"W-What do you mean there's only one room left?

" I asked, cold sweat forming on my forehead.

"I-I just checked, and there is only one vacant room...

" the auburn-haired receptionist girl stammered nervously.

I cleared my throat anxiously.

"Okay...and how big is this room?

"

"T-There is a double-king-sized bed in it, sir.

"

One double-king-sized bed...if one king-sized bed is enough to barely fit three people, then a double should fit six. Still not enough for all seven of us...and I doubt the girls would be comfortable sleeping in the same room with a boy anyway.

I turned to the girls.

"Okay, so...apparently, there is only one room left, but it's big enough to fit the six of you. In other words...I'll have to go somewhere else.

"

Lan Xiao Su was the first to respond.

"E-Eh? N-No! I'll leave! If there's only space for six, if I leave then...um, Xuan Kai, you can rest, right?

"

I shook my head.

"There's no point to doing that...like I said, there's only one bed.

"

"Ehehe, Big Brother Xuan Kai, are you getting shy?

" Qing Yue said with a wink.

"I don't particularly mind sleeping with you, y'know...

"

"But I do!

" I quickly exclaimed, cutting her off before she could say any more...indecent things.

"And I'm sure the other girls will mind as well, right...?

"

As I turned to look at the other four girls, I noticed Feng Mian, Yu An Yan, and Yu An Xue blushing deeply and averting their gazes. They didn't say anything in protest to sleeping with me, which was, quite frankly, a bit concerning. Meanwhile, Mei Gui remained as expressionless as ever.

Noticing my stare, Mei Gui spoke and gave her opinion.

"I do not mind, Master, as I have already slep-

"

I quickly moved in and covered her mouth before she could say anything more, and sighed in relief.

"A-Ahem, well, even if you guys don't mind, I do,

" I said defiantly.

"So, uh...I'm going to get out of here now. Peace.

"

I escaped quicker than they could react, and by the time they noticed what I just pulled there, I was already past the crowd and out of the store. I ran a good distance before finally stopping and catching my breath.

"Whoo...good thing I got out there. Otherwise Qing Yue probably would've forced me to sleep with them...

" I muttered to myself, when suddenly I heard someone call my name.

"Huh...wait, Xuan Kai...is that you?

"

*****

- Meanwhile, Back At Sleepless Starlight -

(Lan Xiao Su's Perspective)

"Um...s-so what do we do now?

" I asked timidly.

Kai Xuan...er, no...Xuan Kai just ran off before I could even react, and it seems like the other girls are similarly a bit surprised at how quickly he fled the scene.

I still don't know anything about him other than his real name...I feel like I've heard the name Xuan Kai somewhere before, but...I never really paid attention to these kind of things. I get the feeling that he is somehow connected to my family, since I may or may not have heard my mother mention his name once or twice back before she became cursed, but...

These girls too...I recognize Qing Yue and the Yu sisters since they are from big families, but Feng Mian and Mei Gui, also that Obsidia girl they were talking about earlier...I don't know any of them.

"Hm...well, even if we go look for him now, knowing Big Brother Xuan Kai, we'll never find him,

" Qing Yue mused.

"Might as well just do as he says and get a nice long sleep!

"

I blinked.

"E-Eh? Aren't you guys...um, worried about him or something?

"

"Huh? Worried? Him?

" Feng Mian laughed.

"Nah, he'll be fine. Nothing he can't walk away from. Even if he gets in a sticky situation, one way or another, he'll get out.

"

The way she spoke so confidently about him was something I admired, but I didn't let that show on the surface. Then, Yu An Yan walked over the receptionist and began talking with her.

"Er...what happened to that gentleman?

" the auburn-haired receptionist asked. The gentleman she was referring to was, I assume, Xuan Kai.

"He had to go do something,

" Yu An Yan lied, brushing the receptionist's question off with ease.

"Ah...so, are you still booking the room?

"

Yu An Yan nodded.

"Yeah. Double-king-sized, right?

"

"Yes...how many hours are you looking to rent?

"

Yu An Yan turned around to look at us.

"How much rest do you guys need? Be honest, no need to hold back.

"

"Hm...8 hours is the standard, I guess. I'm pretty tired, but 8 hours should be enough,

" Feng Mian said after some thought.

"Mhm! Same for me,

" Qing Yue added.

"I'm...fine...with anything...

" Yu An Xue murmured.

