"What a pain," I mumbled as I looked at Grace, who had already conjured a water spike, aiming it at Fatima.
"I dare you, say that again," Grace said, glaring at Fatima.
"What?" Fatima replied, her smile never fading. "Are you going to attack me just because I said the truth?"
"Wait! Wait!" I interjected, arriving between them, knowing things would go out of hand if I let them be.
"Move," Grace said, now aiming the spike at me.
"Calm down, Grace. We have work to do, remember?" I replied.
She looked at me for a while, but eventually she sighed and launched the spike into the air.
"Let's go," she said, turning back towards the next club.
"Aww, thank you for protecting me, Eden," Fatima said, trying to grab my hand.
"I wasn't protecting you, idiot," I replied, moving back from her.
"Why are you even with her, Emily?" I asked the gray-haired girl, who was quietly observing the drama from the side.
"Why can't she be with me?" Fatima replied to my question, pouting a little.
I ignored her as I waited for Emily to reply.
"She is my only friend, so," Emily replied, her voice a little softer.
"Whatever, just don't let her corrupt you," I said before following Grace.
"What do you mean by that?" I again ignored Fatima's question.
"....."
"....."
"Okay, why are you guys following us?" I asked, looking back, as both Emily and Fatima were still following behind us.
"What do you mean? We are going in the same direction," Fatima replied, shrugging her shoulders.
"Where are we even going?"
.......
.......
"Harmony Velvet Club," I mumbled, reading the name on the signboard hanging in front of a classroom.
Around the room, groups of girls were going in and out, laughing and smiling.
"What the heck is that?" I asked Grace, who was beside me.
"All-ladies club," she replied without looking at me.
"It's pretty famous among both commoners and noble girls," Fatima commented as she, along with Emily, stood right behind me.
"Are you two here to join the club?" I asked, looking at them.
"Yeah, it's an open club, so you don't need to show any talent to join, and almost all the first-year girls join the club every year," Fatima replied, and I nodded at her words.
"Let's go, then," I said as I moved towards the door.
"What?" I asked, looking back as all three of them just stood there and looked at me strangely.
"You did listen to what I said, right?" Fatima asked.
"Yeah."
"Then why are you coming with us?" she said.
"I can't go in?" I asked, moving away from the door to not block the way for others.
"No, you can, but don't do anything weird," Grace said as she entered the room, followed by Fatima and Emily.
"What will I do?" I muttered, following them inside.
As soon as I came inside the room, my eyes immediately wandered around.
The place was filled with girls, with some sitting at the tables chatting over tea, while others were having their hairstyles done on the side.
But they all immediately stopped as their eyes landed on me—the only boy in the room.
'I should have just stayed outside,' I grumbled in my thoughts as I looked at Grace.
She wasn't even focusing on me; her mind was on her work as she moved around the place, evaluating the club while noting down its positives and negatives.
"You want... pfff... to look around, Eden?" Fatima asked me, trying to hide her laughter as she observed my awkward situation.
"No, I'm good," I replied.
"Eden Morton, I would appreciate it if you could just go outside of the club room." A resonated throughout the club room, and I immediately knew who she was.
That bitch is a pain in the ass, and I would rather not talk to her.
"I am going outside, Grace," I said, without looking in the direction of the voice.
"Wait five minutes; I will be done by then." She replied as she moved deeper inside the room.
Nodding I turned back and walked outside the club room, then closed my eyes, leaning against the wall.
'The heck am I even doing in this place?' I sighed as that thought came to my mind.
The only reason I'm here in this academy is that I can't trust the fate and destiny crap.
I don't want any loose ends in my life because of it.
'What is my purpose for coming to this world?'
I have kept repeating this thought since I arrived in this world.
Why am I even in this world?
What is the reason some cosmic entity or god brought me here?
What is the thing they themselves can't do?
Even after all the planning I've done in the last two years, I can't shake off the feeling of dread.
Every time I try to hold onto the things around me, I feel like things will go out of hand eventually.
And with the affinity for time and space I have, I don't feel good about that either.
[All you're doing is denying the possibilities, Eden.]
'How many fucking times have I told you, Edda, stop reading my mind!'
[Deny all you want, but you will have to face it eventually.]
'I know that! I am not denying anything; all I am doing is thinking logically. All that shit looks good in theory, that's all.'
[You have less than a year left before your body fully assimilates with your time affinity.]
'Is that a fucking warning?'
[.....]
Yeah...
Go fucking silent again, like you always do.
Useless system...
"Eden!" I opened my eyes as I felt someone sitting on my head while happily calling my name.
"Ivy?" I mumbled as I extended my hand to pat her head.
I looked around and found Aeloria walking towards me.
"Let's go inside, Ivy," she said, looking at her spirit while ignoring me.
"Two minutes," Ivy mumbled as she lay flat on my head.
"How have you been, dumb girl?" I said, smiling at her.
She observed me for a while before she said, "I heard about your relationship with Grace from Angelina."
"And?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.
"Are you perhaps deliberately trying to get close to Grace just to make Angelina jealous?" she asked, squinting her eyes.
"Are you delusional or something?" I frowned at her words. "Why would I do that?"
"Wait! Did the Princess say this?" I asked as I thought about her words.
"No, I just thought about it," she replied, shaking her head.
"You're thinking too much," I said, shrugging my shoulders.
"We have a date, remember?" she asked as she took Ivy from my head, though I had to bend a little for her to reach my head.
"No! Eden!" Ivy shouted as she tried to reach me, but I just ignored her.
She shouldn't have sat on my head.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Hmm," she hummed as she moved inside the club room without giving an answer.
"Why ask when you're not specific about when?" I mumbled as I waited for Grace.
Now that I think about it, I need to check on her as well.
She is a reincarnated person like me, so if anything, I need to keep tabs on her situation. I don't want to be caught off guard because I wasn't alert enough.
During the next event, I should be able to get to know more about their personalities and see if things will still go as they did in the game.
After waiting for a while, the door clicked open, and Grace came out.
"Let's go to the next one."
"Yeah."
.......
.......
"It's been a long fucking day." I mumbled as I moved through the corridor of the domintory of the first-year building.
The sun hung low in the sky as I arrived at the room that was in the corner of the corridor.
With what happened last night, I would want to keep my distance from Sarah for a while, at least until I understood what she wanted with me.
[You already know what she wants.]
'Shut up!'
The door clicked open as I moved inside the room.
The moment I stepped inside the room, I felt the mana around me tremble, and an eerie atmosphere surrounded my entire being.
My senses screamed of danger, and out of instinct, I summoned a sword from my inventory while conjuring a flame Lancer in my other hand.
'A fucking domain?' I thought as I felt the mana within the place not working at my will, while slowly but surely my flames started to fade away.
'How couldn't I sense him before?'
I thought as I looked at the person in front of me, the mere thought that someone could come this close to me without me noticing was enough to make me shiver.
He slowly opened his eyes as they observed me without any emotions.
"It's been a while, Eden."