Noctis Noir

The girls went out of their room and headed towards the guys' room. Amelie quietly followed behind them wearing girly clothes Anna picked out for her. When they arrived at the sliding door, they took a peek inside through the small opening to see what they were up to.

As the guys fought over and chose their beds in the room, Sed sat on his bed and rubbed his chin. "I think this is the perfect time for some guy talk."

"What are we talking about?" Pio asked innocently.

Sed placed an arm over the priest's shoulder and smirked. "So, Pio, do you have any girl you like?"

Pio turned red like a tomato. "W-What!? What's with the sudden question?"

Everyone's eyes were on him.

"I like..." Pio paused. "I like everyone."

"Any specific girl?" Sed squeezed him using his arm.

"I like everybody," Pio struggled to speak while being crushed.

"Okay, moving on..." Sed's eyes searched the room for another target. "What about you, Sphinx?"

"Me?" Sphinx paused to think. "Well, Astrid is kind of cute." The moment his eyes met Garth's, he was greeted by a deadly glare, which frightened him.

"What about you, Tank? Any girl you fancy?" Sed asked after moving beside the crusader.

"I already have a wife in the real world," Tank replied quite calmly.

Luna felt her heart sink as she watched from behind the sliding door. So Tank is already married... Well, I guess it's not that surprising considering his age. He looks like he's in his late twenties.

"Woah. Really? Why isn't she here in Aries?" Sed was surprised by his answer.

"She's not really into this stuff. I tried to convince her to come here, but she didn't want to. The real world isn't my place either. It was always about boring office work. So, we ended up living apart."

"That sounds complicated."

"Indeed."

Sed searched for another person to ask. It wasn't long before he caught Lyngvi. "Any girl you like, Lyngvi?"

"Honestly, I don't really know. Back in the real world when I worked in the entertainment industry, I was never allowed to be in a relationship with someone. For me to keep my career, I had to avoid falling in love with a specific person as stated in the contract. It's been years since I've been in the industry, so I've gotten used to avoiding those feelings." When Lyngvi answered Sed's question, his face remained calm and serene that it almost seemed unreal to most of those who listened to him, including Lyria.

"That sounds tough," Sphinx commented.

"Only at the beginning, but later you'll realize that your own feelings can be controlled. It takes a strong mind and will." He smiled.

"Why did you leave the industry for Aries, Vi?" Magnus asked.

"Leave? I never left. It was the industry that left me. Once the artificial worlds were introduced, the industry slowly crumbled. How could it sustain itself when most of our audience moved to other worlds? Left with nothing, I followed Tank into this world."

Magnus felt like he stepped on a landmine. "Sorry to hear that, Vi."

"Ah. No need for apologies. Although different from the real world, there is still an entertainment industry in this world which I'm able to participate in. In a way, it's less restricting compared to my previous contract."

Tank's lips curved into a smile. "Not all is completely lost."

After a moment of silence, Sed decided it was time to move to the next person. "Frisk?" Sed turned his head to face the mage.

"I like all the girls," Frisk replied.

"Are you going for the same safe answer as Pio?"

"No, I mean it. I like all the girls."

"You pimp," Tank said.

Sed then turned his attention towards the Jupiter guildmaster. "Magnus?"

"A-As if there's someone I like!" Magnus' face was completely red. He was trying his best to hide his nervousness, but was failing at it. "Stop staring at me!"

"You know, your face does not match your words at all," Pio remarked.

"S-Shut up!" He turned away to hide his face.

"So, who is it, Magnus?" Frisk asked. "I never imagined that you would like a specific girl."

"I-I don't! Stop assuming that I do!" Magnus coughed several times. "What about you, Sed? You're the one who started this topic. You should tell us which girl you like."

Sed blushed like a tomato. "Well, it's..."

"We all know it's Jasmine," Pio said with a shrug.

"Pio!"

"Woah! Is it true?" Frisk was surprised.

"It's true," Garth replied for Sed.

"Garth! No, it's not what you think!" Sed shook his head vigorously.

As Sed continued to deny his crush on Jasmine, Yaya quietly snuck up behind the girls and grabbed them all. Her face was incredibly red from all the alcohol she ingested. "My pretty ladies! I'm not giving you away to the boys!"

"Yes! Take me! I'm yours!" Anna said happily with a nosebleed.

"Ok, she's drunk," Lyria said.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Sphinx was the first to notice the sounds from outside the room. His sharp sense of hearing was all thanks to the spying missions he often went to.

Sed laughed. "It's probably nothing, Sphinx."

"But I just heard something."

"Who cares? If it's a ghost, it can make all the noise it wants," Magnus replied while relaxing on the bed and eating gr.a.p.es.

Garth continued to glare at Sphinx, who was getting fed up with the guildmaster's glares. "What's your problem!?" the assassin exclaimed.

Sed stood up. "Excuse me, I need to use the toilet."

Luna whispered to the girls, "Sed is coming! Disperse!"

The eavesdroppers quickly disappeared out of sight using skills like Invisibility and Increase Movement Speed. Anna helped drag the intoxicated Yaya away from view.

"Wha? Wait!" Amelie couldn't run away fast enough. Sed immediately saw her.

Woah! What a cute girl! Sed thought while blushing. He did not recognize Amelie at all in the feminine attire.

"Are you lost?" he asked.

Amelie just nodded.

"I can help you find your room if you want."

"I'll be fine on my own. Thanks!" Amelie ran through the hallway and accidentally tripped. She fell with her face flat on the ground. She was sure it left a red mark on her nose.

"Are you ok!?" Sed ran to help her.

"I'm alive! Thanks for the concern!" She got up on her own and smiled. Then, she went back to running away, leaving Sed standing alone in the hallway.

"Who was that girl?" he asked himself.