you absorb one book per day, you can keep absorbing books for two weeks straight every month.\" The guide added on.


    Of course there was a setback! I knew it was too good to be true. Now I actually had to study for my exams. Sob.


    Thankfully, the school didn''t announce any exams coming up soon or else I would have been doomed.


    Ever since they started the partner switching thing, I knew that even though they didn''t announce it, there was a 99% chance there was a exam next week. Sigh.


    How was I going to explain to Luke how I got these marks when he figures out I''ve haven''t been studying?


    Sigh. Time to make a plan!


    Plan A: 5% chance of working - I could get Shelly and Ellen cover for me


    Plan B: 50% chance of working - Tell Luke the truth


    Plan C: 95% chance of working - Tell Luke that I cheated in a very unique way


    Plan D: 70% chance of working - Do nothing and hope that Luke makes decent assumptions on his own


    Yup. Plan D seemed the best!


    Now that I was finished with my plan, I headed towards the cafeteria and ordered something cheap while trying to not look suspicious.


    I ordered a small sandwich that cost about 40 points as I didn''t want to spend extravagantly because we had a high chance of earning minus points next time.


    \"Hey Rika!\"


    \"Hey Shelly! Why isn''t Ellen with you?\"


    \"She''s studying with Alex to earn more points next week.\"


    I started to feel kind of guilty using my cheat, but you have to do what you ought to do in order to survive.


    \"By the way, why are you ordering that small sandwich when you have a lot of points?\"


    How do I explain that I''m sure I''ll earn minus points next week?


    \"I''m just not feeling that hungry today,\" I replied back with a awkward smile.


    Shelly stared at me for a while as her eyes narrowed and oddly smiled back, \"Ok.\"


    ----------------------------------------------------------


    After I finished eating my small sandwich I got up to go to the library.


    Maybe I could cram all the materials somehow into my brain (even though it has never worked before without Luke)?


    I entered the study room and opened my laptop to start going over the class materials ahead of time.

 23 A Miracle/Hopeless Situation

    It was hard during the past week to try to cram all the class materials to avoid being busted by Luke.


    I went to the library everyday, but what was impossible from the start was deemed to be impossible even though I put in all my effort in.


    Luke also started to suspicious when he looked at my cheap meals and he started to stop ordering extravagant meals that he used to eat for the first few days after we got our points.


    Today was the day before the exams that the school was supposed to announce. We gathered in our homeroom class waiting for the news as usual.


    \"Today, what I''m about to announce is your next exam that''s going to start tomorrow. However you will be given a one week time frame to complete your first ever practical exam in the third district.\" Daniel announced.


    Did God finally hear my prayers for the first time? It looks like he''s actually doing his job for once!


    \"You will be going to schools in the third district to teach one subject to the people in your grade for one week. Those who have students who score higher than other classes will get more points, but it can also go the opposite way. Good luck everybody! Details will be given tomorrow and you''ll get time to get ready today.\" Daniel said with great energy.


    I hoped that I didn''t look too excited. Teaching people in grade six with the level that is similar from my past life was way easier than writing exams in elementary school. Making this the most easiest exam I ever had in this life!


    I had to prevent myself from smiling as I tried to think of sad things (which was mostly studying in this hell-like school).


    \"Let''s go to our room to prepare for tomorrow''s exam Rika,\" Luke said while facing me.


    Why not? This was a easy way to earn points anyways.


    \"Sure.\"


    Luke and I headed towards our room while both Shelly and Ellen went back to their rooms with their partners as well.


    When I went into the room with Luke, there were stuff from the third district on our desks. A flat screen smartphone, a special school uniform, pencil case and the other typical stuff.


    Since we would be getting the details tomorrow, I decided to go to sleep as my world started to fade into absolute darkness.


    * * *


    Drops of rain landed on my face as I ran towards the cathedral. The building was quite a mystery with its white brick exterior and dazzling stained glass that was reflecting the particles of water.


    Ding. Ding. Ding.


    The grand sound of the church bell resounded against my heart to reaffirm my purpose of why I came here in the first place.


    I quickly tried to pry open the deteriorating entrance as to my relief wasn''t locked.


    When I looked around the interior of the building, I found the place was empty with its typical wooden glazed benches and cross near the front behind the statue.


    Bang!


    Someone slammed the door open with sounds of holding a long scythe dragging onto the floor.


    That someone was someone that I knew. That someone was a person who smiled sincerely from the bottom of her heart which attracted many people who wanted spend their time together with her just to see her smile.


    She had a great sense of justice and unwavering sets of beliefs that gave her an unbelievable amount of charisma. It was like nature made this beautiful doll that was to be put on the pedestal for admiration.


    However, unfortunately no matter how much human beings tried to deny it, every person had some kind of fault that underlied the masks that they wore when interacting with other people.


    This person that was few metres away from me had put her mask off to reveal a hideous smile and some laughter to accompany it.


    \"Rika! Where are you~\"


    \"Rika~ I know that you''re here so you can come out now.\"


    \"Come on Rika!\" She screamed.

 24 Getting Ready to Teach

    A girl with tangled up gradient red hair had a scythe crawled around her neck, which made her bright orange eyes glisten with fear.


    When the scythe was lightly pressed to her neck, a light streak of crimson blood hurled down, leaving a slanted line on her pale skin.


    The young girl holding the scythe made the blade slowly dig into the girl''s neck trembling from terror. Her dull aqua coloured eyes narrowed with a harsh smile, "You know this wouldn''t have happened if stayed far away from him. You should have learned to stay unnoticed in your rightful place or else-".


    "This inevitable situation would have been preventable." She softly whispered while bending down to speak into the other girl''s ear.


    The girl that was shaking in terror did not do anything wrong. All she had done was to fulfill her own duties, not knowing that it would attract jealousy from others. A girl who was striving to survive in her ruthless life where only the fittest people was able to live a decent life.


    And this girl who was swallowed up in her journey of survival was- me.


    * * *


    Mr. Suzuki led me to a bright classroom with around twenty students already sitting in their seats. "This is your math teacher for the next week." Mr. Suzuki announced handed me his authority.


    "Hello, my name is Rika Shane but you can call me Rika since we''re the same age. I hope we''ll have a good time together for the next week and I will also be holding extra help sessions for people who need extra help during lunch break starting from tomorrow." I friendly looked around the classroom.


    "Rika, do you have a boyfriend?" A student raised his hand.


    "Which school in the first district did you come from?" Another student asked.


    "Rika when are you free?" Another student asked eagerly.


    "Unfortunately, I will not be that free during the duration I will be here." I pretended to pout.


    That was all I was going to answer because I wasn''t sure if Luke would allow me to say anymore.


    Since I finished introducing myself, I exited the classroom and went to another classroom where it would be Luke''s and my office for the next week.


    I opened the door to see a printer, a bunch of desks, office supplies and more that has been all provided.


    Luke was already inside, trying to make lesson plans for his class. However, I was relaxed, knowing that it would only take about one hour to prepare to teach a class for middle school math.


    I started to flip over the math workbook to find that the math here was way easier than I thought: Find X \u0026 Y.


    X + Y = 10


    Sigh. I learned this in kindergarten in this world! I flipped through more pages of the workbook to find that everything was extremely easy.


    After drafting up a lesson plan for an hour, I finally had free time to do whatever I wanted.


    What should I do now?


    "Hey! Rika!"


    I turned to find one of my students call out my name.


    "What are you doing here" I asked as classes did not seem to be finished yet.


    "It''s break time for five minutes."


    They actually had break time here. How nice~!


    "You don''t have to look too surprised, I don''t know how the school work where you go Rika, but this is common everywhere in the third district."


    Maybe I was sent to a lower ranking school in the third district. Since I knew for sure that higher ranking schools would definitely not have breaks.


    Since I didn''t know my way around anyways I decided to ask, "Can you give me a tour of the school?"


    "Sure!" The student''s face oddly blushed as he guided me through the school.


    When we were finally near something that looked like the cafeteria, I saw something very familiar from the past life.


    It was one of the most convenient things ever invented in mankind for pleasure: a vending machine. It was full of chips, jelly, drinks and the list went on.


    "Rika, do you not have this in the first district? Your eyes are oddly sparkling in front of the ordinary vending machine."


    "Nope, there''s no such thing in the first district. Plus, there''s no breaks in class, and each class lasts for more than three hours." I sulked from the recalling my horrible memories.


    The student looked more than just shocked. Maybe it was that unbelievable to him.


    Welcome to my life.


    "I don''t have any money in the third district." I sadly said my thoughts out aloud.


    "It''s ok, it''ll be my treat since you''re new to this school anyways." The student showed me his wallet full of spare change.


    "Then I''ll just get the strawberry milk carton with cream buns and potato chips!"


    "I thought you never used an vending machine before" A wave of confusion and suspicion came onto the student''s face.


    "Well I am from the third district after all, but I usually buy these things from the convenient stores." I sheepishly made an excuse.


    I couldn''t say that I used the vending machine very often in the past life.


    The student gave me my custard cream bun and strawberry milk carton. When I took a bite, I felt like I was swallowed by happiness. Nothing beats junk food once in a while~.


    However, all of the sudden a hand destroyed that precious moment of my savouring the junk food. A hand grabbed onto the back of my shoulder with an ominous vibe attached to it.


    A scary pair of ocean blue eyes observed the delicious cream bun that I was eating and the unopened strawberry milk in my hands. Thankfully the student didn''t pass me my potato chips yet so it made me look more modest.


    "I was a bit hungry, so I decided to eat a snack while looking around the school." I pretended to not spot Luke''s clear disapproval.


    "Where did you get the money? From what I know, you don''t have any money with you from the third district." Luke teemed with suspicion.


    "Well-"


    "Actually, I bought it for her..." The student tried to cover for me.


    Maybe I looked like I was in a lot of trouble (not that I wasn''t), I smiled back in thanks for the support.


    Luke hostilely smiled back to the student, "I''m sorry I didn''t introduce myself. My name is Luke de Roselia and I give my thanks to you for treating my partner well. However, since we will be having lunch soon we will have to give our farewells here."


    The student appeared like he was almost pitying me. One cream bun and strawberry milk from a vending machine was all it took to make Luke mad.


    It was fine when I ordered the same things from a restaurant with Shelly and Ellen, but not from places like a vending machine. I did understand it was because of the pride he had in the reputation of his family name, but it did go overboard many times including this incident.


    Luke grabbed my hand to escort me to the room that the principle provided to enjoy our lunch. I waved back to the student to signal that there was nothing to be done while being dragged to that room to have my lunch.


    As usual, this room looked like it was the fanciest place in the school. It was probably used for the most important occasions with the crystal chandelier and wine glasses filled with juice.


    I sat down on the cotton white chair while eyeing the usual gourmet meals that I would be served in the first district.


    After all the dishes were present on the table, the staff left the room to give us some privacy.


    I ate half of my plate heartlessly while thinking about my delicious cream bun and strawberry milk that Luke made me throw away.


    "Are you not feeling hungry today?" Luke pretended not to know my loss of appetite.


    ''I really wondered why I wasn''t feeling that hungry today,'' I glared back at him with complaint.


    "You should eat because we''re not eating dinner until we finish our jobs for today." Luke tried to dismiss my complaint.


    Then maybe you shouldn''t have taken my food away!


    "Then maybe you can return my snack back that you threw away along the way here." I almost dropped my fork.


    "You think that I don''t know about your hidden stock of junk food in our room." Luke subtly threatened me.


    I was shocked that he figured out. I was sure I hid them really well.


    "I''ll make a deal with you. I''ll buy you the same snacks later once the day is over. So, don''t eat them in school when we''re here as a guest while representing our school."


    I guessed Luke was being lenient today. But I knew what he really meant was that he would buy me the gourmet version of the same snacks while what I wanted was the familiar taste from my past life.


    However, I knew that this would be the best deal that I''d get.


    "Fine. I agree!" I quickly finished the rest of my plate and rushed out of the room.

 25 Teaching for the First Time

    I finished off the class quite easily. This was nothing compared to the presentations I had to do during class in the first district so this was relatively easy.


    "As expected from someone from the first district!" A student whispered.


    "I think she''s better than our actual math teacher." Another student said.


    "And she seems so elegant that I can''t imagine we''re the same age!" Another student complimented.


    "Rika!"


    I turned back to see the student that bought me the precious junk food that I barely got to eat.


    "I''m sorry for the food that I bought, I never thought you''d get in trouble for it." The student guilty said.


    When I saw the attendance sheet, I discovered his name was Adrian.


    "Well it''s no big deal. Stuff like that happens all the time. Sorry for getting you in a weird situation Adrian."


    "Then I''ll get going to my next class now! See you tomorrow!" Adrian said while faintly blushing.


    I went to the podium to pick up my teaching materials after greeting Adrian while I spotted a group of girls shyly coming up to me.


    "I''m not sure if I could ask but are you close with the other teacher that came to this school with you?" A girl asked.


    "I''m not sure if we''re close but I think we''re always together in school as classmates." I answered back carefully.


    It''s not like I could tell them that we were living in the same room at school.


    "It''s just that you seem soo lucky Rika because you seem close to him! He''s so good looking and seems very dreamy." Another girl confessed.


    "His gleaming silver hair and ocean blue eyes just draws you in with his cold looks." Another girl added.


    I knew that Luke was good looking but his overwhelming strictness sunk my positive opinions of him. However, I did know that he''d be popular among other people who didn''t know how he was really like.


    "Can you arrange a time for us to meet Luke personally? We''re actually fans of his," A girl boldly said.


    Wow. He wasn''t even in the school for one day but he already had a fan club.


    "I''m not so sure about that. But I''m sure you''ll get the chance to get close to him in school since he''ll be offering help as a chemistry teacher."


    All of the sudden, I saw Luke coming towards the classroom to come pick me up. "Rika, we have to get going to our hotel to check in now."


    I wasn''t sure if I was hallucinating or not but I felt a menacing glare from one girl in the group when Luke came over while ignoring the girls around me.


    "I''ll get going soon. Just wait until I pack up my stuff!" I replied back.


    "I''m sorry we''ll have to end our conversation here." I said to the group of girls.


    I packed up my stuff in a hurry and ran to Luke that was standing in front of the door to avoid the weird situation I was in with those group of girls that looked like they were spellbound by his looks.


    "So, our deal?" I asked.


    "I''ll order it for you inside the hotel," Luke answered back while sighing.


    "Ok, but I feel that with this mission, we''ll be able to accumulate points quite easily so you don''t have be uptight about almost every single thing."


    Luke seemed to disagree and I could sense that his nagging was about to start again.


    Sob. Why can''t I go back home instead of a hotel since I was in the third district anyways!


    I was feeling exhausted after Luke''s strong lecture in the limo. I guess it was kind of my fault when I could sense he would start nagging when I mentioned that he didn''t have to be uptight about everything.


    Maybe I wasn''t thinking properly at that time.


    When we entered the large skyscraper like building, I knew this was one of the most luxurious hotels in the third district. I guess the school was really treating us well during this mission in order to keep up their reputation.


    Luke and I were escorted onto the 80th floor to a suite with two separate bedrooms and a living room.


    It was similar to how our room was at school except it wasn''t so technologically advanced and that there was only one bathroom.


    There wasn''t much to do inside the hotel as I already finished making my teaching plan inside the office. Since I was in the third district anyways, I decided to go outside the hotel for sightseeing and shopping before dinner.


    I opened my storage box to change my clothes with what I have bought from the shopping mall in the summer.


    A bright yellow dress with white flats would be great for this evening as it wouldn''t stand out from the crowd in this warmer than usual weather.


    When I was about to open the door to exit the room, Luke came out of his shower drenched with his bathrobe on.


    I hoped that he didn''t notice me as I silently turned the doorknob.


    The door silently creaked as I opened the door which earned the gaze of Luke when he was about to go to his room.


    I wondered why the door would be this noisy when it was obviously a high-class hotel. I was disappointed in the hotel''s amenities compared to its reputation.


    "Where are you going?" Luke turned his gaze towards me.


    "Sightseeing and shopping since we have free time before dinner anyways." I replied back honesty.


    At this rate, I didn''t even bother lying since I knew Luke would figure out the truth anyways in no time.


    "Wait for me. I''ll go shopping with you." Luke said with a threatening glare that hinted to not leave without him.


    Whenever Luke approved of me doing something I wanted to do, it was usually what I didn''t expect to do.


    When we were in the fourth grade together, I said that I wanted to go sightseeing in the free time that we had during our field trip in the first district.


    Luke surprisingly agreed with going sightseeing, but it wasn''t what I expected.


    I expected to look through the famous places in the area we were in like the newly opened amusement park or pretty technologically innovated buildings while eating at normal restaurants along the way. However, when I went sightseeing with Luke, he escorted me into a fancy hover car and got a guide to explain the famous parts of the first district instead of actually walking through those places.


    For dinner, we ended up eating out at a famous five-star restaurant with the most exquisite gastronomic food while wearing fancy uncomfortable clothes.


    I could say that even though the food tasted good, it was pretty tense to always watch my manners while eating.


    In the end, it was pretty disappointing to go anywhere with Luke since those kinds of scenarios kept on repeating over and over again in our field trips in the first district.


    I waited for Luke to change his clothes as I hoped things would be different this time since we were in the third district now.


    Luke came out of his room wearing famous well-known brands in casual wear as expected. I was pretty sure that each one of his clothes like the white sweater he was wearing was easily over five thousand dollars.


    When he went shopping with me in the summer where the average person shops, he easily brought me the most expensive clothing in each store without even looking at the price tag.


    Anyways, we both walked to the elevator as Luke pressed on the button that was the 81st floor. I thought we would go outside for sightseeing and shopping but this was unexpected.


    From what I knew, the 81st floor was the top floor in this hotel.


    When the elevator doors opened, I knew from looking that it was a shopping mall for the premium class inside the hotel.


    So, this is what Luke meant by shopping.

 26 Shopping inside the Hotel

    There were glass chandeliers on the roofs that sparkled from the sunlight sweeping through the glass roof.


    The workers were standing in a straight line with the ambitions of getting picked as the guide for the shoppers in the mall.


    Luke walked up to the first person in line and asked, "Will you be willing guide us?"


    It was more like the worker couldn''t refuse as he answered back eagerly since it was part of his job, "Of course my dear customers!"


    "What are you looking to buy today?" The worker asked while wearing his brightest smile.


    "A custard bun and strawberry milk," Luke answered back.


    The worker''s face looked kind of confused with his face shriveling up in confusion by Luke''s statement. However, he quickly changed his face back to his brightest smile and got ready to serve us.


    "Then I''ll escort you to a dessert shop, my dear customers."


    It was only then did I realize how luxurious the hotel was than I initially thought it was. The other shoppers had their servers hold their bags for them as they had a seperate staff member in each store trying to sell them an product.


    Whenever a shopper exited a store, the whole line of staff bowed down to say farewells to the customer as well as thanks for shopping in their store.


    While I was observing our surroundings, we already led to a dessert shop with a fancy twist to it. The chairs had the typical white silk cloth around it with the tables topped with a shiny white table cloth with flowers embroidered into it.


    The workers were holding the customer''s belongings while the others were enjoying their meals.


    No matter how many times I was forced into this situation, I still couldn''t get used to the weird vibe from having the elites being constantly served by others. I was already feeling intimidated by seeing the other shoppers, so I didn''t feel like acting the same way as them.


    I reluctantly sat down onto the chair when the worker pulled my chair out to indicate I should sit down. When I was about to order by myself, the worker had already gotten Luke''s approval and went to the counter to get our desserts.


    Sigh. Part of the fun in shopping was actually seeing all the desserts lined up behind the glass display.


    The fancy version of the custard bun and the strawberry milk in a crystal glass cup made me lose my appetite since I knew I needed to eat them gracefully instead of actually enjoying them.


    While I was pondering about what to do next, a girl with ash brown hair wearing a elegant blue ribbon hairband came up to us. Her doll-like looks accentuated the clothes that she wore, like that pure white frilled dress and the elegant smile that came with it.


    "Wow! It''s a coincidence seeing you here again Luke!" The girl said to get Luke''s attention.


    The girl frustrated by Luke''s indifference added, "I''m actually Rika''s student and that''s how I was able to meet you."


    Luke slightly nodded and then went back to enjoying his cake.


    I don''t know why but it seemed that from the past years of living with Luke, I got to know that he wasn''t that talkative if he considered it wasn''t necessary among the people he wasn''t familiar with. More like it looked like he was trying to avoid talking to them and especially if it was people that were the opposite gender.


    I wondered what may have been the cause in the past as I asked Alex in elementary school. Apparently it was part of a trauma from attending a family socialite party when he was three years old. He didn''t tell me anything further than this but I could already somehow guess what happened.


    He was probably swarmed by a large crowd of girls at the party with his good looks like it usually happens in shoujo mangas with the male lead.


    I guess this was why we were having this awkward situation now.


    The girl who once seemed overwhelmingly friendly in the classroom was now starting to give me threatening glances to say something to get rid of this stiff atmosphere.


    I knew I that Luke was counting on me to do something about this while he was evilly enjoying his cake.


    Sigh. This was all happening because Luke didn''t want to let me go sightseeing outside the hotel.


    I finally said something under pressure from two people.


    "She''s one of the students you met today when you were picking me up to go to this hotel," I added from the jabbing glances.


    I glared very intensely at Luke to do something about this situation since he was the one who caused it. Giving in to my glares, he finally said, "I remember now, nice to meet you. However, Rika and I will be a little busy today trying to settle in so I''m afraid we won''t be able to talk much further than this."


    I knew Luke was sending me a cue: ''let''s get out of here'' and at this point, I agreed. This beautiful looking girl was giving out weird vibes so I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.


    I hurriedly finished my dessert and got ready to leave.


    I knew there was a reason why I didn''t like coming to these kinds of places!


    "Where should we go next?" Luke asked.


    At this rate, I just wanted to go back to the hotel room and sneak back to my house in the third district when Luke fell asleep.


    "Anywhere that you''d like to go," I answered back.


    Luke would know that something fishy would be going on if I went back to the hotel room immediately after eating the desserts. So I planned to look around three or four stores and then return back to our room to take a small nap to wake up in the middle of the night and go back to my parent''s place.


    "Then can you lead us to a clothing shop?" Luke asked the staff member.


    "Of course. Right this way my customers!" The staff gestured his hand the way to the clothing shops that would be fit for our age.


    It was only a few metre walk to the clothing shop that was located almost right beside the desert shop.


    The clothing shop looked modern to the extent that it looked like a newly built fancy shop from my past life. Although, it was much lower quality than the normal shops in the first district since the technology wasn''t as developed in the third district yet.


    Just when we were in front of the shop, a line of employees were out to greet us, "Welcome to the Floral Boutique!" The employees said simultaneously while performing a 90 degrees bow.


    I took a step back as I didn''t feel like entering the store anymore. Whenever I went to these kinds of places, the staff always expected me to make a big purchase while in turn treating me as a princess.


    Since I didn''t want to act like a elegant lady right now because I already used all my energy at the dessert shop, I was hesitating to go in.


    However, Luke had already grabbed my hand and pulled me into the shop while I was pondering whether I should go in or not.


    By the time I was aware that I was not in front of the shop anymore, I realized I was in the preteen clothing section.


    Since I was already here anyways, I picked up a decent sweater that was embellished with flowers.


    I looked at the price tag to see it listed: $5,750 in the currency of the third district.


    I quickly looked around the store to see if anyone was looking in my direction. Thankfully all the other employees were busy with the other customers, so I carefully put the sweater back down making sure it wasn''t damaged in any aspect possible and walked away from that sweater.


    Sigh. If all the items were this expensive today, it was going to be a long day.

 27 Second Day of Teaching - A certain students diary

    "Rika"


    Was someone calling my name? I wanted to sleep more to recover my exhaustion from shopping yesterday.


    "Rika!" Someone yelled in a scolding tone.


    "Ok! I''m up, I''m up!" I yelled when that someone snatched my blanket away from me.


    I reluctantly got up from my bed and rubbed my eyes in confusion. With my eyes focusing on the person in front of me with a frown, I noticed Luke was already prepared to go to school.


    I could already anticipate his lecture of waking up on time. I looked at the digital clock beside my bed on the wooden tabletop to see it was still 6AM.


    Of course, it was 6AM. And when did the school day start for teachers like us? From what I remembered:


    A middle-aged woman in her thirties had mentioned, "Because you''re only teaching one subject, you''re required to come to school by 10AM sharp!"


    ''That meant I had four hours from now to get ready, didn''t I? But why is Luke already wearing his fancy school uniform? Surely, he wasn''t going to make me do the same like he always did. Wait, didn''t he wake me up to prepare for school just like he did?'' My thoughts ran in circles early in the morning.


    "It''s 6AM and we''re supposed to be there by 10AM, so why did you wake me up so early?" I confronted him to try to earn some extra hours of sleep.


    "It''s going to take time to commute to school from this hotel. Did you forget we''re not in the first district anymore where there''s no traffic?" Luke logically answered.


    I was sure that the commute time wouldn''t take more than two hours. Maybe Luke read about this from a book?


    I passed Luke my hair brush as I didn''t want to fight with him early in the morning.


    Since I was young, maybe after kindergarten, my hair was ruthlessly hard to take care of with its half curly waves. Considering I didn''t have this problem in my past life, I was too lazy to take care of my hair. Plus, if it became too bothersome I was planning to cut my hair.


    However, when Luke grumbled about my untidy appearance, I gave the excuse that it was too bothersome. That''s why I told him that if he doesn''t like it, he could always brush it for me instead. Ever since then, Luke was in charge of maintaining my unruly hair.


    Luke smoothly brushed my hair while I cleaned my face with a hot towel. I changed into my uniform that was sent to the dry cleaners yesterday to clean and iron after my hair was perfected.


    And how long did it take to get out the door? Thirty minutes!


    Knowing Luke, I was sure we were going to eat breakfast inside a fancy restaurant instead of a simple meal like a muffin or a piece of toast.


    Wasn''t this his true intentions of waking me up this early? The full course meal made for breakfast would probably take about one hour to finish as usual.


    "Can I just skip breakfast and sleep for one more hour?" I pleaded before exiting the door.


    While I was eating my food, I saw a dash of glittering ash brown hair from the corner of my eye. There would be no way she would be here, would she?


    I drove my attention away from that table and focused on my food. Why did I get a feeling today would also be a long day?


    ***


    I yawned while arriving near the school gates early in the morning. I was put in charge of watering the garden as part of the gardening club at this school.


    Our members were only had a few people so we would always rotate every week. Flowers like marigolds, red roses and lilies were planted to harvest during holidays where we would get most of our club funding.


    A sudden breeze flew from the autumn wind as a sparkling car arrived in front of the school gates. From the car, there lied two people who looked like they were from another world. A boy with silky silver hair and bright ocean blue eyes wearing a suit and a girl with cascading fire red hair and orange eyes that resembled marigolds that were about our age.


    Actually, these were our temporary teachers who started teaching yesterday. The girl wearing a sparkling school uniform that almost resembled a stage costume that celebrities wore was my math teacher.


    For the first time, I saw someone more beautiful than Eliza who was rumored to be the daughter of a big enterprise in the third and fourth district.


    Eliza was always popular from a young age, her doll-like looks attracted both genders with her innocent personality.


    There wasn''t a day where I couldn''t find Eliza rejecting another guy who sent a love letter to confess on the roof.


    Why was I at the roof?


    The roof was where the gardening club planted all our flowers and strangely it was like this ever since elementary school.


    Anyways, when I joined my classmates who huddled around Rika after class yesterday, the other temporary teacher came to pick her up.


    I could already see the other girls falling for his indifferent image as they screamed for his attention while questioning Rika when he pretended they were not there.


    This was when I saw for the first time, a guy actually ignored Eliza.


    Normally every guy that met Eliza would try to gain her favor as they fell for her innocent looks. However, I saw that Eliza was no exception to the charms of the temporary teacher as she giggled among the other girls.


    Today, the same guy was escorting Rika out of the car as if the scene came out from a fairy tale. When the autumn breeze swept through the school, the scene looked like it came from a romance drama with two very attractive protagonists who would make a blockbuster hit.


    By the time, they entered the school, I found myself frozen in front of the school gate while lost in a daze.


    I was looking forward to the rest of the week with these two people inside our school.

 28 Blamed

    The same scene was repeating again. Luke came by my classroom to have lunch together in the special room provided from the school while ignoring everyone else around him.


    The amount of pushing and shoving in the crowd of fan girls to greet Luke after he finished teaching wasn''t a joke. His fan club was already established by the end of the first day and its members acted as guards to lead a ''safe'' pathway for him at all times.


    I wouldn''t mind if I wasn''t involved whenever this happened, but sadly I was suffering from the numerous and increasing threatening glares each time Luke came to pick me up.


    Although, I could imagine what would happen if anyone of them discovered Luke''s true personality. They would probably run away just from the sight of his face to save their own lives. However, since they would never know, I could see his fan club members increasing.


    "Can you please try to avoid me at all times at school?" I asked directly once we settled into the room.


    Luke stared at me with no expression like he was trying to study me. This happened whenever he was confused or couldn''t find a reason or cause for something.


    "I mean- , it''s pretty uncomfortable being in the centre of attention from all your followers."


    "I don''t have any followers?"


    "The people who follow you around while screaming your name."


    "Oh. Them. I''ll fix this right away." Luke frowned as if he was remembering his past trauma that Alex had mentioned to me.


    Somehow, I didn''t get a good feeling about Luke fixing this problem, but Luke was pretty competent in all that he did?


    So, I forgot about our conversation during lunch until the bell rung indicating that math class has ended for today.


    "Remember guys! Just because I couldn''t finish the lesson, it doesn''t mean you don''t have to know the rest of the material!" I shouted to the class with a serious face.


    "Sure, I''ll do anything for you Rika!" Adrian yelled as a joke.


    "Yea! If it''s Rika, I''ll do anything!" Another male student added.


    I guess this was a good thing? Right?


    The female students in comparison to the male students were not as responsive, however we had a good underlying relationship when we talked about our hobbies and whatnot.


    At this rate, getting the points from this mission was going to be a piece of cake!


    Luke came to pick me up like usual at the door with his fan club members and admirers that followed him which increased in number.


    I was sure that during lunch he said that he was going to fix this problem? I wondered what happened to that as my mood became darker from thinking about how to escape from the crowd.


    Luke suddenly stood beside me as he announced, "From now on, anybody who follows me will be sent penalties from the school that will possess severe consequences as this has been inconveniencing a number of other students."


    "Rika, let''s go home now." Luke shook my arm which meant he was indirectly asking me why I was frozen in one spot.


    ''Ugh! Why Luke? You could''ve made this announcement when I wasn''t there! Now they''re all blaming me!'' I threw him an angry smile when the abolished fan club gave me a hardened, cold look.


    However, the next day, everyone who used to be a follower of Luke greeted me back kindly with a smile. Was it just me, or was it that this was really strange?


    In light novels or manga, everybody would usually harass the main protagonist who had the attention of the male lead.


    Even when I was teaching later on in the week, everyone was behaving even better than the previous days that I taught.


    The only difference was the doll-like girl who came up to me after class rather than being surrounded by the usual crowd of girls she led.


    "Rika..." Her soft voice and teary eyes compelled anyone to help her from miles away, which earned the attention of many passersby.


    "What''s the matter?" I softly asked in attempt to comfort her.


    "I know, I know- this has nothing to do with your math class, but I was wondering if you could help." She was about to break down in front of me.


    It was probably not a big of a deal, so I decided to accept the challenge. It was better than potentially losing some points for making my student cry.


    "What is it?"


    "I lost my heirloom inside the forest that is near the church when I was showing my friends how pretty it was."


    Why would she be near the forest? The forest wasn''t that close to the school and I was guessing that she would ask me to try to find her ''heirloom''.


    "Why were you and your friends inside the for-"


    Before I could complete my sentence, the female student burst into tears earning us more stares from the people nearby.


    I had already guessed what was going to happen, it was either go into the forest or keep her crying and have the possibility to lose points. It was obvious this act was fake as she cried each time I asked why she and her friends were inside the forest that was oddly a distance away from here.


    Maybe it was a bit of a welcoming prank to the third district. "Fine, I''ll go. Tell me the entrance into the forest!" I tried not to yell from frustration.


    The girl oddly smiled like she got what she wanted, "Thank you..."


    ***


    The sky was filled with hues of orange and purple indicating it was about to become dark inside the wide forest with tall lush trees.


    My hands were scraped with tiny scars as I searched through every single bush to find a jade pendant fitted into a gold molding.


    Unfortunately, I couldn''t use mana, as it was forbidden to use besides emergencies. Mana was not to be seen in front of the third district whose people who didn''t know the existence of it.


    As the sky went darker and darker, my hands became bruised with calluses and scars from repeatedly searching through the bushes.


    I knew I should have made that girl search with me! Knowing it was a prank, we could''ve suffered through it together!


    It was already deep into the night. I was going to give up on searching as I now knew there was no pendant hidden inside the forest.


    I discovered a light from someone''s phone after dusting the dirt off my knees. Was someone here in the middle of the night?


    The girl had ash brown hair flowing from the wind while wearing a smile like she was trying to keep a secret. She hid a large object as both her hands were behind her back.


    I stared in wonder under the faint moonlight that offered light inside the dense forest.


    "Hello, are you also looking for the lost pendant as well?" I asked while somehow knowing it wasn''t the answer.


    "No, I was actually looking for you. Everyone has been searching for you as it''s been a long time since you were gone." She took one small step toward me.


    "Really?" I pretended I didn''t notice the large object behind her back.


    The object glistened like it was a metal blade or a sharpened weapon. Maybe a long sword with the angles?


    "And behind your back?" I knew I shouldn''t have asked.


    She lightly took a long scythe out like she was used to its grip that listened to her very desire. The scythe spun with its elegant tricks until she put it stably back into her grip.


    "Just for a bit of protection," she flung the weapon into the air to show off her precise control.

 29 A Prank?

    I didn''t have the chance to respond when another person interfered with our conversation. She dressed in a black dress with a mask of a fox grasping a katana as she jumped towards the girl holding the scythe.


    The girl with the scythe dodged the other girl''s attack and deflected most of her continuous attacks with the tough metal blade she carried. She grunted from the impacting force as the katana was a better weapon choice for defending rather the scythe that was better for offense.


    She fiercely pushed her moves to the limit by running whenever they clashed to put more force under her attacks. However, the other girl trained with the katana didn''t lose in terms of agility.


    ''Run!'' The one with the scythe mouthed when she appeared to be in a losing position as she struggled to fend off the last attack where her katana almost scraped her neck.


    I sprinted without caring about the direction to get away from that place as far as possible. When my feet started to ache from the dress shoes I was wearing, I threw them off my feet.


    When I couldn''t run anymore, I found myself in front of a church. I tried opening its large wooden doors to find it unlocked.


    Its glass windows were really beautiful with the murals dazzling with beauty. However, there weren''t that many places to hide with the benches and statues that sparingly covered the space.


    ''Maybe... maybe that statue would be the best place,'' I decided as I made sure I wouldn''t be seen.


    ''Thank you,'' I whispered to her while knowing she wouldn''t be able to hear me.


    I couldn''t be mesmerized by this place in this situation when she had offered her life to save me. Somehow this place was hypnotizing like it was somewhere familiar to me.


    It was like I remembered hiding behind that statue before. I decided to trust my gut and continued to calm myself behind the statue.


    However, I knew my luck was never the greatest. It was confirmed when the girl in the black dress was holding both the katana and the scythe as she broke the wooden doors to enter.


    From what I saw, the other girl must have sadly lost. I started to panic what would become of me. She carefully looked through every space between the benches while taking a brief view of her surroundings to look for any changes.


    I covered my mouth with my trembling hands to keep myself from screaming. My whole body started to sweat unstoppably while shivering in terror as her sounds became louder and louder.


    I regretted hiding behind the statue, as it seemed was an obvious place to find someone even to me as she slowly walked towards me. When I carefully peeked again to see how close she was from killing me, I suddenly couldn''t see her anymore.


    "Ri-ka~" A voice whispered inside my ear.


    As she pressed the scythe harder and harder against me, a light streak of crimson blood hurled down leaving a slanted line on my pale skin.


    The young girl wearing a black lace dress holding the scythe that was slowly digging into my neck, softly whispered while bending down to speak into my ear. "You know this wouldn''t have happened if stayed far away from him. You should have learned to stay unnoticed in your rightful place or else-".


    "This inevitable situation would have been preventable."


    "Who are you talking about?" I asked with my faint voice that asked for air.


    Before she could answer, the girl with ash brown hair with her school uniform in a disastrous state yelled, "Sister! You shouldn''t do this!"


    "This is only a game amongst us to decide who is the heir for father''s company. Just because you''re jealous of that girl who is the partner of the Roselia family who you''re trying to get support from that hasn''t been responding to your messages you shouldn''t-"


    The loud clang of a dagger thrown towards her neck interrupted her remaining words. She pulled out the dagger from the stone brick walls and surprisingly threw it back with a shockingly accurate aim.


    The dagger landed on her arm and the grip she had on me loosened from the pain as she scowled. Knowing this was my chance, I quickly escaped from her grasp and ran towards the other backdoor of the church.


    I recounted the events inside my head as I dashed with the adrenaline that kept me from fainting. Mana was only to be used in emergencies. If I didn''t use it now, I would likely be killed. From what I knew, this was an emergency for my life.


    I knew I didn''t have that much time left as I had to decide what attack I could use without attracting much attention.


    The lovely church exploded into flames as the girl with ash brown hair was unconscious under a large load of bricks with blood spilling from her stomach. It was obvious it was caused by the girl with the mask as she smirked at the barely living body.


    Soon the fire would swallow her up as it spread fast like a disease. The girl in the black dress put her mask off in victory, which revealed her ash brown hair that glimmered in the moonlight.


    ''Twins- .'' I thought.


    Trying not to get distracted, I focused my mana into an energy that would enable me to have a weapon similar to a water gun.


    When I shot the straight line of pulsing water into the church, the fire vanished within a second. I knew my control of mana wasn''t good as the forest resembled more a lake with tall trees inside.


    "What incredible mana," the girl in the black dress softly whispered as her eyes widened in surprise.


    So, they already knew about mana in the first place. Meaning they were from the second or the first district. She immediately looked like she feared something after she was surprised.


    She stared at me with awe before she quickly ran towards the collapsed church to pick up her sister.


    When she whispered a code of words that formed a basic mana spell that would make them disappear into ''thin air'', I knew they were using space-time magic.


    Now, I was the only person inside the forest with the silence that surrounded me except for the noises of the small residents who occupied with hiding from me.


    I had to clean up this watery mess to make sure it wasn''t discovered by the people in the third district or else I may get in trouble. "Revert!" I chanted out loud.


    This was the only trick I had mastered recently. Without it, I would be getting in trouble from practicing mana in school all the time for the damages.


    The water instantly vanished and the church was restored to the point it looked like it was recently built.


    The forest returned back to its original splendor and I collapsed to my knees from exhaustion.

 30 Facing the Consequences

    Lush greens surrounded me from every corner. The soft grass cushioned me during my sleep as I tried to get up to face a brand-new day. I knew I fainted from exhaustion as my vision swirled and twisted, distorting the wild forest into a fantastical dream.


    My heart still pounded rapidly like it was about to budge out of my chest as the memories poured in from yesterday''s events. It was strange how the aftereffects were so intense this round as I lightly touched the scar on my neck.


    I looked up into the sky to find hexagonal shapes surrounding the limit of the trees as if it was a dome that encased the forest. I guessed it was only due to the blazing sunlight that forced its way through that I was able to notice the pattern.


    It explained why nobody found me yet with the thin layer of mana that was well-built on the defensive side. The dimensional shield on top of me, was one of the most splendid examples of its existence to the point even Luke wouldn''t be aware of its existence.


    Luckily, once you noticed the shield, it was easy to break it from the inside with just a sharp object. Maybe it was just a fluke that I grabbed a dagger with me from the church when I was running away.


    I ran towards the entrance of the forest where the border of the shield was spelled to end. The worn-out dagger was stabbed into the transparent pattern with my lack of energy that growled for more food. The shield shattered like glass with no sound to be heard as it soon vanished into thin air.


    The dimensional shield was made to hide mana from the other districts. Anything that occurred inside the shield would remain inside the shield. Once the shield was broken, everything would go back to normal and nobody would see anything that had happened within the barrier.


    The two realms joined together to recreate the original landscape like the missing puzzle piece finally found. A crowd consisted of police, teachers and other authorities frantically searched for a girl with wavy red hair and bright jeweled orange eyes wearing a fancy school uniform.


    Some shouted out my name while others simply handed out posters to the people in the neighborhood. My picture in the poster was one of the yearly photos that was taken to be placed in the yearbook. The neat and tidy appearance of me in the photo made my current appearance almost unrecognizable in comparison.


    Maybe since Luke started off his day by tidying my appearance, he was the first to notice me with worry plastered all over his face. "Rika! We found her! She''s right over here!" Luke handed me a small blanket for comfort.


    The relief washed over the crowd of people who gathered in search of me. But, soon replaced with pity and sorrow with my disorderly appearance.


    My neck had one long gash from the scythe tightly pressed against my neck by the girl who was not present. Maybe my eyes looked just as dead as my lack of energy as I faltered with every single step.


    "I''m ok," I tried to smile to lighten the mood.


    I quickly put the dagger behind my back to hide it from the people who haven''t seen it yet. There was no need to cause more trouble when I was in trouble already. Although, it seemed that Luke noticed it instantly with his eyes narrowing at the direction of the dagger.


    However, Luke stayed silent as he escorted me into the car while thanking everyone with the search. On our way to the hotel, we didn''t speak a single word to one another. I guessed the lecture was going to start once we entered the hotel room.


    Once we entered our rooms, before Luke could say anything, I calmly said, "Let me shower and change and then we can talk."


    Before he could respond, I went to my room to put my clothes off. My clothes that once dazzled in its silky material was dirty with blood and was ripped apart very badly. There was no display of its former splendor as it crumbled apart as soon as it was separated from my body.


    Once the water reached my wounds when I stepped into the tub, I cried from the pain as I tried to make sure each one was disinfected. I had to cover my mouth to prevent me from screaming to properly get rid of the dry blood when it overlapped with the newly formed scars.


    In my closet, there were clothes that I brought from the first district all neatly organized. I was glad that I brought them, thinking I could wear them while sightseeing in the third district. I changed into a long dress with long sleeves that would help cover my wounds.


    When I stepped into the living room, Luke was waiting for me while reading a book. I knew he was waiting for me to explain what had happened last night. However, it wasn''t something I wanted to talk about, for one, it was very traumatic, and two, I knew there would be consequences if I told the whole story, especially with me using mana.


    "What happened with the points?" I asked Luke instead. Today was supposed to be the last day of teaching. I slowly walked towards him to hide that I was limping. Since I had already disinfected most of the wounds, if I walked slowly, I would be still able to teach normally.


    "Today''s the last day anyways. From what I remember, we could still go and teach as it''s still eight in the morning-"


    Luke interrupted me as I tried to finish my sentence, "You''re limping Rika, with scars, bruises and scratches all over your body."


    His forehead furrowed with a mix of worry and solemnness as he continued, "You''re not going to tell me what happened Rika?"


    "Well- nothing much happened." I hesitatingly answered and it was the truth. It was nothing compared to the girl who got stabbed by the dagger in the arm by her own sister or the other twin who was collapsed unconscious under the church building that was on fire.


    All that I had were scars, scratches and bruises, but no broken bones. However, Luke looked very disappointed and had a hint of looking betrayed in his eyes as he glanced at my neck, my forehead and my feet bruised purple from all that running.


    "It''ll heal," I faintly whispered.


    "We''re going back to the first district." Luke finally said after a long stare at my wounds.


    "So go and change into another outfit more fitting," Luke gritted his teeth.


    Luke went into his room and loudly slammed the door behind him. I wondered what made him so mad? He usually didn''t lose his temper.


    But, thankfully Luke was back to his usual, calm self when we sat down on the couch across from the dean. It was the second time we were ever here. The first time was when Shelly and I went into the second district without permission and got in trouble. Today, I imagined to be in a similar situation.


    The dean started speaking when we looked like we were settled in, "The school already knows you ran into trouble in the third district, but we still wish to hear the explanation from you Ms. Shane."


    The dean took a quick glance at the wounds that were hard to cover with the school uniform from our school. The short skirt and summer blouse that had short sleeves couldn''t cover as much as the long dress I wore before.


    "I would imagine you would have to tell me everything honestly, or else there would be consequences for you and your partner." He seemed to peer into my soul.


    If that was the way they were going to do it, I had nothing to hide. I was going to get in trouble in one way or another at this point anyways. I honestly told them the entire story, making sure I wasn''t leaving anything out.


    Both the dean and Luke frowned at some parts that even I would find pretty grotesque. When I finally finished my story, I asked, "Are we still getting the points from this mission? Technically none of this was MY fault-"


    Before I could continue, I felt a piecing jab from Luke, which meant ''don''t continue''.


    "Sometimes, there are exceptions, and if the school finds everything that you have said to be true after our investigations, there will be no punishment for at least THIS time." The dean arrogantly answered.


    Maybe that was the signal we could go now as Luke dragged me out of the dean''s office immediately.

 31 New Assignmen

    I opened my eyes, groaning from the cool wind I felt on my skin with no blanket on my bed. Luke threw the blanket onto the floor as he pulled me up into a sitting position. My uniform was placed beside me as part of our familiar daily routine, all ironed and free from any wrinkles while someone was already brushing my unruly hair.


    "Luke?" I rubbed my eyes.


    "We have to go to the classroom early today. Our homeroom teacher will be making an announcement about how many points we''ll get based on our results in the third district." Luke immediately replied as if he already knew what I was going to ask.


    The screen lit up to project our results. I was thankful that I didn''t overspend when I was rich with points. I did kind of expect this, but it was worse than I thought when the dean had clearly stated we wouldn''t be getting any punishments from what happened in the third district.


    The projection glowed to show:


    [Ellen and Allan: 50,000 points]


    [Shelly and Alex: 60,000 points]


    [Rika and Luke: 0 points].


    I knew that next time someone asked me to help find their family heirloom, I would decline under all circumstances. I dropped my head onto my desk, depressed that we had failed to gain any points from such an easy mission.


    "Rika, you know it wasn''t your fault..." Shelly rubbed my back.


    "We heard what happened from the rumours that came from the dean''s office," Ellen added.


    Maybe even Alex felt bad for me as he mentioned, "It''s a pretty rare event that something like this happens."


    Well at least I knew we would have to spend the remaining 100,000 points very wisely. This was how I came to study in the library with Luke non-stop for over twelve hours. Unfortunately, since this month was not over yet, I could not use the dimensional library.


    Whatever suspicions Luke had about how I was able to gain a lot of points last time, he didn''t ask. All he did was to drag me into the library as soon as class was over to make up for the points that we did not get from the practical assignment.


    I didn''t dare to complain to Luke since it was mostly my fault with going along with the prank which got us in this mess in the first place. Whatever that girl''s true identity was from the fake one in the third district was deemed to be scary.


    She reminded me of a term called ''Yandere'' in my past life with her destructive nature, even though I didn''t exactly remember what that term meant. As the years went on in this reincarnation, I felt I was losing more and more memories of my past life.


    At first, my memories from my past life freshly came back to me like it was yesterday. But as the years went by, only tiny pieces of the whole puzzle of memories flashed back to me whenever I encountered something familiar from my past life.


    Maybe I was always nervous about fancy food and stuff in my past life that I had always innately disliked it in my current life. It must be because I was getting tired from cramming all this useless information lately.


    I flipped another page in the book before detecting that Luke noticed I was blanking out again as he stopped reading his own notes. Unfortunately, this routine continued for the next eight months. Thanks to the constant torture of the never-ending studying, Luke and I earned a stable amount of 30,000 points each month


    At this point, there was nothing different from elementary school except that the content of the class had risen in difficulty as you would expect from elsewhere. I sat in the caf¨¦ with Ellen and Shelly as we were taking a break from all that studying.


    "I wish we could go outside the school again," Ellen muttered.


    "Yea, it was nice in the third district," Shelly stopped when noticing I was here with them.


    "No, it''s ok. It was somewhat better in the third district if not for the incident," I told them.


    Ellen and Shelly looked somewhat relieved before continuing to talk about other topics while enjoying their tea.


    "My older brother had told me that middle school students have practical exams twice a year," Shelly told us.


    "The third district only?" I asked in curiosity.


    "The first three districts for middle schoolers," Shelly explained to me.


    "If you think about it, it''s about time for our practical exam since they only have it twice a year," Ellen hinted.


    Ellen''s prediction came true on a Friday evening where class got extended.


    "You will be having another practical exam this year before we let you go for summer vacation," Daniel announced.


    Summer vacation? The summer vacation that I thought didn''t exist in the first district!?! I wondered how long it would be and blanked out until Luke lightly pinched my arm to get me to pay attention to the teacher again.


    "You will be staying inside the first district and this time each pair will be working in a shop for one week. The amount of points you receive will depend on the results from your performance of your employer." Daniel switched into a serious tone.


    When we left the classroom, Ellen whispered in my ear, "I guess we''re not going to other districts this time."


    I sighed when I knew what she meant. Ever since the last incident, the school was afraid of more unexpected situations that may occur in the other districts. This was probably why they had our practical assignment in the first district this round.


    This was like a part-time job. I was pretty confident that I could do well on this assignment because I was accustomed to receiving customer service in the third district (which seemed pretty easy to reciprocate).


    When Luke and I arrived at our dorm, there was a special message that popped up from the marble which projected news about our assignment.


    New Message:


    [Rika and Luke is to report to the ABC International Corp. of the First District by 1PM].


    ABC International Corp. of the First District? That was a pretty long name for a company. I had never heard of that company before within my stay in the first district.


    Since I didn''t know what it meant, I asked Luke, "Have you ever heard of the ABC International Corp. of the First District?"


    Luke sighed before answering, "It''s one of the companies that the Monete family owns that does business in high end accessories and clothing."


    Wait. The Monete family? Why did that name sound very familiar?


    "What do you mean by the Monete family? Who is the Monete family?" I tried to confirm my suspicions.


    Luke started to frown as he stared at me like I was a hopeless person.


    "Did you forget the name of your classmate that you see almost every day? It''s Alex. Alex of the Monete family." Luke seemed disappointed in me.


    Ahhh. No wonder that name seemed really familiar. This brought back memories when we were partnered together. Alex did bring up his family name many times on the first day while trying to drag me into studying.


    If this company was owned by Alex''s family, I could not imagine the many strict protocols that would follow, knowing Alex''s personality.


    I hoped this field assignment would not be as unfortunate as last time while I anticipated it would resemble something like a part-time job in my past life.

 32 Unexpected Morning

    The awfully loud noise made my ears feel like bleeding in the early morning where moonlight dripped through the window. When I looked at the time on the alarm, it was 4AM! From what I knew, I always set up my alarm to somewhere around 6-7AM, which meant someone tampered with my alarm.


    I knew that someone was probably the one who woke me before the sunrise. My forehead scrunched up with great annoyance since I could''ve gotten a few more hours of sleep.


    "Why?" I asked the person with an agitated frown.


    "We have to go to work by 1PM today. Do you not remember the message we got a week ago?" Luke said like it was obvious.


    "Well, it''s by 1PM, which means to me by my normal standards, we probably don''t need to wake up this early to go to work." My head was starting to boil with anger.


    Luke started to untangle my ruby red hair in the dim lights when I rubbed my eyes to try to believe that this wasn''t a dream. When my hair was yanked by the brush, I knew it wasn''t a dream due to the faint pain.


    "So, when do we eat breakfast?" I asked.


    Usually, the morning routine was to be woken up by Luke, go to the washroom to freshen up, wear my uniform, make preparations for the classes in the morning, and then go to the cafeteria to go eat breakfast. However, I somehow got a hint that today would be no ordinary day since Luke woke me up earlier than usual.


    "We''re not eating breakfast today," Luke responded.


    When my jaws dropped in shock, Luke added, "we don''t have enough time for breakfast, so I prepared a chocolate bar to eat instead during the time we walk to the teleportation circle."


    What! No breakfast? Just what were we doing that took up more than nine hours to prepare to go to work?


    "What are we possibly doing today that will take up as much as nine hours of my sleep time to get ready for our assignment," I yelled in astonishment.


    "Just some shopping and going to other detours along the way," Luke answered very vaguely.


    "Oh, just some shopping I see, well I don''t need to go. I''ll just wear my uniform there. My sleeping time is very important to me you see. It cannot be wasted with idle things such as shopping" I tried to flop back into my bed.


    "Well, we wouldn''t have to this if you had proper clothes to wear at work," Luke tried to appease me.


    "Ummm. I do have proper clothes. Remember the clothes I bought at the mall with you?" I countered back.


    Luke sighed, "Well you need even finer clothes to work in the first district as part of the dress code."


    This was when I recalled most of the clothes that Luke picked out at the mall was one of the most expensive clothes in each store that we visited in the third district. I remembered that I had spent most of my savings that I gotten from my parents even though there was a lot of money piled up from the past years that I haven''t visited them.


    "So, when are we going shopping?" I added.


    "Right after you dress." Luke finished brushing my hair.


    I quickly put on the clothes that I bought from the mall. A white lace dress that dabbled up to the middle of my thighs and white dress shoes should be adequate to shop in the first district!


    When Luke approved the outfit, we walked out of the dorm to go to the teleportation circle. I had assumed we would land at someplace like a mall in the first district. But, in front of me, were glittering diamonds, rubies, gold, and other jewels that I could not name.


    Was this a clothing store? I could not spot any fabrics nor any clothes. Only one worker was standing in front of us greeted us.


    The worker brilliantly smiled that radiated kindness, "What can I do for you today my dear patrons?"


    "We would like seven pieces of clothing each for Rika and me" Luke answered naturally.


    "Do you have any preferences, my dear patrons?" The worker asked respectfully.


    I could''ve listened further than this point, but it was impossible to understand because Luke had so many requirements and details of how he wanted the clothes to be when they were just clothes! At one point, Luke asked for my opinion of what I wanted to be in the design or whatnot, but I said that he could be in control of everything at this point.


    My eyes were starting to droop from my lack of sleep and I was tired of standing in a room filled with an endless number of jewels. I wanted to sit down and relax, but there were no chairs or anywhere to sit in this room. This was a big contrast from all the other luxurious clothing shops I went to previously with Luke that it was almost astonishing.


    It was 8:30AM when Luke''s conversation finally seemed like it was finishing.


    "Are you done yet?" I lightly slapped my cheeks to keep myself awake.


    "You just need to pick seven diamonds from this pile," Luke answered while looking tired himself.


    You would assume that the one would be easily able to tell the difference between the piles of diamonds. However, the number of diamonds looked like it would go on for miles and I could not tell the difference from what was considered to be a ''good'' diamond from a ''bad'' diamond. At this rate, I thought any one of them would do. I went to the front of the pile of diamonds and dug out some random diamonds that sparkled brilliantly in front of my eyes.


    "Here," I passed the diamonds onto Luke.


    Luke confusingly passed the diamonds back to me one by one. When each diamond landed on top of my hands, it went into the marble almost immediately afterward. Not even caring what that even meant, I asked, "Can we go somewhere else now?"


    Luke nodded and soon afterward, I found myself fading away as I heard a loud voice, "Thank you for your patronage."


    The next place I found myself was a luxurious shop which was completely the opposite of the clothing store. There was a nice twinkling chandelier like I expected and it had nice red velvet plush couches and a small table with a tea set and cookies. Finally, a place to sit down! When I was about to walk towards the couches, I found myself held back by Luke''s tight grip on my hand.


    "My precious customers, would you like to sit down and have some refreshments while browsing?" The server asked in the sweetest voice.


    ''Yes! I would like to sit down and enjoy those free snacks that I see right in front of me because I was brought here before getting a chance to eat anything,'' My eyes glittered towards the snacks.


    "No, unfortunately, we do not have enough time so we would, unfortunately, like to decline your offer," Luke responded with a stone face.


    "What?" I accidentally yelled.


    "I''ve been standing for more than three hours and had to skip breakfast and you''re declining their offer? It''s fine if YOU decline their offer, but leave ME out of it!" I whispered harshly into Luke''s ear.


    Luke coldly explained with his eyes narrowed, "we have three more stores to go after this and at most we can spend around one hour per store because we have to return to the dorm as well to get ready with the things we bought."


    I became speechless from being astonished. No wonder he woke me up at 4AM! I decided to stand still and follow his lead until we went back to our dorms. We teleported to each store anyways and Luke would drag me to wherever he needed me to go.

 33 ABC Int. Corp.

    I had a feeling that shopping would become my worst enemy if things continued on like this. Skipping meals and not being able to rest made me exhausted and very irritable from the smallest things.


    I was heaving and out of breath while I wondering why people liked shopping in the first place. Was it the glam of getting new clothes and showing it off to other people? Or was it simply from the excitement of getting new things?


    As soon as I entered the dorm room, I flopped onto my bed and nuzzled into my pillow. It was 11AM, I would have two hours to relax to relieve my fatigue. I pulled my blanket to take a brief nap to soon find myself wrestling with Luke for my blanket.


    "Why are you taking my blanket away from me?" I scowled.


    "You can''t take a nap. I know how you sleep and your hair is going to get messy when you wake up again." Luke countered.


    I was about to say that it wasn''t true, but it was true. My hair got tangled up very easily from the smallest things such as the wind blowing in the wrong direction.


    "Well, I have two hours to rest and take a brief nap so I''m not going to waste it." I tugged on the blanket with all my strength.


    "Well, you don''t have the time to nap anyways, it takes us two hours to get to the location of our assignment!" Luke tried reasoning with me.


    Well, if it was because of that, then I had to get up. I groaned while separating from my bed as Luke showed me how to get dressed. When Luke pulled out his diamond from his marble, a bright piercing light covered the room. He now wore a nice pastel blue tie with a stormy blue suit that gave off an image of sophistication and envy.


    Somehow, the clothes that he was wore didn''t seem normal as my mana hummed away from his clothes. Ignoring the odd feeling, I copied his actions to find myself engulfed in the same flashy light. When I opened my eyes and faced the mirror, I found myself wearing a gleaming orange dress with marigolds sown around my waistline.


    Fascinatingly, not only did the dress looked like it was made for me to wear, but it also felt like it was a part of me. No wonder Luke kept on saying I needed to buy clothes. Whatever I had before, I couldn''t compare to what I was wearing right now. My mana loved the dress so much that it hugged itself around it. That''s why I couldn''t feel the weight of the clothes on me.


    "Rika?" Luke softly asked.


    I stopped admiring myself in the mirror and remembered that I had to go to work today and I had a limited amount of time to get there. Luke opened the door to escort me to the teleportation gate where it would somehow take two hours to arrive at the location where our assignment was supposed to be held.


    The teleportation gate usually led us directly to our location, but unfortunately, this was not the case this time. I found ourselves in front of many crossroads and paths in front of us.


    Fierce burning red hair, long legs, and hazel eyes that resembled a bit of tenderness itself. One side of his lips slightly went up, resembling a smirk, and the high nose bridge that displayed some of his confidence. Where did I see this face before?


    "I am Hubert, your guide for today." The guide introduced himself while slightly bowing.


    Hubert! Hubert!!! The one that Shelly had a crush on! The cafe in the second district with one of the two adolescent boys chatting with Shelly. When Shelly blushed, it was partly because of his good looks and partly because of his great humor. I was too focused on Ben that I almost forgot Hubert was there as well!


    "Are you perhaps Hubert from Signhert Academy high school?" I asked as part of an ''inside joke''.


    "Yes, and how might I know you from the second district?" Hubert responded with one of his eyebrows going up.


    "It was in the second district where my friend Shelly and I were at a cafe together." I smoothly answered back.


    Hubert''s eyebrows went up in remembrance of the big rebellious event of Shelly and me that almost got us kicked out of the school.


    "I thought that event would be kept a secret between us four?" Hubert replied back with a wink.


    "Well, I don''t think it would matter anymore as the school already found out about the incident," I nonchalantly answered back.


    I still didn''t think that incident was a big deal to this day. However, Luke and Shelly never brought up the ''incident'' again like they were ashamed it ever happened or even existed in their history.


    "Well...Nice to meet you again Rika. Now, where would you like to go?"


    "To ABC International Corp." Luke intervened.


    "To that place? I heard it was a pretty tough place to get in. I''m pretty impressed but it is expected of your academy to send you there." Hubert lit up in admiration.


    Well, it was only one of the many companies Alex''s family-owned. I did not think it would be regarded as somewhat ''prestigious''. I felt awkward as Hubert led the way to our destination. When we finally arrived, we parted our ways. I wondered if I should tell Shelly about this event later but decided I shouldn''t as Shelly kind of got traumatized from our visit to the second district last time.


    I looked up to find myself in a trance from admiring the glory of the building I stood in front of. It was nothing as I had imagined as it seemed mystical and finally something like an item that came out of a fantasy novel or game. I saw clouds of imaginable softness around a tower that resembled the modern design from the second district.


    "Rika, you''re blanking out again," Luke warned me.


    Right. I put those images behind my head and found myself inside the building. We waited inside a meeting room with a well-dressed businessman standing behind me waiting to introduce himself.


    "Here is your assignment." The man wasted no time.


    "You are to help in managing a team in the design department for a week. Go to this room and here''s the map." The man continued vaguely.


    While I stood there waiting for more instructions, Luke was already looking at the map and dragging me to our next location. By the time, I was aware of my surroundings, I was standing in front of the team I was supposed to manage with Luke. It was a cozy little team of four people with bright eyes.


    "You look just like a doll Rika!" One of the workers came up to me.


    "But how did you-" I looked at her in confusion.


    "Didn''t Luke just make a formal introduction once you entered this room?" The worker beamed.


    Ahhh. That must have happened when I was still blanking out.


    "Do you want to be our model?" Another worker asked.


    Was I considered to be pretty in this reincarnation? I wasn''t concerned about my appearance in this world because I gave up. Luke was prettier than me with his long eyelashes and feminine jawline.


    Meanwhile, Shelly and Elene always looked like they appeared out of some magazine. Even if I did put some makeup on, I doubted that anything would change. So, I just did the bare minimum like letting Luke manage my hair.


    "Really? Are you sure?" I asked for confirmation.


    All of a sudden, the team started bringing all these designs in front of me. "Which ones do you want to wear Rika?" the team looked at me very expectantly.


    "Ummm. Which ones do you want to start wit-"


    "Rika! Did you forget what our assignment was?" Luke cut me off.


    I rolled my eyes to Luke, "helping the team with whatever they''re supposed to do?"


    "We''re supposed to manage the team. Like, take the lead in approving the designs and which ones would make the most profit in the second district." Luke whispered into my ear.

 34 Space

    "Can''t you do that and I just be the model?" I whispered to Luke.


    I definitely didn''t say that because they complimented me on how pretty I looked. It was because I was better suited for that role rather than taking charge of them.


    "Rika Roselia Shanes," Luke answered back to me warningly.


    At first, Luke started referring to me as Rika Shanes to other people. But ever since we entered middle school, he started putting Roselia as my middle name. I didn''t know the reason, so three months ago, I asked Shelly and Ellen what their full names were.


    "Allan introduces me as Helena Krista Nicole," Ellen answered while indicating it was something like common sense.


    "Why? Before you introduced yourself as Helena de Nicole." I asked in confusion.


    Shelly nudged Ellen. "Ellen, Rika may not know this as she''s not originally from the first district."


    "I forgot, since we''re always in the first district together," Ellen whined back to Shelly.


    Since I spent more time in the first district than any other district, it was not wrong for Ellen to forget I was a person from the third district. Even I didn''t consider myself to be someone from the third district anymore.


    "In the first district, once we reach a certain age, the females put their fianc¨¦''s last name as their middle name to indicate their engagement to others."


    "But why?"


    ''What would be the point of that?'' I thought.


    "Well, normally before middle school, your partner isn''t always one person. It can change several times based on politics and the amount of mana you develop." Shelly explained.


    What! But, I was stuck with Luke this entire time! I could''ve done something during the trial period to change my partner if I knew about this!


    "But our partners didn''t change even once!" I almost yelled.


    "Well, In the first ranked academy in the first district, you almost always stay with one person. The families in the first ranked academy are a special case." Ellen replied as if she just discovered it herself.


    "Well in your case, your partner would''ve never have changed." Shelly tried to console me.


    Even I couldn''t refute that. Luke and I were matched based on our mana and I was pretty sure there was no one else who could come as close as me in terms of the amount of mana I possessed. Who knew it would backfire on me this way!


    "Fine," I answered Luke while sulking.


    It was unfortunate that the big room was separated into two with a glass wall between the team and its managers. As I predicted, Luke assigned me to the other side of the glass wall where I was separated from the rest of the team.


    The team would submit their designs through the network and we would barely interact with them in person. On the other side of the glass, Luke and I would evaluate the designs and give them the result whether the design would go into manufacturing or not.


    "Yea-"


    "Are we going back to school now?" I cut him off while thinking we were going back to dorms to relax.


    "We''re going back to my house." Luke seemed confused as to why we would go back to our dorms.


    "Wait. Your house. Why?" Hoping that it wasn''t the case. I didn''t exactly have good memories of being inside Luke''s house.


    "We usually don''t go back to school during our assignment. We just go back home like other typical workers do after they-"


    "Wait. That means I don''t have to go to your house. I can go back home to the third district" My eyes lit up in excitement.


    "Rika. Don''t you remember what happened to you the last time you went to the third district?"


    "But it doesn-"


    "We''re going back to my house."


    Before I could say anything to defend myself, I was already inside Luke''s house. I ignored Luke and stomped to the usual room I stayed in and slammed the door shut. If this was going to be what it was going to be like for an entire week, it was going to be worse than being in school.


    In school, at least I had some space for myself. After dealing with Luke, I could go to Shelly or Ellen for some healing. But in this situation, I would be stuck with Luke the entire time whether I wanted it or not.


    I paced around the room while thinking about other ideas. I knew that I couldn''t get rid of Luke during work because I needed those points to survive in school. If I stayed in Luke''s house, I knew I would go crazy from the amount of control Luke had in this house.


    Teleportation magic was easy to track due to seeing the unique footprint each person''s mana left. Because this district was so immersed in magic, as long as I didn''t get caught by Luke, I would be able to physically leave this place by running or walking out.


    Wait. I could sneak out after dinner while assuring Luke I was still in his house! I would finally be able to explore the first district properly while getting some time for myself. When it was about dinnertime, I walked down the stairs into the dining hall.


    Luke was already there eating his dinner, "I was going to ask the maid to deliver your meal to your room."


    "No need, I''ll be coming down to eat dinner from now on." I grabbed my utensils to eat.


    Luke glanced at me once in suspicion and continued eating his meal. When I finished eating, I went back to my room and tore the curtains. With the curtains, I formed them into a rope and opened the windows. I tied one side of the curtain to one of the legs of the bed and threw the rest out the window.


    Fortunately, this room was on the second floor. I was easily able to climb out of my room without using any of my mana. If I went through the front gate, it would be likely I would be discovered from those maids or other servants.


    The back gate was no different as well. Luke''s family was very rich in the first district. That''s why there were no holes in the fences or anywhere that looked like it needed repair. However, since there were many servants in this house, I would be able to make it through the back gate undetected if I wore a disguise.


    I quickly sneaked into the laundry room where I found some dirty uniforms and changed into the maid uniform. I scrambled to the back gate and walked slowly trying to get by unnoticed. After a few yards out of Luke''s house, I jumped in celebration as I praised myself for thinking of this plan.


    This was where I was thankful that Luke did not pay attention to his numerous servants taking care of his estate as most times he did not regard them as human beings, but hired help. Now, where should I go to have fun in the first district?


    Most times, I was either at school or forcedly dragged along to Luke''s house. I was never allowed to go anywhere besides going on field trips to be better acquainted with the area I lived in by the school.


    Since the school had very high standards, I have never visited the places where the normal civilians of the first district would visit. All the restaurants were a very high quality that required a certain degree of elegance while eating. Definitely not eating to enjoy or have fun with food.


    Maybe I should start off by going to a local cafe or an affordable restaurant. I commanded my marble to project a map of the first district. Currently, I was in the most prestigious area in the first district.


    Thankfully, if I took the hover bus, I could go to the area where most people typically hung out around my age. I quickly ran to the hover bus just in time before it departed. Most people in Luke''s area never bothered to use the convenience of the hover bus located like a minute away from their houses.


    I sat down to see the hover bus almost empty. More like at this stop, I was the only person getting in with only one other person occupying a seat on the bus.


    His piercing eyes that gazed outside the window memorized me with his slouched body against the seat. A charm that I didn''t see for a long time with everyone around me that sat upright in those uncomfortable positions that made my back ache.


    How was it that there were only good-looking people in the first district?

 35 Returning

    "Are you done staring at my face?" He asked bluntly.


    "Umm. Um. I''m sorry." I stammered with my face blushed in shades of pink.


    He laughed in response. "Sorry, I didn''t mean to scare you. It just seemed weird someone like you got on at that stop."


    When my face scrunched up in confusion, he added, "The dirty maid uniform stands out in this district."


    Ohhh. Why didn''t I think of changing out of those clothes? Stupid Rika!


    "It''s like you sneaked out of your house to get away from someone."


    "Wait. You could tell?" I almost yelled out loud.


    Somehow, I was saying almost all my thoughts inside my head out loud. I was sure I would never say these things on my own. Could it be?


    "Could it be I was reading your mind?" He smirked as he placed some of his gold strands of hair away from his forehead.


    "How?" I whispered.


    Was he even a human being? At this rate, with the strangeness of the first district with the mana and all that I wasn''t sure if I could tell.


    "I''m not."


    Ok... Now I was sure he was reading my mind.


    "If you''re not a human being, then what are you?" I interrogated him.


    "A spirit, an elf, a fairy? Choose from one of the three. That''s what other people named me in the past centuries, and frankly, I don''t care what I''m called." He shrugged.


    When I suddenly blanked out, I found myself already at the stop and out of the bus with an unwanted headache. Why was I here? My head flickered as I remembered. I wanted to go to a local cafe or have fun at whatever looked fun.


    And somehow, coincidentally, I found myself in front of a cafe. How did I walk here from the bus stop? Since I was here anyway, I just went in to find myself in a comfy cafe with warm wooden chairs and tables.


    I sat in one of the chairs while noticing the cafe was empty just like the bus. "Can I get your order?" A familiar smirk accompanied by his golden strands.


    "Wait. It''s you? What are you doing here?" I kept on asking.


    "Taking your order. By the way, here''s the menu." His large pale hands gave me a fragile piece of paper.


    MENU


    Spirit Whiskey 3 Memors


    Elf Cocktail 4 Memors


    Fairy Shot 2 Memors


    Water 10 Memors


    What was Memors? The currency in the first district was Aris. From looking at the menu, the water seemed like the safest choice.


    "A glass of water please?"


    "Sure. Coming right up." He grinned in response.


    When he came with a glass of water, I confessed, " I don''t have any Memors with me. I have Aris instead but-"


    "I know you don''t have any Memors. But, your first order is on me." His eyes strangely glowed golden yellow.


    I accepted the glass of water when I would usually ask more questions before accepting it.


    I rubbed my eyes in disbelief. Before the cafe was empty except for me and the strange waiter. Now, the cafe was bustling with people with elf ears and golden hair and eyes.


    "Welcome to the spirit currency center! I was wondering when you would finally figure out." The waiter winked.


    Huh? My thoughts were getting more and more disjointed ever since the mystifying bus ride.


    The waiter placed several Memors in front of me. The Memors looked similar to Japanese Yen coins except each one had a different color.


    "Since we are in the light spirit realm, each Light Memor will be exchanged for 100 Aris. However, the Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, and Orange Memors will be exchanged for 500 Aris."


    Should I be glad that Luke was from a rich family? He never suffered from money and always put spare money in both of our bank accounts that could be accessed from our marbles for ''just in case'' purposes.


    When I looked into my bank account, I saw the familiar 100,000,000 Aris. I would never need 100,000,000 Aris to spend in the future, so I concluded it would be most helpful to leave about 1000 Aris in my account and convert the rest into Memors.


    "17,000 Green, Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple and Orange Memors each and 480,000 Light Memors please."


    The people in the tables next to me started whispering and gossiping louder than before.


    "They''re curious about how rich you are. It''s been a while since a human being made a big purchase with our currency." The waiter responded.


    "Oh. It''s just that I don''t have the opportunity to spend my money properly so I decided to convert most of the money into Memors." I bluntly confessed.


    "Our currency won''t appear in your marble but will be ingrained into you. All you have to do is to tap your wrist as much as you need to spend."


    My wrist started firing up and pain washed upon me as I groaned and screamed while falling off my chair. What was left from my purchase was a pale green ivy decorated with pure white lilies tattooed on my wrist.


    It almost looked like a priceless bracelet, except it wasn''t. The pain woke my senses enough that I knew I wasn''t in the first district anymore. "And I''m guessing I''m not in the first district?"


    "Well, you are technically in the first district. It''s just of that in a different dimension per se?"


    No wonder no Aris worked here!


    "How do I get back?" I suddenly wondered.


    "Are you sure you want to go back? Most people try for their entire lives to enter this realm."


    This was a fantasy world that resembled those light novels I used to read in my past life. "I''m sure there''s a portal I could purchase to get back here." I sarcastically said.


    "What a smart human! I could sell 100 Light Memors for each one." A beautiful woman came from one of the tables.


    100 Memors? Somehow, I knew that was overpriced. "Ten for 100 Memors," I firmly said.


    The woman frowned as she reluctantly gave me ten vials of translucent blue liquids inside as it was like she was pressured from the waiter to give in to me. The waiter tapped my wrist, which made the vials disappear and brought out 100 Light Memors in exchange.


    When I looked back to thank her, she was already stomping back to her table. "Can I go back to the first district now?"


    "Just drink your water," The waiter smiled.


    I took another sip of my water to find myself in an abandoned empty shed with sunshine pouring in from the windows. There was no cafe, no waiter nor the people gossiping around me.


    When I went out of Luke''s house, it was in the evening. There was no way there would be this strong sunlight near this time.


    I opened my marble to check the time. It was Friday afternoon instead of Monday evening I escaped from Luke''s house. Of course, when I entered another dimension, the time would flow differently.


    I gasped while thinking about the points Luke and I would lose from me going missing. I sighed because this was one of the easier assignments. When I walked outside of the shed, I saw that I was a minute away from my workplace. Was there ever an abandoned shed near the company?


    Afraid that I was still in the dirty maid uniform, I looked at my clothes to see that I was wearing the clothes that Luke and I bought the other day. Maybe it was a service from the waiter? Without hesitating, I entered the building and went to my assigned floor.


    The team that Luke and I were supposed to manage stopped what they were doing and just stared at me in surprise.


    "Luke told me you were sick," One of them finally said after a long moment of silence.


    "I''ll go get Luke to tell him that you came," Another team member shouted after the silence was broken.


    Not surprisingly, Luke came immediately after being told of my arrival and dragged me to our side of the room.


    "Did you know how worried I was when you were missing?" Luke started off almost yelling.


    "I thought something really happened to you when a large amount of money disappeared from your bank account." An unexpected tear dripped down from his eye.

 36 New Classmates

    I had never seen a single tear from Luke before as I had never seen him ever close to crying. His blue eyes were gleaming from the tears forming in his eyes and he hugged me like he was making sure I was real.


    "I''ll talk about what happened after work," I whispered into his ear.


    Luke nodded as he knew it was essential that we got all the points we needed from this assignment. There were only three more hours until our week at this company ended anyways. Since I knew what to do from working on Monday, we silently continued to work along with each other until the workday was over.


    The man in a fancy business suit from the first day came up to us as we packed up our stuff to leave. "The work you two did was pretty impressive, so I will reward you with 150,000 points."


    After he updated the points we had, we were free to leave.


    While I formed a plan inside my head to tell Luke what happened, I found myself in Luke''s house. I was in the familiar yellow wallpapered room where I was scolded when I went to the mall with Luke and I left him alone and made him worry about me.


    I sat down in the armchair while fiddling with my fingers, "It wasn''t intentional, I was going to take a stroll near the estate and come back after an hour," I started.


    "But-" I gasped for air as I felt a choking sensation around my neck when I attempted to talk more about the event.


    When I tried getting another word out, I started to cough unstoppably and I gave up trying to explain what happened.


    "You know I''m not pretending to do this so I don''t have to tell you about this, right?" I finally coughed the words to Luke.


    Luke''s stern expression quickly turned into a face full of worry and contemplation as he paced back and forth. Since I was finished with the conversation, I walked out of the room to my bedroom in Luke''s house.


    When I was sure that no one was watching, I tapped my wrist wishing for one light Memor to appear. Unfortunately, no Memors came out. I got disappointed and I hoped that I didn''t get scammed for my money (even though the money was technically Luke''s, not mine) and went to sleep soon after.


    For the next few days, whenever I found myself alone, I tapped my tattooed wrist many times. But no Memors ever appeared. I sulked as I wanted a vacation more than ever as I anticipated more torture from studying to come.


    "Rika!" Shelly jumped to hug me while I was paralyzed from surprise.


    "I was worried about you when Luke secretly sent out a search party for you."


    "What?" I spitted out.


    "He only sent out the notice to close friends in our circle." Shelly tightly hugged me.


    When I didn''t respond, Shelly continued, "Even Alex was really worried for you. Since you were working at his company, he made his employees search for you near the area for three days before giving up."


    When I recalled the nasty time flow in the other dimension, I simply responded, "It was nothing like a kidnapping. I just forgot to keep track of time."


    I thought it would simply end there with my friends worried about me, but I was wrong.


    "Welcome back from your assignments! I know some of you had some hardships in the first district so there will be no assignments in the first district anymore for middle school students as measures taken so certain incidents will never happen again." Daniel announced.


    Wow. The school forbids any practical assignments in the first district after my supposedly "kidnapping". Apparently my ''incident'' was a lot more serious than I thought it would be.


    A few weeks later, Daniel came into the classroom with two children standing by the door. Up till now, my classmates had always remained the same. It was my close friends, Shelly and Ellen, and their respective partners Alex and Allan.


    That''s why I was excited when I heard about a new pair transferring into the school, we would have two new classmates joining us from the classes being rearranged. One disadvantage in extremely small classes was that it was more noticeable if you were drawing in your notebook during class or daydreaming.


    I hoped that with two new classmates, the teachers wouldn''t pay much attention to me. Up till now, their stabbing glares were mostly focused on me than teaching.


    "Let''s welcome Charles and his partner Miliana to our class. They used to be in the class right beside you so you may be already familiar with them, but this is a chance to get better along with them." Daniel announced.


    Miliana shyly smiled while Charles waved to Allan.


    "Now, we will have group assignments, but you cannot be with your partner as a new twist! When you find your groups, I will tell you the task." Daniel continued.


    Ellen, with her motherly nature from taking care of Allan, asked Miliana, "Do you want to be partners?"


    "Thank you for taking me," Miliana elegantly replied.


    While I was watching that heartwarming scene, somehow everyone already had a partner. When I glared at Shelly, she mouthed ''Sorry, Allan begged me''.


    Traitor! After standing alone, unable to find a partner, Daniel with his pitying gaze asked, "Who wants to be with Rika?"


    The only person without a group hid away behind Alex and Luke, unwilling to move.


    "How about you, Charles? You''re also the only one without a group as well." Daniel suggested.


    "Wait- . Come on Alex?" Charles turned to whine.


    When Alex shook his head while he clung onto Luke harder than before. Giving up on Alex, Charles glanced at Allan like he was pleading for help. However, Allan quickly looked away as he latched onto Shelly''s arm.


    When no one else was willing to switch partners, Charles started begging, "Can I be alone then? I would rather do this alone than to be with Rika."


    How rude!


    "Hey! We''re meeting after school tomorrow to start." Charles turned to me with no other choice with his arms crossed.


    "Unfortunately, I have plans." I declined.


    I made plans with Shelly and Ellen today to meet at a cafe tomorrow to welcome Miliana to our group.


    "Well, cancel them." Charles rolled his eyes.


    "Whatever," I walked away from Charles and thought how pitiful Miliana was to have Charles as her partner.


    ***


    I cut a piece of my favorite strawberry shortcake as MIliana shyly started the conversation, "You know that you''re really famous here Rika. I became a fan of you ever since you entered middle school."


    "What? How?" I dropped my utensils.


    "Well, you had the courage to skip class at the start of middle school." Miliana hesitantly replied.


    Hmm. So skipping class was something major in the first district.


    "Skipping school isn''t that hard. You should do it too when you get too tired. It''s not good to keep on working all the time. A human being needs occasional breaks as well!" I encouraged Miliana.


    Shelly and Ellen strangely looked away before someone behind me whacked my head.


    "Hey!" I yelled.


    "Stop being a bad influence on my partner!" Charles shouted.


    "Why are you even here anyway? Don''t you have your own things to do?"


    "Remember we decided to meet today for the project?" Charles said as if it was confirmed.


    "I declined, Remember?" I had to hold myself from throwing a sharp fork into his smug face.


    I stretched my arms to whack him in the face in the process when he continued to stand behind me.


    "Oopps. Sorry, it seems that idiocy is not easy to fix." I taunted back.


    Charles'' face transitioned into a red tomato from the humiliation while he tried to compress his anger. Nobody had ever hit Charles before, not even his parents. His partner, Miliana was usually very obedient that she listened to almost everything he said.


    Ellen and Shelly could sense the steam from Charles as they cautiously moved further away from the table.


    "Just you wait, you brat-." He raised his arms.

 37 Disturbance

    I immediately placed a barrier around myself layered with octagonal patterns. It solidified like guerilla glass as Charles ended up punching its walls. I smiled in victory as his fists increasingly became bruised with pink, raw skin.


    Hooray for unlimited mana! This invisible barrier would last as long as I could keep my concentration up. I smiled again at the struggling Charles as he panted from physical exhaustion. I sliced another piece of my cake and enjoyed the other sweets.


    When I finished enjoying my cake, I looked up to see Miliana hiding behind Shelly and Ellen. Charles was now sitting in the table beside us and gave up on penetrating my barrier.


    "Rika, we''re fine if you leave early today, so you can work on your project since Charles seems very intent on starting it today." Ellen attempted to mediate the situation.


    However, I was going to show Charles that he could not order me the same way he treated Miliana. He needed to know that he could not treat people that way.


    "Nah. I''m going to take a nap. I''m full after eating all that cake." I stood up and waved good-bye.


    "Wait-" Charles panted.


    I walked towards my dorm room and looked back to see if anyone was behind me. Thankfully, Charles looked like he was still at that caf¨¦ recovering from his broken pride. Unfortunately, I ran into Luke and Alex on my way to my room. I quickly turned around to get to the room with another route.


    "Rika!" Luke greeted me.


    "Oh, hey Luke." I groaned.


    "What are you doing here? I thought Charles went to go find you." Luke continued.


    "Well, I did meet Charles and now I''m going back to our dorm since we''ve already discussed what we''re going to do" I lied flawlessly.


    If everything ended there, my life would be pleasant. But of course, that couldn''t happen. Just when I finished my lie, Charles ran towards me around the other corner.


    "Rika! Stop right... ther..e" Charles panted.


    Well, it was my mistake, I should have run as soon as I ran into Luke and Alex.


    "Well, I better get going now. Bye Luke." I attempted to escape from this situation.


    Alex grabbed my wrist to stop me from running away. I glared at him to let go and tried to pull away from his tight grip.


    "Alex, you really better let me go," I warned him.


    "Charles, I know how you feel, you can talk to Rika now," Alex responded to Charles.


    Charles started complaining immediately, "Rika hit me in the head so she could run away from doing the project with me."


    "Wait. Stop distorting things. I only hit you in the head because you whacked my head first." I refuted back.


    Luke started to smile eerily, "Is it true that you hit Rika first?"


    "I only did it because she would not listen to me!" Charles whined.


    However, I soon woke up from the loud pacing of heavy footsteps outside my room. What else did Charles want from me now? I opened the door to see Charles'' face flushed with anger and embarrassment.


    "I apologize I acted too aggressively while I was trying to do the project with you. Would you forgive me?" Charles asked reluctantly while bowing his head.


    I wanted to get rid of the loud noise outside my room to continue my nap. Maybe since I was only half-awake, I accidentally slammed the door right back at his face.


    "Hey! You''re supposed to say I forgive you and let''s work on it together now!" Charles yelled loudly in front of my door.


    I opened the door again and yelled, "Quiet! You woke me up during my nap with your loud footsteps! If you want to be forgiven, then do it after five hours from now."


    With great irritation, I slammed the door even louder than the first time. Poor Miliana to have Charles as her partner! I hoped Charles would fix his annoying personality soon.


    After slamming the door in front of Charles several times, he never bothered me for the rest of the week.


    "Rika! Hey Rika!" Ellen waved her hand in front of my face.


    "Rika, you''re blanking out again," Shelly commented while laughing.


    "What?" I mumbled back.


    Shelly and Ellen exchanged gazes. "We don''t see you with Charles nowadays, isn''t the project due soon?" Shelly asked with concern.


    "Oh, about that, isn''t it due tomorrow morning? Maybe I''ll start it today?"


    Shelly gasped and Ellen glanced down towards the ground.


    "We heard what happened between you and Charles but I think he really did try to apologize to you in his own way although he does have his own faults." Ellen smiled while trying to defend Charles.


    "Now that I think about it, I did see Charles working on something really hard alone in the library for the past week that he came to class with really dark circles under his eyes," Shelly recalled.


    I understood Ellen and Shelly were telling me that Charles was working on the project alone and asking me to forgive him as the better person since he tried to apologize.


    "At first, I really didn''t like Charles after how he behaved around you. But, he just seemed really pitiful being alone all the time." Ellen added.


    "Doesn''t he have Alex and Luke to hang out with?" I asked curiously.


    "That''s the thing, ever since the day of that incident, Luke and Alex never talked to Charles again," Ellen replied.


    And that meant Charles was alone this entire time. Usually, partners hung out separately from each other since partners were almost always forced to be together during class time, inside the dorms, and other events. It was an unusual case seeing groups of both genders hanging out with each other without their partner as it could be seen as having an ''affair'' of some sort from Shelly''s words.


    Although, this was not the reason I spent time with Shelly and Ellen rather than Alex and Allan. Spending time with Shelly and Ellen was truly better than Luke and his friends that liked to study in their spare time rather than truly having fun.


    "Ok, fine. I''ll talk to him during the break." I harrumphed.


    I walked to the empty library to find Charles all alone after leaving Shelly and Ellen. Charles looked terrible. He had dull amber eyes with large dark bags underneath with skin that lost its brightness from when I last saw him.


    "What do you want from me?" He scowled.


    "I''m not here to apologize. But, I did want to help on the project to do my part." I stiffly replied.


    I was not going to apologize to him when he made a ruckus in front of my room because he did not get what he wanted when he whacked my head first.


    "It''s fine, I don''t need your help, I''m almost finished anyways." Charles stubbornly answered.


    "I''m trying to make amends here." I gritted my teeth.


    "It''s all your fault anyway," Charles mumbled.


    Well, if saying things calmly weren''t going to get through to him, I guessed another place where we could truly talk was the best next answer. I opened a teleportation gate and pushed Charles into the circle before he had a chance to even respond.


    The hover bus was as empty as last time. I looked around to see the large cushy interior and proper windows that showed the scenery outside. Good. This bus was an actual bus and not a bus leading to another dimension.


    "What have you done?" Charles looked both mad and fearful.


    "We''re on the bus since I thought this was a more appropriate place to have a conversation."


    "You do know we''re not allowed to ever be off-campus without permission, right? Do you know what could happen to us?" Charles replied with a slight bit of panic present in his voice.


    "Oh please, then I''ll just teleport us back to that library." I tried to open another teleportation gate to see it didn''t work.


    Huh? Why was it not working all of a sudden? I only brought Charles to the hover bus that had the school as one of its stops. It was a good place to have a conversation where we could yell at each other a bit while not attracting any attention.


    "Why aren''t you opening that gate?" Charles mocked me.


    "It''s not working." My voice wavered.


    "What do you mean it''s not working?" He sneered, not grasping my serious tone.


    I tried opening the teleportation gate several times again to see it fail. It was really strange, I learned in class that the teleportation gate would work up to the fourth district when Daniel yelled the fact while glaring at me as usual.


    "I''m not joking. It''s really not working!" I yelled.


    Charles'' face quickly changed from trying to get back at me to horrendous fear.


    "You try!"


    Charles also tried to open a teleportation gate. He initially looked surprised and had a hint of panic in his actions, but his body started to tremble with more failed attempts.


    In disbelief, Charles looked outside the window as his face slowly looked soulless.


    "Please tell me what I''m seeing outside the window is not true."


    I never did pay attention to what was truly outside the window. I looked outside the window to see a land full of snow with signs of flame and tents far out in the distance.


    "Where the heck are we Rika?" Charles trembled.

 38 Making Amends

    My homeroom teacher in kindergarten was Christopher.


    "The sixth district is a very scary place. It is the district where the flow of mana is heavily constricted and has the least amount of development." Christopher started to explain.


    "This is why the going back and forth to the sixth district is very rare. When people are deployed to the sixth district, they are transported to a certain region to observe the environment in the sixth district and seldom come in contact with the true people who live there."


    I knew the sixth district was a horrible place from the constant warnings from my parents, but my impressions became worse when I heard of Christopher''s grim teachings about the sixth district in detail.


    [Last stop and the final stop is the platform in the sixth district. All passengers must get off at this final stop] A voice rang out from the speaker.


    When the bus arrived at the platform, the bus vanished into thin air and we were left in the freezing cold. So just in case, the passengers don''t get out, it kicks the passengers out. No wonder not many people used the hover bus.


    "Rika!!!!" Charles accused me.


    "Sorry, I didn''t know this hover bus was on its way to the sixth district," I tried to console Charles.


    "Oh really?" Charles yelled in a clear sarcastic tone.


    "I really thought this hover bus was on its way back to school" I yelled back.


    "What do you plan to do now Rika?" Charles mockingly asked.


    We were in the middle of empty land full of snow with signs of civilization potentially miles away from where we stood. The air was filled with the piling snowflakes falling down into the white landscape. The wind made me shiver with my thin uniform.


    "Maybe go where the smoke is? It''s better than freezing to death?" I pointed at a large fire miles away from us.


    "Didn''t you learn in school to never make contact from people living in the sixth district?"


    Did I? Well, for now, walking towards the tents were our best option for survival. I silently walked towards the place with tents while ignoring Charles'' remarks.


    "Rika. Rika! I was saying instead of walking we could use our marbles!" Charles yelled.


    I stopped ignoring Charles as it was a great idea. Charles and I were in our spring uniform since it was not summer yet. I opened my marble to try to change into my winter clothes.


    "Open!" I chanted.


    The marble did not respond and even after several attempts, it never responded except for showing the time and inventory inside it. Charles stomped his feet as his attempts did not succeed as well.


    After giving up on the marble, I miserably continued walking to those tiny tents that never appeared bigger. Eventually, Charles had no energy to complain and we came to a silent compromise as he followed me for over five hours in the cold according to the time displayed in the marble.


    I was out of energy and my vision blurred and blacked out occasionally. When I stumbled, I anticipated landing in the snow. However, Charles quickly pulled me up before I hit the snow even though he looked worse than I did.


    His dark umber hair was topped with white snow and his skin turned colder with each breath that paled with his burned-out amber eyes with loss. I knew I was going burn out sooner than Charles. I was stumbling more often and I had to lean on Charles'' arm to continue walking even with his terrible appearance.


    "I''m sorry Charles... I should have worked on the project with you from the start instead of being stubborn." I said with the last bits of my energy.


    I felt my body going limp as Charles responded in a tiny voice, "It''s my fault as well. I should have listened to your opinions and I apologize for not apologizing sincerely before and making a ruckus."


    "So Rika... don''t faint now. We still have ways to go." Charles painfully continued.


    I wanted to continue but I knew this was my limit. My vision started to fade into darkness as I felt someone shaking my body aggressively as if someone was trying to wake me up.


    "Rika!" Charles screamed in terror.


    The next time I opened my eyes, I found myself inside the hut-like tent. The walls of the tent looked like it consisted of animal skin while I was covered by a blanket of fur.


    I turned to my side to find Charles sleeping beside me with his complexion much better than before also covered by the same blanket. We made it to the tents. We were able to make it!


    "You''re awake!" A girl that was around a similar age as us came into the tent looking shocked.


    She wore animal skin and furs. Her necklace looked like it was made of bones of a large animal and her dagger likewise, tucked into her leather boots.


    "Did you bring us here?" I asked.


    There was no way Charles had enough energy to bring the both of us here when he looked like he was going pass out at any moment.


    "The boy came here with you in his arms begging us to let you two stay for the night." The girl replied grimly.


    "We normally don''t take in strangers but the elder couldn''t leave two children alone where one was already passed out and another was about to be the same as the girl" The girl continued.


    "Thank you, although we don''t have a way to repay you back."


    This was where my natural elegant speaking came in from the constant lessons from chatting with the elites in school and constant fierce scolding from Luke.


    "Where do you come from? Your clothing looks very unusual compared to others in this region."


    I knew the first district had strict protocols to prevent foreign things from becoming known in lesser developed districts as it will affect the development and environment of the other districts.


    Normally, the act of having amnesia worked in light novels as a starting point. "That''s the thing when I woke up, I found myself walking to these sets of tents alongside my acquaintance beside me. I don''t really remember where I came from as I suddenly found myself in this winter landscape." I tried to explain.


    "The way you talk reminds me of the people who come to the villages once a month with new goods to trade." The girl flashed hints of suspicion.


    "Maybe we got separated? When do they come to the village this month?" I asked with desperation.


    "Three days from today. The elder did think you two were related to them in some way. This was why the boy begged for a place for both of you to stay for the next few days. I have errands to do now so I''ll come back to bring dinner at sunset" The girl tried to close the conversation while leaving the tent.


    When I removed myself from the blanket, I found myself wearing thick brown animal skin that resembled a dress. Since Charles was still sleeping, I opened the dimensional library to find a book about the sixth district in more detail.


    [The current state of the sixth district is that people from the up to the third district go to monitor the sixth district in a separate region to observe the current progress of the civilization. To observe the barely established villages, the people of the other districts disguise themselves as traveling merchants]


    Great! I could just meet the people from the other district three days from now and go back to the first district. Time sped up until the sun was starting to set as I closed the book about the sixth district. However, it was strange how Charles still hasn''t woken up.


    He didn''t look like he had a cold as his complexion was back to his former glory while the dark circles disappeared.


    "Charles," I whispered.


    When he didn''t respond, I shook him and talked louder, "Charles!".


    Now I knew there was something wrong with him. Maybe I should use [heal], although it would be almost ineffective.


    [Heal] was a spell that consumed a huge amount of mana. Most people in the first district were only taught about it but unable to use it. Even if I had an unlimited amount of mana, it only to the point my body was able to endure its current amount. It would consume about half of my mana and I would be unable to use mana for the rest of the day.


    Recovering back the other half of my mana would take about a month as well. It was best to rely on advanced medical care in the first district rather than using the spell. However, it was either use [heal] on Charles or leave him here until he recovers.


    From what I read in my vast collections in anime, manga, and light novels, the girl seemed a bit suspicious when she looked shocked when I woke up. I couldn''t abandon Charles as he used up all his energy in trying to bring me here.


    [Heal] I chanted.


    Wake up, Charles! I poured my vast mana into Charles'' body. Work!


    I grunted as I felt my energy leaving me for a foreign entity. When I was about to give up with sweat drenching my hair, Charles faintly stirred. This gave me the motivation to keep on pouring more mana into Charles.


    Strangely, as I poured more mana into Charles, his hair was starting to resemble more shades of my gradient red hair rather than his shiny umber hair.


    When Charles finally opened his eyes, the color of his hair was between the shade of umber and gradient red.


    I stopped pouring my mana into Charles in surprise as Charles shook my shoulders aggressively in an alert state as he soon as he got up.


    "We have to run Rika" Charles sternly said in a serious tone.

 39 The Way Back 1

    "What do you mean by run?" I asked with a bit of fear.


    "We were drugged. Before I lost my consciousness, I heard them talking happily about having more meat for their feast when they previously had a shortage." Charles explained.


    And of course, the new meat was us. This eleven-year-old had quicker wits than I did.


    "Where do we go? There was a person who entered the tent earlier in the afternoon and she said she was bringing dinner for the both of us"


    It was almost dinner time as the sun was set on top of the mountains. Charles stayed silent as if he was trying to come up with a plan to get out of this place as soon as possible.


    I skimmed through the latter pages of the book from the dimensional library for any clues to where we could go. When I flipped to the last page after my impatience from finding no clues from the earlier pages, I found a map with the latest information.


    There was an ''x'' in the place on the map with lots of tents. This was probably our current location. I interrupted Charles'' train of thought and quickly showed Charles the map as he seemed to form better ideas than I did.


    He briefly seemed to question where I got the map from, but soon focused on forming a strategy to get us to a safer place.


    "I have a plan to get us to the facility where the people of the other districts reside. But, you really need to listen and follow my instructions carefully Rika." Charles said while looking exhausted.


    "I will, what do you see me as?" I said, annoyed.


    "My plan is to steal some weapons from this tent and run away quickly as we can to get out of this village as soon as possible. When we''re out of the village, there''s a cave we can spend a night in."


    Charles pointed to the cave on the map and then continued, "After spending a night, we will walk toward these caves next as it will take us more than five days to get to the facility."


    "How about food? Without food, there''s no way we can survive, especially during the winter." I pointed out a weakness.


    "The sixth district has wildflowers that bloom in the winter where its petals are edible. We can pick them along the way to the caves," Charles answered while pointing to the painting of flowers on the map.


    I did faintly remember learning about edible flowers in the sixth district from my exam in kindergarten when I had a huge amount of minus points while studying with Luke.


    "Well, when does this plan start?" I queried.


    "Now!" Charles shouted while quickly grabbing my hand as he prepared to sprint.


    We ran outside the tent to the entrance of the village within a few minutes. We used a small amount of mana to speed up even with the lack of mana in the air. However, the villagers chased after us once one of them reported we were almost out of the village.


    "What do we do now?" I yelled.


    Charles abruptly lifted me while running, "Throw the arrows!"


    With the mana I had left, I embraced my mana into the flimsy arrows and shot the villagers in their arms and legs.


    "Capture them! Bring more reinforcements!" The bulky villager yelled, ignoring his comrade''s pains.


    The bulky villager continued the chase while abandoning his comrades. I shot more arrows to put more space between the villagers and us. However, Charles was starting to slow down as he gasped for more air.


    Eventually, we ran out of arrows while the villagers fiercely continued to their chase like they possessed an abundance of energy. Meanwhile, I felt there was no way Charles could remain running at this speed for more than a few minutes.


    "Charles!" I pushed him into the snow when I spotted a sharp dagger heading towards his head.


    We were now surrounded by the villagers with thick ropes in their hands probably to capture us.


    "Come out! Exphaxia!" Charles screamed.


    A long sword glowed in Charles'' hands. It resembled Alex''s katana that he used to carry around when he was younger.


    Alex''s katana had gold and silver lilies imprinted around the handles. However, Charles'' sword was decorated with marigolds while the sharp blade was colored platinum rather than silver.


    The villagers that briefly froze from the appearance of the foreign sword began to quickly start to move again.


    "Close your eyes and cover your ears Rika," Charles warned.


    I got that Charles was trying to protect me but there was no need as I was mentally older than him anyway.


    "Why? I''m not scared of blood" I answered.


    I wanted to help rather than standing helplessly behind Charles.


    "Rika. Listen to me!" Charles yelled.


    Fine! I closed my eyes and covered my ears. After Charles lightly shook me a few minutes later, I removed my hands from my ears and opened my eyes. The bright sword was gone and the bodies of the villagers were unmoving and devastated in their pools of blood.


    Their heads were separated from their bodies from one swift cut. There was no other injury present on the villagers while I found some scratches on Charles'' hands. His lips bled like he had red lipstick painted around his mouth.


    "Run Rika! Before the others start chasing after us again." Charles pulled me towards the direction of the cave.


    Charles and I ran towards the cave non-stop. When we finally confirmed that we were a good distance away from the village, we started to pick the flowers on the way to the cave.


    "What was just that?" I asked Charles when we had the luxury to talk.


    "What?" Charles tried to pretend that event never happened.


    "The sword that came out from your hand and how you were suddenly able to overpower the villagers," I replied to him to not take me lightly.


    "Didn''t you ever think it was strange that you suddenly got two new classmates?" Charles asked mockingly once we were inside the cave.


    "Well, Luke and I suddenly entered the Abright Institute Academy during kindergarten as well. So, I thought you guys were able to improve your grades drastically to enter this class as well." I responded.


    "Well there are those kinds of rare cases too, but didn''t you guys have a long introduction because of that to your classmates." Charles hinted.


    That did remind me how Luke and I introduced ourselves for the entire day and explained our history to the other partners like how we ended up entering this school.


    ''Let''s welcome Charles and Miliana to our class,'' Daniel''s voice echoed into my head.


    "Your last names! Daniel never fully said your names!" I exclaimed.


    "Who are you?" I questioned him intensely.


    "I guess it doesn''t matter if I reveal myself now. I am Charles de Lumiere and heir to the Lumiere family while engaged to my partner, Miliana Lumiere Ruette." Charles bowed like he was welcoming guests at an elegant party.


    "What about your family name? That doesn''t answer anything about the sword!" I replied with a bit of annoyance in my voice.


    What was with the first district''s obsession with family names! Luke, Allan, and Alex all seemed pretty particular about it. Shelly and Ellen also seemed like they were treading careful boundaries when they talked to people outside our inner circle at school.


    "You don''t know anything, do you? Even though you''re a central part of it." Charles scoffed like I was the only one that was missing out on this common information.


    "To start off, do you know the top five families in the first district?" Charles asked.


    "I did hear that the Roselia and Monete family was part of it?"


    "I guess you''re not completely clueless. The remaining top five families in the first district is the Lumiere, Nuelle, and Suilett families." Charles continued.


    "Your family is very powerful. Since the eldest son of the Roselia family is marrying the heiress of the Suilett family, making Luke the heir to the Roselia family."


    Luke had an older brother? I wondered why I had never heard of it before.


    "I never heard any of this," I admitted.


    Luke knew many things about my family from my constant complaints about my homesickness in elementary school when I tried to slack off. But I barely knew anything about Luke other than the fact he came from the Roselia family.


    "You should ask the rest of the information to Luke since it''s not my place to say everything when I''m not your partner."


    "What about that sword? You can tell me stuff about the sword without the complicated family history, right? I even saw Alex carrying a similar sword around when he was younger." I added to make it seem like I wasn''t completely left out on the information.


    "Fine, I''ll tell you up to this much. Each heir to the top five families in the first district possesses a sword like mine." Charles derisively replied.


    "That''s barely any information!" I shouted in irritation.


    "Just go to sleep Rika and save your energy for tomorrow." Charles just replied.


    After eating the tasteless flowers after I woke up, Charles and I quickly set out to go to the next cave. We spent our days in silence since we did not have enough energy to talk from walking excruciatingly long distances without a break. It was unfortunate we needed to get to the nearest cave to sleep for the night.


    The most miserable part was how our mana didn''t work as easily as the first district. This meant our pace was really slow. We weren''t even halfway there to the facility yet.


    When we finally reached the midway point, I broke the silence, "Seeing that you''re not a jerk as much as the first time I saw you, why were you so mean the first time we met?"


    "I heard the rumors about the partner switching incident when I was in the other class. I just didn''t want the same things to happen to me so I kind of took drastic measures." Charles squeezed out a reply.


    ''Drastic measures'' I see. What did these eleven-year-olds think of me!


    I was seeing a consistent pattern from the actions of Alex and Charles while Allan was just childish in comparison.


    "Why did you even transfer to our class? Wasn''t our grade always split into two even classes?" I asked.


    "Just as you mentioned before, a new pair entered the school in our grade and the school had to decide how to rearrange the classes. Most times in these kinds of situations, the top five families are rearranged to be in the same class and it was decided that Miliana and I would transfer to this class." Charles answered like there was no end to my questions.


    "What about Ellen and Allan? They''re not included in the list." I voiced my thoughts out loud.


    "They''re not but their families are pretty powerful and old, but not much as the top five. They''re part of the top ten families in the first district." Charles answered as if he was dumbing things down.


    "Then what really separates a family from being part of the top five?"


    "This is the last question I''m answering because of your constant pestering. It''s mana." Charles replied.


    No matter how much I continued to pester Charles for more answers, he pretended he was asleep for the remainder of the night. I gave up trying to shake Charles awake since I knew I would have to sleep soon to have enough energy to go to the next cave.


    I prepared to go to bed as I covered myself with the fur blanket I stole from the tent.


    Click. Clack. Clic-


    Footsteps. I heard the sound of footsteps that were getting bigger, which meant that something was heading towards this cave.


    "Charles, wake up! Something is heading towards this cave!" I whispered in his ear.


    "What!" Charles shouted in surprise as he quickly got up.

 40 The Way Back 2

    Charles quickly got up and grabbed a stick that he cut from a tree on the way to this cave.


    However, before Charles had the chance to respond, a figure possessing familiar honey brown hair met my eyes.


    "Rika?" The figure asked in shock.


    "You know him?" Charles asked in surprise.


    "My name is Ben. I met Rika in the second district but I''m actually from the first district." Ben explained.


    "Ben!" I ran to Ben and jumped to hug him while hoping he would bring good news.


    "Are you with anyone else? Are you here to rescue us? Wait. Does anyone know about our disappearance in the first district?" I asked with great expectations in my eyes.


    Before Ben could answer my questions, Charles intervened, "Just ignore Rika. I am Charles de Lumiere and I ask you of what is your current position and situation is in the sixth district."


    "Excuse me for my rudeness Charles de Lumiere. I am known as Ben de Nuelle. I am positioned here as a scout for this current mission and I have been stationed here for a month so I do not know what is going on in the first district." Ben answered with a smirk.


    Charles looked down in shame as the tables were turned. Even I knew that you couldn''t be rude to a person of a similar status when they were older than you.


    "Wait. What happened to the story about being a student at Welms Collegiate Academy High School? I thought it was three levels down from our school. It doesn''t make sense that a person in the top five would enter that school" I tried to reason.


    Both Ben and Charles suddenly stared at me. Oopps. I must have said my thoughts out loud again.


    "Idiot," Charles mumbled.


    "Welms Collegiate Academy High School is the name for the high school section in the Abright Institute Academy," Ben explained.


    What was up with all these names! Why couldn''t they keep it simple and stick to one name.


    "The love story?" I voiced my thoughts out loud again.


    "The story of my friends," Ben smoothly replied.


    "So you were pretending to be surprised about Shelly, Alex, Luke and I in the second district then," I accused Ben.


    "Well I was undercover. I had circumstances which meant I couldn''t reveal everything. I did give out hints though." Ben answered back smugly.


    I sighed. I was so done with people from the first district (not that the people from the sixth district were much better). I felt that the people in the first district almost always spoke in codes. Why couldn''t they speak more directly just like the people in the third district?


    Tired of the constant speaking in codes, I directly asked, "Is there a fast way to get to the first district?"


    "Rika!" Charles shouted in embarrassment.


    "If you tried to explain, it would have taken forever!" I yelled back.


    Ben stood frozen beside us trying to make sense of the odd situation.


    "So just like the second district, you never had the permission to come here." Ben said when he finally got the information around his head.


    "It wasn''t intentional!" I defended myself.


    "Rika. Just stop," Charles requested while patting my shoulder.


    ''So what do we do now'' I asked Ben silently with my eyes.


    "Well we do have a teleportation gate in the sixth district at the facility." Ben answered.


    Yesss! Finally a way to go home!


    "But we have to walk all the way to the facility." Ben added the bad news.


    Bummer. I dropped down onto the floor in disappointment.


    "Thank you for the information Ben de Nuelle and we apologize for disturbing you during your mission. Rika and I will walk to the facility alone to not disturb you even further," Charles said as if he was trying to recover his reputation while lifting me back up with a fierce glare.


    "No, it''s fine. I have enough time to escort you back to the facility." Ben replied back.


    "In fact, this takes more of an priority over my previous mission." Ben continued eerily.


    Charles and I added Ben to our group as Ben knew a better way to go to the facility.


    I looked up to see the front entrance of the facility. The modern glass walls reminded me of home.


    Ben knew a good shortcut that would only take us half a day to come here rather than the original two days that Charles had planned. I teared up in happiness as both Ben and Charles were surprised from my sudden tears streaming down my face.


    "Yess!" I shouted. I jumped up and down with the little energy I had as I couldn''t help myself after knowing it was the end of the excruciating long tortuous walks I had to suffer to get here.


    "Now let''s use the teleportation gates!" I said in excitement.


    Ben led us to the glowing teleportation gate and set the destination to the location in the first district located in front of our school.


    I excitingly pressed the button to activate the gate. However, the gate didn''t activate. It hummed in silence which surprised all three of us.


    I kept on pressing the button in disbelief repeatedly.


    "No way. Why isn''t it working Ben? Ben!" I shouted.

 41 The Way Back 3

    Ben and Charles looked around the teleportation gate to see what was wrong.


    "It needs more power to teleport three people. It looks like it needs to restore some of its power and it seems it''ll take a few days with the lack of mana here," Ben answered after looking at its battery levels.


    I curiously checked the amount of mana I had to see if I could reboot the gate immediately. When the mana started to hum faintly, I discovered I had about a quarter of mana left supplied within me. Normally, my mana would recover faster, but with the severe lack of sleep and exercise and not enough nutrients to supplement my body, my mana was recovering very slowly.


    I looked at the battery levels and discovered it would only take half of the mana I had right now. "I''ll charge it," I volunteered.


    Before Charles and Ben could stop me, I started pouring a great amount of mana into the gate.


    As more of my mana left me, I could feel my vision wavering and blacking out more often.


    Huh? Why was this happening? A similar thing happened when I felt drained from pouring mana into Charles.


    "Stop Rika! Stop!" Charles screamed while pulling my hand.


    When Ben held my other hand, I couldn''t feed my mana into the gate anymore.


    "Why? How?" I asked to Ben in confusion and panic.


    "I''m stopping you from being able to use your mana with my mana." Ben sleekly answered.


    "Your body can''t handle the mass amount of mana leaving your body. That''s why you felt like your vision was wavering and your body about to go limp. Charles noticed so he tried to stop you." Ben continued.


    "Because when someone leaves less than an eighth of their mana left, there''s a chance they''ll go into a deep sleep to recover their mana for a very long time with a chance of never waking up." Ben grimly finished his warning.


    "Well the teacher said it was like I had unlimited amount of mana. So the amount of mana I have even though I have only one eighth of my mana would be above the average person in the first district." I whined as I tried to defend myself.


    "Well it''s those type of people that never wake up," Charles quietly mumbled with worry in his voice.


    ''Vampire?'' The thought quickly came across my head.


    In some folktales in my past life, vampires went to sleep to recover from over exerting their powers.


    I wondered why I suddenly remembered this concept now rather than ever coming up with the idea before when I felt tired when over practicing my mana.


    "I get it, I''ll stop," I resigned.


    Still not convinced, both Ben and Charles held onto my hands and Ben poured out mana into the gate with his other spare hand.


    Few minutes later, the gate flashed to indicate it had enough power to teleport us to our destination.


    I followed him and Charles stepped in after I entered to find ourselves right in front of the school.


    "Finally!" I whispered due to the lack of energy I possessed.


    I soon spotted Daniel while he was patrolling around campus under the bright warm sun. "Daniel!" I shouted with last bits of my energy.


    "Rika! Charles! Ben?" Daniel exclaimed.


    "They were in the sixth district," Ben offered as a explanation while looking equally tired.


    Daniel frozen from shock stood unmoving while I dropped onto the soft grass from exhaustion and a feeling a safety.


    When Daniel got over the shock, he dragged Charles, Ben and I to the ever so familiar dean''s office.


    Surprisingly, I saw both Luke and Miliana already sitting down on the comfy couches with untouched snacks on the table while the dean sat down in his usual chair behind his desk.


    Ben, Charles and I grabbed a seat on the other couch. The delicious smell of the cookies led my hand to quickly hover above the plates.


    Before anyone could respond, I stuffed the cookies in my mouth so no one could stop me. After Luke and my occasional visits to the dean''s office, I knew the snacks were only a formality but I could not care less after eating only flowers for the past three days.


    I quickly chewed as everyone inside the room looked at me in utter amazement. "Continue?" I asked.


    "Can we hear the situation from the senior student?" The dean asked while trying to ignore me.


    Meaning, Ben was to explain everything that happened. While Ben started to explain the whole situation, Charles and Luke stiffened as the explanation got longer and more detailed.


    "Anything else you would like to add to the explanation Charles?" The dean faced Charles while Charles blushed heavily in embarrassment.


    "No, I believe Ben covered everything sir." Charles meekly added.


    The dean glanced towards my direction for the first time as part of a formality.


    "It wasn''t my fault" I replied.


    Both Charles and Luke glared at me to stop talking while Ben seemed amused. Miliana just looked at the floor as if she was not part of the conversation.


    "It was the school''s fault for allowing the hover buses to go haywire in the first place. I clearly remember teleporting Charles and I onto a hover bus that on the way to this location." I added to shift the blame.

 42 The Consequence 1

    "So shouldn''t the school take some responsibility as well?" I asked.


    Charles looked like he was fuming in anger while Luke looked like his world was toppling down.


    "I recall you never had the permission to leave the campus Rika Roselia Shanes?" The dean replied back.


    Yikes. That meant the dean was truly angry now.


    "I was on campus, but it was the hover bus that took us off campus. Meaning the fault lies in the hover bus that took us off campus without the school''s permission!" I declared.


    There was no way the school would know if I teleported onto the hover bus while it was actually on campus. Meaning if I twisted the facts a little, I could shift more of the blame to the lame hover buses that kicked people out in the snow in a desolate place!


    "Is that true Charles?" The dean asked as if he had given up on me.


    Charles stayed silent as he looked at the floor just like Miliana.


    "I will re-educate Rika so events like this do not occur again, so please look favorably on this incident," Luke pleaded after a moment of silence.


    Re-educate me? Please, this all happened because of a faulty hover bus.


    "This isn''t fair!" I exclaimed.


    "This all happened because of a faulty hover bus and this is not the first time it happened!" I defended myself.


    "When I was missing in the first district during the practical assignment, it all started because of a faulty hover bus that led me to a strange place!" I blurted out.


    "We need these junky hover buses to take responsibility so these events don''t happen again!" I declared confidently.


    ''Well this should do it'' I thought.


    However, I saw Luke following Charles and Miliana as he stared intensely at the ground like he had given up on me.


    "If that is the case, we must not punish Rika and Charles for the faulty hover buses on campus," Ben added with a hint of amusement in his eyes.


    "I agree, if there was supposedly no fault with the junky hover buses, Charles and I will take all the responsibility for the consequences of our actions" I added.


    Both Charles and Luke stopped staring at the ground and looked up arruptedly.


    The dean astonished from my statement and with nothing more to add, dismissed us out of his office while preparing to investigate the faulty hover buses due to my constant arguments about the junky hover buses.


    "See, it worked!" I faced Ben, Charles and Luke.


    Miliana looked like she was in a daze while constantly murmuring, "I''ve never been to the dean''s office before."


    "Well this was a interesting conclusion," Ben added after a moment of silence.


    "Who are you?" Luke asked with his eyes narrowed.


    "I would like to thank you for helping Rika in the sixth district Ben de Nuelle. However, I need to talk with Rika right now so if you would excuse us," Luke politely responded.


    Luke quickly grabbed my hand and dragged me to our dorms. This was a sign for a long scolding to come. Sigh.


    "Seriously Rika? Junky hover buses?" Luke shouted once we were inside our dorm.


    "Oh please, the best choice we had was to shift the blame to those pieces of junk anyways!" I yelled back.


    "Rika Roselia Shanes! You will see that you will never enter a hover bus without me ever again." Luke continued.


    Yikes. It seems that this lecture will be a long one.


    Better ask some questions to distract him. "That reminds me, Charles pulled out a sword from the air. When I asked him about it, he said that every heir from the top five supposedly families has one. So can I see your sword?" I asked with great enthusiasm.


    "He showed you his sword?" Luke asked like he was in disbelief.


    Great! I got him distracted.


    "Yea with marigolds around the handle. It looked similar to Alex''s sword except Alex had gold and silver lilies around the handle instead." I added.


    "You saw Alex''s as well?"


    "Yea... I wasn''t able to touch Charles'' sword but I was able to touch Alex''s"


    ''All the way back in kindergarten'' I thought.


    The only reason I remembered it was because it was very heavy unlike its appearance that looked fragile when decorated with flowers.


    "So can I see yours too?" I asked again.


    Luke gave in from my pesterings as he whispered, "Excalibrent!"


    The katana like sword glittered with its sharp white blade and white roses decorating the handle. "It like it''s made out of crystal or diamonds" I said dazzled from Luke''s sword.


    "The blade came from polished diamonds and the roses are from mana crystals" Luke responded nonchalantly.


    Wow. I wanted to hold it too. This sword seemed more impressive than both the swords of Charles and Alex.


    When I tried to grab Luke''s sword from his hands, Luke''s sword suddenly vanished.


    "This sword is way too heavy for you Rika." Luke said predicting my complaint.


    "Anyways, you must not tell anyone about these swords Rika. This is a secret between the people in our inner circle." Luke warned me seriously.


    Sure. Why not. I shrugged in response.

 43 The Consequence 2

    Classes resumed as usual on Monday. It wasn''t until homeroom that I was able to hear about the results of the investigation.


    "We have all unfortunately heard about the sad incident of Rika and Charles when they returned last Friday. From the request of Rika, the school did investigate the hover buses that go back and forth from our campus." Daniel announced.


    Please say that the hover buses were faulty as usual.


    "And we did indeed discover few routes of the hover buses were tampered with unfortunate glitches in the system." Daniel continued.


    "Yess! I knew those hover buses were useless junk!" I accidentally yelled and stood up from the joy of escaping the blame.


    Both Luke and Daniel glared at me to sit down and I quickly sat down onto my chair.


    "Thus, both Rika and Charles are not to be held accountable for this incident as a rare exception. Although the same flexibility does not apply to your project that was due last week. So both of you will receive zero points for the project as it was not handed in." Daniel finished saying the result of the investigation.


    What project? I didn''t care about that stupid project. It wasn''t the first time I would get zero points for a assignment in school (more like it was fine as long as it wasn''t minus points).


    After finishing all our classes, everyone in our class rapidly surrounded Charles and I to ask questions about the incident.


    "Is it true you met people from the sixth district?" Shelly asked with anticipation.


    "Yup, although they weren''t really friendly as they attacked and drugged Charles and I" I answered while remembering using over half my pool of mana on Charles.


    "I had to use [heal] to wake him back up again," I pouted.


    "You used [heal]?" Charles asked me in shock.


    "Yea. How else do you think you were able to wake up after getting drugged?" I replied back.


    Shelly, Ellen, and Allan gasped. Even Luke and Alex looked surprise as they started to pay more attention to the conversation.


    "His hair colour changed..." Miliana said meekly.


    Everyone turned to look at his new hair colour that was more maroon than the original shades of umber.


    "How much mana do you have left?" Ellen asked with clear worry in her voice.


    After being able to rest and have a decent meal during the weekend, my mana was able to recover to about three quarters of its original size. Although, it would take up to the end of the month to have my unlimited amount of mana back again.


    "About three quarters?" I replied with a bit of uncertainty.


    "But I thought you had only about one eighth of your mana left three days ago," Charles mumbled.


    Everyone looked worried as if they knew what would happen when left with a low supply of mana.


    "I did but it recovered?" I answered nonchalantly.


    "Rika?" Luke asked while suddenly trembling.


    "Well we left alot of things out. Who knows how severe our punishment would be if we told them everything," I countered back.


    I left the group while Charles continued to answer more questions. At least Luke and Alex was starting to talk to Charles again.


    Mission accomplished.


    * * *


    Tomorrow was the start of summer vacation, which was only a week long. "Where are you guys going during summer vacation?" I asked while drinking tea in the cafe where we usually met after classes finished.


    "Umm, it''s only called summer vacation as a formality," Shelly answered like she was delivering bad news.


    "Let me guess, it''s a vacation that''s not really a vacation." I pouted.


    "It''s more like giving the opportunity to fulfill our volunteer hours within the first district to move up to the next grade," Ellen replied sadly.


    The difference between elementary school and middle school was that middle school had some practical exams to make use of our knowledge and that we had to fulfill 30 hours of making the first district a ''better place'' than it already was.


    Almost everything in the first district was automated with tablets and marbles. Well at least it was that way in school. There was no way to know if other people in the first district lived like the people in the other districts because the school never gave us the chance to properly explore the first district.


    And when the school did give rare chances to explore the first district on our own, Luke always dragged me to the fanciest places in the first district where everything was automated and his house was like that too.


    "Then did you already decide where you''re going to volunteer?" I asked.


    "Alex already decided we would volunteer at one of his family''s newly built libraries" Shelly smiled with a bit of regret.


    "Allan and I are going to volunteer at a shelter with newborn puppies!" Ellen said excitedly.


    How nice~ I also want to volunteer there as well.


    "Charles decided that we were going to volunteer at one of his family''s mana research centres," Miliana replied softly.


    When they all looked at me, "I don''t think we decided yet," I admitted.


    "I think I''m going to quickly sign up to volunteer at that shelter you talked about." I shared.


    I ran to quickly sign up to volunteer at that shelter before Luke made plans for the both of us.


    "Where are you going?" Luke asked when I accidentally bumped into him.


    Ever since my accident with Charles, Luke questioned what I was doing more often.


    "To sign up at a place to volunteer," I intentionally generalized.


    "I already signed us up to volunteer at my family''s newly created garden." Luke intervened to stop me from signing us up to volunteer at a paradise full of cute fluffiness.


    I dejectedly went back to the cafe.


    "You''re already back?" Ellen questioned.


    "Luke already signed us up to volunteer at his family''s newly created garden!" I dejectedly responded.


    I was seeing a clear pattern here from the people in the top five most boring families!

 44 Volunteering 1

    I relaxed while drinking tea in the porch of Luke''s villa as the robots did most of the work.


    Luke busily commanded the robots on where to water or plant the seeds next on his tablet while sitting down on a nice comfy armchair beside me.


    This was actually not bad.


    I thought we would actually have to water and plant the flowers ourselves while I forgot that almost everything was automated here.


    When I finished drinking my tea and my strawberry shortcake that I ordered from Luke''s kitchen, I felt absolutely bored.


    How many more hours did I have to burn through now at Luke''s villa? I looked at the timer in my marble to see that there was about 28 more hours left.


    Oh great! Luke''s villa was located inside the vacation area in the first district. Each mansion had numerous gardens and courts filled with decorations inside the gated community.


    I don''t know how working on his family''s garden helps make the ''first district a better place'', but since I was here in the vacation area anyways, I wanted to explore what was outside this mansion.


    "Can I go explore what''s outside the mansion?" I asked Luke for the nth time.


    "I told you that you can explore what is inside the mansion until I''m finished with the garden today but not outside," Luke responded for the nth time again.


    However, there was not much to explore in Luke''s bare villa. How could there be no forms of entertainment here?


    When I went inside each room, there was no signs of TV or gaming computers. The villa consisted of exercise rooms, swimming pools, fancy bedrooms, a ballroom and luxurious washrooms from what I discovered so far.


    Oh and a fancy living room to welcome guests! So there was absolutely nothing to do here!


    "Come on Luke! There is absolutely nothing inside your mansion as usual." I complained to Luke while pulling on the sleeves of his new customized shirt.


    I wouldn''t be complaining this much if I got to pack my supply of light novels and manga in the dorm that I hid from Luke. But before I could even think of grabbing any of them, I found myself waking up in one of the rooms of Luke''s villa.


    I kept on tugging on Luke''s shirt as he started to frown as his new shirt was starting to become stretched where the sleeves were.


    "Rika, stop stretching my shirt. It''s a new one after you stretched all my other shirts," Luke looked sullen as he briefly placed the tablet on the table.


    "Then can I go outside? I promise I''ll be back before sunset?" I pleaded.


    "Just wait for two more hours. I''ll go outside with you after I finish coding the instructions on how the garden should be decorated." Luke replied sadly while looking at his sleeves.


    I guess I''ll stop messing with his new shirt now. I ordered more strawberry shortcake from the kitchen to help me wait two more hours.


    * * *


    "Rika, walk properly." Luke said in disapproval.


    I started walking like I normally did in school to prevent Luke from changing his mind. "Let''s go outside the gated community first!" I announced with excitement.


    We were almost out of the gated community when we bumped into Shelly and Alex. "Shelly?" I shouted in confusion when I thought she would be working at one of Alex''s libraries.


    "Rika!" Shelly warmly smiled back.


    "Why? How are you here?" I asked with a big smile.


    "Alex''s new library is inside one of his vacation villas." Shelly responded.


    What a coincidence! Was this whole volunteering thing a scam?


    "Oh. Where are you going now?" I asked.


    "Alex and I are going to the newly built mall inside the gated community. It''s actually really close from here." Shelly answered.


    "Well we''re going outside the gated community!"


    Both Alex and Shelly looked surprised while Luke still looked dispirited from his new shirt being stretched.


    "I''ve been here many times before but I''ve never been outside the community" Shelly''s eyes widened from great curiosity.


    "Come join us then!" I welcomed Shelly.


    "Hey! Don''t drag Michelle into another mess Rika." Alex disapproved.


    "You don''t have to come then!" I yelled back.


    I grabbed Shelly''s hand as we both walked towards the large gate. Once we were outside the community, we found ourselves on the edge of the cliff overshadowing a tourist area that was inside a beautiful beach.


    It was going to take forever to walk down, so I jumped as Shelly screamed from the surprise.


    "Rika!" Shelly complained when we landed safely.


    "Sorry, I''ll try telling you beforehand when I jump down," I replied back while I tried to look pitiful.


    Shelly quickly forgave me as she looked around our surroundings in wonder. Luke and Alex were still on the edge of the cliff deliberating on whether to jump down or not to follow us.


    Many cute shops surrounded us, the one right behind us sold grilled octopus and yakisoba. "Let''s get one of those!" I pointed to the shop.


    Shelly and I ended up buying two sticks of twisted potato chips, five grilled octopus sticks and a cup of shaved ice.


    We sat down on those typical beach chairs as we opened our mouths to eat those savoury goods. Just when I was about to bite down, Luke took my grilled octopus stick away from me and I ended up biting my own lip.


    "Hey!" I yelled angrily.


    "How do you know whether these are safe or not?" Luke shouted back.


    "I will when I eat one of them." I quickly grabbed a bite of the potato chip in my other hand.


    Sooo good. I smiled with pleasure as Shelly also grinned from eating a piece of the grilled octopus.


    Luke resigned after seeing the food was safe. While Alex and Luke was watching us smile from eating the delicious food, Shelly and I ended up finishing everything.

 45 Volunteering 2

    "Where do you want to go next?" Shelly asked.


    What did we need at a beach?


    "There!" I shouted while pointing at a cute shop selling cute swimsuits.


    Shelly heavily blushed as Luke intervened, "We have swimsuits inside the villa."


    Luke did have swimsuits inside the villa, however, it did not give ''going to the beach'' feeling at all! It was just ordinary clothes spelled to be waterproof with mana.


    I quickly dragged Shelly to the store and tried on a lacy pastel yellow two piece and handed Shelly the same design but in stary blue.


    We got out of the changing room to find Luke and Alex murmuring to each other with words like ''improper'' and ''irresponsible''.


    Not wanting to hear the constant criticisms of Alex and Luke, I dragged Shelly to the beach with a big beach ball that the store gave us as a bonus.


    "Come on!" I shouted to Shelly with eagerness to start playing.


    I taught Shelly how to play with the ball inside the soft waves that reached the height of our knees.


    Luke and Alex just sat down in the beach chairs while eating some of the food that they didn''t let us eat before because it ''wasn''t safe''.


    Suddenly, a big gust of wind blew the ball far away to the deeper part of the ocean. "I''ll go get it!" I yelled to Shelly.


    "Wait." Shelly grabbed onto my wrist.


    "I''ll come with you."


    We swam to the ball to find a island not so far away from where we were. "Do you want to go try exploring?" I asked with anticipation.


    "Are you sure?" Shelly had a bit of worry in her voice.


    "Why not?"


    We swam to the island to find it bigger than we thought it was. It was filled with trees full of tropical fruits near the edge of the island.


    "Let''s go deeper inside," I continued.


    After thirty minutes of seeing only luscious trees, we found a building that resembled a resort from my past life.


    The resort looked like it was empty with not a single person inside. However, there were flat screen TVs, gaming computers, and video games deeper inside the resort as part of the entertainment section.


    My eyes must have started to glitter from exhilaration as Shelly stared at me like she was greatly confused.


    "Who''s there?" I saw a wisp of the familiar honey-brown hair coming down the stairs leading to the first floor.


    "Whoever you are, you are trespassing onto the family of Nuelle''s property so I advise you to-" The person warned.


    "Ben!" I shouted while unintentionally interrupting him.


    "Rika?" Ben''s eyes widened.


    "This is your place?" I tried to contain my excitement.


    "Yea, I didn''t expect to-"


    "Can we please stay here for the rest of the week?" I started to beg.


    "I thought middle schoolers were doing volunteer work during this time?" Ben asked with a hint of amusement.


    "Can''t we just say I was volunteering at your resort to make the first district a ''better place''?"


    "We all know this volunteer work thing is a scam anyways!" I finished off.


    Before Ben could respond, I quickly did a dogeza, "I promise I won''t make your resort messy."


    Ben unconsciously nodded like he couldn''t believe how I was behaving, "Thanks for nodding, I''ll leave after a week" I quickly said before Ben could respond.


    I rapidly left Ben that stood there frozen to turn on the precious flat screen TV that I rarely got a chance to see ever since my reincarnation. "It''s so beautiful," I whispered while tears came out of my eyes.


    "Umm Rika. Don''t you think we should change out of our swimsuits now or his floor may get wet." Shelly reminded me while confused why I was crying.


    "Oh and we''ll also borrow your washroom too," I added to Ben who was still frozen from shock.


    Ben''s resort was really nice. I thought it would be the regular jacuzzi like Luke''s house, but he had a whole floor dedicated to hot springs produced from mixtures of mana crystals rocks in each section.


    After changing back to my regular clothes while completely in bliss from using the hot springs, I went to the dining hall with Shelly as we were getting hungry.


    Ben was already seated in one of the chairs with the table being filled with tropical fruits glistening from the light, croissants, cakes, and piles of grilled meat toppling over each other.


    "Wow! We were getting hungry anyways!" I put some of the food on top of my plate while I thanked Ben.


    "I don''t mind you staying for a couple of days with your friend Rika. But do your partners know that you''re here?" Ben asked.


    Oopps. Alex and Luke didn''t know. "I think if we change the form submission of where we''re doing the volunteer hour thing, they''ll figure out anyways?"


    I knew Luke would take me back to his villa as soon he knew I was here. "Do I have to tell him? If I do, I''ll have to leave soon without enjoying all these goodies in front of me," I started to cry and whine.


    Both Shelly and Ben were stupefied by my sudden pleading and crying as I tried to look absolutely miserable.


    "I''ll tell Alex that due to unchangeable circumstances that we had to change where we''re doing our volunteer hours without telling him our location," Shelly tried to console me.


    "Really!" I perked up while still crying.


    "Yea... But we might get into a fight though," Shelly sadly smiled.


    When Shelly finished eating, she contacted Alex with her marble.


    Unfortunately, I saw Luke''s angry face when he stood right beside Alex in the video chat while I stood in a place that was out of the range of the camera.

 46 Back in the Second Distric

    I found myself underneath the bright blue sky in the middle the city in the second district. I was in a park surrounded by children laughing and playing on the swings. I felt a slight pull on my sleeves. When I turned my head, I saw Shelly holding onto my sleeve. "I couldn''t let you go there alone."


    ''What about Ben?'' I thought.


    "The teleportation gate only had enough power to teleport two people to the second district," Shelly answered like she read my mind.


    Teleporting to another district without using the gate consumed so much mana that people barely did it in the first district. There was a low chance that Ben would be here soon unless he refilled the gate with his mana.


    "Then we have time," I smiled.


    It has been a while since I played on the swings and slides. More like I never had the chance ever since I entered the first district. Meaning, this was my first time going to a playground in this life. I jumped onto the swing and swung myself into air.


    Shelly looked at me like the slides and the swings were strange foreign objects. She watched me enjoy myself going down the slide after getting sick of the swings while sitting down on a bench. I started to teach Shelly how to play on the swing, feeling bad she didn''t have a normal childhood while we overheard, "Noire, you''re back!"


    "Who are you?" A girl with the loveliest smile tried to kick the boy while asking with smirk.


    The boy dodged the kick while chuckling and shouted, "Of course you didn''t change Noire!"


    The girl pretended to trip to hide that she was flustered and unintentionally bumped into him. Fortunately, the boy caught the girl from falling into the grass as she blushed heavily.


    The girl accidentally kissed the boy when she tripped again when trying to get back up. After realizing we were staring at them, the boy wiped his lips as he blushed from embarrassment as he tried to get up.


    "Isn''t this the scene in Doki Doki Pure Heart Kingdom?" I shouted to Shelly, pretending I wasn''t reading the mood between the couple.


    Shelly nodded. I never knew scenes from otome games would actually happen in real life. This was really rare!


    "Are you acting out the scene in Doki Doki Pure Heart Kingdom?" I went up to them.


    "Doki Doki Pure Heart Kingdom?" The couple flashed a hint of confusion.


    "Nevermind. We''re from the first district and Doki Doki Pure Heart Kingdom is just a game," I introduced ourselves to the couple.


    "The first district! I''ve never been there before!" The girl appeared surprised.


    People from the lower districts could not usually visit the higher districts. I guessed I was an exception since I attended school in the first district.


    "We''re just visiting the second district during our summer vacation," I continued.


    The girl looked at her watch, "I guess I do have some time to give you a tour in the city."


    "Yea. I think the amusement park is a good place to start since you seem to enjoy the swings."


    Shelly thanked the couple as we took the bus that was self-driven to the amusement park. My eyes were glued to the scenery outside the window. My heart panged from the people who lived in a world that appeared fifty years in the future of my previous life.


    I admired the view as the technology has advanced so wonderfully in the second district that the rides didn''t even compare to the amusement parks in the third district or my past life. The colourful rides all moved without human instruction.


    But it was odd there wasn''t a single person besides us even if it was the weekday. There was no smell of snacks or other drinks sold as we followed the couple. I imagined a seeing a broken screw on the ground after waving it away.


    "Where should we start?" Noire faced me.


    "The rollercoaster!" I pointed to the rollercoaster that went upside down the majority of the time.


    There was no line to ride the rollercoaster as Shelly and I quickly buckled in. "Aren''t you also getting on?" I asked.


    "Nope, this amusement park is actually abandoned. Who knows if the rides are still working properly?" The girl suddenly smirked.


    The ride started and Shelly and I screamed while hoping the rollercoaster wouldn''t fall apart. After waving with a smile, the boy muttered, "We can take them to the warehouse after they''re unconscious so we can get a ransom since they''re from the first district."


    Shelly soon lost her consciousness due to her first time riding a rollercoaster after the first round.


    "Shelly!" I screamed while trying to shake her awake.


    ''How were we going to get out of this ride without using mana?'' I started to panic.


    My mana started to go haywire and out of control as I desperately plead to go anywhere other than the ride. Answering my pleas, I found Shelly and I at the entrance of the abandoned amusement park from my unconscious spell.


    "How?" The girl stumbled few steps back in disbelief.


    I hastily tried to lift Shelly using my mana to quickly run away from the couple. As soon as I was able to carry Shelly in a piggyback, I started to run to a crowded place as the couple was likely not going to try to kidnap us in front of many people.


    When I confirmed the couple was nowhere to be seen, I found myself in front of the cafe where I met Ben and his friend. I spotted a teenage boy with familiar opaque blue eyes filled with dread and worry asking the people crossing the streets if they saw a two young girls around the age of eleven.


    When he turned behind to spot me carrying Shelly, he thanked the person for their time and stormed towards my direction.


    "Riikaa!" Ben yelled angrily.


    "Do you know how-"


    I abruptly turned the other way to see a gun pointing towards my forehead by the girl with a bright smile that mouthed, ''caught you''.


    "Don''t move if you don''t want me to shoot!" The girl narrowed her eyes.

 47 Strange People

    The people around us started to run away in terror as they may potentially be the next target. The boy pulled out thick pieces of black fabrics and wrapped them around our eyes while the girl continued to point the gun beside my head. My hands were tightly glued together when he wrapped thick hay ropes around my waist.


    My back felt a cold metallic device like the girl had switched to pointing the weapon behind me as she urged me to walk. Ben and I continued to walk until we encountered a small shape of a warehouse. The girl stopped using her gun when she wrapped our legs together with the same rope.


    "I knew the otome game scene couldn''t be realistic," I muttered in complaint.


    ''Shut up Rika,'' Ben mouthed when our blindfolds got removed to find our wrists and ankles were tied up in its place.


    "So you''re all from the first district?" The boy jokingly asked.


    We stayed silent to not aggravate the couple even further. After a long moment of silence, I asked in a compassionate tone, "Why are you doing this?"


    "Everyone knows that people from the first district are crazy rich!" The boy answered.


    "Huh... So it''s ok to kidnap people for no reason because they are supposedly rich?" I sarcastically replied with irritation.


    ''Stop provoking them,'' Ben mouthed with concern.


    "You!" The boy tried to hit me with a spare baseball bat inside the warehouse when he was suddenly stopped by the girl.


    "We may not get the full ransom if you hurt them," The girl tried to reason with the boy.


    The boy placed the bat on the floor and glared at me intensely before leaving the warehouse. The girl soon left as well after she looked sure that we wouldn''t be able to escape again. I burned the ropes with mana and quickly untied the ropes on Shelly and Ben.


    "Hold Shelly," I whispered to Ben.


    Ben tried to carry Shelly on his back as whispered back, "I have a plan."


    Instead of only carrying Shelly, he lifted me up with his mana to hold me in his other arm. Without any warning, Ben sprinted to the small forest behind the warehouse after he softly opened the door as if it was a delicate object.


    When it appeared we were a good distance away, Ben placed me back down as I found myself near the playground where Shelly and I got out of the teleportation gate. Ben placed Shelly on the bench as he delivered the bad news, "The teleportation gate in the second district is out of energy. So we''ll have to stay in the second district for a few days."


    That meant we were inside the same district as the psychopath couple that kidnapped us for ransom. Shelly started to stir awake on the bench while leaning against Ben''s shoulder.


    "Shelly!" I was filled with gratefulness that she able to wake up.


    "Where are we?" Shelly murmured.


    Shelly looked up to see herself leaning on Ben. Her face flushed pink from shame as she promptly removed her head from Ben''s shoulder, "I apologize for what has happened so far."


    "It''s fine. It was mostly Rika''s fault to begin with anyways," Ben sleekly answered.


    "So where are we going to stay now?" I tried to stay oblivious of knowing Ben was mad at me while he seemed like he was completely relaxed.


    "There''s a small hotel chain that my family owns in the second district. The nearest one is only minutes away." Ben replied.


    "Your hand?" Ben turned to me.


    "Why?" I questioned.


    "I''m just simply worried that you may step into trouble again," Ben eerily smiled.


    Ben grabbed onto my hand as we were escorted to the entrance of the hotel glittering from the night lights of the city.


    "Can I get a room for three people?" Ben requested the manager.


    "Of course, young master from the Nuelle family." The manager politely answered.


    "Is Ben really from the Nuelle family?" Shelly whispered into my ear.


    "You didn''t know?" I whispered back.


    "Yea, there''s a formality we need to follow when we meet people of similar or upper status." Shelly explained.


    I knew there was a formality, but I didn''t know what it implied. We were led to the elevators and we soon arrived in front of the room. Ben opened the door to present a large suite with two inner bedrooms as well as a central living room


    "Why did you only book us one suite?"


    Maybe I was too used to my luxurious surroundings. I always had too much space for one person with all the rooms dedicated to my use in Luke''s mansion or the school''s arrangements. It was odd to think I would be sharing a room with Shelly.


    "Who knows what else would happen during the time we''re separated?" Ben crossed his arms with total distrust.


    I got that Ben treated me as unreliable child. I sat down on the couch in the living room and flipped through some pamphlets targeted towards tourists visiting this city.


    "How about we go to this aquarium tomorrow?" I asked Shelly.


    "We''re not going anywhere tomorrow. We''re staying inside this room until the teleportation gate is charged enough to take us all back," Ben answered before Shelly could say anything.


    "The Roselia and Monete families are scary," Ben quietly mumbled to himself.


    "Come on Ben, we''re stuck here anyways. It''s best to go make the best of the situation and explore the second district?" I argued.


    "And where did that end up getting you?" Ben questioned with his eyes narrowed.


    "It''s not like I wanted to get kidnapped!" I defended myself.


    "How did you guys get so close when we''re in different grades?" Shelly interrupted us.


    "We met in the sixth district." Ben turned to Shelly, leaving me behind.


    "No wonder you and Rika seemed close."


    "I initially thought that you were only from a prestigious family as you attended the same school as us and Rika talked to you really causally." Shelly mumbled to herself.


    "What about your partner?" I asked Ben.


    Luke and I were together almost all the time whether it was in class or during the weekends when Luke constantly dragged me to his special study sessions.


    "We don''t really meet or talk unless we have to when it''s during our break or the weekends," Ben sadly smiled.


    "Luke and I are stuck together all the time even though," I complained.


    "I think you and Luke are a special case," Shelly admitted.


    "It''s like that for you too?" I curiously asked.


    "Yea, Alex and I don''t really meet with each other unless we really have to," Shelly answered like she was recalling a bad memory.


    Well it did make sense. We saw each other every day during school. Even when I had a long vacation when I graduated elementary school, I only met Luke once and that was when we went to the mall in the third district.


    The conversation died as I was shook awake the next morning.


    "Stop," I moaned as I tugged the blanket closer to my face.


    "You''re going to miss breakfast," someone sulked.


    I opened my eyes to see Shelly already dressed up and ready to go.


    "Fine," I grumbled.


    I got out of my bed and didn''t bother to change out of the newly bought white nightgown from room service. I went to the living room to find Ben waiting for Shelly and I to come out while flipping through some channels on TV.


    "Are you getting ready?" Ben glanced at my nightgown.


    "Nope, I''m ready to eat breakfast now."


    "You do know that we''re going to a restaurant inside the hotel for breakfast?" Ben asked like there was no way I would go there in my pyjamas.


    "I do know," I replied tiredly.


    From the pattern of the school and Luke always choosing to dine at the fanciest restaurants wherever I went, I discerned that Ben would also go eat breakfast at a fancy restaurant.


    "I don''t mind waiting, so go change Rika."


    "No it''s ok, I just want to eat breakfast now to go back to sleep soon after."


    Before Ben could stop me, I asked an employee to escort us to the restaurant while Shelly gave a knowing glance to Ben that this was normal when Luke wasn''t around. After we ordered our breakfast, I noticed people from the other tables looking at our table. They whispered loudly to each other and Ben accusingly stared at me like I was the reason for their gossiping.


    "What?" I asked him before continuing to eat my meal in silence while ignoring Ben''s jabbing glances.


    When I finished my dessert, I quickly excused myself as Shelly and Ben followed me soon after.


    "I''m going back to sleep now," I closed the door in front of Ben''s face while Shelly went to the washroom.


    When I woke up, the sky darkened into a deep violet. Both Ben and Shelly were nowhere to be seen when I walked into the living room.


    ''They''re probably eating dinner right now,'' I thought.


    I closed our hotel door and went to the floor with the restaurant that we went to in the morning.


    "I think that''s her!" A person behind me reported.


    "The person that''s missing from the hospital." Another person gossiped beside him.


    "Look! She''s wearing a hospital gown." Another person tried to point out.


    What were they talking about? Just because I wore a long white nightgown didn''t mean I was a patient. What was with the designs in the second district for the patients?


    A security guard scanned my appearance before walking up to me, "Your parents must be worried, let''s go back to the hospital."


    Umm. My parents live in the third district and what I''m wearing is just a nightgown provided by the hotel.


    "I''m actually a person from the first district visiting the second district as part of my vacation getaway." I stated to the security guard.


    "Yea right! People from the first district rarely come to the second district," The guard scoffed.


    The guard dragged me to the elevator where there were police officers waiting in the lobby.


    "Here''s the girl," The guard handed me off to the officers with his tight grip.


    "No! I''m actually a guest at this hotel. Not some nutjob who would run away from the hospital!" I tried to appeal to the officers.

 48 Inside the Hospital 1

    The officers ignored my pleas as they shoved me inside the car. I knew it would cause more unnecessary trouble if I physically struggled against them. I played with the handle on the door, yanking the handle, making tons of noise.


    "Your parents are really worried about you," an officer said the same thing as the security guard.


    "My parents live in the third district." I countered.


    "You can stop lying now. Maybe you got into a fight with your parents, but you can make up with them once you meet them." The same officer tried to console me to calm me down.


    "And don''t think we don''t know the basic fact that people from the lower districts can''t come up to the upper districts," the other officer added as if he couldn''t be bothered with this.


    This wasn''t much better than yesterday. I found myself on a plain hospital bed inside a simple room with no other furnishing. It''s been a while since I''ve been inside a room this humble. The room was so quiet with the door locked that I started listening to the conversation in the room beside me with nothing better to do.


    "I''m sorry that your friend doesn''t have much time left," The doctor delivered the bad news in the room beside me.


    "She''s so young," A familiar voice cried.


    "Is there no other way? Is it really hopeless?" Another person started to plead.


    "Well there is this surgery your friend can receive, it will extend her lifespan to about a decade. However, it is extremely expensive as not many skilled physicians in the second district have enough mana to do this surgery." The doctor grimly continued.


    ''Poor girl,'' I thought.


    The doctor must have left the room as the other room became silent. I disconnected myself to the IV by yanking the needle out from my hand. I pulled the useless oxygen mask off before I jumped off the bed.


    I peeked into the other room with great curiosity to find my kidnappers standing in front of a young girl on a hospital bed.


    "You!" The girl accused me.


    "Let''s make a deal," I tried to intimidate them with my cold stare.


    "You desperately need my money to save the girl in front of you and I need help to escape from this hospital." I continued.


    It was a fair deal. I knew I would attract too much attention if I used my mana or tried to sneak out on my own. There were few police officers and security guards that worked together while patrolling the grounds. I analyzed their footsteps with my enhanced hearing that wavered near my door.


    Both the boy and the girl stayed silent as if they were still deciding if I was trustworthy. However, no matter how sick their friend was, they shouldn''t have kidnapped someone off the streets.


    "We''ll think about it," The boy answered while holding the hands of the girl on the bed.


    "I told you that children from the first district were creepy," The boy whispered softly to the girl.


    I couldn''t disagree but I was curious how they would react if they met the others in our inner circle that I considered to be much worse.


    * * *


    A girl wearing a silky white nightgown with fine strands of vermillion red hair greatly resembled one of Melissa''s dolls from her playhouse when she was younger. She stood in the middle of room, barefoot with great confidence.


    "Well seeing that you don''t have any better option, I suggest you make your decision quickly. I''m in the room next door so just come by when you decide," The girl narrowed her bright pumpkin eyes.


    "Melissa," I whispered to her, laying down on the bed.


    ''It''s all my fault, I should''ve been the one that should be laying down on that bed,'' I thought.


    I stood under the bright blue sky that day. When I turned on the TV, all the weather forecasts announced that there would be no rain today. I didn''t bring my umbrella and quickly ran out of my apartment to go to school.


    "Melissa!" I shouted to greet my childhood friend.


    Melissa stood there, waiting in front of the entrance of my apartment with a perfectly ironed uniform that was tailored for her since the beginning of the year.


    "Noire. You''re finally here," Melissa pouted.


    "Sorry... I overslept," I replied sheepishly.


    "It''s only this time. I won''t wait for you tomorrow!" Melissa sulked.


    Melissa said this every day, but she always waited for me in front of my apartment so we could walk together to school together.


    My apartment was only a short distance away from the school. My parents got relocated to the outer region of the second district few months ago. Since I couldn''t transfer schools, I ended up staying in the apartment alone. We walked to school together under the cherry blossom trees.


    ''The weather is really great today,'' I thought.


    When school ended, Melissa and I decided to go to the new cafe that opened near her house. I took out my book from my bag to read while walking to the cafe.


    "Noire! That''s a bad habit. I told you that you may get into an accident if you don''t carefully look where you''re walking," Melissa angrily scolded me.


    I placed my book back into my bag until we arrived to the cafe. "Do you want to transfer to another school that badly?" Melissa asked me.


    "The school in the countryside is near my parent''s workplace," I smiled sadly.


    "But that means I''ll be alone," Melissa pouted.


    "Well that school is ranked really high so I think it''ll take a while for me to accumulate enough points to enter anyways," I tried to console her.


    When we finished eating our cakes, I took my book out of my bag from habit and started to cross the street when the light was white, indicating it was time for pedestrians to cross. I slightly flinched when I felt sudden sprinkles of rain on my head.


    A person sped in an old antique right before my eyes. I instantly became blinded by the bright headlight as the light flashed in front of my face as I wondered if this was the ''end'' as I dropped my book.


    ''Wow, no one actually drives a car nowadays,'' I thought.


    "Noire!" Melissa screamed as she pushed me out to the sidewalk.


    The rain started to heavily pour down the streets as I saw myself staring at a unconscious girl covered in pool of blood underneath an old antique. Her limbs were cracked in odd directions like she was a contortionist with her legs crushed. Her eyes rolled up to show her white pupils with her expression stuck in blank horror like time had stopped for her.


    ''Huh? That''s not Melissa. Melissa was just beside me a few seconds ago.''


    I dropped onto my knees as I suddenly lost strength in my feet and cried underneath the pouring rain. Melissa''s complexion increasingly became colder when I touched her blue face.


    "I told you that children from the first district were creepy," Jack whispered softly to me, bringing me back to reality.


    "Well seeing that she''s our best option for now, maybe we should just agree to her terms," I mumbled while recalling the incident.


    The doll-like girl who disappeared from our grasps was the only hope for now as I whispered to Melissa, "I''ll make sure you''ll get better. You have to... or else what am I going to do without you?"

 49 Inside the Hospital 2

    I sat on my bed with my feet dangling in the air due to my childlike height.


    "You''re here," I smiled when I spotted the couple entering the room.


    "What are your terms?" The girl warily asked.


    "I need to make sure that you will help me escape after I pay for your friend''s fees," I replied in a serious tone.


    They didn''t have to know I wasn''t carrying money that worked in the second district. The money that Luke put in my bank account only worked in the first district.


    "You could transfer the money to us once we help you escape," The girl confidently answered.


    I guess that worked too. I looked outside the window as I stood by the windowsill to see the dim violet sky. I felt greatly wronged that I was in this situation just because I wanted to explore the beautiful second district surrounded by tall skyscrapers.


    "What''s your plan?" I turned to ask them.


    "I brought some spare clothes for Melissa today. You can change into those clothes and we''ll pretend that you''re my sister that came to visit Melissa with me. Since you''re not wearing your hospital gown anymore, no one will notice that you''re actually a patient." The girl explained.


    I nodded my head as I couldn''t find any fault with the plan. The girl handed me a shopping bag and I went into the washroom to go change.


    "It''s too big," I complained while looking at myself being eaten by the oversized blue polo shirt.


    "A dress? It can pass as a dress!" The boy came up with an excuse.


    "The shoes?"


    The boy turned to stare at the ground like he didn''t know what to do next.


    "Socks! We can pretend the socks to be boots?" The girl answered like she didn''t even believe in her ideas.


    Well, it was the best option we had. I wore the white cotton socks as the boy handed me a soft cloak.


    "Melissa always wore cloaks," The girl glanced at me sadly.


    I wore the cloak to find it reaching my ankles. The dark hood perfectly covered my face while the rest hid my figure.


    "Let''s go." The boy grabbed my hands and walked to the elevators.


    Surprisingly, no one stared at me wearing an oversized cloak. It was really true that people didn''t pay attention to a person wearing regular clothes.


    "Wait!" A person tried to stop us.


    "What?" The girl asked casually.


    "That girl looks like the patient on the third floor," a middle-aged man grabbed the wrist of the girl.


    "She''s my little sister, now if you would excuse us," the girl rudely replied while tugging me towards the entrance.


    "It must have been my imagination," the man mumbled while rubbing his eyes.


    When the man saw a glimpse of my tangled red hair, he murmured, "It wasn''t my imagination."


    "Stop! That''s my niece you''re trying to take!" The man yelled.


    "Curses," the boy muttered.


    "Transfer us the money now. We''re out of the hospital," the girl shook me aggressively.


    "I don''t have any money in the second district currency right now. My brother who you also kidnapped last time is carrying it. Bring me to the La Fantaisie hotel and he''ll definitely give you the money," I replied.


    The couple looked dejected as it would be hard to get me to the hotel with the police officers who called for more reinforcements. The worst thing was that it took me about ten minutes in the police car to arrive at this hospital, meaning that the hotel was a far distance to get by walking.


    "Let''s get going," the girl sighed while looking for an opening.


    We sprinted to the bus and abandoned our hiding spot while the couple acted like a shield. The bus driver didn''t pay attention to our appearance as he assumed we were playful students.


    "Duck down," the boy whispered as I immediately stopped looking outside the window.


    [We interrupt this broadcast for urgent news. Please report if you see a the missing young girl with long red wavy hair around the age of ten with golden eyes] The speaker announced inside the bus while interrupting the music.


    No wonder people got me confused with the missing girl. I looked just like the girl except I had bright pumpkin coloured eyes instead of her golden speckled eyes.


    "Is that her?" The student sitting behind us whispered.


    "I think it is and I think we should report this," The person sitting beside the student whispered back.


    Thankfully, the next stop was the hotel. We ran out of the bus as soon as the doors opened to find the employees of the hotel also looking for a young girl with messy red hair wearing a white gown. When I removed my hood, the manager spotted my tangled up red hair.


    "That''s her!" The manager yelled.


    The manager escorted us inside the hotel as he ordered another employee to contact Ben. Not even a few minutes passed, when I found Shelly and Ben running towards me.


    "Rika!" Shelly had tears in her eyes.


    "This is my older brother who''ll give you the money for your friend''s treatment." I introduced my former kidnappers to Ben.


    "How much do you need?" Ben asked like he didn''t care what happened between the former kidnappers and I.


    "One million crystals," The girl replied.


    Shelly gasped as Ben instantly transferred the money through his smartphone that he took out from his pocket.


    One million crystals translated to one hundred thousand Aris. One hundred thousand Aris was a great amount of money in the first district as well. A family of four in the first district could live quite comfortably for an entire year with one hundred thousand Aris.


    "Is this ok?" Ben questioned as the girl checked her phone to see the money come in.


    Before the girl could respond, Ben went to the manager to thank him for finding his sister.


    "Riikaa," Ben looked at me madly when I still stood beside my former kidnappers.


    "I''m coming." I walked to the elevators with Shelly as Ben waited for me inside.


    I forgot about the young girl who resembled most of my features until her portrait appeared on the flat screen when both Shelly and Ben watched the news.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be at the restaurant at this time for lunch?" I asked.


    "We were waiting for you to wake up," Shelly replied.


    "Who knows what would happen if we went to go eat breakfast and lunch without you," Ben added as he continued watching the news.


    "Then let''s go eat now," I opened the door from feeling hungry from yesterday''s incident.


    "Wait. Go change first," Ben suddenly grabbed my wrist to stop me from going out.


    I looked down to find myself in a white nightgown that I changed into after taking off the oversized clothes from my former kidnappers. Learning from the incident that happened just yesterday, I changed into a fine pastel blue dress laced with embroidery.


    "How do I look?" I asked while twirling to show off the dress.


    Ben nodded in approval as I snagged Shelly''s hand to walk together to the restaurant. I didn''t know where Ben and Shelly acquired the dress that perfectly fit my size, but it was better than the nightgown.


    "I paid a week''s worth of money to stay in the hotel room. The teleportation gate has enough energy to teleport two people back to my villa in the evening." Ben sliced a piece of his steak.


    "So Shelly and I can use the teleportation gate first?" I asked.


    "I know this must be a very shameful request, but can Rika and I use the teleportation first?" Ben hesitantly asked Shelly.


    "No," I shouted to Ben before Shelly could open her mouth.


    "I''m not going anywhere without Shelly!"


    I stopped eating my steak as I hugged Shelly to show that I wasn''t going to leave Shelly here in the second district alone. The second district wasn''t exactly a safe place as young high schoolers could easily kidnap middle school students in the daylight.


    "You disappear from my sight every time I look at other way from what I''ve experienced in the second district with you. That''s why I have no choice but to-"


    "Oh please. Don''t make rash assumptions when it''s only our third day in the second district." I interrupted Ben.


    "If we really do have to go to first district, I know a way to get there without using a teleportation gate."


    Ben and Shelly both dropped their utensils and stared at me dumbfounded that I knew a way to go to the first district.


    "Remember how we entered the second district from the first district?" I asked Shelly.


    "The staff only room!" Shelly recalled after going through her memories.


    "Yup! I think we can go to that cafe where we first met Ben since it''s near that area."


    Ben sighed as he got up to pay the bill and gave the waiter a generous tip.


    "Fine. But if that doesn''t work, we''re using the teleportation gate later today," Ben leaved no room for discussion.


    I confidently nodded as I knew we would be in the first district soon.


    "Grab onto my hand Rika," Ben offered his hand as if a small child would get lost without him.


    I hesitantly took his hand as I couldn''t argue since we got separated pretty easily in the second district while clutching onto Shelly with my other free hand. When we were in front of the cafe, I noticed a faint translucent barrier that acted like a wall buzzing in and out of existence.


    When I narrowed my eyes to try to see what was clearly behind the barrier, I spotted a tall cliff I remembered hiking down. The blue skyscraper acted like a shield in front of the barrier to strengthen the disguise.


    If one had no mana, the barrier would conceal the existence of the cliff. However, the low frequency made my ears perk up like it was trying to tell me something.


    "There!" I pointed to the direction of the cliff.

 50 Going Back to the First District 1

    "I don''t see anything other than a tall building," Shelly grumbled.


    Ben seemed to notice the cliff as his eyes widened from amazement. When we walked behind the blue skyscraper, we immediately found ourselves on a soft field of grass rather than the hard cement covering the grounds of the second district.


    "I see it now," Shelly whispered while she admired the numerous white and yellow dandelions blooming around us.


    "Race you!" I shouted to Shelly while running up the cliff.


    "We''re not in kindergarten anymore," Shelly complained as she refused to race with me while she walked to follow me.


    We looked down to face a large bank vault on the ground when we were finally on the top of the cliff. "I think this is the entrance," I tried to open the vault while typing random numbers into the padlock.


    "I don''t think that''ll work as there''s over a million combinations with those sets of characters on the lock," Ben brought me back to reality.


    "How about teleportation magic? I don''t think it''ll take up that much mana when we''re just teleporting to the other side of the vault." I suggested.


    When I blinked, I found the three of us at the other side. ''Ben must have teleported us to the other side,'' I thought.


    Unfortunately, when I looked up, I found an infinite amount of stairs endlessly spiraling up into the darkness. Right. Last time, we were too lazy to walk down all those sets of stairs and chose to jump down instead.


    "Isn''t this impossible?" I muttered my thoughts out loud.


    "Intruders!" A person in a lab coat noticed us standing in front of the bank vault.


    "Run!" I yelled as we started to climb up the stairs.


    I didn''t know how he appeared in front of us, but we needed to get out of there as soon as possible. My lungs started to burn as the time on the marble indicated that we have been running up the stairs for about an hour.


    "I can''t anymore," Shelly heaved while trying to grasp more air.


    Meanwhile, I gasped when laser beams suddenly projected on every other stair to shoot intruders to their death. When one laser beam started to head towards my chest, the beam lightly scratched the edge of Ben''s shoulder. I sighed in relief when I suddenly found myself in Ben''s arms.


    But, Ben''s blood silently dropped onto my arm as he grunted from the pain. He left a trail of blood as he tried covered his wound with his hand. I flinched when the wound started to blister from the lack of care.


    "Thanks," I mumbled to him as I tried to support him back up.


    "Catch them!" I heard a voice not so far below from where we sat.


    "Let''s continue," Ben helplessly struggled to get back up.


    The three of us walked carefully as there were laser beams targeted on random stairs unlike the ones below us. My legs felt like it was on fire from the agonizing exercise as we climbed up the stairs without a single break. We didn''t even think of stopping as we could soon be caught by the people in the lab coats.


    But, we were forced to take a break when Shelly fainted from exhaustion. "Shelly," I whispered to her with worry.


    "She''ll be fine," Ben checked her pulse.


    Things were looking grim as it looked like there were no end to these stairs even though it has been five hours since we entered the vault.


    "Let''s use teleportation," I suggested as it was clear we couldn''t continue to mindlessly climb up the stairs.


    Ben didn''t answer as he attempted to piggyback Shelly with his injured shoulder.


    ''Please place us as high as possible in these never ending stairs,'' I pleaded while pouring a great amount of mana into my wish.


    However, instead of finding ourselves on the never ending stairs, we were in the middle of a white lab. When Ben spotted a person behind the automated door, he quickly dragged me inside one of the big cabinets inside the lab bench while carrying Shelly.


    "Yea, I''m looking for the intruders that came from the second district." The person talked to the marble.


    "Ugh! More overtime again," The person in the lab coat pounded on the desk with one of his fists.


    "Why did this have to happen during my shift?" The person continued whining.


    Instead of searching around the room, the person relaxed on his chair while ordering a cup of coffee from his tablet.


    "We should rest here until that person leaves," I whispered to Ben.


    Ben agreed as we decided to spend the night here. When I woke up, I found myself drooling on Ben''s shirt while noticing Ben was still asleep. Not wanting to wake him up, I tried to open the cabinet as soft as possible to have Ben suddenly stop me.


    "We should take turns teleporting instead of climbing up the stairs," Ben quietly whispered.


    "I''ll help too," Shelly offered while rubbing her eyes.


    Shelly instantly teleported us to another room that resembled a storage room with crates and boxes stacked on top of each other filled with mana crystals.


    "Can we take some of these with us?" I asked while grabbing some mana crystals from the crates.


    Mana crystals were one of the most expensive gems in the first district. As long as a person possessed mana, they could use mana crystals to restore the mana that they used up. Since the natural recovery rate of mana was usually very slow, many people used their mana sparingly.


    Although my mana recovered fast since I had an unlimited amount of mana, it seemed like the mana of the elites in the first district recovered quickly too. They possessed a large amount of mana as their base (even though it was not comparable to mine) as well.


    ''If I were to sell even one of these crystals, I could get 100,000 Aris,'' I thought.


    "Drop them Rika," Ben glared at me.


    ''Fine! I have lots of money from what Luke puts into my bank account anyways,'' I thought while putting the mana crystals back into the crate.


    We then teleported to numerous strange rooms as we took turns teleporting further up while sweating heavily from the strain of using too much mana at once.


    "Is this a bedroom?" I asked.


    We were on a king-sized this time surrounded by countless pins on the carpet embedded into the floor.


    "We could rest here a bit," Ben suggested to Shelly as he ignored my question.


    Shelly nodded as she looked pale and sick from using too much mana. However, when I heard someone about to turn the doorknob, I panicked and my mana sprouted to activate. I instantly teleported somewhere else to not get discovered with no other thought.


    ''Who knows what will happen if we get caught,'' I imagined the consequences.


    "Rika!" Shelly complained when we were on the stairs again.


    When I saw the familiar laser beams, I hung my head in despair.


    "Look!" Ben pointed at the door at the end of the stairs a few floors away from us.

 51 Going Back to the First District 2

    "Stop!" Ben shouted as he tightly grabbed my hand to prevent me from running up the stairs.


    "What!" I yelled at him angrily.


    "Don''t you see Rika?" Ben pointed out a thick fog of mist covering about two worth floors of stairs.


    "We can just use mana to create an air barrier to push through it?" I answered Ben''s worries like they were unfounded in the first place.


    "You haven''t noticed yet, have you Rika?" Ben asked me while he sighed in disappointment.


    "This place is a research center," Ben shrugged like I was helpless child who didn''t know anything.


    ''Umm, so what?'' I glanced at Ben to continue to explain he meant.


    "Ben means that research centers are highly volatile and unpredictable since they develop strange mechanisms and devices," Shelly explained on Ben''s behalf.


    ''Weren''t research centers part of an independent country?'' I thought.


    Research centers were funded by the taxes collected from the people who reside in the first district. Since research centers could be corrupted by those with a political agenda, it was determined to be the best if they stayed independent from the government system of the first district.


    "It''s not like the mist over there is spelled with anti-mana," I said to Ben sarcastically.


    Ben smiled in response, "Actually they can be, we don''t know how far the use of mana have developed in the research centers."


    "Oh, then what do you suppose we should do?" I mockingly asked Ben with irritation from the fact that he was treating me like a little child.


    "The mist only covers the stairs so we can get a rope to attach to the upper part of the rail so we can climb up," Ben told us with eerie merriment in his eyes.


    Shelly and I miserably frowned in response. We were already exhausted from using our mana to teleport to the upper floors. Plus, the strenuous exercise we went through beforehand when we climbed the stairs one by one made our muscles cry out for rest.


    "Is this really happening?" Shelly asked Ben in disbelief.


    "You''ll get used to this once you go to higher level missions when you enter the high school section of our school," Ben informed us like he was very experienced in landing in these kinds of situations.


    "Then where do we get this stupid rope?" I asked Ben with great contempt.


    Ben took off his fancy leather belt. When Ben straightened the belt, the belt suddenly expanded into a long strip of leather that was long enough to cover the height of two floors. Of course his clothes were altered by mana spells. It resembled the work clothes Luke and I bought at the boutique that were customized to match our mana and figure.


    ''I should have just taken the teleportation gate!'' I thought with great regret as I panted from the lack of air flowing into my lungs from the intense exercise.


    Unfortunately, Shelly didn''t look much better as her face reddened from doing something she wasn''t used to doing. Other than our physical education class, Shelly and I didn''t do that much intense exercise as we just went to cute cafes or shops on campus during our free time.


    "I made...it," I congratulated myself after pulling myself onto the floor with no signs of the fog of mist below us.


    I looked up to see we only had to climb one floor worth of stairs to get to the staff-only door. We ran up the last set of stairs with great hope and opened the door. Even Shelly who was about the faint any minute ago, ran faster than me as she was the one that opened the door.


    "We''re here!" I jumped with the last bit of my energy.


    "There''s a chair!" Shelly sat down on the chair gratefully.


    Fortunately, the cafe was empty as nobody visited the school during the holidays. We collapsed onto the chairs while quickly ordering cold drinks on the tablet.


    "We''re using the teleportation gate next time," Ben groaned.


    "There is no next time!" I shouted to defend myself.


    "Who knows with you Rika?" Ben refuted.


    I shrieked when I spotted Luke and Alex about to the enter the cafe while Ben covered his ears in surprise from my sudden scream.


    ''Why were they here when practically nobody visits the school during the holidays?'' I thought.


    "Rika?" Luke looked at me in confusion when they entered the cafe.


    "You!" Alex yelled at me angrily.


    "I know you were listening to the call when you were at the Nuelle''s family villa on Monday," Alex continued.


    I quickly tried to hide behind Shelly as Alex angrily walked towards me. I attempted to offer Shelly as a sacrifice as I apologized to her in my heart. However, Alex stopped walking towards us when Luke asked with great suspicion while studying all three of us, "Why are all your clothes in tatters and covered in blood?"


    "We were playing paintball in Ben''s villa," I lied.


    When Alex noticed Ben''s bandaged shoulder, he calmed down and pulled a chair to sit beside Shelly.


    "We have been disrespectful," Alex bowed to Ben to apologize.


    "I don''t mind, it does look undignified at the first glance," Ben started to talk in code of the first district elites.


    "However, I must ask. Why have you returned to school in such a state when playing ''paintball'' in your villa?" Alex accused Ben.


    Ben narrowed his eyes as he was being questioned by his underclassmen when he was in a higher position.


    "I confess it''s because we hastily tried to return to school when Rika didn''t have enough spare clothes at my villa," Ben smoothly replied.


    When Alex gave up on questioning Ben for the answers, he started to pressure Shelly with his angry stare.


    When Shelly couldn''t stand the pressure anymore, she confessed, "It''s because Rika stepped into a teleportation gate that went to the second district at Ben''s villa and we got injured trying to teleport back to the first district as the teleportation gate in the second district ran out of energy to teleport all three of us back."


    ''I''m sorry," Shelly mouthed after her confession as I instantly felt betrayed.


    But I soon started to forgive her as it was a good summary on what happened without revealing the smaller details that would land me into greater trouble.


    "So that''s-" Alex started to ask while glancing at Ben''s pitiful shoulder.


    "Real blood," I finished the sentence.


    "Thank you, Ben de Nuelle. I know Rika must have been a lot of trouble. I also apologize that my cousin was acting out of bounds," Luke bowed while pressing my head down while he dragged a spare chair to sit beside me.


    ''Who was whose cousin?'' I sat there in shock.


    Luke ignored my questioning stare as he sat down beside me.


    "It has been an interesting journey," Ben answered while using mana to heal his shoulder as he had luxury now to use his mana on his shoulder.


    "I hope this is enough compensation for now," Luke indirectly asked Ben as a bright light suddenly filled the cafe from Luke abruptly using his mana to fully heal Ben''s shoulder.


    Ben nodded as he took off the pieces of cloth tied around his shoulder to find that not even a scar remained from the injury.


    "As expected from the heir of the Roselia family. I give you my thanks." Ben smiled elegantly despite his poor appearance.


    "No, no. Thank you for taking care of Rika." Luke insisted.


    "Then I''ll get going now," Ben stood up to excuse himself and headed towards the high school section of the school.


    I knew Ben was trying to escape before the situation got more ugly. Once Alex and Luke figured out Shelly and I got kidnapped in the second district, even Ben would get in trouble with the school for going to the second district during the holidays.


    "So what really happened Rika Roselia Shanes?" Luke faced me once Ben left.


    I stopped pressuring Luke for answers from surprise while avoiding Luke''s line of sight.


    "You already heard the explanation from Shelly. It''s really all that happened." I lied flawlessly while looking at the ground.


    "And since we''re dressed like this," I waved my hand to show Shelly''s destitute appearance.


    "It''ll attract the attention to whoever else that enters the cafe." I pointed out to both Luke and Alex.


    Luke and Alex were forced to agree as torn clothes covered with blood would attract attention wherever we went.


    "Shelly..." I whimpered when we had to unwillingly separate to go to our respective dorms.


    ''We''ll meet soon'' Shelly answered with her sad gaze.


    After I changed into my pyjamas, I found Luke sitting on my bed so he could get an explanation on what happened while Shelly and I were supposed to be at Ben''s villa.


    "There''s really not much to say," I tried to finish the conversation before it even started.


    "Oh, I''m sure there''s tons of things to say," Luke brightly smiled.


    Yikes. That meant he was going to go all his interrogation techniques on me to figure out what really happened. Better distract him with a new topic.


    "Is Alex really your cousin? I thought you were from separate families." I tried distracting Luke from his former topic.


    "Don''t try to get out of this Rika." Luke warned me.


    "I''m not... I just think I have the right to know since I''m your partner." I tried to convince Luke.


    "My aunt that is my mother''s younger twin sister, married into the Monete family," Luke explained.


    No wonder Alex and Luke seemed closer to each other than they were with Allan! Now that I thought about it, the way they acted were pretty similar as well.


    Alex acted like he was a doppelganger of Luke when he tried to burn all my light novels and stack of manga when we were forced to reside in the medieval-like room together. Plus, his study sessions of hell resembled Luke''s as they were neat and concise.


    "Now, I think it''s fair you honestly answer my questions like I answered yours," Luke brightly smiled as he leisurely crossed his arms.

 52 Social Week 1

    I welcomed the fifth day of my second year in middle school with Luke shaking me to wake up as usual.


    "What time is it?" I moaned.


    "Six. We''re already late," Luke frowned as he got out a brush to detangle my hair.


    I properly sat up on my bed as I rubbed my eyes. After Luke finished making my hair look somewhat presentable, I changed into my uniform.


    "What about breakfast?" I asked when we passed by the cafeteria.


    Luke passed me a familiar chocolate bar that he pulled out from his pocket as he didn''t stop pulling me to the classroom.


    ''What was with him today?'' I thought.


    "Daniel mentioned to come to class early today since he had an important announcement to make," Luke answered on our way to the classroom.


    ''Was Daniel trying to kill me? Why couldn''t he choose to make an announcement at the end of the day instead,'' I cursed my homeroom teacher inside my heart.


    "The school will be giving you another break for the holidays that will start on Monday!" Daniel announced once we entered the room.


    Now that was really rare! They didn''t give any breaks in kindergarten and elementary school. Meaning holidays like Easter and Christmas were non-existent. The volunteer week during the summer didn''t count as it was an excuse to redecorate the mansions of the elites of the first district (not that I ended up doing that anyways).


    I started to recall the glimmers of my adventurous spirit when occasionally I snuck out to meet Ellen and Shelly in the middle of the night. We would eat cake together in reminiscence of the holiday joy from my past life when I was younger. However, it was a shame that we couldn''t bring candles as we would be found out immediately.


    I ran back to my dorm room to pack up my stuff as soon as the day ended to get ready to go back my home in the third district. It was a while since I met my parents (well I''ve only met them a total of under ten times in this life), but they still were my parents.


    I got my marble out to rent a car to send me back home tomorrow. I briefly stopped when I saw Luke standing by the entrance of our dorm room studying why all my belongings were scattered all over my bed.


    "Why are you standing there?" I asked when Luke didn''t move from his spot.


    "You''re packing?" Luke asked in confusion while his eyes narrowed.


    Of course I was packing! I excitedly packed my favourite clothes as I dreamed of looking at light novel and manga paradise inside the library in the third district.


    "Yea, I''m planning on going back home soon to spend the holiday with my family." I nonchalantly responded.


    "I''m afraid, you have misunderstood what the teacher said," Luke tried to explain.


    Luke, who got the cue, continued, "The reason the school is giving us a ''break'' is so we can attend the social week in the first district, which is mandatory for everyone to attend in this school."


    I dropped my marble in despair and started to put my stuff back into my closet. I knew this given vacation was too good to be true! I flopped onto my bed with gloom, burying my face into my blanket.


    "Wait! Why is this mandatory anyways?" I voiced out my thoughts out loud while facing the white ceiling.


    "It''s because the school wants us to interact with people from other schools to expand our network," Luke answered as he fixed his tie.


    "Then we''re going live inside the school during this holiday? Is this even a break!" I whined.


    "Well, normally everyone gets ready for social week in their own house because the middle and high school section of the school is closed to support the event," Luke hesitantly answered.


    "Well, that''s great!" I replied while stretching my arms.


    I immediately got up from the bed to start packing my stuff again.


    "I can go to the third district to get ready and then come back here whenever it''s necessary!" I enthusiastically picked up my marble from the floor.


    I scrolled down the menu as I tried to find the cheapest self-driving rental car that would bring me to the third district.


    "Travelling between districts is banned during social week," Luke delivered the bad news to me when he saw the projection coming from my marble.


    "Why?" I cried out as I dropped my marble again from the unexpected news.


    "It''s for security protocols."


    I hung my head in despair as I knew the school was going to close soon while I couldn''t go home to the third district. This meant in the worst case possible, I was going to stay in Luke''s mansion during social week. I shook my head to get rid of negative thoughts as I planned to stay in either the mansions of Shelly or Ellen.


    I sweetly smiled as I started to pack my stuff again, "Then I''ll ask Shelly or Ellen if I could stay in their houses during social week."


    "You''ll be staying in my mansion." Luke immediately dismissed what I said.


    ''Why was this going towards the worst case possible?'' I thought.


    "It would be rude to impose on other households for such a long period of time." Luke frowned as he continued.


    "What about you?" I asked in suspicion.


    "Well that''s different! You''re my partner, meaning you''re going to become a part of my household later on." Luke sternly answered.


    When I was in elementary school, I thought I was ''engaged'' to Luke for schooling purposes.


    "Luke keeps on nagging me to act accordingly as the future lady of the Roselia house!" I whined to Shelly and Ellen.


    "It''s not like we''re going to get married to each other!" I complained.


    "That''s probably not possible," Ellen nonchalantly ordered another piece of strawberry shortcake to console me.


    "Stop joking," I cringed from the thought of having to marry Luke.


    Although Luke did look very handsome, his personality completely broke the delusion of the typical ikemen boy in shoujo mangas that I read in my past life.


    "Wait. You really don''t know Rika?" Ellen asked me looking surprised.


    "What?"


    "The partner system is there to determine who you''re going to marry in the future and its integration into the school system is to try to get the partners closer to each other before marriage." Shelly explained.


    "That''s why it''s a mix of difficult politics and the amount of mana a person possess," Ellen added.


    No wonder Luke acted like I was already a part of the ''Roselia family''!


    "Can''t I just not marry Luke after I graduate?"


    "There''s never been such a case like this before," Shelly replied while contemplating.


    When I stopped blanking out from my sudden daydream of my elementary school days, I found myself standing in front of the gates of Luke''s mansion.


    "How... Why?" I asked Luke as he carried my suitcase that I didn''t finish packing.


    "We have to hurry up and get ready for social week," Luke ignored my question.


    I guessed I had to abandon my initial plans of staying at either the mansions of Shelly or Ellen. I shivered as I thought of what would become of me as I hated being inside this house. More like any place where Luke lived was scary from my memories.


    The grand mansion towered upon me with its usual glorious exterior. The maids bowed down and the butler escorted me to the room I typically stayed in inside this house.


    My room in Luke''s mansion resembled a fancier version of the room in the dorm at school. It was equipped extravagantly with its own bedroom, bathroom, closet and study room. Just like my room in Luke''s villa in the vacation area in the first district.


    I fell onto the bed as I noticed the heavy red velvet curtains were perfectly restored. I recalled tearing them apart last time to make them into ropes to escape Luke''s mansion.


    I yawned as I was exhausted from all the classes that seemed longer than usual today. I got up from my bed to lazily walk towards my closet to change into my pyjamas provided by one of Luke''s maid as Luke suddenly stormed into my room.


    "What now?" I complained.


    "We have to get ready soon for the social event that''s next morning." Luke answered.


    "Why next morning? Isn''t it supposed to start on Monday?"


    "Although it''s called social week, the events start tomorrow." Luke sighed while explaining.


    It was already 11PM, meaning all the stores were probably closed by now anyways. I stared back at Luke in confusion as he suddenly dragged me to another room. The room had tons of flowing fabric and a scanning machine in the shape of a tall cylinder as if it was meant to fit human beings.


    "Why am I here?" I asked while knowing the answer.


    "We''re here to choose what you''re going to wear starting from tomorrow."


    "I already have clothes that we bought last time from the boutique." I showed the diamonds inside the inventory section of my marble.


    "Those are work clothes. You need formal clothes for social events."


    "What about you?"


    "I already have my clothes prepared."


    Of course, Luke would be prepare everything beforehand without letting me know. Without any other option, I followed Luke as he showed me the rolls of fabric inside the room to choose from to make seven dresses.


    "What about my measurements?" I inquired while looking at countless rolls of fabric.


    Luke turned to the scanning machine as I abandoned the countless rolls of silk and went into the machine.


    The machine beeped as it instantly captured all my measurements. If everything was this simple, did I really have to be here when I didn''t care what I wore to these stupid events!


    "Can''t you just pick for me? You have my measurements, the designs on your tablet, and the fabrics!" I complained.


    I just wanted to go to sleep and my body was really tired from attending all those classes today.


    "Are you sure?" Luke responded while looking a little surprised.

 53 Social Week 2

    "Yea, choose anything you want. I''m going back upstairs to get ready to sleep."


    When I woke up the next morning, I found numerous extravagant and uncomfortable dresses, shoes, and accessories in my closet. The outfits screamed ''Luke'' when I looked at them. Maybe letting Luke choose everything yesterday was the worse decision that I ever made. I should''ve just chosen everything myself as I knew Luke''s tastes by now.


    Ahh. I should''ve just sacrificed a few hours of sleep that day. Now, I''m stuck with these outfits for a week! After closing my closet in despair, a maid knocked on my door.


    "Miss Rika, we''re here to do your hair and makeup."


    I sighed as one maid busily tried to make my hair presentable while the other maid painted cherry lipstick on my lips.


    "How about this hairclip Miss Rika?" A maid asked.


    "It''s fine," I answered with no energy.


    "What about this shade of eyeshadow?" Another maid asked.


    "It''s fine," I repeated myself with the same amount of enthusiasm as before.


    I struggled to walk down the stairs in the uncomfortable dress and shoes. I searched the first floor as I couldn''t spot Luke in the dining room from the top of the stairs.


    "Where''s Luke?" I asked the butler when I couldn''t find him inside the house.


    "The young master is already outside waiting for you, Miss Rika."


    Luke greeted me with a frown inside his hover car, "We''re going to be late Rika."


    "We''re not having breakfast today?" I asked while pouting.


    Luke handed me a chocolate bar, "We''re going to eat breakfast at our first social event. But just in case you''re really hungry, I prepared a chocolate bar."


    I grabbed the familiar chocolate bar and started eating. From my experience, I wasn''t going to be allowed to eat much anyways since food was considered to be a decoration at these events.


    "How many events are we going to anyways?" I asked Luke while hoping that we were only attending one event today.


    "About two to three events per day?"


    "Maybe even more if the events end early?" Luke mumbled.


    What! It was basically torture to go to two to three events in this attire for the next week. I already had enough trouble walking in these dress shoes from the heels that were usually missing from my dress shoes I wore for school.


    "Did you possibly make this schedule?" I asked while my hatred for Luke increased.


    "My parents did."


    "..."


    Well, I had nothing to say then. I have never met Luke''s parents while Luke had never met mine. However, I always thought of them as very strict as Luke always had amazing grades and habits. I guessed Luke was much of a victim as I was. Wait. It''s Luke''s parents that scheduled this for him!


    "Why do I have to follow him?" I accidently mumbled out loud from complaint.


    Meaning that partners suffered together. I sighed as nothing good ever came out from being stuck with Luke. When our conservation had come to a conclusion, I looked at the scenery outside the window.


    A great sprawl of mansions with their own private gardens and forests made it seem less like a futuristic district and more like a park. Maybe the first district had even more wildlife than the third district as there were no such things like highways as everyone travelled by hover cars and buses.


    When the hover car descended onto the platform of the large mansion, I knew this was the first location.


    I wore a puffy navy silk dress with a large bow at my hips. Ignoring the uncomfortable large hair clip pinned onto my hair and the tight rose choker on my neck, I looked at the glossy marble floors of the ballroom.


    I knew that today would be a big struggle when I already struggled to walk properly in Luke''s mansion where its floors were not polished. But these floors looked very slippery from its great shine as it looked like it was very finely polished.


    I grabbed onto Luke''s arm for my safety before he abandoned me to greet his friends once I sat down on a chair. I looked around the ballroom to find busy waiters serving drinks to the guests while there was a buffet table barely touched by any of the participants in the event as they were busy socializing.


    Maybe some business deals were made or great connections were established today. However, I couldn''t take my eyes off the delicious strawberry shortcakes on the buffet table. Luke was still far away from the buffet table with Alex and his other friends in other schools in the first district. This meant that I had a chance to eat that cake unnoticed from Luke.


    I took off my annoying dress shoes and walked towards the buffet table while barefoot. I grabbed a tiny plate from the table and started to stack cookies and cakes on the disappointing small plate.


    To not attract attention, I looked around to see if anyone was looking before crawling underneath the table. Thankfully, the long table was covered by a white silky tablecloth, making it a great hiding place. I smiled as I took a bite of the strawberry shortcake near the bottom of my plate.


    ''So Good~!'' I immediately thought.


    After finishing all the desserts on my plate, I continued to stay underneath the table so I didn''t have to socialize with anyone at the party.


    "Kya!" A waiter screamed when she found me underneath the table, failing to get out the box beside me.


    "Slush!" I whispered to the waiter.


    Unfortunately, I became the center of attention as the guests suddenly stopped conversing to stare at me trying to silence the waiter underneath the table. I got up with no other choice with my hiding spot now discovered.


    I lifted up my empty plate, "I dropped my plate and I was looking for it under the table."


    None of the guest believed my pathetic excuse as some guests started to chuckle and others started to look in the other direction. I hoped that Luke would also look at another direction, but I found him smiling stiffly towards my direction with his friends.


    "Isn''t that your fianc¨¦e Luke?" One of Luke''s friends asked while chuckling.


    "My cousin''s fianc¨¦e is a bit unique," Alex tried to help Luke.


    "If you would excuse me," Luke excused himself from his friends.


    Luke attempted to look composed as he walked elegantly to where I stood.


    "How about you join me and my friends?" Luke stiffly smiled.


    "No, I''m really-"


    "Rika Roselia Shanes." Luke interrupted me with a great frown.


    Seeing that Luke was really angry, I followed him to where his group of friends stood.


    "Yes, she must be truly exceptional." Another friend of Luke commented when he noticed I wasn''t wearing any shoes.


    Luke looked absolutely speechless as Alex tried to cover for Luke, "Where are your shoes Rika?"


    I pointed to the shoes I abandoned in front of an empty chair near the entrance of the bright ballroom.


    "Why don''t you get Rika''s shoes?" Alex suggested to Luke to give him time to collect himself while getting my shoes back when I stood there unmoving from my spot.


    "I''m honored to finally meet the most rumored person at our school," One of Luke''s friend greeted me.


    "Are we in the same grade?" I asked him as part of a formality.


    "I''m in the other class. I am known as Cillian de Auclair." Cillian introduced himself.


    Cillian looked like the typical elite of the first district wearing a fancy navy blue tuxedo that matched his azure blue eyes and blond hair.


    "I''m sure it''s due to the small classes in our school," I nonchalantly replied back.


    "It''s just that you''re the leader of series of unapprehended incidents since the founding of our school," Another friend of Luke added.


    "My name is Henry de Blanc," Henry introduced himself.


    Henry appeared just as good-looking as Luke and Alex. His piercing emerald eyes indicated he knew exactly what he was talking about. His confident smile complimented his midnight black tuxedo that matched his straight jet-black hair.


    "Here''s your shoes Rika," Luke handed me my dress shoes.


    Instead of putting my shoes back on, I placed them onto a chair, right behind where we stood.


    "I''m not going to put them on until I leave the banquet anyways," I quietly mumbled for Luke to hear.


    Unfortunately, it looked like all of Luke''s friends had good hearing as their eyes widened from surprise.


    "Are you sure Rika?" Alex indirectly threatened me with his sudden bright smile.

 54 Social Week 3

    I nodded as this was the one thing I wasn''t going to give up on.


    "Are you really sure?" Alex asked me again with irritation clearly present in his voice this time while Luke was almost becoming speechless again.


    "Yup," I confidently answered as Cillian and Henry desperately tried to hold their laughter in.


    I had two more hours to spend at this event. I wasn''t going to torture myself in shoes I knew I couldn''t walk in. My presence here was clearly not helping Luke as Alex talked for him while he clearly seemed dismayed.


    "Since it seems my presence is not required anymore, I''ll head toward the dessert table." I tried to escape from Luke''s group of friends.


    Luke suddenly grabbed my wrist, "No, your presence is still required here."


    ''Meaning, don''t you leave my sight,'' I thought.


    "Yes, we have been wanting to meet you for a quite a long time." Henry added.


    "We have heard about you from my school as well," Another person joined in.


    "My school as well!" Another person walked up to us.


    "You mean the incident of how Charles and I accidentally entered the sixth district?" I asked to see how up to date they were.


    "No, I meant how you were the first student in our circle to skip class." The person replied while looking astonished from my question.


    It looked like even Cillian and Henry didn''t know as they stopped smiling from shock. Luke stiffly smiled as he pretended to not hear anything while Alex started to look in another direction.


    "It was a joke?" I tried to fix my blunder.


    However, it was clear that none of Luke''s friends believed me as they already seen the reaction of Alex and Luke to my ''joke''.


    "Where are your partners?" I asked to attempt to switch to another topic.


    "Out in the terrace," Cillian answered.


    "Then I''ll go join them," I suggested to Luke.


    "No, it''s about time we go to the next event scheduled for us." Luke tried to excuse himself from his group of friends.


    "I thought we were supposed to stay here for another hour from looking at the original schedule," I whispered to Luke while I chose to walk barefoot.


    "We''re going to the next event earlier than planned," Luke waited for our hover car to come down.


    Once we were inside the hover car that was on its route to our next event, Luke started his lecture.


    "I know you never attended these kinds of events before, but I thought you would know the proper etiquette of the first district by now," Luke grabbed my shoulders.


    I did know the proper etiquette of the first district, but I couldn''t possibly perform them in those shoes!


    "You try wearing these shoes!" I complained to Luke as I pointed to the heels in the dress shoes.


    I tried on the dress shoes again to see that it was much better than before, "Yea."


    I grabbed Luke''s hand when I got out of the hover car to find Ben standing at the entrance of the ballroom that was much greater than the previous mansion. Grand white chandeliers decorated the ceiling with no signs of a typical buffet table in the middle of the venue.


    A great orchestra played classical music for guests to enjoy and famous performers were invited to show off great illusions through dancing and singing.


    "Thank you for coming to my event," Ben greeted the couple before us.


    "Hey Rika!" Ben brightly smiled at me after the couple went into the ballroom.


    "Are you the host here?" I asked.


    If Ben was the host, this meant that this was one of his family''s mansions. I wondered if I could find some games and light novels here just like his villa.


    ''Maybe I should sneak out of the ballroom later to see if there''s any room like Ben''s villa,'' I thought.


    "Yea, thanks for coming." Ben sheepishly replied while his partner greeted Luke.


    "I heard alot about you Rika!" A girl wearing a simple white gown brilliantly smiled.


    "You are?" I asked from her sudden friendly greeting.


    "My name is Alice Nuelle Carsen." Alice grabbed both of my hands.


    She was Ben''s partner! The mysterious partner of Ben that I never got to see. Unfortunately, we couldn''t continue the conversation when Ben noticed the long line of guests behind us.


    "We''ll have to talk later together," Ben apologized to us.


    "Lunch is served in a separate dining quarter on the second floor," Luke said to me while I searched for the familiar buffet table.


    "Rika!" Ellen greeted me once she noticed Luke and I entering the ballroom.


    "How many events did you go to before this?" I asked with great curiosity.


    "This is actually our first event," Ellen replied with a bit of shame in her voice.


    "It''s ok, this is actually our second event," I tried to console Ellen.


    "Isn''t this way too early for it to be your second event?" Allan joined our conversation.


    "Things happened in our last event," Luke smiled dazzlingly in response.


    From our last event, I learned that the brighter and stiffer Luke''s smile got, the more trouble I was in. This meant that Luke was still enraged from the last event. Both Allan and Ellen nodded like they indirectly knew what Luke was talking about.


    "Well, I''ll stay here with Ellen so you can mingle with Allan and his friends," I glanced at the spot that Allan stood before coming to greet us.


    Since I was with Ellen this time, Luke hesitantly followed Allan as he introduced Luke to his friends. Two floors made up the ballroom. Guests could dine on the second floor while looking at the first floor to see an inflow of more guests entering the ballroom.


    "Want to go to the second floor?" I asked Ellen as I planned to sneak out of the ballroom.


    "Sure, I haven''t been to the second floor yet." Ellen innocently replied unaware of my plans.


    We walked up the stairs to go to the second floor.


    "There isn''t much to see here," I mumbled to myself as it was filled with elegant dining tables and chairs.


    "Well, it is the dining quarters where they''ll be serving lunch." Ellen nonchalantly muttered.


    The dining area was empty except for waiters and waitresses placing utensils and napkins on the tables to prepare for lunch.


    "Hey, what''s that?" I asked when I spotted a closed off area at the edge of dining area.


    "Probably where the staff go up and down between the floors," Ellen casually guessed.


    I leaned closer against the railings to study the closed off area as I wondered if the closed off area was actually a way to enter the other parts of Ben''s mansion. The railings were tall as the height of my shoulders. I was confident that I could lean even further to find an opening to enter the closed off space since it was an arm''s length away.


    "Rika!" Ellen yelled when I found myself unexpectedly falling from the second floor from a wide space between the bars of the railing.


    ''Huh?'' I thought as the guests stopped their conversations to watch a girl suddenly falling from the second floor.


    I felt the time slowdown in the air as the wind whooshed into my ears. My neatly arranged hair was above the corner of my eyes before I looked down to find Ellen quickly running down the stairs with great panic. I opened and closed my eyes until I found myself caught by one of the dancers on the stage when I expected to land on the hard floor.


    "My mistake?" I awkwardly explained to the dancer as the choreography was interrupted from my sudden appearance.


    When I looked down from the stage, I found all the guests looking up at the stage with great wonder and curiosity.


    Ben and Alice now stood in the edge of the ballroom frozen from shock instead of continuing to greet the incoming guests. Meanwhile, Luke hung his head down in despair while Allan and his friends tried to console him.


    Instead of going down from the stage, I danced some steps of ballet that I learned in kindergarten and elementary school. But, all the other dancers stood there unmoving from the surprise.


    After I finished a simple solo without any music from the orchestra, I bowed to the audience while the dancers and singers watched me in wonder, "Thank you for watching this play."

 55 Social Week 4

    I jumped down from the stage to find tears streaming down from Ellen''s clear silver eyes.


    "You don''t know how surprised I got," Ellen sobbed as she unintentionally attracted attention from Ben''s guests.


    "Yes, this was really dangerous Rika." Alice carefully studied me to see if I got hurt anywhere.


    After both Alice and Ben confirmed that I had no injuries from the fall, they sighed in relief.


    "I''ll arrange for Luke and you to eat in the private VIP dining area on the first floor so you don''t have to dine on the second floor," Ben added while he quickly changed the arrangements.


    That''s how Luke and I came to dine with Ben and his friends in the private VIP dining area instead of dining with Ellen and Allan on the second floor for lunch.


    I looked around the dining room to discover that it was not inferior to the dining area in the ballroom in anyway. The rich blue velvet walls set an elegant atmosphere as other furniture within the room were also in shades of blue as if it was trying to make the walls stand out.


    Ben and Alice were already seated with their friends who waited for Luke and I to sit down. "Hello, I am Luke de Roselia and this is my partner Rika Roselia Shanes," Luke immediately introduced us to Ben''s friends.


    "I have heard many things about your partner," a friend of Ben attempted to start a conversation.


    "What do you want brother?" Luke asked Ben''s friend with strong displeasure.


    ''Brother?'' I stopped eating from surprise.


    Luke''s brother smiled at me splendidly with his ocean blue eyes that resembled Luke while he tucked in his pale golden strands of hair into his ear.


    "I am Lucius de Suilett otherwise known as Luke''s brother," Lucius answered my thoughts.


    "And you must be Rika." Lucius continued to smile with amusement.


    I nodded as I elegantly picked up a fork under Luke''s intense glare.


    "Are you not from the Roselia family?" I curiously asked Lucius since he did not introduce himself as ''Lucius de Roselia''.


    "I am but I am engaged to Belle," Lucius introduced his partner to me.


    Belle faintly blushed as Lucius placed his hand around her waist.


    "Hello, I am Belle de Suilett." Belle shyly introduced herself while twirling her finger around the strands of her glossy turquoise hair.


    "And I''m Rika," I brightly smiled to Belle while ignoring Lucius.


    "How''s the salmon?" Ben asked me to fulfill his duty as the host.


    "Not bad," I plainly answered.


    I preferred to eat pizza and chips at a party rather than focusing on which fork or spoon to use while eating a certain dish. Unfortunately, I never had the chance to even eat a slice of pizza in this life as the school only served gourmet food. Meanwhile, Luke only took me to restaurants similar to the setting as the lunch I was currently eating.


    "Are you ok?" Ben asked me when I looked dejected.


    "I''m fine," I answered with no enthusiasm.


    "I never expected your partner to me closer to Ben than me," Lucius said with pity to Luke.


    "We met several times in the second and sixth district," I casually answered while cutting another piece of my honey glazed salmon.


    Ben suddenly froze as he threatened me with his glare, ''Don''t you dare continue Rika.''


    "Really?" The other pairs asked with great curiosity.


    "I heard that middle schoolers weren''t allowed to visit the lower districts," One of Ben''s friends mumbled quietly.


    "I thought that the freshmen in middle school were only allowed to go to the third district for their practical assignments," Another friend of Ben whispered.


    "Maybe they changed things up," Alice offered the guests a potential explanation.


    Ben and Luke continued to eat their dish without a single word. The table continued to discuss about where middle schoolers were allowed to go during the practical assignments from nostalgia.


    Fortunately, none of Ben''s friends noticed Ben''s lack of presence in their conversation as Alice excitedly partook the lead in the topic.


    "We have to go to our next event," Luke tried to apologize to Ben and Alice while excusing himself after we finished our lunch.


    "See you later my brother," Lucius waved.


    "Let''s meet soon Rika!" Belle shouted as Luke dragged me out of the room.


    Ben perked up as Alice also greeted us farewell.


    ''Was it my imagination, or did Ben not want us here at his event?'' I briefly thought.


    I left that thought aside as we soon entered the hover car to go to the next event.


    "Riikka!" Luke yelled at me angrily once we were inside the hover car.


    "It wasn''t my fault this time," I talked back to Luke.


    "Who knew there would be such a wide gap between one of the bars?" I continued.


    "Most people don''t lean against the rails during a party or go up to the dining area when it''s not time to eat," Luke fiercely argued with his hands clenched onto the chair.


    I rolled my eyes at Luke from great annoyance.


    "How do you know when it''s also your first time going to these parties in social week?" I countered while looking outside the window.


    Luke hung his head down again, "It''s common sense Rika."


    The days quickly passed by. I didn''t get into any other incidents as Luke made sure he watched my every move so I wouldn''t make another ''blunder''.


    I was finally the last event of the day. My feet were hurting like crazy and my waist felt bruised from the tight dress. Everything from interacting with Luke''s friends to eating was a pain.


    "Can we go home now?" I whined to Luke.


    "Just two more hours," Luke whispered into my ear.


    I learned that everyone in the first district had great hearing from the constant mana training on how to manipulate their bodies ever since kindergarten. I hoped that nobody saw me as I unwrapped the silk ribbon around my waist as I couldn''t endure the tight dress anymore.


    ''I can properly breath now,'' I thought for the first time today.


    However, Luke''s friends gazed at me in awe.


    "First her shoes and now her dress," One of Luke''s friends mumbled what the group thought out loud.


    "It''s because Rika wanted to tie up her hair," Shelly tried to cover for me as she tied up my hair into an elegant ponytail.


    When the dress suddenly unraveled without the ribbon holding it together, Luke and his friends looked the other way while Shelly and Ellen desperately tried to fix my dress.


    "Can we go home now?" I asked Luke again while my dress dragged on the floor when I walked.


    Luke sighed as he faced the group, "My partner doesn''t seem like she''s feeling well today, so we''ll be leaving early."


    We left the venue and soon entered the hover car again.


    "I said only two more hours," Luke looked at me with great disappointment in his eyes.


    "You try walking this dress for the entire day," I complained to Luke.


    "That''s why we remade your dresses after the first day," Luke sighed.


    After the first day of social week, Luke and I removed all the heels from my dress shoes and made the dresses shorter and looser so that they would be more comfortable to move in.


    However, I guessed I overestimated myself, thinking that this dress didn''t need any adjustments after admiring the simplicity of the dress compared to the other ones in my closet.


    "I didn''t know this dress would become this uncomfortable to wear!" I argued to shift the blame to the design of the dress.


    "Well, it''s over now. I''ll have to wake you up early tomorrow to move back into the school so just go to sleep Rika." Luke continued to express his great disappointment in me.


    I rubbed my eyes in the halls as I barely got any time to sleep when I moved back into the school. Luke and I brought more stuff from his mansion than we thought we would and spent most of our time trying to reorganize them into our small dorm room.


    And the weeks afterward was filled with exams, which meant Luke dragged me into his long study sessions so we wouldn''t get more minus points.


    "Hey Rika!" Cillian greeted me when I walked down the halls dejectedly.


    I ignored Cillian as I walked toward the usual cafe where Shelly and Ellen was waiting for me with my favourite strawberry shortcake.


    "Why? Why now?" I recalled yelling in frustration.


    [You have used the maximum limit for absorption for this month] The dimensional library replied.


    The most useful part of the dimensional library was now useless. Since the library in the school contained almost all the information about the world I lived in, I didn''t need to use the dimensional library to gather more information.


    ''Maybe I shouldn''t have used it on my history exam last week,'' I sulked.


    Since I got such a good mark on the history exam, Luke didn''t drag me to his usual study sessions of hell. So when we got the results back from the math exam I took yesterday, I got a 30, which led us to get minus points again.


    "Riikkka!" Luke yelled at me as he dragged me to a study room after looking at my results.


    That''s how I was tiredly coming back from a study session that lasted for thirty hours on my precious Saturday.


    "Hey," I hugged Shelly and Ellen before sitting down.


    "I think Luke is getting more crueler these days!" I complained to Shelly and Ellen.


    "The study sessions used to be twenty hours and but now it''s thirty hours," I continued to whine.


    "Well, I think it''s because you got a thirty on the math exam for the first time this year. Maybe Luke will decrease the study sessions once your grades get better," Shelly tried to console me while drinking her chocolate milkshake.


    "Is a thirty even possible?" Charles desperately tried to hold his laughter when Daniel projected the results onto the board.


    "Well, it is Rika." Alex replied unsurprised that I got a thirty.


    "Anything is possible with Rika," Allan agreed with Alex.


    I shook my head to get rid of my bad memories as Ellen ordered another plate of strawberry shortcake to cheer me up.


    "Well we''re going on a field trip next week anyways," Ellen casually mentioned.


    ''A field trip? That meant no exams next week!'' I thought.


    "How do you know?" I asked Ellen with suspicion as I never heard about it during class.


    "Daniel announced it during class today while you were half-awake Rika," Shelly explained.


    That actually did explain alot. I didn''t pay attention to half of the things mentioned in classes in the morning. That''s why Luke had to repeat what the teachers said in his intense study sessions.


    "Where are we going?" I asked hoping that the field trip would be not in a fancy hotel or include any hard strenuous exercise.


    "We''re climbing a mountain." Ellen delivered the bad news.

 56 Field Trip

    "I can''t...do this...anymore," I panted under the bright sun shining down my back.


    The trees slightly dazzled from the sunlight from the slight raindrops remaining on its leaves. The road was not paved but rather made by people walking through the same route repeatedly. I held a tree branch in one of my hands as a stick to help me walk up the never-ending altitude of a mountain I was required to climb.


    Luke handed me a cool bottle of water that was kept cold from the use of his mana. I grabbed the bottle from him and poured it all over myself to cool myself down from the strong rays of the sun.


    Normally, when you went up a mountain, you were supposed to feel colder from the different oxygen levels that in turn forms more clouds to cover the sun.


    However, it was the exactly the opposite of from how I remembered it to be. Maybe this world did not fully follow the concepts that my past life followed due to the existence of mana.


    I packed thick sweaters and jackets in my backpack in case it would get colder. However, my extra clothes were now so useless that I would only be able to use them as a place to sit on. Or maybe as an extra bed if I had to sleep on the ground.


    I currently wore my gym school uniform meant for fall while everyone else wore their summer uniform.


    "Why are you packing summer clothes?" I asked Luke when it was clearly the middle of fall.


    "It''s going to be really hot since we''re climbing a mountain. Didn''t you learn this in kindergarten?" Luke responded like I was the crazy one to pack warm clothes


    Sensing that a lecture was going to come from Luke, I quickly answered, "Yea, but still it''s the middle of fall so it''s going to be cold until we actually start climbing the mountain."


    ''Just wait until you start suffering from the cold,'' I thought back then.


    This was how I came to suffer from the burning sun.


    "Look the other way!" Allan yelled when my shirt became translucent from being drenched from the water I poured over myself.


    Luke covered Allan''s eyes while Cillian looked the other way and Ellen started to panic.


    "Here a sweater!" Ellen handed me one of my thick sweaters to cover myself.


    I threw the sweater back to Ellen as I wasn''t going to put on a sweater when I was already drenched in my own sweat. At this rate, I would die from the fierce rays of the sun.


    "Rika!" Luke scowled when my sweater landed on the grass.


    "Do you really want me to die?" I asked Luke with mad laughter.


    I was going crazy from walking in the aching sun for three hours straight without a break. The mana consumption rate was way too high to keep myself cool when the temperature difference was earth-shatteringly big. I initially thought that having an infinite amount of mana would allow me to do anything I would want to do, but unfortunately mana had a lot of science behind it.


    Since I was a delicate eleven year old, my physical body could not store as much mana as I thought I would be able to. That brought me to this situation where my mana recovers pretty fast whenever I use it, but not fast enough to match the fast consumption rate.


    The difference between what I visualized and reality of the situation composed how much my mana would be consumed. When I looked up to see how much more I had to continue this torture of an exercise, the intimidating mountain stared back at me.


    ''Oh great!'' I thought when there seemed to be no end to this mountain.


    "I think Rika lost it," Allan whispered to Ellen.


    Luke stepped back as he got surprised from my sudden laughter instead of the familiar groans and complaints about my aching back and legs. Even though I did get crazy when Luke''s study sessions get too long, it was never been to this extent where I laughed like a madman when I seemed like I would faint anytime.


    "That''s why Daniel should have grouped just me, Ellen, Shelly, and Miliana together." I screamed while stumbling over nothing from the lack of energy.


    Daniel went over to the podium to say his usual announcements at the end of the day. "I will be grouping you guys into groups of five for the field trip where we will climb a mountain."


    "Can we just make our own groups," I raised my hand.


    Daniel ignored me to continue on with his announcement. "This field trip will be special since we''ll be mixing groups with the other class of the same grade."


    ''Hmm. What''s the point of that?'' I thought curiously.


    "Hey Rika!" Cillian greeted me.


    I ignored Cillian and sat beside Ellen on the hover bus. I guessed they had enough confidence that the hover bus wouldn''t break down. After all, they did investigate the hover buses thoroughly after all those incidents in the summer.


    "Rika, not that way!" Ellen shouted when I walked clumsily towards the edge of the mountain trail.


    ''A waterfall! I must jump in it,'' I thought as I went crazy from suffering under the burning sun.


    I spotted a tall waterfall beside the cliff we were on as the trail was paved near one of the cliffs of the mountain. I staggered towards the source of water as I wished to free myself from the hot weather.


    ''The waterfall is only about 30 metres high anyways,'' I observed how many metres I would have to climb again to get to this spot.


    "Rika!" Ellen screamed as I jumped towards the waterfall.


    ''So nice,'' I thought as the soft water patted my back as I fell down.


    I anticipated a big splash once I got into the river, however I found myself inside a shallow pond.


    ''Huh? Where am I?'' I thought as the water only reached my knees.


    I found myself in front of a big grey castle made out of stones rather than bricks. There was a big fancy carriage quite a distance away from the me that sat inside a pond. The girls that got off the carriage wore big puffy gowns while the boys greeting the girls wore traditional military uniforms.


    "Wasn''t I supposed to be on a mountain?" I voiced my thoughts out loud.


    "Who knew there would be a teleportation gate there?" Cillian sounded surprised.


    I turned to see both Luke and Cillian right behind me. As usual, Luke was smiling stiffly while Cillian had a bit of curiosity in his eyes.


    "Why are you here?" I asked Cillian and Luke.


    "Luke jumped right after you jumped as he tried to follow you," Cillian teased Luke who already looked terribly mad.


    "Well, at least we''re still in the first district," I tried to convince myself when my surroundings resembled a medieval landscape.


    Everyone wore old fashioned clothes like we were inside a movie set based in the 1800s in my past life. There were no signs of glass or plastic as it was replaced with stones and metals to build the sturdy houses and castles. From what I could tell, there was no evidence that I was still in the first district.


    "We''re in the fifth district," Luke crossed his arms after getting out of the pond.


    "What! No way," I tried to deny.


    "Well how else would you explain the reason for the appearance of our surroundings?" Cillian pointed out.


    Before I could reply, a group of knights came running towards us wearing a military uniform. "Intruders! How did you get inside the mansion of the Suilett family?" the leader of the group asked aggressively.


    "I think you''re misunderstanding something here," Cillian attempted to explain to the knights.


    "This is the younger brother and future sister-in-law of the future heir of the Suilett family. How else would they possess such fine clothes?" Cillian attempted to convince the knights.


    "That is true. Look at what they''re wearing," A knight pointed out to his leader.


    The leader of the knights nodded after studying us closely. "I apologize, please come this way inside the castle."


    The knights escorted us inside the castle and called for the butler. A old man with his nicely parted white hair wearing sleek glasses in his black and white uniform came to greet us after we were handed towels to dry ourselves.


    "I will tell young master Lucius and lady Belle of your visit when they come home from their outing," the butler narrowed his eyes as he seemly didn''t buy the explanation of the knights.


    "I believe that we''re now in the fifth district," I faced Cillian, exploring the castle with his eyes while Luke stayed silent.


    Luke sat in the couch near the crackling fireplace while Cillian and I touched and moved the unique antiques that decorated the room.


    ''So this is how people lived in the old days,'' I thought while looking at the oil paintings that smelled foul.


    "I thought you were supposed to be climbing a mountain?" A adolescent boy wearing a frilly top with nice trousers paired with shiny leather boots stepped into the room.


    A girl wearing a puffy pink dress, decorated with jewels with moderate heels, walked behind him as she closed the door.


    "The teleportation gate in the middle of a river in a mountain brought us here," Luke answered while getting closer to the fireplace to dry his hair.


    "It''s such a coincidence that you guys fell into a teleportation gate to the fifth district when we just happened to be on a mission here!" Belle excitedly said as she seemed ignorant of the heavy atmosphere of the room.


    Belle grabbed onto my hand to drag me out the room, "Let''s get you changed!"


    Belle called for the maids while pushing me inside her room. When the maids came, Belle stepped out to give the maids the space to do their work.


    Belle''s closets only had dresses and more puffy dresses filled with petticoats and jewels that decorated them. I sighed as all of the dresses looked absolutely horrid (even more than the ones I wore during social week).


    "Here''s the dresses that lady Belle wore when she was younger," the head maid recommended me a frilly, puffy yellow dress decorated with laced ribbons.


    I reluctantly changed into the first dress that the head maid showed me as the other maids worked on detangling my hair and putting on fancy accessories to complement my dress.


    When I finally re-entered the room after two hours of the maids'' hard work, Luke and Cillian were already sitting on the fancy patted chairs. I laughed as Luke and Cillian were wearing a frilly blouse with a ribbon decorated with jewels and sleek trousers paired to long boots. They looked hilarious when the puffs on their shoulders appeared bigger than their face.


    I sat down on a chair across from them as I tried to suppress my laughter while everyone was already seated. Tea was being served by Belle as the servants were sent out of the room when I entered the room.


    When everyone got comfortable in their seats, Lucius sternly announced, "we came here because a war is about to start in the fifth district."

 57 The Mission

    I spurted my tea from the sudden announcement.


    "What!" I yelled.


    ''Weren''t wars really medieval? Even people in my past life acknowledged that war was something that was dehumanizing and a waste of human lives after learning from their mistakes. War was supposed to be an absolute last resort,'' I thought.


    Belle got a handkerchief from the pocket of her dress to wipe off the drops of tea that landed on the glossy wooden table.


    "You know how there''s a total of twenty countries in the fifth district right? The Great Estellion Empire, which is where we are right now, is one of the great powers of the fifth district that is planning to defend against the Crugren Kingdom. The Crugren Kingdom is about to wage a war due to the continuous poor harvest that has been happening in their most fertile lands for the last few years." Lucius explained to the group while glancing at me the majority of the time.


    "That''s why our mission is to prevent a war," Belle grimly added after she finished wiping the table.


    "That doesn''t explain how your house is part of the nobility in the fifth district," I accused Belle.


    Luke sighed and Cillian shrugged as if everyone that were the elites of the first district were part of the nobility in the fifth district.


    "We''re also part of the nobility in the fifth district as the Roselia family is ranked archduke of the Great Weronberg Empire, which is the another great power in the fifth district," Luke explained.


    "And the Auclair family is ranked duke of the Vensuella Empire which is another great power in the fifth district," Cillian added.


    ''So the elites of the first district weren''t just elites in the first district but more so in the other districts,'' I thought.


    "Then who manages these properties when you already own so many in the first district?" I asked while tilting my head in confusion.


    "Our parents do, it''s just like managing a portfolio" Cillian answered as if this wasn''t something unusual.


    "I think I remember learning all these details in elementary school so it''s pretty much common knowledge," Belle commented while flipping through the documents related to her mission.


    It wasn''t that I had bad memory. It was just that these kids had splendid memory. Each of the districts had their own history which made all this information hard to remember. The pathways that some districts took to became the way they were today were very similar to each other.


    It was like reading thick history books about one country times a million from the amount of countries that existed in all the districts combined together.


    All the districts had tons of countries within them with the exception of the first district that only had three countries. Currently, we came from the country of the ''Alliance of United Nations''. It took up 95% of the first district in terms of land and resources.


    "The teleportation gate will have enough energy to teleport you guys back to the first district about a week from now," Lucius chuckled.


    "So try to stay in the castle until then," Lucius warned us in a serious tone while looking in my direction the entire time. It was like he knew what happened between Ben and I when Shelly and I stayed at his villa.


    "Lucius is only like this because he''s concerned about you guys being in the fifth district when the situation turned to be dangerous," Belle apologized for Lucius as she interrupted him from saying more warnings.


    Lucius glanced away from Belle as he stiffly pretended to go through the stack of documents as Belle gazed at us wholeheartedly.


    "Lucius and I can''t watch you guys because we have to stay at the Emperor''s castle for the next couple of days to advise him what to do. So you guys will have to stay at the castle alone," Belle explained why Lucius seemed worried.


    "It''s fine, we''re not children anymore." I sulked to indirectly say that their worries were unfounded.


    Luke, Cillian, Lucius and Belle suddenly all turned to look at me.


    "It''s ok, we''ll take care of Rika!" Cillian reassured Belle and Lucius while placing his hand on top of Luke''s shoulder.


    "Lady Belle and young master Lucius, the emperor has called for you!" The head maid knocked on the door.


    Belle and Lucius reluctantly left the room with peculiar eyes full of worry in my direction.


    With no other purpose to continue staying inside the stuffy study room filled with mountains of documents, Luke, Cillian and I were escorted to each of our respective rooms by the servants of the castle.


    "What outfit would you like lady Rika?" A servant that appeared to be not much older than I asked me.


    I looked through Belle''s closet again. There were countless uncomfortable looking dresses with frills, laces, jewels, and fancy embroidery that reached the height of my knees to my ankle.


    "Do I have to change for dinner?" I asked the servant while lazily lying down on the guest bed.


    "I will be scolded by the head maid if you don''t lady Rika," the servant answered with great concern.


    ''Ugh! Why did people in the fifth district have to change clothes for each event of the day?'' I thought.


    I stared boringly at the knights'' training session at the outer part of the castle.


    There was absolutely nothing to do inside this mansion! After coming from the futuristic first district, I didn''t know how the people of the fifth district passed their spare time other than changing outfits and going to parties.


    I thought that Luke''s mansion was bad when there were no gaming devices or televisions to be seen. However, I realized that at least Luke''s mansion had a grand exercise room and a pool to go to when I got extremely bored as a last resort.


    "Lady Rika, we must go to your room now to help you with your outfit for lunchtime," a servant came up to me.


    I went back to my room with the servant as I noticed other maids already inside my room. The maids were busy, picking the accessories, dress, and shoes for me to wear. I sat down on my chair matching Belle''s makeup table while the head maid tended my hair again.


    "I''m so bored," I complained as I fidgeted with my hands.


    Luke and Cillian were carefully watching my every move during the daytime as they helped with organizing the documents related to the mission of Belle and Lucius.


    "I''m going to the garden," I let Luke and Cillian know as I felt tired of watching them go through the documents.


    "Please attach a knight to Lady Rika," Luke immediately ordered the head butler.


    The head butler nodded as he quickly called for one of the knights training inside the castle. A knight quickly came from the butler''s orders to escort me to the garden.


    "It is my pleasure to serve you Lady Rika, my name is Jim and I will be your guard for today." Jim kneeled down in front of me.


    I walked to the magnificent garden that was well-maintained by the hard work of the servants inside the castle.


    ''More roses, tulips and lilies,'' I thought as I identified the flowers inside the large garden.


    I wasn''t impressed since I was used to these impressive gardens from visiting Luke''s mansion often. Seeing that there was no point in staying in the garden longer, I asked Jim, "Can we go outside the grounds of the castle?"


    "I apologize but young master Lucius has ordered me to not let any family members leave the castle until he comes back with lady Belle," Jim hesitantly answered.


    "Isn''t just a few minutes ok?" I begged Jim with slightly pitiful eyes.


    "I apologize but young master Lucius has strictly ordered every employee in this castle to especially not let you out lady Rika," Jim stiffly responded.


    I sighed as my head dropped from extreme boringness of doing nothing inside the castle starting from yesterday.


    ''Maybe I should just run away from the knight and try going outside on my own since Cillian and Luke are busy with documents,'' I thought.


    I sprinted as fast as I could to the castle gates as Jim chased after me in confusion.


    ''Open!'' I pleaded as the lock on the castle gate was sturdier than I thought it was.


    "Lady Rika?" Jim stood right behind me.


    "Don''t mind me," I answered Jim while trying to break the lock.


    "I''ve called for young master Luke and Cillian as you seem bored," Jim chuckled.


    "Hah?" I shouted at Jim.


    "What are you doing Rika?" Luke asked me with a stiff smile as Cillian rewarded Jim for his ''good work''.


    "Nothing much," I pouted as I gave up breaking the lock.


    "Lady Rika must have wanted to see the carnival that''s happening this week," Jim derived a reason for my behaviour of wanting to go outside the castle grounds.


    "A carnival?" I asked Jim in confusion.


    "Yes, a big carnival starts today near the imperial palace. My niece gets very excited for the carnival every year," Jim wondered what my reason really was to go outside the castle grounds.


    "I really want to go," I pleaded to Luke as I tried to look like the most pitiful person possible with my eyes glistening from the forming tears.


    "Please escort Rika to her room," Luke disregarded my pleas as Jim pitied me while he started to escort me back to my room.


    A fluffy red crimson dress that would reach the moderate height of up to my knees was held out in front of me by a maid after I was stuck in my room. The dress was decorated with ribbons with jewels and fine embroidery just like Belle''s other old dresses.


    "How about this lady Rika?" the maid asked me.


    "It''s fine," I indifferently answered as I got up to get changed when the head maid was finished with my hair.


    "I heard you wanted to go to the carnival," a maid that retrieved my shoes commented.


    "I do, but nobody lets me go!" I complained to the maids.


    I pretended to look dejected until a maid spoke up, "We can sneak out together."

 58 The Carnival 1

    The maid winked as the other maids looked horrified.


    "Martha, you know the masters of the house have strictly ordered-"


    "Don''t you think it''s too pitiful that a small child has to miss the carnival that happens once every five years!" Martha defended herself.


    ''Yes Martha, continue!'' My hopes went up.


    The maids nodded as they agreed from their recollection of all their younger siblings that looked forward to the carnival for the past year.


    "Don''t think about it Martha," the head maid warned her as she dismissed Martha from my room.


    However, I secretly called for Martha back when I dismissed all the maids as they finished helping me to get ready for lunch.


    "Is there really a way for me to go out?" I asked Martha very tearjerkingly.


    "Yes there is lady Rika," Martha smiled heartwarmingly.


    That''s how I met up with Martha after successfully sneaking out of my room in the dead night. Martha held a jar of sticky honey and some cups in front of the walls surrounding the castle.


    "We can climb up the wall," Martha winked as she spread honey on the edges of the cups.


    "Here," Martha passed the cups covered in thick honey.


    "Will this really work?" I questioned Martha.


    "I''ve done this before lady Rika!" Martha pretended to get mad when I doubted her.


    Surprisingly, I found myself on the other side of the walls surrounding the castle with not much effort.


    "It really worked!" I cheered.


    "Unfortunately, I have to help my older sister with her restaurant so I''m afraid I cannot accomp-"


    "It''s fine!" I quickly refuted.


    "If you really say so," Martha looked like she was in a dilemma.


    Martha hesitantly separated from me at the fork road not so far from the edge of the residential district where the nobles of the empire resided. I eagerly tried to convince her it was fine before she left.


    ''There''s cotton candy here!'' I thought as I looked around the busy night market.


    The night market was filled with stalls selling candy, cute accessories, street food and games to play with to win prizes. The bright lanterns with tiny flames dancing around the candles lit up the space as if the darkness of the night was fictional.


    "Hey young lady!" a merchant in one of the stalls called out for me.


    "Would you like some cotton candy?" the merchant asked.


    I apologized to the merchant as I didn''t bring any money in the fifth district currency with me since I sneaked out of the castle.


    "I forgot to bring some money with me," I dejectedly answered.


    "It''s fine! You remind me of my daughter. So I''ll give you one for free since you probably came from a faraway place to come to the carnival," The merchant kindly offered me one of his goods.


    "Really?" I excitedly asked.


    I accepted the cotton candy as the merchant gave me one of his largest puff of pink cotton candy on a stick.


    "Just enjoy the capital! Once you come here again with more money, you can pay me back," the merchant casually handed me a cute bunny ear headband.


    Knowing that the merchant was simply a good-hearted person, I accepted the accessory and placed it on my head.


    "Thank you!" I brightly smiled.


    I left the stall to explore more of the fifth district as I knew I didn''t have much time before Luke sent the knights out for a search party as soon as he figured out I sneaked out of the castle. When I walked deeper into the night market, the smell of various meat being grilled made me hungry again.


    The dinner I had with Cillian and Luke was simple and resembled the typical meals we ate in the first district. We had our usual steak, salad and fruits for desert, but it was lower in quality.


    There were no signs of ''junk food'' that I desperately craved these days after finishing my supply of junk food that I bought in the third district.


    However, all the street food sold in the night market were the definition of junk food. Unable to resist the delicious smell of the food while having no money, I quickly left the night market despondently.


    "Hello, young lady," a noble from the fifth district greeted me politely just outside the night market.


    The noble looked dignified with his military uniform decorated with badges from various accomplishments.


    "I was wondering if you got lost from your parents," the noble kindly asked me.


    ''How were there nobles in this area? Weren''t there only supposed to be commoners here? If that noble reports me as a lost child, there''s a chance that Luke will find me more easily,'' I thought with irritation.


    "I came out here alone," I honestly confessed so that the noble wouldn''t report me as a lost child.


    "A runaway child, I see." The noble mumbled quietly to himself.


    "Ummm... my parents were too busy to take me to the carnival so I came out here on my own!" I quickly denied.


    "John! Check if there''s any noble families in this area that is looking for a young girl." The noble shouted to his colleague.


    "Yes, Captain Robert!" John yelled back.


    ''Why couldn''t you come up with a better excuse Rika?'' I ridiculed myself.


    "I''m not a noble," I tried to convince Robert.


    "No matter how you feel, you should never try running away from your family. You know there''s lots of bad people in this world!" Robert started to scold me.


    "Besides, you''re wearing a similar design that my younger sister wears. And only nobles can shop at that boutique," Robert sternly faced me like he was indirectly telling me to not take him as a fool.


    Of course, I had to wear this fancy dress outside! I was so used to the fancy outfits I wore in the first district that I naturally wore this dress outside as if it was a downgraded and out-of-fashion dress from the first district.


    ''Why didn''t you steal one of the maid''s uniforms during the morning?'' I reprimanded myself.


    Seeing that there was no other option, I starting to run away from the noble as fast as I could as the noble focused on talking with his colleague. Thankfully, when I stopped to catch my breath, I found myself alone in the streets of the fifth district.


    When I determined that it was safe to walk from here on, I walked towards the direction of the carnival. I saw the royal palace getting closer as the noticeable white marbled walls stood out from the far distance.


    ''I better walk carefully to avoid getting noticed by more nobles and knights,'' I thought as the streets were bound to get more crowded as I got closer to the carnival.

 59 The Carnival 2 - Mills Perspective

    The leaves fluttered down from the trees as the sudden wind came from the direction of a living doll walking around the dark streets alone from the north.


    ''How cute!'' I thought.


    A young girl wearing cute bunny ears with a fluffy red crimson dress that reached her knees held a big puff of cotton candy in one of her hands.


    I hid behind one of the big trees that decorated the walkway as she walked towards my direction.


    ''Hah'' I accidentally gasped.


    Her bright pumpkin eyes narrowed as she looked around her surroundings to search for the sudden sound I made.


    "It must''ve been my imagination," the girl cutely mumbled with her sweet voice.


    The girl flipped her rich vermillion hair as she grabbed another bite of the cotton candy she held under the dull lanterns that lit up from where she was standing.


    "Sweet!" She charmingly exclaimed as her eyes glittered from pleasure after taking a big bite.


    "I wonder if I can sneak this into the first district," She sulked as the size of her cotton candy greatly shrunk after taking a great bite.


    ''Was she a noble?'' I thought.


    Only nobles possessed the fine clothes and features she owned.


    The typical commoner that worked under the sun couldn''t achieve the paleness of her skin nor the fine features of her high defined nose and small heart-shaped lips breed by the delicate noblewomen that were rumored to be sheltered in the castles owned by the noblemen.


    I continued to watch the girl enjoying the loud atmosphere of the carnival from a distance as the merchants sold taffy and big puffs of cotton candy in stalls nearby the main entrance of carnival at the bottom of the hill.


    "It''s a shame how I can''t get more of this," she pouted as she had no more candy left.


    "I wonder why I can''t properly enjoy this festival... Stupid Luke!" She continued mumbling to herself while kicking the lamppost.


    I chuckled from her childish actions as she reminded my of my younger cousin that would beg me for more taffy.


    "Who''s there!" She yelled while pretending to look unafraid.


    "I didn''t watch you intentionally, my lady. I couldn''t find an opening to come out while you were cutely talking to yourself," I got out from my hiding spot.


    I hoped she would forgive me as I heard that nobles were heavily sensitive and fickle around commoners.


    Her eyes widened from bewilderment as my tall figure revealed itself after abandoning the tall trees.


    My neighbors had once said that their first impressions of me were quite intimidating as I was quite tall. My head occasionally bumped into the upper part of the door frame when I didn''t pay full attention to where I walked.


    "Who are you?" The girl stepped back as I stepped toward her.


    "Just a humble commoner," I replied while trying to not scare her.


    The girl started to deliberate on her next actions as she paced back and forth underneath the flickering lantern above her.


    Her fine dress that was decorated with extravagant embroidery fluttered to move with her as her shiny dress shoes clacked in the silent night.


    "You didn''t see me here tonight," She tried to command me after she made her decision.


    "Of course my lady," I bowed down.


    "But since you''re here anyways, would you allow this humble commoner to give you a tour inside the carnival?" I asked while fascinated of her noble appearance.


    I ignored my mother''s teaching that rang inside my head, ''You must never talk to nobles Mill. Nobles are people without any restraints.''


    "Really!" The girl perked up at the mention of the carnival.


    However, her lovely eyes quickly turned heartbroken while she grabbed onto the ends of her dress as she mumbled, "I''m not allowed to talk to people in the fifth district other than the servants in the castle nor go to the carnival."


    The fifth district? Maybe she meant that she was not allowed to talk to peasants in this area.


    But it was intriguing to know that children of nobles weren''t allowed to talk to commoners without receiving permission from their guardians.


    "But if you really insist, I can go on that tour as long as you promise you won''t tell any nobles or knights about me later," The young girl asked me to keep our meeting a secret.


    ''Did this girl run away from her estate to go to the carnival?'' I instantly thought.


    I began to back away from the girl when I thought of the consequences of getting involved with a runaway noble child.


    The girl sadly smiled in response as if she anticipated this would happen.


    Her heartbreaking expression tugged my heart as I recalled the stories of noblewomen being limited in terms of their freedom as they were unable to to leave their estate.


    Unable to see that tragic appearance on her face any longer, I decided that as long as we moved carefully we wouldn''t be discovered anyways.


    "Of course!" I answered after hesitating to take her offer.


    I tried to think that on the bright side, Lily would be so envious that I got to escort a noble lady that resembled one of her dolls she got for her birthday.


    I stopped imagining Lily''s face as I offered my hand to the young girl while kneeling down.


    When the girl accepted my hand, I smiled in response as we started to walk down toward the bottom of the hill.


    Strands of her rich vermillion hair that resembled fine threads made of silk sparkled under the bright streetlights as she looked up at me in a bright smile.


    "Let''s go!" She shouted as she pulled my hand to get away from the faint moonlight and into the bright torches lighting up the carnival.

 60 The Carnival 3

    "Wow!" I gasped.


    The carnival was basically like an outdoor circus as a clown handed out balloons to the children that were commoners while another clown jugged empty bottles of wine.


    A pretty girl walked on the tightrope while she held a big black parasol when I looked up. There were also leashed lions and dogs doing their tricks while the audience excitedly applauded in response.


    "The imperial family pays for the carnival for the commoners every five years," Mill started to explain.


    "Everything here is free?" I asked him when I smelled an aroma of various meat being grilled.


    "Pretty much." Mill sheepishly grinned.


    "Then let''s go there first!" I excitedly pointed to the stalls that sold junk food.


    "Hello, young lady!" A merchant gave out his business smile.


    The merchant gestured to the pile of variations of grilled meat near the fire. There was pork, chicken and boar meat shining from its delicious greasiness.


    "Two of each!" I shouted.


    "Are you sure?" The merchant was dumbfounded when he looked at my luxurious clothes.


    "Then make that three," I sulked when the merchant reluctantly gave me the food.


    "I didn''t think you would eat the food that we eat," Mill commented on my large appetite when I finished eating all the meat.


    Mill looked surprised when I ate more than ten sticks of boar meat, five candy apples and tons of taffy.


    "I don''t get to eat these stuff where I live. I have to eat dull food like salmon, steak, fruits and salads," I complained to Mill.


    "Those are luxurious food," Mill remained composed as if he expected my answer.


    "But these are what really tastes good," I replied after eating more taffy.


    "Well, I wouldn''t know since I''m not a noble like you," Mill teasingly answered me.


    "I''m not a noble!" I unintentionally shouted.


    "Well, you live in a castle, have maids attend to you and dress in extravagant clothing. So you can''t be a commoner," Mill handed me another stick of meat.


    "Well, you don''t have to be a noble to have those things," I refuted as I chewed on the juicy boar meat.


    "Right..." Mill replied with clear disbelief.


    Still holding three sticks of food in my hands, Mill and I went to see the magic show next. I desperately tried to hold my laughter when I spotted all the hidden mechanisms behind the magician''s tricks.


    However, the crowd cheered loudly each time they got surprised from the tricks. Even Mill had his eyes glued onto the stage as the white doves flew out the magician''s hat.


    ''Wait when you see people that do real magic!'' I thought as the people of the fifth district were unfortunate to not know the existence of mana.


    "Where do you want to go next?" Mill asked me when we already went to most of the shows in the carnival.


    "Maybe-"


    Robert went up to the podium and stopped the show of the fake magician. "I have an announcement to make," Robert declared.


    Robert was in his military uniform which clearly displayed his authority. It was known among the commoners that only nobles wore the elite uniform of the royal palace guards.


    The commoners went silent as they bowed down to the noble. The children that once excitedly yelled as they played in the moonlight went silent as well. They fearfully clung onto their parents as if they have done something horribly wrong. The fun atmosphere had disappeared as the serious tone of the noble replaced it.


    "There is a missing child that we are looking for from the Suilett family. She should be around eleven years old and possess long vermillion hair with pumpkin orange eyes. She should also be wearing a crimson red dress." Robert ended his announcement.


    "The poor archduke and his family!" a person whispered.


    "Wasn''t there a girl with that description that passed by us earlier?" another person whispered in the crowd.


    "It can''t be her! A noble doesn''t eat our poor food," another person responded back.


    ''Damn! I knew I should have ran as soon as I saw that noble. Now, Luke and Cillian have figured out I snuck out of the castle earlier than they originally would have,'' I despised the noble patrolling the night market.


    "Is there a place where I can change clothes?" I softly whispered into Mill''s ears as we ducked down while walking to cover ourselves inside the large crowd.


    I was thankful that Mill''s tall height was able to cover me inside the crowd of commoners. Mill silently brought me to a stall with poorly made costumes as his response as if he had no other choice from the noble''s announcement.


    The stall owner was nowhere to be seen. Maybe he was among those people gathered around the podium in fear. The stall was empty, but still full of simple outfits that reminded me of what I wore in my past life when I went out.


    I abandoned my luxurious dress for a short plain romper and covered myself with a large maroon cloak. The other parts of the carnival was empty due to everyone gathered near the entrance.


    "We should go to the haunted house," I suggested to Mill.


    The haunted house was the only event we didn''t go yet due to its bad rumors.


    "We''re planning to go to the haunted house next," I mentioned to the merchant who was selling caramel apples.


    The merchant quickly hid his tiny objection from his brief frown.


    "Are you travellers?" The merchant instantly asked.


    I nodded as I wondered if there was something wrong with the haunted house.


    "The haunted house is known to be the worst attraction. That''s why nobody goes," The merchant whispered as he looked around to see if anyone was listening.


    I opened the grand doors of the haunted house. The house was styled as a mini mansion while its decorations were excessively abundant but uncleaned.


    The entire house looked filthy due to its low maintenance. Some parts of the wallpaper were torn near the top of the wall and dirtied to the extent that you could not see its original colour. It was no wonder that nobody bothered to visit since the quality was so bad compared to the other events in the carnival.


    "You were from the Suilett family," Mill accused me when we were finally alone inside a poor haunted house.


    "It''s not like the Suilett family are important nobles," I pulled the curtains to cover the window.


    "They are! The Suilett family is one of the three archdukes of this empire," Mill almost yelled like he felt betrayed.


    I sighed as I decided to give Mill a little bit of the truth.


    "First of all, it''s true that I am not a noble." I started off to calm Mill down.


    Mill started to freak out instead as he didn''t believe my words after hearing the announcement.


    "My fianc¨¦ is the younger brother-in-law to the heiress to the Suilett family as well as the heir to the Roselia family. But since I am not married to him yet, I am not associated with any of these titles." I carefully explained to not reveal anything about the first district.


    Mill stared back at me with pure astonishment as his eyes widened.


    "That''s even worse. It is well known that the Roselia family are powerful archdukes of the Great Weronberg Empire!" Mill stumbled into the wall from fear.


    * * *


    I stared back to the beautiful doll-like creature in front of me.


    The poor clothes she wore could not unmask her raw beauty as she stood out with her luscious flowing hair and smooth hands. A commoner would never have soft hands as hers as they would have small scars or worn out hands from doing hard manual labour to live.


    The clothes she wore looked out of place compared to the stunning dress that captured all the gazes of the people passing by. She claimed that she wasn''t a noble, but her fianc¨¦''s family was clearly one of the most powerful figures in the world.


    Even though Roselia family were foreign nobles, they were well-known in the empire due to their powerful influence and connections to our empire. I wondered why she was fierce with her denial of being a noble when it was common sense that if you were engaged to a noble, it was good as already being married to them.


    "What are we going to do?" I started to panic as I paced back and forth, making the floors creak.


    "Just don''t get discovered," the young noble girl casually shrugged.


    She had showed no fear in her eyes, but displayed confidence instead.


    "My fianc¨¦''s family is just overreacting as usual," she added to convince me.


    Overreacting was an exaggeration. Other nobles usually used their own resources to find their runaway children even though it rarely happened. Even commoners knew that nobles did not dare to use the imperial family''s help for their family affairs unless it was a great problem that would significantly affect the empire.


    However, seeing that her fianc¨¦''s family used the imperial family''s power with no hesitation meant that the girl in front of me was a very important figure. I trembled as my mind went blank.


    What would happen to me and my family once they figured out I was with her for almost the entire night?

 61 Rebels 1

    Mill trembled with a bit of fear in his eyes as he tried to decide what to do.


    "The Suilett family is extremely powerful inside the capitol. They''ll find us in no time so I''m sorry but I think we''ll have to separate here," Mill apologized.


    I smiled to show him that I was fine.


    "It''s fine, thanks for giving me a tour." I agreed with Mill since I knew the consequences would be far more serious for him being seen with me rather than me getting caught alone.


    Mill reluctantly left the cold and desolate haunted house as I remained alone to think of my next plan.


    ''What should I do?'' I thought under the fake spider webs made from coarse white thread on the first floor.


    I walked up the stairs to find a better hiding place so that no one would report me to the noble that made the announcement. I glanced out the window to check the situation to see a large search party of nobles taking charge of the commoners and knights to find me.


    With no other choice, I continued to explore the desolate rooms of the haunted house. The rooms was filled with broken and old furniture, puffs of dust bunnies and spider webs at its corners.


    The candles were all void of flames, making the whole floor appear as if it was engulfed into darkness. I stopped walking when I noticed a faint light coming from one of the rooms.


    "That new heir that is in charge of this territory is an absolute tyrant!" A person whispered.


    A group of ten people sat down on the broken chairs and couches that was arranged into a circle inside the dark room faintly lit by a single candle.


    "I don''t have much money left over to feed my children after paying the increased amount of taxes!" Another person complained.


    "That''s why I kept telling you that we should try to overthrow our Lord or else we will have to starve this winter," another person explained.


    "So another noble can replace him?" a person scoffed.


    ''So they''re planning a rebellion!'' I thought from their conversation.


    Clack! Clunk!


    I accidently bumped into the door while focusing on their conversation as the group of people gathered in the room turned to find me in the doorway as I revealed myself.


    "I''m not anyone suspicious, I''m here because I agree," I cautiously started off as I took few steps back.


    ''It''s just a little girl,'' the people in the room sighed in relief.


    "So why are you really here? Especially in abandoned place like here," the leader asked with his eyes narrowed and arms crossed.


    ''They may help me escape from the search party if I pretend to be one of them,'' I instantly planned.


    "I actually escaped from a noble''s captivity and now I''m currently in hiding from them," I said with the most heartbreaking expression.


    The group of people looked unconvinced even with my plain commoner clothes I wore.


    The jewel beads were hardly noticeable under the dim moonlight of the dreary night. They only reflected the shards of sunlight that displayed their incredible brilliance in the daytime.


    "I''m only a pet," I tried to display that this was my owner''s preference.


    "My master does this to prevent me from interacting with my fellow commoners like you," I pulled out my final weapon.


    Tears slid down my face as I acted like I was in need of desperate help. Unable to stay cold to me anymore, the people melted under my acting. I guessed my acting was getting better these days due to begging Luke to shorten those study sessions.


    "I told you these nobles are scums! Look what they do to a little child!" A member angrily yelled after my sudden tears.


    The other members stayed silent as they hesitated to help.


    "And the war is making my master more stressed out nowadays," I emphasized possible hints of abuse.


    "Yea, I did hear from my friend''s daughter that''s a palace maid that a war may start." Another member admitted.


    "Who doesn''t know that wars are expensive! At this rate, the nobles may raise the taxes again." Another member complained.


    "Can I suggest something?" I asked them carefully as I began to sit down on one of the broken couches.


    The group members nodded as if they were entering into a transaction whether to help me out.


    "How about you start a ''civil war'' to re-elect a better leader among your people that you know that you can trust?" I advised based on my knowledge of the system of ''democracy'' in my past life and the third district.


    The group members appeared initially surprised as they gasped and whispered among themselves from discovering a foreign notion that they never have heard before.


    "You can get donations like you give to the church to get more funding. These are people who agree with you but don''t want to get deeply involved," I revealed more aspects of my idea.


    "You''re pretty smart for a little kid," the leader complimented me.


    ''Pretty smart for a child in the fifth district,'' I thought as children in the first district were exceptionally smart to survive in the school system.


    "So please help me escape from the nobles and in return I can give you more details about the idea I gave you," I proposed a deal.


    "Of course, you''re just a victim like us," A member sympathized with me to get more details about the idea I thought of.


    "It can''t be helped that us commoners have no power against the nobles. Us commoners have to stick together!" Another member tried to extort more information from me.


    "We''ll go now," A member put on her worn-out cloak.


    When we almost made it to the entrance of the carnival, the people still crowded near the podium. The sounds of laughter and cheers were replaced with tension as the royal family came to make an announcement as they stood at the same place where Robert was before.


    "We can''t leave without looking suspicious," A member that was helping me escape commented.


    I was wearing a long cloak with a large hood from the costume store to cover my face and statue. Without having any other choice, a member of the rebellion group and I walked towards the large crowd to mingle among the people.


    "We can leave once the royal family leaves the podium," the member explained as I looked increasingly more worried.


    When I looked up to face the royal family, I found Lucius and Belle standing ten steps back from the shadow of the royal family. Lucius changed into a horrible shirt decorated with frills and laces that was couldn''t be covered with his navy blazer. While Belle wore her terribly luxurious dress that drifted down to her ankles as usual.


    ''Since I''m near the last few rows of the large crowd, there''s no way they''ll notice me!'' I thought.


    However, when I took another glance at Lucius and Belle, I met Lucius''s line of sight like he was able to find me inside the large crowd.


    ''I have to leave now or else I might be dragged back into the castle!'' I panicked.


    I tugged the member''s sleeve as I pointed that the noble may have found me in the crowd.


    "We have to run now!" I whispered with fear.

 62 Rebels 2

    "Here''s some dinner," a rebel handed me a piece of hard burnt bread at her place.


    Her place was modest but cosy. I sat down on a short wooden stool while my plate of bread was on the small dark wooden table.


    Three wax candles lit up her place in the living and dining room where the spaces weren''t separated. There were no decorations to be seen and many items of furniture or small gimmicks were there more out of necessity than any other reason.


    I hesitantly accepted the bread as I thought that these people were amazing for being able to thrive under such a nasty environment.


    "You can stay at my house for a few days since you don''t have a place to stay," the rebel suggested.


    "What about the activities of the rebel group?" I asked carefully.


    "We''re meeting tomorrow night." The rebel showed me around her house.


    When I yawned from being tired from sneaking out in the middle of the early night, the rebel showed me to the bedroom.


    "My younger sister went to visit our parents at my home town, so you can stay here." The rebel left me alone thinking that I was greatly exhausted from my escape from the tyrannical nobles.


    Once the rebel left, I dropped onto the bed with no hesitation as the exhaustion as taken a toll on me.


    I didn''t care that the mattress was not the ones that I was used to.


    There was no white clean cloths nor the high quality stuffing of feathers filling the mattress.


    That''s how I woke up the next evening with a great lack of sleep with the mattress filled with straws. The dazzling warm rays of orange and red sun light drifted in from my window to display the sun setting down to transition deeper into the night.


    ''This is just like that medieval room I had to sleep in at the beginning of middle school,'' I thought as my back ached from the lack of cushioning.


    I couldn''t stop waking up every hour due to the occasional straws poking me from the holes in the cloth that covered the mattress.


    I never thought I would become so spoiled by living with the elites in the first district.


    I was struggling to live as a commoner in the fifth district.


    "I didn''t think you''d wake up," the rebel handed me another piece of rotten looking bread.


    The hard bread had slight colouring of green and black on its edges.


    "Thank you, umm I don''t know your name," I admitted while I placed the bread gently on the plate.


    "My name is Jinny," Jinny looked tired with baggy eyes while she slouched onto the table.


    "You look really tired today," I commented while wondering if she would notice if I put the bread back into her basket where other rotten bread were stored.


    "I had to move carefully today because there were more knights and nobles in this particular neighborhood today to search for a spoiled runaway noble girl from the Suilett family," Jinny complained.


    "That must have been hard," I avoided her eyes from my guilt as I remained ignorant that I was the runaway noble girl.


    "It seems like that girl takes things for granted. If she knew that her family let her have great luxuries from their extravagant spending that commoners never be able to afford, she wouldn''t be causing trouble for all of us," Jinny continued as she frowned.


    "Maybe it isn''t as good as you may think it is to be a noble, nobles have tons of restricted freedom. Especially young noble children," I added to unconsciously defend myself.


    I recalled how Luke strict and limited my freedom in where I could go in terms of places that I could eat, shop, and spend my leisure time in. Occasionally, when Luke thought my behaviour was too ''unladylike of the Roselia family'', he would lecture me for several hours.


    "It''s true that I have rarely seen young noble children," Jinny agreed that young noble children had restricted freedom in where they could go.


    "Since, you''re look very tired, I can help with the chores since you''re letting me stay here for free," I offered Jinny as I tried to switch the topic.


    "Thanks," Jinny groaned as she went to her bedroom to relax before the meeting with the other rebels started.


    ''What should I do first?'' I thought.


    I grabbed a broomstick to start getting rid of the huge amount of dust gathered on the floor. This made me recall the days where I helped make dinner with my mom before I started high school.


    ''Mom,'' I sadly thought as the dust was arranged into a large pile to be sweeped outside.


    ''I''m sorry that I couldn''t live a long life that you wanted me too,'' I started to do the dishes by rinsing them in a buckle full of water of the well that Jinny had brought with her.


    I scrubbed the dishes with a raggy dishcloth and wiped the table with the remaining water.


    I wasn''t surprised that there would be a group of rebels after seeing how poorly Jinny lived compared to the luxurious environment of Belle''s castle.


    "Who is it?" I asked when I heard the loud knocks on the door of the house.

 63 Rebels 3

    "It''s me," the leader of the rebels replied back.


    The leader wore a similar outfit as Mill. Did all commoners wear the same thing? It was almost like a uniform as everyone had the same patches on the elbows and stains causing the original colour to fade away.


    I hesitantly opened the door to find all the rebels waiting to conduct their meeting in Jinny''s house.


    The rebels came into the house as I secretly sulked that the floors would get messy again from the mud on their boots.


    My satisfaction from turning the house into a somewhat livable place shattered as the floor was now littered with dust from their coats.


    "Jinny is still sleeping," I ran to Jinny''s bedroom to wake her up.


    However, Jinny opened her door loudly as she rubbed her eyes.


    "I''m up," Jinny came out of her bedroom while scratching her head.


    We gathered around the dining room table as Jinny got out some more wooden stools.


    "It''s confirmed that the empire is preparing for a war," the leader solemnly announced.


    ''They were still in their negotiation stages so technically they weren''t really preparing for a war yet,'' I couldn''t tell them.


    "What should we do now?" Another member asked with bit of fear.


    The room was filled with fearful people from the announcement as some trembled and others tried to encourage their fellow members that it wasn''t as bad as it seemed.


    "We start taking things seriously?" A member suggested.


    "At this rate, the empire may start mandatory conscription of our young children!" Another member agreed with a hint of anger.


    "How about we start off with that donation idea first?" I gave out my best business smile.


    I became the centre of attention as the leader waved his hand to indicate for me to continue.


    "There are three aspects to this plan," I started off confidently.


    ''Time to utilize few things I''ve learned in the first district,'' I thought.


    "The first one is to spread the message that we need and are accepting donations for our cause."


    "And how are we going to do that?" The leader asked me as if to prove my worth.


    "You can just tell your family members and ask them to pass them to their relatives and their relatives can pass it onto more people. But you do need to careful that you don''t tell anyone that works near the nobles as they can tell the news to the nobles they work for."


    "But how do we know that?" The leader crossed his arms as he demanded a more concrete plan.


    "Make a subtle message when asking for donations such that people that work for nobles will never understand it even if they get the message. Like something that only people who live like you would understand," I finished presenting the first aspect of my plan.


    "Like what?" Another member asked me with disbelief.


    "Like please donate for better bread-"


    "You don''t seem like a commoner at all! You speak like a noble and insult the life we live!" The rebel revealed my faults.


    The other rebels started to whisper among themselves as they became more suspicious of me.


    I guessed that Luke''s constant naggings did work to a certain extent. I was unconsciously acting like the lady of the Roselia family as I acted the same as I did in school.


    I pulled out my most innocent face as I pretended to be the most clueless person in the world.


    "My master have educated me in the past," I revealed as if I had no idea that commoners didn''t speak this way.


    "I never got to interact with my fellow commoners so i thought we all spoke this way," I explained that my long isolation has caused me to turn out this way.


    My explanation clearly didn''t work as most of the rebels looked at me with clear disbelief.


    "If our bread seemed so bad to you, why did you leave your master in the first place?" Another rebel mockingly asked me.


    ''The bread was essentially not edible with mold growing on the edges,'' I contained my rage.


    "I wanted freedom." I revealed my true intentions.


    I wanted to be out of that damn castle where the maids and the knights reported back to Cillian and Luke almost every minute. I was rarely left alone as I even had a guard outside my door throughout the entire night.


    "I wanted to wear the clothes I wanted to wear and eat the food I wanted to eat. I also wanted to go where I wanted to go," I almost yelled with determination.


    My face was drenched with tears streaming down from my anger and frustration.


    "You don''t understand. You never not had the freedom where you were restricted in doing almost everything," I complained to the rebels.


    "I understand," Jinny tried to calm me down as she rubbed my back.


    The rebels no longer accused me of being a noble from my sincere tears as they stopped with the whispering.


    They didn''t know or couldn''t understand what I would trade for in exchange for more freedom in what I could do.


    "Then what about the second aspect of your plan?" The leader tried to change the subject.


    The leader tried to remove the dreary atmosphere inside the house from my sudden explosion of emotions.

 64 Imperial Palace 1

    "Don''t think that trick will work again," Robert evilly grinned as he quickly caught up to me and grabbed onto my hand with a strong grip.


    I leaned against Robert as I toppled from the sudden stop. Unfortunately, Robert took this chance to take off my hood.


    "It is you," Robert sighed in relief as he finally found the missing runaway noble girl that he desperately searched for the last few days.


    "Of course it''s me," I sarcastically commented while pointing out the typical commoner clothes I wore.


    Robert ignored me as he dragged me inside the typical carriage that merchants traveled in.


    The carriage had drab wooden walls and floor. Since it was meant to hold cargo rather than people, the seats were roughly made with planks of wood hammered into each other.


    "We''re going to the imperial palace," Robert told the carriage driver.


    "This is really pointless, what if they discover I''m not the girl you''re looking for?" I pretended to worry for him.


    "Then I''ll just escort you back to the market," Robert shrugged.


    With no other choice, I sat down on the bench as the driver pulled the reins of the horses. I pretended to look excited as if I was riding in a vehicle for the first time to show Robert I was truly a commoner.


    "This carriage is really luxurious, is this how nobles usually live?" I tried to make small talk while thinking that there was no way nobles would ride in this kind of carriage.


    Robert stayed silent to observe my movements rather than to continue the conversation.


    "Am I not allowed to talk to nobles as a mere commoner?" I asked like I made a great mistake.


    Robert frowned as he continued to stay silent until we arrived in front of the royal palace.


    "Of course not lady Rika," Robert finally answered me as he offered me his hand when it was time to get off the carriage.


    I ignored the hand in front of me and jumped off the carriage on my own.


    "I''m just a mere peasant, so I don''t know the etiquette of nobles," I continued my act.


    Robert ignored me to introduce me to the palace guards.


    The palace guards wore a simple military uniform colored red and gray that represented the national colors of the empire. They held tall spears and thin armory to appear intimidating.


    "This is lady Rika, you are to make sure that she never leaves the gates during her stay," Robert commanded the guards.


    The guards saluted as they accepted the command while Robert dragged me to the outer part of the palace where there were waiting rooms for visiting nobles.


    The waiting room was more luxurious than the room I stayed in Belle''s castle. There was the usual suite with a bedroom, living room, dressing room and a connecting room for the servants to stay in. However, the rooms were filled with various high quality decorations of fabric for the bedding and curtains.


    "Captain, there is an urgent request sent by the fourth prince that needs to be fulfilled immediately." The palace guard heaved from delivering the message as fast as he possibly could.


    Robert sighed as he deliberated on what to do.


    "You are to wait here until your guardians pick you up," Robert warned me as he started to lock the room from outside as he made the decision to quickly serve the fourth prince.


    I felt thankful that these guards were more negligent than the ones in Belle''s castle. I opened the grand windows after making sure that Robert was a great distance from the room to find that I would be easily be able to escape from the room since I was in the first floor.


    I stepped into the rim of the window and perfectly hopped onto the over side.


    ''Now where should I go?'' I deliberated on the best escape path.


    I started to walk through the same passageway that Robert took me when dragging me to the room from using my memory.


    "Lady Rika," a palace guard that was introduced to me by Robert bowed when he spotted me walking casually in the hallway.


    "What''s with my bad luck today?" I groaned in complaint.


    I quickly ran away from the palace guard with panic before the guard could react.


    When I finally stopped running due to the lack of energy from not eating enough at Jinny''s house, I found myself in the middle of a maze made from large hedges and bushes of flowers.


    ''Must be another grand garden,'' I mindlessly thought.


    "Are you the runaway girl that was brought back?" A soft voice came from behind.


    I turned back to find a young boy wearing the similar luxurious clothes that Luke wore in the third district.


    He wore a shiny suit made from the softest silk that was covered by a thick white velvet cape.


    "Who are you?" I asked with suspicion.


    "I am the crown prince of the Crugren Kingdom," he replied.


    ''What was the crown prince of the Crugren Kingdom doing here? Isn''t that the country that is trying to declare war on the empire?'' I became confused.


    "I''m here because of pre-war negotiations," he answered my question.


    The young boy didn''t look older than thirteen. I started to look carefully around my surroundings to see that I had interrupted his tea time with a full tea set on a round marble table behind me.


    "Then let''s make a deal," I proposed to him as I thought it was the perfect chance to escape the palace with the help of a royal.


    "You help me escape the palace and I''ll offer you advice on war in return," I confidently offered him a deal.

 65 Imperial Palace 2

    "I will politely decline your offer," the prince bowed in return of a apology.


    "What! Why?" I yelled at him.


    "You look like you are about two years younger than me. In addition, you may negatively impact the pre-war negotiations if it is known that I have helped you to escape as it seems your guardian must be an important noble of the empire with the extensive search party sent out for you." the prince listed reasons why it wasn''t feasible.


    "Number one, I''m just a mere commoner mistaken for the runaway noble. Number two, I''m willing to give you free advice and it''s up to you whether you can take it or not." I countered back.


    ''There was a reason why people came up with the idea of a free trial. After offering the sweet piece of goodies to the new customer, the possibility of them actually buying the product afterwards goes up,'' I praised myself for the plan I came up with.


    The prince offered me a chair to sit down as if he was giving me the chance to show that I had something valuable to offer him.


    I naturally sat down elegantly with proper posture drilled in from a young age from the constant scoldings from Luke.


    "Instead of war, you can ask the empire for help in exchange for taking on debt." I started off.


    "What if the empire chooses to demand the debt to be fulfilled by giving up the territory of the kingdom?" The prince asked as if it was a foolish idea.


    "After your fields become more fertile while the empire struggles from eventually the same problem, you can fulfill the debt by offering them food. It''s all in what you put into the contract." I concluded.


    "What if our fields never become fertile?" he questioned.


    "If you put specific words in the contract that the debt shall only be fulfilled through the exchange of the same service, then it will not matter. Of course, the empire may request an unconditional alliance and loyalty when the empire enters into a war with the other great powers." I responded confidently.


    This kind of stuff was ingrained into me ever since kindergarten.


    ''The hell-like education system in the first district is finally becoming useful,'' I thought again.


    The prince looked impressed as he stayed silent with glittering eyes of hope instilled within him as he started to plan how to put more things in his country''s favor during the negotiation.


    "Then what if-"


    "You''ll have to help me escape the palace," I cut him off to remind him of my proposal.


    Before the prince could answer, he suddenly stiffened as I felt a warm hand on my shoulder from a person behind me.


    "Thank you for looking after my younger sister," Lucius greeted the prince politely.


    "You must be mistaken," I shoved Lucius'' hand away from me.


    "No, I''m sure I have the right person Rika." Lucius faced me as he greatly resembled Luke at this moment.


    Once Lucius had locked the door behind him, he sat on the armchair in the living room as he gestured me to sit across from him.


    "Luke doesn''t like to talk about you during our family reunions at home." Lucius started off.


    ''So what?'' I thought as I crossed my legs.


    "Image is really important in the first district so Luke tries to cover for you even though we already know all the rumors that have been circling around in our inner circle."


    "And you are telling me this because..." I tilted my head from Lucius'' strange comments.


    "I want you to know how Luke, Belle and I were really worried about you during the last few days," Lucius smiled with grief.


    "The situation has gotten worse as the rebels are taking action that greatly heightens the emergence of a civil war on top of a war with the desperate Crugan Kingdom." Lucius explained the situation of the fifth district.


    I couldn''t face Lucius'' sincere worry from the guilt that I helped the rebels come up with the idea of a civil war.


    However, seeing the poor conditions that the rebels lived in, I didn''t regret giving hope to the rebels for a better life that what they currently suffered through.


    "We feared that you were captured by the rebels if not even worse people in the fifth district." Lucius waited for me to answer what I was doing while they were busy looking for me.


    "I just explored the carnival... I was bored staying inside the castle with nothing to do," I looked down.


    "I know you were at the carnival, but I was wondering what you were doing afterwards," Lucius eerily smiled back in response.


    "You know this wouldn''t have happened if you let me explore the fifth district instead of confining me up in the castle," I avoided his question.


    "Of course I would like you to explore the fifth district if not for the dangerous circumstances," Lucius looked annoyed that he wasn''t getting through to me.


    Suddenly, there was someone knocking on the door.


    "The emperor requests you to attend an urgent war meeting," the messenger announced through the door.


    Lucius groaned as he summoned a full army of knights before going off to the meeting room.


    "Please escort my sister to my house," Lucius commanded them quickly and sternly.


    When Lucius couldn''t keep the emperor waiting any longer, he entrusted the knights to keep me from escaping the carriage going back to Belle''s castle.


    Robert, as the captain of the royal knights, grabbed my arm.


    "Let''s get going, lady Rika." Robert rudely dragged me to the carriage.


    ''Did he really have to summon a whole army of knights!'' I thought with utter amazement of the pure distrust Lucius had for me.

 66 Prewar Operations 1

    I found myself at the other side of the big gates of Belle''s dreary castle.


    "Lady Rika!" The head maid spotted me in filthy commoner clothes from my great adventure in the carnival.


    "Let''s get you changed," The head maid pushed me towards my suite in the castle as the other maids made preparations for me take a bath.


    I soaked in the familiar hot water with flower petals inside that gave off a great scent. The servants carefully washed my hair with luxurious oils and detangled the hideous mess that was the result of staying in Jinny''s house for a few days.


    Before meeting Luke and Cillian in the big meeting room in the castle, the servants helped me change into lacy yellow dress that reached my knees that was had great volume with a great amount of frills.


    "We could have met in the dining room as usual," I complained to Luke and Cillian.


    "We decided to meet here since you don''t seem to understand the perilous situation in the fifth district," Luke gestured me to sit beside him.


    I sat down on the chair that was furthest away from him as the table was big enough to fit twenty chairs.


    Luke got up and moved his stuff to sit beside me in response as he abandoned Cillian that sat a long way across from us.


    "So what is this meeting for?" I glanced at both Cillian and Luke.


    "The teleportation gate in the castle will have enough power to get us to the first district at midnight," Cillian started off.


    "I suggest for us to stay near the teleportation gate for the rest of the day today so we can use the gate as soon as it is ready for activation." Cillian proposed to Luke as if he was hinting to us get out of here before I got into more trouble.


    Luke nodded to indicate that he agreed with the plan.


    Since the meeting was over, I got up to head to the kitchen.


    However, Luke followed me into the kitchen with me as he tightly held my hand as if he could lose me anytime.


    "Why are you following me?" I asked Luke when he followed me into the garden, my room and finally the kitchen.


    "I left you alone for a minute and you were gone for three days!" Luke dispelled his worry and anger towards me.


    "You know this wouldn''t have happened if you let me out of the castle for like a minute," I countered back.


    "You know how dangerous the fifth district is right now!" Luke yelled back the same words as Lucius.


    "Here''s your strawberry pie, lady Rika." A kitchen maid interrupted us.


    I thanked the servant as Luke carried my strawberry pie while dragging me into a private room.


    "Why do you care about me so much?" I questioned Luke while recalling what Lucius said to me earlier this morning.


    I still didn''t believe that I would have to marry Luke in the future as most partners did in the first district. I originally came from the third district anyways and all the partners that married each other came from the first district.


    "It''s because you are part of my family. I care for you and clean up after all your messes because we''re a family together," Luke answered as if it was the most obvious thing.


    "I know you don''t fully understand this concept yet and I don''t blame you because you''re not originally from the first district. However, I hope that someday, you will," Luke sadly smiled.


    I could not stay angry at Luke, even though I have resented him for having to follow his strict standards of the ''lady of the Roselia house'' before. He honestly thought that I was already part of the Roselia family and I couldn''t deny it.


    I stayed in his house for the holidays when I couldn''t go back to the third district. We almost spent all our free time together in school and Roselia was already the middle part of my full name.


    I looked outside the window to put an end to our awkward conversation as I saw a faint wall of smoke coming from outside.


    ''Is that smoke I''m smelling?'' I glanced at Luke as he agreed the sudden smell of smoke was strong.


    A frantic knock from a servant confirmed our suspicions.


    "Lady Rika and young master Luke, you must evacuate from the castle! There is a fire in the northern part of the servants corner." The servant yelled from the other side of the door.


    When we ran out the room, the fire had engulfed the entire part of the northern section where we currently were.


    I coughed from the smoke as Luke tried to calmly guide me outside while quickly looking for the safest exits as he grabbed tightly onto my hand.


    Since we were in such a precarious situation, I used my mana to form oxygen bubbles around our heads so that we wouldn''t suffer from the smoke.


    Luke and I tumbled onto the ground as Luke pushed me to the side to avoid a wooden beam that was falling down from above that supported the infrastructure of the castle.


    Gradually, more wooden beams swallowed by the fire came toppling down from above while we almost made it to the exit.


    "Rika!" Luke screamed in terror as he aggressively pulled my hand to pull me out of the castle.


    I looked up to see a wooden beam engulfed in fire that was not even a half a metre away from my head just above the exit.

 67 Prewar Operations 2

    "That could have been close," Jinny sighed in relief.


    Jinny chopped the wooden beam in half with her long sword.


    The remains of the beam clunked onto the floor as Luke secretly used his mana to put out a small fire on the beam with great desperation and fear.


    Luke always sticked to the rules of not using mana in the other districts as the consequences were very severe and serious if citizens of the other districts found out that mana existed.


    The action of Luke using his mana right in front of Jinny surprised me as he was going against his own values.


    "Why...how are you here Jinny?" I asked Jinny of her sudden appearance.


    "To rescue you, of course," Jinny brightly grinned while tucking her sword away.


    Both Luke and Cillian eerily smiled at me when finding out the reason for the fire.


    ''Like how was I supposed to know that they would light up the castle?'' I silently glanced back at them.


    "It wasn''t easy lighting up the castle when security was heightened more than usual," Jinny casually continued while she shrugged.


    Jinny stepped closer to me as she expected me to quickly come to her side, but Luke interfered as he stepped forward to block me from Jinny''s view.


    "How do you know Rika?" Luke asked Jinny politely in a protective stance towards her as he faced Jinny in front of me and Cillian.


    "You''re her captors. We all know how commoners easily become victims of nobles like you," Jinny fiercely rolled her eyes.


    Jinny wore a short dress made of poor fabric and a apron to go with it. Her wooden shoes looked terribly uncomfortable as it didn''t look like it was her size.


    "I''m afraid you have terribly misunderstood the situation here. Rika is a pure noble." Luke replied with a huge sigh.


    Luke gave Cillian a short apologetic glance as Cillian forgave him with a sincere smile like it couldn''t be helped.


    "That doesn''t make sense," Jinny stuttered as she dropped her sword onto the ground.


    Jinny looked like her world came crashing down as she turned to denial. Jinny quickly helped herself up after she collapsed onto the ground from the unexpected fact.


    "Why would a privileged noble like her help us rebel against the empire?" Jinny argued while looking unconvinced that I was a noble as she placed her hands on her hips.


    "Rika is an unique child even among the nobles," Cillian carefully explained under Luke''s watchful eyes.


    "I''m not a noble-" I screamed in denial.


    I really wasn''t a noble. I was just a normal girl who came from the third district who somehow went to school in the first district.


    I was still in denial that I wasn''t a person from the first district. As long as I was in denial, I could convince myself that I wouldn''t have to go experience all the heavy responsibilities that the elites from the first district went though.


    "My parents always gives me more work during vacation than I do during school," Ellen complained.


    Shelly and I were sleeping over at Ellen''s mansion after the last day of social week. Ellen''s room was decorated with pastel blue tones.


    Instead of giving off an luxurious feel from the room, Ellen''s room looked relatively modern and minimalistic. It had a huge king sized bed and a small coffee table as the main furniture while the other parts of the room were decorated with a cozy rug and pictures on the wall.


    Shelly and I were lying on Ellen''s bed while going through the picture albums compiled from the school.


    Since we had been separated from our parents at a young age to focus on school, the school made these picture albums for the parents to let them know the how their child was performing at school.


    Most of these pictures were taken discretely from the advanced technology of the first district.


    "My parents got mad after seeing this picture!" Ellen pointed to the picture that was taken when we were in elementary school.


    In the photo, Shelly, Ellen and I were in our usual cafe. We were enjoying our usual cakes and tea while we complained about school.


    Now thinking about it, nothing really changed from elementary school. Except that we now had the ability to go on ''missions'' and that Miliana and Charles had joined our class.


    "Same with my parents. They complained why I wasn''t studying during that time instead," Shelly smiled sadly.


    "Why are all parents in the first district so strict anyways?" I asked curiously.


    Whenever I got the chance to call my parents, all they worried about was if I was faring well in school or if I was healthy.


    They were never extremely concerned about my grades, but somehow they mentioned many times how grateful they were, since Luke seemed really reliable when they talked about my grades.


    "Well, we are future leaders of the first leader and we have to worthy enough to be able to lead many people that put their trust in us," Ellen groaned.


    "And that means we have to work much harder than others," Shelly miserably added.


    "I''m thankful that I''m not part of this," I commented while flipping through the album.


    "What do you mean Rika?" Shelly tilted her head in confusion.


    "Well, I''m not originally from the first district so it doesn''t apply to me?" I said as a question at the end when both Shelly and Ellen looked more puzzled.


    "But you''re engaged to Luke and that means you''re a part of this as much as we are," Ellen answered as if it was a fact.


    "Stop joking!" I laughed heavily in denial.


    "Rika seems tired today," Cillian laughed at my ''joke'' as Luke glared at me fiercely to resolve this ''misunderstanding''.


    "He means the only sane noble," I put a positive twist to my actions.


    "I... have to report back to the leader," Jinny blushed and ran away.


    I felt guilty that Jinny and the others all this way to come ''rescue'' me as I avoided her line of sight.


    Jinny was the only one to truly believe that I was not a noble when all the other rebels were suspicious of me.


    "Abandon the plan!" Jinny abruptly ordered the rebels.


    "What''s happening?" A rebel questioned while running up to Jinny.


    The other rebels looked confused as they glanced at each other like they were asking if anyone of them knew what had happened.


    "There''s a error in our plans," Jinny announced to the rebels.


    "See, I knew she was a noble from the start." A rebel complained to Jinny.


    The other rebels nodded as they obeyed Jinny''s orders with the same complaints as they quickly withdrew from the castle.


    After a few minutes, Cillian, Luke and I were left alone in a place full of rubble.

 68 Prewar Operations 3

    I faced the roof of my bed in the familiar guest room I was in a few days earlier when I was locked in by Robert.


    Since the castle wasn''t fit for habitation anymore ever since the northern quarters were burnt down, Lucius and Belle immediately arranged us to live in the imperial castle until the teleportation gate had enough energy to teleport us back to school.


    "What?" I groaned when I noticed Luke towering over my bed.


    "It''s time for the war conference," Luke replied as he spotted me in my ''inner-wear''.


    I was wearing a cotton white nightgown which would be considered as normal pyjamas in the modern districts like the third district.


    However, it would be considered to be inner-wear in conservative districts such as the fifth district.


    "Do I have to go?" I complained as I wanted few more minutes of sleep.


    I should have gotten more sleep yesterday, but Lucius and Belle stormed into the waiting room in the imperial castle where the knights escorted us from the burnt down castle.


    "I heard what happened," Belle looked relieved when she spotted that none of us were injured.


    "Nothing much happened anyways," I commented as Cillian, Luke, Belle and Lucius all looked at me at once.


    "I can''t tell you how sorry the Suilett and Roselia family are to you Cillian," Lucius apologized to Cillian.


    "We''ll make sure that this never happens again," Luke added as he tightly held my hand.


    "It''s fine, I''m the one who followed Luke and Rike here," Cillian formally accepted their apology.


    Belle ordered a knight to escort Cillian to the best guest room available in the palace as we remained in the room when Cillian left to retire to his room.


    "So I heard that you stayed at the rebel''s place when you weren''t in the castle," Lucius started off intimidatingly.


    "I did and it was way better than being confined in the castle," I complained.


    In the castle, I was always being carefully watched by Luke and Cillian or the knights in their stead. I had almost no freedom to do what I really wanted to do and I had to pretend like I was the perfect lady from the ''Roselia'' family like I did in formal events at school.


    I got to explore the market and the carnival during the short time I was away from the castle and Jinny gave me money that I was free to use to buy anything I wanted.


    In the first district, Luke had control over most of the points we earned and the money in my bank account.


    However, since most of the money in my bank account came from Luke''s family and the points were mostly gathered from Luke''s hard work, I didn''t mind that he controlled how it was used.


    I had forgotten how it felt to be able to use money for whatever I really wanted to buy because I never really had the chance ever since I woke up as ''Rika''.


    "And I told you that we would like you to be able to explore the fifth district. But it''s way too dangerous at this-"


    "It''s always dangerous! It''s dangerous in the first district. It''s also dangerous in the second district, the third district, and the sixth district!" I interrupted Lucius.


    "Rika!" Luke shouted while shaking me in frustration.


    "Then what are we supposed to do? Are we supposed to watch you disappear from us all the sudden like that time you got heavily injured in the third district? Or the other time where we couldn''t find you in the first district even with the extensive help from people in our inner circle? And the other time where we didn''t know if you would be safely able to come back from the sixth district?" Luke spilled out all my episodes where I always got in trouble when I wasn''t physically in school.


    Lucius stepped back from Luke''s sudden outburst of emotions. Belle tried to calm Luke down as she handed him a cup of tea.


    Luke accepted the cup of tea as he elegantly sat down on the couch as Lucius patted his back.


    Luke regained his cool composure quickly as he lost it from my comment.


    "Luke is just disappointed in himself that he couldn''t keep you safe during those times," Belle explained to me.


    I did know how much Luke cared about me, but sometimes, it was just way too much. It became constricting.


    Dealing with Luke himself was bad enough, but when everyone started to worry about ''my safety'' like Lucius, Charles and Ben, more of my freedom became compressed.


    I got that everyone in their ''inner circle'' looked out for each other, but it seemed a bit extreme sometimes.


    "But, I always come back relatively unharmed though," I whimpered from the unfairness that I was always the ''bad one'' for not listening to Luke.


    Before Luke ''lost it'' again, Belle led Luke out of the room while Lucius started to scold me again for the entire night.


    That''s how I only got three hours of sleep last night from Lucius'' lecture that seemed like it would never come to an end. Maybe Lucius was the reason why Luke was strict with himself.


    If I had an older brother that would give me long lectures for every single mistake I made, I wouldn''t dare to make another mistake again.


    Luke started to pull my bed sheets that I tightly clutched onto as I pleaded for ten more minutes of sleep.


    When I was finally fully awake, I found myself already dressed and ready to go with Luke waiting outside my door and the maids smiling in satisfaction.


    "The relatives of the Suilett family is coming in," the messenger announced as Luke escorted me into the war room.


    I step into the bright room where all the top figures in the country have gathered to prevent the war.

 69 Prewar Operations 4

    "Currently, the few royals of the Crugren Kingdom are with us today to serve as an ambassador to their country," the earl in charge of foreign exchange introduced the identity of the ambassadors.


    I spotted the crown prince of the Crugren Kingdom standing stiffly inside the grand room as if he tries to look more intimidating than he really is.


    "Everyone is here," the aid of the emperor whispered into the emperor''s ear.


    I was grateful that I had good hearing as everyone in the school I attended was extensively trained to have higher senses from the manipulation of their mana.


    The emperor nodded in approval as Lucius announced, "We will then commence the meeting."


    Silence occupied the grand room as no one comes to speak with the heavy atmosphere that will influence the lives of many people.


    Before I entered the room, I saw Lucius silently mouth to Luke that we could leave the fifth district as soon as this meeting ends.


    Since life here was more constricting than being in school, I wished to depart this place as soon as possible. I was sure not to miss Lucius after his painful lecture yesterday, although I may miss Belle a little.


    Belle was really kind to me during our stay here in the fifth district. She ordered the chefs in her castle to keep a constant supply of strawberry desserts, knowing that it was my favourite.


    If it wasn''t for the desserts, I may have exploded more often and earlier, which would have earned me more lectures from both Luke and Lucius.


    The room kept its silence as no one wanted to be the first one to speak as they would get the majority of the backlash.


    Seeing that this meeting would continue for hours at this rate, I offered the same advice that I offered the crown prince.


    "I think this meeting is pointless," I started.


    Cillian and Belle sighed as Luke tightened his grip on my hand to urge me to apologize.


    "Why?" The emperor curiously asked with his eyes widened that a young girl was the one to break the silence.


    "It''s obvious that the solution is that the Crugren Kingdom can take on a debt from the empire for food until their harvests get better. In return, the empire can demand an alliance from the Crugren Kingdom when need of help in terms of military power and lack of food later on as means of repayment." I bowed to the emperor once I was finished.


    "It is a interesting idea!" the marquess in charge of managing supplies enthusiastically agreed.


    With the marquess supporting my idea, Luke quickly came up with a more detailed plan with my idea as a base.


    "The transportation costs and the fixed nature of the overhead expenses can be added onto the debt of the Crugren Kingdom," Luke finished his long argument how the feasibility of my idea is reasonable.


    "Then does everything agree about initiating this idea?" Lucius tried to conclude the first item on the agenda.


    Everyone started to vote as majority lifted their hands in agreement while few stayed unmoving. The royalty from the Crugren Kingdom raised their hands as if it was their only option better than a costly war at the present.


    "Then we''ll go for a fifteen minute break before moving on to the next meeting on the agenda," Belle announced with confidence.


    "We can go to the teleportation gate now," Luke whispered into my ear after majority of the people left the room to escape from the hefty atmosphere of the room.


    I agreed as I didn''t want to participate in this war conference any longer. It was just like reading a story with no moving plotline as if the characters were stuck in the past or afraid to face what was to come in the future.


    If I didn''t speak, there would have been no discussion initiated as time slowly flowed outside the room as the numerous commoners urgently awaited on the decision made from the people from this room.


    When Belle was finished with her conversation with the numerous aristocrats coming up to her to try to gather more benefits from the Crugren Kingdom, she walked over to us to lead us to the teleportation gate.


    "The teleportation gate is actually located underground. So we can access it from our castle or even the imperial palace for emergencies," Belle explained to us.


    We were currently walking down the stairs with a lantern in Cillian''s hand for a source of light. The stairs made of grey stones were chipped from the great history of the empire.


    Lucius stayed back in the room to distract the emperor from our presence so that Belle could have enough time to lead us to the teleportation gate.


    The endless stairs spiraled down in darkness as we went the down the stairs continuously for more than ten minutes.


    "Does the royal family of the empire know about this route?" I asked.


    "They don''t. There''s a barrier before entering this staircase that lets only people with mana to be able to enter," Belle answered nonchalantly.


    "And only people that possesses mana can see the door that opens to a long staircase leading to the basement," Belle waved her hand to indicate that we were almost there.


    That''s why the door seemed to be less luxurious than all the other doors in the palace! The door had no decorations and seemed to be made out of rotten wood. It seemed unfit for royalty compared to the other doors such as the guest room I used, that was finely polished to give off the shiny glare when hit by the sunlight.


    When Belle stopped walking, we found ourselves staring at the familiar teleportation gate.


    "The location is already set," Belle checked the settings of the gate.


    "Thank you for your hospitality," Cillian greeted Belle farewell as he earnestly shook her hand.


    "Just get in," Belle shyly laughed as she pushed us inside the gate.


    The last thing I saw was Belle''s sad smile as she waved goodbye before seeing myself in the familiar grounds of the mountain.

 70 Returning to School 1

    The teleportation gate spit us out to the middle of the river where I first jumped in from the burning sun.


    "Are you kidding me!" I yelled from irritation.


    Why were we here again? I thought we would be back at school.


    Even though I did hate school, I realized that there were many places worse than school such as climbing a mountain under the burning sun while wearing fall clothes.


    I was wearing a thick dress with many layers to make the dress have more volume. This was even worse than wearing my physical education uniform meant for fall.


    This would be a dress meant to keep someone warm even in the winter! Not wanting to go over the same painful experience again, I started rip some layers of my dress until only one satin layer remained.


    "Rika!" Luke yelled at me as Cillian looked the other way.


    "You try wearing that heavy dress under the burning sun!" I argued back.


    Luke sighed as he handed me a heavy cloak like he had foreseen this would happen as the worse case scenario.


    When I was about to hand him the thick cloak back, he showed that the satin layer was see-through to a certain extent.


    ''At least do it for Cillian,'' Luke mouthed.


    Knowing that Luke wouldn''t back off on this one aspect, I took the cloak.


    Luke hated it whenever I deviated way too far from his standards of being the typical ''lady'' from the Roselia house. He once scolded me for hours when I wouldn''t change into my uniform when going to class because I was lazy to get out of my pyjamas.


    To save myself from his constant nagging, I just gave into him and decided to properly wear my uniform to class as it was more trouble not to.


    It wasn''t like I could avoid Luke to get away from his lectures when we were using the same dorm, in the same classes and were forced into attending the same events.


    Surprisingly, Luke used his mana so that when someone wore the cloak, they would feel cool even under the scorching weather.


    This must have used alot of his mana. I gratefully wore the cloak as we hiked down from the mountain.


    "Why does the school have to choose a place where the whole area is spelled that someone can''t teleport to the top or the bottom of the mountain!" I complained due to my aching feet.


    I used my marble to check the time. The marble indicated that it has been four hours since we returned from the fifth district.


    "It''s because the school uses it to train us for situations where we have to use mana sparingly," Cillian answered for the nth time.


    I got bored of the same green scenery when I was hiking with Ellen and Allan. It was more bearable that time since I had Ellen, but now I had to walk in absolute silence since we all had trouble spending extra energy speaking when we were so tired from hiking without resting.


    Both Luke and Cillian stopped walking when they couldn''t hear my footsteps anymore and looked behind to see how I was faring.


    "I can''t anymore," I whined as I wondered where their fierce stamina to withstand this intense hiking session without any complaint came from.


    Wait. If they had this much stamina, couldn''t they carry me down instead?


    "Carry me," I begged Luke.


    I clasped my hands together and started to look as pitiful as I could (not that it ever worked from Luke stopping his lectures in the past anyways).


    Surprisingly, Luke sighed as he crouched down for me to get on his back.


    I silently cheered that I wouldn''t have to walk anymore as I got onto his back.


    That''s how I was able to appreciate the grand scenery of the mountain from its glorious sunlight that dyed the towering trees into sunflower yellow and the cute animals that scurried to find food for winter.


    When I got bored of observing the cute animals, I started to fiddle with Luke'' soft silver hair. I made small braids with my dexterous fingers just as I used to arrange my younger sister''s hair in my past life.


    "Stop Rika," Luke complained when he felt ticklish from me stroking his hair too much.


    I stopped when I spotted the bottom of the hill only a few metres away from the tall bushes that hid the entry to the entrance to the mountain.


    I jumped off of Luke''s back as he collapsed onto the ground from the sudden change in weight.


    "We''re almost there!" I excitedly yelled as Cillian helped Luke stand back up.


    I ran to the bottom of the mountain with my regained energy from resting on Luke''s back and waited for Cillian and Luke to catch up to me.


    Cillian took slow steps as he supported Luke who looked like he would collapse onto the ground again at any moment.


    When I looked around for the familiar faulty hover buses, I found a projection that indicated that the next one would come in ten minutes from now.


    "The one you''re pointing to is the one going to the sixth district," Cillian frowned.


    When I looked more carefully at the projection board, I noticed that Cillian was right.


    Maybe I pointed to that one in denial because another hover bus that led to the metropolitan school districts were coming in seven hours from now.


    "The one going to school is coming in seven hours from now," Luke''s face was drenched in sweat as he panted heavily from having to carry me for the majority of the hike back down.

 71 Returning to School 2

    I collapsed onto the ground as I lost all the energy that I previously possessed.


    Cillian struggled to support both Luke and I as we helplessly relied on Cillian to stand back up.


    Eventually, we all sat down tired on the dirt paved roads as Cillian couldn''t stand as well from spending hours on supporting both Luke and I.


    "How many more hours left?" I whispered due to my lack of energy.


    "Two more hours," Cillian sighed as he opened his marble again to check the time.


    Luke already blacked out three hours ago. If I fainted as well, then Cillian would have to lift us both into the hover bus.


    Observing Cillian''s condition, he would be unable to lift us both into the hover bus before the hover bus left strictly on its scheduled time.


    As I leaned on Cillian for support, I promised myself that I would never ever faithfully follow the school''s orders to go on a field trip unless it was in a metropolitan area.


    Time passed quickly as I cursed the school with the remaining bits of my energy. Cillian pretended to not hear anything as he kept on sighing and checked the projection for any updates on when the hover bus would come.


    "We really should have checked the setting on the teleportation gate so that it wouldn''t just bring us to the first district," I said my thoughts out loud.


    "I agree," Cillian sighed again.


    Cillian and I didn''t talk much as it would be waste of energy. We were both trying to save our energy to be able to carry Luke together into the hover bus.


    When the hover bus came, Cillian and I helped each other in carrying Luke into the hover bus. Both of us sighed in relief when we were all able to make it inside the hover bus.


    The hover bus landed on the school grounds in less than an hour. Both Cillian and I didn''t dare to sleep as we were afraid that we would miss the stop.


    By the time we were about to get off, Luke woke up.


    Luke stretched his arms and straightened his posture immediately as if it was part of his usual morning routine.


    Since Luke always woke up earlier than I did, I was never able to see what he was like when he was waking up.


    "You''re up!" I shouted to make sure that Luke wouldn''t go back to sleep again.


    "Can you walk?" Cillian politely asked.


    Luke cutely nodded as I silently cheered that Cillian and I wouldn''t have to carry Luke off the hover bus.


    Since Luke always looked either mad or disappointed in me, I never thought of Luke as ''cute'' or ''childish".


    However, the vulnerable Luke that cutely nodded his head with his drooping eyelids that struggled to keep open suited his age for once.


    When we got off the bus, one of the teachers quickly welcomed us into the familiar dean''s office.


    There were those familiar desserts and cups of tea on the table that was supposed to serve as decoration as usual.


    Seeing the pitiful states of Cillian and Luke, I handed them some muffins on the table. Surprisingly, they accepted the desserts as the dean''s eyes widened from their unusual behaviour.


    However, the dean regained his composure when he saw me stuffing all the cookies inside my mouth just as last time I was in his office.


    When the dean coughed to ask if we were ready to start the explanations, both Luke and Cillian placed their muffins down onto the table.


    "Rika accidentally fell down into the waterfall..." Luke lied flawlessly.


    "And then after getting on the hover bus, we were able to return to school," Cillian concluded as I continued to enjoy my strawberry flavoured cookie.


    When both Luke and Cillian looked like they were finished with their explanations, I asked, "Can I go now?"


    I finished all the desserts on the table and desperately wanted sleep now. Luke didn''t even bother to silently nag me as usual as he waited for the dean''s response.


    "Of course. The school will take this experience as feedback for unsupervised field trips for the middle school section in rural areas," the dean concluded the meeting.


    Not even bothering to greet the dean farewell, I left the room to head to the dorms. Luke apologized for my behaviour in my stead as he ran to quickly catch up to me.


    I guess he regained some of his energy when he ate a piece of the muffin I handed to him.


    I thought Luke would scold me again for leaving without greeting the dean farewell, but he walked with me to our dorms in silence.


    When we were finally inside our dorms, we both slumped down onto our beds.


    "We should shower," I commented when I noticed how dirty we were.


    Luke nodded as he hesitantly left his bed.


    I was feeling the same, however I took a nice long bath that healed some of the pain coming from my overused muscles.


    I didn''t even bother to dry my hair as I dropped onto my bed once I was clean.


    ''Maybe Luke will detangle my hideous hair tomorrow,'' I thought before I fell asleep.

 72 Visiting My Parents 1

    I excitedly packed my suitcase as Luke was studying for our next exam while he waited for me.


    I didn''t possess much stuff I was able to bring back to the third district since most of the stuff I owned were related to things that only people who had mana could use.


    Most of the clothes I had bought from the mall before I entered elementary school was too small on me now, so I ended up donating them to unfortunate people from the second district.


    Few weeks ago, when I discovered I had no clothes to wear other than my uniform and my formal dresses from social week, I sighed as I knew I had to go shopping soon.


    I didn''t ever want to go shopping with Luke again from my horrible prior experience and I didn''t even have the time to go shopping anyways with all these exams coming up.


    So I decided to wear my uniform when going back home just like last time.


    Everything inside my suitcase was all the light novels and manga I sneaked into the first district when I came back from the third district last time.


    I feared that Luke may get rid of them by ordering someone to clean the room when we were gone so I decided to take them with me.


    I knew it was just a possibility but I couldn''t take any chances with Luke.


    "The school has announced that instead of going on a field trip during this time like we usually do, the school will be giving an assignment instead when visiting your parents," Daniel announced during homeroom.


    Everyone in the room could guess why the school wouldn''t let us go on a field trip this time. Last month, Luke, Cillian and I accidentally entered the fifth district and ended up interfering with an important mission given out by the high school section of the school.


    Fearing that an similar incident may happen this time as well, the school decided to give out an relatively safe assignment so that their reputation didn''t get stained anymore.


    I instantly smiled as it''s been two years since I visited my parent''s house in the third district. I guess some of the suffering in the fifth district was worth it if I was able to spend three days with my parents.


    However, this meant that I would also have to visit Luke''s parents for the other three days. But I ignored that part for now as I focused on the part that I was able to go to the library in the third district that was full of manga and light novels.


    When class ended, I immediately ran to my room instead of hanging out for Shelly and Ellen as usual. Miliana had recently joined our group, but she preferred to hang out with the other girls in the class she was before she transferred.


    "I''m done packing," I let Luke know.


    "Can we go now?" I gave my suitcase for Luke to carry.


    I really hoped that he wouldn''t make me join his study session as there were barely any time-space rooms in the third district except for specialized high ranking schools in the third district.


    Luke used his mana to instantly teleport our luggage into the self-driving car that would drive us to the third district.


    Just as there was a way to get into the second district by using the teleportation gate or the staff only room, there was a way to get into the third district by simply driving.


    There was a tunnel in the first and third district that allows for people with mana to cross the district. It was the most ''unnoticeable way'' to go back and forth from the third district since they were heavily reliant on using cars as their main source of transportation.


    "Let''s go," I pulled on Luke''s hand to quickly drag him into the car.


    I didn''t want to waste a single minute that would prevent me from going to the third district even though the official visit was supposed to be tomorrow.


    For the first time, I constantly nagged Luke to make the arrangements faster so I could spend more time with my parents. Maybe Luke knew how homesick I was, so he arranged everything within ten minutes.


    I woke up and stretched my neck as I slept while leaning on Luke''s shoulder inside the car.


    The drive took about four hours. Luke continued to read the textbook the entire time inside the car as I was about to sleep from today''s intense classes.


    When I got out of the car, I realized my parents have moved as the car arrived in a different neighborhood than I remembered visiting two years ago.


    Although, the size of the house have increased, it looked like it was a typical five bedroom house for an average family of four people.


    ''Why would they suddenly move?'' I thought.


    Clearing the bad thoughts from my head, I knocked on the door.


    When no one came to open the door, I used mana to open the door when I saw Luke was busy with carrying our suitcases.

 73 Visiting My Parents 2

    The house seemed empty. Our visit was supposed to be tomorrow so I just entered the unfamiliar house as Luke didn''t seem to notice that something was amiss.


    "I don''t think my parents are here yet," I pouted in disappointment.


    It was just like last time. I was only able to face my parents in the morning because they were busy with work in the night to notice that I even came to the third district.


    I looked around the empty house to find it clean and barely used. It was like they just recently moved in.


    The house I knew was more cluttered and full with memories of when I was younger. There were pictures hanged on the wall of when I was younger. The days before I entered the hell-like school system in the first district.


    Luke put his shoes off in the entryway and put on the slippers for guests to put on as he moved our luggage into the living room.


    "Are you Rika?" A middle aged woman opened the door with groceries occupying both of her hands.


    The middle aged woman looked greatly surprised. Her dark blue hair looked messy as if she was rushing to get here after her detour to the market.


    "Mom," I went to hug her as my mom dropped the grocery bags onto the ground from my sudden hug.


    "I didn''t know you would come today," My mom held the grocery bags into the kitchen.


    "I was supposed to come tomorrow, but I came today so I could spend more time with you," I explained while acting childish.


    "And the young boy that''s behind you?" My mom asked.


    My mom looked charmed by Luke''s handsome appearance. Instead of wearing a uniform like I did, he wore a casual summer sweater and jeans.


    His ocean blue eyes sparkled under the dim lights and his great proportions complimented his outfit.


    "That''s just someone who''s going to leave-"


    "I am Rika''s partner in school. My name is Luke de Roselia." Luke interrupted me as he introduced himself politely.


    "So you''re the Luke that is always together with Rika in the photos!" My mom excitedly exclaimed.


    "You have grown alot as well," my mom made Luke sit on the couch.


    "You look really different from the photos," my mom smiled.


    Luke smiled back as he went along with my mom as she took out the photo albums sent by the school.


    "What about me?" I asked my mom as she focused all her attention on Luke.


    "I thought you went to your room Rika," my mom just seemed to remember that I was here as well.


    "I don''t know where my room is now since you''ve moved," I complained as I stomped my feet.


    "Oh right. After I make dinner, I''ll show you to your room," my mom got up to start preparing for dinner.


    "What about dad?" I asked my mom.


    "He''s coming in an hour from now," my mom answered tiredly.


    I thought that Luke would continue reading the rest of the textbook, but he watched my mom make dinner with fascination.


    I forgot that everything in the first district was automated, so the robot chefs would make the perfect meals in his mansion and at school.


    Thankfully, this meant that Luke wouldn''t nag me for reading another light novel instead of studying in front of my parents.


    Luke never went into the kitchen in the other districts as he ordered the servants to serve our meals. My mom chuckled from Luke''s glittering eyes as he continued to observe my mom cooking.


    Wait. Wouldn''t this be the chance to actually cook for myself as well? I never got the chance to cook since Luke ordered all our food during our time together.


    I opened the fridge and cupboards to see what ingredients we had. I gathered the ingredients I needed onto the chopping board and pulled out a large knife.


    "Has Rika cooked before?" My mom curiously asked Luke as she has never seen me cook before.


    Luke pulled out of intensely observing my mom cooking when my mom commented if I have cooked before.


    Luke''s eyes widened as he saw me hold a knife.


    "No, Rika has never cooked anything before. We had a chef at school and my house where they would cook all the meals," Luke ran over to me while answering.


    Luke instantly pulled the large knife out of my hands and put it back into its place before I pulled it out to cut some strawberries.


    "I have cooked before!" I complained as Luke handed me a small steak knife to use instead.


    I have always cooked in my past life because I enjoyed helping my parents in my past life.


    However, it was true that I have never cooked a single meal in this life.


    "Cutting steaks and cakes while eating doesn''t count," Luke refuted.


    Even I knew that! I silently chopped the strawberries angrily with a stubby little knife when it could have gone alot faster with the larger knife.


    After chopping all the strawberries and placing them into a bowl, I poured some white sugar all over the strawberries as Luke and my mom stared silently in awe.

 74 Visiting My Parents 3

    "Are you really eating that Rika?" My mom sighed.


    I popped a sugary strawberry into my mouth. I moaned from its sugary goodness as Luke frowned in response.


    Luke let me eat strawberry desserts with Shelly and Ellen, but he never allowed me to eat pure junk food like these. Sugar tasted the best when it was raw rather than it being cooked into pastries.


    All the fancy food in the first district was made to be somewhat healthy, even the desserts were surprisingly healthy with all the fine ingredients they used.


    I sometimes suspected that they didn''t actually use sugar in the desserts but rather very ripe and sweet fruits to make up for the difference in the sweetness.


    Before Luke could express his disapproval as usual, my dad came in from the front door.


    His red hair had hints of grey closer to his scalp. This reminded me that my parents from this life were starting to age as they were losing more of their youthful looks.


    "You''re here Rika?" My dad looked surprised from my sudden appearance.


    "And we have a guest here as well," my mom added.


    Luke went out of the kitchen to introduce himself again, "My name is Luke de Roselia and I am Rika''s partner in school. It''s my pleasure to meet you," Luke smiled brilliantly as he helped my dad with his work bag.


    My dad stood frozen for a second from Luke''s brillant manners and looked as if he was someone way too good for me.


    "So you''re the Luke that''s always with Rika in those photos," my dad started to settle into the living room.


    I ignored my dad as I popped another sugary strawberry into my mouth. My dad seemed like he was instantly impressed by Luke as he observed him for a while on the couch.


    Before I could eat another strawberry, Luke took my bowl of delicious goodness away from me and gave it to my mom.


    My mom smiled in approval as she declared that she would make it into jam to give out to her neighbors.


    "Rika must have been very troublesome to take care of," my mom commented as if she was apologizing to Luke.


    "It''s fine. I''m used to it," Luke smiled sadly as he replied honestly.


    My mom gestured us to go to the dining table as she finished cooking the dishes for dinner.


    The food did not compare to what Luke and I regularly ate in the first district. It had hints that the food was homemade with some imperfections on how the food was cut and cooked on the stove.


    However, the taste greatly reminded me of my meals in my past life. I preferred eating meals like this rather than all the fancy restaurants Luke forced me to go when we weren''t at his mansion or in school.


    "It''s good," I replied as a tear came out of my eye.


    My parents look surprised from my sudden tears while Luke handed me a handkerchief.


    "Are the meals at your school bad?" My mom asks with concern.


    "In my school, rather than enjoying your meal like this, you have to focus more on how you eat and it makes the dishes lose all its taste," I whined while I glared at Luke like it was all his fault.


    "I guess that must have been hard," my dad commented to console me.


    "And it''s all his fault," I blamed Luke.


    "Luke keeps on taking me to all these fancy restaurants and never gives me the chance to cook. He''s the one that keeps on nagging me to have proper manners while eating because I will become a ''lady'' of the Roselia house," I continued to complain to my parents.


    My parents suddenly stopped eating after my last sentence of complaint.


    "The ways of the first district is very different from the third district. It''s natural that I take care of Rika as her fianc¨¦." Luke explained before I could say another sentence of complaint.


    Luke didn''t seem guilty after hearing all my complaints while my parents were still trying to comprehend Luke''s explanation.


    "So you''re not just Rika''s partner in school, but her fianc¨¦ as well?" My mom tried to make sense of the situation.


    "With no choice! Luke was pushed onto me ever since kindergarten!" I complained while hoping that I would never have to marry Luke in the future as my parents didn''t seem to know about this.


    ''You would never force me into a loveless marriage?'' I pitifully questioned my parents in silence.


    After a moment of silence, my mom smiled, "It''s earlier than I expected, but it''s nice to have you around Rika."


    I was shocked. How could my mom take Luke''s side while she ignored my pleas for help!


    "You seemed used to taking care of Rika. I was surprised when you reacted faster than me to put away the large knife Rika grabbed when she didn''t even know how to cook," my mom smiled at Luke in approval.


    Luke smiled at my mom dazzlingly as both my parents couldn''t refuse his goodwill.


    "It would be indeed assuring to have you and Rika be together," my dad reluctantly admitted like he was losing something along the way.


    It was true that I barely met my parents in the third district. I only lived with them up to kindergarten and visited them once before I entered middle school. But I thought we still had a solid parent-child relationship together!


    A relationship where they would always take the side of their child rather than someone else!

 75 Visiting My Parents 4

    I instantly felt betrayed as my parents accepted Luke''s explanation for my sufferings.


    "I''m not feeling hungry anymore," I stared back at my plate that was still half-full.


    Luke stood up as well as he asked my parents, "I know that we haven''t finished the delicious meal that you have taken the effort to prepare for us, but could you show us to our rooms?"


    Luke''s plate was barely touched as well. It was late into the evening as it was already ten p.m. My mom looked at the time as she apologized for not showing us into our rooms sooner.


    My mom guided me to a empty room that only had a bed and a small coffee table that had a miniature lamp on it.


    All the decorations from my childhood were gone and replaced with a room that looked like it was never used.


    Luke was guided to the room across from mine with the same layout. The rooms at my parent''s house didn''t even compare to the luxurious room that I used at Luke''s mansion.


    The bed suddenly seemed small as I was used to sleeping on a king-sized bed. The size of this bed was a single bed.


    There was no attachable washroom and it seemed like there were only four washrooms in this entire house.


    It was strange that I didn''t have to share a room with Luke as usual. We were separated by a wall here. Even in Luke''s mansion, our rooms were joined by a single door from my suite to his.


    In the school dorms, we didn''t have that luxury and we slept inside the same room together but in separate beds due to the low amounts of points we had.


    It was the same in the fifth district as well. When we were in Belle''s castle, my suite was joined to Luke''s with a single door that could be opened anytime.


    Luke handed me my suitcase as he placed his suitcase in his room.


    I silently took my suitcase and shut the door to read my light novels to console myself from my parents'' reaction to Luke.


    After getting sick of rereading my manga for the sixth time through the years, I decided to go to sleep.


    I thought that I would be able to sleep in today as I wasn''t inside school anymore. However, I found Luke shaking me awake like usual.


    "Why? We''re not in school anymore," I groaned in complaint.


    I looked at the time in my marble to find that it was six a.m.


    Seeing that I didn''t have classes that started at seven today, I tugged on my blanket to cover my face.


    However, I soon started to wrestle with Luke for the rest of my blanket as he tried to throw the blanket onto the floor as usual so that I would wake up.


    "Why?" I yelled in frustration.


    "We have to get ready for our next exam. We don''t have access to the time-space rooms here as easily as we do in the first district." Luke answered as if this exam was very important.


    "We''re going to be too busy to be able to study in the first district," Luke tried to explain to me.


    "What are we going to do at your parent''s place anyways so that we don''t have a second to even go into the time-space room?" I demanded a better explanation.


    "It''s hard to explain," Luke turned his head as he grabbed the rest of my blanket.


    "So hurry up and change," Luke pointed to the outfit that was placed in my closet.


    I didn''t bring any spare clothes from the first district as I hoped that I could buy new ones in the third district on my own. I slept in my uniform as well since I didn''t have any spare clothes.


    When I pointed out that I was already wearing my uniform, Luke gave me a mirror to show how wrinkled it was from sleeping in it.


    Since I was already dreadfully awake, I opened my closet to find a cute summer dress and light cardigan.


    There were little jewels on the dress screamed that it was a casual dress meant for the elites. A casual dress that you could wear at the typical high-end hotels and restaurants we went to without seeming out of place.


    I started to regret that I didn''t bring any spare clothes as I had lots of identical uniforms hanging in my closet in school.


    The cardigan shimmered as if it was made out of the finest mixture of cotton and cashmere. Did I really have to wear this in the third district?


    Luke''s outfit wasn''t any better. He was wearing a simple t-shirt with a cardigan over it and light blue shorts. However, it looked different when you could notice the fine embroidery on certain parts on his shirt and soft shorts that changed colours in the sunlight.


    I changed into the outfit that Luke prepared for me as he got his typical brush out to detangle my hair.


    When I looked at myself in the mirror, I found a young lady of the Roselia house staring back at me with her pretty hair that had a jeweled headband that matched her dress that was decorated with precious gems.

 76 A Typical Day 1

    I followed Luke down the stairs as he opened our textbooks that likely came from his suitcase on the dining room table.


    Even my parents didn''t seem to be awake at this time since their shifts at work usually started at nine a.m.


    It was six thirty and I usually ate breakfast before studying. I tugged on Luke''s cardigan to tell him that I was too hungry to start studying.


    I was glad that I ate dinner before coming to my parent''s house as I was only able to eat half a plate of my mom''s cooking before going to my room when I got upset.


    Luke handed me the familiar chocolate bar. I refused it as I gave it to him back.


    "My mom is going to cook us breakfast anyways, can''t we start studying after we eat breakfast?" I started my usual whining to Luke in the morning.


    It was unfortunate that mom came down the stairs at that moment.


    She rubbed her eyes as if she was trying to confirm what she was seeing was real.


    My mom didn''t know that I normally dressed this way in the first district and in other districts when I went on missions.


    I looked too polished to be just eating breakfast in the morning. My hair looked finely arranged and my outfit screamed that I should be eating at a luxurious restaurant for breakfast at this time.


    I went up to my mom and complained, "I''m hungry but Luke is making me study with a plain chocolate bar."


    My mom finally shifted her glance from me to Luke who looked equally dazzling in the morning.


    My mom apologized to us as she hurried to set the table as she had her usual dishes for breakfast that were already made in the fridge.


    Before I could tell Luke to put the textbooks away, they were already placed on the living room table instead.


    We quickly began to eat breakfast while dad had yet to come down.


    When dad finally came down, he was surprised to already see Luke and I to be fully dressed and ready to go.


    "Luke woke me up at six a.m. even though we''re not in school today," I complained to my parents.


    "What time does he usually wake you up?" My dad asked as my mom was quickly getting ready for work.


    "Five-thirty. Since our classes usually start at seven a.m.," I suddenly felt glad that I had a extra thirty minutes of sleep today.


    My parents stopped eating in surprise as if even they never regularly woke up as early as I did.


    "Then what time do you wake up to get ready for school?" My dad asked Luke after finishing up his breakfast.


    "Five a.m." Luke answered as he dragged me to the living room table.


    He opened the textbook to where he last left off in our intense study sessions.


    "Do we really have to do this here?" I whined to Luke again.


    My parents observed Luke silently as they didn''t offer me any help.


    I was determined to go to library so that I could borrow some manga and light novels.


    "It''s only a few bus stops away," I tried to convince Luke.


    I kept tugging on Luke''s cardigan as I knew he hated it when I stretched his clothes.


    "Besides, you know that both of us can''t cook so we need to eat outside anyways." I added.


    When Luke started to search up the directions to the library after my pleas, I stopped tugging on Luke''s cardigan.


    Since we were ready to go out anyways, Luke just put the textbooks into his leather backpack as I found cute sandals that was the same colour of the dress I currently wore.


    We started to walk to the bus stop in our elegant clothes. Thankfully my parent''s new house was only one bus stop away from the stop we were walking towards.


    When I entered the library that I explored a little over two years ago, my eyes instantly searched for the familiar light novel and manga section.


    I found myself looking at the towering shelf all filled with manga as I forgot about Luke''s existence as I grabbed myself the continuation of the series that I had in my suitcase.


    Before I could go to a comfy sofa to read the manga in, Luke stopped me with a tight grip he had on my hand.


    Unexpectedly, I started to cry inside the big library that was filled with college students as most students our age would be in school during this time.


    "Just one hour! It''s been such a long time since I''ve visited this place," I started to beg Luke with tears drenching my face.

 77 A Typical Day 2

    I was gathering a lot of attention as I miserably begged Luke to let me read my manga in peace for an hour.


    "You know it''s been two whole years since I was able to come to this place," I continued sobbing as if Luke truly did something wrong to me.


    Luke sighed as he heartlessly gave me two choices, "We''re either going to study here for the rest of the day as we have originally planned or we''re going back to your house."


    When I didn''t respond and started to cry harder, Luke dragged me mercilessly back to the entrance of the library.


    If I was in the eyes of the public, Luke couldn''t continue his intense study sessions for a long time as it wouldn''t fit with the mannerisms within the third district. However, if we went back home, Luke had the freedom to basically do anything.


    I stopped crying as I returned the book back to the librarian who seemed to pity me as Luke ignored her compassionate gazes towards me and like everyone else watching this scene.


    "Let''s head to the study area," I miserably whispered to Luke.


    I obediently followed Luke as the librarian guided us to the empty study area as she occasionally looked back to make sure I was fine.


    Luke finally stopped when it was around lunch time as it would be weird for young children at our age to continuously study without a single break.


    "We should go out for lunch," Luke suggested as he pointed to a fancy hotel that was a ten minute walk from the library on his map.


    However, when Luke wasn''t looking this morning, I grabbed two sandwiches from the fridge and put it into Luke''s bag so that we wouldn''t have to eat inside another fancy restaurant.


    "So we''re having a break?" I carefully asked Luke.


    Luke nodded as he opened his bag to pack the textbooks. However, before he could put the textbooks in, I grabbed the sandwiches out of his bag.


    "You could go to the restaurant while I''ll stay here and eat my lunch," I immediately headed to the manga section again after greeting Luke farewell.


    However Luke sighed as he grabbed two more sandwiches from the front section of his bag (which I didn''t pack).


    "Just a hour Rika," Luke gave me his permission to read the towering collecting of manga and light novels on the numerous shelves.


    It was really just an hour as Luke didn''t give me a second more nor did he give me a second less from enjoying my life in manga and light novel paradise.


    And until around dinner time, Luke didn''t stop as many passersby looked at us curiously as we''ve been studying continuous for hours on our own.


    "They''re definitely from the first district," One college student whispered.


    "And the content they''re studying is the same level that my upperclassmen learn from their professors," Another college student pointed out.


    Thanks for finally noticing. The level of difficulty of this textbook was already masters level in the third district and my past life.


    This was why my grades were never able to improve without Luke''s intense study sessions.


    I happily closed our textbooks as I knew we were finished for the day. The library was about to close in one more hour as well.


    We headed home as I devised a plan to escape from the study session tomorrow.


    * * *


    Today was July 8th of 3020 when I woke up from the soft vibration from my marble.


    I painfully woke myself up at four a.m. Since I knew that Luke woke up at five a.m. from yesterday''s conversation, I knew I had to wake up earlier than him to get out of the house unnoticed.


    When I carefully opened Luke''s door, I found him still sleeping.


    I sighed in relief as I changed into the newly hung clothes from Luke''s suitcase. He must have placed it in my closet last night as there was only one outfit and pyjamas for me to wear in my closet yesterday.


    Today''s outfit was another dress but made out of bright pastel pink silk with a tight ribbon around the waist.


    Again, it was casual enough to wear outside like a walk to the local park, but it wouldn''t feel out of place when I would have to attend an informal event.


    I carefully put on my dark pink sandals that I wore yesterday as I tried to open the main door as quietly as possible.


    I silently cheered when I made it out of the house without Luke noticing. I walked to the bus stop to try to make it for the next bus that would drive me to the train station where I would catch the next bullet train that would place a large distance between Luke and me.


    I have already put a note on the dining room table so my parents would know where I was.


    My destination was the largest library in the country. I was grateful that I would get there by transferring from a one hour bus drive and then a three hour train ride.


    I didn''t mind that my commute was four hours overall, as I could sleep on the train.

 78 A Typical Day 3

    After my hard commute to get away from my house, I found myself in front of the towering entrance of the largest library in the country I was in.


    I was thankful that my bank account in the third district accumulated to a great amount in my savings since I didn''t get the chance to spend my money.


    That was how I was able to buy my bus and train tickets quite easily. Although, the total amount still cost around $280.


    I searched for the manga and light novel section on the map in the grand entryway of the building.


    "Sorry, big sister!" A young boy who looked like he was in early elementary school bumped into me.


    "Are you ok?" I wiped off the dust that landed on his clothes when he fell onto the ground.


    The boy innocently smiled as he nodded. He started running again to join his group of friends that came here for a field trip.


    How cute! Young children actually had the luxury to play around here. Maybe that was why their expressions didn''t look forced as much as the children in the first district.


    In order to appear ''ladylike'' or the ''young master'' of the prestigious families in the first district, young children were strictly taught to interact with others in a certain way to not sully the reputation of their households.


    "Lift your chin up straighter," Luke scolded me when I casually ate my sandwiches in the cafeteria.


    I ignored Luke as I wanted to enjoy my time while eating the spread of food in front of me.


    The other students started to whisper and stare with curiosity as I grabbed two sandwiches in my right hand and three in my other hand.


    Shelly and Ellen elegantly ate their food with a knife and a fork as they enjoyed the same variety of sandwiches in front of me.


    Their backs and chin were straight like a fine 90 degree angle, which resembled all the other students eating the cafeteria that had proper posture.


    Luke brilliantly smiled as if he was warning me that our study sessions would get longer.


    Our study sessions mostly comprised of the material we studied at school, but sometimes, Luke would annoyingly lecture me for hours about the importance of having perfect manners.


    And it wasn''t like I could stop going to the study sessions by force as my grades would fall which would cause us to suffer from a lack of points.


    I recalled how hard life was in elementary school when you didn''t have enough points as I sighed.


    Not wanting to waste any more time, I headed to the section of the library with the books I wanted to read.


    After I grabbed the book, I found some big bean bags perfect for relaxing.


    I sank in the bean bag when I leaned into the chair.


    This was way better than those hard and tough king-sized beds I regularly used in the first district.


    I knew that soft beds were bad for your back, but they just felt really comfy~.


    * * *


    I woke up while wobbling from a young boy with long silver eyelashes staring back at me while shaking my shoulders fiercely.


    "What?" I asked while being clearly irritated as I started to gain more awareness of my surroundings.


    The bright sunlight that once lit up the library was gone and replaced with dim yellow lights produced from the strongly charged light bulbs.


    A faint hint of moonlight showed that it was already deep into the evening as the streetlights overwhelmed the light of the natural starry sky.


    I leaned back as I stretched to get up. I noticed that I was still laying on the bean bag when I sank even further into the chair.


    "Is the library closing already?" I asked before correctly identifying the person who shook me awake.


    Luke pulled my arm to get me out of the comfy chair as I groaned from leaving its softness.


    Wait. How did Luke find me here?


    "How? Why?" I unintentionally voiced my thoughts out loud.


    Luke brightly smiled as he just used his mana to teleport us back to my parent''s house when he determined that no one was near where we were when he scanned the area.


    Luke never used his mana in other districts. I knew that whenever Luke''s smile got more bright or dazzling, it meant that he was really angry. However, I never thought he would use teleportation, one of the most noticeable ways that someone may discover the existence of mana.


    We were currently in the living room in my house. I knew my parents weren''t in the house when I couldn''t find their work shoes in the entryway.


    I took out my marble to check the time by habit as I wondered when my parents would get home. I knew that Luke could not lecture me as much when my parents were here compared to the first district where we spent most of our time together with only the two of us.


    The projection coming from the marble indicated that it was four-thirty a.m. on July 8th of 3020.


    But there was no way that it could be four-thirty a.m.!


    I clearly remembered going on the bus at this time after I escaped from the house.

 79 Karen Miller 1

    "Have you ever thought the waves of this plane in the third district was a bit weird?" Luke asked me as his bright blue eyes glowed in the dark as no lights were lit in the living room.


    I had good eyesight in the dark from intensive training in using my mana that allowed me to manipulate my senses. However, whenever I poured too much of my mana to heighten my eyesight, my orange eyes would glow brilliantly from the lack of light.


    The whole house was void of light as everyone who lived their life in the splendid sun turned the lights off to sleep.


    "What''s so different?" I asked in confusion as I could not notice anything that was amiss.


    Other than the time turning back, everything seemed normal from the time we landed in the third district to the present.


    "We''re able to use mana too easily." Luke pointed out.


    The theory of mana was that mana worked the best in the first district while it became harder to use mana as you went to the lower districts.


    Apparently, the waves or flow of mana concentration in the air affected the circulation of mana inside one''s body.


    So the better the circulation of mana inside one''s body, the easier it was to use mana to create spells like teleportation.


    "And time went back to this morning," I added.


    "Time going back is the result of this weird flow of mana," Luke tried to come up with an decent explanation for this phenomenon.


    When we both tried to figure out the reason for this phenomenon, the darkness of the night had transitioned into a soft sunrise that shimmered orange-red light through the windows.


    "You''re up Rika?" My mom came down from the stairs with her pyjamas still on.


    My mom yawned as she froze momentarily to see the both of us in the living room at five thirty a.m.


    I nodded as I followed my mom into the kitchen to help her prepare breakfast for the family.


    "I woke up earlier this morning to have breakfast already prepared before you guys came down, but you''re used to waking up really early in the first district aren''t you?" My mom tried to apologize indirectly.


    My mom handed me the containers she put in the fridge that she had cooked a week ago. I put the food onto the plates and placed them on the table.


    Luke helped with setting the table as he awkwardly placed the cutlery and napkins on the dining table.


    A melodic ringtone rang from a smartphone coming from my mom''s pocket from her apron.


    "Who''s calling this early in the morning?" My mom complained as she picked up the phone.


    Since both Luke and I were hungry from trying to figure out the source of the circumstance of high concentration of mana from the early morning, we started to eat our breakfast.


    When my mom was finished with the phone call, she sat down on the seat across from Luke.


    "Of course," Luke stiffly smiled.


    Luke only stiffly smiled when he was placed in a troubling situation.


    "Can you babysit Rika''s younger cousins today? I know you''re good with children since you always take such good care of Rika," My mom asked Luke awkwardly.


    I had younger cousins? I have never met any of my family members except for my direct family as I was too busy with school in the first district.


    Luke froze as if he was deliberating whether to accept.


    "Of course he accepts!" I shouted before Luke could decline.


    Luke sighed as I silently cheered that I wouldn''t have to go through Luke''s intense study session today in addition to figuring out the weird mana flow.


    My mom anxiously smiled as she mentioned, "They will be coming at ten today."


    That was four hours from now! I wondered how old my younger cousins were as I stopped blanking out when Luke dragged me up the stairs.


    He closed the door of my room as I stood in the middle of my bare room in confusion.


    "We''ll study here until they come," Luke laid out the textbooks on top of my bed.


    Of course Luke would try to make up for the lost time as much as possible today. Since I could slack off when my cousins came, I decided to listen to Luke as I flipped to the page where we last left off.


    The four hours quickly passed by as the sound of the clear doorbell rang throughout the entire house.


    I closed the book as I quickly ran down the stairs in excitement to open the door.


    When I opened the door, I saw two elementary aged children glancing up at me.


    "Thank you for looking over Karen and Evan," My aunt thanked me.


    "Karen is seven and Evan is nine," My aunt introduced cute red-haired children.


    I squealed from looking at their puffy cheeks and cute outfits they wore.


    "It fine!" I shooed my aunt to hurry to her appointment.


    "Your house is sooo big!" Karen commented when she looked around the first floor.


    Karen''s golden eyes glittered with curiosity as she seemed to want to explore the entire house.


    "And this is Luke," I grabbed Luke''s shoulder to introduce him to my younger cousins.

 80 Karen Miller 2

    "Sooo good-looking!" Karen stared intensely at Luke.


    Luke wore a white polo that complimented his gleaming silver hair as he brightly smiled at Karen.


    "You look like a prince from the fairy tales that mommy reads to Karen for bedtime!" Karen innocently told us her admiration for Luke.


    ''Don''t fall for Luke''s looks Karen!'' I wished I could tell her.


    Luke''s looks felt completely deceiving. His personality quickly shattered my illusions of the ''prince-like'' Luke as his annoying lectures and harsh study sessions made me hate Luke sometimes.


    It wasn''t that I developed a tolerance for people with good looks since I grew up with Luke starting from kindergarten, but it was also from my experiences of dealing with guys from the first district. I realized that even though most of the guys in the first district were good-looking, their personalities and expectations for me to act like the perfect lady ruined my chances of finding love.


    Evan was the opposite of Karen as he stayed silent and estranged with Luke and I.


    "Do you want some snacks?" I asked Evan.


    I showed him the sugared strawberries I made yesterday that my mom didn''t make into jam yet.


    Evan shook his head to decline as he pulled on Luke''s shirt to ask for a glass of water.


    My cousins quickly gathered around Luke as he showed them his marble that sparkled in the sunlight.


    I pulled out my marble to make them come back to me.


    However, both Karen and Evan paid no attention to the extra marble as they kept asking Luke about the first district.


    "Is it true that everyone lives in mansions in the first district?" Evan excitedly asked.


    "Well... Rika and I live in a mansion," Luke chose his words carefully to not disappoint Evan.


    "Living in a mansion isn''t as good as you think it is," I tried to warn Evan and Karen.


    "That''s not true. I heard from my friend that people that live in mansions in the first district can eat all the desserts they want and have closets full of pretty dresses and shoes!" Karen started to get upset.


    "And eat delicious food everyday!" Evan added.


    Luke nodded as he agreed with the children. Seeing that Luke was taking their side, Karen and Evan brightly smiled in delight.


    At this rate, I didn''t know whether Luke was their real cousin or if I was as they listened to Luke''s every word with great anticipation.


    "But there''s no such thing as video games or TVs inside those mansions!" I argued back.


    These kids didn''t know how privileged they were with all those toys and games in their house. They actually had the time to play as school didn''t occupy too much of their time yet.


    Both Karen and Evan ignored me as they continued to pester Luke with more questions.


    When I got tired, I decided to catch up on my sleep as I couldn''t get enough sleep from waking up too early today.


    * * *


    I found both Evan and Karen sleeping on both sides of me on my bed when I woke up.


    I smiled when they were both adorably curled up as they slept peacefully without a care in the world.


    I tried to slip out of my bed as carefully and quietly as possible to not wake them up.


    When I gently closed the door to go downstairs, I soon found Luke in the living room.


    "You''re really good with children," I commented to Luke as he quickly grabbed the attention of Karen and Evan.


    Luke put his book down and sighed.


    "It''s because I have lots of experience," Luke admitted frankly.


    I wondered where Luke got his experience from as we were together almost all of the time ever since my reincarnation.


    I tilted my head in confusion to demand a more proper explanation.


    However, before Luke could open his mouth to give me a reply, a faint ring of a old telephone rang throughout the house.


    Luke grabbed the phone in the living room as it was placed on a intricate small coffee table beside the armchair he sat on.


    "Hello," Luke answered with a voice as smooth as glass.


    "Put it on speaker," I demanded Luke as I was curious who it was.


    Luke put the phone on speaker as I leaned closer to the phone to speak with my aunt.


    "Thank you for looking after Evan and Karen. I think I will be able to pick them up in an hour," My aunt''s voice resounded through the quiet house.


    "Mommy?" Karen started to make her way to the living room while she rubbed her eyes like she had just woken up.


    "Karen!" My aunt''s voice suddenly went to a higher pitch.


    "Mommy is going to pick you up a hour from now."


    Karen suddenly became more alert as her eyes became more widened.


    "Can you come later? I want to spend more time with Luke," Karen complained.


    Karen went to sit beside Luke on his armchair as she grabbed onto Luke''s arm to show that she wouldn''t leave soon.


    "Then I''ll come a bit later if that''s ok with you Luke," my aunt asked in a apologetic tone.


    "I don''t mind," Luke nonchalantly answered.


    ''Who was the one trying to resume the intense study sessions as soon as possible?'' I thought from his answer.

 81 Karen Miller 3

    Luke hung up after my aunt thanked him again.


    "Karen wants to play with older brother Luke all- day!" Karen declared to Luke while sitting in his lap.


    Luke opened his textbook again to resume his studying that was interrupted by me.


    He started to show Karen all the pretty pictures in the book as she asked what each of them meant.


    The doorbell rang as my aunt came at the time she promised.


    I went upstairs to wake up Evan who was still sleeping deeply in my bed.


    "Evan," I shook him while whispering his name into his ear.


    Evan groaned as he slowly started to wake up from the loud noise coming from downstairs.


    "Noooo!" Karen screamed.


    "We have to go home to eat dinner Karen," my aunt tried to convince Karen to go home.


    Evan and I walked down the stairs to see Karen in tears as she threw a great tantrum.


    "I don''t want to go home! I want to spend more time with Luke!" Karen kept on shouting repeatedly.


    My aunt looked like she was in a great dilemma as she sighed.


    Evan obediently walked to his mother as he stood behind her as if he was used to Karen''s tantrums.


    "Come on Karen," My aunt with no patience left started to drag Karen out the door.


    "Noooo. I won''t go home right now and you can''t make me," Karen didn''t stop yelling.


    Karen''s golden eyes started to glow as she threw in the last part of her sentence.


    "In fact, you can''t." Karen smiled.


    The air suddenly felt heavy. It was strangling my neck as if the oxygen wasn''t flowing into my brain properly.


    Luke seemed to feel the same pressure as he coughed in response as if he had a lack of air in his throat.


    When the hard pressure of the air lifted, it was like a veil being lifted as the sticks in the clock spinned back to ten a.m. on July 8th of 3020.


    My aunt disappeared as Evan lost his cheerful and stared warily of us like when we first met.


    "Now Luke can play with Karen even more!" Karen brightly smiled as she pulled on Luke''s arm to continue showing her the pretty pictures in the book he placed on the coffee table.


    ''Did Karen just use mana?'' I silently asked Luke with a questioning quick glare.


    Luke nodded as he momentarily showed his disapproval in his brief frown.


    "When were able to turn back time Karen?" Luke asked Karen very gently as she leaned back while sitting in his lap.


    Karen deliberated on whether to tell Luke or to keep this great power to herself.


    However, Karen decided that her prince would never tell mommy about this as she confided in Luke while forgetting that Evan and her cousin were in the same room.


    "Karen got a very bad fever last week. But, Karen was able to get better yesterday all of the sudden like magic! And ever since then, Karen was able to use this magic!" Karen explained.


    "A mutation," Luke concluded as he softly whispered for me to hear.


    "Would it be ok if Rika and I have a brief talk?" Luke asked Karen sweetly like honey dripping down.


    "Only less than ten minutes, or else Karen won''t forgive you," Karen pretended to be angry as she crossed her arms.


    Luke and I walked into my room for a private conversation as Evan kept Karen busy for a while.


    "Karen has mana?" I immediately asked Luke.


    Luke nodded as he started to explain, "I think she''s unconsciously releasing mana in the third district in small outbursts. That''s why we feel that it''s easier to use our mana here."


    "Then how did she turn back time?"


    "It often happens with young children who can''t control their mana properly. That''s why, after it''s quickly detected, we bring them to the first or second district." Luke recited like it was a passage he read from a textbook he always carried.


    "Is that what happened with me?" I curiously asked indirectly if that''s how I came to be partnered to Luke.


    "Apparently, you were merging the districts together into one big continent as you changed the landscape and weather while changing the flow of time every minute," Luke recalled one of his earliest memories.


    "Karen probably had a bit of innate mana within her but got more prominent from a mutation caused by her fever," Luke finished explaining.


    Maybe my whole family possessed a bit of mana from my father''s side. Luke''s explanation did make sense to a certain extent.


    Since Karen was seven, it was highly possible that she possessed a stronger vessel to contain her volatile mana.


    When I learned about biology in kindergarten, I realized there was a great difference from what I knew from my past life.


    Since there was mana involved, almost everything about the human body revolved around the use of mana in class.


    "But from what I remember, people who usually develop mana after kindergarten usually have a low amount of mana anyways," I casually pointed out to Luke.


    "But even very small amounts cause big ripples in districts that generally don''t contain any mana in the air. That''s why a small amount of mana that is totally uncontrolled will cause a result like this up to the fourth district."

 82 Karen Miller 4

    Luke took out his marble to report this incident to the higher up people in the first district.


    Immediately, Christopher stood in the middle of my room. Christopher''s face didn''t age a bit even when the last time we met was when we graduated from kindergarten.


    Christopher wore a formal black suit that suited the occasion of going to a ball rather than a ordinary middle-class home.


    "Is she downstairs?" Christopher asked us.


    Both Luke and I nodded as we led Christopher to Karen.


    "You brought Karen another prince!" Karen excitedly exclaimed.


    I did have to admit that I have never seen anyone in school that was not good-looking. They were beautiful enough that they could easily become celebrities in the other districts.


    "Can you touch this Karen?" Christopher wasted no time to try to measure the amount of mana Karen possessed.


    Christopher took out a white glowing orb.


    When Karen touched the pretty orb with no hesitation, the orb remained relatively the same.


    "Barely possesses any mana," Christopher mumbled the results.


    Christopher snapped his figures, and almost immediately, time has gone to its rightful place as my aunt was inside my living room just like before time went back.


    My aunt gasped from Christopher''s sudden appearance while Evan''s jaw dropped.


    "Hello, I am known as Christopher de Welmington and I am here regarding taking your daughter to the second district," Christopher chose to keep his introduction short.


    "What!" Both my aunt and I shouted.


    "Your daughter is talented, so it is advised to admit her into a middle-ranking school in the second district. However, she needs to stay at the dorms there and enrollment will have to start immediately." Christopher sighed like he was annoyed from having to explain every single thing.


    "Can I think about this?" My aunt worried about leaving Karen alone in the second district.


    "Ma''am, your daughter possesses a great talent that is endangering other people''s lives while she stays longer into this district," Christopher started to pressure my aunt.


    Was this what my parents went through when they had to give me up at the young age of four? Maybe my parents didn''t initially want me to attend school in the first district even though it would lead me into a brighter future.


    "But-"


    "Maybe we should ask Karen about this," I interrupted Christopher when he tried to interject again.


    We all looked at Karen as she suddenly felt afraid that all the attention was on her.


    "Do you want to live in the second district? You won''t be able to meet mommy anymore since you''ll be at school all the time," I told Karen, hoping she would be able to keep her childhood by rejecting the offer.


    "Karen doesn''t want to go," Karen whimpered at the thought of separating from her family.


    "But Karen will be able to become more like your cousin and Luke if you go," Christopher used her admiration for Luke to his advantage.


    "Then maybe," Karen started to falter as she imagined encountering more princes in the upper district.


    Karen had heard from her friends that princes and princesses lived in the upper districts. Apparently Karen could meet them all the time if she got the chance to visit.


    At the sound of Karen''s hesitation, Christopher urged my aunt to complete the transfer forms for Karen to live in the second district.


    My aunt knew that Karen would have a much brighter and better future in the second district. However, it was clear she didn''t want to give up her baby daughter to fend for herself at such a young age.


    But my aunt knew that these kind of opportunities almost never came by. My aunt signed the form while trying to hold her tears back as she knew she would not see her daughter for a while after today.


    "Thank you for your cooperation," Christopher bowed to her.


    With a snap of his fingers, both Karen and Christopher immediately disappeared like they have never existed in this house.


    "What just happened?" I asked Luke angrily.


    My aunt and Evan looked tiredly at each other as they hugged one another to comfort themselves with the loss of Karen.


    "Karen now gets to study at the second district," Luke showed the results of reporting the incident to the first district.


    "But did you really have to seperate Karen from her family at such a young age?" I argued back as I thought how Karen would suffer from the transition.


    "But you went to the first district at four," Luke pointed out that I was separated from my parents at a much earlier age.


    "But family don''t do this to each other!" I tried to get the point across.


    It was common sense that family members didn''t report each other unless it was a great crime. Especially when faced with the decision to separate young children from their parents!


    Even when I felt no familial relations to my cousins and my aunt since it was my first time meeting them today, I inherently knew it was not the right thing to do.


    "Even though it endangers all the lives of the people living in the third district?" Luke coldly responded.


    "Family try to protect each other even when the world is against them. Didn''t you say that family was special as well?" I started to shout when my point wasn''t getting across.


    It was like Luke didn''t consider them as family.


    "Do you even consider my family as part of your family?" I asked Luke harshly.

 83 Meeting Lukes Parents

    "I only consider one person as my family in this district and it''s you," Luke honestly admitted as if there was nothing wrong with that fact.


    I sighed with great disappointment as my anger washed away.


    I was not married to Luke yet, so it made sense. Maybe it was just my delusion that Luke would consider my parents as family as well.


    I was glad that my marriage to Luke was not certain. I felt that we were too young to even consider the idea of marriage at this age. Who knows what will happen when we grow up?


    It was dangerous of me to acknowledge my engagement to Luke. What was I thinking?


    * * *


    Unfortunately, my days in my parent''s house went by too fast.


    I currently stood in one of Luke''s numerous mansions. However, this mansion seemed to look like the main house as it looked more splendid and larger than all the other ones I visited.


    A servant smoothly guided us into a vivid parlour decorated with all colours of roses bred for their fragrant scent. The table was already set for a miniature tea party as a young college aged lady sat in one of the silken white chairs.


    The delicate lady''s blond hair drifted down to her tiny waist as she wore a light dress decorated with diamonds.


    She smiled when she noticed Luke and I coming into the parlor.


    A young man that looked like he was of a similar age as the lady sat beside the lady with a warm smile.


    His blue eyes brightened from our appearance as he whispered softly into the lady''s ear as she nodded.


    "You must be Rika," The lady sweetly tried to initiate the conversation when we sat in our respective seats.


    "I am," I frankly responded.


    "I am Joanna de Roselia and this is my husband, William de Roselia." Joanna introduced herself and her husband.


    "How old are you?" I asked her since they looked very young.


    Luke instantly gave me a stabbing glare as if to warn me of something.


    "My husband and I are both turning fifty-four this year," Joanna''s smile got brighter.


    "No way!" I gasped while looking shocked.


    "You look like you''re both in your early twenties," I commented.


    Joanna laughed as if it was the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard.


    William put his teacup down for the first time as he gave the same dazzling smile as Luke when he found the situation was troublesome.


    ''What''s wrong?'' I quickly threw a silent glance to Luke.


    Luke sighed as he looked downcast after my comment.


    "Your partner is sure unique," William finally spoke.


    "She is," Luke admitted.


    "Quite deserving of the assignment Will and I just decided to give," Joanna elegantly got up from her chair.


    Joanna got out her marble by using mana for it to come out from thin air.


    The projection instantly lighted up to show the schedule for the next three days.


    No wonder he said that there would be no time to study for our exam during our stay here!


    Was it like this every time he visited his parents? Maybe that was why Luke was strangely quieter and controlled every aspect of his movements and words very tightly as if he was walking on a thin tightrope.


    "I brought some tutors to our house today for help!" Joanna excitedly declared as she clasped her hands together.


    "They will be in the rooms indicated in the schedule."


    Joanna got up as she gracefully exited the parlour to return to her work.


    William stayed behind as if he wanted to observe us for a longer time.


    However, no matter how much they pressure me. There was no way I was going through this schedule!


    "I believe I have the right to refuse," I directly made eye contact with Luke''s father.


    Luke tugged on my dress for me to stop.


    But the schedule had already instantly changed into a more hell-like one than before that I would never be able to predict it was even possible to create.


    Luke sighed as I ignored him.


    "I am only engaged to Luke. I am not married to him yet, which means that I have the right to refuse, although Luke may not be able to." I declared.


    William cruely smiled, "You''re engaged to the heir of the Roselia family. Of course you''ll get married."


    William left the parlour with great amusement in his eyes as the schedule changed one more time.


    I didn''t even bother to look at the schedule to see how much worse it became.


    "Let''s go Rika," Luke grumbled while dragging me to the first item in the schedule.


    "I don''t-"


    "Please Rika, before it gets any worse," Luke started to plead.


    ''Like how could Luke''s family use the space-time rooms in their mansion to make Luke and I study for the length of an entire year!'' I silently screamed while being miserably dragged by Luke.


    For the first time, I saw Luke trembling from genuine fear in his parent''s mansion. Maybe I should have taken that as a sign earlier on to stay quiet.


    I would meet with Luke parent''s at lunch time again today, but before that, I would spend an entire year to complete that schedule!

 84 Hell

    "Straighten your back!" my tutor screamed as she noticed me slouching from being tired for studying five hours straight on just calculus.


    I instantly straightened my back as Luke looked at me with pity.


    I had to pay attention to my posture and the contents of the lecture simultaneously and it was mentally draining me.


    I would normally ignore the tutor, but I gave in when she started to threaten us that she would increase the lecture for a additional hour every time something was not fixed immediately.


    This wasn''t stuff we were even learning in class. It was material that we would probably learn one year from now.


    Who wouldn''t have fabulous grades in school if they went through this before school started? I felt great pity for Luke as it explained why he normally got extremely high grades in class ever since kindergarten.


    But what I still couldn''t understand was how he had to drag me into this!


    I was limping after the calculus lecture finished. It took a month inside the time-space room for the tutor to be satisfied of the results of her teachings.


    Luke supported me in walking to the next room where we would learn dancing for a month.


    Apparently it was a sport for the elites of the first district to learn from a young age.


    I did learn a bit of ballet in the elementary school, but I forgot most of it when I wasn''t required to take it anymore in fourth grade.


