Will the girls stop using the potions for a while? Of course not! They gathered in a circle like usual and talked about their time in another timeline. It's already gotten so late, so they decided to pick a potion; a sky blue colored potion.
"Let's gather up tomorrow. No one's going out," Eve said as she looked everyone in the eyes.
"No, I already have plans. Let me guess, is this about Chung? Literally everyone was talking about him," Nisha said with a skeptical look. Why did everyone suddenly care for him anyway?
"Plans? Where are you going?" Rena asked with a smile.
"None of your business. Do whatever. I'm gonna sleep first," Nisha replied as she walked to her bed. She had to wake up early to gather in Add's lab. Laby was excited about it, even though she wouldn't even read any book unless Nisha read one.
"Tomorrow is work time, though. I'll ask for a day off. Let's gather up!" Ara said with sparkly eyes. "Are we partying?"
"Hm… I don't think we have anything to party, but we'll see!" Rena opened up the mint potion.
Fly Potion: Ever dreamed of flying? A pair of magical wings is on your back!
Add's lab was more crowded than usual in the early morning with Chung and Nisha in it. They were browsing the online store to find a rare book. A seller might be a scammer, but they wouldn't care about that for now. They kept clicking 'order' on every 'interesting' title, eventually reaching the last page.
"That's not a lot. We only get 13," Add commented as he checked his purchase history. Would 13 books be enough when Chung read at least 1 book a day?
"Thank you, Add! I need to go. See you guys later," Chung smiled as he walked out of the lab.
Nisha faces Add, who was currently checking his e-mail for purchase confirmation. "Ara is taking a day off, so Ain won't work either. Do you want to come and help Chung?"
Add was startled by the question. Working as a waiter was definitely not his thing, but maybe he'd know Chung and Nisha better this way. He sighed heavily, slowly getting up to change his clothes. "Fine. Let's go."
Eve told everyone to stay home for the day, but she didn't see a few people. They were eating their breakfast, gathering in the dining room. "Did Chung go to work?"
"Add and Nisha are with Chung," Ciel nodded his head, since he saw them going out and did nothing about it. Now that was definitely a group that barely hung out together. "Raven and Aisha are going out somewhere."
Eve sighed, looking at everyone present at the dining table. Her biggest concern was Chung because of what her counterpart said, but… at least Noah was here.
"What do you want to talk about?" Elsword asked in curiosity. She can sense jealousy when Elsword noticed she cared for everyone else too.
"We're just living here like strangers," Eve said as she looked at everyone. Sure, she knew Elsword, but it feels like nobody else knew him. "About what happened last week… It was Chung's wish. Bloody Queen merely granted his fun needs. Something's wrong with him, but I'm sure it's not just him. All of us need to talk."
Elesis looked away and thought about what her counterpart said. How did none of them ever know what books that Chung read anyway? Even worse, he's not here. She faced Noah, who hadn't said anything and just ate his chips. "Hey Noah, how did you meet Nisha?"
"I was trying to steal her food," Noah answered bluntly, which was something unexpected for everyone. His lips formed into a smile as he recalled the day. "Nisha yelled at me, but she shared her food."
"Aw, that's so nice of her! She really has a unique way of showing how much she cares," Rose smiled at the story. She still remembered how Nisha showed her concern for Chung in her own way back when they were in another timeline.
"Stealing?" Ciel asked in curiosity. Aside from Noah's hobby of playing with ghosts, Ciel couldn't see him as a thief.
Noah simply gave a smile, showing a cute white handkerchief in his right hand. "Weren't you an assassin? I don't even steal anymore. I'm rusty."
Ciel laughed it off as he received his handkerchief back. "I guess I'm rusty too."
"My counterparts told me about Henir. What do you know?" Ain asked. The gang could be too soft in asking questions. If only he had full memory of what happened yesterday, he'd ask every single question that bothered everyone.
Noah hung his head leaving his snack on top of the table. "There was a group called Henir Order. They killed my brother."
Rena, who happened to sit next to Noah, patted his back lightly. Henir Order had already disbanded, but nobody knew what happened in Henir realm except Ain's counterpart, Herrscher. The gang expressed their sympathy toward Noah, while also trying their best to make the gang a new family for him.
