Within the inner sanctum of the Royal Library, two students were making a bit of noise.

"Rey, stop!"

"Why? You like it, don't you?"

Their voices and pleasant sounds echoed within the vast world of books and knowledge.

The Library was meant to be a world of silence and discipline, but the sounds that these two teenagers were making wasn't at all akin to that.

There was no prestige in their words; no hush accompanying their tone.

They laughed and giggled—forbidden activities within the four walls of the sacred hall.

The only reason they got away with it was because no one else was present in the Library.

It was just them.

"Stop! I'm serious, Rey!" Alicia's face was beet red as her body trembled.

She swiftly covered her flushed face with her hands, but that only caused amusement for the boy who was next to her.

"You're saying that, but you don't really mean it, Alicia…" He made a wide grin as he advanced closer.

A somewhat sadistic smile played on his face as he playfully spoke.

"Your body is honest, Alicia. You can't deny it!"

Indeed! Despite telling Rey to stop, the girl couldn't deny that she was enjoying every fraction of this moment.

After all…

"Rey, please transform back!"

… Rey was currently partially transformed as a rabbit—thanks to his special ability.

"Pfft! It's too… it's too funny! Hahahaha!"

His two legs were entirely similar to that of her Familiar, and they looked incredibly weird being attached to his human torso.

His hands were also human, so one could only imagine how odd he looked with such a strange appearance.

Ah, yes… he also had bunny ears.

"Hehehe! I bet Snow thinks of me as one of her own." Rey turned to the white rabbit who sat on Alicia's desk.

The Familiar looked at Rey for only a few seconds before snickering in its rabbit sound.

It rolled over and laughed to its heart content, most likely making fun of Rey in its animal language.

"I guess even your rabbit thinks I'm a joke." Rey chuckled as he hopped forward with his rabbit legs.

Of course, he fell flat on the ground thanks to having no proper balance.

"O-ow…."

"Pfft! Kwiiii… kuwiiii!" The rabbit laughed even more, uttering some unintelligible words.

"Hey, Snow! Be nice!" Alicia said to the rabbit in disapproval, quickly turning to Rey and sighing.

"I warned you, Rey! Serves you right for hitting your face on the ground."

Even though Alica folded her arms and closed her eyes as she uttered those words, there was no denying that she really cared.

The red hues on her cheeks, and the fact that she slyly opened her eyes and looked at him in concern just a second later, proved how much she cared.

"Are you… fine, though?" She eventually had no choice but to murmur.

Rey slowly rose to his feet—human feet now, since he already changed them back upon his unexpected impact—and nodded his head.

"Yep! Just a bit sore on my head…" He stretched his body as he rose upright.

"This guy… well, I guess that's what you get for making me laugh too hard."

Alicia flailed her hair and looked away from him, once again acting all disinterested.

"Well, I aim to please." Rey bowed curtly, a mischievous grin appearing on his face.

Both of them found themselves laughing not long after.

"Kwii…?" Snow bent her head a little to the left, not really understanding the interaction between the two parties.

Who could blame her? Not even the two teenagers really knew what they were doing.

They were simply having fun.

*******

"I'm glad you were able to learn more about your powers and how to properly control them." Alicia smiled at Rey as she rubbed his reddish forehead.

When he fell, his head essentially hit the hard tile floor of the library.

It wasn't anything serious, but Alicia insisted on taking a look at it.

She even offered to heal it, but Rey said it was no big deal, and he managed to escape her care.

After all, there really wasn't anything to heal.

"Y-yeah… I mean, I'm a lot stronger now." Rey laughed a little awkwardly.

Alicia was currently rubbing his head, and she was also very close to him.

… Too close to him.

"I noticed. The fight with the Elementals… I was surprised with how you fought."

Rey's movements were a lot more fluid than anything Alicia had ever seen him do.

In the past, he moved a little too awkwardly—almost as if he was trying too hard, or not trying at all.

But this time, he felt more natural.

And, he was a much better fighter as a result.

"I can't wait to go to the Dungeon Raid. Are you excited?" Rey smiled as he looked at Alicia's face.

She was done checking his forehead, so she backed away and he did the same.

They both returned to their seats, directly facing each other as was their habit.

They hadn't even started reading; and they probably wouldn't even need to.

There were a lot more interesting things to immerse themselves into than mere literature.

Like… talking.

"I can't believe you're so excited. I heard what happened to everyone the last time." Alicia's response was that of hesitation.

It was as if she couldn't understand the appeal of the Dungeon Raid, despite recognizing its necessity.

"Yeah. But we'll have Sir Ralyks with us. He'll protect us."

Rey's response was the stereotypical kind any classmate would give when the issue of the Dungeon's safety came up.

In the past, their trust used to be on Adonis, but now it shifted to Ralyks.

"Your expression changed when I mentioned Sir Ralyks. Do you really dislike him that much?" Rey asked.

Everyone could pretty much tell that Ralyks and Alicia didn't have the best of relationships.

Perhaps it was because Alicia always questioned everything and was usually more critical about Ralyks' unlimited authority over them.

Unlike everyone else, she had challenged some of his positions and actions.

It caused some friction between the two of them.

"I don't dislike him per se. It's just… I don't know how to put it…" Alicia murmured as she looked away.

Anytime she saw how Ralyks treated everyone—especially Rey

—so roughly, she just couldn't help but not like his methods.

So it wasn't like she disliked or even hated him. She simply didn't like him.

"And I don't think that's going to change." She sighed after explaining everything to Rey.

"Of course, I recognize how much he has helped you. He helped me too, with Snow and training. He was practically the one who rescued me as well."

In more ways than one, Alicia owed a lot to Ralyks.

Yet…

"I just can't bring myself to like him. I don't know why…"

Rey smiled at her and shrugged.

"I'm sure Ralyks understands, wherever he is. I don't think he's doing this to make us like or respect him."

The guilt on Alicia's face slowly evaporated as she heard this.

"Really…?"

"Yes. He simply wants to help us. I just feel like as long as we trust him and utilize his help to the utmost, nothing else matters."

It sounded a bit cold-hearted, but Ralyks never showed any intention of getting close with any of them.

He only expressed one thing: his desire for them to grow.

"Let's just do our best in the Raid and get stronger. That's the best way to show your thanks to him for all his help."

Both Rey and Alicia smiled at each other as they made eye contact. The former nodded at her and had a confident glint in his eyes.

It caused whatever uncertain feelings within Alicia to die out. In the end, she also nodded her head in agreement.

"Okay. I'll do my best."

*

*

*

Thanks for reading!

Sorry for the slow-burn nature of this chapter, but I had to explore these two a bit more.

Hope you liked it.