"I do not need sleep, as it is useless to me without Master here,

" Mei Gui said stoically.

Um...I have many questions as to what that statement means, but I will leave them aside for now.

Then, suddenly, the five girls all directed their looks at me, and I realized I was the last person.

"A-Ah! Um, I'm fine with anything!

" I quickly stammered, caught by surprise.

Yu An Yan smiled then turned back to the receptionist.

"8 hours it is.

"

"8 hours...alright, the total cost is ¥400. I'm only charging you the fee for one person since all of you are using the same room. The manager didn't have any time to set up different prices for every room size, but...

" the receptionist trailed off.

Yu An Yan pulled out her card from her wallet and tapped it on the payment terminal. After a short beep, the transaction was complete, and the receptionist handed us our key.

"Thank you,

" Yu An Yan said, and the receptionist nodded in return.

"No problem. Just keep walking down this hallway to the left. The room is the one at the very end. Enjoy your stay.

"

As the six of us headed towards our room, the receptionist picked up her megaphone again and began yelling something about there being no more rooms.

Once we were in the room, I gasped at how big the bed was. I've never ever seen a size this big before. The other girls didn't seem to surprised though. But then, Feng Mian suddenly stopped.

"Hm? What's up, Feng Mian?

" Yu An Yan asked.

Feng Mian glanced around.

"Um...I just realized this, but how are we going to clean ourselves? There's no shower or anything...

"

"Oh, you're right...sleeping without showering is kinda disgusting,

" Qing Yue agreed.

"Well...this is a shopping mall, I doubt there's any showers in this place,

" Yu An Yan said with a sigh.

I blinked, and then realized this was something I could help out with.

Raising my hand timidly, I spoke.

"U-Um...I don't know of any showers in the area, but I do have a Water Element affinity. Would that help?

"

The five other girls all stared at me in wonder.

"You do?!

" Feng Mian exclaimed happily.

I nodded nervously, surprised by her sudden excitement.

"Woah! This is great! We have a portable shower now!

" Qing Yue yelled cheerfully.

"Uh...I don't think calling her a 'portable shower' is very nice, but...in any case, this is good news,

" Yu An Yan said.

"I don't know much about Water Magic, but there's definitely a spell that can simulate a shower, yeah?

"

I nodded.

"It's a Level One spell, fairly easy. It's called Drizzling Rain. I can set it up in a bathroom.

"

"Great! Let's go then!

" Qing Yue exclaimed, grabbing my arm and running our the door. Since there were no bathrooms in the Sleeping Starlight, we had to go to an actual bathroom in the mall.

On the way out, Yu An Yan told the receptionist that we would be back in a little.

*****

- Meanwhile, In Another Location Within the Coastal Metropolis -

(Xuan Kai's Perspective)

"Xuan Kai...is that you?

"

I spun around to see a boy whom I recognized - a student at my school, and someone I have faced before in a fight.

"...Ming Hao?

"

"Oh, you're safe...glad to know,

" Ming Hao said with a sigh.

I scoffed.

"Why do you sound so dejected when saying that?

"

"H-Huh? No, I'm being honest here, I'm really glad you're still aliv-

"

I waved his response off.

"Yeah yeah, whatever. What do you want?

"

He blinked.

"Er...I know you probably won't agree to this, but...are you willing to leave with me to the Magic Capital?

"

I raised an eyebrow.

"What do you mean?

"

"I mean...this city is going to fall sooner or later, and everyone here will die. It's better to just leave now.

"

I scoffed.

"And just abandon this place?

"

Ming Hao averted his gaze.

"Yes....I knew it. You wouldn't agree to th-

"

"Sure,

" I suddenly said, which made Ming Hao stop his words in surprise.

"W-Wha-?

"

"Sure...or at least, that's what I'd like to say. I suggested this to the principal as well. Have the citizens all evacuate to another city, stuff like that. But he didn't agree, saying something about this place being where he was born and he must protect it, all that. I don't care about any of those things, but...here's a question for you. Can you take more people than just me?

"

"That's...I'm afraid not. If we take any more people, we're at risk of getting caught by the monsters.

"

I nodded.

"Thought so. I don't care about this city, but I'm not leaving behind the people I care about. I'm not going to let the people I worked so hard to get back just die now.

"

Ming Hao sighed.

"...I see. Well then...guess I'm not leaving either.

"