’They were already weird enough as it was, but this was on a whole other level entirely!’

Blake scoffed to himself, replaying their words in his head as if they had actually been said in good faith. Not that he had ever expected his stepmother to, well... not pin the blame on him for something.

Still, the doctor’s presence made everything feel even more uncomfortable. The atmosphere in the room was strange in a way he couldn’t properly explain.

Not that he even had the energy to think too deeply about it. After all, these people knew Blake, not him.

’They might pull some insane stunt if they actually convince themselves I’ve got some kind of mental problem...’

Not that any mental condition would explain such a drastic change in behavior anyway.

After all, he was nothing more than a stain. More specifically, a stain that could become an even bigger problem if his existence was dragged into the public eye.

Sitting on the bed, Blake stretched his legs slightly.

’If they seriously try throwing me into some mental institution or some shit... tsk. A psychiatrist would probably say I’m fine, but they’re rich. They could easily pay someone off.’

Sometimes, running away seemed like the only reasonable option left. Far, far away.

But Blake was a responsible person.

So obviously, he couldn’t do that.

Blake placed his phone on the bedside table before grabbing one of the pillows and tossing it onto the floor.

With a quiet sigh, he sat down on it.

Then, after unlocking his phone, he opened the camera application.

It wasn’t like he particularly wanted to admire himself or anything. Using the camera as a mirror was simply easier than leaving the room again. Right now, the last thing he wanted was to accidentally run into another family member.

Carefully, Blake picked up the small container of pomade.

The moment he opened it, a faint medicinal smell drifted into the air.

’Great...’

Scooping a small amount onto his fingers, he started applying it over the bruised areas on his face while watching himself through the phone screen.

Honestly...

It wasn’t a complete disaster.

The pomade felt cool against his skin, soothing some of the lingering heat around the bruises. Though at the same time, there was a faint tingling sensation that made him grimace slightly.

’Feels weird.’

Still, it was manageable.

After finishing with the visible bruises on his face, Blake awkwardly twisted around to apply some to the injuries along his back as best as he could.

Reaching certain spots was annoying, but eventually he managed.

By the time he was done, the dull ache throughout his body whenever he moved had lessened ever so slightly.

Blake let out another tired sigh.

Since the pomade still needed time to absorb properly, wrapping bandages over it immediately would probably just make everything messy and uncomfortable.

Instead, he simply pulled on a loose hoodie afterward, making sure the fabric wouldn’t rub too harshly against the injuries on his back.

Slowly getting back onto the bed, Blake picked up his phone again.

The screen lit up instantly.

11:03 AM.

’Ugh, it’s too early to message Myles... he is probably still stuck in class right now anyway.’

Blake leaned back against the headboard, staring blankly at the ceiling for a few moments.

He was bored.

Extremely bored.

There was only so much lying around injured a person could tolerate before losing their mind.

Eventually, after another minute of silence, Blake exhaled quietly.

’Well... guess my time has come.’

"Drop the blueprints," he muttered.

[ Yes, Dear Host. ]

The ring flickered faintly.

A moment later, the holographic blueprint projection appeared once more alongside the stack of papers Blake had previously written on.

The familiar sight immediately made his expression turn serious.

Even if he wasn’t planning on doing anything immediately, he still had to think about his next move.

Especially now.

For one thing, he obviously needed time to recover first.

And secondly...

He absolutely did not want to come back to this villa again just to heal.

The place irritated him.

Not to mention, he had to stay close to Myles.

Blake reached toward the floating display, eyes narrowing slightly as he began examining different sections carefully.

His next destination would need to change.

Originally, he had considered several possible locations already, but after what happened recently, going somewhere predictable felt stupid.

What he needed now was a place where aliens were likely being kept captive.

Of course, unlike AFE, the rest of the country didn’t exactly have giant facilities shaped like prisons specifically designed for extraterrestrial beings. Most places looked deceptively normal.

Still...

Something had to work, right?

’I will go back to AFE again, just, I bet it’s heavily supervised now, so it’d be useless.’

Blake started checking every suspicious-looking location one by one.

Research labs.

Underground facilities.

Restricted compounds.

Storage sites.