    It was a traumatic experience that I never wanted to go through again. Maybe that was why I forgot about it so fast.


    However, my body flawlessly followed the choreography from my tutor that she decided to move onto ballroom dancing.


    I guess all that hard practice throughout those years in elementary school paid off.


    Ballet was the foundation of all dances, so I quickly grasped the new moves of ballroom dancing.


    Luke flawlessly twirled me and lifted me up into the air like those days in elementary school.


    I actually enjoyed dancing compared to studying as I got to move my body instead of staying in one stiff position.


    This was nothing compared to calculus!


    I smiled as another month passed by. After reenergizing ourselves with mana, Luke and I went onto the next room.


    * * *


    Joanna setup a magnificent feast in the same parlour we met in the morning.


    William ordered the servants to bring more food as if the table was not already overflowing with food.


    Before we came, Luke and I changed into new outfits.


    I wore a silken pastel yellow dress with a jeweled ribbon that tied my hair into a elegant ponytail.


    Luke wore his usual polo shirt and formal shorts.


    "You''re here," Joanna welcomed us.


    I stayed quiet as I reminded myself that I would be gone in 2 and a half days.


    Joanna gestured to us that we could start eating.


    It was hard enough for me to stay concentrated on the highly advanced material for long hours without being yelled at almost every single minute.


    Both Luke and I didn''t dare to speak a single word as we were afraid that Joanna would assign another intense schedule until dinner time.


    When the servants started to clear the plates, William finally made a comment.


    "It seems like education is really effective," William seemed pleased with our behaviour.


    William opened up a new screen to display a less intense schedule to attend until dinner time when we finished our plates.


    Luke and I just had to attend classes for another six months in the time-space rooms.


    I nodded to pretend to agree as I planned to escape from the mansion as soon as I got out of this parlour.


    I elegantly walked out of the parlour in my dress shoes that had a bit of heels to it. My feet hurt the entire time, but I ignored it for the sake of a better schedule.


    Instead of going to the room assigned in the schedule, I went out to the entrance where the gates of the mansion remained tightly shut.


    I used my mana to fly to the other side of the gate.


    However, my head bumped into a barrier surrounding the fences and gates that encompassed the wide mansion.


    I spotted Luke looking up at me while sighing.


    "Why don''t you help?" I asked him.


    Luke seemed to hate being here as much as I did for once.


    "I already tried numerous times when I was younger. but I have never managed to destroy the thick barrier," Luke sadly smiled.


    That was unexpected of Luke. I guess even Luke had those rebellious days when he was younger.


    However, Luke didn''t possess unlimited amount of mana like I did.


    From Luke''s blatant clue, I knew I had to break this barrier in order to escape.


    Luke didn''t go against me for once as he seemed to support me with hints of hope in his eyes.


    I closed my eyes as I visualized breaking and shattering the barrier surround the area with a nuclear bomb-like energy.


    ''There''s no way that this wouldn''t work!'' I thought.


    I opened my eyes to unleash the bomb onto the barrier.

 85 Failure

    Nothing happened as Luke sighed as if he predicted that this would happen.


    ''If the first bomb didn''t work, maybe the next one will work'' I thought.


    I instantly produced ten nuclear bomb simultaneously to drop down onto the barrier.


    This time, the bombs contained five percent of my mana each as fuel for its destructive power.


    Luke''s eyes instantly widened as he realized what I was about to do.


    Luke''s mouth opened to yell ''stop'', but before he could say so, I dropped the bombs with no hesitation.


    The amass of power within the bombs stook the whole neighbourhood. I instantly soundproofed my ears for protection as a great storm of fire erupted before my eyes.


    Luke instantly soundproofed the small area that was encompassed around him as he followed my warning.


    Sparks of red and blue mixed together to produce the most beautiful fireworks rather than doing any damage when the first few bombs were dropped.


    It was a festival of the lights as the energy created from my mana displayed the colours of the rainbow as it touched the unbudging barrier.


    But, there was no scratches to the barrier to my surprise.


    "Maybe I didn''t put enough mana into them," I reflected on my mistake.


    Luke stayed silent as he was immersed in studying the consequences.


    Luke suddenly grabbed my hand to lead me to a hiding place in the servant''s building.


    We ran up to the second floor and found the perfect hiding spot.


    There was a closet in one of the unlocked rooms with a stained glass window near the top while its other parts were constructed from light-weight metal.


    The closet was big enough to fit both Luke and I even when it was full of maid uniforms.


    I checked the status of the barrier as I looked outside the stained glass.


    Fortunately, when the latter bombs dropped, a crack within the barrier was finally formed.


    ''One more left,'' I thought as I clasped my hands together in prayer.


    The last bomb dropped as it immediately shattered the barrier with its impact.


    The sound of the barrier crackling down was like glass being shattered onto the ground, but on a much greater scale.


    Even though I used my mana to soundproof the surrounding noises, I was unable to prevent myself from hearing the faint noises of the bomb due to its great impact.


    I got rid of the soundproofing spell of both Luke and I with a snap of my fingers after all the bombs dropped.


    "We can escape now," I whispered to Luke.


    Step. Step. Tap.


    William opened the closet doors as he brightly smiled.


    I hugged myself in surprise as I wondered how Luke''s father was able to immediately find us after all the bombs were finished dropping down onto the barrier.


    His silver hair tousled down as it slightly touched my face when he offered us his hand to help us come out of the closet.


    [Teleport] I instantly thought to get out of this place as I shivered from imagining the consequences of breaking the barrier in a dynamic way that shook the whole neighborhood.


    "Cancel," William waved his hand in the air as the teleportation spell was cancelled.


    "I have to admit that I was pretty impressed," William welcomed us into his arms.


    I trembled in his arms as Luke stayed frozen with his expressionless face.


    "It was a experiment," I answered to hide my fear.


    William studied us as he finally stopped when he concluded we were not injured from the bombs.


    "Well, I am glad you are not injured," William warmly smiled.


    "Here''s the new schedule," William gave us our new schedule through a projection.


    * * *


    "What''s with this noise!" Joanna stomped her feet as she invaded into William''s study.


    William''s study was messy with unfinished work piling on his desk and the floor.


    The documents littered the tables and luxurious couches for guests to sit on.


    This was not work that anyone could finish within a day. William''s study was actually a time-space room where time slowed down.


    Without this feature, there was no way that William would be able to finish the work within a day. His parents gave him a toppling amount of new work every single day.


    William feared that he would someday die from overworking when his work got piled up from the previous days of slacking off even if it was just a little bit.


    The study rumbled from the great noise from outside.


    William stood up to look outside the window to find out the reason for this great commotion.


    Both Joanna and William found bombs coming down onto their mansion.


    The noise was from the bombs crashing onto the barrier surrounding the estate.


    They both frowned when they traced the mana back to the young girl standing beside their son.


    "See! This is what happens when they have just a little bit of energy!" Joanna screamed at William.


    William instantly regretted fighting with Joanna after breakfast today as he wished he had listened to her.


    "You can''t give them this!" William argued with Joanna after breakfast.


    The hell-like schedule was laid out in front of him. This was even more intense than what was given to Luke before he entered kindergarten.


    ''Even if his son was able to endure this, how would that fragile girl go through this as well?'' William couldn''t accept Joanna''s method of raising children.

 86 Lukes Story 1

    "Congratulations Joanna!" Juliana held the newborn baby in her arms.


    Joanna was covered in sweat and blood as she faintly smiled to hide her pain from her sister.


    Her hair was tousled and messy from three days of labor. William tightly held her hand to comfort her as he looked greatly distressed.


    Juliana carefully passed the newborn to Joanna to hold as the baby didn''t make a sound.


    * * *


    "This is the last child we''re having. Why did you engage our first son to the Suilett family?" Joanna complained to her husband.


    Joanna didn''t plan to have two children. She was satisfied with having one child.


    However, the Suilett family''s only daughter was deemed to be a perfect match with her only son.


    Joanna gritted her teeth as the Roselia family needed a heir.


    The elders in the council had absolute control of all the districts. Joanna envied the people who lived in the second district as they had the freedom in their lives.


    She knew that many people who die to be in her position. Joanna was part of the prestigious Pelargonium family in the first district.


    It was part of the top ten families in the first district. Joanna had a younger sister and a older brother.


    From the time she was born, she was immediately matched with the heir of the Roselia family who was three months older than her.


    Age was a important factor when making engagements between the families.


    Joanna met William when she entered kindergarten from the age of four.


    William was the only child his parents had. Since he did not have any siblings, he was more spoiled and arrogant than anyone she had met.


    Joanna instantly disliked William as she avoided him much as possible during her years in school.


    When they were in school, they simply conversed the bare minimum needed to get their work done.


    After they have gotten married, Joanna regarded their relationship as truly business partners as she was swamped with never ending work given by her parents-in-law every single day.


    Joanna constantly thought of the people in the second district. People who didn''t have their entire lives planned out for them.


    Following the unspoken law determined by the council, Lucius was to become to heir to the Suilett family since he didn''t possess enough mana to be the heir of the Roselia family.


    The heirs of the Roselia all possessed the enormous amount of mana.


    That''s why Joanna was relieved when Luke had unparalleled amount of mana that was much greater than the previous generations of the Roselia family.


    ''I''m never going through that terrible suffering again,'' Joanna faintly smiled as Juliana passed Luke into her arms.


    "I know," William sighed as he took in Joanna''s anger.


    "Luke will be our heir," William tried to calm Joanna down.


    * * *


    Her parents-in-law gave her mountains of work on managing their property and territories in the fourth and fifth districts.


    Luke innocently babbled his first words at the age of one.


    "Book" Luke pointed at the bookshelf behind him.


    ''It''s William''s turn to watch Luke today!'' Joanna was angry at William.


    William was out to inspect the territories in the fourth and fifth district. Unfortunately, he couldn''t make it in time to go to the first district to watch Luke.


    Lucius entered school last year. Once the children of the elites entered school, taking care of them wasn''t much work.


    Looking after Lucius was much easier than looking after Luke. Since Luke was not engaged yet, she didn''t take turns looking after her children with another family.


    Joanna didn''t think that the Suilett family helped with the burden of childcare as much as she thought they did. She knew now after taking care of Luke with William.


    ''I wish he could speak already,'' Joanna miserably thought.


    Once Luke was able to speak in full sentences, she was going to hire as much tutors as possible to get him ready for school.


    This was normal for families that were elites in the first district. Once their children have reached the age of two, it was time for them to educate their children harshly to get good grades in school.


    This was how the elites were able to keep all of their wealth. They created the point system where they were able to ensure that their families would always be at the top.


    Thankfully, Luke was able to speak in full sentences before he reached the age of two.


    "Thank you mother," Luke received a slice of cake from the servant.


    ''I finally don''t have to look after him that much anymore!'' Joanna almost cried from happiness.


    Joanna fiercely read many picture books to Luke to get him speaking as early as possible.


    "From now on, you''re going to read to Luke everytime you take care of him," Joanna ordered William when he came back from the inspection.


    "Shouldn''t we get him some toys?" William disagreed.


    "Do you really think toys will help with his education?" Joanna tried to act like she was thinking what was the best for Luke.


    "What about all the other children? We don''t want Luke to be behind," Joanna made a sound argument.


    "Sure," William found no reason to disagree anymore.


    Both Joanna and William now only had to look after him during meal times and social events.

 87 Lukes Story 2

    William grimaced when Joanna made another intense schedule for Luke.


    This was harsh even within the families in their inner circle.


    Luke had a extremely busy schedule that even rivaled what he had to go through in elementary school.


    It was common knowledge that schedules got more intense as you went up in grades.


    "Are you going to look after Luke then?" Joanna asked him when William disagreed with her methods.


    William was given even more work than Joanna. His parents were more harsh to him than Joanna as the heir of the Roselia family.


    He barely had any time to eat with all the work he was given. Ever since he married Joanna, there was never a time where he slept more than three hours.


    He worked seventeen hours per day with no breaks as he could not disappoint his parents.


    William knew that he could not take care of Luke with his busy schedule.


    William sighed as he agreed with Joanna.


    Eventually, when Joanna was on vacation with her sister, William arranged even harsher schedules for Luke than Joanna had previously created due to his work that was doubled without Joanna.


    It wasn''t that he didn''t love his own son. It was the same reason as Joanna, they just didn''t have the time or energy to look after him.


    It was much better with Lucius as the Suilett family helped with taking care of him.


    * * *


    William felt guilty as he briefly observed Luke''s small face during dinner time.


    William only spent time with Luke during mealtime.


    One tradition or family rule in the Roselia family was that all family members were to eat their meals together in the house.


    If it was up to William, he would eat his meals while working so that he could have an additional hour of sleep at night.


    Luke''s face was void of all emotion at a young age of three. His bright smiles have completely disappeared ever since Joanna entrusted Luke to all the hired tutors.


    Luke had impeccable manners and elegance as he elegantly cut his steak into small pieces.


    "How was your day today?" William brightly smiled to try to get rid of the expressionless emptiness on Luke''s face.


    "I studied math and english today," Luke coldly answered without even looking at William.


    "What would you like for your birthday?" William tried to change the topic when the previous attempt failed.


    "I would like to rest for a hour," Luke replied while picking up another fork to eat his salad.


    ''That was it?'' William sadly thought.


    When William was at Luke''s age, he would ask for the newest virtual reality games from the second district or the old relics from the third district.


    However, William had forgotten that in his arranged schedule for Luke, he had not given Luke a single moment where he could rest between his classes as he mostly copied what Joanna had created for Luke.


    Joanna looked very irritated than normal today as her parents-in-law have given her more work these days.


    "Luke won''t have the time to miss us when he''s busy," Joanna coldly replied.


    William could not disagree as most young children could not handle being away from their parents for a long time at such as young age.


    He ignored the guilt eating away his heart as he hoped that Luke wouldn''t miss them too much.


    William suddenly remembered this argument that occurred when Luke wasn''t even two years old yet.


    * * *


    William coldly looked at the young girl in his house.


    The young girl had created disruption in all the districts. She had reversed time, created natural disasters and distorted space all within few minutes.


    It was like this girl would have unlimited amount of mana in the future. There was never a child that showed this much potential in the history books before.


    She was a perfect fit for the Roselia family where they regarded having huge amounts of mana as the most important factor. This idea was especially put into motion for a person who would become engaged to the heir of the Roselia house.


    The young girl didn''t stop crying as she was separated from her parents earlier today.


    "This is Luke''s fiancee," William''s father announced.


    "She''s from the third district," William''s father didn''t show signs of disgust, but rather looked pleased.


    The elites of the first district never married or engaged with people from other districts. There was a hidden revolting notion of people who could not use mana and most people in the other districts did not possess even a ounce of mana.


    William sighed as there would be no family taking turns to take care of Luke and the young toddler that was to be his partner.


    He would receive no help like he was able to with Lucius.


    He knew that Joanna would be furious about this engagement. Joanna was looking forward to the family that would be engaged with Luke so that she wouldn''t have to spend more time with him when she was busy with never ending work.


    Thankfully, Luke would enter school next month.


    The young girl stopped crying as she started to tremble in fear instead from William''s intimidating stare.


    ''Why couldn''t this girl come from the first district?'' William thought with great regret as he could not share his father''s joy.

 88 Lukes Story 3

    "This is your younger brother," Joanna introduced Luke to Lucius.


    Lucius looked at his younger brother for the first time. His younger brother greatly resembled his father more than his mother.


    His slick silver hair gleamed in the sunlight as he gazed up at him with his empty blue eyes.


    Lucius had come to visit his family for the first time in three years. He was allowed to visit his family once during his entire stay in elementary school.


    Belle had kept begging him to visit this year as she missed her parents.


    Lucius and Belle had finally adjusted to the cruel school system that ranked first in the first district.


    They had no time to miss their parents in the previous years as they struggled to survive with the notion of points that was greatly dependent on their studies.


    ''How does Luke look this mature?'' Lucius wondered as he noticed Luke''s face that was void of any emotion.


    Luke''s face did not match his age. He never smiled but he never got upset.


    Lucius was unaware of his parents giving out such a strict schedule to Luke due their work that kept them occupied most of the day.


    "Since your father and I are busy today, can you watch Luke for the day?" Joanna sweetly asked Lucius.


    Lucius knew immediately it was a order rather than a request.


    Lucius didn''t mind taking care of his younger brother, so he nodded his head to accept Joanna''s orders.


    Joanna immediately left without looking at Luke''s response to this arrangement.


    "What do you usually do?" Lucius asked Luke for guidance on what to do.


    "Mother had just told me that I will not be following the usual schedule today," Luke coldly replied.


    Lucius started to wonder what to do today as he reluctantly brought Luke to his room when he could not come up with an answer.


    Lucius'' room was filled with toys from Belle''s family, Joanna and William.


    "Do you know how to play this game?" Lucius grabbed a antique.


    The antique was from the second district. It was a video game counsel that Lucius had begged for his third birthday when all his other friends had one.


    "I have never seen such as device before," Luke answered lifelessly.


    "How about all of the other toys in this room?" Lucius offered as he gestured to some of his toys.


    Luke shook his head.


    "Then what do you usually do?" Lucius asked him with great curiosity to how he could not know of any of these toys.


    "Mother and father had me study with the tutors." Luke answered as he indirectly questioned Lucius if he had not gone through the same thing.


    "For the entire day?" Lucius asked with surprise.


    Luke nodded his head as he concluded that his parents were stricter on him rather than his older brother since he was the heir of the Roselia family.


    Even Lucius secretly considered the Suilett family to be his actual family rather the Roselia family that barely spent any time with him.


    In fact, most of the toys in his room were from the Suilett family. The only things from the Roselia family were the basic furniture necessary and few toys for his birthday.


    Lucius felt grateful that he had the Suilett family to raise him as he pitied Luke.


    ''This could have been me,'' Lucius sadly thought.


    His younger brother didn''t know what emotions were as he didn''t have the chance to experience a normal childhood.


    This was when Lucius was determined that he would become a parent to Luke.


    However, there was no way of accomplishing this when Lucius returned to the Suilett family mansion the day afterwards.


    * * *


    The second time Lucius was able to meet his younger brother was when he graduated from elementary school.


    He secretly observed his younger brother who entered the elementary school section when he was to enter the middle school section.


    His younger brother was frowning as he walked beside a young girl with a brillant amount of mana.


    Her aura shined brightly as she attracted the attention of the people around her.


    However, she didn''t seem to notice the people staring at her as she fought with Luke.


    "I promised to eat cake with Shelly and Ellen today!" She yelled at Luke who was dragging her to the library.


    Lucius was grateful to the young girl who finally made Luke show a ounce of emotion on his face.


    He was afraid that his brother would never be able to experience a normal life with his underdeveloped emotions.


    "Who''s that?" Belle asked Lucius as she snuck up from behind.


    "My younger brother and his partner," Lucius whispered back.


    "You mean our younger brother," Belle smiled mischievously.


    The Suilett family placed great importance in spending time with family. This was why Lucius came to value family very much as the Suilett couple raised him with Belle.


    "Yea," Lucius tried to hush Belle.


    "Why are you hiding?" Belle wondered why Lucius was hiding from his younger brother.


    Belle grew up with a lot of love from her parents. This was why she could not understand Lucius'' reluctance to show himself to Luke.

 89 The Last Day

    There was no time to attempt to escape from Luke''s mansion again.


    William and Joanna attached servants to us to make sure we were strictly walking to the next room where another tutor waited for us.


    Under the servant''s watchful eyes, both Luke and I didn''t dare to take another detour again.


    We studied when we were told to study and ate silently with no energy during mealtimes.


    Luke never spoke to me as I never spoke to him.


    We were trying to retain as much energy possible to somehow survive through the next lesson.


    This explained why Luke was very capable ever since kindergarten.


    I had no energy to rebel as I struggled to stay awake to concentrate on the lessons today.


    I flopped onto my bed at the end of the day today.


    Who cared about escaping, I just needed more sleep these days.


    This was why I was glad I was going back to school tomorrow morning after breakfast.


    "I don''t think I can ever marry you Luke," I mumbled with the last bits of my energy before blacking out.


    * * *


    Luke shook me awake as usual the next morning.


    It took him more time than usual to wake me up.


    Even the bright sunlight that filled the room couldn''t wake me up due to my pure exhaustion from yesterday.


    I didn''t know how Luke''s parents could come up with these cruel schedules in the first place and didn''t want to know.


    I finally got off the bed when Luke gave me hints of the possible dangers of not waking up.


    "After breakfast, we''re going back to school. But we might have to go at lunch if we miss-"


    "I''m awake," I almost yelled as I interrupted him.


    I wanted to leave Luke''s family estate as soon as possible. I never thought I would think this, but I actually missed school.


    School was almost nothing compared to the intense schedules that were given out by Luke''s parents.


    I quickly got ready with Luke''s help as I changed into my uniform this time.


    I sat in my usual seat in the parlour as Joanna and William waited for us to come as the food in their dishes were left untouched.


    ''Why were they here earlier than before?'' I feared.


    Usually both Joanna and William showed up late for mealtimes except for the first day when we arrived at Luke''s family mansion.


    We all ate in awkward silence as sound of utensils and servants replacing the dishes were the only sounds made.


    When we were all finished eating, Joanna made a announcement.


    "So whose house are you visiting after you graduate from middle school?" Joanna sweetly smiled.


    "What do you mean?" I asked her for clarification.


    "After you graduate from middle school, you choose to visit either my son''s house for a week or your house in the third district for a week." Joanna answered.


    "My house," I said with no hesitation.


    What was with this family?


    It was like we were unwanted here. I was fine with being unwanted here, but I hated that they would not let us outside the mansion.


    Instead, the days were filled with intense schedules that no human being would have to suffer through.


    I ran towards the hover car that was parked near the gates when William personally escorted us out the front door.


    * * *


    Daniel was about to project the results of the midterm exams onto the board.


    Surprisingly, the class material seemed easier to understand for once.


    The problems and questions on the exam were also not that hard as I thought it would be even without Luke''s intense study sessions.


    After I left Luke''s house, Luke didn''t drag me to his intense study sessions as usual to my surprise.


    It was like I was reviewing all the class material that I had learned at Luke''s house.


    I shivered as I recalled the bad memories there.


    Results:


    Rika and Luke: 600,000 points


    Michelle and Alex: 90,000 points


    Helena and Alan: 5,000 points


    Miliana and Charles: 15,000 points


    I got all my tests back electronically through my tablet.


    I gasped as I realized I have gotten every test in the midterm completely correct.


    I grabbed the tablet in Luke''s hand as I checked his results.


    Luke had also gotten every test correct as usual.


    This meant that we got the most points since we didn''t make a single mistake or point taken off on our tests.


    "How is this possible?" Charles stumbled.


    Even Ellen and Shelly looked surprised from the results as they congratulated me a bit late as they were frozen momentarily from the shock.


    This was the first time where Luke and I were able to get perfect marks in every single subject.


    Since I couldn''t use the dimensional library for all the numerous subjects taught at this school, I could never achieve the results on the board today.


    "I spent three days at Luke''s house," I answered Charles question.


    Alan joined Charles as they both were unable to stop talking about how I was able to not make a single mistake.


    However, Alex was the only person in the room that didn''t seem surprised from the results. It was like he eerily knew what we went through at Luke''s house.

 90 Birthday 1

    I smiled while waking up today.


    I woke up earlier than usual as Luke was still asleep in his bed.


    It was December 20th today.


    I discovered my birthday in this life when I looked through the photo album.


    Unexpectedly, the photo album provided by the school to my parents had some of my information in it such as the birthday of Luke and I.


    I was able to skim through the photo album during my stay at my parent''s house the last time I visited them in the fall.


    Luke''s birthday was November 18th.


    Since his birthday already passed before I became aware of it, I couldn''t give him a present.


    But that didn''t mean that I couldn''t pester Luke about my birthday.


    For the first time, I climbed onto Luke''s bed as I shook Luke aggressively to wake him up.


    Luke instantly woke up as he got up to sit down on the bed.


    "What''s wrong Rika?" He tiredly asked me.


    "It''s my birthday today," I gave Luke a hint.


    Luke didn''t seem to understand my hint as he still looked greatly confused.


    "I''m turning twelve today," I said to Luke more explicitly.


    "I know," Luke stated with no expression.


    He knew? I was the only one who didn''t know about my birthday this entire time?


    "My birthday present," I finally asked Luke after no other methods worked.


    "I read in a book that on someone''s birthday, they have a party, receive gifts and get a cake with candles on it that represent their age," I explained.


    "In the first district, we only formally celebrate birthdays once someone turns sixteen." Luke seemed to wonder why I missed this part in the book I read.


    No wonder I have never celebrated my birthday here! This meant that I would have to spend four more years of not celebrating my birthday to reach that age.


    "Why sixteen?" I curiously asked.


    "Because sixteen is the age that where we come to have fully mature bodies for the maximum capacity for mana we can store," Luke explained.


    Of course everything revolved around mana.


    But of course I would not wait that long to finally celebrate my first birthday at the age of twelve.


    "My birthday present?" I asked Luke again while I took in his explanations.


    I sulked as Luke dragged his hand through his hair with a bit of dilemma.


    He reluctantly took out his marble and a gift box wrapped in pretty gold paper with a shiny white ribbon on the top appeared out of thin air.


    Luke actually prepared a present for me?


    All I had to do was ask all this time for a present?


    I was shocked as I thought we would go shopping in the first district for my present.


    Thankfully, today was a saturday. This meant that we had no classes today.


    I carefully opened the gift as I was afraid to damage the shiny wrapping paper that glowed faintly in the dark.


    I rubbed my eyes and pinched myself to see if it was real.


    Luke really knew my tastes well. He knew that I would hate any present like clothes, jewelry or other accessories.


    The gift gleamed from the incoming orange and red lights from the rising of the sun.


    This was a video game counsel from the third district.


    I touched its metallic parts in joy as I treated it as the most precious thing in the world.


    A actual game! I didn''t think that these even existed in Luke''s mind.


    I started to tear up as I couldn''t believe that Luke would even give me this.


    I hugged Luke tightly to thank him.


    I would never be bored in Luke''s mansion anymore!


    I quickly turned the video game counsel on to realize that it was empty.


    I searched for the pre-installed games in the inventory to find that there was none.


    "What is this?" I asked Luke when I couldn''t find anything that resembled a game in the end.


    "It''s a memorila," Luke showed me the buttons on the counsel.


    "A memorila?" I asked him.


    Maybe there was still much to figure out about what the first district people used.


    "It''s a device that lets you see your past memories like a film, although with this model, you can only use it five times." Luke explained.


    I figured out from Luke''s long explanations that the buttons were actually there to control where you wanted to see your past memories.


    Of course Luke would not give me a video game counsel.


    I guess I was being too hopeful from its familiar shape.


    "Why give me this?" I asked Luke.


    Although my memory was lacking compared to the other elites in the first district, it actually wasn''t that bad as I could recall everything ever since kindergarten pretty clearly.


    "I thought you would want to go through your early childhood memories," Luke sincerely answered.


    "You seem to have fuzzy memories before kindergarten," Luke pointed out.


    I thought that Luke didn''t notice this entire time! It turns out he knew everything going on, although he probably didn''t know the reason for that was my reincarnation into this body.


    "Thank you," I whispered sincerely.


    I knew this must have been very expensive. Even though Luke''s family was wealthy with money, it was still nice of him to give me something like this.

 91 Memories 1

    I wanted to use the memorila right away.


    I pressed the [start] button as I wrapped the memorila within my hands before closing my eyes while laying flat on my bed.


    When I opened my eyes again, I was in a big theater.


    The typical velvet blue walls and the intimidating large movie screen stared back at me.


    I was the only person inside the small room as the other seats were empty.


    Luke did mention that you could use the memorila with other people.


    I guessed that when you used it with other people, they watched your memories with you.


    The movie screen brightened when I settled in.


    Rika''s memory was beginning to play on the screen.


    "No! I don''t want to separate from mommy!" Rika cried as she tightly clung onto one of her mom''s legs.


    Christopher helplessly smiled as he repeated the same lines for the tenth time, "We suggest you to reconsider your decision Mrs. Shane. Rika will receive the best education and will live in the best district."


    Rika stomped on Christopher''s foot before running back to her mom.


    "Go away you villain!" Rika yelled as she hid behind her mom again.


    Mrs. Shane looked at her daughter who was not even four years old yet. She did not want to send her daughter away to the first district even though others would probably beg for this opportunity to come to their child.


    Ever since Rika was born, she was not away from both of her parents for more than one day due to her fussy nature.


    "We just want to prevent another great disaster again," Christopher hinted the massive ruins that Rika had caused with her innate mana.


    "Are you threatening me Mr. Welmington?" Mrs. Shane did not feel as cooperative as she did before.


    "I''m just stating the facts Mrs. Shane," Christopher kept repeating the same lines over and over again.


    Mrs. Shane knew that if she sent her daughter to the first district, there wouldn''t be as many chances to see her daughter anymore.


    "Rika! Come over here!" Mrs. Shane called out to her daughter.


    Rika stood up as her legs wobbled as she hesitated to take a step.


    "You can do it Rika!" Mrs. Shane''s husband encouraged Rika with a loving smile.


    Rika spread her arms out wide to gain more balance as she tried to take a small step forward.


    After taking one small step, Rika fell onto the matted ground.


    Mrs. Shane could recall Rika''s first step as if she experienced it yesterday.


    How would her daughter live without her protection?


    Mrs. Shane did not want her daughter to mature too early. She wanted her daughter to experience a proper childhood with a normal life.


    Mrs. Shane repeated the same lines as she told Christopher before, "I apologize, but I decline."


    But, this was about sending her child to the first district. Sending a person from the third district to the first district rarely ever happened.


    The last time a person went to the first district was three hundred years ago. Most times, the people from the third district were sent to the second district due to their low amount of innate mana.


    It was even a rare occasion to send people from the third district to the second district. The last time it happened was twenty years ago.


    "I''ll come back again," Christopher left the house with no other choice as he has outstayed his welcome.


    The screen darkened as if it was trying to transition to another scene.


    "This is the best option I can give to you," Christopher passed the contract to my mother.


    "Rika will stay in the first district for a couple a weeks as we seal some of her mana and then she will stay with you in the third district until the seal is broken." Christopher explained the terms.


    My mother nodded as she was finally satisfied with the new terms.


    This way, Mrs. Shane could buy more time to be with her young daughter before sending her away to the first district.


    Christopher held a sleeping toddler in his arms as he left the house.


    The toddler was wrapped in a wool blanket as she frowned like she was having a nightmare.


    When Christopher was sure that there was no one else looking in the area, he teleported to the first district where there were large gates protecting the estate of the Roselia family.


    The gates opened to welcome Christopher inside the mansion as the servants came out to greet him.


    "This is your grandson''s partner," Christopher handed the sleeping Rika to Luke''s grandfather.


    Luke''s grandfather did not look like his age.


    Luke''s grandfather looked like he was in the middle in the twenties as his vibrant strands of silver hair showed no signs of whiting into grey.


    ''So it''s true that the more mana you had, the slower you aged as you had a longer lifespan,'' Christopher thought.


    "My father is on vacation today," Luke''s grandfather apologized.


    Usually the head of the household was present to arrange the engagements of their descendents. However Luke''s great grandfather who was in charge of these affairs went on a long vacation ever since Luke''s birth.


    Luke''s grandfather looked shunned when he held Rika in his arms.


    "This is going to be difficult, this is the first time I''ve ever seen someone holding this much innate mana," Luke''s grandfather sensed the amount of mana Rika possessed.


    I pressed [stop] as this just seemed like abduction.


    Wanting to forget about this terrible memory, I wondered if this machine could also let me see one of my memories in my past life.


    When I went back to the menu screen, I saw another option pop up.


    The one that was already there from the start was Rika''s memories in the film inventory. However, the new one contained an option to see a memory from my past life.


    I instantly pressed [start] on a blank title that was indicated that it came from my past life.

 92 Memories 2

    "Kim Nayoung, are you really going to sleep right now?" Nayoung''s mother yelled.


    I dreamt of days where I could get a solid amount of sleep. I did not care whether it would only 6 hours. It would be better than the constant 3-4 hours of sleep I got per day.


    The current unemployment rate in Seoul was toppling the past records. More youth were being unemployed even if they came out from the top universities in the country.


    If you were not in the top ranks in your graduating class in your university, then you would definitely not be employed in big companies such as Pineapple or Langsung.


    If you could not get into a top university, then there was no chance that you would even get a ''comfortable'' office job in this society.


    This was why there was fierce competition in this land called ''Seoul'' to get into the top universities in this country.


    There were a limited amount of spots and only the best of the best could get in. My friends and I named this the miracle 0.000000000001%.


    My parents like every other Korean parent would, constantly tried to make me become one of those 0.000000000001% that succeeded.


    Everyday I would wake up at 6AM to finish my remaining homework that I was not able to finish last night. At 8AM, I would be at school until 4PM. After that I would go to cram school until 11PM so that I would get good grades on the Korean SATs. It would be finally 11 when I would be able to start my homework. When I really could not take it anymore, I would go to sleep at 2AM.


    This was my ordinary weekday that I had to suffer through ever since I entered high school.


    Weekends were no better. I had to have good extracurricular activities in order to stand out among the other candidates.


    Unfortunately, my mother chose me to play the violin and piano as my activities. Which meant if I wasn''t studying, then I was practicing my instruments of hell.


    Every time I made a mistake, my teacher would frown awfully alot which was very noticeable with that scrunch on her forehead each time she did it.


    "Nayoung! You know other people your age practice much harder," my teacher would scold me.


    Every time I got in the lower rankings of my school, my mom would yell, "Do you know how much money we spent on you so far? It''s so that you can go to a good university and get a good job. For your future! Do you think only you suffer this way? Every Korean student suffers this way!"


    I knew she was right so I didn''t refute her and got back to studying.


    Right now, it was 12AM. It was unfortunate that my mom caught me almost sleeping on the bed.


    "No," I yelled back.


    I got up from my bed and gradually made it to my chair.


    My mom was getting more anxious about my grades these days because I was in my second year in high school.


    He went through the same process but could not get accepted into a good university.


    Now he worked in a fast food chain while he tried to pay off his school debts.


    My mom promised herself that the same thing would not happen to me as she signed me up for more lessons.


    I told myself that life would get better after I graduate from high school. That I would look back on these days and say that while it was bad it was worth it.


    I opened to the page I last left off in my workbook and started studying again from my normal routine.


    Ahhhh. How I wish to sleep for 6 hours per day.


    [Stop] I pressed the button.


    The film stopped playing as I didn''t want to continue seeing this memory of my past life.


    I woke up with tears filling up my eyes as I felt devastated that I could barely remember my family''s faces all that time.


    Instead of finding myself in the theatre room, I found myself laying down on my bed.


    Maybe I would have been able to see my entire family in the film if I played the memory on for longer.


    My younger sister and my dad weren''t even in the memory I was able to see. Did I forget their faces too just like I have almost forgotten my mother''s?


    My younger sister who lives to eat the desserts I made and my dad who would always bring the family out for his camping trips.


    I was glad now that I could clearly remember my mother''s face even though it wasn''t a good memory.


    I tugged my blanket to cover my head as I felt the lights in the room were too blinding to my bruised eyes from the crying.


    "Don''t look," I told Luke when he tried to check up on me.


    I turned away from Luke to attempt to hide my hideous face as I rolled over to my side.


    "What did you see?" Luke softly asked me as he sat down on the edge of my bed.


    I couldn''t tell him I just saw a miserable memory of both of my lives.

 93 Birthday 2

    I ignored Luke as I got up from my bed.


    I was determined to spend my birthday happily today and not by sobbing in my bed for the entire day after seeing my horrible memories.


    Let''s get a bunch of candles first!


    I opened the door to run to Shelly and Ellen.


    However, Luke pulled me back as he suddenly grabbed my wrist which made me fall into his chest.


    "What," I complained.


    "You didn''t change your clothes," Luke pointed out I was still in my pyjamas.


    "Today''s my birthday. Which means I can do anything I want today," I sticked out tongue out to Luke.


    I was going to show Luke how birthdays were really supposed to be celebrated.


    I shook off Luke''s grip on my wrist as I ran to Shelly''s room.


    "Shelly, it''s Rika!" I knocked on the door.


    Unfortunately, Alex was the one to open the door.


    Alex''s hair was messy and rumpled which didn''t match his usual neat appearance.


    Alex was still in his wrinkled pyjamas as Shelly pushed him out of the way to greet me.


    "You usually don''t wake up this early," Shelly stifled a yawn.


    Shelly was in her lacy nightgown that was decorated with tiny mana crystals that shimmered in the dim moonlight.


    Shelly''s hair long silken hair was woven into one big braid as a silk blue ribbon tied it together.


    "We need to find Ellen next to buy candles!" I explained why I came to get her.


    "Candles?" Shelly tilted her hand in confusion.


    "What do you plan to do with candles Rika?" Alex listened into our conversation as he sat on his grand bed.


    "You don''t need to know," I replied to Alex as Shelly gestured for me to enter their room.


    I shook my head as I refused Shelly''s invitation.


    "How about I come join you at Ellen''s room?" Shelly suggested as she started to get her clothes out to decide what outfit to wear today.


    "It''s fine. We''re going to have a slumber party!" I announced with excitement.


    "What''s a slumber party?" Shelly seemed intrigued of the foreign words.


    Even Alex didn''t seem to know as he listened to our conversation with more focus.


    "You walk around with your pyjamas on," I gestured to my nightgown.


    "Let''s go!" I grabbed Shelly''s hand before she could refute.


    I dragged Shelly to in front of Ellen''s room as I slammed the door in front of Alex''s face before he could react.


    I immediately knocked on Ellen''s door as Shelly coughed for more air after the sudden run.


    "It''s Rika, Ellen!" I declared my presence.


    "Why so early?" Ellen complained in her pyjamas as she opened the door.


    Ellen rubbed her eyes as she blinked frequently to keep herself awake.


    "We''re here to buy candles!" I announced.


    "Candles?" Ellen looked just as confused as Shelly when she initially heard about it.


    I ordered ten strawberry shortcakes and three chocolate milkshakes on the tablet with my points.


    "What''s this?" Shelly asked as the desserts immediately appeared on our table.


    Both Ellen and Shelly stared at the desserts in front of them.


    "Our breakfast, we need energy to go the candle shop," I took a bite of the strawberry shortcake.


    Ellen reluctantly took a bite of the strawberry shortcake in front of us as Shelly took a small sip of her favourite chocolate milkshake.


    "Do you know which shop to go to?" Ellen asked me as we ate our desserts.


    "I have no idea," I admitted.


    I had no chance to properly explore the first district as I was restricted to staying in either in school or one of Luke''s mansions.


    I only went shopping with Luke in the first district and I knew I wouldn''t want to go in the stores that Luke took me to as I had to act like a proper lady each time I went.


    I took out my marble to project a map of the first district.


    "How about this area?" I asked both Ellen and Shelly.


    The area I pointed to was a relatively safe middle class shopping area.


    I searched through the pictures yesterday to find a futuristic shopping area where robots served the customers rather than human beings.


    It was better than having high-spec employees pressuring you to buy something as you could look around the store slowly at your own pace.


    "Sure, but I''ve never been to this area before," Ellen agreed to go right away.


    Shelly nodded her head as she indicated that she never visited the place as she enjoyed her milkshake.


    We walked to the teleportation gate near the entrance of the school to find Luke and Alex standing there waiting for us.


    Both Luke and Alex were properly dressed as they got rid of their previous messy appearance.


    "Let''s go" I said to Shelly and Ellen to catch the hover bus instead.


    I knew that Luke might try to follow me so I checked the hover bus schedule yesterday. However, I didn''t expect Alex to join Luke in following us.


    I guessed it was my fault to wake up Luke today to ask him for a present.


    There was thirty seconds before the hover bus I wanted to get on would leave.


    I ran into the hover bus with Ellen as I pulled Shelly up onto the bus before the bus left the platform.

 94 Shopping in the First District 1

    By the time we had the luxury to look outside the window, the school was already a far distance away as it resembled an ant.


    "I thought we weren''t going to make it," I said with relief.


    Both Ellen and Shelly had yet to settle into the bus as they held onto the bars on the chairs.


    Ellen leaned against the wall of the bus while Shelly got out a water bottle from her marble.


    "Yea that was a surprise," Shelly commented on my sudden change in direction.


    "You know Luke would never let me shop properly and it would even worse when Alex joins us," I answered why we took the hover bus.


    From my time with changing partners when I first entered middle school, Luke didn''t seem so strict anymore. Alex nagged me more often before I got sick as he scolded me severely to live up to his ''family name''.


    Shelly agreed as she nodded her head pitifully with her gaze looking down onto the floor of the bus.


    I almost went crazy from living with Alex for a week, but it was different with Shelly who was likely stuck with Alex for her entire lifetime.


    I spotted a big facility outside the window that was a outdoor mall but protected by a barrier to prevent the rain or severe wind from coming in.


    The barrier resembled a large glass covering but with hexagonal shapes as a pattern to decorate it.


    You could tell what kind of barrier it was by seeing the pattern that was on the surface of the barrier.


    The doors of the hover bus opened as we stepped down its stairs.


    "Wow," I gasped as I looked around my surroundings.


    Each store had projections to advertise what they were selling and the robots greeted everyone that was passing by.


    I had never seen this kind of scene before as I finally understood the first district''s nickname as the futuristic one.


    Everyone shopping here were wearing casual clothing unlike my designer clothes I usually wore that were given to me by Luke.


    However, Shelly and Ellen did not look as fascinated with this place as much as I did.


    "Did you visit a place like this before?" I asked them.


    "Most stores in the first district are like this," Ellen admitted as she took a glance to see what stores there were.


    I was shocked. None of the stores I went with Luke were like this!


    "But none of the stores I went with Luke were like this?" I questioned what kind of places Luke was bringing me to all this time.


    Most of the stores I went to with Luke served refreshments and snacks while we shopped or more like when Luke went shopping to choose clothes for both of us.


    But the refreshments and snacks were useless when Luke never even let me touch any of them.


    "It was most likely that you went to VIP shops that need a exclusive membership to shop there," Shelly answered the reason for the discrepancy.


    "If you want some candles, then it''s probably best to go to the shop known for sweet aromas and bath products," Ellen suggested as she pointed out on her map of the mall that was projected from her marble.


    "Let''s go then," I held the hands of both Ellen and Shelly to bring them along.


    I looked around some fascinating items around the store. I was looking at a bottle of perfume in my hands that would let your crush supposedly like you back.


    The item in my other hand was a bottle of water that would make your bath water frizz with rose and lily petals.


    I put those items down as I found beautiful crystal candles labelled with different effects.


    "Maybe you like this one," Ellen recommended me a candle that would make the fire dance to display a play with a lovely storyline.


    I put the candle in my shopping bag I got from the robot that greeted us when we came in.


    I put more candles in my bag as I became interested in another candle that would hum a sweet lullaby to help you sleep and a candle that would make the fire glitter.


    "How many candles do you plan on getting?" Shelly asked me as she noticed I had five candles and three bottles in my bag.


    "Twelve since it''s my twelfth birthday today," I wondered what other candles to get.


    "Then we''ll choose the rest," Ellen covered my eyes.


    Huh?


    When I opened my eyes, I found a small gift box wrapped in the finest white paper with a silk ribbon in my hands.


    "Happy Birthday Rika!" Shelly and Ellen teased me.


    "We''ll buy everything you want today!" Shelly pulled out her card.


    Tears welled up my eyes as I realized how lucky I was to have such good friends in the first district.


    "Thank you," I sobbed from happiness.


    "And I didn''t even celebrate your birthday with you," I felt bad for not doing the same for them previously.


    "What do you mean?" Shelly tilted her head in confusion.

 95 Shopping in the First District 2

    "We sneaked out of our dorms in the night every year to have strawberry shortcake on my birthday," Shelly refuted.


    I started to sneak out of the dorms in elementary school.


    I walked up to Luke''s bed to check if he was sleeping.


    Luke laid down on his bed as he didn''t make a single movement. From my years of living with Luke, I knew if he didn''t move while sleeping, he was deeply asleep.


    I gently closed our dorm room as I ran to Ellen''s room. Even though the doors were secured that only partners could enter, it was strange that I could enter Ellen''s room by opening her window.


    "Ellen!" I whispered into her ear.


    Ellen pushed me away as she asked, "What is it Rika?"


    "Let''s go to the cafe together!" I observed Ellen half-asleep state as some strands of her bob stuck out in weird directions.


    "Ok," Ellen cutely replied as she followed my lead as we exited the room by using the front door this time.


    We walked to Shelly''s room as Ellen leaned onto me for support.


    I opened Shelly''s window as I quietly snuck into the room. I was thankful that Shelly''s bed was closer to the window as I wasn''t confident that I wouldn''t wake up Alex in the process if it wasn''t.


    I lightly shook Shelly as she blinked rapidly in confusion once she opened her eyes.


    This time, I climbed onto Shelly''s drawer under the window to exit the room. I pulled Shelly up as she mimicked my movements.


    "And you spent the entire day with me every year on my birthday to pull pranks on Allan!" Ellen smiled as she recalled her fond memories.


    I tiptoed as quietly as possible as I entered Ellen''s room. Ellen stood at the other side of the Allan''s bed as she signalled the target as she pointed to Allan''s face.


    I shot a line of freezing water on Allan''s face with my mana as I observed Allan''s sleeping face.


    When Allan sat up as he was drenched from the sudden water sprayed onto his bed, I quickly ran out of the room with Ellen.


    Success.


    "It''s you again, isn''t it Rika!" Allan angrily screamed as he got out of his bed.


    Ellen and I ran to the cafeteria to have our breakfast after high-fiving each other from our successful operation.


    "I don''t know what you''re talking about," I pretended to be clueless while eating my breakfast with Ellen.


    We sneaked out of our dorms every month to have strawberry shortcakes in the night and I pulled pranks on Allan every four months with Ellen.


    I secretly promised to myself that I was definitely going to give Shelly and Ellen the best surprise ever on their birthdays!


    "Which store should we go to next?" Shelly pulled my hand with excitement.


    "How about the gaming store?" I suggested as I was greatly interested how the average person in the first district entertained themselves.


    "Remember the games we played at Ben''s house?" I asked Shelly if there were similar games in the first district.


    "Right! I think I know the place," Shelly yelled with sudden realization.


    We followed Shelly''s lead as she searched for the store on the map of the place she recalled that had similar games to the ones we played in Ben''s villa.


    My eyes glittered when I was in the shop.


    These were the ancient things I never knew to exist in the first district.


    The chips made out of thinly sliced mana rocks sparkled as they were to be integrated into the marble as extensions.


    I picked out some chips that caught my eye. One was described to take you to a world where war was happening with guns and swords.


    Another one took place in a medieval setting where you could test your cooking skills.


    "These were the things I was looking for!" I started to place almost all the chips in my shopping bag with pure joy.


    "I''ve never seen you so happy," Ellen commented as I couldn''t stop glibbering my past gaming knowledge with delight unconsciously.


    Shelly agreed as she noticed my shopping bag to be almost full with most of the shop''s merchandise.


    "Luke doesn''t have any of these things in his mansion," I revealed Luke''s bare house.


    "I don''t think most of us do," Shelly admitted.


    Right. The elites of the first district had to act accordingly to the fame of their family name. Even Ben''s sister had a secret place to dump all her hobbies in.


    Wait. What if Luke throws all these out like he did to my junk food and few of my light novels?


    I needed a good hiding place where I could leave my goodies safely without the fear of Luke finding out.


    "What do I do? I think Luke might throw these out if he finds out!" I confessed with panic arising from my realization of what would likely happen.


    "That is a struggle," Ellen pitied me.


    "I can buy you a small apartment unit," Shelly took out her card again as Ellen''s eyes widened from surprise.


    What! I couldn''t ask that to Shelly.


    "But isn''t-"


    "It''s fine," Shelly smiled as she wouldn''t take ''no'' for a answer.


    "It can also serve as a secret hangout. I''m also sick of staying in one place these days," Shelly admitted her hard life as she had to live with Alex as her partner.

 96 Buying a Apartment 1

    "I''ll call a hover car to help us explore the apartments," Shelly searched for a hover car to rent by scrolling through the options on her marble.


    The hover car came instantly after Shelly paid for it with her card.


    The interior of the hover car just reminded me of a regular car in the third district. There were no sofas or cushions nor tables like there would be in a hover car I would ride in with Luke.


    "We also need furniture and decorations to fill the apartment," Shelly deliberated on what we would need for the apartment.


    "Let''s start with finding a decent apartment first," I tried to convince Shelly as we explored some pictures of the apartments.


    The first item was a apartment unit in a second middle class area. There were three rooms, a walk-in closet, three bathrooms and a study room.


    There was a nice park behind the apartment as well as a playground for young children.


    The second item was a apartment unit in a high class area. There was a teleportation gate installed in one of the rooms and was manipulated to be as big as a mini mansion with the use of mana.


    The third item was not a apartment but a underground studio in a mountain in the first district. It had a living room, kitchen, one bedroom, one walk-in closet and one bathroom. However, it had a lot of security features when letting someone into the house.


    "How about we go to the first and third apartment?" I suggested to Shelly.


    I definitely didn''t want to potentially get caught by Luke if I chose the second apartment.


    Shelly inputted the location of the first apartment inside the menu in the hover car.


    The hover car instantly drived us to the first apartment surrounded by clouds.


    I rubbed my eyes to check if I was seeing my surroundings wrong as there were rainbows coming out of some of the clouds.


    The apartment glimmered as it reflected the rays of the sun. The park resembled a mini orchard but instead of being purely filled by trees and flowers, it was mixed in with some projections of raining glitter and flowers.


    The field of nicely shaped grass seemed very natural as it seamlessly blended into the background.


    The marbled pathway made from stone platters and the nicely sculpted figurines made the park give off a luxurious feel.


    The playground was not what I expected. It was a mini amusement park as there were high-tech roller coasters that went into the air as it went upside down. Young children around the age of four giggled happily as they enjoyed the merry-go-around that floated into the clouds.


    "What is this place?" I gasped at the view resembling paradise.


    I instantly fell in love with this place as I gazed at the surroundings of the apartment.


    I didn''t even want to visit the other apartment located near the mountain anymore. The studio was situated in the middle of nowhere.


    The lobby was not inferior to outside of the apartment. The chandeliers and tall ceiling reminded me of the ballroom in Ben''s mansion during social week.


    There was no electronic or artificial lights fueling the lights. The lobby was bright with rays of light bouncing off all the crystals to create a wonderful array of colours on the white walls.


    The furniture remained simple but modern to not intimidate visitors.


    "Wow," I gasped again as I observed the clean wide rooms in the apartment.


    [The interior here is comprised of 50% rare elderwood from the second district, 30% pure marble, 15% processed mana crystals and 5% diamonds.] The robot informed us.


    No wonder the whole room shined and glittered with all those crystals. The scenery could be nicely seen as most of the walls were semi-transparent.


    Even Ellen seemed impressed as she checked on the sturdiness of the walls and floor.


    "We''ll take this!" Ellen pulled out her card without even asking for the price.


    "How much does this cost?" I asked the robot as I interrupted Ellen from paying.


    [50,000 Aris] The robot responded as it was programmed.


    There was no way this apartment was this cheap! The average price of my dresses from social week cost 80,000 Aris.


    Both Ellen and Shelly froze from shock as the apartment was cheaper than most of the goods they regularly bought in their mansions.


    "We''ll buy this!" Ellen slammed her card down to the robot.


    [Thank you for your patronage] The robot dropped the keys to the apartment and the contract comprising the fine details.


    "Now we just have to fill the apartment up," Shelly took out her tablet to start purchasing stuff.


    "How about those comfy bean chairs to start off with?" I showed the picture to Shelly and Ellen on their tablet.


    Shelly instantly pressed the [buy] button for three large bean bags without any hesitation.


    "I also like this bed," Ellen showed us a picture of a big bed that was large enough to fill up one of the rooms in the apartment.


    "One of the room can act as a bed itself!" I jumped with eagerness from Ellen''s amazing idea.


    Ellen nodded as she mischievously smiled.


    Shelly happily pressed the [buy] button again as she searched for other things to buy.

 97 Buying a Apartment 2

    The room was filled with boxes of packaged goods we ordered.


    "We should start sorting our things out," Ellen suggested as she unpackaged the goods with joy.


    When the room had no more space from the toppling boxes, Shelly and I decided to stop buying stuff.


    Shelly and I moved the goods with our mana to the places we wanted them. When we finally finished decorating the apartment, the sun had set.


    I jumped on the bed like it was a trampoline to test the springiness of the bed. I covered the bed with pink and purple hearts printed on the bed sheets.


    There were no fun patterns in any of the mansions I visited in the first district. Everything was kept very simple and modern or either luxuriously decorated with fine minerals and designs with its rare materials.


    The room that was usually used as a study room by other families turned into a video game room.


    I finally had the chance to open the shopping bag full of chips from the store as I placed them carefully in the new drawer we bought without exploring its contents.


    The new drawer was painted neon blue with white flowers as its pattern. I bought it on Shelly''s tablet when it brought me nostalgia of the furniture in my room from my past life.


    I was filled with anticipation as I imagined of filling this room with more goods from the other districts in the future.


    The only room void of merchandise was the kitchen. At this rate, the kitchen was only there for decoration.


    "Do we need anything for the kitchen?" I asked Shelly and Ellen when I noticed it was the only room left unfilled.


    Shelly shook her head in response. "I don''t know how to cook."


    Ellen agreed with Shelly as she nodded at the empty kitchen.


    "I know how to cook," I revealed.


    "You do?" Both Shelly and Ellen yelled together from surprise.


    "I cooked for Luke and myself in the third district," I unveiled my accomplishment.


    ''And I always cooked in my past life when I helped my mother cook dinner.'' I said to myself.


    Shelly took out her tablet again as we searched though some items to fill our kitchen.


    I sighed as the cooking tools in the first district were significantly different from the third district. All the cooking tools needed mana to work and there were complicated instructions when using them in the manuals attached to the tool.


    Maybe I would try experimenting with the tools in the kitchen in the cafeteria before using the kitchen in our new hideout.


    "I''ve seen or used these tools before," I admitted as we gave up on buying more stuff.


    "Maybe next time," Shelly encouraged me as she nudged me gently.


    The room was lit from the small white mana crystal near the top of the ceiling. Thankfully, the mana crystals in each room came with the apartment.


    However, I was constantly challenged to have a humble mindset when it came to money when those same mana crystals commonly decorated my clothes.


    I struggled to find a piece of clothing in my closet that didn''t have a highly powered mana crystal decorating it.


    Even the exterior walls of Luke''s mansion was comprised of the those highly powered mana crystals.


    I only knew these mana crystals were pricey when I looked at the price tags of one of my dresses when I went shopping with Luke to buy some more clothes.


    I didn''t like shopping with Luke, but at the same time, I would be cooped up in Luke''s mansion or school other than shopping together with him if I didn''t sneak out like today.


    "We should start heading back," Shelly pointed out when the moonlight poured through the walls.


    Ellen passed me the gift box that was full of candles and spelled bottles.


    "We''ll celebrate at school," Ellen started to call back our hover car.


    "How about we order cakes from our usual cafe before heading to my room?" I happily suggested to them inside the hover car.


    "Or I could set the order to be delivered to your room," Shelly started to order what she said on her tablet.


    Shelly ordered a round strawberry shortcake and six glasses of her favourite chocolate milkshake.


    When I opened my dorm room with anticipation, the room was empty except for its usual furniture and the cake and milkshakes near the entryway.


    I was surprised that both Luke and Alex didn''t try to find us for the entire day today.


    I didn''t turn the tracking on my marble off as I didn''t want to risk Luke rushing to find me like last time I did it.


    I grabbed some frilly pillows on my bed to pass to Shelly and Ellen to sit on the ground.


    Shelly placed the cake and milkshakes in the middle of the circle we made as I pulled out my giftbox.


    I carefully unwrapped the gift and gently pulled on the silk ribbon that unravelled quite easily.


    I pulled out the paper covering the candles as I put each candle on the cake one by one.


    "Which one are you going to light first?" Shelly asked me with a warm smile.


    "All of them!" I lit all the candles at once with my mana.

 98 Birthday 3

    The room exploded with a loud boom before I fainted.


    When I opened my eyes, Shelly held up a protective barrier with her mana as Ellen tried to shake me awake.


    The entire dorm building was in shambles. Some parts of the room was swallowed up by the fire from the candles.


    The fire danced to present a play of a frog turning into a prince. The fire mimicked the expressions of a lovely princess who became enthralled by the prince who used to be a frog.


    I heard a faint hum of a sweet lullaby ringing in my ears as if it was desperately trying to lull someone to sleep.


    There was glitter and petals of flowers made from fire that drifted in the air as the wind from one of the candles kept them afloat.


    The ceiling fell down to show a beautiful night sky filled with brilliant stars populating the wide space of darkness.


    The fire sparkled colours of red, blue and orange as it carried onto the perfect green grass fields as it escaped the building.


    Was I dreaming? The scene in front of me resembled a wonderful apocalypse as the fire spreading out was beautiful but tragic.


    "We should get out of this building," Ellen supported me as Shelly kept her barrier up.


    Shelly concentrated on adding more defences to her barrier as she calculated where to add more mana.


    Thankfully, the other students did the same as they protected themselves by forming a barrier.


    Fortunately, it was only the middle school section of the campus that was filled by the raging fire.


    "Go get more teachers!" Daniel yelled at the students as he used mana to try to put out the spreading fire.


    However, Daniel''s spell was quickly turned useless as the fire was not an ordinary fire. Fire that was fueled by mana would be unstoppable unless the spellcaster was dead, ran out of mana or decided to cancel the spell.


    That was the reason why there were no big fires that spread like wildfire in the first district. No one had enough mana to cause a catastrophe.


    ''How I wish the school was destroyed to go back to the third district,'' I had always unconsciously thought in my mind.


    Maybe my strong urge to escape from the school had caused the fire to uncontrollably damage only the middle school section of the large campus.


    When one of the barriers broke from the student beside me, the student screamed from fear, "I don''t want to die today!"


    The student cried as she could not summon enough mana to create another barrier.


    She desperately chanted more spells as another kind student let her inside their barrier.


    I instantly felt guilty as I never intended for this scene to happen.


    ''Put the fire out immediately!'' I thought as I visualized everything going back to normal before the disaster happened.


    The fire had immediately disappeared as all the students and teachers glanced at each other in confusion.


    However, the building remained in ruins from the fire.


    "I will make sure to investigate the reason for this incident," Daniel tried to assure the students as he promised to find the culprits.


    Shelly, Ellen, and I instantly ran back to my room to get rid of the evidence.


    Who knew what the consequences would be if they discovered the cause of the fire!


    I knew it would be incomparable to the previous incidents where I went to the dean''s office to get punished.


    Unfortunately, both Luke and Alex held the burnt crystal candles in their hands in my torn down room.


    I hid behind Ellen as Shelly avoided the gazes of both Luke and Alex as she stared at the floor.


    "Buying candles?" Alex questioned me as he gripped one of the candles tightly enough to break it in half.


    I didn''t answer Alex as I trembled while gripping onto the back of Ellen''s pyjamas.


    "Rika is not from the first district, so she didn''t know that she wasn''t supposed to light up all the candles at once," Ellen tried to defend me.


    I nodded my head even though I knew it was a pathetic excuse.


    I knew that not knowing didn''t excuse that I burned down the entire dorm and endangered the lives of other people.


    "Where did you get these toys from?" Luke scarily asked me.


    "From the shopping mall," Shelly answered for me as her voice staggered into silence.


    I was too scared to face both Luke and Alex as they focused most of their attention on me rather than Ellen and Shelly.


    "Who would think those cheap crystal candles would cause this?" Ellen confessed under the pressure while gesturing to the ruins.


    I couldn''t let Shelly and Ellen cover for me anymore. I possessed the most amount of blame from the three of us as I was the one to light up all the candles.


    "I lit up those candles to celebrate my birthday," I cried as I confessed my mistake.


    My legs collapsed as I broke under the intense pressuring stares from both Luke and Alex.


    "I put them all on a cake and lit them all up at the same time because that''s what we do in the third district," I revealed one of the traditions from my past life.

 99 Reflecting 1

    I looked up to find no change in Luke''s angry face. I gulped as I blanked out in fear.


    Surprisingly, Luke pulled me into a tight hug as my eyes widened from the unexpected actions.


    "I have a solution to this," Luke whispered into my ear as he held my head.


    "You just have to promise me and Alex to never go anywhere without us from now on," Luke listed the conditions for the exchange.


    That was it? It was a pretty simple condition attached to fixing the large disaster in front of me.


    I nodded my head as Luke placed a beautiful necklace around my neck.


    A ruby gem touched the center of my chest as it was strung together by a nice sleek silver strand.


    Luke lifted one of his arms that held my hand as he gathered a large amount of mana as he grabbed onto Alex''s hand with his other hand.


    As the seconds passed, the room was gradually restoring itself to its original state.


    The fire reversed its movements as the bed slowly started to build itself back up again.


    Eventually, the gift box wrapped itself up again as the silk ribbon tied itself around the box.


    "How?" Shelly gasped as Ellen fainted from too much mana being released into the room.


    The candles were back in the gift box again as the whole middle school section of the campus was restored.


    By the time Luke was finished with the spell, Alex collapsed onto Luke''s bed.


    "How could you reverse time in the first district!" Shelly couldn''t believe the scene that unraveled before her eyes.


    Luke coughed as he dropped down onto his knees as his face turned red from using up almost all his mana.


    I couldn''t stand back up as Luke had consumed almost all of my mana along with Alex.


    It was going to take me an entire month to recover all the mana I used today.


    I never expected that Luke would attempt to turn back time. No wonder he had Alex and I to transfer our mana to him.


    It was theorized that turning back time in the first district to be impossible even though it was possible in the other districts.


    The whole problem would be solved if Luke turned back time.


    I finally got up with Shelly''s help as I tried to leave the room in disbelief to check if Luke had really turned back time.


    However, I ran into a invisible barrier that would not let me even go to the entryway of the room.


    I banged on the barrier with my fists to find the clear wall was still there.


    "What''s this?" I asked Luke who looked like he would faint pretty soon.


    "I didn''t know these artifacts still existed," Shelly gasped at the shining ruby gem.


    "I think you can''t separate from Luke further than four metres," Shelly took a closer look at my necklace.


    I didn''t need a stupid necklace to keep my word after what had happened.


    I tried to take off my necklace to find my hands passing through the chains.


    "Only the person who put the necklace on you can put it off," Alex explained as he sat up on Luke''s bed.


    "But I only promised to not go anywhere without you or Luke in the first district," I complained about the necklace.


    I wasn''t stupid or careless enough that something like this would ever happen again under my free will. Especially in the districts I was more familiar with like the third district.


    "You promised to never go anywhere without us from now on, not only the first district," Alex scarily repeated Luke''s condition.


    I lifted Luke''s limp hand as I tried to use his own hand to take off the necklace.


    However, Luke quickly took his hand back as he became more alert of the situation.


    "You agreed to the conditions," Luke stared at me with his cold blue eyes.


    At this rate, our secret hideout was useless as I couldn''t even sneak out of the dorm rooms without Luke.


    Ellen woke up on my bed as she noticed me crying on Luke''s bed as he refused to take my necklace off.


    "What happened?" Ellen asked Shelly and me as she struggled to keep herself up.


    "Luke placed a retraining necklace on Rika in exchange to turning back time," Shelly gestured to the expensive necklace I wore.


    "It was real?" Ellen noticed the restored campus outside the window.


    Ellen turned her head to take another look at her surroundings to find that Luke had really turned back time.


    Everything was back to its rightful place before the fire started as the pillows, cake and milkshakes still littered the ground.


    "I really promise to keep my word even without the necklace," I started to beg Luke.


    Luke frowned at the wet sheet covering his bed that was stained with my tears.


    My cries filled the entire room as Ellen and Shelly looked at me helplessly with pity.


    Alex sighed as he patted Luke''s back to comfort him while trying to silence the sound of my cries with his other hand.


    "But if you really plan on keeping your word, then that necklace won''t matter to you," Luke pointed out.

 100 Reflecting 2

    By the time I stopped crying, there was only Luke and I inside the dorm room.


    Crying never really worked in the first place with Luke. I gave up using the useless tactic as I tried to think of better ways to persuade him.


    I tried to recall my memories of Luke frowning when he interacted with other people that weren''t in his inner circle.


    From what I observed, Luke didn''t like people who were obsessed with things just because they were expensive.


    He pretended to listen to their conversation so he could politely answer questions when asked as he focused on other thoughts.


    Luke also despised people who got way too close to him as they extensively touched him due to their admiration for his handsome appearance that resembled a fairy tale prince out of a storybook.


    And most of all, he hated it when I didn''t act accordingly to the Roselia family name.


    But, this was exactly what I was going to do until he put the necklace off.


    I would act like the most detestable and disgusting person to Luke until he finally broke down to listen to my command.


    I instantly snuggled up to him as I schemed, "Of course it doesn''t matter if you don''t put the necklace off."


    I fidgeted with Luke''s soft hand as I knew Luke hated excessive skinship.


    After I quickly got bored of playing with Luke''s hand, I decided to braid some tiny braids into Luke''s hair with my dexterous hands.


    My hands drifted through Luke''s soft hair as he ignored me to read the assigned reading that was one month ahead for class.


    This was strange. Luke usually tried to shake someone off when he got annoyed from the unrestrained contact, but he just left me alone as his neat hair turned messy from the disastrous braids.


    I sniffled a giggle when some of the strands of his hair poked out in weird directions as he calmly flipped to the next page of his book while he was unaware of his appearance.


    This was clearly not working as Luke wasn''t getting distracted by any of the tiny contact I made.


    What other things did I not try yet?


    I recounted all the other methods of skinship in my head. A long hug, holding hands, ruffling his head, and a kiss?


    I already messed with his hair and fidgeted with his hand. The only thing left was a hug and a kiss.


    I took Luke''s book away from him as I placed it on the tiny table beside his bed and pulled Luke into a long hug.


    I was definitely going to change my clothes and take a shower after this.


    "Are you done Rika?" Luke asked me after a long minute.


    Luke''s expression didn''t change as he waited for me to finish hugging him before trying to pick up his book again.


    Seeing that hugging him wasn''t effective, I let Luke go as I contemplated about the last option on my list.


    Did I really want to kiss Luke over this?


    Luke grew up wonderfully as his sharp jaw line and long eyelashes made him stand out from the countless good-looking children in the first district.


    I closed my eyes as I got the courage to reluctantly kiss his forehead.


    Bleh my lips. I was going to wash my face more carefully after this too.


    I opened my eyes as Luke sat frozen on his bed.


    His expression showed that he was absolutely clueless of what just happened.


    Luke looked like he was dumbfounded as he stared at me blankly before he blinked several times while picking up his book again to cover his face.


    Why wasn''t he shaking me off like he usually did to other people? I was pretty sure that I covered everything on my list.


    However, Luke didn''t reject any of my advances as he sat there quietly while resuming his daily routine like nothing had happened.


    What else did I miss?


    I tried to recall all the shoujo manga I read in my past life.


    The protagonist usually bumped into the male lead as she accidentally bumps into something or lands in some kind of trouble.


    The most used scene was the female lead pushing the male lead down as she ''accidentally'' kisses the male lead on the lips as she falls in love at first sight.


    But would that popular scene work on Luke? I was annoying Luke on his bed anyways as I already disturbed him from peacefully reading his book.


    I had nothing to lose at this point.


    I threw the book that Luke was holding onto as I pushed him down on his bed by grabbing both of his shoulders.


    ''You can do this Rika!'' I encouraged myself.


    I kissed Luke on his soft lips that smelled like roses and tasted like the honey lip balm we bought together on our tablet.


    Luke''s eyes widened in surprise but quickly recovered to unexpectedly kiss me back with gentleness like he was cherishing a precious item.


    I immediately separated from Luke as I pushed him away as my face flushed in shades of pink and red after the short kiss.


    "What is this?" I screamed when a big blue magical circle scripted with incantations suddenly appeared under us.

 101 Engagement 1

    Luke''s eyes widened in surprise as he unexpectedly kissed me back with gentleness like he was cherishing a precious item.


    I immediately separated from Luke as I pushed him away as my face flushed in shades of pink and red after the short kiss.


    "What is this?" I screamed when a big blue magical circle scripted with incantations suddenly appeared under us.


    The magic circle disappeared as I felt a searing pain on the back of my neck.


    When the stabbing pain stopped, nothing had changed.


    I didn''t feel anything different as I leaped out of Luke''s bed to check my body in the mirror.


    "What the heck was that?" I asked Luke as I spun around to look for any differences.


    "The third stage of our engagement," Luke shrugged his shoulders.


    What? I never heard that there were stages to the engagement. I just thought you got engaged then got married until you died or divorced.


    "What are you talking about?" I shook Luke by grabbing his shoulders.


    Luke gestured me to sit down on his bed as he calmly started to explain the entire process that I slept through in class.


    "There are four stages of our engagement. As you already know the first stage is where your middle name is changed or added to match the house that you''re marrying into." Luke''s clear voice rang in the room.


    I nodded my head as I did know that part ever since people referred to me as Rika Roselia Shanes in the first district.


    "The second stage is when your name completely changes into the last name of the house you''re marrying into as your middle name disappears."


    I recalled Lucius''s name being ''Lucius de Suilett'' when I was introduced to him during social week at Ben''s mansion.


    At least I knew the reason why engagements almost never fell apart in the first district when almost your entire identity was reliant on it.


    The only reason why I thought I would not marry Luke in the future was because my last name still belonged to my family in the third district.


    I couldn''t imagine everyone calling me Rika de Roselia in the first district. It was basically shouting at everyone that I was already a part of the Roselia family.


    The worse of all, it would add to more pressure to act according to the family name since I was really a representative of the family now.


    "The third stage is where you are magically permanently restricted to the person you''re engaged with unless your partner dies. This ceremony happens when both parties willingly kiss their partner subsequently after each other," Luke continued.


    Wait. So that was what the third stage was? Were we even allowed to skip stages like that?


    "Can we even skip stages like that?" I curiously asked Luke as I hoped what I was thinking wouldn''t be true.


    "I have never heard of a couple that skipped stages before," Luke agreed.


    "But we just did the two stages together?" Luke questioned me back as he appeared awfully confused.


    "What''s my full name then?" I attempted to ask Luke more directly.


    "Rika de Roselia," Luke plainly answered as if it was common sense.


    "Isn''t it supposed to be Rika Roselia Shanes?" I tried to deny what just happened.


    "It''s Rika de Roselia now," Luke picked up his book that was thrown on the floor.


    I knew I would regret kissing Luke, but I didn''t think I receive huge consequence of changing my last name due to this.


    I would still call myself Rika Roselia Shanes for now.


    Nobody knew what happened in this room anyways. Hence, no one would figure out these changes unless I made a blunder or Luke chose to reveal it himself.


    * * *


    I tried to hide behind my tall textbook to secretly sleep in the front row during class. Ever since kindergarten, my teachers always arranged my seat to be in the front row beside Luke.


    Maybe it was easier to send me threatening glares for me to pay attention during class that way. I was always only half-awake during the mornings and they knew when I was about to fall asleep as they started to talk louder towards my direction.


    None of my usual classmates even payed attention to the subtle differences from the teachers as they were used to them focusing most of their attention on me.


    "Rika de Roselia, you will sit properly right now!" The calculus teacher demanded as I loosened my elegant posture to get into a better position to sleep on my desk.


    "It''s Rika Roselia Shanes," I tried to correct the teacher.


    "It used to be Rika Roselia Shanes," The teacher attempted to correct my ''mistake''.


    "No, it''s still Rika Roselia Shanes or Rika Shanes," I disagreed while crossing my arms.


    "We all see your engagement mark," The teacher sighed as she continued her lesson.


    Oh, so that searing pain on the back of my neck was actually an engagement mark being created!


    It would''ve been nice if Luke let me know about this yesterday when I asked him about it.


    No wonder I couldn''t find anything different, there was no way to notice an engagement mark in the mirror by myself!


    This meant that everyone in this room knew what happened yesterday!


    It was strange how calm they were as everyone acted like nothing had changed even though Luke and I skipped a stage in our engagement process.

 102 Engagement 2

    "I really never thought everyone would already know it," I blushed as I confessed to Shelly and Ellen in our usual caf¨¦.


    "It''s a pretty engraved rose," Shelly swept some of my long hair that covered my neck.


    "Should we call you Miss Roselia from now on?" Ellen teased me as if I didn''t feel horrible enough about it already.


    I promised myself that I would try to listen harder in class next time as I didn''t want to miss out on important information such as this issue again.


    I was clearly missing out on some of the important things that were only known to people who grew up in the first district as Ellen and Shelly clearly seemed informed about everything in their lives.


    I didn''t take a bite of my favourite strawberry shortcake today as I moped about everyone knowing my new identity.


    I explained what happened yesterday to Shelly and Ellen that created this miserable mess I was in as I stirred my straw in my milkshake.


    "You should''ve just stuck with your other plan," Ellen advised.


    "I feel that Luke would have listened to you more if you acted the same way as you did to Alan," Shelly agreed.


    And I really should have stuck with acting spoiled instead of making excessive skinship with Luke.


    Maybe I was too impulsive that day.


    * * *


    I groaned as Luke shook me awake as part of our daily school routine.


    Instead of getting up like usual, I tugged my blanket to get few more minutes of sleep.


    However, Luke and I began to wrestle over my blanket as I refused to get up today.


    "Ten more minutes!" I whined as there would be two more hours till class started today.


    "We need to start getting ready now," Luke argued as he started to pull the blanket away from me.


    I waved my hand as I put a barrier over my entire bed that wouldn''t let in anyone except for those that were already inside.


    I quickly pulled the blanket that was in Luke''s hand as he momentarily halted from the unexpected barrier.


    Success.


    I covered my head with my blanket as I focused on fortifying the defenses on my barrier.


    "Are you really to be like this Rika?" Luke cringed at me.


    "Yes," I added the sound nullifying feature on my barrier.


    Going to class had nothing to do with the amount of points you earned even though it would help with the scores you got on the exams that translated into points.


    I barely paid attention in class anyways as Luke would reiterate most of important information during our intense study sessions after class finished.


    It wasn''t that I didn''t want to pay attention in class, but more like I couldn''t.


    As the hours in the space-time room increased, I naturally couldn''t keep my focus up for long periods of time.


    Although the only exception to that was when I had to go to extra classes in Luke''s mansion not too long ago.


    I happily grinned as I set my alarm on my marble to wake up 1.5 hours from now.


    Getting ready in 30 minutes would be easy as I always got ready even faster when I was in the third district.


    However, when I woke up, I found my reflection in front of my small mirror.


    Luke was brushing my frizzy half-curled hair as they became silky smooth after he made his final touches.


    How?


    I was pretty sure that Luke had almost used all most of his mana when he turned back time.


    There was no way that he had enough mana to break my barrier. Even my mana that was considered to be limitless in the future only recovered to half of its original power.


    My face glowed as it appeared fresh and energetic as if a combination of skincare products was already applied.


    Only my clothes and shoes didn''t match my perfect exterior as I was still wearing my nightgown and slippers.


    I checked the time on my marble to find that I have only slept for an additional hour.


    "How did I get out of my bed?" I refrained from yawning as it made me seem less intimidating.


    Luke didn''t answer as he completed adding the finishing touches to my hair by tying a yellow silk ribbon to create a sophisticated ponytail.


    "Well, I''m going back to sleep now," I pointed to my bed.


    Before I pulled the nicely tied ribbon in my hair, Luke pushed me towards my closet.


    My closet was filled with my numerous school uniforms as well as my fancy dresses and accessories that were gifted to me by Luke.


    I reluctantly put on my middle school uniform as Luke threatened me with his cold stare.


    I could wake up even later if I made most of preparations right now to go to class.


    I headed towards my lovely heavenly bed before Luke guided me out the dorm room as he pushed my back.


    "Hey!" I complained as I hesitantly said my farewells to my bed.


    Luke blocked me from opening up our dorm room.


    At this rate, there was no way I could initiate my plans of acting like the most despicable person among the group of elites.

 103 Siblings 1

    The cherry blossom trees bloomed in the courtyards in the campus.


    Instead of meeting Shelly and Ellen in our usual caf¨¦, we ate some deli sandwiches on a soft mat under the lovely trees that had the most beautiful flowers bloom in shades of blue.


    "This is Miele," Ellen showed us some pictures of her newly born younger sister.


    Miele was wrapped with many blankets like she was inside a cocoon.


    "She''s so cute," I observed her soft features.


    She had the same gentle silver eyes as Ellen as she brightly smiled in the picture taken by Ellen when she visited her parent''s house.


    Did ''Rika'' have any siblings?


    When I visited my parent''s house last time, I noticed the house was way too big for just a couple to live in.


    There was no way that a middle-aged couple would need four bedrooms in one house unless I had siblings. Especially when I almost never visited them as my room remained undecorated and bare.


    "Do you want to visit my house next weekend?" I asked them.


    "Don''t you have to ask Luke first?" Shelly reminded me of the necklace around my neck.


    Fortunately, Luke made some adjustments so that we would be able to have some fair distance between us on campus. However, it meant that I couldn''t leave campus on my own without Luke or Alex following along with me.


    "I''ll just drag him along," I confidently claimed.


    I had my ways to bring Luke along the visit. I planned to push him into the teleportation gate with me as I pretended to inquire him about the functions of the gate for ''studying purposes''.


    "Sure!" Shelly agreed.


    "I''ve never been inside a regular house before in the third district," Shelly anticipated visiting my house.


    "Same," Ellen agreed with her glittering eyes.


    We lifted our tea cups at the same time as we glanced at each other knowingly before laughing.


    "You''re back?" My mom opened the door to find the four of us that waited for her to let us in.


    "Yea," I changed into a pair of slippers near the doorway.


    It wasn''t hard to convince Luke to come along with us.


    "Luke," I called his name as I interrupted his sword practice with Alex after separating from Shelly and Ellen as our picnic finished.


    "What do you need Rika?" Luke apologized to Alex before coming to greet me.


    Luke was covered with sweat as he developed a nice lean figure from the exercise.


    He held a wooden sword in one of his hands that was enchanted with various mana spells to help grant a variety of advantages while fighting.


    "Can I visit my parents this weekend?" I pouted as if I was suffering from homesickness.


    "How else will we complete our usual sessions?" Luke declined as he needed to complete our intense study sessions during the weekends as they weren''t really effective during the weekdays.


    I didn''t really think a normal human being could withstand an extra ten hours of lessons in addition to the normal 24-hour school day conducted in the classroom manipulated by space and time.


    Maybe I was only able to withstand this torture from gradually increasing my study time ever since kindergarten.


    It was obvious why most partners immediately dropped back to the lower ranking schools they came from after coming to our school as they couldn''t adjust to the inhumane workload that was given to us on a daily basis.


    However, Luke and I were an exception as Luke would do almost everything to prevent me from earning minus points as he earned exceptionally high scores to balance out the overall scores.


    "I promise I''ll actually start paying attention in class. I''ll also listen to you during our study sessions in the weekdays," I pleaded to Luke.


    Luke sighed as he took a glance of my hopeful eyes.


    "And you''ll get up in time in the morning?" Luke recalled me making a fuss during the last several months of waking up in the morning.


    Lately, I found myself already ready to go to class except for changing into my uniform and shoes. Luke quickly got me ready while I slept as I hugged my blanket.


    "I will," I confidently asserted to Luke.


    Alex pitied Luke as he listened to our conversation while taking a brief break from his sword practice.


    "Let''s go to my room," I guided my group of friends to my small room.


    My room in my parent''s house could not compare to my room at school and Luke''s estate.


    It was smaller and lacked the luxurious decorations to fill it up as it was mostly empty due to its lack of use.


    "I''ve never been inside a room like this before," Shelly took a glance of the small room.


    "So this is what a house in the third district is like," Ellen commented as she sat on the bed which sunk in quite easily.


    I smiled as I took a breath of the fresh air in the third district. I spun around to face my friends and my partner after I opened the window.


    "Welcome to the third district," I showed them around my empty room.

 104 Siblings 2

    I went into the kitchen as my mom gave me a tray of drinks to serve to my friends.


    "Thanks mom," I grabbed the tray from her.


    "It''s the least that I could do. I was making beverages for your younger brother''s friends anyways," My mom revealed another tray that sat on the countertop.


    I had a younger brother? Why was it that I couldn''t remember anything about him?


    Whenever I visited my house in the third district, the house was mostly empty.


    "Adrian you''re here! Did my son make you pick up the tray again?" My mom faced the familiar boy that I recognized.


    "Rika?" Adrian appeared shocked as he stared at me.


    "Do you know Rika?" My mom asked as if she was surprised that we even knew each other.


    "She was my math teacher for a several days over a year ago," Adrian recalled as he brightly greeted me again.


    "I never knew Rika came to the third district to teach at a school," My mom knew that I rarely came to the third district.


    "It was for a practical assignment. I couldn''t go home as the school made me stay in a hotel," I sulked as I remembered begging Luke if I could go back home instead of staying in the hotel.


    My mom seemed dejected that I didn''t visit her when I was in the third district. Any parent would become depressed if they could only see their child once every three to four years.


    I forgot about this aspect of staying in the dorms as everyone in school lived separately from their parents in the first district.


    It was strange to visit your parents every week as it was abnormal when there was so much work to do and not enough time to accomplish all the course material assigned.


    Everyone struggled to survive as they tried to earn enough points to live in decent room and eat regular meals.


    I brought the drinks to my friends as they curiously drank the beverage that was handmade.


    "This is amazing," Ellen commented as she hungrily drank the carbonated orange juice with a lemon hanging off the cup.


    "You never had this kind of drink before?" I was surprised.


    Both Shelly and Ellen nodded as they helped themselves to second servings.


    Since I was a commoner in my past life, something like this wasn''t something new. I still considered myself to be a commoner in this life as well. I was never going to admit my name to actually be ''Rika de Roselia'' until I married Luke.


    Luke didn''t join the conversation as he read one of his usual books on my bed.


    "It''s still hard to believe you didn''t come from the first district," Shelly admitted as she sat on the cold floor.


    It did make sense that both Shelly and Ellen didn''t consider me to be from the third district. The amount of time I spent in the first district didn''t even compare to the minuscule time I spent in the third district.


    "Rika is a person from the first district," Luke joined our conservation.


    Both Ellen and Shelly could not disagree as they tried to switch to another subject.


    "We should enjoy the rest of our day here," Shelly carefully asked Luke if he was fine with it.


    Luke nodded his head as he focused his attention back on the book he brought with him.


    "Then we could also try cooking too!" I excitedly suggested.


    I would definitely show Shelly and Ellen how to cook today.


    I couldn''t purchase the items in our secret hideout because I didn''t know how to use the tools in the first district. However, if either Ellen or Shelly knew if there were any similar tools that were similar to the ones we used today, then we could fill up our kitchen that was there was decoration for now.


    "You did tell us that you cooked in the third district," Ellen chuckled from recalling one of her fond memories.


    "But Rika never cooked before?" Luke stared at us in confusion as he placed his book down.


    "I did, remember the strawberry dessert," I reminded Luke of the time I made sugared strawberries for dessert.


    Luke sighed as if he was getting a sudden headache from my response.


    He helplessly waved his hand like he didn''t want to continue to recall the sugary delight that I stuffed into my mouth before he snatched it away from my hands.


    "Then we can try making cookies or cakes today!" Ellen suggested as she started to search up how people cooked in the third district with her marble that was filled with notes from class.


    We all turned towards the door when we heard footsteps heading near my room.


    The person momentarily stopped as he coughed before gently knocking on the door.


    As the host of this house, I opened the door to find a boy around the same age as me who hesitantly looked at the guests in my room.


    He possessed the same red wavy hair as me, but had mellow teal eyes that he inherited from my mother.


    Instead of wearing a formal attire like the rest of us in the room, he wore relatively casual clothes that made him seem underdressed.


    "You can come in," I let my younger brother inside my room.

 105 Siblings 3

    Evan Shane''s POV:


    I nervously knocked on the door to greet my older twin sister.


    I have never seen my sister ever since she went to the first district for school.


    My parents never liked to talk about her as they would worry about how she was faring in the first district all alone.


    My mother would sometimes secretly cry in the bedroom as she would go through the photo albums that was sent by her school.


    However, I didn''t feel attached to my older sister compared to my parents. My older sister was almost like a stranger to me as I barely remembered how she looked like.


    If I didn''t grow up with my older twin sister before kindergarten, I would''ve thought that I was the only child in my family.


    I was not able to meet my sister whenever she visited the third district. I was coincidently at summer camp or had a sleepover at my friend''s house.


    I gasped as I stared at a young girl with an otherworldly appearance.


    Her silky hair that drifted like a smooth waterfall was decorated with jewels that sparkled in the sunlight inside tiny braids that was well hidden among her wavy voluminous hair.


    Her orange speckled eyes shined as she smiled gracefully with her small heart-shaped lips.


    She wore a rich yellow dress that had toppled layers of the finest fabric as it followed her tiny movements.


    I stumbled a few steps back as I could not imagine that she was my twin sister.


    "You can come in," my sister gestured with her bell-like voice.


    I entered her room to find it cold and bare. It looked like it was barely used as only the necessary furniture needed occupied the space in the large room.


    When I took a glance of the guests that my sister had brought with her, I felt massively underdressed.


    I wore a cheap t-shirt with a printed design and cotton blue shorts from a sale at the mall with my friends.


    I couldn''t even compare my clothes to the boy around my age who wore a fine collared shirt with posh tailored slacks.


    The boy appeared as if he came out of a top fashion magazine as his beautiful looks dazzled my eyes.


    His long eyelashes and bright ocean blue eyes instantly captured my attention with his strong jawline.


    The boy carefully studied my expression as I observed his handsome face before turning my focus to the two girls that also appeared to be around my age that sat on the floor.


    I stopped myself from gasping again as I found another beauty staring at me.


    The beauty had ink-black long hair that reached her hips. Her cherry red lips moved as she asked me, "Do you want to join us?"


    Maybe everyone in the first district wore fancy clothes.


    Everyone in the room wore clothes that was fit for going to a fancy event rather than to visit a regular house in the third district.


    The silk fabric made the light bounce off to multiple directions of the room, creating almost a disco ball effect on the white walls.


    I nodded my head as I sat down as elegantly as possible on the floor where my sister and two of her guests sat in a circle.


    "I think he''s my younger brother," My sister introduced me to her guests.


    It made sense that my sister did not know how I looked like. She didn''t have access to the photo albums like I did.


    However, I was still surprised about the difference in how she appeared in real life compared to the pictures from when she was younger.


    "What do you mean by ''I think''?" Another exquisite beauty teased my sister. I took a long look of her rare platinum hair and intelligent silver eyes.


    She bloomed like a flower grown from the moonlight shining upon her as she warmly gazed at my sister whenever she talked.


    "Maybe I should take pictures of him just as you took pictures of Miele," My sister softly muttered.


    "Rika!" The boy scolded my sister as he frowned in response.


    "I was joking," My sister sulked before turning towards me.


    "I apologize for my partner''s joke," The boy softened as if he was used to apologizing to other people for my sister.


    "It''s fine," I immediately answered him.


    I wondered what the boy meant when he claimed that my sister was his partner.


    At this rate, my sister seemed like she came from another world compared to the world I lived in with our parents.


    My sister seamlessly blended in with her guests from the first district that it was hard to believe that she originally came from the third district.


    If my sister and I stood beside each other, there was no way that people would recognize us as siblings with the graceful aura she gave off.


    It was like she was bred from an extremely affluent family where its members were trained extensively to rise as leaders to earn respect from their workers.


    "Back to the main topic. Let''s start thinking of what to cook today," My sister steered her guests back to the conversation before I came into the room.


    The boy sighed as he helplessly watched my sister talk about what she wanted to try making today.

 106 Cooking 1

    "We should introduce ourselves to your younger brother first," Luke mentioned after I suggested what kind of desserts we should make today.


    Right. My younger brother didn''t know who Luke, Shelly and Ellen were.


    I didn''t even know what my younger brother''s name was as my memory from my early childhood was completely erased from my memories when I reincarnated into this body.


    "My name is Michelle Monete Locast and my friend beside me is Helena Nicole Krista." Shelly introduced herself and Ellen.


    "We go to the same school as Rika," Ellen friendly added.


    Shelly awkwardly smiled to welcome my brother while Ellen naturally integrated Evan into our group.


    Ellen was inherently good at greeting new people and taking care of them as she looked after Allan to earn a stable amount of points.


    "And my name is Luke de Roselia and your sister''s name is Rika de Roselia," Luke stiffly continued the round of introductions.


    I groaned as I knew that Luke was going to introduce me as ''Rika de Roselia'' from now on.


    "My name is Evan Shanes, but why is my sister''s name Rika de Roselia?" My younger brother appeared confused to the reason why my last name was the same as Luke.


    However, even I considered myself to be Rika Roselia Shanes. I refused to admit my last name changed because of that one ceremony that occurred without me even knowing what was really happening when I kissed Luke.


    Nothing good came out with being stuck with Luke all the time.


    I stayed silent as I waited for Luke to give an explanation I could deny to my younger brother.


    "I am engaged to your sister and due to the circumstances, your sister is formally considered to be a member of my household," Luke gave the shortest explanation of the events that happened in the first district.


    This explanation explained almost nothing as it didn''t tell what happened in the process that led the results to play out this way.


    I glared at Luke to urge him to give a more proper explanation which I could refute later on.


    "Engaged as to getting married in the future?" Evan almost shouted from disbelief before Luke could give him an better explanation.


    Ellen, Shelly and Luke helplessly nodded their heads to indicate that Evan''s conclusion was correct.


    "Engaged but not married," I added to emphasize the fact that I was not married to Luke yet when Evan''s jaw dropped from shock.


    Evan became speechless as he repeatedly alternated between staring at Luke and I to comprehend the new information that was thrown at him.


    But before Evan could ask another question, Adrian knocked on the door.


    "When are you coming back Evan?" Adrian loudly shouted through the door.


    Adrian came to my room as he waited for Evan for a long period of time to return back to his room.


    If this was what having siblings was like, I didn''t mind. I liked Evan because he questioned Luke as he didn''t consider me to be ''Rika de Roselia'' like everyone else in the first district did.


    I was plainly ''Rika Shanes'' to him and that was how I wanted to keep it.


    Sometimes, people greeted me in the hallway because I was engaged to Luke.


    I knew they wanted to try to make connections with me to eventually become closer to Luke.


    That''s why I hung around Shelly and Ellen more often. Our friendship was genuine compared to the people who thought as me as a means to join our inner circle.


    I hated people who randomly complimented me due to my relation to Luke.


    This was why I understood the reason why Luke ignored a lot of people while coldly staring at them when they wouldn''t back off.


    "Let''s see what I have in my closet," I looked through my closet that had a few hangers hung on the metal bar.


    I sighed when I saw that I only had the same fancy dresses that resembled the outfit I wore today.


    I didn''t even bother to change as ruining this dress with cookie dough would be the same as tarnishing my other expensive dresses that were kept neatly in my closet.


    I should''ve brought some decent clothes to change into, but I would only acquire those if I went shopping in the third district.


    My room in the dorm room at school and Luke''s mansion was filled with similar outfits as I refused to go shopping with Luke.


    "Let''s go to the kitchen now," I guided them into the simple kitchen as I gave up in changing into more casual clothes.


    I was thankful that I wore a sleeveless dress today as I would not have to worry about the batter touching my sleeves.


    It was annoying when you had sticky batter all over your skin.


    The kitchen was well replenished with the fully stuffed fridge, the filled pantry and cupboards.


    I pulled out a large bowl as I tried to recall how to create a batch of cookies.


    Cookies were easy to make as I just had to mix the ingredients together before putting them into small circular shapes to cook in the oven.


    "Cooking is easier than you think," I confidently claimed as I started to pull out the ingredients that were needed.

 107 Cooking 2

    When we finished mixing all the ingredients together, we found a big ball of cookie dough staring back at us inside the huge bowl.


    I grabbed a small clunk of cookie dough as I popped it inside my mouth.


    Luke, Shelly and Ellen looked at me in horror as they read in the instruction book that the cookies must be cooked before they were to be eaten.


    "What?" I complained as Luke snatched the bowl away from me.


    Eating some of the cookie dough was the best process of making cookies in general!


    It was proven that nothing would happen even if you ate raw cookie dough. There were even some shops in the third district that sold cookie dough purely for consumption!


    Luke glared at me as if he was warning me to not dare to steal another tiny clunk of the cookie dough.


    Even Shelly and Ellen agreed with him as they quickened their pace in placing the cookie dough onto the trays.


    Before I could help them with the work, Luke placed the trays into the oven.


    I sulked as Luke, Shelly and Ellen did most of the work.


    "Maybe next time," Shelly offered as she started to wash her hands.


    "Why don''t we try making another dish?" I pulled out a cutting board and a large knife.


    "We can make some omelets," I grabbed some vegetables from the fridge.


    One of my strengths in cooking was being able to evenly cut the slices of vegetables thinly in my past life.


    I got ready to slice the zucchini as I professionally held the knife in place before I dodged Luke that was trying to snatch away the knife from me as well.


    I skillfully ran away with the cutting board, knife and the zucchini as I had anticipated Luke''s attack after he gave me a small steak knife to cut strawberries last time.


    "What going on?" Evan and his friends watched me try to run away from Luke in the living room.


    "Seriously Luke?" I shouted as Luke kept chasing after me.


    "I know what I''m doing," I claimed as I looked for better places to run to inside the house.


    "You never touched a knife before," Luke tried to justify his actions.


    "Oh please, I used more dangerous objects before. I swung a dagger to break a barrier in the third district last year to get away from a serial killer," I waved the knife that was in my other hand to mimic what I did last time.


    Luke didn''t have to know that the person who played a prank on me was actually one of my previous students and not a serial killer.


    The word just jumped up inside my head when I vividly remembered the girl trying to murder her own sister.


    I did wonder what happened to the other twin girl who tried to save me in the process.


    "A serial killer?" Adrian''s eyes widened as he knew about the incident due to him being one of my former students.


    I nodded my head as I gallantly held up my knife.


    "Luke won''t let me handle the knife," I whined to my mom.


    "I obviously know what I''m doing but he won''t let me use it," I sulked as I stomped my feet with frustration.


    "Maybe we should let Rika do what she wants for today and confiscate the knife when things look dangerous," My mom tried to compromise with Luke.


    Luke reluctantly agreed as he didn''t wish to go against my mom.


    I was definitely going to try to visit my parent''s house more often. I could get used to doing the things I actually wanted to do without under the careful eyes of Luke.


    I smirked at Luke as I properly placed the cooking tools on the countertop where it originally belonged.


    I carefully held the knife with my right hand as I carefully positioned the vegetable to make it easier to cut.


    I wiped a drop of sweat on my forehead as I smiled when I looked at the bowl full of finely chopped vegetables.


    I just had to crack some eggs and mix them all together before flipping them gently on the fry pan.


    I knew how performance based chefs were feeling now as there was an audience in front of me that observed me cooking.


    My mom, Shelly, Ellen, Luke, Evan and his friends all stared at me with their full concentration.


    I was sweating from their pressuring gaze rather than the hard work that came from cooking.


    I set the heat on the stove to low as I poured in the omelet batter into the pan after I had glided butter to make the omelet not stick onto the pan.


    When one side of the omelet was cooked, I lifted the pan to show off my flipping skills.


    However, I forgot that it was years since I have cooked. The omelet landed inside the kitchen sink as it flew across to the other side of the kitchen.


    What a waste!


    When I poured the leftover batter, I tried to carefully roll the omelet instead of flipping it with my spatula.


    I smiled when I put my omelet on a white plate.


    "Who wants some?" I asked the audience in front of me.

 108 Cooking 3

    Evan Shane''s POV:


    I watched my sister childishly run around the living room as her partner chased after her.


    This was unexpected.


    My painted image of an elegant lady that acted sensibly with her careful gestures was instantly shattered as a young reckless juvenile girl replaced it.


    She held one of the bigger kitchen knives as she spun the knife around like she was mimicking the knife as a sword.


    Her great sense of balance made sure that none of the items in both of her hands fell down.


    She nimbly avoided Luke''s swift movements as she made a mess of the living room.


    Some of the neatly stacked magazines on the small living room table were spattered all across the floor.


    The pencil case, the remote control and cushions littered the ground when it was originally placed neatly on the couch.


    The picture frames on the wall was tilted in an odd direction as if an earthquake had shaken our house.


    "Is this what my sister was like in your school?" I asked my childhood friend.


    "She was nothing like this," Adrian appeared to be surprised at the scene he was watching with me.


    "Rika looked like a typical rich lady from the first district as she always acted gracefully," Adrian described his impression of Rika to me.


    It was a shame that I attended a higher-ranking school than Adrian. My parents invested majority of time in my education to make up for the share that my sister didn''t get.


    Ever since my sister went to school in the first district, none of her school tuition was paid of my parents.


    Apparently, it had cost a fortune to pay for her tuition fees in the third district even though it was only for kindergarten.


    "Oh please, I used more dangerous objects before. I swung a dagger to break a barrier in the third district last year to get away from a serial killer," my sister provoked Luke as she waved the knife in the air.


    "Do you know about this?" I asked Adrian about the startling statement from Rika.


    Adrian nodded his head as he kept silent about the accident that none of my family members had knowledge of even happening.


    My mom stepped in between Rika and Luke as she started to calm down the situation.


    My sister brightly smiled when she got permission from my mother to cook as she smirked at Luke to show that it was her victory.


    When my sister gave me a slice of her ''omelet'', I thanked her as I stared at the perfect yellow colour of the omelet.


    I normally wouldn''t hesitate before eating a photo of the flawless dish. However, I had listened into the conversation from my sister''s guest as Rika diligently cooked the omelet.


    "Rika did mention that she knew how to cook," Michelle commented as she observed my sister''s cooking skills.


    "It doesn''t mean that Rika has actually cooked before," Luke stubbornly disagreed with Rika cooking in the kitchen.


    Right then, an round omelet flew in the air as it landed on the other side of the kitchen.


    I continuously stared at the omelet before taking a nervous gulp.


    I reluctantly took a big bite as the flavour of the omelet slowly seeped into my mouth as I continuously chewed.


    Surprisingly, the omelet had the perfect amount of fluffiness and the right amount of sweetness from honey being used rather than pure sugar.


    The tiny piece of omelet in my mouth gushed with various tastes as I quickly grabbed more of the omelet until I found my plate to be pitifully empty.


    "How was it?" My sister smiled dazzlingly as she was satisfied once she saw my empty plate.


    "It doesn''t seem like this is your first-time cooking," I confessed as I noticed that everyone had empty plates.


    "I put a secret ingredient inside it," My sister softly whispered into my ear.


    I lightly blushed as her hair tickled my ear as she bent down with a playful expression.


    "Ouch!" My sister shouted when Luke lightly grabbed her hand to pull her away from me.


    None of the people in the room thought that my sister was actually hurt as Luke touched her like he was handling the most precious article in the world.


    I noticed that Luke was slightly possessive of my sister as he tried to control some of her actions in what she could and couldn''t do.


    Cooking the way that my sister did was hardly dangerous as she clearly knew what she was doing.


    My sister skillfully handled the knife as she spun it a few times and threw it in the air with her nimble fingers as she teased Luke during the chase.


    It was hard to believe that she never held a knife before as her movements were efficient while it enabled her to hold multiple objects in her hands.


    Even my sister''s friends seemed to be overprotective of her as they intensely concentrated on observing her as she sophisticatedly cooked.


    Were all people in the first district like this?


    My first impressions of my sister and her guests were completed crushed as I got to know them better.


    Michelle and Helena were like a second mother to my sister as they extensively looked after her.


    And Luke appeared to be Rika''s main caretaker.

 109 Identity

    I walked down the hallway as I was on my way to go to the usual caf¨¦ where I would meet up with Ellen and Shelly.


    "I''m going to suffer under huge student loans this year Hari," a student complained.


    "I swear that the tuition is increasing every year," Hari groaned.


    "Who knew that they would make this year''s tuition to be 1,000,000 Aris!" Hari continued to grumble as she almost cried from her rising debts.


    Was our school tuition that expensive?


    I never suffered from problems related to financial hardship as Luke''s family put millions of Aris in my bank account that were all in the currency of the first district.


    Did I have student loans that I didn''t know about?


    I found Luke and Alex near the same hallway as they came back from their usual sword practice.


    They were both appeared sophisticated and neat like they had arrived at one of aristocratic social events.


    There were no hints of sweat to indicate that they had come from an intense fight as one of them usually received tiny wounds from their practices.


    I ran up to Luke and Alex as I wasn''t in a hurry to meet Shelly and Ellen immediately.


    "Do I have student loans?" I directly asked Luke.


    "What do you mean?" Luke seemed equally confused as I was.


    "I heard some students talk about their student loans increasing because of the expensive tuition," I explained.


    "Then they should be complaining about our uniforms instead," Alex added as he joined our conversation.


    "Why?" I questioned Alex as I tilted my head with puzzlement.


    "Our uniforms cost the double of our yearly tuition," Alex answered me.


    I gasped as I had tons of school uniforms in my closet. Few of my uniforms were unworn because they served as spares since I had so many of them.


    No wonder Luke was confused when I asked him if I had any student loans.


    It was abnormal for me to have any student loans when I possessed an affluent number of school uniforms that were double the price.


    I thought it was normal to have the number of spares I had as both the closets of Shelly and Ellen resembled mine.


    Since Luke was in charge of managing my closet due to my lack of interest, his closet was exactly like mine.


    It was likely that Luke''s family paid for my school tuition as there was no way that my middle-class family in the third district would be able to afford it.


    I did have ''Roselia'' as part of my middle name.


    At this rate, I realized I took many things for granted. I was gradually losing my sense of money as I never bothered to search for the prices attached to my simple life in the first district.


    I quickly recognized I was becoming more like Luke. Luke never looked at the price tags when he purchased the things he wanted whenever I went shopping with him.


    "I need a part-time job," I declared to myself.


    I never worked part-time before whether it was my past life or this life.


    I was too busy with studying in both of my lives to even consider dedicating my time to this luxury.


    "People of the Roselia family never work part-time jobs," Luke instantly disagreed.


    Unfortunately, I had to agree with Luke as I was too busy with school to even consider doing any extra-circular activities.


    I was still struggling to not bring down Luke as I barely managed to balance our scores out to not receive any minus points.


    I apologized to Luke for that aspect every day in my heart as I knew that he would living with an affluent amount of points if he wasn''t partnered to someone like me.


    "I know," I sadly responded as I walked to the usual caf¨¦ after I said my farewells to Luke and Alex.


    "You''re late today," Shelly pouted as our usual desserts were already spread out on the table.


    "I found out that I''m losing my sense my money," I confessed as told them my conversation with Luke and Alex in the hallway.


    The light spring breeze came in through the open window. We liked this spot as we could bath in the sunlight while enjoying our usual desserts.


    It was astounding how this amazing spot was always open whenever we visited the caf¨¦.


    The scenery healed our souls as various cute animals climbed on the tree that was right beside the window.


    "I think we just live according to our means," Ellen gently came up with an explanation.


    "They probably won''t have as many responsibilities as us when they graduate," Ellen justified why we deserved the abundant luxuries that came to the palm of our hands.


    I could only agree with Ellen half of my heart. She was right that they weren''t pressured as much as I was to act like the perfect lady from the ''Roselia'' family.


    They probably weren''t restricted in terms of what they could do as much as I was. However, they didn''t deserve to be hindered by financial hardships that would prevent them from receiving the same opportunities that we did.


    I helplessly sighed as I thought of the tainted system in the first district.

 110 Plan C

    "I want everything on the racks from the start of this end to the other," I pointed in one of those typical VIP stores I went with Luke.


    I initiated my next plan of trying to spend enough money to get Luke to despise me. If plan a with physical contact didn''t work, then plan b it was.


    I was sure that one piece of clothing would likely be the yearly salary of a middle-class family. This was one of Luke''s favourite shops that he went to often with unfortunately me. I used to stand back while Luke chose both of our clothes, but I would be more active today.


    Luke did overall possess good taste in fashion. Maybe it was because he was used to wearing the finest articles of clothing available to him.


    "It''s fine, just get us everything on that other end," Luke dominated my order to the staff.


    Since the staff was more familiar with Luke giving out the orders, they instantly cancelled my orders while they obeyed Luke.


    "Why?" I asked Luke for the reason he rejected my order.


    "You already have most of the dresses in those racks," Luke explained that he was just purchasing the ones I didn''t possess.


    I was surprised as I stopped myself from my jaw dropping. I could not imagine that I already owned most of the prestigious articles of clothing from an exclusive membership only store.


    It was well-known in school that most of the items on the rack in the store we were in had a limited supply of clothing to make it seem more exclusive. Since I didn''t like going shopping with Luke, I just let Luke manage my closet inside his mansion and school. That was why I didn''t know where most of my clothing came from.


    I stayed in the back as Luke arranged our purchases to be delivered to his mansion. I sighed as I didn''t see the point in buying many lavish clothes when I would soon grow out of them.


    I was determined to buy more stuff to waste more of Luke''s money in the next store.


    Luke and I went into an accessory shop next where the store sold hair accessories, gloves, hats and earrings. This was another painful shop where I usually sat in one of the comfy chairs while Luke picked out the items for both of us.


    Thanks to his frequent visits to the shop, I had a dresser full of hair accessories, ribbons, jewels, fancy hats and gloves.


    "I want everything in this display," I ordered the staff that were at my every beck and call.


    "You already have everything in this display Rika," Luke cancelled the order again to the staff.


    I did? But there were so many merchandise carefully arranged inside the glass display. The jewels sparkled like memorising drops of dew from a faint rainy day. The rolls of silk ribbons reflected the rays of light as they gleamed with joy.


    The hats, gloves and hair accessories resembled fine items of craftsmanship as they were showered with lavish, but simple decorations of more jewels and silky ribbons.


    I promised myself that I would thoroughly explore what I supposedly possessed in my multiple closets in the location of his mansions.


    I gave up buying anything in the accessory shop as Luke ordered more jewels that were outside of the glass display.


    "Where are we going next?" I asked Luke as I sulked that I couldn''t directly buy an expensive item.


    "The shoe store," Luke and I teleported to the next store.


    I was pretty sure I didn''t lack any shoes as I usually stuck with my polished school dress shoes. I winced when I saw the towering hill of various painful-looking heels and uncomfortable soles. I wondered why Luke couldn''t bring to one of those stores with snug running shoes or slippers. However, I was dedicated to sticking with plan b until the end of this shopping spree.


    "Please get me every shoe in my size," I requested to the row of staff that were dedicated to serving me.


    "You already have all of these shoes," Luke cancelled my order again.


    What! I didn''t know I possessed a countless number of shoes. I sighed as not one of these shining shoes under the careful display appeared to be equally relaxing as they appeared to be flaunting their fine work. I reluctantly gave up on plan b as I could not anticipate Luke already overspending on my clothes, accessories and shoes for me.


    I sighed as I had to scheme what to do next after both plan a and b had failed.


    What would plan c be?


    Luke hated people who bought expensive things to show off to other people, touched him excessively and when I didn''t act accordingly as part of a member of the ''Roselia'' family.


    I failed the first two items on the list and unfortunately the last one too as Luke just dragged me around the school while he prepared me for everything I would need to do to properly represent his family name.


    I could have never predicted that he would try to get me ready for school while I slept.


    The only other thing I could think of was to somehow bother him during class without sabotaging our points.

 111 Hobby 1

    "Kya! Did you see who walked by?" I almost covered my ears from the loud scream.


    "I did. I did," the people around me nodded their heads with admiration.


    "Can you please move?" An upperclassman politely asked me while I was on my way to the usual caf¨¦ where I met Shelly and Ellen.


    I noticed early on in elementary school that not many people treated me rudely since I was engaged to Luke. Except for my usual classmates I was familiar with, my other peers greeted me politely when I passed through the halls.


    However, it wasn''t like I met many people other than my classmates except for the weekends like today. Everyone was busy as usual during the weekdays as they struggled to survive under the harsh school system.


    Before I could step back, strong slender arms hugged me from behind. I gasped from surprise as I became the centre of attention inside a large crowd that surrounded the person behind me.


    "Rika!" A familiar deep voice greeted me as I turned my face to figure out who it was.


    Ugh! Why was he here? It was hard enough to pretend I didn''t know him while I received anonymous letters that popped up occasionally inside my desk asking to pass onto him.


    Typical gleaming golden strands of hair drifted in front of my face. His long eyelashes and jawlines resembled Luke clearly showed they had some relationship with each other.


    The extravagant high school uniform fit him so well that it was like it was made for him to wear. I had to admit that there weren''t many people who were better looking than Luke in the first district that was known for its beautiful populace. However, he possessed an angelic face which surpassed Luke by a small margin with his symmetrical features that matched perfectly with each other.


    But I knew now that looks didn''t define everything. I wasn''t deceived by any of Luke''s friends who unknowingly gathered secretive fan clubs throughout the school that admired their prestige bloodline, power and wealth.


    "What are you doing here Jules?" I asked Julian who was playfully teasing me in front of his fans.


    "Do I need a reason to meet my cousin?" Julian pretended to pout as I felt subtle glares of jealousy.


    "What do you mean by cousin?" I denied our relationship to each other.


    There was no way I would admit that we were cousins. It was akin to acknowledging that I would really get married to Luke in the future.


    Julian Pelargonium was Luke''s cousin on his mother''s side. Luke''s family was so big that I was struggling to remember all the people who was connected to him. There was his immediate family and unfortunately all his cousins that also had partners from other prominent families.


    All I needed was Shelly, who I didn''t consider as my future cousin, but one of my closest childhood friends.


    However, we started to drift apart when he graduated from elementary school one year after Luke and I were admitted.


    "I''ll miss you Jules," I tried to not cry.


    "It''s ok my comrade," Julian passed an envelope full of what he promised me yesterday.


    I peeked through the envelope to find everything that I ordered was exactly there.


    However, this was before I figured out he was Luke''s cousin. I stopped replying to his messages as we both agreed to stop contracting each other when we ran into some trouble of others discovering our frequent exchanges. What did I expect from a school full of students from the most prestigious families?


    Jules seemed so normal as we secretly contacted each other about our common hobby. I naturally forgot about our big age difference as we passionately talked of XXX.


    I sadly got rid of all the evidence by burning them secretly outside the dorms once I was sure that Luke was asleep.


    Even Shelly and Ellen didn''t know about my secret hobby. I could still imagine the horror on their faces if they figured out even when they mostly accepted everything about me.


    Julian subtly pushed a piece of paper into my hand while he let me go.


    I quickly swam out of the crowd as I ran into my dorm room. Fortunately, Luke was at his usual sword practice with Alex at this time.


    I opened the piece of paper that had the location and time written faintly with the warm feeling of Julian''s mana.


    [High school classroom 2-3 at 3AM.]


    I frowned as going into the high school section of the campus would be difficult without gathering any attention.


    I didn''t want to run into any people I knew. Aka, Lucius and Ben plus their partners which knew my faces now after social week. However, I was too curious to reject the invitation.


    Did that mean Julian finally figured out how to resume our secret meetings safely?


    The high school section was always filled with students even in the middle of the night. This was where high school unfortunately differed from middle school.


    I sighed as I couldn''t imagine roaming around school other than sneaking around in the middle of the night.

 112 Hobby 2

    I closed my dorm room door as lightly as possible while I made sure that Luke was still sleeping.


    Luke''s constant breathing patterns observed from one of my mana spells made me relieved as it meant that he was sleeping deeply.


    I tried to calm myself down as I walked towards the high school section of the school campus. All four levels of the school were separated by a faint mana barrier that could determine who could pass through for security reasons.


    I carefully manipulated the mana barrier with my powerful, but precisely controlled enchantments to let me inside.


    I slipped into the other side of the barrier as if I was entering a new world through a transparent bubble.


    I turned the brightness in my marble to minimally low as I had the map projected to help me find the high school classroom indicated in the note.


    I never entered the high school section of the campus before as the only things I knew about it was from rumors I heard from the hallways.


    The high school section of the school was truly different than all the other levels. Everything was futuristic and didn''t contain any ancient artifacts like the ones in the other sections.


    There was a prominent number of robots working around the school as they served the needs of the students. Multiple teleportation gates were busily being used as high school students went on difficult frequent missions to get graded on. Mana was being freely used as students accurately made illuminations to practice for their exams.


    Maybe this would be a fitting picture for what the first district was renowned for.


    I pulled on the hood of my long robe as I discreetly walked in the long glass hallways.


    "Rika?" Ben took a closer glance at my face with great curiosity when we crossed paths on my route to the classroom.


    Ugh! This was one of the people that I was hoping that I wouldn''t meet. Out of all the places in the wide high school section, why did he have to be here?


    "I think you have the wrong person," I politely denied as I pulled my hood down as much as I could to hide my face.


    My bright red hair stumbled out my hood as Ben used wind magic to unexpectedly pull my hood off.


    "Couldn''t you have pretended not to know me?" I asked with great annoyance while I pulled my hood back up.


    It wasn''t like I was close with Ben. I just stayed in his summer villa a little bit and went to different districts together. Other than that, we didn''t stay in contact as we were both busy with school.


    It was rare to meet someone in another level in school as the barrier tightly separated any interactions between the very young to mature students.


    "Why are you in the high school section?" Ben unintentionally gathered a crowd of curious people who eavesdropped into our conversation with their good hearing.


    However, I didn''t expect that Ben would curiously look over my shoulder as I compared the map and where I was right now.


    I needed to somehow get Ben off my back before I arrived at my destination.


    [Small Tornado] I visualized a small tornado that would serve as a shield to prevent Ben from following me as I escaped his line of vision.


    A great wisp of wind escalated into a large hurricane. The wind swept the trees to be bare from the leaves forming a great wall that towered metres into the sky with the circular air flow.


    The students instantly formed barriers around themselves to cover from the powerful twirling storm that resembled a drill piecing a hole wherever it went.


    The gust of a normally pleasant spring breeze became more powerful as it gobbled up more oxygen and a faint hint of mana present in the air. Was I originally thinking of this when I composed it up from thin air?


    I sighed as all I wished for was a small tornado. I guessed this was the problem with possessing almost an infinite amount of mana.


    I admitted that I poured too much mana from a bit of panic as I ignored the small cracks being formed in the newly built structure.


    ''The strong foundations that made up the building wouldn''t likely crumble from a small spell,'' my thoughts were wavering when loud rumbles from flashing lightening came from the sky to contribute to the hurricane.


    I didn''t dare to look back to take a glance at Ben as I ran away from the scene while the hurricane increasingly became larger as it fed off more energy from its surroundings.


    Everyone knew that high school students were highly proficient with mana. Someone would fix this mess in no time, compared the middle school students who majority practiced with perfecting their spells with mana.


    I jogged until I looked up to find the sign [2-3] before I would run into anyone else.


    There was a thick mana barrier as I expected to keep others way near the doorway. I quickly waved through all its familiar defensive measures that were the same as the one in elementary school.


    "Welcome Rika," a soft voice greeted me inside.

 113 Hobby 3

    Julian playfully greeted me mysteriously inside the dark classroom that was void of lights.


    "Why is the room so dark?" I asked.


    Julian instantly lighted up the room with a snap from his fingers like a magician performing a show.


    In a split second,


    My eyes glittered from the familiar merchandise that I couldn''t get my hands on for years. I had missed all of these banners and posters.


    The frilly idol clothes and puffy Victorian style dress displayed with sparkling accessories instantly captured my eyes. The pureness of the clear animated eyes and radiating cuteness from her expressions made me fall in love with her from first sight.


    This was Lilika Yuri. A vocaloid that was equally popular to the famous and legendary Hatuna Mika with the banner of long neon blue pigtails with a school uniform.


    Her songs during the time I was forced to study had helped me get by during my former life. I was surprised when I ran into Jules who carried a CD of her debutant album. Her debutant album was a legendary collector''s item as it was a limited edition due to her low initial popularity before she blew up.


    Even if this was another world, it was absolutely astonishing to have the same vocaloids exist in the otaku fandom. I covered my mouth out of habit when I gasped from the amazing fan collection.


    I trembled when I touched the cover of the debut album and opened it to find scraps of paper with a date and time written. Was this my imagination?


    The precious photo of Lilika Yuri was covered with big bold letters, ''concert''. It couldn''t be? A real concert ticket of Lilika Yuri in my hands that was taking place at midnight?


    "Is this real?" I shook Jules with disbelief.


    Jules shrugged, "It''s real if you want it to be."


    I tightly hugged Jules, not wanting to show my sad face, knowing that I wouldn''t be able to go with the limitation of the necklace around my neck. If only he had come few months earlier, I wouldn''t hesitate to go with him.


    Getting permission to go to the concert from Luke was almost impossible. I could just imagine Luke''s horrendous expression when he found out another one of my otaku hobbies. He would probably ban more of my things again to get me to act somewhat like a normal lady.


    Jules lightly patted my head like he took it as a sign that we were going.


    "We have to go now to use the teleportation gate unnoticed."


    I loosened my hug with Jules and tried to smile to hide my devastation of not being able to go even with the tickets in my hand.


    "How about one song?" I passed him the mic and turned on the screen.


    I planned to confess the truth about my necklace and say my farewells at the teleportation gate. I couldn''t bear to tell him now when he expected me to look so excited after our long-time reunion.


    I naturally sang the first verse like it was ingrained into me. Jules, knowing the cue, sang the second verse with his memorising voice that instantly put your guard down. His singing was smoothing to the point it made you feel instantly relaxed.


    We harmonized naturally under the sparkling make-belief disco ball under the old relic devices. By the time the song was finished, we smiled at each other at the same time before high-fiving.


    "We should get going," Jules turned off all the devices.


    I felt like I was walking out of a magical experience filled with colourful lights and imagination when Jules locked the door after packing all the idol merchandise into his marble.


    Maybe because I was entirely immersed into the Lilika Yuri decorated room, I forgot about the damaged buildings in the high school area made by my uncontrollable mana spell.


    After walking out of the deeper area of the building, Jules froze for a few seconds when he spotted the other students trying to repair the exterior of the building.


    Nobody payed attention to us as almost everyone was occupied with helping each other into making the building look new again. It was actually a relief. Most times, a middle school student in the high school section would instantly grab the attention of others like earlier today.


    I did feel guilty about damaging the school building, but I was secretly glad it gave me more time to enjoy being with Jules.


    Before I took my eyes away from the hard-working students, I noticed a short boy helping them from probably a lack of manpower. Alex who had equal ability in control of his mana, matched their speed in composing materials together.


    Wait. Alex was here.


    Jules had one of his eyebrows lifted in curiosity when my face suddenly brightened as I started to skip forward, full of energy in each step.


    I smiled as I recalled Luke''s condition on the necklace''s restraint. If I were to spin it in a positive way, I would get to go anywhere as long as I had Alex or Luke around. And one of them was here right in front of me, vulnerable and unknowing of what was going to happen.


    Maybe I would go to that concert today.

 114 Lilika Yuri 1

    We were steps away from the glowing teleportation gate that was filled the brim with mana. I wondered if it was a coincident that Jules had more than two tickets inside the CD album.


    "Can you put the setting to three people and wait for me in the teleportation gate?"


    Jules smiled like he predicted this would knowingly happen and waved to me before running ahead of me. It was great Jules was always so understanding and didn''t ask about the meaning behind my actions.


    I swiftly ran to kidnap Alex as I interrupted him during the process of visualizing another mana spell. I pulled his hand and dragged him to the teleportation gate without any warning. I didn''t think about the consequences as Alex shook my grip off after we had already arrived in the second district.


    Maybe some people started gossiping and spreading rumors after the bright glow that surrounded the area when the teleportation gate was being used. But I was holding in my victory pose for my quick thinking.


    I was only successful as when Alex worked on something, he usually put all his attention and concentration on that one thing. Alex took turns of staring at me and Jules multiple times like we were an odd combination in a package.


    "Cousin?" Alex asked Jules for an explanation.


    "Wait, you and Jules are cousins?" I forgot to refer to Jules by his full name.


    "He''s my cousin on my mother''s side," Jules gently explained to me.


    This family tree thing was getting my head confused. Luke was cousins with Alex and Jules while Alex and Jules were also cousins in connection with their mother''s side of the family.


    I nodded as I accepted his explanation while I wondered how I would spend the extra time in the second district before the concert began.


    "It''s you who destroyed the buildings, isn''t it?" Alex put his hand on his hip.


    I tried to feint ignorance as I pointed to the snack booth. The snack booth was almost like a vending machine as it was operated by a robot, except that the robot acted like a human employee who cooked the food.


    "We should enjoy our time since we''re here anyways," All the other major stores were closed since it was the middle of the night.


    But, similar to my past life, snack booths always ran for 24 hours.


    "Do you have any money?" I asked Jules to see if we could spend our time by shopping.


    "We''re going back," Alex interrupted Jules before he could reply.


    Alex immediately searched for the closest teleportation gate with his marble as he quickly scrolled through the options.


    "Then go back alone, we have something to do here" I gestured to Jules.


    "How do you even know each other?" Alex finally questioned us.


    "You don''t have to know, you''re only invited because of this," I acted like I was yanking the necklace from my neck.


    "Do you have any money?" I turned to ask Jules again while ignoring Alex.


    "Of course, I do," Jules patted my head like he always did when we were younger.


    Alex seemed to intensely analyse what was our relationship to each other before he sighed and decided to follow us out of his duty towards Luke. He refused the kebab that Jules passed to him after my big purchase.


    The sun finally decided to rise in the second district as the sky turned into shades of pink and scarlet red while we threw away the snacks. I admired the sky that I could not see on a usual day since I was so focused on school.


    It was nice to be sitting on a park bench and have the luxury to immerse myself into the background. Although, on one side, I turned away from extreme disapproval of Alex and faced a kind smile of Jules on the other side.


    "We should explore the other areas in the second district," I suggested.


    I wanted to enjoy all the futuristic VR games in the arcade that I read about from books during my studies or go to the tourist areas that I couldn''t go to during my last visit here.


    "How about the shopping mall?" Jules pointed out the nearest tourist spot on the map inside his marble.


    I frantically nodded with approval and gave Jules another high-five. Alex unusually went along with the flow after giving up during our previous heated exchange.


    "Stop, we can walk there."


    I tried to stop Jules from calling a self-driving car so we could walk through the area instead. At this rate, it would be like travelling with Luke all over again where we would drive through all the exciting spots instead of exploring the area with our own two feet.


    "Are you serious Rika?" Alex argued like his last straw of patience was snapped.


    "Then you take the car and I''ll walk with Jules," I hugged Jules'' arms and started to walk on the famous tourist route.


    Jules briefly sent an apologetic glance to Alex before turning away.


    Alex clenched his hands into fists as he stepped into the unknown realm of walking into a public place instead of taking his usual comfortable route.

 115 Lilika Yuri 2

    It was an odd sight to have the mall so full of people early in the morning. I checked the time on my marble three times to confirm if it was 6AM in the second district time. I wondered how these people willingly got up so early just to buy stuff.


    Posters of Lilika Yuri littered the screens of advertisement and covered the front of the shirts of many fans who were clustered in the same area. The mall was filled to the brim with overflowing merchandise covered with the name of Lilika Yuri. There were Lilika Yuri cups, toys, games to even sofas. It was like this mall was dedicated to the existence of Lilika Yuri.


    It was truly paradise for fans of Lilika Yuri as they got swept away by all these products. I never realized the otaku fandom would be so large in the second district. Maybe it was different from my former life where people usually hid they were otakus to avoid disapproval from the general public.


    "Wow, Lilika Yuri is insanely popular here," I commented on the fans that lined up in an orderly fashion to get into each store.


    Loud music of Lilika Yuri filled the air to the point Jules and Alex would have trouble hearing me, if not for their great hearing. I had to remind myself to not shout to get my message across to communicate with Jules. It was like loud music was strangely messing with my brain.


    "It was a normal shopping mall the last time I came," Jules observed his surroundings with suspicion.


    It was hard to believe Jules as everyone had their phone backgrounds to something related to Lilika Yuri when I looked through the hectic setting. Plus, there wasn''t a single store that didn''t sell any products, not about the Vocaloid.


    Even though I was a fan of Lilika Yuri, it wasn''t to the point of obsession like the fans who gathered to this place. The obsession of the mall was like it was somehow brainwashed. Alex seemed to believe the same thing as his alertness perked while taking every careful step.


    "It''s like this is where the concert is held."


    "You''re not wrong, the concert hall is inside this mall." Jules pointed out.


    Well, it did make sense that Jules would put the setting in the teleportation gate to someplace close to the concert hall. I tugged off the bizarre feeling off my chest as I pulled on Jules'' clothes to gesture to get out of this hectic place until the time of the concert.


    Jules, getting the hint, escorted us to the caf¨¦ located a few blocks away from the mall in a peaceful neighborhood. It was just what we needed as I frowned upon the fans who did not seem to be in their right minds somehow.


    The waiter came to take our order as soon as we took a seat. The bright Lilika Yuri sticker on her apron sucked in all our attention as she brightly displayed her picture-perfect business smile.


    "I couldn''t get the tickets to the upcoming Lilika Yuri concert," a girl cried from the table behind us.


    "I bought a thousand albums, but none had them had tickets inside," she mumbled with devastation.


    "What? Only that? I bought three thousand albums and there wasn''t a single ticket!" the girl who ruined her face with tears violently slammed the table with both of her hands.


    This was freaky. I could understand one or two albums, but three thousand? The store played the debut song of Lilika Yuri as the table behind us made a ruckus that the other customers seemed to let go.


    It was like all the customers were understanding and knew what they were going through. When I took a deeper look into the caf¨¦ we were in, I found almost everyone had something related to Lilika Yuri.


    The customer who paid their bill in the table in front of us wore Lilika Yuri shoes. The table beside us had Lilika Yuri handkerchiefs sticking out of their small pockets. Even a table few metres away from us wore Lilika Yuri hats and the table beside them wore Lilika Yuri bracelets.


    What was wrong with this town? There was no way a single Vocaloid could be this popular. The drinks we ordered came with a complimentary Lilika Yuri straw inside as a service. Maybe after finishing our drinks, I would take a train to the next city to go to a quieter place.


    However, the train roared with another song by Lilika Yuri. All the commuters had at least one Lilika Yuri merchandise and some mumbled the lyrics to the numerous songs all by Lilika Yuri.


    For once, I covered my ears, sick of all these Lilika Yuri songs that I had once liked. Maybe this meant I was a casual fan rather than a deeply obsessed fan like all the others around me. In the crowd of people who filled the city, Jules, Alex, and I were the only ones unaffected by Lilika Yuri.


    Alex had already put on his noise cancellation barrier, sick of the loud noise, and asked us to message him with our marbles. At this point, I couldn''t even blame him as I wanted to do the same. I guessed even good songs can turn into a monster when played over an infinite number of times over the gaudy speakers.

 116 Lilika Yuri 3

    I sipped a glass of freshly squeezed passionfruit while the waiters elegantly served our meals in the usual fancy restaurant that overlooked the view of the city. Alex had his face loosed for the first time since he arrived here from being in his comfort zone.


    I would usually disapprove of going to such of place where I would have to mind my manners, but today was an exception. I wanted to be in one place where I wouldn''t have to hear another Lilika Yuri song.


    I appreciated the lovely silence that was filled with noises of cutting the steak or the soft footsteps of the waiters moving back and forth. I slouched inside the bubble where only the privileged could enter to manipulate their surroundings to their desires.


    I happily complied with taking the car on the way here as I turned my glance away from Lilika Yuri filling all the screens in the billboards. I didn''t even argue with Alex when he immediately demanded the car to stop playing any music in general.


    The musicians stepped onto the stage to play their usual selection of music to compliment the atmosphere. It wasn''t surprising, but I preferred the current state of the restaurant where there was no music being played.


    Maybe I knew that once they started playing the first piece, it would be an orchestral version of one of Lilika Yuri''s songs. I almost groaned from displeasure as I tried to keep myself from ordering the waiter to get rid of the noise right away.


    Thankfully, Jules, who appeared to be sick of Lilika Yuri as much as we were, called for a waiter to stop the music right away.


    "I am afraid I cannot. This was a request from one of our important VIP customers," the waiter denied our request.


    When the waiter was far away from us, I whispered, "It''s like everyone is brainwashed to like Lilika Yuri."


    It wasn''t just this city obsessed with Lilika Yuri, but the city beside it and let''s just say the whole second district at this rate. However, everyone seemed to like Lilika Yuri at different levels. There were those who wore everything about the Vocaloid from top to bottom to those who just carried a simple pen.


    "We should investigate this issue before we go back to the first district," Alex agreed with me.


    "Where should we start?" I asked both of them.


    "We should see when Lilika Yuri started to get popular and try to link the points together," Jules started his research.


    After paying the bill, we moved to the library to search for more information about Lilika Yuri. However, nothing was found. All the news articles were filled with silly information like a fan of Lilika Yuri heroically saving a cat from falling down a high tree. Or the new limited edition collection of Lilika Yuri released yesterday and the reactions from the fans about the news.


    There was no better trustworthy source than a super fan. They usually knew everything about their idols to the point it was creepy.


    I tapped his shoulder and friendly brought out my biggest smile, "Hey, I''m a Lilika Yuri fan too. But I''m a new fan, do you know how she got popular?"


    "You too?" He clasped onto both of my hands with anticipation to talk about his favorite subject.


    "Yea, especially her second album, called, ''Doki Doki, You''re My destiny so Don''t Run Away''"


    "Then you should know MysteriJ and FiveBlack who are her godly producers!" He blurted out.


    So, it was MysteriJ and FiveBlack who created this chaotic noise that filled the second district. I tried to push for more information as the super fan gladly ended up giving me the addresses where MysteriJ and FiveBlack lived after I kept on gushing over Lilika Yuri.


    I remembered to sanitize my hands to cleanse myself from that dangerous stalker fan after greeting him my farewells. In a way, I did feel bad for MysteriJ and FiveBlack, who was surrounded by stalkers who demanded more Lilika Yuri music.


    [I found out the address of who''s responsible for this] I messaged both Alex and Jules.


    Alex spun around as they left their research behind with surprise while Jules just appeared curious and interested in how I got the information.


    "You''ll be surprised how generous these super fans are with information," I whispered into Jules'' ear.


    Jules'' eyes widened before he brought back his usual kind smile.


    It was something that only an otaku would know from being surrounded by other otakus. People who weren''t part of this community didn''t know how accepting and enthusiastic we were of new members who liked the same thing.


    This time, I called for the car where I enjoyed the silence. Most transactions done by using the marble accepted the first district currency as a form of payment. I didn''t hesitate to use the mass amount of money in my bank account.


    I knocked on the wooden door of a simple looking house in the rural countryside that didn''t match the reputation of the futuristic second district. It was a modest house in a small town where neighbors were seldom seen and nature occupied most of the landscape.

 117 Producers 1

    A middle-aged man who had a slightly balding head came to open the door. He had an unshaved beard and thick eye bags that showed he hasn''t slept in days. His clothing was stained with various sauces like he was too lazy to even do the laundry to have proper hygiene.


    I couldn''t blame him when it was like a reflection of me in my former life when I was crammed with exams. I was familiar with the desperation that wouldn''t allow me to change clothes or shower in exchange for a couple more minutes of sleep. It gave off a feeling of a fellow comrade as I reached out to shake his outreached hand that welcomed us. While Alex failed to hide to his disgust towards the stranger and grabbed my hand in response to keep me from shaking his hand.


    "Are you MysteriJ or FiveBlack?" I innocently smiled.


    "I am FiveBlack," He didn''t bother to hide his identity.


    He gestured us to come inside, not wary of strangers at all like he was used to all the stalker fans that came to his house. Alex, who felt skeptic follow us inside wavered for a minute to get a better glance at the house from outside the door.


    The walls had some cracks while the floors creaked with our every step. It was hard to believe it was lived in with all the dust bunnies that loomed in every corner of the house. Spider webs and other small insects crawled like it was their familiar territory.


    Even the kitchen was bare of any fresh fruits and didn''t have a refrigerator. The shelves were filled with disposable water bottles and cans of unperishable food. This place resembled more of a secret hideout similar to the one that Shelly had purchased for me in the first district than someone''s main residence.


    Most otakus were afraid of tiny insects while their living space was ironically dirty. I started to cautiously intake my surroundings for any hints of suspicious items. Jules and Alex did the same as we made no conversation with our host from being too focused on trying to find out the reason everyone was getting influenced by Lilika Yuri.


    Maybe the host noticed we were too tense for a group of supposed super fans who came to visit. He served us some cups of murky-looking water that couldn''t be the typical tea or juice. It resembled the rotten water of a lake filled with mass and other bacteria with its green coloring that smelled like old chlorine.


    I pushed the cup away from the edge of my side of the metal stand fold table as the host looked at me expectedly to drink one sip. But, I smiled, trying to make a small conversation that could lead to some answers.


    Before I could start, FiveBlack started coughing unstoppably like he was choking on something. It wasn''t a surprise, considering how bad the air was inside the house to the point it felt like it was suffocating. When FiveBlack finally stopped, he took a highly-sophisticated mask from a kitchen drawer.


    "Excuse me, I have asthma." He tried to wave our rising suspicions away.


    Alex stared more intensely at his face like he was analyzing and predicting his next action as if the coughs were a series of a fake act. We all didn''t dare to touch the rotten drink that we pushed towards the middle of the table, uncomfortable to keep it close to us.


    "It''s fine, I apologize for coming with no advance notice," Jules threw out another innocent smile.


    I tried to focus on their conversation as the pleasant aroma that suddenly drifted into the air made my vision blur into a faint dream full of a blended rainbow of greys. I slightly giggled from the drug that made my mind feel like dumbing down as I wondered why I was so tense before.


    Everything looked so pleasant as the dusty objects started to look like fluffy stuffed dolls that I would hug to go to sleep in the earliest days of my reincarnation. I slouched on the mistakenly hard chair that had transformed into the plushiest sofa chair. Tiny fairies sprayed more glitter as they traveled on the wooden planks of the floors.


    The dreary walls were painted with pleasing colors of pastel pink and yellows that made you feel good inside. Everything so very welcoming including the fizzling drink that sloshed cherry pink towards the middle of the table.


    I wondered why nobody had bothered to touch the drinks as they looked too good to be thrown out. I grabbed a cup and sipped a big clunk of heavenly honey that filled my mouth while I made sure no one noticed that I was taking all these delicious drinks for myself.


    Immediately, my heart abruptly thumped out of rhythm as the head didn''t fill so pleasant anymore after the drink. I almost screamed when my head started to throb like there suddenly wasn''t enough air to the point I was choking.


    "So it was true that this gas would only affect those with a high amount of mana," the person in front of me evilly grinned.


    "I better get more of this," He laughed as Alex and Jules looked at me, horrified.

 118 Producers 2

    My head felt like it was pierced by a gunshot when I reopened my eyes. The damp air of the underground that had no place for a glimpse of sunshine was where I was in this facility. The reputation of the second district was strictly upheld with the numerous machines that occupied the lab.


    The robots strolled around the place more than human beings as I sighed in relief when I found I was still with Jules and Alex who slept beside me. I lightly tapped their hands to see if they were pretending to be asleep. Alex immediately opened his eyes from my response.


    "What happened?" I whispered as soft as I could.


    "Please let me answer, denizens of the first district." FiveBlack came into the view with a lab coat on.


    FiveBlack got rid of his disorganized disguise. His head was full of hair and his overall appearance was neat and tidy that he wouldn''t seem out of place in a fancy office. The old wooden planks were replaced with glittering white tiles that showed this place was routinely cleaned.


    Transparent glass walls separated the large room into different sections so everyone could see everything that was happening if they chose to. There were no aspects of privacy while everyone busily paid no attention to us, immersed in their own work.


    "This is the Labothery," He raised his arms that almost hugged the ceiling.


    "We''re hostages of the rebels targeting the first district," Alex didn''t bother to hide his disgust towards them as his face scrunched up.


    "But why? I''m not even from the first district." I confessed to FiveBlack, still confused.


    "There''s no way you can''t be from the first district with this amount of mana. Only people born from the first district can have this much." FiveBlack stared at me with clear disbelief.


    "My parents were born in the third district and work there. My younger brother goes to school in the third district. So it is possible," I shouted back to him.


    "And people from different districts don''t mix together," He shrugged as he casually revealed a shocking piece of information.


    "Is this true?" I faced both Jules and Alex.


    "People with low mana or no mana aren''t at the same standing as us. We''re separated for a reason," Jules explained to me.


    "And this is why the Labothery exists. Our goal is to rid of that prejudice that those with low or no mana aren''t equal human beings to those who have a decent amount of mana," FiveBlack seemed a bit confused why he was explaining this to me himself with an eyebrow raised.


    "What a noble goal!" I was tempted to shake hands with such a great organization.


    "I totally support your mission. What can I do to help? Can you take one of my requests as well?" I almost jumped while my eyes sparkled.


    "Do you think I don''t notice the Roselia crest embellished on the ribbon tied around your collar? Or the hidden mana crystals that decorate the buttons on your blouse? Don''t think of me as a fool," FiveBlack crossed his arms over his sturdy chest.


    Of course, I had to be stupid enough to wear one of the clothes that Luke had put into my closet. I really did have to go shopping in the third district again for some decent cheap clothing that didn''t scream that I had something to do with the Roselia family. At this rate, there was no difference between my current outfit and my flashy school uniform.


    I did try to choose the simplest blouse in my closet with the least number of gems or jewels and I wore black leggings underneath. Nobody stared at me weirdly at the mall or the caf¨¦. Why did almost everyone who had some kind related to the first district have such high attention to the tiny details?


    "Oh please, just because I have some relation to them doesn''t mean I belong to the Roselia house." I almost groaned with complaint.


    Alex didn''t show his disagreement to wait for FiveBlack''s reaction while Jules studied my words. I knew both Jules and Alex thought I really did belong to the Roselia house. Jules already to regard me as his cousin and Alex treated me as his distant relative he was stuck with.


    "But only the main direct family of the Roselia house can wear the Roselia crest on their clothes or accessories," FiveBlack pointed out.


    "Wait. Seriously?" I blurted out my surprise.


    I turned to Jules and he nodded to display that FiveBlack was indeed correct. How did FiveBlack know more about the first district than I did? I realized for the nth time that I had to pay more attention in class instead of lulling over the scenery over the window while being half-awake.


    I stopped myself from ruining the clothes that didn''t do anything as I was tempted to pull out the ribbon and knock out the jewels that acted like buttons. I didn''t even want to think about the rest of the clothing inside my closet that subtly hinted I was a member of the Roselia house.


    "Are you from the first district?"

 119 Producers 3

    "You know more about the first district than I do."


    "I was born in the first district after all, to be soon thrown out into the second district due to my low mana amount of mana I possessed," FiveBlack slowly walked around the room.


    "Nevertheless, a child from the Monete, Pelargonium, and Roselia families that are all relatives to each other. All one of the most prestigious families in the first district that will fetch a good ransom," FiveBlack smiled in victory.


    "I''m not one of them," I didn''t stop denying.


    "These clothes were borrowed. Borrrowed. Do you think I would willingly wear these clothes? Plus, people of the Roselia family either have silver or blond hair and I have the most brilliant red hair," I complimented myself.


    "It''s a crime in the first district to freely wear ''borrowed'' clothes if the clothes have the family crests on it Rika," Jules explained the fact that everyone was aware of except for me.


    What? My mouth almost dropped from shock. How could it be a crime to wear mere clothes? Wasn''t there ever a situation where someone''s clothes got all wet and needed to borrow someone else''s clothes in exchange?


    And why would Luke crazily embellish all my clothes with his family crest? The jewels and gems were probably good enough on their own to tell that the person wearing it was from a rich family. This level of customization on the small details was just astonishing. It was a great way for potential kidnappers to grab influential children off the streets through their clothes alone.


    "Does it mean that I have been committing a crime all this time? There''s no way those fragile blue eyes could ever compare to my dazzling orange speckled eyes that outshines the people in the Roselia family," I gasped with great pretentiousness.


    Another person walked into the room, greatly interested in our conversation. He sat down on a rolling chair while facing us in the same lab coat FiveBlack wore. The lab coat appeared to act as a uniform with a pocket on the front near the heart to place their ID cards.


    He tightly held onto his smartphone like it was something precious to him as he watched our exchange. It was as if he was the audience to the play where I was the main character with the villain in the lab coat. Except we were just talking to each other to make sense of the situation rather than fighting it out.


    "If you''re not a direct descendent, then you''re probably the fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family," FiveBlack concluded from our conversation.


    What was with all these people from the first district? I wasn''t married to Luke yet, but I was still considered to be a part of his house. Again, there was nothing good that came from being involved with Luke.


    "How selfish," The man sitting in the chair in front of us commented.


    "You enjoy all the privileges from being part of one of the most prestigious families of the first district that normal people here would beg to get even a sprinkle. But you refuse to even identify to be a part of them, ignoring the responsibilities that come with your position," He mocked me.


    "Did I ever ask to be a part of this? I never wanted to study in the first district or wear these stuffy clothes." I refuted back.


    "While you enjoy your fancy meals and expensive school all paid for by your family, you complain about every little thing in your comfortable mansion," the man continued.


    "Our organization refuses to take on requests from people like you. We actually help the needy who are abandoned by their own families in the first district. They are people who worry about how much money they have left in their bank accounts or how to fit in a new place where they''re all alone."


    I shivered from the anger of why they couldn''t understand my situation even though it seemed like we were from the same side. I was separated from my family too to be forcibly made to study in the first district from a young age. I was left in a new place all alone, thinking I was abandoned by my family until I looked through my memorila that revealed everything.


    The only difference was how I never had to worry about the lack of money in my bank account as my parents filled my wallet with an allowance that I didn''t have access to in other districts. While Luke''s family paid for my tuition and put in an enormous amount of money into my bank account in the first district that I had never asked for.


    The mansion wasn''t a comfortable place for me. It was a large prison just like the school I attended. I didn''t mind earning money on my own by working part-time, but there was no way I had the time or permission either way.


    Why couldn''t these people understand? Shouldn''t they be happy in a way that they got to escape from the preplanned life of the people in the first district? Sometimes, Shelly and I exchanged our fantasies of what life would be like if we had the freedom to do what we desired.

 120 Producers 4

    "You should be happy that you could escape from a cage of a life where everything is planned up to the last detail. You have the chance to date and marry who you fall in love with. You even have the luxury to fall in love. Do you know how many people in the first district are envious of that?" I stomped my feet with frustration.


    Love didn''t exist in the first district. Love was an equation of politics and wealth mixed with the horrendous power you got in return. Everything was about subtly showing off everything your family had amassed throughout the generations. It was a competition from the school you attended to how many mansions you possessed.


    Maybe the grass really was greener on the other side. The people here didn''t know how to enjoy their freedom while we exchanged our privileges for a tall wall of obligations. It was strange how everyone in the first district regarded me as the weird one. To me this whole situation was the one out of place.


    "Who needs love when money can buy everything?" The man laughed crazily.


    I turned to Jules and Alex for support, but Alex turned away while Jules maintained his friendly next-door neighbor smile. I sighed as this meant they didn''t disagree with the man who kept on sneaking glances at his smartphone during our fight. What was on that smartphone anyways? Instead of bothering to continue this useless conversation, I ran up to the rolling chair and swiped the smartphone onto the ground.


    "Hey!" He screamed while grabbing the air instead.


    FiveBlack and his colleague scrammed for the phone to have it taken away from them by Alex. Alex swiftly tapped on the screen before the phone returned to the lock screen. He immediately went through the files as Jules spelled up a mana barrier to keep FiveBlack and his colleague from taking the phone back.


    Jules oddly gave me a thumbs-up as he relaxed while maintaining the barrier. I walked over to Alex to see what was inside the phone to find the true purpose of Lilika Yuri. But, by the time I was in front of Alex, I was no longer in the underground facility.


    I was in front of the same caf¨¦ Shelly and I had visited multiple times in the second district. The homey smell of freshly cut wood filled the air as we were quickly escorted to our seats. I confusingly stared at Alex who carried the phone in his hand, constantly tapping on the screen to prevent it from turning off. Did he just teleport us to another place?


    "Can I look at the phone too?" I reached out my arm.


    Alex ignored me as he continued going through all the photos and other information that could be important. It was as if I didn''t exist, sitting in front of him, glaring at him to share the files as his concentration was fully focused on one thing. Jules took out his marble as his screen projected big files of messed up data.


    The screen of the phone finally turned off when Alex finished transferring all the information into our marbles. When I opened the first title of the biggest report, it was called, "Project Yuri". The report itself was pretty long, it outlined all the plans of the project to the fullest detail. Since I knew I wouldn''t be able to read through everything, I went to the conclusion immediately.


    [Project Yuri]


    [The aim of this project is to block possible communications from first district. The music is spelled to make everyone like Lilika Yuri with intentional lyrics to rebel against the first district. By the end of this project, everyone will be rebellious of the existence of the first district on the second district.]


    This was something big, maybe scandalous. No wonder everyone liked Lilika Yuri. Her songs were spelled and the spell worked on various people differently, depending on how much capability for mana they possessed. It also explained why Alex, Jules and I were unaffected due to actually possessing mana.


    "What should we do now?" I asked for their opinions.


    "Stay put for now. The first district will take care of the rest of this," Alex warned me.


    Jules nodded as Alex tried to contact the authorities in the first district for it to fail. It seemed the communications were already blocked in this area due to the wide-scale spell. He frowned as he glared at me to stay in my spot as he tried to send the message again.


    I sipped on my strawberry milkshake, ignoring Alex who begun to get frustrated from his never-ending failed attempts. His calm fa?ade started to break down when a jazz version of one of Lilika Yuri''s songs began to play in the caf¨¦. My ears pleasantly listened to the jazz version, which was the best cover of all the versions we had heard so far today.


    When the caf¨¦ was about to close, we had nowhere to go in the early evening. It was one of the perfect times to go sightseeing with all the bright lights that painted the city. Fortunately, not many people played another Lilika Yuri song in the dead of the night, outside.

 121 Nightlife 1

    "I heard this building is the oldest building in the second district!" I laughed while taking photos with my own two hands.


    Jules chuckled along with me, offering to take a picture of me and the building together. The building was actually a library that resembled the newest, updated version of a library in the third district. In the book I read during my studies, the temperature was regulated by the use of an air conditioner or heater.


    Most of the buildings in the second district didn''t possess an old relic like a machined air conditioner as they opted to use energy stones that were spelled to do it in its place. Energy stones were like mana crystals, except they didn''t possess even 1% of the concentrated mana inside the mana crystals.


    The mana inside was heavily diluted, mixed in with other chemicals to make up for the difference. The second district was known for its alchemy that made good use with tiny amounts of mana. Mana was barely existent in the second district, the air itself was almost like the third district.


    I smiled as I posed in front of the library. I made cheesy poses like a heart with my arms and my hands which made Alex cough a few times. I even earned some stares from the people walking past us as I jumped for an even better pose.


    "This is a great way to spend some time before the concert," I stretched my arms.


    I never got to appreciate all the clear-cut buildings. This was also the chance to explore the hidden places like the narrow alleyways. When else would I get the chance to explore the second district this freely?


    I was on the main road where everything glittered with the translucent windows towering over me due to the high land costs. There were almost no imperfections to be seen when the robots helped keep the streets clean and safe. They were cutely designed to resemble animal mascots while promoting the city''s values whenever they had the chance with their uniforms.


    Alleyways weren''t usually found on the usual maps where they only displayed the main roads and streets. I kept my eye out for any hidden gems while taking more pictures of the nightlife where screens filled Lilika Yuri constantly flashed wherever I went.


    I tried to keep myself from smiling when I finally found a narrow passage between two of the skyscrapers in front of me. The two buildings were close together to the point that not even two adult cats could pass by at the same time. I walked sideways to try to fit in as Jules abruptly grabbed my other hand.


    "Where are you going?" He stopped smiling for the first time.


    "I''ll be back soon," I tried to shake off his grasp.


    "I''ll go with you," His usual smile returned again.


    When I finally found myself in an open space, freed from walking sideways, I could not believe that I was in the reputable second district. The sky was filled with abundant stars that could not be seen in the main roads from the artificial lights. I was inside a planetarium with a large microscope stuck into the ground a few steps ahead of me.


    I could finally see I was inside a building overgrown by moss and wild weeds that wrapped the stony walls. The concrete walls were cracked while the ground was uneven with the littered shards of the same glass that made up the world outside it. I began to mind my steps as I found sharpened blades mixed in with the trash.


    I gulped as I tried to pick up the rustic weapon that fit perfectly within my small hands. It resembled the dagger I had abandoned in the third district after shattering the dimensional barrier. My heels clacked as it couldn''t avoid all the junk on the floor. Unfortunately, I currently didn''t own a proper pair of running shoes that I could wear just for a casual walk. It filled the silent space a noise of movement, giving away our presence.


    It didn''t help when the gems on my buttons displayed a beautiful debris of light onto the roof when it reflected the glass. The familiar leather grip on its handles made me wonder if the weapon were originally created for use by children. It certainly didn''t compare to the enchanted swords that Luke and Alex possessed, but it was better than being undefended.


    I almost screamed when a small figure tugged on my blouse. The small being smelled foul like it hasn''t bathed in months with its long hair all tangled and messed up into a bad bird''s nest. Its skin was cracked and blackened from all the dust in the ruins. When I looked closer, I realized I was staring at a young child that wore rags that were tattered and outgrown.


    The child''s eyes were unrelenting as it pulled me closer with its determination. When the child had recognised it had gotten my attention, the child pulled out both of her hands with her soft voice, "please give me some food".

 122 Nightlife 2

    I pulled out my marble immediately and opened my inventory full of emergency rations. Ever since I had mistakenly almost starved from the sixth district, I had always carried around extra food. On my screen was ten bars of the chocolate bars made by the best patisseries in the school caf¨¦ that I frequently visited.


    The bronze eyes of the child shined as she slid her hands around the wrapping paper made of thin sheets of copper. She looked up at me hesitatingly to ask me if it was really fine for her to eat the precious bar in her hands that was a quarter of her palm. I smiled and lightly patted her head to show her it was fine as she carefully unwrapped the bar to make sure the paper didn''t rip. After getting a waft of the strong smell of caffeine, she opened her drooling mouth and took a bite.


    Her eyes glistened with tears as the sounds of her munching on the tiny bar echoed throughout the entire building. Soon, no crumb of candy was to be seen as she licked her fingers to get most of the experience. When I took out another piece of dessert to give, I found myself surrounded by a crowd of children instead of the young girl.


    The crowd of children were no better dressed than the young girl who pushed smaller children to the front for their turn. Some were no bigger than the age of four, which was the age I was separated from my parents. As the children stared at me with high expectation, I realized this place was their home. They skillfully made no noise when avoiding the junk on the ground, barefoot, hardened with calluses.


    Were they all orphans? There was no sign of their guardians as they tugged on my clothes until I ran out of most of the desserts in my inventory. When most of them rubbed their tummies with signs of fullness, I decided this was the perfect timing to ask.


    "Where are your parents?" I asked the closest child from me.


    "Parents? What''s that?" The child tilted his head in confusion.


    The child ran away from me as the tallest, yet bony child whose height was similar to Alex came up to me. She was the only one that didn''t receive any food due to the younger children who screamed for more. Her shadow was filled with the youngest who sucked on their fingers, unable to speak.


    "This place is an asylum for those abandoned," She scanned me from top to bottom.


    She struggled not to frown at the fancy ribbons wrapped around my ankles with embellished tiny diamonds in the middle and the sparkling buttons that dazzled the planetarium. I unwrapped one of the ribbons at the end of my leggings to give to her before being stopped by Jules.


    I could understand it was hard to trust someone who appeared so privileged in their life to suddenly emerge in their overlooked asylum. I was glad my head was empty of its usual accessories weaved by Luke every morning. It would have made me appear even more distrusting than my current toned down outfit.


    "Who knows what they''ll do," He indirectly tried to explain to me.


    "It seems you know who we are," She walked towards him instead.


    "Well, it is an open secret." He shrugged like it was no big thing.


    "Explain," I directly looked up at him.


    "You don''t have to know," Alex interrupted us.


    I was the only one who didn''t know again. I clenched my fists and hung my head down. It wasn''t the first time I felt I as missing out on information that only people born in the first district knew. I was always the last one to figure out the important information and it was almost too late whenever I figured out.


    It was strange how the people around me considered I was one of them when I always felt left out in these kinds of situations that kept on repeating as the years increased. Ellen and Shelly only gave me the information when I questioned them. Luke revealed things after it was irreversible like our engagement. Information was never freely given out to me, instead it was kept hidden until discovered.


    "Why not?" I almost yelled.


    "Everyone else knows except for me," I whispered softly when the children started to get frightened.


    "Please tell me," I turned to the girl.


    "We''re the children who possesses no potential for mana. Even people in the sixth district, although they have no mana themselves, have the tiniest chance of 0.00000000001% for the potential of possessing mana. The authorities place us here for the extreme rare cases that children with no potential for mana are born."


    The fake stars in the crumbling planetarium sparkled as she lifted her hand into the roof. She gazed at me with indifference, "no one wants to keep a child that can only live to sixteen".


    "This is our tomb, our future gravestone." She looked over her head, at the children who tired themselves to sleep.


    They slept on the cold ground, like dead bodies, unmoving from their place. I cringed when the dangerous shards were moved with their bare hands for a space to rest without a care for their bodies.

 123 Nightlife 3

    "Are you serious? So your parents don''t care if their child is taken away to this kind of place?"


    She stared at me as if I was the most na?ve person in the world. She picked up one of the many daggers on the floor and stabbed her left arm. Instead of bright red oozing from every human being, viscous sparkling lilac poured onto the ground. The original colour of unprocessed mana crystals on my blouse before dyed with mana.


    "Beings such as her aren''t human beings," Jules pointed out.


    "But this is too cruel!" I pushed to give her my ribbon.


    "Please take this. You can probably feed the children and purchase some lovely clothes." I pleaded while stuffing it into her hand when she stood there, frozen.


    I started taking off the ribbon on the other side of my leggings and ripped out some buttons to be stopped by Alex. He gripped my hand and tugged me away from the girl who bled liquidated mana crystals that glowed alongside the stars. If not for her eyes that melted under the sight of young children placed under the same situation, she was almost like an object.


    She had feelings even though her blood sprinkled powdered glitter into the air. The dust ate up the tiniest amount of mana present in the air as it lightly seemed harder to breath than before. As seconds passed, the few drops of blood started to harden into the empty stones I was familiar with.


    "People without mana aren''t human beings," Alex muttered loudly enough for only me to hear.


    Was this the fate of all the children here? If this was where the mana crystals that decorated Luke''s weapons or our clothes, I could hardly wear them while being ignorant of where they originated. I felt disgusted with myself who didn''t know about the truth until now.


    Those children were placed there intentionally with all these weapons that littered the floor for this exact reason. Their limited lifespan wasn''t a reason to treat them so awfully to the point the children begged for food to the people they met for the first time. The second district who didn''t use mana crystals, but energy stones appeared more humane in my eyes.


    "Then how about the people in the third district? Most people there don''t possess mana. Are they human beings in your eyes?" I tried to shake his grip off me.


    Both Alex and Jules stayed disappointingly silent after my question. I did explain many of my questions before. Luke never considered my family as his family too and I waved it off, knowing that I was only engaged to him. But if the reason behind it was that he never even considered them as human beings in the first place, it made sense.


    I threw the buttons onto the ground, not willing to hold them in my hands anymore. My blouse opened, revealing my tank top under it. I suddenly wondered what material the fabric of my leggings was made of as I was tempted to rip them apart as well.


    "Maybe the authorities in the second district can help." I tried to show her the way we came from.


    However, at the edge of the open area, she couldn''t pass through like there was a barrier that prevented her from leaving. I was on the other side, unable to hear any of her words like she never existed in this world. But as soon I walked over to where she stood, I knew she lived and existed in this dreadful place where she would die to be processed into more mana crystals.


    She awkwardly tried to smile for the first time to thank me for my efforts. She lightly squeezed my hands before letting me go back into Alex''s grasp. And she waved to show her farewells to the people who existed outside of their closed cage where only death waited to free them.


    By the time I could not see her figure, I was back on the main streets where the second district was filled with energy and noise of the nightlife that strived with brightness. It was as if the abandoned planetarium was another realm inside a nightmare. The streetlights that buzzed around the city like annoying flies covered the night sky, void of stars.


    ''I''ll free you someday and I''ll save you before you die in that cage.'' I promised to myself.


    "What the heck?" I turned to Alex who teleported us in front of the two skyscrapers.


    "It''s almost time for the concert," Jules tried to intervene between us while Alex studied me.


    The concert was the leading point to see the extent that Lilika Yuri could block communications from the first district. Even though the rebels and I didn''t get along, they were at least better than the people in the first district who created a prison for innocent children who had done nothing wrong. I was starting to think this blocking communications thing wasn''t so bad.


    I wondered if they knew about this aspect of the first district too. Jules immediately teleported us in front of the same shopping mall we were in this morning. He pulled out our tickets in front of the security guards that meticulously checked the tickets like investigators.


    It was time for the concert to start.

 124 Concer

    The fans roared when Lilika Yuri appeared on the stage. When she sang the first verse of the opening song, the crowd cheered, hypnotized by her charm. Few people fainted when she winked in a certain direction or pointed her fingers shaped as hearts.


    "To the people who control us from behind the scenes, separating us from loving each other freely. What can we do but rebel?" She danced nimbly like a fairy.


    The crowd chanted, "Rebel, we should rebel" with their lightsticks that stuck with the rhythm. I followed the flow and yelled with them, recalling all my memories alongside it.


    To me who had my actions supervised by Alex standing beside me or Luke who created this situation in the first place with the necklace. Even Jules who brought me these concert tickets didn''t seem surprised of the existence of a rebel headquarters under FiveBlack''s modest cabin. How much of my life was controlled like an ignorant puppet as the fianc¨¦e of Luke?


    Lilika Yuri wasn''t just a pop star. She was the hope of dreams where a district would finally be freed from the influences of the powerful first district. When I got back to the first district, I planned to ask Shelly and Ellen more questions. There was no way everyone in the first district had the same beliefs as Jules, Alex and Luke.


    After a series of songs that spun around ideas of rebelling, the names of her main producers filled the screens. FiveBlack and the person beside him was MysteriJ, the owner of the phone we stole. They came out to reveal themselves to the public like they were never planning to keep it a secret.


    "Thank you for supporting Lilika Yuri and making this concert possible. Lilika Yuri is not only the outlet of our creative souls, but like our own child at this point." FiveBlack passed the microphone to MysteriJ.


    "The Lilika Yuri project shows how many people in the second district can be united as one. We believe this massive force can push the other side to the limits where we can stand up for what we believe." MysteriJ started his speech.


    MysteriJ was interrupted by the screens high up near the roof that crashed down onto the floor. The roof started to rumble as long poles that made up the infrastructure started to fall down. The speakers fizzled, displaying crackling blue bits of electricity waiting to blow up the stage. Meanwhile the entire venue shuddered like an upcoming earthquake waiting to split the land into two.


    The crowd who were enthusiastic in showing their support, started to scream and trample on top of one another to escape the venue. Everyone was busy fending for their own lives that they couldn''t notice the whole thing was an illusion.


    "Another failure," Fiveblack tried to console MysteriJ by rubbing his back.


    "How did they know again?" MysteriJ gritted his teeth in frustration.


    Jules smiled while hiding our presence with a faint barrier. He offered his hand to me to escort me out of his place, clearly in a good mood. It was like he was the one who created the whole illusion and even the previous concert.


    I ignored his hand as I walked out of the place on my own. Jules opened his marble and started a video call once we were in the empty park near the mall. The screen displayed a stunning teenage girl who appeared to be bored out of her mind.


    ''Wasn''t the communications between the first district blocked?'' I immediately questioned the Lilika Yuri project.


    "What took you so long?" She played with her long black hair.


    "We took some detours after getting access to the files," Jules tried to apologize while showing both Alex and I on the screen this time.


    She perked up when she noticed us with Jules. Her eyes glimmered with excitement inside her wide room where she resided. The camera zoomed out to show the simplistic design prominent in the second district. She appeared to be inside a large villa in the suburbs rather the city as sparks of wildlife grew by her window.


    She got up from lazily laid down on a white couch, to get a better view of the screen. "Oh my, the fianc¨¦e of the heir of the Roselia house and the heir to the Monete house."


    She pretended to look surprised while covering her mouth with her hand before sitting down elegantly like the scene before had never happened. "Thank you for helping us with this mission."


    "Julian and I decided to split up to efficiently search for their headquarters after failing to hack into their system." She tried to explain the situation.


    So the first district already knew about the true purpose of Lilika Yuri in the first place. I wondered why Jules even brought me here in the first place. Did the rebel group know that their actions were being tracked this entire time by a pair of high schoolers?


    I started to feel sorry for the rebel group in the second district who had worked so hard to become independent.

 125 Deletion 1

    Yulee and Jules started to destroy all traces of Lilika Yuri''s existence. I watched Alex help them as they removed all her colourful pictures on the billboards with their mana to the albums carefully placed in each household. I struggled to keep my face indifferent with every aspect of Lilika Yuri being put into a black hole.


    A black hole was a device that deleted a certain object out of this world. Every thought of Lilika Yuri was getting pulled out of the people''s heads and into the void. Of course, this was only possible for people who had an extreme amount of precision and control over mana to conduct this cleanup.


    Various spells were muttered and visualized on a mass scale that heavily filled the air with a high concentration of mana. More high school students were being teleported to help with the deletion of Lilika Yuri. Apparently, this was one of the hardest missions given in years since it was incredibly difficult to erase a creation entirely.


    But the first district didn''t forgive anything that would potentially loosen their control they had on the second district. With my incredibly unstable mana, I was immediately put onto the sideline as I sat down on a bench in the park. Since all the teleportation gates were busy with this operation, they couldn''t send me back to the first district.


    I didn''t mind hearing one more song of Lilika Yuri before she was erased from the world. All the artistic versions, the orchestra, jazz, and R\u0026B came flowing into my head as I witnessed her final moments. Was this all necessary because of one tiny rebel group?


    ''Would they even notice if I sneaked out one of her albums?'' A thought crossed my head.


    It was too sad for not a trace of Lilika Yuri to remain in this world. Although her purpose wasn''t pure, she brought hope and encouragement like during my past life when I listened to her music. I stood up with determination as I teleported to an area where the group didn''t start their cleanup yet.


    Rows of untouched Lilika Yuri albums filled the shelves inside the music store. I grabbed a CD album from her debut as I tried to sneak it into my marble after watching my surroundings. When I successfully inputted the CD into my inventory, someone grabbed my shoulder.


    "We can''t have you doing this, can we Rika?" Jules let out his hand, asking me to hand over the album with a smile.


    "It''s too sad if everything gets erased," I dazed into the memories of our brief times together.


    The times where we would sneak into the arranged room where we would sing Lilika Yuri songs. Or when I secretly practiced the choreography to one of her songs when I was forced to learn ballet. The only reminder of my former life in this world.


    "Many idols can replace her, so give me the album Rika, I''ll buy you some more without letting Luke know," Jules waited for me to take out the album.


    "What if I don''t want to?" I gulped.


    The school''s biggest mistake was not asking me to use my mana to enable me to use it to teleport over large distances, enough for leftovers for one more spell. One step out of this disguised lake was my home, the third district. When I was about to step over, my necklace glowed and immediately delivered me to Alex''s side.


    I slumped onto the ground with frustration and tried to pull off the sickening necklace that caged my actions. However, my hands passed through like before as I slammed my fists against the concrete floor. Meanwhile, Jules stood in front of me like we never met in the music store.


    "The album?" He asked me again with his innocent smile as he reached out his hand.


    After Alex finished deleting the posters around the area, he finally cared to look behind where I gathered the attention of other people. Alex looked down at me like he was questioning why I was making a fool of myself, sitting on the ground. He seemed to be clueless of what just happened and why my face was starting to flush red with anger.


    "Not happening," I whispered loud enough for only Jules to hear.


    Alex narrowed his eyes in disapproval when he noticed my neck full of claw marks from my nails. He immediately guessed what had happened and placed a hand over his face like he didn''t know what to do with the load of trouble in front of him. I knew Alex wasn''t rash enough to create a scene in front of all his upperclassmen.


    I avoided both of their gazes and walked away from them before I blew up. I had to get some time alone to think of a plan to figure out how to save the last album of Lilika Yuri. However, I stopped when Jules revealed the album in my hands.


    "Please give me the album in your marble," He casually shouted like it was no big deal when I was a few metres away from him.

 126 Deletion 2

    Jules instantly grabbed the attention of Alex who was content of ignoring me for the duration of the cleanup. He showed his usual smile that brought him swarms of fangirls just yesterday. Yulee, Jules'' partner listened into our conversation with great interest while pretending she was busy with her nicely decorated nails filled with flashy gems and glitter.


    She lightly smirked like she couldn''t hold it in as other upperclassmen pretended they weren''t listening in as well. I spotted some eyes momentarily glance in my direction as they waited for my response. I planned to stay ignorant to buy me some time since the others didn''t seem to know the whole story.


    "What do you mean?" I pretended I was falsely accused.


    I acted as if I was greatly saddened by his sudden announcement. Fake tears instantly glistened my eyes as I wobbled with every step. I fiddled with his hand, pretending we were close to make it seem like the betrayal was even bigger. I pulled out Luke''s family card that was never useful until today.


    "How could you accuse your to-be-cousin?" I whimpered, trying to act as pitiful as possible.


    "Don''t be like this Rika," He calmly patted my head.


    The crowd around us quickly increased as more students began to finish their tasks of cleaning up the area. Everyone seemed to want to watch the discord among the most prestigious families to gossip in social week later on. They pretended to help more of the students who struggled with the deletion in this area when no help was needed.


    "You can prove your innocence by showing your inventory in front of us here," Jules pretended to care about me.


    "How can I show my entire inventory to all these people?" I told the people around us that I knew they were listening to our exchange.


    "Of course, we can go to a private place," Jules teleported Alex and I to the empty park.


    The next time I blinked my eyes, I found myself swallowed up in a sea of trees. The familiar park bench I sat in when the deletion started instantly told me where I was. I was a few miles away from the roadway I was previously in before.


    "Can you let this go?" I immediately asked Jules, knowing he already knew I had the album in my possession.


    "Don''t be like this Rika, you know I can''t." He demanded me to pass over the last remaining item that transferred from my former life into this world.


    "Stop being stubborn Rika," Alex took Jules'' side with no hesitation.


    If I couldn''t keep the album, I needed to make some conditions to get most from this exchange. Although Lilika Yuri was important to me, my supply of junk food, manga and light novels were just as important. But most of all, getting rid of this necklace was most important. If I was free to go wherever I wanted, I could hide all my purchases in the apartment I recently purchased just like Ben''s sister hid all her supplies in her secret villa.


    "What is it?" Jules'' fa?ade slowly broke with impatientness as his voice that was dripping with honey was no more.


    "One simple request. I want this necklace off." I pointed on the accessory that hung around my neck.


    "Alex has one of the keys to take it off." I revealed to Jules.


    "How about we exchange the items at the same time?" Jules didn''t ask Alex for his input.


    I nodded my head, pleased with the deal as I immediately pulled out the album from my inventory. While Jules threw the album into the black hole, Alex simultaneously placed the necklace off my neck. I wondered if Jules had more power over Alex as he did as he was told even though he disagreed.


    It was time to say goodbye to this dreary second district as I was done with looking up into the polluted sky. But I didn''t feel like going to the first district to face Luke, knowing I would get in trouble. I quickly scanned my body to check how much mana remained to figure out what I should do next.


    I hid my joy when I had enough mana to teleport back to that border while both Jules and Alex had exhausted theirs to the point they couldn''t follow me. I had enough money in my card to use in the third district without touching the money given by Luke''s family which could be traced. I felt apologetic to my family, but my family home was the exact place where they expected me to visit.


    Alex was a split second late when he discovered I was about to teleport to somewhere else. I smiled as I waved them farewell with their surprised face that greeted me before I landed near the lake. The school should have never forced me to study the detailed maps of each district.


    I knew how to get around up to the third district quite easily. I stepped into the lake that acted like a secret passageway to those who possessed mana. Who knew it was this easy to get to the third district from the unguarded second district?


    The bright morning light, which was the opposite of the district I was in before, welcomed me back home.

 127 Fugitive

    I wore a pair of jeans for the first time in years. I covered myself with a big pair of sunglasses and a casual white baseball cap. I was truly lucky that a shopping mall was close to the other end of the border. This was something to take note of in the future.


    I was finally free from the grasp of the first district! I could now plan my future to a certain extent in the third district. My plan was to not stand out as much as possible. The minute I did was probably a doomed flag where I would be dragged back.


    I also needed a part-time job since the money I currently possessed would only last me several weeks at most. But most places hired high school students and middle school students only worked to help support their families in the third district. I studied my appearance in front of the glass wall.


    ''If I lowered my voice and acted more mature, I might pass for a high school student,'' I concluded.


    I tried to book a cheap motel room in the area after taking a brief glance at the map inside the marble. However, the manager looked at me suspiciously, clearly exposing her thoughts of how a young child had so much money. I ducked down when I spotted dashing blond hair right behind me after being denied by the manager.


    It was hard to remind myself that not everyone with light blond hair came from the first district. The most common hair colours in the first district were neutral shades such as blond, silver, black and dark brown. The other districts were more colourful like the colours from the rainbow like my stunning red hair.


    I continued to visit other hotels where they all asked for proof of my identity like my passport. But I knew I would be done if I gave them real proofs. Jules or Alex could use their family power to influence the authorities to find me before Luke figured out my escape.


    I was almost considering going home, to spend more time with my family instead of struggling outside alone. At this rate, no one was going to let me stay in any place without reporting a runaway child to the police. Would I have to sleep outside?


    I shuddered at the thought of sleeping in the streets. After putting everything I bought into my inventory, I decided to go to the nearby library to read some manga while I had the luxury. If I spent my time worrying about what would happen next, there was no point in this escape in the first place.


    I picked up several piles of books from the shelf that I read at a rapid pace. Since I was focused on the books, I had no idea I was grabbing the attention of the passersby who were astonished by how I consumed each book.


    "Rika?" Someone called my name from a distance.


    What horrible luck! After escaping from Jules and Alex lied another obstacle in front of me. I wondered if I was really that recognizable. After resting at the library, I had enough mana to teleport someplace else.


    I immediately thought of teleporting to anywhere in the third district from where I was now. Unfortunately, not visualizing specifically where I wanted to go led to facing the entrance of my family house. This was the worst place where I could have been out of all the places in my mind.


    In front of me was Jules and Alex who waited at the front steps of the porch. When I turned to peek at the owner of the faint footsteps behind me, I found Lucius had traced my teleportation path. Tracing a teleportation path was an easy feat for a high school student if the person who teleported was careless enough to not hide her tracks. Like me who panicked and didn''t think of the consequences.


    ''I should''ve stayed at the library,'' I sighed when both Jules and Alex spotted me.


    I knew using mana in the first place was a mistake if I wanted to stay low. With no other choice, I used my mana to enter the house instead of ringing the doorbell as usual. I had to meet my parents before I was teleported away from here.


    "Sorry for entering without any notice," I yelled into the house.


    My twin brother dropped his mug that thankfully landed on the mat. I grabbed the mug and passed it to him before remembering to slam the door on unwanted guests. I threw off my cap and sunglasses to show I was his twin sister who visited a few months ago.


    "Where are our parents?" I immediately got to business.


    "¡­Not here," He gulped as if he was frightened.


    Well that ruined most of my plans. My shield from the people who stood outside my house disappeared when the door opened at the mention of the absence of my parents. This had to be the worst timing for it to happen.

 128 Family Gathering 1

    "We should really increase the security in our house to get rid of trespassers." I turned to my brother.


    I ignored the three trespassers near the entrance where the shoes were nicely aligned and organized off to the side. My brother tumbled off his chair as his pupils dilated at the sudden guests. They sophisticatedly put their shoes off before entering as my brother gawked at them. I contemplated on whether I should place a strong defensive barrier spelled to keep outsiders out the next time I visited. I was sure I would be able to build a powerful one since I had lots of mana leftover.


    I could layer basic spells on top of one another to create the most advanced fortification that could rival nuclear bombs. I could already imagine my paradise where I was uninterrupted by the constant pests that I ran into with my terrible luck. I softly laughed while immersing myself in my daydreams before slipping onto the sofa in the living room.


    Unlike Julius, Alex and I who wore our semi-casual clothes in a guise of a mission, Lucius wore his prestigious Abright uniform. It did make sense since today was a weekday. Normally I would be getting ready for school this early in the morning. Even my brother was in his own middle school uniform with the black blazer on top of a white collared shirt and long pants. It was likely he was eating his breakfast while my parents had already left the house to go to work.


    On the dining room table was a half-eaten slice of toast topped with strawberry jam. I wondered if Alex and Jules would get going soon to get ready for school as well. They couldn''t be possibly thinking of skipping class like I did. I got up from the couch to spend the rest of the day sleeping inside my bed instead of the sofa.


    "I thought you weren''t visiting today," Evan finally came to his senses.


    "The school is giving us another holiday," I flawlessly lied.


    "She ran away," Alex immediately mentioned.


    Evan''s jaw dropped as he took turns staring at me and the group of trespassers behind us to decide who to believe. My fingers dug into my palms as I reaffirmed to build that barrier as soon as possible. I shot a quick look at Evan, ''Are you going to believe a group of strangers or your sister?''


    Evan, who was still surprised from the group of strangers, stood frozen in his spot, unable to answer my question. It wasn''t that I couldn''t understand his shock from my sudden appearance. I rarely visited my house to the point that it was only our second time meeting each other. I was just as much of a stranger like the group he met for the first time.


    "Anyways, don''t you have to get ready for school?" I scolded him.


    "What about the guests in front of us?" Evan seemed to be apologetic for the lack of hospitality.


    "They''re not guests of ours. They''re called trespassers. Trespassers!" I pointed to their direction.


    ''Traitor!'' I immediately thought.


    "I''m going back to school tomorrow," I faced the unwanted guests in front of me.


    When I stood up, Alex instantly prevented me from leaving my spot as he grabbed my wrist. Lucius seemed to be filled in on the situation during my indirect pleas for help to Evan as he grimaced while analyzing the whole story. I wondered why Lucius was even in the third district in the first place. It couldn''t be a coincidence with how calculative the first district was.


    "Don''t you guys have to go to school by this time? Or are you planning to skip classes?" I boldly reprimanded them to try to get them to leave.


    "We were planning to go back with you," Jules embarrassedly explained under the pressure of Lucius who was starting to give off a scary aura.


    Evan carefully tiptoed around the edge of the living room like he didn''t exist once he came down the stairs. I dragged Alex together with me as he didn''t let go of my wrist and pulled Evan towards them. Evan slightly panicked as he was placed in the middle of the argument. He fidgeted with his hands while frequently looking at the clock to keep track of time.


    "So I''ll go back tomorrow," I peeked behind Evan while using him as a shield.


    "All that Luke knows is how I took you with me to help with my mission," Jules scratched his head.


    I didn''t feel like going back even more once I knew they were filling Luke in with all the details. Luke didn''t have to know everything that happened to me. It wasn''t like he was my guardian like my parents. But it did explain why Alex was extremely cooperative when he was suddenly taken to the second district with me.


    I should''ve known something was suspicious since then. And it looked like they would get in trouble if Luke knew I ran away after Alex put off the necklace, which was why they were here.


    "How about another trade?" I asked them.

 129 Family Gathering 2

    "I have enough mana to teleport somewhere else right now, but I want to rest in my home in peace." I let them know my conditions.


    I really did have enough mana to go to the secret hideout in the first district. Although I would be dead for half the day after it consumed most of my mana, it was a viable option. With the location, there was no way they would be able to find me as quickly as they did now. But, there was the small possibility that my hideout would be discovered in the process, rendering its future useless.


    "Ummm, I have to go to school now or I''ll be late, so if you''ll excuse me," Evan tried to excuse himself.


    But there was no way I was going to let my shield leave. It was the only thing that made them keep up their appearances, otherwise they would have already dragged me to the first district by force. My grip got tighter as I pretended I didn''t hear his request.


    "Evan, this is your not-your-future brother-in-law and your two not-your-future cousins-in-law." I introduced them to each other.


    Evan helplessly looked at me to let go, not knowing what else to do. The guests, who remembered that they never introduced themselves to Evan, started to introduce themselves out of politeness.


    "I am Lucius de Suilett, the brother of your sister''s fianc¨¦ and my cousins beside me are Julian de Pelargonium and Alex de Monete." Lucius took the lead.


    Evan nodded his head like he was wondering why they only introduced their names. He didn''t know how everyone knew almost everything about the other person with just their family names. In some ways, the first district had an unbreakable, strict hierarchy like the fifth district ruled by nobles and royalty.


    "But, I really have to get going to school," Evan shouted before Lucius could start his next sentence after we all ignored his opinions in the midst of our trade.


    Evan flushed in shades of red as he finally shook off my grasp. He ran out the door, fearing we would drag him back in our exchange again. And now my shield was officially gone. It was obvious how Alex and Julius would have Lucius'' support. I was really on my own now.


    So I tried to run after him, knowing it wouldn''t do me any good if I continued to stay. But, of course, Alex pulled me back with his tight grip that wouldn''t let go. At this rate, it would be hard to teleport to someplace without him. Maybe that was why Alex never let go, knowing that they would have the upper hand that way.


    I crossed my arms as I sat back down on the sofa. Not even I had the strength to drag Alex around all over the place.


    "We can do this the nice way or the hard way," Lucius started off.


    "The nice way is where you willingly come with us back to the first district and the hard way is where we forcibly take you back, which would be hard for all of us," Lucius gave me a warning.


    "I choose the nice way if Alex lets me go," I glared at Alex.


    This mini family reunion between them was horrid as Alex looked at Lucius for his permission before he let me go. Lucius nodded his head to give him permission as I rubbed my red wrists to smoothen the pain. But, this timing was perfect to teleport away from here. If they knew me well like Luke, they would know that I almost never kept my word.


    I smiled before teleporting away as I waved goodbye. However, instead of landing in my secret hideout in the first district, I was inside a large mansion. The wide room had its typical decorations of statues made from the most precious metals and rare paintings that covered its walls. The fluffiest chairs that were most likely customized to match the black walls were mostly all filled by people who were least expected to be seen.


    I knew exactly where I was from the familiar layout. It unfortunately resembled one of Luke''s many mansions as the layout of the remained the same. I was in the waiting room where its hosts received its guests before conducting their business.


    When I turned behind, I found Jules who friendly waved alongside Alex who sat frowned in one of the chairs. But instead of finding only Lucius who likely planned the entire thing out, I found Belle, Yulee, and Shelly drinking tea together on the balcony like it wasn''t something unusual. Luke was also in the same room as he sat in a chair beside Alex. He didn''t look up from reading his book as if his concentration couldn''t be hindered.


    I knew I should''ve been more careful to make sure Lucius didn''t alter my teleportation path. But, weren''t they all supposed to be in school? Why were all of them gathered here? Was there an event I didn''t know about?


    "Isn''t school about to start?" I placed my hands on my hips.

 130 Family Gathering 3

    "The whole estate has been stopped in time." Lucius opened the curtains to reveal the whole estate had a barrier around it.


    Each barrier could be spelled to have a different purpose. The one I planned to create was to prevent strangers from coming in by controlling who had permission to come in. However, the barrier that surrounded the property was spelled to stop the time in the entire area inside it.


    But what was the purpose of this? Luke had never mentioned anything like this before. It was clear this was truly a family gathering with most of Luke''s family members present with their partners. Shelly got up from her seat once she spotted me standing in the middle of the room, confused from the whole situation.


    "We''re gathered to plan our next actions," Shelly explained.


    "Well, this whole meeting did happen because our current position was about to be threatened by Rika," Alex mumbled quietly.


    What? What did I do except for trying to skip classes for a day? The school would have never noticed one of its many students taking a day off. It was almost like faking sick to spend the day inside the infirmary room. And what did they mean by current position? How was I even part of it?


    "He means the family politics inside our school," Shelly whispered into my ear.


    I almost scoffed from the mention of politics. It wasn''t that I didn''t notice how polite the other students were as they remembered to politely greet me in the halls. But that was common courtesy in the first district.


    "What did I do?" I rolled my eyes.


    I didn''t know what fraction I was in, but I was certain that it was whatever fraction Luke was in. In fact, I had ignored the existence of the different groups and fractions formed within the school since I was too busy just trying to survive. Earning a stable amount of points wasn''t an easy feat. Politics was something that could only happen if someone had enough time to care for it.


    "During social week, going to the sixth district, getting minus points," Alex started to list all the events off his hands.


    "But that doesn''t have to do anything with you, does it?" I casually shrugged.


    All of this only soiled the ever so great Roselia name that I was forced to possess. From what I knew, Lucius, Alex and Jules was the heir to another family with their respective partners. Luke seemed unsurprised by my response with the amount of time we spent together.


    I got most of my information from Luke who drilled in all the latest news into my head. Nowadays, half of the time during the intense study sessions was spent on the common sense in the first district. But knowing this information wouldn''t be on the exam, I stopped listening at a certain point when my brain was fried.


    "We''re all in the same fraction," Jules explained.


    "He''s just saying how hard it has been for us to cover for all of your mistakes, which is the whole reason why we''ve gathered here," Yulee directly announced.


    "Umm, you don''t have to cover for me. I can leave your fraction or whatsoever," I raised my hand.


    Yulee laughed at my response, not bothering to hold it in while Belle slightly cringed. But she soon stopped when Lucius sent a glare in her direction. I guessed this meant I couldn''t even leave their fraction even if I wanted to. It was laughable on my end too how I was forced into this fraction even without knowing about it.


    "You can''t leave as long as you''re engaged to Luke, which we know isn''t ever going to not happen," Yulee wiped her tears from laughing too hard.


    "Can we pretend that I don''t exist then? You can just ignore me and pretend you have nothing to do with me," I suggested to benefit both ends.


    "But, we can''t, it would show how our fraction had weakened," Yulee was about to go into another fit of laughter.


    "That''s why we''re trying to work together to come up with a better solution," Belle cut off my routes to escape while placing her hands together.


    I guessed this was the life of the top students in the school. They had enough time to care about these insignificant things. How did they even ''cover'' up my mistakes in the first place? Weren''t they all busy with gathering more points?


    "Let''s go through the situation first. Who are all your connections in the first district? Who is Rika close with?" Lucius asked us.


    "She seems to be close with the Nuelle family in the neutral fraction," Shelly recalled how I stayed in Ben''s summer villa shamelessly.


    "She also spent some time with the heir to the Lumiere family in the sixth district with the heir to the Nuelle family," Alex remembered Charles retelling the tale of how we got back when he first transferred into our class.


    Luke closed his book, and joined in, "The Auclair family has also spent time with us in the fifth district and she hangs out with Helena from the Nicole family who is partnered to the heir to the Krista family."


    Lucius nodded with approval, "it''s hard to get close to one of the people in the neutral fractions."


    Was that really the case? Ben was pretty friendly to me while I did have some blackmail on him from exploring his villa. Charles also didn''t treat me too bad after spending some time together in the sixth district. I had literally saved his life with a hefty healing spell while he used his precious sword. But, Cillian was a mistake where he followed us into the fifth district.


    I didn''t know anything about what stance and fractions they were in, but didn''t care. I didn''t need to fill my head with more complicated stuff when my head felt like exploding every day from attending class.

 131 Family Gathering 4

    "But this matters because?" I asked them.


    "We can use them to help cover for your mistakes while getting them on our side," Luke explained.


    I couldn''t possibly tell them about the blackmail or dirt I had on Charles or Ben on them now. It was obvious how they were going to use it against them. Plus, even though Cillian was a bit annoying during the field trip, he didn''t deserve to be talked about his weakest moments when we tried to get back to school.


    "But Elle, um Helena already helps out with that," Shelly pointed out her achievement.


    "Then wouldn''t all our classmates be on our side?" I quickly captured the pattern.


    "Everyone except for Miliana and Charles. Most of the people in the other fraction are in the other class," Shelly softly told me.


    And Miliana was close to the people in the other class. It did make sense when she shyly denied all our invitations and chose to hang out with her previous classmates now. I thought it was purely because she was friends from growing up with them like I was with Shelly and Ellen.


    "Now, what do we need to cover for?" Lucius turned to my direction.


    This obviously meant what troubles did I get into which they didn''t know about. It was likely Alex and Jules already reported what happened in the second district. Plus, Luke had probably already told the entire group of my ''mistakes'' when he was present for them. Although, I knew I could trust Shelly for not reporting to the group when we were in the second district with Ben.


    "Nothing," I confidently declared.


    "That''s not possible with how much trouble you''ve caused during the last three days," Alex immediately accused me.


    Wow~. How distrustful were they of me? At this rate, I really had to give them a minor event that happened between Shelly, Ellen and I. I couldn''t possibly reveal the secret hideout or the ones that would really get me in trouble with them.


    "Once every month, I sneak out of my room and go to the caf¨¦ in the middle of the night to eat some desserts?" I asked like it was no big deal.


    "Where do you eat those desserts, and do you disguise yourself?" Lucius immediately tried to spot any issues.


    "I just come out in my nightgown or whatever I sleep in and eat it in the courtyard on the ground." I remembered to not mention that I did it with Shelly and Ellen.


    "Alone?" Lucius caught on to the missing information.


    "With me and Helena," Shelly confessed under the stiff pressure.


    Well that guilty pleasure was now gone. It was an open secret anyways as Luke was stricter on the days I binged on desserts in the middle of the night. Even Alex knew from Shelly''s frequent outings with me.


    "I should do that someday as well," Yulee patted me on the back.


    "And that''s really it!" I tried to look as convincing as possible.


    This fraction was really tiresome. It was clear the neutral fraction was the best as they didn''t have to do anything. I was really going to talk to Ben somehow to get him to let me join his fraction.


    "The biggest thing I can think about right now is how I destroyed a part of the high school buildings to go on that mission with Jules." I revealed to them.


    Alex instantly face palmed as he recalled how he helped in repairing those walls. Luke grimaced at the news while Jules just seemed apologetic. Belle sighed as she refilled the empty teacups with more tea.


    It was such a waste that none of the plentiful desserts were touched on the glass table. They were so busy with the tiny details that they couldn''t appreciate the small things beside them. I grabbed a cookie from the table since I didn''t have breakfast. I preferred to have a slice of toast, but I had to make do with what was in front of me.


    "Leave those biscuits since we''re going to have breakfast soon," Luke reprimanded me.


    Of course, those desserts were a form of decoration as usual while the tea was free to drink. It was such a waste of those perfectly delicious desserts. I couldn''t understand that part of the first district to this day.


    I obeyed Luke not wanting to start another fight with him when he had a load of supporters. I placed the cookie back onto its plate as I hoped the meeting would soon end. In fact, this meeting would go faster if I called Ben here.


    He was the one who made me create that unintentional tornado in the first place. And it was a fact that most of the ''mistakes'' that they didn''t know about happened when I was with Ben. I was definitely going to use this against him to exit this stingy fraction.


    I was glad I asked for his phone number when I first met him. I pulled out my marble and punched in his number. I had never called him before so I didn''t know if the call would go through. Thankfully, Ben picked up the call at its first ring.


    "What did you do this time?" Ben appeared to be in his dorm room.

 132 Fractions 1

    "What did you do this time?" Ben appeared to be in his dorm room.


    His hair was messy from just waking up while Alice appeared to be missing. I was used to this appearance since we spent the time together in the second and sixth district. However, the others seemed surprised to know how close I was with him.


    "I want to be in your fraction. My fraction is too stingy and annoying." I demanded to him.


    "You know that''s not possible," He rubbed his eyes.


    "Come on, please," I brought out my dazzling eyes that glistened for help.


    "Why would you even want to leave the most powerful fraction for an insignificant one?"


    "I already told you it''s because I don''t like my fraction. So I kicked myself out of the group," I declared my plan.


    Ben laughed while he was half-awake, "I''ll need to talk to the people in my fraction before I let you join."


    "Seriously? You''ll let me join?" I almost cheered in front of him.


    I ended the call before Ben could change his mind. I was officially out of Luke''s petty fraction now! I knew Ben couldn''t prevent me from joining his fraction from how much dirt I had on him! Maybe this whole fraction thing didn''t apply to people who weren''t born in the first district.


    "You see, I''m out of this fraction!" I jumped in the air.


    "You can conduct your fraction meetings or whatnot, but do it without me. I have a new fraction now." I attempted to open the locked doors.


    I turned to Lucius to open the door. There was no point in this meeting since I wasn''t one of them anymore. Now it was purely only the Roselia name that got sullied from my actions. However, nothing happened as I pulled on the doors to go back to school.


    "I''m surprised by how readily the heir of the Nuelle family is giving you the chance to join the fraction that is known to be hardest to join," Jules studied me.


    I shrugged as I looked forward to going to school. But, even Luke appeared to be surprised from the brief conversation between Ben and I. His mouth slightly opened as if he was going to speak before remembering to close it when he had no words to say.


    I didn''t know who was inside Ben''s fraction, but I didn''t care as long as I could escape from the meetings that interrogated me. Before knowing this whole political thing existed, I thought Lucius and Ben were close to each other during social week. It was slightly unexpected on my end to figure out they weren''t as close.


    Lucius, who was still deliberating on what to do with this new information, decided to end this meeting early. The doors finally opened as I teleported myself back to the dorm room. When I glanced at the clock, I found out I only had thirty minutes before class started. I wasn''t going to starve after skipping dinner last night.


    "My fraction is having a meeting tomorrow night where you''re invited to attend," Ben told me his fraction''s decision.


    "Umm, thanks." I mumbled as I talked while chewing on my food.


    I waved to him to leave as I looked around if Luke was in the cafeteria with me. I could just imagine the long lecture if he discovered I spoke with food inside my mouth. But, the decision made by Ben''s fraction was fast. Was this really the fraction that was hardest to join?


    I could hardly focus on the lessons during class as my mind wavered on the sudden politics news today. Daniel came up to my desk after he noticed I stopped paying any attention to him during homeroom. Allan coughed to warn me to look up, making me drift back into what was happening in the classroom.


    "You should continue your lesson," I pretended I was listening.


    "Of course, I would continue if someone paid attention," Daniel tapped on my desk.


    This wasn''t the first time this happened. Charles didn''t even bother to mock me after he got used to it. But I would definitely be lectured by Luke later on.


    "Of course," I answered while I elegantly smiled each time it happened.


    Even Daniel couldn''t continue to scold me during class when I remained ignorant. I wasn''t interrupting his lesson or creating any discord. Plus, it was especially harder to continue with his disapproval when I acted like a model student.


    After Daniel finished with his announcements, I ran out of the classroom to avoid Luke. I didn''t feel like going through another intense study session after my brain was dead. Since, I didn''t properly look where I was going, I bumped into a high school student on the way and fell onto the ground.


    She generously offered me her hand to help me back up. But, noticing that her stuff had fallen onto the ground in the process, I rejected her offer and helped her pick up her possessions. After giving the catalogs with a thin BL comic hidden inside one of them, I walked to my usual caf¨¦.

 133 Fractions 2

    I sneaked out of my dorm room through the window as usual. It was crazy how the meeting was right in the middle of the night at 3AM. But, I couldn''t complain when Luke''s fraction was just as crazy to hold it right before school started.


    The location was near the dean''s office where both middle and high school students could access. It was the only place where this was allowed for security purposes. Sometimes, the middle school dean would personally assign missions to the high school students.


    The door was a familiar sight after my frequent visits. Ben waited for me as he leaned against the door. I already guessed Ben would personally take me to another location. These fraction meetings seemed so secretive.


    When I took his offered arm, Ben had teleported me to a room inside a stony castle. I wondered if we were outside the campus as I instantly discovered another barrier that stopped time. There was no way the campus who mixed some futuristic automation with traditional decorations would have an ancient room with no alterations.


    "Are we still on campus?" I asked him.


    "We''re in the high school section that not many people know about," Ben revealed.


    "Hey Rika," Cillian greeted me.


    I gasped when I saw the same girl with the BL comic inside the room. She covered her face with her soft chocolate hair when she remembered I had helped pick up her stuff yesterday. There was also Henry, who I met during social week and their partners who I had never met before.


    One of them yawned from the lack of sleep as there was a big exam coming up. She stretched out her arms as the girl next to her kept on pinching her side to keep her awake. They were dressed the same like they were twins except one had a short bronze bob and another had shoulder-length tanned curls.


    "Sienna," The one with the short bob chided her.


    The high school girl was also beside another person I had never met before. His light strawberry blond hair waved in various directions like it was intentional. At the same time, his eyes glowed cherry pink under the moonlight.


    Alice leaned against the wall beside two more pairs of high school students who hid inside the shadows. She friendly smiled in my direction, remembering our time together during social week. I liked Alice since the first time I met her since she didn''t appear to be afraid of anything.


    Before Ben could lead the meeting, I came to shake the high school girl''s hands. It was hard to find a fellow otaku in the first district. I could already imagine helping ourselves out when we needed to hide our stock.


    "Do you already know each other?" Ben asked while the others seemed curious with their interested eyes that glimmered.


    "She''s the one who has few BL comics from the early volumes of the magazines," I revealed, thinking that the group was open to otakus since Ben''s sister had a stash of her own.


    "This is exactly why I want to join this fraction! This fraction accepts fellow otakus and simple actions like yawning or an untidy appearance when you''re tired." I placed my hands together with anticipation.


    "I told you to not yawn that noticeably," The girl pinched Sienna again.


    "But I couldn''t sleep for five days straight," Sienna mumbled while complaining.


    "You''re in," Alice grabbed both of my hands before the rest could vote on their decision.


    Well that was easier than I thought. I didn''t even have to reveal all the dirt I had on them that the group probably didn''t even know about each other. Seeing how relaxed this fraction was compared to the stiff atmosphere yesterday morning, I smiled from my quick actions of kicking myself out.


    I looked around to see if anyone disagreed with Alice, but Ben sighed as he nodded. This was a good fraction! I could already see myself fitting into the group. I wondered why this fraction even seemed to be so exclusive in the first place.


    "We have monthly meetings in this place," Alice transferred the route into my marble as we exchanged numbers.


    In the end, I exchanged numbers with all the members in the group. Although I didn''t need the numbers of Cillian or Henry. I didn''t have a good impression of them during social week.


    "So where is the place where you hide all the otaku goods?" I asked Eliza, the girl with the magazine.


    "We don''t have one. Our group usually lets us keep our hobbies as long as we hide them properly," She loosened up once she realized we were the same.


    "We should create one," I exclaimed.


    "There are some people with very stringent partners who burn all of their hobbies up as soon as they find them," I revealed the cruelty of Luke and Alex.


    Eliza gasped as she soon started to pity me. "You can store them in my place if you want," she offered as she patted my back to comfort me.


    "I don''t know how we became a group of people who hid other people''s weird hobbies for them," Cillian appeared a little offended.


    "Same here," Ben sighed as he disjoined the meeting.

 Chapter 134 - Fractions (3)

    Sienna came up to our table in the usual caf¨¦ where Ellen, Shelly and I enjoyed our desserts. She linked arms with the Delia whose short hair that was neatly combed and filled with extravagant accessories with each having its own story from their intricate design. They appeared nothing like the two girls who desperately wanted more sleep while studying for their life.


    They were just as elegant as Shelly who had all the manners a model lady possessed ingrained into their bones. Their clothes were just as lavish with the layers of expensive fabric drizzled with the finest crafted gemstones. It was on the same level as all the abundant dresses that filled my closet.


    We became close to the point we messaged each other about how much we loved sleep and complained we never had enough of it. But, we never met in the open like now. I wondered what brought them to this place.


    Ellen brought two chairs from the other table and warmly greeted them to join us. Sienna and Delia took their seats as I ordered some of their matcha coffee milkshake they always talked about wanting to try. Their eyes briefly glittered at the sight of the desserts before they remembered to hide their emotions behind a mask.


    Did the neutral fraction not allow desserts? They seemed pretty open to everything during the last meeting. At this rate, my secret hideout was a backup to storing all my otaku goods as Eliza promised to keep them at a safe place when I handed them over.


    "The caf¨¦ is part of our fraction," Shelly explained.


    "The neutral fraction coming to the territory of another fraction shows that they''re taking our side," She sipped on her usual chocolate milkshake.


    No wonder the caf¨¦ was always empty. It was a waste of such a sophisticated caf¨¦, not that I didn''t enjoy the privacy. I guessed that part of the neutral fraction was a pain since they had to avoid taking sides. It was sad how there were tradeoffs to everything in the first district.


    "But, you are part of us now," Sienna grinned when she found no one else was present.


    Her mouth trembled as she enjoyed every bite of her coffee milkshake to the fullest extent. She relaxed as she stopped minding her every movement until the large glass cup was emptied. Wouldn''t this be the perfect time to ask her to join our secret pleasure once a month?


    "You know, once a month, we sneak out in the middle of the night to order some sweets at this caf¨¦. Do you want to join?" I offered both of them.


    Sienna fanatically nodded her head while Delia sighed. It looked like they were in.


    "I''m just surprised with how lenient your fraction is, it is rumored that your fraction is one of the strictest," Delia explained why she was mostly silent.


    Well that did explain a lot. I couldn''t tell them it was an open secret. I guessed this was what they meant by covering things up. It was strange how we never ran into anyone during the night. But at the same time, almost nobody ever walked around the school during that time in the middle school section.


    "But, I''m here now," I held both of her hands.


    I was saved from that horrible fraction with an accepting new one. The next meeting was tomorrow and I had to be extremely careful when pulling out my stash taped underneath the bed and drawers. It was the last ones I had as Luke had already burned the others a few weeks ago when I was careless.


    Tears streamed down my face as I almost wailed when I found my supply being burnt in front of my own two eyes. Anger streamed my face as I ferociously glared at Luke. My hands were dusted with ashes from the remains of the brutally murdered art.


    "How could you do this?" I pulled Luke''s collar.


    "I don''t burn any of your books," I wept as Luke coughed from his collar digging into his neck.


    "None of my books sully the Roselia family name," Luke wiggled to get out of my grasp.


    Again, it was about image and face. The two factors that repeated this incident several times. It wasn''t even worth talking to this murderer who had no concept of the beauty and effort that went into these creations. I walked away from Luke and buried myself into my pillow like I always did when I was extremely disappointed.


    I slipped out of my bed and tiptoed around the room while packing my supply into my marble. Luke was out practicing the sword with Alex as usual. I imagined meeting in the middle of the night instead of the middle of the day on a weekend. But I guessed the previous meeting was an unusual case.


    I followed the route on the map to find the scenery was greatly different in the daylight. It felt like I was in Belle''s castle again with the stony textures on the wall and tiny lanterns that fueled the way. Except that the passageway wasn''t well maintained with the ivy that crept up from the tiles and the rusted ornaments on the walls.


    It wasn''t like the school to abandon part of their property to this extent. The whole route was forested inside a nest of wild flowers that were easily mistaken as weeds. They filled the path like a colourful arrangement of paint on a palate prepared to craft a rainbow. Its petals filled the air from the wind that swirled in the area.


    ''Was this intentional?'' I wondered.


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 Chapter 135 - Fractions (4)

    I appeared to be the last one to arrive as everyone sat around the rectangular table like they were conducting a meeting. I immediately ran to hug Eliza who patted my hair in confusion. It was best to transfer my supply to her to get it over with.


    "Please keep my babies safe," I pulled out my stack of light novels, manga and junk food.


    Eliza stepped back as she stared at the results of spending all of my last year''s allowance to replace most of my burned goods. The pile was much closer to the ceiling than the floor. Even I was surprised as I thought it would be much less when I collected them together in one place.


    The rest of the fraction started to gossip where there were more unfamiliar faces gathered this time. The last meeting was composed of people who could make it on the last minute. However, this one was regular and properly scheduled in advance.


    "It was really hard trying to hide all of these in my room. I had to tape all of them on the roof of my closet or underneath the drawers and my bed," I pulled a thick roll of transparent tape.


    Eliza couldn''t stop staring at the pile in front of her. Was my collection that impressive? My room in my former life had three times the amount while it was properly organized and stored.


    "My hideout is smaller than you think," Eliza helplessly waved her hands.


    I turned to Ben for support as his villa had enough empty rooms. Ben exhaled before transferring half of my collection into his marble to start the meeting. Eliza transferred the rest to hers as her eyes swam around some BL titles I had mixed inside the pile.


    I wasn''t only going to bring out my otaku supplies. I also had to hide all the cheap and comfortable clothing and shoes I bought while running away. There was no way Luke would let me keep all those clothes or even let me wear them. I pulled out another pile, but this time composed of a bunch of running shoes and plain shirts.


    "Do you also have room for those too?" I begged Ben.


    Ben shook his head, even though he obviously had the space. I guessed the otaku supply was the most he was going to accept. I smiled as I turned to Cillian who also likely had a lot of space in his mansion from Sienna who complained about maintaining all the unused rooms.


    Sienna pulled out some running shoes like they were interesting artifacts as she studied them quite closely. She nodded to force Cillian into accepting the goods when her eyes gleamed from the soft cushioning when she tried one of them on. It was fortunate how we had the same shoe size.


    The people in the first district didn''t know how much they were missing out by sticking to their customs. Delia gasped when she found a plain white t-shirt without any decorations or designs. The people in the room approached the pile in curiosity to find more cheap items they had never encountered before.


    At this rate, I was going to appear even stranger when I pulled out my next pile of vocaloid music albums and their posters. I knew I should''ve put them together with the other otaku goods! I had to leave some sort of remains for the idol culture as they could disappear anytime like Lilika Yuri.


    I blushed when the previous pile disappeared to make space for the new one. The flashy colours made the new mountain stick out more than the previous collections. Slips of photo cards filled the air as they slowly fell down onto the table.


    "How did Luke not discover this?" Cillian didn''t joke around anymore.


    "Wasn''t her fraction the tightest one controlled?" Another person softly mumbled.


    "I thought that as well," another person whispered back.


    Maybe Luke would''ve discovered my last two collections if not for the recent purchase. He had no idea I ran away so he never knew they existed. Sienna stared at the glitzy pictures of Hatuna Mika who pretended she was embarrassed when it landed on her hand. She threw me a glance to ask who this was as I gestured to flip the back to show her limited-edition signature.


    At the end, the meeting was about to begin when the members of the neutral fraction agreed to split the vocaloid pile amongst themselves to hide. Most of them looked at me in a new light where if they were hostile before, it turned into if I was just a crazy person.


    "Let''s welcome our new member, Rika de Roselia," Alice opened the meeting.


    No one clapped except for Alice and Sienna. But I smiled from joy of not having to hide all this stuff alone. I planned to bring more stuff to the monthly meetings whenever I got the chance to visit the second and third district again.


    "It is my pleasure to join the neutral fraction," I slightly curtseyed.


    "I never knew I would ever find a day where there would be fellow otakus like me," I pretended to wipe a tear from my eye.


    "Umm¡­there''s no one here that possesses a collection like yours Rika," Ben got rid of the looming silence of the people who had a sudden headache.


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 Chapter 136 - Planning (1)

    I happily hummed when I returned to my dorm room. My collections were finally safe and I had more space to hide some more purchases from Luke. I rolled around my bed, unable to contain my giggles from my plan to go shopping soon.


    "You''re back," I smiled at Luke who returned.


    "What did you do this time Rika?" Luke frowned from my unusual happy face.


    "Nothing," I forgave Luke today with my generous heart.


    Social week was coming up a few months from now. The meeting before was to determine who would be the hosts to open up their houses this round. This only applied to the high school students since middle school students were only allowed to attend the events.


    Attending social week without knowing the politics behind it made it a drag. But this time it would be different. I was part of what went on behind the actions from the decorations to the food served to guests in each house. Apparently, every aspect of the host house mattered because it would show the power and unity within the fraction.


    It felt good of being tasked with something where people actually had trust in me to do well. I was in charge of experimenting with the drinks in the upcoming socialite party next week to test out our plans. I couldn''t wait to go to the taste testing event with Sienna tomorrow. This time, I would be able to change into more comfortable clothes that Sienna promised to bring.


    "By the way, I have plans tomorrow," I let Luke know I couldn''t go to his usual study sessions.


    Luke sighed before nonchalantly pulling out the tablet. He rescheduled the time he booked in the space-time rooms and didn''t ask me any questions. I guessed this definitely meant he wasn''t ever going to cancel. But, it did make sense as we needed to gather points to survive.


    "I''ll book the study room to early in the morning," Luke showed me the new time.


    "You''re not going to ask me why?" I questioned why Luke accepted this so easily.


    "You''re helping the neutral fraction prepare for their annual pre-party event."


    Oh. Luke already knew the reason why. But, if the neutral party had these kinds of events, didn''t his own fraction have something like this as well? Maybe that was why he knew why I was going out with Sienna since he was helping out with his own.


    This was how I came to greet Sienna with a yawn from waking up earlier than usual. Sienna already held out a bag with some comfortable clothes to change into as I went into the bathroom. When I came out, I wore very short shorts that hugged my waist and a plain yellow t-shirt that dragged out to the sides. I smiled when I melted under the soft cushions inside the running shoes instead of the usual stiff heals.


    Inside the bag was a bunch of glittering accessories that subtly decorated my previous outfit. The once almost empty bag appeared to be repugnantly big from the long dress and heels. The current style I wore was how I usually dressed in my past life. It was cheap, but flattering and didn''t follow the trends.


    Sienna had also toned down her outfit to somewhat match mine, but it was still semi-formal. She wore the same running shoes, but in a different colour with a flowery romper made of silk. Her hair was drizzled with daffodils that stood still inside her hair that made her overall outfit shine.


    "Where are we going first?" I asked her.


    "How about this place?" Sienna showed me a picture of a magical winery that also made nonalcoholic drinks.


    We arrived deep inside a forest full of dazzling fruits I had never seen before. Round gr.a.p.es of golden blue interlinked with a bush filled with purple berries in a shape of a starfish. It resembled a garden with how the bushes were groomed to appear as hedges and flowers from the fruits populated the ground.


    The fruits almost readied to be harvest was separated into a different section where it sparkled like gems. How did they even make drinks here? I could find no traces of a facility where wildlife was maintained to keep up appearances.


    "Welcome," the owner of the winery slightly bowed.


    "How can we serve you today?" He studied our clothes.


    "I am Sienna Auclair Clarence and this is-"


    I elbowed Sienna before she could reveal I was engaged to Luke, "Her classmate, Rika."


    "We came to sample some drinks to see if they are suited to be served in our upcoming event," I rambled on.


    "I see," He plastered his face with a polite smile as he assumed I was her servant.


    "Please come this way," He led us inside a modest house.


    The entire house was dedicated to researchers in a lab coat that mixed the juice of the fruits into small test tubes and beakers. It resembled a lab rather than a winery with all its sophisticated machines and big screens with graphs and data on top of each bench. The workers paid no attention to us as we were soon escorted to a room with the finished products.


    In front of us were five glasses of drinks that glowed in bright neon colours. They fizzled near the top with tiny sprinkles that swirled inside the glass. I didn''t remember drinking something last year.


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 Chapter 137 - Planning (2)

    "Are these the newest products you''ve developed?" Sienna asked for more options.


    "Yes, would you like to see the base for customization?" the owner pulled out a catalog.


    The catalog hovered in air as it showed various drinks that resembled the ones in front of us except for the lack of colours. I wondered what would be the difference from the drinks here and the cans of pop that came from the third district. I lifted up a glass and sipped the honey-like liquid that was viciously bittersweet.


    Wouldn''t the first district have something like potions like other fantasy worlds that had mana? All they used were expensive and rare magical fruits that left a sour aftertaste where I urgently wanted a glass of water to wash it off. The ingredients in the screen were sadly not much different than the translucent drink.


    "Have you ever thought of directly brewing mana into these drinks to adjust the flavor instead of using fruits grown by mana?" I placed the goblet on the table.


    "No, I''m afraid that method has yet to exist," the owner apologized.


    "Then can we try?" I puffed out my chest.


    The owner reluctantly led us back into the lab and summoned a worker to bring the base layer of the drinks. Few minutes later, the bench was filled with twenty goblets where each had a different fruit inside them. I raised my hands and imagined changing the flavor into a marshmallow delight in the colour of sparkling gold.


    My hands glowed in blue until the liquid glimmered into faint transparent marigold with flower petals that swirled inside the cup. Hmmm. I didn''t expect all the liquid to disappear. I poured the watery drink from another goblet into the cup. But, instead of retaining its original colour, the drink turned into bright pink.


    Without any hesitation, I sipped from the goblet to find the results of my experiment. I smiled when it tasted like melted strawberry jam mixed with chunky pieces of the juiciest cherries. I poured the rest of the successful drink into an empty beaker before redistributing them into tiny shots of glass. I passed a shot to Sienna as she reluctantly accepted before closing her eyes and chugging it down.


    "It''s so good!" Her eyes glittered and begged for more.


    "Isn''t it?" I tried to high-five with her.


    "Now repeat," I ordered the workers who gasped with delight after the light sip.


    One of the workers winced as he poured as much mana as he could into the cup. However, he ended up panting and falling down onto the ground as he grabbed the table to lean on for support. Instead of the liquid turning into flower petals, it had transformed into leaves from the fruits. It was brittle to the faintest touch as it crushed into ashes once I had shaken the glass.


    "Maybe, there wasn''t enough mana?" I asked two workers to work on one glass this time.


    When the two workers wobbled and almost exhausted all of their mana, the liquid turned into red rose petals. It was a success! This time, when I poured the original base inside, the colour of the drink turned into turquoise blue.


    Sienna and I accepted a few drops of the new product where the sweet aroma made our mind numb with pleasant goodness. Hints of tropical pineapples and mangos mashed to create clumps of passion fruit drizzled with sugar that gave me energy resembling drinking six cups of coffee. Since we planned to invite around fifty guests, we needed around two hundred of the same drinks.


    "Can we order two hundred of the same goods created today to come by next week at the latest?" Sienna got out her marble to pay them in advance.


    "This will cost one million Aris," the owner awkwardly rubbed his hands.


    The owner stumbled when Sienna immediately transferred him the money, not expecting her to accept the ridiculous offer. One million Aris was the ten-year income of an average middle-class family in the first district. But it did make sense to charge this much when it consumed a huge amount of mana to create a glass that was filled up to one quarter.


    It was frightening how I was used to handling large amounts of money like it was no big deal. For me, this appeared more like a bargain deal where the workers had their mana drained to the point it was on the boundary where it threatened their lives. Sienna and I got ready to go back to school by calling a hover car after the owner waved his farewells.


    "This can be revolutionary," Sienna perked up as she recalled the sweet drink that resembled more like a dessert.


    "Well it was our only choice since those drinks tasted awful," I shrugged.


    I jumped down onto the school campus when the hover car was near the ground. My feet didn''t hurt from the light cushioning in my shoes. Indeed, running shoes was a wonderful existence that wasn''t utilized enough!


    "Rika," Sienna warned me while gesturing to look behind me.


    What could it be? I turned to face both Luke and Alex walking towards our direction, fully focused on their conversation from their usual sword practice. This was bad. I didn''t change into the clothes that Sienna held onto in her arms.


    ''Please don''t notice me,'' I clasped my hands together with hope.


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 Chapter 138 - Planning (3)

    I ran to hide behind Sienna hoping Luke and Alex would pass by without noticing me. How did the hover car land at school at such a horrible timing? It wasn''t like I could change now, outside where the campus was filled with students. But I did wear a tank top under my t-shirt. Couldn''t I just take off the t-shirt and put on the long dress on top of it?


    I proceeded to take off my shirt, but in the process, both Luke and Alex had noticed me behind Sienna with the flashy hover car that didn''t leave its place yet. Oh great! Luke wasn''t ever going to forgive this mistake since it appeared like I was stripping in public. They got angry last year when I pretended to even take off my cardigan. But in many ways, this was worse since Luke was especially focused on keeping up my image in school.


    I pulled my shirt back down as I continued to hide behind Sienna who looked at me with pity. "It''s not what it seems," I blurted when both Luke and Alex walked closer.


    I grabbed Sienna''s shoulders to use her as a shield. Each time Luke stepped closer to me, I pushed Sienna toward his face. He frowned when he noticed my short shorts that revealed almost all of my entire leg.


    "Sienna is also wearing running shoes too!" I silently mumbled my apologies into Sienna before placing us both into a precocious situation.


    "Where did you get these from?" Luke scanned my outfit.


    I stared in the direction of Alex who most likely didn''t tell him about the time I had run away. Luke raised one of his eyebrows before turning to Alex who briefly glared at me before summarizing a biased view of what had really happened.


    "Rika threatened Julian into taking off the necklace and she ran away to the third district as soon the restraint was gone," Alex helplessly sighed like he had no choice in the decision.


    "Please, excuse us," Luke politely asked Sienna to move away from me.


    "Don''t!" I shouted while gathering a crowd of attention.


    "Sienna is mine! Enna can''t ever betray me," I pushed her closer to my chest to tightly hug her.


    Sienna frantically waved her hands to deny any thoughts of betrayal as she hugged me back and dropped the bag. Unfortunately, this made me break away from using her as a shield where my back burned from their stares. I was glad she didn''t mind when I created a new nickname for her.


    "Wasn''t the Roselia family one of the leaders of their own fraction?" Someone in the crowd mumbled.


    "Look how close they are to a member of the neutral fraction," Another person pointed out.


    "Maybe they''re trying to gain control of the neutral fraction too."


    Why couldn''t the people stick to their own business? Eventually, almost everyone in the courtyard tried to hide their frequent glances toward our direction. I could virtually spot the traces of annoyance present on Alex''s scrunched forehead while Luke had smoke coming out of his head from embarrassment.


    "Would you please let my cousin talk to his partner in private? It would be beneficial for both of us when that trade deal is coming up soon," Alex warned Sienna of the influence he had.


    Sienna shuddered as she soon let me go with a look of apology and pity mixed in. It didn''t take long to be dragged into the dorm room with the door slammed shut. I was officially in loads of trouble with two against one in this room that seemed to shrink in size.


    "What did I say?" Luke asked me to repeat a firm unspoken rule between us.


    "I can do anything I want as long as I don''t sully the Roselia family name," I mumbled quietly.


    "But taking your clothes off in public?" Luke pressed his head against his forehand.


    "I had a tank top underneath." I gently countered.


    I cowered into the corner of the room as I rubbed my arms for comfort. Luke stared at me silently in more disappointment as Alex tried to quickly formulate a plan to cover this incident. The tension in the room was high as Alex tried to calm Luke down, reminding him that he had his support.


    There wasn''t much Luke could do anyways since he didn''t have anything against me anymore with all my collection hidden. I knew he let some of my collection off to a certain extent to use it against me in these kinds of situations. I flopped onto my bed as I opened a book to wait to see what they came up with.


    "This is something serious Rika," Luke held in his anger.


    "I never said it wasn''t," I flipped to the next page.


    "We can go visit my parents during the holidays instead of yours if you really want to," Luke knew exactly how much I despised the hell-like schedule given to us.


    But Luke hated that schedule as much as I did. Knowing that I didn''t have a choice in who to visit during the holidays, I got up to apologize. It was much better than spending years in that mansion through space-time magic.


    "Fine, I''m sorry," I yelled.


    I sulked as I changed into my regular dress with the embellished Roselia crest sewn subtly into the clothes and passed him my perfectly good running shoes and cheap clothing.


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 Chapter 139 - Planning (4)

    "Sienna!" I sobbed in her arms the day before the party.


    "He burned my clothes and running shoes," I played with her arm.


    "There, there." She ruffled my head when she got up on her tippy toes.


    "Enna, I know you''re always on my side," I rubbed my face on her clothes, making them wrinkled.


    "I heard what happened, in fact, everyone here did," Delia walked up to us.


    "It was quite aggressive of them to mention the upcoming trade deal, but they had no choice with what happened," she hugged the untaken arm of Sienna.


    "You guys are exaggerating this," I hid myself behind Sienna.


    "It''s actually a big deal," Ben came up to us.


    "In fact, we helped them cover the rest of the incident with some other upcoming news," He sighed from the headache of handling the gossip.


    "From taking a t-shirt off?" I whimpered to appear more pitiful.


    They were making a pretty big deal from just pulling up my t-shirt that had a tank top underneath. I had to continuously listen to Luke''s lecture before escaping to come to this meeting whenever we were alone together.


    My meetings were Shelly and Ellen got cancelled as they suddenly got busy. It was clear they were using the space-time barrier to conduct more meetings. At the end, I couldn''t even refuse Luke''s nagging out of guilt when he appeared to be losing sleep with the rest of the fraction to cover for this incident.


    My assumptions became confirmed when Shelly blushed from a tiny yawn during class. Ever since I kicked myself out of his fraction, I was never invited to any of their meetings anymore. Although, I was only invited once before kicking myself out.


    When most of the members sat in their respective seats, I sat down on my own beside Sienna and on my other side was Ben. I was excited to report the results of my expedition with Sienna. I stored a couple of samples of the drinks we personally made in the winery that we were going to report on today.


    "The first thing on the agenda is covering for one of our members," Alice led today''s meeting as well.


    Well, it was a surprise. I never knew even the neutral fraction would talk about it in their meetings where only necessary items were included. I clung tighter on Sienna''s arm as I waited for Alice to finish the first item.


    "Some of the news was diverted by increasing the intensity of other rumors of the rights to secure land in the sixth district," one of the high school students reported.


    "We also increased the tension between the minor fractions," Henry added.


    "And raised suspicions about the lack of control another major fraction has over appointing their new leader," Ben finished off what they tried to do.


    "So how much is it covered?" Alice turned to ask all the members.


    "Even with the help of the most powerful fraction, it couldn''t be fully contained," Alice concluded from the silence that loomed over the room.


    The amount of news to cover up the incident was unbelievable. This could easily top the headlines on the newspapers if they were revealed in my past life. But, wouldn''t it be fully hidden if something as ''scandalous'' as my incident like the revolutionary drinks we created was to be revealed?


    I stood up to interrupt Alice who discussed other strategies with the members around her so they could cut the gossip. They lifted their heads in amazement from me breaking the protocols during the meeting. But I knew we wouldn''t be going anywhere with this rate.


    I pulled out the goblets as Sienna couldn''t take her sights off the delicious drinks that called her with its fragrant aroma. I placed one tiny shot in front of each member with my mana as the glasses wobbled from the lack of my control. The smell instantly overtook the room like we were inside a flower field full of vibrant, blooming wildlife.


    "These are the drinks Sienna and I personally created from brewing mana inside," I announced.


    "Brewing mana?" Ben questioned me, unbelieving.


    "Try it," I passed the cup closer to him.


    Ben studied the glass after his eyes lit up from the unique taste that left a pleasant aftertaste instead a bittersweet end. The other members mumbled praises of the new invention as Sienna and I smiled from our accomplishment. The drinks appeared prettier than the basic beverages I remembered downing during social week.


    The petals made the beverage appear it was blooming inside the cup like it was still alive. Sienna transferred most of the finished goods to me since she claimed she would drink all of them on her own otherwise.


    "This is extraordinary in how it replenishes a tiny portion of your mana," A member exclaimed.


    It did? I was surprised they had no such things such as potions from all the mana present in this land. Maybe it was because of their advanced technology that had no need for these kinds of things. The table was filled with more chatter until Alice had to remind them several times that they had to get to the other items in the agenda.


    When the clatter had calmed down, they looked at me in a new light where if I was a troublemaker before, I was actually valuable to them now.


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 Chapter 140 - The Party (1)

    I pushed the grand doors to find myself in a ballroom full of glittering lights and chatter of people in suits and gowns. I, myself was dressed for the occasion in the design of the starry sky that dripped down to my thighs. The theme of the party was stargazing inside a field of flowers.


    Baskets of flowers hung down from the roof as its petals filled the air. Its wreaths were placed on each member in the neutral fraction to display the hosts for the evening. Beside me was Luke who escorted me towards the center of the room.


    "You''re finally here," Sienna reached out to me.


    Sienna and Cillian greeted the guests as the main hosts since we were inside one of Cillian''s family mansions. She held both of my hands with hints of tears welled up from her eyes from the misery of having to continuously greet everyone. During the meeting, Sienna accidently stretched her arms into the air when Alice had asked who was willing to volunteer to host the party in their mansion.


    "No, it was a mistake," Sienna frantically waved in denial.


    "Let''s go onto the next item in the agenda," Alice wrote Sienna down in her notes.


    Sienna sunk back into her chair as she glanced at the others for help. I shook my head since I had no property in the first district while Delia had her family mansions being cleaned that day. With no other choice, Sienna accepted the results as she pouted in her chair while staying alert of what was going on this time.


    It did seem tiring to greet every guest. Fortunately, around fifty people from our school were able to come. The invitation was given out to the few representatives of every major fraction in school. Charles came to the event with Miliana as one of the representatives to his fraction while Jules and Yulee came to represent Luke''s fraction.


    "You''re the last one to come," Sienna swung my arms with her.


    "Yeah, things happened," I winced from what happened a few hours ago.


    I looked through the many dresses in my closet abundant with party dresses with all the luxurious precious metals, ribbons, and fluttering laces carefully sewn onto each craft. In my eyes, every one of them appeared to be the same. I grabbed a random dress from one of the hangers to prepare myself for the party.


    I opened my drawer full of gloves, hair accessories, belts, necklaces, and bracelets. I pulled out the ones that caught my eye first and placed them on top of the table. For my shoes, I chose the ones with flats so I didn''t have to suffer from heels.


    When everything was laid out on my bed, it didn''t look too bad. Some didn''t exactly match each other, but I doubted anyone would notice from all the dazzling jewels. I was too lazy to pick out some other articles of clothing anyways.


    "You''re attending in this outfit?" Luke came into the room after changing into his suit.


    I nodded my head as Luke frowned and shook his head. He quickly went to my closet and pulled a dress that had the night sky draping down. He walked to my drawer and pulled out black lace gloves and a hairband with a big layered bows dunk in diamonds. For my shoes, he picked out medium-sized heels with a ribbon around the ankles.


    It was almost magical how he came up with the perfect outfit that matched the theme within a few minutes. But, the outfit appeared terribly painful with the tight waist and heels.


    "There''s no way I''ll fit in that dress," I argued at the corseted ribbons on the back.


    "It''s the best option for now, as one the party''s hosts, you have to match the theme," Luke countered.


    "But there''s no way I can wear the dress alone," I cringed from imagining tying all the ribbons on the back.


    "I''ll tie the ribbons for you," Luke urged me to change.


    I panted from slipping my body into the dress. It was tough pulling the dress up to my shoulders since you had to be almost malnourished for the dress to go up easily. When I barely managed to breathe from the tight dress, Luke pulled on the ribbons to make it even tighter.


    I almost screamed when a mass wave of dizziness hit my head when he finished tying all the ribbons together. While I was barely conscious, Luke worked on my hair and put it into one big braid. I wobbled as I tried on the stiff heels that fit my feet perfectly.


    In the mirror, I didn''t appear human from my sacrifice. My reflection was a celestial being who came from the moon with the light makeup done. When I checked the time, the party had already begun as both Luke and I were already exhausted.


    I really needed to get rid of some dresses in my closet no matter how pretty I looked. I grabbed onto Luke''s arm and didn''t let go for my dear life. Without his support, I knew I was going to fall down. I was almost tempted to put off my heels if I wasn''t one of its hosts.


    After Sienna let me go, I stumbled onto Luke''s chest. I immediately took one of his arms to stand up properly again as I pretended to be fine.


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 Chapter 141 - The Party (2)

    "You look beautiful today," Ben handed a glass to both Luke and me.


    "Thank you," I accepted the drink.


    I accidentally chugged the drink instead of taking tiny sips. I desperately needed more sugar into my body to survive through the rest of the night. My face almost melted when drizzles of honey dropped onto my tongue.


    Luke''s eyes widened when he felt a tiny bit of his mana levels replenished from the beverage. In fact, everyone who had a drink chattered with amazement from the new invention. The operation of today''s event was a success!


    "In fact, it was Rika who-"


    I turned my back from the sudden loud noise of clinkering glass with Luke and Ben. Someone was grabbing all the drinks and pouring into one glass. I frowned as there wouldn''t be enough drinks this rate. I immediately discerned this person must not be from a strict family.


    When the drinks were all mixed together, mist surrounded the top of the goblet. Tiny clouds formed inside the glass as it swirled around. I had goosebumps on my arms as I tensed from what would happen. Somehow, I didn''t have a good feeling about this.


    Without hesitation, he drank the beverage in one shot and fog erupted in the ballroom filled with the aroma of flowers. Some guests covered their eyes to defend themselves while others stared with curiosity. Since this was something Sienna and I came up with on the spot, we had no idea what would happen if someone combined all the drinks together.


    When the fog cleared, the boy had grown a few inches where he was taller than her by a head when he was the same height of his partner before the drink. I couldn''t tell if this was a good thing or not as he gasped with amazement.


    "I feel like the limits of my mana has increased," He studied himself.


    But who knew if there were side effects from this. Sienna and I only determined it would be safe when the drinks were consumed in small separate amounts. Sienna softly groaned as she asked the guest if he was alright.


    He brightly nodded and shamelessly continued to brag about how his mana increased. I apologized to Sienna inside my heart if something bad did happen as I feigned ignorance to what happened. I had my own problems where I couldn''t walk without Luke''s support.


    "Maybe we shouldn''t include the drinks anymore," I mumbled out my thoughts.


    "Is there anything wrong with the drinks?" Luke''s face contorted.


    "We didn''t test what would happen if someone combined the drinks altogether," I confessed softly enough for only Luke and Ben to hear.


    ''But the guest appeared fine, right?'' I shot them a look.


    Ben stiffened from the sudden news, knowing this meant anything could happen to the guest. If something bad did truly happen, the neutral fraction would have to deal with the consequences. This was why Sienna glued onto him since she knew the truth.


    Luke stared at the guest holding himself from jumping in the air. He energetically joined in all the conversations on the floor while others had asked how he felt. To answer, he combined the available drinks into one glass again and held it out for another guest to drink.


    Irks of annoyance formed near my forehead as he was creating more victims. Sienna desperately tried to lead him towards another drink that didn''t have mana brewed into them while asking for the glass. But, she was soon shoved out of the conversation as she helplessly looked in my direction.


    "I thought all the guests would follow proper etiquette," I blamed the guest.


    Didn''t he know the common sense in the first district? He was born here unlike me who was lectured by Luke about it almost every day. Nobody except for him greedily drank the glasses like they were disposable potions.


    Plus, all the desserts and drinks on the buffet table were mostly decorations. Luke never let me touch them if he had the chance. Unfortunately, I stared at the partner of the guest drinking the glass with the pestering urges from the guest.


    "Most fractions do," Ben gulped.


    "Can''t we just kick them out?" I came up with a lovely solution.


    "If they''re not following the rules, then as the hosts we can use that as an excuse," I explained when both were silent.


    "If this was a simple party where we had the most power, maybe." Ben feebly sighed.


    "But, there are also other extremely powerful fractions here," Ben hinted they were preying on any weaknesses.


    The room was covered with the same fog again when the girl drank the glass like she was undergoing a transformation. This time, instead of glowing with power like her partner, her aura strengthened. Her clothes vibrated from reacting to the magical particles that stuck onto the mana crystals.


    Wasn''t that identical to the creation of a magical artifact in those animes? It was like she was benefiting from wearing the clothes that fuelled her with more power. It did make sense the result would be different since the guest didn''t have mana crystals attached to his clothes.


    The crowd''s chattering and gossiping immediately increased. Sienna stood frozen behind the girl as she studied her intensely for any side effects. Was it a good thing no bad side effects were seen yet?


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 Chapter 142 - The Party (3)

    "How did you come up with these drinks?" Yulee walked toward us with a drink in her hand.


    I didn''t answer as I guilty avoided facing the drinks. Sienna would do something about this, wouldn''t she? Although, Sienna sat down on a chair, being comforted by Delia with her eyes glistening from the dazzling lights.


    "Its effects are extraordinary that it makes me want to hog all of them for myself," She covered her mouth as she laughed.


    "It hasn''t been fully tested yet," Luke revealed to his cousin-in-law.


    Yulee''s eyes glinted from the news as she soon pondered deeply enough to not notice Jules behind her. Jules, not knowing anything, drank some sips of the goblet. Ben groaned from the problem of having to deal with the rude guests.


    "But, there''s no negative side effects just yet," I mumbled.


    When Sienna looked like she was about to cry, even with Delia''s support, I decided to clean the mess. It was time to get rid of these rude guests. If I couldn''t kick them out, I would make them kick themselves out.


    I was able to walk slowly after practicing walking with Luke in these heels. I walked to our guests and stumbled onto the floor when I bumped into them. When they turned around, tears welled up in my eyes like they had been the ones to push me onto the floor.


    I pretended to look up to them in fear as the bottom of my heels broke. My legs were muddled with small circles of purple and green from the marbled tiled floors. I had to hold in my happiness from putting my shoes off since they weren''t wearable anymore.


    "I''m sorry," I trembled in front of them.


    "No, we should''ve watched where we were going," the guest offered me his hand.


    I faintly shivered when he got closer to me. Could I refuse his hand? This had to be the one time they followed the proper etiquette! I expected them to stay there, watching me gather some supporters to kick themselves out while boasting about their new skills.


    I hesitantly accepted his hand to fall back on the ground when I loosened my grip in the process. Now it really appeared like they were bullying me. It didn''t make sense that I would fall back down if they really wanted to help. If they had any shame, they would leave now.


    But when I looked up, they kindly looked at me with more worry clearly apparent in their eyes. These people were good with their acting. I really had to pull out more of my acting skills that improved as I lived with Luke.


    "Did Rika do something wrong?" I spoke as if I was a young, innocent child.


    I hoped this worked even though I appeared to be at most a year younger than them. Tears dripped down my cheeks as I subtly accused them of pushing me down. The ballroom became almost silent as everyone keenly listened in.


    "I apologize if my grip wasn''t tight enough," He slightly bowed.


    Ugghhh! Why wasn''t this working? At this rate, I looked like the bad one who schemed this to happen. I gave up! When he offered me his hand again, I accepted with no trickery to stand back up. But from my broken heels, I crashed onto the buffet table beside me.


    I tasted iron from blood dripping from my forehead. The sharp plates had grazed my face as this time they looked at me with subtle hints of panic. The bruises on my legs were nothing compared to the blood that wouldn''t clot.


    My dress was soaked with pools of blood as I stopped moving. If someone just walked in, then they may have mistaken the place as a crime scene. The rest of my limbs went limp as I leaned against the table.


    Even though this was unintentional, didn''t they have to leave now? Instead, they looked down at me with hints of horror present on their faces. Did I look that bad? Shards of broken plates littered the ground around me, making it difficult to come closer.


    "Please leave," Delia''s face became grave while checking my injuries.


    Sienna seemed to almost burst into tears as she stared at me from a distance. The couple hesitantly left and looked back to see a broken doll painted with crimson. The silence continued even when the grand doors closed after their exit.


    ''Mission success?'' I weakly smiled at Sienna.


    "Riikkka," Sienna ran to hug me.


    "We apologize, but we will be ending this party a bit early," Cillian interrupted us to make an announcement to the crowd.


    All the members apologized to the remaining guests as they escorted them back to their hover cars. Soon, the ballroom was empty except for all the members of neutral fraction, Luke, Jules and Yulee. I was placed onto a couch while the mess was quickly cleaned.


    "You didn''t have to do this to make them leave, we always could have tried other ways," Sienna cried.


    I hissed when Luke disinfected my wounds with some purple translucent liquid that would make them quickly heal. I was odd how Luke carried medical supplies around in his marble like he knew this was going to happen. When my injuries were almost healed from not being too deep, I was able to get up to sit on the couch.


    "See what happens from forcing me into these heels?" I yelled.


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 Chapter 143 - The Party (4)

    I pulled off my heels and held myself from throwing them onto the ground with anger. These pointy things were the reason why I stumbled in the first place. I knew I should''ve stuck with those flats! Everything in my closet was hideously beautiful like fine works of art.


    These heels were dangerous and who knew if the dress wasn''t dangerous as well? I still struggled to breath from the tightly laced ribbons on the back. I did feel a little sorry towards those guests since I didn''t mean to take it this far.


    "These things are lethal weapons," I held the shoes in the air.


    Nobody in the room muttered how almost all the girls perfectly wore high heels like it was an extension of them. Even Sienna was able to run in medium-sized heels with no problem. Although both of us did prefer running shoes.


    "You intentionally broke the heels with your first fall and forgot about them when you actually wanted to get up," Luke pointed out my bad acting.


    "Was my acting that bad?" I asked everyone in the room.


    "Your pitiful acting skills is the minimum standard to attend this party," Delia scolded me for being reckless.


    "What happens to that fraction?" I didn''t know what fraction they represented.


    "After today, their fraction comes under the influence of ours and your partner''s fraction," Ben revealed the consequences.


    "Then wouldn''t that happen for Luke''s fraction and ours too," I didn''t mention my incidents with him.


    "Nothing happens if it gets covered," Yulee shrugged.


    Well that explained why they were so desperate to cover things. But maybe their fraction wasn''t that powerful among the major ones anyways. I stood up to get ready to leave before Luke mentioned the problem about the drinks to everyone in the room.


    When he was finished, I felt many accusing stares in the direction of Sienna and I from almost putting this fraction into jeopardy. Clearly this fraction thing wasn''t for me. Couldn''t I kick myself out of this fraction as well? I knew they wouldn''t be heartless enough to throw away my collection out of courtesy.


    "Can I kick myself out of this fraction?" I didn''t want to get involved anymore.


    "Once you join, you can''t leave or it''s considered as a betrayal," Luke sighed.


    Well that was my first-time hearing about this. But would it be really a betrayal when I was only in it for a month? When I looked at the members for their answers, they agreed with Luke when they nodded their heads.


    "Don''t kick yourself out!" Sienna almost burst into tears again.


    "It was both of our faults," she confessed while tightly holding both of my hands.


    How would I explain it was too much effort to repeat something like this again? I would still hang out with her even if I wasn''t in her fraction anymore. It was the same with Shelly and Ellen. Sienna was one of the most relatable people in the first district, which was how we quickly got close.


    "I''ll still hang out with you even if I leave. I would just rather sleep and enjoy my life more instead of being part of this whole politics thing," I tried to console her.


    "I''m never joining another fraction again," I added when she remained silent.


    "So you''re not leaving?" Sienna concluded.


    "Ummm. I am leaving, but I''m leaving this entire politics thing as well," I explained when Sienna didn''t seem to understand.


    "But there''s no way you could leave being part of politics?" Sienna still seemed confused.


    I turned to Luke to fill her in with a better explanation. It couldn''t be that I wasn''t able to leave this world behind. I was living fine without it until Lucius called me to a meeting in their mansion. However, Luke shook his head.


    "You were always part of a fraction even though you weren''t aware about it," Luke agreed with Sienna.


    When I glanced at Ben for support, he eventually explained, "as long as you''re engaged to Luke, you can''t leave being part of politics in any form."


    "But we''re only engaged, not married. It''s not fair I have to suffer with him!" I loudly complained.


    I definitely wasn''t going to attend more parties with Luke for the rest of my life. It didn''t make sense for all the rules in the first district to apply to someone from the third district. Once I graduated from this whole point system, I planned to return to the third district with my engagement broken.


    I would have a normal family where I would have normal obligations. I would no longer be bound to the many chains that withheld me from enjoying my life. Even though I didn''t believe in my plans sometimes, it was assuring to at least have them.


    "Your name is Rika de Roselia," Cillian pointed out.


    "You mean Rika Shanes," I immediately refuted back.


    No one seemed to believe me as my words emptied across the room. They all saw me as the fianc¨¦e of Luke who would be certainly married to him after this whole point system thing. It was tiring to be always associated with him. Once I came to my senses, I wondered why Yulee and Jules were here.


    "Why are you guys here? Weren''t you guys supposed to leave with the other guests since you''re not a part of our fraction?" I blurted out my thoughts.


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 Chapter 144 - The Party (5)

    "The neutral fraction and our fraction have been working together to cover for you," Jules explained.


    "Are our fractions that powerless?" I tried to comprehend the situation.


    "Even though we do seem insignificant compared to your fianc¨¦''s fraction, we are the third most powerful fraction," a member seemed offended.


    This was unexpected. Joining a fraction was easy, but leaving was hard. Once you joined a fraction, you were tied to them like you were one big family. It did make sense that Luke''s fraction was actually his family, but I couldn''t see the same connection inside the neutral fraction.


    "It''s like each fraction is one big family," I came to the conclusion.


    "We are. Sienna and I are second cousins while Henry is cousins with Eliza and Cillian." Ben revealed the family connections webbed inside.


    Right. The partner system was calculated to maximize the best results from considering factors such as politics and wealth to make a family more powerful. But why did Ben let me into his fraction easily like I was his younger sister? I wasn''t related to them like Luke.


    "We accepted you since you knew too much," Alice answered my question while glaring at Ben.


    "Plus, it would be nice to have some support from the most powerful fraction," Ben added to cover for his mistakes.


    I coughed for them to stop before Luke figured out they were hiding my collection. At this rate, they were going to reveal almost everything that happened. Now that I knew I couldn''t leave either fraction, I sat back into the couch.


    "I still get to continue with my naps on the weekends?" I tried to confirm with them.


    They didn''t have to know that these naps only happened a few times a year. All I wanted was to be free from more obligations that piled onto each other like mounting weights. I didn''t want to attend more of their frequent meetings that pulled my free time away. I was even willing to allow Luke to attend their meetings in my place if it allowed me to get more naps.


    "Rika," Luke warned me.


    "I don''t want to attend those meetings anymore!" I revealed my true intentions.


    "I''ll go in her place," Luke asked the members for their approval.


    The members immediately approved since Luke was definitely much more useful as he was trained for this from the moment he was born. In fact, they appeared happy from Luke attending their meetings. Wasn''t this fraction supposed to be hard to join by Lucius'' words?


    "So please tell me everything that happened," Luke demanded as a member.


    I knew Eliza would never reveal she was a fan of BL on her own or Sienna with all my cheap clothes and shoes. However, my collection with Ben and the vocaloid merchandise was likely a goner. I shot a look to threaten him that I would reveal what happened in the second district with Shelly and I if he gave away my collection.


    Ben instantly seemed to understand as he stayed silent while the members complained about keeping my vocaloid collection safe. After they finished complaining about struggling to hide a few items in the pile in their large mansions, Luke turned to me like he was holding his patience. I instantly felt betrayed from the neutral fraction.


    "Seriously Rika?" He appeared to be suffering from a massive headache.


    "What other choice did I have? I know you''ll burn them like all my other collections," I argued.


    "I can''t believe you hid all your stuff to a fraction you barely knew," Yulee struggled to hold in her laughter.


    As expected, my secret hideout was the safest place to store my stuff. Who knew I would get betrayed by my fraction as soon as Luke joined. I needed to plan another outing soon to transfer more of my stuff there once Sienna gave me my collection back.


    "So you won''t burn them this time?" I knew he had to collect them all first.


    Luke face palmed like he didn''t know what to do with me. He didn''t answer me as we got ready to go back to school. He silently passed me a light blanket to hide all the blood stains on my clothes. This definitely meant the lecture would start once we were inside our dorm room.


    Once we arrived in our room, instead of lecturing me as usual, he reported everything that happened to his fraction. Maybe this meant I wasn''t in trouble? After changing back into my comfy pajamas, I reluctantly asked him, "why aren''t you lecturing me as usual?"


    "Our fraction is much more powerful now with two major fractions supporting us. The neutral fraction never sided with another fraction before, but now we have their weakness. Plus, that other major fraction possesses a quite amount of power themselves," Luke summarized the results of today''s event.


    It was hard not to feel sorry for that couple since it was technically my mistake for not testing the drinks enough. I guessed no one was bold enough to make another fraction indebted to them by intentionally injuring themselves. Luke didn''t scold me, but he didn''t praise me either.


    It did make sense he was loyal to his original fraction. But I didn''t care what happened anymore as I slipped into my bed. My priority was to gather more points and safely graduate school to live in luxury full of naps.


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 Chapter 145 - Culture Festival (1)

    The heat wave was covered from the cooling artifact installed inside the school. I enjoyed my ice cream in the caf¨¦ with Shelly, Ellen, Sienna and Delia. I never ended up attending anymore fraction meetings after that day. But, Sienna and Delia remained in our group.


    "What is your class doing for the summer culture festival?" Sienna asked me.


    "We haven''t decided yet," I remembered the fight that happened a few hours ago.


    All of my classmates stayed back to discuss what our class would do for the summer festival. This was an annual event each class in middle school would create a mini venue for the high school students to attend. It was like practice for becoming the hosts during social week. Last year, our class went with creating a mini caf¨¦.


    However, it would be boring to stick with the same stuff that every other class was doing. It was time to spice things up! We needed snack stalls like sukiyaki and yakisoba instead of the fancy desserts ordered beforehand. Maybe even performing a play would be nice.


    "Let''s do snack stalls," I wrote down my idea on the board.


    "Maybe not snack stalls," Ellen tried to suggest any other idea.


    "What about we do a play?" I clasped my hands together.


    "We don''t have enough people for a play," Allan pointed out.


    "A gender bender host club!" I blurted.


    Everyone looked at me like they didn''t know what I was talking about. How would I explain to them it was cross-dressing while flirting with guests? I hoped they wouldn''t search the term up as I came up to with a decent explanation, "it''s a cross-dressing caf¨¦."


    "Wouldn''t it be fun?" I threw the idea around.


    I was curious how Luke and Alex would look if they cross-dressed into the same dresses I wore. They would finally experience the pain I''ve been suffering through at their insistence. At the same time, I would experience their comfortable shoes with no heels.


    "No way," Charles yelled.


    "Why not?" I shouted back.


    "This is ridiculous," Charles was almost about to explode.


    "Only you think it''s ridiculous," I looked at Shelly and Ellen for support.


    "Well, the idea itself isn''t bad," Ellen muttered when I pleaded through my glistening eyes.


    Shelly nodded to agree, which made our class split into two again. Charles harrumphed before he left the room to think of a better idea. Miliana ran after him to calm him down, which brought the room into a realm of silence.


    "A cross-dressing caf¨¦!" Sienna''s eyes started to glitter.


    "It would be fun to see," Delia laughed from the thought.


    "Right?" My eyes twinkled.


    I just needed to somehow convince Luke, which would persuade both Alex and Allan. Once everyone agreed, Charles would have no choice but to follow the majority. I could already imagine picking out their outfits for them. Their wonderfully sculpted faces would brighten even my collection of cheap clothes.


    "But how are you going to convince them?" Delia seemed interested.


    "I don''t know yet," I admitted.


    I walked back to my dorm room as I schemed more plans in my head. My relationship with Luke wasn''t exactly the greatest lately. He showed hints of exhaustion from being part of two fractions while continuing the intense study sessions that took the majority of our day. After studying for our next exam, we both slipped into our beds without any conversation.


    Apart from studying together, we didn''t meet each other if we didn''t have to. I continued to hang out with my usual group as Luke continued his sword practice. As long as we gathered a stable amount of points, Luke didn''t care what I did unless it sullied his family name.


    We were like childhood friends who were stuck together for too long that we avoided each other when we could. I already shared a dorm room with him and sat beside him during class. I was his partner whenever we had to attend a formal event as well as doing any missions together given by the school.


    We had to see each other''s face whether we liked it or not. Since we knew too much about each other, there were no fantasies between us. In fact, my impression of Luke being a prince from a fairy tale shattered after a month of living with him in kindergarten.


    "What do you think of my idea?" I jumped on Luke when he came back from another fraction meeting.


    "I think doing a normal caf¨¦ like last year would be better," Luke turned down my idea.


    "Please?" I pulled out my glistening eyes begging for help.


    "Only if you manage to get over eighty points in all the subjects for the next exam period," Luke gave me an impossible task.


    The midterm period for all the subjects were coming up next week. Normally I earned at least three subjects below a sixty no matter how much I desperately studied. But it was because I didn''t know how to use the dimensional library properly since I was still experimenting with absorbing the books.


    I was starting to get hang out absorbing the books now. Since I could absorb two books per day, I would have to choose wisely on which books to absorb. I planned to take out the thickest books that covered everything instead of the books given by the school that covered one flimsy subject each.


    "Deal!" I shouted.


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 Chapter 146 - Culture Festival (2)

    "No way," Charles was about to drill a hole in my exam papers.


    My marks were laid out for everyone to see. I had exactly an 80 on every single subject. Last week, Charles agreed on a bet if I did happen to get 80 or above on every exam, he would go with my idea of doing a cross-dressing caf¨¦.


    They had no idea what I was capable of when I really wanted something to happen. I cancelled all my usual meetings with my group to find out the best books to absorb during this entire week! It was hard skimming through the never-ending shelves in the library to the point I thought my head was going to explode.


    Luke, who believed I would not even get a fifty on all of my courses, continued with the intense study sessions to add to my misery. I was already dizzy enough from pulling out all the table of contents in the library, but listening to Luke for hours made it even worse. My firm goal of having the boys in our class crossdress fueled me to stay alive throughout the week.


    "Let''s do this!" I cheered while high-fiving Shelly and Ellen.


    People in the first district never went against their word as proper etiquette and common sense. Charles dragged himself back to his seat, barely present in the room from having to cross-dress. I could already pick out the wigs for them to try out in my head!


    "I''ll help with the wigs and the costumes," I immediately volunteered.


    "In fact, we should all go shopping right now!" I couldn''t wait to pick out their clothes.


    "I already called for a hover car," Shelly quickly went along with my plan.


    Miliana had to push Charles into the hover car as I picked out the usual painful shops Luke brought me to. The first place we went was a hair salon so they could get the hair extensions. The staff bowed as he asked who needed hair extensions as he looked in our direction instead of Luke and the others.


    I already had the hair styles in mind! Luke would appear stunning with long ponytails tied with a thin ribbon while Alex would suit voluminous wavy hair. Charles would match long elegant braids and Allan would have a shoulder length cut curled around the ends!


    I smiled as I passed a prototype of the sketches I made last week to the worker. According to the worker, once the extensions were done, they couldn''t be put off until we were done with the culture festival! I had to keep myself from smirking when the rest of the group frowned.


    The hair extensions took about an hour while the rest of us decided to pull our hair into a cap to make it appear we had a shortcut. When the hairdresser revealed the results, I found myself staring at a group of girls wearing male clothing. Their faces bloomed from their flowing hair that shimmered in all directions.


    "Time to go to the next shop," I urged them into the hover car.


    This time, we were going to choose our outfits for that day. I smelled the soft fabric when I entered the shop, excited for the first time. This was time for my revenge! I instantly grabbed a stunning dress with the thinnest waist and passed it to Luke.


    For Alex, I picked out a long dress that would be hard to walk around in. Charles stayed motionless as he despaired at the revealing dress that didn''t even touch the midpoint of his upper thighs. Since I didn''t have anything against Allan, I gave him a comfortable, puffy princess dress.


    Before they could change into another dress, I pulled them into the hover car to shop for shoes while Shelly and Ellen quickly paid. Even Miliana cooperated with our plan as she pushed them into the car and blocked the doors. For the first time, I noticed her genuinely smile while helping us out.


    She urged them to walk faster into the shoe store filled with painful high heels. Miliana shot me a glance to choose the highest and thinnest ones as I knowingly smiled back. I chose the most slippery heels made from fragile crystals that were at least three inches tall. The heel was thin to the point it almost appeared invisible.


    While it was one of the beautiful shoes in the store, it was also the most delicate. Thankfully, they matched the outfits I picked out as I handed them a shoe in their size. Luke cringed when he initially had a hard time standing up. When I glanced at Alex and Charles to see how they were doing, I found they were also in the same situation as Luke.


    When they were finally able to stand, I stared at the magnificent result of my styling. Even Miliana couldn''t keep her eyes off them as she admired their appearance.


    "Where''s your partner?" The store owner asked as I always came to this place with Luke.


    I pointed to Luke as the store owner stared intensely at the gorgeous girl that dazzled her eyes. Luke''s expressionless face added more charm to his overall styling as if he was a mannequin doll. I couldn''t imagine how his beauty would go beyond the loveliest doll when I added some of my accessories into his hair.


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 Chapter 147 - Cross-dressing Cafe (1)

    A large crowd gathered around the classroom. Miliana apologized to the guests who had to wait outside as there was a long lineup that went for miles. Inside the room, the guests who sat in their chairs couldn''t stop staring at a group of gorgeous girls that dazzled their eyes.


    Meanwhile, the girls chattered over the charismatic styling of Shelly, Ellen and I. I nimbly served the guests their drinks and desserts with the shoes that Luke had picked out for me. It was no wonder that Luke never thought about needing running shoes. His shoes had a similar effect that supported his feet even without the lack of cushioning.


    "Can I take a picture?" A guest from the high school section hesitantly asked me.


    "Sure," I smiled.


    We ended up taking a picture together before I took their orders. Once the others saw they could take a photo of any of us, they started to request photos to Luke, Alex and Charles. Charles shot me a look like he was going to kill me later for this while he brightly smiled with over ten consecutive guests.


    "I can''t believe what I''m seeing is real," Delia lightly slapped her cheeks when it was her and Sienna''s turn in line.


    "Aren''t they works of art?" I gave them the menu.


    "I''m taking a picture with you," Sienna took her marble out.


    I winked and put out hearts with my thumb and index fingers crossed together. The other guests had liked this since they thought it was innovative. Sienna smiled when she checked the photo before admiring the sight in front of her.


    Luke''s hair in two ponytails dripped down like a waterfall in the colours of a rainbow in the sunlight. His waist appeared thinner than mine from constantly training while his slender frame seemed delicate to the point it would break any moment. His long feminine eyelashes fluttered at all the guests in the room which complimented the flowery pink dress.


    I remembered to add the signature roses to his neck as a collar, and bracelets and anklets made from tiny frozen roses wrapped together. Since I spent a long time arranging his entire outfit, he appeared as a celestial fairy from another world. It was the first time where our roles were switched.


    I had to admit it was fun when I wasn''t the one in that position. Since the base was already beautiful, it was easy to accent more of his features. If I were to compare my appearance to Luke, he was definitely comparably more gorgeous when we both dressed up. Shelly also made sure Alex was almost on the same standing as Luke as she confessed how much time she spent on his makeup.


    Miliana on the other hand was worse than all of us. Apparently, it had taken her several days to get Charles to appear much more exquisite than her. She changed his accessories in front of the mirror for days and changed his makeup several times. I could tell she had many grudges against Charles. Maybe even more than I did to Luke.


    Ellen, on the other hand, was easy on Allan as he was able to ease into his role faster than all of them. Besides his heels, Allan was able to breath in his clothes. The room was filled with flashes from people taking photos with the three of them. They quickly became the king of all the hosts in the room with their overwhelming popularity.


    "This is the first time I have ever seen an event hosted in middle school to be this popular," Ben appeared amazed by their transformations.


    "Well, we are talented," I considered Luke''s current look as my pride.


    Many piled grudges had helped with this vicious makeover. Beauty always did come in exchange for pain. There was a tight corset that revealed his back full of pulled ribbons that almost killed me last time I went to a fraction party. He walked more cautiously than usual to prevent himself from tripping from the smallest thing.


    "But, this is overwhelming to take in," Jules came with Ben.


    "You should take a picture too," I told them when they couldn''t keep their gaze away.


    "I''m sure your cousin won''t mind when he already took many photos, in fact, here''s a limited-edition photo of him standing near a tall window," I elbowed Jules.


    Jules immediately paid for the photo as he hid it deep in his inventory once I transferred it over. He then stared at both Alex and Luke while ignoring my presence. It did make sense it was hard to look away at such beautiful pieces of art. This was why the line was so long. Nobody wanted to leave so we had to set a time for how long each guest could stay.


    Plus, after they heard about the event from the earlier visitors, they all wanted to come experience the same thing. Since the room was bustling with guests, none of us could afford to take a break like Sienna and Delia. Everything we earned during this event was donated to the many charities in the first and second district.


    This was how I managed to make photo cards of the three of them. Although, they didn''t have to know I kept a few for myself. I made sure they were hidden deep inside my inventory just like Jules. I turned when a guest kneeled in front of Luke when he took his order.


    "Will you please marry me?" The boy nervously looked up at Luke.


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 Chapter 148 - Cross-dressing Cafe (2)

    The guest appeared to have forgotten Luke was a boy. But, I totally supported BL. I watched the scene as if I was a reader munching on some popcorn. Being too beautiful was a sin after looking at Luke.


    Luke brightly smiled as if he was the sun, "I''m afraid I''m already engaged."


    His smile pierced through the boy''s heart like an arrow. My heart sped up whenever he politely smiled to show to guests out when their time was up. The brighter the smile, the more annoyed he was. I had to throw away my protective instincts when he appeared so fragile with that dress.


    "I''ll support you," I encouraged him to keep going.


    "Engagements are meant to be broken to support true love," I pushed him to continue when he stared at me in silence.


    I pulled out a ring on my left hand with the Roselia crest stamped on the front on the jewel. Maybe he didn''t continue because he forgot to bring a ring to propose with. I passed him the ring to use to propose to Luke.


    He hesitantly accepted the ring and held it out to Luke. When I looked behind me, almost everyone I knew was holding in their laughter to the point Yulee had tears in her eyes. Only Lucius frowned in disapproval as I let the show go on.


    "Please marry me. I fell in love right when I entered the room. I don''t care what house you come from or how much mana you have, my lady," the boy flushed in red.


    It was just like Luke to be mistaken as a girl when the sign on the classroom was clearly written as ''Crossing-dressing Caf¨¦''. If I met Luke for the first time today, I would''ve melted under his looks too. But, I was the one who created the lady in front of me.


    "Please let go of my fianc¨¦e''s ring," Luke coldly answered, not bothering to put up with the pretenses anymore.


    The boy dropped the ring as his eyes widened when he noticed the clearly printed Roselia crest. He finally realized Luke was cross dressing and almost fainted from his broken first love. His entire face blushed in pink when he saw the stares of the large crowd. Knowing that it wouldn''t do him any good if he stayed, he sped away to the point he used his precious mana.


    This was unfortunate, they would''ve made the perfect couple. I sulked as Luke picked up the ring and slid it onto my fourth finger from my thumb. It was like he was declaring I belonged to him in front of his many admirers.


    "Don''t you dare give this ring to anyone else," Luke warned me.


    "Umm, I didn''t since it was being returned to you through that guy before," I pointed out when the mood got serious.


    "You know what I''m talking about," He turned his focus back to the guests after one more warning.


    I pretended our discussion had never happened as I went into the buffer room that separated the dining hall with a single cloth. Tables full of drinks and desserts sparkled as they were waiting to be eaten. It was just a ring and I had tons of similar rings in my dresser. I wondered why he was so upset.


    When the sky turned into shades of violet and shimmering red, the caf¨¦ finally closed for the day. I groaned as I massaged my shoulders from working without a single break. But this outfit was much better than my usual clothes that wasn''t my uniform.


    I was still able to walk unlike all the guys who sprawled out on the desks. I never imagined our caf¨¦ would be so popular. We had one more day of this since the culture festival lasted for two days. I would have to get up early tomorrow to help Luke look even better than today.


    I desperately needed more sugar. There were some desserts leftover from today since the guests were busy staring at their transformations instead of ordering more food. I usually didn''t do this in front of Luke, but I grabbed around four large cups of milkshake and poured them into a super big plate.


    Since they wouldn''t taste good due to their flavours being too different, I sprinkled some of my mana to the dessert. It worked for the drinks, then wouldn''t it work for food too to improve the taste? The colour of the messy dessert turned into light pink as I pulled out a large spoon.


    "What''s this?" Luke noticed the pool of milkshake mixed together.


    "My dinner?"


    I quickly stuffed myself with some spoons of the milkshake before Luke could take it away from me. In fact, I panicked to the point I threw away my spoon and ended up using the plate to swallow the dessert. I choked when a sudden pang of freezing snow hit my head from drinking too much ice cream at once.


    I frantically coughed like a madman as my limbs felt like burning inside magma. My vision wavered as I saw multiple copies of Shelly who reached out to me. My heart beat slowed down as I screamed from prickling needles jabbing every part of my body.


    I panted as wisps of hot air came from my mouth since I couldn''t breathe through my nose. I lifted up my hands to grab my head to cope with the pain to find I was much smaller than Shelly who towered over me when I looked up.


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 Chapter 149 - Miniature Cafe (1)

    My shoulder peeked out from my loose shirt that slipped down to the middle of my arms. When I moved my hands, its sleeves flapped like a seal as if I was wrapped around a blanket. I pulled my sleeves up to find my hands were much smaller than I was familiar with.


    "Please don''t tell me I''m a child again," a high-pitched voice echoed in the room.


    It was bad enough to regress into a child when I started out my reincarnation, but going through it all over again would be hell. Although I didn''t like middle school, it was better than being sent back to elementary school. My eyes welled up in tears from my pitiful younger self that reflected in the glass window.


    "What do I do now?" I helplessly looked up at Luke.


    Luke almost always had the solution for my problems. He was able to help me control my mana and improve my miserable grades. Plus, I didn''t have to attend the fraction meetings anymore since he attended them in my place.


    "Let''s go to the infirmary for now," Luke reached out to me to lift me up in his arms.


    I cuddled against his chest while all of us started to walk towards the infirmary. I buried my face into his clothes, hoping that nobody would notice my transformation. Thankfully, Shelly and Ellen who walked beside Luke acted like a shield from the people looking in our direction.


    I was placed on a white hospital bed before the doctor got out his tools. He had a tablet in his hands to take notes and few scanners which appeared as a larger version of a marble with a camera on front to help with the diagnosis. He grimaced at my current appearance before starting to ask his questions.


    "So how did this transformation happen?" The doctor genuinely seemed curious.


    "I sprinkled some mana into five large cups of milkshake to make them taste better and then I drank it," I confessed while hiccupping.


    "You did, what-!" The doctor momentarily lost his composure.


    Alex coughed to bring the doctor back into his professional mode. However, the doctor remained motionless in his spot from shock. It took him a few pokes from Allan for him to come back into his senses again.


    "Will I be able to turn back into normal again?" I pleaded to the doctor.


    "I think I have to call my superiors in the doctor''s union," He got out his marble to call his mentors with more experience.


    The video call was picked up by the other side after a few rings. A large office with the name card written in cursive as president was placed on top of the desk. An opened briefcase was on the floor and messy piles of paper were scattered all over her office.


    Her face was filled with irks of annoyance as she ruffled her messy hair. Her white doctor''s coat was rumpled with creasing wrinkles as she continued to write notes down on her laptop. "What do you want?" She didn''t look at the camera.


    "I have a patient who has turned into a child from eating her own mana by sprinkling it into her food," the doctor politely explained.


    "She did what?" She looked up at the camera.


    "It was an accident!" My voice strained from my blocked throat.


    The camera turned to show tears strolling down my cheeks. Her eyes widened at the young child who wiped her face with a white handkerchief passed to her from a gorgeous lady. The expressionless lady comforted the child as he helped her wipe some milkshake off her hands.


    "I''m coming right away," She almost tripped in the process of running to her briefcase.


    The video clinked into black before vanishing away back into the marble. Not even three minutes had passed when she ran to the infirmary to watch the same scene with her own eyes. She had never seen a case like this before throughout the long fifty years of her career. But, nobody had ever thought of pouring their mana into their food before.


    She quickly pulled out some advanced bulky scanners that resembled big movie projectors. The button was pressed as a bunch of graphs and complex data sets forwarded quickly down her eyes. It did not take her more than a few minutes to come up with a diagnosis.


    "The patient is suffering from too much mana in her veins when her body can''t handle it. But, I can''t figure out why she has turned into a child from the result from that," She went through her notes again.


    I never thought I would ever suffer from possessing too much mana. If I had too much, couldn''t I just expend more of it to recover? To test my plan, I moved to place my hand on Charles and imagined reversing the time on his body to match the same age as I currently was.


    It wasn''t fair if I was the only one who suffered. Charles started glowing as his clothes got bigger until we couldn''t see his hands that were hidden inside his sleeves. He screamed from the pain of his body condensing into a smaller entity and pounded his fists on the floor. Soon after, his body went cold before dropping onto the ground.


    "Charles!" Miliana intensely shook him to wake him up.


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 Chapter 150 - Miniature Cafe (2)

    My clothes shrank until my clothes didn''t slip off my body anymore as Charles remained still in Miliana''s arms. Miliana shrieked in surprise when Charles suddenly sat up with fire in his eyes. His face twisted into a scary smile as he laughed in the middle of nowhere.


    "Oh, you''re dead Rika," a younger version of Charles oddly repeated over and over again.


    "Oh please, what can you do?" I softly mumbled.


    Charles picked up a needle on the table beside us and stabbed it into my arm before I could dodge. I screamed as my body felt like it was being struck by lightning. The electricity made my skin crawl up in the air and my body throbbed immensely in consistent pumps.


    "This is quartium, it helps people with mana deficiency," he sniggered like a villain.


    This was war now. My body trembled from possessing too much mana as I found myself in the same child-like form before I carried out his transformation. I grinned with the power that whispered I could do anything.


    When I was about to walk over to the same table Charles had picked out the needle, Luke had grabbed my wrist. My body pulled back onto the bed with his tight grip as he warned me to stay put. I stared at him with contempt until I realized I could repeat the same spell on Luke.


    Before I could initiate my plan, Alex slapped Luke''s hand off me as if he had noticed my plan. When my spell was done, instead of Luke, Alex was covered by a bright light while his height shortened to resemble Charles. Maybe quartium was too powerful as my appearance didn''t change like it had when I placed my spell on Charles.


    "We can have a mix between the cross-dressing caf¨¦ and miniature caf¨¦ now," I clapped.


    Although it wasn''t my plan, lolis and shounens were equally popular as cross-dressing in the otaku world. I was thankful that I didn''t throw out my old elementary school uniform. It would be the perfect size for this appearance!


    "What about our costumes?" Charles fumed.


    "You can just borrow Luke''s old clothes," I remembered Luke didn''t throw out his elementary school uniform yet.


    Our old uniforms were nicely placed in the most bottom drawer from each of our respective closets. It was almost like we forgot they existed since we never had the chance to organize our old clothes. Who knew it would ever become useful again?


    "Isn''t it better than dressing as a girl?" I reminded him of earlier today.


    Charles stopped expressing his anger as he shifted into a moment of deep strategizing. It was to either suffer through another day of high heels and tight dresses or run around comfortably in a younger image of himself.


    "Maybe this isn''t too bad," Charles held out his hands for Luke''s old uniform.


    "We''ll give you the costumes tomorrow," Luke pulled me into his arms to get ready to leave.


    From the results of this experiment, it was clear I would return to normal soon. I clung onto his neck as Luke walked back to the dorm room. I immediately flopped onto my bed after pulling out our old uniforms and placing it on my desk.


    The next day, the caf¨¦ was written as the ''Cross-dressing and Miniature Caf¨¦''. The lineup had increased four more times than yesterday as the high school students cooed over Alex''s younger appearance. His face with slightly more baby fat made him look cute like a soft, plushy doll.


    Charles smiled as he cutely posed with the older guests who requested more photos than yesterday. No one suspected this happened by accident. I was sure the rest of the group ensured the accident remained confidential after Luke and I left the infirmary.


    "It was only a cross-dressing caf¨¦ yesterday and today it has evolved," Ben looked at the sight in front of him.


    "Things happened," I popped up with my short height.


    "But you look sooo cute," Sienna pulled out her marble to take a picture.


    "Can I hug you?" Sienna pulled me closer to her.


    "Too tight," I groaned when Sienna wouldn''t let me go.


    I took a deep breath when I freed myself from Sienna. After getting sick from the milkshakes, my classmates didn''t let me even go near the desserts anymore. Instead, I was in charge of writing down the orders and passing it onto them.


    I wrote down the orders of both Sienna and Ben and passed the message to Luke with my marble. Instantaneously, Luke brought two slices of sparkling strawberry shortcakes with the same outfit as yesterday, but decorated with different accessories. I gulped as I stared at my favourite dessert passing by my eyes.


    I had only eaten a tiny course composed of mostly salad for breakfast. For lunch, Luke brought me a healthy sandwich that tasted exquisite as usual, but boring compared to delicious whipped cream. I turned away from the table, unwilling to torture myself with the unattainable desserts.


    "Would you like some?" A girl from a table behind me held a spoon full of splendid pudding.


    I nodded my head and opened my mouth, waiting to be fed. My eyes sparkled as it became larger from a spoon heading towards my lips. I could already imagine the splendid texture of the creamy golden pudding only a few millimeters away.


    However, Alex shoved me out of the way and ate my spoon of pudding. What was his problem? When I turned to mumble some complaints to him, Alex had disappeared and was nowhere to be seen inside the room.


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 Chapter 151 - Ghost

    The student gasped as we both witnessed Alex disappearing before our eyes. Instead, there were faint footsteps and Alex''s voice beside us. Did that mean Alex turned invisible?


    "Alex, are you here?" I sensed his hand on my arm.


    "I think this is connected to yesterday," His voice resounded.


    The guest turned to find Alex''s voice when he was nowhere to be seen. Their faces were disappointed from not being able to request more pictures of the younger version of Alex. I knew at this rate, there would be bad reviews, making us get less points of this event.


    "Everyone, this is part of a surprise event! This is the ghost crossing dressing and miniature caf¨¦," I announced when the guests looked in our direction.


    "It evolved again," Ben mumbled.


    I ignored Ben and continued serving the guests. When we closed the caf¨¦, I flopped down onto one of the chairs in relief. I couldn''t believe people actually bought the explanation. Their eyes widened in fascination when they observed plates of desserts floating in the middle of the air on their own. Some even took pictures, saying it was a rare sight.


    I guessed not many people turned invisible on their own here. The chair beside me, moved as if Alex was taking a seat. None of us were surprised by now since we were used to the sight when we were working.


    "What happens now?" I gulped.


    Currently, both Charles and I were still in our younger forms while Alex stayed invisible. Normal classes started tomorrow where the teachers expected us to return to our original forms. Unfortunately, the infirmary was closed today since the medical staff went to spend time on their research after yesterday.


    The room stayed in its dreary silence as no one came with a viable solution. Random ideas from light novels started to pop up in my head. Like since this was a fantasy world, wouldn''t they have potions that fixed everything? Wasn''t potions like drinks brewed with mana here?


    "I have an idea," I announced.


    Everyone turned to face me with no hope. They didn''t expect anything from me after being the source of causing these incidents. But it was strange how Miliana didn''t appear stiff as the others. Instead, she seemed like she was struggling to maintain her stiff expression.


    "How about we make potions?" I suggested.


    "What do you mean by potions?" Luke questioned me as if he was trying to keep me in check.


    "We can brew mana into more drinks to make potions and see how they work," I imagined the process in my head.


    "No, Rika, just no," Luke stared at me with disapproval.


    "Did you forget those drinks were the cause of this situation?"


    "It''s better than doing nothing," I pouted.


    "How about we try to reason why this all started?" Shelly tried to console me.


    "Well, Rika had too much mana from the drinks." Allan recalled.


    "So we just need to get rid of that?" Ellen derived a solution.


    "I can use the mana practice room to get rid of some of it!" I raised my hand.


    This is how we ended up in the mana practice room in the middle of the night. The barriers to keep spells inside was fortified after my many struggles of controlling mana during class. Since I kept on blowing up the room, Daniel eventually hired the best defensive mages and put a level nine barrier in the middle school section.


    Barriers had ten levels in terms of how they defend against physical and magical spells. Level ten meant it could defend against practically anything except for the end of the world while level one defended against simple physical attacks.


    Starting from level seven barriers, it was simply lower level barriers layered on top of each other. Normally, schools wouldn''t be able to possess even level eight barriers, but this was a school for the elites.


    No expense was spared in providing the best facilities for the students. I grinned since it had been a while since I was able to let my mana go wild. Before I started to release my mana in the air, Luke held my shoulder to not overdo it.


    I shook Luke''s grasp off as I imagined using heal on everyone here. Heal drained the most mana out of all the spells I knew. Plus, it wasn''t destructive as well! Meaning no one would notice us visiting the practice room.


    The room glowed in particles of golden yellow as it swirled around my classmates'' bodies. Their jaws almost dropped as I continued the heavy spell. I could already feel a heavy flow of my mana leaving my body as my head started to swirl like a blackhole.


    I staggered as I continued the spell as I felt my line of vision getting taller. Was this actually working? I smiled as my clothes were shrinking till my skirt was starting to resemble the length of very short shorts.


    "Stop," Alex who regained his physical appearance, grabbed onto my right hand.


    Charles studied his hands that returned to its original size. His legs made the long uniform pants seem like shorts while the sweater was now a T-shirt. I wondered if our bodies were really that small in elementary school. My thoughts were interrupted by Alex who squeezed my hand.


    "You''re going to put yourself in danger," Alex continued with a frown.


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 Chapter 152 - Ellen (1)

    "Alright," I groaned before dimming the mana present in the room.


    "Out of all the spells, you used heal?" Luke grabbed onto my other hand to prevent me from using more mana.


    "Oh please, I was in control," I defended myself.


    Even though everyone looked worried for me, I was glad I fixed the immediate problem in front of me. It was the perfect time to go for a good night sleep before Luke decided to lecture me again.


    "Well, I''ll be going to sleep now," I abruptly waved my classmates farewell to quickly escape.


    "Wait," Charles yelled to stop me.


    "What?" I groaned as I turned behind me.


    "Make sure you keep this incident to ourselves," Charles warned me.


    What did he even mean by that? Of course I wasn''t going to leak this incident to anyone else! Who knew who would get in trouble for this mess? It was probably going to be me, as a repeat offender that visited the dean''s office too often.


    That day, I had failed to notice Ellen''s expression where she appeared different from the rest of us. Instead of displaying her normal smile, relieved from solving the incident, she stayed near the back, silent after playing her usual caring role. But I waved the thought away since she smiled goodbye before I escaped from the scene.


    Today, we were inside the usual cafe and I finally got my courage to ask her what was wrong. Since Ellen always helped me cheer up, this time I would do the same.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked Ellen.


    Ellen stayed silent while Shelly and I mostly carried the conversation. Only three of us were in the empty cafe since Ellen wanted to meet privately. I guessed it meant Ellen didn''t trust Delia and Sienna as much as I did.


    Her face was downcast while she mindlessly nodded to agree to everything we said. It was unlike her to not talk a single word to console us like usual. She was the motherly one in the group since she was used to taking care of us.


    "My family," she sadly whispered.


    "We lost some territory after taking too much risk."


    "It''s fine, you can always recover it," I rubbed her back.


    "I heard about it," Shelly seemed to pity Ellen.


    "If only it was that easy," Ellen''s words started to get softer.


    "You can always escape to the third district with me later on," I tried to cheer her up.


    Ellen wordlessly got up from her chair as she smiled to thank me before walking towards her room. Was it a big deal to lose some land? From what I knew, her family was powerful enough to be a part of the top ten families in the district.


    "Her family lost the land to Charles'' family," Shelly explained to me.


    "But they can always recover it, right?" I blurted out my thoughts.


    There was tons of land if you combined all the districts. From studying the map, the size of this fantasy world was six times bigger than earth. It made sense since each district represented a different period on the timeline.


    Shelly shook her head, "they''re now not part of the top ten families anymore. It''s extremely hard to recover land when it''s one of the most competitive resources."


    "But she''s engaged to Allan right? Does it matter when she''ll be part of Allan''s family later on?" I wondered since Luke always referred to me as a future lady of the Roselia family.


    "But now Allan''s family has more power over Ellen''s when they do join forces or have their own agendas." Shelly explained the problem.


    Why did everything in the first district have to be so complicated? I was still wrapping my head around the fraction part before passing it onto Luke. Now I was just discovering the deeper parts of the partner system.


    "I hope Ellen gets better soon," I recalled her sad face.


    I hugged my pillow after returning from the caf¨¦. I was in deep thoughts, thinking about how to help Ellen get back to normal. I didn''t notice Luke coming back from his usual practice with Alex while staring at the blank wall.


    "Did you hear what happened to Ellen?" I looked at him.


    "Didn''t her family fall out of the rankings?" Luke immediately responded like it was no big thing.


    I guessed news spread fast in the first district. Everyone knew except for me, again. I wasn''t surprised after experiencing Ben''s fraction trying to cover for me from one of their meetings. The only reason I was out of the link was because I abandoned all fraction meetings in general.


    "Will they recover soon?" I asked Luke since he knew all the answers.


    "It will be hard to recover land when it''s one of the most competitive resources," Luke repeated the same things as Shelly.


    I knew Ellen cared immensely about her family since she always bragged about Miele, her younger sister. And out of all the families to lose it to, she had to lose it to Charles. I could understand her misery since it was Charles, who mocked me at every chance he got.


    "But rankings change all the time anyways, outside of the top five," Luke prepared to get ready for our intense study sessions.


    Was that really the case? I assumed they always stayed the same?


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 Chapter 153 - Ellen (2)

    Shelly hushed me to look the other way as Ellen had tears welling up her eyes during the lecture about politics. I still didn''t understand why Ellen was this upset, her family was still on the powerful side. According to Luke, they only lost land from a gamble last month.


    "Shouldn''t we go console her," I whispered in Shelly''s ear.


    "We should leave her alone," Shelly pulled me away.


    I reluctantly left with Shelly to join Sienna and Delia in the caf¨¦. They smiled when we sat down as they welcomed us. It was hard to imagine meeting without Ellen present. Ellen was always there, listening to our complaints while consoling us.


    "Ellen couldn''t make it today," I explained why only Shelly and I linked arms.


    "Well, maybe next time," Delia seemed uninterested.


    "Let''s talk about that killer exam coming up," Sienna complained about her lack of sleep.


    "When is there not a killer exam?" I frowned.


    At these times, all we could do was to eat desserts to cheer ourselves up. It was no wonder people in school were particular about their food. It was the only few joys they could enjoy while trying to survive. I liked how Sienna complained about the school system out loud.


    Weeks passed as Ellen continued to deny our invitations to the caf¨¦. It became normal to meet without Ellen. I thought Allan would also be depressed as well, but he remained the same while Ellen shut herself in the dorm room or the library.


    I knew I couldn''t continue ignoring Ellen as she became more discouraged with each day. After class finished, I walked to Ellen''s seat before she packed her stuff. It was time to end this awkwardness between us.


    "Ellen, do you want to talk?"


    "I''m sorry, but I have some stuff to do today," Ellen was about to leave.


    "Wait, are you sure?" I blocked the classroom door.


    "Yea, I''m just focused on earning more points from the next exam," Ellen''s dead eyes stared back at me.


    "Losing land is no big deal!" I blurted, frustrated why Ellen didn''t share her worries with us.


    "It''s not that," Ellen looked away while avoiding my gaze.


    "It is that, ever since you told us about it, you have been avoiding us. We could''ve helped you if you were in trouble." I unintentionally shouted.


    "What could''ve you done to help? You''re Luke''s possession!" Ellen yelled with her fingers clenched into fists, enough to bleed.


    Was that how Ellen thought of me this entire time? I stared at her cold eyes that left no trace of its usual warmth. All I saw was a calculative gaze wondering how to use the tool in front of her. I stumbled a few steps back since I was unfamiliar with this side of Ellen.


    I thought we were best friends. We grew up together and were classmates for the past seven years. If that didn''t count for something, what was our relationship this entire time? She was right beside me this entire time while I cried and struggled to survive in the first district.


    "You don''t have to lie," I whispered, not daring to look into her eyes.


    "I know you''re having a hard time, but-"


    "Leave me alone Rika! That''s all I ask of you," Ellen screamed with blood dripping from her hands.


    "You have Sienna and Delia with you now, so leave me alone," Ellen''s voice cracked.


    Ellen pushed me to the side to escape the classroom. My legs wobbled, loss of energy to stand as I staggered onto the floor. There was no way either Sienna or Delia could replace Ellen. Was our friendship this fragile? How much of the relationship was real? I looked at my hands, scr.a.p.ed with handling my fall on the cold marble tiles.


    She called me, ''Luke''s possession.'' But, why? I belonged to myself. I hugged myself, tightly, to fill the empty void in my heart. I could feel my warm heartbeat, pulsing with every thump, telling me it was real. And I remained in my spot until the sky transitioned into dark azure blues of the evening.


    When I was tired from being alone, I pushed myself up as I used one of the desks for support. My clothes were wrinkled and stained from my tears dripping down my cheek. My hair was tangled and went in all directions like it couldn''t stay in one place.


    My appearance reflected in the glass window was Rika. The girl who was determined Ellen needed help and didn''t know how to express it. Crying helped bring me back to my senses. If Ellen really did want to hurt me, enough to break off our friendship in its entirety, all she had to do was to spread rumors about the truth.


    But her heavy back chose to withhold the burden of everything alone. She didn''t want to burden me with her problems even though she helped me with mine. If she didn''t care about our friendship, there was no way she would''ve gotten this emotional.


    Ellen was just tired. Tired to the point she couldn''t clearly see the people around her who were willing to support her. Even though I felt losing land was no big deal, I was going to do the best I could to restore her bright caring smile whenever she noticed Shelly and I.


    Afterall, our friendship couldn''t be broken this easily.


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 Chapter 154 - Partners & Power (1)

    Luke frowned when he noticed my messy appearance. He sat in his bed with his usual thick book under a tiny orb floating at a perfect height. It shined the perfect amount of light for a light read where the rays of the moonlight wasn''t sufficient.


    I ended up skipping my dinner since I spent most of my time in the empty classroom. Maybe my other classmates were considerate to not interrupt as no one came while I wept in silence. My stomach rumbled, growling for more food, unsatisfied from two meals.


    Luke threw me his usual chocolate bar wrapped in a gold sheet since the cafeteria was closed. He didn''t ask why my eyes were lightly pink nor my hands blistered by tiny scars. My hands glowed in warm white light as it fastened the healing process. When I lifted my hands again, I found it to be unblemished and clean.


    I chomped a big bite of the familiar dessert that Luke passed to me whenever I had to skip a meal. A tear dripped down my cheek again when I realized how delicious it was today. I promised myself that I would make up with Ellen soon. She couldn''t continue her cold act forever.


    "It''s good," I whimpered.


    I climbed onto his bed and held out my hands for more. My empty stomach needed to be filled. But Luke pulled me into a long hug instead of more chocolate bars. I froze, not moving from his warm arms since it felt good today. The marble tiles weren''t as soft as leaning into his chest.


    "This is why family is the only people you can trust. No one in our family will betray you," Luke whispered into my ear.


    My eyes widened as I wondered what was behind that message. Was this why Luke was stuck in this closed world of his? He considered family to be his everything with how loyal he was to them. I could never imagine my world to be restricted the same way. There were so many brilliant people out there, waiting to grasp onto your hand.


    They waited to interact with you to create a splendid network of brilliant relationsh.i.p.s you could lean onto and support. No matter how hurt I was by Ellen''s words or anyone else, I would have been more regretful if I never got to spend time with them in the first place. This was how I met Sienna, Delia and Ben in the neutral fraction.


    "I''m going to talk to Ellen again tomorrow," I pulled myself away from his arms.


    This was how I slammed my plate in front of her seat in the cafeteria during breakfast. I knew how she preferred eating a bit late compared to others. Most times, we would eat separately since I struggled to get up, but I woke up early today to Luke''s surprise.


    I sat down to wait for her to start talking after finishing her meal. But instead of the usual small talk, she stood up to leave me here alone.


    "What do you want?" She glared at me when I grabbed her hand to prevent her from leaving.


    "I''m here to help you. I''ll do the best I can to support you during tough times like right now." I tightened my grip.


    "I told you, it''s not that. I just need some time alone," Ellen tried to shake off my grasp.


    "Why don''t you ever depend on me, aren''t we friends?" I made direct eye contact with her.


    "You''re Luke''s possession, but I envy you even although you are," Ellen sighed.


    "You don''t know how it feels to be suddenly on unequal standing with your partner. You see how Miliana has no power as she listens to Charles'' every command like a puppet. This is what happens if your status decreases." Ellen sadly admitted.


    "But Allan would never do that to you. You know how Charles is a jerk!"


    "But his family has total control over my life now and my family can''t ever interfere since they have less power. Just like Luke''s family will plan your future until your deathbed from how many children you have to where you can go."


    My hand that held onto her wrist, fell from the source of her worries. My mouth couldn''t open since I couldn''t refute that Miliana was almost Charles'' obedient puppet. The only time Miliana ever went against Charles'' wishes was during the culture festival. I remembered smiling when I saw her genuine smile for the first time instead of her shy nature hidden behind her soft words.


    "I was the one by your side when you complained how you had no freedom in doing almost everything. Remember?" Ellen continued.


    "Except now, we''re the same. The only difference is how Luke''s family doesn''t have any expectations or responsibilities for you to carry out like I do yet. The same way where I have to be the mature one to take care of Allan or the people around me."


    Ellen turned to leave as I stared at her burdened back. Was this why she called me, ''Luke''s possession''? I assumed both Ellen and Shelly went through the same thing. But it was only me this entire time out of the three of us. Although Alex''s relationship with Shelly wasn''t exactly the best, I never noticed him prohibiting her to go anywhere or directly giving orders.


    They discussed or negotiated on where to go or what decision was to be made. But, Luke always made the decisions for me without any of my input.

 Chapter 155 - Partners & Power (2)

    Ellen''s worries made sense. Losing a bit of land was no big deal, but losing your freedom as a result was life-changing. I couldn''t swallow the tray of food in front of me, thinking I would choke. I wondered why both Ellen and Shelly never revealed this fact I was oblivious to this entire time.


    I thought different partners had different relationsh.i.p.s. I listened to Luke because he wanted to improve my grades to survive in school. Luke was more experienced in the system in the first district so I followed his lead. I nodded as I changed how I behaved while he nagged to fix my etiquette to match the standards of the elites like everyone else in school.


    Was this why nobody in the neutral fraction had to hide their hobbies from their partners like I did? No one ever mentioned how their partners burned their light novels or manga. But at the same time, they weren''t surprised by Luke''s cruelty. Instead, they acted like it was normal for Luke to have this power over me.


    I started to pity poor Miliana even more. I was wondering why she tolerated Charles'' selfish requests, but it sadly made sense now. I needed to have a talk with Luke after class too. Since I knew the truth, I expected the same treatment as Shelly because I wasn''t from the first district. I wasn''t going to let Luke make my decisions for me anymore.


    I ignored my growling stomach and threw my food into the compose. I was going to save both Ellen and I from this mess. Or at least I tried while images of food popped up during class in my head as my stomach rumbled louder with each passing minute.


    "Did you not eat breakfast today?" Luke seemed confused as he recalled we entered the cafeteria at the same time.


    "I didn''t feel that hungry in the morning," I took the chocolate bars in his hands.


    "The last class is ending late today since Daniel is going to be making an announcement about our first practical assignment this year," Luke frowned.


    I rolled my eyes from the absurdity. I totally forgot today was the beginning of a new year. The beginning of the autumn leaves falling down the trees was a sign of a new semester. I ticked the number of years I had left from graduating the school system.


    From what I knew, middle school was four years long while high school was three years long. This meant I had a total of five more years left since I was in my third year in middle school. Was it just me, or was time going slower in the first district?


    The chocolate bars quickly disappeared from my hands before the next class began. I placed my head against the desk, not caring how the teacher was heading towards my direction in disapproval. My brain was dead from this morning anyways.


    It was only till Daniel strolled into the classroom, I perked up to listen attentively. Daniel took his usual place at the podium as the projection changed. My name with Luke appeared under the fifth district while others were put into the fourth district.


    "Your next practical assignment is to live a week like an average person in the fourth or fifth district. This will teach you how to disguise yourself during more advanced missions we will give out next time." Daniel explained.


    I did think the practical assignments were getting easier each time after I got in trouble for every previous one. First it was teaching in the third district, second was working in the familiar first district, third was going on a simple field trip and the last one was visiting our parents. You could see how the difficulty level went down each time.


    I guessed the school was doing all it could do to prevent more incidents. Living as a normal person in the fifth district was easy. I recalled living normally with Jinny for a few days before I got caught. Although the bed and food was horrible, overall, it wasn''t that bad.


    "Will we be provided food and shelter?" I raised my hand.


    "We will provide you with the appropriate housing and food a normal person in the fifth district would possess," Daniel vaguely answered.


    Remembering that rotten bread with mold inside, I planned to fill my inventory with decent desserts to prepare myself. I knew it would be hard to survive off of Luke''s chocolate bars. It was a wonder why I wasn''t sick of them yet.


    Daniel left the classroom after he had passed us more information about our assignment through files in our marble. I was excited to experience a life in the fifth district without being confined inside a large castle. But, I remembered I was going to help Ellen and I before we left.


    But to help Ellen, I needed to solve my own situation first. After the intense study session, I changed out of my uniform into a nightgown in the dorm room. I lightly slapped my cheeks to keep me awake instead of burying myself into the bed as usual.


    I yawned before blocking Luke from picking up another book on the bookshelf like he usually did before going to sleep. His books were displayed in the open, unlike mine that was burned when seen.


    "We need to have a talk," I faced him.

 Chapter 156 - Partners & Power (3)

    "I think we need to talk about burning my collection of books while your collection is in the open," I glided my hand across his bookshelf.


    "I already told you that you''re free to do anything that doesn''t sully the Roselia family name," Luke told me for the nth time.


    "If my collection is well hidden inside the dorms, I see no reason how it sullies the Roselia family name," I recalled how the neutral fraction allowed their members to keep their odd hobbies.


    "That''s why I allowed you to keep some of your books when I knew where they were hidden," Luke coldly responded.


    "That''s the problem. It shouldn''t be ''allowed'' because I don''t need your permission in the first place," I noticed.


    "We''re partners. We''re equals to each other."


    I couldn''t believe how I was used to getting permission for Luke for almost everything. It wasn''t even to the point where I could go, but from what I wore and what I could read. If Ellen never told me, I would''ve hopelessly continued this path where I was his marionette.


    "It''s because I''m too lenient on you Rika," Luke sighed.


    My jaw almost dropped onto the floor from shock. Was this really his response to my request of leaving my books in the open? It was such a tiny thing, but unnerving at the same time. It was subtle, but a reminder of the balance of power we had behind the partner system.


    Burning my books, chaining a necklace onto me to control where I could go, and confining me to his mansion when we weren''t in school was not lenient. I didn''t even visit my parents during the weekends to attend his crazy study sessions. I understood that couldn''t be helped since we needed the points, but the others, I couldn''t understand.


    "You''re definitely not lenient," I stared at him, cold as stone.


    "I am, that''s why you even think of the reason why you need my permission in the first place," Luke gave up on reading his book and walked towards his bed.


    What did that mean? Did he expect me to be like Miliana? I had no politics chaining to me this place like her family did. I had no need to cooperate with his family to gain more power. I wanted to live a simple life with an average job where I could enjoy the small moments of happiness through simple things.


    "Out of your generosity, I let you visit your parents and continue your time at that caf¨¦," Luke genuinely appeared as if he was being generous.


    "Then I want out. I don''t need your kind consideration for me. I want this engagement broken,"


    Even though I continued this stupid engagement to graduate from school, his arrogant speech made it intolerable at this moment. It was as if I was the person in the wrong for going against the horrible customs in this district. I apologized to my parents in my heart since it seemed like I wouldn''t graduate from the most prestigious school like they expected me to.


    "Even though I don''t graduate from here, I don''t think my parents will be too disappointed from my decision. Afterall, they assume partners are equals," I scoffed.


    "You don''t have the power to break our engagement," Luke narrowed his eyes.


    "Your parents signed a contract with mine. It''s not something it can be easily broken," Luke revealed.


    What else was I just figuring out today? The memorila only revealed how my mom accepted the terms of letting me stay with her until the seal broke. I was determined to use the memorila one more time when I had the chance without Luke around. But from my parents'' reaction when I first mentioned Luke was my fianc¨¦, they seemed like they didn''t know about it.


    It didn''t match up like a jigsaw piece that wouldn''t fit inside the puzzle. But at the same time, there was a reason why we were engaged instead of being married. There had to be differences and loopholes that came with it.


    "Contracts always have loopholes. Until I figure it out, I''m not going to be lenient with you anymore," I decided to go to sleep.


    "I''m going to do what I want and I don''t need your permission anymore," I murmured before falling asleep.


    When I woke up, instead of finding myself inside the dorm room, I was in a large bedroom. I rubbed my eyes to find Luke''s fraction gathered together again. I thought Luke was attending all the fraction meetings in my place. Why was I here?


    "Don''t we have to get ready for school?" I asked them.


    "We are after doing a ceremony," Belle held out a shimmering white dress.


    "This is for you to wear," Belle explained when I tilted my head in confusion.


    "What is this ceremony for?" I groaned.


    No one else in the room had to change into a dress filled with pearls and diamonds mixed together. Everyone comfortably wore their pyjamas from meeting early in the morning. I shook my head to deny her offer.


    "For you and Luke to carry out the next stage in your engagement," Belle passed me the dress again.


    Was this a nightmare? There was no way I was participating in this event. I had enough by accidentally moving onto the third stage. I had to desperately prevent myself from covering the mark of a rose on my neck with a scarf for the first few weeks after its appearance.

 Chapter 157 - Partners & Power (4)

    "Not happening, in fact, we were talking about breaking this stupid engagement the night before," I revealed.


    "That''s why we''re here," Alex spoke.


    "We''re here because you wanted to break this engagement."


    This didn''t make sense. I was moving onto the next stage of the engagement to break it? It seemed too good to be true. There had to be something behind all this. I walked toward the window to find I was on the third floor. I was above the tall tree near the garden which meant it wouldn''t be a good idea to jump down.


    "So moving onto the next stage breaks it?" I turned to Luke, who was silent as a bystander.


    Luke didn''t answer as he leaned against the wall. Luke almost always answered my questions. This probably meant the two had no relation to each other. I walked back to the bed to get a few more minutes of sleep while avoiding the awkward situation.


    "The dress isn''t needed," Lucius gestured to Belle to put the dress away.


    The dress disappeared into thin air as if it was returning to its original place. I wasn''t surprised if it went into one of the inventories of the people here. I wondered if the Roselia family had more power than the Suilett family.


    Belle obediently listened to his every word even though she was the heiress to her family. In some way, I pitied her since she almost resembled Miliana today. It was odd how I was able to identify more dynamics of power after that day.


    "All you need to do is to hold his hand while you both lay down on the bed," Lucius instructed us.


    I immediately jumped out of the bed from his statement. I knew there had to be a reason for them to meet inside a bedroom! Whatever they were planning, I didn''t want to be a part of it. Perhaps it wasn''t a bad idea to jump out the window.


    "If your mana isn''t compatible, we''ll break this engagement right away." Lucius explained when I warily walked away from them.


    "Engagements are basically testing final confirmations in the first district," Yulee added.


    They should''ve told me this from the start. I had no reason to fear this test then. I was one hundred percent sure we wouldn''t be compatible. Afterall, we had drastically different methods of controlling our mana. Although my control had significantly improved since elementary school.


    Luke was useful for once. I wished he did this sooner. We could''ve broken this incompatible engagement that frustrated the both of us. Our personalities were almost the opposite of each other since he was a perfectionist while I thought it was fine to make a tiny mistake every once in a while. We also had different values and tastes on maintaining image and reputation.


    I walked towards the bed and stiffly laid down with Luke beside me. I lightly grabbed onto his hand as Lucius waited for us to settle down. It was awkward laying so close to him in front of many people who studied us.


    "Now push your mana into Luke while Luke pushes his mana into your body," Lucius carried out the ceremony.


    I closed my eyes as I imagined Luke''s body as an empty vessel. I visualized filling his body by pushing my mana into my hand that grabbed onto his in great pumps. I almost gasped as my mana disappeared into his body to return continuous waves of warm energy that quickly spread to the rest of my body.


    My body tingled as the warm energy swirled to find a place to reside. Since I would have too much mana from his incoming into mine, I opened the rest of reserves to get rid of the excess. My current vessel could only possess too much before going out of whack like last time.


    I felt my mind melting like I had eaten the richest dessert as I continued to accept the spasms of kind energy while getting rid of my own. If this was what a pleasant drug felt, I never wanted it to end. Afterall, my muscles relaxed and enjoyed the spell that numbed all the restless thoughts I had before.


    "You can stop," Lucius told us.


    Immediately, I felt the cold air on my face as I opened my eyes. Although I could still feel his mana whirling inside my body, it wasn''t as warm or lively anymore. I remembered to shake his hand off in disgust when I had returned to my senses.


    "What are the results?" I demanded Lucius.


    "How do you feel?" Lucius turned to Luke instead.


    "Refreshed? Full of energy? Maybe better than before," Luke mumbled like he was confused.


    Luke''s face glowed as he sat on the bed. In fact, his aura was dazzling upon the eyes combined with his good looks. Was this a good or bad thing? I was confused since no one looked like this after I poured my mana into them before.


    I didn''t even use heal on him like Charles nor did I pour enough mana to change his appearance like Alex. Did his aura change since he also had a lot of mana himself as well?


    "So what are the results?" I tried not to shout when no one bothered to give me an answer.


    Lucius finally turned in my direction and opened his mouth.

 Chapter 158 - Return to Fifth District (1)

    "You are extremely compatible. Compatible to the point it can rival other legends in the district," Lucius revealed.


    "Then the engagement?" I asked knowing the answer.


    "Congratulations! You have completed your last stage in the engagement process, something I didn''t even do with Julian yet," Yulee brightly smiled.


    I hung my head down since this was the exact opposite of what I expected it to be. But I soon perked my head up when I recalled it was still at its engagement stage. It could still be broken. In fact, why didn''t I try to break it now?


    "Can I break our engagement from the broken test results?"


    "The test isn''t broken," Alex narrowed his eyes.


    "So can I break our engagement even though we''re supposedly compatible?" I pleaded.


    "Let''s get ready for school, Rika," Luke ignored my question as he pulled me towards the door.


    "I''m not going to school until this engagement is broken," I tried to shake off his grip.


    "There''s no way it can be broken now," Luke sighed.


    "This test just sealed both of our fates. I didn''t want to do this, but you were adamant on breaking this engagement so I decided to take this test with you to see the chances," Luke continued to pull me.


    What did he mean by sealing both of our fates? There was no way I was going along with this. I stubbornly sat on the floor, unwilling to move until I got an explanation. I looked at Lucius who helped conduct the test for the answers.


    "You are bound to each other to the point you only have the wedding ceremony left," Lucius face palmed.


    I became utterly speechless as I couldn''t comprehend his words. It couldn''t be that because of taking this stupid test, I was bound to Luke forever. Was this what Ellen meant of the Roselia family planning my future until my deathbed?


    It eerily seemed like it was coming true from the scene in front of me. My head felt dizzy like I was going to faint from the news. If it didn''t hit me when Yulee mentioned even though she didn''t go this far with Jules, it did with one sentence from Lucius.


    I felt my mind numbing down as I soon found myself inside the dorm room. Luke brushed my hair and added some accessories like usual. On my part, I only needed to change into my uniform before going to the cafeteria.


    I dumbly changed and sat in front of Ellen. Her eyes widened like she worried for my broken appearance when I barely touched my food. It was no wonder she needed time alone. Luke had to drag me out of the dorm room as I attached myself to my pillow.


    "You were right," I sadly admitted.


    "We''re both stuck in this miserable situation now," I couldn''t take another bite.


    "What happened?" Ellen asked in her usual tone.


    "I tried to break my engagement with Luke when I realized I needed permission from him to do almost everything last night. Today, I woke up in one of his mansions, conducting the last stage of our engagement to find out it couldn''t be broken," My dead eyes gazed into the distance.


    Ellen gasped as her fork dropped down onto the table. Unlike yesterday, her face quickly transformed into a well of pity. There were no traces of envy she showed the day before. I guessed I was in an even worse situation than I thought I was in.


    "I never thought there would be things I would be thankful for," Ellen responded after a moment of silence.


    "I was so horrible that day," Ellen apologized to me.


    "No, it''s because of that day I realized Luke had more control over me than I thought he had," I shook my head in denial.


    "I still have a slim chance to escape from the same predicament, but you have none," Ellen seemed to blame herself.


    "I know," my voice cracked as I couldn''t deny the fact anymore.


    My head became attached to the cold table until Luke had to drag me to the classroom when my body wouldn''t move on its own. I couldn''t focus more than usual on any of my classes since Lucius'' words kept repeating inside my head. I was bound to him to the point there was only marriage left to make it permanent.


    At the same time, I didn''t know what it fully meant. But I knew it couldn''t be good from Ellen''s reaction. I played with my pencil on my desk while ignoring the teacher''s direct glares in my direction. I wasn''t in the mood to deal with them today.


    It was only until Luke stood in front of my desk after all our classes ended, I detached myself from the surface of my desk.


    "What do you want?" I m.o.a.ned.


    "We have to go to the teleportation gate to go to our practical mission." Luke replied concisely.


    "What about our supplies?" I asked.


    "Daniel already prepared everything at our location."


    After that, I blanked out before finding myself inside a small house composed of rocks and mud. Its walls were made of stone bricks while the roof were punctured wooden planks layered on top of each other. The ground seemed to be simple dirt while the simple furniture were all made from wood.


    Was I already in the fifth district?

 Chapter 159 - Return to Fifth District (2)

    The smell of fresh cotton from a simple dress was placed on top of the table beside the chair I sat. Beside the clothes was uncomfortable leather shoes with a wooden slit glued on the back. There was almost no difference between our clothes except for the design.


    It was plain with its white colour without any colourful dyes. The bedroom, living room and dining room was all combined as the house was one big room. It wasn''t surprising since the layout was similar to Jinny''s house.


    Unfortunately, there was only one bed in the house. I wondered if there were any sleeping bags for the other person. The mattress was filled with mixed goose feathers and soft hay as I expected from one of its holes at the cloth that covered the surface.


    "I get the bed," I claimed since it looked better than sleeping on the floor.


    "Our cover is that we''re children of a rich merchant family that moved in before our parents," Luke read out the mission background.


    "I don''t care as long as I get the bed," I frowned when sticks of hay poked my hand.


    "That''s fine with me, we''re going to be here most of the time anyways."


    "What do you mean? I''m going to explore the fifth district since I didn''t get a proper chance last time," I opened the window near the bed.


    "In fact, I''m going to meet the rest of the villagers right now," I walked towards the door.


    There was no way I would stay cooped up in this house for the entire week. The carnival I attended last time showed many delicious food, waiting to be eaten. I could feel the greasy meat simmering into my tongue with its chewy texture.


    It was much better compared to the bowl of fruits in a weave basket on the table. The number of fresh apples and raw vegetables stored inside the kitchen made me cringe. It could feed an entire banquet of people for around three days. Did the school even want us to interact with other villagers?


    "With your uniform?" Luke blocked the door.


    He was right. I went to the bathroom to change. Unfortunately, the bathroom didn''t appear much better than the rest of the house. There was a small pail instead of a bathtub and a steep hole in the place of a chamber pot.


    I covered my hand to keep myself from vomiting the food I ate for lunch. I quickly changed to find myself in loose clothes of many layers. I had to tie and wrap around many strips of fabric for them to come together. In some ways, it was hard as changing into those complicated party dresses. Except I didn''t have the maids to help me with my clothes this time.


    I twirled around to show off my new dress that fluttered from the wind. If it wasn''t for the messy knots that stuck out, it would''ve appeared somewhat neat. Luke walked up to me, already perfectly changed into his disguise with a frown.


    He took out the messy knots and tied them into the shape of a flattering bow as if they were part of the design. By the time he was finished, the dress appeared like another entity as the layers weren''t crumbled together like before. I had to admit Luke had talent for these kinds of things.


    "I''m going to greet the other villagers," I ran towards the door.


    I pulled the door open to find fields of grass tumbling all around me. Although we were inside a village, the houses were spaced far from each other as one had its own farm. The closest house appeared miles away from us with the size of an ant from where I stood.


    I sighed since the sky was starting to darken into navy blues. It seemed like I would meet no one today because everyone got up early in the morning to go to sleep when the light vanished. I was disappointed with the location the school had put us in. It was a great difference from the city where the houses were stuck together like glue.


    "How am I going to meet anybody now?" I sulked.


    "That''s why I told you we''re going to be staying inside the house most of the time. The closest house is far compared to your stamina," Luke explained.


    Unfortunately, Luke was right. My stamina was absolutely pathetic. I had a tough time during the field trip when I wasn''t able to use my mana. I wasn''t like Luke who practiced diligently with the sword every weekend.


    My expectations of hanging out with the fellow villagers shattered. I guessed this was the consequence of taking the hover car all the time and practicing with teleportation. Magicians did always have low stamina in RPG games as well.


    The next morning, I woke up with large roosters screaming like an alarm clock. When I checked the time on my marble, it was still 4:30 AM. Luke stretched his arms as he got up beside me. We ended up sharing the bed last night after Luke refused to sleep on the ground without a blanket.


    I walked over to the basket and pulled out a crisp apple.


    "Purify," I chanted to clean the apple.


    The apple started to shine as it was surrounded by my mana. The red colour was getting eaten by my mana as it transformed into a magical golden apple when I opened my mouth to take a bite.

 Chapter 160 - The Village Square (1)

    My golden apple dropped to the ground as Luke shot a precise arrow of mana in my direction. What was his deal this early in the morning? I only wanted to eat an apple.


    "My apple," I whimpered.


    "I''ll wash a new one for you," Luke placed some apples into the pail full of water.


    Once the apples bobbed on top of the water, he pulled one out before passing it into my hands. I didn''t understand the difference between using purify and washing the apples with water. It was tedious to fill the pail with water from a stone well a few meters away from the house.


    "Did you forget what happened last time with the desserts?" Luke sighed.


    I bit into the warm juices of the apple gushing into my mouth. I cringed when it tasted bittersweet compared to the fruits in the first district. If the rest of the food tasted the same, this was going to be a hard week to endure.


    "Yea, I know," I sighed.


    I totally forgot about it since my mind was occupied with our engagement. The incident where I almost regressed back into a child was nearly forgotten. To clear my mind, I dashed out into the large fields that welcomed me inside. I expected no one to be near the house, but I noticed a girl around the same age as us a mile away.


    She wore a ragged fall dress with patches sewn around the elbows. Her face was stained with brown dirt as she appeared to be concentrated on a metal blade in her hands. The blade was rusty with red iron as she tried to scr.a.p.e the pieces off with a tiny dagger.


    "Do you need help with that?" I heaved from running to her.


    "I thought that house was empty," she looked up at me.


    "I recently moved in," I explained.


    "I heard about a merchant''s family moving into the village," the girl recalled.


    "What are you doing with the blade?" I pointed.


    "I''m repairing it by rubbing it inside the tough mud," she continued to scrub the metal.


    "Why don''t you buy a new one?"


    "Metal is precious and it''s rationed to commoners like us. It''s incredibly expensive to obtain a decent blade to help with the farm work," she seemed confused why she was explaining this to me.


    She continued to scrub the metal until it was rubbed raw as if it was regaining some of its former glory. The dull blade didn''t shine, but the rust was almost completely dissolved to the point it was reusable. Her magical hands sharpened the piece with her dagger on the floor beside her until it eventually sparkled under the sun.


    It was interesting to see the process of repairing tools. I was so used to fixing things with mana, I couldn''t think of a way to fix them by hand. The method was raw, full of sincere hard work mixed with love for the object. My heart thumped from the ancient method carried out in front of me.


    I couldn''t stop staring as I crouched beside her, waiting for her to add the finishing touches. It was only until I saw wisps of Luke''s silver hair from the corner of my eyes, I got up and patted off the dirt on my dress. He looked disapprovingly at my white dress turned into muddy yellow.


    "She''s amazing how she fixes those metal pieces," I showed off the blade.


    "I''m not. I just have a bit more talent than others," she blushed.


    "Have you ever thought of helping others repair their tools?" I grabbed onto her hands with excitement.


    She shook her head as she looked at her dirty hands full of hard blisters from the hard chores. The healed calluses were a sign of her everyday life compared to my unblemished soft hands that replied on technology. Her skin was tan from working under the sun while mine was porcelain white from being confined indoors.


    "You should!" My eyes sparkled.


    It would be a win-win! I would be able to interact with more villagers during my time here while Olive would get the push she needed to embrace her ability.


    "Well, I don''t think they would want my help," she admitted.


    "Why not?" I pretended to be upset.


    "They think girls should do the chores while looking after the children," she sadly smiled.


    "That doesn''t mean you should follow it! Lead me to a house that needs your help," I placed my hands on my h.i.p.s.


    "I''ll support you," I grinned.


    "But you seem busy," she cowered under Luke''s gaze.


    "It''s fine, he''s always like this," I elbowed his rib.


    "Rika," Luke warned me.


    "Visiting another house is no big deal," I complained while pouting.


    This was a perfect chance to tour the village! I was going to take this chance to buy some meat that my stomach called out. There had to be someplace like a market inside the village. I somehow knew this girl would lead me to the place.


    "It''s a bit far," she turned to me.


    "I''m used to walking," I lied while puffing out my chest.


    Maybe I shouldn''t have lied about my poor stamina. I ended up needing the support of both the girl and Luke to walk the way there. But, I had no regrets when the dazzling marketplace appeared in front of my eyes.

 Chapter 161 - The Village Square (2)

    The wooden stalls were lined up to create a pathway for its customers. There was everything I imagined from small accessory shops made from wool to food stalls and ingredients. It reminded me of the time where I explored the carnival with Mill.


    I wondered how Mill was doing now or the rebels in the capitol. I never got any news back from how the mission went. I knew Belle and Lucius would have been successful, but it couldn''t be exactly a good thing for the commoners under the nobles.


    I was brought back to reality from the loud yells from the stall owners to attract more customers with all their unique goods displayed in the open. Wasn''t this what I expected to see? A colourful world of different classes mixed to present an entire new world?


    I sniffed the air full of roasting meat from different stalls. My eyes glittered from the sight as I was about to leave both Luke and Olive to go to the nearest stall. But Luke held onto my wrist as he frowned. Did we not have enough money? I was sure the school provided some to make sure we seamlessly blended in.


    "What?" I asked.


    "We have enough food at home."


    "We only have those tasteless fruits," I whined.


    "Just one skewer," I pulled on his sleeve.


    When Luke shook his head, I stomped my feet in response while pouting. I wondered why he was being so stingy with our money. He was a person who didn''t look at price tags while shopping at the mall. Why did he suddenly change?


    "It''s not fair how you have the control over all the money," I complained.


    "Do you want me to buy it for you?" Olive interrupted us.


    "Really?" I grabbed both her hands with gratitude.


    "It''s really fine. We have many things to eat at home, right Rika?" Luke warned me.


    I knew this time Luke was trying to prevent me from eating the food. He probably thought the food was going to cause something like a stomach ache since it was cooked from mere villagers. Just like the time he didn''t let me eat the strawberry milk from the vending machine.


    "What are you talking about? We only have fruits and vegetables, so I''m going to accept Olive''s offer," I glared at him.


    "And your vocaloid supply in the first district?" Luke whispered inside my ear.


    I gritted my teeth as I recalled the feeling of betrayal from the fraction I joined. There was nothing I could do about my supply that Luke knew about. I reluctantly gave up on a stick of meat for the safety of my collection.


    "Luke is right, I forgot there is enough food at home. Maybe next time," I sadly mumbled.


    "So who needs the help?" I turned to her to change the topic.


    "Mr. Jenkins with his old dagger to help uproot his vegetable fields," she pointed at an old man.


    The man had a long white beard that almost reached his chest. He wore the same traditional shirt and trousers like the many beside him. He ran a vegetable stall, full of the same goods inside our house. He held onto a long stick that acted like a cane for his old hunched back.


    It seemed metal was really precious in this village. I could only find pieces of rusty metal composed into blades and convenient daggers hooked onto their clothes. Some parts of the metal were chipped from its frequent use while the dull edges resembled wooden planks.


    "Why are you here, Olive?" Mr. Jenkins scoffed.


    I wondered why Olive chose to help him first. Mr. Jenkins seemed to be a person with tons of pride as he tried to intimidate us with his stare. He didn''t let us inside his stall and faced us like we were his customers. Was this how he treated those he known for a long time?


    "We''re here to fix your old dagger," I answered for Olive.


    He finally took out his old, rusty dagger covered with dirt and various weeds out of his boot. He was probably right that it would be better to buy a new one than to try to spend a huge amount of time to fix it back to its former glory.


    "Can you really fix this?" He narrowed his eyes in suspicion.


    "She can," I gestured towards Olive who was behind me.


    Olive reluctantly walked in front of me to appraise the dagger. Mr. Jenkins became a bit impatient as he harrumphed when Olive wouldn''t stop staring to find if she could fix it. When Olive finally noticed his irritation, she faintly blushed before reaching out her hands for the dagger.


    Mr. Jenkins hesitantly passed his dagger into Olive''s hand from my unrelenting stare like he hoped Olive wouldn''t ruin it further. I knew we wouldn''t get anywhere with how shy Olive was acting and how overpowering Mr. Jenkins wanted to give the illusion to young children. Olive needed a push for everything to unravel from thereon.


    I smiled as Olive immediately began to rub the metal with the dirt on the ground like before. Her raw hands dextrously did its work as the red iron was soon scr.a.p.ed off and drifted onto the floor. The rough edges were sharp as a brand new sword after she swiftly scratched the surface with her hard dagger.

 Chapter 162 - The Village Square (3)

    The dagger that was about to fall apart was made anew as it gleamed as much as his bald head. Mr. Jenkins became speechless after his dagger was passed back to him. He stared at his tool like it was a foreign object as he forgot we were still in front of him.


    "How much do you want?" He asked Olive when he came back to his senses.


    "I don''t need any money. I just wanted to help since I saw how hard you work while harvesting the vegetables my family eats," Olive frantically waved her hands in denial.


    "Take this," the old man forced Olive to take a tiny copper coin in her hand.


    Olive tried to give the coin back to Mr. Jenkins by putting the coin on the surface of his stall. But, Mr. Jenkins immediately intimidated her into agreeing to take the payment.


    "I don''t believe in free work," he glared at her.


    Olive gasped as her grip on the tiny coin tightened. It was like she understood she would be poking his pride if she refused. Instead, her face bloomed into a bright smile as she thanked him for his generosity before turning to face us.


    She briefly fidgeted with her hands like she was wondering what to say. It was like she felt guilty for taking all the money by herself. But she could never know that the school gave us more than enough money to spend the week here.


    "No need to be uncomfortable, you deserved it," I felt genuinely happy for her.


    Olive needed some self-encouragement to let her know how useful and valuable her talent was. I decided to showcase this by gathering more people who needed her help.


    "Who else needs some help?" I yelled at the rest of the owners.


    After witnessing an old dagger turn into a sparkling new tool, the owners lined up in front of Olive, making sure they would get their turn. Upon returning to their stalls, a pile full of metal junk was stacked in front of her. Olive pulled up her sleeves as she pulled out a tool from the pile as I got ready to watch the miraculous process.


    Olive began to carry more tiny copper coins in her pouch as she returned more dazzling new tools to their owners. Every method of restoration was different. Some required more attention on its edges while others needed care from the start to the bottom. It was fascinating to witness how such small hands could turn junks into gems.


    I wobbled from my seat beside her when Luke pulled my arm as the sky was starting to darken. I knew we had to start heading back to our house before it got dark. But I didn''t know how I would handle the walk back.


    "I have to go home now," Olive grimaced after losing track of time.


    Olive ran towards the other direction as she hesitantly greeted us farewell. I turned to Luke before mumbling, "should we just use teleportation?"


    Luke sighed as he lowered himself to signal to get on his back. It took us a total of two hours to walk to the village square. But it was mostly from my slow pace since my head started to get dizzy after the first thirty minutes.


    I steadied my position as we almost reached the house after an hour. Luke''s back was drenched with sweat as he started to slow down from my weight in the latter half of the journey. I jumped off his back once we were a few meters away and admired the sky full of stars blinking in and out.


    "The fifth district is beautiful," I whispered.


    Its beauty was different compared to the fantasy world of the first district or the futuristic second district. It was undeveloped compared to the other worlds touched by human civilization. But the natural growth of the fields of flowers mixed in the wild grass overflowed in front of me.


    The next morning, I picked some flowers to place inside a wooden cup to decorate our bare house. I held a bouquet of daffodils in my hands as I noticed a group of short villagers walking towards the house. Was Olive visiting again?


    I gasped when I spotted the familiar freckles on the boy in the midst of the group. He wore the same outfit as the last time we separated. His familiar smile vanished as he immediately spotted my disguise. Why was he here? Didn''t his family live in the capitol?


    I placed the bouquet in front of my face to hide my features. But, my red hair flowed along the air from the wind to reveal my identity. It was unfortunate that red was rare among commoners who possessed bright neon colours of secondary colours.


    "Mill?" I softly spoke his name.


    "Rika?" Mill stumbled a few steps back.


    "Why are you here?" I didn''t notice Luke coming out of the house.


    "My family visits our relatives here every summer."


    "But why are you here? Did you run away again?" Mill softly whispered.


    Ugh! Why did he assume I ran away from home?


    Luke frowned as he listened to our conversation. I never mentioned anything about Mill when I was interrogated about what I did outside the castle. I thought we would never see each other even if I visited the fifth district since it was such a large place.

 Chapter 163 - The Story of Metal (1)

    I didn''t know how to respond without blowing my cover. We were inside a remote village, forgotten by the rulers in the capitol. I sighed since it appeared we wouldn''t be receiving the points easily as I thought we would.


    "We would like to keep our former identities as a secret for safety purposes," Luke softly warned.


    Mill nodded his head. Instead of asking more questions, he started to introduce the other village children who came to visit. They came from the tales told by Olive last night about two young children living alone. They wore the same clothes like it was a uniform. It was ruffled and wrinkled unlike my clean dress, which was stored with multiple copies.


    "Are you from a wealthy merchant family?" One of them asked.


    "Yes, our family has connections to nobles," Luke politely smiled.


    "No wonder, you seem more like nobles than people like us," Mill''s friend commented.


    "So what''s the reason for your visit?" I led them into the house.


    "Olive told us to come since she couldn''t make it today. We''re here to warn you about the upcoming rainfall predicted to become a flood," Mill explained.


    "How do you know?" I wondered as I tiled my head.


    "This village has a history of having a flood every twenty years."


    I nodded my head as I thanked him for the warning. I never believed in something like a natural disaster to frequently repeat without no reason. There had to be a reason behind it.


    "Where is Olive now?" I asked.


    "She''s helping with the family farm," Mill recalled.


    "Then let''s go visit her!" I clasped my hands together with joy.


    Thankfully Olive''s house wasn''t as far as the village square. The others walked slowly to match my pace as we got to know each other.


    "How have you been doing?" I asked on our way.


    "The same as usual. Nothing had changed. Everything has been put to rest after you left," Mill vaguely answered.


    It seemed Luke''s fraction was good at covering things up. That mission didn''t appear easy to accomplish when I participated in the talks of war before I left. I kicked a pebble in front of me as I pitied the rebels who couldn''t change anything.


    When I pushed my thoughts away, our group ended up on top of a hill which overlooked the large burrows of fruit trees below us. Olive held onto a straw basket as she plucked each apple from the tree. She was drenched in sweat, absorbed in her task as she didn''t look up from the loud clattering.


    "Olive!" I shouted as I ran down the hill.


    "Why are you here?" Her eyes widened in surprise.


    "We''re here to visit," I grinned while twirling.


    "Wait, I''m almost done," Olive sped up her movements.


    Olive appeared a bit panicked as she started to quicken her movements. Instead of walking from tree to tree, she jogged. She shook the trees to harvest the fruits instead of picking them out one by one. The fruits landed on her soft basket with her great aim, making them unbruised.


    I sat on a large piece of rock as I waited for her to finish filling up her last basket. She wiped drops of sweat off her forehead once she had carried the baskets into her house. She ran outside the doors as she searched to see if I was still waiting.


    "Where are we going today?" I swung my feet.


    "I''m not sure," Olive admitted as she shuffled her feet.


    "How about we help someone else in the village today?" I suggested.


    "What about the old widow? I''m sure that she''ll need some help," Mill recommended.


    I shrugged as I turned to Olive to make the final decision. Olive nodded her head as we walked toward a humble dwelling where ivories grew along the roof and walls. A narrow pathway was made by frequent footsteps where the grass did not touch my chest like the walls beside me. I knocked on the door to hear immediate weak footsteps coming closer.


    The door opened to reveal an old woman in her late sixties walking with a cane. Her white hair is pulled into a bun as she glares at us, wondering why a group of kids would visit her house. She frowns and huffs before letting us inside where there weren''t enough chairs for all of us.


    "Why have you come visit an old widow like me?" She narrowed her eyes.


    "We''re here to repair your metal!" I saluted with a bright smile.


    This was the time to introduce the slogan I have been repeating every time we helped someone. It was short and catchy like the marketing schemes in my former life.


    "This junk is better to be thrown out," the widow glanced at a pile of old tools in the corner.


    "What about this ring?" I picked up an old charm carefully displayed on the top of the cabinet.


    The ring was old and rusty like all the other junk piled in the room. But it was strange how this one was separated from the others. It had to be something important as the widow frowned as I studied the ring.


    "Can you really fix this?" The widow had a glimpse of hope in her eyes.


    "Olive can!" I pushed Olive toward her.


    Olive was too shy around the villagers she grew up with. Her eyes were almost always staring at the floor and her voice was soft. She only talks when someone asks her a question instead of initiating it.


    "Then let me tell you a story of how this old widow chose to be alone," the widow looked out the window.

 Chapter 164 - The Story of Metal (2)

    The widow recalled a time when she was in her late teens. She was nearing the age to get married as her father searched for suitors inside the village. She had fancy braids her younger sister had arranged for her this morning.


    Her posture was rigid and stiff as she was forced to look at the names inside the list her father had come with. She frowned when the name she wanted to see the most wasn''t there. Was it because of the recent news?


    He always sneaked into her room at night with a bouquet of flowers he had picked himself. The fresh aroma of wild roses entered her nose in the dark moonlight. She opened the window to let an adolescent boy that smiled like she was the entire world to him. It had been three years since he had brought her flowers every night.


    As always, he climbed into her window today as well. He grinned, pretending that incident had never happened. Although he always listened to her worries like her complaints about being the eldest daughter in the family, he barely shared anything about himself. His hands were covered in charcoal today as well.


    It was dangerous to work inside a mine where the rocks could topple over you at any minute. The pay was worth nothing compared to the high death rates. But it couldn''t be helped, living in a family with many siblings and an ill mother. He was the breadwinner for his family.


    "Thank you," she brought the flowers up to her nose.


    Instead of happily cuddling inside his chest, her face was filled with guilt. The boy became worried since it was unlike her. She appeared like she would cry any moment as she turned away with her voice cracking.


    "My father had decided it''s about time for me to get married," she whispered.


    "We won''t be able to continue these meetings anymore."


    "What do you mean?" he displayed no hints of worry.


    "We won''t be able to meet up like this anymore," she couldn''t find anything else to say.


    "Will you marry me, Emily?" He unexpectedly kneeled down on one knee.


    Emily gasped as she dropped the bouquet of flowers. There was no ring nor any fancy gifts. But her heart paced faster as she noticed his bright red ears. He blushed wonderfully like a blooming flower as he kissed her hand.


    She stood frozen in her spot, not knowing what to say. It was too sudden. Her mouth moved, but created no sound. The boy continued to stare at her beautiful eyes for an answer. Emily eventually nodded her head under his expectant eyes. He immediately grabbed both of her hands in excitement, "I will get you a ring soon."


    "I don''t need a ring," Emily knew how his family was struggling to make ends meet.


    He wore second-hand clothes from the villagers who pitied his family. She knew his father had died from working at a coal mine to support his family. It was nothing unusual since many orphaned children filled the church because of this sole reason. The flashes of his sad smile came to light when he was to take his position.


    Since his father was well-liked among his colleagues and superiors, he was able to work right after his funeral. He wiped off the sweat and bandaged his broken wrists as he continued to shovel dirt as an apprentice. It was amazing how he was able to keep his cheerful personality to live through the days of hard work.


    "I''ll definitely give you one!" He almost shouted with passion.


    It was then, the boy stopped visiting her every night. She waited for him to come as the candle continued to burn at a rapid pace. However, he never came and it was not until three months later, he appeared below her window. He brought the same bouquet of roses in his hands as he knocked on the wooden panels.


    His eyes were sunken while dark circles under the eyes increased. Charcoal covered him from head to toe as he was thin as a tree branch. His veins popped from over straining his muscles with more pink scars at the back of his palm. Emily was shocked to see how much he had changed within a few months.


    "You haven''t visited for months," Emily pouted, deciding to ignore his destitute appearance.


    "I almost have enough funds for our wedding rings," he brightly smiled.


    "I told you, use the money for your family," Emily felt guilty from how fragile he seemed.


    Instead of answering, he pulled himself out of her room. Was he already going? He usually lasted for at least an hour. He kept his usual smile and picked up a flower wreath he had hidden before coming in.


    She lowered her head as he placed the crown on her braided hair. Emily appeared like a fairy queen to his eyes. He was pumped to work harder this week since he was so close to his goal. He hoped it wasn''t too noticeable that he was taking additional shifts at the mines to get married as fast as possible.


    Emily never noticed how her beauty that was sweet as a fruit attracted flies from everywhere. Her dashing hazel eyes brightened his entire world and made him fall in love with her at first sight. Her charming sounds of laughter that sounded like music made him convinced he could never be with anyone other than Emily.


    "I''ll be back soon," he had to go to his nightshift.


    "Ok," she hugged him first for the first time.


    Emily waited for months as she kept refusing her father''s persistent orders on getting married. The scenery outside the window evolved as the autumn leaves turned into rich green of the summer. She was getting worried since it had never been this long between his visits.


    One day, she heard several clumsy knocks outside her room when she was about to go to sleep. Instead of the boy she looked forward to, there was a young child that resembled his features. He held a tiny blue box as he reached out his short arms to continue knocking until he got a response.


    "Where is your brother?" She opened the window.

 Chapter 165 - The Story of Metal (3)

    "My brother told me to give this to you as part of his will," he went on his tippy toes.


    "Where is your brother?" Her voice cracked.


    "My brother is dead," he couldn''t meet her eyes.


    "He died from working at the mines like father," he continued as Emily stared at him in horror.


    "But, he wrote a will for this to be delivered to you," he stretched his arms to pass her the box.


    Emily accepted the box as tears welled up her eyes. A ring wasn''t as important as his life. She wanted to throw the box onto the floor as the small child left after performing his task. But she couldn''t when she opened the box.


    The ring had her initials carved into the metal with a small note lying beside it. When she opened the folded paper, it read, ''to my beautiful Emily, I couldn''t possibly live without you''. But if he couldn''t live without her, could she live without him?


    She gently slid the ring onto her ring finger to discover it was a bit loose. Emily laughed as a madman as it was just like him to not check the size. But she shook her head since it didn''t matter because all she cared about was the feelings behind it.


    As time kept on running after his death, her auburn hair turned into the whitest greys. The ring was carefully placed at the top of the cabinet since she couldn''t bear to wear it after its first deliverance. The initials of her name were covered by the rust like time had turned her into an old widow.


    Emily could never marry after meeting many potential suitors after his death. They didn''t smile at her like he did. Even though their gifts were much more expensive, she couldn''t feel the deep feelings behind them. Her father sighed as he gave up on her, not wishing her unhappiness.


    "Here you go," Olive passed the widow the restored ring.


    The widow gasped as she noticed her ring had doubled into two that interlinked with each other to make one. Inside the rim of the other ring, was the initials of her lover. How could she never notice this entire time?


    "You have made this old widow''s day," she brightly smiled for the first time since his death.


    "Isn''t Olive amazing?" I shouted to increase Olive''s self-confidence.


    "She is," the old widow agreed.


    "Here is a charm to help with the flood tomorrow," she pulled out to give to each of us.


    The charm was composed of weaved tiny threads made from wool. It was dyed from wild flower petals as it smelled like a bouquet. I watched Olive and the others wrap the charm around their wrists like bracelets.


    "Your wrist?" Luke asked to tie it for me.


    Since Luke was much better at these kinds of things than I was, I pulled out my wrist as he tied it into an intricate butterfly knot. But unlike the magical looking charm, its effect appeared to be useless as I stayed inside the dreary house to shelter myself from the neverending rain.


    It started early in the morning and already flooded the stone well outside. The house was only dry from the mana barrier we reluctantly decided to place since the house would soon become drenched as well. I wondered how the villagers would survive the rainfall.


    "I want to go out," I whined, bored of staring outside the window.


    "Are you serious?" Luke passed me one of his books instead.


    I didn''t want to study during our time in the fifth district. I placed the book on the table while imagining how fun it would be to splash myself with rainwater. It would be like my childhood in my past life where I enjoyed jumping in puddles.


    "Why not?" I shrugged.


    No one would see me playing in the rain other than Luke. I couldn''t see what was the problem. I pulled on a light coat before turning the door knob. But the door knob didn''t turn like it was supposed to like someone was manipulating it. I glared at Luke to leave the door alone.


    "You''re not going out in this storm," he ordered me.


    "Why do I have to listen to you?" I waved my hand over the door knob to get rid of his spell.


    As soon as the spell broke, I ran outside the door and kicked puddles of water that went up to my knee. It was like I was inside the ocean with Shelly again at the beach. I smiled as I played inside the water like a young child. Each splash blew my worries away as I tasted salty water while I floated on its surface.


    I never got the chance to act out my desires since Luke indirectly controlled most of my actions. But I finally realized how powerless he was when I chose not to listen to him. Being inside the fifth district wasn''t that bad. I continued to stay outside until I was completely drenched and would get a cold soon.


    When I entered the house, Luke looked up from reading his book under the candlelight. He was really sticking to not using mana unless it came to stopping me from doing something. He frowned from my messy appearance as my clothes became translucent.


    "I know, I''m going to change," I sighed, already knowing his disapproval.


    While I enjoyed the rainfall that day, I never imagined how I would be involved in changing the lives of villagers the next day. I didn''t even use an ounce of mana, but the village became famous among the land.

 Chapter 166 - Unwanted Fame (1)

    I felt like I was in another world as the body of water reached my waist. When I opened the door, it was like I was inside the middle of a large lake. The only spot that was dry was our house since it was on the top of the hill and protected by a mana barrier.


    The lake spanned like it was endless as I wondered how I would meet Olive at the village square today. I couldn''t just get a boat and row my way there like they did in my previous life in a country that used to be submerged in water. Luke took his book out from his inventory as if he planned to stay inside the house for the entire day.


    "How will I get to the village square?" I turned to him with worry.


    "Walk?" Luke suggested as if he knew I would return home after giving up from my pathetic stamina.


    I knew I couldn''t depend on Luke! I took off my shoes since it would be easier to walk in water without them. I rolled up my long dress and tied them to the side since it would be heavier to walk with wet clothes. I could have used scissors to cut some of the length off, but I knew Luke wouldn''t let me out of the house if I did.


    I was starting to think Luke was right as I tried not to think of using teleport ten minutes in from trying to walk to the village square. That was when I found a canoe-like boat being rowed by the tax collector of the feudal lord. I waved my hand to try to get him to notice me as he soon rowed toward my direction.


    The tax collector who worked under the feudal lord was pretty lenient towards the children. I found it was strange to have two tax collectors in the village. One was from the feudal lord and the other from the village chief. However, it was obvious the people preferred the one from the feudal lord as he allowed delayed payments and only collected a small sum, such as a small copper coin.


    "Why are you all the way out here?" He reached out his hand.


    "I was trying to get to the village square and this was the only way I knew," I lifted myself into the boat.


    "You''re Olive''s friend? Are you not?" He asked me.


    "Yes, did Olive also help you with your old metal?" I asked since there was no way the tax collector who travelled to many villages would remember all the faces and names of the people he met.


    "I heard about Olive from the travelling villagers," He explained.


    "There is a beautiful girl who resembles a noble following around another girl who has magical hands that can fix anything," he recalled the rumors.


    I didn''t think the news would travel so quickly. I guessed Olive really did have a valuable skill. But I was surprised about the part where I was included in the tale. All I did was accompany her while she fixed the junk into new, shining tools. I blushed as I didn''t think I was beautiful as the rumors twisted the facts to be.


    Luke was way prettier than me. The first thing I saw after I woke up every morning was his beautiful face which couldn''t be less than an art of work. I was constantly surrounded by beautiful people who appeared elegant and neat like they walked out from a fashion magazine.


    "The rumors must have spread alot," I asked the tax collector.


    "I think everyone in the feudal lord''s territory must have heard about it at least once," he smiled.


    Was this really the medieval times? How did information spread so quickly at such a far distance? It was unlike what I knew from my previous life where information travelled slowly in the middle ages. I must have appeared confused as the tax collector decided to explain where it originated.


    "There was a travelling bard who was thankful to have his metal flute fixed. In order to thank your friend who almost fixed his dear instrument for free, he decided to sing the tale of the two girls."


    I recalled a struggling musician who had asked if his flute he had inherited from his old master could be fixed. His clothing was almost in rags, more so than the villagers who could not afford to support his performance. He carried around all his possessions inside a small sac while his beard almost reached his shoulder.


    He had waited hours in line, unlike the others who gave up after waiting for the first hour. His eyes were desperate as he took out his precious flute for an appraisal. The flute was rusty and could not produce a single sound except for high pitched noise that resembled a child''s scream. But I knew Olive could repair his flute within an hour.


    Olive''s dexterous fingers began to work on cleaning the instrument as she soon passed a brand new flute into his hands. His eyes glistened with gratitude as he repeated he would never forget this kind gesture.


    "I will never forget your miracle and I will make sure everyone will know about it," He almost worshipped us.


    "There''s no need, we only hope the flute carries its beautiful sound for a long time," I tried to send him off.


    The line behind him was increasing at an alarming rate. He was a clatterbox as he didn''t move from his spot even though it has been ten minutes since we passed him his fixed flute. The people behind him started to show signs of being annoyed as they gossiped how inconsiderate he was.


    "No, I will find a way to repay you somehow," He repeated the same words for the nth time.


    "Next person please," I gestured to Mill to escort him to another place as my patience snapped.


    I sighed as I discovered the way he tried to repay us. I never knew we would get famous from his performance based on both of us. I thanked the tax collector for the information as I hopped off his boat and landed near the edge of the village square.

 Chapter 167 - Unwanted Fame (2)

    I stood in the middle of the village square watching the stall owners trying to repair their stores. Wooden planks littered the dirt grounds and the water reached the edge of my ankles. Instead of a rainfall, it was better to assume a hurricane had washed the square.


    A farmer who had forgotten to store his tools into his house held rusty pieces of metal in his hand. The metal was broken to the point it could not be usable with the rust. The farmer''s look hardened as it meant he would be purely be using his hands to harvest the rest of his vegetables. I wondered how their houses were since they didn''t have a mana barrier protecting them as I did.


    "Sorry, I''m late," Olive ran toward me.


    "It''s fine," I observed the scene in front of me.


    "My family farm almost got destroyed because of the heavy rainfall," Olive explained with her torn clothes.


    Ahhh. This explained why her knees were scratched while her whole body was covered with dirt. I knew in the old days, people had to protect their assets with their own bodies, but it was still a foreign concept. It felt strange to witness the scene in front of me.


    "Do you think you can fix this, Olive?" A stall owner interrupted us.


    "Yes, I think I can," Olive studied the junk.


    I proudly watched over Olive as she confidently lifted her head when talking to others. This was a great change when she wouldn''t meet anyone''s eyes while she spoke.


    The stall owner brightened as he called his fellow villagers to ask for an appraisal by Olive. Few minutes passed before a huge pile of junk was in front of Olive in exchange for a mere small copper coin each. Olive sent an apologetic smile since it seemed she couldn''t hang out with us with the orders.


    Even now, the pile was increasing as Olive didn''t stop taking more orders. It meant that the villagers acknowledged her skill from a few days ago. I waved farewell since I didn''t want to bother Olive and promised to meet her tomorrow.


    This was how Olive and I were inside the flower field outside the house. She couldn''t stop sighing as her face was downcast compared to her bright smile from being relied on yesterday. I wondered what happened in the brief window of a day to make her seem depressed. Olive continued to rip petals of a daisy one by one.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked while ignoring the numerous flower stems tossed on the ground.


    "My parents had told me a marriage proposal came from the village chief''s son," Olive''s voice cracked.


    I patted her bent back to urge her to continue. Olive started to hiccup as she revealed the horrible details. Her eyes started to glisten with the horrible thoughts from having to marry someone she despised.


    "Everyone knows how the village chief''s son likes to play around with alcohol and frequently travels to the brothels in the capitol to gamble."


    "I''m so sorry," I tried to comfort her.


    Those lines were all I needed to know Olive was going to get engaged to an absolute sc.u.m. He was a womanizer, gambler and alcoholic. The three worst combinations that anyone would avoid. But couldn''t she reject his proposal? Olive was too good for the likes of him.


