After leaving Amir's office, the trio headed back to the clinic. As they walked in, they saw that Jay and Arthur were already awake. Not only that, but Raze and Vince were also in the room, chatting with the others.
Hearing the door open, the group turned to see the trio entering. Without saying a word, Grey walked straight to his bed and lay down, uninterested in whatever conversation was taking place.
"What happened? What did Captain say?" Vanica asked.
"You were summoned by the captain?" Vince added.
"Yes," Scarlet replied. "And he said the whole squad has a day off tomorrow because we managed to complete the mission."
"A day off?!" Arthur's eyes widened. "Finally! After so many weeks, we have a break. Now I can go into town and hit on as many beautiful girls as I want."
"Huh?! You didn't strike me as the girl-loving type. When did this happen?" Raze asked.
"I have always been a girl lover, and you are lucky you aren't a girl, or I would have started hitting on you." Arthur chuckled.
"So, does that mean you plan on shooting your shot at Scarlet?" Vince teased with a short laugh. But the moment Arthur turned toward Scarlet, he could feel a menacing aura radiating from her.
"What?! Never! I would never dare!" he blurted out. As soon as the words left his mouth, the aura receded, and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Wait, Vince! Are you and Scarlet in a relationship?" Vanica asked.
"Eww! What?! Never!" Vince and Scarlet shouted in unison before exchanging glances. The room burst into laughter, except for Grey and Greg, who remained indifferent to the conversation.
"Why? He's not that bad, you know," Raze commented.
"Say one more stupid word, and watch me burn you to a crisp," Scarlet threatened. Raze immediately shrank into his seat.
"What Scarlet is trying to say is that we are childhood best friends and would never think of dating each other," Vince clarified.
"Ohhh! That explains the closeness and why she sticks up for a weakling like you," Greg commented, earning a glare from Scarlet.
"We still haven't decided who is stronger, so how about after we leave here, we have a small duel? I need an excuse to burn that arrogant look off your face," Scarlet challenged.
"Like I would waste my time dueling with a weakling like you. I have better things to do," Greg scoffed.
"Just admit you're scared and stop pretending to be some strong warrior you're not," Scarlet taunted.
"Uhm, guys! We still haven't decided what to do with our day off tomorrow," Raze interjected. "Grey! What do you plan on doing tomorrow?"
"What I do is none of your business," Grey replied coldly, turning away.
"C'mon! Don't be a spoil sport. We're a team, and we got the day off together," Arthur said.
"I don't recall ever agreeing to be part of any team with you all. If I remember correctly, I said I never wanted to see your faces again," Grey retorted, standing up from his bed.
"A peasant will always be a peasant, so stop acting like an arrogant noble," Scarlet snapped.
"So you admit that you're arrogant," Grey countered.
"Please, Grey. We're trying so hard to befriend you, but you keep pushing us away. Why?" Arthur asked.
"Point of correction," Scarlet interjected, "you are trying to befriend him, not me."
"Same here," Greg added.
"Me too," Jay chimed in.
"Like I want to be friends with rich, arrogant, and weak nobles," Grey scoffed before walking out of the room, heading to only heavens knows where.
"What the hell is wrong with that dude?!" Raze shouted in frustration.
"He's your roommate; you should know," Vanica replied.
"I've never seen him smile genuinely or interact properly. But was it just me, or did I see him smile when he saw the power that three-star bandit boss exerted?" Arthur asked.
"I saw that smile, alright. It was like he got some kind of thrill from being in danger," Greg added.
"I noticed it during the assessment when we were ambushed by Nozel Silva," Scarlet said.
"You were ambushed by Nozel?" Greg asked, his eyes widening in shock. "How on earth are you all still in the academy? As far as I know, Nozel is a three-star mage and should have been able to defeat weaklings like you."
"Like I said, you foolish noble," Scarlet snapped, "we were ambushed, but Grey managed to handle the situation by fighting him. I even saw one of Nozel's aides unconscious afterward."
"Welp! I'm no longer surprised after what happened today," Jay shrugged.
"True! He's on another level," Vanica added.
"Probably because of that thrill. That's how he gets stronger," Scarlet mused.
"Whatever! I just need to get much stronger," Greg muttered, his hands clenched so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Meanwhile, Grey walked along the corridor, his hands in his pockets, lost in thought.
'Why do I feel like I shouldn't have asked about that library and the otherworlders? he thought. If the information is in the library, I'm sure someone won't allow me to access it easily. I should be prepared for anything.
And my suspicion that someone is working with them keeps gnawing at me.'
"Are you forgetting something?" Noir's voice echoed in his mind.
"About what?" Grey asked.
"Your teammates! The way you treated them was rude. I'm not one to talk, but that was weird," Noir said.
"I know, but my past trauma still haunts me," Grey admitted.
"I understand. But do you think your mother would be happy seeing you ? I mean, you never had friends growing up, but now you have a chance. Wouldn't your mother be happy knowing that her son finally made some friends?" Noir asked.
Grey halted his steps, deep in thought. "You're right. I shouldn't have treated them like that. I'm just so used to being alone... but I'll try to be nicer to them."
"Good! Because you need to start thinking about the future. If the otherworlders attack or the Eclipse Pact makes a move, you won't be able to fight them alone. You need allies.
Example of what I'm saying happened today when you were fighting against that three star bandit. Before you could defeat him, you had the power of five of your team. Now imagine they were not five but more, and they were more powerful, just imagine the number of people you can defeat.
I'm sure that emperor dude didn't get to his position on his own, he had his subordinates to help so think about that too." Noir said.
"Alright, alright! Are you sure you won't become a counselor one day? You're good at this," Grey chuckled.
"My mistake for even saying anything," Noir scoffed before going silent.
Grey smirked. "Yeah, sure. I'll think about it. But for now, let me focus on my reward." With that, he disappeared down the corridor.