Anything remotely questionable.

As he searched through the blueprints, his thoughts drifted back toward the building Myles had destroyed before.

The one where he’d rescued the aliens.

From what Blake could tell, that entire structure had only connected to a single underground corridor leading toward research sections and study rooms.

Which meant every alien had actually been kept inside the building itself.

Blake stared at the hologram in disbelief.

’That’s insane.’

The place honestly hadn’t looked nearly large enough for that.

Then again, Freddie had warned him before that the blueprints were likely outdated.

So maybe parts of the structure had changed.

Unfortunately, there wasn’t much Blake could do about that right now.

Clicking his tongue softly, he tilted his head.

’They can’t possibly have that many aliens... right?’

A dozen?

Sure.

Maybe a few dozen.

But hundreds?

Thousands?

Surely not.

The thought alone sounded ridiculous.

Blake scratched at his head in frustration while continuing to scroll through the layouts.

None of the facilities he currently had marked looked convincing enough.

But then again, what exactly was a building used to imprison aliens supposed to look like?

There wasn’t exactly a universal architectural style for illegal extraterrestrial containment.

Maybe he was overthinking things.

Or he should just investigate one of Myles’ bases again.

The second the thought appeared in his head, Blake immediately frowned.

After considering it for only a few seconds, the idea somehow sounded even scarier than before.

He quickly waved the thought away.

’Absolutely not.’

There was no way he could compete against half-aliens.

Normal guards were one thing.

Enhanced monsters were another entirely.

Blake rubbed his temples before speaking again.

"Put everything away."

[ As you wish, Dear Host. ] 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

The holographic projection disappeared instantly alongside the papers.

Silence returned to the room.

For a brief moment, Blake simply sat there.

Knock. Knock.

He looked toward the door.

A maid’s voice soon followed.

"Young master, lunch is ready."

Blinking once, Blake checked his phone again.

12:57 PM.

’Already?’

Getting off the bed, he walked toward the door before opening it slightly.

The maid stood there holding a tray.

He took it carefully.

"Thank you."

The woman gave a polite nod before leaving.

Closing the door again, Blake carried the tray back toward the bed and sat down.

The lunch itself was surprisingly decent.

Chicken soup, rice and steamed vegetables, with some fruit on the side.

’Yummy!’

As he stared at the tray for a moment, another thought crossed his mind.

Since it was lunchtime, Myles was probably in the cafeteria right now.

Which meant, he could probably call him!

After no seconds of hesitation, Blake pressed the call button.

The phone rang briefly before Myles picked up.

"Hi," Blake said first.

Myles hummed softly in response.

Blake rested back against the pillows slightly.

"What’re you eating?"

"Rice with tomato sauce."

Blake immediately thanked every higher power in existence that he wasn’t currently at school.

He absolutely hated that combination.

"What?"

"Nothing."

A short silence followed before Myles spoke again.

"Did you eat yet?"

Blake glanced down at the tray.

"Not yet. I’m about to now."

Then he added honestly,

"I’m not really that hungry though."

"You should eat at least more than half."

Blake let out a small snort before finally picking up the spoon.

"Yeah, yeah. That much I can do."

He took a few bites before continuing.

"But at least I don’t have to worry about medicine anymore. The doctor said resting should be enough now."

Myles hummed quietly at that.

"Did you hurt your teeth too?"

Blake froze slightly.

’Woah, I know that my cheek has gotten more swollen today, but my voice is just slightly different...’

How did Myles always somehow get so ridiculously close to the truth?

"It’s just a big canker sore," Blake answered after a moment. "That’s why talking feels annoying."

"It hurts?"

"A little."

More than a little, actually.

"But I’ll survive."

The sound of a school bell suddenly rang faintly through the phone speaker.

’Guess break is over.’

Blake sighed quietly.

"Bye bye."

"Bye."

The call ended shortly afterward.

But almost immediately after the line disconnected, noise came from outside his room.

Blake frowned.

Slowly setting the tray aside, he stood up before walking toward the door.

The closer he got, the clearer the voice became.

And unfortunately...

He recognized it instantly.

His half-brother.

Blake’s expression immediately flattened.

’How troublesome.’