    "Can''t you just refuse?"


    "I can''t, I''ll be going against the powerful village chief," Olive wiped the tears on her cheek.


    I knew what was going on now. Since Olive''s talent could be valuable for making money, the village chief wanted her skills for his family. This was why after the rumors from her many good deeds like the flood, he immediately sent a proposal. I sighed since there were always people who tried to take advantage of others.


    "Once you get married, can you get divorced?"


    Olive shook her head like she never heard the term of divorce before. I knew this meant there was no divorce for commoners in the fifth district. In some ways, the traditional practices from the fifth district were transferred to the first district like marriage and engagements.


    "Then decline unless you want to live with him for the rest of your life! Do you want to be happy for the rest of your life?" I almost yelled.


    It was sad this topic was relatable to me. Even though I couldn''t break the engagement yet, I wanted to help others from going through the same thing. I couldn''t help but get reared up as I thought of killing this sc.u.m so Olive wouldn''t have to marry him.


    "Even though it seems like you don''t have a choice, you do! Nothing is decided yet!" I tried to push her.


    "So don''t marry him if you don''t want to, just continue using your magical hands for things that make you happy," I smiled.


    The world didn''t need more unhappy people because they were trying to fulfill their duties. Once in a while, they needed to realize to break away from the obligations chaining them down. I lightly patted her head as Olive smiled when she came to a decision.


    "You''re right, I won''t marry him," she gathered strength for the courage to refuse the proposal.


    "Your ideas are so new like you''re not from the same world as me," Olive laughed.


    Right, because I had the memories from my former life where most people got married for love. I laughed with her as I pretended she was telling a joke. I was glad Luke didn''t hear this since he would feel uneasy from our disguises being blown away.

 Chapter 168 - Village Chief (POV)

    I rubbed my chin, wondering if I should attend the meeting next month the feudal lord arranges for updates about his territory. A bottle of whisky wasn''t helping today too, but I still broke the lid and dumped the last remainders of the drink into my mouth. My wife would somehow help clean the mess later.


    My headache increased since it was terrible to owe money to the other village chiefs. I didn''t think I would go overboard that day with the gambling. It was a simple card game. I had to guess if the card I picked would be revealed when the dealer flipped the card.


    Unfortunately, my world came crashing down when the village chief next to my village had his predicted card to be revealed instead. He laughed loudly like he was proclaiming his annoying victory. I gritted my teeth as I tried to hold myself from slamming my fists onto the table.


    My loyal wife, wearing the latest dress from the capitol strolled in like she didn''t hear my loss. It was strange since she should have already heard about the news. She sat down on the couch in the study before opening a new bottle for herself.


    "What should we do?" I asked her.


    "What do you mean? I already have the perfect plan!" She took a long sip.


    "Have you heard about a pretty girl who can fix anything?" Her words were slurred.


    I nodded my head as I watched her hazy eyes that seemed blurred as she quickly got drunk. She occasionally hiccuped from her low alcohol tolerance as she directly looked into my eyes. My wife always did like the newest brandy even when she did get wasted after a few sips.


    "Just marry her to our son and she''ll bring in money for our family," she lisped.


    My mind instantly clicked from hearing her solution. There was a rumored young girl who could fix anything with her tiny hands. The tax collector had mentioned she helped with the restoration of the village with her skill that rivaled great blacksmiths in the capitol.


    If she married our incompetent son, then she could quickly bring in money if we charged a huge sum to wealthy villagers in other villages. I smiled as I recalled the tax collector telling me how rumors of her ability had already spread throughout the feudal lord''s entire territory. What was I so worried about? There was no way that girl would be able to refuse a proposal from someone with a higher status.


    I summoned the girl after sending a proposal immediately to get her married as soon as possible. I smiled at the peasant as I welcomed my future daughter-in-law inside. But instead of sitting down at the chair, she lowered herself on the floor.


    "I am sorry, but I decline," a young girl bowed to me.


    When I stood there, not believing her refusal, she repeated the lines one more time, "I cannot marry your son."


    I stumbled a few steps back from this unbelievable scene. My head was getting hotter as I stared at the insolent girl in front of me. She was scrawny and ugly from her worn out clothes. How dare this peasant refuse the marriage proposal to my son! I couldn''t believe I even thought of marrying her to my son in the first place.


    "GET OUT!" I yelled.


    She quickly got up and disappeared from the house like a tiny mouse. I couldn''t let my rage devour my thoughts. I had to contain any potential rumors that she had rejected the proposal or my reputation could be tarnished. Now that my plan was ruined, I had to come up with another way to pay back the debts.


    I called for my wife as she was extremely creative to obtain the latest fashion from the capitol. We equally needed the money to continue our current lifestyle. My wife calmly entered the room, ignoring me who was pacing around the room.


    "We need another plan," I chewed on my fingertips.


    "Don''t worry, I always had another plan," she smiled.


    "You know how the king is giving out rewards to those who help with purging witches. She''s the perfect target."


    My wife was right. Ten years ago, the king had sent out a decree of getting rid of all witches. I doubted that witches actually existed, but the reward was about one bag of large gold coins. It was the one of the few sources of income that fueled this poor village.


    My wife and I made creative plans every few years to label a feeble peasant as a witch when we ran out of money. But we had to stop recently when the villagers were starting to get suspicious after the sixth witch in the sixth year after the decree.


    I grinned as this was the perfect opportunity to utilize the girl with magical hands that could fix anything. I could already feel the nice clunking coins in my hands. The villagers were to starve from this winter anyways from the heavy rainfall. They would be appeased if we held a tiny banquet for them that cost one coin inside the bag.


    It couldn''t be helped to waste the girl''s talent, we all needed to survive and she was the solution for everything. And no one would be suspicious this time as everyone had already witnessed her magical powers with their own eyes.

 Chapter 169 - Unwanted Fame (3)

    The next day, I woke up with the loud banging early in the morning. I quickly got up from the bed as my hair puffed from moving around while I was sleeping to search for a comfortable spot. Who came to someone''s house this early this morning?


    The sun wasn''t up yet as the moonlight flooded the room. Luke sat up from the loud noise as he briefly questioned me with his eyes. I shrugged as I rubbed my eyes, indirectly telling him I knew nothing about the person who woke us up.


    He sighed before leaving the bed and opened the door. Instead of finding someone we knew, one of Olive''s friends stood in front of the door. She was also one of her neighbors from the brief conversation with her two days before. Tears glistened her eyes like she was about to cry at any moment as she came into our house.


    "Rika!" One of Olive''s friends called for me.


    "What happened?" I yawned.


    "Olive is in trouble!" She cried.


    I stumbled back into the bed from surprise. Why was Olive in trouble? We saw each other yesterday and everything was fine. I wondered what happened as I grabbed her hands for answers. Olive''s friend tried to calm herself down to tell the entire story.


    "Olive refused the marriage proposal to the village chief''s son and because of that the village chief declared her to be a witch!"


    What happened? I asked Olive''s friend to repeat her words as I couldn''t believe what I was hearing. I stopped her the seventh time she repeated the news. I wondered how she knew about the news so fast. It wasn''t like Olive was dragged out of her own home, right?


    "How do you know?" I asked with a bit of fear.


    "The aides of the chief stormed into her house with ropes and weapons while chasing the rest of her family out of the house," she trembled.


    This village chief had to die. I rolled up my sleeves and slipped on my outdoor shoes to go to her house. I had to help Olive somehow. The weight of guilt from encouraging her to decline the proposal burdened my shoulders.


    I never knew she would be declared a witch just for refusing the village chief. Olive did seem hesitant about pursuing her own happiness that day. And I knew how brutal the witch hunt was in the fifth district from reading about them in books.


    They tied a young girl to a wooden stake and burned her alive for going against the norms as they regarded all heretics as witches. It was brutal as there was normally a crowd underneath, cheering for the young girl''s death like they were at a festival. Even money was given as a reward for exterminating a witch as it was supported by the kingdom.


    The witch hunt was originally created to control commoners from having any thoughts of rebelling by making them turn against each other. The land in the fifth district was split two separate areas in every place to show signs of power. Nobles lived in extravagant castles filled with treasures of gold while commoners lived in the dreary homes inside the villages.


    The nobles lived off the commoners who were expected to pay unfair taxes in exchange for governing the territory. It was obvious this corrupt balance of power wouldn''t last long unless there was some way to share the wealth. And the people in power had a history of declaring a decree called the witch hunt to share the spoils.


    I didn''t know what was the right answer. It was either to marry that sc.u.m or refuse and be labelled as a witch. Both were terrible to the point I felt like I was going to vomit. But, I told myself that living had to be better than dying to Olive.


    Before Luke could block me from running to Olive, I ran out the door. I knew the way to her house like the route was ingrained into me from the past few days. I unintentionally used my mana as I sped through the trees to push me forward. The wind whooshed through my ears as the sun started to rise like a brand new day was coming.


    Except that Olive may not be able to live another day after today. It would be my fault because I was the one who encouraged her to show her talent to others. This made her famous in the village and the rumors spread to the chief. Since the chief was corrupt, he found this to be an opportunity to exploit her by marrying her into their family.


    It was the typical formula that happened in the storybooks. I stopped in front of her door as I panted to catch my breath. My heart panged with pain when I found her family wailing outside the house.


    Her siblings were young, maybe one at most a year old and the other around four, the same age when I was swept into this new vessel. They were silent as they trembled from the loud noise of plates shattering onto the floor. Her parents hugged their children, trying to hide their fear whenever Olive screamed for help.


    I shot them an apologetic look as they tried to stop me from going in. I couldn''t tell them it was my fault that their child was getting tortured inside her own house. It was the first time I scarily realized my words could impact someone else''s fate to this extent.

 Chapter 170 - Who is the Witch? (1)

    I knocked on the door before slamming the door open when I heard desperate screams for help. Olive''s head was bloodied and beaten up with bruises as she struggled to escape. She tried to grab on anything she could to keep herself from being dragged. The person who pulled her hair was a grown man with a wicked smile.


    "What''s going on?" I stared coldly at the man.


    "We are getting rid of this witch," the man smirked.


    I gasped as I recalled the book about the witch hunts in the fifth district. It was hard to believe they were actually true that people believed those nonsensical things. Olive continued to be dragged on the floor by the man who was about to leave the house.


    "Olive is not a witch, let her go," I blocked the door.


    The man continued to pull on Olive''s hair as she looked at me for help. Her lips were blue with fear and she trembled uncontrollably. I fiercely stared at the man to let go before I turned when I heard my name called behind me.


    "Rika!" Luke caught up to me, panting to catch his breath.


    Luke pushed me out of the house while sending an apologetic smile to the man. He ignored Olive''s tortured state as he focused on dragging me back home. What was his problem? Couldn''t he see an innocent person being framed to their death?


    "Let me go," I struggled to get out of his tight grip.


    "Stop making more trouble," Luke continued to drag me.


    "I know you care for her, but we can''t interfere in the fifth district," Luke locked the door once we entered the house.


    "It doesn''t go against our mission," I argued.


    I couldn''t understand why I couldn''t help Olive. Witch hunts were ridiculous! There had to be a reason behind choosing Olive as the next witch. I had to figure out the reason and go from there to prevent her from being burned at a stake.


    I knew the village square was the perfect place to obtain more information since it was the place with the most crowds in the village. But I couldn''t go out as Luke blocked the door in front of me. He watched my every movement like a hawk to anticipate my next move.


    "Come on, I''m only going to the village square," I stomped my feet.


    "Please, or I might have to use the windows," I clasped my hands together.


    Luke sighed, "I''ll go with you and from now on when you go outside, we''ll go together."


    When didn''t he follow me when I went out of the house? He stuck to me like glue as we walked towards the village square. My stamina was getting better ever since I figured out how to pace my steps. I was impressed with how I only needed his support for a quarter of the distance instead of half.


    "Rika?" Mill was heading toward our direction.


    "You''re also going to the village square today too?" I wondered if he had any business there.


    "I was actually heading towards your house to warn you about something," He fidgeted with his hands.


    Warn us about something? Luke''s eyes narrowed as he gestured to Mill to continue. Mill nodded, "the village chief had lost money from gambling a week ago and is framing Olive as a witch since she rejected the marriage proposal."


    "So he is framing Olive as a witch because he needs money?" I became confused.


    It made sense if he had strong pride and became humiliated from the rejection, but not for money. It wasn''t like he was getting a reward like gold coins from purging a witch, would he? I laughed from the insane idea.


    "It''s because the village receives a bag of gold coins if they help with the purge. That''s why the village already killed six witches from his greed," Mill continued.


    I stopped laughing when my insane idea was actually right. This village chief was insane! He was killing people for money and was getting away with it. Instead of going to the village square, my next destination was the village chief''s house to talk some sense into him.


    "We need to go to his house to stop him. Where is his house?" I turned to Mill.


    Before Mill could answer, Luke covered my ears. I shook my head with annoyance before turning to glare at him. Mill awkwardly smiled as he scratched his head under the eyes of Luke. It appeared like I wouldn''t be able to go to the village chief''s house today with Luke around.


    "Fine, we''ll continue going to the village square!" I yelled, feeling that I lost.


    I kicked some tiny stones along the way to the village square. It was frustrating to be unable to do anything to help Olive. At least what I could do now was to ask the villagers more information about the village chief to know who I was up against.


    "Stupid village chief," I mumbled.


    "Corrupt people like him should be disposed," I spoke louder.


    "Girlie, you should be careful about what you''re saying," a concerned stall owner came up to me.


    "The village chief is someone to fear," he lowered his voice.


    "Is someone talking about me?" An old man with a big jiggling belly walked towards us.


    The old man appeared like the definition of a typical villain. He was surrounded by poor villagers begging to delay the payment of their taxes. He ignored them as they were tiny bugs as his eyes glinted with interest at our conversation.

 Chapter 171 - Who is the Witch? (2)

    "This is the great village chief," the stall owner slightly bowed his head to show his respect.


    The old man smiled as he took a glance at Luke and I. I knew it couldn''t be good news since he had a calculating gaze like he was appeased with something. I took a step back and hid behind Luke.


    "You must be the new family moving into the village," He rubbed his chin.


    "Yes, our parents will be coming a week from now," Luke answered in my stead.


    "I like how your sister looks. She has features of a noblewoman and will certainly grow into a beauty. How about you let your parents know about engaging her to my son?" He laughed.


    Luke hid his absolute disgust for the sc.u.m in front of him. He lightly squeezed my hand in anger and dazzlingly smiled back. When I was about to step in front of him to teach the sc.u.m a lesson, Luke shot me a look that he would handle this.


    "I apologize, but she is already engaged to me," Luke politely declined.


    Luke slightly bowed to show we were leaving as the village chief''s jaw dropped from being rejected for the second time. His ears went red from embarrassment while his veins were popping out in anger. The villagers around us started to gossip about his incompetant son, which led the old man''s pride to be triggered.


    "You peasants will break your engagement and engage the girl to my son," he yelled an order.


    "Everyone knows your son is a sc.u.m," I mumbled.


    Unfortunately, the village chief heard my comment while Luke sighed. He stomped towards us and tried to separate me from Luke. But Luke pulled me closer to him and the old man ended up falling on the dirt ground.


    This was the perfect timing to escape since the old man struggled to get up from his fat stomach gained from starving the other villagers. He shot a look to the villagers who begged to delay their taxes to help him up. The poor villagers scrambled to support him while dusting his clothes off to fix his appearance.


    "Stop right there!" He yelled.


    "That girl is a witch," he declared to the crowd.


    Was this man sane? Just because he didn''t get what he wanted, he declared that person to be a witch? I shot a disgusted look towards the village chief like he was a sight of disdain. It was obvious nobody believed him as it was the same day where he declared Olive was a witch. But they chose to stay silent out of fear that they would be claimed as witches as well.


    "Oh please, then everyone is a witch!" I shouted.


    "Her seductive appearance is a magical spell to bewitch the people around her," he sneered.


    "Our Olive was almost framed by her as she was unknowingly a cover for the witch here."


    The village chief gestured to his henchman to come out from hiding. The henchman continued to drag Olive like a rag doll before letting her go with another signal from him. Olive stumbled onto the ground with her pitiful appearance where she looked like she was tortured. Her ankles and wrists were burned from the tight ropes while patches of her hair were removed from her scalp.


    I wondered if the village chief planned to expose Olive to the other villagers as a warning. The timing was impeccable how she was in the village square at the crowdest time. The old man pretended to help her up as she shivered while accepting his hand.


    "It was hard being the victim of a witch, isn''t it?" He looked at her with pity.


    "No, but-"


    "It was hard being the victim of a witch, isn''t it?" He raised his hand this time while cutting her off.


    "Yes," Olive admitted, closing her eyes, afraid of being beaten again.


    "Our Olive was never a witch as she?" He asked the villagers.


    The villagers reluctantly nodded to agree as they sent subtle apologetic looks when they met my eyes. It was understandable that they would choose Olive over me since she grew up in this village, but I still felt a pang of betrayal. I knew at this rate, it was either me or Olive becoming the witch.


    "Yet she is the one with the magical hands," Luke argued.


    "But your girl is the one with the unnatural beauty bewitching others!" A close acquaintance of Olive refuted.


    "But she is not able to fix anything like magic!" Luke''s statement appeared more credible.


    The exchange became more heated as neither Luke or Olive''s supporters were backing down. Meanwhile, the village chief enjoyed the scene in front of him, two people who humiliated him fighting to survive. The villagers became more confused as Luke''s statements were increasingly persuasive with his cold, hard facts.


    "Wait, so who is the witch?" A confused villager looked back and forth between me and Olive.


    "Yes Olive, who is the witch here?" The village chief allowed her to make the final decision.


    Olive clenched her fists as she did not speak a word. Her determined eyes were stuck on the ground, full of resolution to live. Her mind went numb as the village chief was getting more impatient by the second. He tapped his fingers on his arm to show her that time was ticking with a smile.

 Chapter 172 - Who is the Witch? - Olive POV (3)

    I clenched my fists as I was on the edge of making a decision that would kill my new friend in my stead or saving her in exchange for my life. I took a brief glance of her beautiful appearance hiding behind the dashing knight of hers that always followed her around. She never seemed like a commoner even when she wore the same clothes as us.


    Her words were eloquent like a fairy when I first met her in a field of flowers. Her smile was dazzling compared to my hands full of dirt, trying to fix an old blade. It reminded me of the tale of Mill who mentioned he had accompanied a living doll during the carnival.


    "Her hair resembled fine strands of vermillion red threads flowing from her every movement and her large pumpkin speckled pupils captured everyone''s attention. Her heart-shaped face was small like the size of my fist as she wore the most brilliant dress, dazzled with jewels and magnificent embroidery." Mill described her appearance.


    The only thing missing was her splendid dress to match Mill''s description. Her hair was also neatly arranged into a crown of braids at the top, making her seem wealthier. It was also strange how her clothes were clean as if they were new and never worn. She had to come from a wealthy merchant family.


    I was awestruck and forgot to answer her question, making her repeat the words once again with her sweet voice like a canary.


    "Do you need help with that?" She smiled like a flower.


    "I thought that house was empty," I couldn''t let her soft hands be stained with dirt.


    I continued to answer her questions mindlessly as I struggled not to stare at her appearance. She did ask some weird questions that were common sense to villagers like us. But I waved the thought away since I heard that city people were different, especially wealthy merchant families.


    However, I couldn''t help but stare at the ground when I noticed a handsome prince coming to fetch the girl. It made sense that a princess would be with a prince. I felt a little envious of her even though she was kind enough to talk to me.


    The next time we met, he followed her around and subtly took care of her as we blushed from their closeness. I felt massively underdressed when I noticed their clean clothes while I was dirty from harvesting the fruit trees. As the eldest daughter in my family with young siblings, I was expected to work hard to make sure our family would stay afloat.


    Since my family could not afford to hire part timers to help with the work, we worked until the sun set to sell the fruits in the stall in the village square. Ever since I learned how to walk, I was taught how to water the saplings as I hugged the pot close to me, anticipating the small plant turn into a big tree.


    This year was the dreaded year of an expected flood. This winter would be tough to get by as we would have smaller harvests than usual. I picked up my speed in pulling the apples from the trees to join Rika. I felt guilty making her wait so long while my friends kept her company.


    Even though I knew Rika for a few days, I felt close to her. She was the first one to encourage me to help others with my talent. Nobody ever expected me to be talented with something. They all dismissed my skills and said it would be better to harvest more fruits during that time instead.


    But I wished I never helped anyone if that meant the village chief would try to marry me to his awful son. I felt like crying when I heard about the news from my parents. We all knew I couldn''t decline if we wanted to live a peaceful life in this town. The chief was a scary person who framed six innocent girls as witches to support his large spendings.


    I confessed to my new friend, my lack of power leading me to marry such a horrible man. I expected her to console me like all the other villagers, but her thoughts made my heart skip a beat. My eyes widened as it was the exact opposite of what I expected.


    "Then decline unless you want to live with him for the rest of your life! Do you want to be unhappy for the rest of your life?" She scolded me.


    This was how I stared at the ground from rejecting the village chief''s son with the courage she gave me. My mind went numb as my family needed me to survive through the winter. I thought of my youngest sibling who couldn''t speak yet and sucked on her thumb since we couldn''t afford a pacifier.


    I had to live. I had to survive for my family. My family who raised me even with their merger wages to take care of them in return. The chief kicked some dirt into my eyes to warn me that he would make the decision for me soon. I tried to appear like I wasn''t breaking down as I mouthed ''sorry'' to Rika.


    It was now or never before the chief could change his mind. My eyes stung as I looked up.


    "She is the witch," I trembled uncontrollably while pointing at Rika.

 Chapter 173 - Purge of the Witch (1)

    "How splendid!" The chief clapped.


    "I will prepare a banquet and distribute one silver coin to each family to celebrate the purging of a witch," he announced.


    The eyes of the villagers changed once they heard they would have an easier winter. One silver coin amounted to ten large copper coins. It would be able to fill in the absence for their lack of harvest this season with no problem.


    "Here is the girlie," the same stall owner pushed me to the chief.


    The chief smiled as he dropped one small copper coin on the ground. The stall owner searched for the coin with his worn out hands on the dirt ground. I didn''t expect the villagers to be nice to a new person in town, but this was just brutal.


    All the villagers had a change in their attitudes as they looked at me with scorn. The henchman was called to tie the same ropes around my wrists and ankles into tight knots. But before he could, Luke tried to negotiate with the chief while blocking his way.


    "You don''t have the banquet ready yet. Please let me say my farewells until it''s ready," Luke pointed out to the villagers the chief may go back on his word.


    "Tsk," he spat on the ground.


    "I''ll make sure the banquet will be tomorrow evening after putting your girl at the stake," he demanded his henchmen to make the preparations.


    Luke sighed in relief, thinking he bought us some time before one of the henchmen slammed my head against the stone wall. I screamed in pain as my vision flickered in and out filtered in a shield of red from my injured eyes. I felt my limbs being dragged on the floor as the sharp pebbles made my wounds get worse.


    Instead of looking away, the other villagers cheered from defeating another ''witch'' to curry more favour from the chief. They raised their arms in support as they yelled for my death.


    "Kill the witch!" A stall owner screamed.


    "Who dares to frame out Olive!" Another supporter of Olive yelled.


    My ears rang from the loud noise before dimming into silence. I watched the villagers turn on me before I was blessed with my vision going black. Did the school know what a dangerous village they placed us in for this simple mission?


    When I regained my consciousness, I found myself roped tight on my wrists and ankles. I gritted my teeth with hurt and betrayal, unable to move on the high pedestal that looked down on the crowd below. I felt my mana starting to go whack and out-of-control inside the deepest part of my body as the shouts got louder and louder.


    I guessed even Luke wasn''t all that high and mighty in this situation. I searched for him inside the crowd to find him not there. As the seventh ''witch'' in this village, a bag of gold coins was held from a foreign official who sped to visit the event.


    He was obviously a noble as he wore thick animal furs like a statement of fashion. His clothes were hideously filled with frills and laces. I wondered if he was close to the chief since he was able to come at a last minute event. I knew I served a warning to all the other young girls who dared to go against the village chief.


    They were the only ones who looked at me with pity and didn''t jeer with the others. I found Olive, standing there unmoving inside the jeering crowd that screamed for me to be killed. The girl who loved to fix various things with her rusty tiny tools. The silent, cold eyes of the girl in a worn-out dress mended with various rags patched into the cloth stared at me like she had no feelings. She still appeared broken from yesterday.


    I wondered what it would be if I never went to the village square to help her yesterday. Would I be in her place? In the roaring crowd, thankful it wasn''t them or their child on the stake? While I couldn''t forgive her for placing me here, I couldn''t blame her for wanting to live.


    ''Control Rika,'' I mumbled inside my head as my heart thumped rapidly as the blacksmith tried to make a small fire with the dry, wooden branches.


    When the sparks of fire slipped onto the tip of one brittle branch, the village chief patted the blacksmith before putting the burning flame onto an oiled torch. My eyes widened as the fire instantly screamed into the hottest blues as it shot up from eating the animal fat. The crowd clapped and cheered as the old man lifted the torch into the mounting sky.


    I looked at the event that was decorated into an elaborate festival with tables full of beer and booze a few miles away in the village chief''s house. A buffet full of meat made the children''s eyes shine as they followed their parents who equally looked forward to the feast. Once the ceremony was over, they would reap the rewards.


    I sighed as I was wrong with only the village chief being corrupt, the whole village was like him. He lowered his hands and time seemed to slow down as the torch was dropped onto the stake. I fiercely closed my eyes with grave anticipation of being lit on fire, alive.


    I hoped the pain would only last a few seconds for me to use my second chance card. Although it did seem like a waste, I hoped I would reincarnate into a better life than this one. I resigned myself to my fate as this life wasn''t worth living anyways with how restricted it was.

 Chapter 174 - Purge of the Witch (2)

    My last vision was filtered through a wall of blurry orange under the hot, wavering heat of the everlasting sun that fueled the fire stronger by the second. Drops of sweat drenched my most filthy dress littered with dirt and stains from being dragged on the ground as the air was soon washed with hot magma.


    ''Why did it turn out this way?'' A single bead of sweat landed on my foot as I couldn''t see through the smoke.


    I prepared to die as I felt cold hands quickly untying the ropes with a sharp sword. He quickly replaced my body on the stake with a straw mannequin and tied the ropes again. Was this Luke? I couldn''t believe this was his plan.


    He carried me on his back as he teleported to the same house we were provided to live in the fifth district. This was incredibly risky as no one in the fifth district could ever discover the existence of mana. I turned my face onto the ground to embrace the cold mud ground.


    The cold, refreshing air of the night came in through the opened windows as it drew me away from the heat of the fire where I was viewed as a spectacle. When I was about to get up to move closer to the window, Luke gently pushed me back with both of his hands.


    "You have to stay still for this to work," He chided me.


    The faint, warm glow of mana came from his hands as I felt my wounds melting under the light. My mind became fuzzier as the familiar light became stronger and stronger. I almost forgot I was stabbed multiple times in the stomach before tying the ropes made of thick hay. Everything numbed down as I felt pleasant under the kind healing spell.


    My dream started off as the henchman in charge of me was stressed from the excessive demands from the village chief. He looked down at the perfect outlet to get rid of some of his stress. I felt a mad gaze on my stomach as he grabbed a dull knife from the table to stab. I didn''t know how I could see this when I knew I wasn''t conscious in my own body.


    It was like I was a bystander, watching the scene in front of me, but helpless in doing anything that could affect it. He attempted to cleanly put all his strength into one attack, but frowned when there was less blood than he thought there would be from the dull blade. It took him several attempts for my stomach to produce a pool of blood that he wanted to see as he finally smiled.


    I turned away from watching my body becoming more broken, but thankful I wasn''t conscious to experience the pain. When I tried to get a closer look at my injuries, the scene faded away as something was trying to pull me back into its original place.


    It was a strange feeling to find yourself gushing blood like Camila flowers blooming on the wound. It never closed as the flowers spread faster and faster with every breath. Its dried petals asked for more as it linked with the other fields on my arms and legs. Luke began to pant as his concentration wavered for a split of a second from the loss of too much mana at once. His hair, drenched with feverish sweat looked terribly beautiful under the moonlight.


    A healing spell drained so much mana that normal people in the first district couldn''t use it. It was impractical to the point where it easily drained half of my mana when I possessed the most mana in the first district. The only person who came close to the amount of mana I had was Luke, who was conducting an intense healing spell on my stomach.


    I stared at my hair, starting to lose its colour as the light overwhelmed the darkness that used to swallow the house. The same silver hair that shined in front of me was eating my vivid red hair like a delicious meal. My eyes reflected horror at the sight of my companion disappearing into thin air like it had never existed.


    By the time the light was starting to dim down, there was no trace of my dazzling cherry hair. My vision darkened into the deepest pit of the well as I fainted from my new appearance. I had never imagined that Luke''s mana would ever overpower mine when I was close to death. The frightening control and precision he possessed was astonishingly powerful combined together, even with his disadvantage.


    The next time I woke up, I found myself in this pretty room inside one of his many mansions. I could tell it was not the miserable times of the middle ages with all the futuristic robots outside maintaining the garden. Everything in the first district was advanced to the point that if things did not have to be done by humans, they were automated.


    I could spot the large gates with the Roselia family crest embellished into the design with my great eyesight developed with the use of mana. It was a familiar sight by now with the number of times I have been stuck in his mansions that all resembled each other. Although each mansion was decorated differently, the layouts were mostly the same.


    Wasn''t I supposed to be in the fifth district? Why was I here?

 Chapter 175 - Life Inside a Cage (2)

    Five days have passed. I thought I would get free time to do whatever I wanted while recovering, but it was shattered on the second day. Piles of never ending books were brought to me by Luke, preparing me for the next round of exams ahead of time. I had no access to my supply of otaku goods since I couldn''t meet the people in the neutral fraction in person.


    This was no different from the other times I was confined inside his mansion. Except, this time I was confined to a room where the door was locked with spells. There was truly nothing to do inside here. I got up from my bed and began stretching out of boredom.


    My eyes widened when I heard footsteps coming towards my door and quickly rushed into my bed. Luke only wanted me to lay down on the bed if I didn''t have to get up. I thought ''heal'' recovered everything so I wondered why the doctor recommended resting for some additional time. But, I would never get to know since Luke didn''t let me look at the doctor''s notes.


    Luke entered the room with new books in his hands in his school uniform, "here are the new materials that were covered in class today."


    I guessed school finally started. The day before, he wore his casual clothes while delivering the books. I did wonder why he didn''t just transfer the files into my marble like in school, but I soon figured out he was simultaneously checking up on me after a few visits. However, I stayed silent since doing nothing was better than studying at school.


    "Sure, add it to the pile of books," I gestured to the untouched books on the bookshelf.


    I wondered if I should go back to sleep again after he left. The only good thing out of almost being burnt on the stake was I finally got the sleep I always wanted. I never did figure out what happened to the assignment. But, I hoped we received all the points or it would be hard to live through the rest of the year.


    All my meals were delivered to my room by the servants. The untouched food on the cabinet beside me appeared as if it was carefully planned. I didn''t have any appetite after I felt like I was stabbed in my stomach. I simply slept to get rid of my hunger. I knew it wasn''t a good solution, but it was all I had.


    As usual, I opened the windows and threw the food away by scraping it off the plates. It would become good compose for the garden. With my mana, I dug a hole and filled it with food and covered it back. The first few times were awful. I had exhausted myself to sleep as I failed to make a proper hole.


    The garden was messed up like a fierce animal had passed by and multiple steep ditches were created. I panicked as I tried to recover the garden back to normal. Thankfully, after concentrating on moving objects to its rightful place, it returned some of its former glory.


    Practicing really did make things perfect. I closed the windows and dizzily flopped onto my bed. I did hear that humans died without three or more days of food, but maybe that wasn''t applicable to people who possessed mana. I didn''t drink any water or other drinks as well since it would go to my stomach.


    I closed my eyes and the next time I opened them, I heard Luke''s light footsteps coming towards my door. The sound of clanking plates meant he was bringing another tray of food. This was pretty unusual since Luke usually came to bring me more study material. Did he figure out I haven''t eaten in days?


    I stayed in my bed, covering myself with my blanket as usual. I hoped my face didn''t lose too much weight. That was the only thing I couldn''t hide from him. Thankfully, when I looked at my reflection in the mirror, my face appeared a bit slimmer in the morning. He knocked before coming inside like always.


    "I don''t need more books," I told him.


    "This is your dinner," He placed the tray in front of me.


    "Thanks, I''ll eat them later," I nodded for him to quickly leave.


    However, he stayed, unbudging as he pulled a chair to sit beside my bed. He stared at me to grab my fork like he was silently saying he wouldn''t leave until he saw me eat. I knew it was a signal to quickly eat so he could go back to school.


    I gulped at the large bowl of porridge looming on top of my lap. It appeared slimy and gross and the smell was pungent. That''s why I usually threw the food away after I confirmed the servants left. I stared at the tray like I was shooting a laser beam to make it vanish into thin air.


    "I knew it," Luke whispered.


    He reached out to pull out my arm before I could respond. When he pulled up my sleeves, he saw my bony arm that appeared like it would break any moment. I gasped as even I didn''t know my appearance became this fragile. I never took off my clothes, worrying to see what I have become.


    "You''re not eating, are you?"

 Chapter 175 - Life Inside a Cage (1)

    I almost cried when I looked down at the newly changed colour of my hair. The strands of metallic silver shined like a rainbow under the dazzling sunlight coming through the window. Maybe if I wasn''t so used to my former brilliant red hair that used to gain attention whenever I walked by, I would be less somber. But, this ugly, muddy grey just reminded me of the people of this house where I was staying, captive in my cell.


    I used to be enchanted by this colour when I first met Luke, a shining angel with the most captivating celestial appearance that couldn''t possibly be a human being. However, I soon discovered that this colour was commonplace in the district I resided in. And now this colour would not exist anymore in this district. My mood became more dejected when no memory of my former crimson red existed on anyone I passed by through the school halls.


    I curled up inside my bed, covering myself with a large, fluffy blanket, full of the richest feathers of a rare creature inside a magical forest. The bed itself was portable with attached wheels on the bottom that were normally hidden. The IV machine attached to my left arm annoyingly beeped every minute, which almost drove me crazy from the otherwise silence.


    In front of the bed were various medical equipment laid out in the open like they were cheap tools. This room was almost a mini hospital itself with the amazing layout of how everything was carefully placed. Jars of medicine properly organized on the shelves stuck on the wall and needles stuffed in the locked drawers.


    The unmatched paintings of lovely wildflowers occupied the empty spaces on the wall while the wallpaper was a pattern of strips of rotating pastel green and blues. To fit all this stuff in meant the room was at least fifteen metre squared, more than five times bigger than the average room from an ordinary family. But, this was unsurprising to me by now as I have stayed in the most luxurious rooms throughout most of this life.


    I lifted up my silky nightgown to find no scar had remained on my stomach. When I lifted up the long sleeves of my dress, there was no sign of the torture on my arms. My legs were soft and smooth, unblemished to the point it was like a mannequin doll. It couldn''t be that it was all a dream? Everything from memories of meeting Olive to being tied to a stake felt so real. It had to be real. Afterall, I was in this room to recover from my injuries.


    I walked toward the mirror to find one difference in my appearance when I faced myself. I looked like another person in the mirror. I wasn''t Rika Shanes anymore, the daughter of Brian Shanes and August Shanes, but a clear member of the Roselia family. I possessed the famous silvery hair that shined like a prism in the daylight with overflowing mana that all its heirs had. I looked horrifyingly like the boy who opened the door to check up on me.


    Behind him was one of the many doctors that the Roselia family could call upon at any minute around the clock. He carried a briefcase like a businessman more than a medical professional. He warmly smiled, trying to sooth me down while Luke stared at me in disapproval as usual.


    Knowing this was a cue, I walked back to my bed, for a checkup. The doctor quickly got out his tablet that produced a blue light when it scanned my body for any abnormalities. When the device beeped, he quickly hid his frown before turning around to Luke to announce the results.


    "After getting proper treatment, she can get back to her daily activities again." He declared while writing down detailed notes simultaneously.


    After his job was done, he promptly exited the room like an actor leaving the stage after fulfilling its role. There wasn''t much for a doctor to do in the first district with the medical technology being extremely advanced to the point most of the process was automated except for the diagnosis. The machines that filled the rest of the room waited to be used as Luke swiftly reviewed the report.


    "Can I view the report?" I reached to grab the tablet in his hands.


    "It''s nothing much," Luke avoided my arms with one step.


    "He says you should stay in bed for the rest of this week," Luke carefully inserted the needle into my arm like an experienced professional.


    The medicine quickly flowed through my veins as Luke soon covered me with a blanket when I slumped down onto the bed. It was funny how most remedies made you sleepy when you were full of energy before. Once one of my eyes were closed, he left the room to give me some time to rest. This was not the beginning of a cage in the making with the door surely to be locked like a prison cell.


    This personality of his that liked to control everything never changed since our childhood. He didn''t want me out of this bed or this room so he locked the door. He didn''t even bother to give me any proper explanation of what the doctor implemented. I was sure that report was at least ten pages long as I counted each time the doctor flipped the page for more space to write on.

 Chapter 177 - Life Inside a Cage (3)

    I stayed silent to avoid answering his question. Luke frowned as he didn''t force me to take a bite. I knew he was wondering what happened to the food, but I hoped I would be able to convince him to use the IV machine to get my nutrients instead.


    "What food would you like to eat?" He asked.


    This was unexpected. Luke never asked for my opinions regarding what I wanted to eat before. My mind bubbled up of thoughts like pizza and chicken wings. Ever since my reincarnation, I never got my hands on pure comfort food that was unpackaged.


    "A box of pizza, fries and chicken wings with a bottle of carbonated sweet tea," I said the first things that popped up.


    Luke searched up the unfamiliar food in his tablet. He deliberated on whether to get the food when he saw how greasy they were. The pictures shined as if they were dripping with oil like they were going to do more harm than good.


    "If you finish the bowl of porridge, then I''ll order either a slice of pizza, one chicken wing or a small cup of fries."


    Of course he wouldn''t order everything I wanted. But this was a big improvement from not allowing me to eat anything he didn''t approve of. I picked up the spoon and chugged the food into my mouth. I forced myself to swallow before I had second thoughts as tears welled up my eyes.


    Unexpectedly, the porridge tasted like the most delicious meal in the world. I quickly scooped more onto my spoon and a few minutes later, the bowl was empty. My stomach didn''t feel like vomiting like I thought it would. I wondered why I had put off eating for so long.


    "There''s medicine inside the porridge. Since you haven''t been eating, you weren''t recovering as fast as you should have," Luke answered.


    "When am I going to go back to school?"


    I remembered that the doctor had mentioned I would be able to go back to school a few days from today. Although it was nice catching up on sleep, I was getting bored of doing nothing for the last few days. Plus, I was starting to miss meeting Shelly, Ellen and Sienna in person. I was definitely going to contact them today since I had the energy.


    "Maybe a month later?" Luke calculated inside his head.


    "Didn''t the doctor say only a week?" I asked.


    "That was if you ate the medicine," Luke emphasized.


    "Is the school ok with this?" I wondered.


    There was no way the school would allow a student to miss going to class for this long. They covered so much material in one day that missing it would make a huge difference. Rather than facing the problem of me missing school, Luke seemed to contemplate on something else.


    "This room is actually a space-time room," He revealed after a moment of silence.


    I wondered if Luke would have revealed this information to me if I never asked. But it did make sense why he never let me out of the room. What day was it now? Since the flow of time was different, I didn''t know how much time had passed.


    "I went to school yesterday to handle the assignment, others should still be in the fourth district," Luke answered my questioning gaze.


    I sighed in relief. It seemed like one day was equivalent to one week in this room. This meant one more month would be a total of four days outside the room.


    "Can''t I momentarily leave this room to get my supply of light novels?" I thought out loud.


    "I already brought you other books," Luke sighed.


    "There''s no one here except for us and your family servants so it won''t affect your family name. So can''t you at least let me enjoy my time here?" I tried to negotiate.


    "I''m willing to exchange my slice of pizza for this," I gave up my precious comfort food.


    "Did you at least look through the books inside this room?"


    I did look at the title of the books written on the spines or briefly at the covers. I couldn''t help but wake up to the scenery of a mini library in front of me. I proudly nodded my head.


    "Then can you tell me the content inside this book?" Luke took out a random book on the shelf.


    "It''s about intermediate magical spells," I read the title.


    "Maybe if you read at least one book, I''ll think about bringing your comic books."


    Each book was thick to the point it had to be at least five hundred pages. I didn''t want to use absorb for such a trivial task since I needed to save it to gain more points. I clenched my fists, wondering why I even needed permission on what books to read.


    "That''s it, I''m out of this room," I stomped towards the exit.


    Since Luke was inside the room, I expected the door to open. However, it was locked as usual. The next option was teleportation. I visualized going to my parent''s house in the third district while gathering a mass amount of mana. But instead of finding myself in front of their door, I was still stuck inside this room. It was like the room intentionally blocked using teleportation itself.


    "What''s with this room?" I turned to Luke.

 Chapter 178 - Life Inside a Cage (4)

    "You know it''s done for your own good," Luke answered.


    What else did I expect from Luke? This was usually what happened when I was out of school. He was always scary in this aspect where he wanted to control everything I did. The only other option was physically leaving this room like last time.


    If I was going to escape from this room, my only choice was to jump through the large window. Since this was the second floor, I would be fine if I were to use my mana to create a soft landing. I was glad he didn''t think of blocking the window like he did with the door.


    "Yea, burning most of my light novel collection and not letting me even taste the food I want is done for my own good," I crossed my arms.


    "Just leave, I don''t want to waste my time fighting with you today," I pushed him towards the exit.


    I wanted to try my plan before it got too dark. The door opened for Luke as he left the room. As soon as the sound of his footsteps told me he was on another floor, I opened the window and jumped down. I quickly imagined a white springy cloud placed below me while midair to have a stable landing.


    I almost cheered as I softly landed inside the garden as the cloud disappeared after its use. Now that I was outside the mansion, I ran towards the gates near the entrance to get to the nearest teleportation gate. Who knew the teleportation gates would become useful?


    I only knew where they were since I came out of one when I went shopping with Luke before middle school started. It was obvious the front and back gates would be shut after I escaped through them last time. Ever since then, the uniforms were spelled to be worn by a certain servant, which meant I couldn''t use the same method.


    The pain from running barefoot left a trail of blood that served as a motive to run faster towards the exit. The ground was not exactly smooth with its textured surface to show the design. When I had almost reached the exit, I eerily felt a hand on my shoulder. I slowly turned around to find Luke standing right behind me.


    His scary smile made me freeze where I was standing as I started to waver like my world was fading into black. How did he know I was there? I was sure he was a far distance from the room and the entrance.


    The next time I opened my eyes, the window was barred. It could not be open and was stiffly shut. I couldn''t help but think I was stuck inside a cage where all the exits were blocked. Even though I was still recovering, I didn''t know why I had to live like this.


    I lifted up my gown and faced myself in the mirror. My complexion was much better than yesterday as my face had pink flush, indicating I was living. My figure wasn''t as bony from one meal and the area around my stomach remained unblemished.


    I couldn''t help but think the medicine in the first district was very advanced. I didn''t feel dizzy anymore and my head felt clear and awake. I started to question if I even needed to stay in this room. It was just then, Luke came into the room with the usual books in his hands.


    "Do I still need to stay inside this room? You already saw me running outside the house so I think you can see for yourself that I''m pretty much healed."


    Luke placed the books onto a small table and walked towards me. With his unwavering ocean eyes he answered, "Certainly, I saw you running three days ago in front of the mansion to soon faint in my arms afterwards. To see that you took three days to wake up from fainting says that your health is not the same after you have come to this house."


    It took me three days to wake up? That was a surprise. It did seem like I''ve recovered too much for one day. I tried to come up with an excuse to take a breath out of this room.


    "Then I''m sure I''ll get better with a constant amount of regular exercise instead of staying in this tiny room," I replied.


    Luke suddenly went to the washroom and washed his hands. He grabbed a cotton swab and soaked it into a bottle full of white liquid and pulled my white gown up to dab the cotton swab against my stomach.


    When the cotton swab touched my perfectly fine stomach, I started to feel a sharp pain near the area. I ended up collapsing onto the floor before Luke carried me onto the bed. What did that white liquid do?


    "If you''re really better, please explain your behaviour just now," Luke argued.


    "I don''t know, did that weird liquid aggravate my injury?" I thought out aloud.


    "That weird liquid was something that helps recover your wounds faster, if you even have any. If the pain from the ''erigent'' made you collapse onto the floor, that means that you still have a long path to healing your injuries."


    Well it was nice to know that erigent exchanged pain for recovery. I preferred ''heal'' and had enough mana for it as well. But I was sure Luke used ''heal'' on me. Did he not completely heal everything? That would actually explain a lot if he only healed my external wounds.

 Chapter 179 - Communicating with the Past (1)

    After all those years of being together in school from staying in the same room to taking classes together. I thought we understood each other and respected each other to a certain extent, but once we were outside of school, I understood how different Luke truly was.


    Luke called for the doctor for another checkup today. Like last time, the doctor passed his notes to Luke and I wasn''t able to take a single glance. I stared at Luke to explain the results as he eventually gave in, "the doctor said it''s best to rest for three more weeks."


    "Only inside this room?" I asked for more details.


    Luke took out another bottle of erigent, "you need to stop moving to recover faster."


    "Since you were injured most critically in the stomach, if you move even an inch of your body, the recovering process gets messier. That''s why the recovery period increased since you kept on moving around the room and stopped eating for a while."


    I stifled a scream as Luke poured more erigent on my stomach. I felt like the liquid was putting my body on fire as I almost collapsed onto the floor. I never knew my injury was this severe.


    "This wouldn''t have happened in the first place if you didn''t make me feel like I was locked up in this room when I was feeling perfectly fine," I grumbled as Luke managed to catch me.


    "I thought you would already know what your situation was like and behave accordingly. We did learn about how to handle the human body in elementary school and I thought you would retain that information."


    Wow. There was no way I would remember stuff like that in detail. I couldn''t help but to roll my eyes while cringing through the lasting pain. I was paralyzed in my bed as Luke soon left the room. I wondered if there were painkillers as I squeezed the blanket.


    But I hopelessly knew that Luke wouldn''t give me access to them because he would have given me them already if he was planning to. After several hours, I managed to sit up in my bed. I was absolutely bored from staring at the ceiling.


    I limped as I walked towards the bookshelf. I grabbed a random book and flipped to the table of contents to see if it was worth reading. I stopped at a page where there was an interesting topic where you could communicate with your past self.


    When I read the section in more detail back on my bed, it didn''t seem too hard to do. All I needed was a surface that reflected my image. Thankfully there was a mirror inside the room because I couldn''t use the barred window.


    I hoped the spell worked as I carefully read the spell and came up with a precise image. I was trying to look through the mirror to call my past self, anything that came up while pouring a constant amount of mana. When the mirror reflected nothing, I knew I failed the spell.


    I flopped onto my bed in frustration. I knew the content in Luke''s books couldn''t be easy as they were written! What did I expect? But since I had nothing else to do, I decided to keep trying until it worked. It was a repetition of trial and error as I began panting with my stomach trembling in pain as I moved.


    For my final attempt I changed my thoughts. Instead of trying to see my past self, I tried thinking of making a video call to the past. Sweat drenched my clothes as I concentrated the rest of my reserves of trying to make this work.


    My eyes widened as I finally saw something other than my appearance reflect through the mirror. A young version of myself with a curious stare looked back at me. She had red gradient hair swaying along a little past her chest with those signature orange speckled eyes. Her cheeks were a bit chubby from baby fat and she resembled a toddler with her short limbs.


    Maybe at this point of time, I didn''t even enter elementary school yet. This was the right time to make my past self influence Luke so that he would grow up to be different than the person he was today. This was the earliest years of my reincarnation where I barely knew anything about the world.


    I had to let my past self know all the information I missed out of which placed me in this situation in the first place. It was unfortunate how I appeared like I was already transferred to the first district from the infirmary in the background. But, I could still prevent the engagement going onto the stage it was now.


    I wondered if my past self would be smart enough to notice I was a future version of herself with my new hair colour. But I knew she would try to help anyone who seemed like they were in trouble. I pretended that I was in a bit of trouble as I made my eyes swell up in tears, "I don''t have that much time, but promise me you''ll help me prevent an awful future."


    I almost panicked when I heard the sound of the door knob turning. Why did Luke have to come at such bad timing? I couldn''t let him know that I was using a great deal of my mana to communicate with myself for fun.


    "This isn''t what it seems like," I stood in front of the mirror to hide my younger self.

 Chapter 180 - Communicating with the Past (2)

    My past self looked at me in admiration. She stared at my appearance without saying a single word for the past few minutes. I smiled as I let her stare at me a bit longer. It was a time where I was still adjusting to how beautiful everyone in this district was.


    "Are you a human being?" She asked.


    "I am and I''m here to guide your future."


    "You mean you can tell me how to get back to the third district?"


    Of course my past self had to ask the hardest questions. The thing I wanted the most at that time was to escape the hell-like school. I still had the same goal, but it was increasingly getting out of my reach with every passing year.


    "I can''t, but I can help make your life easier here," I hoped I didn''t disappoint her too much.


    "Let''s start off with your partner, how much do you know about Luke?"


    "The person who tries to make me study all the time¡­"


    "Is that all?" I worried for my past self.


    She nodded. I sighed since it was going to be a long day. How could I break the news to her that Luke wasn''t only her study partner, but something more? I could tell she still admired Luke for his angelic appearance.


    Luke was smart back then as well. Using the most alluring desserts to bribe me into listening into his every command. At some point, letting him make all the decisions became natural as I listened to him like my second mother.


    "First of all, you need to know that the first district is a cruel place. There are many things not seen to the eye other than studying such as the politics here."


    "Isn''t this just a school?"


    "A school where the elites attend is different. Things are different from your former life."


    "You know that I reincarnated?" She gasped and stumbled a few steps back.


    Well, there wasn''t anyone who knew I reincarnated but myself. Even if I told someone, I don''t think anyone would believe me. Everyone was smart since childhood that I didn''t stand out.


    "I also know how you would do anything to have a slice of pizza or box of french fries," I dreamed of those snacks.


    "I couldn''t find them anywhere!"


    My past self would never find them for at least eight more years. Even I never had a taste of them. I licked my lips as I planned to call in Luke''s promise soon. Although a bag of ch.i.p.s was good, it couldn''t compare to the oil dripping down from the greasy cheese from a single slice.


    "It''s because they don''t exist in the first district," I sighed.


    "No way," Her eyes widened.


    "They only exist in the third district."


    My past self looked like she was going to cry from the news. Pizza was one of my favourite foods. This was the time where I had to warn her to prevent Luke from controlling what she could eat and where she could go.


    I knew that I had more freedom during this period than right now. Since the partner system started at the age of four, Luke and I had only been together for a few months. All that Luke expected of me back then was to gain more points with him.


    "You should try to visit your parents before you get too busy. If you''re having trouble surviving the school system now, it''ll get worse later on," I advised her.


    "But I have to study with Luke to get out of that terrible room," she frowned.


    Oh right. That medieval-like room I used at the beginning of kindergarten. This was indeed a problem. I remembered I did anything back then to move into a better room.


    "But is studying important or your future freedom?" I told her the tradeoff.


    "My future freedom?" She tilted her head.


    "Are you willing to be stuck inside the school for your entire life?" I explained.


    "When I graduate, won''t I be able to leave?" She still appeared confused.


    "You''re going to get engaged to Luke and his family will try to control your life afterwards," I blurted.


    "Sorry, I couldn''t hear you. What did you just say?"


    "You''re going to get engaged to Luke and his family will try to control your life afterwards."


    "I can only see your mouth moving, but I can''t hear anything,"


    Of course there were restrictions in using this spell. It seemed I couldn''t tell her anything about what exactly was going to happen in the future. But there were plenty of other things I could still warn her other than giving hints about the future.


    My ears perked as I heard Luke coming to deliver my meal. He made sure I ate every meal from delivering them personally. I knew I didn''t have much time left to talk to her. I had to leave some kind of warning message.


    "No matter what, don''t feel pressured to the people around you. You should always stick to what you believe in no matter who questions you," I told her my motto.


    "There will be someone who will constantly pressure you to change, he will nag you for almost everything. But you have the choice in whether to accept them or not," I had to cut the connection.


    My past self seemed to bang on the other side with her fists, watching me fade away from her. But I waved good-bye as the great presence of mana in the room had disappeared before Luke opened the door.


    "What''s going on?" He narrowed his eyes.

 Chapter 181 - No More Other Districts (1)

    "Nothing, how can anything happen inside this room?" I took one last glance at the mirror.


    "Where is the slice of pizza?" I noticed Luke bringing in another bowl of the same porridge.


    "I''ll give it to you before we leave for school," Luke placed the tray in front of me.


    I sulked since there was three weeks more to go before I returned to school. All I could do was to stay in the room and read the books Luke brought me, but unable to use my mana without him noticing. I stared at the unappetizing looking bowl that I was almost sick of.


    "So you''re telling me to do nothing for the next three weeks?"


    "Didn''t you always want more sleep?"


    "You know what I want," I rolled my eyes.


    This was the perfect setting for me to enjoy my otaku supply. Why couldn''t he understand? I was always a indoors person in my former life as long as I had my supply. I placed the untouched tray on top of the cabinet beside the bed.


    "I won??t try to leave this room and I''ll do everything you say for the next few weeks. I don''t even need that slice of pizza. So can''t you let me have access to them?" I started to beg him.


    Luke sighed and passed me his tablet with a contract displayed on it. The contract was at least hundreds of pages long. I guessed he wanted me to sign it. I wondered when he got this prepared. Did he anticipate this happening?


    I tried to scroll and skim through the pages, but my head started to hurt and I knew I would get nowhere at this rate. I decided to sign, hoping to take the chances as I lifted up the pen. Once the contract was signed, the area in front of my bed shined to show stacks of my otaky supply.


    I gasped as I admired the scene in front of me. When I tried to get out of my bed, Luke pointed out a term in the contract.


    [You cannot touch the books unless you finish your meal first]


    I instantly devoured the large bowl to touch the goodies in front of me. However, before I could get out of bed, Luke read out another term in the contract.


    "You have to study at least one week worth of class materials ahead of time before you can access your books," Luke passed me some thick books related to school.


    Was this a joke? At this rate, I would never be allowed to touch them. It would be a torturing sight since they were right in front of me. I knew that contract was too good to be true! There had to be something in it for it to be over hundreds of pages.


    This was how I never got to touch my otaku supply. I pouted inside the hover car on the way to school. I didn''t even get my slice of pizza since it was exchanged for the rights of getting the chance to access the goodies.


    False hope was a scary thing. I was definitely going to contact Ben soon to get some of the stash I left with him back. It was silent inside the hover car as I watched the scenery outside the window to avoid looking at Luke''s face.


    "I knew I should''ve never signed that contract," I mumbled, still disappointed.


    "But at least it''s over now. I''ll get more freedom once we''re in school," I accidentally muttered my thoughts out loud.


    "We still need to check up on your condition Rika. The contract is still in place until you''re one hundred percent recovered," Luke pulled out another stupid term.


    "I''m not following that damn one-sided, corrupt contract anymore!" I couldn''t hold in my anger.


    "I''m sure that I''m one hundred percent healed so don''t you dare use that contract anymore," I gritted my teeth.


    "You do know the penalties inside the contract?" Luke narrowed his eyes.


    "I don''t and I don''t care. How binding could it be anyways? It can''t be worse than now," I reached out my hand for his tablet.


    I was curious what other things he put in that I didn''t know about. Luke passed me the contract and I went to the penalties section to see the consequences. My eyes trembled when the section was around fifty pages. How many things did he put inside here?


    I started off by reading the first page very carefully. It was the details and how each word was presented that mattered when you interpreted a contract. I immediately frowned after reading the first term.


    [Party B must hand over all ''otaku supply'' including light novels, manga, vocaloid merchandise, clothing and others to Party A as long as Party B''s lifetime or termination of the binding contract]


    I flipped over to more pages to see that Luke had spotted every one of my weaknesses that I knew about myself. The contract was binding using subtle hints of mana so that the other Party couldn''t break it as easily. I flipped back to the table of contents to find when the contract was terminated.


    I almost cried when there was only one single term that somehow covered everything.


    [The contract is terminated when Party A determines Party B has fully recovered]


    This meant it was Luke who determined when the contract would end. Now I knew that I would never sign another contract with Luke until my deathbed.

 Chapter 182 - No More Other Districts (2)

    "Shelly~" I ran to hug her.


    Luke and I were the last ones in our group to arrive on campus. I wasn''t surprised he was trying to keep me confined inside his mansion as long as possible for me to ''recover''. I rubbed my face into her chest for comfort.


    "Are you ok?" Shelly appeared to be afraid of touching me back.


    "What do you mean? I''m fine," I looked up to her.


    "I heard what happened in the fifth district," she frowned.


    "The school was in a panic and apologized tremendously to our fraction," Shelly explained.


    "It wasn''t that big of a deal¡­"


    "It is, I heard you could have almost died," Ellen walked towards us with worry.


    "I''m so glad you don''t seem seriously injured," Ellen held both of my hands.


    "Like I said, it wasn''t that much of a big deal," I recalled suffering under Luke for the past few weeks.


    I didn''t suffer from my injuries, but from the contract I signed. It was just like school, but worse. I had the same never-ending study sessions and books Luke assigned me to read if I wanted access to my supply not even a metre away.


    Whenever I refuted I felt perfectly fine, Luke would pull out another bottle of erigent and pour it over my supposedly wound. Every time I suffered from the pain, I started to think that erigent was actually a scam. It was probably a potion that made someone feel excruciating pain as its intent.


    "Nobody thought a simple mission would put anyone in danger," Charles walked up to us.


    "Now, the school has declared that there will be no missions outside the first district for the rest of the year and each mission will be done in two pairs," Charles revealed.


    "You''re saying it like it''s my fault," I clenched my fists.


    "You''re an exceptional case where you manage to cause trouble from the tiniest factors," he shrugged.


    I wondered what Charles'' problem was today. His usual mockings were riling me up more than usual since my patience was breaking more easily after being stuck with only Luke for so long. I ignored him this time as we walked together to the classroom.


    At least he let me know what was going on, unlike Luke who had kept things hidden until I asked. I wondered what happened when Luke went to school without me to take care of the rest of the assignment. But I knew it had something to do with making the school apologizing to us, which meant the school owed us something.


    Daniel appeared relieved when he watched me act the same as usual. But warily looked around the room when Luke pulled back my chair and held my stuff for me. My marble and tablet weren''t heavy, but I guessed it had something to do with making the injury appear worse than it was.


    "From the special circ.u.mstances, everyone will receive 100,000 points for the success of this mission," Daniel announced.


    Wow. I was surprised. One hundred thousand points was not a small amount. I wondered if this mission was worth this much in the first place. It was expected of Luke''s great negotiation skills to make this happen.


    "The school will also give you a special room in the dorms until you recover," Daniel told us privately after class.


    A special room? Luke seemed like he already knew about it as I didn''t need to go back to my dorm to move my belongings. When Luke opened the door for me, I couldn''t step into the room from utter shock.


    This room was just like the room I stayed in Luke''s mansion except the whole suite was split into three smaller rooms with each bedroom having its own bathroom. One was the connected living room, one that resembled the small hospital space and the other that was a normal bedroom for Luke. So this was how people with a luxurious amount of points lived?


    It couldn''t compare to how Luke and I were forced to live in one medium sized room together since we couldn''t afford something like this. Even Shelly and Alex didn''t live like this even though they were the partner with the most amount of points. We were getting really good treatment when the blame wasn''t totally on the school.


    What manga? What otaku supply? Would I even need them when I was treated like a princess until I ''recovered''? I never had the time to read them anyways when I was busy with school. Luke passed me a special meal card where it wouldn''t deduct any of our current points no matter what meal I ate. My eyes glittered since there were so many luxurious sets in the cafeteria I wanted to try but could never afford.


    "What long would it take until I fully ''recover''?" I wanted to know when the special treatment ended.


    "Maybe around one more month? Your injury hasn''t been recovering as fast as you should since you move around too often," Luke calculated.


    One month. It was the time left remaining for me to enjoy all the privileges the school gave us. I didn''t know how I would adjust back into my old room after indulging myself in all these luxuries. But I rolled around my bed in happiness before I froze when Luke pulled out another bottle of erigrent.


    "Do I really need that every single day?" I gulped at the sloshing liquid inside the bottle.

 Chapter 183 - Charity (1)

    The beautiful snowflakes fluttered down like diamonds as I bored into the scene outside my window. Although the temperature regulator was working perfectly fine, the air felt chilly from the atmosphere of the room. It was no wonder since our classmates were encountered with a newly formed school event at such short notice.


    "A charity event," Allan sighed.


    "This weekend," Charles joined in.


    "At least we still have five days to prepare for them," Ellen tried to comfort Allan.


    "We still need to choose which charity to sponsor, where to have the event and other small details," Alex took the lead.


    "My mansion is open," Luke volunteered.


    "Mine as well," Charles wrote his name down.


    Everything was done in two pairs ever since the witch hunt in the fall. This meant the class was splitting into two to carry out the school event. Before I could even think of meddling, Luke and I were paired with Alex and Shelly since we were the closest in the same fraction in this room.


    Since it wasn''t fair to the other class who had harder practical missions, the school arranged easier missions more frequently for our class. So instead of conducting missions twice a year, we had one for every season. But I wasn''t complaining because it was a way to earn more points easily.


    "Why don''t we visit some charities to decide which one to sponsor?" I thought of this as a chance to explore more of the first district.


    "That''s not a bad idea," Shelly agreed.


    "We already have a list from the school to choose from," Alex said as if it was a waste of time.


    "But do we really know them from reading all the brochures?" I refuted.


    "I think we really need to understand them to help them better," I pushed my idea.


    "But when do we have the time? We still have classes to attend while carrying out this mission?" Alex asked me for a solution.


    "Then I''ll go with Shelly without you," I casually shrugged.


    If they were too busy, I could go visit the charities without them. I wanted to know how the average person in the first district lived. I knew the world I lived in was different from them from visiting the mall filled with automated robots to purchase some candles. Plus, the secret hideout was in a middle class area, which resembled the dorm rooms with some additional features.


    It was frustrating to be stuck in one area and unable to explore the rest of the vast world. It was like I was living my entire life for the school. Maybe I was feeling more depressed since I had to move out of that luxurious room after I ''recovered'' a month ago. Once I experienced the special treatment, it was hard to go back to my prior room.


    "I''m not against visiting the charities," Luke surprised both Alex and me.


    "But that''s after we finish our usual routine from attending classes and our study sessions," he added.


    Alex slightly nodded as it meant there was no way I would have the energy to visit the charities from the list. Luke''s study sessions were long and intense to the point I would rather go to sleep right after. It had been this way for years.


    I sighed as my classmates knew too much about me since we grew up together. But they didn''t know how desperate I was to go out of this place called, ''school'' from being confined in Luke''s mansion for three weeks beforehand. Knowing this was the best option I had, I replied, "deal."


    When I returned to my room, I started to study the list we were given which had brief descriptions under the name of the charities. I frowned when I read the first few lines:


    [Roselia Fashionista ¨C subset of the Roselia Foundation]


    [Donating clothing and accessories to those in need in the first and second district]


    [Monete Grocery Bank ¨C subset of the Monete Foundation]


    [Donating food and drinks to those in need in the first and second district]


    No wonder Alex thought it was a waste of time from visiting the charities that their families operated and owned. I was definitely going to sponsor one that didn''t have any relation to any of the elite families in the first district. I changed my objective and began to search for the ones that wouldn''t contribute to their family image.


    I frowned when there were only three in the list that didn''t have a family name attached to them:


    [Happy Smiles]


    [Brightening one''s days as well as helping children with no parents]


    [Project Cleansing]


    [Making the first district a better place by helping with the cleanup in polluted areas]


    [Fate Maker]


    [Bringing fated couples closer together]


    Happy smiles and Fate Maker didn''t seem too bad, but I didn''t want to get involved with Project Cleansing. I didn''t know why, but that name was giving bad vibes after witnessing the deletion of Lilika Yuri. I could already guess it was something similar among the lines.


    "I think I want to visit two places," I showed the places I selected to Luke.


    "Those charities are under the jurisdiction of the counsel," Luke analyzed.


    The counsel? I had never heard of the counsel before. Maybe I did during class but forgot about it. I wondered if the counsel was an important organization or figure in the first district.


    "The counsel?" I asked.

 Chapter 184 - Charity (2)

    "The counsel is a group that governs the first district made up by the eldest members coming from the most powerful and wealthiest families," Luke explained.


    Didn''t this mean the counsel were the ones that came up with the harsh school and point system? And if they were the one that came up with the partner system, they were probably also responsible for my engagement with Luke. I flopped onto my bed as I processed the new information inside my head.


    "Is your family also part of the counsel?" I asked Luke.


    "My great great grandparents are a part of it," he admitted.


    It was four generations above Luke when I counted on my fingers. How long did people in the first district live? They had to have a longer lifespan than other districts for his great grandparents to be alive in a state they were able to govern.


    "People in the first district live for a long time," I commented.


    "They did celebrate their six hundredth wedding anniversary this year," Luke agreed.


    Six hundredth?!? My jaw dropped from the large number. They couldn''t possibly be human beings when they lived for such a long time. I was starting to think they were almost immortal. Could this be the difference between the world with mana and without?


    I nodded my head while comprehending the new information. I didn''t need to fill my brain with more worrisome stuff when it was already dead from too much school. I slapped my cheeks to fill me with determination to get through the next few days.


    "I think we can visit the places tomorrow," I planned.


    "But that is after we finish everything," Luke reminded me.


    "I know¡­" I groaned.


    This was how my face was placed on the cold desk to cool off my brain. Luke had overdone himself in the study session today. It was hours longer than usual, like he was purposely trying to exhaust me from having any thoughts about going anywhere. Honestly, it wasn''t a bad plan if he didn''t know how motivated I was to get out of the school.


    When he was about to leave the study room to head back to our room, I grabbed the edge of his shirt. He needed to stay so we could take the hover car instead to visit those charities today. Once I entered the dorm room, I knew I would just flop onto my bed to get more sleep.


    "We need to go to the places I mentioned yesterday," I reminded him of his promise.


    "Let me contact Alex and Shelly as well," Luke briefly pondered if his study session today was too short.


    I nodded my head as I tried to rest while I could. If Luke saw me too tired, he would likely force me to go to sleep so I wouldn''t daze during tomorrow''s class. While he sent messages to his cousin, I pinched myself to stay awake. I sighed as this would be much easier if I had canned coffee. Another thing I have never seen in the first district.


    "Are they coming?" I asked when he finished.


    "We decided to meet in the courtyard where the hover car I called will come," he explained.


    "But are you sure you''re not tired?"


    "What do you mean?" I laughed.


    This was bad. Pinching myself wasn''t working as well as I thought it would. I always wondered how Luke never got tired when we went through the same things together. I pinched my arm a little harder as I got up from my chair.


    "Let''s just go to the courtyard," I took the lead.


    Luke continued to study me on our way to try to find any weaknesses while I forced myself to take lighter steps to appear like I had more energy. I waved my hand when I found both Alex and Shelly waiting for us. When I looked around, the courtyard was almost empty as everyone else had retired to their dorms.


    "Let''s go to Happy Smiles first," I asked Shelly to set the destination once we settled in.


    While Shelly inputted the destination, Alex stared at me as he crossed his arms. I knew Alex never liked me but stuck with us since we were all ''family''. He seemed to disapprove we were going out of campus on a school day for a trivial mission.


    I ignored him as I pulled up a map on my marble to study the surrounding area. This was a chance to properly explore the first district! But expectedly, the charity was inside a residential area full of houses and some typical grocery and convenience stores. Even though this was not what I wanted, I wanted to at least go inside the grocery store.


    I wondered how different the grocery store would be from the other districts. Even the convenience store had to have some unique items! My face that slipped into a scheming smile caught the attention of both Luke and Alex.


    "What are you planning now?" Alex''s face stiffened even further.


    "Nothing, we''re just visiting the charity," I shrugged.


    I looked outside the window to take in the lovely scenery. Although, it was the typical patches of mansions and wonderfully maintained gardens in the route we took like usual. I did wonder why the hover car never took any other route like the middle-class area with the apartments which was where my hideout was located. But it was better than being cooped up at school.

 Chapter 185 - Charity (3)

    Luke offered me his hand when I was about to get off the hover car. I accepted, knowing it was common etiquette and elegantly got off the car. The orphanage appeared like a mini school with the nice facilities. It was unlike what I imagined, it looked like it was properly funded, at least externally.


    A teacher from the orphanage came out to greet us like we were important sponsors. She warmly smiled like she radiated sunshine. The inside was similar to the outside with the same designs and decorations that resembled our school. In some ways, this place appeared even nicer than the middle-class area I visited.


    "Unfortunately, the director is not here today," she apologized.


    "No, it''s us who decided to come last minute," Luke politely answered.


    "Why don''t I see any of the children?" I found it strange to see the nice facilities mostly empty.


    Alex shot me a glare as we continued the tour with the teacher. It seemed like everyone knew the reason why except for me again. I never knew this was such a famous place that everyone knew what was going on. Feeling left out, I squeezed Shelly''s hand for the answer.


    "The children are in class," Shelly whispered inside my ear with carefully chosen words.


    "Can we go see the children?" I asked the teacher.


    The teacher momentarily stopped walking, before turning to answer, "which class would you want to visit?"


    It wasn''t like they were displayed in a zoo. I became confused by her question. There had to be something more to place that I didn''t know about. I glanced at Luke for an explanation as he answered for me.


    "Any class will do," he replied after silently asking Shelly and Alex for their opinions.


    "Then I will lead you to class 12-B," the teacher immediately decided.


    We were soon led to a large room that was almost the same as the mana training rooms at our school. Inside the room were around twenty children who practiced attacking the dummies like they were their enemies. In turn, the wooden mannequins holding a sharp sword were spelled to attack them as it analyzed the children''s every move.


    The mannequins had realistic human skin and features that wouldn''t be distinguishable from human beings. In fact, if I couldn''t sense the complex spell layered over top of one another to make the illusion, I might have rushed in to stop the vile scene. I frowned as I continued watching the people that appeared like they were fighting for their lives like an outsider.


    If I had to compare my current vessel''s age to them, I couldn''t even call them children when we appeared to be the same age. More than an orphanage, this place appeared like a training facility with the grunt atmosphere. I stuck to Shelly even closer as I stared at the scene in front of me.


    "This is just like our mana training class," Shelly noticed how uncomfortable I felt.


    But it wasn''t. Our mana training class was based on teaching us new spells rather than attacking other people. I bit my lip when I noticed one child immediately getting back up to fight back when he fell down earlier from the dummy''s attack. His arm appeared broken with blood pouring out from the slash and bending at unnatural angles.


    He ignored the pain in his arm to mutter another attack spell to get some time to pick up his sword again. But he soon fell onto the ground as the mannequin relentlessly kicked the child when it spotted another opening. My ears were filled with his screams as he couldn''t move from each painful kick that wouldn''t stop.


    I froze when the screams finally stopped when the child appeared unconscious. Did the first district really need a place like this? Why were they training children around the same age as us to fight this hard? When I couldn''t continue watching the kids getting badly beaten up, I turned towards the walls.


    "I thought this place was just an orphanage," I pitied them.


    "It is¡­" Shelly couldn''t hide it wasn''t only an orphanage.


    There could be no way I could support a place like here. I would rather support another orphanage where children could be children with a normal childhood. I pulled on Luke''s shirt to tell him I wanted to get out of the room.


    Luke nodded as we soon exited the room and sat on the nearby bench while Alex had sent the teacher away. My thoughts of wanting to explore the nearby area had almost disappeared after watching such a horrible scene. But when I looked at everyone''s expressions, they remained the same as before.


    "Can we support another orphanage?" I asked Luke.


    "This is the only orphanage in the first district," Luke answered with no emotions.


    My hopes crumbled as I started to feel even worse. I never thought I was lucky enough to be reincarnated into a privileged body with a family that loves me in the third district. I could have been reincarnated as a child in the second district, thrown away in an alley with zero potential for mana or a child training for their lives in this orphanage.


    I shuddered from the thought, drowning from the idea that no child in the first district had a normal childhood from what I encountered so far. Maybe this life wasn''t as bad compared to others in front of me.

 Chapter 186 - Charity (4)

    When I calmed down, I decided I had to do something for the children inside the orphanage. I had to find a way for them to get out of that place, someplace better than almost fighting to their deaths. I squeezed the edge of my skirt, feeling powerless, not knowing what to do.


    I couldn''t rely on Luke since it was his family''s image and money. I doubted Luke would approve in the first place, the only thing I could do was to choose this place for the charity party. But at the same time, I didn''t want to fund such a horrible place. The only way that I could lead the orphanage towards the image I wanted was to add conditions in how they use the money if it was possible.


    "Do we donate the money directly to them without any conditions?" I asked Luke.


    "Do we need to add conditions?" Luke appeared confused with a lifted eyebrow.


    I sighed in relief as I was able to confirm we could add conditions to the money we donated. My mind felt clearer on the pathway I could follow while Luke didn''t ask the reason for my question. Although I was powerless to make great changes, I could add some conditions to make their situation more bearable. I decided to come up with some ideas in drafting the doc.u.ment as I asked Luke, "Can we choose this place for the event?"


    Luke glanced at both Shelly and Alex if they agreed. As I predicted, Shelly nodded to support my idea while Alex agreed since he didn''t want to waste more time going to look around more places. I silently cheered inside my heart as Luke called for the teacher who stood a few metres behind us to give us some time to think.


    "Have you chosen a child you want to sponsor?" She unexpectedly asked.


    I wondered what she meant by sponsor. Was this like the other charities in my past life where people could sponsor a child to help? Luke apologized as the teacher appeared a bit disappointed it wasn''t the case.


    "Our mission given by the school is to host a party to have guests donate money towards a charity of our choosing," Luke explained.


    "That''s a noble mission," the teacher brightened again.


    "Thank you for choosing us," she bowed to hide her expression that appeared full of deliberation.


    "I will escort you outside," she pushed us back to the entrance.


    The teacher increased her pace as I almost started to jog to follow her. She didn''t seem to consider my heavy breaths as she never looked back before closing the doors. It was like she was trying to hide how she wasn''t that welcoming anymore after we declared we weren''t sponsoring a child. But, it was strange how she didn''t appear happy from the potential donations coming in. There had to be more to this place than what was seen on the surface.


    The hover car waited for us right by the gates as everyone got inside the car except for me. I stood by the door, not willing to go in when I haven''t explored the grocery store yet. There was no way I was going to go directly to the school when I needed a breath of fresh air after witnessing such a cruel scene.


    "Luke had kept his end of the promise so hurry up and get in," Alex started to get irritated.


    "But I also need to visit the nearby grocery store," I mumbled.


    "What do you need to go to the grocery store for? You can''t even cook," Luke didn''t seem to count when I cooked some omelets inside my parent''s house.


    "I''m hungry and don''t want to spend our points on meals in school," I said the first excuse that came to my head.


    "Then we could go to a restaurant near the school," Alex urged me to get in the car.


    "But we can''t go to a grocery store that''s only like a three-minute walk from here?" I questioned them.


    "That wasn''t part of the deal. That''s just you, being selfish when Luke already gave into you since you were being so stubborn," Alex indirectly scolded me.


    Of course, Alex took Luke''s side as usual while painting me as the villain. This made me feel more adamant in not listening to Alex as I walked away from the car.


    "You can go back to school first. Shelly and I can go alone, and you don''t have to follow us," I hinted to Shelly that she could step out of the hover car.


    Instead, Shelly shot me an apologetic glance as she chose to stay inside the hover car under the immense pressure of Alex and Luke staring in her direction as she deliberated on what to do. I couldn''t blame Shelly when she was weak to the pressure around her. I decided to walk to the grocery store on my own until I was stopped by Luke who got out of the car.


    Luke grabbed my wrist as he began to give me options that were not options, "we can either go to the restaurant or go back to school, but that''s it."


    "That''s not really a choice whether I can go to that grocery store is it?" I smirked.


    It wasn''t like I wanted to visit for a long time. I just wanted to go there, experience what it was like, take in some new scenery. I didn''t want to only go to places that Luke approved. I didn''t see the problem in my suggestion of going alone. It wasn''t causing any harm to anyone.

 Chapter 187 - The Runaway Orphan (1)

    "I choose none of the options, let go," I tried to shake his grip off.


    "Rika," Luke tightened his grip on me as if he was warning me.


    "Why can''t I go? I can go alone, and you can go back to wherever you want!" I shouted.


    It was frustrating how everyone turned on me when it went against Luke''s wishes. I heaved from not being able to escape from Luke''s grasp and gave up struggling to catch my breath. His expression turned into cold ice blocks and I knew I was testing his patience. Luke didn''t say another word like he was pressuring me to give up and walk into the hover car with him.


    I didn''t want to give into him since it felt like I was losing. I was about to flop down onto the ground in my current spot before I noticed someone coming towards us. His oddly angled arm and blood-stained clothes showed that he was the same boy who was unconscious a few minutes ago. I wondered if the children were allowed to readily go out of the orphanage on their own.


    I guessed they weren''t when Luke''s eyes narrowed in suspicion. When the boy noticed we were the same spectators who watched his fight, his eyes widened before he rushed in to place a sharp knife against my neck. My wrist became free from Luke loosening his grip from shock as he wobbled backwards in disbelief.


    In turn, the boy was able to gain a dominant position where he had his uninjured arm surrounding my entire neck. I stood still like an icicle, knowing one step would mean one slit to my neck. Maybe I was used to these situations since I felt calm compared to the boy trembling tremendously. I was starting to compare if the gun in the second district was scarier or the knife that would take longer to kill a person.


    "If you report me, then this girl won''t live," the boy threatened us.


    Nobody dared to move as the atmosphere increasingly became more tense. I coughed as the boy gained more confidence to press the knife directly against my skin. I wondered if I could use teleportation to escape, but since he was a person of the first district, he could notice me chanting the spell. It was possible to use mana without chanting or trying to visualize the result, but it took tons of practice. Unfortunately, I wasn''t at that level yet.


    "I won''t report you," I decided to go along with him.


    "Promise me your word on your family crest!" He spat out.


    Family crest? I was sure Luke had one of those, but I came from an ordinary family. There was nothing I had to lose. I guessed promising on one''s family crest was an insured version of keeping one''s word from common etiquette.


    "I promise as Rika Shanes that I won''t report you," I left out the Roselia family name.


    The Roselia family name wasn''t entirely mine. I didn''t want people to know I was engaged to Luke if they didn''t have to know. From my experiences, it was only a pain once they figured out. Since his family was well-known, people started to drastically treat me differently when I just wanted to be treated like a normal person.


    "You''re not an elite?" The boy appeared fl.u.s.tered as he stepped back a bit.


    This was the reaction I was expecting. I hoped he would let me go, knowing I wasn''t one of them. It was obvious someone who came from a powerful family would have a higher value as a hostage rather than a normal person.


    "Are you surprised?" I shrugged.


    "Don''t you mess with me. Only elites are allowed to sponsor children from this place and have the teacher guide you around!" He pushed harder against my neck enough to bleed trickles down my throat.


    What else did I not know? I tried to keep my line of sight above my neck to keep myself from seeing my own blood. I clenched my fists to help me absorb the pain as Luke showed a pang of nervousness from the thin string of my life.


    "I give you my word on the Roselia family name that I won''t report you for this one attempt of your escape," Luke quickly said as the knife dug deeper.


    "I knew it," the boy mumbled as he let me go.


    "You had to come from an elite family," he looked at me as if he was accusing me of lying.


    I wobbled towards Luke as my legs became suddenly weak. Luke pulled me inside his chest as he studied my wound. When he took a bottle of erigent from his marble, I pushed myself away from him. There was no way I was going through a round of intense pain from this little scratch. I still remembered the stinging pain that lasted for at least half an hour from that liquid when I was recovering in the fall.


    "I don''t need erigent," I refused.


    "I can use heal instead," I ran to the boy to prove heal was better.


    Maybe it was from the guilt I had from watching the boy get beat up, I chanted heal to mend his broken arm. A bright yellow light surrounded his arm as traces of pooling blood was starting to disappear while his skin started to stitch itself back up. My head throbbed as I concentrated on which part of his anatomy to focus on to use heal more efficiently. When the toll of using too much mana was starting to strain my body, the light vanished.

 Chapter 188 - The Runaway Orphan (2)

    Unfortunately, I was only able to heal the external injuries, and his bone was still out of place. But the boy welled up in tears while being confused why I would help the one that tried to kill me just a few minutes before. Even Shelly looked at me with worry and disapproval as she got out of the hover car to run towards me when I tried to heal the boy.


    "Are you a goddess?" The boy whispered.


    I shook my head. The boy stared at me as if he was worshipping me, forgetting the prior incident entirely. When he came to his senses, he abruptly got up to thank me.


    "I will never forget this. I give you my word that I will repay you back," he wiped his tears.


    Before I could tell him that I didn''t deserve anything, he ran off to hide his face flushed into red while continuing his escape. I sighed as I just didn''t want to be a bystander, watching others suffer while staring in my comfortable spot. I scolded myself why I didn''t interrupt the fight before his arm got broken earlier instead of hiding behind Shelly.


    But I was in shock of such an inhumane scene that was displayed right in front of my eyes, I ended up freezing in my spot. However, I knew it was never an excuse for not doing anything when I had the power to do something. I was glad I was able to do something for the boy, although it was by accident.


    I couldn''t blame him for wanting to escape from such a cruel place. Although my attempts were unsuccessful to escape from my own situation, I hoped his would succeed as I collapsed onto the floor, drained of energy. When I looked up, I found Luke opening the bottle with Alex already beside him.


    When I tried to feel how much mana I had remaining, I knew I had left enough to use heal to recuperate from my own injury. But my eyes widened as Alex suddenly grabbed my wrist tightly to prevent me from escaping while Luke poured the translucent liquid over my neck. I screamed as an abrupt wave of intense pain hit my head and squirmed to escape from Alex''s grip.


    However, his iron grip made me stay in one spot as each wave of agony got increasingly more intense. I gritted my teeth as I tried to tolerate the crashing pain as my mind got fuzzier and my body limp. I felt like a rag doll as I was aware my body was being dragged inside the hover car. I tried to stay awake against my heavy eyelids lulling me to sleep, until my mind melted, and everything went black.


    When I woke up inside the hover car, I sighed in relief that not much time had passed. We were still miles away from the school as we were above a luscious forest. It was disappointing how we were going back to school so soon. My attempts in going to the grocery store had miserably failed and I could feel everyone''s eyes on me once I opened my eyes.


    "Can we go to the restaurant?" I chose since it was better than directly going to school.


    "We''re on our way to school," Alex told me like there was no room for me to refute.


    "I thought you were giving me the choice to either go to the restaurant or school," I turned to Luke.


    "That choice had expired when you decided to choose none of them. Anyhow, we can''t go to the restaurant in that state," Luke frowned at my bandaged neck.


    "But this isn''t even serious," I pulled on the bandage.


    The bandage unraveled to reveal a faint pink scar on my neck that looked like it was days old rather than minutes. However, it would at least take a several days for it to completely disappear. Seeing how I felt perfectly fine, Luke''s worries seemed unfounded.


    "Just rest until we get back to school," Luke sighed, not bothering to do anything about the bandage.


    "We''re really not going anywhere?" I cried.


    How could I do nothing when my hard-earned freedom was going down the drain? There was absolutely nothing I was gaining from this deal with Luke. It was clear both Alex and Luke were adamant on going back to school.


    I looked toward Shelly for help, but unexpectedly she turned away to avoid my pleas. It was shocking that Shelly didn''t take my side for the first time. Pangs of betrayal hit my heart as Shelly chose to stay silent like she was agreeing with them. No one inside this hover car was on my side.


    "Why? Why can''t I go?" I accused Luke.


    "Why do I need your permission whenever I want to go anywhere?" I yelled.


    "Rika- "


    "It''s not fair. I''m not a doll that is willing to be under your control!" I interrupted him.


    "Do you think I want to watch everywhere you go?" Luke shouted.


    "If you didn''t get into these dangerous situations too frequently like an hour ago, I wouldn''t have to!"


    Alex nodded to agree with Luke as Shelly silently watched our fight. Knowing that whatever I said would be dismissed while everyone took his side, I decided not to argue back. But I wasn''t going to stay inside this car, giving into Luke as usual. I had no reason to continue listening to him.


    I opened the car door and said some final words before jumping out, "I had enough. I don''t see any reason I have to stay here anymore."


    "Wait, Rika!" Shelly yelled as I leaped outside of the door.

 Chapter 189 - The Runaway Orphan (3)

    The wind whooshed through my ears as I felt myself falling towards the forest underneath. But what I didn''t expect was Luke jumping right behind me, above me as I was falling down. I was forced to see his face burning with frustration and anger staring down at me, not able to cover my eyes. Instead, my eyes widened from surprise that he would go after me and anticipated the trouble I placed myself in once I made my safe landing on the firm ground.


    My skirt puffed up as I twisted my body to land on my feet while summoning some mana to control the air so I would have a soft landing. I sighed in relief when I safely landed on the ground, not looking at the clouds of dirt behind me when Luke followed after me. I gulped as I heard heavy footsteps heading toward my way.


    When I looked behind, my face slightly turned from a light slap with Luke''s angry eyes full of worry. I grabbed my cheek, unbelieving that Luke had actually hit me. Luke always tried to solve things with words. Even though it didn''t hurt, I stumbled a few steps back, almost tripping over a tree branch a step away.


    "What were you thinking?" Luke yelled.


    When I was about to answer, the hover car drifted near the ground. Shelly jumped out of the car before it landed to run towards me. My eyes went round as she hugged me tightly and I momentarily forgot about Luke. Her hands trembled as she didn''t let me go like she was afraid of losing something.


    "No matter how much you disagree with us, it doesn''t justify jumping out of a car ten metres off the ground. Only a blatant fool would jump out a hover car," Alex added as he walked towards us.


    Everyone knew how it wasn''t very dangerous to jump out of a hover car. We were trained in how to mana to survive in light missions given by the school ever since kindergarten. We could be left in a deserted island alone and we would still be able to survive in luxury due to this.


    "You should''ve just left me alone," I muttered.


    "I just wanted some time to myself outside of school and the stuffy mansions." I clenched my fists while looking down.


    "Do you know how selfish you''re being? What about the people who worry about you whenever you do these rash behaviours?" Alex pointed out Luke who stood in the back.


    "I would''ve returned to school on my own anyways," I mumbled.


    "But I wouldn''t have jumped out in the first place if you let me go to that grocery store alone," I argued back in complaint as I felt everyone was ganging up on me.


    "You know we didn''t let you go for security purposes," Luke stepped forward.


    Of course, it was always unsafe to be anywhere other than school and their mansions. I knew Luke didn''t even consider my parents'' place to be a safe place. But I wasn''t a person who could live like that for my entire life. In my former life, I would go out with friends to karaoke rooms and PC rooms with fast WIFI together to have fun when I didn''t have to study. I considered it a mystery how I was able to survive so far with such a limited amount of freedom.


    "Especially after getting in danger as soon as leaving the orphanage," Luke added the incident of the boy threatening us.


    "Then doesn''t it mean I''m in danger everywhere except for your mansions and the school," I pointed out.


    "Aren''t you?" Luke agreed.


    My heart skipped a beat from having my suspicions confirmed. It wasn''t like I wasn''t used to this. It was my fault for asking a question to get an answer that I didn''t want to hear. But it was frustrating since it felt like I was always talking to an inflexible, tall wall.


    "What would people want from a normal girl from the third district?" I complained.


    "What would people try to obtain from the fianc¨¦e to the Roselia family heir?" Luke pointed out my other identity.


    Of course, everything went back to my identity of being the fianc¨¦e of the heir of the Roselia family. From what I knew, I could''ve lived an ordinary life in this reincarnation if not for that one fact. I tried to change my approach to get a better answer from him.


    "Then can I go anywhere other than those ''safe places'' if I ask you instead of going off on my own?"


    "I let you go to the orphanage today."


    "That doesn''t count, I meant on my own," I started to get more irritated.


    "You know I go to these places with you since they''re unsafe," Luke seemed to wonder why I wasn''t getting the point.


    I knew this meant he was never going to let me go anywhere on my own if it was deemed to be ''unsafe''. I separated from Shelly, feeling guilty I would be using her to argue why we were treated so differently. I shot her a pitiful look to ask for her forgiveness as her eyes flickered as if she knew what I was going to say next.


    "Then why doesn''t Shelly need to ask Alex for permission whenever she wants to go to ''unsafe'' places? She''s also engaged to the ''powerful heir of the Monete family''."

 Chapter 190 - Responsibilities (1)

    "You know how Michelle doesn''t get into trouble like you do," Luke pressed his hand against his forehead.


    Was this really the excuse he was using? It wasn''t like I got into troublesome situations because I wanted to, but that I simply landed in them. Luke always overexaggerated the danger, which made it worse than it actually was.


    "Also, Michelle takes responsibility for her actions. Can you do the same?"


    I opened my mouth to refute, but I couldn''t. I had to admit that Luke did take responsibility for almost everything and sometimes, the consequences of some of my actions. But it wasn''t like I asked him to take responsibility for me. He was the one who volunteered to do this, didn''t he?


    I held my head as my memories began pouring one by one. It was one week after I came back to school after recovering at Luke''s mansion. I ran to the edge of the courtyard, noticing a feeble kitten. It was unusual to have domestic pets inside the school grounds.


    No pets were allowed in this school. But the kitten laid down under the tree like it was waiting for its death. Her faint meows and dull eyes called me towards her until I carried her inside my arms. My heart felt like it was going to be torn apart when I noticed her original white fur tangled with blood and thorns. I couldn''t let her die like this as I pitied her giving up on life.


    "I''ll take care of you," I whispered to the kitten.


    The kitten was limp in my arms as I decided to use heal once we were in a place with less eyes. Who knew who I could run into in this courtyard that could be seen in every angle? Her ribs that stuck out in its angular shape showed she wasn''t fed in weeks. Before I used heal, it was better to feed her.


    I knew I couldn''t bring her into the school without getting caught. Even my dorm room wasn''t reliable. Luke would probably throw her out of the room with no hesitation and report her to the authorities. I hesitantly left her on the stale ground, hidden between the large bushes as I looked around my surroundings.


    "I''ll come back soon to give you food," I patted the kitten before running to the cafeteria.


    Since it was long past dinner time, the cafeteria was mostly empty except for few people gathered for a late dinner. Ignoring everything around me, I ordered a luxurious set of deluxe assortments of fish on the tablet. But instead of sitting on an empty chair to eat my meal, I ran out of the cafeteria with the tray inside my hands. I could feel the numerous eyes on my back like another rumor was about to start, but I sped walked until I was outside the school.


    I had to admit it was nice to be able to order food without using any of my points. Earning points to survive wasn''t the goal anymore with my luxurious room and food. But Luke became even stricter, not allowing me to slack off to earn more points to go to the high school section of this school.


    "Here kitty~" I pushed the tray in front of her.


    The kitten stared at me instead of looking at the food. I wondered if it was too weak to feed itself. I slid my finger over the glazed fish and placed it before her nose. After smelling the irresistible aroma, the kitten licked my finger. And almost immediately, its eyes lit up as she started to swallow the entire tray with the energy that replenished some of her life.


    I gasped as I didn''t even have to use heal on her. I watched her wounds recovering as her wounds stitched itself up with a bright white light surrounding it. I tried to cover the light as I took off my blazer to hide the kitten. When the light died down, I found a kitten who regained most of her fat and lovely fur free of any stains.


    This wasn''t a normal kitten, was it? Sometimes I forgot that the first district had some fantasy aspects to it since I was more exposed to the technology part. As if the kitten was trying to thank me, she jumped into my arms and purred like she was asking me to pet her head. She shot an arrow to my heart as I melted under her adorable smile.


    I hugged the kitten and decided to bring her with me to show her to Shelly and Ellen. She couldn''t be too much trouble. I just had to look out for anyone who may be watching. I carefully took the bothersome routes that people didn''t like using on my way to the caf¨¦. But I stumbled back when the kitten suddenly leaped out of my arms.


    "Hey!" I ran after the cat.


    The kitten started to run towards buildings full of clubs. Clubs were present in the school for people who wanted to share their hobby with other people. It was one of the few shared spaces between the middle and high school sections.


    However, it was a place that was seldom used for middle schoolers. Apparently, the high school section had more free time with less classes since they were more focused on completing missions given by the school. I hoped I didn''t run into any high schoolers, especially people that I knew.


    But of course, I had to run into someone while chasing the kitten. My head bumped into the embroidered crest of someone wearing the high school uniform. When I looked up, I groaned. Why did it have to be this person again?

 Chapter 191 - Responsibilities (2)

    "Ben?" I muttered before remembering to run after the cat.


    From the corner of my eye, I found the cat stepping into the room with the sign reading, ''Art Room''. This had to be no good. Everyone knew how the art room had the most fragile stuff like statues and paintings. This was no time to worry about the people watching. I had to make sure the kitten didn''t cause any trouble.


    "Here kitty kitty~" I tried to call her back to me.


    I entered the room as the stunning artworks stared back at me. Paintings and statues moved like they were living entities of their own. It was the definition of animated artworks, pulsing full of life. It was such a magical experience as most of the decorations were motionless in the school and mansions. Maybe it was a matter of preference.


    And the perfect illusion shattered as the cat scratched one of the canvases like one of its toys. My eyes widened as I became more desperate to catch the naughty kitten. I twisted my body inside the small space before the kitten ruined more artworks. But there was no way I could focus catching her while catching all the objects that were about to drop onto the ground with her every step.


    "Come on!" I stomped my foot.


    I managed to catch four objects with two of my hands as she jumped onto the shelves full of trinkets. I didn''t know how she managed to sweep the whole shelf empty with her once majestic tail. It was like going through an obstacle course since I had to avoid all the objects I placed on the ground, not knowing its original place.


    "Stop watching and help!" I turned to Ben who stood by the door.


    I shoved some objects into his hands. I knew I could trust him to put them back to their rightful places. I could deal with Ben later, but the kitten had come out of the art room immediately. As Ben started to place the items back on the shelves and picking the artworks off the ground, I was finally able to focus on the kitten.


    When things finally started to look better, the cat jumped off a tethering shelf full of moving clay works. This had to be unreal. I reached out my arm and muttered a space-time spell to freeze the shelf from falling down. This required a certain amount of concentration while I pushed back the shelf into a stable position.


    I turned towards the kitten who licked her paws before my knees became weak and I collapsed onto the floor. How could she ruin all the paintings on the easels in such a short period of time? As seconds continued to pass, sculptures began toppling down without my interference and shelves collapsed like they were dominos. My ears were full of noises of more priceless artwork breaking while the only ones intact after the disastrous event was the ones in Ben''s arms.


    I smiled like a broken doll when the kitten walked into my lap after all that trouble. I opened the window and was about to place the cat outside when both Luke and Alex were about to walk past the art room. I wondered why I didn''t close the door as I hoped they would just peacefully pass by.


    But of course, they froze when they noticed the trashed art room. It was quite unfortunate that the window was right in the direction where the door opened. Ben was inside the inner part of the room where he couldn''t be seen unless someone entered the room. Maybe it was better to close the door before they entered.


    I didn''t need more spectators. I tightly hugged the kitten this time to make sure she wouldn''t be able to escape as I was about to close the door. Unfortunately, both Luke and Alex entered the room before I was able to close the door. I sighed as they took in the full damages of the room into their vision.


    "What happened?" Luke pulled out the words after a moment of silence.


    "It doesn''t matter. We need to fix all these artworks before the original owners come back while someone needs to look after the kitten," I started to revert some of the artworks back to their former glory after passing the kitten to Ben.


    When we heard footsteps of others heading in this direction, both Luke and Alex started to frantically recover the artworks with no other choice. With our efficient teamwork that blossomed out of desperation, we managed to recover most of the artworks within a few minutes.


    Normally this would be impossible, but the three of us had more affluent mana than others. Our ears perked up as someone finally pressed the button to open the door. There was one canvas left with scratch marks on the paint. We needed one person to distract the person while the rest of us recovered it.


    Alex was a goner since he was dripping full of sweat after using a large amount of mana. With our silent agreement, Alex was chosen as the person to confront whoever was coming in. When the door opened, the person walked a few steps back as if she was surprised by Alex''s sudden appearance.


    I pulled a thumbs up as a signal to Alex when both Luke and I finished fixing the last painting. My heart thumped full of adrenaline as we barely managed to recover the entire room in time. Alex stepped aside and apologized for blocking the way as few art club members began pouring into the room.


    But when I looked at Ben''s arms to take care of the kitten, the kitten was gone when she was there a second ago. "Where''s the kitten Ben?" I whispered while getting the attention of Luke.

 Chapter 192 - Responsibilities (3)

    Ben didn''t get the chance to answer as the kitten revealed herself standing on the windowsill. I couldn''t stop myself from groaning as I hoped she wouldn''t jump on one of the sculptures again. But when the tallest sculpture was about to shatter onto the floor from one of her powerful jumps right after my thought, it made almost every priceless piece collapse like a domino with it.


    I covered my ears and squeezed my eyes, not wanting to watch my hard efforts wasted. Unfortunately, I could still feel Luke''s hot blaming stare before I opened my eyes to see the members of the art club with their jaws dropped. Although I pitied the pure heartbreak in their eyes, I could predict the anger that would be directed towards us next.


    If things couldn''t get worse, the kitten jumped into my lap as it purred like it deserved a reward. It was obvious it appeared like I was the owner of this cat. I guessed this was the reason why pets weren''t allowed in the school. I shot a blaming look towards Ben before he silently shot me back a look that I was the one who brought the cat inside the school in the first place.


    "She''s not my pet!" I shouted, feeling it was unfair.


    Luke lightly pinched my arm to tell me to be quiet instead of making the situation worse. He rose from his spot and proceeded to explain the whole incident.


    "This is a wild kitten as you see there''s no mark indicating that it''s tamed. When we came into the room, the kitten was already here from the opened window," Luke pointed out the small details.


    We all nodded our heads to agree before Alex added to support Luke.


    "We decided to go to the art room to grab some supplies and references for our next mission, but the kitten took a liking to Rika," Alex sighed.


    "You know how it''s hard to control wild creatures," Ben narrowed his eyes like it was a threat since he had a higher standing than them.


    "We''ll help you recover them!" I suggested as I had enough mana left.


    It lifted the pressing atmosphere of the room as Alex comforted them by telling him he could recommend some of their artworks to the creative division of his family company. Meanwhile, the three of us managed to expend the remaining bits of our mana to put the room back to its glory after thirty minutes.


    "The Roselia family also supports talented artists," Luke added after finishing repairing the last artwork while hiding his long breaths.


    "And the Nuelle family isn''t far behind as well," Ben smiled to warn them to keep their mouths shut for more potential recommendations.


    When the four of us finally left the art room with the kitten in Alex''s arms, we instantly relaxed after passing the incident. Who knew a tiny kitten would cause so much trouble? I braced myself for their lecturing once we returned to our dorms. For once, I didn''t feel too bad as I knew Ben and I wouldn''t be able to get out of that room unscathed without their help.


    I stumbled a few steps back as my hands detached from my head. I was surprised at myself from being used to throwing most of my responsibility to Luke whenever I landed myself in trouble. When did I become like this? My eyes quivered from the thought and I rubbed my arms for comfort. Luke took my silence as agreement and continued.


    "If you are, I am willing to consider acknowledging you as an equal." Luke gave the last blows.


    When I didn''t respond, Alex made direct eye contact with me, "Luke has taken responsibility for every one of your actions with me. Can you do the same?"


    I clenched my fists as I knew I couldn''t do the same. It was frustrating to admit, but I didn''t know or have the ability to take responsibility the same way he did. But did I have to in the first place? Most of the responsibilities Alex was talking about was the duties I had to Luke as his fianc¨¦e.


    "Luke didn''t have to take responsibility for my actions, it was his choice. And plus, most of those responsibilities were his on the first place since my family is in the third district, having nothing to do with any of these politics." I squeaked out a weak argument.


    "You know it''s clearly your duty as Luke''s fianc¨¦e," Alex repeated my thoughts.


    "You know how I tried to break my engagement, but you guys were the ones that didn''t let me," I complained.


    "Do you think Luke had a choice in this too? You know how much effort Luke is putting in to try to make this work out with you. It''s not only you in this situation," Alex pointed out.


    When I opened my mouth to make a counter, I couldn''t. It was exactly because I knew how everyone else in my school went through the same hopeless situation. I knew how both Shelly and Alex were forced together even though they were a horrible match. There wasn''t a single day where Shelly didn''t dread her engagement.


    While I listened to her hopeless complaints, I was happy in denial I didn''t come from the first district. It would be different for me since I came from the third district. I wouldn''t have to go through the same things as her.


    But maybe, somewhere deep inside, I knew I wasn''t so different from her.

 Chapter 193 - Responsibilities (4)

    All the unwanted luxuries such as the mounting school tuition had to be paid back somehow. It wasn''t like I could return the investment made by Luke''s family by working for my entire life. It just felt unfair how I was forced to receive everything and then pushed my entire life in exchange for the deal.


    "It''s just too unfair!" I shouted.


    "Why do I have to go through all this when I''m from the third district?" I cried my heart out.


    My not-so-great childhood of studying day and night. My pains of not being able to eat the way I want, go to the places I wanted to explore to what I could wear. Even visiting my parents was a rare occasion that my younger brother and I were almost strangers. Why was everyone telling me to give more things up when I had enough?


    My former life where I died before I could take my SATs was much better than this. I lived with my loving family and hung out with my friends doing normal things whenever I had free time. I was never thankful for having such a normal life since it was given to me like a free plate of food.


    I was aware I became a bit selfish after my first death. But who wouldn''t be when you had lots of regrets before dying at a young age? I wanted to experience everything this world offered me before my second death. Nobody knew when they would die even though people in the first district had a longer lifespan than others.


    The average lifespan in my last life was around eighty years old, but I couldn''t even live a quarter of it. And the second chance card was ambiguous to the point it didn''t guarantee anything. In my own way, I was trying to live my current life with the least amount of regrets.


    "Let''s go back into the car," Alex pulled me towards the hover car.


    Before Alex could continue dragging me against my will, a desperate scream for help rang throughout the forest. As the scream continued, Luke and Alex looked the other way as if they were ignoring the person in help. Meanwhile, Shelly stood in her spot, taking turns at looking at my face and Luke.


    Of course, both Luke and his fervent supporter Alex would force us inside the hover car. I knew how Luke wanted to avoid any signs of trouble if it wasn''t his problem. I took the chance when Alex seemed a bit surprised from the presence of another person. I slipped out of his tight grip and started running towards the direction where the shout came from to help.


    I ignored Luke''s angry, warning shouts as I continued to sprint with my heightened hearing. One minute or even several seconds could be crucial when saving one''s life. I had enough mana to help and I wasn''t going to a safe place alone. I skidded across the dirt ground as I looked up at the hideous creature looming over the orphan who I recently healed.


    What was this? It couldn''t be a person at the same time it had some presence of humanity within it. The creature''s skin was ashen grey, and its veins popped out in crimson red. It stood like a human being while being completely covered in fur in the areas of its hands and feet. However, the rest of its body appeared to be covered in tough scales.


    "Monster," the orphan spat out in disgust while being held by the creature''s long nails.


    Monster? I stared at the creature more closely. There was no hideous creature such as this in the other districts. But at the same time, I was only exposed to the safer parts of the first district with an abundant amount of security. If this was a world with mana, there had to be monsters in return.


    I wondered why I have never thought of this notion before, when it was almost in every comic book I read. It was clear what the orphanage was for when it located close in proximity to this creature a few metres in front of me. They were training young children to fight those monsters.


    When I was about to mutter a spell, Luke grabbed my hand to prevent me from initiating it. I turned to Luke in annoyance, "What''s your problem? Don''t you see he''s about to die?"


    The boy was slowly being choked to his death as the creature''s nails dug in deeper with a bright smile. Every cough spurted more blood as his arms became limp. I could tell he wouldn''t last long as his skin was turning pale blue from the lack of air. His weapon was a distance away on the floor, damaged like it was distorted beyond its use.


    "We have to help him," I struggled to escape his grasp.


    "But you could die in his place," Shelly appeared extremely worried while she agreed with Luke.


    Just how powerful was this monster? Why were we just watching him die? What else were they keeping from me? It was like they wanted me to escape with them to a safer place while we could. I could sense fear in all of their eyes, hidden behind their annoyance of why I wouldn''t follow them.


    "Let''s go Rika. We might not be able to visit your parents the next holiday, but mine," Luke pulled out more threats.

 Chapter 194 - Monster (1)

    I couldn''t care less at this point whose house we were visiting next holiday. It was better than watching someone''s death in front of me. I squinted when the boy''s entire body became limp. There was no way I was going to let Luke stop me anymore.


    The wind rose up as the fallen tree leaves swirled around my feet. It was already late when Luke discovered I have used teleportation. I raised my hand and reached out my arm towards the direction of the monster. Drops of sweat dripped from my forehead as I concentrated on my aim.


    "Fireball," I muttered.


    Like several gunshots, I pulled up roaring fireballs peaking as big as my head aimed towards the creature''s head. I almost smiled when the monster let go of the boy as it turned to my direction. This was the perfect chance to rescue the boy out of this place and run toward the hovercar.


    Usually the number of fireballs I pulled out would destroy the lower levels of the school barriers in the mana training rooms. I teleported to the boy''s location, not wanting to waste a precious second, thinking the monster was dead. This was why I was surprised and unprepared when the creature grabbed my leg and started pulling me towards it.


    My nails piled dirt on the ground as I resisted its strength. I threw away the grass I pulled and sprinkled it over the monster''s eyes. However, the monster appeared more annoyed as it shook me up and down in response. I squirmed, entertaining the monster as it stopped to watch me struggle.


    The monster smiled as the corners of its mouth lifted to the height of its ear like it had found a fun prey to catch. Its heavy breaths made my mind feel fuzzy like it was a spell to lulling people to sleep. But this was the perfect chance to finally try out another spell I had always wanted to try.


    I had always wanted to test out how much power I could put into an individual attack. Wouldn''t a nuclear bomb kill this creature immediately? I just had to somehow scale it down so that it would only hit the monster instead of the entire area. I visualized a smothering flame captured inside a metal capsule full of toxic air that was vacuum sealed.


    The more scientific and atomic the visualization was, the more powerful it was. The scientific table full of atoms filled my mind, fueling my imagination before I yelled, "fire!"


    I closed my eyes and immediately pulled out a lower level barrier spell to protect myself from my own attack. When I opened my eyes, hopeful that the creature was finally dead, my surroundings were full of charcoal. I sighed in relief as Shelly pulled the boy towards the hover car, bringing him to a safer place.


    The mighty monster had obliviated into ash, indistinguishable from the burnt trees. There was nothing to fear from such a creature when I had enough mana to solve everything. Although I felt my mana supply level drained by half from the last spell. I walked towards Luke, before abruptly stopping when the entire ground started to shake like a tiny earthquake.


    "I knew this would happen," Alex groaned.


    When I looked at the edge of the clearing, the same creatures walked towards us like they were trying to avenge their lost comrade. Was this why they were trying to stop me from saving the boy? Did they know this was going to happen? I shot a look at Shelly to continue bringing the boy into the hover car, telling her I would take care of the mess.


    Before Shelly nodded, she whispered something into Alex''s ear. There was no time to wonder what it meant. I had to focus on chanting my next spell. Since fire wasn''t that effective, maybe ice was next. I had less aptitude for water-based spells, but this had to change. The water levels in the air slowly rose as I manipulated the tiny water particles near the monsters.


    All I had to do was to freeze these tiny particles around these ugly creatures to freeze their entire body. I panted as it took an extreme amount of control to carry out these kinds of spells. If I wasn''t careful, I could be freezing the area around me instead. I reached out my arm to make my aim more precise as air pressure rose.


    "Freeze," I initiated the spell.


    My mind became dizzier as a thin barrier of ice formed to lightly freeze the creatures. But to my disappointment, the monsters had high body temperatures as the ice barrier melted fast like an ice cream cone. My heart skipped a beat when both Luke and Alex charged in with their swords to cut them down while they were immobile from behind.


    These monsters had to be dead now. However, both Luke and Alex continued to fight with mana fused into their swords like their prior attack wasn''t enough to faze them. It was clear now that other than high level spells, these creatures would be hard to kill. It was time to pull out more nuclear bombs.


    I signalled Luke and Alex to back away when I was ready to chant more nuclear bombs towards the monsters. My concentration increased as they ran away from my aim, understanding what I was about to do. I raised my hand into the position I wanted as multiple nuclear bombs were fired.


    People who were more skilled were able to do the spells without any chants or stabilizing their aim with their arms or hands. Unfortunately, I was still struggling to control my vast amount of mana, so this was out of my current options. My knees became weaker as I managed to abolish seven out of ten enemies.


    Three more to go. I tried to properly stand back up when I heard Shelly''s terrified scream, "Above you Rika!"

 Chapter 195 - Monster (2)

    My vision wavered as I found one of the creatures reaching for me. But before I could attack, Luke shot a laser beam full of compressed light towards the monster''s arm. Right before my eyes, the monster''s arm sliced off from its body like butter. I slowly raised my head as I stared at the monster''s neck before chanting, "compression".


    The monster screamed as its face became more twisted from my spell, grabbing its head to help alleviate the pain. I waved my fingers to use a laser beam to slice it into tiny pieces as my final kill. I prayed for my attack to work as the monster soon turned into a pile of ashes. This creature''s weakness was light.


    It did explain why fire was more effective than water and ice. I switched my approach on attacking the monsters as I prepared myself to mutter another spell. But before I was able to implement them, Luke grabbed my shoulder.


    "They''re already all dead," he pointed out.


    He was right. He already took care of the rest with Alex with more light infused spells. There were small cuts among the trees near the edges of clearing showing the neater attack compared to my heavier spells. The light coming from my hands died down as I relaxed against his chest for support.


    I was dragged towards the hover car by Luke as I was too weak to walk on my own. Although my body was exhausted, my face lit up when the sleeping boy got the basic first aid treatment from Shelly. I was relieved that I was able to save someone with these tiny hands.


    But I knew the first aid treatment wouldn''t be enough. I could sense his slow heartbeat filled with poison. If he didn''t die today, he would likely be dead tomorrow. I started to focus on my internal body to check how much mana I had left. If I had enough, I would heal to recover some of his lifeforce.


    "Don''t even think of using heal," Luke pushed me into the hover car.


    "It would attract more monsters like honey," Alex agreed.


    The hover car began rising into the air as we quickly found ourselves above the edges of the towering trees. Was mana the factor that attracted these monsters? Before I was able to ask Luke, my eyes widened at the scene outside the window as my question was soon answered.


    The monsters began to climb the trees to get into the hover car. I shook Luke''s shoulder and pointed out the scene as he soon ordered Alex to increase our altitude as fast as possible with the emergency controls. However, the hover car started to shake as the monsters started to leap off from the trees to our direction.


    "Can these monsters fly?" I asked.


    "They''re known for their powerful jumps that can reach the height of several meters," Shelly shivered.


    This wasn''t much better than being able to fly was it? The monsters tried to grab onto the hover car to bring it down. The only thing keeping us safe was the fact that these creatures had bad aim when jumping towards the car. Most of them fell back down to the ground before starting to climb the trees again with fervor.


    Alex pulled the steering wheel used for emergencies as he tried to shake the monsters off from the car. I tightly grabbed onto Shelly''s hand to comfort her as she transitioned into shaking uncontrollably. I tried to prevent myself from flinching every time another monster managed to grab onto the exterior walls of the car.


    "Open the windows," Luke demanded when Alex failed to come up with a solution from the manual.


    It was time to attack back with our remaining mana. I began to pull out more laser beams towards every monster that jumped towards us. It was much easier than fighting on the ground since they only got one chance to leap into our direction. But as the hover car was soon surrounded by clouds, it was harder to determine which direction they were coming from.


    "Are they usually this persistent?" I felt this was unordinary.


    "Only when they sense a huge source of mana to put them into a frenzy," Alex focused on shooting more beams.


    This basically meant this was all my fault, wasn''t it? I was the person luring them all here with my potential for an unlimited amount of mana once I turned into an a.d.u.l.t. But there was also Luke beside me who was predicted to come close to me in terms of the amount of mana he possessed.


    Tired of holding out my arm for a long period of time, I placed my arm on top of the windowsill for support while firing the laser beams. Feeling something heavy as my shoulders pulled towards the window, I tried to move back inside. But when I looked outside to see what was making my body lean towards the edge, there was the claws of a monster trying to drag me down as it held my hand on the other side. I held back my scream as I felt my blood pouring down onto the ground from its sharp claws digging into me like knives.


    Alex initially questioned me why I was leaning so close to the window before figuring out the monster was pulling me out of the hover car. I frantically waved my arm as I struggled to break the tight grip of the monster who was starting to climb up with my arm.


    "No, no Rika!" Shelly tightly hugged me as I felt myself about to fall out the window.

 Chapter 196 - Monster (3)

    Luke swiftly grabbed my h.i.p.s with Shelly''s help that kept me inside the car and tugged me into the middle of the car as Alex shot a laser beam to the creature''s arm dragging me outside. Shelly''s eyes welled up with tears in relief as I collapsed onto plushy seats with the creature''s hand attached to my hand from its long nails.


    With no mercy, Luke immediately pulled out the nails as I shrieked from the pain. My blood covered the floors, which was probably going to leave a stain. Only Alex continued to fight off the monsters as Luke and Shelly were focused on performing first aid on my injuries. But as the hover car rose higher and higher into the sky, there were less monsters able to reach us.


    After Luke pulled out all the nails, my mind felt feverish as my vision made everything double into twos and threes. Colours began blurring in and out and shapes were increasingly more defined as everything was turning into circles and rectangles. My hearing dulled as I heard the sounds of Luke and Shelly closing the windows while Alex turned on the ventilation.


    "The smell of blood will attract more monsters," Alex heaved out the words.


    "And the school is too far while my mansion is the closest," Luke decided on our next destination.


    Luke emptied his bottles of medicine like they were cheap, disposable potions from his marble. My head started to become clearer as my body became completely drenched. I was never more thankful that Luke was prepared for almost everything. My vision stopped blurring in and out as I was finally able to sit up.


    This must not be the usual medicine since I couldn''t feel any pain. There had to be a numbing effect mixed inside. My ears perked up as I heard sounds of wings flapping like there was a whole colony of birds chasing after us.


    "But were there always birds this high up in the air?" I whispered when I noticed grotesque birds resembling the same skin tone as the monsters we fought before.


    "No way," Shelly looked out the window.


    Alex appeared like he was about to faint after freezing for several of minutes. I have never seen Alex this stiff even when I was paired with him with failing grades. It wasn''t like I couldn''t understand. We were all currently exhausted with almost no reserves of mana left while two heavily injured people were also boarded.


    I didn''t want to imagine how we would fight against this group of monsters. But I knew it would be much worse than the ones that were good at jumping. When Alex returned to his senses, he immediately turned on the accelerator as it zoomed towards Luke''s mansion. He looked like he was praying we would get there in time before we got attacked.


    Luke''s mansions were protected by extremely high-level barriers that got fortified even more after I met his parents. Initially I thought that the barriers were to prevent human intruders from entering his place, but I knew now it was to protect the house from the monsters. I pretended to not notice the existence of barriers everywhere in the first district from residential areas to the school.


    But everyone knew except for me about the constant danger the citizens of the first district were protecting themselves from. No wonder all the mana training classes were mostly on the attack side rather than the defensive. A lot of things was starting to make more sense from the reason why possessing a lot of mana was important in the first district.


    "How far away are we from Luke''s mansion?" I asked.


    "Thirty miles," Shelly pointed out the map on the GPS system.


    Normally it would take ten minutes to get there, but with the accelerator burning through the fuel, it was risky to determine what would happen. It was either the car breaking down before we got there or if safely arriving before it happened. And even with the accelerator, the displays told me it would still take at least five minutes to get there.


    "We''re jumping down onto the residential area," Luke pointed out on the map where a weaker barrier was placed.


    "Is the barrier strong enough?" I wondered.


    "Enough to fend against the mutated birds," Alex muttered as he studied the map.


    Mutated birds? Did this mean that these creatures weren''t originally monsters? Luke shook me to pay attention to the outline of his plan as he showed me the map when I was about to immerse myself into my thoughts. The residential area was closer since it was eleven miles away, meaning we would get there under two minutes.


    We prepared to jump as Shelly opened the door. Alex held the boy on his back as Luke hugged my waist to jump with me since I was still injured. Before the bird closest to us swung to attack us with its beak, we jumped down with no seconds to spare.


    I closed my eyes as I hoped we would land inside the barrier since we jumped a bit too early. The difference between a few seconds was all it took to determine if we were their next meal where another wild forest surrounded the residential area. When I opened my eyes, I almost fainted from the scene in front of me.


    This couldn''t be possible.

 Chapter 197 - Monster (4)

    We were actually inside the edge of the barrier. One step away from the wildlife behind us. The birds bounced off from the tough surface of the barrier as their attacks failed. I almost cheered out loud as the tension in my shoulders began to disappear.


    However, what waited for us was a long path of walking to Luke''s mansion since our hover car was abandoned. I sighed since we also didn''t have enough energy to expend more of our mana to use teleportation. It was clear that none of us had the energy to walk there since it was such a long distance away.


    "Aren''t you guys supposed to be at school?" Cillian stopped his ride when he noticed us outside and stepped out of his own hover car.


    I became filled with relief as Sienna ran out to help us up. I did hear that the other class was to come back from their practical mission soon from the fourth district. I actually preferred being in the lower districts now rather than the first district. At least those places had no monsters, no matter how cruel the people were like in the fifth district.


    "We went to go visit a charity for our mission, but ran into a horde of monsters," Shelly shivered while she explained.


    "You ran into a horde of monsters?" Sienna almost yelled with Cillian like they were wondering how we were still alive.


    "I need a hover car to Luke''s mansion," I interrupted them to skip all the small talk.


    "Sure," Cillian quickly passed his keys to Luke, noticing how tired we all were.


    The hover car lit up as I heard sounds of crackling noises coming from above. Before deciding that it was only me being paranoid, I looked up in the direction of the sky to find cracks in the barrier. There were a swarm of birds using their beaks to get into the barrier. It was understandable how everyone was too tired to notice.


    The only reason why I noticed was because the medicine Luke emptied was making me more alert to the noises around me. I shoved Sienna back into the car before yelling, "look up!"


    Everyone rushed into the car, having no time to wonder when the barrier would crack. The swarm would invade the less protected regions of the residential area soon. Alex didn''t hesitate to put on the acceleration switch this time as we rushed towards the inner region with stronger barriers. I did feel sorry for whoever owned those empty mansions we were escaping from, but who knew the birds that followed us were powerful enough to destroy the barrier?


    Both Cillian and Sienna appeared extremely shocked while Shelly was beginning to get used to the bad luck we were running into. I grabbed Sienna''s hand to comfort her before she flinched when the barrier behind us exploded after we entered the next level barrier. Luke yelled out the directions to Alex while looking at the map.


    We were perfectly coordinated as Alex used the buttons to prevent us from crashing into the mansions ahead of us. But it was clear the birds would destroy this barrier too with the cracks that were beginning to form with every passing second. As my role as the lookout, I unfortunately shouted the status of the barrier, making Sienna more frightened.


    "It''s ok, we''ll get to Luke''s mansion within two more minutes," I tried to cheer her up.


    However, both Cillian and Sienna tightly grabbed onto the handles like they were anxious for their lives. It was clear to everyone that we didn''t know if the barrier would last more than few seconds as not only the mutated birds were attacking, but the monsters from before came out of the forest. With the outer barrier destroyed and the lost blood from the boy that attracted more monsters, they began to work together.


    Sienna screamed as we barely passed into the next barrier before the increasing swarm of monsters sprinted after us after breaking the barrier before us. We couldn''t even attack them this time since we would be helping them in breaking the barrier. Sienna began to panic as she asked, "how much time before we get to Luke''s mansion?"


    "One minute and thirty-five seconds," I gave her the bad news.


    "Is there any way to increase the speed?" Alex asked Cillian.


    "This is the maximum speed," Cillian shook his head as he tried to hide that he was trembling.


    To make it worse, the barrier shattered behind us while we were miles away from the next one. Without any hesitation, Shelly opened the window and began to mutter some spells. Although the laser beams worked on the monsters with the powerful jumps, it bounced off the birds like a mirror. Since I was running out of mana, I shook Cillian to help as he quickly unfroze.


    Both Sienna and Cillian began chanting more spells like their lives depended on it to figure out the birds'' weakness. When an ice spear chanted by Sienna made a bird stop flying, we knew water-based spells were the weaknesses for the birds. Shelly and Sienna quickly clicked as Shelly used more laser beams on the monsters running with their feet while Sienna used ice spears on the birds.


    "Three seconds until we reach the next barrier!" I shouted to them to stop with the attacks.


    I clasped my hands together in prayer as we had to make it to the next barrier before they reached us.

 Chapter 198 - To Safety (1)

    "We''ll keep going," Alex told us when a monster latched onto the car.


    Alex messed with the buttons to shake the monster off, slowing the car down from reaching the next barrier. With the monster creating huge damage to the car with its claws, the car struggled to run with the high-pressure acceleration when we safely passed the barrier and the monster bouncing back behind us.


    When I analyzed the displays inside the car, it unfortunately showed this car would break down soon since the monster held onto the engine this time. There was no way we were going to survive this by going on foot. However, as we passed through each barrier, which was more powerful than the prior, I noticed that the swarm stopped increasing.


    "Good news, the swarm isn''t increasing anymore after that last barrier, but bad news, this car will break down soon," I delivered the news while keeping an eye on what was going behind us.


    "What?" Both Sienna and Cillian yelled.


    "Is there any other hover car we can borrow?" I wondered.


    "My distant relative has a mansion around here, I can ask for permission right now," Cillian began calling his relatives.


    Cillian frantically punched in the number as he began to get more irritated with more rings. As soon as his relative picked up, he began blubbering through the situation, "I''m your great aunt''s granddaughter''s son''s cousin and currently chased by a large swarm of monsters and will offer my gratitude if you let me borrow your hover car."


    Not offering a further explanation, Cillian immediately showed the swarm of monsters trying to break through the barrier as he stuck his arm out the window. Her eyes widened as she quickly transferred the tag through her marble before informing us, "my mansion is one block from where you are."


    However, the car already began to skid as it started to break down. Cillian threw an apologetical glance before hanging up as we prepared to sprint towards her mansion. As soon as the car stopped, we slammed the door open as we began to run while dragging the boy along with us. Unfortunately, we had no energy to hold him like before.


    Using our mana to run faster, Cillian easily entered her mansion with the tag, letting the rest of us inside. With her warm consideration, the hover car was already stationed right behind the gate. The keys were hung on the handles, saving us more time as we soon returned our original positions, but inside a new car.


    Before Alex could switch the acceleration on, Cillian had already pressed the button as he began to steer the wheel to place it outside the gate. But before we could stabilize the car, I covered my ears from the sound of the current barrier breaking. Shelly opened the window again to begin the attacks as Cillian switched into his role without any hesitation with her.


    We were too focused on safely getting to the next barrier that both Cillian and Sienna seemed to forget their fear. By now, I knew each barrier was separated by a little more than two miles. Meaning that we had a little over nine miles until we reached Luke''s mansion surrounded by the most fortified barrier.


    I sighed as we still had twenty more seconds until we reached the fourth barrier. But at the same time, I didn''t know how long the rest of us would last until we fainted from exhausting all our mana. I decided to switch positions with Shelly as a quarter of my mana recovered while I served as the lookout.


    It was time to use the massive freezing spell this time. Everyone briefly turned to my direction when the air pressure dramatically decreased. I knew they were questioning me if I was dooming myself to death, but they never truly knew how fast my mana recovered. I started to manipulate the particles around the monsters in the arrangement I wanted before yelling, "freeze!"


    Maybe it was a bit too much as I began coughing uncontrollably afterwards. Luke stopped barking orders to Alex as he began pulling out more bottles of medicine like before. Within a second, Luke poured all his bottles over my head before returning back to his role. To my surprise, I could instantly feel its effects while Shelly switched back to offense.


    But things were noticeably easier than before as most of the birds turned into lumps of ashes. I knew a big spell was needed to make an actual difference. I returned to my role as the lookout and discovered I had earned us the seconds we needed to pass through into the next barrier. My body slightly relaxed when Luke shouted some good news, "from here on, all barriers have double the fortification than its prior one."


    I did a high-five with Sienna as Shelly closed all the windows again. When Sienna noticed my wound, neatly bandaged by Luke, she looked like she was starting to understand the labels on the empty bottles littered on the car floor. Instead of appearing worried as usual, she oddly stayed silent.


    I decided I would focus on the positive side of things for now, choosing not to linger on her odd action. I had other things to worry about, like the reason why we were going past the last two barriers a bit too easily. I could see the signs of monsters from miles away like they were giving up.


    But smaller monsters only gave up when something more powerful showed up in its place.

 Chapter 199 - To Safety (2)

    The air trembled as a monster that appeared the most human to date punched the barrier a several miles away from us. The only difference between that monster and a normal human being was its skin tone that resembled all the other creatures. The same ashen grey that smelled like the dead.


    One punch caused an entire barrier to shatter like it was made of fragile glass. The thought of surviving through the next thirty seconds crept into everyone''s head. For the first time, Alex appeared like he wanted to punch the buttons until they were broken. Meanwhile, Cillian and Luke soon switched positions when Cillian became exhausted.


    Luke took the chance to pour more liquid over my head like I wasn''t already freezing enough from the wet clothes. What more could happen when we only had two more barriers to pass? We all sighed in relief when we passed through the next one, meaning only one more pass until we were inside the most inner region inside the residential area.


    "I thought they didn''t exist anymore," Sienna whimpered.


    "What do you mean?" I asked.


    "Sienna is talking about the S class monsters, the humanoids," Shelly revealed they split the monsters into different levels.


    Coming from a gaming background in my former life, the only levels more powerful than S class was SS and SSS if they ever existed. No wonder the atmosphere instantly became more tense after that monster''s appearance. This monster was on a whole other level than the ones we directly fought before.


    I couldn''t help but flinch when another barrier was broken by the humanoid. That monster was now officially two barriers behind us. When things couldn''t get any worse, the monster began muttering a long-distance attack like it possessed its own supply of mana. Before we could react, the spell punctured the energy tank.


    And before panic could hit us, we immediately abandoned the hover car as we ran into the last barrier in front of us. But all of us knew we weren''t safe until we entered Luke''s mansion. We sprinted towards his mansion as we ignored the sounds of the barrier behind us shattering into pieces.


    I have never felt so happy to be inside his mansion as its grand gates welcomed us inside. Strangely, instead of going inside, Luke immediately changed the time inside the barrier with his marble. I watched him slow the time as much as possible like he was trying to buy us more time before we attempted to escape back to school.


    I shivered as it meant that Luke thought that even this place wasn''t safe anymore. When I looked up at the towering mansion, I knew this one was where I visited Luke''s fraction meeting for the first and the last time. When we were all gathered in the familiar lobby, Luke turned to announce our plans, "our goal is to recover as much as possible before using the teleportation gate to return back to school."


    We all agreed that it was our best option as I began to walk towards my usual room before I was stopped by Luke. When I was about to ask him the reason why I couldn''t go to my room, he lightly tapped my back and I fell into a realm of darkness, swallowing me up as a whole. The next time I opened my eyes, I was inside a room full of medical bottles neatly placed along the numerous shelves.


    A gag was placed inside my mouth as Luke began pouring more bottles of liquid over every area of my body. A shot of pain directly made me scream through the gag as I knew Luke was trying to help by putting me to sleep so I wouldn''t have to suffer through the pain. Unfortunately, I could see no signs of painkillers that helped like earlier as Shelly helped pass more bottles to Luke.


    I noticed my hand wasn''t covered by bandages anymore. Instead, black liquid oozed out of the wound like it was red blood that was infected. The bottles had to have erigent inside since that was the only other medicine that ever made me feel this amount of pain. But it was strange to not feel the clinging wet clothes attached to my body like earlier.


    When I looked at my body from lifting my head, I discovered I was n.a.k.e.d in front of my companions inside the hover car before. I also noticed that the boy was missing inside the room with Cillian. When I pulled on Sienna''s sleeve, asking for an explanation, she knowingly answered, "Cillian is performing first aid on the boy in another room."


    I nodded my head to tell her that I understood while Alex appeared to be bringing in an IV machine towards me. When my vision stopped wavering in and out, the room started to resemble the one I was confined inside after I was stabbed in the stomach. The bed was almost the same if it wasn''t for the difference in colour.


    The slight poke on my hand felt like nothing compared to the waves of pain coming in and out of my head with every bottle Luke poured. I almost screamed that the medicine was a scam since it wasn''t making me feel any better. Instead, it was causing me to become dizzier and disabling me from controlling my body.


    Maybe I actually screamed it was a scam, Alex finally looked at my face before letting me know, "the runaway who was the start of all this mess is recovering from the same thing in the next room."

 Chapter 200 - Recovering (1)

    "Where will he go after this mess is sorted out?" I asked, hopeful he would be placed in a safer place.


    "He will be reported and will be returned to the orphanage," Alex broke my expectations.


    My heart panged with guilt as I remembered his eyes desperately crying out for help. Didn''t they promise him that he wouldn''t be reported? I narrowed my eyes to question him about keeping his word to the poor boy.


    "It was Luke''s promise, not mine," Alex shrugged before pressing more buttons on the IV machine.


    "And we''ll only be sending him once he recovers," Shelly tried to console me.


    I started to feel really bad for the boy since we were about the same age. At most, he appeared like he was three years younger than us. He took all that effort in escaping the orphanage to be returned to the same miserable place soon. Although our situations were similar, he had it worse since he was being trained to fight those monsters.


    I tried to send my energy towards my fingers to help myself to get up. However, they stood still, strangely not responding like the rest of my body. It was like my entire body was paralyzed from all the medicine sinking inside, overwhelming it. My unstable mind confirmed that this was different from when I got injured last time.


    Although the pain was the same, I always felt completely sane and was able to think clearly at all times last time. But this time, everything looked fuzzy and resembled a nightmare with all the machines and potions surrounding me. I could barely feel all the liquid that Luke was emptying with Shelly.


    It was a cooling sensation while making my body feel hot like it was inside a blazing fire. I glared at Luke if he really needed to use all those bottles piled into the size of a mountain. But he ignored me as he took more medicine off from the shelves.


    "Luke is just trying to disinfect you as much as possible. The monster''s nail inside your hand contains lethal poison," Shelly explained in his place.


    "Usually people die within a day from a single scratch," Sienna quietly muttered, knowing that I would want to know.


    Luke shot her a glare to warn her to say no more. Of course Luke wouldn''t want me to know about it. He didn''t even let me look at a single page in the medical report before. It also explained why Shelly was being choosy with her words. I guessed this was why they were desperately pouring all the medicine they had.


    I had all five nails dug into my hand instead of a single scratch. It had to be much worse for me compared to others who died from a scratch. Instead of feeling terrified that I might die soon, I felt extremely calm. Maybe because it was nothing compared to dying by falling down the stairs.


    This time I was slowly approaching my death rather than a sudden cut to the string of my life. I noticed Sienna''s puffy red eyes as she nodded to Luke, indicating that she would say no more. Thinking that it was strange their voices couldn''t be heard anymore; I rapidly blinked my eyes to search for their defining shapes.


    But the next time my vision properly returned; everyone had left the room except for Luke. When he noticed me staring at him for a long time, he affectionately caressed my hair, "I know how much you dislike me."


    It wasn''t exactly disliking him but being annoyed at the circ.u.mstances. I knew that Luke wasn''t a bad person. If I wasn''t engaged to him, I was sure we would have a better relationship. Maybe we could have been friends. I almost gasped in the middle of my thoughts when I realized being close to death really made you think differently.


    "I think it''s more like a communication problem," I went through my memories with him without any emotions.


    Luke nodded to agree, "I don''t intentionally try to cut off your freedom Rika. I try to give into you when I can like going to that orphanage. As long as you don''t harm the Roselia family name with your odd actions, I do try to give you as much space as I can."


    Why was Luke being so nice today? He usually wasn''t like this. But at the same time, what he was saying didn''t make much sense. It was like he was subtly saying that it was my fault that we had this horribly entangled relationship we had today. Because I wanted more freedom that he couldn''t give me.


    "But you''re not making any sense. No one would have noticed if I read my manga and light novels while I was recovering in one of your mansions. Plus, your precious family name wouldn''t have been ruined as well, but you still didn''t let me read them. What are you trying to imply?" I narrowed my eyes.


    Even in the dorms, most of my hobbies had to be hidden, or else it would be gone the next second. And whenever someone offered me anything like food, he didn''t let me touch them without his permission. This was beyond what I could tolerate, he wanted me to act like his perfect puppet.


    Luke stayed silent as I continued, "I''m not a selfish person. As long as you don''t interfere with my private space, I''m willing to listen to you and fulfil your family''s responsibilities and whatnot. So why do you try to control everything from what I can wear to what I eat?"

 Chapter 201 - Recovering (2)

    "I''ve been telling you that accepting food from others has something to do with power play in the first district," Luke answered the first question.


    Since this was reasonable, I nodded to him to continue about reading my comic books in secret without letting anyone know.


    "What about reading my books in secret. You know when no one in school is with us or see us?" I asked when he looked like he wasn''t going to continue.


    "You know how I don''t like you reading those books. But I let you hide them inside the dorm room," Luke showed off his generosity.


    Now this was where it was starting to become a problem. Luke didn''t like me doing anything he didn''t approve of.


    "Well you can''t expect me to be your puppet and do everything you want. In fact, I think this is the root of the problem. I do admit that I overreact to things sometimes, but that''s only because you''re the one trying to restrict both my public and private life to the point that I feel suffocated. If you want an example, it''s the little things like not letting me read the doctor report last time," I explained.


    If he didn''t burn my comic books, I would''ve never attempted to escape from his mansion. Actually, all I wanted from him was the little freedom that ordinary people got to do. I desperately hoped he would understand now as I stared into his eyes that showed contemplation.


    Luke shook his head, "But I do give you the freedom? I let you join the neutral fraction and visit that caf¨¦."


    I sighed as it really seemed that Luke didn''t understand. I guessed this was the problem in the partner system that Ellen miserably talked about. Luke thought it was natural to have this control over me since his family was more powerful than mine. It was a pity that it seemed that this conversation looked like it wouldn''t be going anywhere.


    "How would you feel if I didn''t let you practice the sword since I don''t like you doing it?" I decided to take a different approach.


    "It wouldn''t matter since you don''t have any power over the decision," Luke appeared genuinely confused.


    I started to get frustrated as nothing seemed to get across to him and this was the second time that we had this conversation. I guessed this was the only point where Alex was better than Luke. Even though Alex did appear more arrogant than Luke at the first glance, he actually respected Shelly''s opinions. Not once have I seen him directly trying to control what she could and couldn''t do.


    Although they fought a lot, it was better than having no input at all. Fighting meant you were on somehow equal grounds. At the same time, I realized how Luke was still a child who was never taught these kinds of things from his parents. All he knew was the necessary etiquette and knowledge required to possess as an elite. Since Luke always seemed so mature, I have never considered this fact until I started to rationally go through my memories.


    "Well, with that mindset, nothing is going to change," I turned away from him, disappointed.


    Luke needed to realize that as human beings, everyone needed some private time on their own. We needed to do stuff that we enjoyed that didn''t affect our public part of our lives. When I took a brief glance at his face, Luke''s disappointed face reflected into my eyes. It was like he was wondering why I wouldn''t understand his point of view.


    "And this isn''t only us, but everyone in the partner system. We need to properly start listening to each other and make decisions together while respecting one another''s private time. In fact, I''m willing to make the effort if you are too," I reached out my hand to offer him a deal.


    Instead of taking my hand, Luke tried to slip my hand back into the blanket, "if you show results of listening to me first, maybe I''ll try making some effort''."


    Ugh! I gave up. Nothing was working. Why try on something that was never going to work out? I felt like this was the perfect timing to resolve everything since Luke seems nicer than usual since I was a step away from my deathbed. Before I could shake my head from hitting a dead end, Luke had already walked out of the door.


    As my mind became clearer, I needed to desperately move my body and convince myself I wouldn''t die from frustration. The fact that I couldn''t just die like this hit me hard. There was no way I would also leave this life full of regrets. Thankfully, I was able to move my body again when I sent some energy to the rest of my limbs.


    Whatever side effects from the medicine Luke used was starting to wear off. I grabbed onto the headset of the bed as I tried to stand on my own. But a blinding light prevented me from walking any further. Both violet and grey gases mixed together to create another version of the fireball I was familiar with.


    And it was slowly heading towards the mansion, dooming all of us to our deaths. When I crawled to the window with my feeble strength, I noticed the humanoid slowly taking a step toward the mansion as if time slowed down. I tried to open the window to get a better look, but I wasn''t surprised when I soon figured it was locked.


    I betted that door was locked as well. It was just like Luke to cage me inside a room that he could control.

 Chapter 202 - Recovering (3) - Alex POV

    I ran to Rika''s room after sensing such a heavy presence of mana towards her direction. What was she about to do now? A few seconds later, most of the mana in the air disappeared and was replaced with sounds of something trying to dig a hole through the walls. I knew this could be no good.


    Why couldn''t she ever stay put for a single minute? I started to pity my cousin once more as he had to deal with such a troublesome fianc¨¦e. There wasn''t a single day when she wouldn''t land herself in trouble. In fact, almost no one had bad luck as her to run into a swarm of monsters. This was exactly why I wanted to abandon that boy from the start.


    Everyone knew that people with a large amount of mana attracted monsters to the point they went into a frenzy. Things were especially dangerous when there was the smell of fresh blood from an open wound from anyone who possessed a hint of mana. Sometimes I disagreed with my cousin hiding these kinds of information from her.


    Maybe if she knew, she would have been more cautious. But at the same time, I knew Luke was trying to prevent more dangerous ideas from potentially swarming inside her head. He lived a hard life since his fianc¨¦e acted like she was still a small child. At this rate, he was almost her second mother. When she was unconscious, Luke and I worked together in trying to Rika-proof the room while the others worked to heal the boy in the next room.


    We spelled the room to lock the door and the window while making sure that she wouldn''t be able to use teleportation to escape from the room. When Luke had told me that she had tried to escape from jumping out of the window when she was gravely injured, I thought it was unreal. But it was Rika, if it was her, everything was possible.


    When I opened the door, a looming headache hit me like a storm. Rika was holding a dull ceremonial sword used as a decoration for the walls. The door was chipped from her desperate attempts to escape the room. Luke did tell me that almost everything inside the room would be dangerous. But I did wonder if we really had to strip the wall bare from its decorations.


    I sighed as I almost admired her creative attempt in trying to escape. If only she knew the reason why she was placed in the room in the first place. Michelle couldn''t bear to take another look at her dying friend who could die at any minute. In fact, it wouldn''t be odd if she dropped dead in any minute like the boy next door.


    Her body was in an extremely fragile state since she was fighting against the most infectious poison to exist in the first district. Her red cheeks that asked for more air alongside her heavy breaths showed we couldn''t completely get rid of the infection. The only reason she was able to move was because we have managed to stop it from spreading further than it already had.


    It was common sense that the infection we tried to stop at the moment would begin spreading soon with how much she moved. None of us predicted that the ornament would be used as a means to escape. I laughed as it was ridiculous that the exact reason Luke put her in the room would go against him.


    Luke placed her in that room, hoping she would move less compared to giving her the freedom to move inside the entire mansion. Normally, that was the right line of thinking since a normal person wouldn''t walk as much in a tiny room compared to the space of a house. Knowing that my cousin was dealing with the barrier, I stared at Rika in disapproval while thinking of a plan to solve this problem on my own.


    "Why don''t you give me and sword and- "


    "I''m not giving you the sword. Don''t you see those fireballs? I''m not going to die with all of you with me," she tightened her grip on the sword.


    It was such a Rika-like response that I wasn''t surprised. She stared at me, fuelled with determination, ignoring her own health like she was marching to her death. It was no wonder Luke wanted to always keep her in his line of sight. She didn''t care about her health, not even a single ounce. She knew she was dying but was rushing to run into a more dangerous situation.


    It was like her own life wasn''t precious to her. At this moment, I realized how generous Luke was to his partner. He was too soft hearted for his own good. If it was me, I would have chained her to me to avoid as much trouble as possible like I suggested Luke to put that necklace on her after she almost burned down the school.


    But she cleverly took it off with her deal with Julian, making me put it off her with my own hands. It was hard to imagine that her brain only shrewdly started working whenever she wanted to escape from something. I narrowed my eyes as I realized she was using this time to think about her next actions. Her pupils shifted to the opening beside where I stood.

 Chapter 203 - Recovering (4)

    My grip on the sword tightened as I finally noticed an opening. There was space between the door and where Alex stood. I charged in with no hesitation, knowing I was done for if he closed the door. There was no way I could stay still in my bed when there were malevolent fireballs heading towards this mansion.


    Although I felt a bit apologetic to Alex since he had no weapons, I knew he wouldn''t get hurt with the amount of training he had. But unexpectedly, my eyes widened as a familiar sword appeared out of thin air. It was the same one he used to fight the monsters, the golden and silver lilies surrounding the crowned handle.


    With one powerful swing, he was able to fling my sword out of my hands and into the back of the room. If I wasn''t used to the frequent sparing he had with Luke, I might have wondered how he appeared like a master swordsman with his thin and lanky arms. Having no chance to think about what to do next, I continued to charge out of the door and make a run for it. But I couldn''t help sulking in the process as the sword would''ve made a good weapon even though its edges were terribly dull.


    I waved away Olive''s face that crossed my mind as I still couldn''t forget the day I was hung on a stake because of her. I coughed as a brunt force caused me to pull back into the room as Alex grabbed my wrist. I winced as his grip was always tight and unrelenting in letting go. And before I could attempt to escape from his grasp, I watched the door close, erasing the chances of getting out.


    Of course it would be too easy if I was able to escape under his watch. Before I tried to switch my approach with attempting to convince him with words, Alex immediately pulled open one of the drawers beside my bed. I curiously watched the items inside as I have never bothered to check. When I noticed it was full of more bottles labelled with different kinds of medicine, my shoulders dropped down in disappointment.


    What else did I expect from this room? But what I didn''t expect was how Alex opened the bottle as he walked until he was in front of me and poured the liquid on my hand without any prior notice. I instantaneously collapsed onto the floor and screamed from the pain. I looked up to glare at him before I was confronted with his cold eyes.


    I rammed the floor with my punches, begging to make the pain fly away as Alex continued to pour the liquid over me. He was merciless, unlike Luke and Shelly who gave me some breaks to recover. I knew Alex had always hated me to a certain extent. I was the person who was making his lovely cousin''s life harder. I had the same miserable relationship that I couldn''t break with him like I did with Luke.


    "As long as you don''t bring it up on your own, I won''t tell Luke about this," Alex''s words were the opposite of his actions.


    I almost choked as even Alex was being nicer than usual today. Usually, he would tell Luke with no hesitation with his never-ending loyalty to his family and friends. The only reason why he wouldn''t report this to him if it would bring a disadvantage in some way or other forms. But I didn''t question him as it was better that Luke didn''t know about this failed attempt.


    Even though I didn''t know how things could go more downhill from here, Luke always had creative ways in proving me wrong. He did come up with that contract a few months ago that was almost impossible to terminate. As my vision started to waver from the extreme pain, I heard Alex''s last warning, "If you don''t want things to get worse, you better stay put in this room."


    Alex walked out of the room and closed the door as I crawled on the floor. Unfortunately, the door that had its paint and edges chipped away were perfectly restored in the process. My hard work in breaking the door to escape was all gone. Even the sword at the back of the room had disappeared all of the sudden.


    But there were still many useless decorations that could be used to break the door. I deliberated on which ones to use next before another round of sharp pain ran through my mind. I could never get used to the sudden hits of pain even though I was sure I went over it more than hundreds of times. My vision started forming large black spots that increased as the pain got worse.


    My head felt heavy as my body rocked left to right until it fell onto the soft carpeted floors. Was I going back to sleep again? I didn''t want to go back to sleep when time seemed so precious. Up to a few minutes ago when my mind was clearer, I could feel the fireballs coming a millimetre closer to the house with its huge energy.


    My body didn''t listen to me as I heard the door being unlocked again. But what could I do with a paralyzed body? I felt my consciousness slipping pass my grasp with each additional second. Until, I landed in the realm of nothingness with no pain.

 Chapter 204 - Recovering (5)

    I blinked several times before feeling the warm blankets neatly tucked in. I was on the bed again as I leaned against the soft mattress. I pulled myself up to sit down and lean against the headboard. I turned my head as I realized there were absolutely no picture frames with their sharp edges nor the ceremonial daggers and shield. There were only shelves full of the same colourful crystal bottles. It must have been Alex who got rid of them.


    I had no way to escape from the room now. Having nothing to do with almost the room empty and bare, I opened the drawers beside me, curious about what medicine they were using on me. Surprisingly, they opened quite easily. None of them bothered to lock the drawers. Maybe because quite a few of them were left open on the shelves.


    I turned the bottle to read the label to discover it wasn''t erigent like last time. It was a bunch of strong disinfectors with high concentration levels, meaning it wasn''t as diluted. I continued to read the tiny print as it had a warning sign that most people will experience extreme pain as a side effect. This wasn''t unusual as even the disinfectors in my past life with high concentration of rubbing alcohol were horribly painful.


    Since the entire drawer was filled with the same disinfectant, I tried opening the next drawer to find it was filled with bottles with the same label. There was a high chance that the next one would be different, but up to the last drawer in the cabinet, it was bursting with the more disinfectants. I was dying and they were only using disinfectants the entire time? There was something weird about this, something everyone wasn''t telling me. Shelly only told me it was poison. I knew Sienna would tell me if I asked, but not under Luke''s watchful eyes like earlier.


    Seeing how there was only one type of disinfectant on me, I decided to continue reading the label. In summary, the only warning sign was the side effect of extreme pain when poured on the person''s body. It was odd that there were no warnings like [don''t eat] or [do not sniff]. I sniffed the bottle to test its effectiveness to find no change in my body.


    Maybe if it was safe to sniff, it would be safe to drink as well. It was much better than the other alternative of experiencing more pain. Usually, there were all sorts of warnings on the label to make sure people would use it correctly. To make sure, I pulled out my marble that Luke didn''t confiscate. Although many things were censored and blocked to make sure I would use it for the right purpose by the school, it was helpful when I had to search up something.


    I typed in the disinfectant''s name to start. My eyes widened as I discovered one bottle cost around a mountain of mana crystals or ten of my most exclusive and expensive dresses. I never predicted that even one drop would cost a fortune. Everyone used them like they were disposable potions and even the room was jam packed with them. But I had no time to focus on the price since I had to search if they were drinkable.


    The first place I went after the failing to gather any information from the general search results was the school library. When Luke and I applied to the middle school section of the school, I discovered that the library we had was one of the ten largest libraries in the entire world in their brochure. There had to be something in there. Or else, I would have to use my dimensional library that used my mana as a payment.


    But even using the dimensional library was a pain. I had to search through all the books to find what I wanted since the guide wasn''t that useful when I wanted to find something extremely specific. Although maps were easy to find, something that was more ambiguous needed much as many filters. My eyes started to droop as I started to sink into my bed, getting more frustrated.


    Time flew by as there were no mentions of any dangers if anyone drank it. But simultaneously, there was no mention of anyone attempting to drink it in the first place. I sighed as it was almost a waste of time reading all those articles when I didn''t gain anything more than what I had from the start. Since I was exhausted and sick of reading, I decided this was where I would stop for now. There was no way I was going to open the dimensional library now to go through almost the same thing. Then couldn''t I just start with one tiny sip? There was no way something serious would happen if I drank one droplet.


    I opened the bottle and decided to drink one tiny drop. However, both Alex and Luke opened the door as soon as I tilted the bottle towards my lips. Maybe I didn''t notice them coming since I was too focused on finding any information about the disinfectant. Their eyes widened in shock as they momentarily froze near the entrance.


    Was it something that surprising to try a new thing out? Change and new inventions only happened when people were willing to try out new things.

 Chapter 205 - Recovering (6)

    Luke ran towards me in the next second to take the bottle away from my hands. The medicine sloshed and splattered onto the floor since it was filled to the top. I looked down since it was such a waste compared to its price.


    "What were you thinking?" Luke angrily yelled before turning to me after closing the bottle.


    Alex unfroze and became able to move from Luke''s loud shout, bringing him back to his senses. What were both of their problems? It wasn''t like I decided to drink it without doing any research. I clenched my fists as both of them stared at me like I was that stupid. Luke turned to shoot a look to Alex to help him get rid of all the bottles in the room. Were they actually removing all the bottles because they thought I would drink them when they weren''t there?


    This was a next level of extreme distrust. Alex began using his mana to pull off all the bottles on the shelves while Luke opened all the drawers. After a few minutes, not a single bottle was present inside the room. All the bottles were hauled out the room as Cillian received them to transport them into the next room. I looked at Alex in disgust as there were better things to spend his precious mana on.


    I almost forgot there were other people in the mansion as they were keeping me separated, all alone. I wouldn''t feel this annoyed and bored if Shelly and Sienna kept me company. Was there a good reason for putting me alone in this confining room? Not giving me a chance to complain, Luke frowned as he switched his focus onto me.


    "How could you even think of drinking from the bottles when you don''t know anything about them?" Luke started his scolding.


    "Then how do you and Alex know about them?" I pulled the question back at him.


    "We learned it in school. The basics during human anatomy class," Luke sighed.


    "Then I also learned about them back then," I bluffed my knowledge about them.


    Luke stared back at me, unconvinced since it was one of the subjects where I always failed no matter how much I studied. It was also one of the first classes in the morning where I attended class while half-awake. I tsked since Luke knew me way too well.


    "I also searched for more information on my marble and there was no mention of any side effects or dangers from anyone drinking it," I added when he started to narrow his eyes.


    "It was just too painful, pouring it onto my wounds," I squeezed in, hoping pity would work when he appeared like his patience would run out at any minute.


    Luke was really scary when his patience ran out. He would nag and reason with me for hours, not taking a break until I admitted I would at least try listening to him next time. And the nagging that was almost like a lecture was full of his intimidating cold eyes that looked at you like you were worthless. Thankfully, he mostly did this in private, unless there were people, he could trust like Alex also present. Things would just turn downhill from there as they would support Luke and add to the lecturing. I pitied myself as I had to live that kind of life up to now.


    "No one mentioned it since it was common sense that no one would dare drink a disinfectant in the first place," Luke pointed out how absurd it was for having the idea.


    "But why use only disinfectants in the first place?" I tried to get my answers.


    Wouldn''t something like erigent be better to recover from something like poison? I waited for one of them to answer to find them silent. This wasn''t the time to get frustrated again. Wasn''t this what always happened? They weren''t ever planning to tell me anything while demanding to know almost everything about me.


    "I''ll take you to the room beside you," Luke finally answered after a long moment of silence.


    "I guess you''re not ever going to tell me," I harrumphed with a mix of emotions.


    But I guessed it was better than staying stuck inside the room, unable to do anything, not knowing how everyone else was doing. I pouted as I discovered the room beside me resembled mine, but bigger and more packed since most of the bottles were transferred here from my room. There were also couches and sofas to accommodate more people.


    Instead of the normal decorations, this room also appeared more like a lab. A long table with faucets and medical tools were laid out together with beakers. I found that the people taking care of the boy were all wearing gloves, unlike when they were treating me. A strange feeling entered my chest since we were treated quite differently.


    The boy was treated more like a unique specimen as he was laid out on a metal table beside the long wooden table. While the bed was empty with not a trace of it being used with not a single crease on the blankets. He groaned and turned until he screamed out in pain as Shelly frowned after pouring a bottle of medicine that was not a disinfectant. I found Sienna writing down notes as if the bottle before was a failure. What was going on here?

 Chapter 206 - Recovering (7) - Shellys POV

    I continued to pour more trials of intensive medicine on the boy on the metal table. Even though I have never done experimentations on humans, I hardened my heart to save my best friend. I was glad Luke shut Rika into the other room. How could I let her watch what I was doing? I knew she would never approve even if it meant she would die as a result.


    I shook my head to Sienna as she wrote down that this bottle was a failure. It was the third day we were trying to heal the boy by testing different kinds of medicine. I sighed as things were starting to look more hopeless as the days went on. The boy''s condition didn''t improve at all compared to using disinfectants like Luke did on Rika.


    When I first met Rika in my early childhood, I didn''t think anything of her. I just knew I would have to get close to the fianc¨¦e of the Roselia family heir since we would become family later on. As long as I was a part of an elite family, I would never get to choose who my friends would be. I have long given up on the notion of true friends as I was separated from people in other classes as soon as I was born.


    My mother disapproved when I played with dolls with her subordinate''s child in the brief moment she was gone. I still remember her cold eyes as her warm smile disappeared for the first time. I was three when she confiscated all my toys for not acting according to my status. Ever since then, I locked my feelings and acted according to my family''s wishes to see their smiles.


    My first meeting with Rika wasn''t different from my meeting with Ellen. We politely said our greetings and formed our fraction together as our families expected us to. Maybe I expected different back then since we were told she came from the third district. Her flaming red hair was the only thing fascinating about her since only people from the lower districts had such bright coloured hair.


    But when we moved into the cafeteria, her perfect etiquette shattered as she began revealing her strained relationship with her partner. No one ever revealed that their relationship with their partner wasn''t the best. I hid my surprise as I sipped my tea until the cup was emptied. Unknowingly, I started to agree with her as her questions went on about the current system.


    I kept on telling myself every day that I was lucky to have Alex as my partner. My family almost had a big celebration when we were paired together by the counsel when I turned four. Normally, if you didn''t have close connections to the top five most powerful families, it wouldn''t be possible to have even business deals with them. However, I was born with a little more affluent amount of mana than all the other members in my family.


    It was just barely enough to contend against other families with our business deals going extremely well lately. Although my family mansion wasn''t dirty, it never sparkled like diamonds. My mother made sure the servants cleaned our mansion so that not a tiny spectacle of dust slipped through her eyes before Alex and his mother came to greet our family. That was when I knew that very important guests were visiting our house.


    Alex''s mother, Juliana was astoundingly beautiful. She appeared like an elegant doll as she held onto her son''s hand. Although she wore very simple clothes, it appeared as if the clothes were flowing along every one of her movements like a fluttering ball gown. I did hear that the more you encountered powerful people; you would admire their otherworldly beauty.


    I stared at her lovely face until my mother squeezed my hand to stop staring. This was the family I was getting engaged to. A boy that appeared like an angel with his beautiful amethyst eyes that drew you in and his fairy-like mother. But I soon discovered looks aren''t everything when we moved into the school dormitories together in September.


    The beautiful boy liked to have an extremely tidy room to the point he would get annoyed when something was out of place. He was also diligent in earning points to meet his family''s expectations of him. It wasn''t like I didn''t study, but he was a robot that only knew how to eat, sleep and study. And he expected me to do the same as I silently cried in my pillow while following his orders during the day.


    My enthusiastic mother also fervently began investing in my appearance so that I would not be overshined by my partner. Piles of clothing, accessories and shoes were delivered to the dorm room every week even when I would have no chance to wear them. During the rare weekends we were given time off, I visited the salon to maintain my hair and nails done. When I looked in the mirror, I couldn''t help gasping as I started to resemble the fairy-like lady.


    My hair was flattened and stayed in one place. My skin glittered with all the extensive cream and care. I sparkled from head to toe with the soft fabric I wore that fluttered with my every movement. I pinched myself as I appeared like I turned into a princess in fairy tales. Was this really me?

 Chapter 207 - Recovering (8) - Shellys POV

    I studied Alex for a long time, wondering if he secretly went to salons just like me. Before he turned to my direction, I pretended to admire my nails decorated with pretty colours and designs. I could tolerate him as long as my mother pampered me with all these gifts and visits to the salon. My mother paid more attention to me more than she did to my older brother ever since my engagement.


    "Do you have something to say?" one of his eyebrows was raised.


    "Do-does your mother and you also vis-sit salons of-ten?" I stuttered.


    Alex was a bit scary as he stared at me with no emotion. Back then, I didn''t know it meant that he was confused at what I was asking him. I started to regret asking him the question. Alex only showed a bit of friendliness when I asked him some questions about the class material we learned. He immediately stopped what he was doing and took out his laptop to explain the answers.


    "Salons?" he tossed the question back at me.


    "A place where people do your hair and give you special treatments," I reluctantly continued.


    "My mother is too busy working to go to these places or take me there," Alex recalled his mother''s schedule.


    "Oh¡­ ok," I looked down.


    His mother was naturally that pretty. The staff said I would become a beautiful princess once I polished my features, but Alex appeared like an angel without any of it. For the first time, I didn''t feel like going through the numerous dresses in my closet. I closed the closet door and opened the textbook as I could spot Alex''s slight smile in approval.


    Time flew by as mounting complaints started to pile up inside my chest. I went to the salon and smiled with my mother while trying to forget Alex''s warning about not placing my shoe in the doorway at a ninety-degree angle. There was only so much I could handle nowadays without punching a hole in my pillow. All the common etiquette I learned from my teachers before my engagement became part of my identity since I didn''t want to even hear Alex''s voice anymore.


    All my actions were calculated as my mother praised me that I was starting to become a perfect lady. Even my mother was surprised how I always sat in a ninety-degree angle while I drank my favourite chocolate milkshake and made sure I never spilled anything. There was no time to breathe or rest under the watchful eyes of Alex. I had to be perfect at all times if I didn''t want to hear another complaint from him.


    "There''s no one watching, you can rest now," my mother whispered into my ear, afraid I was overdoing it.


    "There will be once I go back to school," my grip on the cup tightened.


    "Is school that hard?" My mother had a hint of worry in her voice.


    How could I tell her it wasn''t exactly the school, but my partner? He was the reason why my mother was spending all her time and money on me. I decided to fake a smile and enjoy the free time I had with her. When Rika revealed her strained relationship with Luke, I couldn''t help but join in, "It''s the same with Alex as well. He just keeps on telling me to study to acc.u.mulate more points! Helena has it lucky with Allan. Allan doesn''t tell her to do anything."


    It was then, I finally felt my heart becoming free. Nothing compared to having my true feeling flow out instead of locking them in. Not even those frequent visits to the salon nor those beautiful dresses and shoes. My shoulders felt lighter as I frequently met with Rika in this caf¨¦ that served the most delicious chocolate milkshake.


    I was never close with Ellen before meeting Rika. We considered ourselves as fellow allies as we were a part of the same fraction. But we soon became close as Rika introduced us to sneaking out of our rooms in the middle of the night. I finally laughed from my heart as we ate desserts together in our nightgowns.


    The more I talked with Rika; I realized my family wasn''t that powerless in the first district for me to comply with every one of Alex''s demands. I started to shout back and fight with Alex whenever I disagreed with him. And surprisingly, he tried to compromise instead of telling his parents. I couldn''t ever live a life without Rika, to go back to those terrible times where I locked myself from acting the way I truly wanted.


    Rika was the first real friend I ever made. A person who was always on my side, no matter who she faced. She bravely confronted anything that stood in her way and nothing stopped her, not even the school dean. So she couldn''t die now. I couldn''t lose my best friend who freed me without knowing it. We still had to go to that caf¨¦ together to complain about what our day was like. Unknowingly, tears filled my eyes from the thought that I may never see her again.


    I opened another bottle before my ears perked from the sound of the door opening. The familiar steps clacked onto the floor in a rhythmic beat as I poured the next medicine onto the boy. Why was she here?

 Chapter 208 - Recovering (9) - Siennas POV

    I dropped my notebook as the boy finally stirred from the sound of Rika''s footsteps. I quickly picked up my notebook from the carpet when I came back to my senses. The tension increased from Rika''s sudden appearance as everyone stayed cautious under the owner of this mansion. I shivered as a mass of cold air hit me from Luke.


    I turned away from Rika as she took a long glance at her surroundings. I felt lucky I had Cillian as my partner since Luke was scary whenever I looked into his eyes. And he was especially merciless when it came to his partner. I still remembered his pressuring stare to let go of Rika right after we came from a drink catering place. I continued taking down more notes while I avoided Luke''s presence.


    But the boy suddenly opening his eyes like he was conscious quickly gathered everyone''s attention. Did the last bottle really work on him? I poked him with my pen before gasping when his eyes were clear and aware of the surroundings around him. By then, Rika was already in front of the metal table, ignoring the stale atmosphere warning her to stay away. The boy grabbed her hands as soon as he got up.


    "Can you please be my sponsor, my goddess?" He held her hand against his cheek.


    We all knew that Luke tried to hide the true purpose of the existence of an orphanage from Rika. However, it was common sense that it was actually a place where orphans were trained to become future soldiers once they reached a.d.u.l.thood. My parents always tried to scare me into studying hard if I didn''t want to visit the orphanage. The children there had to go out, all alone, begging our neighbors to sponsor them in the future.


    In a free weekend before I entered middle school, I watched my parents coldly watching them as they pleaded for their sponsorship to get better supplies and political support. It couldn''t be helped as they had no choice but to enlist in the military soon. The first district had the problem of monsters to deal with while they couldn''t let people with mana to reside outside the district.


    If not for the great war a few centuries ago, we would have all lived in a world full of fear and horror. My parents would tell me not to feel sorry for them as we gave them the opportunity of having good employment prospects for carrying out their duty. I nodded my head as I ran away from the fact that it was our fault that monsters existed in the first place. Everyone knew how monsters were products of failed experiments in the labs.


    The first district always needed to be the most advanced compared to the rest of the districts. To do so, there was an equal price to pay. A tear fell from my eye as I read the horrible history book given by my tutor. I understood that there was no other way to control the failed products as I continued flipping the pages.


    "Why are you crying, Sia?" Cillian came into the library.


    "Why are you here Ian?" I wiped the tear from my eye.


    "We have to go back to school soon," Ian offered me his hand.


    I accepted his hand as he helped me get back to my feet. After I got up, I placed the book back into the bookshelf. I had no power to help them until I turned into an a.d.u.l.t. It was only then, I could sponsor one of them, hoping they would live long enough to retire from their duty. Sponsoring a single soldier required lots of investment in terms of money, training and time.


    "Is it that sad? It couldn''t be helped," Ian commented when I stared at the book.


    "Without them, this land wouldn''t be inhabitable. You know how dangerous these monsters are and how many lives they claimed," Ian patted my back.


    "I know," I whispered as we left the library in my family mansion.


    And now, I was witnessing an orphan, begging for Rika''s sponsorship in front of my eyes. My friend Rika, who I have recently gotten close to from being part of the same fraction. Although I wasn''t close to her enough for her to call me by my nickname, I considered her to be a part of the inner circle in which I could rely on. It was hard not to get close to her as we both had similar thoughts.


    She didn''t ever judge me for yawning the first time we met, nor did she try to get close to me for my connections. In the neutral fraction, we all shared our weaknesses to cover them up, meaning that no one dared to expose my true personality. But, only a handful of people like Delia and Ben faced me for who I truly was instead of my family name even inside the neutral fraction. The Sienna who liked to eat cakes or encounter something new in her boring world.


    The boring world where she was struggling to maintain her perfect lady-like in the political society she lived in. Where she couldn''t even slouch, eat cakes or her favourite cookies as others preyed upon every mistake she made. Well, it was expected since cuteness was a weakness in a cutthroat world like hers.

 Chapter 209 - Recovering (10)

    My warm hand was placed against the boy''s cold face. It was smoothing yet unnerving at the same time. He was alive with his weak pulse radiated from his face. I wasn''t a goddess. I was asleep the entire time, not knowing what was going on. Why would he want me to be his sponsor? What did that even mean?


    Before I could answer, Luke refused in my place, "my partner will not be your sponsor."


    "Don''t listen to him," I became annoyed.


    "First, please explain what it means to become your sponsor," I smiled as I tried to get as much information as possible.


    The boy showed a glimpse of his surprise as to why I wouldn''t know what a sponsor was. This meant that this was another thing that only Rika didn''t know again. A sponsor wouldn''t be what I thought it would be, would it? It wouldn''t be like supporting him through money like in my former life where the term was used?


    "Do you want to go back to that room?" Luke warned me with a bright smile.


    Was he serious? The boy returned my hand to me, noticing the tension between Luke and I. Luke was trying to hide everything to the very end. Up to my death, I would never know the truth until Luke would be forced to tell me. I clenched my hands into fists as I couldn''t let myself be confined in that room again.


    I nodded my head as I sent an apologetic look to the boy. The boy hid his disappointment like he understood the power dynamics in this room. He knew how powerless I was from that one question. It wasn''t something I ever liked to reveal. I was stuck under Luke''s control as long as this engagement continued. I never had the choice to act on my own.


    I slumped into the sofa as Luke wouldn''t let me continue exploring the room. It probably had to do something about my illness that he wasn''t telling me about. I watched Shelly continuing to pour more bottles over the boy as he screamed from the pain. I winced as it felt more inhumane as time went on. The boy was never given a break to recover from pain.


    "How long has this been going on?" I asked Cillian.


    Cillian stood beside me while Alex and Luke went to check on the barrier. He held onto a thick medical book in one of his hands while remembering to check how I was doing every few minutes. He was probably told by Luke to watch for anything suspicious.


    "Luke won''t allow me to tell you," he apologized.


    Before he could explain, Sienna grabbed both of our attention by shouting to Shelly, "call Luke and Alex."


    I turned to the metal table to discover that the boy had lost his consciousness. But instead of appearing almost dead like before, his pulse was much stronger. He was gradually regaining his colour while Shelly smiled from his warm touch. I sighed in relief as it meant that at least one of us would survive through this.


    "Is it true?" Luke rushed into the room.


    Not even a minute had passed when Alex followed him inside the room. What about the barrier? Shelly excitedly nodded her head as Sienna passed her notes to Luke. She lifted up a bottle to give to Luke after he read Sienna''s notes. But oddly, Luke walked towards my direction while opening the bottle.


    Why did it seem he was about to use the bottle on me? I got up from the sofa and immediately hid behind it. My head throbbed from all those screams that came from the same bottle. Who knew how painful it would be this time?


    "It''s the last time," Shelly tried to comfort me from behind Luke.


    For the first time, I couldn''t get myself to trust Shelly. I could still remember the time when I was half-awake when her soft voice drifted into my ear, telling me only one more bottle. If all those bottles didn''t work, it would be no guarantee that this one would work for me as well.


    "Please?" Sienna cutely tilted her head from behind Shelly.


    "Do this for us?" Her head popped out from Shelly''s shoulder.


    "Is it really the last one?" I was starting to give in from her pitiful eyes.


    Both Sienna and Shelly frantically nodded their heads. I sighed as I decided to sit on the couch as Luke opened the bottle. I closed my eyes as I anticipated the pain I would encounter. But I coughed for my life, digging my hands into Luke''s shirt from the pain. This was much worse than the other bottles. It was on a whole other level.


    My body felt like it was taking turns in being torn apart and mushed back together. Luke''s warm hands that held my back weren''t helping as it meant I couldn''t roll around the ground to help alleviate the pain. At this point, I was swearing to myself that I would never get injured again. I would never have to take this medicine again. I would always place myself first.


    Black spots started appearing to make holes in my vision as my throat became hoarse from screaming my lungs out. Maybe it was better if I became unconscious like the boy. I let myself welcome the black spots that increased in size as I said my farewells to the world in front of me.

 Chapter 210 - To Safety (3)

    I woke up, feeling a bit drenched. I tried to sit up on the bed before stretching my limbs. The rows of empty shelves and wide windows that revealed the gates in front of the mansion showed that I was back in the room I was confined in. When I managed to get up, I faced the people in front of me, finding where the drops of water came from. It was Shelly''s tears that made my clothes wet. I studied her as it was my first time seeing her cry this hard.


    "Why?" I asked the people in the room.


    "It''s nothing," Shelly started to wipe her tears.


    "I''m just glad, we finally managed to find something that got rid of everything this time," Shelly couldn''t stop her tears.


    Get rid of everything this time? One of my eyebrows went up before I realized it probably had to do with my hand. My hand had finally returned to normal as I could move it the way I desired. Sienna passed me a small hand mirror as I appeared weak, but much healthier than before. My eyes weren''t hazy anymore as it was clear as glass. However, my skin became flawless and pale as an albino like Luke.


    ''Was it just me, but was I losing a part of myself every time I recovered?'' I shot a look at Luke.


    The first time, I lost my hair colour to resemble Luke''s brilliant silver hair. This time, I lost enough weight and porcelain skin to bring out my features even more than before. I studied Luke even further as I looked for more similarities between us. Fortunately, this was where our similarities ended as my bright orange-speckled eyes were reflected through the mirror.


    "It''s because the medicine contains a small part of the Roselia family''s essence," Luke answered.


    "Essence?" I asked.


    "Like the core of the Roselia family''s construction of mana. Someone''s essence can affect your own mana, which can affect your appearance in exchange," Luke explained.


    Well that did explain a lot. Feeling depressed for losing another part of myself, I looked outside the window. My vision was sharp and clear as I noticed the ball full of corrupted mana come closer to the window by another meter after passing the mirror back. There was only so much that could be done by slowing time down. How was the barrier even doing?


    I silently asked the people in the room to discover only the boy was missing amongst them. Was he still on that metallic table? It was too cruel as I kicked the blankets away to get up from the bed before Alex revealed, "he recovered and is back at the orphanage."


    My eyes widened from the news. But I guessed it was better than being one minute away from your death. At least the orphanage didn''t have a S-class monster trying to get in like the mansion. Seeing that the rest of them were still here, there must have not been enough mana to get all of us back to school using the teleportation gate.


    "Do we not have enough mana to use the teleportation gate?" I turned to Luke.


    For the first time, I studied everyone''s condition inside the room. Both Sienna and Shelly appeared exhausted with tiny signs of dark circles beginning to form. Meanwhile, Cillian leaned against the wall, not having enough strength to stand on his own. Even Luke and Alex appeared exhausted as their perfect posture was shaking and barely maintained.


    "I can charge the teleportation gate!" I answered from his silence.


    "It''s fine!" Shelly grabbed both of my hands.


    "We don''t want to push you any further when you''ve just recovered."


    "But what about those corrupted fire balls?" I pointed to her, feeling worried about the barrier.


    "We still have a few days left," Sienna added to support Shelly.


    None of them appeared like they would recover enough mana to use the teleportation gate within a few days. It was obvious they were overworking themselves as they checked on the status of the barrier while helping me recover. I closed my eyes and drifted in to check how much mana I had leftover.


    I smiled as I discovered that I currently had enough to teleport all of us out. Although I would probably faint afterwards, I would have the luxury to rest without any worries compared to now. If I rested for one more day, maybe the possibility of fainting would be a little lower.


    "How about we use the gate tomorrow then?" I suggested.


    "I really have enough," I tried to assure them when everyone stayed silent in disapproval.


    "That''s not the problem," Alex broke the silence.


    "One of us has to break the teleportation gate right afterwards to make sure that the monster won''t be able to use it after us."


    What? That monster could also use the teleportation gate? I shuddered as S-class monsters were truly frightening on a whole other level. But how would we break the teleportation gate after all of us escaped to school? The only way I could think of it was if one of us stayed behind. And that one person would have to also destroy all those teleportation gates inside other mansions as well.


    It was truly dooming that one person to his or her death.


    "Do one of us have to stay behind?" I shivered from the thought.

 Chapter 211 - To Safety (4)

    "Not necessarily," Cillian answered.


    "Only a few families own teleportation gates in this neighbourhood. We just need to destroy all of them with their permission before using ours and destroying it afterwards with the self-destruction button." He explained.


    "Then couldn''t we ask them to use the self-destruction button?" I thought.


    "The button has to be physically pressed," Cillian sighed.


    No wonder everyone seemed solemn. We would need to negotiate with all those who had teleportation gates and then travel to their mansions by using teleportation. And while teleportation was used, we had to make sure we wouldn''t grab the attention of the S-class monster and the lower-class monsters running wild.


    "How big are a few?" I wondered how many teleportation gates we had to destroy.


    "Six, but we don''t need permission for one of them since it''s ours," Sienna pondered.


    I totally forgot that Cillian''s family had a mansion here. Meaning that we needed to get permission from five more families. Maybe this wouldn''t be that bad.


    "Who are the five families?" I wondered.


    "The Nuelle, Lumiere, Krista, Enchantres, and Whaise," Shelly counted down with her fingers.


    "Most are from our rival fraction," she had a strained smile.


    I didn''t know about the Enchantres or Whaise families, but the other three would be very easy to convince. I just needed to tell them the truth about what happened. I immediately decided to call Ben since he was the heir to the Nuelle family. We were already close anyways from running into each other every time I landed myself into trouble.


    Without any hesitation, I punched in Ben''s phone number on my marble. Maybe Sienna and Cillian weren''t close to Ben as much as I was as they weirdly stared at me readily calling him. Surprisingly, not even a second passed when Ben''s voice rang inside the room.


    The video call showed he was inside his dorm room, preparing to get ready for morning classes. His nicely ironed uniform was laid out on the bed behind him as he was still in his pyjamas. I was glad that Alice was nowhere to be seen. The less people we had to talk about this issue, the better.


    "Is Alice here?" I asked him.


    "Alice had to go out early today since she had to run some errands," Ben combed his hair.


    "Can we blow up your teleportation gate in your mansion located in this neighborhood?" I showed him the map.


    "What?!?" Ben''s eyes widened.


    "Your mansion is probably already destroyed anyways," I showed him the scenery of ruined mansions through the call.


    "What happened this time? Rika!" Ben dropped his comb in shock.


    "It''s what you see. A horde of monsters followed us through the barrier and destroyed it. Now, an S-class monster is trying to kill us, and we need to destroy all the teleportation gates before we escape so it doesn''t follow us," I spread out my arms to present the scene.


    Ben laughed like a crazy person as I showed him a closer view of the humanoid and his corrupted balls of mana heading towards us. It took him some time to calm down as he took in the scene of rubbles and priceless crushed buildings. I could understand since each of those mansions possessed an expensive number of artworks, clothing and heritage.


    "Aren''t there many mansions from the rival fraction in this neighbourhood?" Ben pondered on how to handle this issue.


    "It''s ok, we''ll convince them!" I shouted.


    We had to, or else we would die, unable to escape.


    "So can we destroy your teleportation gate?" I was starting to get irritated.


    "I don''t have a choice but to say ''yes'', don''t I?" Ben appeared like he was starting to form a plan in his head.


    "Yup, I''m just letting you know about it!" I assumed he was giving us his permission.


    Before I hung up on the call, we heard him mutter, "I need to call Lucius to help cover this up."


    "And we have the Nuelle family''s permission," I turned to the people who wished to be hidden from the video call after I hung up on Ben.


    "Even those in the neutral fraction can''t call their leader this easily," Cillian smiled.


    Sienna nodded her head as I proceeded to call Allan. We had no time to waste as I knew Ben would be working with Luke''s fraction to help cover this issue or bring reinforcements. Since Allan''s family was part of the outer part of our fraction, we would just have to inform him about what happened.


    It took one full minute for Allan to take the call. Surprisingly, instead of being inside the dorm room with Ellen, he was inside the study room with Charles. I smiled since it would be a good opportunity to ask them both at the same time.


    "Can we destroy your family teleportation gates in this neighbourhood?" I showed them the scene of the S-class monster.


    "Are you asking me or Charles?" Allan seemed confused and taken aback.


    "Both of you. We have to destroy both of your teleportation gates," I clasped my hands together.


    "Let me guess, you got yourself in trouble again, attracted a horde of monsters and destroyed all our mansions and need to destroy all the teleportation gates so it doesn''t follow you when you escape," Charles was about to guess everything that happened.


    I gave him a round of applause, "How did you know?"

 Chapter 212 - To Safety (5)

    "Because it''s you," Charles sighed like it couldn''t be helped.


    "You do know one teleportation gate costs a fortune, even more than the mansion itself, right?" his voice became more hostile.


    I didn''t know. Since I was so used to teleportation gates being readily available, I thought they weren''t that expensive. The only reason why I thought people used hover cars instead of teleportation gates was because of the huge mana consumption.


    "Does this mean you refuse?" My eyes narrowed.


    I didn''t want to do this, but I sighed as I had to use my hidden card. After seeing how sensitive Luke was when I tried to see his magical sword after I came from the sixth district, it must be something secretive. Even though I didn''t understand why they were trying to keep it hidden when they readily took it out during a fight.


    "Oh my, Exphaxia! Close your eyes Rika!" I almost choked as I imitated his voice from the sixth district.


    Charles momentarily froze as both Luke and Alex stiffened. I guessed it was because it was something that only the topmost powerful families knew and Sienna, Allan and Cillian who weren''t a part of it were here. Before I could continue, Charles'' face went red.


    "But the Lumiere family doesn''t mind a small loss like a teleportation gate," Charles coughed out the words.


    "And you Allan?" I faced Allan''s face turning pale from seeing how my words affected Charles.


    He knew how I would pull up something from our childhood to threaten him if he declined as Charles waited for him to answer.


    "Yea, ummm a teleport-port-ation gate is noth-ing," he stuttered.


    "Thank you for your understanding," I waved before hanging up.


    Seeing that Sienna and Cillian didn''t think too deep about the name of the sword, both Alex and Luke began to loosen from the heightened tension. But Cillian appeared a little impressed as to how I convinced one of the members of a rival fraction a little bit too easily.


    "I never knew how close you were to other fractions," Sienna''s eyes glittered.


    "I''m not, it''s because I''m classmates with Charles," I didn''t want to give her a false impression.


    I didn''t want Sienna to think that convincing two other people that I didn''t know would be easy as Charles. This only worked since I was holding onto Charles'' weakness. Charles would never be able to say anything about me if he didn''t want anything that happened in the sixth district to be exposed. Unfortunately, this was the only good thing that came out of being kicked out to the sixth district.


    "Can you give me the phone numbers for the other two heirs?" I asked Shelly.


    My marble rang as I received Shelly''s message. But why did one of the numbers seem so familiar? I used to call this number a lot when I was in elementary school. I hoped this was who I thought it was.


    Everyone seemed confused when I brightly smiled at the familiar face of a young boy starting to mature. He was one year older than me when we first met. His tousled walnut brown hair stuck out in many directions. Cute dimples near his mouth remained as he was confused if he picked up the wrong call.


    "Hey, Oili," I awkwardly waved.


    "You haven''t called in a long time, is this really you?" Oliver yawned.


    "Yea, things changed," I showed off my new hair colour.


    No one knew Oliver''s real identity. The club formed between Jules and I didn''t just have us two as its members. The final member of the Lilika Yuri fanclub was Oili. Someone I unfortunately fell out of touch with once he graduated from elementary school.


    "You still look the same as before though," I couldn''t help think of Jules'' betrayal to our club.


    "Yea, I heard what happened in the second district. Jules was always two-faced. It''s just that you never noticed it," Oliver shrugged.


    I nodded as I couldn''t believe I ignored his warnings the entire time before he graduated. Feeling of guilt crept up into my chest as I shot him an apologetic look. Oliver smiled as he accepted my apology as if it couldn''t be helped.


    "Are we meeting up again?" Oliver wondered if we were starting our karaoke meetings again.


    "I''m not the only person in the room," I warned him.


    "Oh, shoot," Oliver ran out of the screen to clean up his appearance.


    And now I needed to explain to the numerous people in the room how I knew Oili. But I couldn''t just tell them that Oili was my best karaoke buddy. I sighed as things were much better in elementary school where the security of the rooms was much more relaxed.


    Thankfully, Oliver managed to brush up his appearance under a minute. It was like he transformed as he wore his perfectly ironed uniform with his tidy hair. Oili always got my secret hints, especially about those telling him to either hide or hurry up and help to get out of this situation.


    Karaoke was something to be frowned upon in the first district. After Jules had managed to sneak it into the school, we always had to tiptoe and plan extensively to continue our meetings. But if I had to choose someone who liked singing more than me, it had to be Oili.


    "So what''s up?" he switched into a wary expression.

 Chapter 213 - To Safety (6)

    "I may have destroyed your family mansion in this neighborhood, and I was wondering if you would let me destroy your teleportation gate too," I desperately stared into his golden pupils.


    "Do you even know my family name?" Oili switched into his serious mode.


    Normally, Oili was really chill and easygoing, until the switch happened when we started to discuss the next location to have our meeting without getting caught. During our meetings, we never mentioned anything about our family names. This was why I never knew Jules was from the Pelargonium family when we were in elementary school.


    "I don''t, but my partner inside the room told me we need to, um, blow up your teleportation gate to escape from a S-class monster," I whispered loud enough for him to hear.


    "Can I see?" Oili tried to analyze the situation.


    I walked towards the window to show him the humanoid and the mana balls coming towards us. I guessed it was hard believing it if you didn''t see it with your own eyes, even if it was Oili. Oili appeared a bit shaken as his eyes quickly turned into worry while he scanned the scene.


    "This is on a whole other level," he gulped.


    "Yea, I know," I nodded my head to agree.


    "I''m from the Whaise family. You don''t ever need to call me about tiny things like this since it''s you Rika. Just blow it up!" Oili tried to cheer me up.


    "Thanks. I just had to call the Nuelle, Lumiere and Krista families before you to ask them about blowing up their teleportation gates too," I complained.


    "That must''ve been tough. Did you get them to agree?"


    "Yea, I only have the Enchantres family left," I slumped into my chair.


    Oili''s eyes widened in surprise as to how I managed to convince few of the most powerful families, forgetting he was a part of them. I just hoped that the heir of the Enchantres family would agree like the rest.


    "Good luck," Oliver saluted me after I shot another apologetic glance that I would have to hang up.


    When the call ended, I immediately dialled the Enchantres family''s heir before anyone inside the room could ask any questions. I preferred to keep my relationship with Oili a secret so we could restart those karaoke meetings someday. This was why both of us never contacted each other for the past two years.


    My eyes perked up as I managed to call another familiar face. The reason I never had his phone number was because I never had the need to. We always ran into each other whether we wanted to or not in elementary school. While I sneaked around during the night to get to those karaoke meetings, his was for a separate purpose.


    "Long time no see Ethan," I groaned.


    "How did you get this number?" Ethan seemed to regret picking up the call.


    There was no need to be polite to this kind of person. I just needed to let him know what was happening. We both had each other''s weakness whether we wanted to or not. Plus, I saved him a couple of times from the security guards when we were younger.


    "I''m letting you know we''re destroying your teleportation gate in this place on the map," I felt exhausted for repeating the same thing multiple times.


    "What? My family will get mad! Rika!" Ethan yelled.


    "Your mansion is already destroyed," I showed him the ruins.


    I hung up on the call as I felt disgusted for talking longer than I had to. I really hoped he moved on from that hobby of his. The only reason I supported him back then was because I had no choice. He knew about the existence of our club.


    Ethan immediately called back as I sighed while getting the call. Why else did he want? He was the reason why I stopped respecting people for the reason that they were older than me. He always bragged about how he was two years older than me and how I would have to help him in return.


    "What?" I started to get annoyed.


    "You''re helping next time in return," Ethan put in a condition.


    "Fine!" I hung up on him again.


    What else could I say? I was putting him in an awkward situation with his family.


    "Wow, you really know everyone, even those in the rival fractions," Cillian seemed impressed.


    "Just a little," I brightly smiled to warn him to stop.


    "But you spoke casually with them like you were close to them. Not even people in the same fraction talk like that," Cillian didn''t seem to catch my warning.


    They didn''t know what I was sacrificing in return to get Ethan in on this plan. Not everyone was understanding like Oili. Even Luke and Alex couldn''t hide their surprise when my relation to them got unwillingly exposed. Luke was the last person I wanted to know about them.


    But if the Enchantres family was really as powerful as they claimed them to be, I was extremely disappointed in them to choose Ethan as the heir. It was no wonder Ethan would want more help in his hobby since it was harder to hide as it got out of control easily. My otaku hobby was nothing compared to his.


    "Let''s get started in destroying those teleportation gates," I tried to switch the topic.

 Chapter 214 - To Safety (7)

    "We should do this in partners," Alex argued.


    "One person on the defense and another on offense," Luke was in sync with Alex.


    "Does this mean each pair would have to destroy two teleportation gates?" Sienna seemed frightened.


    The silence inside the room answered her question as Cillian lightly patted her back to comfort her. However, we all noticed how Cillian couldn''t stop shuddering from facing all those monsters with only two people. Since it was our third time encountering the monsters, the rest of us were more resilient.


    "How about we let Sienna and Cillian visit Ben and their own mansions since they''re more familiar with it?" Shelly suggested.


    Sienna hugged Shelly to thank her while Cillian threw an apologetic smile. This meant Luke and I would go to the mansions of Oili and Ethan since I was more familiar with them. I sighed as thankfully, both of them gave me the code to their teleportation gates and the layout of their mansions after the call.


    All we had to do was the press the self-destruction button on their gates after using Luke''s teleportation gate to get to the precise location. No one wanted to waste time searching for the gates when we could potentially catch the attention of the s-class monster. I entered the gate last as the amount of mana in my gauge went down after I charged the teleportation gate.


    Maybe that was why I started to stumble towards the sharp rocks as I used too much mana at once. But Luke immediately pressed the self-destruction button as he teleported both us back to the mansion within a few seconds. It was surprisingly uneventful as I found all of us in front of Luke''s teleportation gate. Could it really be this easy?


    I covered my ears from the loud sound of the explosions going off at once. It was time to recharge the gate as Luke offered me his hand to go in. I accepted his hand as I soon found myself in Ethan''s mansion. But, unexpectedly, the s-class monster was in front of the gate. How? Wasn''t the s-class monster attacking the barrier?


    "It had foresight!" Luke yelled in frustration.


    Monsters had freaking foresight? This was very advanced level magic that was very hard to learn with extremely high mana consumption. Luke pushed me out of the way as a mana arrow came towards my direction. I reached out my arm to press the self-destruction button, hoping the explosion would distract the monster after getting pushed onto the ground.


    I pulled Luke into a tight hug with me as I rolled us towards a safer place. There was no time to cover my ears this time as the smoke swarmed the air. The horrible smog burned my eyes as I coughed from the smoke. I needed to use teleportation immediately. But I couldn''t get my mind to focus as the monster slowly walked towards us with a ferocious grin.


    What was the monster''s weakness? Every monster had to have a weakness. Think Rika! What did you notice about the monster while you looked at it from the window?


    "I can''t use teleportation, it''s using a barrier," Luke coughed.


    Time! Time was its weakness! Its attack couldn''t get to us since time was slowed down inside the barrier. But how was I supposed to apply that here?


    Before I could react, the monster pulled us apart as Luke desperately stretched his arms to prevent us from separating. However, it was clear that the monster''s attention was only on me. Without any other thoughts, I frantically ran for my life since the monster had us inside an anti-mana barrier.


    One of us had to survive from this. I had the second chance card while Luke didn''t. Although I wasn''t fond of Luke, he didn''t deserve to die. I was sure his family would find a brilliant fianc¨¦e for him in the future.


    I took one glance at Luke''s horrified face before I led the monster away from him. I gasped for more air as I began taking myself to the limits with my poor stamina. I really should stop relying too much on mana. Without it, I was a miserable human being who was about to faint from sprinting for two minutes straight.


    There was no point in continuing when I would get captured soon. I was far enough from Luke that I couldn''t see his body anymore. I decided to fall onto the large flower garden as my deathbed. I wanted to die somewhere pretty rather than ruined buildings.


    As I expected, the monster stared at me resting peacefully on the flowerbed. But instead of mumbling more spells as its final kill, the monster reached out his hand towards my face, "I''m here to save you."


    What? To save me? From who? Wasn''t that monster here to kill me? I took a closer look at the humanoid, wondering if I was hallucinating. Under that rotten dead smell was the appearance of a teenage boy with blood red eyes.


    If not for his ash coloured skin, I would welcome him in my arms for preventing the other monsters from coming close to us. None of the lower monsters wanted to even come a few meters close to us, recognizing the order of hierarchy within their own society.


    "You''re another reincarnated person, aren''t you?" the creature whispered inside my ear when I refused his hand.

 Chapter 215 - To Safety (8)

    "How did you know?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "Since we reincarnated people can tell from the unique mana flow," the monster revealed.


    "You''re not here to kill me?" I tried to hide my fear.


    "Why would I do that?" the monster seemed offended.


    "Umm the other umm animals with your um resemblance tried to kill me," I couldn''t find the right words.


    "Oh¡­" the monster appeared to finally realize why I ran away from him.


    "Then why are you here?" I bravely asked.


    "To save you," he repeated the same confusing words.


    "From what?" I couldn''t help but yell.


    "Those people who own those mansions," he pointed.


    "Why?" I crossed my arms.


    "You wanted the reason why I look like this. They''re the reason," he couldn''t hide his contempt for them.


    "You used to be a normal human being?" I gasped.


    He sadly nodded his head. How could I tell him that I live in one of those mansions? It was almost a death sentence even though we were both people who reincarnated from another world. And who knew if we both came from the same world?


    "Are you from South Korea?" I tried to buy some time as I planned my escape.


    "You''re from South Korea too?" He reached out to grab my hands in excitement.


    I quickly backed away from him as I ducked to avoid his arms. I nodded my head to respond before he appeared a bit disappointed in me avoiding him so openly. I was never going to suffer from those bottles of medicine again.


    "I can''t touch you without getting sick," I explained.


    The monster stepped away, realizing he wasn''t a human being anymore. Everything he touched turned dead as the flowers he sat on crumbled into ashes. Living a life where you were always alone except for mutated animals to accompany you was a life full of despair.


    "What did you ask from God before you were sent here?" I wondered.


    "Nothing. I never met God," He sat down at a comfortable distance away from me.


    "I died from overstudying for the SATs. Then I was reincarnated as an orphan in the orphanage with barely enough mana to protect myself," he awkwardly fiddled with his hands.


    My heart instantly melted as I felt sympathetic. I really could have been him. We both died before we could take the SATs. I couldn''t even hold his hand to comfort him.


    "I died by saving a boy from falling into a den of stairs. It turned out God accidentally dropped a potato chip into the human realm which made the boy trip," I decided to share my experience.


    "Is that even possible?" he seemed genuinely curious.


    I nodded my head, "It was so close to the SAT date too."


    "I guess we both never managed to take the SATs, even though we both studied our entire lives for it," he sadly smiled.


    "Can you let me go back to the place I was in?" I hoped we became close enough for me to safely ask the question without any repercussions.


    "Why do you want to go back?" He couldn''t hide his face that showed he was confused.


    "I have to, they''re holding my family hostage," I lied.


    Who knew when this reincarnated person would change his mind? I needed to survive to get back to my current family. I knew my current family loved me as much as the one in my former life. It was evident in how much money they packed in my debit card from all the holidays I couldn''t spend with them.


    "You have a family here," he appeared a bit jealous.


    "Please live a free life. At least one of us has to live this life without any regrets," My eyes welled up with tears.


    I hoped my acting was managing to fool him as Luke saw always through it. I wiped a tear from my eye while gazing at him like I was cheering him on. Maybe I would be able to become an award-winning actor in my former world with all the practice I had. His gaze softened as he nodded his head.


    "Just answer this one question," he stopped me from walking away with his burning stare.


    "Are you that sleeping girl in that room filled with the smell of disinfectants?"


    I had to stiffen my face that was about to expose the horror from how he knew. It wasn''t only me who saw him from the other side of the barrier. I did think it was strange how the corrupted mana balls were directly heading towards my room rather than anywhere else.


    I decided to honestly tell him the truth, "I am."


    "How did you manage to safely turn back to normal?" He was strangely filled with hope.


    "What do you mean?" I became confused.


    "I was first like you. I was bitten by one of those mutated animals and soon found myself like this. But I smelled that you also had the same poison inside your veins when you were inside that mansion. And now, it''s completely removed," His eyes lit up.


    "I don''t know," I admitted.


    It was better than giving him false hope. Sadly, there was no way Luke would ever use those expensive bottles on strangers and especially to a monster. The monster unconsciously dropped the anti-mana barrier as his eyes drifted into despair. Unfortunately, this was the time to use teleportation back to Luke''s mansion.


    Before he realized I was fading away from him, I opened my eyes to find myself back into Luke''s mansion. I stopped walking towards the teleportation gate as I covered my mouth when I heard Luke''s voice breaking down.


    "I couldn''t protect her and now she''s probably dead," Luke hugged himself, teetering on the ground.

 Chapter 216 - To Safety (9)

    Everyone was crying in this room, thinking I was already dead. Even Alex seemed to mourn over my death before I announced my appearance. Was this how it felt when you watched people cry over your death? It was a heart wrenching feeling, no matter how much I seemed to hate them before.


    "Rika can''t be dead," Shelly''s eyes were red.


    "She''s not," I came into the room.


    Luke looked up as he stared at me in shock alongside Alex who did the same as he stopped comforting his cousin.


    "Why aren''t you charging the teleportation gate?" I started to get mad to distract myself from joining in the crying party.


    Didn''t they know how I risked my own life to help them get to safety? That monster could come after me at any moment, tracking where I teleported. There was a limit on how much this barrier that protected us could slow down the time.


    I was sure it wasn''t my imagination when I heard his mutters right before I landed in Luke''s mansion, "tch! She didn''t fall for it like the others!"


    I could tell his grudge was strong towards anyone who resided inside these mansions. It wouldn''t take seconds until he would soon discover my lie after barging in. Although I felt sympathetic for him, my life was important as well. I somehow knew I would not be as lucky as him to survive from one more touch from another monster.


    "You''re alive," Sienna rushed to pull me into a tight hug like she was checking if I was real.


    "I am and we''re all going to get out of this alive," I wanted to get us all out of here as I could feel the monster teleporting back to his original position.


    I knew I couldn''t trust the monster from the start. He was definitely a better actor than me. But when his eyes slightly narrowed from the mention that I was the girl inside the mansion, I knew he wasn''t the person he appeared to be. Being in the first district told me that nobody was truly trustworthy. However, no one in the room moved until I decided to charge the teleportation gate first. I guessed this was the difference from knowing how it felt to be a few seconds away from your death.


    "Just rest," Luke took over my position.


    His eyes were puffy for the first time when I got a closer look. No one spoke as I sat down on the couch, watching them charge the teleportation gate without me. I knew everyone was pushing themselves to their limits as both Sienna and Shelly soon appeared like they were about to faint any moment.


    "I''ll take your place," I gently pushed them aside.


    Before they could refuse, I filled up the entire teleportation gate. My body started to wobble as the amount of mana I had now was dangerously low. Luke immediately caught me before I began to fall down. Seeing my determination, I noticed Luke pushing his emotions aside as he ordered everyone to enter the teleportation gate.


    My vision wavered back and forth until I felt myself dropping into Luke''s arms as Sienna pushed the self-destruction button before we all began to vanish. So this was how it was all done? It was too much for me. I felt the time click back in its place as we all landed in the school courtyard.


    The lovely school building welcomed us inside. A safe haven compared to what we were in before. I never wanted to leave the school grounds again.


    "I really thought I was going to die," I whispered as real tears streamed down my face in relief.


    I soaked in the warm sunlight, comforting me for managing to stay alive in this world for another day. Luke supported me as we walked together to our dorm room. There was no way we could prepare for our morning classes when we were all about to collapse. Luke made sure I never left his sight as an aftereffect of thinking that I had actually died.


    I looked at the calendar to check how many more days we had until I would have to leave the school for the party. I gasped as the date showed the party was tomorrow. Didn''t the barrier slow the time down? There would be no way Luke would let us all miss this much school.


    "How?" The marble was dropped onto the floor.


    "We couldn''t stop time or slow down time to the extent it included the entire first district. It would use too much mana. Since we didn''t know how long it would take to escape, we slowed down time enough to only include the neighborhood." Luke explained.


    We had a party that was dangerously tomorrow, which meant we had to leave this safe haven soon. I sighed as I wished I could skip the party that everyone already planned while I was recovering.


    "The party is hosted at a mansion at the opposite end of the one we came from," Luke assured me.


    I nodded my head to tell him I understood where he came from. No one wanted to come close to that neighbourhood again. My plans for the future changed inside my head. After I escaped the school, I was immediately going to the lower districts where no monsters existed. I no longer desired to explore the first district.

 Chapter 217 - Charity Ball (1)

    "Do you have any weapons?" I asked Luke as he began to choose our outfits for the ball.


    There was no way I was going to that ball tonight without any weapons. After encountering a deficiency of mana while trapped inside a den of monsters, I realized the importance of possessing a physical weapon. Without any hesitation, Luke passed me several sharp daggers that resembled his sword that he could conquer at will.


    The golden Roselia family crest was stamped onto the middle of the handle, showing the owner quite easily. Luke never let me touch anything like swords or daggers before. I guessed my recent closeness to death had changed his mind. However, my brilliant dress uncomfortably remained the same.


    It was a white princess dress that could be almost mistaken as a wedding dress. Its puffy layers made me frown in response. Why couldn''t he ever choose a simple dress? At this rate, I would have to secretly have to rip out some of its layers.


    "The cloth is special. It''s spelled to defend against certain attacks," Luke explained.


    Oh. Then who cared if it was a little uncomfortable? The many layers were there for protection. I started to admire the designers of this dress for their innovative thinking. We needed more dresses that could fend against attacks. Luke pulled out a pair of black leather boots that also acted as shields.


    I could definitely sense the change in Luke as both of our outfits were perfectly spelled to defend against irregular attacks. Underneath my skirt, I had a tight ribbon which attached the daggers to each of my legs. It was interesting to figure out Luke''s blazer was also spelled to be almost mana-proof like a bullet-proof vest.


    When we arrived at the teleportation gate, I knowingly smiled, noticing the faint feeling of mana also covering their clothes. Everyone was thinking the same thing as we got ready to teleport to Luke''s mansion. I stepped into the teleportation to soon find myself in another one of Luke''s grand mansions the next time I blinked.


    The servants had already prepared everything for us as all the food, decorations and venue was like the mansions in social week. The floors sparkled to the point they were polished to make people slip if they weren''t careful in how they walked. A perfect counter for monsters if they managed to barge in!


    I smiled as the decorations were pointy enough to be perfect to also use as weapons. I made sure to mention to Luke last night to include as many sharp objects as he could. The carved roses had slick petals while the utensils were glimmering from its sharp edges. For the first time, I didn''t mind wearing pointy heels, they would be great to use when the daggers became useless!


    I was determined to get through this night safely. Each group could only invite ten partners since all twenty would attend both charity banquets and decide which group to donate to. The group who got the most donations would get half the amount of points from the value of the donations while the other group would get close to none.


    I smiled while going through everyone who was coming last night. It was obvious that everyone that Luke invited from the neutral and his own fraction would choose our group. It was likely going to be a tie as Charles invited mostly people from our rival fraction. But we were more prepared in case an attack occurred from monsters.


    "What an interesting theme," Yulee looked at the decorations.


    Yulee and Jules were the first couple to arrive. It was expected they came here first to help us bring a good atmosphere to the banquet.


    "It is," Ben came with Alice.


    I shrugged like it couldn''t be helped. We had to do whatever it took for us to live. Ben carefully nodded his head in response, knowing the true reason why we had so many metallic decorations. For him, it was just yesterday when we asked him if we could blow up his teleportation gate. I guessed not even Yulee and Jules knew about it.


    "I heard what happened," Belle relaxed a bit when she entered the hall with Lucius.


    "That''s why we''re prepared," I stopped talking when Luke elbowed me.


    I volunteered to greet the guests at the entrance to keep a lookout for any monsters in the process. It was basically the same position when we were inside the hover car to get to Luke''s mansion. After spending several days together in the same room, trying to run for our lives, it brought everyone a new sense of solidarity.


    When my eyes twinkled from discovering the person behind them, everyone turned around. Only Jules knew the true meeting from my smile. Oili walked towards the entrance with his partner after they stepped out of the hover car. He was probably invited by Charles since they were in the same fraction.


    "Rika?" Oili stepped back in surprise.


    "What''s wrong?" His partner whispered inside his ear.


    Just as I figured out Oili came from the Whaise family yesterday, Oili never knew I was engaged to Luke. It was an unspoken rule that politics and whatnot were not mentioned while we did our club activities together. We already had enough stress from it in our daily lives.


    "Let us introduce ourselves," Luke pretended he was seeing him for the first time.

 Chapter 218 - Charity Ball (2)

    "I am Luke de Roselia, and this is my partner, Rika de Roselia," Luke smiled like an angel.


    "Hello," I awkwardly waved to him.


    Oili momentarily paused like he was processing all the information in front of him. He clumsily grinned when everything started to click into place inside his mind. Almost everyone here had some kind of relation to the situation that we escaped from yesterday. The unique decorations hung all over the walls started to make sense.


    Not many parties had a metallic theme. Most families preferred to show something magical and enchanting to show off their wealth. Oili nervously entered the banquet hall as his partner became confused if she was missing out on something that everyone was getting. It was clear he was thinking that maybe the monster incident wasn''t entirely over yet.


    Thankfully, nobody noticed Oili''s secret relationship with us as Jules stayed silent. Unexpectedly, Ethan was the next guest to arrive. Why did Charles invite the people that I exactly didn''t want to come? Ethan was another person who didn''t know my true identity. I stared at my marble for a long time yesterday, wavering whether I should''ve blocked his number the moment we came back.


    His partner left a considerable amount of distance from him like they were having an argument. I immediately pitied his partner as she seemed to have a hard time hiding her disgust towards him. If it was hard for me who was forced into helping him during elementary school, how much worse would it be for her?


    "Rika?" Ethan repeated Oili''s confused actions.


    Was it really that surprising? Even though this wasn''t how I normally appeared, under all those accessories and makeup, I was still myself. I wondered if there were quite a few people who had the name Rika in the school. I didn''t think it would be such a common name.


    "Thank you for coming," I walked a few steps back.


    "I never imagined you would be here," Ethan stared at my appearance.


    "Do you know how much trouble I got in yesterday?" He complained.


    "Are you familiar with my partner?" Luke brightly smiled.


    Ethan shrank as his partner shot him some threatening glares. I guessed it had something to do with Sprinkles. His partner shot an apologetic glance towards us before introducing herself and Ethan.


    "Please ignore my partner. I am Flora Enchantres Yueria and this is my partner, Ethan de Enchantres," She slightly bowed to apologize for Ethan''s behaviour.


    "Please enjoy the event. I am Luke de Roselia, and this is my partner, Rika de Roselia," Luke''s smile made her cheeks blush into pink.


    "You''re from the Roselia family?" Ethan muttered.


    I stepped on Ethan''s foot to warn him to stop. At this rate, I wasn''t sure if I would be able to keep Sprinkles'' existence a secret anymore. I started to regret not bringing gloves as I pushed him towards the banquet hall. Instead of pointing out I was breaking the etiquette, his partner shot me a thankful look.


    This was going to be a long night if these things kept on repeating. I smiled as my feet were starting to get numb from the boots Luke chose for me. Endure it Rika! These will become helpful when you start fighting for your life again!


    I finally entered the banquet hall as Alex and Shelly switched places with us once Luke noticed I was starting to get tired. Strangely, only five pairs were here when ten were supposed to already arrive by this time. Luke started to check if any messages came through as they were late.


    It wasn''t like one of them encountered a monster outside, would they? I immediately got up from my chair near the entrance when a loud scream was heard near the mansion. Both Henry and Delia looked like they were about to cry as a mutated bird flapped its wings right in front of their hover car. I reached out my arm as I yelled towards the bird, "Ice spear!"


    The bird crumbled into ashes as both Henry and Delia sprinted towards the mansion. Why was that bird here? Wasn''t this mansion located exactly at the opposite side of that neighbourhood in the entire first district? One bird was nothing compared to the swarm we had to run away from.


    "Are you okay?" I escorted them inside the banquet hall.


    Both Delia and Henry couldn''t stop shivering like Sienna and Cillian a few days ago. When Oili mouthed ''monster'' in my direction, I nodded my head. Maybe the rest of the guests were also encountering monsters on their way here. It had to be the explanation why they were late.


    It was just then, another couple jumped out their hover car as the vehicle crashed towards the ground. They were being chased by the furry monster that could jump well. The wind whooshed through my ear as they flew past the entrance of the mansion. This time, I yelled towards the monster, "laser beam!"


    The monster immediately disintegrated as I smiled from knowing their weaknesses in advance. It was like a little game compared to the s-class monster we escaped from. I brought out a bright smile as I calmly reached out my hand to ask them, "are you okay?"


    "We have some weapons here, if you need them," I showed them the decorations when they stared at my face.

 Chapter 219 - Charity Ball (3)

    Luke made sure nobody from Charles'' mansion would travel to ours as the same incident repeated until all ten pairs arrived inside the banquet hall. Traumatized students were given hot chocolate for comfort since this was in our backup plan. Lucius and Ben helped strengthen the barrier once we made sure everyone was in the ballroom.


    I sighed as this was the exact reason Luke had to push me outside the dorm room earlier this morning. Delia''s eyes widened as I pulled off the decorations on the wall to distribute the weapons to each of them. Maybe she didn''t hear the story from Sienna yet.


    "Is this what happened yesterday?" Oili asked when I gave him some knives.


    "Worse," I sadly smiled.


    "We had a horde of monsters surrounding us, like how the monsters are outside the windows right now," I began yelling at Luke.


    Wasn''t the first district supposed to be a big place? Everyone stiffened as the monsters clanged against the barrier to get into the mansion. We definitely didn''t have enough mana to teleport everyone out using a teleportation gate like yesterday. I was spending more mana than I could recover during the past few days.


    When things couldn''t get worse, a bunch of people suddenly appeared from Luke''s teleportation gate. Charles'' exhausted face was evident from his ghastly face as everyone in his mansion had exhausted their mana to come here. He studied our mansion, full of weapons as Shelly ran to offer more blankets and hot chocolate.


    The greater the distance, the more mana was used in the teleportation gates. It was likely they didn''t have enough mana to escape back to school. The mansions were in the same neighborhood for this mission so the guests wouldn''t have to spend a long time travelling.The ballroom became crowded as I continued to hand out more weapons with Alex. Who knew all of our careful preparations would become useful today?


    "This is why I didn''t want to leave the school today," I couldn''t help complaining out loud.


    People who didn''t know what happened yesterday turned to silently ask me, ''Did you know this was going to happen?''


    It made sense since Charles'' mansion didn''t have plastered weapons everywhere with fortified barriers like we did. Currently, we had more than ten layers inside the barrier defending us as we discovered that nine wasn''t good enough in the last neighborhood. All we had to do was to wait for the teachers to come solve this issue.


    Two teachers were to come to the event to evaluate our performance. It was then that Christopher and Daniel, our homeroom teachers came through the teleportation gate. They briefly stumbled as they noticed the swarm of monsters outside the mansion.


    "What''s going on?" Daniel studied the frightened students.


    I pointed at the windows, hoping they would help us send everyone back to school. The school should''ve never continued with this mission. They had to notice something was strange when half of the class was missing from classes for almost the entire week.


    After forming a plan with the other teacher, Daniel announced what would happen, "from now on, we will help with the evacuation."


    Since everyone was inside Luke''s mansion, the guests who came to Charles'' mansion first were chosen to go into the teleportation gate first. I sighed as I knew this would mean that the hosts would be the last ones to leave. People started to chatter with hope as the first group vanished.


    Daniel returned as the next five pairs from our group walked into the teleportation gate. Since Delia and Henry were one of the youngest guests, both Ethan and Oili let them go inside first. Now, only the people I was familiar with remained inside the mansion.


    "What''s wrong?" I asked when Luke frowned from the message he got.


    "The school can''t teleport more people out today since all the teleportation gates are in use to help exterminate the monsters," Luke''s solemn news rang throughout the mansion.


    "What? What about us?" I shook his shoulders.


    Luke''s tired smile told me everything as my entire world felt like it was crashing down to the ground. It hasn''t been even twenty-four hours yet since we escaped from the s-class monster. The atmosphere tensed as we resigned ourselves to our fates. It was like we were automatically transitioning back into that time again.


    I walked towards the highest floor in the mansion to serve as the lookout. There was no way things could get worse than now. I dragged my feet in the direction of the window as I got my marble out, ready to send messages. I desperately needed a can of coffee to get through this mess alive. But just like I have never touched a slice of pizza before in this life, I never got to drink even a sip of instant coffee.


    I drearily watched the scene in front of me, drinking a mug of hot chocolate as I brought a chair to sit down from another room. Maybe it wasn''t as bad this time since we had more people helping us out. Having high school students here was definitely more reliable than being by ourselves.


    How pretty, there were those corrupted mana balls lighting up the night sky like they were shooting stars. I just needed a plate of dumplings to enjoy the view and some soy sauce to go with them. I admired the view as I took another sip of the hot chocolate instead. Wait, there were those mana balls in the sky, attacking the barrier!

 Chapter 220 - Charity Ball (4)

    "There''s those mana balls heading towards the barrier again!" I ran down the stairs.


    I started to panic as corrupted mana balls only came from one place¨C s-class monsters. This wouldn''t be possible unless they were able to use teleportation as well.


    "I told you to send messages. Who else is going to fill the role of a lookout?" Luke scolded me at the end of the stairs.


    "But this is different," I sulked.


    "They are those same mana balls from yesterday!" I raised my voice.


    I grabbed the attention of our guests on purpose. Weren''t these mana balls something to be worried about? Why was he being so cold about this?


    "Go back upstairs, or we can give the role of a lookout to another person," Luke left no room for negotiation.


    "And give me what?" I crossed my arms.


    "You can choose to either stay inside the inner rooms while we sort out this issue or remain as the lookout," Luke narrowed his eyes.


    This basically meant he was threatening me to confine me, far away where I wouldn''t be able to meddle or go back upstairs. Staying as the lookout would be much better since I would still be able to freely move around the mansion. Holding back the urge to kick something, I took heavy steps up the stairs.


    Once I reached the top floor, I aimlessly watched the destructive bombs heading towards us. I picked up my mug, to discover the drink has gotten cold. I placed the mug down on the floor and wrapped myself with a blanket.


    If they wanted me to do nothing, I decided I would think of the scene as a mini firework instead to cheer myself up. I nodded my head while yawning before rubbing my eyes as time passed by. I had to stay awake to report anything I saw just in case.


    But the drink was spilled as I suddenly got up from my chair, tripping over the mug at the two humanoids floating in the air in front of the window. I gasped since I thought the top floor was the safest place. After my near-death experience yesterday, Luke didn''t want to place me even a millimetre close to any signs of danger.


    "Please open the window," a humanoid girl shouted.


    Her hair was tangled and dyed with blood as she warmly smiled at me. Blood-red eyes full of welcoming bounced off my heart with the appearance of her rotting skin. She appeared like she was in her late teens under the smell of death like the other reincarnated person I had escaped from.


    "Ailes told me to help you. To save you," She flew closer to the window, breaking the outer barriers.


    "He said there were some misunderstandings yesterday," she pouted.


    "We, reincarnated people need to stick together in this cruel world. Don''t we?" the boy joined her.


    My eyes widened at the sight of two powerful monsters only a few centimeters away from me. I could barely spot any differences between the monster yesterday and the boy who came to me today since they were both covered with the awful stench of vengeance. Was this what people in the first district turned into once they got infected?


    "I already told him that I have a family held hostage," I declined their offer.


    "Once you join us, we can free them," the boy had his hands against the window.


    "But they''re not in the first district," I slowly took more backward steps.


    "That''s not an issue. When we take over the first district together, we can easily rescue them," the window began to show cracks from her pressing on the surface.


    "You''re not actually taking their side, are you?" she narrowed her eyes when I stayed silent.


    I hoped my face wasn''t giving off any signs of fear as I pressed Luke''s number on my marble behind my back. Unfortunately, Luke''s number was on top of my contracts, making him be the easiest to call. It did make sense since his family was probably the one who paid for the marble in the midst of paying for my school tuition.


    I shook my head, side to side, leaning against the wall. Pressing more numbers in the process for backup, I smiled at them. I never thought things could get worse than yesterday, but cold sweat ran down my forehead as I pretended to be enthusiastic about their visit.


    "Thank you for trying to save me. But wouldn''t I die if those mana balls were to hit me?" I switched my approach.


    "You know how those are for destroying the barrier. It won''t hurt you," she brilliantly smiled back.


    "Rika!" Luke interrupted us as he finally showed up at the top of the stairs.


    Luke panted for more air as he appeared like he came here in a panic. His eyes widened as he saw me converse with the two humanoids about to break the window. He immediately pushed me towards Alex, who was unfortunately the second person on my contacts list before trying to fortify the barrier.


    "Take her to the inner rooms," he shouted to Alex.


    Alex nodded as he grabbed my hand to run towards one of the safest areas after he shot a worried look for Luke. Lucius, who was the third person I called, immediately went into action with no hesitation to help Luke with the barrier. I didn''t look back, afraid of what the humanoids thought of me as I was led towards a safer place.


    ''Why were they trying to recruit me so badly?'' I wondered.

 Chapter 221 - Charity Ball (5)

    "Listen to me Rika," Alex held my shoulders.


    If the decorated ballroom wasn''t impressive enough, the formal armament room was filled with all kinds of weapons ready to be used. Various swords, daggers, and bows made from the finest metals were hung up on the walls. While modern artillery like guns were locked into the glass displays. Every one of them had the Roselia crest stamped some part of them to show who they belonged to.


    The cobblestone floor perfectly matched the serious atmosphere inside the room, unlike the bright modern lights making all the polished weapons shine. My attention drifted away from Alex as I continued to stare at the various weapons inside the room. I thought I had explored all of Luke''s mansion out of boredom, but it wasn''t true.


    "Rika!" Alex shouted to get my attention.


    I nodded my head as Alex''s hands trembled in worry for his cousin and friend.


    "It''s clear that these monsters'' target is you. While we won''t lock the door on your end, make sure you don''t leave this room. Call us immediately like before if someone comes in," Alex repeated multiple times like I was a child.


    After I blindly nodded my head, Alex left the room as he got another call for reinforcements. Everyone was busy with fighting for their lives while I was left here, doing nothing to help. Guilt panged my heart, knowing it was mostly my fault that the charity banquet got ruined.


    I touched a sword, decorated with silver roses in front of me. I gasped as it glowed bright orange, the colour of my eyes as it landed on my hands. Instead of feeling heavy like the other long swords I was exposed to, it was light as a feather. The handle felt warm in my hands as I felt tiny bits of my mana getting sucked into the weapon.


    Didn''t this mean I had some affinity with the weapon? Maybe after I returned to school, I should start joining Luke whenever he practiced with the sword with Alex. I didn''t want to feel helpless like I did now after I exhausted all my mana. I returned the sword back to its rightful place as I started to look closer towards the other swords.


    The one in front of me was intertwined with romantic red roses. The thorns were wrapped around the blade while the handle was oddly bandaged instead of being properly shaped with leather. When I touched the handle this time, nothing happened to my disappointment. But seconds later, my hand bled as the handle unraveled into an electric taser.


    I screamed as the sword shined bright enough to spread its light beyond the room. Why were there no normal weapons here? I shook my hand as I couldn''t seem to detach myself from the sword. The handle kept on digging into me as I collapsed onto the floor from the pain. I rolled on the ground to tolerate the pain before someone opened the door.


    "What happened here?" Belle stared down at me.


    Didn''t Alex say that no one could open the door from the other side? I took no chances as I decided to call Luke with my other hand. Even though it was Belle, it could be someone disguised as her.


    "The weapon room is a mess," she frowned, showing no worry for my injured hand.


    "You''re not her, are you?" I raised my arm, attached to the sword.


    "My, my, don''t say that, sister," she viciously smiled.


    "We''re here to save you," she reached out her hand.


    I couldn''t believe a monster was able to come into the mansion. Her disguise was slowly being torn apart as her tangled, bloody hair came to reveal herself. I swung my arm to prevent her from coming to me. However, with each of her nimble steps, she easily dodged them with ease.


    "What happened to Belle?" I asked.


    "Who is Belle?" she tilted her head in confusion.


    "How did you come in?" I confronted her.


    "Oh my, I think you''re mistaken. We''re not inside the mansion anymore. You''re floating above the barrier," she revealed to me.


    What? Did this sword just teleport me outside the mansion? I looked around to see Luke''s horrified face as I stared back on the other side of the window. Lucius and Alex stopped fortifying the barrier in shock as I floated in the air with the monsters. Was she messing with me, knowing I was in the weapon room before?


    I somehow got a feeling this girl had some kind of relation to the Roselia family. I stared at the starry night sky to help calm myself down. The events made sense since it explained how I was feeling almost weightless after I touched the first sword.


    "Do you want to know?" she giggled.


    "You look curious to who I am," she playfully floated closer to me.


    "I am," I agreed.


    "I''m hundreds of years old. A little bit younger than Ailes."


    So this vicious God has been sending reincarnated people into this world since a long time ago? I never imagined they would be so old since that meant they were older than Luke''s parents who were pretty old themselves. In fact, my parents'' age could be considered to be an infant compared to the monsters in front of me.


    "And I was an orphan just like him but got lucky to get sponsored by a certain family."


    "Which family?" I waited for the big reveal.

 Chapter 222 - Charity Ball (6)

    "The Roselia family. In fact, this used to be my sword," she sadly pointed.


    What? The weight of the sword started to feel different after knowing the previous owner. But I couldn''t just return it to her, knowing I was a few steps away from my death depending on her mood.


    "You must also be somewhat related to the Roselia family, aren''t you?" she studied me.


    "Stunning silver hair basking in the colours of the rainbow from the moonlight, your skin pale as the bright light itself, expensive dress and accessories flowing along the wind. You possess some of the key features of that beautifully twisted Roselia family themselves," she pretended to cover her mouth in shock before laughing.


    "I''m not a descendent from the Roselia family," I was upset.


    "Maybe, not a direct descendent," she waved her hands, unbelievingly.


    I shook my head in denial, "it''s not possible since my family is in the third district."


    "The real heir to the Roselia family is on the other side of the window," I glanced at Luke''s beautiful features.


    "Oh, then fianc¨¦e to the direct heir of the main house," she clapped her hands for getting the right answer.


    "I''m right, aren''t I?" she came frighteningly close to me.


    "Maybe¡­" I looked away from her.


    "No wonder you seemed so scared," she whispered inside my ear.


    "Dance and that sword activates to its true power," she added.


    My eyes widened as I wondered why she would help me kill her. Was this why I was forced to learn all kinds of traditional dances in elementary school? I lifted one of my arms to shift myself into the beginning pose for ballet as she quickly flew far away from me.


    I twirled into a pirouette and jumped lightly into the next position as if I was a fairy. I gasped as the rose petals began to fall off the sword, surrounding me instead as a strong force of wind was created. With another twirl, the swarm of monsters vanished into piles of ashes outside the mansion. How was a sword this powerful?


    "But it sucks your mana to your death!" The girl laughed in her victory.


    "Unless you have unlimited amounts of mana, you won''t last long. Unlike Ailes, I have no intention in saving a privileged fianc¨¦e to the Roselia family," she escaped from the scene with the other humanoid.


    I panted for more air as my swollen feet felt heavier with each additional step. My limp arms stretched out into the sky to initiate more attacks, bringing a great force of wind towards the swarm of monsters. It was truly a ball where I was its only dancer while everything outside the barrier was getting destroyed.


    My vision wavered from fatigue as the sword began to wobble from my hand, detaching itself when most of the rose petals had fallen off the blade. With the last petal, the sword started to fall onto the ground, full of debris. But I swam towards the opened window with the last bits of my energy as Luke reached out to grab my hands with the barrier briefly down.


    For the first time, I was thankful for having the potential for unlimited amounts of mana. I knew I was dangerously low on mana to the point that one more spell would kill me. I landed in Luke''s arms as the sword suddenly rushed past me and into Lucius'' hands. Unlike me, Lucius wore a thin layer of gloves over his hands.


    The sword deactivated with no touch to the flesh and turned into its original appearance of bright red roses magically blooming on the blade. I could finally understand why Luke wouldn''t let me touch any weapons. Who knew what kind of weird quirks each of these weapons possessed?


    "Do you know how many fingers I''m holding up?" Luke asked.


    I blinked three times to show him I saw three fingers. My sore limbs couldn''t move from the excessive dance where I was the sword''s marionette. In fact, my entire body was basically paralyzed since I had exhausted all my strength. I predicted that I would be able to move after a good night''s worth of sleep with my fast recovery rate. Meaning, I was currently helpless in whatever happened to me.


    "Can you get some erigress?" Luke asked Alex.


    Ugh! It couldn''t be something good since it had a similar name to erigent, which was another painful bottle of medicine. A bottle was placed against my lips the next time my head was clear enough to know what was going around me. I gulped as the liquid was forced inside my mouth as Luke poured the bottle.


    I winced as it had a similar taste as the one Charles had poured over me after the first day of the culture festival. My body instantly warmed up as it absorbed all the essence inside the medicine until my gauge of mana was around one eighth full. I didn''t know how effective the medicine was supposed to be, but maybe it was too effective on me.


    I sprang up with a new boost of energy swirling inside of me, ready to be used. It was like it sped up my already fast mana recovery rate by ten times. When I took a proper look at the people around me, they were frozen by the medicine''s effectiveness as I got up on my feet.

 Chapter 223 - Charity Ball (7)

    "Should we have a celebration?" I wondered.


    We got rid of all the monsters while the humanoids had all escaped. With all the ruckus of the monsters in the other areas in the first district, it was no doubt that this mansion was one of the safest places to be right now. Maybe it was even safer than the school.


    "Are you kidding me Rika?" Alex unfroze from his spot first.


    I nodded my head and erased my emotions that showed on my face to show I was serious.


    "Your hand is still bleeding," Luke frowned in disapproval, urging me to sit down.


    Luke got out a roll of bandages from his marble as he quickly wrapped it around my hand to stop the bleeding. Maybe the bandages were different in the first district as well, I was amazed I could move my other hand again as soon as he finished tying it into place.


    "Well¡­ the charity ball is still going on, right?" I went through all the events inside my head.


    "We need to continue to get our points," I pointed out.


    We would definitely be the winners since Charles'' team had abandoned their venue. Where were the others anyways? Ever since I went to be the lookout, I realized I never saw a speckle of them.


    For once, no one disagreed with me. Luke looked at Lucius for his approval as he nodded his head to agree. I smiled as it appeared the charity ball would still continue. It was also the perfect distraction to forget all those horrible events from the past days.


    "Where is everyone?" I asked them.


    "On the first floor, charging the teleportation gate," Luke offered to escort me down the stairs.


    I accepted his hand as we separated from Lucius and Alex. I knew they were heading towards the weapon room to return the dangerous sword. I pushed the door to find nobody charging the teleportation gate anymore, instead, they looked at me, wondering if I was a real person. I guessed they had watched the fight from the ground.


    "Is the teleportation gate charged?" I wondered.


    "Rika!" Shelly ran to hug me.


    "We all saw the fight from the windows," she shivered from recalling her memories.


    "This is why we should do a celebration!" I suggested to the group of weary faces.


    Ben''s hair was drenched in sweat from exhausting most of his mana, "I don''t think this is the time- ."


    "It is! We got rid of all the monsters to the point this is one of the safest places in the first district!" I argued.


    "You do know the purpose of this party, right?" I placed my hands on my h.i.p.s.


    "But- "


    "Even Lucius approved," I emphasized when they looked at Luke for help.


    Ben sighed as he gave in, making everyone unable to refuse. I happily skipped in front of the teleportation gate to see how much it was charged. Viewing the gauge, there was enough for about a quarter of us to travel back to school.


    "In fact, there seems to be enough so that those who don''t want to participate can leave," I continued until Luke elbowed me to stop.


    "Can we leave?" Ellen unexpectedly put up her hand.


    I sadly smiled as I knew Ellen was trying to be considerate to us by leaving with her team. It would be awkward if they were here while we were on opposite sides. I nodded my head as Luke pressed the settings onto his teleportation gate while Charles, Miliana and Allan entered after Ellen. In a flash of a second, they were gone, leaving the original five pairs of guests with us.


    "Is this how you escaped yesterday?" Oili appeared worried for me.


    "Somewhat¡­" I sadly smiled.


    "That''s why we would be really thankful if you donated so we wouldn''t have to try as hard to get points in other missions," I slightly bowed.


    I quickly brought out the donation box placed on top of the cabinet inside the same room. It was Luke''s great thinking to make sure there were various donation boxes everywhere in the mansion where the guests were able to access. Oili waved his hand on top of the box to donate one million Aris.


    My jaw almost dropped from his generous donation. This was too much even though he came from a wealthy family. Even Luke appeared stunned as he stared at Oili''s face for a while. Oili waved his hands like it was no big deal, "it''s nothing compared to saving our lives today."


    But if he never accepted the invitation in the first place, he would''ve never landed in this mess. After a few seconds of awkward silence, Ethan coughed as he waved his hand to donate one and a half million Aris after Oili. It was like money raining down to the ground.


    "This is for Sprinkles," Ethan coughed to hide the favor I would have to return.


    My eyes welled up from tears from the support given by my two childhood friends. Even if Sprinkles was a disaster, it didn''t compare to the situation we put them through. I would never be under the threat of dying by helping him take care of Sprinkles. I was seeing Sprinkles in a new light now.


    "How do you two know each other?" Oili wondered as we were in opposite fractions and different years.

 Chapter 224 - Charity Ball (8)

    "How do you two know each other?" Ethan repeated the question to him.


    I looked the other way as Oili stayed silent. There was no way we could reveal the existence of our karaoke club.


    "Exactly," Ethan sighed, deciding not to push his fellow fraction member any further.


    "And how the heck are you also close to the leader of the neutral fraction?" Ethan targeted Ben.


    Ben scarily smiled in response, "and how does she know you?"


    Ethan backed away, knowing he chose the wrong target. It looked like we all had our own secrets we were unwilling to disclose on our own. The room currently had the top three powerful fractions who were fighting for political dominance at the opportunity of spotting each other''s weaknesses.


    "Anyways, the strawberry shortcakes?" I remembered putting it in the catering menu .


    "I''ll order the maids to bring them inside," Luke sighed.


    "And pizza?" I begged Luke with the most pitiful eyes.


    Luke narrowed his eyes to warn me not to push him any further. I guessed today was not the day where I would finally get the taste of pizza. Even though it would be the perfect comfort food other than chicken wings and fries.


    "Pizza?" Ethan''s partner, Flora, questioned me in confusion.


    "It''s the most wonderful cheesy dish on top of marinated tomato sauce on the fluffiest bread with crispy crusts!" I could still remember the image of pizza inside my mind.


    "You should really try it!" I grabbed her hands.


    "Should I?" Flora seemed curious.


    "See! Even Flora wants to try it!" I turned to Luke.


    "Unfortunately, we do not have- "


    "Can you do this to the people who donated a great sum of money?" I cut him off.


    Pizza was relatively cheap and easy to procure. I had no doubt that Luke could get a box of pizza in no time since I remembered they existed in his tablet the last time I visited his mansion. At this rate, I didn''t even care if it was a fancier version of pizza than I knew of.


    Under the pressure of the people in the other fractions donating a great amount of money, including Ben who donated two million Aris while we were arguing, Luke gave in. I almost jumped in the air, but happily hummed instead. Meanwhile, those who have never seen a picture of pizza seemed to greatly anticipate how it looked like.


    In a matter of a few minutes, the maids brought in a few boxes of pizza which filled the room with its greasy aroma. My eyes glittered as I ran towards the maids, swiping a box before they had the chance to serve them into plates. Oddly, they also brought forks and knives when we would clearly not need them.


    "Melon soda?" I realized what was missing.


    I turned to Luke since there was no way tea would go well with pizza compared to soda. It was another sugary goodness I never got to enjoy ever since I ran out my supply of junk food. When Luke stared at me in disappointment, I grabbed the tablet from him and ordered some fries, fried chicken, and big bottles of soda all at once.


    In the meantime, I opened the box, grabbing a piece of pizza with my bare hands. Seeing I didn''t use any utensils as some of the greasy oils dripped down to my hand, the group seemed shocked. I took one big bite, immersed in its comfort and deliciousness as it melted inside my mouth. Various flavours exploded on my tongue as the slice was gone in no time.


    When the maids came in again to deliver the boxes of more junk food and melon soda, I couldn''t help laying down on the ground in happiness. I didn''t care if Luke lectured me later on for this. All I wanted to do was enjoy the moment.


    "And you thought Sprinkles was bad," Ethan whispered to Flora.


    I ignored Ethan''s comments as steam poured onto my face when I opened more boxes. The entire table was occupied by all my favourite food. When Lucius and Alex entered the room, they momentarily froze from shock. Why wasn''t anyone trying this out?


    "Can I take a slice?" Shelly walked up to me.


    I nodded my head while chewing as Shelly hesitantly opened her mouth to take a bite. Her eyes widened as she finally tried junk food for the first time in her life. The corners of her mouth couldn''t help but pull up from joy. Seeing how Shelly was happy in bliss, the others decided to use their own hands to enjoy the food in front of them.


    "So this is the pizza that you talked about," Oili knew from my complaints in elementary school.


    Oili''s hand couldn''t stop from taking another slice like he had entered a whole new world. Even Ethan who mocked the junk food soon gobbled up plates of fries and pizza. The huge bottles of soda were almost empty as everyone discovered the existence of junk food other than fancy pastries. When I turned to check if Luke joined in, irks of annoyance formed near my forehead as he laughed while eating a slice with Alex.


    Why was he eating the food when he was so against it before? We could''ve enjoyed this happiness together if he wasn''t this stubborn.


    "Everything here should never be revealed," Lucius warned the people inside the room after he finished eating.

 Chapter 225 - Charity Ball (9)

    We moved to another room as the maids took our place to clean the room with the teleportation gate. This room resembled a large living room with many couches to accommodate guests and mini tables full of exquisite tea sets already arranged. Unfortunately, nothing like gaming computers and flat screen TVs were present to my disappointment. Many entertainment goods in general were missing from the Roselia family mansions.


    I knew Lucius and Belle, the oldest inside the mansion, were going to hold another meeting to decide what to do. Rather than pretending to listen, I wanted to take a nap. If the meetings carried out like usual, it was likely they wouldn''t listen to any of my suggestions.


    "Can I just sleep for the rest of the night?" I complained to Luke.


    "You''re going to sleep right away after eating all that greasy food?" Ethan appeared surprised.


    "Sprinkles may be in danger if you continue," I warned him.


    "I apologize for my partner''s behaviour," Luke glared at me to stay quiet while wondering what I was implying.


    Ethan immediately shut his mouth as we all settled into the room. As long as I knew about Sprinkles'' existence there was nothing Ethan could do against me. However, I didn''t have the upper hand since he knew about how I snuck out every night to do something.


    "We hope you decide to stay for another night as we will arrange some rooms for those who decide to stay," Lucius turned to Oili and Ethan.


    Knowing that it wasn''t safe yet to travel back to the school using a hover car, both Oili and Ethan agreed to stay for the rest of the night. Ever since Luke joined the neutral fraction, Ben collaborated with Lucius, so we were on the same side. I started to pay attention to the conversation again when Luke elbowed me when my posture started to slouch.


    "But what matters now is what to do the next day," Ben brought up.


    "How about we get some sleep first, then meet up in the day?" I stood up, tired of Luke''s pokes in his attempts for me to maintain my elegant posture.


    "We''re obviously all too tired to think, or at least I am. It''s not easy using that defective sword to scare away some s-class monsters," I defended myself.


    I decided to leave the room while I had the chance to go to my usual room. Since the layouts in the Roselia family mansions were very similar to each other, I knew exactly where my room was. No one could refute the deathly amount of mana I used to save everyone''s lives.


    I flopped onto my bed, not bothering to change into my pyjamas. Luke wasn''t here to scold me as I slipped out of my dress and kicked off my heels, wearing only undergarments when I glided into the blanket. I smiled as I had the luxury to sleep peacefully without any worries.


    Maybe that was why I carefreely opened my door in the morning to get rid of the loud knocking, not checking if I was wearing clothes. Oili blushed as his whole face went oddly red. I wondered what was wrong, before looking down to discover I was only wearing my underwear and a thin translucent tank top. Before I could close the door, Ethan froze behind him, immediately looking the other way.


    Unfortunately, Luke witnessed all this happening from behind Ethan. He ran to close the door for me as I almost jumped from the noise. My mind was still half-awake in the mornings like usual. This was why my wavy hair was tangled like a bird''s nest without Luke managing my hair. I forgot what life was like without any of the maids or Luke helping me out.


    The uniforms here had too many buttons and ribbons to tie like the other clothes in the first district. It was nothing compared to the simple clothing in the third district where you could dress yourself within a few minutes. I opened my closet to find a bunch of complex dresses for daily use. I sighed as I decided to wear a nightgown since I was planning to take another nap after breakfast.


    I walked down towards the dining table, finding everyone perfectly dressed to go to a banquet. I yawned as they probably brought a second set of clothes for emergencies. Luke also prepared another coordinated set of outfits for both of us during social week. More like he always remembered to carry around some clothing in his marble that acted like an inventory.


    I stretched my arms as I chose the furthest seat from Luke who sat beside Lucius. This meant I was sitting near Oili and Ethan who also chose to sit far away from Luke. I waved at Shelly to come sit near me when she walked down the stairs, which was my biggest mistake. When Luke noticed where I sat, he frowned before getting up to walk towards my direction.


    "Do you mind if my partner sits in front of me?" Luke asked them.


    Both Oili and Ethan frantically shook their heads like they had wronged him in some way as Luke dragged me to my new seat. Unfortunately, I was seated next to the exact people I wanted to avoid. Yulee sat beside me on one end while Alice on the other. Meanwhile, Lucius, Luke and Alex faced me from the other side.


    "I don''t want any breakfast," I shrank into my seat.

 Chapter 226 - Charity Ball (10)

    I almost choked on a clunk of lettuce as the atmosphere inside the room was stiff and serious. I wondered what happened to the discussion yesterday after I left. I sighed as I could feel my mana swirling inside from the too effective medicine to the point that my gauge was almost full. But I wondered if they would believe me if I told them I may be able to charge the teleportation gate.


    "What happened yesterday?" I put down my fork.


    "We decided to stay here for another day until the school and the battalion force handles the monsters," Ben answered.


    Then why was the mood so bad? It was almost a complete flip from last night. I got up from my chair with my barely touched plate to go back to my room.


    "Eat more Rika," Lucius eyed me to sit back down.


    "I already feel full," I showed I had nibbled on a large piece of lettuce for the last thirty minutes.


    I did admit that I wasn''t eating much from overeating the previous night. In general, I didn''t have the appetite to eat in the first district unless I was extremely hungry. This was why I ate many desserts instead to make up for it. Luke, who had already given up on me a long time ago, didn''t force me to eat more unless I was sick.


    Who would have the appetite anyways? Forced to pay attention to which forks and knives to slice them a certain way while maintaining my perfect posture. There were so many aspects I had to focus on that I was only willing to do it for the food I really enjoyed. I guessed once you got used to the luxury food, they didn''t feel so special anymore.


    "It''s not the time to be picky. You''ll need the energy later on," Lucius continued.


    "Can I just eat the strawberry shortcake then?" I asked the maid standing behind me.


    Lucius frowned as the maid quickly fetched me a small slice of strawberry shortcake. I knew it wasn''t healthy compared to the salad and fruit toast in front of me, but most of the food in the first district was nutritious enough that even cakes were healthier than meals in other districts. I did eat strawberry shortcake yesterday, but it was a food I could eat every single day without getting bored of it.


    "So are we just charging the teleportation gate for the entire day?" I wondered.


    "And also fortify the barrier," Belle added.


    "I think I may have enough mana to charge the teleportation gate to get us back to school," I decided to reveal.


    "Rika!" Luke disapproved of my idea.


    Normally, this meant I would be killing myself so everyone could escape. I knew nobody would believe me when they had to use one of their potions yesterday to help replenish my mana. But I didn''t mind staying here for another day, relaxing while spending time with the others.


    "I''m going back to my room," I stood up when I finished my slice of cake.


    "Wait for me," Shelly ran to follow me up the stairs.


    "What are you planning to do today?" Shelly looked at me with her mischievous eyes.


    I smiled back at her, knowing Shelly would get the hint why I wanted to return to my room. It was a secret code that I was planning something. If the first district was filled with monsters, why should we return to the school when it would be equally dangerous as the mansion? We would be forced into attending classes while being nervous for our lives.


    I had enough mana to use the teleportation gate to go to another district. I could rest in my house instead of this stuffy mansion, spending time with my own family until this mess was all handled. Since nobody believed I had enough mana to go anywhere, this was the perfect chance to use it!


    "Go to the third district," I whispered into her ear.


    "Think about it, even the second district may not be safe if this mess doesn''t get handled well. But the third district is safe enough with the second district used as a barrier," I was proud of my plan.


    "Was that what you were thinking this entire time?" Alex came from behind Shelly''s back.


    Wasn''t he still eating with the others? I looked behind him to find that everyone had heard my plan as they finished eating and started to walk up the stairs to their rooms. I accidentally stomped my feet for acting so dumb as I should''ve told Shelly my plan after she entered my room.


    I shook my head, "Not really¡­ how would I have enough mana?"


    "We can test how much mana you have left," Lucius revealed.


    They could? No one bothered to explain how they knew I had the potential for an unlimited amount of mana. I shivered from the thought of how they would measure how much mana I had left.


    Under the eyes of everyone, I had to follow Lucius who led the way to another room. It was an ordinary bedroom with a king-sized bed in the middle of the room. In case of guests coming in, it also had some couches near the entrance. However, everything was decorated in the colour of white to the point no other colour was seen.


    "You''re not telling me to lay down on the bed again, are you?" I shivered from recalling how I went to my next stage of the engagement with Luke.

 Chapter 227 - The Almighty School (1)

    Lucius nodded his head to tell me I was right. There were no doors to escape this round as I didn''t want to leave the barrier through the window. And the exit was full of people, wondering if I really did have enough mana to charge the teleportation gate.


    I slumped onto the bed, squeezing my eyes shut, wondering how they were going to measure how much mana I had. The bed wobbled as someone came to lay down on the bed beside me. Unexpectedly, Luke''s familiar hand, held onto mine as he shot a little arrow of his own mana into my body. In return, a river full of my mana came crashing into him, making him shoot up beside me, full of energy.


    He abruptly sat up in surprise as I opened my eyes, hoping it was over. He stared at my face, wondering how I had this much mana left. So this was how they tested how much mana someone had left. Depending on how much relative mana could be shared, it could definitely be measured to a certain extent.


    "Rika has enough mana to charge almost the entire gate on her own," Luke couldn''t believe his own words.


    And now my plan of escaping to the third district was under scrutiny. I said my farewells to travel to the third district with imaginary tears falling down my face. I wanted to spend Christmas with my family this year even though it was still a month away. It was unfortunate that holidays almost never existed in the first district.


    "You''ll go downstairs to charge the teleportation gate after changing, won''t you?" Lucius brightly smiled.


    It was amazing how these two siblings were so alike to each other. Their way of threatening someone was also the same. Not daring to look at the guests'' faces, I walked to my room, regretting why I revealed that I had enough mana while dining.


    I rolled back and forth on my bed, trying to decide what to wear. My closet was open with dresses filled with decorations or tight waists other than pyjamas. I sighed as even the skirts and pants looked unappealing. No pairs of jeans or sweatpants were seen. I wasn''t going to this, but there was no choice at this rate.


    I picked a white dress that didn''t pinch my waist like an ant with an overflowing number of striped ribbons from head to toe. I evilly smiled as I whispered an air clash spell. It was a perfect replacement for a scissor, which I didn''t have. I didn''t realize how good it was for relieving stress as I grinned as more ribbons fell off on the bed.


    The loose sleeves that dr.a.p.e around my arm felt comforting while the dress itself felt lighter from getting rid of all the decorations. Random parts of the dress slid down unevenly from the lack of support from something holding them together. When I looked in the mirror, the clothing started to resemble what I would buy in the third district. Comfortable and practical.


    For my shoes, I picked out a pair of blue flats. I was way too lazy to spend my mana to cut off some heals. My hair was also tied up with a ribbon since I didn''t want to brush it. I once wanted to cut my hair into a short bob but decided not to when I heard it would be harder to manage than having longer hair. Apparently, it was harder to pull into a ponytail from Delia''s words, which meant I would always have to spend time on my hair.


    "What happened to your dress?" Shelly pulled me over when I came out of my room.


    "Is it that noticeable? I kind of snipped all those decorations out," I whispered into her ear.


    Shelly nodded her head, "this is the latest design from La Rose as part of their fall/winter collection."


    "There is no way the guests won''t notice that the dress was altered with the famous design and hidden labels," Shelly pointed out.


    I casually shrugged since it was something already done. Shelly had never seen Luke and I alter the dresses and shoes during social week before. At the same time, it was never to this unrepairable extent where I had directly cut all the decorations out. It was mostly retailoring some parts of the dress while trying to preserve the original design as much as possible.


    "What a unique dress!" Yulee appeared behind Shelly.


    I walked down the stairs towards the room with the teleportation gate. I never liked Yulee. Every word she said was scary like there was a hidden meaning behind it. It was no wonder how Jules could never win against Yulee.


    Her eyes shined with curiosity every time she took a glance in my direction. When I opened the door, everyone else was already gathered inside the room with maps to chatter about our next actions. Unlike Shelly''s worries, no one paid attention to what I wore. I seamlessly slipped into my role as I quietly began to charge the teleportation gate.


    "What are you doing?" A familiar voice asked me.


    "Charging the teleportation gate," I continued to charge the gate without looking up.


    "The barrier seems flimsier this round," she squatted down to my eye level as the smell of death came into my nose.


    "I thought you would be dead, but you''re surprisingly alive, aren''t you?"

 Chapter 228 - The Almighty School (2)

    I slowly turned to face the person beside me. My knees wobbled, weakened from the sight as the monster smiled from the sniff of my fear so readily exposed. Her body was translucent, meaning she wasn''t physically here. This level of astral projection was not an easy feat to achieve. It could only work if the group was already near the mansion.


    "Why did you come back?" I acted like I wasn''t afraid.


    "Our leader still thinks you could be saved," she frowned.


    "What if I don''t want to be saved?" I shuddered from the thought.


    It was better to be stuck with Luke than to become a monstrous humanoid. I did pity them to a certain extent since they were hunted down all the time. Plus they weren''t able to enjoy the luxuries of life like eating good junk food or going to have fun in other districts. But I didn''t pity them enough to want to try to save them since my life was on the line.


    "If it wasn''t for your mana, our leader wouldn''t want you too," she cringed like she was disgusted.


    Ugh! It was always about how much mana you possessed in the first district! I silently cried inside my heart, wishing I never asked God to have mana in this life. Sometimes, I imagined living a normal life with my family in the third district where no one was interested in me for my mana. But it just made me more depressed as it was never a possibility yet.


    I grabbed a dagger on the table and jabbed it through her heart before she disappeared into thin air. I knew nothing would happen to her, but the best way to break an astral projection was destroying the other body. I determined that the vital part of the humanoid was its heart as her eyes widened before disappearing since I got rid of her on my first try.


    "What''s going on?" I asked the other people in the room.


    "We can''t afford to fortify the barrier anymore since we''ve exhausted all our mana," Ben appeared a bit ashamed.


    "So we poured the rest of our mana into the teleportation gate," He checked how much was charged with my help.


    The floors were filled with empty bottles of the same drink I had taken yesterday to increase my mana in the deeper part of the room. The bottles were amassed into several piles until it reached the ceiling. Since it was hidden on the other side, it wasn''t noticeable unless I took a closer look at my surroundings.


    "There seems to be enough to send all the guests back," Ben carefully chose his words.


    But not enough for the hosts, which included me. Thankfully, I still had around half of my mana left as the group already worked hard on charging the gate. Maybe this was what they had done all night before they knew I had enough mana to charge the gate by myself.


    "I still have around half of my mana left," I announced.


    "Then, can we go back first?" Oili''s partner raised her hand.


    Oili''s partner appeared deeply disturbed from the astral projection as she needed Oili''s comfort to calm her down. But how could we let them go when we needed as much manpower as possible to destroy all the teleportation gates in the other mansions? As much as I wanted to escape, it would be worse if the humanoids followed us all the way to the school.


    "Of course, please step into the gate," Lucius allowed them to escape before us.


    "We extend this offer to others as well," he glanced towards Ethan and Flora.


    "Can I go with them?" I imitated Oili''s partner.


    Lucius ignored my comment as Ethan and Flora reluctantly entered the teleportation gate with Oili. I watched them disappear as I wondered how we would handle this mess alone. I wanted to join Charles'' fraction now since it was the rival fraction of Luke''s. They already got preferable treatment with Lucius not wanting their fraction to owe them anything for putting them in danger.


    "While you were sleeping, we already worked with our guests to destroy the teleportation gates outside of this mansion," Lucius shut my mouth filled with complaints.


    "Then we can leave soon?" My eyes glittered.


    Oddly, Lucius gave no answer. This could only mean bad news. Still, I stayed hopeful as I checked the status of the teleportation gate. But, as I predicted, this mana sucker had less than half of its original juice left. Although it was better than nothing, this meant everyone was relying on me to charge the rest of the gate.


    "Couldn''t you just take the batteries from the other teleportation gates before destroying them?" I yelled in frustration while charging the gate.


    "That''s what we did. We took those batteries to charge the teleportation gate while we used the rest of our mana to teleport to those mansions. The rest of our mana went to fortifying the barrier with those drinks," Shelly whispered to let me know what I missed.


    Oh. No wonder the morning atmosphere was heavy with exhaustion. Everyone had stayed up the entire night while leaving me alone since I seemingly took care of the s-class monster. I hid behind Shelly''s back which protected me from the others inside the room after I spent as much mana as I could.

 Chapter 229 - The Almighty School (3)

    "There''s almost enough for all of us to go back to school," Yulee studied the teleportation gate.


    "High schoolers should escape last since middle schoolers are younger," I immediately blurted.


    Where else would I be able to use my age as an excuse? There was no way I was going to be left behind. Who knew how close the humanoids were to breaking the barrier?


    "But who will charge the teleportation gate? The hosts should make sure to send all their guests back first," Yulee pointed out none of them had enough mana left.


    She was indirectly telling me that I would be the last to escape due to the hospitality customs of being the host. There had to be something the guests would have to gain from donating a huge sum of money for our mission. This mission was getting more annoying by the minute.


    But maybe it was better to send Lucius, Yulee and Alice back since they were harder to deal with. At least I wouldn''t have to always be on the edge with their indirect wordings full of criticism. I already had enough from hearing it from one person, but others adding to it made it worse.


    "Please get inside older sisters and take older brother Lucius with you," I gestured to them get inside while scorning them for letting younger children stay in a dangerous situation.


    When none of them moved, I pushed them inside and immediately pressed the button to wave them farewell before they could react. Normally, I wouldn''t be able to do this, but their bodies were overworked to the point they had to put some of their defenses down. No one anticipated I would break etiquette to the extent to physically push them inside.


    "Now who''s next?" I turned to Ben and Jules.


    "Who wants to go to safety while I miserably deal with those monsters who say that the barrier has weakened?" I started to go crazy from the thought I would be one of the last people to leave.


    My eyes glowed with anger as my mana swirled around my body. Part of what made controlling mana difficult was keeping your emotions in check. A smile popped onto my face as I decided to fulfill Yulee''s wish. I teleported beside Ben and Jules to then teleport them inside the gate with me before stepping out alone. With one push to the button, they disappeared with them surprised from my sudden actions.


    "I''m going to go sleep," I tried to open the door to walk back to my room.


    "You know Yulee didn''t mean what she said," Shelly tugged my arm to stop me.


    "In fact, she was the one who volunteered to be the last one to escape with Jules while you were sleeping," Shelly revealed.


    Well, it was too late now. In the end, they were all safe at school while we were stuck inside this mansion. Maybe it was really time to let go of this life.


    "We have enough mana inside the gate to teleport close to the school," Luke studied to maximize its usage.


    "How close?" I was close to breaking down.


    "Around a five-minute walk," Alex analyzed the screen with Luke.


    "Let''s go to school," Shelly pulled me inside the teleportation gate.


    In less than a second, Luke pressed the teleportation button with the setting it would self-destruct after we teleported to our location. The snow covered the ground for miles as we stood near the school grounds. There were nicely paved roads decorated with flowers that bloomed in the winter to accentuate the grand demeanor of the school.


    I slightly shivered as my skin touched the snow that went up to my knees. It really wasn''t the day to wear a light dress without a warm hover car. But it was better than not knowing when the monsters would break into the mansion. Luke handed me a long coat from his marble with him prepared for almost all situations.


    I didn''t refuse as I stopped shivering, easing inside the warm goodness where the coat was spelled to keep the rest of the body warm even without the coat covering it. How bad could the five-minute walk be now? I held hands with Shelly while lightly stepping on top of the snow to prevent myself from sinking.


    I smiled when we were in front of the school gates. The walk was relatively peaceful compared to everything we had been through so far. We didn''t run into any monsters while we got the chance to admire the scenic view. When I finally gained the luxury to look behind me, my eyes widened as I could spot the orphan, we saved with a few of his peers running towards us from quite a distance away.


    I sadly guessed he was sent back to the orphanage as soon as he recovered. Maybe this was the orphan''s second attempt in escaping. I admired his actions as he wasn''t alone this time. If he could do what I couldn''t, at least one of us would become happy. I waved to greet him as I wished him luck.


    "Run! Get inside!" he strangely yelled like something was chasing them.


    I tugged Luke''s sleeve to ask him if he saw the same thing I did. How was a sinister-looking monster chasing them from behind? It was the mutated bird and that furry creature with those awful high jumps combined together to create a horrible larger version of the ones we escaped from.

 Chapter 230 - The Almighty School (4)

    The monster towered above the orphan as it possessed the same height of the tall trees of the forest where we had rescued him. Wings filled with dull feathers were attached to its back alongside its strong legs that could produce the highest jumps. Muscles bulged out of its veins, catching up to the orphans making the previous large distance between them into nothing.


    I squeezed Luke''s sleeve even tighter, knowing they would die if we didn''t step in. Walking away would mean indirectly killing them when I could have helped. What if they also turned into those s-class humanoids with vengeance, unwilling to accept their deaths like those reincarnated people?


    Only spells or special weapons that consumed large amounts of mana could kill them. They currently had no power to fight back unlike the students at this school with a somewhat abundant amount of mana or else they wouldn''t be running. But did I really want to put my life on a tethering cliff after getting out of another one?


    "Let''s go into the school," Luke ignored their pleas for help.


    "We''re not going to help them?" I managed to squeak out.


    Luke faced me with disapproval, "Do you have enough mana to help them out after charging the gate? If you really want to help them, it''s better to call some teachers here instead."


    Unfortunately, Luke was right. Even if we interfered, there was nothing we could do for them except distract the monster for a few minutes. With Luke raising out our school entrance pass, the gate grandly opened to welcome us inside.


    Normally the pass wasn''t needed since we travelled by hover car or the teleportation gate, but the school distributed them just in case. Each of us in elementary school had a pass inside our marble that allowed the school to identify who we were. Many children from powerful families attended the school, meaning the possibility of a potential kidnapping was that much higher.


    "Nooooo! Mul!" His fellow escapee cried.


    My head went blank while my body was paralyzed from watching the monster snap off the boy''s arm like a toy. It was too cruel! It was playing with the boy before deciding to kill its prey. The boy screamed in terror as his peers made no impact from jabbing the monster''s toes with their knives.


    Blood spurted out from the missing arm before the monster grinned to snap off a leg this time. The boy twisted and turned as much as he could with his torso. He was either going to slowly die from blood loss or from being dropped from below the height of clouds near him. The monster shook him like a rattle before looking down at the other orphans trying to save him.


    "Did you know?" His faint voice rang inside my head.


    "We''re raised to become weapons. They train us to get rid of human emotions in school. But I can''t. I didn''t come to the orphanage as a newborn like the others. I know a better life where I had a family that loved me," he muttered inside the hover car on the way to Luke''s mansion while he was half-conscious.


    "What happened to your family?" I softly whispered while on lookout.


    "My parents were both soldiers. But they never wanted me to go through the same experience as them. They made me study hard to get into a higher-ranking school to secure my future," his face had tears streaming down before his consciousness left him again.


    My eyes widened as the monster opened its mouth and took a big bite, snapping the boy''s body in half. The upper half of his body was chewed inside the monster''s mouth while the lower half fell onto the ground. The sounds of loud crunching from his bones brutally crushed froze the rest of the attacks from the orphans. However, the screams for help remained with his strong will to live.


    When he stopped screaming with one final gulp, we all watched the body pass through the neck and into the stomach. My knees lost its strength as I leaned onto Luke for support. With no mercy, the monster picked up the other half of the body and smiled to enjoy the rest of its meal.


    My eyes welled with tears as he would never have the chance to realize his dream of living a normal life. Would things be different if I rushed into the school to get help instead of being frozen in fear? Maybe if I paid more attention to what was behind me, I could have helped them much earlier.


    The sound of heavy breaths and footsteps sprinting towards the gate brought me back to my senses. The orphans quickly unfroze from their training as they rushed towards us when the monster looked down to stare at them. The monster was starting to look for its next meal and toy, chasing the running orphans.


    But why was the monster looking at me? Its eyes were fixated on me as it ran towards where I stood rather than chasing the orphans after it sniffed the air. I couldn''t be that I was the next target, was I?


    "Run into the school! There''s a barrier that can fend against even s-class monsters!" Luke pulled me with him.


    "You''re the monster''s next target," Luke screamed as I was forced to run with him.

 Chapter 231 - The Almighty School (5)

    "Everyone into the gate!" Luke commanded.


    A warm sensation of relief swirled around my body once I entered the school barrier. I smiled as everyone was able to make it inside the barrier since the monster was focused on me that was a few steps away from entering the school gates. The exhausted orphans were sprawled out on the soft grass of the courtyard.


    The disappointed monster who discovered it couldn''t enter the school grounds soon raged into hammering its fists to break the barrier. But the barrier remained undistributed from the great fortifications from our teachers who added more layers each day. This was exactly why I didn''t want to leave the school grounds that day.


    "Is this really a school?" One of the orphans gasped.


    Perfectly maintained gardens and sculptures surrounding a large ancient water fountain with flowers drifting on the last layer amazed the orphans who lived in futuristic buildings. I knowingly smiled with them since it was weird for me first as well of how it seamlessly blended the past and future together in kindergarten. Shelly threw me a glance that she would be bringing the orphans to the cafeteria after their stomachs rumbled once they relaxed from the tension.


    "Let''s go back to our dorm," I tugged on Luke''s coat.


    "We need to call the teachers first," he frowned.


    "Did you like our pet?"


    Luke and I turned to find the humanoids petting the huge monster to reward it for obeying their commands. Why weren''t they at the mansion? Did they actually track us here?


    "Your pet needs to be better trained," I shrugged.


    "Well I think our pet has done its job. Remember this?" she pulled up a part of my torn banquet dress.


    "We made Chocolate track where you were with his keen nose," she smiled.


    "What an ugly sight," she spotted Luke beside me.


    "Then you can leave," I pointed in the direction towards the wilderness.


    "Unfortunately, our leader gave out orders to save you at all costs," the other humanoid floated closer to the surface of the barrier.


    "What if I don''t want to be saved?" I narrowed my eyes.


    I had to figure out the reason why they wanted me so badly. It didn''t seem like they were going to run away like last time as they appeared more prepared. This time, they were armed with weapons glowing with a ghastly purple fog and metal armory protecting their heart.


    "You don''t understand, do you? You don''t have a choice whether you want to be saved or not," she laughed.


    She took her sword out and slammed it against the barrier. For the first time, a crack as tiny as a needle appeared after a big ripple. Why did it seem like this barrier was weaker than the one at the mansion? It was clear the barrier wouldn''t last long if they continued their attacks while we couldn''t do anything on the other side if we didn''t want to help them destroy the barrier. The fight had to be carried outside the barrier.


    But no one wanted to leave the temporary safe space. My marble rang with Shelly''s phone number displayed on the screen. I accepted the call as her face popped up inside the teacher''s office. My head almost blanked out when I noticed not a single teacher was to be seen in addition to her mournful expression.


    "There was a note left that all the middle school teachers were called to an emergency meeting," Shelly clenched her fists.


    I swiped the screen as Ellen tried to join our call. Hopeful, Ellen appeared in the office of the office for elementary school teachers. She shook her head as she delivered the same depressing news, "the elementary school teachers are all out as well."


    "The high school teachers! We still have them!" I shouted.


    I immediately punched in Oili''s number. It would take too much time if I sneaked into the high school section of the school grounds. Like last time, Oili picked up my call instantly as he joined our video call. He was inside his dorm room, changed into his school uniform.


    "Did something happen?" he didn''t waste a single second.


    "Can you check if the high school teachers are in their office?" I asked.


    The camera followed Oili sprinting towards the office with no questions. Nothing had changed since we looked out for each other in elementary school. I had greater trust in Oili than Luke sometimes since he had the same amount of trust in me unlike Luke.


    "There''s a note stuck onto the door," the camera zoomed in.


    My head felt dizzy as we all read the note. All the high school teachers were out fighting the monsters since they didn''t have enough soldiers to exterminate them. What was the school thinking? Did they think the barrier would be enough to keep their students safe?


    "That means there''s officially no teachers to help with the s-class monsters," I stomped my feet.


    Both Ellen and Oili stared emptily at the screen. Ellen shuddered as the humanoids increased the width of the cracks with their swords. I guessed none of them imagined the possibility of the s-class monsters following us all the way here. Oili''s partner flopped onto her bed in shock after she encountered the screen.


    I was glad Oili was speechless with surprise rather than being shocked with fear like the rest. Meanwhile, the four of us who encountered monsters like they were common incidents were more annoyed than scared. The fear that consumed us was temporary compared to switching into thinking of our next plan to get to safety.


    "The barrier won''t last long," I spat out everyone''s thoughts.

 Chapter 232 - The Almighty School (6)

    "Go get reinforcements from the high school section Rika," Luke got ready to summon his sword.


    I nodded my head as I ended the call to sneak into the high school grounds. It would be easier this time since Oili was waiting for me on the other side. Oili paced back and forth before he waved for me to come inside. I came into the created hole with his access pass making ripples separating the two spaces. There was no need for me to use my mana like last time to meet Jules for a Lilika Yuri fan meeting.


    "What''s your plan?" he helped me up.


    "To gather as many high schoolers as possible to help fortify the barrier," I dusted off the snow on my coat.


    "What do high schoolers usually do during this time anyways?" I wondered.


    "Most are in their dorm, resting before they go to another intense round of classes or sent off to another mission," Oili recalled from the top of his head.


    Did I really want to call Lucius for help on recruiting more people? He probably arrived at school an hour earlier than us at most. He would definitely remember me pushing him inside the gate out of anger. Although, Belle would be more forgiving.


    I sighed before calling his number, I really didn''t want to call him if I didn''t have to. Even if I wished he wouldn''t get my call, the next second, I stared at his tired face inside his luxurious dorm room. Meanwhile, Belle was nowhere to be seen inside the room.


    "Can you and Belle help us recruit more high schoolers?" I went directly to the point.


    "Your younger brother is risking his life to protect the school barrier near the middle school section since the s-class monsters followed us all the way here. By the way, the teachers are all gone," I didn''t bother to add any fluff.


    "Meet us at the gymnasium," Lucius sighed.


    "Is this true?" Ben stood behind us.


    I was never so thankful for running into Ben all the time whenever I landed myself into more trouble. I didn''t have to explain the situation to him. I nodded my head as I wondered who else I should call.


    "Can you and Alice also meet us in the gymnasium with the recruits?" I started to punch in Ethan''s number.


    "We''ll get there as fast as possible," Ben entered into a video call with his fraction members while running towards another location.


    Ethan appeared annoyed as he picked up the call, "what now?"


    "I need your help in recruiting more people to help defend the barrier in the middle school section or else those s-class monsters are going to break in. So let''s meet in the gymnasium as soon as possible," I ended the call.


    "Is it okay to be this brief with him?" Oili wondered.


    "It''s because we have something on each other," I shrugged.


    "Is there anyone else you know?" I exhausted all my connections I had to the high school section.


    Oili shook his head. It made sense since Ethan and Oili were in the same fraction. The people that Ethan was probably going to recruit was probably the people Oili knew. It was time to make a ruckus to gather more people outside our fractions.


    "Where else are there a lot of people?" I wondered.


    "In the cafeteria or training rooms at best," Oili threw me a glance we should split up.


    I agreed as we needed to minimize spending less time on this as much as possible. We decided that I would go to the cafeteria since the training room wouldn''t be accessible to me. I pulled out a map of the high school section as I walked towards the location.


    Overall, the cafeteria was almost identical to the one in middle school. Like Oili mentioned, there was quite a few people eating their meals in the early evening. I instantly stood out as I didn''t wear my uniform, but a thick coat with a torn dress beneath it.


    However, I grabbed everyone''s attention when I stepped onto the table as they placed their utensils down, wondering who would break such common etiquette. Everyone here wasn''t a part of the fractions of Luke, Ethan or Ben as they were already gathered in a meeting. I used my mana to increase the volume of my voice as I prepared to speak.


    "Are you a student here?" the person closest to me asked.


    "I am and I come here to deliver an important announcement," I pulled up a recorded scene from my marble of the humanoids attacking the school barrier.


    "Look at the crest labelled near the edge of her coat. She comes from the Roselia family," one of them noticed.


    "The s-class monsters, the humanoids are attacking our barrier as you see on the screen. This was recorded some time ago, meaning there should be more cracks in the barrier now. We, middle schoolers need your help in fortifying the barrier, which is why I am here," I hoped this was good enough.


    "How did the humanoids track the school in the first place? It''s hidden under many layers of illusions," one student mumbled.


    "Isn''t that the kid that causes all sorts of trouble?" another gossiped.


    "Please step down from the table," the student narrowed his eyes.


    I jumped down the table as I landed gracefully on the floor. This was not the reaction I was expecting.

 Chapter 233 - The Almighty School (7)

    "If you wish for us to help you, you should introduce yourself first," the student seemed displeased that I had disrespected them from the lack of time.


    "I am Rika, the fianc¨¦e of Luke de Roselia who is the heir to the Roselia family," I placed Luke''s name out there, hoping his family name would do something.


    I slightly bowed to apologize as I wondered if etiquette was really important in these kinds of situations. If they didn''t help, wouldn''t it endanger all of us equally?


    "And I am Yulian de Impalia Magnolia. The leader of the Impalia fraction." He studied my reaction to his introduction.


    "So are you willing to help?" I directly asked.


    "You don''t want to know more about my fraction?" he appeared taken aback.


    "I''m not into this politics thing like my fianc¨¦ is," I was starting to get nervous if he was going to decline.


    Although I wasn''t interested in fractions, if he was the leader it meant if he agreed to join, he would be bringing much more people with him. The more people, the better.


    "The Impalia fraction is almost as equally powerful as your fianc¨¦''s fraction," he threw out.


    I walked away to ask another person. I had no time to admire how powerful his fraction was. This time I asked a lady who watched our conversation like she was watching a TV show. Her emerald green eyes sparkled with interest that resonated with me somehow.


    "Please help us," I faced her with my pitiful eyes.


    "You know I''m the partner of the person you first asked for help," she looked up to me from her seat.


    "I don''t care about your partner, but in your answer," I replied.


    "You really don''t care about fractions, do you?" she reached out to grab my hands.


    I shook my head, "I care about staying alive. If you''re dead, fractions are irrelevant anyways."


    "Fractions only help the members inside them. If you want us to help, you''ll have to join our fraction," she explained.


    "Then can I join?" I snuggled up to her.


    I really didn''t want to join another fraction, but if it was what it took, then I would join another one. Worst case scenario, Luke would take my place later like what he did in the neutral fraction. And if they weren''t just bragging about how powerful their fraction was, we would gain as many capable fighters as a result.


    "Do you know what our Impalia fraction is?" she didn''t fall for my pitiful eyes.


    I shook my head, "But a fraction where a beautiful and generous older sister with a big heart who is willing to help us out must not be a bad one?"


    So quickly give me an answer if you''ll let me join and help us out in return for my sacrifice!


    "Once you join, you''ll be with us forever," She stroked my messy hair while sensing my lack of patience.


    "I don''t care!" I interrupted her.


    "As long as the barrier doesn''t collapse, we can talk about it afterwards," my eyes glistened to show how the urgent situation was.


    She threw a glance to Yulian like she had made her decision, "then welcome to the Impalia fraction."


    "So you''ll help?" I tried to confirm from joining her fraction.


    "I told you that people in our fraction help each other out," she smiled.


    I tightly hugged her as she gasped from surprise, "please meet me in the gymnasium after I recruit more people."


    "Well, if it is the Impalia fraction, I guess we''ll join in as well," another person volunteered.


    "Us as well!" Another person joined in.


    "Is everyone here in the same fraction?" I wondered.


    "It''s only me, you and Yulian in the Impalia fraction," she revealed everyone else was in different fractions.


    Was this the influence from being a part of a truly powerful fraction? I didn''t feel it when I was with Ben or Luke. But the Impalia fraction was different. I didn''t need to ask anyone for help as they headed towards the gymnasium after finishing their meal. No wonder everyone was obsessed with amassing power in the first district. It made your life a ton more convenient when you needed help.


    "Let''s go to the gymnasium, Yulian," she called out to him after he finished his meal.


    "By the way, you never introduced yourself," I asked her as we walked together.


    "Oh my, I forgot. I am Claire de Impalia Magnolia," she whispered into my ear when we were near the venue.


    "And we''re here," Claire held my hand to make sure we wouldn''t separate inside the large crowd.


    She familiarly led the way to the stage with Yulian who seemed displeased behind us. I waved at the others already on the stage while the people they recruited were below us, standing in an orderly fashion. The three most powerful fractions mingled together before turning to face me with Claire and Yulian.


    "Claire?" Lucius appeared a bit shocked.


    "I thought you didn''t help anyone," he soon switched into his composed face.


    "You know we only help the people in our fraction," she smiled.


    "Let me introduce you to my newest member, Rika who is the fianc¨¦e to your younger brother," she nudged me in front of her.


    "No wonder there were triple the number of people we expected," Ben stared at the crowd of people below us.

 Chapter 234 - The Almighty School (8)

    "She called me a beautiful and generous older sister with a wide heart, how could I go against that?" she laughed.


    I shrugged when everybody stared at my thick face. How could anyone hate hearing compliments about themselves? We needed as many recruits as possible and it worked.


    "Stay backstage Rika, and we''ll take care of this," Lucius commanded before he turned to Claire and Yulian.


    "Then can I go back to the middle school section now? I need to check how bad the barrier has gotten," I didn''t want to do nothing when we were literally a few steps away from our deaths.


    "Go," he allowed me to leave.


    He didn''t show any worry for his younger brother and focused on the task in front of him. The mini army of students who volunteered to help us out waited for them to start. I sprinted towards Luke and Alex, wondering how bad the situation had gotten. It would take a while to organize the help that was going to come towards our way.


    On my way there, I bumped into Charles as I didn''t watch what was in front of me. Maybe it was a good chance to recruit him into helping us as well. I turned back to face him, "I don''t have enough time to explain but you should follow me."


    I grabbed his hand and ran towards the barrier as Charles was too stunned to react. By the time I met Luke, Charles watched the barrier slowly being chipped away from the s-class monsters. Since it was his second time being in this situation, he didn''t appear too surprised.


    Half of the layers in the barrier were now gone during the hour I went to gather recruits. Not only there were the humanoids and their pet, but a whole swarm of monsters acting like their army behind them. I wondered if the high schoolers were enough to combat this storm together.


    "The swarm of monsters is increasing from the summons of the humanoids," Alex turned to Charles who was the newest at this.


    "But reinforcements are coming from high school students who volunteered to help," I updated them on the news.


    "This is an entire organized army of monsters," Charles turned to my direction to partly blame me.


    "And you think I don''t know that?" I shouted back with annoyance.


    "At least you got time to relax while we just recently arrived at school with monsters suddenly at the barrier," I started to get mad.


    "Rika," Luke warned me to calm down.


    "But do you think we can defeat a swarm of monsters with the s-class generals without losing our lives?" Charles spat out the reality of our situation.


    "This is worse than I thought it''d be," Claire suddenly appeared from behind.


    "Is the conference finished?" I looked for the volunteers.


    "They''re on their way here," Claire studied the barrier.


    "No way," a student mumbled her thoughts that was in everyone''s minds of those who volunteered.


    The crowd stared at the monsters outside the barrier like they were dumbfounded. It was much worse than what they had imagined. None of them ever went to missions as dangerous as the scene in front of them. The instructions they were given was too vague for them to understand the true situation in front of them.


    "Oh, you''re here," the humanoid noticed my presence.


    "I was wondering when you''d come," she studied the mini army behind the barrier.


    "You could always leave, and we would all be happy. I know you hate me as much as I hate you," I shouted.


    "I''ll stay," she narrowed her eyes.


    "Don''t you see my beautiful collection of pets behind me?" She gestured.


    "You don''t always have to follow your leader you know," I tried to continue distracting her.


    Lucius, Claire and Ben worked together as some of the high school students sneaked out of the barrier to defeat some of the monsters. Both of the humanoids were focused on me to the extent they weren''t watching how their pets were doing. We needed to separate the s-class monsters from their army.


    "I have never seen Ailes this adamant before," the other humanoid agreed.


    "Is it really worth it for her mana?" she huffed from looking at my face.


    "Should we make a deal?" I offered them.


    "If you really want me for my mana, you can wait to target me when I grow to have more mana unlike now. That way, we won''t have to live with each other. Or you can just tell Ailes that you accidentally killed me as I would rather die than to join you guys," I suggested.


    "That isn''t a bad plan," she wavered.


    "I don''t want to live with you if I can and Tilly doesn''t care since he likes peace," she started to contemplate.


    "Just leave your army here to do your job," I continued.


    "I was against Ailes from the start anyways. I did keep on telling him we should only save people who want to be saved," the other humanoid showed his disagreement with his leader.


    "There''s no way I''ll survive with an army of your precious pets anyways," I pointed out.


    "What could mere students do?" I showed her our weak army that was starting to lose against one of her giant pets.


    Unfortunately, the group of students retreated back into the barrier once they expelled most of their mana. Maybe the monster pitied them, but they didn''t attack back yet. Their skin was as tough as the hardest shields that could not be penetrated, leaving them unscratched. One move was all it took to slam them onto the ground before they scrambled to run for their lives.


    "How about this?" she brightly smiled from her newfound plan.

 Chapter 235 - The Almighty School (9)

    "I''ll leave you with my favourite pet, Flower that''s a AAA-class monster. If you manage to kill her and survive, we''ll tell Ailes that you died before we could save you. If you die then, we''ll still tell Ailes that you died," she viciously smiled.


    I frantically nodded my head. A whatever A-class monster was better than a s-class one. I directly looked up at their faces, "I agree."


    "Then please die," her words rang throughout the barrier as she left with the other humanoid.


    One problem was officially solved for another one to appear. Flower, the giant titan who resembled a human being with no brains had a collar around its neck. She pounded on the barrier, slowly blasting each of the layers on the barrier away, one by one. At this rate, this wasn''t much better than the previous situation.


    "You know the humanoids?" Claire popped up from behind.


    "A bit, they may have followed us to the school. But they''re gone now," I didn''t bother to add the rest of the sentence where their pet was trying to kill us in their place.


    "But this overflowingly gorgeous older sister with an equally pretty heart wouldn''t mind, would she?" I played with her arms.


    "Of course not, we''re in the same fraction. I''m just trying to know what to cover," she repeated the same words I heard from Lucius and Ben.


    Claire walked towards Yulian before slipping outside the barrier to join the rest of the volunteers who were struggling to put a single scratch on the monsters. With her firm demeanor she yelled, "the bird''s weakness is ice, the furry creatures are weak to light, bunnies are fire, reptiles are air, titans are earth and wolves are water."


    "Watch this older sister Rika!" Claire yelled at me.


    A whole swarm of monsters that surrounded her instantly obliviated into ashes. She threw many variations of spells with different elements, switching between them every second. It reminded me of splendid fireworks as all the other students admired her efficient fighting style. Colours flew up into every direction to aim at the monsters rushing to consume her mana.


    So this was what reliable high school students were like. She rushed to help the students who were struggling the most to then move onto the next group once they were all wiped out. She flew in the air like a fairy as the swarm didn''t feel as intimidating anymore. However, we still had to take care of Flower, whose target was sorely on me.


    "We need to take care of Flower while Claire takes care of the rest of the swarm," Yulian walked towards me.


    "We just came back from running away from them for the past several days," Luke stood in front of me.


    "Then will you fight in her place? The Impalia fraction helps each other out. This is our rule," Yulian narrowed his eyes.


    "You joined the Impalia fraction?" Luke turned to me.


    "It just happened," I guiltily looked the other way.


    ''Didn''t everything work out in the end?'' I shot him a glance.


    "Luke and I will go in her place," Alex joined in the conversation.


    Alongside Luke who got his weapon out, Alex''s sword appeared out of thin air without him chanting to summon it. I had a new perspective on those dangerous swords now after using one of those bloody mana suckers. Although they were effective on monsters, you were practically putting your life on the line.


    "Follow me," Yulian accepted my replacements.


    Yulian''s eyes glowed as multiple swords floated into the air once he stepped outside the barrier. Each sword was dipped into a colour of the element while it spread into a large circle. Soon, a hundred swords layered in big and small circles, rotating in the air like it was nothing. Maybe this was the reason why the Impalia fraction was famous.


    I had never seen anyone else who was able to control their mana perfectly to the extent of Claire and Yulian to maintain their output of powerful spells. Flower turned her neck as all the swords floating in the air rushed into its back. But instead of showing any signs of damage from the large attack, she grinned like she found an interesting toy.


    She sprinted towards Yulian, not noticing the sharp daggers made from diamonds, dropping down from the sky from Luke''s spell using his sword. The daggers were also dipped into the colours of all the elements, producing an artificial waterfall of rainbows targeting the monster. When she was confused why her body felt itchy from the daggers that stuck into her skin, Alex took the chance to surround her with fog full of the smell of poisonous flowers.


    She started to sneeze as Yulian immediately summoned more swords towards her direction with a different set of elements this time. But none of them made a big impact as some of them bounced off her tough skin. Think Rika, what was that monster''s weakness from what you''ve seen so far?


    Ordinary elements didn''t work. Only Luke''s light spell made a slight difference with Alex''s spell deriving from the dark element. Flower wasn''t a a-class monster for nothing. What mixed both the light and dark elements from the spells you know of?


    Yulian, who followed my train of thoughts, immediately switched to dip his swords into the light and dark elements. Combined with Luke''s light spell that sliced the whole land into half for miles and Alex continuing the fog, Flower grunted in pain for the first time. A tiny scratch appeared on her left calf from their efforts.


    "What are you thinking Rika?" Luke shouted when he noticed me slipping outside the barrier with an iffy idea.

 Chapter 236 - The Almighty School (10)

    "Step away!" I yelled at them.


    This had to work. From the past few days of fighting these monsters, they had some things in common. Large spells worked much better than smaller ones. I read this from a manga during the brief period I managed to slip into the third district before Lucius found me. The concept of disintegration, how the creatures all transformed into ash when they were defeated. It had to mean something.


    It combined the light and dark elements together to shred something out of existence. I just had to hope the spell would work even though no one had used it before. Imagination was one of the most important things when conducting a new spell when I first began learning about how to use mana. Everyone ran away from Flower as the air pressure immediately dropped, sweeping in everything into one central spot.


    The swirling ball of energy formed between my hands as it swallowed all the mana in the air rather than taking from the mana from within me as its compensation. All the negative energy of ashes on the ground was swept into the ball as I placed my hands further apart as it grew bigger and bigger. Meanwhile, Flower dumbly grinned as she finally had access to her target her owners had ordered her to kill.


    Sweat poured down my head as I soon abandoned my coat by shaking it off. I reached out my hands towards the monster''s heart, which was the humanoid''s weakness as well. Fixating my eyes on the target, I yelled, "disintergrattttionnnnn!"


    Please work! A streak of light and dark swirling together like a drill punched through Flower''s heart in the speed of light. A second later, Flower''s horrified expression vanished into ashes while the streak of power continued after going through the hole in her chest. Wasn''t this bad? The students were screaming to avoid the drill that continued to obliterate more monsters.


    Since there was no cancellation spell I knew of, it continued to help Claire destroy the rest of the monsters. Meanwhile, the other students who couldn''t handle the two powerful forces retreated into the barrier as they couldn''t dodge my spell and continue fighting monsters simultaneously. The battlefield was a mess as the ashes piled up like a mountain, ruining the pure white landscape.


    Swords, daggers and bows littered the grounds with no signs of blood to be seen. If anyone got infected, we wouldn''t be able to cure them. This was the most dangerous part of fighting monsters. If they didn''t have the ability to fight them, it was better to stay inside the barrier to not be a hindrance.


    "Do you know how to cancel the spell?" Charles came towards us after finishing off a monster.


    "Don''t ask. I don''t know how to stop that thing," I admitted from their pressuring stares.


    ''At least we took care of Flower?'' I threw them a glance.


    But I didn''t know what would happen when there were no more monsters left. Would it target us instead? This spell was unrecorded in the books, which made it extremely unpredictable. My marble rang as it displayed Shelly''s number.


    "What''s wrong?" I found Shelly and Ellen together in the infirmary.


    "We''re too late. The orphans got infected and now they''re turning into monsters," Shelly''s face hardened.


    "Is there nothing we can do?" I thought of the dead boy who screamed to help him.


    "We have to kill them," Shelly bit her lip.


    "Is this really true?" I turned towards the others on the battlefield.


    "You should give them a painless death," Alex walked into the range where the camera showed his face.


    "There''s no way we can save them?" I shook Alex''s shoulders.


    "What do you want me to say? Kill them when they become a monster?" He raised his voice.


    Tears fell down my face, feeling sorry I couldn''t do anything for the boy or his friends at the end. We couldn''t fight a battle with two fronts, which would likely become the case if they turned into monsters. Yulian watched us make the decision to kill the orphans while they were still human. I was still as powerless as I was in the beginning of my reincarnation.


    Although my mana had increased a bit, I couldn''t save anyone I wanted to save. I ended the call, not wanting to see Shelly''s trembling hands as Ellen helped her do the deed. Was this really the life I had to live?


    "Can''t I use heal?" I cried in Luke''s arms.


    "Heal only works on human beings. If they''re already in the transition of turning into a monster, it''s too late," Luke patted my back to comfort me.


    But it couldn''t be the case. I couldn''t let that be a case. I couldn''t let Shelly and Ellen become a murderer with their own hands. I screamed in frustration as the streak of light turned to puncture through the barrier and speed towards the direction of the infirmary. I shook myself out of Luke''s grasp and ran to follow the light.


    My eyes widened as the light and dark swallowed the orphans as a whole. Shards of light glimmered in and out as the toxin in their veins appeared to be getting sucked out of their bodies. Did my spell listen to my wishes?


    "Do we still have to kill them?" I turned to the audience who followed me.

 Chapter 237 - The Not-So-Mighty School (1)

    "We don''t, all the poison is gone from their veins," Lucius''s face filled with wonderment.


    I sighed in relief as we managed to save the orphans while the light mixed with darkness disappeared along with the infection. The puncture in the barrier was off my mind as Claire appeared like she was almost finished with destroying all the monsters. And the most important thing was, I managed to save the people I wanted to save with my own hands.


    I walked back towards the broken barrier to check up on Claire. She stepped into the school grounds; her white face was pure as snow with not a single bit of ash managing to touch her body. No signs of movement came from the monsters as the other students started to repair a layer of the barrier with their remaining mana.


    When I looked up, a hover car came down from the sky. The door opened to show Daniel, our homeroom teacher, finally arriving on the school grounds. His face didn''t show any emotion as he studied the horrible surroundings that was so different from a few hours ago. To our delight, more hover cars continued to appear above the school.


    I finally had time to relax with the teachers that would handle the rest of the mess. Throwing a knowing glance towards Luke, we both decided to go to our dorm room to get some rest. We managed to survive through a tough few days full of danger from the mission the school handed out. My muscles relaxed in the hot water inside the bathtub as I enjoyed the feeling of safety.


    I flopped onto my bed after changing into a soft nightgown as Luke went into the bathroom after me. When he came out, already changed into his pyjamas, I rubbed my face into my pillow. It was nice not having to worry if a swarm of monsters was going to come after us.


    "Do you know how you''re going to handle being part of the Impalia fraction?" Luke reminded me of my sacrifice to get their support.


    "Can you just go to their meetings instead of me?" I groaned.


    "The Impalia fraction is not a normal fraction. We both have to go," Luke didn''t seem upset I joined another fraction without his permission.


    "What is the Impalia fraction?" I wondered.


    "They''re a fraction that holds the information of all the other fractions. It''s the only fraction that isn''t joined by family, but exclusive admission from the acknowledgement from one of their current members," Luke explained.


    "Then why doesn''t everyone else join? Admission seemed pretty easy to me," I recalled how I joined.


    "Is it because they force you to fight with them?" I remembered Yulian asking Luke to take my place.


    "No one knows how they admit people into their fraction," Luke frowned.


    It was almost like the Impalia fraction was a secret information guild with the lack of information about their members and the process on how to join. I hoped I didn''t land myself into something more bothersome. But I did think they were strange when they asked me if I knew anything about the politics in school.


    "Then isn''t that fraction the most powerful one in school?" I wondered.


    An unknown number came in through my marble, interrupting our conversation. I hesitantly swiped to receive the call, wondering who would call this deep into the night. Claire popped up on the screen in her luxurious dorm room with Yulian who sat beside her as the video call flickered. What was going on with this perfect timing?


    "Older sister? Is there anything going on?" I silently cringed inside my heart from the nickname she liked.


    "We''re letting you know we''re coming to your dorm room soon," Claire waved before ending the call.


    Not a second had passed before she knocked on the door. I opened the door as both Claire and Yulian entered like it was their own bedroom. Luke walked to sit over at my bed while Claire and Yulian occupied Luke''s bed.


    "Let our fraction meeting begin!" Claire brought out some fizzy glasses.


    "Is there only us inside this fraction?" I asked after taking a sip.


    "Well, I''m in third year. I had to choose a successor before I graduated anyways," she slightly tipped her glass.


    "Umm does this mean we''re the only ones in this fraction?" I repeated the question.


    "There''s others who have graduated from the school. It''s mostly generational to keep the tradition," she shrugged.


    "So you''re now Rika de Impalia Roselia," her gaze sharpened.


    "Why choose me?" I wondered.


    "You were the only one who didn''t introduce yourself using your family name like the rest. We needed someone who wasn''t too fixated on their current fractions since we wouldn''t know if they would be able to keep the information confidential," Yulian explained.


    That was because I didn''t want to admit my name was Rika de Roselia. At the same time, nobody would believe me if I introduced myself as Rika Roselia Shanes anymore. It was the sad reality where I had lost my family name without knowing it.


    I pitied those who desperately wanted to join their fraction, not realizing it was this simple. Some people were pulled in whether they wanted to or not. And somehow, I got the feeling that being a part of this fraction would be a lot of work.


    "You must have many questions," she smiled.

 Chapter 238 - The Not-So-Mighty School (2)

    "Does this mean I''ll have to do all the fraction work with Luke after you graduate?" I frowned from the thought.


    "It isn''t as bad as you think it is. Just throw occasional parties here and there while doing a few missions given by the other members," Claire tried to comfort me.


    "You''ll be helping me until I graduate," she held both of my hands.


    "Just make sure you throw those parties in mansions owned by the Impalia fraction to separate it from your partner''s fraction," she lightly squeezed my hands.


    "And make sure you also find a successor before you graduate," Yulian added.


    "Are those missions dangerous?" Luke interrupted us.


    This was the question that truly mattered. Seeing how their fighting styles were well-defined, they had to struggle as much to get to where they were today. There had to be a reason why people only started to volunteer once they joined.


    "It''s basically the same level of difficulty of what Rika has been doing in elementary school with her other friends," Claire hinted my secret.


    "Ok! I get it!" I accidentally yelled.


    No wonder they were an information guild. The level of difficulty depended on how hard to was to get someone''s information they wished to cover up. In a sense, I was their perfect successor since I already knew the security guard''s patrol routes from the back of my head.


    "The important thing is that nothing gets out of whatever is discussed in our meeting. No matter what," Yulian gave us a firm warning.


    "This includes your family''s fraction," Yulian turned to Luke.


    Luke nodded his head like it was something he expected. But all I imagined was sneaking every night to gather more information while sacrificing my sleep. How was I ever going to survive when I struggled to stay awake during the classes in the morning?


    "But there''s a big problem," I raised my hand.


    "I don''t exactly have the best grades and I''m already barely awake in the morning," I showed them I might not be able to do the missions.


    "Well, that is a problem, let me look at your grades," Claire took out her tablet.


    If I didn''t make it to the high school section of the school, I wouldn''t be able to succeed her anyways. Both Yulian and Claire slightly gasped from the record of my grades from who knows where they got the private information. A record was filled with rare As and more common failing grades that Luke would have to get perfect scores to average out.


    Yulian took another scroll through my grades since elementary school, not believing his eyes. My grades got worse as I went up further in school since I couldn''t rely on what I studied before my reincarnation anymore. Claire froze in her spot when she noticed the -100,000 points when I didn''t study with Luke.


    "Rika and I study for around twelve hours after class to get these normal grades," Luke pointed out the regular Cs and Ds.


    Their eyes started to well with pity as they compared Luke''s perfect grades with mine. They suddenly began to study our pitiful room we were placed in after we moved out of the luxurious dorms. It was a small one bedroom and bathroom layout with a separate bed and closet for each of us. No decorations were seen, making the walls seem extremely bare.


    "You''re right, it is a problem," Claire awkwardly looked around.


    There was no way I could complete the missions given by the other members. Unless they had enough power to change my grades. It was a miracle how I was getting no Fs these days.


    "Can you change my grades?" My eyes glittered.


    Luke elbowed me to stay quiet as the room shifted into silence from this unexpected situation. I guessed they didn''t have enough power to change my grades.


    "Or as an information guild, can you give me the answers to the upcoming tests?" I asked for something easier.


    "All we can do is to help tutor you,"" Claire coughed.


    "And we may have to put everything on the line with the dean who''s planning to summon you to his office tomorrow," Yulian adjusted his plan inside his head.


    "Isn''t she from the Roselia family?" Yulian whispered into Claire''s ear, ignoring the fact both Luke and I were listening.


    "I never thought she would have these terrible grades as well," Claire pinched his arm.


    "I actually came from the third district. Let me introduce myself. My name is Rika Shanes," I reached my hand out to shake their hands.


    "Do you still want me in your fraction?" I smiled, hoping to get out of this mess.


    "We can''t change the successor," Yulian sighed.


    They couldn''t hide the regret on their faces for choosing me as their successor. Claire''s eyes turned down, disappointed while contemplating on how to fix this mess. Meanwhile, both Luke and I knew we would be in trouble with them if their missions took up too much of our time. This was why they shouldn''t have chosen a successor out of nowhere and should have gave their help out of goodwill instead.


    "Let''s focus on what we can do for now," Claire brought out some content that the dean had prepared for tomorrow''s meeting.


    "We can place you guys at an advantageous place to earn more points to get into the high school section more easily. We just need to bring out some counterarguments at these certain points and hope it works," she pointed.

 Chapter 239 - The Not-So-Mighty School (3)

    I sat in the dean''s office beside Luke on one side of the couch and Shelly on the other. The four of us were summoned this morning like Claire had mentioned last night. This time, none of us were at fault except for skipping classes for several days to focus on our mission.


    "I just wanted to apologize and thank you as I heard you were the ones who recruited the high school students in helping to maintain the barrier," the dean started off.


    "This is why we made the decision to give you more points than what is supposed to be rewarded for successfully completing your mission."


    "Is this all?" Luke began.


    "Is there anything else to give?" The dean narrowed his eyes.


    "This mission was very dangerous to the point that everyone could have lost their lives with one mishap. Although the school may not know, s-class monsters attacked the barrier with a whole army of monsters behind them," Luke pointed out.


    "At the end, the barrier was destroyed, giving the monsters the freedom to explore the school grounds," Alex added.


    "Is the school this lacking to not provide enough security for its students? Exposing us to danger?" Luke continued.


    "This is why we will make sure to make changes to our system so there are teachers patrolling and fortifying the barrier at all times," the dean stayed stubborn on his position.


    "In fact, my fianc¨¦e almost died as she got infected by a monster," Luke stared accusingly to the dean.


    "Your mission almost killed all of us as we were forced to stay in a mansion overrun by monsters with no help to be given to us," his voice hardened.


    "What do you want the school to do?" The dean stiffened.


    "We want the school to give us deserving rooms and meals to help us recover from our exhaustion from fighting the armies of monsters for the past few days with no break," Luke laid out our first condition.


    "Until when?" He shifted in his chair.


    "Until the end of middle school."


    "We did put our lives on the line," Luke reminded the dean.


    "If that''s it- "


    "And we also want to get early admission to the high school section of the school for our bravery," I repeated one of Claire''s points.


    "As the middle school students of this school, we placed our lives on the line to protect the high school students who resided inside the barrier," I showed how our practical skills were superior.


    "Look, I''m afraid that part is impossi- "


    "We''re willing to maintain a certain amount of points per month to get this early admission," I was stunned inside my head of how Claire was able to predict everything.


    "It would be sad if the news went out to all the parents in the school, wouldn''t it?" I imitated Luke''s bright smile.


    The dean shivered in his chair, forgetting the fact that the monsters were the ones that followed us to school, placing all the students in danger.


    I closed the door to skip outside the dean''s office after Luke took over the conversation with Alex to pressure the dean into agreeing to our demands. It was our victory! The dean''s face went blue as he nodded to all the threats Luke and Alex fiddled between them.


    "If you think about the end result, this week wasn''t too bad, was it?" I teased Luke as we walked towards our new room.


    "We were one step from our deaths Rika. This was the only reason why the dean agreed to all of our conditions with no choice," Luke repeated how dangerous the situation had been.


    "It''s almost a miracle of how things turned out this way," he turned to me.


    When I tilted my head in confusion, he sighed, "There''s more to the incident than you know of."


    Did something happen during the one night I slept in his mansion while everyone was out destroying the teleportation gates? I wondered what I missed as I went through all the events in my head. I shook my head as I found myself in front of my new dorm room.


    "Didn''t you say you wanted to hold a mini funeral for that boy?" Luke pushed the door.


    He was right. Someone had died in the process for us to get out alive. I could never or was willing to forget that boy who was the start of the incident. The orphan who desired to escape from the caged destiny he lived in. He was so similar to me, who wished to escape to the third district.


    I held a white rose in my hand as I stared down at a rock that was engraved with his name. We all gathered in the school courtyard to mourn for his passing. The rock was surrounded by white wildflowers that bloomed near the place where he took his last breath. Although none of his friends were here as they were still unconscious, those who participated in the battlefield came to his funeral.


    I placed the rose on his stone since we couldn''t retrieve any of his remains. I clasped my hands into a prayer as I hoped he would reincarnate into a better life. If god was still watching me from above, I wished he would answer my prayers.


    ''Please let him live a free life in his next life,'' I gazed into the blue sky.

 Chapter 240 - Preparation for Social Week (1)

    I stretched my arms on the sofa as this year, social week took place during winter. I took a glance at Luke trying to organize our schedule since we were a part of three fractions this time. I frowned as the schedule was much more packed than last year. The room for breaks were quickly getting filled up as Luke took a glance at all the remaining events left to put in. Few minutes ago, Claire and Yulian had left the room.


    The sounds of knocking made Luke check who was in front of our door in the early morning while I covered myself with a blanket. Weekends were the only days I could sleep in. I groaned from the loud sound, hoping Luke wouldn''t open the door. Ever since we switched into this luxurious dorm, we had separated bedrooms linked together by a single door. We also had a large living room once we came out of our bedroom to receive guests.


    Although this didn''t stop Luke from coming into my room to wake me up for school, it was better than before since it gave a sense of privacy. Hearing the footsteps heading towards my room,


    I covered my ears with my hands. With one swipe from my finger, my marble activated to have the screen popping up, showing it was 6AM. He was totally coming to my room to wake me up on a precious Saturday.


    "Who''s in the living room?" I could hear the guests settling down.


    "Claire and Yulian," Luke pulled my arms up to get me out of my bed.


    "Did you really have to let them in?" I yawned.


    "Rika," Luke warned me.


    "Ok, I get it!" I waved my hand away.


    I quickly grabbed a hanger with a coordinated outfit and went into the washroom to change and get ready to meet Claire and Yulian. I sighed as it was partly my fault for joining a random fraction to save the school barrier. By the time I walked into the living room, Luke was already in a deep discussion with both of them.


    "So this event on Monday and another one for every other day?" Luke asked them.


    "I think this should be good enough," Yulian showed him the schedule.


    "What''s going on?" I slid into the sofa.


    "We came to tell you which events to attend as part of our fraction," Claire explained.


    "I thought you were going to be hosting the Impalia mansion for the entire week?" I got the gist from Luke earlier this week.


    Normally, people in bigger fractions took turns when being the host for social week. For example, the previous time I attended, Ben only hosted his mansion for three days and someone else hosted their mansion to represent their fraction to replace him. This way nobody would have to handle the pressure alone. That''s why bigger and more powerful fractions had multiple people in their fractions hosting events at the same time.


    Unfortunately, the Impalia fraction only had us and them. Since only high school students were eligible to host their mansions during social week, Claire and Yulian would have to be the hosts for the entire week alone. These were one of the few times I was glad I was still in middle school. I knew how much effort went into planning this event since I attended the neutral fraction''s meeting.


    "We''re only hosting the mansion for every other day. People already know that the Impalia fraction doesn''t host often during social week," Claire shrugged.


    "We also have to attend other events as part of our other fraction," Yulian sighed.


    "You''re also inside another fraction too?" I almost stood up from the sofa.


    "Everyone inside the Impalia fraction is also inside another fraction. And the Magnolia family is part of your rival fraction," Yulian explained.


    So Claire and Yulian was also inside Charles'' fraction! It made sense since no one outside the Impalia fraction knew how they chose their successor or if they were a candidate for the position itself. Even if politics wasn''t my thing, I knew from Luke repeating some of the facts to prepare me for social week.


    Since people in the same fraction attended each other''s events to create a balance in power, we would have to attend every single event hosted by Yulian and Claire. I was glad that the Impalia fraction had enough power to not host an event every single day. I took a peek at the schedule to see they only started their event in the early evening.


    "We''re doing every other day this time since we won''t be hosting next year," Claire sighed from the work.


    "How often do you usually host these events?" I wondered.


    "We did it two times a week last year. On a Monday and Friday," Claire seemed envious of those days.


    Both Claire and Yulian got up from their chairs as they finished telling us which events to attend. They appeared weary and tired as their footsteps were heavy while walking towards the door. I hoped this wouldn''t be me in the future. Only a few seconds after they left, a call came in from Luke''s marble.


    When the screen glided into the air, Lucius'' equally tired face faced us in his room with Belle.


    "Father and mother wanted us to host the mansion on these days while Belle''s parents wanted us to represent their families on these days," he started off his ominous words.

 Chapter 241 - Preparation for Social Week (2)

    The screen was replaced with a tight schedule where Jules and Yulee hosted from Monday to Wednesday while Lucius and Belle hosted from Thursday to Sunday. My eyes widened as their events were for the entire day instead of part of the day being sectioned off like the Impalia fraction. I hoped they didn''t expect us to be there with them for that long.


    For two days, Lucius and Belle hosted at the Roselia mansion and the others inside the Suilett family mansion. Likewise, the families of both Jules and Yulee wanted their families to be represented as well. The pressure looming on their shoulders could be shown in their complexions as they were as pale as when we stayed up to fend off the monsters.


    "You just have to come in the afternoons every other day," Belle came into the screen.


    "Thank you," I clasped my hands together.


    "Knowing you, we knew you couldn''t attend every day," Lucius seemed a bit envious.


    At these times, I was thankful that Luke''s family didn''t have any expectations for me yet. Even when attending social week last year, the schedule was only heavy in the beginning and the end of the week. The call quickly ended as they were still busy preparing for the event.


    However, Luke''s marble vibrated a few seconds later like before. Why was everyone coming to tell us about these events today? This time, Ben''s face popped up on the screen with Alice''s messy appearance with an overload of doc.u.ments placed on the small table. Alice appeared like she was dying as her neat hair was fluffed up while there was a huge mug full of coffee to help her.


    I knew that Alice mostly took the lead in the neutral fraction, but not to this extent. Being the leader of a fraction appeared extremely stressful. Ben also had a strained smile as he pulled out a similar schedule as Lucius.


    "Can you come to these events every other day in the mornings?"


    "I thought more powerful fractions would have more people hosting events," I found it strange that they were requesting a bit too little from us.


    "Can you handle more events?" Ben stared at me.


    I brightly smiled as it seemed like every fraction only expected the bare minimum from us. Although I didn''t mean to fall down the stairs last time in his mansion, it was extremely helpful that they didn''t want us to attend as well. I held in my smile from becoming a big grin, "it''s perfect. Thanks Ben."


    When the call ended, Luke placed all the events perfectly aligned in one day. This meant we could rest every other day!


    "I can''t wait to catch up on my sleep on the other days," I happily skipped towards my room.


    "We''re going to be using that time to choose our outfits," Luke stopped me from turning the doorknob.


    "Didn''t we already choose an outfit for each day?" I wondered.


    It was the reason why I was so tired today. For the past few days, Luke and I carefully chose our outfits for social week after our intense study sessions. Everything had to be considered from having enough space to store some weapons in case of an attack like the charity ball to the fabric which had various spells embellished inside. Who knew if the extermination was properly done after the last monster attack?


    "We need to change into new ones for every different fraction to match the theme," Luke explained.


    Oh. This was just like the party the neutral party did to prepare for the actual social week. I never considered this as Luke picked all of my outfits last time. But at the same time, we didn''t get all these calls last time as his parents made the schedule for us.


    "Why didn''t your parents make the schedule for us this time?" I tilted my head.


    "It''s because it was our first time. It was a guideline to use for the future," Luke walked towards his own set of doc.u.ments.


    The mounting doc.u.ments reached my height on the table as Luke helped both the neutral and his own fraction prepare for social week. It almost matched the number of doc.u.ments with Alice who looked like she hasn''t slept in weeks. I guiltily looked away, thankful I didn''t have to do this work with him.


    Both Claire and Yulian didn''t ask for any help for their events, knowing how bad my grades were. They took one glance at Luke''s emotionless face to know he was already piled with work. However, I sighed as I knew this was a temporary solution. When Lucius, Belle, Claire and Yulian graduated in the summer, Luke and I would have to fill in the gap.


    I was definitely never going to join another fraction again. No matter what anyone said, they were easy to join but impossible to leave like a cult. I decided to leave the dorm room, wide awake from all those calls. I walked in the hallway, deciding to go to the caf¨¦ earlier than planned.


    "Ouch," I rubbed my shoulders when I bumped into someone while viewing the flowers around me.


    I frowned as I was more sensitive to pain these days after being splashed with medicine that brought an agony of pain two weeks ago.


    "Ethan?" I looked up to find a high school student that wasn''t supposed to be in the middle school section.


    "Why are you here?" I narrowed my eyes.

 Chapter 242 - Preparation for Social Week (3)

    "Don''t you remember your promise?" Ethan got up from the ground.


    I groaned as I recalled how I promised to help him with Sprinkles in exchange for destroying his family''s teleportation gate. Why didn''t anyone let things go? I felt like I was regressing more into my elementary school days lately with the reappearance of my old childhood friends.


    "What promise?" I pretended to forget about the horrible favour I would have to do.


    "Sprinkles," Ethan glared at me.


    I was surprised how Sprinkles had such a long lifespan. The white and pink polka dot patterns on its shell where it opened to bloom its vicious white glimmering teeth. The Venus flytrap always had a huge appetite. I shook my head as I recalled through all the hard days, I went through to feed Sprinkles.


    Since the school maintained its grounds very well, it was very hard to find bugs. Digging piles of dirt metres away from the surface was the only way to find them. I still hate bugs, period. Helping Ethan breed more bugs within the school was extremely risky. If one of them escaped from the place we kept them, it would cause an uproar. Sometimes, he would breed a whole army of ants and the one looking out for any security guards was me.


    I would cringe every time I picked up a bug to put into a cage. Even when I used my mana so I wouldn''t have to touch them, I would see the bugs squirming with its many legs. The worst part was doing this for a whole load of bugs, meaning if my control snapped, the bugs would all fall on me. But thankfully, Sprinkles wasn''t a picky eater, making any insect work.


    Knowing that Ethan wouldn''t be able to hide Sprinkles from Flora, it made sense how she never wanted to go near him. Sometimes he still had saliva and blood from the insects on his hands and clothes. Maybe that was why during the charity ball, she never made any contact with him. And the reason why I never wanted to run into him again after he graduated from elementary school.


    "So where are we going this time?" I wondered which concealed location he found since we couldn''t go into the elementary school grounds.


    "The courtyard," Ethan led the way.


    "Sprinkles have grown, so she needs more food than before," he still seemed familiar with the middle school grounds.


    "But broad daylight?" I wondered if he wasn''t afraid of people finding out.


    "My fraction has a meeting place near here and I don''t think there''s a meeting today," Ethan waved his hands over a large bush acting as a dead end.


    The bush parted into two to show a cobblestone passageway into another garden. Like the neutral fraction, it was like I was stepping into the middle ages with all the antiques decorating the place. But since I went through it once before, it didn''t appear as anything special. At this rate, I wasn''t surprised at all the secret passageways that connected the different sections of the school together.


    When I turned my head, the bush closed again, showing no exit. I sighed as I rolled my sleeves up to prepare to dig some holes in the ground. No wonder Ethan seemed so assured that no one would figure out. It was an improvement from having to carefully watch for anyone passing by. Ethan threw me a shovel after he pulled on his gloves.


    ''Are you serious?'' I threw him a glance.


    I threw the shovel on the ground and chanted a quick spell to dig up the ground. I had to be careful with my steps to make sure I wouldn''t be the one in the death trap full of whatever would be inside. I quickly stepped back as a large hole appeared between Ethan and me.


    Ethan''s eyes glittered as he peeked into the ditch. I tilted my head down to realize that I have gotten the jackpot of the nastiest worms and not-so-small eight-legged creatures layered on top of each other for a few centimeters. This had to be enough to feed Sprinkles for a few days. The problem was how to collect the bugs without touching them.


    "You collect them," I glared at him.


    "You don''t mind them crawling on the ground?" Ethan grabbed his shovel to dig up the bugs.


    "Fine! Get your cage out," I groaned.


    Ugh! He knew I hated them crawling anywhere near me. Ethan pulled out a large cage from his inventory as his marble glowed. Once the top of the cage opened, I gulped as I made all the bugs float into the cage one by one. My hands trembled, fearing what would happen if few of them dropped on my clothes.


    "So we should have one of go to support the host on this day," Charles'' faint voice could be heard.


    "Didn''t you say there''s no fraction meeting today?" I whispered.


    "There isn''t supposed to be one," Ethan started to help me out.


    "Don''t you think this day is better?" another voice responded.


    "Careful!" I almost shouted when his control faltered.


    "Is anyone there?" someone noticed our voices.


    "There''s no way someone can come here without our permission," Charles walked towards us to check.


    "Are we almost done?" I finished transporting the last group of bugs on my end.

 Chapter 243 - Preparation for Social Week (4)

    "Almost," Ethan grunted with the last group of bugs on his end.


    The lid on the cage closed as we both sighed in relief. Meanwhile, footsteps of multiple people were heading towards our way. When I turned to where Ethan was, that jerk was already gone, leaving me alone. How was I supposed to explain what happened with him gone? Maybe we shouldn''t have destroyed his family''s teleportation gate that time since the s-class monsters followed us to school anyways.


    "Rika?" Charles eyed me crouching on the ground.


    "Hey?" I awkwardly waved.


    Instead of focusing on the people who gathered where I hid near the bushes, I froze when I could feel an ant crawling on my shirt. Its legs were starting to march into my shirt as my mouth opened to scream. I immediately got up to shake the bug off while screaming my lungs off while checking if they were any others.


    "Is it off? Is it?" I cried to Charles.


    I jumped up and down while thinking of jerk that couldn''t handle the cleanup properly. There couldn''t be more bugs inside that hole, could there? Their beautiful garden was in tatters from the large hole near its entrance. Random piles of dirt were placed nearby, ruining the clean green grass. He didn''t even bother to get rid of the shovels on the ground!


    "Is it?" I shook his shoulders.


    Charles looked at me like he didn''t know what I was talking about. Right, not everyone knew I was out here, threatened by Ethan to get more food for Sprinkles. When I couldn''t feel the bug on me anymore, I searched the ground where it landed. I sighed in relief when it flew back into the hole from my shaking when I looked down. In fact, there were quite a bit of bugs left.


    I got out a cage of my own from elementary school to collect the remaining bugs. It could be used against Ethan in the future when he ran out of his current supply. The people behind me backed away when they watched me using the levitation spell to collect the insects into the cage. My clothes were already stained with dirt to no repair as I did the cleanup in Ethan''s place.


    Someday, Sprinkles was going to be discovered and I wasn''t ever going to help him when it happened. Until the cage was back inside my marble, everyone made sure to stay a quite bit of a distance away from me. I guessed this was the first time they were actually seeing these disgusting creatures with their own eyes.


    "How did you get inside here?" Charles made sure to stay at least a metre away from me.


    "You should ask Ethan," I made sure to not let him off the hook.


    It was time for me to go now since I''ve done my part.


    "I''m going to go now," I turned to get out this situation.


    "Can we let her go when she knows our fraction location?" a person questioned the group.


    "She may have heard the details about social week," another person agreed.


    "I didn''t hear anything," I immediately blurted.


    "If you don''t believe me, I can also swear on the Impalia family name to not tell anyone," I watched their distrusting glares.


    People in the first district placed great importance in their family names. Swearing on your family name as like swearing an unbreakable oath unless you wanted to greatly ruin your family''s reputation. I waved my hand over the bush for it to stay still in its place. I frowned, seeing that I wouldn''t be able to leave this place unless someone in their fraction let me go.


    "What should we do?" Another person blurted out everyone''s thoughts.


    "We can let her into our fraction," Ethan finally appeared from behind with the same dirt covering his clothes and face.


    "Where were you?" I kicked his shin.


    "You know how everything started with you bringing me into this place," I threw him a punch.


    "You already know a few of us here and we need a replacement after few members left from a certain incident. It solves everything," Ethan shrugged.


    "And if you didn''t want to join, you should have ran when they first started talking," Ethan blamed me instead.


    Wait. Where was this conversation going? It was like they were on the path of making me join their fraction to keep the secretive information inside their fraction.


    "I was doing the cleanup like usual!" I yelled back.


    "It''s your problem to find more members if some people left. Don''t drag me into this," I crossed my arms.


    Unfortunately, it seemed like Ethan held some power in his own fraction. Some people were starting to nod their heads to agree with him. Even Charles sighed like nothing could be done except for admitting me into their fraction.


    "Don''t you think it''s weird?" I pointed out his dirty appearance.


    If I was going down from this incident, Ethan was definitely going to go down with me. Sprinkles would be finally revealed to his fraction members today. And it would all be his fault.


    "I''m definitely not going to be joining your fraction. Please let me out," I walked towards the front of the bushes.


    I glared at Ethan as I coughed, ''Sprinkles''.


    Since they were a fraction together, they could help themselves out by themselves instead of bringing an outsider like me.

 Chapter 244 - Preparation for Social Week (5)

    "We can''t just let you out. Who knows what you''ll do," Charles'' eyes narrowed from his deep distrust in me.


    "Think about it. We don''t have to waste any more time trying to find more candidates while she has the right background and connections to make sure our status in power stays in place," Ethan was obviously trying to fix his mistake of me being discovered.


    "And Rika won''t ever take away our power to other fractions since she hates fractions and politics in the first place," Charles grumbled out his unfortunate thoughts.


    The mutterings drifting into my ear were looking like everyone treating me like their new fraction member already. Wasn''t joining another fraction supposed to be hard? Why were these members getting influenced so easily?


    "No way. I''m not joining another fraction again when I clearly didn''t hear anything," I placed my position firmly down.


    "You already know how I was scammed into joining the Impalia fraction as their successor a few weeks ago. I''ll die if I join another one," I tried to convince them.


    "We''ll give you a room where you can place your hobbies inside the school," Charles recalled my otaku hobby.


    "Without Luke knowing?" One of my eyebrows rose.


    This was starting to sound like a tempting offer. I would soon be able to start my karaoke meetings with Oili again. Plus, I would be able to take out my storage of otaku goods and junk food whenever I wanted. It was way better than the deal with the neutral fraction.


    "And how big?" I needed to know the size of the new storage room.


    "About the size of your old room without Luke knowing," Charles looked at the other members for approval.


    "Deal," I smiled when his members accepted Charles'' proposal.


    "Can you fit these in beforehand?" I took out a whole inventory of karaoke goods I recently sneaked out of the elementary school grounds with Oili.


    Disco balls, big TV screens, microphones and other equipment filled the space between us. It was obvious that they didn''t know what these were at first glance. They were considered to be ancient artifacts in the technologically advanced first district. But what they didn''t know was how Oili still possessed the other half to lower the chances of any of our partners from discovering it. Charles sighed as he took in the big pile into his marble.


    "And these too and make sure to put them inside a storage box so they stay fresh," I pulled out some of my supply of junk food I sneaked into my marble the day Luke finally ordered pizza.


    It was nice having an inventory inside your marble where everything remained fresh. I couldn''t eat a slice of pizza, afraid that Luke would see me in the process. Even living things stayed alive like Ethan''s cages filled with bugs.


    "Aren''t these from that day?" Ethan recalled from the boxes and bottles of soda.


    "Try living with Luke and you''ll know," I rolled my eyes.


    "Well, the Roselia fraction is one of the strictest fractions," a person mumbled at the sight of the things I wanted to hide.


    "That''s why my family joined this fraction a long time ago," another person whispered back.


    "Anything else?" Charles gritted his teeth.


    "I guess these too," I took out a pile of cheap clothes.


    A few days ago, Sienna and I met in the caf¨¦ so she could transfer some of my clothes to me. Fortunately, Luke was too busy with the fraction work to care about the miscellaneous things about my life. However after social week, it wouldn''t be long until he discovered the cheap clothes inside my room.


    Like the neutral fraction, the people walked closer to stare at the mysterious clothes without any jewels or decorations attached to them. The running shoes also caught their attention as we only had dress shoes and heels inside the school and their mansions. Ethan, my partner in crime wasn''t surprised.


    He knew something was going on whenever I sneaked out of the dorms in elementary school, he just didn''t know what. He was more startled when he figured out, I was engaged to Luke, somehow wondering how I managed to get past him. I nodded my head to Charles to show it was all I wanted to transfer for now.


    This was the least they could do for me since I would have to do some of their fraction work with them now. Charles waved his hands to let the bush part into two again. We stepped out together while everyone remained at the other side to discuss more about their last-minute changes for social week.


    "I can go alone," I gestured to him to go join his fraction.


    "I''ll help you explain to Luke," Charles explained why he was escorting me to my dorm.


    "I honestly thought you would be against me joining," I was aware of his dislike for me.


    "Unfortunately, you were the perfect candidate," he sighed like he had no choice.


    I sighed with him as we expressed our mutual dislike for each other. When Charles knocked on the door, Luke scanned me, dirty with dust and dirt after opening the door. He brightly smiled, meaning he was going to lecture me later when we were alone.


    "You may want to adjust your schedule. Rika recently joined our fraction," Charles noticed his annoyed face.


    "Why don''t you come inside," Luke invited Charles into our room.

 Chapter 245 - Preparation for Social Week (6)

    Charles came into our room, immediately noticing piles of fraction work all over the table in front of the sofa where he decided to sit. Luke was definitely more sensitive lately since he had to juggle more things lately. These days, I tiptoed around the living room to get to my room, hoping he wouldn''t notice me.


    "So what events do we have to go to?" Luke went straight into the topic.


    The room went into a realm of silence as Charles expected him to ask an explanation on how things led to us joining his fraction.


    "As you know, we''re already a part of three fractions, meaning our Mondays and every other day from then is already filled," Luke broke the silence.


    "I''ll let my fraction know. But I think you may have to join our meeting later today," Charles asked, glancing at his piles of doc.u.ments.


    "What time?"


    "Around seven. Rika already knows the location so she can lead you there," Charles uncomfortably shifted in his chair.


    "I''ll get going now," Charles disappeared to escape from Luke.


    For the first time, I related to Charles not wanting to deal with the sensitive Luke. Luke didn''t take a single glance at me, working on more of his doc.u.ments. While I was glad, he wasn''t asking any questions, I hoped it wouldn''t backfire on me later.


    "It wasn''t like I wanted to join their fraction," I chose to get it over with.


    "I know," Luke didn''t stop organizing his doc.u.ments.


    "You probably got into some trouble with them, leading them to wonder how to fix the problem without putting their fraction in harm. The timing probably matched since quite a few of their members left from an internal discord. Knowing we wouldn''t be able to focus on their fraction while needing our power they made you join," Luke predicted the events like he was there.


    "Is it normal to be in these many fractions?" I wondered, switching the topic.


    "Normally it''s rare to be in more than one fraction. Not all families can be politically aligned to each fraction''s agenda. And it''s too much work to be in more than one," Luke emphasized the last part.


    I shrank back into my chair wishing I didn''t ask him that question. I already knew how Luke was barely getting any sleep lately. This was why I was complaining less during our intense study sessions together.


    "I''m sorry," I squeaked out.


    It wasn''t like I could help him since I was struggling to keep up with my own studies. Sometimes, I wondered why the school wasn''t more lenient near social week. It was obvious that some students were struggling to keep up with the curriculum during this time.


    "It just brings more work. But not necessarily a disadvantage as the heir of the Roselia family. You get more connections that wouldn''t normally help out due to the layout of politics which brings more power," Luke muttered like he was trying to convince himself this amount of work was worth it.


    The only advantage it brought to me was how I didn''t only have Roselia as my last name anymore. My identity was less dependent on Luke''s family, which was important to me. I didn''t need more people referring me as the fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family. I guiltily rose from my spot to take a bath.


    When I came out of my room, changed into a fresh set of clothes, Luke still remained in his spot to work on the pile of papers. Unfortunately, it appeared like the pile hadn''t decreased the slightest bit as he worked without a break. Meanwhile, it was already close to seven on my marble. Maybe I could go attend the meeting without him.


    "I''m almost finished with this sheet," Luke stopped me from going alone.


    I nodded my head as I waited for him to finish. After tossing the doc.u.ment into his marble, he rose from the sofa. I walked in front of him, not daring to look at his face while leading him towards the bush. This time, when I waved my hand in front of the bush, it opened up as it was supposed to.


    If he was curious about how I knew the secretive location where the fraction met, he never showed it. Instead, he was focused on working on another paper full of last-minute things for him to check while he walked with me. It was only when we stepped inside the other side of the bush, he put his doc.u.ments away.


    "Let''s welcome our new members," Charles carefully led Luke into the centre of attention.


    "I am Luke de Impalia Roselia and this is my partner, Rika de Impalia Roselia," Luke formally introduced both of us.


    "Can you tell us our roles?" Luke went straight into the topic to waste no time again.


    "We already discussed among ourselves that it would be enough if you helped us with some last-minute work in relation to the events you would be attending every other day starting from Tuesday. We already heard you would be busy the other days," the same person who discovered me in the bushes first took the lead.


    Luke brightly smiled as more work was starting to transfer on top of the current ones. Charles hid behind the person who took the lead, feeling guilty that Luke would have to do more work in my place. Even Ethan stood quite a distance away from Luke as his smile radiated across the crowd.

 Chapter 246 - Preparation for Social Week (7)

    "Unfortunately, that is not possible. As you know, Rika and I are a part of four fractions if you include this one. The most we can do is attend your events," Luke immediately declined.


    "Which ones?" The person taking the lead wasn''t getting the clue.


    "The fraction my family was originally in charge of, the neutral fraction, and the Impalia fraction as their successors," Luke briefly glared at Charles for bringing him more work.


    "Isn''t those the three most powerful fractions?" One person whispered.


    "It is, but how were we supposed to know they were already part of the fractions who gave the most work?" Another person mumbled.


    "But unfortunately, we''re a little shorthanded this year. Can you at least help us out with the biggest events?" the leader turned to me.


    I stayed silent as there was no way I could help them out with my grades. Luke made sure I was working on reviewing the class materials while he did the fraction work. If I didn''t spend the weekends catching up, I would fail all my courses which would take back our early admission to the high school section. But it was social week, maybe I could help a little from my small experience of helping the neutral fraction?


    "Mayb- ."


    "Rika," Luke warned me, cutting me off.


    "You already have other things to work on. Who do you think will do the work in your place?" Luke had already somewhat seen through the leader''s plans.


    "I apologize, but we really can''t help," I mumbled under Luke''s pressuring stare.


    "My grades aren''t umm the best," I glared at Charles.


    If his fraction knew how bad my grades were, there would be no way they would be entrusting their work to me in the first place. I guessed Charles didn''t tell them about my barely passing grades yet. He looked away, pretending not to know anything while stepping away from the leader.


    Everyone looked at me, wondering how bad my grades were for me to admit it. Usually, people only believed me when I pulled out my report card. Seeing I was engaged to Luke, everyone thought I would get the same amazing grades as him. I sighed as I brought out my pitiful grades which made the jaws drop of everyone who didn''t know.


    "Is this even possible?" Ethan''s eyes widened.


    "Don''t look too surprised," I elbowed Charles in revenge.


    I guessed even Charles didn''t know to what extent I was almost failing all the courses. Usually he would see the end results where everything was somewhat balanced out after Luke received perfect scores. If it wasn''t for Luke, I would be getting minus points every time like when I switched partners in the beginning of middle school.


    "How are you going to do the work as the Impalia fraction successor?" Charles appeared worried for Luke.


    "Claire and Yulian are going to do all the work until they graduate," I explained how they gave up on me.


    "It''s no wonder how the Impalia fraction made the decision," a person muttered.


    "Can they even help after social week?" another person murmured.


    "This is why we apologize in advance how we won''t be able to participate often even after social week," Luke gained everyone''s pity.


    At this rate, everyone knew how we were too busy studying to even consider going to fraction meetings. Oili who had blended in the crowd, stared at my grades as if he had realized why I had never contacted him after he graduated from elementary school with Ethan. My knowledge from studying the SATs day and night could only last so long.


    My grades dropped like a L shape starting from the beginning of middle school. This was when the level of difficulty suddenly shot up as I completely graduated from any signs of high school material from my former life. The screen disappeared into thin air when I decided everyone had already gotten the point.


    "We don''t usually require partners to attend most times," the leader looked at Luke.


    Which meant it was fine as long as he came for the both of us. It was obvious everyone had abandoned any kinds of hope they had for me. They switched their target to Luke who was more reliable like the neutral fraction.


    Luke brightly smiled, "For now, is attending the events starting from Tuesday enough?"


    "Although it is unfortunate you are shorthanded, but my other fractions are extremely shorthanded as well," Luke watched the time on the clock.


    "We can offer you some help if you help with ours," the leader offered.


    "I am Haruka de Mizuki," he introduced himself.


    "Only one event?" Luke started negotiating.


    "Yes, one event," Haruka answered.


    Luke shook his hand as he invited Haruka to our room. It was likely he didn''t know how much work Luke had since we weren''t a fraction leader. After hearing how the Impalia fraction did all the work without us, he smiled like he got a great deal.


    When Haruka came into the room to add some more doc.u.ments to the table, he was stunned. It was likely Luke was going to hand over some doc.u.ments already known to everyone in school from the neutral fraction. No one was excused from doing work, including Sienna who brought some work with her to the caf¨¦ these days.


    "I finished half of the work and noticed some order mistakes," Luke showed him the work he did while walking to our room.

 Chapter 247 - Preparation for Social Week (8)

    Haruka left the room in the middle of the night. Luke watched over my studies while he worked with Haruka. While entrusting the neutral fraction''s doc.u.ments to Haruka, the pile of work was finally starting to appear like it was decreasing. Entangled inside all the work was the schedule that Luke finally finished arranging after discussing with Haruka.


    Unfortunately, we had no break during the entire week. Due to attending all the events Haruka''s fraction wanted in exchange for helping with the work, we had to leave in the early morning and return to Luke''s mansion near the middle of the night. I stretched my arms, rising from my chair to get ready to sleep since our guest had left.


    I had memorized all the information in my brain as I listened to their conversation. The neutral fraction''s theme for all their events were flowers. While Luke''s fraction decided to have their events revolve around a winter fairy tale, making everything seem magical. In addition to that was the Impalia fraction who went with the house of cards to go with their image of unpredictability. And lastly, Haruka''s fraction had a celestial based theme around the constellations.


    "Do we really need another set of outfits for Haruka''s fraction?" I wondered, thinking it would be a pain.


    "We''ll need to coordinate our outfits since we''re a part of their fraction now," Luke seemed equally exhausted from the fact.


    "Can''t you have your servants bring the clothes here?" I didn''t feel like going to his mansion today.


    "Let''s go," Luke dragged me to the teleportation gate.


    There was only one day till the start of social week. The campus was empty as everyone had already gone to their mansions to get ready. I groaned as we were inside another one of his mansions. I scanned the area as I noticed the barrier was fortified to the point it was almost impenetrable. It was better than the school barrier at this rate.


    I relaxed a bit as part of the reason I didn''t want to come was due to the faltering barrier last time. I didn''t know how we would somehow change our outfits three times in a day when I struggled being in one for a day last time. I slid into the sofa as I was getting sleepy, not paying attention to the outfits Luke was starting to pick out.


    "Is this fine?" Luke turned to me.


    I slapped my cheeks to focus on what Luke had picked. This was bad. If I slept right there, I would be forced into wearing whatever he picked for me. Luke held black dress made from silk decorated with diamonds near the bottom, representing stars. The necklace was a white ribbon attached to a mana crystal, which I wasn''t going to wear.


    Mana crystals came from the blood and tears from the pitiful children in the second district. The shoes were white and black striped flats to match the rest of the outfit. I waved my hand, "not the necklace."


    "How about this one?" Luke chose another ribbon with a large pink diamond attached.


    "It''s fine," I started to feel proud that Luke was choosing more comfortable outfits today.


    Thankfully it only took an hour to choose the rest. I headed towards my room, yawning before slumping onto my bed. This was my only chance to get a proper amount of sleep as I knew I probably wouldn''t get any, looking at that schedule. That was why I couldn''t let go of my blanket when Luke attempted to take it away when I didn''t even get four hours of sleep.


    "I thought we already took care of everything," I groaned.


    "We need to go to pick up some flowers for the neutral fraction, get some last-minute orders for my fraction in addition to Charles'' fraction wanting us to pick up some more jewels to fix the mistake I found in the doc.u.ment," Luke wrestled away my blanket.


    "Why can''t the store just teleport it to them?" I complained.


    "We''re not going to the store since they won''t accept any more orders. We''re directly getting the materials ourselves," Luke sighed.


    "There''s no way we can do all this in one day," My mind went blank.


    After I was dragged into the hover car, I found the car in front of a big flower field full of roses when I woke up from Luke shaking me awake. How were we going to pick all those flowers on our own? The field spanned for miles like it had no end once I got out of the car.


    "We''re not picking all of these, are we?" I looked around.


    "Just the ones in this plot," Luke began to use his mana to rip them out of the ground.


    Wanting to get it over with, I helped pull all the flowers in my end and placed them inside the inventory. It appeared all these varieties of flowers were grown to be used for parties like social week instead of a natural garden. Each plot either had a different species of extravagant flowers or the same breed in a different colour.


    I couldn''t be helped, I was excellent in plucking the flowers. Compared to transferring squirming bugs into the cage, it was nothing. Strands of my hair fluttered in the air from the sudden wind once we finished the cleanup. I shuddered as I carefully scanned my surroundings. It wasn''t a foretelling of another monster, was it?

 Chapter 248 - Preparation for Social Week (9)

    "I didn''t mean to frighten you," someone whispered into my ear.


    "Who''s there?" I spun around.


    "Didn''t you think there would be a consequence for picking all those wonderful flowers?" He held a flower bouquet with both of his hands.


    "Ask him," I turned to point at Luke who was missing.


    "Who?" He glanced around our surroundings.


    "I''m not in another dimension, am I?" I searched for Luke with my eyes.


    His otherworldly beauty reminded me of the waiter who transferred me into another dimension with a drink. He possessed their perfect sculpted appearance with long fluttering eyelashes and large tinted golden almond shaped eyes. A doll wouldn''t be able to capture the perfect angles from all his features, making him appear unreal. Such a person wouldn''t be a human being, similar to those who descended from the Pelargonium family, which was Luke''s family on his mother''s side.


    The sunlight reflected off his shining blond hair, almost white from the shards of light. I squinted my eyes as if the sunlight came from his back. When I looked down to avoid the bright light, my wrist had a tattooed bracelet. I tapped my wrist to find the currency in the other dimension with the portals from my purchase last time.


    "I can leave right away you know," I stepped a few steps backwards.


    "But can you leave to get to the time you want?" He pointed out.


    I stayed silent since it was true. The last time I escaped from this dimension, there was a difference of a few days. It would be a disaster if I didn''t get a single break and was immediately inserted inside the middle of social week.


    "What do you want?" I glared at him.


    "Please watch over the children currently in my care. It''s their first time leaving this dimension," He placed a flower in my hair.


    "You''ll know who they are the moment you see them," His eyes warmed.


    "Sure?" I didn''t have a choice.


    How hard could it be? I was totally going to die, hiding how I was watching someone while taking care of myself. I guessed the ''children'' he was talking about was pretty young as well. Why else would he want me to take care of them?


    From my answer, the scene shattered as the bright light disappeared. It was like time had unfroze, seeing how Luke was still busy with the cleanup. I looked up into the blue sky, wondering why the fairies, elves or whatnot chose to contact me after all that time. My mind was filled with those thoughts until I found myself in front of a cave.


    "Why are we here?" I got out of the hover car.


    "To mine some jewels," Luke led the way.


    "Can we mine them without permission?" I thought of the fairy who made me look over his child for payment in the flower field.


    "It''s the Roselia family''s mine," Luke waved my uneasiness away.


    Luke chanted to create a ball of dim light inside his hands to light the way while we walked deeper inside the cave. My eyes widened as big shards of crystals, rubies, diamonds and others clung onto the walls. Everywhere glittered with the jewels twinkling from the hint of light. I began to see Luke in another light as I explored the endless spans of precious metals in the open.


    "What do we have to do?" I asked when Luke finally stopped walking.


    "We need to mine diamonds and white gold," Luke began taking out the large pieces of rocks with his spell.


    After taking the rocks out, he filtered through the stone to take out the metals he wanted as it twisted and morphed in the air. Once the rock was emptied of its content, Luke placed the rock back into its place in the cave. I watched him for several rounds before imitating his actions.


    "We''re not giving these to Charles'' fraction for free, are we?" I thought it would be a waste.


    A large pile of polished stones towered in front of us after we craved them to bring them into the shape I was familiar with. This would be worth a fortune, maybe several mansions in the third district. And they were purely used for decoration for a single party.


    "We''re lending it to them for a favour in the future," Luke reminded me of the power play in fractions.


    "Then where are the jewels going to go after the party?"


    "To be processed into the Roselia family companies or some may choose to purchase them inside the fraction," Luke placed all the jewels into his inventory.


    "Is it like that for our original fraction as well?" I wondered since they were family.


    "We already allocate everything beforehand," Luke carefully chose his words.


    It looked like Luke wasn''t going to tell me more about his main fraction. It was like I knew about the other random fractions I managed to join rather than his most times. Once he organized everything into his marble, we sped towards the hover car when he noticed the time.


    "Where do we go next?" I flopped onto the seats in the hover car once we got out of the cave.


    "To the Suilett family mansion," Luke kept everything extremely vague.


    "I thought we were picking up some last-minute orders?" I recalled his plans in the morning.


    "They need someone to receive all the orders while they set up the rest of the event," Luke looked like he wasn''t going to tell me anything more.

 Chapter 249 - Preparation for Social Week (10)

    "Stay here. Make sure you don''t go anywhere else in the house and review your notes while I go over some last-minute details," Luke repeated to me five times.


    I sat in a chair inside the large library inside the mansion maybe around the same size of the one in school. I stared at the huge pile of notes placed in front of me. Couldn''t he just let me get a few more hours of sleep instead? I rubbed my eyes, still tired from waking up so early.


    Luke reluctantly left me in the library alone, making sure to look back every several steps. I didn''t get why they had to check up on every single thing when they could make the servants do it. For the charity ball, the servants did almost everything from decorating the mansion to providing the catering.


    My face dropped onto the surface of the table as I decided to use my notes as a pillow instead. A bed would be better, but it wasn''t like I could explore the mansion to find a bedroom. It would be a waste of energy since I wasn''t familiar with the layout. I desperately needed a cup of strawberry milkshake after getting some sleep.


    The next time I opened my eyes, the sky had already drifted into a beautiful violet. I stretched my arms, feeling a bit stiff after sleeping in a weird position. It was really a beautiful library as the transparent glass walls showed a glittering garden from the other side. It was almost like I was inside a greenhouse.


    But was there ever a garden in the inner part of the mansion, surrounded by other rooms? I stood up, realizing I was still surrounded by the smell of books. I pinched my arm, checking if I was inside a dream.


    "You''re going to be in trouble if you keep on shifting between dimensions," he reappeared behind my back.


    "Why is this happening?" I scanned my surroundings once more.


    "The spell the gatekeeper placed on you is starting to wear off," he tapped my wrist.


    "But I thought you couldn''t move between the dimensions without a portal?" I tiled my head in confusion.


    "The portal is a medium that helps you channel your power to make the transportation between the dimensions easier," he explained.


    Oh. If it was that, I felt I was almost scammed with the price I had to pay for the portals. Recalling my blurry memories of that day, I paid closer attention to how that waiter acted. I sighed as there were actually many clues that he was the gatekeeper. He brought me to the spirit currency centre as the first location like he was a guide.


    Everyone respected him as they only whispered about a rare human being coming for the first time in years. But why did he put that spell on me? Something like this never happened before I even met him.


    "Once you enter this dimension, it''s hard to differentiate between the two worlds. That''s why many people spend their lives, wandering around the two dimensions, not knowing how to get back to their original lives," he recalled all the other visitors.


    "Then why is the spell beginning to wear off?" I felt grateful towards the gatekeeper.


    "Did you consume any heavy doses of mana essences recently?" He picked up one of the reasons.


    "I did consume bottles full of medicine which had the Roselia family essence inside when I got infected by monsters," I grabbed onto my hair that changed colours.


    "It could be the reason why," he nodded his head.


    "Then how can I fix it?" I clasped my hands together.


    "You can make a contract with one of us where we can guide you through the dimensions or get a kind soul to do the same spell again," he plucked a rose petal.


    "Although I won''t be one of them," he drew his line.


    "Why not?" My hands slid through his like he was a ghost.


    "As you see, my wish is almost fulfilled. I won''t be in this world soon. I don''t have enough power to help you. I''ve been spending my days, taking care of the young ones instead," he sadly smiled.


    "All I can give you is a temporary spell that can last a few weeks at most for watching over those children," his hands glowed over mine.


    "Thank you," I felt a warm wave of energy gloss over me.


    "The next time you enter this dimension before the spell wears off, the spell will become useless," he waved, disappearing into thin air.


    The roses surrounding the library vanished with him as I found the walls to be solid white. There were no signs of life, except for me surrounded by inanimate objects. The sky was pitch dark instead of its glimmering hues of fantasy like purples. How much time passed by this round?


    "Where were you?" Luke walked towards me from the other end.


    Behind his back was Belle who appeared equally exhausted from the past few days. She sighed in relief when she spotted my face. The screen that showed the time told me it was late evening, which wasn''t bad.


    "I was inside the library the entire time," I felt falsely accused.


    "We searched for you everywhere. We even went through the entire library multiple times," Belle covered her mouth when she was on the edge of yawning.

 Chapter 250 - Found Sleeping Beauty (1)

    I clung onto Luke''s arm as I was on the steps leading to Ben''s mansion. Although my sudden disappearance almost caused chaos yesterday, no one had any time to linger on the issue. Instead, Belle and Lucius sent Luke and I back to the Roselia family mansion, taking care of the rest of the preparations by themselves. As the fraction leader, Ben''s mansion was open again for the first half of the week.


