"REEEYYYYY!"
The tense silence was easily broken by Lucielle, Grand Mage of the Alliance, as she charged forward, her crimson eyes shining brightly while she did so.
In a single breath, she was already away from the rest of the group, her robe trailing behind her.
"It's so great to see you! How long has it been now? Three months? You look so much different from before? Did you grow taller? What's with the eyepatch?"
She kept bombarding Rey with questions as she circled around him like a shark, her silver-white hair dancing in the air as she did so.
As Lucielle did all of this, Rey found himself standing still—almost like a statue—completely bamboozled by Lucielle's reaction to seeing him.
The rest—Brutus, Clark, Justin, and Belle—were still transfized in their position. Just from looking at them, it was clear that they hadn't yet recovered from the shock.
But not Lucielle.
She looked giddy as a child, with slight tints of pink on her face as her wide eyes ogled Rey from various angles.
She kept bombarding him with questions, but Rey could not even answer a single one. Before he fully processed one, two more would appear.
Plus—
'It's a bit overwhelming having her so close to me. Why does she smell so good too?'
—Rey could feel his perverted thoughts rising.
Lucielle was in her early twenties, and she was by far the prettiest human he had met in this world. Her cheery personality, and the way she didn't seem to care about boundaries also made it difficult to keep a straight head.
Of course, with Rey being a lot more in control of his body, he was able to suppress all of his carnal reactions towards her. His outward display did not, in any way, reflect what went on in his head.
And, even though he was captivated by her beauty and… well, proportions… due to her sudden action, he soon got a firm grasp of his thoughts and calmed it all down.
'Still…' Rey felt her poking his body with her fingers. '... I'm not the only one that finds this weird, right?'
Lucielle poked his arm, chest, back, cheek, leg, and forehead—almost as if she was examining his body in every way.
"Amazing! This is… you are…!"
It finally got to a point where Rey couldn't take it anymore, so he lifted both hands and held her from both sides of her shoulders.
"Relax, Lucielle." He mumbled, still finding it a bit strange that she was staring at him so intensely.
Since Rey was average, he hardly got the attention of pretty girls—especially back on Earth. Even upon arriving in this world and forging connections with many ladies who were top-tier in their own right, none of them ever looked at him the way Lucielle was.
'She's too close. And those eyes… just what is going on in her mind?'
In all honesty, it seemed Lucielle had more perverted thoughts than he did, merely based on how she was behaving.
That was weird, considering how little he had interacted with Lucielle since coming to H'Trae.
Other than Magic Training, which he did his best to remain lowkey in, he never really spoke to her directly. Well, he had some interactions with her as Ralyks, but even then… they were somewhat distant.
'So what's with this change in personality? And also…'
Rey realized it once he held Lucielle in place, but he was surprised that he didn't notice it a lot sooner.
'... I've gotten pretty tall, haven't I?'
His well-built arms were arched nicely, and Lucielle's arms seemed small in his firm grip. Her slender frame, save for her chest and backside, seemed much smaller to Rey than he remembered.
That only made sense if Rey had somehow hit a growth spurt while being asleep.
'I remember she was much taller than me before. But now…' A small smile formed on his face as his head was bent a little slightly to look at the Grand Mage.
"Why are you looking at me like that? It's a bit creepy."
The moment Lucielle said this, Rey snapped back to reality and swiftly let go of her arms. Thankfully, she didn't move much after that.
"I should be the one saying that." He let out a sigh, intentionally taking a few steps back from Lucielle.
Casting a quick sideways glance at Alicia, he felt a wave of shame permeate his entire body. It seemed to him that he somehow desecrated her room.
"In any case… It's nice to see you all again." Rey did his best to smile as he switched his attention from Lucielle to the others.
He could still see her clearly, and she was still staring at him intently, but he ignored her.
Right now… he had bigger things to worry about.
"Apologies on Lucielle's behalf." The first to speak was Brutus, and he took a few steps forward as he did so.
"She's the kind of person who goes crazy when she discovers someone or something strong. That someone being you in this case."
Brutus' words reminded Rey that everyone in the room now knew his secret: that he was secretly the strongest person in the kingdom.
He was Ralyks. He defeated Dragons, helped the Otherworlders in the Royal Dungeon, and defeated the Divine Beast that would have laid everything to waste otherwise.
Not only had he been hiding his strength this whole time, but he purposefully made himself seem like the weakest of the group when the opposite was actually true.
"You were amazing back then, Rey! I've never seen anything like what you did!" Once again, Lucielle's voice buzzed in his ears.
"Hey, could we have a private discussion later? I want to…"
She kept on speaking, but Rey zoned out of everything she was saying completely. Lucielle seemed to have a burning passion for Magic and powerful things.
'It explains why she was closest to Adonis during training. Now that I'm the strongest, it seems her interest has shifted to me…' Rey shook his head internally.
'Sorry, but I'm not interested in having the talk.'
Rey couldn't say it to her face, though, so he simply said nothing and instead turned to the three others who still stood at the door's entrance and watched him keenly.
"Hey, guys… please say something."
Justin, Clark and Belle. Rey wasn't close to any of these people, but they were still his classmates.
The three were allies with him, and he had intentionally kept his identity hidden from them. Not only that, but he actively lied to them about some details about himself—like how he felt weak and powerless compared to them—just so he could maintain his facade.
They all had their perspectives regarding him, and it wasn't until the rude revelation that that perception was shattered.
Personally, Rey still didn't think he should have told them his identity from the start.
Even now, after thinking very clearly about all that happened, he wasn't sure he could have ever trusted everyone enough to reveal his identity—not after the treatment he received, and his perception of them.
'But…' Rey's thoughts trailed as he sighed, waiting for a response—any response—from them.
'... The consequences of my silence is something I deeply regret.'
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Thanks for reading!
Well, some of you must already know the significance of this chapter, but I won't say any further. And as for those who might be bored at this point, do be patient.
This arc has some fine action to offer…
