After exiting the party, Lena supported her friend with a worried look on her face.
"Here, I'll take you both home." Akashic offered and they agreed, following him to the parking area.
With only one other available seat, the two women had to squeeze together, luckily with their small frames it wasn't difficult.
The entire drive remained quiet, everyone taking in what just happened.
But throughout the trip, Sya sneakily threw glances at Akashic. Curiosity and gratitude in her eyes.
It only took around 15 minutes before they
arrived at the dorms.
Exchanging a short goodbye with the promise to meet up later, Lena took Sya to her room while Akashic went home, ready to put his plan to deal with Keven in action.
~
"So, something like that was happening?" Lena looked at the tearful Sya in front of her and replied calmly.
Shocked by the casualness of her friend, Sya shakily spoke.
"You—is that all you have to say? I did horrible things to you…" to that question, all she received was a confused look.
"Did you? I mean, the things you ended up telling him weren't private. And even when it came time to actually harm me, you made a hard choice." Lena paused before continuing.
"You also didn't tell him about my family situation. If he knew about that, it would've been horrible for me and Luna." She shivered as she thought about that outcome.
"Even better, I got to see Keven's scared face when he looked at Akashic. All in all, I'm pretty happy with how everything turned out." She concluded, a smile finally appearing as Sya wiped her tears.
Then, a big grin appeared on Lena's face as she shifted the topic.
"Now! Tell me what happened! How handsome was he when he helped you??" Lena questioned.
Sya blushed as she thought about it, remembering the short but enchanting scene of Akashic kicking the door down to save her.
"W-well…."
~
/Akashic POV\
-Next morning-
I woke up a little later than usual, mostly due to the fact I stayed up all night researching more about the Wytes.
When I awoke, Alexia was gone. I remembered her mentioning her father called her back for something, but I knew that wouldn't be the only reason she would return home.
Getting up, I went to take a shower and get ready for the day.
…
*Knock* *Knock* *Knock*
As soon as I finished getting dressed I heard knocks on the front door.
With little suspense, I opened it to find Alexia standing there with a smile on her face.
Looking past her, I noticed a black suv with an old man standing in front of it.
Seeing my questioning gaze, she held up a stack of papers and walked inside.
All it took was reading the first lines and I understood.
|Transferral of Ownership|
[7th Block, Winefront Villa]
[New Owner: Akashic Torre]
"Your father?" I asked.
"Of course. He called me early in the morning about it. Since I had already planned to go back home to pick something up, he handed it to me." She leaned over the couch and spoke to me.
"This is next door." To that she let out a small chuckle.
"Read the other paper."
As she said that, I separated the pile and found another set of pages, which cleared everything up.
[Union of Akashic Torre & Alexia Sparrow]
I thought he'd have more of a problem with me since I messed up his plans. But I guess my connection with Silas and my healing physique changed his mind.
'He seems eerily desperate to cling to any shred of power…why?'
"Now you see. According to him, the houses were a 'dowry'." She rested her head on her arms and just looked at me.
"Well, I have no interest in connecting with him, but I'll accept the gift from my future father-in-law. After all, this means you'll live next door, right?" I smiled as I walked closer to her.
Unexpectedly, she frowned at my words.
"Are you kicking me out?" She stared at me blankly. I didn't feel any anger from her, though, it was something different.
"Of course not. Whether you're next door or here, it doesn't change anything. After all, you're mine now, right?" I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her in, welcoming her stay here.
"Always~" she seemed stunned for a second before she responded in a whisper, her eyes fixated on me.
While enjoying our closeness, I asked her next steps.
"Well, when do you plan on moving in?" To my question she just stood up and sped towards the front door, opening it before waving to the old man by the car.
With speed and strength unbefitting of his visual appearance, the man pulled several bags out of the car before placing them inside.
After he finished that, he bowed to the both of us and returned to the car. Soon, he pulled off and it was just us remaining.
"So that's why you went back, huh?" She nodded again.
"I never want to go back there, so I took everything I might need. I even found some cool things in my fathers storage that you might like…"
[+25 Satisfaction Points]
'While subtle, I feel like my desires are being warped, I keep getting points for strange feelings.'
'Tested? For what? Does this relate to the Entity King?'