    My pastel pink dress had a tumbling number of roses near the ends of my skirt. It perfectly suited the flower theme that the neutral fraction had. Even my hair was decorated with large white roses intertwined together to create a hair band. But unknown to anyone, under my puffy dress was where there were small daggers attached to my leg with a shiny white ribbon.


    It took hours to get to my current state as the sun didn''t even rise when the servants came into my room to help me get ready. Meaning there was no time for breakfast when I also had to skip dinner yesterday from my disappearance. My stomach grumbled as I felt lightheaded from the hunger. When I stepped into the ballroom, there was no dessert table as I had predicted. They only served lunch last year which meant that it was likely they were going to the same this year.


    There were only waiters, standing around to serve some familiar drinks. One of my eyebrows raised in suspicion as these were the drinks that almost landed Sienna and I in trouble. Maybe it wouldn''t be bad to substitute for my breakfast.


    "It''s safe, we properly tested them out this time," Sienna slightly wobbled towards me.


    I grabbed a drink from the tray to energize myself for the rest of the day. It was likely we wouldn''t be having lunch here since we would already be attending another event for Luke''s fraction. Sienna''s hammered posture was slightly faltering as she wore thin heels to match her dress sprawling out like petals from a dahlia.


    "Is this what you''ve been busy with?" I took some sips.


    Sienna nodded as she took a drink for herself. Normally, I would be helping her with developing the drinks, but after I left the internal affairs of the neutral fraction to Luke, Sienna was pushed to do my part as well. Meanwhile, Luke took over the other work, placing more orders to decorate the ballroom with more extravagant flowers.


    I apologetically smiled at Sienna before she became busy with checking the last-minute details. I sat down on a chair, leaving Luke''s arm, feeling lethargic from drinking the beverage on an empty stomach. Why were there no signs of food anywhere?


    "Ben!" I rushed towards him before the event opened.


    "Why isn''t there any food anywhere?" I slid in front of him, interrupting him from ordering the servants.


    "You know how we plan to serve the guests during lunchtime," Ben waved to the servants to leave him.


    "Is there an extra plate from the food prepared for lunch? I can''t skip lunch, dinner and breakfast," I grabbed both his hands.


    "Please?" I pulled out my pitiful eyes.


    "I''ll have to ask the servants in the kitchen," Ben called for another servant.


    I didn''t know how Luke was still alive when I never saw the sight of him eating. But I knew I wouldn''t be able to survive for the rest of the day without a decent meal. Luke noticed Ben ordering some plates of food for me and joined our conversation.


    "I apologize, but it''s been a long day yesterday. We recently joined another fraction, which didn''t let us have any time for breaks in between," Luke asked for another plate of food for himself.


    "Which fraction?" Ben led us towards the same blue room as last year.


    The table was set like a full lunch course. I grabbed a spoon and inhaled all the food in front of me, spending no time on a conversation like Luke did with Ben while he ate his meal. While he talked with Ben, he sliced the fruits and meat. When Ben talked in response, he elegantly emptied his plate at a scary pace.


    "The fraction currently led by the Mizuki family," Luke multitasked.


    "Isn''t that your family''s rival fraction?" Ben seemed a bit surprised.


    Luke nodded, taking the chance to take another bite. Without even noticing, I realized Luke had eaten some of my portion when I finally gained some awareness of what was going on. I stopped eating, letting Luke eat the rest since I was somewhat full anyways. In less than ten minutes, the table full of food was empty with the servants taking away the finished plates.


    "It wasn''t a bad deal," Luke got up from his chair.


    "Rika was already close to some of the members, so they wanted us to join," Luke hinted it was like how we joined the neutral fraction.


    Yes. It wasn''t a bad deal how Haruka left our room, looking almost dead, helping with the non-confidential work given by the neutral fraction. Ben slightly nodded his head, understanding what the rival fraction must have gone through.


    The problem was, after eating with a prolonged lack of sleep, it was hard to not feel sleepy. I pushed most of my weight to Luke as we returned to the ballroom. I raised my head when the grand doors opened to indicate the event was finally starting. Ben and Alice stood near the entrance, waiting for guests to come.

 Chapter 251 - Found Sleeping Beauty (2)

    "Did you bring some blankets?" I whispered inside Sienna''s ear.


    "I did and also brought some clothes as well," she whispered back.


    "I brought the pillows," I looked for anyone who could be potentially listening.


    This plan was set in motion a week ago. It all started when Sienna complained she was only getting five hours of sleep per day. Delia twirled the straw in her cup, "you''re going to get caught."


    "There''s no way the guests will venture outside the ballroom," I recalled last year''s event.


    "Didn''t you complain a few days ago that Luke burned more of your comic books?" Delia brought up the tragic event.


    Few days ago, I secretly met with Eliza in the middle of the night, who possessed half of my otaku supply. It was my fault, hiding it inside my shirt instead of putting inside the inventory right away. When I bumped into Luke on the way to my room, the books slipped out of my clothes. Without hesitation, the books burned into ashes right in front of my eyes.


    It was the time where Luke didn''t have any mercy as more work started to pile on the living room table. I froze at the ashes in front of me, shocked. My knees became weak, collapsing to stumble on the carpeted floors. The ashes slipped through my hands, my precious babies.


    "I''m just glad Eliza only brought the BL books," my feelings shifted to how I was glad he didn''t burn my favourite genres.


    "And I''ll help her hide half of it!" Sienna''s eyes glittered from the thought of getting a few minutes of sleep during the event.


    "I''ll only help you from others finding out," Delia looked like she wasn''t going to be a part of it.


    "I don''t think I can help since our schedules are different," Ellen joined in.


    Shelly nodded to agree with Ellen. It couldn''t be helped since they were helping out with Luke''s fraction. It was a pity since the risk of anyone figuring out would be lower with more people.


    "There wasn''t anyone in the garden," Sienna suggested a location nearby.


    "Let''s see for another hour," I remained cautious.


    We stood near the walls of the ballroom, far away from where most of the conversations were taking place. Most people knew if people were near the edge of the ballroom, they didn''t want to be disturbed. When I looked up, the railings on the second floor appeared like it increased in height while the distance between them were narrower.


    In fact, the entrance to the stairs was blocked off before its use. Another difference was how the stage didn''t have any performers. Instead, it was used as another space for the guests to use as some of them chose to converse on the stage, enjoying the view below them.


    "How about behind the big decorations on the stage?" I wondered.


    "We should have several locations," Sienna agreed.


    "Are you still wondering where to set it up?" Delia walked towards us.


    We nodded out heads as Delia sighed. She turned to scan the area before she suggested, "the second floor isn''t bad too. It''s blocked off for the guests for now."


    "Then we should do three locations. I brought three pillows just in case," I decided to go with Delia''s suggestion.


    "Same here," Sienna got my thoughts.


    "What are you talking about?" someone came up to us.


    Both Sienna and I froze from an unfamiliar person coming up to us. Meanwhile, Delia sighed, almost telling us, ''I told you so,'' through her glance. I wondered how this person didn''t know the proper party etiquette that Luke had always drilled into me ever since last year.


    "Nothing particular," I brightly smiled, hoping she would leave.


    "Is there anything you want from us?" Sienna added.


    "I thought I could join, seeing how there were people gathered here," she fidgeted with her hands.


    "Most of the conversations you''re looking for are in the middle of the ballroom," Delia thankfully led her away from us.


    Both Sienna and I sighed in relief, thanking Delia in our hearts. It was time to go to the stage to do the setup for one of the locations. The stage was covered with flower petals, which would be a good cover if some of its feathers got out from the pillow. Plus, no one bothered to go backstage when the front was so beautifully decorated with the flowers I picked with Luke.


    Looking in all directions, Sienna and I linked arms while going up the stairs leading towards the stage. When we were sure no one was watching, we quickly slipped through one of the curtains to go backstage. However, to our surprise, there was someone already inside, hiding from the crowd.


    "I want to be part of your plan," Henry appeared like he was waiting for us.


    I dropped my pillow that I took out of my marble when I entered backstage. Delia must have told him as he desperately came towards us with teary eyes. It was the first time I have ever seen him lose his composure.


    "I wasn''t able to sleep, not even a single second for the entire week!" He tethered back and forth in his spot.


    "Alice gave him double the work compared to the rest of us since it looked like he was taking her lightly two weeks ago," Sienna explained.

 Chapter 252 - Found Sleeping Beauty (3)

    "I''ll serve as lookout during your turns," Henry proposed.


    "In addition to distracting the others," he quickly added when both of us stayed silent.


    "Sure," I reached out my hands to make a deal after Sienna nodded her head.


    Sienna took out the blankets and transferred me the comfortable clothes. I slapped the blanket on the ground as softly as possible, evening out the lumps while Sienna looked for the perfect place to put the pillow. Keeping his promise, Henry stuck to his role as he kept an eye out on anyone coming towards our direction.


    "We have to go to the next location," I decided to keep Henry here to make sure nobody discovered the makeshift bed.


    "The second floor will be a bit harder," Sienna frowned.


    "Let''s just keep walking and hope we don''t run into anyone," I clung onto her arm.


    We needed to walk across the ballroom, meaning escape the middle section. Someone would be bound to notice us if we kept on walking near the walls to get to the other side, making us seem suspicious. We speed walked while making sure to maintain our elegant air.


    "Would you like to join us?" someone interrupted us.


    "Maybe another time," I immediately declined.


    Without waiting for her response, we dashed towards our target, the other end of the hall. However, another person got in our way. The time, we were surrounded by a bigger group of girls in the most luxurious dresses. I threw a glance at Sienna, telling her we should separate to duck under them. But Sienna shook her head, disagreeing while narrowing her eyes.


    "Is there anything you want from us?" Sienna clung my arm even tighter.


    "We just wanted to talk with the sub hosts of this event," she questioned where we were going in a hurry.


    "What did you want to talk to us about?" Sienna continued.


    "Your dresses appear splendid today," one of them attempted to switch the topic.


    "Thank you," Sienna began to turn with me, wondering if they were done.


    "We were wondering if your family was interested in a section of land in the fifth district lately," another one of them blocked our exit.


    "We''re not," Sienna turned them down.


    Sienna seemed increasingly closed off as her face became expressionless. She pulled herself closer to me, to show she wasn''t going anywhere without me. They awkwardly shifted in their spots, running out of excuses.


    "How about the person beside you?" It seemed like they didn''t know my identity yet.


    "My name is Rika," I decided to put my last name out.


    "Can you tell us which family you come from?" their attitudes changed.


    "Her family must have barely passed the qualifications to join the neutral fraction," one of them rudely whispered.


    "It can''t be, the Clarence family doesn''t get close to just anybody," another one of them pointed out.


    "She''s from the Roselia family, the crest," someone finally noticed the annoying crest on my dress.


    "We apologize, Rika de Roselia. Please excuse us for our behaviour," they slightly bowed.


    "That''s not my name," I frowned.


    I was becoming increasingly tired with Sienna as more people were starting to gather around us, listening to the conversation. We were getting the opposite of what we wanted, standing out in the exact crowd we wanted to avoid. I wondered why some people couldn''t get the hint and ignore us when we clearly weren''t in the mood to join their conversations.


    "Is there a problem?" Luke walked towards us, sensing the discord in the middle of the ballroom.


    "We were wondering if ''Rika'' came from the Roselia family," one of them asked Luke.


    "We noticed the Roselia family crest on her clothes, but she told us it wasn''t her family name," another one of them added.


    They brightened from Luke''s appearance, radiating from his formal attire. Some of their faces blushed pink, shuffling around in excitement. I could hear whispers and mutters from them gossiping in each other''s ears of how they were facing the heir of the Roselia family. I sighed as everyone somehow knew the key features from each prominent family.


    "I apologize for my partner. It is true that many people misunderstand due to the recent changes. I am Luke de Impalia Roselia and this is my fianc¨¦e, Rika de Impalia Roselia," Luke introduced the both of us.


    "You''re also part of the Impalia fraction?" One of them gasped.


    "We will be making the official announcement in the evening," Luke brightly smiled.


    ''Isn''t this the chance to escape?'' I tossed Sienna a glance.


    Sienna immediately understood me as we quickly ducked down to get out of the crowd. The keys to the second floor jangled in her hands once she took them out when we were in front of the temporary gate. The door blocking the entrance to the second floor opened as we creeped up the stairs.


    There was no worry in getting our dresses dirty as we crawled on the floor to avoid getting noticed. The polished floors were so clean that it reflected our appearance.


    "Do you think they''ll notice if we place the blanket near the back?" Sienna pulled out the material.


    I shook my head as I pulled out the pillow to place it on top of the blanket. It was likely that this location wasn''t going to be used often, seeing how we had trouble getting to this place. The only thing I was glad about was how the stairs to the second floor was close to the garden outside the mansion.

 Chapter 253 - Found Sleeping Beauty (4)

    "I think this is the safest place," I stared at the tall bush blocking the view from the other side.


    "Maybe the garden is the best place," Sienna saw how our improvised bed was perfectly hidden.


    The only problem was how each of us was going to sneak out into the garden without getting noticed. In a sense, this was harder than going to the second floor. I sighed as we also needed to get rid of the bed once it was near lunchtime.


    "We should go back to Henry and decide who''s going to take the first turn," I carefully watched if anyone was inside the garden.


    "The back entrance is locked," Sienna frowned.


    I moped with her as it meant we would have to get back through the front entrance. I dusted off the leaves that got on my dress as I hoped Alice and Ben wouldn''t notice us passing through. Unfortunately, Alice smiled like she was wondering why we were re-entering the banquet hall when we were near the end of the line.


    "Alice will be too busy greeting the other guests," Sienna comforted me.


    "What brings you to our event?" Alice asked us why we were outside the ballroom when we were in front of the line.


    "The garden is really beautiful!" Sienna pretended to admire the garden.


    "In fact, we weren''t the only ones there," I bluffed.


    "Should we also visit the garden?" the partner behind us wondered.


    "It must be better than the banquet hall," the people behind them agreed.


    Both Alice and Ben froze as some people in the line left to visit the garden instead. Nobody bothered to decorate the garden as everyone focused on making the ballroom perfect for the guests. It was just an ordinary garden that was well-maintained by the servants like any other household.


    The situation seemed to turn for the worst as half of the long line left to join the others. I immediately messaged Luke to call some waiters to the garden. Not a second passed as I got a message back that the servants were placed everywhere around the garden to serve the drinks. Although it created a mess, it was the perfect excuse for going to the garden often now.


    "We also need some tables," I turned to Alice.


    Ben got the signal from Alice and immediately sent a message to the servants to bring small tables to the garden. Now all we needed was a cover up to make it seem it was intentional. Abandoning our original plan, we tiptoed towards the garden to fix the mess.


    "I have some flowers leftover. We can use the wind spell to make them rain down from the sky to let them remain in the air afterwards," I quickly explained my plan.


    "How are they going to remain in the air?" Sienna followed me towards the less exposed parts of the garden.


    I brought a few mini toy fans out that I had hidden from Luke. When I went to the third district last time, I had also purchased some of these from the hotel gift shop from nostalgia. If I added a wind spell while the fan operated, it wouldn''t be that hard to have the flower petals floating until the batteries died.


    I placed a fan on the flat ground, hidden from sight from placing it near the hedges and pressed the button. I reached out my arms to chant a wind spell while Sienna started to pluck all the flower petals. When the fan began operating, the flower petals shot up into the sky, making it appear it was raining down on the guests.


    "Let''s go to the next spot," I whispered to Sienna while the guests were distracted.


    Sienna nodded her head as we rushed to another spot in the garden. Soon, we finished setting up the decorations. We stood near the back of the garden, watching the guests look at the floating flowers and its petals fluttering in the air. Since we got lazy near the end, we decided to just separate the flower from its stem. As a result, we appeared like we were inside another world where some flowers levitated while glowing the faintest amount of light from our last-minute idea to make the garden appear more appealing.


    "The neutral fraction really outdone themselves this time," the guests admired the innovative idea.


    "It''s almost better than the ballroom," one of the guests enjoyed the sight.


    "I did wonder why some people messaged to come out of the ballroom," the person told them about her dilemma before she came.


    "I think it''s better than the ballroom. Where else would we get to enjoy something like this?" someone disagreed.


    Both Sienna and I guiltily looked at the empty line as everyone chose to come directly to the garden instead. I guessed the decorations were pretty fancy, grabbing someone''s attention as soon as they were near the location. Ben left Alice to handle the empty line on her own as he wondered what was going inside the garden.


    It was most likely everyone saw what was happening inside the garden from above in their hover cars. Ben''s jaw almost dropped as he stared at the scene in front of him. Since we got more ideas while placing lights inside the flowers, we decided to make them change colours. This was why the area surrounding the garden flashed different colours every few minutes.

 Chapter 254 - Found Sleeping Beauty (5)

    "What''s happening?" Ben turned to us.


    "The garden is really beautiful," I pretended to appear shocked.


    Luke had already sent me a message he was taking care of the guests out in the garden while Sienna and I were still working on the decorations. Meanwhile, more people left the ballroom to join the others in the garden. The front entrance had more guests leaving than the ones who entered just to exchange greetings.


    "We fixed up the garden a bit," I admitted when Ben couldn''t take his eyes off the sight in front of him.


    "But the decorations will die when the power runs out in the batteries inside the fans," I let him know beforehand.


    "Batteries?" Ben looked at me like we were talking about something ancient.


    "You know those tiny circular containers filled with electricity," I explained.


    "Cillian sent me a message that almost all our guests are in the garden," Ben facepalmed.


    "Isn''t the ballroom better than the garden?" I wondered.


    The ballroom was definitely better than the garden that only had flashy decorations. It was carefully prepared, taking everything into account. Maybe people were attracted to new things rather than sticking to the beautiful ballroom.


    "It should be," Ben sighed.


    Sienna and I took the chance to sneak back into the ballroom as people quickly surrounded Ben on how he got the idea. Alice, who was too focused on the guests asking more questions about the garden, thankfully didn''t notice us coming in. Unfortunately, as Cillian had mentioned, the ballroom was almost empty.


    "I guessed it all worked out in the end?" I noticed that only Henry was on the stage.


    "I heard about the garden," Henry asked if that was the reason why we were late.


    "You could take the first turn," I felt guilty.


    Henry didn''t hesitate to flop onto the bed, "I just need an hour." He covered himself with the blanket after placing an alarm on his marble. Fortunately, we wouldn''t have to serve as the lookout for this location as we looked down at the empty ballroom. All we needed to do was to cover for him in case anyone asked for him.


    Only a few people in the neutral fraction remained in the middle of the ballroom to guide the potential guests who chose to come inside. We avoided their line of sight as they took the time to rest. While Sienna sent a message to Delia that Henry was taking the first turn, I yawned, hoping the hour would quickly pass by for my turn.


    "Where''s Henry?" Cillian was the first to ask when we came down from the stage.


    "He''s busy helping with the decorations in the garden," I quickly came up with an excuse.


    "Some of our classmates were asking for him," Cillian explained.


    "I think he''ll be done with the decorations an hour from now," I sent Cillian back to handle his classmates.


    "Actually, can I take my turn right now too?" Sienna glanced at the second floor.


    Since the ballroom was empty, I decided it wouldn''t be too bad to cover for another person. I nodded my head as Sienna dashed towards the second floor. All I needed to do was to sit down on a chair near the entrance where there was the highest chance of anyone asking for them. While nobody passed through the entrance, I sent a message to Delia that Sienna was also taking her turn as well.


    I started to nod off as thirty minutes passed. We wouldn''t be able to use the second floor after Sienna''s turn since it would be near lunch time. I scheduled a message to send to Sienna to clean up the bed after her turn. It was unfortunate we spent so much time on the garden.


    "Is Sienna Auclair Clarence here?" Someone came up to me.


    "Unfortunately, she''s out in the garden, greeting other guests," I blurted out the first excuse that came to my head.


    "Also, is Henry de Blanc in the ballroom? I couldn''t spot him in the garden," Another guest came behind the first one.


    "He should be in the washroom," I pretended I just recalled him sending me a message.


    "But Delia told me she should be in the ballroom," another person joined in.


    "Then she should be in the washroom too," I was starting to run out of excuses.


    Why were there suddenly some many people that were searching for them? I wondered what Cillian was doing, not covering for Henry. Could it be that they were their classmates?


    "How do you know Sienna and Henry?" I was too lazy to include their last names.


    "We''re her classmates," one of them explained.


    "And we''re also his classmates," another group joined in.


    "Well I''m in the same fraction as Sienna and Henry," I decided to stall them until they came back.


    Behind my back, I sent a message to Henry to run to the entrance as soon as his turn was over. Since he started ten minutes before Sienna, he could help cover for her with me. I brightly smiled as I unintentionally formed a small circle with them.


    "We''re really close. That reminds me, we never met before, have we?" I was starting to blurt out the most random things.


    They warily stared at me as I desperately hoped that time would quickly pass. The circle was inside an awkward silence like there was a blizzard between us.


    "May I ask who you are?" One of them narrowed their eyes.

 Chapter 255 - Found Sleeping Beauty (6)

    "Sure, I''m Rika," I grabbed a drink from the waiter.


    "Is that your full name?" They seemed curious about my real identity.


    "Is my full name important?" I instantly realized they must not be close with Sienna.


    Sienna hated people like them. Approaching her for her family name rather than just ''Sienna'' herself. I crossed my arms as I noticed Luke walking towards my direction, sensing another discord.


    "Thank you for keeping my partner company," Luke unfortunately came into the ballroom at the worst timing.


    "I am Luke de Impalia Roselia and this is my partner, Rika de Impalia Roselia," Luke appeared like he originally came into the ballroom to take a break.


    "You''re from the other class," they immediately pretended they were more familiar with us.


    "We have also heard about the other class as well," his angelic smile instantly captured their attention.


    "We have heard that your class is a bit, particular," one of them replied to indirectly mention the rumors they heard swirling inside the school.


    "I would like to believe the opposite is true. Our class may seem like this from an outsider''s perspective as we disregard the concept of fractions in our class," Luke blew away the rumors to say that our class was better than theirs that was separated.


    I never felt more thankful as Luke effortlessly talked to them until my marble vibrated. I smiled when Henry said he was on his way since his turn was over. Henry dashed towards the entrance as he greeted his classmates.


    [Did anything happen while I was gone?] I received a message he typed behind his back.


    [Luke distracted them while they were looking for you] I replied back.


    [Won''t he figure out if he stays longer?] Henry appeared a bit worried.


    [I''ll try sending him back to the garden] I sent him a glance.


    "Rika did say she''s really close with you," one of them noticed us exchanging messages.


    "Well, we are in the same fraction," Henry came up with the same excuse as me.


    "It''s like you''re closer to her than us," one of them complained.


    "We knew each other before Luke and I entered the neutral fraction," I quickly made up a story.


    "So we''ve known each other for a quite amount of time," Henry flawlessly lied.


    [Are you close with your classmates?] I nodded my head to agree with Henry.


    [Not much. Our class is split into two since we''re in different fractions]


    My head spun to Luke''s direction as his previous remark of trying to buy time was actually an indirect insult towards them. It was no wonder they appeared more hostile once Henry came back.


    [Then why were they looking for you?]


    [Probably to pressure our fraction once they noticed my disappearance]


    I pitied both Sienna and Henry as it meant they went through this every day. Compared to their class, mine was much more united. I guessed that was the only advantage of going through so many incidents together.


    "Then you must be close to everyone in your fraction," another one of them asked in a mocking tone.


    "That''s right!" Sienna grabbed his other arm, noticing the awkward direction the conversation was going towards.


    I sighed in relief as nobody noticed Sienna dashing towards us after her turn was over.


    [I cleaned up the bed] She played with Henry''s arm.


    "We''re all family," Sienna struck back.


    I grabbed his other arm, going along with Sienna''s plan, "that''s why this is nothing!"


    Nobody pointed out how Luke awkwardly stood quite a distance away from us, staying silent while watching our act. He seamlessly blended into the background as their classmates focused on us instead. For the first time, I admired his social skills as he could effortlessly get in and out any situation that was thrown upon him.


    [Delia messaged she tried her best] Sienna explained how this all started.


    [Apparently, she held them off for thirty minutes with Cillian in the garden] She threw me a glance.


    [Did the sleep help?] I asked both of them.


    They both nodded their heads as they smiled. In fact, some of their complexion came back as their eyes appeared more energized. While typing, I almost jumped when I saw the time.


    [I''m planning to take my turn a few minutes from now] I decided.


    [Can you keep Luke in the ballroom? I''m thinking of sleeping in the bed in the garden] My fingers were busy.


    Both Sienna and Henry turned towards me from my message. By then, everyone noticed how we were secretly exchanging messages between the three of us. The frequent vibrations coming from our marbles revealed everything.


    Sienna briefly stopped playing with Henry''s arm while Henry froze from the news. They both knew how observant Luke was. It was definitely going to take more effort to cover for me.


    Unfortunately, I had to take my turn now since we would be leaving this event in two hours to attend another one. Henry sighed as he suddenly grabbed Luke''s hands. It was his cue to quickly escape into the garden.


    I sprinted into the garden, well-versed in its hidden routes from placing all the decorations. I immediately set an alarm in my marble after finding the bed. I smiled as I laid on the blanket, acting as a mattress. I tugged the other blanket, covering me from the sunlight as my head sank inside the pillow.

 Chapter 256 - Found Sleeping Beauty (7) - Siennas POV

    Henry awkwardly grabbed onto Luke''s hands to buy some time for Rika to take her turn. Rika immediately turned to sprint towards the garden, getting his signal. Luke''s scary eyes slid down to his hands before looking up to study his face. He turned his head, instantly noticing Rika was missing from the circle.


    I shivered as I already anticipated how hard it would be to cover for Rika. Even Henry''s smile was beginning to slightly falter as we both noticed Luke had already realized we were working together to help Rika. Henry let go of Luke''s hand as his hands faintly shook in return.


    "This is how close fellow members in the same fractions are," Henry quickly made a poor excuse.


    "We''re like this with everyone," I gulped as I grabbed one of Luke''s hands to support Henry.


    "Can you give us a moment to have a private conversation?" Luke asked our classmates.


    For the first time, I hoped my classmates would stay and continue to pester us. It was better than being left with Luke and Henry. Sneaking a glance at Henry, it was obvious he was thinking the same thing as he stepped a few steps away from Luke.


    However, our classmates smiled, saying they would wait for us in the garden. I stepped closer near Henry as Luke immediately stopped smiling as soon as they were out of sight. Henry''s usual arrogance disappeared as Luke walked towards us, close enough that whatever we said in the conversation wouldn''t be heard by others.


    "Can I know what is going on?" His intimidating voice slid into our ears.


    "Rika messaged us that she had to go to the garden to check on the decorations," I placed all my hopes in my acting skills.


    "Since you''ve known us for some time, you know why I worry for her," Luke''s voice softened, noticing how tense we were.


    "Rika attracts trouble to the point that every second matters," he explained.


    I poked Henry''s ribs as I noticed he was almost starting to give into Luke. It wasn''t like we could disagree from all the things we went through together. Not even a month had passed since Rika was seconds away from death.


    We became speechless from Luke''s effective words as I elbowed Henry to counterattack. There was still fifty more minutes left until her turn ended. Henry took a long breath to return to a calmer state before facing Luke. In a sense, it made Luke more suspicious of us.


    "I understand. But I think it''s important to give her some freedom," Henry came up with a horrible argument.


    He was basically admitting to us covering for her. I sighed as I decided to watch how the rest would go. Worst case scenario, I would take over when it appeared like the conversation was nearing its end. It was one of the habits that my family tutors drilled into me ever since I entered kindergarten.


    "But would you be able to forgive yourself for giving more freedom to your partner when she lands in great danger because of it?" Luke made a solid point.


    "Rika is just checking up on the decorations," Henry repeated my excuse.


    "Then please excuse me. I''ll head towards the garden myself," Luke sent us an apologetic smile.


    "You can''t!" I blurted.


    Luke was definitely going to search for Rika inside the garden. He would find her sleeping in a rough bed in no time if we let him go. I glared at Henry as we needed to keep him here as long as possible.


    "We need help tending to the guests in the ballroom," I swallowed my horrible excuse as the ballroom was almost empty.


    "We need to come up with more extravagant decorations since the ones in the garden won''t last long," I switched my excuse.


    "Do you mean the fans?" Luke knew what I was talking about.


    I frantically nodded my head. I wondered how he was able to find them so fast and already understand how they worked. The Roselia family name didn''t have their reputation as one of the most powerful families for nothing.


    "I already charged the batteries with a spell to make sure they would never die. I also sent the same message out to most of the members in the garden," Luke already took care of everything.


    So this was why Rika was almost powerless against Luke. He came up with a solution for everything in less than a second. Now, nobody would come into the ballroom with the overdone decorations in the garden.


    I sighed inside my heart as this meant he knew we were covering for Rika since my decoration excuse. It was only because of pure etiquette that he wasn''t leaving us alone in the large ballroom. Currently, there were no guests inside the ballroom, which we worked extremely hard to prepare. It was abandoned to the point I was starting to pity both Alice and Ben.


    Delia sent me a message that both Ben and Alice were standing near the entrance of the garden instead. It couldn''t be helped as the role of the main hosts was to greet all the guests. I never could have imagined that the random ideas that came to Rika and my mind would influence the event this much.


    "It is quite pitiful how everyone is out in the garden," Henry agreed with my thoughts.

 Chapter 257 - Found Sleeping Beauty (8) - Siennas POV

    Both Henry and I smiled when we heard footsteps heading towards the ballroom. Our excuse of keeping Luke here because of the guests would finally work! I perked up as I waited for them to come.


    "Where''s Rika?" He asked us, not bothering to introduce himself.


    Was this how Rika felt when our classmates came to look for us? I immediately felt dejected as he searched for Rika inside the ballroom. When I opened my mouth to utter my excuse that she was inside the garden, he made me close my mouth, "I looked for her in the garden, asking all the hosts and other guests until Delia from the Ellison family mentioned she was inside the ballroom."


    "How do you know Rika?" I attempted to keep the both of them inside the ballroom.


    "We''re classmates and in the same fraction," he glanced at Luke that he wasn''t able to find her.


    I shot a worried look at Henry as I realized Luke was using few of the guests to find him find Rika. I hoped he was the only one as Henry slightly smiled from Luke''s ingenious mind like the world was falling on top of him. At this rate, one of us would have to stand against Luke alone while the other kept an eye out in the garden.


    "I apologize for not introducing myself. I am Charles de Lumiere," He realized he never introduced himself.


    I never wanted to escape to the garden more than this moment. A powerful family, rivaling both the Nuelle and Roselia families came to support Luke. But I thought Rika was only inside three fractions from what I knew of. Something must have happened as Delia did mention that Rika was close to few of the members in the rival fraction as well.


    I sighed inside my heart as there was still forty long minutes to stall. I couldn''t believe we only managed to stall him for ten minutes after our classmates left. I started to pity Rika as what I went through with my classmates was nothing compared to how she lived with Luke.


    I did sometimes think that Rika had some fast and quirky thoughts that she implemented in real life. Like the decorations in the garden that happened on a whim. But it actually came from living with Luke. She had no choice, but to search for opportunities to escape from Luke who thought of everything one step ahead of her.


    "I am Sienna Auclair Clarence and this is Henry de Blanc," I elbowed Henry for help.


    "Rika used to be in the ballroom but is now in the garden. Would you be interested in joining our conversation instead?" Henry was getting worse at this under Luke''s pressuring stare.


    "We''re interested in how someone in our neutral fraction joined a fraction like yours," he continued.


    "Unfortunately, I promised my fianc¨¦e that I would meet her in the garden soon," Charles declined our offer.


    "Just thirty-five more minutes. She''ll come back here after thirty-five more minutes," I apologized to Rika inside my heart.


    "Can you please leave Rika alone for thirty-five more minutes?" Henry politely asked.


    "Is there something going on?" Charles asked the same question as Luke.


    "Not really. There''s really nothing going on," I felt exhausted from fending off two opponents.


    "If you know Rika well enough, you know anything can happen in thirty-five minutes," Charles brightly smiled.


    "Look. If you stay with us, we''ll lead you to where she is in fifteen more minutes instead," Henry threw me a glance for my approval.


    I nodded my head as it was the best choice we had. Instead of searching for Rika on their own, they decided to stay with us during the remaining period. The ballroom was filled with icy silence as no one bothered to speak a word. I sent an apologetic message to Rika that they would be coming in ten minutes instead of the original thirty.


    When the cold ten minutes passed. I began to lead them where the makeshift bed was located. Both Henry and I were doomed now because they would figure out about the bed unless Rika got rid of it from our message. Charles looked around the abandoned part of the garden as Luke kept his eyes on us.


    Focused on joining the others in the crowd, none of the guests stepped into the clever part we chose to hide the bed. Many tall hedges were nicely groomed, blocking the view of the decorations as they spanned for metres. I carefully lifted my skirt as I found a small hole in one of the hedges that would lead to another route.


    Henry appeared a bit surprised, seeing how much effort we put into this third location. His reaction was the opposite of both Luke and Charles who seemed like they expected something like this. I began to crawl on the cobblestone path as the space was small that no big animals would be able to get in.


    Finally, a hedge with an odd rose placed as an indicator appeared in front of my eyes. I gestured with my hands, "Rika is behind this hedge."


    I stood up to walk behind the hedge to find the blankets still messy on the ground. However, the pillow had been utterly torn as its feathers were splattered all over the area. There wasn''t anyone inside the blankets. Rika wasn''t here. Rika was gone!


    I gasped as I slowly turned my head to the audience behind me.

 Chapter 258 - Found Sleeping Beauty (9)

    "Waaaa! You''re so pretty!" Someone''s face came near mine.


    Her golden eyes glittered in excitement as strands of her light buttery hair drifted onto my face. Her otherworldly beauty froze my body as I had trouble getting up. It was no wonder he said that I would know it was her as soon as I saw her. She greatly resembled the fairy that asked me to take care of her.


    However, she didn''t particularly look like a child. Her height was taller than mine, face slimmer, loss of its baby fat. Her long limbs made her appear no less than a model on the runway, proportions that couldn''t be more perfect. She appeared a bit older than me as she bended to get a closer look at me. It was a bit odd how she thought I was the pretty one when she was stunning.


    "You''re like sleeping beauty! It''s my first time finding a princess!" She admired my dress.


    She wore a relatively simple dress, which couldn''t compare to her delicate features. The good fabric covered everything as there wasn''t a single decoration like some embroidery, prints or jewels. She likely didn''t put any makeup on her face as she stared at my dress filled with silken roses.


    "You''re the one who''s like the princess," I refuted.


    "These looks only came to me after I entered the other dimension," she waved her hands in embarrassment.


    "Why are you back in this dimension?" I wondered.


    "I''m here to watch over my older brother," she fidgeted with her hands.


    She looked down, blushing heavily before she laughed to cover it up. Maybe she was like me, a human being who had trouble with how she always shifted between the two dimensions. It explained everything since she had family here.


    When I sat up, she took my pillow and punched it, destroying it to the point that its feathers fell out from above me. With my senses finally hitting me, I rushed to stand, brushing the feathers out of my hair and dress. It was just then, my marble vibrated to show that Sienna had sent me a message.


    I frowned as she told them they would be coming here in ten minutes. I rushed to clean the bed to get rid of the evidence. However, we both froze when a couple walked into the abandoned part of the garden. Why were they here?


    "This is my older brother," she whispered into my ear.


    I could immediately see that they were somewhat related. Their lips curled up in the same places when they elegantly smiled. Large, bright eyes, bringing attention from their surroundings. He lent his hand to his partner, who walked with him.


    Although, it was unfortunate his looks couldn''t compare even a speckle to his younger sister. The little imperfections from his uneven eyes or the slightly off angles could be seen in comparison. He just seemed human with his features that made him more relatable.


    "I can''t believe he''s holding her hand," She smiled while kicking the bed, making it appear messier.


    "He made a promise that he would marry me when I grew up," she clenched her fists.


    "Isn''t he your brother?" I gulped when her fiery eyes were directed to me.


    "There''s no law that siblings can''t marry in the first district?" She appeared confused.


    "What about your partner?" I wondered since she came from the first district.


    "He just thinks I''m an extreme bro-con," she shrugged.


    In a way, I was envious of their strong relationship they had as siblings. Since I was separated from my younger twin brother at a young age, we were still awkward together. I could sense the fire in her eyes as she looked like she would jump at them in any minute.


    "You''re going to get caught," I held her back.


    "It would be better observing them from above or somehow become invisible," I muttered my thoughts out loud.


    "Oh! I have the perfect idea!" She quickly turned.


    "My speciality is air. I can form a cloud that both of us can get on to look over them," she chanted while waving her hands in a certain pattern.


    A fluffy cloud appeared with enough space for both of us. Once I got on the cloud, it started rising higher into the sky. It was softer than the blankets I rested in a few minutes ago. I laid down instead of sitting, looking down at the people below me.


    I would somehow catch up on my sleep on here instead. I hoped Sienna and Henry would be able to get rid of the bed in my stead. I was already far away from my original spot as the cloud smoothly moved to follow her brother and his partner.


    "You know everyone is considered to be somehow pretty in the first district. But no one has a good personality that comes close to my brother," she began her story.


    I nodded my head. It was like everyone''s outer appearance was a mask, underneath it was a power struggle against others. This was why Luke was distrustful of anyone not in his main fraction. And the exact reason why I hated attending social events like this one.


    "Won''t others be able to see us if we''re this low in the sky?" I found some of the guests looking up.


    "It''s ok, we won''t be discovered by my brother!" She grinned.


    Of course we wouldn''t be discovered by her brother. We were behind them, hidden only from their sight!


    What about me?

 Chapter 259 - Found Sleeping Beauty (10)

    "We''re going to get discovered if they notice the commotion behind them!" I shook her shoulders.


    "You know, sleeping beauty is my favourite story tale. My brother used to always read to me when we were younger," she seemed to be recalling her memories.


    "I always liked the part where the prince came to rescue the princess," she frowned as her brother smiled at his partner.


    "So what are we going to do?" I found her still staring at the same place.


    "I can add angel wings when you come down from the cloud. The cloud won''t last long. You can distract her and take her away from my brother," she came up with a horrible plan.


    I slumped down as we were now above the place with the most crowds in the garden. I sighed as I gave into her as I promised the fairy that I would watch over her in exchange for the spell. The only good thing was how Luke wasn''t there amongst them.


    "Is this part of the event?" One of the guests muttered.


    "The neutral fraction is really doing things differently this year," another person commented.


    I stretched my arms as I rose from my position of laying down on the cloud. As soon as I stood up, the cloud vanished as a large set of angel wings appeared behind me. Feathers fell onto the ground, likely from the ones I wasn''t able to dust off. We instantly grabbed everyone''s attention, including her brother and his partner. The large breeze appeared as the wings flapped, slowing me from landing on the ground.


    The girl hid behind my wings, watching it all happen as I served as the distraction. Both Ben and Alice appeared shocked like they didn''t know what to do anymore. Even Delia watched me, wordless as she soon unfroze to take care of the guests who couldn''t take their eyes off me. The angel wings immediately disappeared as soon as I landed on the ground.


    Her brother''s eyes widened as I grabbed onto his partner''s hand. Leading her away from him, creating a wide distance between them. I shot a glance at the girl to take care of the rest as I continued to drag her brother''s partner into the crowd.


    "Is this part of the event?" She paused.


    "I apologize. I accidentally grabbed onto the wrong person," I pretended to appear shocked.


    "For today, please stay a distance away from your partner," I warned her.


    "I apologize, but do we know each other from somewhere?" She seemed extremely confused.


    "We do, I know your partner!" I quickly made up an excuse.


    "And there''s someone targeting him today," I pretended to look around if anyone was listening.


    "But I thought you accidentally grabbed onto the wrong person?" She looked down at my hand that still held onto hers.


    What did she want me to say? I awkwardly smiled to get out of answering her question. Thankfully, Cillian walked towards us, interrupting our conversation.


    "Luke is looking for you," Cillian seemed to wonder why we were together.


    I took this chance to escape from the situation, "I apologize but it seems that my partner is looking for me."


    I left Cillian with the girl as I dashed to a less noticeable location. I could feel the stares coming behind my back from the guests from my flashy appearance. I smiled when I finally had the chance to check the messages in my marble. It was almost time for us to go to the next event.


    Unfortunately, I walked into Luke while I read the panicked messages from Sienna. In fact, the whole group was still together. Both Sienna and Henry appeared exhausted, the exact opposite state from when they have just woken up from taking their turns. However, I didn''t expect Charles to be with them.


    ''It couldn''t be that you saw everything?'' I shot her a glance.


    ''We saw everything,'' Sienna unfortunately nodded her head.


    "We did tell you that Rika was in the garden," Henry grumbled.


    "Please excuse us," Luke turned to drag me away from them.


    "What did I say before coming to the event?" He turned to me.


    "Don''t talk to the guests if possible, stay relatively unnoticed and message you or others in the neutral fraction if I need help," I repeated his words from this morning.


    "But I messaged the people in the neutral fraction," I pointed out I complied with one of his demands.


    "Let''s talk in the hover car," Luke noticed the others were listening to our conversation.


    He quickly sent a message to all the members of the neutral fraction that we would be leaving to attend another event. I was pulled into the hover car like Luke was afraid I would get into more trouble if he let go of me. And this all started with that girl I wouldn''t be able to watch over unless we attended another event together.


    [Everyone saw the bed] Sienna sent me a message just then.


    I sighed as it meant he knew everything that was going on. He probably already figured out everything was related to the beds. Why else would Henry be so desperate to cover for me? There were still signs of evidence behind the stage as well.


    "This will not happen in the next event. Do you understand Rika?" Luke''s face turned grim.

 Chapter 260 - Girl in Love (1)

    I slightly faltered as I walked towards the entrance of the Pelargonium family''s mansion. Getting changed inside the hover car was no easy task. Although my hair stayed the same, I wore a majestic pastel blue dress decorated with dazzling white embroidery, embedding in white gold. I was just glad it was less puffy than the other one as it dripped down to my knees.


    Yulee and Jules stood separately like there were two entrances. Yulee stood in front of the entrance to the outdoor area while Jules stood in front of the grand entrance of his mansion. It was like they predicted that the guests wouldn''t want to stay inside for the entire time.


    In a way, I was impressed that they already thought of something the neutral fraction wasn''t able to predict. The snow naturally fell into the barrier, something that the barrier usually blocked. However, I didn''t feel cold like they had manipulated the ones that came inside. I wondered if it was because of the snow, but I couldn''t find a single place that didn''t sparkle from the sunlight.


    "You''re here!" Shelly walked towards me.


    "I am," I separated from Luke to hug Shelly.


    We arrived a bit late as we spent a bit more time at Ben''s mansion than we were supposed to. Shelly let me go when my stomach grumbled, showing it already digested everything I ate for breakfast. I wondered if they would be serving lunch soon.


    "Lunch was served just before you came," Shelly frowned.


    What? There was no way I could skip lunch today. The last event sucked almost all of my energy out of me. Did Luke know we would be skipping lunch with the schedule he came up with? Was that why he ate some of my portion during breakfast?


    I walked into the banquet hall with Shelly. There had to be a buffet table somewhere. Ben''s mansion was the only exception last year that didn''t have one. My eyes glittered as there was a whole section dedicated to sliced pieces of strawberry shortcake. And none of them were touched by the guests from the power play!


    "Are you sure?" Shelly reminded me of the power struggle present in the hall.


    ''We''re in the same fraction, does it matter?" I whispered back.


    I brushed off Shelly''s worries, grabbing a small plate that was the size of my hand. I smiled as I took a bite of the shortcake. If I ate a few plates on the table, it would perfectly make up for my lost lunch. It was such a pity that food was considered to be part of the decorations here. But it was fortunate how I had the whole table for myself.


    "I didn''t think they were edible since no one went near the table," the same girl appeared to grab a plate.


    I stopped smiling as I didn''t think she would follow me here. I scanned the area if her brother was here and my shoulders almost crumbled when he socialized alone with his partner in the opposite end of the hall. I guessed she chose to listen to my warning.


    "These are really good!" She grabbed another plate.


    In no time, half of the table filled with cake was toppled with empty plates. Seeing that there was no more food, she quickly moved onto the bite-sized desserts on the opposite end. My lunch was now gone as she consumed the food at a scarily fast pace.


    However, when her brother started talking to another girl, she immediately dashed to abandon the table to listen to their conversation. This was more than having an extreme case of adoring her brother. Unfortunately, Alex walked towards us as soon as she left. His eyes slightly widened from the table, empty of its luscious food. It was obvious that no one expected the table to be touched by the guests.


    "It wasn''t me. It was one of the guests," I appeared unconvincing as I held a plate in one of my hands.


    Shelly nodded to agree, even though it was clear he didn''t believe us. Alex ordered the servants to remove the empty plates and replace the food. I sighed in relief as they really thought of everything that could happen.


    "Ri-ka," Alex took a glance at my plate.


    I quickly gobbled up the remainder of my cake, afraid that he would take it away from me. I passed the plate to one of the servants to get rid of the evidence as I swallowed the delicious cream that melted inside my mouth. It was clear that Alex wouldn''t let me near the buffet table in the future, I needed to get my source of energy when I could.


    "What do you want me to do?" I felt like I was getting falsely accused.


    "Luke wanted me to keep an eye on you when I could," Alex grimaced.


    I wondered how many people Luke asked with the same request. I turned to bump into the girl''s brother as he bumped into a decoration behind him in return. I wondered why he would come near the buffet table. Alex took a step back, putting the guest first while thinking the same thing.


    "I heard from my partner that you know me?" He brushed off the snow that fell onto him.


    "You told her to stay a distance away from me, saying I was a target for something," he explained.

 Chapter 261 - Girl in Love (2)

    I found the girl, a metre behind her brother, watching me. It wasn''t like I could tell him his sister was stalking him this entire time. I decided to keep the others safe, "please stay away from all the other girls. Please don''t look at them. Please only think about that precious person in your heart!"


    He stumbled a few steps back from my unusual warning as he heavily blushed, "is this a confession?"


    I froze as it did totally sound like a confession to him. I could see the girl staring at me with envy as her aura got stronger. This was not good.


    "Do you like younger girls?" I shot the girl a glare that I was helping her find out her brother''s preferences.


    "I don- ."


    "Ones with extraordinarily beautiful faces with model-like proportions?" I noticed the girl''s aura dimming from the mention of her appearance.


    "I''m not sure wh- ."


    "How about that someone who loves you to the point they think about you all day? To the point they don''t care about your fianc¨¦e because their life already revolves around you?" I deserved a medal for my perfect descriptions of her.


    "Wouldn''t that be a bit- ."


    "She loves you. She really does! Nothing else matters in the world," I didn''t mention i.n.c.e.s.t.


    This was the perfect timing for her to come in and confess. However, she just stayed in her original spot, watching everything unfold in front of her. What was she doing? I was creating that perfect opportunity for her.


    "What''s happening here?" Luke brightly smiled as he managed to get through the crowd to get to us.


    Really, why wasn''t she coming out? My jaw almost dropped as she adored his cute blushing face. It was like he took my reference to her as my confession like I was that third person who thought of him all day!


    "Your sister! Your younger sister!" I screamed.


    Unfortunately, my words were blocked as a sudden breeze whirled around where I was to mute my screams. I clenched my fists as it was totally the girl who manipulated the wind. She did say that her speciality was air.


    "He already knows," she sadly drifted towards me.


    When the wind died down, the decorations made of fragile glass began to fall onto me. She quickly jumped to escape from the glass as I was a second too late. I slumped onto the ground, squinting from the pain I felt on my ankle. Fortunately, only my ankle seemed to be injured from the falling decorations.


    Luke quickly chanted to return everything back to normal as the crowd began murmuring. While Alex started to clean up the rest of the mess, Luke dashed towards me to take a look at my injuries. When I took a closer look, I grimaced as the glass got into a deep part of my vein.


    With no hesitation, Luke pulled me into his arms to lift me into a princess carry when he stood up. He efficiently cruised his way through the crowd as he exited the banquet hall to walk to another room in the mansion. When he opened the door, I realized we were in the infirmary.


    I was placed on a bed as he got a set of tweezers out to start removing the glass shards. I winced as he began pulling out the glass from my vein. Blood poured down onto my shoes as the cuts were open without something stuck inside them.


    Luke opened the cabinet beside the bed, filled with more bottles of medicine like the ones in his mansion. I flinched as he opened the bottle to pour it onto my wounds. Why couldn''t he ever give me painkillers for this?


    I squeezed his other hand, trying to tolerate the pain. After the bottle was emptied, he started to wrap a bandage that camouflaged onto my skin. This was when I decided I wouldn''t be helping her out with her ''romance'' anymore. I was only told to watch over her and that was what I was going to do from now on.


    "Stay in the infirmary until we go to the next event. We won''t be able to rest there as they''re planning to officially name us as their successors," Luke finished tending to my wounds.


    For once, I didn''t mind staying in the infirmary. It was the perfect chance to catch up on my sleep I wasn''t able to get during my turn. Luke left to help Alex with the mess the girl created. I laid down on the bed, facing the ceiling, organizing my thoughts.


    I flinched when the girl suddenly appeared in front of me. She guiltily looked at my injuries, "I didn''t mean to hurt you. It''s just hard sometimes, trying to control my powers."


    "I know you were trying to help me, but I got a little jealous when I saw you talking to him," she appeared like she was trying to apologize.


    "Look. I don''t think I can help you anymore," I stared at my ankle.


    "It''s just that no one deserves my brother as much as I do. There''s no one who knows him like I do. Our relationship changed ever since he got engaged to her. He used to only look at me. He stopped patting my head once he entered kindergarten, patting hers instead whenever she whined," she seemed upset.

 Chapter 262 - Girl in Love (3)

    "He gently smiled at her, stroking her back whenever she cried that she missed her parents. All those gentles smiles used to be mine. But he actually dared to frown at me when I said she''s not part of our family yet!" She covered her ears.


    Tears fell from her eyes as she continued, "he started ignoring me as she took all of his attention. Instead, he always made the excuse that I was too young to understand. That a prince of my own would come to me someday."


    The air pressure quickly rose as another sudden strong breeze appeared in the room. She was just like me in early elementary school, struggling to control her powers with the vast amount of mana she possessed once a spell activated. Although, I couldn''t remember being as bad as her where the wind was getting strong as a whip.


    I flew off the bed, grabbing onto the clothes on the mattress from getting blasted onto the wall behind me. She appeared more and more upset as she went over her memories of her brother starting to focus more on his partner. The entire room shook as my fingers unclasped, making me slam against the wall.


    She stopped when she noticed me coughing blood from the impact. A large crater was created from the slam as my body slid down onto the floor. My body became briefly paralyzed as she looked at me in horror.


    "I''m sorry. I really am. I think I should leave," she vanished into thin air.


    Jules opened the door after she left. His eyes widened as he had originally come to check the source that created the loud sound that rang inside the entire mansion. All the decorations on the wall crashed down onto the floor. Some frames shattered while the cabinet was toppled, facing the ceiling sideways.


    My dress was ruined as my hands cupped my own blood from my coughs. He rushed towards me, checking my injuries. It was likely I had a few broken bones this time. Most of that wind was targeted towards me. I couldn''t raise my head, feeling like a broken doll.


    "You''re going to be okay Rika. Luke is going to kill me if you''re not," Jules appeared worried.


    "So don''t close your eyes Rika," his voice increasingly became more concerned.


    Jules stiffened at the sounds of footsteps heading towards the room. It was likely Luke, who came to check up on me. Jules switched his position to kneel down in front of me.


    "I took care of most of the guests," Luke opened the door at the worst timing.


    "What happened?" He coldly asked his cousin.


    Luke instantly noticed the crater I was in front of in addition to the decorations that slipped into my lap that Jules didn''t get rid of yet. He lightly pushed Jules out of the way to take a closer look at my injuries. Jules stayed silent as he began to clean the floor, full of dangerous shards of glass and other pointy objects.


    Not even ten minutes had passed since he left the infirmary after he took care of my injured ankle. No wonder that fairy needed someone to look over her. She unintentionally created trouble everywhere she went!


    Luke sighed in relief as he discovered most of my injuries came from the crash. He used his mana to conduct heal as I felt something akin to warm honey repairing most of my bones. He finally stopped using his mana when he began to slightly tether from spending too at once. I sent some strength to my head, finally able to raise my head to my surprise.


    I was able to move again from Luke''s sacrifice. I got up to stand with Luke''s support, not letting him go like he was my lifeline. When I looked in the mirror, we both looked extremely exhausted to the point like we haven''t slept for a month.


    "That guest. He''s targeted by someone," I repeated.


    "I tried to warn him," I told them.


    This time, both Luke and Jules believed my words. There would be no way I would injure myself by summoning a tornado into the room. It wasn''t a confession but was a warning to everyone around him.


    She was incredibly unstable as her emotions fluctuate every minute. I didn''t want to imagine what would happen if he talked to another girl, creating another chaotic scene. Jules chanted a spell to clean my dress, getting rid of all the blood stains. Making sure I was in his sight, Luke offered me his arm as he helped me walk to the banquet hall.


    I froze when I faced the girl''s brother right when I entered the hall, it was like he was searching for me. I didn''t want to be even a centimetre close to him, afraid that the girl would slam me into another wall. Like I predicted, she hid behind a corridor, watching us interact.


    This time, she appeared like she had a tighter control on her emotions. She gritted her teeth as her brother flushed pink. And it wasn''t like I could just ignore him as one of the sub hosts of this event.


    My jaw almost dropped as he opened his mouth to say the most atrocious thing, "Thank you for your confession. You''re actually my ideal type as I like younger girls with a delicate face and features like yours."

 Chapter 263 - Girl in Love (4)

    I looked down, not wanting to see that girl''s expression. When I finally had the courage to look at her face, she looked like she was burning with jealousy. I hugged her brother, making him duck when a highly pressurized arrow made from air headed towards my throat. Her brother trembled, finding himself really a target.


    Luke instantly scanned the room to find the source of where the arrow had come from. I immediately let go of him when a sharp piece of glass dashed towards my heart. He froze as he found himself close to death in the last few seconds. I needed to get as far away from him as possible.


    But instead, I pushed him down to the ground when a dagger shook out of the wall to cut a strand of my hair in the process. I knew it wasn''t just me when I thought it was aimed towards the middle of my neck. Everyone stepped more than a few steps away from us as they watched us almost get butchered to death from the last several attacks.


    "Please say you hate me. Please tell her you despise me with all your heart. Or else she won''t give up on me," I pleaded.


    "But I can''t. I would be lying to say that I hate and despise you," he looked up at me.


    Did that girl know that her brother was a total player? I did notice most of the people he talked with were other girls, but I didn''t think it would be this bad. I sighed as this was increasingly becoming more and more hopeless.


    Luke immediately tugged me into another direction as the buffet table collapsed, making all the plates and wine glasses topple towards where I used to stand. Her brother, who had fast reflexes, escaped to the same spot as us. Maybe Ben''s fraction was correct to not have a buffet table in the middle of the ballroom.


    "Who else do you like?" I brightly smiled.


    "What do you mean? Isn''t it too cruel to accuse me when I just accepted your confession?" He crossed his arms.


    I continued my smile as I chanted a spell to amplify his voice. Everyone inside the grounds of the mansion should have heard his voice. Let her brother burn into hell from his affairs! I had to make her give up on her love for him. He frowned as if he didn''t know what I was talking about. It was right then, a girl came marching towards us, slapping his cheek.


    "You told me that I was the only one. You told me that your partner was nothing to you," she screamed.


    I started to pity his partner as she watched the entire thing in the front lines inside the crowd. It was just then, another girl sprinted to kick him in the shin. My eyes widened as he didn''t only have one affair.


    "There was another person in our relationship? I even got in trouble with my partner''s family because of you!" she continued to kick him in the same spot.


    It was a total love square like he had a harem. He had the typical obsessive younger sister, the sub heroine who was also deeply in love with him, the elegant girl who was starting to give up everything to be with him, and his original partner. His partner smirked as she watched the whole thing unravel.


    She looked like she was having the time of her life as she enjoyed the scene in front of her. I didn''t think anyone would have an affair in the first district since everyone was engaged to someone. But Shelly did mention to me before that some people did date before they got married to their original partner with their partner''s consent.


    "To think I ever loved sc.u.m like you," a girl cried.


    I searched for the younger sister to find her bored with the scene. It appeared like she didn''t mind her brother getting beaten up since the incident was separating him from the rest of his harem. It was like she already knew about the existence of his harem!


    "Is this common?" I whispered into Luke''s ear.


    Luke watched the whole scene with extreme disapproval. He especially looked at the boy like he was less than a bug. With the whole crowd observing the scene with a lot of gossip, it showed it was something rare.


    "I was going to tell you that I''m pregnant. I''m three weeks in," she threw the papers onto the ground.


    I couldn''t hold in my gasp. This was on a whole other level. It was like I was watching a soap opera from my former life. Was that girl ok?


    "I threw some drugs earlier this morning in her drink," the younger sister suddenly came from behind.


    "She''ll lose her child soon," she shrugged.


    One thing I knew for sure was that the younger sister was crazier than her older brother. The best thing I could do to protect myself was to avoid the both of them as much as possible. I pitied all the three girls in his harem, not knowing the fourth heroine.


    Although the brother deserved to be the target, I felt bad for all the people in their surroundings who got swept up in this mess. I tightened my grasp on Luke''s arm as I hoped she would soon walk away from me.

 Chapter 264 - Boy in Love (1)

    I watched Yulee comfort both of the girls with the older brother''s partner. Jules immediately kicked the girl''s older brother out of the event. The younger sister smiled before she disappeared to follow him out.


    "He said he would marry me soon since we would be graduating from university in a few months," she almost choked.


    I couldn''t open my mouth to tell her that she would be losing her baby soon. She already looked so terribly miserable as her makeup became a mess in front of an entire crowd. I decided to send her a message later as I wrote a note addressed to her name. Yulee had asked her which family she came from, giving me a chance to know her full name.


    "Will she be okay?" I worried for her.


    "I hope so," Shelly watched over her with me.


    "I told you that guy is trash!" a boy came out of the crowd.


    Was that boy the crying girl''s partner? He came to cover her from the crowd as he took off his jacket. It was clear that everyone blamed everything on the older brother.


    "You''re here!" The older brother''s partner reached out to hug him instead of the other girl.


    "I am," he tightly hugged her in return.


    "How do you know my partner?" the girl stopped crying.


    "We''re dating," she apologetically smiled.


    I guessed they were both cheating on each other. The elegant girl already left the banquet hall quietly with her partner, pretending that they weren''t a part of this mess. Eventually the crowd dispersed, choosing to give them some space. Although the gossip about them didn''t decrease.


    I didn''t remember the last social week to be this chaotic. Since the chance of me getting injured was higher inside the mansion, Luke led me outdoors. It was a pity that this part of the mansion grounds was almost empty as everyone gathered to watch that dramatic scene.


    He hesitated in leaving me alone as Yulee called for him to help them with the guests indoors. Luke shot a look at Shelly to look out for me as he reluctantly left. It wasn''t like I couldn''t understand. Unfortunately, I was strung inside the centre of these events without even knowing it.


    "How do you know Ella?" Another person suddenly appeared in front of me.


    Shelly almost screamed in surprise. By now, I was already used to people suddenly appearing from behind. It was better than accidentally travelling between dimensions.


    "Who''s Ella?" I was genuinely confused.


    "The girl you talked to. The girl who''s obsessed with her older brother," he frowned.


    "How do you know her?" I stepped away from him.


    "She''s my partner," he stepped towards me.


    "I really don''t know who she is. She just came up to me to ask some things about her brother," I shot a glance at Shelly to quickly bring Luke.


    Shelly nodded her head and dashed towards the banquet hall. He gave out a dangerous aura like Ella. Every step was filled with power, surrounded by pure mana. And unfortunately, all of that power as directed towards me.


    "She won''t talk to me. Only praising her older brother! It''s been years since she directly looked at my face," he seemed upset.


    "But how are you closer to Ella than her partner who she''s been with for years!" His voice had a faint hint of anger.


    The string of bright lights detached from its original post, wrapping around my neck. Why did every event have to have so many dangerous decorations? Didn''t they know stuff like this could be used to kill someone?


    How was it my fault that I was tasked to look over someone? I didn''t do anything except talk to her while I tried to avoid her as much as possible. My fingers attempted to pull off the wires trying to choke me to death.


    At the same time, all the decorations toppled over each other like a domino from his insane power. He couldn''t possibly be a human being, could he? I didn''t know there were so many powerful people in the first district. I guessed this was the difference between the a.d.u.l.ts who could tap into their full potential versus the children who were still growing into their powers.


    I started to float in the air, still struggling to prevent the cable from digging into my neck. Meanwhile, all the other decorations began to float with me, creating chaos. Alex was the first to come outside as Shelly ran behind him.


    "Can you understand? It wasn''t my fault. I don''t know why she still avoids me like a plague. I tried apologizing to her," He stared at me like he was accusing me of something.


    I twisted and kicked my feet as he soon disappeared while his spell still remained. I finally found someone worse than Ella. At least Ella tried to control her emotions and got rid of the spell when she left. A few guests who noticed the scene outside the window screamed in fear. When Luke saw me getting choked to death in the air, he dashed outside.


    Meanwhile, both Shelly and Alex finally unfroze from their spots. Alex immediately called for a hover car as he soon got inside with Shelly. Unfortunately, the hover car couldn''t travel through all the decorations acting like a barrier from them getting closer.


    My head felt faint as I remembered the fairy''s words.


    ''Please take care of the children.''

 Chapter 265 - The Hunt (10)

    I was stunned when I crashed into an underground cave, not expecting to dig this far. Finding the hole to be spared, I sighed in relief, realizing the game had already ended for today. I immediately summoned Micah, wanting more advice. Micah came within a second, answering my prayers. In my pitiful state, I turned to him, "where is this place?"


    "You''re inside another space, almost acting like another dimension. You should be careful, the time difference between the surface and here can drastically affect your life," he warned me.


    "I hid inside a hole to escape from the hunter. I dug deeper until I ended up here, the hunter discovering my location towards the end of the game," I explained.


    "This was extremely risky. If the hunter discovered you earlier, you could have died from the entire ground pressuring you with its weight," Micah thought I was reckless.


    "Is there anything precious here? Something I could take with me?" I wondered.


    "You could own this entire space. I can help you enter it into your inventory. This is the rule that comes with this land for undiscovered areas," he suggested.


    "Will I be able to come back here again?" I thought it would be a waste not to explore this place.


    "It will be easily accessible. Just tap on the item inside your inventory and you will find yourself here again. This is specially developed by fairies, not known by humans yet," Micah mumbled to place it inside my bracelet.


    My wrist began to glow, heavily filled with mana. Warmth came in and out of me until Micah finished with the spell, helping me relax. At least I was able to achieve a space for myself, somewhere I could be temporarily freed from my chains for a while. I slightly smiled, lifting my head, "should I teleport back to the surface?"


    "No time should have passed since you entered the cave. I manipulated it once you summoned me," Micah disappeared into the other dimension.


    I mumbled to teleport to the area above my hole, surprised when my surroundings were completely ruined. The mansion was lit on fire, much worse than Oili''s mansion. Its walls continued to crumble down, the roof slowly crashing with it. Wasn''t it supposed to be a simple earthquake? I coughed from the smoke drifting into my nose, my eyes becoming watery. My mind was still confused, finding myself in a wasteland from what used to be a beautiful garden.


    "Rika?" Alex instantly found me.


    "We''re going home now," he focused on dragging me into our hover car.


    "You found her?" Ethan ran to join us.


    "Can I purchase your garden?" I tried to talk to him.


    "You can visit our mansion to continue your conversation," Alex decided we had to escape first.


    From my begging eyes, Ethan reluctantly joined us, entering the same hover car. Looking down at the utterly destroyed mansion grounds, I discovered we were the last ones to escape. Everyone else had already escaped like I predicted, Ethan only staying behind as the owner of the mansion as part of his duty. In case, there could be ownership issues, I needed to purchase his garden for that cave. There had to be something valuable inside there, a great source of income once I managed to open my own bank account, separate from the Roselia family.


    "Can I purchase your garden?" I repeated.


    "You can take the entire place. It''s almost worthless now after the guests directly experienced the danger," Ethan transferred the ownership to me without any questions.


    "We can''t accept this. Please let us pay you the market value," Alex immediately wrote a number on the cheque.


    "Wait, I''m paying for the ownership," I handed Ethan an elixir.


    "This costs around a trillion Aris in this dimension," I explained.


    "What?" Ethan pushed the elixir to me back.


    "Accept it. Do it for me, your childhood friend," I pleaded to him to take it.


    "I''ll give you the remaining money after finding out the true value," Ethan placed it inside his inventory, noticing my eyes welled with pitiful tears.


    Once the ownership issues were fully resolved, I happily revealed, "I found an underground cave after digging into the ground."


    "It almost acts like another dimension, the time difference being present. Plus, it fully belongs to me and not the Roselia family," I almost hummed.


    "What is your name?" Alex started to resemble Luke.


    "Rika," I didn''t include my other names.


    "You are Rika de Impalia Roselia. You belong to the Roselia family whether you want it or not. Who do you think raised you?" He tried to point out.


    "I belong to myself and why would I reveal the location of the cave to you? It''s a good hideout," I had the upper hand.


    "If I reveal everything to Luke, you won''t be ever allowed to leave the school or mansion again. I can convince our grandparents to move your days of freedom further away," Alex warned me.


    "It was a lie, you don''t have any evidence that I have it," I regretted telling him about it.


    "If you reveal everything to Luke, I''m jumping out of this hover car," I had a counter measure.


    "Try it, I locked all the doors. They won''t open for you," Alex was unfazed.


    "Swear on your family name you won''t tell Luke anything about what happened today, and I''ll give you the cave," I spat the words out for my legendary item.

 Chapter 265 - Boy in Love (2)

    I continued to twist my body to get out of the cables. It was very unfortunate that things from a technological advanced district were unbreakable. They could market their durability rather than their other features to use as weapons in the future. I was sure even monsters could die from them.


    My eyes slightly widened when some of the decorations started to crash towards the ground. It looked like he didn''t have the power to keep the spell for a long period of time. Losing the strength in the rest of my body, I fell towards the ground. Luke kept his eye on me walking a few steps back and forth as he followed where the wind took me.


    My body slumped as it somehow managed to safely land in his arms. It was a very close call. I now had two people to look over instead of one. Both were equally as dangerous and could be comparable to the s-class monsters. And it appeared I was the target for one of them.


    "Can you check the guest list?" Luke asked Jules when we were near the entrance.


    Jules frantically searched for the guest list inside his marble while both Shelly and Alex returned to the banquet hall to calm down the rest of the guests. It was clear that Luke wasn''t feeling lenient towards Jules anymore. Jules was main owner of the mansion and the main host of this event. He was supposed to know everything and everyone that went in and out his family''s mansion.


    "I don''t want to go inside," I shook my head.


    This mansion was one of the most dangerous places I have been inside. Who knew what would happen the longer I stayed? I shivered from the thought from him suddenly appearing in front of me again. He was obviously crazily in love with Ella, blind to her faults.


    "Only a few more hours Rika," Luke''s voice softened.


    "Do you know who it could be on the list?" He turned to ask Jules.


    "I don''t know. I think I have to search through the directory," Jules carefully looked towards Luke.


    "Can I leave without you?" I suggested.


    Unfortunately, I knew Luke couldn''t leave his main fraction''s event. However, I didn''t think I was bound to the same expectations. There was no way Jules could find the culprit anyways since he never took a clear look at his face. Plus, I had no idea what his name was and which family he came from.


    Luke frowned like he was actually considering if he should just leave the event. Unlike the others in his fraction, we belonged to more than one. Jules started to panic as he blurted out, "please don''t leave. We won''t be able to cover up the mess without you."


    "I''ll make sure to look over Rika in your place," Jules pitifully pleaded.


    Luke sighed as he gave in to his cousin. I slipped out of his arms as I decided to walk on my own to prevent me from gaining any more attention. Once I stepped into the ballroom, I carefully walked around, avoiding the walls and lighting dripping from the ceiling. Everything appeared dangerous inside the banquet hall.


    Yulee called for Luke, leaving me alone with Jules in less than a minute. There was awkward silence looming between us. The feeling of betrayal from the incident in the second district still remained inside my heart. Maybe this was why I was feeling more merciless towards him.


    I grabbed a drink from the waiter, studying the drink if there was anything inside. I shivered when I recalled Ella putting something in that girl''s drink. It was a hard decision whether to fulfill my thirst or tolerate my dry throat for safety instead.


    "Are your drinks safe?" I turned to Jules.


    Jules looked at me like he was a bit surprised from my question. He waved his hand over the drink, checking if there was anything unexpected. To be exact, he appeared a little offended as he didn''t find anything, "it''s safe."


    "Are you sure?" I couldn''t trust him.


    "The drinks are safe Rika," Jules started to search the directory.


    I wondered if it was just me. It was strange that there were tiny white powders suddenly coming from above to land inside my drink. I scanned the area to search for the culprit as I suddenly noticed the boy sitting alone.


    I couldn''t believe he was still here. Now that I could take a closer look at him, he also resembled the fairy who asked for the favour. His blazing blue eyes noticed my stare as he turned his face towards me. He mouthed, ''can you come?''


    "There''s a suspicious person right over there," I pulled on Jules'' sleeve.


    "Stay right here. I''ll come right back," Jules walked towards the direction I pointed.


    I gasped as the boy disappeared from his spot. Instead, he was right in front of me like before. I instantly regretted letting Jules leave as I was alone to fend for myself. But unlike before, the boy stuck to the proper etiquette.


    "I apologize. Sometimes I get a bit out of control when it comes to Ella," He slightly bowed.


    "It''s not alright. I can''t accept your apology. You see, apologizing doesn''t mean someone will forgive you for almost choking them to death," I crossed my arms.


    "But you got to talk to her when I wasn''t able to for this entire time!" He whined.


    "Isn''t that your problem?" I wasn''t going to continue being swept up in his problems.

 Chapter 266 - Boy in Love (3)

    "You must have done something horrible to her to the point she''s not willing to talk to you," I thought out loud.


    When he stayed silent, I knew I hit the mark. I did wonder what happened between them, but not enough to be further entangled in their problems with them. I started to walk away, not willing to continue this conversation anymore.


    "Wait!" He yelled.


    "Can you help me with Ella? I promise I''ll stay away from you after I get the chance to talk to her," he quickly grabbed onto one of my hands.


    "Look. I can''t help you and I''m not willing to help you as well," I tried to take his hand off me.


    "I already promised to help her with her romance with her brother," I made up an excuse when his grip on me tightened.


    "You did what?" He raised his voice.


    I screamed as the wine glass shattered in my hands. In fact, the entire chandelier above me shook like crazy. I froze when one of its chains snapped one by one. I was going to die at this rate. I tried to shake his hand off as he viciously stared at me in a new light.


    I waved my hand, chanting a barrier. My eyes widened as the entire chandelier dropped onto where I stood like I predicted. Cracks began to form on my weak barrier as its huge weight leaned with the force of gravity. And of course, he had to disappear on his own while I was left to quickly slip out of this situation.


    I immediately found a hole in the chandelier, a perfect place to stand without any of its pieces falling on top of me. When my barrier shattered, I sighed in relief as I was able to get to that spot in time. This was exactly why I tried to stay outside.


    However, my vision wavered as I couldn''t escape from the aftereffects of crystals splattering into my direction. Some of the crystals must have gone into my eye. Instead of tears of salty water coming down my cheeks, they were tears of blood. I chanted a water spell to quickly wash the tiny pieces of crystals out of my eyes.


    Thankfully, it appeared none of the guests were injured. The chandelier''s pure target was me, the only one who received its impact. Jules dashed towards me, noticing the mess I was in the middle of. He gulped as this all happened when he left me alone for less than five minutes at most.


    "I knew the drinks weren''t safe," I muttered.


    "This entire mansion isn''t safe. There''s too many potential weapons here," I started to limp towards him.


    It was just like Luke to come at such a good timing. He watched Jules trying to get to me while avoiding the broken chandelier. At this rate, I only trusted the school and Luke''s family mansion that had an impenetrable barrier. It could probably filter out suspicious people with its first layer.


    "I only left her alone for four minutes," Jules helped me escape from the middle of the chandelier.


    I pushed Jules down with me, sliding onto the polished floor when I noticed a dagger rushing towards his head, which was in front of mine. I cried in pain as my injuries got worse as a result. Jules got up first, still confused about what happened. There was no way he could anticipate the lingering aftereffects that came from their emotions.


    Sometimes, it was totally random. I learned to study for signs like looking for few objects that ever so slightly trembled when they were supposed to be fixed to the wall. It was almost a rollercoaster ride. After a huge event, there were tinier attacks that came after them as if a few ugly memories suddenly came back to them.


    No matter what happened, I was totally never ever going to help him. From what I could see, he deserved the treatment he got from Ella. Although Jules was a victim in this as well, I didn''t feel like forgiving him. He could''ve made the environment safer by placing more harmless decorations.


    "I told you to not leave Rika alone," Luke trembled from anger.


    "What part of not leaving her alone did you not get?" He raised his voice as he helped me get up.


    A mass wave of guests began to leave the mansion instead of choosing to watch the spectacle. After watching the two incidents, none of the guests wanted to become the next victim. Both Shelly and Alex let them leave as it was better than watching Luke and Jules about to get into a fight. Meanwhile, Yulee rushed to leave a better impression on the guests by helping them leave like it was an evacuation.


    "I''m sorry. Not everyone can predict that the chandelier that''s been here for hundreds of years can come crashing down," Jules still seemed utterly shocked from the unfolded episode.


    "It''s not even the chandelier. Rika has been constantly targeted ever since we arrived here. There was nothing like this in the neutral fraction in the morning," Luke placed all the blame on Jules.


    Luke frowned as he studied my injuries for the nth time today. It was likely he had already used up most of his mana when he used heal on me earlier in the day. His slender fingers began plucking the crystals that dug into my skin even deeper when I pushed Jules away from harm.

 Chapter 267 - Boy in Love (4)

    The whole banquet hall remained silent until Luke was able to wrap some bandages around the upper part of my body after pushing himself to use more heal on me. When Jules offered to help, Luke glared at him to stay away. Meanwhile, Alex also pushed himself to use heal on me on my lower half, seeing I would be dangerously close to dying from blood loss.


    "Can you search the mansion one last time?" Yulee asked Jules to scan for more death traps.


    Compared to me who was almost healed, there were purple bruises on Jules'' arm from when we both slided on the ground. There were also some red scr.a.p.es and scars as we landed on the crystal shards. But I couldn''t pity him as I was the one who suffered the most from his carelessness.


    "I don''t think we can attend another event hosted in this mansion," Luke turned to Yulee.


    "From tomorrow, Jules and I will be hosting the event in one of my family''s mansions a day earlier than planned," Yulee threw an apologetic glance towards him.


    "Can I get the details of the environment inside your mansion?" I spoke up.


    There was no way I was attending another event with a bunch of dangerous props. Either Ella or the boy would be able to freely manipulate them according to their will. Yulee hesitated before she showed her screen with all the details.


    "Yup. I''m definitely not attending this one as well," I refused.


    I noticed a big problem in the layout. There were a bunch of purple and white crystals both outside and inside the banquet hall. What would happen if someone lifted up the boulders and crushed someone as a result?


    Another issue was how there was also a fountain of drinks as they were automatically filled. What would happen if one of the glasses shook, making the entire structure collapse on someone on either side? Plus, the walls had amazingly bright candle lights instead of the ones powered by mana like today.


    These things were dangerous on a whole other level. I shuddered when I thought of that incident of almost burning down the entire school. But this time, the whole mansion could burn down with their guests. Fire was easily manipulable, and I still didn''t know that boy''s specialty yet. It could be a disaster if the fire rapidly spread to other mansions in the process, destroying social week altogether.


    "Do I have to go?" I asked Luke with the saddest voice.


    "They have large ice blocks inside their mansion. What if someone manipulated the ice and crushed one of the guests in the process? There''s also a lot of vases in the banquet hall as well. What if one of the vases fell on someone?" I pointed out some things that came to my head.


    Shelly trembled, recalling all the events that happened to me today. The room went back into its awkward silence as everything I mentioned could really happen during the next event. Anything was possible when there were guests with an enormous supply of mana that couldn''t be controlled.


    "I don''t think we can attend your other events as well," Luke agreed with me.


    "Do we have to go as well?" Shelly shivered.


    Even Shelly appeared like she didn''t want to attend. When I took a glance at Alex, it looked like he agreed with Shelly as he stayed silent. It was likely the other thoughts that appeared in my head also popped in their minds as well.


    "We can''t change everything in the last minute," Yulee sighed.


    "At least get rid of the candles. Fire is easily manipulatable," I gave her some advice.


    Everyone froze from my advice. The four of us had actually experienced going through a fire before. One tiny mistake could spell an entire disaster that we wouldn''t be able to take back. Yulee''s eyes widened as she carefully went over the entire design plan again.


    "You should really get rid of the candles," Alex warned her when we noticed she was hesitant.


    "I couldn''t find anything," Jules came to interrupt at an extremely bad timing.


    "I think you should cancel the event altogether," I said from Jules'' appearance.


    "Do you know the repercussions from what you just said?" Yulee appeared a bit offended.


    I opened my mouth to say all my thoughts about the fountain of glass cups, the crystal boulders, the sharp gems laying down to stab someone, and more. By the time I was done, it was clear that nobody thought about all the decorations to this extent. And nobody could disagree against what I have just said.


    I was sure I missed some, but it appeared like they had gotten the point. Shelly looked at both Yulee and Jules in a new light. She shifted closer towards us, standing quite a distance away from them. Even Alex shuffled a few steps away from them.


    "My brother will also host for our fraction during the other days," Luke had the heart to comfort them.


    It was clear that Luke also agreed with cancelling the event altogether. That way, it would bring less damage to the fraction as a whole. Although, even I knew it would bring both the reputation of the Pelargonium and Niflheimr families down.


    "Even if you choose to continue the event, we won''t be going," Luke still supported me so I could stand with him.

 Chapter 268 - Boy in Love (5)

    "I don''t think we can attend as well," Alex pointed out Shelly trembling from the thought of attending.


    "Are you really not able to attend?" Jules tried to switch their minds.


    "Mother always said to put our safety first," Alex accused them for not taking enough measures.


    Luke nodded his head to agree. Ever since we were stuck together, he always prioritized my health over trying to gain more points. Yulee appeared like she was about to cry as she struggled to make a concrete decision. I pitied her as I knew how much effort went into planning the event. Their families placed so much pressure on them since it was also part of a power play.


    "Let''s just cancel the event Yulee," Jules tried to comfort her by rubbing her back.


    "My older brother won''t let me go for this," she clenched her fists.


    "It''s better than something terrible happening like today," Jules reminded her.


    "What would happen if everything that Rika said actually came true?"


    There was no better way to convince someone than showing the victim who survived through the exact incidents. I wouldn''t be able to walk without all the bandages that temporarily covered all the wounds. Plus, I mostly leaned on Luke for support.


    "We''ll cancel the event. We''ll cancel it," Her head slumped towards the floor.


    "Please excuse me," she left us to run to another room.


    Jules awkwardly smiled as he excused himself as well to handle the rest of the mess. His mansion wouldn''t be available for more guests who could be heading towards us. The floors were still full of dangerous weapons and shards of broken crystals and glass.


    "Are you really a target?" Alex warily sneaked a glance at Luke before asking.


    "I wasn''t the original target. It was that guy who Jules kicked out a few hours ago," I began to explain.


    "That guy''s younger sister is Ella. She follows him around, making sure no girls can get near him or this happens," I pointed at myself.


    "But there''s another guy who follows Ella around without her knowing it. He''s her partner. And I''m his target since I''m the only chance he has for him to get through to her," I still couldn''t believe this was happening to me.


    The three of them appeared stunned from my brief explanation. It was like everything that happened was starting to sink inside their heads as if they made sense now. It was likely that everything happened here would repeat again as long as we ran into each other at the same events.


    "Was it him?" Shelly referred to the time someone suddenly appeared in front of us. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/boy-in-love-(5)_48810146809301317 for visiting.


    I sadly nodded my head. Maybe the three of them were attending another event together, creating more chaos I didn''t know about in the process. At least I was still safe here since they all left.


    "Be careful to not eat or drink anything inside this mansion. My drink exploded, not the glass," I warned them.


    "Let''s leave Rika," Luke looked like he didn''t want to stay in such a horrible place anymore.


    "We can go to the Impalia event a bit earlier than planned," Luke called for the hover car.


    I waved farewell to Shelly as both of them shuddered from the realization that nothing was safe here. I limped with Luke who tried to push most of my weight towards him until he helped me get into the hover car. I relaxed inside the hover car, slumping in my seat as Luke didn''t reprimand me like usual.


    When the hover car drifted down near the mansion, I gasped. The Impalia mansion was much smaller than I thought it would be. It was a quarter of the size of the mansion we had just left. Since it was not evening yet, there were no guests inside the mansion grounds.


    Noticing the Roselia crest on the hover car, the gates opened to welcome us in. Yulian pushed the doors open, wondering why we were here earlier than planned. Claire dashed towards the entrance to greet us, abandoning the evidence they were still setting up the event.


    "What happened?" She instantly noticed me covered by bandages.


    "Can we change for the event in your mansion?" Luke threw them an apologetic smile.


    "Of course!" Claire ran to show us to an empty room.


    Both Yulian and Claire didn''t ask about all the blood stains covering our clothes. Instead, they focused on finishing the last-minute details as they only had an hour before it started. After we changed into our clothes, we found both Claire and Yulian running around to hang the rest of the decorations.


    "Can you heal Rika?" Claire asked Yulian as soon as we came out of the room.


    I sat on a chair while Luke unwrapped one of the bandages. Unfortunately, they were only able to heal the surface. Yulian''s face stayed emotionless as his hand hovered over my wound to begin the spell. After unwrapping a total of five bandages, Yulian appeared as exhausted as Luke did earlier in the day.


    "Can I help?" Luke offered to help in his place to give him a chance to rest.


    "Can you put some more posters of cards on this part of the wall?" Claire didn''t hesitate to take Luke''s offer.


    "I can''t use heal anymore," Yulian stared at the reminder of bandages on my legs.

 Chapter 269 - Boy in Love (6)

    The moderate sized ballroom was slightly separated into tinier sections with the huge cards that acted as the wall. In general, there weren''t many decorations like the prior parties we attended. It was the safest mansion to be in as the chance of anyone able to manipulate something was relatively low. Even if they floated something in the air, it was likely their attack would be almost harmless.


    "We''re going to greet the guests at the entrance while you can take over the ballroom," Claire told us what was going to happen for the first part of the event.


    "Most of the guests will arrive in the next hour. It won''t be like the other events you attended so far since there is a limited number of invitations we hand out," she explained.


    I was starting to like Claire more and more. Since the number of invitations were limited, there was no way Ella''s older brother would be able to attend. Meaning the three of them wouldn''t be able to enter this mansion.


    We stood in our places as Yulian pushed to open the grand doors. A screen hovered above the grand doors, showing who was allowed to come inside the gates. Claire pressed the button as she checked off the people on the guest list to control the gates. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/boy-in-love-(6)_48811484406412465 for visiting.


    "Thank you for coming," Claire elegantly smiled.


    "Only fraction leaders are allowed to attend from both the major and minor ones," Luke whispered into my ear.


    Unlike Claire''s expectations, the room quickly filled up. In less than ten minutes, Yulian closed the doors while Claire placed the button into her inventory. Although I could spot the guests below us, the guests couldn''t see us through the curtains.


    "We decided to start the event off with an announcement. If you haven''t heard already, we have picked our successors this month," Claire waved her hand so the curtain would part.


    Both Luke and I stood on top of the stairs, the small area of the second floor. I smiled as I spotted Haruka, Ben, Alice, Lucius and Belle inside the crowd. It appeared that no one wanted to miss attending their event.


    "I introduce you to our successors, Rika de Impalia Roselia and Luke de Impalia Roselia," Claire declared in front of a small crowd.


    "It is our honor to join the Impalia fraction as the successor," I slightly bowed.


    Luke offered me his hand as we walked down the stairs to join Claire and Yulian. Since we got the most important part over with, the rest wouldn''t be as hard. Haruka and his partner were the first to approach the four of us. It was expected since Claire and Yulian were also part of their fraction as well.


    "It''s like we''re at another fraction meeting," Haruka smiled.


    Since Claire and Yulian were representing the Impalia fraction, they didn''t respond. Instead, they continued to smile. Responding meant that the Impalia fraction was under Haruka''s.


    "We''re glad you were able to make it to our event," Claire walked around the topic.


    ???I''m shocked. I didn''t think you would be carrying out your duties so soon," Alice came up to us with Ben.


    "It was a recent development," Luke brightly smiled.


    "It''s more of a surprise that Haruka let you join his fraction," Lucius also walked towards us with Belle.


    "As you know, I was already close to the members in Haruka''s fraction since the beginning of elementary school," I answered.


    "I''m curious how you got so close," Belle placed her hands together.


    Haruka stiffened as he recalled me collecting bugs with Ethan. He also recently found out that Oili possessed half of the karaoke goods when he placed it inside that room, meaning he was a part of it all this time. Plus, Charles acted too friendly with us even though we were on the opposite ends of the political spectrum. Although he didn''t know the secret that banded us together, he guessed it was similar to the other events.


    "I''m sure it''s similar to how our members joined the neutral fraction," Haruka attempted to change the target.


    "Well, we don''t necessarily have conflicting interests," Ben coughed to show they were in the middle in that same spectrum.


    "It''s the same for us as well," Haruka chose to remain ignorant.


    "In fact, I heard what happened at one of your fraction''s events today from one of our members. I hope you are not injured," Haruka seemed genuinely concerned for me.


    "I am thankful that the guests were able to evacuate before anyone had to experience the same thing I did," I hid my grudge against both Yulee and Jules.


    "In fact, we decided to cancel hosting on Tuesday and Wednesday," I revealed.


    The eyes of both Lucius and Belle widened from the news. I was likely that Jules didn''t tell them yet. Everyone else in the conversation appeared shocked from the news as well, including Claire and Yulian. The other fraction leaders who overheard the news instantly started to mumble what could''ve been the problem.


    I guessed this was the reason why Yulee was so hesitant in cancelling the event. It was an extremely big deal to cancel an event during social week. Luke brightly smiled as he chose to continue from where I left off, "we placed our trust in you and Belle that you would be able to carry us forward."

 Chapter 270 - Boy in Love (7)

    It appeared like several mountains loads of pressure were dumped onto both the shoulders of Lucius and Belle. They became utterly speechless seeing that they were the ones who had to fix the mistakes made from Yulee and Jules. Now, it was only them representing our fraction.


    Even both Ben and Alice appeared like they were pitying them. Haruka stopped giving aggressive statements towards Lucius and Belle, smelling their weakness from the news. One really had to dig into the incident to know what was truly happening behind the scenes.


    All the sudden, they noticed how much I depended on Luke. I clung onto his arm while I also leaned against most of my weight towards him. When they looked closer at my legs, they could find tiny traces of the thick round of bandages wrapped around me. Unfortunately, there was only so much that Yulian could heal.


    "It must have been something serious," Ben commented.


    Both Luke and I stayed silent and continued to smile. It would become a serious problem if they knew how much I got injured and from which occasions. Even Yulian pretended he didn''t know what Ben was talking about, recalling all my horrible injuries that couldn''t have come from one-time events.


    "I heard how you were first attacked by all the decorations on the wall. And then there was a loud sound like someone was slammed against the wall. People also saw you almost choking to death in the air before your wine glass exploded, leading an entire chandelier to collapse on you." Haruka seemed to wonder how I was still alive.


    No wonder he was the one who appeared the most worried for me. I wondered what he would think if he knew the dangerous details and aftereffects it went with them. Both Alice and Ben appeared shocked from the news. Even Yulian and Claire began to see me in a new light. Meanwhile, Lucius and Belle seemed like they were still processing all the information in their brains.


    "It''s true. I did get slammed into a wall, creating a crater," I wasn''t going to cover for the lack of security in their mansion.


    In another way, it was a warning to the rest of the people here to tighten their security inside their mansions. I didn''t want to go to another event where the entire thing repeated again. I hoped they would put more dangerous decorations off their walls and keep things simple like the Impalia mansion.


    "We hope the next events we visit will not be like today," Luke supported my warning.


    The whole ballroom became silent from our warnings. It was likely they were going to conduct a meeting with the rest of their fractions after the Impalia fraction event. I brightly smiled as it meant they were taking our warnings seriously.


    We walked into the dining room as I pretended to listen to the rest of the following conversations. I would happily skip for a proper meal if it weren''t for my injuries. Luke pulled out a chair for me to sit down, helping me into my seat like I couldn''t do anything on my own.


    Everyone watched the subtle hints, showing I wasn''t completely recovered from my injuries. Under the stares of the guests, I reluctantly followed the dining manners, unable to fully enjoy my meal. It was just then, an uninvited ran into the dining room.


    "I was looking for you. This place was harder than I thought to find," Ella''s partner walked towards me.


    How did he get inside here? I coughed, almost choking on my food. Why was the security so weak in everyone''s mansions today? Everyone stopped eating to stare at the uninvited guest. Meanwhile, both Claire and Yulian seemed to freeze in their seats. It was like they recalled our warnings to tighten the security in their mansions.


    "I told you that I''m not willing to help you. I think that dagger near the end was a bit too much, isn''t it?" I threw a fork towards him.


    "That wasn''t me!" He appeared like he was being falsely accused while he dodged the fork.


    "It was probably Ella. Her brother began flirting with another girl soon after he was kicked out," he explained.


    "Oh, so it''s all Ella''s fault then," I rolled my eyes. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/boy-in-love-(7)_48812470101400221 for visiting.


    "It''s not her fault, it''s all her brother''s fault!" He clenched his fists.


    "Please go on," I threw a knife towards him this time.


    He ducked his head as the knife became stuck on the wall. It was a pity. I had to listen to his excuses now while pretending that everyone wasn''t listening to our conversation.


    "He should''ve broken her heart. Instead, he acted like she was his partner as he took more of her time away from me," he defended himself.


    At this rate, nothing was going anywhere. The same conversation was repeating over and over again. Meanwhile, I was the one who suffered through the consequences of their fight. I sighed as I decided to finally meddle in their problem and give them a feasible solution.


    "Why don''t you support their sibling romance and ask her to forgive you. I''m sure it''s better than her not talking to you," I suggested while throwing a bigger knife this time.


    "I can''t. Ella''s already dead since I tried to kill her brother. I didn''t think she would actually die for him!" He revealed.

 Chapter 271 - Boy in Love (8)

    "What? Is Ella not a human being?" My jaw dropped.


    He nodded his head, "She turned into a fairy after she protected her brother. But I didn''t think she would protect him! She was supposed to be mine and only mine."


    This guy was clearly out of his mind. No wonder Ella wasn''t willing to talk to him. If I were her, I would be busy trying to kill him instead.


    "Every time we met, she would only talk about him. He appeared in every single one of our conversations like a parasite. I thought she would become mine once I got rid of the barrier between us!" He defended himself.


    "But she wouldn''t talk to me when I would say anything bad about her brother," he began to become angry from the thought.


    "It''s no wonder," I mumbled.


    "Would you talk to someone who badmouthed Ella?" I tried to place him in her shoes.


    His eyes lit up from my comment. I started to float out of my chair like last time. However, Luke tried to pull me down with all his strength. Claire, who sat beside me, helped Luke as they combined their strengths, even resorting to using their mana. When he realized his powers were starting to get out of control again, he stopped.


    "This is exactly why I didn''t want to help. Don''t you think the chandelier was enough?" I became more hostile.


    "I apologize, you know it''s hard to control your powers after you cross dimensions," he explained.


    "Then why doesn''t your guardian help you?" I raised my hand to show him the spell he placed on me.


    "It''s not that simple," he grumbled.


    "That spell will wear off soon," he pointed out.


    "So your story?" I attempted to switch the topic.


    I didn''t need more people knowing more about my situation. I would somehow fix this travelling between dimensions thing. My head started to throb from the stress as I convinced myself that I still had some time left.


    "It''s like he was leading her on all this time. I tried to warn her that her brother would be eventually married to his partner in the future, but she wouldn''t believe me. She said he promised to marry her in the future," he continued.


    "She even wore a diamond ring given by him as a birthday present. Meanwhile, she never accepted the presents I gave to her for our anniversary events and her birthdays. Instead, if her brother liked the gift, she would give it to him like my feelings were nothing," his voice cracked.


    "Then why didn''t you find someone else to direct your feelings towards?" I recalled her brother''s affairs.


    "How could I ever betray my partner?" He appeared offended.


    Nobody had enough time to help me as I was immediately slammed into the wall all the way across the long dining room table. He was definitely more powerful than Ella. Instead of a crater, there was a hole inside the wall where I landed.


    I wondered if he ever felt any pity for the ones he constantly injured. There was no way I could get up on my own. Luke sprinted towards me, giving me a handkerchief to clean up some of the blood I coughed onto my dress again.


    Since I was so used to all the attacks, I wasn''t even surprised anymore. Yulian also dashed to push himself to use heal on me with Claire. When I was able to get back to my feet again, they couldn''t get up from the floor without Luke''s help.


    Unfortunately, Luke had to carry me in his arms so I could get back to my seat. My bones were barely mended together from their efforts. I had to be extremely careful as one of my bones could shatter if I bumped into anything. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/boy-in-love-(8)_48813483445255192 for visiting.


    "So that wall slam?" I prevented myself from slamming my hands on the table.


    "I told you it''s hard to control my powers when I get overwhelmed," he looked at me guiltily.


    "Look. There''s only so much I can handle before you accidentally kill me. And if you do happen to kill me like Ella, I will definitely not talk to you like her, eliminating all of your chances," I glared at him.


    "I''ll try!" He began to panic.


    "I tried everything to separate her from him. I bought her the most expensive things and followed her around to know her preferences. I know she used to like mango pudding and premium streak with a seafood dressing. Her favourite restaurant was located in the second district since it was easier to hide their relationship from their parents there," he explained.


    "The only reason why I didn''t kill that jerk was because they would be together again," he mumbled to add.


    I wondered what he meant by them being able to be together again. Was he implying that her brother would turn into a fairy? Did people turn into fairies that easily after their deaths in the first district? This was when I was truly reminded that I reincarnated into a fantasy world mixed with all the advanced technology, which made me miss the fact.


    "At least her brother didn''t kill anyone," I pointed out he was still in the wrong.


    "What do you mean? After I accidentally killed Ella, the next person to die was me. He was the one who murdered me," his eyes narrowed.

 Chapter 272 - Boy in Love (9)

    "Let me guess, you''re a fairy too," I tried to confirm with him.


    "That''s why I can help you if you help me talk to Ella. I can offer you a contract," he suggested.


    "And you think I would accept? You barely have any control over your powers yet," I shuddered from the thought of having to be closer to him.


    There was no way I was going to get closer to a murderer. If I could, I would throw him out of this mansion with no hesitation. In fact, that idea was increasingly becoming more tempting with every passing minute.


    "I''m trying, don''t you see? It takes centuries to get used to this," he felt like I was being too cruel.


    "And?" I gestured for him to continue.


    "But, it''s easy to guide someone between dimensions," he looked like he was confident in his abilities.


    "Don''t you think she''ll need some time to decide?" Luke suddenly interrupted our conversation.


    "You might be right," he disappeared to give me some space.


    It was unfortunate I had thrown all my forks and knives at him. Now that he was gone, I was starting to feel hungry. I felt like I needed to jab the food to help relieve some of my stress. Who knew when he would come back to ask for an answer?


    "Can you pass me some forks and knives?" I pretended my exchange with the fairy had never happened.


    Claire immediately called for a servant who passed me some new utensils. I began to eat my food alone as everyone else looked like they gave up on eating. The entire room was silent to the point the only sounds came from me slicing the food into tiny pieces.


    "You should eat too, who knows when he''ll come back?" I advised them.


    "He''s been after me ever since this afternoon," I showed how persistent he has been.


    When I noticed tiny white powders drifting into my drink again, I immediately threw my cup in the air and placed a barrier over the entire table. As I expected, the drink exploded, creating a great fog inside the room. Just where were these things coming from?


    "I guess these drinks aren''t safe too," I mumbled.


    Both Yulian and Claire quickly disposed of the drinks with the servants once the fog disappeared. However, this was nothing compared to being inside Jules'' mansion. All these attacks were on a much lower scale.


    "Are fairies common in the first district?" I wondered.


    "It''s the first time I have ever seen one," Haruka revealed. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/boy-in-love-(9)_48814405269388559 for visiting.


    "I thought they were a myth," another fraction leader muttered.


    "I heard that they never come out of the other dimension," another person agreed.


    Oh. So others knew they existed, but most of their existence was still a mystery. But why did they have to appear in front of me? Why not anyone else?


    "Were you perhaps able to visit the other dimension?" a person carefully asked.


    I brightly smiled, "I''m sure if you help him with Ella, he may bring you there in the future."


    There was no way I was going to reveal more of my situation than I had to. Maybe if I actually shouted the words, he would choose a new and better target. Someone who wasn''t me.


    "It''s just that I heard that those who visit the other dimension never come back," the person explained.


    I wished I had asked Luke about it inside the hover car. If I had known they weren''t human from the start, I would''ve interacted with them with more caution. But I was too entangled in their mess to escape from it now. I was in the web of two murderers out there.


    "I may be an exception," I warned him to stop probing.


    "So I was wondering, is there anyway to fortify your barriers from unwanted guests from coming in?" I changed the topic.


    "This isn''t the first event they have attended. Apparently the three of them have been following each other around at other events as well," I pointed out.


    Everyone froze from the thought of their mansions becoming like Jules''. It was likely they never imagined that their event may be the next place the incidents would occur. One tiny careless mistake could lead to someone''s death with the existence of these horrible fairies who had unstable powers.


    "Maybe we should cancel our event as well," a person whispered.


    "It doesn''t seem like a bad idea," another person agreed.


    "If you give me your design plan, I can help," I offered to decrease the number of potentially dangerous attacks.


    The leader of a minor fraction hesitated before he showed the detailed layout of his mansion. It meant everyone knew the insides of what would be going on. I sighed as I instantly noticed the same problems that were inside the family mansion of Yulee.


    "What''s with the candles? Don''t you know fire is easily manipulable? It could burn the entire mansion and the others around it!" I warned them.


    "And how could you not separate the roses from their stems? What if they decided to use their thorns to choke someone to death? Plus all these sculptures placed in the ballroom. Don''t you know they could easily float to crush someone or fall down on all the guests like a domino since they''re placed so close to each other!" I couldn''t believe their carelessness.

 Chapter 273 - Boy in Love (10)

    "One of their specialities is air, meaning that wall slam is nothing to them," I explained.


    After I pointed out every fault I could find with their layout, they appeared shocked. Did they really need someone to tell them this? Why did everyone focus on how beautiful and wealthy their mansions would appear in front of others? The Impalia mansion didn''t have any, which led to no highly dangerous attacks.


    "You should be fine after getting rid of all those hazardous decorations," I tried to comfort them.


    "We''ll just cancel the event. I think it''s better to cancel it, I''ll tell the rest of the people in my fraction," he looked like he was disappointed in himself.


    "Anyone else?" I turned to the fraction leaders. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/boy-in-love-(10)_48822420215221473 for visiting.


    Maybe most of the minor fractions had a similar layout as the fraction that I pointed out their faults for. They began to cancel all their events one by one, hoping not to become the next victims of the fairies. The presence of fairies and them experiencing their powers firsthand changed everything.


    "We''ll have to change everything," Haruka whispered to his partner.


    Ben and Alice, who had the flower theme, didn''t really have to change much. The fans we put in his garden were relatively harmless. Plus, there were many safeguards already in place from their experience last year. And the ballroom was almost empty during the daytime as well before we left.


    The discussion on how to handle this issue continued after I helped more fraction leaders with the layout of their mansions. It was late in the evening when Luke and I decided to leave while the rest decided to remain. Since both of us were too exhausted to talk to each other, we immediately went to our bedrooms to get more sleep.


    This was how I was in front of Haruka''s mansion with less bandages covering my legs. Both Luke and I were drained after trying to heal me as much as possible. I had to transfer some of my mana to Luke while he used his precise control to conduct heal on me.


    "Rika!" Ella''s partner came running towards me from inside the mansion grounds.


    I glared at Haruka and his partner as they froze, watching us all gathered in front of the entrance to the ballroom. My jaw dropped when I noticed Ella following her older brother trying to flirt with other girls near the middle of the ballroom. Didn''t they put him on the blacklist? Did everyone focus on handling Ella''s partner instead?


    "Did you make your decision yet?" He waited for my answer.


    "Rika?" The sc.u.m came walking towards me from hearing my name.


    Ella''s older brother froze when he noticed his face, "Liam, you murderer!"


    "Are you targeting her now like you did to my sister? Did you think you could have my sister''s heart after trying to kill me? No wonder you turned into a fairy, it suits you," he spat at his face.


    "You know your younger sister is a fairy as well," Liam appeared a bit offended.


    "Don''t listen to him. Zane, I love you. I don''t mind that I died for you. I just want to kill him, but you already killed him for me," Ella screamed from behind.


    It was strange how Zane couldn''t hear anything said by Ella. At the same time, it appeared that Liam had a limit on how close he could come towards her while he didn''t have the ability to talk to her nor hear her. How twisted it was that Zane didn''t know that Ella was behind him this entire time. And it seemed like Ella couldn''t see Liam as well, but only able to hear his voice.


    "Zane. Look at me! You said you loved me. I know you can''t see me, but can''t you feel my presence?" she cried.


    "Help me get to him Rika!" She turned towards me.


    "What do you want from me Liam? You already ruined my entire life. What''s wrong with being siblings? Does it mean because you''re related, you can''t love each other?" He clenched his fists.


    "I can''t love anyone like Ella. I dated other girls that looked like Ella. I tried. I even abandoned my partner because Ella didn''t like her. But you killed Ella!" Zane looked like he wanted to murder Liam again.


    "You played with Ella. You had a partner and you two timed her. You deserve to die from your actions," Liam didn''t feel guilty from trying to kill him.


    "I don''t mind Zane. Listen to me. I knew you would abandon her someday. You always told me that we would run away to the second district, saying we would live with our new identities someday," Ella''s aura got stronger.


    "Help me Rika!" Both of them turned to me.


    "Ella can hear your voice, but she can''t see you," I told Liam.


    "Zane can''t hear or see you Ella," I then turned to her.


    "I love you Ella. I just want to hear your lovely voice one more time. Please look at me. I don''t care if you''re disgusted with me for killing you. I''ll work to earn your forgiveness for the rest of my lifetime. So don''t ignore me. I know you can hear me," he pleaded.


    I watched the love triangle in the middle of the complex web where everyone was out to murder to fulfill their love. The boy cried as he screamed his confession to her. The boy who was obsessively in love with her partner to the point he killed her. This was the boy in love.

 Chapter 274 - Disguise (1)

    "Tell me where he is. I think he deserves a second death," Ella turned to me.


    All the windows in the mansion shattered, making all the guests wonder what was going on outside. Were all fairies this violent? It was like they were born from vengeance, unable to move on. Both of them appeared like they were trying to fulfill their love in the new life they were given.


    "Zane, Ella is right behind you. Watching over you this entire time," I chose the peaceful route.


    "Are you really here Ella?" Zane''s eyes were filled with tears.


    "I am, I really am," Ella switched her mind and placed her hands against his.


    Now, it was time to run when I could. Luke instantly understood my glance and helped me walk out Haruka''s mansion. Meanwhile, Haruka and his partner unfroze, left alone with the fairies to somehow deal with the rest of the mess.


    "Where are we going next?" I wanted to go back to Luke''s mansion.


    "The Enchantres'' family mansion," Luke also appeared like he didn''t want to go.


    I didn''t understand why they couldn''t just cancel social week altogether. This was getting more and more dangerous now that they knew who could see or hear each other. I looked down to study my fancy dress. Maybe the reason why I stood out was because of my outfit.


    She did call me a princess when we first met. This time I had a new plan. I was going to change into the cheap clothes that Sienna transferred to me yesterday morning. This way, I wouldn''t catch their eyes since I would blend into the background with the servants.


    It was unfortunate not much was known about fairies in general. When Luke answered my questions with all the information he had, it wasn''t much different from the fraction meeting in the evening. I went over my plan inside my head one more time before Luke helped me get down from the hover car.


    "More than half of the events during social week were cancelled with a sudden notice," Luke explained why there was a larger crowd. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/disguise-(1)_48823643744028553 for visiting.


    Since the guests had less events to attend, they spent more time in the ones they planned to attend or simply went to another event to replace it. I found both Flora and Ethan in front of the banquet hall. This mansion was safer than Haruka''s as they got rid of most of the decorations, almost abandoning their original theme.


    "There''s more people than I thought there would be," I pitied them.


    "We had to change everything," Flora sadly smiled.


    "We''re so glad you came early," they looked like they needed some help with the guests.


    "Can you help with this section with me?" Flora gestured to the middle of the banquet hall to Luke.


    Since we knew that both the fairies were still at Haruka''s mansion, Luke reluctantly left with Flora. Meanwhile, I would be forced to take her role and greet everyone near the entrance. Meaning, I would have no time to change as long as I was stuck here.


    "Charles and Miliana are busy as the sub hosts at Haruka''s place. The others are already helping out with the other sections," Ethan explained.


    "Do you think you can greet the guests alone?" I attempted to escape from the most noticeable post.


    "There''s no way I''m doing this alone," he immediately refuted.


    "I have more food for Sprinkles," I showed him my inventory.


    "Just for a few minutes," I whispered into his ear.


    "I can get Oliver and his partner to try switching places with us," Ethan came up with a better idea.


    "Deal!" I smiled.


    "Hello, I am Rika de Impalia Roselia, thank you for coming to our event," I turned when a guest came in front of us.


    "I am Ethan de Enchantres, please come in," Ethan did a 180-degree change.


    "Did they answer yet?" I leaned closer to him to check his messages.


    "Oliver said they''re coming in exchange for a favour in the future about that room," Ethan showed me.


    "Thank you for coming, I am Ethan de Enchantres," Ethan quickly spun when we noticed another guest at the door.


    "Please come in, I am Rika de Impalia Roselia," I smiled to add.


    This was bad. My smile was already starting to falter. I could barely talk with Ethan as we had to greet the new guests every few seconds. No wonder they needed more help. My heart almost skipped when I noticed Oili with his partner.


    "You''re here," I grabbed both of his hands.


    "Thanks for switching places with us," I shot them both a grateful look.


    "No problem. This post is easier than trying to drive the conversations in a certain direction when they start to get hostile," Oili frowned when he recalled the incidents.


    "The food for Sprinkles?" Ethan interrupted us.


    "Here," I passed him the cage.


    Both Oili and his partner stepped back, not willing to get close to the bugs. It was only until the cage disappeared into Ethan''s inventory, they walked towards us to switch places. I guessed they still didn''t know about Sprinkles as they found the exchange fascinating.


    "Run," I poked Ethan when I noticed new guests coming from above.


    Both Ethan and I ran into the banquet hall to escape from greeting the next set of guests. Once we got to a new location where there weren''t many guests around us, I whispered into Ethan''s ear, "do you have an extra room to spare? I need a place to change my bandages."

 Chapter 275 - Disguise (2)

    I smiled when I had changed into my new outfit. I also plucked out the annoying diamond hairband on my head and inconvenient bracelets. I felt much lighter with a t-shirt and a pair of jeans. My current clothes did seem more informal than what the servants were, but it didn''t appear too bad.


    When I walked out of the room and into the banquet hall, everyone ignored me. It was like I was invisible to them just as the servants. I smiled as my plan was much more effective than I thought it would be. Now, the fairies and Zane would never spot me inside the crowd.


    No one spared me a single glance as I roamed near the buffet table that didn''t have any plates. Instead, all the finger-sized food floated a bit above the tablecloth with mana. Even the cups seemed to be made out of softer material.


    Thinking I was a servant, the guests started to pass me their empty cups. When I passed the cups to the actual servants, they noticed I was dressed differently from them. One of their eyes narrowed, "how did you get inside here? Did you get an invitation?"


    "Let me call the host," another person walked away.


    "I did get an invitation," I shot them a look to lower their voices.


    But I didn''t have the invitation with me right now. Luke was the one who handled all these things for the both of us. I wondered why they couldn''t just leave me alone and think that I was a servant in a different outfit.


    "Just because we''re at an event during social week doesn''t mean we have to dress like this, do we?" I pointed out their extravagant clothes.


    "Everyone knows there''s a dress code to get in. Are you even from the first district?" She became more suspicious.


    "Look. I''m trying to hide from something so it''s a special circ.u.mstance. I''m sure you heard about the fairies," I hinted.


    So stop turning everything into a big deal and leave me alone! At this rate, I was quickly attracting more attention than wearing a party dress. Why were so many people attentive about these kinds of stuff during social week?


    "She''s hiding from something. She must be a trespasser," she mumbled to her partner.


    Did they just leave out the part that I was hiding from the fairies? It appeared like these people couldn''t be reasoned with. I decided to walk away until I noticed Ethan walking towards my direction.


    "I''m not a trespasser," I grabbed onto Ethan''s arm.


    Ethan''s eyes widened when he found me in a new outfit. He shot me a look like what the heck I was thinking. The guests stepped a few steps back when they saw my relationship with Ethan.


    "Can I know the problem?" He turned to the guests.


    "We just thought it was a particular outfit," she gestured.


    "Just tell her I''m an oddly dressed servant. I''m trying to hide from the fairies," I pulled Ethan closer to me to whisper into his ear.


    "They''re here?" Ethan froze. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/disguise-(2)_48830587347205622 for visiting.


    "The last time I saw them today, they were at Haruka''s mansion," I let him know.


    "You owe me one," Ethan grumbled before facing the others to explain.


    "Rika is one of my fraction members. She''s dressed this way for a confidential mission," he lowered his voice as he made up a story.


    "Oh, I apologize," they immediately seemed to understand.


    "It''s fine. You couldn''t have known the details in our fraction," I smiled.


    So please continue to ignore me and treat me as if I am invisible. I would rather for you to treat me as a servant than something like this to happen again. If Luke ever found out, he may not be so lenient on me anymore.


    The small circle began to disperse like nothing had happened. In return, I knew I would have to help Ethan out with Sprinkle''s food supply again. But thankfully, the hidden part of the courtyard was easy to access.


    "It would''ve been better if you wore a poor dress. They would have thought you came from a minor family who were barely able to come here due to their connections," Ethan sighed.


    "Do you think Luke would let me wear something like that? I barely managed to get these clothes," I pulled on my t-shirt.


    "Ethan," I tugged on his shirt when I noticed Liam near the entrance.


    "One of them is actually here," I wondered why he was here alone.


    Wasn''t he supposed to be following Ella like usual? Why come here on his own?


    "What?" Ethan spun around.


    "He''s the one with the white hair, large blue eyes, wearing that white blazer to match his looks," I described his appearance.


    "I''ll have to send a message to everyone," Ethan quickly typed.


    Liam scanned the crowd like he was trying to find someone. It couldn''t be me, could it? It was totally me when he only looked at the girls. In fact, he focused on the ones wearing the most luxurious and expensive dresses like my previous dress I changed out of. I knew they were finding me this way!


    I tried to hide behind Ethan as Liam continued his search for me. There was no better person to use as a shield. Knowing that Liam fully understood the etiquette of the first district, I hoped he would leave, thinking there would be no way I wore cheap clothes to avoid him.

 Chapter 276 - Disguise (3)

    "He just left," I almost collapsed onto the floor when Liam gave up.


    "I''ll let the others know," Ethan sighed in relief with me.


    This plan was more effective than I thought it was. It saved me from Liam, who was an unstable murderer who couldn''t control his powers. This was exactly why grand party dresses were dangerous to wear. It made you a prime target!


    Ethan soon left me to help out the other guests. This time, I walked near the walls to be less noticeable. I needed to continue blending in the background as much as possible.


    "Hold my shawl for me while I take a drink," one of the guests gestured to me to come closer to her.


    I held her shawl while I waited for her to get a drink from the buffet table. Thankfully, this guest didn''t notice my odd outfit. As soon as the guest picked up a shawl, another one came up to me to hold their drinks for them.


    "I can''t believe the most powerful fraction cancelled their event for the next few days," one of them muttered.


    "They must have had the same problem as the minor ones," the person who responded seemed to be enjoying the gossip.


    "Did you also hear that the Impalia fraction had recently announced their successors?" he brought up another topic.


    "Yea. Their successors are from the Roselia family. I heard they chose them since they recently joined the same fraction as them."


    "Isn''t that like their fourth fraction? How much power is the Roselia family trying to gain over joining so much?"


    "I''m more curious how they joined the fractions all over the political spectrum."


    "I heard that the fianc¨¦e to the Roseila family heir knows everyone in the upper ranks," another person joined them.


    "Apparently that''s the reason why the Roselia family was chosen as the Impalia fraction successors. She apparently knows all the weaknesses in each fraction. I heard from our fraction leader that she was the cause of all the cancelled events," he explained.


    My eyes slightly widened as I never knew how fast the news travelled in the first district. It was no wonder that most fractions tried to cover up anything undesirable as fast as possible. I continued to listen to them, trying to gain more information from them.


    "Have you ever seen the fianc¨¦e to the Roseila family heir?" one of them asked.


    "Don''t you know the Roselia family and their fractions try to keep her hidden as much as possible? She rarely appears in any parties and if she does, she stays with her fellow fraction members, making it hard to approach her. It''s hard to see her from so far away," he sighed.


    And that person was right in front of them, holding their drinks for them. I was also carrying one of their blazers they passed to me. I stood still like a statue, enjoying hearing how others thought of me. It was nice knowing how you appeared from another perspective.


    "How would people like us be ever able to approach her?" another person agreed.


    "She does live in a whole other world. By the way, did you notice the fairy powder around the events these days?" A new person joined while carefully looking around.


    "Fairy powder?" Everyone appeared confused.


    "One of my fraction members managed to get their hands on some fairy powder. Apparently, if you spray some fairy powder in the air in ancient places full of mana then it lures them to you. If you manage to get into a contract with one of them, your mana will increase," he explained.


    ''Aren''t fairies like something mystical?'' They looked at him with disbelieving eyes.


    "We didn''t manage to find any," he admitted his failed attempt.


    So it was his fraction that was putting people in danger! How could they get something like fairy powder that exploded drinks everywhere? How were they able to get them in the first place?


    "But how were you able to get them?" One of them had the same question.


    "It''s one of his family''s possessions that they have been keeping for thousands of years. His family helps keep the history in the first district. But their power has been decreasing lately that this is all they''re known for now," he explained.


    "That''s why he has been trying to gain more mana to restore his family''s reputation," he seemed to sympathize with him.


    I was sure his fraction leader was keeping the fact that they met a fairy a secret. They didn''t want to admit that they helped to lure such dangerous beings to the events in social week. It was no wonder these fairies appeared here with all that fairy powder. And it was extremely bad luck Ella''s brother was in the same place where they were sprayed. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/disguise-(3)_48831525545895786 for visiting.


    "I heard that a fairy did actually appear in one of the events," another person joined them to reveal.


    "Seriously?" His eyes widened.


    "I heard they only targeted one person though," he seemed to pity me.


    "What do you mean by target?" He tried to probe for more information.


    "Daggers flew to kill her and a whole chandelier shook to fall on top of her after a cup exploded," he recalled the rumors.


    "I''ll have to let him know about this," the person ran to warn his fellow fraction member.


    "Who was the target?" Others seemed curious.


    "The fianc¨¦e to the Roseila family heir," he whispered.

 Chapter 277 - Disguise (4)

    "What would happen if they heard about the fairy powder?" One of them shivered.


    "I''m sure their fraction would get destroyed with all the power the Roselia family possesses," one of them shrugged like it wasn''t their problem.


    "Don''t they deserve to get destroyed?" I opened my mouth for the first time.


    "Think about how they almost killed the victim through their ambitions," I recalled all the horrible events I went through yesterday.


    I passed them back their drinks and blazer. It seemed like they weren''t going to tell anyone what they heard. I guessed they were somewhat close to the person who just left.


    "You''re not a servant?" They finally noticed my informal clothing.


    "No, I''m a servant," I tried to stick to my disguise.


    "There''s no way you''re a programmed servant. They don''t talk when they''re not supposed to," he pointed out.


    What? These servants weren''t actual people! They were robots this entire time? No wonder they seemed too stiff and repetitive sometimes. I did find it odd that they didn''t speak much too. I just never thought these highly workaholic and realistic looking people were actually robots.


    "Who are you?" They turned wary.


    "I''m Rika," I smiled.


    "And I''m not a trespasser," I didn''t want the same situation to repeat again.


    "You can pretend that I wasn''t here," I whispered that I would keep their secret if they kept mine.


    "How can we trust you?" One of them took the lead.


    I pushed them out of the way when the entire buffet table flew in our direction. It was likely that one of the fairies'' arguments was heating up somewhere. It was just unfortunate that I was the person who received most of their attacks no matter where I was.


    "Can you trust me for saving your life?" I winced when my wound started to bleed through the bandage.


    The actual servants immediately cleaned up the mess, placing the table in its original place. Meanwhile, the people all gathered to stare in our direction. I ignored the blood dripping onto the ground as I hid behind one of their backs.


    "Walk and let''s go to a less noticeable place," I whispered loud enough for them to hear.


    I walked, leaving a trail of blood behind me. The servants quickly mopped the floor to get rid of the evidence as I pressed my hand against the wound to prevent it from dripping any further. Maybe jeans weren''t the best clothes to change into today.


    "Are you ok?" One of them asked.


    "I''m used to this," I coughed some blood.


    I realized when too much mana was directed to harm me, I would cough some blood from the impact like from the wall slam. Normally, my body would be strong enough to hold against these tiny attacks, but my body was too weak from yesterday''s continuous attacks. Another person offered me their handkerchief, which I accepted.


    "We should call a host," one of them already ran off.


    "No! You can''t!" I accidentally raised my voice, trying to stop him.


    They might accidentally summon Luke. My injury would somehow heal when I find Ethan to bring me to an infirmary in his family mansion. I wanted to continue my effective disguise.


    "I''m really fine," I leaned against the wall as I sighed hoping Luke wouldn''t be the one to come.


    "Is everyone fine from the sudden wind?" Luke walked towards us with the person who called for him.


    "Hide me," I pushed them in front of me to use them as a shield.


    "There''s a young girl who is injured from trying to push us out of danger," he didn''t get my point. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/disguise-(4)_48832836853088511 for visiting.


    "May I know where she is?" Luke searched for me.


    "Behind us," these people betrayed me with no hesitation.


    "Please come out. We can bring you to the infirmary and offer you some help," Luke''s voice softened.


    I stayed silent, knowing he would immediately recognize it was me if I answered him. The people in front of me awkwardly smiled, not knowing what to do. Each time Luke took a step, I made the person in front of me turn to keep me hidden.


    Luke patiently waited as I continued to avoid him. Eventually when his patience was starting to run out, he asked, "do you perhaps know her name?"


    "She mentioned her name was Rika," he recalled.


    "Rika?" Luke immediately pulled my hand to tug me out of my position.


    He stared at the blood all over my new outfit as the guests wondered how we knew each other. I glared at the guests behind me, regretting that I chose to tell them my name. Indeed, there was no one you could trust here.


    Luke began to wipe the blood around my mouth. He made sure I shifted most of my weight towards him and pulled me into his arms. The guests'' jaws almost dropped from how close we appeared to be.


    "Do you perhaps know each other?" One of them carefully asked.


    "This is my fianc¨¦e, Rika de Impalia Roselia," Luke continued to scan how bad this set of injuries were.


    They froze as they found out my true identity. The exact person they were talking about were standing behind them this entire time. If that was the direction they were heading towards, there was no need to keep their secret.


    "They know the person who sprayed fairy powder around the events," I pointed to accuse them.

 Chapter 278 - Girl in Love (5)

    "Fairy powder?" Luke hid his surprise.


    "To lure the fairies into coming," I continued.


    "They said if you spray fairy powder in an ancient place filled with mana, then a fairy may appear to make a contract with someone," I exposed their conversation.


    Meaning, the person they knew was the cause of the entire chaos made by the fairies. The guests froze as Luke''s expression became extremely cold towards them. He looked at each of them almost like Zane who had multiple affairs to forget about Ella.


    "Can you tell me who exactly this person is and what fraction he is in?" His pressuring stare made them gulp.


    "Jean de Rivers from the fraction led by the Hosel family," one of them admitted.


    "Thank you for understanding. I am sure you already know how my fianc¨¦e have been a target coming from these certain incidents," Luke pointed out my horrible injuries.


    I limped out of the banquet hall with Luke''s support. Once we arrived at the infirmary, Luke didn''t hesitate to message every fraction we were inside about the news. It appeared like everyone seemed shocked from the news as I read their reactions.


    "At least the dress didn''t get dirty," I pointed out.


    "Ever since I changed into this outfit, no one noticed me. Including Liam who came to search for me," I explained my decision why I abandoned the dress. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/girl-in-love-(5)_48833877577352432 for visiting.


    Luke''s marble rang, showing a message that was labelled as urgent from Ethan. My eyes widened as Luke opened the message. The three of them were here inside the mansion now.


    "I''ll tell Flora that I won''t be able to help much with the guests. Make sure to stay beside me at all times," Luke finished taking care of my wounds.


    We both got up to leave the infirmary to get a sense of what the situation was. I reluctantly walked into the banquet hall with my original dress. There was no way I could continue wearing those blood-stained clothes. It was unfortunate that Sienna didn''t bring an extra set of cheap clothes.


    "Stop following me Liam," Zane slipped through the entrance as Oili and his partner froze in fear.


    "I wouldn''t be here if Ella wasn''t here," Liam frowned.


    "I found Rika!" Ella instantly spotted me.


    Ugh! That was why I hated this dress so much. I tightened the grip I had on Luke as I pretended like I didn''t see them walking towards us. Liam, who heard her voice instantly noticed me as well.


    "Is there anything you want from my fianc¨¦e?" Luke walked in front of me.


    "We''re friends," Ella sulked.


    I was sure she was the only one who considered us to be friends. I only helped out with her romance to get her far away from me once she became satisfied. But most of the goodwill had already disappeared with the appearance of Liam in the equation.


    "Did you like these parties while you were alive?" I tried a new approach.


    "Why would I like them? My brother''s partner would instantly gain everyone''s acceptance as she clung onto him. Meanwhile, I was stuck, watching them from behind," she bit her lips.


    "You see, I don''t like these events too," I pointed out we were attracting attention.


    "Oh," Ella seemed to understand what I was talking about as she noticed the crowd.


    "I guess we can talk later," she turned to follow Zane.


    My knees become weak as I escaped from her for now with Luke''s help. These days, I didn''t mind having Luke around me. I accepted anyone who would offer me any help on how to handle these fairies.


    "We can''t leave the event?" I noticed Ethan coming towards us.


    "I''ll ask," Luke agreed with me.


    "Please don''t leave," Ethan overheard our conversation.


    "We can''t handle all the guests and the fairies on our own," he shuddered from the thought.


    "Don''t you owe me something?" he brought out how he covered for me earlier.


    "Who do you think let you know the person who was spraying the fairy powder everywhere?" I glared at him.


    "It was you?" Ethan was taken aback.


    "The disguise worked," I shrugged.


    "I regret not trying to kill you sooner," Liam''s loud voice interrupted us.


    "How could he?" Ella spun around Zane to find Liam.


    "So what are you going to do about it? You already killed Ella!" Zane screamed at Liam.


    "Instead of following me around, why don''t you try to kill me again?" Zane scoffed.


    "Guys!" I yelled when there was another sudden breeze starting to form.


    "Sorry," both Ella and Liam turned to me.


    I started to tremble in anger as I had tolerated enough. I had enough wall slams, objects flying towards me and things dropping on me. They knew each time they became emotional, most of their attacks came towards me.


    I picked up a cookie and threw it at Liam. Liam''s eyes widened from surprise as I began to throw more things towards him. He was the person who was making everything worse. If he only shut his mouth, Ella wouldn''t hear him taunting her brother.


    "How would you feel if something came dashing to kill you?" I started to throw the cups instead.


    "It wasn''t intentional!" Liam dodged each object with ease.


    "Oh sure it wasn''t intentional!" I lifted my skirt to throw a sharp dagger instead.


    "This isn''t intentional too. I''m just throwing it at you since it''s hard to control myself to not," I pulled out another dagger.

 Chapter 279 - Girl in Love (6)

    "I already told both of you. Or at least one of you. If you kill me, there''s no way I''ll leave any of you alone," I screamed when I ran out daggers to throw.


    "I''ll run to kill you in your second life. You''ll be too busy trying to run away from me to fulfill both of your romances," I let everything out.


    Both Ella and Liam froze from my death threats towards them. In fact, the whole ballroom became silent from my yells. Ethan, who was near me, started to slowly step away from me to avoid potentially becoming the next target.


    "I already offered you guys enough help to solve this on your own. What else do you want from me?" I coldly stared at them.


    "You''re right, we''ll try to solve this on our own," Ella seemed apologetic.


    "We will," Liam agreed with Ella.


    "Well you can start by cleaning up the mess. Don''t you feel sorry for the person who cleaned all of your messes?" I immediately ordered them.


    The guests'' jaw dropped as they watched two powerful fairies cleaning the mess I made. Even Zane helped as he grabbed a mop from the servants. Once they finished cleaning the mess, I sat down on a chair.


    "My shoulders hurt," I turned to Liam to softly massage my shoulders.


    "This area?" He asked to confirm with me.


    I nodded my head as I soon faced Ella, "I feel so hot. It would be better if someone fanned me."


    Ella stood beside my chair, working on her self-control to create a calm breeze rather than an aggressive wave of wind. Meanwhile, Liam lightly squeezed my shoulders as he practiced adjusting his strength. No matter how this scene appeared in front of others, I was indirectly training them in controlling their powers.


    "Do you need any more help?" Zane appeared like he felt left out.


    "Stand beside Ella and keep her happy," I waved my hand in her direction. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/girl-in-love-(6)_48835287383595590 for visiting.


    Ella smiled, continuing to maintain the soothing breeze. If only things always remained this peaceful. I relaxed in my chair as I forgot about the crowd who gathered to watch this scene in front of them.


    "Can you do my feet next?" I asked Liam.


    Liam nodded as he walked to massage my feet next. He kneeled as he started to remove my flats. Ethan rubbed his hands as he slowly walked towards me, "is there anything else you need?"


    "I''m hungry, feed me," I asked him for some strawberry shortcake.


    In less than a minute, Ethan scoped up some cake onto a fork. I opened my mouth so he could feed me and smiled when the cream melted on my tongue. In a way, this was my revenge towards him for abandoning me earlier this week to escape on his own, making me join another fraction.


    Meanwhile, Luke was using this time to use more heal on me and unwrapped one of my bandages. When the three of them noticed how bad each of my injuries were, they worked harder in carrying out my demands. It seemed like this training was working as they stopped fighting and kept their emotions to themselves.


    "What''s happening here?" Claire noticed us from the entrance.


    It was likely Claire and Yulian came to this event, knowing their other fraction was shorthanded here. They watched the fairies diligently fanning and massaging my poor muscles. They appeared shocked as they stopped to watch me with the others.


    "Nothing much," I opened my mouth to eat another bite of the cake.


    "What''s your speciality?" I asked Liam.


    "Earth," he continued to massage my feet.


    It was no wonder he was able to shake the entire mansion yesterday. I thought his speciality was air like Ella since he used similar attacks as her. When Luke appeared like he couldn''t use more of his mana on me, he surprisingly asked Liam, "is it possible to use heal on Rika?"


    "Heal used to be one of my best spells before I died," Liam nodded his head.


    Liam abandoned massaging my feet as he grimaced when Luke unwrapped another bandage on my leg. He placed his hands before my injury as a faint green light appeared. In less than a second, my injury was completely healed. Seeing how effective Liam was in healing my injuries, Luke continued to unwrap more bandages.


    "I''m sorry," Liam continued to heal my injuries.


    "I didn''t think it was this bad," he looked at the endless rolls of bandages on the ground.


    "I can help," Ella stared guiltily towards me.


    "Ever since I crossed dimensions, I got better at mending bones!" She placed her hands above my arm.


    If only all the fairies spent their time trying to heal others rather causing such chaos. After I finished the strawberry shortcake, Ethan took over Liam''s role and started to massage my feet. The guests who got used to the scene, began to continue their conversations with each other. It was only the new guests who would rudely stare, wondering if the scene in front of them was actually real.


    "How is life in the other dimension?" I wondered.


    "You already been there before. It''s similar to this life except there''s no monsters," Ella responded.


    "But it''s filled with dangerous people. I don''t know what I would''ve done if Graham didn''t take me in," she sadly smiled.

 Chapter 280 - Girl in Love (7)

    "Dangerous people?" I wondered.


    "People who turn into fairies aren''t exactly sane after their deaths," Liam explained.


    I stared at both Ella and Liam. How did someone become a fairy?


    "Do people turn into fairies that easily?" I asked both of them.


    "Graham told me that people turn into fairies when they have great regret in their lives," Ella sadly smiled.


    "I''m sorry," I sneaked a glance at Ella.


    The reason why Ella turned into a fairy was because of her love for her brother. However, Liam stayed silent like there was another reason why some people turned into a fairy when they died. Could it be related to how he mentioned the reason why he didn''t attempt to kill her brother again?


    "You can always be with Zane now," I tried to console her.


    "Watching him from behind, where he won''t be able to see or hear me. Seeing how he lives his life without me," Ella seemed to be full of pain.


    "Isn''t it weird that he can''t see or hear you when it isn''t the case for Liam?" I wondered.


    Ella nodded her head. It sadly looked like they didn''t know the reason why they couldn''t talk, see or hear certain people. Both Ella and Liam appeared drained as heal consumed loads of their mana. I guessed it took a heavy toll on fairies as well. I hoped that their mana supply would slowly recover, not giving them a chance to accidentally attack me when their emotions got wild.


    "What do you plan to do now?" I cautiously asked them while they were calm.


    "I don''t know," Ella admitted.


    "What can I do?" She stared at Zane.


    "Can''t you write to communicate with each other?" I thought of an idea.


    "I tried, but he won''t be able to read it," Ella clenched her fists.


    It was like she recalled arranging a field of flowers in Ben''s mansion to send her message to him. Or that time she slipped a note inside his pocket, for him to throw it out, wondering why a sheet of paper with nothing on it was inside his suit. Even those clouds she arranged when I served as a distraction were lettered to show her love.


    "I don''t mind that I died for him. It''s just that sometimes, it''s really hard to look over him. Seeing that he''s slowly moving on without me," Ella''s eyes began to well up with tears.


    Every time she watched him flirt another girl made her tremble in anger, helpless in interfering with his life. She couldn''t help but create all those disasters from anyone other than her getting so close to him. How else would he notice her presence? She was invisible to him.


    "And after a few days, I won''t be able to see his face anymore. It''s the promise I made with Graham. I promised him I would return to the other dimension," she screamed.


    "Why?" I softly asked.


    "Because fairies will start to go crazy the longer, they stay in this dimension," Liam mumbled.


    "What do you mean?" Zane turned to Liam.


    "Nothing," Liam coldly answered him.


    "I just felt so surprised to see how much he has changed during the time I was gone. As you know, I just arrived in this dimension yesterday. When I saw his face during that party, he brightly smiled, talking to other girls like he forgot about me," Ella poured her heart out.


    "I couldn''t help but slip something into all those drinks," Ella turned to me.


    "There was no way I was going to allow them to have a happy family together," Ella slumped onto the floor.


    Liam watched her crying over her older brother with no guilt. Instead he seemed to place all the blame on Zane for making her feel so sad over feeling powerless no matter where she turned. She was at a dead end with a limited amount of time, destroying other people''s lives in the process.


    "I did think that if I killed him, no one would be able to look at him except for me," she glared where she thought Liam stood.


    "He would never be able to talk to those girls again, or his horrible partner," she defended her line of thought.


    "But how could I kill him?" Her hands trembled.


    "It''s not like he''ll ever come back to me if I do," she looked at her hands. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/girl-in-love-(7)_48836551999800157 for visiting.


    "But what if he had great regret in not being able to save you that he could turn into a fairy?" Ethan mumbled.


    Did Ethan not know that she could actually kill her brother with that line of thought? I glared at him to shut his mouth before making things even worse. He didn''t know what happened at Jules'' mansion yesterday. He only saw her while she was calm, able to control her emotions after Zane finally noticed her existence.


    "It could be true," she looked like she was considering his idea.


    "If he turns into a fairy, we may be able to be together again," she muttered.


    Zane, who didn''t know where the direction of the conversation was heading, continued to stand close to Ella. This was bad as she stared at him in a new light. Liam, who could sense Ella''s emotions, pushed Zane away to create a bigger distance between them.


    "Run, Ella is considering killing you," he whispered into his ear.

 Chapter 281 - Girl in Love (8)

    Zane looked at Liam like he was crazy. He didn''t know how Liam was trying to help him. And if I took Liam''s side to save his life, it was likely that Ella would be out to kill me as well. Luke, who also knew the fact, tightly grabbed my hand to prevent me from going anywhere.


    "You can''t," Luke squeezed my hand.


    "There''s no way Ella would kill me, she loves me," Zane yelled at Liam.


    "It''s ok, it''ll only hurt for a moment. It will be a worthy sacrifice," Ella staggered as she got up.


    "You love me too, right?" Ella walked towards him.


    The air pressure quickly dropped while a sudden breeze began to pick up in the room. Zane''s eyes widened as he realized it must be from Ella. Liam''s warning was starting to seem more viable by the passing minute as the guests ran to evacuate.


    "We should run too," Luke pulled my arm.


    "He doesn''t deserve to die!" I was forcibly being dragged to the entrance. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click /book/my-bothersome-life_10609696606076405/girl-in-love-(8)_48876441223362614 for visiting.


    "He''s going to die," I struggled to get out of his grip.


    "Then you''re going to die," Luke spun to face me.


    "Do you ever think of the people who will be left alone in this world after you die? Do you ever consider how I''ll feel if you die?" Luke recalled the times where I ran into danger.


    "What about your parents?" Luke reminded me.


    He was right. How would my current parents feel, sending their young daughter to the first district, for her to return to them dead? I always thought since I had the second chance card, it would be better if I was the one to die if it couldn''t be avoided. This was why when others mourned over me, thinking I was dead, it was such a gut-wrenching feeling.


    The structure of the mansion began to crumble as if a small tornado was being to form inside the building. Soon, the entrance was blocked from all the rocks. Liam stood in front of Zane, protecting him from Ella who looked like she was out to murder him.


    "Get out of the way Liam," Ella couldn''t get past him.


    Liam muttered to manipulate the ground, producing a dirt shield to fend against the storm. However, the shields were quickly shattered as he continued his spell to produce more. Golems were also roaming around to prevent her from coming closer. They attempted to push back the wind with their bodies as they walked forward together.


    Meanwhile, Zane searched to find an exit that wasn''t blocked by all the rocks. We were stuck in this cage with no exit as their fight intensified. Luke frowned as everything was starting to shake, including the ceiling, making all the lights fall down towards us.


    He produced a barrier, strong enough to protect the both of us as we silently watched the fight with no other choice. The more we walked around to find an exit, the higher chance something would fall on us on the way. It was better staying in a relatively safe spot. Plus, it consumed more mana when you had a constantly moving barrier.


    "There''s no guarantee that your brother will turn into a fairy," Liam shouted.


    When Ella''s emotions got stronger, all his spells broke from her anger. Liam immediately ran to protect an air slash heading towards Zane as she switched her focus. Liam acted like a shield as his body became rough from the wind trying to push him around, baring most of the brunt attacks from Ella. Wind slashed him as if it was a sword, producing cuts all over his body.


    "He will and we''ll always be together afterwards!" Ella screamed.


    "Why are you so against us from being together?" She slammed Liam against the wall.


    "Why is everyone against our love?" She cried as Liam slid down the wall, not attacking her, afraid of hurting her.


    "You''ll regret killing him," Liam coughed.


    "Although your brother loves you, does he love you enough to die for you?" He pointed out Zane trembling in fear.


    It was clear that Zane did love her with all his heart. Maybe once upon a time, he loved her as much as she loved him. However, as time passed, he tried to move on. He tried dating other girls who resembled Ella, her gentle face and bright eyes like his. He expanded his world, trying to forget his lost love.


    He was happy when he discovered she was watching over him. He would do anything to see her face again. But when he figured out, he would never be able to see or hear her, what was he supposed to do? Was he supposed to live a life where he would pretend, she was with him at all times?


    Was he willing to live a life where he would be stuck on her forever? Like now, wallowing in his miseries, ruining his life in the process? It was like all these thoughts were coming into his head as he fled for his life. Would he be able to spend his entire life on her? He didn''t want to live such a life where he felt like trash anymore.


    Liam, who he had hated that he would be willing to exchange his life for his revenge, staggered. His entire body was a mess with all the bruises, cuts and sliced limbs when he wasn''t able to dodge a big attack in time. He sadly smiled while Ella was beginning to kill him in the process. He was a person who was willing to die for Ella.

 Chapter 282 - Girl in Love (9)

    "Move out of the way Liam," Ella warned him.


    "I don''t want you to do anything you''ll regret Ella," Liam grunted.


    "Zane loves me. He would want this for us too," her emotions took over her.


    Ella started to recall how she fell in love with Zane. It was the first time she opened her eyes in her cradle, she wondered what that warm feeling was touching her tiny hand. The smell of milk came from the small boy who looked at her as she was a fascinating being.


    His eyes widened when he noticed her turning towards him. His high-pitched voice never stopped ringing as he watched her adoringly. She didn''t understand what he was saying, all she saw was his bright eyes. This was their first meeting.


    Why was he smiling? What was making him so happy? Ella didn''t understand as she stared at him in her mother''s arms. In the large mansion where her height increased with every single day, she began to understand more of the boy''s words. She sat in his lap as he opened a screen, showing pictures imitating the scenery outside her house with some scribbles on them.


    "This is sleeping beauty," he focused on the scribbles.


    "She is a princess laying down inside the garden," he pointed at the beautiful lady.


    She felt annoyed that he showed her all these pictures when he struggled to read. Her mother had a much more soothing voice who connected each page together. He was taking time away that she could spend with her mother.


    Ella attempted to press a button on the screen. She saw him press a certain button before to make the screen vanish. She smiled when he stopped trying to read when she had managed to find the button.


    "Don''t you want to know the rest of the story?" He kindly pressed the button again.


    Maybe she was curious where the story led. The one story her mother wouldn''t read to her was the tale of sleeping beauty. The next day when she waited for him to come to her room as usual, he never came.


    "Are you wondering where your older brother is?" Her mother asked her when Ella pulled her sleeves.


    Ella had never felt this way before. She was always with her older brother after she opened her eyes. She didn''t know why her heart felt there was something missing. Unconsciously, she took her brother for granted, being the only other child in this mansion.


    "Your brother is at school. Maybe he''ll come visit us during the holidays," Her mother stroked her head.


    Time slowly passed as she was able to walk towards the gates alone now. Every morning, she checked if a small boy was present outside her window. She was all alone inside the mansion with the servants. Her parents were busy with work so she could only meet them in the evening.


    Ella never felt the mansion was so large when he was there, but now it felt like the whole place was swallowing her up. She picked up another book in the library as she read the rest of the tale of sleeping beauty alone. The ending was so typical and predictable.


    Sleeping beauty woke up and found a prince who would marry her. She didn''t know anyone in this new world where everyone had already died while she slept, frozen in time. The prince was just like her brother, who brought light into her world in this large mansion.


    Nobody paid attention to her other than her barely present parents who got increasingly busy as she grew older. Ella felt she was just like sleeping beauty, alone in this big world where nobody cared for her. She searched for people who would play with her. However, what could she expect from programmed robots?


    Ella had read in a book that once you marry someone, you''ll get to be with them forever. Someone who would never leave and play with her. In her closed off world, all she had was him. She had no one else who would spare another glance at her.


    Even when she met a lot of new people when she entered school, none of them felt the same as the first person she met. Including her partner, who desired for love like she did to the point he expected too much from her. She couldn''t give him something that she desperately wanted as well.


    "Die for us Liam," she poured more strength into her attacks.


    Liam was brutally slammed against the wall over and over again. His body twisted and augmented as the wind played with him. He didn''t do anything to defend himself, afraid that he would injure her in the process. If only he had chanted one attack to protect himself, he would be able to escape from her grasp. When his body became limp, unable to suffer the attacks much longer, he sadly smiled.


    I gasped as Liam started to shimmer. His body was becoming translucent like he was fading out of existence. He maintained his smile like he didn''t mind his second death. Right before he completely disappeared, he shattered into white dust. His remains resembled the white powder that drifted into my drink yesterday. I couldn''t believe this was where fairy dust came from.


    With Liam out of the way, Ella laughed, crazily in love as she finally faced her older brother. Zane froze in fear as a sudden wave of gust shot towards him. I ran out of Luke''s barrier, sprinting in their direction.


    "Come back to your senses Ella!" I skid in front of Zane.

 Chapter 283 - Girl in Love (10)

    "Does Zane look like he wants to die with you?" I pointed out.


    "Why wouldn''t he?" Ella appeared genuinely confused.


    "We''ll get to be together again," she looked like she was going to enter into a romantic daydream.


    "Are you on Liam''s side too?" She was about to switch her target.


    "I told you, I''m not on anyone''s side," I shouted.


    Ella was insane. She quickly moved on to fulfill her goal like Liam was nothing to her. Love was a terrible excuse for her possessiveness. I wondered what made Ella so obsessive for her love for her older brother in the first place.


    "You''re still young Rika. You should run with your partner," Zane attempted to push me out the way.


    "I deserve this. You saw what I did to the other girls that day. I know I''m trash. Everyone would be better off I died," he was indirectly saying I did what I could.


    "But everyone deserves a second chance," I argued.


    Zane sighed as he went through how this all began. He didn''t deserve a second chance. Maybe he should have expected something like this coming at him someday. He just didn''t know that day was today. He was a terrible person.


    Alone, near to abandoned in a large mansion was a small boy. Like Ella, nobody paid attention to him once he learned how to speak. However, he was different in the sense he was pressured to take as many classes as his parents could afford. Bringing tutors to his house cost a lot of money.


    Although his family was on the wealthy side, they weren''t wealthy enough to hire the top tutors without taking a hit on their finances. His parents wanted him to have the best future possible. They worked hard to let him be admitted into a higher-ranking school. And because he knew about his fact, he couldn''t complain how he would rather for them to be with him instead.


    He was their family heir. This was why when Ella came into his life, he stayed as close to her as possible, not wanting to feel alone anymore. His tutors were always strict, only finding faults in him. After each class, he began to feel like he was worthless.


    But each time he met Ella, he finally felt he was worth something. He could do the things that she couldn''t do. She relied on him for everything as if she couldn''t do anything on her own. Ella needed him in his life like she wouldn''t be able to live without him.


    Once he entered a higher-ranking school than his parents expected, his world expanded. He had a partner who was always with him, who relied on him. He wasn''t alone anymore as he studied among his classmates who eventually became his friends. He was enjoying his school life, forgetting about Ella.


    This was why he didn''t think much when he visited his family after a long period of time. Ella stared at him from quite a distance as he introduced his partner. She didn''t approach him until he was alone during the middle of the night.


    "Who is she? Didn''t you say you were going to marry Ella?" Ella asked him.


    Zane began to feel guilty. He knew his sister felt the same way he used to feel. Although he had many people around him now, she was still alone. He lied to comfort her, "she''s nothing to me."


    Once she entered the same school as him, she was still all alone. Ella ignored all the people around her like they were nuisances. Her eyes brightened as she ran towards him. He began to be pulled into her whims, pitying her. Although his partner could live without him, Ella couldn''t. Ella needed more care.


    As she grew, this feeling eventually turned into love. He didn''t care about anyone but her. They began to meet in secret to be openly lovers where their parents could not see them. Nothing was more important than Ella. This was why he was devastated when she died for him. He secluded himself, immersing himself in a world inside his head where Ella was still alive.


    Every girl he met reminded him of Ella. He tried to move on, knowing she would never return. He knew what he did was bad, using others as her replacement. Guilt crept into his heart every time as he flirted to fill up his loneliness. He shuddered as he came back to senses when a large boulder was aimed towards me.


    Zane pushed me with all his strength towards Luke''s barrier. He sadly smiled as he watched the wind rush precisely at his neck after we had dodged the boulder. He looked like he was anticipating his death as he closed his eyes. I screamed as this could not be happening.


    His head slid off from the rest of his body with a single tear that had dripped down from his eye with her final slash of air. Ella held onto his dear head once it had dropped onto the floor. She wondered why nothing was happening. He was supposed to turn into a fairy just like she did. It wasn''t supposed to turn out this way.


    Did he not have any extreme regrets? Didn''t he want to be with her as much as she did? Her knees became weak as she soon stumbled onto the cold marble tiles. This was the girl in love. The girl who had killed her fianc¨¦e to fulfill her romance with her older brother. The girl who killed her older brother to be with him. Forever by his side. The girl in love.

 Chapter 284 - A Price for Everything (1)

    "Why? Why isn''t anything happening?" Ella screamed.


    "This is indeed concerning. It wasn''t supposed to play out this way," someone came out of a portal.


    Another fairy raised his hand to repair the mansion. In less than a second, everything reverted back into normal, appearing as if nothing had happened. Luke removed his barrier, but warily studied the fairy. We turned to the direction of the entrance since the rocks were removed, but the entrance was entirely blocked by the creation of a new spell.


    "Are you ok?" He turned to me and Luke.


    We nodded our heads. We didn''t know how dangerous this fairy would be. From our experiences, all of them were extremely unpredictable. I wouldn''t have been ever able to predict when I first entered this mansion that two people would die.


    "Who are you?" Luke narrowed his eyes while pulling me behind him.


    "I am the overseer," he slightly bowed.


    "I give out the price for the exchange of a new life. As you know, people turn into fairies after their death when they have a great regret that lingers in their souls to the point they cannot move on. This boy has no such regret. He is satisfied that he had protected the girl with his final breath," he looked down at the dead body.


    "It can''t be," Ella cradled his head.


    "This can''t be right," she glared at the overseer.


    Her brother should have had many regrets in his life. He wasn''t able to save her from Liam and died at such a young age. He never got his wish of living a normal life with her. All those plans that were made for the future were never fulfilled.


    "He will not come back," the overseer coldly answered her question.


    "Now, please come with me," he offered his hand to her.


    The portal swirled, full of energy, showing the dreamlike scenery of the ballroom in the other side. Soft moss and fields of wildflowers covered the walls while all the furniture turned into transparent glass mimicking where we were. The sky was forever violet like the sun was about set. Nothing futuristic was present, making everything seem natural.


    Ella reluctantly got up, taking his hand as she still held onto the remains of her older brother. She obediently stepped into the portal, disappearing into the other side. I wondered why she wasn''t arguing against him. Didn''t she have any questions if there was any possibly to turn her brother into a fairy?


    "You as well Rika," the overseer waited for me.


    My eyes widened as I wondered why I had to get in as well. It appeared Luke was thinking the same thing as he asked, "is there anything you need from my partner?"


    "There''s a price for everything," he pointed to the spell on my hand.


    "She promised one of us that she would look over them from preventing this from happening. However, she failed to keep her promise."


    So this was what Graham meant by watching over them? I was shocked because I never knew. Did he predict that something like this would happen? The overseer continued to wait for me while I didn''t want to step into the other side. I tightened my grip on his clothes, not wanting to separate from him.


    "I only promised I would watch over them as the exact wording. And I did watch over them," I continued to stay in my spot.


    "We can continue this on the other side," the overseer grabbed me to pull me into the other side.


    Luke reached out his hands as I was sucked into the other dimension. His hands grabbed onto nothing as the portal soon closed from his late reaction. I stumbled onto the overgrown grass instead of the cold polished floor. This was too heavy a price to pay for a spell.


    "I have also called for the gatekeeper," the overseer introduced us to a new person who came out of his hiding spot.


    I gasped as the waiter who led me to the spirit currency centre appeared. I did know he was an important figure, but he was the gatekeeper this entire time? I wondered what it meant, but at the same time I knew it had something about people travelling between the two dimensions. Although he was considered to be a kind soul, he wasn''t one. If he never brought me to this dimension, I would never have suffered through travelling between the two worlds.


    As I expected, the tattooed bracelet appeared on my wrist again. At least I had the option of using the portal to get home if they weren''t willing to let me go. The overseer gestured to me to sit down on a glass chair. I sat, hoping to get this over with. I didn''t want to stay in this dimension more than I had to.


    "As you know, everything has a price. Let me bring back your memories of what had truly happened that day," he began.


    The four of us sat around a round table like we were having a tea party deep in the garden.


    "Didn''t you ever wonder why your brother wasn''t able to see or hear you ever since you turned into a spirit? How were you not able to see Liam but able to hear him? How was Liam not able to hear you while he could see you?"


    "This is the price for your second life," he revealed.

 Chapter 285 - A Price for Everything (2)

    "You were meant to move on, to disappear after becoming satisfied with only watching your brother become happy in his life without you. You would also forgive Liam in the process after listening to his apologies for his entire lifetime," he started the story.


    "Only then, Liam would move on with you from your forgiveness. To make sure this would happen, some measures were put into place," he waved his hands to summon something while explaining.


    Teacups and snacks flew onto the table from behind like this was going to be a long story. Did fairies even need to eat? The only time Ella ate something was yesterday at the buffet table after watching me grab a plate of strawberry shortcake.


    "What measures?" I asked the question he was expecting.


    "If she was able to see Liam right after her death, it was likely she would murder him on the spot. Not giving him a chance to repent. This was why we made sure she wouldn''t be able to see him," the overseer sighed.


    "However, if we gave the chance for Liam to talk or hear her voice, it wouldn''t be punishing him. If he was able to touch her or watch over her at a close distance, it wouldn''t be effective as well," he elegantly picked up his teacup.


    "This had to be carefully planned," his teacup clattered onto a plate.


    "I didn''t mind back then. All I wanted to do was be able to be with him. I never thought it would be this painful," Ella stroked her brother''s head.


    "It wasn''t a bad price. I thought I would be satisfied with this," she was filled with regret.


    "But at the same time, if we let Zane be able to see or hear her, it was likely he would never move on with his life," he frowned.


    "Why bring me into this? Why bring me into this dimension?" I turned to the gatekeeper.


    "You knew if you brought me here, I would have been in trouble in the future, forever lost between the two worlds," I clenched my fists.


    "I''m just the gatekeeper. I don''t control fate," he snapped a cookie.


    "That day, I saw you on the hover bus, deliberating where you should go. You didn''t know that you were giving off a dangerous amount of mana in your aura since you didn''t have it under control back then. I just brought you to a safe place so you wouldn''t attract any monsters where the barriers were weak," he looked like he did me a favour.


    "That''s why I gave you that spell, not expecting it to be broken so soon," he pointed at my hand.


    "Then why are you here?" I wondered.


    "I''m here to meet my successor," the gatekeeper gestured to Ella.


    "It''s the punishment, never able to move on until she serves her role to the fullest," the overseer revealed.


    "I deserve it," Ella whispered.


    I wondered how Ella appeared so calm. It was like there was a spell over her, lulling her into this state. I thought she would yell at them, making them turn her brother into a fairy at all costs. But she accepted everything that the gatekeeper and overseer placed on her.


    "Then why am I here?" I wanted to get out of this dimension.


    "You''re here because you didn''t pay the price for the spell," only the overseer was left.


    The gatekeeper had opened another portal, leading to his office. Like Ella was under his control, not able to think on her own, she stepped into the scenery of other fairies working their lives off. The fairies appeared like they were exhausted, not given the chance to take a break. They looked like they haven''t slept in days, washed or changed clothes. They were enslaved to all the work they were given.


    Ella would become like them. Unable to have the freedom until she fulfilled her duty. Their mana was used to keep them alive and awake, weak from hunger. I wondered if the gatekeeper had been through this as well as I watched him load more doc.u.ments onto their desks before the portal closed.


    "I told you, I only promised to watch over them as the exact wording," I turned to him.


    "Did you think his intent by watching over them was not taking care of them?"


    "How would he expect me, a powerless human to prevent this whole disaster from happening?" I felt it was unfair.


    "There were many paths that you could have taken, each one taking you to a better future. It seems you have made the choices to lead you to one of the worst possible outcomes," he found it interesting.


    "There was a path where no one died?" I almost jumped out of my chair.


    "There was a path where the exact scenario we desired played out. Zane ended up living a happy life with his partner after admitting his faults, creating a family together. Ella chose to move on with her life, realizing she would want the best for him while she also healed from Liam. Meanwhile, Liam realized his possessiveness of Ella and corrected his wrongs to move on," his hand swiped the air to bring out a screen.


    A screen appeared with everyone getting their happy endings with all the right choices. It was like he was blaming me for not doing my role properly, preventing everyone from getting their proper endings. I squeezed the edge of my dress, starting to feel guilty.


    "So what is the price for the spell?" I lost arguing against him.

 Chapter 286 - A Price for Everything (3)

    "Your identity is what is important to you in this world, is it not?" He seemed to confirm with me.


    I froze, wondering how he figured out. Sometimes, I was afraid, feeling like my entire identity depended on Luke''s family. Everyone referred to me as the fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family. They never said Rika Shanes who came from the ordinary family in the third district. Ever since my appearance changed, making a few of my features I inherited from my parents disappear, I started to feel scared that they wouldn''t be able to recognize me anymore.


    "Is this the payment? For a spell that had disappeared when you took me with you?" I looked up at him.


    "Is it so wrong, wanting to stay in one dimension, not wanting to travel between the two worlds for eternity until my death?" My voice cracked.


    "Indeed, it would be too much when it wasn''t purely your fault. How about exchanging your identity for a new spell? This one will last much longer than the other one," the overseer waited for my answer.


    "How long?"


    "Around one century, unless you enter this world again, it will break immediately," he made a reasonable offer.


    I hung my head with no other choice. My identity wasn''t important as the fate of my entire life. Like before, he slowly waved his hand over my head, sprinkling fairy dust. I wondered how he would take my identity away through this way. I didn''t feel any different than before. When I raised my head, nothing had changed.


    Except for my hand, glimmering with a translucent crest in the sunlight. It was oddly the Roselia family crest with the two angel wings crossed together, swallowing up the sword in between. Red roses filled the rest of the space remaining like the beginning of the family name.


    "Would you like a mirror?" He offered a hand mirror.


    A mirror? I wouldn''t need one. All I would need to do was to look at my reflection at the glass table where the snacks and tea were placed. I shook my head, declining his offer, rising to check my appearance. I stumbled a few steps back, shocked and speechless. I couldn''t mean this was the meaning of losing my identity.


    I looked as if I was another person. I choked up in tears as my inhumane beauty had engulfed my original appearance. This person could not be a human being. She was too perfect, having no fault in anywhere you searched for, the tiny imperfections completely gone. Her wild curly hair drifted down with no hair out of place. Her features were completely symmetrical, slim nose, sharp jawlines and larger bright eyes.


    My skin glimmered in the sunlight, adding a fantasy touch. I resembled Luke''s celestial looks, but it couldn''t be possible. He never exchanged anything for him to appear like I did. I turned to the overseer, "how?"


    "The Pelargium family is descended from fairies, which explains your partner''s appearance," he explained.


    "In exchange for the payment, you resemble one of us now. Making you a target of monsters in the process," he revealed.


    "Why?" I continued to watch another person move when I turned left and right.


    "Fairies were part of the main reason for the creation of monsters. Many wanted to become like us, full of power with much more mana than human beings. Monsters are failed products. They despise us as they could never become like us," he scoffed at the thought.


    "Then the monsters have been following us around because of Luke?" I recalled the time where a swarm of monsters tried to kill us.


    "You equally attracted them. Your partner, who attracted them for his bloodline and you for your potential for unlimited amount of mana," he tapped his fingers on the table.


    "They will come after you with more vigor. You who possess a large capacity for mana and your appearance. This will be your punishment," his arm circled to create another portal.


    The portal opened, showing the other side. I couldn''t see Luke anymore inside the crowd of guests, mingling around like nothing had happened. It was near nighttime, lights creating the atmosphere of a starry night. It seems that they have resumed their event.


    "Are you sure this is the right time?" I wondered why it wasn''t daytime anymore.


    "It seems our conversation had lasted longer than I thought it would. Three days has passed on the other side already," he looked at the watch on his wrist.


    "Sometimes it is hard to predict how fast time passes in the other dimension. Depending on what region we are in here, there could be a time difference up to one hundred years," he explained.


    One hundred years? Everyone I knew would be dead by then. I never thought I would feel that I would be fortunate for only missing three days. I didn''t look back and stepped into the portal. I would never enter this place again if I didn''t have to.


    Upon my entrance, I instantly grabbed everyone''s attention like I was in the spotlight. Realizing the portal was still closing behind me, people stared at the odd scene. Ethan, the one who had led us to the worst path, pushed through the crowd to get a closer look at me.


    "What did you do to Rika?" He couldn''t recognize me.


    "Why are you wearing her dress?"

 Chapter 287 - A Price for Everything (4)

    "You almost killed Rika. Rika was almost stuck into the other dimension, all alone, wandering between the two worlds until her death," I wasn''t able to forgive him for giving Ella the idea to kill her brother.


    "Rika thinks you should die with her, why don''t you join her Ethan?" I narrowed my eyes.


    Ethan stared at me more closely like he noticed something. He scanned me from top to bottom from my posture to my expression. Walking closer to me, he ignored all the guests around him.


    "You''re Rika," Ethan couldn''t believe his own words.


    "You look so different. You look like one of them," he whispered.


    Under the moonlight, my eyes glowed cherry pink, the colour of my mana. My entire body was soaked in fairy dust as I tried to brush them off me. My delicate skin glimmered from the faint hint of light, unlike before. I could notice more changes here than the other dimension as the polished floors reflected my appearance.


    "You see because of a certain someone, I had to exchange something to come back here," I crossed my arms.


    "Are you a fairy now?" Ethan gasped.


    "I only look like them, I''m not them yet," I stomped on Ethan''s shoe as hard as possible.


    "I''ll have to message Luke," Ethan held in his pain.


    I didn''t want to stay at such a place anymore. I didn''t want to stay in these glitzy mansions, full of people trying to grab as much power as possible. I wanted to go back him to my family, afraid that they wouldn''t call me their daughter anymore. I had to go visit them. My parents barely knew what I looked like as I rarely met them.


    All they had were those picture albums sent by the school as the only source of our connection together. I needed to be reassured, knowing my parents will be still able to recognize me. Luke burst into Ethan''s mansion as he immediately noticed where I stood. I wondered how he was doing for the past few days.


    Did their parents find him a new partner, thinking I wouldn''t return? I hoped this was the case as I wanted to leave the first district. There would be no fairies nor monsters in the safe third district. Unfortunately, he was immediately able to recognize me even when my appearance has changed. It was what I expected from Luke, who was able to notice the tiniest things. We did live together for more than eight years.


    "You''re still alive," Luke pulled me into his arms.


    "The books say that people who go onto the other side never return," he squeezed me even tighter.


    "I tried going through everything when I could. But there were barely any helpful doc.u.mentations about them left," he trembled.


    "Can we go home now?" I awkwardly stood still, ignoring his shaking hands.


    "We have to go to the Impalia mansion. They have another fraction event today," Luke reluctantly let go of me.


    "There''s no way I''m going to another event," I was adamant.


    "Let''s talk in the hover car Rika," Luke sighed.


    Luke covered up his emotions as he dragged me to his hover car. I sat down, waiting for him to continue the conversation as the hover car drifted higher into the sky. I couldn''t believe we were going to a fraction event after all that happened. It was like I was being pulled into one situation to the next.


    "I want to go to my parents in the third district," I crossed my legs.


    "I don''t want to stay in the unsafe first district anymore," I continued when Luke stayed silent.


    "We can visit them after Sunday," he studied me, looking at all the changes.


    "What if I want to leave now?" I shook my head.


    "Everything has a price Rika. We joined the Impalia fraction to get their help a few weeks ago. I''ve been attending the events alone while going through all the books to get you back," Luke explained.


    I had enough of the first district. Every single thing had a price, and nothing was done out of good will. Everyone expected something in return from me who had to give everything I had. When I thought there was nothing more for me to give, they broke me apart one by one, always finding more.


    "But wouldn''t they understand?" I grumbled.


    "If I had really died and became a fairy, I wouldn''t have been able to attend anyways," I shouted at him.


    "Do you think I want to go too? Do you think I want to take you there when you barely came out from the other side alive?" Luke raised his voice.


    "We need to go so we can ask them for help in the future," his hands trembled.


    Unfortunately, I knew he was right. This was why I couldn''t say anything back. Everyone in the first district was merciless. It was part of the unfair world we lived in. I jumped out of the hover car before it completely landed near the ground. If I had to go, then I would just attend, not doing anything else for them. The grand doors opened as Luke and I unwillingly stepped inside.


    The event had already started, making us the last people to come in. Luke escorted me inside as the guests all turned to face us.

 Chapter 288 - A Price for Everything (5)

    "I really apologize about what had happened to your partner, I have heard what happened," One of the fraction leaders came up to us.


    "Thank you for your concern. I am fortunate that my partner has returned relatively unharmed," Luke carried the conversation.


    The gossip increased as everyone gasped at my new appearance from Luke''s comment. To them, I appeared no different than the fairy who had slammed me into a wall on Monday. The fairy who sadly wasn''t here in this world anymore.


    I stayed silent like I was a bystander, letting Luke do all the socializing. As time flew by, I just wanted to get more rest. Unlike the others who got to rest at their mansions after retiring from the events, I never got the chance. I started to feel hungry as well like the time that had passed in this dimension was starting to catch up on me.


    I regretted not eating some of the snacks on the table, too focused on the price I would have to pay for the spell. I interrupted Luke as he talked to another guest, "can we go home now?"


    ''I''m hungry and tired,'' I shot him a glance.


    ''I''ll ask Claire if she can push the mealtime a bit earlier,'' Luke answered with a fast look before going back to his conversation.


    "Please excuse us," Luke soon ended the conversation.


    "Claire¡­" I walked towards her once I saw her near me, leaving Luke alone.


    "Do you still need us?" I brought out my pitiful eyes.


    Something crashed against the wall, destroying all the windows in the process. Instead of answering my question, Claire turned to what could be causing all the commotion. She froze when a giant monster, resembling Flower had appeared, infiltrating the tough barrier.


    It peeked inside with its eye, taking up the space of an entire window. The entire mansion trembled as it started to move. This was when I recalled the overseer''s words, ''they will come after you with more vigor.''


    "Everyone to the teleportation gate," Claire yelled.


    Yulian started leading everyone to the room with the teleportation gates. My eyes widened as there were a total of five teleportation gates, fully charged. One by one, everyone left, leaving us the hosts alone, the last to escape. By the time it was our turn, I looked at the teleportation gates that ran out of power.


    "I thought the first district had recently done an extermination?" I clenched my fists.


    "They were only able to push them into a corner," Claire appeared equally frustrated.


    Claire had already equipped herself with some swords to get ready to fight. She ran out the door, trying to buy us some time. The three of us now had to come up with a plan, knowing Claire wouldn''t be able to fight against the monster alone.


    "One of us has to charge the teleportation gate. When it charges, we can all escape together. We can''t defeat this monster, it''s almost a s-class monster," Yulian went over the details.


    "Rika can charge the teleportation gate," Luke immediately assigned me to a role.


    I nodded my head as I began to charge the teleportation gate. As usual, Luke was trying to keep me safe by letting others take the dangerous ones. I wondered why it felt easier to push my mana into the gate without me concentrating a lot like usual.


    In less than a split of a second, the entire gate had been charged, enough to take us anywhere, including other districts. Both Luke and Yulian, who haven''t left yet appeared stunned as my hair glowed, its ends drifting in the air before stopping my spell. It seemed like there were other things that the overseer had not told me about.


    "We can escape right now, I''ll go get Claire," Yulian ran.


    "I''m sure I''m not a fairy," I felt confused, wondering about the side effects.


    "Claire''s not breathing!" Yulian carried her in his arms.


    Claire''s bloodied body appeared even worse than mine when I was filled with many injuries a few days ago. Her head seemed like it was smashed multiple times, flesh opened and messed up like it was clay. Her eyes were peacefully closed, giving up on life.


    "We should go to the hospital," Luke immediately pressed the settings.


    We all stepped into the gate to arrive at the hospital. While Yulian carried Claire, Luke walked towards a machine, pressing all the reasons for our visit. Not even seconds passed before we were led to a private room with the doctor waiting behind the door.


    The hospital appeared purely futuristic with no fantasy component added to it. Robots and machines replaced all its staff in the clean facility. Yulian laid Claire on the bed as the doctor used his tools to take a closer look.


    "She''s still alive, we''ll just need to put her under the intensive care room," he announced.


    "In fact, she is not the one to worry about. The young girl behind you is in much more trouble," he pointed to me.


    "She barely has any mana left. She''ll die sooner than the other girl."


    This wasn''t a problem. Although my mana was on the extremely low end since I used more than I thought I would, it recovered at a fast pace. I was in plenty more danger all those other times. This doctor really had to stop talking or Luke may actually take him seriously soon.

 Chapter 289 - A Price for Everything (6)

    "What are you saying doctor? You should get your tools checked," I laughed at the absurdity.


    "If I was really dying, then how am I still standing?" My expression became cold.


    Don''t say any absurd things! You don''t know the full story about what even happened. Don''t make things worse than they actually are.


    "We should focus on Claire," I turned to Yulian.


    Yulian''s clothes were splattered with her blood. The robots took her to another room to quickly take her to get treatment by a specialist. The three of us remained with this odd doctor as his words echoed in their minds.


    "My constitution is a bit different from others. I just recently came from another dimension, exchanged my appearance as payment to return. My mana recovers faster than everyone else," I rambled.


    "Have you been to another dimension before? I''m sure you haven''t, they said I was the first human to visit in years. So don''t say anything that you''re not sure about- ."


    "Rika!" Luke interrupted me.


    "I apologize, can my partner get a full checkup?" Luke warned me to stop talking.


    "I''m afraid I don''t have the ability. As your partner has mentioned, I don''t have the experience in diagnosing people who have come back from the other dimension before," the doctor admitted his faults.


    I smiled as I was glad that the doctor was properly doing his job. The most important thing was to focus on Claire. Reports continued to come to his desk as the results came in. I sighed in relief as it appeared Claire would be completely healed within an hour. I still couldn''t get used to the advanced medical care here.


    "We''re going to go visit my parents afterwards," Luke turned to me.


    "They would know something about your condition," he lowered his voice.


    The only thing worse than getting a check-up by the doctor was meeting Luke''s parents. I didn''t exactly get a good impression of them last time I visited. My mind went blank until Claire walked into the room, appearing no different than she did before she left us to fight the monster alone. I ran to hug her, wanting to check if she was real.


    "Are you ok?" I looked up to study her face.


    "Your older sister won''t die this way. I would never. I''m fine Rika," she was filled with determination.


    Claire stroked my head, comforting me instead. She smiled to reassure me when I looked like I didn''t believe her. I didn''t remember being as mature as her when I was around the same age in my former life. It was sad that people had to grow up earlier in this world.


    "I apologize for interrupting, but Rika and I will have to visit my parents soon," Luke asked if we could leave.


    Yulian softly whispered the reason into Claire''s ear. Her eyes widened as she let me go. I couldn''t believe they all believed that doctor''s words. Following the arrows that hovered above the floor, Luke dragged me in front of another teleportation gate.


    "You don''t actually believe that doctor''s words, do you?" I refused to get inside the gate.


    "Rika, right after we visit my parents, we can visit yours," Luke attempted to negotiate with me.


    It was a pretty tempting offer. If I tolerated a few hours with his parents, I wouldn''t have to wait till Sunday to go to the third district. I walked into the teleportation gate with him, finding myself in another family mansion owned by the Roselia family.


    "It''s rare for you to come without an appointment," Luke''s father, William looked up from his desk.


    I was shocked to find a teleportation gate inside his office. It gave me no time to prepare myself in how to approach him. I stepped a few steps back, hiding behind Luke''s back. I didn''t want to face him if possible.


    "May I ask if we have a doctor who has diagnosed someone who has come back from the other dimension?" Luke carefully asked him.


    "From the other dimension?" One of his eyebrows was raised.


    "Rika came from the other dimension today," Luke explained, his head towards the ground.


    "I can do it. Come closer to me Rika," William placed his doc.u.ments to the side.


    I gulped before slowly walking towards him. I didn''t know his father was well-versed in these kinds of things. I instantly regretted making light of the doctor''s skills in the hospital as it would be better than this.


    William began to study my body with his eyes. He didn''t need any chants to activate the spell as he used it to scan my body for any abnormalities. Faint light appeared from his hand as he waved it back and forth. I awkwardly turned when he gestured me to, staying silent the entire time.


    "There''s nothing too concerning," he answered Luke.


    "We''ll just have to seal off some of your powers if you don''t know how to conceal it. It''s leaking everywhere, making you attract monsters," he frowned.


    "The overseer said I would attract monsters anyways from my appearance," I mumbled as I didn''t want some of my mana sealed.


    What if I was in another situation where I would have to charge a teleportation gate to escape. If it was sealed, there would be a lower chance that I could help. Monsters could only be defeated with large spells that consumed a lot of mana.

 Chapter 290 - A Price for Everything (7)

    "Your appearance is like this from your mana leaking out. Your eyes will return to normal once we seal some of your mana," William pointed out.


    "The fairy made it easier for your mana to come through whenever you wish for it," he explained.


    "What if I don''t want to seal some of my mana?" I mumbled in a low voice.


    "Do you know how to control it yourself?" he brought up another alternative.


    I shook my head. Although I was starting to get the hang of controlling the vast amount of mana I possessed, it could never rival Luke. There had to be another alternative than the ones he mentioned to me.


    "But what are we supposed to do whenever we run into monsters? Or what if the fairies come from the other dimension again?" I needed my powers.


    "I''ll be only sealing them to the point that it''ll be just like how it was before you came back from the other side. The seal will only contain a tiny portion of your mana as you''ll possess more as you grow. You do have the potential for an unlimited amount of mana. Your mana recovers quickly due to it. We know your condition more than anyone," William seemed to know everything about me.


    With a snap of his fingers, I felt my body returning back to normal. The feeling of mana flowing out of me stopped. When he offered me a mirror, my inhumane beauty remained as the colour of my eyes returned to the sparkly orange jewels. While my skin was still bright, it didn''t shimmer under the light anymore.


    "I''ll call for more tutors," he started to message people on the screen laid down on his desk.


    "Don''t we still have to attend the events during social week?" I wondered why he was calling them.


    I would rather attend the events rather than spending my time under those hellish tutors again. I shuddered, recalling those days I suffered with Luke. Meanwhile, Luke remained expressionless, erasing any trace of his thoughts on his face.


    "Lucius and Belle will take care of the rest," he waved my worries away.


    "Luke and you have already done enough for the Roselia family this round. You joined all the relevant fractions and earned their trust, which will be helpful for us in the future," he complimented his son.


    "You know where the rooms are," he indirectly asked us to leave so he could go back to his work.


    Luke nodded his head, taking me out of the room with him. I was being forcedly dragged into the hallway, the rooms of death. This was not part of the deal. All he mentioned was that I would be meeting his parents and we would visit mine right afterwards.


    "I thought we were going to my parents after this?" I refused to enter the room.


    "My father called for more tutors to help us. A few of the reports on his desk were about the details of what happened a few days ago to the time where the monsters almost destroyed the school barrier," Luke had noticed.


    "It''s not like before?" I pitifully asked him.


    Luke stayed silent, not answering the question. Instead, he pushed me inside the room with a sigh. It was totally like before! The same tutors were found in each of the rooms, repeating the same subjects. They thoroughly explained everything I used to struggle with and went further than the class materials.


    Their quizzes were much harder than the school exams. One of them had a stick in their hands, poking me when my posture wasn''t perfect. I had no time to feel annoyed or betrayed as I focused on surviving. The rooms we were inside had the time-space function, making time barely pass by on the other side.


    While we stayed inside the same room, unable to take a break, the tutors kept on coming in, exchanging spots. My head was placed against the desk whenever the tutors weren''t looking. These teachers weren''t afraid of offending us like the ones at school who were wary of the Roselia family name.


    "The doc.u.ments were filled with details about your school marks," Luke finally revealed before the next tutor came in.


    My jaw almost dropped from the news. I knew that the Roselia family was responsible for paying for my school tuition but didn''t know they got all the details in return. I couldn''t believe they were focusing on my grades rather than the monsters and fairies out there.


    By the end of the day, I didn''t know if I was still alive. I was too hungry and tired from not eating anything for days. I felt like collapsing right when the last tutor left us. I smiled at the sight of sunlight, showing that barely any time had passed outside the room. I wondered how each tutor timely came to replace each other with the time difference.


    "I want to leave," my stomach grumbled.


    "We can leave after changing," Luke appeared as exhausted as I was.


    We separated on the second floor as I knew where my bedroom would be. I flopped onto the bed, tempted to take a nap rather than escaping the mansion. However, I found a small note taped on my closet when I reluctantly got up from the bed.


    [Kill Sleeping Beauty]


    I wondered what that meant as the note fluttered down onto the ground as I opened the doors. Wasn''t everything already over by paying the price?

 Chapter 291 - A Price for Everything (8)

    I rang the doorbell, waiting for someone to open the door. My younger brother, Evan, was the one to open the door as he wondered who I was. It was as expected, how would my family who I rarely visited ever recognize my new appearance? I told myself not to become too disappointed, it wasn''t their fault.


    "Is mom and dad here?" I came inside with Luke.


    "They''ll be coming back from work soon," my brother awkwardly gave us a tour inside the house.


    "You''ve changed a lot," he commented.


    "Things happened," I didn''t bother to explain.


    I laid down on the couch, too tired to continue the conversation. Luke frowned as I lazily decided to wait for my parents here, not wanting to miss them by going to my bedroom. He shot an apologetic look at Ethan before shaking me to get up.


    "I''m not getting up," I grabbed onto the couch.


    "Evan are there guests here?" My mom was the first to arrive.


    She placed her shoes off near the entrance to put into the tiny cabinet. Wearing an informal suit and holding a large black bag, she paused when she noticed us. My mom seemed to remember Luke''s appearance, but unfamiliar with the person who was wrestling with him to stay on the couch.


    "Mom!" I rose to sit.


    "Rika?" She appeared extremely confused.


    "I came to visit today," I walked to hug her.


    "I apologize for the sudden visit," Luke studied her reaction.


    "No, it''s fine," my mom couldn''t stop staring at my new appearance.


    "I''m hungry," I looked up at her.


    "We can order some takeout," she awkwardly separated from me.


    "Really? Can we order some pizza, fries and fried chicken?" My eyes glittered.


    "Rika!" Luke glared at me.


    "We brought food of our own," he took out some fancy plates of food from his marble.


    I couldn''t believe he had food this entire time but didn''t mention anything about it. He knew how hungry I was this entire time, unable to eat for days. He could have snuck in some food for me in between the tutors coming in and out.


    There was enough for two portions worth of a full course meal. My mom and Evan stared at the sparkling food in front of them. I forgot that this was considered to be somewhat luxurious since I was too used to it. Luke passed me the utensils as we shifted our location to the dining room table.


    "We just came from my parent''s house. These are what our family chefs have prepared for us before we left," Luke explained.


    So this was what Luke was doing while I was changing? I spent some time, wondering what to wear in my horrible closet filled with clothing stamped with the Roselia crest. As usual, I didn''t have many options. I ended up choosing the simplest one I could find, which stood out immediately in the third district.


    My waist was wrapped with a jewelled ribbon on top, otherwise covered by white lace in the other parts of the dress. I made sure I wore no accessories that Luke would force me wear whenever we went outside the school. Even my white flats shined, polished and clean like they were new when I remembered wearing them quite a few times since they were one of the more comfortable ones.


    With my hunger taking over me, I neatly sliced my food and followed the minimum level of proper etiquette of the first district from habit. I could eat pizza after finishing this first. In less than ten minutes, the table was swiped clean as the empty places disappeared into Luke''s marble. Meanwhile, my mom and Evan ate the food in the fridge which appeared like premade food from the grocery store.


    I wondered what it tasted like. Just like how I barely had access to junk food, Luke never let me go near those kinds of food. I remembered eating some onigiri from the convenience store on my way home in my former life. It was a good snack before I would eat the dinner made by my mom.


    "Can I have a bite?" I asked my mother.


    "I''m curious how it tastes," I explained.


    "It''s just food from the local grocery store," my mom frowned.


    "I never had food from the local grocery store. I have never been inside one before," I revealed how my life has been like.


    Evan dropped his fork in surprise. He didn''t know how futuristic the first district was. Robots skillfully cooked everything that we could order things through a tablet. Only food with mana inside them were made by humans, which I also got to eat when Luke brought me to fancy restaurants.


    I was interrupted by my dad opening the door, coming back from work. Like my mom, he paused, noticing all of us seated near the dining room table. He hung his jacket before coming to join us.


    "Is this you Rika?" He noticed Luke who sat beside me.


    "Who else would it be?" I tried to hide my disappointment.


    "It''s just that you''ve changed," he tried to find my past features in my new appearance.


    He grabbed a seat beside Evan. The three of them sat on one end while Luke and I sat on the other side together. This was the price I had paid. None of my family members recognized me the first time they had seen my new appearance. My fear has almost come true.

 Chapter 292 - A Price for Everything (9)

    In the end, my family never ordered takeout. We gathered in the living room as my mom had sliced some fruits as desserts. The plate was untouched by Luke as he watched me to make sure I did the same. Instead, he brought out a plate of a sliced piece of strawberry shortcake.


    "You''ve never been to the grocery store before?" Evan seemed fascinated by the fact.


    I shook my head as everything was available through the school cafeteria. Except for the few occasions like social week and going on missions, I never left the school. It was a sad life and a wasted childhood.


    "What about cram school?" Evan moved onto the next question.


    "We call tutors to my house," Luke answered for me.


    "That''s right! I suffered through more than three weeks of tutoring!" I complained, almost slamming my hands on the small table.


    "There wasn''t a single break in between," I shuddered.


    Evan, not knowing all my suffering appeared a bit envious. He didn''t know how intense the studying was in the first district. It was nothing compared to the days in kindergarten where we attended the special class in the third district.


    "Your family seems to be treating Rika really well," my mom smiled.


    "Of course, we''re family," Luke didn''t hesitate to bring up our engagement.


    I continued to eat my strawberry shortcake, not noticing Evan watching me. Luke, who saw him staring at my cake asked, "would you like a plate?"


    "Can I?" Evan seemed to be excited.


    Luke pulled out another plate of strawberry shortcake. I wondered if he had more. I could never predict what Luke had in his inventory; it was like he was prepared for everything. Unlike mine that went under an inspection by him every few weeks at random, he never showed me his.


    He passed the plate to Evan. When Evan took a bite, his eyes sparkled like he had entered a whole new world. He couldn''t stop his fork from scooping another piece until he frowned when the plate was empty.


    "Is this what you eat all the time?" He asked us.


    "Only for dessert after our meal," I sadly smiled as it couldn''t replace my actual meals.


    "You mean those food you just ate?" He recalled.


    I nodded my head, "usually there''s more options, but Luke only brought the minimum."


    "There''s more?" He appeared stunned.


    "Isn''t there always?" I was too used to the meals in the first district.


    "Will you be staying for the night?" My mom turned to Luke.


    "We will!" I answered before he could say anything.


    "We can stay until Sunday," I recalled Luke saying we could visit them then.


    Luke stayed silent, brightly smiling at me. This meant he wasn''t planning on staying that long. But I wasn''t willing to go back to the first district that I had just escaped from. I could have the chance to relax here.


    "We''ll stay over for the night. The rest of the days, we will be spending time in my family''s villa in the third district," Luke tried to negotiate with me.


    "You can go stay in your family''s villa while I can stay here," I was indirectly telling him I wasn''t going to change my decision.


    "One day here and the rest at the villa or we can go back to the first district," Luke was giving me one last choice.


    "Fine!" I couldn''t believe my family was staying silent, letting Luke get his way.


    "I apologize, but are there any extra rooms Rika and I could use for today and tomorrow?" He turned to my mom.


    "You can use the spare guest room," my mom recalled the extra room that was barely used.


    Luke nodded as we soon went upstairs to sleep. Before I went to my room, he transferred me an extra nightgown. I forgot that Luke always carried around extra clothes. I accepted the item and flopped onto my bed. I would use this time to heal.


    I stretched my arms after the sun rose as Luke didn''t wake me up as usual today. However, a folded outfit was already placed on a small desk. It made sense since I had no clothes that would fit me here. All the clothes Luke had previously brought into the closet inside this room were already too small for me.


    Once I managed to button through all the complex ribbons and accessories attached to the clothes, I was exhausted. It was hard changing without Luke or the servants helping. With my new appearance, everything appeared flawless even without Luke managing my hair. I never thought I would miss my crazy hair.


    It was no wonder Luke never had the problems I did. With his good genes, everything came naturally to him that he didn''t need any of the same things I did to accent his beauty. Once he dressed up, no one could take his eyes off him unless they were used to his appearance like I was.


    "Is this breakfast?" I rubbed my eyes.


    On the table were simple pancakes topped with eggs and fruits. A bottle of maple syrup was present on the middle of the table. My eyes glittered as I have never eaten something like this before in this life. This would be considered pure junk food to Luke. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/a-price-for-everything-(9)_%!d(string=48904341867789577) for visiting.


    However, it was strange. There were only three plates, but there were five people in this house. It couldn''t be that my portion was the one left out?

 Chapter 293 - A Price for Everything (10)

    My suspicions were confirmed when everyone had taken their seats. My heart dropped as my portion was excluded. Did Luke bring breakfast with him as well? There was no way he could be this prepared.


    Unfortunately, Luke was very prepared. The area in front of us was filled with various salads, yogurt and soups in tiny plates. I wondered if he got this from his villa in the third district. I stared at the pancakes on the other side, so close, but unable to get even a taste of them.


    Giving up under the watchful eyes of Luke for letting me stay longer than he planned, I jabbed my fork into a piece of lettuce. There was a chance he could change his mind the way he was able to make everything flow the way he wanted. I was never hungry during the mornings anyways. This was why my portions were smaller than his.


    Watching my family pour the maple syrup, my food increasingly became less appetizing. I would rather fill myself up with a slice of strawberry shortcake than to chew on a piece of lettuce. I pushed my plates away, "I''m full."


    "Do you usually eat this little?" My dad noticed I had barely touched my food.


    I had only touched the plate with the salad and ignored the rest. Even the salad appeared plentiful as I only took one bite at most. Most times, Luke would just give me the cake afterwards to fill me up, giving up after years.


    "I don''t feel that hungry in the mornings," I stared at the pancakes.


    "Would like some?" he noticed where my line of sight went.


    "Really?" My eyes glittered.


    "Rika!" Luke sighed as if he knew where this was heading.


    "Please just give her a tiny slice," he asked my dad.


    My dad nodded, giving me the tiniest slice of the pancake under Luke''s watchful eyes. He slid the piece onto a small plate. I smiled as I grabbed the maple syrup from the middle of the table. I watched the syrup filling up the entire plate before I stopped when it was about to overflow. It would be so much nicer if I could drink it altogether.


    Other than Luke, everyone''s eyes widened at the half-emptied bottle when it used to be filled, close to the top. I sliced the piece into tinier pieces, trying to absorb as much syrup as possible. With my expertise, I was able to scr.a.p.e the plate clean with the tiny slice.


    "Can I have a second serving?" I asked for more.


    "This is all we made for today," my dad turned the other way.


    "One bite of the yogurt," Luke pushed a plate in front of me.


    I knew he was saying the yogurt would be the payment for the tiny piece of that pancake. I frowned as I tried scooping up as little as possible. It didn''t taste as sweet as the pure sugary goodness from before. Although, it was better than the fruits here.


    "Your breakfast looks really good," Evan commented.


    "You can have the rest. Rika doesn''t eat much in the morning," Luke offered.


    Most of my plates were pushed in front of Evan. He took a bite, curious how it tasted. His eyes brightened as if it was the same as that strawberry shortcake. In no time, the plates that I haven''t touched were emptied.


    "How could you not like this?" He looked at me as if I was crazy.


    "The pancakes were better," I looked at the remaining maple syrup.


    "Is this what you usually eat for breakfast?" He seemed curious.


    "It''s about the same," I sadly nodded.


    "What happens to all the leftover food?" He wondered.


    "It goes into the compose," Luke revealed. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/a-price-for-everything-(10)_%!d(string=48905333468354677) for visiting.


    Evan froze like he was stunned. My parents pretended they didn''t hear anything as they resumed their meals. Evan didn''t know how healthy the cakes were in the first district. It provided all the nutrients one needed. Maybe a little bit too healthy for my taste.


    "This is the most delicious thing I have ever eaten," Evan praised the robots.


    Once we had finished our meal, Luke mercilessly pulled out a workbook. Although we had covered most of the subjects with the tutors, there were still one more remaining. It was math, one of my strongest subjects. It was the only one I could pass with a decent mark after his intense study sessions.


    "Do we really have to do this here?" I looked at the thick book.


    "You know we can''t afford to take a break Rika," Luke opened the book.


    Maybe it was Evan''s first time seeing a book that had over five thousand pages. He didn''t know this much material was how much was covered in at most two days. With the time-space classrooms, time wasn''t an issue. It was a struggle to keep your attention while the teacher rushed through the material.


    "We can always show your parents your grades," Luke subtly warned me.


    "Show them," I didn''t care.


    My parents wouldn''t care about my grades. In fact they appeared curious, wanting to know from Luke''s mention of it. Luke sighed as he pulled up my grades in front of them. Oddly, everyone started to look at me in a new light. It was unexpected. Even Evan''s jaw seemed like it would drop onto the floor.


    Why did everyone have this reaction whether it was the first or third district?

 Chapter 294 - The Note (1)

    The snow melted and the chirps from the migrating birds woke spring. Not that weather mattered in the first district with all its barriers, it was a nice change in the scenery. Within the classroom in the first row, I observed the blooming flowers at its peak.


    "The four of you will be the school''s representative for this year''s annual competition. Are you listening, Rika? Daniel walked up to my desk.


    I nodded my head, "it''s because of our performance at the charity ball."


    I already knew about this before the announcement. Both Claire and Yulian came to visit a week ago, letting us know we were chosen. Normally, the annual competition was where all the students from up to the fourth district were chosen from each district to compete with each other. Struggling to survive in school, Luke and I were never picked.


    There were two pairs per grade from middle school to high school. It was just another demonstration of the power and wealth the first district possessed as our school always placed first. Charles, Miliana, Alex and Shelly attended the one-week competition last year. I recalled how empty the classroom was without them.


    "Indeed," Daniel moved on.


    "The four of you will move into the competition area on Monday," he let us know.


    Today was Friday, leaving us three days to prepare for the event. It wasn''t so bad, knowing the other districts wouldn''t study as hard as us. It was a good opportunity to earn some more points. Plus, the third district was a safe place with no presence of fairies or monsters.


    "Rika," Luke grabbed onto my hand.


    "What''s wrong?" I looked behind when I was about to leave.


    "We need to get ready for the competition," he explained.


    "We''ll win. There''s no way we wouldn''t," I tried to shake his grip off.


    "Luke''s right. There''s no way our school can lose," Charles crossed his arms.


    "How would we lose?" I was starting to get offended by their lack of trust.


    "It''s you Rika," Charles sighed.


    Everyone appeared like they were siding with Luke. I knew that they were implying my bad grades, but it was only inside the first district. I couldn''t believe they were taking this competition seriously. Last year, I remembered they just went there with no preparations like they were going to play a game.


    Seeing how there was no exit, I slumped down onto my chair. A towering pile of workbooks were placed in front of me, leaving no room to rest. I was sure that the competition wouldn''t go over this. This was all stuff that we have learned during the past month. A study group was quickly formed as the others left us.


    "Why?" I groaned, tired after the first volume.


    "There''s only three more days left," Shelly comforted me by keeping me accompanied.


    "Rika, open the next book," Luke supervised my studies as usual.


    "I''m sure that the competition won''t be long enough to cover all this," I whined.


    "We''re against a school in the second district as well," Alex pointed out.


    Since there were only so many schools in the first district, there were some families who couldn''t send their children to a school here. These students attended top ranking schools in the second district instead. Which meant, they weren''t very behind the curriculum here.


    "Isn''t second place good as well?" I started to wonder.


    "We won''t settle for second place," Alex frowned.


    I was never a competitive person in my former life as well. I liked bringing the good mood in the team rather than being too focused on winning. It was the experience that mattered like making more friends and going to new places.


    I sighed as I opened a new book under Luke''s pressuring gaze. I hoped this would be substituted for the intense study sessions we had together. I wouldn''t be able to handle both. Even with the time-space setting done on the room, I was hungry and tired.


    "I''m too hungry to study," I placed my book down.


    I needed to get some fresh air by going to the cafeteria. I could order anything I wanted these days since it didn''t require any points. My stomach grumbled to show that I wasn''t lying. I needed to start eating more of lunch instead of eating too little to take a nap on my desk.


    "Let''s go, please?" I pitifully asked for permission.


    "I bought something from the cafeteria," Ellen opened the door, interrupting us.


    Ellen brought all my favourite foods. The plates were filled with cake and more cake. The drinks were large cups of strawberry milkshake. As expected, the only one I could rely on was Ellen. My eyes glittered as she placed it on my desk. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/the-note-(1)_%!d(string=48912637865545336) for visiting.


    Both Alex and Luke knew about my obsession for sweet things. They stared at all the desserts that would replace my dinner. I immediately picked up a fork and began digging in. I smiled like I was back inside that caf¨¦ that I would always go to rest.


    "I didn''t forget the ice cream," Ellen took out the item out of her inventory, not having enough hands to hold everything.


    "What would I do without you?" I felt tears welling up in my eyes.


    I wasn''t like this in my former life. However, in this life, sweet things energized me like no other. It was strange how my tastes changed so much in this new body.

 Chapter 295 - The Note (2)

    I sighed as another note was stuck on top of my desk in my room. I didn''t know where these notes were coming from, but they had to stop. It was strange because only Luke and I were supposed to have access to these rooms. But there was no way I could ask him something about this.


    Luke would take these tiny jokes seriously, limiting my freedom even more than before. I burnt each note after I found one to get rid of the evidence. Sleeping beauty was a fairy tale that didn''t exist in real life. How would I ever kill her?


    Plus, the things written on each of these notes never changed. Maybe that person thought I never received it, sending it over and over again. Eventually, when I had enough energy after studying for the competition, I would have to look for that person on my own.


    "Get up Rika," Luke knocked on my door.


    "I''m already up," I yelled while quickly burning the note.


    These notes always came early in the mornings at a specific time. I would burn them before going back to sleep again. Luke opened the door and appeared a bit surprised to see me out of my bed. It was rare for him to not shake me awake or pull me out of the bed this early in the morning.


    "It''s the weekends today," I wondered why he was here.


    He was usually more lenient on these days. Other than the study sessions, we spent the day separately. When I noticed him holding another thick workbook, my jaw almost dropped. I couldn''t be joining him for a study session this early in the morning, could it?


    "We need to get ready for the competition," Luke answered like he read my mind.


    "I thought we already finished that yesterday," I stepped a few steps backwards.


    "I already booked a study room in the library. Michelle will be joining us as well," Luke added.


    "This is replacing our usual study sessions, right?" I started to negotiate.


    "We''ll be combining them," he chose to be honest.


    My jaw almost dropped from the news. I would die if he combined them together. Like the tutors called to his house, he was used to never taking a break. I wasn''t going to willingly go with him unless I got something in return.


    "No regular study sessions during the competition," I bumped into the wall.


    "Let''s just go Rika," Luke grabbed my hand and started to drag me out of my room.


    Right, there was always this option. I sulked as I soon found myself in the halls on the route to hell. I gasped as an arrow was aimed towards my neck from the sudden wind. Luke, who watched the abrupt attack, paused. He scanned the entire area before bending down to pick up something that had landed in the process.


    It appeared to be a paper note, the same as the ones I always received. Luke opened the folded piece of paper, revealing the same words as every morning. Instead of trying to burn the note right away, I froze from almost getting a paper cut. The school needed to increase their security lately. I was disappointed in them since I thought they learned their lesson from last time.


    "You have to burn them," I took the note from him.


    Or else the note would create chao by flying around the room. It was more of an annoyance as it would always fly in front of my face. I summoned my mana as I chanted to burn the note. It was weird since they usually only came once in the morning.


    "This isn''t the first time?" Luke studied me.


    I froze as I forgot that I was hiding this from Luke. It would''ve been better to stay ignorant. But my hands unconsciously repeated the same things from habit. This entire thing started ever since I visited his parent''s house. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/the-note-(2)_%!d(string=48920069786356878) for visiting.


    "Maybe," I turned my head.


    "How long?" he grabbed my shoulders.


    "Maybe a few months," I mumbled.


    "Rika!" Luke seemed disappointed in why I wouldn''t tell him.


    "I thought they would go away soon," I whispered.


    "Where do they usually appear?" Luke couldn''t recall it being anywhere near him.


    "My bedroom," I revealed under his burning stare.


    "We should report this to the school," Luke switched our location.


    I nodded my head. At least it was better than going to the study room. Luke sent a message to Alex and Shelly while walking towards the teacher''s office with me. I stood behind Luke as we confronted our homeroom teacher, Daniel.


    "I apologize for coming without an appointment, but I believe this is an urgent issue. My partner has been getting these notes in her bedroom to kill someone every morning for months," Luke explained with the pile of ashes in his hands.


    Daniel froze as he momentarily stared at the pile of ashes. It seemed this was a more serious issue than I thought it would be. The other teachers who overheard, began to chatter about the news, calling more security around the campus.


    How was I supposed to sneak out in the middle of the night from the window now to meet up with Oili to get these karaoke meetings started? I listened to their plans to stop this issue as attentive as possible, trying to get information on the patrol routes and times.

 Chapter 296 - The Note (3)

    "This is serious," Alex responded to Luke''s explanation why we were late. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/the-note-(3)_%!d(string=48920771745080541) for visiting.


    "They''re still looking into it," Luke appeared more mad than disappointed in the school.


    I continued to finish the thick workbooks in silence while I listened to their conversation. Everyone except for me was studying ahead of the class materials. This way, everything they learned in class would serve as review instead of making them confused, trying to learn in the process. After that monster incident, I never considered school to be entirely a safe place anymore.


    "This is why I''m planning to have Rika stay in my room for tonight," Luke continued.


    I stopped writing in the book from surprise. I made plans with Oili I would meet him tonight. I desperately needed to vent my stress out. How would I ever sneak out of his room without him knowing? I already created a new route in my head with the information I got from listening to the teachers.


    "With you?" I hoped he would stay in my room instead.


    "Can you stay in Rika''s room for tonight?" Luke ignored my question.


    This meant we were totally spending the night together. My private life was thrown outside the window as they continued to talk about what they could do to catch the culprit. Why couldn''t I stay in Shelly''s dorm instead?


    "Do we really need to do this tonight?" I interrupted them.


    "I can stay with Shelly," I pleaded.


    "Wouldn''t it be safer than our dorms?" I tried to reason with them.


    It looked like my reasoning worked. Luke switched his line of thinking as he asked, "Can we switch dorms for tonight?"


    "I don''t mind," Shelly knew about my plans.


    Alex nodded his head as they made a few changes. Now I just had to hope that we weren''t staying in the same room. Like ours, Shelly and Alex moved into a luxurious dorm to reward them for protecting the barrier.


    In fact, the layout was exactly the same when Alex opened the doors for us. I had trouble walking from all the studying I did during the day. I never felt so glad that they decided to end the study session earlier today to setup their plans.


    I immediately opened Shelly''s room and flopped down on the bed. I needed to sleep to go to the karaoke meeting near the middle of the night. Thankfully, with all my pestering, we were sleeping in separate rooms. I had to exchange my entire day for the price, making them merciless.


    "I don''t want to get up," I mumbled into her pillow.


    Luke left me alone, knowing how tired I was. He probably thought I would wake up the next morning like I usually did. I pulled out an energy drink from my inventory and chugged it until it was empty. It was something I brought from the time when I visited my parent''s house. I sneaked it out of Evan''s room when he wasn''t looking.


    He had an entire supply of these drinks in bulk, the next best thing after canned coffee. While he was distracted with talking to Luke, I placed an entire set into my inventory. I didn''t think he would notice anyways since I took very little.


    I set my alarm to 12AM and dozed off to sleep. This was why I woke up to the faint feeling of my marble vibrating in my hand. I couldn''t let it continue to get loud enough so that Luke could hear it in the next room. With that determination, I opened the window and pulled out a rope. All the luxurious rooms were on the top floor, making it harder to sneak out.


    I tied the rope around the bed, using it as an anchor. With the remaining, I tied the rest around my waist just in case. I jumped down from the third floor without any hesitation. I sighed in relief when it seemed that nobody had noticed. I pulled out a map where that room was supposed to be located.


    It was near the club rooms. My eyes sparkled once I opened the door. Oili, already inside, had set everything up. My supply of otaku goods that I had missed so much was right in front of me, all I needed to do was grab onto them. This was why I joined Charles'' fraction. It was totally worth it.


    "Here," Oili passed me a microphone.


    "What song are we starting with first?" I looked at the screen.


    "How about this one?" he punched in the numbers.


    This was an old song that we always included in our karaoke sessions. I smiled as the song began and got ready to start the duet. We sang for hours, placing more songs on the list. I laughed as if all my worries were starting to fly away. This didn''t even compare to eating all the food I wanted to eat.


    "That reminds me, my partner and I also got chosen to participate in the competition," Oili let me know while we took a break.


    "Do you want to explore the third district together?" I was starting to make a plan with all the tourist spots.


    This was the perfect time to decide where to go. It wasn''t like we were going to stay at the arena the entire time. In the schedule, contestants got the freedom to go outside during the break.

 Chapter 297 - The Note (4)

    "Will Luke let you go?" Oili pointed out.


    "We can sneak out together," I grabbed his hands.


    It would be just like today. I was used to sneaking out in the nights with all the materials hidden in the dorm room to help me. Sometimes, Luke did catch me, but he thought I was meeting with Ellen and Shelly to go to the caf¨¦.


    "Do you know where we should go?" He opened another screen. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/the-note-(4)_%!d(string=48921987740916207) for visiting.


    This was what I liked about Oili. He was mostly in all of my plans, not asking any questions. We spent the rest of the time looking through all the places that looked like it would be exciting. He didn''t know how real karaoke rooms were like in the third district. They also had menus with junk food and other instruments to bring up the atmosphere.


    "Wow," he looked at the details about the karaoke room.


    "Yea, it doesn''t even compare to the makeshift one we''re in now," My eyes glittered from the thought.


    This room was a mixture of a manga and light novel room, karaoke machine and screens, and a mini closet of cheap clothes. It would be different if we went to places with each one of them as their specializations. I never felt so glad that the third district was very similar to my previous world.


    "We should go," Oili shared my excitement.


    "We should," I agreed.


    My alarm rang, interrupting us. It was already around 4AM. I frowned, not wanting to go. But Luke had a habit of waking me around 6. This meant that he was already awake by 5. I sighed as I began to shut all the machines off with Oili.


    I left first, leaving him to organize the rest. It would be harder trying to sneak back in than going out. This was where the rope would come in. I sprinted to the walls of the dorms, where the rope was still left untouched.


    I began using the rope to climb the walls. Oili, who also lived in the same building would be able to use the front door. This was the difference between us. However, my eyes widened as I found a sudden gust of wind heading to my direction.


    There was a note behind me, heading towards Shelly''s bedroom window. This time, it was covered by fire, attached to something. I wondered why it had to be today where that person decided to take things to the extreme. Quickly climbing the rope, I closed the window.


    But the note continued to fly toward me like it was targeting me. I ran to Alex''s room, where Luke was to wake him. I didn''t bother to knock on the door and jumped on his bed. Luke immediately woke up, confused. He must have recently fallen asleep.


    "There''s a note heading our way with-."


    I was interrupted as Shelly''s room exploded. I covered my ears as there was the loud sound that erupted three times as there wasn''t only one bomb. The wall separating the two rooms began to fall. Fire started to spread to Alex''s room as Luke instantly got up from the bed. I couldn''t believe there was a bomb attached to the note. This couldn''t be happening.


    The roof quickly began to collapse from the impact. Debris started to fall onto the ground as nothing was spared. Luke muttered a water spell to keep it from spreading to where we sat. However, the fire kept on burning brighter and brighter like the mana from the water spell fueled it in response.


    I coughed as the smoke got into my lungs. I instantly created a weak barrier to protect us. We searched for an exit, finding the fire surrounding us like a circle. There was no way we could escape unless we used teleportation. Luke grabbed onto my hand as he chanted a teleportation spell so we would be outside the room, right by the door.


    I stumbled as I found myself at the edge of the fire. It wouldn''t be long until it spread to the entire building. We experienced almost burning the same place before. I briefly froze from the horrifying thought.


    "Call the teachers and wake everyone up," Luke tried to keep the fire inside the room.


    I nodded, about to run to knock on everyone''s door to let them know about the fire. The first person I met was Oili, who just arrived at his door. Without any warning, I shouted at him, "call the teachers while I wake everyone. There''s a fire!"


    Oili ran to summon the teachers from my warning, not wasting a single second. I couldn''t make everyone evacuate alone while going to get the teachers. The room beside Shelly was my room. I opened the door since it was my original room, "help me wake everyone up, there''s a fire."


    Sniffing the smoke coming from their rooms, they immediately got up from my warning. As I expected, the wall collapsed as the fire couldn''t be kept inside anymore. Their eyes widened as we dashed out of the room together. Luke, who was in the hall, already appeared exhausted as he put a barrier over the room.


    "It''s spreading even with the barrier," I trembled.


    "I''ll help," Alex put some of his mana into the barrier, fortifying it.


    "We need to warn everyone else now," I turned to Shelly.

 Chapter 298 - The Note (5)

    "Please wake up," I pounded on the door.


    This was starting to become exhausting. Everyone, still lethargic from sleep, had a late reaction. We were currently on the second floor by recruiting more people in helping others wake up. Like the others, the pair that came to open the door looked extremely confused in their pyjamas.


    "There''s a fire, you''ll have to evacuate before it spreads," I repeated for the nth time.


    "A fire?" They wondered if they were hearing the right thing.


    "A fire," I nodded my head. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/the-note-(5)_%!d(string=48924082074344141) for visiting.


    Since I have done my role, I went onto the next door. The smell of smoke became more intense, drifting onto the second floor now. I wondered if I could just use my mana to amplify the alarm on my marble. Taking a break after the next couple went out, I did the exact thing.


    I recorded my voice, "warning. There is a fire. Please evacuate immediately."


    I played the recording on my marble and covered my ears before amplifying the sound as loud as possible. I smiled when the building started to rumble with my voice as I covered my ears. It was a success when the doors I haven''t gone to immediately opened.


    Checking if all the people on the second floor escaped, I walked down the stairs to the first floor. There were now only two floors left, the bas.e.m.e.nt and the main floor. Shelly ran towards us as she used a spell to cover some of the sound, "the people in the bas.e.m.e.nt already evacuated."


    "Is there only this floor left?" I found not many people on this floor.


    Shelly nodded her head, "Only one section on this floor left."


    I wondered where the teachers were as the final set of people escaped outside the door. It couldn''t be that my luck was bad enough that the teachers were all out again. Oili ran towards me once I stepped outside the building, "the teachers are coming. They just came from doing an extermination of all the monsters near the school barrier."


    I quickly messaged Luke and Alex to escape as the teachers were coming soon. Not a second passed before they teleported near us, covered in ashes and smoke. Without them, the entire building blew up as if the fire contained in the room acted like another bomb.


    I covered the crowd with a weak barrier, anticipating that this might happen from my past experience. As everyone noticed the parts of the dorm flying towards us, they began to help by fortifying my barrier with more layers. I almost stumbled onto the grass as the whole building started to crumble towards us.


    "Walk and let''s move the barrier together," I yelled.


    Everyone agreed as we moved to escape from the building tumbling in our direction. Where were the teachers? Were they going to come when everything was over again? The barrier shattered when we were a metre away from harm. Meanwhile, it appeared like the fire was starting to spread outside the building.


    "Where do we go now?" A person asked, knowing the entire middle school section wasn''t safe anymore.


    "I know a way to sneak into the high school section," I announced.


    I couldn''t believe me ever sneaking out to meet some friends would ever become helpful. I would be sacrificing my secret pathway and would need to find another one in the future. There were some weak spots in the barrier that Jules gave me information before I sneaked into the high school section to meet him.


    I waved my hand over the weak spot as a small hole, big enough to fit only one person appeared. Everyone formed a line, getting inside the hole one by one. Luke and Alex, the ones at the back, checked if the fire spread to us yet. Since we landed in many incidents together, all of my classmates were used to this.


    Charles and Miliana walked back and forth, making sure that everyone was neatly lined up. Ellen and Allan were stationed as an extra pair of lookouts, using a spell to see far off where the fire began. Meanwhile, Shelly helped me with making sure the hole in the barrier wouldn''t close. Meanwhile, Oili tried to contact the teachers, wondering why they haven''t arrived yet.


    I closed the barrier once Luke, the last person stepped into the high school section. We were inside a whole crowd of people who didn''t know what to do. Oili was already ordered to call the high school teachers since the ones in middle school seemed to be unavailable.


    "How long will this barrier last?" A girl shuddered.


    "We should let all the high schoolers know too," I sighed.


    "Let the people in your fellow fraction know," Luke shouted to the crowd.


    Everyone in the group agreed as we decided to split up. While Ellen and Allan stayed near the barrier to message us if the high school grounds wouldn''t be safe anymore, Luke and I ran to the high school dorms. The grand doors were locked for security purposes before we decided to ram the door open with everyone''s help.


    "Use the wind spell!" Charles yelled at them.


    Unfortunately, air was the only force we could use without greatly damaging the building. The entire building shook as we started to wake the people inside. I hoped everyone would wake up, we needed all the help we could get.

 Chapter 299 - The Note (6)

    "There''s a whole crowd outside," one of the high schoolers opened their window.


    Currently, all of us were stationed outside their dorms. When the doors opened from our efforts, everyone immediately rushed in to visit the people that they knew. Time was the biggest factor here. I didn''t even want to know what would happen if the fire spread to the elementary school section, full of young kids.


    "I''ll go visit Haruka and Ethan," Charles let us know.


    "We''ll stay outside, letting people know about what''s happening for the ones who leave without knowing about the situation," Alex volunteered with Shelly.


    "We''ll visit the rest then," I shot a look at Luke.


    Luke nodded his head as we first began to pound his brother''s door. He also sent them a message while we created a ruckus on the top floor. Unfortunately, it took them a few minutes to open the door.


    "There''s a fire in the middle school section," I let Luke handle the rest before running off to Ben and Alice.


    Both Lucius and Belle appeared stunned as they started to process everything in their brains. When Luke finished telling them everything he knew, he immediately ran to Yulee and Jules, not waiting for their response. We needed to split up to get to more people.


    "What''s wrong?" Ben opened his door with the first knock when I was about to call him.


    "There''s a fire in the middle school section," I repeated myself.


    "All the middle schoolers were able to escape into the high school section," I explained why everyone was pounding on their doors.


    "Is this true?" Claire opened her door, right beside Ben''s room.


    I was glad that they were starting to wake up from all the noise, saving us the time from making them open their doors. We needed to get as much help as possible. I decided to explain what happened to everyone at once, using my marble to amplify my voice again.


    I chanted the spell as I explained, "a bomb was aimed towards one of the rooms. A fire broke out and the whole building collapsed. Now it''s spreading to everywhere in the middle school section. We don''t know when the other barriers like the elementary or high school one will collapse as well. It feeds off mana too."


    "This is serious," Alice crossed her arms.


    "Oliver is already out to get the teachers. Unfortunately, some of them are out at exterminate some monsters near the overall barrier. The ones that said they''ll come aren''t here yet too," I announced.


    Meaning, we were left to solve this problem on our own. I swiped my screen to accept the call when my marble rang. Oili''s face appeared with Ellen and Allan. It looked like it wasn''t good news from their faces.


    There was a mixture of fear, panic and anger. Oili opened his mouth, "the teachers are overrun with monsters so the soonest they can come is one hour from now. The ones in the office went to help them."


    "The fire is almost near the barrier too," Ellen continued to watch the fire.


    I swiped one more time to let Alex join in. He appeared equally as exhausted with Shelly in a place I didn''t know. I wondered where they were, but the scenery appeared very familiar. Where did I see this hallway from?


    "The fire already destroyed the other barrier and is starting to spread into the elementary school section. We sent most of the people who volunteered to help there," Shelly showed me the scene.


    Everyone gasped as they stared at the horrifying scene. This was the exact pathway I used to sneak out during elementary school. Now, some of the buildings were collapsing as the high school students started to set up a barrier. There were so many places to focus on like the elementary school dorms that everyone was spread thin.


    "We''ll send as many people as we can there," Claire answered.


    Both Yulian and Claire ran to start to recruit more people, not waiting for the call to finish. I knew they had more news to tell as I waited for them to begin. Before they could, my marble vibrated again as Luke also wanted to join the call.


    "Rika, we need help on our end to let the elementary school students escape from the school," Jules showed the scene of evacuated young children.


    Both Yulee and Luke tried to comfort the young children as much as possible. However, it didn''t stop a few of them from crying or trembling in fear. But most of them appeared mature and tried to keep as calm as possible.


    "There are monsters outside, near the barrier," Oili repeated for the new people who joined the call.


    The barrier started to crack on Oili''s end as they jumped in surprise. My head started to hurt since I didn''t know what to do. We needed to stop the fire from spreading further in both the elementary and high school sections. Plus, we needed to let the elementary school kids escape while there were monsters outside.


    We were fighting on three fronts. And I didn''t know where the elementary school kids would even escape to. I tapped on the screen once more when Charles also wanted to join the call. What more bad news were they going to bring me?


    "We already recruited all the people we could. There''s no more people we can send," He sighed from all the messages he got. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/the-note-(6)_%!d(string=48924692228129803) for visiting.

 Chapter 300 - The Note (7)

    "What?" Almost everyone yelled.


    "This building is almost empty. Everyone is already sent somewhere with all the messages you guys sent," Charles explained.


    "There''s one place they can escape to, they can escape to the second district," I recalled the staff only room in the caf¨¦.


    The second district was the next best option. There were no monsters there and all they needed to do was find a place to stay until their parents could pick them up. That caf¨¦ was connected anywhere through the school grounds. I grew up in that caf¨¦. It was through Luke''s family power that no one went in while I was there.


    "Go to the staff only room in that caf¨¦ I always go to and jump down the stairs. You''ll be led into a dark tunnel before running into a bank vault. Destroy that bank vault and go down the hill. You''ll find yourself right above the city in the second district," I recalled the trip with Shelly.


    Shelly nodded her head as she knew what I was talking about, "I''ll join them to lead the way. I''ll switch places with Luke."


    This was one problem solved. Both Luke and Shelly teleported to switch places. Teleportation done in small distances didn''t eat as much mana as heal. Shelly ended the call on Jules'' end before she took the lead.


    "Then all we need to do is keep the fire contained," Alex announced to the people behind them.


    "We''ll join you to keep the fire contained on the other side. Send some people here," I ended the call.


    "We should go," I turned to Alice and Ben.


    I didn''t talk to them until we arrived in front of Oili, Ellen and Allan. The fire immediately broke into the other side as the barrier shattered from our late entrance. The three of them appeared almost dead as they couldn''t keep fortifying the barrier on their own.


    My marble rang as I got the first good news tonight. I smiled as I read the message that came into my marble, "Others are coming."


    However, I didn''t have the luxury to linger on it. We needed to push the fire back with another barrier. I reached out my arms to create the base. I grunted as it started to push me back, digging dirt into my shoes before Ben and Alice joined. Meanwhile, the Oili pushed himself to help us while Ellen and Allan started to assign the new recruits to certain positions since they were low on mana.


    Just when I thought that things couldn''t get worse, I got another call from Charles. I muttered to open my marble, not able to use my hands. The screen popped up, showing everyone was abandoning the elementary school area. This was bad since I didn''t get any message from Shelly yet that they were in the second district.


    "We need to escape. This fire can''t be contained anymore. We''re sending more people to that caf¨¦ right now. We placed a weak barrier with the rest of our strength to buy us enough time to escape," Charles ran towards the staff only door.


    "Things are really bad back there," Luke suddenly teleported to appear beside me.


    "We need to leave this place," He announced to everyone.


    "To that caf¨¦?" I turned to him.


    "We can''t waste time trying to charge the teleportation gates," Luke muttered a spell to place a strong enough barrier to buy us some time.


    Everyone sprinted to that caf¨¦ with the remaining strength we had left. Like I had anticipated, once we entered, there was a huge crowd. Fortunately, there were only middle and high school students present. Meaning, Shelly had already escaped the school grounds with the rest of the children.


    I sighed in relief as I took in the scene before me. I wondered why it was taking so long for each person to jump down. There had to be something happening down there. It was also odd how all the calls strangely ended after they jumped down. As I yelled to organize the crowd with the people that I knew, the fire started to blaze behind us, like the barrier had shattered without us knowing it.


    "We''ll have to jump now!" Luke dragged me towards the staff only room as we were the only ones left.


    We didn''t have the time to hesitate before jumping down into the dark, empty space. A screen popped up from Shelly as I rushed towards the ground when I tapped the screen, "Rika!"


    "Why haven''t you called?" I focused on landing safely.


    "The security is tougher than last time. We''re currently inside the tunnel right now after dodging all the traps. Lucius and Belle are currently helping everyone with the traps. We''re almost there at the vault," she explained.


    "I feel like there''s also a spell so that we can''t contact anyone outside," she walked with the children.


    Shelly ended the call, busy with the children with Yulee and Jules. I chanted a spell to cushion my landing as I finally noticed what Shelly was talking about. There was still a whole crowd of people here as laser beams, random spells and weapons jumped from the walls in front of them. This was a whole level above than last time.


    "What is this?" I whispered at the scene.


    People could die if they weren''t careful. I still remembered how Ben got injured in the process of climbing the stairs to get to that caf¨¦. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/the-note-(7)_%!d(string=48925530552071444) for visiting.

 Chapter 301 - The Note (8)

    At least the fire wouldn''t be able to go down here, a part of the research centre. Instead everything was replaced with the dangerous traps. Since we couldn''t climb up, all we could do was to continue on our path.


    "It wasn''t like this last time," I whispered.


    Everyone tried to escape through the treacherous path in a small group. One person created a barrier to protect everyone underneath while the others split into counter attacking the spells and weapons and serving as lookouts. No one wanted to attack another group by mistake, which was why we waited in the safe area.


    "We can''t open the bank vault," Shelly called again with bad news.


    I started to recall how we failed to open the bank vault back then as well. We had to teleport to the other side to get in. But did the elementary school students learn this spell yet?


    "What if you guys teleported to the other side with the children?" I suggested.


    "We are, but we''re running out of mana and we still have half of them left," Shelly sighed.


    "We can''t help right now," I showed Shelly the scene of a huge crowd in front of us.


    This was the one of the worst timings to have a part of my mana sealed. And only Luke''s father had the ability to unseal it. I helplessly ended the call as it was finally my turn to escape through the pathway. Each group that escaped together got bigger and bigger from the new tricks they got from the others before them. Unfortunately, only Luke and I were left as all the others couldn''t go back to help us.


    "You do the barrier Rika," Luke assigned me to an easier role.


    I nodded my head as I pulled up the strongest barrier I could imagine. We carefully walked as Luke used his precise control to attack all the weapons and spells coming towards us. We worked well together since it wasn''t our first time going through something like this. However, my head started to get dizzy halfway through as I fortified the barrier along the way.


    "A little bit more," Luke encouraged me as he saw me starting to stagger.


    "I can''t," I panted.


    "Then we run as fast as we can using only the barrier to protect us," Luke switched his position.


    We began to sprint as all the traps bounced off our barrier. I smiled when we were almost at the end of the tunnel. However, I tripped, making the barrier waver at one last trap. My eyes widened as the dagger flew towards my heart.


    "Rika!" Luke pushed me down with him.


    We rolled towards the end of the tunnel. My heart skipped a beat as if Luke was half a second late, we could have died together. I took some deep breaths as we barely entered the crowd of people who watched us narrowly escape death.


    "Why are there so many people here?" I wondered.


    We were only a few minutes away from the bank vault. Ellen pushed through the crowd with Allan to get to where I was. Once Ellen joined us, she sighed, "not everyone has enough mana to teleport to the other side."


    "Everyone is helping each other by teleporting someone with them if they can," she explained.


    I nodded my head as thankfully, even though I was dangerously low on mana, I had enough to teleport myself. Since I wasn''t getting any more calls from Shelly, I assumed she already escaped with everyone. I wondered if Luke had more of those drinks to recover one''s mana.


    "Do you have any medicine like before when I almost ran out of mana?" I turned to Luke.


    "I already transferred most of it to the others," he appeared drained.


    "We need one for ourselves," he placed ourselves first.


    "Can you give me one?" I wondered if I could teleport everyone to the other side with me.


    Luke passed me a bottle with no hesitation. I turned the cap to open it and chugged the drink, instead of taking small sips. Like I expected, my mana quickly recovered to the point my gauge was almost full. Since I knew Luke would have enough mana to teleport himself, I chanted a huge spell at the crowd in front of us. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #%!d(string=10609696606076405)/the-note-(8)_%!d(string=48926335858435115) for visiting.


    Before Luke could react, everyone seemed confused as to how they were already at the other side. I staggered back and forth, almost stumbling onto the ground as it consumed more mana than I thought it would. Unfortunately, I was in the same state as before as Luke soon teleported beside me.


    "What were you thinking?" He grabbed my shoulders.


    I accepted a call from Shelly before he could continue, "is everyone safe?"


    "We booked the entire hotel owned by the Monete family. Everyone is currently resting there. Do you need any help?" Shelly sent the location to my marble.


    "We''re fine. Thank you for letting us know," Luke ended the call for me.


    "We could have helped the ones who didn''t have enough mana to go to the other side instead of pushing yourself to death," he turned to me.


    "But it would''ve taken so much time, what if something else activated during that time?" I recalled the laser beams that only appeared later on when we tried to climb up the stairs from last time.


    "Then we would think of another plan when it comes to it. If father didn''t seal off a part of your mana," Luke frowned at the thought of something happening.

 Chapter 302 - The Note (9)

    "What were you thinking Rika?" Alex added to Luke''s lecture.


    Unfortunately, the three of us ended up inside the self-driving car together. My ears were already hurt from Luke''s long lecturing. However, things were just getting worse as Alex supported his cousin as usual. I regretted not jumping into a car with Ellen and Allan when we were close to the bottom of the hill.


    "I told you, I''m sorry!" I apologized for the nth time.


    "Didn''t everything turn out fine in the end?" I grumbled.


    "We''re lucky that everything turned out to be fine," Alex crossed his arms.


    "Is there a special room we can use?" Luke turned to Alex.


    "What do you need?" Alex asked him.


    "A room where I can keep an eye on Rika," he was thinking of confining me.


    "I''m really sorry, I won''t use my mana like that again," I started to plead to change his mind.


    "It''s only until we move into the competition arena," Luke looked like he was set on his decision.


    I clenched my fists since it wasn''t fair. The sunlight drifted into the windows as I placed my life on the line to help everyone escape during the night. Everyone would be able to relax and have fun in the second district while I would be excluded from that list.


    "What if I''m not willing to go in that room?" I avoided their line of sight.


    "You don''t have a choice," Alex answered for him.


    "How are you going to make me?" I squeezed my nightgown.


    "Rika," Luke warned me.


    "We can teleport to that room first and leave Alex to return the car," he told me another option.


    Luke knew how I enjoyed looking outside the car window to look at the scenery in the second district. I couldn''t give that up. I gave up and continued to look at the people enjoying their weekend, starting to make the streets busier.


    The hotel towered over us as Luke pulled me out of the car. Alex picked up the hotel card and gave us all the information as we entered the lobby. As I expected, everyone seemed to be using this time to enjoy all the luxurious amenities inside the hotel. Luke had to drag me to the elevator as the students roamed around the lobby, chattering about where they should go next.


    He only let me go once we entered the room at the top floor. It resembled the luxurious dorm, except the technology hasn''t reached the same stage. There was no way I could stay here for the entire day. My ears already heard about the waterpark also inside the hotel. I didn''t even want to explore the area outside the hotel anymore, I wanted to explore the hotel now.


    "Are we staying here the entire time?" I glared at him.


    "We need to get ready for the competition," Luke pulled out another thick workbook.


    My jaw almost dropped as I couldn''t believe he was making me study here. If I couldn''t get out of this room, I would rather catch up on my sleep. I stared at him, wondering when he would put the book away. There was no way I would continue those horrible study sessions here.


    "One book in exchange for four hours at the waterpark," I formed a plan inside my head.


    "We''re not going to the waterpark," Luke narrowed his eyes.


    "One book for three hours at the spa!" I also heard the people chattering about how great they felt afterwards.


    Luke stayed silent as he started to set up the table to supervise me in my studies. I had to admit that the hotel owned by the Monete family almost had everything. It was like there was a whole city inside with the pure number of attractions.


    "Not even two hours at the 4D movie theatre?" I switched to another attraction.


    "I''ll think about it once you finish one workbook, Rika," he gestured to me to sit down.


    Tears started to well up in my eyes when I received a message from Ellen and Shelly that they were heading to the spa. Meanwhile, Sienna and Delia were going to the waterpark for the entire day while enjoying their desserts. Maybe I shouldn''t have tried to save all those people a few hours ago.


    "One hour at the gaming centre," I tried one last time.


    "Open the book Rika," Luke appeared to be running out of patience.


    I flopped onto the chair as I frowned while opening the book. I knew the day would be almost over by the time I was finished with this book. The time-space setting wasn''t available in this room. Luke sat down in front of me, opening a book of his own like usual.


    "You''re really not letting me go anywhere?" I noticed the sun starting to go down.


    "This room has the best security," Luke revealed.


    "Nothing is going to happen," I grumbled.


    How could he not trust his cousin''s family hotel? Nothing was happening to the others as happy pictures of how they were enjoying their time was sent to my marble. I knew they were just letting me know how they were doing, but it just made me feel more awful. I started to feel more restless as I would move into the arena tomorrow.


    "That note was targeted at you," he pointed out.


    "But we''re in the second district now," I argued back.

 Chapter 303 - The Note (10)

    "That doesn''t mean it won''t follow you here," Luke argued.


    There were only a few more hours until most of the fun attractions closed. Meanwhile, I was only able to finish around half of the workbook. I slammed the book on the table, giving up. I was wasting my time, hoping Luke would change his mind.


    "I''m not doing this anymore," I rose from the chair.


    "Sit down Rika," Luke warned me.


    "You won''t let me out of this room anyways. I''d rather catch up on my sleep instead," I crossed my arms.


    "You can always return to this room after we come back from the competition if we still don''t get any contact from the teachers," he reminded me.


    "Then how will we enter the competition?" I pointed out.


    "Everything has already been registered since a week ago. We just need to attend," he explained.


    I wished we weren''t selected to attend the competition. Then I could enjoy more of my time here, enjoying life like everyone else who wasn''t moving in with us. Everything was because of that stupid competition.


    "Why? Why are you doing this to me?" I couldn''t help but have tears falling down my cheeks.


    "We don''t know anything about where those notes came from and how much danger it will bring next time," he coldly responded.


    "But we can figure it out the next time it comes, if it ever comes again," I trembled with anger.


    "It would be a pity if I have to bring you to my villa in the second district," Luke pulled out a greater threat.


    I clenched my fists as I couldn''t win against Luke. I spent one day in his villa in the third district and it almost drove me crazy. I was stuck inside a large mansion, empty of any entertainment with only him to keep me company. It was worse than the first district as the technology wasn''t developed enough to immediately serve me the cakes I wanted from the kitchen.


    With the extra time without my parents, Luke gave me more workbooks like today within the time-space rooms. Most of the day was spent by studying and breaks were taken at mealtimes. He was always with me, making sure I never left his sight. There was no aspect of privacy present as he strictly managed the time in the schedule he had planned.


    At least there was some hope for me here. I could negotiate with him after finishing a workbook to go somewhere inside the hotel. Even though that day wasn''t today, maybe it would be a day after we returned from the competition. There was no way the teachers could repair the school grounds that quickly after getting rid of the fire. Plus, their mana reserves were already exhausted from fighting the monsters.


    "Fine! I''ll finish the rest of the book," I sat back down.


    I had to prevent myself from slamming my bedroom door before I flopped onto my bed. If I did, I would get another lecture by Luke again for not following the proper etiquette and manners. This was why I always followed the minimum that was required by me under Luke''s watchful eyes.


    It was already around 10PM. I had officially stayed up the entire night, making my focus waver more than usual. Meaning, it took me double the time to finish one workbook than it normally would. Luke was a merciless person, not even giving me a break. He even brought the food into our room with the room service.


    I nibbled on a plate of salmon, not feeling that hungry. I was too tired to feel hunger. I gave up trying to eat after chewing on another piece of lettuce to help digest the tiny piece of fish I ate. I would eat more for breakfast when I joined everyone else in the restaurant.


    "Eat more Rika. I don''t have any cake with me this time," Luke pushed me to finish the plate of salmon I touched.


    "I already feel full," I stared at the large slice of salmon.


    "Finish your salad and eat one more bite of the salmon for me to consider you leaving this room when we come back," he pushed the salad in front of me as well.


    "I can''t," I started to feel nauseous.


    Luke frowned as he gave up on me. He noticed that I really wasn''t feeling well. This was how I was able to escape to my room afterwards. I closed my eyes as I needed as much sleep as I could get. And the next time I woke up, I felt something tickling my eyes.


    I gasped as a paper note drifted above my face. Luke couldn''t see this, then he would never take me back here after the competition ended. I quickly burned the note and snuggled against the pillow on my bed. I never thought the note would follow me here.


    "I already called for the car," Luke knocked on the door before coming in.


    "Ten more minutes," I groaned.


    I hid the ashes inside the pillowcase with my spare hand. I got up before Luke could take away my blanket. I rubbed my eyes, feeling like I didn''t get any sleep last night. There was a special school uniform in his hands. I wondered why they were so focused on making them appear extravagant compared to the plain uniforms that we usually wore.

 Chapter 304 - Entering the Competition (1)

    I ate breakfast inside the car with Shelly, Alex and Luke. We were running late as we needed to get to the third district by 9AM. Unfortunately, it was too heavy for me to eat for breakfast. I felt like I couldn''t eat more after one bite of the yogurt mixed with oats and nuts.


    "One more bite," Luke saw me barely touch the tiny container.


    I frowned as Luke scooped a bigger portion onto my spoon. I could eat more for lunch in the third district. I shook my head, turning the other way.


    "I''m full," I mumbled.


    Alex appeared to be pitying Luke as he finished his own cup within a few minutes. Luke sighed as he wiped the spoon and closed the container. Instead of throwing it away like usual, he placed it inside the inventory.


    I wasn''t always like this since it started in middle school. Sometimes, I couldn''t seem to eat the large numbers of plates in front of me. There was an on and off switch to when my appetite came. Many of this was due to stress, I was under so much pressure that I didn''t feel like eating at all except for what I liked.


    These days with all the recent accidents and people dying because I was too late in saving them, my appetite was barely present. How could I be eating well while they were dead, never to eat anything again? It was only when I felt an extreme amount of hunger that this thinking vanished for me to devour everything in front of me.


    "You''re eating less lately," Shelly had some concern in her voice.


    "What did you guys do during the first day?" I tried to switch the topic.


    "There''s just an orientation and time to get settled in so we start competing on the second day," Shelly recalled last year''s schedule.


    "Then what did you guys do during the spare time?" I wondered.


    "We just explored the third district," Shelly knew I would like this.


    "Really? You didn''t just stay in the arena?" My hopes were going up to meet with Oili.


    Maybe I wouldn''t have to sneak out to go to all those places anymore. I smiled as I went through all the plans, I made with Oili inside my head. It was a tight schedule, but it would be equally fulfilling. And that day would be today.


    "I have so many places I want to go!" My eyes glittered.


    The car stopped as we arrived at our destination. Nobody was outside as we were probably the last ones to move in. Alex went to the counter to sign in for all of us and brought all the room keys and other access cards.


    "There''s a room for two people each," he handed out the materials.


    "I want the room with Shelly!" I raised my hand.


    "The two rooms are connected by the living room in between them, making it one big suite overall," he finished.


    Oh. Then it didn''t matter much. It wasn''t that different from what I was used to, but it has been a while since I shared a room with someone. It would be just like a sleepover.


    Alex swiped the card by the entrance to our rooms, making the door click to open. It was a disappointing suite with the downgraded technology. The floors were cold with limp slippers waiting in front of us. The temperature wasn''t perfectly regulated while I could spot some tiny specks of dirt on the furniture.


    Even the beds weren''t as comfy, close to resembling the straw beds that made my body ache. Only the appearance was somewhat fancy like I was familiar with, but everything else was different. The blankets weren''t as plushy as there were many thin layers instead. The walls weren''t soundproof, making us hear tiny traces of people speaking in the next room.


    "The rooms are not that great," Shelly finally mentioned.


    "It isn''t," I agreed.


    If I knew it would be something like this, I might have brought my own pillows and blankets. With them, it would be better sleeping on the floor. Did I actually have an extra set from what I planned with Sienna for social week?


    I sighed in relief as I had a total of ten pillows and blankets that Sienna had transferred me. We ended up stealing some from Ben''s mansion when we ran out of our own supply. With a mana spell that would make the makeshift bed warm, it would be perfect.


    "I''m going to sleep on the floor," I showed Shelly what I had.


    "Can I use some as well?" Shelly looked like she didn''t want to sleep on the bed as well.


    I nodded my head as I pulled everything out of my inventory. Shelly froze when she noticed some of the supply stamped by the Nuelle family crest. My marble rang, interrupting us as I accepted an incoming call from Ben. I swiped the screen as Ben appeared to be inside a similar room as us.


    "Can you transfer me some extra pillows and blankets from my house?" He immediately noticed his pillows and blankets taken out from the camera.


    "You knew?" I fidgeted with my hands.


    "There were also some behind the stage. When I let one of the guests use a spare room, the blankets and pillows were the only things missing," he shrugged.

 Chapter 305 - Entering the Competition (2)

    "You can come to our room," I looked at my supply disappearing fast.


    The doorbell was immediately rung. Luke opened the door before we were able to walk out of our room. I wondered if it was only Ben taking back the pillows and blankets. Each of us needed two blankets since one of them acted as a mattress.


    "Does Alice also need any?" I dashed towards him.


    "She prefers to keep up appearances and sleep on the bed," Ben took a few of his supplies back.


    "I apologize, but can I also use your blankets and pillow?" Luke noticed the Nuelle family crest on them.


    It appeared that all of us would rather sleep on the ground. Ben nodded, giving both Alex and Luke the permission to borrow them. He walked out of the room as he went to set up the makeshift bed in his own room.


    "We should clean the floor first," I frowned.


    I sneezed from all the dust in the air. I couldn''t help being sensitive to the tiny things since I was used to living in a place where everything was perfectly cleaned to the point they sparkled. It was also like this in my parent''s house. I coughed so frequently that my family thought I had a bad cold. However, when I was in Luke''s villa, all the symptoms immediately stopped.


    "We need to filter the air first," Alex coughed.


    We began to open all the windows as fresh air came in. Alex used the spell to try to get rid of the dust by sweeping it outside. I shuddered when a few bugs came out of their hidden spots in the process. Although it wasn''t perfect, I instantly felt like I could properly breathe again without sneezing every few minutes.


    "It wasn''t this bad last time," Shelly closed the window.


    "Really?" I didn''t believe her.


    "The teachers came to inspect our living space before we moved in," she explained.


    But this time, all the teachers were busy. I screamed when I noticed some bugs Alex couldn''t get rid of from his spell. There were some signs of spider webs under the bed. The only reason I noticed was because of my enhanced eyesight. It was stuck onto the bed frame with some eggs attached to it.


    I wasn''t going to stay inside the room with bugs inside them. I gulped before I took out a spare cage I had from Ethan. I didn''t hesitate to use my mana to scan for bugs and placed every single one I could find inside the cage. This would be good to use to ask Ethan for a favour in the future. However, it was still disgusting to have something like this in my inventory.


    "I think I got rid of most of them," I didn''t dare to lay the blankets on the floor yet.


    "I think you got rid of all of them," Shelly confirmed with me when she did another scan.


    "Can you also check?" I asked Luke who was starting to reopen all the windows.


    "Alex is getting rid of the rest and I''m going to do another sweep," he sighed.


    My shoulders relaxed as I started to feel more assured. Time quickly passed as we finally faced a decently clean room after all our efforts. The beds were also set up and temperature regulated to keep us warm. It was almost time to attend the orientation. Once I walked out of the door, I dusted off everything off my uniform.


    "You too?" I faced Ben who was in the room next door.


    "We didn''t think the rooms would be this dirty," he coughed.


    "We also installed a barrier and another spell to keep things the way they are," he recalled.


    It was just like us. Everyone who came from our school also appeared equally exhausted from doing the same thing. Unfortunately, we had the last room, making us beside the students from another school. We needed to soundproof the rooms as well as they wouldn''t keep quiet.


    The middle and high school competition uniforms were a bit different from each other. Although the overall design was the same, the colours were different. Ours was striped pink and white while the high school colours were striped blue and white.


    I found myself in a dining room where we were the closest to the stage with the table with our names on it. It appeared like they were holding lunch and the presentation at the same time. At least the food would be better, wouldn''t it?


    I frowned as I regretted not eating that yogurt in the car. The food given to us was different from other schools. I knew they were trying to match the prestigious name of our school, but it was a failed attempt. I turned to Luke to give me the yogurt he placed into his inventory.


    "Was it like this last year as well?" I asked Shelly.


    "It was just like the food we usually ate at school," Shelly frowned.


    Luke passed me the small container of yogurt. He didn''t touch the plate given by the waiters as the fruits didn''t appear completely ripe while some parts of the food weren''t completely cooked. In fact, both Shelly and Alex sighed in relief when Luke passed them more cups of yogurt. It was just like Luke to be this prepared.


    "I brought enough food to last for today," he explained.

 Chapter 306 - Entering the Competition (3)

    "We can get more during our break," I cancelled my plans with Oili for today.


    "I can send a message to my family chefs to cook us some. I have a villa near here," Alex suggested.


    I have never been inside any private property owned by the Monete family, except for that time Luke and I worked at their company for our mission. I started to create a list of food that Alex would send to his family chefs. There were some people who overheard from our school. Everyone we knew started to send some messages to Alex with a compilation of their orders.


    Ethan, Claire, and Oili, who weren''t so close to Alex, sent their messages to me instead. I showed my screen to Alex under the table as he accepted their orders. Meanwhile, Oili and I decided to push our plans for another day. Food came first.


    Luke passed the cups of yogurts to others we knew. Now, we were officially out of food with all the people that didn''t touch their plates. We focused on listening to the presentation instead as the organizers went over all the rules and the overall schedule. While I looked around the room in boredom, my eyes widened when I spotted my younger brother, Evan.


    I never knew he would also be in this competition as well. This meant he attended a top-ranking school in the third district. Once the presentation ended, I sprinted towards him, checking if I was right. We were waiting for the car to arrive anyways.


    "Evan?" I tapped his shoulder.


    "Rika?" He appeared equally surprised.


    "You''re here too?" I greeted him.


    "Yea, I recently switched to a higher-ranking school," he shyly replied.


    "The car is here Rika!" Shelly shouted, wondering where I was.


    "Meet you later," I waved before running towards Shelly.


    "We managed to get the self-driving car with our connections," she explained as we walked outside the building.


    "The kitchen already prepared all the food from the ingredients outsourced from the first district," Alex got into the car first.


    The ingredients made a great difference in the overall taste of the food. All the food in the first district was perfect with everything grown with a hint of mana. This was part of the reason why nobody was able to take a single bite. Maybe this meant the teachers brought the food from the first district last year.


    "Shouldn''t we let the organizers know not to bring us any food from now on?" I wondered.


    "We already let them know. Lucius told them how one of us got sick from their carelessness," Alex revealed.


    The Monete family villa greatly resembled the Roselia family villa near my house. Maybe this was because their mothers were twins. Even the layout was almost the same as Jules'' mansion during social week.


    "Where are all the cakes?" I turned to Alex.


    "You can''t always live off cakes Rika," He had enough cakes to have as dessert for the rest of the week.


    We started to organize all the food into our inventory. Shelly and Alex carried the one for their fraction while the rest was split between Luke and me. I didn''t think this would take so much time as we started to rush when we noticed we may not get back to the arena in time. I didn''t understand why the organizers couldn''t explain everything at once.


    It would only take them five to seven hours at most. One class in our school was about four hours each and we didn''t have a break in between classes unless it was for lunch. Break time was shorter than I thought it would be as their schedule wasn''t efficient. There was no way Oili and I could visit all those places we planned in one day.


    "We should also take some pillows and blankets with us," I realized when we were about to leave.


    Everyone froze as I was right. This was the time to take some additional supplies as there were many missing things inside those rooms. We sprinted to the bedrooms and took everything we thought we would need in the future. I tried to catch my breath inside the car as it was a pity there were only so many things we could do with the limited amount of time we had.


    "We may have to come back in the future," Alex seemed dissatisfied with what we currently had.


    "We''ll know after we hand out the supplies," Luke agreed.


    Luke messaged all the people in our fractions to come to our room in a few minutes. He closed the car door as we didn''t have much time to hand everything out. There was a crowd of people in front of our room before Alex opened the door to let them in. I placed everything we packed outside my inventory as I read out each list given from each of them.


    "Here''s the rest of the food for the week and something to sleep on," I handed to Oili and his partner.


    "Thanks a lot Rika," he sadly smiled at our current situation.


    "We''re friends," I replied before I called for Ethan next.


    It was like we were at another battlefield. We were everyone''s supply line for survival. Nothing had changed since the fire at the school. Although, we couldn''t do this for everyone in our school that attended this competition. It would be on a whole other level.

 Chapter 307 - Entering the Competition (4)

    I was tempted to place my head against the table. They were still explaining more rules that were like common sense. We couldn''t even eat while listening to them this time. All the tablecloths were removed with the schedule earlier showing that dinner time would come after an hour from this presentation.


    My stomach grumbled from my poor breakfast and lunch. When I looked around the room to see if it was only me, others also looked like they were dying from boredom. Maybe I will refuse if the school asks us to come to this competition next year.


    "They were shorter last year," Shelly couldn''t help complaining.


    "Everything was better last year," I sighed.


    I almost tripped as I rose from my chair as my head was starting to feel dizzy. I didn''t feel like waiting for dinner time anymore. I tugged on Luke''s shirt, "can we ask them if we can eat dinner first?"


    "I can send a message to Lucius to ask for us," Luke agreed.


    Luke immediately got a message back that they have an extra room with the tables already set. We walked to the new room, not using the spare time to rest. Since there were no waiters, we placed our food on the table by ourselves. This was when I noticed how convenient the first district was with everything appearing wherever and whenever we wanted.


    I didn''t care that the plate in front of me wasn''t a cake. I began to devour everything, leaving the cake at the end. Binge eating was a poor habit I developed since we were too busy with studying. I smiled as I enjoyed the cake, all to myself.


    "We still need to finish organizing everything," Shelly sighed.


    "And the first day was supposed to be the day with the most breaks," I frowned.


    Unfortunately, we needed to rearrange our rooms. Alex opened the door and stepped on a peg to keep it open as we had no time to spare. Luke let the organizers know we were replacing some of the furniture to make it more livable. Luke and Alex began to push all the horrible furniture of the room like the small useless table that would make it hard to study on.


    Meanwhile, Shelly and I began to put out the new table and chairs in their place. Although we couldn''t bring an entire bed, we could get rid of the ones already inside the room. By the time we were finished, the living room turned into a study room like the ones in the library. Meanwhile, our bedrooms had some shelves added to help us organize some bottles of medicine Luke had brought with him.


    Miscellaneous workbooks also filled the remaining space with some accessories. Alongside the tatami mats placed in the bedroom since we were sleeping on the ground. With all the old furniture outside the door, everyone stared at where we stayed. Since we also gave the same furniture out to the people in our fractions, there was a whole pile that the organizers would have to take away.


    The organizers froze at the sight of all the furniture being replaced in our rooms. They began to call for more people as they carried them into the storage room. Instead of watching the people staring at the scene, I decided to take a bath before the next thing on the schedule started. There was a mix and mingle session between the schools.


    "Did they finish taking all the furniture outside our door?" I asked Luke once I came out of the bedroom.


    "They''re still transporting them into the storage room," he lowered the soundproof setting on our room to show me the sounds.


    "Can I go to the mix and mingle section room before you guys?" I wanted to see how the room was like there.


    The larger rooms were much better in terms of ventilation. However, since we were doing the mix and mingle only in our grade, the rooms were slightly smaller this time. I wanted to focus on meeting new people, not coughing to make everyone avoid me.


    "I''ll go with you," Luke placed his book down.


    As I expected, I started to cough like crazy once I entered the room. I almost stumbled onto the floor from the bad air. I could see all the tiny dust floating in the air that I got rid of in my own room. My eyes slightly burned as I wondered why the cleaning was done so poorly this time. When I turned to Luke, he didn''t look much better than me.


    "I can''t believe this room is like the others as well," I told him the reason for the visit.


    "We can tell the organizers to hold it outside," Luke agreed.


    Luke sent another message to Lucius to tell him the smaller rooms were poorly cleaned. This time, it took more minutes to get a response. The organizers agreed to hold the session outside and pushed the event an hour later to move everything over. I felt like I could finally breathe once I entered my own room again.


    Even my parent''s house was better than this. Did something happen to the competition arena to make everything worse this year? While Luke exchanged more messages with Lucius to prevent something like this from happening again, I tried to catch up on some sleep.

 Chapter 308 - Entering the Competition (5) - Evans POV

    "People from the first district are really different," a friend of mine commented.


    He stared at them not touching any of their plates. Instead, it appeared that they brought their own food with them. It was almost the same yogurt that Luke brought to my house to feed Rika for breakfast. None of my friends believed me when I told them my sister went to school in the first district. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''s-pov_48940320808820705 for visiting.


    This was why they froze when Rika ran to greet me after the first presentation ended. We didn''t resemble each other as they started to admire her beauty. When her friend, another beauty in the same uniform called for her, she ran off after a short greeting.


    "Your sister is really pretty," he couldn''t stop staring at her back.


    My sister had really changed a lot. It was hard to find traces of her old appearance where I could find the similar features we inherited from our parents. Only her orange-speckled eyes remained with her same personality.


    I looked around for her during dinner time after I went to explore the nearby area with my friends. When I asked the staff, it appeared that they already took their dinner before the rest of us. Everyone knew that the organizers usually stuck to the schedule like it was a lawbook. From the stories I heard from my seniors, nobody was an exception to this rule.


    However, it seemed to not apply to people who came from the first district. Instead, I decided to visit their rooms when I heard they came back from their break with my friend. I froze in shock as it appeared like they were removing all the furniture in their rooms with new ones. Could they do this?


    "People in the first district don''t live in the same world as us," my friend also appeared surprised.


    "I heard those rooms are actually a double suite. Two people share one room and that room is double the size of ours," my senior recalled.


    All the abandoned furniture looked like they were swimming in luxury. It was nothing compared to the rooms we were given where four people had to share one room. I gulped as I wondered if we could use them instead. However, there was no way the organizers would help move them as they did for the people in the first district.


    We decided to visit them another time since they looked busy. My friend''s phone vibrated to show a message sent by one of the organizers once we settle into our rooms. He read the message out loud, "the event is being deferred an hour since they''re switching the location to outside."


    "Someone from the first district went to check on the location and they got sick," my senior entered our room.


    "They got sick from entering a room?" My friend appeared stunned.


    "Apparently this year''s contestants from the first district mostly come from powerful families," he explained as if it was an open secret.


    This explained the separation between the contestants in their school. There were a few people from their school that did join us for dinner. Rika must have been part of the group with a large amount of influence. A few months ago, she visited our house to soon leave to stay in Luke''s villa. You could tell that Luke came from a wealthy family to how he talked to every one of his actions.


    I walked to the location of the outdoor event with my friends. However, Rika was nowhere to be seen. The organizer waited to start the event and eagerly greeted them when they arrived a bit late. She looked tired like she had just woken from a light nap.


    "Evan!" She ran towards me while clinging to her friend''s arm.


    "It''s a pleasure to be able to meet you again," Luke followed her.


    "We noticed you were a bit busy when we tried to visit," I mentioned.


    "We had to replace all the furniture to make that room livable," Rika explained.


    "I can''t believe the rooms weren''t properly cleaned. We had to make a complaint to switch the location outdoors," she frowned.


    I continued to smile, ignoring the fact that we had also visited the previous location of this session and felt that the organizers worked hard to make everything perfect this year. I didn''t know that my sister was the source of most of the complaints. She also ranted about how bad the food was when we were almost drooling over their untouched plates.


    "We didn''t know how poorly the competition was planned this year," my friend commented when he felt it was better than last year.


    "I''m sure the organizers tried their best," Alex seemed to have the same opinions as Rika.


    I only knew his name since he tried to take Rika back to school before I transferred schools. It was strange how Rika introduced me as her cousin-in-law. This was why I remembered him. The four of them appeared to be close to each other, sometimes whispering among themselves.


    "You can come visit our rooms after this event!" Rika offered.


    My friends appeared eager to visit, wondering how their rooms looked like after the big changes. This was why after the event, we followed them to their door. When Alex opened the door, I realized the rumors that the senior told me about were true.

 Chapter 309 - Entering the Competition (6) - Evans POV

    The moment I entered the room, I felt like I was breathing in fresh air from the countryside. The temperature was also perfect for their thin uniforms. The floors were also heated, and their walls were soundproof, unlike ours. I couldn''t hear anyone other than the people in this room. This was on a whole other level.


    They replaced the old furniture in their rooms for more expensive and modern ones. I couldn''t believe they had an entire living room designed as a study room. When Rika showed me her room, my jaw almost dropped with the collection of jewels on her accessories displayed on the shelves. Her friend also had a shelf for herself, not looking much different than hers.


    The bed was also different as they chose to sleep on the floor. With the exotic tatami mats, it appeared as it was the better choice. Was this how my sister usually lived? It was no wonder she was coughing all the time in our parent''s house.


    The entire room sparkled as it was customized to suit their needs. My friends were also speechless as this was more than they anticipated. Luke offered them some snacks and tea on the glass table. They appeared shocked from one bite like I was when Luke offered me the leftover plates that Rika didn''t touch.


    "Is this usually how you live?" I became curious.


    "It''s better than the makeshift room we''re in. We tried our best so we could survive for the rest of the week in this room," she sadly smiled.


    My friends stiffened from her answer. How could it get even better than this? No wonder they threw out everything with no hesitation outside this room. While we ate all the cookies, I noticed she sat far away from them. We started to feel a bit guilty as none of them touched the snacks with us.


    "Where are you planning to go during the break?" I switched the topic.


    "The break isn''t long enough to go anywhere," she sulked.


    "My family has a villa nearby. We may go visit one more time," Alex joined us.


    I nodded, wondering if every one of them had their own villa in the third district. Noticing the sun starting to set, we reluctantly left their rooms. It was like we were going back to our normal lives again. We got ready to sleep as we changed into our pyjamas.


    However, someone pounded on our door. My senior opened the door, wondering what was going on. One of the organizers panted as she trembled, "someone managed to get past security to kidnap one of our contestants."


    "We''re gathering everyone in the auditorium to place all our guards in one area," she told us to follow her.


    I walked to follow her with my friends. Once I entered, there were an extra set of security guards placed around the people from the first district. It was likely they would become the targets. Rika looked unfazed like she was used to it. In fact, none of the people in the first district seemed to fear the danger.


    Someone screamed when all the lights suddenly turned off. The window shattered, making the security guards distracted with protecting the students. When the lights turned back on, I found Rika struggling with someone placing a cloth over her mouth. There were signs of blood dripping down her arm as the stranger struggled to hold both the knife and Rika at once. He injured her in the process as Rika kicked and turned as much as she could. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''s-pov_48941186513167172 for visiting.


    Meanwhile, Luke continued to land precise kicks at the stranger for him to loosen his grasp. With Alex helping him, the kidnapper soon released Rika from the pain as Luke pulled her behind him. Seeing that he wouldn''t be able to grab her again, he quickly escaped from the scene. I couldn''t believe what I just saw.


    Luke pulled out some bandages out of nowhere as he tried to treat her wounds. A crowd of people from the first district surrounded her, blocking her from our view. Even my friends were stunned from the scene.


    "Is your sister going to be ok?" One of them worried for her.


    "I don''t know," I hoped she would be.


    "Can you tell me how the security has gotten this relaxed? My fianc¨¦e is injured due to your carelessness," Luke glared at the closest person in charge.


    Fianc¨¦e? I never knew this was their relationship to each other. I couldn''t believe it wasn''t a joke when they told me last time. At the same time, it explained everything. Rika was considered as one of their own since she was engaged to one of them. I did wonder what Luke meant when he said they were family. It started to make sense why Rika stayed at his villa instead of staying with us until the weekends ended. Seeing how my parents didn''t react last time, they must have accepted their relationship.


    "Can we leave?" Rika tugged his sleeve.


    "We''ll increase the security and defer the main part of the competition to the day after tomorrow. We''ll do all that we can to keep the environment safer," the person in charge begged them.


    "It doesn''t guarantee anything, does it?" Rika coldly responded.


    "You don''t have to follow the schedule and just have to attend the events where you have to compete," the person added.


    "My fianc¨¦e may not be able to attend all the events," Luke glanced at her injuries.


    "We''ll decrease the number of rounds that you''ll have to attend," he seemed to be getting more desperate.

 Chapter 310 - Entering the Competition (7)

    It all started with a note that slipped in from below the closed door. We froze as we couldn''t believe the same paper note followed us all the way here. My younger brother and his friends had just left us less than a minute ago.


    With the same handwriting from before, it couldn''t be them. Luke instantly messaged Lucius to tell him about the note. In response, Lucius alerted the organizers, making everyone gather to the auditorium. It appeared the news already spread to everyone in the first district. While a few appeared shocked, the people in our circle were unfazed.


    "I guess the fire wasn''t the end of it," Oili sighed.


    "We should prepare for what will happen if another fire spreads here too," Lucius started to form a plan in his head.


    "We should get them to cancel the competition," Claire suggested.


    We all wanted to leave this place. If something did happen, it would be hard to protect all the other students from the other districts with us. This time, the people with us were basically powerless since they didn''t possess any mana to protect themselves.


    I frowned when the lights turned off as my eyes instantly adjusted to the dark. Someone crashed into the auditorium, breaking all the windows in the process. The security guards surrounding us ran to defend the glass coming towards the students. Meanwhile, Lucius created an invisible barrier to prevent any small shards of glass from coming near us.


    Everyone below us started to panic as some people cried and screamed in fear. My eyes widened as someone had grabbed me from behind. This was not the same person who broke in. I couldn''t believe that person was able to destroy Lucius'' barrier. Electricity hummed inside the wires as the lights suddenly came back on.


    As this was not the first time, I was the target, I twisted and turned to escape from the arms of the person who grabbed my torso. Unfortunately, the person wasn''t skilled in holding a moving person and a sharp knife at the same time. The knife dug into my arm as he struggled to keep the both of us in place.


    I gritted my teeth as I held in the pain. Meanwhile, Alex tried to trip the person while Luke stabbed all the pressure points with the end of the handle of his small dagger. When his grip on me loosened, I ducked down to escape from his grasp. The people here couldn''t know we carried weapons, so Luke pretended to kick his shin for show.


    Giving up as more people surrounded me, he vanished right in front of us. Lucius quickly threw a rock at an unbroken window to make it seem like he escaped through the window. Thankfully, nobody other than us appeared to have noticed. Belle helped him as she created an illusion of someone jumping in the air.


    Luke took out a roll of bandages from his inventory. He began to treat my wounds as others helped block the view when he decided to use heal from the erupted veins. Unfortunately, he had to leave some of it unhealed as everyone already saw the knife digging into my arm.


    "Can you tell me how the security has gotten this relaxed? My fianc¨¦e is injured due to your carelessness," Luke glared at the closest person in charge once he was finished with the spell.


    This would be the perfect time to convince them to cancel the event. I tried to do my part as I tugged his sleeve, "Can we leave?"


    "We''ll increase the security and defer the main part of the competition to the day after tomorrow. We''ll do all that we can to keep the environment safer," the person in charge started to beg us.


    "It doesn''t guarantee anything, does it?" I coldly responded.


    "You don''t have to follow the schedule and just have to attend the events where you have to compete," the person added.


    "My fianc¨¦e may not be able to attend all the events," Luke glanced at her injuries.


    "We''ll decrease the number of rounds that you''ll have to attend," he seemed to be getting more desperate.


    "My arm," I whimpered as I summoned some fake tears.


    "It really hurts! I don''t think I can ever use this arm again. I really want to win in this competition, but I don''t think I can anymore," I pretended to stagger.


    "I think we may have to go to the hospital today," Luke went with my act.


    "Wouldn''t it be better to cancel the competition altogether?" Lucius perfectly stepped in at the right timing.


    "My cousin says she can''t use her arm anymore," Alex glared at them when they started to hesitate.


    "And you already know how fragile my younger sister is," Lucius reminded them how we had to switch locations for the mix and mingle.


    "We''ll decrease the competition to make it one day! We can''t do any more than this since there are students from other districts," he trembled.


    "We''ll hold the competition the day after tomorrow after taking more safety precautions," the person in charge was barely able to look up at us.


    "I''m glad we came to an understanding," Lucius scarily smiled.


    We left the auditorium, leaving the rest of the crowd behind us. Now we needed a plan on how to handle the notes and the person who disappeared in front of us. This person had to come from the first district.

 Chapter 311 - Entering the Competition (8)

    I winced as Luke opened the bottle of medicine and poured it on my injury. Meanwhile, everyone was busy with placing more protective barriers around our rooms. Since we knew we were the target, the other students would be probably safe. We had the time to search for the culprit now with the competition day moved.


    Feeling irritated, I used explosion magic this time to destroy the note. We also decided to only use one bedroom as Luke and Alex moved their beds to our room. Each of the rooms were in charge of a certain section in the arena to search for anything suspicious. We would have to sneak out later in the night as we were in charge of the big dining room we were in for lunch.


    "When are we sneaking out?" I didn''t want to leave the room.


    "Around midnight," Luke finished treating my wound.


    "Then I''m going to sleep. Wake me when we''re heading out," I flipped my blanket open.


    Luke nodded his head as if one of the side effects of this medicine was that it made the person sleepy. This was why he had to shake me for thirty minutes to wake me up. I groaned as I got up, wanting ten more minutes of sleep.


    Alex softly closed the door as we tiptoed around the halls. Luke waved his hand over the access machine and the door clicked open. Nothing was out of place at first glance. Only traces of poor cleaning remained. All the tables were folded to the side with the chairs. Making it an open space as we searched for anything odd.


    "Kill sleeping beauty," the same figure suddenly appeared in front of us in the middle of the room.


    Taking a closer look, this person appeared as if it was a puppet. He staggered as he walked towards us with the same knife in his hands. But he had a clear goal in his mind, which was me as he deliriously stared at my pupils.


    "You must kill sleeping beauty," he suddenly sprinted towards me.


    I slammed the door open as I began to run for my life. Using my mana, I was able to sprint quite a distance ahead of him. Meanwhile, Luke got out his sword with Alex. They tried to distract him from chasing me. However, he swiftly dodged each of their attacks. The person was in between us as Luke and Alex chased him from behind. While Shelly tried to clean up the messy tables and chairs from our attacks.


    It was hard to run without making noise. I hoped that everyone would stay inside their bedrooms, knowing the danger if they came out. I dashed into the section that Ben and Alice were in charge of, the area where we stayed. It would be safer to rush into my room within the protection of the barriers.


    "There''s that same person behind us," I yelled at Ben.


    I closed the door, hoping that person would give up on me soon. He furiously pounded on the door while I could hear Ben helping Luke and Alex with the attacks. My marble began to vibrate as the screen showed what was outside my door.


    "Escape outside the window Rika! The door is almost broken," Luke shouted.


    I nodded my head as I immediately opened the window. I stepped onto the edge of the windowsill as I ducked to get through. Maybe climbing the building would be a better choice. Whipping out a rope from my inventory, I tied it around a pillar on the roof with the air spell. I grabbed onto the rope as I started to climb the wall.


    "I''m heading to the roof," I showed him I was halfway there.


    Like that person had understood me, he switched his direction to climb up the stairs. It appeared he didn''t know how to climb the walls like I did. Knowing where I was, Luke and Alex ran to the same wall. I gasped when the person stared at me from above, tugging on the rope. How did he get there so fast?


    "Jump!" Luke reached out his hands.


    I pulled out a dagger from below my skirt and cut the rope. I started to fall metres above the ground as I roughly landed in his arms. However, the person jumped off the roof with me. Luke carried me in his arms as he sprinted to the room at the opposite side. Lucius and Belle were inside that room.


    It appeared that they had already transferred him their access card as he slammed the door shut. He also closed all the opened windows, not taking a break after placing me on the sofa. I wondered how long this room would last as the person began to target the window this time. I reached out my hand to fortify the barriers this time, hoping it would be enough.


    The person screamed as Ben and Alex continued to attack his back. I wondered why this person was so focused on attacking me. Did he think I was sleeping beauty? Although I did like sleep, I was never allowed to sleep for a long period of time.


    The barrier began to crack from his persistent attacks. When the window shattered, Ben immediately threw his access card to Luke. We nodded as we opened the door to escape to their rooms instead. Since the person wasn''t far away from us, he managed to grab onto the ends of my hair.

 Chapter 312 - Entering the Competition (9)

    Luke cut the ends of my hair with his sword before pushing me inside the room after opening the door. He panted as his back was on the door. While we had the time, I messaged all the others to come back to their rooms. We needed more help as Ben and Alex were unable to faze him on their own.


    "Is he even a human being?" I wondered.


    "I don''t know," Luke began to close all the windows again.


    "I think he''s related to the notes. He''s saying the same things that were written," I pointed out.


    I got a call from Shelly as she was outside the rooms. The scene showed how everyone was working together to take the person down. Lucius created another barrier to keep that person inside. Meanwhile, everyone else focused on attacking that person from trying to get inside Ben''s room.


    "It''s like he can''t feel any pain," Shelly frowned at the scene.


    The person used heal, something that consumed a lot of mana while trying to fend off their attacks. This continued for ten minutes as if that person didn''t have a limit in how much mana he could use. After he finally collapsed onto the ground after exhausting everything he had, everyone began to fortify the barrier with Lucius to keep him from escaping.


    "We should call the authorities," Lucius shouted.


    "I already called for them," Alice showed them her marble.


    "The people will be teleporting here within a few minutes," she read out the message.


    Like Alice announced, the workers from the first district retrieved the barrier and teleported with that person to another place. However, most of our surroundings were trashed from most of our failed attacks. Luke and I decided to stay in this room as everyone else began to repair the area.


    When we finally left Ben''s room, the barrier was put up in our rooms again, much more fortified than before. Everyone had exhausted their mana to increase the security inside the rooms. We couldn''t trust the authorities after everything we have been through.


    "But weren''t there two of them?" I recalled inside my bedroom.


    "You''re right," Shelly sighed.


    I hoped the other one left once since that person was defeated. I opened my closet door, about to change into my pyjamas. I screamed as I found another person, who resembled the one taken by the authorities. He squeezed into my closet, crouching this entire time. His dull eyes looked into my pupils, "help me. Find me."


    "I''ll take you to me," he got up to hold a knife against my neck.


    "Can it be tomorrow? Today really isn''t the best day,"


    "But I have been waiting for you for months. I have waited enough," he pressed the knife closer.


    Luke dashed into my room from my screams with Alex behind him. He shot a pressurized wind arrow at the knife before he sprinted to separate us. Luke stood in between us as the knife clacked against the floor. Everyone rushed to attack him as I immediately sent more messages for some help.


    "He''s inside my room," I opened the door.


    Lucius created another barrier to repeat the same thing as before. Luke and Alex jumped out at his signal as they wouldn''t want to be trapped inside with him. I clenched my fists as I knew that the person behind the scenes was starting to take more extreme measures as I burned each and every note.


    "What do you want from me?" I asked.


    "I want you to kill me. To find my body hidden inside the second district, trapped under something," he replied.


    "Why me?" I wondered.


    "You have the scent of Jason on you," he explained.


    "Jason? I don''t know who you''re talking about," I couldn''t recall that name from anywhere.


    "You know him!" he screamed.


    He stopped talking as his body went limp from everyone''s attacks. Lucius moved the barrier with the support from Claire as Alice called for the authorities again. The workers stiffened when they saw almost the exact replica of the person they had dragged away. I hoped we took care of everything by now. I didn''t want to get involved any further.


    I was done with trying to help people after Ella. I knew why everyone exchanged favours for a price now. Somehow, I got the feeling this problem was messy and entangled into the history of the other districts. Once everyone helped to repair our room, I slumped into my bed after checking if there was anyone else hiding inside the room.


    Since there were no events going on tomorrow, I planned to leave this place. I didn''t want to stay here longer than I had to. I stretched my arms as I held onto a comic book. I sat on a bean chair with Oili at the next neighbourhood. We planned to go to the karaoke room afterwards. Next to me was Shelly and behind me was Luke and Alex.


    I woke up early in the morning to start the day. But I was caught by Alex when I tried to sneak out on my own. This was why they were here with us. My plans were achieved as they followed us around the light novel library, caf¨¦s and other tourist spots. I sipped on a sugary strawberry milkshake as I promised Luke that I would eat more for breakfast tomorrow in exchange.


    I wondered why things couldn''t be usually this peaceful. I laughed as I enjoyed taking pictures around all the old buildings. I sang my lungs out while I punched some songs on the karaoke machine. I shook the tambourine while Shelly was surprised with how well Oili sung. I never wanted this to end.

 Chapter 313 - Entering the Competition (10)

    "I can''t believe we''re back here," I groaned as I stepped out of the car.


    Since the sun was starting to set, Luke decided it would be best if we returned to the arena. Knowing that Luke was reaching the edge of his patience, we listened to him, retiring from the computer room. Plus, we didn''t need to eat dinner here as we ate at a pizzeria from my suggestion. I never had so much fun as today before.


    I looked through all the pictures in my bedroom. It felt like I made more precious memories here than all the time I spent in the first district. Maybe I would look back at these memories whenever I felt down in the future. I closed my screen as it was starting to get deeper into the night. I would need to sleep to win the competition tomorrow.


    The next time I opened my eyes, I wasn''t inside my room anymore. I was inside a cave, full of mana crystals. I watched the poor children cry and bleed inside the planetarium, which was also connected to one of its tunnels. I walked deeper inside as I couldn''t look at them suffering anymore.


    Not knowing where I was going, I continued to walk deeper into the cave. I squinted when a bright light was coming out in front of me. My eyes adjusted to the light as the cave transitioned into a glass cage. Inside the cage was a transparent coffin with a girl sleeping with her arms crossed. She was covered with white wildflowers that grew around her.


    Her skin was fair as snow while her lips were red as ruby gems. Her light blond hair was neatly placed on her blue ball gown that changed into pink depending on the light. She was almost as beautiful as the inhumane fairies. Was this sleeping beauty?


    My hands were placed on the glass cage, not allowing me to come inside. When I looked closer at the engravings on the glass, it read, ''she waits for the day to be freed from her sleep''.


    "What do you want from me?" I whispered in front of her.


    Many paper notes drifted from above. It started to fill the space where I stood. I read each of the rustic writings on the pieces of paper.


    [Please kill me]


    [Please find me]


    [Kill Sleeping Beauty]


    [I want to be free]


    Her words echoed inside the cave as I covered my ears. I didn''t know how to help her. I didn''t know where I was right now. This place seemed like it had been abandoned for a long period of time. I looked at how my steps didn''t leave a trace of my feet, walking around the cage. I had to be inside a dream.


    A tear dripped down her perfect face as her eyelashes fluttered. My heart panged from her last note that kept from coming from above. She wanted to be from the cage. It was too relatable to the situation I was in.


    "How can I help you when I''m the same?" I stared at her.


    "I can''t help you," I mumbled.


    The world started to crumble down as someone started to shake me awake for the brand-new day. The next time I blinked, I found myself staring at Luke''s face. I coughed, feeling my dry throat lacking oxygen. Luke frowned as he began to take my temperature.


    "You have a fever," he looked at the results.


    "I told you not to eat anything from the third district," he scolded me.


    I was sure my fever just came from my broken dream. My hair was covered in sweat as it dripped down from my forehead. My hands felt damp as I struggled to rise to sit down. This was worse than I thought it would be.


    "I''m sure it''s not from the food," I coughed uncontrollably.


    My eyes widened when I coughed blood. This wasn''t a simple fever anymore. Luke called for Lucius to come into our room. Alex pulled out some machines he brought from his villa like he had prepared this for emergencies.


    "Did anything happen during the night?" Lucius read the results from the machine.


    "I found sleeping beauty," I managed to whisper.


    "Your internal organs are a mess. It appears like you touched something you weren''t supposed to. This will take days to heal," he grimaced.


    "Can you grab eternia from the shelf?" Lucius turned to Luke.


    Luke began to feed me by tilting the bottle after picking the right medicine. Meanwhile, Lucius continued to study the diagnosis as if it couldn''t be right. I was barely able to swallow the liquid as I coughed some of it out. This was almost similar to the time I was stabbed in the stomach.


    I instantly felt better as my body started to absorb the medicine. I was able to talk now as my throat wasn''t parched anymore. Shelly passed me a tissue to wipe the blood off my mouth. I shot her a thankful glance before beginning to explain what happened.


    "I was in the second district before I woke up. Inside a cave connected to an abandoned planetarium was a glass cage. There was a coffin inside the cage and the girl was called sleeping beauty," I recalled.


    "I think she was trying to take me to her with the fire and the people we sent to the authorities," I shuddered.

 Chapter 314 - Competing (1)

    Luke shook another bottle before passing it to me to drink. I knew I wouldn''t be able to eat any solid food today. There were no plates in front of me on the table. Although the white drink was creamy, it had no taste.


    "We''re only participating in the last rounds for each subject," Alex looked at the new schedules given to us.


    This meant there was more time to rest inside my room before going to compete. I nodded as I continued to drink from the bottle. Lucius placed a bunch of different medicine in powder and liquid forms to create this drink. I just needed to finish two bottles for each meal to help me participate in the competition.


    Only people from our school took the time to eat breakfast slowly. Everyone else was competing to face us as the final opponent. This was only acceptable since our school won every year for the past decades.


    Halfway through the bottle, I began to give up on finishing the drink as I felt nauseous and dizzy. This drink was more filling than I thought it would be. I placed the bottle on the table as I decided to use this time to rest.


    "Finish the bottle Rika. Remember the promise you made yesterday for going to the pizzeria," Luke reminded me.


    "I already drank one full bottle. There''s only half of this one left," I whimpered.


    Luke passed me the bottle, "you have to finish this one or else you won''t get better. I''m not going to accept your excuses of feeling dizzy or nauseous this time."


    I chugged the rest of the bottle, trying to get rid of the rest. Like I predicted, I ended up vomiting the rest of the drink I drank with some blood after the last sip. Luke sighed as Shelly handed him more napkins. This was why I didn''t want to drink the rest.


    "Let''s go back to our room to change," Luke helped me walk.


    I ended up soaking in a nice, warm bath before changing into a new set of uniforms. Luke''s marble vibrated as he got a message from Lucius that we had to start heading to the competition room for our grade. It was crowded near the room as the disqualified contestants watched the people in the room on the TV screen.


    Evan was part of the crowd as he lost against the people in the second district. The doors opened as the four of us stepped inside. There was a podium for each pair as Luke and I walked together to our spot.


    "Let''s start with the first question," the host showed the question on the screen.


    I was shocked as they pulled out a math question that I learned near the end of elementary school. I never knew the second district was this behind the first district. However, I was quickly proven wrong as the level of difficulty increased. We were no longer in the range of high school problems, but master''s level in university.


    Luke pressed the button, not wasting a single second as he answered the sixth question in a row. Whenever Luke was not able to answer, Alex took his place. The students in the second district were shocked from their fast reflexes. They were not able to gain a single point compared to the people who lost in the last round.


    But all the questions were still on the easier side compared to what was asked on our exams. Even I knew most of the answers to this question. This time, I decided to be the one to press the button. I smiled when it was deemed that my answer was correct. The other team started to look more desperate as we were winning by a huge landslide.


    "What is the proof for this matrix?" The host asked an essay type question this time.


    I was the first person to press the button as I opened my mouth to say the answer. However, Luke pushed me to the back with him as our podium suddenly exploded. The host froze as the podium crumbled into ashes.


    "The proof is from this line by calculating this side by the matrix first," I continued to ramble as Luke helped me get up.


    "Correct," he mumbled as I coughed more blood from the impact.


    "We''re leaving first. Please tell us when the next subject starts," Alex started to help Luke to carry me on his back.


    I vomited an insane amount of blood on Luke''s shirt. Everyone stared at us, wondering if I was ok from watching everything on TV. I knew it appeared worse than it actually was. Evan walked to follow us from the back from worry before Alex turned to him, "can you please visit us later? I have to help my cousin with her injuries."


    He nodded his head as he continued to stare at us from the back. Shelly helped Luke wipe all the blood from my mouth as Alex opened the machine again to see what was wrong this time. I guessed sleeping beauty switched to explosion spells, which was about the equal level of creating a fire.


    "You inhaled some smoke that came from the explosion. Making your present injuries even worse," Luke read the results.


    I couldn''t believe my horrible luck. Instead of sleeping beauty wanting my help, it looked like she was trying to kill me. When I finished coughing blood, I took another bath to wipe myself clean. I couldn''t believe that we would have to go to the next subject soon when Luke got another message from Lucius.

 Chapter 315 - Competing (2)

    I didn''t understand why they weren''t cancelling the event after watching that horrible incident. After drinking another bottle of medicine to keep me alive, I was able to walk on my own. It was time to go to the next event.


    Hearing about the incident, everyone stared at me, wondering how I was still alive. We were in a new room this time. The same podiums appeared in the same order as we came to take our places. Before starting, Luke checked the podiums with Alex.


    "Have you double checked everything in this room?" He asked the staff.


    "We have," the host appeared very apologetic.


    This time, the subject was science. Half of science was memorizing all the theories. Like before, no one on the other team was able to press the button before us. I stood behind Luke, watching him answer the questions. But when a dagger flew towards my head as the target, I pushed his head down.


    "I thought you checked everything," Luke asked them after he finished answering the question.


    "We thought we did," the cameraman mumbled.


    "Please check everything again before we resume the competition," Alex supported him.


    The other team stayed far away from us like we were the target of all these attacks. The room was silent except for the sounds of the staff trying to search for anything that could be out of place. I gasped as there were several daggers hidden near the ceiling that they found. Even the staff froze from all the new pieces of evidence.


    "So you double checked everything before the competition," Alex coldly questioned them.


    "We apologize," all the staff slightly bowed.


    "Can we finish this event? I feel a bit tired from the last attack," I stared at the host since I wanted to get it over with.


    "Of course," the host started to display the last set of questions.


    We ended up walking out of the room with victory on our side again. It was easier this time as some of the members on the other team were too focused on if another dagger would head towards us. I smiled as there were only five more events we had left. The next one was foreign languages, which I was forced to study since kindergarten.


    "The woman is crying. She felt betrayed by her lover as he sold her for money. The lover was going to get her back later on when he became successful. They were childhood friends," I smoothly translated another language from the second district.


    "Correct!" The host appeared impressed.


    "Can anyone translate the next paragraph in a language from the third district?" A new slide appeared.


    I pressed the button again, "this was the tale of sleeping beauty from the myths. She decided to wait for her lover by sleeping until he would come back to her. Her life was too miserable under her new owner. She placed herself inside a cage to defend herself from everyone who wanted her."


    "The next one is fluently reading the next paragraph from the language in the fourth district" The next slide appeared.


    "But she started to regret her actions as she couldn''t wake up from her own spell. Her lover did manage to visit her with her hidden clues. His name was Jason. He knocked onto the glass cage, but she couldn''t hear anything that he said," I fluently read the rest of the story.


    "She waited for someone to help her. She cried out for help as she used her powers inside her dreams. But nobody responded. However, it is told that to this day, sleeping beauty sends her lover paper notes for him to help her," Luke read the story in the language of another country in the second district.


    "Congratulations," the host turned to us after we won another round.


    "How many languages do you know?" The host wondered as nobody had been ever able to answer all the questions before.


    "We know most of the languages in the districts," Luke revealed.


    It was one of the first things we learned. Every day in class, the teachers taught us the class material in another language. Unfortunately, this made things even more confusing. Until I got used to it, my grades were at the bottom. In my former life, I was struggling with English and Korean, but this in life, I had to learn more than twenty languages. I had to be fluent in each and every one of them to understand what was going on in class.


    Even in all the workbooks Luke brought me, every chapter was in a different language. This was why I liked math the most. It was another universal language where the difference in languages didn''t apply as much. However, when I talked, I usually stuck to the language used in the first district. At the same time, I could make the switch whenever I wanted to since I answered all the questions the teachers asked me in that same language.


    But almost everyone knew the main language used from districts one to four. It was mandatory for everyone to learn since the four districts communicated with each other the most. Currently, we were speaking in that main language. It was similar to the one used in the first district.


    "Are you ok Rika?" Evan greeted us in the main language once we came out from winning.

 Chapter 316 - Competing (3)

    "I''m still alive," I sadly smiled.


    "Are you sure?" Evan fidgeted with his hands, appearing a bit nervous.


    It was lunchtime. Evan walked with us to where we would eat lunch together. Shelly generously let him join our table even though we weren''t on the same team. None of the organizers pointed anything out as we were letting them to continue this competition with all these dangerous accidents.


    "I was surprised how you knew the answers to all of those questions we got wrong towards the end," Evan changed the topic.


    I knew he was silently implying my horrible grades that Luke showed to my family a few months ago. But he didn''t know how the education in the first district was on a whole other level. Luke passed me another bottle, which was altered from last time. Evan watched our exchange as Alex placed some of my plates of food that went to him instead.


    "It''s nothing compared to what comes out on our exams," I recalled.


    "Do our parents know about the engagement?" He finally asked.


    "They accepted our engagement a long time ago. This is my cousin, Alex de Monete and his fianc¨¦e, Michelle Monete Locast." Luke formally introduced his family to him.


    "I am Luke de Impalia Roselia and your sister is Rika de Impalia Roselia," he told him our new names.


    "Are you perhaps related to the owner of the famous Monete hotels chain?" Evan asked Alex.


    "It''s one of the many lines of businesses my family owns," Alex admitted.


    "And the Roselia International Bank?" He turned to Luke.


    "Another business my family owns," Luke revealed.


    I didn''t know all the businesses their families owned. There were too many for me to keep account. Evan processed all the information and realized everyone sitting on this table was related to each other by some kind of family ties. It was nice information to know that the Monete family owned more of those hotels with many attractions.


    "Are you not royalty?" Evan imagined all the wealth their families owned.


    "We''re just normal people," Shelly smiled at his innocent thoughts.


    We walked towards the ballroom as dance was the next event. This time, we had to stay for the entire event as we needed to watch how our opponents would perform. I sighed as it was lackl.u.s.ter compared to what we came with inside our rooms when we had the time to rest.


    We instantly grabbed everyone''s attention with our costumes. For us, it was another ordinary piece of clothing we wore when we weren''t wearing our uniforms. My dress was covered in pink and white diamonds from the start of my skirt. I wore a white gold jewel attached to a bow as a collar. Even my headband was created from rubies on the silken roses. Meanwhile, my uncomfortable dress shoes were white leather.


    Luke nodded his head to signal to start the music. We would start off with a simple waltz mixed with flashy techniques. The violins started to play as we began to move in perfect sync from all the practicing that started since kindergarten. This entire competition was made for us to win.


    My eyes widened when a sword rushed towards my heart. I jumped high into the air instead of moving to the side as planned. With my jump, I was able to step on the flying sword to step onto the next one heading towards my ankle. My heart almost skipped a beat as I scanned the entire area. I was metres into the air as I used the swords as stairs. Everyone was stunned as I added some twirls I learned from ballet.


    I had to make it appear like it was nothing or everyone might start panicking, making the situation even worse. When I shot them a look that I needed help, Shelly and Alex placed their hands together to help Luke jump into the air to join me. With one powerful jump, Luke kicked another sword heading towards my leg by soaring into the air. I felt my wounds reopening again as I avoided all the flying swords.


    "Shelly!" I whispered soft enough only for them to hear when a sword started to dash towards them.


    Shelly twirled to avoid the sword from my warning. Instead, Alex jumped on the sword to join us to send all the remaining swords in the marble tiles. Shelly, getting the cue, jumped on the sword to follow him. The four of us were in the air, adding some fancy turns as we tried to crush the incoming swords from increasing where we were. With every step, a sword plunged towards the ground, digging into the marble tiles.


    What were the host and staff doing, watching us in awe like they were enjoying a circus show? Didn''t they know these were actual attacks, trying to kill us? I lost all my hope in them as I focused on avoiding the rest of the swords.


    I held in my pain as I felt blood seeping into my costume. When another sword dashed towards my head, I ended up doing a backflip by accident, making my wounds even worse. I started to pant as my head became dizzier from the large amount of blood loss today. My vision wavered as I couldn''t continue these extravagant movements anymore.


    Giving up from losing all my energy, my body rushed towards the ground with the swords right above me.

 Chapter 317 - Competing (4)

    Luke dashed towards the ground, using some of his mana in the process to catch me before I landed above the dull handles from the swords. Once he stood on the handles, he carefully walked to have me land in his arms. He instantly noticed my light gown starting to get dyed with crimson red.


    Meanwhile, he had to get rid of the swords trying to plunge into me as he carried me in his arms. We couldn''t use a barrier since the other districts would discover the existence of mana. All he could do was to dodge the swords while running away from them. I wondered why the host and staff were still staring at us instead of getting some help or attempting to handle the situation themselves. It had to be clear now that one of us was injured.


    While Alex and Shelly were busy with destroying the rest of the swords that followed us. There was no one to help us. Luke frowned as my breathing started to become fainter. He pushed himself to use heal to close my wounds before more blood poured out. Thankfully, everyone was too busy watching Alex and Shelly.


    "Don''t close your eyes Rika," his voice quivered.


    I nodded my head as I didn''t have the energy to talk anymore. Luke''s arms trembled as he struggled to continue sprinting for our lives. He sent a message to Lucius for help, giving up on the competition. Within a few minutes, Lucius and Belle opened the door to watch the chase. They were stunned how nobody was stepping in.


    Lucius took out his sword with no choice as he began to slash the swords that chased after Luke. With each powerful strike, the swords vanished into thin air. Alex, who noticed that the family sword was effective, pulled out his own. The sounds of clanging echoed inside the ballroom as more swords disappeared.


    When Alex and Shelly descended onto the ground after crushing all the swords in the air, the host unfroze from her spot. It was like they didn''t know that the situation was as dangerous as the daggers that flew towards us near the podium. Everyone watched this spectacle as if it was a planned show.


    "The winners are Luke de Impalia Roselia, Rika de Impalia Roselia, Michelle Monete Locast and Alex de Monete," she announced.


    "How could they think of adding swords to their performance?" Someone from the second district whispered.


    "The people from the first district do things on another level," His friend murmured.


    "How could you leave my younger siblings to fend for themselves while swords rushed to kill them?" Lucius yelled at the staff.


    "Those were real?" The staff shivered.


    "Don''t you see my younger sister bleeding in her dress?" Lucius pointed out.


    The staff gasped as if they were seeing a dying person in Luke''s arms. The people in the audience froze as they overheard the conversation. This was when everyone started to realize that it wasn''t part of the show. They began to run towards the exit, hoping they wouldn''t become the next target.


    "Let''s pack our stuff, we''re leaving," Lucius let us know.


    I spotted Evan, who also trembled in anger. He ran down the stairs to join us on the main floor. Lucius, who didn''t have any patience left, didn''t go through his memories to recall that Evan was my younger twin brother. Instead, he coldly asked, "is there anything you need from us?"


    "I want to join you. My older sister, she looks like she''s dying," Evan watched me unable to move.


    Alex pushed Evan towards the ground, who was in front of Luke as Shelly screamed when she noticed another sword rushing towards my neck. Luke swiftly dodged from Shelly''s warning as he spun to kick the blade of the sword. Meanwhile, Lucius and Belle scanned the rest of the room to find if there were any remaining.


    "We''re going back to the second district," Lucius told us to quickly run to our rooms.


    "I don''t know who you are, but please stay away from younger siblings," he coldly answered Evan, forgetting his worry for me.


    "My parents would want me to watch over my older sister!" Evan clenched his fists, overcoming his fear of how he narrowly dodged a sword.


    "Do you have any power to help them out? You''ll become a burden to your older sister," Lucius quickly went through his memories.


    "But still, I want to do anything to help," Evan whispered.


    Instead of responding to Evan, everyone froze when another note started to drift down from the roof. It reminded us of the fire and other dangers coming with it. Since the second district knew about the existence of mana, it would be safer to quickly move there.


    [I want to be free] The note opened.


    "Belle, message everyone to return to the second district as fast as possible or pack some of the stuff in their room if they have the time. We''re not going to our rooms anymore, we''re directly going to the second district," Lucius asked one of us to call for a car.


    Alex opened his marble as he quickly called for a self-driving car. He sighed in relief when it would be coming within the next five minutes. Lucius'' marble vibrated as Ben called him from the sudden message.


    "I''m running to the ballroom with all the things in their room," he panted.


    "The medicine?" Lucius tried to confirm.


    "Everything," Ben slammed the doors of the ballroom open.

 Chapter 318 - Competing (5)

    "Pour some erigent over Rika," Lucius ordered Ben to put out the medicine.


    Evan flinched as he heard me scream from the pain. I wondered what happened to the invention of wonderful painkillers as I squirmed in Luke''s arms. I couldn''t stop moving as the pain exploded inside my head.


    "The cars are here now," Alex let us know.


    All of us sprinted to outside the competition arena. There was a whole crowd of people from everyone in our school. Lines of cars were displayed as everyone organized themselves into groups of four.


    Unexpectedly, Evan slid onto a seat to join us since there was an empty seat with me being on top of Luke''s lap. He crossed his arms, "I can''t leave my sister alone."


    Since we didn''t have the time to kick him out, the car began to drive to get to our destination as quickly as possible. My throat became hoarse as I couldn''t stop screaming in pain as Luke''s suit was drenched from pouring more erigent on me. Evan pretended he was invisible as he silently watched me suffer.


    "I''m going to open the diagnosis machine," Alex opened his inventory.


    Evan looked at Alex in awe when he pulled the machine out. Luke immediately pushed some buttons as he grimaced when looking at the new results. He continued to pour more erigent in response as the floor of the car became slippery from the liquid.


    "I''m going to feed Rika the bottle from before. Can you take over in pouring erigent?" Luke turned to Shelly.


    Shelly nodded as she took out more bottles from her inventory. She shot me an apologetic glance before beginning to pour more. Meanwhile, I couldn''t scream anymore as the white powdered drink was slipping into my throat. I started to calm down as this time, the drink was helping with the pain.


    When the machine flashed to show that my condition was improving, Shelly stopped opening more bottles. Meanwhile, Luke didn''t stop feeding me the bottle of medicine until it was completely empty. Feeling a lot better than before, I coughed as I finally got the strength to get up to sit down.


    Shelly moved to the side as I sat in between them. My vision wasn''t as blurry anymore as my mind felt clearer. The original roomy car felt like it was smaller with the addition of one more person. Luke rubbed my back as I still struggled to digest the drink.


    "We''re going to the second district?" I tried to confirm with them.


    "The hotel," Shelly answered.


    I was thankful it wasn''t Luke''s villa. Once one of them used heal on me, it wouldn''t take long to recover. Everyone''s marble vibrated as we wondered who would send messages to all of us. Usually people only sent a message to one person in the group.


    Alex opened the message as he read, "everyone in the hotel is back in school. But they want us to stay here for a longer time until they sort out more about the issue."


    Meaning, the school who was used to us causing the most trouble, wanted us to stay away before they determined everything was completely safe. Plus, the school couldn''t afford to anger more of their prestigious families. Evan appeared a bit confused to why all the students would be inside the hotel. However, he stayed silent as if he was wondering if it had to do something about the recent attack.


    "Where should we drop you off?" Luke offered Evan.


    "I came to watch over my sister," He glanced at me.


    "I''m fine," I managed to cough out.


    I didn''t want to put Evan in danger with us. It would be better if he returned home, a safer place for him. The four of us knew this problem wouldn''t end until we killed sleeping beauty from all the notes. Evan looked at me, disbelieving my words as I leaned on Luke for support.


    All of their clothes were covered with my blood, including mine. He already seen me in more than three accidents when the day wasn''t over yet. Evan didn''t know this was almost normal for us since we''ve been in so many incidents together.


    "I really am," I croaked.


    I elbowed Luke to use heal as I couldn''t stand it anymore. Luke sighed as he signalled Alex to cover Evan''s eyes. Luke tried to create the faintest light possible as my inner organs began to heal. He only stopped when he couldn''t push himself any further. Luke and Alex changed spots as Luke covered Evan''s eyes instead. After the three of them used all their mana for today from using heal on me, I was able to talk normally now.


    "Don''t I look perfectly normal now?" I asked Evan who could see again.


    Although I still had to be careful as the wounds would rip anytime another injury appeared. Evan noticed the others, who suddenly appeared like all their energy was drained away. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if everything he watched before inside the call was true.


    "You can go back home," I suggested.


    I wondered if Evan was even allowed to visit the second district. I recalled the rumor that people from lower ranking districts couldn''t enter the higher ones. However, this was proven untrue when some students from the fourth district entered the third district for the competition. But I did see how they were under strict supervision.

 Chapter 319 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (1) - Evans POV

    I gulped as I thought I had the determination to follow them. I was starting to waver in my decision as nobody wanted me to come with them. Even Rika, who had miraculously healed while they covered my eyes, was against it.


    "I''m going to follow you," I responded.


    "I''m afraid we can''t let you follow us to the second district without getting permission," Luke explained.


    "Please," I whispered.


    I felt genuine fear for the first time that my sister, who I wasn''t familiar with, would die. I saw her losing too much blood in one day. My mom, who would cry while going through the photo albums during the night, would want me to watch over her. Although my parents would pretend that we were a nice family of three, there was always something missing.


    The perfect puzzle couldn''t be pieced into the picture they wanted. When Rika had visited a few months ago, the difference was more noticeable. The emptiness in their eyes disappeared as they lovingly watched over her. My parents even considered Luke as their own son. Luke, who always took care of Rika.


    The two of them were always together. Luke took care of all of her meals and brought her some spare clothes when she realized she didn''t have any that would fit her inside the house. He also looked over all her studies as she would complain she wouldn''t want to do them. When my mom opened her closet to organize her clothes, she froze.


    Each piece of clothing had to be worth more than tens of thousands of dollars. Numerous gems, expensive furs and leather were perfectly lined up. Even the fabric was different as the colours changed from the different lights. All the accessories also glittered from the gloves to the fancy hats. My mom closed the closet doors, utterly astonished with the clothes that wouldn''t fit her by the time she came back.


    It was too expensive to throw away. It would be better to sell them as most of them appeared like it had never been worn before. Maybe the things in her closet were worth more than the value of everything else in the house, including the house itself. This was the world that my sister lived in. A world different than ours.


    Everyone had more energy when Rika was inside the house. Although she would mostly complain about her life in school, I was immersed in her tales about the first district. Even the food she didn''t touch was much better than what the three of us ate. I didn''t understand how she would prefer pancakes over her much wealthier breakfast.


    This was why I was shocked when I discovered she mostly threw them out. All these precious foods that others would die to eat. She only ate a single piece of lettuce like she wasn''t willing to eat in general. My parents watched Luke trying to persuade her to eat more until he gave up. He ended up giving her more cake to fill her up. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''s-pov_48950751958977786 for visiting.


    Luke appeared as if he didn''t like Rika eating anything our parents offered. He carefully watched where my mom placed the plate of fruits. Other than the pancakes, Rika didn''t touch anything under his eyes. My parents sadly smiled as if they were trying to understand how their daughter didn''t live in the same world as them anymore.


    Rika coughed a lot inside our house. My mom worriedly watched over her condition getting worse with each passing day. Rika would try to pretend she wasn''t dizzy and lightheaded, but everyone could notice her condition. Luke was the same as Rika. They both appeared equally sick like being inside this house was harming them.


    This was why my mom accepted Luke''s offer of taking Rika to his villa before going back to school. Apparently, it was like this last time Rika visited as well. My mom always took the time to thoroughly clean our house even though there were no guests coming. My friends were surprised how the house was almost spotless whenever they visited.


    She sadly smiled as she noticed that Rika''s condition barely improved from the cleaning. Part of the reason why we moved to this house was because she looked like she would faint in the last one. This area was more in the suburbs, meaning we had better air. Sometimes, I felt frustrated since we didn''t know when Rika would visit or even visit us at all this year.


    I wished that my parents would remember that I was there too. I was always with them to keep them company. My fragile, beautiful sister brightly talked to them in eloquent words as my parents had a hard time keeping up. Sometimes, she didn''t notice she was speaking in another language. However, my parents nodded and smiled like they understood her.


    Luke elbowed her to tell her she wasn''t speaking in the right language anymore. She froze before quickly switching into the most common language used in the third district. Rika was different than us who knew around three languages at most. My parents looked like they were convincing themselves it was right for them to send her to the first district with the high standard of education there.


    When Luke threatened Rika that he would show us her grades, we were all curious about how she was doing. With all knowledge that she unconsciously showed to us, she had to be acing all her courses. But we were all shocked when she was close to failing in most of her courses at her school. How was someone that intelligent, educated in almost everything, failing?

 Chapter 320 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (2) - Evans POV

    During dinner, we were wondering why they needed private tutors to be called to his house. It still didn''t make sense even at the competition arena. Rika was able to answer everything that came out on the screen. The other team didn''t have a chance to answer a single question. My friends began to pity the people on the other team who were very merciless towards us.


    My friends and I were excited to watch their performance for the dance competition. Apparently, these performances always left a big impression every year. When Rika was dressed as if she was about to attend a party, the atmosphere was instantly different. It didn''t compare to when she wore her competition uniform. Everyone admired their beauty like they were not human.


    It started off as an ordinary waltz. It was like we were in a movie set as we noticed the high level of technique to execute those moves. But my eyes widened as some swords rushed to join them. I shivered as the swords seamlessly blended into their performance as Rika jumped on them to soar into the air. She was now on the same eye level as the spectators who were on the fourth floor.


    "Your sister looks like she''s flying," my friend gasped.


    Flashy twirls were done as she used the swords as stairs to climb higher. The performance appeared to be reaching its climax as all four of them were in the air. They effortlessly dodged the swords rushing towards them while adding some tricks. We were starting to forget this was a formal dance competition as Rika did some backflips instead of her usual pirouettes.


    I stiffened when she suddenly dropped towards the ground as everyone muttered it must be part of the storyline. Luke caught her in his arms like everything was planned. His steps were light and eloquent as he circled around the ballroom. I knew it took an incredible amount of balance to walk over all those handles.


    Once I transferred schools, I was forced to take dance as an elective. I wondered why everyone was required to learn it when it didn''t seem it would be useful. I struggled to catch up to the others who had started in their early childhood. They were on a whole other level while I couldn''t memorize the basic steps. I never knew the people in the first district took the training more seriously.


    They were serious about winning. The way my sister appeared like the accidents never happened. The time where her podium exploded, and Luke had to carry her to their rooms. Another when a dagger flew to her head to kill her. Even before they entered this ballroom, Rika couldn''t eat any solid food.


    We almost jumped out of our seats when two people from the first district burst the doors open. One of them pulled out a sword out of thin air and began to destroy all the ones chasing Luke. Alex, who also noticed, pulled out an elegant sword of his own.


    "Can they bring people that aren''t on their team to help?" Someone who sat close to me grumbled.


    "It isn''t fair," Another person from the second district complained.


    Once all the swords were destroyed, the host announced them as the winners without any second thoughts. Some people began to spit out their complaints about how they had other people who helped them in their performance. But it all stopped when they heard, "How could you leave my younger siblings to fend for themselves while swords rushed to kill them?"


    "Don''t you see my younger sister bleeding in her dress?" He pointed out.


    I froze as that person was my older twin sister. My mind went blank as I thought of my parents. My mom who tried to forget about my sister when the three of us gathered to eat together and my dad who had her pictures in frames beside their bed. I trembled in anger as I dashed down the stairs to get a closer look. This was why I had to follow them. I had to watch over my sister for my parents.


    "I''ll do anything if you let me follow you," I pleaded.


    "I think we can take him with us as long as he''s in our supervision," Rika''s friend supported me.


    When they noticed I wasn''t going to get out of the car unless they dragged me out, Luke sighed. The car was filled with them discussing what they should do in a foreign language. Their voices were starting to get louder like they were fighting with each other. Rika''s friend was the one who told me their decision, "you can come with us as long as you follow everything we say."


    I frantically nodded my head. Rika pouted as if she lost something during the discussion. The car went silent as she studied the scenery outside the window instead. I followed her and hid my surprise when I realized I wasn''t inside the third district anymore. I never knew the two districts were this close to each other.


    We were inside a big city now. Nobody in the crowd held phones anymore. They looked at everything on translucent screens that popped up from their demands. They swiped their fingers in the air like everyone inside the car. The advancement in technology was noticeable as bigger screens moved around as advertis.e.m.e.nts in crowded places. This was their world. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''s-pov_48961376634327191 for visiting.

 Chapter 321 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (3)

    The car seats became dirty from me vomiting another bottle of medicine Luke forced me to drink. Shelly began to wipe the seats again as I coughed more of the drink out. They didn''t have enough mana to completely heal me. I immediately rushed to open the door once we arrived in front of the hotel building to escape from the griminess.


    "Rika!" Luke chased after me.


    "You know you shouldn''t run," he frowned.


    "Can we please get a normal room on a normal floor?" I walked to the manager.


    "You''re staying in the same room," Alex pulled out the room cards.


    "I''m not staying in that room anymore," I spun around to face him.


    "You don''t have a choice," he repeated from last time.


    "I''m not staying in that room where that note appeared!" I unintentionally yelled.


    Everyone froze as I covered my mouth, knowing that I should have never told them. I slowly looked up at Luke, studying if he was going to change his mind in staying inside the hotel with me. I made a mistake by becoming too controlled by my emotions.


    "We''re going to my villa," Luke grabbed my hand.


    I knew this would happen. Tears welled up in my eyes as I started to make a huge scene. I was being mercilessly dragged on the ground as I refused to get up. All the people in the lobby stared in our direction, wondering what was going on. There was no chance of going to the spa, waterpark, gaming room and all the other amenities inside the hotel anymore.


    "I''ll stay inside that room. So please not to your villa," I cried.


    "It was right before we left for the competition too. It won''t be dangerous anymore," I defended that horrible room.


    "Get up Rika," Luke coldly stared at me.


    "I''m sure Alex has another room that''s safe as the other one," I shot a glance at Alex.


    "The school also wanted us to continue staying here," I recalled.


    Luke''s patience snapped as he chose to lift me in his arms and push me into a clean car. The door was slammed before I could think of reacting. I pounded on the windows as Shelly, Evan and Alex watched the car drive away from them. My tears stopped as I knew it wouldn''t work anymore. Luke never fell for any of my acting anyways, it was mostly for the people around us, hoping they would stop him.


    "What about Evan?" I wondered.


    How were they going to make sure he wouldn''t go to places the third district was behind on? I bit my lips since it was unfair how he rarely listened to me. Luke ignored me as the car drove to his villa in silence. When his marble vibrated, getting a message from Alex, it read that they''ll visit him tomorrow.


    I crossed my arms as I walked into his pathway leading to the villa. Maybe it would be better sleeping outside tonight to avoid Luke. My mind flickered like it was actually a good idea. I had everything I needed from the things Ben transferred from his inventory. Since there was a light barrier, I wouldn''t have to worry about the cold.


    I stopped walking as I wondered where to put all the pillows and blankets. It would be better to do it in the garden since the grass was cushy. The garden also had a lovely scent, making the idea more attractive. When I started to walk back from the direction I came from, Luke grabbed onto my wrist this time.


    "Where do you think you''re going?" He narrowed his eyes.


    "I''m thinking of sleeping outside," I honestly answered.


    "You''re not sleeping outside," Luke didn''t wait for my response.


    "Do you think you''re healed because you can walk now?" He pointed out my poor state.


    "You''re going to the infirmary again," he dragged me to the room.


    He left me alone inside the room after the servants fetched a clean set of clothes. The same pattern was repeating over and over again. Feeling the grime on my clothes, I decided to take a bath first before doing anything else. What if the note drifted into this room like the one in the hotel? Wouldn''t it mean that nowhere was safe?


    This would mean that it wouldn''t matter where I was. After the bath, I was feeling tempted to write a note of my own. All I needed was a sheet of paper and a pen. I smiled as I wrote down, ''I will kill you. The one who wants to be free and out of her cage. I will kill you.''


    This had to be obvious that the target was me. I was the one caged inside this room and wanted to be free. Who else would it be? I happily hummed as I was impressed by how I perfectly imitated the handwriting.


    However, my jaw almost dropped as a message was being written below my note. I searched the room for another person''s presence as I could hear the sound of my pen moving. When the pen dropped down, I trembled while reading the eloquent writing.


    [Thank you]


    [I look forward to meeting you]


    I collapsed onto the floor as I could sense a strong spell on that sheet of paper. I panted as I tried to grab onto the chair.

 Chapter 322 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (4)

    "What have you done?" Luke stared at the sheet of paper.


    Luke immediately noticed the differences in our writing. There was a slight curl on the ends of each letter while mine was mostly straight. You needed an extreme strong attention to detail to find how less than a one tenth of a millimetre had a difference.


    "I didn''t know she would respond," I mumbled.


    "Can we go to the hotel now? There''s no difference whether we stay there or in your villa where there''s only the two of us. The hotel should be safer since there''s more people," I tried to reason.


    "Rika!" Luke slightly trembled.


    "Do you not know what you have just done?" He raised his voice.


    "She only wrote a message on that sheet of paper," I guiltily avoided his eyes.


    "What have I been telling you all this time?" He clenched his fists.


    "Ignore anyone who looks like they need help unless it''s anyone I know. They''re probably entangled in a big problem that will become dangerous later on. Don''t eat or touch anything I''m not used to since it''ll probably make me sick. Ask you for permission for anything that I normally don''t do," I recalled all his lectures.


    Most of these rules were ridiculous. I remember watching my mom look disappointed as I didn''t touch any of the food she offered us. Evan ate them just fine, showing there was nothing wrong with them. Although the food never tasted good as the ones I was used to, I wanted to show her I didn''t mind.


    "Now which ones did you break?" He coldly stared at me.


    "None of them. I just touched a safe paper and pen given by you. I usually write physical notes anyways," I gulped.


    Luke took a deep breath as the sheet of paper crumbled inside his hand. I could feel him losing more of his patience with each passing minute. This was not good. I stepped a few steps backward until I bumped into the bed.


    "I tried to respect you as much as I could. I let you go to all those places in the third district before you landed with a fever. We can go to the hotel but you''re not ever going to leave that room. If you do end up leaving, you''re going to stay inside the villa again where you won''t ever be allowed to leave your bedroom until we go back to school," Luke came up with a fitting punishment.


    "We''re going to the hotel now like you wanted," Luke pulled me into the car.


    "Alex, can you prepare another room for us?" he called him on the way to the hotel.


    "Is the one on the top floor fine?" Alex noticed Luke''s bad mood.


    "Yea it is. Thanks," Luke shut the screen.


    "Rika, continue on that page in the book," he didn''t give me the chance to gaze at the scenery.


    I opened the book at where we left off before we entered the competition. I started to solve the questions under his wary eyes. It was better to listen to him when he started to get mad. Or else the lectures would just endlessly continue. Since we weren''t in school, he could take me anywhere he wanted as well.


    I didn''t want to visit his parents again and get tortured by all those strict tutors. Although, Luke seemed to consider it as a last resort as well since he would suffer with me. When I was about to close the book since the car was in front of the hotel, Luke glared at me to continue. I sighed as I continued to read the passages inside the book while walking to my new room.


    Unexpectedly, I ran into Evan while the elevators were going up to our floor. He seemed to have noticed the bad mood between Luke and I and stayed silent. When he took a glimpse at the workbook for the first time, his eyes widened at the difficulty level. The workbook was spelled so that it would mark whether my answers were correct. If I got an answer wrong, Luke would make me repeat the question more than three times until he was sure I understood how to solve it.


    "Don''t keep your eyes off the book Rika," Luke noticed me watching Evan.


    I nodded my head as my mind was getting exhausted with all these brainteasers. Evan left the elevator a few floors before us. Compared to listening to every single command from Luke, I started to wonder if it was better to visit sleeping beauty instead. I could free her from her cage and all the attacks would stop.


    "Can I rescue you? Can I free you from your cage?" I accidentally muttered my thoughts out loud.


    "Can you take me to you?" I unconsciously blurted.


    The note suddenly appeared from the roof of the elevator as if she was trying to respond to my question.


    [I can show you where I am]


    I dropped my book as I collapsed onto the floors. The next time I blinked, I found myself where my dream left off from last time. I tried to rise from laying on the cold floors of the cave. There was a white silken ribbon, showing the way to the exit. I continued to follow the path, wondering if this would be this easy. It was different from the route I used to come inside. I gasped when I was finally out of the cave.

 Chapter 323 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (5)

    I was inside a cold office building. I placed my hands against the glass walls that overlooked the rest of the city. I couldn''t believe I was walking up the cave, acting as stairs to the top floor. Someone had intentionally built this building over her cage. This person had to be very successful as the rent and property prices in this area were extremely high.


    The office was spacious, showing this was the chairman''s room. I could spot rusty pictures of sleeping beauty in between the ancient books when I pulled one out. It appeared the two of them grew up together. Both of them brilliantly smiled while eating cake when they were around seven. One picture showed how sleeping beauty pouted while receiving a bouquet of white lilies. However, his eyes were scratched out in all the pictures.


    The name card on the desk was written as Jason Mercier in cursive. It couldn''t be that the myth of sleeping beauty was true. He had the same name of her lover inside the story. Traces of that story were first found dating back from a thousand years ago. But it didn''t make sense how the smell of paper bonded by glue was present in the futuristic second district. People switched to translucent screens years ago.


    I watched the scenery outside the window for some more clues. But nothing seemed out of place like I could walk into this office today and there would be nothing different outside. There had to be clues what time it was inside this dream. I searched for the presence of clocks or a calendar but none of them were present.


    "Is this the same time I know of?" I asked the room.


    The room was silent, answering nothing. There were no notes to answer my question this time. Sleeping beauty told me that I knew who Jason was, but I had never heard or seen a part of even his full name before. I turned my back to this room as I tried to open the main doors to leave the building. However, the doorknobs wouldn''t turn. Was there no way to leave this room unless I went back into the cave?


    After failing to find another exit, I searched for the entrance of the cave. The walls glimmered as the signs of the cave wobbled behind another bookshelf. There was a small slit from where I had initially come from. I sighed as I walked to follow the same white ribbon leading the way back to her coffin. Time had stopped inside her cage as if she had never aged. I covered my ears when I heard the sound of high-pitched rings echoing inside the cave.


    "There were many paths that you could have taken, each one taking you to a better future. It seems you have made the choices to lead you to one of the worst possible outcomes," a voice rang inside my head with them.


    "Indeed, it would be too much when it wasn''t purely your fault."


    Where had I heard those words before? Why were the same words repeating over and over again inside my head? What did it have to do with the sleeping beauty inside her coffin? My mind went numb as I struggled to breathe. It hurts. My chest panged with pain like someone had shred it into pieces. I couldn''t get up as my eyes felt it was burning. My ears were bleeding from all the noises. Someone was screaming for help.


    I wanted to open my eyes again. The filter of red made everything turn into pink, all the white wildflowers were painted viciously crimson red. Her light blond hair turned into my original hair colour while her ballgown wasn''t blue anymore. No more was the transparent glass cage. Tears of blood dripped down my cheeks.


    I screamed as I panted for more air. The next time I blinked, I found myself on a familiar bed. I was in a hotel room with all the d¨¦cor. I wiped the blood that came from my eyes. Some tissues were placed inside my ears as if they had actually bled. I wondered why whenever I was inside that cave, my physical body was gravely injured as a consequence.


    I never had such vivid dreams before. I struggled to rise to sit down on the bed like all my inner organs had erupted. Beside my bed, were the machines that beep every few minutes. My hand was attached to a needle connecting to one of the machines. When I lifted up my dress, I found myself wrapped in multiple layers of bandages.


    The room was empty as no one but me was inside. I could use this time to figure out the location inside my dreams. I grimaced while trying to open my marble. My throat was itchy and dry like I haven''t drank water in weeks. It was tough moving my fingers that barely responded when I demanded them to move.


    I needed to search for Jason Mercier, the owner of that building. His building had to be somewhere close to this hotel from the scenery below his office. My eyes brightened when I discovered there was a headquarters of the Mercier corporation that was around a ten-minute walk from here. Although, there was no mention of Jason Mercier, this was the place I had to go.

 Chapter 324 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (6)

    "You''re awake," Luke seemed a bit surprised.


    I nodded my head. I needed to recover as fast as possible to go to the building to see if it was the one inside my dreams. I smiled, hoping he didn''t notice that I was searching things up before he entered the room. If he knew I was planning on escaping from this room as soon as I recovered, it was a one-way trip to his villa. I didn''t know if I had the confidence to escape from the villa from my prior experience of being confined in a room in one of his mansions.


    "Brother told me you would wake up around the evening," he looked outside.


    The sun poured in from the windows, showing it was the peak in the afternoon. I knew that an entire day had passed as we arrived in the second district near the evening. I was glad Luke didn''t appear upset anymore as if he had calmed down. His fingers moved in the air like he was messaging the others about the news.


    I winced when he gently pulled the needle out of my hand. Instead, he brought out another powdered drink. He tipped on the bottle on my lips as I started to swallow the medicine dripping into my throat. My eyes quivered when I was feeling full, unable to drink anymore. Luke noticed, but didn''t stop pouring the drink. Did he want me to vomit again?


    "One more bottle," Luke smiled when he managed to empty one bottle.


    I managed to conquer the strength to shake my head to decline. I could still feel the drink on the edge of my throat. My stomach felt extremely queasy as the medicine swayed back and forth inside it. My cheeks puffed as I could feel everything rising from their places. Luke quickly noticed and brought a big bowl for me to vomit in. I instantly felt better after getting rid of the drink in my body.


    This was why I refused to open my mouth when Luke opened the other bottle. He ended up placing the bottle beside the cabinet near my bed, giving up as usual. Seeing the poor state of my body, I wondered why I had to live this kind of life. Would I always get injured no matter what I did and suffer through all these medicines for the rest of my life? It was always me. I was always the target.


    I got scolded for doing the most ordinary things since anything could act as the trigger to make me the target. Somewhere, deep down, I knew I couldn''t blame everything on Luke. He was just trying his best to keep me alive. My body was almost paralyzed, making me unable to do anything I wanted. All I could do was to watch him read another one of his books while he kept an eye on me. It was always like this.


    "The others are coming soon to heal you," he closed his book.


    Heal worked the best when the injured person was awake. I nodded my head as everyone I knew walked into the room. Every one of them pushed themselves to heal me as much as possible before someone else took their place. Within a few minutes, I was able to talk again. Heal, which was supposedly rarely used, was almost used all the time these days.


    "How did this all happen?" I wondered what happened while I was inside the cave.


    "You started to bleed to your death while you slept," Luke answered.


    "Why?" I didn''t particularly do anything.


    "We still don''t know," Shelly frowned.


    I became speechless. One day, I might die while sleeping when I was exploring the cave. I needed to find sleeping beauty as fast as possible. I tried to get out of my bed as the others already left once they performed their roles. I had to go to that building today. I didn''t care if I was in a nightgown or how my muscles cried when I walked.


    "I think I know the reason why," I stood up, grabbing onto the headboard of my bed.


    "I''m dying inside my dreams once I enter that cave," I shuddered.


    I needed to leave this room. I needed to kill sleeping beauty to save myself. They didn''t know how serious this was. I staggered as I walked towards the door. When I turned the doorknob, it was locked. I wouldn''t be too surprised if there were other spells to keep me from teleporting out of this room.


    "Can you let me out of this room?" I turned to Luke.


    "I need to live. I just need an hour at most. There''s some place I have to visit," I explained when he stayed silent.


    "I told you, you can''t leave this room as an exchange for leaving the villa," Luke tapped his fingers on top of the cabinet.


    He couldn''t be serious. I flopped onto the bed from that ridiculous deal that I didn''t remember making. I had a good clue to solving everything and I couldn''t do anything about it as long as I was stuck inside this room.


    "You can come with me. It''s only a ten-minute walk away from this hotel maximum. I''m doing this to live. I''m doing this so I don''t bleed to death anymore. So please? Can''t you make an exception this time?" I begged him.

 Chapter 325 - The Magician (6)

    "What if I would rather stay in school?" I came up with the third option.


    "You''re not staying in school," Luke narrowed his eyes.


    "I thought we used all our days of leave!" I wondered what happened.


    "Do you think the teachers can resume their lessons?" He pointed out all the destroyed buildings.


    "That''s only in the high school section," I refuted.


    The hover car began to drift near the ground, showing I didn''t have much time left to decide. Meanwhile, Luke firmly held onto my wrist, preparing to drag me into the car. Deciding it was better to confess everything than to be tortured under his schedule, I quickly blurted everything out.


    "Fine! While the magician''s target isn''t me, the s-class monster who planned the entire thing has me as the main target. The magician did search for me from the sky but didn''t think I was the person the s-class monster was looking for since my appearance has changed," I slowly looked up at him to see his reaction.


    Everyone didn''t seem surprised from the news, used to something like this happening. However, Luke viewed me in a new light, processing all the information. This wasn''t a good sign since it was looking like he was considering taking back what he had just said to me with the two options. I was totally going to be confined inside his mansion, not able to travel between them like the others.


    "But I messed up on the disintegration spell. The magician signalled to the s-class monster to take care of it while I created a mana path to lead it to the rest of them," I hoped it wouldn''t make him change his mind.


    "You can have your freedom inside the mansion," Luke finally decided.


    "But I told them they could do much more damage if they set the stage to your mansions since I didn''t want to go there," I finally revealed everything I had on me.


    Everyone went silent from my last confession. There was a possibility now that the mansions wouldn''t be safe as well. But Luke still pulled me into the hover car, feeling most of his generosity towards me gone. Maybe I shouldn''t have added that last part in. With only his family inside the hover car, he opened his mouth to begin the lecture.


    "Seriously Rika?" He coldly stared at me.


    "The magician just responded that the s-class monster wanted the school to be their stage," I told them it was likely they weren''t going to change the place.


    "But he never said they weren''t going to change it in the future," Lucius pointed out.


    "Fine, I''m sorry. I hope your mansions are still safe," I mumbled, not looking at them.


    "I''d rather be with the magician at this rate. Why couldn''t you just leave me there and escape on your own?" I inaudibly grumbled.


    "Do you know how much all of us worried for you?" Lucius heard my complaint.


    "So what if I die?" I had the second chance card with me.


    The hover car went silent from my comment. Luke angrily trembled as he had really almost lost me last night. Belle helped in calming him down while I pretended to ignore everyone in the car. I reminded myself that I would only have to suffer until I graduated from school since I didn''t sign their stupid contract yet.


    "Rika, although Luke made you the promise you would have some freedom in the family mansion. I didn''t. You won''t be leaving my sight until you properly reflect on your actions," Lucius supported his younger brother.


    "Yea, it''s always my fault. Rika always causes every accident making it all her fault," I squeezed the edge of my skirt.


    "I can do things on my own too. I can survive the attacks alone just fine by myself," I had helped them before in getting rid of the monsters.


    "What if the magician figured out you were the target before the sun came? How about all those times when you became sick? Who took care of you then?" Lucius tried to make his point.


    "I could have somehow fought him. I could have used heal on myself those times as well," I mumbled.


    "You know when I turn sixteen, three years from now, I''ll have an unlimited amount of mana with me. I can do anything after then that monsters will become nothing," I continued.


    "You''re not sixteen yet. Even when you possess an unlimited amount of mana, if you don''t know how to use it properly, you can land yourself into trouble," he perfectly argued.


    "That''s why Rika always needs to be confined," I hated this family.


    "I can''t go anywhere I want without getting permission. I can''t play any games or read the books I want. I don''t even have the ability to eat and drink what I want or dress in the clothes I want to wear. I always have to act a certain way to not blemish the Roselia family name. I''m sick of all this!" I couldn''t help but yell.


    "I don''t want to live a life like this anymore," I cried.


    "You know how frail your body is. You can''t stand going to places with different air quality than the one you''re familiar with. You''ll get sick if we let you eat or drink whatever you want. Your skin is too sensitive that you easily get allergies from poor fabrics," Lucius knew about my health records.

 Chapter 326 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (7)

    "I already told you my answer," Luke frowned.


    My shoulders slumped as my attempts in persuading him failed. I would have to try to sneak out of the room now. Luke couldn''t always be inside this room with me. My chance would be when one of them opened the door again. I pretended like I had given up and grabbed the bottle on the cabinet and drank as much as I could. I needed as much energy as possible to do this.


    "Fine!" I wiped the remainder of the drink on my lips.


    I dug into the blankets again and closed my eyes. I would pretend to sleep until I found my chance. Thinking that I was sleeping due to over-exhausting myself, everyone went to eat lunch. As soon as they left, I began to search inside the room for more escape routes. I almost jumped when I heard some sounds of knocking on the door.


    "Rika, can I come in?" Evan asked me.


    I couldn''t believe the perfect chance just landed in front of me. I immediately yelled at him, not daring to spare a single second, "you can open the door."


    Maybe the door was open on the other side. I dashed towards the door as Evan began to turn the doorknob. When the door finally opened, I sprinted outside the room. I couldn''t take the elevators, there would be a higher chance of getting caught. Instead, there was a glass panel to show the beautiful scenery underneath.


    I used my mana to enhance my strength and punched the window. Evan froze as the glass shattered. I used this time to jump from the floor and find a good place to land. The sidewalks would be the best place, if I jumped into the garden, then I would be still stuck inside the hotel. I chanted a spell to cushion my landing as I ran to the location with the map open on the screen.


    It was a race against time. Alex would soon figure out about the broken window and tell Luke. I ignored all the people who stared at a girl covered in bandages. I didn''t wear any shoes, but I could recover the scratches once I got back. With my desperate hopes, I managed to find the Mercier logo on a high skyscr.a.p.er. I walked past the receptionist who began to call for security.


    I waved my hands over all the places that needed an access card with a spell and dashed into the elevator. Fortunately, there was no one inside as everyone was already out on their lunch breaks. I pressed the button leading to the top floor after it got authorized from using another spell. People in the second district weren''t able to use mana to this extent yet, making it easier to break in.


    I also used this time to place the tracking device setting on my marble off. I didn''t have the time to do it before escaping or else Luke would notice. I was glad I didn''t tell others the location of where I planned to go to convince them. The doors opened to reveal the topmost floor. I searched the floor for the label of the chairman''s office. But strangely, I felt like that office didn''t exist as I circled around the floor.


    Of course it couldn''t be this easy. Maybe I would have to enter each office one by one to find the place. This was when I ran into a person for the first time in this floor. She stared at a young girl in a long nightgown after coming out of the president''s office. It was the perfect chance to ask her about the former chairman.


    "Do you know Jason Mercier?" I placed my hopes in her.


    "The founder of this company?" She appeared extremely confused.


    "Do you know where his office is?" I clasped my hands together.


    "It should be in the old headquarters, the neighbouring city," she continued to answer my questions.


    My jaw almost dropped as this mission was starting to get more hopeless. The neighbouring city was near that planetarium where the children without mana stayed. How was I supposed to run there on my own? I also needed to escape this building as well. I couldn''t use a car since it would be easier to track me.


    "I can take you there. You''re looking for the grave, are you not? Only a few people know about the existence of Jason Mercier," she explained.


    Was she an angel? I could see angel wings behind her back. Although Luke''s warnings of following unknown people rang inside my head, I chose to ignore it. This was the only choice I had. When she got a call from the receptionist that someone broke in, she answered to say it was her distant relative.


    I stepped into the elevator together with her and walked into the parking space with all the cars. Strangely, there weren''t anyone roaming in and out when it should be a busy time with everyone meeting other people for lunch. I started to get a bad feeling that I shouldn''t follow her anymore. I stopped following her and began to scan my surroundings instead.


    "Only the people in my family know about Jason Mercier. We had to eliminate anyone else who knew about him. My ancestors killed him to control the company," she revealed while opening the car door.

 Chapter 327 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (8)

    I knew Jason Mercier was dead, but I never knew he was murdered. I shivered as I began to run away from her. She laughed as she called for her security to chase after me. No wonder she seemed carefree, there was nothing she couldn''t do in her territory. I ducked and swiftly dodged each attack aimed towards me.


    Bullets were harder to avoid than daggers and swords. They were trying to injure me and interrogate me afterwards to get more information about how I got to know about Jason Mercier. Why couldn''t anyone try to help a child out of goodwill? The first thing I had to do was to escape from this building. I could see the glass gates that would open and close when a car was nearby.


    Thankfully, the security guards were unintentionally helping me out with all their bullets that started to crack the glass. With one punch, I would be able to destroy the whole thing altogether. I crossed my arms to defend my face as I chose to jump onto the gates instead. The entire gate shattered as shards of glass began to dig into my feet.


    Ignoring the pain, I continued to sprint towards the next city while having my screen open. It appeared she couldn''t let her security guards to attack me in an open space where there were a crowd of people. Not watching the people in front of me, I fell onto the ground when I bumped into someone. When I looked up, I found a high school student wearing a long cloak on top of her uniform.


    "Are you ok?" She offered me her hand.


    "I''m fine, thank you," my manners drilled in by Luke naturally came out.


    "My, my, would you like to come to my place for treatment?" She genuinely appeared worried for me.


    I knew this girl. She was the one in the hospital bed, dying. Her friends tried to kidnap someone for her surgery bills. She seemed safe to follow as I nodded my head. It was better than running to another city without a break. I followed her onto a bus as she paid for my admission. I hid behind her, hoping that nobody would notice me. I had the experience of others trying to report me before.


    Thankfully, with her long cloak, I managed to arrive at a cozy house. It appeared no different than the other identical line of houses in a perfect row. After she entered the passcode, I walked inside. Everything was neatly organized as the robots dusted the floors. The first thing she did was to search for the first aid supplies.


    "Found it!" She smiled.


    "Let''s go to the bathroom to disinfect your wounds," she went to grab a chair.


    She carried a chair while leading me to the bathroom. It was small and tiny as everything was squished inside together. With the two of us and the chair, the place was completely packed. Once she placed the chair in front of the bathtub, I sat down so she could unravel all the bandages on my feet.


    After placing her cloak off, she poured some water into the tub after unravelling the bandages. I winced with her as she stared at my bleeding feet. This was relatively painless compared to all the painful medicine I had to take. I began to move my feet in the water before she glanced at me to stop. It was relaxing as she cleaned my feet.


    "Melissa, right?" I went through my hazy memories.


    "How do you know?" She appeared stunned.


    "I visited you at the hospital before. I know Noire," I explained.


    "Sorry I don''t remember anything," Melissa placed my feet onto the towel.


    "You were unconscious that time," I waved my hands.


    "Thank you for treating me," I smiled.


    "It''s what I should do," Melissa appeared fl.u.s.tered.


    There was finally someone who helped others out of pure goodwill! It was surprising to find someone who had the same values as me. After she tied a new set of bandages around my feet, I walked out of the bathroom. Melissa offered me some snacks and milk tea as I sat on the rug in the living room.


    I placed my hands around the warm mug as she sat down to face me at the other side of the small table. I relaxed, relieving the tension around my shoulders as I chewed on a cookie. After I finished the tea, she warmly held my hands, "you can stay for the night if you want. My parents are coming back from their business trip next week."


    My eyes glistened as she was the true angel I was looking for. I held in my tears as I nodded my head to accept her offer. I could always head to the next city tomorrow. Maybe I could borrow her clothes to not stand out in the crowd this time. She escorted me to her bedroom as she opened her door.


    I could instantly spot the pictures of her hanging out with her friends in frames plastered all over her walls. I started to feel guilty that I used her to escape from the hospital. But I didn''t have a choice back then. As my hope in humanity increased, I flopped onto her bed as I opened my marble to check if what that woman had said was indeed true.

 Chapter 328 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (9)

    "Thank you," I wore her clothes and shoes from when she was younger.


    Melissa also gave me her bus and train pass. It would be easier to get to the neighbouring city now. I sadly smiled before closing the door. I ended up staying the night in her room and found out it was true that the neighbouring city was where their old headquarters had been. I seamlessly blended into the crowd as many people around my age rushed to get to school. Her long cloak hid what I was wearing underneath, making me look like I was one of them.


    I walked to the train station as it would be the fastest route to get there. I swiped the card at the entry points as I waited for the bullet train to come. So this was what a normal person''s life was like. I enjoyed the scenery outside the window as this reminded me how I would commute to school in my former life. I never thought I would miss it as I had to pay attention to all the schedules to catch them in time.


    When my stop appeared on the screens, I stood to get ready to leave. I skipped while I relished the ordinary lives of other people bustling around me. I was tempted to join them as I slapped my cheeks to follow through my plan. I soon found myself in front of the old headquarters, which was owned by another company. I grimaced as the logo plastered near the roof read, ''Roselia International Bank''.


    This had to be one of the worst-case scenarios to land myself into. I should''ve read the article about this building more carefully. If I revealed my identity, I wouldn''t have to ruin one of their properties. But at the same time, Luke could get a notice about my current location through them. I didn''t know if this was the right building yet as that tale was a thousand years old. The chairman''s office could be located anywhere in the second district.


    But there was no way the receptionist would know that I was engaged to the heir of the owners of this company. It would be better to ask if there was the chairman''s office in this building before breaking in like last time. I walked up to her desk and asked, "does the chairman have his office here? Or is there an empty office for him?"


    "Unfortunately, the chairman doesn''t have an office here. He manages all the company affairs in the first district," she nicely answered my question.


    I smiled as I thanked her for the information. I guessed this wasn''t the place as well. I tried to recall the scenery in my dreams. If I was high up in a building to see a certain section in the city, where would I be? Although the owners had changed, the overall layout had to be the same. Maybe I should try going to a tower to get a better sense. There was a tourist attraction in this city for having the tallest tower in all of the second district.


    I left the building as my silver hair accidentally poured out of my hood. Unfortunately, the silver hair colour attracted a lot of attention as many people in the first district possessed it. Especially the special characteristic of the Roselia family where it shone in colours of the rainbow from the light reflecting off it.


    "You''re from the Roselia family," the receptionist gasped.


    This was the time to run. I opened the map as I sprinted towards the tower. Feeling excited that I would be trying out food that normal people ate at Melissa''s house, I had stuffed myself during breakfast. I had more energy than I usually did. I took some deep breaths in front of the entrance of the tower as I pulled out some pocket money.


    Melissa wasn''t hesitant to give me some money, thinking that I would need it. I went up to the ticket machine to pay for a ticket. Once it printed, I walked towards the elevators. I didn''t have a lot of time until Luke would figure out I was inside this city. My eyes reflected the sunlight making all the buildings glimmer. I pressed my hand against the glass walls, admiring the view. I smiled as I took some pictures to remember this scene.


    My vision wobbled from my tears of appreciation as the two scenes from my dream and what I saw right now began to merge together. I had seen this scenery before, except I was at a lower floor. The office had to be somewhere inside this tower. I had finally found the place I wanted to find. However, this place had a total of over three hundred floors. Most of them were rented out to smaller companies that needed the space.


    The tourists could only access certain floors. How would I go through all the floors alone? This was almost an impossible task. It had to be done by trial and error to find where I could see the same scenery. I sighed as I decided to enjoy the top floor to comfort myself. There may be a chance that I wouldn''t be able to come back here again. I also tried to calculate which floors were more likely.


    "You''re so beautiful, can I take a picture?" Someone from behind asked.

 Chapter 329 - We Must Kill Sleeping Beauty (10)

    I spun as I noticed this person was an employee inside this building. I could use this person to access the other floors. I brightly smiled as I took off my hood, "you''re welcome to take pictures for taking me to the other floors if possible."


    Once he was able to get a look at my face, he froze as he admired my inhumane beauty resembling fairies. In fact, I was starting to attract attention from all the other visitors. He nodded his head as if he wouldn''t get another chance like this in his lifetime. I lightly posed some of the ballet moves as it would appear more magical.


    The sounds of the camera taking as many pictures as possible filled my ears. It wasn''t only him taking the pictures, but the visitors behind me as well. Most of them appeared to be employees as all the other tourists would still be sleeping at this time. I could use more people as none of them had access to all the floors.


    "Do any of you have access to the floors around one hundred?" I asked the crowd for the payment.


    "I do," the person who asked if he could take pictures raised his hands.


    "Please take me there," I pitifully made my eyes glisten.


    "Sure," he melted over my appearance.


    He continued to stare at me until he realized we reached the one hundredth floor. I smiled as my intuition was right. The chairman''s office had to be on this floor with all the mana that hummed in the air. The second district didn''t have a place with this much concentrated mana in the air like the first district.


    He placed his access card against the screen as the doors opened to let us in. My eyes widened as a note drifted from the ceiling again.


    [Thank you]


    My head started to feel faint again as I began to stagger while I walked to follow him. My vision spun until I found myself at Ben''s mansion again. All the familiar decorations during social week near the entrance made me gasp. It couldn''t be that I was back in that time where everyone was still alive.


    "I think this is the safest place," Rika stared at the tall bush blocking the view from the other side.


    "Maybe the garden is the best place," Sienna agreed with her.


    I stumbled into the bushes as I couldn''t believe I was seeing myself. This was the time I was searching for where to hide the bed I would sleep in. Rika didn''t notice there was someone watching her from above this entire time.


    Ella yawned as she looked down from laying on the clouds above her. Behind her was Liam, who silently sat on the cloud next to hers. I couldn''t believe it wasn''t a coincidence that she found me at that bed later on.


    "She is the person who will help fulfill your love," sleeping beauty whispered into her ears.


    I was shocked as this was the first time I had ever seen sleeping beauty open her eyes. Her wise blue eyes glimmered as I could finally see how she was like outside of her coffin. She appeared very much alive as she sat on the same cloud as Ella. Ella nodded her head as she continued to follow Rika from above.


    I covered my ears as the scene transitioned to where she had already met Rika and trying not to get her brother to discover Rika. Sleeping beauty and Liam sat alongside each other on the same cloud. They continued to watch us from above.


    "We''re going to get discovered if they notice the commotion behind them!" Rika shook her shoulders.


    "You know, sleeping beauty is my favourite story tale. My brother used to always read to me when we were younger," she glanced at sleeping beauty who sat on another cloud.


    The next time I blinked, I was inside Jules'' family mansion. I was outside, near the winter wonderland filled with sparkling lights on the cables that stringed them together. Sleeping beauty stood beside Liam, who watched Rika venture outdoors, tired from all the attacks. She smiled as she spoke into his ear, "she is the one who will help fulfill your love with Ella."


    I couldn''t believe there was another person inside all those events this entire time. This was how I became the target. The wind whooshed, making my hair cover my eyes before I landed in the next scene. I was inside Ethan''s mansion as I found everyone trying to watch the young girl who spoke to the fairies from a distance away.


    Sleeping beauty walked next to Ethan, rubbing his back to help him control his fear. The tension in Ethan''s shoulders relaxed as she used this to her advantage to get closer to him. She coughed to get his attention before mumbling her thoughts, "but what if her brother had great regret in not being able to save her that he could turn into a fairy?"


    Ethan, who appeared spellbound by her words, repeated the same things out loud. I had blamed Ethan this entire time when it wasn''t his fault. I started to feel guilty as I had been colder than usual to him lately. Rocks started to tumble down from the ceiling as Ella started to get more emotional, clenching her fists at the thought of killing her brother.


    "This is indeed concerning. It wasn''t supposed to play out this way," the overseer came out of a portal.


    I trembled in anger while I watched the scene. This was before I had to sacrifice my identity for not watching over them properly. I would kill sleeping beauty, the person who created this entire mess. I must kill sleeping beauty for she had indirectly killed two people from her schemes. The past Rika who would figure this out later must kill sleeping beauty for my revenge. We must kill sleeping beauty.

 Chapter 330 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (1)

    "Jason!" Sleeping beauty screamed.


    "I''m right here. Please look at me," she dashed to where he stood.


    The overseer was Jason Mercier? She did all of this to see her lover''s face again. She did used all of us like her puppets this entire time! I became speechless while I stared at her being ignored by Jason. He pretended he couldn''t hear her desperately calling out his name. Sleeping beauty tried to pull his arms to get him to notice her. But instead, he grimaced, wondering why his arms felt like they were getting dragged to a certain direction. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(1)_48972446895764142 for visiting.


    Jason created a barrier, repelling her, pushing her away. It was something that she deserved. Sleeping beauty pounded on the barrier to try to get closer to Jason. However, I felt nothing from her wailings as her fists became bruised. She could rot in her coffin and I wasn''t going to save her. I initially thought of killing her from my anger, but I realized there was something worse than that.


    She could continue living in that horrible cage where she wouldn''t ever be able to physically see her lover again. There were only so many things she could do with her spells inside her coffin. I knew how horrible it was to be inside a cage. I was almost stuck inside one because of her. You were helpless, you couldn''t do anything when you were confined. I noticed she could only influence people, but she couldn''t actually do anything on her own.


    I didn''t know why I was seeing this, but it made me give up on trying to find the chairman''s office. It would be better to enjoy the freedom I had before anyone would place me inside the same cage. Once Rika entered the portal with the overseer, she finally gave up on trying to reach her lover. It appeared she didn''t have access to the other dimension. This was why she was desperately trying to pull him out into this one.


    If she wanted my help, then she shouldn''t have messed with all of our fates. I wondered if the overseer knew about her existence. It couldn''t be that he couldn''t see or hear her as his punishment in exchange for his second life. I laughed from the thought as I continued to watch her cry in despair. I would rather die than to help her out.


    Feeling my hostility, the scene shattered into many pieces. I continued to madly laugh as I was back in the office the next time I blinked. It quickly switched into coughs as my blood splattered onto Melissa''s cloak. This was something that I expected. However, I had no one to help me recover as I was still on the run.


    "I''m really fine," I tried to assure the people around me.


    "You slept for hours. It''s the evening now. I think we should bring you to the hospital," the person feared for my diminishing life.


    "I''m from the first district. I''ll be fine," I revealed.


    I could go back to Melissa''s house to get some more rest. I had enough mana to use heal on myself. I slid my hand under the cloak as I pushed myself to exhaust most of my mana supply. It would be dangerous as I wouldn''t have enough mana to defend myself if something did attack me, but it was better than doing nothing. I staggered back and forth as I was able to heal myself enough that I could stand on my own two feet.


    "See," I twirled.


    I had managed to temporarily close all my wounds. As long as I was careful where I walked, I would be fine. Everyone stared at me in shock as they saw a dying person become healthy again in the matter of minutes. I placed my finger against my lips to gesture that they would have to keep this a secret. I narrowed my eyes before they all nodded their heads.


    "It''ll be a secret that I was here," I tried to intimidate them.


    I walked out of the floor and into the elevator. I opened my map again as I searched for the shortest route. I pulled my hood back up before I would forget as I walked to the train station. The best place to go was the furthest away from this place. I wanted to enjoy the outside air as much as possible. I could die from my actions, but I would die happy. It was better than dying on a bed in the hotel while sleeping beauty made me bleed to death.


    I sat down on an empty chair in the bullet train. The first place I planned to go was the tallest mountain in the second district. There was also a hot spring inside and great food that almost made me drool when I explored through all the pictures. Melissa was generous to give me enough money, knowing I was on the run. With the number of zeros inside her card, it was like she gave me her entire savings account.


    I wasn''t going to use the bank account in my name controlled by the Roselia family. I watched the scenery gradually changing as I pulled out a strawberry shortcake from my inventory. I was never so glad that I didn''t stay for the entire week for that competition. Thanks to it, I had a lot of strawberry shortcake in my inventory I split with Luke.

