Chapter 65: The Night Isn’t Over Yet—Sleepless Tonight

1:10 a.m.

Siloque finally returned to his room at home.

He took off his coat and collapsed onto the bed.

Kersey had Cass send her back to the Café.

She lived in a small attic on the third floor of the shop.

Siloque swiped open the Ring Chart screen and sent Cass a message–

-byd, why did you tell Kersey I’m a girl?-

-I thought it would better hide your identity. If you don’t like it, you can just be honest.

I had my reasons for not revealing your identity to Kersey.-

-Siloque, you used to do this too. I noticed, when dealing with girls, you either walk away or distance yourself. Is there something going on? I can help you.-

Cass sounded like he wanted to help Siloque fix his relationships with people around him.

“Ugh…”

Siloque replied with a random emoji to brush him off.

As expected, Cass saw right through him.

Well, after two weeks together, it’d be weirder if Cass hadn’t noticed.

Come to think of it, he really is a good person.

Most people wouldn’t enjoy dragging a third wheel around to chat with girls.

Siloque took off the Ring Chart and tossed it aside, too lazy to keep talking with Cass.

Either way, he felt pretty good right now.

He stared at the ceiling, thinking about everything that had happened.

Norius, who used to bare his fangs at him in class, now ran away like a dog, not even daring to meet his eyes.

At the thought, Siloque couldn’t help but make a victory sign.

Norius was out.

The only tricky one left was Cliff.

But now, Cass’s strength was nothing like before, so defeating Cliff in the arena with style shouldn’t be too hard.

Okay, to be honest, there was still the ticking time bomb called Myut.

She’d seen his face and might take some action.

But Siloque figured there’d be a way to handle it.

The tough start wasn’t so tough anymore.

Siloque clenched his fist experimentally.

Still fair and delicate, with faint pink capillaries visible, yet he could feel the power inside.

Tomorrow’s training with Bried might really surprise her.

He’d come this far without even realizing it.

There were still a lot of unstable factors, and the journey so far had been exhausting, but at least some of the weight in his heart was gone.

Knock, knock.

A cautious knock came from the door.

Who could it be at this hour?

It couldn’t be Myut, and with his parents asleep, that only left—

Siloque dragged his lazy body to open the door.

A rush of lemony cream fragrance hit him.

A girl with golden hair appeared before him.

Hill let her light gold hair fall freely, giving her a more mature air than before.

She wore a drooping camisole and hot pants, her delicate limbs tinged with cherry pink, her moist eyes gazing at Siloque, hands clasped behind her back.

“Is there something you need this late? Also, you’re wearing too little. Put on a jacket.”

Hill parted her lips lightly and spoke her purpose:

“Big brother, today is a special day. Will you stay with Hill tonight?”

“Special? Oh, that. You got the Seeker’s Qualification Certificate. Congrats.”

Hill shook her head.

“It’s something else. There’s a hint in the photo Hill sent you.”

“Sorry, let’s talk tomorrow. Too much happened today. I just want to sleep.”

He’d planned to take a shower, but after a moment’s thought, decided to wait until morning.

Siloque apologized with a wry smile and closed the door.

***

On the other side, inside the Moonlight Bridge Cafe.

Cass had brought Kersey back, and while at it, helped tidy up the mess from her escape.

“Cass, that sword on your back—is it a new straight sword? Why not store it in your Ring Chart?”

“I’ll have a special case made for it tomorrow. It’s not good for others to see this sword.”

Because the sword was alive—the Wraithblade, Hertanid, needed to breathe.

A god worshipped by others was now being carried on his back.

Realizing this, Cass belatedly wondered if he and Siloque had done something outrageous.

“I see. So you really like this sword.”

No way! Siloque forced me to use it. I like plain swords, too.

“By the way, Cass, the teacher you mentioned… Even though she’s also a girl, she has a very different presence.”

“Ah, well, she’s been through a lot.”

Divorced parents, father passed away early.