"Maybe you should bake cakes more often. It's like a mini party for us," Lu suggested her idea to Ciel, but mostly it was for her own needs.
And Ciel saw through that. "Humans can't consume sugar every day!"
"Now, now, is it time for me to finally be blunt?" Rena smiled like normal, but it felt creepier and more threatening than usual. The gang stayed silent and waited for her to continue. "I know why Eve insisted us to gather here. Maybe the same goes for you guys, even though you have your own daily activity to do," she said with a serious look. The atmosphere became too tense. The only thing keeping them away from being serious was Noah grabbing his chips and eating it again. "This is about Chung, isn't it? He's been acting really weird. All of us 'suddenly' wanted to know what kind of books he actually read, correct?"
"There are novels and weird theory books. Why do you make it sound so mysterious when you can just grab it on the shelf?" Noah asked with a confused look. He felt like he offended them when they were actually surprised with what he was saying. "H-He didn't put it in his room… It's just there in the hallway where everyone can access."
Lu sighed, looking at everyone that seemed to be surprised with the 'weird theory books'. "I'm sorry in advance, but I need to say it… Are you guys retarded? He learned that his father died a few weeks ago. Not everyone can just move on from that kind of news. Even Noah is still having difficulty sleeping," Lu said with disappointment. Her statement obviously startled Noah, who almost choked on his chips. "What? Ciel told me that he hears you eating chips in the middle of the night quite often. Are you having nightmares?"
Noah gripped his bag of chips tightly. The image of his brother getting killed in front of him was still as clear as day. He wanted to forget it, but it was impossible. No matter how hard he thought of something else, his dream would be either Harque's death or Clamor's death.
Lu laughed nervously and apologized. "I lied on most parts, actually. We asked your other self, Liberator, about what happened in the past. I didn't expect you to have the same tragedy."
"It's… fine. I'm okay," Noah forced himself to smile and looked at everyone. "You guys are nice to me. I'll be fine."
"You can always talk to us if you need something. Don't hesitate," Eve smiled at Noah, wishing that he would open up more often.
"So, um…" Noah felt awkward when everyone was focusing their attention on him. He liked the sympathy, but being stared at made him feel uneasy. "Is Chung the only one being weird? I… don't know everyone that much. I'm sorry."
"Nisha never shared anything with us, to be honest," Ara stated the obvious fact they were having. Nobody knew Nisha that much. She's hard to approach when she only cares about Laby.
"Are you fine, though?" Rena asked with concern.
Ara smiled, resting her head on Ain's shoulder. If this was about Ara being left out in the gang, she didn't care about that anymore. "What do you mean? Of course I'm fine!"
"I fixed her. Don't worry," Ain reassured everyone in the most concerning way possible. Since they're engaged, the gang will let that slide.
"I have an important question," Lu asked as she raised her hand. "What's the potion effect? I don't feel anything."
Apparently it wasn't just Lu. Eve, Rose, and Ain didn't feel anything new either. They've been trying to find it out, but it seemed that they didn't get affected.
Woosh!
A pair of blue bat-like wings were spread behind Ciel's back. "I saw Add with black feathered wings this morning. We can fly for the day."
Patrolling wasn't the best activity, even if it's just to kill time. Raven was walking on his usual route, but Aisha was following him this time. It was more enjoyable when there's someone to talk to.
"There are so many things I haven't seen before!" Aisha said, looking around her surroundings like a tourist. She didn't wander around enough to know all the places. "Let's walk around again on your day off, Raven. I want to visit so many shops!" she said at Raven with a smile. "Do you not have a day off? You always work."
"I do, but I don't have anything better to do," Raven replied with a confused look. He found none of these places interesting. Maybe the cheap food stall and that's it. While he enjoyed Aisha's company, there was clearly something unusual going on. "Are you not with Nisha? You two are always together."
Aisha forced herself to laugh. She already shared so many things with him, so she didn't see a good reason to keep it a secret. All the weird nonsensical problems with Nisha and Chung were told; about how Nisha was affected by Chung's memories too much, then she ended up trying to get loved without knowing how to love someone that wasn't Laby in the first place.
