The Return Of The Exiled Villain-Chapter 183: A Trip To The City Of Sword & Magic (II)

"Who’s first?" Ronan asked excitedly with a huge grin splattered on his face.

The small circle fell into a brief, awkward silence.

The Jenga tower stood quietly between them, stacked neatly, almost innocent, despite everyone knowing it absolutely wasn’t.

In the end, Gray didn’t wait for anyone else to speak.

He leaned forward, sleeves brushing his knees, and reached out with steady fingers. Without hesitation, he slid a piece straight from the middle of the first platform.

"...Such a scaredy cat," Adrian clicked his tongue, clearly disappointed he hadn’t gone for something riskier.

Gray didn’t even look at him.

He turned the wooden piece in his fingers, eyes lowering to the faintly burned letters carved into its surface. His eyebrows lifted just slightly as he read it.

"...’Stare at the person of the opposite sex and closest to you for fifteen seconds?’" he muttered aloud.

His gaze turned as he looked at the girl who was the closest to him.

There was only one possible answer.

Lyra.

She blinked once, then twice, before her lips curved into a small, pleased smile.

"...Hehe."

Gray huffed quietly, the corner of his mouth lifting.

"Alright," he said calmly, placing the piece aside.

"Let’s start. It’s just fifteen seconds."

A few nods went around the circle.

"Ohhh, this is already good." Ronan clasped his hands together.

Gray and Lyra turned fully toward each other.

For a moment, nothing happened.

"...Mhm..."

"...Mmnn..."

They simply looked at each other.

At first, Lyra held his gaze easily, eyes bright, shoulders relaxed. But as the seconds dragged on, the silence grew heavier, more noticeable.

Gray’s expression didn’t change, but Lyra, on the other hand, wasn’t faring nearly as well.

Her ears slowly turned pink.

Then her cheeks followed.

Her lips parted just a little, breath growing softer, her fingers curling slightly in her lap as she fought the urge to look away.

Every second felt longer than the last, and the way Gray’s eyes never wavered only made her heart pound harder.

"...T-ten seconds," Ronan whispered dramatically.

Lyra swallowed.

Her face was burning now, color spreading all the way down to her neck, but she stubbornly held on, eyes trembling yet locked onto his.

"...Time," Adrian finally said.

Lyra snapped her gaze downward instantly, covering half her face with both hands.

"...That was harder than I thought," she exhaled deeply.

"HAHA, harder? All you did was literally look at your boyfriend!"

At those words, Ronan burst out laughing.

"You don’t have a girlfriend to know how it feels!" Lyra shot him a glare so sharp it could’ve cut rope.

"Ughhhh!"

Ronan was directly shot in the area where it hurt.

"You did fine, Lyra," Gray added lightly.

That single sentence was enough to make her ears turn red again.

"Okay, okay," Adrian clapped his hands together, flashing what seemed to be a charismatic grin.

"Next turn. Someone else, before Lyra melts into the ground."

The tower still stood tall, barely disturbed.

Selene was the next to move.

She leaned forward with a lazy smile, deliberately brushing close to Gray’s side as she did so. Lyra’s posture stiffened instantly, her hand tightening around Gray’s arm in an obvious, very possessive way.

’...Am I getting a Déjà vu?’ Gray shivered inwardly.

She slid a block free and turned it over.

"...’Hold hands with the opposite sex for thirty seconds.’"

The air changed.

"Oh? Oh?? This is getting good." Ronan leaned forward.

Selene’s eyes flicked to Gray without hesitation.

Lyra didn’t even wait.

She reached for one of the wine bottles, popped the cork with far more force than necessary, and poured herself a generous shot.

"I’ll drink for you," she said flatly.

"That fast?" Selene blinked.

"Gulp, gulp... cough!" Lyra downed it in one go, coughing slightly afterward but refusing to look embarrassed.

"Next."

The guys stared.

"...That should be illegal," Ronan muttered.

"You’re not even pretending."

"Your turn, Selina," Selene smirked, clearly pleased, and set the block on top of the tower again.

She leaned forward immediately, her fingers steady as she reached for a block near the upper layers.

The piece slid free without so much as a tremor.

She glanced at the writing and smiled.

"...’Whisper something sweet to the opposite sex cloest from you.’"

That person... was unfortunately Ronan.

"OH COME ON! NOW we’re talking!" Ronan’s head snapped up so fast his neck almost cracked.

Selina slowly turned her head toward Gray.

Held his gaze for exactly half a second.

Then, without breaking her smile, she reached behind her, grabbed a glass, poured herself a shot, and drank it in one single motion.

...You didn’t even consider it." Leon blinked.