 Chapter 331 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (2)

    "One room for one week," I happily hummed as I booked my room.


    Thankfully, the things that could be automated were done by robots. Meaning there were no people to ask what a child was doing, booking a hotel room for herself. The robot printed out an access card. Only prestigious hotels had actual people doing the work to increase the reputation of their service. My hotel room had a hot spring outside where I could bath while admiring the mountains.


    While bathing inside the spring water, I opened my marble to search what other things I could do during the day. There were so many things I wanted to do. I was going to visit the movie theatre inside this hotel after I finished my bath. My dinner would be delivered to my room afterwards. There was gooey pizza and breadsticks that I had already ordered. I never felt this happy before other than the time I explored the third district with Oili.


    But it was another exciting feeling to travel alone. I was going to also buy some clothes, the t-shirts with the hotel logo on it. Maybe some sweatpants as well with the running shoes. I held some shopping bags as I smiled from my purchase. It would be better to change first before going to the theatre to attract less attention. My eyes glittered when I found a popcorn machine before entering the theatre from the ticket I bought. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(2)_48973171403062830 for visiting.


    My arms became full from ordering the biggest size as I walked to my seat. The tourists filled up most of the theatre as I got to experience the average life of someone who lived in the second district. There was no one trying to book the whole venue, making the atmosphere awkward and strained. The lights dimmed and the screen flashed with its introduction. The actors with their strong charisma at the opening scene made my eyes glued.


    "I''ll come for you. I''m sorry. I''m sorry that I''m so powerless," the boy clenched his fists.


    "I believe you. I can tolerate this for our love. You didn''t have a choice. Your family business failed. You would go into slavery if you can''t pay your debts back in time," the girl cried.


    Tears began to fill my eyes. This story was so sad. The boy and the girl were childhood friends who grew up together. They promised to marry each other and already had everyone''s acceptance. However, the boy''s family business went bankrupt. He was selling her lover as he had no other choice as he would become a slave to pay back his debts. The girl was sacrificing herself for him.


    The scene transitioned into the girl looking at the moon in the night sky. She was a slave to her master who abused her. She hugged herself to comfort her throbbing heart. She squeezed into the corner of a dusty storage room. No matter what she did, her master always threw heavy jugs and anything else she could grab. If she tried to defend herself, her master''s attacks would become more violent. She thought of her lover every time to bring her strength. He said he would soon become successful. In fact, his business was starting to take off as he made the first profits today.


    Time passed as the girl''s head was completely drenched with her own blood. With her filtered red vision, she started to go crazy as her master had kicked her until she was unable to walk. She didn''t feel like waiting for the boy anymore. Her life was too miserable. She had to find a way to escape from this place. One night, when she was sure her master was sleeping, she started to tread outside the small house. She ran into the forest and found a large cave.


    She wanted time to stop in this cave. This way, she would be still there for her lover to pick her up no matter how much time had passed. She would die if she continued to stay in that house. Finding a good location near the house, she began to write paper notes. These notes would be clues to lead him to where she would be waiting for him. She knew once she used this spell that would almost use up all the mana she had, she would sleep until she recovered some of it.


    She muttered a long chant to activate the spell once she was deep inside the cave. As soon as the spell activated, she fainted into a deep slumber. Meanwhile, the boy''s company had become very famous. He worked hard day and night so he could buy back his lover. He finally had enough funds to buy her back today. He knocked on her master''s door, wondering how she was.


    Her master screamed at him, telling him that she had escaped. She took the pouches of money he grabbed onto and slammed the door. The boy was devastated until he found a paper note sticking out of the stables. The girl was clever to put it in a place that her master would rarely visit but would be noticeable to any visitors. He opened the note as he read the details of where to find the next one.


    The seasons passed as he finally managed to find the cave. He entered inside the cave with the final note in his hands, which told him this location. He gasped as the time inside this cave had stopped. Nothing grew or aged in this cave with how there were no signs of anything dying. As he travelled deeper inside, he froze when he found his lover sleeping on the ground.

 Chapter 332 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (3)

    I cried like the many people around me. The movie was over as the screen ran its ending credits. I wiped the tears coming out my eyes as I rose from my seat. Everything felt so real with all the realistic effects. I have never been to a movie theatre before in this life. I decided to sleep for tonight and begin my plans for tomorrow.


    "There''s the cave from that movie around here," a girl showed her partner.


    Maybe I could visit that cave later. It was also a new experience to see how the filming set would be like. I was walking towards the gaming centre to see how virtual reality would feel like. I could finally experience what the protagonists felt inside the famous comic books based on virtual reality. I would have to take a bus to the nearest city from here.


    I admired the view as the bus started to descend the mountain. The bus was almost empty as there was no one who got up this early. This was one of my habits from Luke waking me during the extreme early hours in the morning before class started. I took more pictures out the windows to keep as a souvenir.


    Although it was early morning, there were many people who gamed until it was morning. I booked a room for myself as my eyes glittered at all the machines. When I was about to attach the cable on my head, I listened to a sudden news report that flashed on the screen. I froze as I pulled up my hood.


    "The Roselia family is looking for a young girl around thirteen years of age. She possesses light silver hair and orange pupiled eyes. Here is a photo of her posted on social media," the news anchor showed a picture of me on the top floor of that tower.


    I sighed as I needed to travel to a further place. Maybe I would have to leave this country altogether. This was no time to think about playing games. I would have to book a plane ticket out of here. Instead of using the machines for its initial purpose, I paid for some plane tickets. My shoulders became slumped as I left the room. It was more expensive to access tickets that didn''t need your identity to be confirmed.


    I ran to another bullet train leading to the airport. Thankfully, the cloak covered everywhere except for my face. I slipped onto the plane as it rose into the air. This country was located on the other side of the second district. I could continue my travels there. I hoped the people in the first district would have a harder time reaching that place.


    With their exceptional technology, I walked out of the plane within a half a day. I had already booked my room inside the plane. I was starting to run out of money after all the extravagant purchases to continue my journey. As I rushed towards the exits of the airport, I ended up bumping into someone. My hair tumbled out of my hood and my entire identity was almost revealed. Unfortunately, it appeared that the same news spread to this country as well.


    When the people had noticed I was the girl on the screen, they started to report me. This country wasn''t safe as well! I turned to try to book another airplane ticket but was blocked by the staff. My appearance stood out from the crowd as the same news repeated over the screen again. I twisted and turned to escape from the staff. I would have to stay inside this country. At least I had the chance to escape to the opposite end of this country if I wasn''t allowed to use a plane.


    However, wherever I looked, there was the staff inspecting the people who left the airport at all the exits. I shivered as I could feel the power that their families possessed. I never felt it first-hand like today. It was a better option to dash to the roof and jump from there. I chose to climb the stairs as I panted after overexerting myself. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(3)_48973720621999953 for visiting.


    My eyes widened as I found a helicopter coming down from the sky. I hid behind the wall as I sneaked a peak on who could be inside the helicopter. I covered my mouth to prevent any sounds from coming out. Luke walked out of the helicopter as he walked towards where I stood. Alex followed after him with Shelly in tow. I couldn''t believe they were able to get here so fast.


    It could be only possible if they used the teleportation gates in hidden locations in the second district. Wait. Their families did have the power and connections to use those gates. They probably used a helicopter afterwards to not stand out as soon as they arrived in this country. I stopped breathing as the sounds could instantly reveal my location.


    I lightly stepped around the walls as they walked closer to me. We were only a metre away from each other. When my running shoes squeaked as I took another step, they instantly spun from their spots. Maybe I shouldn''t have worn those shoes. Luke instantly walked towards where I stood with his great hearing.


    But there could be a chance he didn''t notice it was me yet. I was covered by a long cloak that had helped me arrive here so far.

 Chapter 333 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (4)

    Luke grabbed my shoulders to spin me around. In the process, my hood flew to reveal my hair that fluttered from the wind. My hood fell down as my face instantly revealed my identity. He brightly smiled as he grabbed onto my wrist to pull me towards the helicopter. Shelly gasped as I was helplessly being dragged on the roof until he pushed me into the helicopter.


    Both Alex and Shelly ran to join us as they soon locked the door. I squeezed my cloak as I couldn''t believe this was where everything ended. There were so many things I was unable to do yet. I couldn''t visit that movie set or play the games at the game centre. There were so many restaurants on my list and I had only scratched two of them out from my visits.


    "We''re not going to the villa, or we?" I trembled.


    "We''re going to the villa," Luke continued his bright smile.


    "How was she able to get all the way here?" Alex grumbled with his arms crossed.


    I knew I should have stayed at Melissa''s house! With her generous heart, there was no way she would report me. But I didn''t regret my actions as I had enjoyed going to the movie theatre, spending time alone in that hotel room and eating all the food I wanted. I knew I would be caught one day, but not this soon.


    "Where were you able to get the money?" Luke held in his anger.


    "An angel helped me out," I refused to disclose Melissa.


    I would somehow pay her back on my own someday. I would pay her double or triple the amount I spent for the past few days. I also had the money in my bank account in the third district. The money there piled up as I rarely visited that district.


    "There''s actually some good people in this world," I mumbled.


    "Well, you may never get to meet that person again. Tell me that person''s name so we can pay that person back," Luke waited for me to answer.


    "I will never tell you her name," I muttered, not having the courage to yell.


    "You''ll have all the time to tell me in your bedroom at the villa," Luke gave up in pressing me for answers for now.


    I laughed as I tried to provoke sleeping beauty. It would be better to die than to enter another cage. I yelled inside the helicopter, "I will never kill you. Please rot inside your little coffin and suffer from being separated from your lover forever. You deserve it!"


    Like sleeping beauty had heard me, my body wobbled like she was trying to summon me back into that cave again. I could only go to the place she rested when I was asleep. I felt my body collapsing onto the seats as my vision became blurry with each passing second. My head throbbed as my consciousness left me from all her efforts.


    I was inside that horrible cave again, but this time, I wasn''t the only one here. Jason held sleeping beauty in his arms. He frowned as he couldn''t leave her to sleep on the cold ground. He returned to the same place with a large coffin and placed her inside. When the scene appeared too dreary, he brought some white flowers with him to fill the rest of the space.


    It was like Jason and sleeping beauty were replacing the main actors in that movie. The space strongly resembled how it originally was before someone added that cage she was placed inside my prior dreams. He used the rest of his mana so that she would always be protected from anyone else who entered the cave.


    He created a cage that I was familiar with. Jason didn''t want anyone else to touch her until she woke up from using too much mana. This was what Charles and Ben warned me about in the sixth district. People who almost used up all their mana slept, never waking up until they recovered some of it. The myth of sleeping beauty was a cautionary tale to not repeat the same mistakes as she did.


    I gasped as the movie was the tale of her life. But I couldn''t pity her, she was the one who ruined my life. Jason never returned to her as he turned into a fairy after being murdered by his subordinates for his successful business. He couldn''t move on as he had a great regret for not being able to wait for his lover to awake.


    The only way she could be freed to join him was if someone killed her physical body. However, nobody knew how an entire tower had been built on top of the cave. The chairman''s office also had to be enchanted as time had stopped inside that room. I sighed as I realized the mess I got myself entangled with the moment I decided to help Ella. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(4)_48974433049705378 for visiting.


    As usual, when I woke up, I found myself inside the infirmary instead of my bedroom. The smell of medicine filled my nose as I found Luke sitting beside my bed, reading another book. This was the room in the villa I stayed in before we went to the hotel. My eyes widened as I could properly move this time without anyone trying to heal me. How many days have passed for me to recover from sleeping beauty''s cruel spell?

 Chapter 334 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (5) - Evans POV

    I watched Rika pound on the car windows as the car drove away from the hotel. She had no choice but to follow Luke to his villa. I had never seen Luke treating her like this while our parents were around. The way he ignored all of her opinions and dragged her to the car while she begged to stay with us.


    "I can''t believe she was keeping the note a secret," Alex appeared to be on Luke''s side.


    It was too cruel to Rika, but nobody went against Luke. In fact, everyone from the first district who watched the scene seemed to be supporting him. Rika''s friend, Michelle was the only one who pitied her. Seeing how no one seemed surprised, I realized that everyone was used to watching something like this.


    "Here is the room card and access to the rest of the facilities," Alex passed to me like nothing had happened.


    "Is Rika ok?" I worried for her.


    "Luke is just taking her to a safer place," he explained.


    "Sometimes, Rika is a bit too stubborn when she knows it''s all done for her sake," Alex apologized for the ruckus.


    I nodded my head and pretended to understand. If staying in the hotel was this dangerous for her, why weren''t the others staying in his villa as well? I walked to my door and gasped when I stepped inside the room. I had never stayed in such a luxurious room before. It was a suite with a living room, bedroom and a bathroom. It was all for one person.


    The view overlooked all the scenery in the perfect place that I wouldn''t have to visit the tower to get a better look. Sometimes, I went on short trips with my parents. However, we mostly booked one suite for all of us to stay in. After admiring the room, Alex and Michelle gave me a tour of everywhere I could visit.


    Feeling exhausted from taking everything in, I soon decided to return to my room. I paused before entering the elevators when I noticed the stiff atmosphere with Rika and Luke already inside. I awkwardly stood beside Rika as I felt it would be better to stay away from Luke, who seemed to be on the brink of his patience snapping.


    Rika held a thick book while Luke kept an eye on her. I didn''t think they would be at the hotel, expecting them to be at his villa. Wondering what she was reading, I found she was studying this entire time. My eyes widened when I noticed all those complex math equations and theories with each question written in another language.


    This wasn''t a normal book. Even though I didn''t learn any of the stuff on her page, I knew these questions were more difficult than the ones at the competition. When she noticed me watching her, she briefly looked up from her book. She sadly smiled, taking a break to observe me. Rika stiffened as Luke scarily turned his head to warn her, "Don''t keep your eyes off the book Rika."


    Feeling bad that I got her in trouble, I quickly walked out the elevator once it arrived at my floor. I felt like I had escaped from the suffocating atmosphere as I stayed inside my room, enjoying the room to myself until I went to the lobby for dinner. I searched for Rika inside the dining room while Michelle and Alex sat on the same table.


    "Where is Rika?" I asked when Luke was the only one who joined them.


    "Rika isn''t feeling well," Luke kept her condition vague.


    "Rika has a frail body. She gets ill very easily," he explained when it looked like I didn''t believe him.


    I nodded my head as the three of them talked to each other in a language I didn''t understand. Michelle stopped eating as if she was worried for someone. Alex stiffened in his seat as Luke continued to talk. The whole table turned into a serious tone as if they were talking about someone who was on the verge of dying. It couldn''t be that Rika wasn''t completely recovered from the accidents earlier today.


    I started to feel more worried for her when she wasn''t present for breakfast. I promised myself that I would watch over her for our parents, but I didn''t even know how she was doing. Instead, I was enjoying all the expensive amenities available in the hotel. I sat alone for breakfast until a boy joined me. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(5)---evan''s-pov_48975338750930911 for visiting.


    "I heard you''re Rika''s younger twin brother," he turned to me.


    "I am," I wondered who he was.


    "My name is Oliver, one of your sister''s friends," he introduced himself.


    "Do you know how Rika is doing?" I reluctantly asked.


    "She didn''t wake up yet," he sadly smiled.


    I froze as my mind spun into all the worse case scenarios. My parents would be disappointed in me if I returned to the third district alone, telling them about the bad news. I searched for Luke who would likely have all the answers. Since he appeared to be busy, I only managed to find him in the lobby when he walked to the restaurant with Alex around lunch.


    "How is Rika doing?" I quickly walked to him.


    "Rika is still sleeping," he carefully chose his words.


    "Can I see her?" My voice started to seem more desperate.


    Luke started to discuss what to do with Alex. After a few minutes of waiting, he replied, "although the entire top floor is blocked off to the rest of the guests, you have to close the door as soon as you enter the room. Rika is in this room and the door should open with the second access card."

 Chapter 335 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (6) - Evans POV

    I opened the door with the second access card. I froze at the sight of all the medical equipment inside the room. The stench of medicine drifted into my nose as I noticed Rika was covered in bandages under her clothes. Before I could react, she sprinted towards the door and punched the glass walls. I was stunned as I crouched to avoid the shards of glass heading to my direction.


    My body became paralyzed as I watched her jump out of this floor, the two hundredth floor. When my senses came back to me, the elevator doors opened. Both Luke and Alex stiffened at the sight of the opened door rather than the broken wall. Luke brightly smiled, "you didn''t close the door."


    "I don''t know what happened. As soon as I opened the door, Rika dashed out the door and punched the walls and jumped," I couldn''t believe what happened in a matter of seconds.


    "I''ll send a message for others to help search for her. We can also ask the authorities for help," Alex tried to comfort Luke.


    "I let you see her for the condition of closing the door afterwards. I thought I could trust you," Luke trembled.


    "And now she''s gone," he spun to leave with Alex.


    I stared at the empty room, feeling guilty. I started to feel even worse when everyone from the first district became busy with trying to find her. They tried using all their connections from using the media to hiring investigators. I watched Alex get access to all the CCTV camera footage nearby the area while Luke looked through any signs of her bank accounts being used.


    This all happened because I didn''t close the door. The day quickly passed and the next morning came with no traces of her. Everyone appeared exhausted with their pale complexion and dull eyes as if they had stayed up for the entire night. They were still in the same spots before I left, feeling useless.


    It was worse the next day until Luke got a notice from one of his family companies that they had seen a young girl with silvery long hair with jeweled orange pupils. It was not long until they figured out that she was in the next city. A few seconds later, one of them found her picture taken on top of a tower on social media.


    The picture appeared magical as she brightly smiled with her beauty making the scenery appear stunning with her inside. She looked like she was having fun while there were other people worried sick for her. After trying to trace her footsteps, the people behind me sighed as they had lost her again. Hints of blame were present in their eyes whenever they looked at me. I started to feel ashamed of myself as the days without her increased while they still didn''t sleep. It was all my fault that she was missing.


    "Rika is in a country in the opposite end of the second district!" One of them yelled.


    "What?" Some of them didn''t believe him.


    "They''re trying to keep her in the airport," he gestured for them to quickly leave to fetch her.


    Luke, Alex and Michelle ran to go to Rika''s location, afraid that she would be gone if they took more time. I sank into my chair as I sighed in relief. When everyone finally began to leave the room for the first time in days, I started to relax as it must have meant that they found her. Oliver, who watched me struggle under the guilt, confirmed my thoughts, "Rika is inside Luke''s villa now."


    I nodded my head as I went back to my room. I turned when Alex knocked on the door. His face possessed no more hospitality for me after that incident. Before I could ask, he opened his mouth, "Rika won''t return to the hotel. We also can''t let you continue to stay in the second district as the rest of us plan to return to the first district soon. We booked a car that will lead you to the third district." Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(6)---evan''s-pov_48997742910947836 for visiting.


    I had no right to say that I wanted to see my sister one last time. It was due to my selfishness that everyone couldn''t get any sleep for the past few days. I watched the scenery drastically change once I entered the third district. My hands trembled as I had followed her to the second district for nothing. Luke did a much better job at taking care of her than I ever tried to do myself. He was the one who pushed himself the most when she went missing.


    "How was the competition?" My mom waited for me.


    Both of my parents were inside the house since it was the weekend. I stayed silent, not daring to tell them anything that happened. They didn''t know how Rika was in the third district for the competition before they left when things started to get dangerous.


    "It wasn''t bad," I guiltily mumbled.


    I just felt extremely apologetic towards Luke. The first words that he said to me when he came out of the elevator continued to ring inside my head. They tried to treat me as well as they could, and I had let them down. It was like I followed them to enjoy another vacation. I didn''t deserve to watch over my sister.

 Chapter 336 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (7)

    "How many days have passed?" I wondered.


    "Almost a year inside this room. Outside, around a few days at most," Luke checked the settings on the room.


    Attached to many machines, my stomach grumbled from my long period of sleep. I was turning into sleeping beauty. The difference between us was closing as Luke''s anger seemed to have completely vanished from time. I couldn''t believe I was asleep for that long. What if she was trying to make me the same as her?


    "How?" I trembled.


    "You were slowly bleeding from all your erupted organs the longer you slept. We had to move in all the equipment we had to keep you alive," Luke frowned from his memories.


    "I can''t believe she would try to kill me for not helping her," I looked down at all the bandages.


    Maybe she was still watching me while in her slumber. She responded every time when I talked about her out loud. I squeezed my hands into fists, knowing that sleeping beauty would never leave me off until I killed her. However, this tale was a thousand years old. There were many versions of the same myth with each having its own ending.


    That tower was the only hope I had left if I didn''t want this to repeat again. I wondered what Luke was thinking every time I fainted from aggravating sleeping beauty. Those times, I thought it would be better to die than to come back here. However, after resting for such a long period of time, the thoughts vanished.


    I wanted to live. I wanted to revisit all those places in the second district. I wanted to travel around the third district with Oili again. I had to see my parent''s faces one more time. I didn''t want to become like sleeping beauty. Why would I have to live the same fate she did? Her story was tragic, but she drew in many innocent victims as well.


    "You won''t die. As long as you''re inside this room, no matter how much you get hurt, we can keep you alive," Luke dismissed my worries.


    "How about school? Don''t we need to return to school?" I needed to know.


    "The school didn''t contact us to return yet. Now that you''re awake, we can go to the first district since there are better medical supplies there," he closed his book.


    "Your family mansion? Not the infirmary at school?" I tried to rise from the bed.


    Luke nodded his head. I guessed the school was still sorting things out. But this meant I would be forever in this state, not able to do anything on my own. I needed to remain in the second district since I knew I may not be able to come back here again. Sleeping beauty got her wish. For my future, I would go to that tower.


    "I need to stay. I need to visit that tower," I hinted where my picture was taken.


    "Remember the deal? If you did end up leaving the hotel room, you agreed to stay inside the mansion where you weren''t allowed to leave your bedroom until we went back to school," he reminded me.


    "Are you telling me to live the rest of my life like this?" My jaw almost dropped.


    "At least you''ll still be alive," he tried to comfort me.


    "What do you want in exchange? What will it take for you to trust me again?" I gritted my teeth.


    "One hour at the tower for these conditions," he pulled out another contract like he was prepared for this.


    This time, I carefully read through all the clauses. I had learnt my lesson from signing a contract for my otaku supplies last time. I grimaced while reading all the terms. It was more extreme than the other one. I had to agree to get the permission from the Roselia family for things like what I could do after I graduated from school. It went into the long term, meaning they would plan out the rest of my life for me.


    If I signed this, there was no hope for me to escape from his family. Although I wouldn''t feel most of the impacts now, I could already predict how my entire life would change. I would need permission whenever I wanted to leave a district. There was also a list of duties that I would need to fulfill. The penalty from breaking any of them meant I didn''t have the ability to ask them for permission anymore. I had to do whatever they demanded me to do.


    Did he know I planned on escaping after my graduation? This contract couldn''t be written within a day. All these clauses were more detailed and precise to their words. Some of them were unlikely that Luke had written them himself with his style I was familiar with. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(7)_48998829269238565 for visiting.


    "Father wanted me to get you to sign this someday," he noticed me wondering where the contract came from.


    My shoulders slumped from the news. He must have received this at that time when we visited his parent''s house. Looking at his expression, it seemed he still didn''t want me to leave this room. However, this was a good opportunity for him. I sighed as no matter where I turned for the escape route, I was stuck.


    "I can''t sign this. You know what this means to me," I placed the contract down.

 Chapter 337 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (8)

    If I spent more than one hour at that tower, the effects would come in immediately. There was a slim chance that I would ever be allowed to visit my parents again for the rest of my life. The Roselia family in general didn''t like me leaving the first district. Luke didn''t like me going anywhere other than his family mansion. Since he would inherit the entire Roselia family fortune once he became the head, I would have no choice but to follow everything he wanted me to do.


    And there was no way I would be only spending one hour at that tower. The minimum time I would spend would be an hour. This contract wasn''t worth exchanging my entire life. Even the overseer wasn''t this cruel. I passed back the contract to him before Luke placed it inside his inventory. While I was bedridden, I had the hope that sleeping beauty would give up on me someday, finding a new target.


    "Did you read that contract?" I wanted to know his opinions.


    "Everyone who marries into the family signs a contract. My mother also signed a contract before her wedding," he didn''t think anything about it.


    Ellen did mention based on how much power your own family had, you would get more favourable conditions. There were no such conditions in mine. I would never sign one even if I was forced to marry him in the future. My dreams and hopes for the future were the only thing fueling my desire to live in this world.


    "Sleeping beauty is inside that tower. I know exactly where that place is and when I kill her, all of this will end," I tried another approach.


    "This is what I have been seeing in my dreams. Although I can''t sign that contract right now, it will definitely benefit the Roselia family. If it doesn''t benefit the Roselia family, I''ll sign that contract," I had to push out that last piece of the sentence from my teeth.


    That cave had to be precious in some way. The way it was filled with mana and many pathways to different places in the district. I had also never heard of a place where time had completely stopped before too. If the Roselia family owned that floor in the tower, they could possess everything.


    "Which floor should I purchase?" Luke had gotten my hint.


    "The one hundredth floor," I recalled.


    "The Nuelle family owns the entire tower. If it''s only one floor, they shouldn''t mind," Luke started to make a bid for the purchase. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(8)_49010733844850858 for visiting.


    My marble immediately rang, showing it was coming from Ben. I swiped the screen as the camera showed he was still inside the hotel. I didn''t think he would call about the transaction. Instead of his normal light-hearted attitude, his face changed, "you''re thinking of buying the one hundredth floor?"


    "I liked the scenery," I recalled the view.


    "You''re not interested in property," Ben knew too much about me.


    "Your family can still get access to the floor afterwards. The Roselia family will only be the owners of one floor," I decided this would be the best way to split things.


    "Do this for me, please? The Nuelle family will also benefit from this by getting access. Without me, you won''t know what''s behind the one hundredth floor," I pleaded for my freedom.


    "I need a 25% ownership on that floor," Ben wondered what could be on that floor.


    "25% where?" I only needed to own one room.


    "I can give you half the floor plus the access, but you have to let us choose the side," I knew the floor was separated into two.


    "Deal, but I''m coming with you to that tower," Ben approved the purchase on his end.


    The transaction screen went onto the next stage as Luke had the opportunity to purchase the side we wanted. The call ended as I tapped on the side with the chairman''s room. My mind briefly went blank from all the zeros behind the first number. I gulped as I had to be right since this was not a small sum for the Roselia family as well.


    "Can we go to the tower now?" I turned to Luke.


    After getting Luke''s approval, I met up with Ben in front of the entrance of the tower. The three of us went in with no tickets required as the new owners. On the one hundredth floor, there were people busy with moving out as the Nuelle family gave them the option to move to a better floor. I took a deep breath, trying to get a feel where the mana was most concentrated.


    My feet led me to the chairman''s room, newly labelled as the president''s room. When I opened the door, the furniture was instantly different while the scenery outside the window remained the same. The presence of mana had completely disappeared inside this room. It was no wonder why the Nuelle family didn''t think much about this floor. It couldn''t be that I was wrong. I would have to sign that contract.


    I had to think. That room had to be here. It was weird for the strong presence of mana to suddenly disappear. It was like something was sucking all the mana out. But everything else was different, time hasn''t stopped inside this room like the chairman''s room. I couldn''t turn to face Luke as I started to look for more hints.

 Chapter 338 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (9)

    I sighed as I admired the wonderful scenery where everything appeared the same as my dreams. It was as if time had stopped on the other side of the window. Outside the tower, the owners of the properties changed, plastering new logos near the top of each skyscr.a.p.er. However, none of this was seen at this end.


    "How could everything stay the same?" I wondered.


    I froze from saying my thoughts out loud. How could nothing change on the other side of the window? It couldn''t be right. There had to be a spell on the window. I placed my hand against the window and spread my mana onto its surface to search what the spell could be. My eyes widened when sudden ripples appeared, trying to welcome me inside.


    "I''ll go in first," Luke stopped me.


    I nodded my head as I followed him from behind. I gasped as the room finally resembled the one in my dreams on the other side. I could spot the name card placed on the desks, the pictures with his eyes scratched out, and the numerous bookshelves. Mana hummed in the air, making me take a deep breath to suck some of them in.


    "It''s this place," I turned to Ben.


    "I can''t believe there was a place like this entire time," he couldn''t stop staring at the room.


    "Time had stopped here from the influence of the cave," I pushed one of the bookshelves. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(9)_49011793628035960 for visiting.


    Like I had expected, the entrance to the dark cave appeared from a narrow passageway. The walls of the cave glimmered, completely covered in mana crystals from the children who bled and cried in one of the routes to here. Mana crystals were the most expensive jewels one could possess in the first district. Many plants, filled with mana, twinkled along the way. They had to expensive as they could be extracted for many different purposes.


    "Wouldn''t this place benefit the Roselia family?" I tapped on Luke''s shoulder.


    "It would," Luke agreed.


    Meanwhile, Ben was stunned from what he agreed to give away. It could have been all his if he knew about it. But he didn''t know a few of the complex pathways like I did. There would be no need to use teleportation gates from its existence, saving a lot of precious mana.


    "You could access these routes. They go to many places in the second district," I comforted him that it wasn''t entirely a loss.


    "Where do they go?" Ben studied his gains and losses.


    "You''ll have to do the exploring. I only know a few of them. One of them goes into a forest where the tale of sleeping beauty found this cave," I continued to retrace my steps to her.


    I stopped leading the way when I found the same cage appeared with sleeping beauty inside. There was no difference from how she appeared in my dreams, surrounded by a garden of white wildflowers. This was the person I had to kill. I walked closer to her coffin, placing my hands against the cage that protected her.


    "I''m here like you wanted," I whispered to her.


    All I had to do was destroy that cage first. I guessed any large spell would do as the spell has worn out throughout the years. Like she had done to me, I chanted a big explosion spell to shatter her cage. Before the spell activated, I ran away to avoid the impact of the cage shattering. I covered my ears as the presence of the cage completely disappeared, not leaving a single trace.


    I gasped as a portal from the other dimension suddenly swirled in front of sleeping beauty. Jason, the overseer angrily stepped out, looking for the person who destroyed the cage. I didn''t think he would come here.


    "You''re the one who destroyed the cage," his gaze turned to me after tracing the path of mana.


    "She wanted to be freed. She visited my dreams every night, begging me to kill her while threatening to drag me along with her. You''re the one who pretended not to notice her. She pulled your arms before taking me into that portal back then. You took away my identity, knowing she was behind the scenes the entire time!" I yelled.


    "Why don''t you kill her to make her wish come true?" I didn''t want to become a murderer.


    "That can''t be true. I knew there was someone interfering, but it couldn''t be Marion," he stroked her hair.


    "You''re the one who heartlessly ignored her while she wailed, helplessly on the floors for you to notice her," I wasn''t going to let him off the hook.


    "Marion will wake up someday," he glared at me.


    "She hasn''t shown any signs of waking up for a thousand years. She wants to be free now," I took a glance at his slender dagger held by his belt.


    "I won''t kill her. I have seen too many tragedies while as the overseer," his voice chilled as ice blocks.


    "Then save me. Save me from dying while I sleep. I want to live," I screamed.


    "Jason Mercier, I''m doing this because I want to live. I understand you turned into a fairy because you wanted to wait for her to wake up, but you should take care of your own mess. I''m not willing to become another victim in this story," I clenched my fists.

 Chapter 339 - We Cant Kill Sleeping Beauty (10)

    "She''ll wake up someday," he screamed back.


    "How could I kill her?" His aura strengthened.


    "You already did the worst thing you could do to her. You placed her inside that cage. What if the cage was what prevented her from waking up?" I threw out one of my hypotheses.


    "The cage would automatically break as soon as there were signs of her waking up!" He defended himself.


    "You don''t understand. Her cage was not only the physical one. She wants to be free from her slumber, the cage that keeps her from moving on," I was the best one who could understand her in the end.


    People, who were free and could do anything they wanted couldn''t understand us. Everyone was trying to confine us somewhere. We never had the choice to do anything, becoming helpless. They said they were doing this to protect us, ignoring the wishes of the person inside. Maybe this was why she came to me for help.


    "You''ll have to kill me to kill her," he looked at us in a new light. Find authorized novels in , faster updates, better experience, Please click #''t-kill-sleeping-beauty-(10)_49013221167789211 for visiting.


    Luke stepped in front of me, wary of the overseer. He quickly shot me a look to run away. Meanwhile, Ben began to prepare to chant a big spell.


    "I have a solution," A sudden idea came to my head.


    The mana in the air died down as if the overseer was willing to listen to one last comment. I did wonder ever since I watched the movie, if the time had stopped in the cave, wouldn''t it mean she would always remain in her present state? She wouldn''t ever be able to wake up since her time would stop. She needed to go out of this cave for time to return to its original place again. Only then, would she ever be able to recover her mana.


    "Sleeping beauty should go out of this cave. Once time starts to flow for her, she may wake up," I tried to reason.


    "Instead of keeping her inside the cage, it would have been better to go outside with her," I repeated when the overseer started to calm down.


    The overseer lifted sleeping beauty into his arms. Her arms dropped down as she was in a new position in years. I started to lead him to the way of that forest. The place where everywhere began. Except, near the exit to the cave, it wasn''t a forest anymore inside the second district . We were inside the first district where Luke had taken me to pick some flowers for social week.


    The faint breeze passed through us, making the flower fields come alive to move along with it. I could only sense a weak glimmer of the cave once I had stepped out of it. It was like I was enveloped in a thin membrane of a spell to be able to still see it. The cave was barely a part of this world anymore, closed off for years.


    "Jas-on?" A sweet voice whispered.


    I spun to see if sleeping beauty was finally awake. Both Luke and Ben did the same, wondering how she was awake from my idea so quickly.


    "Marion!" The overseer placed her on the flowers.


    Sleeping beauty opened her eyes for the first time in a thousand years. She placed her hand against Jason''s cheek, wondering if he was real. However, before she could say how much she waited for him to finally look at her, the overseer had exploded into white powders of fairy dust. Marion froze, not believing what had just happened. She held onto his last remains, wondering why the world was this cruel to her.


    "Jason!" She cried.


    All her family and what she knew of was dead. So many things had changed during the years she slept. Jason was the only person she had left. She didn''t want to admit that she was in this world, all alone without him. Although she knew that Jason had finally moved on from his fulfilled wish from watching him while she slept, it was too unfair. Sweeping his remains into one pile, she hoped he would come back. But the powder helplessly slipped through her slender fingers like nothing could be done.


    "You killed him!" Marion turned to me.


    "He moved on and I did everything that you asked of me. Can you not feel happy for him who has been tortured by you this entire time?" I wouldn''t let her blame me.


    "If you had killed me, I could have turned into a fairy," she continued to hold onto him.


    "You know it''s not guaranteed from how you killed Zane," I trembled.


    "You sent Ella to more than a thousand years of work and killed both Liam and Zane!" I couldn''t get rid of the guilt in my chest.


    "But Jason would never come to this dimension if I hadn''t!" She felt no guilt for her past actions.


    "Well find a new person to love. You''re free now. You can do anything you want. Or you can travel the world alone, hoping to join him after you die," I slightly envied her as she was a free person now.


    "Some people don''t have the same chances as you. Jason would want you to live the rest of your life happy," it was taking all my patience to comfort her.


    Marion turned her head away from me, remembering how she had watched me confined to my room. If someone could understand me, she had to be one of them. She couldn''t open her mouth to argue back since it was true. While she was now free, some people were still stuck in their cages.

 Chapter 340 - Sleeping Beauty is Free

    I offered her an empty glass bottle to help store his remains. It came from the bottle I drank to heal from all my injuries from her. After she mourned for Jason, placing a bouquet of flowers where he last stood, she clasped her hands together to pray for him. She closed her eyes, wishing he would go to a better place, free from this world.


    When Marion opened her eyes, she started sweeping his remains into the bottle as if she found a new sense of determination from my words. It looked like she has made the decision to live the rest of her life in this foreign world from her actions. At least one of us had to be happy from this messed up fairy-tale.


    "I don''t know where to go," she guiltily looked at me.


    "All that I used to have is gone," she squeezed her dress.


    "We can start off by going to somewhere called the waterpark and spa. It was inside that hotel and I''m sure you have seen the pictures," I couldn''t blame her for everything for what happened during social week in the end.


    Although I could never forgive her, sleeping beauty felt desperate for Jason to notice her. Her punishment would be to live the rest of her life without him. I knew from Ella''s experience how painful it would be. She would never see Jason in this life again. It helped settle some of my anger that she would live with some of that pain until she died.


    "The waterpark and spa," Marion recalled the pictures sent by my friends.


    "We can make arrangements for your stay there until you determine where you want to go," Luke added.


    "I can introduce you to a lot of new things!" I thought of going to all the attractions.


    "Although, my fianc¨¦e won''t be able to join you. She promised to return to the villa afterwards," Luke reminded me of the deal.


    My shoulders slumped as I remembered the deal that I would never be able to return to the hotel again before we returned to school. Marion, who also knew, appeared to pity me. Feeling guilty that some of it was her fault, she turned to Luke, "I would really like to spend the day with her. She''s the only person I know in this world."


    "Unfortunately, Rika has a frail body," Luke declined her request.


    "You can visit her in the villa instead," he offered.


    "I can heal her!" Marion immediately used heal on me.


    My body was completely filled by her light as she overflowed with mana. I gasped as every part of my body was mending, making it studier and healthier than before. I could feel my mana supply expanding, more than what my gauge could handle. By the time she was done, I was dripping with mana from head to toe. She had poured so much mana into me that the seal Luke''s father had placed on me was almost useless.


    My eyes changed into cherry pink again while my skin glimmered from the sunlight. My body was surrounded by a membrane of mana, not able to absorb anymore. Although she had to have used a huge amount of mana, she appeared no different than before. Marion appeared to be just as energetic as when she determined she would live a new life from now on.


    "We can go to the waterpark and spa now!" She held both of my hands.


    "Can we?" I turned to Luke with the most pitiful eyes.


    Luke''s marble began to vibrate, interrupting us. I couldn''t help but stomp my feet when I read the message he got from Lucius. The school was finally ready for us to return by the end of the day. When including time to travel to the school, there was barely any leftover to go to even one attraction. I spun to Marion, "do you know the other passageways? Like maybe there is one leading to the school."


    "I can give you a rough map," she asked for a pen and paper.


    I watched her draw detailed pathways overlapping the first and second districts. This made me think that the two districts were originally one a long time ago. Ben''s mood improved while looking at the nearly drawn map full of webs connecting everywhere together. While there wasn''t a passageway leading directly to the school, there was a spot close to it.


    "Can I go?" I tugged on his sleeve.


    It wasn''t a long drive to travel from the tower to the hotel. We could even take the faster bullet train if there was too much traffic. This time, both of our marbles vibrated, interrupting us. I frowned at the screen, seeing it was a call from the dean. What other bad news did they want to give?


    "Congratulations, you have received first place in the competition. Unfortunately, we forgot to send the message for the four of you to return ahead of everyone else. We need to discuss the details coming from the results," the dean apologized.


    "I can''t go. I have to go to the waterpark and spa," I couldn''t believe I would have to leave right away.


    "School should come first," Marion stepped a few steps back.


    My waterpark and spa! Marion looked at the existence of the hover car in awe when the one Luke booked had drifted down the ground near us. Of course, I was mercilessly dragged into the hover car as Ben walked back into the cave with Marion. Where was my happy ending?

 Chapter 341 - Fantasies are Not Reality (1)

    "The Roselia and Nuelle families are close these days," Delia pointed out their collaboration together.


    The cave that I had helped Luke purchase from Ben''s family had raked trillions of profits on both sides. There were many precious plants, jewels and water from the years Marion slept, absorbing all her mana. Meanwhile, the Nuelle family used these routes as transportation for trade, saving costs from using teleportation gates like I had suggested. They never thought of working together until Luke and I entered their fraction, making us on the same side.


    "We''re also spending time with Ben during summer vacation," I recalled.


    Since we already fulfilled our volunteer hours last year, I thought I could go back to the third district for the week. However, everything seemed to be already arranged without me knowing. I still felt annoyed from when I figured out a few days ago.


    "I''m going back home!" I happily started to pack my stuff in advance.


    I was almost skipping inside my room, about to call for the self-driving car next to drive me home. I was waiting for this day for months. For the past few nights, I haven''t been sleeping, planning out my days without Luke. There were so many places I wanted to go during the break from the competition, but I couldn''t fit everything within a day.


    Luke knocked on my door before coming inside. I quickly tried to hide all the stuff laid down on the bed just in case I would earn another lecture from him. But he opened the door while I was still kicking my stuff under the bed, out of sight.


    "Is there anything you need?" I pretended nothing was wrong.


    "I was going to let you know about the plans I made for both of us during vacation," Luke noticed the stuff I tried to hide.


    "You mean your plans? I don''t need to know. I''m going to the third district to visit my parents," I brightly smiled.


    I was going to the library to read more comic books. The sweets shop was also another place I planned to go after going to the amus.e.m.e.nt park. Maybe I would even attend an idol concert later if I had the time. With the grand amount of money piled up in my savings account that I barely used since I was in the first district, I could do almost anything.


    "Travel between the third district is closed during that time for an investigation since there was an issue with an unknown person using the gates and routes," Luke explained.


    "Then I can always stay with Shelly, Ellen or Sienna," I quickly changed my plans.


    The ban on travel between districts couldn''t possibly last for that long when so much trade depended on it. Plus, I could visit some normal places with my friends while staying in their mansions in the meantime. In fact, Sienna and Delia were spending time together, enjoying their time at a resort. I had declined their offer a few days ago, saying I would go to the third district.


    "You can''t impose on other households like this," Luke sighed.


    "Sienna and Delia are going on a trip together," I crossed my arms.


    "The Roselia family is different," Luke argued.


    "The expectations for us are different and you know this," he continued when I was silent.


    With his countless lectures, I knew he was talking about how the top five most powerful and prestigious had an extra set of restrictions on them. It was the exchange they had for amassing all the wealth and influence in the districts. He was basically telling me since their families weren''t as part of it, they didn''t have the same expectations.


    "How about Shelly? Isn''t Shelly family?" I wondered since she was engaged to his cousin.


    "Anyways, we will be spending time near that cave with Ben. Michelle is not part of the Monete family yet," Luke didn''t consider her as family.


    "But isn''t she engaged to Alex?" I became confused.


    All of Luke''s family, including his cousins considered me to be part of the Roselia family. I wondered why the same didn''t apply to Shelly. It couldn''t be because of my appearance, resembling some of their family features. Mana was what determined a little part of your physical appearance since it was the essence running through your veins.


    The colour of your hair was the first to change. My hair used to be crimson red while my eyes shined with cherry red when my body overflowed with mana. Red was the colour of my mana. Meanwhile, precious silvers were the colour of Luke''s mana he had inherited from his family. However, all the potions and healing made my appearance change in addition to the overseer taking away my identity.


    "You know how there are stages to the engagement. We are permanently bound to each other that marriage is only a formality while they are not," he reminded me.


    I sighed as this was the reason Luke had given me the contract from his parents for me to sign. If that cave wasn''t valuable as I thought it was back then, I would have already signed the contract. At least we were too busy studying in school that he never brought it up again. This was part of my reason I didn''t want to spend summer vacation with him.


    "What is your name?" he tried to point out.

 Chapter 342 - Fantasies are Not Reality (2)

    "Rika," I mumbled.


    "Rika de Impalia Roselia," Luke added on my last name.


    "But what are you going to do if I don''t follow you? I consider Shelly to be my family," I wasn''t going to go along with his plans.


    I considered Shelly to be one of my best friends. Although Luke was right that I didn''t consider her as my family, she was next in line after them. After coming back to school, Luke didn''t have anything against me anymore. All my precious hobbies were moved into a room he didn''t know about while a few members of the neutral fraction possessed the rest.


    "You can think of your extra time before and after the break to be gone," he came up with a clever attack.


    Everyone, including the teachers, trusted Luke. His family had enough power to influence the school especially after the fire and barrier incident. Meaning that Luke did have the power to prevent me from going to that caf¨¦ or anywhere else to fill it with longer study sessions. He could drag me anywhere and anytime he wanted, and no one would say a thing.


    Although he didn''t do it since it would drive the both of us crazy. He would always have to supervise me while doing his own usual stuff like practicing the sword with Alex. Plus, we would both have to attend all those fraction meetings together. We already spent enough time together the way it was.


    "Fine! But as soon as that travel ban is lifted, I''m going to the third district," I lost against him.


    I tried to forget how I lost against him as he poked all my weaknesses. I managed to negotiate with him to decrease it to half a week in the end. We both knew how the travel ban wouldn''t last that long. Half of the week was spent in the first district while the other half was at my parent''s house with the condition that he came with me.


    "We''re also travelling together," Shelly confessed while holding Ellen''s hand.


    "Our families are working together on a project," she explained while everyone was revealing their plans.


    "The Monete family is ok with that?" I almost got up from my chair.


    "I also asked Luke if it would be ok if we could take you with us," Shelly guiltily added.


    How was it only me who got the different treatment? Everyone was travelling to wonderful places together without their partners and I was still stuck with Luke. Both Ellen and Shelly seemed to be asking for my forgiveness, ordering more slices of cake and strawberry ice cream. I dug my spoon into the desserts, accepting their apologies, knowing it wasn''t their fault.


    "We''ll also send a lot of pictures!" Sienna tried to console me.


    "And the video calls," Ellen added to make sure I wasn''t feeling like I was left out.


    "Stopppp," I didn''t want to know how they were enjoying their lives.


    This was how I found myself at the Roselia family mansion again. It was the same one I resided in for social week since it was close to the flower field. Ben also entered the mansion with us since he was helping his family with the matters of the cave. Delia''s words were true that the Nuelle and Roselia families were getting close. The cave needed to stay as a secret between them, afraid that anyone else would discover the routes.


    "Repeat what I said Rika," Luke tried to test if I memorized all his rules of what I could do.


    "I can do anything as long as I don''t leave the mansion gates, but I still have to finish one chapter from the book by the end of each day. If I want to leave the mansion, then I have to either get permission from Ben or you," I mumbled.


    "And the penalty if you don''t keep them?" He continued.


    "I won''t be able to leave the mansion at all for the entire week," I couldn''t believe how ridiculous this was.


    "Ben and I are going to help with the cave," Luke started to head out as soon as he confirmed I knew the rules.


    I watched them leave the mansion grounds after passing what they had packed to the servants. I knew this would happen, secretly packing my comic books with me. It wasn''t a bad way to spend my vacation when I was going to be mostly left alone. After ordering many plates of desserts, I sprawled out on the couch.


    It was just a pity I couldn''t go anywhere after hearing all the places others were visiting. Although there wasn''t much to do at his mansion, I could eat whatever I wanted with the robots as long as it wasn''t junk food. The plushy furniture was also a perfect place to lay down above the beautiful gardens. Luke wasn''t there to scold me about my manners or slouched posture.


    I opened a light novel while enjoying some cake. This wasn''t a bad life. Since I knew the servants were robots, it made me more relaxed. I peacefully finished reading more volumes of light novels I had previously bought but didn''t have the chance to read. I sipped from a straw dipped inside a large cup of strawberry milkshake. However, the light breeze coming in from the opened windows made my hair annoyingly drift onto the pages.


    Wait. A light breeze? These things didn''t exist here in a perfect place where everything was regulated.

 Chapter 343 - Fantasies are Not Reality (3)

    "Eliza, you really don''t want to do this," a familiar girl was trying to pull away someone in the garden.


    How did someone manage to trespass the stringent barriers to get here? I knew how much security there was near the gates to keep certain people in and out of the mansion. I gasped as the two of them managed to disguise themselves as servants. It was the same idea I used in the past. How did they perfectly replicate the uniform that the Roselia family had changed after my previous escape?


    "You really don''t want to do this," I joined her.


    "The Roselia family are really scary people," I warned the both of them.


    They froze, looking up at me who was on the balcony. I stiffened as the twin sisters with their luscious ash brown hair were tied up in a bun. My head throbbed as I remembered meeting them in the third district. The girl called Eliza was the one who played a cruel prank on me, trying to kill me in the process. She had also followed us to the hotel that Luke and I stayed in back then.


    "You!" Eliza remembered me as well.


    "Luke isn''t here anyways. He left a few hours ago to someplace near here," I hoped they wouldn''t get caught.


    Although I still had a grudge against Eliza, I had nothing against her twin sister who tried to save me from her. I placed my light novels on the table to jump off the balcony to join them. I lightly stepped on the ground in front of us to lead them out. However, Eliza slapped my hand away, refusing my offer.


    "Don''t touch me with your dirty hands," she turned her head.


    "I apologize for my sister," the other girl shot me a look to forgive her sister.


    "Ever since your partner visited her school, he was all she could think of," she explained.


    Checking up how I was doing, my marble rang to show it was a call from Luke. This was an extremely bad timing as he wouldn''t be pleased to figure out that we had unwanted guests. But at the same time, if I didn''t accept the call, I would be the one in trouble. He would immediately come back to the mansion.


    "Hide!" I showed them I was about to accept the call.


    The girl dragged Eliza to hide behind the bushes as she refused to listen to her. I gulped before trying to act that things were as normal as possible. I walked to position the camera away from them before I smiled. Luke studied where I was from looking at the scenery.


    "I''m just exploring the garden," I explained.


    "But you don''t like the garden that much," Luke knew me too well.


    "I changed my mind," I picked a rose from the ground.


    It was true that I would rather spend my time indoors to relax on the couch while stuffing myself with desserts. I rarely visited the garden since I was used to how everything was perfectly arranged. What was I supposed to do with a bunch of flowers?


    "Let me go!" Eliza''s muffled voice came from the bushes.


    "Is there someone there?" Luke stiffened when he heard her voice.


    "How would anyone pass through the gates?" I avoided his eyes.


    This was bad. I could already see he was contemplating on whether to return to the mansion. His eyes were full of suspicion as I brightly smiled to cover for her mistake. There was no way Luke would leave them alone for trespassing his house.


    "Let me see him!" Eliza rustled the bushes.


    "Keep it down! He''s going to figure out at this rate," I spun to their direction after blocking the camera with my hand.


    "Figure out what Rika?" He heard my voice.


    My jaw almost dropped as I forgot to mute myself. At least there was no physical proof of them here. I could make up anything I wanted as long as it made sense. I continued to smile like nothing was wrong, "nothing. There''s nothing for you to figure out."


    "It was just one of the servants," I quickly made up an excuse.


    "I didn''t place any of the servants in the garden at this time," his eyes narrowed.


    "It was one of the servants'' pets that can talk!" I recalled how some animals here were very intelligent.


    "And none of the servants has pets," he pointed out how they were all highly programmed robots.


    "What if I said I was just escorting some unexpected visitors out?" I gave up.


    I stiffened when the girl wasn''t able to hold her sister down anymore. Eliza popped up from the bushes right where the camera could record her. Wearing servant uniforms, they seemed more suspicious than ever. Her sister joined her as she jumped at her to bring her back down. It was obvious Luke was thinking of them as trespassers now as they used the same thinking I had to leave the mansion.


    "I know them. They''re from the third district where we had our first mission!" I decided to reveal.


    Luke seemed to recall Eliza, who had followed him the closest in front of the other girls. His crazy fan who admired him with all her fantasies inside her head. He had no way of knowing she was the one behind the prank as I decided to keep it hidden.


    "Your crazy stalker fan followed you all the way here to the point she figured out the servant''s uniforms," I sighed.

 Chapter 344 - Fantasies are Not Reality (4)

    "Do you still remember me?" Eliza dumbly ran up to the screen.


    Her sister sighed from the back. It appeared she had given up on trying to keep Eliza down as everything was almost exposed. I did know that both of them had to be from the first district since they could use more than basic mana spells. However, it was odd that she didn''t consider that the Roselia family wouldn''t let them off for this.


    "We''ll be able to meet again soon, right? I almost spent all my allowance on trying to get these uniforms and get information on how to meet you!" She didn''t hesitate to reveal how she followed him here.


    "She followed you here," I summarized what she said when Luke was still silent.


    I placed all the blame on him for not rejecting her better. Luke couldn''t hide his repulsion against her as he frowned. It was like he was stunned that someone forgone all the common etiquette, even committing a crime in the process. I pushed Eliza closer to the screen, showing that I had nothing to do with this.


    "You do know you have broken the law," he warned her to leave before he placed any charges.


    "Laws don''t matter in love," she continued to admire his otherworldly appearance.


    Luke began to enter his hover call while the call continued. I froze as I didn''t clean up all my comic books near the balcony. It wouldn''t be long until he arrived. I couldn''t just run into the mansion to place all my things inside my inventory or he would notice something was wrong. Out of all the days, why did she have to trespass today?


    "Don''t end the call Rika," he watched us inside his hover car.


    "Is the gate closed?" Luke asked me to check.


    "I don''t know," I ran towards the gate.


    I stopped, seeing the gates was wide open for anyone to enter. I couldn''t believe they didn''t close the gates afterwards. The barrier was basically useless if the enchanted gates were open. It only protected the area around the mansion. It couldn''t be that they didn''t close the gates as it would cut off their escape route.


    "Eliza!" Someone entered the mansion grounds.


    "You can''t just trespass here. What are you going to do if the Roselia family figures out?" He tried to drag her out.


    "And this is?" I asked the girl.


    "Our cousin," she sighed.


    "They already know! He''s already seeing me through the screen," Eliza pointed where I stood.


    His jaw almost dropped as he immediately recognized us as part of the Roselia family. Instead of trying to persuade Eliza to leave, he switched his target to me. He grabbed my wrist, "I''m sorry but I think you have to come with us. We need you so nothing happens to Eliza. Elise, help me get your sister out of here."


    Elise, getting his hint, grabbed her sister and started to drag her out of the gates with as much force as possible. Their cousin closed the gates after we were all out of the mansion grounds. I pretended I couldn''t break his grasp when it was easily loose enough for me to get out with not much effort. Meanwhile, Eliza followed my screen that moved with me.


    I could go somewhere else, maybe join one of my friends on their vacation. I knew they just wanted me to stay with them for a bit to pretend I was their hostage. Luke manually pressed the accelerator, seeing me enter another hover car as their cousin lightly pushed me inside. Before the hover car lifted in the air, he pressed the button on the screen to end the call.


    "Where are we going?" I excitedly turned to them.


    "Our house," Elise shot an apologetic glance.


    "I''m sorry that you have to come with us," her cousin added.


    "No, I''m fine. I just hope you won''t get caught. I''ll put the location tracker on my marble off," I volunteered.


    "She''s weird," Eliza grumbled.


    I happily hummed while putting the tracker off. I would put all the blame on them if I ended up returning to the mansion. I would tell him that I tried to resist going with them as I pretended to struggle against their cousin. There was nothing Luke could do if I didn''t leave the mansion willingly. Even the tracker would be all their fault since they didn''t want to get caught.


    The hover car started to drift down to the ground at a middle-class area. It was a similar place to where my hideout was located with the tall apartment buildings. The clouds swirled around the building, making it appear magical with some rainbows in between them. I looked forward to living how the normal family lived in the first district for some time.


    "What floor?" My eyes glittered.


    "The fortieth floor," Elise answered while the hover car was just above their balcony.


    I lightly stepped on the solid floor after their cousin offered me a hand. I gasped as I studied the interior of their house. This was what I expected from the first district. The walls had a setting that it could be solid or transparent with a switch. Robots filled their house to either clean or to make their meals. A large virtual TV screen was also present with some game consoles. There was actual decent entertainment here!

 Chapter 345 - Fantasies are Not Reality (5)

    "Thank you for bringing me here," I was about to cry.


    Many light novels and romance comic books were also present in the virtual library. Unique decorations and objects that resembled the ones I found at the mall before I bought those candles were also here. Like the perfume that made a certain area smell like roses all the time. Or the ceiling and lighting changing all the time to fit the mood.


    I wouldn''t have to go to the gaming centre in the second district anymore with all those games that appeared on the screen before entering the virtual world. This place was heaven. I could also smell some greasy pizza popping out of a robot like they had ordered one in advance. I was so glad I decided to follow them.


    "Can I stay here forever?" I spun to thank them again.


    "Don''t you also have these things in that big mansion?" Eliza crossed her arms.


    "We don''t. We don''t have a single thing like these things here. They don''t exist," I grabbed both of her hands, almost in tears.


    "I want to play this game," I lifted up a console.


    "Can you show me how to use it?" I looked at the three of them.


    "It''s pretty simple," Elise started to introduce me to how to use all the features.


    My eyes glittered as I observed how the TV screen showed what she did inside the game. This was what I was missing out on the entire time. I started to thank Eliza for breaking in so many times that she stayed at least a metre away from me, sick of my gratitude. Before I decided to enter the game, I melted under the taste of the oily cheese inside my mouth. Pizza was a great luxury that I only had eaten once in my entire life before this.


    "This is so good," I couldn''t stop praising this place.


    "Can I live here forever?" I turned to them.


    Their eyes widened as I ended up finishing all the pizza on my own. I also ate the fries and chicken wings they had ordered afterwards. Actual tears dripped down my cheeks from joy as they wondered what kind of life I had lived until now. There were so many things I wanted to try out here. I just didn''t know where to start.


    I decided to start off by entering the game. Completely immersed in the RPG game to defeat the demon king in that world. I couldn''t exit from the game, making Elise worry for me that I was getting addicted. She sent me a bunch of messages that I should get out of the game to eat dinner. Dinner was noodles dipped in various sauces, another food I was fond of in my former life.


    But I couldn''t place the headgear out of my head until Elise had to forcefully turn the console off. I pouted as I dragged myself to the dinner table. The game was like nothing I had experienced before. I was just getting a hang of leveling up every few minutes. However, I couldn''t help but soften from the delicious food, making me forgive Elise.


    "You have to sleep Rika," Elise wouldn''t allow me to enter the game again.


    "I have to level up," I pulled out the most pitiful eyes I had from my acting skills.


    "I''m almost done defeating a goblin!" I argued.


    "Please? Only one more hour?" I clasped my hands together.


    "That''s what everyone says at first," Eliza agreed with her sister.


    "Please? Only thirty more minutes?" I started to negotiate.


    Elise sighed as she passed the headgear to me. I brightly smiled like she was an angel as I quickly began to get addicted to the game. I had purchased a bunch of armour and some swords to get to the next dungeon. Everyone sent me so many presents, being friendly to the newcomer. Did I ever have to leave such a paradise for a horrible world?


    It was easy for me to level up as some of the skills from real life was transferred. My role was a hero as I soon formed a party with other people for some of my athletic skills that I was able to replicate from dance. This world was everything I imagined that the futuristic first district would possess. I groaned, not willing to have Elise take away the headgear for the second time after she turned it off again.


    "Rika!" Elise pointed at the time.


    "Just a few more hours!" I wasn''t willing to part from the headgear.


    "Please," I began to have tears well up in my eyes.


    "I don''t know when I''ll ever be able to play this game again in my lifetime. This is my only chance. Luke doesn''t let me near these things. He doesn''t have anything like this in his mansion!" I tightly hugged the console.


    "I can''t Rika. It''s already been five hours!" Elise opened the curtains with a button.


    The sunshine burned my eyes. The sun was indeed an enemy to people like us. This was why I had blinds in my room in my former life. I squinted my eyes as I backed away from the window. I didn''t need sleep, I needed to level up. I was just about to evolve before she turned the game off. I hissed as I tried to search for a place with some shade.

 Chapter 346 - Fantasies are Not Reality (6)

    "Noooo," I was being dragged on the ground as Elise tried to separate me from the headgear.


    Elise grabbed onto the headgear on one end to shake me off it. Meanwhile, Eliza watched us like I was hopeless. When their cousin walked into their house, wondering who was causing all the commotion, he noticed us fighting over the machine.


    "Rika, Elise is right. It''s been more than thirteen hours," he couldn''t believe I was still at it.


    "But I still have to level up," I wasn''t going to give this game up.


    I knew this was a bad habit of mine that crossed over from my past life. Once I was obsessed with something, I couldn''t stop until I achieved the goal I wanted. This was why my mom had to threaten me that she would throw away all my otaku goods if I didn''t start seriously studying for the SATs before I died.


    "They''ve been at this for two hours," Eliza complained.


    "I don''t know what to do," Elise faced her cousin.


    "Just one more hour! I still need to defeat this dungeon," I repeated the same sentence that I have been saying for the past hour.


    "You need to eat!" Their cousin tried to reason with me.


    "Eating is for losers. People who can''t level up," I argued.


    "She''s addicted, isn''t she?" Eliza asked her sister.


    "She is," Elise sighed.


    I couldn''t help but feel desperate. With all the resources the Roselia family possessed, it wouldn''t be long until they found a clue where I was. Once I was taken back to the mansion, I didn''t know when I would be ever able to play these games again. This was my only chance unlike those fortunate people who had their own game consoles inside their house.


    "Please?" My face was drenched with tears.


    "Didn''t you say you wanted to try out the other things as well?" Elise reminded me.


    Elise tried a new approach by showing me all the comic and light novels available through the virtual library. It was true that I had wanted to go through their entire collection before. But I could access them when I visited my parents in the third district later on. I gulped as her offer did seem tempting.


    "If you eat breakfast then you can access both the games and the books," she asked for the headgear.


    I nodded my head as my stomach grumbled in response. I reluctantly separated from the console, joining them at the dining table. Breakfast was fancy pancakes with tons of strawberries on top of mine. I smiled as I poured an entire bottle of maple syrup over mine as the three of them froze from the sight.


    After eating the pancakes and feeling it wasn''t enough, I ended up directly drinking the bottle of syrup as the three of them turned from the sight. Four empty bottles of syrup were placed on the table as their jaws almost dropped. This place was heaven. I could eat all the junk food I wanted with no one to stop me.


    "The headgear?" I turned to Elise.


    "I think you should sleep first," she backed away from me.


    "Sleep is a waste of time," I brightly smiled.


    "Elise is right," her cousin supported her.


    I used my mana to speed towards her to grab the console away from her hands. As soon as I had the headgear in my hands, I sprinted away from her and placed a barrier around myself. Now she couldn''t put the game off until I let my guard down. I placed the console over my head as I entered the game world again.


    I wore a simple t-shirt and jeans under my armour as my avatar. I smiled as I swung my sword in the air. I was starting to get used to how to move my body here. I waved at my teammates before preparing to enter another dungeon. We were walking inside a cave until we walked down the stairs into lower floors.


    "You''re always active these days," One of my teammates commented.


    "Eating and sleeping is a waste of time," I shrugged.


    "I see," he quickly turned away.


    I did admit I was a little hardcore once I became addicted to the feeling of leveling up. It was just that I felt like I was the protagonist in all those comic books I read based on the world in the future. All the struggles they went through to level up and all the cheats they got while getting their own harem.


    "I''ll get my harem one day!" I shouted with one of my arms raised.


    I lifted my arms to slash a goblin. I happily skipped to pick up a mana core as I placed it into my game inventory. Why couldn''t real life be this easy? Monsters in the first district only caused disaster and pain.


    I opened my status screen to see how all my skills and blessed equipment has increased from my fights. I laughed as it wouldn''t be long until I would get to buy some better healing potions to get closer to the demon king''s castle. Being here made me forget the pain of real life. I wasn''t Rika de Impalia Roselia here. I was just a normal player who tried to defeat demons with other players. There were no expectations for me to act a certain way, I was just Rika.

 Chapter 347 - Fantasies are Not Reality (7)

    "Muimeme, you''re so cute, please let me take more pictures!" I got my camera out of my item box.


    Muimeme was one of my team members in exploring the dungeons. I had to get her to join my harem. I swept up my hair, being the gorgeous ikemen that I was. Her cute long twin pigtails were the definition of a sweet loli in her adorable medieval style outfit. She pouted while I began to take more pictures like whenever I found her in a limited-edition pose.


    "I''m wondering who you are in real life," she frowned.


    "It''s kind of a shame, but the most gorgeous ikemen you can find," I pretended my beauty was a sin.


    "Yea right!" She kicked my shin again.


    My vision flickered as I wondered why I wasn''t in the game world anymore after looking at the ceiling. I groaned as I never knew I would end up fainting inside the game. I felt extremely lightheaded as my barrier immediately shattered in the process. Elise ended up hiding the console away from me as the time passed onto the next day. In front of me were more plates of comfort food to lure me into eating.


    "You were inside the game for two whole days," Elise sighed.


    "I want to return," I dreamed of defeating another dungeon close to the demon king''s castle.


    I poured five bags of sugar onto all the food on the plates. I would need all the energy possible to not faint while playing the game again. It was almost past half of the week that Luke promised that we would be going to the third district together. But did I want to leave this place to the dull third district where I wouldn''t ever get to play these games again?


    "I still need to take more pictures of Muimeme," I started to imagine her in other poses.


    "What kind of life did you live until now?" Their cousin wondered.


    "You never touched these common games, all these entertainment books or the shows," he continued.


    "I was forced to study my life away. All those things didn''t exist in my partner''s mansion. Not a single TV screen, books, shows to watch. Nothing," I sighed.


    "So please one more hour. I need to gather my harem," I found a new objective while exploring the dungeons.


    "Harem?" Everyone appeared confused.


    "Muimeme is so cute. Her puffy cheeks whenever she gets upset and her sweet voice! She''s the definition of the tsundere type. I also need to gather more elegant, lovely and little-sister like types to add to my harem," I listed out the ones that were left.


    "If we meet in real life, we may even go through the yuri route together," I began to imagine what it would be like.


    "Is she still sane?" Eliza commented.


    "I don''t know," Elise watched me still in my daydreams.


    "Let''s go Muimeme! Thank you Muimeme for existing," I raised my hand.


    "She''s definitely out of her mind," Eliza rolled her eyes.


    "Muimeme is the cutest girl in the world!" I argued when the three of them sighed at me.


    I froze when they were looking at me, a beautiful bishoujo obsessing over a game character. I knew they were thinking that I would be a cuter one in real life with my delicate appearance. But it was no good if you were the actual cute character itself, it was annoying. I would rather fawn over others rather than people adoring me for my appearance.


    Sometimes, Muimeme would agree to wear the clothes I bought for her in the item store. Her slightly droopy eyes added to her charm as I continued to purchase more. It was nice when you were on the other end of dressing other people. It was similar to how I couldn''t stop smiling when I was buying some clothes for my classmates to cross-dress into.


    "Muimeme isn''t a real person Rika," Elise tried to shatter my fantasies.


    "She''s real as long as I think she is," I widely smiled.


    "Muimeme," I clasped my hands together.


    "Thank you for existing," I brought myself into worship.


    "Can''t we just return her?" Eliza was starting to get annoyed.


    "You know we can''t. We don''t know if the Roselia family will let us off," their cousin shook his head.


    "I can stay here forever," I agreed.


    I wanted to continue living this life where I wouldn''t have to do anything. I got three plentiful meals where I could choose what I wanted to eat the way I wanted. There was also a comfy couch to sit on while going through the virtual library full of the next series of what I wanted to read. I also had all the time to catch up on sleep or play games in the virtual world. What was there not to like about here?


    Eliza frowned as she desperately started to think of other ideas. While I continued to read another comic book from the game console being confiscated for now, she still appeared like she was deep in her thoughts. She finally raised her head when she found a solution.


    "Wouldn''t be fine if they broke their engagement?" Eliza began to get excited from her idea.


    "I''m in! I''m in!" I raised my hand.


    "You can marry Luke while I can stay here. We can switch places!" I high fived with her.

 Chapter 348 - Fantasies are Not Reality (8)

    "I didn''t think it would be this easy," Eliza seemed shocked.


    "Why not? I don''t want to marry him in the future while you''re willing to go through all the struggles to marry him," I couldn''t understand what was bad about this deal.


    "What''s not to like about marrying into the Roselia family?" She grinned, obsessing over Luke''s looks.


    "They are one of the wealthiest families, imagine all that power in your hands. Plus, Luke is so dreamy. I can still remember how he talked to me a few days ago," she lightly slapped my arm.


    "Well I think you''ll be fine. Love can overcome everything," I encouraged her.


    "What do you mean?" Her mood suddenly chilled.


    "You love him. You can sacrifice everything for him while I can''t," I tried to keep things as vague as possible.


    I didn''t want her to change her mind. If she could save me from the Roselia family, we would both benefit from the deal. I needed to tread on this topic as carefully as possible to not reveal the harsh reality behind everything.


    "If you tell me, I''ll give you back the game console. I want to know how my life will be like with Luke," she offered me a deal.


    Well, if it was like that, maybe it wasn''t so bad to tell her what I''ve been through. It was definitely not because I wanted to take more pictures of Muimeme and increase my harem. My aim in that game was to conquer more dungeons to defeat the demon king.


    "As partners we go to school together. It starts in the morning where he wakes me at around 5:30 AM these days to eat breakfast and get ready for school. After our thirty plus hours of classes finishes, he drags me to another study session with him for twelve hours," I decided to reveal my schedule.


    "You can''t choose what to eat, drink or what clothes you can wear too. If you don''t get permission from Luke, you won''t even have access to them in the first place. Do you think you would be able to eat these kinds of things? These kinds of food don''t exist on his menu," I sadly smiled.


    "I''m sure there are more luxurious meals and clothes," she refuted.


    "Yes. More salads and rubbery seafood or meat. Or plain yogurts alongside bland soup," I remembered the menu.


    "And the more beautiful the clothes, the more painful they are. Didn''t you see what I wore when I first came into this house? Did you ever consider how painful it would be to wear a dress with such a tight waist? Even the shoes are stiff and uncomfortable," I happily wore a onesie now.


    "You can try them on," I passed my past dress to her.


    "But it''s so pretty," she admired the dress.


    Eliza appeared more like a doll than ever before. Her figure was slender as an hourglass as the dress emphasised her features. However, she couldn''t walk in my dress as the ribbons all tied up in the back made her groan in pain. You had to walk with the perfect posture to be able to move with how the dress was designed.


    "You look really pretty," I gave her a thumb up.


    "I can''t wear this," she seemed to regret her actions.


    "You also need to try the shoes," I handed them to her.


    "I can''t!" Eliza clenched her fists.


    "Why not? Didn''t you say you wanted to try them? You have to at least endure this for the sake of your love," I pushed her to accept the shoes.


    "If it''s the clothes and shoes, maybe it''s not that bad," Elize couldn''t sit down with both my dress and dress shoes on.


    She struggled to move with her posture slightly off by one degree. Recently these were the clothes Luke forced me to wear if I wasn''t in my school uniform. He noticed I was starting to slouch a lot, getting lazy to fix my posture while he constantly warned me to fix it. This was why he replaced all the clothes in my closet with these dresses instead to make sure my posture would always be proper.


    "You look like the fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family," I clapped my hands to praise her.


    "I need help in putting these off," Eliza turned to Elise.


    It ended up taking them an entire hour to separate Eliza from the dress and shoes. All those petty buttons and complex ribbons weren''t easy to unravel. By the time they were finished, both of them were panting with sweat covering their foreheads. This was the pitiful life I lived with Luke, not having a choice to wear these things every single day.


    "You looked really pretty in the dress," I hoped she wouldn''t change her mind.


    "If this is all, I can handle it," she proudly flipped her hair.


    "There''s more. Didn''t you want to know?" I asked.


    "Tell me," she placed the headgear in front of me.


    "You can''t go anywhere without his permission as well. He will watch over you and check up on you frequently. You remember that call, right? But it''ll be fine since you like him taking care of you," I added the last part to make it seem more appealing.


    "He can''t do that all the time," she didn''t believe me.

 Chapter 349 - Fantasies are Not Reality (9)

    "Why not? He has the power," I tiled my head in confusion.


    "But my Luke is just taking care of people. Especially you who instantly got addicted like you were willing to die from playing games for your entire life," Eliza was still a hardcore fan of him.


    "I''m only on the edge of what he does," I shook my head.


    This was a good chance to get all my feelings out. My chest was already starting to feel even lighter as I exposed my horrible situation. All the luxuries here, everything they have taken for granted weren''t present in my life.


    "How about you show us?" Eliza brought a memorila with her.


    "Do you have any memories you would rather forget?" Her cousin stopped her.


    "This memorial isn''t sophisticated like the others you may be used to. Unwanted memories may return to you throughout the next two weeks," he explained.


    "It''s fine," I was willing to share my memories.


    I was wondering what it would be like to use the memorila with other people. Maybe we would sit in the movie theatre together. If this was what I needed in exchange for the headgear, it was a small price. I wrapped my hands around hers and Elise also joined with me. Meanwhile, their cousin agreed to watch over us while we were inside.


    The next time I opened my eyes, I found myself already sitting in one of the seats. The big screen flashed as it waited for us to pick which memory to watch. I never knew there was this feature as my memories randomly played last time. I scrolled through some of the options, trying to choose the least painful one. Eliza couldn''t see the ones about the fairies or the monsters.


    "How about this one?" I clicked the scene of my ordinary life in school.


    The screen immediately changed gears as it showed the time where Luke was burning all my otaku goods. I frowned, finding this was not the best scene to start off with. Their eyes were glued to me, wailing on the ground while picking up the remains that slipped through my fingers.


    "How many times did I tell you Rika? You need to stop reading these books," Luke started to lecture me.


    "It doesn''t do anything to your family name?" I spun to yell at him.


    "I told you that it won''t be long until others figure out," he ignored my argument.


    "Go change, you need to go to the study room to catch up on some materials," he passed me my uniform.


    "I don''t want to," I glared at him.


    "Your time at the caf¨¦ may be gone. You know this will be hard for the both of us," he began to threaten me.


    "I''ll go," I had to prevent myself from slamming my door.


    However, the door still made a big sound since I couldn''t control my strength. After I changed into my uniform, he waited for me on the couch like he was about to start another lecture. I sighed with the anger disappearing from my eyes, wanting to get this over with.


    "What did I tell you?" He lightly tapped his foot while he waited for me to answer.


    "I shouldn''t have closed the door that loudly," I started off by apologizing.


    "You''re not going to the caf¨¦ today. Walk to the door and practice closing the door lightly," he stared at me coldly.


    I gritted my teeth as I walked back to my door to close it gently. When I walked to the couch for him to get up to go to the study room together, he gestured for me to repeat closing the door. My fists were clenched as I walked back and forth to close the door for three whole hours. His lecture would get more intense if I didn''t listen to him.


    "We can go to the study room now," he finally got up.


    Like there was a chain pulling me down, I followed him into the study room. When I turned to see what Eliza thought of it, my shoulders slumped as more of her delusions began to shatter. I found myself opening the thick workbooks as Luke stringently watched over me. They watched me never taking a break while Luke assigned more work once I was close to finishing the current set.


    "Sit up properly Rika," he noticed my perfect posture beginning to waver.


    "Just a minute," I complained.


    "Sit up properly," his eyes switched to warn me.


    "Thirty more seconds," I wanted to relax for a bit.


    "Rika!" He narrowed his eyes.


    Luke ended up increasing our study session the more I refused to maintain my posture. I rubbed my eyes while hiding my yawn, turning my face the other way. I wanted to cover my ears as he explained why image was so important to the Roselia family. This was why the study session was getting longer from all his naggings.


    "There''s certain etiquette you can''t forgo," he continued his lecture.


    "I get it! I get it!" I was about to go insane.


    "You can stop now," I was on the edge of covering my ears.


    "Your shoulders aren''t aligned at a 180-degree angle," he managed to point out another error.


    "Your neck shouldn''t also be bending down this much compared to the rest of your body," he searched for more things to point out.

 Chapter 350 - Fantasies are Not Reality (10)

    "I have you take you with me to this event today," Luke held a dress for me to wear.


    "Can''t you go alone?" I was still inside my blankets.


    "It''s a mandatory meeting led by Haruka," Luke tried to pull away my blankets.


    "It''s not even 5AM yet," I wasn''t willing to let go of my blankets.


    "I can''t leave you alone when most of the people I can trust are also going to this event," Luke sighed.


    I wondered why, today out of all the days, all the four fractions we were in, decided to create an event for them to collaborate on something together. It couldn''t be it was because Luke and I were in all of them, they were becoming closer to each other. Their political agendas had to be different since they were all on the different ends on that spectrum.


    Luke began to pull on my arms to drag me out of the bed. He also helped me change into a gorgeous silky dress that drifted down my legs. Unnecessary accessories were added to my hair, neck and wrists. He gave me the most uncomfortable long boots with small heels on the bottom. Eliza looked at the dress in a whole other way, being inside one of them before.


    "You can''t leave the venue. You also can''t touch any of the food and you have to stay around the people in our inner circle. If you want to rest, you''ll have to come to me and I''ll ask for a spare room," Luke went over everything he could think of at the moment.


    "Otherwise, you''ll have to stay next to my side if you break any of these rules. Do you understand Rika?" He checked with me.


    "I really can''t eat anything?" My stomach grumbled from missing breakfast and dinner last night.


    "You know it has to do with the power play," he repeated that same sentence multiple times.


    I started to relax once I separated from him inside the banquet hall. I walked to Sienna, seeing she was hungry as well. We nodded our heads together as we tried to come up with a plan to sneak in some bites of the delicious strawberry shortcake. I silently tried to pick up a fork while looking around if anyone was watching.


    However, I froze, dropping my fork when Luke spun to where I was, the buffet table. Sienna started to pity me as he grabbed my hand to drag me to his side. For the entire time at the event, he kept a close eye on me, not letting me out of his sight for more than a meter away. My cheeks hurt from all those fake smiles as I wasn''t interested in how everyone was curious about the rumors of the Roselia and Nuelle families working on something together.


    "Rika," he turned to me when I took a tiny step back.


    I miserably nodded my head as I took a step forward from his warnings. I didn''t even break any of his rules, touching the fork didn''t count. Before the scene started to get worse from me begging him to not drop by his mansion, I quickly turned the screen off. Unfortunately, Eliza was already starting to look at me in a new light.


    "It''s not that bad," I hoped her love would be strong enough.


    We blinked, waking up from using the memorila, getting up from laying down on the carpeted floors together. I unconsciously hugged myself, trying to convince myself that I was fine now since I was here with them. Eliza groaned as she stretched her arms while her fantasies of Luke had shattered from the experience.


    "Luke likes taking care of people," she didn''t believe her own words.


    "He does, you guys will be perfect together," I added.


    "It''ll get better after we marry each other," she tried to convince herself.


    I guiltily turned away from her as I remembered the contract that they wanted me to sign before our marriage together. I held out my hands as I slightly looked up at her to give me the head gear. Eliza, who noticed I was still hiding things, narrowed her eyes to tell me to spit the rest out.


    "It''s nothing much," I gestured for her to give me the console.


    "Only this last thing," she placed it behind her back.


    "The Roselia family has a requirement that anybody who marries into the family signs a contract," I decided to keep things as vague as possible.


    "What''s in that contract?" she waited for me to continue.


    "You just need some permission from the Roselia family for some things. You know just most of the stuff you already saw after you graduate from school. It''s just in the longer term with a little bit more restrictions. But you love him, don''t you? These kinds of things don''t matter to you," I hoped it wouldn''t matter to her.


    "You mean the Roselia family will control your entire future," Elise gasped, realizing what their intentions were.


    "Eliza doesn''t care about these kinds of things. You and Luke will be perfect for each other. You don''t like playing these games anyways. You said you liked the food he ate. You guys have the same tastes!" I tried to hush Elise.


    "I don''t know," Eliza muttered.


    "I think I''ll need to think about this," she wavered.

 Chapter 351 - I Didnt Want to Know (1)

    "I think we should let Rika go now as an exchange for us being free from any charges," their cousin pointed out.


    Eliza, the person who was obsessed with Luke, had her fantasies shattered. She was the only one holding them back, hoping she could use me in the future. I almost dropped the game console in my hands since I didn''t want to go back.


    "We should call him first," Elise turned to me.


    "Just one more day here?" I clasped my hands together.


    "We can''t, there''s already too many people looking for you," she turned on the news.


    My jaw almost dropped as I saw my most recent portrait on the screen. I was wearing my school uniform, holding the trophy from the competition. The only reason why nobody discovered my current location was from me never stepping a single foot outside his apartment. Only their cousin went in and out of the building. Our tracks were also mostly hidden from using a hover car that erased all their data afterwards.


    This was done for security purposes since other people could use this information to kidnap young children from powerful families. Luke must have been pretty desperate in trying to find me as he tried to keep my exposure to the media as minimal as possible. All the pictures of me taken in the second district were also taken down immediately after they found me.


    "I''ll call," I didn''t want to get them in trouble.


    I sighed before punching in his number. I slapped my cheeks as I needed my acting skills more than ever. Luke instantly picked up the call, trying to get a view where I currently was from the objects around me. This was why Elise had already closed all their curtains, getting a sense of how Luke thought from my memories.


    I passed my marble to their cousin as he decided to negotiate everything. I really didn''t want to leave this place, but I could visit my parents right after this. I listened to the news changing topics as it showed that the travel between the first and third districts were open again. Their cousin took a deep breath before facing Luke, "we''ll return her at an agreed spot if you don''t press any charges against us and let us go."


    "I''ll trace the call," Ben mouthed to Luke in the background.


    "We''ll talk after you return Rika to us," Luke clasped his fingers together.


    "Then we can end the call now before you can trace us," he threatened them.


    "Where?" Luke narrowed his eyes.


    "Near the closest mall from your mansion," he seemed to have already decided.


    "Swear on your family crest that you won''t place any charges on us," his hands nervously trembled.


    "Both of you in this call," he noticed Ben.


    My head started to oddly throb while I listened to their conversation. My vision wobbled while colours stretched to create strips of my surroundings. A big thump was heard as they all turned to see me collapse onto the floor. I panted, cold sweat coming from my head, trembling warm hands that couldn''t be stopped. My consciousness slipped away from me as I could hear Luke agree to their demands immediately after noticing my poor condition.


    When I opened my eyes again, I found myself already inside the Roselia family mansion. I wondered what happened while I was asleep. But I froze when I found a younger version of Luke, the appearance of when I first met him in kindergarten, standing in front of me. He was a really cute child back then as I looked at him in a new perspective.


    "This is your fianc¨¦e. You''ll have to take care of her as your future bride," Luke''s grandfather held me in his arms.


    I found the sleeping Rika leaning forward towards Luke as his grandfather bent down to show me to him. I gasped as this was where that memory had stopped last time. She tussled in his arms, feeling uncomfortable. Luke''s face had no emotion as he stared at her, wondering when she would wake up.


    "She''s going to stay with us for a month before you enter school together," he explained.


    When Rika opened her eyes, she instantly started to cry since only unfamiliar people were around her. She didn''t know where this foreign place was, she just wanted to see her parents and her younger twin brother. Luke watched her loudly cry, tears and snot running down from her face. He wondered why she acted like she wasn''t even one year old yet.


    "I want to go back to mommy," she sniffled.


    "Bring me to mommy," she looked at Luke''s grandfather for help.


    "I''m going to leave her here for you guys to get familiar with one another," his grandfather placed her down onto the couch.


    He warmly smiled before shutting the door behind him. Luke, awkwardly stood in the middle of the room, wondering how to handle the crying girl in front of him. He never encountered something like this before. His cousins weren''t like this as well.


    "Nothing will change even if you cry," he pointed out to Rika.


    "I want mommy!" Rika glared at him before continuing to wail on the floors.


    Rika thought that her mom would fetch her soon. She was just a little late today. If she cried for her attention again, she would immediately come running to her as usual. Luke covered his ears as Rika didn''t stop crying until she went back to sleep again from exhaustion. He wondered how he was supposed to go to school with her in the future. She would only be an annoyance if she always behaved like this.

 Chapter 352 - I Didnt Want to Know (2)

    I was inside the hover car as Elise worriedly watched over me when I woke up from a few of my memories coming back. I was drenched in my own sweat, shivering from the cold air coming from the ventilation. This was bad. If Luke noticed that I was slightly sick, there was no way he would let me visit my parents.


    "Do you have some napkins?" I turned to her.


    "Here''s a towel," Elise offered to me.


    I tried to wipe off all the sweat on my body and got her to cover me while I changed into the same dress I came into their house with. I took some deep breaths to stabilize my overall breathing as my head throbbed from the side effects of using that memorila. I held onto one of the handles, regretting that I showed them what happened rather than explaining it through words. Elise gave me a bottle of water as the hover car started to drift near the mall.


    I could already see both Luke and Ben waiting for us on the ground. They were trying to keep this inconspicuous as possible since this was a public place. When they saw Elise from the windows, they walked towards where the hover car was about to land. Elise''s cousin opened the door as I carefully stepped onto the ground.


    "Here is Rika as we promised," he was interrupted.


    Luke immediately stepped to pull me in his arms, blaming them for everything. He ignored Eliza and her cousin and began to walk away, feeling disgusted to be in the same space as them. I guessed he was upholding his promise as Ben glanced at them one last time before following Luke. He frowned when he noticed my wet hands, full of sweat. My eyes were still glassy from recently waking up.


    "I didn''t leave the mansion because I wanted to," I wanted to make sure that he knew.


    "I know, we''ll tighten the security on our end. We already reworked the gates," he lightly held my back as we walked into our own hover car together.


    "I won''t ever leave you alone like I did that day," his voice slightly trembled.


    "It''s not your fault," I didn''t want him to continue those thoughts.


    "Rika is right. How could you have predicted that someone would break in your mansion by paying someone for the last three months to perfectly replicate the servant''s uniform outside the gate by observing them when they could?" Ben added.


    "I''m sure this will never happen again," I hoped he would still give me some private space as before.


    "What did they feed you?" Luke noticed me still shivering.


    "Your blood pressure is extremely high. It''s like you drank three litres of pure sugar. And your blood circulation is not normal like you were fed artificial oils that would clog it," Luke guessed the kind of food I ate during the last few days.


    "Nothing much. I don''t remember what I ate," I lied.


    "When we arrive at the mansion, you''ll have to spit everything out," Luke frowned.


    What? I didn''t want to eat or drink whatever kind of medicine he was thinking inside his head. Everyone else who ate these kinds of food were perfectly healthy. Although I did admit I overdosed on the sugar by pouring it into all the food I ate. But it tasted so good, unlike anything I have had before.


    "I''m sure it''s not that bad," I pushed him away from figuring out more.


    "This is pretty serious Rika," Ben agreed with Luke as he studied my body with a mana spell.


    "I''m not going to the infirmary again," I didn''t like that room.


    The infirmary was almost like my new bedroom these days. Hooked up to all those machines, doors locked, and windows closed. The smell of medicine filling my nose as the pain that came from the side effects made my head throb. However, I couldn''t regret the time I had spent there, conquering dungeons and making new friends.


    "You''ll get better within a day," Ben tried to comfort me.


    "Only a day?" I tugged on Luke''s sleeve.


    "We''ll see. If you can''t get better then we''ll cancel the rest of our plans," he subtly hinted that I would obediently have to take everything to visit my parent''s house.


    I nodded my head as he continued to study me with Ben. I bit my lip, finding that I couldn''t hide how sick I appeared. But at least I was still able to hide some things from him like entering the virtual world.


    "What did you do there? Your entire body is exhausted like you haven''t slept for days," he continued to accurately guess everything.


    "I was given a memorila to use. They told me it wasn''t as sophisticated like the ones I was used to and that I would get some side effects from it," I revealed what mostly made me into this mess.


    Luke''s eyes widened, checking my body more thoroughly like that machine was truly dangerous more than it seemed. Even Ben went along with him, making me think that there was something wrong with me. However, it was more likely my body was exhausted from gaming too long and that made the other conditions worse with the junk food.


    As soon as the hover car drifted near the ground, I was immediately escorted into the infirmary where they would conduct more detailed tests. I wondered if the Roselia family were almost on the same level as doctors here as his father had determined my condition while they could not. Luke was also the same in how he managed to keep me alive during all those dangerous times.

 Chapter 353 - I Didnt Want to Know (3)

    "Why isn''t mommy coming to get me?" Rika asked one of the tutors.


    "Please focus on solving this problem," the tutor pointed to the next question on the board.


    Tears began to well in her eyes again, for the twentieth time today. The tutor sighed as she didn''t bother to comfort her anymore. She gave up on Rika, only accepting this job for the high pay. The Roselia family wanted quick results to send her to a school in at least the second district. Luke, also ignored her, focusing on solving the different set of questions given to him. He was used to all her crying by now.


    "Can you at least get daddy?" She begged.


    "He can take Rika out of here," she didn''t like this place.


    Rika didn''t like how she was stuck inside the mansion where scary people always kept her giving her more things to study. She didn''t know the concept of studying in the first place. This was why she was surprised when she was forced to sit down in front of a large table. Since the legs of the chair were too high, she swung her legs, not able to get down.


    They kept on giving her more paper with some scribbles on them. The language they spoke was also foreign to her as well. She didn''t know most of what they were saying to her. Only on the first day, the person who carried her had spoken to her in the language she could understand. But as the days went on, she started to understand some of their words from their actions.


    However, what they said to her was too cruel. They just wanted her to sit and focus on pronouncing some words her tongue wouldn''t follow along with her. Rika didn''t know she was learning the common language of the first district back then. She also began to understand what the boy was saying beside her.


    "Nothing will change no matter how much you cry," he repeated every time she cried.


    "They will come for me," Rika was able to utter the words to him after the first week.


    The scene wavered as my head shot up inside the car. The younger version of Luke was cold to her, not thinking what it would be like for her to be separated from her parents for the first time. I leaned against Luke''s shoulder from dizzily wobbling from my memory coming back to me. I hoped he didn''t notice some cold sweat on my hands since he could turn back the car. I breathed in heavy breaths of air as I didn''t dare to look at his face.


    "You don''t look too well," he immediately noticed.


    "I''m fine. I did everything you told me to do yesterday," I argued, placing my hand against my forehead while the other hand pushed his shoulder away.


    He continued to watch me as I tried to maintain my perfect posture to show him that I was fine. Luke couldn''t take me back if there was nothing wrong with me to keep his word. I sighed in relief when the car stopped in front of my house. This time, my parents were expecting me as I had already told them weeks beforehand that I would be coming this week.


    I rang the doorbell as my mother ran to open the door. I held a basket full of rich fruits and flowers from the first district as gifts. Luke didn''t want us to go there empty handed. I pushed my arms towards her to my mom to receive the gift.


    "You didn''t have to," she was reluctant to accept it.


    "We would like it if you accepted it," Luke brilliantly smiled.


    "Then I will," my mom didn''t want to break the good mood.


    "You''re here Rika," My dad placed the newspaper down in the living room.


    "Evan come down! Your sister is here!" he called for my younger brother.


    "I''m coming!" Evan ran down the stairs.


    We all gathered around in the living room since it was late evening. It was a Thursday, meaning that my parents could spend the entire day with me soon when the weekends came. This was part of the reason I took the latter half of the week. We couldn''t make it in the morning as it took time for Luke and Ben to disconnect me from all those machines.


    "We also have some presents for you two," my mom pulled some wrapped boxes out from under the couch.


    "Really!" My eyes started to twinkle.


    "Here is a comfy onesie, the bunny ear one that you said you wanted last time." My mom remembered me, being jealous about how comfortable it would be while Evan talked about how his classmates were obsessed with them these days.


    "I really love it," I hugged it close to me after ripping off the wrapping paper.


    "And this is yours," my mom passed to Luke.


    Luke brightly smiled, unwrapping the box to discover it was a simple fountain pen. My mom studied his expression, not knowing what Luke liked in general. He awkwardly held the pen in his hands as he politely continued to smile to thank her. My mom sighed in relief, seeing he didn''t dislike it as she moved on.


    I knew that Luke liked sparring with his cousin. Or sometimes he liked reading the most recent research books that came out. Another thing he liked was his collection of limited-edition clothes and accessories from exclusive stores. This also expanded to me as well as he made some purchases for me. A fountain pen was nothing to him compared to all the things he owned under his name in the first district.

 Chapter 354 - I Didnt Want to Know (4)

    I quickly changed into the onesie, twirling while facing myself in the mirror. It was extremely comfy while the fabric was smooth and soft. I frowned when I found some red spots faintly appearing at the upper parts of my arms and legs. It probably had to do with all the sugar that Luke couldn''t clean out from yesterday. Although Ben and Luke tried their best, there was only so much they could do within a day.


    I found that this vessel to be very sensitive. Since it didn''t get exposed to those kinds of food early on, it barely had any resistance to it. Luke was right that if I ate anything unfamiliar, I would likely get sick. But this body would get weaker as time passed, only used to eating certain food that wouldn''t aggravate it. This was part of the reason I was so desperate to eat anything else other than the food Luke forced me to eat.


    I didn''t want to eat a single bite of pizza later on, to get extremely sick afterwards. My world of junk and processed foods would completely leave me. This world had much more delicious food to offer than the fancy ones in the first district. I was glad I only wore clothes with long sleeves since I have been strangely feeling cold lately.


    "How is it?" I jumped to show Evan when he came out of his room.


    "You look pretty in everything," he quickly turned his head.


    "Don''t I?" I continued to tease him.


    I stopped when I began to cough from the slightly poor air. It was better than the last time I visited this house. It was also annoying how the quality of air mattered so much to this body. I didn''t know why I was more sensitive to it than Luke was. He didn''t cough as much as me. This body was getting more annoying by the minute.


    "Are you ok?" Evan offered me his hand.


    "I''m fine," I grabbed onto the rails.


    "It''ll get better soon," I wobbled back towards my room.


    I couldn''t stop coughing as it was hard to stop once it started. Maybe I shouldn''t have drank five bottles of maple syrup at their house. I was desperately looking for something sweet to help me with my poor throat. My ears perked as I could also hear Luke coughing in the room next to me. I began to think that this coughing was infectious.


    I knocked on his door to ask for some cough drops. Luke always carried some medicine around. This was how I survived in my parent''s house last time as well. I could already see him drinking a bottle when I opened the door. I sat beside him on his bed, looking at the bottle to ask him for some myself.


    He understood what I was asking for as he pulled out another bottle from his inventory. He passed it to me after opening the lid. I smiled as the cough drops began to work immediately, but it was unfortunate how there was a limit in how many you could drink per day. This was the only medicine I liked since it tasted sweet.


    "Your hands are cold," he held my hands.


    "Aren''t they always?" I looked the other way.


    "Your temperature keeps on changing to the extremes and I can''t bring the medical equipment here to keep it stable," he frowned.


    "I''ll get better soon," I tried to convince him.


    My body couldn''t rely on all those machines forever. It needed to heal on its own to make my immune system more durable. But Luke always got worried when he found anything wrong with me that he resorted to using all those medicines right away. Although I didn''t like getting sick, this was the perfect chance to make my body stronger.


    I rose to walk out of his room before he changed his mind. Maybe I would go downstairs for a bit before I decided to sleep. I wanted to see some TV while I could. I missed watching the news instead of reading it from my tablet. I started to step down a stair as my head suddenly wobbled, making me lose my balance. I could feel myself falling but didn''t have the strength to pick myself up from feeling weaker than usual for the last few days.


    This body was really annoying. As usual from the side effects of using that memorila, I found myself continuing from where it left off from a forgotten portion of this vessel''s memories. I began to pity the young Rika who didn''t stop crying. She played inside the garden as the tutor had finally lost his patience. He gave up on her after she finished the minimal number of worksheets for math for today.


    Meanwhile, Luke watched her from the balcony on top of the garden. He held a light research book, about the size of an a.d.u.l.t''s pocket. Rika liked picking flowers as she imagined that she was a princess. She laughed as she arranged them into a crown and some rings. There were so many pretty flowers she had never seen before.


    Large roses in all the colours of the rainbow, sprouting lilies, tulips and marigolds. She held them all in her hands, admiring their beauty. Luke wondered what was so exciting about some delicate flowers that would die soon after they were picked. It would create more work for the servants to clean her mess later.


    Rika''s eyes sparkled when she found a pretty white flower on top of a green pad near the edge of the glimmering blue lake. This was the only flower she didn''t pick yet. She snapped a tree branch to push the lily pad closer to her. Luke watched her, thinking she would fall into the lake soon with how close she leaned towards the edge.

 Chapter 355 - Belonging (1)

    My parents and Evan eventually arrived to join us, stunned to face the wonderful breeze once they entered the house. Neatly placing their shoes near the entrance, they stared at their surroundings. Almost every area sparked, cleaned to its perfection. I sighed as Luke and Alex were obsessed with making our new space more habitable. I closed the workbooks and rose from the dining room table, enthusiastically about to greet them.


    "When did you arrive?" My mom wondered.


    "Around four hours ago," I recalled.


    "We can show you to your rooms," my mom immediately offered.


    "Isn''t it the usual rooms?" I was confused.


    I walked to follow my family up the stairs, escorting me and Luke to the same rooms we have previously used. Briefly freezing when my dad and Evan began to work together, moving out some of his stuff to make space for Alex''s belongings. Evan''s room was temporarily becoming Alex''s new room while he was to sleep with our parents for the week. However, it was better than one of us sharing a room together as I decided to stay silent.


    As I strolled into my room, I couldn''t help but smile. I had more privacy with the nicely built walls, no doors connecting to anyone''s room. The entire bed was mine, the windows opening to my command. This place was paradise, approaching the stairs once I finished exploring my room. Entering the living room, I switched the TV on, taking advantage of my parents with me. I tightly gripped onto the remote control, watching a random show on the anime channel.


    "I''m gathering more ideas for my reports," I took out a notebook.


    "We have to continue our schedule Rika," Luke frowned.


    "Can you leave me alone? I''m doing this for us. You don''t know how to properly write these reports to scam fairies. I can decrease the cost of the raw materials for us this way," I tried to seem reasonable.


    Fortunately, my excuse was reasonable enough for Luke to allow me to continue watching more anime. I silently cheered inside my heart as I managed to see the anime adaptions of the manga I read. My eyes glimmered, nearly touched from my plan. My life was finally improving, eventually bringing some blankets from my room to use on the couch. Maybe I could live on the couch before getting dragged to the first district.


    "It''s time for dinner Rika," Luke interrupted me again.


    "Give me the plates and I''ll eat them," I gestured.


    It was great timing since I was starting to get hungry. Luke''s eyes widened when I completely emptied each plate without any sugar added. I was eating more than triple the usual amount, which made him speechless. If Luke continued to bring my meals to the couch, I wouldn''t have to move from my spot. This was the ideal slow and lazy life. Until the sky became darker to become pitch black, leading everyone to begin to get ready for bed.


    "Everyone already took a bath, there should be enough hot water remaining for you,?? Alex entered the living room.


    "Maybe I''ll take one tomorrow morning," I was at a good part in the show.


    "Are you serious? I''m calling Luke," he grimaced.


    I quickly took this chance to hide the remote control inside my inventory. If I hid it near the cages of bugs, there was a high possibility they wouldn''t take it away from me. However, I didn''t think Luke would directly turn off the TV, using the button on the device itself. In one of his hands, he held my bathrobe, "if you can''t bath by yourself, I can wash you like the last few weeks."


    "I can bath by myself," I swiped my bathrobe from him.


    I puffed my cheeks, agreeing with Ally he was a clean freak. One day should barely make a difference. Under Luke''s pressuring stare, I got off the couch, pushing myself into the bathroom. After I took a shower, I discovered the bathtub was already filled with hot water, the perfect temperature. Once I entered the tub, my muscles began to relax, my mind nearly melting. It has been a while since I took a comforting bath alone.


    Ignoring my eyes becoming droopy, my body felt too heavy to move. Maybe I was more tired than I thought I would be. I struggled to open my eyes once it was closed, my mind hazy and overwhelmed by the fog. But my ears were perfectly fine, making me internally squirm when I could hear someone opening the door. It was strange, I remembered locking the door before I came inside.


    "She''s actually sleeping inside the bathtub," Alex sighed.


    "I should have known Rika lacked more energy than usual," Luke blamed himself.


    Why did I have no aspect of privacy from them? I began to cry inside my heart when I felt my body being carried before someone put my bathrobe on me. When the door opened, the cold air allowed me to open my eyes again. However, I instantly shut them again, seeing my mom shocked from the scene. Why was this house so small? My parents have never seen me right after I took a bath before.


    "I can wake Rika to dry herself," my mom unfroze.


    "It''s fine, I can do everything for her. It''s nothing new," Luke revealed.


    "I can dry and change by myself," my face flushed into pink.


    "I still have to show you where I organized everything," he opened my bedroom door.

 Chapter 356 - I Didnt Want to Know (5)

    Rika flapped her arms, trying to swim back to the surface. She didn''t know she would fall into the deep lake as she was so close to getting that flower. With Rika desperately screaming for help, Luke knew something was wrong from all the books he read. He called for a servant and his tutor and pointed where Rika was starting to drown. He thought that they could take care of the mess while he could continue reading his book.


    His tutor sprinted towards the lake, trying to get to Rika as soon as possible. His employer would be very furious if she got sick or injured from this event. He didn''t like working with young children in general since they got in trouble so easily. By the time he arrived, Rika had already exhausted all her strength as her body floated on top of the lake. Her skin was pale blue like she was already dead.


    After he had fetched her body from the surface of the lake, he shook her as hard as he could. He pumped her chest as she didn''t respond to any of his attempts. With no other choice, he ran to the infirmary with Rika in his arms. Luke, who was curious of how the tutor was handling the mess, followed him into the infirmary.


    "When did you first notice she was inside the lake?" His tutor asked him.


    "From the beginning, ever since she entered the garden," he wondered why Rika was still sleeping.


    "Why didn''t you call for me then?" He looked at the young boy for an explanation.


    "I thought you were her caretaker," Luke treated him as one of his family servants.


    Luke wasn''t wrong. The role of a tutor for young children included watching over them so they wouldn''t get into trouble. But the tutor didn''t want to shoulder the entire blame, knowing his career would be ruined. No one would hire him anymore. He decided to shift some of the blame to the young boy, the same age of the girl who wasn''t waking up.


    "You know Rika is basically a baby. You, who knows better should have taken care of her. She doesn''t know what is good or bad for her. She''s your responsibility, is she not?" The tutor blamed Luke.


    Luke stayed silent, recalling his grandfather''s words from when they first met. He remembered his grandfather telling him that he would have to take care of her. He didn''t know she would be like a newborn child, not knowing anything about the world. Unlike them, she knew how to speak and express her thoughts.


    "She may not wake up because of you," the tutor harshly scolded him.


    He stared at Rika''s pale face, not moving a single inch. Deep inside, he knew that the tutor was right. She was almost the same as a newborn baby who cried for their parents all the time. It was almost like he had a younger sibling inside the house. But since his parents were too busy with work, they also treated her coldly during mealtimes, not offering to comfort her.


    Only the tutors comforted her so they could get through the rest of the material with her. This was why he thought of them as her main caretaker. The tutor''s words echoed into his heart as he began to worry what would happen to him if his parents and grandparents figured out. Although his mother was warm to him, he could tell she wanted to leave sometimes to get some rest. His mother was always tired like his father who was drained of all his energy as he dragged himself to come join them for meals. His parents didn''t like anyone who caused them trouble.


    "What happened?" William came into the infirmary from all the commotion.


    "She fell into the lake," the tutor explained.


    "You didn''t watch over her?" he stared at the dying girl.


    "Your son was watching over the entire time and only called for me when she was already floating on the surface of the lake," the tutor continued to blame Luke.


    William sighed as he wondered if he would get in trouble with his father. His father had mentioned how hard he tried to get this girl to get engaged to Luke. He didn''t want the other families to snatch her since they would rise in power with their descendants who would likely inherit her potential for an unlimited amount of mana.


    Before he would fire the tutor, he needed to let Luke know how this could never happen again. He knew how Luke possessed a great sense of responsibility to uphold his duties ever since he was born from his mother. Joanna educated Luke with all her energy that he would become a well-mannered child who would place the Roselia family before him.


    "You have to watch over Rika. You know how she doesn''t know what''s good or bad for her. She isn''t educated in those things yet like you are," William repeated almost the same things as the tutor.


    Luke shrank into the corner of the room, feeling this was all his fault. If his father was the one who said it, it must be true. I started to feel bad for the younger version of Luke as everything was pushed to him at such a young age. Most of the blame actually went to the lazy tutor. Luke was also a toddler who didn''t understand everything, he was the same age as her.

 Chapter 357 - I Didnt Want to Know (6) - Evans POV

    My mom covered her mouth, finding Rika had collapsed on the floors near the end of the staircase. It couldn''t be that she fell down the stairs, my mom didn''t know. Luke already held her in his arms, moving her to the couch before she ran here, fearing something must have happened. He began taking off her onesie that she wore on top of her nightgown that he insisted her to wear.


    Luke frowned when he noticed faint red dots covering most of her arms and legs after wearing the present. My dad also ran down the stairs from the bedroom, finding Rika unconscious in Luke''s arms. With everyone gathered in the living room, Luke commented on the present, "Rika has sensitive skin. She can''t wear fabrics like this, or else her skin will react."


    "I didn''t know," my mom watched my sister get sick from a present she bought.


    Rika uncontrollably coughed in her sleep, curling up into a circle. Luke sighed before tilting a small bottle of translucent liquid inside her mouth. Her condition immediately got better as she stopped coughing for a moment. However, Luke''s condition wasn''t much better than hers as his voice was a bit rough from coughing ever since he entered this house.


    "It''s the air. It''s different from what we are used to in the first district," he explained.


    My parents didn''t know how different the air was in the first district. You could only breathe in them in the deep countryside, untouched by civilization in the third district. I stayed silent, not wanting to tell them it wouldn''t matter how much we moved. Rika would always be sick here since there was no way we could move there.


    "I think it may be better if I take Rika to my villa. You can visit her there from now on instead if that is fine with you," Luke suggested as he coughed.


    "Is there really nothing we can do?" My mom looked at her daughter, frowning in her dreams.


    "Rika has a fragile body. There are many things that her body can''t handle," he cradled her in his arms.


    "And what about her clothes in her closet?" My dad hesitantly asked about the clothes that didn''t fit her anymore.


    "I can clear her closet after our discussion. I usually handle matters like this," Luke apologized for forgetting about clearing her closet.


    My parents couldn''t refuse his offer as Luke walked towards the car with Rika in his arms after taking care of her closet. My mom cried as my dad tried to comfort her. Their daughter couldn''t live with them since their house was making her sick. Before Luke left, they made arrangements that they would visit my sister the first thing in the morning.


    For the first time, they decided to take the day off from work tomorrow. My parents had never done this for me before when I came home, sick with a fever. I ended up buying some medicine at the drugstore with some snacks and other supplies at the convenience store with my friends. My friend Adrian was the only person that stayed next to me. But I couldn''t blame my parents as I knew how hard they were working to pay for my school tuition and extra cram school.


    The next day, I stood in front of the large gates towering over me. The amount of property in this exclusive neighbourhood was stunning. Luke already stood by the gates, opening it for us to come inside. I looked around the beautiful garden alongside the pathway to the entrance of the large mansion. The air was already different here the moment I passed through the gates. The temperature was also different, making it not too hot nor cold in the summer.


    My parents sadly smiled as they knew the reason why my sister coughed so much. There was no way they could ever replicate the same air inside their house. We could hear Rika''s energetic footsteps as she ran to open the door for us. Abandoning the onesie, she wore a gorgeous dress with the silky fabric making it shimmer and twinkle under the sunlight. She was covered with diamonds from head to toe from the ones on her dress to the accessories.


    "You''re here!" She laughed while hugging each of us.


    "I didn''t think you would come this early," she welcomed us inside like it was her own home.


    "There''s nothing to do inside here," she sulked.


    "Your garden looks lovely," my mom commented.


    "Our servants work hard to maintain this place," Luke smiled as he followed behind Rika.


    The mansion was also spotless inside, sparkling with no signs of dust or anything else unwanted. I could see my own reflection on the marble tiles. There were no signs of Rika''s poor health in this mansion. She was lively as she jumped with energy like yesterday''s incident had never happened.


    It was like we were inside the restaurant as the servants began to come into the dining room to serve us breakfast. However, the area in front of Rika was empty. Instead, Luke passed her a white powdered drink inside a glass bottle. This was when we realized she wasn''t able to digest any solid food unlike the rest of us. My parents reluctantly picked up their utensils, feeling guilty they were eating these wonderful foods while their daughter refused to touch the bottle, leaving it on the table.

 Chapter 358 - I Didnt Want to Know (7)

    "I''m not drinking this again," I vomited the one he forced me to drink last night.


    I couldn''t believe I was inside his villa again when I opened my eyes again. Luke never broke his promises before. I was inside the infirmary again as he watched over me, reading another book. His promise to me was that I would be able to spend the rest of summer vacation with my family. I found myself attached to similar machines like the ones in the first district.


    "Why am I here?" I turned to him.


    "You fell down the stairs. You parents will be visiting you in the morning here today. From now on when we visit the third district, instead of us going to them, they''ll be coming to you," Luke showed how he was still keeping his promise.


    "But it was just a fall," I complained.


    My body would never get stronger if he always hooked me up to all these machines that could heal me within a few days. I frowned as I closed my eyes, trying to pull all those needles out. But Luke grabbed onto my hand, preventing me from disconnecting myself from them.


    This was how we spent the night together in the infirmary until I noticed a small car driving towards the gates. I didn''t think my parents would come since they still needed to go to work today. After Luke passed me an outfit to change into, he teleported near the gates and pretended to have waited for them to come. Several servants also came into the room to help me with dressing myself.


    I agreed with him that I wanted to appear as normal as possible. I didn''t want to make my parents always worried for me as I began to sprint towards the entrance after closing the door. I smiled as I opened the doors for them, welcoming them inside. My parents looked stunned as they couldn''t stop turning their heads to process the scene in front of them.


    "There''s nothing to do inside here," I sulked to show them I liked their house better.


    Instead of focusing on me, they were distracted from looking at the extravagance interior. Their minds seemed to be blanked out as they followed us to eat breakfast together in the grand dining room. Only when Luke passed me the bottle of medicine, they remembered that I was here with them. They were reluctant to eat on their own with Evan while Luke was busy trying to feed me that horrible bottle that was hard to digest.


    "I already drank this last night," I pushed the bottle back to him.


    "Three sips," Luke started to negotiate.


    He pointed out that my parents were too busy watching our exchange to eat. Even Evan didn''t touch his plates as he followed our parents. I glared at him before drinking three sips like he wanted before passing it to him back. Placing the bottle on the table, he gestured that everyone was eating now due to my sacrifice.


    My parents gasped as they ate the food at a fast pace. They knew why Evan was obsessed with my leftover plates from last time now. After they were finished, I pulled on my mom''s arm, about to give her a tour of the mansion. Since I was often confined in the Roselia family mansions, I went exploring from boredom a lot.


    "This is the instrument room," I sadly smiled, remembering the times where Luke forced me to practice so I wouldn''t forget my acc.u.mulated skills.


    My family couldn''t stop looking around the room, full of precious instruments, probably worth millions of dollars each. There was every instrument that they could imagine inside the spacious room. I walked over to where the pianos were placed, recalling some pieces I practiced every once in a while.


    "This piano is the one I mostly use," I liked the bright sound of the piano I slid my hand over compared to the four others in the room.


    "Should I play a song?" I turned to them.


    "It would be wonderful," my mom placed her hands together in anticipation.


    By the time I was finished, a round of applause continued for five minutes. But Luke was the only one who brightly smiled, noticing the small mistakes I made. I began to regret that I played that song in front of them. He was probably going to make me practice the same song a million times once they left.


    "How about another one?" my mom wondered if I could play another instrument.


    "I can play a sonata on the violin," I opened the case.


    Like the piano, I made very few mistakes on the violin. However, this wasn''t a passable performance in the first district where everyone had heightened hearing. Luke seemed to note where I made all the mistakes inside his head. I didn''t want to play another song anymore since it was an excellent opportunity for Luke to give me more work.


    "How about we go to my bedroom next?" I decided to switch the location.


    "This is better than your competition room," Evan couldn''t believe his own words.


    "My bedroom in the first district is a bit better," I had to point out the noticeable differences in technological advancement.


    "How could it get better than this?" Evan mumbled.


    "My bedroom isn''t the greatest, but it isn''t detestable," I hated the infirmary.

 Chapter 359 - I Didnt Want to Know (8)

    "His family treats you very well," my mom sat on my bed.


    My dad and Evan were with Luke, who decided to show them better things around the mansion that may interest them. My mom didn''t know how the Roselia family was cruel to me with their contract they wanted me to sign. She thought all of this stuff I was forced to receive was for free. Luke was much nicer to me around my parents.


    I nodded my head as I noticed something sticking out of her pocket. I wondered what it was as I could smell a sweet scent coming from it. My mom, noticing my curiosity, pulled a package of jelly out. I gulped, wanting to take a tiny bite as I imagined the smooth texture melting inside my mouth. This was the limited-edition flavour that I could rarely find when I visited the third district. Melon soda flavoured jelly was comparable to the strawberry flavoured ones that I used to have a supply of hidden inside my room.


    "Evan likes this flavour too," she noticed my sparkling eyes.


    "May I please have one if you don''t mind?" I clasped my hands together.


    "I don''t know," my mom recalled me not being able to eat solid food in the morning.


    "Only one bite," I pulled out the most pitiful eyes I possessed.


    "Please?" I moved closer to her.


    My mom sighed as she allowed me to take a package of jelly away from her hands. I smiled as I began to open the package. Once I popped the jelly inside my mouth, I flopped onto my bed in bliss. This was almost like the comfort food I ate at Elise''s house. I didn''t think I would miss it this much even though only a few days had passed.


    But oddly, the next time I opened my eyes from blinking, I was finding the younger Luke treating Rika more gently than before. He stroked her hair, trying to encourage her that he could become her new family. Rika rubbed her head against his chest as she started to believe him. I couldn''t believe the big changes that happened from his simple actions.


    Instead of leaving Rika to cry alone in the night, he went to her room to sleep together with her, lightly rubbing her back until she fell asleep. Whenever she cried from missing her parents, Luke would hug her, making her instantly calm down. He held her hands while walking, making sure she stayed within his line of sight. He patted her head whenever she solved a question that the tutor gave her. He was imitating all the actions he had read from a book about child rearing, forgetting who the child was.


    Rika became more reliant on him, only speaking to him. She also listened to what Luke said, following him as if he was her second mother. Meanwhile, he read these books every night to not disappoint his parents again. He noticed that everything his father had said to him was right the more he interacted with her. Rika couldn''t do anything on her own without him, she was still a baby. She never knew what the best for her was, it was up to him to manage everything.


    He had to protect her as his parents started to look over them with a brighter atmosphere during mealtime. Rika wasn''t that fussy anymore after he changed his attitude. When his grandfather visited the mansion, he treated Rika better than his own grandson. They couldn''t help but treat Rika like this since she needed more care. His family was tougher on him since he was the heir to the family.


    Except his parents scolded her when they took a test on which kindergarten to enter. Joanna brightly smiled when she discovered they didn''t have enough points to enter the first district later on after the seal was removed on Rika. She shivered in front of her, hiding behind Luke''s back as Joanna told her that she has no choice but to bring more tutors into the house.


    The Roselia family decided to invest in a kindergarten where they would both enter to increase the chances of them switching to the first district later on. I did wonder how the third district had a kindergarten where time-space rooms existed while the middle schools did not. I never knew this was the reason why. Even when Rika was together in the third district with her parents again, she was still reliant on Luke for everything.


    She wouldn''t talk to any of her classmates as Luke spoke for her. The language in the school in the third district still used the one in the first district from the Roselia family''s requests to change the curriculum. She hid behind Luke when he was with her. When he wasn''t there, she preferred to go to the infirmary to sleep.


    Rika struggled to follow the classes in school. Luke had to teach her everything that the teachers explained during class, being more patient as he made sure not to miss a single thing. This was how the intense study sessions started as Rika began to become more familiar with the language. Although she didn''t know how to read and write in the language of the third district, she knew how to do it in the language of the first district.


    I continued to watch them. Not knowing this was how this vessel began to understand the people around her. I just assumed this language was her home tongue.

 Chapter 360 - I Didnt Want to Know (9)

    The sounds of beeping from the machine woke me up from my memories continuing. I searched for Luke inside this room to find that he wasn''t here. It was strange since I was always used to seeing his face as the first thing I saw. My ears wiggled as I could hear the conversation below this floor. I froze when the topic was about me.


    "Rika can''t eat these kinds of food. She usually gets sick immediately," Luke let my parents know.


    "This is why I tightly control what she can touch," he explained.


    "I didn''t think she would be this frail," my mom''s voice dripped with guilt.


    "Please don''t give her any food from now on," his voice softened.


    I guessed not a long time had passed since he hooked me up to the medical equipment. I stiffened when Luke started to lead them towards the infirmary. This did explain why the more highly advanced medical supplies were placed out of sight here. He turned the doorknob to open the door as if he was bringing them here to show his point.


    "Mom, dad, Evan!" I waved to them.


    They awkwardly stood in the entryway as they stared at the number of machines I was attached to. My shoulders slumped since it looked like I was in a hospital room. Making my condition appear more serious than what it actually was. I was getting too used to being inside here that I felt that the number of equipment in here meant nothing to me.


    "I''m fine, this just exaggerates everything," I attempted to remove one of the needles.


    "Keep it on you," my dad quickly refuted.


    "I''m really fine," I tried to get up from the bed.


    "Rika," Luke warned me to stay in the bed.


    "Fine!" I sat back down.


    Luke began to check on all the machines as he checked my status of how I was on recovering. My family remained silent as Luke studied all the results and made adjustments to each of them. I sighed as the atmosphere was turning gloomier by the minutes.


    "This is why I try to control what Rika can eat and drink," Luke''s words left a bigger impact on them with me inside this room.


    This was not true. It was happening from all my memories returning to me from the memorila and he knew it. He was just using the jelly as an excuse and me falling down the stairs to separate me more from my family. This way, I would leave the first district less often like what the Roselia family wanted.


    "Do you actually believe him?" I felt this was ridiculous.


    "My body isn''t that weak," I couldn''t admit that my body was still healthy after visiting this room so often.


    "Like who would actually faint from eating a small piece of jelly?" I pointed out.


    My mom looked at me, totally believing Luke''s words that I was the person who would faint from a tiny package of jelly. She didn''t know how I sneakily ate them whenever Luke wasn''t around to watch me. In fact, none of my family members seemed to believe me, all on Luke''s side. Sometimes I wondered if Luke wasn''t their actual son with all that trust they placed in him.


    "Thank you for taking care of Rika," my mom turned to Luke.


    I sighed since there was nothing to thank him for. To let me get some rest, they decided to leave the room as Luke continued to give them a tour of the other parts of the mansion. Looking at all the settings, I found that Luke wanted me to stay inside this room for the entire day. Peeking at how he always changed the settings, I began to press similar buttons on the screen to turn them all off. This wasn''t how I was going to spend my vacation.


    I winced as I pulled all the needles he attached from me. My family members acted like the perfect distraction as I could sneak out to the manga and light novel rental room. I had enough money in my bank account made by my parents that wasn''t under the control of the Roselia family. Opening the windows, I looked if anyone was looking before jumping outside.


    I smiled as I safely landed on the ground. But strangely, someone tapped on my shoulder when there should be nobody here. I slowly turned my head, finding Luke right behind me. There were also my family members, confused how I was suddenly in front of them when I was inside the infirmary a moment ago. I couldn''t believe they were below the infirmary the entire time, looking around in the garden.


    "I wanted to look around the garden since being inside the infirmary was boring," I explained.


    I plucked some random beautiful flowers and made it into a bouquet before passing it to my mom. I brilliantly smiled, "I thought walking around would help instead of being inside a stuffy room all day."


    Unfortunately, before I could defend myself even further, my body wobbled, unstable and legs weak. As usual, Luke opened his arms as I ended up collapsing in them. Why did these memories have to come to me so randomly?


    "Rika, you can''t talk to the teachers like that," Luke privately called her over after class finished.


    "But they weren''t giving any breaks," RIka crossed her arms.


    Rika thought of the teachers in school the same way of the privately hired tutors in his mansion. The tutors would always give into her whenever she would extensively whine for a break once she got tired. However, the teachers here were merciless and would continue their lessons. But once they couldn''t take her whining anymore, they would throw her out of the classroom.

 Chapter 361 - I Didnt Want to Know (10)

    "Why don''t you throw me out again?" Rika liked the idea of playing outside.


    The teacher sighed as she knew this girl had a huge sponsor behind her that made many donations to the school. Her job would be on the line if she kept on kicking her out of class while the young boy tried to comfort the girl into listening to her. Many times, the boy was a huge help to the class as the girl would calm down and stop disrupting the lessons.


    "Sit back down Rika," the teacher gritted her teeth.


    "Let''s continue the lesson," she was thankful for the rest of the children who were well-behaved.


    "But I want to go outside," Rika began her whining again.


    "I want mommy," she cried with tears dropping onto her desk.


    Luke rubbed Rika''s back as she wailed inside the classroom. It appeared that class would end later than normal with her constant interruptions to the class. He knew that it was his fault for not teaching Rika that she couldn''t behave like this here. Rika didn''t know she had to be more respectful to the teachers in school than his family tutors.


    He thought she would know and that he wouldn''t have to teach her this. However, he would have to re-educate Rika so this wouldn''t keep continuing. Luke couldn''t blame Rika when she didn''t know anything. He was just glad his classmates and teachers weren''t blaming him for her actions when she was his responsibility.


    "Things are different here," Luke grabbed her shoulders.


    "There''s not only us two, but other people who want to listen to the teacher. Would you like it if someone kept interrupting you from playing?" He tried to point out.


    Rika shook her head, finally understanding what Luke was saying. From that day on, the interruptions during class stopped as she switched to looking out the windows. At least she could find something interesting happening there. The next day, Luke watched the unusually well-behaved Rika with suspicion. I covered my mouth in shock as this was the day I came into this body.


    Rika acted too differently than the day before. She curiously looked around her surroundings like it was her first time seeing all this. Luke wondered if he scolded her too harshly yesterday during the study session together. Instead of just sitting down at her seat, not bothering to do anything, she asked how she could open the textbook.


    She asked him many questions that didn''t match her ability with her mind that only thought about her parents and playing outside. Rika didn''t rely on him as she usually did, not hiding behind his back. She even asked him to find another partner, not knowing what it meant as she desired to be independent. But Luke decided it was still a good thing as it was a sign that she was starting to grow up. This version of Rika was more motivated while she still hated studying.


    He continued to watch over her as his parents were pleased during dinner that they managed to switch to the top-ranking school in the first district like they have planned. However, when they moved into their new room, Rika appeared like she was going to cry. He guessed it was because she had to be separated from her parents again.


    Luke didn''t like that room too. He never slept in such a poor place in his life. But those thoughts were quickly washed away as he never saw Rika so willing to study. He always had to bribe her into studying, some signs of her old self that had never changed. She never walked to the library on her own unless she was forced by him, trying to avoid the whole place itself. It was the first time she had pulled him into the library with her.


    Rika pushed herself to the point she got sick. Luke clenched his fists as he blamed himself for not taking care of her properly. It reminded him of the time where she had almost died because he didn''t look after her. Thinking that she would be hungry soon, he brought her some snacks. But after grabbing them from him, she got out of her bed towards the hallway leading to the library. When he asked her for the reason why she had changed to the point she went to the library on her own, she yelled at him that it was because she didn''t want to stay in that room.


    Luke was only holding in his complaints for Rika''s sake. He had to be the role model for her while he wanted to cry because of that room as well. His eyes began to glisten as Rika started to run away from him, her eyes full of guilt. But he had to pull himself together as he noticed she would soon trip, making her body injured when she was already sick. When he pulled her into his arms, she began to cry.


    He sighed as he patted her back like usual. He thought Rika had changed, but she was still the same as before. It was up to him to look over her as she was his responsibility.


    As the screen started to fade into black, my eyes widened from the realization that it was me who made Luke like this. I didn''t want to know that the younger version of myself was the one who convinced him that the girl couldn''t do anything on her own. His eyes, full of responsibility for her still stared into my soul. I didn''t want to know.

 Chapter 362 - The Musician (1)

    "Luke!" I blurted as soon as I rose from my bed.


    "I already sent your parents back to their house," he placed his book down.


    "How old am I?" I decided to slowly tread on the topic.


    "Thirteen," he measured my temperature, wondering if there were other things he missed.


    "When did I first meet you?" I continued.


    "When you were three years old," he answered.


    "So we''ve been together for around ten years," I didn''t know it had been that long already.


    I hoped he got the hint that people had to change from the course of ten years. However, he had always treated me the same whether it was then or now in the present. Luke sighed as he noticed that I wanted to tell him something with my vague words.


    "So you''re trying to tell me you''re different from when we first met?" he instantly realized.


    I nodded my head, he understood quicker than I thought he would.


    "Of course, you''re different. Do you see me treating you the same as back then?"


    I started to go through all my memories in my head. While he was gentle to the Rika who cried all the time in the memorila, he never accepted my tears once we entered elementary school. No matter what kind of a big scene I made, he always dragged me to wherever he wanted to take me. He had no tolerance for any complaining unless it was something related to my health.


    His patience became thinner throughout the years as more things he let go for the previous years couldn''t be done for this year. Only the horrible study sessions remained the same. With all the piling accidents increasing ever since we entered middle school, he became even stricter. He had to watch out for more things while encountering unimaginable events oozing with danger.


    "I''m grown up now," I told him I didn''t need his extensive guidance anymore.


    I didn''t need him to lecture me on everything. Sometimes, I would find signs of other people in school, slouching by one millimetre and no one pointed it out. But if I did it, I would have endless nags from him to fix it for days. If other people sliced their food in an odd angle, everyone would go on eating in the cafeteria like nothing had happened. For me, Luke would make me practice slicing the food in a perfect angle that made me sick of eating in general.


    This was part of the reason why I didn''t like eating fancy food in general. I always kept the minimal standard of etiquette since he would make me practice until I had it ingrained with me. He was never generous with second time mistakes so that there would be no chances of making the same mistakes again.


    Luke stayed silent, not believing my words. He went back to reading his book. I felt frustrated with the double standards he had for me compared to others. I knew it was because I was a part of the Roselia family, but it was still too harsh. Maybe I could change his mind by starting to act differently now that I knew.


    "My memories are all back," I let him know these side effects won''t continue anymore.


    "Then we can start working on those pieces you played today," he flipped a page in his book.


    I squeezed my hands, knowing he wanted me to practice them until everything was perfect. I wouldn''t be able to go anywhere tomorrow unless I placed the time-space settings on. But I needed to show him that I wouldn''t complain over something like this, making me look more reliable.


    "When should I wake up tomorrow to start practicing them?" I tried to show him my new mindset.


    "As soon as you''re done with this round of medicine. Maybe around 5AM?" Luke wanted me to already be in the practice room by then.


    This was no different than being in school. It was getting harder to maintain my smile since he was taking advantage of my new mindset immediately. Maybe if my parents visit me tomorrow, I would be free by then. I set an alarm on my marble and decided to sleep while I could. There was a chance I would barely get any decent sleep tomorrow.


    I groaned while putting my alarm off near the end of 4AM. I sluggishly got out of my bed, called for the servants to help me change into the outfit Luke had already prepared. All the machines were already placed towards the back of the room while he was gone from this room. He was probably inside the practice room, waiting for me to come.


    When I opened the door, he had all the pieces I played yesterday open on the stand. On the small table was another bottle of medicine, resembling the ones he forced me to drink from the past few days. Before he asked for me to drink it, I grabbed the bottle to chug it, getting it over with. I frowned as I hated the thick taste even though it was creamy.


    "Your parents are visiting in the afternoon today. Here''s the schedule before they visit," he handed to me.


    I gulped as this was harder than I thought it would be. He was using the time-space rooms to his advantage while there was no break to be seen.

 Chapter 363 - The Musician (2)

    I elegantly picked up a teacup inside the villa while my mom was in front of us. I sighed as today was the last day of my summer vacation. I didn''t end up going anywhere since I was too busy complying to Luke''s schedule, trying to look more reliable by obediently listening to him. It was very hard, trying to control my patience as he tried to see how much he could put in those schedules before I would start to complain.


    Unexpectedly, I didn''t complain, not even once. Making each day crueler than the last. The time I spent with my parents was the only free time I had before hell started. The schedule he had planned out for today was worse than school. I never wanted my parents to leave. I unconsciously tugged on my mom''s sleeve, hoping she would stay for the entire day.


    "Can you stay for the night? Or I can come back to the house for just one night," I blurted my thoughts out by accident.


    Luke quickly turned his head towards me, wondering if this was my breaking point. I continued to drink my tea, pretending nothing had happened, hoping he would let this go. Meanwhile, I started to cry inside my heart that almost all my efforts until now might become useless from that one statement.


    "Nevermind," I tried to take back what I said.


    Hiding my emotions as much as I could, I decided to stay silent before I made even more blunders. My mom noticed how strange I was acting for the last few days. I always looked exhausted instead of jumping with energy like when I was sick. She didn''t know how I spent the day before she came. I even forced myself to eat all the food I didn''t want to eat, secretly vomiting them out when nobody was looking.


    "Can I stay for the night?" My mom appeared as if she was angel.


    "We have some spare rooms I can lead you to," Luke seemed to be crossing out some of the plans he made for today.


    I shot my mom a grateful look with my eyes almost glimmering with tears. I didn''t know if I would survive through that schedule today anyways. I couldn''t help but hug my saviour, tears falling out uncontrollably. Luke sighed as if he had predicted something like this would happen. I knew I couldn''t take back these actions. Maybe I would do better in school to make up for them.


    Unfortunately, this wasn''t the case as I knocked on Luke''s door in the middle of the night. I opened the door to find him already sitting in his bed, wearing pyjamas. I brought my pillow with me as I sat next to him. I had a reason for abandoning my room. Whenever I slept during the night, there was always something poking my body. When I opened my eyes, searching the room to find the cause, I couldn''t find anything.


    After days of not getting enough sleep from those annoying pokes and no progress in trying to find the culprit, I gave up. Maybe we could switch rooms tonight so I would get a better night of sleep. I placed my pillow on his bed, "can we switch rooms for tonight?"


    "Is there something wrong with your room?" He closed his book.


    "Something keeps on poking me while I sleep," I revealed some faint pink spots on my arms when I pulled my sleeves.


    This culprit liked to target the upper part of my arms. At this rate, bruises could form from all the poking. I didn''t bother to even report this to the teachers as they weren''t there when the fire or the barrier was collapsing. I lost all my trust I had in them. Luke agreed to switch rooms for tonight as I hoped I would get a good night''s sleep. However, ten minutes in from sleeping on his bed, the poking resumed again.


    I knocked on my door, waking Luke from the noise. I sighed as I walked towards my bed, "can we sleep together for tonight?"


    The bed was large enough that there would be enough space for both of us. I slipped into the blankets as Luke decided to give up on sleep for tonight. I frowned as the pokes kept on continuing as Luke watched over me. I opened my eyes with my arms numb as I wondered if Luke had noticed anything.


    "Your arm is slightly moving like there is something poking you," he agreed.


    "Do you know what''s causing it?" I hoped he found some clues.


    Luke shook his head as he began to search the room like I had. I helped him search our entire dorm room as we couldn''t get any sleep for this night. I had a harder time focusing in class from my lack of sleep. We even switched dorms with Alex and Shelly again, hoping things would change. However, the same things continued to happen in whatever room we stayed in. The only change was after switching dorms, Luke started to get the same pokes as I did.


    Both of our arms were sore as Claire and Yulian entered our room. They were graduating from this school next month to enter the most prestigious university in the first district. Both of them noticed how tired both of us were. We ended up reporting this incident to the teachers, but there was nothing they could do to help.

 Chapter 364 - The Musician (3)

    "This is all the work we need to pass onto you," Claire started to unload all the doc.u.ments.


    Our entire dorm room was filled with mounting papers where there was extra space. My jaw almost dropped as I rubbed my arms. How was Luke and I were supposed to handle this all by ourselves? The amount of work to be done here was comparable to the week before social week. How was Claire and Yulian able to handle these on their own until now?


    "This is impossible," I couldn''t help muttering.


    "But there''s more?" Yulian added to our misery.


    Luke also stiffened from the news. Unlike me, he had to help out all the other fractions we were in. I walked a few steps away from Luke as he would be the one who would have to do most of the work for this. My poor grades couldn''t handle more work than what I was given by the school. As expected by an information fraction, most of the doc.u.ments were about information we needed to confirm with others.


    It was basically keeping tabs on all the fractions inside the school. There were also rumors about the staff and inner workings of the people in prestigious families. By the time they were finished with placing all the doc.u.ments out, we could barely walk around in the large room. The only way we could finish this work if I gave up all my free time at the caf¨¦. Meanwhile, Luke would have to stop his spars with Alex.


    "This is the work for next week. We can do these together before we graduate. But after we graduate, the fraction will start giving you work weekly through us," Claire explained.


    "Is it this much work per week?" I hoped it wasn''t the case.


    "They were being a bit lenient since we''re graduating soon," Claire avoided our eyes.


    "We can return a quarter of the doc.u.ments in this room," Luke looked at some of the papers.


    "We can already confirm some of the information here from our other fractions," he picked some files out.


    I sighed in relief as there was finally a benefit from being inside many fractions. All we had to do was to attend their meetings instead of going through all the doc.u.ments. I was closer to Luke these days as we slept together in one room, missing sleep while desperately looking for the culprit. He was too tired to scold me when we both were lacking an extreme amount of sleep. In fact, some hours of the intense study sessions got reduced.


    "You look tired lately," Yulian began to question if we could even finish the other quarter of doc.u.ments here.


    "It has been more than a week since we have been able to get any sleep," Luke shot them an apologetic look.


    "I heard you have been switching rooms with other members in your fractions," Claire heard about the rumors.


    It was true. After using Shelly''s dorm, we went on to use the dorms of Sienna, Ellen, Delia, Charles and Oili. We switched rooms every night, hoping that there would be one that the culprit wouldn''t be able to reach. But nothing changed as we began to place some ice packs on our arms to help with the pain.


    Luke, who was a lighter sleeper than I was, got extremely annoyed by all the poking. It was getting worse as the nights passed. There used to be breaks before but as soon we were on the edge of sleeping, the poking wouldn''t stop these days. The ice and heating packs broke from all the intense poking as well, rendering them useless.


    "We haven''t found a room where the culprit wouldn''t be able to reach us," I was close to complaining to her.


    "We can do the work during the nights," Luke pointed out since we gave up sleeping anyways.


    "Is it that bad?" Claire wondered.


    I pulled up my sleeve, showing the purple bruises on my arm. Meanwhile, the teachers were inspecting all the dorms while they weren''t teaching. These days, they didn''t say anything when my face was against the desk, done with life. I was afraid to sleep during the day since I didn''t want the poking to happen during the daytime. My arm would become broken one day if it did.


    "I can use heal on you," Yulian offered to both of us.


    "Thank you," Luke didn''t mention heal was the only reason we didn''t faint yet.


    The teachers used heal on us whenever they could or else our body wouldn''t last long from our intense schedule. Before we went to class, we dropped by their office. When the teachers entered the classroom, the first thing they did was to use more heal on us. But since it has gotten worse, we went to visit their office during breaks as well.


    Yulian frowned as he couldn''t push himself further after our bruises began to turn into green. I sadly smiled as it seemed he had to have exhausted more than three quarters of his mana for us. Even the teachers felt lightheaded from using too much heal these days. Our classmates pitied us as they saw heal barely helping with our horrible condition.


    "Are you going to be fine?" Claire asked while we went through the rest of the work together.


    "We just hope the teachers will find the culprit soon," Luke didn''t look up from the doc.u.ments.

 Chapter 365 - The Musician (4)

    "I can''t move my arm anymore," I turned to Luke.


    "Let''s go to the teacher''s office right now," Luke opened the door in the study room.


    I noticed that Luke could only use one arm as well. He stopped practicing the sword with Alex and worked on the remaining doc.u.ments in our room instead. Meanwhile, I was too tired to talk inside the caf¨¦ or meet with other people. I helped him with the easier work he could pass to me as it took up less energy. We could walk inside the room now as almost all the doc.u.ments were finished with our sleepless nights.


    "May I have some of your time?" Luke walked up to the first teacher closest to us.


    "Your arm?" The teacher sighed.


    "Both Rika and I can''t move one of our arms anymore," he didn''t hide his annoyance why the teachers couldn''t find the culprit yet.


    "We apologize, we are still investigating the dorms," the teacher looked down.


    The teacher pointed us to his colleague once he was close to exhausting all his mana. We ended up getting heal from six middle school teachers before we could move our arms again. By the time we left the office, the teachers appeared no better than us, close to dying from using close to all their mana.


    "Is the school even a safe place anymore?" I blurted my thoughts out loud.


    "They''re doing all that they can do," Luke couldn''t disagree with me.


    "Can we sleep outside?" I got a great idea.


    These incidents were happening in the dorm rooms. But if we slept outside, there was a chance that the poking would stop during the night. Similar to social week, all we needed was some blankets and pillows. Maybe we could even bring a tent with us. For the first time, it seemed that Luke was actually considering going along with my idea.


    "We can ask the school for some supplies to sleep outside," he decided to turn back to the office.


    When we walked back into the teacher''s office, all of the teachers avoided our line of sight. Not wanting to push themselves more than they already did for today. Luke ignored them as he went up to the same teacher since he didn''t want to waste more energy.


    "Your arms?" The teacher gulped.


    "We want some tents and supplies to sleep outside for tonight," Luke wanted them to immediately hand the supplies over.


    "Here," the teacher didn''t hesitate to hand over everything he had.


    I smiled as I walked over to other teachers to demand the same thing. It was better if we received more supplies for the future. We wouldn''t have to spend points on them when we entered high school. Without wasting a single second, every teacher I visited handed over everything they possessed in their inventories.


    "Should we go now?" Luke asked if I was finished.


    I nodded my head as the teachers looked at us in a new light. I wondered if it was just me when I heard the lock on the office clicking, refusing more visitors. It was time to find a place to set up the tents we received.


    "The courtyard should be a good place," I suggested from my experience.


    Once we walked to an open space in the courtyard, we began to take all the supplies out of our inventory. Cillian, who was passing by, walked up to us, wondering what was going on. Our supplies soared into the sky as we wondered where to start. Sienna, who was with Cillian at that time, decided to join us.


    "We''re sleeping outside today," Luke explained.


    "I''m sorry our room couldn''t be any help," Cillian pitied us.


    Familiar with tents, I took one out from the pile. Sienna also helped as she was familiar with joining me on these kinds of things. I proudly looked at the large tents that were almost the size of our normal room. Instead of sleeping on the ground, luxurious beds were placed beside each other. Sienna came up with the idea we should set up multiple tents with the same furniture inside to try to confuse the culprit.


    This was how a whole city of big tents were placed around wherever there was space in the courtyard. People stopped to stare at the scene, wondering what was going on. I wiped some sweat coming from my forehead as I started to feel hungry from moving around too much. I always wanted to try the idea of luxurious camping before as well.


    "This should work!" Sienna encouraged us.


    "You could join us," I offered them.


    "Maybe next time," Cillian turned his head, afraid the poking would come to them.


    "Let''s get some dinner now," I played with Sienna''s arms.


    The tents had to work with all the precautions we placed. I smiled as I walked into the tent I would be staying with Luke after spending time at the study room. I would never take sleep for granted again. I was already excitedly in my pyjamas, stretching my arms before slipping in the blankets. I closed my eyes, hoping for a decent night''s sleep while Luke did the same beside me.


    However, the loud sounds of violins playing an upbeat country song made me open my eyes again. The poking matched the rhythm, making this night worse than the others. I punched my pillow with the stress busting my limits. Luke also appeared extremely irritated as he instantly formed a sound blocking barrier over ourselves. But I covered my ears with my other pillow as the strong barrier turned out to be useless in blocking the sounds.

 Chapter 366 - The Musician (5)

    My ears were bleeding from the loud accordion that had joined the violins. We covered our ears as we both walked around the school, trying to find where the sound was coming from. Meanwhile, the poking still continued even when we were awake. Both the arms of I and Luke were slightly moving, starting to get bruised again.


    "Where is it coming from?" I yelled over the loud sound.


    "It isn''t coming from the classrooms," Luke shouted back.


    I almost jumped when the brass instruments started to join that horrible song that kept on repeating over and over again. I slammed each of the doors from the stress after destroying all the pillows. Luke didn''t lecture or scold me as he was too concentrated on getting rid of that awful noise in the empty school.


    We knocked on Alex''s door, wondering if others heard the noise as well. It was strange how nobody was complaining about it. Shelly yawned while opening the door for us. She gasped when she noticed our terrible appearance, covering our ears. Once the drums joined in, I started to go crazy from how well it went together with the poking.


    "Do you also hear that awful noise as well?" I found it strange she didn''t cover her ears with us.


    "What do you mea-?" She cut herself off as if she could suddenly hear that horrible song with us.


    "This is horrible!" She yelled while covering her ears.


    "Where is this coming from?" Alex followed Shelly''s actions.


    "We don''t know," Luke shouted, almost going crazy with me.


    "My arm!" Shelly almost collapsed onto the floor.


    I guiltily stepped away from her as I noticed the poking was happening to her and Alex as well. That reminded me that we never met them at night while we talked during the daytime. I ran away from her and knocked on Charles'' door that was right beside theirs to test out my theory. Charles opened the door, the same initial actions as Shelly.


    "Do you also hear that awful noise as well?" I repeated the same question to him.


    "In the middle of the night?" Charles'' grip slipped as the poking began to happen on his arms as well.


    "What is the school doing?" He yelled after giving up on creating a barrier that blocked sounds.


    The five of us gave up on our sleep as we began to search the school again where the sounds were coming from. We decided to split up as we scanned each room like our life depended on it. However, we couldn''t find any clues as all of us sighed in relief when the sun came out. That horrible song finally stopped! I knocked on the teacher''s office, finding it open early in the morning.


    The teacher froze, wondering why we came to them earlier than normal. It was also strange to them how there were others that joined us. All of us were extremely annoyed from suffering for the entire night. Luke, who was on the brink of snapping, ordered, "all of our arms hurt. The noise during the night made us unable to sleep."


    "The noise?" The teacher looked confused.


    "The country music with the loud drums, accordions, violins and brass instruments!" Charles added, almost yelling.


    "The poking and the music happened together," Alex complained with him.


    We all waited for the teachers to do something to get the same usual response that they were still investigating the issue. Once all the teachers in the office had exhausted all their mana, the five of us left the room. The three of them didn''t know how each night would get worse as time went on. But they knew how much we suffered from one glance during the past few days.


    "We should sleep together," Shelly didn''t want to suffer through this alone with Alex.


    "You can join us in one of the tents," I sighed.


    "I don''t remember anything about the noise," Alex asked Luke if it was always this bad.


    "It gets worse with each night," Luke honestly told him.


    While we were already inside the classroom, earlier than usual, the teacher was the one who came late for class. I had earmuffs on my ears, an accessory I would never put off and would defend with my life. Both Ellen and Allan looked at us weirdly as the six of us wore them after searching our closets. Nobody put warm earmuffs filled with fur in the summer.


    "Did last night get worse?" Ellen noticed the new victims who joined us.


    "The noise," I groaned, remembering the song.


    The only reason we decided to stay inside the tents was because the sound was louder inside the dorms. Miliana also ended up joining the list of victims once Charles had returned to his dorm room to see if it was the same for him. He didn''t know he would affect his partner by asking the same question as I did.


    "I can''t, I don''t know what to do," Miliana muttered while placing her hands against the earmuffs.


    There was nothing we could do as the teacher began her lesson. But we could all barely focus on the lesson, including the teacher who taught us sloppier than usual. I wondered how long this would last. At this rate, we would all go crazy if things escalated more than this. Placing my face on my desk, I looked outside the window, giving up on listening to the teacher''s lecture.

 Chapter 367 - The Musician (6)

    "I''m going to ask my parents to pull out all the donations if this continues," Miliana slammed her hands on the teacher''s desk.


    Last night, the same song wouldn''t let us sleep. The earmuffs barely helped as we had to listen to the out of tune music at its full volume. With the poking adding to the pain, Miliana joined me in punching the pillows nearby. I shifted a bit away from her as I never knew a quiet and shy person like her would explode like this.


    "That song! My arms," she snapped.


    "We''re doing everything that we can," the teacher helplessly looked at his colleagues for help.


    "Well you better. If this happens for one more day, the donations will be gone," Miliana stared at the teacher with disgust.


    I stiffened as Miliana slammed the door shut after we all left the office. Luke had already threatened them about pulling out the donations from the Roselia family a week ago. While we were somewhat used to the poking, the music took it on a whole new level. No matter where we searched the school, there were more door slams than everything else.


    I rubbed my arms as the teacher gave us access to the high school section of the school. We had to get more healing from there as the teachers here didn''t have more mana left. I walked through the barrier separating the two sections with the identification tag Luke possessed. While walking in the hallway, I got another idea.


    "What about we try setting up the tents in the high school section? There''s a barrier," I turned to them.


    "That could work!" Miliana suddenly grabbed my hands.


    Instead of knocking on the door at the high school teachers'' office, Charles just opened the door. We all lost our respect for the teachers while the situation never improved. Luke walked towards the closest teacher from us as usual, "we''re going to set up some tents in the high school section near the courtyard. Please heal our arms."


    "I''m sure things aren''t that bad-," the teacher was about to decline before she was cut off.


    "The Monete, Lumiere and Locast families are also considering pulling out the donations in the school as well," Alex crossed his arms after our discussion on our way here.


    "Do you not see the bruises on our arms?" Miliana added.


    "I''m only granting permission for tonight," she sent a message to her colleagues to let them know.


    The high school teachers didn''t suffer like the middle school ones. But after all the teachers in the office exhausted most of their mana like their colleagues in the other section, they started to look at us in a new light. We had to go to them now since the middle school teachers couldn''t use any more mana for the rest of the week.


    After classes finished earlier than it usually did since all the teachers were tired, I walked into the cafeteria with my classmates. Everyone chattered about us in low voices as they have heard about the poking and the horrible music. Afraid that they would become the next victims, the tables and seats around us were empty.


    "Can I know more about your fraction''s upcoming event?" One of them didn''t get the clue, sitting next to us.


    "Which one of us?" Charles narrowed his eyes.


    "Yours," he glanced at Alex.


    "We''ll be sending more news soon," Alex wasn''t willing to have a conversation with him.


    "Is there anything else you want to ask us?" Luke asked if he could leave us alone.


    "No," he squeaked out before quickly walking away.


    Even Ellen and Allan didn''t speak to us, knowing we liked silence more than anything. The only sounds present at this table was the utensils being used. Normally, Luke and Alex would take the time to promote their fraction''s event, talking to more people. This gave others the chance to network with the most powerful fraction. However, both of them weren''t feeling generous today.


    "Should we set up the tents here?" I found a good spot in the new courtyard.


    "I think it should work," Shelly agreed with me.


    "What''s happening?" Ben walked up to us, finding all the camping supplies scattered on the ground.


    "We''re sleeping here for today," I explained.


    "We got permission from the school," Alex added.


    In fact, the same scene repeated as the high schoolers wondered what was going on with middle schoolers entering their campus. Meanwhile, the other middle schoolers avoided us, walking the other direction as soon as they saw us walking towards them. I stopped meeting with Sienna and Delia as well.


    "I heard from Cillian and Sienna," Ben noticed our bad mood.


    "We just hope that the situation improves," Luke brightly smiled, feeling annoyed he had to respond to him.


    "Is there anything else you want to ask us?" Alex wanted him to leave.


    "Will you be helping us with the tents?" Charles supported Alex.


    "I''ll try to make things easier for you guys," Ben ran towards the crowd, asking them to stop gathering around where we were.


    With Ben''s help, we were able to bask in silence in our tents. We didn''t even talk to each other most times, preferring to send messages instead. The intense study sessions also completely stopped ever since the loud music started to play. The teachers, getting scared of us whenever we knocked on their office, stopped giving us exams and offered to hand out free points.

 Chapter 368 - The Musician (7)

    "Let''s start searching the school," I frowned as the music started playing.


    Maybe things will be a bit different in the high school section of the school. Shelly nodded her head as she slipped out of the bed with me. The first place we would go together would be the music room. The automatic doors opened, showing a violin floating in the air, playing the melody to that horrible song. I unconsciously raised my hand in the direction of the violin and yelled, "explosion."


    The walls towards the back exploded, debris forming from my powerful spell as the violin continued to play the song. Shelly, who had also lost all her patience mumbled, "laser beam."


    The ceiling started to tilt as we could hear the sounds of others running towards the room. We smiled when it was the rest of our team who stared at the violin. Miliana, who couldn''t tolerate the noise more than the rest of us, started laughing like crazy. Her eyes narrowed as she muttered, "nuclear bomb."


    My eyes widened from the spell that surrounded the entire room as Luke pulled me with him to run away. Sprinting to avoid the second effects of the spell, I didn''t look back as the entire section of the building began to collapse. Miliana brightly smiled as we couldn''t hear the sound of the violin in the music anymore, not regretting her actions.


    "We should blow up the entire building!" Her eyes sparkled.


    "I don''t think it''ll be bad," I agreed.


    Before others could disagree, Miliana started to mutter a bigger version of the nuclear bomb spell. Luke grabbed my hand to drag me away again as we tried to escape from the building itself this time. My heart almost skipped a beat as I could hear the sounds of the explosion that was louder than the music. I panted with sweat slipping down from my hair when I stopped running for my life. I shivered as I watched more than one building getting destroyed by her spell. Charles shook Miliana''s shoulders to bring her back to her senses, afraid she would blow up the entire campus.


    "The accordion stopped," she looked disappointed as the brass instruments and drums still continued to play.


    "They were destroyed sooner than I thought they would," someone spoke behind us.


    I spun to find a shadow in the form of a human in front of me. She held a flute in her hands as the rest of her features couldn''t be seen. The smell coming from her reminded me of the s-class monsters. Luke noticed the same as well, stepping in front of me. He pulled out his sword with Alex and Charles.


    "I''ll have to add more to my symphony," her voice contained some disappointment.


    "Why us? Why the poking?" I couldn''t help but ask.


    "I am called the musician. Since none of the monsters appreciated my music, I came here from being told that humans have different tastes. The poking is just an indicator to who can hear the music," she added some woodwinds to the song.


    "Are you a monster?" I stepped a few steps away from her.


    "How rude!" She disappeared.


    "I told you we should''ve blown up the entire campus," Miliana complained.


    "This does change things," Alex placed his hand against his forehead.


    "They''re only targeting the school," I noticed.


    "Can we leave the school?" I pitifully asked Luke.


    I desperately needed a break from all the poking and music that made my ears bleed. We had suffered longer than the rest of our classmates. I was sure the middle school teachers would readily give us the permission to take a short break. Luke sighed, actually considering my idea since we were both exhausted.


    When a trumpet suddenly loudly rang right beside us, my earmuffs weren''t enough to protect me. My head throbbed as I felt actual blood dripping onto the fur. Alex instantly sliced the trumpet into two with his sword while his ears were no better than mine. I started to tremble as we could have temporarily lost our hearing from that incident.


    "Shelly!" I dropped to the floor to check if she was fine.


    Shelly collapsed onto the ground, her pulse faint as she was closest to the trumpet. Alex shook her, trying to wake her while her body began to get colder. Luke pulled out a bottle of medicine that he thought could help and passed it to Alex from his inventory. Alex shot him a thankful look as he tilted the bottle into her mouth.


    "Is Shelly going to be ok?" I asked Alex.


    "Michelle is going to be fine," he pointed out some colour was starting to return to her face.


    While I held Shelly''s hands, Luke cleaned the blood from my ears with a handkerchief. He also offered some extra pieces of cloth to the others as all our ears were damaged from the attack. I squeezed her hands, trying to keep her hands warm to help.


    "We''re going to the teacher''s office the first thing in the morning," Luke didn''t want the same to happen to me.


    I pushed Miliana out of the way as I could hear faint sounds of another instrument coming towards us. I turned my head, trying to locate where it was coming from as others followed me with our damaged hearing. I gasped as a huge horn was about to crash into my skull.

 Chapter 369 - The Musician (8)

    "My fianc¨¦e''s head is bleeding from last night''s attack!" Luke yelled at the high school teachers.


    My forehead was nastily bruised with a big cut from the impact since the horn had sharp edges. I never knew its edges near where the sound would come out would be sharper than knives. I pressed his handkerchief against the injury to prevent the blood from dripping down to the rest of my face. Instead of deciding to heal it immediately, Luke pulled me to the teacher''s office to make a point out of this injury.


    "My partner isn''t waking up," Alex held Shelly in his arms.


    "I can''t hear from one of my ears anymore!" One of Miliana''s ears continued to drip with blood.


    The high school teachers began to use heal on me, Shelly and Miliana first, almost using all the mana they possessed. I sighed in relief when Shelly opened her eyes for the first time after collapsing. The teacher stiffened as they noticed Luke, Alex and Charles, waiting for their turns to get their ears and arms recovered from last night.


    By the time the teachers were finished, they became scared of us like the ones in middle school. I hugged Shelly with tears filling my eyes, glad that she was able to sit down normally with us like nothing had happened. Meanwhile, this incident snapped all of Luke''s patience he had towards the teachers.


    "Do you have any safety precautions in place? At least an A-class level monster has been affecting us for weeks. We trusted you to keep your students from being harmed, but my fianc¨¦e gets injured while you say you have been investigating?" Luke wasn''t going to let them off.


    "What if my partner permanently lost her hearing?" Charles added.


    "And what if my partner never woke up?" Alex couldn''t hide his anger towards them.


    "My hearing could have been lost," Miliana wiped her furious tears from her eyes.


    The teachers stayed silent, feeling worried that they may lose their jobs at this rate. The children from the three most prestigious families in the district were injured with their respective partners who also came from families with high wealth and power. The donations coming from their families was where most of their salaries came from with the big bonuses.


    "We''ll be pulling our donations out," Luke made the verdict.


    "And we will be taking a few days of leave from today," he didn''t wait to get their approval.


    "The Lumiere and Ruette families will be also pulling the donations out while taking the same leave," Charles tried to comfort Miliana.


    "Us as well," Shelly shuddered from remembering how she had collapsed.


    I lightly closed the door from practice when Luke lectured me for almost slamming the door on him. I smiled as I would be finally able to leave the school as I waited for our hover cars to come. In the meantime, the high school teachers contacted their colleagues in the middle school section to send recordings of the lessons and some extra material if needed.


    "These are the times when we shouldn''t listen to the teachers," Luke tried to teach me while we decided to stay in a neighbourhood with all their mansions close to each other.


    "Are they even teachers at this rate?" I questioned their authority after suffering so much.


    "They''re not," Miliana answered for him, still unable to get rid of her anger towards them.


    "They''re not doing their jobs," she clenched her fists.


    I stepped into the hover car as we waved farewell to our classmates. Luke continued to study me if the teachers properly healed my injuries as he frowned from recalling how the teachers responded. I relaxed in the silence inside the car as I wished it would continue forever. As soon as I arrived in the mansion, I changed into my nightgown to flop onto Luke''s bed. I wasn''t taking any chances of being alone if the poking did come to us here as well.


    "Can we sleep together?" I hugged his pillow.


    "You can take that side of the bed," Luke allowed me to continue sleeping with him.


    Once I slipped into the comfy blankets, I closed my eyes in the daylight, hoping nothing would happen. I smiled as no poking or music could be heard as I continued to close my eyes. I also hugged Luke''s arm, feeling comfort from having him next to me when a a-class monster was running around. It felt so nice that I left my guard down and decided to take a deep rest.


    On a hot summer day, my forehead was warm from the sunlight. I gasped as I found myself in a part of the first district I have never been inside before. Squinting my eyes from the light, a young teenage girl held a violin in one of her hands beside me. Propping the violin against her shoulder, she lifted the bow to begin playing as I shifted a bit away from her. Although she was in a crowded area since she was near the front of a big corporate building, no one stopped to enjoy her performance.


    She was invisible to them as people entered in and out of the building during lunch break. I flinched as most of the notes were out of tune while the song choice was poor. But she continued to play, ignoring the poor responses from the audience. Wondering which building I was near, I looked up to search for the large logo. Rubbing my eyes if what I was seeing was real, Roselia Asset Management was reflected into my eyes with the family crest stamped beside it.

 Chapter 370 - The Musician (9)

    "Rika!" Luke shook me awake.


    "What?" I groaned, remembering the building in my dream.


    I stiffened as I noticed I was still hugging Luke tightly, not leaving much space between us. I immediately unwrapped my arms around him, slowly looking up at his face. Freezing from staring at his beautiful face from just waking up, I quickly turned my head once I came back to my senses. Although I was used to his inhumane beauty from his family descended from fairies, there weren''t many times I could see a vulnerable part of him.


    His face was brighter and more energized from sleeping with me, unable to continue staying up. I stretched my arms before rolling away from him. There was no way I could get up from the bed, wanting to continue sleeping. My face dug into the pillow as I muttered one more hour of sleep. Luke sighed, leaving me alone once he was freed from my grasp.


    "Only for today," he rose from the bed.


    I watched him yawn as he struggled to walk properly, tethering side to side. Opening his marble to prepare to go over today''s lesson sent by the teachers, he sat down on the couch. But his eyelids couldn''t stop dropping every few seconds, showing he was still tired. He continued to wobble as he tried to keep his eyes open until he found the upper part of his body falling onto the couch. I covered my mouth, trying to prevent myself from thinking he was so cute in trying to not fall asleep.


    Giving up with the strong temptation of taking a short nap, he eventually fell asleep with the silence that filled the room. I smiled before deciding to stop watching him and continue sleeping on the bed. Passing the entire day by sleeping, my eyes slid towards the couch, finding Luke was still sleeping. I started to feel bad he was on the couch while I was on the bed. At the same time, I didn''t want to wake him up.


    I tiptoed around the room, trying not to make a single sound. My stomach growled, being hungry for not eating a single meal yesterday. I slowly turned the doorknob, escaping from the room after silently closing the door. I never knew practicing to softly close the door would ever become helpful.


    I almost cheered once I was stepping down the stairs as I could do whatever I wanted while Luke was sleeping. I ran into the dining room where the tablets were located, wondering what to order for breakfast. But I was soon interrupted as I was getting a call from Shelly. While I started to order some cake, I found Alex''s face on the video call instead of Shelly. I instantly regretted picking up the call as I hid the tablet behind my back.


    "Is there anything you need?" I wondered what was wrong.


    "Luke hasn''t been picking up any calls yesterday and today," Alex looked worried for his cousin.


    "He''s sleeping. We''ve been both sleeping ever since we arrived here," I explained.


    "I''ll come over," Alex began to get into a hover car.


    "You can''t!" I blurted.


    "You may wake him up when he hasn''t slept in weeks," I told him why I didn''t wake him.


    "You can''t stay in the mansion mostly by yourself," Alex ignored my concerns.


    "I''ll watch over Luke. How can watching over the mansion be hard?" I tried to dismiss his worries.


    "You''re probably ordering cake for breakfast, aren''t you? And you''re not planning to study or even touch the lessons sent by the teachers," he crossed his arms.


    I stiffened as his suspicions were confirmed once four whole cakes suddenly appeared on the dining room table behind me. I pretended there was nothing there as I tried to block the view from the camera. Instead of waking Luke, he was trying to watch over me for him. Ending the call before all the cakes would be confiscated, I stuffed the cakes inside my mouth. Alex also had access to this mansion as Luke gave him the identification tag for emergency purposes.


    This was why I didn''t notice him standing behind me as he tried to silently enter the mansion to let Luke continue sleeping. I reached my arms out for the other two cakes I couldn''t touch yet as he ordered the servants to take them away. Licking the cream on my lips, I disappointingly sat down on the chair. In some ways, Alex was more inflexible than Luke. I wondered why Shelly wasn''t here to visit with him as I started to leave the room.


    "We''re going to catch up on the lessons," he grabbed my wrist.


    I sighed as I nodded my head to follow him into the library. Once we entered a study room there, I could make as much noise as I wanted with the soundproof rooms. I continued to stand while Alex gestured to me to sit down on a chair. The table was filled with materials we had missed from the past few days. Since we were behind the other class, there were more to cover than usual. My newfound freedom shattered as I knew these would take days to finish in the time-space room.


    "I want to sleep," I grumbled.


    "Open the book Rika," he narrowed his eyes.


    "Can''t we continue this once Luke wakes up?" I turned my head away from him.

 Chapter 371 - The Musician (10)

    The young girl changed her location while opening her violin case. She was in front of another building, the Monete family hotels, filled with people on their vacation. I groaned as I didn''t want to hear another song from her, it reminded me of that horrible song that ruined my ears when I was inside the school. As expected, everyone frowned when they walked past her. Some even complained to the security, making her kicked out from this area as well.


    "Why doesn''t anyone like my music?" She leaned against the wall.


    "I practiced so hard," she looked at her case in her hands.


    It was because everything was out of tune. Even though this kind of performance would make her famous in the third district and below, it wasn''t passable for the people in the first district. Our enhanced hearing could point out every single mistake from a millimetre away from the correct note to a slight slip in the following rhythm. Especially for everyone almost professionally educated in music from a young age to be able to reside in the district.


    "Even my teachers told me to give up on music," she wondered if it was hopeless.


    She walked to the next crowded location she could find to share her music with others who could potentially enjoy it. The girl always imagined performing in front of a large crowd on a concert stage with a huge round of applause that went with it. She admired the orchestra she attended with her parents at a young age. After getting rejected on every single audition, she wouldn''t let her give up on her dreams.


    If she didn''t believe in herself, who would? I walked to follow her, finding myself in front of the Lumiere family media building. Was it all a coincidence that everyone related to the buildings she went to were suffering from that horrible song at school? People gossiped, wondering what she was doing in low voices. I already prepared myself by covering my ears.


    Taking a deep breath before starting her performance, she brightly smiled to motivate herself. However, nothing had changed from the previous location. People passed by her, pretending she didn''t exist while others reported her to the nearby security. She hardened her heart as she soon decided to pack up before getting kicked out again. But before she got up to leave, someone walked up to her.


    "I loved your performance, would you please let me dance to it next time?" A fan finally appeared in front of her.


    "Really?" She excitedly grabbed her hands.


    The fan nodded her head. The girl knew that someday, someone would come to appreciate her music. The day was today as she walked with her first fan to discuss more about the details. Although I felt happy for the girl who wasn''t good at the violin, I wondered why I was seeing all this. It was different from entering the cave that destroyed my body in the process.


    "Rika!" Alex yelled at me to wake up.


    The scene shattered as I began to open my eyes. Maybe I was more tired than I thought I was. When I looked around to see where I was, I found my face placed against the table in the study room. I wasn''t used to being inside the study room lately ever since Luke didn''t have the energy to continue them anymore.


    "I told you I needed some sleep," I grumbled.


    "Try suffering from the pokes as long as I have," I managed to pull myself up.


    "That''s not it. You''re starting to burn up," Alex placed his hand against my forehead.


    Alex pondered on what to do, not wanting to disappoint his cousin. He didn''t know I have been suffering from these fevers every time I got each of my memories returned. I gasped as I realized the side effects from the memorila weren''t gone. I didn''t know it would show me someone else''s memories instead of only my own.


    "It''s not that bad," I was used to them by now.


    "I should have listened to you," he helped me get up from my seat.


    After managing to drag me out of the study room, he found Luke walking down the stairs, refreshed from catching up on his sleep. Luke paused, instantly noticing something wrong with me. He sprinted to where Alex supported me in walking towards the second floor where all the bedrooms were.


    "What happened?" Luke turned to Alex.


    "Rika suddenly got a high fever after collapsing in the study room," Alex explained.


    "The memories?" Luke thought of what happened a few weeks ago.


    I nodded my head, "they''re not mine. I''m watching someone else this time."


    "Let''s go to the infirmary," Luke sighed, also used to sending me there.


    After he tucked me into the bed, he started to explain the situation to Alex, assuring him it wasn''t his fault. In fact, Luke thanked him for watching over me while he slept. Alex, who began to pity his cousin again after Luke told him this happened after my kidnapping, decided to increase the security in his mansion as well. He was shocked that someone would observe the mansion gates for weeks to get information about the servant''s uniform to break in.


    "This is why even the servants can''t leave the mansion anymore. The gates only open and close to people who have these tags," Luke explained.

 Chapter 372 - Taken Away (6) - Evans POV

    "Look how much she resembles them. It wouldn''t be odd if someone thought they were her parents," grandma mumbled.


    My parents couldn''t disagree with grandma, staring at the lovely scenery formed. Almost dazzled by their beauty like a wall of extravagant roses bloomed behind them. Rika was the result of taking the best gorgeous features of Joanna and William. She naturally sat in Joanna''s lap, calling her mother instead of coming to my parents. Her innocent eyes reflected Joanna''s sweet and loving gaze towards her.


    As I carefully studied my parents, they appeared betrayed by Luke. Rika''s current appearance couldn''t have come from her illness. It didn''t make sense that it would be a coincidence. My parents turned to Luke for an explanation, getting offended when he coldly ignored them. Meanwhile, Rika begged Luke''s parents if she could raise a pet, pulling out the most mesmerising eyes. And unexpectedly, they absolutely melted under her, agreeing to let her raise a pet. She barely acknowledged us existing, resembling the rest of Luke''s family.


    After Rika got what she wanted, she kissed Joanna''s cheek, displaying their closeness. Meanwhile, Luke never let Rika come closer to us than the fixed distance he chose. My parents were heartbroken, their eyes glistening, mixed with envy. Taking this chance, Joanna slightly smirked in our direction, sending Rika away with Luke and Alex. She brightly smiled as she gestured, "we should resume our discussion in the meeting room."


    The tension heightened inside the meeting room, Luke''s parents hiding their hostility towards us behind their polite masks. Unlike before, William got straight to the point, passing my parents a thick folder of doc.u.ments. I stayed silent as my parents froze in the middle of reading the first page, almost slamming the entire folder down.


    "We''re not selling our daughter away," my mom''s hands trembled.


    "Is one trillion not enough to compensate you?" Joanna wondered.


    "We would never sell our daughter for any amount of money," my dad was angry.


    "I think you are misunderstanding the situation. We are compensating you for taking care of our daughter for the last month and the first few years of her life," she revealed.


    "You''re trying to take our parental rights away!" My mom raised her voice.


    "We are being generous on our end. We could have easily gotten custody without having to meet you. However, we decided to have a discussion with you," William believed.


    "You mean your lawsuits?" Grandma guessed.


    "We do not want to go to court. We wish to settle this matter on amicable terms," he urged them.


    "What gives you the right to take our daughter away from us?" My mom shouted.


    "You made my children and nephew stay inside a former storage room the previous month. In addition to nearly killing my daughter from your carelessness when she caught a virus," Joanna angrily smiled.


    "And a few days ago, my daughter was almost kidnapped from your rash actions. How could we still trust you? This is neglect and a clear sign you do not have the ability to take care of my daughter," she pointed out.


    "That storage room was the most luxurious room in my entire house," grandma scoffed.


    "Are you trying to mock us?" She nastily stared at them.


    "If I didn''t send my son and nephew prepared, they would have suffered from the unlivable conditions. The space you gave them was less than the size of this table. The picture my son sent me shows they could have gotten severely sick within the first few days," Joanna turned on the screen.


    Grandma went speechless as Joanna pointed out the stained rotten corners of the storage room. The leaking ceiling where old rainwater dropped onto the nasty floors, covered with dirty bugs and endless dust. No sunlight could come inside as there were no windows, creating terrible bacteria and viruses. In addition to the horrible beds that were surprisingly hand-me-downs her neighbour''s dogs used. It brought back my memories of how badly grandma treated them in the beginning. As Joanna''s presentation continued, it was obvious whose side the judge would pick if my parents took this to court.


    "She was an unwelcome guest in the beginning," grandma admitted.


    "It wasn''t like you did anything to stop me," she guiltily mumbled.


    "I should have done something back then," my mom regretted.


    "Take their money. At least help your sister with the lawsuits," grandma suggested.


    "We can take back the lawsuits in addition to compensating you if you sign these doc.u.ments," William agreed.


    "Your daughter is a complete stranger to you. How many times has she visited you? Think about your sister who is about to go to jail with her husband. Who is willing to take in their children? You can do more for Evan with the money they''re offering you. It''s better than nothing," grandma aggressively argued.


    "We can also offer visitations. However, it is a maximum of once a year inside our villas," Joanna added.


    Luke''s parents were giving an illusion of a choice. With the terms they were offering, it was hard for my parents to refuse. Especially with grandma on their side, eyeing the cheque in Joanna''s hand. My dad tightly clenched his hands, helplessly gazing, "you''re not giving us a choice."


    My dad blamed everything on my mom''s side of the family, furiously signing everything. My mom''s hands trembled as she struggled to pick up a pen. She grit her teeth as she was pressured by grandma to quickly finish everything. Once they were finished, Joanna insultingly passed them a cheque while her husband got rid of the lawsuits. I shuddered as my parents had officially sold my sister for the well-being of my aunt''s family.


    Eventually, the bright day turned into the evening as William thoroughly went over the doc.u.ments with my parents, disclosing everything. Meanwhile, Joanna was missing, leaving the room after confirming everything was signed. My mind was hazy, not listening to their discussion anymore. My parents loved my sister, sometimes making me think more than they loved me. If they could sell my sister off, what would that mean for me?


    In my eyes, they barely fought back, a few hours at most. Although I knew they didn''t have a choice, it was disappointing. Near the grand doors, William put his phone on speaker mode, letting us hear Luke asking Rika, "your parents are leaving right now. Do you not want to say your farewells?"


    "I don''t. I want sleep," Rika was clearly disappointed.


    As we exited the mansion, I raised my head to look at my sister standing behind a large window. Her sad eyes staring at us from above, trapped inside her castle, pure and unknowing. Somehow reminding me of a confined princess, waiting to be freed.


    The tragic day when she was taken away from us forever.

 Chapter 373 - The Dancer (1)

    Of course, I never had access to those identification tags once I entered the mansion. It didn''t matter to me anyways since I had to escape the infirmary first to go anywhere. I closed my eyes, only blinking to find myself in a practice room with mirrors acting as walls. Tall wooden bars were attached to the mirrors while dancing flats and heels were scattered onto the light brown floors.


    The other girl, who claimed to be a fan of that girl, attentively listened to the music, stepping and switching movements while counting the beat. Late in the night, she was the only one using the room. Her feet bruised from her intensive pressure from dancing on her toes, tipping her leg in the air, trying to get that perfect position. My eyes welled with tears as it was similar to me when I was forced to learn ballet by the school.


    My toes and muscles would ache, unable to endure the strict teachers that spotted every mistake. Countless hours of practicing after classes ended while Luke made me repeat the same movements over and over again until I perfected them. Eventually these movements became ingrained into my body, unconsciously using them even when the classes ended once I graduated elementary school.


    But that didn''t mean I wasn''t free from dance classes. Ballet was the foundation for other dances I had to learn where the Roselia family tutors would be more merciless than the teachers at school. I didn''t like the performing arts, always tortured by them. However, the girl practicing in front of me, was smiling like she was having fun while practicing. My respect for her increased as she didn''t let her sore muscles give her the excuse to leave the practice room.


    Like the girl who played the violin, she brought a small stereo with her in a crowded area. Once she turned the music on, the girl started to dance in front of a crowd who never turned to take a glance at her. She was invisible to them, the people who began to report her to the security owned by the Locast family. This was why she walked up to the girl who played the violin. She knew how hopeless one could feel when nobody was looking at them.


    "Your dancing is so pretty," the girl with the violin clapped for her.


    "Thank you," she wiped some tears welling in her eyes.


    "I don''t ever miss a day of practice," her heart warmed from the first person who acknowledged her efforts.


    I clapped for the both of them, making one more person recognize their hard efforts. Even though they wouldn''t be able to hear me, I hope they would be able to stand in front of an audience that would appreciate them someday. It would be too sad if no one accepted them.


    "Her fever is getting worse," Luke tried to shake me awake.


    "I''m up," I opened my eyes to see myself in the infirmary again.


    "What''s wrong?" I wondered why Luke was clenching his fists.


    "We have taken the maximum number of days we could take a leave," Luke explained.


    My jaw almost dropped since I didn''t want to return to the school yet. Why would I want to leave a safe haven for a dangerous place where a monster resided? It was also clear the teachers didn''t finish their investigation yet, leading to a high possibility the same things would repeat once we entered the school campus.


    "I don''t want to leave," I tugged his sleeve.


    "I already packed our stuff," he frowned.


    "The teachers sent us a message they have increased the security," Luke didn''t believe them.


    "We can ask other families to pull their donations out," Alex suggested.


    All of us entered one hover car, choosing to stay together. Miliana silently trembled with anger when she heard from Charles that the teachers were still figuring out the issue. Meanwhile, Luke was busy organizing more medicine inside his inventory, taking a huge supply from his mansion. When Alex noticed Luke taking most of the bottles out in the infirmary, he stopped by his own mansion to do the same.


    "Are you ok Rika?" Shelly noticed how my body was burning hot from the side effects.


    "I am," I leaned against Luke.


    I closed my eyes, hoping to get more sleep while I could. Only opening my eyes when the hover car drifted into the courtyard in the middle school section. I sighed as I walked out the car, wondering if we couldn''t take more days of leave. Since the sky was dreamy violet, the edge of the daytime, most of the classes should have already ended. It was better to directly go to the high school section where we could sleep in the tents.


    As soon as the violets transitioned into the dark navy shade of the night, I flinched as the poking resumed. I groaned as this was not the best time when I had just recently recovered from my fever from chugging all the medicine Luke passed to me. When I turned to my classmates, they just looked thankful that the music wasn''t loudly playing as before.


    "We hope to start the performance together," two shadows suddenly appeared in front of us.


    "Without the music?" I hoped that horrible song wouldn''t play again.


    "I can''t dance without the music," she waved her hand to teleport us somewhere.

 Chapter 374 - The Dancer (2)

    Our hands were chained onto the handles of the many chairs in the big theatre. Miliana furiously kicked the chairs in front of her when she found the same instruments in that horrible song floating near the edges of the stage. I started to regret not wearing those earmuffs when walking out of the hover car. All of us sat in a single row together, not able to move from the spell. We couldn''t use another explosive spell again when we didn''t know if we could escape from its impact.


    "I''m so telling my friends to pull all the donations out!" Miliana shouted towards the stage.


    Once the music started, our ears were directly exposed to the harsh music of high-pitched sounds resembling nails scratching the black chalkboard. I squeezed my hands into fists, trying to tolerate the noise before screaming in pain with Miliana. Meanwhile, one of the shadows pointed her toes into the beginning positions of her dance. At the swinging beats, she twirled and jumped like the concept of rhythm existed in the piece.


    "Rika, watch carefully," Luke shouted at me to observe the dancing shadow.


    "You see how the angle in her toes are off by three degrees and not matching the straight angle it should be. Sometimes you make the same mistake as well. This is how you appear in front of others," Luke had the audacity to use this chance to teach me a lesson.


    "Plus the twirls aren''t perfectly balanced, it wobbles too much to the side when it should stay in one position. I don''t want you to be making the same mistake in the future," he tried to find more mistakes in the shadow''s performance.


    "But the shadow''s dancing isn''t that bad," I started to pity her.


    "Her arms are slightly bent when it shouldn''t be in the position that she''s in right now. Legs are not perfectly straight when she lifts them up. She''s also missing the hidden beats in the song. The lack of attention to the details is what makes the difference," Luke turned to me.


    The music abruptly stopped as the dancing shadow gestured to stop the performance. She floated to our row, sick of hearing all the mistakes pointed out from Luke. I smiled as I could tolerate more of Luke''s lectures in exchange for the music stopping. Once she was in front of Luke''s seat, she asked, "have you ever practiced as much as I have? What gives you the right to criticize our performance?"


    "Maybe I may have not practiced as much as you have. But I have higher expectations for my fianc¨¦e," Luke didn''t acknowledge her efforts.


    "Then why don''t I see her dance?" She switched her target to me.


    "I think your dance was wonderful," I rubbed my wrists, free from the shackles.


    "Thank you," she backed away a little bit like she was embarrassed.


    "Can I choose the song to be ''Swan Lake from the Past''," Luke requested to the shadow.


    "That song?" The shadow floated away in fear.


    The ''Swan Lake from the Past'' was one of the hardest songs to dance to from its complex rhythms and beats in addition to the dynamic phrasing that often changes. A song that I had suffered from years of grueling practice. I shuddered as if I made a mistake here, Luke could make me practice the same song again until I perfected it again. I never wanted to go back to those days again.


    "And please choose the violins, flute and drums to be the only instruments," he specified to make it even harder.


    "I''m really sure you can dance better than me, do I really need to show you?" I gulped.


    "Although we can''t stop the poking, if we lose, then we''ll stop the performances with the two of us and move onto a new location," she gave a tempting offer.


    Everyone''s attention went to me as I was the one who could stop the noises at night. The mounting pressure burdened my shoulders as I walked down the stairs to head towards the stage. I sighed while putting my dance shoes out and changing into a better outfit to dance in. If I wore longer sleeves and dress, then maybe the mistakes wouldn''t be as noticeable. I started to stretch on the stage while Luke''s intense stare burned my back.


    "You can nod when you want to begin the music," the shadow sat in the first row.


    Checking if my arms and legs were straight, I nodded to begin the music. I opened my arms to start the first twirl while lifting my legs to do a flip afterwards. Pointing each of my toes, matching the rhythm, I spun to jump into the air. I needed to keep my concentration up to make sure each of my movements flowed with the story of the song. Perfect angles were important when dancing, making the line in your figure look attractive.


    I bowed once I was finished, hoping no one else noticed I was a one eighth of a millisecond late in one of my jumps. My arm also slightly tethered in one of the moves from the lack of familiarity since it has been three years since I danced to this song. Otherwise, I couldn''t find the other mistakes that I''m sure that Luke would have found. When I looked up to him in the audience, I could tell he was not pleased.


    "You were right," the shadow sniffled.

 Chapter 375 - The Dancer (3)

    "There''s no way I can win against that," the shadow cancelled her spell.


    Everyone who was chained to prevent them from escaping the performance got up from their seats. Since the exit was near the stage, they walked down the stairs. While I wished everything ended here, Luke stood in front of the stage to point out all the mistakes I made. My head dropped towards the ground as the noise from the instruments were replaced with his criticisms.


    "You know you were late in one of the beats. Your arm wasn''t stable for one move while you were half a degree from the angles you should have," he wanted me to repeat the same moves again.


    I groaned as I opened my arms into that position where it slightly tethered to the point it was barely unnoticeable unless you focused on that certain arm. I gritted my teeth as I continued to hold the position while Luke added some additional pointers. Meanwhile, the shadow began to pity me as she watched me struggle through fixing my mistakes.


    "Rika, your arm is still not stable," he wanted me to stay in that position until my arm could hold itself up properly.


    "Her head is slightly tilted as well," Alex joined in.


    "I''m not doing this anymore," I blew up.


    "So what if my arm is slightly a degree off? It''s not the end of the world," I pointed out we were free from them now.


    "You''re not doing this to Shelly or Miliana," I complained.


    "Your dancing is pretty poor," Charles smirked to agree with them.


    "But the shadow doesn''t think it''s that horrible, do you?" I asked her.


    "I think I should give up on dancing," she repeatedly mumbled, feeling more dejected.


    "No, no. Didn''t you say you practiced really hard?" I waved my hands to dismiss her thoughts.


    "Maybe if you had better teachers, you could improve faster," I tried to cheer her up.


    "Luke can help you with the pointers," I was hoping he would change his target to her.


    "If you tell us where you came from and how to stop the poking, I can point out your mistakes while teaching Rika," Luke seemed like he wasn''t going to let me go for this.


    "You lead the orchestra with the violin, do you not? I can also give you some pointers since I have to do it for Rika anyways," he turned to the other shadow.


    Both the shadows nodded their heads, not knowing what they were placing themselves into. We all gathered around the stage to question why they were doing this and how they came here. Meanwhile, Charles had to keep Miliana from trying to kill them every few seconds. The dancing shadow revealed, "we used to perform for the monsters. They resembled you. But they chased us out, saying to come here to perform in front of the people who have the indicator. So our entire circus moved."


    "Circus?" I gasped.


    "Each of us have our own roles. With the total of six members we have the musician, dancer, magician, swordsman, jugglers and the host," the musician explained.


    "Were they perhaps s-class monsters like um Ailes?" I thought of the first reincarnated person that came to my head.


    "Ailes is the host! He should be somewhere nearby," her voice sweetened.


    "Are you sure we should stay here?" I turned to Luke.


    With s-class monsters being involved in this situation, the whole picture had changed. All of us froze as we didn''t see any of the shadows as a threat anymore. However, the dancer guiltily looked away like there was something else they didn''t reveal yet.


    "Let me guess, some of your team members are extremely violent," I laughed, hoping it wasn''t the case.


    "How did you know?" The dancer seemed surprised.


    "I was hoping I was wrong," My head dropped.


    "Ailes planned out a schedule to when each of us should perform. We''re the opening act while the others should start from tomorrow," the musician added.


    "Like how violent???? I continued to ask.


    "Like some flaming swords being thrown around or explosions. Sometimes animals are used as part of the act and escaping from something," the musician recalled.


    "That''s it! I''m not staying here anymore!" Miliana exploded.


    "If I stay here then I''ll die," she shouted to blame the shadows.


    Before she could vent more of her anger towards them, both the shadows disappeared while the sunlight began to pour in from the windows. It was nice to know that we were being spared during the day. Slamming the doors open, Miliana stomped while directly heading to the teacher''s office.


    "There''s s-class monsters here and you''re not extending our leave?" She screamed at the teachers.


    "S-class monsters?" the teacher gulped, becoming the first victim from us.


    "That''s right!" Miliana crossed her arms while looking at them with scorn.


    "And this s-class monster is stronger than the other ones. He''s the oldest and the leader of all of them," I revealed to the others for the first time.


    "You can trust me! I almost got kidnapped by one of them," I added.


    The whole office went silent, all the teachers staring at my direction. Miliana was too shocked, almost fainting from the news. There was no way I was going to stay inside the school when this night would be worse than the others since the opening act was finished.

 Chapter 376 - The Magician (1)

    "That''s not all. They said they''re in a circus. You know with all those flying daggers covered in fire and traps to kill somebody to impress the audience. I think sometimes they even choose one of the people in the audience to participate. But I think the magician and swordsman are the worst because their attacks would be on a whole other scale," I rambled to the teachers.


    "And we know a way to get you involved. If we meet you during the night, you can become a target too, making the investigation even easier!" I brightly smiled, hoping the main targets would be switched.


    "We''re doing all that we can," the teacher waved her hands, not wanting to meet us in the night.


    "I have children who need me," she guiltily looked away from us.


    "What about my fraction members, me and my partner?" Charles couldn''t believe her response.


    Even Luke, who had some of his generosity recovered from getting some sleep a few days ago, seemed to have lost it from their lackl.u.s.ter reaction. The teachers here weren''t willing to get in danger with us even though it was their jobs to protect the students. Meanwhile, they didn''t seem to be budging on increasing our leaves.


    "My fianc¨¦e had been burning from a fever when we had to return to school from our leave ending. She has already been injured before we left, and you are not willing to do anything about it?" Luke yelled.


    "We healed her," one of the teachers grumbled.


    "Let''s go Rika, these people aren''t worth talking to," Luke grabbed my wrist to pull me out of their office.


    "I''m holding a fraction meeting to help with this issue," he turned to Alex to gather the people in his main fraction.


    "I''ll also help," Miliana gritted her teeth.


    This was how we quickly gathered everyone in our fractions in a neutral area, the courtyard with many tents. With all our classmates'' efforts and Ben who noticed us along the way, it only took one hour for a crowd of key people to come. Although only people from the high school section could come since we were in their section of the school.


    "I''ll do the announcement," Luke went to take the lead.


    "I called for all of you today to let you in on some important information. We went to the teachers for help and they refused to help us. There are s-class and three dangerous a-class monsters in the campus during the night," he raised his voice.


    "Some of you may already know this is the reason why we''re sleeping in tents. But from tonight, we will have to avoid both mana and sword users as well," Luke asked them for help.


    "We should be pulling all our donations out," Miliana suggested.


    "Michelle, my classmate wasn''t able to wake up a few days ago for several hours and Rika got severely injured from trying to protect me," her eyes welled with angry tears.


    "My cousin slept for days as well, trying to recover from the attacks," Alex recalled the time Luke missed all his calls.


    "Our ears bled until we almost lost our hearing," Charles almost shouted.


    "And the s-class monster we are talking about is the leader of all the monsters," I didn''t forget to mention.


    "What is the school doing?" Claire found the situation to be more serious than she thought it would be.


    "The Suilett family will also be pulling our donations out," Lucius got the approval from Belle to protect their younger brother.


    As everyone who gathered in our meeting promised to have their families pull their donations out, the sky drifted into the night without us knowing it. I stiffened as the crowd who came to help also got caught in the same mess as us. Their arms slightly moved, including them in the list of targets. My eyes widened as I saw someone about to throw a flaming sword in our direction.


    "Run!" I yelled at all of them.


    Abandoning the tents, we all began to sprint for our lives as more swords were aimed towards us. I winced as explosion spells were mixed in the attacks. This was a next level attack than the nights before. I didn''t know what would have happened if we didn''t get a warning about this. We even promised to meet them tonight for the additional lessons.


    "This way," the dancer waved to us.


    With us taking the lead in running, Luke pulled me to where the dancer gestured to us to run. I continued to dash wherever I could with Luke, almost sighing in relief when we lost the swords due to her help. I wondered why they were so intent in trying to kill us unlike the musician and the dancer. Would I have to continue this every night with all of them from now on?


    I jumped over the blasted hole while buildings began collapsing above us. The entire campus was mercilessly getting destroyed as loud sounds of falling rocks made my heart skip a beat. With my weak stamina, I almost stumbled onto the ground while Luke continued to drag me to avoid the next attack. When my knees collapsed, unable to run no more, his eyes widened as he quickly lifted me into his arms, our pace getting slower than others with the extra weight.


    "We can escape this night," he grunted.

 Chapter 377 - The Magician (2)

    Luke worked hard, matching the pace of other people while dripping with sweat to endure the night. If he stopped to take a rest, there was a high chance both of us would die. The aims of the swords were very accurate, injuring one of our fraction members, rendering their arm useless. We didn''t have the chance to counterattack since we could injure the people in front or behind us.


    The dancer continued to lead a safe route where only explosion spells came out of nowhere. It would be almost impossible to focus with both the swords and bombs coming from the sky. Luke also had to jump over the big craters of holes that would trap someone inside, making them unable to get out due to its sheer depth. As the night continued, the obstacles increased, making it harder to run when the ground was uneven.


    "I can point the spell into the sky," I raised my hand.


    "Don''t! They''ll know where you are!" The dancer warned us.


    I sighed as I placed my hand back down. Instead, I focused on creating a barrier around Luke in case he wouldn''t be able to dodge an attack. No teachers were seen in the campus like they had already escaped from the school. I knew they were like this since their lives were precious to them too. However, it didn''t stop our grudges against them from increasing since we needed to live as well.


    "Is there any safe place here?" I asked her.


    "The entire school is used as a stage for the circus," she shook her head.


    "Ailes made it this way since we wanted to perform on the biggest stage we had," the dancer seemed to regret her actions.


    "Then we can escape from the school!" I had some hope.


    "There are no exits once you enter the school during the night. We didn''t want any of the audience members from escaping," she pointed out the faint barrier around the school.


    "Wow, Ailes really thought of everything," I pretended to be impressed.


    While Luke struggled to continue running five hours into the night with the others, the attacks had evolved. No more were only explosions but racing through flooded waters and thick sandy grounds. You had to lightly step like large spanning jumps to keep afloat or sink into the floor. Laser beams circled around random areas like they were lighting the concert hall. Thick fog also surrounded us, making everyone dependent on their ears since they couldn''t see more than a few metres.


    "I can run on my own now," I didn''t want to become more of a burden.


    "I don''t have time to place you back down," Luke pushed himself to his limits.


    "You can drop your arms and I''ll jump out," I suggested.


    "It''s not like before Rika. Do you think you can handle it?" He looked for more routes to escape.


    "If everyone else can, I can as well," I pointed out.


    Knowing he wouldn''t last long with carrying me, he dropped his arms as I jumped out as planned. But someone pulled me into the air as my feet swung midair, wondering where the ground was located. Luke reached his arm out to pull me towards him as the distance between us increased.


    "Rika!" He screamed as I quickly chanted a spell to place a barrier over him before he got hit by an explosion spell.


    I sadly smiled as he quickly came back to his senses once the barrier shattered. Feeling the arms around my waist, I wondered who was the one pulling me towards the sky. I lifted my head to find another shadow floating higher into the air. By the time he stopped, there were no attacks coming towards us with our altitude.


    "Why me?" I found myself in a safe place.


    "I don''t have anything against you compared to the people on the ground," he answered.


    "What do you mean?" I wondered.


    "You don''t have the same bloodline as them. You come from a normal family while they are the descendants of those horrible families that ruined my life," he gritted his teeth.


    "Ruined your life?" I decided to carefully tread around the topic.


    "Their families caused my career to fail from abusing their power," he watched them suffer.


    "Did they confine you and take away your freedom?" I almost sympathized with him.


    "They placed all the blame on me. The na?ve me who didn''t know anything back then," he shook his head.


    "They confine you?" he looked down at me.


    "I''m not allowed to go anywhere without their permission. I can''t eat, drink or wear any clothes I want while I get punished if I don''t obey their rules," I wondered what happened to him.


    "Is there anyone in particular I should aim at?" he waved his hand to show the map of all the attacks he had in store.


    "How about you do a big explosion spell at that office?" I pointed to the teacher''s office.


    "Is that all?" He tapped on a section of the map to make the entire building explode.


    "It''s not obliviated into ashes, we should make sure not a single particle exists there," I pointed out there could be survivors in that office.


    "I can do disintegration on that office," he leveled up the power in his spell.


    I froze as I never knew someone else other than me knew how to use that spell.

 Chapter 378 - The Magician (3)

    "I know how to do disintegration too!" I wondered how his spell would be different than mine.


    "You must be quite the magician," he seemed a bit surprised.


    Once he tapped the map again, the entire building disappeared from existence, not leaving a single trace. I gulped as this was different from mine, much more sophisticated. At the same time, I wanted to learn how to do it.


    "There''s no light and dark energies swirling together," I mumbled.


    "They''re compressed and swiftly done, not consuming as much mana," he explained.


    "But why make them suffer here when we can do much more damage by destroying their mansions?" I accidentally blurted my thoughts out loud.


    "Our host wanted this to be our stage," he sighed, having the same thoughts.


    "Where is Ailes?" I hoped to avoid wherever he may be.


    "He''s near the school barrier, maintaining it every night to keep the audience members inside," the magician seemed to reveal everything without any second thoughts.


    "So can you teach me to do a better job of disintegration?" I switched the topic, fearing he may take me to him.


    "Can you show me how you usually do it?"


    "Sure," I smiled while aiming outside the school barriers.


    Hopefully, I would accidentally use disintegration on Ailes, solving this entire problem tonight. I raised my hand towards the edge of the entrance of the school, concentration on all the small particles that made up the space. From the formation of the dirt to the trees living off the sunlight. Including the mana that pulsed in the air, making them stand firmer than the rest of the districts. Focusing on the edge of the barrier, I chanted, "disintegration!"


    Like I had expected, the light and dark energies drilled like a tornado to all of its surroundings. The hardest part was once the spell has been chanted, I didn''t know how to control it. It didn''t spare anything around it, sucking all that it could to fill its emptiness. The magician froze at the mass amount of power that continued to destroy everything on a large scale, not stopping at whatever it stood in its way.


    "I don''t know how to make it like yours," I turned to him for help.


    "How much mana did you pour into the spell?" He could sense the power behind it.


    "A lot?" I wondered if he didn''t do the same.


    "Normally, if done right, it doesn''t consume much mana," he began his explanation.


    "You just combine a hint of light and dark energies together to your target and they do the rest of the work since the two elements are on opposite sides," he showed the proper way of doing it by destroying another building inside.


    "So how do I get rid of that thing?" I pointed to the whirling tornado.


    "I don''t know," he admitted.


    "You can only lead it somewhere, hoping it''ll disappear after someone else takes care of it."


    "Can''t Ailes take care of it? Doesn''t he know everything?" I wondered.


    "I can send a signal to Ailes," he seemed to agree before it caused more havoc.


    After tapping on another section of the map, a black dot began to move towards where I had unleashed the spell. My eyes widened as Ailes have been close to the entrance of the school near the middle school section. I almost gasped as all these attacks could have started because of me. I thought he would have given up on me after the other s-class monsters told him I was dead.


    "Did Ailes mention to target a specific member in the audience?" I hoped it wasn''t the case.


    "He just mentioned a girl with silky silver hair with average features, resembling the ones coming from the northern part of the third district. It can''t be you since many people in the first district have silver hair. Plus, you are one of the most beautiful people I have ever seen, making it certain you come from the first district," he stared at my face.


    Was I supposed to be thankful that they didn''t know what my new appearance looked like? From hearing my punishment from the overseer before he moved on, I thought this appearance would attract more monsters. However, I was glad it wasn''t the case for some reason. I wiped off all my emotions from my face as I watched Ailes struggling to handle my failed spell. I hoped it would exhaust him into the point he wouldn''t be able to continue this into the next night.


    "How much longer?" I was starting to get bored of all the people running on the ground after a few hours passed.


    "Two more hours until the sun rises," he looked at the sky.


    "Don''t you get bored of watching them?" I wondered.


    "I switch up the attacks every once in a while," he showed me how he added some tornados to the mix, inspired by my failed attack.


    "How about some thunderbolts? It could go well with the water," I thought of less dangerous attacks that would be easier to avoid.


    "I added them in," he snapped his fingers.


    I stiffened when the thunder bolts made the difficulty level strike up as it travelled among the fog and electrocuted the people in the water. Maybe the tornados and laser beams were better than this. The magician was able to hide where the thunder cursed through the sky, making it harder to detect than other spells.


    "I''ll let you join them soon since you''ll want to escape from this for the next night," he was much more generous towards me.

 Chapter 379 - The Magician (4)

    The magician placed me on a safe spot where none of the attacks had touched the area. When signs of sunlight came from the clouds, he vanished before I could thank him. I rubbed my eyes, feeling sleepy from staying up for the entire night again. I briefly wondered if I should go out of the spot, wandering to other places on the campus where some of the attacks still lingered. I did know where most of the attacks were set since I watched him control the area with the map the entire time.


    Feeling guilty that more people had a difficult time with the thunderbolts added, I stepped out of the safe zone. Plus, I knew where most of them were since I saw a crowd of people moving in the same direction, helping each other out. Unfortunately, they didn''t know it made them an easier target, thinking they lost the attacks. The magician intentionally made it that way to give them a false sense of hope.


    I sighed as I lightly jumped over all the planned craters, the dangerous waters and shattered sharp remains of the building. They had to be somewhere near here. Maybe I should have kept a better track of them while the magician drifted down towards the ground. I continued to walk, searching for any survivors. Kicking some stones out of annoyance how they were well hidden, I scanned the last place I saw them one more time.


    "Is anyone here?" I yelled.


    My voice rang, echoing inside the disastrous ruins. I already went through all the safe spots, meaning they were huddled in one of the dangerous ones. I really didn''t want to go there as the air fizzed with electricity. Placing a light barrier over myself, I walked inside the fog. Apparently, the fog and aftereffects from the bigger spells took a longer time to disappear. It was pretty impressive on the magician''s end.


    "No one here as well?" I shouted.


    If they weren''t here, it meant they were crowded inside the most dangerous section, the sand and large ponds of water, almost acting like a lake. A tornado had spun while the sand acted as conductors to the electricity. In addition, swords flew out of nowhere like missiles following them around. At least the missiles, tornado, and swords would be gone now. I wondered why they couldn''t discover any of the safe spots dotted on the map.


    "You guys are really hard to find!" I couldn''t find any traces of them.


    "Rika?" I found Shelly lifting a boulder that covered her.


    "Shelly!" I ran to hug her.


    It was getting pretty lonely trying to search for them alone. Only the dormitory was spared since the magician didn''t want to harm innocent people, making the rest of the high school campus destroyed. If it wasn''t for the grudge he had against their families, he was a pretty decent person. I guiltily looked away from her dirty face, full of sand and dirt. I almost forgot how hard it was to escape from the attacks, peacefully watching them from above.


    "I had a hard time finding you," I asked where the rest of them were.


    "We all gathered together to form a barrier under the boulders," she pointed from where she came from.


    "I''ll help you move the barrier," I learned some tips from the magician.


    "Levitate and push," I raised my arm towards the large boulder that covered them.


    Following my command, the boulder uncovered everyone under it. I smiled as we could all head towards the safe spot through my nicely planned route. I skipped towards the barrier, having some energy from not having to run like they did. Although there were some people injured with their arms barely clinging on the joints or scr.a.p.ed legs.


    "You can place the barrier down. The magician only attacks during the night," I reminded them while no one seem to have heard me.


    Seeing Luke huddled in the corner, others comforting him for his loss, he didn''t seem to notice me yet. He trembled, feeling an extreme amount of guilt that he couldn''t be the one taken instead. I stepped a few steps back, forgetting that I was almost taken from his arms. If I didn''t jump out of his arms that time, it was likely I would have suffered with them for the entire night.


    "I know a safe route out of here," I walked towards him to pull him up.


    Everyone was too focused on comforting Luke that they didn''t take a single glance in my direction. I needed to face him since all of them would move with him. Instead of me pulling him up, he quickly pulled me into his arms. His body shaking as he tightly hugged me, wondering if I was real. I sighed as we needed to get out of here while we could. His ruined hands filled with dirt and scratches squeezed my arms before letting me go.


    "You guys took the worse route," I brushed the dirt off my uniform.


    "Where were you?" Luke wouldn''t let my hand go.


    "With the magician," I didn''t want to tell them I was watching them suffer.


    "How do we know if the route you tell us will be safe?" Charles narrowed his eyes.


    "I just know, ok? Leave the questions for later," I avoided their eyes, knowing I wouldn''t be able to keep it hidden for long.

 Chapter 379 - The Magician (5)

    "Let''s follow Rika for now," Claire helped me out.


    I nodded my head as I began to lead them towards the dormitory with the best route possible. With Luke holding onto my hand, I took a longer time to jump towards where I wanted to go. When Jules was walking a bit too far away from the rest of us, I yelled, "there''s a crater towards that direction."


    His eyes widened as a few metres in, an actual crater appeared. I knew I was teeming with suspicion when I told another one of them a few steps ahead, there would be a pool of water fizzing with some electricity inside. Thanks to my warnings, they shiftily avoided everything with a bit of surprise present in their eyes when everything I said was true. Within ten minutes, we were able to come to the safe dormitory when it would have taken other people hours.


    "It''s like you know where everything was placed," Ethan commented.


    "I do know where everything was placed," I confessed.


    "How?" Charles began to suspect me again.


    "I told you, I was with the magician the entire time," I wasn''t going to reveal any more than that.


    "It''s like you saw a map of the entire place with all the attacks placed on them," Lucius derived most of the truth from my actions.


    "Maybe?" I looked away in another direction.


    "You totally saw the map!" Charles yelled.


    "Hey! I tried to convince him to give you guys less dangerous attacks!" I spun to defend myself.


    "Don''t tell me the thunderbolts were your idea!" He blamed me for the later attacks.


    "I thought the thunderbolts would be easier to avoid! I got rid of the tornados and laser beams for them. But you guys all ran together, making you an easier target. Like how could you avoid all the safe spots and only venture into the dangerous ones the entire time?" I accidentally blurted.


    "You watched us the entire time?" Charles got madder.


    "I distracted the s-class monster during that time too! The s-class monster probably exhausted at least half of his mana from my attack! I didn''t only watch you guys suffer. I also practiced using disintegration on the teacher''s office to get our revenge," I hoped it could make up for it.


    The people went silent from my confessions. I began to hide behind Luke as he stopped holding my hand from almost all of his guilt vanishing. Instead, he sighed as he apologized to all the people who worried for me. It wasn''t my fault the magician was friendly to me, treating me nicely the entire time. I was also the one who led them out of the mess so that we could heal the people who were injured faster.


    "So is this what happened? The magician took you from Luke, pulling you into the sky. You watched us from the sky, looking at his map the entire time where he did all the attacks. He taught you some spells in the meantime as well while you suggested some things to switch up the spells. But you also somehow got information from him to distract the s-class monster he was acquainted with," Lucius summarized everything almost perfectly.


    I nodded my head, not telling him I was the main target from this plan from the s-class monster. This would make things worse than it already was. But there were some things I needed to warn them about, "the magician only took me into the sky since he didn''t want any innocent people to be involved in the attacks. That''s why he didn''t touch the dormitory. But he plans to continue the attacks tonight as well. Everyone here that''s a descendent from whatever families he has a grudge against will suffer again."


    "But we''re safe outside the school. He told me to escape during the day!" I gave them some good news.


    "So he doesn''t know you''re engaged to Luke?" Claire pointed out.


    "He just said I don''t have the same bloodline as you," I continued to use Luke as my shield.


    "You need to tell us everything Rika," Lucius noticed I was still leaving some things out.


    "I did tell you everything I know," I avoided his eyes.


    "Rika, tell us everything you know. We won''t hold it against you," Luke turned to me.


    I knew they wouldn''t hold it against me but confine me somewhere instead. Even the magician pitied me, considering my life to be worse than his. This was why he was very generous towards me, teaching me new spells. Why did I feel like I would rather be with him than the people I was with right now?


    "Then you won''t lock me inside any of your mansions? Or the rooms inside the mansions? I''ll still be free as I am right now?" I needed to make sure.


    "You''re the main target, aren''t you?" Luke immediately discerned.


    "I''m not! Then why would I be in the sky this entire time?" I quickly refuted.


    "You''re coming to the mansion anyways. We can''t continue staying at school," he told me the results would be the same either way.


    "You know what I want," I clenched my hands into fists.


    "We can always do this the hard way Rika. You can always stick to the schedule I planned while being inside the mansion. Or you can have the freedom to join and help us with this," Luke began to threaten me.

 Chapter 380 - The Magician (7)

    "That''s not true! I can tolerate the different air quality without coughing too much. I won''t get sick from eating cake or desserts. My skin isn''t sensitive as well. None of them has any relation why I can''t play any games or act the way I want," I pushed all those reasons out.


    "We know what your kidnappers fed you. It''s all the food you wanted to eat. Your body immediately got sick afterwards. After wearing clothes not provided by our family, you always developed faint rashes. We also had to change some of the competition rooms since you couldn''t stop coughing. You can''t play any games since you''ll quickly get addicted and you always have to keep common etiquette no matter where you go," Lucius has gotten all the information from his brother, going further into detail.


    "It''s because you won''t let me develop any tolerance for them. You hook me to all those machines filled with medicine as soon as I get sick," I complained.


    "That''s because you always get seriously ill or injured that it can affect your life," he threw my complaints out the window.


    "A simple fever doesn''t do anything," I recalled what happened a few days ago.


    "Your fever was high enough it would normally kill a girl your age in other districts," he pointed out.


    "The fifth district?" I didn''t believe him.


    "The third district and below. But that fever can permanently impact your life in the second district as well," he revealed.


    "Well I get them all the time. So it shouldn''t be anything," I was unaware how serious it was compared to the other times I got injured.


    "That''s why we have to closely watch over you," Lucius'' point got stronger.


    "You couldn''t even run after a few consecutive hours last night," Luke joined the argument.


    "My stamina will somehow increase. It''s not my fault this body is so weak with each passing year," my voice wilted.


    I didn''t react to the difference in air quality in kindergarten. I wasn''t like this in elementary school, I rarely got sick back then. Once I entered middle school, things started to get different as I got entangled in many accidents, making my body weaker. Going through all my memories, this vessel was getting frailer the more I aged.


    "We only let you visit the other districts once you entered middle school. Most of your life before then was under our protection. Since we carefully controlled your environment in school, you never knew your body was this frail," Lucius explained.


    I was shocked, I never knew they were keeping tabs on me ever since I became engaged to Luke. The amount of power the Roselia family possessed was astonishing. I did think some things were strange in how I couldn''t visit my parents earlier on in my life. Both Ellen and Shelly also visited their parents sometimes in elementary school, but Luke continued to drag me to more study sessions.


    "Is this why you don''t like me leaving the first district?" I realized.


    "I only take you there with no choice Rika," Luke recalled all my begging and pleas.


    "But why are you so different?" I wondered.


    It was strange since I grew up with Luke in the same controlled environment together. But he was much healthier than I was, able to hold me for hours while keeping up with others. In fact, everyone here had more strength than I did since they didn''t need to be carried last night.


    "Your poor eating habits," Luke sighed.


    "I heard from Alex you only ate cake for breakfast a few days ago," he recalled.


    "You also vomited the food in the mornings whenever it wasn''t what you wanted," he knew everything going on.


    "But I felt nauseous and dizzy after eating them," I wasn''t lying.


    "It''s because you crave sugar too much almost to the point your body is addicted to it. Your mana loves the sugar, making you unconsciously always reaching out for them," Lucius explained.


    I knew there had to be a reason why I was obsessed with sweets when I wasn''t in my former life. I couldn''t believe they would prevent me from eating more sugar when they knew about this. Wouldn''t everything be solved if I ate cakes as my meals since my mana craved it as well?


    "But it doesn''t match what the rest of your body wants," Lucius answered my question.


    "It''s hard for us to balance your meals to see how much it rejects what we give you," he revealed why most of the time I threw up the medicine.


    "It''s like you''re saying I won''t ever be able to pick what I eat or drink since I''ll instantly get sick afterwards if I do get the chance," I felt like crying.


    "It''s not fair!" I hated this body.


    My hopes were starting to go down the drain. The world of junk food and snacks leaving me permanently. I never knew having the potential to possess an unlimited amount of mana would be so inconvenient. I guessed some things were too good to be true when God gave it out like it was nothing.


    "It''s not like this will be forever, right?" I still had a tiny bit of hope left.


    Why were they all silent? They were so talkative before. There was no way I was going to continue living my life like this. It couldn''t be. My mind crashed as I collapsed onto the seats.

 Chapter 381 - The Magician (8)

    A boy wore great magician robes in front of a competition venue. He had received many praises from his teachers for his magical talent. Although he didn''t possess as much mana as others, the innovative spells he created attracted much attention. Included in many media outlets, he proudly was able to get the connections to enter one of the most prestigious competitions. Pushing his glasses up, he puffed his chest to go inside.


    Looking at the list of his competitors, he noticed they were mostly occupied by people in prestigious and powerful families. I walked beside him, finding familiar names I knew. The Roselia, Monete, and Lumiere families were all included in the list. In fact, everyone who became a target had a representative from their families here. I continued to follow him as he unpacked his belongings inside his room.


    The list of past winners in the competition brochure all came from those families he had a grudge against. Filled with determination to become the first winner from a common family, he decided to go to the practice room. The boy couldn''t stop staring at all the magical equipment, much more advanced than all the materials he ever had access before he came here. Sliding his hand over a sword, he felt the weapon humming with mana.


    "Excuse me. This is my sword," A boy asked him to let go of the sword.


    The boy was one of the most beautiful human beings he had ever seen. Bright crystal blue eyes with silvery hair that slid in other colours in the rainbow, and angular features symmetrically reflecting each other to create perfection. The clothes he wore also drifted with mana, faintly stamped with the Roselia family crest at one of its pockets. He had heard that people from powerful families were different from others, but never to this extent.


    "I''m sorry," he mumbled, still staring at him.


    I walked closer to the boy who resembled Luke. Walking around him, trying to find out his identity, I gasped when I realized he was a younger version of Luke''s grandfather in my memories. I knew there was something odd about this competition, never hearing about this before. The determined boy stared at an empty space after Luke''s grandfather left after retrieving his sword. Among all the beautiful people in the room, he instantly felt out of place, deciding to find someplace else to practice.


    Going back to his room, he practiced some light spells alone. But he shook his head, knowing there was only so much things he could do inside this room. He decided to go outside, the competition also having multiple places to practice. As expected, the outdoors practice space was empty with the others preferring the indoor one. He went inside and began to develop a new spell he had been struggling to refine the past few days.


    The concept was disintegration. He wanted something that would destroy an item out of its existence, erased from the world. Looking at the dummy, he imagined at all the power he would possess in his hands once he perfected it. However, he was interrupted from someone knocking on the door. He opened the door, leading back inside the competition venue.


    "I apologize, but we have booked this space to practice in the schedule," another fellow competitor pointed out.


    "I didn''t know," he meekly answered.


    "Is it your first time competing here?" the competitor playfully bent down towards him.


    "It is," he blushed.


    He stared at her charming hair glide down onto his face from being barely a step away from her. The boy had never been close to such a celestial beauty before. She brilliantly smiled at him, making the boy forget why he had come here in the first place. The girl quickly spun around when she heard the footsteps of others coming. She liked seeing his na?ve reaction since it had been some time that she had seen anyone so innocent.


    "I''m Alison de Lumiere," she reached her hand out.


    "Alison," he whispered her name in a trance.


    "Don''t you know she''s playing with you?" I yelled to warn him.


    Alison''s eyes were glimmering with mischievousness, wondering how to use him as her next toy. But before I could interfere a bit further, I opened my eyes to face the familiar ceiling again. I sighed, finding myself attached to all those stupid needles again. I rose to punch the pillow from being frustrated these incidents of going to the infirmary may never end. With no one inside the room, I threw some pillows on the ground after destroying them.


    Feathers drifted down from the air as if I had angel wings behind my back. When Lucius opened the door with Luke coming in from behind him, they noticed the trashed room. I guiltily avoided their glance, hoping they would call for the servants to clean the mess. Maybe I should have brushed some feathers under the bed instead of throwing more pillows to create some noise.


    "I was bored so I had a pillow fight with myself," I pretended there was nothing wrong.


    "I don''t want to bring you here as well Rika," Luke called for the servants.


    The atmosphere inside the room was stiff as it was my first time trashing the infirmary. But not many people who figured out that they would have to give up something important to them forever would still be sane after knowing.


    "By the way, do you know who Alison de Lumiere is?" I tried to switch the topic.


    "Our grandmother?" Lucius wondered why I was curious.

 Chapter 382 - The Magician (9)

    "Right, your grandmother," I hid my surprise.


    "Your grandmother is very beautiful," I complimented her to distract them.


    "But you never seen her before," Luke pointed out.


    "I do know how she looks like, doesn''t she have straight long umber hair, large amber eyes and your slender angular face?" I recalled.


    "The memories?" He knew about what was causing these fevers.


    I nodded my head, "Your grandfather was there as well in the competition venue."


    "We can go visit them today," Lucius decided for the three of us.


    This was how I ended up in a hover car going towards another Roselia family mansion. I wondered if the memories this time were somewhat different since they have never mentioned visiting someone due to it. However, this was the perfect chance to figure out what had happened back then to know how the grudge formed.


    I didn''t like visiting their family members. My impression of their parents through meeting them in real life and the memorila was horrible. The only time I met their grandfather was when he separated me from his parents and the few occasions before I entered kindergarten. They were the people who created that terrible contract.


    "Come in," their grandfather gestured when the door opened to his study.


    I wondered if the people in the first district ever aged. He still appeared the same as he did inside the memorila. This was how I could recognize him from the memories that flowed into me with the fever today. He looked like he was in school when he entered the competition, making that memory at least fifty years old.


    "We''re here because we need information on something," Lucius seemed a bit nervous.


    "We''re wondering what happened to that mana competition while you were in school. I might have accidentally used a faulty memorila that shows me other people''s memories," I decided to go direct to the point.


    The less time I spent here the better. There were less chances for me to slip up and have horrible consequences attached to it. Luke''s grandfather stiffened like something had really happened in that competition. He turned to me in a new light, wondering how much I knew. Maybe it would''ve been better if I told Luke and his brother everything and stayed in the back.


    "Rika, my granddaughter, it has been a while since I''ve seen you," he waved to come closer to him.


    "How are you doing lately?" He probably already knew about everything from reports coming from his grandson.


    "Everything is as normal as it can be," I avoided his eyes while walking closer to him.


    "I already know what happened yesterday. We pulled out the other half of the donations we invested into the school," he turned to his grandsons.


    "We''ll make changes to the staff accordingly as I have discussed with the other families," he instantly took swift actions.


    I continued to smile while their grandfather continued to share the rest of the details to them. I pinched myself when my head started to throb again. Wasn''t today''s round of memories supposed to be over? Stumbling onto their grandfather''s lap, I found the boy showing his spells on the stage in front of the judges the next time I blinked.


    The judges chatted among themselves, finding themselves impressed by the contestant coming from a common family. After showing what he had for the first round, the boy walked into a seat in the audience to observe the rest of his rivals. One by one, he couldn''t place his eyes off the stage when he saw the sheer amount of mana behind the spells from the other competitors.


    Although they were common spells, the power behind them made the impact incomparable to his. It was no wonder how normal people didn''t have the qualifications to compete. Especially the boy holding a sword who almost destroyed the entire venue if not for the barrier holding him back. They weren''t human beings anymore.


    "It''s no different than what we usually do during class at school," Alison came to sit beside him.


    "Are they your classmates?" The boy couldn''t imagine seeing this scene everyday.


    "They are. They''re just trying to be showy today since we were too lazy to put some effort into it," Alison nodded.


    The boy couldn''t help but be a little jealous of the people who had an abundant amount of mana. He could never chant the spells the same way as them unless he adjusted the spells a bit so they could make a similar impact. This just made him more determined in practicing for tomorrow''s round.


    "Do you want to get lunch together?" Alison''s face drew closer to him.


    "What about your classmates?" The boy gulped from the closeness.


    "They''ll be fine. I want to eat lunch with you instead," she poked his chest.


    The boy nodded his head, not knowing if it was a dream. Alison brightly smiled, taking the initiative to hold his hand, swinging his arm together. It was almost like they were a couple together. He didn''t know why such a beautiful girl was interested in him. Embracing the rare moment, he walked with her to the cafeteria.


    "Do you think that pretty girl has good intentions?" I thought of the partner system they had in school.


    Alison momentarily frowned when she noticed her hands were lightly damp from the boy''s hands slightly sweating like he was nervous. However, she quickly hid her feelings to continue smiling at the boy as if nothing had happened. I wondered why she was forcing herself to be with him.

 Chapter 383 - The Magician (10)

    "The food here is amazing," the boy''s eyes sparkled.


    "It''s not bad," Alison played with her nails.


    The boy wondered what kind of food people like her usually ate. Her plate was barely touched compared to his that was completely empty. After returning his tray, he rose from his seat to go to the practice room he booked this time.


    "Do you want to practice together?" Alison rose to follow him.


    "Sure," he turned the other direction since he didn''t want to show himself blushing again.


    The boy didn''t use any magical equipment like the other competitors since he didn''t have enough mana to use them. Instead, he relied on spells with barely any mana consumption. He stiffened as Alison watched him muttering a few spells he had altered.


    "You''re not practicing?" He wondered, feeling guilty he was just leaving her alone to watch him.


    "Can you teach me one of your spells?" Alison seemed interested in how they worked.


    The boy nodded his head as he began to explain the theory behind everything just as the magician had generously taught me the day before yesterday. I gasped as I could see the two figures overlapping, realizing the magician and the boy were the same person. This meant the dancer was that girl who practiced in the dance room and the musician was the other girl where no one would take a single glance at her performance.


    "I still don''t understand," Alison cutely pouted with her eyes upturned.


    The boy, not getting the clue, decided to re-explain everything with more detail. When Alison asked him to guide her even closer, he gulped as he held her hands. Her slender hands were almost like a mannequin doll. He lightly pulled her closer to him to stabilize her arm when aiming towards the target. In the process, she slipped, pulling one of his legs with her with her back falling towards the ground.


    "Alison, are you here?" Someone walked towards the door.


    His eyes widened with his hands placed near her face on the ground, his body facing her from above from the fall. Before he could get out of the awkward position, Alison smiled. When the door opened, Luke''s grandfather coldly stared at the two of them, wondering what was going on.


    "Oh, you''re here," Alison turned her face towards him.


    "Again?" Luke''s grandfather leaned against the wall in disapproval.


    "He was cute," she reached out her hand to touch the boy''s face.


    The boy froze with her warm hand touching his cheek. He didn''t know how to escape from her.


    "What are you going to do? The others will be here soon," Luke''s grandfather warned her.


    "Fine, I''ll just finish the game. It''s obvious he has fallen for me. This game was too short for my taste," Alison sighed.


    Alison screamed, making the others run towards the room. Her eyes were filled with tears while pushing the boy away from her, "it was him. I don''t know what happened."


    In other people''s eyes, everything appeared to be the boy''s fault, who was still confused about what was going on. Alison ran to hug Luke''s grandfather with beautiful tears dripping down her face like she had been wronged. Her acting was spot on point while Luke''s grandfather went along with her with no other choice.


    "How dare you take advantage of Alison?" One of them accused him.


    "And Alison was being nice to you!" Another person joined in.


    The people reported him to the judges, making him kicked out of the competition venue as the boy still wondered what was happening around him. He couldn''t believe the girl had framed him after playing with him as if he was a game. As he went home, burning with anger, lawsuits came towards him. The media framed him as if he was a criminal and everyone looked at him with scorn. The boy was expelled from school and had nowhere to go with nobody willing to hire him while his family had disowned him.


    When he watched his name being slandered on the screens, he realized the people who reported him all came from prestigious and powerful families. He started to instil those names into his head as they had ruined his entire life. While walking with a hood on to hide his face, he noticed two girls performing in front of one of the buildings owned by the families who sent a lawsuit against him. They were innocent and na?ve like he had been.


    After watching them get kicked out of the area by the security, he walked up to them, "do you need any help?"


    The next I blinked, the three of them were gone, finding myself inside Luke''s grandfather''s office instead. I looked at him in a new light, wondering if he had any remorse towards the magician from his lap. If I was the magician, there was no way I would let him go for this. It made sense why he targeted all their descendants.


    "What did you see this time?" Luke''s grandfather noticed the change in my attitude towards him.


    "I don''t need to ask you what happened in that competition," I told him I knew everything that occurred.


    "Do you ever think of that boy?" I wondered if he ever felt guilty towards him.


    "The reason why everyone got attacked was because that boy was the magician, the A-class monster," I accused him.


    "Rika, you are a part of this family, are you not?" He stroked my hair.

 Chapter 384 - The Real Cheat Character

    "Everything you know should stay inside our family," Luke''s grandfather smiled like it was another one of his old memories.


    "And if I don''t?" I tried to separate myself from him.


    "Even if you try to help him, do you think he will trust you? You''re one of us," he pointed out.


    "He already knows that I''m not part of your bloodline," I refuted.


    Luke''s grandfather laughed, "who do you think you resemble? Has he ever seen you in the sunlight?"


    "He can only come out during the night," I crossed my arms.


    "It won''t be long until he figures out. You do have some Roselia family essence in you," he patted my head.


    "Luke, send Rika to the infirmary, both of you can stay for the night. Lucius, we still need things to talk about," he gestured to us to leave.


    I knew I never liked any members of the Roselia family. Maintaining their image and reputation was more important to them than anything, not feeling any guilt in ruining someone''s life. I walked out of his office, not wanting to stay near him anymore.


    "We should go back to school right now," I wanted to apologize to the magician, knowing it was better getting something than nothing.


    "We''re going back to school next week," Luke pulled me towards the infirmary.


    "You don''t even know what happened," I tried to shake his hand off.


    "Grandfather told us while you were sleeping. It couldn''t be helped," he didn''t think anything about it.


    "You don''t feel anything for the magician?" I never knew Luke was this heartless.


    "Our safety comes first. Once he figures you''re a part of the Roselia family, do you think he''s going to let you go?" he argued.


    "He wouldn''t, but I came in his place instead," a shadow cracked his knuckles.


    Both Luke and I spun, confused why the shadow was here instead of the school. I wondered how he managed to pass through the barriers while Luke started to pull me back to his grandfather''s study. I began to regret giving the suggestion to the magician to target the mansions instead, not knowing I would be inside them.


    Luke kicked the door open, making both Lucius and his grandfather turn to us, wondering what was going on. With Luke pushing me down when a long sword was dashing towards our heads, I crashed towards the ground. Meanwhile, Luke''s grandfather instantly placed a strong barrier around us, not needing the time to chant.


    "Ailes told me to switch the stage for today," the shadow had ten circling swords behind his back that he was ready to throw.


    "I didn''t think you would come so soon," Luke''s grandfather brightly smiled, looking relaxed.


    The shadow stiffened, not expecting this reaction. Before he had a chance to attack us, Luke''s grandfather chanted, "Obliviate."


    The A-class monster splattered, leaving nothing except a puddle of black goo from one word, not having the chance to defend himself. My jaw dropped as it didn''t even take him more than one second to destroy the A-class monster. Dropping the barrier once he cleaned the area with another spell, I was still frozen in my spot. I started to look at him in a new light, seeing how he swiftly handled the problem.


    "Grandfather!" I changed my attitude.


    "Can you also get rid of the s-class monster as well?" My eyes sparkled.


    "The s-class monster you''re talking about is near the school grounds," he seemed a bit disappointed that he didn''t have the chance to get rid of them at once.


    "Can you teach me the spell?" I clasped my hands together.


    If I could easily obliviate the monsters as he did, I wouldn''t have to be confined anymore. In fact, most of Luke''s worries would be solved. Although his grandfather wasn''t a good person, he was extremely strong.


    "Let''s go to the infirmary Rika," Luke noticed I was still burning from a fever.


    "I need grandfather to teach me the spell," I wasn''t going to move from my spot.


    "Rika listen to Luke, we don''t want you to get sicker than you are," he kicked both of us out of his office with the gentle wind.


    While being dragged by Luke, I asked, "Can we visit grandfather more often?"


    "Grandfather is busy. He only agreed to meet with us since it was a serious situation," Luke closed the door in the infirmary.


    "But you''re his grandson," I pouted.


    "You know how the Roselia family has to manage all the businesses we own. He''s too busy with work," he continued to attach more needles into me.


    I gave up in trying to convince Luke since I knew how busy both of his parents and grandparents were from the memories inside the memorila. He didn''t want to disturb them from their work, spending most of his time alone or with me before we entered kindergarten. It was just such a pity I wouldn''t be able to learn any overpowered spells from him. His grandfather was the definition of a cheat character I always wanted to be.


    "Can you tell your grandfather that I apologize for all the previous things I said to him? And that we can visit him whenever he has some free time," I wanted to get on his good side.


    "Even if grandfather teaches you that spell, it''ll take years for you to do it the same way he did," Luke sighed.

 Chapter 385 - The Juggler (1)

    "I wanted to stay at grandfather''s house longer," I pouted inside the hover car going to another one of the many Roselia family mansions.


    When I woke up, instead of finding myself in the infirmary, I was already inside the hover car. I rose from my seat, using this as the chance to look at the scenery. Someday when I turned sixteen, I could become the same cheat character.


    "Grandfather doesn''t have the time to look over you Rika," Lucius sighed, knowing the reason for my obsession with their grandfather.


    "He also wanted us to call a meeting for everyone to gather since we''re going back to school next week," he added.


    "Can you bring me with you the next time you visit him?" I still had some hopes.


    "Rika," Luke warned me.


    "I get it," I stopped asking.


    I stepped out of the hover car and walked into the mansion gates. I could order some cakes to help cheer myself up. Once the three of us entered the mansion, we noticed the bright morning sun had turned into the dark night with the moon. Knowing it had to do something with the s-class monster, I tried to turn back.


    However, Lucius bumped into another barrier surrounding the mansion grounds. It had to be the work from Ailes since he was in charge of making sure none of the audience members have left. I sighed as I have never wanted to leave the other mansion. If grandfather was here, he could have broken the barrier and gotten rid of both of the monsters.


    "You''re either the magician or the juggler, aren''t you?" I shouted, used to these kinds of situations.


    "I''m the juggler," the shadow appeared in front of us.


    The shadow held a headgear in one of his hands. Inside the headgear, I could see the demon king dungeon game I played in Elise''s apartment. Meanwhile, Luke pulled me behind him as Lucius had already pulled out a sword.


    "Do you have an extra headgear so I can join you? I''m on level 19," I couldn''t stop staring at the game console.


    "How long has it been since you''ve been playing?" He seemed a bit surprised by my reaction.


    "Around three days, I borrowed a headgear from someone," I found a fellow comrade.


    "That''s pretty impressive," he began to admire me.


    "I''m sure this large mansion has some more headgears. Although Ailes wanted me to capture the target here, I can always do it later," he shrugged.


    "I''m not the owner here, can you ask these people where the extra headgears are located?" I pointed at both Luke and Lucius.


    "Do you know where the headgears are?" He floated closer towards them.


    "We don''t have any inside this mansion. We got rid of them," Lucius seemed a bit taken aback.


    "Are you serious? You don''t have any inside this place?" The juggler''s jaw almost dropped.


    "They don''t have any games here or any forms of entertainment in general," I sighed.


    "How?" He began to pity me.


    "I would''ve already surpassed level 50 if I had my own," I wanted to take more pictures of Muimeme.


    "We can take turns," the juggler tried to cheer me up.


    "You can look for the target while I''m inside the game," I suggested.


    "That works," he nodded his head.


    "Can I have the first turn?" I held my hands out.


    "Sure, what''s your account username so I can add you later?" He passed the headgear to me.


    "MuimemeLover4421," I opened the mansion doors.


    "You''re MuimemeLover4421? Didn''t you get reported for trying to collect a harem?" He knew about me.


    "Doesn''t every guy need his own harem?" I defended myself.


    The juggler went silent, starting to see me in a new light.


    "Do you know how cute Muimeme is?" I gestured to him to sit down on a couch.


    "She''s the definition of a moe character! Have you ever tried buying her different clothes to see how it''s not enough?" I tried to show her appeal.


    "Then isn''t she enough for you?" The juggler sat down from my offer.


    "No, no. You don''t understand. I still need the elegant lady, class president and little sister types," My eyes started to glitter.


    "And maybe we can go through the yuri route together in real life," I almost went into a daydream.


    "I see," the juggler quickly turned his head away when I asked for his opinion.


    "Anyways, how long should the turns be?" I wanted to extend my turn as long as I could.


    "One hour?" he suggested.


    "How about twenty-four hours?" I needed at least a day to try to find more members for my harem.


    "Don''t you have to eat?" He argued.


    "Eating and sleeping is a waste of time," I shrugged.


    Before he could react, I placed the headgear on my head to begin the game. I didn''t know when I would get another chance to play this game. Finding myself inside the starting village, I looked at my handsome appearance from the glass window. I sighed as it was a sin to be a gorgeous ikemen like my game character.


    I opened my game screen to try to find some team members to go through the next level dungeon. Although I was trying to gather more people for my harem, I still wanted to go to level 50 by today. I smiled when the status of Muimeme was active. Today was a better day than I thought it would be.

 Chapter 386 - The Juggler (2)

    "It hasn''t been twenty four hours yet!" I cried trying to grab the headgear from Lucius.


    "My turn was supposed to be twenty four hours. It isn''t fair to take it away after five hours!" I turned to the juggler to accuse him.


    "You could have taken more time to try to find your target! And if you wanted to play the game before your turn, you could have stolen a headgear from another mansion that has one!" I continued to try to swipe the headgear.


    "Rika!" Luke tried to calm me down.


    "I''m only on level 30! I need to level up," I struggled to shake Luke''s hands off me.


    "Is this why you have no headgears inside the mansion?" The juggler watched the scene.


    "You can take your turn now," Lucius sighed before passing the console to him.


    "My headgear!" I screamed while Lucius led him to a bedroom that the juggler could rest in.


    Only Luke and I remained in one of the many living rooms. Trying to convince me to let go of the headgear, Luke ordered me some cake. I haven''t eaten yet today, immediately entering the game when I found the chance.


    "Rika, you need to eat," Luke passed me some cake.


    "I don''t need to eat. I need to collect my harem and level up to defeat the demon king," I mumbled.


    Wait. Wasn''t this the perfect chance to get rid of the juggler while he was inside the game? He wouldn''t be able to move and once he''s gone, I would have the headgear to myself. I wouldn''t have to take turns anymore.


    "We should kill the juggler!" I scooped some cake onto my fork.


    "We should have a plan with Lucius first, he''s still a A-class mons-."


    I didn''t bother listening to Luke and sprinted to run to the bedroom where the juggler was inside. Lucius was still inside the room, looking at the juggler who was unable to move from entering the game. I brightly smiled as I pushed him out of the way. I raised my arm and poured around half of my mana into the spell while chanting, "nuclear bomb."


    The juggler had to die from this spell. Lucius grabbed my hand, pulling me to run away with him before the spell activated. He looked at me as if I was a crazy person for trying to destroy the entire section of the mansion. Getting dragged away by him, I continued to look behind to see how big the impact would be.


    My ears almost bled from the noise as the mansion started to collapse with multiple aftereffects from my efforts. Thinking a simple nuclear bomb wouldn''t be enough, I attached smaller bombs together so some of them would be thrown in other directions once the one in the middle exploded. I needed to make sure the range would be wider since the juggler could have escaped.


    By the time all the explosions finished, half of the mansion was destroyed. Meanwhile, the juggler slowly floated into the air with the undamaged headgear on him. It seemed that most of his hp was down as he flickered in and out, making him easier to kill at this state. I tsked as I expected him to die. I guessed A-class monsters weren''t easy to kill after all.


    "This is what you get for taking my turn!" I started to crazily laugh.


    "You shouldn''t have taken away my headgear!" I raised my unoccupied hand to aim at him with another spell.


    "You already had five hours!" He dodged my laser beam.


    "Five hours isn''t enough to level up! I was in the middle of taking more pictures of Muimeme!" I shot more laser beams towards him.


    "My harem!" I decided to add in some tornados.


    "My Muimeme!" I made lightning crash down from the sky.


    "You''re going to kill me at this rate!" He tried to defend himself by juggling some shields.


    "Why? Why shouldn''t you die? If you die, the headgear becomes all mine!" I wondered if I should add some pressurized shots of air into the mix.


    "I''ll give you the headgear back!" He yelled while struggling to keep up his shields.


    "How do I know you won''t take it back from me?" I poured more mana into my spells.


    I had already separated from Lucius, chasing after the juggler to get the headgear in my hands again. The entire mansion was filled with lake pools of water with electricity cursing in them, holes in the walls from the laser beams, tornados spinning in the garden and fire on some parts of the grass. Luke had also escaped from the mansion, watching the entire chase from a safer place.


    "Do you think I''ll try to take it back from you to repeat this?" He shuddered.


    "Who knows," I didn''t believe him.


    After seeing he was on the edge of dying, I decided to be generous and come to a truce. He was almost transparent compared to being solid black before my turn. I gestured to him to come to a safe location, still ready to chant another spell in case he would go back on his word.


    "Here''s the headgear," the juggler passed to me.


    "Thank you, you should have done this in the first place," I smiled.


    After taking the headgear from him, I reached out my hand to shake his, showing we have come to an agreement. Today was a very lucky day.

 Chapter 387 - The Juggler (3)

    I quickly stepped away from him as he turned into a puddle of black goo from my slight touch. I felt a little bad as I didn''t mean to kill him. I thought A-class monsters would be stronger, but at the same time, I had almost exhausted all my mana in trying to chase him. Tightening my grasp on the headgear, I looked for a place to enter the game.


    I frowned as I tried to find a room where I could lay down. Unfortunately, the entire mansion had been trashed to the point of no return. The entire garden had been burnt down while the lower floors of the mansion had been filled with water. But the Roselia family was wealthy enough to easily replace all the things anyways.


    "Is there a room in the mansion that isn''t damaged?" I turned to Luke.


    "You''re not thinking of playing the game, are you?" Luke seemed stunned.


    "I didn''t take the rest of the nineteen hours yet," I quickly hid the headgear behind my back.


    I flinched when the barrier shattered, making the sunlight drift back into the mansion grounds. Meanwhile, it appeared there were the people waiting to come into our mansion for the meeting that Lucius had called. The barrier had been blocking them from coming inside the entire time. Everyone''s face paled when they stared at the ruined mansion. It reminded them of the school that was in ruins before we escaped.


    "Oh you can resume the meeting. I just recently got rid of another A-class monster for you," I waved to the people outside the gate.


    Lucius quickly opened the gate for them even though there was no way we could hold the meeting inside the mansion anymore. However, none of them came inside, still staring at the scene in front of them in awe. I took the chance to skip out of the gates to go up to Ben. I was sure there would be more headgears at his house in case this one ran out of power.


    "Do you have an extra room at your house? I still need to level up," I asked Ben.


    "I don''t," Ben gulped.


    "I''m sure you do. It took me a lot of effort to get this headgear from that monster that I accidentally killed him. I don''t want to make the same mistake again so give me a room with more headgears," I brightly smiled.


    When Ben looked at Luke and Lucius for help, they both turned away. They knew how I wasn''t in my right mind. I continued to smile while I waited for his response. I really didn''t want to destroy more mansions today to find more headgears after this one died.


    "I have an extra room," Ben noticed my swirling eyes with only the thoughts of playing the game.


    "Thank you," I waited for a hover car to come.


    "She''s addicted, isn''t she?" Ben whispered to Lucius once they entered the car.


    "Rika still has nineteen more hours left in her turn," Lucius warned him not to touch any of the headgears during that time.


    "My harem and leveling up," I happily hummed.


    Ben led me to a room with gaming paradise. Not only there was more headgears but other virtual reality machines. My eyes sparkled as I glided my hands over some of them. There was even a gaming pod where it was made for laying down for longer periods of time. I could also spot the virtual library with a bunch of comic books and light novels. Big TV screens were included so anyone could see movies and the scene inside the headgear.


    "I don''t want to leave," My eyes sparkled.


    I decided to enter the gaming pod first. I was interrupted when I was taking pictures of Muimeme. I hoped she was still online as I entered the game. Switching into my ikemen mode, I found her in the centre of the village square.


    "Muimeme! Pose for me!" I got my camera out.


    "You left me alone last time," she sulked.


    "I''m sorry, someone took away the headgear since I had to take turns with another person," I sighed.


    "This is the only time, ok?" She did a magical girl pose this time.


    "MuiLover!" Someone interrupted us.


    "Thanks for the potions! Do you want to conquer this dungeon together? Oni-chan?" She cutely tilted her head when I didn''t respond.


    She was another game character I was trying to recruit into the harem. Her bright coloured clothes and innocent smile was almost aligned with the little sister type. I almost abandoned Muimeme to turn to take some pictures of her.


    "We can go to a dungeon closer to the demon''s king castle this time," I lightly patted her head.


    "Me too! Me too!" Muimeme pouted.


    I smiled as I patted their heads with both of my hands. It was nice being this tall, seeing things in another perspective. I quickly equipped myself before walking towards the teleportation square. The three of us teleported to the entrance to ancient ruins. I pulled out my sword before opening the door for them.


    "Why is this dungeon so quiet?" Muimeme searched for some demons to kill.


    "Oni-chan, hold my arm, I''m scared," the little sister type looked up to me.


    "You don''t have to ask Yuriri," I offered her my arm.


    As I ventured further into the dungeon, I found a level ten goblin. Lifting my arms to slash the goblin, I grinned from how easy it would be to kill monsters here. Meanwhile, Muimeme and Yuriri cheered me on from the back. Ahhh. This was the life I wanted.

 Chapter 388 - The Juggler (4)

    "My headgear," I whimpered.


    "Rika, it''s already been past the nineteen hours. It''s been around thirty hours!" Luke took the headgear away from me when I fainted inside the game.


    "Can I at least enter that room again?" I looked up to him with tears in my eyes.


    "We''ll be going to the Suilett mansion now that you''re awake," he tried to pull me up.


    "I can''t live without leveling up," I looked at Ben for help.


    "That room isn''t available anymore," Ben quickly turned to the other direction.


    "But I don''t want to destroy your mansion too," I wondered if I should use another spell to open that room.


    "Rika! You have to eat, it''s been more than a day since you''ve eaten anything," Luke noticed how serious my addiction was getting.


    "Eating and sleeping are for people who can''t level up!" I almost yelled.


    "Explosion!" I chanted while raising my hand in the air.


    Ben''s eyes widened before he prepared to sprint to avoid the spell. Meanwhile, Luke quickly came to his senses to pull me away with him. They didn''t know I was doing the spell on a smaller scale as this one would only destroy the door to that room. While being dragged on ground, I sighed when I accidentally poured too much mana into the spell. Since it has been three days since I almost exhausted all my mana, it had nearly completely recovered.


    The whole floor rumbled, making the floors crack. Some of the walls began to slide while other furniture began to fall onto the floor below. However, the roof didn''t collapse like the rest of the floor, making the main structure of the mansion still stable. And fortunately, the room I wanted to spare was relatively unharmed since it wasn''t the main target. Only the door had been shattered, wide open for anyone to enter.


    "I can go inside that room now!" I smiled.


    "We can compensate you for your losses," Luke shot an apologetic glance to Ben.


    "Rika! You''re not going to that room. We''re going to the Suilett mansion now!" He turned to me.


    "But I killed two other A-class monsters," I pointed out some black puddles of goo.


    "Shouldn''t you be thanking me for this?" I felt lucky I had a decent excuse to stay.


    While playing the game, I actually got interrupted a few times. The dancer came all the way here to warn us that the magician would be coming soon. But I had a game to play. Feeling she was being annoying, preventing me from continuing the game, I stuffed a nuclear bomb spell into her body. And with the tightest control on the spell as possible, I tried not to destroy the rest of the precious gaming equipment along with the spell.


    Afterwards, the musician came to avenge her friend with anger present in her eyes. But since I was experienced this time, I stuffed another bomb into her before she could react. With all the distractions gone, I laid back into the gaming pod to take more pictures of Muimeme inside the game. However, both Luke and Ben didn''t know about this since they didn''t enter the room.


    "Who did you kill?" Luke was stunned.


    "The dancer and musician since they were distracting me from playing the game. The dancer was like ''run away the magician is coming here soon''. Making me lose some hours of my game time!" I still felt annoyed when I thought of it.


    "When did they tell you this?" Luke grabbed both of my shoulders.


    "Maybe last night?" I shrugged.


    "Since this mansion was going to get destroyed anyways, I thought it wouldn''t matter if I added to it," I defended myself when both Luke and Ben went silent.


    "Rika!" Luke had no words to say to me, still shocked.


    "Relax, he''s probably coming tonight. We still have time," I pointed out.


    "We''re going to the Suilett mansion to call another emergency meeting. Don''t think I''ll let you go for this Rika," Luke resumed in dragging me out of Ben''s mansion.


    "If you use another spell, you can think of your freedom gone in school when we return," he threatened me.


    This was how everyone gathered in the Suilett family mansion with Luke announcing the news he learnt from me. After apologizing, he asked for other people''s opinions on how to approach this problem. Meanwhile, I crossed my legs, feeling bored when I could be playing more games during this time.


    "Honestly, we''re just wasting our time. You can just stuff a nuclear bomb into their bodies to kill them," I joined in when this meeting was starting to get long.


    Monsters were easier to kill once you knew what their weaknesses were. In this case, the shadow''s weakness was light. Especially bright light coming from explosions.


    "Rika," Luke warned me.


    "I''m not wrong," I grumbled.


    "And we all have better things to do than to continue this meeting that''s not going anywhere," I felt annoyed.


    "Rika de Impalia Roselia, you''ve just lost your only chance of visiting the other mansions," Luke started to lose his patience.


    "I''ll just act as bait later and kill him for you. Wouldn''t that make everything work out?" I didn''t care if I wouldn''t be able to leave the mansion as long as I had access to the headgear again.


    "You''re not getting access to the headgear," Luke knew why I wanted the meeting to end.


    "I heard that a part of your mansion got destroyed," Jules pitied Ben.


    "I shouldn''t have given her access to that room," Ben sighed.

 Chapter 389 - The Juggler (5)

    "Get up Rika, I don''t want to drag you to the dining room," Luke found me refusing to move.


    "I told you that I''m not eating until you return the headgear to me," I turned my head away from him.


    "Rika, you will go eat and then we have to catch on everything we have missed in school," Luke started to raise his voice.


    "Oh please, what are you going to do about it if I refuse?" I smirked.


    "This addiction is pretty serious," Belle whispered to Lucius.


    "I''ll step in if Luke can''t make her go to the dining room," he sighed.


    Luke looked at Lucius for help, almost giving up. Although they were painting me in a bad light, I couldn''t give up here. Once I entered school, I was likely I would have no chances of ever touching the headgear again. It was likely they would take more precautions, more than getting rid of all forms of entertainment in their mansions.


    "Rika, do you want to visit our parent''s house for a few days? We can call for more tutors," Lucius began to pressure me.


    "But there''s no way you''ll ever let me use the headgear again if it''s not now!" I knew I would also become a goner if I suffered under their strict parents.


    "You can make the choice now. If you don''t, we''ll be travelling to our parents," Lucius waited for me to decide.


    "Fine, I''ll go eat!" I rose from the chair.


    It was better than to go through that horrible schedule that was worse than school. I never had the choice to do what I wanted. I would be dragged to wherever they wanted to take me. I slumped onto the chair, picking up a fork to jab a piece of lettuce.


    "Rika, your posture," Lucius noticed me slouching a bit in the chair.


    "Can''t you let this go?" I poked the salad.


    "I can call for the hover car," Lucius was about to open a screen from his marble.


    "I''ll fix it," I propped myself back up.


    Luke enjoyed his meal while Lucius looked over me at the dining room table. I didn''t know how those brothers were close to each other when they only met each other in fraction meetings. I couldn''t even complain that posture wasn''t important when everyone else in the room had perfect posture.


    "I''m full," I pushed the rest of the plates away after finishing a small plate of salad.


    "You''re not going to survive the night if you eat this little," Luke wouldn''t let me rise from my chair.


    "One more plate," he passed me a plate with some salmon.


    "Can''t you give me some cake?" I began to feel a bit dizzy when looking at that plate.


    "You need more balanced meals," he continued to push the plate towards me.


    "Luke is right, you have to eat a bit more or we''ll have to supplement it by making you go to the infirmary," Lucius was crueller than Luke.


    "You know I''m not doing this on purpose!" I pointed out they already knew about my condition.


    "Tonight is different. At least try the plate," Lucius waited for me to take a bite.


    Like I expected, one bite of the salmon made me vomit all the food, including the salad. Luke sighed, predicting something like this would happen. He called the servants to clean the mess while I quickly escaped upstairs to take a bath. By the time I went downstairs, there were some plates of cake waiting for me to eat.


    "You''ll have to go to the infirmary afterwards," Lucius frowned as I ate the cake as my meal.


    "I told you to stop when I finished the salad," I didn''t want to be like this too.


    It was a mix of everything. From the guilt that I was eating well while others were dead, my mana that only craved sugar and how I wasn''t that hungry when I was forced to eat something.


    "Rika, you don''t eat unless you''re extremely hungry," Luke let his brother know.


    "You''ve been like this since you had exposure to the food in the third district," he pointed out it became worse ever since I graduated from elementary school.


    "A tiny bag of ch.i.p.s and a package of jelly doesn''t do anything!" I argued.


    "I think this is already pretty bad. You shouldn''t give her any food from the other districts anymore," Lucius turned to Luke.


    "I know. I''ve just recently talked to her parents to make sure they don''t give her any food anymore," Luke showed how he was trying.


    "I also search through the dorms and her inventory more often these days," he asked his brother on what else he should do.


    I was shocked. I never knew he was doing this. I also became glad that I moved most of my supply to that room already that he didn''t know about. I refused to believe I would never be able to eat a tiny package of jelly again. Although, I was a bit surprised he didn''t get rid of a cage of bugs that have been with me for weeks.


    "I think it should be enough for now," Lucius couldn''t think of any other ideas.


    "Rika, you know we do this because we worry about you, right? Your body rejecting a bite of the salmon is extremely bad news," Lucius turned to me.


    "What could it possibly mean?" I wondered.

 Chapter 390 - The Juggler (6)

    "You''ll be turning more into a fairy. They can only eat desserts," Lucius warned me.


    "It''s easy for people with a large amount of mana to resemble fairies that they almost become one," he revealed.


    "And that''s how they die from the other part of their body, not being able to handle the lack of nutrition," he showed why it was a serious issue.


    That was it! My grudge against God increased by tenfold. He only gave out the unlimited mana card since he expected it not to be used in the future. The second chance card was too precious to be used and the dimensional library was almost useless here.


    "But it''s not only the unlimited mana that I possess," I decided to reveal the dimensional library.


    I needed to know how not to die. If things were really as serious as it seemed, it would be better to get as much information as possible. Although I wouldn''t reveal I was reincarnated from another world since most of the s-class monsters had that trait.


    "I also had this ever since I entered school in the first district," I made the system show the library to them.


    "It has all the information about this world and helps me absorb the material," I couldn''t face Luke this was how I cheated sometimes.


    "I know, how else would you have been able to get those grades? I''ve seen you use it before and it''s not like nobody has had it before you," Luke sighed.


    "It just adds to the burden of having more mana," he revealed.


    I was stunned. Luke was much more perceptive than I thought he would be. Did God just give these random cards out to others as well?


    "Librarians have the same skill as well. Everything inside that dimensional library, we have in our mansions from them. Isn''t that why you only use it to absorb the information?" He pointed out.


    "Why didn''t you tell me that you knew?" I wondered.


    "It wasn''t doing much harm in general," Luke shrugged.


    "You can''t use it often anyways since there''s limitations," he knew some information about the system.


    "That''s why you need to be more careful than others," Lucius continued.


    My mind spun as I didn''t want to turn more into a fairy. I already resembled their cruel beauty and had almost the same diet as them. With tears welling in my eyes, I found myself in front of an unfamiliar boy. Inside his bedroom were many different things like gaming machines to intense sports. His shelves were filled with artworks made from his own hands while certificates from participating in competitions were hung on the walls.


    "How can there be no single thing that you''re good at?" An old woman slapped him.


    "Our investment in you has been almost useless so far, are you even trying?" She screamed at him.


    "I am," he looked down, staring at the floor.


    "At this rate, you''re going to go to a lower ranking school," she threw a bunch of papers on the ground.


    "I''ll try harder mother," his hands trembled.


    "Don''t just try harder, show some results," she slammed his bedroom door.


    The boy picked up the papers his mother threw on the ground. He knew everything was his fault since he couldn''t meet their expectations. The sheer amount of money his parents spent on him allowed him to try anything to find at least something he was better at than others. From playing instruments to researching on new innovative machines, he had failed them all. At this rate, he wouldn''t be able to live with his parents once he graduated from school as he would be kicked into the second district.


    Although he possessed an average amount of mana, he was never good at chanting spells. Chanting spells required a lot of knowledge about the fundamentals of what you wanted to create. Having no talent in anything, he relied on pure effort to stay in his current school. People called him a juggler, someone who did everything but couldn''t do one thing properly. Knowing that his parents would disown him if he got lower than average results, he stayed up many nights.


    "I can do this," he walked to his desk.


    "You can do this," I whispered behind him, pitying what he had to go through.


    Looking at his uniform, he attended the lowest ranking school in the first district. This was pretty impressive on its own as Elise attended a school in the second district while Eliza went to one in the third district. Many people who lived in the first district attended schools in other districts. Watching him study for most of the night while going to the library with a room possessing the time-space settings in the mornings, he didn''t rest. Other times, he attended all the classes his parents had arranged him to attend.


    "Would you like to hang out with us today?" His classmate asked him.


    "I can''t," the boy remembered the slight pain in his cheek.


    "Well then we''ll be going to the game centre on our own," the rest of his classmates left the school.


    "Why did you even ask him when you knew he was going to decline?" Someone whispered to the person who asked.


    "I felt bad for him," his classmate pitied him.


    "Plus my teacher in my extra mana classes told me to include him. She told me his situation," he explained.

 Chapter 391 - The Juggler (7)

    Looking at the trio of people trying their best in the open streets inspired him. He was impressed with the spells that made the two girls stand out. Although the girl playing the violin wasn''t the greatest, you could hear the passion and confidence with every strung note. The other girl who danced spread her enthusiasm to the people who watched her, unable to just ignore them. There was a crowd of people who surrounded them, giving donations. They weren''t like him, who couldn''t do a single thing right. He wanted to become like them, having the courage to confront the world.


    He wanted to join them, the people who performed while not being the best. They brightly smiled, laughing sometimes. The boy tried to push towards the front of the crowd to give a donation. Maybe he pushed too hard, he ended up falling in the middle of their performance. The trio stopped, looking at him on the ground. The dancer offered her hand to him to help him back up, "thank you for watching."


    Maybe it was a day where he was fed up with everything. Endless days of tolerating the screams from his disappointed parents and results that barely improved. There seemed to be a place of escape in front of his eyes. He gulped before asking them, "although there''s not much I can do, can I join you?"


    With tears dripping down my face, I began to think of how grateful I was to have such loving parents. I didn''t think I would last long if my parents were as cruel as his. Being hit was common in his house since he almost never improved his grades. Even the Roselia family wasn''t like this, resorting to physical means. They always tried to use words to negotiate with me and the worst they could do was to make me suffer under their tutors without any breaks.


    "Rika, you have to wake up!" Luke started to shake me.


    "The sun is almost gone," he tried to pull me up.


    "I''m up," I wiped my tears while rising from the bed.


    Violets and pinks clouds swirled around the sky, showing it was evening. I stared at the thin barrier beginning to cover the entire neighbourhood as the new stage while the colours of the sky darkened. Gasping when the musician and dancer drifted down, searching for someone, I almost froze. I thought I killed them a few nights ago. My eyes also widened when I noticed the juggler right behind them. He was still alive.


    I knew it wouldn''t be easy to kill A-class monsters but seeing them turn into black goo like what happened to the swordsman, it couldn''t mean anything else. Did this mean I had to destroy something in particular to get rid of them? This was bad since it meant the explosions spell weren''t as effective as they should be.


    "We have to start running soon," Luke watched them descend from the sky.


    "Maybe they''ll help us out like last time," I opened the window.


    "Don''t. It may be different since you tried to kill them," Luke tried to close the window.


    "You could try with the violin and dance lessons," I pointed out.


    "It won''t work. All of them may be gathered together this time," he shook his head.


    "Where is everyone else?" I wondered.


    "We have a plan in place. We fortified all the barriers in each mansion while you were sleeping. Others are on standby, ready to counterattack, knowing the magician has a map tracking us. We''re separating this time to make it harder for them to track us," he gave me a brief summary.


    "Where are we going then?" I was starting to get dragged by him to someplace safer.


    "The bas.e.m.e.nt, we''re going underground," he continued to take the stairs.


    I never knew the Suilett family mansion had a bas.e.m.e.nt. This made me wonder if the Roselia family mansions also had one as well. Letting him take me to the location, I found there was an endless number of stairs. Having an elevator would have been helpful, more than the teleportation gate that consumed a ton of mana, even if this district was futuristic.


    "What if the mansion ends up collapsing on us?" I turned to him while he pressed some buttons on the keypad.


    "There''s a pathway inside to lead us outside," the door opened after he put the pin code in.


    "We''re not going to help others fight?" I felt a bit guilty.


    "You''re the main target. You need someone to be with you while you hide from them," Luke locked the door behind us.


    The entire mansion rumbled like the fight had already started. Sounds of something falling down above us made my heart skip a beat. I squeezed Luke''s hand, feeling a bit uneasy, hearing all the explosions and whirling wind. However, the bas.e.m.e.nt was no less beautiful than the interior on the other floors. The room we were inside was nicely decorated with moving paintings on the walls, plush sofas arranged in front of a screen and nice tables to go along with them.


    "We just need to survive for the night," Luke tried to assure me.


    "What if the barrier never breaks? Making the day never come," I recalled what happened to the destroyed Roselia family mansion.


    Before Luke could answer me, a video call popped up from his marble. I began to tremble when I noticed the scene that Lucius was in with Belle. Fire blazed around everywhere that water wasn''t present, fog was created from the smoke, and more buildings crumbled down even with the barriers. Lucius ran for his life with his partner, screaming to warn us, "there''s no hope for the mansion. You have to escape."

 Chapter 392 - The Host (1)

    I couldn''t believe all these ruins were created less than half an hour since we entered the bas.e.m.e.nt. Luke pulled a book out from one of the shelves, making it turn to show the entrance to another staircase. Not wasting a single second, he grabbed my hand to pull me towards the stairs. My head was dripping with sweat since it was harder to run up the stairs than going down. Wheezing for more air, most of my energy seemed to be drained from the simple exercise. I needed to take a break.


    "Rika, endure it, we can''t take a break," Luke noticed my condition.


    I nodded my head as I continued to push myself to climb the stairs. I never knew we were this deep underground. I was starting to waver if we would ever make the surface as I couldn''t see the door on the other side. I was using my mana to help me keep up with Luke''s pace, putting more strength into my pitiful legs. However, there was only so much it could do with all the muscle pain. Plus, spells that manipulated your body needed a certain amount of concentration to maintain it.


    "Are we there yet?" I looked up.


    "Almost," Luke panted.


    I couldn''t help but smile when I finally saw the door in front of us. Sprinting ahead of Luke, wanting to get out of this space, I opened the door with my own hands. However, I ended up stumbling a few steps backward, finding the magician right in front of me. How did he know we would come out of here? We could have come out from other doors in the same area. The map only showed the location of each target as a dot.


    "Why are you here?" The magician seemed a bit surprised.


    "I told you, I get confined often," I quickly made up an excuse.


    When the whole area brightened, shining with light from a powerful explosion spell, the magician noticed our hair, glimmering like the rainbow in the strands of silver. Both Luke and I had the same feature of the boy who had ruined him. I hoped he would still be merciful towards me, who wasn''t a descendent of the Roselia family. The magician took a closer look at Luke''s features, closely resembling his grandfather.


    "You''re from the Roselia family," he looked at us in a new light.


    "You mean he''s from the Roselia family. You told me last time I don''t come from the same bloodline as them," I pointed out.


    "That means you''re the fianc¨¦e of this boy," he instantly realized.


    "Still not from the Roselia family," I felt like running down those stairs.


    "I know you hold a grudge against them for that competition. I apologize for them. His grandfather is a jerk. I don''t even like his grandfather, but you''re not the only victim. At least you were free even with the lawsuits, have you thought about me who never had that chance?" I tried to make him pity me to think of not killing me.


    "You don''t like targeting innocent people!" I used his own words.


    "It explains everything, including the amount of power you put into the spell last time," he murmured.


    "You wouldn''t target an innocent girl from a normal middle-class family, would you?" I pulled out the most pitiful eyes.


    "If you''re the fianc¨¦e, you''re the same as them," he didn''t fall for my acting.


    Of course, he was reminded of Alison, who was the fianc¨¦e of Luke''s grandfather back then. Luke, who noticed his hostility towards us, pulled me behind him. He carefully studied the magician, looking for another escape route. The staircase behind us was sadly unusable since it had been covered by the large debris. If Lucius didn''t warn us, it was likely we could have died from the impact, not teleporting since it would be too late.


    In the end, Luke''s grandfather was right. I probably wouldn''t be spared with my appearance. The amount of distrust in his eyes wasn''t normal. While Luke continued to look where to run, I tried to stall for time, "you can''t blame us for what he did. This would make you no different from him by accusing someone who didn''t do anything."


    "Instead, we can help you destroy the main perpetrator of the person who ruined you. I know where the descendants of the Lumiere family may be. Wouldn''t it be enough to just torture them?" I would make it up to Charles later.


    "Do you think I don''t know who Alison ended up marrying? You are her direct descendants," the magician fixated us as his targets.


    "Rika is right. I personally apologize for my grandfather''s actions. So please let us go," Luke couldn''t find another escape route with the magician blocking us.


    Luke''s acting was much better than mine, resembling the most pitiful child. Blatant fear was plastered over his innocent face, trembling with tears welling in his eyes while trying to protect the girl behind him. I quickly made the switch to follow him by clinging onto his sleeve with shivering hands, staring at the floor. Hiding behind his back to make me seem more helpless, I slowly looked up at the magician''s face. He had to somehow feel guilty in trying to kill two innocent young children.


    "Are you going to kill us?" My voice shook with fear.

 Chapter 393 - The Host (2)

    "You''re the only two that I''m sparing," the magician melted under our acting.


    "Partly because you were the only ones to apologize," he made up an excuse for himself.


    The magician held both of us in his arms while flying higher into the sky. Looking down at the ruined neighbourhood, everyone seemed to be losing, switching to run for their lives. I guessed since most people in our group were high school students, they wouldn''t have the same innocent appeal as we did. But I still wanted to send a message to my classmates to apologize so they could be with us, feeling guilty only we were in a decently safe place.


    "Are we staying here for the entire night?" I was familiar with this from last time.


    "Until I find the target that Ailes described. It''s harder than I thought since none of them seem to possess features from the third district," the magician opened his map to place more different kinds of attacks.


    "Won''t you be gone in the morning?" I wondered.


    "Ailes created a barrier that blocks the sunlight this time," the magician readily revealed the information.


    "I''m afraid the school may be a better place. We do not have such a person with us here," Luke flawlessly lied.


    "She has to be here. Ailes used a spell from using a strand of her silver hair to track her," he explained.


    I tried to hide the shock on my face. I couldn''t believe he took a strand of my hair before I escaped from him last time. Even Luke briefly froze, not knowing monsters could track me by using this method. Would I ever be free from the monsters as long as I was inside this district? Maybe I could always stay at his grandfather''s house from now on. Although he was too busy to watch over us, he would protect the place he lived in.


    "Do you know her precise location? We can help you find her," I hoped to lead him off me.


    "The location is really vague since we only know the area she is in," the magician continued to place more traps below us.


    "She could be already dead," Luke pointed out.


    "If she was dead, then the spell would vanish. But the spell is still telling us that she is alive," he continued to study the map.


    "What do you want to do once you find her?" I wondered.


    "I''m just passing her off to Ailes. I''m not sure what he wants from her," he shrugged.


    "But you seem familiar with him even from how you talked last time, how do you know Ailes?" The magician became suspicious of me.


    "I heard about him from the dancer and musician," I hoped he wouldn''t further question me.


    "That reminds me, they''re coming to us soon," he accepted my answer.


    Both Luke and I stiffened from the news. We couldn''t move in the magician''s arms, knowing we would fall towards the dangerous area. While we were helplessly waiting for them to come, the juggler, musician and dancer flew towards us like he had mentioned. I sighed as their line of sight instantly landed on me and Luke.


    "You know I didn''t mean to kill you, right?" I tried to repent to the juggler.


    "I only wanted to continue playing the game," I turned to the musician and dancer next.


    "Is her addiction fixed?" The juggler asked Luke.


    It seemed like both the musician and dancer knew about my extreme addiction to the game. Looking at me in a new light, they seemed to pity Luke instead of trying to kill me. Meanwhile, the magician looked at us and them, wondering how we knew each other. Only the host and the swordsman weren''t here with them. It was nice knowing at least one of the most dangerous members amongst them was dead.


    "We managed to take the headgear away from her," Luke told him that he confiscated everything.


    "It''s because you guys always have the chance to play the game. If I didn''t continue playing back then, there was a chance I would never touch another headgear in my life," I showed them how privileged they were.


    "But we don''t try to kill other people over it," the dancer still seemed upset.


    "You always have access to it," I argued.


    "I still had so many things to do. I didn''t recruit enough people in my harem or defeat the demon king yet," I slowly began to become depressed.


    "If I can''t play that game, nobody should," I turned to the magician.


    "Can I suggest some places to put some attacks?" I pleaded with the most pitiful eyes.


    "Where do you want to place them?" he passed me the map.


    "I want to use disintegration on each of the mansions," I wanted everything destroyed.


    "Don''t you think it''s too much?" The magician turned to his fellow circus members for their opinions.


    "Do you think she''s still sane?" The juggler floated a bit away from him.


    "She tried to kill us for disturbing her while she was playing that game," the musician agreed with the juggler.


    "Didn''t you say you wanted revenge? This is the perfect time by destroying their property to the point of no return. Imagine all the expensive things in each of their mansions. Just use another attack to make sure they all run out before using it," My eyes burned with ambition.

 Chapter 394 - The Host (3)

    "With all of them out of their mansions, it''ll be easier to find the target," I pointed out.


    "Rika!" Luke turned to me to close my mouth.


    "Let''s do disintegration!" I brightly smiled, knowing I wouldn''t be the only one unable to play that game.


    "I thought the people important to you were there," the magician became confused whose side I was on.


    "We''re not killing them. We''re just destroying some of their wealth!" I defended myself.


    "I guess that wouldn''t be bad," the magician followed my reasoning.


    "Wait, are you actually listening to her?" The juggler tried to stop him from adding more attacks on the mansions.


    "Everything she said was true," he shrugged.


    Once he tapped on all the mansions, the entire neighbourhood exploded with all the buildings crumbling down from the bombs. When some people were still inside, he added lightning bolts to make a bigger impact. Watching everyone run out of the mansions to find a safer place, I gestured to the magician to start the disintegration. Meanwhile, Luke looked away from the scene, not able to watch everyone suffer underneath him.


    After many tornadoes and fires about to invade the mansions, the neighbourhood finally became an open space when everything inside them had also completely disappeared from the disintegration spell. In turn, this left no place else to hide, increasing the difficulty level of avoiding the other spells by a tremendous amount. Everyone immediately started to scatter, hoping that they wouldn''t become the next target. Barriers were quickly formed in small groups as their last chances of survival.


    "We should go a little easier on them, they''re still children," the dancer pitied them.


    "Maybe we should just stick with easier attacks like laser beams," I started to feel guilty now that they didn''t have anything to defend themselves.


    "But the laser beams will instantly destroy the barrier if the coverage is weak," the magician decided to go with my suggestion.


    "Rika!" Luke couldn''t stand some of his family members being tortured anymore.


    "Then poisonous fog," I tried to take back the laser beams.


    "I''ll add those in too. If there''s any holes in the barrier, they''ll suffocate to their deaths," he tapped on the map.


    "Whose side are you on?" The juggler saw my suggestions were worse than what the magician had come up with on his own.


    "We should really take those attacks back. Don''t you think you had enough? I think it''ll be easier to search for the target now like Rika had mentioned," the musician tried to convince him.


    "We''ll kill them at this rate," the dancer added.


    "We were killed when we were around the same age," the magician wasn''t willing to cancel the spells.


    Unable to stay silent anymore, Luke looked up to the magician, begging him to stop the attacks. His alluring face made you instantly feel guilty after taking a single glance of his desperate eyes with beautiful tears falling out. As each tear landed on the magician''s hand, he started to feel a bit shaken. He was the cause of making such a beautiful child tremble in fear.


    "Please don''t kill my brother, sister and cousins. They didn''t do anything wrong," Luke''s voice wobbled.


    After looking at how miserably tortured Luke appeared, the three of them glared at the magician to stop the attacks. The magician angrily sighed as he cancelled all the spells, giving into the pressure, not daring to take another look at Luke. However, Luke didn''t stop his silent tears streaming down his face, not knowing when the magician would change his mind.


    "I''m sorry," I couldn''t look at Luke anymore.


    "You can take me to Ailes in exchange for letting everyone go," I knew it would solve everything.


    "I''m the person he''s looking for," I decided to sacrifice myself.


    "Rika?" Luke''s tears stopped.


    "My appearance changed once a fairy took my identity away," I explained why Ailes'' description didn''t match.


    "I''ll let him know," the magician finally found an answer to why he couldn''t find the target.


    "No, you can''t let her be in his hands. You''ll kill her," Luke reached out his hands to grab me.


    "He tried to kill her several months ago," he recalled almost mourning over me.


    "Ailes is already coming this way," the magician pitied Luke.


    "She''ll die!" Luke turned to scream at him.


    "Rika has a frail body. There''s no way she''ll survive from a single touch from him. She won''t even turn into a monster if that''s his aim since she won''t survive the process," he pleaded to them to let us go.


    "That is a problem," Ailes stopped dashing towards us, already in front of us.


    "She wasn''t this weak the last time I saw her," he began to closely study me.


    Luke froze, finding things already too late. Shaking in fear for the both of us, there was nothing he could do in the magician''s arms. A s-class monster was different in terms of sheer power, making running away a better choice.


    "Hey, Ailes," I greeted him.


    "You know I didn''t mean to run away from you back then, right?" I sighed.


    "We''re both from South Korea. We should stick together since we''ve both reincarnated into this world," he pretended to be a bit offended from that incident.


    Luke spun to look at me immediately after hearing about my reincarnation. I guessed this wasn''t commonplace in this world like the ability freely given out in each of the cards. Turning my attention back to Ailes, I reminded him, "I think I already told you about my circ.u.mstances. Can''t you understand?"

 Chapter 395 - The Host (4)

    "I told you we can free your family after you come with us," Ailes wondered what he should do with me after figuring out I wouldn''t be able to become one of them.


    "But I think you know that I''ll die in the process," I pointed out.


    "We can figure other things out," he shrugged.


    "Plus you have the chance card, giving you a second chance at life once you die," he remembered our conversation from last time.


    "And you really think I''ll use it to come back to this world?" I shook my head in disapproval.


    "Well it''s better than nothing," he argued.


    "Wouldn''t you want to return to your family?" He revealed my weakness.


    "What if I want to return to my family in my previous life instead?" I crossed my arms.


    "In fact, why don''t I try using that card now? Don''t you think I''ll die after falling at such a height?" I began to struggle out of the magician''s arms.


    The magician, who was taken aback, couldn''t do anything while I managed to escape his grip. I smiled while falling rapidly towards the dangerous landscape. Ailes couldn''t do anything about it since he would kill me if he touched me. I guessed they never predicted how the consequences of their dangerous attacks could turn on them.


    "Grab her and let''s go to a less dangerous place," Ailes ordered the circus members.


    The juggler dashed towards me, trying to catch me. I raised my hand where the all the monsters were gathered so I could continue falling. I couldn''t be caught again. I still had the chance to safely land at the ground. I began to chant at them, avoiding only the magician holding Luke, "explosion."


    I smiled as everyone was taken aback from the bombs exploding in the sky. However, instead of hitting the targets, the juggler used this chance to tightly grab onto my arms once he was able to get to where I was, preventing me from escaping while dragging me towards the other circus members. I continued to struggle, trying to get out of his grasp, but finding they weren''t falling for the same trick again.


    "Where are we going?" I gave up.


    "We''re going to the headquarters made for this mission," Ailes gestured to the magician to let the others go.


    "Is it close to here?" I wondered.


    "About an hour away," he readily gave out the information.


    "Then you should at least let him go. You should only take me," I gestured for them to return Luke.


    "No, please take me with you," Luke refused to return alone.


    "I guess we should place him back down," Ailes decided to listen to me.


    "Please, I can help you look after her. You can''t since you can''t come close to her," Luke pointed out.


    "We should grant him this one wish," the dancer felt sorry towards him.


    "Bring him with us," Ailes sighed.


    This was why I ended up in front of a tall tower. Entering through a window at the top floor, I unexpectedly found myself in a decent prison cell. I gasped as there was a simple bed, TV screens and most of all, some headgears. Why were my kidnappers treating me so well? Was this what they meant by trying to save me?


    "Why didn''t you tell me you would bring me here? Then I would''ve gone to you a lot sooner," My eyes sparkled.


    "This is the worst room we have," Ailes wondered why I looked so happy.


    "I can stay as long as you want. I won''t ever leave this place," I turned to thank him.


    "You should''ve brought me here sooner," I had grateful tears streaming down my face.


    "We''re both from South Korea, we should stick together," I repeated his own words.


    The circus members noticed I was staring at the headgears behind them rather than looking at Ailes. Backing away a little, they tried to leave, letting Ailes handle the rest of the problem. It seemed even the magician heard what happened a few days ago, looking at me in a new light. Looking a bit confused, Ailes gave us one final look before he left us alone in the room, deciding he would fix this problem later.


    "My headgears," I walked towards the pile.


    "Wait, don''t you think you have other things to explain Rika?" Luke blocked me from them.


    I sighed, knowing it would be a pain to explain everything that had happened. My headgears were waiting for me, a few metres away from playing that game. I didn''t know when Ailes would change his mind and place us somewhere else.


    "I died in my former life trying to rescue someone and it was God''s mistake. He gave me the second chance card, the dimensional library and unlimited mana as some cheats to use in this life. Then I reincarnated into this life," I gave the briefest summary of what had happened.


    "When?" Luke still seemed suspicious.


    "When this vessel was around four, before we entered the kindergarten in the first district," I tried to walk around him.


    I was mostly the Rika he knew anyways. We were together for more than eight years compared the few months he spent with the previous Rika. Luke stopped blocking my way, trying to recall all his memories from when he noticed Rika had changed. Meanwhile, I glided one of my hands on the precious gaming console. My eyes twinkled since I never knew I would have a chance to touch them again.

 Chapter 396 - The Host (5)

    "Why didn''t you ever tell me about this?" Luke grabbed one of my shoulders.


    "Why should I?" I wondered.


    There was nothing to my advantage if I did tell them. Maybe my reincarnation would link me to the rest of the s-class monsters. While I didn''t know much information on the second chance card except that I would live as a human being again. Plus, I already told him about the dimensional library.


    "It does explain why you like those comic books and junk food so much. With the amount of surveillance we placed over you, there was no chance of you getting any exposure to those kinds of things," he pieced some strange things together.


    "You either lived in a place like the second or third district in your past world. But it can''t be the second district with how you couldn''t catch up with the curriculum in school or you must have died at a young age," he discerned.


    Noticing me about to place the headgear on me, he quickly grabbed it away from me. Maybe I really should have begged Ailes to not take him with us. I started to feel a great amount of regret since I could have been already gaming if it wasn''t for Luke.


    "I already told you everything so give it to me back," I gestured to him.


    "The second chance card?" He wanted me to give him the details.


    "I don''t know much about that card. I just know I''ll have a second chance at life but don''t know where and what my new body will be," I told him one of the reasons I was reluctant to use it.


    "Plus, these cards are iffy and mostly brought more harm than anything," I murmured to myself.


    "What age did you die?" Luke seemed curious.


    "Around the age of your brother," I tried to pick up another headgear from the pile.


    Luke seemed a bit shocked, thinking I would have died at a much younger age. Using this chance, I grabbed more than a few headgears in my hands. And I dashed as far away from him as possible so he wouldn''t be able to take them away from me again.


    "I don''t believe you," he narrowed his eyes.


    "You don''t have to believe me," I didn''t care.


    I smiled while beginning to enter the game. I was in the starting village again when I looked around. However, before I could search for some teammates to explore the dungeon, I found myself disconnected from the game. I patted my head, wondering where the game console had gone. But all the headgears were in Luke''s hands, already out of my reach.


    "I already told you everything," I tried to take them away from him again.


    "Why are you doing this to me? I died in my former life, studying my life away! Do you know how I felt when everything was repeating in this life but on another level?" I felt frustrated.


    "There''s only so much I can believe from your story Rika," he looked at me with distrust.


    "But everything is the truth!" I cried.


    "If you really did die at that age, how can it explain you crying and begging every time to try to change my mind? Your study habits are also too terrible for you to say you have been studying your life away," he pointed out.


    "You never fall for them anyways!" I refuted.


    "And I had decent grades in kindergarten until all my knowledge was used up! Do you think all that I did was study in my former life like I do now?" I defended myself.


    "Respect your elders!" I pointed out how I was older than him if I included my age from both of my lives.


    "What''s all the commotion?" Ailes slammed the door open.


    "He doesn''t believe me that I died before I could take my SATs!" I complained to him.


    "Tell him that everything I''ve been saying is true," I crossed my arms.


    "Why wouldn''t it be true?" Ailes seemed equally confused.


    "SATs?" Luke questioned us.


    "A test people in their last year of high school take to determine what university they will be attending in the future," he explained.


    "People study really hard during this time, almost equivalent to the long hours you study here since they don''t have the time-space rooms," he added when I gestured it wasn''t enough.


    "That''s right!" I showed him that I wasn''t lying.


    "Who wouldn''t cry if they always had to study like they were about to take the SATs for over eight years? Wouldn''t you do the same?" I turned to Ailes.


    "Well, wouldn''t that be pure torture?" He agreed with me.


    "And all those foods like pizza, chicken wings and spicy rice cakes! You won''t ever get to eat or touch them. Plus the headgears in this room, I touched them for the first time a few weeks ago!" I revealed my miserable situation.


    "I''m sorry for your loss," he began to pity me, knowing I was a part of the otaku fandom.


    "That''s why I''m really thankful you brought me here, don''t we need to stick together?" I felt it wouldn''t be bad turning into a monster if I could game the rest of my days away.


    "Give her the headgears," Ailes turned to Luke.


    "You can game while we try to figure things out," he faced me.

 Chapter 397 - The Host (6)

    "We finally have enough money to rent this place!" The dancer looked at a tiny stage.


    "I never thought we would ever be able to come this far," the musician wiped some tears welling in her eyes.


    "We all equally made this happen," the juggler added to the joyful mood.


    Although the stage wasn''t the best, it was better than performing at the streets where they could be kicked out for causing a disturbance. They were finally getting recognized for all their efforts. And this only made them want to work harder to not disappoint the people who supported them. Posters were handed out during their free time, gathering decent people in the audience that would go out their way to support them. They also started to attract attention with the media exposure of the five of them working together.


    Meanwhile, the swordsman was a recent addition to the team. A fan of them, who asked if he could join them like the juggler. He impressed the audience with his sword tricks, coming from a school specializing in fighting. With the magician making the juggler and swordsman stand out with their simple spells, it created the illusion that they were powerful mana users.


    "There''s a crowd today as well!" The dancer was filled with excitement.


    "Shall we begin?" The magician warmly smiled at them.


    "Let''s go!" The musician was the first to step into the stage.


    Below the stage were many reporters with cameras flying in the sky. Maybe they would upload this performance into the news again, bringing them more exposure to other people. It was a sign that they were successful. No more did people around them tell them they should give up on their dreams. The beatings and screams of disappointment in the juggler''s home stopped, his parents feeling proud there was finally something he was good at. Meanwhile, both the musician and the dancer began to get some respect from their peers. Although the magician chose to stay anonymous, hiding behind a mask.


    Performing as usual while changing things up, the audience couldn''t take eyes off them. Donations poured in to support their dreams, almost able to make a living from the newly formed group, ''Circus of Dreams''. It was a theme they had come up with from the inspiration that they had from the fifth district. They wanted the audience to have fun while watching them, showing them anyone could fulfill their dreams.


    "Wow! The dark fire, it''s unlike what they have done before!" A child pointed out the large fireball coming from the sky.


    "Did you do this?" The dancer whispered to the magician.


    "I didn''t, this can only come from monsters," the magician had some fear in his voice.


    "Everyone must evacuate. This is a monster attack!" He amplified his voice.


    The reason why this stage could be cheaply rented was because the barrier protecting them was weaker here. The audience scrambled, running for their lives, abandoning the venue. Meanwhile, the circus members tried to help them in escaping, leading them to the best route since they were more familiar with the area. Unfortunately, this made them unable to escape, trapped under the dark fireball heading towards them.


    "Run!" I screamed to them, wondering why they were just staring at the monster attack.


    "You have to run!" My hands went through them.


    Once the fireball was about to hit them, I was rushed further in time to where the news outlets had reported the tragic event. Leaving me in front of a translucent screen, the barrier was less protected from most of the military forces being used that day to protect the people during social week. The exact people who had reported the magician during that competition. I gasped as it was no wonder that they had some grudges against us.


    Finding myself back at the room at the top of the tower in cold sweat, I stared at my helpless hands. Their circus was just beginning to become more successful; it wasn''t that long ago that they were ignored by the people around them. I wondered if this was the reason that we were left to protect ourselves with no help from outsiders when fairies came during social week. The rest of the people in the first district couldn''t witness the same thing happening to them again.


    "Why didn''t you run?" I mumbled on the bed.


    "Don''t you see, she''s dying!" Luke spun to Ailes, who was watching me.


    "Her fever will kill her before you can use her for what you want!" He pointed out.


    "How was I supposed to know she would get this sick from playing for a long time?" Ailes sighed.


    "I don''t know how it was like in your former lives, but this is how Rika is like in this world," Luke held one of my hands.


    "You have to return us so we can treat her," he argued.


    "You know I can''t do that," Ailes crossed his arms.


    "I''m going to be ok," I tried to rise from laying down.


    "I''m going to turn into one of you and defeat the demon king one day," I sat down.


    "Do you think she will survive through that process in this state?" Luke continued to yell.


    "This body is too weak," my body tethered side to side.


    "I want a healthier body in my next life," my head started to throb.


    "I will defeat the demon king," I looked at both of them, not knowing why the room was spinning.

 Chapter 398 - The Host (7)

    "Are you satisfied now?" Luke pointed out my fever getting worse.


    "If she dies, then I guess there''s nothing we can do," Ailes shrugged.


    I guessed that the s-class monster''s only purpose for trying to save me was to turn me into one of them. If it wasn''t for the faulty memorila for making me this sick, their plan would have worked. Thinking he could pity me enough to grant one of my requests, I tried asking, "you know how I''m dying. Can you give me ownership to this tower as my lash wish? Please?"


    "Ownership to this tower?" One of his eyebrows went up.


    "I need this gaming room. This place has headgears and other forms of entertainment," I explained.


    I decided I wanted a property of my own, one that nobody could touch. I could report those who interrupted me from playing my games. The first district had strict property laws, having high penalties for trespassing. Plus, most of the gaming equipment was already inside this room. I was sick of being inside the Roselia family mansions for almost every holiday when I couldn''t go back to the third district. I could kick everyone out of here so I could choose how to spend the rest of my days until I died.


    "And you said this is only your headquarters for this mission. Making it easily abandonable and whoever you stole it from probably already gave up on it," I added.


    "We didn''t steal the tower. It''s part of our territory," Ailes seemed to feel wrongly accused.


    "Then it shouldn''t matter if you give me a little chuck," I pointed out.


    "We reincarnated people should support each other, should we not? I need my gaming room to play that game until I die in peace. Is it that hard? You''ll get your tower back soon," I exposed how his words from before weren''t making sense.


    "What do I get in return?" He crossed his arms.


    "Money. I can offer you some money in exchange," I could use some of the Roselia family''s wealth.


    "Do you think money matters to us?" He seemed a bit offended.


    "Well it''s better than nothing and I totally blame everything on you since I wouldn''t have to die if you let us go to get treatment," I showed how heartless he was.


    "Nine hundred million Aris. I''ll promise you if you give me this much money then I''ll transfer the ownership to your name. And since I''m a generous person, I''ll make sure all the monsters under me won''t enter while you own it," Ailes was basically mocking me.


    "How about we put it in a contract?" I learned from Luke that I needed something to back me.


    "A contract? Do you even have the money?" He scoffed.


    "Do you think I still trust you without it?" I argued.


    "I''ll sign if you have one!" Ailes went along with me.


    "Luke, give him the contract," I knew Luke always carried around his contracts that had no loopholes.


    Sadly, it was to mostly use it on me. From my experiences of him trying to get me to sign them, he carried many different types. Luke switched from worrying about my fever to pulling out a scroll, humming with mana to bind someone to one of the strongest contracts. The spell integrated into the contract was strong enough to hold someone who had an unlimited amount of mana to be accountable. Meaning, Ailes wouldn''t be able to break anything he agreed to do.


    "I''ll make some adjustments," he wrote more additional terms.


    "You can sign here," Luke passed him the scroll.


    "You don''t have the money anyways," Ailes signed the contract.


    Everyone knew that nine hundred million Aris was even a large amount for the Roselia family. But he didn''t know that the Roselia family had invested more than five hundred million Aris in Luke''s bank account and the remaining in mine. When I tried to run away in the second district, I checked how much money I had in my bank account. I was stunned as my bank account was joined with Luke, combining the total amount to be exactly nine hundred million Aris.


    "Can you give him the money?" I requested Luke.


    "Here is nine hundred million Aris," Luke didn''t hesitate to transfer the funds.


    "Are you serious?" Ailes saw the huge amount of money being transferred to him in the form of a cheque.


    Getting the energy, almost falling from rising from my bed, my arms wobbled. Propping myself up, sweat dripping down, clothes wet, I held onto the headboard for support. I laughed, thinking I finally had some property under my name.


    "This gaming room is mine!" I laughed.


    "Now get out of my property!" I gestured.


    "Please leave," Luke joined in.


    "We don''t know what may happen to you with the penalties in the contract," he pointed them out.


    Ailes froze, stunned at the number of pages he didn''t read. The penalties were too stringent, leaving no loopholes. This was why you never signed a contract given by Luke. I smiled as I watched him leave with the entire circus and more of his underlings from the window. This tower could actually be the safest place in the first district since monsters wouldn''t ever be able to break in as long as I was alive.


    Although it would be sad if this fever killed me today when I finally owned a room full of entertainment, waiting to be touched. Trying to focus on the positive things like getting rid of Ailes, I turned to Luke, "can you leave too? I want to spend the rest of my days in gaming,"

 Chapter 399 - The Host (8)

    "You''re not going to die Rika. Do you really think I wouldn''t carry your fever medicine around with me?" Luke dropped his act.


    I stiffened, forgetting that he always carried many bottles of medicine in his inventory. I couldn''t believe he was acting like I was going to die for the entire time after more memories drifted into me again. Maybe he planned to use it after somehow getting rid of Ailes. I knew his acting was much better than mine but not to this extent.


    "But you never used it," I pointed out.


    "Of course I wouldn''t use it since they could use the chance to infect you. It would only be a last resort if you didn''t get better after a few more days. Your body isn''t that weak," he revealed.


    "Didn''t you say a fever like this would normally kill someone?" I recalled the conversation from a few days ago.


    "It would. But what do you think I''ve been feeding you to prevent you from getting to that point?" He pulled out the bottle with the white powdered drink inside.


    "Then I wouldn''t have to give up on my other food!" I was almost fooled by them.


    "You can''t, you''ll get sick," he passed me the bottle.


    "There''s only so much we can do. Once we get back to the mansion, I''ll still have to take you to the infirmary," he sighed.


    "Wasn''t the mansion destroyed?" I wondered.


    I chugged the bottle of medicine while waiting for his answer. Instead of answering me, Luke chose to send more messages to tell others how we were doing. I guessed the others were fine, resting in their other mansions.


    "We''re going to grandfather''s house. We still need to tell him how you were reincarnated," he didn''t forget about our prior conversation.


    "Then what about the tower?" I didn''t want to leave the game room yet.


    "It''s under the Roselia family now. No one can enter this place without our permission. Another reason why we''re visiting grandfather," he waited for me to finish the bottle.


    "Wait. I thought it was under my ownership!" I felt betrayed.


    "You''re a part of the Roselia family," he was basically telling me whatever was under my name was under the control of his family.


    "We''re going right now," he had a hover car waiting outside the window for us.


    This was how I landed myself in his grandfather''s office again. I chose to stay silent this time while his grandfather discussed the details about the tower with him. It seemed Lucius had already handled the mess about the ruined mansions. Hoping he wouldn''t ask me anything about my reincarnation, I wanted to get out of here as soon as possible.


    "Rika, you were reincarnated from another world?" His grandfather turned to me.


    "Maybe," I couldn''t look at his eyes.


    "And you possess the second chance card too," he already knew everything from Luke.


    "Do you know more about that card?" I wondered, wanting to get more information.


    "How was your former world like?" He switched the topic.


    "It resembled the third district. Do you know more about the second chance card?" I wanted to know how reliable it would be.


    "Not much is known. It has been thousands of years since there was a mention of something like this in the books. I heard you were a high school student in your former life," his grandfather wasn''t willing to answer my questions.


    "I was, but the education level was lower than the first year of elementary school here," I wanted this conversation to end.


    "I''m sure you understand with your age, we have higher expectations here," he pointed out my poor grades.


    "Of course. But I think your expectations may be a bit too high for me. I didn''t study all the time in my former life. I did normal things like going to play some games with my friends," I started to negotiate for the headgear.


    "You may already know that things are a bit different for you in this life. Sadly, we cannot allow you to do the same things as your previous life. In fact, it is very hard for us to believe you were a high school student in your past life," he was almost the same as Luke.


    "Excuse me, but it is very hard to change your lifestyle when you are pushed to study to the extremes," I was losing some of my patience.


    "So I would appreciate it if you allow me to take some things from the tower," I went directly to my point.


    "Unfortunately, we are still in the process of cleaning the tower. We do not know if there may be anything hazardous," he declined my request.


    "The headgears aren''t hazardous! I''m only asking you for one thing compared to that giant tower!" I almost slammed his desk.


    "It seems we need to call for more tutors," he frowned.


    "I''ll arrange a schedule for you to follow with Luke to catch up on school after you get released from the infirmary," he gestured to Luke to take me out of his office.


    Was he actually kidding me? It was really hard to try staying on his good side since he was a cheat character. Everyone knew the value of that tower and in comparison, I only asked for a small item in return. Didn''t he know that without me, they wouldn''t have obtained it in the first place?

 Chapter 400 - The Host (9)

    "I thought I would be dead," the dancer found herself inside a tall tower.


    "What happened?" The musician groaned while getting up.


    "I think someone brought us here to safety," the juggler looked at his surroundings.


    The five of them were inside a tall tower, swallowed by the darkness of the night. The walls were bare, showing the person who saved them didn''t care for decorations. And no signs of food nor water were seen. While signs of furniture or beds weren''t present in this empty room as well. It was like they weren''t human anymore since only the dead could live in this room.


    "You must be surprised," a monster opened the door.


    The five of them stiffened, moving back. There was a s-class monster in front of them and everyone knew how dangerous they were. Not wanting to turn into one of them, they trembled in fear. It was one of the dangers of living in the first district.


    "I am the host of this tower," Ailes warmly smiled at them.


    "I am the one who will create your stage," he offered.


    I shook my head, wanting to tell them they were already dead. Maybe they would figure out later in time. It was too dark for them to know that their bodies were pitch black, none of their distinct features could be seen except for their outlines. These were the circus members I was familiar with. I sighed, knowing they wouldn''t be able to hear me.


    "Rika! Wake up! We need to attend the graduation ceremony today," Luke shook me.


    "Isn''t it tomorrow?" I groaned.


    After returning to school from the tortuous schedule planned by his grandfather yesterday, I was told that I would have to attend the graduation ceremony with him. Both Lucius and Belle were graduating from the school and family members were invited to celebrate the big event. Although I didn''t like them, I didn''t want them to graduate since that would mean both Claire and Yulian would be graduating as well. This meant their fraction work in this school would fall on us.


    "It''s in several hours. Uncle also called for a celebration after the event," he pulled my blankets away from me.


    "Uncle?" I wondered.


    "My uncle on my mother''s side of the family," he told me it was Jules'' father.


    "Do I have to go?" I grumbled, knowing the answer.


    "Get up," he passed me my outfit for today.


    I didn''t know who came up with the concept that the graduation ceremony should be held on weekends, but it was a horrible idea. I recently escaped from his grandfather and I would soon be entering another hell. I changed into my miserable dress while Luke helped me with all the accessories.


    I walked with him towards the high school section where the stage we were once held captive since it was the location of the event. I froze when I noticed his parents already seated in their seats. My name floated on top of a chair, showing where I should sit. Thankfully, I was seated beside Luke, who was less intimidating. However, I stiffened when I noticed Alex''s parents would be seated on the other side of my seat.


    His entire family was coming to watch them. I wondered if this was really that important of an event. Was it because they would almost escape the point system once they entered university? Oddly, since university was the last level of school, once you entered with the amount of points you gathered in high school, the point system wasn''t needed anymore. Plus, you were almost considered as an a.d.u.l.t at this stage.


    I shrank into my seat as more people gathered inside the auditorium. Focusing on all the beautiful decorations like the flowers hanging from the ceiling, I tried to distract myself. I clapped when someone entered the stage to get their diploma with everyone else. The key was making sure I wasn''t standing out. I even made sure my posture would be perfect with my mannerisms. My eyes were focused on the stage, not daring at the people beside me.


    However, the stage darkened with all the lights suddenly vanishing. Sounds of glass popping, with its shards heading towards us as piece weapons. Flowers tumbling down onto our hair, the entire venue rumbling. I wondered if this was part of the plan since I never been to an event like this before. But maybe I knew, deep inside my heart that Ailes couldn''t give up on me after being scammed out of his tower. Luke and his grandfather burned the cheque transferred to Ailes with a spell, only keeping the promise of giving the money but not responsible for what happened afterwards.


    "You''re not dead," Ailes punctured a hole from above.


    He dropped onto the stage, hands on the ground, making the teacher freeze in shock. Turning to take a glance of Luke''s family members, they seemed bored, not paying attention to Ailes. I wondered if they weren''t feeling worried for their son who didn''t step onto the stage yet. Ignoring him like the others, he started to walk towards my seat. Even though I didn''t like Luke''s family, I was never so glad to have them with me today.


    Before Ailes could come close to our row, a barrier prevented him from getting any closer. I guessed this was the power that properly trained a.d.u.l.ts with a vast amount of mana could do without even chanting. Instead of giving up, Ailes widely smiled, placing his hands against the barrier to break it with a large amount of counter energy. Large ripples were created from his spell and hearing noises of the barrier cracking, I shifted closer towards Luke.


    "I''m not giving up on you Rika!" Ailes screamed while shattering the barrier.

 Chapter 401 - The Host (10)

    William snapped his fingers, instantly creating double fortified barriers around us. Meanwhile, Joanna appeared annoyed that Ailes was preventing her son from going up the stage yet. She glared at the teacher to quickly get rid of the s-class monster so they could resume the event again. However, the teacher and the dean were still frozen in their spots in fear like the rest of the people in the audience.


    "I can''t believe they''re not even trying to resolve the issue," Alex''s father scrutinized them.


    "My nephew and niece aren''t going to go on the stage at this rate," Alex''s mother, Juliana agreed.


    While Ailes punched the barrier, everyone in Luke''s family, including the Suilett family who sat in the same row, appeared equally frustrated. The celebration that the Pelargonium family organized for them would be delayed at this rate. I wondered if they could get rid of Ailes like Luke''s grandfather had done to the A-class monster. I began to relax as more of them complained about the poor security inside the safe barrier.


    When I looked at the other rows, it seemed other families had also formed powerful barriers almost equivalent to ours. Except since Luke''s family was known for having more mana than others, ours had a noticeable difference. Explosion spells and fireballs became merely fireworks, tornadoes were a water show and laser beams lit up the auditorium. Anything that Ailes did, whether it was his large spells or pure physical force, didn''t do anything to dent the barrier. Feeling a bit bored when this persisted for more than an hour, I began to count the number of people in the seats.


    "You think I''ll be as generous as last time? Think again!" Ailes continued to target us.


    Deciding that he wouldn''t be able to do this alone, Ailes began to call for the swarm of monsters under him, including his fellow reincarnated monsters. This made Joanna shift out of her seat for the first time. Worrying for her son who wasn''t under the protection of the barrier, she shouted, "Lucius, Belle, come here. We''re leaving this place."


    "Do you think I''ll leave your son and daughter alone?" Ailes switched his target.


    Ailes sprinted towards the backstage, choosing to use them as hostages. But before he could get close to the stage, William surrounded him with barriers, making him unable to move from the enclosed area. With both Lucius and Belle getting the hint as Ailes pounded on the barriers, they ran to our row. I gasped as they were very beautiful in their outfits, standing out from others in the crowd. They were glimmering with mana hugging the fabrics, jewels subtly adorning their clothes among perfectly tailoring their bodies.


    They were striking like fairies, gathering everyone''s attention with a single glance from them. I began to pity them as it showed they placed many efforts in dressing up for today. Since the barrier around Ailes wasn''t as fortified as the one in our row, it quickly shattered, vanishing into thin air. But all of us were at least safe, other graduating students also running to their families in the audience.


    "Do you think you can escape this?" Ailes grinned when we could spot his reinforcements above the hole.


    "Let''s start walking," Joanna paid no attention to them.


    I followed everyone else, rising from my seat. My eyes widened when the powerful barrier moved with us. All the monsters flying or running towards us automatically bounced off like a rubber band. Meanwhile, the only people unprotected were the staff at this school. But I didn''t feel sorry for them when they left us to fend for ourselves during the time the circus members weren''t friendly to us.


    "Rika, follow along, don''t get distracted," Joanna told me to not get behind.


    I nodded my head as I increased my pace instead of taking a few peeks at Ailes. Once we were outside, larger hover cars inside more fortified barriers drifted down towards us. I couldn''t believe it was this easy to escape with them. It was nothing compared to all the suffering I had gone through for this month. However, before we could get into the car, Ailes and the girl who hated the Roselia family, combined their strength together to explode the cars.


    "We''re leaving to not kill you since we pity you," Juliana shouted at them.


    "You pity us?" Ailes laughed.


    "Why not?" she didn''t think anything more about them.


    "He was the one behind who almost killed us mother," Alex reminded her about the tale where the magician targeted them.


    "You should have told me," her voice dripped with warm honey.


    "Can you get rid of him, William?" Juliana turned to Luke''s father.


    With a single nod from William, Ailes crumbled into ashes with the girl beside him. I froze in shock, discovering another cheat character in front of me. Were s-class monsters ever this easy to kill? I wondered why they didn''t eliminate the rest of the monsters in the district with their power. Could I start getting on their good side at least now as well? I sighed as there were more people I had to suck up to now.


    Thinking everything was over since they were dead, it was odd that the sky was starting to turn pitch black again. It couldn''t be that the circus was beginning again. Looking above me, I found the circus members drifting down towards us. Why were they here?


    "You!" The magician rushed towards William.


    "How could you kill our host?" His eyes were full of fury.

 Chapter 402 - Finale of the Circus (1)

    "All you people from the Roselia family are the same! I regret sparing your children!" The magician pulled out his map again.


    "I should have killed them when I had the chance!" He found some of Alison''s features in William.


    "You shouldn''t, they were only defending themselves," the dancer interfered.


    "You were too harsh on them last time. Leaving nothing for them to defend themselves from using the disintegration spell while attacking their barriers," she tried to convince him to leave.


    "Is this true?" William spun to Lucius, who was the oldest in this group.


    "Did grandfather not tell you yet?" Lucius appeared equally confused.


    "If Rika and Luke didn''t sacrifice themselves for our safety, we could have all died!" Alex added to his uncle.


    All of their parents looked at the magician in a new light. With no mercy present from trying to kill their children, the magician instantly turned into a puddle of black goo. Only three members of the circus remained, the innocent and nicest members who tried to help us out. However, Alex wasn''t done with his complaints towards them.


    "The two of them. They made our ears bleed and held us captive in the same seats to watch them. My partner could have never woken up while we could have all lost our hearing," he recalled those nights before we took a leave.


    With another nod from William, both the dancer and musician met the same fate as the magician. Although I did hold some grudges against them, I couldn''t entirely blame them for their actions. I looked away from the puddle of their remains, hoping they would move onto a better life. I could feel this was different from my spell where their deaths were only temporary, there were remnants to keep them from reliving. Only the juggler remained, the last member of the circus. He stood still, mourning for them. He didn''t do anything but walk away from us, back bent, feeling guilty he was the only one who had survived.


    The juggler was the only one who didn''t do anything to us. In the face of the ruined school, I stepped into another hover car coming down from the sky. I stayed silent inside the car, feeling sorry for the juggler who was left all alone. Maybe he wanted to join them, already been together with the circus for around hundred years. Ignoring the rest of the monsters trying to attack anyone who possessed mana, he picked some flowers.


    Holding some flowers from the courtyard, he walked to where their remains were splattered, stepped by other monsters. He placed the flowers in each of the puddles, clasping his hands together, hoping they would be happy in the future. I met his eyes while looking out the window, finding this ending was too sad. He never deserved any of this. Losing all his friends in one day, he continued to stare at the puddle.


    "You shouldn''t pity them Rika, it was their choice in the end," Luke turned to me.


    "If they never tried to kill us, they would still be alive," Alex added when I continued to stare outside the window.


    Tears streamed down my face, finding myself thankful that their parents weren''t here to see this. They were inside the other hover car, focusing on maintaining the barriers surrounding both the cars. Alex didn''t know about what the circus had been through like I did. He didn''t know their backstories and how they had all died when they were just starting to become successful. They were only following Ailes'' orders.


    The ending to their story was awful, turning into monsters. I couldn''t entirely blame Ailes and the other s-class monsters coming from the orphanage as well. I knew how miserable the facility was when I had visited the place for the charity ball. Why didn''t anyone that I encountered ever get the happy ending they desired?


    Wiping the tears off my face, I stepped onto the Pentagonium family mansion grounds. I couldn''t let anyone else see me like this or I may get sent into another intense schedule with the tutors again. Walking into the main dining room, the interior was more stunning than what the school had set up for them. I was glad that the special day of both Lucius and Belle wasn''t completely ruined. A graduation ceremony was something special in my former life as well.


    With Lucius and Belle seating in the special chairs almost resembling thrones, everyone sat around them. The table was abundantly filled, not leaving any empty space. There was even something I preferred to eat in some of the plates. His uncle did prepare many things for them. I wondered if Joanna had a close relationship with him from displaying how much he cared about her son and his fianc¨¦e.


    "Thank you, uncle," Lucius turned to him.


    "I thought since our graduation ceremony wasn''t able to be carried out as planned, it wouldn''t be a special day anymore. But you''ve prepared so many things for us," Belle seemed touched.


    "It''s nothing if it''s for my nephew and niece," he warmly smiled.


    "Where are you planning to visit before you enter university?" Belle''s father asked them.


    "Maybe the cave or the tower. I heard there''s many things to explore there," Lucius had an adventurous spirit.


    "I heard the tower is around thousands of years old!" Belle seemed a bit excited.


    Both the tower and cave were obtained by Luke and me. I never knew the news would travel so fast. I wondered why they wanted to go there compared to the more luxurious facilities their families owned. Was it that different from the last time I was at those places? It was like they were turning into a tourist place instead.

 Chapter 403 - Finale of the Circus (2)

    "What is the tower and the cave like now?" I asked them.


    "You can almost go anywhere in the first and second district with the cave while the tower is almost as magical as a fairy tale," Belle explained.


    I froze, shocked how the tower had changed so much within a week. I did know they would do some renovations but not to this extent. While Belle gushed about the tower, I attentively listened to every detail like the spa, stunning ballroom and private attractions put in place. The tower was only accessible to family members, making entrance even more exclusive. And since it was very old with many floors, there wasn''t an end to what you could explore.


    My eyes sparkled, wanting to go with them. Ailes did mention that he placed us at the most horrible room they had. Almost finished with my meal, I chimed in, "I want to go too. Can''t you take me with you?"


    "Maybe after you graduate from high school," she teased me.


    The table was filled with chatter on what they should do with the rest of the floors. Apparently, it was the oldest tower in the first district, only having one hundred floors available. Many ancient artifacts and technologies were present in some of the rooms, unlike the ones in the lower districts. It was no wonder Ailes didn''t want to give this space up. Plus, there weren''t many places in the monster''s territory that would be free from them as the tower due to the contract.


    "The tower seems to have changed very much," Shelly knew from my descriptions.


    From her comment, the whole table went silent. I wondered why the atmosphere became awkward when Shelly had nothing wrong. Sometimes I commented on how some of the floors should be arranged and their parents just went along with my ideas, taking a few notes inside their heads. The servants had cleaned up the empty plates, replacing everything with some tea and other drinks along some desserts.


    "The tower did change," Alex coldly answered her.


    ???Is this another version of strawberry shortcake?" I commented to switch the topic.


    "We have our way in making desserts," Jules'' father started to talk about their family history to me.


    Descending from fairies, they always had the best desserts since that was what they could only eat. I never knew a fairy and human could produce any offspring together. The table started to be filled with more conversations about history from other families, almost like the incident before had never happened. Shelly shot me a grateful look before trying to stay invisible, not participating in any conversations.


    In front of her was Yulee, who was also silent. Meanwhile, Jules and Alex were busy talking to their family members to the point they were almost ignoring them. However, Lucius and Belle were still in the spotlight, getting the most attention from their parents, aunts and uncles. I wondered why we were getting treated so differently. I didn''t feel uncomfortable telling them about my opinions, chiming in more conversations that interested me.


    I tugged on Luke''s shirt, wondering why they were being excluded. Luke whispered into my ear as soft as possible so that only I would be able to hear him, "they''re not family yet. They could use whatever information from here to report back to their families to profit off of them."


    Feeling sorry for them, I decided to go with the flow, not wanting to stand out. Rising from my seat to move to the next location in the mansion, I noticed both Yulee and Shelly trailing a distance behind others. All of us were staying for a night, sparing the entire day for Lucius and Belle. Introducing our bedrooms, everyone except for Yulee and Shelly had rooms on the third floor. While theirs were inside the guest rooms on the second floor where it would be a bit more convenient for them to move around in the mansion.


    "Let''s go to the living room on the third floor," Luke grabbed my hand.


    When I looked around for Yulee and Shelly, only they were missing for this second event. However, there was nothing I could do since everyone here was in Luke''s family, not mine. Both Lucius and Belle laughed while opening their gifts, full of more property and land allocated towards their names with thousands of millions of Aris transferred into their bank accounts. I knew how precious land and property was in the first district where some parts were occupied by monsters.


    "I''m sorry for ruining your special day," I went up to Belle, feeling guilty I ruined their ceremony since I was Ailes'' main target.


    "It''s fine, this is better anyways," she stroked my hair.


    "Besides you helped us obtain the tower a week before," she pointed out.


    "Rika, you may be interested in this," Jules'' father called for me.


    Since he knew I loved desserts, I eagerly listened to him on all the delicious cakes they had recorded in the recipe book. While Luke left me alone, under the care of his family, enjoying the conversations about different swords. Joanna, who I normally thought was very strict, also liked to praise the desserts at the house she grew up in. It wasn''t as bad as I thought it would be.


    But my ears perked up when I noticed Alex was suddenly missing from this room. Hearing Shelly''s voice on the other side of the door leading to this room, everyone else went silent doing the same thing.


    "Can I leave? Your family hates me!" Shelly''s voice trembled.

 Chapter 404 - Finale of the Circus (3)

    "You could have declined the invitation, but you decided to attend. If you want, I can call for a hover call, but even Rika isn''t complaining." Alex seemed disappointed with Shelly.


    "But your family treats her differently," she pointed out.


    "Rika is family," he revealed she wasn''t the same.


    I almost gasped, never knowing Shelly would feel so horrible that she would ask if she could leave. Shelly, who noticed that the signs of chattering in the living room on this floor had died down, lowered her voice.


    "I''m just asking to include me in some of the conversations," her voice wobbled.


    "Why should I do that?" He didn''t understand.


    "Is it really that hard?" She felt she wasn''t asking for much.


    "You''re causing more trouble than Rika," Alex sighed.


    "Do you think since we didn''t do anything, we don''t hold anything against your family? Your family decided to work with the Nicole family since she was your friend for a project. Things don''t work that way here. Do you think your family would have gotten that project in the first place if it wasn''t for us?" He pointed out.


    "But as her friend, I should be helping her out in difficult times," Shelly almost choked on tears.


    "It''s not a buyable excuse for us. We always place family first. In fact, Rika has the right to be treated better than you are. Her contributions to the family outweigh what your family has done for us," he revealed.


    Ever since Shelly''s engagement with Alex, I knew their families were extensively working together. And I knew how a single project brought in a sizable amount of money from what Luke had taught me. I wondered how much the cave and the tower was truly worth for it to offset all their collaborations for years.


    "If you want to leave, go ahead. But don''t attend next time if you''re going to humiliate the Monete family through your actions," he coldly turned to walk away from her.


    "I''ll stay," she decided, stepping down onto the second floor, holding back.


    "This is why I said we shouldn''t have just let them go," Joanna commented after Shelly was on another floor.


    "Maybe she''ll learn," Juliana sighed.


    "The worst case, we can just break off the engagement, although it''ll take some work," she added.


    I froze, not knowing the engagement between them could be broken. I thought that stage was already over once you passed elementary school. Shelly did possess the Monete family name in her middle name. Maybe I didn''t know how everything worked yet. I was only certain that once your last name turned into the family someone was engaged, it was almost permanent.


    "I made sure she wouldn''t be asking for more," Alex shot an apologetic look at Lucius and Belle.


    "It''s fine, she''s still young," Lucius accepted his apology.


    "Your dress looks really pretty," I turned to Belle, switching the topic from Shelly.


    "We can also pre-order a similar one for you," she twirled to show off more of her dress, fluttering up and down with the wind.


    "Really?" I pretended to admire the illusion of butterflies moving in her skirt of her dress, forgetting the pain of wearing it.


    "But I don''t think I''ll ever look as beautiful as when you wear it," I tried to decline when she opened her screen to immediately buy a similar one for me.


    "Don''t think that way," she smiled while making the purchase.


    "I always thought it was a shame that only Luke got to pick out your clothes," she started to look at me like a dress up doll.


    I gulped, regretting that it was the start of a new topic, deciding which clothes would match me the best. Even their mothers made some purchases for me while looking through the catalogs. Luke ran over to them as well, giving them some of his opinions, making the whole family join in. I looked away, not daring to look at the mounting number of orders. I never knew everyone else in his family had the same hobby as him.


    "I like the small waist in this dress. She''ll look more like a doll," Belle showed Lucius.


    "How about this one with the laced back?" Lucius disagreed with her.


    "I think the one with the ribbons looks better with the diamond buttons," Alex frowned at what they chose.


    "We can buy all of them," Juliana told them, ending the argument.


    "But we should buy these bracelets to go with them," Luke added.


    Luke enjoyed shopping at exclusive stores, his closet being neatly organized with a collection of intricate watches, cufflinks and clothes. He also liked doing the same for me, knowing where everything was located in my closet. Arranging every one of my outfits and getting rid of the outdated ones that didn''t fit me anymore.


    "They said it''s coming within an hour!" Belle looked at the status on the screen.


    This was how the servants brought plenty of boxes with their orders inside the room. Since the workers used the time-space room from the stores, it was possible for them to deliver their orders with my tailored measurements. I sighed as I had to try on everything that they ordered for me, some of them taking pictures while I posed. Belle''s eyes glittered whenever I would wear the ones she picked. It was the least I could do for them since it was their special day.

 Chapter 405 - Finale of the Circus (4) - Shellys POV

    I never regretted helping Ellen regain some of their family wealth. She was my best friend since the beginning of entering kindergarten in the school system we attended. While she tried to hide how her family was declining to me and Rika, I couldn''t bear to see her suffer under the new pressures on her shoulders. This was why I suggested to my parents to work on one project with them together.


    Since my engagement to Alex, my family exclusively worked with them for everything. I thought one project wouldn''t make a difference. The partner system matched people based on politics and power to collect more wealth. My family gave away most of their prized businesses to the Monete family for the exchange of using their connections. The connections that the Monete family possessed made us get better deals and projects, creating many businesses almost as good as the ones we gave away.


    But I didn''t think his entire family would take it as a sign of betrayal. While Rika was included in many conversations, none of them took a single glance at me. After Lucius and Belle, the main protagonists of the event, she was in the centre of attention with Luke, Alex and Julian. Wanting to join in as well, I commented on one of the topics, "The tower seems to have changed very much."


    However, the entire table went silent, all eyes on me, wondering why an unwanted person was chiming in. I stiffened, wondering what I did wrong. It was only when Rika commented about the strawberry shortcake, the table went back to its festive mood again. Sitting across from me was Yulee, who got the same treatment as me. She wasn''t included as well, choosing to pick on her food while staying silent.


    Rising together when everyone rose from their seats, the servants escorted me and Yulee to a bedroom on a different floor from the rest of them. Clenching the edge of my dress, I wondered why we were being treated so differently. Looking at Yulee for the answers, she didn''t look upset as I was. Instead, she focused on how she would spend the extra time before dinner time.


    "Since this is your first time, I can tell you inside my room," she opened the door.


    I stiffened while entering her bedroom, wondering if this wasn''t the first time that she was treated this way. Sitting on the couch across from her, she sighed, "it''s because they don''t trust us yet. They think we can use any information from their discussions to our advantage by telling our parents about them."


    "But you''re engaged to Julian?" I didn''t understand.


    "It doesn''t matter to them," she played with her nails.


    "What about Rika?" I recalled how warmly they included her.


    Although I knew that Rika would never do it, she could report the information to her other fractions. She didn''t have anything holding her back, not coming from the first district. But hating going to fraction meetings, Luke was the only one who attended for the both of them on the scheduled dates.


    "She''s different. She''s one of them and the Roselia family practically raised her as their own. You know she can''t do anything without getting permission from their family," Yulee noticed.


    I nodded my head since I knew Rika couldn''t do anything without Luke''s permission. Sometimes I pitied my friend, unable to leave the Roselia family mansions outside of school. While I enjoyed my time with Ellen in the second district before the competition started, she was locked inside her room. Luke didn''t like having Rika out of his sight, always checking up on her.


    Even Alex considered her as family, coldly telling me I could leave if I wanted. We ignored each other in our dorm room in school while hanging out with different people outside of class. Sometimes I thought he could be closer to Rika than me. When Luke couldn''t watch over Rika, Alex would take care of her in his place. After Luke didn''t get any of his calls a week ago, he immediately left the Monete family mansion, not trusting Rika to look over the Roselia family mansion alone.


    Sighing while heading to the dining room around dinner time, I noticed Rika on the floor above me. She wore a gorgeous dress that came out from an exclusive boutique from the previous week. Her doll-like appearance made me admire her beauty with the accessories that matched them. Behind her were many servants carrying boxes of more clothes from the most prestigious stores, only able to shop with a membership there.


    Although Rika hated wearing the clothes bought by Luke, I always admired her clothes. Even I couldn''t match the items in her closet when I walked into her dorm room. Every article of clothing was frequently updated, costing an expensive amount of money even for my family. Stiffening when Alex was coming down the stairs in my direction, he noticed me staring at her.


    "I chose her necklace," he proudly looked at his successful purchase.


    Alex had never bought me anything before just as I never have done it for him. Our relationship together was purely transactional, unlike how he cared for his cousins. Whenever Rika made a blunder, impacting the image of our fraction, he worked hard with Luke to cover for her. However, I knew if I made the same mistake, he wouldn''t ever let me go for it.

 Chapter 406 - Finale of the Circus (5)

    "I will create your brightest stage. You will have the largest audience and place to perform," Ailes offered the circus members.


    "I''m against this," the juggler commented on his plan.


    "Did you think you wouldn''t have to pay for the price of how we gave you a place to live and perform together?" Ailes narrowed his eyes.


    "You only have to capture one person. That is all I ask you before you can be freed," he smiled.


    The circus members didn''t want to involve innocent people in their plan. Negotiating with Ailes, they decided there would be certain potential targets that would have indicators. The attacks would only affect them with the glowing dots blinking on their arms. The magician was especially easy to convince once hearing the target came from a powerful family. The circus members couldn''t help but have a grudge on the families that took away the security from the barrier that day.


    None of them would have died nor all audience members be in danger. Thinking it wouldn''t be bad to have one last performance in front of humans, they decided how the acts would be played and in which order. I silently watched them plan how they would capture me, not knowing their future. With each circus member vanishing one by one from the scene, the juggler held a photo from an old news article as the only one remaining.


    Coughing when my mind spun, finding myself at the dining table again, I wondered how much time had passed this time. Eyes squinting from the shining light from heal, my vision became clearer, leaning on Luke who sat beside me. Feeling refreshed like nothing had happened when Luke''s father finished healing me, I sat upright in my chair while others frowned at my condition.


    "Sorry," I couldn''t look at both Lucius and Belle.


    "What did you see this time?" Lucius knew it was from more memories coming into me.


    "I just saw the circus members again," I wondered if everything wasn''t over yet.


    "We may need to fortify the barriers," Joanna turned to William.


    "Are you really ok Rika?" Shelly got out of her seat to run towards me.


    "Excuse me, but this is our family''s problem," Joanna asked her to get back to her seat.


    "But my friend," Shelly clenched her fists while looking down.


    "Can you come back here Michelle?" Alex seemed a bit irritated.


    "I only wanted to help," she found everyone hostile towards her.


    "You''re causing everyone more trouble," Alex crossed his arms.


    After shooting one last worried glance towards me, Shelly reluctantly returned to her seat. Meanwhile Joanna took my temperature, trying to confirm if heal was enough. This family always took my condition more seriously than it actually was. Some of the a.d.u.l.ts had already left the table, going to check the barrier. Memories of others streaming into me was a sign that something would happen soon.


    Finding the mood already ruined, I walked towards the window after Joanna determined that heal had recovered everything. The table had already shifted into a serious atmosphere with discussions of how they should resolve this issue. Staring the scenery beyond the mansion grounds, my eyes widened when I found five ghastly figures staggering towards us. Why wasn''t anyone else seeing this?


    "Luke," I dragged him towards the window.


    "Do you also see them too?" I pointed at the weird circus members that I thought had died.


    The circus members, excluding the juggler, had empty eyes. It was like they couldn''t think on their own, bumping into inanimate objects on the way. They crashed into the obstacles blocking their way until they had destroyed them, letting them move forward. Resembling the animals mutated into monsters while being consumed with innate revenge, there was almost no difference between them. I shivered as I found the ending for the monsters who have truly died once.


    "I see them," Luke seemed shocked.


    Leaving me in front of the windows alone, Luke ran to the a.d.u.l.ts planning our next actions at the table. Making everyone notice the monsters outside the windows, I continued to watch the circus members and the previous s-class monsters who appeared as if they were suffering, unable to control their bodies. Was this why Juliana said they didn''t kill them since they pitied this would happen to them?


    "Are they going to be like this forever?" I pitied them.


    "Let''s go to a safer room," Luke started to pull me, leaving everything else to the a.d.u.l.ts.


    Before I was out of the dining room, both of us froze, finding the juggler suddenly appearing in front of us. Since everyone was focused on the windows, they had a late reaction, putting the barriers around to protect us from the juggler.


    "I didn''t want to disturb your celebration, but I need your help," the juggler sadly placed one of his hands against the barrier.


    "What do you want from us?" Luke narrowed his eyes, squeezing my hand tighter.


    "I want you to release them from their sufferings. I want you to kill them to the point their existence is erased from this world, the only way to free them," he stared at me.


    "I don''t know how to," I didn''t know how to do the spell that Luke''s grandfather did.


    "It''s the next level of your disintegration spell. Only a few people have the ability to perform it," he explained why he came to me.

 Chapter 407 - Finale of the Circus (6)

    "I''m afraid we can''t help you, Rika doesn''t know how to do that spell," Luke repeated my answer.


    "Although my husband may be able to help you, it will take some time," Joanna fearlessly escorted him to a spare room.


    The juggler sadly nodded, turning to take one last glance towards me before leaving to follow her. The Pelargonium mansion grounds also quickly turned into a battlefield with the a.d.u.l.ts taking their positions outside while children were to stay inside the mansion, acting as lookouts. Once intelligent monsters died, they were slightly easier to fight, unable to reason or strategize. The festive mood was completely gone, everyone armed with weapons.


    "It''s not your fault," Belle helped me attach a sharp dagger onto the belt on my leg.


    "I can help you fight," I was filled with guilt.


    "Don''t even think about Rika," Alex crossed his arms.


    "We can help them from here," Shelly tried to comfort me.


    Everyone inside the room went silent again from her comment. Wondering why everyone was still treating her this way when the a.d.u.l.ts were gone, Shelly became fl.u.s.tered. Normally when we were in school or fraction events, everyone else included her. Alex sighed, coldly staring at Shelly was interrupting our conversation.


    "We apologize for making you uncomfortable during our family event," Lucius warned Shelly to not interfere any further.


    "No, I didn''t mean to," Shelly frantically waved her hands.


    "Would you like us to escort you to a safer place?" Belle offered to Yulee and Shelly.


    "Please do," Yulee seemed used to this.


    Jules got the hint from Belle''s nod to escort Yulee back to her room. After they left, everyone turned to Shelly, hoping she would ask for the same. It was clear that they were outsiders compared to me where Luke made sure I never left his line of sight. Getting no answer from Shelly, they continued to do their roles as lookout.


    "I''ll stay," Shelly clenched her fists.


    My eyes widened with the multiple layers of spells topped on each other outside the window. The a.d.u.l.ts were focusing on one monster each to do the same spell as Luke''s grandfather. I never knew it would be this complex, seeing how easy it was for killing the swordsman. When the spells activated all together, the light brightly shined, dashing into our room, making me squint my eyes.


    Once the light disappeared, only Ailes was eliminated among the circus members, crumbling into nothing except for faint dust. I couldn''t believe such a powerful spell could merely get rid of one s-class monster. Only people with an abundant amount of mana like me could ever attempt doing something like this alone.


    "That''s why I told you it''ll take years to perfect that spell," Luke noticed me unable to take my eyes off them.


    "Once I turn sixteen-." I imagined all the powerful things I could do.


    "You''re still far away from sixteen Rika," Lucius knew what I was thinking.


    "Shelly, he''s trying to ruin my dreams of becoming a cheat character," I ran to hug her.


    "I''m really going to become a cheat character one day that can do anything!" I ignored his comments.


    Shelly slightly tilted her head, confused what I meant by a cheat character. My eyes started to twinkle as I explained to her, "a cheat character can do anything. Defeating monsters and doing big spells are nothing. Once I turn sixteen, I''ll be able to do whatever I want. Obviation will become nothing!"


    "Wow," Shelly praised me.


    I smiled as I began to think of all the things that the main protagonists in light novels and manga were able to do. The Roselia family will be nothing to me by then. What could they do when there was someone else more powerful than them?


    "This is what Rika has been thinking of ever since she visited grandfather," Luke sighed while explaining to Belle and Alex.


    "Grandfather destroyed a monster within a second!" I wanted to become the same.


    I started to wonder if Rika had any grandparents, never meeting anyone else in my family except for my parents, my twin brother, aunt, and younger cousins. Becoming greedier after being part of Luke''s family union, I wanted to visit them. Even in my former life, I remembered all my relatives gathering together for the holidays.


    "She''s getting some dangerous ideas in her head," Luke continued to watch me.


    "We can always help watch over her," Lucius comforted him with Belle.


    Used to all the dashing lights coming through the windows, lighting up the entire sky, the next time I looked outside the window, only the magician and the other s-class monster remained. Feeling relaxed enough to continue eating my leftover plate of cake, my sense of danger had decreased. It was nice when someone else did all the fighting for you.


    "Ailes deserved something like this coming," a humanoid sat in front of me.


    "Weren''t you an advocate for peace?" I enjoyed my strawberry shortcake.


    "I''m the new leader now. I''m here to negotiate some terms," he grabbed a teacup.


    Everyone spun to where he sat, wondering how he was able to pass through the powerful barriers. Unable to move from his spell, paralysing everyone except for me, he pretended to drink the tea. Since I knew he wasn''t like Ailes, always appearing like he would rather not be here with them, I didn''t fear him while focusing on the cake.


    "Why me?" I smiled while l.i.c.k.i.n.g the cream on my lips.

 Chapter 408 - Finale of the Circus (7)

    "You know us the most as a fellow reincarnated person," the humanoid shrugged.


    "I guess?" I finally took a closer look at him.


    "In exchange of giving you some land, if you leave us alone in this area then we won''t attack you," he circled an area on the map.


    "Why there?" I couldn''t find anything valuable about it.


    "It''s where all the entertainment is gathered like the newest headgears, games and shows. You know how we all died before we could enjoy the things in this world and in our previous world from studying for the SATs. That''s why most of us only care about gaming the rest of our days away," he explained.


    "Can''t you bring me there with you?" My eyes sparkled.


    "I don''t need land or whatnot. I want to join you," I felt a bit jealous of them.


    "I thought you were interested in land from taking the tower from Ailes," he seemed a bit confused.


    "I only wanted that tower since it had some headgears on the top floor," I pointed out.


    "So please take me with you," I clasped my hands together.


    "You can''t take her with you!" The juggler slammed the door open.


    "This girl is on another level. She''s completely addicted to the games that she may kill us in the future," he yelled.


    "You''re the same too!" I found him no different.


    "I''m not like you. You''re still human. You''ll take care of her, right?" The juggler turned to everyone else in the room.


    "I suffered through the SATs too! It''s not fair that only you guys get to enjoy your lives while I have to suffer under them!" I argued.


    "It''s better if you negotiate with them instead to get what we want," he gestured to some of Luke''s family members frozen behind me.


    "Wait. Can you give me some property? Ones with a game room? I want a place where no one else can enter except for me," I interrupted him.


    "I''ll do all the negotiating for you with them. I know these heartless people more than you do. They may attack you if you let them go," I tried to convince the humanoid.


    "She''s lying, she only wants the game room. She''s going to land us into more trouble," the juggler refuted.


    "Excuse me? You don''t know how we fellow reincarnated people should stick together and help each other out!" I was losing some patience.


    "Maybe I should change the terms," the s-class monster found us both riled up.


    "We can work together if you wish to join us. We''ll empty some of our land and make sure no monsters enter so you''ll get to enjoy our game rooms. In exchange, you give us the latest supply of games and other entertainment on a monthly basis," he offered.


    "What?" The juggler spun his head towards him.


    "You can''t deny how it''s become harder to access the newest games. The only reason we attack the cities is to get our hands on them," he surprised everyone else inside the room.


    "Deal! Where should we meet every month? How should I transfer them to you?" I liked his terms.


    I slowly turned when the rest of the a.d.u.l.ts came to open the door. I didn''t think they would get rid of the monsters so soon. Opening the door to find their children under a large spell, unable to move while hearing our entire conversation, they didn''t look too pleased. I stiffened as Joanna smiled while walking towards me.


    "If those are your only conditions, we would be glad to negotiate with you. In exchange for us to pick the land and property, we can transfer you all the gaming equipment and anything else you need every week," she offered them a better deal.


    "William, escort them to the drawing room," she turned to her husband.


    "Rika, I think we need a long talk," she brightly smiled.


    Seeing that they had better terms, both the s-class monster and the juggler went to follow the rest of the a.d.u.l.ts to another room, removing the spell on everyone else. While I couldn''t move under Luke''s mother who appeared the same as when Luke was about to lecture me for something. I gulped as she gestured to Alex to take Shelly away from the room.


    Once the door was shut, she began her lecture with only direct members of the Roselia family inside the room, "we can''t have you leaving with the monsters, can we? I''m sure you know how your parents have entrusted you to us. We can''t betray their trust."


    "We''re very busy people, but we can always take more time to focus more on your education. I think we have been too lenient with you so far," she gestured to Luke to come join her.


    "What do you think of visiting every weekend?" She asked Luke.


    "I think it''s unfair when I have helped the family obtain more land and property," I stepped in before Luke could answer her.


    "It was all an act!" I quickly made up an excuse.


    There was no way they could''ve gotten the new land and property if I wasn''t reincarnated from another world. This was the only thing connecting me and the other s-class monsters together. I trembled in anger, feeling miserable how I would have to suffer for something that wasn''t entirely my fault. Maybe I was feeling too anxious about where my fate would land, my mind went blank as I collapsed onto the floor.

 Chapter 409 - Finale of the Circus (8)

    "It''s ok, I''ll save you. Even if I have to kill you, you''ll be free," the juggler continued to stare at the puddles of black goo and charcoal ashes on the ground.


    "Our circus may have come to an end, but I''ll always remember the days we performed together," he sadly smiled.


    His former circus members slowly formed back into their physical shapes, no longer possessing any traces of their original personalities. Ghastly energy wandering around mindlessly and staggering with every step. While the s-class monsters rushed to attack him once the ashes compiled together, not knowing who the enemy was anymore. This was the tragic fate of monsters who lost the ability to control their minds and bodies.


    "As long as I live, the circus of dreams will live within me," he placed them under his control, taming them to obey him.


    "This is why I don''t regret joining," he walked out of the school grounds, leading his precious friends to a place he could save them.


    I knew this was during the time where I was already inside the Pelargonium mansion grounds, celebrating with Luke''s family. I didn''t think recent memories would come pouring into me as well. It just made me feel more guilty that everything had to turn out this way. I tried to comfort myself that they were resting in peace before I found myself in the infirmary again. Next time I met the juggler again, I would treat him better.


    Finding myself attached to all the machines again, the first thing that came to my mind was how I might lose all my weekends. When I turned my head, I noticed Luke at his usual seat, reading a book beside my bed. This was the best chance to ask about my fate, "are we spending our weekends at your parent''s house?"


    "Mother decided it was best to let you recover your health," Luke appeared equally relieved.


    Luke would have to suffer with me from the intense schedules his parents would give me. This was why both of us didn''t like visiting his parents. Most times, he tried to take care of things himself or ask for help from his cousins or older siblings. While watching over me, he would have the freedom to do whatever he wanted. And I wouldn''t be able to complain since he was doing this for us to gather more points.


    "What happened to the school?" I wondered since the graduation was ruined.


    "We have an additional week of summer vacation," he gave some good news.


    "We''re still going back there?" I couldn''t understand.


    "Our family is busy with replacing all the staff again," he explained what they were doing to make the school safer for us.


    "How many days of summer vacation do we have left?" I didn''t know how many days had passed.


    "Around three more days," he revealed.


    "Really?" I started to plan how I would spend my days until then.


    "We''re leaving to head to our mansion now that you''re awake," he started to turn off all the medical equipment.


    "Wait. I''m using this time to go on a proper vacation," I recalled how everyone else travelled together during the time I visited my parents.


    "Do you think you can go anywhere in that state?" Luke shattered my dreams.


    "It''s like this every single time whether I''m injured or not!" I felt it was unfair.


    "There''s no monster attacks anymore too," I pointed out.


    "Monsters aren''t the only dangerous things in this world. Let''s go Rika," Luke started to drag me into the hover car once we were outside the Pelargonium family mansion.


    This was how I entered my fourth year in middle school. Still a long way to go until I turned sixteen or from graduating high school. Reading a news article inside the caf¨¦, I discovered a new organization was founded in the first district, sponsoring struggling artists. It was called, "The Circus of Dreams." It gave the artists a stage to perform on while helping them develop and refine their skills.


    "It''s a foreign idea. Nobody has ever invested in people with lesser talent before," Delia commented.


    "But it''s good that anybody can fulfill their dreams in that field once their application gets accepted!" Sienna complimented the organization.


    "Yea it is," I smiled while closing my screen.


    "And the school has changed a lot too!" Ellen noticed.


    The new staff hired were people with more mana and experience in protecting others by going on extensive missions. The barrier was fortified every single day while instead of security guards, the teachers themselves went to patrol the school grounds every night. Both the school deans in the middle and high school sections were replaced as well. The school was almost the safest place in the first district again.


    "But are you really fine?" Shelly tried to comfort Ellen.


    "We weren''t too involved in fraction meetings anyways," Ellen seemed a little depressed.


    It was surprising to know that both Ellen and Allan were kicked out of Luke''s main fraction. I wondered what had happened, only figuring out the news from Shelly a few days ago. Luke didn''t tell me about these things unless he had to. It explained how everyone started to chatter and sneak a few glances at her whenever we were together. Getting the hint from Shelly we should treat her as normal as we usually do, I didn''t try to dig into what she was going through.


    "At least the circus has come to an end," she tried to enjoy the peaceful school.

 Chapter 410 - Turns (1)

    I looked up at the sign in the club building. Smiling in front of the ancient artifacts club room, I opened the door. Instead of meeting the others at the caf¨¦ today as usual, I decided to come here to test out my chances. If everything went as planned, then this would be where we would be meeting from now on. Ignoring the club members staring at a person oddly entering the room without knocking, I searched for the headgears.


    "Excuse me, may we ask who you are?" A club member politely interrupted me.


    "Do you have any headgears here?" I turned to them, not wanting to go through all the shelves.


    "It should be on the second shelf from the right beside where the gaming consoles and comic books from the third district are located," another member cautiously answered.


    My eyes instantly spotted the shining gaming supplies and entertainment devices on the shelves. How could I not discover this place sooner? It was my mistake for spending all my days at the caf¨¦. I brightly smiled while walking to a high school student, "can I join this club? Do I have to submit an application?"


    "Are you sure you have the time as a middle school student- ."


    "I have the time! Please let me join!" I interrupted her, holding both of her hands.


    "Please? I never knew such a club existed or I would have joined earlier," I had tears welling in my eyes.


    "Here''s the application form," a member sighed.


    Surprisingly, all I had to do was to write my name and what class I was in. It was simpler than I thought it would be, not having to write the reason why I wanted to join. I quickly handed over the form after signing everything, wanting to be a part of the club as fast as possible to use the headgears inside this room.


    "You''re from the Roselia family?" A member looked shocked.


    "No way! Give me that form," the other members didn''t believe her.


    "She''s also the leader of the Impalia fraction!" another member gasped.


    "She actually is!" A member''s jaw almost dropped.


    "Isn''t she the one engaged to the heir of the Roselia family? The ones inside the four most powerful fractions?" another member whispered to the rest of them.


    "So can I join the club?" I interrupted them.


    "Of course you can join," they looked at me in a new light.


    "Am I officially a member now?" I tried to confirm.


    "Yes, would you like to join us?" A member gestured to me to sit with them.


    "Can I use some of the artifacts in this room?" I wanted to use the headgear.


    "Please go ahead," the members nodded their heads.


    "And also the keys to this room?" I wanted access to this room at all times.


    "Here," the president of the club passed them to me without any hesitation.


    "Don''t you think this room needs some renovations?" I couldn''t find a place to lay down to play the headgears.


    The room was large, expanding for more than tens of metres even with a small number of members. Modern small chairs for the members to use with a wide table were the only practical furniture for them to use. The shelves took up most of the room like it was a storage room. There were no signs of any beds or plushy couches. It was almost like their job was being a librarian with how nicely they organized all the artifacts.


    "What do you need?" The president couldn''t find anything wrong.


    "A large bed," I wondered where I would fit it inside the room.


    "A bed?" All of the club members raised their voices.


    "There''s not a single place to use the artifacts themselves," I explained.


    "It may be dangerous to use the headgear on a chair," I pointed out how someone may fall while playing.


    "We have a sleeping bag from the third district," a member understood what I was talking about.


    "That works too!" I thanked them.


    "Can you wake me up about two hours from now?" I couldn''t return to the dorm room too late without making Luke suspicious.


    "We''ll wake you when we''re about to leave," she passed me the sleeping bag.


    I happily hummed while putting on the headgear. I wouldn''t ever have to worry about the headgears being gone from my life anymore. This was why I readily woke up once one of them shook me. With the president locking the door behind me, I skipped towards my dorm room. Before I opened the door, I tried to keep my expression as neutral as possible. The best was not to let Luke take a glance at my face.


    Ever since Claire and Yulian graduated, all their fraction work went to Luke. Fortunately, since Luke was too busy with finishing everything required from him from all the fractions we joined, he didn''t pay attention to me after we finished our intense study sessions together. Tiptoeing into my room, he instantly noticed me coming inside later than I usually did.


    "I heard from Alex that Michelle returned three hours earlier than you," he asked me why I was late.


    "I was in a deeper conversation in the caf¨¦ with Sienna and Delia," I had the perfect coverup story that I had told the others about.


    "I want you to be back an hour earlier next time," he warned me.

 Chapter 411 - Turns (2)

    "I don''t want you falling asleep during morning classes," he didn''t like me returning late.


    "Sure," I readily went along with him since I was in a good mood.


    Luke slowly looked up at my face, finding it strange why I wasn''t arguing with him like I normally do. Before he could study me any further, I hurriedly entered my bedroom, getting ready to sleep. Luke possessed extremely strong attention to small details, able to discern things really fast. I would need to bring the others with me very carefully to the club room.


    Hiding behind the walls while bringing only Sienna and Shelly with me today, Ellen and Delia stayed inside the caf¨¦ to cover for us. I sent them a message earlier in the morning about my plan. Unlocking the club room with nobody here yet, I finally relaxed once I entered the room. Both Sienna and Shelly couldn''t stop looking around the room, finding many fascinating things.


    "I never knew there was a place like this," Sienna discovered why I never wanted to leave this room.


    "This is pretty impressive," Shelly agreed.


    "Oh it''s you Rika," the president seemed a little surprised I was here before him.


    "I brought some new members," I introduced Shelly and Sienna to him.


    "Here''s an application form," he passed to them.


    "We heard from our friend what an amazing place this is," Sienna handed the completed form to him.


    "Others wanted to come as well but we thought you would be a bit overwhelmed," Shelly told him others will be coming soon.


    "The Clarence and Locast families. We welcome you," he still appeared a bit stunned.


    "There''s the headgears and comic books here," I started to lead them towards the shelf.


    "There''s everything here," Sienna''s eyes sparkled.


    "We can try cooking too," Shelly found some tools.


    Ever since Shelly came to my house to bake some cookies, she became more interested in making food by herself. Sometimes we would go through some recipe books and videos together, imagining what it would be like to create them ourselves. But with everything already here, including the ingredients freshly stored inside the shelves spelled to make sure none of them decayed, it wouldn''t be impossible anymore.


    "Anything is possible!" I turned to thank the president again.


    "We have some new members?" Other high school students began to come into the room.


    "I am Sienna Auclair Clarence and this is my friend Michelle Monete Locast, we were introduced to this club by Rika," Sienna introduced herself with Shelly.


    "First the Roselia family and now the Clarence and Locast families," A member mumbled in shock.


    "What should we start with?" I asked Sienna and Shelly.


