'...'
Russell — who was slumped down on the Disciplinary Committee Office's floor — stared at the lightbulbs hanging on the ceiling, his brain seed to stop functioning with the circumstances that had just happened.
Although he was a shut-in in his previous life, causing him to be an introverted person, which also impact him to develop Social Anxiety, which even in this life haunted him; he's not the kind of person whose thoughts would blackout.
Even when he t the Goddess of Night for the first ti, he was still able to think about sothing even only about his impending death, but as of this mont, he was just staring into the air as though the ti had passed for a very long ti.
"Russell!"
Alie — who was the second to recover from her stupor — approached Russell.
"H-huh?"
"Hey, are you okay?"
Alie shook Russell's shoulder, causing him to be sent back into reality.
"Y-yeah. It's just..."
Russell tried to put words into his mouth, but to no avail; his mind, which experienced total blankness had been instantly flooded by thoughts this ti around.
Alie looked at Freya — the last one who had recovered from what just happened.
"Oppa, Oppa!"
"Ouch!"
Freya weakly punched her older brother on his side, prompting him to be jolted awake.
"...S-sorry. I never expected that would happen."
Russell told the two, and Azalea, who was the first to recover her composure.
"...I think we're good for now."
Alie interjected, causing Russell, Freya, and Azalea to look at her, waiting for her next words.
His relationship with Azalea was that of a business partner. Nothing more, nothing less.
Although he knew that he gained her trust by giving her the precise locations of the Four Seeds of Direction she badly needed, and had her verify its authenticity with at least one of the locations, if sohow things turned into a ss just like what had transpired, any information might be used against them just for her interest.
'I will never trust soone who had sacrificed her own parents to her Constellation.'
He thought poignantly as he looked at Alie who nodded at her.
He's the author of an unpublished novel, so he knew the background of Azalea, but he was slapped to reality by the sudden behavior of Artorious Hall, so it would only be right to be cautious of the characters he had written about, and learn not to expect them to act the way their personality was written.
...
The three of them sat on the long couch, while Azalea sat on the seat behind her office desk.
After so ti, as the three took so rest first, Alie spoke seriously.
"I don't know why Sir Artorious forcibly called us, or how... But, I suggest we shouldn't tell anyone about it"
Azalea agreed instantly, although she was still confused about why Sir Artorious summoned them.
It would only be the right thing to do as it would garner too much attention when other people ca to know about it.
...
After an unknown period of ti, Freya and Alie ca to Russell's dormitory room; they only asked Maya to bring them dinner.
"Thank you, Maya."
Russell thanked her before Maya left and went to her lodging.
A few seconds after Maya walked out of the door, Alie spoke first, breaking the silence between the three.
"Russell, Freya... I believe we're still in trouble.
"I received notification from the System about my Constellation, she invaded the world of Sir Artorious' Constellation and almost destroyed that world."
Russell's mouth agape upon hearing Alie's words. He never expected that it would be her Constellation who would intervene.
The [Lady of Shaded Spade] was still a mystery for him, although the Goddess of Night had referred to her as "Her" subordinate.
'I wonder why the Goddess of Night isn't showing "Her" presence for so ti now.'
It's been a while since he received a System ssage that said about Goddess' interaction with him.
"But..."
Alie paused for a mont, causing Russell's thoughts to break.
"My Constellation notified that she's only able to intervene one ti, and there won't be the next ti. Though, she didn't say why."
She continued with a serious tone, causing Russell to fall into deep thought.
'I know this world is similar to my unpublished novel, so it ans that there will be many things that are still manifested and didn't change regardless of the existence of the Untouched and Unknown Elents...
'Hmm... her Constellation was only able to intervene one ti... does it an she was encompassed by the [Post-Fourth Starfall Treaty]?
'...No, that may not be the case, because if that treaty applied to her, she wouldn't attack the Mirror Dinsion in the first place.
'...F*ck... I can't wrap my head around it.'
He had written his unpublished novel in the span of three years; he wouldn't rember everything just by wrapping his head around it.
Although there was information in his head that haven't happened or been explored yet, so of the things only surfaced in his mind when it was only a matter of ti before it happened.
"...Russell, do you think Sir Artorious will send other people to go after us? Do you have a plan in mind?"
Alie said, cutting off Russell's thoughts, while Freya seed to be lost in her own world.
"I'm sorry. It's because of ."
Russell's — who stood up from the couch — words caused Alie to prick up her brows, while Freya reacted as she looked at her older brother with cold eyes.
Without waiting for them to ask him in confusion, he continued to speak his thoughts.
"It's because of ...
"If I didn't forget the Ti Difference between the Earth and the Nether Realm...
"All of this wouldn't—"
Pak-!
Bam-!
Russell didn't manage to finish his words as he reflexively reached for his right cheek as though it turned numb, while he was slumped on the floor, with the broken table, scattered untouched cold al.
Alie wasn't able to react to Freya as she looked between the two alternatively.
