Laying on her bed, her pitch black hair cascaded all over her pillow. Rachel blankly stared at her phone and breathed out a heavy sigh. "Haa..."
Ever since the incident, the group chat's activity had significantly dwindled.
The last message sent was from Reinhard.
From: Reinhard Van
5 DAYS AGO:
-You guys heard what happened? What should we do?!
That was it.
It was most likely because everyone decided to give Amy some space.
Everyone had left the message on seen. All except for one person.
Amy Ashfield.
After Amy was saved, not once had she ever sent a single message in the group chat. Not even a private message to her own sister, Rachel.
This made Rachel uneasy. But regardless, there was nothing she could do.
She couldn't force Amy to open up to her, which is why she decided to give her some time as well.
"Haa..."
She twisted her body sideways and breathed out another heavy sigh.
With that being said, she decided to close her eyes. Her phone, clasped in her hands.
Brrt..
Yet as soon as she did her phone buzzed.
A notification.
"...?"
Could it finally be Amy?
She decided to check.
Click-
But to her surprise, it was the first person she had least expected to contact her.
FROM: Brandon Locke
-Are you free?
Rachel tilted her head, puzzled.
'What does he want?'
After the Battle Royale, Brandon was the talk of the entire Academy.
His performance in the Battle Royale, following the reveal of being a Tri-Elemental Mage made him a popular topic for conversation.
Rachel was astonished as well. But she knew Brandon had his secrets, and she respected that.
Brandon must've had his reasons for hiding it in the beginning.
But in the first place, only three weeks had elapsed since the start of the semester.
So technically, he didn't really hide it.
Though she was one of the first to have known Brandon in the friend group, they weren't particularly close.
But she could definitely say that Brandon and Amy were quite close.
After all, Amy had chosen him as her partner during the Battle Royale.
So maybe...
Just maybe...
"...Maybe he knows something."
Thus, she decided to reply back.
[Yes, I am.]
-Could we meet up?
An immediate reply.
Truth be told, Rachel didn't feel like leaving her apartment at the moment.
She was quite exhausted, both mentally and physically, due to the incident and her class being the last batch for the Battle Royale session-her partner being Reinhard.
It goes without saying that they did in fact win.
After all, they were both top ranking students within the first year students. Thus, they won, but without facing any difficulties.
After Brandon's class, the other students opted to take the same strategy and teamed up with each other just to defeat the top 10 students.
Which is why, though reluctantly, Rachel sent her reply.
[Could we do it in my place? I'll send the address.]
But as soon as she sent that, Brandon only left the message on seen.
Ah.
He must've been hesitant because Rachel immediately invited him over.
But to her surprise...
-Okay. *thumbs up*
"Pft."
Rachel stifled a chuckle at the last emoji he sent.
It felt rather... nonchalant for Rachel.
"Right, this is the kind of person he was."
From her assessment, Brandon was quite aloof.
Girls would surround him from time to time, but Brandon always paid no heed to it.
She could definitely trust him to be alone with her in her apartment.
In the first place, she was the one to have invited him in the first place.
With that being said, Rachel got up and opted to take a shower.
However...
Looking around, her place was quite a mess.
An instant noodle cup on the floor. Manga comics were placed randomly. Energy drinks
toppled everywhere on the floor.
She wasn't a particularly messy person, she just wasn't good at cleaning. So the garbage
would pile up eventually.
At least, that's what she thinks.
"Guess I need to clean up, huh?"
***
"This is the right place, right?"
As soon as Rachel sent the address, Brandon was flabbergasted.
After all...
"This is the exact place we'll be moving in..."
In other words, they were about to become neighbors.
"What a coincidence."
That was his only reaction.
From the novel, he knew Rachel lived in her family's apartment complexes. But they had a lot
of buildings.
Who knew Rachel was actually living in the same building Brandon and Belle were about to
move into?
Asking to meet up with Rachel worked out to his advantage.
He was quite reluctant with the idea, especially since he knew Rachel and Amy were siblings.
Maybe Rachel wanted some space as well.
Or maybe she wanted company.
He didn't know.
Regardless, he had already sent the message, and it seemed like Rachel was up for it.
It was a good opportunity to assess the apartment, and maybe to gather some information
about Amy.
With that being said, Brandon decided to freshen up first.
Arriving in the complex, Brandon could only describe it as a stark comparison to his previous
place.
The building stood tall, and the entrance was guarded by uniformed security personnel.
Inside, the lobby had polished marble floors and stylish decor.
While in front of him was the receptionist who's attention he had already caught.
He was only allow
because
specifically gave a code to enter.
Brandon stayed seated in the couch lobby while waiting for Rachel who seemed to be
freshening up as well.
After waiting for about an hour, a familiar figure emerged from the elevator.
Her white nightgown completely highlighted her features, as her pitch black hair cascaded
around her shoulders.
As soon as she stepped out, the staff immediately greeted her.
"Good morning, Miss Rachel."
Most of the staff greeted her the same, and Rachel would nod at them with a smile plastered
on her face.
As soon as she approached Brandon, he could feel several glances his way.
No, he could definitely hear them murmuring.
"Did Miss Rachel invite that boy over?"
"Oh my, she's all grown up now."
"But does her Father know?" "Let the little Miss keep a few secrets."
"You're just saying that because the boy is quite handsome."
"Haha, the boy is quite handsome."
Bunch of nonsense. Brandon paid no heed to it, and it seemed like Rachel didn't hear them.
Looking up at Rachel, her expression seemed cold but her lips curled up a smile.
But Brandon knew the cold maiden act was only on the surface.
Rachel pursed her lips and her voice reached Brandon's ears.
"Thanks for waiting, come."
At her instructions, Brandon immediately got up and followed her to the elevator.
Once again, he could feel several glances his way.
Arriving in her room, Brandon was taken aback.
"This..."
From behind him, Rachel clasped her hands on her back and tilted her head.
"It took a while to clean. But I think I did a good job."
'Good job... huh?"
It seemed like she didn't even clean at all.
There were stains all over the floor, while manga comics and light novels were all tucked in a
corner.
But Brandon could definitely see it. He paid it no mind since he knew Rachel was trying to hide
that hobby of hers.
Energy drinks were neatly arranged and situated in the corner, which was a plus.
But in the first place...
'You're supposed to throw them out...'
"Haa..."
Brandon let out a heavy sigh.
He turned around and faced Rachel. "Good job cleaning. I'll take it from here."
"?"