Clayton, Jau, and Ryuga are picking up litter of the Ogre village. Since the village is big, it is taking them time but they are still working on it. “Are you not tired Ryuga Aragi?” Clayton who was just behind Ryuga asked Ryuga. “Do I look like I am tired?” Ryuga asked Clayton. “That’s weird because those other humans looked quite tired.” Clayton said to Ryuga. “I know but not all humans are the same. Some have more stamina than others while some have more intellect, some have more strength and some have more agility. It all depends on your upbringing.” Ryuga said to Clayton.

“I see…” Clayton cleared out the grounds behind me. “What about you demons?” Ryuga asked Clayton. “What do you mean?” Clayton did not understand Ryuga’s question. “I had heard that demons have different types of classes. Which class are you?” Ryuga asked Clayton. “Oh that, it’s more like a promotion and demotion system. Just like your hero system, we demons have the 7-wonder system. It starts from Lower-Class Demon to a Demon King.” Clayton explained. “I am currently a 3rd Wonder Demon, meaning I a Demon Warrior, which is considered a High-Class Demon, and in your system, it will be considered a B-Class Hero.” Clayton added.

Ryuga pulled out an orange juice can out of his bag, he passed it to Clayton, “Hmm? What’s this?” Clayton asked Ryuga. Ryuga pulled out an apple juice can from his bag and sat in front a house’s stairs, “It’s juice, you should drink it. After all, you are sweating, you might feel tired soon.” Ryuga said to Clayton. Clayton opened the orange juice can. “Cleaning things is harder than training where you get beaten over and over again. That’s for sure.” Clayton said and took a sip of the orange juice can, “This is good!” Clayton looked delighted. “You mentioned getting beaten over and over again. Is that how you trained?” Ryuga asked. “That’s how we demons train.” Clayton answered Ryuga.

“Hey, can I ask you something?” Ryuga asked Clayton. “What is it?” Clayton took another sip of the orange juice. “Has your strength stopped growing?” Ryuga asked Clayton. “What?!” Clayton looked quite surprised. “It’s just a theory but…If you know, you just keep on getting beaten over and over again, it will hinder your progress. You don’t learn anything by doing that. You just make your body stronger. That’s more or else made to endure. You have to learn to increase your strength as well, you need to learn to increase your agility, your mana, and much more stuff.” Ryuga explained, “It’s like this, right now you are that orange juice can, inside is your unreleased potential but if you train with the right person, your potential will greatly increase and just like you currently taste this tasty orange juice, you will taste your own hard work.” Ryuga kept on explaining. “I see…” Clayton looked at Ryuga and smiled, “Thanks, Ryuga Aragi. I won’t forget what you said.” Just before Ryuga was about to say “it was just a theory.” Clayton thanked. Ryuga smiled and answered, “Honestly, I don’t have limiters so you know…It’s kinda hard for me to grow but for you, it shouldn’t be a problem.” Ryuga said to Clayton.

“You say that you don’t have limiters but didn’t you pass the entrance exam?” Clayton asked Ryuga. “Hmm?” Ryuga looked quite confused. “Oh right, I did give a test before coming to this academy. Apparently, I got the fifth highest score when it came to scoring in the written test but you know, I didn’t do so well in physical tests, almost all of them were below average or really low. I didn’t fail any of them.” Ryuga said with a nervous smile. “You speak as though you didn’t want to be a hero.” Clayton says as he takes the final sip of his orange juice. “Nah, I never wanted to have anything to do with Ghosts, heroes, villains, Illuminati. I didn’t want any kinda crazy shit like that. I just wanted to live a normal life.” Ryuga said. “My father registered my name for this academy since he said that I couldn’t get into any other high school. He said that I wasn’t able to get into any high schools because they were full but deep down…I knew that no one would accept a student who beat 4 classmates to near death.” Ryuga said to Clayton with a sad smile.

“Don’t you think that you are being too cozy with me? You know that you should never trust a demon, right?” Clayton said to Ryuga as he kept the orange juice can inside his pocket. “You are a demon and yet you were telling me about how you trained. I think so that’s more dangerous than knowing my past.” Ryuga said with a smile. Clayton smiled as well. Ryuga and Clayton continued to collect trash throughout the village and at the end of the day, they ended up in a hot bath.