"I did. I rejected it." Selina exhaled lightly, setting the glass down.

"That fast?" Gray raised an eyebrow.

She met his eyes again, this time with a playful glint.

"Some things are better left implied."

"I’ve never felt so thoroughly ignored in my life upon hearing her words," Ronan clutched his chest.

Lira was next.

She stared at the tower like it was a mechanical puzzle, and after a few long seconds, she extracted a block from the second layer with clinical precision.

She read the text.

"...’Compliment the eyes of the opposite sex.’"

Her face didn’t change.

Then, slowly, she turned her head toward Gray.

She met his eyes... and looking at those hypnotic circles, even she, who was naturally cold by heart... couldn’t.

"...No," she said flatly.

She picked up the bottle, poured herself a shot, and drank it without a word. No sputtering, or drama... just an instant refusal.

"THIS IS STATISTICALLY IMPOSSIBLE!!!" Ronan slammed his palm against the dirt.

"THE ODDS DON’T WORK LIKE THIS!"

Lira didn’t even look at him.

She simply wiped the corner of her lips with the back of her hand after the shot and placed the glass down neatly, as if she had just finished a routine maintenance task.

"Your statistical model is flawed," she said calmly.

"You forgot to account for preference bias."

Ronan stared at her before scoffing.

"...I hate smart people."

They continued playing, and after a while, the Jenga tower, which previously had eighteen layers, now had twenty-two, and the gaps were more visible than before.

"Oh? Is it my turn again already?" Selene exclaimed, her lips curling upward.

She didn’t even hesitate as her tiny fingers slid out a block from the lower-middle section.

...Creack..?

The tower groaned.

Everyone held their breath.

It stabilized.

"Tch," Leon muttered.

"Of course."

Selene glanced at the block and read aloud:

"’Spicy round: place your hand on the thigh of the closest person of the opposite sex for ten seconds.’"

"WAIT, I’M CLOSEST!" Ronan’s head snapped toward her.

Selene’s eyes flicked to Gray instantly.

Then away.

She clicked her tongue softly.

"...Pass."

She poured herself a shot and drank it, smiling as the alcohol burned down her throat.

"Shame. Rules are rules."

"I WAS RIGHT THERE!!!" Ronan collapsed forward onto his elbows.

Selina was next.

She adjusted her posture, eyes scanning the tower like a chessboard before removing a block near the top. Clean. Efficient.

She read it once.

"...’Spicy round: whisper where you’d like to be touched by the closest person of the opposite sex.’"

The closest person to Selina was Adrian.

Adrian froze.

Slowly, hope bloomed on his face.

"O-oh?"

Selina looked at him and held eye contact for exactly one second... but just then, she turned away, already pouring wine into her cup.

"Rejected," she replied plainly, downing the shot.

"That information is classified."

Adrian laughed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Wow. I didn’t even get emotionally injured. That’s new."

Now it was Lira’s turn again.

She hesitated slightly this time, not because of fear, but because the tower was starting to look genuinely unstable.

After a moment of calculation, she slid out a block from the third layer.

The tower tilted.

Stopped.

She exhaled quietly.

"...’Spicy round: lean close and tell the closest person of the opposite sex one thing you like about their body.’"

The closest person to Lira was Leon.

"...Huh." Leon blinked.

Lira slowly turned her head toward him.

Then, without changing her expression, she reached for the bottle.

"No."

She poured a shot, drank it, and added:

"I decline participation."

"Fair," Leon nodded, oddly relieved.

"THIS GAME IS CURSED!" Ronan screamed into the dirt.

Claire went next, visibly nervous now that the word spicy had become a pattern.

"O-okay... okay..." she muttered, pulling a block far too carefully.

She read it, eyes widening.

"...’Spicy round: hold hands with the closest person of the opposite sex for thirty seconds.’"

The closest person to Claire was Gray.

Her face instantly turned bright red as she froze while everyone leaned in.

Everyone leaned in.

"...You don’t have to if you don’t want to." Gray tilted his head slightly.

Claire’s fingers trembled as she glanced at him, but seeing Lyra’s gaze filled with killing intent, she gulped hard.

"...I...I—!"

She squeaked, grabbed the bottle with both hands, and drank a shot so fast she nearly choked.

"I can’t do it!!!" she blurted out.

Hearing her words, Lyra’s eyes, full of killing intent, instantly dissipated. And so did Selene’s cold gaze, that she was barely holding back.

And now...

It was Gray’s turn as he carefully slid out a piece and read aloud:

"...’Extremely spicy round: Do a seven minutes in heaven with the person of the closest sex that is the furthest away from you.’"

The atmosphere instantly turned cold.