    "Maybe the headgears," Shelly suggested since I liked them so much.


    "I knew you would get it!" I ran to hug her.


    We ended up spending the rest of the day using the headgears. While I introduced them to defeating the demon king, they were surprised by my avatar. But we were able to defeat multiple dungeons together until the other club members woke us up. Stretching my arms, I found myself near the time that Luke wanted me to return to the dorms.


    "I never enjoyed myself this much!" Sienna didn''t want to leave the room.


    "I think I know why you like this game now," Shelly sulked while putting the headgear off her head.


    My marble began to vibrate, getting a call from Delia. I swiped to accept the video call to show them the room as planned. Walking around the room to give them a better view, both Delia and Ellen seemed interested in the room. If it wasn''t for Luke, all four of us would have already joined together.


    "Is it our turn tomorrow?" Ellen asked us.


    "Wait, can I take another turn?" Sienna asked Delia.


    "We can have Henry cover for us with Cillian," Delia suggested, unwilling to give up her turn.


    "We can!" She agreed with her idea.


    "But won''t Luke think it would be strange when they normally don''t come into the caf¨¦?" Shelly pointed out.


    "One of us will have to stay," I frowned, not liking the situation.


    "I''ll stay but I''ll get my turn two times in a row," Ellen gave into Sienna''s pitiful stare at her.


    "So we have Henry, Cillian and Ellen to be in that caf¨¦ tomorrow," Delia went over our plans again.


    I nodded my head to go with her plan. And ever since I told Oili about the news about the club, he also wanted to join tomorrow. It was easier to play games or use the karaoke machine here than going to a room provided by his fraction. In fact, Oili didn''t believe me when I told him that everything he liked was inside this room. Thankfully, this club room wasn''t well known in the school compared to the dance and decorating clubs.


    "Can you lock the club room after we leave?" The president was about to leave.


    "Here''s the keys," I passed the duplicates from the machine in one of the shelves to Sienna and Shelly.


    "We''ll get to enter whenever we want!" Sienna thanked me.


    "I''ll lock the door!" Shelly seemed excited from getting access.


    After leaving the club room, I barely arrived inside the dorms at the time Luke set as my curfew. Looking away from the piling doc.u.ments almost reaching the ceiling, I walked towards my bedroom as silently as possible. Since I wasn''t late, Luke continued to work on the doc.u.ments alone. Closing my bedroom door, I sighed in relief.

 Chapter 412 - Turns (3)

    "This place is real," Oili couldn''t take eyes off the shelves.


    "It looks better than what you showed me," Delia took some interest in some items.


    "Please give us more application forms," I turned to the president.


    "Sure," the president didn''t expect two new members.


    Passing the application forms to Oili and Delia, they immediately completed them within seconds to begin using some of the artifacts. In turn, I gave the forms to the president to approve them while both Shelly and Sienna were already using the headgears. Sleeping bags were scattered on the grounds where there was space. The other members weren''t here yet, leaving some more space for us.


    "The Whaise and Ellison families!" The president''s hands trembled.


    "Now let me play the otome game," Delia was interested from my descriptions inside the caf¨¦.


    "I''m going to play the singing competition game," Oili pulled out a headgear for himself.


    "We have new members again?" The high school students entered the room.


    "We''re taking turns so there will be more coming tomorrow," Delia let them know.


    "May I know where the TV screens are?" She turned to the members.


    "We have another area for that behind the last shelf," a member guided her.


    Seeing how everyone was enjoying themselves, I entered the same game as Shelly and Sienna. It was surprising to know that both of them never used the headgear before coming here. Introducing them to more powerful moves inside the game, we quickly advanced to the closest dungeon to the demon king''s castle.


    "We need to defeat more dungeons!" Sienna''s avatar was a cute witch.


    "I also purchased a new staff," Shelly was a magician here.


    "Let''s go!" I pulled out my sword.


    This was how we were inside the last dungeon before the members struggled to wake us. We were on the edge defeating one of the area bosses in the boss room. Sienna pouted while placing the headgear off her head. Meanwhile, Shelly couldn''t believe the time on her marble, opening the screen over and over again.


    "I''m so glad it''s the weekend tomorrow," Sienna placed the headgear on the shelf again.


    "The otome game was amazing!" Delia walked towards us.


    "But didn''t you guys say you have to take turns?" Oili reminded us.


    I sighed while accepting a video call from Ellen since none of us wanted to give up on our turn. Only Oili could freely use the room without any suspicion since he was a high school student now. Both Cillian and Henry looked at the room from the camera, feeling interested from Ellen''s descriptions. I could sense this was bad since they may want to join as well.


    "I want in," Henry found everything that Ellen mentioned to be true from the call.


    "If Henry is going, then I''m going too," Cillian joined in.


    "We can''t all go, we''re going to get discovered," I felt frustrated at our situation.


    "Wait, I have two turns from tomorrow," Ellen reminded us.


    "I can''t leave this place," Sienna had tears welling in her eyes.


    "I covered for you guys yesterday," Delia wasn''t willing to leave as well.


    "I can''t leave since I started this!" I pointed out how I was the organizer.


    "Why are you taking turns?" The president looked confused.


    "We have a situation," Shelly awkwardly answered.


    "If I spend another day at the caf¨¦, then I''m telling Luke about this," Henry threatened us.


    "Fine, you get your turn tomorrow! But we need at least two people there to cover for us," I didn''t want to be that person.


    "Please Ian? One more day?" Sienna turned to him.


    "Fine, then I guess Rika, Michelle and I can stay at the caf¨¦ tomorrow," Cillian unfortunately included me in the list.


    "Then can you give me their application forms now?" I asked the president.


    "Here," the president anticipated this.


    Cillian, Ellen and Henry all transferred me their filled application forms within a minute, afraid that the president may take back his words. When the president received the forms, he wasn''t surprised from their family backgrounds anymore. In fact, all of the members were used to it since it was their third time. Suddenly, the once big club room appeared smaller to them since there was an influx of new members.


    "We didn''t know you would be interested in our club," a member commented.


    "It''s just that we didn''t know about it," Delia answered for us.


    I quickly ended the call before it would get more out of hand. At this rate, we would need to properly schedule our turns to make sure no one would get mad to report this to Luke. Choosing to send messages to them, all of us made a schedule for the rest of the term. I couldn''t help but have tears welling in my eyes, eventually dripping onto my cheeks while arranging my turn.


    "This is just too sad!" Sienna cried with me.


    "I don''t want to leave too!" I tried to wipe my tears.


    "It''s the only way," Delia even looked depressed.


    The weekends were where things were about to escalate into a fight. Everyone wanted the weekends since we would have more energy to play the games. During the weekdays, at most we could spend several hours since we needed to study for school as well.


    "Please? I want this weekend!" I begged everyone in this plan.


    "I also need these days!" Henry shouted back.


    "We agreed that I''ll be taking those days," Delia tried to sneak in her turn.


    "We didn''t!" We all screamed at her.

 Chapter 413 - Turns (4)

    "I need every other weekend!" I slammed my hand down on the floor.


    "I also need the same!" Sienna yelled at us.


    "But isn''t that my day?" Delia coldly defended herself.


    "I need this day," Shelly pointed out the precious Fridays.


    We ended up switching back into the video call again since the chatroom was getting filled with too many messages than what we could handle. When we realized the Fridays were the next best thing after the weekends, it also became a fierce battle after the weekends were slowly determined. None of us were willing to give up some days for others.


    "Can''t you give me this Friday? I already gave you some of the weekends," Cillian pretended he didn''t have a day on the weekends.


    "I gave you some weekends too!" I refuted.


    "You guys are getting too heated up," Oili pointed out the other members watching us.


    "You don''t have to take turns!" All of us shouted at him.


    "I''m taking this Friday!" Henry took the chance.


    "I''m taking this Friday!" Both Sienna and I yelled at the same time.


    Eventually it was decided that only three people would stay behind in the caf¨¦ to cover for the rest. Since there were the seven of us in this plan, this meant four people would be able to use the club room during this time. The original club members watched us cry and almost break the table from slamming our hands onto it to make a point.


    "The only exception is if we exchange turns for a day," Delia made the final call.


    This situation would never happen unless it was on a weekday other than Friday. The only thing we had in common was how we all feared Luke. The original members slowly left the room, almost late into the night. We had been fighting over the schedule for hours, not relenting on giving more days to others.


    After somewhat managing to set a fair schedule, I sprinted to my dorm room. If I had more time, then I could have fought for more days. As I entered the dorm room, I couldn''t help from deeply sighing from the lack of time I had in the club room. I was one second from being late from the time Luke had set for me.


    "Did something happen?" Luke noticed how depressed I looked.


    "I lost in a fight," I couldn''t hold back my tears.


    "The caf¨¦," I began to sniffle while keeping things as vague as possible.


    I didn''t want to stay in that caf¨¦ anymore. With all the curses going towards the caf¨¦, it could become haunted by our complaints one day. The once paradise became a hell from keeping me from playing more games. Luke oddly looked at me, wondering what had happened in the caf¨¦ today. Ignoring him to punch more pillows in my room, I wiped my tears while opening my bedroom door.


    Maybe he was suspicious of what happened that day, he visited the caf¨¦ the next day, finding me almost crying with Shelly and Cillian. He stared at Cillian, finding it strange how he was with us when he usually hung out with Henry. Even Shelly couldn''t lift her head from the table, too depressed to touch her chocolate milkshake.


    "They lost the fight," Cillian explained, not feeling depressed as us since he never went inside the club room yet.


    "They''re cruel people," I pushed my strawberry shortcake away from me.


    "How could they do this to us?" Shelly mumbled.


    "The fight must have been serious," Luke noticed Delia, Sienna and Ellen missing.


    "It got very intense," Cillian recalled.


    "Nobody was willing to give in," he sighed, losing some precious weekends for himself.


    "Our friendship almost broke!" I had tears streaming down my face.


    "Are we even friends anymore?" Shelly lifted her head from the table.


    "They''re not called friends anymore," Cillian agreed from how aggressive Henry was towards him when it came to Fridays.


    "You were a part of it as well?" Luke seemed a bit surprised.


    "That''s why we''re here together," he sadly smiled, trying to hide that Luke was the reason for this.


    "I don''t think we have ever fought like this before," he made sure to keep things vague.


    The club room was a hidden golden treasure c.h.e.s.t. While the original members looked at us strangely, they always remembered to wake us up in time. I didn''t think I would have to return to the caf¨¦ after only two days of visiting. Even Shelly didn''t comfort me since she couldn''t comfort herself, regretting she pointed out the Fridays.


    Cillian passed me his handkerchief to me to wipe my tears. But my face was already drenched and not helping much when my tears wouldn''t stop. Luke joined us at the table, seeing how the three of us couldn''t stop sighing. None of the desserts were touched as it wouldn''t console us from losing some of the best days.


    "Cillian," I hugged him while he was generous enough to comfort us.


    "I know, they were a bit too much," he stroked my hair.


    "But we didn''t discuss the holidays yet," he recalled.


    "The holidays?" Both Shelly and I screamed.


    "Give me the holidays," I brought out my most pitiful eyes.


    "I already gave you the other days!" Cillian refuted.


    "What are you talking about?" Luke looked a bit confused.


    "Luke, tell him to give me the holidays," I separated myself from the cruel Cillian.


    "But you''re going to the mansion for the holidays. Our parents wanted us to visit them," he told me for the first time.


    Both Shelly and Cillian brightened from the news. From Luke being gone, all of them could freely use the club room. Meanwhile, my head crashed onto the table to the point it may leave a bruise later.

 Chapter 414 - Turns (5)

    "Can we just switch for today? It''s the weekday," Henry became obsessed with the club room.


    "Give me your weekends," I wasn''t willing to give up today.


    "There''s no way I''m giving you the weekends," he whispered into my ear.


    "Ask Cillian," I turned my head away from him.


    "Ever since he entered the room, he''s not himself anymore," Henry shuddered.


    It had been a week since we began our schedule of turns. Since none of them experienced playing games and other entertainment devices before, they quickly became immersed in the items in the club room. Even the gentle Cillian wasn''t willing to give up or exchange any days for his friends and partner. Sienna''s pitiful eyes didn''t work on him anymore as she begged him to switch turns for a day.


    "Then no deal," I walked away from him.


    "Please? Just today," he continued to follow me.


    "Ask someone else," I increased my pace.


    "Is there anything wrong?" Luke noticed us together from coming back from his sword practice.


    "Henry won''t leave me alone!" I complained.


    "It''s just a single day," Henry showed he wasn''t asking for much.


    "You know how much a single day means," I began to raise my voice.


    "Cillian ignored me for the entire day today," he started to shout.


    "No means no," I turned to him, almost yelling.


    "Why are you guys all like this?" He trembled in frustration.


    "You''re not yourselves anymore," he pointed out.


    "And did you ever agree when I asked you two days ago?" I showed why I wasn''t generous.


    "I''ll make it up to you," he began to plead.


    "You don''t have to, I won''t ever agree," I increased my pace while walking.


    "Is there anything you want from my partner?" Luke asked Henry.


    "Let''s see what happens when you ask for the same thing next time!" Henry ignored Luke to stomp away from us.


    I sighed as Henry came to me after bothering Sienna, Cillian and Delia who were the others that had their turns today. I would normally be the hardest to convince but the others also had extremely defensive walls around them. I smiled as I wondered what game I should play in the club room today while they stayed at the caf¨¦.


    "Thanks for helping," I turned to Luke.


    I knew that Henry would continue to bother me until all the classes ended. Break time was the only time he could persuade us to exchange turns for the day. Since Luke was busy with the fraction work after classes finished, he switched to sparing with Alex during the longer breaks. The school switched to having longer breaks ever since the circus incident, part of another change his family made to the school.


    "Our fight is still going on," I didn''t mention how intense they were getting.


    Begging and pleading became common when no one was willing to switch their turns, knowing they would end up losing their turns instead. Our time at the caf¨¦ was filled with complaining about the cruel people in the clubroom. Meanwhile, the original club members stayed far away from us, trying to not get involved in our fights.


    "Rika, Just for today?" Shelly found me while I tried to avoid her for the entire day.


    "I''m not, you can ask Delia, Sienna or Cillian," I pointed her in their direction.


    "We''re friends, aren''t we?" She continued to try to convince me.


    "Our friendship broke a day ago!" I recalled how she wouldn''t switch turns with me yesterday when I did the same.


    "Fine! Our friendship is broken!" Shelly turned to walk to the other classroom.


    Once Shelly disappeared from us, Delia came running to me to avoid her. Once it was our turns, we tried to hide from the people who would stay at the caf¨¦ since they would try to persuade us to exchange our turns for the day. Delia held my arm, sighing in relief when Ellen, Shelly and Henry weren''t here. This was when we formed allies with each other to help each other out.


    "They''ve been after me for the entire day," she looked extremely tired.


    "Our friendship is broken again," I sighed.


    When Ellen noticed the both of us together, she ran towards us like Shelly had. Both Delia and I flinched, losing the game of hide and seek. I actually preferred learning inside the classroom with shorter breaks since I was too focused on running away during break time. While they accused me to be addicted to the headgears when they never tried it, we turned out to be the same. None of the original members touched the entertainment devices in the room anymore.


    "We''re not friends anymore! Friends don''t pressure someone into agreeing," I declined Ellen before she could ask.


    "That''s right! You had your fun yesterday!" Delia agreed with me.


    "Cillian is softer!" I shouted to convince her to go to him instead.


    Seeing how both Delia and I weren''t willing to give up on our turns, Ellen gritted her teeth before leaving. Meanwhile, Luke watched me being cold to my previous best friends. He seemed a bit taken aback as Delia and I stuck closer together. If only he knew how everyone cursed him once we were inside the caf¨¦. We were playing a game of throwing the forks towards the wall, putting a target from someone floating a handkerchief.


    "Did you just direct them towards me?" Cillian came out of his hiding spot.

 Chapter 415 - Turns (6)

    "I directed them to your classroom," I was allied with him.


    "Thanks Rika," Cillian had Sienna behind him.


    "They''re being too much this time!" Sienna complained.


    "I don''t remember being like that to them," she found them going to the extremes.


    "They''re not friends anymore," Delia didn''t separate from me.


    It was Luke''s first time seeing our fight directly like this. Most times, all of us avoided dragging Luke into the fight, afraid he would end everything. They must have been very desperate today, each of them ignoring Luke the entire time. When the break time was over, we returned back to our classrooms to our next class. We had survived the day today and could go to the club room directly after classes finished for the day.


    "This is paradise," I unlocked the club room.


    "The club room!" Sienna sprinted inside once I opened the door.


    "Is it your turn today?" The president was used to this.


    "Can you extend our turns?" Sienna began to beg him.


    "Can you kick them out, saying they disobeyed the club rules?" I clasped my hands together.


    "You know I can''t do this no matter how many times you guys ask me," the president waved his hands to decline.


    "I can''t kick someone out of the club if they didn''t break the rules nor can I hide or take away the keys from them," he remembered our past requests.


    After many failed attempts, we decided to use the rest of the time in gaming. In exchange for using the room for this weekend, I only had two weekdays this week. By tomorrow, I would be on the opposite end and chasing my friends to switch their turns with me. Meanwhile, Oili made sure to stay far away from us, seeing that we might form a grudge against him since he was able to come every day to the room.


    Seeing how their club room had completely turned into a gaming room by us, the members saw the furniture in the room change. The tables were pushed to the side to make more space for the sleeping bags while the space in between the shelves was a place a makeshift bed was made. We had brought some pillows and blankets with us from our dorms to make the space even comfier.


    No longer did the members organize the artifacts or bring newer ones in from the other districts, they focused on making sure everyone was keeping the rules. Making sure we didn''t hide some keys so the rest of them couldn''t access the rooms. We also had to keep the rooms clean to make sure we wouldn''t damage some of the items on the shelves. They also had to wake us up in time to get back to the dorms, afraid that they would get complaints from the teachers.


    "Your fight was pretty intense today," Luke commented once I entered the dorm room.


    "It wasn''t as bad today," I recalled worse ones.


    "Hasn''t it been a week?" He recalled.


    "No one is willing to give in," I sighed.


    This was how I came to run with Henry to find the others taking their turns today. Although we were enemies yesterday, we were allies today. Searching all the classrooms, we sent each other messages to track where they were. Once we spotted Shelly hiding inside the area where Luke sparred with Alex, we stiffened. We couldn''t believe she was using them as her shield, it was almost against the rules.


    "Shelly! Just today?" I ran towards her.


    "No, we''re not friends anymore!" She noticed Henry with me.


    "Trap her!" Henry yelled at me.


    I nodded my head to tightly hug Shelly, not letting her run off from us. It was easier pressuring her with the both of us. Tears made my eyes glisten as I made them larger, trying to look as cute as I could, I puffed out my cheeks. I turned my voice into a higher pitch and begged her, "Rika just needs today. She''ll be generous on the days with her turn too."


    "Can we forget the other days? I just need one day too," Henry pleaded with me.


    "Let me go!" Shelly tried to escape from my grasp.


    "Shelly, Rika has been friends with you for a long time," I reminded her of our long period of loyalty to each other.


    "I told the both of you that I''m not giving up!" Shelly screamed.


    "Please?" Henry kneeled down.


    "Just once?" I dropped to hug her legs.


    "Grab her other leg!" I gestured to Henry.


    "Don''t you see everyone staring at us!" She pointed out.


    "You can give us your turn!" Both of us looked up to face her.


    "What''s going on?" Luke walked towards us with Alex from all the commotion.


    "You guys ignored me on those days too!" She held a grudge against us.


    "Would you like me to massage your leg?" I started to lightly pinch her leg.

 Chapter 416 - Turns (7)

    "Stop pinching my legs!" Shelly tried to lift her feet, unable to move from our weights.


    "Your legs are beautiful," I tried to curry some favour with her.


    "You look prettier than normal today," Henry stared at her face.


    "Shelly always looks pretty! Don''t you see her face? Her elegant posture and stunning figure?" I refuted.


    "Michelle doesn''t only have a beautiful physical appearance but a great brain as well!" Henry went one step further than me.


    "Stop!" Shelly watched others hear us compliment her.


    "Excuse me, but I never knew you were interested in my part- ." Alex found Henry acting strange.


    "Can you stop talking?" Both Henry and I shouted at him, interrupting him.


    "You''re the strange one for not appreciating her beauty!" Henry tried to earn more points with Shelly.


    "That''s right! You treat Shelly awfully!" I added, almost yelling.


    "Michelle is a beautiful person inside and out," Delia discovered the three of us together.


    "So switch with me?" She began to beg Shelly.


    "I think you should leave my part- ." Alex tried to join the conversation again.


    "Can you not interrupt us?" All three of us yelled at him.


    Alex''s eyes widened, stunned from all of us extremely hostile towards him. While we poured all our efforts in flattering Shelly, he remained frozen in front of us. Alex was never treated this way before, coming from a powerful and prestigious family, no one wanted to get on his bad side. Pretending he was invisible, the fight among the three of us became more intense. I pulled on Delia''s shirt while she pulled on my skirt. Meanwhile, Henry continued to cling on Shelly''s leg.


    "You''re going to rip my shirt!" Delia yelled at me.


    "You''re doing the same to my skirt!" I shouted louder than her.


    "You can rip Henry''s shirt!" I turned her attention to him.


    "Not my shirt!" Henry struggled to move away from us.


    With one arm tightly grabbing onto Shelly, we began to rip each other''s clothes with our other free arm. Ties and ribbons were thrown to the ground while sounds of strong cloth ripping intensified as we poured all our strength to eliminate more rivals. Only one of us would get to switch turns with Shelly if she agreed. Luke didn''t even comfort Alex, equally shocked from the scene in front of him.


    "Target his pants next!" I decided to ally with the more powerful Delia.


    "Are you serious?" Henry shivered in fear.


    "Then give it up!" Both of us brightly smiled.


    "Don''t think I''ll leave your skirts alone!" He started to attack us back.


    "You already ripped my skirt yesterday with Sienna," I had thrown out some of my uniforms before changing into a new one.


    "You ripped my pants yesterday too!" He tore the zipper on my skirt.


    "That''s it!" I started to pull on his hair.


    "My hairrrr," he screamed.


    "You deserve it!" Delia followed me.


    "Fine! I''ll give up for today!" Henry gave up and ran away from us in tears.


    Delia quickly took his place, afraid that it would leave an opening for Shelly to run away from us. Shelly sighed as she noticed the crowd around us increasing as our fighting became more intense every passing minute. Our clothes were loose, some parts completely unrepairable, showing bits of my tank top. My skirt had a nasty slit before Henry had given up while some strands of his hair covered the ground.


    "Just for today?" Delia switched her target to Shelly again.


    "Aren''t we long time friends?" I wasn''t willing to lose.


    "Both of you two aren''t my friends anymore!" Shelly remained stubborn.


    "You ruined my shirt the other day while you broke my bracelets," she turned to Delia and me.


    "I can give you some of mine," I had tears streaming down my cheeks.


    "I have better ones!" Delia quickly offered.


    "It''s almost time for class," Shelly smiled once she noticed some of the crowd starting to disappear.


    "Oh we should change," I turned to Delia, knowing we had lost the battle.


    "We should," Delia dusted the dirt off her while getting up.


    "I heard yesterday was worse since they were using barriers against each other," someone in the crowd murmured.


    "Weren''t explosion spells used as well?" another person whispered.


    "I heard none of the teachers could interfere since the fight was too intense on the other days," a person in the crowd answered.


    "And some of them were sent to the infirmary," another person joined in.


    While Luke knew I was fighting with my friends, he never knew the true extent of how desperate each one of us were. The rumors continued to drift into his ears, surprising him sometimes with some of the overblown ones that never happened. The teachers never stopped the fight since we stayed away from them, fearing they would figure out the club room was the source. Barriers were also rarely used, preferring physical attacks since they were more persuasive.


    "Does this happen every day?" Luke turned to me.


    "The fight today wasn''t bad," I didn''t tell him it was still escalating.


    "Sometimes it gets worse than this," Delia sighed.


    "You can''t tell him that," I elbowed Delia.


    "We would like it if you don''t interfere," she remembered how Alex wasted some of our time in which we could have used to persuade Shelly.


    "We don''t know if we can keep ourselves from attacking you as well," she warned Alex.

 Chapter 417 - Turns (8)

    "The club room is so nice!" I had survived another day of attacks.


    "We did it," Sienna flopped onto a sleeping bag.


    "I heard about your fights," the president came in after us.


    "I think everyone in the school knows by now," Oili was the one to unlock the room.


    "We tried to keep it hidden," Henry wondered how it spread so fast.


    "We did," we agreed with him.


    "There''s no way you can hide that," Oili had seen one of our more intense fights.


    Grand explosion spells were used in the abandoned part of the courtyard while the people taking their turns were using barriers to defend themselves. Most of us were covered in scratches or bruises from our physical brawls. All our clothes were ripped and barely hanging together. It was almost like a fierce battleground as we chased each other, using different spells like ice to freeze their feet. But we always made sure to leave enough time to repair the area afterwards.


    "The teachers will find out at this rate," he warned us.


    "Why are you taking turns?" The president became more curious.


    "We have our own circ.u.mstances," Shelly sighed.


    The once abundant closet of uniforms was cut by half, costing a fortune to continue these fights. The uniforms were more expensive than the school tuition, making students try to keep their uniforms neat and well maintained. However, this didn''t apply to us since each of us had similar closets, letting us destroy the uniforms without any hesitation. When Luke had opened my closet the other day, he ordered more for me, recalling the fights.


    Luke couldn''t interfere in the fights, finding Alex a few days ago almost about to cry. Cillian accidentally threw an ice spear in his direction when it was meant for Henry. Meanwhile, Delia used the earth shift spell to make the grounds uneven. Since Alex was close to Luke, it was the perfect time to release some of our frustrations on him. Not managing to avoid all the attacks aimed in his direction as we didn''t like him interrupting us, he sprinted to his room without a shirt and barely hanging pair of pants.


    His forehead was dripping with blood, knees plastered with bruises while his pride hurt from all of us telling him to close his mouth. Luke used heal on him while cancelling their usual spar together. Delia had thoroughly threatened him if he reported any of this to the teachers, none of us would let him go for it. Henry added to her warning by telling Alex that there''s more that we could have done to him today. Seeing how all of us were serious, he turned away from us, running to Luke, not telling him the entire story from our warnings.


    Alex understood if he left us alone, nothing would happen to him. Even Allan made sure to avoid us like we were a plague inside the classroom. Meanwhile, both Charles and Miliana had heard about the rumors about our fight as well, staying far away from us to not get involved. I pulled the headgear from the shelf, knowing Oili was right. We really needed to get rid of taking turns or even I wouldn''t know would happen.


    "It''s so hard to come into this room," I envied Oili.


    We all spun our heads towards the door when someone knocked on the door. The president opened the door, finding a fellow high school student waiting to come in. The high school student fidgeted with her hands before asking, "I was wondering if I could join the ancient artifacts club."


    "I apologize but we are not accepting any new members," the president sadly smiled.


    It was the tenth time that someone had directly come up to him, wondering if they could join when I was inside the room. The president had more than a hundred messages coming into his marble from people who didn''t have the courage to directly come to the club room. There were more rumors swirling around that this club was starting to become more exclusive than the larger clubs in the building. Ever since the president publicly announced that Oili had joined the club, others wanted to join to become closer to him. And since the president rejected every one of their requests, it was proven true.


    "It is nice," Oili smiled, not having to hide his hobbies anymore.


    "But it''s the other four people''s turns tomorrow," Sienna became depressed.


    "I know," I entered the game to cheer myself up.


    Once one of the original members shook me awake, Shelly had to drag me and Sienna out of the room with her. Meanwhile, the president and Oili pulled Henry out of the club room, locking the door behind them. The reason why we were more hesitant to leave was because we had to take turns. The keys given to us were taken away since our fights over them were getting intense. Part of the reason the president didn''t want more members was that he didn''t want more trouble than there already was.


    I miserably entered my dorm room, not able to enjoy the games since the door was locked. Luke noticed my frequent mood changes every night. Sometimes I would skip into my bedroom, all rosy and happy. Other times, my face would be drenched with tears from staying at the caf¨¦ or being interrupted in the middle of the best part in the game.

 Chapter 418 - Turns (9)

    "I don''t think the three of us should take turns anymore," I looked at the courtyard burnt down.


    "What else do you suggest?" Henry crossed his arms.


    "Only one of us should stay with Luke during this time, being the lookout," I pointed out more people could use the room that way.


    "It works!" Sienna agreed, wanting more days for herself.


    We decided to declare a truce while repairing the courtyard together. We needed to eat lunch as well since we were struggling from the lack of energy during class from being too focused on the fight. Walking to the cafeteria together, we were going to discuss creating a new schedule on who was going to watch over Luke. Fortunately, Luke had never visited the caf¨¦ after the first day that I had cried about our fight together.


    "I get the weekends!" I shouted after getting my tray of food.


    "I also call on the weekends as well!" Sienna yelled.


    "I''m not giving up on those days too!" Henry joined in.


    "Relax, only one of us has to give up that day," Cillian wrote his name down so that he could also take the weekends.


    "Pass me that paper," I swiped it from him.


    "Give me it to me next," Delia pulled it away from me right after I wrote my name.


    "Wait, me too, me too!" Sienna slammed her hands against the table, making it shake.


    "Don''t think you''ll get the last day of this week," Ellen fought for the paper with Shelly.


    "You''re going to rip the paper at this rate!" Shelly shouted.


    "Can you calm down?" Charles was sick of his tray slightly jumping from the table from our fight.


    "You''re not a part of this!" We all screamed at him.


    "Now give me the paper for the Fridays!" I pulled on the paper with all my strength from Sienna.


    "No, there''s only six Fridays left on this one!" She wasn''t willing to give up.


    After the weekends and Fridays were sorted out, there were still the weekdays left. While we fought for the paper, everyone began to leave our table to sit somewhere else. Lighter pieces of food jumped in the air with drinks being split while the table rumbled frequently from our wrestling. With fewer days left over, Sienna began to throw her nearly finished tray at Henry. This made Henry not afraid to retaliate back, making his tray land close to Cillian''s face.


    The cafeteria walls were splattered with food, dripping down like there was a paint war. While dodging the piece of bread aimed at my face, I threw a plate of salad at Henry. Thinking it would be better to starve or eat outside than being hit by a plate of food, everyone else started to leave the cafeteria. They all saw how none of us were sane anymore. Even Luke stiffened when he noticed the mess, choosing to turn at the entrance after picking up his food with Alex.


    By the time we were finished with arranging the new schedule, we were the only ones inside the cafeteria. Making sure that none of the teachers would figure out, we quickly cleaned up the mess before class would start. Before deciding to separate, I showed them how Luke would normally spend his days, making the lookout''s role easier. I hoped that now only one of us would have to give up their turn, the fights wouldn''t continue anymore.


    Going into the club room since it was Cillian''s turn today, Oili seemed a bit surprised how there were more of us here than usual. There was less space in the club room, making the president wonder if they should move into a bigger room. My eyes instantly landed on the headgears, finding only five when there were seven of us who wanted to use them. Before others noticed, I quickly pulled one out.


    "There''s not enough for all of us!" Sienna wasn''t able to swipe one in time.


    "Please, I need one," she cutely looked up at Oili.


    "Can you give it to me instead?" Shelly''s hand glided on the headgear in his hands.


    "Wait, he''s giving it to me!" Sienna yelled at Shelly.


    "He didn''t say anything yet!" Shelly argued back.


    "Maybe you guys can take turns," the president suggested.


    "No way!" All of us screamed.


    "I guess we''ll have to purchase more using our club account," the president didn''t want the fights to escalate here.


    "You should buy five more. You need some spares in case the power inside them dies," Oili turned to him.


    "Can you buy the sequel to the demon kingdom game as well?" I requested.


    "Wait, I also need the rest of the series for the warfare game," Henry joined me.


    "And you should also buy the rest of the series for the singing competition game," Oili wanted to sing more songs.


    The president helplessly complied to all our orders, not leaving much of the budget leftover. There was no way he could accept some of our requests while declining others, afraid that we would get into another fight. A few of the original members had already quit the club, not wanting to be dragged into our fights any longer. There was only the president and one more original member left. Apparently, they were the founding members of this amazing club.


    "There''s games from the third district here," the president suggested to Sienna and Shelly until the headgears would come.

 Chapter 419 - Turns (10)

    My jaw almost dropped, looking at the girl''s name who passed me her application form. She had opened the door without knocking, confidently entering like she had owned the place. The beautiful young girl wore the uniform from the middle school section. It was rare to have middle schoolers joining a club. I couldn''t believe my other club members who told me that she was from the Roselia family.


    Rika de Impalia Roselia. The girl engaged to the heir of the Roselia family and leader of the Impalia fraction, the world she lived in was different from ours. Although my family possessed a considerable amount of wealth and power themselves, it couldn''t compare to even a speck of dust compared to her background. I wondered why she would come to join our humble club, approving her application right away.


    After using one of the headgears, she returned to our club with two of her friends. Almost coming from equally powerful families as her, they wished to join. When she received a call from her other friends inside the exclusive caf¨¦ that none of us were able to enter, I found myself preparing more application forms just in case. As I predicted, the next day, she came with two new members with one that wasn''t present in the call.


    I guessed the rumors were true that the fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family knew everyone in the upper ranks. There was no sense of politics or fractions here as they all enjoyed using the headgears and other artifacts in the third district together. Most of our members became dumbfounded, our illusion about their perfect image shattering. I didn''t think they would like this place enough for me to send some more application forms through another call.


    I stiffened after approving their applications when they were about to fight with each other. A few of them were in tears while all of them were screaming at each other. I couldn''t help but move away from them as I heard their conversation how they were taking turns when coming to the club room. Leaving them alone, I didn''t think their fights for taking more turns than what they arranged would escalate to the point the entire school heard of them.


    Taking a glance, curious about the rumors, I froze at how they were ripping each other''s clothes, pulling hair while flattering the person who had their turn for today. Eventually it had escalated to the point that one of them had to create a barrier to protect themselves while another chanted a fireball. They were so close to each other while inside the club room, being so well-behaved. I always wondered why each of them seemed so happy for managing to walk into the room.


    "I think I''ll be quitting," an old member walked up to me.


    "I almost got involved in one of their fights since I wouldn''t give the keys to them," she trembled.


    I sighed as I had to take away the keys from them since they were getting the idea to hide them from the other members. My head throbbed every time they begged and pleaded to me to listen to their ridiculous requests. I started to regret letting them join, wanting the original club back. This room was no longer the ancient artifacts room, but a gaming room as they had changed up how the room was arranged to their convenience.


    I had to carefully walk around to not step on any of them, treating the floors as their beds. I wasn''t even surprised when they brought some pillows and blankets from their rooms. As more of the original members sadly left me, I got an astounding number of people who wanted to join because of Oliver. But there was no way I could deal with more troublesome new members as I rejected every one of their applications.


    Eventually, rumors started to form that this club was the hardest to be accepted, making it more desirable to join. Even my family had heard about the club''s reputation, feeling proud I was the president when I felt like quitting. My classmates started to treat me differently, hoping they could join as well. They didn''t know the only reason I didn''t give up my position was since I had created the club with my own hands.


    One day, I found more of them than usual. There was only one of them left out from our new members. I guessed they had rearranged who was going to be giving up their turns. But unexpectedly, they started to fight inside the room since there weren''t enough headgears for all of them. I gulped, not wanting the club room to get destroyed as they have done during the breaks. I was saving more money in the club''s bank account to purchase a rare artifact in the fourth district, but I decided to use the money to purchase new headgears.


    Although the school heavily funded the clubs, they were more generous towards the ones with more members. Maybe I would put a request to increase our budget since we had more members than before. We would also have to move at this rate since the once spacious room felt suffocating from all of them laying down on the ground. I sighed as the bank account almost amounted to zero from buying them new games to play.

 Chapter 420 - Food Stall (1)

    "Wouldn''t it be great if there was a time-space function here like the other club rooms?" I pulled the headgear off me.


    "Although we have to purchase them on our own, the school will install them for us," the president answered us.


    Recently, we had moved into a new room since there wasn''t enough space for all of us in the previous one. The fights had stopped ever since only one of us had to watch over Luke. Only losing one day in the week, it wasn''t as bad as before. However, only the president remained from the original club members, all of them sadly quitting. But that just meant we wouldn''t have to maintain our image around them to the usual extent we did.


    "Let me look it up," Delia agreed with my idea.


    "How can it be so expensive?" Sienna was shocked at the school''s pricing for them.


    All of us knew we barely had fifty thousand Aris in our club bank account, but the time-space function cost around half a million Aris. The president had worked hard in trying to persuade the school to give us more money since there were more members. This meant we would somehow have to raise the rest of the funds on our own. Getting an idea from my former life, I suggested, "how about we bake some food that others can''t usually access and sell them to buy the time-space function?"


    "Where will we be getting the ingredients?" Henry pointed out.


    "There was a food and agriculture research club beside our old club room. I''m sure they have some ingredients there," Shelly was interested in my idea.


    "We can offer them some portion of our profits in return!" I came up with a solution to the small budget that smaller clubs struggled with.


    "I don''t think it''s a bad idea," Cillian nodded.


    "Then we''ll go to the food and agriculture research club right now," I grabbed one of Sienna''s arms.


    "I''ll help," Oili wanted to spend more time in his singing competitions.


    Since there was a chance that they wouldn''t let us in if we knocked, I opened the door, finding it unlocked. The members stiffened from likely hearing what happened in the room beside them before our club moved. I brightly smiled when I noticed the nicely organized groceries on the shelves. All the cooking tools were already in our clubroom, being considered as an artifact from the second and third districts.


    "Hello, I am Rika de Impalia Roselia and these are my friends, Sienna Auclair Clarence and Oliver de Whaise," I included our last names to make us seem more intimidating.


    "We''re here to offer you a deal that will benefit the both of our clubs," Oili took over from me.


    "We will give you ten percent of the profits for letting us take some ingredients from your shelves," he passed them a contract.


    "We''re not asking for much compared to how much it costs to source the ingredients on your end," he waited for them to sign.


    "We don''t want to join your club to get access to them like we have done to the club that used to be beside this room," Sienna knew how both of the presidents were friends.


    "We''ll sign!" The president of the food and agriculture research club knew how much our president suffered.


    "Let''s take everything they have in their shelves!" I pulled out a large bag from behind that I have been hiding from them.


    "I also brought a bag!" Sienna pushed everything they had on their shelves to help me.


    "Wait! You can''t take everything!" The president helplessly watched us empty their shelves.


    "You signed the contract," Oili narrowed his eyes.


    "You can''t need all of the ingredients in this room," the president didn''t believe us.


    "We do, we''re spending the entire day experimenting today," I managed to grab everything on the first row of shelves.


    "Should we go now?" I asked to Oili and Sienna after we had emptied everything in their room.


    "Let''s go!" Sienna was excited to cook for the first time.


    The three of us attracted attention, dragging huge bags of groceries to our room on the second floor. When we opened the door, both Shelly and Cillian had already set up all the cooking tools. I started to take the groceries out as our president started to pity his friend. My first idea was to cook some takoyaki balls, having a strong aroma to attract people to our location. It was also easy to distribute to others in a disposable container.


    Delia and Henry went to the design club to request the production of disposable containers, carrying a similar contract to the one we gave to the food and agriculture research club. Since I wasn''t familiar with the cooking tools here, we flipped through the manuals for help. It was surprising to figure out the more mana you added to the food, the better it would taste. Flipping one the switches to activate the cooking tool from the second district, I gulped.


    "Is this really right?" I watched a tall spike of fire formed on the portable burner.


    "We need to place a pot on it," Shelly didn''t know what to do as well.


    "What''s this burning smell?" Delia opened the door.


    "There''s smoke!" Henry noticed the pot burning.


    "Get water!" I quickly chanted the spell while gesturing to others to help.

 Chapter 421 - Food Stall (2)

    "Whirlpool!" I chanted, gathering a large amount of water in my palms.


    "You''re going to flood the place," Henry insisted on using his water gun spell instead.


    "The fire is still spreading!" Delia noticed it starting to spread to the shelves where our games were stored.


    "We should use rain," Cillian formed some water clouds.


    "The headgears will get destroyed!" We yelled at him.


    I closed my eyes, making the whirlpool crash down, not wanting the fire to spread even further. I smiled when getting rid of the fire before I discovered both Henry and Cillian had used their spells with me. Oili quickly formed a barrier over the shelves as the water levels began to increase in the rooms. Not able to take my spell back with the others, the room began to flood, starting to pour out of the room.


    "We can use the wind! Gather all the water and pour them out the windows!" Sienna suggested.


    "I won''t be able to keep up the barriers!??? Oili shivered as the water reached our waists.


    "I''ll do the wind spell," Shelly began to chant.


    Holding her hands up to place some of the water out the windows, she dropped her hands when getting rid of the water. However, we didn''t think what would happen if there was someone below us. A few people screamed, suddenly drenched in water, looking up to search for the culprits. All of us immediately ducked down since they would be able to see us from the windows. Meanwhile it was clear that Oili wouldn''t be able to keep up the barrier with all the water rushing to pour inside the other half of the room.


    "Let''s go find them, there should be traces of the water from their rooms," One of the victims immediately discerned.


    "I told you that the whirlpool was too much!" Henry angrily whispered.


    "The water gun was equally powerful in trying to destroy his barrier!" I argued.


    "The water is still slipping through the door," Delia pointed out to us.


    "When they''re inside the building, pour the rest of the remaining water out," I couldn''t find any other solution.


    "I can mop the water," Shelly teleported to the other side of the door.


    "There''s no one outside anymore," I carried an enormous bubble of water to throw out the window.


    Not looking if anyone was about to go outside, the bubble of water splattered onto another set of victims wearing their beautiful dance clothes. I quickly ducked down since their club was one of the most powerful ones in this building. It was a tradition for children from powerful families to join the dance club once they entered high school with Lucius and Belle being one of their past members. When they screamed from the water like the previous victims, we immersed our entire body into the water, trying to avoid them.


    "I know what room it came from!" One of them yelled, looking up at our window.


    "They''re gone," I could hear the footsteps going up the stairs.


    "Please open the door," Yulee''s voice seemed to be extremely angry.


    "We know you''re there," she found the door locked.


    Oili switched to placing a sound barrier around our room while I placed a barrier to fortify the door. As long as we didn''t answer them, there was nothing they could do. Everyone else mopped the floors, trying to clean the mess we made. The president couldn''t help but take extra care of all the artifacts on the shelves, sighing in relief when none of them were damaged. More victims drenched in water continued to increase in front of our door as we continued to ignore them, hoping they would leave soon. I was surprised to discover that the dance, decorating and mana research clubs, the three most powerful clubs were all gathered together.


    "What are we going to do?" The president finally came back to his senses.


    "We ignore them until they leave," I reiterated.


    "You ruined our priceless magical orbs!" A person from the mana research club pounded on the door.


    "We had a competition today!" Yulee yelled at us.


    "Our flowers wilted, one of the rarest that we managed to purchase!" A member from the decoration club joined in.


    "They seem really angry," the president shuddered.


    "Should we play a game to spend the rest of the time?" I suggested to Sienna.


    "I don''t think they''ll leave soon anyways," she smiled while passing me a headgear.


    "We''re really not going to do anything?" The president looked at us as if we were crazy.


    "You can always address their complaints," Henry followed our actions.


    "Let''s keep the door closed," the president decided it couldn''t be helped.


    We all entered the headgear while the president continued to look over his collection of artifacts. Thinking they would soon give up, we were surprised when the victims were still in front of our door when it was time for us to leave. Our only choice in escaping was to use teleportation to the caf¨¦. While we were exploring the options, we discovered the president had already escaped on his own, not willing to suffer with us.

 Chapter 422 - Food Stall (3)

    "Rika! Luke is heading towards the caf¨¦," Ellen warned us from her sudden video call.


    "Let''s take the key and go to the caf¨¦," I turned to all of them.


    Once you had the key, you could teleport in and out of the club room. This was also a measure to make sure people that weren''t members couldn''t do the same. Each of us grabbed a key and quickly teleported to the caf¨¦ while Oili decided to escape to his dorm room. We all gave each other a knowing glance that we would teleport to the club room from the caf¨¦ from now on. We didn''t want to run into the victims on our way to the club room.


    Sighing in relief that all of us managed to arrive at the caf¨¦, we forget about our drenched clothes. This would instantly make Luke suspicious about what we were doing in the caf¨¦. Hoping that Ellen would buy us some time, we began to change into our spare clothes in our marbles, which were our pyjamas. We piled the wet clothes beneath the table since it wouldn''t dry in the inventory where time was frozen.


    By the time Luke arrived at the caf¨¦, he oddly found us together, helping each other change clothes. Instantly finding the drenched uniforms we tried to hide, he brightly smiled, asking us what had happened. I turned to the others, hoping they would be the ones to explain since I would likely make a blunder. However, no one wanted to be the one who would expose everything, earning all our grudges.


    "Gosh! I can''t believe they escaped, teleporting somewhere else when we used a spell on their door to see if they were still there," A mana research club member walked near the caf¨¦.


    Realizing this was no time to focus on Luke, we continued to change, ignoring his gaze. Delia used a light fire spell to help dry our uniforms, desperately trying to hide the traces of water. While nobody could come inside the caf¨¦ other than us, it didn''t mean they couldn''t look through the doors or the windows. Shelly dashed to help her as we could hear more angry members roaming around us.


    "We should change back into our uniforms," Delia handed them back to us one by one.


    "I''ll help dry everyone''s hair," Cillian began to blow dry each of us with a wind spell.


    "I''ll mop the caf¨¦ floors," I offered once I wore my uniform, completely dry after Cillian had helped me.


    "Are they still there?" Sienna continued to duck under the window.


    "I''m going to kill them. Who''s their president?" The member who lost their precious flower screamed.


    "Duck down!" I shouted, avoiding all the members who have tracked our teleportation path.


    We totally forgot about Luke who was watching us the entire time. He seamlessly blended into the background, following our every move. Once I took a peek at his face, I quickly looked away, realizing that he was slowly starting to piece everything together. I was thankful that none of the members ever thought of checking the people inside the caf¨¦, thinking we would never be the ones to do it with the reputation from our families.


    "We accidentally messed up on a spell," Cillian noticed the same as me.


    "The spell targeted the club building," he explained to Luke.


    "There''s more people gathering," Sienna''s eyes widened.


    "How big was the damage?" Luke was used to me making trouble.


    "We accidentally ruined all the outfits of the people from the dance club who had a competition today. The decoration club also recently purchased a rare flower that wilted from our spell while the mana research club had their magical orb destroyed," Sienna trembled for help.


    Luke decided to stay ignorant with the rest of us, knowing that the clubs wouldn''t just let us go for this. He knew how precious those items were to them while his cousin was in the dance club, practicing for weeks for this one competition. We knew he was wondering why we used the spell in the first place, but all of us were stuck in this situation, unable to use teleportation again since they could trace us.


    "Do you have a plan?" I hoped Luke had a solution for this.


    "We should stay here until they leave," he decided to stick with the same plan we had.


    However, all the victims continued to angrily search for the culprits, including Yulee who was passionate about leading them. It was starting to get dark while they didn''t seem to be giving up. We were thankful it was a Saturday since we could sleep in tomorrow, which was part of the reason the high school students weren''t leaving. Maybe we would have to sleep inside the caf¨¦ while hoping Yulee wouldn''t enter the caf¨¦ since she had access to it.


    "The only place we didn''t search was that caf¨¦," One of the members pointed out.


    "There''s no way anyone in that caf¨¦ would make this mistake. Most of them are middle schoolers," Yulee dismissed their claims.


    "But you should check just in case," most of them argued.


    "Get out the workbooks!" Delia gestured to turn the caf¨¦ into a study room.


    "I got them," Henry pulled a pile of what the class had covered for the past week.


    "We can work on a volume each," he distributed a subject to each of us.


    "I''ll order some desserts," I tapped on the tablet to make us seem less suspicious.


    With Yulee turning the doorknob, all of us stiffened while we waited for our fates to arrive.

 Chapter 423 - Food Stall (4)

    When Yulee came inside the caf¨¦, she found us diligently studying while enjoying some desserts. Nothing seemed out of place since it was normal for middle schoolers to study deep into the night. Apologizing for disturbing us, we all sighed in relief once she closed the caf¨¦ door. This was the elegant image that their families possessed from the time they were in school. Delia stiffened when she noticed some of them setting camp in front of the caf¨¦. I couldn''t believe they were this determined in trying to find the culprits.


    "They''re setting up a magical device to track where the spells came from!" Sienna gasped.


    "It covers the area outside the caf¨¦," Henry noticed.


    "We''re screwed if we leave this place," my head almost crashed on the table.


    "They can''t do this for days," Delia pointed out.


    We ended up using this time to study, catching up on school. This was no different than the usual intense study sessions I had with Luke. But even Luke seemed a bit uneasy after a day had passed while they still showed no signs of leaving. He was the only one free to leave the caf¨¦, not a part of the club, but he didn''t know since he thought everyone inside the caf¨¦ was a target. Meanwhile the mana research club had set up multiple sophisticated devices that they had created.


    "Why are you not coming?" Alex had called him, missing out on their spar together.


    "I can''t leave the caf¨¦," Luke sighed.


    "Did Rika do something again?" He instantly determined.


    Luke repeated all the disasters we had caused from a mistake we made in a spell. Alex''s eyes widened as he knew how the clubs wouldn''t let us go for this. Ending the call after pitying Luke, the room was enveloped by the silence. We would have to leave by tomorrow, having to attend classes in the morning. The only good thing was that Luke didn''t question our fake story since he was too focused on trying to escape with us.


    "Can''t we just use explosions on their devices?" I was starting to get more desperate.


    "We can destroy all the trackers!" Sienna agreed with me.


    "We''ll have to destroy them all at once," Luke gave us some suggestions.


    All of us nodded, getting the signal to destroy the magical trackers. Opening the windows in every wall, we whispered our chant before opening the door to sprint back to our dorm rooms. We couldn''t use any mana, afraid that they would track us, making our pace in escaping even slower. This was why Luke pulled my wrist to run with me to the point he almost dragged me on the ground to match the other people''s pace.


    "I''m going to put an anti-tracking spell," Luke chanted on the door of the dorm room.


    I flopped onto the couch, feeling relieved that everything was over when I heard the sounds of the devices blowing up. Delia made sure to close the doors afterwards, remembering to make sure the lights wouldn''t turn off as well to make the illusion that we were still inside. I was so glad that the school wasn''t able to replace the club sign, showing that our room belonged to the old music club.


    "Seriously Rika?" He turned to me after he finished plastering some spells.


    "It wasn''t only my fault this time. Cillian made rain clouds to make things worse!" I shifted some of the blame.


    "Don''t tell me you used whirlpool," he knew the spell I liked to use the most.


    "I may have," I looked away from him.


    "But Henry used the water gun!" I argued.


    Luke started to piece more things together, finally things making more sense now with three powerful water spells ruining all the three clubs. Too tired from spending more than a few days at the caf¨¦, Luke decided to give up for today. This was why we decided to teleport back to the club room when Oili had sent us a message it would be safe to come. Apparently, all the blame sadly landed on the music club members.


    "We should try using another tool," I decided to go with using the blender next.


    Throwing the burner away, it was considered as junk since it had almost caused a disaster last time. Moving on to making delicious smoothies, we chopped random fruits and vegetables. Thankfully, it was easier to explain how to use the chopping knives from the third district. I dropped all the chopping pieces and pressed the button to make the smoothie while adding ice that Shelly froze from the water coming from the air.


    "Let''s place a barrier this time," Ellen suggested, knowing our past incident.


    Pouring the drink into cups, I frowned, finding the taste to be poor. For the entire day, we continued to experiment with more ingredients. Since the blender was considered to be safe, we split into smaller teams to use all the blenders inside the club. But all our experiments had failed while the ingredients were gone. It was time to revisit the food and agriculture research club again for more ingredients.


    "We''re back!" I slammed the door open.


    "We don''t have anything left to give you!" The president avoided our eyes.


    "Take everything they have on the shelves," I gestured to Delia.


    "I already did," she brightly smiled.


    "You''re extorting us! Your contract is basically blackmailing!" The president found his shelves empty again.

 Chapter 424 - Food Stall (5)

    I smiled as I finally came up with the perfect smoothie. It included a mashup of all the ingredients they had from the first district using only vegetables and fruits. We had to make sure we wouldn''t mix it with the ones from the other districts. It was a revolution since no one thought of blending all the precious and rare ingredients together just for the taste. Sprinkling a little bit of my mana while mixing, it melted into my mouth more than any dessert I had tasted.


    It was better than the strawberry shortcakes I was obsessed with. Passing some cups to the rest of the club members, even our president begged us for seconds. While everyone else experimented with the ingredients to determine what other things to add to the menu, I walked towards the design clubroom with Henry. Since the rest of our plans were starting to fall into place, we need those disposable containers sooner.


    "Are you done yet?" I opened the door.


    "We told you yesterday that it''ll take us at least a month to produce a cup that will hold the amount of mana in your drinks," the president of the design club had tasted a failed sample.


    "We need them by next week," Henry pressured them.


    "We''re trying our best!" She sighed.


    "Please remember the details in the contract for not meeting the deadlines," I found Oili''s terms to be very clever.


    "Let''s go," I clung onto Henry''s arm.


    "Should we try the takoyaki machine?" I noticed the heating tray on the ground once Henry opened the door.


    "Will it cause a fire?" The president was afraid of anything that used electricity.


    "We can try right now," I plugged the machine into an outlet.


    "Don''t we need a batter first?" Shelly reminded me.


    "We do," I sighed, wondering what ingredients we should use this time.


    The food coming from the first district didn''t follow the same logic from the other districts, holding a distinct taste of mana in the land where they were grown. Even the seafood tasted different, needing different ways of cooking them. It was all trial and error in trying to determine which ones had the best synergy together. The raw taste and after they were cooked were vastly different as well.


    Once everyone mixed in a random set of ingredients together, adding a subtle touch of mana to enhance the taste, I plugged the machine back into the outlet again. Using a small spoon to pour the batter inside, I waited for them to cook. Ellen stood as standby, making sure to instantly create a barrier if she noticed there was something wrong. Flipping the small balls of somewhat an imitation of takoyaki, the amazing aroma entered my nose.


    Placing the imitations on a plate, I passed them to the taste testers, Henry and Sienna who had the most exquisite tongues after me. Both of them frowned, finding the taste not matching the smell, which meant this round was a failure as well. We all ended up taking turns when tasting the small samples, not wanting to fill ourselves with these foods.


    "Should we just mix everything together again? Like all the seafood and vegetables," I was starting to become more frustrated from all the failures.


    "They might taste different since we''re cooking them," I remembered how we only mixed all of the vegetables and fruits together in the smoothies.


    "We''ll try this in our next batch," Delia seemed equally tired.


    Passing me the next batch, I started to cook them inside the pan. This time I was the taste tester. Once I flipped each of the balls, I pulled out a fork to try one myself. Closing my eyes, having no expectations, it tasted amazing. My mind melted, quickly consuming the rest of this entire batter before others wanted to try out a portion of their own. However, all of them sighed in relief when they finally found one that worked rather than trying to take some.


    "Can we just use this batter?" I turned to all of them.


    "Let me just get rid of the other ones," Delia threw the rest away in the trash can.


    Since the trash can was full, Cillian placed one more trash can outside of our club room, hoping someone else would take care of it. Unfortunately, this school didn''t have something like a cooking club, leaving no place to dispose of the materials. We couldn''t stand the smell of all the failed samples we made, placing them far away from us. However, none of us thought we would get complaints from the other clubs since it ended up spreading to the entire building.


    "It''s this club again," someone from another club knocked on the door.


    "I can''t believe they''re still alive from last time," another person recalled the incident.


    "Can you get rid of the smell?" A person yelled.


    "If you can throw them out for us, it''d be great!" Oili shouted to them while he made another batch.


    "Shouldn''t you get rid of them?" Another person became irritated.


    "We''re busy!" Sienna yelled.


    "Thanks in advance!" Cillian shouted to them.


    Seeing how we weren''t willing to clean them up, the members from the club room beside us g.r.o.a.n.e.d while getting rid of the garbage. Once they were gone, Cillian decided to take out all of the trash bags inside our room, taking advantage of their complaints. Not knowing we had piles of trash bags in front of our room by the time he finished, the members who came back from throwing them out, kicked the bags.


    "We''re not cleaning them up this time!" They yelled, not knowing all the bags were beginning to collapse towards them.

 Chapter 425 - Food Stall (6)

    "You have to be kidding me!" They found themselves covered inside the failed batter, making their clothes all sticky.


    "You better come out!" A member pounded on the door.


    While I had already put a filter to get rid of the smell in our club room, it wasn''t the same for the rest of the building. Since the trash bags were open outside our door from their kick, the smell got worse as it intensified. Seeing through the camera that we had installed on the door, I gasped when I discovered the entire floor was covered in the failed batter. There was an entire landfill of garbage bags rolling to different parts of the floor.


    "I''m calling the people from the mana research club!" One of them stomped up the stairs.


    All of us stiffened, knowing we may become a goner once they discovered that the smell was coming from us. Trying to hide the evidence by secretly transferring some of the failed batter we didn''t put into the trash can from the opened windows into the room beside us, we cleaned the room. The president was great in acting ignorant ever since the last incident together. Plus, the people couldn''t approach Oili disrespectfully since he came from a powerful family.


    While transferring the batter, I winced when I accidentally dropped it on someone on the ground again. Quickly transferring the rest, I decided to duck down while doing the spell. With Sienna also helping while panicking, the number of victims increased. It happened to be another day where the dance club had another competition after dropping out of the other one. Ruining their makeup and outfits once again, we sighed in relief when we had transferred everything before they came marching back up to our room.


    "Is it you this time?" Yulee screamed at the members from the club room beside us.


    "It''s this club again!" The members felt falsely accused.


    "Try opening the door to their room," Oili shouted, pushing the blame to them.


    Since the members in the room beside us thought they had nothing to hide, they proudly opened their club room. I watched Yulee''s face scrunch in anger as she discovered the rest of the batter inside their room. Meanwhile the two club members froze, shocked how the batter ended up in their room while they were gone. Finding more victims joining Yulee, almost slipping on the ground from the batter, they yelled that they would report this to the school.


    "Our competition!" Yulee gritted her teeth.


    "The water must have come from this room last time!" The mana research club members felt sorry towards the music club that didn''t exist anymore.


    "I can''t believe you destroyed the painting we got from the art club!" A member from the decorating club yelled.


    "It''s from the room beside us!" One of them refuted.


    "Why don''t you try opening their door?" A member knocked on our door.


    "Is there anything you need from us?" Our president opened the door while we hid behind the shelves.


    All the victims found this room oddly sparkling clean, finding no evidence of us cooking half an hour ago. Apologizing for disturbing us, they continued to yell at the club members beside our room. I high fived my friends, finding ourselves narrowly able to escape from the blame. We will continue making the rest of the batches of takoyaki tomorrow. Tiptoeing out of our room while everyone else was focused on yelling at the people in the room beside us, we sprinted once we closed the door.


    Far away from the club building and near the caf¨¦, Delia began to spray some perfume on us to get rid of the batter smell. Even Oili and our president followed us after locking the door behind them. Waving them farewell before they headed to run to the high school section of the campus, we all entered the caf¨¦. We had a new sense of appreciation for the delicious cakes that we had taken for granted.


    "It was a close call," Sienna g.r.o.a.n.e.d.


    "Where should we clean the dirty plates and bowls next time?" I wondered since I didn''t remember cleaning the blenders yet.


    "There''s a portable dishwasher from the second district, I already cleaned them, afraid they would check," Cillian sighed.


    "Then let''s continue tomorrow," I took a bite of my cake to comfort myself.


    "Where should we sell them?" I wondered since Luke couldn''t find out.


    "One of us will need to keep an eye on him or we need to take turns," Delia pondered on our next moves.


    "I think we should sell them for a week. Since there''s around seven of us, we can each take one day in the week," Cillian suggested.


    Everyone nodded, finding it fair since none of us wanted to cover for each other. Since Sienna and Henry had already experienced trying to cover for me during social week, they knew how hard it would be. This was why I was taking the first day to make it easier on the rest of them.

 Chapter 426 - Food Stall (7)

    I woke up earlier than Luke to help them set up the event on Monday morning. I needed to pretend I was just waking up when I returned to my room since Luke shook me awake during the weekdays. Teleporting to the location where we were meeting since I didn''t have lots of time, I found everyone at the barrier separating the two campuses in this school.


    It was a place where many of the middle and high schoolers travelled to get to the club building or the place near our caf¨¦. I opened a marker to write on the large sign, ''Smoothies and Seafood Balls. As long as you don''t tell Luke de Impalia Roselia and Alex de Monete or let them know, each of them costs one thousand Aris!''


    "Is this good enough?" I did my role for today after checking all the food in the inventory.


    "This works!" Sienna clapped.


    I nodded, immediately teleporting back to my room. Not making a single sound, I covered myself with a blanket, drenched with sweat from checking up on the last-minute details for the event before drifting into a deep slumber. This was why Luke thought I had another fever when he tried to shake me awake to prepare for class. He frowned as he pondered whether to leave me alone in the dorm room today.


    "I don''t have a fever," I needed to follow him for today.


    "I''ll take you to the infirmary after morning classes are done," he determined.


    "I''m really ok, I can go to classes today," I rose from my bed.


    "You can take me to the infirmary if it gets worse," I grabbed his wrist.


    Luke sighed, knowing how much I hated staying in the infirmary. He looked like he would keep an eye on me for the entire day to see if my condition would get worse. I was glad I wouldn''t have to spend much effort following him around today. After morning classes, it was time to make sure he wouldn''t go near the place we were selling the food. Since Luke and Alex were almost inseparable in school, it wouldn''t be hard to keep them together.


    "You don''t even like this place," Alex found it odd for me to follow them to their usual spar.


    "I got into another fight with them," I pretended to sulk.


    "Again?" Luke knew how I was busy sending messages to them inside my room from the frequent vibrations.


    "And I want to learn how to properly use the sword too!" I switched the topic.


    "There''s no way we''re letting you near them," Alex blocked me from the wooden swords.


    "How hard can it be to swing some swords?" I argued.


    "Are you sure she doesn''t have another fever again?" Alex turned to Luke.


    I dropped my head since both of them knew how I would rather stuff myself with desserts at the caf¨¦ than coming here. Luke took my temperature again to find there were no signs of an upcoming fever like this morning. I pouted since there was no way my acting would work on them. But I have wasted already ten minutes of their time by distracting them like this.


    ??I don''t always spend my time by eating more cakes!" I felt a little offended.


    "I just wanted to study to earn more points," I tugged on Luke''s sleeve.


    "But you hate studying!" Alex instantly found me suspicious.


    "I wanted a massage and spa chair in my dorm room, ok?" I found an interesting item in my school tablet.


    Normally, I would be too busy trying to earn points to upgrade my room, but it all changed once I entered the best dorm room possible. Going through the tablet to find more things to purchase when I was bored, I found many interesting but expensive items. Back then, I sighed as I would never be able to afford these things. Instead, I visited other people''s dorm rooms that had these items. But I never liked visiting Shelly''s dorm while Alex was there.


    "Maybe we can continue the spar tomorrow," Luke knew how I always gushed about these items.


    "Wait, we should bring Alex with us," I stopped Luke from going off on our own.


    "He needs to suffer with me to make me feel a bit better!" I came up with a decent excuse.


    "I guess I can accompany you," Alex evilly smiled.


    I gulped as I started to regret my method of trying to distract them. Maybe I should have just stuck to quietly watching them like the others did. I couldn''t even cry during my break time while they piled more work in front of me since I asked for it. There was no way Luke would pass up this chance since I barely cooperated during his intense study sessions. I was almost at my breaking point as Alex added to Luke''s usual lectures whenever I made a mistake.


    "I don''t want my massage and spa chair anymore," my head crashed against the table on my last break of the day.


    "It''s not worth it!" I couldn''t lift my head up.


    "I knew this would happen," Alex mumbled.


    "Rika at least go finish this page before the break ends," Luke wanted me to take responsibility for instigating the study sessions together.


    "Wait. These will replace the study session for today, right?" I suddenly came up with a brilliant idea.

 Chapter 427 - Food Stall (8)

    "Then you have to finish the rest of this workbook until our break ends," Luke decided to acknowledge the effort I put in.


    This was how I somehow managed to get through all the breaks until the classes finished for today. It was the beginning of the difficult part since Luke and Alex were separated from each other now. While Luke was almost guaranteed to stay inside our room to work on the rest of the fraction work, it wasn''t the same for Alex. I knocked on his door, beside my room to make sure he wouldn''t leave his dorm room as well.


    "Michelle isn''t here," Alex opened the door.


    "I''m here to use your massage chair," I entered their dorm.


    There was no way Alex would trust me to stay inside his dorms without anyone there. I laid down on the amazing chair while ignoring his cold gaze. I never entered his dorm without Shelly inside before. I smiled as this was a great excuse since he knew how I had just spent the entire day in trying to purchase the same thing.


    "Do you have a blanket?" I planned on sleeping here.


    "Then I''ll bring one from Shelly''s room," I decided since he may not let me in again.


    "You''re not thinking of staying overnight, are you?" Alex began to call Luke.


    "You can always gift me your massage chair," I dragged the blanket from Shelly''s bed.


    "Rika, come back to our room," Luke watched me enjoying the massage chair from the call.


    "I''m not staying overnight," I smiled while my muscles relaxed.


    My ears wiggled when I heard the sound of Luke knocking on the door. When Alex opened the door, Luke had brought some of his doc.u.ments with him. I couldn''t believe how well my plan was working since they were in the same place now. When I opened my inbox of messages after classes ended, Sienna let me know that sales were going great. They also managed to procure more ingredients after sharing the profits with the food and agriculture research club.


    The team was split into two. One who was selling the food and another making them to keep up with the demand. Meanwhile both Luke and Alex never heard about the rumors since I was keeping them far away from others. Luke sighed, not knowing the true reason why I couldn''t stop smiling. Seeing how I wasn''t going to budge from the massage chair, he decided to work in Alex''s dorm until Michelle returned.


    "This is more than I thought it would be," Alex watched Luke move piles of the doc.u.ments from his to this room.


    "The Impalia fraction is still in the process of giving more," Luke didn''t have the time to stop working.


    "I can help with the ones from our fraction," he pitied Luke.


    "Can you take this pile then?" Luke didn''t hesitate to take Alex''s offer.


    Ever since Lucius and Belle had graduated, most of their work fell onto Luke than Alex. By the time Shelly came back from selling the food for our club, she was surprised with the sudden piles of doc.u.ments in her room. I yawned before stretching up to get up from the chair. I had done my role for today. When I was about to help Luke move all the work back to our room, Alex shot me a glance not to even touch them.


    "We managed to sell everything we made during the past few days," Shelly whispered inside ear.


    "How are we keeping up with the inventory?" I wondered.


    "We''re a little bit behind for tomorrow," she admitted.


    Even though I believed their words that our sales were out of this world, I didn''t anticipate the huge crowd gathered even before we had opened our stall for business. It was like the entire school was here, including the teachers. The president had already gotten permission from the school to raise funds this way. We just needed to make sure none of the people here would let Luke or Alex who would definitely tell Luke know.


    "There''s more people than yesterday," Cillian was also surprised.


    "Did we really make enough for all of them?" I gasped.


    "Eight cups of smoothies for our class!" One of them yelled.


    "Twenty orders for the seafood balls for the teachers!" A teacher joined in.


    "Sixteen smoothies and seafood balls each!" Another member in the crowd shouted.


    "You''re making sure they keep the rules, right?" I shot them a look.


    "Yea, we made sure each of them made a pledge," Cillian answered.


    Since we were very behind in making the food, only Cillian and I were assigned to selling them at the stall. At this rate, I didn''t know if it was a good thing that we would manage to gather our funds fast. I couldn''t see an end to the line as most of the break quickly passed by. I had no time in taking even a second worth of a break as everyone impatiently waited for their orders to arrive. Shelly was covered in the smell of batter as she teleported to deliver more food. She looked more exhausted than we were.


    "This is all we have for now," she gulped as the crowd increased.


    "You know how we still have one more break and the period after classes for today?" I was starting to fear the aggressive crowd.


    "We need to recruit more people," she sighed from our only solution.

 Chapter 428 - Food Stall (9)

    "This is basically against the labour laws!" The president of the food and agriculture research club had joined us in making more batter.


    "You get more of the percentage in the profits in return!" I shouted.


    Unfortunately, after the grand amount of money flowing into their club bank account, it was hard for them to decline this offer. While the members of the design club struggled in procuring more containers, the members in the food and agriculture research club worked to their bones to help us. Although we had declared a time that we would close the stall when selling after the classes ended, we didn''t for the break time.


    "You need to recruit more people!" He yelled what the rest of us thought.


    "Do you think we can recruit more people?" I felt frustrated.


    "Can you deliver this batch?" Oili asked me.


    A towering number of foods was loaded to place into my inventory. I nodded my head to quickly teleport to Sienna and Ellen. My eyes widened as this was worse than yesterday. There was only one container left before their supply was completely gone. They shot me a grateful look as I unloaded everything we had made. There was no way we would be able to make enough for the rest of this crowd before the break ended.


    "We need another batch in ten minutes," I told the team.


    "Already?" Delia''s jaw almost dropped.


    "I''ll run to the design club to tell them the same," I didn''t have time to waste.


    I slammed the door open to the design club''s room, finding them looking like they didn''t have any sleep. I frowned as there were less containers than I expected inside their room. When I transferred everything they had into my inventory, they looked at me in despair. We would run out of containers by the end of this break. Maybe we would need to purchase a time-space function for their room too.


    "We need triple the amount by the next time I come," I pressured them.


    "We can''t!" The president of the design club cried.


    "We''re already trying our best," she showed how they weren''t taking any breaks as well.


    "We need more people to help!" She pointed out there weren''t enough workers.


    "I get it," I sighed before running down to tell the rest of the team.


    "The design club is also behind, saying that they need more workers," I opened the door to my clubroom.


    "Are you serious?" Henry appeared extremely annoyed.


    "Isn''t there like a machine that can duplicate stuff?" I wondered.


    "I think the design club is already using it to meet our demands," Oili sadly noticed.


    "Are there any other clubs suffering from a lack of funds?" I turned to our president.


    "I have a list," our president seemed to be thinking the same thing.


    "I''ll quickly create more contracts," Oili momentarily left his spot.


    "I can recruit them," I could finally make use of the Roselia family name.


    "Here," Oili gave me some contracts.


    I nodded before running off to the rooms that the president had indicated on the map of the club building. I froze, finding it strange that the mana research club were lacking funds. It was one of the biggest clubs in the school which meant the school gave them an abundant amount of money. From the desperate cries coming from the others, I turned the doorknob to find it unlocked.


    "Is there anything you need from us?" The president of the mana research club stiffened from my sudden appearance.


    "I''m here to make you an offer," I brilliantly smiled.


    My hopes went up when I spotted Ethan inside this club as well. I walked towards him, whispering inside his ear, "I have more food for Sprinkles if you help."


    "How much?" Ethan was considering my deal.


    "Three cages," I knew this would be irresistible to him.


    "We should accept the deal," Ethan immediately suggested to his president.


    "Let me hear the deal first," his president crossed her arms.


    "We will offer you thirty percent of our profits from helping us for five more days," I pulled out the contract.


    "I''m sure you have heard how successful our sales are," I pointed out.


    As Ethan pressured her to sign the contract, she hesitantly signed the contract, not knowing we were going to take advantage of them immediately. My smile widened as I have found a treasure trove of workers. After telling Ethan to take half of his members with him to the ancient artifacts club, I faced the president of their club.


    "Please come with us, we don''t have much time," I led some of them to the design club.


    "I found you more workers from the mana research club!" I announced.


    "Get to work!" The design club president didn''t even greet them.


    The eyes of the design club members lit up as they immediately showed them how to produce more containers. Within a few minutes, the mana research club members seamlessly blended into the room, leaving no time to think from the overload of work given to them. When I opened the room to the ancient artifacts club, it seemed they had forgotten how the batter they complained about had actually come from our room.


    They were too focused on keeping up with the demand from our club members yelling at them to keep up with the pace. Even Ethan shrank back from our aggressiveness.

 Chapter 429 - Food Stall (10)

    "We need more containers!" I slammed the door open.


    "We can''t!" The president of the mana research club was about to cry.


    Meanwhile everyone in the design club was used to this, not wasting time in refuting that they wouldn''t be able to meet our orders. Taking everything they produced in the room, the mana research club members found how quickly their hard work was going away. Reminding them of their contract, I requested for double the number of containers by the next time I came. It was nice when we had more workers since we weren''t as behind the orders anymore at the stall.


    "Did you get the containers?" Oili asked me to unload them.


    "They''re still working on them," I placed them on the ground.


    "And Henry sent me a message that we need double the number of smoothies and seafood balls we gave them ten minutes ago," I raised my voice enough for everyone in the room to hear.


    "Double?" Ethan almost yelled.


    "I''ll have to take everything you have right now," I transferred all the containers of food into my inventory.


    "You''re overworking us!" One of the mana research members complained.


    "We need to recruit more people," the new workers shouted.


    "Focus on making more!" The president of the food and agriculture research club was used to this.


    Teleporting to the stall, I found Henry, Sienna and Shelly almost out of their current supply. It was harder to meet the demand with every passing break since more rumors spread to the rest of the school about them. Even teachers from the elementary school section came to buy the food. Unloading my current supply, I helped them pass more orders onto the customers. Since I had the most mana, I was in charge of delivering all the supplies to each team.


    "I don''t know if we''re going to last for the rest of the day," Sienna wiped some sweat off her forehead.


    "Are they even trying to meet our demands?" Henry grumbled towards the new workers.


    "I''ll try to pressure them more," I teleported to the design club.


    "I''m back," I found half of what I requested done.


    "Where are the containers I asked for?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "We don''t have them," the president of the mana research club didn''t look up from producing more.


    "Well I need six times more of what you have right now by the time I come back or the penalties inside the contract may come in," I pretended to be in a dilemma.


    "We''re trying!" Everyone else inside this room felt they were being exploited.


    "Well try harder, the people in the other team are complaining they''ll completely run out of containers in the next three minutes," I recalled.


    I teleported to the food processing team before more of them could complain it would be impossible. Almost feeling exhausted as the rest of them, I shouted to let them know, "the team at the stall told me they''ll need ten times more than what you have right now."


    "Ten times?" Oili''s eyes widened as he gave more orders to the others.


    "They''re almost out again," I sighed.


    "How?" Ethan had his energy drained.


    "I''ll try to help by recruiting more people," I looked through the list to find another club.


    "I''ll come with you," Ethan was determined to find more people to help.


    This was how we were in front of the decorating club, another club I was confused how they were lacking funds. Maybe it was because we had ruined their most expensive purchases in the past. Not feeling any guilt when I had to decrease the amount of complaints, I kicked the door open, finding myself too tired to use my hands as usual.


    "I am Rika de Impalia Roselia and this is Ethan de Enchantres, we''re here to offer you a deal," I pulled out a contract.


    "Please sign," Ethan placed the contract in front of their president.


    "What if we don''t want to?" The president of the decorating club crossed her arms.


    "We know you need the mana research club''s cooperation in procuring the item you''ve been desperately trying to get," he didn''t hesitate to threaten them.


    "If you don''t sign, you can consider our collaboration gone," he passed them a pen.


    Trying to keep our operations a secret, none of the clubs outside of this plan knew the true extent we were almost working each of our recruits to death. I guessed the decorating club really needed the mana research club''s help since the president of the decorating club signed the contract while gritting her teeth. I brightly smiled with Ethan, about to lead half of them to the design club after Ethan chose the members to take with him to his own team.


    "We have new recruits!" I laughed while the members of the decorating club seemed confused by the scene in front of them.


    "Don''t just stand there and come inside!" The president of the mana research club yelled at them.


    "I''ll come back after taking these with me," I found them barely managing to produce the number of containers I wanted.


    Unloading the containers in my club room, Ethan had already integrated the members of the decorating club into working with the rest of them. The members of the food and agriculture research club have gotten a promotion, yelling at the newer workers to increase their pace while watching for any potential mistakes like a hawk. We didn''t want our quality of food to decrease from their lack of effort.

 Chapter 430 - Obtaining Funds (1)

    I smiled since we finally had enough workers to meet our demand. Ignoring how everyone looked like they were about to die, not taking a single break before going to class, I transferred things in and out of my inventory. I did feel a little guilty when people trembled in fear whenever they found me inside the room, but things were getting accomplished. All I had to do was to teleport between the locations since a few members got a promotion to pressure them in my place.


    The food and agriculture research club alongside the design club members seemed to enjoy the new power they possessed in their hands. Maybe they even had a grudge against people who were in bigger clubs, not hesitating to vent their stress towards them. Ever since I had recruited new workers from the decorating club, Ethan took this opportunity to give himself a promotion, becoming merciless to his fellow club members.


    "We''re finally not behind!" Delia smiled when I delivered a larger supply to them.


    "We have enough workers now," I cheered with her.


    Maybe it was time to go to the design team to automate some of the process in selling the food. I could form a new innovation team to create a machine that would take orders for us and deliver them to the customers. This way all we had to do was to supply the machines when they were starting to run out. Telling Delia and Cillian about my idea, they agreed since it could help take some of the load off their shoulders.


    "I''m going to be taking some of your workers away," I teleported to the design club room.


    "You can''t!" The three club presidents shouted.


    "It''s going to be a small team," I tried to comfort them.


    "I''m only taking all the design club members with me," I was going to lead them into our club room.


    "We won''t be able to survive without them," a member from the mana research club begged me.


    "I guess find another way?" I didn''t have time to waste on them.


    This was how half of the ancient artifacts room was used to make more food while the other half was already in the production process of making the machines from Oili''s blueprints. Thankfully, Oili knew exactly what I was talking about since we explored the vending machines from the third district together. Although we couldn''t do this for the seafood balls yet, it was possible for the smoothies.


    "This is amazing!" Sienna praised the first smoothie vending machine.


    "The innovation team is working on more," I smiled.


    Once Sienna placed the vending machine out, showing how it worked to the crowd, it helped us to immediately reach more customers. Unfortunately, this meant we needed to speed up in producing more food on our end. When I returned the design club members back to their original team, everyone appeared haggard, almost about to faint from the sudden increase in orders. I quickly looked away from them as I gave them the new orders they would have to fulfill.


    "How is the number of people not decreasing?" Ethan didn''t understand when I showed him the never-ending crowd of people even with the vending machines.


    "That''s what I''m thinking," I sighed as it got even busier.


    "It seems that more people are coming back after purchasing the limit," our president heard some of the rumors.


    "They know how it''ll be gone by the end of week so they''re getting the idea to stockpile them into their inventory," Cillian watched how nobody was ordering for anyone else but themselves.


    "Is this why the crowd is only increasing?" I couldn''t believe his words.


    We were busy filling up the vending machines before putting them out to the public. Sending these pictures out to the rest of the teams to motivate them to produce more, I wondered how much money we made from this. I was almost dying from doing this after attending Luke''s intense study session. I could tell Luke was starting to become more suspicious what I did during break time.


    When Shelly, Ellen and I returned to the classroom, we all appeared like we were about to faint. Meanwhile, Charles, Miliana and Alan who had stockpiled some food for themselves, pretended they didn''t know anything that was going on. In fact, almost all the people in the school avoided Luke and Alex in the hallways, ignoring them like they didn''t exist due to their pledge. Including a few of the teachers who were afraid that they would get caught.


    But there was no way I could give up my role of teleporting to all the locations to become the lookout again. This role exhausted so much of my mana from all the frequent times I used them. After pushing the venting machine out to the customers, I teleported back to the design club room. Everyone briefly froze before scrambling to add more containers to the pile. I was glad that I didn''t have to threaten them anymore since it would take up more of my energy. Who knew it would be this hard to earn money for the club?


    "How could they even think of stockpiling?" One of the members from the mana research club heard about the rumors.


    "I don''t know, I just need triple the numbers of what you gave me last time," I sighed.

 Chapter 431 - Obtaining Funds (2) - Delias POV

    "Rika isn''t here," Luke found the usual study room he booked empty.


    "Let''s go to the caf¨¦," Alex suggested.


    I stiffened, recalling messaging Rika to immediately come to the club room after her class ended since we needed her help. Sienna told me it would be extremely hard to cover for Rika, but how hard could it be? Both Sienna and Henry tended to panic easily, leading them to be quickly exposed. Naturally walking up to them, I smiled, "Rika was called by one of teachers to help them with a task."


    I had already asked one of the teachers to cover for us in exchange for letting them pre-order the food. In fact, all of the teachers in the campuses were in this plan. And nobody would dare to expose what Rika was doing since it would go against the pledge they made. Plus, all the workers under us were too afraid of Rika to do anything.


    "There''s no way Rika was called by one of them," Alex''s eyes narrowed.


    "But it''s true, we can go to the office right now," I crossed my arms.


    "Let''s go to the teacher''s office," Luke walked in front of me.


    Confidently walking to open the door to their office myself, I went up to one of the teachers to carry out my plan. I placed one of my hands on their desk, giving the signal that we were going with the story I had created. The teacher slightly nodded her head as she began to ask, "is there anything you need from us?"


    "I have heard from my partner''s friend that my partner is out on an errand," Luke explained.


    "I sent Rika to pick up some materials from the high school campus for our next class," the teacher flawlessly lied.


    "Then she should already be back. It only took me a few minutes to do them a few years ago," Alex found it suspicious.


    "It wasn''t only me who asked Rika. It should take her more time since she accepted all our requests," she turned to the rest of her colleagues that agreed with her.


    "I apologize, I find it a little odd that you are suddenly asking my cousin''s partner to help with some errands. Our family donates a considerable amount of money to make sure she has extra time to spend on studying instead," Alex began to subtly threaten them.


    "As you know, my partner does not have the best grades," Luke wasn''t willing to let them go.


    All the teachers stiffened, being new hires themselves from their family replacing almost all the past staff. I was shocked, not knowing they would warn the teachers that they may lose their jobs from this. They didn''t hesitate to use the power that their families possessed, showing they were taking this matter of Rika not attending one of their study sessions seriously.


    "It''s only for one day," I tried to help the teachers.


    "If Luke lets Rika skip a day, then she''ll start thinking she can skip some other days as well," Alex explained to me.


    "Can you let us know where Rika is right now?" Luke continued to pressure the teachers.


    "Shouldn''t she be at the caf¨¦?" One of the teachers answered, a signal they were giving up on this plan.


    "I thought you sent her out on some errands," Alex pointed out their answers weren''t matching anymore.


    "She messaged us during our conversation that one of our colleagues would deliver them for her since it was taking more time," A teacher quickly made up an excuse.


    "Let''s go to the caf¨¦," Luke decided to check the place his partner frequently visited first.


    "She knows her time at the caf¨¦ will be gone for a month if she skips a day," he walked with Alex.


    I started to pity Rika, not knowing she wouldn''t be able to come to the club room for an entire month because of this. They couldn''t figure out she wasn''t at the caf¨¦. Blocking them from going to the caf¨¦, I questioned them to buy some time, "don''t you think you''re being too much to my friend? Do you have to know where she is at all times?"


    "Is there any reason why I can''t?" Luke coldly stared at me.


    I became almost dumbfounded, finding my reflection in his condensing stare that was starting to study me. This was the reason why Rika was desperate in hiding the club and all of its operations from him. There was no way he would let her go once he figured out everything that was happening behind his back. I started to recall the time he confined her inside the hotel room while I enjoyed the waterpark with Sienna.


    "Don''t you think she needs some private life of her own?" I pointed out.


    "There''s no way Luke can give her that. Do you know how much trouble she lands herself into?" Alex supported him.


    "Please excuse us," Luke started to walk around me.


    "You''re being too lenient on her. You should confine her to your room after you go to the library together," Alex whispered into Luke''s ear.


    "That''s what I''m going to do once I find her at the caf¨¦," Luke agreed with him.


    My head started to go blank as I couldn''t imagine apologizing to Rika about this. Sending a message to Rika to let her know, I took a deep breath to prevent the exact thing from happening. I didn''t know how I would face her if it did.

 Chapter 432 - Obtaining Funds (3) - Delias POV

    Deciding I would stall for more time once they discovered she wasn''t at the caf¨¦, I followed them. I needed more time to come up with a plan to help cover for her. I stiffened as I noticed Rika was already at the caf¨¦ from receiving my message. She looked extremely exhausted since this was the second last day of our operations. Her uniform was drenched with sweat like all the other club members who couldn''t take a break from the stall.


    In fact, she seemed to be burning with almost a dangerous fever. I guessed we had overworked her in using teleportation too many times. We would normally give her a smoothie to help her regain some energy but there was no way I could do this now. The smoothies we made resembled very effective mana chargers, making them more attractive for people to purchase. One of the reasons why the teachers had their own stockpile of them.


    "I couldn''t come to the study session today since I couldn''t move after finishing the errands from the teachers," Rika followed the script.


    "Why didn''t you send me a message?" Luke frowned after taking her temperature.


    When my marble vibrated, I read the message Rika had sent me a few seconds ago while distracting Luke and Alex. I was to replace her role since she would serve as the lookout now. I nodded to quickly leave her alone to deal with them. However, Alex blocked the door to prevent me from leaving from Luke''s subtle signal.


    "How did Rika get this sick?" Luke turned to me after Rika lost her consciousness for a moment.


    "It has to be from one of their fights together," Alex held a grudge from when I threatened him to not tell Luke.


    "Our fights weren''t that bad," I glared at him since it had ended weeks ago.


    "Rika will get better soon. Don''t you think you''re being a bit overprotective?" I wished I could give her a smoothie right now.


    "Don''t you know how frail her body is?" Luke''s eyes slightly flickered with anger.


    "This will take at least a day to recover inside the infirmary. It''s like she didn''t have any rest ever since the week started," he instantly hit the mark.


    "What do you do during the breaks anyway?" Alex asked for him.


    "Does it even matter? You''re invading her privacy," I couldn''t reveal anything for both of our sakes.


    "My cousin works really hard to keep Rika from visiting the infirmary in school," he shot a quick look at Luke that he would take care of this.


    "It''s fine Alex. I''ll just make sure to keep a stricter leash on Rika on who she can spend her time with," Luke sighed while holding her in his arms.


    My jaw almost dropped from his absurd words. He was thinking of separating her from her friends from this one incident. It would become harder for her to visit the caf¨¦ either way even if I told him about the truth. I clenched my hands into fists, knowing I couldn''t leave Rika alone when it was mostly my fault.


    "I''m sorry that I couldn''t take care of Rika. I didn''t know she would get sick this easily. Please let us go, just once," I pleaded to them.


    "Delia is right, it wasn''t their fault," Rika opened her eyes.


    "I''m not that sick anyways," she tried to escape from Luke''s arms.


    "Try walking to the infirmary on your own," Luke pointed out.


    "I will," she struggled to rise to stand up.


    "Can''t I use teleportation instead?" She turned to him.


    "You''re thinking of using teleportation in this state?" He began to raise his voice.


    Before he could say something, she vanished in front of his eyes. While they were distracted, I received another message from Rika that she would quickly drink a smoothie since she had one in her inventory. Knowing this was my chance to run, I teleported out of the caf¨¦ to go to the infirmary. We didn''t have a lot of time until they would come here. Rika quickly transferred me everything she had, including the containers and the food to take over her role.


    "I''ll somehow convince them to let me go for tomorrow," she urged me to leave.


    "Once we''re finished for the day, we''ll come back to help you," I promised her.


    I quickly found myself exhausted from Rika''s role as my supply of mana dramatically decreased within an hour. I never knew her role would be this difficult since she never complained about it. I had to be everywhere, making sure our supply line was operating properly. There was no way anyone other than Rika could do this role.


    "How was trying to cover for Rika?" Henry seemed curious.


    "It''s not possible. I don''t know how she handles them every day," I pitied her.


    "I still need to convince them to not confine her anywhere after we close the stall," I sighed.


    "Is it that bad?" Cillian wondered.


    "Come with me," I would need more help.


    This was how we ended up taking turns in doing Rika''s role. Our mana supply decreased rapidly, showing how much Rika had taken the burden for us. I started to understand Luke, who was angry with us since we didn''t think much of her condition when she showed signs that she was more tired than the rest of us. Instead of giving her more smoothies, we should have given her the chance to take a rest.

 Chapter 433 - Obtaining Funds (4)

    "Oh, you''re here," I found Luke and Alex walking into the infirmary.


    "I look much better now, don''t I?" I had the energy to walk on my own after drinking the smoothie.


    "What did you take?" Luke narrowed his eyes, thinking I drank or poured some random medicine from the infirmary.


    "Nothing, you can check the inventory," I sat on the bed.


    When I first created the smoothies, I never knew there would be beneficial side effects from all the mana within the ingredients and the extra ones we added mixed together. It was almost like the drink that Sienna ordered for the neutral fraction during social week. I smiled, thinking that I had a talent for making these beverages. Someday, I could open my own caf¨¦ if I ever escaped from the Roselia family.


    Finding that everything matched the records, they both looked at me more suspiciously. If I had touched a bottle in the infirmary, it would leave a history on the tablet that kept a record of these things. There was nothing they could do now since I really was sick enough back at the caf¨¦ to not attend the planned study session. I couldn''t believe my excellent plan that had somehow worked out in the end.


    "You definitely drank something," Luke knew from managing my health.


    "I don''t have anything with me," I had swiftly given the disposable cup to Delia before she left.


    "Show me your inventory," he wanted to check my marble.


    "Sure," I had nothing to hide.


    I had everything inside two rooms now. One was the club room and the other was the room given by Charles'' fraction that was rarely used. And I knew Luke thought nothing about the cage full of bugs, not willing to touch them. I calmly sat on the bed while he searched through all the items inside my marble. I yawned, thinking it would be better to sleep until Delia would come back to me to help me with Luke.


    "Are you satisfied now?" I wanted him to give me back my marble.


    "You took a mana supplement," Luke did a scan of my body, still feeling suspicious.


    "Where''s the evidence?" I had gotten rid of everything.


    "You think I wouldn''t know? All the supplements you''ve been taking for almost an entire week," He read the results from one of the medical equipment.


    "If you didn''t take one, your body would''ve already collapsed," he pressured me to tell him the truth with his intimidating stare.


    "Let me see that," I reached my hands out to grab the machine.


    "This is serious Rika," Luke passed the machine to Alex.


    "I won''t know unless you show me the results," I struggled to grab the machine from Alex.


    "Rika!" He warned me to properly sit down on the bed.


    "What have you been doing during your breaks? Do you think I haven''t noticed how exhausted you looked every time you came back to class?" Luke was starting to lose some of his patience.


    "Can we talk about this later?" I decided to use this time to sleep.


    "I need some time to rest," I covered my ears with the pillow.


    Luke gave up, knowing I needed more rest to recover. However, it was clear that both him and Alex weren''t going to leave the infirmary to make sure I didn''t teleport anywhere else. My role as the lookout would be easily fulfilled today. Maybe I would send a message to Delia after my nap that she wouldn''t have to come. There was only one more day we would be selling the food anyways. It was much easier for them if I continued to remain as the lookout than covering for me.


    My ears perked up in the middle of my sleep from the loud conversation inside the infirmary that almost resembled a fight. Knowing it would be better to not interfere, I continued to close my eyes to pretend I was asleep while listening in. I almost gasped when Luke raised his voice at Delia and Cillian. I never remembered him being like this to others excluding me.


    "Since you won''t tell me what you do during your breaks, can you at least tell me what you fed her?" He was beginning to snap at them.


    "Just the usual strawberry milkshakes from the caf¨¦," Delia chose to stay ignorant.


    "There''s no way she only drank those milkshakes. It doesn''t explain the results here," Alex showed them.


    "Milkshakes has a bit of mana in them," Cillian tried to calm everyone down.


    "Honestly, you can''t confine her inside the infirmary forever," Delia raised her voice from feeling like she was being attacked.


    "Rika is going to help me with some of our fraction work once she leaves the infirmary," Luke already planned how he was going to look over me.


    "We can help with some of the work from the neutral fraction," she wasn''t willing to let Luke take me away from them.


    "And we just practiced some heavy spells during our break," Cillian flawlessly lied.


    "You know your story isn''t making total sense," Alex pointed out.


    ??I regret leaving Rika in your care," Luke was telling them that he wasn''t willing to change his decision.


    "We already told you that we would take better care of her and apologized countless number of times," Cillian was starting to get tired of this conversation.


    "You''re being too much," Delia complained with him.


    "You think I''m being too much?" Luke''s patience snapped.

 Chapter 434 - Obtaining Funds (5)

    "Did you not see the results that my partner was close to dying from another fever again?" Luke yelled at them.


    "And we''ll make sure it''ll never happen again," Delia shouted.


    "But I always get these kinds of fevers," I decided to interfere.


    "And it''s gone now," I felt normal.


    I pulled out all the medical equipment attached to me, monitoring everything. When Luke noticed, I flinched, briefly pausing under his warning to stay still. He shot a look to Alex to reattach them to me again while I decided it was better to listen to prevent him from getting angrier. Both Delia and Cillian didn''t know how everyone in Luke''s family took my health faltering very seriously.


    "What do you want us to do?" Cillian found himself talking to a tall wall.


    "I want you to stop asking for a second chance since there will never be one. I will personally watch over Rika myself. I apologize for causing you any trouble," Luke decided to end the conversation, also feeling a bit tired.


    "We can''t do that. Rika is our best friend. You can''t take her away from us like that," Delia wasn''t willing to give up.


    "My cousin has the right to make sure his fianc¨¦e won''t almost collapse from a fever again," Alex firmly supported Luke.


    "And we mentioned multiple times that she won''t ever collapse under our watch again," Cillian sighed.


    "It''s fine. I can go sleep in one of your rooms during the nights," I knew there wasn''t much Luke could do if I never returned to our dorm while they prevented him from going inside their room.


    "Rika?" Luke turned to me.


    "Can''t you give them one last chance?" I started to negotiate with him.


    "What made you think you''ll ever get the chance to leave our dorm room?" He was a bit confused.


    "I still have to attend classes," I wasn''t following him.


    "You can''t possibly treat your partner like that!" Delia was taken aback.


    "I did think you were being a bit too strict with her in the fifth district," Cillian recalled.


    "I don''t even treat my partner this way. You''re being too extreme," he argued.


    "Your partner isn''t always on the edge of dying," Luke sadly pointed out.


    "What if your partner always got sick very easily, would you ever be able to forgive yourself if your partner died when you knew she could have lived if you watched over her more?" Luke explained when they didn''t buy his reasoning.


    "But this is still on a whole other level," Cillian disagreed with him.


    "Rika, you''re free to use our room until you want to return," he turned to me.


    "Mine as well. My room is always available too," Delia pitied me.


    "Don''t even think about it, Rika," Luke turned to me.


    "We can return to our room right now since Alex had already asked the school for permission to bring some things from this room with us," he warned me.


    "Fine! I drank some smoothies from the mana research club. Happy now?" I shot Delia and Cillian a look to cover for my story.


    "Smoothies?" Luke had never heard of them since we were keeping them away from the stall.


    "The mana research club was selling some smoothies for a day that we stockpiled," Delia pulled one out from her inventory.


    "I might have drunk too much since they tasted too good," I sighed.


    "This still doesn''t explain why you looked exhausted after you came back from your break," Luke took a sip.


    "As Cillian said, we were experimenting with some large spells to prepare for our midterms," I decided to go with his story.


    "I''m giving you two a second chance for telling me the truth," Luke acted like he was merciless towards them to confess.


    "Rika, you''re still coming with me to our dorms with the machines," he wasn''t so generous towards me.


    This was how I was lectured by Luke for the entire night for overdoing practicing for the midterms. But he stuck to his word, letting me go for the breaks without keeping an eye on me. Once I teleported to the ancient artifacts club room, everyone looked at me differently. I guessed they must have heard everything from Delia and Cillian. I was one second away from being confined to my dorm room.


    "Luke is really strict when it comes to Rika," Shelly gave them the warning a little too late.


    "It''s really hard to cover for Rika," Henry agreed.


    "His whole family is extremely strict towards her," Shelly informed them that they needed to look out for his cousins and siblings as well.


    "I heard his family''s fraction was strict, but not to this extent," Oili didn''t experience what the rest of them had been through.


    "It''s not at the level of being strict anymore. It''s a matter of controlling everything they can," Delia recalled while shuddering.


    "Luke and his family are really scary," Ethan recalled the time I was dragged into the portal.


    Seeing how the mana research club members were helpless under our club, Ethan decided to join ours while resigning from his former club. Since we knew Ethan, our president accepted his application under the condition that he would be the last member we would ever take.


    "That is why the true purpose of this club can''t ever be revealed," I reiterated its importance.


    "I never thought I would be glad to come from a normal family," our president started to pity me.

 Chapter 435 - Obtaining Funds (6) - Alexs POV

    "You''re being too lenient towards Rika," I found my cousin letting her go for the weekend.


    Luke was surrounded by piles of skyrocket numbers of doc.u.ments in front of him in his room. Other than giving himself some free time during some of the breaks, he spent most of his time on the given fraction work. I found the Impalia fraction a bit too cruel sometimes, taking up half of the files on the table. Meanwhile, Charles made sure his fraction would only give him the b.a.r.e minimum possible. Meaning, Luke still had to work on another pile placed on the ground for them.


    I started to help my cousin with some of the work from our fraction, knowing that Rika could never help with his work. The neutral fraction was also merciless, almost giving him the same number of folders as our fraction. Many of the fraction leaders coming from the fractions Luke was inside had graduated in the summer. Taking advantage of Luke, most of their work fell on him. I didn''t want to imagine how he would handle them once social week would be nearby.


    "It''ll take me more time to go through the work while watching over Rika," Luke continued to go through the doc.u.ments.


    "You need a break," I watched him exhaust himself ever since he came back from summer vacation.


    "I can''t," he sighed.


    "Some of the deadlines are today," he started to work on another pile.


    I pitied my cousin as these days, both of us never left his dorm room, fixing all the mess Rika had created. After convincing him to take a short walk, I found everyone warily avoiding us. Even the teachers tried not to meet our eyes, walking the other direction as soon as they noticed us. It was only us who was treated like this, everyone making sure to lower their voices so they couldn''t be heard. We were being excluded from the entire school.


    "It''s them!" A person whispered to her friend.


    "Ignore them, let''s take another route," Her friend elbowed her.


    "Honestly, they''re not usually here at this time," A person behind me was a bit irritated.


    "Pretend they don''t exist," A person warned him.


    The crowded hallway was quickly emptied as if these people informed each other to avoid coming here. I clenched my fists, wondering what other trouble Rika had caused this time. When I turned to Luke, he seemed to enjoy the new peaceful atmosphere, not thinking much about what was happening. Normally, Luke was crowded by many people since he was inside four fractions with each of them having their own event. He had to explain and promote each of their events as we would be interrupted many times during the only break that he took for himself.


    "It''s them, run!" a group of people spotted us.


    "The high school students are so lucky. They don''t have to run into them like we do," a person mumbled while running away.


    "Lower your voice, they still come from the Roselia and Monete families," his friend advised him.


    "It''s just annoying," he lowered his voice.


    It was the first time either of us were treated this way. Maybe we were too lenient towards the people from the neutral fraction yesterday. I still remembered how one of them burned my shirt a few weeks ago while another ripped my pants. None of them appeared remorseful, especially Rika who was one of the leaders in the fight.


    "I know that Rika is behind this," Luke calmly enjoyed his walk.


    "I can''t believe even the teachers are in her plan," I was disappointed in them.


    "And you can stop following us," Luke waited for someone to come out.


    I stiffened as I found Henry uncovering his invisibility spell. It explained why Luke was reluctant to talk once we were outside his room. He was putting on an act for the person following him. I couldn''t believe I didn''t notice him following us for the entire time.


    "You knew?" Henry warily walked towards us.


    "One of you has been following us since the fights stopped," Luke studied his expression.


    "It was me. I was the one who lost the fight," he explained.


    "Did Rika make you do this?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "It was a dare. We were betting on how long it could go without getting caught," he pretended everything was a joke.


    "Then why aren''t you leaving?" I found him suspicious.


    "We''re fraction members," Henry made up a poor excuse as he turned to Luke.


    "I came to help with the fraction work," he offered.


    "Let''s go back to my room," Luke didn''t hesitate to take his offer.


    Once Henry entered Luke''s dorm, he was stunned with all the work in the living room. Luke immediately passed him all the work from the neutral fraction as he started to touch the ones from the Impalia fraction. Henry''s jaw almost dropped, not able to hide his surprise. He stiffly took a seat that Luke offered him and silently shrank as he began to work.


    "You can start helping us every day instead of following us," Luke showed him another pile he could work on once he finished with the current one.


    "I won''t follow you anymore since I already lost the bet," Henry''s hands trembled.


    "It''s not bad," I thought it would be nice to have him help my cousin with the burden.

 Chapter 436 - Obtaining Funds (7)

    "How could you reveal yourself?" Delia yelled at Henry.


    "That guy isn''t normal! He knew we were following him around this entire time," Henry shuddered.


    "The entire time?" Cillian couldn''t believe his words.


    "I didn''t think our fraction would give him so much work. I had to work the entire day away," Henry grumbled.


    "That''s why I told you that you have to follow him from at least ten metres away. You can''t make a single sound and make anything out of place!" I felt they were taking Luke too lightly.


    Luke could immediately point out anything from his surroundings. It was part of the reason why it was extremely hard to lie in front of him. It was better to confess and apologize to get things over with than to drag it out when he already knew everything. Unfortunately, it looked like Henry had somehow confessed to following him while hiding the rest.


    "What do we do now?" Sienna blamed Henry.


    "I can be the lookout again," I volunteered.


    "I want to go out of the school for today," I threw the idea of another study session out of the window for another alternative.


    "Where?" Luke continued to work with Alex.


    "The newest Monete hotel," I read the news a week ago.


    Alex''s family had built another hotel from the land their family had gained from the humanoid''s negotiation. You didn''t need to book the room to use all the newly built attractions there. It went on the news from all the people fascinated with all the innovative parks, salons, restaurants and zoos. Since I missed out on exploring his family''s chain of hotels in the second district, I really wanted to go to this one with all the rumors circulating in school.


    "Can I go with Sienna?" I asked, knowing he would never let me out of the school without him.


    "You can''t go," he declined without asking Alex.


    "Then I want to visit my parents," I came up with another location.


    "I don''t have the time to go with you Rika," he was implying I wouldn''t be allowed to go anywhere.


    "It''s fine," I turned.


    It was obvious that both of them weren''t going to leave the room today with how the work has increased. Both of them didn''t have the time to look at me while I talked. I smiled as I could possibly put a spell on the door to alert me when they were leaving the room while helping out others with our supply line. My teleportation skills were improving lately with the practice of erasing my tracks and visualizing the place I wanted to go. But there was still the slight chance Luke could figure out about the spell on the door.


    "You''re planning to go without us," Alex thought from my smile.


    "I''m not," I refuted.


    "It''s just that I read it on the news and wanted to go sometime," I pretended to be a bit upset.


    "If I really wanted to go today, I wouldn''t even ask for permission," I softly mumbled.


    "That''s why I''m offering to help with some of the fraction work to go to the hotel in exchange," I implemented my plan.


    "I can take you to the hotel next weekend, but you can''t go to any of the attractions," Luke knew my real purpose of going there.


    "Then what''s the point of going?" I found the deal unfair.


    "It''s your cousin''s family hotel!" I wondered why he couldn''t trust them.


    "Isn''t it?" I turned to Alex.


    "It''s still in the trial stages," Alex revealed.


    I pretended to get mad as I ran into my bedroom. My backup plan was to stay inside my bedroom while attentively listening if they were about to leave the living room. Anything was better than another study session. This was when I realized that I was an excellent lookout from all my experience. Maybe I could really manage to escape from the Roselia family in the future with my keen senses.


    Since I would get bored with nothing to do in the room except for sleeping, I decided to scroll through more places I could go to in the future. I was starting to make a bucket list compiling all the districts together. There were still so many places I wasn''t able to go in the second and third districts. Travelling was another dream of mine ever since my reincarnation into this world. I was so into making my bucket list that I didn''t notice Luke coming into my room with Alex behind him.


    "What do you want?" I tried to act like I was still upset.


    "Something is going on, isn''t it?" Luke finally asked about all the people avoiding him.


    "What do you mean?" I decided to stay ignorant.


    I was going to kill Henry later for letting them out of this room. I was disappointed in other people''s acting skills and how they explicitly avoided them.

 Chapter 437 - Obtaining Funds (8)

    Luke noticed all the places I checked on my screen that I forgot to shut. I quickly deactivated my marble and hid my notes where my bucket list was created. I was glad that I had the screen open since I could use it as an excuse. I knew he would ask about what was going around school someday. Years of living with Luke had taught me to know how to properly hide things.


    "I know you''re using the excuse of going out of the school as a cover," Luke was one step ahead of me.


    "You already know you won''t be allowed to leave the school unless the holidays come," he pointed out where things got suspicious.


    Of course, Luke went along with my act, trying to see how far I would go with it. I wondered if I should actually try leaving the school to show him it wasn''t just a cover. When I gazed into his eyes, I could tell things were serious. While he was hiding his emotions, Alex exposed how mad he was from how poorly he was treated these days.


    I had two choices. Confess under the increasing pressure given out by both of them or to run and lead them as far away from the stall. I decided to open the window and jump out with the rope already hanging down the building. Henry was really going to die from making me go through all this. Maybe today would be the day I would go out of the school gates.


    I sprinted towards the school gates, pushing mana towards my feet to increase my speed. I only had to do this for several more hours. I started to regret how I didn''t ask for another study session which would be a better cover. Although Luke would remain suspicious, he wouldn''t bring it up since he liked it when I was more motivated to study.


    However, it was too late now since both of them were chasing me. I hated my low stamina as I was being dragged back by Luke into the dorm room a few minutes in. I was almost crying from how I was doing great as the lookout as he locked the door behind him once Alex was inside. If Henry was the one as the lookout again, the stall would have already been discovered.


    "What''s going on Rika?" Luke wanted me to take a seat on the couch.


    "Maybe not a lot of people like you anymore?" I pretended not to know anything.


    "What did you spread about us?" Alex thought it was coming from rumors.


    I smiled, not thinking of this simple solution before. I could pretend that I spread rumors about them which led everyone to avoid them. I knew many things about them not others knew like all secrets I shared with Charles and Ben, leading to me joining their fractions in the end.


    "The truth. What if everyone figured out the horrible way you treat your partners? Burning my comic books and cheap clothes and forcing me to drink all those disgusting medicines. Plus, the terrible way you treat Shelly with your fights," I frowned.


    "That''s all?" Luke didn''t seem fazed.


    "What else would it be?" I wondered if this wasn''t bad enough.


    "So what''s really going on?" he didn''t fall for my fake story.


    "People just don''t like you two after hearing about how you treat others," I shrugged.


    "I know you won''t spread rumors like these," Luke knew too much about me.


    Unfortunately, he was right. I would never openly expose how he treated me behind the scenes since it could lead him to do it in the open from everyone already knowing. I couldn''t reveal how often Shelly fought with Alex since Shelly wouldn''t like everyone knowing as well. I didn''t have anything against them without bringing myself down with them.


    "Don''t you have a lot of work to finish?" I pointed out all the piles of untouched work.


    "I''ll help you," I pulled up my sleeves.


    "You didn''t spread any rumors, but you''re still hiding something from us," Luke waited for me to confess.


    "I''m not hiding anything," I began to touch the work sent by the Impalia fraction.


    "You can choose to believe me or remain suspicious, but I''m telling the truth," I read some interesting information coming from a minor fraction.


    "Then you can help me on the remainder of this pile for the rest of this month," he gave me an option.


    "I hid the smoothies from you and asked everyone to hide them," I blurted to partially give him the truth.


    "I knew you wouldn''t let me drink them since they were a result from a new experiment from the mana research club," I slowly looked up to see his reaction.


    "I wouldn''t let you drink them," he agreed.


    "And I knew you would report them to the school to prevent me from getting more access to them, taking the smoothies away from everyone," I knew the consequences of having the whole operation exposed.


    "So this was why everyone was avoiding us," Alex was disappointed in his peers.

 Chapter 438 - Obtaining Funds (9)

    "No way, is this real?" I looked at the number of zeros behind the five.


    "I think so," our president gulped.


    "It was all worth it!" the president of the food and agriculture research club held up his part of the cheque.


    "We''ll get to purchase more magical orbs," the president of mana research club had twinkling eyes.


    "We can design anything we want now," a member from the design club became excited.


    "Purchasing some rare flowers are nothing," a member from the decorating club happily hummed.


    "Our time-space function!" I pumped my fist in the air.


    "Our club is different now. We''re rich," our president laughed, his eyes glued to the cheque.


    "Would you like to extend our contract?" Oili passed some out to the other clubs.


    "I guess it wasn''t so bad," a member from the food and agriculture research club passed the contract to their president.


    "A week for all this!" a mana research club member agreed.


    "What do we do now?" I turned to them.


    "I have a plan," Delia raised my hopes.


    "I was able to bribe the teachers with some food. The next mission will be to switch partners with the other class for a month. Maybe if Luke isn''t partnered to you anymore, he won''t pay attention to you during that time," she smiled.


    "Really?" My eyes glittered.


    "You''re going to be paired with Cillian for two weeks and Henry for the other two," Delia became my lifesaver.


    "In different classes?" I clasped onto her hands.


    "In different classes. You and Michelle will be changing places with us," she knew how miserable we were.


    "Is this ok with you Helena?" Sienna turned to Ellen.


    "I''m fine, I don''t mind," Ellen was to be paired with their horrible classmates.


    "Thanks," I hugged Ellen to console her.


    "This really means a lot to me," I almost teared up.


    I was sick of living with Luke and sitting beside him for all my classes. This was also a chance to leave the school grounds during the weekends. I would finally be able to fulfill my bucket list that I made yesterday. I pulled out my bucket list to show them where I would like to go once the mission started.


    "I don''t mind going to those places with you," Cillian was almost an angel.


    "It isn''t bad," Henry seemed interested in some of the locations.


    I was holding myself from jumping in the air. On the weekdays, I would be able to game my days away while on the weekends, I would travel around the first district. This was the best present anyone could give me. Feeling excited for the end of the day to come soon, I couldn''t stop smiling as the teachers were one of the few who knew why I was in a good mood.


    "And this concludes the next mission," Daniel announced to us during our last class before leaving us.


    Daniel left us to pack our stuff as some of us would transfer to the other class. I couldn''t believe this amazing mission would start from today. Delia had really outdone herself this time since I got to move my stuff out of the dorm I lived with Luke. Who knew if Luke had already installed some spells to watch over his own room?


    I ran to my room to begin packing all my uniforms. I wouldn''t need to take all the annoying accessories I was forced to wear every day. I happily hummed before I bumped into Luke when I was about to leave my bedroom. He didn''t have to pack anything since he would live here with Delia for the new two weeks.


    "Don''t leave until you take these with you," he began to pack all my dresses and accessories into a suitcase.


    "And remember to not skip any classes or cause trouble for Cillian," he passed me the suitcase.


    "I don''t need this," I tried to refuse.


    "I''ll walk with you to his dorm," he decided to directly give them to Cillian instead.


    I sighed as I walked to the floor downstairs to where Cillian and Sienna lived. Luke knocked on the door as he waited for one of them to open it. Since Sienna was busy with packing her stuff, Cillian opened the door. Not wasting any time, Luke passed the suitcase to him, "these are all of Rika''s clothes for when she goes outside. There are also all the workbooks she''s currently working on after class."


    "Thanks," Cillian awkwardly received the heavy suitcase from him.


    "And these are all her medications in case something happens. This is for when Rika gets a fever and the rest are supplements on the days that she only eats desserts," Luke unexpectedly pulled out another case.


    "Is there anything else?" Cillian accepted the case from him.


    "I''ll send you the rest through my marble," Luke reluctantly turned to leave.


    "He''s overdoing it," I had watched how thoroughly he packed everything in the suitcases.


    Luke started feeding me all these supplements after the circus incident after hearing from Lucius how my body started to reject some food. Unfortunately, the supplements tasted disgusting as I chugged each of the drinks down every morning. I wondered why the people of the first district didn''t consider the taste even though they were so technologically advanced.

 Chapter 439 - Show Business (1)

    "Good luck," I hugged Sienna before she left the room.


    "Are there any tips?" She wanted to know how it would be living with Alex.


    "He considers the reputation of his family name to be extremely important," I recalled from my time together with him in the first year of middle school.


    "He''s one of those people," Sienna g.r.o.a.n.e.d.


    Closing the door once Sienna sadly left, I faced their dorm room. Although it wasn''t as luxurious as mine, they still had soft king-sized beds in their one bedroom they shared together. They didn''t have a living room but had all the necessary furniture in their spacious room that was bigger than the size of my bedroom and living room combined together. It was a great place considering that they had purely purchased this with their points.


    "You can leave everything the way they are. I''m not wearing any of them," I let Cillian know.


    Sienna had already placed my collection of cheap clothes inside her closet. I smiled, imagining myself basking in comfortable shoes and clothes for the next month. I wouldn''t have to sneak out in the middle of the night anymore, using the front door. If Delia''s plan worked out in the end, I would be able to use the club room freely as well.


    "And you can ignore Luke''s list of instructions if he sent any," I heard his marble vibrating.


    "It''s over tens of pages," Cillian scrolled through the file.


    "I think he wrote them when he returned to his dorm," I knew Luke would write more if he knew about the mission beforehand.


    Going to the clubroom since we were free for the rest of the day, I found everyone already inside the room, taking advantage of the time-space function except for Sienna and Delia. Maybe Luke and Alex were going through the rules since it was their first day together. After pitying them, I grabbed a headgear for myself and defeated the last dungeon blocking the way to the demon king''s castle.


    "Michelle, he???s awful. Since some tests are coming up, he''s not letting me go anywhere tomorrow," Sienna cried when I took my headgear off.


    "He''ll let you go if the results are good the next day," Shelly consoled her.


    "How is it with Luke?" Sienna turned to Delia.


    "Nothing happened. After greeting each other and going through how we would respect each other''s spaces, he apologized for using the living room to work on some doc.u.ments," Delia surprisingly revealed.


    "Luke is only strict towards Rika," Shelly agreed from her time with Luke.


    "I feel a little bad for him," Delia didn''t know how much work Luke was assigned from his fractions.


    "I don''t think he''ll be leaving that room unless it''s for his spars with Alex," Delia recalled me going through his daily schedule with them.


    "I think your plan will work," I agreed with her.


    I smiled as I finally completed the demon kingdom game and would be able to move into the unlocked sequel now. Muimeme was adorable as usual with Yuriri who cheered me on. Leaving the club room with Cillian, I felt satisfied with the progress I made today. I was no longer desperate to play more games when I had free access to them.


    Flopping onto the bed after changing a long bath, I wanted this paradise to never end. This was why I g.r.o.a.n.e.d when Cillian didn''t stop shaking and yelling at me to wake up the next morning for classes. When I opened my eyes, I found the time to be almost 7AM, the time when classes started. I was so used to Luke waking me up in the mornings that I didn''t know how to wake up in time alone.


    "I already got your uniform out," Cillian passed me the hanger.


    I nodded as I quickly changed while Cillian prepared our class materials for the morning for the both of us. There was no time to eat breakfast as Cillian and I directly sprinted to our new classroom. Unfortunately, we were still late as the teacher glared at us to come inside. I sighed as I noticed there was only the front row left. This was the perfect chance to switch to the second row near the window if I arrived a bit earlier.


    Sitting in my original seat beside the window, I watched the scenery outside the window since my mind was still groggy from waking up. My head was placed against my desk as my stomach grumbled from the classes never ending when I didn''t have enough energy anymore to sit properly. Luke would usually give me a chocolate bar to help me survive whenever I would have to skip breakfast.


    "Rika! Are you listening?" The teacher targeted me.


    "You said something about the theory of mana," I mumbled from quickly trying to recollect my memories.


    "That was two classes ago!" The teacher frowned.


    "What class is this?" I propped myself up.


    "Math," the teacher sighed.


    "I think we may have to talk during your break," she continued to teach the lesson.


    My head almost crashed on my desk as my morning break flew away from me. But I still had my lunch break, and evening break to make up for it. I would somehow manage to quickly grab some food during my lunch break. Listening to the teacher going over her lesson again during the break, my daydreams of eating more cakes distracted me from fully paying attention.


    "Do you know the answer to this question?" She wrote on the board.


    "Strawberry shortcake pie?" I mumbled.

 Chapter 440 - Show Business (2)

    My stomach loudly grumbled inside the classroom as I had to skip lunch break with a bunch of frustrated teachers who noticed I wasn''t listening to them. Since the teachers weren''t talking to each other, they didn''t notice that they were consecutively calling me to the point I would have no time to eat. I have never skipped both breakfast and lunch on a weekday in years. I had a snack in between if it ever happened, making it easier on me to survive through the classes.


    I couldn''t lift my head from the desk as the teachers frequently targeted me when they asked questions if everyone understood the material. My dreams shattered of possibly having an early dinner when my evening break was taken away in the process. Did everyone ignore my hungry stomach ringing inside the room?


    "Can you answer this question for us Rika?" The teacher pointed to the board.


    "I don''t know what subject this is," I gave up for today.


    "It''s the history of the first district," the teacher sighed.


    "Then I don''t know," I felt exhausted.


    "Can you see me during your evening break?" The teacher came up to my desk.


    "My evening break is already taken from your colleagues teaching the classes before this one," I showed her how she was too late.


    "You can switch with one of them," I suggested before trying to sleep my hunger away.


    "Please see me when all your classes end," she took more of my free time.


    "I''ll place it on my schedule," I dragged her name onto the list I created to keep track.


    After my evening break ended, I didn''t even bother to lift my head to answer the teachers anymore. I never skipped meals for the entire day before. These teachers needed better communication amongst themselves to keep their students from starving to death. Before the teacher asked me to meet them after classes ended, I pulled out my screen, "there''s already three people before you. I''m only available after them if you don''t want to switch with them."


    "You never skipped both lunch and dinner before," the second last teacher of the day didn''t believe me.


    "Tell your colleagues that. I also had to skip breakfast," I was dying inside.


    The teacher eventually gave up on me, adding himself on the end of the list since it would take too much of the class time to fight back. My vision was starting to wobble as the last teacher of the day came into the room. Bright shining light was coming from his back as I imagined dashing to the cafeteria before I went to the teacher''s office again. I brightly smiled, making the teacher confused as I pretended to listen to his lecture.


    Since it looked like I was focusing very hard in his class, he didn''t ask me any questions. Meanwhile, my body felt extremely warm and sometimes cold that I was shivering where the temperature was supposed to be perfectly regulated. I rubbed my arms to help me with the cold as the teacher started to look at me strangely. Feeling my body tethering side to side, I dropped onto the freezing ground from my chair.


    "Rika!" Cillian shook me.


    "Are you ok?" Shelly tried to help me back up.


    "She has a fever," the teacher placed his hand against my forehand.


    "Class will be dismissed early today," the teacher carried me to the infirmary.


    After chugging the horrible supplement, I finally got the energy to complain, "can you tell your colleagues to cancel their turns on this schedule? They didn''t let me eat breakfast, lunch or dinner."


    "How can they starve someone for the entire day?" I found them acting differently from when Luke was there with me.


    "I''ll let them know," the teacher left us.


    Once the teacher was gone, I immediately pulled out all the machines attached to me. There was no way I was going to stay here for the rest of the day. My precious days without Luke couldn''t be used up like this. When Cillian was about to say something, I explained, "I need to eat something first."


    I waved to Delia when we met at the cafeteria together. Ordering a bunch of food since they didn''t cost any points anymore, my eyes glittered from my first meal of the day. My mind almost melted when I ate a piece of steak covered in icing from a cake. My salad was turned into a candied dessert as cups of sugar were poured instead of dressing. I only froze when Luke suddenly sat in front of me on my table.


    "Did you take your daily supplement?" He frowned at my meal.


    "I did," I took out the part I went to the infirmary.


    "You look like you have another fever," he noticed my flushed cheeks.


    "The teacher ended classes early today to bring her to the infirmary," Charles joined the table.


    "It''s because they didn''t let me eat any meals for the entire day before this. I couldn''t eat breakfast, lunch or dinner," I glared at Charles to keep quiet.

 Chapter 441 - Show Business (3)

    "She even made a schedule to keep track of their turns," Charles revealed to Luke.


    "Why didn''t you eat breakfast?" Luke knew the cause of all this.


    I silently ate the rest of my meal to avoid his question. If I have taken at least one bite from a meal at the cafeteria, none of this would have happened. Luke turned to stare at Cillian for the answers before Cillian chose to silently eat his meal with me. I couldn''t have Luke pay more attention to me than he usually did or else I wouldn''t be able to go to the club room anymore.


    "Both of us woke up a little bit late today," Cillian answered under the pressure.


    "Did you take your fever medication?" Luke decided it couldn''t be helped.


    "Not yet," I didn''t want to sleep the rest of the day away as one of its side effects.


    "Let''s go to the infirmary," he wanted me to stop eating.


    "I''ll tell the teachers that you''ll be taking the day off tomorrow," he sent a message to them while dragging me out of my seat.


    It wasn''t bad to take the day off tomorrow. Since his intense study sessions were gone, I wouldn''t have to use the rest of the days afterwards to catch up on the class material. I followed him to the infirmary as he took out the medications and hooked me to the machines again. Attentively listening to the conversation between Luke and Cillian, I found him going through his list of instructions.


    "You have to wake Rika by 6AM or this will repeat again. Since some tests are coming up, she''ll also need to complete the workbooks I packed to pass them. Make sure to tell the teachers tomorrow that you''ll take care of everything she missed since she may not get the chance to eat again if her breaks are taken by them," Luke began to go through the pages he wrote.


    "Is there anything else?" Cillian gulped as he started to take them seriously.


    "You can''t ever take Rika outside the school. If you have to take her with you, make sure to heighten the security there. She''s been kidnapped before," he added.


    "Kidnapped?" Cillian was stunned.


    "You''ll have to keep a close eye on her," Luke emphasised.


    Cillian dumbfoundedly nodded his head as Luke left us to return to his dorm to continue working on the doc.u.ments again. He didn''t know how much Luke exaggerated the tiny details. My kidnappers were very nice people, more than most of the people in the school. I never finished the workbooks Luke packed for me within two weeks before since they were very thick. The only thing he was telling the truth about was waking me up in the morning around 6AM.


    Waking up to find two days has passed from all the side effects from the medications, I found Cillian about to enter the infirmary. Maybe we could go to the club room together today, I detached myself from all the machines to separate from the bed. There were only three more weekdays left until I would finally visit the new Monete hotel on the weekends.


    "Is everyone already inside the club room?" I wondered if I should just teleport there.


    "They are. Are you feeling a bit better now?" He appeared a little worried.


    "This is nothing. I already told you it happens often," I reminded him.


    "Let''s walk there together," he noticed me about to teleport there.


    "So how about going to the new Monete hotel on Saturday?" I suggested.


    "I''m not so sure," his mind has changed since Luke had mentioned I was kidnapped before.


    "It''s only for a few hours," I pulled out the most pitiful eyes.


    "I guess a few hours won''t matter," he opened the club room.


    This was how everyone in the room agreed to visit the new Monete hotel together. Stepping into a hover car with them, I started going through all the attractions together with them. Sienna was missing from this group since she was forced to study with Alex. Unfortunately, she didn''t pass one of his tests during their study sessions together. Meanwhile Delia chose to stay back since she was partnered with Luke.


    "We can go to the zoo first!" I was curious about the creatures in this district from all the books.


    I wore comfortable running shoes and loose sweater and sweatpants, making me feel free. There was no way anyone would associate me with the Roselia family anymore. I never touched the suitcase with all the dresses and accessories inside, abandoning them near the entryway. But everyone besides me chose to stick to their formal attire, brilliantly standing out from the crowd of people once we landed.


    "The zoo should be this way," Shelly took the map from the robot.


    "Let''s go!" I linked arms with her.


    "Excuse me, are you interested in show business?" Someone came up to us.


    "We''re not," Cillian blocked him from coming closer to us.


    "I was asking the girl with silver hair," he frowned.


    "Let''s go to the zoo," I ignored the strange person.


    "We will have to call security," Cillian opened his marble to make a report.


    "Grab her!" A person yelled at another person behind us.


    "Rika!" Shelly tightly grabbed onto my arm as I was being pulled away from her.


    "I got her," he tossed me over his shoulder.


    "We can go to our theatre now," he placed a blindfold over me.

 Chapter 442 - Show Business (4)

    "This place is amazing," I had a blindfold taken off me.


    I was inside a large theatre where spells and illusions were created for an upcoming play. Everyone was practicing the play, Rapunzel with its beautiful tower being slowly created by the artists. I had never seen a proper play in the first district before, being the ones to perform myself for evaluations in school instead. I could feel everyone''s passion as they shouted their lines with tons of emotion mixed inside.


    If it weren''t for the seats behind me, I would have thought I was inside another dimension again. The scenery constantly moved to replicate the realistic effects. This was nothing compared to the 4D movie theatre in the second district. I could feel the smell of flowers even though none were here. I wondered what they wanted from me as I turned to my kidnappers.


    "Are you interested in being Rapunzel?" One of them asked.


    "Is this why you took me here?" I wanted to confirm.


    "I have never seen anyone with your star potential. We knew you were held captive by those rich kids and wanted to free you," he pointed out my poor clothes.


    "So if I decline, you''ll just drop me off somewhere?" I found it strange.


    "We''ll drop you to wherever you want," he nodded his head.


    How were every one of my kidnappers so pure and nice? I always wanted to try being an actor, wanting to know how effective my acting was in front of regular people. Everyone in school were just too exceptional that my talent never shined. After I fulfilled my dreams from winning an award and becoming famous, I could escape from the Roselia family.


    "I want to be Rapunzel," my eyes glittered.


    One of the people in charge passed me the script. Flipping through everything I had to do, it was easy compared to how I had to memorize all the workbooks I went through in school. All the spells I had to perform were very simple as well, barely scratching the surface of my mana supply.


    "How much do I get paid for this?" I didn''t know if they would pay for my boarding and food.


    "One thousand Aris per day, depending on your performance," he gave out a better rate than I thought they would.


    "Can you give everything to me in a private banking account?" I couldn''t have Luke finding out.


    "Those rich kids control your bank accounts, don''t they?" He knew the small details.


    "How did you know?" I wondered if everyone knew.


    "One of my current actors here had a partner who bullied him the same way since she came from a wealthier family. She controlled his bank account with her friends and her friends kept him captive most times even without her since she gave them access," he frowned.


    "I hope he''s fine now," I pitied that person.


    "He''s one of our actors now after escaping from the financial control she had over him," he gestured to the one playing the prince.


    I stiffened when I noticed the one playing the prince was Ben. Why was he here? Wasn''t he supposed to be in university since he had graduated? I did think that story was too strange, not making much sense. I couldn''t believe other people easily bought his story.


    "I know that person," I gestured to where Ben stood.


    "Quinn, there''s someone who knows you here," he yelled at Ben.


    "Rika?" Ben was surprised to see me.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be at school?" He lowered his voice so only I could hear him.


    "I''m here to play Rapunzel after they took me here," I explained.


    "Why are you here?" I whispered.


    "I''m here for a mission. This place is an extremely dangerous place. I''ll try to sneak you out of here as soon as I can. Pretend you don''t know anything for now," he warned me.


    "When should I start practicing?" I yelled to the person who appeared to be the director.


    "You can rest for now, our next rehearsal is starting soon," he shouted back at me.


    "Would you like a drink?" The person who brought me here offered a can of soda.


    "My friend doesn''t feel thirsty," Ben swiped the can of soda from his hands.


    "She''ll also be staying with me in our apartment," he shot me a look to not drink anything here.


    "I''ll leave you two alone," he laughed.


    I scanned for anything dangerous in my surroundings. Sadly, this place just appeared like a normal theatre group since I couldn''t find anything out of place. Maybe I would find more clues in their apartment. I sighed since my day exploring the new Monete hotel was gone until I escaped from this place.


    "Let''s start the rehearsal!" The director shot me a glance to step into the stage.


    Holding onto the script, I read out everything I had memorized before Ben took over, "I want to leave this place. He keeps me captive here day and night. I want to be free from this cage."


    "I can''t free you yet. The tall walls prevent me from climbing over. I''ll invent something in the future to get to you," Ben yelled.


    "When will be the next time you visit me?" I screamed like my heart was being torn.


    "I''ll come to visit you tomorrow," Ben ran to exit the scene.


    I stiffened when I noticed someone unexpected in the scene in the tower with me. Only I was supposed to be inside the tower. I slowly turned to greet the person as the director yelled, "cut!"

 Chapter 443 - Show Business (5)

    "Pretend that you don''t see me," Alice whispered.


    I nodded my head as it made sense Alice would go on mission together with Ben. I didn''t think one of them would hide themselves while the other would be in the open. Before stepping down all the stairs, I started to scan my surroundings from another point of view. The top of the fake tower was an excellent place to find anything suspicious.


    While Alice stayed inside the tower, I found Ben waiting for me near the edge of the stage. Since it was already late after the rehearsal had ended, I wondered if they were about to take me to their apartments. Everybody began to pack their things with them and chatter about going to a decent diner together.


    "Rika is staying the night with me," Ben explained as I walked towards him.


    "Wait," the person who brought me here stopped him.


    "How can we trust you that you won''t do anything with her?" He blocked me from Ben.


    "We have known each other for a long time. She''s one of my relatives," Ben flawlessly lied.


    I nodded my head to agree with Ben. I didn''t want to follow the rest of them since Ben could use this chance to return me back to the Monete hotel. Although I couldn''t find anything dangerous about this place, the whole thing was strange from how they had kidnapped me here. I would also lose my chance to explore the rest of the attractions at the hotel if this dragged to Sunday.


    "You''ll have to bring her back tomorrow," he warned Ben.


    "I will," Ben didn''t lose against his studying gaze.


    Oddly, it seemed like the people here had some trust in Ben. I was soon escorted into a hover car with Ben to leave this place. I wondered how long he was inside this theatre group, seeing him familiar with most of the members.


    "Can you bring me to the new Monete hotel?" I didn''t want to go back to school.


    "Is that where they took you from?" He studied my expression.


    "Maybe," I looked away from him.


    "My partner for the next two weeks is Cillian. You can''t tell Luke. He doesn''t know," I explained the situation to him.


    "I''ll send the message to him then," Ben decided before our car shook.


    Tightly hanging onto its handles on the door, my body began to slip back and forth on the car seats even with a belt. I peeked to see what was happening outside to find a hover car behind us. I gasped as some people were attacking our car with some light wind spells. Ben noticed the same thing, immediately placing a barrier around us.


    "We''ll have to go to my apartment. They''re following us while being undercover," he punched some buttons to switch the location.


    "I think you''ll have to go to that rehearsal tomorrow until I can sneak you back into the school," he went over his plan.


    "But why did they choose me?" I wondered.


    "Your appearance stands out," Ben sighed.


    "You would''ve been less of a target if you wore your usual clothes. They wouldn''t have messed with someone from the Roselia family," he pointed out.


    "Was this why they left Shelly and Ellen alone?" I went through my memories.


    "Even they know not to mess with certain people," he nodded his head.


    Once the hover car landed near the balcony of his apartment floor, I jumped down. The other car that followed us has disappeared, finding nothing suspicious about us anymore. I slid his door open to find an ordinary flat that resembled Elise''s place. This was better than my club room since I could eat all the junk food I wanted.


    "Your place has everything," I liked how there were some headgears here.


    I sank into a bean chair, grabbing onto his tablet to determine what to order. I smiled as it has been a while since I ate some fatty noodles. There was also pizza, fries, and chicken wings on the menu. I dashed to the table once the robot finished making the food. Washing my hands with a water spell, I opened my mouth to take a big bite of the lovely pizza slice.


    "Is this how you got sick at your previous kidnapper''s house?" Ben recalled what happened during summer vacation.


    "I didn''t get sick from the food!" I started to eat quicker.


    "She''ll have to spit everything back out or she''ll start to get a fever," Alice revealed herself in the apartment.


    "Do you have some medication with you?" Ben turned to her.


    "I don''t," Alice shook her head.


    "I think we''ll have to do this the manual way," she looked at me in a new light.


    The manual way was to hit someone on their back until they threw everything up. Luke had done this before, making me unable to walk for the entire day from my sore back. How was I going to escape if they went with this method?


    "You''re not going to hit me, are you?" I became frightened by their eyes.

 Chapter 444 - Show Business (6)

    "I think she threw everything up," Ben pointed out the vomit on the ground.


    I could barely crawl on the ground from their merciless hits. I couldn''t feel my back anymore, the entire area numb. Alice started to clean the mess with a spell while the robots helped her. I knew I should have tried to run away when I noticed both of them staring at me at the same time. Giving up on trying to move, I chose to sleep on the ground.


    "I''ll move Rika to our bed," Ben lifted me.


    "Bring some porridge with you," Alice ordered an easily digestible meal on the tablet.


    "I need some cake," I squeezed out.


    "Or add lots of sugar into the porridge," I requested as I was being placed on the bed.


    "We don''t have sugar with us," he passed me the bowl.


    "I can''t eat this without sugar," I frowned.


    "At least try the porridge," Alice placed her hands on her h.i.p.s.


    I almost vomited on their bed from the nauseating smell coming from the bowl. Alice sighed as she managed to float the remains and throw it out in the washroom. Ben decided to add more sugar to the porridge before passing the bowl to me again. This time, I pleasantly received it in my hands from the light aroma coming from the adjustment.


    "How does Luke do this?" Ben sighed.


    "I think he always carries her medications around," Alice made sure I didn''t leave anything behind in the bowl.


    "Did you eat anything strange this morning?" She noticed the small rashes on my arm when my sleeves slightly pulled up.


    "Lucius did mention she had really s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e skin," Ben recalled.


    "I have a dress from when my older sister used this room," he opened the closet.


    "I can help tailor the dress," Alice found the size to be too big.


    "Can you leave it how it is?" I liked how loose it would be on me.


    "Let me take your sizes first," she pulled the blankets away.


    While Alice took my clothes off me to start measuring, she gasped, almost turning to Ben. I wondered if it was because of how I looked like fairies. Unfortunately, ever since Jason had taken my identity, I started to resemble them in other ways like the kinds of food I liked to eat.


    "Her arms and legs are extremely thin, even her waist," Alice''s jaw almost dropped.


    "I had to spend a few days at the infirmary this week," I explained how I wasn''t usually like this.


    "You need to make this dress half as small it already is," she worked on a spell.


    Once I fitted into the dress, I was satisfied with how loose it still was. Ben''s eyes widened as even though they tailored the dress smaller to make the size fit better, it still didn''t quite reach my size yet. I wondered if all the dresses that came from their families needed such a tight fit. I searched if the dress had a family crest stamped onto it, tethering around the decision if I should change back into my old clothes.


    "We can''t get rid of the crest," Ben noticed me searching for it.


    "I thought people couldn''t wear other family''s crest?" I remembered from being stunned at the second district.


    "Without the approval from the direct family heir or the family head," he explained.


    "Her waist is as small as an ant," Alice wiped some sweat when the dress touched my skin.


    "You don''t have to make the dress this tight," I found it no different from the usual dresses I wore.


    "I think I know why Luke puts her in these dresses," she ignored me.


    My reflection in the mirror was a beautiful doll with how closely the dress was fitted. Becoming a dress-up doll, Alice added some accessories on me as she started to admire her work. By the time she was finished, she couldn''t help but take a picture. This was just like how Luke''s family was like at their reunion together.


    "Can I change back into my original clothes now?" My back was aching more in these clothes.


    "They''re gone," Ben turned the other way.


    "I can''t possibly sleep like this," I pointed out.


    "I''ll tailor more clothes for her," her eyes sparkled as she went through the items in the closet.


    "Won''t they get suspicious tomorrow?" I gestured to all the sparkling jewels.


    "I can tell them it''s your costume for the play," Ben reminded me my role was a princess.


    "Are there more comfortable clothes in the closet?" I didn''t want to be stuck with the same dresses.


    "There''s a nightgown," Alice passed to me after readjusting the size.


    "Maybe a simpler piece of clothing?" I frowned at all the annoying frills and ribbons.


    All my pyjamas were relatively simple. It was part of my negotiation with Luke that I had control over the designs in what I wore when there wasn''t anyone other than us. I didn''t like any decorations in general while Luke liked to see me wearing clothing full of intrinsic designs.


    "We don''t have any," Ben joined Alice in choosing the accessories to match the nightgown.


    "I don''t need a flower headband!" I rejected it in disgust.


    "How about a light bracelet?" Alice slipped one onto my wrist.


    "Only the bracelets," I mumbled to give in when her eyes sparkled with expectation.

 Chapter 445 - Show Business (7)

    "You fit the role perfectly," the director admired the effort both Ben and Alice put in this morning.


    "Shouldn''t Rapunzel have poorer clothing since she''s held captive in a castle," I wanted more comfortable clothing.


    "No, the way you are is perfect. You''ll get more of the audience''s attention this way," he quickly threw out my concerns.


    My original clothes I wore let me blend into the crowd. I thought this place was supposed to be dangerous, where it would be better to be unnoticed. Everyone stared at me from my flashy appearance as I secretly blamed Ben who didn''t stop Alice. I wondered how everyone in the first district almost had the same hobbies.


    "She''s like a doll," an actress whispered.


    "Isn''t she a living doll?" an actor refuted.


    "To think her clothes would make this much of a difference," an artist stared at me.


    "Isn''t rehearsal starting soon?" I warned them to stop staring.


    "Rika is right, everyone should be in their positions," the director yelled at them.


    I smiled as I took my place in the tower again. I barely had any lines in the play when this character had the play named after her. All I had to do was to wait for my prince to come and scream how much I longed for his visits. The main story was around the prince''s struggle in how he tried to rescue the princess.


    Around twenty cameras flew in the air, trying to capture every angle whenever it was my turn to speak. I didn''t think how boring it would be to always stand inside the tower. My legs were starting to ache since there was no chair here. And I couldn''t do anything to distract myself since the tower was always in the line of sight even when I wasn''t doing anything to contribute to the story.


    "It''s time for a break!" The director finally yelled.


    I sighed in relief as I walked down the long set of stairs. Grabbing a lunch box handed to me, I was about to take a bite until Ben took it away from me. When I shot him an annoyed glance, I noticed he wasn''t eating the food as well. In fact, only I had gotten a lunch box while everyone else ate sandwiches. Why was I getting special treatment?


    "A princess like you can''t eat this," an actor teased me.


    "I bought this for you," an artist heavily blushed.


    Ben shook his head to disapprove as he passed me a sandwich. But the sandwich didn''t even look good, the sauce dripping into my hands. I decided I would fill myself up at his apartment again since I was used to binge eating. I was glad I ate a lot of salad for breakfast, which would help me in missing a meal. I wondered why they were eating such disgusting food when they had robots to cook them perfect meals.


    Going back into the tower once the break was over, I noticed a blind spot in the twenty cameras dedicated to filming me. This would be the perfect chance to go over the contract they offered me with all the employee benefits and work environment guidelines. My eyes widened when I noticed they only filmed and practiced for eight hours per day. This meant I would be free to go to Ben''s apartment soon.


    They got vacation packages to go to famous hotels and other districts. Healthcare was all covered as well as education expenses for their children. Meanwhile the pay was high with the potential to earn one quarter of a million Aris per year. How could they afford all of this? It didn''t appear they were a famous group since they only used one set to film the play. If this wasn''t a dangerous place, I would want to work here in the future with all their amazing terms.


    "Everyone can leave for the day now!" The director oddly only had two rehearsals today.


    Once I left the tower, I noticed the cameras that continued to film me. When I looked around if anyone else was being filmed, all of the cameras inside the room was trying to hide that they were focusing on me. I shuddered as I finally discovered something strange about this place.


    "This place is an amazing place," I pretended to be impressed with the contract in my hands.


    "As soon as you sign, we can give you the bank account to access your pay," a worker behind the scenes informed me.


    "I''ll talk to my guardian," I ran to Ben.


    "Let''s talk in the hover car," he noticed everyone trying to listen to our conversation, the room completely silent.


    "They made it so obvious," I found them to be bad actors.


    "We''ll talk in the apartment," Ben couldn''t trust the car.


    Entering the apartment, I turned to Ben to tell him about what I noticed. They have cleverly hidden the only suspicious thing about the stage since it naturally blended into the scene. Flopping onto the bean chair, I shared, "all the cameras are filming me. Even when it''s not my turn, they all focus in my direction."


    "I also noticed the same thing. I managed to extract the spell on the cameras," Alice joined us.


    "They''re criminals. This almost solves everything that has been going behind this theatre group and their success," her face scrunched in disgust.


    "What did you find?" I was curious why they were filming me.

 Chapter 446 - Show Business (8)

    "They''re trying to absorb your mana in huge amounts. The amount they tried to extract from you would kill a regular person within a few days," Alice trembled in anger.


    "I didn''t notice," I couldn''t find the spell behind the cameras.


    "That''s because you have a large supply of mana compared to other people," Ben searched for any abnormalities, scanning me with another spell.


    "They even drugged the lunch box and soda," he frowned.


    "I''m going to send you to school today. This is quickly escalating," he looked at Alice for her approval.


    "We should have taken the risks to take you there yesterday," Alice agreed with him.


    "I think they have a camera near your apartment," I could find a camera near their balcony since I knew what to search for now.


    "I can alter the spell and tracking," she started to chant.


    "I have a mansion near here. We''re going to teleport there and use the hover car from then on," Ben told me his plan.


    With a single blink, I found myself in the tower again. Ben stepped a few steps back, feeling fl.u.s.tered how his teleportation spell didn''t work. The entire room was dark since everyone had left the room. My ears perked up when I heard some voices below us. Ducking down to hide from them, I listened to their conversation.


    "This girl is different. The amount of mana we got from her doesn''t compare to the other girls," the person who had kidnapped me was pleased.


    "I think she can last for at least a week," the director laughed.


    "Did you dispose of the other girls?" The kidnapper found the issue to be annoying.


    "I''m still finding a place," the director lowered his voice.


    "It''s a pity this girl is the most beautiful person I have ever seen. She would have been a great actress for our group," he switched the topic.


    "Then we can dispose of her with the other girls or preserve her dead body," the kidnapper suggested.


    My eyes widened as I couldn''t believe the truth behind the scenes. Ben muffled my mouth to keep me from accidentally revealing our location when they talked about me. He didn''t dare to use teleportation again since it could bring us closer to them. Calming down once they left the room to leave for the day, the door slammed to closed, automatically locking behind them. Meanwhile, most of the cameras weren''t turned off as Ben and I were in their blind spots from him quickly noticing.


    "The cameras don''t record the sound," he revealed.


    "I know a passageway out of here. We''ll have to take their underground route," Ben showed me a detailed map from this place.


    "You have to carefully follow me Rika since I''ll be walking in the blind spots," he chose to jump through the window instead of taking the stairs.


    I took a deep breath to follow him as the large tower was able to hide us from the cameras. My foot stepped to the precise location he took a step like it was a dance. When he pulled off the mat on the ground under one of the seats, it revealed a long staircase spiraling down. I gulped as I covered the mat above me to hide our tracks.


    "Are we free from the cameras now?" I hated the never-ending stairs.


    "There are still cameras here," Ben didn''t take a break.


    "I don''t think I can continue," my knees were wobbling from the lack of stamina.


    I never had to go through the number of stairs when climbing to the first district from the second district like I did right now. We ended up using teleportation in the middle, making great progress. Ben gestured to me to jump into his arms as he knew from my condition that I wouldn''t be able to continue to follow him. I nodded my head before he managed to catch me while avoiding the line of sight from the cameras.


    "This place is their hideout. Some of them live in this passageway," he decided to give me some information along the way.


    "Then wouldn''t it have been better to leave through the front door?" I wondered.


    "I saw what they did to the last people who did," Ben shook his head.


    "So we''re using this way to go to your mansion?" I found it inefficient.


    "Once we leave the stairs, we''re going back to the surface," he started to show how he was getting exhausted.


    "Can''t you jump down the stairs?" I was getting bored.


    "It''ll show on the cameras," he sighed.


    I yawned as I decided to use this time to catch up on some sleep. Maybe I was too used to being kidnapped to some place or becoming the target. My sense of danger decreased as I was calm while analyzing the situation in front of me. Closing my eyes to take a brief nap, the next time I opened my eyes, I found us drowned inside the sunlight coming from the sky.


    "We''re not at the surface yet," Ben whispered.


    "Still?" I couldn''t believe him.


    "They''re part of a larger organization," he explained.


    "How much time has passed?" I found it strange how the sunlight was this bright during the evening.


    "It''s the morning of the next day," he watched out for anyone who could be walking towards us.


    "The morning?" I didn''t think I would sleep that long.

 Chapter 447 - Show Business (9)

    "Only one more step and we''ll be out of here," Ben panted to catch his breath.


    "You mean we have to climb that ladder?" I noticed the only way out.


    "Do you have the energy to climb on your own?" He appeared like he would faint soon.


    "I think I do," I nodded my head.


    "You climb first," He dashed to the front of the ladder.


    I never thought my experience in escaping the dorm room in the middle of the night would help me in these kinds of situations. I swiftly climbed the ladder, skipping some bars since it was easier than using a rope. But I forgot how long I would have to climb for with Ben suffering going down the never-ending staircase on his own while I slept. My arms were getting numb as my grip loosened as I grabbed onto a new bar.


    Pushing more mana to help me, I gritted my teeth to continue climbing. There had to be a better way to escape the underground pathway. Could I get a better map from the dimensional library? It would expend most of my mana in exchange, meaning I could die after the cameras targeted me to extract more mana.


    "I don''t think I''ll be able to climb anymore," I felt my hand slipping on one of the bars.


    "Wait for me to catch up to you," Ben grunted.


    "Well, I didn''t think I would find our precious new members here," someone below us chuckled.


    Ben quickly hugged my waist from below to teleport somewhere else in hopes it would work. I punched the floors of his apartment as we were at the same place as before. Alice frowned as she noticed how exhausted both of us were.


    "They know we know about the passage. We can''t teleport out of here. We have to physically leave this place," he warned Alice to abandon the mission.


    "How was it like down there?" Alice closed the curtains.


    "It''s much bigger than what''s on the map. The map isn''t accurate. They have patrols and cameras everywhere. We need to report everything we''ve discovered and get more support," he ordered some food on the tablet.


    "Eat Rika, I can''t carry you all the time," Ben passed me some plates of food.


    "I need some cakes," I grabbed the tablet from him.


    "You need some balanced meals," Alice took the tablet away from me.


    I puffed my cheeks as I poured some sugar into the yogurt, salad and soup. It was a pain adding more adjustments to the food when cake could be immediately eaten. I stopped eating after taking around three bites from each of the small plates. This was already more than I usually ate for breakfast.


    "No wonder she''s so thin," Alice disposed of the remaining food.


    "How are we going to escape?" I wanted to know their plan.


    "We''ll have to take a hover car back to your school," she told me her line of thinking.


    "How about a hover bus?" I knew the criminals would want to stay hidden from the general public.


    "We can take a hover bus to my mansion and use the teleportation gate near a secure area to your school. From there, we can take a hover car," Ben implemented all our ideas.


    This was how I was covered under a long cloak as I entered the hover bus full of people. It was my first time to be surrounded by a crowd of regular people. I found most of them to be students taking the bus to school. Thankfully, none of the theater members appeared in any of the stops. I guessed they predicted us to use the hover car instead. After transferring onto many hover busses, I found myself in front of Ben''s family mansion.


    "You don''t have an identification tag with you, do you?" Ben turned to me once I entered his mansion.


    "I think I left mine with Cillian," I recalled.


    "Then we''ll have to take my family''s hover car to have the school let you in," he abandoned using his teleportation gate.


    "I''ll tailor some of our sister''s old clothes," Alice ran to his sister''s room.


    "Can''t we teleport with your family''s hover car into the gate?" I didn''t want to run into the criminals again.


    "I can check how much mana it has charged," he didn''t think it was a bad idea.


    While Alice pushed me to change into the outfit that she arranged for me, I sighed, not wanting to leave his safe mansion surrounded by tough barriers. I turned to let Alice take more pictures of me, wondering if there weren''t better clothes in his sister''s closet. Why did everyone like to put me in dresses instead of comfortable pairs of pants or loose shirts?


    "I pushed the hover car into the teleportation gate," Ben wiped some sweat from his forehead.

 Chapter 448 - Show Business (10)

    Their hover car started to crash towards the ground as Alice chanted a lightning bolt spell, dashing down from the sky. I admired her precise aim as I watched everyone trying to escape. While our hover car sped towards the school, I opened the window to place my arm outside the window. To make sure they wouldn''t be able to recover from her spell, I chanted a big explosion spell, "nuclear bomb!"


    "Get into another car," the director noticed the spell about to activate as he yelled at them.


    I gasped as I couldn''t believe they had some backup behind them, a total of five cars they escaped into once the other hover car fell. Targeting my hand at another one of the cars, I repeated my explosion spells before quickly covering my ears once the spell activated. I smiled in victory once two of the cars exploded together from the aftereffects. This was why I liked using nuclear bombs no matter how destructive they were to the rest of their surroundings.


    "They''re trying to crash into us," Alice turned the steering wheel.


    I tightly grabbed onto Ben as the car began to spin from Alice''s crazy driving, flying upside down sometimes. Ben closed the windows as my head was getting dizzy from the other three cars trying to attack us. Closing my eyes to help me find some sense of balance, I felt like vomiting from my stomach flopping up and down. Being distracted from the driving, I didn''t notice Ben chanting a few long-distance spells as I heard some screams flowing into my ear.


    "Only one more car after us!" Alice smiled.


    "We should rush into the school," Ben took over in driving the car.


    "There''s an explosion spell after us!" I yelled when we were almost above the school.


    Ben immediately opened the door as the school gates of the middle school section widely opened from noticing the Nuelle family''s crest on the car. Hugging me in his arms, he jumped down with Alice as the car exploded in the air. Pieces of the car bounced off the school barrier as only we were allowed inside. A crowd quickly gathered below us as we were still in the air. Raising my arms towards the car that attacked us, I chanted to destroy them, "whirlpool."


    "It won''t do much with their barrier," Alice prepared a spell of her own.


    My whirlpool twisted and drilled to shatter their barrier. I smiled when I managed to crash their car in the ground as the theatre members jumped out of the car. Alice didn''t know how much mana I placed into the spell, flooding the entire area outside the school. She watched the spell continuing to torture the members as they struggled to swim.


    "You improved your whirlpool," she complimented me.


    "I had some accidents along the way," I recalled I had angered three clubs in the process.


    With Ben landing on the ground with Alice, the crowd knew they came from the Nuelle family with the crests stamped onto all our clothes. Unfortunately, everyone I knew was inside the crowd as I looked away from them, tightly clinging onto Ben''s neck when I noticed Luke. The chattering increased as most people wondered why they were here when they had already graduated.


    "Who''s the girl in the arms of the heir of the Nuelle family?" someone whispered.


    "She has to be from their family. She''s wearing their family crest," another person pointed out my dress.


    "But I don''t recall anyone who''s still in our school from the direct line of the Nuelle family," a person disagreed.


    "Is Luke still there?" I whispered into Ben''s ear.


    "He is," he gulped.


    "Does he know it''s me?" My arms trembled.


    "He does," Ben waited for the teachers to come.


    "Can you let us know what has happened?" Daniel ran up to them.


    "We''re here to return a student while apologizing for the mess outside the school," He explained the situation.


    "And would like a safe passage back," Alice wanted to use their teleportation gates.


    "Rika?" Daniel didn''t seem too surprised.


    "Yea?" I decided to remain ignorant.


    Once Ben let me down, I brushed off my dress and accessories, unfortunately all stamped with the Nuelle family crest. I couldn''t just pull them out of my hair to hand it back to them. Maybe I would neatly give them the clothes and accessories once I got the chance to meet them again. Their crest was the cause of everyone curiously gathering around us, making me stand out. I longed for my cheap clothes as it would blend into the background easily.


    "Nevermind," Daniel knew how I wasn''t going to reveal everything here.


    "Just visit my office tomorrow morning," he sighed.


    "You two are free to use our teleportation gates," he turned to Ben and Alice.


    This was my chance to quickly sprint to my dorm room to avoid everyone here. I wanted to change out of these clothes into my uniform since it was a weekday. However, the crowd blocked me from going anywhere as I decided to crawl my way out. Carefully lowering myself to avoid where Luke was, I crawled on the ground between all their shoes. I smiled as no one noticed since none of them thought of anyone escaping them through this way.


    "Rika?" Someone pulled my arm while I was almost out of the crowd.

 Chapter 449 - Author (1)

    "How?" I could swear he was in the opposite end of the crowd a minute ago.


    "Let''s go to our dorm room together," Luke silently dragged me as Cillian ran to follow him.


    Meanwhile the rest of the people in the crowd continued to look for the person who had suddenly disappeared from them. Finding Alex already inside my old dorm room, I sighed as Luke locked the door behind him. Cillian sat down on the couch as Luke urged me to sit down beside him. I reluctantly took a seat as I waited for him to start his lecture.


    "What happened?" Luke turned to Cillian first, knowing I wouldn''t give the full story.


    "I took Rika with me to the new Monete family hotel. Before we could go to the zoo, she was kidnapped," Cillian trembled as he confessed.


    "What happened afterwards?" Luke wanted to know how I met up with Ben.


    "The place I was kidnapped was where Ben and Alice were placed on a mission. We used the hover car to escape to the school, jumping down from our car exploding," I skipped the tiny details in between, feeling lazy to explain everything.


    "We saw the jumping down part," Alex joined us at the couches.


    "What happened in between?" Luke wanted the details.


    "They had to abandon the mission to get more support. So we tried to escape from them together," I summarized everything.


    "Abandon the mission?" Cillian shivered from knowing how dangerous it had to be to abort it.


    "Yea something about how we got discovered when using the underground passageway created by the criminals to escape from them. They also made sure we couldn''t teleport our way out by messing with the path," I shrugged.


    "They had no choice but to abandon their mission. They were in the most dangerous section of the first district," Alex mumbled.


    "And this is why you should never let Rika out of the school," Luke raised his voice at Cillian.


    "You know just drugging my food and whatnot and using a spell to extract my mana from me," I calmly went through my memories, finding it not that serious.


    Everyone froze as both Luke and Alex slowly turned to Cillian again. Personally, I thought it was better than dealing with s-class monsters while Ailes was still alive. Although they couldn''t be reasoned with, the escaping part wasn''t as hard as what I went through in other dangerous events in the past. As long as you knew the blind spots in the cameras, you were mostly safe.


    "When they figured out about the spell, we decided to escape together since the danger was escalating," I didn''t think much about it.


    I was mostly sleeping during the time Ben was carrying me in the underground passage anyways. Maybe I was recovering from my sore back from the day before. I still couldn''t touch my back, feeling the throbbing pain that remained. This was why I hated those tight dresses I wanted to change out of.


    "We should return back to our dorm room," I turned to Cillian.


    "Stay Rika," Luke warned me.


    "There''s a reason why I don''t take Rika with me outside the school unless the location is extremely safe. I told you that she has been kidnapped before and I find she has been inside a criminal syndicate?" He couldn''t believe his own words towards the end of the sentence.


    "I''m extremely sorry. I don''t know how I can apologize to you," Cillian couldn''t directly face Luke.


    "How much mana did they extort from you?" Luke faced me.


    "Maybe about the amount they would kill a normal person within a few days?" I recalled, grateful my mana supply recovered fast.


    "They''re still working on where to dispose of the bodies of the past victims!" I showed how they didn''t burn other people''s bodies like the fifth district.


    "She doesn''t even know how much danger she was in," Alex grumbled.


    "We''re going to the infirmary again after I sort the rest of the situation with Cillian," Luke pulled out a contract.


    I stiffened, not predicting Luke would make him sign something. Cillian didn''t know how carefully he would have to read the terms. He looked like he was willing to do anything to get Luke to forgive him. And if I interfered, it would become likely that I would become a goner too. I g.r.o.a.n.e.d when he signed the contract, not reading any of the pages.


    "Wait, can I change first?" I pointed out my flashy clothes before he could drag me to the infirmary.


    Luke passed me one of my simple nightgowns as I went into my old bedroom to change. I wondered where Delia was since she was supposed to be paired with Luke this week. I flopped onto my bed to stall some time since I didn''t want to go to the infirmary again. Of course, Luke dragged me out of the bedroom all the way to the infirmary. I looked at Cillian in disappointment, following Luke like his loyal pet.


    "It really wasn''t that bad," I had Ben suffer in my place.


    "They drugged your food and drained your mana out of you," Luke started to look at the results from the machines.


    "Thankfully, you won''t have to stay at the infirmary for the night," he sighed in relief.


    "I told you it wasn''t much," I found them overexaggerating things.


    "Are you serious Rika?" Luke almost yelled.

 Chapter 450 - Author (2) - Delias POV

    "Can I come in?" Luke knocked on my bedroom door.


    "You can," I allowed him to come while relaxing on my bed.


    "I''m just packing some of Rika''s uniforms with me," he sent me an apologetic glance.


    Luke opened the lower drawers of Rika''s closet. Only an eighth of Rika''s closet was empty since she didn''t choose to take most of her belongings with her. I didn''t mind as I only took less than half of my things with me to her room since I would be staying here for two weeks. I couldn''t stop staring at the different sizes of uniforms Luke pulled out. Some sizes were extremely small, better to fit an elementary student while others were a bit bigger.


    "Is this all Rika''s?" I couldn''t believe she would be able to fit into all these different sizes.


    "They are," Luke closed the drawer to open a cabinet beside the closet.


    Inside the cabinet were many accessories I had seen Rika wear on an everyday basis. She had always grumbled how she didn''t want to wear them. Taking a closer look, I noticed most of these accessories were spelled. Luke recharged some of the mana crystals to make the spells stronger before he packed them into a case. I didn''t think all her accessories would be priceless, costing an entire fortune with the variety of designs.


    I only possessed a few numbers of accessories that had spells on them. My family could never afford to buy me more since each of them were sold through the highest bids made by the finest craftspeople. Most of my accessories were ordinary exquisite jewels, and I thought hers would be the same. This reminded me of the extraordinary amount of wealth the topmost powerful families in the first district possessed.


    "I''ll go to the infirmary with you," I lightly stepped out of my bed.


    Following Luke to the infirmary, I found Cillian watching over Rika while she slept on the bed. Not wasting any time, Luke began to explain to him, "this uniform is for when she wakes up tomorrow. I already ordered them in the sequence of days since the ones Rika packed won''t fit her anymore."


    "Will she even fit in them?" Cillian looked at the one with the smallest size.


    "It may be a little loose on her. Put a sweater on her if the shirt doesn''t quite fit her. There''s also a belt," Luke pointed out how to arrange her uniform tomorrow.


    Cillian was stunned like I was, not believing such a small size would be loose on her. He accepted the clothes and placed the case next to him on the ground. Luke opened another case with all the accessories he recently packed inside. Cillian''s eyes widened at all the precious accessories that could be worth as much as one of his family villas.


    "You have to put at least three bracelets and a ring on her each day. The bracelets will help her focus better in class and the ring will make it easier for her to control her mana," Luke went through each one.


    "The headbands or clips will help with her fatigue and low stamina. You can choose either ones since Rika doesn''t like any of them anyways," he passed the case to Cillian.


    The next day, I found Rika happily smiling while using the headgear in the club room. I was curious if she was able to fit in such a small uniform. There was nothing off about her like she never had a fever in the first place. But Cillian looked a bit exhausted as he chose to watch over her instead of playing any games as usual.


    "Did she fit in that size?" I whispered in his ear.


    "It didn''t fit her. It was way too loose. That''s why she has that sweater on," he pointed out.


    "If it wasn''t for that sweater, it wouldn''t cover how the shirt was eating her up. Her skirt wouldn''t stay in place without the belt too," he pitied Luke.


    "How?" I couldn''t believe his words.


    "Luke arranges her outfits so he can cover as much of her lost weight as possible. When I sent him a message about it, he replied that she can wear the same size for another two days," he sighed.


    I was stunned since I didn''t realize she was switching sizes all this time. She looked so natural in them, nicely fitting in every one of the different sizes. Walking back into my new dorm after using the club room, I found Luke still working with Alex on the given fraction work. I didn''t know how he was managing his time while studying for his tests and taking care of Rika. A few days later, we received a grand number of points from his perfect scores. Did he even rest?


    During the weekend, I chose to stay behind to console Sia since she was stuck with Alex. Spending my time using the headgears, I wondered how everyone was doing at the new Monete hotel. This was when I got a video call from Cillian, answering his call, he appeared extremely fl.u.s.tered.


    "Rika got kidnapped," he immediately blurted.


    "What?" I almost yelled.


    "We can''t track her. She was taken before we could go to the zoo," Cillian trembled.


    "Does Luke know?" I feared for him.


    "I''m going to die if I don''t find her soon!" He wanted me to help hide this.

 Chapter 451 - Author (3) - Delias POV

    "Maybe I should send a message to Cillian to check up on her," Luke typed a message.


    "Rika is probably fine," Alex tried to reassure him.


    I couldn''t look at their faces since I was helping Cillian hide that she was kidnapped a half an hour ago. Both of them didn''t know how the others took her out of school. Closing my bedroom door, I needed a plan to prevent Luke from figuring out. He was close to confining Rika to her dorm room after she got a burning fever last time.


    "You''re right. As long as they didn''t take her out of school, it should be fine," Luke switched the topic back to their fraction work.


    Making sure to put a soundproof barrier on my room, I decided to check up on their progress. Unfortunately, the next place I found them was inside the hover car going back to school. Cillian wasn''t the type to give up unless it was hopeless. This was more serious than I thought it would be. We had to find her before the weekends finished since the teachers would figure out.


    "We tried everything," Michelle was almost in tears.


    "How did we know she would be the only one to get kidnapped?" Henry still didn''t believe their current situation.


    "Tell me everything that happened again," I waited for them to explain.


    I wondered if it was just extremely bad luck. Cillian was more worried since it wasn''t the first time Rika had gotten kidnapped and Luke had warned him about it. Finding Ellen to be the only sane person in the car, she calmly explained how Rika was taken from two a.d.u.l.t males who asked her about show business. She was taken by them who took her by force and shoved her into a hover car before any of them could react.


    "So you don''t think you can find her," I got the final answer.


    "They walked in all the blind spots and the signal in her marble is gone," Cillian was pressured with most of the burden as her partner.


    "If she stays missing during the weekday, we can tell the teachers that she got sick again," I knew Rika wouldn''t want Luke to figure out about her kidnapping like we did.


    On an early Monday morning, I teleported to the club room, finding everyone already gathered together. We had failed to find any traces of her like she had disappeared from this world. Cillian appeared like he hadn''t gotten any sleep while he dizzily responded to Luke''s messages to check up on her. I made sure to help Luke with the neutral fraction work while he didn''t hesitate to accept my offer. This was how Luke never went out of our dorm room during the weekends other than to eat with me.


    "It would have taken me a lot more time to finish them on my own," Luke thanked me.


    "I''m used to doing them with Henry," I smiled back.


    "Why do you hang out with Rika anyways?" Alex had a better impression of me.


    "She introduces me to a lot of new things," I liked how she didn''t bring politics into everything like other people did with me.


    "She does," Alex didn''t finish his sentence.


    Both Alex and Luke were very polite when I helped them with their work. Thanking me multiple times, they didn''t ever take my help for granted. They also gave me plenty of room to relax, trying not to bother me as much as possible. Unlike Henry, Luke greeted me every morning, asking if he could possibly offer me some help, making sure everything was comfortable. He was the perfect partner, respecting my boundaries while subtly taking care of the tiny details.


    When I accidentally missed an important part in the lecture, he shifted his detailed notes to me so I could catch up instead of asking the teacher during the break. Luke also made sure my horrible classmates wouldn''t treat me as usual, intercepting all their comments when they tried to pressure my fraction. Seeing how they couldn''t do anything with Luke covering for me, my cruel classmates quickly gave up and didn''t bother me beyond our first day together.


    Michelle was right. Luke was only strict towards Rika and she was missing now. Cillian started to panic, "What if Luke finds out she''s not in the infirmary?"


    "Rika has skipped classes before during her first year while partnering with Alan," Michelle reminded us of the rumors.


    "But he''s going to check our dorm room," he shook his head.


    "I''ll make sure he won''t know for today," I sighed.


    The emergency meeting was disjoint as I quickly teleported back to my bedroom. After quickly getting ready for school, I found Luke waiting for me to walk to the cafeteria together to eat breakfast. I cautiously watched him chattering with Alex while he didn''t look for Rika. Maybe he thought she was sleeping in again. The day quickly flew by as I spent my breaks with him to help with more of the fraction work with Alex.


    While walking with him to our dorm room after all the classes finished, my eyes widened as I noticed someone jumping out of a hover car far above the school barrier. When I squinted my eyes, I was surprised to find the Nuelle family crest on the hover car before it exploded. I ran closer to where they would land with the rest of the people who were curious what was happening. I gasped when I discovered Ben was the one looking for a safe landing while holding a girl in his arms. Having Alice beside him, the girl wearing the Nuelle family crest was a mystery.


    "Rika," Luke whispered beside me.

 Chapter 452 - Author (4) - Cillians POV

    Inside the large crowd, I watched a girl trying to hide her face with her brilliant silver hair. She tightly hugged Ben around his neck, sinking her face into his c.h.e.s.t. I didn''t remember Ben having a younger sibling, treating the girl like he was extremely close to her. Wearing the Nuelle family crest from her accessories to her dazzling dress, everyone was curious about the mysterious girl.


    "Rika," Luke whispered beside Delia.


    I froze when Luke was right. When Rika lifted her face to whisper something into Ben''s ears, I could immediately recognize her. She was a bit skinnier than the first day she was discharged from the infirmary. Back then, I numbly listened to Luke when he passed me all the different sizes of her uniform for her to wear.


    When he showed me the smallest size, I doubted she could even fit in them. Sometimes I helped Sienna order some clothes for social week. Although Sienna had a smaller frame than others, she wouldn''t be able to fit into the uniform Luke passed to me. Only elementary schoolers could wear this uniform.


    This was why the next morning, I handed Rika one of the bigger sizes. But the shirt swallowed her like she was wearing her older sister''s clothes, showing her thin wrists that looked so delicate that it would snap from the slightest touch. Rika frowned as I decided to listen to Luke, passing her the smallest size. When Rika finished changing again, I was shocked since even the smallest size didn''t fit her, her bony arms between the large sleeves.


    I gave her a thick sweater that Luke told me to make her wear and the smallest belt I could find inside the suitcases. While helping Rika get ready for school, I realized that Luke dressed her in a certain way to hide how skinny she was. All the dresses she wore outside of her uniform fitted her very tightly, not showing her lost weight. She never wore blouses or skirts since her size was changing all the time.


    Since her legs didn''t match the upper part of her body, I passed her some thick t.h.i.g.h-high socks from Luke''s advice. Even her shoe size changed when she came back from the infirmary, finding an array of different sizes laid out in front of me. How did Luke keep track of this every single day? Opening a case full of accessories for me to pick, my eyes were blinded by all the money that was used to purchase each individual item.


    "Can we skip the accessories?" Rika seemed to take them for granted.


    Choosing the smallest bracelets and rings, I slipped them onto Rika as she started to get annoyed. She looked like she was used to this as I brushed her silky hair to add some hair clips inside. The only thing left was to pass her a supplement to drink before walking to the cafeteria with her. Taking a glance at the label, the supplements that Luke had packed weren''t cheaper than her accessories. It was better than what was provided inside the school infirmary.


    This product was widely known to be able to help with almost any disease or illness. How sick was she that she would need to drink them every morning? Wanting to get it over with, she chugged the supplement, leaving the bottle still a half full. Luke had told me that she usually never finished the drinks. Since it was too precious to throw away, I decided to put it into my inventory as I followed her to the cafeteria.


    It was my first-time eating breakfast with her since she usually ate with Luke. Once she ordered some salad with cake not available in the mornings, she only ended up eating two bites at most. This wasn''t a meal. It was worse than a snack. It was no wonder she needed to wear all those spells to help focus in class. Throwing the rest of the small plate into the compost, she walked to class with me.


    After negotiating with the teachers that I would help her catchup, they didn''t bother her during class anymore. I could tell she wasn''t fully listening to the lessons, choosing to watch what was happening outside the window. It made sense she had to do those study sessions with Luke to not fall behind when exams were coming up. The workbooks Luke packed for her weren''t normal as well.


    It went through all the basics before going to the actual level of questions going to be on the exam. This was double the work, making the workbooks much thicker than the ones provided from the school. There was a note on each section to have Rika finish a certain chapter by the dates provided and some tips in helping her understand the material better. I was stunned by the time and effort Luke dedicated to Rika.


    "What are we going to do?" I couldn''t find any traces of her through the cameras.


    "We should ask everyone around us," Michelle ran to the witnesses.


    "Rika is going to be fine, it''s not the first time this has happened," Helena tried to console us.


    "Are you even her friend? There''s no way she''ll be fine," Henry yelled at her.


    "All we can do is trust in her that she''ll be able to escape," Helena shrank a bit under him.


    "I never liked her from the start. She''s not even helping us," Henry grumbled as he ran around with me to search for more clues.

 Chapter 453 - Author (5) - Cillians POV

    "One of us needs to stay at the entrance in case they may come back here again," I knew the role she decided to take.


    "If she wasn''t Rika''s friend, I wouldn''t even talk to her. She always tries to bother us when Rika isn''t around," Henry complained while we went through the footage again.


    I sighed as Henry never liked Helena since this whole club operation started. I didn''t like Helena too, agreeing that she changed when Rika wasn''t here. I understood that her family was declining, and she had a great burden from it. This was why she frequently asked us if our families had some outstanding projects and was searching for anyone to collaborate with us. However, she never asked when Rika was around, knowing Rika hated anything related to fractions. She quickly switched to forget about her family situation as she enjoyed her time with her friend.


    At first, none of us minded. We nodded our heads and listened to her to lend her some help. She took most of the roles none of us wanted and tried to take care of us when she could. But as her requests increased, we felt like we were taken advantage by her. Most of her care became a burden since she expected something in return. Running into Alan one day when it was my turn as the lookout, I found him with a few of his cousins.


    "Why do you even listen to her?" One of his cousins asked him.


    "We grew up together. Maybe her family will recover soon," Allan explained.


    "I don''t know why you''re not taking this chance. Instead of complaining to us how she orders you to do this and that when you''re alone with her, you can exert your power over her," One of them pointed out.


    "What if her family really does recover?" Allan threw their suggestions away.


    "Do you think her family will ever recover from that?" His cousins laughed.


    When Luke began to move to another place with Alex, I silently followed them, trying to forget about the conversation I had heard. I didn''t have the right to dig into what was going on in other people''s households. But I didn''t pity Helena since she expected too much from us, more than what we could ever give her. Michelle, one of Rika''s other friends, wasn''t like this. She liked going with the flow, enjoying whatever Rika came up with.


    Rika was a good friend. This was why many people liked to be with her. We quickly accepted her as our friend after she abruptly joined the neutral fraction from Ben''s invitation. When Sienna was angry with something, she got angry with her. Around her, we didn''t have to hide any of our emotions or put on a mask. Oliver and Ethan, coming from another fraction were the same. I remembered being wary around them with Sienna during social week, but around Rika, they were quirkier than I thought they would be.


    They were easier to talk to than Luke, who was Rika''s partner. Luke almost had the exact opposite personality from Rika. Attending all our fraction meetings without Rika, he seamlessly blended in with us as if he was a long-time member. Reporting back the work he has done for us, our fraction leader became impressed by him and assigned him more work than us. Not once did he complain how he was almost getting as much work as our leader. Instead, he smiled while thanking them for giving him the opportunity to contribute more to our fraction.


    But I knew this was a part of his flawless mask that only came down in front of his family members. None of my other fraction members knew how he was doing all this work for Rika. He wanted to maintain a good relationship with us so we would help him whenever his main fraction had trouble in covering for Rika. This was why I was a bit taken aback when his mask finally cracked, yelling at us when Rika got a fever. His hands trembled, blaming himself for not watching her enough as her condition barely improved from all the medications that he put in.


    Luke sent me many messages once I was partnered with Rika. Making sure to go over the tiniest details after she woke up from another fever. Whenever I asked him a question regarding Rika, I would always get a response within the next second. Trembling in fear when Luke noticed her in Ben''s arms, I knew he was never going to let me go for this.


    Noticing Luke swiftly going through the crowd, he couldn''t be seen until he grabbed Rika''s arm when she tried to escape by crawling on the ground. I ran to follow them as it was evident that he knew something was happening behind his back. It was better to directly explain everything before he took measures on his own. Under his scrutinizing eyes, I couldn''t help but confess as he filled me with guilt, "I took Rika with me to the new Monete family hotel. Before we could go to the zoo, she was kidnapped."


    Both Alex and Luke coldly turned to me, not hiding their disappointment and anger, blaming me for everything at the same time. The atmosphere got even stiffer as Rika explained what had happened. She took the extreme danger very lightly, trying to shrug their worries off.

 Chapter 454 - Author (6)

    "I''m bored," I finished all the games in the room.


    After signing a contract with Luke, Cillian strictly followed all his instructions. Although I had free access to the club room, I couldn''t go anywhere else. I never thought I would get sick of playing games. Spending days inside the club room with the time-space function for each break, it didn''t feel so satisfying anymore in leveling up. I wanted to move on to do something else.


    "How about we go outside for this upcoming weekend?" I suggested.


    "Didn''t you get kidnapped last time?" Ethan heard from the rest of them.


    "It wasn''t that bad. Compared to dealing with monsters and fairies, it''s nothing," I shrugged.


    "Do you know what Luke did after you were taken away from him?" Ethan shuddered.


    "And who was the one that made Ella kill everyone?" I warned him to stop.


    Ethan went silent, knowing his sentence was the trigger leading to a few people''s tragic death. Luke probably mixed in a lecture and some threats like what he usually did to me. Most people didn''t know how scary it was when he poked all of your weaknesses. Knowing that Cillian wouldn''t be able to do anything that made the penalties come in, I wanted to look through the contract myself.


    "Can you give me the contract?" I wanted to look for some loopholes.


    "There''s no loopholes," Cillian passed me the contract.


    I skimmed through the hundreds of pages, knowing where the important parts were. I was used to these kinds of contracts, another way Luke tried to negotiate with me. The best thing was not signing in general, but sometimes you had no choice. I knew Ethan had signed one with Luke as he tried to hide how his hands were shaking around him. I only signed a contract with him once, not wanting to have more of my freedom restricted by the hidden terms.


    "There''s a loophole," I smiled.


    "I can go outside if you don''t know about it. And only when you figure out, you have to report to him," I pointed to the line.


    "Luke is going to kill you if that happens," Ethan warned Cillian.


    "Is one of the terms inside the contract trying to prevent this from happening?" I guessed.


    Ethan didn''t answer me, meaning that my guess was on the mark. Maybe I would make plans with the others to visit my secret hideout. Who would try to break in another person''s house? It was a safer location than the hotel. I could even transfer more of my things to make more room in the place provided by Charles'' fraction.


    "I can just not tell you anything and go out of the school with Shelly and Ellen," I knew Delia would be busy covering for us while Sienna was watching over Alex.


    "I have to send him a message, letting him know when you''re thinking of going out of the school," Cillian shot me an apologetic look.


    "I''m always thinking of going out of the school," I sighed.


    "That''s why I have to send him a message whenever you tell me about it," he sent a message to Luke.


    "Forget it," I could always go out when I was partnered with Henry.


    "What?" I walked into the camera''s line of sight.


    "You already know about my bucket list," I blurted before he could say anything.


    "How are you still thinking of going outside?" Luke pointed out only two days has passed since I came back from a kidnapping.


    "Can''t you end the call?" I turned to Cillian.


    "I''ll make sure she won''t leave the school," Cillian tried to assure Luke.


    Ending the call, I became even more depressed. I was bored of staying in school all the time. With both Ethan and Cillian looking over me with the contract they signed, there was no way I could escape Luke. I decided to go through more of the artifacts on the shelves, trying to look if there were more interesting things. Pulling out an interesting book from the third district, I skimmed through the pages.


    My eyes sparkled when I found the next best thing to do. Maybe I would graduate from being just a fan into a creator. I could write my own light novel and somehow share it with the school to get more funding to hire an artist to create a manga version of it. From then, my manga version could become popular enough to turn into an anime! With enough money and fame, I could eventually escape from the Roselia family.


    "I''m going to write my own novel!" I was starting to get excited.


    "A novel?" Sienna tilted her head in confusion.


    "You can be my editor!" I assigned her to a role.


    "This wasn''t in the contract," Cillian mumbled to Ethan.


    "She''s properly going to ask us to produce copies of it," Ethan grumbled.


    "For our next club activity, we can go bug catching!" I raised one of my fists in the air.


    "When do you want the copies to be finished?" Ethan''s eyes changed.

 Chapter 455 - Author (7)

    "Here''s the rest of the first draft," I passed to Sienna.


    "I think you need to put more actions into it. Like what are your characters'' expressions when they''re fighting," she pointed out.


    "You''re right," I frowned when I skimmed through the pages.


    "But this isn''t bad," Delia read the draft after her.


    "How did you come up with this?" Henry stood beside Delia.


    "You can call me your senior. Where do you think I got all these ideas from?" I revealed my long experience in reading a bunch of light novels and manga.


    "If you have a model that doesn''t express emotions easily and know what they''re mostly thinking, you can base some of your characters off of that person," Delia gave me some advice.


    "Taking pictures should help," Shelly added.


    How were each and every one of my newly hired editors so good? I knew who exactly to go to as my model. Running to my old dorm room, I knocked on the door. Alex opened the door for me as I found Luke still working on the fraction work. Pulling out my marble, I started taking pictures of Luke to use as my reference. While taking some pictures, I realized his breathtaking features. Wouldn''t he be the perfect male lead?


    "You''re distracting me from my work Rika," Luke wanted me to stop.


    "Keep talking," I wanted to take more pictures of when he was annoyed.


    Walking around him to take more pictures from different angles, I poked him once or twice to see what other emotions he would feel. I scuffled his hair to see if it would make him look drastically different. But other Luke losing more of his patience, there wasn''t a good variety of emotions coming from him. Maybe I should have chosen a better model.


    "Can you smile for me?" I wanted more effort from my model.


    "Rika!" Luke finally exploded.


    I smiled, taking more pictures of his angry face. It had been ten minutes since he has shown any emotions other than being annoyed. He wouldn''t be able to do anything to me anyways since I was partnered with Cillian for the rest of the week. Maybe my new male lead would be the one who always pretended to be annoyed. I was getting more inspiration from Luke as he started to tremble from holding in his pilling anger.


    All the remaining faces I needed was worry, happiness and fear. Worry and fear was easy, I just needed to pretend I was sick. But I had forgotten that since I was so focused on my first draft, it had been a long time since I ate anything. I didn''t normally run around, spending more energy than normal to take pictures of someone. I started to feel dizzy, tripping over one of the carpets, grabbing my throbbing head.


    "Why are you starting to burn up again?" Luke tried to pull me to the couch.


    Taking the chance, I pulled out my camera to take more pictures. I knew it was taking all of Luke''s patience to not take my marble away from me. Since I had worry and fear in my collection now, I quickly hid it from him. Trying to take my temperature again, Luke placed his hand against my forehead. In the process, my stomach grumbled, showing how I was sick from not eating enough in the time-space room.


    Luke sighed as he pulled out a supplement from his inventory. I turned my face away to refuse, knowing this was the best chance to get him to smile if I negotiated well. I couldn''t believe all the effort I was putting in to get my model to work better with me.


    "I''m not drinking that unless I get to take pictures of you smiling," I pulled out my marble.


    "Is this good enough?" Luke brightly smiled.


    I nodded my head as I took some pictures of him angrily smiling in as many angles as possible. Before Luke erased his smile, I quickly chugged the supplement to escape from the dorm room. Running to the door, I tripped on the carpet again, crashing my head onto the floor. Rubbing my head, I cringed when I noticed I had twisted my ankle. Why did it have to look so swollen? The big red bump and misalignment from my foot made both Alex and Luke instantly find the injury.


    "That''s why I told you not to run inside the room," Luke scolded me while using heal.


    "And don''t you dare take more pictures Rika," he noticed me pulling out my marble.


    I decided to not take any more pictures while I was stuck inside his room. Maybe I could secretly follow him later to take better pictures. Most of the ones I took looked a little bit unnatural. I was disappointed in him since he was a better actor than me when we weren''t alone. Couldn''t he try cooperating to quickly finish his role?


    "Is Rika here?" Cillian knocked on the door when break time was about to end.


    "She twisted her ankle and injured a bit of her head," Alex opened the door for him.


    "Walk, instead of running," Luke warned me when he finished healing my injuries.


    "Nothing is going to happen," I got up from the floor.


    Seeing Alex''s face, full of his emotions, he could have been a better model than Luke. This was the chance to take more reference photos. I quickly snapped more pictures of Alex until Luke tried to take away my marble from me. Avoiding his arms, I swiftly dodged both Alex and Luke while getting a huge range of emotions. I wondered why I didn''t do this from the start, this was much better than targeting only Luke.

 Chapter 456 - Author (8)

    "This has really improved," Delia went over my next draft.


    "Won''t Luke and Alex get really mad if they read this?" Shelly got a little worried for me.


    "This will sell," Henry couldn''t stop laughing.


    My latest draft turned into a BL novel with Alex and Luke as its main characters. I kept the setting that they were cousins coming from the most prestigious and powerful families. It would be a forbidden romance between them with the number of obstacles they faced to fulfill their love together. I tried to retain most of their personalities to make it seem more realistic. After Sienna gave the final approval, it would be ready to go into production where we would make more copies.


    "This is the best thing I read so far," Sienna laughed with Henry.


    "Can I take a look?" Oili got curious.


    Sienna passed him the draft as Ethan joined Oili to read the story together. I could tell they were hooked, not able to place the draft down once it was in their hands. I should''ve tried becoming an author a lot sooner. I didn''t think my talent would be this astounding. Once they finished reading the draft, both of them looked at me in a new light.


    "Let''s start with the production stage," Oili had his eyes well with tears, trying to hold in his laughter.


    "You''re going to die if either of them figures out," Ethan agreed with Oili.


    "But since we''re going bug catching tonight, I''ll make sure they''ll never figure out," he grinned.


    "I don''t need another draft?" I asked all of them.


    "No, this is enough to keep your readers hooked," our president shook his head.


    "Then this will be it for the first volume," I decided.


    Now I needed the cover design, a place and time to sell these books, and a plan to make sure Luke and Alex wouldn''t figure out. Going through their pictures in my marble, I decided to cut their faces out and put them on a blank sheet together. Drawing some handsome figures, I was impressed by my art skills at the end. Showing the cover to the rest of the group, Sienna kept on slapping the table, muffling her mouth.


    "I can''t," Henry took another glance at the cover before hitting the floor with his palms.


    "You should add some roses," Shelly suggested with her eyes glittering from a taste of revenge.


    "You can be the new cover artist," I transferred her the file.


    From the changes made by Shelly, Cillian had to join Henry and Sienna, eyes ruined from the intimate relationship of Luke and Alex on the cover. Meanwhile it appeared like Delia would never look at Luke and Alex in the same way again. I had to admit, it was a struggle not to get a nosebleed from Shelly''s great sense of humor. Our president had already fainted, laying down on a sleeping bag from his first glance.


    "The cover attracts attention right away," Oili praised Shelly.


    "I''ll do the cover for the second volume too!" Shelly eagerly looked at me.


    "Let''s start selling the first volume and see how it goes," I noticed everyone was getting a bit ahead of themselves.


    "There''s no way these won''t sell," Oili waved my worries away.


    "That''s cheating!" Henry yelled.


    "Dig your own hole!" I stuck my tongue out.


    Quickly scooping the bugs into my net, I become the first one to place them into my cage. Other than me and Ethan, everyone struggled to collect the bugs without it crawling on them. The courtyard became almost like a construction site with all the piles of dirt and holes covering the wide field. We ignored everyone mumbling what was going on as we focused on gathering as many bugs as possible.


    "It''s like you guys have done this before!" Sienna complained.


    "Why is it on my shirt?" Cillian screamed when an ant was about to crawl into his shirt.


    "You need some technique to do this," I flipped my hair.


    "The shovel is better to use," Delia happily hummed since she was in third place.


    "I''m sticking to the same spells Rika used," Shelly began to chant.


    "It''s obvious you''re going to be in first place," Henry accused me of cheating again.


    Ethan proudly looked at Sprinkles'' food supply that would last him for around half a year. Since Oili wasn''t a part of this, he watched us pile more bugs into the cages. He already knew that Ethan and I had collected bugs before from his fraction meeting last year near social week. Closing the top of my cage, I wiped some sweat off my forehead, knowing there was no way any of them would be able to collect as much as I have.


    "The nets were just for show," I gave them some hints.


    "I knew it!" Henry threw his net on the ground.

 Chapter 457 - Author (9)

    "Is the ancient artifacts club doing something again?" A person murmured.


    "Let''s go and see," her friend elbowed her.


    Both of them came to the stall, wondering what we were selling this time. Heavily blushing when they took a glance at the covers, they gulped. Lowering their voices while elbowing one another, they resembled the rest of the people in this crowd.


    "Would you like to purchase a book?" I lifted the book beside my face.


    "Please give each of us a copy," she ended up paying for the books.


    "Give us a copy as well!" Other people in the crowd joined them.


    I smiled when I closed the stall for the day since we sold all the books. I didn''t think they would be this successful as we ended up pulling some of the books from our inventories. Each of them had to sign another pledge again to prevent Luke and Alex figuring out. If this operation really became successful, maybe I could make more money by making some merchandise. Half of the team were busy with producing more books and the others were with me, helping to sell them.


    "I told you it would sell out," Delia teased me.


    "We should make some merchandise soon," I stretched my arms.


    "Merchandise?" Sienna wondered.


    "Like some fans, clothes and pens with their pictures on them," I explained.


    "This will become risky," Cillian disagreed.


    "Then maybe with just the book''s name on them," I shrugged.


    The next day, more people were gathered around the stall. I guessed they must have heard the rumors about the book. Even some of my teachers privately pulled me over before my break started, asking if a sequel would come out soon. I sighed as I would have to work on writing the next volume after classes finished. It was almost a sin to be such a popular author.


    "Can we purchase the shirt?" Some fans came up to me.


    "Would you like a signature with it?" I pulled out a pen.


    "We would," they nodded their heads.


    Writing my pen name on their skirts, they happily skipped back to the club building. The mana research club had joined in making some of the merchandise since they wanted some profits from this operation as well. This made both the decoration and design clubs to join in, saying they would produce better merchandise than them. Meanwhile, the food and agriculture research club had switched to helping us produce more of the books.


    After classes finished, I quickly finished the second volume in the series. Passing the draft to Delia, I didn''t think she would get a nosebleed. Since I kept the romance very light and fluffy, I didn''t think anyone would get nosebleeds from them. Was it because I included some sadist and m.a.s.o.c.h.i.s.t components into them?


    "This is more intense than the other ones," she pressed a handkerchief against her nose.


    "Should I change it?" I wondered.


    "No, you shouldn''t change it. The shift in romance works!" Delia frantically waved her hands.


    "I never read something like this before," Oili found them interesting.


    "What''s even inside your mind?" Henry was almost dying from laughter.


    "Then I''ll make the next volume more hardcore," I decided from their reactions.


    "More hardcore?" Ethan almost yelled.


    "I think this is already hardcore for most of the people here," Cillian agreed with Ethan.


    Maybe this was a chance to work on the third volume in the series as well. I didn''t think that everyone''s reactions would be so positive. I already had an idea where to place the kissing scenes inside, something I never had put in the prior volumes. Their relationship had to go one step up as the characters got closer to each other after surviving through another fight with the world. Passing the first chapter to Delia, her nosebleed got even worse.


    "Where do you get these ideas from?" She got another handkerchief out.


    "I used to live with one of them," I finished another chapter.


    "I can offer you more ideas as reference," Shelly wickedly grinned.


    "Do you want to work on the chapter after this one?" I offered.


    "We can make a plotline and assign each other to write a certain chapter," she came up with a better suggestion.


    This was how I finished up to the fifth volume with Shelly''s help. Shelly had read an BL manga before when I passed some of my supply to her to hide for me. After editing some volumes to help us, Delia had already fainted, laying down on a sleeping bag. Ethan heavily blushed around the fourth volume, telling us he can''t help us anymore while asking if he could read the one after it once it was finished.


    "You may want to add some more details at this part," Henry accepted an extra handkerchief from Cillian.


    "I''ll make it even smokier!" Shelly smiled.


    "You can make Alex do a hand slam against the wall Luke is leaning against," I suggested.


    "We already used too much of that," Shelly pointed out the clich¨¦.


    "Or you can make Alex gift Luke a necklace to show the ownership of their love," I threw out another idea.


    "That works!" She went with it.


    "Why is Delia on the floor?" Sienna came into the club room after coming back from a study session with Alex.


    "After reading the fourth volume," Cillian explained.


    "Can I read after everyone is done?" Sienna''s eyes sparkled.

 Chapter 458 - Author (10) - Alexs POV

    "I''m glad your friendship is very strong," A teacher looked at Luke and me.


    Walking into the classroom, everyone avoided looking at our faces. When I took a glance at Sienna, her nose started to bleed, quickly pulling out some handkerchiefs to place against her nose. Trying to offer her a few of mine when the bleeding was getting worse, she pulled the handkerchiefs out of my hand without turning her head. With her hand touching mine, her neck flushed into bright red.


    I wondered if she was sick, thinking it would be better for her to go to the infirmary today. Looking at the teacher if she noticed, she looked away from me. Turning my head to the person behind me, his cheeks heavily blushed into pink. Was there a flu spreading to everyone here? Whenever someone met my glance, they would begin fanning their face while their body flushed into the shades of red.


    "I need a handkerchief!" One of my classmates elbowed Miliana.


    "I already ran out of mine," she had her handkerchiefs stuffed into her nose.


    "We''ll be ending this class a bit early today," the teacher coughed before quickly running out of the classroom.


    "Are you fine?" Luke offered him one of his handkerchiefs.


    "I am," his nosebleed got worse.


    "You guys should go to the infirmary," the next teacher walked in.


    "We''ll go," Sienna raised her hand.


    This was how only Luke and I were left in the classroom. But even the teacher wasn''t looking too good, coughing in the middle of his sentences. He dropped his pen on the ground several of times while missing to address some of the parts on the board. Although he was trying his best, he stumbled on his words sometimes, the lesson not making much sense anymore. Why was everyone getting so sick all of the sudden?


    "You should end the lesson early today," Luke suggested to the teacher.


    "I apologize," the teacher ran out of the classroom.


    I awkwardly shifted in my seat as the same scene repeated over and over again for every one of our teachers walking into the classroom. Cancelling the study session with Sienna, I got the chance to rest with Luke until the last teacher of the day walked into the room. Luke looked a bit worried for Rika, thinking she would easily catch the cold everyone was suffering from. With her frail body, a light cold could quickly transition into a life-threatening fever.


    He used the spare time to message Cillian with some tips in taking care of Rika. Walking out of the classroom, everyone who ran into us was suffering from more nosebleeds. Bloodied handkerchiefs filled the trash cans while everyone tried to help each other out in walking to their next location. I frowned when some people fainted in front of us.


    "Lisa, you have to wake up!" Her friend lightly tapped her cheeks.


    "I can''t," she g.r.o.a.n.e.d.


    "Maybe today is the day I die," she flopped back onto the ground.


    "You can''t faint here! I can''t carry you James," Another person pulled his friend up.


    "I''m trying," he looked lethargic.


    "Will, help me carry him to the infirmary!" His friend yelled to the people who walked past him.


    "The infirmary is already full!" He shouted back.


    All of the people I watched struggled to get up on their own. Even their friends quickly got affected, attracting more people who tried to help them out. The courtyard was filled with people who became unconscious with blood all over their shirts. The infirmary has never been full before. Only Rika visited the empty infirmary like it was her second bedroom.


    "I''m going to go visit Rika," Luke looked at more people fainting around us.


    Knocking on Cillian''s dorm room, we waited for him to open the door. I was surprised when he also had some handkerchiefs stuffed into his nose. He appeared like he had a burning fever as he struggled to properly breathe when he opened his mouth. If he was that sick, it was likely that Rika''s condition would be much worse than him. Luke walked into the room, finding that Rika was sleeping on her bed.


    When she heard us walking towards her, she blinked to soon rub her eyes. Yawning before stretching her arms, she looked annoyed as to why we were here. Unlike everyone around us, she appeared perfectly healthy. Luke took her temperature, placing his hand against her forehead. He sighed in relief when there wasn''t anything wrong with her.


    "Why are you here?" She g.r.o.a.n.e.d.


    "I want you to take some antibiotics," Luke pulled out a bottle of medicine.


    "No way!" Rika turned her head to refuse.


    "It''s because Cillian''s too weak," she pushed the bottle back to him.


    "Rika is right, it''s because I''m too weak," Cillian struggled to walk to his bed.


    "Rika won''t get affected by these things," he shot us an apologetic glance before fainting on his bed.


    "He''s right. My immune system is strong," Rika glared at us to leave.


    "Just one sip Rika," Luke kept on pushing the bottle towards her.


    "We''ll leave after you take one sip," he tried to convince her.


    "You can stay if you want, but I''m going back to sleep," Rika pulled her blankets.


    "It''s just one sip Rika," I couldn''t continue to watch my cousin asking her to take the antibiotic anymore.

 Chapter 459 - Author (11)

    "Give me my blanket back!" I wrestled for my blanket from Alex.


    I didn''t think everyone would suffer from nosebleeds from reading the next volumes. I was definitely going to make the romance even lighter into the volume. It was strange how everyone was overreacting since there was mostly action in the novel I wrote. Everything was about fighting the monsters coming from another dimensional gate. The romance was just an extra to spice up the events.


    "One sip Rika," Alex placed more strength into his pulls.


    "I don''t need them!" I didn''t get affected by my own novels.


    "You already took my temperature!" I turned to Luke.


    "That''s why I''m just asking for one sip," he waited for me to give up.


    "Nobody else is taking them," I pointed out.


    "Do you think we don''t know you may get another fever soon?" Alex took my blanket away.


    I ran to Cillian''s bed, trying to wake him up to chase them out of my room. Why were all my readers so weak? This was nothing compared to the usual light novels and comic books I usually read. These people would never survive in the otaku fandom if they kept on fainting from this. I tried to shake him awake as he was completely gone from this world from looking at their faces for a few seconds.


    "Why aren''t you waking up?" I started to slap his cheeks.


    "Give me a few seconds," Cillian g.r.o.a.n.e.d.


    "You need to kick them out of our room," I shook him harder.


    "I can''t," Cillian closed his eyes again.


    "Get out of his bed Rika," Luke''s voice turned frostier.


    "I''ll get out of his bed if you leave," I crossed my arms.


    While Luke started to drag me out of Cillian''s bed, I started to think this would be a great scene to implement into the next volume. Grabbing onto his blankets since mine were taken away, Cillian slightly shivered. Maybe it would be better to sleep on the ground, the carpets and the perfectly regulated temperatures would make it bearable. I needed some rest after working on the novels without a break in the club room.


    "I can''t believe all the ruckus she''s creating because of one sip," Alex coldly watched me.


    Who knew what side effects the antibiotics carried with them? Other than the cough drops, the medicine that Luke carried were either painful or tasted disgustingly awful. I didn''t want to rinse my mouth many times to get rid of the horrible feeling on my tongue. Flopping onto the ground, I wrapped myself inside the blanket. The antibiotics would definitely do more harm than good when there was nothing wrong with me.


    "Are you actually trying to sleep on the ground?" Alex became dumbfounded.


    "I told you that I was tired. Can''t you leave so I can sleep in peace?" I rolled to get under my bed.


    "I''ll let you visit your side of the family for the next holidays," Luke sighed.


    "Just one sip?" I rolled towards him.


    "One sip," Luke opened the bottle.


    Pouring the antibiotic onto a small spoon, he wanted me to open my mouth. When I swallowed the antibiotic, I frowned from the horrible taste. Coughing from how sour it was, Luke passed me a glass of water to help. But I still couldn''t stop coughing, starting to burn and sweat that were likely from the side effects. The room started to spin as I could feel someone carrying my body to lay me down on my bed.


    "People only react to the antibiotic that way when there''s a 99.9% chance they would get sick later on," Alex chided me.


    "This is worse than I thought," Luke frowned.


    "I should''ve given you the antibiotic earlier," he mumbled.


    Maybe the next volume would become its last. I didn''t think the volumes I wrote would come back to me this way. Cillian had no choice but to open the door for them since he signed a contract with Luke. This antibiotic was causing me to suffer through the pain now while avoiding the fever later on. I pounded on my c.h.e.s.t, having the pain being stuffed into it. A little nosebleed was nothing compared to this. Fainting? What a joke. You wouldn''t be able to feel any pain since you would be unconscious.


    "Can you leave now?" I felt annoyed.


    If they were sticking to their promise, both of them had to leave the room. Cillian woke up as soon as they left, reading another set of instructions left by Luke. He watched me suffer as he rubbed my back to help with the pain. I needed another plan to avoid Luke if the nosebleeds and fainting kept on continuing.


    "I''m done being an author," I grumbled.


    "What about the fans?" Cillian reminded me.


    "They''re no fans of mine. True fans wouldn''t faint from such a lighthearted story," I coughed.


    Once I finished the final volume, I slammed it onto the table. Although everyone was disappointed from the announcement, Luke would start to get suspicious from everyone fainting around them for a longer period of time. I didn''t need him to walk into my dorm room again to give me another antibiotic. I left the mana research club in charge of selling the books. I never wanted to touch any of the volumes again. The production of the merchandise stopped from my orders while I didn''t sign any of the books anymore.

 Chapter 460 - Again? (1)

    "I''m here to help Rika move her stuff," Luke knocked on our dorm room.


    Today was the day I was going to move into the dorm room that Delia shared with Henry. Cillian opened the door, pushing the suitcases Luke had given him a week ago. Luke thanked him for the suitcases Cillian passed onto him before gesturing for me to leave the room. I g.r.o.a.n.e.d since he was going to directly give all of these to Henry, going through a more detailed list of instructions he probably created for him.


    Since Henry waited for me outside the dorm room, Luke didn''t have to knock on the door again. When he spotted all of the suitcases, he didn''t accept them. I smiled as I knew he wasn''t as generous as Cillian was. Maybe we could leave all of them outside the room since I already had all the things I needed inside my inventory.


    "I''m not taking care of her for the next two weeks," he opened the door for me.


    "Henry is right," I nodded to agree.


    "Listen carefully to me Rika," Luke grabbed onto my wrist.


    "You have to take these supplements every morning. I don''t care if you''re late for classes, but you have to eat breakfast after taking them. You also have to make sure you wear at least one thing inside this case," he quickly pushed the suitcases into the room.


    "I get it," I closed the door on him after he let me go.


    The dorm that Delia shared with Henry was a bit better than the one that Cillian shared with Sienna. They had two separate bedrooms while the living room was extremely small. My mood went up as I had more privacy here. Although I used a separate bedroom from Luke, he could go in and out as he pleased. Pushing the suitcases beside the door, I abandoned them to step into the bedroom that Delia used.


    "You can ignore the messages Luke sent you!" I yelled to Henry.


    "I''m planning to," Henry leaned against the doorframe.


    "That''s what I like about you," I turned to him.


    "I''ll meet you at class tomorrow," he left to give me some space.


    Setting my alarm to 6AM, I decided to sleep for the rest of the day since I was tired after suffering through a day of classes. I could meet Shelly in the classroom tomorrow while I would go to the club room afterwards. But I forgot, without anyone waking me up, I would sleep in until a bit after afternoon had passed. Stretching my arms once I got up, I noticed the sky was already dark. Did I wake up in the middle of the night?


    Switching my marble on, I was surprised since all the classes finished around this time. I stiffened when Henry knocked on my bedroom door, deciding to go back to sleep to avoid him. Hearing him turn the doorknob, he walked into my room. He pulled my blanket away from me, "how could you sleep for the entire day? Do you know how humiliated I was when the teachers asked where you were?"


    "You could have woken me up," I rose to argue.


    "Do you really need someone to wake you up every single day?" He dropped my blanket onto the floor.


    "I''ll wake up in time tomorrow," I pulled my blanket from the ground.


    "You better," he closed the door.


    The next day, I managed to wake up at 6AM since I got enough sleep from the day before. I had enough time to go to the cafeteria after quickly changing into my uniform. Meanwhile, the horrible supplements and accessories stayed inside the suitcase. The morning was so peaceful without having anyone helping me get ready for classes. Ordering a small plate of salad for breakfast, I took my time eating.


    I also got to wear the size I wanted for my uniform. I liked wearing loose clothes, but Luke would never allow me to wear them. I didn''t even wear my skirt, choosing to wear a long sweater. It was almost like a comfortable mini dress as I ignored all the strange looks that I got in the hallways. Strolling into my seat before classes started, I realized how nice it was to be here early. Shelly was already inside the classroom, waiting for me.


    "I never knew we could wear our uniforms like this," she sat beside me.


    "Well, they never told us how we should wear out uniforms," I smiled.


    "You''re wearing the running shoes," she pointed out.


    Wearing dress shoes wasn''t a part of the uniform. Everyone just chose to wear them like it was a part of the formal dress code. I never felt so free in my life, able to do everything on my own. Henry didn''t even take a single glance at me, choosing to continue his conversation with Cillian. How did both Delia and Sienna have such good partners? I started to envy them before getting my textbook out for classes.


    The teachers, knowing that I didn''t break any of their rules, chose to ignore me as I pretended to listen to their lessons. Whenever they asked me some questions, Shelly shifted her notebook towards me with the answers on them. I was glad that whenever we changed partners, we could choose new seats as well. Being in the second row was the best, everyone was so generous to let me switch seats with them.

 Chapter 461 - Again? (2)

    "Are you ready for the tests this week?" Shelly reminded me.


    I couldn''t take the tests last week since I was inside the infirmary, sick with a fever. Since I was unconscious, Cillian had to earn enough points for the both of us. However, this wasn''t the case for this week''s upcoming round of tests. Normally, we wouldn''t have tests this often, but this was supposed to be a mission. I had no idea what was going on during classes for the last two weeks. I hoped we wouldn''t get minus points this time.


    "I''m not sure," I admitted to her.


    "I think one of them is after the last break," she looked a bit worried for me.


    "How bad could it go?" I wondered.


    When Daniel revealed the results on the board, all my new classmates turned to stare at Henry and me. In my perspective, it wasn''t that bad for not knowing anything on the test. I managed to pass one subject while sadly failing the rest. It was only -200,000 points. I didn''t have to pay for food with my points anyways. While my dorm room could possibly change, it would merely be for two weeks. Sleeping on hay wasn''t bad if you knew how to rearrange them properly.


    "I think you''ll have to move again," Daniel pitied Henry.


    "Rika!!!!! How could you not study at all?" Henry trembled with anger.


    "I''ll let you in on some tips on sleeping in the bas.e.m.e.nt," I stepped a few steps backwards.


    "You''ll have more chances in the last round of tests tomorrow and the day after," Cillian tried to console him.


    "Luke has some workbooks he packed for her in case something like this would happen," he left out the part we didn''t go through any of them.


    "I''ll study with Rika," Shelly volunteered so he would leave me alone.


    "You better," Henry stomped out of the classroom with Cillian.


    I sighed since it looked like I wouldn''t be going to the club room today. Maybe it wasn''t bad to go to the caf¨¦ once in a while. Even if I studied, there was no way I was going to catch up for tomorrow''s round of tests. Shelly shot me a quick look, asking if we should go to the caf¨¦ together. I smiled at her knowing exactly what I was going to do. Shelly knew from all the struggles that Luke and I went through, it was already hopeless.


    "It feels nice to drink some milkshake again," Shelly stirred her straw.


    "I think I''ll spend some time here for the rest of the week," I sighed.


    "You don''t have to move your stuff today?" She asked when it was getting late.


    "Daniel warned us if we gathered more minus points tomorrow, we would have to move," I let her know the only reason why Henry was still sane.


    The next day, our new classmates were stunned when I had failed all my subjects to the point that I had some zeros on them. This made everything balance out to -500,000 points, which was definitely not recoverable unless a miracle happened tomorrow. Unfortunately, none of the tests had any matching or multiple choice this time. Long answer questions were definitely one of my weaknesses. Henry couldn''t lift his head from his desk from embarrassment as Cillian tried to console him.


    "Can you show me where those workbooks are?" Henry gritted his teeth.


    "I can show you how Luke organized everything," Cillian nodded.


    "I''m going to the library," I tried to run.


    "You''re not going to the library without me," Henry''s eyes blazed with anger.


    "Follow me if you don''t want to die," he warned me.


    "The bas.e.m.e.nt is only for people who possess at least -400,000 points. I think you guys will have to move all your things outside," Daniel tried to reveal as nicely as he could.


    Camping wasn''t a bad idea. But it seemed that the school wouldn''t provide us with any tents. Thankfully, I had some leftover camping supplies from a little more than a semester ago. I smiled since camping outside would be more comfortable than sleeping in the bas.e.m.e.nt. We just needed to find a good place to set them up. Meanwhile Henry was shocked by the school''s cold treatment towards the people who had minus points.


    I could quickly escape to the high school section with my tents if anything went wrong. When my marble vibrated, I accepted the voice call from Shelly. I adjusted my setting to the lowest volume to listen to what she had to say, "Henry is looking for you. I think he lost it. You should quickly hide since he already noticed that you took your stuff with you."


    "Is he near the courtyard?" I whispered.


    "He''s going there now," she lowered her voice.


    "Can you distract him while I run?" I finished setting up my small tent.


    "Cillian tried to stop him. Henry isn''t listening to anyone anymore," she feared for me.

 Chapter 462 - Again? (3)

    "Just wait what will happen once I find you!" Henry shouted.


    I was currently hiding where Luke did his spars with Alex together. As Shelly let me know where Henry was heading towards, I spent the rest of my day trying to hide from him. Unfortunately, today was the day where Luke chose to have his spars with Alex after class. This was an incredibly rare event since they spent most of their time doing the fraction work ever since we entered our fourth year. Both of them returned their swords, wondering what was going on as Henry screamed my name near them.


    "Why are you looking for Rika?" Luke walked towards him.


    "He''s trying to recover the -500,000 points they got," Cillian ran to explain.


    "Negative 500,000?" Both Luke and Alex couldn''t believe him.


    "Rika failed all of the subjects while getting some zeros on them," he whispered.


    "Can that even be recoverable?" Alex recalled something similar happening to him.


    "It can''t," Luke agreed.


    "I have to sleep outside now. We''re not allowed to use the dormitory anymore," Henry lowered his voice while complaining.


    "Is it really not recoverable?" He looked at Luke for help.


    "It took me months to recover back to zero points with Rika in elementary school," Luke shook his head.


    "If you did the workbooks with her, this wouldn''t have happened," he didn''t console him.


    "You''re not going to do anything?" Henry wanted him to help.


    "Rika is still attending classes," Luke was letting me go.


    "In our first year of middle school, Rika skipped as many classes as possible," Alex explained.


    "You mean Alan kneeling at the courtyard for hours to convince her to go to class?" Henry had heard about the rumors.


    Both Luke and Alex nodded their heads, making the world crash down on Henry. Since both of them were busy, all that Luke cared about was my health and if I properly attended classes. But the conditions of attending classes were looser now, putting my health as the higher priority from our hectic third year. Luckily, I had discovered this when I was partnered to Cillian, earning more freedom along the way.


    After Henry gave up on trying to find me, disappointed in Luke, he ran towards the caf¨¦ this time. My eyes widened when Luke parted the bushes I was hiding inside. He knew I was here the entire time but covered for me. I was glad that I properly wore my uniform today with the dress shoes. Brushing the leaves off my skirt, I rose from my spot.


    "I couldn''t catch up after staying inside the infirmary that time and suffering from the antibiotics," I quickly made up an excuse.


    "I heard you also missed the first day of classes," Luke knew about everything going on.


    "I felt dizzy after taking the supplements," I lied.


    "I told you to wear at least one of the accessories," he noticed I wasn''t wearing any of them.


    "They fell off when I was running," I rubbed my wrist.


    "You can sleep with me tonight," he gave me an order.


    I nodded my head as it was better than bumping into Henry. With Luke ending his practice with Alex for the day, I hid behind him as I walked to my old dorm room. Henry would never guess we would be together. Even Sienna was surprised when I walked through the door with Luke. Explaining what had happened, she didn''t seem too surprised like she already knew how Henry was chasing me.


    "I''ve been ignoring his messages," Sienna confessed.


    "Rika, come here. I want you to finish this workbook by today," Luke didn''t want the minus points to continue when I was partnered back with him.


    Pulling out a pen to begin studying, this was nothing compared to getting captured by Henry. Since there wasn''t a time-space function inside this room, the study session couldn''t last for long anyways. When the sky turned completely dark, Luke decided to stop, satisfied with the progress we made today. Finishing three thick workbooks from my high level of concentration, things were really different when you turned more desperate.


    "How am I going to attend classes tomorrow?" I shuddered.


    "This should be enough to help you pass all the tests," Luke had the heart to comfort me.


    Drinking the whole bottle of supplements the next morning, Luke placed more accessories on me after passing my uniform for the day. I felt touched when he already had a small plate of salad out on the living room table. I wouldn''t have to go to the cafeteria today for breakfast. Not letting go of his arm, I dragged him into my classroom with me. Henry gasped, feeling betrayed when he saw me with Luke.


    "I made sure Rika would pass all her tests today," Luke explained.


    With the results in front of me, Daniel was surprised to see how I didn''t fail anything during the tests in the morning. But not failing anything wouldn''t make our points increase, Cillian stood in between us, making sure Henry wouldn''t try to kill me. We were still in last place for all the subjects, leading to more minus points. Running to Luke once the break started, I hid behind his back before Henry escaped from Cillian.


    "You can come to our dorm room," Sienna suggested.


    Getting the signal from Sienna, I sprinted to their dorm room they used together. As long as they didn''t open the door, I would be safe.

 Chapter 463 - Again? (4)

    "She really caught up to everything we''re learning in class," Alex was stunned.


    I had finished six more workbooks during the breaks. Taking advantage of how desperate I was to hide from Henry, Luke tried to see when I would finally give up. Surprisingly, I focused on everything he said, absorbing as much as I could while working hard to fix my mistakes. Normally, it would take me an entire month to finish one workbook, but my brain was working better with the adrenaline flowing in.


    Not taking a single break, Luke and Alex took turns when going through all their notes with me. Although it was unfortunate that the tests were over for the period I was paired with Henry, I wouldn''t receive any minus points with Luke. Meanwhile, Sienna brought some food from the cafeteria since she knew I wouldn''t be able to go there anymore. I didn''t mind when Luke decided my meals for me. He was the one providing my safe haven.


    Luke was in a great mood, not experiencing this ever since we left kindergarten. Going to class after the evening break ended, I realized that I started to understand what a few of the teachers were saying during the lecture. The teachers were shocked, finding me writing down notes for the first time, following their lesson. One of them even cried, answering every one of my questions when I didn''t understand anything, starting from the fundamentals.


    Escaping back into my old dorm room, both Luke and Alex were shocked when I showed them my notes. I didn''t realize how nice it would feel to know what was going on during class. Time definitely went faster as I concentrated on their lessons. Opening another workbook, Luke looked like he was touched from all the effort I was putting in. Sienna also joined the study session, making the four of us create a study group together.


    "Rika is really trying her best," Alex covered for me once the break ended the next day.


    "It''s already too late!" Henry snapped.


    "I have never seen Rika write notes in her notebook before," the teacher agreed with Alex.


    "She even asks questions during class!" The teacher''s eyes welled with tears.


    "She does?" Luke couldn''t hide his happiness.


    "You should let her go," Alex gestured to Henry to leave their classroom.


    "Let''s go," Cillian had to drag Henry out with all his strength.


    Listening to everything that both Alex and Luke ordered me, the more time we spent together, the nicer they treated me. No longer did Luke scold or lecture me. He smiled all the time while giving me another piece of dessert whenever I got an answer correct. Both of them didn''t mind that I was taking their time away from doing more fraction work. I was working further than what the teachers currently taught.


    With Luke increasing the sound-proof barrier while Henry pounded on the door, I continued to work on more workbooks. I knew these days would someday end since Cillian was having a harder time holding Henry back with each passing day. Even all the teachers were on my side, giving me a chance to escape while dragging their conversations with Henry. This made Henry even angrier with no one taking his side.


    "Rika, Henry is considering exposing the club room to Luke," Shelly warned me through a message.


    I dropped my pen, showing my message to Sienna. I was dead if he revealed the existence of the club room. Sienna gasped, feeling greatly betrayed by his actions. He was pulling everyone down with him. Both Luke and Alex wouldn''t be so generous anymore, turning into an existence worse than Henry. It was hard to get rid of all the crazy fans that had fainted with nosebleeds around them. I had to create another volume to warn them they would eventually reveal the existence of the book to Alex and Luke this way.


    "I don''t know what to do," I trembled.


    "I think you''ll have to meet with Henry and beg him for his forgiveness," Sienna pitied me.


    "The rest of us can help in holding him back while you beg him," she tried to comfort me.


    "Send him a message that I''ll meet him during the next break," I was about to cry.


    While kneeling down on the ground, Cillian held both of Henry''s arms to prevent him from coming closer. Delia had to help Cillian since Henry''s strength increased whenever he looked at my face, blaming me for everything. We were quickly attracting attention as more people watched us from metres away.


    "You can rip my clothes or even pull my hair. If hitting me once or twice will resolve your anger, that''s an option too," I begged him to forgive me.


    "You think one or two hits will solve everything?" Henry yelled.


    "Maybe a bit more as long as you don''t hit me too hard," I needed the club room to stay as a secret.


    "Drowning me is an option too as long as you make sure I''m not close to dying afterwards," I offered when he was considering my list of options.


    "He''s really thinking of hitting her," one of the people in the crowd gasped.


    "I think he''s considering both the drowning and the hits," her friend guessed the most likely answer.


    My eyes widened when I noticed both Alex and Luke were inside the crowd, watching us. They coldly waited for Henry''s answer, wondering what he would dare pick.

 Chapter 464 - Again? (5)

    "Five hits and a favour in the future," Henry decided.


    "What''s the favour?" I would try to negotiate with him.


    "Or you can go with the drowning right now," he offered.


    "I don''t mind. We can go with the drowning and the five hits," I hoped I would be unconscious afterwards.


    "Don''t you think it''s too much?" Sienna shook her head.


    "I''ll take a hit in her place," she begged Henry for me.


    "It''s fine, I deserve them," I knew his anger wouldn''t fully be resolved this way.


    "Get up Rika, you don''t need someone like him to forgive you," Luke walked towards me as he couldn''t continue watching anymore.


    "I do need him to forgive me," I decided to stay on my knees.


    "Hit me right now!" I shouted before Luke could drag me away.


    "Should I hit myself?" I warned him Luke was close to ending his chance of getting his revenge.


    "Try it," Henry decided to count one of them as a hit.


    Slapping myself on my cheek as hard as possible, my hand became red and numb. The crowd gasped as I heard something cracking from within. Luke appeared horrified, frozen from how much strength I placed in hitting myself. All of Henry''s anger disappeared, not knowing how I was serious about the hits. Splattering some drops of blood from my misplaced jaw, I tethered back and forth until I fell onto the grass.


    "This is the chance to carry out the rest of the hits," I managed to squeak out.


    "We''ll carry this out privately," Henry dragged me on the grass.


    "I didn''t think of actually hitting you. I was just seeing how far you were willing to go," he lowered his voice while he managed to find a relatively unnoticed place.


    Healing me since I was unable to speak, I didn''t need to lean on the bushes anymore once he was finished. I sighed in relief since he was a lot easier to convince than Luke. This hit was nothing compared to begging Luke if I could leave the infirmary. Brushing the grass off my uniform, I found nothing misplaced while moving my jaw. I had suffered from much more pain from all the medicine I had to drink.


    "Do you forgive me?" I wanted to confirm.


    "I do," he nodded his head.


    "I have a tent for us to sleep inside," I decided to reveal my backup plan.


    "I used the room Cillian shared with Michelle," Henry revealed.


    "A tent isn''t that bad," I walked to the place where I hid them.


    "This really isn''t bad," Henry was surprised how luxurious they were.


    Inside the small tent, the space expanded once you were inside. There were two large king-sized beds with two closets for each of us to use. There was even an attached bathroom inside with a large tub. With all the furnishings, it could be better than the room that I used with Cillian. Henry had never experienced this, not a part of the circus incident that happened during the summer.


    "It''s better than the bas.e.m.e.nt," I agreed.


    Unpacking the things inside his inventory, Henry quickly settled into the tent. Since it has been a long day for me, I decided to take a brief nap before going to the club room to deliver the good news. But I had forgotten how these tents were once spelled to harm me. Once I woke up from my nap, my arms and legs were in pain, my eyes struggling to open, and I couldn''t get out of my bed. Looking in a mirror, I found that I had a black eye, both my arms and legs covered in large purple circles.


    How did the spell from the circus become like this? My face also had some scratches, oozing blood as I wondered if I had some bandages in my inventory. Maybe it was better to go to the room that Shelly used with Cillian. Shaking Henry awake since he also decided to take a nap, he was shocked when he took a look at my face. Thankfully, nothing had happened to him like I was the spell''s only target.


    "We should abandon the tents," I warned him to pack his stuff again.


    Henry nodded his head, quickly transferring all his items into his inventory. When he stared at me to ask why I wasn''t leaving the tent, I gestured to all my bruises and scratches that made it hard to walk. He sighed before deciding to carry me in his arms to escape from this place. While he walked towards the infirmary, many people chattered, wondering what had happened when he dragged me to a private place.


    "I think he hit her very hard," a person whispered.


    "I don''t think it ended with a drowning," another person agreed.


    Sadly, Henry was being misunderstood as he ignored all the gossip around us. Everyone thought the circus incident was over, including me. Maybe I would give the tents back to the teachers, hoping they would clean up the rest of the mess. Even Shelly and Delia stiffened when they noticed me, limp in his arms. Cillian went speechless with Sienna, being the closest to him.


    "I can''t believe you would hit her this hard!" Sienna yelled at Henry.


    "Rika''s too nice!" Shelly scanned my injuries.


    As usual, Luke had to walk into us with Alex at the most terrible timing. I didn''t know how he had the perfect luck when he tried to find me.


    "Rika?" Luke couldn''t stop staring at me.

 Chapter 465 - Again? (6)

    "You actually hit her?" Alex shouted at Henry.


    Nobody in his family had hit me before, choosing to use words instead. Although, grabbing my wrist and dragging me to another place wasn''t painless. Luke trembled in anger as he blamed every one of my wounds on Henry. I started to pity Henry as he continued to walk to the infirmary, ignoring everyone around him.


    "I didn''t hit her!" Henry yelled once he placed me on a bed.


    "This isn''t water, it''s her sweat from starting to burn from another fever," he tried to point out.


    "Do you think we''ll believe that?" Shelly narrowed her eyes.


    "When I woke up, she was already this injured," Henry attempted to explain.


    "Yea, right!" Sienna glared at him.


    "This is too much," Cillian shuddered.


    "She can''t even talk from the pain!" Delia added.


    "How could you hit Rika? There''s no way she''ll recover from this soon," Luke was close to breaking down.


    "Do you think I''d actually hit her?" He was shocked by how all his friends acted.


    "I already see everything with my own eyes!" Sienna coldly watched him.


    "Don''t even come closer to her," Luke warned Henry when he attempted to use heal on me.


    "Do you know how hard Rika studied during the last few days to make it up to you?" Sienna continued to blame him.


    "Our family won''t leave you alone for this," Alex had a better impression of me ever since I started listening to him.


    Although I wanted to defend Henry, more of the pain was starting to come in from the spell. It was hard keeping my eyes open from my black eye. I was glad that once I left the tent, the spell couldn''t add to my current set of injuries anymore. While listening to everyone blaming him, Henry started to get angry at them since none of it has been his fault. But he never turned to me for help, knowing how I was too busy from suffering from the pain.


    Instead of wasting his energy with Henry, Luke chose to use heal on me as much as he could. Alex made sure to say everything in his place, being ruthless with all the threats he yelled at Henry. Starting from my face, I was soon able to properly blink, all my scars and bruises gone in that area. When Luke switched places with Alex, unable to push himself to use heal on me any longer, he began yelling, "you know that Rika has a frail body. She could''ve died today if we decided not to check the infirmary. You''re never coming near Rika again. I''m making sure that you won''t even breathe the same air as her."


    "Don''t you think that''s too much?" I spoke after Cillian healed my arms.


    "Luke is right. He doesn''t deserve to be in the same place as us," Sienna didn''t hide her disgust.


    "But Henry really didn''t hit me," I revealed to all of them.


    "You don''t need to cover for him," Delia didn''t believe me.


    "I''m taking you to our room Rika. I can''t have you in the same room as him anymore," Luke took one last glance at Henry as if he was less than a bug.


    Since I still couldn''t move my body except for my face, neck and arms, I was helpless when Luke started to take me to my old dorm room. Meanwhile, it appeared like none of Henry''s friends would leave him alone. At least I tried to convince them when I could. I would likely become a goner if I kept on defending him. Luke hated the slightest sign that my health was beginning to falter. The injuries made him go crazy, making him merciless at the person who was most likely to have caused them.


    "I''ll be informing the teachers you may miss some classes next week," he softened his voice towards me.


    Moving everything from the infirmary into his bedroom, I felt bored from sleeping all the time. I wanted to go outside more than ever since he was keeping an eye on me so I wouldn''t leave his bed. From everyone using heal on me, I could move again like nothing had happened. I didn''t mind if I had to attend those horrible classes again, I needed a breath of fresh air. Why did I have to spend my precious Saturday like this?


    "I want to go to the caf¨¦," I faced the ceiling.


    "Wait until I make the arrangements again," Luke brought his doc.u.ments into his bedroom.


    "How about the living room?" I asked again.


    "I don''t want you leaving this room Rika. What if you run into something again?" He didn''t like how the living room had a door leading to outside his dorm.


    "Nothing really happened!" I couldn''t help but shout.


    "Henry really didn''t hit me. We took a brief nap inside the camping supplies we used when the circus came to school. I forgot they were spelled with malicious intentions that somehow remained. Since Henry wasn''t a target like us, all its effects went to me," I confessed, not caring what happened anymore.


    "Would I ever allow you to sleep in those tents?" Luke continued to blame Henry.


    "You wouldn''t," I mumbled.


    "Even if we slept in those tents together again, would I let the spell get to you?" He placed the doc.u.ments down.


    I shook my head. Although Luke didn''t believe my confession from watching Henry rampaging after me for the past few days, it was unfortunate how he blamed him for everything either way. There was no way I would''ve gotten injured under Luke''s care. He would have made sure we would never get minus points in the first place, erasing the possibility of sleeping outside. Even if we had to sleep in the tents, he would never go to sleep without making sure the area was safe, checking the tents thoroughly if there was anything odd. This was why he still blamed Henry, seeing that he did none of this.

 Chapter 466 - Again? (7) - Siennas POV

    Moving my things into the dorm that Rika shared with Luke, everything was neatly placed, including the nicely arranged doc.u.ments almost reaching the ceiling. It was almost the same as the dorms I had shared with Alex during the previous two weeks. I really pitied Michelle, seeing how picky Alex was with how everything was supposed to be placed in his room. There was a spot for everything, excluding her bedroom that was her own space. Hearing all of Rika''s complaints about Luke, I hoped it wouldn''t be the same for the next two weeks.


    "Can I offer you a hand in moving your stuff into Rika''s room?" Luke opened the door to her bedroom.


    Rika''s bedroom was more majestic than Michelle. Everything was put into consideration from the curtains to her bedsheets. Choosing the softest fabrics and the ones that absorbed as much sunlight as possible. There was a small table under a mirror, having all the best lotions and skincare brands organized into a certain section. My older sister adored these, always asking our parents for them for her birthdays. I didn''t think Rika would like them as well, considering how she hated dressing up in general.


    Opening her closet to place some of my clothes inside, most of it was already full of her brilliant dresses and various sizes of her uniforms. Inside the cabinets, it was filled with an overflowing number of accessories. I knew she would never wear these clothes on her own, mostly forced by Luke. Even the shoes perfectly lined up where there was space at the bottom, she complained about wanting to tear the heels off. Luke shot me an apologetic glance, "I can move some of her things out if you need more space."


    "I don''t mind. I didn''t bring many things with me. But can you show me where there''s extra space?" I didn''t want to move her things without his permission.


    "For your accessories, there''s an empty cabinet over here," Luke pulled a drawer under the table.


    "There is also space inside her closet if you open this side of the doors," he showed how each door led to a different place.


    Leaving me alone inside the room to give me some space, I realized how Delia had been right so far. Unpacking my things into the allocated space, I flopped onto Rika''s springy bed. This was basically the ideal princess room I wanted when I was younger. Her pillows were warm, the light aroma drifting into my nose. Her bedroom was nothing compared to how I lived with Ian. I already liked the atmosphere inside this room, showing how much care was put in.


    Once I left my bedroom, Luke rose from the couch to greet me. Quickly placing down his doc.u.ments, he apologized again, "you may see me using the living room by myself often. If it makes you uncomfortable, I''ll move them to my room. Would you like to discuss making some rules to make your stay a little better?"


    I nodded my head, "can you let me know what our days will be like?"


    I was surprised when Luke expected nothing from me. He didn''t care where I placed my stuff in the living room since he was already taking up most of the space. There were no extra study sessions he demanded from me like Alex. Instead he asked if there was more that he could do to help me adjust to his dorm room. Early in the morning, I found myself sleeping in, feeling a bit tired from the move.


    "If you don''t mind, I brought some breakfast," Luke gestured to the plates of food on the table.


    Was this how Delia lived with Luke? All the food on the table was exactly what I ate for breakfast every day. I couldn''t believe that he knew all this time. I wouldn''t have to rush through my morning routine anymore. With Luke''s generous smile, my day lightened as we walked together for classes. During class, he lent me his notes when I looked like I was a bit confused in what the teacher was saying. I never felt so grateful as I quickly caught up, not having to study more on my own with Ian.


    These peaceful days continued until he brought Rika into our room. I knew Rika was running away from Henry, ignoring his angry messages myself. Once Henry got this angry, it would take him weeks for some of them to blow off while leaving a long grudge. Rika and I liked the same type of desserts and had similar complaints. This is how we got close really fast. Sometimes, I felt that I could relate to Rika more than Delia, who I have been friends with for years.


    Unlike how Luke treated me, he was different towards Rika. As long as she stayed inside our dorm, he expected her to listen to everything that he asked while covering for her in return. Before I could ask Rika if she wanted to sleep with me on her bed together, Luke shot her a look to go inside his room with him. Waking up the next day, Luke was busy helping Rika get ready for school.


    Rika struggled to open her eyes while Luke placed some skincare brands all over her body. After changing into the uniform that he passed to her, Rika groggily nodded her head, still half-asleep while Luke chose a bunch of accessories to put onto her wrists and hair. Passing a bottle of supplements for her to drink, Rika g.r.o.a.n.e.d while trying to chug the entire thing at once. Was this how their morning routine was like?

 Chapter 467 - Again? (8) - Siennas POV

    Rika was desperate to stay inside our dorms to hide from Henry. She worked really hard, making both Luke and Alex surprised when she paid attention to what they were saying. I knew how busy both of them were, barely getting any sleep from all the fraction work they had to do. But they threw all their work to the side to help her catchup, investing all their energy into her. When I was forced to study with Alex, he was merciless whenever I made a mistake in the workbook.


    "Your class didn''t go over this yet?" Alex sighed.


    "We did, but I didn''t review this part yet," I could barely look at his scary eyes.


    "I guess you can go over this part until you know what''s going on," he didn''t want me to drag him down.


    But Alex wasn''t the same with Rika. He seemed shocked that she was willing to study in general. Luke was happier than Alex, giving Rika her favourite desserts whenever she answered a question correctly. They spent hours with Rika, not taking a single break, afraid that this chance would never come to them again. It was hard to join in with them, the harmonious atmosphere between the three of them.


    "You took notes during class?" Luke was stunned.


    "These aren''t bad," Alex acknowledged her efforts.


    "I couldn''t write down everything," Rika pouted.


    The next morning, Rika''s eyes glittered when there was a slice of her favourite strawberry shortcake beside the plate of salad. Luke appeared to be in an extremely good mood, being more lenient towards her. The day before, he pressured her to drink the entire bottle of supplements. But today, he let her go when she took one sip at most. He also didn''t say anything when she didn''t touch the salad.


    Although Cillian and I took care of each other as partners, we never had this kind of relationship together. Luke''s relationship with Rika was on another level. He woke up extremely early every morning, finishing his preparations for school to quickly help Rika. Peeking into his bedroom, curious how Rika was faring, Luke was busy packing all the stuff she would need for her morning classes.


    Rika slept on his bed, not knowing how Luke was already brushing her hair and checking her health for the day. He took her health very seriously, placing all these precious packs on her that helped with fatigue. Going through all the machines, he analyzed which supplement would be most effective for her to drink today. After removing all the packs, he shook her for thirty minutes to wake her up.


    This was why Luke trembled in anger when he found Henry holding Rika who seemed to be barely conscious. Alex, who considered Rika to be a part of his family, tried to save his energy in talking to a person who injured her. He pushed himself to heal Rika once Luke looked a bit dizzy from using too much mana at once. Both of them didn''t see Henry as a human being anymore, not bothering to maintain their usual courtesy.


    When Luke carried Rika in his arms back to our dorm room, he didn''t want to let her out of his bedroom. The living room table was empty for the first time, moving all his stuff into his bedroom to watch over Rika. I could hear Rika asking him if she could go out to the living room, sick of staying in bed all the time. But Luke declined all her requests, not wanting her to get a single chance to meet Henry again.


    While Rika was asleep during the night, I gasped when I heard the conversation between Alex and Luke. With Luke welcoming Alex into the living room, they sat down on the couch to discuss their next actions. I never thought Rika would be this sick after we all spent our efforts in trying to heal her.


    "I''m planning on going to the teacher''s office tomorrow morning to get Rika to transfer classes," Luke was thinking what to do with Rika.


    "How could he even think of hitting someone from our family?" Alex''s face scrunched in disgust.


    "I don''t want him near Rika again," Luke agreed.


    "I''m still monitoring Rika''s condition. She thinks that she can leave the bed since she can walk. But she won''t be able to survive without the machines making sure to perfectly regulate her body," Luke''s hands shook.


    "I''ll make sure she''ll never leave the room," Alex comforted his cousin.


    The next day, I knocked on Luke''s bedroom, feeling worried about how Rika was doing. Luke opened the door for me, Rika brightly smiling from noticing my face. She looked bored with nothing to do, Luke not allowing her to do anything but rest so she could recover faster. Her excited voice flowed into my ears, "did you bring anything? Can you tell me what''s been happening outside of this room?"


    "Nothing much happened," I left out how Luke wasn''t letting anyone inside our dorm room except for Alex.


    She played with a strand of her hair, looking a bit disappointed. Looking if Luke was closely watching us, she whispered into my ear when she thought it was safe, "I have a plan to escape from this room."


    "How?" I was taken aback.


    "I''m going to jump out of the window. Once I escape this room, I''m going to Henry and ask him to bring me outside of school," she lowered her voice, noticing Luke was trying to listen in.

 Chapter 468 - Again? (9)

    There were no chances in the morning to escape from the bedroom. When I was about to step out of the bed, Luke would instantly glance up from his doc.u.ments. Turning his head towards me to gesture to step into the bed again. Sulking from being confined to the bed, I was excited when Sienna visited in the morning, even if she only stayed for a short time. My eyes sparkled as I wanted to know what happened after I was taken from the infirmary.


    "Did you bring anything? Can you tell me what''s been happening outside of this room?" I wanted to hear something interesting.


    "Nothing much happened," Sienna seemed to be wary under Luke''s eyes.


    "Nothing?" I pouted, not believing her.


    Sienna shot me a look that Luke was still close enough to listen to everything, standing nearby the doorframe. I sighed, gesturing to her to come closer so I could whisper everything into her ear to have a proper conversation. Looking at how far Luke was to give us some space, I knew from experience that he wouldn''t be able to hear anything if I did this. Seeing that I couldn''t escape from this room on my own, I needed some help. A plan was quickly formed inside my head as I had forgotten Sienna was using my bedroom connected to Luke''s room.


    "I have a plan to escape from this room," I whispered into her ear.


    "How?" Sienna''s eyes widened.


    "I''m going to jump out of the window. Once I escape this room, I''m going to Henry and ask him to bring me outside of school," I lowered my voice, making sure no one would hear.


    "Can you help me open the door on your end during the night?" I had a rope ready hanging from my window.


    "I don''t know," Sienna was slightly hesitant.


    With Luke walking towards us, wondering why we were so quiet, it was a signal for her to leave. Puffing my cheeks, it made me think that sleeping outside without the tents would be better than being inside this room all the time. I wasn''t even his partner this week and it was worse than when I was partnered with him. Gripping my blanket, Delia''s efforts seemed to be going all to waste. Whenever Luke would step out of the room, someone looking for him, Alex took his place. Sitting in the exact same chair, doing the same things.


    "My weekend is almost gone," I sadly mumbled, rolling around the bed while hugging a pillow.


    "Can I see what you''re reading?" I attempted to peek at his doc.u.ments when he ignored me.


    "Get back into the bed Rika," Luke noticed me leaning away from it.


    "Why am I here anyways? Aren''t I supposed to be sleeping outside with Henry?" I wondered if everyone was still blaming him.


    "I talked to the teachers about cancelling this mission. You''ll have to wait until I sort everything out," he seemed disgusted with Henry.


    I stiffened, not wanting my chance of going out of the school to be gone. I didn''t want to stay inside this room while Luke negotiated with the teachers. Giving up in the daytime, my eyes were filled with determination to carry out my plan tonight. Hopefully, the door to my bedroom wouldn''t be locked with Luke''s habit of entering freely in and out of my room all the time. I knew the time when Luke would be deeply asleep since he strictly stuck to his schedule.


    Opening my eyes in the middle of the night, I lifted my side of the blanket ever so slightly. Luke was a light sleeper, waking up from the faintest sounds. This was why I didn''t like sleeping on the same bed as him. It would be harder to sneak out of the room in the middle of the night, more than being in the same room together. Rolling to the furthest part of the bed, I almost gasped when his hand suddenly grabbed onto my arm.


    "Go back to sleep Rika," he tiredly mumbled.


    How? Wasn''t he supposed to be sleeping during this time? When I rolled closer towards him, pretending I was still asleep, he finally let my arm go. Maybe rolling made too many sounds, I needed to find a quieter way to get away unnoticed. Unfortunately, the only option left was to teleport in very small distances, bit by bit before I tiptoed out of this room. This was riskier than the rolling, the mana levels rising in the air that could be easily detectable.


    But I was hopeful that he would be too tired to notice. Silently chanting to move a few centimeters from my spot, I smiled when it succeeded without Luke moving. In the middle of chanting again to move a tiny bit further, Luke opened his arms to pull me into a hug. I stiffened, knowing he would instantly be able to tell if I moved again when I wasn''t in the right place anymore. How did he have countermeasures for everything?


    "You''re too warm," I complained, trying to break free from his arms.


    "I want a colder place to sleep," I was starting to get sick of this.


    "Let me check the temperature in this room," Luke rose to sit on the bed, letting go of me.


    I looked down at the blankets, losing all hope in escaping tonight with him already being awake. Adjusting the settings inside his bedroom, he waited for me to lay down again. Why did this king-sized bed seem so small these days?

 Chapter 469 - Again? (10)

    "This bed is too small for the both of us to fit!" I blamed the bed.


    I wondered if I usually didn''t move around while I slept. I knew I rustled the blankets whenever I was sick, trying to find a warmer or colder place on the bed. Looking to find more things wrong about the space, I realized the blankets were thicker than the ones in my room. The pillows were a bit flatter, affecting my overall sleep. The mattress wasn''t as soft, slightly bit tougher, not having its usual springiness. There was something wrong about the curtains too, having too much moonlight coming in from the windows.


    Luke sighed, noticing me getting more annoyed when I found more complaints about the objects around me. Maybe it was because I was staying in one place too long, I needed the bed to be perfect when I hated this space. I was also used to using the whole bed for myself, spreading my arms and rolling around whenever I wanted. Luke turned on the lights, both of us widely awake. Making sure the light wouldn''t pour into the room Sienna was using, he made sure only a certain portion was dimly lit.


    "It''s the pillows, blankets and mattress, isn''t it?" He realized how I focused more on them than the size of the bed.


    "The tents were better," I wanted to leave this room.


    "Let me message Alex. If he''s awake, we''ll replace everything right now," he took my complaints seriously.


    "I think sleeping on the grass is better," I liked how soft it was when neatly trimmed.


    "Alex is coming to our room," Luke grabbed onto my hand to pull me with him into the living room.


    I froze, making Luke stop in the middle of his steps. The living room was clean, sparkling to the point that my eyes were almost blinded. Our living room was almost never like this, messy with cases full of a collection of medicine and supplements. The table used to be filled with doc.u.ments, leaving no space to move around, some papers accidentally getting disorganized when I created a light wind from walking too fast around them. I did think that ever since Sienna moved in, this place was cleaner.


    Luke never had the time to clean this place, only roughly hiding everything whenever guests visited us. He didn''t like me cleaning our dorm room as well, not wanting more things out of place or potentially making the place even messier. Mostly Claire and Yulian visited us before they graduated, preferring to meet us in person. Family members were an exception to this rule, such as Alex, used to the messes.


    Opening the door for Alex, he seemed to be a little irritated towards me to be called in the middle of the night. I wondered if Luke really needed to call him to help with replacing all the stuff when we had the tablet in our hands. Seeing my curious eyes, Alex spitted out the answer, "the school only allows us to replace the highest collection of furniture other than purchasing new ones with our points when more than one person complains about them."


    "Then can we get a bigger bed?" I wondered since we were replacing most of the stuff anyways.


    "You also wanted to change the curtains," Luke tapped to replace the curtain.


    With the eloquent reports both of them wrote, the requests instantly got approved. Reading some complaints running into essays, they came up with more things than I would have found. There was nothing I could complain about his bedroom anymore, Luke knew all my preferences from being stuck in the same dorm together since kindergarten. Thinking back on everything, the bedroom Sienna was using perfected matched my tastes. Even the rooms I used as my main bedroom in his mansions were the same.


    Luke opened the door to his bedroom again, finding his room almost identical to mine. Reluctantly walking towards the bed from Alex''s pressuring stare, I was soon forced to lay down to try out the new bed. Embracing the soft blankets, I watched Luke thanking Alex, letting him leave to his room next door while making sure to keep an eye on me. How was I ever going to escape from this place now?


    "I''m not feeling sleepy," I crossed my arms, turning my head to avoid looking at Luke''s face.


    "This will help," Luke gave me a warm mug of hot chocolate.


    I frowned at the sight of the mug. This was what Luke was giving me every time I complained that I couldn''t sleep anymore. Whenever I drank that thing, I found myself waking up more than a several hours later when I didn''t remember going to sleep. I didn''t want to spend my days like this anymore, sleeping during the time I could have visited the club room. Even the caf¨¦ wasn''t a bad place to spend my time.


    The pitiful reason why I drank it was since it was the only dessert that he allowed me to enjoy. My meals were the typical salad and porridge with no sugar inside them. Trying to relish the drink, the next time I woke up, I tapped on my marble several times, trying to confirm if what I was seeing was real. How could it be Friday afternoon already? How could almost an entire week pass without me knowing it?

 Chapter 470 - Again? (11)

    "I already told the teachers you would be taking the entire week off," Luke passed me a tray of food.


    It made sense how he was here, it was break time. Feeling hungry from missing almost a week''s worth of meals, I picked up a spoon to start eating. Why did I feel like I was at Ben''s apartment again, unable to spot any of the food I liked to eat on the tray? How could he exclude all the extra sugar in each of the dishes? Maybe I wasn''t so hungry after all, seeing how I took a few bites at most from each plate.


    Pulling the blankets away from me, I realized I was wearing a new night gown. It was lighter than what I usually wore, making me shiver from the difference in temperature. Luke adjusted the temperature inside the room again, not missing a single detail about me. Dizzily laying down on the bed once it was warm again, the next time I opened my eyes, I found him gone from the room to attend class. Wasn''t this the perfect time to escape from this room?


    I smiled when I was able to open the window in his room, not running into this amount of luck in the past few months. Not hesitating to jump onto the ground, I almost cheered when I was finally out of that room. I took a deep breath of the outside air, enjoying my newfound freedom before I decided to contact Henry. From seeing how Sienna was still using my room, I guessed I was still partnered with him.


    [Are you feeling a bit better now?] Henry messaged to reply during class.


    [I''m already in front of the school gates] I let him know I wanted to leave the school.


    [What?]


    Walking in front of the gates, its tall bars towered over me. My eyebrows went up when I found Henry running towards me, not thinking he was the type to run out of class. He grabbed both of my shoulders, trying to see if I was still sane. I wasn''t wearing any shoes, still in my nightgown, not bothering to change into my uniform. Trying to hide my upcoming smile when I found the identification tags hung around his neck, I pulled one of them from him.


    Waving the identification tag, the gates opened, giving me a chance to sprint outside the school before Henry knew what was happening. But what I didn''t expect was a new set of kidnappers standing a close distance from the gates. Holding a dagger around my neck, they warned Henry not to come any closer. Henry froze, bewildered as my kidnappers started to drag me into their hover car. Covering my eyes with another blindfold, my mouth was covered by their hand.


    "Where are we going?" I was able to speak once the hover car floated into the air.


    "I''m sure you''re already familiar with the underground passageways," one of them removed the blindfold.


    "We''re already there?" I gasped from finding myself in front of a parking spot.


    They had to have used a teleportation gate to get to this place so soon. I wondered if they were watching the gates to open this entire time. Being forced to walk in between them, I was able to get a better view of how everything was illusioned to make it seem we were in broad daylight. Sunlight drowned the building from outside, putting all the artificial lights off. More than solid walls, I was surrounded by thick glass, allowing me to see many people from a far distance away.


    My feet were cold from walking on cold stone tiles, rubbing my arms. Opening a door to one of the rooms, I found myself being confined again. One of them locked the door behind them, checking on the hundreds of cameras in the room. Focusing on any hidden spells, my eyes went round when I noticed they were using the same mana s.u.c.k.i.n.g spell on the cameras. Inside this tiny room was a small bed and table. I hung my head down, finding Luke''s bedroom to be much better than this place.


    "You''re not keeping here forever, right?" I stared at my two captors.


    "Why is she not afraid of us?" One of them whispered into another person''s ear.


    "She seems too calm to be a child coming from that prestige school," she agreed.


    Were these people dumb? I wondered why they weren''t lowering their voices since I could hear everything they were saying. Listening attentively to their conversation, I discovered they planned to leave me inside this room until I died from them draining all my mana out of me. Didn''t they know that I could easily escape from this room after doing a powerful explosion spell? The glass walls didn''t have fortified barriers to protect them in this section of the passage. Once they left the room, I planned on blowing up this entire organization with my newly learnt disintegration spell.


    "She looks so pretty," a person admired my inhuman appearance.


    "Children coming from powerful families are different," she joined in.


    "I''m hungry," I needed them to leave the room.


    Both of them turned to me, stopping their conversation. I guessed they forgot they needed to give their hostage some food to keep me alive. One of them ran out the room, not locking the door behind her. I tried to hold back my smile from how careless they were being, wondering if I could convince them to let me out of the room instead of escaping. It wasn''t my first time getting kidnapped.

 Chapter 471 - Employee (1)

    "Rika wants to know why she was taken," I made my eyes sparkle.


    "We weren''t targeting any kid in particular. We just knew children that attended this school had a great supply of mana within them," my captor answered me.


    "How did you figure out that everyone that attended my school had a great supply of mana within them?" I tried to get as much information as possible.


    "A girl we kidnapped from this school before brought a great amount of mana into one of our branches," he shrugged.


    I was sure. These people weren''t just careless in giving out all this precious information to me, they were purely stupid. All I had to do was to make my voice pitched a bit higher while sweetly mixing in a little bit of fear. I didn''t even have to put much effort into my acting skills, my captor being too distracted from staring at my face. The communication here was also terrible, them not knowing that I was the same girl that had been kidnapped before by one of their fellow accomplices.


    "I brought some savage food," she returned to the room to give me a box of chicken wings.


    "Wait, you have to add some of these first," he pulled out a package of fine crystalline powder.


    My eyes started to glitter, seeing how they were adding some sugar into the chicken wings. How did these people know my preferences so well? I wished they brought me more of the food that they considered as savage. Waiting for them to pass me the box, I gulped from the amazing smell. But I was soon getting disappointed in them since they were taking a long time to put the sugar in. Grabbing the package of sugar from them, I decided to pour the entire thing into the box. I didn''t like it when my food was cold.


    "We can''t give you this," he tried to take the box away from me.


    "You were taking too long to add the sugar in," I strengthened my grip on the box.


    "The chicken wings will get cold," I added when we were starting to fight over the box.


    "I''ll bring some pizza in. Only barbarians eat these kinds of food," she ran out of the room again, leaving the door wide open this time.


    I sighed, giving on the box since they were bringing in pizza. Quickly running out of the room to dispose of the box, my other captor forgot to close the door. Not wanting to stay inside this room anymore, I stood in front of the door, waiting for them to give me the slices of pizza. Maybe I would destroy this section of the passageway after eating some food. I was sick of eating all those fancy meals in school. Ever since I could order whatever I wanted, my obsession with food disappeared.


    Luke and I were purely earning more points to keep out early admission into the high school section safe. Sometimes I thought it wouldn''t be so bad to drop down into a lower ranking school that would most likely have an easier curriculum. But there was no way Luke would let that happen, dragging me to more study sessions. With lower motivation to study from having the luxurious rooms and meals, it couldn''t be helped that I was less cooperative during our sessions together.


    "Why didn''t you bring the entire box?" I was disappointed when both of them came back.


    "We''ll give you the other half of the box for dinner," she didn''t think much of me being out of the room.


    "And the drinks are missing," I wanted some melon soda to go along with it.


    "Why is our hostage outside the room?" Their superior walked up to us.


    "They forgot to bring the entire box of pizza and some drinks to go along with it," I found the perfect chance to complain.


    "And give me the package of sugar," I grabbed it from my captive''s hand.


    Pouring the sugar over the pizza, I smiled before taking a slice from the plate with my b.a.r.e hands. I didn''t bother to use the fork and knives given to me, washing my hands with a water spell beforehand. Melting from the delicious cheese pull while taking some bites, the three of them watched me in shock. I knew they were wondering why someone like me enjoyed something like this.


    "Finally," I almost rolled my eyes when one of them ran to bring me a can of soda.


    With the leftover packages of sugar, I poured more into the drink. Maybe living here wouldn''t be too bad after all. Whenever I frowned and gestured that I wanted something, one of them ran to bring me the things right away. While I did wonder why there weren''t any robots to do the tasks for them, it was an extremely convenient place to live in.


    "The dessert?" I looked up at them.


    "We only have some ingredients in the kitchen," she confessed.


    "Then bring me to the kitchen, I know how to cook," I noticed how their superior had already given up on us.


    Walking to the kitchen, I couldn''t stop looking at all the fascinating tools that were new to me. I wanted to try all of them out with the plentiful ingredients stored inside their inventories.


    "Did we accidentally bring the wrong person with us?" One of them mumbled.


    "We can''t just return her," their superior sighed.

 Chapter 472 - Employee (2)

    "What are you doing?" Someone came up to me.


    "I''m sprinkling some mana into the food to make it taste better. Would you like to try?" I scooped the batter onto the spoon.


    "I''m asking why there are dozens of people suffering from all your experiments! All the infirmaries are full! Who''s your superior? I think I have to make them put a stop to this," he didn''t realize that I wasn''t a part of them.


    "He''s already in the infirmary. But not all people who try testing the food get sick ok?" I started to get offended.


    I was still getting familiar with the tools here. I had to admit it was better than using the headgears, playing with how each function worked. The level of difficulty was slightly higher in real life as I read the instruction manuals. You had to precisely pour in some mana into the tools to make them work. If I accidentally poured too much, the stove would explode. This was how my original captives were stuck inside the infirmary now with their superior that didn''t look much better than them.


    Not wanting to taste test my own food anymore, I started to find some people who complained that they were hungry. I was beginning to get depressed since most of my creations tasted horrible even with all the drizzled mana. Looking around the almost crumbling kitchen from me making mistakes on using the tools, the person sighed. If I managed to succeed in making a decent meal here, I could purchase my own in the future for the hideout I owned with Ellen and Shelly.


    "Don''t tell me you''ve been putting this poison in?" His eyes widened when I opened a bottle.


    "It tastes good on its own. So it''ll probably enhance the taste of the overall meal," I went along this line of thinking.


    "No wonder everyone is getting sick! You''re mixing in all these strong bottles of poison inside!" He yelled.


    "I drank each bottle just fine, ok?" I chugged one of them, l.i.c.k.i.n.g my lips towards the end.


    "You''re the strange one. One whole bottle can kill someone," he shuddered.


    "What''s going on?" Another person entered the kitchen.


    "She''s been poisoning everyone with her experiments," he pointed at me.


    "How was I supposed to know they were poison? It''s not like there were labels on them!" I pointed out the main reason why I had to experiment with all the ingredients.


    "Everyone knows how to recognize them from learning it in school," he didn''t buy my explanation.


    "And you think I graduated from school yet?" I gestured to my appearance.


    He went silent with the person beside him. I knew I looked younger than my actual age, around eleven at most. This was why Luke posted two ages when he searched for me in both the first and second districts. Going back to trying to mix the new set of cookie dough with the mixer, I decided to exclude the bottle of poison. The broken tools were already placed outside the kitchen, hoping someone else would dispose of them for me.


    "How did you even join us?" He wondered.


    "She was probably able to join us since she was immune to poison," the person elbowed him.


    "Anyways, you''re banned from the kitchen now," he pulled my arm.


    "Wait, can I take a bath first?" I was covered in all my failed batters.


    "You weren''t assigned to a room yet?" He looked a bit confused.


    "It''s my first day here," I nodded my head.


    "No wonder," a person mumbled.


    "Here''s a key to one of the extra rooms. Someone will come to you to give you the welcome package soon," he led me to a large room that had all my dreams inside.


    I could spot a headgear placed on top of a cabinet while there was both a king-sized bed and comfortable gaming pod. My toes wiggled between the soft carpets while spotting the device to make a large screen to appear at my will with large bean chairs filling the extra place. I didn''t want to leave this place, being like another gaming centre. Opening the door to the bathroom, everything was such high quality that it resembled the room in the dorms. Why was a criminal organization so fancy?


    Quickly putting on a bathrobe, I opened the door to find a person waiting to come in. The welcome package was amazing, showing where I had access on the map of the entire place. Ben was right, this place was much bigger than the map he possessed. With the access card I was given, there weren''t many places where I couldn''t enter. I wondered if being a criminal was bad, looking at all the benefits inside the pamphlets. They could even take a holiday at another facility they owned.


    "Where do I sign the contract?" My eyes sparkled.


    "Didn''t you already sign it?" The person was confused.


    "I did," I nodded my head, pretending that I forgot about it.


    "Anyways, we''ll give you a week to settle in before we begin the training. Your important contacts are stored in this device," she tapped the watch I was given.


    I opened the door for her after she was done explaining everything. Maybe I wouldn''t need to escape from the Roselia family anymore, I could just live out the rest of my days here. With their amazing networks, there was a chance that I could visit my parents without the Roselia family knowing. Apologizing to my parents that I wouldn''t be able to graduate from school inside my heart, I entered the marvellous gaming pod to sleep inside instead of the bed.

 Chapter 473 - Employee (3)

    "So why did you join this organization?" I ate with my mentor in one of their cafeterias.


    "The benefits and the opportunities to get promoted are better than other places," she didn''t hesitate to reveal.


    "Don''t you have to kidnap or kill people?" I wondered.


    "We mostly assign those kinds of tasks to our branches. People like us at the headquarters are different. Kidnapping or watching over hostages is the furthest extent that we''ll ever be around danger," she shrugged.


    This explained why my former captors seemed to be beginners at this. The life of a criminal wasn''t so bad when you were placed in the headquarters. Most of the people in my department have never committed a crime, normal people in the first district. They were recruited from a normal job board, going through a formal interview process after passing the application stage. In fact, they commuted to this building from their houses like it was another day of work.


    I was the rare exception, people pitying me that I ran away from my house to escape from my violent partner. Surprisingly, although these cases were rare, it wasn''t that uncommon. I almost dropped my spoon when they told me their engagements kept on changing based on their compatibility together until they graduated from high school. I never believed Shelly when she told me people from lower ranking schools had the chance to change partners unlike us.


    Eating some slices of pizza, everyone looked at me weirdly for eating the food reserved for hostages. But since I teared up every time that they brought up my cover story, they never mentioned it again. I actually liked the department I was assigned to, not having to go through intense training sessions like the others. Since I was still young, they didn''t plan on assigning me any difficult tasks.


    The most I was supposed to do was to attend the meetings with them and take notes to pass onto everyone else in the team. I could slowly learn how the organization worked this way, able to transition into a higher role when I got older. Since I had to follow everyone around to the meetings rooms, I was practically given more access than the regular employees. Enjoying my time here, I liked how they tried to give children a normal childhood.


    "I''ll give you a tour of this place," she rose from her chair.


    Leaving my tray on the table to follow her, I was stunned in how this entire place was organized. Immersing myself in the futuristic first district, I couldn''t take my eyes off in all the huge computations trying to hack into another organization with ease. Strings of never-ending numbers swirled all around the air in the first room I entered. Servants were busily put to work to make the whole infrastructure spotless while doing some menial tasks.


    My seniors that I was working under were attempting to solve complex problems regarding the broken robots. Constantly chanting more spells to help determine where the mistakes were, my mentor led me to another place to not distract them from their work. I even got to look at all the cameras placed around the building. Managing to spot my old room, nobody caring that the hostage had disappeared.


    Everyone was busy with higher piles of work since their colleagues were inside the infirmary for some reason. Once the tour was over, my mentor brought me back to my room. Flipping the screen on to watch a movie during the spare time, I almost jumped on my bed when someone else knocked on my door. Walking to unlock the door, I pressed a button to let him in.


    "Do you have some extra time to watch over the hostages? We placed them inside a secure room and you only have to watch them from the other side of the glass. Over half of our workers are in the infirmary while others are busy with the work they couldn''t do," he seemed to be out of breath.


    "Sure," I wondered who else they kidnapped.


    With the access card hanging around my neck, I entered the room at a safe place. I had some translucent screens floating in front of me, showing the scene of the people inside the room at different angles. A large keyboard hovered around me with its the controls being introduced by the person who asked me for help. Although I pitied the people being blindfolded while unable to use their mana with the chains clasped around their wrists and ankles, the features inside this room was cool.


    "Are you keeping the blindfolds on them?" I thought it would be a good choice.


    "The blindfolds are only temporary. They''ll disappear soon since we''ll need to confirm their identities," he pressed a button on the keyboard to see who his colleague had kidnapped.


    "You don''t know who they brought?" I was stunned by the lack of communication.


    "They''re spies who stuck in here," he sighed.


    When he received a call that they needed his help from another department, he left me to confirm their identities on my own. Pressing a button to make the blindfolds disappear, the people in the other side of the room froze. Their jaws almost dropped while they stared at me in their uncomfortable positions, treated much worse than when I was a hostage. How was I ever going to explain this? Maybe I should have told him that I was busy today.

 Chapter 474 - Employee (4)

    "Rika?" Ben couldn''t break the chains keeping him captive.


    "I''m not Rika. I''m a newly hired employee here," I frowned.


    "Can I know the reason why you tried to trespass into our organization?" I tried to remain professional.


    "This isn''t the time for your jokes Rika!" Lucius grunted.


    How were all the people I knew inside this room? Ben, Lucius and Claire all together in one place. This meant their partners were somewhere else, trying to get more information about this organization. Were Lucius and Claire the support Ben was talking about when I got kidnapped last time? I hung my head down, thinking how unfortunate it was to run into them. It was obvious that they weren''t going to leave this place without me.


    "I''ll be leaving this room once I confirm your identities," I opened another screen to input the data.


    "You can''t be serious Rika," Lucius watched me typing in their names.


    "How did she even get here?" Claire tried to get a closer look at the screens I was controlling.


    "Did they kidnap you again?" Ben guessed.


    "I told you, I''m not Rika but a new employee," I glared at them to take me seriously.


    "Luke sent me a message yesterday that she got kidnapped," Lucius confirmed the situation with Ben.


    "I''m not a hostage anymore," I puffed my cheeks.


    "Just what the heck is the headquarters doing?" I stomped my foot in frustration.


    "I''m back," the person opened the door.


    "I finished confirming their identities," I showed him the screen.


    "You''re on the road for a promotion," he was impressed.


    "Is it ok if I leave you in charge of this room?" He was giving me an opportunity.


    "I''ll make sure to never let them out of the room! Since they possess an abundant amount of mana, they probably don''t need to be fed often," I wanted to rise in the ranks.


    "Then you can leave around 5PM since that''s the time we leave work," he chuckled while leaving me in charge.


    It felt nice when you weren''t the one being held captive. This was a great taste of revenge for all the times the Roselia family confined me to their mansions. Pulling out a bowl of popcorn from my inventory, freshly popped from the cafeteria, I decided I needed a snack while watching them. With how chill the work environment was, I could even watch a movie since there was no way they could escape from that room.


    "You''re going to get sick again," Lucius looked at me in disapproval.


    "They let me join after I drank bottles of strong poison," I shook my head.


    I needed a drink to go along the popcorn, my throat feeling a bit dry. Before my former captives could ban me from the kitchen, I managed to sneak in these delicious beverages with me. Taking out one of the bottles, tasting like melted sugar, I opened it while ignoring everyone staring at me, stunned.


    "Isn''t that the strongest poison in the first district to exist?" Ben could identify the drink by how it behaved in the bottle.


    "It is," Claire almost went speechless.


    "It''s similar to soda!" I argued, feeling a bit offended.


    "How many bottles did you drink?" Ben wanted to know how much was left in my inventory.


    "I''m not giving you any. I only have five left after getting banned from the kitchen," I was glad we were separated by a glass wall.


    "They''re so stingy. Banning me from the kitchen since I used around one hundred bottles when there were around a few thousands in their inventory," I sulked from remembering.


    "Is your sister alright?" Ben turned to Lucius.


    "Maybe one hundred bottles won''t do much harm," Claire tried to console him, not believing her own words.


    "You don''t even know if it''s poison or not!" I pointed out how there were no labels.


    "It''s the only drink you had, right?" Claire attempted to calm Lucius.


    "Don''t get too jealous," I grinned while pulling out the other flavours.


    The pink bottle, one of my favourites, had the strawberry flavour. The red one was raspberries, blue being blueberries and the green one tasted like sugary apples. Pouring them into the batter I made, they were the only saving grace in making the failed cake taste better. Seeing how Lucius'' face was getting paler, I sighed from finding him get jealous over my supplies. Not everyone knew how these drinks could rival the milkshakes from the caf¨¦.


    "How are you still alive?" Ben''s eyes widened.


    "Just confirming, those are the ones tied in second place for being the next strongest poison in all the districts, right?" Claire whispered into Ben''s ear.


    "They are," he nodded his head.


    Not wanting to listen to them, I opened a package of sugar to pour onto the popcorn to make them taste better. I was disappointed in everyone in that room, who watched me like I was a crazy person. They never tried adding sugar to their food like I did. My end of my lips curved up into a smile as I enjoyed the snack and the drinks together. Why were some people so judgemental?


    "Those are drugs, right?" Claire tried to confirm with Ben again.


    "It''s sugar!" I refuted.


    "My condolences," Ben pitied Lucius.


    "It''s no wonder they''re letting her out," she mumbled.


    "Rikkkka! You better let us out of this room while we''re still willing to talk to you," Lucius began to threaten me.


    "I can''t. It''s time for me to leave work. It''s 5PM," I began to close all the screens once I noticed the time.

 Chapter 475 - Employee (5)

    "How is it like when you''re the one confined for once?" I smirked while checking the security in the room.


    "Just wait when we manage to get out of this room Rika. I''ll make sure you won''t leave the mansion during the holidays," Lucius warned me.


    "That''s if you can escape," I shrugged while locking the door behind me.


    Skipping to my room, it was nice when you were the captor, on the opposite end, watching other people suffer. I had so much freedom here, compared to my life at school or inside one of their mansions. I could eat whatever and whenever I wanted, wear anything from buying a decent set of loose clothes with my advance salary and do anything I wanted before I clocked into work. Smiling while unlocking the room to begin my workday, I found the three of them still inside the room.


    "Oh, you''re still here," I pretended to be shocked.


    From having a tremendous amount of experience in trying to escape, I thoroughly blocked off all the routes. The only person who was better than me at this was sadly Luke, who was almost impossible to escape from. I didn''t pity any of them, I suffered under them enough. Waving my hand to pull out all the screens to start my day, I looked over the security one last time.


    "We didn''t educate her enough," Lucius apologized to Ben and Claire.


    "She''s still young," Claire accepted his apology.


    "Respect your seniors! If you include my current age and my age from my former life, I''m thirty years old," I found them taking me too lightly.


    "And you''re like um eighteen? That makes me twelve years older than you," I coldly stared at them in hopes to intimidate them.


    "Maybe the poison is starting to kick in now," Ben whispered into Claire''s ear.


    Turning away from them, I decided to watch an action film that I brought with me. My eyes were glued to the screen as I didn''t realize how good the plotline was here. There was always something happening to the character, whether it was his love stuff or fighting to win the war. Since there were five movies in this series, I binge watched everything, wondering how the protagonist was so cool. He was the definition of a cheat character, defeating everything in one slash or spell.


    "You''re still here?" I forgot about the people behind me.


    "That series has a sequel," Ben pointed out.


    "Really? I guess I''ll borrow more then," I happily hummed.


    "But isn''t it time for your lunch?" Claire noticed the time.


    "I can skip it! I can eat more popcorn and soda while watching the movie," I was living my life the way I wanted.


    "Rika? You''re not going for lunch? I can take your place," my colleague opened the door.


    "I made sure none of them would be able to escape!" I showed him how I increased the prevention measures.


    "I''ll talk to my superior about having you promoted," he patted my head.


    "Will my salary increase?" My eyes glittered.


    "It will," he chuckled.


    "And I also brought some meals for our hostages," he brought out the trays.


    "Why? We can starve them for several days and they won''t die," I pointed out they could use that chance to escape.


    "We need them in a good condition so we can fetch a higher price for their ransom," he explained.


    "But the food is too good to waste on some hostages," I looked at the box of chicken wings.


    "Don''t you have any pet food?" I suggested.


    "Pet food?" My colleague wondered.


    "You know like dog food from the third district," I pushed my idea forward.


    "I don''t think we have that with us," he frowned.


    "Well, you don''t have to give them a box with a fork and a knife. You can just throw the food on the ground for them to eat. If they''re really hungry, they''ll eat it," I came up with another alternative.


    "It''ll make the floors messy," he disagreed.


    "Does it matter? We''re not using the room anyways," I wanted my revenge.


    "I guess," he chanted a spell to drop the chicken wings on the floor inside the other room.


    Leaving the room to switch places so I could take my lunch break, I borrowed more movies from the company library. When I came back to watch over the hostages, I found the chicken wings still on the same place on the ground. I guessed they weren''t that hungry seeing that they didn''t eat the food. Checking my company inbox before I decided to watch another movie, I smiled when my promotion was approved.


    "That''s your only meal for today," I made sure my colleagues wouldn''t give them more food.


    "We''ll make sure to re-educate her from the beginning," Lucius apologized to the others again.


    "I''m never going back to the Roselia family again," I was never going to leave this place out of my own free will.


    "You would think she ran away from home," Ben commented.


    "She does look like she''s enjoying herself here," Claire agreed.


    "That''s right! This place is way better than any of your mansions. Do you know how many vacation days this company gives per year? The pay is also high compared to working a part-time job somewhere else. And all the benefits from being able to freely use their recreation centres," I praised the organization.

 Chapter 476 - Employee (6)

    "Congratulations, your promotion was approved," my mentor came up to me.


    "Thank you, I didn''t think I would get that promotion so soon," I tried to stay humble.


    "Apparently it''s hard for the others to look after the hostages in that room. We''re trying to get more information from them, but they refuse to cooperate," she sighed.


    "Maybe I can help you during that time," I liked how my pay was increasing.


    "Sure, I''ll let my superior know," she contacted one of the executives.


    After my first day, I was stunned to figure out my mentor was high up in the organization. The only people above her were the executives in the organization. She seemed so normal, complaining about her life even when the work-life balance was better than other places. Hearing from my other colleague, she volunteered to become my mentor since I reminded her of her children.


    "You must be Rika," the executive came to greet me in the room I was in charge of.


    "It''s a p.l.e.a.s.u.r.e to meet you," I shook his hand.


    "You''ll be helping me with filling out the answers to these questions," he waved his hand to open the screen.


    Looking at the simple questions, I grinned. I already knew most of the answers to these questions. Gesturing towards the hostages, I began my presentation, "I can give you the answers right now. I managed to get the information from them on my first day."


    "They currently attend First University, being in their first year. It was their mission to sneak in here, given from the school. The main purpose of their mission is to gather as much information about this place as possible. Since all of them are fraction leaders and heirs to their families, each of them will fetch a high ransom," I ended my presentation.


    "This is impressive. You can expect another promotion soon," the executive found the question sheet completely filled within a few minutes.


    "Thank you very much," I shook his hand before he left the room.


    "We understand. She''s still young," Ben tried to calm Lucius.


    "She didn''t give out any of the details about the mission," Claire added.


    "It''s because she doesn''t know about the details," Lucius coldly watched me enjoy another movie.


    "Yesss!" I shouted when I got another notification about an approved promotion while watching the movie.


    "I''m a manager now," I appreciated having underlings.


    "Congratulations on your second promotion," my colleague opened the door.


    "It makes me think I have to work harder," I started to think about my bonuses.


    "We''ll be rearranging more people to your team tomorrow," he came to let me know.


    "If you don''t mind, can I know your position?" I wondered since his request for my promotion was approved faster than the executive.


    "Oh I forgot. I''m the chairman of this organization. Other people just call me boss," he appeared as if he was a normal employee.


    I was shocked that I was standing in front of such an important person all this time. Even the hostages were stunned, their jaws almost dropping. Quickly trying to hide my emotions on my face, I pretended I had never heard his confession. The people that I would have to mooch up to had increased. Since I wanted my career to be long here, I should stay humbler like the chairman in front of me.


    "I''m thinking of retiring soon. I have enough money in my account to leave this organization. If only if you were older, I could leave my position to you," the chairman joked.


    "I think age doesn''t matter but how capable the person is," I wanted to be included in his list of potential heirs to this organization.


    "Sure, I''ll include you," he laughed while leaving the room.


    "Rika. I''ll forget about everything you did up to today. You have to release us," Lucius looked more desperate once we were left alone.


    "The chairman is the most wanted person in all the districts," Ben shuddered.


    "It won''t be long until he figures out your identity," Claire agreed.


    "What identity? An ordinary girl from the third district?" I found the chairman to be a friendly person.


    "He has never seen you in the true sunlight," Lucius pointed out the Roselia family feature that I possessed.


    "I''m not going to leave this building," I puffed my cheeks.


    "Worse case scenario, I''ll blow up the entire place," I mumbled.


    "What if he chains you so you''re unable to use mana like us?" Lucius argued.


    "They won''t do that. When I first came here, their aim was to drain all my mana out of me," I recalled the moment I was confined into a small room.


    "The cameras?" Ben knew what I was talking about.


    I nodded my head, "so nothing big is going to happen to me."


    "How did you free yourself?" Claire wanted to know the whole story.


    ???I demanded them to bring me some more pizza and a drink since they only gave me a plate of food. They eventually decided to bring me to the kitchen because I wanted to cook for myself. Now they''re at the infirmary since I accidentally made one of the stoves explode," I didn''t hold anything against them.


    "So none of them know you''re another hostage," Lucius tried to confirm with me.


    "I''m not a hostage anymore!" I crossed my arms.


    "And my kidnappers were way nicer than you," I grumbled.

 Chapter 477 - Employee (7) - Alexs POV

    "I''m still monitoring Rika''s condition. She thinks that she can leave the bed since she can walk. But she won''t be able to survive without the machines making sure to perfectly regulate her body," Luke''s hands shook.


    "I''ll make sure she''ll never leave the room," I tried to comfort my cousin.


    "She''s not reacting well to the small doses of poison and drugs," he trembled in fear, worrying about Rika''s health.


    I knew that Luke was afraid that Rika''s food may get drugged again, seeing how her kidnappers tried to do something to her. Even deadly poison was on the list of possibilities inside the most dangerous organization comprising the cruelest of criminals she escaped from. With Rika confined to his room from her injuries, it was the chance to increase her tolerance to the drugs and poison. But Luke couldn''t do this at the infirmary, the school not allowing anyone to increase their tolerance through this way since there were very high risks of them dying from it.


    "I''ll come visit during the nights," I tried to console him.


    Opening the door to his bedroom, Rika curled up in pain, covered in her sweat. Tussling inside the blankets, her body was burning at an extremely high temperature, more than her usual fevers. The machines weren''t that helpful, only showing her condition worsening. Coughing to get some air in her lungs, she was on the edge of vomiting all her food again. With her pulse getting fainter, she struggled to breathe. And whenever she felt like she was able to speak again, she didn''t stop crying, "it hurts, it really hurts."


    "I''m here Rika," Luke rubbed her back to comfort her.


    "I know it hurts," he sighed while getting out a wet cloth to wipe some of her sweat.


    I pitied my cousin, looking after her. She had one of the worst reactions to the tiniest doses that usually wouldn''t affect anyone. Luke had diluted the poison and drugs in water to the point they were almost non-existent. Putting up a sound barrier so that Sienna wouldn''t be able to hear Rika''s cries, I helped Luke in trying to bring her temperature down. But no matter what we did, her condition never improved until Luke used heal on her.


    "I can use heal on her next time," I offered, noticing Luke was extremely tired.


    Luke nodded his head, wanting more sleep after not getting any from taking care of Rika. Giving him a chance to rest during the daytime, I watched over the sleeping Rika, making sure the machines were working properly. She appeared like an angel when things were this peaceful, opposite of when she was half-conscious, desperately pleading for anyone to help her with the pain. Luke didn''t take a break when she made him feel heartbroken from seeing her suffer so much. Mostly raising Rika on his own, she was almost like his own child.


    It was hard not to feel like your heart was tearing apart when she looked like she was close to dying. Whenever Luke couldn''t push himself to watch over her when she got sick, I took his place. Watching over her for years, she grew up spoiled under Luke''s generosity. This was where I disagreed with Luke''s method of trying to protect her by hiding things from her until she got a little older.


    Since she didn''t know that the organization that kidnapped her was the most dangerous in the first district, excluding monsters and fairies, she took the danger very lightly. Used to being the target all the time, she didn''t know that she was still alive from Luke''s desperate efforts. Helping Luke in raising Rika recently, I couldn''t help but be stricter towards her. After increasing the doses each night, Rika was wailing all the time, barely hanging on. I let her squeeze my hand as Luke slept on the chair to attend classes tomorrow.


    I frowned when the last dose was a bit too much for her. It was the first time Luke didn''t dilute the various poison and drugs. Both of us had to attend class, but Rika couldn''t stop screaming and crying. We already exhausted as much mana as we could, but her condition didn''t improve from anything. Checking the settings on the machine again, Luke started to get nervous, not wanting to leave her alone more than ever.


    "We can check up on her during the breaks," I hid how I felt she may not be alive by the time we came back.


    Luke nodded his head, hesitant to leave his bedroom. As soon as each break came, we teleported to the entrance to his dorms. We sighed in relief when her condition was about the same as when we left her. I could tell Delia was getting more worried for her friend as I sneaked out of our dorms in the middle of the night. Wondering why she was almost anxious as much as Luke, I soon found out we were too tired to remember to place the sound-proof barrier every night and during the breaks.


    Sienna must have heard everything from the other side of the wall and told her friends about it. But I was glad they weren''t digging into the details, leaving us alone. When Luke found Rika gone from the bed one day, I was stunned how the windows were open when we kept them shut to help maintain her temperature.


    "What? Rika got kidnapped again?" Sienna shouted inside her bedroom.

 Chapter 478 - Employee (8) - Siennas POV

    Hearing Rika''s screams getting worse as the nights passed, I couldn''t help but worry for her. Luke tried to console her, telling her that he was here to help when she begged for someone to save her. His trembling voice showed how he was close to breaking down as more time passed, repeating the same words over and over again. Alex joined in whenever I couldn''t hear Luke''s voice anymore, softening his voice towards her, saying that she''ll get better soon.


    Although all of us started to ignore Henry ever since he hit Rika, he needed to know what was happening. Calling him for the first time in days, the first words he said when he picked up the call was, "I didn''t hit her!"


    "I don''t believe you," I let him listen to all of Rika''s cries.


    "Why is she so sick?" Henry could hear everything on his end.


    "Rika has been like this for days. Say that you didn''t hit her, wouldn''t everything still be your fault since she was with you when she got injured?" I whispered.


    "I didn''t think it would last this long," his voice was filled with guilt.


    When Rika loudly shrieked, interrupting our conversation, I could hear hints of panic in Luke''s voice, "you''re going to be fine Rika. Take deeper breaths. Alex and I are with you. Just bear through this a little bit more."


    "You should apologize to Luke!" I knew how exhausted he was.


    Luke appeared like he was almost dying during class, struggling to pay attention. But he tried to push all his worries away, listening attentively to the teachers until he teleported out of the room as soon as break started. He was pale from not getting enough sleep, looking over Rika for the entire night. While he still politely greeted me in the mornings, trying to pretend nothing was wrong, his gaze always landed on his bedroom door.


    Alex was nearly the same as Luke, tired from helping him take care of Rika. I didn''t think the three of them would be this close. It was the same during the time Rika got infected by a monster. While we all wanted to help, we felt like we were getting a bit excluded when we weren''t able to visit Rika. I knew that Luke didn''t fully trust any of us since he always tried to maintain his perfect mask around us.


    "He won''t accept my apology either way," Henry was too scared to talk to Luke.


    "He accepted Cillian''s apology when Rika was kidnapped under his watch," I pointed out.


    "I''ll try," he flinched each time Rika screamed like she was dying.


    Days passed as Delia had unfortunately called me in the middle of the night, wondering why Alex was sneaking out of the dorms. Hearing Rika''s cries for help, she noticed that Alex was helping Luke in taking care of her when she heard his voice, trying to comfort her. Everything was starting to click inside her head, the reason why Alex looked more irritated and s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e lately. Most of his patience was being used up on Rika.


    This made her start pressuring Henry to apologize to Luke and Alex instead of continuing to ignore him. When Delia told Cillian what was happening, he didn''t seem too surprised, having some experience from living with Rika for two weeks. Cillian joined in to pressure him with us, "once Rika gets sick, she gets extremely sick to the point her life can get threatened. Luke works extremely hard to recover her health."


    "It''s not easy taking care of Rika. I had to give up on sleep for two nights when Luke gave her an antibiotic," he sadly recalled.


    "I''m just waiting for the right timing," Henry was starting to give into us.


    But instead of getting a call from him that he apologized to Luke and Alex, his voice was full of panic mixed in with some fear. His eyes were full of shock as he tried to describe what happened, "Rika got kidnapped again."


    "What? Rika got kidnapped again?" I accidentally shouted inside my bedroom.


    "They''re never going to forgive me," he hung his head down.


    Ending the call when someone knocked on my door, I opened the door to let Luke and Alex inside. I sighed, knowing that they heard about her kidnapping from my voice. Henry was right, they were never going to forgive him with how furious both of them looked. All of their hard efforts in nursing Rika back to health were being erased from Henry''s careless mistake. For the first time, Luke didn''t look like he was in his right mind, trembling uncontrollably.


    "Where''s Rika?" Luke tried to reel in his anger.


    "She got kidnapped in front of Henry''s eyes," I wasn''t going to cover for him.


    "First he almost hits her to death and now he gets her kidnapped?" He couldn''t believe his own words.


    "Where is he?" Alex was still sane.


    "Near the school gates," I recalled from the scenery.


    Following them in chasing Henry down, I found him trembling in fear once they found him. With Luke staring at the place that Rika was taken, Alex yelled at Henry in his place, "are you even human? We let you go when you hit her and now you let her get kidnapped?"


    "I didn''t have a choice. They placed a dagger against her neck. They threatened me that they would kill her if I came any closer to them," Henry shrank under their furious eyes.

 Chapter 479 - Employee (9)

    "What do you want from us? Lucius wanted an exchange with me.


    "I want the freedom to visit and go wherever I want during the weekends and holidays," My terms were simple.


    "You know how we can''t do that. I heard you got kidnapped as soon as you left the school," Lucius knew everything that happened from his younger brother.


    "We''re doing this for your sake Rika. You know how it isn''t safe for you," he wanted me to ask for something else.


    "It''s never safe anywhere," I clenched my hands into fists.


    "If I get kidnapped again, I know how to escape. There''s no threat from monsters anymore and it''s rare for fairies to come to this dimension. Why is it so hard for you to accept this fact?" I didn''t like how they always thought I was helpless.


    "I''m better at this than you guys who can''t escape from this room," I pointed out.


    "You should really start educating her more about the first district," Claire mumbled.


    "I can''t disagree with my younger brother. As soon as she learns about something, she immediately gets into more trouble," Lucius sighed.


    "But she''s drinking poison and putting drugs into her own food because she doesn''t know," Ben agreed with Claire.


    "She eats anything without any suspicion," he added when Lucius was still reluctant.


    "It''s soda and sugar!" I knew I would get sick if I actually ate poison and drugs.


    I wondered why they were putting this act in front of me. I knew my body was frail against the food that I had no tolerance against. Unfortunately, it was likely I would die from a small dosage of poison or drugs for the same reason. They were trying to control what I ate even from the other side of the room where they were prisoners.


    "I had enough of you guys treating me this way," I gave up on the exchange.


    "It''s not like I''m a small child who can''t do anything on her own," I argued.


    I slammed the door after locking the door behind me. Trying to calm myself down, I took a walk around the building. Sitting down on a bench inside the company library, I decided to borrow more movies. I didn''t want to talk to those terrible people anymore. Looking up when I noticed the chairman sitting beside me, he watched me explore what other things were available here.


    "I recommended you to be able to take the test to become my heir," the chairman warmly smiled at me.


    "I read all the reports about you and you''ve done more for the organization than the other employees who have worked here for years," he looked proud.


    "When is the test?" My eyes glittered.


    "It will take place from tomorrow evening. We only give candidates a short notice, so they won''t prepare too much beforehand," he gave me some time on my own.


    How could I not like this place? They constantly gave me more chances to prove myself to them. I happily skipped to the room again to watch over the hostages. After thoroughly checking on the security, I could plan on how to approach the test. Maybe the rude people there could even give me some tips.


    "Guess who''s taking the test to become the heir to this organization?" I bragged in front of them.


    "The chairman came up to me to let me know I''ll be taking the test tomorrow," I smiled.


    "You seem like you''re close to the chairman," Claire commented.


    "You want some tips on the test, right?" Ben instantly hit the mark.


    I nodded my head, "once I become the chairwoman, this whole place is mine!"


    "We only know that there''s three rounds. One of them is fighting against all the other candidates," Ben looked at me like it was better to withdraw from the test.


    "That easy?" I could easily pour lots of mana into some spells to make them more powerful.


    "You''re planning to use disintegration, aren''t you?" Lucius guessed from my grin.


    "What are you going to do if they don''t let you use your mana?" He tried to point out.


    "They''re probably not going to let us fight to our deaths. That''s only for our branch offices," I shrugged.


    "Anyways, I''m going to get ready for tomorrow''s test," I locked the door behind me.


    Walking into the testing room the next morning, I was stunned. Why were there a bunch of desks with paper stacked on top of them like I was taking an exam? Sitting in a desk with my name floating on top of it, I realized all the other candidates were a.d.u.l.ts. Since this organization placed more importance in someone''s capabilities than age, none of them looked at me weirdly. As expected of a sophisticated criminal organization, it was like a normal company.


    "Everyone in their seats," the chairman stood in the front of the room.


    "You have three hours to complete the first round in front of you. Best of luck," he sat down on a chair to supervise us.


    Opening the booklets, my eyes widened when the questions were mostly open answer. It was mostly situational questions on what you would do when you encountered something. I sighed in relief as I wrote an essay of my ideas. I expected something like complex math questions, but it wasn''t the case. Once the time was up, the booklets went to the chairman as he started to read over each answer. After he finished grading each booklet, he rose from his chair to announce the winner for this round.

 Chapter 480 - Employee (10)

    "The person in first place is Rika," the chairman surprised everyone.


    "How could this little girl be in first place?" One of the candidates complained.


    "She''s a new employee!" Another one of them added.


    "Please explain to us how you made her first place," a candidate waited for the chairman to answer their questions.


    "Sure. Remember this question? How would you escape from a situation if someone kidnapped you and confined you to a room?" The chairman started off.


    "My answer was to contact some subordinates while the kidnapper is gone," a candidate raised his hand.


    "Mine was similar too. I would try using some spells if there wasn''t an anti-mana barrier. Otherwise I would try to threaten the kidnapper into listening to me," another candidate told everyone his answer.


    Everyone agreed with their answers inside the room, writing similar answers as them. Meanwhile I wondered why all these criminals were so stupid. I guessed not many of them had the actual experience of trying to escape from something before.


    "Her answer was this. I would pretend to have given up and constantly look around the room for any escape routes. If the kidnapper looked weak, I would knock them out so they wouldn''t be able to wake up for days if they didn''t restrain my mana. If my mana was restrained while they physically looked weak, I would beat them up. If my kidnapper was strong, I would try to flatter them into giving me more information about the situation. It would be better if they were stupid so I could trick them into letting me out. But if I knew my kidnapper, I would poke all their weaknesses until they begged me to stop so I could get my revenge. After escaping, I would make sure to blow up the building with a spell. With the information I got from them, I would chase down all their weaknesses to use as hostages," the chairman summarized my answer.


    "Her answer was really detailed," one of my rivals commented.


    "Look at all the brutal ideas she came up with," a candidate looked at my answer displayed on the screen.


    "How could she make her new hostages eat animal food? This is worse than how we treat our hostages!" one of them looked surprised.


    "She even makes her hostages fight against each other over the food she threw on the ground!" another rival pointed out.


    "She even wrote that she would feed them poison in the bas.e.m.e.nt while whipping them whenever they were conscious in an anti-mana barrier," a person gasped.


    "No wonder the hostages she''s looking over readily gives her all the information they possess," the executive shuddered.


    "Oh please, stop with the flattering. My other answers are better than this," I wrote all the scenes I had read from light novels and manga.


    "She deserves first place," they looked at me in a new light.


    Ignoring everyone maintaining a certain distance away from me, I walked into the next room. There were multiple lab benches with two candidates sitting on each one. Inside the test tubes were glimmering liquids in different colours. With a tray in front of each seat I wondered what they wanted us to do.


    "Everyone should know the new chairperson should have a certain level of tolerance to poison and drugs. You just need to drink all of them. If you go to the infirmary, you will be automatically eliminated while we give you the antidotes," the chairman explained the rules.


    Smelling each of the tubes, I almost gasped when I realized they smelled like the bottles of soda I usually drank. Maybe the chairman was lying to make the candidates give up on their own. Pushing down my fear, I chugged the tube to discover that it was just more soda. I smiled as I wondered what other flavours of soda they poured in the rest of the tubes. By the time I was finished, I licked the remaining drink around my lips.


    But strangely, there were only three people who remained inside the room other than me. I wondered why most of the candidates couldn''t push their fear down like I did. The only remaining round was the fighting. Feeling more confident from surviving from the other rounds, I waited for the chairman to explain the rules again. Studying my rivals, they didn''t look strong as the a-class monsters I fought before.


    "The rules are simple. Everyone will be ranked based on when they fall unconscious," the chairman gestured we could start.


    Grinning while thinking of using a disintegration spell, I began chanting while raising my arm. From using the spell two times, I discovered that the spell never targeted the castor. Bright light and extreme darkness mixed together to swirl into a tornado. Trying to suck in everything around them, it split into three to chase after the other candidates. My eyes widened as this spell was different each time I did it. It was like the spell was listening to my wishes of what I d.e.s.i.r.ed to happen.


    "We''re not going to be unconscious. We''re going to die!" One of them screamed.


    "I withdraw! I withdraw!" A rival dropped out.


    "The room is going to collapse!" A candidate gave up on using a barrier.


    "You do know how to stop this spell, right?" The chairman turned to me.


    "I don''t," I shook my head.


    "I think if everyone withdraws, it''ll stop," I guessed.

 Chapter 481 - What are Friends? (1)

    "Let us welcome our heir," the chairman seemed exhausted.


    There was no one to applaud me, everyone gone. The illusion collapsed in some areas of the building. Revealing the drabby place with some mold growing from not enough sunlight. I gasped as I didn''t realize they were using artificial lights this entire time. The shining marble tiles turned into stone with cracks, the servants appearing like broken robots. Meanwhile the spell had escaped from this room, continuing to destroy everything. The walls were starting to crumble while the employees were busy evacuating to other branches. People with enough mana were placing barriers everywhere they could or fortifying the present ones.


    "I''m retiring today. You can take care of your mess," the chairman watched everyone abandoning the place.


    "I''m the new chairwoman!" My eyes sparkled.


    "I''ll transfer everything to you first," he didn''t hesitate to make me shoulder the burden.


    "You can deal with our shareholders and everything else is inside the manual," he sprinted to run away.


    I had to brag about this to my hostages. Running in the halls, I smiled when I found the place untouched by the spell by everyone desperately working together to create some barriers. I guessed everyone knew I was the new boss with the message the former chairman has sent out. Some people bowed at me in respect while others shuddered from finding out that I was the cause of the building collapsing near the other side. Unlocking the door, one of my prior rivals entered the room with me.


    "I don''t think you should continue to be this cruel to the hostages. Their families won''t let you go for this!" He pitied the hostages.


    "I''m the new chairwoman. What can they do to me?" I flipped my hair.


    "You shouldn''t make them fight each other for animal food!" He recalled one of my answers to the test.


    "If dogs can eat them, why can''t humans eat them?" I found him acting strange since we didn''t even have animal food here.


    Looking at me in horror, he pressed a button on the keyboard to release the hostages from their chains. I was stunned, frozen from him acting on his own without my permission. Lucius took this chance to teleport out of the room with Ben and Claire to where I stood. I hung my head down, knowing this would happen as soon as I got rid of chains holding them back from using their mana.


    Tightly grabbing onto my arm, Lucius didn''t hide his anger towards me. While Ben knocked my subordinate unconscious and Claire making sure that no one noticed their escape. I dropped onto the floor, refusing to move as I knew I was a goner now. I worked so hard to become the chairwoman and it would soon become useless. Instead of planning to escape from the organization, Lucius began to hit my back, "spit everything out now. I''m not going to stop until you spit out all the poison and drugs you''ve been eating for the past days."


    "My back!" I cried from the pain.


    "I can help," Claire joined Lucius in hitting my back.


    "I''m going to call my subordinates!" I began to threaten them.


    "I have all her devices and access card," Ben used this chance to take everything the organization gave to me.


    "I helped you with your mission. Everything was an act!" I switched my approach as I began to vomit some of my past meals.


    "How can you do this to me? I treated you guys so well while you were hostages," I grunted.


    I couldn''t rise from the ground, their merciless hits not stopping. Tears spilled out of my eyes, making my entire face drenched. How could they be so cruel to a child? The only people less humane than me were these people. Dizzily staring at them once they determined my stomach was empty, they didn''t use heal on my back.


    "Now apologize to Ben and Claire for how you have been behaving for the past several days," Lucius stared at me.


    "I didn''t do anything wrong! I needed to put on an act to get them to believe me," I continued with my excuse.


    "Rika!" He didn''t fall for my act.


    "Who do you think gave you access to the entire organization?" I struggled to properly sit on the ground.


    "You need me so you can peacefully collect all the information here," I glared at them.


    "She''s right," Claire nodded her head.


    "You should be easier on her. All she did was starve us and throw some food on the ground. She did work hard on becoming the chairwoman," Ben seemed to acknowledge my efforts.


    "I can help you," I added.


    "Explain everything that happened, and don''t you dare to put anything out," Lucius decided to focus on their mission.


    This was how I was sitting at the head of the table with the three of them acting as my subordinates, standing behind me. Looking at the other executives at the table, they seemed exhausted in getting rid of the spell. I was surprised when I got the message that the spell finally disappeared. I waited for one of them to start the meeting with high expectations, being my first time attending one of their meetings.


    "A recent client that has been providing us with information lately has been the Nicole family. Although our hostage has sadly escaped, they were the ones that let us know who to target to obtain a great source of mana," an executive gestured to the charts on the screen.

 Chapter 482 - What are Friends? (2)

    "Who''s the target?" I hoped they weren''t talking about me.


    "The fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family. Everyone knows how all members in the Roselia family possess a monstrous amount of mana. But the target is on another level, she possesses the potential for unlimited amounts of mana," the executive continued his presentation.


    I tried to hide my upcoming frown. There was no way the Roselia family wouldn''t confine me to their mansions now. I only knew one person from the Nicole family, and it was Ellen. I dismissed my thoughts of her selling information about me since it couldn''t be true. We have been friends for close to a decade. Although the three people behind me seemed to think differently, especially Lucius with his face hardening from the news.


    "Is the amount of mana she possesses the only reason you want her?" I dug for more information.


    "She will also fetch a higher ransom than the heirs to the powerful families. We can sell her to desperate people who want her for the same reason," she showed how much our profits would increase.


    "Her delicate beauty is popular among other potential clients," she pressed a button to display a blurry picture of me in my school uniform.


    "She must be very popular among other organizations," I wondered if they were the only ones who wanted me.


    "Our competitors have a better picture of her. The Nicole family have been selling better quality pictures of her for more money," another executive took over.


    "But we have hired some experts in making the quality better," he tried to take some credit.


    "She seems to be a very desirable hostage. She''ll fetch lots of money from her beauty and background, and give you more mana for your operations," I brightly smiled.


    "There''s more. Anyone who has her can basically control the first district with the number of connections she has with everyone in the upper ranks," he started to list more reasons.


    "But it''s very hard to get even close to her. The Roselia family tries to hide her existence to the point that ordinary people may not know about her. This is why we propose to assign one of our branches to break into the school she attends to search for her," he sighed.


    "Isn''t the barrier there very fortified?" I wanted to know if the barrier was strong enough.


    "The last time we checked. We have the tools to slip in," one of them chimed in.


    "Then you have my approval," I didn''t care if they broke in.


    I wasn''t inside the school anyways. They would never find me there since I was their boss. I wondered how stupid they were to not see the resemblance between the blurry photo and the person who sat in front of them. Setting a date for the operation, I hoped the teachers would do a better job in fortifying the barriers when I came back. Watching more presentations from my subordinates, I began to approve more projects while declining some.


    With everyone leaving the room to take their lunch break, I wondered where to spend on weekends. As the new chairwoman, I was in a safer position than others. Opening my screen to go through my bucket list, I explored the most popular attractions. Too distracted in planning my trip, I didn''t notice Ben locking the meeting room and placing a sound-proof barrier. By the time I noticed how they were watching me, I realized I lost my chance to escape from them.


    "These are just my plans for the weekend," I quickly closed my screen.


    "This is serious Rika. Someone close to you has been selling information about you," Lucius clenched his fists.


    "Is this why you kicked the Nicole family out of your fraction?" Ben turned to him.


    "They had some suspicious activity for a while," he nodded his head.


    "So what if they sell some information about me? I''m the chairwoman. I control everything they can do," I pointed out.


    "Do you not know that all the criminals are racing to kidnap you?" Lucius looked like he was starting to get a headache.


    "It''s hard being so popular," I wasn''t worried, knowing I could use my mana to fight back.


    "I need a vacation," I smiled from thinking of going to the amus.e.m.e.nt park.


    "You''re not going to the amus.e.m.e.nt park during the weekend," he noticed the place where my eyes glittered the most.


    "Look. You''re talking to the chairwoman here. You should respect your superiors," I was disappointed in my subordinates.


    "So this is why you never let her outside," Claire looked at Lucius in a new light.


    "I have to contact my parents and let them know to take my siblings and cousins out of school," Lucius excused himself to sit down on a chair to send a message.


    "Wait. Why is my name on there?" I read the message.


    "I''m not visiting your parents again," I shuddered from the thought.


    "We can handle the rest of the mission alone," Ben agreed with his actions.


    "I''ll run out of this room and scream for help if you try to drag me there," I began to threaten him.


    Running to the door, I felt someone pull me into their arms before I was halfway there. Lucius sighed, hitting the back of my neck, turning the scene in front of me into black. Why were the members in the Roselia family so violent?

 Chapter 483 - What are Friends? (3)

    Opening my eyes, I noticed none of them knew I was awake. Inside the infirmary, I found Lucius with Alex and Luke together, immersed in catching them up on the whole story. Making sure to not make a sound, I listened to their conversation, wondering what was happening.


    "It''s not only the Nicole family?" Lucius seemed shocked.


    "The heir to the Blanc family had almost hit her to death before letting her get kidnapped!" Alex held a large grudge against Henry.


    "I''ll never leave Rika alone again," Luke clenched his fists from recalling the incident.


    "You did a good job increasing her tolerance to the poison and drugs," Lucius ruffled Luke''s hair.


    "It''s all that she drank and ate," he sadly smiled.


    "It''s soda and sugar!" I yelled at them.


    "Rika, stay on the bed," Luke warned me when he saw me about to step out of my bed.


    "We need you to tell us all the things you''ve been doing while you were with Helena," he believed Ellen to be the one who sold information about me.


    "We spent time at the caf¨¦. You already know about that," I couldn''t reveal the club room.


    "You need to go more into the details," Luke grabbed my shoulders.


    "I just complained about you not letting me go outside of school. How all my holidays were spent at your mansions," I recalled from months ago.


    "That can''t be all," he sat down on the edge of my bed.


    "It really is everything," I couldn''t continue to look at his face.


    "You''re hiding something again," Luke studied my face.


    "What do you want me to say?" I wondered how I would manage to escape from this situation.


    "What about your fight together?" He brought up the subject I wanted to avoid.


    "I won some of the fights!" I didn''t delve into the details.


    "What were you fighting about?" He poked on one of my weaknesses.


    "We were fighting over what were the best desserts in the caf¨¦," I knew it was a poor cover story.


    "Tell us the truth Rika," Alex joined in to pressure me.


    "It really is the truth," I quickly avoided his eyes.


    "We have enough time to stay here for the entire day until you tell us," Lucius began to threaten me.


    "Stay then," I tried to shake off Luke''s grip on my shoulders to lay down on the bed.


    It was better to sleep through this since it was likely I would make a blunder. Pulling on the blankets, I started to fight over them with Luke. Was this really how they were treating a patient? I was stunned in how their cruelty has evolved. This was exactly why I never wanted to leave the criminal organization.


    "I need some rest!" I pointed out I was still hooked to all the machines.


    "Rika, this is extremely important," Luke managed to take away the blanket.


    "And don''t you dare pull the machines out of you," he predicted my next actions.


    "Is it so bad to fight over desserts?" I had some tears well in my eyes.


    "There''s no way you were fighting over mere desserts," Alex''s eyes narrowed.


    "I''m going to call Michelle," he knew she was always around me.


    "Call her then!" I desperately hoped she wouldn''t pick up the call.


    Unfortunately, Shelly picked up the call, not knowing what was going on. The video screen only showed Alex in the call. She was a bit tense in her bedroom inside her family mansion, her smile faltering a bit. I knew they didn''t have the best relationship with each other, agreeing that Alex was too picky with everything in how they lived together in their dorms. Placing all my hopes into her, I hoped she would be able to come up with a better cover story than I did.


    "What do you want?" Shelly seemed a little bit annoyed.


    "I want to know the reason behind the fights you used to have," Alex went directly to the topic.


    "We agreed to keep our matters private from each other," she had a strong shield.


    "I have no obligation to answer you," she ended the call.


    I brightly smiled, applauding Shelly for managing to hide the club. But I didn''t expect Luke to call Cillian next. Recalling the pages inside the contract he signed, if Luke asked a question regarding my safety, he had no choice but to answer. I wondered why everyone were picking up the calls today with Cillian''s face being shown on the screen.


    "This is regarding Rika''s safety. I have to know the reason behind the fights you used to have," Luke used the contract to his advantage.


    "We were fighting over taking turns," Cillian kept things extremely vague.


    "Turns?" Luke dug for more details.


    "Turns on using our points to order more food!" I forgot about how I didn''t need to use my points to purchase food anymore.


    "Please continue," Luke ignored me.


    "Turns on using a room," Cillian knew he would also be a goner if he revealed everything.


    "What room? What''s that room''s purpose? Tell me everything you did every time you used that room," Luke was starting to get annoyed.


    "The clubroom. We used that room to do our club activities together. We played some games, raised money for our club and wrote a book," Cillian managed to maintain his direct eye contact with Luke.


    Alex scarily turned to me, coldly looking down on me. I shuddered as my lies were getting exposed. Maybe I really should have taken that exchange with Lucius when I had the chance. Since Cillian had the obligation to answer all of Luke''s questions, we were both going to die together soon.


    "What''s the club''s name? What games did you play? How did you raise money for your club? What kind of book did you write and what was its content?" Luke covered everything this time.

 Chapter 484 - What are Friends? (4)

    Finding out the reason why everyone was fainting and having nosebleeds around them, both Luke and Alex turned extremely cold. I gulped, being right when everything was revealed that they would turn into an existence worse than Henry. Cillian couldn''t stop trembling in fear as he told them about the headgears, the time-space function, our incidents with pouring water and batter over other people in the club building. Confessing how we made everyone sign a pledge to hide the smoothies and books from them.


    "Ri-ka!!!!" Alex yelled at me once Cillian finished revealing everything.


    "I''m sorry," I muttered, almost drilling a hole on the ground from my stare.


    "Do you have the volumes with you?" Luke wanted to go through them.


    "We only sold physical copies," Cillian squeaked out.


    Ending the call after extorting the information from Cillian, everyone in the room turned to me. Luke''s grip on my wrist tightened, making sure that I wouldn''t be able to run away. My heart rapidly thumped, almost skipping a beat when Luke opened his mouth again. My feet felt cold, goosebumps also on the back of my neck.


    "So fighting over the desserts at the caf¨¦?" Luke decided to go over lying to him first.


    "I''m sorry for hiding them from you," I decided to start by apologizing.


    "You''re never leaving the dorm room once we go back to school," he trembled in anger.


    "Apologize to Alex. I''m going to make sure you will never have any thoughts of hiding things from us again," Luke gestured to Alex who was trying not to kill me.


    Suffering under the three of them in addition to Luke''s parents until they managed to reorganize the school again, I almost cried when I was inside the hover car, heading towards the school. I was forced to wear the same necklace that I freed myself from when I nearly burnt down the school on my birthday. My ears also hurt, needing to recover from all the never-ending lectures, none of them taking a break.


    "Rika, focus on your workbook," Luke wasn''t giving me a chance to rest.


    "I told you that I was sorry!" I needed a break.


    "We don''t want you to be behind since you missed some classes," he warned me to stay focused.


    "You''ll also have to attend all the fraction meetings with me from now on," Luke had set the distance between us to be at most a few meters apart.


    "I told you that you should have done this earlier," Alex brightly smiled.


    "And Rika, you have to maintain your chin at a certain level when someone is talking to you," he was determined to make my life miserable.


    "I''m done!" I threw the workbook on the floor.


    "What are you going to do if I don''t finish this book? So what if my etiquette isn''t perfect?" I turned to Luke before Alex.


    "Pick it up Rika," Luke icily waited for me to listen to him.


    "I can decrease the distance to a meter," he began to threaten me.


    "Do it then! How is it any different than now?" I had enough of trying to beg for their forgiveness.


    Luke opened a screen to adjust the distance to a meter. I knew both of us would suffer from this. Other than adjusting the distance, he couldn''t do much anyways. He already planned on visiting his parents every weekend with no room with negotiation. In fact, it was his parents that suggested it from hearing about what had happened. Leaving the workbook on the floor, I looked out the window.


    "Pick up the workbook Rika," Luke repeated his words.


    "Or we''re turning the car back to the mansion," he began to punch in a new location when I continued to ignore him.


    "Then turn the car back," I wasn''t going to cooperate with them anymore.


    I was stunned when the hover car was in front of the mansion again. Since Luke set the distance a meter apart, an invisible wall pushed me out of the hover car. Alex smirked as we entered the mansion again. This was why I liked my kidnappers so much. I considered them to be better than suffering from Luke''s family. Tugging on Luke''s sleeve before we met his parents, my voice trembled, "I''ll pick up the workbook. I''ll listen to you now."


    However, Luke continued to walk further into the mansion. When we ran into his father, he immediately assigned us to more tutors from hearing what had happened from Alex. Although we were in the same room, we all received different work from the tutors. With my tears filling my workbook in front of me, the tutor yelled at me to concentrate on her lesson. But I couldn''t lift my head from the desk.


    I started to believe Luke. Blaming Ellen for everything, selling information about me, revealing everything about the club in the process. She didn''t even deserve my nickname for her. I etched her name, Helena from the Nicole family into my mind. Stepping out of the hover car while accepting Luke''s hand after suffering from his family again, my eyes were dripping with anger when I spotted her nearby.


    "I can''t believe I considered you as my friend this entire time! How could you sell my information to the criminals?" I yelled at Helena.


    "Rika, it''s a waste of your time to talk to someone like her," Luke didn''t like me creating a scene.


    When Helena didn''t deny my accusations, I was shocked by Luke''s family being right. She really did sell my information.

 Chapter 485 - What are Friends? (5)

    Confined to my dorm room before class started, I began to go crazy with thoughts of revenge. I didn''t feel like walking anymore, the invisible walls pushing me on the ground, making me have no choice but to follow Luke to the cafeteria during mealtimes. Luke ignored everyone watching us, acting as if we were alone. I didn''t feel like eating, feeling that it would be better to starve. But Luke would bring all the machines from the infirmary if I didn''t take a bite.


    "You have to finish this plate," he ordered a light plate of salad for me.


    "I can''t finish the plate," I cried, tears dripping down my face.


    "Don''t you think you''re being too much to Rika?" Shelly came to sit down beside us.


    "Please don''t interfere in my family matters," Luke repeated the same answer for all of my friends.


    "If you don''t finish this plate, I''ll have to pull out the supplements," he turned to me.


    I picked up the fork, forcing myself to shove all the lettuce into one bite. It was better than chugging all the supplements and then sleeping the day away. Unfortunately, it was a side effect from drinking another bottle of medicine to recover from the food I ate inside the organization. I couldn''t wait to meet Helena inside the classroom as class started tomorrow. I needed to vent everything to the person who caused me to suffer.


    The next day, I brightly smiled when I found Helena in the classroom. Accidentally tripping on the ground when Luke stopped moving, I knew he didn''t want me talking to her. But I didn''t care, I was close enough to her that I could yell out everything I wanted to say. Ignoring the pain from my sudden fall, I rose to face her, "you''re not even a human being. You deserve to die."


    "You know how I hate being confined by the Roselia family. You knew if you sold information about me, they would never let me out of their mansions. Do you know how much I suffered because of you? I''m stuck with him now," I pointed at Luke.


    "Do you want me to apologize to you?" Helena crossed her arms.


    "I don''t want an apology. I want you to suffer as much as I did. I don''t care if your family is declining. You''re worse than the criminals who kidnapped me. If you really wanted to make money, you should have asked me to help you ruin the Roselia family!" I screamed at her.


    "Everyone to their seats, class is starting," Daniel entered the classroom.


    Ignoring Daniel, I continued to leash my frustrations to Helena, "so what that your family is declining? You still have enough money to survive in this world. Is image that important? Enough to sell out your own friend?"


    "It is that important," Helena shouted back.


    "If you guys want to continue your conversation, please do it outside," Daniel wanted to start his lecture.


    "I can''t go outside! Don''t you see me chained to him?" I laughed from going crazy.


    "Rika, sit down on your seat," Luke pulled out my chair.


    "I have to finish this conversation with that traitor," I couldn''t let this chance escape me.


    "Rika!" Luke shouted at me.


    I continued to stand, ignoring everyone around me. I angrily stared at Helena since I couldn''t do anything to her. Unfortunately, the desks were separated more than a meter apart from each other. Luke had to move my desk closer to his, placing my spot further away from the window. I would have punched her face or kicked her legs if Luke didn''t reduce the distance back then. It was such a shame that I could only yell at her.


    "If you don''t sit down, you know what''s going to happen once class is over," Alex warned me.


    "Do you think I care? Will you hit me for not listening?" I knew they couldn''t do much once we were inside the school.


    "I need my revenge," I wasn''t going to let anyone interrupt me.


    Luke''s eyes widened as he sensed me about to chant a spell. I wondered what spell I should use on Helena. Could I drown her until she begged me to forgive or would burning from excruciating fire bring more pain? Slowly freezing her before she dropped unconscious was another good choice. Deciding to go with water, I summoned a large whirlpool above her, determined to drown her.


    "You''re going to flood the entire room!" Charles shouted.


    "Do you think she''s still sane?" Allan pointed out.


    "Everyone can die with her!" I brightly smiled.


    "Abdicate!" Daniel erased my spell.


    "Oh, you really shouldn''t have done that," I turned to Daniel.


    I summoned a whole tornado composed of water, pouring more than three quarters of my mana. With the levels of mana in the air, Daniel stepped a few steps away from us, fearing the impact. I guessed he couldn''t erase this spell since he didn''t have enough mana leftover. If I was going to die, I was going to drag everyone down with me. I wasn''t going to suffer under the first district anymore.


    "You can kill me, but I won''t ever regret what I did," Helena didn''t seem afraid.


    "Kill you? I want you to live so you can suffer with me," I tilted my head.

 Chapter 486 - What are Friends? (6) - Helenas POV

    I have the cutest younger sister. Her name is Miele, the heiress to the Nicole family. Holding her small hand, I watched her giggle inside her cradle. Although I didn''t wish for a younger sibling, it was hard not to like her. Visiting my parent''s house whenever I could afford to take a break from school, I always went to her room. Since she was still young, she wasn''t engaged to anyone yet. She brightly smiled at me, making you want to protect her.


    Going through the pictures taken by our parents of her, my heart was filled with warmth. It was different than taking care of my lazy partner. He was so unmotivated whenever we were together. I had to pinch his arm every morning to wake him to get ready for our classes. Allan would glare at me, feeling annoyed while mumbling some complaints. It was tiring to pack everything he would need for class while remembering to go over all the tiny details whenever we had to attend an event together.??


    I also had to listen to my friend''s complaints everyday inside the caf¨¦. She didn''t know that I envied her sometimes. Her partner was breathtakingly gorgeous, from his elegantly carved features to his memorising eyes that drew you in. Glimmering silver locks that were stunning in the sunlight, perfect proportions that made his clothes look more expensive. He came from the Roselia family, one of the main families that led our fraction.


    Luke had perfect manners and etiquette, immediately attracting attention from his aura. But he walked by everyone like they didn''t exist as he only talked to his partner and cousin in the same class. He would only politely answer Allan''s questions when he tried to join their conversation. Once Luke joined our class in kindergarten, Alex almost abandoned Allan. From then on, Allan switched to hang out with his cousins in other grades.


    Whenever I visited Rika''s dorm room, I would admire all the things in her closet. The latest clothes and accessories were seen, some pieces I always wanted to wear. But she took them all for granted, treating them as if they were nothing. Noticing that Shelly was feeling the same as me, I kept silent. Even all the expensive skincare brands were stacked on her cabinet beside her bed. My mother''s eyes would brighten whenever my father bought some skincare products on special anniversaries for her.


    "Luke was too much," I pretended to agree with my friend.


    Most times, I didn''t agree with my friend. Luke was just taking care of her the same way I was taking care of Allan. But I realized my thoughts were wrong during elementary school when we went on some field trips together. Following her around with Luke who dragged her to the most exclusive restaurants, I had to spend all my monthly allowance. Luke only wanted Rika to touch the most exquisite things, not allowing her to go near where anyone could enter.


    He tried to control what Rika was exposed to in the first district, spending a great amount of money in the process. I knew this was how he normally spent his days, the Roselia family being one of the wealthiest families with all their businesses, land and property they owned in all the districts. Even though my family was within the top ten ranking, the gap in wealth was extremely big. I didn''t understand why Rika didn''t like being treated like a princess.


    Luke was like a prince in real life. He was better than his cousin who appeared equally as stunning with the same background. Alex was extremely s.e.n.s.i.t.i.v.e, a little scary from the way he treated his partner. When I was partnered with Luke in the first year of middle school, I never felt so lucky to get all this extra care from such a beautiful person. He greeted me every morning with a bright smile, trying to make me as comfortable as possible.


    Attending fraction meetings with them, everything revolved around Rika. All that Luke cared about was how we would help him cover for Rika. His older siblings and cousins were the same, supporting Luke. Whenever Rika caused trouble, the rest of us would exhaust ourselves in cleaning up her mess. However, if any one of us, including Shelly made the same mistake, they would be mercilessly kicked out of the fraction.


    Being Rika''s friend was tiring, another burden to shoulder since I wanted a good relationship with the Roselia family. With all her quirky ideas, she was more troublesome than Allan. I didn''t like taking care of her, pretending to be a saint all the time. Meanwhile, I didn''t mind being with Shelly, finding us to be kindred spirits. I sighed inside my head, wishing that she listened more to Luke, who wanted the best for her.


    Her risky adventures of trying to hide things from Luke increased ever since we entered middle school. Even the small apartment that was surprisingly very cheap was a bit over the line. When my family began to decline around my second year of middle school, it was harder to be around Rika. While she was complaining about how she was forced to go shopping with Luke at a luxurious store, my parents were struggling to make ends meet, selling more of our companies.


    I couldn''t help but agree with Alex when he muttered that she grew up spoiled under Luke.

 Chapter 487 - What are Friends? (7) - Helenas POV

    Rika had connections with people from the neutral fraction. I was surprised when I heard from Shelly that she was close to the family that led the neutral fraction. With Sienna and Delia joining our group, it confirmed that she joined their fraction. Seeing them about to take my place in the group, I tried to hide my shaking hand while holding my teacup. She talked to them more than she did to me.


    Charles, the heir to the Lumiere family, one of the families leading my rival fraction, was also close with her. Spending some time together in the sixth district, he teased her all the time like they were close friends. Pushing Allan more out of the group, Luke and Alex accepted him. But I couldn''t predict that she was also close to others, coming from powerful families from my rival fraction.??


    Seeing her address them so casually during the charity ball, I wondered what drew people to her. As time passed, she joined the exclusive Impalia fraction as their successors. A fraction that all families desperately d.e.s.i.r.e to join, gaining many benefits from being part of a secretive network. She joined all these fractions like their extremely hard qualifications to become a member were nothing. When I heard she joined our rival fraction, I wasn''t surprised anymore.


    Rika was a famous person on the middle school campus. Rumors always swirled around her while Luke made sure they wouldn''t get out of control. But with her appearance changing after coming from another dimension, everyone started to admire her beauty. This made Luke more protective of Rika, checking up on her more often. Hearing everyone compare Rika and me, I couldn''t help but get depressed whenever I looked in the mirror.


    My silver hair didn''t glimmer in the colours of the rainbow like hers. Her figure was slender and delicate, urging you to protect her. While my figure was just average, a bit chubby around the t.h.i.g.hs. The dull and typical features of the first district plastered onto my face was nothing compared to her bright eyes, slim nose and heart-shaped lips. Even if I went to salons during the weekends, I couldn''t surpass her.


    When Luke dressed Rika, nobody could take their eyes off her. It was different from when she wore light accessories with her uniform. Although she claimed to be a person from the third district, nobody believed her. All her delicate features were brightly brought out from the exquisite mana crystals decorating her dress and hair. Stepping into the hover car with Luke and Alex beside her, everyone couldn''t help but stare at the three of them, who appeared too beautiful to be human.


    "The counsel is starting to make their decision on who to match Miele with," my father gritted his teeth.


    "Don''t tell me it''s the families I was thinking of," my mother trembled.


    "We just need more money to save our businesses, right?" I wanted to help them.


    "You don''t have to worry Ellen. We''ll recover soon," my mother tried to hide things from me.


    Going to an ordinary shopping mall with Shelly one day while Rika stayed at the Roselia family mansions, I heard some rumors from the people around me. My eyes widened when I heard some people were offering an extraordinary amount of money to get more information about the top five ranking families. I could help save my family businesses and get Miele matched to a better family.


    I didn''t want Miele to become another Miliana or Rika. I knew how they couldn''t do anything without permission from their partners. Luke didn''t hesitate to confine Rika when it came to the holidays. She didn''t have any sense of privacy from Luke, who tried to control everything about her. He frequently messaged Shelly and me, wanting to know where Rika was when he wasn''t with her. Luke was also very selective in what Rika could know, not allowing us to tell her anything he didn''t approve.


    On the other hand, Miliana always had to be wary under Charles'' eyes. She acted extremely careful around him, almost like she was his servant. But when she was with her friends, she was totally different. Full of confidence, immersed in the latest gossip spreading in the school. I pitied Miliana while I didn''t feel the same for Rika. Luke was generous towards Rika. He would try to leave Rika alone if she didn''t run into trouble all the time.


    "Can I know more about the offer?" I asked them while Shelly was distracted with the accessories.


    Getting their contact information, they showed more curiosity in Rika than anyone else. Large amounts of money poured into my bank account as I revealed more things about her. With my parents getting suspicious where I was getting the money from, I told them what I did to save my younger sister. But both of my parents trembled in fear while accepting the money since it was already a done deal.


    "You have to make sure no one will figure out," my mother feared the Roselia family.


    "Did you sign anything with them? My father wondered how deeply I was connected to the organization.


    I nodded my head. I had signed a one-page contract, thoroughly reading the details. I passed the contract to my father, his hands strangely shaking. I froze when he discovered there were thousands of hidden pages inside a spell. Reading the new details with him, we had no choice but to continue selling more information about Rika to them.

 Chapter 488 - What are Friends? (8) - Helenas POV

    "Your contributions toward our fraction have been weak these days. I''m afraid we''ll have to let you go," Alex coldly kicked me and Allan out of his fraction.


    "What about Rika?" Allan found it unfair.??


    "Rika has been contributing towards our fraction by giving us the chance to collaborate with others," Yulee pointed out.


    "My partner is right. We have been getting an extensive amount of help from the neutral and Impalia fractions," Julian added.


    "In covering for Rika!" Allan found nobody taking our side.


    "And what about Rika? Please continue," Luke harshly stared at him.


    Allan stepped backwards, his hands slightly shaking from Luke''s intimidating stare. Luke was merciless toward anyone inside his fraction who complained about Rika. He didn''t hesitate to kick them out, our fraction leaders always coming from his family members who supported him. No one dared to bring up Rika if they wanted to maintain good relations with the Roselia family. And no one could refute that the Roselia family was gathering more wealth and power from the recent land and property they gained.


    Luke was one of the most powerful figures inside the school. Being inside four extremely powerful fractions, he was the leader for one of them even when he was in middle school. I felt a little betrayed, spending so much effort in being Rika''s friend while they didn''t think much about it. I was tired from everything being about Rika all the time. I dragged Allan out of the meeting place so we could end our relationship with them on better terms.


    Spending more efforts to join the neutral fraction instead, I tried to get closer to Sienna and Delia. But it was clear that they only hung out with Shelly and me because they liked Rika. When Rika was gone from the group, the table went silent, drawing a clear line. Until Rika discovered an impressive room that had everything you could imagine and d.e.s.i.r.ed. We finally had a common subject to talk about, getting closer to one another to keep the club a secret from Luke.


    I enjoyed fighting with them to spend more time in the club room. It was a great chance to vent all the pilling stress from school and the financial situation at home. Asking them for some opportunities to collaborate on a few projects together with my family inside the club room, I was surprised when they agreed. All of Rika''s friends came from powerful families that had more influence than mine before my family started to decline.


    But I had to be careful when asking them for the opportunities, not mentioning it whenever Rika was inside the room. Rika hated anything related to fractions and politics, feeling like she was scammed into joining the fractions that I desperately wanted to join. She didn''t know how lucky she was with Luke always cleaning all the messes she caused. I knew Luke was doing all the work given by the fractions she joined.


    Whenever she complained that Luke was being stricter towards her, she didn''t know that he was trying to educate her. From the recent dangers she kept on encountering, Alex joined in educating her to help Luke. This was why when she started to listen to them, hiding from Henry, both Luke and Alex stopped lecturing her. With Luke''s extremely low expectations of her, he was moved when he heard from the teacher that she paid attention during class.


    I have never seen Alex treat someone so warmly like he did to Rika. He watched Rika with the kindest eyes when he looked at her newly written notes. He tried to encourage her by commenting that her notes would improve with more practice. Pointing out that she managed to catch most of the important parts. Meanwhile Luke did everything he could to reward Rika, going to the caf¨¦ during his spare time to bring her favourite cakes.


    Luke dedicated most of his time to Rika. This was why he couldn''t forgive Henry when he brought her to the infirmary. I was stunned when Henry hit Rika to the point that she couldn''t move anymore. He was basically committing political suicide by injuring Rika. With Alex being closer to Rika lately, he yelled at him for daring to touch someone from his family. While Luke was barely sane, trembling in anger, he decided to separate Rika from everyone he couldn''t trust.


    However, when Rika got kidnapped in front of Henry, Luke exploded. With most of his focus on Rika''s partners, I sighed in relief. I had barely escaped from giving out information to the organization on when to target Rika. I could tell that Henry was suspicious of me when I volunteered to stay at the entrance. I needed to stay back to confirm that the payment would come into my bank account.


    I smiled as my position would become safer from Luke''s family about to make their move to eliminate Henry. Reading the messages he was sending to cancel all their deals with the Blanc family, they would soon get ruined. His older brother was partnered to the heiress to the Suilett family while his cousin was the heir to the Monete family. Both of them would work together to support the Roselia family in destroying the Blanc family. I was glad that Luke was too infuriated to think of the possibility that Henry could be framed.

 Chapter 489 - What are Friends? (9) - Helenas POV

    Not even a day had passed when Delia''s engagement with Henry got broken. The school didn''t hesitate to expel Henry from the reports Luke wrote with Alex. Turning to study Delia, she didn''t seem to think much about losing her partner. She was disgusted with Henry, not wanting to bring him up. Instead, everyone from the neutral fraction pitied Luke with the exception of Cillian, feeling something was a bit wrong.


    "Rika looked fine during the break before she disappeared," Alex tried to assure Luke that Rika would still be alive.??


    "You know how frail her body is," Luke started to worry.


    It wasn''t the first time Rika got kidnapped. I knew Rika would somehow survive through this like all the other times she managed to escape from extreme levels of danger. I felt no guilt from my actions since I did this for my younger sister. Although my future was predetermined, I didn''t want Miele to live the same way. I wanted her to grow up, free to express her opinions, not carefully treading around her partner for her entire life.


    If your family didn''t possess a similar amount of power to your partner''s family, it would become too unbalanced. The reason why the Ellison family chose to immediately break the engagement, pushing for the counsel''s approval. They would get no benefit even if they controlled Henry''s future. Although this wasn''t the case for me, Allan''s family was almost finished with planning out my entire life. I shuddered from thinking how they began to list out all the duties I was obligated to follow to taking more of my family businesses from Miele.


    All of Allan''s cousins looked down on me, chattering amongst themselves whenever I walked past them. Another reason why I envied Rika, the Roselia family barely had any expectations for her. We were in the same situation, but she was treated much better. How bad could it be, always confined inside a large mansion? Although Luke tried to control her life, she was always exposed to the best things, even as a prisoner.


    I could barely stand her complaining about how much she suffered under the Roselia family tutors. She didn''t know how much money the Roselia family was investing into her, only hiring the best to teach her. Although Alex was mumbling that Luke was spoiling her, he wasn''t much better than him. I was surprised when I heard from Shelly that Alex had bought Rika some accessories and clothes at their family reunion.


    Meanwhile, Rika was grumbling to us how she wanted to throw out everything inside her closet. Alex took more care of Rika than he paid attention to his own partner. I could sometimes notice Shelly uncomfortably shifting in her seat when she was excluded from the three of them. When Shelly suffered from a light cold, Alex warned her to stay a certain distance away from him so he wouldn''t catch it from her.


    But he invested all his energy in helping Luke nurse Rika back to health. As soon as Rika got another fever, Alex would dash to watch over her. While Luke took a break, Alex wouldn''t hesitate to dirty his hands to lower Rika''s burning temperature. Watching Shelly see her own partner closer to Rika than to her, I couldn''t possibly like Rika. When I noticed her stepping out of the hover car, still alive from another kidnapping like I had predicted, her eyes burned with anger towards me.


    Seeing the necklace around her neck, I realized that Luke was starting to take stricter measures with her. With Alex trying to block me from Rika''s line of sight, he stared at me with great disgust. I stiffened when Luke didn''t want to look at me in general, feeling like his eyes would get polluted. There was only one reason why they would act like this towards me. My mind went blank as Rika yelled at me to confirm my thoughts, "I can''t believe I considered you as my friend this entire time! How could you sell my information to the criminals?"


    "Rika, it''s a waste of your time to talk to someone like her," Luke didn''t want Rika to be even exposed to me.


    I trembled in fear as I wondered what was going to happen to me. The Roselia family was merciless towards anyone that touched one of their family members. This was the reason why my parents shivered from what the Roselia family may do to us once they figured out about what we were doing. Receiving a message from my parents, I checked my inbox to find that my engagement with Allan was broken.


    I was going to become like Henry. Maybe worse than Henry since they knew that I had framed him. When I met Rika inside the classroom, she was fuelled with revenge in her eyes. Luke struggled to control her as she yelled at me, blaming me for all her sufferings. But since I was going down anyways, I didn''t feel like apologizing. Unexpectedly, she tried to flood the entire school, ignoring the teacher.


    With her arm dropping down to activate the spell, my eyes widened, waiting for my death. However, Luke managed to quickly chant another spell to make her tornado disappear. Sighing in relief, Daniel wanted us to be separated from each other. While Rika was the one who created this entire mess, I was the one kicked out of the classroom. It wasn''t long until I was called into the dean''s office, telling me that I was expelled from the school.


    Everyone was painting me to be the villain. All I wanted to do was to protect my younger sister and help my family. It must be nice to be Rika, who doesn''t ever have to take responsibility for anything. We were never friends from the start. I couldn''t be friends with someone like her.

 Chapter 490 - What are Friends? (10)

    "Your engagement got broken?" My eyes widened during my break at the caf¨¦.


    Negotiating with Luke on sitting down during class, he followed me to the caf¨¦ so I could meet with my friends. Pretending that he wasn''t sitting beside me, I was shocked when Delia told me that Henry was expelled from school. It wasn''t Henry''s fault. He was framed by Helena to have me kidnapped in front of him.??


    "My new partner is Allan," Delia surprised everyone.


    "So you''ll use the dorms with Allan from now on?" I couldn''t imagine them together.


    "The school is making some new arrangements," she nodded her head.


    "What''s the possibility of my engagement getting broken?" I whispered inside her ear.


    "I''m not sure," Delia was stiff under Luke''s watchful eyes.


    "Can you leave?" I turned to Luke.


    "We can always return to our dorms," Luke began to rise from his seat.


    "And I''ll never sit down during class," I tried to counter his threat.


    "What''s to stop me from throwing some pens towards our teachers?" I shrugged.


    Luke held in his anger, knowing he had already used everything he had against me. He attempted to get me to sign another contract, but there was no way I was falling for the same trick twice. I smiled, knowing I was winning our fights. All my otaku supplies were safely hidden away in the rooms he didn''t know about. I didn''t care when Alex joined him in threatening me.


    "Don''t think I forgot about everything inside that clubroom," he switched to threatening everyone inside the caf¨¦.


    He was one step behind some desperate people who would do anything to hide their tracks. The mana research club spelled the ancient artifacts club, hiding everything that had happened in the past few months. They would also become a goner if Luke came running after them. In fact, everyone inside the club building was on our side. The teachers were included in that list, not wanting to lose their jobs.


    "What clubroom? Does it even exist anymore?" I covered my mouth, trying to hide my smile.


    "If you increase the distance, it''ll make it easier for the both of us," I pointed out.


    I just needed to drive Luke crazy enough to place the necklace off me. It wouldn''t be too hard. I could pretend my aim was very poor when targeting the teachers during class. My hopes were going up as Luke sat back down in his seat, silent with nothing to say. Once break was starting to end, Luke dragged me to the classroom. Holding multiple pens in my hand, I accidentally made my aim too accurate, the pen landing near the teacher''s head when walking into the classroom.


    Luke turned to me, stunned that I wasn''t lying about the pens. I ignored him as class time turned into a pen catching game between me and the teachers. Once I ran out of pens, I moved onto throwing airplanes made from ripped pages from the workbooks. Noticing him barely able to maintain his calm demeanor, I brightly smiled. This plan was working better than I thought, pretending that Alex wasn''t trembling in anger with him.


    "I didn''t think class would end so fast," I pretended to be disappointed as the teachers kept on dismissing class early today.


    None of the teachers scolded me, knowing that I was saving them from Luke. Break time came five hours earlier today as I waited for Luke to explode. I could continue this for the entire day if he wasn''t willing to negotiate some new terms. Alex walked up to us, unable to watch me torture the teachers but also having nothing to use against me.


    "Don''t you think that placing this necklace off would benefit the both of us?" I smiled.


    "It looks like she''ll continue this until you put it off her," Charles supported me.


    We were all goners once they dug into more details on how they were customers of the things we sold. I was the best chance they had in making sure that Luke wouldn''t do anything to all the people who participated in the club activities. Seeing how everyone in the room was against him, Luke didn''t have a choice but to give in, "what do you want Rika?"


    I gestured to Charles to pass me a contract we had created with the entire school. When Charles passed me the contract, he made both Luke and Alex shocked. It was over hundreds of thousands of pages long, allowing no room for loopholes which the teachers helped with. I never predicted that Luke would chain me to him with the necklace again. But Shelly made sure to account the factor in, making the contract cover everything that could possibly happen.


    "Please sign here. The both of you," I passed the contract to them.


    "You guys were all a part of this!" Alex slammed the contract on Luke''s desk.


    "Our offer will only stand until the break ends," I warned them.


    Luke quickly began to go through the contract with Alex, trying to look for loopholes. If they signed the contract, we would be free to continue our club activities again. While everyone who participated in the club activities would remain safe. They had nothing to lose except for giving me more freedom in school. I was surprised when they were able to go over the entire thing with around five minutes remaining before break ended.


    "So will you sign?" I liked being on the opposite end.

 Chapter 491 - What are Friends? (11)

    I smiled in victory when both Luke and Alex signed the contract. Luke had no choice but to put the necklace off me, feeling like he lost for the first time. This all started since he didn''t want to give me the freedom to do whatever he didn''t approve. I could finally do my club activities in the open now! I liked the strong sense of community between all the students here, not hating the school as much as I originally did.


    "Thank you for your cooperation," I passed the contract to Charles for him to keep the original record.??


    "So when are you thinking of producing the smoothies again?" Miliana asked Shelly and me.


    "We still haven''t decided yet," I didn''t want to disappoint them.


    My club was currently rich with tons of money in our bank account. Our soaring sales from the volumes I wrote, and the smoothies made us the ric.h.e.s.t club in the school. Gaming inside the club room with an old gaming console from the third district, I was playing an otome game. When someone knocked on our door, our president walked to open the door. Everyone inside the room stiffened when Luke and Alex were at the entrance.


    "We''re not taking any new members," I sprinted to close the door on them.


    "Please come in," our president betrayed us.


    Both Luke and Alex were stunned when they looked around the room. Most of us were laying down on the floor, sleeping bags covering the floors. While Oili and Cillian didn''t know what was happening since they were inside the headgears, the rest of us tried playing with other artifacts since we got bored of them. I had to admit that this place was better than the gaming centres in the second district.


    We had the latest released games, enough to fill up half of the room. But with the time-space function, we had the luxury to finish most of them within a week. Pillows and blankets were amongst mini tents for people who wanted more privacy. With the increasing number of things we purchased, our president also bought a device that can increase the space inside the room. This room was almost ten times bigger than the entire dorm I shared with Luke.


    "Who''s here?" Ethan opened his tent to see.


    Ethan froze when he noticed Luke and Alex. After a long period of silence, Luke turned to our president, "please give us two application forms."


    "We''re not taking any new members," I blocked them from getting closer to our president.


    "Didn''t you say that Ethan was the last member going to join our club?" I couldn''t let Luke and Alex join us.


    "I apologize, but I have to adhere to the club rules," our president didn''t give in to them.


    "It wouldn''t be fair to the other people who have asked if they could join," he added when they continued to remain in the room.


    "I heard you have used our names in one of your products without our authorization," Alex brought up the novels I created.


    I couldn''t believe Alex was trying to threaten us that he could place a lawsuit against the club. Maybe I shouldn''t have used them as my main characters. The contract couldn''t cover aspects like this since we were using their identities without their knowledge. Without any other choice, our president passed them two application forms. With Luke and Alex filling them out right away, I almost crumbled onto the floor.


    "Welcome to the club," our president sadly approved the forms.


    "As the vice-president of the club, let me introduce you to the rules," I assigned myself to a newly created role.


    "Number 1, you will not disturb any of our members in doing their club activities. Number 2, you cannot threaten any of our members. Number 3, while not every member has to help with our club operations, you cannot stop them from carrying them out," I hoped I covered everything.


    "Can we purchase some things to do our club activities?" Luke agreed to the rules.


    "You just have to write down all your requests onto the board on the wall. Once it''s approved, our president will purchase them for you," I gestured to the request board for more games.


    Within a few minutes, a section of the club room became Luke''s new office. I couldn''t believe he was taking advantage of the time-space function to finish all his fraction work with Alex. He was doing this to make sure that I would always be within his line of sight. Luke smiled when he was satisfied with how secure the office space was with all its features. It was better than working in our dorm room, better tables and cabinets that could only be opened by its owners.


    "What is this book?" Alex heavily blushed when he looked at the cover of the novel I wrote.


    I froze, watching Alex get a nosebleed, reading the pages with him and Luke as the main characters. Although he knew the content inside the novels I created, it was different from reading the actual book. About to sprint out of the club room, Alex grabbed my wrist before I could escape. Our president passed him a handkerchief while I blurted under his merciless eyes, "rule number two, you cannot threaten any of our members."


    "I never knew you saw us this way," Alex looked at me in a new light.

 Chapter 492 - Video (1)

    "You can go for it now!" Sienna was helping me film a video.


    Flying a little above the ground, long ribbons fluttered around me, coming from the light dress I wore. Twirling around in some fancy pirouettes, I held a pretty crystal staff from the mana research club. Making sure to keep my eye contact with the camera, I brightly smiled. Switching into multiple poses before deciding on a cute pose, I winked, "I''m magical girl Rika and will make sure that justice will always prevail!"??


    Gesturing to Delia to add the flower petals, she created a wind spell to make it seem like they were falling down from the roof. Lifting my staff in the air, it was a signal for Ethan to place some light fog on the ground in exchange for a cage of bugs later. Behind the camera, Oili was working on the lighting as he made sure the camera would properly capture everything we wanted. With the final scene being done from pointing the staff towards the camera, Sienna yelled, "cut!"


    "How was this take?" I ran to Sienna, the director.


    A big part of the otaku fandom was cosplaying. I always liked cute magical girl anime, admiring how adorable they were while trying to bring justice to the world again. Recalling the staff in the mana research club room, it appeared just like the wands the magical girls used. A large sparkling jewel attached above several silk bows tied around a pink glimmering pole. With all the props available, I decided to cosplay as a magical girl since I was bored.


    "Everything was perfect this time!" Sienna''s eyes glittered.


    Sienna passed the file to Cillian, who was the editor. He would be the one adding all the background music that we had recorded a few days ago. With a few taps on a simple program, the final product was finished with a few minutes. Everyone in the team left their positions to look at the video being shown on the screen. Hoping that it would come out somewhat decent, I tapped to start playing the video.


