"Geez, this place is really stacked..." Feng Mian muttered as we nudged our way in the store.

"Yeah...everyone's here to secure a good place to rest. No doubt about it. From the looks of it, this place is probably full already," I noted. "Should we try another?"

Qing Yue shook her head. "If it was already full, there wouldn't be this many people still waiting here. Let's try our luck first. I remember this store being really big, and since each bed model has its own room, this is the perfect place for resting."

"For real? Every model has its own individual room for showcasing?" I asked in surprise.

Yu An Yan nodded. "Yeah, Qing Yue's right. I've been here before with An Xue, and I remember our amazement at seeing how real the showcasing was in this store."

I sighed. "So...in other words, they have it like this to depict an actual bedroom, and make customers feel as if they have already purchased the bed? Damn...what a cunning strategy. The amount of resources and money needed for this definitely wasn't small."

"That's true, but this store is very popular. It probably already made back its money a long time ago," Feng Mian said.

"Okay! Everyone get in line please! We cannot do anything if everyone is all over the place! Thank you for your cooperation!" a bright female voice rang out over a megaphone. I turned to see a tall girl with her auburn hair tied up in a ponytail. She continued to shout out instructions, and eventually the entire crowd that was in the front lobby of the store had gathered into one neat line. The girls and I, fortunately, managed to secure a pretty early spot.

The girl put away the megaphone after all of us had lined up, and began receiving the first customer...

Wait. That long black hair...it can't be, right?

I quickly patted Feng Mian, who was standing beside me, on the shoulder.

She turned to look at me. "Yeah?"

I pointed at the black haired girl who was currently talking to the auburn-haired one. "Look at her. Do you recognize her...?"

We couldn't see how she looked like since she was facing the front and we were behind her, but she still bore a striking resemblance to a certain someone we knew, just from the hair alone.

"Wait..." Feng Mian murmured, narrowing her eyes. "Is that...Obsidia?"

"Huh? Obsidia? Where?" Qing Yue asked, looking around.

"There," I replied, pointing in the black haired girl's direction again.

Qing Yue followed my finger with her eyes, eventually landing on Obsidia's figure.

Her eyes widened. "Oh! That's definitely Obsidia! Hey, Obsid-"

Just as Qing Yue was about to run over to her, I pulled on the back collar of her clothes.

"Woah-!" she let out in surprise.

"What are you doing?" I muttered in annoyance.

"E-Eh? But that's definitely Obsidia over there, shouldn't we call her?"

I fought back the urge to facepalm, and sighed. "Okay, first off, there's no guarantee she's actually Obsidia, and second, even if she was, there's a better time to talk to her. Not when we're in the middle of a giant crowd of strangers."

"Oh, yeah..." Qing Yue murmured, as if this had just occured to her.

Qing Yue...you're still too naive. Gotta think things through before making any action, be it big or small. The butterfly effect exists, after all. Just one small thing can eventually lead to a huge catastrophe.

Soon after, the girl who looked like Obsidia finished speaking with the auburn-haired girl, and she headed deeper inside the store, most likely towards one of the rooms. A few more customers followed, then it was our turn.

"Hello there, I assume you are also here to rent out a room for resting?" the auburn haired girl asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. I think everyone else is here for the same thing."

She sighed. "Normally, we wouldn't do this kind of service, but the manager said this was a good way to make money, so..."

Taking advantage of this disaster and charging people for it? Isn't that, like, against the law, or am I tripping?

"What are the costs here?" I asked.

"¥50 per hour, sir," she replied, and I nearly choked upon hearing these words.

"F-Fifty? For only an hour?"

"Y-Yes, I'm afraid so...these prices were set by the manager...I cannot change them, even though I feel like it's too high."

This 'manager' character...I'm going to give him a good beating if I ever get the chance to.

I looked at the other girls behind me. "Well? You heard her. Are we still doing this? ¥50 an hour means ¥400 for a whole 8 hours of rest, and that's just for one person."

Yu An Yan fell into thought. "This sum isn't a lot to the Yu family. I'll pay."

Yu An Xue nodded in agreement, and Qing Yue gave a thumbs-up.

Feng Mian just shrugged, as if she didn't mind whether we went along with this or not. Lan Xiao Su was too nervous with this crowd to say anything, and Mei Gui just stood there, as expressionless as ever.

Seeing as how majority rules, I sighed and made my decision.

"Alright, we'll pay."

"S-Sorry, sir, did you say we?" she asked, a look of shock on her face.

I nodded. "Yeah...? Is there a problem?"

She cleared her throat. "A-Ahem, correct me if I'm wrong, but are you acquainted with those girls behind you by any chance?"

"Uh...yeah?"

"And...are you paying as a group...?"

I nodded. "Mhm."

Too much of a hassle to pay individually, let's just pay for the seven of us all at once. Flaria doesn't count as a person.

She blinked for a few seconds, a blush rising to her cheeks for some reason, then hid her face behind the cash register and began inputting some keys. Yu An Yan handed me her card, and I swiped it on a machine when I was prompted.

"A-Alright, seven people, correct?" the receptionist confirmed.

"Yeah," I replied briskly.

Feng Mian, Qing Yue, Yu An Yan, Yu An Xue, Mei Gui, Lan Xiao Su, and I. Seven people total.

"G-Got it..." she murmured, before pulling her desk drawer open and taking out a single key, placing it in my hand.

I blinked.

She blinked back.

"Uh...only one key?" I asked hesitantly.

"Y-Yes?"

"...But...there's seven of us."

"And...you said you were paying as a whole."

Oh. OH. She misunderstood! She completely misunderstood!

"No no no, that's not what I meant when I said that...!" I quickly corrected her. "What I mean by paying as a whole was just because the seven of us are acquaintances, and paying individually would just be a waste of time. I was still expecting each of us to get our own rooms."

"Oh...I apologize!" the receptionist exclaimed, bowing her head in shame.

I shook my head. "Nah, that's my bad too for not explaining clearly..."

"But...there's just one problem," she said finally.

I raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"...There's only one room left."

*****

- A Certain Isolated Area within the Coastal Metropolis -

"Young master, are you really not willing to leave?" an old butler-looking man asked, concern lining the aged wrinkles on his face.

The young boy who was this butler's master sighed. "Like I said...I'm not abandoning this city."

"But your father and mother - Mr. Ming and Mrs. Ming - they are very worried about you back at home," the butler said, almost in a begging tone. "Please, young master...reconsider. This city has done nothing for you, and is far far below the Magic Capital's level in terms of technology and power. There is no reason to stay here and protect it. Just let it go and come home with me, young master...I beg of you."

"...I understand that...I do...but I cannot just do as you say and abandon this place," the young master said, a conflicted expression on his face.

"Why? Is there perhaps a person you cannot leave? If so, I can take them along with us as well, and leave this place for good."

The young master sighed. "There is indeed a person who I find really interesting, but...he definitely won't just leave with us."

"Who is this person?"

"His name is Xuan Kai. He's the same age as me, and also goes to Shenzhen Magic High School."

"Xuan Kai...is he perhaps the exiled son of the now ruined Xuan family?"

The young master nodded, and the butler frowned upon seeing this response.

"What is so interesting about a boy who was cast out of his own family? I heard he didn't even have magic, no?"

"That's exactly the point," the young master replied. "Everyone knew that Xuan Kai didn't have magic, but one day, all of a sudden, he used three elements all in one duel. And not only that, but he's really powerful too...I was beaten by him myself during the Advancement Exams."

After a short silence, the old butler spoke. "...Are you certain you will not return with me right now, young master?"

"...Yes. I have to see this through to the end."

"...As you wish."