"Stop!"

Van wanted to tell his story about the rat and the maggots, but it would seem that Beatrice and Harvey were no longer in the mood for stories. It was rare for him to tell his life before the Academy, so he wanted to share some of his memories with his friends, but sadly, they didn't seem to want to hear it. ​​

"What about the story when I had to drink sewer wa--"

"Okay", Beatrice clapped her hands as she stood up, "We still need to wash the dishes", she then said as she grabbed some of the plates from the table.

"I can do that on my own", Andrea said as she quickly grabbed the remaining plates.

"No, please let me help", Beatrice shook her head as she quickly walked to the sink, not even waiting for Andrea.

Seeing Beatrice leaving, Harvey could not help but laugh. "It would seem your story is the scariest, Van", he said as he hit his leg a couple of times, "They took off before you could even start it!"

Beatrice could only sigh as Harvey's laughter reached them all the way to the kitchen. "Sorry for intruding so suddenly", she said as she continued to wash the plates.

"Nonsense", Andrea shook her head, "I have plenty of space in my room. I will set it up and sleep on the floor"

"What?", Beatrice raised her eyebrows, "No, if anyone is going to sleep on the floor it should be me. We can just sleep beside each other?"

"Are you sure?", Andrea chuckled, "I swing the other way"

"That…", Beatrice was confused at first as to what Andrea meant, but after a few seconds, her eyes widened in shock as she realized what she meant. "...Are you sure you can tell me that?"

"Well, A friend of Evans is a friend of mine", Andrea smiled. Having relationships with the same sex was outlawed by the new government due to the dramatic decrease in population. One could face jail time if one were to be caught… entangling with the same sex.

"You can keep it a secret, right?"

"O… Of course", although Beatrice's face was still a bit flushed, she still nodded resolutely. "B… but about the bed, please let me be the one sleep on the floor"

"Let's just sleep on the bed", Andrea said, "You don't have to worry, you're too young for my tastes", she then chuckled loudly.

"And I am also kind of dating someone right now", she then winked.

"I… I see", Beatrice also chuckled awkwardly.

"What about you?"

"Hm?"

"Which one of the two do you like?", Andrea said as she slightly tilted her head, gesturing towards Van and Harvey.

"N… no one!", Beatrice's face was once again flushed red as she stuttered. "W… we're all friends!"

"...Oh?", Andrea chuckled teasingly. "Evans is a cute boy, are you not interested in him?"

"N… no!", Beatrice shook her head vehemently, but after a few seconds, she abruptly stopped as she looked at the newly washed plate in front of her, reflecting her flushed face, "But… I do admire him", she said.

"He is someone I must surpass…", she let out a deep breath as her eyes gained weight.

"I see…", Andrea let out a tiny sigh, "...Just don't let yourself be in the position of choosing between your friends or your goal", she said as she poked Beatrice's nose, placing a foam of soap on it.

"Hm", Beatrice nodded in response. Her goals were important, but she also knew the value of having friends. That was one of the reasons why her parents' guild did not take off-- because they lacked connections.

While the two of them were talking to each other, Van and Harvey could not help but stare at their backs.

"How many dishes are they washing for it to take this long?"

"Hm…"

A few more minutes had passed and Andrea and Beatrice were finally finished washing the dishes. The four of them chatted for another hour before going to their respective rooms.

And not even a minute had passed as they entered the rooms, "What!? Whose is this, bro!?", Harvey already found the women's clothes in Van's closet.

"I… I thought Andrea was family!?", Harvey released a loud gasp, but instantly changed his expression and squinted his eyebrows as he looked at Van, "Unless… Bro, are you gay?", he then said.

There goes my good night's sleep, Van thought. It took a while for Harvey to calm down, and both of them chose to sleep on the floor for some reason.

A few minutes of silence passed and Van thought that he could finally be able to fall asleep as his consciousness started to fleet away, but then, Harvey suddenly spoke.

"Van…", he whispered, "The group that beat you up"

"...Hm?", Van furrowed his eyebrows.

"Please tell me the truth", Harvey then sat up as he looked at Van, "Was my brother part of that group?"

"..."

"Yes"

A single word from Van and all the noise in the room seemed to have died down. Even the whispers that Van usually hears were now quiet, with only their breaths to echo in the room.

Harvey then let out a deep breath as he lightly sniffled, "...I thought so", he whispered.

He then suddenly stood up, Van was about to turn his [Time Perception] skill on, but then a loud sound reverberated through the entire room as Harvey smacked himself on the face. The force was loud and strong enough to shake the windows and mirrors present in the room.

"!!!", Van furrowed his eyebrow as he stood up, "What are you do--"

Before Van could even finish his words, Harvey kneeled on the ground and started sobbing, "Please… please forgive him!"

"Evans!?"

Another loud banging noise reverberated in the room as Andrea barged into the room in a panic, causing the door to slam to the wall. "What's going o--"

She instantly ended her words with a gasp as soon as she saw Harvey kneeling on the floor, his nose bleeding profusely. Beatrice was the next one to enter the room, her hair already waving due to the wind circling around her body.

"Please Van!", Harvey once again hit his face, "Please forgive my brother for doing that to you!"

"Evans… what's happening?", Andrea once again asked.

"..."

"I don't know really what to answer to that, Harvey", after a few seconds of just staring at Harvey, Van finally opened his mouth, "Because the thing is… your brother left me for dead"

"...What?", Andrea furrowed her eyebrows.

Hearing Van's words, Beatrice's eyes could not help but widen in shock. "Harvey, could it be…?"

"W… what's going on!?", Andrea hollered in frustration.