    I hugged Cillian, finding me look unreal with the shots he decided to use. My heart almost skipped a beat from the person on the screen, long hair slightly floating from the light wind, creating a surreal atmosphere. Surrounded by beautiful flower petals, her bright smile made you energized for another day. Hearing her lovely voice smoothly flowing into my ear, it was like she was singing a song. Was I seeing a commercial?


    "Is this really me?" I wondered.


    "There weren''t many shots I didn''t use," Cillian nodded his head.


    "We can move onto the next scene now," Shelly was the scriptwriter.


    I ran back to the open space as I prepared myself to act out the next scene. I pretended to tremble in fear as a monster, an illusion produced by Ethan was produced in front of me. Lightly slapping my cheeks, I tried to bring up my newfound courage to fight the monster. Spinning towards the illusion, I recited my lines, "Magical girl Rika will bring justice to the world again. Magical swirling tornado of cuteness!"


    Creating a heart with my hands, I shoved it towards the monster. If I actually used a spell, there was a chance that the club room would get destroyed. With the program that Cillian used, the special effects would be added in later on. Since this was the last scene in the film, I was excited to see the entire thing soon. Getting the approval from Sienna, I smiled as I wouldn''t need more takes.


    Cleaning up the room before Luke and Alex came in, we made sure to return the space back to normal. Since we ran in here while they were busy with the teachers, they didn''t know we were filming anything. The time-space function made sure that seconds outside the club room could equal to several hours inside the room. Although sharing the club room with Luke wasn''t bad, there were no conflicts between us because we made sure not to cross any extreme lines.


    With our president increasing the space within the club room from Luke''s request, the usual spars were done inside the room. The room was split into four parts. The first one was the gaming section, the place where most of our members spent their time. The second being the production house used when we manufactured some things to sell the public. The third section was Luke''s office shared with Alex and the last part was an open space where they could do their spars.


    Most times, we didn''t touch the space that Luke and Alex used, which included the open space. I was surprised when both Luke and Alex liked the club as much as the rest of us did. Luke got the chance to take some breaks in the club room sometimes, finished with the fraction work from the time-space function. He liked to explore some of the artifacts that our president had gathered, before the club turned mainly into a gaming room.


    On the other hand, Alex liked how he was free to do anything he wanted while not having to maintain his image, everyone else inside the room being the same. There were only a few places in our school that had time-space rooms, which were mostly the study rooms and the classroom. With the time-space function, he had more leisure time during the breaks. And since our club was the ric.h.e.s.t club in the school, any of us could purchase anything we wanted.


    Hearing some footsteps coming towards our room, we ran to the gaming section.

 Chapter 493 - Video (2)

    "You''re here," I g.r.o.a.n.e.d inside the sleeping bag.


    Luke liked using his office inside the club room rather than going to the library. Meaning that all the intense study sessions were done here now. Although he left me alone after we finished our usual sessions, it didn''t make them less painful. Sometimes Alex joined in the sessions, adding to lecturing when my head already hurt from Luke. Having a temporary wall surrounding his office with a sound-proof function whenever we had a session together, no one else knew what was truly going on.??


    "I''ll let you go after we review everything done in class today," Luke wanted me to sit down in his office.


    "Can''t we cut them in half?" I pulled out my pitiful eyes.


    "Rika," Luke warned me.


    Without any choice, I tried to wiggle out of the sleeping bag. But since I was taking too much time, Luke started to pull my arms, dragging me into his office. This was almost an everyday scene inside the clubroom, making everyone used to it. Most of my friends didn''t know the true face of Luke yet, how he changed when we were alone. They only had slight glimpses from when Luke got mad at them when I got sick or kidnapped.


    Listening to how Sienna and Delia had lived with Luke, I found it unfair how he treated me so differently from them. I also wanted a partner who gave me some space instead of checking up on me all the time. I never got the warm greetings from him, always getting pressuring stares to get ready for school in the mornings. He was the one who determined all the rules inside our dorm room instead of coming up with them together.


    "What chapters are we doing today?" I mumbled, sitting in the usual chair.


    "I told you that you have to fix your posture when you sit down on these kinds of chairs," Luke began to nag.


    None of them knew that the study sessions were combined with more nagging about everything that was supposedly wrong with me. Every single millimetre mattered, never escaping his eyes. My friends would be surprised with the level of detail that Luke possessed when going over these things. Among my group of friends, only Shelly had the perfect posture that Luke was talking about, under the pressure of Alex all the time.


    I felt dead whenever the study sessions were over, limping out of his office to escape. My eyes glittered when I could freely lay down on the ground again. Rolling inside my sleeping bag, I was in paradise again. I stopped when Alex opened the door to the club room, looking at me in disapproval but leaving me alone. Although Alex and Shelly got into frequent fights, he was definitely stricter towards me than to her.


    He never said anything when Shelly came late to their dorms. Meanwhile he made sure that I kept the rules that Luke set for me, including leaving the clubroom at a certain time. He joined Luke when going through all the rules again when I was close to breaking one. Of course, this was all done when the temporary walls were up. I sighed as I held a console to play, wondering if there was anything else that I could do.


    "What do you guys think of creating an album together?" I turned to everyone in the gaming section.


    "Why not?" Oili was excited about the idea.


    Both Oili and I loved to sing, using the karaoke machine sometimes. With all the resources inside the school, we could easily produce a professional album. All of us knew how to play instruments while having lessons on how to compose some songs ourselves. Since all of us were starting to get bored lately, this could be a good change for us. While I was inside the office with Luke, Cillian had already sent everyone the final magical girl video, making that project finished.


    "I want to be the vocals!" I assigned myself to a role.


    "I''ll do the album concept," Shelly liked the artistic roles.


    "I want to be a lyricist!" Sienna joined in.


    Everyone was soon assigned to a role again, including Ethan who got another cage of bugs to help with the song writing. Feeling exhausted after warming up my vocals with Oili, I immediately fell asleep after laying down on my bed. But in the middle of my sleep, I felt irritated, feeling it was too noisy. Covering my ears to get a better quality of sleep, I wondered why I could hear the sounds of people chattering inside my bedroom. Opening my eyes, I was covered by a light blanket while Luke''s c.h.e.s.t had become my new bed. I was inside Luke''s arms, making sure I stayed in one place.


    Feeling a light breeze fly by me, I realized I wasn''t inside my bedroom anymore. Looking around my surroundings, I could find everyone inside Luke''s fraction gathered together. Using another hidden place inside the school, I found we were inside the abandoned ballroom. Ivy crawling around its wall, grassy moss between the cracked marble tiles. Dim lights coming from the crystal chandelier, sparkling off the moonlight. Other than several chairs and small tables, there weren''t any other furniture to be seen. With my toes able to freely move, I realized I wasn''t wearing any socks or shoes.

 Chapter 494 - Video (3)

    Slightly lifting the blanket, I was wearing my nightgown. I gasped, never realizing how many people were inside his fraction. Luke was the only one sitting down while Julian and Yulian took the lead. Was this why Luke never brought me to his main fraction meetings? It had to be the middle of night, the time where I was always deeply asleep. Ever since Luke had heard from Lucius that all the criminals were racing to kidnap me, not hesitating to try to break into the school, he always made sure I was in his line of sight.


    Since all I did was use the club room, go to the classroom and sleep in the dorms, we were together all the time. I rarely visited the caf¨¦, missing some of the desserts sometimes. But with Luke following me, I couldn''t have a comfortable conversation with my friends. I felt more constricted lately, feeling like I had a less sense of privacy. Holding a bigger grudge against the person who exposed the club before she got expelled from the school.??


    "The meeting is going to end soon," Luke noticed I was awake.


    "Why didn''t you go alone like usual?" I yawned.


    "We still don''t know if the barrier is strong enough," he worried about the possibility of the criminals kidnapping me from my dorm room.


    "How often do you have these meetings?" I wanted to know when he would take me with him.


    "At least once a week," he multitasked between answering me and listening to the conversation with his fraction.


    "You''re really going to bring me to all your meetings with you?" I wanted to stay inside my comfy bed.


    "I''ll bring a thicker blanket next time," Luke realized I woke up from the slight breeze.


    Being inside four major fractions, he planned to bring me to all their meetings. Since Claire and Yulian gave all the work through encrypted messages, there were no fraction meetings from them. But it wasn''t the same for the other three, which probably had at least one meeting per week. I sighed, knowing it would add up to Luke taking me out of my bedroom to a minimum of three times per week.


    The barrier was weak towards regulating the temperature these days, focusing on keeping unwanted people out. I wore thicker sweaters when stepping outside the dorm room, not bothering to admire the scenery outside the school gate. I hated the cold rather than looking at the beautiful snow. I wondered why this place was colder than the other areas in the school while slightly shivering.


    "It doesn''t seem like the meeting will end soon," I could hear the people starting to disagree with each other.


    "What''s the problem?" I asked to quickly end the meeting.


    "We''re deciding on the budget, the events we should host and electing the new fraction leader for the next school year," a fraction member answered me.


    "And how is the meeting ending soon?" I turned to Luke.


    "Go back to sleep Rika," Alex didn''t want me to participate in the meeting.


    "You think I don''t want to go back to sleep? I want to go back to my room and sleep on a comfortable bed instead of freezing out here," I noticed that it was only me who was wearing a thin nightgown.


    Everyone else was wearing regular clothes, including Luke. If this continued, I knew there was a possibility that I would start to sleep during class to make up for the lost sleep. Luke pulled out a pair of earmuffs to help with the noise. Placing it over my head, I tried to get more sleep while he tried to heat the blanket with a spell. But I was surprised when I was still in the same place when I woke up from another light breeze coming into my blanket.


    "Why isn''t this meeting ending?" I felt like it was running for hours.


    "It''s a bit longer than usual today," Luke agreed with me.


    "What do you think about the budget?" A fraction member turned to Luke for his opinions.


    "We can decrease the budget for the first event while increasing it for the second one in a proportional amount," Luke resolved the problem.


    "We can go onto the last topic now," Yulee agreed with Luke.


    My eyes widened as this meant that the meeting was nowhere close to ending. There was no way I could go back to the dorm room on my own, confined inside Luke''s arms. Giving up on sleep, I decided to listen to the discussion.


    "Our two candidates to become the fraction leaders for the next school year are Alex de Monete with his partner, Michelle Monete Locast and Luke de Impalia Roselia with his partner, Rika de Impalia Roselia," Yulee announced.


    "We withdraw from the candidacy!" I shouted, not wanting to be a part of these long meetings.


    "Unfortunately, I will have to agree with my partner. We are already a part of four fractions, being a leader for one of them," Luke didn''t want more work.


    "Candidates cannot withdraw their candidacy and can only be eliminated if not voted," Yulee declined our withdrawal.


    "And voting will start today," Julian ended the meeting.


    I stiffened when some people had already placed their votes. My world almost came crumbling down when I looked at the screen, more than half of the votes being under our names. Even Luke was a little startled, not expecting him to be this popular inside his main fraction.

 Chapter 495 - Video (4)

    "We will be picking our fraction leader for the next school year today," the current fraction leader in the neutral fraction announced.


    Luke had shaken me awake since it was necessary to place my vote in electing the next fraction leader. I wondered if this was the season for all the fraction leaders to find their successors. Although Luke had been taking me to all his meetings, I always woke up in my bedroom after the first time he took me to his main fraction meeting. Making this the second time that I was participating in a fraction meeting.??


    Finding myself covered by my usual plushy and thick blankets, I realized it was almost like being inside a sleeping bag with the way he arranged everything. My earmuffs were hanging around my neck, not blocking me from the noise anymore. Looking around my surroundings, I found Delia and Allan together, beside Sienna and Cillian. It made sense that Allan joined the neutral fraction as Delia''s new partner.


    "Our two candidates are Sienna Auclair Clarence with her partner, Cillian de Auclair and Luke de Impalia Roselia with his partner, Rika de Impalia Roselia," the current fraction leader surprised Luke.


    "We withdraw our candidacy!" Sienna yelled before anyone could say anything.


    "Congratulations, you are the succeeding fraction leader for the next following years," the current fraction leader turned to us.


    I was shocked from how everything was unraveling. It was no wonder why Luke''s main fraction didn''t allow someone to withdraw from their candidacy. Someone could easily try to push all the work to someone else like Sienna. I knew that Sienna hated doing any fraction work in general, feeling like it was taking some of her time out from enjoying the club room. Luke didn''t trust me in doing the fraction work with him, double checking everything when I did help.


    It was nice on my end, only helping him when I wanted something from him. I wondered why we were even candidates in the first place, being a recent addition to the fraction. Luke seemed to be thinking along the same lines, finding more work toppled onto his current ones. Not accepting the result, he asked, "while it is an honor to possess this role, were there not better candidates?"


    "You have done more things for our fraction than all our other members. You quickly earned our trust, which is why most of us voted on having you as a candidate without letting you know," the current fraction leader seemed to favour Luke.


    Both Sienna and Cillian looked the other way when Luke turned to them. Deciding to look at Delia instead, she quickly avoided Luke''s eyes. My jaw almost dropped, feeling almost betrayed when they were the ones who voted on having us as a candidate, maybe coming up with the idea itself. Were they this desperate to not become the next fraction leader? Luke brightly smiled as he realized everything was planned out in advance.


    "Can we decline the role?" I tried to take things back.


    "Unfortunately, we have a rule that we cannot change our successor once it is determined," he declined my request.


    Inside the club room, the number of doc.u.ments had dramatically increased on his desk as the next confirmed fraction leader for the neutral fraction. Sienna sighed in relief, feeling glad that she wouldn''t be the one that would have to deal with it. Alex seemed to pity Luke, hearing everything that happened last night. In fact, none of my friends showed any signs of guilt, feeling glad that their plan had worked.


    I couldn''t even blame them since Luke would be doing all that work by himself. If he continued to let me sleep during the meetings, nothing would change for me. Accepting the result, I continued to practice my vocal skills to record the first song that everyone had created. Feeling annoyed when Luke woke me in the middle of the night again, I found myself in Charles'' fraction this time.


    "We withdraw our candidacy!" I yelled after I opened my eyes.


    "Everyone is a candidate as a rule. We vote for our next fraction leader," Haruka explained.


    I smiled since there was no way anyone would vote for us then. Why would they vote for the newest members when there were Oili, Ethan and Charles? I liked this fraction more than all the other ones I have experienced so far. Placing my vote for Charles, I hoped he would suffer from more fraction work. But Charles smirked in my direction before making his vote in public, "I vote for Luke de Impalia Roselia and his partner, Rika de Impalia Roselia."


    "We all know how hard it will be in covering for Rika. As her partner, he should do the most work," he explained.


    "What? Isn''t this your main fraction?" I didn''t want to be dragged into this.


    "Do you think I don''t know how much trouble you cause?" Charles wanted to pass all the work to Luke.


    "Isn''t there a conflict of interest here? We''re already fraction leaders for Impalia fraction and the next fraction leader for the neutral fraction," I pointed out to the crowd.


    "Luke has been perfectly doing the work assigned from our fraction, more so than other members who have relatives in other fractions," Haruka waved my concerns away.


    This was exactly why it was bad if you were too perfect in everything. Like there was no way nobody would trust me with the fraction work, everyone wanted Luke to do the work for them.


    "I''m sorry Rika," Oili didn''t want to become the next fraction leader.


    I was stunned from Oili''s betrayal when he voted for us. Not wanting the enormous burden, Ethan didn''t hesitate to follow Oili and Charles. Seeing how the most influential members in their fraction were voting for us, others began to follow them.

 Chapter 496 - Video (5)

    Luke couldn''t close his mouth. His eyes were round, not believing the results on the screen. It was my first-time seeing Luke ever this surprised. With a huge landscape of votes for the one in first place, Haruka decided to announce the next fraction leaders. I tightly squeezed the edge of Luke''s shirt, wondering why he couldn''t let me sleep through this. I had to believe the results in front of my eyes since I saw how it all happened.


    "Our fraction leaders for the next school year will be Luke de Impalia Roselia with his partner, Rika de Impalia Roselia," Haruka slammed the final decision down.??


    "We decline!" I tried to escape from my fate.


    "This is why they should be the next fraction leaders. Having no interest in power while being excellent in fraction work," Charles took the chance to support Haruka.


    "He''s from the powerful Lumiere family! One of the main families leading the fraction for years!" I shouted at the crowd.


    "You''re from the powerful Roselia family," Haruka wasn''t willing to change the results.


    "Your grandmother, which is my grandaunt, comes from the Lumiere family," Charles added.


    From reminding everyone of this fact, there was no one who disagreed with the final decision. I had totally forgotten that Luke and Charles were distant relatives. They would have the same great grandparents, who were supposedly still alive with their long lifespan. I did think that Charles had agreed with Ethan too easily when admitting us into their fraction.


    "You traitors!" I turned to Oili and Ethan.


    "I don''t have the time," Ethan wasn''t willing to pull the time out from doing his club activities.


    "The new song needs lots of practice," Oili agreed with Ethan.


    This was how more piles of work were added onto Luke''s desk inside the clubroom. Alex was stunned from hearing how we became the next fraction leader for his rival fraction. Both Oili and Ethan felt no guilt for Luke, immersed in recording the sidetracks for the new album.


    "I''ll try to convince the people in our fraction to vote for me," Alex tried to comfort Luke.


    Luke soullessly started working on the piles of doc.u.ments filling his entire office space. Our president was the only person who pitied him other than Alex. With Luke determined to not become another next fraction leader, I woke up from his loud voice, "it is unfortunate that I may not be eligible as a candidate anymore. If you have not heard yet, I was chosen as the next fraction leader for our rival fraction in addition to the neutral fraction."


    With Shelly filling me in that it was the last day of voting, I found the last sets of votes coming in. Unfortunately, Luke''s desperate attempts, saying that it was a conflict of interest to choose him made all the remaining votes go to him. My shoulders slumped as I could tell the voters were wondering how capable Luke was to persuade those in their rival fraction to choose him. Luke''s jaw almost dropped from seeing how we won by another landslide again.


    Luke looked like he was about to cry from imagining more work piling on top of his current ones. His body slightly trembled, hugging me even tighter in the process. I wondered if there was anyone who had been a leader for four fractions before, directly hearing from him that it was rare for someone to be in more than one fraction. Alex, who pitied his cousin, suggested an alternative, "can we have co-leaders? I''m afraid it will be hard for my cousin to handle the mass workload."


    "Does anyone disagree?" Yulee also pitied Luke.


    With no one disagreeing, we were officially announced as the next fraction leaders alongside Alex and Shelly. I looked up to face Luke, "is it normal to become a leader for four fractions?"


    "It isn''t Rika. We may be the first ones," Luke sadly brushed my hair with his hands.


    Running into the club room, I slammed the door open to find the traitors inside the room. Since I knew Ethan was inside the tent, I shook it to make him come out. Ethan unzipped the tent, wondering why I was bothering him from gaming. I cracked my knuckles, taking the chance to lightly kick him for revenge, "did you think I wouldn''t come after you?"


    "You''re not doing the work anyways," Ethan knew Luke would be doing everything in my place.


    "Thanks to you, we''re going to be leaders of four fractions next year," I crossed my arms.


    "Four?" Ethan briefly froze.


    "You also pushed the work to Luke too?" Delia turned to him.


    "We did," Oili nodded his head, finding it a bit unexpected.


    "Luke won all the votes in our fraction too. But Alex decided to become co-leaders," Shelly added.


    With Luke opening the door, all of us froze, finding a wall of doc.u.ments, blocking the entire door. Alex helped Luke to move all the doc.u.ments into his office, taking more than one hour to organize everything. By the time they closed the door, half of our large room was filled with fraction work. All of us were stunned, wondering how Luke would do this all alone. Feeling some guilt in trying to push most of the work to Luke, Cillian stepped into the office, "I can help with some of the work from the neutral fraction."

 Chapter 497 - Video (6)

    Luke''s eyes slightly glimmered with hints of tears, gracefully smiling as he passed around half of the pile to Cillian. Stepping backwards from becoming memorised by Luke''s heavily dripping beauty, Cillian couldn''t stop staring at him. Making everyone''s heart pound in the process, watching him appear extremely thankful for the extra help. I could see my friends melting under how pitiful Luke looked, joining Cillian in helping with the fraction work.


    "I can help with the work from our fraction," Oili turned to Luke after he was finished with recording his parts.??


    "If possible, can you help with these doc.u.ments?" Luke''s voice wobbled, feeling a bit touched.


    Oili nodded his head, taking half of the pile from the rival fraction with him. Not falling under Luke''s charm like the rest, I found him to be an extremely good actor as everyone began to equally distribute the fraction work. The way he guilted everyone into helping him, including Sienna who ended up taking more work than usual. When I stepped into his office, following the rest of my friends, he shot me a look to not bother them.


    I sighed, watching even Ethan captured under Luke''s spell, not able to resist helping him when he almost thanked him in tears. I turned to use the gaming section alone, not wanting to step into his office anyways. No matter how busy Luke was, the study sessions still remained, making it a traumatic space for me. I shuddered when I noticed him watching me in between his doc.u.ments, everyone else too concentrated on finishing the fraction work to know what was going on.


    But thankfully, after finishing their parts, my friends joined in the production of the album again, changing how they spent their time in the club room. Time slipped by as this became an everyday scene inside the club room. For the first half of the break, everyone helped Luke with the work. Starting from the second half, I could enjoy some time with my friends. Not complaining since I was the only person not doing any fraction work.


    "I''m bored," I faced the ceiling in the club room.


    I walked towards the door, wondering if I should explore the club building while everyone was busy with helping Luke. There had to be more exciting things to do. I was starting to run out of things to do in this room, not wanting to repeat the past projects again. Cooking, singing, filming a video, becoming an author, producing an album and creating some unique merchandise. I realized how limited the club room truly was.


    "Where are you going Rika?" Luke placed his doc.u.ments down.


    "To the other clubs," I opened the door.


    "I''ll go with you," he cautioned me to wait for him.


    But none of the other clubs were any better than my club room. Everyone was wary under Luke as he followed me everywhere. There was absolutely nothing to do, sadly returning back into the original club room. I wanted to watch some anime to pass my time or read some manga, but there was no way I could access them here. Luke thought of the entire otaku fandom being a bad influence, not letting me near them when he could.


    He searched for my otaku supply with especially more effort alongside Alex after reading the novels I wrote about them. I rolled back and forth around the floor in boredom while he stared at me in disapproval. Going through all my past projects, I forgot that Luke never knew about the magical girl video. He frowned while watching the replay of the video, recalling how I wore a dress from my closet that day without him forcing me into one.


    "I knew something was strange that day," Alex joined us.


    "You hate wearing the things inside your closet," he knew how I found them annoying.


    "Not always," I accidentally pressed the wrong button on the screen, not knowing it.


    "You better make sure the video doesn''t get leaked," he wanted to delete the film.


    "There''s no way it''ll get leaked," I laughed, not noticing how Luke''s eyes widened.


    "Rika!" Luke yelled.


    With Luke pointing out the video uploaded onto the school forums, I froze. Slowly scrolling to make sure what I was seeing was real, my jaw almost dropped when I watched the views increasing. In a matter of a few minutes, my head hung down, seeing how it passed a thousand views. I stared at the ground, not wanting to see Luke''s face as he considered the Roselia family image to be extremely important to him.


    "What happened?" Oili noticed the discord.


    "The video got leaked," Alex pointed at my screen.


    "Oh, that magical girl video," Ethan didn''t notice the cold atmosphere.


    "What did I tell you?" Luke tried to hold back from his usual lectures.


    "I can delete it from the forum," I got rid of the video on the page.


    "Someone posted it on the forum again," Sienna gasped, the video not under our control anymore.


    "Not everyone knows it''s me yet," I read the comments.

 Chapter 498 - Video (7) - A Ordinary Fraction Member POV

    Luke de Impalia Roselia. He was the only one in our fraction that had never brought his partner with him. Although we worked hard to cover for all the messes his partner created, he was adamant on hiding her appearance. Since he possessed a mass amount of power inside our fraction, nobody had the courage to usher a complaint about his partner. We all knew what happened when we brought her up in the discussion without his family initiating it with his cousins being the leaders.


    "We have to cover for Rika again?" A fraction member complained.??


    "Is there a problem with that?" Alex crossed his arms.


    "She should come here to help fix her own messes!" Another member added.


    "We thank you for all that you''ve done for our fraction till now. Please sign this contract according to our rules before you start your new ventures," Luke kicked both of them out of our fraction.


    He immediately made anyone who complained about his partner leave our fraction. Luke mercilessly waited for them to sign the contract with his family members supporting him. Under his intimidating stare, the former members stiffened with fear. Nobody wanted to leave our fraction, wanting to maintain good relations with the top-ranking families. Everyone especially wanted to get closer to Luke, who came from the prestige Roselia family with his relatives coming from equally strong backgrounds


    There was an undisputable agreement among all the people in our fraction that Luke possessed the most power. He was a part of three other influential fractions, including our rival fraction that should''ve been impossible for him to join. This made us have more meetings with his other fractions that possessed one common goal, covering for Rika. Although the other fractions have seen her face before, we didn''t know how she looked.


    Until my partner gasped one day when Luke held a sleeping girl in his arms, covered by a thin blanket. She was so small, curling up in a circle to get more warmth. Luke and his family were protective of her, trying to block her from our line of sight once he sat down on a chair. While he couldn''t hide her tumbling silver hair, a trademark from the Roselia family, her face couldn''t be seen. Looking away from the girl with Alex warning us that the meeting had started, we decided to pretend she wasn''t here.


    But when we heard an unfamiliar voice, it couldn''t be anyone but Luke''s partner. She sounded very young, around a child in elementary school, her bright voice containing some hints of annoyance, "What''s the problem?"


    "Go back to sleep Rika," Alex tried to block her from us again.


    The next time we heard her voice was when she refused to be a candidate to become the next fraction leader. However, most of us planned on electing Luke as the next fraction leader, agreeing that there was no better person to take the role. He could bring more connections while making sure our status remained as the most powerful fraction. With his confession that he was already the next leader of our rival fraction, we wondered how he managed to convince them as a new member.


    The rest of us decided to vote for him, finding no other perfect leader to carry us forward. Making all the votes slide to his side of the screen, our current fraction leaders were surprised. They suddenly decided to implement the creation of co-leaders, which none of us refuted since Luke remained as the future leader. Admiring Luke''s beautiful eyes glimmering under the moonlight, we wondered if he was anxious that he may have not been picked as the leader.


    He hugged his partner tighter, displaying his affections for her in the open. Watching their close relationship together, we became more curious about her. Whenever his partner showed signs she was about to wake from our chattering, Luke glared at us to lower our voices. He would pat her back while ushering her back to sleep until she stopped moving again. Seeing her in person, it was different from hearing about her to clean her messes.


    During my break time, my friend sent me a message to watch a video that everyone has been talking about in the school lately. Tapping on the screen, I watched a dazzling girl pretending to bring justice to the world. She was so innocent and pure, the way she talked and posed with her bright smile. My heart was filled with warmth as she reminded me of my younger sibling. The girl couldn''t be older than eleven, leading me to ?ssume she was an elementary school student.


    Her gorgeous visuals attracted a lot of attention, making people unable to stop replaying the video. From her large eyes twinkling like gemstones, and perfectly aligned features, she appeared as if she was the most delicately crafted doll. I closed my screen after playing the video several times. I needed to attend a fraction meeting with the sudden notice sent out this morning, meaning that Rika had caused more trouble again.


    "We need to take as many measures as we can from the video spreading while deleting its existence at the same time," Yulee announced.


    "Who is the girl in the video?" My fellow fraction member wondered.


    "My partner," Luke appeared exhausted.


    All of us were stunned. The sleeping girl inside his arms, the person who caused us so much trouble all the time, couldn''t be predicted to be so childlike. It explained why Luke and his family were extremely protective of her. If her appearance leaked out, things could quickly turn dangerous. Some people in the comments appeared to be obsessed with wanting her for themselves. The meeting place went silent, all staring at the girl who wanted to save the world by sending hearts to the people watching the video.

 Chapter 499 - Video (8)

    "Magical girl Rika, can you answer this question on the screen?" My teacher stood in front of my desk.


    "Magical girl Rika is a normal girl during the daytime. She''s thinking of retiring soon," I shook my head.??


    "It''s against the law to overwork magical girls," I added when the teacher continued to focus on me.


    I didn''t think the video would become popular in school. After a day the video was leaked, I gasped when the total views counted to more than one hundred thousand. Whenever I walked in the hallways, everyone was comparing me in real life compared to the person in the video. All the teachers referred to me as magical girl Rika when they picked on me to answer a question. Why was the world so harsh towards magical girls?


    "This will be hard to cover," Charles turned to Luke after class ended.


    "I think everyone in school has seen the video by now," he glared at me.


    "It''s just a video," I found them taking this too seriously.


    "Like what''s the worst that could happen?" I didn''t mind the video spreading.


    We were interrupted when a few people knocked on the classroom door. Since I was closest to the door, I opened it to find my underclassmen holding a pen and paper. Their eyes glittered as they gazed at me, full of anticipation, "can we please get an autograph from magical girl Rika?"


    I momentarily froze, not expecting to have fans. With their expectant eyes, I quickly switched into magical girl Rika. Sending them some hearts in my new pose, I brightly smiled to provide some fan service. I signed the paper while making my voice sound cuter, "magical girl Rika thanks you for your support!"


    "Can we take some pictures?" A girl blurted.


    "Please refrain from taking pictures," Luke interrupted us.


    My fans became downcast as Luke chased them away from our classroom. It wasn''t like I couldn''t understand them, finding a cute magical girl to adore in front of their eyes. I would do the same if I were them, chasing the magical girl around to take more pictures. I started to become a bit depressed, wanting someone to provide the same fan service for me.


    "There''s already people looking for her," Charles blamed me for everything.


    "You even have a fan page," Shelly gasped.


    "Wait, seriously?" I looked at the school website.


    My eyes widened when I found I had a fan club from the video. I didn''t think things would escalate this fast. Alex''s eyes narrowed as he read all the comments and postings on my fan page. I was impressed by the creator who picked the best shots of me to write about. It went through the details to what I wore to where the same staff could be brought. My jaw almost dropped when I realized the dress that I wore that day cost around 380,000 Aris.


    All the random accessories that I picked amounted to over several million Aris. I started to look at all the dangling bracelets and hair clips I was forced to wear today in a new light. I wanted to pull them out and give it back to Luke. With the new information, I began to blame Luke for making me wear them all the time. He was the one making me a perfect target for anybody who wanted to grab someone off the streets to get some ransom out of them.


    "Don''t pull them out Rika," Luke noticed me about to take a hair clip out.


    "You''re not the one wearing them," I took all my hair accessories out.


    "And these bracelets, rings and earrings," I placed them all on my desk.


    Gathering them all together in one place, I was surprised to find them amounting to a small pile. Even Shelly couldn''t stop staring at my desk, wondering if I really wore this much every day. I never paid attention to Luke helping me get ready for school, always half-asleep before getting pushed out of the room. Luke sighed before he began to put the accessories back on its original place, "I told you these have something to do with your health."


    "They''re spelled to help you," he quickly made the pile disappear.


    "If you take them off one more time, I''ll have to put on stronger ones you can''t touch," he warned me.


    "But they''re annoying," I frowned.


    "You only wear a watch and a single ring," I pointed out.


    "And who got another fever last week from stuffing herself with icecream for dinner?" Alex argued.


    "That was only one time!" I defended myself.


    "Who stuffs themselves with icecream for dinner?" Charles sneered.


    Not thinking much about the fan page, I forgot about it as time passed by. There had to be hidden fan pages of other people too, it was just that they didn''t know about it. In fact, I wouldn''t be surprised if there was one for Luke. And the magical girl video had to die down someday.


    Sienna shook my shoulder while I was inside a headgear playing a game. I wondered why she had some fear in her eyes, trying to show me something on her screen. I gasped when I found some pictures of me uploaded onto the fan page. How did they take the pictures? The dorm room could only be opened by me and Luke.

 Chapter 500 - Video (9)

    There were pictures of me sleeping on my bed, wearing a light nightgown. The girl held a pillow like a stuffed doll in between her arms, making her appear more adorable. I didn''t know I moved a lot when I slept on my bed, finding me in different poses. Another one was where she was eating a strawberry shortcake inside the caf¨¦. With some cream on her lips with her innocent smile, you couldn''t help but want to keep her close to you.


    Some other common pictures were when she slept on her desk in the classroom. It was a schoolgirl theme with the stunning photos taken when she walked around the hallways. With some closeups, I wondered where this person was taking them. Luke could never find out about this, knowing my freedom would become even more restricted. There had to be a way to delete the fan page.


    "Most of them were posted today," Sienna tried to comfort me.


    "This is pretty extreme," Oili scrolled through the posts.


    "Do you know a way to delete them?" I turned to them for help.


    When both Sienna and Oili shook their heads, I looked at Ethan next. I was never so glad that Shelly was distracting Luke and Alex with Delia and Cillian to give me more time of my own today. Maybe they already knew about the new posts, trying to give us some time in fixing this mess. Worst case scenario, I would have to learn some hacking skills or search for a spell that would take care of it.


    "I''ll even give you five cages of bugs," I brought out my best offers.


    "Only the owner can erase them," Ethan seemed stunned with my new stalker.


    "We have to hide them from Luke or I''m going to die," I wondered if they had other ideas.


    "Hide what?" Luke opened the club room door.


    "Nothing," I elbowed Sienna to close her screen.


    "What trouble did you cause this time?" Alex narrowed his eyes.


    "Do you guys know?" he turned to Shelly, Delia and Cillian.


    "We don''t have an obligation to tell you," Shelly stalled for some time.


    When I shot a glance to ask Delia and Cillian if they knew, both of them nodded their heads. I started to tiptoe out of the club room, trying to escape while I could. Although I didn''t like having a stalker, it was better than relying on Luke to delete the photos for me. I mouthed at Cillian to clear the way to the door. Unfortunately Luke noticed, closing the door behind him. With no other choice, I ran to the window, deciding to jump down instead.


    "Can you lock the window?" Luke requested our president.


    "What''s going on Rika?" He blocked all my escape routes.


    "What could be going on?" I avoided his eyes.


    "Charles sent me a message to look at her fan page," Alex smiled.


    "I''ll do three workbooks today without complaining if you don''t look at the fan page!" I blurted to convince them.


    I was about to cry when Alex went on the fan page, standing beside Luke. Both of them hardened, scrolling through all the photos posted today. Although I didn''t have the chance to read the comments, it couldn''t be good when Luke''s eyes went wide. I knew the photos made things seem worse than it actually was. The first district had to have better professional cameras with their advanced technology.


    "I''ll help you check the dorm room," Alex frowned the most at the pictures taken inside my bedroom.


    "How could you think of trying to hide this?" Luke trembled.


    "The pictures aren''t that bad," I couldn''t deny my stalker was pretty dedicated to me.


    "Let''s start with checking the club room," our president offered.


    "Get away from the window first Rika," Luke found the most likely place where more pictures could be taken.


    "We''re going to the teachers'' office together," he grabbed my hand.


    On our way to the teachers'' office, Luke tried to block me from everyone''s line of sight with Alex. I knew they would act this way, sighing while hoping it wouldn''t last for a long time. After knocking on the door, he didn''t wait for an answer to come inside. Anyone could tell both of them were mad, all the teachers hoping they wouldn''t become the target of their questions. Luke walked to the closest desk, "can I know why the school is not doing anything when pictures of my partner were taken without permission?"


    "Pictures?" The teacher didn''t seem to know anything yet.


    Alex opened my fan page, filled with my photos. With all the teachers seeing where some of the pictures were taken, they froze. All of them went silent, not knowing how to appease Luke''s anger. When Luke glared at them to do something, one of the teachers used their authority to delete the fan page while others started to investigate how it was happening. But when the fan page got deleted, another one popped up to take its place.


    In fact, more pictures got released. I shuddered when I was in my bathrobe for one of them, showing my wet hair. The drenched girl appeared memorising, bringing a new appeal. The angle that showed the droplets of water running down her skin with her dewy face brought a new sense of purity. Seeing the view count being over a thousand already, I read the comments that thought the same as me.

 Chapter 501 - Video (10) - A Ordinary Fraction Member POV

    Many people were gathered for the biggest fraction meeting in history. Our rival fraction joined us alongside the neutral fraction to help us cover for Rika. Nobody could predict that the video would create a fan site where pictures of Luke''s partner would be posted. The sleeping girl was completely covered by her blanket with Luke fearing the culprits could be among us. Although not everyone knew the girl in the photos came from the Roselia family, we could all recognize her with one look.


    A few of the photos were a bit extreme, showing more parts of her daily life that should be kept private. We knew that the teachers were trying their best to handle this issue, deleting the photos as soon they were posted. But when I noticed one of my classmates quickly saving one of the pictures, I knew what they were doing wasn''t enough. It was hard not to store the photos of her when every one of them appeared so beautiful.


    No matter what angle they were taken, she always appeared perfect like the photos were edited. However, from looking at her sleeping face for the past several weeks, we knew none of them were touched. A recent addition to a few of the photos had Luke included in them, making people more obsessed with searching for the new fan site after it was deleted. It was even more appealing when there was a gorgeous young boy trying to protect the girl.


    "We should start off by making everyone here delete all the pictures they have of her," Charles suggested.


    "It is a violation of our privacy to check our inventory," a member refuted, knowing what direction it was heading towards.


    "It wouldn''t matter if you don''t have any pictures of her," Alex agreed with Charles.


    "But we believe that there won''t be anyone here privately storing the pictures," Oliver tried to break the stiff atmosphere.


    "So please cooperate with us," Sienna added.


    The leaders of each fraction were stunned to find over half of their members have pictures of Luke''s partner in their inventory when they were forced to cooperate. Each one of them were kicked out of their respective fractions, Luke personally handling the contracts himself. None of them predicted they would thoroughly check everything, including the backup storage places. Even the devices connected to their marbles were traced.


    "Are these people even proper human beings?" Delia looked at the line of people leaving the space.


    "I don''t want to be even near them," Oliver slightly shuddered.


    "This isn''t fair! It''s not only us storing these photos. Everyone else is doing this!" One of them complained.


    "Everyone in my class has at least one picture!" Another person agreed.


    "I didn''t store the one with her in the bathrobe like my friend," a person defended himself.


    "Some people who have rare photos of her before they got deleted even sell them for money!" a former member revealed.


    "There''s people who buy these photos?" Ethan''s eyes widened.


    "Let me see her in person. Uncover that blanket!" A person in line yelled at Luke.


    "I''m going down anyways," Another person joined in to take the blanket away.


    Luke quickly stepped away from the table with the pile of contracts on them. While many of them were used to seeing Luke, his partner was rarely seen. His eyes went round, not anticipating people turning to more violent means. Alex stepped in to block the former members from Luke. I guessed possessing some photos of her made them believe they had the right to be near her.


    "I can''t believe we had these kinds of people in our fraction," Charles seemed extremely disappointed.


    More of the people coming from the main families leading the fractions joined to defend Luke from the people who tried to attack him. His grip on the blanket tightened, coldly watching everyone trying to take it away. Sienna yelled at her former members to protect her friend, "how can you guys even think of doing this? My friend is suffering from people like you!"


    "I got her blanket!" A person slipped in from crawling on the ground.


    Luke held his sleeping partner in his arms, trying to find a way to escape from the person pulling on the blanket. Alex didn''t hesitate to kick the person below him, making the person''s head crash against the hard tiles. None of us thought they would use spells to break the barrier, working together to accomplish their goal. It was hard to believe this all started from a single video we had a tough time in trying to cover.


    I gasped from the mass amount of mana Luke put into his newly created barrier to defend himself and his partner. He slightly trembled from the aggressive people that was after him, not thinking about the consequences of their actions. It was like they had forgotten the mass power that the Roselia family possessed over them. Rika started to stir in her sleep, showing signs she was about to wake from the commotion.


    He sighed as he tried to smooth her back to sleep again, knowing it would become worse if she moved on her own. The fraction meeting was already ruined, a chaotic scene that made many people disgusted by their former fraction mates. It was no wonder Luke never brought his partner to our fraction meetings.

 Chapter 502 - Stalker (1)

    "You''re being too much! It''s just a bunch of photos," I didn''t want Alex to move into our dorm room.


    Everyone had already checked for more cameras around the dorm room. The windows were completely covered by the blinds, the room protected by multiple barriers. This was why I was surprised to see the person was still able to take more pictures when Sienna opened the temporary fan site. I was annoyed when Luke made me sleep in his bedroom at night, not trusting mine.


    However, I wasn''t going to let Alex join us on that tiny bed. I couldn''t go anywhere without either of them trying to cover me from other people. Class time became harder to endure with the windows completely sealed on top of another barrier. There was also a fingerprint scanner to open the door in the classroom. The club room was the same, the whole place becoming smaller by being surrounded by another set of walls.


    "At least bring another bed into the room," I argued when Alex brought his closet into Luke''s bedroom.


    "Rika, you know Alex is doing this to help protect you," Luke refused my request.


    "What could a bunch of photos possibly do?" I clenched my hands into fists.


    "Rika!" Luke was on the edge of starting another lecture.


    I still didn''t understand why they couldn''t bring an extra bed in when he was already making the room cramped with more of his things. I wondered if it was better to stay up during the nights rather than using the same space as Alex. I punched the pillow inside my bedroom since I was only allowed to visit the club room during the break. I wasn''t allowed to go to the cafeteria anymore as they brought my food for me.


    The caf¨¦ was also only accessible during the breaks too. Trying to stay inside my bedroom alone as much as possible, Luke had to drag me into his room when the sky was dark. My head hung towards the floor when I noticed Alex was already sitting on the bed. Wanting to sleep on the edge of the bed, I waited for Luke to sleep beside Alex. But he narrowed his eyes, urging me to sleep in between them.


    "Can I sleep on the ground?" I could bring some blankets from my room.


    "I''m not even sleepy anyways," I refused to step onto the bed.


    "Then we can do another workbook," Luke was about to pull one out from his inventory.


    "I was lying," I sat the furthest distance away from Alex as possible.


    "Go to sleep Rika," Alex turned to me, closing his book.


    I wondered why I had to suffer through this. I closed my eyes so I wouldn''t have to see the both of them anymore. But it was hard to get a good quality of sleep during the night, sharing a blanket when I used to have the entire thing to myself. It was too warm from their body heat since I was sleeping in the middle. I opened my eyes again, giving up on sleep. I tried to slip out of the bed by crawling out of the blanket.


    "You try sleeping in the middle! Do you know how hot it is? I don''t even have control over the blanket!" I crossed my arms.


    "I''ll adjust the temperature and get separate blankets for us to use," Luke opened a screen.


    "There''s not enough space for all of us!" I wanted to sleep on my own bed.


    "We''re already giving you the most space!" Alex pointed out.


    "Can''t we move some of your things out and attach three of the beds together? I''m even willing to let my room become a storage room," I couldn''t let this continue.


    "The beds won''t fit," Luke calculated the arrangement inside his head.


    ???How about attaching two of the beds together then?" I pleaded.


    I clasped my hands together, pulling out the most pitiful eyes, ready with some tears filling them up. Luke sighed as he decided to go with my request. I waited inside the living room as Luke and Alex moved the furniture to rearrange the room. I smiled when I found the sleeping space double with each of us having our own blankets. This was why I was stunned when I slept vertically on the bed, taking the space of the two beds on my own.


    "Your foot was on my leg," Alex already wore his uniform.


    "Is this a nightmare?" I wasn''t used to seeing him this early in the morning.


    Looking at my breakfast on the living room table, I was disappointed. There was the typical fruit toast, yogurts, omelets and porridge. The salad was the only thing edible among them, sadly not sprinkled with sugar. Beside the food was a bottle of a horrible tasting supplement. After taking a bite of the salad and chugging half the bottle, I left the rest untouched. How could they not bring the sugar with them?


    "One more bite Rika," Luke gestured to pick one of the plates.

 Chapter 503 - Stalker (2)

    I was close to punching Sienna''s screen when I saw the new set of pictures taken. The most talked about post was where Alex, Luke and I slept on the same bed together. Our faces were only separated by a few centimeters, blooming together like it was intentionally done inside a professional photoshoot. I knew they were lying when they told me that I took the most space! Both of my hands were taken as they tightly held one on their side of the bed.


    I was close to disliking the comments talking about how cute we appeared together. The only photo worse than this one was where I discovered Alex was telling the truth. While my foot was on his leg, my head was on Luke''s arm. It was clear that Luke''s bedroom wasn''t any safer than mine. I wondered if we could move my bed back to my bedroom again. But I didn''t ask when Alex was beside Luke, furious with how there were pictures taken of him.


    "You can try sleeping in my bedroom tonight," Shelly offered.


    "Mine too!" Sienna joined in.


    "The pictures are getting worse," Oili commented how the number of posts increased each day.


    The club room wasn''t safe as well. Ethan was about to destroy a gaming console when he appeared on the fan site, people talking about how his looks was lackluster compared to Luke. I remembered I was trying to bribe him that day to help me escape from Luke and Alex. Our president stopped checking the fan site when he was attacked by the comments that he didn''t deserve to be near us.


    There was at least one photo of every member inside the club. Although most of the focus was on me, my stalker made sure their faces could be clearly seen when they were around me. I wasn''t surprised when a separate fan site for Luke appeared, everyone praising his beauty on mine. I almost choked when I noticed a new posting on the school forum. Tapping on the screen, I found a newly created fan site for Alex.


    "There''s one for you too," Shelly tried to hide her happiness on how he deserved it.


    "Why isn''t the school doing anything?" Alex trembled while going through his fan site.


    "There aren''t many posts yet," Cillian tried to comfort him.


    "Your fan site is on another level," Delia pitied me.


    I was pretty impressed with my fan site. No matter how many times it got taken down, there were double the number that replaced it. The fan site master was dedicated to uploading fresh content every day, attracting fellow fans that never got tired of visiting. Recently, the owner started to upload videos, finding the pictures not being enough. This made Luke more careful with his words, always trying to maintain his act.


    The lectures were replaced with more elbowing and pokes, subtle hints of threats to fix something. He gave into me more easily when I complained about something, knowing there could be someone listening in. Talking in shorter sentences, he tried to avoid talking in general. Other than Alex moving in yesterday, it wasn''t a bad life. I tried to hide my smile when Luke began to warn Alex, "there''s videos taken too. You''ll have to be careful with your words and actions."


    "And we can''t do another fraction meeting," Oliver added.


    "What happened during the fraction meeting?" I wondered.


    "It wasn''t normal," Cillian shuddered.


    "We reorganized our fractions," Delia explained.


    "Your fans are insane," Ethan grumbled.


    I never met any of my fans again after the first day. I wondered how aggressive they were from the comments I read. Everyone else seemed to agree with Ethan, saying they were violent. But there was no way I would know as Luke kept a stricter eye on me. It seemed that magical girls suffered under their flashy life. After leaving the club room, I moved into Shelly''s dorm room for today. Since the four of us couldn''t sleep on one bed, we ended up attaching them together again.


    "I want the edge this time!" I claimed my spot.


    "Rika," Luke waited for me to get in.


    Living with Luke for a long time, it was sad I knew what he was talking about from one look. Since Luke knew about this, all it took was saying my name when he wanted something from me. I sighed as I was inside the worse position on the bed. I was in between Luke and Alex again while Shelly got the edge, one of the better spots. Rubbing my eyes after Luke shook me awake, I began to check my fan page for any updates.


    "Is there any safe place inside the school?" I found another round of photos of us sleeping together.


    "There''s a video too!" Shelly gasped.


    "What?" Alex tapped on the screen.


    My eyes widened when I watched how I slept. I kept on rolling around, annoying Alex in the process. He chose to hold my hand to make me stay in one position while shooting a look at Luke to do the same with my other hand. But I started to kick the blankets, causing them to wake up again. Luke muttered a spell to calm me down before trying to go back to sleep again. Meanwhile Shelly was pleased that she was b?r?ly seen in the video, the camera focusing on the three of us.


    "This is why we shouldn''t sleep on the same bed," I pointed out.


    "Let''s get ready for school," Luke sighed.

 Chapter 504 - Stalker (3)

    "Where is this person?" Charles found a picture of himself on my fan site.


    "You''ll get used to it," I shrugged.


    "I think you should see this newly posted video," Shelly shuddered while showing me her screen.


    The video started off by Luke rising early in the morning, quietly stepping out of the bed to not wake Alex. He quickly went over all the things he needed to pack for the both of us for our morning classes. Knowing that he could be recorded by another video, he used a spell to change into his uniform. After coming back to the dorm room from fetching our breakfast, he placed the plates on the living room table.


    "I''ll help," Alex came out of the bedroom, still in his pyjamas.


    "I''ll get Rika ready for school," Luke nodded his head.


    Opening my closet, he pulled out my uniform for the day. After placing it on the table, he began to choose the accessories I would wear. Instead of waking me up, he brushed my hair and applied some skincare brands after wiping my face. Checking the time on his watch, he pulled out some packs to place where I frequently complained I didn''t have enough strength in. My eyes widened when he used a machine to check my health for the day.


    Based on the results, he made me drink some bottles of medicine without me knowing it. I coughed as he made sure I swallowed everything. Going over the results again, he chose my daily supplement to be placed beside my breakfast. Seeing how it was around the time to start shaking me awake, he removed all the packs and chanted a spell to change me into my uniform. I froze, knowing the reason why I was in my uniform when I woke up now.


    "Are you still getting Rika ready for school?" Alex opened the door.


    "I''m almost done," Luke began to shake me.


    "I''ll wake her," Alex tried to give Luke the time to eat his breakfast.


    I frowned in my sleep as Alex shook me in Luke''s place. Glancing at the time on his watch, Alex began to shake me harder. The video fast forward, showing I finally showed signs of waking after thirty minutes of shaking. Since Luke was finished with eating his breakfast, he continued with the shaking. I knew I was bad with waking up in the mornings, but not this bad. Maybe it was because I was getting a lower quality of sleep lately.


    Luke gave up and placed me on a chair to begin placing all the accessories on me. By the time he was finished, I opened my eyes, wondering why I wasn''t in my bed. I was still half-awake as he dragged me to the couch to eat my breakfast. I didn''t know what was going on as he started to spoon feed my supplement for the day. It was from the sour taste that I finally became fully conscious.


    "Can you finish the rest of the bottle?" Luke pushed the bottle to me.


    "Half," I started to negotiate.


    "Then one bite of the yogurt, one spoon of the porridge with the salad finished," Luke chose the amount with the spoon he scooped.


    "Fine," I ?r??n?d.


    After chugging the bottle, I couldn''t eat the one bite of the yogurt after finishing the salad and one spoon of porridge. This made Alex pressure me to quickly finish the yogurt as we would be late for class with the amount of time I stalled. Under his fierce glare, I forced myself to eat the yogurt on the spoon he passed to me. The video ended here, something that had happened two days before today.


    "This person posted our entire morning routine!" I didn''t want to read the comments.


    Although I discovered what Luke did before waking me up, there wasn''t much I could do while I was unconscious. Not able to resist the temptations in reading the comments, I wondered what others thought. Surprisingly, many people praised Luke as the perfect partner that everyone wanted. There were positive comments about Alex mixed in, admiring his close relationship with Luke from how he tried to help him.


    "If only my partner was a little like Luke," a person muttered.


    "Did your heart pound too when he tried to spoon feed her breakfast to her?" another person admired Luke.


    "I liked the part where he added all the accessories onto her hair and personally slipped her bracelets and rings onto her," a person disagreed.


    "Rika was so cute when she couldn''t wake up," someone changed the topic.


    "The part when she finally woke up was the cutest part," another person joined in.


    I almost rolled my eyes since they have never seen the Luke that came out when we were alone or with family members. Since he knew a video could be taken, he didn''t include his usual morning lectures while I ate my breakfast. Alex also didn''t add any threats he always made, choosing to warn me with his subtle glares. There was no arm pulling or wrist grabbing like usual too.

 Chapter 505 - Stalker (4)

    "You''re really bad with waking up in the mornings," Cillian wasn''t surprised when he watched the video.


    "My partner wants to be treated the same after she watched the video, threatening me to bring her breakfast into the dorm room tomorrow morning," Ethan grumbled.


    "If Luke can do it, why can''t Allan do it?" Delia agreed with Ethan''s partner.


    "Does Alex spoon feed you for breakfast too?" Sienna turned to Shelly.


    Shelly shook her head, not minding the difference in how he treated us. Since she was using the dorm room on her own lately, her smile was brighter, not having to suffer under him. She was the only one who noticed the subtle hints of Alex''s threats other than me who directly experienced them. There were many pressuring stares in the video that only people who truly knew them were tortured under.


    "I want to be treated normally too," I pouted.


    "I want to go to the cafeteria in the mornings," I was jealous of the people who had the freedom.


    "Do you think you can wake up in time to go to the cafeteria?" Alex joined us.


    "Will you let me go if I can?" I wanted to choose my own breakfast.


    "Not yet Rika," Luke didn''t like the idea.


    "That video isn''t even real," I flopped onto my sleeping bag.


    "It isn''t how you usually spend your mornings?" Oliver wondered.


    "It mostly is but there were a lot of things that were excluded," I sighed.


    "What more could there be?" Ethan blamed Luke for how his partner threatened him by using Sprinkles.


    "I wonder," Luke warned them to stop digging into the details.


    "Can you bring me my breakfast into our room too?" Sienna turned to Cillian.


    "The usual menu?" Cillian knew her preferences.


    "Yup!" Sienna''s eyes glittered.


    "We should take turns," he wanted the same treatment.


    Sienna slumped, feeling a little disappointed in Cillian. Meanwhile Delia was already sending messages to Allan to order him to do the same as Luke. It wasn''t like I could complain about my mornings with Luke and Alex inside the room. I almost felt like crying as Shelly was the only one who understood me. There were so many misunderstandings inside the hallways, envy present in their voices.


    "Can we switch partners again?" I faced Sienna.


    "You said it wasn''t bad living with Luke," I found living with Cillian wasn''t bad.


    "I think this is your missing pen," Shelly interrupted us.


    "Where?" I moved closer to her to look at her screen.


    "In one of the posts," she pointed out.


    I stiffened when Shelly was right. There was a picture bragging about how they managed to steal a pen I used often. But I soon smiled, hoping that someone would steal my workbooks eventually. I didn''t mind if they stole my things, most of them were provided by Luke anyways. It would be even better if they also managed to take my accessories as well. Noticing the post on Shelly''s screen, Luke frowned as he went on the fan site to search for the same post.


    "It''s escalating," Alex muttered.


    "I can always use another pen," I didn''t care.


    "Let me check your inventory," Luke wanted to check if there were more missing items.


    "You also have a hair clip missing from your hair," Cillian noticed from taking Luke''s role for a few days in the past.


    "It probably fell off," I shrugged.


    "It shouldn''t fall off that easily," Luke thoroughly began to check all the accessories on me.


    "It''s a hair clip and a bracelet," Alex helped him double check.


    "But how does a bracelet fall off?" Delia found it strange.


    "It shouldn''t," Luke gestured to me to pass my marble to him.


    Since I had nothing to hide, I gave him my marble. Luke''s face hardened when he noticed a few things missing like my notepads. Thankfully, the person left my cage of bugs untouched, the thing that mattered the most when I negotiated with Ethan. I wondered what spell my stalker was using to take my possessions. Seeing that no one had noticed before the post, this person was very good at what he or she did.


    While Luke reported this incident to the teachers through a message, I wondered if it was a really big deal. When Luke was about to start his usual study sessions the next day, I brightly smiled, not being able to hide my happiness when the workbooks had disappeared. This stalker was finally becoming useful. Luke was stunned that everything he prepared was gone, double checking his inventory again.


    "They stole the workbooks," Luke explained to Alex.


    "They did what?" Alex couldn''t believe him.


    "Oh well, I guess it can''t be helped," I rose from my seat.


    "Sit down Rika. I can still go over everything in class today," Luke pulled out a blank notebook.


    "But all my pens are gone," I had nothing to write with.


    My stalker was a genius, stealing all my stationary to make it almost impossible to study. Alex passed me his pen to begin the study session. When Luke was about to pull out his own, he couldn''t find any inside his inventory. Before he could ask, Alex passed him another one of his pens. It was a pity that Alex was here with us, the study session was close to being cancelled. There were more benefits to the stalking if I went through my memories.

 Chapter 506 - Stalker (5)

    The next morning, I was surprised to sleep in later than usual on a weekend. I wondered why Luke and Alex were opening all the cabinets, drawers and closets in our room. My eyes widened when I found the entire treasure ?h?st of my accessories empty when Luke opened a door in my closet. Although my clothes remained, all the accessories were gone when Luke went through all the places again.


    "They also stole our watches and rings," Alex found it unbelievable.


    Luke didn''t want to believe that his exclusive collection of accessories was gone. I knew how precious they were to him, the way that he nicely arranged everything when regularly updating his collection. The only reason he was holding back was because they didn''t touch his clothes that he considered to be equally important. This made Alex open his inventory to see if there was anything missing on his end. Sneaking a peek, I gasped when his inventory full of books, textbooks, and stationary were gone.


    "I''ll check my inventory too," Luke opened his marble.


    Finding the same things in his inventory gone like Alex, Luke found his prized collection of research books missing. I tried to hide my smile, knowing that the study session for today had to be cancelled. This stalker had a sense of humor, only leaving the things that were b?r?ly used behind. Although I didn''t know what hobbies Alex had, I guessed he had similar ones as Luke, finding him equally upset.


    "Wait for me to apply some lotion on you before you get out of the bed," Luke finally noticed I was awake.


    "But they''re not on the table anymore," I knew where he usually placed them.


    "There should be more in another place," Luke opened a drawer hidden inside another drawer.


    "But they''re not there," I looked at the empty drawer.


    "I''m going to check my room," Alex wanted to check if the things he didn''t move out were safe.


    While Luke searched for the things that my stalker didn''t steal, Alex returned to us like his heart was torn apart. The only items that the stalker left behind were the huge furniture, my bottles of medicine and supplements, the medical machines, and everyone''s clothes and shoes. The packs I saw in the video were gone alongside everything else. I could tell that Luke was close to exploding, finding our room almost emptied.


    "They took my things in my room," Alex was about to cry.


    "Everything in this room is almost gone too," Luke was too upset to comfort Alex.


    "I don''t think we should buy new ones since they can steal them again," I didn''t want the study session to continue.


    At this rate, we could even skip class since the textbooks were all gone. It was a pity that my stalker didn''t steal the medicine and supplements alongside the painful dresses and shoes. I decided to touch all my clothes, hoping they would disappear the next day if I did. Maybe I would have to change into all of them. I was full of energy while exploring everything that I didn''t know I possessed.


    "Can you help me with this dress?" I turned to Luke.


    Luke soullessly helped me change into all of the dresses in my closet to spend the rest of the day. I made sure to try all the shoes in the process, giving the excuse I wanted to prepare for social week that was several months from now. This made Alex join in to try out most of his clothes to distract himself from thinking of all his stolen belongings. I didn''t think Luke''s mood would improve when seeing me in all the clothes he chose.


    He began to change into his clothes to try to match our outfits together. By the end of the day, all of us had tried everything in our closet. I tried to ignore the guilt inside my heart as I hoped not everything that we touched would be stolen the next morning. But the next day, I woke up from Luke loudly slamming the closet doors. I gasped when all three of our closets were completely empty, not a single thing to be seen, including our uniforms.


    "How?" I was stunned.


    "There''s even photos of us changing," Alex trembled.


    I was amazed how my plan had worked. I didn''t mind if my stalker took more photos of me, I was always wearing something underneath while I changed into a new dress. It was the same for Luke and Alex. The comments went into a frenzy as they admired Luke helping me in changing into all the dresses. Some even went into the details of every outfit I wore, pointing out the stores that Luke had purchased them from. This expanded to Luke and Alex, everyone chattering about the price of the clothes and shoes they wore.


    Closing the screen, I realized that none of us could leave the room, having no shoes or clothes to change into. Meaning, Luke couldn''t go to the cafeteria to bring me my breakfast. Charles knocked on our door, the screen showing him bringing our meals. Luke opened the door to let him in, not needing to explain how most of our things were stolen with all the opened closets, drawers and cabinets.


    Charles was stunned, looking at all the empty storages. While Luke placed the plates of food on the small table, Charles offered, "I can lend you a few of my clothes. I''m not sure about the shoe size though."

 Chapter 507 - Stalker (6)

    "Can we sleep in your room tonight? I''m scared to stay here any longer," I pretended to tremble.


    "If it is alright with you," Luke agreed with me after he lost everything.


    But Charles didn''t want to switch dorms with us, knowing everything we had suffered through from checking the fan site. This made the four of us to be together inside his cramped room. I opened his closet, making sure to touch everything to get my revenge. I knew he was looking at me weirdly as I tried on his clothes and shoes. Both Luke and Alex did the same, trying to find a decent outfit to wear.


    "Miliana has some extra clothes," Charles wanted me to stop touching everything.


    "Her clothes are probably not as loose as yours," I wore his shirt as a mini dress.


    I smiled as Luke went through everything that Charles had in his inventory so they could share his stationery and books. The entire day passed by quickly as I took the chance to use as many things as I could. I didn''t complain when I slept in the middle of the tight bed that b?r?ly fit the four of us. I was full of anticipation, wanting to know if the same thing would expand to Charles as well.


    Since I slept early last night, I woke up near the same time as everyone else. I stretched my arms before being the first one to slip out of the bed. Charles watched me walk to his closet, wondering what I wanted from him. When I opened his closet, I brightly smiled, finding it completely empty. This made Charles run to open all his storage places, not believing all his things were stolen within a night.


    I quickly hid my smile, sneaking a peek into his inventory, showing all the same things missing as Luke and Alex. Finding my revenge accomplished, I checked the fan site, wondering if there were some pictures of him uploaded. I gasped when there was a video of the four of us sleeping together, displaying all of us tightly cramped together. The comments went into chaos, heating up even more than when Luke, Alex and I shared one bed together.


    I gulped as I knew this could potentially rival the morning routine video. Charles seemed to think along the same lines, regretting that he let us into his room. The four of us were in the same situation now, a newly created fan page popping on the school forum dedicated towards Charles. Although Luke was better looking than Charles, he wasn''t far behind, being distant relatives. I knew it was a part of the reason why Luke was closer to Charles than Allan who transferred into the other class.


    I quickly sent a message to Miliana, explaining what happened. When I walked into the living room, I found her brightly smiling, clasping both of my hands to thank me. I have never seen her so happy and full of energy as she offered to bring us our meals from the cafeteria. I didn''t hesitate to ask for some cakes for breakfast as she agreed to add tons of sugar to all the food. Miliana knew how I loved sweet things while Charles disliked them.


    "Thank you so much," my eyes glittered at the plates she brought.


    "I know you can''t go out with your clothes gone," Miliana had poured an entire bag of sugar inside all the food.


    "I can''t believe you actually listened to what she wanted to eat," Charles could spot the sugar.


    "Can I take your portion? We shouldn''t waste food," I picked up a spoon.


    When Luke took a bite of the yogurt, he frowned, knowing how much I would like it. I started off by eating the cakes before any of them could think of taking them away. Cake wasn''t usually available in the mornings, showing how much extra effort Miliana put in to get them for me. Alex stopped eating after one bite of the closest plate to him, wondering how I could eat stuff like this. Charles was the same, washing the bite of porridge he ate with a large glass of water.


    I ended up eating all their portions, feeling satisfied after I finished the last plate. I was struggling from the lack of adjustments to my food lately. I wondered how the three of them would survive through the rest of the day from eating so little. Implementing the rest of my plan, I asked Shelly to visit us. Fortunately, Luke wasn''t suspicious of me when I asked Shelly and Miliana if they could share their school supplies with us.


    Equally distributing everything they possessed, I hoped all of them would disappear the next morning, cancelling class in its place. Knowing what happened to Charles, Miliana seemed to know my plan. She gave me access to everything related to school, wanting to take a day off herself. I loved this stalker of mine, letting me take revenge without making anyone suspicious while giving me a chance to take an additional day to spend like the weekends.


    I didn''t complain even once as Luke conducted the usual study session with Shelly''s school supplies. While everyone was a bit suspicious to see me so motivated to study, they didn''t say anything. They didn''t want to bring Luke''s great mood down since Luke loved it when I worked hard to study without him pushing me.

 Chapter 508 - Stalker (7)

    Feeling excited to start the new day, I couldn''t sleep after closing my eyes for several hours. I searched my clothes to pull out my marble to plan what I would do today. But oddly, I couldn''t feel my marble anywhere when I remembered putting it inside one of my pockets. My nightgown had a few pockets in the inner parts, having a small zipper to open them. Going through all the clothes I wore again, I eventually gave up when there were no signs of my marble.


    I decided to jump on the bed, hoping my marble would fall out. In the process, I accidentally stepped on Charles'' arm, Alex''s leg and Luke''s hand. Making them all wake up, they wondered why I was causing all this commotion. I knew they must have been extremely exhausted to sleep through everything when I made lots of sounds in trying to find my marble. I turned to Luke, "do you have my marble with you? I can''t find it on me."


    "Your marble is gone?" Luke double checked all my pockets.


    I nodded my head, finding the stalker go too far. A marble was extremely important to carry in the first district, serving as some sort of identification that you were a citizen of the district. This made Charles and Alex frantically search for their marbles, checking their clothes. But I knew their marble was missing when they appeared extremely frustrated, stepping out of the bed to jump on the ground to do the same thing as me.


    "It''s gone," Alex clenched his hands into fists.


    "Mine too," Charles slightly trembled.


    "How are we going to attend class today?" I wondered.


    "My school supplies are also gone!" Miliana burst into our room.


    Since Miliana had her marble with her, she received an incoming video call from Shelly. Accepting the call, Shelly''s face popped up, appearing refreshed from discovering that she may not have to go to class today. She perfectly hid her smile, "my school supplies vanished."


    "Why didn''t you accept my call?" Shelly asked me.


    "My marble disappeared," I struggled to hide my happiness when classes had to be cancelled today.


    "I''ll send a report to the teachers," she ended the call.


    "Can we borrow your marble to make some calls?" Luke turned to Miliana.


    "I''m not sure," she didn''t want her marble to disappear like ours.


    "We''re not going to touch it. We''re just going to ask you to make some calls for us," Charles pressured her.


    This was how Cillian ended up delivering his uniforms and Sienna''s to our room since I had a similar size as her while having the same shoe size. Miliana quickly left to go to the cafeteria to escape from Charles after she finished making the calls. Luke frowned while he continued to tailor Sienna''s uniform as they were too loose on me. Everyone else had already changed into their uniform, making it perfectly fit them with a spell.


    "Your waist is so small," Miliana brought our breakfast.


    Charles was stunned when Luke managed to shrink everything, the final result being almost half the size of the original. Miliana looked at the tailored uniform and me multiple times, wondering if it would fit me. When I changed into the new uniform, I was surprised to find everything still loose on me. I didn''t think my size would be so small. Not wasting any time, Luke gestured to me to give the uniform back to him so he could make more adjustments.


    "I can help with the shirt," Alex offered.


    "I''ll do the sweater," Charles noticed we may be late for class at this rate.


    "I can do the ribbons," Miliana added when she finished eating her breakfast.


    "I want you to at least eat two bites of yogurt, porridge and finish your salad this time," Luke wanted me to eat breakfast while he worked on my uniform to save time.


    Since Miliana added a bit of sugar to my portions, the food wasn''t hard to finish. The annoying part was when Alex and Charles kept on checking if the size would fit, interrupting me from enjoying my breakfast. But Luke already had a rough idea, being experienced from passing me my uniform every morning. He was the first one to finish adjusting the skirt, moving onto the socks next.


    "How is it still not fitting?" Charles started to get frustrated.


    "Just leave it," I couldn''t find a big difference.


    "The shirt is finally finished," Alex wanted me to try it on.


    Luke started to spoon feed Alex and Charles while they worked on my uniform after he quickly finished eating his breakfast. Unfortunately, this was the next video to be released, Shelly showing me the new post before the teacher walked into the classroom. Everyone admired the close relationship between the three of them, working hard to help me change into my uniform. I sighed as some of them even claimed I was treated like a princess.


    "We don''t have any school supplies. Our marbles were stolen alongside all our possessions," I made sure to tell the teacher first.


    "None?" The teacher stiffened.


    "Our marbles were stolen!" Charles was close to yelling.


    "Can we even have class today?" I was filled with hope.


    "It will be hard to have class when you don''t have anything," the teacher had no choice but to cancel classes.


    "Can you let your colleagues know?" I brightly smiled.

 Chapter 509 - Stalker (8)

    "It''s princess Rika," a person murmured in the halls.


    "I want to be her," her friend whispered.


    "Did you see the latest video?" a person joined them.


    No matter what the school did, they could never find my stalker. Luke, Alex and Charles exhausted themselves, trying to think of more possibilities of how that person could take pictures and videos of us. Stealing their marbles broke their last straw, unable to leave the school since they couldn''t access their money. It was dangerous when you couldn''t contact anyone when you were outside.


    "It has to be a combination of some spells," Oliver pointed out.


    "Do you think we don''t know that?" Charles followed us into the club room.


    Luke pulled out a hairbrush from the club room. He wanted to brush my hair since he couldn''t do it in the morning. Since I didn''t wear my usual accessories, I was in a better mood, listening more to him in return. In the middle of trying to arrange my hair, Luke''s hands froze. I wondered what was wrong, everyone who watched Luke stiffened. Luke''s hands faintly began to tremble, "someone cut your hair."


    "They cut my hair?" I did feel my head was lighter lately.


    I found my long hair annoying, Luke not letting me cut it shorter. Other than its usual trims, it always remained at its usual length, drifting down near my waist. I wondered if I could take this chance to cut it into a short bob. I always liked Delia''s hairstyle, finding it to look perfect on her. I hoped the damage would be big enough to snip enough of it off. I didn''t dislike my stalker, giving people a chance for some change.


    "It''s a few centimeters," Alex noticed.


    "We can just cut the rest of it off," I suggested.


    "This is on another level now," Charles'' face hardened.


    I knew that the three of them were thinking along the lines that they could be next. I didn''t think Luke would take this very seriously, he asked Cillian to call his older brother to come to our school. He never called his family members that weren''t in school unless it was a significant matter, not wanting to bother them. Within a few minutes, we met Lucius in front of the teacher''s office. His face went extremely cold when he heard what had happened from us.


    "I will be bringing my siblings, cousin and relative out of school for the day. How could you let the situation escalate to the point that her hair was cut?" Lucius wanted an explanation.


    "We have been investigating the case for weeks and done everything we could to improve the situation," the teacher appeared exhausted.


    "Do you think it is enough?" He couldn''t accept their efforts.


    Lucius went to the dean''s office to pressure her to put more effort into finding my stalker. Sitting inside the dean''s office, it wasn''t an unfamiliar place. The dean was helpless against Lucius, unable to argue back when he started to yell at her. Everything Lucius said was right, it was the school''s responsibility to protect its students.


    "We''re doing our best," the dean kept on repeating the same words.


    "You can b?r?ly notice the cut hair," she quietly mumbled.


    "Do you not know her hair could be used to target her when used in spells? And the stolen possessions aren''t what could be normally replaced," Lucius raised his voice.


    "We should leave," he turned to us.


    I stepped into the hover car heading towards the salon. It was nice to finally leave the school, not having the chance after coming back from the criminal organization. I never visited the salon before, my hair always being trimmed inside the Roselia family mansions. Hearing Shelly''s fabulous experience, I always wanted to try going there, resembling an exquisite spa. My eyes were full of expectation in front of the door.


    "We have been waiting for you," a worker greeted us.


    "May I know who to start with?" she turned to me.


    "Do you have a pen and paper so we can write down the details?" Luke gestured they were here because of me.


    "I want a short bob!" My eyes glittered.


    Luke ignored me as he went over everything with his family members. My shoulders slumped, seeing I had no say in how I wanted to change my appearance. I should''ve known something like this would happen, everyone deep in discussion to finalize the treatments I would get. The worker was stunned when she was handed around tens of pages going through every single detail. They ended up calling for more support while reading the document together.


    I sat down in a chair, waiting for the person to fix my hair. I stared at all the fascinating tools, able to use by pouring in some mana. While my feet were soaked in luxurious flower petals, my nails were being done. The staff cautiously worked under Luke''s burning gaze, checking if they were following all his instructions.


    "The angle is a little off," Luke pointed out when they started trimming my hair.


    "I apologize," the staff wondered where the mistake was.


    "I''m sure we requested to use a certain ratio when using these brands together," Lucius found another tiny mistake.


    "The nails are a bit uneven as well," Alex made sure nothing could escape him.


    "I''m disappointed in this place," Charles agreed.

 Chapter 510 - Stalker (9)

    "I''m sure there was a limit written in how much you could cut no matter how many mistakes you made," Luke''s patience was on the edge of snapping.


    The staff were tortured under everyone who came with me to the salon. Luke especially wanted everything to be perfect, not hesitating to show his disapproval when they were slightly less than a millimetre off. I sighed, finding the experience to be more stressful than enjoyable. I didn''t have a choice in how I wanted to appear anyways. I felt suffocated when they started bringing more tools in, carefully measuring everything.


    "Can we just leave?" I felt like I would end up spending the entire day here.


    "Maybe we should go to another place," Lucius agreed.


    "They''re making mistakes with everything," Charles frowned.


    "We should reserve a place mother used once," Alex suggested.


    "Please. We''re almost finished. Please give us another chance," the worker was about to cry.


    "Let''s leave Rika," Luke didn''t want to give them another chance.


    After Lucius made a reservation at another salon, he paid for everything, feeling extremely unsatisfied. Inside the hover car, Luke began to study me to note all the mistakes the staff made in the previous salon. None of the staff knew his extreme strong attention to detail, being picky in how everything was done. With his relative, brother and cousin who helped him in pointing out the mistakes, it made everything seem worse than it actually was.


    When I held my hair, there was b?r?ly any difference before I came to the salon. At most, they cut one centimeter more of my hair to make them even with the rest. The new set of staff were frozen from Alex complaining about how they had to leave their competitor. Lucius passed them the pages of notes, close to a hundred, pointing out all the faults so they wouldn''t make the same mistake.


    "You can come this way," the worker''s voice slightly wobbled while escorting me.


    I wasn''t surprised when they brought all their available staff, bringing all the tools they had with them. Carefully measuring everything, the workers made sure to triple check all the details between themselves. Seeing my reflection in the mirror, I wondered if we really needed to pressure the staff this much.


    "The angle is one eighth of a millimetre off," Luke didn''t hesitate to point out.


    "They also cut half a millimetre more in one strand," Charles enjoyed helping Luke.


    "The temperature is also too hot by half a degree," Alex noticed the water my feet were placed inside.


    I knew this was starting to turn into a game between them, competing to find the most mistakes. Lucius was keeping a record of the points, writing everything down. The owner of the salon appeared increasingly more nervous, hoping we wouldn''t leave this place like the previous one. I never wanted to visit another salon again, my illusions of it shattered.


    "Please hand me the tools," Luke wanted to cut my hair himself.


    The workers reluctantly gave him all the tools. Within a few minutes, Luke managed to finish cutting my hair the exact way he wanted. I wondered why he couldn''t do this from the start, finding his tastes to be very exquisite. Every strand of hair mattered, the precise angles for each of them to turn into pretty twirls towards the end. The staff couldn''t but admire the end result, acknowledging the skills he possessed. He only cut half a millimetre more, trying to minimize how much was cut.


    "Can you do the rest by yourselves?" He finished the part they were struggling the most in.


    "We can," a worker blurted.


    I was struggling to maintain my posture as they began to move on applying the skincare brands onto me. When Alex noticed my skin slightly getting pink, he stopped them, "my cousin''s skin is very s?ns?t?v?. The pressure you''re applying them to is too strong while the temperature is off by a quarter of a degree."


    "Even I can do better than that," Charles mocked them.


    A worker actually got the courage to pass the skincare brands to Charles after adjusting the temperature. Surprisingly, Charles started to apply them on me, doing a better job than the staff. I melted under his smooth fingers, perfectly massaging everything. The irritation on my skin disappeared, showing how careless the staff were.


    "Can you do anything by yourselves?" Alex was disappointed in them.


    "The only things remaining are the packs, nails and feet," the workers found them to be easier.


    Placing the packs on my legs, I slightly shivered when it was a bit too cold. Alex immediately removed them from me and chanted a spell to adjust the temperature before he reapplied them at better places. I could tell he just wanted the entire process over with, not waiting for the staff to fix their mistakes. Luke cancelled the order on doing my nails, using their products to fix everything on his own.


    After he quickly dried my feet, placing some lotion as the finishing touches, Lucius knew it was the signal to pay. It looked like none of them would visit another salon again, wondering why people visited these places. Looking at my reflection, I didn''t think my appearance could become more stunning than what it originally was. I was glowing everywhere, even without any excessive mana leaking out.


    "Can''t we just buy all those products and tools rather than going to these places again?" I didn''t want to suffer again.


    "That''s what we did during our time there," Lucius thought one step ahead of me.

 Chapter 511 - Stalker (10)

    "I don''t feel hungry," I was dragged to a restaurant afterwards.


    "One bite from each plate," Luke wasn''t willing to concede before our plates came.


    "But it isn''t even properly cooked," I picked on my food once it arrived.


    "She''s right," Charles agreed.


    "Let''s leave," Lucius paid for the bill while we didn''t touch anything.


    "Why is everything of such low quality these days?" Alex was disappointed in all the places we visited.


    "Excuse me, can we take a picture?" a person interrupted us.


    "It really is Rika. Rika, from the fan site!" Her friend couldn''t help but get excited.


    "Do you know my younger sibling?" Lucius blocked me from their view.


    "We follow all the pictures and videos on her fan site every day. There was an exclusive event on the fan site today that gave away the location of where she would be travelling today!" She confessed.


    "Unfortunately, we only get the information for a certain time. The fan site master is too cruel! Making us miss the salon visits," she showed us the pictures and videos taken there.


    "It''s not only one person?" Lucius was stunned.


    "Everyone knows the fan site master lets other people post the videos and pictures on the page as long as it''s good quality," she revealed.


    "We''re nothing compared to the other fans. We ask to take pictures while they take them without permission," her friend added.


    "Is there anything else going on?" Charles wanted his belongings back.


    "There''s also an auction that is yet to be announced. Apparently, the fan site master managed to source the things shown on the posts," she recalled.


    Why did this remind me of the insane idol culture in my former life but on another level? I didn''t think my fans would be so aggressive, soon leaving Lucius from not budging, covering all of us. Since Lucius was only bringing us out for a day, I wondered what would happen once we returned to school. I stepped into the hover car, heading towards the Roselia family mansion.


    "I knew it was starting to escalate once they took some of her hair," Charles spat out his disgust toward my fans.


    "I can''t believe they''re selling our things," Alex trembled in anger.


    "You should''ve hidden them in a better place. What if the barrier isn''t enough from stealing more?" I got some of my revenge.


    My supply of otaku goods was safe, untouched from not going near the room. I had more experience in hiding things than any one of them. Luke squeezed my hand tighter, not wanting more of his collection to vanish. He sent a pitiful look at Lucius to change the location to another place. None of them wanted to visit their own family mansions, making Lucius switch the location to the Suilett family mansion.


    "We should sleep in the same room," Alex suggested.


    "I''m only sleeping in the same room if each of us have our own bed," I knew there had to be a room that could fit four beds.


    "We should sleep in one bed," Charles disagreed with me.


    "Do you know how uncomfortable it is to be in the middle? You''re only saying that since you''re taking the edge," I refused to be cramped on another bed again.


    "We''ll give you more space Rika," Luke found sleeping in one bed better.


    "I''ll watch over you guys," Lucius planned on staying up the night.


    I knew they were thinking if there was a spell being done on one of us, it was likely another one of us would notice. And it was easier for Lucius to watch all of us gathered in one spot. While Lucius was busy with fortifying the barrier, we started to settle into the provided room. Unfortunately, it was one of the smaller ones, everyone busy with setting up surveillance cameras to help catch the culprit.


    "The stalker didn''t even do any extreme things yet," I complained while I rolled around the bed while I could.


    "Are you serious Rika?" Alex couldn''t forget about losing his collection.


    "If they had the ability to take our possessions, what is there holding them back from kidnapping one of us?" I always wondered.


    The room went silent, knowing I was right. Unfortunately, Luke started to look at me in a new light, most likely thinking along the lines to keep me closer to him while I slept. I puffed my cheeks as the people on the edge decided to sleep towards the centre from my words. I felt suffocated as Luke decided to hug me while he slept. I wondered why they couldn''t trust the barrier surrounding the Suilett family mansion.


    "And you said you would give me more space?" I found it too warm.


    "We''re giving you more space around the legs," Alex pointed out.


    "I had enough! Give me the edge. I don''t need more space!" I tried to rise from my spot.


    "If you can''t, I''d rather sleep on the floor!" I couldn''t move from Luke''s tight hug.


    "Can you be quiet for once?" Charles was getting annoyed.


    "The three of you can sleep on one bed and leave me alone," I was getting frustrated.


    "So let me go," I struggled to wiggle out of Luke''s grasp.


    "Stop kicking my legs!" Alex was confronted with most of my brunt attempts.


    "I want out. I''m tired of getting low quality sleep these days. I want to sleep in my own bed again. So what if I get kidnapped again? Didn''t I survive through it in the past? And hair is just hair, we repaired everything anyway!" I shouted while kicking the blankets.


    "Look at how you jinxed us!" Charles screamed back.

 Chapter 512 - The Cold (1)

    I stopped kicking the blankets, finding myself inside the middle of a snowstorm. A breeze of never-ending snowflakes landed on my hair, sparkling like jewels in the place of my accessories. The bed started to sink inside the pure white landscape, my ears hurting from the fierce howling wind. I shivered from the cold, wondering why the warm blankets felt like sheets of ice within a few minutes. We weren''t inside the Suilett family mansion anymore, Lucius gone from our sight.


    "Maybe we''re in the sixth district again," I mumbled.


    "We''re still in the first district," Alex pointed out the high mana levels in the air.


    Luke took this chance to chant a barrier, trying to buy some time while we tried to figure out where we were. But even the wind and incoming snow blocked, puffs of fog appeared from our breathing. Unfortunately, it would take too much mana to keep the bed warm, continuously having to expend it. We all trembled in the cold together, squeezing closer to each other for more warmth.


    "You weren''t the only one uncomfortable on that bed. I was close to falling at the edge. Now we''re here because of your complaints!" Charles blamed me.


    "How is it my fault? Only one of us would have been sacrificed if we slept separately!" I argued.


    "I''m out of here!" I could create my own barrier.


    "Rika," Luke tightened his grasp on me.


    "It''s better than freezing out here with all of you," I grumbled.


    "Why can''t you let me go? We won''t go anywhere if we continue to just stay here!" I began to kick the blankets again.


    "I don''t have your medicine with me. You''re going to get another fever if you go outside on your own," Luke sighed.


    "I won''t!" I had a plan.


    "Do you think we don''t know how easily you get sick?" Alex added.


    "You never let me do anything on my own!" I felt frustrated.


    "Just leave her alone. Try to see how long she''ll survive out there. She fainted within a few hours last time in the sixth district," Charles suggested.


    "She wasn''t this frail back then," Alex pointed out.


    "Try a minute then. If she faints within a minute, at least she''ll be quiet after we pick her up," Charles turned to them.


    "Can''t we all just listen to Charles?" I was glad he was finally becoming more useful.


    "Three seconds," Luke determined.


    I brightly smiled, able to prove that I could do something on my own. I knew the countdown would start as soon as Luke let me go. I scrambled out of the barrier when he opened his arms, chanting a big spell to melt everything around me. I raised my arms, trying to bring spring into the land, sprouts of plants growing underneath the snow. The clouds parted from the sky, the storm stopping where I stood.


    "The three seconds are over," Luke pulled me into his arms again.


    "No! Can''t you see the shack over there? We need to go to the shack!" I tussled around to escape from him.


    "There''s actually a shack," Charles was stunned.


    "It''s inside a barrier and will take at least an hour to get there even with teleporting," Alex calculated.


    "We should go back to the bed where we have some blankets to help us," Luke dragged me with him.


    "I have enough mana left," I wanted to continue my spell.


    "I can''t believe she almost tried to kill herself by using such a large spell for as long as she could," Charles looked at me in a new light.


    "That''s why we can''t leave her alone," Alex frowned at me.


    "You''re starting to burn up again," Luke took my temperature once we were on the bed again.


    "I''m not! I can teleport this bed closer to that shack!" I raised my arm to chant.


    I smiled the next time I blinked, able to spot the outline of the shack. Meaning we were much closer to it than before, finding my spell was able to travel across around half the distance. But strangely it was much colder here, the temperature dropping to the point that Alex had to use his mana to keep us from freezing to death. The storm was more intense, no signs of sunlight to be seen wherever you looked.


    I was interrupted by Luke tightly squeezing my arms, his eyes burning with anger. I gulped from knowing he rarely got his mad, becoming merciless in the process. There was no one here to help me, Charles helping Alex in regulating the temperature inside the barrier. It was better to start off by trying to ask for his forgiveness.


    "What did I tell you? I told you that I don''t have your medicine with me. How could you try to expend all your mana? When we get back home, we''re sealing more than half of your mana," Luke made the decision.


    "You know I have the potential for unlimited amounts of mana. It''ll recover soon anyways," I mumbled.


    "We''re sealing three quarters then," Luke decided.

 Chapter 513 - The Cold (2)

    "I''m sorry, I''ll be more careful next time," I mumbled.


    "You should seal more than three quarters," Alex suggested.


    "Are you trying to make me mana-less?" I wanted to kick him.


    "Just wait when I turn sixteen," I looked forward to that day.


    "Rika, we can always go with Alex''s idea," Luke began to threaten me.


    "I get it. I won''t do anything anymore," I squeezed the blankets.


    I didn''t want to have my mana sealed, one of the few joys of reincarnating into this world. I liked it when I learned more spells, adding it to my current collection of chants. With the amount of mana I possessed, there was no limit in what I could explore inside the books. Sometimes, I would read the books about spells in Luke''s mansion, being confined with nothing to do anyways. He was almost taking away everything I had in helping me survive in this hell.


    "I''m sorry. I really am. Please don''t seal three quarters of my mana," my voice wobbled.


    "I''ll listen to you from now on," my eyes glimmered from becoming wet.


    "Apologize to Charles and Alex first," Luke gestured.


    "I''m sorry for kicking you and complaining about the bed. I should''ve listened to you more when I knew you wanted to keep me safe," I turned to Alex, sniffling with my voice almost choking.


    "I''m only giving you one last chance," Alex warned me.


    "I know," I nodded my head, the blankets a little damp from my tears.


    When Charles waited for his turn, I confessed, "I touched all your things on purpose knowing they would disappear the next day since I wanted revenge. I apologize for my actions and being noisy all the time when you wanted some sleep after suffering from helping us out."


    "I knew it!" Charles b?r?ly accepted my apology.


    "You have to listen to us from now on Rika," Luke was letting me go.


    "I will," I wiped my face with my sleeves.


    This was the life that I always lived. I could never win under Luke''s threats, always begging for his forgiveness at the end. I didn''t understand why people were jealous of me. I was living under his control all the time, not being able to visit my parents without his permission. I couldn''t even choose my new hairstyle, my appearance complying to how Luke wanted it. It was like my body wasn''t mine with how he took care of every single detail.


    I couldn''t stop crying harder when I realized the miserable life I lived. It was worse when I was stuck with the three of them, all merciless and strict. I knew if I made one more mistake from here, I would become a goner. Charles stopped blaming me, thinking I was really remorseful for my actions. He focused on maintaining the barrier, fortifying it.


    "Stop crying," Charles began to feel guilty.


    "You''re too forgiving," Alex was harsh.


    "It''s not the first time this happened," he recalled when everything about the club got revealed.


    Luke silently watched me, used to all the times I pleaded to him to take back his threats. I started to hiccup when my throat became dry. My eyes were slightly red from rubbing them too much. I knew that I was starting to get dehydrated, Luke passing me some snow to drink after filtering out other substances. The snow was almost like shaved ice, tasting a bit sweet once it touched my tongue.


    Alex sighed when sounds of my crying continued, recharged from my drink. More than five hours passed as I became more depressed on how I could potentially live like this forever. I knew he was beginning to give in, not able to cover his ears. In some ways, he was better than Luke who b?r?ly felt anything. I wondered why my stalker couldn''t take videos of Luke''s cruelty, breaking everyone''s illusions of him.


    Sometimes I noticed Sienna spellbound by Luke. Admiring him a little inside the club room, sneaking in some peeks as he diligently worked in his office. Delia was the same, retelling her experience of when she lived with him together. The perfect partner who was too good to exist. The princess treatment they got around him, all the extra care from his strong attention to the details.


    But they forgot in most fairy tales, the princess was always helpless in doing anything on their own. Most of them were confined somewhere, waiting for their prince to fix their messes. None of them thought of the possibility that the happy ending could actually become a tragedy. How could one good event define everything about to come in the future? Luke was forcing me to become that helpless princess whenever we were together.


    This was why I hated it when people envied me for being treated like a princess. All those horrible comments not knowing anything behind the scenes. All the subtle hints and signs in my daily life that were controlled. Although I was a bit upset when losing my marble, my stalker was trying to show something to the people around me. Complaining was my only measure in making my life a little bit more bearable.


    "You just have to listen to us Rika," Luke was still cold.


    "I know, I''ll listen to you from now on," I whimpered.


    "This is what always happens," Alex turned to Charles.

 Chapter 514 - The Cold (3) - Charles POV

    I didn''t like Rika. She always created so much trouble. Once she joined our fraction, the work dramatically increased, mostly doubling it. Luke was the only reason people tolerated her, covering for her in the process. He worked hard, volunteering to take on more work so we would help him out in the future. While sweetly smiling, earning all of our trust very quickly. He did this all for his partner.


    My impression of his partner was horrible. I had heard rumors about her, making people beg her to study more. The teachers always talked about the girl in the other class that always slept on her desk. Their class was much more behind than ours with them trying to convince her to pay attention. She even made her partner kneel at the courtyard for hours just for her to attend classes.


    I couldn''t help but pity Luke. I knew he was suffering the most as Rika''s partner, but it was hard to suffer with him. Half of my dorm room was filled with documents on covering for Rika. When we were going over who to elect as the next fraction leader, it couldn''t be me. Haruka spent most of his days on Rika, losing some weight in the process. Luke perfectly finished all his ?ssigned work given by us, making him an important part of the fraction now.


    After Rika got kidnapped again, Luke started to bring her to our fraction meetings. He couldn''t miss any meetings, being trained to become the fraction leader for next year. Many of our fraction members have never seen Rika before, only knowing her from all the documents. They were disappointed when Luke covered her face with a blanket. I liked that Rika was asleep, knowing she could cause more trouble if she was awake.


    When the magical girl video of her got leaked, we had to have an emergency meeting. Seeing the video myself, I wondered why everyone was obsessed with it. She was just dancing and posing while pretending to be cute. But a few of our schoolmates came to visit our classroom, claiming to be fans. I never thought it would escalate to the point that one of her fans would become a stalker.


    A fan page dedicated to her was created, secretly taken photos of her uploaded. Luke made sure to never leave Rika alone, making sure she wasn''t more than a few metres away from him. He didn''t hesitate to pour a large amount of mana to blur her appearance with Alex fortifying the barrier. Making sure to pressure the teachers by visiting them frequently at their office, they spent most of their time in searching for the culprit.


    Luke frowned as the pictures taken of Rika were starting to become more extreme. While the ones in the past seemed to be taken from metres away, the recent ones were mostly closeups of her. From her sleeping face to her body entangled within the blankets on the bed. Capturing all the angles, showing her delicate arms and shape of her legs. The times when she came out of the bathroom, focusing on how the drops of water streamed down to her collarbones.


    I was stunned by my former fraction members that possessed many photos of her in their storage places. They were disgusting, not feeling anything about violating someone''s privacy. Attacking Luke to get a glimpse of Rika in real life, it was no wonder he always hid her face when he brought her to our fraction meetings. They were extremely aggressive, making the meeting place destroyed from all their spells. A few of our members became seriously injured, others helping them by teleporting to the infirmary.


    I was exhausted from trying to fend them off from coming closer. Rika''s friends were the same, struggling in pushing them back. Far in the back, Luke created a barrier, a small dome with around one hundred layers, making it almost impossible to penetrate. I knew the members of the Roselia family possessed an tremendous amount of mana, but the amount he used was insane. He didn''t hesitate to use around what a normal civilian possessed in the first district.


    Our former members were starting to work together to create a strategic plan. Appointing positions on who was the main attacker while others served as healers, tanks and vanguards.


    "Fire ten nuclear bombs!" One of the former members yelled.


    I wheezed for more air, the attacks escalating. I wondered if any of them thought of how their spells could destroy the school. Ethan was busy with chanting a barrier to protect ourselves from their spell while others were busy fortifying the present ones. Being on the frontlines, I had a sword in one hand while carrying a weak barrier on the other one. My sword was almost like a staff, helping me to carry out more powerful spells when it was harder to concentrate.


    I clashed with another person who held a similar sword as me, "why are you so obsessed with seeing her?"


    "You don''t know since you see her all the time. Her delicate face and innocent features," a person grunted.


    "So her appearance?" I wondered if they didn''t eat the wrong things.


    He laughed as he pushed more strength into his attack, "she''s cute with everything she does. From how she smiles when she eats some cake to the way she wakes up every morning."

 Chapter 515 - The Cold (4) - Charles POV

    These people were crazy, wildly delusional with their illusions of Rika. I remembered all of them complaining about Rika before that magical girl video was leaked. Blaming her for bringing our fraction down, badmouthing her when Luke wasn''t around. I gritted my teeth as another one of them joined to get past me. Pouring more mana into my barrier, I stepped forward while swinging my sword to their pressure spots.


    "We need a healer!" Delia yelled for more support.


    "We also have ten people injured here!" Oliver searched if any of us could spare a hand.


    I almost lost my focus when I heard a former member shouted to her allies to bring more weapons. Making me distracted by distributing more mana boosters, the former members took this chance to crush my barrier. My eyes widened when my sword was kicked to the ground, making me vulnerable. I quickly whipped out a stronger barrier to replace it, knowing they weren''t sane from their desperate eyes.


    "Place five fireballs on that end and ten tornados on the other side," one of the fans yelled.


    "What if we add more black holes?" A fan suggested.


    "We can do both!" She shouted back.


    By the time the night was over, none of us could get up anymore. Rika''s fans only gave up since they couldn''t miss classes. Luke''s eyes were filled with gratitude, thanking all the people who helped with his exhausted smile. He slightly trembled while holding Rika, b?r?ly able to trust anyone outside his family anymore. He maintained his strong barrier, walking back to his dorm room before Rika''s fans could change their minds.


    I knew he considered me to be one of the few people that he could trust when he asked me to bring their breakfast to his dorm room. Like that fraction meeting wasn''t bad enough, I was stunned when all their possessions were stolen. With Rika''s pleading, they ended up moving into my bedroom. I didn''t want to switch dorm rooms with them, knowing it was where most of the photos and videos were taken.


    Sleeping together in one bed, Luke accepted all of Rika''s complaints, spoiling her in the process. Nobody was comfortable on the bed, b?r?ly enough space to fit even three people. She was the smallest out of the four of us but taking around half of the bed. Alex was more generous towards her than his own partner, sleeping on his shoulder to take less space. I always thought both of them weren''t strict enough with Rika.


    However, I never realized they had no choice but to be generous towards Rika. After Luke harshly scolded her, threatening to seal her mana for being reckless, she began to apologize. My ears were filled with sounds of her miserably crying and sniffling for hours, starting to feel guilty for making her cry so much. The blankets were wet from her tears, almost creating a puddle. I wondered how Luke appeared b?r?ly affected, repeating his lecture instead of comforting her.


    "This is what always happens," Alex explained to me.


    "Every time?" I found it hard to believe.


    "She won''t listen to us otherwise," his eyes were filled with the same guilt.


    Until Rika cried herself to sleep, we could hear her voice slightly shaking, hiccupping every few hours in between. Luke appeared exhausted, tucking her properly into the bed. I could notice he didn''t like threatening her to listen to him. Nobody wanted to watch someone beg, appearing absolutely tortured and miserable. She never took a break, feeling like she was wronged. Luke threw me an apologetic gaze, "Rika knows what she has done wrong now. She''ll cause less trouble for the next few days."


    I nodded my head, accepting their apologies. The temperature was dropping inside the barrier, the storm getting worse as time passed. Rika began to shiver, her face getting paler and cold from the slightest touch when my hand brushed past her. Instead of keeping himself warm, Luke focused on heating her blankets. However, with her condition b?r?ly improving, he decided to tightly hug her in his arms to share some of his body heat with her.


    "We should decide on what to do next," I knew we couldn''t stay here for long.


    "The closer we get to the shack the worse the storm becomes," Alex pointed out.


    "But we don''t have a choice," I couldn''t find another place resembling a shelter.


    "We should first determine where we are," Luke studied our surroundings.


    "We don''t have our marbles with us," my hands shook with resentment.


    "I have enough mana to teleport us to the shack," Rika opened her eyes, interrupting our conversation.


    "If everyone agrees," she shrank under Luke''s eyes.


    It seemed that she didn''t know that she was still alive from Luke keeping her warm. Some colour returned to her cheeks as she began to realize what position she was in. I could tell that Luke was starting to get furious with her again, her suggestion putting her into a more precarious state than before.

 Chapter 516 - The Cold (5)

    It was obvious their conversation was going nowhere. It was going in circles, listening to them disagreeing with each other. There was no way we could walk inside the storm without having a barrier around, which expended mana. If we chose to stay here, we would have to continue adjusting the temperature in our spot, using more mana. Either way, we were going to have to use more mana to survive. Teleporting to the shack was our best option and everyone knew it.


    Although I didn''t know how much mana everyone else possessed, I had recovered around half of my supply. Where else would I use the cheat card that I got from God? I suffered too much in exchange for that one card. Finding myself inside Luke''s arms again, I tried to pull away from him. But I ended up kicking the blankets when his grip on me tightened, not willing to let me go.


    "I can show you how much mana I have left," I turned to Luke.


    "Let''s check how much she has after using that much," Charles agreed with me.


    Since I was familiar with the process, I held Luke''s hand and imagined pushing in some of my mana into him. It was a warm tingling feeling whenever I transferred some mana with him, almost pleasing to the point my mind melted when done in bigger amounts. The feeling abruptly stopped when Luke shook my hand off. When I studied his face, he seemed to disagree with my idea, the opposite of what I wanted.


    "You only have half of what you originally possess," he noticed.


    "I have more than this," he carefully chose his words.


    I knew that Luke possessed an enormous amount of mana that could come close to mine, but always dismissed it. He was reluctant to use most of it except for healing me, otherwise not performing big spells. Charles didn''t know what he was truly talking about, thinking I had a dangerously low amount of mana leftover. I wondered why Luke wasn''t the one to suggest teleporting all of us to the shack, he had more than enough affluent mana leftover after it.


    "We don''t know if that shack is safe," Luke explained to me.


    "It''s better than staying here," I tried to point out.


    "If it isn''t safe, we can make it safe. We can just knock out the owner and throw them out with the rest of their belongings," I argued.


    "That''s trespassing and breaking in," Alex disapproved.


    "I''ve done it before! At the criminal syndicate, I poisoned everyone to take over the organization," I knew the bottles of soda were poison now.


    "It''s usually a crime," Luke threw my idea away.


    "It''s not a crime if we make them unconscious and use the shack for a bit. They won''t even know we were there," I wondered if my idea was extreme.


    "Do you know how many laws you''re breaking in all your ideas?" Charles turned against me.


    "It''s fine as long as we don''t get caught," I shrugged.


    I was good at covering things by now. If I went through all my memories, many laws were broken all the time. The first district had strict laws for almost everything you could think, under the tight control of the counsel. There were severe consequences for stealing, including small items like pillows and blankets. Many families labelled all their possessions with their family crests, showing the clear owner.


    "Worst case scenario, we can buy the shack from them," I planned to use their wealth to our advantage.


    "We could," Charles seemed to consider my idea.


    "But we don''t have our marbles with us," Alex''s eyes flickered with hints of anger.


    "That''s why we should threaten them to willingly hand over the shack to us," I wondered what they were doing with the power their families possessed.


    These children were too innocent, following the law when we were close to freezing to death. I didn''t pull out my violent ideas yet and Charles was looking at me in a new light. As the reliable ?du?t here, it was up to me to show them the ideas I threw out were nothing. I sighed before beginning, "it''s better than torturing them to not report us. We could easily kill these normal civilians but being merciful by letting them stay inside the house while they''re unconscious."


    "We know they''ll die if we kick them out to fend for themselves in the snowstorm. But it''s either us or them. Didn''t you always say we should put our safety first?" I looked up to face Luke.


    "Where are you getting all these ideas from?" Charles seemed to be a little scared of me.


    "From all the so-called books she reads," Alex knew from skimming through my otaku goods.


    "No stealing or injuring them to the point they will be close to dying," Luke gave into me.


    "You''re actually going with her idea?" Charles was stunned.


    "It''s safer than the other options," Alex knew it couldn''t be helped.


    "Welcome, we have been waiting for you," someone immediately opened the door.

 Chapter 517 - The Cold (6)

    "We apologize, we only came for a brief greeting," Luke was beginning to turn back.


    "Didn''t you come for a safe place to pass the storm?" She got confused.


    "We have another place to wait inside," Luke abandoned the shelter.


    "Wait. I have strawberry shortcakes with me. There are also strawberry macaroons, strawberry ice cream, and milkshake with the same flavour," she blurted.


    "They have strawberries in everything!" My eyes glittered.


    My stomach started to grumble from only drinking snow. I wondered why we couldn''t accept her generosity. If we knocked her unconscious, all those strawberry desserts could be mine. Before Luke could drag me away, I started to search for her pressure points. I brightly smiled when I found she was mostly unguarded. Trying to find a good angle to do this, I broke Luke''s grasp to swing a powerful kick to her head.


    Lifting my leg while switching into a fighting stance, I poured some mana into my feet to increase its impact. But I briefly froze when she was able to grab my ankle with her hand, pulling me closer to her before my leg could come near her face. Alex immediately gripped her arm, breaking her hold on me, squeezing her flesh to the point that blood couldn''t flow. This gave Luke the chance to pull me behind him, increasing the distance between me and the door.


    "How violent," she seemed disappointed.


    "I only wanted to help. All I want is Rika and I can stop the snowstorm," she stated her terms.


    "Are you my stalker?" I wondered.


    "I''m just a fan club member," she denied the claim.


    Taking a closer look at her, she didn''t seem to be much older than us. Around the age of Lucius, her features weren''t m?tur? enough to be an ?du?t. I wondered if she could be a student at our school, the fan site accessible only by its students from what I knew. The high school worked differently from the middle school section. There was an income of more students, the strict requirements loosening a little.


    Although the class size remained the same, many of the other things were still unknown other than the fact the classes were getting a bit easier. I looked forward to graduating middle school, around a half a year away from it. I wanted to go on more missions, being stuck at school all the time was a bit suffocating. Luke would have no choice but to give me more freedom as I grew older. In elementary school, he didn''t even let me leave the first district.


    "You''re a student at our school?" Charles realized.


    "Not everyone is affluent enough to live inside the dorm building," she revealed we were inside the school grounds.


    "Even the basement?" I started to pity her.


    "The basement is for people who possess zero points," she had minus points.


    I had forgotten that I would suffer under the point system again when I went into high school. If it wasn''t for the monster incident, I would be more motivated to study to avoid the basement. I didn''t think the school would become crueler in high school, seeing how she lived separately from the others. Paying attention in class was hard, my mind had a hard time concentrating for long periods of time, each class being around four hours.


    "I''ll study harder," I didn''t want to become like her.


    "The teachers don''t go over everything in class like they do for the lower levels. There''s a lot of self-studying," she explained.


    "But this is as worse as it can get, right?" I had my hopes up.


    "People with more minus points have no place to sleep. They''re given nothing, no storage places, tents, and bathrooms," she shuddered.


    "Then how do they survive?" I began to get scared.


    "They have to beg others to take them in," she seemed to be serious.


    I was shocked, the school being easy on us since we were in middle school. The shack no longer seemed a bad place to live inside anymore, better than being left with nothing. Maybe the interior would be nicer than her poor situation. They had enough points to purchase desserts so it couldn''t be that bad. Trying to get a closer look by peeking through the door, my heart thumped as it seemed to resemble a normal dorm room from far away.


    "Are we still inside the school grounds?" I couldn''t believe the high school section was this big.


    "We are, the high school grounds are a bit different," she repeated.


    Looking at the others, they didn''t seem to know someplace like this existed, finding out for the first time. It was likely that nobody in their families ever had to be in the same situation with their amazing grades. Maybe I would need to practice using my dimensional library before I entered high school. I didn''t want to live in the middle of nowhere, stuck with Luke to keep me company.


    "This place shouldn''t be dangerous," I turned to them.


    "Can you let us know the way back to the middle school section?" Luke decided to go back to our dorm room.


    "It''s a far distance away. You can only get there by teleporting. Maybe around the distance of going to another town," she didn''t seem to be joking.


    "Then how do you attend classes?" I felt the school was being too harsh.

 Chapter 518 - The Cold (7)

    "The school offers the use of the teleportation gate on the way back in exchange for our points. While we expend most of our mana in the morning to teleport near the buildings where the classes are held," she readily gave out the information.


    "And you say that she''s a dangerous person?" I wanted to rest inside the shack.


    While I was surrounded by a barrier, I didn''t want to continue standing outside her door. Since she was a student like us, she was probably safer than random strangers walking on the street. Knowing that Luke would put my health at a higher priority, I intentionally made my knees stagger, about to collapse onto the snow. I stopped putting strength into the rest of my limbs, making them drop.


    "Only for half an hour," Luke caught my fall.


    "Pretending to be sick," Alex mumbled in disapproval.


    I instantly got up on my own, not hesitating to run into the shack. My fan was such a good person, all the strawberry desserts perfectly laid out for me to eat. The dining table was located near the door, making it the first thing I saw. Ignoring Luke warning me to not touch the food, I picked up a fork. Scooping the cake into the fork, I quickly took a bite before they could think of taking it away from me.


    "It''s not poisoned," she seemed offended by their distrust.


    "Would you like some sugar?" My fan knew my preferences.


    "You have raw sugar?" My eyes twinkled.


    "We do. We know how much you would like it," she passed me a bag of sugar.


    I was touched by my fan, finding all the plates of food perfectly matching how I wanted it. In fact, almost the entire living space had everything I liked. Instead of annoying couches, they had large bean bag chairs, the walls were b?r? of its usual decorations, filled with practical shelves of light novels I could recognise. Posters of my favourite anime shows and figurines I couldn''t source were nicely arranged.


    I gasped when they had a large TV screen covering one of their walls, the cabinets filled with more anime CDs. This was considered to be ancient in the first district, everyone using marbles for those things after downloading the video. Wasn''t this place paradise? What was I doing focusing on the desserts when I had the chance to catch up on the anime I missed? I could enjoy my desserts while watching the shows I wanted.


    "Can I use your TV?" I brought out my most alluring smile.


    "You can use anything you want. Everything here is for you," she gestured.


    "Why didn''t you bring me here sooner?" I started to turn the TV on.


    "It takes a lot of complex spells to bring you here. We only recently acquired a part of you that would allow us to summon you near us," she revealed how the entire bed was teleported.


    "If you met me in person, I would have willingly followed you," I placed the disk inside the player.


    "Here''s my number and the dorm I live in," I wrote all the details inside a note.


    "Rika!" Luke swiped the note before I could pass it to her.


    "She''s a good person!" I argued.


    I decided to ignore Luke as the show began playing once I pressed a bu??on on a remote control. My fan was better than the robots, placing the desserts on the table in front of the bean chair I sat in. She even handed a package of chocolate covered sticks, an amazing snack to go along with it. My eyes were starting to fill with tears, appreciating the hand drawn animation on the screen. Maybe the next project in the club room would be to create our own anime and manga.


    "Don''t come near the screen," I icily warned the others when they were about to turn it off.


    "Can''t you kick them out?" I turned to my fan.


    "We can call for someone to help them return back to the middle school section," she pulled out her marble.


    I stiffened since I knew they would bring me with them. It was better to be stranded in this place, having no chance in leaving. I shook my head, "they can survive in the snowstorm alone. You''re being too generous, they have enough mana."


    "We can leave this place right now then," Alex pulled my arm to lift me from the bean bag chair.


    "What about your collection? Your precious collection might be here!" I tried to point out.


    "We can always purchase them again," Luke started to drag me after Alex passed my arm to him.


    "I can''t believe how gullible she is," Charles watched us.


    I felt a little offended, finding them going over the line. My fan was polite to them from the start to now. They were the ones being rude, declining everything that she offered, ignoring the large amount of effort she placed in trying to welcome us. If they were really struggling to survive with their current number of points, it was a big sacrifice on their end.


    "Did our plan work? Is Rika here?" Someone interrupted us, running to my fan out of her room.


    "She really is here!" She squealed when she noticed me.


    "Can I ask who you are?" Alex turned to her.


    "I am the fan site owner," she revealed.

 Chapter 519 - The Cold (8)

    "You?" Charles was stunned.


    "You''re the one who stole all our belongings?" His eyes burned with anger.


    "I didn''t steal anything. They just came to me," she appeared offended.


    "Where are our marbles?" Alex turned cold.


    "They''re mine now," she narrowed her eyes.


    "Are you kidding me?" Charles shouted.


    "Please give us our belongings back," Luke joined them.


    "Maybe she sold them," I didn''t like how loud they were being.


    I couldn''t focus on the rest of the episode playing on the screen. Increasing the volume, the main character''s voice filled the entire room. If I were them, I would break into the rooms of the people who lived here to search for our belongings. Although I wondered how our stolen stuff would fit inside the shack, I didn''t care since the things that mattered weren''t inside my dorm room anyways.


    "We will have to report you," Alex warned her.


    "Report me, I didn''t steal them anyways," she took them lightly.


    "You don''t even have your marbles with you," the fan site master knew they were helpless.


    "Because they were stolen by you!" Charles raised his voice.


    "Can you be quiet?" I couldn''t stand them fighting anymore.


    "If you really want your stuff back then search for it on your own," I pointed out.


    To support my point, I got up from my seat to kick one of their doors open, pausing the episode. Seeing the door not budging, I chanted explosion on all the doors at once. I smiled as I placed a barrier over me while covering my ears. Creating large holes in each of the doors, the chucks of its remains splattered into the main common room, making the owners freeze. These people were being too peaceful, not making use of everything we learnt in school.


    I wasn''t surprised when piles of our belongings were stuffed into all the rooms, messily thrown together. Finding some twinkling objects in one of the piles, I walked into a room. I began to throw Luke''s precious collection of watches on the ground to find the blinking objects. The things made in the first district were durable anyways, not likely to produce a scratch. Making the room messier, I discovered the item I was trying to find were actually our marbles.


    I wondered how stupid they were to put all the marbles together in one place. Counting all four of them in my hands, I began to distribute them to the others. Nobody could use our marbles without our permission, it activated from our fingerprints and face detector. I scoffed when everything was solved from just breaking in. My fans were too stunned to react, forgetting about the fact we could contact the school to report them now.


    "Collect your things while you can," I gestured to them.


    Charles ran to the rooms to place all his possessions into his inventory, Alex following him while carrying Luke''s marble. Luke chose to stay behind to watch them, feeling disgusted with them taking the pictures and videos for weeks. Unfortunately, other than my marble, I couldn''t find any of my belongings when I scanned the rooms. It seemed they were keeping my stuff somewhere else.


    "Let''s leave Rika," Luke got the signal from them.


    "Wait, I need to finish this episode," I was at a good part.


    "You can leave without Rika," the fan site master unfroze, fiddling with the gloves she wore.


    "Don''t you see her wanting to stay?" She brightly smiled.


    "This is akin to kidnapping her," Alex opened his marble to report them.


    "But you''re the same. Your family kidnapped her from her parents to have her be your cousin''s partner. Do you think we don''t know about this fact? Trying to separate her from her family?" She laughed.


    "We''re her family," Alex dismissed their ridiculous claims.


    "You''re no better than us," my fan agreed with her.


    I froze when I realized they were right. These fans knew me better than myself. I was too used to the situation that I never thought it was weird to be Luke''s partner. I was around kidnappers this entire time, confining me to the school or their mansions. This reincarnation was increasingly becoming more annoying and a pain.


    "At least we''ll treat her better than you guys," she added.


    "You guys were kidnappers all this time," I looked at them in a new light.


    "You actually believe them?" Charles looked a little offended.


    "Who nurses you back to health whenever you get sick? Who cleans up after you? Who gets you ready for school every morning?" Alex tried to point out.


    "Do you think you can survive without us?"


    "Maybe?" I skimmed through my memories.


    "All my kidnappers were nice people," I recalled.


    "Thank you for bringing me here. I never knew I was kidnapped this entire time," I turned to my fans.


    "You can stay as long as you want," my fan site owner offered.


    "Rika, if we were your kidnappers, would we let you visit your parents like we have all this time?" Luke stabbed a weakness in their argument.

 Chapter 520 - The Cold (9)

    "You don''t even let me visit them without your permission anyways," I pointed out.


    Although their denial was strong, all my kidnappers looked the same to me. In fact, my other kidnappers were much nicer than them, giving me the freedom to do whatever I wanted. It made me want to go back to the criminal organization again, filled with subordinates waiting to fulfill my every need. I missed the power I had in commanding them, the respect I received. It was more exciting to look over the various projects they proposed to me than using the club room.


    "We''re visiting your parents for the next holidays," Luke reminded me.


    "It doesn''t apply for the weekends," I wanted to visit them more often.


    "Do you think we can let you readily visit them?" Alex found this conversation absurd.


    "You get sick every time," he heard from Luke.


    "You kidnappers are all the same," I couldn''t accept that excuse.


    "You don''t ever let me leave the school and confine me in your mansions when we''re out of the school," I mumbled.


    "That''s because you get kidnapped all the time when we go out," Luke pointed out all the criminals chasing me down.


    "Luke is right. We left the school and we all got kidnapped," Charles seemed to pity him.


    "I don''t mind getting kidnapped. It''s fun!" I recalled all the times.


    "Are you serious Rika?" Alex was about to get a looming headache.


    "I''m just getting handed around all you fellow kidnappers," I shrugged.


    "See, you''re the same as us to her," my fan smirked.


    "So let me finish the rest of my episode," I tried to push them to the side.


    "You can call us kidnappers, but we''re still leaving this place," Luke started to drag me to the door.


    "Let her go," My fan site master blocked the door.


    "Do your usual thing Charlotte!" My fan yelled.


    Charlotte nodded her head, sliding the gloves off her hand. My eyes widened when she froze the entire door with a single touch. I slightly shivered from the temperature drastically decreasing, resembling the winter storm. All routes of escape were covered by thick sheets of ice as she touched each window. My unfinished cakes turned into ice cream along my milkshake. Was she even human?


    "Please let her go," she smiled.


    "We won''t harm her," Charlotte walked closer to us.


    "Actually, I think we will be leaving now," I didn''t want to be touched by her.


    "Let''s go," I tugged on Luke''s shirt.


    Not wasting any time, Luke teleported all of us to the buildings that classes were held in the high school section. The school didn''t seem like a safe place anymore, only separated by a weak barrier from the middle school campus. This was when I realized Luke was saving his mana to potentially teleport us once we encountered a dangerous situation. I knew he expended a large amount, potentially more than what I currently possessed.


    "But can''t she summon us to the same place again?" I knew how my missing hair was being used.


    "We''re leaving the school to stay in an anti-mana room," Luke called Lucius.


    Lucius'' face appeared on the video screen, showing worry for us from disappearing in front of his eyes. As Luke started to explain the situation, he stepped into a hover car, pressing the acceleration bu??on to pick us up. Staying on the call, I watched him come to us in around a few minutes, much faster than when we escaped from a swarm of monsters. I started to wonder if the hover car he used was different from the other ones.


    "Shouldn''t we be there already?" I found it strange when more than an hour passed.


    "The storm is getting worse," Charles frowned.


    "That''s only if we''re near that shack!" I began to yell when I noticed we were above it.


    Luke sighed as he checked the scenery outside the window. We were in the exact situation that we wanted to avoid. With the snowstorm battering the hovercar, I knew it wouldn''t last for a long time. I frantically shook Luke when I found an incoming tornado of snow headed towards our direction. It viciously twisted and swirled, destroying everything around them like a drill. The sounds of the howling wind became larger and larger while the windows were completely frozen. Puffs of fog appeared whenever I breathed, showing how doomed we were.


    "We should abandon the car," Lucius knew it was our only option.


    "We should teleport out of the car," I pointed out it would be risky to jump down.


    "Do you know the safest place closest to here?" Luke turned to him.


    "This part isn''t well known," Lucius wasn''t familiar with this area.


    I screamed when the car hysterically shook, starting to crash towards the ground without running into the tornado. My eyes went large as the car tipped, angling to make me slide towards the window. Hot stream filled the air, making me cough in the process before producing smoke. Luke tried to open the door, finding it frozen like the windows. The handles were broken, making us have no route to escape.

 Chapter 521 - The Cold (10)

    I didn''t care if my mana would get sealed, I needed to live. I poured my entire gauge of mana to teleport the entire car anywhere other than here. A bright light consumed the car as I placed all my hopes in going somewhere. With my lack of visualization, I found the entire storm vanishing, the air warming into the hot summers. My eyes widened as all the snow melted, the entire landscape turned into a large lake.


    My spell was going haywire as the clouds parted to drain the entire area in sunlight. The car froze in the middle of the air, making it stop in time. I took the chance to open the door, trying to swim my way out from here. The shack was swallowed by the lake, all its habitants confined inside, likely drowning from the lack of air. My forehead had drops of sweat streaming down, the temperature soaring into a scorching sun.


    With the door wide open, I was about to jump when Charlotte flew into the air like a rocket, out of the water, creating a big ripple. She brightly smiled as she raised her arm into the air, "freeze this entire place."


    I was stunned when the lake was starting to freeze over, resembling a skating rink. Did she not care about her friends stuck inside? I became more desperate, about to counterattack by imagining the burning sun melting everything around me. Opposite elements worked the best when defending yourself from powerful attacks. I jumped out of the car, surprised when I was floating in the air like her.


    Raising my arm towards the sky, I had the chance to directly face her, screaming to fight against the winter storm. I was filled with more mana than I was used to, powering me to push the warm wind against her, creating a tornado from the two drastically different forces clashing together. I felt myself getting pushed back, the size of the tornado increasing, pulling everything else inside with it.


    Trying to go to the limits, I aimed to throw more fireballs where she stood. Charlotte smirked as she threw ice spears after effortlessly dodging my attacks. I needed something bigger, something to change the tides. Explosions weren''t good enough, being colder than the fireballs boiling into extreme temperatures. The only thing hotter than my fireballs were the stars itself, swelling with the hottest gasses.


    "Why are you doing this?" I concentrated on summoning a star.


    "I need you so people will pay attention to me," She sadly smiled.


    "You''re going to die!" Charlotte noticed what I was trying to do.


    I smiled when large meteors started to fall down from the sky. Although it wasn''t a star, it was hot enough to melt the frozen lake. I pushed the meteors towards her, big enough that she couldn''t dodge them. While I wondered why I wasn''t constricted by anything in doing these powerful spells without a break, it was a chance to pull out all the cheats. Without any mercy, I made the meteors dance to my will.


    "Freeeeeze!" Charlotte tried to make the meteors lose their fire.


    "Burn," I brightly smiled while dripping the meteors in more fire.


    It was the perfect time to pull out more large bonfires to throw towards her. Popping out ten fireballs rotating around me, I flickered my finger to initiate the attack. When she threw more ice spears and prickly icy wind, I enjoyed flying in the air while easily dodging them. The landscape was scorched and damaged to no return by melting and freezing based on who was winning the fight. She had to be the same as me, possessing the unlimited mana card. Was she a reincarnated person like me?


    "Please try harder," I liked being a cheat character for once.


    "I was going easy on you," she grunted.


    "Oh please," I laughed.


    "Explosion!" My eyes lit to glow.


    "You can''t be human," she shuddered as she avoided the bombs heading towards her direction.


    Hearing the school barrier shattering above us, the whole dome starting to vanish. Its usual hexagonal pattern was nowhere to be seen, making the entire area helpless against any intruders. Including the winter snow bursting into the area without any controls in place. I gritted my teeth, finding the whole season against me. I needed to pour mana into my spells to keep the battle on equal grounds.


    "Are you human?" I wondered the same.


    "I am," she seemed certain.


    "You can''t be human," I scoffed at her equally powerful attacks.


    "Are you a reincarnated person with unlimited mana then?" I waved my finger to make a meteor crash into her.


    "Is that even possible?" She oddly seemed confused.


    "You''re looking at her," I grinned as I threw some meteors, bombs and fireballs all to her at once at different locations.


    "I''m that person," I was humming with an unlimited amount of mana.


    "Meaning that you can''t be a normal human being," I narrowed my eyes.


    "I''m a human being!" She cried, the harsh wind blowing out all my attacks.


    I was stunned when all my meteors were extinguished, starting to crash onto the ground. How was she winning the fight? I needed more mana, I wasn''t pouring in enough into the spells I knew. It was frustrating since I didn''t have more spells to use against her. I was definitely going to increase my repertoire after I survived from this. The cold rushed to consume everything in front of me, making me clench my hands into fists in return.


    "You have enough mana to heal yourself, right?" Charlotte created a gigantic snowball to throw at me.

 Chapter 522 - Switch (1)

    "What are you saying?" I bluffed.


    I brightly smiled, forgetting about the iffy spells I could recreate from my light novel. If Luke had one, why couldn''t I also create my legendary sword? That sword could obliviate everything out of existence with each slash. Muttering a brief chant, I hoped something would come out. When I opened my eyes, I found ten summoned swords, made out of each element, rotating around me in a circle.


    Although they had no certain physical form, the elements created its shape. Precious metals crumbled together to represent earth while the fire sword was simply hot sparkling gases. Pouring in more mana, I tried to increase its size, wanting the impact to be bigger. However, I found myself summoning more swords in exchange, a small force compared to her snowball resembling the size of a small hill.


    I sighed as I flicked my finger to initiate my attack. Surprisingly, each sword created an enormous impact, consecutively lining up to rush after the weapon before them. I switched into a grin as one of them sliced through the snowball, making the whole thing collapse towards the ground. Charlotte''s jaw almost dropped, the tables turned with my newly created spell. I was no longer merciful, summoning more to continue the attacks.


    "You''re going to destroy the entire school!" She screamed.


    "Isn''t everything already destroyed?" I wouldn''t let her distract me.


    "Would it matter if I add to it?" I raised my arm to summon more meteors.


    "I''m not going to let you destroy the school," she surrounded everything below us with a gigantic weak barrier.


    Didn''t she know most of this mess was her fault? I was stunned by her trying to play the hero. She could waste all the mana she wanted, making my job easier on trying to bring her down. I pretended to yawn, always wanting to do this to imitate the cheat characters who could defeat anything. Unexpectedly, she burned with anger as I made use of this chance to slam more meteors and swords down onto her.


    "Do you not have a heart?" Charlotte accused me.


    "You''re the one who started everything," I shrugged.


    Her eyes started to fiercely glow, abandoning the barrier to create a rage of tornados rising in height to grow to where I currently flew. I immediately placed a strong barrier around myself, smirking at her while thinking how nice it was to be overpowered. My eyes widened when she viciously smiled in return, snapping her fingers to show off her true strength. I covered my ears as my impenetrable barrier shattered from the harsh wind, the whole landscape frozen into a winter wonderland.


    My spells were all completely erased from the ice swallowing each of them, making them crumble into nothing when she squeezed her hand into a fist. Crushing the frozen spells while instantly destroying the new ones with the wind slashing them apart. I gulped as I could tell I was next after my lines of defense got eliminated.


    "I was going easy on you," she drifted closer to me.


    "You''re definitely not a human being," I couldn''t decide on what to do next.


    "Maybe, but I can''t kill you yet. I need to take more pictures and videos so people will continue to pay attention to me," she revealed she wasn''t a true fan.


    "In fact, it looks like you''re running out of mana," Charlotte pointed out.


    Before I could react, Charlotte punched my stomach, making me fall from the sky to crash into the snow below her. Trying to summon more mana to heal myself, I was stunned when I could b?r?ly feel anything. I wondered why I suddenly ran out of mana, finding the restrictions were back. I didn''t want to wait until sixteen to experience the same power again, helplessly watching her smile from my defeat.


    "Let''s go back to the shack," she started to drag me by pulling my arm.


    I screamed from her hand trying to freeze my entire body. I twisted and turned to escape from her grip, my teeth uncontrollably chattering. My mind started to go numb, not feeling the snow digging into my clothes. My body internally burned while cold to touch on its surface, painless as if I was already frozen. I wondered why everything was swirling around, dizzily merging in and out. Charlotte dropped my arm, finding myself almost dead from her hand.


    "I forgot to put on my gloves," she apologized.


    We were interrupted when the hover car suddenly fell from the sky. My vision doubled as I noticed there were no people inside the utterly broken car. At least only one person was sacrificed from this whole mess. My heartbeat slowed down, b?r?ly keeping me alive while I left inside the snow. Charlotte was curious about the car, abandoning me to check it out. With no more mana to heal myself, I was goner in this life.


    "You''re not going to die on us," someone carried me in his arms.


    "How can she be so reckless?" another person frowned.


    A warm light filled me up, my heartbeat beating faster from bringing more life into me. My blurry vision began to stabilize as the once coloured shapes were starting to become sharper. I gasped from the sudden pain hitting me, the numbness disappearing. I could feel my stomach failing, some of its interior ripped from her powerful punch. Why couldn''t I ever be a cheat character?

 Chapter 523 - Switch (2)

    I found myself facing the ceiling of a familiar infirmary inside a grand room. There was no mana in this room, showing the others had made it to the mansion. My head throbbed as I tried to sit down, wanting to rise from my current position. I eventually gave up when the pain in my stomach returned, making it impossible to move.


    Instead, I decided to check if my mana recovered, inhaling a deep breath in the process. However, I was disappointed when I felt less mana in my body. Finding around one quarter swirling and responding to my calls while the rest stayed silent. I was stunned, realizing that Luke had actually sealed three quarters of my mana while I was unconscious. He was too cruel when I had bought them extra time to escape.


    I couldn''t stay in this place anymore, pushing myself to move. Ignoring the pain inside my head, I started to roll out of the bed, tugging out all the machines attached to me. Although I dropped out the bed, it was a start to my escape. I covered my mouth when hearing footsteps coming towards the door, choosing to roll under the bed to hide from them. I didn''t want to face these monsters anymore, touching my precious mana supply.


    Since I knew the sounds of my breathing would reveal my location, I began to hold my breath once they opened the door. I lived such a pitiful life, always inside the infirmary for a card that would be effective two years from now. My fourteenth birthday passed by with b?r?ly any changes from the previous years. I didn''t receive any presents, except for a longer study session than usual.


    "Rika should be inside the room, none of the alarms went off," Luke started to search for me.


    "What is she even thinking?" Alex helped him.


    My eyes widened, not believing the amount of their distrust towards me. How could they actually put alarms in the room? If I had opened the windows, it was likely they would have rushed here sooner. Maybe I should have stayed inside the bed, being possible that they placed a tracker to see when I left it. I squeezed my eyes after noticing someone was beginning to check under the bed. I was helpless when that person pulled me out, sighing while placing me back.


    "She was under the bed?" Alex''s voice was full of surprise.


    Luke nodded his head when I slightly opened one of my eyes. It was better to pretend to sleep to escape from this whole mess. I didn''t want to talk to them, b?r?ly seeing them as human beings anymore. Going through the entire fight again, I found Charlotte to be a better person than anyone in Luke''s family. While she tried to kill me with her attacks, she never took my mana away.


    "I know you''re awake Rika," Luke stared at me.


    "I don''t mind if you don''t answer me, but I don''t want you leaving the bed again," he sat down on a chair beside the bed.


    "Should we chain her to the bed?" Alex suggested.


    "Are you serious?" I immediately opened my eyes.


    "I''d rather die than being chained to the bed," I struggled to rise.


    "Rika won''t be able to move anyways if we decrease the ratio of the painkillers mixed in," Luke started to adjust the machines.


    "How could you?" I found them being extremely cruel.


    "You already sealed three quarters of my mana and it isn''t enough?" I started to shout.


    "You''re still alive thanks to us," Alex had no guilt in his eyes.


    "You should''ve left me to die!" I felt it would be better.


    "We can always decrease the ratio further," Luke began to threaten me.


    "I''m sorry for being reckless. I know you did your best to save me," I instantly muttered, not wanting more pain.


    Immediately after my prayer, I began to cough, my heart feeling like it was being crushed. My head throbbed like a drum being hit, eventually shattering into many pieces before it crushed back together again. A bright light started to fill me, expanding into the rest of the room. Luke''s eyes widened, unable to do anything as the light temporarily blinded him. I screamed as everything in my body was tearing apart and merging simultaneously.


    Why did everything have to be so painful? I gasped for more air, finding my lungs being constricted. Kicking the blankets to help with the pain, I wanted everything to end. My vision was filtered by red, the whole room dripping into the same shades. The person I met wasn''t God, but a demon in disguise. With my voice almost lost from the desperate screaming, I struggled to mentally cope as the torture continued for hours.


    "If there is anyone out there listening to me, please save me. I want to live without any pain," I whispered out my last words.

 Chapter 524 - Switch (3)

    I was saved when the bright light finally died down. I was able to move again, my legs and arms responding to me. All my injuries were perfectly healed, finding no hints of any scars. While I could feel my mana filling me to the point there was no difference before my mana was sealed. My overall mana supply had drastically increased, making my wish fulfilled. I sprinted towards the door, trying to open it while I had the chance.


    "Why isn''t the door opening?" I was getting frustrated.


    "You guys are too much!" I turned to them when I gave up.


    "No one could come near you for almost an entire month," Luke sat in the same chair.


    My jaw almost dropped, ?ssuming everything had happened within a span of a few minutes. They were in the same positions as before, making me think they watched the entire thing while I suffered. How was I ever going to catch up with the school materials now? I knew there was no time-space feature in this room, not possessing a single particle of mana inside. This had to be an anti-mana room, only allowing technology to do its work.


    "So you''re not letting me out?" I waited for them.


    "Do you think we can let you out?" Alex broke the silence.


    "I don''t need to stay here anymore. Don''t you see all my injuries healed?" I pointed out.


    "Let me check everything," Luke wanted me to sit down in front of him.


    "What if I don''t want to?" I kicked the door to physically create a hole.


    Why were the doors so durable here? No matter what I did, it stayed in its place like it was mocking me. I didn''t bother going to the windows, knowing it would be the same. While the door remained perfectly unharmed, Luke started to pull me towards the bed. The same pattern was occurring no matter what state I was in. What was the point of giving me more mana when I couldn''t even use it in an anti-mana room?


    This vessel was extremely weak, not able to stand against anyone dragging me away except for using more mana. My large supply of mana was all I had to defend myself, my low stamina destroying all my hopes otherwise. I hated that no matter how much I resisted, I was helpless against Alex using the machines to conduct a checkup on me while Luke held me back. It must be nice to be them, blessed with a strong body.


    I wanted to become one of them. I didn''t care if it only lasted for a day, I wanted to escape from this annoying vessel. My body that easily got sick to almost everything ever since I exchanged my identity for payment. It was always me getting hurt in the end, everyone else being perfectly fine. I almost laughed when Alex showed the results of the checkup to Luke. Knowing how to read the results, everything came out to be normal and healthy.


    "Can you let me go now?" I stopped struggling.


    "Let''s go to a study room," Luke decided.


    "Are you kidding me? You''re dragging me to study when I recently just recovered?" I found him going over the line.


    "You missed an entire month of school," he didn''t want me to get more behind.


    "Let me go!" I twisted and turned to escape from him.


    Once he stepped out the room, I felt a huge wave of mana crashing into me. I briefly staggered, not anticipating the rush in energy. I had a chance against him now, not hesitating to summon a large whirlpool above me. If I was going to suffer, I was going to drag everyone down with me. The size of my spell increased, almost the size of the shack. I smiled as I moved my finger to make it crash down onto us.


    "How much mana do you have left?" Luke grabbed my shoulders after quickly countering my spell.


    "Why do I have to tell you?" I wasn''t going to willingly reveal everything.


    "There''s no way she should have been able to do a whirlpool to that size after we sealed almost all her mana," Alex joined us.


    "You sealed more than three quarters?" I yelled at them.


    "Are you guys even human?" I didn''t regret suffering to gain more mana anymore.


    "We can seal more," Luke began to threaten me.


    "You''ll have to kill me to seal more of my mana," I spat the words out.


    This was the chance to teleport out of this place. I began to mutter a spell, wanting to be free from this horrible life with them. Only I could save myself from monsters like them. I smiled as I could feel myself vanishing to another place. However, I was stunned, finding myself in the same place but in a different spot. I wondered if the spell had truly worked, looking around my surroundings again.


    I gasped when I realized my hands weren''t mine. My height had increased, lankier arms and legs. I watched a young girl a few metres away from me, her shoulders still being grabbed by Luke. I looked down at the sparkling floors, knowing I could check my appearance from my reflection. I found a handsome boy staring at me in return, his finely crafted features exposing his identity. I had escaped from my horrible vessel.

 Chapter 525 - Switch (4)

    "Stop causing more trouble and listen to Luke," I imitated Alex.


    "You''re Rika!" Alex screamed in my body.


    "What are you talking about?" I brightly smiled.


    This was amazing, watching Alex suffer in my place. Luke dragged him to a study room, believing he was actually me. Alex tried to shake Luke off him, wanting to talk to me longer to figure out what was going on. However, he couldn''t do anything with that weak body, forced to obey Luke. I couldn''t believe my wish had come true, feeling it was the start to collecting my harem in this world. I was free to do anything now, including leaving this mansion to go someplace else. I opened his marble, going through everything he had in his inventory.


    I was disappointed when there were only boring things inside, more watches, clothes and various books. It was time for an upgrade from his appearance to the things inside. I walked downstairs to call for a hover car to go shopping, confident that I could go on my own. I never went shopping without Luke before, but I knew how everything worked. I stiffened when I noticed Charles was sitting on the couch on the first floor living room. I wondered why he was here with us, thinking he would have returned to school.


    "I thought you would return to school," I turned to him.


    "Why? None of us can leave this place," he was confused.


    I brightly smiled, pretending that I knew, but was confirming the facts with him. Crossing out shopping out of my list, I could return back to his bedroom. Charles looked at me strangely, briefly studying me before going back to reading the news. I knew where Alex''s bedroom was located, unfortunately beside mine. I hated that my original bedroom was between Alex and Luke, not knowing when the new arrangements happened one day. I opened the door, finding everything was neatly placed.


    Alex hated messy things and had a place for everything. He was more organized than Luke who didn''t care where our things were left as long as things still appeared somewhat clean. This drove Shelly crazy, finding him yelling at her for making the things in the common living room less than a millimetre off sometimes. When I opened his closet, I found it already filled with everything he collected at the shack. I wondered if I was looking at a pictorial, everything was perfectly arranged according to the shades of each colour.


    I needed a pair of scissors, something to make adjustments to all his clothes. I brightly smiled when I found one inside his bundled set of stationary. Pulling the scissor out, I wondered which item in his closet to start with. The trend these days were making the clothes appear like it was unintentionally ripped, splashing with more colours to go along with it. It would be a busy day today, dying most of them with my mana. Most of his clothes were plain and simple, blocky colours and sophisticated embroidery sewn in.


    I decided to grab some pants, snipping random parts near the knees. Seeing that it wasn''t enough, I made the lengths different on each leg. Although the fabric was very durable, the scissors were better, allowing me to cut all his clothing within an hour. Looking at the results, it wasn''t bad. I tried to find my mana swirling around me, surprised when it wasn''t what I was familiar with. I couldn''t believe our supply of mana was also exchanged when we switched bodies.


    Fortunately, Alex possessed around three quarters of what I usually had when my gauge of mana was full. This was pretty impressive, knowing his family wasn''t well known as the Roselia family for having large amounts of mana. I always ?ssumed he had less, relying more on physical attacks than using spells. I muttered a spell, trying to see how fast it would recover after being spent. But I was disappointed when the recovery rate was extremely slow, around a day to let it fill back.


    Time passed by quickly as I finished dying all his clothes into brighter colours. When I was about to try them on, the door was opened by a cute girl. The girl froze, her eyes widening before trembling in anger. I never realized how precious Rika appeared in real life in another person''s perspective. Discovering the reason Luke was so particular about her appearance, trying to replicate the ideal doll. No fault to be seen no matter what angle you looked, the girl wearing a dress that flattered the rest of her features.


    "How could you ruin all my clothes?" The girl yelled.


    "Rika!" She raised her voice.


    "What do you mean? These are all my clothes. You''re Rika now and forever," I pointed out.


    "What''s going on?" Charles walked towards us to join.


    Charles confusedly looked at me and Rika multiple times, trying to figure out what was going on. He stared at all the piles of adjusted clothes, messily covering the bedroom floors. Not believing what was going on, he looked in my direction, "Rika?"


    "You mean Alex de Monete," I refused to be that weak girl anymore.


    "Rika is standing beside you," I gestured.


    "Just wait when we get everything back to normal," Rika began to threaten me.


    "You''re going to get sick from all that stress Rika," I sneered.

 Chapter 526 - Switch (5) - Alexs POV

    Luke didn''t know I was Rika, dragging me to the study room while not listening to me. I needed to meet with Rika to get us back to normal, I had to figure out what spell she used. Her body was so weak, not able to resist Luke''s strong grasp on her. She had no choice but to follow Luke whenever he dragged her around. Once we arrived at the study room, Luke gestured to me to sit down.


    "Look, I''m not Rika. We switched bodies," I directly faced him.


    I properly sat in the chair, waiting for him to answer me. Luke began to study me from my expression to how I moved. His stare was intense, colder than what I expected. After a few minutes, his expression began to relax like he knew I was inside her body. I wasn''t surprised, Luke knew Rika better than she knew herself sometimes. She wouldn''t readily listen to him, easily sitting down on the chair in the study room before fighting back.


    "What happened?" Luke wanted an explanation.


    "Rika must have messed up on a spell," I sighed.


    "How much mana does she possess?" He wondered.


    If our bodies were exchanged, then it was likely that I had her mana as well. Concentrating on the circulation of mana swirling around her body, I was stunned when I felt a vast amount. This was much more than we had sealed, explaining why she could do that whirlpool without any consequences. Searching for the seal, I discovered it still remained, meaning it wasn''t coming from mana leaking out of it.


    "More than we sealed," I found it fascinating.


    "Is the seal in place?" Luke had the same thoughts as I did.


    "It is," I nodded my head.


    "It would be risky to seal more," he recalled the bright light that surrounded her.


    We decided to leave the study room, being no point in studying in her place. I stopped walking in the middle of the stairs, finding myself a little dizzy. Luke appeared concerned, lending me a hand in climbing the rest. How did Rika run around all the time? By the time I was in front of her bedroom, I had a hard time breathing. I leaned against the wall, waiting for Luke to pick some clothes for her to change into.


    She couldn''t continue to stay in her nightgown, it would be improper. I stared at the sizes he passed me, finding it extremely small. I did think she was too thin, tailoring her shirt when her uniforms disappeared. However, the ones I had to wear were on another level, basically for young children. I struggled to change on my own, making Luke help me in the process. Like I predicted, the dress was tight on her. Before I could request for a looser one, I was surprised when I found it perfectly fit her in the mirror.


    "Rika is a bit skinnier after the days she comes from the infirmary," Luke explained.


    "Do you need help with the accessories?" He opened where they were located.


    "I don''t know which ones to pick," I stared at the variety in front of me.


    "How are you feeling right now?" Luke wanted to confirm.


    "Exhausted, hard to breathe, and a little dizzy," I found her low stamina to be disastrous.


    "Then the hairclips would be better for these kinds of cases, you can tell which ones has a certain effect by pouring a tiny bit of mana inside. The bracelets are good for helping with fatigue and low stamina while the rings are with controlling mana," he went over the details.


    After Luke helped me put all the accessories on, I instantly felt much better, my body being a little lighter. There was no way Rika would survive without these accessories, making a clear difference in her condition. I wondered why she hated them so much, refusing to keep them on her. Luke always wanted the best for Rika, nothing he ordered her to do harmed her in any way. When her stomach grumbled, I discovered she was weaker than normal since she was hungry.


    "We should go downstairs," Luke noticed.


    Luke ordered food for the both of us, the typical plates we usually ate. However, before I could start eating, he passed me one of her usual supplements. This was something Rika made a big deal of every morning. It was just a bottle, not hard to finish. I took a large sip, used to drinking them the rare times I caught a cold. I coughed when it tasted absolutely disgusting, different from when I drank them in my body.


    It was super bitter and sour at the same time, making me feel like vomiting when I tried to chug the bottle empty. It was no wonder Rika hated them so much, her stomach sloshing around to make me feel nauseous. I thought it was an excuse all this time, finding Luke to be too generous with her. My head throbbed while feeling dizzier than before, the food in front of me didn''t appear appetizing anymore.


    When Luke passed me another bottle, I wondered if I could decline. Seeing it be a different one from before, I accepted it in her place. I took a deep breath before taking a small sip, finding this bottle to be worse than the other one. I hurled all the supplements I drank onto the floors, Luke looking worried for me as he tried to help me back into the chair. But he didn''t seem surprised like he was used to this as he ordered the servants to clean the mess.


    "Can you drink another bottle?" Luke turned to me.

 Chapter 527 - Switch (6) - Alexs POV

    "I can''t," I found the bottles to be intimidating.


    "Rika usually refuses to drink any of them," Luke wanted to take this chance to make her body stronger.


    Luke sadly smiled, sending me an apologetic glance for asking for too much. He appeared greatly disappointed when he was full of expectations. I sighed as I gestured to him to pass me the bottle. These drinks weren''t edible unless you chugged them at a certain pace. I felt like I was dying as Luke kept on passing me more bottles until he ran out of all the ones in his inventory. I knew he was doing this since I was vomiting most of them, b?r?ly receiving any of its effects. I decided to be a little easier on Rika in the future when she refused to drink the entire bottle.


    "You should eat now," he gestured to the plates.


    I was b?r?ly alive when I forced myself to take a bite of the porridge in front of me. I frowned when I found it to be too heavy and not the taste that I was familiar with. Although it didn''t taste horrible, it wasn''t great either. I decided to move onto the plate of salad, finding it light enough to digest more easily. Rika was picky with her food for a reason, everything tasted different in her body. All the food lost its original taste, turning horrendous before I found a small package of sugar on the table.


    I wondered how different it would taste when I added some sugar. While Luke wasn''t looking, I sprinkled a tiny amount of sugar over all the food. Taking a bite of the porridge, it was much better than before. Finishing most of the plates, I discovered the dangerous state her body was in. Her body strongly rejected most of the food, making her weaker from eating less. Adding too much sugar to her food wasn''t good for her health as well.


    "This is pretty dangerous," I warned Luke.


    "I know, but it''s the best solution so far," he was sadly aware.


    "It wasn''t this bad before. It got worse when she came from the other dimension," he revealed.


    Since I had more energy now, I decided to visit my bedroom. I opened the door, frozen in my spot when I found all my clothes trashed. My eyes widened before I trembled in anger, my precious collection destroyed to no repair. Charles carefully joined us, equally stunned as much as I was. We all knew it was Rika in my body when she claimed to be me. She brightly smiled, appearing extremely happy while she showed no remorse.


    "You''re going to get sick from all that stress Rika," She sneered at me in my body.


    Luke sent me an apologetic gaze, noticing me about to explode. Rika should know that she went over the line. She knew how much my collections meant everything to me. We lived together for more than several weeks. I no longer felt merciful towards her, she could refuse to drink all those bottles, but I would force them into her. I felt bad for Luke, having to be stuck with a partner like her.


    "Are you ok?" Charles pitied me.


    "I obviously upgraded all my clothes," Rika felt no guilt.


    "Maybe I should cut my hair a little with it," she held a pair of scissors.


    "Pass me the scissors," I dashed to swipe them from her.


    "Why should I?" She was winning due to the difference in our height.


    Luke sprinted to swipe the scissors for me with his fast reflexes. In our original bodies, we had a similar height. Rika seemed disappointed, moving onto touching my clothes again. I stiffened when she began to change into one of the trashed clothes. She made me look horrible, the way she coordinated everything. All the colours didn''t match while the clothes themselves had turned into rags b?r?ly holding together. There was a reason Luke didn''t let her choose her own clothes, she had no sense.


    Charles'' face went red, struggling not to laugh. Rika was going to die once she returned to her body. Luke whispered into my ear to comfort me, "I''m planning on going shopping with her soon. Since Rika hates almost everything inside the stores, you can pick the most painful ones."


    I smiled when I thought of all the items that I would pick for her. Luke was right, Rika hated most of the articles in her closet. In fact, she despised them, trying to stay in her nightgown until she couldn''t stand Luke''s nagging anymore. It was only once I had experienced wearing them for a longer period of time, I understood the reason why she hated them. Most of her clothes felt too tight and constricting. With all the bracelets dangling around her wrists and hair clips in her hair, I had to agree it was a little annoying.


    However, she appeared extremely beautiful in the mirror. Her body fascinatingly moved with my every action, seeing how all her clothes were gliding with her. I did think Luke was too obsessed with how her hair was arranged at the salon, but it made sense when watching her from different angles. Luke was getting his revenge in subtle ways and I would do the same. I became determined in joining him in making her appearance as stunning as it could get, knowing how much she would suffer from it.

 Chapter 528 - Switch (7)

    I wondered if I should take a picture of my new body. I could post it on the school forums to get other people''s opinions. I activated my marble, posing while the camera flashed, showing the pictures. It was nice to be an ikemen, everything I wore looked good on me. Rika was furious, punching me to swipe the marble away. I brightly smiled, none of her attacks hurting with the weak force behind them.


    "Don''t you dare post them!" She started to kick my legs.


    I tapped on the screen, posting the multiple sets of photos. Rika stared at the screen in despair, looking like she was about to cry. Charles stood a distance away from us, opening his own marble to check the post. His eyes widened as his lips began to wiggle until he began to cough. Reading through the newly written comments, I found that others had the same thought as me. They found the new outfit innovative and fascinating, an upgrade from before.


    "See, everyone is praising the new style," I showed Rika.


    Rika started to brightly glow, pouring a vast amount of mana into a spell. The mana levels in the air greatly rose, her emotions fuelling the d?s?r? to return to her original body. I wasn''t worried, knowing there was a low chance she would succeed in such an iffy spell. Nothing turned out the way you truly wanted unless you knew what you were specifically doing. I gasped when I felt myself vanishing from his body.


    Alex knew how to use my mana more than I did. He brightly smiled when he found himself back in his original body. He stomped towards Rika, thinking she was me. I hid my happiness when I had switched into another vessel. The screen of a young boy floated in front of me, standing a distance away from the chaos. He was reading the comments on the new post Alex has made. Rika''s eyes widened as Alex began to yell at her, "we''re confining you to your room. We''re not going to accept any complaints while you catch up on everything you missed."


    "I''m not her!" Rika shouted.


    "You deserve it," I smirked.


    "Rika is in my body! You should know that the best," Charles tried to convince them.


    "Do you actually believe her?" I scoffed.


    It was easier imitating Charles than Alex. I just had to mock everything she said, everything I planned to do anyways. Charles was helplessly dragged by Alex in my original body, the same way as Alex when he was in mine. I was inside Alex''s bedroom alone, Luke following them to Rika''s bedroom. The more Charles fought back, the more they would think he was me. This was the perfect timing to visit his bedroom.


    It had to be somewhere near where we stayed, opening each door nearby. Although it took a few tries, I was pleased to find his bedroom at the end of the same floor. I could tell when I noticed his collection of swords hung on the walls, shining from the sunlight drowning the room. Maybe this was the chance I could finally practice using the sword. In my original body, it was hard to lift the swords in general for a long time without spending more of my mana.


    I decided to transfer all the swords in his closet and walls into my new inventory. There had to be an open space inside the mansion since Luke and Alex liked to spar with each other often. I began to search the mansion, going through all its halls. I knew this wasn''t the Roselia family mansion, the layout being completely different. When I took a closer look at the decorations on the walls, I discovered I was inside the Suilett family mansion.


    After opening almost every single door, I finally found a large room. The walls were surrounded by a strong barrier while there were similar magical tools neatly arranged towards the back. It was likely a mana practice room. It was the perfect place to pull all of Charles'' swords out to try each of them. If one of them got dull, there was easily a replacement with the large number laid out on the floor.


    Tapping on the settings on the room, I chose metal dummies to work with. The harder the metal, the better since it was a characteristic of stronger monsters to have impenetrable skin. Although it was peaceful now, we didn''t know when they would change their minds. The swords felt light in my hands, responding to my mana automatically pouring into it. Charles possessed a bit more mana than Alex, allowing me to use his without any hesitation.


    Time quickly passed as I threw the dull swords on the ground while I grabbed a new one. I was disappointed from how the swords easily broke. Once the surface became chipped and uneven, the swings weren''t as effective. How was he going to survive when he encountered stronger enemies? It was no wonder he was such a coward when the monsters attacked the school barrier in the past.


    When his last sword was about to be thrown on the ground from its edges cracked, someone opened the mana practice room. Rika appeared like she was close to fainting when she noticed all the broken swords on the ground. Both Luke and Alex appeared a little guilty, quickly stepping a few steps away from her.


    "Riiiikkkkaaaaa!" She screamed.

 Chapter 529 - Switch (8) - Charles POV

    Alex was too livid to consider that I wasn''t Rika. He slammed her bedroom door shut after Luke walked in with us. I couldn''t blame him, he was utterly humiliated in the comments written below the post. His entire collection was also trashed to the point it was irreversible, worse than Rika''s stalker stealing them from him. This was why Luke blended in with the background, watching us to step in when he went over the line.


    "We should chain her everywhere we go," Alex couldn''t trust her moving on her own anymore.


    "Maybe for a day at most," Luke gave into him.


    "We can start by beginning the study session," he placed some workbooks on the table.


    Luke remained ignorant, pulling out some stationary while Alex went through all the accessories inside Rika''s drawer. Brightly smiling when Alex found a bracelet, he turned to Luke, "is this the one that will limit her movements?"


    "You''ll have to set the location and determine how many steps she can move within it," Luke explained its features.


    "I''m not Rika!" I started to find them scary.


    I didn''t find Luke to be generous towards Rika anymore. He possessed all kinds of accessories to shackle her, Alex''s mood improving as he discovered more bracelets with similar features. I started to fight back, not wanting to suffer in her place while Alex tightly grabbed my arms so I would stay still. Luke slid the bracelets Alex chose onto her as if he was unfazed from all my struggling. My mind went blank from how weak her body was, helpless and out of breath by the time they finished.


    It was no wonder Rika hated these accessories, restricting more of her freedom. Luke followed Rika everywhere with her landing in danger and more trouble all the time. Although I had always pitied him, I have never considered seeing things from Rika''s perspective. I didn''t have a choice but to sit in the chair in front of me. Once I sat down, I was surprised when I discovered Alex had adjusted the setting so I couldn''t rise from the chair.


    I waited for them to begin the study session, trying to get it quickly over with. Luke opened the workbook, ?ssigning me to do some simple questions. I found all the notes to be extremely detailed, more than the ones provided by the school. Before I could attempt them, Luke thoroughly went over all the steps, not missing a single thing said by the teachers. Alex joined in afterwards to ask me some questions to test my understanding. How was Rika close to failing her courses from all the energy they invested into her?


    They started from the very basic fundamentals, something I recalled from the lower grades. Their lesson was more perfect than the teachers, going over every possibility that could come out on the exam. But these were useless to me since I always reviewed my notes before and after class. The questions they gave me were too easy, getting all of them right. Luke narrowed his eyes, recognizing something was wrong.


    "You''re not Rika," Luke realized.


    "I told you I wasn''t her from the start!" I yelled.


    "Shouldn''t you know this the best?" I turned to Alex.


    "I apologize, I must have been consumed by my anger," Alex immediately removed the bracelets.


    "Do you think I''ll accept your apology? I don''t even know what she''s doing with my body right now!" I pointed out.


    "Now put all these disgusting accessories off me," I shouted at them.


    "We can''t. Except for those bracelets, we''ll have to leave them on. Rika''s health depends on them," Luke apologized to me.


    "What difference will a couple of accessories make?" I raised my voice.


    Luke silently began to take them all out as I impatiently tapped my fingers on the table to wait for him to finish. I was surprised when my head began to throb when he took out the last one, making me stagger towards the floor. I gasped for more air, finding the room swirling into circles. My vision became blurry, my muscles weak to the point that they were starting to fail. The accessories made a big difference in her condition.


    "Why is she so weak?" I landed in Luke''s arms when I was about to fall.


    "You mean exhausted, hard to breathe, and a little dizzy?" He covered most of them.


    "It''s not even that. All her limbs were failing on me and her vision became completely blurry," I shuddered.


    "It''s worse than this morning," Alex muttered.


    "It must be a side effect from the supplements," Luke sighed.


    "The side effects can''t possibly be this strong," I gestured to him to put the accessories back on.


    "This is on a whole other level. This is dangerous," I rose to sit on the chair beside me.


    "I know," Luke slightly trembled.


    "I don''t know what else to do," he sadly looked at me.


    I knew Luke was doing all he could to keep Rika alive. I wondered how Rika appeared so healthy when she always felt like dying inside. She was so fragile, everything b?r?ly balancing together so she could move around. It wasn''t worth all the mana circulating in her body, much more than mine. I helped with sealing her mana, thinking we almost sealed everything.. However, she was bursting with even more than before, rendering our actions useless.

 Chapter 530 - Switch (9) - Charles POV

    "What are you going to do?" I continued to stare at Luke.


    Our current situation wasn''t the best. We couldn''t leave the mansion surrounded by an anti-mana barrier. I watched Rika consecutively pull out extremely powerful spells like they were nothing. Everything appeared unreal, not able to interfere between their fight. Rika didn''t seem human, the way she spent her mana to be on equal grounds, destroying everything below her.


    She had to have used more than what she currently possessed in her body. Rika was engaged to Luke for her potential in possessing an unlimited amount of mana. During their fight, she really didn''t seem to have a limit, meteors being pulled from the sky. As if it wasn''t enough, she added many swords composed by each element alongside the creation of more fireballs and bombs. Luke was speechless when Rika was winning at some point, her opponent struggling to maintain the absurd level of spells.


    Rika would definitely possess an unlimited amount of mana as soon as she turned sixteen. The Roselia family had to love her, their descendants likely to have more mana than Luke and potentially an unlimited amount. She only lost since the whole season was against her, being advantageous to her opponent. From the start, it was impossible to fly around in the sky without spending an enormous amount of mana for a long time.


    "I''ll have to figure something out," Luke appeared equally helpless.


    "I don''t think her stalker is human, her specialty probably being ice," I found her resembling the fairies during social week.


    "Should we search where Rika is?" Alex switched the topic.


    Alex noticed Luke was starting to get depressed, having to deal with inhumane creatures chasing after his partner. In addition to our former members crazily obsessed with her, following her around. But Rika was also a target to all the criminals that wanted her from the information about her leaking. It was the worst combination possible with his partner''s body weak to the point it was a wonder how she was still alive.


    He couldn''t help but be more protective of her. As we started to search the mansion, I was getting frustrated when we couldn''t find Rika anywhere. Luke''s eyes flickered with worry, wondering if she left the mansion with my body. Nothing was predictable with Rika, anything could happen. The last room we didn''t check was the mana practice room, being in the basement. Alex tried to comfort Luke, his anger vanishing.


    I opened the door to find my body holding one of my limited-edition swords. It was extremely hard to procure, composed of the rarest materials while made by the best craftsman in the first district. My eyes widened when all my other priceless swords were thrown on the ground, all broken to no repair like they were disposables. I felt like I was going to faint, seeing the sword in my hand to be not much better.


    The ones I had in school were more precious to me than the ones stored in my family mansions. I wanted to keep them close to me, often cleaning and taking care of them. Miliana knew she was dead if she touched a single sword. However, Rika couldn''t be forgiven and killing her would be too merciful. I wondered if this was how Alex felt when his collection was trashed. Chaining and confining her was nothing compared to what she did to me.


    "You can join us when I plan on going shopping with Rika soon. You can choose all the things she hates inside the stores," Luke whispered to me.


    I brightly smiled, wondering what things I should purchase for her. Rika was miserable in everything she wore inside her closets. I could tell by how her body recoiled by the sight of her accessories. Maybe Alex had the same idea, sane from making her suffer under Luke forever. Even the dress I currently wore, she felt extremely uncomfortable inside. I started to recall all the clothing she hid from Luke in one of our fraction''s storage rooms.


    "These swords are disappointing," she turned to me.


    "That''s it, you''re going to die right now!" I exploded as she threw my sword on the ground.


    "Can you even do anything in that body?" Rika smirked with my face.


    "You''re going to get sick if you move around that much," she pointed out.


    Rika was vicious, not hesitating to use a spell to make me slip on one of my swords. Her head felt like it was burning, the pain spreading to the rest of her body from the fall. I couldn''t move, finding myself helpless as she kicked my swords. Luke rushed to carry me to the infirmary, noticing her condition worsening. I screamed and tussled inside the bedsheets as the pain increased from the medicine flowing in.


    I pounded on the bed, my body tearing apart and recombining together. Although Luke increased the ratio of painkillers mixed inside, it b?r?ly helped. This was what Rika experienced whenever she visited the infirmary often. It was nothing compared to my worst cold in my entire life, her body uncontrollably sweating. I almost lost my voice from all the begging and crying to be free from the agony.


    Both Luke and Alex seemed familiar with her extreme reactions. This wasn''t normal, it was b?r?ly living. Some of my anger towards her began to vanish, finding out how much she already suffered.. Rika lived a miserable life.

 Chapter 531 - Switch (10)

    "I''ll only get worse," I stood in front of Rika.


    "The pain will never end as long as the medicine keeps flowing in," I revealed as I watched her suffer.


    "How?" Charles squeezed out the words in my original body.


    "Sometimes dying could be the merciful choice," I lowered my voice with Luke inside the room.


    "It could be," she agreed with me.


    "Is this what you always think?" Luke had heard our conversation.


    "It''s the truth," I pointed out how Rika appeared like she was dying.


    "It happens so often. Imagine living your entire life like this," I didn''t want to recall everything I have been through.


    "Do you know how hard Luke tries to keep you alive?" Alex yelled at me.


    "Sometimes, you need to let people go," I shrugged.


    I was free from that weak vessel now. I liked being inside Charles'' body, healthy and able to do whatever I wanted. Meanwhile, he was stuck in the infirmary for the past few days in my place. I wasn''t surprised from all the crying and pleading. I never wanted to return to my original body, most times, the unlimited amount of mana in the future wasn''t worth it. Charles seemed to think the same, b?r?ly conscious.


    "As soon as you recover, you will be confined under the mercy of Luke," I whispered into her ear, soft enough that no one else could hear.


    "What did you tell him?" Luke clenched his hands into fists.


    "Nothing new," I pretended to be ignorant.


    "She lives a miserable life," Rika coughed.


    "You try being in her place," she dizzily stared at them.


    The room went silent from her comment. I nodded my head, knowing it was hard to understand if you never experienced the whole thing. I left the room, the atmosphere being extremely dreary. Rika''s condition wasn''t improving the entire time, likely from the income of more mana. I knew there would be a price to pay when I asked for more power. Every time she got sick, it seemed like the pain would intensify while the recovery period would be longer from now on.


    It was nice to peacefully lay down on my bed while scrolling through all the interesting posts on the school forum. With the anti-mana barrier, all the photos and videos has stopped. I was surprised when there was an outrage from all of Rika''s fans, complaining to the school for deleting all the past posts. I stiffened when someone knocked on my door, not waiting for my answer before Luke opened the door.


    "Are you planning to be inside his body forever?" He closed the door.


    "Why not?" I closed my screen.


    "You know he is the heir to his family," Luke sat on the bed, facing me.


    "All his responsibilities will fall onto you," he was trying to tell me something.


    "You think I won''t be able to handle them?" I knew what he was implying.


    "His family will wonder where all their education and training they invested into him had disappeared," he tried to point out.


    "The same way you had your own education and training as a member of the Roselia family," Luke explained.


    "You mean you nagging me all the time? The times you threatened me for not listening to you?" I scoffed.


    "His family is much stricter," he was implying he was generous with me.


    "I plan to stay," I didn''t want to talk to him longer.


    "It can''t be worse than living as Rika," I could hear the screaming.


    "Although it''s your choice, our relationship will end here if you decide to continue to stay inside his body," Luke rose to leave.


    "I will never willingly become Rika again," I narrowed my eyes.


    "Well, you have lost our support," Luke left the room.


    I knew he was talking about the Roselia family and his relatives supporting the Lumiere family in politics and business deals. However, I didn''t care as long as I possessed a healthy body. Charles'' status was another set of shackles in the first district and I knew them the best since I was in similar ones. I was freeing him from the life he lived with high expectations from others. I was a goner once I returned to my body anyways, if it ever happened.


    "I have granted your wish for a week," A voice echoed inside my head.


    By the time my vision cleared, I gasped when I found myself inside the familiar infirmary. I felt no pain, my illness being completely healed. I looked around the room, almost in despair when I returned to my original body. A week wasn''t enough, I was going to suffer under Luke once he figured out. I hoped he already ended our relationship together, about to pull out all the machines attached to me while he slept on a chair beside my bed.


    With the slight noise, Luke abruptly opened his eyes.. I stiffened as he confusedly stared at me, wondering what I was doing.

 Chapter 532 - Former Queen (1)

    I pulled out all the machines to get ready to sprint soon. I had to escape from this room, I couldn''t stay when he was bound to find out Rika was me. In fact, it was better to leave the mansion itself. Charlotte was more generous than Luke and all she wanted was more pictures and videos of me in return. She usually wore gloves anyways, mostly harmless unless you began to escape from her.


    Although Charlotte wasn''t a human being, I always wondered if Luke was human as well. He had to be a demon in the disguise of an angel with his appearance. I began to sprint towards the door, hoping it would open. I hoped he left his guard down since it was Charles in my body for the past few days. However, I slowly turned my head when he managed to tightly grab onto my wrist.


    "Rika?" Luke was fully conscious now.


    "I''m not Rika!" I tried to imitate Charles.


    "You have to be Rika," he studied me.


    "I''m not," I pretended to be extremely annoyed.


    "No one but you would pull out all the machines," he pointed out.


    "I thought our relationship ended," I desperately hoped.


    "That''s only if you continued to stay inside his body," Luke reminded me.


    "Can we end our relationship now?" I tried to break his grip.


    "Don''t make me call Alex while I do another checkup," he began to threaten me.


    I felt like I was about to cry. It was better to stay still on the bed than Alex joining us. He would be excited to know I was back in my original body again. I didn''t think much back then when I noticed the anger burning in his eyes. Since Luke didn''t have a grudge against me yet, he would be nicer to me than Charles or Alex. Tears began to stream down my face as Luke continued to go through all the medical equipment.


    "How do you feel?" He tried to confirm the results.


    "There''s nothing wrong," I was telling the truth.


    "We can return to your bedroom now," he decided I could leave this room.


    "Can you hide me from Alex?" I blurted before he could drag me.


    "You can apologize to both of them again," he wasn''t letting me go.


    "You know there''s no way they''ll forgive me, especially Alex," I shuddered.


    "I''ll study really hard. I''ll listen to you from now on. I won''t complain about anything again," I desperately pleaded.


    "The most time I can give you is until next morning, seeing how everything goes," he wanted me to walk with him to my bedroom.


    I nodded my head, finding it to be better than nothing. Fortunately the hallway was empty, everyone sleeping during this time. I tried to walk as quietly to my room as possible, hoping that I wouldn''t run into anymore. But when Charles opened his bedroom door at the exact timing, I sprinted into my bedroom and hurriedly closed the door. Although Luke opened my door behind me, no one would be suspicious of him.


    I was glad I had practice in closing the door silently. It was becoming more useful lately, all those times when I had to run away from people. I stiffened when someone knocked on my bedroom door, about to crawl under the bed to hide. Luke opened the door, finding Charles at the entrance. I knew he was awake from switching back into his original body like I did. Maybe it wasn''t a good idea to hide behind a pillow from under the bed, I could feel his gaze directly landing on me.


    "Rika is under the bed, isn''t she?" Charles waited for Luke to let him in.


    Luke gestured for him to come inside, knowing Alex would wake from the ruckus. After closing the door, Charles looked under the bed to directly face me. Surprisingly he didn''t seem as angry as I thought he would be. I guessed suffering in my place had changed his thoughts in some way. I decided to come out to apologize to him, trying to negotiate some reasonable terms to make it up to him.


    "I apologize for breaking all your swords. I knew I shouldn''t have touched any of your belongings. Can you please forgive me?" I made sure to add some tears.


    "You know I can''t completely forgive you. I''m only letting you go since I know Alex won''t in my place," Charles was being generous.


    This was better than what I expected, only having to deal with Alex now. Charles decided to leave the room, closing the door silently behind him. I knew he was trying to not wake Alex, erasing all the sounds of his footsteps. I was definitely going to die tomorrow, as soon as Alex figured out I was back in my original body. I turned to Luke for some tips, he had to have some ideas. Maybe he could help me tomorrow in appeasing him.


    "Would hitting me help?" I wondered.


    "Alex is not going to hit you," Luke could predict how things would play out.


    "His anger will start to subside when you show signs of reflecting," he revealed my only option.


    "How do I show the signs?" I could plan the entire thing.


    "When you listen to everything he says," Luke suggested.


    "For how long?" I needed to know the crucial part.

 Chapter 533 - Former Queen (2)

    "Around a few months," Luke knew how unforgiving his cousin was.


    My hopes came crumbling down, slipping into my backup plan of avoiding and hiding from him forever. I knew I wouldn''t be able to silently suffer under Alex for a few months when I struggled with a few days. Maybe this was why Luke was giving me the night to enjoy my last moments of freedom. I wondered if I could teleport out of the mansion, finding enough mana in my body to do the spell.


    "If you attempt to teleport, I will join him," he warned me.


    "What do I do during the rest of the night?" I decided to escape once we were separated.


    "Sleep," Luke gestured.


    "Will you be with me?" I wanted him to return to his own bedroom.


    "Do you want me to stay?" He was planning to leave.


    It was weird that Luke was leaving me alone. Meaning he had some alarms or trackers in place. If he was with me, I could use him as a shield next morning. It was a hard choice in determining what to do. I started to scan the room, wondering where he could have hidden everything. But none of them could be seen and he seemed to be confident that my teleportation would fail.


    It was better to have him as a shield and quickly eat breakfast before I ran into Alex. I knew he wouldn''t do anything if I obediently drank and ate everything that he passed to me. He was good at covering me from Henry in the past, showing it was the most reliable plan. I pulled out my most pitiful eyes while nodding, "I don''t want to sleep alone,"


    Luke sighed as he waited for me to enter the bed. I slipped into the blankets as he began to lay down. Since he could think of leaving later on, I tightly hugged him once he entered the blankets. It was better to be closer to him in case Alex discovers us together. While drafting more plans inside my head, I closed my eyes.


    "Where are you going?" I could sense him moving while the sky was dark.


    "I need to start our morning routine," he was telling me it was the usual time he woke.


    I needed my shield to stay near me, strengthening my grasp around him, "a few more hours. We''re not attending classes in the morning anyways."


    "I can give you more hours to sleep alone," he wanted to leave the bed.


    "I don''t want to sleep alone," I started to wh?n?.


    I wasn''t willing to let go of him when someone knocked on the door. It had to be Alex, who was awake around the same time as him. This was the perfect time to pull him closer to me so I could hide under him. My heartbeat paced faster as Alex began to open the door from no answer, showing the lack of privacy I possessed.


    Although it took a lot of effort, I managed to get Luke in the position I wanted. When Alex walked inside the room, he stared at us, seeing Luke go along with my whims. He seemed to know that Luke had no choice. I was tightly grabbing him to the point he would have to pull me off him. What else did Alex expect? I wasn''t going to let go of my only lifeline.


    "Rika, you have to let go of me now," Luke knew I was using him as a shield.


    "I don''t want to," I was going to drag my plan to its end.


    I was delighted to see that my plan was working, Alex not able to do anything. He couldn''t get mad at me, knowing Luke would get faced by some of it. When Luke started to get out of the bed, he began to struggle from the extra weight on top of him. I could continue this for the entire day, not separating from him. He would have a taste of his own medicine, earning a little bit of my revenge along the way.


    "Can you pass me a hairbrush?" Luke gave up.


    Alex passed Luke everything he could potentially need. It seemed he was more familiar with our morning routine than I thought he would be. It took Luke double the time to brush my hair from the odd angle he used. While the accessories didn''t take much time, the clothes took triple the amount of time since he had to figure out a way for me to change before he decided to use a spell. This wasn''t a bad beginning, clinging onto his back while he carefully stepped down the stairs.


    Charles briefly froze when he came into the dining room, finding that we were using the same chair while we ate. Desperate people did desperate things, including eating every plate that Luke passed to me with no sugar. I ended up chugging five bottles of supplements, making both Luke and Alex surprised. There was a method in drinking them while avoiding the nauseous feeling. Everything had to be done at a certain pace with no breaks in between.


    We also used the same chair in the study room, the four of us gathered in one place. Videos of the lesson were sent by the teachers while they investigated my stalker. Luke decided to make me catch up on school while Charles listened to the lesson alone. He didn''t think I would desperately try to keep my concentration up while flawlessly answering every one of his questions due to it.


    "So this is what a desperate person becomes," Charles muttered.

 Chapter 534 - Former Queen (3)

    "I''m not going to murder you Rika," Alex watched me cling onto Luke for the fourth day.


    "Will you forgive me?" I threw out my goal.


    "How do you think I''ll be able to forgive you for trashing my entire closet?" He had some anger remaining in his eyes.


    Then I guessed I would cling on Luke for another day. Charles watched Luke struggling to walk, carrying the extra weight on his back for days. His perfect posture began to waver, on the edge of breaking. I knew I was gaining more weight since I was eating more for the past few days than I usually ate for the entire week. Surprisingly, the taste of the supplements gradually improved while I didn''t need to add sugar to my food anymore.


    Lately, I had more energy while my mind was brightly clear. It wasn''t hard to maintain my concentration as much as before. I felt like I was returning to the days before I entered the other dimension. Although this body was still extremely weak, it wasn''t as fragile. My stamina had increased, allowing my grasp on Luke to be fairly stable. I had the confidence to continue this for the rest of the month.


    "Is your back ok?" Charles worried for Luke.


    "I think I''ll need some packs later," Luke admitted.


    "I''ll go easier on you if you separate from Luke," Alex made some concessions.


    "I can do this for a month," I had the motivation.


    "Is she serious?" Charles shuddered.


    "Or you can let me go," I gave Alex the option.


    Since I knew Alex wouldn''t be able to let me go, I decided to tighten my grasp on Luke. Since Luke took care of all my daily necessities, I could place my entire focus on him. Although I was being a bit extreme, it was the only option I had. Maybe I could use this plan more often, seeing how effective it was. It wasn''t very hard to listen to Luke, he only wanted the minimum from me since he didn''t have enough energy to ask for more. In fact, he was being more lenient than when we were at school, not having to follow a strict schedule.


    "You almost destroyed everything I had Rika," Alex declined the other option.


    "I didn''t touch your rings and watches," I pointed out.


    The rings and watches were more expensive than their clothes. I wasn''t stupid enough to touch them, knowing it would be unforgiveable. Fashion could easily become outdated while accessories mostly remained the same. I didn''t know why Alex was making a big deal when Luke frequently replaced the items in our closet. He had to do the same as Luke, possessing enough wealth.


    "Do you think you would be still standing here if you touched them?" Alex was showing me he was holding back.


    "She also broke all my swords," Charles tried to comfort him.


    "We can compensate you for them," Luke shot him an apologetic gaze.


    "They were only one of their kind. Some of the materials come out once in a hundred years," Charles shook his head.


    "You had those in school?" Alex''s eyes widened.


    "They''re all gone now," he nodded his head.


    "I can repair them," I started to feel guilty.


    "They''re not repairable unless you reverse time," Charles was b?r?ly able to forgive me.


    "If you unseal my mana, I can reverse time," I knew I had enough.


    "Your body is so weak," he knew the consequences.


    Alex knew that adjusting all his clothes were much better than breaking all of Charles'' swords. He had a hard time staying angry when even Charles had forgiven me. Recently, Luke had a hard time standing, choosing to sit down instead. He rubbed his shoulders, frowning from his sore muscles. Placing packs everywhere on his body around the beginning of the night, trying to relieve the straining.


    "There will be no next time Rika," Alex couldn''t watch Luke suffering anymore.


    "You swear on your family name?" I couldn''t trust him.


    "I swear," Alex sighed.


    I immediately let go of Luke, finding him staggering towards the floor. His waist was a bit red, lifting his shirt to finally place a pack in the same area. I felt a little awkward when I noticed it was close to bruising. Seeing him from a distance away, I realized how he was b?r?ly keeping himself together. Instead of holding a grudge against me, Luke got to take a proper look at me for the first time in days, He softened while sadly smiling at me, "you grew a little."


    "Her height didn''t even grow a single millimetre since social week last year," Luke explained.


    I fidgeted with my hands when both Alex and Charles pitied Luke. I wondered if it was really a big deal, I couldn''t find a difference when looking at my reflection on the ground. I had given up on my small height ages ago, hoping I would grow more once I entered high school. My height didn''t change a lot from elementary school, nearly the same. Even then, I was on the smaller side. How was I the perfect loli?


    "Isn''t there a spell to manipulate your height?" I wondered.


    "You can''t Rika, it''s extremely dangerous," Luke stopped talking about the topic.


    "I was just thinking about the possibility," I pouted.


    "Your height is fine," Alex tried to wave my concerns away.


    "I don''t want to appear like an elementary schooler forever," I felt it would be a pain.

 Chapter 535 - Former Queen (4)

    I needed a major makeover, walking to the room where all the tools and machines the salon used were gathered together. I had discovered it when I opened nearly all the doors in the Suilett family mansion. I didn''t need an innocent and pure princess image that Luke forced me to be. I wanted something more exciting, starting from dying my hair into three tone colours. Maybe I could even cut my own hair into a bob.


    I entered the room, starting to explore everything inside. My eyes sparkled when there was a machine that you change a portion of your hair to the colour you picked. There was an option to temporary change the length of your hair for a day. It was a good beginning before doing any permanent changes. Reading the manuals, it was much easier to use than the cooking tools. It was weird that the staff made many mistakes that day.


    Pouring a drop of my mana inside, I waited for the results to come out. When I picked up a hand mirror, I was satisfied, deciding to dye my eyebrows into purple to match my hair. My hair had streaks of pink and blue while purple was its base. While its length had drastically shortened, drifting near my shoulders. I didn''t appear human but an anime character from a fantasy world. She was so beautiful, the way the colours worked together on her.


    My eyes shined with pink diamonds, prettier than my normal orange speckled eyes. Without putting on any makeup, I managed to change most of my features. Checking my reflection in the mirror again, I almost couldn''t recognize myself. I looked like I was a part of an exciting rock band with all its flashy sparkles I added towards the end of my eyes. I started to walk to my bedroom, about to make adjustments to my clothes to match my new image.


    "Who are you?" Charles ran into me.


    "I''m a worker here," I pretended.


    "There''s only four people in this mansion during the daytime, and you can''t be a servant," he pointed out.


    "I guess I''m a trespasser," I shrugged.


    "Can you show me the way out?" I found a perfect chance to leave this place.


    "We will have to report you," he pulled out his marble.


    "Well you can report me and show me the way out," I didn''t care if I got reported.


    "What''s going on?" Alex joined us.


    "We have a trespasser here," Charles narrowed his eyes.


    "A trespasser?" Alex started to study me.


    I began to sprint to the first floor, jumping down the staircase. Landing at the main foyer, I searched for the main entrance. I didn''t know the full layout of this mansion, confused by the many doors that surrounded me. There wasn''t enough time to open all the doors while I recalled where most of them led me in Charles'' body. The only door I couldn''t open on this floor was the one behind me. I desperately pulled on the doorknob, twisting and turning it to find my efforts useless.


    I gasped when someone grabbed my wrist, dragging me away. Slowly turning my face, I discovered it was Alex. I wondered if he could recognize me, hoping he wouldn''t so he could send me away. Unfortunately, he was bringing me to Luke, knocking on his bedroom door. I tried to hide my face with my hair while trying to break his grip on me. Maybe I should have kept the long hair.


    "Rika?" Luke opened the door.


    "She''s Rika?" Charles'' jaw almost dropped.


    "What happened?" Luke appeared horrified.


    "Nothing," I hung my head down.


    "I just wanted to change my appearance once in a while. It''s boring to always have the same style," I muttered.


    "Do you think that''s important here?" Alex agreed with Luke.


    "It''s my appearance!" I argued.


    "Your appearance isn''t only yours Rika. You also represent the image of the Roselia family," Luke gestured to me to sit down on a chair.


    "You mean the innocent and pure princess image?" I knew what he was talking about.


    "How did you dye your hair?" He switched the topic.


    "Why do I have to tell you?" I looked the other way.


    "It isn''t a spell," Alex scanned me.


    "The only other way is if she touched the things that we purchased inside the salon," he instantly hit the mark.


    "Let''s go to that room," Luke sighed.


    I wondered why they were making a big deal of everything. Most of the drastic changes were temporary. I watched Charles and Luke go through everything I touched, checking the settings I used. Although I hated Helena, she was right, I had no choice in how I wanted to appear. They were trying to reverse everything back to normal. Caring about my image when no one else would see, only four people in this mansion.


    "Most of them should be washable, and the others can be reversed by using the tools again," Luke looked relieved.


    "It''s only for one day!" I found them going over the line.


    "I''ll need to spend the rest of the day to erase them," Luke wasn''t willing to let me go.


    "Or you can leave them alone and the effects will disappear on its own," I pointed out.


    "I''ll help you erase them," Charles tried to comfort Luke.


    "Seriously?" I yelled.

 Chapter 536 - Former Queen (5)

    "More gently!" I shouted.


    After reversing everything else, the hair dye, the only permanent part, was being washed out by Luke. I wondered why he was so obsessed with my hair. It''s been three hours since the three of them were taking turns in getting rid of the dye. The bathroom was uncomfortable, stuck inside the bathtub. The dark purples were turning into pink while the lighter streaks had already disappeared. My eyebrows felt numb since they started with my face.


    "I want out," I started to cry.


    "The dye is tougher than I imagined," Charles was impressed.


    "I locked the room to where the tools are," Alex walked in to join us.


    "Can we take a break?" I was getting hungry.


    "I''m almost done Rika," Luke grunted.


    By almost done, Luke meant seven more hours. I was filled with happiness when Alex turned off the water, letting me leave the bathtub. Changing my appearance wasn''t worth it anymore, out of the bathroom for the first time in twelve hours. When I looked at my reflection, everything was sadly back to normal. The Roselia trademarked features brightly sparkled, almost blinding my eyes. Why did this innocent girl have to be me?


    "You will never dye your hair again or think of adjusting the length. You also can''t touch any colour changers or enhancers. If you want any minor changes you will have to ask me first," Luke began to dry his hands with a towel


    "It''s too unfair!" I felt I had no control.


    "Do you know how long it took to get the dye out?" Charles argued.


    "The new hairstyle looked amazing!" I wanted it back.


    "The pure and innocent look is outdated," I tried to point out.


    "It matches you the best," Alex supported Luke.


    "And there''s nothing else to do here anyways. There''s no headgears, artifacts to play with and I''ve already explored the mansion," I began to complain.


    "You could study more," Charles suggested.


    "I study half the day away!" I almost screamed.


    This was worse than school. I never thought I have been taking the club room for granted. Luke combined our extra study sessions and usual class time together. If it wasn''t for the time-space function, we would be studying straight for a week without taking a break. I wondered where all the entertainment devices went, being inside a different family mansion. I spent most of my time searching for them until yesterday.


    "I want to leave this place," I asked the three of them.


    "Do you think you''re the only one who wants to leave?" Charles pointed out.


    "Two whole months have passed!" I raised my voice.


    I knew it was the influence from Charlotte that winter was harsher this year. While we had entered this mansion near the end of December, it was almost the end of February now. I wondered how she was admitted into the school as a student in the first place. What was the school doing? How did their strict requirements degrade this much for the high school section?


    "You have the books in the library," Luke recommended.


    "Who reads those boring books anyways?" I puffed my cheeks.


    However, the boredom was killing me the next day. I found myself in front of the library, convincing myself it would be the perfect chance to increase my repertoire of spells. I was definitely going to win against Charlotte next time. Pulling out almost every book on the shelf, I discovered how everything was arranged. I smiled when I found myself in the section I wanted. The shelves were glimmering with spell books, filled with hints of mana.


    Opening one of the books, I found many fire element-based spells. I couldn''t believe there was fire tornado, sunrise, gunshot bombs, and apocalypse. These had to have much more impact than the ones I used during the fight. Especially apocalypse, scorching everything in my surroundings to resemble a volcano, the ground dripping with magma. The entire land wouldn''t be inhabitable anymore.


    These authors were creative, thinking of almost every counterattack from the opposite element. But I would destroy the mansion if I practiced any of them here. I needed to figure out a way to have all my restrictions lifted for a short period of time. I wanted to implement all of these spells on a larger scale, needing an unlimited amount of mana. I also had to study more to get a better visualization on how each of them would work.


    I ended up taking a pile of books with me, not everything able to fit inside my inventory. Alex''s eyes widened as he watched me holding books about heat and gases. It was the fundamentals for all fire-based spells. I had to know what was happening from the particle level. I was almost out of breath before he carried all the books for me to my bedroom. Seeing this was a good chance, I turned to him, "can you take these to my bedroom? I have to bring more books from the library."


    I unloaded all the books in my inventory, excluding the spell books. I didn''t have time to wait for his answer. There were many piles in the library that were out in the open. I had to take them with me before the robots placed them back at their proper places. Since the library was the biggest part of the mansion, the number of books I pulled out were nothing.


    "Are you actually reading all that?" Charles found me near the entrance of the library.

 Chapter 537 - Former Queen (6)

    "Take these to my bedroom while I bring more," I found this to be a good chance.


    My entire inventory was filled with spell books. The rest would have to be physically brought to my room. With the absorption feature from my dimension library, I could quickly go through the books. Drops of sweat formed near my forehead as I continued to move more books out to the entrance of the library. Charles was stunned, the newly created piles in front of him when he already went to my bedroom more than four times.


    "There''s no more room in your bedroom anymore," he stared at the books.


    "Put them out in the halls, in front of my room," I was working on moving my last pile.


    "Were you this bored?" Charles wondered.


    "These are for my future," I decided to be honest with him.


    Once I managed to gather all the books near my bedroom, I looked at the massive piles. I opened my bedroom door, finding it extremely cramped. There was almost no space to walk, resembling a storage space. The books were piled up to the tall ceiling, something I had expected. I pulled my notebook out, about to start taking notes while linking the spells and the inner workings of them together.


    Finding Luke frozen in front of my room later in the day, I decided to return all the books I read so far, "you can bring these piles back to the library."


    "You''re already read all of them?" Alex was surprised.


    "I took the parts I needed," I nodded my head.


    The dimensional library had evolved after the bright light I suffered from a month ago. My eyes went large when I discovered I could pull out the necessary parts I wanted rather than going through the entire book. This made it easier to take notes, the dimensional library knowing my intent. While everyone else was busy with fraction work, I had entirely filled up five notebooks. I was satisfied with my progress, able to bring all the books in the hallway inside my bedroom.


    "It takes you hours to get through a single book," Charles couldn''t believe me.


    "My dimensional library evolved," I shrugged.


    "You possess dimensional library?" He almost shouted.


    It seemed even Alex didn''t know about the fact, looking at Luke to ask if it was true. Luke nodded his head, "it wasn''t used often since there were more limitations before."


    "Anyways, can you help me bring all these books inside after putting the ones in the bedroom out?" I turned to them.


    "I knew there was something strange when you suddenly got good grades out of nowhere!" Charles believed us.


    "Get your own dimensional library then," I wanted them to hurry up.


    "How do you activate it?" Charles was curious.


    "Like this," I waved my hand, showing the system appear.


    A translucent blue screen popped up, showing the search bar with its filters. Below the search bar were extra features such as absorption and notetaking. It was simple to use, resembling how my marble worked. The only frustrating part was how the absorption had many limitations while the notetaking had surprisingly none. However, notetaking would be useless in school, everything that mattered was already inside the workbooks.


    After I closed the screen, I gestured to them to move out the books. I smiled when everything was replaced within a few minutes. Luke wasn''t against me reading books, actually preferring that I did. He left me alone after we ate dinner together, working on more documents from our fractions. It was only when my bedroom lights were still on, he knocked on my door before coming inside.


    "You should go to sleep Rika," Luke didn''t want me staying up the night.


    "I''m almost done with this book!" I was holding a book about the summer solstice.


    "Don''t make me take them away from you after a set time," he began to threaten me.


    "You stay up the night sometimes!" I argued.


    "Rika," he warned me.


    "I''ll close the book!" I puffed my cheeks.


    "So you can leave now," I turned my head in the direction towards the door.


    I wondered how much distrust Luke had in me. He didn''t leave my room until I opened my eyes the next morning, discovering he was gone from the chair beside my bed. Before I could open another book, he knocked on my door, coming inside without an answer. I ?r??n?d as he planned on starting our morning routine. I was the only person inside this mansion that didn''t possess any privacy from the others.


    "You can open the books after the study session," Luke had planned out the day.


    "It''s the weekend today," I felt he was being cruel to treat it as a regular weekday.


    "You''re still behind," he pointed out.


    This was how it took me several days to finish around ten notebooks, full of information to help me understand how the spells worked. I started to return the spell books in the library, passing them to the robots to place them back to their original spots. My notebooks were thick, not missing a single detail on how to destroy the world. I needed to destroy the school to win against Charlotte. Wouldn''t it be great if there were no buildings to have classes in?


    Studying the bookshelves, I oddly noticed a book placed in the wrong location, not matching the height beside the other books.. Pulling out the book, I gasped when I had flipped to the first page with its ordinary title.

 Chapter 538 - Former Queen (7)

    The intricate words were suddenly written down onto the page:


    [Which fairy would you like to know the tale of?]


    I pulled out a pen, writing down ''Charlotte''. There was no way she could be human, possessing a large amount of mana that could rival mine. Reminding me of the fairies from social week, her speciality was likely ice. The book immediately shined after I lifted my pen, spraying a bright light into my eyes to blind me. I screamed as I felt myself being su?k?d inside the book, forced to be part of the story.


    The next time I blinked, I found myself standing in the middle of an ancient village square. It reminded me of the area near the palace in the fifth district. Cobblestones made the pathways while people travelled by using horses. A large stone archway was above me while many water wells stood behind me. I shuddered from the harsh winds as snowflakes landed inside my hair. My shoes were filled with the snow on the ground, making me tempted to pull them off to get rid of it. I began to regret wearing such light clothing.


    Everyone else was wearing animal furs to keep them warm. I felt invisible as all the people seemed to ignore me to the point that I started to think I may be invisible to them. With my teeth chattering, I chanted a spell to keep me from freezing. I stiffened when everyone stopped in their tracks to stare at me. Did people not use mana here?


    "Would you like a cloak?" One of them walked up to me.


    I nodded my head, accepting the fur cloak. I instantly felt like I was melting, the cloak being enchanted to make it warmer. But with my feet shivering, almost turning blue, I wondered where I was. I turned to the generous person to get my answers, "why is it so cold here?"


    "Our queen has an affinity for the cold," The person explained.


    "Queen?" I wondered.


    "Queen Charlotte," she clarified.


    "Since her rule, our land is accused of being stuck in winter," she lowered her voice.


    I almost laughed from the thought of Charlotte being a queen. She showed no such aura at school, being as ordinary as she could get. Noticing how everyone was using mana, this had to be the first district. Maybe in ancient times, seeing there were kingdoms in place. After I thanked the person who had helped me out, I decided to walk towards the palace. I could get more hints on how to return if I met the main protagonist.


    Unexpectedly, I easily got past the guards with them being lazy. They played with their spears while drinking some alcohol to help with the cold. I silently slid past them, muttering a chant to float above the snow while ducking under their arms, soundless treading around otherwise. I had to make sure I produced no footsteps inside the snow. Once I was a few metres away from the guards, I sprinted towards the stony castle.


    As the ruler of her kingdom, she was treated quite poorly when listening to the servants and other workers gossiping. The castle appeared more like a tower than a palace. Everyone blamed her for spring never coming. It was hard to produce any crops when most of them frost to death. No other kingdom attacked them since they considered their land to be useless. And a rebellion was starting to form amongst the common people while led by the nobles.


    "Are you the newly hired maid?" An elderly person came up to me.


    "I am," I smiled.


    "You look younger than the age you have written in your application," she seemed to be suspicious of me.


    "Yes, many people envy my appearance, saying it would be nice when I grew older," I hid my grudge against all the people who commented that I looked like an elementary schooler.


    "Follow me to get your uniform. Your first task will be to bring our queen''s meal to her," she started to walk.


    I always wanted to experience the role of a servant. I was tired from the princess treatment that came with many restrictions. Servants were mostly free, able to go anywhere after they finished their tasks. The head maid passed me a tiny uniform, leaving to me time to change. I liked how simple it was, no decorations on them. I twirled around several times until the head maid coughed to let me know it was time to go.


    "Here is the map. You must go to the second floor to get her meal since that is where the kitchen is located. Our queen lives on the top floor, which you deliver by teleporting with this identification tag," she explained.


    I nodded my head before I started walking towards the kitchen. My nose was filled with the aroma of potato soup mixed with some herbs. Surprisingly, the amount of food inside the kitchen was almost empty, the tray provided for her only consisting of a single bowl. Were they trying to starve their queen?


    "Our queen doesn''t deserve this potato soup. Everyone else is starving while she gets three meals per day," the chef answered my gaze.


    "Is everything really her fault?" I wondered.


    "It''s rumored she killed her entire family to take over the throne," the chef lowered his voice.

 Chapter 539 - Former Queen (8)

    I shuddered when I thought about the possibility. With my brief interaction with Charlotte, she didn''t seem like the person to kill the people she considered to be close to her. I lifted the tray before teleporting to the top floor. Blinking my eyes, I found myself at the edge of a long never-ending staircase. I knocked on her door, thinking I would have to directly deliver the meal to her.


    "You can come inside," Charlotte yelled.


    I stiffened from noticing how b?r? the room was, not a single piece of decoration to be seen. Charlotte sat on her bed, being no chair nor table in the room. There was a single bed, some velvet curtains hanging by the windows and a small fur rug. With a toilet and sink on the other side, I realized the bathroom and bedroom were combined into one.


    "I am the new maid," I introduced myself.


    "Thank you for personally bringing me my meal," she sadly smiled.


    I turned to leave, finding myself pitying her. While everyone in the castle played around, she spent most of her time working on the documents on the ground. Pens were filled with ink, messily scattered with no cabinets to put them inside. When she stared at all her work with great warmness, I knew she loved her subjects.


    "Please let me know if you need anything else," I was about to close the door.


    "Can I know your name?" Charlotte blurted.


    "It is Rika, my queen," I slightly bowed.


    Once I closed the door, I teleported to the first floor. My socks were completely soaked to the point of no return, the snow melting inside my shoes. After I threw my socks off, I wanted to search for some boots, wondering if anyone had extras. Exploring the inner parts of the castle, my ears perked as I continued to listen to more gossip.


    "Is today the planned day?" A worker whispered.


    "Everyone is in on this plan," another person nodded his head.


    "Are all the positions finalized?" The worker looked around.


    "They are," his colleague lowered his voice when he noticed I was listening.


    "Hello, I am the new maid. Can I know what is going on?" I walked to them since I was discovered.


    "You should the child know," the worker elbowed his colleague.


    "We''re planning to do a rebellion today. Our queen needs to leave her palace and directly face her citizens. She needs to know how most of us are starving from her unstable powers," he explained.


    "Our queen doesn''t know what is happening outside the palace walls?" I was getting confused.


    Charlotte seemed to work hard on the documents on the ground. All the scribbles and additional notes written on the margins could be easily seen. There had to be information about her citizens inside them. Did they know how she lived? It was much worse than how the normal villager lived in the fifth district.


    "How would she know when she never leaves her palace?" He pointed out.


    "The documents on the floor," I wondered if they had never been to her room before.


    "You mean those? Those are the ones from the time of her father''s rule!" He laughed.


    "What kind of queen is she?" I was stunned.


    "She is no queen of ours!" He agreed.


    "You must leave the palace ground at the beginning of the sunset, this place is too dangerous for you," the worker warned me.


    "I don''t know where else to go. I left my village to work here as a new hire," I pulled out my pitiful eyes.


    "You should be fine if you avoid the other floors. Stay on the first floor," his colleague didn''t seem to question my identity.


    I thanked the both of them before running into the head maid again. Unfortunately, she wanted me to bring Charlotte her dinner near the beginning of sunset. I gasped when watching the time quickly pass as the bright blue sky started to turn into hazy purples and reds. I forgot I was inside a book, trying to get to the rest of the story.


    Since I didn''t have a choice, I had to visit the kitchen to pick up her meal. While the tray was placed on a wooden tabletop, all the knives hung on the walls had disappeared. While the knives were dull, they could still do much damage, able to cut hard potatoes. The chef was nowhere to be seen, making me the only one on the second floor.


    I sighed as I teleported to the top floor to quickly deliver her meal. I wanted to escape from her room as soon as possible so I wouldn''t be caught in her mess. I knocked on her door, waiting for her to let me inside. When I didn''t get an answer, I decided to open the door to finish my duty. Placing her tray on her bed, Charlotte looked outside the window. I walked to join her, wondering what was making her face pale.


    My eyes widened when I found a crowd of people holding torches, directly below her. I shuddered from the scene reminding me how I have been in a similar situation as her before. Everyone of them seemed furious, demanding her to leave her tower to directly face them. I almost jumped when someone slammed the door open, finding it too late to avoid the rebels.


    "Everyone wants your head, queen Charlotte," The chef loudly laughed.

 Chapter 540 - Former Queen (9)

    "I tried to do everything I could for the people," Charlotte began to plead.


    "Drag her to the town square!" The chef yelled.


    I covered my mouth as I watched the worker and his colleague grab her arms to drag her out of the room. While Charlotte tried to resist, twisting and turning, it was no use against two ?du?t males who trained every morning to kill her. She was in the mercy of the rebels, all of them painting her as the villain. Nobody liked an incompetent queen, having the image of living luxuriously while everyone else suffered.


    I knew they weren''t teleporting since they wanted her to suffer as much as possible. Once they let her go, the worker kicked Charlotte, making her eyes widen before she started to fall down the stairs right outside her room. I winced as I listened to her screaming, the rebels kicking her so she could continue rolling down once she stopped. There were twenty floors in this tower, making her journey very painful.


    I teleported to the first floor, not wanting to see the brutal scene anymore. However, it wasn''t long until she arrived on the ground floor, large purple bruises covering her everywhere. Charlotte wasn''t able to move, her bones all broken. The worker took this chance to bind her wrist together, making sure she wouldn''t be able to escape. Her former guards brightly smiled, opening the grand doors to reveal their queen.


    "You shouldn''t be watching this," the head maid tried to cover my eyes.


    "Was everyone part of this?" I wondered.


    "We had to make sure she finished her tray of food. We slipped in hints of poison so her powers would dull," she explained.


    "Is her power this fearsome?" I turned to her once she uncovered my eyes.


    "She killed my entire family in her childhood. While I was working in the capitol, she had caused a snowstorm in my hometown. The snowstorm was brutal enough to freeze everyone to their deaths," her voice wobbled.


    "Why would she cause a snowstorm?" I needed an explanation.


    "Our queen always had a hard time controlling her powers since she was born. Whenever her emotions got unstable, she would destroy an entire village. There''s no one who lives in this kingdom who hasn''t lost a family member due to her," the head maid revealed.


    "Is this how she became the queen?" I predicted.


    "The rest of the royal family became the victim of her powers," she nodded her head.


    Without any choice, I found myself back in the central town square. I watched Charlotte walking on the stone archway above me. The rebels forced her to stand at the edge, thinking of pushing her so she would crash onto the ground. There were many people around me, forming an entire crowd of angry people. I pushed through the crowd, wanting to escape from viewing the entire event. I didn''t have anything against her like the others.


    "Why is there a guillotine?" I froze when I managed to move to the edge of the large crowd.


    "We know our former queen will not die from a fall," a child brightly smiled.


    "Please, you have to spare me. I have been doing my best for this kingdom. I have a plan to save us from the never-ending winters," Charlotte cried, interrupting us.


    "How do you plan to save us?" One of the rebels yelled.


    Charlotte briefly went silent to accept everyone''s anger towards her. I wondered what she was planning inside her head. I couldn''t pity Charlotte while I listened to all of her people''s complaints. They were doing this rebellion with no other choice. Every one of her subjects had a valid reason to hate her.


    "You killed all my relatives!"


    "You made my children die from hunger!"


    "I lost my arm due to you!"


    "If you really want to save us, die for us!"


    "We can enter a war! I have enough power to lead us to victory while stealing the fertile land from other kingdoms. We just need to work together," Charlotte answered them after hearing their complaints.


    My jaw almost dropped from her insane solution. More people were going to die from her actions. How would a tribe of starving people fend against a kingdom that possessed proper knights with superior skills? Where would she get warriors to fight for her? Was she planning to conscript her own subjects into doom? The whole crowd went silent, not believing she was going to separate them from their families by force. The crowd soon began to rage from her reckless thoughts.


    "Push her to quickly get it over it!"


    "Our queen is not a human being!"


    "She is not going to stop until she is the only one remaining in this land."


    "Why? Why are you all against my solution? It''s the best option we have," Charlotte trembled.


    The air started to shake, the harsh winds getting more intense. It was like everyone knew a brutal snowstorm was coming. The clouds covered the sky, blocking the sunlight bringing in the last bits of warmth in their lands. All the torches went out, replaced with icy sticks. Everyone inside the crowd was going to die, the child shivering beside me. All the sudden, my surroundings went silent. When I slightly moved, I bumped into a statue. My eyes widened when I realized the statue was actually a frozen human being. Imprisoned inside an iced cage for its eternity, its expression painted with plain fear.


    Was Charlotte still a human being? She looked down at all her frozen subjects, only caring about the approval on the idea of going to war. Her eyes were filled with her own selfishness as she waited, eventually yelling, "why are you not responding?"

 Chapter 541 - Former Queen (10)

    Charlotte wondered why everyone wasn''t responding to her. It resembled the time when her family suddenly stopped talking at the dining room table. She was filled with anger when her older brother, the crown prince, muttered she was the bringer of doom to their kingdom. The air instantly turned into frosty wind, freezing all her plates. Making her wonder why the temperature wasn''t being properly regulated by the servants.


    "Why are you not talking?" She poked her brother.


    Strangely, her brother felt very cold while his heartbeat couldn''t be heard. She didn''t want to believe it was true. The same incident repeating from her nanny suddenly frozen from serving her breakfast in her room. Charlotte began to walk around the room, checking if everyone else was the same. But sadly, her eyes filled with tears when her entire family was covered by a thin sheet of ice. She didn''t mean to kill them, nor her nanny who raised her for fifteen years..


    Charlotte knew she had a tough time in controlling her powers, possessing the most mana in her family. The royal family usually had more than the nobles and normal civilians, being the reason everyone accepted them as their rulers. When crops started to fail, a single blessing from a member of the royal family could make a bountiful harvest for the entire village. Her father was an expert with the water element, bringing rain to areas that had a drought.


    While her mother had the power to simulate growth in any kind of plant. Everyone supported the crown prince, having both the ability to simulate growth and bring rain to the land. The only reason they tolerated Charlotte, the person who destroyed most of their harvests. Charlotte was filled with guilt when looking down at the frozen crowd. Her emotions went more out of control, causing several tornados churning throughout her kingdom.


    When she noticed her hands turning blue, she knew she was starting to freeze from her own power. There was no one but her inside this empty land anymore. She had desperately tried to restore everything on her own, going through all the past documents. Charlotte knew her subjects were starving, stopping her complaints about her poor food. She also didn''t say anything when the nobles began to sell the royal family''s possessions to feed her subjects.


    Her head went numb, not feeling anything while her vision was filled with white sparkling snowflakes. She started to appreciate the view, the winter wonderland that everyone had despised. Crystals glimmered everywhere, replacing the people who tried to kill her. The whole place was so peaceful, the wind singing a song, the only sound drifting into her ears. While everything started to spin, she hoped her subjects who lived wouldn''t hate her too much.


    "You must have had many regrets," a fairy whispered in her ear.


    "Why am I not dead?" She found herself in an odd space.


    Charlotte found herself inside the beautiful rose garden. Something she had never experienced since her family''s death. She didn''t need her furry boots nor her thick cloak. Enjoying the warm sunlight, she took her boots and clothes off to discover the ground was very soft, better than the furry rugs. She had missed this tingling feeling, always filled with the emptiness, not able to save anything.


    "We have decided to give you a second chance," the overseer explained.


    "A second chance?" She wondered.


    "A second chance at life," the overseer smiled.


    "Will I be able to forget everything?" Charlotte didn''t want to remember her death.


    "We can partially grant your wish. Will you be alright if we send you to the future?"


    "I don''t mind," she wanted to live a new life.


    This was how Charlotte found herself as a student in a prestigious school. She didn''t know anything about herself, thrown into a round of intense classes without a break. Charlotte tried to follow what everyone else was doing, working hard to try to understand what the teachers were saying during class. But she struggled to be on the same grounds as the others, receiving failing grades for every exam.


    Apparently, she had a partner, a boy that was the same age as her. However, he was cold towards her, pretending that she didn''t exist. It was hard to mingle with her classmates, living in a shack far away from the main dorms. Charlotte felt lonely, everyone ignoring her when she attempted to talk to them. Sometimes, she overheard people gossiping about her, wondering which minor family she came from.


    Until she watched a video posted on the school forum. A bright girl appeared on the screen, brilliantly dancing and posing to bring justice to the world. Magical girl Rika saved the world multiple times by defeating all the villains around her. Making Charlotte''s heart beat faster as she looked at magical girl Rika easily solving everything she encountered. She wanted to become someone like her.


    Magical girl Rika probably didn''t struggle with making friends. Her heart was as beautiful as her appearance, making Charlotte wonder how magical girl Rika appeared in real life. She wished to know more about her, going through the spell book from class. Chanting to activate her wish, she mixed ten intermediate, twenty advanced and five basic spells together.


    Somehow, she was good at creating new spells that had never existed before. A camera landed in her hands after she finished her chant. When she looked through the lens, she could see a beautiful young girl on the other side and her name was Rika.

 Chapter 542 - Continuing Winter? (1)

    I opened my eyes to find myself inside the library after I blinked. Looking down at the book, I found it had turned to the last page on its own. A sentence appeared in the middle of the page when my finger touched the paper:


    [The end of this tale is far from its conclusion. Let the story continue]


    Charlotte''s story was not over yet. I decided to rise to place the book back to the shelf. Although I didn''t pity her on how she had died, I couldn''t blame her for everything that happened. She could have been able to control her powers if she had teachers who taught her. Leading none of her subjects suffering while avoiding all the tragic victims in the process. Charlotte had the wrong environment, better suited for the future we were in now.


    Maybe this was why the overseer had sent her here. I stiffened when I heard the sounds of people looking for me. They shouted my name, making a ruckus while walking around the library.. I found it strange since everyone should know that I spent most of my time at the library or my bedroom. Why else would I go? Finding myself hungry from being inside the book, I started to walk to the entrance.


    "Where were you?" Luke spotted me.


    "I was inside the library this entire time," I was confused.


    "You were missing for days," Luke didn''t believe me.


    "And we searched the entire library multiple times," Alex joined us.


    "Maybe you should have done a better job at searching," I shrugged.


    "It was like you vanished from this world after we heard your scream," Charles questioned me.


    "I may have been inside a book. It su?k?d me inside after I read the first page," I wondered if they didn''t know what kind of books the library possessed.


    "We don''t have books like that in the unrestricted section," Luke wanted to see the book.


    "Well there was one, you can find it yourself while I''m going to go eat," I started to walk to the entrance again.


    "Show me the book Rika," Luke grabbed my wrist.


    "It''s called, ''A Fairy-tale'', you can easily search it up," I didn''t want to go through the pain of remembering where I placed it.


    "A sorcery book?" Alex mumbled.


    "Yea, whatever you call it," I didn''t know there was more of its kind.


    From Luke''s pressuring stares, I gave in to walk back to the bookshelf that I had come from. Searching for the book around the location I remembered, I started to panic when I couldn''t find it anywhere. Maybe the robots had already placed it somewhere else. I began to pull out all the books on the shelf under the weight of everyone watching me. I sighed in relief when I found the same title on a different coloured book.


    Luke stiffened when I passed him the book. I wondered what was wrong, finding it to be an ordinary cover. Was there something on the cover that I didn''t notice before? When Luke finally faced me, he revealed, "we shouldn''t have this in our library whether it''s the restricted or unrestricted area. It doesn''t have the Suilett family crest on it."


    "Maybe this mansion had a visitor that forgot to take their book with them," I threw out the possibility.


    "This isn''t from our dimension," Luke waved his hand over the book to show the fairy dust.


    "You should clean the library more often," I pointed out there could be others.


    None of it was my fault. In fact, I had already planned to research how to place the restrictions off my mana to have unlimited amounts of mana for the fight. Although it was pain to read all those books, I had nothing else to do. However, I didn''t think Luke would ban me from going to the library, my only other way to pass time. My jaw almost dropped when I discovered I needed an access card to go inside after eating dinner.


    I slammed the door open, knowing the office the three of them were using. How could they do this to me? I was doing this research for all of us. This was exactly why I hated being stuck with the three people in this room. I had nobody on my side.


    "Give me the access card to the library," I held my hand out.


    "What books do you want? We can directly hand them over to you," Luke wasn''t willing to give me the card.


    "I don''t know yet. I need to know what kind there is first," I liked to explore what was there.


    "Do you think we can let you in the library again after you went missing for days?" Alex supported Luke.


    "You''re taking away everything from me!" I slightly trembled in anger.


    "Go use the pool or stuff yourself with some desserts like you usually do," Charles wanted me to stop making a ruckus.


    Charles was right. This mansion had a large pool, a perfect place to practice my fire spells without causing big damage. I could test how much mana the bigger spells drained. And maybe recreate my own waterpark if I had any mana leftover. I always considered the pool to be useless, not knowing where the swimsuits were.


    "Can you tell me where my swimsuits are?" I brightly smiled.

 Chapter 543 - Continuing Winter? (2)

    I wore a mini crop top with a high waist tennis skirt acting like a swimsuit. My long hair was pulled into a high ponytail by Luke, using a pink ribbon. Standing in front of a mass body of water in front of me, I wondered which fire spell to start with. Going through the notebooks one last time, I decided to use fire tornado, the relatively simpler ones. I closed my eyes, visualizing the creation of fire, burning off oxygen and heat energy. The atoms would clash together with an addition of carbon dioxide.


    I squeezed my hand into a fist, combining every single aspect together, swirling and towering to create a tornado. When I opened my eyes, I was stunned from how powerful it was, able to stand on top of the pool. The water underneath had no effect on the fire tornado, showing how it was starting to boil. I gulped when some of the height of the water drastically began to decrease, steaming into the air. This wasn''t good. Water vapour helped increase the fire.


    I didn''t think that more knowledge of visualization would make an incredible difference.. Since I was experimenting, I had only poured a little bit of mana inside. I desperately started to search for where I could adjust the settings, the water level almost shimmering to its bottom. At this rate, the entire mansion could burn down. However, with my mind in a panic, I couldn''t find anything. I sighed as I would have to solve this by summoning an equally powerful water spell.


    Raising my arm to chant one of my favourite spells, I poured in around quarter of my mana inside to shout, "whirlpool!"


    I stiffened when my large whirlpool instantly disappeared as soon as it came into existence. I was going to die if I destroyed the pool. This could be only solved if I flooded the entire mansion, hoping it would do something. It was better than a fire, raging to destroy all its surroundings. I decided to pour in the around a half of the mana I had remaining, all into a bigger whirlpool. Only a large body of water would be effective against my semi successful spell.


    With more concentration on combining hydrogen and oxygen together, I visualized producing a raging force of water. Desperately pleading inside my heart, I found a tsunami waiting to pour down into the pool, increasing in size every second. When I dropped my arm to activate the spell, I froze when the fire tornado was still winning. While the water untouched by the fire was starting to leak outside the door to the other parts of the mansion.


    I needed tape. I had to cover the tiny holes surrounding the door from the walls. Pulling out some weak tape from my inventory, I quickly ripped out some pieces to plaster around the door. My mouth wouldn''t shut when the power of water burst through the tape I recently placed. Looking at the fire tornado, it was still full of energy, making all the water turn into steam. My head was going blank when I noticed the tornado was increasing in size. How could nothing be working out today?


    All I could do now was to produce a barrier around the room to make sure it wouldn''t spread anywhere else. I opened the door, almost freezing when the floors were wet. In fact, my entire feet were covered like I was at the entrance to a waterpark. Everyone else was on the floor above this one, thankfully not encountering the water unless they walked to the main dining room. Before my panicking could get worse, I placed my hands against the door to put a strong barrier on the room with the remaining quarter of my mana.


    "We should get some snacks from the dining room," Charles suggested to others on the floor above me.


    "I''ll get you the snacks since you''re busy. Just message me your orders," I shouted at them.


    "Is that water?" Alex looked down at my floor.


    "The entire floor is wet," Charles muttered.


    Luke dashed down the stairs when he noticed the barrier I was slowly fortifying. The water reached his ankles, drenching his shoes. After studying his surroundings, he eventually turned to me for an explanation. I gulped as I didn''t know how I would explain this mansion was close to exploding.


    "I wanted to create a waterpark inside the pool since you would never let me visit one. And I accidentally messed up on a spell in the process," I kept things vague.


    "What spell did you use?" Luke tried to keep calm.


    "Whirlpool, tsunami, and fire tornado," I hoped he could solve this.


    "You used all of them?" Charles'' eyes widened.


    "I only poured around a quarter of my mana in each of them, ok?" I couldn''t look at them.


    "A quarter Rika?" Alex shouted at me.


    Since Alex and Charles were inside my body before, they knew how much a quarter truly amounted. They sprinted to join us, finding the water levels slowly increasing on this floor. I was doomed if one of them opened the door. I felt like crying since the fire spell was too effective. I knew the situation was worsening on the other side. I didn''t want to see the fire tornado getting larger.


    "Let''s open the door first," Luke decided.

 Chapter 544 - Continuing Winter? (3)

    I stared at the fire tornado about to drill into the ceiling when the door was opened. The water hissed around the tornado, its mass body increasing from the mass amount of mana I poured. It was clear which element was winning the fight, the pool completely emptied. The stone tiles were close to melting, the white colour turning into greys. This was worse than I thought it would be. The whirlpool beside the tsunami chose to pour out to the rest of the mansion, avoiding getting mixed with the other water spell.


    Luke couldn''t close his mouth, watching the opposite forces clashing with each other. While Charles seemed to not believe the scene in front of him, blinking frequently. On the other hand, Alex took turns at looking at me and the disaster multiple times. I b?r?ly had any mana left to fix this mess, maintaining the barrier surrounding this room. Although I was glad that they were speechless, I hoped they could clean the mess for me.


    "The ceiling is beginning to crack," Charles noticed..


    "Can you take care of the tsunami while I get rid of the fire tornado?" Luke turned to Alex.


    "I can take care of the whirlpool," Charles took the leftover role.


    This was the perfect timing to escape from the room. I silently started to sneak towards the door before Luke glared at me to stay. I had to sprint outside the room if I wanted to survive. Maybe today would be the day I would be successful in escaping from the mansion, the disaster being a perfect distraction. I began to dash towards the door, only being stopped when someone grabbed my wrist to hold me back.


    "I don''t have time to confine you to your room," Luke wanted me to be within his line of sight.


    "Or you can let me go," I suggested.


    "You almost destroyed the entire mansion by trying to hide this from us," he wasn''t letting me go.


    While holding my wrist, he muttered various spells, splitting the fire tornado. My eyes widened as I watched the smaller tornados get swallowed up by a black hole, removing each of them from its existence. I never thought of using dark space to get rid of the fire tornado, a harder concept to grasp. It had to do with the complexity of matter, something containing many different formulas.


    Black hole consumed a huge amount of mana, much more than the basic elements. A normal citizen in the first district couldn''t use it while most students at our school could use it once a year. With the ?ssumption that they never used their mana to save it for that one spell. I wondered how much mana Luke truly possessed, flawlessly getting rid of everything without a struggle. He had the luxury to watch me while moving onto helping Alex with the tsunami.


    Turning to watch Alex, I was impressed by the creative method he used. The tsunami was slowly disappearing, getting eaten by the heat wall pushing against it to evaporate the water. It was much safer than using fire-based spells, the wall collapsing to vanish as soon as mana wasn''t fueling it anymore. Maybe I panicked too much, missing out on the better spells they came up with. I had to start focusing on myself now.


    I tried to pull Luke''s fingers off my wrist, wondering why his fingers were so strong, not moving from its spot. Instead, his grip tightened as he continued to evaporate the water coming from the tsunami. I sighed since I didn''t know how to teleport to another spot without him. Meanwhile, Charles was almost done with getting rid of the whirlpool, choosing to freeze it to make it stop increasing in size. Once the entire thing was frozen, he squeezed his hand into a fist to crush everything, making it seem like it was vanishing from splitting into extremely tiny pieces.


    Since I was too focused on watching my spells disappearing, I couldn''t hear more people entering the mansion. Both Belle and Lucius noticed the burnt ceiling, trashed pool and close to crumbling walls. Rarely seeing them inside the mansion, I forgot that they were the owners. I mostly slept when they returned from their classes at university, too tired from studying during the day.


    "What happened here?" Lucius returned early today.


    "Rika created a fire tornado, tsunami and whirlpool at the same time since she wanted to create a waterpark," Alex answered after he managed to make the tsunami disappear.


    "So that''s why the floors were wet," Belle found an explanation.


    "I didn''t destroy this mansion like the other one," I recalled the time I almost killed the juggler.


    "But I might destroy this place like the other one, so you should let me return to school!" I brilliantly thought.


    "Let''s go to your room Rika," Luke began to pull me.


    "You know the anti-mana setting is hidden beside the door," Belle reminded Luke.


    Luke nodded his head while continuing to drag me out. This was exactly why they should have let me out of the stuffy mansion once in a while. If I had practiced in a wide and open space, an area not far from here, there would have been no damages. Looking out of the windows in my bedroom, I couldn''t see any other property outside the mansion gates, the distance spanning in miles.

 Chapter 545 - Continuing Winter? (4)

    Luke didn''t know that the very basic functions of the dimensional library didn''t require any mana for me. Meaning, I could continue my research in trying to break the restrictions on my mana before I turned sixteen. It wasn''t hard to stay inside my room when I had to read so many books. Whenever I heard footsteps coming towards my room, I quickly returned the book into the dimensional library before I pretended to sleep.


    "She''s still sleeping?" Charles was surprised.


    "I know you''re awake Rika," Luke took away my blanket from me.


    "What do you want?" I ?r??n?d.


    "You''re doing something inside this room while hiding it from us," Alex found it suspicious I wasn''t fighting back.


    "I''m catching up on my sleep," I rubbed my eyes..


    "What else would I be doing? You already checked my inventory, searched the room and made me unable to use any of my mana," I pointed out.


    "You''re going to be joining us from now on," Luke decided to let me out.


    "Can I just stay inside my room? I feel more exhausted these days after the study session," I couldn''t be under Luke for the entire day.


    "Let''s go to the infirmary then," he started to pull me up.


    "Can''t you just leave me alone for one day? You know I''m not sick so give me some privacy," I tried to stay on the bed.


    "Do you think I don''t know you bringing some of the machines from the infirmary sometimes?" I could feel him connecting me to the equipment in the middle of the night.


    "The results have been showing that you haven''t been getting enough sleep lately," he revealed why my sleeping excuse wasn''t working on him.


    "Maybe the machine is broken," I refuted the claim.


    "We checked the machine several times," Alex narrowed his eyes.


    "Is it that hard to leave me alone?" I couldn''t believe the level of distrust.


    "We left you alone and you almost destroyed the mansion while you went missing the other time," Charles agreed with Luke.


    "Then kick me out of this place!" I offered a solution.


    "You''re the main reason why we''re all here," Charles sighed.


    "If I kill Charlotte, will everything be solved?" I wondered.


    "How do you plan on killing a fairy?" Alex frowned.


    "I have a plan. That''s what I have been doing in this room," I decided to confess.


    I pulled out the notebooks that they didn''t open, thinking they already knew the content inside. Passing them the notebooks, I didn''t care if they took it away from me. I already absorbed everything inside them, going over all the pages multiple times from the extra time. Unexpectedly, they all started to see me in a new light while skimming through the content. When they finished, the notebooks stayed in their hands.


    "Are you trying to kill yourself?" Charles was stunned.


    "I have a plan," I repeated.


    "The fire tornado was intentional," Alex knew it was a test now.


    "It didn''t take much mana," I countered.


    "Now leave me alone," I gestured with my hand.


    "Are you serious Rika? You were really thinking of doing all this?" Luke angrily stared at me.


    "Not all," I avoided his face.


    "We can''t stay in this mansion forever. Although my plan isn''t finished, it''s the best option we have," I mumbled.


    "I really didn''t want to do this Rika. We''re sealing all of your mana," Luke started to go through my accessories.


    "What? You''re doing what?" I couldn''t believe his words.


    Luke was getting crueler as the days passed. I desperately needed to go back to school where he had less control over me. He couldn''t seal all my mana there, I needed it for my mana classes. This was exactly why I hated being inside these family mansions with him. I wondered what other people would think of this if they saw everything through a video. Alex was already holding my arms so I wouldn''t be able to move.


    Pulling out some bracelets, Luke started to slip them onto my wrists. My mouth wouldn''t close when I couldn''t feel any of my mana after the accessories were placed. I didn''t know there were accessories like these in my room the entire time. Making me feel more desperate about releasing my restrictions. The people in this mansion weren''t human beings. I couldn''t do anything without their knowledge or approval.


    I wasn''t surprised when I couldn''t touch the bracelets. It was almost the same as the necklace I wore in the past. I threw my pillows at Luke and Alex while leaving Charles alone. I didn''t have anything against Charles, he froze from watching their cruelty. Unexpected, I noticed some hints of pity towards me inside his eyes. It was like he understood my feelings a little as if he went through a similar experience.


    Meanwhile, Luke and Alex managed to catch the pillows, placing them on the table. I knew the pillows wouldn''t hurt them. It was a good way to relieve my anger, finding them go over the line. I had the right to get mad at them just like they got mad when I touched their collections. They couldn''t expect me to leave them alone for this.


    "What did I tell you about throwing things?" Luke raised his voice.


    "I''m sorry for injuring you. I didn''t think the pillows would hurt that much," I mocked them.


    "You can leave now. In fact, here''s the door," I brightly smiled.

 Chapter 546 - Continuing Winter? (5)

    "You can never ever throw things unless you''re in danger. Danger defined as criminals, stalkers, fairies and monsters. When you throw things, you may hurt the person no matter what the object is, including their physical body and feelings," Luke had an entire definition.


    "But aren''t you people criminals? Kidnappers to be specific," I pointed out.


    "Have I ever put you in danger before?" Luke dismissed my claim.


    "Danger of extreme stress," I whipped out.


    "Just confine her to us," Alex mumbled.


    "You people aren''t even human beings. This means you''re not considered to be a person," I used his own definition against him..


    "We''re going to have to place that necklace on her," Luke agreed with Alex.


    "And I won''t listen to anything you say anymore. I''m not going to do the workbooks or eat any of those plates," I was implying they would have nothing against me anymore.


    "You know how weak this body is when it doesn''t eat for the entire day," I smiled.


    "You''re using your health against us," Alex became dumbfounded.


    "How could you when this is all done for you?" He got angry for Luke.


    "So make your choice," I had the upper hand.


    "You know throwing things is wrong. If you have properly apologized to us, we wouldn''t have considered using the necklace on you in the first place," Alex blamed everything on me.


    "We don''t throw stuff no matter how angry we get," he added.


    "It''s fine Alex. Let her stay inside the room. She can''t do anything anyways," Luke seemed extremely disappointed in me.


    "Rika, you''re never leaving this room like you wanted. In exchange, the study sessions will double with the bottle of supplements. I won''t accept any excuses this time," he turned to me.


    The three of them left the room, making me seem like the bad one. However, this was the perfect chance to continue my research. I pulled out the book I was reading from the dimensional library. Although I was free for the rest of the day today, it wasn''t guaranteed starting from tomorrow. I knew from Luke''s eyes that he would become more merciless during the study sessions from now on.


    Flipping through the pages, my eyes widened when I finally found a way to release the restraints. It would only be released for twenty minutes at most, explaining why I lost last time. There was also a limit in how often it could be done, a chance of three times before I turned sixteen once I was at a certain age. The conditions had to be when I was in extreme circumstances with no other option.


    I had to be desperate for this to work, convinced I would die otherwise. With the number of safety measures Luke placed inside this mansion, it would be hard to do. I needed to start by leaving this room. But I had just convinced them that I wouldn''t be leaving this room for the rest of my life. Studying the furniture in my bedroom, I wondered which objects I should use. I was more helpless without any of my mana, making my task a little easier.


    I started to search for dangerous objects in my room, trying to open all the drawers and my closet. I was surprised when I discovered none of them would open, showing how Luke had predicted some of this. I also couldn''t move any of the bigger furniture like the table and bed no matter how much I tried. The best I could do was to jump from my bed to the floor, hoping I would think I would die. However, the floors were all carpeted, making the job harder.


    I never thought I would have to use my own acting skills to convince myself that I was in danger. I began to jump on my bed, trying to get as much height as possible. Closing my eyes, I imagined I was at the edge of a large cliff before screaming when I jumped off my bed. When I opened my eyes, I was disappointed, finding me land perfectly on the ground. Maybe I needed more practice in doing this.


    "What happened?" Luke slammed the door open from hearing my scream.


    "Nothing happened. Just continue doing whatever you usually do," I knew he wouldn''t let me out.


    "So close the door," I waited for him to leave.


    It was very hard to pretend I was interested in braiding my own hair for the entire hour. As soon as he left, it was time to go back to screaming like I was dying. I jumped on my bed again, impressed with my skills when I almost reached the ceiling from my practice. I didn''t expect it would feel like a trampoline, having fun from being bored with nothing else to do. Once I reached the ceiling, I screamed as I jumped towards the floor while closing my eyes.


    However, I found myself safely landed on the floor. This was harder than I thought. In the middle of my fourth attempt, Charles opened the door. He watched me scream as I jumped off my bed. Thankfully, I already had the perfect excuse, "I was bored. I''m trying to imitate a rollercoaster here since I can never go to the amusement park."


    "So can you leave me alone?" I gestured to him to close the door.


    "Who does this because they were bored?" Charles looked at me like I was a crazy person.

 Chapter 547 - Continuing Winter? (6)

    "Can you be more quiet?" Alex opened the door in the middle of my fiftieth attempt.


    Alex knew what I was doing from hearing Charles'' explanation. Surprisingly, it was a good way to pass time even though I was failing. I could do it more often whenever I was confined to my room. Who knew that boredom made you come up with creative things? I placed some of my pillows on the floor to serve as obstacles to make it a game on perfecting my landing. Deciding to be honest with Alex, I let him know, "I''m planning to do this for the rest of the day."


    "Put a sound barrier or something if you want the noise to disappear," I suggested.


    "You have nothing else to do?" Alex was stunned.


    "Well, you already took everything away from me, including the books," I pointed out.


    "Leave so I can continue my pretend roller coaster," I gestured to him..


    Alex had no choice but to leave my room. I hoped the complaints would decrease, having to do this until I somehow released my restraints. Around my one hundredth attempt, I grinned when I started to feel dizzy. I never moved around this much, exhausting my body in the process. My ears perked when I heard a faint conversation outside my door after I screamed.


    "You should take her to the amusement park someday. I feel sorry for her," Charles advised.


    "I can''t bring her to those kinds of places. Rika is a target for too many people," Luke sighed.


    "She also got kidnapped when she tried to go to the zoo," Alex agreed with Luke.


    "You''re going to continue to have her jump on her bed to pretend that she''s on a rollercoaster?" Charles believed my excuse.


    "Only the mansion is a safe place for her. We add more safety measures to all the areas we allow her to be in," Luke tried to explain.


    "It''s better than her getting kidnapped again," Alex waved his pity for me away.


    I wasn''t surprised he was planning on confining me to his mansions forever. Unexpectedly, for the next jump, I actually crashed on the ground. Maybe it was from the lack of energy and focus, I was getting closer to my goal. Trying to rise, I discovered I couldn''t move one of my arms. Although I felt some pain, it was nothing compared to suffering inside the infirmary. Luke opened the door from the loud noise.


    "Rika?" Luke appeared horrified.


    "I finally replicated one of the rollercoaster effects! I broke my arm to get more rush in excitement!" I grinned.


    "We should rent out the entire amusement park one day," Alex started to pity me.


    "She was really this bored," Charles gazed at me the same way.


    "Let''s go to the infirmary," Luke wiped the worry from his face.


    "Wait. The bed in the infirmary isn''t as bouncy as the one here. You promised me that you would leave me inside this room," I reminded him.


    "Are you serious Rika?" Luke started to push me out of my room.


    Thankfully, he didn''t touch any of my arms since one of them was broken. I started to look around my surroundings, searching for a better alternative before I arrived at the infirmary. It was the first time I left my room in weeks. All my meals were carried to my room alongside the study sessions. I hid my smile when I realized I could drop down to the first floor. Since I didn''t have any mana to protect myself, I would truly be in danger.


    I sprinted towards the railings, stepping on the bar before tipping my entire weight to fall down. Feeling the air rush into my ears, a bright light began to fill up the space. I grinned while teleporting to the shack to kill Charlotte. She had to die so I could return to school. My plan was successful, finding myself in the middle of a brutal snowstorm. I wasn''t surprised when Charlotte directly faced me like she was waiting for me, standing in front of the shack.


    I had nineteen more minutes to win the fight. I didn''t hesitate to pull out another sun into the sky, visualizing the biggest hot star, scorching hot magma running on its surface. I had to research the summer solstice, remembering to include the hottest and longest day of the year. The clouds were starting to part, the entire lake of snow and ice melting from having two suns above us. To bring the effect closer, I continued to yell, "sunnnnrrriiiissseee!!!!!"


    "Is that all you have?" Charlotte smiled.


    "I have more," I flew into the air.


    "Fire tornado," I poured as much mana as I could think.


    Charlotte joined me in the air while ten fire tornados, crackling with energy, spun to surround her. The massive force instantly burnt down the entire landscape, making the school barrier shatter along with it. I laughed as she struggled to avoid them closing into her. I had to throw a gunshot bomb towards her to finish things off faster. My eyes burned with victory, not caring about all the screams around me.


    "You''re not a human being," Charlotte narrowed her eyes.


    "I''ll save the school. The innocent people who don''t deserve to die," she raised her hand to create a snow tornado.


    "Please, you''re the one who started all this," I snapped my finger to make the snow tornado collapse.

 Chapter 548 - Continuing Winter? (7)

    "You mean the pictures and videos?" Charlotte froze the fire tornados to make them vanish.


    "I don''t care if you took the pictures and videos. You posted the wrong ones!" I yelled.


    I shot ten gunshot bombs, rotating around her to eventually enclose her. Covering myself with the barrier, I clenched my hand into a fist to activate the bomb. Looking for the result, a great wall of smoke in the shape of a ball splattered into the radius of several miles. While the trees and ground were filled with its debris, turning into a trashed landscape. I was disappointed when Charlotte managed to create her own barrier to avoid the impact. I needed to pull out more offensive spells against her.


    "What do you mean by the wrong ones?" Charlotte coughed.


    "You should have posted the truth.. You only posted the ones that looked nice!" I argued while pulling out a giant fire sword.


    "What did you expect? I only posted the ones that would be popular," Charlotte pulled out an ice sword.


    After gathering a few pictures of Rika, Charlotte created a fan page for magical girl Rika from her dormmate''s suggestion. She uploaded all the photos she had of her, wanting to share them with the school. There was a swarm of positive responses, everyone scrambling to write comments under her posts. Her heart started to feel warm, finally finding a connection with the rest of her schoolmates. She was finally a part of the school community now.


    Following the creation of the fan site, people started to talk to her during the breaks. Charlotte had friends now, the first time she wasn''t alone in months. They offered to help with the fan page, creating their own version after she transferred them the pictures. Rumors started to spread in the high school section, searching for the person who always posted high quality pictures of Rika.


    Charlotte enjoyed trying to meet the expectations of all her site visitors. It was a great common topic to talk about with her classmates. However, everyone demanded for more, making the pictures not enough. This made her work hard to adjust her spell to include videos as well. Studying the popular posts, she knew what kinds would bring more views than the other ones. Although a few people knew she was the original fan site master, no one dared to tell the teachers. Everyone knew this entire thing would end as soon as she got discovered.


    "Well I can''t go to school now because of you," I swung the swords towards her neck.


    "Why?" Charlotte blocked my swing.


    "I''m confined inside a mansion because you''re deemed to be dangerous," I pushed more force into my attack.


    "Is that why you''re trying to kill me?" Charlotte began to fight back by increasing the wind around her sword.


    "You need to die so I get my freedom back," I jumped back before shooting fire balls from my sword.


    "You''re not human anyways!" I summoned more fire tornados.


    "Maybe, but I can help you. I need you as much as you need your freedom," she blew out all my tornados.


    Charlotte needed Rika to not be alone again. She needed to continue taking more pictures and videos of Rika so they wouldn''t lose their interest in talking to her. Her schoolmates only started to pay attention to her once she used Rika as their connection together. No one would pay attention to her if it wasn''t for Rika. Like how everyone started to ignore her again after she stopped transferring them more content about Rika. Charlotte struggled to make friends without using Rika.


    While she remembered everything from her former life in the middle of her last fight, she was reminded of the emptiness inside her heart. Although the Rika in front of her was different than expected, she still admired magical girl Rika. Magical girl Rika was able to save everything in the video, unlike her that couldn''t save her kingdom. If she was magical girl Rika, none of her subjects would have thought of marching up to her tower to kill her. With her current and past memories merged together, her obsession with Rika increased.


    "Well I don''t need you as much as you need me," I threw a x-shaped fire wave towards her.


    "But I still need you," Charlotte created an ice tsunami.


    "And thinking of it, you''re weak against physical attacks, aren''t you?" She dashed towards me.


    I immediately created a strong barrier around myself, layered with hundred weaker spheres encasing me. I gritted my teeth since she knew my weakness. The best chance I had were long-distance attacks. Apocalypse was the best trump card I had in my hand. Beginning to imagine a volcano spurting magma everywhere, I mixed it with gasoline. Gasoline would help with fueling my fires strong even in its frozen state.


    "Respect your seniors!" Charlotte broke my barrier with a single swing.


    Too immersed in chanting, my eyes widened as she brightly smiled. Spinning into a fighting stance, she lifted her leg to kick me down onto the ground. I didn''t have a chance to dodge, encountering the brunt force, rushing down to the hard snow. My vision blurred, lungs constricting as she chose my ?h?st. Coughing blood once I crashed to create a crater, I bounced off the ground from the strong impact. I was running out of time, but Charlotte was dashing towards me with great obsession.

 Chapter 549 - Continuing Winter? (8) - Alexs POV

    I ran out of the room when I saw Rika about to jump from the fourth floor. She didn''t have any mana with her, we had sealed everything. She was going to die as I helplessly watched her fall down towards the hard-marbled floors. Luke desperately chased after her, trying to grab her leg to pull her back to our floor. However, we couldn''t get closer to her, blinded by a bright light filling the entire mansion. Once the light had disappeared, we couldn''t find any traces of Rika. Luke''s legs collapsed from despair, hearing no impact of her fall, vanishing like she had never existed here.


    "I can help you search for Rika," I tried to comfort him.


    "She planned this," Luke recalled her jumping off her bed.


    "You can confine her afterwards," I pointed out she was likely alive.


    "Is she always like this?" Charles was stunned..


    "That''s why the windows and doors are spelled so she can''t open them," I explained.


    Most times, the main subject on Rika''s mind was escaping from the mansion or her room. She never considered that Luke was keeping her here to keep her safe. Rika was the target of almost everything, getting kidnapped around three times within this year. She was also so reckless, always trying to throw her life away. Luke wouldn''t have to confine her to this extent if she listened to him more.


    "The amusement park?" Charles recalled her excuse.


    "Rika does actually want to go to an amusement park, but we can''t take her there. She doesn''t deserve to go there. She was practicing jumping down the entire time," I always thought her actions were a little suspicious.


    "I didn''t know," he pitied Luke.


    Noticing Luke''s marble flickering, I gestured to him to take a look. When Luke opened his marble, we discovered a message had come from Cillian. Opening the message, there was a link to a post on the school forum. On the site, a grand post with a live stream video underneath was raging with attention. Once Luke tapped to play the video from the start, all of us couldn''t take our eyes off the screen.


    Luke was beginning to burn with anger as he watched her use every spell from her notebook. She had intentionally jumped out of the fourth floor to teleport to fight her stalker. Rika was mostly quiet for the past two months because she was planning for this day. I knew that Charles was wondering where she could have gotten the mana to carry out the fight. I could feel the seal I placed on her remaining when I searched for it. While she shouldn''t have the ability to consecutively pull out the spells that she was using even with the seals removed.


    I was inside her body before. I could approximate how much she roughly possessed. Inside the video, it appeared like she didn''t have the limit that I had previously felt. It was similar to her fight with her stalker before we had arrived at this mansion. What was Rika hiding from us? She was always trying to hide something from me and Luke. The people who cared and wanted the best for her.


    "I''m going to get Rika back," Luke determined.


    "How are you going to get there?" Charles pointed out the school was almost destroyed from their fight.


    "I''m going to use the teleportation gate," Luke started to walk to the first floor.


    "I''ll come with you," I couldn''t let my cousin put himself into danger alone.


    "I''ll also join," Charles followed us.


    This was how we entered the school grounds, almost burnt down and slippery from the ice. Most students were evacuating, the protective barrier of the school down. Although there were some students watching the fight in awe, they were mostly extreme fans of Rika. Luke''s face hardened when we listened to their conversation, finding no place to be safe to Rika other than our mansions. Trying to hide our disgust towards them while discovering the reason for the low-quality service and food.


    "Really, what was that restaurant doing? We gave them the money to have Rika eat our homemade cooking and they failed," a familiar girl complained.


    "At least the Roselia family didn''t figure out. I paid all the chefs and waiters to stay silent. And we got to talk to her in person," her friend tried to cheer her up.


    "We paid the salons with a grand amount of money to stall Rika so we could take more pictures, but the first place failed," a person joined in.


    "However, we succeeded at the next one, paying more money to one of the staff members to cut more of her hair so we could pass it to the others," another person revealed.


    Before I could get angry at them, my eyes widened when I found Rika about to crash into the ground. A loud sound filled my ears, the entire ground trembling as Rika slammed against the uneven land, creating a huge crater with her. No human being could survive that crash with the massive force behind it. I slowly turned to Luke, finding furious tears streaming down his face.

 Chapter 550 - Continuing Winter? (9)

    "Heal," I whispered.


    A bright light filled me, mending and stitching all my injuries, undoing all the damages. The process was painless, opening and closing my hands to test its effectiveness. I smiled when I found myself able to move my limbs again. Rolling to dodge Charlotte dashing towards me before rocketing into the air. I learnt that I needed to continue chanting while placing more offense spells to surround me.


    I raised my hand towards the sky, summoning light energy to surround me as a barrier, burning anything outside the safe spot when touched. My entire body glowed as I was covered from the light. This was a chance to visualize an apocalypse, imagining volcanic magma running to destroy everything it touched. Multiple mountains began to appear on ground, about to erupt while the entire air became poisonous.


    A tsunami of fire filling the remaining parts, rising sky high into the level where I was floating. No ice nor snow could exist when it served as more fuel for the fire when evaporating into water vapour.. To make sure the fire would rage, I began to pour more gasoline anywhere, the liquid causing more chaos to the hectic surroundings. But I couldn''t end things with this single spell, adding more fire tornados to the mix.


    A storm of blue fire mixed with beautiful violets swirled together to pull the air inside to brighten its dance from my summon. I needed to completely destroy this entire area, not knowing where Charlotte was from being blinded from the smoke. In fact, I could feel the air starting to clear, meaning she was using a spell to freeze everything again. Hearing her cough, she screamed, "I will eventually find you and save the school along with it. I am the hero this round, the magical girl this time to bring justice to this world. People will pay attention to me again once I defeat you in front of them."


    "Aren''t people already paying attention to you?" I had noticed the large crowd when I fell from the sky.


    "If you win then you''re the one that becomes the hero," Charlotte knew the winners were the ones to write history.


    "I thought you were a fan of magical girl Rika," I pretended to be disappointed.


    "Once I defeat you, I can confine you to us," she wanted to keep me for herself.


    I wondered why so many people wanted to confine me in some place. I wasn''t going to lose to land in another prison cell. Although I loved the room they provided for me, I wanted to go travelling one day. There also wasn''t a guarantee that they would keep supplying me with the latest otaku goods from b?r?ly surviving with the number of points they possessed. This was why I didn''t accept her offer. There was only so much they could do inside the school grounds.


    "Do whatever you want," I summoned ten large fire swords.


    Spiking bonfires of blazing crimson and golden yellows were shaped as a cross. Raising my hands, I lifted the swords to drop them towards the ground after flying higher into the sky. Whoever had the superior altitude would have a more favourable chance in winning. I continued to rocket higher into the clouds until I struggled to breath. Finding myself at a better spot, I tried to pull some parts of the stars to aim towards the school. Waving my hands around to target some specific spots. I knew I would destroy the world if I crashed the entire planet into the one that I lived. There were many people that didn''t deserve to die.


    Snapping my fingers, I waited for the rushing rocks swelling with roaring hot gasses rushing down to pass me. Charlotte was unpredictable, making me add more firebombs into the attack alongside with it. Making me place another barrier around myself to protect me from the thundering noise coming from the bombs. I also had to summon another apocalypse in case she managed to get rid of my other spells. I had three minutes to finish everything or else I would become a goner. Becoming more desperate, I continued to chant more spells without a break, choosing to pull more suns into the sky.


    However, I briefly paused, finding a swirling energy opening beside me. As it grew larger, I could see the blurry pink clouds on the other side. I knew it was a portal to the fairy world, everything being more mystical there. Unexpectedly, a familiar face appeared to greet me, exhausted and annoyed. His light blond hair was soaked with sweat, showing he had come here in a panic.


    "I''ve come to offer you a truce," the gatekeeper came out of a portal.


    "And you think I would accept?" I continued to pull more meteors.


    "Charlotte is almost dead. The entire area is completely destroyed as she struggles to protect the students by desperately freezing your spells," the gatekeeper pointed out I was winning.


    "So what do you want me to do about it? I need to kill her so I can regain my freedom," I wondered if he knew the entire situation.


    "I''ll take her with me to the fairy world, which will solve your problem. I''ll also recover all the disasters both of you created while removing all the seals on you," the gatekeeper sighed.


    "Why did you even send her here?" I couldn''t forget my sufferings due to her.

 Chapter 551 - Continuing Winter? (10)

    "It was an experiment. We wanted to see if fairies could control their powers better with your methods of teaching. Many fairies possess the same problem as her," the gatekeeper explained.


    I couldn''t close my mouth, all my sufferings coming from a failed experiment. I instantly turned more cold, not able to forgive him. However, it was a good chance to ask for compensation for the damages. Unfortunately, one of the many things I learnt from living with Luke.


    "Remove the seals first," I wanted my mana back.


    The gatekeeper immediately snapped his fingers, releasing all my mana. Feeling a grand wave of energy releasing, I gasped as I had much more than I imagined. Filled with more than triple of the amount of what I had previously possessed. It was separate from the unlimited amount of mana I currently used like two different battery sources.. The gatekeeper waited for me to come back to my senses, gesturing for me to follow him once I noticed he was studying me.


    Following the gatekeeper towards the ground, I stared at the utterly raging landscape swirling with fire and erupting volcanoes. The air was deadly to the point I had to place a barrier around myself to filter it. I felt a little guilty when I saw Charlotte abandoning fighting back my spells to place a flickering barrier surrounding the students. As I came closer towards the ground, I started to sweat from the burning temperature. Craters formed from the parts of the stars, tall blazing swords stiffening into peaks.


    "I am going to start restoring the damages," the gatekeeper waved his hands around.


    My eyes went round as I watched all traces of the spell disappearing, replaced with more life sprouting, unraveling to come back. Although the snow came back to cover the ground, it wasn''t to the point it reached other people''s knees. The deadly air turned into a more refreshing one, slapped my face to let me taste a wisp of light wind from the signs of winter about to end. He was turning back time before the fight started to reverse all the damages.


    Once the gatekeeper was finished, he flew towards Charlotte. He tapped on her shoulder to show her the area was safe now. I hid behind the gatekeeper as Charlotte spun to face him, stopping her spell while she gazed at the normal landscape. Although the barrier protecting the student has shattered, there was no danger surrounding them anymore. The gatekeeper was lukewarm towards her, "the overseer asked me to fetch you Charlotte."


    "Am I leaving this place?" Charlotte seemed to recognize him.


    "Your time is finished here," he opened a portal.


    I brightly smiled as I watched Charlotte fly into the portal, disappearing with the gatekeeper. When the portal completely closed, I noticed the crowd that had increased under me. I knew I would get in trouble if Luke figured out from the rumors. I summoned some light to announce to the crowd in front of me while continuing to fly, "thank you for enjoying the next episode of magical girl Rika. She has saved the world after defeating the villain again."


    I made sure to add some fancy twirls and winks while cutely posing. Continuing to send more finger hearts before I landed on the ground. Thankfully, most of my fans appeared spell bound, taking more pictures. Although some people were stunned, frozen from the absurdity, I could deal with them later. I could blame everything on the fairies if I got summoned to the dean''s office again.


    However, I had totally forgotten about the possibility that Luke could have chased me to drag me back since I was too focused on fighting Charlotte. I didn''t expect him to push through the crowd to directly face me. When I noticed the dried traces of his furious tears, I shuddered while regretting that I didn''t continue to stay in the sky. Slowly turning my head, I found Alex and Charles not far behind him.


    "We''re going back to the mansion," Luke grabbed my wrist.


    "We don''t need to go back there anymore. This place is safe now," I tried to shake his hand off.


    "My plan was successful," I had saved everyone from the harsh winter.


    Pouring some mana into my hand, I had the strength to break his grasp on my wrist. It was nice when you had a luxurious amount of mana, able to substitute for my weak body. I wasn''t under his mercy anymore and we were in front of a crowd of people watching our every move.


    Shaking my hand again, I was surprised when one of my bracelets fell onto the ground. I smiled from the gatekeeper doing more than he had promised, pulling out the rest of the disgusting accessories. I was never wearing any of them again, reminding me of the seals.


    I threw each of them onto the ground, stomping and twisting my foot to destroy all of them. While many people started to gossip, I ignored them. I had enough of Luke, who was silently watching me since he couldn''t reveal his true self here. This was one of times I was glad that he always had a mask on his face towards others.


    "You can go back alone. I''m staying here," I stood firm in my position.


    "I can pull you out of school for another month," he lowered his voice so only I could hear.

 Chapter 552 - Melting into Spring (1)

    I narrowed my eyes, knowing it was a threat. I wasn''t going to willingly return to that place since I would be confined again. The gatekeeper repaired everything, meaning I could stay in my dorm room. But Luke could follow me there and make my life miserable, free from the eyes of other people. I had to stay with my friends to avoid Luke. Searching for a familiar face, I walked towards Oili when I noticed him near the front of the crowd.


    "Can I stay in your dorm room for a while?" I pretended Luke wasn''t behind me.


    "Let me ask my partner," Oili noticed Luke was close to killing me.


    "I apologize for the trouble. Rika will not be returning to school for a while," Luke was asking to cancel the message.


    "We have nothing to do with each other," I was hinting he could continue writing the message..


    "I will go easier on you if you come with me now Rika," Luke whispered into my ear.


    "You will have to drag me there since I will never willingly return to that horrible place," I waved his offer away.


    Surprisingly, before I could react, he actually pulled my dress near the back of my neck to drag me towards the teleportation gate. My mind went blank as I discovered myself inside the mansion again after a few blinks. And since we weren''t in front of other people anymore, he instantly changed. I knew he was mad but not to the point his entire face went emotionless, his eyes cold and ruthless. It didn''t compare to where he had threatened me that he would seal more than three quarters of my mana.


    "I want to know all the facts you''re hiding from me," he was showing me his patience was thin.


    "Why should I tell you? You''re going to confine me either way," I knew what the result would be.


    "You have two options Rika. The first one is where you tell me everything and return to school after two weeks. The second one is where we will return to school after a month," Luke was admitting I may be right.


    "And do you think you deserve to be let go after playing with us like that?" Alex joined us, coming from the same teleportation gate.


    "No sealing my mana and I can tell you all the facts about this incident," I began to negotiate.


    "Then we return to school after three weeks," Luke could predict I was hiding something that he would disapprove.


    "Deal," I knew it wouldn''t get better than this.


    Unexpectedly, Charles returned to the mansion to join us, sitting across from Alex. We were inside a small living room on the second floor since it was better than staying in the lobby. Before the discussion began, I ordered some tea to help me with my nerves. The room was silent as I waited for the drinks to come. Knowing I was stalling for time, Luke began to lightly tap his foot to show he was waiting for me to begin.


    "Where do you want me to begin?" I quickly planned to only answer the questions they asked.


    "How were you able to do all those spells? I know this isn''t the mana you normally possess," Alex was the first one to ask.


    "I unlocked the restraints that''s supposed to unlock once I turn sixteen for twenty minutes," I tried to keep things vague.


    "What was the condition?" Luke immediately noticed what was missing.


    "I have to be in an extreme circumstance to the point I will die without the restraint unlocking," I didn''t want to reveal this.


    I stiffened as I watched Luke''s face begin to flush into furious red, eyes reddening from incoming tears. His hands gripping onto the sofa slightly trembled, trying to hold back from lashing out. Luke always had a good control on his emotions, able to hide what he was thinking in front of others. However, everything had unraveled with only the people he could trust watching him. Letting both Alex and Charles accurately pinpoint his feelings from taking a single glance at his face.


    "How could you Rika?" Alex yelled at me for him.


    "Didn''t everything work out in the end?" I couldn''t look at their faces.


    "Are you serious Rika?" He raised his voice.


    "I knew I wouldn''t die!" I fought back.


    "Nothing was guaranteed," he pointed out.


    "I know you dislike us, but have you ever thought of things in our perspective? The people who care and want the best for you," Alex started to resemble Luke.


    "Well, you don''t have to care anymore. It''s annoying," I faintly mumbled.


    I was the most powerful person here. Only I had the ability to save everyone from Charlotte. They didn''t have enough mana to fend against her while we couldn''t stay in this mansion forever to avoid her. I had solved the entire problem for them and they were yelling at me for it. It made me feel mad since they never acknowledged my efforts.


    "You should leave her alone. She doesn''t appreciate anything," Charles turned to them.


    "You should listen to him about leaving me alone. I''m the strongest one here. Out of everyone, I have the highest chance in winning in these kinds of fights," I reminded them.


    "Do you take us as fools? Do you think you would still be alive without us nursing you back to health everytime?" Alex was close to rising from his chair.


    "I would still be alive. I have the second chance card with me," I bluffed.


    "The second chance card?" Alex confusedly turned to Luke.

 Chapter 553 - Melting into Spring (2)

    "It''s an unreliable card that gives her a second chance at life," Luke didn''t consider it as an option.


    Alex couldn''t talk anymore, completely in shock. While Charles seemed to wonder how the abilities I revealed to him came to me in the first place. Thankfully, Luke was able to calm down from Alex saying everything in his place. He steered the conversation back to its proper track, releasing some of the tension inside this room.


    "How often can the restraints on your mana be released?" Luke knew there had to be a limit.


    "One more time until I turn sixteen," I thought the limit was too cruel.


    "Using my dimensional library," I hesitantly revealed.


    "You didn''t have mana with you back then," Alex narrowed his eyes..


    "My dimensional library uses close to no mana or doesn''t use it at all," I was doomed if they knew how to counter this in the future.


    The room went silent again from figuring out what I was doing while confined to my room. I took this chance to drink some tea in front of me, trying to avoid answering more questions. However, I started to cough the drink out, finding it tasting horrible even with several packages of sugar added. I wondered if this was the price of releasing the restraints. I was going to have trouble eating more food later on with its disgusting taste. Luke passed me his handkerchief, which I accepted while abandoning the drink.


    "Your dimensional library is different from others," Charles muttered.


    "It could be," I shrugged.


    "But the school is a safe place now. The gatekeeper took Charlotte with him and restored all the damages," I wanted to show we could return to school earlier.


    "They failed in an experiment, so they probably won''t be doing this again," I explained.


    From my stomach grumbling, I decided to order some cake. This conversation was likely going to last for a while. After being forced to reveal everything that I knew, my eyes glittered when a plate of strawberry shortcake finally arrived at the table. I needed food to console me from all the cold stares in my direction. I scooped a big piece with my fork, anticipating the light creaminess of goodness. But I ended up spitting the cake back onto the plate, finding it to be too bitter. I wondered if the robots were making a mistake with the level of sweetness today.


    "What''s wrong Rika?" Luke noticed something strange.


    "I think the robots made a mistake. This doesn''t taste the same," I slid the plate far away from me.


    "Everything is the same," he went through the order in more detail.


    "You can''t eat sweets anymore," Alex arrived at the conclusion.


    Luke ordered a variety of more dishes, trying to cover everything. Passing me a spoon with a tiny portion, he made me try each plate. However, there was nothing I could eat, finding the flavour disgusting. The supplements were worse, not able to stand the smell from a certain distance. Luke''s eyes flickered with worry as he decided to give me raw sugar as the last thing. When I tried to wash out the sugar with water, his face was plastered with fear. Wasn''t this too heavy of a price for releasing the restraints?


    "I didn''t know this would happen," I found this situation scary.


    "Is it because all her accessories are off?" Charles noticed.


    "The accessories are mostly for fatigue and low stamina," Luke shook his head.


    "We''re going to the infirmary," he decided to continue this conversation later.


    "Is it because the gatekeeper lifted all the seals?" I wondered.


    "It shouldn''t matter even if the seals are lifted," he began to thoroughly check everything.


    When Luke couldn''t understand the results, I knew it had to be something serious. He pulled out his marble to send some messages to his parents, a place I didn''t want to visit. Unfortunately, a response came almost immediately, Luke turning to me, "we''re going to visit our parents."


    This was how the four of us came to be inside his father''s office. I didn''t think Charles would follow us, being a distant relative of Luke. I found it strange Luke''s family was welcoming towards him while almost ignoring Shelly during the family reunion. After explaining everything and showing the video of the fight, William''s face turned more serious. He quickly moved on to gesture me to turn while he began to scan my body for any abnormalities. Unexpectedly, he frowned before asking, "did you carry your marble during your fight?"


    "I did," I passed him my marble.


    My eyes widened as he tapped on some features I didn''t know about. Revealing all the spells I used during the fight. For the first time, I saw William freezing, not believing the display on the screen in front of him. I guessed I went overboard in some of my attacks, not wanting to lose against Charlotte. I also wanted to do all the things a cheat character could do, trying to enjoy the time I had an unlimited amount of mana.


    "We''ll have to visit your grandfather," he gave up.


    "I only used half of what I originally intended," I blurted from the awkward silence.


    "Rika, we will have to pull you out of school for another month," he activated the teleportation gate.


    The next time I blinked, I found myself in another cheat character''s office. Since William didn''t return my marble to me, he directly passed it to Luke''s grandfather, showing the history of spells. While Luke''s grandfather got an explanation of all the events, he compared the spells I used compared to what was seen in the video. After grandfather finished the video, his face was emotionless while turning to me, "using mana is a privilege. We will have to seal most of it since you have broken our trust in you."

 Chapter 554 - Melting into Spring (3)

    "I can contact the gatekeeper. He should be older than you. You can talk to him instead," I bluffed from desperately not wanting my mana sealed.


    I had portals with me to go into the fairy world. Although I didn''t know how to use it, I had more mana than normal to try it out. Fairies had a large amount of mana, meaning if I concentrated on pushing more mana into my wrist, the bracelet may appear again. The level of mana in the air was different between the two dimensions. It could be due to the lack of mana that I couldn''t summon the portals.


    I gasped when the tattooed bracelet actually appeared on my wrist. Taking this chance, I quickly tapped and desperately poured the remaining mana I had before anyone could think of sealing it. Visualising a portal into another land inside my head, I smiled when the portal began to open, creating almost a mirror image of where I stood. On the other side, all the technology was replaced with more moss while the extravagance was replaced with blooming flowers..


    "I can step into the portal and you will never see me again," I began to threaten them.


    Grandfather couldn''t hide his surprise, studying the portal inside the room. Unexpectedly, the gatekeeper was seen walking towards us on the other side. Although it was risky, I knew he would come to me with an unauthorized gate open. I smiled while welcoming him inside the office. Turning to him, I began to accuse the people in this room, "these monsters are thinking of sealing my mana because of your experiment. It would break your promise of removing the seals since they would be brought back as a consequence of your carelessness."


    "I had an agreement with her, you cannot seal her mana for this incident," the gatekeeper was on my side.


    "She is my granddaughter," grandfather managed to keep his composure.


    "I have a contract with your father, you cannot touch her," he surprisingly revealed.


    "And add the condition that they can''t confine me anywhere from now on too," I tried to add.


    "That wasn''t a part of the agreement," the gatekeeper didn''t fall for it.


    "Confine her inside an anti-mana room instead of sealing her mana," he betrayed me.


    "I can follow you into the portal," I warned everyone.


    "I will not guarantee your safety," the gatekeeper didn''t care.


    "It wouldn''t be fun if you did," I grinned.


    "My demands are simple. My mana stays unsealed while I get more freedom in the things that I can do," I had the upper hand.


    "Define freedom," grandfather started to negotiate with me.


    "I can go anywhere on the weekends and holidays instead of being confined to your mansions. I can change my appearance to how I want to look regardless of the Roselia family image. I can eat anything I want without having them confiscated. I can wear the clothes and shoes I want," I listed out everything I could think.


    "Can you close the portal with the promise we will not seal her mana?" He faced the gatekeeper.


    "I can and prevent her from going inside, please sign the agreement here," the gatekeeper made a sheet of paper appear.


    My mouth wouldn''t close as grandfather signed the agreement, making the gatekeeper disappear with the portal. I didn''t have the chance to run into the other side, everything happening too quickly. Sadly, I b?r?ly had any mana leftover to teleport to another location. Dealing with fairies quickly drained all my mana. I had to deal with these monsters alone now.


    "Is it wrong for me to want more freedom? I want to go to the amusement park, zoo, and waterpark like the others too. I never get the chance to go travelling," my knees collapsed onto the floor.


    "It''s always another day inside the mansion. Always more studying!" I had tears streaming down my face.


    These heartless people continued to watch me, not feeling anything from my tears. I hated that they didn''t agree to a single demand in the list I gave them, not giving a chance for more freedom. It was hard trying to please grandfather so he would teach me more spells later on when he thought of sealing them. His personality was awful, more than I could handle. Alongside the rest of the people in this room, all on his side.


    "Freedom must be earned. With your actions, we cannot give you any. Especially with your health worsening. You won''t be able to eat normal food for the rest of the week due to it," grandfather had a solution to my inability to eat any food.


    While Luke listened to all the instructions his grandfather explained to him, I was under the watch of his father. Stuck inside the office for the entire time, I watched some people going in and out. I puffed my cheeks, feeling it was unfair I was suffering for saving everyone from a dangerous fairy. By the time everyone seemed to be finished, Luke''s grandfather faced me.


    "You never told us about your ability in summoning a portal," he began to focus on me.


    "I''m not obligated to tell you anything," I wasn''t going to expose my trump cards.


    "One day of going outside wherever you want sometime this month," he offered.


    "I have nine remaining portals with me, but they only help me channel my power to create one," I knew one day was better than nothing.


    "How did you manage to source those portals?" Luke''s grandfather tried to sneak in another question.

 Chapter 555 - Melting into Spring (4)

    "Another day of going outside," I laid out my terms.


    "We can make it two days of going outside in total," Luke''s grandfather agreed.


    "I purchased the portals," I kept things vague.


    "You have their money?" He was surprised.


    None of them knew the money I used came from them. It was better not to tell them about how I exchanged the currencies since they could demand that they were the owners. Seeing how they considered the information to be valuable, I could use it against them later. Exposing everything today would mean I would have less power in the future.


    "How else would I purchase them?" I remained ignorant..


    "You went to their dimension once," William knew from the reports.


    "Who knows?" I hinted I went more than once.


    "You went there several times," Luke''s grandfather realized.


    "I have portals," I bluffed.


    Luke appeared stunned since we were mostly together all the time. We grew up together, living in the same dorm for around ten years, performing all our missions together and sat beside each other in class. Although we didn''t spend as much time between us in elementary school, we only briefly separated during break time. I still had to find out a way to avoid him once I returned to school, the club room not a private place anymore.


    "How many more days do you want?" He was making a concession.


    "This is as far as I''m willing to share," I declined his offer.


    "Unless you extend the offer to the rest of the weekends and holidays," I knew he wouldn''t accept this.


    "You can tell us next time. We''re still working on the issue with the media leakage so we can''t extent the offer," Luke''s grandfather decided to stop for now.


    Luke dragged me into the teleportation gate once grandfather signalled to us that we could leave. I was surprised when I found myself back at the Suilett family mansion instead of the one owned by the Roselia family. I knew this was where I would be spending my time for another month from listening to some of their discussions. Charles was the one who filled me in, "the Suilett family is known for their anti-mana tools."


    "Does it have something to do with how you were treated better than Shelly?" I wondered if the relationship was different between the people in the top-ranking families.


    "You didn''t tell her anything about this?" Charles turned to Luke.


    "I was going to when she turned a little older," Luke explained.


    I knew Luke was concealing all these kinds of information from me while expecting me to tell him everything about me. It was unfair how it wasn''t a two-way deal. I was always left out on what seemed to be common sense to others. This was why I was more unwilling to tell him about my secrets. I only confessed everything when I was forced with no other option.


    "Everyone from the top five ranking families are related in some kind of way. We''re all family. We secretly work together while commanding our own fractions," Charles gave a brief summary.


    "Even Ben?" I wondered.


    "The heir of the Nuelle family and I are second cousins," Alex revealed.


    "Is that why you''re usually secretive of those swords around others?" I recalled the special swords only the heirs could carry.


    "You cannot tell anyone about those swords," Luke reminded me.


    "But it''s just a sword. You take it out during a fight anyways," I was confused.


    "We only take them out in front of you," Alex pointed out.


    "Can I get my own sword?" I wanted my own for emergencies.


    "You won''t even be able to use it. How will you be able to learn all the skills with your weak body?" Charles exposed everyone''s thoughts.


    "I''m not that weak. I can run around the entire mansion without getting tired," I had used heal on myself earlier today.


    "You''re going to faint Rika and the sword is too heavy for you," Luke disapproved.


    Unfortunately, I could notice Charles and Alex increasingly treating me as if I was helpless, experiencing being inside my body for a brief period. While Luke had always tried to prevent me from doing things that he disapproved. This was exactly why I felt so suffocated all the time, getting harshly scolded whenever I helped save everyone from danger. Making me more frustrated when no one would do anything if someone else did the same things as me.


    Since I expected them to stay inside the mansion, I couldn''t predict that we would go shopping the next day, having Shelly join our group from my pestering. I grimaced while scanning everything inside the store, evident that Luke was making all the purchases for me. I didn''t understand why I needed more clothes when my size b?r?ly changed. My closets were filled with accessories and shoes to the brim in the mansions. Only the ones in school had disappeared from Charlotte stealing them.


    I sighed as Charles passed me five dresses for me to wear that he chose for me. They were definitely enjoying this, choosing the most uncomfortable ones. In exchange for giving me the freedom to move around the mansion, I didn''t have a choice but to try on everything they asked. It was definitely going to be more of a pain later on, watching them join Luke''s hobby of coordinating everything I wore.


    "When are we leaving?" I ?r??n?d.


    "We''re going to the next store after an hour," Luke created a tight schedule.

 Chapter 556 - Melting into Spring (5) - Shellys POV

    I watched Rika lazily about to lay down on the sofa, looking annoyed from trying on many dresses. Luke glared at her to properly sit, warning her that he could add to Charles and Alex choosing her clothes, shoes and accessories. Rika cutely puffed her cheeks as if she was a squirrel, immediately fixing her posture. I almost smiled, forgetting about this familiar scene since it has been a while that I had seen her.


    It was extremely comfortable in using the dorm room by myself with Alex gone from Rika''s excessive stalker. I could do whatever I wanted, not caring about messing things slightly by an angle. Everyone inside the club room sometimes rejoiced, not having to maintain their image in front of Luke and Alex. Although we pitied Rika, we couldn''t deny how everyone was in a better mood, including the teachers.


    Miliana was the happiest out of all of us. She skipped into the classroom with a big smile, nearly humming a bright tune. I had never been in a long conversation with her before, only the two of us in the classroom. She shared the latest gossip and rumors in the school with me, trying to confirm some of the news. I wondered if living with Charles was that miserable, remembering her shy demeanor ever since she transferred into our class..


    Maybe I would tell the others on how Rika was doing since she wouldn''t be returning to school for another month. I knew the Roselia family was working on handling her extreme fans trying to follow her around everywhere. The store we were inside was completely reserved, only us as its customers. Luke had messaged me the previous day to invite me to shop with them, mostly due to Rika.


    There were many beautiful items inside this shop, making me contemplate on which ones I should purchase. Unfortunately, most of the items I liked were expensive, costing around my entire monthly allowance. However, I had saved my money for six months, allowing me to get the chance to buy around five things. Noticing a beautiful necklace, glimmering with diamonds embedded into tiny flowers, I reached out my hand.


    "This is for Rika," Alex quickly swiped it away.


    "But Rika hates necklaces," I waited for him to pass it to me.


    "That''s why it''s for her," Alex passed the necklace for Rika to try on.


    "Can''t you let Shelly have it?" Rika complained.


    "You already chose so much," she gestured to the large pile on the table.


    "Do you want us to take back the deal?" He began to threaten her.


    Rika instantly tried on the necklace, making the piece appear more splendid with her lovely face. I couldn''t help but agree that the necklace would look better on her than me. Her long slender neck and smooth collarbones resembled a doll. Alex proudly smiled with his pride increasing from finding many successful matches. I never thought he would have this kind of hobby, treating Rika as a dress-up doll.


    However, I knew Luke liked dressing Rika, going shopping with her often. It seemed Rika was used to this, groaning while watching Charles being passionate as Alex. Charles didn''t take a break, searching for the most gorgeous dresses for her to try. I grimaced when noticing the extremely small waists for some of them. It was surprising when Rika perfectly fit into them, not appearing tight on her.


    The staff went silent as Charles and Alex continued to pick the most exclusive and expensive items, almost toppling on the counter. Luke didn''t join them, helping Rika with the accessories and dresses instead. However, he added his opinions whenever they brought an item for her to try. If it wasn''t for him, they would''ve almost emptied the entire store. When he was about to pay for Rika''s accessories and dresses, Alex quickly handled the bill before him.


    "I''m going to choose more in the next store," Alex explained.


    I wondered how many stores we were going today, finding her current pile to be already overdone. The next place we visited was a shoe store, making Rika roll her eyes from the sight. Rika hated her shoes to the point she would try to put them off when Luke wasn''t looking. But the shoes here were stunning, sparkling from the hints of sunlight. My hand reached out to a pastel pink flats, comfortable but decorated with pretty ribbons.


    "Wait. I saw it first," Charles claimed the flats for Rika.


    "I let you take the bracelets for Rika in the last store," I wasn''t willing to give in.


    "Choose something else," he narrowed his eyes.


    "Let Shelly have them," Rika looked like she was fed up.


    "Do you want to be confined to your room again?" He warned her.


    "I''ll try them on," Rika received the shoes from him.


    Once we arrived at the shoe store, Luke set the rules on which ones they could choose. His guidelines made sure Rika would be able to wear them later on. Meaning, their only options were the comfortable ones with low heels or none at all. But there were many comfortable shoes in this shop, making me admire its practicality. I wanted to come back here again with Sienna and Delia.


    My hand collided with Alex, brushing on the edge of his sleeve when I found an adorable slipper. I stiffened when he looked at me with disgust from the slight touch. Dumbfounded to the point that I didn''t realize the shoe was gone. Unexpectedly, Charles lowered his voice while explaining to me, "Rika trashed his entire closet. All his clothes turned into rags and had to be thrown out."

 Chapter 557 - Melting into Spring (6) - Shellys POV

    My eyes went large from Charles'' explanation. Alex''s clothes were only second to his precious collection of watches and rings. I was surprised he would let my friend go for this. In fact, he wasn''t doing anything when she pulled on his sleeves, telling him that she was tired and needed a break. If anyone else stretched his clothes, it was likely he would hold a large grudge against them. I wouldn''t be surprised if he searched for a chance to take his revenge.


    I accidentally tugged his sleeve, mistaking it for my hair a few years ago. However, he yelled at me for hours, not taking a break for ruining his shirt. And for the rest of the year, whenever we ran into each other, he would always maintain a fixed distance away from me. From then on, I always remembered to pay attention to my surroundings. I wouldn''t go close to his closet if I wanted to live a peaceful life with him.


    Alex also hated other people touching him, but it didn''t seem to apply to Rika. He was familiar with Rika touching him, often taking care of her to help Luke.. Sometimes, he was the one to touch Rika like shaking her awake for classes in the morning routine video. I knew that whenever Alex left our dorm room, it was due to nursing Rika back to health. But he expected something in return from Rika.


    Lately, he almost possessed an equal authority as Luke when giving permission in what she could do. While he didn''t care what I did in the club room, he always made sure Rika was following the rules Luke had set for her. When Luke couldn''t make it to the club room one day, Alex went to the club room without him. He was harsher than Luke, nagging Rika for almost everything. From pointing out she was wrinkling her uniform from rolling around the floors to how she couldn''t roll her eyes at him.


    He tried to scold her privately, pulling the office walls up. But he forgot to turn on the sound-proof setting on from being too exhausted, overloaded with fraction work. Everyone in the club room pitied Rika, not noticing most of the mistakes he pointed out. They didn''t know Luke and Alex always treated her like this. Luke and Alex mostly left her alone in the club room with the exception of dragging her back to the dorm room when the sky started to get dark.


    "We''re going to the next store soon," Luke interrupted my thoughts.


    I understood why Rika hated these shopping trips now. It was different from hearing her complaints to actually seeing what was happening in front of my eyes. She didn''t have a choice but to follow everything they said. Otherwise, she would get threatened by them that they would confine her to her room in the mansion. While I had always admired the things inside her closet, I didn''t consider the painful process behind them.


    It was hard not to pity Rika. Charles and Alex were intentionally buying everything for her, knowing she would suffer from their purchases. I gave up on buying something for myself, everything soon taken away from them. By the time they were finished, I was exhausted while Rika was already sleeping in Luke''s arms. Although I felt bad for my friend, I couldn''t follow them on another shopping trip again.


    "Would you like to rest at our mansion before returning to school?" Luke politely offered.


    I accepted his offer, following them into the teleportation gate. I raised my head, the mansion magnificent and sparkling inside. But the main floor was nearly filled with their orders for Rika. I couldn''t close my mouth, staring at the pure number of boxes. I didn''t realize they had purchased this much. Luke didn''t seem to think it was unusual, ordering the servants to put them into one room.


    "When is the next shopping trip?" Charles turned to Luke.


    "Maybe in the summer," Luke was already thinking ahead.


    I couldn''t believe they were going shopping again that soon, wondering how Rika was going to wear all the purchases they made today. They had to have spent more than a hundred million Aris. Rika wore her uniform all the time in school, making all the clothes they purchased to be rarely worn anyways. With Charles paying for the bill in one of the stores, Luke made Rika change into one of the dresses Charles chose. While Rika wore the shoes and accessories purchased by Alex.


    Luke placed Rika on the chair in the dining room. He took out several bottles of medicine, trying to spoon feed her while she was unconscious. It was awkward watching them, finding the feeling to be different than watching it through a video. Whenever Rika frowned, he slowed his pace while rubbing her back to help her digest the drink. Rika coughed sometimes, making the drink splatter, ruining his shirt. However, Luke worked hard to finish feeding the bottles to Rika without a break, taking more than an hour while I enjoyed my chocolate milkshake.


    "Return to school if you''re done with the milkshake," Alex turned to me.


    "I want to be with Rika longer," I knew Rika would be disappointed if I left.


    "She''s not going to wake up anytime soon," Alex started to look annoyed.


    "If it wasn''t for Rika begging us for hours you wouldn''t be here in the first place," he added.

 Chapter 558 - Melting into Spring (7)

    "Where is Shelly?" I found myself inside my bedroom.


    "Michelle returned to school," Alex was the one to answer.


    "You should have woken me up," I turned to Luke.


    "Grandfather gave me a sheet for you to write down all the places you want to go for the two days," Luke passed me the sheet.


    My eyes brightened as I grabbed the paper from him. I could finally visit some of the items in my bucket list.. I opened my marble, taking out all the research I have been doing while I was bored. Most of the items had a time-space feature inside them, letting me make the two days into a week if I planned carefully enough. I didn''t plan to sleep since each hour was extremely precious.


    "Can you even go to all those places?" Charles read the partly finished list.


    "I''m definitely going to all those places. Do you think I''m going to waste my time sleeping?" I defended myself.


    "It''s like you''ve never been to these places before," he continued to watch me add more to the list.


    "I have never been to those places before. It''s my first time getting the chance to visit everything on the list in my life," I sadly revealed my confined life.


    "It''s limited to two days since we''re going to rent out everywhere that she wants to visit to increase the security," Luke explained.


    "All of them?" Charles was stunned.


    "It''s the only choice we have," Alex sighed.


    When I finished my list, I passed it to Luke. I didn''t mind if they rented out everything, it would mean I wouldn''t have to wait in line. Maybe Luke didn''t know there were many places I wanted to go. He briefly froze while reading everything. I wrote down a detailed schedule of how I would spend the entire day, precise to its hour.


    "Your body won''t be able to handle this Rika," Luke predicted.


    "Take some items out of the list," he passed it back to me.


    "Have you ever heard of play until you faint?" I had a plan.


    "If you faint, we''re taking you back to the mansion immediately," he pointed out there was nothing I could do if I was unconscious.


    "But I''m not going to faint," I passed him the paper again.


    Many performers stood in their positions, dancing in beautiful costumes or doing extravagant tricks like controlling fire and earth to their will to create stunning objects. How was I ever going to leave this place? I was so glad the time-space function would extend the time to allow me to spend the entire day here. I practiced manipulating my mana extensively to increase my stamina for the past week.


    I screamed when dropping down on the highest tower as it rushed to the ground. Even the merry-go-round was different, realistic horses running with the background changing as if I was actually riding through the other dimension. Since the amusement park was a large place, I only went on each ride once. I was surprised when Charles looked exhausted around the twentieth ride, thinking he would have more stamina than me.


    "You don''t have to follow us. You can rest if you want," I suggested.


    "Where did you get all this energy?" Charles was struggling to match my enthusiasm.


    "Isn''t everyone like this when they visit the amusement park?" I wondered.


    Talking to Charles was wasting more of my time. I quickly finished the conversation to go on more rides. These people were really creative, the haunted house made Charles almost cry and jump a couple of times. Luke politely offered his hand for him to hold since he uncontrollably trembled. I was always good at haunted houses, obsessed with watching horror movies in my former life. Instead of getting scared, I admired the good artwork behind them.


    "You don''t have to push yourself. I''m planning on going to the lower floors," I felt a little guilty.


    "No one comes out the lower floors alive," Charles'' voice wobbled.


    "They''re not real," I couldn''t help but comfort him.


    "I can walk with you to the entrance before going to the lower floors with Rika," Luke offered.


    "You guys aren''t normal," Charles nodded his head to accept the offer.


    I sighed as I had to wait for Luke to return. Nothing in the haunted house gave me the chills like being chased by monsters and fairies. I needed something more thrilling. Screaming my lungs out helped me vent my stress from the past few months. I tapped on the screen with the brochure displayed to go to the scariest one. Alex stiffened when he watched me smile.


    "Are you sure Rika?" Alex tried to talk me out of it.

 Chapter 559 - Melting into Spring (8)

    "They have actual weapons here!" My eyes twinkled.


    The props were well done. It resembled their family mansion if it were to be neglected for many years. Many moving paintings were plastered onto the walls alongside the fancy wallpapers. Faint hints of dust swirled around the floors, making me cough a couple of times. Everything gave out an ancient feel from resembling the furniture from the third district. Meanwhile, I avoided all the daggers and swords scattered around the floor.


    I picked up a dagger, finding it light enough to carry. However, I failed to lift the swords, which were heavy metals. I was disappointed with the lowest floor, the reviews mentioning how everyone ran out in the middle. I could see through all the illusions of people screaming and objects dashing towards me. Instead, I briefly froze when I threw a dagger to one of the machines, producing some crackling light like it was broken..


    "Is this really the lowest floor?" I wondered.


    "We''ll have to improve this floor," Alex agreed as his family owned this amusement park.


    "Would you like me to increase the difficulty level?" A worker suddenly appeared in front of us.


    "You even have fairies here?" I could recognize them at first glance now.


    "How did you figure out?" The fairy stepped backwards.


    The fairy had an overwhelming amount of mana drifting out of him. His glimmering silver hair resembled the people from the Roselia family. I gasped from finding it perfectly identical when shining some light on him, the light bouncing off in the same way. In fact, he could be mistaken as an older version of Luke, both of them possessing the same angular jaw, large ocean blue eyes and high cheekbones.


    "I''m close with the gatekeeper," I shrugged.


    "Are you two related?" I started to compare them.


    "Are you from the Roselia family?" He noticed our similarities.


    "He''s from the Roselia family," I gestured my hand towards Luke.


    "I am your ancestor, the founder of the Roselia family," the fairy revealed.


    Luke was stunned, staring at his ancestor who turned into a fairy after his death. While Alex was already sending a message to his parents and uncle. I wondered how his ancestor turned into an amusement park worker. He was probably the one scaring everyone on the lowest floor, possessing enough mana to pull out a variety of spells. Compared to the rest of Luke''s family members, he seemed laid back with his friendly grin.


    "You should have told me you hired fairies," I turned to Alex.


    "We don''t hire fairies," Alex was equally surprised from the reveal.


    "They''re paying you the proper wage, right?" I faced the founder of the Roselia family.


    "I''m doing this for free. I had enough of working for money while I was alive," he didn''t think much of it.


    "Your family is rich now. You can ask them for money while enjoying your time here. You''re the founder," I suggested.


    "My stringent son made sure I wouldn''t be able to touch anything even after my death," he sadly smiled.


    "Or you can ask Luke to buy everything for you," I offered another alternative.


    "Would you?" He turned to Luke.


    "I will have to ask my father," Luke hesitated.


    "Uncle said to cancel the outing for today. He wants us to visit granduncle''s mansion," Alex turned to Luke.


    "What about the agreement?" I didn''t want to leave.


    "He said they''ll make it up by giving you the rest of the two days in the future," he urged me to begin walking to the entrance.


    With the addition of a fairy, Charles'' jaw almost dropped. He couldn''t stop staring back and forth between the founder of the Roselia family and Luke. I stepped into the private teleportation gate, usually used for emergencies. Although I was greatly disappointed that I had only spent three hours in the amusement park, they were giving me more hours than promised in return. I briefly froze when I noticed Alex''s parents inside grandfather''s office, sitting down on the couch beside William.


    "It''s their fault for hiring fairies," I blurted so they couldn''t blame anything on me.


    "Let me introduce myself. I am Louis de Roselia, the founder of the Roselia family," Louis noticed the stiff atmosphere.


    "This is the chance to ask them for money," I whispered to him.


    "How much wealth do they possess now?" Louis lowered his voice so only I could hear.


    "A thousand million Aris is nothing to them. They probably have hundreds of billions Aris in the bank. They even own multiple famous banks," I told him everything I knew.


    "This is much more than what my son gathered," Louis was impressed.


    "Let us offer you a mansion while you stay in this dimension," Luke''s grandfather was respectful towards him.


    "I would also like several billion Aris to fund my stay," Louis tried to see if they would accept his request.


    "I''m afraid it will take time since we will have to open a bank account," Luke''s grandfather surprisingly accepted.


    "You''re not asking for enough," I elbowed Louis.


    "Why ask for money when you can own the bank?" I pointed out.


    "Rika, I will give you an additional day if you don''t interrupt our conversation," Luke''s grandfather noticed our exchange together.


    "Two additional days and I will tell you our entire exchange," I tried to negotiate.


    "He''s exactly the same as my son," Louis mumbled as he watched us.

 Chapter 560 - Melting into Spring (9)

    After visiting grandfather''s mansion that day, I received one more day of freedom. However, it was undetermined when I would be able to use those days. I was stuck in the mansion again with b?r?ly anything to do. Until I came up with an amazing idea from recalling the visit at the amusement park.


    "Luke," I tugged on his sleeve.


    "Can you buy this for me?" I clasped my hands together.


    My eyes twinkled as I showed him the item I wanted. It was a beautiful Victorian doll wearing a splendid dress, filled with frills and ribbons. Its blue eyes were made of glass crystals in combination with porcelain carved features, the hair sparkling into light gold. When I initially found the doll, I was stunned from how realistic it appeared.


    Luke stared at the screen, looking a bit confused.. I have never shown any interest in dolls before. At the same time, I had never asked him to purchase something for me. He provided everything I could possibly need to the point nothing was lacking. I swiped on the screen to show him the different dolls. I wanted more than one and there wasn''t much of a difference between them anyways.


    "How old are you to want to play with dolls?" Alex watched our exchange.


    "Fourteen," I faced him.


    "Will you buy them for me then?" I brought out my pitiful eyes.


    "What do you want them for?" Luke found things to be suspicious.


    "I want something to cuddle with other than my pillows," I had a plan.


    Dolls were always used in horror movies. I could use them on Charles for revenge by making them move around in the night. Everyone noticed how he tightly squeezed Luke''s hand whenever the props in the haunted house moved around. If I added to it by riling him to watch some horror movies with me revolving around dolls, it would become more effective. This was why he shouldn''t have forced me to wear all the dresses he purchased for the rest of the month.


    "One doll if you listen well during the study sessions," Luke gave out the condition.


    Since I was fuelled by revenge, I surprised Luke and Alex by doing more than listening to them during the study sessions. I did everything they asked me to do, from following the schedule they created to finishing all the handed supplements. By the end of the week, my eyes brightened when I found the doll I wanted on top of the cabinet beside my bed. It was time to carry out my plan.


    I knocked on Charles'' door, possessing a horror movie in my hands transferred by Delia. We both loved scary games while Sienna stayed far away from them in the club room. I had to admit that Delia had good taste, reading the reviews that it gave everyone nightmares for weeks. When Charles opened his door, he was close to closing his door again from taking a glance at my face.


    "Wait. Are you possibly scared of me?" I smirked.


    "What do you mean?" He narrowed his eyes.


    "I came to watch a horror movie with you, but since you knew you chickened out," I intentionally provoked him.


    "Let''s see that movie," Charles had his pride touched.


    I brightly smiled as I entered his room. The marble was a very handy tool, allowing you to watch any videos on them. I sat on his bed as I tapped on the screen to start the movie. Surprisingly, Charles didn''t seem to be scared, mocking the people for their bad acting. However, he didn''t know the main protagonist was the doll in the movie. Thankfully, I had a very similar doll inside my room. By the time the movie was finished, he scoffed at the people who got scared when I showed him the reviews.


    "You won''t tell Luke and Alex about this later on because you got scared, right?" I needed it to stay a secret.


    "I swear on my family name," Charles mocked my thought.


    Since I was finished with the first part of my plan, I walked back to my room. I had to sleep early if I wanted to get up in the middle of the night. Although Luke was suspicious that I went to my bedroom right after dinner, he left me alone since he was busy with fraction work. After I set an alarm in my marble, I closed my eyes.


    When the marble vibrated in my hands, I instantly rose. This was the time to place a spell on the door and infiltrate it into Charles'' room. I discovered many spells from using my dimensional library during the past week to make it seem the doll was haunted. There was a way to stay inside my bedroom while controlling the doll by looking through its eyes. I chanted to teleport the doll into his bedroom, finding him deeply asleep once the doll was placed.


    Unexpectedly, he appeared as if he was an angel while he slept. His sleeping face was cute and filled with innocence, showing his young age. I started to focus on the spell, creeping the doll into his bed. I needed to poke him several times to wake him. However, Charles instantly opened his eyes, wondering if there was anything else in his bed. When he spotted the doll in his blankets, his face instantly went pale, not knowing about the recent purchase.


    I knew that movie would be effective! After Charles placed the doll outside his room, he trembled in his bed, unable to sleep. Since I couldn''t let Luke discover the doll, I whispered to chant another spell to make it return to me. I grinned while stroking the doll''s hair, thinking how lovely it appeared today.

 Chapter 561 - Melting into Spring (10)

    "Do you have another hairbrush? I need to comb Kristie''s hair," I asked Luke while he brushed my hair.


    Luke passed me the hairbrush he was currently using and walked to pull another one out from one of the drawers. I had to keep Kristie''s hair untangled to make sure she always appeared perfect. Nothing was more terrifying when you were looking into the glass eyes of a beautiful doll. Messy hair would make the doll look less realistic. I planned to carry this doll around me all the time to mess with Charles.


    Once he finished brushing my hair, he passed me a dress to wear for the day. I wondered if there was any way to wear the same outfit as the doll. This way, Charles would be reminded of the doll whenever he ran into me. I didn''t change into the dress to ask, "is there a dress resembling Kristie''s dress?"


    "There are a few similar ones," Luke studied Kristie''s dress.


    I brightly smiled when he passed me a white dress filled with many frills and ribbons. Although it wasn''t perfect, it was ninety percent the same. I was impressed by how quickly he was able to find that dress. I didn''t have to ask him to pick the same accessories as Kristie, the ones he slipped onto my wrists and hair were very similar. I was glad that Luke could predict what I wanted. When I walked into the dining room for breakfast, Alex stared at me holding Kristie.


    Except for the colours of our eyes and hair, we were almost the same. I couldn''t wait to see Charles'' expression once he joined us. I ate very slowly since he wasn''t coming at the usual time. When he finally came to the dining room, I could notice that he didn''t get any sleep last night. His face remained pale while his gaze appeared a little unfocused compared to normal. This was the perfect time to begin talking to the doll.


    "What should we do today Kristie?" I held the doll up.


    "You''re going to join my study sessions, and practice the violin and piano today," I recited the schedule for today.


    Charles stiffened from recalling a similar scene from the movie while Alex looked at me as if I was a crazy person. I tightly hugged the doll afterwards to replicate the actress'' actions. However, Luke seemed to be indifferent, seeing the doll as harmless. After I finished my breakfast, I walked towards the study room. I never thought I would enjoy watching Charles while I talked using the doll each time.


    "Do you understand this part Rika?" Luke pointed at a question inside the workbook.


    "Kristie says Rika doesn''t understand what you''ve been saying for the past ten minutes. She''s getting distracted from Charles," I brightly smiled.


    Both Luke and Alex turned to Charles, noticing his hands were uncontrollably shaking under the table. I stroked Kristie''s hair as I pretended that I didn''t know what was going on. I knew Charles was thinking that the doll was purposely making me obsessed with her. In the movie, the doll used her owner to victimize the people around her. Since Charles was too focused on trying to pretend the doll wasn''t inside the same room, he was on the same page in the workbook for the last hour.


    "Are you feeling unwell today?" Luke didn''t know it was because of the doll.


    "It''s because I couldn''t get much sleep last night," Charles reluctantly confessed.


    "Would you like to touch Kristie? Is it because you wanted to play with her too?" I recited the same lines from the movie.


    "Don''t let that doll near me!" Charles almost shouted.


    "Kristie is sad," I pretended to pout.


    "Are you scared of that doll?" Alex noticed.


    "I''m not scared of dolls," Charles instantly refuted.


    However, I winced from a loud scream when I creeped the doll into Charles'' blanket again during the middle of the night. I quickly teleported the doll back into my room since there was a chance that everyone else had woken. When I heard some footsteps coming towards my bedroom, I slipped into my blankets to pretend I was sleeping. But I didn''t expect that Charles would knock on Luke''s bedroom door instead.


    "Is there anything wrong?" Luke woke from his scream.


    "Can we sleep together tonight?" Charles'' voice wobbled.


    My eyes widened as I knew how much Charles was letting go of his pride to stay in the same bedroom as Luke. I wanted to see the fear on his face, opening my bedroom door while rubbing my eyes with Kristie in my arms. I was surprised to know I wasn''t the only one joining them, Alex behind me from wondering what was going on. Luke widely opened his door, allowing Charles to join him.


    "Thanks," Charles'' eyes were red.


    "Kristie is wondering what is going on," I walked closer to them.


    "Don''t come closer to me!" Charles'' trembled with fear.


    "Go back to sleep Rika," Luke wondered why Charles was scared.


    "Kristie wonders why you can''t sleep alone at night," I smirked.


    "Is there anything wrong with your bedroom?" Alex offered to check.


    "Can you sleep there for tonight?" Charles'' didn''t hesitate to take his offer.


    I hoped that Charles wouldn''t sleep with Luke every night.. I wouldn''t be able to continue slipping Kristie into his blankets without Luke noticing.

 Chapter 562 - Melting into Spring (11)

    When I explained everything to Miliana through a call, she was surprised to know Charles'' weakness. I wondered if it was because they never went to a haunted house together before. While Alex slept in Charles'' bedroom for the past week, he couldn''t find anything. Although I felt a little guilty for going a bit over the line, he deserved it. And Charles was sharing the room with Luke anyways, not giving me the chance to slip the doll into his blanket anymore.


    "You are officially my new best friend," Miliana radiantly smiled.


    "Since we''re returning to school soon, you should start purchasing your own dolls while you have the chance," I let her know.


    "I''ll make sure that everyone in school will carry them around," Miliana ended the call.


    I couldn''t wait to see Charles'' expression once we returned to school. He made sure to maintain a certain distance away from me since I was always holding onto Kristie. Luke knocked on my bedroom door, wondering why I wasn''t coming to the dining table for dinner. My conversation with Miliana lasted for hours since she was catching me up to all the latest news happening in school. It was interesting to know how everyone in the club room was doing.


    "I was planning to come soon," I stepped out of my bed.


    I quickly ran into the dining room before Luke could nag me for not keeping the time. Seeing where Charles sat, I took the seat beside him. My usual seat was beside Luke, on the other side. Luke gestured to me to sit in my usual seat where all the plates he picked were placed for me. I shook my head as I grabbed Charles'' arm. Although it was unfortunate that I forgot to take Kristie with me, he couldn''t look at my face since I resembled her.


    "I want to sit here for today," I was about to order the plates I wanted.


    "Repeat the dining rules Rika," Luke began to warn me.


    "It''s just for today," I wondered why he couldn''t let me go.


    "You already made all of us wait for you since you were late," he was giving me a chance to switch spots.


    "Charles comes late sometimes," I pointed out.


    "Kristie was disappointed every time," I turned to Charles.


    "Go back to your seat," Charles elbowed me.


    Since I had pestered Charles enough, I returned to my usual seat before Luke could threaten to take Kristie away. In the middle of eating my salad, I came up with a great idea. There was one scene in the movie that I had really liked. But I couldn''t re-enact it unless Charles began to sleep on his own again. I plastered a mocking smile on my face, "how old are you? Two? You can''t even sleep alone."


    "Do you really need Luke to sleep with you every night?" I provoked him further.


    "Who''s the child here? You''re the one who always cries and begs us to end the study sessions sooner," Charles fought back.


    "I can sleep alone at night. Only babies can''t sleep alone because they need their parents. You''re worse than a child," I smirked.


    "I can sleep alone at night!" Charles landed in my trap.


    "When?" I teased him.


    "Starting from tonight!" He proudly stated.


    I silently cheered inside my heart while I pretended that I didn''t notice how both Alex and Luke considered us to be the same. Their impression of Charles drastically changed since he started to live together with us inside the mansion. They realized how easy he was to manipulate since he got caught up in his emotions easily. Whenever Charles and I got into a fight together, Luke stopped the fights by poking his pride while he endlessly lectured me afterwards.


    After Charles couldn''t sleep alone, they didn''t consider him as their equals anymore. He was equally under their set rules as much as I was. Luke didn''t hesitate to pile loads of work from his fraction onto him. Charles was surprised from Luke''s change in attitude, not remaining extremely polite anymore. He began to get scared of Luke, who always threatened him that he would have to sleep alone if he didn''t listen to everything he demanded.


    However, Charles couldn''t win against Luke. Everything that Luke demanded from him would benefit him in the end. When Alex joined to support Luke, Charles began to look at me for help, momentarily forgetting about Kristie. My revenge was almost complete. I placed Kristie inside his room again in the middle of the night. Like I had expected, he loudly screamed to wake all of us. I slapped my cheeks to make my face appear flushed before I began to stomp to his bedroom.


    "How could you steal Kristie from me? Were you this jealous?" I slammed his bedroom door open.


    "The doll is haunted!" Charles pointed at Kristie.


    "It''s just a doll. What can Kristie do?" I yelled.


    "Seriously?" Alex watched us.


    "You know how I carry her around all the time. You take her away from me as soon as I separate from her?" I raised my voice.


    "The doll moved on its own!" Charles'' voice wobbled.


    "We should get rid of that doll," he was in the process of chanting.


    "You did everything on purpose to get rid of Kristie!" I gasped.


    "Give Kristie to me," Luke coldly gestured to Charles.

 Chapter 563 - Melting into Spring (12)

    "Is this why you wanted the doll?" Luke had seen through my act.


    "How would I know he would be so scared of dolls that he would hallucinate? Everyone carries a doll with them these days," I hoped Miliana was able to push her revenge through.


    "Call Michelle," Luke wanted to confirm the facts.


    Alex called Shelly through his marble. Surprisingly, Shelly accepted the video call, looking annoyed. I had to hide my smile when I noticed the background had three dolls resembling mine, laid out on her bed. Miliana was really working hard to spread the dolls everywhere. Alex froze from noticing the same dolls, questioning if everything wasn''t planned. Luke couldn''t take away the doll from me since I was supposedly telling the truth.


    "See! Everyone has a doll these days!" I gestured to him to give Kristie back.


    "The entire school is haunted," Charles was about to faint.


    Luke gave Kristie to me back, still suspicious of the whole thing. We were visiting the school in the morning anyways. Everything would be confirmed by then. Luke sighed while letting Charles share his room again. Although I didn''t understand why we couldn''t come back to the school a bit earlier, it wasn''t like I could do anything. We were only going to take our exams since we couldn''t do them in the mansion.


    The next morning, I stepped into the teleportation gate, dressed in my uniform. My eyes widened when I noticed everyone holding their own doll. Their dolls wore our uniform, detailed to the point I was impressed. Everyone matched the accessories they wore with the doll as well. Miliana had really outdone herself, making Charles'' face go pale while looking at the same scene as me. Both Luke and Alex were stunned, facing the school that had greatly changed while we were absent.


    "What''s wrong with everybody?" Alex whispered.


    "And you thought I was weird for wanting Kristie? Everyone else has more than one doll," I bluffed.


    "I''ll buy you another doll depending on today''s results," Luke watched a few people holding two dolls at once.


    I basked inside the warm spring air, my first time going outside after defeating Charlotte. I admired the rose garden, something I had always taken for granted. Everything appeared more alive, full of energy as the remaining reminiscence of winter had completely disappeared. It was a pity I would have to leave this place so soon. Meanwhile, Charles used Luke as a shield to block the view of the dolls.


    I was filled with energy as I took the exam. One more doll meant double the torture for Charles. Since the results immediately came out, my jaw almost dropped from getting nearly Bs for every subject. I had to admit that Luke''s schedule was more intense than school sometimes, going over everything more thoroughly. Meanwhile both Luke and Alex received perfect scores, something that wasn''t unusual.


    "Don''t buy her another doll!" Charles knew what Luke was about to do.


    "You''ll need to eventually get over your fear of dolls," Alex was on my side.


    "Rika!" Miliana came running towards me.


    "Charles is so scared of dolls that he tried to get rid of Kristie," I remained ignorant it was my plan.


    Miliana held three dolls in her arms. She slightly smiled when Charles instantly shifted away from her. Everyone could notice his hands shaking while his eyes were full of fear. There was nothing Charles could do against Miliana when she possessed clear power over him. Miliana and I quickly exchanged successful glances together. Before anyone could notice anything fishy, she left after greeting us.


    Normally, I wasn''t supposed to be close with Miliana. I rarely hung out with her, but many things changed when I tried to expand my revenge to a wider stage. Unfortunately, Luke gave into Charles, looking like he was going to faint any minute. He closed the screen where he was about to purchase another doll. I couldn''t wait until I permanently returned to school. It was hard being stuck around the same three people all the time.


    "You have a doll too?" Alex noticed Ethan walking towards us.


    "Everyone has a doll these days," Ethan brightly smiled while watching Charles cower in fear.


    "Dolls can be enjoyed at any age," I pointed out.


    "You should get your own soon since the stores have trouble keeping up with the demand," Cillian joined us.


    "I need another Kristie!" I grabbed Luke''s arm.


    "You should be more considerate towards others," Luke wondered why everyone was crazed with dolls.


    "How is it my fault that he''s shivering in fear because of a couple of dolls?" I raised my voice so everyone in my surroundings could hear.


    "I''m not scared of them!" Charles shouted to defend himself.


    "Then you should be fine if Kristie gets a friend!" I started to attract more attention towards us.


    "It''s a waste of money. How old are you to want to play with dolls?" He screamed, offending everyone in the process.


    "Then don''t get one for yourself. Don''t bother others," Ethan instantly turned cold, pretending he wasn''t doing this intentionally.


    "It really seems the heir of the Lumiere family is scared of dolls," a person murmured.


    "He was trembling the entire time," another person agreed.


    "Poor Rika, all the dolls will be sold out before she can purchase one," a person pitied me.

 Chapter 564 - Secret Room (1)

    "What? Repeat everything again," I faced Oili in a call.


    "Haruka gave Luke a document on that room since he''s the next fraction leader," Oili sighed.


    "Why?" I felt my mind going blank.


    "Normally, fraction leaders do an inspection of all the storage rooms to see if they''re being used. Most of the storage rooms get rearranged whenever social week comes around," Oili explained.


    This was extremely bad. Social week was coming up a month from now. Luke was very busy working on the documents that he mostly left me alone in the mansion lately. He was definitely going to burn everything in that room once he discovered it. I would become a goner with everyone else in that plan. Since Oili knew this, he was depending on me to get rid of the document on my end.


    "Let''s start by moving everything out of that room," I needed help.


    "I can move some of it into my dorm room," Oili agreed.


    I quickly ended the call, running to Charles?? room. Charles used his bedroom in the daytime while sharing a bed with Luke during the nights. Without knocking, I slammed his door open, being pressed for time. Charles would equally get in trouble for giving me that room if the whole thing got revealed. Unexpectedly, he was in the middle of changing. He swiftly pulled down the other half of his shirt as I closed the door behind me while placing a sound barrier.


    "Get out," he was close to yelling.


    "This is more important," I sat on his bed.


    "Haruka gave Luke a document on that room and we have to destroy it before Luke touches it," I summarized.


    Charles instantly froze, thinking along the same lines as me. Ever since Luke started to treat him differently, he began to fear him more than Kristie. I waited for him to finish changing while trying to think of more ideas. The first thing I needed to do was to distract Luke from touching the work from the rival fraction. I was also going to become busy later on from contacting everyone I knew to move my stuff into their dorm rooms.


    "I can search for the document," Charles had access to the office.


    "Luke will know there''s something going on if anything is out of place," I warned him.


    "We''ll have to sneak into the office at night and return everything back to normal in the morning," I suggested.


    "He won''t be suspicious if I quickly go through the work in the morning," Charles knew he had no other choice.


    "We can do both. I''ll do what I can from him touching more work," I was allied with Charles.


    "And from now on, we need to have a sound barrier inside your room to update each other on everything," I was telling him about my lack of privacy from Luke.


    "We should meet after every dinner," Charles agreed.


    "I''m already starting to move everything out," I hoped Oili had a big dorm room.


    When someone knocked on his door, both of us stiffened, knowing the person on the other side. Since this was no time to be panicking, I quickly unfroze to place the sound barrier down. Was it because I was usually in my bedroom by this time? Luke knew how I usually spent my days from limiting me to certain places in the mansion. After letting me go from finishing his planned schedule, I normally ordered many desserts like I did at school.


    "Is Rika here?" Luke was looking for me.


    "You really don''t have any privacy," Charles pitied me.


    "I know how to handle this," I walked to open the door.


    "What do you want?" I faced Luke.


    "You weren''t in your bedroom," Luke studied Charles and me.


    "I''m not always in my bedroom. You promised to leave me alone after finishing that schedule for the day," I reminded him.


    "And aren''t you busy lately?" I pointed out the piling documents in his office.


    "We need to choose your outfits for social week," Luke was already preparing.


    "You''ll let me choose everything?" I was surprised.


    "I have to make adjustments based on how you fit in them," he chose everything in advance.


    Luke didn''t have time this year to choose my outfits with me. He was likely going over the tiny details on how everything would go along together when I wore them. I ?r??n?d as I followed him to my room. I knew I may end up with uncomfortable ones if I refused. However, this was the perfect time for Charles to go through the documents. I sent him a quick look that I would stall for time.


    "I''m not wearing that," I crossed my arms.


    "Try them," Luke passed me the dress.


    "You try them," I smiled as I discovered I could stall lots of time from this.


    I wondered how Charles was doing with the documents. While Luke was getting fed up with me, I continued to push him to his limits.. I really didn''t want to sneak into the office at night, the chance of getting discovered would be higher.

 Chapter 565 - Secret Room (2)

    "How did it go?" I whispered into Charles'' ear.


    "It''s impossible to find. There''s too many documents," Charles noticed Luke trying to listen to our conversation.


    "How long will it take you?" I wondered.


    "I can''t do this alone. It''ll take me at least a week," Charles lowered his voice.


    A week was too long. I couldn''t break into the office last night since I spent the entire time distracting Luke with choosing my outfits for social week. When Luke left my room, he locked the door with him. I didn''t have many chances to talk to Charles other than pretending to ask him more questions from the workbooks during the study session. Luke knew we weren''t close to each other.


    However, Luke was the busiest after dinner since that was when a new inflow of documents arrived from the fractions that we were in. The time we chose as our daily meeting. I sighed as I loudly asked Charles another question about calculus. Luke couldn''t do anything if I was actually studying. But I knew he was starting to get suspicious alongside Alex.


    "When did you guys get close?" Alex narrowed his eyes.


    "We watch movies together sometimes," I elbowed Charles.


    "Where did you get those movies?" Luke made sure there was no entertainment inside the mansion.


    "Documentaries," Charles pointed out the only other videos available.


    "You don''t give me the chance to do anything. There''s nothing but boring documentaries to watch," I knew it was one of Charles'' hobbies.


    Charles was frustrated with nothing to do except for studying and working. The school forum wasn''t active when everyone was busy with classes. All his swords were broken, and he couldn''t leave the mansion. The school was still handling the videos and pictures taken of us. This was when he turned to documentaries with all his requests denied by Luke. He was helpless under Luke and Alex as much as I was. We didn''t need any words to exchange pity between each other.


    "We should get rid of the documentaries," Alex muttered to Luke.


    Both Charles and I stiffened, wondering what harm documentaries could do. I didn''t have access to the documentaries anyways since I was banned from the library. The only other way to spend our time was to call other people using our marbles. Alex whispered something to Luke, soft enough that both of us couldn''t hear. When I took a peek at Charles, his face hardened, regretting that he used the documentary excuse.


    "You''re not letting her watch even documentaries?" Charles knew it was mostly because of me.


    "Documentaries are biased. You know Rika will believe everything inside them instead of using them for research purposes," Luke explained.


    "They''re for entertainment purposes!" I wondered how stupid they believed me to be.


    "I''m done! You''re taking away everything you can right now," I rose from my seat.


    "If you leave this room then our exchange is gone," Luke waited for me to sit down.


    I slumped back into my seat, feeling frustrated I couldn''t do anything. It was better to quickly get this through this schedule and find the document. After I suffered through the rest of the day, I flopped onto my bed. It was time to make some calls while Charles was busy with searching for the document. Thankfully, I still had around five cages of bugs inside my inventory. I called Ethan, hoping he had more space to hide my stuff.


    "Three cages for hiding my stuff from the storage temporarily into your room," I offered.


    "Five and I''ll take a quarter of the things in that room," Ethan smiled.


    "Four and you''ll help Oili after you move the quarter out," I started to negotiate.


    "If Luke figures out, then we''re all dead," I warned him.


    "Deal," Ethan ended the call.


    I smiled when I received a message from Oili. Everyone else from the club room had offered to hide my stuff, taking around half the room in total. I only had a quarter left to hide. Unfortunately, the dorm room Charles shared with Miliana would fit around half a quarter, being a bit smaller than mine. I really didn''t want to do this, but I called Jules next. Another person who was equally doomed. Unexpectedly, he picked up the call right away.


    "I need you to hide my stuff for me," I sighed.


    "Why would I do that?" Jules wasn''t friendly with me anymore.


    "The karaoke machine. What do you think will happen if Luke figures out?" I pointed out.


    "Where is the storage room?" Jules instantly changed.


    "Contact Oili, he''s leading the entire plan with me," I gestured to our other club member.


    "I only have enough space to hide half of the things from the former club room. I have to hide them from Yulee," Jules wondered how I would handle the rest.


    "Everything else is taken care of," I secretly cheered in my heart.


    I ended the call, able to focus entirely on the document since I was able to find enough people to hide all my things. I had to distract Luke from working to help Charles. I walked to the office they used, knocking on the door. Thankfully, Luke opened the door, wondering why I would come here. He knew I avoided him as much as possible.


    "Kristie says Rika is bored.. She wants you to play with her," I held the doll in my arms.

 Chapter 566 - Secret Room (3)

    "You can help with the documents," Luke gestured to me to come inside.


    "Can you reverse the ban on the kitchen, library, pool and the other rooms instead?" I tried to sneak in.


    "You can start on this pile," he ignored my request.


    "Kristie says Rika wants to do something else!" I wondered if I could mess all the organized documents.


    I pouted while walking to my seat when Luke went back to his work. My foot was placed in front of my other leg to intentionally trip on the ground, bumping into a pile of documents. I had to hide my smile when everything toppled on the table like a domino. A pile of papers immediately flew around the room, slowly drifting down onto the floors. I made my eyes well with tears as my head crashed against the carpet.


    "Just kick her out of the office," Alex seemed furious.


    Everything Alex was working on became disordered. I knew it would take around half a day to reorganize all the documents again. Luke began to lift me into a chair to study my injury from the crash. When several drops of blood began to drip down from my forehead, I was shocked. Alex instantly stopped grumbling as he grimaced from the scratch on my face.


    "It''s hard to walk around in this room," I had tears streaming down my face.


    "We can move some of the documents to another place," Luke sighed.


    Charles immediately began to rush through the documents while Luke healed my injury. I started to cry harder when I noticed there was no way Charles could search through the towering piles within a week. It would be even harder with everything he worked on mixed with the ones that weren''t touched. We needed another person to help us. Someone Luke was willing to let inside the mansion.


    "There''s nothing to do in this mansion. Kristie only wanted some people to play with Rika after taking away everything from her," I used the doll.


    "I need to reorganize all the documents," Luke separated from me after he healed everything.


    "Not even a day?" I tried to seem extremely disappointed.


    "Kristie says Rika doesn''t have any friends to be with like she does in school. You also don''t buy her any dolls or toys. All sources of entertainment have vanished, making Rika feel lonely," I pulled out my most pitiful eyes.


    "I can purchase one thing for you," Luke recalled my grades that had improved.


    "Kristie says Rika wants to play with real people now," I silently cried in my heart.


    This was a great chance to ask something from Luke. However, the document about the storage room came first. As soon as that document came to light, I would be confined to my room. Worst case scenario, everything that used to be inside that room could be gone by the time I returned to school. When I slightly turned my head, Charles'' hands never took a break as he pretended to reorganize the documents.


    "I can spare an hour," Luke gave in.


    I had a plan on how to distract him. I recalled some hand games I used to play in my former life when I was younger. It was hard trying to retrace all the moves as many years had passed by. There was really nothing I could do with Luke other than childish games that didn''t need any tools. I pulled him towards my bedroom as I went over the steps inside my head. I really hoped Charles would manage to find the document today.


    "This is what I do with Sienna sometimes," I began to teach him the rules.


    I never did this with my friends. We were too busy complaining about school or using the artifacts in the club room. Luke awkwardly followed my movements as we lightly touched each other''s hands. It was no fun since he wasn''t putting much force into his hands, and unexpectedly winning. He quickly adapted to the rules to the point it made me suspect who came up with these games.


    "Your hands are going to get red," he stopped after twenty minutes.


    "We can do hide-and-seek next," I had a backup plan.


    I desperately needed to find better games. I hid under the sofa in one of the many living rooms while Luke started to count down for five minutes. He was definitely going to find me soon with his level of attention to the details. There was no way he would play tag since he didn''t like me running around indoors. I would instantly lose in all the other games for the same reasons as well. How was I going to distract him?


    "Rika?" Luke entered the living room.


    My face went downcast as he instantly checked under the sofa. The search didn''t last longer than twenty seconds.. It was time for backup plan teatime with Kristie to kick in, but with actual desserts and drinks.

 Chapter 567 - Secret Room (4)

    "You had enough desserts for today," Luke took away the tablet from me.


    The table had two teacups filled with rose water while the teacup for Kristie was empty. I struggled to maintain my neutral expression as spending time with Luke was starting to get depressing. I only ate a few slices of cake for dessert today and he wasn''t letting me eat more. Cake was all I had to comfort me while dragging the time out. I began to cry inside my heart, watching him set limits in how much cake I could order per day.


    I sipped on some tea while awkward silence loomed inside the room. When my marble started to vibrate, my eyes slightly widened from getting a call from Jules. I swiped on the screen to accept the call, making it turn into a video to show Luke was with me. Jules had to be extremely careful to not reveal anything. It was such bad timing as Jules'' stiffened from noticing Luke sitting in front of me.


    "Were you able to find your doll?" Jules spoke in code.


    "Kristie rolled off the bed at night and I wasn''t able to notice," I was telling him Charles was still looking for it.


    "Are you close to finishing your tea?" He was asking about our progress.


    "The teacup is still very full," I sadly smiled.


    "It would be very nice if you could join us this weekend," I knew Luke would let him visit us.


    "I''m going to come Friday evening," Jules would be joining us tomorrow.


    "Thanks, I really needed one more person here," I ended the call.


    It was likely Jules already knew Charles was trying his best inside the office. And there was no other reason I would willingly spend more time with Luke other than stalling for more time. I tried to cover my face with my teacup as Luke began to study me. He was probably wondering why Jules had called in the first place. We weren''t supposed to be close to each other like Charles. I secretly made my marble go into silent mode as I pretended to brush my hair off my dress.


    "We can play some card games next," I pulled a package out of my inventory.


    Thankfully, Charles had passed me some cards before I left the office. It was a last resort, knowing it may get confiscated later. Charles was really sacrificing a lot since he b?r?ly had anything in his inventory that Luke and Alex didn''t know about. He knew how hard it would be to distract Luke for a long period of time. After finishing the tea, I began to place some cards onto the table.


    "Where did you get those cards from?" Luke knew everything I possessed.


    "I borrowed them from Charles. We play some games together after we finish watching some documentaries," I flawlessly lied.


    "It wasn''t stolen," I added when he started to get suspicious.


    My face slumped as he immediately confiscated them after one game I introduced. It was a game based on chance, guessing on what card would come out next. I wondered what was bad about playing with cards, we weren''t betting on anything like others normally did. I didn''t want to play matching games since I knew he would win in a matter of seconds. His reflexes were fast, allowing him to quickly go through the cards.


    There was twenty minutes remaining on the clock when I checked my marble. Luke was right, an hour was enough time to do everything with him. It was time to bring out all the paper-based games he would definitely win. I pulled out a notebook and pen and started to write some lines to play the word guessing game.


    "You try to guess the word based on how many letters it has from counting the number of lines. Each time you get it wrong, a part of a body gets drawn in a line of a stick," I began to teach him.


    "The floor is lava and you have to move to another selected area in the mansion as a safe zone. Without using any mana and not touching the ground," I recalled one of my favourite games.


    "The first mission is to get to the other room beside this one," my eyes twinkled.


    I lightly jumped onto a piece of furniture before throwing some pillows on the ground to travel. I didn''t know how Luke would do this without using any objects but continued to move. I would instantly pick up the pillows to keep using them. Dropping my pillow on the floor, I found Luke was already sitting on the couch inside the room next door. I looked down at the floor to discover some sheets of paper. It was easier than using the pillows.


    "The hour is over," he checked his watch.


    "I don''t mind if I spend one additional hour with you every day," he surprisingly offered.


    I brightly smiled, nodding my head to accept his offer. Although I didn''t want to spend more time with him, Jules and Charles needed all the help they could get.. I silently cried inside my heart as I watched him leave the room.

 Chapter 568 - Secret Room (5)

    "I can''t do anything with Alex in the room," Charles lowered his voice.


    "I''ll try to make Alex join me. Luke already agreed to spend an additional hour with me every day," I sighed.


    This was a depressing meeting while we pretended to study together. It was hard enough to handle Luke, but it would become a disaster with Alex. I walked to Alex, who sat across from me. I made my eyes twinkle, filled with great expectation. I placed my hands on his shoulders, slowly beginning to massage them, "can you join me for the one hour that Luke is spending with me? It''s no fun when you play games with only two people. I''ll also listen to everything you say during the day."


    "Please?" I pulled out the saddest face I had.


    Charles'' jaw almost dropped as I continued to pester Alex. I poked him several times to get him to look at me as my eyes welled with tears. Since he lightly hit my hand when I tried to do the massaging. I tugged on his sleeve and clasped my hands together each time he warned me to stop. My last hints of pride dropped as I slumped onto the floor, "I won''t get up from this spot until you say yes."


    "I''m busy Rika," he icily stared at me.


    "It''s only one hour," I started to beg him on the ground.


    "I''ll finish everything you ask me without any complaining," I gestured to the workbook.


    "Alex is busy Rika," Luke started to pull me up.


    "He can''t be busier than you. It''s like you''re saying he''s less capable than you, so he needs more time to finish everything," I provoked him.


    Alex ignored me, not falling for the trap I laid out. I pretended to be greatly disappointed while walking to my chair from Luke''s warning. I had a chance at lunch time, a couple hours from now that also served as a break. When I sat down at the dining table, I didn''t touch any of the plates on the table. Starving for a day wasn''t bad. I turned my head when Luke passed me a spoon full of food.


    "I''m not eating anything unless Alex joins us," I began to negotiate.


    "Alex has nothing to do with you not eating," Luke urged me to accept the spoon.


    "Skipping a meal isn''t bad," I sneaked a peek at Alex.


    Unfortunately, Alex wasn''t watching us like he was eating alone. I was really letting go my pride today as I ran to grab onto his leg. Alex stopped eating, looking down at me who tightened my grip. Although his gaze was cold, there was nothing he could do. I had experience in begging people from fighting with my friends to use the club room.


    "Only for an hour every day?" I made my face turn pitiful.


    "Let go of my leg Rika," Alex warned me.


    "Reverse the ban on the library, pool and going outside to the garden. Let me use the mana practice room too. Or you can join me for an hour," I was telling him I was dying from boredom.


    Charles dropped his fork as he watched me hug Alex''s leg. When Alex finished his meal, he struggled to walk from the extra weight. My body was being dragged on the floor every time he took another step. This made Luke place the spoon down, walking towards us to pull me off from Alex''s leg. However, he didn''t know I was sending some mana into my hands to make my grip even stronger.


    Luke started to put more force into separating me from Alex as I was able to counter it. He had to start with my hands instead of lifting my waist. I never thought I would be grateful in knowing how to effectively beg. I ignored Alex getting more annoyed, about to shake me off him. I had the upper hand since both of them didn''t want to injure me. It was much easier than others who didn''t hesitate to fight back.


    "Only for an hour," I repeated.


    "Begging doesn''t work with me Rika," Alex knew my plan.


    "I can continue this for the entire week. I''ve done this before," I revealed to everyone.


    "You actually did this before?" Charles was stunned.


    "I did it for an entire month," I was an expert in this.


    "Let go of Alex and we can have a talk in your bedroom together," Luke didn''t know my begging skills.


    "We can have that talk here," I had my ears open.


    "Did you know you''re really good looking?" I started to flatter Alex.


    "I stared in the mirror for a long time when we switched bodies. You''re really smart too. I always admired your perfect scores. Shelly doesn''t deserve someone like you. Your figure is really nice, especially your abs that''s normally hidden. You have a lot of muscles in your arms and legs even though it appears elegantly slender," I mixed some lies with the truth.


    The room went silent from my series of compliments. I wondered if I didn''t flatter him enough. The first thing that came to my mind was his appearance. I decided to continue to see if there were any impacts, "you also come from the prestige Monete family known for their wealth and power. But you''re not arrogant from your background. In fact, everyone praises your hard-working personality.. They say it makes you appear more attractive."

 Chapter 569 - Secret Room (6)

    Alex was a hard opponent. He didn''t give into any of my flattering for the last twenty minutes. Meanwhile, both Luke and Charles were surprised by the number of things I came up with. They knew I hated Alex, frequently getting angry at him while b?r?ly listening to what he said. It was a signal to Charles to work harder on finding the document once I managed to convince Alex.


    However, I could notice Alex was slowly beginning to give in. I continued with my compliments, "you''re too good for anyone. You have an excellent sense in fashion as well. I secretly liked all those dresses you purchased for me. If Luke let me have access to them, I would wear them more often. I''m even wearing all the bracelets you bought for me."


    Luke listened to me flawlessly lie to Alex. He had to force those bracelets onto me this morning. Threatening me multiple times in the process and extending our morning routine by almost an hour. All the dresses Alex bought for me were also the same. Everything had to be tailored multiple times since he had a hard time convincing me to wear them. But Alex didn''t know what happened behind the scenes.


    It wasn''t hard to continue flattering him for another two hours. I had great skills in making things up from trying to convince my friends in changing turns with me. Although Alex was stunned, he stayed in his spot. Only Luke knew most of the compliments were lies. It was time to ask my objective again, "so only one hour?"


    "Let go of my leg Rika," Alex didn''t fall for my trap.


    "I can''t let go of your leg. It''s too stunning," I knew I was going over the line.


    "I don''t think I will be able to let go for the next month," I began to threaten him.


    Alex finally exploded, shaking his leg with all his strength. I hid my smile, loosening my grasp to be kicked onto the table. My back crashed against the chair, a few meters behind where Alex was positioned. I slid onto the ground, my bones broken from the crash. This was the best time to earn more pity. I crawled on the floor, ignoring the pain that started to spread everywhere in my body.


    "One hour?" I coughed some blood on his shoe.


    "I can do more than an hour," Alex''s face was filled with great guilt.


    I didn''t think he would be easier to convince than my friends. Whenever any of us got injured, we knew that everyone would work together to heal each other later. Alex began to heal me, pouring a tremendous amount of mana in the process. It was like I was never injured, moving all my limbs again to check if they were working. I vomited some pent-up blood rising up into my mouth, "do you swear on your family name?"


    "I do," Alex wondered if he didn''t heal enough.


    I instantly changed my attitude once the deal was sealed. Wiping the blood off my lips, I brightly smiled, "you''re easier to convince than everyone else. And you thought begging wouldn''t work."


    "You actually planned everything?" Charles couldn''t close his mouth.


    "I told you, I did this for a month," I shrugged.


    The room went silent again, everyone being completely surprised. Since I was starting to feel hungry now, I took a bite of my salad before walking towards my bedroom. I ignored Alex who felt like he was scammed while Luke silently checked for any remaining injuries. When I was about to leave the dining room, Luke grabbed onto my wrist to stop me, "finish everything on the plates and apologize to Alex afterwards."


    This was how the three of us ended up having teatime with Kristie. Jules immediately went to the office to help Charles, not bothering to greet us. Although the atmosphere was extremely awkward, it was better than just having Luke with me. I could move onto better games that was done in groups. I decided to start with a gentle one, "we can play house. I can be the father while Luke is the youngest child and you can be his older sister."


    "Is this what you did yesterday??? Alex turned to Luke.


    "How about another game Rika?" Luke nodded his head.


    "Can we play the hand game for a while? There''s one we can play with the three of us," I suggested an alternative.


    "We can play hide-and-seek next. Alex can be the one who counts down for five minutes," I repeated the schedule from yesterday.


    I hid under Luke''s bed, a place I wouldn''t normally enter. Surprisingly, his bedroom door was open. Taking a quick glance of his room, everything was perfectly organized, resembling his bedroom at school. All the furniture remained simple but elegant, choosing modern patterns with rich fabrics. The colours were toned in blues and greys, the opposite of my pink and white arranged room.


    I hoped Luke wouldn''t willingly lose as I needed to stall for time.. I stiffened and began to hold my breath as I heard footsteps coming towards my direction.

 Chapter 570 - Secret Room (7)

    "Can I check your room?" Alex asked Luke.


    "It''s the last place we didn''t check," Luke agreed.


    My mind went blank as Luke revealed himself within the first ten minutes since we switched to playing hide-and-seek. I guessed it was better than twenty seconds like yesterday. I was glad I was inside an invisibility spell, holding my breath for a long time. Like I had expected, Alex immediately checked under the bed. I was floating a bit above the floor, not showing any traces of someone on the floor.


    "She''s not here," Alex continued to scan the area under the bed.


    "Are you sure?" Luke joined him.


    An invisibility spell was the newest spell to join my repertoire. I read it from the dimensional library yesterday. I needed to keep my concentration up as it would flicker in and out of existence often. It also consumed a great amount of mana, making me chant the spell beforehand before entering the room. After looking under the bed, Luke gave up when he didn''t notice anything.


    "We should search the entire mansion again," Luke began to leave his room.


    After they walked to the first floor, I was able to take a deep breath. My invisibility spell wore off as I hoped they wouldn''t return. I tiptoed out of his room and walked into Alex''s bedroom while placing a sound barrier. It was another room that was surprisingly open. I opened his closet doors, finding a space big enough that I would be able to fit. Unexpectedly, time quickly passed, twenty more minutes adding to the clock.


    I had ten minutes until the hour was over. My ears perked as I heard them walking towards this floor again. I didn''t want to play lava floors when hide-and-seek was more peaceful. Paper games were another route to a makeshift study session and the cards were confiscated. When Alex opened the door to his room, I desperately began to rack my brain for more ideas.


    "Are you sure she didn''t leave the mansion?" Alex wondered.


    "None of the alarms went off. She should be hiding somewhere," Luke began to check Alex''s bed.


    I briefly froze when Alex stepped towards his closet. When he opened the closet doors, there wasn''t enough time to teleport to another location. I raised my head to find him gesturing to me to get out of his closet. I instantly stepped out of the cramped space, my back a little stiff from staying there too long. Before they could say anything, I turned to Luke, "it isn''t any fun if you don''t play the game seriously. Did you actually try hiding?"


    "I hid behind the curtains," he intentionally chose a poor location.


    "You have to move around so the person that is searching doesn''t find you," I revealed my new tactic.


    "No wonder we couldn''t find her," Alex muttered.


    "We''re going for round two," I had eight more minutes with me.


    "This time, I''m the one who is counting down for a minute," I changed the time.


    I closed my eyes as I loudly began to count down the time. We didn''t have enough time to count down the usual five minutes. When I opened my eyes, both of them had disappeared from the room. But since they didn''t bother to hide their loud footsteps, I knew they were inside my room. I sighed as they weren''t trying hard enough. I pretended to look for them inside Alex''s bedroom, stalling for more time.


    When around a minute was left, I opened my door to instantly find Luke covering himself with my blanket while Alex hid behind the curtains. I knew they were doing this on purpose, tapping on Luke that I found him before pulling on the curtains to reveal Alex. Hide-and-seek was depressing with them.


    "The hour is over," Luke found it ending at a perfect time.


    "I''m going to check what you touched inside my bedroom," Alex immediately left us.


    They needed more motivation. Something to make them try harder. Unfortunately, I received a message from Jules that it would take at least the rest of the weekend to find the document. My head lit up as I started to draw some paper dolls and houses inside my notebook. With a pair of scissors, I cut them out while following the lines. The next day, both Luke and Alex stared at the paper ornaments.


    "We''re going to play with dolls today. Hide-and-seek isn''t fun anymore," I hoped this would change their minds.


    From then on, Alex''s impression of me hit rock bottom. He had no expectations for me anymore other than listening to him during the study sessions. Luke never had any expectations in the first place, holding onto the doll while following the storyline. I was impressed how they made their voices pitched a bit higher to go along with the script. I knew they were trying, both their eyes looking a bit miserable.


    "Maybe we should play hide-and-seek for the remaining ten minutes, but we could go through another storyline," I pretended to contemplate.


    "We can try harder in hide-and-seek," Luke placed the doll down.


    "But Kristie is joining us this time," I could hide her in a spot near me.


    "Let''s start the game," Alex wanted to leave the room.


    Since both Luke and Alex didn''t want to play with dolls anymore, they instantly hid in better spots to drag the time. However, I enjoyed how they suffered while holding the paper dolls in their hands.. To get my revenge, a quarter of the time was spent playing hand games, half an hour in playing dolls and the rest in hide-and-seek.

 Chapter 571 - Secret Room (8)

    "What do you guys do during the hour?" Jules was curious.


    "We have teatime with Kristie, play with paper dolls, do some hand games, and hide-and-seek," Luke revealed at the dining room table.


    Charles dropped his spoon, slowly turning to my direction. I shrugged my shoulders, finding it another way to get my revenge. Jules went silent, not believing Luke, looking at Alex to confirm the details. Alex miserably nodded his head, "we do it for an hour."


    "Is your teacup full?" I wanted to know the progress.


    "It''s still very full," Jules was telling me he needed more time.


    "What do you think of extending the time to two hours?" I faced Luke.


    "You have Jules to help you now," I pointed out.


    Alex had already agreed to spending more than an hour from his initial promise. If Luke agreed, the time could be automatically extended for the both of them. To convince him, I chugged some supplements in front of me. I pulled out the most pitiful eyes again as I tugged on his sleeve. Luke sighed as he pulled out some conditions, "one more additional workbook and you have to finish everything I give you during mealtime."


    "I''ll finish everything," I began to touch the tiny portions.


    Jules only had today to help Charles with the documents. By the time the next round of weekends came, everything would already be revealed. I was happy that a week remained from returning to school. It was hard suffering from the lack of entertainment here. I didn''t like pretending that I enjoyed playing with dolls, creating a storyline for them was annoying. Without a script, the whole thing would quickly collapse.


    "We''re spending the rest of the day on Kristie," I was too lazy to continue the usual schedule.


    "We''re playing Kristie says. If Kristie says anything, you have to follow it. But if she doesn''t, you get eliminated. If the game ends, we''re going back to playing with paper dolls," I hoped the game wouldn''t end.


    This had to be enough motivation for them to try hard in continuing the game. Alex stared at the paper dolls like he wanted to rip them apart each time I pulled them out. Meanwhile, Luke was soulless as he went along with everything I said. I wanted to end spending time together as much as they did. The three of us were a horrible match together with completely different personalities and ways we spent our usual time.


    "Kristie says tightly hug each other," I started the game.


    Before I could eliminate them, Luke and Alex tightly hugged each other, not leaving much space between them. I was surprised by how desperate they were to avoid the paper dolls. They waited for me to undo the order, two good looking faces turning to me. If I didn''t grow up with them, it was likely I would have melted from the scene. I had to hide my smile as this could be fun.


    "Kristie says let each other go and do a backflip and follow it with three twirls. Rika says add an upside-down handstand. Kristie says to quickly return to the sofa after everything is done," I wondered how good they were dancing.


    I was always the target of their criticisms during the daytime. Dance was included in the schedule three times a week. However, I rarely saw them dancing as they focused on instructing me. The light demonstrations amounted to nearly nothing. My eyes widened as I admired their perfect backflip and twirls. The angles and lines were exactly the way they shouted at me to follow.


    It looked different from the way I did it in the mirror. The clothes properly stayed in their places while the created air made their hair beautifully flow with every movement. It was no wonder they always muttered that I had many faults to fix. Once the routine was finished, they returned to the sofa, not falling for my trap in the middle of the command. I slightly sulked as I wanted to watch them dance for a longer time.


    "Kristie says to play a duet piece inside this room. Rika says only one of you can play. Kristie wants to hear a happy song," I placed more tricks.


    I was stunned how Luke was always prepared for any kind of situation. He pulled out a violin from his inventory and passed another one to Alex. I was tempted to make him show me his inventory to me. My ears were filled with a brilliant sound, the alluring sadness almost bringing me to tears. I was slowly melting under the gorgeous piece, showing the great song choice. These were the true elites in school. Someone Luke wanted me to become one day.


    "Kristie says to play everything backwards until now," I interrupted them.


    They made me amazed at how they instantly played the entire song in the opposite tune. In fact, Alex seemed to be enjoying the challenge, slightly smiling in the middle of it. I had to stop with everything they were good at now. I immediately cancelled the order to make them massage my shoulders and legs. Luke frowned as he massaged my legs, "I''m putting some packs on them tonight. Both of your legs are strained."


    "Her shoulders are really bad. They''re close to being permanently damaged," Alex turned to Luke.


    I was wondering why they were overexaggerating everything. Although I had to admit my body was sore lately from hide-and-seek, it wasn''t that bad.


    "I destroyed it!" Charles slammed the door open.

 Chapter 572 - Secret Room (9)

    "Seriously? How many?" I was told there were several pages.


    "One," Charles hung his head down.


    "Are you kidding me? What are you doing here?" I urged him to leave.


    "Did you know how hard it was?" Charles wanted some praise.


    "Do you want me to clap for you?" I coldly faced him.


    "The others should be nearby. If only you didn''t mess everything that day," Charles left the room.


    How could Charles forget both Luke and Alex were inside the room with me? I sighed as I could tell he was consumed by the happiness of destroying a single page. Thankfully, the entire conversation was incredibly vague. I gave them an explanation before they asked for one, "I accidentally released some bugs into the office. Charles killed a bug."


    They knew about the several cages of living bugs inside my inventory, making both of them freeze. It was incredibly hard to get rid of bugs with the system placing more importance in preventing them from getting in. This was why I made sure I never took the cages out except for transferring them to Ethan.


    "How many did you release?" Luke hated bugs as much as I did.


    "Six," I recalled the number of pages.


    "We should move everything out of the office," Alex slightly shuddered.


    I silently cheered inside my heart that they didn''t question my explanation. Everything clicked inside their heads for the reason why I was closer with Charles lately. I was supposedly trying to hide the released bugs from them. They were also too disgusted with the fact they had bugs crawling around their office. Although it didn''t explain why Jules joined us, they didn''t say anything about it.


    "We destroyed five of them in total," Jules resembled Charles, not knocking on the door.


    "Go back. There''s still another one," I pointed at the door.


    "Still?" Jules became dejected.


    "Isn''t that why Charles isn''t here with you?" I wondered.


    "He was waiting for the good news," Jules sighed, closing the door behind him.


    Both of them sneaked into the office at night, staying up to search for the entire document. I had a tough time joining them as I returned to my room in the middle of the night. My eyes wouldn''t stop closing from the intense schedule I suffered in the daytime. I didn''t have any energy drinks and caffeine to help me, the lack of sugar in my body making me weaker. Once they determined I wasn''t any help, I was tasked with distracting Luke and Alex instead.


    "I can''t congratulate them when there''s still a bug out there," I explained.


    Later in the evening, Jules, Charles and I had an emergency meeting in Jules'' bedroom. I had no choice but to sneak into the office tonight to help them find the last page. The three of us were extremely close from one common goal. In fact, my friendship with Jules was almost repaired. We needed to plan so that the same event wouldn''t repeat again in the future.


    "Did you make sure to delete the original file?" I turned to them.


    "Haruka has the original," Jules had forgotten since he was busy searching for the copy.


    "Message him to delete it!" I almost yelled to Charles.


    "I''ll make sure to delete the other copies and original," Charles'' hands became busy with sending more messages.


    "What are we going to do about the future of that room? You can''t continue to hide everything from Yulee forever," I pointed out.


    "I can bribe the teachers to give a secretive room unrelated to any fractions for research purposes. I''ll make sure to move everything into that room by the time you come back," Jules had a plan.


    "How about the security of that room? We''re doomed if Luke eventually finds out," I poked the weakness in his plan.


    "I''ll install many prevention measures, adding face recognition and fingerprints. I can spell everything with Oili," Jules explained.


    "And make sure to bribe the teachers enough so they never reveal anything to Luke," I added.


    "We can fortify the room by adding barriers in the process. I have some friends that can help," Charles was equally desperate.


    "I can stay up tonight. We have to find the last page today. How''s the progress?" I wanted more details.


    "It''s not easy. Luke is quickly working through all the documents that it''s inhumane. He was close to touching the pile we were searching until Charles volunteered to take over," Jules sighed.


    "Is the two hours helping?" I wondered.


    "It is. We abandon doing any work and purely search for the pages," Charles nodded his head.


    "Are you at least close to finding the last page?" I needed to know.


    "It''s somehow separated from the rest. It''s gotten harder since Haruka sent them more documents, mixing everything when Luke reorganizes the piles every day," Jules revealed.


    "Do you think it''ll help if I make things messier?" I offered.


    "Don''t. It should be the last resort," Charles blurted.


    "Are there any signs Luke is suspicious?" I hoped their acting was good enough.


    "Luke is too busy to have time to be suspicious. He''s more strained for time ever since you began to distract him," Charles smiled.


    The three of us stiffened when someone knocked on Jules'' door. We all knew the person on the other side of the door. It was not good if Luke discovered the three of us together.. I wondered if Luke was truly busy with fraction work.

 Chapter 573 - Secret Room (10)

    Jules instantly placed the sound barrier down, shouting, "is there anything you need?"


    "I''m looking for Rika. I couldn''t find her anywhere else inside the mansion. I need to place some packs on her since it''s around the time she goes to sleep," Luke explained.


    I shoulders slumped, regretting I made Luke massage my legs earlier today. Maybe I would leave the massaging to others next time. I turned to Jules for help since I didn''t know what to do. There was an option of hiding inside his bedroom. My hiding skills have improved from playing hide-and-seek so often. Although I was sick of these games, they were useful sometimes.


    ''Quickly teleport to your room,'' Jules mouthed to me.


    I nodded my head, silently chanting to return to my bedroom. Once I found myself in my room, I stiffened when I noticed Alex was already inside. Luke already had someone waiting for me on the other side. Alex immediately sent a message to Luke, letting him know where I was. I flopped onto my bed as I wondered if I really needed those packs today. My marble faintly vibrated as I got a message on the conclusion of the meeting.


    "What?" I muttered when Luke entered my room.


    "You were playing hide-and-seek with Jules?" Luke bought Jules'' excuse.


    "There''s no rule to only play it with you," I was glad Jules was used to dealing with Luke.


    "He agreed to join us for two hours next weekend in exchange to stop the hide-and-seek other than its allocated time," Luke had added another member to our group.


    I rose from the bed, forgetting the possibility that I would have to continue spending more time with them after this whole issue was resolved. I really didn''t want to continue this whole thing for another week. I planned to abandon it after coming up with a decent excuse. But it was obvious Luke would become suspicious if I stopped spending time with them out of nowhere. My mind went blank as I dropped onto my bed again.


    "Is Charles joining us?" I didn''t want another member.


    "Do you want him to join us?" Luke didn''t add him yet.


    "It''s fine. We already hang out together lately," I excluded all the meetings we had together.


    "I''ll make sure he joins us," Alex evilly smiled.


