“We can go over it tomorrow. We have the day off, so we’re free to take commissions that last the entire day,” Rein said as he leaned back on his arms, resting his back from sitting forward. “There’s still quite a bit of food left, but I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve kinda lost my appetite,” he stretched his neck, the rest of the group looking down in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s getting late anyways. And it looks like Lance and Elaine never showed up too,” Core remarked as he stood up and stretched.

Everyone else followed in his actions, standing up and spreading their limbs from the delicious meal they had.

“Hey! You guys are just gonna leave without finishing? What’s wrong with you?” Lillia complained.

“We weren’t gonna finish it anyways,” Rein stated as he rubbed his head. “Just put the rest in your fridge or something, I’m sure Sho could heat it up whenever he wanted,” he suggested while walking towards the door, yawning on his way out.

Everyone followed him on his way out, eventually leaving Sho and Lilla alone in the house. Sho heaved a sigh of relief as he flopped backwards onto the floor.

“What should we do with all this food?” He queried, glancing over at Lillia.

“Dunno, figure something out,” she coldly replied, standing up from her seat and heading up the stairs.

“Hey. I’ve been thinking, but we kinda just forced you to come with us that day,” he sat up to look at her as she stopped halfway up the stairs to look back at him. “Is there anything you want to do for yourself? Any goals?”

“I don’t really care about that stuff. As long as I can live comfortably that’s all I need.”

“You know this won’t last forever, right? With no education, what are you going to do after I return to Econica?”

“I’ll just marry a successful man and live with him instead. Now does that answer your question?” She said swiftly, wanting to end the conversation as she continued up the stairs, not waiting for Sho’s response.

Sho had a pitied expression to him as he continued staring at the stairs, feeling slightly bad for the girl, not knowing what it felt like to not have a goal in his heart.

*****************************************************************************************

Back at the dorm, Rein and the 3 other girls finally returned to their rooms, Emria and Saphrilla immediately heading for their bedroom, without even getting changed.

Their eyes on the way to the room were waning in, opening and shutting, their eyelids feeling heavy with their tired bodies. They both flopped down on their beds and instantly went to sleep, Rein closing the door on them, then seeing Chloe head to her own bedroom to check out for the night, her mind in pieces at the news she’d just heard.

“Good night Rein, I’ll see you in the morning,” she waved as she set foot on the threshold to her room.

“Hold up,” Rein set a hand on her shoulder, turning her around and stopping her from entering. “We need to talk. Can I come in for a bit? I promise it won’t take long,” he asked in a serious tone, Chloe furrowing her eyebrows, nodding as they entered the room and closed the door.

Rein walked over to Chloe’s bed and sat down, springing up from the bouncy mattress. Chloe sat down by his side, making him feel the springy mattress bounce up slightly after the lighter girl sat down after him.

“So, I lied to you. I don’t have anything to ask,” he revealed, making Chloe raise an eyebrow, then blush frantically, reading too far into what Rein said.

“H-hey, wait. I don’t think this is a good time to be doing this kind of thing…” She said, flustered as she stared at Rein’s white hair, which shone off the moonlight that invaded the room, his yellow eyes glimmering like stars in the night sky.

“No, it’s nothing like that,” Rein continued with his stern, serious expression. “I don’t have anything to ask you, but you have something to ask me, don’t you?”

“Huh?” She tilted her head in confusion, Rein setting his hand on hers, which was on the bed, holding it tightly as he spoke to her.

“After we left Hakah, you started looking very giddy, and for the past 3 weeks, I’ve felt that you’ve been keeping something pent up,” he stared deeply into her soul. “So, out with it. What’s got you so afraid?” He placed his other hand on her cheek as she suddenly began trembling, lifting her hand to her cheek as she held his hand tightly.

“That man that appeared. I think you called him Luther… He’s the man…” As she continued with her story, her uncontrollable shivering grew exponentially, to the point where she stopped talking, choking on her own words as the trauma replayed through her head.

Rein pulled her in closer and put her face to his chest, covering her in a feeling of security, calming her nerves to help her speak.

“It’s fine. Calm down,” he consoled as he brushed her smooth, silky blonde hair. “I’m here now, so there’s nothing to worry about,” he reassured, her agitated state tranquilizing as she took a deep breath, her small hands resting on his chest.

“He’s the one who killed mother… I’m sure of it…” She finally revealed, Rein’s eyes widening in shock, which Chloe couldn’t see as she had her face buried into his chest.

However, he didn’t let the surprise linger for too long so that his heart wouldn’t start beating faster. He did this so that Chloe wouldn’t feel his own insecurity when it came to Luther, and thus feel more at ease.

“I see. So he’s the one then?” He said with a voice of confidence, continuing to exude an unphased aura, to make Chloe feel that she could rely on him.

“Did you know him before..? How did you already know his name?” Chloe’s shivering gradually restarted, her voice becoming frigid, almost as if she’d just finished crying.

Rein now rubbed her back softly to calm her down.