Rias leaned on Rudy and enjoyed his warmth. Then, she turned around and hugged him without saying anything.
"Are you alright?"
"Hmm. I was scared when Jane informed me about the armies marching here from all sides. It was impossible for us to win without losing. Even if Grandpa and Jane had taken care of two sides, we were going to lose from one side."
"Yeah. That's true."
SNIFF~ SNIFF!
After hearing the sniffing sound, Rudy assumed Rias was crying, so he placed his hands on her shoulder and pushed her back so he could see her face, but she wasn't crying.
Rias squinted her eyes at him and said, "You smell like Jane."
"Yeah, she was all over me when I came here."
"You better not have fooled around with her while I was anxiously waiting for you."
"Does kissing count as fooling around?" Rudy asked curiously with a grin on his face.
"Depends on the amount of kissing."
"Well, I only kissed her like twice or thrice, so I guess the answer is no. I wasn't fooling around with her. And hey, she was as anxious as you were about me," he said calmly.
"I know."
"Anyway, why haven't you told her anything yet? She is worried, you know?"
"I never actually got a chance to tell her. And I didn't want to tell her in your absence. I want you to see how she reacts."
"..."
Rias glanced around the closet room and muttered, "I think I will give away all the clothes."
"What, why?"
"I am never coming here again, so instead of letting them dust, it's better if someone wears them."
"Who said you are not coming back here?" You can come here at any time you want— although the portal only opens once every full moon, and that too for only an hour. But still… you are free to come here."
Rias shook her head and said, "I don't have anyone here except grandpa Virgil and great-grandma Nyxia. I have friends, but it's not like I will miss them every day. And I am sure you don't meet your friends daily too."
"I am in school, so yes… I meet them daily, but I get what you mean."
"Alright then, I will tell the maids to give the clothes away. And to be honest, I haven't ever worn 90% of my clothes here," she sighed.
"Keep your underwear with you, though."
"Of course. In fact, 70% of my stuff is nothing but underwear."
"Are you sure it isn't 69%?"
"Maybe…" Rias shrugged with a confused look on her face.
"Damn, you didn't get it, huh? I wonder if Jane would have understood it," he muttered.
'I understood it!' Angelica chirped from inside.
"Yeah, yeah. Of course, you would get it."
"Hmm?" Rias placed her hand on Rudy's chest and asked, "Were you talking to the ghost?"
"Her name is Angelica."
"Okay."
"How did you know I was talking to her?" Rudy asked curiously. "You know that I have a habit of talking to myself."
"Erm… how doI explain it? I felt a sensation?" Rias didn't know how to explain it, and even if she tried to, she couldn't put it into words.
"Rias? Where are you?" Jane's voice asked from outside.
"She is here. Let's go."
Rudy and Rias left the closet room and went to Rias' chamber, where Jane was waiting for them.
"What… what were you two doing in the closet room?" Jane glanced at the closet and asked with a suspicious look on her face.
"Just some stuff that lovers would do," Rias answered.
"Oh…" Jane seemed a bit agitated after hearing that, but she didn't react much to it.
A few seconds later, Niti entered the room with a small bag in her hand.
"I am ready," she said while smiling at Rudy.
"That's awfully a smaller bag than I imagined. Are you sure you don't want to take something else with you?" Rudy asked calmly.
"I have my two maid dresses in the bag. I don't need anything else."
'Well, I have already bought modern clothes for all of them, so that's not an issue. But if I was leaving my home or moving to a different place, I would bring many more things than just clothes,' Rudy uttered inwardly.
"If everyone is ready, then let's go. Virgil should have opened the portal by now."
Rudy, Niti, Rias, and Jane left Rias' chamber and flew away. But there was one more person who shortly chased after them.
They landed in the arena where Virgil was waiting for them.
"You have three minutes left. Leave before the portal closes!"
Rudy raised his hand in the air, and half of his hand (till the elbow) turned into dust and flew into the sky.
"What… was that?" Virgil asked in astonishment.
"I spread my cells on this continent. So I will now know what exactly is going on here. Of course, these cells will be active and only get activated when they sense a surge of power in the atmosphere. I can also teleport here without the portal, although the process is tedious and takes some time," Rudy explained calmly.
"And…" Virgil pointed his gaze at Rudy's hand and asked, "Are you okay with no hands?"
Rudy instantly grew his hand back and said, "That was a spare."
"...."
"How can you leave without me, princess Rias!" a female voice yelled.
Everyone turned around and saw it was Vriti, and she was also carrying a small bag similar to Niti's bag.
She landed near Rias and said, "How could you leave me behind?"
"Well… I left the decision to you, remember?"
"I am talking about this moment. I had planned to come, but you never even informed me that you were leaving!" she retorted.
"We had a limited time. And I believe everyone in the palace knew that we were leaving today. And even if you didn't, you could have known that the portal to the human world opens every full moon."
"She is trying to waste our time here, so the portal closes," Rudy remarked as he shot a glare at Vriti.