    I knew Alex was thinking it was unfair only Charles was off the hook while he suffered. However, I had to make sure Charles wouldn''t join us in case we wouldn''t be able to find the document today. I opened my mouth to repeat the same excuses, "Charles is busy. He doesn''t have time to play with us. If you really want him to join us, choose the weekends."


    "And we''re not busy?" Alex was pointing out he had more work than Charles.


    "Charles is slow in everything. It takes him more time to help Luke. Someone needs to be working to decrease the pile," I indirectly complimented them.


    "Charles is working really hard lately in getting rid of the bugs. Do you want the bugs to increase?" I added.


    The room went silent as I defended Charles. I had to change my line of games if Jules was joining us next weekend. I didn''t want to torture him like I did to Luke and Alex. Both of them left the room after placing the packs on me. Unfortunately, it was hard to move around in them, the weight slowing me down. I decided to sleep after reading the message to join them in the middle of the night.


    When my marble vibrated in my hand, I quickly rose from my bed. I silently closed the door and teleported to the office once I was a far distance from Luke''s bedroom. The lights were dim as both Jules and Charles were already searching for the document. My eyes widened as the piles had gotten worse, touching the ceilings. It was no wonder they had a hard time to search for a single page.


    "I''ll search this pile," I offered.


    "We already went over that pile. Take the one beside it," Jules pointed.


    I sighed as my hands became busy with scanning the entire pile. You couldn''t use mana to search for the document, it would leave a trace. Everything had to be done manually due to the confidentiality. I was glad I got some sleep earlier today. Although a few hours passed, there were no signs of the page. Haruka was going to die once we returned to school. He earned many of our grudges from searching for the document.


    "I found it!" Charles brightly smiled.


    "Isn''t that the same page you destroyed but a different month?" Jules noticed.


    "You mean there are multiple documents?" I gasped.


    "Message Haruka to destroy all the other months and the copies," I shook Charles'' shoulders.


    Charles was paralyzed, filled with despair as we needed to find more pages. I quickly messaged Oili to get rid of the rest on his end. My knees collapsed onto the floor from his message, "Oili said he just discovered it today. He already threatened Haruka to get rid of everything. We just have to destroy eleven more documents on our end."


    "Haruka isn''t going to be alive tomorrow," Jules slightly trembled.


    "You shouldn''t be merciful to him," I agreed.


    "We should kick him out of our fraction," Charles began to go crazy.

 Chapter 574 - New Roommate (1)

    "We have no other choice. Start using spells. I can mess up everything later and you can blame it on me," I suggested.


    "Most documents are spell proof," Jules was thinking along the same lines.


    "We''re not going anywhere at this rate. You''re the one who said Luke goes through everything at an inhumane speed," I pointed out.


    "What do you think if we burn all of them?" I knew it was a last resort.


    "It won''t work," Jules shook his head.


    The room went silent again as we desperately searched for the documents. I wondered how Luke organized the documents. If I knew the method, searching for the papers would be easier. I turned to them, "do you know how Luke organizes everything? He should have placed them together when he reorganizes them every day."


    "The way Luke organizes them isn''t normal. He does it by a combination of deadlines, importance and subject matters. The problem is how he sorts them by different languages to make it more confusing. Normally, everyone sticks to one alphabet, but he uses everything," Jules explained.


    "You should have told me! I know which ones and the order he uses them in," I memorized the pattern in the miserable workbooks.


    "What?" Charles was stunned.


    I wrote down a list, the way I thought Luke would have organized everything. Living with him around ten years made me familiar with how his mind worked. It was unfortunate that it was one of my tactics to survive with him. By the time I was finished, both Jules and Charles looked impressed. I urged them to search for the documents with this new method. Although the list wasn''t completely accurate, it brought some results.


    "I found the ones from December all together," Charles laughed.


    "Ten more to go," I adjusted the method through trial and error.


    "How do you know about this? Luke doesn''t let you touch the documents," Jules wondered.


    "I had to survive through all the study sessions together with him for ten years," I revealed.


    "The workbooks?" Charles gasped.


    "He sorts them very similarly," I sadly smiled.


    "I don''t think I''ll ever see them the same way again," Charles mumbled.


    "You have to be careful around Luke when it comes to Rika," Jules warned him.


    "I didn''t expect you would be joining us for the two hours next weekend. You know it''s a way I use to torture them when I can," I searched for the remaining page.


    "You don''t actually play with dolls with them, do you? You''d rather play games," Jules knew my preferences.


    "Do you think there''s any games in this mansion? Luke confiscated everything. I needed my revenge. Don''t get too surprised when you join us. I got desperate to stall for time," I sighed.


    "I found the last page!" Charles almost yelled.


    "Seriously?" I started to get excited.


    "Are there any remaining?" I desperately hoped there wasn''t.


    "We covered everything!" Jules brightly smiled.


    The sun rose into the sky, showing the daylight was coming. We had made it in time. I was too busy high-fiving with Jules and Charles, I didn''t notice the new audience behind us. I couldn''t help but to hug Jules, almost about to cry. Charles'' eyes were filled with tears, finally finished with the search. I offered him a handkerchief from my inventory, which he accepted. I was stunned when actual tears streamed down his face.


    "You worked really hard," I patted his back.


    "We''re never going through this again," Jules comforted him.


    "I''m going to work harder to prevent the same thing from happening in the future. Give me the times you''re available," Charles turned to Jules.


    "I''ll send you my schedule later. You can join the informal club me, Rika and Oili started together since elementary school," Jules ruffled his hair.


    "You knew each other since elementary school?" Alex found it strange.


    Jules froze from noticing Alex and Luke behind us. The karaoke club couldn''t be revealed, or our efforts would amount to nothing. Charles'' tears immediately stopped as he didn''t dare to look at them. I glared at Jules for being too reckless, telling him to take care of his own mess. Jules quickly wiped his emotions away, "we''re cousins. There was a high likelihood we would have spent time together."


    "But Oliver?" Alex pointed out.


    "He was interested in similar things," Jules kept things vague.


    For the first time, Jules ran away from them. Luke was in shock, feeling the teleportation gate being used from the high mana levels in the air. I clenched my hands into fists, not believing he left me alone to handle them. I was only letting him go since he was helping with moving everything into another room. I was filled with even more betrayal when Charles teleported away from the room.


    "You traitors!" I yelled, hoping they would hear it.


    "What''s going on Rika?" Luke crossed his arms.


    "Do you really want to know? Do you want to join us in catching more bugs in our spare time?" I warned them.


    "Seriously?" Alex was disappointed in his cousin.


    "Why else would Jules join us? He was searching for the rarest bugs with me and Charles. Charles is the newest member to the club. We couldn''t reject his enthusiasm when he began to cry from his first catch," I knew they wanted nothing to do with bugs.


    "Congratulations, there are officially no more bugs in this mansion now," I gestured to the office.

 Chapter 575 - New Roommate (2)

    Unfortunately, Charles wasn''t afraid of dolls anymore. I had to send a message to Miliana to scrap that plan of revenge. It was the first time Jules and Charles were joining the three of us. The room was filled with silence as we all had tea together with Kristie. It was hard being motivated throughout the week to continue playing more childish games with them. After writing a bunch of storylines, an entire hour was dedicated to playing with paper dolls.


    "We usually start by having teatime with Kristie," I placed a teacup towards Kristie.


    "You''re weren''t lying," Jules recalled everything Luke said.


    "We''re going to be playing some different games today since we have more people with us," I shrugged.


    Jules had successfully moved everything into a new room. I had nothing against him anymore. Charles sent many messages to most of his connections to help Jules. I had to downplay the usual torture. However, hand games were relatively simple and not much of a pain. Luke began to teach Jules and Charles the rules, surprising them in the process. The room was filled with our singing as they wondered what they were even doing.


    "Do you do this every day?" Charles turned to Alex.


    "This is just the start," Alex continued to clap his hands to follow the rhythm.


    "Where did you come up with this stuff?" Charles was curious.


    "Boredom does a lot of things to people," I had the perfect excuse.


    "How long do we continue this for?" Jules had no idea what was about to come next.


    "For twenty minutes," Luke approximated.


    "We can stop here to move onto something else," I made both Luke and Alex freeze.


    They knew this was one of the more painless games. Alex glared at Jules to take back what he said. However, Jules didn''t seem to understand what Alex was trying to tell him, urging me to stop the game. Thankfully, I had the perfect strategy game to play, "we''re going to play mafia. We have to find the murderer by voting whom it may be. Since it''s your first time, I''m going to be the intermediator to choose the role."


    I placed a sound barrier up so they couldn''t hear my footsteps. I made them close their eyes while circling around them. I tapped on Alex''s head to choose him as the mafia. Once I was finished, I joined the circle. Everyone opened their eyes as they tried to guess the murderer. I expected it to be a short game since we had a few people, but it went on for a long time.


    "Luke should be the mafia, look at his expressionless face," Charles pointed out.


    "He''s always like this. Maybe it''s you since you''re talkative," Jules studied him.


    "It should be Charles," Alex brightly smiled.


    "Let''s eliminate Charles," Luke agreed.


    "Is this your final choice?" I asked for their confirmation.


    "It should be Alex," Jules changed his mind.


    "Why should it be me?" Alex continued his fa?ade.


    "Your smile is slightly faltering," Luke noticed.


    "It should be Alex," Charles agreed.


    "The two hours are up. The game ends at a truce. Alex was the mafia," I checked the time in my marble.


    "Spending time with Rika isn''t bad," Charles enjoyed the game.


    "Why did you guys tell me you play with dolls together?" Jules found the games to be fine.


    "It was only for today," Alex tried to explain.


    However, both Charles and Jules didn''t believe Alex. It was pretty hard to believe if I wasn''t the one who came up with it. I had more similar games planned out for tomorrow. I wanted to avoid playing with dolls as much as they did. Unexpectedly, Alex knocked on my bedroom door early in the morning, interrupting Luke and me. He normally joined us after we ate breakfast together.


    "Is there anything wrong?" Luke continued to brush my hair.


    "What''s in your plan for today?" Alex wanted to know.


    "How do I know? You''re the one who creates the schedule with Luke," I remained ignorant.


    "You know I''m talking about the two hours," Alex narrowed his eyes.


    "I don''t know. I just do whatever that comes to my head," I decided to be honest.


    "Why?" I coldly faced him.


    "Add the dolls in," Alex wanted them to suffer.


    "Why should I do that? There''s better games to play with more people," I had a set plan.


    "Ten minutes and I swear on my family name that you can continue this the next time we''re stuck together," Alex was sick of people not believing him.


    "Luke didn''t agree to the promise," I couldn''t do it without Luke together with him.


    "I don''t mind spending more time with you Rika," Luke was impressed by the mafia game.


    "Only ten minutes," I brightly smiled.


    I knew another day would eventually come where I would need to distract them from something. It was pretty handy if they agreed in advance. I would be free from spending more time with them once I entered school anyways. I was excited since that day would be coming tomorrow. Although I had another round of exams, I was mostly prepared from all the intense study sessions. After several rounds of mafia, the leftover time went to fulfilling my promise with Alex.


    "It was real," Jules watched me pull out some paper dolls.


    "I told you not to get too surprised," I equally wanted to rip them apart.

 Chapter 576 - New Roommate (3)

    "Pick a doll and here''s the basic setting," I began to go through everything.


    Although I was silently crying inside my heart, it was only for ten minutes. Much better than the usual hour I did during the weekdays. Charles awkwardly picked a doll while Jules was stunned from my level of preparation. Since Luke was used to this, he started to move the doll, going through the script. Both Charles and Jules stared at the three of us talking in higher pitched voices. I could tell their impression of me was dropping.


    "What do you think of this house Tally?" I gestured to Jules'' doll.


    "We need to think of a better price range," Jules racked his brains to respond.


    "Maybe we should ask about the materials making up the house," Luke''s doll suggested.


    "We can negotiate with the contractor," Alex''s doll added.


    By the time we were finished, both Charles and Jules pitied Luke and Alex. I gestured to them to give me the paper dolls back so I could secretly burn them later. Maybe they forgot I was pretending to like playing with dolls so I could make them suffer to carry out my revenge. They looked at me in a new light during dinner, acting like I was a small child. I was disappointed in them since I had tried very hard in distracting Luke and Alex for them. Until I invited them to my bedroom to have a celebration in being able to get rid of the documents.


    "How could you actually make Alex play with dolls?" Charles laughed inside my room.


    "You saw how miserable they were. How else would I get my revenge?" I explained.


    "Everything was fake?" Jules had a hard time believing me.


    "Did you think I would actually like dolls?" I burned the paper dolls and houses in front of them.


    "Your acting skills have improved," Jules nodded his head.


    "What else did you make them do?" Charles was curious.


    "Nothing much. You know the usual teatime with Kristie, hide-and-seek, lava floors, and hand games," I recalled.


    "I changed them up every now and then. But did you know how much I had to threaten them to put more effort into them? It was thanks to me that they never thought of visiting the office," I started to get angry.


    "We get it," Jules began to believe me.


    "She begged Alex really hard to earn the hour," Charles recalled.


    "He was easy to convince," I shrugged.


    "He only agreed since it was you. He wouldn''t do it for anyone else," Charles'' face became more serious.


    "Why not?" I wondered if their begging skills lacked.


    "He would leave them alone even if he injured them. He would try to compensate the injuries with money while humiliating them in the process," Charles explained.


    "Even with the compliments?" I had a hard time believing.


    "Compliments are nothing to us. We hear them all the time, but it''s surprising to hear them from you," he knew how they thought.


    "Most of them were lies," I wondered if he knew.


    "It started from the half an hour point," Charles guessed.


    "It was from the start," I couldn''t find anything good about Alex other than his appearance.


    "You hate him that much?" Charles was a bit surprised.


    "Is there a reason to like him other than his appearance?" I pointed out.


    "And you''re better looking than him," I turned to Jules.


    "He is a bit hard to like," Jules agreed.


    "By the way, I had to cover for you guys. I told Luke and Alex that you were busy catching bugs in their office when you barged in to interrupt us. They think our club is actually a bug catching one," I let them know.


    "You mean the thing you do with Ethan?" Charles recalled.


    "I didn''t have a choice. They wouldn''t question bugs since they hate them," I sighed.


    Both Charles and Jules quickly teleported out of my room once they heard Luke''s footsteps. It wasn''t a bad celebration since Jules had sneaked in some snacks. I was impressed by the packages of jelly he brought from my storage room. He knew my preferences from our short time together during our childhood. I quickly hid the packages under my pillow before Luke came into my room.


    "What do you want?" I was about to sleep.


    "We''re going over the new set of rules once we return to school," Luke wasn''t letting me go.


    "Sure. No following me around anymore," I agreed.


    "Alex is going to permanently move in with us. The school already agreed and provided a new space for the three of us," Luke revealed.


    "What?" I rose from my bed.


    "No way. My stalker is gone now. I''m not living with him. If you want to live with him then I can live with Shelly," I had to stop this from happening.


    "Michelle agreed with the new arrangements," Luke went into the details.


    I knew that Shelly wouldn''t let go of this chance to be free from Alex. I would suffer in her place where Alex was picky where everything was placed. I wondered how much money they poured into the school to make them agree to this. My face was in despair as I stepped out of the hover car to return to school.. When Luke opened the door to the new dorm room, I found three doors behind the living room.

 Chapter 577 - New Roommate (4)

    "I''m not going inside that room," I crossed my arms.


    "I thought you hated me. Why would you agree to this?" I turned to Alex.


    "It''s only for the rest of middle school," Alex lightly pushed me inside.


    "You know how I already stay in your dorm room often. It was more convenient," he explained.


    My knees collapsed onto the carpeted floor, Luke having to lift me to the sofa to explain the new arrangements in more detail. This was different from Alex visiting us, most of his belongings were in the dorm room he shared with Shelly. Although there were a few months of middle school left, I didn''t want to suffer under two people. I had enough of being stuck in the mansion with them for the last three months.


    "The school allowed this since there are three months of middle school left. The point system changed so we would be sharing them with Alex. In turn, Michelle will be only earning points for herself. You remember from our negotiations with the dean that the four of us have early admission to the high school section," Luke summarized everything.


    "I don''t remember," I had tears streaming down my face.


    It was no wonder Alex was pressuring me to study harder this month. The exams tomorrow would determine how miserable my life would get. Alex seemed a little surprised from my reaction to the news. It must have been from hearing the fake compliments several weeks ago. However, Luke was expecting something like this, knowing my dislike for the both of them. This was why he tried to give me some hints yesterday to break the news more gently.


    The teachers watched me weep while taking my exams. Each time I handed an exam booklet in, some of the pages were wet from my tears. It was the first time I cried during a test, distracting the rest from the sounds of my sniffling. Although the rest of my classmates looked at me weirdly, I didn''t care. The results were coming out by the end of the day anyways. Only Shelly knew the true reason behind my tears.


    "It''s only three months Rika," Alex waited for the results to come out.


    "It''s three entire months!" I started to cry harder.


    "What happened?" Charles wondered what he was missing out on.


    "Alex is moving in with them permanently," Shelly had to hide her smile.


    "Oh, that," Charles seemed to already know about it.


    Since the teachers were distracted from my crying, they accidentally displayed everyone''s marks individually. Normally, the grades would be balanced out after taking in your partner''s results. Daniel projected the results on the screen, surprising everyone in the process. I couldn''t close my mouth, discovering my grades had drastically improved from all my suffering. Luke''s schedule actually produced desirable results.


    I was in fourth place after Charles who made tiny mistakes, not far away from the people above him. As usual, both Luke and Alex received perfect scores, achieving first place. Everything amounted to a huge amount of points being allocated under us. Instead of celebrating, Alex turned to Shelly to yell at her, "how could you get lower grades than Rika?"


    "I had a light cold today," Shelly wondered why he was targeting her.


    "Rika still got better grades than you and she was crying the entire time!" Alex didn''t accept her excuse.


    "Do you need me to supervise you like I do to Rika?" He appeared extremely disappointed.


    "It was only once. Rika got better grades than me in the past," Shelly pointed out.


    Everyone except for Miliana and Shelly knew it was due to the dimensional library in the past. However, they knew I didn''t use it this time. When I turned to Charles, he looked at Shelly the same way as Alex. Miliana stayed silent, trying to stay invisible so they wouldn''t target her next. She was in last place, which was worse than Shelly. After Daniel left the classroom, Miliana immediately escaped from the classroom.


    "I was busy from the fraction work and attending the meetings in your place. Rika doesn''t do any of that," Shelly added.


    "Are you seriously comparing yourself with Rika? A young child who begs me to have teatime with her doll. Someone who I have to play paper dolls with every day," Alex didn''t have any expectations for me.


    When Shelly threw a glance at Charles, he nodded his head to confirm the truth. She was in shock, not able to give an answer to Alex. I knew she was wondering how I managed to convince Alex to play with dolls. The entire room went silent as a heavy atmosphere replaced it. To improve Alex''s lowered impression of him, Charles added, "someone who begged and cried to decrease the study sessions received better grades than you."


    "I stopped begging recently!" I started to get offended.


    "I''m smarter than you think I am," I raised my voice.


    "We should give Alex some privacy with his partner," Luke started to pull me out of the room.


    "We should leave him with Shelly forever," I wanted him to move out.


    Although I was friends with Shelly, there was only so much that I could tolerate. Moving in with Alex wasn''t one of them.. Maybe I could sneak out of my new dorm room during the nights to sleep inside the club room instead.

 Chapter 578 - New Roommate (5)

    I planned to secretly move out of my room. All I needed to take were my uniforms. I began to transfer a bunch of clothes into my inventory. I opened the window as I pulled out a thick rope I purchased using the club funds. Luke never came to my bedroom this early in the morning, being 4AM. He always woke up around 5AM. I couldn''t live with both Luke and Alex for the next three months.


    Placing a sound barrier, I started to climb onto the walls to slowly land on the second floor of the building. I was staying with Delia from now on. I couldn''t stay with Sienna since Cillian signed a contract with Luke. On the hand, Shelly was Alex''s partner, which could give him access to her room. Delia was good at covering for me. If Allan didn''t want to die with us, he would keep everything a secret.


    I was glad Delia had a window open on the second floor. I swung myself inside and chanted a spell to make the rope return to me while closing the window. I quickly sent a message to Delia to open her door. Thankfully, she had enough points to use a separate bedroom from Allan. Delia yawned as she opened the door, allowing me to tiptoe into her bedroom to get more hours of sleep. Since classes started around seven, I could get more sleep than usual.


    Delia had already agreed to get my breakfast for me so I wouldn''t have to run into Luke before classes started. She disappeared to teleport to the cafeteria as I flopped onto her bed. I smiled as I soon drifted into sleep on her bed. A few hours later, both of us woke from her marble ringing like an alarm. I rubbed my eyes as I poked her to put it into silent mode.


    "Let me check the messages first," Delia ?r??n?d.


    "Do people usually call you this early in the morning?" I mumbled.


    "It''s the first time," Delia opened her marble.


    "It started," she abruptly rose from laying down.


    "What happened?" I rolled towards her.


    "Luke is beginning to visit everyone with Alex to search for you," she placed the screen closer to me.


    "Already?" I predicted this would happen.


    "Let''s quickly eat breakfast and teleport to the high school dorms," I had a backup plan.


    Oili had offered us his dorm room since he was away with his partner on a mission. Since he gave us his emergency access card, we could enter using the front doors. After stuffing myself with some plates of salad, Delia and I teleported to the high school dorm building. Tapping his access card on the main entrance, we crept into the third floor. I sighed in relief when his door opened, showing how everything was clean.


    I had never been inside his dorm room before. I stared at the simplicity of how the room was arranged. There were no couches, but two beds placed against the walls. No decorations were seen, the only other furniture being two closets and a small table. I guessed it was better than being inside a shack, separated from others. I wasn''t used to a room looking so empty, the complete opposite of my new dorm room.


    "We''re in the clear. They gave up after searching my bedroom as the last place," Delia received another message.


    "They''re going to start the search all over again," I shuddered.


    "We should stay here until classes start," I knew how they thought.


    "What are you going to do after classes?" Delia worried for me.


    "They can''t do anything in front of other people. I''m going to use that to my advantage and come back here," I hoped it would work.


    My plan was incredibly unstable and risky. I quickly changed into my uniform as I separated from Delia near my classroom. The bell immediately rang after I entered my classroom, the teacher not saying anything since I wasn''t late. Since Shelly was a part of my plan, she passed me all my school supplies from the back. Luke couldn''t do anything while we were in class. He had to confront me after the classes ended.


    "Do you know the answer to this question?" A teacher pointed at the board.


    "The answer is 1080 decimal points," I had a spell on my notebook.


    Shelly wrote all the answers to the questions the teachers asked. Although the teachers were suspicious, they couldn''t do anything since I was paying attention. My notebook was supposedly filled with the class material, but actually plans on how to run away. The teachers were surprised from how diligently I was writing things down since I usually looked outside the window. After the morning classes finished, I instantly stopped the teacher, "can I ask you some questions based on this section?"


    "You can come to my office," the teacher was impressed by Shelly''s notes.


    Unexpectedly, my understanding of the class material improved as I desperately racked my brains to ask questions during my breaks. I didn''t mind if all my breaks were taken, I had time after class to use the new storage room Jules had procured. The club room wasn''t a safe place anymore. I abandoned my plan with Delia as I decided to use Oili''s room alone. She could get interrogated by Luke and Alex later.. Anything was better than continuing to suffer like inside the mansion.

 Chapter 579 - New Roommate (6)

    "I can''t believe you managed to pull this for so long," Charles joined me inside my storage room.


    A week had passed as I used the teachers to hide from Luke and Alex. The teachers were passionate to teach a student that would normally look outside the window. I was actually able to answer the questions they asked without Shelly''s help more than half of the time. Once I spent an hour with the teacher after all the classes ended, I immediately teleported near the storage room. Since Oili was going to come back a week later, I desperately needed another place to stay.


    "How furious are they?" I couldn''t look at their faces.


    "You''re dead once you''re caught," Charles brightly smiled.


    "What are you going to do once social week starts?" He slightly worried for me.


    "Luke can go to the events alone. I have another hideout in the first district," I revealed.


    "Luke is definitely not going to leave you alone if it happens," Charles seemed amused.


    "You''ll be humiliating him," he explained.


    "It''s not the first time he attended him alone," I pointed out.


    "That''s different. Everyone knew what happened back then. It couldn''t be helped," Charles leaned against his chair.


    "Oh, you''re here," Jules joined us, opening the door.


    "You don''t normally come here," I found it strange.


    "You have to apologize to Luke and return to the dorms with him. He''s beginning to plan something that goes over the line," Jules warned me.


    "What is it?" I wondered.


    "He''s planning to seal your mana with the conditions that only he will be able to release them when needed," Jules went into the details.


    "He''s already done that before," I shrugged.


    "Permanently in addition to chaining you to him," Jules'' face hardened.


    "What?" I shouted.


    "Why? Just because I''m not using the same dorms as him?" I became dumbfounded.


    Jules nodded his head, pitying me at the same time. As expected, I could only rely on my childhood friends. It was nice to have Jules back on my side again. Only a few people knew about the new storage room. Even Cillian didn''t know since he signed a contract with Luke. We had to be extremely careful in giving access. Currently, the people who knew its location was limited to me, Jules, Charles and Oili.


    "You''re going to have to beg them really hard," Charles continued to smile.


    "I have to leave now. He wants everyone helping him in this," Jules opened the door.


    "Wait. Where is he right now? Isn''t he busy with fraction work?" I stopped him.


    "He was inside his dorm room when he made the calls. I think he''s giving you a chance to return. You know that you come first to him compared to fraction work," Jules left the room.


    "Let me practice my acting on you," I turned to Charles.


    "Sure," Charles was enjoying this.


    After Charles helped me perfect my begging skills, I stood in front of the door to my dorm room. I took a deep breath before I began to knock on the door. I really didn''t want to come here, but I had no other choice. Who knew Luke would take extreme measures? I waited for someone to open the door, not confident enough to go inside on my own.


    Unfortunately, Alex was the one who opened the door, instantly pulling me inside. My head went blank as the door closed behind me, almost jumping from the loud noise. I started to regret coming so early when I felt unprepared. He gestured to me to sit down on the couch as he sent a message to Luke. Within three seconds, Luke teleported to the living room, joining us on the couches.


    "I apologize for not letting you know I would be staying with Delia during the nights. I didn''t cause any trouble," I blurted.


    "You weren''t with Delia during the nights. We visited them several times during the night," Alex knew I was lying.


    ??I was with Sienna and Cillian for some nights and the other times with Shelly," I was glad Charles had helped me with this.


    "We checked all of their rooms several times every night," Luke wanted the truth from me.


    "I''m close with Miliana. I stayed with her sometimes," I revealed.


    "Charles let us check their rooms too," Alex narrowed his eyes.


    "What about the club room?" I was running out of ideas.


    "We placed an alarm inside the club room," he had a counter.


    "I slept outside!" I couldn''t think of anything else.


    "Tell us the truth Rika. We searched for you every night, including the courtyards and classrooms," Luke waited for me.


    "Let me go for this and I''ll tell you," I started to negotiate.


    "As long as you don''t know, I can run away the same way again," I pointed out.


    What was I going to do without Charles? He knew exactly how they thought, better than I did. Although he was impressed by my begging skills, he had good ideas on improving them. He enjoyed watching someone beg him, pretending he was the king. He was the one who taught me how to mix threats in the midst of my pleading.


    "You expect us to let you go for this? Who runs away from their dorm room?" Alex yelled in Luke''s place.


    "I do," I confidently faced them.

 Chapter 580 - New Roommate (7)

    "I can continue this for the rest of middle school. You can attend social week alone," I bluffed.


    "You don''t have a place to stay," Luke was unfazed.


    "I have several buildings under my name in the first district," I had a hideout.


    I could always go back to the criminal organization since I was the chairwoman. There was also the option of staying with my friends in their mansions. The last resort would be to use the apartment that Shelly had transferred to me as my birthday present. I smiled as I had many places to stay while social week was happening. All of this didn''t include everything the Roselia family was placing under my name under the control of Luke.


    "I don''t have to stay with you. You drag me to stay with you," I flipped my hair.


    "So leave me alone," I coldly faced them.


    Luke began to check all the properties I owned under the Roselia family. I slightly smirked since I was able to smartly hide everything by using another alias. Shelly knew something like this would happen, using many channels to hide it. If I escaped from the first district before social week started, there was the alternative of staying with my parents in the third district. With enough help from my friends, I could create a separate bank account to use in the first district.


    "It''s not any of them. You know I don''t touch them. And what is there from keeping myself from creating another portal into the fairy world?" I liked Charles'' method of negotiating.


    "How many things are you hiding from us?" Alex was surprised.


    "I have connections," I shrugged.


    "More connections than both of you," I thought it could be possible.


    The room went silent from my confession. I had to admit my acting was improving when you mixed some lies with the truth. I didn''t need Luke anymore to survive in the first district. I like going outside of the school and his mansions, it gave me a chance to meet more people. I wanted to expand my world instead of being inside the cage they carefully created.


    "I''ve been here for around ten years," I smiled.


    "So how about that trade?" I proposed.


    "I want to know everything," Luke pressured me.


    "Everything is too much. Three specific questions limited to a categorical subject matter each," I offered.


    "Did you teach her this?" Alex was impressed.


    "I didn''t," Luke wondered how my negotiation skills improved.


    "Five questions pertaining to your mentioned conditions," he turned to me.


    "I''m glad we have a deal," I crossed my legs.


    "Where is the exact location that you stayed during the nights?" Luke began.


    "The high school dorms," I kept things vague.


    I was glad he couldn''t dig further since this subject matter was finished. I hoped the other four questions would be similar. Maybe I would ask Charles to help me improve my negotiation skills again later. It was much better than the usual begging. I liked how he made me start off with how I usually faced them. The impact was better, making them a bit flustered in the process.


    "Where are the buildings you planned to stay during social week other than me taking you to the usual mansions?" Luke was trying to confirm the facts.


    "I don''t know the locations for some of them. One of them is an apartment inside a middle-class neighbour," I knew it would be hard to find with little information.


    "How did you escape from the room?" he continued.


    "I climbed down the walls," I left out the rope.


    "How do you have more connections than us?" Luke was good at avoiding the same topics.


    "I''m the chairwoman of the criminal organization. I''m friends with all my past kidnappers," I recalled.


    "How many times did you visit the other dimension?" He asked his last question.


    "Around four times," I counted.


    "This is why I can perfectly survive in the first district without you. I don''t need money when I have an abundant amount without the Roselia family. I have multiple places to stay and people willing to serve me," I tried to conclude our conversation.


    "You''re still in contact with criminals?" Alex knew the story from Lucius.


    "Why not? I''m their superior," I had memorized all their contact information.


    "I''m tired. I''m going to my room now," I rose from the couch.


    "Give me your marble," Luke grabbed my wrist.


    "Sure, but you won''t find anything in there. I''m not that stupid," I smirked.


    I passed him my marble and walked into my room. Everything inside my room didn''t change from the previous dorm I had stayed in. I flopped onto my bed and sighed in relief. I was glad that I had deleted all my message history. He wouldn''t be able to find anything inside there. Charles was a great friend once you became close to him. My ears perked as I listened to their conversation.


    "She deleted everything," Alex noticed.


    "Rika should have learnt this recently. She didn''t know how to negotiate like this inside the mansion," Luke knew too much about me.


    "She didn''t," Alex agreed.


    "I think I can find out where the apartment is and who she got it from. There weren''t many times we were separated. Plus, there''s not many people willing to let her stay in the high school dorms," Luke had a countermeasure.


    "She also can''t climb the walls if we lock the windows," Alex suggested.

 Chapter 581 - New Roommate (8) - Shellys POV

    I never saw Rika without Luke again ever since she returned to her dorm room. After Luke fed her a chocolate bar, banning her from other sweets, Rika immediately fell asleep. I watched her sleep inside one of the sleeping bags inside the club room. Knowing Rika couldn''t do anything, Luke was able to entirely focus on his fraction work with Alex. I wondered what was going on behind the scenes.


    "This is going over the line," Delia whispered to me.


    "I think this was the first time he did this," I nodded my head.


    "Hasn''t it been around a week?" Cillian agreed with us.


    Other than being awake for classes, Rika was always asleep around us. When Luke finished with his fraction work for the day, he would carry her to his dorm room with Alex. The club room was solemn as Ethan opened the door to join us. He slightly frowned, noticing Rika was still unconscious. Rika was the person who brought energy into the room, suggesting many interesting projects for us to try.


    "I want Rika to wake up soon," Sienna pouted.


    "Are you doing this on purpose?" Ethan directly asked Luke.


    "Rika is tired lately," Luke remained ignorant.


    "She falls asleep every time you feed her something," Ethan argued.


    "It''s too much. No wonder she ran away from you," he pointed out Luke''s obsession.


    "Why would my cousin intentionally make her fall asleep? Is this really how you see us?" Alex coldly joined him.


    "Is there anyone inside this room that doesn''t think the same?" Ethan looked at us.


    The room went silent, everyone agreeing with Ethan. Our club president pretended he was invisible, trying to avoid both Luke and Alex. He was equally stunned by their cruelty towards Rika. A couple of us nodded our heads, wanting to know why they suddenly took drastic measures. It was a struggle to not feel guilty when this all started due to me agreeing to the new agreements.


    I wanted to continue using the dorm room on my own. I never wanted to go back to the days where I was under the eyes of Alex. But Rika suffered from Alex moving into her dorm room. They never left her alone, watching her every move inside the classroom. All her smiles vanished, replaced with dead eyes. The teachers pitied her, leaving her alone instead of asking her more questions.


    "What''s going on?" Oliver came into the club room.


    Oliver returned from his mission given by the school today. He stiffened from noticing the rigid atmosphere in the room. When he looked down, he found Rika deeply asleep, a rare sight since she was always doing something inside the club room. He opened his marble, sending us a message to keep his words private.


    [They shouldn''t know] Delia responded.


    [Did she get caught?] Oliver wondered.


    [Rika willingly went to them since she figured out the measures Luke was going to take if she didn''t return] I wrote.


    [It''s been like this for a week. Luke has been feeding her something so she would always be asleep] Cillian revealed.


    [Are you for real?] Oliver directly faced us.


    "You can''t do this to your partner," Oliver turned to Luke.


    "What are you implying?" Luke narrowed his eyes.


    "Everyone knows you''re intentionally making her fall asleep since she ran away from you," Oliver supported Ethan.


    "I have never done this to Rika. What would I gain from it?" Luke tried to dismiss our accusations.


    "You want more control over her," Ethan knew all our thoughts.


    "You''re always trying to check up on her. From the contract you made me sign to all the messages you send me," he added.


    "Do you know anything about Rika? Do you know her as much as we do? You can''t just accuse us when you don''t know what is actually happening," Alex began to get mad.


    "Then tell us what is happening," Ethan started to get frustrated.


    "How can we trust you?" Alex crossed his arms.


    "You''re not even willing to tell us," he looked disappointed in them.


    "One of the former members in this club room sold information about her," Alex argued.


    "Do you really think we would sell information about our best friend?" Delia got offended.


    "Who knows?" Alex mumbled.


    When Rika began to stir in her sleep from the commotion, Luke immediately dashed towards her. He placed some earmuffs on her to block the noise and gently cradled her back and forth until she stopped moving. Everyone was familiar with this scene. Luke always did this during our fraction meetings. But there was no reason to do this during the daytime, making us more suspicious.


    "I will have to stop bringing Rika here if you wake her," Luke warned us.


    "I''ll start packing the documents," Alex opened his inventory.


    "We''re not wrong!" Sienna raised her voice.


    "Let''s leave," Luke noticed Rika frowning in her sleep.


    "You''re planning to confine her to your dorm room, aren''t you?" Delia shouted.


    "We only came here since Rika begged us," Alex packed the crucial files.


    "It doesn''t add up," Ethan mumbled.


    "You''re claiming that you''re not intentionally making her fall asleep, but you don''t want to wake her," he summarized.


    "It''s like she''s sleeping to recover from something," Oliver concluded.


    "Leave us alone.. We know what''s best for Rika," Alex gestured to Luke that he was ready to leave.

 Chapter 582 - New Roommate (9)

    I didn''t want to continue to listen to Luke about to find out about my secret hideout. I slipped into my blanket, going to sleep earlier than I usually did. Five questions were all Luke needed to start his new investigation. I started to consider meeting Charles in secret more often, wanting to have a higher chance to win against Luke. I closed my eyes, falling into a deep slumber.


    "You wanted more power and I gave you more mana before the actual date," a voice rang in my head.


    "Didn''t I suffer from the pain as the price?" I opened my eyes.


    I was inside a dark room, unable to see anything. I knew I wasn''t on my bed anymore, not feeling the soft mattress below me. A bright light filled the room, displaying my surroundings. I shivered as I watched several fairies gesturing to me to join them for tea. How was I inside the fairy dimension again?


    My toes wiggled around the soft moss, my hair slightly moving as I found myself walking towards the table. I couldn''t control my limbs, the fairies smiling and clattering. I kept my face neutral as I sat down on the chair, a small tree clunk. The table was actually beautiful glass, showing the brilliant flowers underneath. The teacups were delicate flower petals plastered together. When I looked at the drink, the water was brutal red, resembling blood.


    "We want our borrowed power back," One of them turned to me.


    "I didn''t borrow anything," I was confused.


    "Your mana came from us. Choose us as your contractors," he explained.


    "You willingly gave it to me. I never asked for it from you," I thought it was God who gave it to me.


    "You forced us to give it to you. The ruler of the land forced us to give a portion of our mana to you. In return, he told us we could get our payment from you at the decided date," he revealed.


    "Am I in the other dimension?" I wondered.


    "We''re inside your dreams," she smiled.


    "How can I return the mana to you?" I didn''t want a contract with them.


    "There is that option. However, we will have to reverse the process. It will be extremely painful and damaging to your body. You can die," she pointed out.


    "When am I not dying?" I was used to it.


    "If you end up choosing only one of us, you''ll suffer through the reversal anyways," she added.


    "Try it. I''m only giving up when I can''t handle it," I would need some painkillers from the infirmary afterwards.


    "If you say so," she snapped her fingers.


    I opened my eyes, finding myself back in my bedroom again. Before the reversal would start, I needed to run to the infirmary. The bright light that consumed me for a month that time. I rose from my bed, ready to sprint outside. However, my head throbbed, my vision wobbling in the process. I held my head, screaming using all my lungs. Luke instantly opened the door, watching bloodied tears streaming down my face.


    My ears had the same vicious red dripping down onto the bed. Everything was filtered into red, struggling to breath with the same liquid gushing through my nose and mouth. Maybe it wasn''t so bad to have a contract with all of them. Luke went pale, running to bring all the usual machines. I felt so much mana leaving me, trying to drain me from everything. I didn''t think the mana mixed inside would be instilled into me this much.


    "Why is there mana leaking everywhere?" Alex studied me.


    "Someone is draining her mana from her," Luke transferred some of his mana into me.


    "I knew something would have happened during the time she ran away," Alex helped Luke with the machines.


    "She''s dying," Alex froze.


    "I can save Rika," Luke tried to stay calm.


    Although my vision was wobbling, it was strange how I could slowly begin to clearly hear everything. In fact, my vision was slowly improving as time passed. The pain gradually lessened as more of the borrowed mana separated from the original that I possessed. My eyes widened, discovering it was the separation process that caused the pain. I crazily began to laugh, trying to drown out the idea I would continue to suffer through this. Maybe it was from becoming numb from everything.


    "Her condition is suddenly improving. We just need to handle the blood loss," Alex adjusted the settings.


    "I went into the other dimension today. They want to be my contractors or else they will suck my mana out," I coughed.


    "What is she saying?" Alex couldn''t understand me.


    "You don''t understand what I just said?" I was confused.


    "I don''t know that language," Luke listened to me.


    "I''m sorry for running away," I tried a different topic.


    "You better be. Do you think your health will recover on its own?" Alex wiped the blood off my ear.


    "What exactly happened during that week?" Luke seriously faced me.

 Chapter 583 - New Roommate (10)

    "Fairies wanting their mana back has nothing to do with what happened during that week," I wanted them to know.


    "I can''t understand you," Luke was confused.


    "They did this on purpose," I sighed.


    "I don''t think she can tell us," Alex pulled out another wet cloth.


    "That''s why they did this in my dreams," I agreed.


    "What mess did you get into Rika?" Luke wiped my face.


    "It''s unfair," I complained.


    "They didn''t tell me when this would end," I could feel more of their mana remaining in me.


    I pulled out a notebook from my inventory to write everything down. I hoped that they knew how to solve this, scribbling a gist of everything that happened. I passed the notebook to Luke in the language I was most familiar with. Luke''s eyes widened, "I''ve seen this before. This is the most ancient language in the first district. There are not many documents on it. It''s the lost language some fairies are known to use."


    "You''re talking in their language," Luke realized.


    "No wonder," I mumbled.


    "You switched back," Alex understood me.


    "Is there a way to kill fairies while they reverse the process?" I wondered.


    "Write them down and I''ll try to translate it later," Luke passed me the notebook back.


    I nodded my head, writing down all the questions I had. I went further into the details, going into the time when the bright light consumed me in the mansion. But all my efforts were for nothing, Luke watching the words slowly lifting into the air, vanishing into thin air. There was a time limit to everything I had written down about the situation. Since Luke was unfamiliar with the language, he would take a longer time in reading the sentences.


    "I''ll send a message to our grandparents for the books," Alex started writing.


    I was surprised when they immediately sent scanned pages of the books to their marbles. Reading Luke''s screen, they had to delete them as soon as they were finished with them. I wondered if I could read the pages, squinting my eyes from the tiny font. However, everything looked like scribbles, not able to comprehend them. I wondered if my writing really appeared like this in their eyes.


    "I can''t read this," I revealed to them.


    "Try talking and see if you can read it," Luke tried to test.


    "The five fairies during teatime caused this," I stared closer at the screen.


    My eyes went large as everything unscrambled to turn into the language of the first district, the one I used since kindergarten. I could see the alphabet, the sophisticated letters reflecting into my eyes. I nodded my head, indicating I could read it now. As soon as I finished my sentence, my brain flushed to reverse everything back to scribbles. How were they going to translate this? Learning a new language was hard and took a lot of time.


    "Write down everything as simple as possible. Try key words," Luke took out a notebook of his own.


    I started off with five words, ''fairies, borrowed, mana, payment, reversal.''


    "I''ll try to decipher the first three words," Luke turned to Alex.


    "I''ll the other two," Alex was already flipping through the pages.


    Unexpectedly, they managed to translate the five words within three hours. I had to write down the same five words over and over again. I smiled since they would be able to get the full picture with another five words. Luke read the results for confirmation, "fairies, lent, mana, price, return."


    "The last word is a little off," I hoped they could understand me.


    "We don''t know what you''re saying," Luke wanted me to correct them.


    I drew a little ''x'' on the last word while checkmarks on the other ones. I wondered if the fairies wouldn''t know there would be a loophole through this way. The gatekeeper was much better, not letting me speak about the event in general until he revealed himself to them. However, it took them another five hours to guess the three words out of the other five that I wrote down.


    Luke frowned, "dream, contractor, die."


    I clapped my hands, confirming their answers. Luke''s face twisted into horror, placing together the seven words they managed to translate. Alex was stunned, taking turns staring at the notebook and me. Luke tried to see if his thoughts were right, "you borrowed mana from fairies, and they want you to pay them back by having you as their contractor through your dreams. If you can''t pay them back, you''re going to die."


    "You''re almost right," I was impressed.


    "Seriously Rika?" Luke understood me.


    "How did you manage to borrow mana from fairies?" Alex never heard of it before.


    "It was by accident. Everything was forced," I explained.


    "Write everything down. We''re spending the entire night on this," Luke gave up on sleep.


    Luke teleported the three of us to the club room in the middle of the night, wanting to use the time-space function. Time was precious where we didn''t know what would happen later. My eyes were drooping as my writing became sloppier from the lack of sleep. Fortunately, they were able to get the gist of the shape. Looking at the setting in the room, around three days had passed inside while a few hours outside.


    "You can''t tell others about this," a fairy brought me back to having tea with them.

 Chapter 584 - Contractor (1)

    "I didn''t want to die. I need help in surviving through this," I faced the fairies.


    "We can erase their memories," she threatened me.


    "You''ll never get your mana back if I''m dead. I''m never coming back here with the second chance card," I had a counter.


    "Since they know a gist of what''s happening, why not give me five minutes to explain everything to them?" I suggested.


    "What will you give us in return?" A fairy asked for payment.


    "What can I give you other than agreeing to have you as my contractors?" I wondered.


    "We want more mana in return, more than what you borrowed," he placed a condition.


    "How much more?" I narrowed my eyes.


    "One hundred MP each minute for each of us," he asked the others for their agreement.


    The other fairies brightly smiled, finding it a good offer for them. My mind went dizzy, knowing it was much more than the typical amount of mana a regular person in the first district possessed. My mana supply would shrink more than an eighth excluding taking the borrowed mana away. I needed to finish everything within a minute. I agreed to their terms, "one hundred MP each for one minute of explaining."


    "Is there a way to quicken the reversal?" I wanted to get it over with.


    "We can reduce it to two weeks. But there is a higher likelihood of dying. Every time you visit us, we''re giving you a chance to heal in a mana filled land," she was helping with the process.


    "It''s also a time for us to convince you to choose us as your contractor," another fairy added.


    "If I sleep longer, there''s a higher chance I''ll survive," I concluded.


    "We can force you to sleep longer to increase the chances," he nodded.


    "The longer you''re awake, the higher chance you''ll die from the reversal with everything being compressed. The reversal can be painless if it happens while you''re with us," he revealed.


    "But you''ll also die if your physical body doesn''t get the nutrition it needs," a fairy pointed out.


    I sighed as this meant I couldn''t sleep for the full two weeks. Couldn''t Luke feed me while I was unconscious like usual? He did it for the bottles of medicine in the morning routine video. I asked my last final questions, "Is the reversal happening right now? Can you stop it during the explanation that''s a minute long?''


    "When you wake up, you''ll be hit with the pain and we won''t be able to stop it," the fairy snapped his fingers.


    "The minute starts now," his voice rang inside my head.


    "I accidentally borrowed mana from fairies when you sealed my mana," I began to blurt everything.


    "We can understand you," Alex abandoned the notebooks.


    "I have a minute to explain everything in exchange of giving more mana to them," I wanted them to listen to me.


    My head throbbed as I quickly went over all the details. I was coughing too much blood, taking more of my time. I hoped they managed to understand my slurred words, feeling the burning sensation spreading within me. I had to pound on my sleeping bag, rolling around the floors, wanting to help with the pain. The additional mana I had to give them was a scam. They had to have known it would be hard to talk in general.


    "I can feed you while you sleep. Although you''ll have to be awake for classes, I can give you more painkillers to help," Luke had a solution.


    "Is attending classes important here?" I almost yelled.


    "You have to be awake for a certain period of time for everything to properly digest. The time-space setting in the classroom is a better place than others. It will slow the process, decreasing the pain," Luke explained.


    I was stunned, not knowing the time-space function would help. It was no wonder I had the ability to talk while suffering inside the club room. It was much worse inside the dorm room when recalling the previous hours. I wondered if I could sleep inside the club room from now on. The sleeping bags were not a bad place, better than sleeping in the medieval like room in the basement.


    "How were you planning to do this alone?" Alex sighed.


    "I didn''t. This is why I came back," I found myself lucky.


    "We''ll have to plan everything very carefully," Luke knew I couldn''t vomit more blood inside the classroom.


    "Have you heard of anyone experiencing reversals before?" I wanted more tips.


    "We''re visiting my grandparents this weekend," Luke didn''t know anything.


    The next morning, my face was placed against the desk. The painkillers were helping dramatically, making everything more tolerable. I wondered why Luke was usually hesitant to give them to me. He passed me more chocolate bars, the painkillers in disguise whenever he noticed my condition was getting worse. Whenever the teachers turned to ask me a question, Luke intercepted them with Alex.


    During break times, I vomited everything I was holding inside. Making a mess of the bathroom inside the dorm room. However, I knew this plan would only temporarily work, everything getting worse with each passing day. My teatime with fairies wasn''t fun, offering to stop the pain if I made them my contractors.


    "We don''t understand what you''re saying," Luke''s grandfather on his mother''s side answered.

 Chapter 585 - Contractor (2)

    "Nothing grandfather?" Alex was stunned.


    "This isn''t any language we''re familiar with. It''s more ancient than the ones in the documents," Luke''s grandfather explained.


    "Come here to us Rika," he gestured to me.


    I nodded my head, walking towards him. Luke''s grandfather on his mother''s side was gorgeous, resembling the fairies I had teatime with. His golden blond hair sparkled under the sunlight while his wise eyes were similar to Jules. It was a shame Luke resembled his father more than his mother. Although the members of the Roselia family appeared enchanting, they were lacking compared to the Pelargonium family.


    "You have fairy mana in you. You borrowed a large amount," He was able to determine.


    "This can''t only be from one fairy," he hit the mark.


    I gave him my hand, indicating five fairies. Luke''s grandfather couldn''t close his mouth, wondering if it was the truth. I hoped he had a better solution to this than Luke. He was much older, meaning he had to have more experience in this. If only he knew the borrowed amount had decreased to half of its original amount. I was never going to wish for more mana again, feeling like I was scammed.


    "You''re not dealing with regular fairies. They should be older and more powerful than the rest. Not all fairies have the luxury to share mana with others," Luke''s grandfather seemed to be stumped.


    However, these fairies didn''t know there could be another loophole. Luke noticed hand gestures seemed to work after I used my hand. He began to give a runover on everything he knew to his grandfather, Alex joining him to help. Luke''s grandfather stared at them for a long time, the explaining already done multiple times. He turned to me with his face plastered in horror, making Luke wonder if the situation was bad as he was making it seem to be.


    "We should pull you out of school for the remainder of the week. I''m going to have to teach you how to deal with fairies. We have to be very cautious about this situation," he mumbled.


    "They''re not that bad. I''ve been close to fairies ever since middle school started. I have portals to go to their dimension and travelled back and forth several times. I know how to negotiate with them," I wondered if it helped.


    "You travelled back and forth?" He was surprised.


    "I have portals. I even have their money," I noticed Luke''s grandfather on his father''s side didn''t tell anyone else.


    "How much money do you have? You may be able to pay them to leave you alone," he had more knowledge than others.


    "Tens of thousands of Memors in each element," I roughly recalled.


    "How are you so rich?" He was stunned.


    "The Roselia family is very wealthy," I shrugged.


    "If you give me more money, I can try to exchange them like before," I hoped I could lure the fairies with money.


    "How much do you need?" He was willing to transfer more into my bank account.


    "I don''t know how much I possess right now," I turned to Luke.


    "You have around five hundred million Aris," Luke checked our bank accounts.


    "Give me another five hundred million Aris," I thought the more the better.


    "I can give you double," Luke''s grandfather began to tap his screen.


    I began to pour my mana into my wrist, trying to make the bracelet appear again. Tapping on my wrist to summon the portal, the mana levels greatly rose in the air. I had a plan in threatening the gatekeeper to agree to me. A tiny hole began to swirl open in front of me, the gatekeeper''s annoyed face coming out almost immediately. I was glad he came sooner than I thought he would.


    "Are you that free?" I wondered.


    "What do you want?" The gatekeeper knew I did it to summon him.


    "You know five fairies are after me to get their borrowed mana back. I want to exchange my Aris into Memors to pay them to abandon their thoughts of becoming my contractor," I explained.


    "They''re my superiors. You''ll need an extraordinary amount of money to bribe them. If you give me some commission, I can do the transaction for you," he wanted something out of it.


    "What are the exchange rates?" I was loaded with money.


    "600 Aris for each element, it includes the commission," he waited for me.


    "Is 1.5 billion Aris enough?" I could ask for more.


    "You have more money than before," he was surprised.


    "I''m surrounded by wealthy people," I never lacked money.


    "Is it possible for you to exchange Aris for us as well?" Luke''s grandfather tried to join in.


    "This girl is the exception. Only contractors can do them. I''m doing this since I''m almost considered to be her guardian," the gatekeeper revealed.


    "If you want Memors, ask her to transfer them to you. It can be done," he gestured to me to place my wrist closer to him.


    "Rika, be extremely careful with this money. I''m handing you around fifty billion Aris," Luke''s grandfather turned to me.


    "Wait. I''m not doing this for free. I want something in exchange," I noticed his desperate eyes.


    "May we wait for other family members to come? My other grandparents want to join," Luke interrupted us.


    "I''ll also message my grandparents," Alex knew it was a good opportunity.

 Chapter 586 - Contractor (3)

    "Rika, I''m handing you nine hundred billion Aris, you can''t make a mistake," Luke''s grandfather from the Roselia family faced me.


    "I''m not doing this for free," I repeated.


    "I can give you a month of freedom," he desperately wanted Memors.


    "Only that?" I had the upper hand.


    "One and a half. We''ll buy you everything you want as well," he added.


    "We''ll rent out everywhere you want to visit," Alex''s grandfather from the Monete family joined us.


    "This is a large amount of money. It''s ten hundred billion Aris," he warned me.


    "We can also let you visit the other districts. Here is eight hundred billion Aris," Luke''s grandmother from the Suilett family transferred me the money.


    "I''m disappointed. Is this really all? Three months or no deal for all of you. I also want a budget of one million Aris I can use without permission," I brightly smiled.


    "Give her permission Logan," everyone turned to Luke''s grandfather from the Roselia family.


    "By the way, this is in addition to the remaining two days," I reminded him.


    "You have to be really careful Rika," he gave in from the pressure from others.


    I was feeling great, using my power over them to my advantage. I couldn''t stop smiling as grand amounts of money continued to flow into my bank account. I turned to the gatekeeper, "it''s obvious you''ll earn lots of commission from this deal. I want a wholesale deal, or this entire thing is off. Your chance of becoming rich will disappear."


    "500 Aris for each element," the gatekeeper was tempted by the money.


    "200 Aris for each element, you''re getting half of the money," I pointed out.


    "300 Aris for each element, I can''t go lower from the other fees," he gritted his teeth.


    "Deal," I gestured he could start with the exchange.


    "How do I transfer the money to them afterwards?" I wondered while the gatekeeper worked.


    "Just imagine pushing a number of Memors into them using your mana. Since they don''t have a bracelet, it''ll physically appear in the air. They''ll need to store it in an anti-mana room or else other fairies can steal them," he advised them.


    "Is the bracelet hard to create?" I could get more from the exchange.


    "You can make it for them. You can create a copy of what is on you. If you give me ten thousand light Memors, I can give you the book," the gatekeeper offered.


    "The bracelet is more secure than the anti-mana room. You can also choose its successor before your death," he added.


    "Add the book in the purchase, this is from using my initial exchange from three years ago," I never knew that option existed.


    "I can place it in your bracelet among the rest," he agreed.


    The gatekeeper exchanged the currencies, transferring everything into my bracelet. He beamed from the commission flowing into his own account, about to hum a happy song. Friendly waving to him to say my farewells, he closed the portal once he went inside. I could tell that we could become closer in the future. I tapped on my wrist, pulling the book out to see if I was able to read it.


    "The deal was only for the Memors. If you want the bracelets, it''s another story. I purchased the book using my own money," I skimmed through the book.


    "Your money came from us," One of them pointed out.


    "Then don''t get the bracelets," I shrugged.


    "What do you want Rika?" Logan was slowly losing his patience.


    "I want personal lessons on how to use powerful spells. I want to use obviation too," I d?s?r?d to become a cheat character.


    "How often?" He knew I wasn''t asking for a one-time thing.


    "Once every month for more than four hours," I didn''t want to visit them too often.


    "It''s only until you teach me everything you know," I added.


    "You have to promise us to never use the spells outside of the lessons. That incident can never repeat again. It was the start to the fairies being after you, wanting to be your contractor," he had a condition.


    "You can always decline. I meet the fairies during teatime everyday. I can ask them to teach me in your place. They always try hard to persuade me," I didn''t mind if he refused.


    "You actually asked them?" His eyes widened.


    "I learnt a spell from them," I was surprised by how generous they were.


    "You would be surprised by how generous all my kidnappers are. If it wasn''t for the pain and their exterior motives, I would try to visit them," I didn''t mind the kidnapping.


    "Fairies never do anything without expecting something in return," Jules'' grandfather pointed out.


    "They didn''t ask anything in return. I guess I''m special. In fact, I seem to be closer to fairies than you are," I noticed.


    "You only read about them in books and documents while I run into them all the time," I added.


    "Rika," Luke lightly elbowed me.


    "But It''s true. If they really want the bracelets, they''ll give me the lessons. Why else would I want them if I didn''t plan to use them?" I made the room go silent.


    It was likely most of the people inside this room were cheat characters.. Why couldn''t they share their knowledge with the next generation? Their families would become more powerful if everyone became cheat characters.

 Chapter 587 - Contractor (4)

    "We''ll do the lessons, visit each of us once a month. But you have to stop asking fairies to teach you," Logan gave in.


    "Sure," I brightly smiled.


    They didn''t know what happened during my dreams. I could ask the fairies for some pointers and they would never know. Surprisingly, the book that the gatekeeper gave me was easy to follow, the language unscrambling only for me. I began to visualize creating copies of my bracelet to the four people in front of us, adding a dimensional space. Chanting the spells since I didn''t know the theory behind them, most of them being illogical.


    "The bracelets will only appear if you keep pouring mana into them," I advised them.


    "It''ll take up too much of my borrowed mana to transfer the Memors and keep the bracelets in this world," I continued to pour more mana.


    "This takes a considerable amount of mana," one of them commented.


    "It''s due to the lack of mana in the air. It should automatically appear in the other dimension," I recalled.


    I was exhausted after transferring all the Memors to them, close to using most of my mana supply. I hoped they could tell me the solution to fix the contractor issue now. We had more people with us, all of them extremely old. I wondered if I could also skip school to go to the amusement park next week. Regret panged my heart every time I opened my bucket list, most of them unfilled.


    "I want to go to the amusement park tomorrow," I mumbled.


    "We can spread the three months during the next hundred years," Logan revealed.


    My jaw almost dropped from feeling like I was scammed. I forgot they were planning out my entire life for me. This was why I ran away often. How could I live with these kinds of people? I was tempted to kick the couch in front of me. I didn''t need money to be happy, I wanted freedom. Maybe it wouldn''t be so bad to visit the fairy world if not for the fact I would be stuck between travelling two dimensions forever.


    "I can run away," I began to threaten them.


    "You already ran away last week. You returned because you didn''t know how to handle this on your own," he pointed out.


    "Do you have a solution?" I faced everyone.


    "We can bring more tutors to improve your conversational skills. As long as you resist them, they can''t do anything to you. It seems that they''re restricted by a set of rules," he noticed.


    Luke listened to their new set of instructions with Alex. I clenched my hands into fists, not believing I would have to suffer under strict tutors on the weekend. I was never going to exchange Memors for them again. Their family got rich from being scammers. I wouldn''t be surprised if they were worse than criminals. They had the money to cover up all their actions.


    "You scammers! Kidnappers!" I shouted.


    "Rika believes we''re her kidnappers. She believed the fairy''s words when they tried to kidnap her," Alex explained.


    "It''s not wrong!" I glared at them.


    "I want to go back home. I''m sick of the first district," I wondered if I could avoid fairies in another district.


    "If you choose us as your contractors, you can easily overpower them," a fairy whispered into my ear.


    "Is this usually what happens while I sleep?" I turned to them.


    "We quickened the process to please you," she smiled.


    "I''m impressed by all the medicine they have to keep you alive. Once you take them, we can increase the speed even further," another fairy suggested.


    "Increase the speed to the limit," I didn''t mind.


    "Are you sure? You may suffer when you wake," one of them pointed out.


    "How much?" I wanted to get this over with.


    "Slightly less than your usual fevers," a fairy predicted.


    "Do it," I continued to stare at the mirror.


    "This is getting really dangerous. Her condition is suddenly rapidly deteriorating. Use everything we have," Luke''s grandfather on his mother''s side began to heal the dying girl.


    "Do you know more about this Elliot?" Luke''s grandmother stared at me.


    "The reversal is on another scale. The amount she borrowed is tremendous," he shook his head.


    "We can''t let her die. Our grandson can''t lose his fianc¨¦e. I''m going to join in with the healing. The medicine is making the reversal worse," Logan noticed.


    "Rika is always like this," Luke trembled, filled with worry.


    "Is it at the limit yet?" I faced the fairies.


    "Since they''re pouring more mana into you, we can increase the established limit," a fairy suggested.


    "How much longer will I have to suffer?" I wanted it to be done by today.


    "We can compress everything within four more days. If we attempt to kill you, we can decrease the pain after the weekends end," he brightly smiled.


    "Then try to kill me," I gestured to them to start.

 Chapter 588 - Contractor (5)

    "This is getting boring," I watched my body slowly dying.


    "Most people begin to panic when they see themselves close to death," a fairy became fascinated with me.


    "Do you have any games here? Like headgears or gaming consoles. Anime and movies are fine too," I slumped my head onto the table.


    "We do not possess any of these things," she shook her head.


    "Then what do you do during your spare time?" I wondered.


    "We like to observe humans. We also do some research on mana and take care of our families," he answered.


    "I''m sorry. I didn''t think the fairy world would be this poor," I pitied them.


    "What do you suggest we do?" The fairies became curious.


    "We can start with hand games. Since we''re a big group, the game will last longer," I began to teach them the moves.


    I was glad the time I spent with Luke and Alex was finally becoming more useful. I had many games that only needed your body to play them. I started to sing the song, lightly tapping the hands of the fairies beside me as they wondered what I was doing. The fairies were frozen in their seats, staring at me instead of moving their hands.


    "I can''t play this alone, follow me. This is a better way to pass time," I urged them.


    "How about we do something else? We can teach you more spells," one of them suggested.


    "You should abandon being my contractor if you can''t do this. I do this everyday whenever I get confined," I waited for them to join me.


    "Is there really nothing to do in the human world?" A fairy wondered.


    "We can play hide-and-seek after this," I went through the familiar schedule.


    "Hide-and-seek?" He turned to me.


    "You hide somewhere, and someone searches for you. The game is over when the searcher finds everyone," I explained.


    "Our contractee is still a small child," his face was full of disappointment.


    "That''s right! Do you want to play with dolls everyday?" I brightly smiled.


    These fairies were thousands of years old, according to the gatekeeper. It was likely they had no tolerance for childish games. Most of them were starting to look at me in a new light, taking my threats seriously. I wondered if I should increase the torture so they could run away from me. My acting skills have dramatically improved, no one questioning my actions. Although my appearance was annoying, it made me look more convincing in these kinds of situations.


    "I''m out. I can''t play with dolls again. I had a contractee like her before and it was hard waiting for them to grow up," a fairy left his seat.


    I hoped the other four would give up with him, but they didn''t. The fairies stayed in their spots, full of regret. I sighed from thinking of how I would have to create a few dolls in the other dimension. Maybe they would be made from clay if I dug enough dirt from the ground. I wondered if there were bugs here to catch. Most people hated bugs and it was likely fairies would be the same.


    "Let''s begin the hand games," I turned to the rest of them.


    "We speed the process. We''ll return you to the other side soon," one of them blurted.


    "What the heck were you doing until now? I thought it was already pressed to the limit," I narrowed my eyes.


    "It was, you''re still dangerously close to dying. But we didn''t actually think of killing you since we wanted your potential for an unlimited amount of mana in the future. One more push and you''re dead," he revealed.


    "Can''t you just give me some of your mana? This whole process would be over if you abandon your payment," I had the upper hand.


    "Let''s begin the hand games," she sighed.


    Unexpectedly, the fairies were brilliant at singing, the voices ringing like bells. Although the fairies appeared miserable, they followed everything I said. I knew how I was going to spend my newly earned money on the other side. Maybe I could annoy Alex enough to move out of the dorm room. He seemed to despise dolls after being tortured under them. I had to hide my smile when another one of them left in the middle of the hand game.


    I was left with three potential contractors, on the edge of their patience being destroyed. It was time to stop this game to make them explode. I coughed to grab their attention, "we''re going to dig the ground to catch some insects. Whoever catches the most impressive one wins the game."


    "No using mana and we''re going to be using our b?r? hands," I grinned.


    "This child is insane. The mana isn''t worth it," a fairy left the table.


    "What a pity," I pouted, cheering inside my heart.


    Before I could start the game, the scene shimmering onto the glass table interrupted us. Elliot stared at me, drained of energy, "I think we have to give up."


    "What are you saying?" Logan continued to exhaust his mana.


    "Is Rika going to die?" Luke lifelessly turned to them.


    "She''s not going to die. Your other grandfather doesn''t know what he''s saying," Logan tried to comfort Luke.


    "I''m going to teach you a new spell.. You can help your partner get through this," he started to write down a formula in the air.

 Chapter 589 - Contractor (6) - Alexs POV

    Although I was used to seeing Rika suffer from all her fevers, I could tell this was on a different level. Luke''s hands uncontrollably shook, trying to follow my granduncle''s instructions. Our grandparents were one of the most powerful people in the world, able to solve anything. If one of my grandfathers was giving up, it was a sign nothing more could be done. If Rika died, Luke would turn into an empty doll.


    Luke almost dedicated his entire life to Rika to the point they were nearly never separated from each other. I remembered the times when Luke thought Rika was dead, his eyes lifeless, tightly hugging himself. He blamed everything on himself, wondering why he didn''t watch over her enough. All our words of comfort never reached him, feeling like the world lost its colour to him. I wondered if Rika ever cared about the people she would leave behind.


    "You should adjust your control a bit," my granduncle gave pointers to Luke.


    "Will Rika live?" Luke repeatedly asked him.


    "We''re not going to give up on her. She will survive through this," he briefly faltered from pushing himself.


    "I think I can push myself further," my grandfather joined in, lifting his sleeves.


    "You can take over her organs on that side," my grandaunt gestured to him.


    "Why is everything failing this much?" He found the situation to be disastrous.


    "It wasn''t this bad ten minutes ago," he questioned them.


    "The reversal is getting worse every minute. It doubles in its intensity," my other grandfather pointed out.


    "Is there anything I can do to help?" I turned to them.


    "Keep us updated on what the machines show," my granduncle gave me a role.


    "But her heartbeat stopped," my eyes widened, staring at the screen.


    "It''s been like this for ten minutes," he revealed, desperately trying to revive her.


    I read the results multiple times, recalling everything I learnt in school. Since her heart had failed, no blood could circulate. Her lungs had entirely collapsed, no signs of breathing shown. Meanwhile, more mana was leaking out of her, draining her remaining lifeforce. Rika had to be dead. I couldn''t read these results out loud. Luke was frantically pouring nearly all his mana into her, hoping she would wake.


    I didn''t want to believe that Rika was dead. All those sleepless nights spent to help recover her health together with Luke in the past. The times I was forced to play dolls and other childish games with her since she was bored. Her bright and energetic smiles whenever she was with her friends. Although I knew Rika disliked me, I couldn''t completely hate her back. I invested a large amount of effort and time into her to help my cousin. We were family.


    Her nearly blue skin was starting to get filled with colour, turning into faint hues of pink underneath the paleness. Although the blood loss wasn''t stopping, the situation wasn''t hopeless anymore. My granduncle sighed in relief, finally taking the chance to rest. Luke tightly grasped onto Rika''s hand, looking for her pulse. My grandfather was stunned, staring at Rika who had managed to come back to life.


    My eyes widened when Rika opened her eyes. She blinked several times, looking a bit confused, turning her head to study her surroundings. Nobody expected her to be conscious this soon. She slowly rose to sit on the bed, looking a bit annoyed. Unexpectedly, her eyes twinkled, "I managed to get rid of four potential contractors. This is why I came back."


    "What do you mean by come back?" My granduncle wondered.


    "I''ve done enough on the other side," she shrugged.


    "I managed to condense everything into two more days," she seemed to be proud of herself.


    "Condense?" My granduncle was confused.


    "I''ve solved a part of the problem. The medicine and heal let the fairies increase the speed of the reversal. It was a struggle to convince them to push everything to the limits," she frowned.


    "You did everything intentionally?" He raised his voice.


    "It''s better to get it over with. I knew I wouldn''t die. The fairies said I was only dangerously close to dying. That''s where I stopped with increasing the speed," Rika revealed.


    "I knew there was something wrong when her condition dramatically worsened for no reason," my grandfather grumbled.


    Rika always had a way of disappointing the people around her. While we were busy worrying about her, she was the one causing her near death the entire time. Even the fairies disagreed with her in pushing the process to its limits. The room went silent, many of us furious towards her. This was why none of us could give her the freedom she desperately wanted. She didn''t deserve it.


    "We''re moving the days of freedom to fifty years later," my granduncle determined.


    "That''s not what you promised," Rika narrowed her eyes.


    "Micah, I want you here," she mumbled.


    Her words and actions weren''t making sense. Rika was telling us she managed to reject all her potential contractors, but she was trying to summon a fairy. A tiny hole appeared in the air, swirling to increase in size.. While I breathed in the high mana levels, watching a portal starting to form.

 Chapter 590 - Contractor (7)

    "Why are you just standing there? Didn''t you want to become my contractors? We need to start digging," I gestured to them.


    "You''re not digging yet," a fairy pointed out.


    I brightly smiled, using my b?r? hands to rip the grass out from the ground. Bigger bugs appeared deeper inside the ground, I needed to create a deep hole. Once I got rid of the grass, I began to pull the dirt into my hands, shaping large spheres. Pretending I was getting rid of the dirt, I threw them towards the fairies, ruining their clothes. My dress was ultimately destroyed, the white fabrics smeared with green stains mixed with muck.


    The fairies were too stunned to dodge, finding themselves as sudden targets. I cheered inside my heart as I noticed one of the fairies beginning to explode. I was surprised to find the other fairy to have a lot of patience, his expression b?r?ly changing. Maybe I would need to dig this hole faster to push one of them inside. Bribing them with money was the last resort, the gatekeeping telling me they were wealthy anyways.


    "Why are you not joining me?" I pouted.


    "My dress!" She was trembling in anger.


    "If you''re my contractor, your clothes will always be dirty. I always collect bugs in my spare time," I flawlessly lied.


    "So dig!" I ran towards her, pushing her towards the hole.


    Before she could react, I used all my strength to push her into the hole. Although the hole wasn''t deep, a sudden swarm of bugs entered the area. I covered my ears as the fairy screamed, finding the bugs swallowing her feet. Her face was flushed red, streaming in a mix of panic and anger. She flew towards the sky, desperately shaking her feet to remove the bugs. However, the bugs gripped onto her, unwilling to let go.


    "That''s not fair! You took all of them!" I stomped my feet.


    "I give up. I can''t be your contractor. You mannerless child!" She teleported to disappear.


    "Let''s continue without her," I faced the last remaining fairy.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be engaged to the heir of the Roselia family? They''re known to be one of the strictest families in the other dimension," he tried to study me.


    "A lot of things changed on the other side," I shrugged.


    "So do you still want me as your contractor?" I made his hands dirty.


    "I need my mana back," he nodded his head.


    "Then how about returning the rest of your mana and giving you some money to compensate you?" I suggested.


    "You already have a contractor?" The fairy wondered.


    "I don''t. I summon the gatekeeper sometimes," I revealed.


    "I have more than three million Memors," I tapped my bracelet to show him.


    "Do you take me to be a beggar?" He refused the money.


    "Aren''t you a beggar? You''re begging me to return your mana so I''m offering money with it," I smirked.


    "You still didn''t give up Micah?" A former potential contractor joined us.


    "He should just take the money and leave," I agreed.


    "You''re going to have a hard time with this spoiled mannerless child," she supported me.


    "She has the potential for an unlimited amount of mana," he was tempted.


    Unfortunately, they were interrupted when my legs went weak, wobbling until I collapsed onto the floor. My vision suddenly spun, swirling to make everything double. I grabbed my neck, unable to breath, wondering the cause of the sudden change. The fairy frowned, "you went too far with the reversal. She''s one second away from death."


    "You have to make the decision soon. She won''t last for two more days," she studied the table.


    "I won''t agree to make you my contractor," I managed to cough out.


    "How about you create a different contract for this child? You can make an equal agreement," she suggested.


    "When he asks for mana, you have the right to refuse or demand equal payment. Although the reversal will continue, he will bear some of the pain with you, sharing the burden. But the other parts of his role will act like a contractor," she explained.


    "What parts of a contractor?" I began to choke.


    "You can summon him whenever you want. He can also exchange currencies for you," she stared at me suffering.


    Compared to the pain, it didn''t seem like a bad deal. I nodded my head, willing to go with this option. Micah sighed from knowing he had no other choice, "we can go with this agreement. However, we can break the agreement if both parties agree after one year to either evolve it or eliminate it."


    "Hurry up and finish the agreement," I squeezed out.


    "We''re moving the days of freedom to fifty years later," Logan determined.


    "That''s not what you promised," I narrowed my eyes.


    "Micah, I want you here," I instantly tried to summon him.


    I patiently waited under the pressure of everyone else against me. An increasing tiny hole, swirling and full of condensed mana until a tall figure stepped into the room. Unfortunately, Micah appeared equally uncooperative like inside my dreams, making my face frozen.


    "What do you want Rika?" He appeared extremely annoyed.

 Chapter 591 - Contractor (8)

    "They''re breaking their promise in giving me more freedom. They plan to confine me again," I complained.


    "Aren''t you being too lenient on this mannerless child? You''re spoiling her," Micah scolded Logan.


    "Aren''t you supposed to be on my side?" I felt betrayed.


    "Why should I? I''m suffering equally as much as you are," he was cold towards me.


    "Go back. I don''t need you anymore," I was disappointed in him.


    "After the reversal is finished, you''re never getting any mana," I gestured to him to leave.


    "Our negotiations will start after the reversal is finished," he closed the portal, going inside.


    "How about you give us an explanation Rika?" Logan scarily faced me.


    "I don''t need to. Why should I? I tried to give you one and then you went back on your promise," I hated Luke''s family.


    I had tried really hard to convince the fairies to give up on their own. Speeding the process meant I would be able to suffer less in the future. It was one of the better choices, trying to get the reversal over with where I had the best medical equipment and healers. They had no right to get mad at me when they weren''t the ones in my place. I didn''t want to continue feeling like I would die in school.


    "That fairy should be her contractor," Elliot turned to Logan.


    "Micah is not my contractor. We had an agreement together," I crossed my arms.


    "Micah, come back, you''re explaining everything," I didn''t want to make a blunder.


    Instead of coming through another portal, Micah suddenly appeared in front of us. I wondered if he never truly left, watching us the entire time. Unfortunately, his patience appeared to be slowly snapping, slightly glaring at me. However, he went with my command, explaining to everyone, "I am not her contractor, we had an equal agreement together. Is there anything else you perhaps need from me?"


    "I am a busy fairy," he icily faced them.


    "Can you perhaps go into more details of your agreement together?" Logan knew he would be more reliable.


    "Please give me all the evidence that you are her main guardian. Agreements made by children under the age of sixteen have the right to be monitored by their main guardians only," he held out his hand.


    "Here are the documentations," Logan instantly pulled out of his inventory.


    My jaw almost dropped, staring at all the information about me recorded under their family files. From the reports about my health to my current performance in school. There was nothing that they didn''t know about me. Some pictures from my younger days were attached to the past reports, showing they have been doing this for a long time. Surprisingly, my parents were listed as my backup guardians, last in line after everyone in Luke''s family was busy to contact.


    "Are these copies? I need a copy of everything you possess. I am her guardian in the fairy world," Micah revealed.


    "This is everything from the past five years. I will have to visit my office to get the older ones starting from fourteen years ago," Logan teleported out of the room.


    "You never said this was a part of the agreement," I turned to Micah.


    "It''s your fault for not asking. I wouldn''t have to take the role of your guardian, if you chose me as your contractor," he shrugged.


    "Agreements can only be made with children," he explained.


    "Where do you want me to transfer all the files?" Logan returned.


    "Please place them into this bag," Micah took out a wooden suitcase.


    "Isn''t this a violation of privacy?" I watched the skyrocket number of documents being placed inside.


    "Here are the documentations about the agreement in exchange," Micah ignored me to pass them to Logan.


    I was shocked to figure out the agreement amounted to thousands of pages. I thought everything was verbal, not expecting him to be this prepared. Micah was very intent on having me as his contractor. I wondered when he had the time to draft everything together. After a brief discussion with Logan, Micah disappeared after fulfilling his role. Maybe I should have refused everything till the very end.


    "This agreement isn''t bad," Logan quickly skimmed through the file.


    "What do you think, Elliot?" He passed him a copy.


    "I have never seen something like this before. This is good for a young child, considering that they don''t have the ability to decide everything for themselves yet," Elliot agreed.


    "See! I''ve tried hard on the other side to get this agreement. It''s better than being a contractor," I wanted my days of freedom back.


    "What did you do to get this agreement?" Elliot was impressed.


    "I played hand games with the fairies and dug a hole to throw dirt at them. When the hole was deep enough, I pushed one of them inside," I had a hard time avoiding bugs on my end.


    The room went silent, everyone turning to stare at me. Only Luke and Alex truly knew what hand games were. Maybe it would be better if I revealed the fairies'' weakness. To break the silence, I added, "fairies hate bugs. You can easily convince them to do something when you push them inside a hole filled with bugs."


    "It''s no wonder they went with this agreement.. They thought she wasn''t m?tur? enough to handle the normal contract," Logan mumbled.

 Chapter 592 - Contractor (9)

    "Listen Rika. We found some leniency in this agreement and we''re letting you know about them because we trust you. You cannot ever treat your fairy like a servant," Logan faced me.


    "I wouldn''t treat Micah like a slave," I nodded my head.


    A slave was different from a servant. Servants got paid while slaves worked for free. If the arrangements were favourable on my end, I planned to take advantage of them. Since Micah seemed to be capable, he could do my schoolwork for me. He also had a lot of mana, meaning that he could spell the teachers to make the classes shorter. Maybe signing an agreement with him wasn''t that bad.


    "He will be forced to come to you whenever you summon him for no payment. Since you are not contractors, you''re not obligated to share mana with him. He has to get your agreement and you can ask for anything and choose the amount to give. He can exchange currencies for you for no commission. It''s his duty to keep you safe, which is why he asked for those documents. He has the obligation to guide you through dimensions and can open portals for you for free," Logan summarized.


    "How is it favourable on my end?" I wondered.


    "You can make him do anything for you with b?r?ly any payment if the negotiations later today go well," he explained.


    "I won''t ever treat Micah as a slave!" My eyes twinkled.


    The reversal ended yesterday, meaning Micah was visiting today to finish the loose ends of the agreement. Although I was confined to the mansion, it wasn''t different from school. The family tutors came to take their place, stuck in a time-space study room with Luke and Alex. We waited inside Elliot''s office, sitting on the couch. However, I didn''t expect everyone to join us, wanting to be a part of the negotiation.


    Micah exactly arrived at the arranged time, opening a portal near the entrance of the office. He was dressed differently, formally in a suit and holding two briefcases with him. As soon as he sat down at his indicated seat, he opened his bags, pulling out many documents with him. Logan led the discussion, gesturing, "shall we begin?"


    "From going through the documents, this girl has gotten kidnapped more than three times, a target for all the criminals, problems with stalkers and friendly with monsters," Micah sighed.


    "It is not easy to keep her safe," Logan slightly nodded his head


    "Her health is disastrous. She''s always seconds away from dying," Micah slapped the documents on the table.


    "Unfortunately, my granddaughter is very weak and vulnerable. This is why we hope to establish the payment to be related to the status to her health," Logan began to negotiate.


    "I don''t want a dead girl. I won''t ask for any payment when it comes to her health and safety," Micah agreed.


    "We also ask you to make sure she doesn''t get too reckless. If you refer to this file, you should know her usual reactions to dangerous situations," Logan gestured.


    "I can try to prevent her from exhausting her body for no payment. I''ll try to accept her requests to make sure she doesn''t try to dangerously consume her mana," Micah knew what he was implying.


    "Is this all?" He wrote down their demands.


    "This is all on our side," Logan adjusted the sentences on the agreement.


    "We can have monthly meetings together. This is a way for guardians to monitor the agreement," Micah suggested.


    "Rika is visiting me once a month. This is when we can have our meetings," Logan arranged a time.


    "I apologize for interrupting, but may you provide us with the connections to use your currencies?" Alex''s grandfather came for this purpose.


    "If Rika visits you, it''s also a possibility for me to make the arrangements for a suitable price," Micah began to finalize his documents.


    "Rika is visiting all of us once a month," Alex''s grandfather was satisfied.


    "What if I don''t want to visit anymore? I can ask Micah to teach me those spells," I wondered.


    "The way that fairies and humans use their mana is different," Logan dismissed that concern.


    "I can teach her some spells. Her constitution is very similar to ours when it comes to mana, but the lack of control is a concern," Micah noticed in my dream.


    "Those rings are a seal to prevent mana from leaking, aren''t they?" He pointed out.


    My eyes widened, looking down on the multiple rings on my fingers. I never knew they were dulling my mana, hearing that they were placed to help control my mana. I was forced to wear them ever since I was young, thinking they were annoying. However, the stores never mentioned anything about this feature, boasting about the jewels and designs instead. And some of the rings were new, the ones that Alex had bought around a month ago.


    "Most of the accessories are used to redirect her mana to help with her health," he added.


    "How can you tell?" I wondered.


    "They were spelled that way from the boy beside you. This is impressive for his age," Micah praised Luke.


    "The level of precision and control to get the exact results you''re trying to achieve. I can teach you how to increase your potential.. There is a way to expand your mana capacity at your age," he turned to Luke.

 Chapter 593 - Contractor (10)

    "If you''re successful, you can possess the potential for an unlimited amount of mana like your partner," Micah revealed.


    "How is this possible?" Logan was surprised.


    "Your grandson possesses quite a large amount of his partner''s mana. They go along very well to the point one may perfectly substitute for the other. It''s possible to integrate them together to change the composition of his own mana under the age of sixteen," he explained.


    "It wasn''t like this when we tested their compatibility at a younger age," Logan was confused.


    "Compatibility can increase when you transfer your mana to others often, especially when done in larger amounts. Mana gets mixed together, changing the composition a little each time," he went into the details.


    "Have you done this?" Logan turned to Luke.


    "I think it was from using heal often. Rika would transfer me her mana when I ran out of mine since I had better control," Luke recalled.


    "If the transfer is done from using heal, it makes sense that their mana is very similar to each other," Micah agreed.


    "Is it possible for my grandson to increase his potential as well?" Alex''s grandfather wondered.


    "It''s likely not possible, but I can check," he offered.


    Micah gestured to me and Alex to come closer towards him. One of his hands held mine while the other was holding Alex''s hand. A tingling feeling went in and out of me, a similar sensation to when I transferred mana with Luke. Micah froze after a few seconds, spinning his head to Alex, "why is there so much of your mana inside her body?"


    "I used heal on Rika often," Alex hesitantly revealed.


    "Rika would transfer mana to my cousin and then my cousin would transfer some mana to me to help him recover her health," he threw a glance at Luke.


    "If you train very extensively, you can increase your potential to what your cousin currently possesses. Your mana composition has changed enough for it to happen. Just how much did your grandchildren use heal?'' Micah was astonished.


    "We don''t use heal that often. It''s usually around once a week," I mumbled.


    "Your compatibility with each other is second to the boy beside you. You must have exchanged a large amount of mana many times," he murmured.


    "In fact, the three of you have very similar mana compositions. Usually, only twins can come close to this," he stared at us.


    "How long will it take for my grandchildren to increase their potential?" Elliot joined in.


    "With his talent, it wouldn''t be surprising if it took less than half a year. While it would take around a year for the other child," Micah turned to Luke before facing Alex.


    "However, they''ll need to be around her for the duration of the training to make it effective," he let go of our hands.


    "I can make arrangements with the school to keep them in the same dorms into high school," Alex''s grandfather noted inside his head.


    "Shouldn''t Alex be with his own partner? I''m not living with him longer than middle school," I couldn''t let this development continue.


    There was no way I could suffer under two people for an additional year. This would mean Alex would join Luke in following me around. It was worse than the current situation since Alex avoided me as much as I did to him. I clenched my hands into fists since I knew the school would agree with the new arrangements, their families being huge donors. I wondered if I could force Micah back into the fairy world.


    "Family should stick together," Alex''s grandfather sent a message to the school.


    "Say something!" I turned to Alex.


    "What do you want me to say?" Alex softly mumbled.


    "This arrangement won''t work anyways. How about social week? We''re in different fractions and this means we''ll have different schedules," I tried to reason.


    "Can you make the adjustments for the upcoming social week Luke?" Alex''s grandfather ignored me.


    "I''m the next fraction leader or the current one for all my fractions. It will be very hard to change anything," Luke politely declined.


    "Your grandson is impressive. How did he manage to become the fraction leader for every one of them?" Alex''s grandfather turned to Logan.


    "Can we let Micah leave now? He''s a busy fairy," I interrupted them, not wanting the conversation to continue.


    "I apologize for taking your time," Logan allowed him to leave.


    "I have spared the entire day for today. I can spend the remaining time teaching the children to increase their mana potential in another room," Micah began to pack his documents.


    This was how the four of us moved to a large bedroom. I rolled around the bed, bored from watching them follow Micah''s instructions. I didn''t know why I had to be there with them, not participating in anything. I began to question who was the person that made the agreement with Micah. Unfortunately, Micah was much nicer to Luke and Alex, treating me very coldly compared to them. He complimented them whenever they moved onto the next step.


    "I want to leave this room," I rose from the bed.


    "You can''t stay put for ten minutes?" Micah sighed.


    "Teach me a spell too," I wanted to do something.


    "You don''t have enough control yet.. You should work on getting those rings off you first," Micah treated me differently from my dreams.

 Chapter 594 - Exposed (1)

    "You can''t tell anyone about Micah. Do you understand Rika?" Luke couldn''t trust my friends.


    "Why can''t I summon Micah?" I was disappointed in my fairy.


    Micah spent more time with them than he did with me. While I was forced to study with the family tutors, Luke and Alex would learn more about mana from him. I felt greatly betrayed by Micah since he always took their side, ignoring me until he absolutely had to talk to me. It was obvious they wanted to hog Micah for themselves. I looked outside the window inside the hover car, finally returning to school before social week started.


    "You can summon him inside our mansions or the dorm room," Luke set the rules.


    "You make an agreement with him then," I found them to be a perfect match.


    "We already have an agreement with him," Alex joined in.


    "How?" I never knew.


    "We had some conditions added during the negotiations," he revealed.


    "We can cancel your summons," he warned me.


    Maybe it was better not to summon Micah. I stepped out of the hover car, finding it land near the dorm building. Social week was three days from now, not letting me spend much time with the club room. Reflecting back on my last year of middle school, I realized I stayed at the mansion longer than I did in school. My last remains of hope went into the summer vacation that had somehow extended into two months before transitioning into high school.


    Since Oili didn''t possess the same break, I knew it had to be a recent addition. But it was a chance to spend more time with my parents. Luke never broke his promises, always fulfilling them in some form. Instead of going to the topmost floor, I stopped at the second floor, the place where Sienna and Delia lived. I didn''t know where Shelly''s new dorm room would be, never getting the chance to be invited.


    "Why are you stopping?" Alex urged me to continue walking up the stairs.


    "I want to visit Sienna and Delia," I walked towards their room.


    I knocked on Delia''s dorm room, finding it to be closer to me. Surprisingly, Delia was with Shelly when she opened the door. In fact, Sienna was seen to be inside her bedroom when I peeked through the slight opening in the door. Delia gestured to me to come inside, letting me join them. A smile instantly grew on my face, about to spend time with my friends for the first time in weeks. I was never allowed to visit other people''s dorm rooms except for when I switched partners.


    "We have to catch up on school Rika," Luke stopped me.


    "But we''ve been studying with the family tutors for the entire time," I pointed out.


    "You should let my friend go," Delia was hostile towards them.


    "You''re too controlling," she seemed to be sickened.


    "Thirty minutes," I pulled out my most pitiful eyes.


    "Decrease it to ten," Alex suggested to Luke.


    "Fifteen minutes," Luke gave into me.


    I nodded my head, finding it to be better than nothing. Unexpectedly, as soon as I came inside, Delia almost slammed the door on their faces. I had to hide my smile, cheering inside my heart until the door was entirely closed. My friend had somehow changed when she used to be more friendly towards them. I wondered what could have happened during the time I was sleeping. The club room could have been the only place where they would have met.


    "How do you live with people like them?" Delia showed me where the snacks were placed.


    "I don''t have a choice. They made new arrangements so I would live with them into high school," I turned to Shelly.


    "Really?" Shelly was excited.


    "I mean, I''m sorry," she noticed I was a little depressed.


    "I think you''ll join me during social week. Alex made adjustments to his schedule," I let her know.


    "He sent me a message about it. We''ll be attending separately when we have events that don''t match," she revealed.


    "This is pretty unusual," Delia brought more snacks.


    "You have packages of pudding and jelly!" My eyes glittered.


    I was impressed by all the snacks on the table. I didn''t know Delia would know about fried chips, cup noodles and cheap pastries. There was a variety of desserts, not caring about the price. My mind melted when I ate a package of sugary jelly into my mouth. The last time I was able to eat this was when Jules snuck some packages for me into the mansion. My heart warmed from our strong friendship, touching everything on the table.


    "Take everything you want. I know they control everything you eat," Delia pitied me.


    "How much do they control?" Sienna was the same as Delia.


    "Everything they can? I dyed my hair once and they spent the entire day trying to erase the dye as soon as they figured out. I have to get permission to make minor changes on my appearance from now on," I recalled.


    "That far?" Shelly gasped.


    "And how do you like the salon? It''s a miserable place," I wondered if my experience was abnormal.


    "It''s fun to choose which treatments you get," Shelly explained.


    I sadly smiled, knowing the reason why I hated that place now.. I never got to choose anything for myself, making the entire experience miserable.

 Chapter 595 - Exposed (2)

    "Those two people aren''t even human beings!" Sienna got angry for me.


    "Is Alex like this to you?" She turned to Shelly.


    "He''s only like this to Rika," Shelly shook his head.


    After hearing about how much I suffered from them, they were stunned. Their illusions of Luke completely shattered, looking at him in a new light. I knew everything that happened inside the mansion was over the line, having Charles pitying me. However, it was my everyday life, something I couldn''t easily remove. I sighed as I continued to eat more snacks to comfort myself, knowing it was a rare chance.


    "I won''t open the door for them after fifteen minutes," Delia consoled me.


    "Can I spend the night here?" I wondered if we could have a sleepover.


    "We can. I threw Allan out of my dorm earlier today," she explained why everyone was here.


    I started to turn my marble off, deactivating it all together. I didn''t want to receive any calls and messages since they would be warnings to return. When the remaining minutes quickly passed, Shelly''s marble began to vibrate, showing it was coming from Alex. The atmosphere instantly stiffened, Shelly deciding to do the same thing as I did earlier. However, a call came to Sienna, displaying Cillian on the screen.


    "What''s wrong?" Sienna accepted the call.


    "You should return Rika. They look extremely furious," Cillian warned us.


    "What? Just for passing a minute?" Delia checked the time.


    "It''s similar to the time she got a fever. I don''t think she''ll be allowed to visit the club room anymore," Cillian continued.


    "Don''t open the door. There''s nothing they can do as long as we''re inside here," I could skip classes tomorrow.


    "I can say we all got sick," Shelly started to write a message to the teachers.


    "They''re insane," Delia commented after the call ended.


    "I brought some scented roses and bubbles to take a bath with today," Sienna changed the topic.


    "You can try them out first," she pitied me.


    "Can I borrow your clothes?" I didn''t have any extra pyjamas with me.


    "I have an extra onesie with me," Delia smiled.


    "You have those?" I loved how loose they were.


    "Let me guess. Luke never lets you wear them," she hit the mark.


    I nodded my head, accepting the clothes and going into the bathroom. I felt great when taking a bath, enjoying the flowery aroma and playing with the bubbles. I made some cute shapes, a bunny, hearts and headgears. My mind melted, feeling my tense muscles relaxing. I knew I was spending a long time, but it was paradise. Once I got out, a smile unknowingly appeared on my face, changing into the comfortable onesie.


    "Where did you buy them?" I wondered.


    "When I went travelling last summer," Sienna was about to take her turn.


    "We can go together this time," Delia offered.


    "I''ll find a way to escape," I needed to plan beforehand.


    "Was Luke always like this?" She turned to Shelly.


    "Luke let Rika come for sleepovers before, but it changed once we entered middle school. He rarely lets her go out anymore," Shelly shook her head.


    "We can go right after social week, during the weekends. They''ll be too flustered to notice," Delia helped me plan.


    "Where should we go?" I started to get excited.


    "We should think of what our budget should be first," Shelly had some experience.


    "Luke controls my bank accounts," I sadly revealed.


    "It''s fine. We have enough money. I always wanted to travel together with you," Delia dismissed my concerns.


    I was touched by my friends, going over my bucket list with them. The places I wanted to go weren''t expensive, meaning we could easily spend around a month there. However, we all agreed we would be avoiding the companies that Luke''s family and his relatives owned. Unfortunately, those were the places with the best reviews. I always wanted to visit other parts of the first district, sick of being limited to the places I was constantly exposed.


    "He really confines you all the time," Sienna joined us.


    "It''s hard to persuade Luke to let Rika go anywhere," Shelly agreed.


    "And it''s even harder now with the new arrangements," I ?r??n?d.


    "Wait, I''m getting a call," Delia swiped on her screen.


    "Can you open the door? I forgot something inside," Allan appeared on her screen.


    Allan was on the other side of the door, strangely knocking when he should have access. Delia narrowed her eyes, carefully studying the scene in the video. Unfortunately, Allan mouthed, "I''m going to have to open the door soon. They pressured me. Escape while you can."


    I stiffened from realizing that Allan was buying us some time. I looked out the window, ducking when I noticed someone was standing right below it. My mind went blank when I couldn''t get a rope to go somewhere else, the club room and Sienna''s dorm room equally being vulnerable. While I was racking my brain, the door slowly opened on the other side. I was a goner when Allan gestured to Luke that he could come inside.


    Instantly, Luke''s eyes landed on the snacks laid out on the table, disapproving them. I began to shudder, hiding behind Delia. Maybe I should have teleported to Oili''s dorm room since I still possessed his access card.


    "What did you feed Rika?" He scarily turned to them.

 Chapter 596 - Exposed (3)

    "Rika can get sick from eating these foods," Luke softened, noticing they were tense.


    "We were planning to have a sleepover tonight," Delia confidently explained.


    "I apologize, but we have to catch up on school. Let''s go Rika," he warned me to follow him.


    "I want to stay," I continued to hide behind Delia.


    Everyone was stunned, watching Luke instantly pull me into his arms, forcing me to leave with him. I couldn''t move, twisting and turning while being carried out of the room. I wondered why he didn''t carry his usual mask. He rarely did this in front of other people. Was it because everyone already knew his true nature? If it was, this was bad. There was nothing holding him back from treating me the same way in front of my friends.


    "Isn''t this too much?" Allan blocked the door.


    "Rika recently recovered. She can''t get another fever again," Luke explained.


    "This is insane," Delia murmured.


    "We''ll make sure to compensate you for the pyjamas. We can send you a cheque later," he waited for Allan to move.


    "This isn''t an issue about money. How can you treat your partner like this?" Delia was repulsed.


    "Don''t you see the rashes on her skin?" Luke pulled one of my sleeves up.


    The room went silent, studying my arm. This vessel was weaker on the days I have recently recovered from a large injury or fever. I sighed as Allan moved away from the door, noticing the faint pink dots. My face rested on Luke''s shoulder, giving up since I was already outside the room. I wondered what the trigger was this time, going through everything I ate and used. Once Luke entered our dorm room, he placed me on the couch.


    "Tell me everything you ate and used," he was thinking along the same lines as me.


    "It has to be the soap she used. The flowery scent is too strong," Alex joined us.


    When I entered the club room the next day, everyone looked at me with full of pity in their eyes. It was a strange feeling, having everyone on my side for the first time in weeks. Oddly, Ethan turned to me, "is there anything you want? We can buy them for you."


    "Really?" I felt touched.


    "I apologize, but we will have to refuse," Luke interrupted us.


    "I was asking Rika," Ethan treated him coldly.


    "We have the right to decline," Alex joined us, equally icy towards them.


    "I want some large stuffed dolls like a bunny and a teddy bear!" My eyes glittered, planning to annoy Alex into moving out.


    "I can buy them for you if you listen during the study sessions," Luke proposed to me.


    "Is that all?" Ethan was beginning to make the purchases, ignoring him.


    "I want a portable latest gaming console with some battle games installed inside," I could use inside the mansion.


    "The things she wants aren''t close to being expensive," Ethan mumbled, looking at the total price.


    "Where would you like me to send them to you?" He finished paying.


    "Inside the club room. I don''t know if I''ll be able to get them otherwise," I hinted someone may decline them in my place.


    "How much did this all cost?" Alex pulled out a cheque.


    "I don''t need any money in return. I''m giving some presents to my friend," Ethan refused, closing his screen before they could check.


    "I can buy something for you too," Oili offered.


    "How about an apartment in this neighbourhood?" I recalled the place that Elise lived, my former supposedly kidnapper.


    "How can an apartment be this cheap?" Oili''s eyes widened.


    "How much is it?" Ethan moved closer to him.


    "This is possible? It costs similar to the things I just paid for," he couldn''t close his mouth.


    "You''re actually buying her an apartment?" Alex watched them.


    "Why not? It''s cheap while the quality isn''t bad. The property is undervalued," Oili bought two units, one for himself.


    "I''m buying one here too," Ethan followed him.


    "How did you figure out about this location?" He was impressed, turning to me.


    "I have my ways. I''ve been inside a unit before. I can guarantee you it''s better once you go in person," I smiled.


    "I''m going to join you," Delia made the same purchase.


    "Is there anything else you want?" She wanted to give me some presents.


    "I want more comfortable clothes and shoes. Most of mine are burnt when discovered," I sadly smiled.


    "What about the ones I transferred?" Sienna had my current supply.


    "Burnt when discovered," I hinted.


    "This isn''t right," Cillian turned to Luke and Alex.


    "You always burn her possessions when you don''t approve of her having them," he recalled.


    "And they were purchased using the money my parents sent me," I implied I purely used my own money.


    "You burn them?" Ethan was shocked, staring at them in a new light.


    "It''s nothing new," Oili added, knowing from my complaints.


    "Luke always confiscates everything from Rika. His mansion is void of any signs of entertainment. He also bans her from entering certain spaces," Shelly recalled her brief visit.


    "You also confined my friend inside the hotel room when we entered the second district!" Sienna added to the increasing accusations.


    "This isn''t just being strict. What kind of life have you lived until now?" Ethan pitied me.


    "This is just the beginning," Delia began to reveal all my stories from last night.

 Chapter 597 - Exposed (4)

    "This is over the line," Oili commented.


    "Is this actually all real?" He turned to Luke and Alex.


    "Do you know Rika as much as we do? She''s too reckless and needs guidance in many areas," Alex didn''t deny the claims.


    "It is real," he mumbled.


    "This is just the surface to everything," I shrugged when everyone turned to pity me.


    "How could there be more?" Ethan slightly trembled.


    "Rika, let''s have a conversation together," Luke wanted to pull up the walls around his office.


    "Is it because nobody mentioned you need permission from Luke to go anywhere? Earlier in middle school, you couldn''t visit your parents without him," Shelly added to the claims.


    "You also have to follow the strict schedule they set for you everyday when not in school," she finished recalling.


    "There''s more, but I think I''ll get in trouble if it gets out," I sadly smiled.


    Almost everything was revealed, only the recent events remaining. Shelly knew more than the others, being partnered with Alex. Our club president was in disbelief, pretending he was invisible while listening to everything. Luke abandoned his usual mask since mostly everything was exposed. I stiffened from noticing the subtle change, hoping it wouldn''t drastically change the way he treated me from now on.


    "I do this to manage Rika''s health and to keep her safe," Luke gestured to me to come to him.


    I shook my head, wanting to avoid him. Instead, I hid behind Ethan, the person closest to me. My hands uncontrollably shook, seeing him walk towards me since I wasn''t coming to him. Last night was terrible, being lectured for hours like there wasn''t an end. Suffering under two people made it worse, continuing when the other took a break. I didn''t want this to happen in the open. Ethan frowned from noticing my eyes full of fear, reflecting with desperate pleads for help.


    Tears started to well in my eyes, soon finding myself in the air. Before Ethan could react, Luke quickly pulled me up to carry me in his arms. It was unfortunate that yesterday''s scene was repeating again with the addition of new audience members. I began to sniffle, tears streaming down from my face. I didn''t bother struggling this time, knowing it would be useless. All the people in this room already pitied me.


    "We can study together for the remainder of the time. You knew what would happen once everything got revealed," he walked to his desk.


    "What did I tell you about receiving presents from other people?" He began his lecture.


    "You end up owing them something in return since nothing is for free," I mumbled.


    "This is why we''re going to decline everything. I can buy you most of the things you want once you earn them," he went with his initial proposal.


    "But I can''t buy the apartment and the gaming console," he had some conditions.


    "I don''t want them anymore," I knew the price for them.


    "You don''t have any friends except for family. That''s why you don''t know anything called goodwill," I found it pitiful.


    "What did we tell you friends were?" Alex indirectly insulted most of the people in the room.


    "You said it was temporary. Some people in this room came to be true friends because they were connected to each other by family," I never believed their explanation.


    "You remembered everything but still asked for presents?" He began to raise his voice.


    "But the both of you never had the experience of expanding your world," I couldn''t completely blame them for being caged inside a small world.


    "And who is the one friendly with all their past kidnappers?" Alex tried to point out.


    "You''re kidnappers too. You don''t let me visit my parents anymore. They have to come to me after I get your approval," I didn''t like to wait until the holidays.


    "We''re not your kidnappers Rika. We never placed you in danger like they did," Luke continued to deny the claims.


    The lecture continued for more than seven hours, making everyone listen for a long time. I could tell they were shocked, hearing the content. Unfortunately, they were witnessing one of the lighter scolding, less threats added to them. Once Luke let me return to the other section of the room, the sky was starting to turn dark. I smiled to be able to face my friends again, "what games should we play next?"


    "Isn''t this brainwashing?" Oili softly murmured to Ethan.


    "This is crazy," Ethan agreed.


    "Everyone could notice the warnings mixed inside," Delia muttered.


    "Can we start doing something now?" I interrupted them, wanting to do something to heal from the lecture.


    "Is this normal for you?" Sienna couldn''t hear my intentions.


    "This is one of the lighter ones. Should we start with this multiplayer one?" I nodded my head.


    "Most of the lectures are harsher to the point it doesn''t compare to today," Shelly revealed.


    "I''m running out of time for today," I wondered why everyone was ignoring me.


    "How can it get harsher?" Cillian didn''t believe Shelly.


    "There''s only so much they can do inside school. Once social week starts, they have more control," Shelly explained.


    "It''s time to leave the club room Rika," Luke started to drag me out.


    I hoped this wouldn''t continue into tomorrow.. I didn''t need pity if my friends were going to be too focused on it.

 Chapter 598 - Exposed (5) - Oliver’s POV

    After visiting the club room, I walked to visit Rika''s new storage room. Charles was busy with placing more barriers around the room while Jules was desperate to fortify them. I didn''t understand why they were making it more secure than the school barrier. At first, I knew it was due to trying to hide from Luke, but spending a month on it was insane. I wanted to talk to Charles to get more information about Rika''s situation since they spent three months together in the mansion.


    I never knew Rika was engaged to Luke in elementary school. Rika was laid back, relaxing to be with. She never judged any of my actions nor had any other intentions when approaching me. The aspect of politics and fractions were never brought up, focusing on using the karaoke machine instead. Rika always addressed me using my first name, eventually switching to calling me by my nickname that only family members used with me.


    On the other hand, Jules was sneakier. Rather than enjoying the secret room, he mostly went with Rika''s actions. In the past, I wondered why he was interested in Rika, finding no connections between each other. However, everything came to light during the charity ball, finding Luke introducing himself and his partner. My mind went blank, shocked to figure out Rika''s true identity.


    "Hurry up and come inside," Jules urged me, interrupting my thoughts.


    "We''re dead if Luke finds any traces of it," Charles widely opened the door.


    I walked inside the room, discovering more identification features added. Maybe both of them knew the whole truth the entire time, fearing Luke behind their masks. Most of the items inside Rika''s storage room were harmless, various entertainment and clothes mixed with junk food. I pitied Rika, having a strict partner that burned all her possessions. When Rika revealed it to me last year, I tried to persuade Charles to give her a storage room in exchange for joining our fraction.


    "Why is Luke so strict with Rika?" I wondered.


    "Luke raised Rika for over ten years. You have to be careful around Luke when it comes to Rika," Jules gestured to me to sit down on the couch.


    "He tries to control everything about her," I found it to be extreme.


    "You figured out?" Charles seemed to know everything.


    "What happened during the time you spent together in the mansion?" I wanted to know more.


    "I''m telling you this since you seem to mostly know everything. If this spreads to everyone else, Luke won''t have to hide it anymore," Charles equally pitied Rika.


    "How much worse could it get?" I leaned back into the couch.


    "Rika can''t do anything without Luke''s permission. Since Luke got rid of most of the entertainment, we made an excuse we were seeing documentaries. The next day, they banned them from Rika since they didn''t approve of her seeing them," he revealed.


    "It''s gotten worse," Jules agreed.


    "Didn''t you say they also sealed her mana for not listening to them?" he turned to Charles.


    "They did what?" I was stunned.


    "They confined Rika to her room for weeks, bringing all her meals to her room. Rika got mad and threw some pillows at them. It was because they f?r??b?? sealed all of her mana with the bracelets," Charles explained.


    "But Rika wears them all the time," I noticed.


    "All those accessories are actually tools to shackle her to them. They can choose the location and determine how many steps she can move inside it," he nodded his head.


    "What kind of life has she been living?" I couldn''t imagine.


    "A miserable one. Her health is so fragile she gets sick so easily. Each time she gets sick, it''s life threatening. The pain is nothing you can imagine. But when you combine that with having no privacy of her own, it''s pretty hard to tolerate," Charles seemed to be close with Rika.


    "You also have to see Luke''s side to get the full story," Jules began to add.


    "Imagine you have a partner who encounters dangerous situations very easily. You dedicated your entire life to her, but you often see her close to death. You think it''s your fault for not watching her enough when you watch her painfully suffer each time. You''re definitely going to do anything to prevent similar things from happening again," he reasoned.


    "Rika is reckless and doesn''t seem to care about her life," Charles agreed.


    "But she''s mostly pushed to a corner with how controlling Luke is," I realized.


    "Rika has been confined ever since she came to the first district. In elementary school, they almost never allowed her to leave the school. Now, she''s always confined inside the mansions whenever the holidays come," Jules nodded his head.


    "Is this why she always wants to visit the amusement park, waterpark and the other attractions?" I recalled.


    "Rika has never been to those places before in her life. We went to the amusement park last month and I''ve never seen her so happy. It was her first time," Charles sighed.


    Rika''s relationship with Luke was very twisted. I could understand both sides of the story, but this situation was terrible. I didn''t know how I would reveal this to the rest of the people in the club room.. Rika''s life would get more miserable if Luke figured out everyone knew. How were they able to hide this until now?

 Chapter 599 - Exposed (6) - Oliver’s POV

    "Are you serious?" Ethan commented after I decided to reveal everything.


    "You have to pretend you don''t know or else it''ll become worse for Rika," I reminded him.


    "He wasn''t anything like this when I lived with him for two weeks. It was almost the complete opposite," Delia was horrified.


    "You can pass your presents for her to me. I know a safe way to hand it to her," I planned to place it in her storage room.


    "I''m going to buy more of Rika''s favourite snacks," Sienna nodded her head.


    Our conversation stopped when we heard footsteps coming towards the club room. When the door opened, Rika brightened by the sight of us. I began to notice all the accessories she wore, knowing the true purpose of them. She wore numerous rings, bracelets, earrings and hairclips that could amount to a small pile. Before she could greet us, Alex urged her to continue walking to their office.


    Rika dejectedly listened to him, under the eyes of two merciless people. We knew the first thing Rika had to do was to attend their study sessions once she arrived at the club room. In the past, we went with the flow since we knew her poor grades. However, Luke didn''t pull the walls up for the first time, ?ssuming we already knew everything behind the scenes. I couldn''t help but frown when watching them, finding the study session to be awful.


    "Let''s go onto the next chapter," Luke opened a new workbook.


    The room was filled with sounds of sniffling, beautiful tears streaming down her face. It has been like this for hours. Rika was begging them to be more lenient on her since they were making her repeat the question until it was ingrained into her. They never forgave second time mistakes, doubling the practice. I couldn''t take my eyes off them, not knowing this was happening the entire time inside the same room.


    "I need a break," Rika angrily cried harder.


    "I can let you go after you finish the usual amount of work," Luke dismissed her pleas.


    "Your shoulders are slightly crooked again. Let''s start with fixing your posture first," he narrowed his eyes.


    I squinted my eyes, trying to find the mistake in her posture. I couldn''t tell until Ethan whispered into my ear, "it''s slightly off by half a millimetre. It''s only noticeable if you search for it extensively. Her back is also a little slouched by a quarter of a degree."


    "What did I tell you about your back? I also need you to fix the angle you use your arms when writing. Raise your chin a bit more, one centimeter, you''re going to strain your neck later. Posture is extremely important when it comes to your health," Luke continued.


    This was extremely harsh, most of us not able to find the difference. Ethan eventually gave up in searching for the faults they mentioned, none of them stopping. It was no wonder Rika possessed close to perfect posture all the time, being confronted with Luke''s extremely high standards. Sienna slightly shuddered, checking herself in the mirror to study her own. Luke also wanted Rika to respond to him in a certain way when answering his questions. He fixed her speech whenever he decided it was lacking.


    "You can''t talk to others like that. You''ll be an embarrassment to us. Repeat this," Alex joined in.


    "This isn''t an ordinary study session. They''re squeezing all the mannerisms and etiquette inside with it," Sienna whispered to Delia.


    "Honestly, they''re stricter than my regular tutors," Delia agreed.


    Both Luke and Alex were teaching Rika to be extremely polite, showing how to imitate their usual masks. I had to admit that their masks were impressive in front of others, not showing any signs of weakness. I could never predict this was the education that the members from the most powerful families received. Many of the tips were helpful, something I could implement later on. The way they explained everything was very straightforward to the point a kindergartener could understand them.


    We could tell they wanted the best for Rika, genuinely wanting her to succeed. The level of effort and time they invested into her was enormous. I knew they could have finished around a quarter of the fraction work during the same time instead. It didn''t make sense her grades were so poor when these study sessions were conducted everyday. Everything they wanted her to do was for her sake, no matter how miserable she appeared doing them.


    "Luke has been doing this for around ten years," Shelly wasn''t surprised.


    "He literally raised her, teaching her everything," Ethan agreed with Jules.


    "That''s why he has the right to have this control over her," Delia realized his line of thinking.


    Nobody could have imagined the true reality of their situation. We never thought this could be a possibility, watching them in amazement. This was why Luke was s?ns?t?v? when it came to Rika. My relationship with my partner was nothing compared to theirs. Once the study session was finished, Luke let Rika go so she could join us. Rika ran towards us, widely smiling from being filled with anticipation on how to spend the rest of her time.


    "We should start with this multiplayer battle game today," she grabbed a headgear.


    "Is this usually what happens during the study sessions?" Sienna was curious.


    "It''s not only the study sessions.. It''s all the time," Rika sighed.

 Chapter 600 - Same Past and Present (1)

    "We''re not returning to the Suilett family mansion, are we?" I watched Luke pack everything.


    My time in school was too short. Spending two days at the club room wasn''t enough and depressing with none of my friends interested in games. Luke made me return to the dorm room earlier today since he wanted to prepare for social week sooner. As usual, I had no authority in anything, waiting for them to tell me their plans.


    "We''re visiting one of the older Monete family mansions," he started to check his inventory.


    "The hover car should be coming in ten minutes," Alex walked into my bedroom.


    I wondered if the Monete family mansions would be different from the others. There was a chance there would be some entertainment devices present. However, I had no time to search for them, finding myself inside a large walk-in closet after leaving the hover car. Surprisingly, most of the items Alex had bought for me were inside, nicely organized like I was inside the Roselia family mansion. Taking a closer look at a necklace, I discovered it was stamped by the Monete family crest.


    "I thought the family crests could only be worn by direct family members. These aren''t for me, right?" I got confused.


    "Why wouldn''t they be for you? Only you can fit in them," Alex didn''t give me an answer I wanted.


    "But why are they all here?" I couldn''t understand.


    "Try this dress again Rika," Luke switched the topic.


    Both of them weren''t telling me anything again. After going over my outfits one more time, I was confined to a bedroom before I could go anywhere. I wasn''t surprised when both the windows and doors were locked. How long were they planning this for? I noticed one of the dresses they picked was purchased by Alex''s mother. Although I knew both of them didn''t trust me, it felt frustrating to be always left out.


    But I had a plan to escape from social week and join my friends in travelling later on. Since both Luke and Alex were busy, it was the perfect chance to contract some of my connections. I began to call my subordinate from the criminal organization, hoping he would pick up. Surprisingly, his face popped up on my screen, "chairwoman? You''re back again?"


    "I''m in the arms of an enemy. I need you to kidnap me to safety at this location and time tomorrow as a secretive mission," I knew the gist of Luke''s schedule.


    "This place is hard to break in, the security is high," he didn''t question my orders.


    I was glad that the hierarchy was strict in the criminal organization. All my subordinates would have to follow my orders, only advising me when I asked for it. Fortunately, my place in power remained, the organization running smoothly on its own from one of my past rivals leading them. I figured this out by reading the news before the stalker incident blew up. Although there were some settings blocking what kind of news I could read, the information about the criminal organization wasn''t one of them.


    "Will it be easier if I''m near the gate?" I suggested.


    "I''ll need an entire team with me. I need the branch offices to help," he nodded his head.


    I ended the call, going through my plan on my own in more detail. Both Luke and Alex couldn''t always be with me. Many people d?s?r?d to talk to them, trying to network their way to become one of their connections. As long as I followed everything that they wanted from me, I had the freedom to enjoy the event alone. With everything finalized inside my head, I closed my eyes to eventually wake inside the hover car going to its first event.


    My eyes widened, finding myself already in the clothes we picked out yesterday. I wondered why Luke didn''t wake me up like the previous years. I stopped leaning against the car walls, finding a small pillow in between us. A light blanket covered the rest of my body, placing it to the side since I didn''t need it anymore. It was also strange that I wasn''t feeling hungry from almost skipping dinner last night.


    "Why didn''t you wake me?" I turned to Luke.


    "I tried for three hours, but you never showed any signs of waking. You were tired to the point you slept in your uniform when we visited your room," he explained.


    This didn''t make sense. Although it was right that I was too lazy to change, I slept earlier than normal last night. Instead of focusing on what happened while I was unconscious, I started to look outside the windows. Unfortunately, the familiar scenery of large mansions and their wide gardens never changed. When we started to get close to the first destination, Luke went over the rules again, "avoid the other guests when possible, don''t touch the food and when you feel unwell remember to contact one of us."


    "No sleeping on the ground like last year," he recalled the previous year''s incident.


    "She slept on the ground?" Alex didn''t seem to know.


    "I checked her inventory to get rid of the blankets and pillows this time," Luke nodded his head.


    "I wasn''t planning on making beds this year anyways," I had enough sleep.


    "Is there anything else I can''t do?" I showed I was willing to listen to them.

 Chapter 601 - Same Past and Present (2)

    I stepped onto the first destination, accepting Luke''s hand as part of formal etiquette. If I made a basic mistake here, I would become a goner if my escape today wasn''t successful. Alex followed behind us, making many people chatter from the scene. Although Delia mentioned it was unusual, I didn''t think it would attract this much attention. I started to listen to all the gossip as I walked further into the neutral fraction leader''s mansion.


    "Look at the accessories she''s wearing, it''s stamped by the Monete family crest," a person whispered.


    "But the dress is stamped by the Roselia family crest," another person studied me.


    "I wonder what political stance they are announcing," a person added.


    "The Roselia and Monete families were always close, but this had to be intentional," she analyzed the situation.


    "The girl is from the Roselia family. You can tell by her features. I heard from the rumors that she appears to be extremely young, but she looks so pure and innocent," another person joined.


    It wasn''t like this the previous years. However, Luke seemed to be successful, showing off the d?s?r?d Roselia family image from my appearance. The concept of purity and innocence radiated into everyone''s eyes, making me appear more childlike. I searched for Sienna and Delia once I entered the mansion, separating from Luke and Alex. I needed them to message me when Luke and Alex seemed to be busy.


    It was getting close to the arranged time where I would initiate the fake kidnapping. I smiled when I noticed both Luke and Alex instantly surrounded by people as I escaped from their line of sight. Learning from their mistakes from the previous year, the garden was decorated to welcome potential guests. Fortunately, it was near the mansion gates, the reason why we attracted more attention.


    I ran towards Sienna when I noticed she was standing near the mansion walls inside the garden. It was a sign for people not to bother her, taking small sips from a wine glass to keep her busy. After grabbing a beverage from a server, I joined her, not wanting to talk to anyone. Sienna''s face brightened as if she was waiting for me, "you''re finally here. Delia is busy with the other guests."


    "I have a plan so we can go travelling during the weekends," I whispered into her ear.


    "At the ?ssigned meeting place?" Sienna tried to recall.


    "I think I can run away today. I have a fake kidnapper coming soon," I was telling her she needed to keep an eye on Luke and Alex for me.


    Sienna''s eyes went large, almost dropping her glass, lowering her voice, "fake kidnapper?"


    "An actual criminal who I have power over," I explained.


    "You''re going to attract attention with your appearance," Delia joined us, noticing something was going on.


    "Should I remove my accessories?" I wondered.


    "It won''t matter. People are trying to hide that they''ve been looking at you ever since your arrival," Delia warned me.


    I began to whisper into Delia''s ear about my entire plan. Delia had the same reaction as Sienna, staggering a few steps back towards the end. I needed all the help I could get. I was planning to stay inside the apartment I received from Shelly during the time I waited for them. Delia quickly recovered, knowing my intentions, "you want us to make sure they don''t come near the gates."


    "They''re coming in a few minutes," I sent a message to my subordinates.


    Separating from Sienna and Delia to conduct my plan, I stood in front of the gates, pretending to admire the scenery. Most guests didn''t stray from the crowd this far, making me the only outlier. Hearing the sounds of a hover car coming down, my marble vibrated to show it were my fake kidnappers. I stiffened when I found them struggling to infiltrate the barrier, waiting for them for more than half an hour to create a hole.


    I began to create some hand signals, indicating I was the leader of the plan. Thankfully, the team noticed, focusing on my direction. However, these criminals were disappointing, my high expectations from seeing them work with the complicated machines in the organization ruined. Checking the time on my marble, close to an hour had passed, but they were making no progress with the barrier. Someone would definitely start to get suspicious soon.


    "Why are you so slow?" I mouthed.


    "We''re almost there, ten more minutes," the team leader mouthed back.


    "One of you should at least get the blindfold and piece of cloth out so you would already be prepared once you break in," I noticed they were clumsy.


    "It''s inside our pockets," one of them gestured.


    I was going to have to re-educate these criminals later. I sighed as they managed to slip through the barrier twenty minutes later. Slipping into my role, I made my body go limp as the team leader took a minute to cover my mouth with a cloth and place a blindfold over my eyes. Thankfully, I could see through the blindfold while those on the other side wouldn''t be able to notice. Maybe I chose the wrong person to contact for the role, he was struggling to drag me with him. My shoes were creating a trail on the grass, making it perfect to trace.


    "She''s here. We saw some criminals grab her!" A person led Alex closer to where I was.


    "Don''t come closer or else her neck will be gone," the team leader quivered, placing a dagger around my neck.

 Chapter 602 - Same Past and Present (3)

    Unfortunately, the team leader was a terrible actor, looking like he was a victim rather than the criminal. Where were the experienced people from the branch offices? He wasn''t even pressing the dagger against my neck, close to dropping the weapon. It was hard to pretend I was unconscious, being frustrated that the other team members weren''t stepping in to help us. I had to prevent myself from clapping when the backup jumped out of the incoming hover cars. Immediately infiltrating into the scene to join us, starting to take their weapons out.


    The people from the branch offices were reliable, targeting me with their guns. The team leader passed me over to a person with a larger build, viciously smiling like he was amused. He instantly pressed the gun against my head, creating a higher tension in the atmosphere. His finger was on the edge of pressing the trigger, slowly stepping backwards towards the hole in the barrier. I was cheering inside my heart, watching Alex carefully observing me, trying to decide the course of actions he should take.


    "Follow us and she''s dead," the man sneered.


    Unexpectedly, the people the team leader recruited were super weak. Placing a barrier around himself, Alex dashed to kick the person holding me hostage. My body slumped into Alex''s arms, as the man unconsciously loosened his grasp. His excellent sense of balance made sure I b?r?ly moved in his arms as he used the man''s forehead as a spring to jump away. I was impressed by Alex''s fighting skills, the strength in his movements to create a large impact.


    He spun to kick the man, creating a powerful gust of wind to push him back. My blindfold came off from the same force, getting a better view of the man accidentally pressing the trigger towards the team leader. I began to cover my ears, wincing as screams of horror from the team leader filled my ears. His knees collapsed, desperately trying to find his arm on the ground, abandoning the mission from finding his entire arm gone. The entire team became a mess, unable to recover.


    My subordinates had poor aim, the attacks landing on their own team members. Meanwhile, Alex was excellent in dodging everything, not breaking a sweat as he chanted more spells to create illusions. Trying to look through the spell, the criminals appeared like important party guests to each other. Fighting amongst themselves while trying to exit the area through the created hole. Anyone could tell that nobody in their right minds.


    "Abandon the mission!" One of them yelled.


    "Call for backup," Another person suggested.


    "We need to live first. Leave this place!" A person started to evacuate.


    By the time they ran away, the ground was splattered with their blood. A few parts of their missing limbs, mostly separated arms and legs, were brutally displayed in the open. I couldn''t stop trembling from Alex''s cruelty, tightly squeezing his shirt. Although nobody had lost their lives, they would never live the same life again. The entire thing was my fault, my head hanging down in guilt.


    "What are the people in the neutral fraction doing?" Alex seemed annoyed, not feeling any remorse.


    "Will those people be ok?" I worried for them.


    "You can''t pity criminals Rika. They''ll probably regrow their limbs somewhere," Alex continued to walk towards the mansion.


    I sighed in relief, knowing they would be able to recover from today''s fight. The organization was rich with money when I checked their multiple bank accounts. One of the benefits of working for them was the great healthcare, getting most of the treatments for free. Maybe I would place more money into the fund once I returned to the criminal organization. I had to give higher bonuses to those who got injured today.


    "You can let me go now," I noticed we were attracting attention.


    "What happened?" Luke ran towards us, sensing a large crowd.


    "She almost got kidnapped by a team of criminals," Alex passed me to Luke.


    "The blood?" Luke studied my dress.


    "It''s not hers. She''s not injured. I already checked everything," Alex revealed.


    "It wasn''t anything serious," I wanted him to let me down.


    "We''re going to have a talk with the fraction leader," Luke ignored me.


    "Did you see everything?" A person whispered.


    "The fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family was one step away from getting kidnapped," another person nodded.


    "We should leave this place. Who knows if they''ll come back?" A person shuddered.


    The fraction leader and his partner offered to talk with us in one of their spare rooms. I stared at the ground from the tense atmosphere, stiffly sitting beside Luke on the couch. There was no way I could reveal that I was the one who planned the entire thing. I hoped we could resolve things peacefully, letting the innocent people go. However, my hopes shattered, listening to the entire conversation.


    "We cannot attend your events anymore. We will also be cancelling all our business deals together," Luke calmly began.


    "It is disappointing to have a near kidnapping. It makes us wonder how everything was arranged on your end," Alex joined in.


    "We apologize, please be lenient towards us," the fraction leader slightly trembled.


    "We will be placing a lawsuit. I hope you understand we have no other choice," Luke was unforgiving.


    "Isn''t this too much?" I watched the fraction leader and his partner about to break down.

 Chapter 603 - Same Past and Present (4)

    "Can you return to the mansion with Rika to get ready for the next event?" Luke turned to Alex.


    "I''ll join you after I finish here," he didn''t want me participating in their conversation.


    "I planned everything," I blurted, feeling too guilty.


    "I wanted to run away so I contacted some criminals to pretend to kidnap me," I avoided looking at them.


    "That''s not possible. They actually attempted to kill you if the kidnapping wasn''t successful. The guns were loaded and many of their attacks would have landed on you if it wasn''t for the barrier," Alex didn''t believe my confession.


    "Maybe they were from two separate organizations? The ones I contacted were clumsier," I recalled the poor team leader.


    "There were five organizations. That''s why they were fighting amongst themselves. The illusion just encouraged the process," Alex revealed.


    I was shocked, finding the situation had been different from what I believed. Not everyone there had been from the organization. Maybe the team that my subordinate was talking about was the people who never entered the mansion grounds, making the team leader do almost everything in their place. The team leader never passed me to the man, he f?r??b?? took me away from him. This meant the gunshot was not an accident, slowly piecing everything together in my head.


    "The only person I knew was the person who used the dagger. His team were the ones who created the hole in the barrier," I confessed.


    "This girl is crazy," the fraction leader mumbled.


    My marble started to vibrate, showing it was coming from one of my subordinates. I swiped to accept the call, my former rival''s face popping up, "we have heard you have returned. We sent the people from our branch offices to rescue the main team from the other organizations"


    "How did the information leak out?" I wondered.


    "Their target was different from ours. We managed to hack into their system and their target was the fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family. They have a contact from the neutral fraction and knew she would be attending this event today," he explained.


    "Were they the ones who broke the barrier?" I recalled our organization kept on failing.


    "They have a device to create a hole in the barrier. We planned to take advantage of our common goal to pretend to kidnap you once they used it," he nodded his head.


    "Give bonuses to everyone in that team. Many of them lost their limbs," I wanted to compensate them for their efforts.


    "We have another team ready to kidnap the fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family. We have her entire schedule for social week," he wanted my approval.


    "And they got this from a contact from the neutral fraction?" I tried to confirm.


    "They got it from a close relative of the current neutral fraction leader. We can try the same method next time. The current fraction leader handles information very carelessly," he laughed.


    "I watched the entire fight. The other organizations are more prepared this round. We shouldn''t participate in the fight until a close winner comes out," I suggested.


    "Let us know when we should join them," he ended the call.


    I didn''t feel guilty towards the fraction leader and his partner anymore. This whole incident would have happened anyways without any interference on my end. They deserved to get that lawsuit, handling the documents carelessly. In fact, both of them froze, knowing the new situation was worse than its former one. Luke would have to adjust our entire schedule if we didn''t want the same incident to repeat again.


    "I didn''t plan this," I took back my statement.


    "It''s their fault for revealing our entire schedule," I passed the blame onto them.


    "Please let us know which documents you leaked," Luke pressured them.


    "Your fianc¨¦e was the one who claimed to have planned this," the fraction leader tried to get out of this.


    "She''s the clear leader of criminals," he pointed out.


    "My subordinates are better people than you who leak information everywhere!" I refuted.


    "They''re very weak since most are normal citizens of this district. If you don''t tell us, I can call them again to figure out," I warned them.


    "We apologize, everything about this social week got leaked, including the information about all our fraction members," his partner began to cry.


    "You will be expecting several lawsuits in the next few days. I will be letting the rest of the members know and cancel the event as the next fraction leader for today," Luke rose from the couch.


    "Do you want me to call them again?" I turned to them once we left the room.


    "Who contacts criminals to kidnap them to run away from home?" Alex yelled at me.


    "It''s thanks to me that we know about the leak!" I shouted back.


    "It would''ve happened anyways," I mumbled to add.


    "Pass me your marble," Luke was furious.


    "These criminals are good people. They''re nicer than you," I hid my marble behind my back.


    "Is there something going on?" Cillian walked towards us from the commotion.


    "There was an information leak passed to major criminal organizations about all our members," Luke tightly grabbed my hand.


    "I''ll escort the guests out to help cancel the event for an emergency fraction meeting," Cillian spun to run.


    "We''re going to have a talk once we return to the mansion.. You have to stop trying to run away," Luke decided handling this incident came first.

 Chapter 604 - Same Past and Present (5)

    "As the next fraction leader, I have already sent a message about the information leak. Do you have any additional questions?" Luke took the lead.


    "Can you take the position as the fraction leader as of now?" One of them shouted.


    "Unfortunately, the soonest I can take the role will be after social week," Luke declined her proposal.


    "I can''t believe our fraction leader revealed all of our schedules," a member was disgusted.


    "That''s how one of us almost got kidnapped," a person agreed.


    "Look at all the blood on her dress," another member mumbled.


    "I don''t think I can attend any events anymore," Sienna tugged on Cillian''s sleeve.


    "None of us can. We''ll have to cancel all of our events," Cillian shook from anger.


    "What do you think of removing our present leader?" Delia suggested.


    "We can have a vote right now," Luke created a survey, using his marble.


    "This is ridiculous. How did he get elected as the fraction leader in the first place?" Alex commented on the disastrous mess.


    I looked at Luke''s screen, every single vote agreeing to remove the current fraction leader. Hearing everyone gossiping about their former leader, many of them planned to file their own lawsuits. I whispered into Luke''s ear, not having many experiences with fractions, "are bigger fractions usually like this?"


    "This is an exceptional case. No major fraction leader causes their entire fraction to fall apart. Your attempted kidnapping is not excusable," Luke started to write a report.


    "With everyone''s consensus, we will be cancelling all of our events for the rest of social week," he tried to finalize everything.


    Nobody disagreed with Luke, watching all their efforts fly away. I knew how hard everyone from the neutral fraction worked for this week. Sienna complained about staying up some nights, trying to catch up on some sleep inside the club room. Meanwhile Luke was always toppled with never-ending work, being trained as the next fraction leader. Everyone''s grudges against the former fraction leader increased, wanting to destroy some of the things inside the mansion.


    "Can we add to your current lawsuits?" Delia burned with revenge.


    "We can group them together if you send me a message from your lawyers," Luke announced.


    Once the discussion was finished, I stepped into the hover car returning to the mansion. Unexpectedly, a call came from Ben, the main family leading the neutral fraction. Luke swiped the air to accept, explaining everything before Ben could say anything. He was disappointed in Ben who allowed such a person to be eligible as a candidate. Ben was stunned, the silence consuming the car for several minutes.


    "I''m adding to that lawsuit. Our entire fraction will have to spend many years to recover from this incident," Ben almost slammed the table.


    "Your fraction is a mess," Alex agreed.


    "I will have to tell Alice that we can''t have any of her relatives continue to influence the fraction anymore," Ben revealed the reason our former fraction leader was a candidate.


    "What do you think of joining? We can offer you a powerful position. We are second cousins," he suggested to Alex.


    "Send me everything you''re willing to offer through a document," Alex knew they wanted help.


    "I''ll send it within today," Ben ended the call.


    We quickly arrived inside the mansion grounds, both Luke and Alex busy with trying to adjust their schedules while messaging others. I watched the order of events almost get reversed, finding myself going to Yulee''s mansion in about an hour. Reading some of the replies, many fraction leaders decided to focus on increasing the security instead of focusing on the guests. As soon as I entered the mansion, I heard some clicks like everything was locking by itself.


    "Can you tell us why you''re intent on running away?" Luke gestured to me to enter the living room.


    "I didn''t want to live with Alex. I thought anything would be better than living with him," I answered under the pressure.


    "Is that your only reason?" Luke was referring to all the other times I ran away.


    "I wanted to travel. I''m sick of staying in one place all the time. I don''t want to stay in mansions anymore," I wanted my days of freedom back.


    "You confiscate everything. All those entertainment devices from books to games. You always burn them," I squeezed the edges of the sofa.


    "You''re telling us that you will always try to run away since we can''t give you any of those things," he already knew the gist of what I wanted.


    "Who wouldn''t want to run away?" I mumbled.


    "I don''t want to confine you Rika, but if you''re telling us that you''ll continue to try to run away, I don''t have any other choice," he held the power.


    "If you left one gaming console or entertainment device, I wouldn''t try to run away," I hated the amount of control they possessed.


    "You let me use them inside the club room," I argued.


    "This conversation is ridiculous. You''re basically running away since you want more toys," Alex joined in.


    "Most of them aren''t even considered to be close to toys and you say everything is for the Roselia family," I began to raise my voice.


    "I want out. I want to return home to the third district. I don''t care about power and money.. I can happily live without them," I let my feelings out.

 Chapter 605 - Same Past and Present (6)

    "I would rather live in the streets than to continue living here. I don''t like your food anyways, starving won''t make a difference. I''m sick of being a doll for the Roselia family. Wearing rags is more comfortable than the dress I''m wearing right now," I wanted to rip my dress.


    "Why can''t you let me go? If we broke this engagement, everyone would become happy," I honestly thought we were a horrible match.


    "You know we can''t break the engagement anymore. Everything is already sealed," Luke reminded me.


    "I can''t let you out with the criminals after you. They fought amongst themselves to kidnap you," he pointed out one of the reasons.


    "What about the entertainment devices? The bans from entering certain places. All those settings you placed on my marble to control what I could access," I wanted a better explanation.


    "It''s because you''re not ready for them yet. You don''t deserve the entertainment devices," Alex supported Luke.


    "This is why I keep on running away. I don''t want to suffer under both of you anymore," I crossed my arms.


    "Then show us that we can trust you. Instead of crying to us everything is unfair. You''re less than a kindergartner to us right now," Alex blamed everything on me.


    "How can I show you?" I would do anything for more freedom.


    "You can start by finishing everything on your plates. I currently have to spoon feed you for almost every meal to get you to eat. Try waking in time for classes or events in the mornings, I always have to wake you up. And listen to us during the study sessions instead of crying," Luke didn''t have any expectations.


    "Then you won''t burn my usual supply?" I found the conditions to be not bad.


    "I can give you more space," he carefully chose his words.


    "You mean the bans and adjusting the settings?" I wondered.


    "I can reverse them," Luke agreed.


    I never realized some of the things I wanted would get resolved with a simple conversation. Both of them wanted very basic things. Was I supposed to be glad that my childish acting had worked during the time I was pulled out from school? It was mostly for revenge, but it lowered their b?r?ly present expectations for me into the ground even further. Although the study sessions were extremely miserable, I could tolerate the rest.


    "I can eat and wake up on my own. I won''t cry during the study sessions anymore," I accepted the deal.


    "Will you stop trying to run away from us?" Luke got to his original purpose.


    "I can try," I had no guarantee.


    "I''m the leader of a large criminal organization, I can ask for more information," I offered.


    "You will not contact them without our supervision anymore, do you understand?" Luke heard the story from Lucius.


    "After the last kidnapping, the first time was yesterday," I nodded my head.


    "We''re going to change for our next event now. Since we trust you, we won''t make you follow us around during the event," Luke gestured to me to follow him to the walk-in closet.


    This was how I found myself admiring Yulee''s family mansion. After learning from the previous year, the entire event was held outside. No signs of fire were seen, beautiful lakes with lily pads mystically floating around. Many people talked to each other on large luxurious boats, making me feel excited to join them. Resembling small cruise ships with the performers doing water-based tricks while servers walked around to offer more drinks. I couldn''t stop staring out of the window, never expecting the mansion grounds to be transformed this way.


    "How long are we staying here?" I wanted to explore this place.


    "Around four to five hours," Luke had it as the last event of the day.


    "Can we stay longer?" My eyes glittered.


    "I can extend it for an hour," he didn''t mind.


    The hover car landed near one of the grassy areas, filled with various blooming lilies. It resembled the other dimension, everything looking unreal with land and water very closely mixed together. I stepped out of the hover car once Luke gestured to me to follow him. Unlike the previous event, there were many groups crowded together. Was it because the neutral fraction cancelled all their events?


    "It is. A major fraction cancelling their events makes a large difference," Alex noticed my curiosity.


    "You''re here," Shelly walked towards us.


    "I heard about the attempted kidnapping and the information leak," she lowered her voice.


    "Already?" I thought it was fast.


    "Everyone knows about it. A major fraction collapsed," she nodded.


    "Do you remember the rules?" Luke wanted to confirm.


    "Don''t talk to the other guests, meet you for lunch, and contact you if I start feeling unwell," I repeated.


    Lunch time was an hour away, enough time to get a gist of the entire area. I separated from Luke and Alex, running towards a beautiful lake, absent of any other guests. Unfortunately, Shelly was busy as one of the sub-hosts, many people gathering around her. I didn''t want to talk to other people even if it wasn''t a rule. It was annoying since all they would talk about were more business deals that I had no idea on.. I grinned when I found a twinkling object near a lily pad, finding something interesting to fill my time.

 Chapter 606 - Same Past and Present (7)

    I started to pull some lilies out of the flower field, trying to compare them to the lily attached to the green pad in the lake. Since I was bored, I continued to find the light bouncing off them to be different. Only the lily inside the closest lake twinkled like a prism, almost creating a dazzling rainbow. Scanning my surroundings, the other lakes appeared dull, almost empty. A sudden idea jolted into my head, the existence of a legendary item.


    The mansion grounds were mystical, the air filled with a gigantic supply of mana swirling around. The surroundings almost sparkled like small stars blinking in and out. Referring to the latest manga I had read, that lily pad had to possess something unique. I walked towards a skinny tree, snapping one of its branches. There were many slender dark trees in the area, not making a significant difference if one of them were altered.


    The lily pad wasn''t far from the edge, stretching my arm to pull it towards me. But strangely, the closer I looked at it, the magical effect faded. Was there something I was missing here? There had to be some kind of trigger or illusions attached to it. Legendary items weren''t supposed to be easy to obtain or access. Dropping my stick into the lake, I gazed at the overflowing lilies in front of me. Did I have to create something with them? I knew how to make flower crowns and rings from watching Rika through the memorila.


    My fingers became busy as I began to rip more flowers out to make some rings and crowns. Nobody came near this area anyways, everyone else preferring to visit the large boats. When the entire lake started to slightly glimmer, I gasped from feeling more mana focused on that lily pad. This motivated me to continue producing more accessories, eventually placing the flower crown on my head. As soon as I wore the crown, I was stunned, finding the sky turn into violet and reds. The lily pad was placed on top of a tall podium placed in the middle of the lake, the deepest area.


    Maybe I could still pull the lily pad towards me, snapping another tree branch. I focused on sliding the lily pad off the podium, increasingly leaning closer towards the lake. However, I still kept a reasonable distance, not wanting to fall inside. I would become a goner if Luke saw me wet, breaking his trust in leaving me alone. I decided to switch to chanting to make the lily pad to come closer to me, too focused to notice some hands creeping up from the lake.


    I screamed as someone pulled me inside, tugging on my dress. But I wasn''t wet, finding myself inside a radiating white temple. My eyes widened as I walked further towards the podium, skyrocketing high into the clouds. A large set of stairs intimidatingly loomed in front of me, making my head dizzy from imagining how I would climb them. When I looked down, I was wearing new clothes, a silky white dress, resembling a goddess. I raised my head again, stopping when a person wearing a white suit stood in front of me.


    "Are you here to take the trial?" He looked down at me.


    "A trial for what?" I was confused.


    "You''re here for the pearl, are you not? The pearl that has the ability to bring you back from death," he began to step down towards me.


    "I wasn''t, but it would be nice to have," I cheered inside my heart for discovering a cheat item.


    "You appear to not know anything. The pearl can be used once to bring you back to life. If you die from old age, you will regain your health and reverse the time on your body to expand your lifespan. Or if you die as a monster, you will wake as a human being. All injuries and illnesses causing your death will be reversed, giving you a brand new start," he explained.


    My eyes went large, impressed with the cheat item I discovered. It was better than the second chance card, knowing what would happen to me afterwards. My heart filled with regret as I wished I had asked God for this cheat instead of the card I possessed. How bad could the trial be? I nodded my head, "I would like to take this trial."


    "Let me summon your guardian from the other side," he called for Micah.


    A twisting hole appeared to display the image of Micah working in a neat office like he was inside a large tree trunk, surrounded by dripping greenery decorating the walls. Micah''s eyes slightly widened, finding his body being pulled towards us. When Micah stepped into the temple, he appeared extremely puzzled, facing both of us. The person in the suit passed a contract to Micah, "your guardian cannot interfere in the trial, I need to get an agreement from him."


    Micah accepted the sheet of paper, going pale from briefly skimming through the contract, soon turning to me, "you cannot take this trial. Almost no one survives from it. There is a high price for this item."


    "What is the trial?" I wanted to know.


    "I cannot agree to her taking the trial. Although she is qualified, it is unlikely she will survive the first round. She is a young child, incomparable to fairies who have lived for thousands of years, dying from taking the same trial," Micah refused to sign the contract.


    "Can anyone tell me what the trial is?" I felt like I was being left out.

 Chapter 607 - Same Past and Present (8)

    "You have to survive nine rounds of being hunted to death. There will be a hunter you cannot see or hear, chasing you for five minutes for each round. Fairies who have managed to pass the trial wrote down they hid from the hunter," Micah shuddered.


    "There is an option of avoiding touching anything representing the ground. You cannot touch the surface of any object or the floors. With too many candidates dying, we have made adjustments," the person added.


    Wasn''t this like a combination of hide-and-seek and the floor is lava? Did these people not have any experience in any of those games?


    "Do I really need Micah''s approval? The trial doesn''t seem that bad," I had some experience.


    Micah greatly disapproved, "I will never agree to this contract."


    "I can break your agreement together and you will be able to take the trial," the mediator suggested.


    "At least make more adjustments for this child! She has to be one of the youngest candidates," Micah started to plead, not allowing me to jump in.


    "Many experienced fairies fail to pass. You are leading her to her death. This girl doesn''t know the sense of danger in taking the trial. She''s too young to know anything yet," he emphasized my age.


    "I can remove the first round for something to substitute it. I can match the level of difficulty so there is a chance at passing the trial if she survives," the mediator sighed.


    "This is an exception due to her young age. It is true she is the youngest candidate to have the qualification to take the trial," he gave into Micah.


    "So can you sign the contract now?" I was tired of waiting.


    "I can still support her between the rounds?" Micah ignored me.


    "You can. I will also provide the usual support items if she manages to survive the substituted first round," the mediator agreed.


    Micah stared at me for a few minutes, almost crumpling the contract with his hands. Until he reluctantly pulled out a pen from the air, knowing I wasn''t going to change my decision. He furiously began to sign his name, "you''re leaving me with no choice."


    I stepped to stand further away from Micah, noticing he was close to exploding. My eyes widened when the contract immediately vanished into the air after he lifted his pen. The mediator seemed pleased, "the first round will not allow you to use your mana. The pressure of gravity will triple, and you will need to survive inside the water. We are testing your survival skills."


    "If you manage to survive through the first round, we will make further adjustments to create the possibility of you passing the other rounds," he believed I would die.


    Micah ?r??n?d, thinking among the same lines, "she''s definitely going to die with her weak body."


    "When does the first round start?" I wanted to get it over with.


    "I can give you ten minutes to prepare. You guardian can give you some tips," the mediator stepped away to give us some space.


    The mediator was more generous than I thought he would be. Micah wasn''t with us when I managed to survive through the past incidents. Compared to them, being in danger for five minutes at a time seemed to be a reasonable deal. I was trying to obtain a legendary item, there had to be some costs ?ssociated with it. Micah placed his hand on his forehead, appearing like he was suffering from a looming headache.


    "There''s not much you can do. Just try to swim and push yourself upwards. The important thing here is being able to breathe in more air. Screaming for help will waste more of your energy when you need to conserve it as much as possible," Micah didn''t have any expectations for me.


    "It''s like you''re already preparing for my funeral," I found him depressing.


    "Your stamina is disastrous, and the meditator purposely didn''t reveal the time limit," he nodded.


    "Would you like me to pass any last words to your family?" He offered.


    "I won''t die," I puffed my cheeks.


    When the mediator returned, he gestured to me to climb the stairs with him. However, I shook my head, wanting to conserve more energy, "I can''t climb that. Can''t you teleport me there instead?"


    "I can send you there right away," the meditator snapped his fingers.


    I found myself choking on bubbles the next second, getting pushed by a massive force towards the ground. I struggled to open my eyes, everything weighing triple the usual amount. Desperately flapping my legs and arms, I tried to pull myself upwards, feeling like I was hooked by a heavy anchor holding me back. Pins and needles stabbed every part of my muscles, making me scream from the pain as I grabbed the water.


    Micah was right, there wasn''t much that I could do. I was almost helpless without any mana, a fight against time to see who would last. When I managed to break onto the surface, gasping for more air, I found some hands trying to pull me back into the lake. However, there was no luxury to think on how to avoid them. My lungs began to fill with lake water once I was pulled inside, my mouth being f?r??b?? opened to derive me of air.. My vision started to wobble as I tightly gripped my neck with my hands, finding myself choking to death.

 Chapter 608 - Same Past and Present (9) - Alexs POV

    Luke wanted to keep an eye on Rika during the event, standing inside a tall boat that gave him the sight of almost the entire mansion grounds. Nobody could have predicted that the carelessness of his former fraction leader would lead Rika to be almost kidnapped earlier today. He always made sure to keep track of where Rika was between the conversations, finding her in a garden full of white and pink lilies. I sighed as I watched her pick some flowers, studying them with her eyes filled with curiosity.


    Rika wasn''t like a young child, she was less than a toddler. Nobody in our family had any expectations for her, we only required her to follow the b?r? absolute minimum to not embarrass us. However, Rika had managed to drill those low requirements further into the ground every year. Luke had to bribe her to eat, spoon feeding her for almost every meal since last year. She could never wake up on her own, making us give up on shaking her for more than three hours today. In the end, Luke had to prepare Rika for social week while she slept.


    All those study sessions couldn''t be done without any threats mixed inside them, otherwise nothing got done. The begging, crying and yelling filled my ears almost every day, making me used to all the large tantrums she threw. Although Rika had claimed that she had been reincarnated from dying at the age of seventeen in another world, nobody believed her story. It was hard to believe she was reincarnated in the first place. This meant she had to be older than us, which couldn''t be possible with how immature she acted.


    Rika always wanted more freedom to the point she always tried to run away from home. She was so reckless, doing whatever it took, including endangering herself. How could she not understand we had no choice in confining her? Luke had to ban her from certain areas of the mansion from the times she went missing or almost destroyed the mansion. We couldn''t give her any freedom when she ran into trouble all the time. Most times, she would return sick after we managed to find her.


    The conversation to have her stop running away was ridiculous. Luke and I always provided her with everything she could possibly need, and she took them for granted. Who did she think nursed her back to health every time? Who were the people who wanted to keep her safe? Rika was always ingrateful, not thinking about our immense efforts to take care of her. Even toddlers understood to be appreciative of the people taking care of them.


    Luke had a hard time watching over Rika on his own, many people wanting to talk to him. In his place, I checked up on her to see how she was doing, discovering she was playing the flowers. Since Rika wasn''t breaking any rules, I turned my attention to the conversation around me. As the heir to my family, it was important to network with many people, trying to gain more knowledge of the current business field.


    "We are interested in the newest Monete family hotel establishments in the new land you have recently gained," One of them directed the focus onto me.


    "Thank you for your interest. Although the recent gain in the land is confidential, I can tell you we are planning to build another establishment next year," I was familiar with these topics.


    "We have heard rumors about your cousin''s fianc¨¦e for her pure and innocent appearance," a person switched the topic.


    I brightly smiled as I wondered why this topic came up more than the business deals today. There was no way we could let Rika talk to the guests, she didn''t have the skills. Her level of speech needed more work and she couldn''t grasp all the mannerisms and etiquette yet. She would quickly become an embarrassment to us, needing more training. Rika wasn''t even at the stage to gain experience with family members to improve her conversational skills.


    Sneaking another peek at her from above, she was snapping a tree branch, leaning closer towards the lake. Why was she trying to pull a lily pad towards her when there were many surrounding her in the flower field? I continued to smile at the guests, pretending to listen to their conversation as it looked like Rika was the edge of falling inside the lake. Maybe it was a mistake to leave her alone.


    I slightly elbowed Luke, letting him know what Rika was doing. Luke excused himself from the conversation and joined me in watching Rika. His eyes widened when Rika immediately fell into the lake in the next second, the stick too short, b?r?ly poking the flower in the lake. She instantly attracted attention, viciously kicking the water to push herself back onto the surface. Her arms were creating waves of splashes, faint sounds of coughing and screams for air. Why wasn''t she using any spells to save herself?


    "We should call the main host, that girl looks like she can''t save herself," a person joined us.


    "That girl is drowning," another person agreed.


    More people joined us to watch Rika slowly losing her strength, increasing the intervals where she was able to access more air. Eventually, all the conversations had stopped, everyone focusing on Rika.. Slowly turning to face Luke, he had already teleported away to the lake.

 Chapter 609 - Same Past and Present (10) - Alexs POV

    I teleported to join Luke, studying the surroundings near the lake. Many lilies were pulled out, compiled into a bouquet. The neatly arranged flower field was tattered as others were turned into flower crowns and rings. Her screams for help were louder, choking on water in between. Luke pulled himself together to chant a spell to search for Rika inside the lake. He planned to lift her out, only entering when all else failed.


    "I can''t find Rika in the lake," Luke was filled with worry.


    "I''ll help you find her," I pulled my shoes off.


    Luke abandoned his blazer, his shoes neatly placed on the flower field. He dived into the lake, swimming to physically search for Rika. Joining him, I opened my eyes once I was inside, manipulating the oxygen in the water to help me breathe. The lake wasn''t big, allowing us to explore every inch within ten minutes. However, Rika was nowhere to be seen underneath the surface while her cries continued to fill our ears. It was like she wasn''t in the same space as us, having no choice but to give up after an hour. What was happening here?


    "Rika isn''t in this lake," Luke returned to the surface.


    It was strange, we could see her from above but not underneath. A few meters away, we watched Rika losing more of her strength, creating bubbles from her attempts to breath in more air. What were Jules and Yulee doing? I swam towards the flower field with Luke, deciding to ask them about the details. Once I reached a patch of land, Rika''s screams had completely stopped, no signs of her present anymore. Meanwhile, both Jules and Yulee ran towards us from the commotion.


    "How did you create these lakes?" Luke shouted at them.


    "They should be normal bodies of water," Yulee was confused.


    "We couldn''t find Rika anywhere inside the lake," I was completely drenched.


    "I''m going to check the other lakes," Jules quickly escaped from Luke.


    While Luke demanded an explanation from Yulee, I continued to search for any signs of Rika. Scanning the area until a large ripple suddenly appeared in the middle of the lake, the clouds parting to carry the spotlight to a pale girl floating on the surface. Although we had dressed Rika in a pastel blue dress, Rika wore a silky white dress more suitable for a funeral. Her face was close to blue, arms crossed like she was inside a coffin.


    She appeared to be unconscious, drifting wherever the wind took her. When I turned to Luke, he stared at Rika with great fear consuming his eyes. He began to uncontrollably tremble, staggering with every step. His eyes almost rolled back, struggling to breathe while his heartbeat sped by tenfold. My eyes widened as I realized he was having a panic attack, trying to support him, rubbing his back. However, he soon collapsed onto the ground, losing strength in the rest of his limbs, coughing for more air with his sweat beginning to pour onto his wet clothes.


    Luke curled up into a circle, softly whimpering as he transitioned into a high fever. He wasn''t in his right mind anymore, the sounds coming from him slowly fading. Meanwhile, Rika continued to float on the surface of the lake, slowly beginning to turn purple. The event was utterly ruined, finding both guests of the Roselia family unconscious and one close to death. The blame went to the main hosts, their carelessness allowing this incident to happen.


    Luke wouldn''t be able to live without Rika. I had to save her so he could recover. I dived into the lake again, desperately swimming towards her. This time, I could see her from underneath the surface, able to pull her inside my arms within a few minutes. Teleporting her with me to the flower field, finding her to be extremely cold. I placed her down on the ground, checking for her pulse and signs of breathing. But I couldn''t find anything, making me use the remainder of my mana to use heal.


    "I think the girl is dead," an observer mumbled.


    "She''s too pale and not responding to anything," a person whispered.


    "The heir of the Roselia family tried to save his partner and now he resembles her," another person mumbled.


    "The main hosts killed a member of the Roselia family," a guest started to gossip.


    "Heal doesn''t have any effect on her," another guest agreed.


    "Rika is alive, isn''t she?" Yulee''s voice wobbled.


    "I don''t know," I focused on pouring more mana into her.


    When Jules returned to join us, he shuddered from seeing both Luke and Rika. If one of them died, his family would likely disown him. I switched to press down into her ?h?st, sending electric shocks to her heart after exhausting almost all my mana. I was stunned when I opened her mouth, finding it filled with lake water. Maybe it was the lake water preventing her from recovering, deciding to hit her back to get all the water out.


    Although it was certain Luke would live, it was extremely ambiguous for Rika. A large puddle of water began to form as I continued to shake more water out of her. After getting most of the lake water out, I sighed in relief when I could feel her faint breaths on my palm. Holding Luke in one of my arms and Rika in another, I started to call for our hover car. This mansion was disgusting, something clearly going on that affected both Luke and Rika.


    "Would you like to use the infirmary?" Jules offered.


    "Are you serious? Your carelessness caused this entire mess and it''s the second time.. We''re not attending your events anymore," I entered the hover car.

 Chapter 610 - Same Past and Present (11)

    "Congratulations, you have survived the first round," the mediator seemed impressed.


    "You are very lucky to have people who are desperate to save you. If it wasn''t for that boy, you would have died," he tried to hide his envy.


    "Get to the point," Micah was getting impatient.


    "There was supposed to be three rounds per day but will be reduced to two only for tomorrow since you have the eight more rounds remaining. The difficulty will be normal, the same as what the other candidates have been through. We will provide support items, so you have the chance to recover in between the rounds," the mediator revealed.


    "What about our agreement to make some adjustments? Do you think this child will survive?" Micah began to scream.


    "I am about to get to that part," he narrowed his eyes.


    "Do you see this boy?" the mediator waved his hand to create a projection.


    My eyes went large as I watched Luke collapsing onto the flower field. I have never seen him sick before, burning with a fever. It was strange, knowing he was perfectly fine earlier in the day. He began to whimper, curling up in a small circle, drenched in wet clothes. Meanwhile, Alex tried to cover him, protecting him from the audience who were madly gossiping. I wondered what happened during the time I was taking the trial.


    "You still don''t know? You''re the one who caused him to become like this," the mediator sadly smiled.


    "How?" I didn''t understand.


    "He watched you drown and float on the lake. Don''t you see those flower crowns and rings scattered on the ground?" He hinted.


    "It''s rare how the past exactly mixes into the present," he added when I was still confused.


    My head began to throb, beginning to piece everything together. I have never drowned in this body before. The first time I made flower crowns and rings were today, imitating the actions of the past Rika in the memorila. Almost stumbling when realizing I had followed the exact path as her. The one event that changed Luke forever


    In the beginning, she played with flowers, making all those accessories. Eventually switching to run to explore the garden, noticing a beautiful lily, alluring her to pull it towards her with a stick. Leaning closer towards the lake until she fell to drown, exhausting all her strength, her blue body floating on the surface like the dead. The meditator knowingly continued to smile, watching me realize that I was no different from the past in Luke''s eyes.


    "If you manage to fully recover him from his fever, the trial will immediately end," the mediator explained.


    "Was this all planned?" I slightly trembled.


    "I can''t say the results were planned, but it was predictable. You''re very important to this boy, he immensely cares about you," he waved his hand, making the projection vanish.


    "The rounds will begin tomorrow. I am giving you time to attempt to recover his fever for the rest of the day," his figure started to flicker.


    The next time I blinked, I found myself inside the same bedroom I was confined inside yesterday. I had a limited amount of time, quickly rising from the bed, instantly detaching myself from all the medical equipment. I needed to use heal on Luke to increase my chances of avoiding the rounds tomorrow. Sprinting towards the door after discovering the windows were tightly locked.


    Placing my hand against the door, I muttered an explosion spell, desperate to escape from the room. I turned to run to avoid the impact, surrounding myself with a barrier, the clucks of the door scattering all over the room. Dashing out of the room before someone could catch me, racking my brains to find Luke. If I was placed in a bedroom, it was likely Luke was either inside the infirmary or his bedroom. Both of them didn''t trust me, always trying to keep me close to them. Luke had to be somewhere near me.


    "You agreed to stop running away from us," Alex stood behind me.


    "I''m not running away. I''m searching for Luke," I spun to face him.


    "Luke is inside his bedroom," he revealed.


    It was nice that I wouldn''t have to check the infirmary, walking past Alex to open Luke''s bedroom door. Oddly the doorknob wasn''t budging, showing it was locked when I switched to trying to pull it out. In the past, his room was normally kept open. What was going on here?


    "Luke doesn''t want you to come inside, he doesn''t want you to catch his fever," Alex frowned.


    "I''m not that weak. I''m probably in a better condition than him," I gestured to him to open the door.


    "You were one second away from death," he began to raise his voice.


    "I''m not close to death anymore. In fact, I can die tomorrow if you don''t open that door. I don''t want to destroy that door if you don''t let me in," I warned him.


    To prove my point, I started to mumble another explosion spell, using a drop of my mana as its fuel. I couldn''t be stopped here. Alex''s eyes went large, seeing that I wasn''t placing a barrier to protect myself.. I had support items anyways, facing the direct impact of the bomb, my ears started to drip with blood as I rushed inside the room.

 Chapter 611 - The Hunt (1)

    I dashed towards Luke''s bed, ignoring my vision slowly dying into red. My pain didn''t matter, I needed to heal Luke, who was turning and groaning while he was sleeping on his bed. Placing my hands on his ?h?st, I began to pour all the mana I possessed, desperately trying to reduce his temperature. After almost drowning to death, I squirmed from the thought of being hunted to death. The mediator was giving me the opportunity to end the trial today.


    "What are you doing? Do you think Luke would like you sacrificing yourself for him? His fever will be gone within three days anyways," Alex shouted at me.


    "What''s so wrong with trying to make him recover earlier?" I felt my vision starting to wobble.


    "You''re going to die at this rate again!" He tried to separate me from Luke.


    I ducked to avoid him, continuing to pour more of mana into Luke. I could feel signs of his high temperature slowly beginning to drop, his heartbeat stabilizing. His breathing was becoming more normal, consistently sticking to its rhythm. He stopped moving, chills on his back reducing, the sounds of him m??ning gone. As my mana gauge became dangerously low, his face filled with more colour, almost lively.


    I only turned my face away from him when I coughed more vicious blood, splattering all over the carpeted floors. My mana supply refilled more quickly as I aged, competing against its mass consumption. Although I was spending more than what I could recover, I wasn''t going to stop until I fainted. I was a goner either way, wanting a more painless option. I started to get more annoyed as it was getting harder to dodge Alex while healing Luke.


    "Leave me alone!" I snapped at him.


    "Why isn''t there a day where you don''t cause any trouble? Do you know how you''re still alive?" Alex grabbed the air, failing his attempts.


    "What''s happening?" Luke ?r??n?d, opening his eyes.


    Luke slowly began to rise to sit down on his bed, awake from the chaotic noise. I wished he was back to being unconscious again, making it easier to heal him. He was definitely going to take Alex''s side even though I was the one pushing all my efforts to make him recover faster. I leveled up my acting skills, making my eyes well with tears, "I thought you would die. I don''t want you to die, but Alex is preventing me from healing you."


    His eyes began to widen, slowly being filled with horror, directly looking at me, "Rika?"


    "Stop the healing. What are you doing?" He instantly tried to remove my hands off him.


    "I can''t have you die," I screamed.


    I knew Luke wouldn''t die, but it was the only excuse that came to my head. I silently began to cry inside my head as I had to fend off two opponents. One of them was gradually prying my hands off him while the other was close to pulling me off the bed. I made more tears stream down my face, wondering why my acting skills weren''t affecting them. Maybe my hopes were unfounded from both Jules and Charles telling me that my acting skills had improved.


    "Micah help me!" I yelled to summon him.


    Coming out from a swirling hole, his head peeked out, watching everything from a close distance. It was clear Micah was annoyed, also recently returning from the temple. I slightly shuddered, noticing him holding back as he stepped into the room, walking towards us. With Micah present, both of them froze as I took this chance to continue to pour more mana into my spell.


    "I can show you where the support items are located, give up for now. You can use those instead of heal," Micah offered another alternative.


    "You should have told me sooner," I separated from Luke.


    "Are you sure you don''t want me to pass any last words to the people you wish to convey?" Micah found this situation hopeless.


    "I''m not going to die. Didn''t I survive the first round?" I was starting to feel offended.


    "You didn''t pass the first round on your own," he gestured to me to follow him.


    "The mediator was generous to allow any interference on your end," he sighed.


    "What is going on?" Luke turned to Micah.


    "I can''t tell you anything. I signed a contract," Micah knew they would try to interfere during the rounds.


    "Unless a miracle happens, I suggest you start planning a funeral for this girl. This isn''t to be taken likely," his face turned more serious.


    "A funeral?" Luke didn''t believe him.


    "How can she survive something that fairies have been mercilessly killed under?" Micah hinted.


    "Micah is just being depressing as usual. Just stay in bed," I glared at Micah.


    I ran towards the door, waiting for him to lead me to the support items. After bringing a gloomy atmosphere to the room, he eventually brought me outside in front of a large garden. I didn''t understand, these were ordinary flowers and decorative plants I was familiar with. Before I could ask for an explanation, Micah started to introduce me to the support items, gesturing to some new plants, "these will be temporary here for the duration of the trial. Since they are in their raw forms, you will have to generate the final forms to make proper use of them."


    "Everything is just basically trial and error," I found the support items to be disappointing.

 Chapter 612 - The Hunt (2)

    "Eat this," I gestured to Luke to open his mouth.


    All my injuries were completely healed, the blood wiped clean, having the luxury to bath before visiting them. Although it took several hours to perfect the support items, Micah helped me to create some of them. I didn''t think Micah would freeze the time in this room, making them unable to follow us. It made it easier on my end, having the rest of the night to finish the trial before getting hunted.


    "It''s not poisoned. Micah tested them out," I added when he continued to stare at me.


    I imitated what Luke did for me every morning, scooping more spoons of soup after he swallowed each serving. You had to mix a few of the support items into food, greatly diluting them. Although fairies could eat and drink them directly, humans were weaker. When Luke started to relax, not forcing himself to appear like he was fine, I brightened. This meant his fever was transitioning into a severely bad cold.


    "Are you feeling better?" I tried to confirm my suspicions.


    "Where did you get this?" He knew there had to be rare ingredients inside.


    "Isn''t this similar to heal? I have more of them if you''re still hungry," I liked the results.


    "Did you have dinner?" Luke focused more on me.


    "I did. I was the one who made them," I continued to feed him more bowls.


    "She worked really hard. It took her more than seven hours to synthesize all the ingredients together in the time-space room," Micah acknowledged my efforts.


    "Synthesize? Isn''t this for legendary herbs?" Alex knew about them.


    "It also took her several hours to gather them," Micah only offered me his guidance.


    "Are there any remaining?" Alex seemed curious.


    "There isn''t. I used everything that was there," I managed to empty the bowls.


    "She could have saved them for herself, but she pulled everything out. Most of them appear every ten thousand years in this dimension, and a few others a little more often," Micah oddly supported me.


    We were both leaving out that the garden would be filled with an overflowing number of new legendary herbs once the day passed. In fact, Micah explained to me that these were common herbs in the other dimension. The reason being that this dimension didn''t possess as much mana, needing more time for the plants to turn into these legendary items. This was why I didn''t hesitate to use everything I managed to procure.


    "The soup was created from all those herbs?" Alex stared at the bowls in a new light.


    "More than the herbs were used to create the soup," Micah didn''t mention my failures, wasting more than half of them.


    "She mixed inside precious elixirs, something she received to help her survive. You should stay in bed for the next several days, so her efforts don''t get wasted," he got to his initial purpose.


    "Precious elixirs?" Luke wondered.


    "Those that have drastic healing effects, something from the other dimension that costs billions of Memors," Micah overexaggerated.


    The mediator had stuffed my inventory with millions of those elixirs, always replacing an equal number whenever I took one out. Although there were many different kinds, their impact was sadly very small if taken alone. I was full of taking sips of each one, trying to determine which ones would be compatible with the other herbs. They reminded me of disposable potions, worse than the smoothies I had created to raise funds for my club.


    Those elixirs had to be worth less than a penny, remembering Micah frowning from the bad quality. The mediator expected me to use them with the herbs to get any impactful effects in general. I was greatly disappointed as I needed to create the true support items from scratch. It was a pain, only making enough for Luke. I didn''t have any talent, making a mess of the room from the explosions whenever things went wrong.


    At this rate, Micah was trying to convince Luke to stay in bed so he wouldn''t continue to push himself. Luke was considered to be a workaholic even in Micah''s eyes, b?r?ly taking any breaks. After passing the bowls to the servants to take away, I pulled out some cream from my inventory. These were harder to generate than the soup, following many s?ns?t?v? ratios. Luke watched me lifting his sleeves, trying to massage the cream into his skin.


    I didn''t think it would be this hard to take care of someone. I was struggling to determine the most effective places to apply them, soon moving onto his neck and shoulders. Thankfully, he didn''t move like he knew it would make it harder for me. I wondered how he did this for me every day, it was tiring. Guilt started to fill my heart from the times that I twisted and turned to refuse the lotions from finding them to be annoyingly gooey.


    "How do you feel now?" I didn''t have access to any of the medical equipment.


    "I''m starting to feel better," Luke gently smiled.


    "You have to fully recover," I wanted to avoid the hunt.


    "You should leave him to rest. I can help you strategize for the next round," Micah leaned against the door, watching us.


    "You really have to stay in bed. You can''t work," I reminded him before joining Micah.


    "I''ll take care of him," Alex remained inside the room, ?ssuring us.

 Chapter 613 - The Hunt (3)

    "I''m not wearing them," I stared at the uncomfortable clothes.


    I needed to wear clothes that didn''t restrict any movements. The shoes would slow me down if I attempted to run while the accessories had some weight to them. Although Micah couldn''t tell them about the trial, I wondered why both of them didn''t seem to have a clue. It was like someone was messing with their minds, Luke forgetting about Micah telling him to plan a funeral. However, we managed to convince Luke to rest, making me think I wouldn''t attend any more events.


    "We have an hour before the first event. We don''t have much time to get ready," Alex increasingly began to lose his patience.


    "Go alone," I wondered how I would attend without Luke.


    "You still need to attend, the Roselia family needs to be represented. Luke did the same when you disappeared. I''m going to act as your temporary partner for the next few days," he urged me to change.


    "If Sienna hands me running shoes and a tracksuit, can I wear them instead?" I wondered.


    "Are you serious?" Alex checked his watch.


    "Stay still, I''ll do everything for you. I don''t have the time to convince you," he almost turned into Luke.


    I puffed my cheeks inside the hover car, going to the first event. He f?r??b?? changed me into the planned outfit for today, not giving me a chance to fight back. Threatening me with his glares that he wouldn''t let me go if I attempted to take them off. My throat hurt from him shoving some food into my mouth whenever I tried to talk. My ears were filled with a runover of the rules, making me want to cover them.


    "If you can''t obediently stand next to me, I''m going to have to hold your hand. Remember to keep smiling, the way we taught you. If the guests turn their focus to you, repeat the answers we made you memorize. Most of their questions are predictable. I''m going to go over some of them now," Alex made use of the travelling time.


    "We are interested in the Impalia fraction and their events. Can you tell us what you have planned for the next year?" He started to test me.


    "Everything is still kept confidential, but we are looking forward to your reaction to the upcoming announcement?" I didn''t remember this from the study sessions.


    "Repeat this. Although you may already know, we currently have our annual event scheduled around the same date as the previous years. We are in the process of giving invitations and please let us know if your fraction is interested," he sighed.


    "This way, you''re not revealing anything and promoting your event. You can use this answer for similar questions about your other fractions," Alex didn''t have time to continue staying on this question.


    "Can you tell us more about the recent gains in land and property?" He moved on.


    "We are fortunate to have the opportunity to establish more places targeted towards the general public. Both the land and property are planned to be used to create a stronger platform for our business lines," I repeated the scripted answer.


    Before he could ask the next one, the hover car started to drift towards the venue. Alex stepped out of the hover car before me to turn to escort me out. Slightly lifting my dress, I accepted his hand to step onto Oili''s mansion grounds. Everything was kept relatively simple and empty, the opposite of the places we visited yesterday. I struggled to maintain my smile as an audience loudly began to gossip from Luke''s absent.


    I planned to quickly escape from Alex as soon as he got surrounded by a crowd. Pretending I couldn''t notice everyone staring at us, I stood still as Alex greeted Oili and his partner near the entrance of the mansion for the both of us. One of the rules was staying silent until someone directly asked me something, no matter how familiar I was with that person. If he held my hand, I wouldn''t be able to run away when I had the chance.


    I almost ?r??n?d when he continued to keep an eye on me while more people were walking towards him. Within a few seconds, a small crowd quickly formed around us, trying to make more connections. However, both Alex and I briefly froze when they turned to face me instead of him. I wondered why they couldn''t peacefully leave me alone, they sadly made me stand out when I wanted to stay invisible. My mind was being tortured as the questions never stopped, not giving me a chance to answer them.


    "We have always wanted to meet you. We have heard many things about you even in our school," a guest seemed interested.


    "You appear more stunning in person," another person agreed.


    "Can you tell us about everything your fractions have planned for the next year? We would like to know more than what is announced about the scheduled events, and we have delivered our interest to our fraction leaders last week," a guest sadly made the scripted answer useless.


    I had no idea what was going inside any of my fractions. I brightly smiled, hoping someone would ask me another question so I wouldn''t have to answer it.. But silence filled the air, waiting for my response.

 Chapter 614 - The Hunt (4)

    I anchored the rope to the top of the roof, standing many metres above me. I made sure to avoid the windows and focused on stepping on the mismatched bricks, giving me a place to climb. When I checked the timer, I had thirty seconds left, which wasn''t bad if I considered I was halfway there. As I climbed, more ideas came to my head, a backup plan of using the rope to stay afloat to avoid the ground. I could use the rope as a rappel, better than falling off the roof, which would only buy me around ten seconds.


    I sighed in relief once I reached the top, the screen with the countdown starting: [Game Start: 5 minutes remaining]


    My hands tightly clung onto the rope like my life was dependent on it, scanning the area for signs of the hunter. Almost immediately, a wisp of wind swirled around me, studying me to search for any weaknesses. Although I couldn''t see or hear the hunter, I could feel their movements around me. My ears perked with hearing the roof slightly creaking, getting distracted that I was nearly too late to discover someone was beginning to cut my rope. It was only ten seconds in, and my heartbeat was rapidly pacing.


    My eyes widened when the rope snapped, leaving me to desperately search for another anchor, beginning to fall towards the ground. Unfortunately, the window still was the only option, a floor down. I quickly tied my rope around, using most of the strength in my arms, feeling my muscles straining and slowly snapping apart. I had no time to focus on the guests, staring at me from inside the ballroom. If I managed to survive through this round, I would deal with them later.


    "Isn''t this much?" I yelled.


    The hunter was breaking every anchor there could be outside to prevent me from using the rope. The uneven bricks sticking out was smoothly manipulated to perfectly fit in with the others, the windowsills breaking and falling down towards me. With no other choice, I swung to break the window, knowing there could be more potential anchors inside the ballroom. Oili''s mansion had many tall decorations with a strong infrastructure. I covered myself with a barrier, glass shattering to fall onto the guests, muttering an explosion spell.


    Some guests began running, the halls filled with bombs splattering like fireworks. Meanwhile, I threw the rope towards a chandelier in the middle of the ballroom, tying it around its chains. My rope was getting shorter each time I found a new anchor, the hunter cutting its length. However, I was fortunate there were many decorations hanging from the roof, stunning and sturdy lights to make up for the simplicity underneath them.


    "Get down from there!" Alex screamed at me, full of embarrassment.


    I ignored Alex as I moved onto switching my anchor after the chandelier crashed down onto the floors, destroying the marble tiles. Thankfully, Oili and his partner were already working on evacuating all their guests, leaving the ballroom relatively empty. I slightly smiled from being about to stall three minutes through this way, finding the hunter to be less dangerous than the monsters and fairies. Although all the lights had crashed down, utterly unrepairable as it crumbled into many pieces, there were beams supporting the roof a little above them.


    "Are the beams sturdy?" I shouted at Oili.


    "Wait, not the beams," Oili tried to stop me.


    Unfortunately, it was already too late. I consumed a massive amount of mana to fly to wrap my rope towards the beams. And the hunter was cruel enough to break all the beams, making the entire roof start to crumble without any support. I shuddered as the mansion slowly fell apart like unwrapping a present. All its walls rumbled, cracking and tumbling to create a crater on the floors. There was no place to use as an anchor anymore, every one of the debris slowly waiting for me to fall down.


    Tall and sharp spikes surrounded me, resembling a trap for its prey. I gulped as Oili and his partner had already escaped after taking care of the guests, watching everything from a distance away. Only they remained other than Alex, choosing to stay inside their hover cars. A bright idea came to my head, switching my aim to their hover car, floating above the grounds. Maybe the other fairies failed to survive the rounds since they weren''t surrounded by advanced technology like I was.


    I targeted Alex''s hover car, flying towards him, muttering to place my rope around the handle. Although he steamed with anger, he began to open the door for me, stunned when the door flew off from the car. In fact, the car was hit with a mass force of wind to the point a tornado was beginning to form. The hunter was trying to shake me off the car, not wanting any interference. My barrier was cracking, being tortured by the merciless attacks.


    I screamed as the rope snapped and was taken away from me as soon as my hands lost some strength. I was going to die if I landed on the death traps underneath me, the debris sharpened into blades from the wind. I stared at the timer, slowly counting down. I didn''t have a choice, I had to use all my mana here. This was a fight between life and death, struggling to summon my strength to pull myself up.


    [Time Remaining: Fifteen seconds]

 Chapter 615 - The Hunt (5)

    I started to calculate how long it would take for me to land on the ground. From the height of the hover car, I had to have at least ten seconds. This would leave five seconds remaining. I pulled out another rope out of my inventory, a backup I planned to use for the next round. The hunter had spared Alex''s hover car ever since I separated from it. I yelled at Alex, "lift the hover car higher, the highest it can go!"


    Alex followed my instructions, the hover car rising in altitude as I struggled to match its height, failing to wrap my rope around. The distance between us became bigger, my focus getting weaker as the ground became closer to me. I gritted my teeth, eyes narrowing as my aims became worse. Everything depended on my last attempt, desperately praying to hook onto the other handle.


    Fortunately, Alex noticed what I was trying to do, turning the car to make it easier to grab onto the handle. I cheered inside my heart when I was successful, the help from Alex letting me attach myself to a new anchor. Checking the timer, I had ten more seconds left, quickly climbing the rope to get into the hover car. However, the hunter was brutal, Alex jumping out of the car when the controls started to go out of control. I coughed from the smoke, the car slowly crashing down, dragging me along with it.


    It was better to abandon the car since I would fall down slower if I was alone. By the time I reached the ground, I would be safe. I realized the hunter couldn''t do anything to me when I didn''t use an anchor, completely surrounded by air. However, I urgently needed a new plan to survive the next round. Searching for a place to land, I sighed in relief from finding I made the right choices, watching the timer:


    [Time Remaining: Three seconds]


    [Time Remaining: Two seconds]


    [Time Remaining: One second]


    [Game End]


    While the destroyed mansion still remained, I was able to land on a patch of neatly trimmed grass, the garden not badly affected as the other places. Although my dress was in tatters, I knew Alex had backups inside his inventory. This was a chance to recover as much as possible, taking as many elixirs out of my inventory to drink as possible. If each individual elixir had a small effect, maybe consuming a large number of bottles with different types would be different. I didn''t have the time to synthetize them together, hoping it would somehow mix inside my body to get the impact I wanted.


    When I started to hear someone walking towards me, I stopped drinking more elixirs, pushing everything back to its original place. I would have to ask Micah later if there were any side effects from doing this. Once I organized my thoughts, I turned to face the person behind me, shuddering when I noticed Alex''s eyes, filled with a tremendous mix of anger, disappointment and worry. I started to step away from him as I knew it was best to avoid him. But before I could, he tightly grabbed my hand, pulling me closer to him. However, I had a safety net, Oili and his partner joining me, stepping out of their hover car.


    "We apologize for the results of your event. We can compensate you, please accept our offer," Alex pulled out a cheque.


    "Apologize," He turned to pressure me.


    "I apologize for destroying your mansion and your event. I can offer you more elixirs," I wondered if they were interested.


    "It''s fine. We don''t need any compensation. We''re friends," Oili declined our offers.


    "Please accept this, or else I''m dead later," I mumbled towards the end.


    I pulled out a hundred elixirs of each type, skyrocketing high in front of them. I sadly gazed at Oili and his partner to take them, hinting I would become a goner otherwise. Thankfully, Oili seemed to understand, the pile disappearing as he stuffed them inside his inventory. Both Luke and Alex didn''t like owing anyone, including distant family members. I grabbed Oili''s hand with my spare hand, "can we use your hover car to get to the next event? Ours is sadly destroyed."


    "Do you mean Ethan''s place?" Oili wondered.


    "Yea, that place!" I didn''t want to return home.


    "We''re heading the same way then. His place needs more sub-hosts and we can''t continue the event here anymore," he showed me the message.


    "Our hover car is coming in ten minutes Rika," Alex didn''t want to use theirs.


    "You can use it alone," I brought out my pitiful eyes to Oili''s partner.


    "The three of us can use this hover car," Oili''s partner gave into me.


    Unfortunately, as soon as I touched Oili''s hover car, it broke down, crumbling into pieces. Staring at the ashes and broken parts, I was stunned, wondering how it managed to survive during the hunt. Alex squeezed my hand tighter, trying to hide his irritation, turning to them, "you can join us in our hover car. It should be coming within nine more minutes."


    "However, you must sign this contract to make sure everything you witness stays confidential," Alex pulled out something Luke had prepared for similar cases.


    "A contract?" Oili stared at the document.


    "It has to do with the inner workings of other fractions.. Many calls come in and out during our travel time," Alex explained.

 Chapter 616 - Exposed (7) - Oliver’s POV

    "Nooooo, I don''t want to wear this dress," Rika tried to kick Alex.


    "Stay still. I can''t have you attend the next event in tatters," Alex became more annoyed.


    I watched Alex trying to put Rika''s current ragged dress off her, avoiding her legs. The new dress prepared for Rika was stunning, dripping with mana crystals instead of the usual jewels. The silky fabric shimmered in the sunlight, slightly changing from white to different shades of pink. My eyes widened from how small the size was, more suited for young children. Meanwhile, Alex began wrestling with Rika, trying to change her into the dress. The hover car faintly shook as Rika attempted to run away from him.


    "Why couldn''t you choose something more comfortable? This is worse than the previous one!" Rika placed a barrier around herself.


    "You shouldn''t have ruined your dress, you knew what would be coming," Alex instantly made her barrier shatter, muttering a counter spell.


    Alex took this chance to grip Rika''s wrists together with one of his hands. Rika gritted her teeth, finding Alex was winning, able to pull the destroyed dress off her. She twisted and turned, making him more aggressive, pushing her down on the car seats. I never could have imagined this was what went behind the scenes. My partner couldn''t close her mouth, watching everything unfold.


    Alex pulled out many wet wipes, erasing traces of smoke and chars tainting her skin. He wiped her body with one hand, the other one busy from preventing Rika from moving. His legs were strategically placed to make sure Rika couldn''t attack him with her legs. When he checked the location on the map, he started to work quicker, moving onto restoring her brilliant glimmering skin by placing lotions everywhere.


    The trickiest part was changing her into the new dress, his eyes reflecting the uncooperative Rika that was glaring at him. I was stunned by Alex''s strength, switching her position by pulling her up while maintaining his grip on her. The dress was special, unravelling as all its bu??ons and ribbons opened. It made it easier for Alex to dress her, only having to focus on tying the clothes together again.


    "If you attempt to put this dress off, I''m going to tell Luke everything that happened at the first event," Alex warned her.


    "You won''t tell him?" Rika stopped fighting.


    "I''ll see. If I don''t finish getting you ready by the time the hover car lands, I''ll go more into the details when I tell him," he pulled out the new accessories.


    Alex''s hands didn''t stop moving, trying to take advantage of Rika listening to him more. I could spot signs of exhaustion on his face by the time he started to work on her face. My partner pitied him, offering, "I can help with her make-up."


    "I apologize for the ruckus. It''s fine. We don''t put any make-up on her," Alex pulled out some cream.


    "I always wanted that cream. It''s really expensive, but it b?r?ly makes any difference on her. She''s so pretty. I can''t believe she naturally looks like this," my partner whispered into my ear.


    When Alex pulled out Rika''s shoes, trying to match it with her current outfit, my partner''s eyes began to glitter. She admired the practicality behind the beautiful design, stamped with lovely ribbons. Alex didn''t trust Rika to put on the shoes with her own hands, doing everything for her from the start to finish. After he finished taking care of Rika, he quickly changed into his new outfit to match hers at an abnormal speed.


    Although Rika was my friend, I realized there were still many things I didn''t know about her. Alex made us sign a contract since he didn''t want this to get revealed. He didn''t have the chance to take a break as he made Rika memorize new scripted answers, trying to go over every possible question. It resembled the study session in the club room, making the people listening impressed with the tips.


    "Remember not to speak until the guests directly ask you a question. No sleeping on the ground or climbing the walls, you have to let me know if you feel like you''re in danger. Since we''re going to be eating lunch there, I want you to finish at least half of your plate. If any of these are broken, we''re leaving the event and going straight to Luke," Alex repeated more than ten times.


    "I get it," Rika ?r??n?d.


    "You know I didn''t destroy his mansion on purpose. Why would I look like I''m escaping from something?" She mumbled.


    "I want a full explanation after the event," Alex didn''t want to have the conversation with us here.


    Alex seemed to be very loyal to Luke, more than the bond coming from being friends or cousins. Everyone knew they were close, always seeing them together since elementary school. He wasn''t the same with Jules, who was also his cousin. In fact, Jules appeared to be busy running away from them lately.


    "Can I call Micah here? It''s related to the previous incident," Rika seemed hesitant, slightly glancing at us.


    "I can get us a spare room after we enter the event," Alex began to write a message to Ethan.


    They stopped talking when the hover car started to drift towards the ground, a whole crowd of guests staring at the Monete family crest. When its doors opened, Alex gestured to us that we could step out first, showing his hospitality. My ears were filled with chattering and gossip as my partner stiffened from the same scene.. Meanwhile, Rika seemed to be unaffected, perfectly following Alex''s instructions, ignoring the attention.

 Chapter 617 - The Hunt (6)

    "You did what?" Micah didn''t believe me.


    "I drank the elixirs in their raw forms. Are there any side effects?" I repeated.


    "It''ll be dangerous if you eat anything. Light fruits and salads are fine, avoid everything other than those," he advised me.


    Alex noted Micah''s instructions in his head, erasing the thought of making me finish half of my plate later. Repeating the scripted answers to the guests wasn''t hard, standing for a long time was. I lazily sat down on the couch, glad to be inside the spare room. Alex was always surrounded by people and I couldn''t leave his side since he was holding my hand. Unfortunately, Oili was busy helping Ethan with the other guests.


    "But it''s the best option you have. Continue drinking those elixirs and control your diet," Micah found my synthesizing abilities hopeless.


    "I can make sure to control her diet," Alex tried to ?ssure him.


    Micah disappeared back into the other dimension before Ethan knocked on the door. Micah was with us for an hour, giving me more tips after I told him how the previous round went. Apparently, the ropes were an innovative idea, something a fairy with abundant mana never thought before. To make sure Alex couldn''t interfere, Micah temporarily froze his time, letting him go once we moved onto a safer topic.


    "Are you going to be using the main hall for lunch?" Ethan opened the door.


    "Is there another option?" Alex turned to him.


    "You can use our exclusive lunchroom. You''re with Rika," he implied fraction members were treated differently.


    "We can use that one then," Alex concluded.


    As one of the main hosts, Ethan sat on the head of the table, facing Flora who sat on the other end. The seats were already arranged, having my name card indicated to sit beside Ethan while Alex was on my other side. Meanwhile, Oili sat across from me, his partner facing Alex. However, the rest of the guests joining us were unfamiliar, my first time seeing their faces. I whispered to Ethan, "are those the people in our fraction?"


    "They''re not. Most of them are my parent''s connections. Only you and Oliver come from the same fraction," he revealed.


    I hid my surprise when even Alex seemed to be careful around them, leveling up his mask. This meant these guests were important people, having Alex reminding me inside my ear, "continue smiling and don''t talk."


    I made my smile more radiant, blinking several times that I understood him. It was these kinds of guests who asked hard questions. I wanted to avoid them as much as he wanted me to. I never had to experience this during the previous social weeks, the previous one already a mess with fairies and my first one dining in general lunchrooms. It was no wonder Ethan was asking us if we wanted to join him.


    When the plates began to come out, my smile almost crumbled. Every single one of them were extremely heavy, mixed with tiny pieces of luxurious meat in the salads with creamy sauces. The fruits were covered in dazzling chocolates, placed beside the decorated slices of meat. Although I liked chocolate, they came at an extremely bad timing. I watched the other guests eat, not touching the food in front of me.


    "Is there anything wrong?" Ethan whispered.


    "I can''t eat anything here. It''s too heavy," I sighed.


    "Is there something lighter, ones with no sauce or seasoning? It has to be fruits and salads," Alex joined us.


    "I''ll send an order to the servants to prepare something," Ethan made the servants take my current plates away.


    Within a few minutes, a new set of plates arrived in front of me. Unfortunately, it appeared extremely poor compared to the dazzling plates surrounding me. Since I was hungry, I elegantly began slicing the fruits and chewed on the salad. These were just plainly chopped fruits and vegetables, nothing added to them. I instantly grabbed attention from the other guests, noticing my meal. Maybe I should have starved, pretending everything was fine.


    "My cousin has ill health," Alex explained.


    "Can I have the same plates as the guest beside you?" A guest turned to Ethan.


    "If you can, I d?s?r? the same meal as her," another person joined in.


    "There should be a reason why she looks so pretty. She eats different things than us," a guest revealed her thoughts.


    Both Ethan and Flora stiffened as the rest of the guests wanted their meals to be replaced. Alex stayed ignorant, silently eating his original plates. I wondered why they would want my poor meal compared to the delicious chocolate covered strawberries. It was taking all my efforts to not steal one from Alex''s plate. I was thankful Ethan had the sense to have my plate to be filled with mostly sweet strawberries.


    "Can you introduce yourself? We would like to know you better," a guest turned to me, waiting for her new plates.


    I brightly smiled, silently crying in my heart since I wanted them to leave me alone. I hoped my irritation didn''t show as I cutely pitched my voice higher, "I am Rika de Impalia Roselia. I attend the same school as my cousin and in my last year of middle school."


    "I heard of her before. She appears purer and lovelier than the rumors," one of them murmured.


    "Should we invite her? We could spend more time with her this way," a guest mumbled.


    Ethan''s invited guests lowered their voices, going into a discussion of their own.. Although I couldn''t hear anything, I knew their topic revolved around me. When they were finished, a guest representing them asked me, "would you like to join our business circle?"

 Chapter 618 - The Hunt (7)

    "Business circle?" I softly questioned Alex, elbowing him.


    This never came up in my collection of scripted answers. Unfortunately, the scripted answers were useful in trying to get the guests to leave me alone. Most of them turned their attention to Alex, b?r?ly getting their questions answered from me. I also needed to save as much energy as possible to survive through another round today. I could already somehow tell this whole business circle thing would be a pain.


    "It would be an honor to join, however my cousin is not here with us," Alex intercepted the question.


    "I think you have misunderstood us. This invitation is only extended to Rika," the guest waited for my answer.


    "I would like to decline," I blurted under the pressure.


    "Unfortunately, I am a penniless person that doesn''t have any money in my bank account. I''m afraid I don''t have the qualifications," I used the first excuse that came to my head.


    "You come from the Roselia family, do you not?" She became extremely confused.


    "Just like not everyone in the first district is wealthy, not every member of the Roselia family possesses money," I knew it was a poor explanation.


    "These accessories and dresses come from a loan from my wealthy cousin," I added when they didn''t believe me.


    "You are extremely humble," a guest didn''t understand my intentions, almost laughing.


    "You''re humiliating us," Alex quietly mumbled, wanting me to stop talking.


    "I can show you my empty bank account," I had exchanged everything for Memors.


    I tapped on my screen, confidently accessing my bank account, passing the display around for everyone else to see. Maybe I was successful, the entire table going silent. Since I didn''t get the chance to check, I returned the screen back to its original position, facing me. I silently cheered inside my heart when I discovered there was really nothing in all of my accounts. I repeated my decision, "as a penniless person, I am afraid I do not possess such qualifications."


    "You really have nothing," a guest was surprised.


    "She was telling the truth," another person murmured.


    "I didn''t think a member of the Roselia family would have financial hardships," another guest joined in.


    "This is a joint bank account," Alex tried to fix his family''s reputation.


    Alex swiped my marble away from me, tapping on many settings, eventually landing on the total account balance of everything added together. My eyes widened when everything amounted into half a trillion Aris, not trusting the numbers. Alex began to present the screen in front of the guests, revealing, "my cousin doesn''t know all the features on her account yet."


    Alex closed the screen, passing my marble back to me, making the guests speechless, including me. I didn''t know that Luke possessed this much wealth on his side of the account. Luke managed all our ?ssets as I steered away touching anything. I only used money sent by my parents, knowing all my purchases would get revealed with the one provided by the Roselia family. I considered that account to be purely used to exchange Aris into more Memors.


    "My cousin is right. I''m too brainless and senseless to have the qualifications to join your circle," I quickly came up with another excuse.


    To support my claim, I presented my poor school grades, scrolling to the times I got an extreme amount of minus points. This usually did the trick to convince people to leave me alone. Alex''s smile almost came crashing down as the guests struggled to maintain their masks. One of the guests began choking on their food, coughing to hide their emotions. Even Ethan and Oili were stunned, seeing the minus 400,000 points from when I was partnered with Henry.


    "Do you still want me to join?" I hoped they would retract their offer.


    "Do you know what a business circle is?" A guest asked.


    ???I don''t. If you also ask me anything about my fractions, I can tell you that I have no clue what''s going on. The only skill I have is conquering dungeons and slowly collecting my harem," I shook my head.


    "You''re the famous MuimemeLover4421 who got reported for trying to collect a harem! That''s one of his common lines," A person gasped.


    "We have to let her join us. Her harem is almost legendary in the game world," he turned to the people in his business circle.


    What? Was this business circle actually another gaming club? It did make sense other people would try to keep their hobbies a secret with the high standards in this district. I coughed to get their attention, "I can show you my ways. Please tell me the true purpose of your circle."


    "We are actually harem collecting gamers, hiding behind the cover of a business circle. We like to admire beautiful people," he confessed.


    "I''m joining! You can rely on your big sister," I rose from my chair.


    "Now bow down to your master," I wanted to see if they were sincere.


    I stumbled a few steps back from shock, watching them rise from their chairs to kneel down. They really wished to learn from this master to increase their own harems. When I snuck a peek at Alex, his face was in utter disbelief, watching everything unfold. I flipped my hair, "this is enough for today.. I''ll add you as my friend in the game and here is my contact information so you can contact me to get some advice in real life."

 Chapter 619 - The Hunt (8)

    Once all the guests left, the six of us remained inside the dining room. I couldn''t help but give them my signatures when they begged for it through their eyes. It was my fault for having high expectations from Ethan''s friends from another school. I wouldn''t be surprised if they were passionate about catching bugs at this rate. I turned to Ethan, "why didn''t you tell me from the start that your parent''s connections were inside a gaming club?"


    "I didn''t know. It''s the first time they revealed it," Ethan had joined their business circle with me.


    In fact, Alex had also signed Luke up for the secret gaming club with him. All six of us were welcome to join after the guests discovered we were already inside a secret gaming club in our school. I never thought I would become famous in the dungeon game for trying to collect a harem. It was nice to have followers who admired me. This just showed how many people possessed a bogus mask in high society, desperately trying to cover their true selves.


    "By the way, do you have some free time right now?" I needed help.


    "What is it?" Ethan was in a good mood.


    "Help me dig some holes in your garden," I planned to hide from the hunter.


    "I''ll give you all the bugs that come out of them," I offered.


    "Let me choose the section, I know where most of them roam during the spring," he agreed.


    "Are you in the bug catching club?" Alex recalled.


    "The three of us are," Oili remembered my excuse.


    Before I could ask Oili''s partner and Flora, they immediately ran away, sending them messages they will be busy handling the guests. Alex frowned as we quickly moved to another location, Ethan passing shovels to me and Oili. I could tell his impression of Oili and Ethan immensely lowered by several levels. Although Oili had never dug holes in the ground before, he knew the process from watching us during one of our club activities.


    "Would you like to join us?" Ethan turned to Alex.


    "I''m fine," Alex stood a distance away from us.


    I shrugged as I began to determine where I would make the holes by stabbing a shovel inside. The shovels were just for show anyways. I took my cages out and placed them next to me. Ethan and I were busy with mumbling spells, lifting the dirt out and throwing them into a pile. Meanwhile, Oili struggled to transfer the bugs into our cages, making sure none of them would fall on him. Thankfully, Alex was too disgusted to notice Oili was out of sync from us.


    "The hole needs to be deeper," I grimaced.


    The height of the hole would b?r?ly fit me, allowing the possibility of the hunter noticing the uneven grounds. I planned to make the holes into a mini capsule, scolding Ethan, "how do you expect a person to fit inside there? We also need to cover my height in addition to making it look like nothing is out of place."


    "What?" Ethan briefly froze.


    "I''m planning to spend five minutes inside there, it''s a great place to rest," I revealed.


    "Are you crazy?" He stopped digging more holes.


    "Why wouldn''t the idea work? We could teleport there to instantly gather bugs without any work. It would be more convenient," I tried to convince him.


    "Most people will suffocate from the lack of oxygen once their mana runs out," Alex avoided the holes without any effort.


    "Let''s go home. We''re leaving this event," he began to call for our hover car.


    "I''m not going to your mansion. I have to create some holes where I can live inside," I couldn''t abandon this plan.


    "You banned me from your garden. That''s why I''m doing it here," I continued to dig.


    I brightly smiled when a sudden screen appeared in front of me:


    [Round Start: One Minute Remaining]


    I jumped inside the hole, using the rest of the time to cover myself with the dirt and grass over my barrier. Unfortunately, I didn''t have the time to work on the other holes. I had to hope that the hunter wouldn''t think of digging this one. Thankfully, I had a shovel with me, using it to make the hole deeper. I yelled to the people above me, "don''t bother me for six minutes. I''m digging deeper so if you try to pull me out, I might die from the poor infrastructure."


    "How much do you want us to compensate you?" Alex was likely asking Ethan.


    "It''s fine. I don''t need any money. Rika may be right. I could use these holes later," Ethan declined.


    "I''ll make some proper capsules later," he mumbled.


    "I can help with the blueprints," Oili considered it to be a part of our club activities.


    "I''ll leave it to you," Ethan tried to see how sturdy my hole was.


    [The barrier is holding up, it''s not bad for a makeshift capsule. I''m several metres into the ground] I sent them a message.


    "What did Rika send you?" Alex noticed.


    "She''s several metres into the ground," Ethan showed him, not having a choice from Luke''s contract.


    I stopped digging when the screen warned me: [Round Started: Five Minutes Remaining]

 Chapter 620 - The Hunt (9)

    [Round Started: One Minute Remaining]


    Although many things could happen within one minute, it seemed like the hunter had a hard time trying to find me. Micha''s advice was on the point, hiding was the best option I possessed. I felt Ethan standing above me, unintentionally interfering in the trial. Thankfully, it appeared like the hunter could not injure them from my experience from the previous round. However, I remained quiet, not allowing the possibility of giving out any hints.


    I tightly hugged myself, waiting for the time to pass, staring at the timer. Surrounded by the darkness, I started to go through my miserable memories. Always confined inside a small, controlled cage, perfectly separated from the rest of the world. My world lacked many colours, only touching what the owner of the cage allowed. I was the one considered to be greedy, wanting more than what could be provided. Why wouldn''t a prisoner who had done nothing wrong not want to run away from their cell?


    However, I was worse than a prisoner. Someone wanted me to become their obedient doll, expanding his power over me with each increasing year. I wanted to return to the time where I was younger, embracing my family name that came from my parents. Sadly, nobody referred to me as Rika Shanes anymore. My identity was entirely dependent on Luke, mostly called as the fianc¨¦e to the heir of the Roselia family.


    I couldn''t stand the people who seemed to be jealous of me in the school forums. Did they ever suffer from the guilt, watching their parents wonder the next time they would be able to meet their child? Sometimes, I could hear my mom crying in the middle of the night, opening the photo albums sent by my school, whispering my name. I visited Luke''s parents much more often than my own. Luke couldn''t fully understand my homesickness, always free to visit his parents.


    He was always surrounded by his family, extending to include his cousins. Although I had my friends with me, it wasn''t easy to fill the emptiness inside my heart. The warmth of my parents missing in my life. It was different from calling Luke''s family as my own, I disliked them, watching them plan out my entire life. His family was too cold, calculating every one of their actions, including what emotions to show to manipulate someone.


    [Round Started: Twenty seconds remaining]


    My eyes widened when the entire ground began to rumble, the hole starting to collapse. Maybe the hunter figured out I was hiding underground. But I was unfazed, my barrier was sturdy, unaffected by all the dirt falling onto me. I easily possessed enough mana to continue supplying more oxygen inside this tiny space, having the luxury to fortify my barrier. Although I could hear the chaotic noise of people crying, running to escape, it had nothing to do with me.


    I selfishly knew they would manage to safely evacuate. I wasn''t surprised when the mansion started to crumble, feeling more weight above me. The ground was being manipulated to the point it almost resembled an earthquake. The hunter was getting more desperate, affecting the people around me. I noticed the mansions in social week tended to be more fragile than the regular ones, focused on its beauty rather than creating a strong foundation.


    I covered my ears, not wanting to hear more people panicking, someone calling for healers. This wasn''t my fault. I was the one hiding from the hunter causing this frenzied mess. I was going to be killed as soon as I revealed myself. Wincing every time someone screamed from trying to avoid the debris, slowly turning into a death trap aimed for me. This trial tried to affect me both physically and mentally.


    [Round Started: Ten seconds remaining]


    "You should leave with us," Ethan warned Alex.


    "I can''t leave Rika alone here, pass me a shovel," Alex declined his offer.


    This was bad. At this rate, Alex could reveal my location to the hunter. I placed my marble in silent mode, hoping the hunter didn''t hear the subtle sounds. My fingers became busy as I sent him a message, ''Leave me alone, I''ll join you in five more seconds. I''m going to die if you mess with this hole.''


    My supply of oxygen was drastically decreasing, my mind going blank, preventing me from using my mana efficiently. I gasped for more air, my lungs constricting, quickly feeling out of breath. My vision wobbled, swirling in and out like my head was rapidly spinning. Was this how people felt when they started to suffocate to death? I had to get out of here, unable to keep myself sane. I abandoned my shovel and used my hands to dig, my nails becoming ruined. I didn''t know what to do, staring at the timer, placing all my hopes into it.


    [Round Started: One second remaining]

 Chapter 622 - The Prey (1)

    "You''re not giving me anything. It belongs to our family," Alex waved my proposal away.


    "Can''t your family abandon me somewhere? I would rather be homeless," I could return to the third district.


    "I can live without the Roselia family. Anywhere is better than being inside your mansions," I was on the edge of running away again.


    If it wasn''t for the trial, I would have already run away. My priority was recovering Luke''s health and only possible if I wasn''t confined to my room. I also needed the bans on the rest of the mansion gone so I could collect more herbs. I squeezed the edge of the car seats, feeling helpless as I waited for Alex to respond to me. I forgot that Ethan was with us, too focused on trying to earn my freedom.


    "Try running away again and our deal is gone," Alex warned me.


    "Give me one more chance and reverse the bans. I kept my promise of waking and eating on my own. Plus, you can''t entirely blame me for those accidents," I attempted to negotiate.


    "I gave you two chances and you broke my trust both times," he was merciless.


    "What do you mean by two chances? You gave me nothing!" I couldn''t recall anything.


    "You humiliated us once in the dining room and the other by digging holes where every guest could see you through the window," he revealed.


    "If I didn''t dig those holes, I wouldn''t have discovered that cave!" I found this conversation to be ridiculous.


    "I don''t care about that cave. You knew exactly what I wanted from you, we went over it many times inside the car," Alex reminded me.


    "Why can''t you ever leave me alone? Your partner is Shelly," I had angry tears stream down my face.


    "You''re not strict with her. You treat us differently!" I pointed out.


    "Of course I treat you differently. Michelle disappoints me less and doesn''t break my trust like you do. I told you, if you want to be treated as our equals, you have to gain our trust through your actions first," he brought out his conditions.


    "We both know you will never treat me as your equal no matter what I do. Do you think I wouldn''t know? I have been living with Luke for around ten years," I didn''t fall for his tricks.


    "How could we ever treat you as our equals with how you act towards us? Although you woke up on your own, who dressed you for the events? Who made sure you were eating properly?" Alex tried to seem reasonable.


    "That was your fault. If you chose more comfortable outfits, I wouldn''t have anything to complain about. You shoved everything inside my mouth before I could eat on my own," I wasn''t willing to take the blame.


    "Did you think I wouldn''t notice you''re intentionally torturing me through these outfits and accessories? I knew ever since you purchased them for me," I recalled his passion in choosing the most miserable clothes.


    I didn''t need all those hairclips in my hair, pulling them off me and throwing them on the ground. I continued with yanking all my bracelets, earrings, and rings. Once everything was gathered in one place, I began to stomp on them, wondering why they were sturdier than the mansions. My entire new outfit was stamped by the Monete family crest, less likely for Luke to figure out. Alex silently watched me try to destroy the beautiful jewels mockingly glimmering into my eyes.


    Once I gave up, I kicked the stunning accessories towards his side of the car, "they''re yours. I''m not wearing them again. You can throw them out or keep them, but it has nothing to do with me anymore."


    My negotiations with him had sadly failed. Maybe it was better to give up on the other route of trying to recover Luke''s health to end the trial. I was sick of Luke who tried to control everything in my life, but with Alex added to the picture, I couldn''t prevent myself from exploding. Was it possible to move one of the rounds earlier? I had the confidence I could do anything right now with my anger.


    "Your tantrums won''t work with me Rika," Alex coldly stared at me.


    "I''m different from Luke, who is more lenient towards you," he controlled his emotions.


    I brightly smiled when a great idea slid into my mind. If Alex was similar to Luke, he would do anything to prevent this. I pulled out a scissor from my inventory, grabbing onto a big clunk of my hair, "I''m cutting my hair if you tell Luke about anything from today and the next two days."


    "How could you?" Alex tried to swipe the scissors from me.


    I always wanted a pretty bob resembling Delia anyways, wondering why I didn''t do this from the start. I was winning against Alex, every time he stepped closer to me, I showed him I was close to snipping my hair. It felt nice to be on the upper hand, having Alex eventually agree to me, "I won''t tell him anything from today and the next two days before social week ends."


    "You should have done this from the start. Reverse all the bans as well," I needed the freedom to work on making support items.


    "I can let you in the restricted places with my supervision," he gestured to pass the scissors to him.


    "Swear on your family name," I needed confirmation.

 Chapter 623 - The Prey (2)

    Both Alex and I forgot about Ethan, focused on finalizing the negotiations. Ethan watched me formally give up the control over my hair before I started to collect all the accessories thrown on the floor. After I apologized for ruining the accessories, the new agreements became effective. I could tell Alex''s impression of me was worsening, breaking through the floor and starting to dig underground. However, I didn''t have a choice but to turn to drastic measures for a simple request. They would never consider my requests otherwise.


    "I called for my hover car to pick me up at your mansion. I''ll be leaving as soon as it arrives," Ethan interrupted us.


    "Are you sure you don''t want to sleepover? We have many empty rooms," I needed an ally with me.


    "He''s busy with hosting another event tomorrow," Alex disagreed.


    "Flora is more than capable of doing everything on her own," I shrugged.


    I needed more hands to help me collect the herbs. It was hard to gather them since they were very s?ns?t?v?, needing a certain method. Micah only watched me, not willing to dirty his hands. I needed to create as many recovery items as possible and I didn''t have as much energy as yesterday. Although I knew that Alex would help me if I begged him enough, I didn''t know how much he would.


    "Please? I''ll give you more elixirs," I brought out my most pitiful eyes.


    I began to pull out an entire pile of elixirs from my inventory, almost filling the hover car. I pushed them into his hands, pretending I didn''t notice he didn''t have enough space to move anymore. As Ethan became overwhelmed, I didn''t stop giving him more elixirs until he gave me the answer I wanted, "I''ll leave early in the morning. Flora needs help with the last-minute details."


    "So take them back," he urged me.


    "I don''t have the space. My inventory is already full," I had an equal number of elixirs replaced.


    "Please take them. It''s our way of compensating you. If you really want to pay us back, you can help us in preventing them from leaking out to others," Alex knew about the secret feature.


    "And I''m not giving you them for free. I need your help in pulling out some plants in the garden," I revealed to add.


    "What?" Alex spun to me.


    "You''ll see when we arrive," I waited for the hover car to land.


    Maybe Ethan expected the hover car to go inside one of the Roselia family mansions, he briefly froze when he noticed the Monete family crest on the gates. The landing area for the hover cars was closest to the gardens, trying to show its visitors their extravagant decorations outdoors. When Alex opened the doors, I immediately ran out to where I remembered the herbs to be placed. There was no time-space feature in the garden, making time more precious.


    Once both Alex and Ethan caught up to me, I gestured to them, "you can start pulling all the herbs out on this side. I need them to create Luke''s medicine."


    "Aren''t these legendary herbs that come once in ten thousand years?" Ethan was stunned.


    "Do you know the collection method? If not, I''ll have to teach you for each kind," I hoped they knew.


    "How do you have these in your garden?" He turned to Alex.


    Alex stayed silent, helping me collect the herbs. Unlike me, he was starting to compile them into a huge pile, having a faster pace. I slightly smiled, seeing he didn''t ask any questions, knowing I was doing this for Luke. However, I was surprised when Ethan seemed to know the collection method as well, adding to his own pile. My pile was the smallest, not even a quarter to their piles. I was saving a huge amount of time from their help.


    "We can move onto the next section," I transferred the herbs into my inventory.


    "There''s more?" Ethan stared at me in disbelief.


    "There''s ten more sections to visit," I thanked the mediator inside my heart.


    "Your garden is insane," he looked at Alex in a new light.


    Unfortunately, the three of us still took around four hours to collect everything. Maybe I should have invited more people to help. Since Ethan was with us, Alex couldn''t ask me how his garden had become filled with legendary herbs. It was time to move onto ordering more soup from the kitchen. I needed to dilute some of the medicine. Alex''s eyes widened as I ordered around a thousand bowls.


    I was hopeless in synthesizing everything together, wasting more than ninety percent of the raw ingredients I gathered last time. Once I took the food with me, I entered a time-space room. Trying to recall the process Micah taught me, I placed some herbs into the compatible elixirs. The method in integrating them together was the hardest part, the bottle exploding the next second from a slight drop in more mana than needed.


    Both Ethan and Alex watched me throw out more than half of the herbs they gathered, failing every one of my attempts. It seemed they were studying the method Micah taught me. I brightened when one of my attempts were finally successful, using trial and error to add them to the soup. As I expected, I didn''t have enough bowls of soup, struggling to pour in the perfect ratio. I ordered the servants to bring more food while disposing all my failures.


    "Your lack of control in mana is the problem," Alex pointed out.


    "You''re not ready for these advanced techniques yet," he sighed.

 Chapter 624 - The Prey (3)

    "Micah told me it was the most basic method," I knew I was talentless.


    "Tell me all the steps and I''ll tell you everything you''ve been doing wrong," Alex tried to guide me.


    I repeated everything Micah explained to me, unsure about some parts since I had to customize the process. Since this was a part of the trial, I had to synthetize everything on my own. When Alex tried to do them for me, his hands passed through the ingredients. I guessed helping me collect the herbs was the furthest the mediator was willing to let others interfere. Meanwhile, the waste was increasing, all those precious ingredients thrown away.


    "Just continue on what you''ve been doing so far. Since you have to customize everything, there isn''t a set answer," Alex gave up on me, resembling Micah.


    "Isn''t this too hard for her?" Ethan frowned.


    "It''s many levels beyond her current skills," he ordered more bowls of soup.


    By the time I finished producing the oils, creams and bowls of soup, there were no ingredients remaining except for the elixirs. I was exhausted, taking me around three days inside this room. To stay alive, I needed to chug more elixirs for myself, b?r?ly able to open the door on my own. I passed some elixirs to Alex, who continued to help me by ordering the servants to clean the mess or bring more food.


    Meanwhile, Ethan worked on the next event he was hosting, familiar with all the explosions. Since I had filled myself with taste-testing everything, Alex didn''t say anything about dinner. Everyone in this room was full, trying many spoons from thousands of bowls. After transferring everything into my inventory, I mumbled, "I''m going to take a bath before I give them to Luke."


    Hoping it would help, I bathed inside the elixirs instead of using water. Alex was right, I was using some of the elixirs wrong even though they were edible. I instantly regained most of my energy, changing into a nightgown that was placed near the bathtub. Once I was fully prepared, I knocked on Luke''s bedroom door. When I opened the door, I found him reading his favourite research books on his bed, taking the time to relax.


    "I brought dinner," I walked towards him, holding a tray of food.


    Luke placed his book down, observing me climb onto his bed after placing the tray on his blanket. I scooped a spoon of soup, trying to imitate his actions again, "I have more than yesterday. Alex helped me this time."


    "I made sure they were edible," Alex joined us in the room.


    Since Luke trusted Alex, he accepted all the spoons I passed to him, opening his mouth each time. I wondered if he was really hungry, giving all the empty bowls to the servants. When I started to move onto using the creams, Alex stopped me, "you have to wipe the impurities off him first. This is what we have always done for you."


    I nodded my head, watching Alex place Luke''s shirt off and do some of the work for me. It was nice having help, only doing the things I expected to do. Since I had practice on applying the creams and oils on Luke yesterday, it didn''t feel as hard, even though it took me several hours. I had to admit, I had no talent in taking care of others when they got sick. Alex had to show me multiple times how to effectively massage my support items into Luke better.


    "Did you work today?" I wondered why he wasn''t recovering faster.


    "I didn''t, I stayed in bed," Luke tried to hide his cold.


    "Is the medicine helping?" I hoped the support items were working.


    "I think I''ll fully recover by tomorrow," he was impressed by them.


    My mouth wouldn''t close, finding myself about to get hunted for another day. Luke''s predictions were nearly one hundred percent accurate, using every single input that existed. How was I going to survive through three more rounds tomorrow? My eyes welled with tears, eventually streaming down my face, "are you sure? What if I use heal on you? Will you recover faster?"


    Luke seemed stunned, knowing my intense dislike for him. If he recovered, it meant he would be returning everything back to normal. However, he didn''t know I was doing everything for my legendary item. I clasped onto his hands, hoping for better news, "I have enough mana, I b?r?ly used any today."


    "I''ll make sure to rest more," he tried to comfort me.


    "You haven''t been resting? I told you to stop working! I can do some of your work," I began to get angry.


    "Give me all your research books," I gestured when he continued to stay silent.


    I had my life on the line here and he wasn''t completely resting? I did think it was suspicious, looking at him holding himself back from coughing in front of me. Alex didn''t take Luke''s side, knowing how hard I worked in producing the medicine. I turned to Alex, "can you take all his work and research books away from him? He doesn''t deserve them!"


    "Rika worked really hard in collecting the herbs and synthesizing the medicine together," Alex agreed, acknowledging my efforts.

 Chapter 625 - The Prey (4)

    I rose from my bed, finding the hour passing into the next day. If I managed to recover Luke from his cold, I may not have to get hunted for the rest of the day. I knocked on Alex''s bedroom first, wanting help in collecting the herbs again. Thankfully, he was a light sleeper, opening his door while looking extremely annoyed. Both of us were in our pyjamas, completely unprepared to get them dirty.


    "You told me to call you when I plan on entering the restricted areas. I have to enter the garden again. I have to collect more herbs," I explained.


    "Didn''t we pull out all the herbs?" Alex recalled, clearly suspicious.


    "You''ll see once we get there," I ran to wake Ethan.


    Instead of knocking on his door, I slammed it open. I dashed to his bed, jumping on it to wake him. Ethan ?r??n?d, slowly rising and wondering what I wanted from him. I tried to pull him out of his bed, "we need to collect more herbs in the garden. You wanted to pay me back."


    I dragged Ethan towards the garden, taking advantage of the fact he was half-awake. Alex was stunned, facing the plentiful collection of herbs in the same area we collected the previous day. Since I didn''t have much time, I urged the both of them to begin gathering them. This was how we went through the same process as yesterday, using the entire night to create the medicine. All of us felt like we were dying from my never-ending failures.


    I yawned as I entered Luke''s bedroom, shaking him awake. I needed to explain how to use them, tiredly mumbling to him, "the bowls of soup can be spread out for each meal. You can apply the oils and creams wherever you''re feeling stiff and unwell. Everything is safe. Alex helped me with them."


    "It''s true. We spent the entire night on them. Listen to Rika," Alex leaned against the door.


    Luke stared at the supply of medicine placed in front of him, clearly wondering how I became allied with Alex. However, we didn''t have much time to wait for his response, pressuring him to quickly answer. He ended up nodding his head, agreeing to all our demands, knowing both of us still had to prepare for the first event. Once I left his room, my vision slightly wobbled, feeling a bit dizzy.


    "I''ll do everything for you. Catch up on your sleep," Alex suggested.


    Accepting his offer, I found myself in the hover car when I woke from my nap. Surprisingly, Ethan rode with us, appearing equally exhausted as Alex. I thought he would leave earlier in the morning, recalling his response from yesterday. But I didn''t bother to ask, stretching my arms, slowly detaching myself from leaning against the window instead. Since his mansion was destroyed, we were heading towards one of his partner''s mansions anyways.


    "Are we almost there?" I ?r??n?d.


    "We have around ten minutes left," Alex checked the map.


    [Round Start: One minutes remaining]


    My eyes widened from the notice, desperately scanning the area below me. I had to hope the hunter wouldn''t come inside the hover car, there was b?r?ly any room to escape inside here. I slightly began to tremble in fear, racking my brains to create a plan. If I increased the altitude, it would take me a longer time to fall. It was the only choice I had, turning to Alex, "we need to raise the altitude as high as possible. I''m going to become a target within forty seconds."


    "You also have to let me open the door, so I could escape when things get too dangerous," my voice shook.


    "How do you know?" Ethan searched if anyone was following us.


    "Let''s just say the incidents at your mansion and Oili''s wasn''t an accident. I was the target the entire time. I dug the holes since I wanted to hide from the person targeting me," I revealed.


    "Why didn''t you tell me anything?" Alex pressed the accelerator, disappointed in me.


    "I did tell you. You lost your memories afterwards. You''re going to soon forget everything that I''m telling you right now too," I wished I had more help during the rounds.


    As time increasingly approached the start of the round, I found both Ethan and Alex mindlessly staring into the car walls. I sighed from knowing their memories were getting erased, the mediator not wanting them to interfere. After their eyes became clearer, I revealed everything I could without any consequences, "we need to continue raising the altitude, someone is after us."


    Alex immediately started to adjust the controls again, repeating the same actions as a few seconds ago. I was glad that Alex believed me, not wasting a single second. Maybe the hover car crashing into the ground in the previous day helped. This gave me a chance to tightly grab onto the handles, trying not to get swept into the rising pressure in the air. Thankful Ethan was with us, ?ssigning himself to a role, manipulating the air to prevent the oxygen levels from lowering,


    We were a nice team together as the hover car rocketed higher into the sky, close to reaching another stratosphere. As soon as the timer had one second remaining, I yelled at them, "it''s time to jump. This hover car will blow up soon!"


    [Round Started: Five minutes remaining]

 Chapter 626 - The Prey (5)

    I kicked the doors open, not hesitating to jump. As I fell, I watched the hover car explode, splattering into fireworks. The hunter was trying really hard, using as many bombs as possible. Within a few seconds, there weren''t any traces of the car remaining, ashes drifting down in their place. I closed my eyes, trying to avoid them following me from above, trying to blind me. I used my ears to scan my surrounding, hearing wisps of wind enveloping me


    After placing a barrier around myself, I opened my eyes, searching for Alex and Ethan. I sighed in relief when I discovered they were falling near me, seeing they were safe. I wondered if the other candidates never thought of the same idea, soaring into the air to buy them some time. However, the mediator''s voice rang inside my head, revealing the reason, "all your chances have been used in avoiding the hunter by using the air. After this round, this factor will become ineffective."


    Some things were really too good to be true. I was entirely dependent on this one factor that was being taken away from me. My shoulders slumped as I didn''t know how I would survive through the other rounds anymore. I started to place all my hopes in finding more hiding spots at the next event location, using the time in the air to plan my next moves. Who knew playing hide-and-seek in the past would become useful?


    I searched for a safe landing as the screen floated on top of me: [Round Ended]


    "We should attend another event," Alex landed before me.


    "I''ll message Flora that I won''t be able to join her," Ethan joined him.


    It was obvious Ethan didn''t want the supposed person to follow us to his planned event. Both of them believed my words, not thinking there could be another possibility. I soon stepped into the same space as them, safely landing from summoning a light gust of wind. Joining their conversation, I asked, "what event are we attending next?"


    "Haruka needs more help," Ethan checked his messages.


    "How about Oili?" I suggested.


    "Oliver is doing fine since he''s not the fraction leader," he threw my recommendation away.


    "What about your fraction?" He turned to Alex.


    "We''re not attending their events anymore. There was an incident that happened on the first day," Alex hinted.


    "What happened?" I wondered.


    "We can visit Haruka next," Alex quickly changed to match my outfit.


    "I''ll let him know," Ethan wore a brand-new suit.


    "Do we have to help Haruka?" I held a grudge against him.


    "Why do you and Oliver hate Haruka so much?" He noticed.


    "We have a good reason and it''s not only us. Charles doesn''t like Haruka either," I recalled.


    "Our hover car is coming in five more minutes," Alex interrupted us.


    Since we were waiting for our hover car, I continued, "Jules doesn''t like Haruka too. No one likes Haruka."


    Haruka was the one who gave Luke the documents about my previous storage room, dooming everyone with me. After struggling to destroy them, Charles always badmouthed him together with me in our secret group chat. Our group chat had four current members, all the members of the supposedly bug catching club. Planning our revenge against Haruka before he graduated.


    "Julian always avoids Haruka on our side of the campus," Ethan seemed to remember.


    "He''s waiting for his chance. You''ll understand someday," I sighed.


    "If you want your revenge, you can join our group chat," I offered.


    "You have a group chat?" His eyes went large.


    "Haruka offended many people," I shrugged.


    "What the heck did Haruka do?" Ethan wondered.


    "He did something unforgivable," I slightly trembled in anger.


    I whispered inside Ethan''s ear, soft enough that Alex couldn''t hear, "he doomed everyone by almost revealing my storage room to Luke. Did you know one of his proposals was about getting rid of all the bugs in the school grounds? He nearly had a team formed from willing volunteers."


    "I burned the documents before it reached Luke, who also despises bugs. Sprinkles was about to starve," I was glad I didn''t only get rid of my own.


    "I''m joining your group chat, he went too far," Ethan turned against him.


    "I''ll add you right now," I opened my screen.


    "You''ve been preparing some documents to throw him out of our fraction," he scrolled through the past messages.


    "We''re halfway there," I pointed out the progress.


    "This is violent," Alex stared at my screen.


    "Haruka makes enemies easily," Ethan was merciless.


    "I''ll help with one of the documents," he wanted his revenge.


    "You have to message Charles. He''s leading the whole thing. If everything goes well, we''ll be able to kick him out before he graduates," I revealed.


    "What is happening inside your fraction?" Alex continued to read our aggressive messages.


    "Our fraction leader touched something that he shouldn''t have," Ethan closed his screen.

 Chapter 627 - The Prey (6)

    All the guests turned to our direction, finding it strange Ethan wasn''t at his own event. Was I supposed to be thankful that I was used to the attention? I pretended I couldn''t hear the gossip filling my ears as I accepted Alex''s hand. Accidentally tripping in between, landing in his ?h?st from the lack of sleep. My body had never stayed up for the entire night before, forced to sleep at a certain time by Luke.


    "I need a spare room for thirty minutes," I whispered into Alex''s ear.


    "We can use the spare room after we greet everyone," he noticed my drowsy eyes.


    I nodded my head, trying to maintain my elegant posture, walking towards the mansion. It was harder than I thought it would be, almost tripping over an uneven cobbled pathway. Halfway on the path to greet Haruka, my heel snapped from being dragged on the floor rather than properly lifting my foot. I began to wobble from the balance being off, falling towards the ground. Thankfully, Alex caught my fall, instantly noticing my broken shoes.


    He sighed as pulled out a new pair of beautiful shoes, the second backup. Like before, I waited for him to place my new shoes on me, watching him dispose of the broken shoes into his inventory. Unfortunately, the more beautiful the clothes and shoes appeared, the harder they were to wear. I gave up changing on my own years ago, struggling to tie the complex ribbons, always messing up in creating the perfect bows.


    This was why I loved the simple clothes and shoes from the third district. Most of the decorations were painted onto the clothes, ribbons already tied in advance if they existed. If there were bu??ons, most of them weren''t hidden, making it easier to find. It didn''t make sense how the designs made everything more inconvenient when this was supposed to be the futuristic district. I suspected that everyone else also used servants to help them change.


    "After we greet Haruka, we can request to use the spare room immediately," Alex changed his plans.


    Alex offered me his arm, supporting me in walking. I was struggling to hold back my yawns, finding my vision getting blurrier with every passing second. My head started to throb as I desperately wished for more sleep. Maybe I should have sneaked some blankets and pillows into my inventory. It was a pity this body was super weak, being affected by the tiniest changes. My legs became weak as my hopes increased from almost touching the other end of the light.


    "I tried my best," I felt my legs collapsing.


    "I''ll take care of everything, catch up on your sleep," Alex watched me struggle to stay awake.


    Before I could respond, my world turned into black, quickly becoming unconscious. I desperately needed to restore my health, forgetting I was pushing myself by running away from the hunter. If this happened during the hunt, I would have died from my carelessness. I was thankful it happened now rather than later, making me more careful in managing my condition. Manipulating my mana, placing them towards the areas my body needed more support.


    When I opened my eyes again, I was surprised to find myself inside the ballroom. Didn''t Alex say I would be able to rest inside one of the spare rooms? Instead, I found my head resting on his shoulder, being held in one of his arms. Although I was impressed by his strength, my focus leaned towards how I landed here, whispering into his ear, "what happened?"


    "I couldn''t contact Haruka. He seems to be busy," Alex was equally frustrated.


    "You can let me down. How much time passed?" I wondered.


    "Around three hours," he placed me down.


    "Haruka was busy for three whole hours? He couldn''t send a single message when all he had to do was to greet guests?" I was in disbelief.


    "He didn''t check his marble even once. His focus was entirely on the guests. Charles gave up on him a long time ago," Ethan angrily joined us.


    I was stunned, knowing some aspects of being the main host was considered to be easier than being a sub-host. This was how Haruka was increasing our hatred for him. Sneaking a peek at Alex, he seemed to be an excellent candidate in joining our group chat. Most of the content in the chat didn''t mention Luke or the documents we managed to destroy. Instead, it revolved around getting our revenge.


    "What is Charles doing right now?" I opened my screen.


    "Charles is swarmed with the guests Haruka sent towards him. He''s fuming inside the group chat," Ethan showed me the history of messages.


    "Excuse me, are you one of the sub-hosts? Haruka said I could talk to you instead," a guest interrupted us.


    "Of course, I am one of the sub-hosts, what do you need from us?" Ethan brightly smiled.


    "A few members of my fraction wanted to ask you some questions. Can you come this way?" The guest took Ethan away from us.


    "Is this what a major fraction leader is usually like?" I was disappointed.


    "All of the major fraction leaders this year are particular," Alex insulted them.


    "Rika, you have to hear about this," Miliana ran to join us.


    "What happened?" I lowered my voice.


    "The ballroom is filled with rumors about you and Alex, in a romantic sense," she whispered into my ear.

 Chapter 628 - The Prey (7)

    Miliana was always up to date with all the latest gossip in school. She was a reliable source and a powerful influencer, one of the few people who enjoyed attending social events. We quickly became close, sending many messages to each other in secret. After I helped get her revenge on Charles, we continued to relay information to each other. I wondered how her relationship with Charles became strained, being friends with both of them.


    "I can help get rid of the rumors," Miliana knew my hatred for Alex.


    "How were they created in the first place?" I unfroze from my shock.


    "It became worse during the time you were sleeping. At first, the guests admired him helping you change into a new pair of shoes. But they weren''t used to him holding you for the entire time, not believing his excuse that you were ill. Most of the guests wondered why you weren''t using the spare room instead," she explained.


    "But no one can use the spare rooms since Haruka isn''t answering his messages," I clenched my hands into fists.


    "Although Haruka isn''t letting us use them, he freely gives access to the guests," Miliana revealed.


    "Isn''t Alex considered to be a guest?" I wondered.


    Alex wasn''t inside the same fraction as the others. Unlike me and Luke, Alex was only in one fraction, excluding the neutral fraction he recently joined. I sighed as this was the unfortunate reason why more guests searched for me rather than him.


    "I don''t know. I''ve been here for hours and couldn''t take a single break," she equally held a grudge.


    "Do you want to join my group chat? Charles is inside it to throw Haruka out of our fraction," I offered.


    "I''m joining. When we have a common goal, we work well together," Miliana was extremely mad.


    "Is it possible to join your conversation?" Alex watched us whisper into each other''s ears.


    "I''ll tell him," I shot her a look.


    "I''ll update you on the news," Miliana left us.


    I whispered into Alex''s ear, "Miliana told me how rumors are swirling around about us in a romantic relationship together. It was because of Haruka."


    "What?" Alex''s eyes went large.


    "She''s helping me control the rumors right now," I continued.


    Alex wiped all traces of emotions on his face, almost resembling Luke. I knew he was trying to hide how offended he felt to be ?ssociated with me in a romantic sense. We mutually disliked each other. Unfortunately stuck with each other, connected together by my engagement with Luke. How did people arrive at this conclusion, making abrupt ?ssumptions after watching us for a short period of time?


    "He held her hand for the entire event yesterday too," a guest gossiped.


    "There has to be something more between them. Did you notice how he sweetly adjusted her head so she could sleep better?" another person joined in.


    "And the way he changed her shoes and caught her fall," she almost squealed.


    "This can''t be a simple relationship between family," another guest agreed.


    "I pity her partner who doesn''t know," one of them gazed at us.


    "It''s hard to determine who to support," he nodded his head.


    "You can fix this, right?" I was disgusted with the rumors.


    "Add me to your group chat. I need help," Alex''s face became icy.


    I opened my screen to add the newest two members to my group chat. Haruka was making many enemies today. My day of achieving my revenge wouldn''t be far with Alex joining us. I knew how unforgiving Alex was, recalling the horrible study sessions. I stepped a few metres away from Alex, getting his permission to separate from him. This was the perfect chance to look for more hiding spots since we equally wanted to stay away from each other.


    "Those rumors are ridiculous," Ethan was able to escape from the guests.


    "Haruka made Alex turn against him," I agreed.


    "The rumors are getting more uncontrollable," Miliana joined us.


    "A few people are getting the idea your partner will change," she explained.


    Although I hated both Luke and Alex, I had to admit Luke was a bit better. Unfortunately, Alex was more forceful in trying to get the things he wanted. My face slumped as I listened to Miliana updating me on everything she managed to gather. Ethan''s face kept switching between shock and confusion, finding the rumors to be extremely overblown. He witnessed my fight with Alex the previous day, revealing my strained relationship with him.


    "I''m going to directly talk to Haruka," I searched for him.


    I left Miliana and Ethan as soon as I noticed Haruka. He was standing in the middle of the ballroom, leaving his partner and Charles to greet the guests near the entrance. I walked towards him, trying to stay hidden as possible. Using my new invisibility spell and sound-proof barrier, I managed to stand behind him. After I broke my spells, I tapped on his back, brightly smiling with annoyance.


    "Rika?" Haruka was surprised.


    "Are we that close?" I slightly narrowed my eyes.


    "I am Rika de Impalia Roselia," I reminded him.


    "Is there anything you need?" Haruka quickly recovered.


    "Please check your marble. The lack of communication is frustrating our fraction members," I gestured.


    "I have to handle the guests first, I''ll check the messages when I''m done with this conversation," he lowered his voice.


    "My cousin is a guest as well.. He requested to use a spare room and you never bothered to read his message," I started to raise my voice.

 Chapter 629 - The Prey (8)

    "I was feeling very ill. I couldn''t walk on my own from a sudden headache. This was why my cousin requested a spare room from you. However, you never gave him a response," I tried to resolve the misunderstandings.


    "I can offer you a spare room right now," Haruka was taken aback.


    "It''s not only me. Our other fraction members d?s?r? to use a spare room as well. While we have been helping you, you didn''t give us the chance to rest," I pointed out his lack of courtesy.


    I quickly sent a message to the other members in the group chat that I was with Haruka. Reading through the messages, Miliana was the only one that wasn''t occupied by the guests, soon joining us, "Rika is right. My partner and I have supported you since the start of the event and you never gave us access to the rooms."


    "You overworked us and took us for granted," she spat out.


    Although I b?r?ly did anything as the sub-host, it was different for the others who have been helping Haruka since the beginning of social week. If Ethan was annoyed from being here for a couple of hours, it was much worse for Miliana and Charles. Since they didn''t want to show any weaknesses in their fraction to outsiders, they were holding everything inside. However, I wasn''t like them. I was in multiple fractions and didn''t care if this one collapsed.


    "I have low stamina, which leads me to get exhausted easily. My cousin was helping me out due to my fragile health," I revealed to the guests.


    "I had to miss school for more than three months to recuperate," I had people who could testify for me.


    [Are the rumors getting resolved?] I sent to the group chat.


    [Around half of them believe you] Ethan replied.


    [I can take care of the rest. Come back to me Rika] Alex included his location.


    "Were the previous days the same?" I whispered into Miliana''s ear.


    "It was a bit better. Although he didn''t respond, he checked his messages," she revealed.


    "Why is he like this?" I wondered.


    "He wants to restore his family''s reputation from the previous year. The fairies almost made him cancel the event," Miliana explained.


    "Please wait," Haruka interrupted us.


    "I can extend an invitation to you to use the ¨¦lite dining room," he tried to make it up to us.


    "I hope you won''t disappoint us. We accept your offer," Miliana answered for the both of us.


    "Weren''t we already using the ¨¦lite dining room?" I was confused.


    "The ¨¦lite dining room is different. He''s letting us network with important connections his parents have gathered," she hid her excitement.


    I still didn''t understand everything about social week. Since I always avoided the focal parts of the events, there seemed to be a lot of basic information I was missing out on. However, it wasn''t like I could do anything about it. Unfortunately, Miliana was soon occupied with the guests, reluctantly separating from me. Searching for Alex, he was easy to find since he stood inside the most crowded area. Instead of attracting attention to myself, I used my small height to my advantage to crawl towards the centre. My practice in secretly using the invisibility spell had paid off.


    Once I rose to stand, I got rid of my spell, surprising some guests in the process. Ignoring them, I whispered to Alex from behind his back, "we''re using the ¨¦lite dining room for lunch."


    "I agree, we can set a date in the future," Alex tried to wrap up his conversation.


    "Is this your cousin''s fianc¨¦e behind you?" A guest noticed me.


    "I am Rika de Impalia Roselia," I introduced myself, slightly peeking behind Alex''s back.


    I shuddered from the thought of all these guests targeting me again. This crowd was larger than the ones from the previous mansions. Maybe a fraction leader''s event was truly different from the rest. I could already predict that I would stand here for hours, unable to leave while repeating all the scripted answers. My only hope in escaping was when lunch started, which was one hour from now.


    "I heard about this girl. She is the current leader of the Impalia fraction and the next one for three major fractions," one of them pointed out.


    "She appears younger than the rumors," another guest joined in.


    "Look how shy she is, she''s so adorable," she almost squealed.


    "Would you like some candy?" The guest pulled some treats out.


    "My cousin would like to decline. Please excuse us," Alex started to leave the crowd with me.


    "Did you take care of the rumors?" I wanted to know the progress.


    "It will take me more time. Many guests spread the rumors to others," he angrily admitted.


    "Even when I confronted Haruka?" I stopped smiling.


    "It takes time for the rumors to correct themselves," Alex carefully scanned his surroundings.


    "Let''s go over the dining etiquette one last time," he placed a barrier around us.

 Chapter 630 - The Prey (9)

    I was led into a grand dining room, sitting around the middle of the table. The atmosphere was tense, feeling a little excluded amongst the other last-minute people who were invited. Although I didn''t mind, Alex warned me through his eyes to be more careful. Most of the guests were older than us, currently attending university when the table conducted their rounds of introduction. After Alex''s turn, it was mine.


    "I am Rika de Impalia Roselia. I am in my last year of middle school and attend the same class as my cousin," I brightly smiled.


    I continued to smile, hoping no one would target me this time. I wondered why the next person wasn''t introducing himself as if the other guests wanted something more from me. The awkward silence drowned the room, making me think I made a mistake. Eventually, I elbowed the person beside me, softly whispering, "I think it''s your turn."


    "You''re like a living doll," he stared at me in a daze.


    My face was filled with irritation, about to elbow him a second time. All the attention was currently on me, watching my every move. None of servants could begin serving the food, waiting for the opening sequence to finish. Unfortunately, the bowls of soup digested quickly, my stomach close to growling. My fingers became busy as I messaged Alex.


    [Why aren''t we moving on?] I placed my marble in silent mode.


    [Continue to smile. Haruka will handle it] Alex waited for the host to take the lead.


    However, Haruka never interfered, appearing busy ordering the servants to perfectly prepare everything. Maybe I should have declined his invitation and made Miliana attend with Charles alone. As minutes passed, even Alex was starting to get annoyed, secretly writing more messages to Haruka. When I studied the other guests, they were busy messaging each other like we were.


    [I''m hungry. Should we just leave?] I hated the guest beside me.


    [The people inside this room are special. Haruka is the fraction leader for a reason. We need to stay] Alex was equally frustrated.


    "Rika wonders why you''re not introducing yourself. She would like to know more about you," I exploded.


    "You have not finished your introduction yet. We have been waiting for you to finish," the guest revealed.


    "I finished my introduction a couple minutes ago," I had imitated Alex''s introduction.


    "We were waiting for you to introduce all your fractions, knowing you are the next fraction leader for them," he explained.


    This was not a part of the scripted guidelines. I shot a questioning look to Alex, wondering why they had higher expectations for me. Alex was also the next fraction leader for his main fraction. It didn''t make sense why they wouldn''t focus on him and Charles, the heir to another powerful family, who was a few seats away from me. Since Alex was equally helpless, not able to send me any messages when everyone waited for me to continue, I was on my own.


    "Rika is in middle school. She thinks it''s unfair you hold her to the same standards as college students. Please look upon her more generously," I used my age as an excuse.


    "If you want to know more about my fractions, I can give you some contacts you can reach," I offered.


    I pulled out a notebook and a pen. Writing down the information about the previous leaders of my fractions, who were also college students. Counting the number of guests inside this room, I copied the original note by an equal number. Once I was done, I rose from my chair, walking to hand it out to all the new faces. I didn''t care if they didn''t accept it, they could throw it out. But they had to move onto the next person now!


    "My introduction is finished," I sat back down.


    "We were expecting a few simple sentences about your fractions. Normally, you''re supposed to provide us more information about at least one upcoming event and the other regarding your fraction''s intentions," a guest explained.


    "Rika has done everything she could. She doesn''t know anything going on in any of her fractions! You can throw out those notes if you don''t want them," I angrily confessed.


    None of them went into which fractions they came from, their events, intentions and whatnot! I wondered why they had higher expectations for me, ignoring the stiff mood in the room. While I waited for them to move on, I was stunned when each of them started to pass me a paper note of their own. Looking down to read the paper notes gathered in front of me, it had their contact information, similar to the ones I gave them.


    Since I didn''t have a reason to reject them, I placed them inside my inventory. I could throw them out later once I left this event. I brightly smiled to try to get them to move on, "let''s not target the poor middle schooler. All she wants is to eat her lunch and she will disappear from your lives afterwards."


    "We were giving you a second chance," one of them revealed.


    [Round Start: One minute remaining]


    I cried inside my heart from the bad timing. There were b?r?ly any places to hide inside here. All I could do was to get rid of the utensils and plates so the hunter couldn''t use them against me as weapons.. I rose to steal them from every guest, opening the window to throw them all out, pretending I didn''t notice dumbfounded faces of the guests.

 Chapter 631 - The Prey (10)

    Once I looked down from the window, I realized using the outdoor space wasn''t much better than this room. Although it was an obvious hiding spot, the long tablecloth completely hid the area under the table. After closing the window, I crawled underneath the table, hoping the hunter would be more lenient for this round. To make sure nobody would reveal where I was, I shouted, "I''m going to be here for six minutes. Don''t lift the tablecloth during that period or you may kill somebody."


    "And start lunch six minutes later from now too. Don''t order the servants to bring a new set of utensils and plates. They''re great potential weapons," I hoped Haruka would listen to me.


    Unfortunately, sounds of new plates and utensils began to fill my ears. My grudge against Haruka increased as I didn''t have time to get rid of them again. To worsen the situation, Alex lifted the tablecloth, furiously warning me to return to my seat. Sadly making the other guests follow him, clearly revealing my location. Maybe I should have jumped outside that window, mouthing to the others, ''leave me alone. Pull the tablecloth back down.''


    "I apologize in the place of my cousin, she is still very young," Alex tried to cover for me.


    "I believe she is too young to be eligible to attend social week," a guest coldly agreed.


    "May I ask what her age is?" Another guest joined in.


    "My cousin has recently turned fourteen," Alex hesitantly revealed.


    [Round Started: Five minutes remaining]


    I stiffened as I noticed the air rising around me. Although I couldn''t see or hear the hunter, I felt the person searching for me inside the room. I didn''t dare to move, not wanting to create a single sound. But as soon as the bottom of the tablecloth lifted all at once, I ran out, pounding on the window to open. Turning to grab the knives placed near the guest''s plates to help me break the window.


    "Why aren''t you opening?" I stabbed the flimsy knives on the glass.


    "Did you lock the windows?" I screamed to Haruka.


    "I did nothing to the windows," Haruka was equally surprised.


    Noticing something was wrong, a guest rose from her chair, attempting to open the doors. However, she was stunned, finding it was locked, not budging from its place. More guests joined her to help open the doors, turning to Haruka when their attempts failed. I sighed as these people never had the experience in trying to escape an enclosed room. It was likely the hunter made this area its hunting grounds. In the next second, several plates were aimed towards my head, dashing towards me as I ducked to avoid them.


    "What is going on here?" Alex accused Haruka.


    Haruka''s face went pale as he didn''t have an answer. This led the guests to work harder in attempting to destroy the windows and doors, clearly disappointed in him. Thankfully, this gave me the chance to continue moving, avoiding all the plates targeting me. Was I supposed to be glad the hunter struggled in avoiding the guests? To add to the accusations I yelled at Haruka, "I told you not to bring in a new set of utensils and plates! Look how they''re being used as weapons."


    "All the attacks are targeting this girl," One of the guests noticed.


    Unfortunately, this made the rest of the guests stand a far distance away from me, excluding Alex and Charles. Watching me desperately running around the room to dodge the sharp remains of the broken plates, slowly running out of breath. Although Alex and Charles tried to block some of the attacks, they were lightly slammed against the wall in the process. Eventually, chained to the role of a spectator, unable to move like something was holding them back.


    "I am severely disappointed by the lack of security. Do you have no shame as the leader of this fraction?" Alex angrily spat out.


    "Please expect to resign from your role," Charles was equally disgusted.


    "Rika!" Miliana screamed to warn me.


    My mind almost shattered, being pushed forward to break my balance, being too late in dodging one of the many knives aimed at my back. As my blood splattered across the floor, resembling blooming crimson flowers, I gritted my teeth, pulling out the knife digging to puncture a hole inside my ?h?st. If I lost my heart, I would instantly die, tolerating the waves of pain hitting my head. Hearing my screams filling their ears, the guests became petrified, shouting at Haruka to do something.


    I didn''t have the chance to look at Alex''s horrified face, struggling to detach himself from the wall. I had to pull myself up to survive through the next round of attacks. Ignoring my vision getting blurrier as the hunter switched to using sharp utensil on the table. This was a battle against my poor stamina, having less than four minutes remaining in this round. Picking up the knives on the ground, I began to throw them to target the hunter. Although Micah never mentioned fighting back, who said the prey couldn''t hunt the hunter?


    "Run Rika. You''re wasting your time by trying to attack back!" Alex feared for me.


    My eyes widened when my hand had a hole in the next second, slowly beginning to panic. The force behind the knife was powerful enough to completely go through my hand. I couldn''t move anymore, harshly being slammed against the walls, creating a big crater from the impact. My mind went numb as another knife punctured through my other hand to make me hang on the wall.. I was officially a prey caught by the hunter, waiting for my death.

 Chapter 632 - Opportunity (1)

    My body was being used as a dartboard, the hunter slowly enjoying their time by throwing more knives in different parts of my limbs. I couldn''t feel anything anymore, my filtered red vision flickering in and out. I didn''t try escaping, both my hands punctured to the walls, blood slowly dripping down to the ground. My feet hung above the floor, stabbed by many forks, some stuck inside my toes. Some of the guests looked away from me, not able to continue seeing such a horrible scene.


    "I am sorry for your loss," one of the guests turned to Alex.


    "I offer you my gratitude," Alex''s voice slowly broke down.


    I slowly began to realize the legendary item wasn''t worth its price, regretting I didn''t listen to Micah''s warnings. I was losing more than my physical health, my sanity entering hell. Since I gave up on life, I didn''t react to the sword crashing through my back. When I looked down, a sharp katana faced me instead of the ground. Screaming for help wasted more of my energy, knowing no one could save me.


    [Round Started: Two minutes remaining]


    "Rika, I''m sorry for accepting the offer in your place," Miliana wiped her tears.


    "I''m adding to the lawsuits. I''ll make sure to get the justice you deserve," she angrily trembled.


    "Our business deals are to be cancelled as well," Charles coldly stared at Haruka.


    "No one messes with one of our own," he made Haruka shudder.


    I slightly smiled, getting comforted by my friends. It gave me the energy to continue manipulating my mana to keep myself alive. Maybe I could live through this round if the hunter was generous enough. I still had four more rounds remaining, giving the hunter more chances to kill me. I watched the rest of the guests cancelling their business deals with Haruka, helping me get my revenge. We wouldn''t need those documents anymore to throw Haruka out of our fraction.


    [Game Clear: Other Condition Fulfilled]


    [Destination to Temple: Five Minutes Later]


    My eyes widened, not expecting to have cleared the trial. I was filled with happiness, feeling extremely grateful Luke managed to recover in time. And since no one was holding Charles and Alex back anymore, they were free to move. Removing themselves from the walls, Alex immediately ran towards me, pulling all the cutlery out of me. Miliana and Charles joined to attempt to get me out of the wall, simultaneously using heal to make sure I wouldn''t die from blood loss.


    After pulling the sword out, my position was switched to lay down on the floor. I didn''t move while Alex poured all his energy in healing me. There were many holes in my body, worse than the previous social week when I got attacked by fairies. Wanting to forget everything, I felt the last few minutes of my life getting blurrier in my mind. Once I was able to talk, I blamed Haruka, "I repeatedly told him not to bring any new plates and utensils."


    "Get rid of those weapons!" Alex shouted at Haruka.


    "You almost murdered my cousin from your carelessness!" He looked at him with disgust.


    "The doors are locked," Haruka pitifully shrank.


    "They open now," A guest was fascinated, turning the doorknob.


    Before I was completely healed, I stiffened from my hands flickering in and out of existence inside the dining room. Alex''s eyes went large, slowly watching me disappear. The mediator was bringing me to the temple, finding myself in front of him the next second. When he opened his hand, a brilliant pearl sparkled in the dazzling sunlight, almost blinding my eyes. This was what I had suffered for, sacrificing many things in the process.


    "Congratulations, here is the pearl," he passed to me.


    "So this is what it looks like," Micah came out of the portal to join us.


    "Make sure you keep it well hidden. After passing the trial, most fairies die from becoming a target of others who want to steal it from them," he warned me.


    Staring at the pearl, I felt like throwing it on the ground. I didn''t want to become another target. However, I didn''t have a safe place to store it. I really should have listened to Micah back then. I sighed while placing the pearl inside my inventory, hoping it would become useful later. Sadly gazing at Micah for another solution since he seemed to have a lot of knowledge.


    "You can transfer the ownership to someone you trust. The target will shift to them," Micah revealed.


    Who did I know that could keep the pearl safe and willing to give it to me when I needed it? Running through all the possibilities inside my head, I landed at a prime candidate. Luke wouldn''t hesitate to use the pearl on me, saving the item instead of using it for himself. He was good at managing our bank accounts and seemed to be perfect in everything. My eyes brightened, planning to shift the target to Luke, who I was always stuck with.


    "For those who pass the trial. We offer them an opportunity to get a lesser item," the mediator interrupted my thoughts.


    "Can I decline?" I blurted, not wanting to suffer again.


    "However, you have no choice but to take the trial for the lesser item. You have a few rounds remaining due to our consideration for your young age," he surprised both Micah and me.


    "At least tell me what the lesser item is!" I unfroze.

 Chapter 633 - Opportunity (2)

    "This diamond is nearly the same as the pearl, possessing few minor differences. You can reverse time on your body permanently, removing any injuries, illnesses or infections in the process. However, it will not bring you back from the dead. You will have to take it while you are alive," the mediator revealed.


    "I want some adjustments to the trial. You''re clearly forcing me to take it," I crossed my arms.


    "We are willing to make the same adjustments as before. Do you see this boy?" He waved his hand to project a scene.


    I nodded my head, watching Alex frantically search for me inside the dining room. He checked under the tablecloth several times, opening the windows and chanting spells while wondering what was missing. Although the other guests were helping, no progress was being made, making him more frustrated. Meanwhile Haruka called for more fraction members to support him, searching the entire mansion.


    This made Ethan join them in the dining room, getting the details from Charles, immediately turning to Haruka to yell, "how are you still our fraction leader? You''re ordering people to find Rika while b?r?ly doing anything on your end. If it wasn''t Rika that went missing, I wouldn''t have bothered helping."


    "I''m doing the best that I can. You know how she always attracts trouble!" Haruka exploded.


    "You''re the one who failed your duties as both the fraction leader and main host," Alex momentarily stopped searching.


    "You don''t have the right to blame this on us. My cousin is now missing after getting tortured to near death!" He icily stared down at him.


    "She''s not officially your cousin yet. Tell your family to get your cousin another partner," Haruka couldn''t stand the blame anymore.


    "Everyone knows Rika is a member of the Roselia family. His family raised her as their own ever since she began to speak," Charles heard from Jules.


    "You''re offending us," he supported Alex.


    "It''s like you''re inside the same fraction," Haruka angrily pointed out.


    "Would you like to join our fraction? We can support you," Charles turned to Alex.


    "I''m joining," Alex didn''t hesitate to accept.


    "You need the approval of the other fraction members," Haruka refused.


    "We already have the approval from the other fraction members," Ethan showed his screen.


    Haruka''s eyes went large, finding the gathered votes all in favour of letting Alex join our fraction. Meanwhile, everyone wanted him to be thrown out of the fraction, the documents we have been preparing attached to it. I was surprised by how quickly Ethan managed to handle everything. At the same time, touched by my friends, wondering why the mediator was showing me this.


    I gasped when a bright light suddenly filled with room, blinding everyone''s eyes. When the light disappeared, I found my body laid on the table. Wearing a pure white dress, I held a bouquet of white roses in my hands. All my injuries were gone, my face dull like its life had faded away. Surrounded by drifting flower petals, delicately creating her deathbed. Although no one knew where the flowers came from, they were distracted by her beauty.


    "She''s not missing anymore," Haruka quickly recovered.


    "But she appears to be dead," a guest whispered.


    It was obvious this situation was worse than its former. Alex ran to check my pulse and other traces I was alive. Too distracted to thank my friends helping him, pushing themselves to use more heal. However, there were no changes to my body, remaining cold and pale. I started to feel guilty, watching Miliana begin crying. She slightly trembled, accusing Haruka, "you killed her. You actually killed my friend!"


    "You murderer," Charles agreed with Miliana.


    "Do you not feel any guilt?" Ethan shouted at Haruka.


    "She can''t actually be dead," Haruka didn''t believe them.


    When Haruka joined them to check, his legs collapsed when he couldn''t find any traces of life. His hands began to uncontrollably shake, giving up in trying to pass the blame to others. Eventually losing his mind, finding his hands to be stained by his carelessness. Feeling uncomfortable, the rest of the guests left the room after offering their condolences.


    "Why aren''t you coming back to life as usual?" Alex held my hand.


    "I''ll help break the news to Luke," Charles tried to comfort him.


    "You don''t understand. Luke can''t live without Rika. Rika has to live," Alex continued to push himself.


    "You''re going to die with her at this rate. You have to stop using heal," Charles attempted to separate us.


    My shoulders became burdened when Alex fainted the next second, the light disappearing from his hands. I could already tell where this was leading, guessing, "you want me to recover his health to end the trial as the other condition."


    "You are correct. The support items are located in the same places to support you. Although he will manage to recover in two days, the process to create the medicine will increase in difficulty," the mediator revealed.


    "I can guide her through the process," Micah sighed.


    "I know where they''re staying. I''ll break the news to Luke," Ethan offered to my friends.


    Calling for his hover car, Ethan instantly gathered attention as he held Alex in one of his arms and me in the other. I started to look at him in a new light, seeing his efforts in caring for us. I watched him sending a message to Luke, asking if he could grant entrance to the Monete family mansion while avoiding the topic of what happened. This was why Luke didn''t know anything, coming outside to greet him when the hover car was about to land.


    "I don''t know what else to say.. I''m sorry for your loss," Ethan solemnly passed me to him.

 Chapter 634 - Opportunity (3)

    I abruptly found myself back in my body, slowly opening my eyes to discover I was inside the same scene projected on the screen. Thankful not much time had passed, Ethan slowly began to carry Alex out of his hover car. Before Luke could make any ?ssumptions, I flawlessly lied, "Alex is dying. We need to save him."


    "How did you come back to life?" Ethan was stunned, hearing my voice.


    "What are you saying? I was taking a brief nap," I hinted.


    The clock was ticking down as I was wasting more time here. I needed to quickly collect more herbs to make Alex''s medicine. If Luke figured out about the incident, he would confine me to the infirmary instead. I tried to separate from Luke, beginning to get angry when his grip tightened. This was not good. Ethan''s expression was revealing all his thoughts, making Luke come up with his own conclusions.


    "Can you let me go?" I raised my head to face Luke.


    "We''re going to the infirmary," he studied me.


    Unfortunately, Luke began to guide Ethan to walk to the infirmary with him. No matter how much I twisted and turned, my attempts were hopeless, soon finding myself attached to the machines. After shackling me to the bed, Luke repeated his actions to do the same to Alex, who was unconscious. Maybe I could secretly heal Alex later since we were inside the same room. I didn''t think there would be an infirmary with more than one bed.


    "I can let you go depending on the results," Luke started a checkup.


    "I''m feeling fine. I can give you an explanation of what happened. Do you actually believe him?" I glared at Ethan.


    "You actually died on us," Ethan stared at me in disbelief.


    "I was taking a nap!" I wondered why he wasn''t getting my intentions.


    I stiffened when Luke''s marble began vibrating, getting a large inflow of messages. Sneaking a peek at his screen, many condolences were sent to him, trying to comfort him for his supposed loss. Why did these people have to make rash ?ssumptions? I was doomed, slowly backing away towards the other side of the bed as Luke''s eyes changed. He was never going to let me out now. Charles'' long message, going through the details, would be more reliable than mine.


    "Are you serious Rika?" Luke closed his screen.


    "At least do the checkup. I''m really fine," I waited for him to continue.


    I slightly smiled when both Ethan and Luke seemed to be surprised by the results. Thanking the mediator for healing my injuries before the next round, I hoped Luke would let me go. I didn''t want to get hunted for two more days. I learned that it was better to be inside an open space rather than a small room. Even if I tried to tell them about the trial, their memories would get erased. Taking advantage of the results, I tried to persuade him, "you said you would let me go depending on the results."


    "This can''t be real," Ethan tapped on the machines.


    "It is real. Let me go now," I kept an eye on the time.


    "Where do you plan to go?" Luke removed the shackles.


    "The garden. You promised you would reverse the bans," I reminded him.


    "Wait for me to finish doing a checkup on Alex. I''ll go with you," he tried to keep his word.


    Since I knew the door and windows were locked, I impatiently rolled around my bed, waiting for him to finish taking care of Alex. I didn''t want to talk to Ethan, who I considered to be a traitor. Although it was my fault for depending on him, I had higher expectations. Once Luke opened the door, I pulled Ethan with me, "you''re coming with us. You still have to pay me back."


    "The herbs?" Ethan recalled.


    "Yea, those," I sighed.


    Once we arrived at the garden, Luke was stunned, seeing the legendary herbs growing in front of us. However, I b?r?ly had any time to waste on him, gesturing to Ethan to start working. Thankfully, Ethan was used to collecting the herbs, gradually increasing his pile. I turned to Luke, "I need them for Alex''s medicine. If you don''t know the collection method. I''ll teach you."


    "I know the collection method," Luke stared at the herbs.


    "Then get working. We still have to get to the other nine sections," I pointed.


    Since I needed to conserve my energy to synthesize the ingredients together, I supervised Luke and Ethan in gathering the herbs. Both of them couldn''t say anything, knowing my delicate health. However, I was disappointed in Luke, who was slower than Alex. Maybe it was from the lack of practice. Once we were in the sixth section, I commanded Ethan, "I''m going to start synthesizing everything together. Message me when you''re finished, and I''ll transfer the rest into my inventory."


    "You have to help. It''ll take me half of the day if I do it alone," Ethan stopped Luke from following me.


    "If you want to join me, collect the herbs faster," I left them.


    Once I entered the usual time-space room, Micah was already waiting for me. Studying the way he explained and showed me the new process, my face twisted into despair. The ratios were more stringent while the process required more precise control.. Micah wasn''t surprised when none of my attempts were successful, eventually leaving me alone after I managed to nearly succeed.

 Chapter 635 - Opportunity (4)

    "Here are the rest of the herbs," Ethan transferred them to me.


    "I was starting to run out," I sadly smiled.


    "Did you manage to succeed in one of them?" He asked about the progress.


    "I''m trying," I sighed.


    Unfortunately, I never had a successful attempt. Although Ethan was used to the waste, Luke frowned at the failures. Many hours passed as more bottles exploded. Like Alex, Luke tried to synthesize the medicine for me, struggling to watch the precious ingredients being thrown out. However, he wasn''t able to touch the support items, switching to guide me.


    Ethan shook his head, telling him it was useless. The whole process was customized, having no standard way to conduct this. By now, everyone inside this room knew it would be a miracle if I managed to succeed. This was why Micah gave up on me a long time ago.


    "Isn''t this method harder than before?" Ethan noticed.


    "It is," I ?r??n?d.


    "Can she succeed at this rate?" Ethan asked Luke.


    "It''s hard to tell. Rika always struggled with control," Luke continued to study the process.


    "It''s strange. She managed to succeed a few times when she created the medicine for you," Ethan wondered.


    "I did it!" I yelled when a bottle didn''t explode on me.


    Sadly, I didn''t have enough herbs to create the cream and oils. I started to mix the completed support item into the bowls of soup, getting Luke and Ethan to taste-test them with me. Unexpectedly, this method produced stronger medicine, needing to dilute them more. As usual, my failures replaced our meals, Luke not mentioning dinner. Near the end, ten bowls of soup were laid in front of me, double the usual number. Maybe it was a way to compensate for the increase in difficulty.


    [Notice: Due to the higher difficulty, the herbs will be replaced every half a day]


    "Can you go to the garden to pick more herbs again?" I turned to Ethan.


    "Didn''t we pick everything?" He recalled.


    "There should be more. I still need to create the cream and oils," I urged him to leave.


    "Why are you still here? You have to help him," I scolded Luke when he didn''t follow Ethan.


    This was how I managed to bring everything to the infirmary. Fortunately, Alex was awake, updating himself on everything he missed. He sighed in relief while watching me climb onto his bed. Since I had more practice, my hand didn''t shake when I passed him a spoon of soup, "it''s safe, Ethan and Luke helped me with them."


    "It took her double the number of herbs than usual," Ethan was exhausted.


    "Don''t the herbs get replaced once a day?" Alex noticed.


    "Not anymore," I continued to empty the bowls.


    I wondered why all my patients seemed to be very hungry. The bowls of soup couldn''t digest that fast. Once I passed the rest of the bowls to the servants to clean, I moved onto using the creams and oils. Resembling Alex, Luke did all the hard work for me, allowing me to do the minimum. However, I quickly got tired, chugging more elixirs to help me regain more energy. The creams and oils were more stubborn than before, harder to absorb into the skin.


    "I can do the rest Rika," Luke frowned at my condition.


    I accepted his offer, passing him the containers. But the containers slipped through his hands, showing the mediator wanted me to do the work. I wasn''t surprised, picking them up to resume recovering Alex''s health. I wanted to finish everything by today, not giving the chance to get hunted again. I couldn''t stand seeing any sharp cutlery anymore, reminding me of the previous day. It didn''t make sense, the trial getting harder for a lesser item.


    "When do you think you will completely recover?" I tried to check the progress.


    "Around a day," Alex predicted.


    My face slumped, finding the support items to be nearly useless. This meant I would have to suffer through three more rounds. I couldn''t control my emotions anymore, my eyes welling with tears. Although I knew nothing would change, I hoped someone would provide me a solution. I turned to helplessly begging, "you have to recover faster. Tell me a way I can help you. I''ll do anything for you to regain your health. Please?"


    Alex was shocked, speechless as he watched me cry. I continued to sniffle as I managed to empty the containers of medicine. The room entered an awkward realm of silence, nobody offering any solutions. Since I knew Luke would be against me using heal, I tightly hugged Alex to disguise my spell. Thankfully, Alex wasn''t able to react to the mass income of mana entering him. Only able to separate from me after a few minutes passed.


    "How do you feel right now? Is there anything else you need?" I expectantly looked at him.


    "How much mana did you use?" Alex studied himself.


    "Around half of my usual supply. You can''t die on me!" I quickly came up with an excuse.


    Since I didn''t know how to properly use the elixirs, I pulled all the different kinds out of my inventory. Desperate thoughts of pouring them over him came into my head. I began to open the bottles, pouring them over his head as Alex''s eyes widened.


    "Can you get her out of my bed?" Alex held back his annoyance.

 Chapter 636 - Opportunity (5) - Ethans POV

    The infirmary was trashed to the point of no return. Many empty bottles were scattered across the floor, making them more careful to avoid them. The elixirs made the floors slippery, precious items wastefully used. Luke continued to chase Rika around the room as she aimed to pour more elixirs on Alex. Meanwhile, Alex was completely drenched, extremely annoyed and starting to get angry.


    "I''m not going to die Rika!" Alex yelled.


    "Who knows? You''re the person in bed!" Rika shouted.


    Rika was horrible in taking care of others. She overfed Alex by pressuring him to accept the spoons of soup. Alex didn''t have the heart to reject her goodwill, knowing the amount of effort that went behind them. Even the creams and oils she tried to apply were making more of a mess on his skin than doing any good. She wasn''t using enough force behind them, taking hours to do something it would take Luke a couple of minutes.


    Instead of a massage, Rika weakly pinched his skin, making Luke guide her more extensively. Alex was very generous towards Rika, his skin slowly turning red from her failed attempts. Everyone knew Rika was trying her best, slowly losing her energy, not taking a single break. Watching them was a strange concept to me. Whenever someone got sick in my family, we would take some medicine to recover on our own.


    There were servants to help us if we needed them. If our condition worsened, we would call our family doctor. No one had enough time to personally take care of another person. However, the three of them appeared to have a tight bond. They didn''t hesitate to take care of each other if one of them got sick. Rika cried for them as she asked if there was anything more that she could do for them. I could tell both Luke and Alex were touched by her actions.


    Although the rumors were overblown, they weren''t completely unfounded. When Luke was still recovering, Alex did everything for Rika in his place. During the event, he networked with others while holding Rika so she could catch up on her sleep. There was no other place he could entrust her, the spare rooms not accessible. It had to be hard for him, enduring the weight. Many guests couldn''t stop staring at them, trying to sneak a peek at the sleeping girl.


    "May I ask about the girl?" A guest was curious.


    "This is my cousin. She is currently feeling a bit ill," Alex repeated the same answers.


    "Is she perhaps your cousin''s fianc¨¦e?" One of them recalled.


    "Yes. My cousin is Rika de Impalia Roselia," Alex introduced her to them.


    "I heard about her. The present leader of the Impalia fraction, and the next fraction leader for three major fractions," another guest whispered.


    The same conversation repeated countless times, more than the business deals. When Rika started to slightly shiver, Alex took off his blazer and covered her to keep her warm. Increasing the misunderstandings as the guests began to make their own ?ssumptions. Rarely did a guest have an attentive partner like Alex, who noticed the tiny details. I never did the same for Flora, we were purely business partners.


    I was closer to Rika than Flora. Although Rika always warned me that she could reveal Sprinkles, she helped me with Sprinkles'' food supply. As the heir to my family, part of the training was hatching a familiar. But it was hard to take care of the seed on my own. Flora constantly searched our dorm room to get rid of the cages of bugs. We got into fights often, eventually avoiding each other whenever it was possible.


    "The magical girl!" A guest gasped.


    Alex stiffened as he stepped to stand further away from them. He was protective of Rika, shifting her position to cover her face. I could have never imagined the magical girl incident would be the start to extreme fans. I slightly shuddered from the times I found my face posted on her deleted fan page. It was no wonder Luke tried to keep Rika hidden inside a close circle of friends and family.


    "I''ll leave you alone after you let me pour one thousand more elixirs on you!" Rika attempted to negotiate.


    Alex was close to snapping while Luke struggled to catch Rika. You wouldn''t be able to tell she came back from the dead earlier today. When Rika muttered a spell to pour a hundred bottles on Alex at once, everyone became drenched. In fact, the watery elixirs drifted near my ankles, swallowing my shoes. However, Rika continued to pour more into the room, causing it to leak outside the door.


    "Rikkkkaaaa!" Alex exploded.


    Alex separated himself from the machines and rose from his bed to help Luke catch Rika. It was hard to believe the elixirs inside my inventory were precious anymore. For the past few days, they were used as disposable drinks, abundant and overflowing in number. Even the legendary herbs started to look common as grass, there was no end to them as I collected them. As I watched the herbs and elixirs failing to create anything, it was hard to think they were useful.


    "I did it! I''m saved for tomorrow!" Rika suddenly cheered.


    My eyes widened when Rika fainted the next second.. Luke immediately hooked her to the machines, trying to find the cause of the sudden change in her health.

 Chapter 637 - Opportunity (6)

    [Game Clear: Other Condition Fulfilled]


    [Destination to Temple: Five Seconds Later]


    I happily cheered that I wouldn''t get hunted tomorrow. I wondered why I didn''t do the same for Luke, making the support items a waste of time. Once I returned to the temple, the mediator held a diamond gem in his hands. Unexpectedly, Micah was waiting for me like he had anticipated this. I lightly skipped to them, opening my inventory in the process.


    "No fairy has ever considered using the elixirs this way. It''s extremely wasteful," Micah sighed.


    "Do you think I had a chance otherwise?" I accepted the diamond.


    "We are thinking of making adjustments to the trial," the mediator was equally surprised.


    "And make sure to carefully hide the items. You''ll become a target of many people. I suggest you have multiple people to hold onto them for you," Micah warned me.


    Quickly running through a list of people I could trust, I landed on another decent candidate. Although my relationship with Alex was strained, he was similar to Luke, placing my health as one of his priorities. He wouldn''t recklessly use the item, trying to save it for emergencies. At the same time, if I left both the items to Luke, the chance of them getting stolen together would be higher. I needed to spread the risk, carefully planning to shift the target to both of them.


    "Can you help me with my act?" I turned to Micah.


    "You want me to lie to them once their memories return," Micah hit the mark.


    "If I become a target, it''ll be hard for you too," I tried to persuade him.


    "Unfortunately, the trial is not over yet. The second opportunity benefits both of us. Many of my colleagues are curious about how you use the support items. In return, we will give you an entire day to collect the herbs and elixirs for your own," the mediator revealed.


    "No one would use them as wastefully as you do," Micah agreed.


    "Your synthesization method is very creative and unique as well. We have never observed such a feat ever since the trial was created," the mediator was impressed.


    "You mean my poor attempts in trying to succeed?" I recalled.


    "The combinations used are a great research topic," he smiled.


    "Assign her easier items to create since you''re forcing us to continue the trial. I have never had a student who had less than 0.01% chance in succeeding," Micah slightly shuddered.


    "This is still a trial. The items will slightly increase in difficulty," the mediator refused.


    "Does this mean I''ll stop getting hunted?" I interrupted them.


    "You''re not getting her hunted again!" Micah screamed.


    Once the conversation was nearing its end, I was abruptly shifted to another location. I confusedly blinked, finding myself inside the infirmary again instead of the temple. Someone was holding my hand, tightly squeezing it. When I scanned my surroundings, the room was unusually clean, the floors dry and no traces of empty bottles. Luke sat on a chair beside the bed while Alex looked like he was locking the windows.


    "You''re awake," Luke sighed in relief.


    "You always make a big deal of everything," I frowned.


    "Are you serious Rika?" Alex turned to me.


    "Wait. I have something important to say first before you get mad," I started to implement my plan.


    "Close the curtains and turn on all the barriers you have. One of us may die if we''re not careful," I ordered them.


    Thankfully, both of them listened to me, not wasting a second to start moving. During the same time, I summoned Micah, shooting him a look to support my created story. When Micah joined to increase the security, the atmosphere inside the room became more tense. Anti-mana barriers were created to prevent fairies from entering this room, shields were plastered all over the walls for any magical and physical attacks, and sounds could not leak outside this room.


    "First of all, you have to promise me that you will try your best from getting injured or ill," I didn''t want my legendary items to be used.


    "You should be saying those words to yourself," Alex scoffed.


    "I promise," Luke nodded.


    I waited for Alex to answer me, pressuring him to respond. With Micah supporting me, Alex helplessly mumbled, "I promise on my family name."


    I smiled as I pulled out the pearl and the diamond, explaining its features. Once I was finished, I passed the pearl to Luke and the diamond to Alex. Taking advantage of them being surprised, I elbowed Micah to start saying his part of the script. Fortunately, Micah agreed to go with my act, not wanting me to become another target.


    "You have to store them very carefully. Rika worked very hard to get them for you. She had to survive through getting hunted to death since she cared about your health," Micah warned them.


    "I said to leave that part out!" I pretended to get angry.


    "The cutlery?" Alex slightly trembled.


    "She did it all for you," Micah flawlessly lied.


    I was stunned when tears began to drip down on Luke''s face, full of raw emotions. After placing the pearl inside his inventory, he tightly hugged me like he was thanking me. My acting slowly started to falter as guilt filled my heart.. At least they would be more cooperative when I put them to work on gathering more herbs later today.

 Chapter 638 - Opportunity (7) - Alexs POV

    Many memories began to pour inside my head once Rika passed me a dazzling diamond gem. It started from a few days ago, Micah telling Luke to plan a funeral. Soon shifting to the time Rika trembled in fear as she hinted, she was getting hunted to death. She looked at me in disappointment when I became confused why she was telling me a person was after her. Reversing the time to the previous day, someone was chasing her as she tried to escape by digging holes and using the rope.


    The most horrifying part was when she was helplessly hung on the wall as knives and forks targeted her. Her desperate screams for help as she discovered holes in her limbs, slowly lifting her head like she had given up on life. No one could sanely watch her getting brutally tortured, wincing every time she pleaded to be more generous on the attacks. All the important guests Rika had offended, switched to fear for her, forgetting about her past actions.


    "This is inhumane," A guest slightly shuddered.


    "We will have to cancel our business deals with your family," she turned to Haruka.


    "As the host, you should fulfill your duties," another guest suggested.


    "Nothing will change even if I interfere. Do you not see my fraction member unable to move?" Haruka gestured to us.


    "You are a heartless person," she seemed disgusted.


    "I offer you my condolences," a guest turned to me.


    Tears began to fill my eyes, remembering everything Rika went through for us. It was a struggle to face Rika, the spoiled girl that always caused trouble. Although Luke was good at controlling his emotions, his face was drenched with tears. He tightly hugged Rika, recollecting similar memories as me. Luke never expected anything in return from Rika, sacrificing his time and energy for her.


    However, I had to admit his years of raising Rika had paid off. No one gave up a legendary item that allowed you to return from the dead. It was hard to tell if even uncle and aunt would go to this extent for their son. Luke had no one but Rika who was willing to get hunted to death for him. When Micah went through the extremely high death rates, Luke was more unwilling to let go of Rika. She truly risked everything for us.


    If I had to choose the two people who cared for me the most, it had to be Luke and Rika. My parents saw me more as their heir rather than their son, only caring for me as part of their duty. Since both our parents were busy, I spent most of my time with Luke until he got partnered with Rika. Our days were filled with listening to the tutors, preparing us for kindergarten. My mother was close with my aunt, creating our schedules together.


    My relationship with Michelle was equally as transactional as my parents had with each other. We strictly created lines not to cross with each other. This was normal, the counsel creating the matches. I had to admit Rika was separately closer to Michelle and me than the relationship I had with my own partner. Michelle would never cry for me like Rika did. But she would cry for Rika if anything happened to her.


    "Can you let me go now?" Rika asked Luke.


    "I still have to collect more herbs. They''re only inside the garden for a limited amount of time," she explained.


    "The trial is still continuing for her. She has to synthesize more items as the price for the pearl and the diamond," Micah revealed.


    Rika''s control was utterly awful, wasting all the precious herbs we picked. Once she was freed from Luke, she dragged Ethan to the garden with us to gather more herbs. She yelled at Ethan to start working to repay her for the elixirs she forced him to take. Meanwhile, she ate some slices of cake as she watched us. She used a spoon instead of a fork, no one forcing her to use the other cutlery, knowing the horrible story behind it.


    "You guys are slow," she urged us to work faster.


    "You don''t owe her anything," Ethan wondered why we weren''t complaining.


    "It''s faster if we do it for her," I knew how slow her pace was.


    "Does she usually treat you like this?" Ethan slightly pitied us.


    "She''s the baby in our family. What else do we expect from her?" I sighed.


    "Does Rika usually treat you like this?" Luke repeated the question to Ethan.


    "She''s been like this since elementary school," he recalled.


    "How did you become close with Rika?" I couldn''t see any connections between them.


    "We had similar interests," Ethan seemed unwilling to reveal anything.


    "We still have five more sections to visit!" Rika pushed us.


    "I get it! Start your synthesizing, doesn''t it take you forever to succeed?" Ethan yelled back.


    "You should try it with your own hands! It''s harder than it looks," Rika frowned.

 Chapter 639 - Opportunity (8)

    "Are you kidding me?" Ethan stared at the newly grown herbs.


    The mediator had mentioned a new set of herbs would be replaced once they were picked after two hours. Once we finished our usual round, I brought them back to the first section. Since these herbs were supposedly precious, we were lacking workers to help us. Although the pace of collecting the herbs increased, everyone was starting to get overworked. Meanwhile, I checked up on them every now and then between synthesizing the items together.


    "I''ll give you a few herbs to take with you," I tried to reward him.


    "We need more workers!" Ethan complained.


    "Do you think I can recruit more people like the smoothies? You''re the one who said these worthless pieces of grass were legendary!" I pointed out.


    "Oliver knows about the disposable potions. He should know the collection method for the worthless grass!" Ethan suggested a candidate.


    At this point, no one disagreed the legendary herbs appeared like common grass. The rare and precious elixirs resembled disposable potions, more useless than the drinks we created for the club. The truly precious items were the ones I managed to successfully merge together, the mediator allowing me to keep the final results for myself. I was surprised some of them were mainly for beauty and others for health.


    However, I have failed all my attempts even with Micah''s guidance. The difficulty level increased more than double, replacing the hunts. I started to feel guilty when Micah wondered if his teaching skills were the problem. He dejectedly returned to the fairy world, going through his connections for more help. When another fairy joined to teach me the process, she ended up going on a journey to find her new identity. Apparently, she was a teacher at a prestigious academy in another dimension.


    "He should be busy hosting his own event," Alex refused.


    "You don''t know this since you''ve never experienced this before. We need more workers," Ethan argued.


    "You''ve done this before?" Alex was surprised.


    "Almost everyone inside the club building was slaved to work for her before," Ethan exaggerated.


    "I have a better slave with me. He shouldn''t be busy as Oili," I sighed.


    I began to call Charles, someone who owed me a favour for getting rid of Kristie. Unexpectedly, he immediately picked up the call inside Ethan''s mansion as one of its sub-hosts. Fortunately, none of us were attending social week anymore, including Ethan. Flora had enough support with most of the sub-hosts coming from Haruka''s cancelled events. Luke had already notified my friends I was alive, resolving the misunderstanding.


    "Can you come here right now? This is for that favour a few weeks ago," I gave him the location.


    "I''m going to come right now, let me tell the others first," Charles was eager to get it over with.


    I ended the call, Ethan satisfied with the new worker I was bringing. Although Luke seemed a bit taken aback, Alex knew we were close since we wanted to overthrow Haruka. Alex pressured his connections to cancel their business deals with Haruka''s family. He surprised Charles, being more merciless than anyone inside the group chat. When a hover car drifted down near the garden a few minutes later, I waved to Charles to come to join us.


    "What am I supposed to be doing this time?" Charles stared at our messy hands.


    "Do you know the collection method for these supposedly legendary herbs? We need to collect them," I briefly summarized.


    "Why is this in your garden?" He turned to Alex.


    "You may want to change, we don''t have enough hands right now," Ethan instantly ?ssigned himself as his superior.


    "We don''t have time, you can ask questions later," I agreed with Ethan.


    "I get it," Charles was used to the way I worked.


    Within a few minutes, Charles blended in with the rest of them. His suit was gone and replaced with his normal set of semi formal clothes. To make sure he was working properly, I stayed to supervise the team. I shouted at him to motivate him, "you need to increase your pace. You''ll take forever at his rate!"


    "Recruit more people!" Charles resembled Ethan.


    "Why do you have these worthless pieces of grass in your garden?" He grumbled.


    "Rika is right, you need to work harder," Ethan ordered him.


    "Call Oliver, he''s easy to convince," Charles suggested.


    "You really need to recruit more people. Rika forces people to work even when they''re unable to move," he turned to Alex and Luke.


    "You worked with Rika before?" Luke discovered.


    "Almost everyone in our circle worked under her before," Charles recalled the secret storage room.


    "Don''t be surprised when you won''t be able to sleep for several nights," he stared at the herbs.


    "Oili is too nice for his own good. He doesn''t deserve to suffer with us," I watched them.


    "He''ll just consider it as another one of our club activities," Ethan tried to persuade me.


    "If you manage to meet these thresholds, I will consider it," I set the goals.


    "I have clearly warned you," Ethan blamed Luke and Alex.


    "Do you think we could just bring anyone here?" Alex defended himself.


    "Who wants these worthless pieces of grass anyways? You''re going to regret it later," Ethan mumbled.


    "I already let everyone else know I won''t be attending social week anymore," Charles agreed.

 Chapter 640 - Opportunity (9)

    "Get up. You still haven''t met the target yet," I kicked Ethan.


    "Just one more minute, I need a break for one minute," Ethan coughed.


    "I told you we should recruit more workers," Charles didn''t pity him.


    This stunt was planned in advance. We had to find a way to convince Alex to let me recruit more workers. Unfortunately, the new herbs appeared faster than we could collect them, wasting them in the process. I continued to kick Ethan while he hid his barrier. I had a lot of piled stress from failing all my attempts, making this a perfect time to vent my emotions. I had to admit Ethan''s acting was better than mine, his face appearing like he was actually getting beaten up.


    "Why are you watching? Get back to work," I kicked Charles next.


    I ignored Luke looking stunned from my actions. I was using Charles and Ethan as an example of what happened to slow workers. Charles rolled on the grass several times, eventually slammed against the mansion wall from one of my more powerful kicks. I was impressed by his groans and the illusion of fake bruises he created. When I snuck a peek at Alex''s face, his mouth wouldn''t close, meaning he actually believed this play.


    "Does Rika usually treat you this way?" Luke turned to them.


    "This was why I told you we need more workers," Ethan wiped some fake blood off his lips.


    "How could you let her treat you this way?" Alex offered them a handkerchief.


    "Everyone is used to it. Nobody complains since she treats everyone equally," Charles crawled on the ground.


    I mouthed to them that they were overdoing it. At this rate, either Luke or Alex would notice something suspicious was going on. Since Charles got the hint, he switched to pretend he was groaning from the pain. Unexpectedly, Ethan was a better actor than Charles, quickly scrambling back to his position to collect more herbs like he feared me. When I shot a look to Charles to get to the planned position, he limped to join Ethan.


    "Let''s have a talk Rika," Luke coldly faced me.


    "You can''t treat your friends like this," he fell for our acting.


    "What are you saying? They were the ones who couldn''t reach the target," I icily stared at him.


    "Rika would be more lenient towards us if we had more workers," Ethan hinted.


    "I don''t have any herbs to work with since they were slow. You know that I have no choice," I tried to reason.


    "Rika is right, let''s continue to pick more herbs," Charles attempted to gain their pity.


    "If only we had Oliver with us," he mumbled.


    "We can increase our pace," Luke shot an apologetic look at Alex.


    My face almost crumbled, my thoughts of them giving into Charles and Ethan shattering. Ethan appeared like he was actually going to faint from their decision. Meanwhile, Charles was shocked, seeing how unwilling they were to bring more people into the mansion grounds. When Alex nodded his head, going with Luke''s proposal, I could see them giving up on our plan. Unfortunately, there weren''t many chances to contact them, having Luke and Alex with them. I turned to hide my disappointment, walking back to the time-space room.


    My ears perked when Charles exploded at them, surprising both Luke and Alex. He had entirely abandoned acting like he was injured. This made Ethan get rid of the illusions, joining Charles.


    "Why don''t you think about us? Although you can increase your pace, I can''t. Do you know how exhausted I feel after coming from an event?" Charles yelled at them.


    "Weren''t you injured?" Alex got mad.


    "Do you think we had a choice? Why can''t you trust Oliver?" Ethan shouted.


    "You planned this with Rika!" Alex discovered.


    "So what if we did?" Charles didn''t feel any guilt.


    "Do you think any of us want these worthless pieces of grass? They have to be imitations!" He witnessed my failed attempts.


    "They''re real," Ethan tapped Charles'' shoulder.


    "It''s just that they''re useless," he was sick of the herbs.


    "In exchange, we can give you more herbs," Luke tried to disband the fight.


    "I don''t want those useless strands of grass! Don''t even bother to offer me those disposable potions," Charles refused.


    "I want Oliver here," he wanted more workers.


    "Do you think it''s easy for us to collect those herbs? This place will quickly become another target!" Alex didn''t trust Oili.


    "You two are the outsiders here. Oliver and I have been close with Rika since elementary school," Ethan forgot Alex was the owner.


    "How are you so close with her anyways? We''re her family," Alex wanted to know our relationship.


    "We''ve been through life and death together. It''s nothing compared to your relationship with her," Charles supported Ethan.


    "Please give us the details," Luke instantly turned cold.


    "I have the right to know as her partner," he added.


    "There''s nothing inside the contract that forces me to tell you. It''s common knowledge inside our circle and we don''t let just anyone join," Ethan was equally icy.


    "Oliver is trustworthy," he pushed his candidate to them.


    "I''m asking Rika," Luke left them.


    This was bad. My initial relationship with Ethan and Oili came from hiding from the teachers and security guards patrolling the area during the night.. I turned my invisibility spell on and began to run away.

 Chapter 641 - Opportunity (10)

    "I told you guys to be more careful," I mumbled.


    Unfortunately, this was one of the few times Luke truly showed his talent in hide-and-seek. I was quickly dragged to join their conversation. I glared at both Ethan and Charles as I was unable to move. They have never been interrogated by Luke before, who somehow managed to squeeze every single information out of you. I would have never agreed to their plan if I knew it would fail this badly.


    "As Ethan had mentioned, we had similar interests. You already know it. The bug catching club. We went through life and death situations together to hide them from the teachers and to prevent the bugs from leaking out," I stuck with my usual cover story.


    "Is this true?" Luke turned to them.


    "It''s hard to find bugs inside the school grounds," Ethan sighed.


    "You know how we had one of the club activities inside the Suilett family mansion," Charles lied.


    "So stop wasting time and collect more herbs," I needed more ingredients.


    "You''re making us do all the work with your slow pace!" Ethan tried to become their superior.


    "We can increase our pace," Luke went back to work.


    "You guys are a disappointment," Alex looked down on them.


    This was how Oili never came to visit the mansion. I was stunned by Alex''s merciless actions in punishing them for the act. While I was forced to sleep at a set time, both Ethan and Charles were forced to pick the herbs for the entire night. They were only able to take a break once it was time for breakfast. Since I wasn''t able to touch the knives and forks, I ate with a hybrid spoon and fork merged together.


    Luke had to slice everything for me and place them on my plates. No one mentioned I was breaking my part of the promise since they knew I was hunted by the cutlery. With a new teacher coming to help me from Micah''s connections, I was more confident to enter the usual time-space room. I had two more days to generate at least one product from my support items. It took Micah many hours to negotiate with the mediator to lower his expectations.


    "Did you manage to succeed?" Ethan asked about the progress.


    "Not yet. I''m trying," I was equally exhausted.


    "Those horrible herbs can''t be real," Charles shuddered.


    "Before we return to school, we can send you back with the herbs and elixirs," Luke tried to reward them.


    "I don''t want them. I''ll only take them if I see their usefulness with my own eyes," Charles seemed to be traumatized.


    "They''re really hard to use," Ethan agreed.


    "What else did you expect from those herbs?" Alex admitted the method was difficult.


    After collecting the herbs from them, I greeted my new teacher. Micah''s connections were impressive, this fairy''s position being the headmaster of another prestige academy. I went through my usual process, not surprised when the bottle exploded again. Turning to my teacher for some advice and tips, I waited for her to answer me.


    "This is a very hard student to teach. She struggles with the most basic aspect of control. If it weren''t for those rings, she would attract trouble wherever she walked. Your only choice is to make her wear more of those accessories to help with control," she suggested.


    "The robe isn''t enough," she studied me.


    "Change into these shoes," Micah took an item out.


    I smiled as I took off my uncomfortable dress shoes. The robe was the most comfortable piece of clothing I had ever worn. It felt loose on me, making me have high expectations for the shoes. As a bonus these shoes were pretty, twinkling and delicate as glass. Once I placed them on, I was surprised by the cushion effect. It was nothing I had experienced before, resembling running shoes. Since I had Memors with me, I wanted to purchase more clothes and shoes for myself from the other dimension.


    "Please repeat the method again," the headmaster studied me.


    I nodded my head, using my entire concentration to visualize the merge of the herbs and the elixir that acted as a base. When I didn''t hear anything shattering, I slowly opened my eyes, hopeful my attempt had succeeded. However, a burnt bottle faced me in its place, a near success. Micah didn''t hesitate to give me another piece of clothing, a sweater. Since my dress tightly fit me, I had the room to wear the sweater on top of it.


    Once I ran out of herbs, the headmaster was deep in discussion with Micah. I ran to get more herbs from the usual team, forgetting to change out of the items Micah gave to me. When everyone turned to face me, they were stunned, admiring the beautiful and simple items I wore. The robe had special effects, making me appear like I had shimmering rainbow wings behind my back. The sweater was sown together with strings of pure mana, giving out an enormous amount of energy. Meanwhile, my shoes slightly gilded with my every step.


    "We should fortify the barriers," Luke turned to Alex.

 Chapter 642 - Opportunity (11)

    "Where did you get these from?" Luke studied me.


    "I got them from Micah to help with my control," I revealed.


    "Aren''t they cool?" I twirled for them.


    "There''s another person inside this mansion?" Ethan couldn''t stop staring at me.


    "He''s a guest that doesn''t like interacting with others," Alex admitted his existence.


    "Those are the true legendary items," Charles was in awe.


    "I need more herbs," I got to my initial purpose.


    "I can transfer them to you right now," Luke opened his inventory.


    I smiled when there was more than I had expected. They were working hard, trying to prevent Ethan and Charles from complaining to bring in another worker. After everyone transferred me their gathered herbs, I continued to brag about my new items I wore. I posed multiple times, almost like someone was taking photos of me. I liked how the wings on my back faintly moved, making them appear more realistic.


    "This is why we can''t just let anyone inside this place, excluding the herbs," Alex took this chance to explain.


    Both Ethan and Charles seemed to agree with Alex for the first time. Meanwhile, Luke was already working on adjusting the security inside the mansion, getting the controls from Alex. It was obvious he was thinking I would become another target once others saw me. The garden was close to the gates, making this a more vulnerable location than others.


    "Your shoes are slightly floating," Ethan noticed.


    "They are and it''s super comfortable," I showed him.


    "I want to meet this person called Micah," he admired my clothes and shoes.


    "Go back to Micah," Luke urged me.


    "I''ll come back when I run out of herbs again," I turned to leave them.


    Once I returned to the time-space room, I found a pretty staff in front of me. A unique pink jewel was nearly shaped like an orb. The stick seemed to come from a slender rosy tree branch, resembling shimmering metal. Unlike the other items, fluffy white bows decorated the base, ribbons slightly floating around it. This would have been better to use in the magical girl video than the one I borrowed from the mana research club.


    "This has to work," Micah was placing his hopes into the staff.


    I gasped when I actually succeeded in one of my attempts once I learnt how to use the staff. The headmaster began to cry, wiping her tears from managing to teach a hopeless student. With all the items from the fairy world, it helped me measure my mana more precisely. To make sure it wasn''t a fluke, my teachers made me repeat the process many times. However, it really did turn out to be based on luck. Micah tried to comfort the headmaster that she had done her best.


    Since I ran out of herbs, I used the staff to fly to the garden. I felt like I was a witch from the fairy tales, sitting on the staff while pouring mana to get to my destination. I was glad Micah taught me all its features, hoping one of them would help me with my attempts. Lowering the staff towards the people on the ground, I safely landed on the ground. One of the many commands was having the staff come flying into one of my hands to return to me.


    "Please give me more herbs," I held out one of my hands.


    "What is that?" Ethan was impressed.


    "A staff," I played with it.


    "This isn''t a normal staff," Charles resembled Ethan.


    "Can you let us meet Micah?" He turned to Alex.


    "Micah is busy," Alex refused.


    Both Charles and Ethan turned to me, hoping I would let them meet Micah. However, Micah was truly busy with using his connections to help me. I shook my head as I answered, "it''s really true. Micah is always busy."


    "Here are the herbs," Luke interrupted us, reminding them to give me the herbs.


    This made everyone give me their herbs, disappointed that they wouldn''t be able to meet the mysterious guest. But an idea dashed through my head, knowing what could make up for it. I pulled out a container of cream, "I managed to finally succeed with the staff."


    "I worked really hard for this," I wanted some praise.


    "What does it do?" Luke began to clean his hand.


    "It heals almost any injury on the area you apply it," I found my hard work had paid off.


    "It can remove infections and mend bones," I got the details from Micah.


    I passed the container to Luke, knowing he would make better use of it. Although I had no talent in taking care of others, he was the opposite. With this container, I had officially passed the trial. It was time to continue to collect the herbs to be able to use them in the future. After creating more items, I planned to fill the storage rooms with elixirs until there was no more space. Once Luke accepted the container, he knew what I wanted from him, "what do you want me to purchase for you?"


    "I want a waterpark inside the mansion," I brightly smiled.

 Chapter 643 - Exposed (8)

    "This will take time to build. We have to build a new mansion for it," Luke calculated.


    "You''re actually building a waterpark for her?" Charles was stunned.


    "It''s better than granting her access to the entertainment devices," Alex agreed with Luke.


    "Really? You''ll really build one for me?" I started to get excited.


    "I''ll work harder in synthesizing everything together!" I ran to the time-space room.


    Micah continued to comfort the headmaster for her efforts in trying to teach me. Since I had passed the trial, she returned to the fairy world, her last words being she had more research to do. Although guilt filled my heart, there wasn''t anything I could do about my poor skills. I waited for Micah to give me more instructions.


    "You need to start pulling the elixirs out to store them in your own storage rooms. These will disappear soon inside your inventory. I''m going to continue teaching you so we will be in a better situation when you''re forced to synthesize the ingredients together again," Micah opened the door.


    Alex had given Micah full control over the mansion, including the map. I was led to various storage rooms, filling each of them with elixirs to the point I had trouble closing the door. Thankfully, Micah did most of the work, giving him the control over my inventory. Once the reward period passed, I could transfer the elixirs back into my inventory again. Micah was impressed with the human technology, exploring the features to implement in his own world.


    "Are a trillion elixirs enough?" I left the last storage room.


    "With your skills, it''s not enough. I can store some of them inside your bracelet and I can take the rest to give to you once you run out," Micah started to mutter a spell.


    Once we were done handling the elixirs, it was time to properly store the herbs. Micah wanted to check the progress of how the collection was going. I had forgotten both Ethan and Charles were with us, not giving Luke and Alex a warning. Micah frowned when he found the speed to be lacking, "this isn''t enough."


    "Take out everything you have in your inventories," he commanded them.


    "Is he your other guest?" Charles wondered.


    "Just take everything out," Alex was unwilling to reveal anything.


    Once all the herbs were taken out, Micah sighed, "you will have to work harder. At most, these will last for a few days."


    "You''re not human," Ethan noticed, studying Micah.


    "Keep on working. With Rika''s skills, I need you to gather at least triple the total number on the ground within the next thirty minutes," Micah didn''t answer him.


    "Micah is my instructor in synthesizing the ingredients together," I introduced him to the others.


    "I''m afraid this will be difficult to meet," Luke struggled to reach Micah''s demands.


    "I can teach you the collection method. Did Rika not teach you?" He wondered.


    "I tried to teach them, but they said they already knew how to do it," I defended myself.


    "Do it in front of them, and I''ll explain the steps again," Micah wanted to check my understanding.


    Micah grimaced while watching my slow pace, lowering his expectations for me. Since he wasn''t saying anything, I knew I was doing it correctly. Micah hopelessly turned to them, "this method is supposed to be faster. However, it requires more concentration and precision. Follow me and ask me any questions if you don''t understand."


    I watched Micah getting touched from watching the results of his new students. Unlike me, Luke and Alex managed to empty the entire section within a few minutes. Meanwhile, Charles and Ethan took around ten minutes, quickly moving onto the other sections. I wondered why we couldn''t reveal Micah to them earlier, knowing less herbs would be wasted. I couldn''t face Micah anymore, wishing I could resemble his new students.


    "You two are the best students I had in centuries. I''ll purchase similar items for you while you continue to work," Micah favoured Luke and Alex.


    "May I also get an item?" Ethan wanted to be included.


    "I only do this for the children I have an agreement with," Micah revealed.


    "And your skills are not as lacking as Rika. You can improve if you practice. Rika needs these items to do the very basic steps to even start the practice," he seemed drained.


    After setting a couple of new targets, Micah left us to return to the fairy world. This made both Charles and Ethan confirm Micah was a fairy, watching the portal slowly disappear. My role was to transfer the herbs they gathered into my inventory, b?r?ly contributing to the team. Days quickly passed as everyone was forced to collect the herbs, only taking breaks for mealtimes. I was surprised by Micah''s cruelty, pressuring them to stay up during the nights since we were running out of time.


    "Won''t one of them faint at this rate?" I turned to Micah.


    "You can give them this elixir and they''ll regain their strength again," Micah showed me.


    "Fairies are slave drivers," Charles complained.


    "Just continue picking," Ethan gave up on talking.


    "This is the last day," Luke tried to comfort them.


    "I''m never coming to your place again," Charles grumbled to Alex.


    "We told you we would give you some herbs and elixirs in exchange," Alex was sick of hearing his complaints.

 Chapter 644 - Exposed (9)

    "I told you that your teaching skills were not the problem," Micah brought back the fairy that went on a journey.


    "These two students are exceptional, their talent," the teacher warmly gazed at Luke and Alex.


    Everyone joined me to learn how to synthesize the ingredients together from Micah and his connections. However, I have never seen such blunt discrimination. The people who had an agreement with Micah and those who didn''t were treated as different as night and day. While the fairies were passionate about giving us pointers, they nearly ignored Charles and Ethan. Sending them to collect more herbs every now and then.


    While we wore the items Micah purchased for us, both Charles and Ethan were left on their own. I never thought Micah could treat someone more coldly than how he usually favoured Luke and Alex over me. Although I felt guilty, I was under the pressure of my instructors to practice on synthesizing the ingredients. I could tell they were close to giving up on me again, leaning towards the talented students.


    "At this rate, we can teach you this entire booklet," the teacher became excited.


    "Focus Rika, you still have to work on your control," she turned to me when I momentarily stopped.


    "Can I collect the herbs instead?" I needed a break.


    "That role is for the servants," the teacher urged me to continue.


    "I think I''m finished with creating this item," Luke wanted her to check the results.


    "This is perfect! You can start learning the intermediate techniques now. I''ll give you a demonstration," she was impressed.


    "You''re treating us as servants," Charles grumbled.


    "We''re giving you a chance to learn. Not every human has the chance to observe the techniques fairies use," Micah coldly responded.


    "Go collect more herbs, we''re starting to run out," he sent Charles out.


    "Is this item a success?" Ethan tried to show Micah.


    "It''s a failure. The ratio is slightly off," Micah took a quick glance.


    "You can increase your skills by practicing on collecting the herbs first. Use the method I taught you," he kicked Ethan out.


    "Isn''t it enough I managed to succeed once? I''m hungry," I tugged on Luke''s shirt.


    "Wait for me to finish this technique," Luke turned to me.


    By the end of the day, it was time to leave the mansion to return to school. I was glad I was done with the synthesizing. The five of us used the same hover car, extremely exhausted from the past few days. Unexpectedly, Micah scheduled some days where he would bring the teacher and headmaster to teach us inside our dorm room. My face slumped as this was additional to the study sessions I was forced to attend.


    "I never want to see those herbs again," Charles struggled to stay awake.


    "You still took them," Ethan was close to collapsing.


    "You took them too," Charles pointed out.


    "How hard could it be to collect some herbs? Some people were forced to synthesize even when they couldn''t move," I leaned against the window.


    "You had those legendary items to help you," Charles found it unfair.


    "You also have a whole waterpark Luke and Alex are building for you in exchange," Ethan mumbled.


    "I have the designs ready," I passed my notebook to Luke.


    Luke flipped through the pages, passing it to Alex once he finished. I wondered why they weren''t saying anything. During my spare time, I worked hard to do my research to imitate the ones with five-star ratings. But the first district was also a fantasy world, making me input some magical elements into it.


    "Some of them aren''t possible with the current technology," Luke revealed.


    "They''re possible. I showed Micah the same notebook," I recalled.


    "The scale is also too big and goes over the budget. Remove some rides," Alex passed me my notebook.


    Was money the problem here? Micah clearly told me my designs were feasible. If I made Micah purchase the technology for me in my place, I could have them done. However, many Aris were needed for every Memors. I was disappointed in the Roselia and Monete families. I wanted my waterpark to be perfect, knowing it would be my only source of entertainment.


    "What is the set budget?" I wondered.


    "Ten billion Aris," Alex had a number.


    "Ten billion Aris for a waterpark inside your house?" Ethan couldn''t close his mouth.


    "It''s too little," I calculated inside my head.


    "Are you kidding me? It''s my allowance for the next four years," Ethan nearly shouted.


    "Your allowance is that little?" Charles slightly pitied Ethan.


    "How much do you get?" Ethan turned to them.


    "Five billion Aris every month," Charles shrugged.


    "What about you?" Ethan waited for them.


    "A little bit more, around nine billion per month," Alex tried to stay humble.


    "What?" Ethan was stunned.


    "Is the Roselia family poor compared to you guys?" He recalled my empty bank account.


    "I''m not sure what you are implying," Luke was confused.


    "His allowance is the largest out of all of us. He gets ten billion per month. His family owns the banks and dominates the financial industries," Charles seemed to know.


    Although I didn''t know Luke''s allowance, I knew the Roselia family had to be wealthier than other households. Maybe it was common knowledge between family members. Only Ethan didn''t seem to know the amount of wealth they possessed. However, I could use this information to my advantage to try to increase the budget. I planned to steal all the allowance they had.


    "I need at least a trillion Aris," I mumbled.

 Chapter 645 - Exposed (10) - Ethans POV

    "You can''t do anything with ten billion Aris," Rika angrily shouted.


    Ten billion Aris wasn''t a small sum of money. Unlike what I ?ssumed, Luke and Alex treated Rika pretty decently. On the other hand, Rika enslaved them to work, harsher than the way she treated me and Charles. She leisurely enjoyed her cake while yelling at them to increase their pace. I was surprised when both Luke and Alex went along with her. Both of them didn''t complain, working hard to supply her with what she needed.


    Although Luke did control her surroundings and what she could do, most of them were reasonable. The plates he ordered for her were restaurant quality level, better than the ones that came from the cafeteria. They had to be using the latest robots, making me eat more than normal. It was impressive to the point they met the standards of hosting their own event, reminding me of the hard distribution channels I spent time on for my event for social week.


    However, Rika didn''t seem to be interested in the food in general. She ate the food that Luke sliced for her like she was being tortured. The portions Luke gave her were tiny, b?r?ly considered to be a snack. But she took the longest time to eat, making others wait for her to finish. The only times she was willing to eat were when the desserts came out. Her face would instantly brighten as she turned to Luke to ask for second servings.


    Her normal set of clothing and accessories weren''t cheap when I entered her closet from searching for Alex. Alex''s family owned this impressive mansion, the guest bedroom given to me to use to be nearly as good as the bedroom in my favourite mansion. I have rarely seen Rika out of her uniform. But the rooms dedicated for her were dazzling, making me confused if this place wasn''t the Roselia family mansion.


    It was similar to the individual closets of Alex and Luke as he gave me a tour so I could borrow their clothes if I needed them. The Roselia family seemed to be closer to the Monete family than the rumors about them. They provided everything that Rika could possibly need, showing she was a clear part of their family. It made me think Rika didn''t need those presents from us, already possessing better things.


    "At least increase the budget to five hundred billion Aris!" Rika spat out absurd numbers.


    "You''re making me take those lessons in addition to the normal ones," she tried to convince them.


    "Two hundred billion is the furthest we can go," Luke spoiled Rika.


    I was shocked by both Luke and Alex letting Rika use most of their allowance. I could never do this for Flora. But it still didn''t make sense. If the Roselia family possessed that much wealth, how could Rika''s bank account be this empty? Once Rika fell asleep in Luke''s ??p, exhausted from her lessons, I asked, "does your family not give Rika any allowance?"


    "Most of her money is converted into the fairy currency. I handle the rest since she''s not ready to manage the ?ssets on her own," Luke stroked her hair.


    "She doesn''t touch any of it anyways. As soon as there''s more money in her account, she converts it," Alex added.


    Both of them didn''t give Rika the chance to use the money in the first place. Anything that they didn''t approve of were burnt and confiscated. I didn''t know whether to pity Rika anymore, watching them for the last few days. The three of them were in a world of their own and when Charles managed to join them, he was tortured under the three of them. The way they behaved inside the clubroom only scratched the surface of their relationship together.


    When I visited my parents the next weekend to get rid of those hideous herbs and elixirs, I was shocked to be unexpectedly praised by my strict parents. I thought I would get scolded for ruining one of my events and my lack of presence during social week. I could have never predicted those worthless items would replace my family''s heirloom. I only managed to successfully synthesize a few products from them.


    "These are priceless. There isn''t a value to them. You''ve done well," my father took my herbs from me.


    "These pieces of gras- , I mean herbs can''t be priced?" I recalled the overflowing numbers.


    "No one is willing to sell them. They appear once every ten thousand years," he couldn''t stop staring at them.


    "Where did you manage to source them from?" He was impressed.


    "My friend gave them to me as payment for the mansion and its land," I sold one of my ?ssets.


    "I don''t recall one of my connections possessing these," he tried to guess my friend''s identity.


    "The fianc¨¦e to the heir to the Roselia family," I revealed my childhood friend.


    "Make sure to maintain your relationship with her. The Roselia family tries to keep her existence hidden. I b?r?ly have any information about her on my end, they''re extremely protective of her," my father patted my shoulder.


    "How about these?" I pulled out my elixirs.


    "Did she also give these to you?" My father''s eyes widened.


    "I have many different types of these disposib-, I mean elixirs with me," I passed them to him.


    "These amount to around a quarter of our entire family fortune," he surprisingly revealed.

 Chapter 646 - Sleepover (1)

    "I''m hosting a sleepover at my mansion the next weekend," Delia handed me an invitation.


    "Let me know if you can come," she passed more invitations to the others.


    It had been a while since I visited my friends'' mansions. Unfortunately, the last time I went on a sleepover was in elementary school at Shelly''s place. Placing the invitation inside my inventory, I had to be careful in how to approach this. My time inside the clubroom had shrunk dramatically, busy with the extra lessons from Micah. Meanwhile, the length of the study sessions increased after Luke heard what happened during his absence in social week.


    "I''ll work things out," I whispered into her ear.


    "Sadly, Rika will have to decline your invitation," Luke interrupted us.


    "I''m going. It''s the weekend, not even the weekday," I coldly turned to him.


    "Everything had been scheduled weeks in advance. You can''t miss those extra classes," his eyebrows slightly furrowed.


    "It''s only a day, like what''s it going to change?" I struck my arm out.


    My other arm trembled in anger as we both knew Micah did these lessons for Luke. His useless sidekick, basically me, didn''t have to be there listening to everyone praising how Luke was the most brilliant human being they''ve ever seen. I nearly bit my lips as he slowly shook his head, looking at me like I was the stubborn one.


    "You''re already behind," Luke glanced at his schedule.


    "That''s why you can''t go," he turned back at me.


    When was I not behind? My hands tightly clenched as I was sick of needing his permission for nearly everything. It was like he saw me as the dumbest and most helpless person in the world,


    making it seem natural for him to make all the decisions for me and some of them without my knowledge. That''s why as soon as I received the two hundred billion Aris from him, I immediately converted them into Memors before he could take them away from me.


    "Maybe next time," Delia sadly smiled, predicting this would happen.


    "You don''t have to worry, I''m attending," my eyes instantly blazed.


    "This invitation is for me, so I have the right to make the decision whether to attend or not," I clasped onto her hands.


    "We can leave the school together then," Shelly accepted the invitation.


    "Can I also borrow your clothes?" I wanted to wear something comfortable.


    "I already bought all of us matching pajamas!" Sienna excitedly revealed.


    "Really?" My eyes brightened.


    "We''ve actually been planning this sleepover for some time," she explained.


    "I''m totally coming!" I nearly squealed.


    "Here are the desserts lined up," Delia showed me her screen.


    "You should add some soda, they go well with almost anything," my eyes glinted.


    "You''re not going anyways," Alex watched us.


    "The people who don''t get an invitation are the ones not going," I mumbled.


    "Aren''t you guys being too harsh on her? It''s only a day," Oili got up to join us.


    "She doesn''t have the time to attend. She should know this herself," Alex slightly frowned.


    "Just what do you have planned for her?" Ethan pulled out his head.


    Unexpectedly, Alex passed them the planned schedule for the weekends. I wasn''t surprised when both Ethan and Oili stopped talking. The schedule was packed tight, b?r?ly enough time for meals in between. I was b?r?ly surviving doing this, nearly collapsing onto my bed every night. However, my waterpark was at stake, something that could be easily used against me.


    "You make her do this every weekend?" Ethan unfroze.


    "This is brutal," Cillian admitted, sneaking a peek.


    "It''s slightly better than the weekdays," I sadly admitted.


    "Is this why you look so dead when you come here?" Oili discovered.


    I nodded while passing them my normal schedule for the weekdays, making my friends go speechless. This was why I looked forward to this sleepover. I needed a chance to recover to the point I was willing to take more risks than usual. Once Oili returned my schedule to me, he looked at them in disbelief, "how is this even possible?"


    Luke ignored him, reminding me, "you know your teachers are taking time out of their precious day to teach you."


    "They favor you more than me anyways," I ?r??n?d.


    "It''s only one day. I promise I''ll work harder in my lessons," I made my eyes glisten.


    I silently cried inside my heart as this approach wasn''t working. I sighed as I was going to use this as the very last resort. The last time I used it, I couldn''t stop regretting my actions, finding myself land inside a worse situation than the former.


    I briefly squeezed my hands as I braced myself for the worst, pretending I wasn''t about to vomit blood. I urged my heavy feet to move, dragging all the energy I had to run towards Luke to sit in his ??p. It wasn''t icky. It wasn''t terrible. I didn''t feel that intense stare drilling into my eyes.


    Ok. It did. So what? It was worth the sleepover! My arms instantly reached out to hug him, my


    voice extremely sad and disappointed, asking, "do you hate Rika?"


    Luke shifted inside his chair, trying to adjust his posture to get a better view of his documents. His head turned back and forth to continue working, seeing my body as purely an obstacle. In fact, it was only until he couldn''t ignore me, he spoke, "I don''t hate you, this is all done for you."


    Did he want to die? How was preventing me from hanging out with my friends for my sake? My sake! I slapped his handsome face inside my head as I tried to push down my anger to remain sane and snuggle against his ?h?st. My finger stroked the middle of his abs, back and forth at the most effective angle as my head tilted up to beg, "rika only wants one day."


    "Pleaa-see?" I pulled out my pitiful eyes.


    I didn''t need to point out my innocent friends watching us, did I? The way Ethan had his body turned against us, trying not to look but slightly turning his head because he couldn''t not look. Or Delia dizzily looking down with her face blushing while Sienna peeked through her fingers with her head red. Did I need to add Cillian nervously gulping at the scene and Oili obviously hugging himself inside a half translucent tent?


    Out of the corner of my eyes, I noticed Shelly glancing at the clock. Her reaction was similar to Alex, who just continued to work beside us. Meaning, they were waiting for me to fail like my other attempts. But. But what they didn''t know was that this time, it was different. I had a concrete plan!


    My motivation surged as I tugged on Luke''s shirt, something he disliked since they would become stretched. I held in my smile when finally placed his documents on the table, frowning as expected. I needed him to pay attention to me for this method to work. This was my chance to hug him even tighter, knowing it would be more effective than poking him. When Luke looked down to face me, his answer was the same, "I can''t. You''re behind in some of the classes."


    "Rika doesn''t mind if you extend the usual study sessions so she can catch up," I was giving up the time inside the clubroom.


    "I can''t extend the study sessions to the point it''ll cover the day you''re missing. You won''t be able to handle it," Luke predicted.


    "We can use the club room," I pointed out the time-space feature.


    "Only a few subjects can be covered inside the club room," he hinted.


    Wow. Luke was really adamant in not letting me go on this sleepover, wasn''t he? He had a perfect response to every one of my suggestions. I lifted one of his hands, placing it against my cheek. The perfect timing to blink several times to have my newly created tears stream down my face. I got this idea from a shoujo manga I read during the time I was able to use my new storage room. I planned to use everything in that book.


    "I really can''t," Luke''s decision slightly faltered.


    "You really can''t?" I rubbed my face against his ?h?st.


    "Let me wipe your face first," his shirt was slightly wet.


    However, no one was prepared for my next level tactics.. Pretending everyone else was invisible, I lightly blew some wind inside his ear, the same action the female protagonist did to make the male lead shocked into agreeing to her proposal.

 Chapter 647 - Sleepover (2)

    Why were the results in real life so disappointing?


    My lips began to pout as I looked at Luke''s face, blank as an empty sheet of paper. His eyebrow slightly pointed downwards, faintly and silently scolding me. He lifted his hand, holding a white handkerchief, starting to tap my damp tears away.


    His other hand covered his ear, leaving the other one vulnerable for me to rub. My eyes glinted as I mustered all my strength into my hands, tugging the edge of his ear as hard as I could to get a better reaction.


    "It hurts! Softer," I nearly shouted.


    My hand immediately grabbed my aching cheek, warding the devilish piece of cloth trying to strip away everything. I held in my tears as my pitiful act was obviously not working out. Instead, my other hand helplessly grabbed my sweater near my heart, squeezing tightly like a loser.


    "Isn''t that handkerchief dirty now? You should throw that out," my voice squeaked.


    ''We could come to a compromise! No scrubbing a person''s face dry in exchange for not pulling or pinching someone''s ear,'' my eyes flickered.


    ''You''re going to stop bothering me?'' His hand stopped moving.


    I nodded, my shoulders unconsciously relaxing as his hand backed off. I was totally not feeling a little betrayed by the author. It was perfectly understandable the author didn''t do her research properly. Like how the heck could the route of trying to make someone embarrassed enough to give their permission be realistic?


    My hand quickly covered my mouth, realizing I was about to sigh, already close to hanging my head. I had to act fast, before I could change my mind!


    My hand pulled out the flowery balm Luke purchased for me, rubbing to spread them on my lips. Throwing the stick back into my inventory, my face leaned closer to his, closer until there wasn''t any space left. My lips were on his forehead, his slippery skin leading me to kiss his soft cheek, following the movements of his head. Now, wouldn''t there have to be a response to that?


    There had to be! I flicked my head back to intensely stare into his eyes, finding his gaze


    was slowly boring into mine. My mind blanked out, his hands turning my face towards his desk by the time I blinked several times. Huk! Why was there no response! This face was supposed to be really really pretty.


    Was it because I needed to touch more s?ns?t?v? places? I already made an agreement not to touch his ears anymore! Why were the techniques my shoujo manga using not working?


    My heart clenched as there was one place left I didn''t touch. His lips, the holy grail of ''do not touch or you will be doomed.''


    Meanwhile, his hand was beginning to search for the handkerchief he left on the table. Telling me I had seconds, no milliseconds to decide my next attack. Meaning, if I was going to go for it, I needed to go all out.


    I opened my mouth, and pushed forward to kiss his lips, biting the lower half as gently as I could. My eyes squeezed when I closed them, trying to muster the courage to put more force. Plus, I was really only doing this because I knew where the wet wipes were located inside the dorm room. I could sanitize myself as much as I wanted after I won.


    "You guys should get a room," Ethan complained.


    A room? Ethan should go inside a tent! Didn''t he know how much effort I put in? My method was finally working this time, and I wasn''t going to the extent that blood was coming out like the female protagonist. Unlike us, she was a vampire disguised as a student. Plus, I was close to being satisfied from Luke''s eyes going large and his hand unable to grab his handkerchief anyways.


    "I thought Rika hated Luke," Sienna turned to Shelly.


    "She does- ."


    "But that! That!"


    Her body began to tremble as her gaze landed on my hands, popping the first few bu??ons of Luke''s shirt open. My head lowered to target his neck, brushing his stray hair away. My mouth opened to take a large bite, ???k?n? my lips in preparation. A span of a breath was all I needed, clenching my teeth to lightly pierce his tensing skin.


    "Wow," Cillian whispered.


    Wow? It was only the start! Well, although the female protagonist did this to suck the blood of the male lead, who said it couldn''t be used for another purpose? My legs shifted towards Luke''s knees as my teeth left his neck. My head ducked down to kiss his angular collarbones, ignoring even Alex''s ears going faintly red beside us.


    This had to be enough. My head was empty and running out of energy. My hand began to push his ?h?st away, only stopping to check if Luke was admitting his defeat. My ears waited, expecting something like- huk! My eyes widened as his hand supported my back as his position abruptly moved for his teeth to lightly bite my lips, choosing the effective moves from the start.


    Maybe I revealed my cards too fast. My teeth briefly clenched as goosebumps plastered my back, chilling and making my heart beat faster. My legs, arms- they weren''t responding to me, absolutely frozen as his hand lowered to tilt my body at a certain angle to reveal my neck, one of the s?ns?t?v? spots.


    "Are you sure? I forgot to wash that part with soap last night," I nervously smiled.


    That was a lie. I was a cleaner person than my previous life because I took both a shower and a bath everyday. But at the same time, Luke didn''t like dirty things, and he would literally push me back into the bathroom if I only did either one.


    Well, what could I say? We were poor back then and we had to share everything, starting from basic necessities like extra pajamas to blankets. If I were him, coming from a rich family used to having sparkly clean everything, I could have turned out like him, perfectly understandable.


    I laid my cheek against his ?h?st, pretending to look troubled. My arm unfroze to have my finger slide across my lips, trying to cover the corners of my mouth tugging into a more natural smile. His face moved back when my legs fidgeted, "I only used water for the entire week."


    "I''m sure my skin is full of germs and bacteria and whatnot- ."


    "Rika," Shelly loudly whispered.


    ''Luke already wiped your entire face and neck (not only your tears),'' she mouthed.


    ''I thought he used a handkerchief,'' my eyes flickered back.


    ''It''s a famous dirt and makeup remover,'' she took out.


    It had to be a coincidence. It had to be. I wasn''t looking at a yellow handkerchief in her hands with the same ribboned logo, clean stitching and folded lace edges. The exact same as the one Luke had on the table, except it was baby blue and smelled like scented oil.


    Wait. Scented oil? Dumb Rika! My shampoo smelled like that. Huk! If Luke could smell the soap, then he knew I lied. I loudly gulped and raised my head, making my hair fall into the air, leaving my neck vulnerable. My heart beat louder as his oddly reluctant face crept closer, his gaze targeting the area behind my ears.


    ''We have a peace treaty there,'' I grabbed his collar.


    ''Then no sleepover?'' His face stopped moving.


    ''Do you want to die?'' My eyes glared.


    ''I turned my chair towards the blankets,'' his hand gestured.


    ''I''m offering you the chance to give up on your sleepover and go back to gaming or whatever you usually do,'' his arms opened.


    I turned my head away and crossed my arms. Placing a two layer barrier around myself, I mumbled, "I''m staying."


    "I''m staying until- kyaaa!"

 Chapter 648 - Sleepover (3)

    "Kyaaa," I pulled on his hair.


    "Let go," Luke murmured.


    Luke clenched his teeth as his face began to redden like a bright apple. His eyes looked behind my back to signal for help to his cousin, close to sighing when he realized Alex was dumbfounded beyond help. Instead, he often turned his chair back and forth, trying to get an answer from the despondent people around us. It was like he was unsure how to proceed as he chose to continue tickling my waist over losing more hair.


    Meanwhile, my body leaned closer to the ground to put more effort into my pull, also coughing to calm my poor lungs bursting into laughter. My eyes teared up as my arms awkwardly positioned to cover the sides of my waist, my muscles tensing in the wrong places.


    It was a battle of who could handle this situation longer now. One of us would give in soon. I crazily laughed, "you''re dead. You''re going to die either way."


    His eyes blazed from the challenge, sending a shudder through my back. My throat suddenly couldn''t find my voice anymore, my mind going blank when he abruptly stood and wiped his hair to get rid of my hands.


    What did he do? A spell? Was he holding in everything until he could activate his spell? My face showed all my thoughts as I found myself unable to move, maybe too shocked or intentional by Luke. All I could do was listen, watching his lips move, "repeat after me."


    ''I can''t, I can''t move or speak,'' my eyes shot.


    "My spell was to separate, not to directly affect you sticking to me," he offered his hand.


    I was definitely not going to take that hand, being frozen was better than getting help by the victor. Wait. It was convenient! I couldn''t study if I was frozen and one of my friends could move me to Delia''s place and work out something from there to unfreeze me. Ha! In the end, I was the true winner.


    "It''s strange, I can move your arms just fine," he raised my arm.


    My arm dropped when he let go, stepping back to deeply analyze me in front of him. His hand grabbed his chin, supporting his tilting head. His long eyelashes looked up and down, slowly getting more frustrated as more time passed.


    "He didn''t chant to activate the spell," Cillian whispered.


    His eyes glinted as he questioned everyone in the room to confirm his theory. My pupils instantly dashed to shut him up, annoyed this was the moment he turned all gossipy. Ugh! He was going to help Luke at this rate on fixing his out of whack spell.


    He didn''t know part of the reason Luke dragged me to his study sessions was to use me as a lab rat. It wasn''t just one or twice Luke failed his spells. He was called a genius because he impressed all his teachers by failing less than their average student. Meaning, he was still in the experimental stage of all the new things Micah recently taught him.


    "Just leave her alone. She doesn''t look tortured being frozen," Ethan scratched his head.


    "She''ll probably start moving again if she needs something- ."


    "I think I know now," Luke''s eyes brightened.


    He immediately closed his eyes and cupped my hands on top of his. The corners of his lips cheerfully lifted like all the other times he found the solution to something he worked on for a long time. I scoffed inside my head when he shamelessly spoke, "I wished she would listen to me. By listening to me, she would let go of my hair and give up on that sleepover."


    "You''ll be able to move again if you give up on that sleepover," his eyes gleamed while opening.


    His silvery hair fluttered from the sudden breeze of air, not a single one plucked or seen on the ground. The warm sunlight showered inside the room to create a halo above his head, following the curtains swaying side to side to place a magnificent set of wings behind his back.


    He appeared like a literal angel, one of those hypocrites you knew to be more evil than the devil. It was nice to be him. He had everything on his side, the whole world waiting to fulfill his wish. Time was only flowing for me to lose, feeling all the burning stares from my friends as his beautiful hands warmed mine.


    "You won''t?" His disappointment struck my heart.


    The heck? How were we suddenly inside a shoujo manga? I was supposed to be the attacker! My cheeks puffed as I pouted, slightly looking up to check if his angelic act was gone. Although I had complete immunity, Shelly was busy dragging Sienna and Delia into the tent to conduct first aid. She shook their shoulders, "keep breathing and try to cool yourself. Forget about Luke and try thinking of your ugly partners."


    "Is that how you think of me?" Alex spun to her.


    "Personality-wise if looks are decent," she ignored him.


    "You can save your friends," Luke lifted my hands higher.


    My eyes hurt! That aura- my third eye that suddenly came into existence was stinging. A jolt ran through my spine, trying to warn me of something. I closed in on his face, revealing his smile loosening like he wasn''t completely focusing on me.


    It was another chantless spell! The perfect wind coming through the window, the effect from the sunlight! I wasn''t going crazy! I was being used as a lab rat again. It was so obvious, but not. Usually, Luke experimented on Rika, sometimes failed or got what he wanted, got praised by Micah or his other teachers and then someone fixed Rika up if Luke couldn''t figure out what he did wrong himself.


    We were missing the ''get praised by Micah or his other teachers'' part! Meaning, it was starting to get dangerous for me as the chance of Luke failing more spells went up. Ugh! I chose the wrong fairy to make a contract with, partly my fault to let Micah and Luke meet.


    "It''s my fault," I ?r??n?d.


    "Your fault?" His eyelashes innocently fluttered.


    I was right. The intensity of mana in the air instantly disappeared. His smile relaxed and his mind had more room for other things. I was able to smile back, "the sleepover, it was my fault for asking when you already said no."


    "I''m not going to that sleepover written on that day at exactly 8pm Central First District time at the reality most people would realize," I shook his hands off.


    I was leaving the school at 10:01pm Eastern First District time at the reality Rika realized in her point of view. Ha! There were loopholes to everything!


    "Did you just record her using a double spell?" Ethan''s mouth dropped.


    "The kind where what the person says applies to terms the person activating the spell," he explained, looking at my dumbfounded face.


    "...You did what?" I grabbed Luke''s collar.


    "You said you wouldn''t go," his hands grabbed onto mine.


    "You knew I wasn''t actually saying I wasn''t actually going to go- ."


    "It doesn''t matter. If I don''t want you to go, you don''t."


    My head felt hammered as Luke pulled my hands away. My hands dropped beside my side, helplessly watching him turn and walk towards his desk again. My heart squeezed tight as my knees began to buckle, hating that line he always used lately.


    "I''m a person too," I whispered.


    "I have feelings, I have friends, it''s not only you," I raised my voice.


    ''Just because I didn''t come from a wealthy family that ruled over the first district didn''t mean I was lesser than him,'' my fingers curled into my palms.

 Chapter 649 - Sleepover (4)

    Imagine a small circle. You were inside that circle. A strong layer of glass, stronger than titanium, surrounded the outline of that circle. It towered as high as the sky, you simply couldn''t see an end to it. But you could see the other side, the glass was so clear you only knew it existed when you bumped into it.


    Now, you pound your hands against the glass. It was your only choice because you couldn''t escape the circle by jumping, and you couldn''t use any magic. You could only watch the other side, you felt like your heart was breaking, you were right there. You were so close, it was almost like you could reach out to them.


    However, you couldn''t do anything. You were struck inside that circle. You could only move inside that circle. You could yell out to them, hoping that they can hear your screams. But you knew best, the things you could do were limited. It was different from running to the other side to do something yourself.


    This crushing feeling, this sense of false hope. Wasn''t this the feeling of true helplessness?


    My nails left faint marks on my palms, waking me from the pain. I needed to be sane. Taking a few deep breaths, I held in my tears. It was up to me if I''ll let Luke humiliate me in front of my friends. So instead of dejectedly dragging myself back to the gaming area, I chose to hide my face by plastering a confident smile.


    ''Are you ok?'' Shelly mouthed.


    "I-I''m think?" I awkwardly swallowed.


    My heart wavered as Shelly opened her arms, one of my few friends who truly understood my feelings. I wanted to cry, I needed comforting. So I changed my mind and nodded to accept her offer, dashing to cry inside her arms.


    "I only wanted one day. It was too hard to give me a day compared to the other six days in the week," I found it unfair.


    "You can come to our next sleepover," she hugged me.


    "That schedule isn''t going to change for the rest of middle school. I won''t ever be allowed to go on another sleepover in my life!" I tragically knew.


    "Is it too hard to give Rika a day off?" Shelly turned to Luke.


    "Her skin is slightly pink since you used too much force in wiping her face," she lied.


    "Her cheeks are always slightly rosy," Alex instantly supported Luke.


    "It''s fine, Shelly. Luke has always hated Rika. Rika has always felt his hatred towards her since the beginning of kindergarten," I gave up on my sleepover.


    "I told you. I don''t hate you Rika. I have never hated you before," Luke placed his documents down again.


    "Well you don''t love me, or like me, the only thing left is indifference, dislike and hate," I chose the most likely one.


    "What made you think I hated you?" Luke gestured to come to him.


    "If you didn''t hate me, why would you always lecture me that I was lacking in something?" I couldn''t understand.


    "I wanted you to improve. You can''t get better unless you fix your mistakes so you can succeed next time," he revealed.


    "If you didn''t want to intentionally torture me by separating me from the people that I''m close to, what would be your purpose? You never let me visit my friends outside of school and social week anymore," I wondered.


    "You needed that time to catch up on everything you were behind on. There were also issues regarding the lack of security. You know there are more people after you with the information leak," he didn''t trust my friends.


    "What about those warm greetings you gave to Delia and Sienna every morning? You always frown when you see me or coldly look down on me," I crossed my arms.


    "See, you have nothing to say. It''s obvious you hate me, even strangers treat me better than you. They don''t shout at me all the time to pressure me into thinking I''m worthless," I continued when he stayed silent.


    I stiffened when he started to walk towards me. What did he want to do now? My eyes widened when he sat down on the sleeping bag, immediately pulling me away from Shelly. I froze from his unexpected actions, apologizing to me, "I don''t hate you Rika. It''s the opposite. I only treat you this way because I care about you."


    "I want you to know you''re irreplaceable to me. You''re not worthless," he began to ??r?ss my hair.


    "What book did you read to replicate this?" I tried to pull myself away.


    Only an idiot would think Luke was being genuine. He had an image to save, especially in front of my friends who came from influential families his family couldn''t ignore. Meaning, there would be a scandal if people figured out he was abusing his authority over his poor partner.


    "How do you have those thoughts in the first place? It''s obvious that Luke doesn''t hate you," Alex got up from his chair to join us.


    "It''s because both of you equally despise me," I wasn''t falling for their act.


    "In fact, you''re worse than Luke. It goes beyond the level of hate. You always wish I would die," I concluded from living with him.


    I nearly rolled my eyes as Alex''s eyes seemed to deepen with guilt, trying to prove otherside. It was laughable. It was common knowledge for those inside this clubroom that he either disliked or hated everyone here except for Luke. Even Shelly couldn''t disagree with me, knowing I was right. To improve my strained relationship with them, it was best to never see them again.


    "I don''t hate you, the most it''ll go is dislike," Alex sat down in front of me.


    "You don''t have to lie," I sighed.


    "Everyone already knows the truth. If I died, you would be the happiest person on my funeral day," I could imagine inside my head.


    "But I would be sad," Luke''s eyes glistened.


    "Your funeral would be the most miserable day of my life and I-we would do anything. Anything to prevent it," his shoulders slightly trembled.


    Was it just me, but was he using another spell without chanting? I was in awe of the light shifting to place the spotlight on the supposedly pitiful boy. I gave some bonus points on him trying to put more emphasis on his skinny frame and his young age. His voice wobbled, "we don''t."


    "Alex doesn''t hate you and I have never hated you. We don''t despise you." he wiped his eyes.


    Luke purposely blinked enough for his eyes to cry without looking suspicious. Instead of using his handkerchief, he used his sleeves to wipe his tears running down his cheeks. However, we both knew he probably had more than ten spare handkerchiefs in his inventory.


    "Are you satisfied now?" Alex nastily turned to me.


    "Why don''t you help your cousin then? You''re right next to him," I pointed out.


    There was no one who was better at looking incredibly wronged than I was. I had years of experience, I was a master at it. I scoffed at Alex pretending he didn''t hear me, suddenly busily opening and closing his hands.


    I sighed. It was obvious they were working together. I was starting to feel suffocated. I wanted Luke to let me go, to stop squeezing me so tight. My hands pushed against his ?h?st,


    "I''m a useful tool to you. Isn''t that the reason you''re tolerating me? You don''t have to hide it. You can stop with your act now."


    They only wanted me for my potential in possessing an unlimited amount of mana. It was the main reason their families wanted me to stay close to them, wanting to take advantage of my abilities later. In fact, I had never seen them so happy when they discovered Luke could have the same ability through me. And I couldn''t find a more loyal person to their family than Luke.


    "Don''t ever think you''re a tool. I have never thought of you that way and no one in our family ever will," Luke knew what I was implying.


    "Why not? It''s obvious. I told you it''s nothing new to me. I had these thoughts since kindergarten," I wondered if they thought I was stupid.


    "Rika knows you hated her since she came to the first district. She knows you''re good at acting," Shelly wasn''t affected by them.


    "She always waits for the day where your family will find another girl who has the potential for an unlimited amount of mana to take her position," she knew my despondent hopes.


    "Since when have you known?" Luke turned to her.


    "Near the end of our first year of kindergarten," Shelly puffed her ?h?st.


    "Was this what you were implying in elementary school? The day you''ll finally become free when your partner''s family finds someone to replace you?" Oili recalled.


    "She told me the same too," Ethan went through his memories.


    "I would help with the search if I had more spare time," I nodded.


    Only my recent friends didn''t know about my long-time thoughts. Unfortunately, my ability only appeared in someone once every five thousand years. Almost mystical to the point most people wouldn''t believe it would exist. It was comparably rare as my second chance card written in ancient documents that were mostly missing.. I had extremely bad luck to land in this time frame when I reincarnated into this world.

 Chapter 650 - Sleepover (5)

    "I can help you. We have the same goal," I turned to Alex.


    "You can get rid of me if I manage to find someone with the same ability," I offered my hand.


    "I told you that I don''t hate you," Alex mumbled, turning his head away.


    "Just drop the act. It''ll be faster to obtain our mutual objective this way," I tilted my head.


    "I can find you a nice obedient tool you always wanted," I tried to negotiate.


    "I''m sorry Rika. I''m really sorry," Luke''s voice shook.


    "You know you''re a part of my family. The Roselia family name is equally yours as it is mine," he hugged me tighter.


    I was starting to get annoyed as my gaming time was quickly shrinking. How else would I stay sane while going through those new hell-like schedules? They claimed they didn''t see me as a tool, but it was exactly how they treated me and wanted me to become. A tool never had any freedom of their own, they were always controlled by their owners. His family always emphasized this fact, equally cold in trying to take away everything from me.


    I tried to convince Alex again, "tell your cousin to let go of me."


    "I don''t care if you reject my offer, but this is the only free time I have in the horrible schedule you two planned for me," my feet pushed against the floor to free myself.


    Ugh! I swore someone polished the floors today, I told them to just clean the mats. Now, my feet were sliding off the ground like ice. Meanwhile, Luke''s grip was getting tighter and tighter, nearly starting to become deadly. I ?r??n?d and stared at the ceiling, "I''ll never believe you guys anyways. Don''t you think hate goes both ways?"


    "How can you not tell our family genuinely loves you? Our entire family cares about you more than you think," Alex started to resemble Luke.


    "Your entire family loves me for my potential for possessing an unlimited amount of mana. I''m not stupid," I hung my head.


    "Part of the reason you keep me confined is to keep this ability among yourselves. The horrible reason why you''re not letting me go on that sleepover," I rolled my eyes, knowing I was needed while they trained to increase their mana potential.


    "No one would sacrifice their lives for you using that petty reason. Do you know how our grandparents dangerously pushed themselves to keep you alive before? Luke would never try to exchange his life for yours if he didn''t love you. I would never put myself in danger to keep you safe if not for the same reason," Alex seemed hurt.


    "I think they''re right. Everyone puts their own life first," Oili listened to them.


    "It may be a misunderstanding on your end," Cillian agreed.


    "I''ve lived more than ten years with them, and I''ve never felt a single speck of love. It''s not a misunderstanding, they don''t know since their family is cold in general," I tried to point out.


    "Do you know how calculating they are? They managed to scam s-class monsters!" I recalled how we obtained the tower.


    "You''re the least person we''re calculating towards. If it is, everything is done for your sake," Alex felt wronged.


    "Do you know how much uncle and aunt watches over you so they could provide you with the best future?" his face was plastered with his raw emotions.


    "We can visit our parents this weekend. I''ll also send a message to our grandparents. We don''t hate you Rika," Luke continued to deny.


    "I think you should apologize to them Rika," Oili interrupted us, oddly on their side.


    "They don''t even give me the basic freedom to go to a sleepover," I shook my head.


    "I can adjust our schedule. We can use the time-space rooms during the weekend for the usual lessons," Luke suddenly placed his hands on my shoulders.


    "Would you mind if you let Rika host the sleepover in one of my mansions?" He turned to my friends.


    "I don''t mind," Delia appeared a little guilty.


    "We can adjust our plans," Sienna nodded.


    "Is it the same day?" Shelly wondered.


    "I can make it the same day," Luke agreed.


    "..."


    He did realize none of this would''ve happened if he suggested that from the start, right? Or was he working on his acting skills? I shrugged, I didn''t know what Luke was thinking this time.


    However, I preferred it this way, getting a chance to be out of his control. It also made sense since nothing was truly mine, everything belonged to the Roselia family.


    "Can you forgive me Rika?" Luke faced me.


    I would never be able to forgive him as long as I lived. But I knew I would be one painted in a bad light if I didn''t apologize. Unfortunately, Luke''s acting could win many awards in any world and there was no way he and Alex didn''t hate me. However, my own acting skills had tremendously improved from living with him. I subtly nodded, tears welling my eyes, "I can. I''m sorry I didn''t know. I always thought you hated me."


    "You''ll never find another partner like him. It''s extremely rare," Ethan mumbled.


    "It''s pretty hard," Oili agreed.


    "That''s why I told you her thoughts were ridiculous in the first place," Alex tried to point out.


    "They didn''t form for no reason," Shelly knew my true thoughts.


    "I don''t know what to believe anymore," Delia murmured.


    "This is really genuine," Cillian believed.


    Wait. Luke mentioned something about visiting his parents and grandparents this weekend, the people I wanted to avoid if I could.. Ugh! I had to convince them that I didn''t believe they hated me or else I could be sent to suffer under the strict tutors. Huk! Was this his real plan this time?