Raven raised his one eyebrow, even more confused with what was going on with the girls. He didn't care what they were doing to try to get a boyfriend, but Nisha was never interested in it. She used to cling on him, but now she had more friends to hangout with. Nisha's behavior in Aisha's story was something he expected her to do. "No wonder she hangs out with Chung a lot whenever Lu isn't around," he muttered as he thought about it.
"Oh, what's on your mind? Everyone talks about Chung lately," Aisha asked, trying to not be sad about their past relationship too much. Why did everyone suddenly talk about him anyway? She's trying her best to move on here.
"Nisha mostly acts around Laby, except that one time she wanted your love. If Laby wants it, then she will do it," Raven said as he stopped at a certain shop.
Aisha glanced at the shop–which was the cafe their friends were working at. "Everyone keeps saying Chung is acting weird. Laby must have noticed it way earlier, but Nisha never said it. The reason should be much simpler than we thought," Raven continued as he stared at Aisha.
As Chung's ex-girlfriend, Aisha should understand what was actually happening to him and why Nisha kept spending her time with him until they were in that hotel. Chung and Lu were suddenly close, just like her and Nisha. Her eyes widened in surprise when she kept recalling her past memories. "It's Elsword and Eve, isn't it?" She uttered the question and faced Raven. "Technically Chung lost his best friend. Elsword is so attached to Eve."
Raven nodded his head. "That's what I think. Chung is just lonely… and I don't think he knows how to make a new friend. Laby has a simple mind. I'm sure she just wants to be Chung's new best friend."
Click!
Nisha opened the entrance, staring at them while folding her hands with an unimpressed look. She narrowed her eyes at them, judging them silently for standing in front of the cafe and talking like it's a comfy spot. "Are you guys going in or not? Don't block our customers."
Raven wasn't sure how to feel. Nisha's lack of a smile in her face while wearing maid uniform was actually a bit funny, but he couldn't laugh at that when she was merely doing her job. Judging by how the mirror floated around, Laby was very happy seeing Nisha in maid uniform.
Nisha sighed heavily and moved away to let them in. "We have a seat for two people. You guys can pretend to be on a date or something. Buy our champagne and enjoy it in broad daylight."
Raven chuckled at Nisha while Aisha shook her head with a flushed face. "I'll take on that. Any dish recommendations for the 'date'?" Raven smiled, accepting the offer.
Aisha yelped in surprise. Her face felt hotter and her heart beat quicker than Raven slashing his enemies. Did the sun just beam hotter light? Would this be a date? Or was it just a roleplay?
"Absolutely. Welcome back, masters," Nisha smiled and let them to their seats.
What was this about? Why are we here? Are we just checking on our friends? Are we actually having a short date? Aisha couldn't think anymore, but she kept coming up with questions that she couldn't answer.
On the other hand, Raven didn't have such complicated reasons. He said he wasn't interested in being a collectible boyfriend, but he was always fine hanging out around Aisha, even if it's just a random childish play. The part where the boys were into Aisha once wasn't a lie. Out of all the girls that played with potions to get a boyfriend, Aisha was playing around. Surprisingly enough, that's how she charmed the boys in the whole gang.
"Huh?! Add?!" Aisha shouted in surprise. It was like looking at Add they used to know; a tall guy with his ponytailed long hair wearing a butler suit smirking at them with his shark-like teeth. He was wearing sunglasses to hide his black sclera.
"What? I refuse to wear a maid outfit," Add cackled as he served their champagne. He didn't like his job, but seeing his friends made him happy.
"Why didn't you stay in this body?" Raven asked with curiosity. This was their first time seeing Add not in his child-like body after 2 years.
"My body is breaking apart. My child form is more stable than this," Add answered as he took his leave. Even so, he was still willing to be in his real body just to work in a cafe.
"D-D-Date, huh? I guess pretending to be on a date can be fun," Aisha forced herself to smile. It was definitely how Chung and her went out together until it didn't work anymore.