Freya stood up from her seat with her clenched right fist just after she punched for real his older brother.
She then spoke, forcing her tears not to flow down from her deep blue eyes that seed to have their reflection turned deeper.
"All of this wouldn't happen if you didn't forget the Ti Difference between Earth and the Nether Realm?!
"Then, we won't be declared as missing students, won't go to the first Micro-Strayed Dungeon you mysteriously knew, and won't be here in this situation just because of the fucked up Mana Energy Flow that's being detected by a spacecraft hovering in this fucking world's atmosphere?
"Is that what you wanted to say, Oppa??
"Pathetic! Nothing will change even if you mumble like that!
"We haven't even told our parents that we are billionaires in secret because we wanted to tell them personally after this sester... and now... we're in this situation. What do you want to do huh!? Kill ourselves!? Then let Alie resurrect us without our parents' knowledge??
"Oppa... stop being pathetic... It's not about ourselves... think of a way so that our family will be out of this fucking ss!"
Freya shouted both in anger and concern as she didn't manage to contain her tears before she crouched down on the floor.
Alie fell silent. She knew that it was that one mistake about the Mana Energy Flow of the Micro-Strayed Dungeon that beca the root of this situation.
The Micro-Strayed Dungeon's Mana Energy Flow was in place if it's not brought out sowhere just like Russell did.
And when it was accessed, the Micro-Strayed Dungeon disappeared along with its Mana Energy Flow, but they only told the authorities that they accidentally stumbled upon it, sucked them in, and cleared it, but it happened at a different ti; not when the observers in the Obelisk Space Station firstly discovered the first disappearance of the Micro-Strayed Dungeon's Mana Energy Flow.
The mont Russell brought the Micro-Strayed Dungeon far away from its original place, causing its Mana Energy Flow to disappear from its initial location for so ti, it's the point when the mistake was truly made.
...
'...She's right. It already happened... and there's no point to this if Artorious sent soone to investigate our family...'
Their plan about making themselves dead, and letting Alie resurrect them was for the future; when a certain Tower opens.
But regarding the situation with Artorious, a human at that, it would be more difficult to avoid, especially since they were students of the Obelisk Academy, it's natural that their parents' information would be known.
'...If we tried to spread a rumor about the Rank 1 Player kidnapping four students... it will just be a futile attempt because of his reputation.
'There's no one who would believe such a rumor about humanity's strongest, kidnapping so puny kids like us.'
'That may be the only way... it's very early, but... I guess there's no other choice that it ca to this.'
...
Slap-! Slap-!
He slapped his cheeks, stood up, walked towards Freya, his younger sister, and then hugged her gently.
"Sorry for the unsightly , and for making you cry. Let's co up with a way so that Mom and Dad will not be swept up with this, okay?"
Knock-! Knock-!
The siblings and the silent Alie felt confused by the knock on Russell's dormitory room at this ti of the night.
He released his hug, walked towards the door, then opened it.
"...Ms. Ayleen...?"
Alie and Freya with still reddish eyes due to her burst of emotion looked at each other.
"...Can I co in...? Sir Artorious wanted to deliver a ssage..."
Russell felt that nothing was amiss, even though he was confused.
After pondering a little, he let Ms. Ayleen, their professor in the Basic Mana Theory, co in.
...
"Russell, Freya, and Alie... Sir Artorious wanted to apologize to the three of you, and Azalea for what he did.
"He said that he hopes for the three of you to remain in the academy."
Ayleen was told about what had transpired and felt like her mind was about to explode to the sudden situation.
'Just what's happened to Sir Artorious...?
This is tiring. If the other heads of the organization ca to know what he did, his position will be in jeopardy, especially with so lurking snakes.'
The reason why there's a player with a profession related to Psychology was to monitor the inner thoughts and irrelevant emotions during the eting in the Conference Room; through that, other players would know if soone was secretly feeling animosity towards them.
...
Russell listened to Ms. Ayleen's words as so thoughts surfaced in his mind.
'Did he want so connection with us...? He probably thought that we know where his wife is...
'Well, I know, but I'd be stupid if I blurt it out.
'I'll probably get tortured until I spit such information.
Alie spoke in confusion, but Freya corrected her.
Russell voiced his concern, but when he thought about it... It's one of the most viable solutions at this mont.
'The only problem is not getting killed instantly the mont we say what a Soul Contract is.'
Freya fell into deep thought as she heard what her older brother said.
Russell processed about Freya said.
'His unexpected behavior is and was the problem.'
...
After an unknown period of ti of discussion in their heads, it was Freya who spoke to Ms. Ayleen.
"Ms. Ayleen... we experienced so unexpected harassnt.
"We didn't know why, but we are just minors, you know, and had no idea why we got dragged into such a situation.
"You see... I was in tears before you ca to visit us, and tell that he was sorry, but... we had already discussed what's better for us.
"...I'm sorry, Ms. Ayleen, but we have decided to leave the Obelisk Academy."
A bombshell ca out of Freya's mouth.
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