~GHOST WORLD ACADEMIA~

Mearid, Ryuga, and Clayton all soaked themselves in a hot bath inside a huge pot. “This feels almost as good as a hot spring.” Ryuga said as he felt the hot water flow through his tired body. “Indeed, that is where we got this inspiration from.” Mearid said to Ryuga. “Are we the only ones who will bath in this hot pot?” Clayton asked Mearid. “Yes, this is my personal hot pot, you can buy one in the market but that’s quite expensive.” Mearid answered Clayton’s question.

“Ryuga, you seriously don’t mind me looking at you naked?” Alicia asked as she floated behind Ryuga’s head. “You do realize that I can see things that I shouldn’t, right?” Alicia added to her question. Ryuga smirked, “How about you get naked too?”

On the other side, Jau who was getting naked to go in the hot pot along with her mother, Yuri, and Mayumi heard Ryuga. Jau thought that she just misheard Ryuga and let it go.

“Do you seriously want to see me naked?!” Alicia asked Ryuga. “You wouldn’t enjoy a hot bath with clothes on. You will just lose your consciousness.” Ryuga said. “I see...” Alicia looked a little embarrassed. “I am sure you would look great naked too. I mean just look at them boing boings.” Ryuga pointed at Alicia’s boobs while Clayton and Mearid calmly soaked in the hot water.

On the other side, Jau heard Ryuga and got even more embarrassed, she thought that Ryuga was talking about her. “Where is he peeking at me from?!” Jau looked for Ryuga left and right. “Jau! What’s taking you so long?! Get in here or else you won’t get this hot pot bath!” Unschiul scolded Jau.

“I bet you there are at least a solid F.” Ryuga got a sandal thrown right from the other side by Jau. “Ach!“ Ryuga looked really confused, “Wait isn’t this Jau’s?!” Ryuga looked even more confused. “It looks like Sis Jau might have heard you, Tee-Hee~” Alicia chuckled. Ryuga sighed, “Whatever, let me just enjoy the bath.” Ryuga threw away the sandal which went and hit Mayumi in the back of her head.

Jau and Yuri both tried to hold their laughter back as Mayumi got hit by the unexpected sandal.

~GHOST WORLD ACADEMIA~

Everyone dried themselves up after they had a hot pot bath. Unschiul went ahead to make dinner and Yuri was tired so she went ahead before everyone. That left Jau and Mayumi putting on their nightclothes. “I can’t believe that Ryuga enjoys the company of a mannerless Ogre more than me.” Mayumi said to Jau. “At least mannerless is better than someone who betrays one.” Jau said to Mayumi. The exchange of their words was quite fierce. “Yeah right, to rescue a bitch like you he humiliated himself. At least, he hasn’t faced humiliation because of me even once.” Mayumi smirked. Jau walked out of the dressing room inside her house, “You say that but you didn’t even try to protect his humiliation. More like, you were nothing but a wall for him because you had broken his trust.” Jau then started thinking, “Oh wait, you did try to protect his humiliation but stopped because he told you to stop, did you even care about Ryuga in the first place Mayumi Revons?” With those words, Jau moved out of the dressing room.

Mayumi started biting her thumb's nail, “That bitch! Someday, I am going to kill her!” Jau came in and smiled, “Dinner is waiting for you.”

~GHOST WORLD ACADEMIA~

There was dinner inside the chief’s house where Ryuga, Clayton, and Yuri already had arrived. Everyone seems to be enjoying it. Jau joined in as well and behind her even Mayumi came. Mayumi seemed quite frustrated.

“Ah, Mearid-Unfurn, I need to know about our sleeping arrangements.” Ryuga asked Mearid about the sleeping arrangements and he got his answer. Ryuga and the others were supposed to sleep in the hut next to them which had 4 rooms but unfortunately, 1 of the rooms got infested by rats. Ryuga felt that right in his heart.

“I am sorry that one of you will have to stay in a single room.” Mearid looked quite disappointed in himself. “There’s no need for that. Ryuga can stay here with us.” Jau made her statement. “And where will he stay?” Unschiul asked Jau. “Mother, there is another room that is here that no one is using.” Ryuga’s eyes widened as he looks at Jau’s sad face. “Oh yeah, that room, I don’t know why we built that stupid room…” Unschiul looked lost. Ryuga didn’t have the strength to look at Alicia after that. “Yeah…I wonder too…” Even Mearid looked quite sad.