They cheered on their glass and took a sip. "Then why don't we have a date tomorrow?" Raven asked with a straight face while Aisha was barely able to contain her overflowing emotions. He looked at her, freezing on her spot like the time had suddenly stopped. "Are you busy?"
"N-No, I'm not busy! Let's go tomorrow," Aisha smiled, feeling a surge of excitement and happiness in her heart. She didn't have much feelings for Raven, but the date made her overjoyed.
Raven smiled back with a flushed face, which was something that Aisha had never seen before. The last time he felt excited like this was when his fiancee was still alive. He suddenly couldn't wait for tomorrow.
"Ooh… Nisha wasn't joking when she said this seat is hot."
Chung's words startled the two from their moment of looking at each other like a true couple. "Don't mind me. I'm just a maid to serve your fish and chips," Chung smiled as he served their food and walked back to the counter to leave them alone.
"He's been eyeing her for a while now. Finally he stopped being beta," Nisha sighed as she looked at the customers, checking if any of them needed help or not.
"He was actually afraid it would make me depressed. P-ssy," Chung also sighed and folded his arms.
The three workers spread their wings and went back home to take Noah to the bookstore Nisha was talking about. The sky had become a battlefield where everyone just freely attacked each other.
"Welcome home!" Lu greeted them as she landed on the ground. "You guys seemed to have fun!"
"We're going to a bookstore. Wanna come?" Add asked, hoping that Lu would come along too. She wasn't in Nisha's friend circle, but she's a close friend of Chung.
"Sure. I'm not a fan of reading, though," Lu nodded her head.
"Noah! Come with us!" Nisha shouted and waved her hands at Noah, who was currently healing everyone.
And the healer chose to approach them. "Of course!" He smiled without knowing where they're taking him.
Once again, they spread their wings and went out.
The bookstore located in the far corner of Sander was still open. There were more weird theory books than what she discovered yesterday.
"Oh, this is the Poco book! Should we try it?" Chung asked Nisha as he showed the book in his hand; Breeding Poco with Total Mind Power.
"We could. I would love him to multiply in battle," Nisha smiled as she nodded her head.
Noah rushed to them with a book in his hand; Bat Yoga. "I think you'd love this."
Chung's eyes sparkled as he gazed upon the book. "I have Hamster Yoga. This has to be a new series."
While the three of them were finding books together, Lu was following Add to the other book category. "What are you planning?"
"Don't we all get the same talk from our other selves?" Add asked back and stared at Lu. "You didn't come to the cafe. Did something happen at home?"
Add and Lu exchanged information on what was going on. "Nightmare…?" Add muttered as he glanced at Noah. "You do realize he has a sixth sense, right? I don't think the nightmare is about the murder."
"Oh? That's the first I heard about it," Lu thought about it. Sixth sense was the ability to see ghosts and spirits. Unlike demons that could freely take physical forms, ghosts and spirits were too weak to get in their own physical forms, hence why they possessed someone or something when it's possible.
But something that Add said didn't make sense to her. "Ain has the ability to repel ghosts. The nightmare is the murder, trust me," Lu said as she walked toward the three people. "Damn, you guys are buying a lot of books."
"I don't even read it. Laby hates reading. She prefers pictures," Nisha said with a straight look and faced Lu. She found it weird when Lu and Ciel weren't together, but it's none of her business. So she didn't ask about it and faced Chung instead. "Are you getting new novels?"
"I am. Wait a bit, please," Chung smiled as he wandered around the bookstore by himself to search for new novels.
After getting a lot of new books, they flew back home. Chung was so excited to read all the new books.
"Noah, I heard about Henir Order. Did you know someone is currently wandering in Henir realm? I asked Herrscher about it," Add asked. He brought Noah just for that question anyway.
Noah stopped, so the others did. He was surprised with what he just heard. "There's nothing to tamper anymore. All Henir research can be found in a book."
"Yet someone is still going there," Add said as he cracked the space behind him. Unlike his usual magenta colored space, it revealed a blue space; a space that was too familiar for Noah. "How curious are you? Henir is explorable in this timeline. Might as well do it while we have wings, no?"