Even so, Siloque had lived cheerfully and optimistically.

Cass could somewhat understand that feeling.

His own brother still hadn’t woken up, but at least there was a glimmer of hope.

Siloque, though, would never speak again.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t responded to the message Cass sent either.

Looks like he’d need more time to heal his heart…

“And she doesn’t seem to talk much?”

“A few days ago, she got swallowed by a Slime and hurt her throat. Her voice has been uncomfortable since.”

Cass was starting to get the hang of lying, giving just enough detail and then blurring the key points.

“Pfft…”

Maybe picturing it, Kersey let out a soft laugh.

“Right, I almost forgot. What’s your teacher’s name?”

“Uh… Wolf. You can just call her Wolf.”

“Wolf? Like the animal? Sounds like a boy’s name.”

“…Well, some girls have cool names too. Hahaha.”

Cass laughed awkwardly, gathering up the scattered papers on the floor.

“Kersey, you seem really interested in her?”

“Uh, well… maybe a little…”

Kersey lowered her head as if hiding something, organizing the shelves so her expression couldn’t be seen.

Weird.

Cass’s hands moved faster, a bit of irritation rising inside.

The feeling passed quickly.

It was a little uncomfortable, but Cass didn’t mind.

Really.

Kersey went to straighten a crooked chair, then paused, as if with another meaning, suddenly spoke:

“That Wolf teacher… She gives a sense of security, but I also feel like she’s a bit dangerous.”

“Eh? Why do you say that?”

“Maybe because of past experiences. I tend to be pessimistic about things… It’s a bad habit, just forget it, Cass. I was just talking nonsense.”

Kersey smiled awkwardly.

“Dangerous.”

Should he say Kersey had a keen eye?

Thinking back on his time with Siloque these days, Cass couldn’t exactly deny it.

Lastly, the cut phone line was beyond Cass’s area of expertise.

Checking the time, it was already 1:20.

After tidying up, Kersey and Cass parted at the Café’s main entrance.

“See you at school, Cass. Good night.”

“A lot happened tonight. You should get some rest too.”

“I’m fine.”

Kersey smiled shyly as usual.

“Compared to before, things are much better now.”

***

When Cassia got home, it was already 1:46 a.m.

She still took a shower.

When she came out, drying her body with a soft towel, her gaze naturally shifted to the dressing room next to the bathroom on her left.

The girl walked into the dressing room and slid open the door.

The Wraithblade, wrapped in a sword bag, leaned against the wall.

Siloque hadn’t said what to do with it, only smirked and warned her to get along and not treat “her” too roughly.

“Her”?

According to Siloque, the sword was female.

Either way, Cassia couldn’t see how this lump of internal organs looked anything like a girl.

After confirming the sword’s eyes were closed with no reaction, Cassia closed the door and walked barefoot to the wardrobe.

Before she could reach out, the door slid open to both sides on its own.

She picked up the hairdryer hanging on the wall to dry her hair, then quickly grabbed a comb to smooth her shoulder-length hair.

From the closet, she put on an oversized black T-shirt and a pair of white underwear.

Two simple garments, and she was ready for bed.

The girl sat on the bed, picking up a photo frame from the bedside cabinet.

She gently stroked the photo, looking embarrassed.

Then she hugged the picture, pulled up the quilt, and stretched out on the big, soft bed.

“Every time I go out with Siloque, my body gets especially tired.”

Kersey’s words lingered in her mind.

Cassia sensed that Kersey also had one or two secrets.

If the other person didn’t want to talk about them, then she’d just keep things as they’d always been.

As she thought, her relaxed body became heavier—a sense of exhaustion, wanting to rest.

Her left hand touched the photo frame.

She’d meant to reward herself, but had to give up for now.

With her eyes half closed, she accidentally caught sight of a strange, pale pink presence.

What happened next snapped her fully awake.

A large mass of pink flesh was spreading from the cracks and gaps of the dressing room door, crawling along the wall, swelling and growing—