Chapter 355 - Belonging (1)

My parents and Evan eventually arrived to join us, stunned to face the wonderful breeze once they entered the house. Neatly placing their shoes near the entrance, they stared at their surroundings. Almost every area sparked, cleaned to its perfection. I sighed as Luke and Alex were obsessed with making our new space more habitable. I closed the workbooks and rose from the dining room table, enthusiastically about to greet them.

"When did you arrive?" My mom wondered.

"Around four hours ago," I recalled.

"We can show you to your rooms," my mom immediately offered.

"Isn't it the usual rooms?" I was confused.

I walked to follow my family up the stairs, escorting me and Luke to the same rooms we have previously used. Briefly freezing when my dad and Evan began to work together, moving out some of his stuff to make space for Alex's belongings. Evan's room was temporarily becoming Alex's new room while he was to sleep with our parents for the week. However, it was better than one of us sharing a room together as I decided to stay silent.

As I strolled into my room, I couldn't help but smile. I had more privacy with the nicely built walls, no doors connecting to anyone's room. The entire bed was mine, the windows opening to my command. This place was paradise, approaching the stairs once I finished exploring my room. Entering the living room, I switched the TV on, taking advantage of my parents with me. I tightly gripped onto the remote control, watching a random show on the anime channel.

"I'm gathering more ideas for my reports," I took out a notebook.

"We have to continue our schedule Rika," Luke frowned.

"Can you leave me alone? I'm doing this for us. You don't know how to properly write these reports to scam fairies. I can decrease the cost of the raw materials for us this way," I tried to seem reasonable.

Fortunately, my excuse was reasonable enough for Luke to allow me to continue watching more anime. I silently cheered inside my heart as I managed to see the anime adaptions of the manga I read. My eyes glimmered, nearly touched from my plan. My life was finally improving, eventually bringing some blankets from my room to use on the couch. Maybe I could live on the couch before getting dragged to the first district.

"It's time for dinner Rika," Luke interrupted me again.

"Give me the plates and I'll eat them," I gestured.

It was great timing since I was starting to get hungry. Luke's eyes widened when I completely emptied each plate without any sugar added. I was eating more than triple the usual amount, which made him speechless. If Luke continued to bring my meals to the couch, I wouldn't have to move from my spot. This was the ideal slow and lazy life. Until the sky became darker to become pitch black, leading everyone to begin to get ready for bed.

"Everyone already took a bath, there should be enough hot water remaining for you,�� Alex entered the living room.

"Maybe I'll take one tomorrow morning," I was at a good part in the show.

"Are you serious? I'm calling Luke," he grimaced.

I quickly took this chance to hide the remote control inside my inventory. If I hid it near the cages of bugs, there was a high possibility they wouldn't take it away from me. However, I didn't think Luke would directly turn off the TV, using the button on the device itself. In one of his hands, he held my bathrobe, "if you can't bath by yourself, I can wash you like the last few weeks."

"I can bath by myself," I swiped my bathrobe from him.

I puffed my cheeks, agreeing with Ally he was a clean freak. One day should barely make a difference. Under Luke's pressuring stare, I got off the couch, pushing myself into the bathroom. After I took a shower, I discovered the bathtub was already filled with hot water, the perfect temperature. Once I entered the tub, my muscles began to relax, my mind nearly melting. It has been a while since I took a comforting bath alone.

Ignoring my eyes becoming droopy, my body felt too heavy to move. Maybe I was more tired than I thought I would be. I struggled to open my eyes once it was closed, my mind hazy and overwhelmed by the fog. But my ears were perfectly fine, making me internally squirm when I could hear someone opening the door. It was strange, I remembered locking the door before I came inside.

"She's actually sleeping inside the bathtub," Alex sighed.

"I should have known Rika lacked more energy than usual," Luke blamed himself.

Why did I have no aspect of privacy from them? I began to cry inside my heart when I felt my body being carried before someone put my bathrobe on me. When the door opened, the cold air allowed me to open my eyes again. However, I instantly shut them again, seeing my mom shocked from the scene. Why was this house so small? My parents have never seen me right after I took a bath before.

"I can wake Rika to dry herself," my mom unfroze.

"It's fine, I can do everything for her. It's nothing new," Luke revealed.

"I can dry and change by myself," my face flushed into pink.

"I still have to show you where I organized everything," he opened my bedroom door.