'Alright…anyway, I wasn't complaining. As you said, I'm feeling better and better everyday. It helps that Alexia is the perfect woman for me. She may be the only person I can truly be myself with while holding nothing back.'
While I spoke with the system, the conversation with Alexia was still happening.
"So, what about the other house? What are you going to do with it?" I asked, but she just looked at me strangely.
"Hmm? You can do whatever you want with it. I have my home now."
[+25 Satisfaction Points]
With that decided, I chose to hang on to the deed for now. I don't need the money so having an extra property could come in handy.
*Ting*
Getting a notification, I pulled out my phone and saw it was a message from Aunt Karin.
[Aunt Karin: Good morning! Just sending you the details of Naomi's flight! She's scheduled to arrive tomorrow. Have a great day!"]
Damn her trip was this soon?
"Seems like we'll be having a guest soon. My cousin Naomi is coming over for a few days." I spoke.
"Naomi? She's on your father's side, right? I haven't met anyone from there. I'm excited to meet my new family." Alexia smiled as she spoke. She seemed much happier these days.
The two most important women in my life getting along would be great.
*Ting*
Another notification got my attention.
[Aunt Karin: Also, that silly little girl had something she wanted to ask you. She's been jittery about it ever since you left.]
With that rather cryptic message, I continued with my day, preparing for her arrival tomorrow.
It'll take a few days before I can begin my strategy against Keven anyway.
~
-MoonCity Airport, Next Day-
{"You just landed? Great! Come by our dorms later, I can show you around!"} A girl in a green shirt stood alone, her phone in one hand, her luggage in the other.
"Sounds great. Thank you, Lena. Though, I'm a little nervous…what if he says no?" Naomi spoke, her voice shaky.
{"Why would he? I'm sure he'd be happy his cousin wants to go to the same college! You already got an acceptance letter, right? You've been planning this for so long!"} With her friend's encouragement, Naomi calmed down.
"Okay, you're right—oh god, he's here! Bye!" Hanging up, her nervousness came back in a flood as she watched the familiar car pull up.
The same one he visited her in. And stepping out was her cousin, the same warm look as always on his face.
"Told you I'd pick you up." Speeding towards him, Naomi threw herself into his arms and a silly smile appeared on her.
After a few seconds they separated and Akashic carried her bag for her.
They got to the car and he put it in the trunk.
"Are you hungry? Or do you want to go straight to my house?" He asked.
Faced with the situation, Naomi figured it was a good time to rip the bandaid off..
"Umm…I have a…question first." Her voice was as quiet as a mosquito.
Seeing him waiting for her to continue, she spoke.
"can i, you know, uh….g-go to your college?" She struggled to get those words out, but felt as if she were up for execution while waiting for a response.
Seeing his bewildered expression, she hurriedly explained.
"You see— I wanted a change of scenery, and I like it down here. So, I figured 'why not' and put in an application, and they actually accepted me. So I—" as she rambled on and on, Akashic laughed as he finally responded.
"That's all? The way you and Aunt Karin sounded I was a little concerned. Of course you can come. I'm sure the twins would like that as well." With his words, Naomi felt life return to her body as she shouted in joy.
"Yes! Thank you!!" She got excited and hugged him, mimicking her younger self, she began showering his cheek in kisses.
After her excitement faded, she realized what she did and her heart stopped as she looked for his reaction.
Only, he had none. He just kept that same smile on his face as always.
But in Akashic's perspective, notifications were ringing nonstop.
[+10 Satisfaction Points]
[+10 Satisfaction Points]
[+10 Satisfaction Points]
[+10 Satisfaction Points]
[+10 Satisfaction Points]
Over and over, totaling 100 points, 10 for each kiss.
Seeing he had no negative reaction, Naomi calmed down as a blush took over her face.
Trying to ease the embarrassment, she brought up another point of discussion.
"I'll need to get a room in the dormitory, but I don't know what places they have available."
It was mainly a throwaway statement, not looking for any real response, but Akashic thought about it seriously.
'I hate to say it, but our school isn't the safest. Daniel and his party aren't the only rich people in this city, there's a few students like them here." He tapped the steering wheel as he drove.
'I don't feel comfortable with Naomi being there, especially if she doesn't end up getting a room close to the twins.' Just then, an image of the piece of paper flashed in his mind as an idea