'Smells nice…'

That was the first thought Rey had when he entered the room.

Esme's room—or perhaps all girl rooms—had a certain ambiance that his room could never compare to; no matter how tidy he was.

He began to feel embarrassed for all the times Alicia stayed in his room.

'Did it smell inside? Was it too untidy?' Rey was panicking within.

Thankfully, the scent of flowers, and the relaxing atmosphere around him, caused his anxiety to mellow out a little.

Her room was pure white, with layers of blue and bright velvet splattered about.

The carpet was blue, with white strewn all around, and the painting consisted mostly of white, with velvet curtains, alongside murals that were both colors.

Rey could go on and on, but the sight around him was fascinating.

'Is it because this is the KariBlanc Group, or because she's a girl?'

Rey knew the most logical position to have was the former, but his bias tempted him to pick the latter option.

"Over here, Rey." Once again, as she called him by his name, he felt a little stirring within him.

Rey always put himself in the "Ralyks" zone when coming to these parts, so it was always strange for her to disrupt the flow.

He turned in the direction that she called him to, and lo and behold… it was her bed.

"Sit." She patted the space beside her as she sat on the big and luxurious bed.

'Ahh…' Rey didn't know how to describe the bed.

It was large and luxurious, sure, but it also had those curtains or veils that he often saw in dramas back on Earth.

They were capable of covering the three exposed sides of the bed with ultra-thin linen that allowed only the shadow of the one sleeping to be seen.

'I sense Mana from them, so it's Enchanted.' Rey realized it was probably a defensive measure taken by the KariBlanc Group to protect Esme in her sleep.

Plus, since the curtains were all drawn to one side, Rey could clearly see Esme and sit beside her comfortably.

He walked towards her bed, feeling the lovely aroma of the room get even stronger as he approached.

"You really should call me Ralyks. That's what everyone calls me here." Rey muttered as he sat where she told him to.

"Really? Why?"

"Because I'm hiding my real name from them." He responded, almost as if stating the obvious.

"No, I mean… why should I call you that? We're all alone now, right?"

As she emphasized that fact, Rey felt something hot on both sides of his cheeks.

He ignored the sensation, though.

"Yeah, but…"

"I don't speak when you're not around. And the only reason I'm talking is because you assured me that no one would be listening in to our conversation. I believed your words, so were you lying to me?"

"No! No! I wasn't lying!" Rey swiftly raised both hands and waved them.

He was caught under Esme's scrutinizing gaze, and before he knew it, he completely broke out of his 'Ralyks' character.

He just couldn't maintain that identity with Esme. She knew too much.

Ultimately, he was always going to be Rey.

"Then it's fine, don't you think?"

"H-huh?"

"It's fine for me to call you Rey. You can call me Esme too, so it's fair."

Rey didn't know what to tell the girl in front of him. There were many reasons he wanted to keep his identity a secret and keep pretending to be a badass Dark Adventurer.

But he couldn't think of any that applied to her.

After several moments of silence—when he couldn't take the tension and awkwardness any longer—Rey collapsed on her bed and gave a heavy sigh.

"Fine! Whatever! I guess we'll just address each other normally then." He yelled out.

He couldn't believe what he was doing…

"Whoah! This bed is unbelievably soft!"

Why was he showing such an uncool side of himself to this girl?

"Smells nice too!"

It almost felt like he didn't care any longer.

Why?!

"Ufufufu…" Her giggles reached his ears, and he saw her smiling so pleasantly at him as he said those things.

Somehow, he didn't feel embarrassed.

Rather, it felt liberating—like she was encouraging him to be more like himself.

His true self.

"It feels better, doesn't it? Being honest with someone and speaking your mind." As her soft voice radiated throughout the room, Rey couldn't help but agree.

She fell on her bed too, her two hands on her stomach as she looked at the ceiling of the bed.

"I wish more people were like this, you know?"

As Rey, who was right beside her, looked at her warm smile, he found himself smiling as well.

'She's really honest, huh?'

After a few seconds of silence, with both of them just enjoying each other's presence, Esme broke the silence again.

"You know I'm a Half-Elf, right?"

A moment later, Rey responded.

"Yeah." He noticed her smile deepened as he said this. "How did you know?"

"Who knows? I just made a guess."

Rey jumped back to his seated posture and protested instantly.

"No way! So you just guessed that?"

As soon as he said this, Esme giggled some more. It felt like, despite the mask, she could see his expression quite well.

"I mean, you didn't react to me telling you my name, so I figured you already knew about it. And if you know my name, there's a good chance you also know my Race."

An "Ohhhh" leaked out of Rey the moment she analyzed the reason behind her guess.

"I was going to tell you anyway, so it doesn't really matter. I've never met an Elf before, so it hasn't been an essential part of my life before."

The only way her Elven identity affected her was in relation to Stats.

A slightly sad smile played on her face at that moment.

"Sometimes… I want to see one. An Elf. Maybe it's just wishful thinking, but… I don't know."

Every word that flowed out of her lips were genuine, and her eyes, previously distracted by the ceiling above, finally settled on Rey.

She looked at him with her honest blue eyes, as if boring deep into his soul.

"What about you? Do you desire something that you think is wishful thinking?"

When Rey was asked this question, he didn't know why the first thing—or rather, person—he thought of was Alicia.

He wanted to show her his strength. He didn't want to seem pathetic before her. He also wanted her to like and respect him.

But…

'I don't want to take that chance.'

With Esme, he really had nothing to lose by acting in his 'Rey' persona.

But for Alicia…

'I've killed over a hundred people already. I've dealt with people who have employed slaves—the same thing she was nearly a victim of.'

And the worst part was… Rey didn't think he was going to stop.

Of course, Rey didn't think he would ever stoop to the very low level of the criminals he associated with or eliminated.

Still… he couldn't help but worry about her perspective.

'I guess… I'm scared.'

That was the honest truth.

*

*

*

Thanks for reading!

Even I am disappointed in the MC at this point; for his behavior around Esme.

He's supposed to be edgy at all times.