"Miss Alex, there’s no need for you to do a maid’s work. Why don’t you allow me to take Rin back-"

"Reri, get yourself checked out by the doctor. I can see that you are limping due to an injury. Don’t let it become permanent."

Alex reminded Reri and her face went red.

"I..."

Reri tried to counter but Alex had already moved toward Rin and put Rin’s arm around his shoulder.

"Since you are letting me take Rin, I assume you have no complaints-"

"I have a lot of complaints. I can’t trust you to take Rin back safely. What if you do something to him-"

"Shelly, it’s alright. I am willing to take a chance and trust Alex. I don’t think she can betray me without consequences."

Rin knew Alex’s secret and he was still alive. That could only mean that Alex was willing to trust Rin with his secret.

Since Alex was willing to extend the olive branch, Rin decided to do the same. There would be a lot of chances for the two sides to cooperate in the future, so he wanted to make sure their terms did not sour.

No one complained much after Rin pointed out the facts but dissatisfaction lingered in everyone’s eyes. The ones Rin was most concerned about were Shelly and Reri. They both were the types to do something drastic.

Alex did not say anything on their way back but he dropped Rin onto his bed as soon as they were back.

Once Rin was securely on the bed, Alex decided to loosen his top and lay down beside him with a relaxed sigh.

"Finally, I can get out of these uncomfortable clothes. How do women even breathe in them? Everything feels so tight."

Alex complained, becoming a little too comfortable too quickly. Rin was too used to sharing his bed with others (mainly Shelly) that he just curled over and allowed Alex some space. (Not that it mattered since his bed was king sized)

Rin gave Alex a few minutes to vent and get his complaints out before he decided to interject into Alex’s monologue.

"Task 3 is finished, so what are you going to do now? Will you all return to your base?"

Alex paused his monologue and answered Rin instead.

"That’s the current plan. I would rather stay here since it allows me a sense of freedom. I even went out as my real self and no one asked any questions. I wish I could stay here for longer."

Alex sounded wistful while laying down. Hiding his identity all this time must have taken a toll on Alex’s mental health.

Rin did not tell Alex that he was welcomed in his settlement and Alex did not take it as permission to overstay his welcome.

"Anyway, I will take a nap here and prepare to head back soon. Wake me up in about an hour."

Alex pulled the covers up and Rin let out an annoyed sigh.

"Hey, aren’t you getting a bit too comfortable with me?"

"But you are the only one who knows my secret, so I feel like I can trust you more."

Alex assured Rin before he closed his eyes and fell asleep. Rin let out a sigh and went to sleep as well.

...

knock

"Rin, are you in your room? Why is it locked? Can I come inside?"

Shelly’s loud voice woke Rin up and he pulled himself up to sit and look at the door with an annoyed sigh. Rin took a few seconds to pull himself together before walking toward the door and opening it.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be resting-"

Shelly pushed past Rin and entered his room. She immediately went toward his bed and Rin remembered that Alex had been in his bed.

"Rin, this is-"

’Oh fuck! Is Alex still in my bed? I need to make sure Shelly does not find him and cause a misunderstanding.’

He quickly walked toward Shelly, only to see her staring at an empty bed. The covers were left in disarray and there was a ribbon on the bed Rin did not recognize. But other than that, Alex had left no evidence that he had been here.

"What is this ribbon? Where did this come from? I know it’s not yours, so why is it in your bed?"

Shelly asked, pulling the covers back. She was looking around his bed like a jealous girlfriend would while trying to find evidence of her partner’s infidelity.

Rin sighed and walked over to Shelly and sat down on the bed. He already had an answer prepared for Shelly’s search.

"Alex must have left this behind when she came to drop me off. I don’t think I had an intruder in my room so you don’t need to search so thoroughly."

Rin spoke softly but Shelly was not reassured. Her search became even more frantic until she had Rin’s bed turned upside down. But Alex had left no other evidence that he had slept in Rin’s bed.

Shelly slowly calmed down once no more evidence turned up, but her frown remained

"Rin, I don’t feel comfortable with those outsiders. You should keep your distance from them as well. They make me feel like they’re up to something, especially Alex and Reri. They give off the feeling that they’re hiding something."

Shelly spoke with certainty. It did not surprise Rin that she had picked up on the hints in their behaviour.

But this was not something for Shelly to worry about. Rin did not want her to waste her precious mental power on unnecessary matters. So he decided to distract her.

Rin held Shelly’s face and made her look him in the eyes.

"Shelly, this isn’t something you need to worry about. Just focus on yourself and our settlement for now."

Rin reminded Shelly and she looked uncertain at first. But then her eyes turned determined and she nodded.

"Alright. I will trust your words and do as you asked me to. But if you need my help with anything, don’t hesitate to ask me."

Shelly was trusting Rin and that felt like a small victory. Rin let out a sigh of relief and let her rest beside him. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

Looking at Shelly’s face made Rin feel a little better, but he could not help but worry about what was about to happen.

The Calamity of the Rose was almost upon them and so was Alex’s end.