"I was only ever interested in one, but after finding out he was a jerk, I cut all ties with him."

Alicia went on to theorize that it was perhaps due to the senior's bruised ego that he went on to spread rumors about her.

Thankfully, Alicia's reputation was strong enough for people to simply interpret it as her simply dating a lot of seniors.

Nothing more, nothing less.

"Oh, wow. I never expected it to be like that…" Rey's voice trailed as he looked at Alicia, who was simply shrugging casually.

"A lot of things aren't as they appear. If we listen to everyone's opinions and don't take time to form our own, we'll just end up drowning in misinformation."

Rey felt like those were wise words that Alicia just said, but he didn't know how to phrase it without sounding cringe.

"That sounds like a smart thing to say." He finally settled on the most neutral way to put it.

"I know, right?"

Alicia went on to flail her long hair as she used her hand to push it backward.

She did this as she chuckled jokingly, trying to act like a wise diva.

"Pfft!"

"Hahahaha!"

Before the two of them realized it, they were both laughing.

"Nice one… haha!"

"Thank you, good sir." Alicia made a mock bow, and that only served to crack Rey up even more.

This girl was seriously funny.

'Damn! I never would have thought Alicia would have this side to her!'

Rey thanked his lucky stars that he actually decided to start the conversation.

'So this is what I've been missing out on!'

As they both laughed even more, Alicia suddenly raised a topic that he wasn't expecting.

"Have you ever dated anyone, Rey? Or do you have someone you like?"

The moment Rey heard this, his heart nearly stopped.

A simple "No" would have sufficed, but for some reason, he couldn't mouth the words.

It felt like his lips were stuck in place.

"I… well I…"

Alicia's inviting smile told him it was okay to say his mind, but Rey didn't know if it was a good idea.

'I can't back out now, though. Alicia answered all my questions and she was free with me.'

It would be very uncool if he wasn't the same.

'B-but how am I supposed to say it?!'

How was he supposed to tell the girl right next to him that he was developing feelings for her?

'You just have to! She's not some monster or anything, Rey! She's an actual person, like you!'

As Rey told himself this, he remembered how comfortable he felt when talking to actual Monsters.

That thought alone gave him courage.

Enough to open his lips and finally utter the words he had kept buried in his heart all night.

"W-well, the thing is… I like y—"

~BOOOOOOOOMMMM!!!~

A sudden explosion caused Rey's room, and everything within it, to tremble.

Rey and Alicia felt themselves jump slightly as the bed rocked upward for a split second.

"W-what was that?!" Alicia was the first to speak, while Rey struggled to understand what had just happened.

'An explosion of this scale… it must have come from inside the living quarters.'

Was it a fight? Some accidental use of a Skill? As Rey ran through many simulations in his head, he cast his gaze on Alicia's worried face to make sure she was fine.

Thankfully, she was.

'What the hell is going on, though?'

Before Rey could mentally answer this question, a sharp knock interrupted his thought process.

"W-who's that?"

The loud banging startled Rey, but he didn't let most of his apprehension show.

His [Danger Sense] was somewhat on the fritz as it went on and off.

"It's Billy. Something's happened in Adonis' room, and I was told to make sure everyone was safe."

'Adonis' room? Safe? What happened?!'

Rey knew the explosion had just sounded, yet Billy was already rushing to his door.

There was no way it was merely to make sure Rey was safe—

especially given the enmity they had.

'He's here for Alicia. That means he already knew she was here. How long has he been standing in front of my room?'

Rey didn't even have the chance to consider such creepy behavior as he and Alicia jumped from the bed and rushed to the door.

'I'm more curious about what happened in Adonis' room.'

He glanced at Alicia and the look on her face confirmed that she also felt the same.

'Maybe… she still has feelings for him…'

Rey shrugged off the thought as he opened the door, meeting Billy's imposing frame waiting for them at the entrance.

"Out of my way." Rey shoved him aside, and just like a ragdoll, Billy found himself tossed to the ground.

His shocked face and his collapsing form was visible to no one, as even the rest of the students were all gathered around Adonis' room, or were on their way there.

The loud explosion had woken everyone up, and with the room door opened—with smoke emanating from it—it was hard not to get drawn to Adonis' haven.

Rey and Alicia also found themselves among the crowd of students who rushed to the room's entrance.

However, the moment they did so, they found the boy himself stepped out of the thick smoke and unfurling energy.

'A-Adonis…?' Rey found himself thinking as he observed the particularly hardened expression the Hero wore on his face.

Even as he held a blade that could only be described as indescribably gorgeous and powerful.

Golden lightning and energy shrouded his body, and he had the appearance of a deity.

However, despite this impressive display, none of the students were focused on any of Adonis' extremely captivating features.

Their eyes were locked onto the 'thing' that Adonis held in his left hand.

… The severed head of one of their classmates.

'Isn't that… Adam?' Rey found himself as stunned as he was confused.

Why was Adonis holding the head of Adam on his hand, yet he was looking as unfazed as anyone possibly could be.

"M-my god…!"

Alicia hid her face in Rey's chest, hiding herself from the grotesque sight of a corpse.

It was probably her first time seeing anything that gory, so Rey didn't withhold his hand from embracing her.

Even though he could feel the murderous gaze of his former best friend on him, Rey completely ignored it.

It was disgusting to see that Billy was more concerned with the fact that Alicia was hugging him than the fact that she was trembling in pure fear.

'I'm sorry, Alicia. That you have to see something like this…'

Rey shielded her from the horrid sight before him, but he could not stop his own expression of sheer surprise.

… Of pure horror.

'Why would he—why would Adonis do this?'

Well, the answer existed in the events that occurred not too long before the explosion sounded.

Not that anyone but the now deceased Adam could ever know the hidden truth.

Right now, along with the numerous questions that were being asked by everyone who watched Adonis, one seemed to echo the loudest.

… Why would their Hero kill a comrade?!

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Thanks for reading!

A surprising twist, don't you think? Well… all shall be revealed in due time.