“Ryuga, is something the matter?” Clayton asked Ryuga. “It’s nothing.” Ryuga said with a nervous smile. “So, you can stay here, right?” Clayton asked Ryuga. Ryuga nodded with a sad expression, “Yeah.” He said with a sad voice. “If there is anything you want to share, feel free to. I will listen to your problems.” Clayton whispered to Ryuga. “Never thought that a demon would tell that to me.” Ryuga said with a smile. “Never thought that I would be friends with a human.” Clayton smiled. “Thanks…Clayton.” Ryuga said with a sad smile. Clayton nodded.

Jau looked quite confused, “When did those two become buddy-buddy?”

~GHOST WORLD ACADEMIA~

Jau leads Ryuga to his room after dinner, “I think you know whose room this is.” Jau says to Ryuga. Ryuga nods, “I do…I do very well…” Ryuga looked quite sad and Alicia hadn’t spoken a single word since they came inside Mearid’s house. “I will…See you later.” Jau said and left without saying much. Ryuga sighed.

Jau stayed behind the closed door. She looked quite sad. “Alicia…Why?! Why does fate always bring you up even when we don’t want to bring you up?! Today it was because of those damn rats…Mother spoke ill about the very room she built especially for you. I don’t want to hear ill about the hero I always admired. It hurts, it hurts that only I know about her.” Jau cried her tears out.

Mearid watched Jau as she cried, “Little Jau…Only if I was there to save our Alicia…This might have not happened.” Mearid looked quite disappointed at himself, “I shouldn’t have sent her to work for the Arkwet’s…I never should have done that. It was all my mistake.” Mearid looked quite angry at himself.

~GHOST WORLD ACADEMIA~

Inside Alicia’s room, “Hey, don’t you want to say anything?” Ryuga asked Alicia. He knew that this was Alicia’s room. He knew that this place was quite important to him. “Even if I said something, it’s not like they can hear anything.” Alicia said to Ryuga. Those words made Ryuga sad and angry. He just didn’t understand what to do and as a spirit, Alicia’s horn doesn’t show colors. So it makes it harder to know what Alicia is thinking. “I am sorry…” Ryuga apologizes. “Why are you saying sorry?! In fact, I should be thanking you because you bought me here.” Alicia sits on her bed. “It’s been so long since I have been in my own bed.” Alicia smiled. “This feeling of home, I haven’t had it in a while.” Alicia said with a smile.

“This feeling of home…I definitely…I definitely…” Alicia wasn’t able to complete her sentence because she biting her lips trying to suppress her emotions. Ryuga held Alicia in his arms. He hugged her tightly, “Ryuga…Mother didn’t remember who I was *Sniff* She didn’t remember who her own daughter was *Sniff*” Alicia started crying in Ryuga’s arms. Even though Alicia was just a spirit, Ryuga felt her wet eyes on his chest, “I know…” Ryuga replied. He just didn’t know what else could he say to Alicia. “Ryuga *Sniff* I want to *Sniff* I want mother to remember me again *Sniff* I want her *Sniff* I want her to love me again like she used to.” Alicia said as she continued to cry. She held Ryuga’s shirt even tightly, “I know…” Ryuga said to Alicia. Just like the last thing Alicia asked Ryuga, he couldn’t answer anything else. “Ryuga *Sniff* Will mother ever remember me?! *Sniff* Will my people ever remember me?!” All Ryuga could say was, “She definitely will. Everyone definitely will remember you someday…” Alicia continued to cry and Ryuga held her in his arms.

Looking at Alicia filled up Ryuga with anger and sorrow. He felt as though he just couldn’t do anything. He felt dissatisfied with his efforts. Even with all these feelings the one thing he felt the most is, the feeling of being weak. A Ghost whose value point is 0. A weak Ghost who can’t fight against top Ghost, an F-Class Ghost. That is when Ryuga made a promise to himself.

(Even though, she is a spirit, she is just as humane as any other living being. Even she has feelings. First to die and then to be a lingering spirit and now, to see that her own people did not remember her. Not just her own people…Even her own mother doesn’t remember her.

Someday Alicia, just you wait, I will make Arkwet pay for his crimes as well as bring you back and when you will be back, I will make sure that every single person who has forgotten you will remember you. Alicia Ark- No, Alicia Shiezel, this is my promise to you.)

~GHOST WORLD ACADEMIA~