Haru woke up to an electric shock so intense that he nearly passed out again.
Purple lightning exploded from his body, spreading throughout the room and hurling Golden backward with enough force to send him crashing into the wall.
The flash illuminated everything for a fraction of a second.
"Son of a bitch!"
Those were the only words either of them managed to utter.
Haru’s body reacted before his consciousness could even comprehend what was happening. The hairs on his body stood on end, identifying Golden as a threat, and his reflexes immediately kicked in.
He rolled across the bed, cleared it, and landed on the other side.
Golden, meanwhile, slammed into the opposite wall. He remained motionless for a moment, trying to figure out what had just happened.
When he finally raised his head, the two of them looked at each other.
The bed remained between them.
Haru placed a hand on his chest.
’What the fuck were those lightning bolts?!’
He recognized the sensation. The discharge had been similar to that strange technique Lilithine had taught him, using a method he still didn’t fully understand.
But that was the least of his concerns right now.
"What the hell were you doing?! Were you trying to kill me?!"
Golden straightened up, still leaning against the wall.
"I was trying to bring you back to life, that’s what!"
Haru stared at him.
’Oh, right. The son of a bitch tried to kill me out of excessive concern.’
Maybe he was misinterpreting the situation.
"Is that one of those Chinese Guy things?"
"Chinese Guy, my ass!" Golden pushed away from the wall. "Didn’t you hear what I just said? I was trying to bring you back to life!"
"..."
"I walked into the room and found you lying on your bed, unconscious and ice-cold. You looked dead! You were literally dying!"
Golden paused, as if trying to decide whether it was worth continuing to argue with that idiot.
Haru opened his mouth.
"Oh..."
"Or is what I just saw another one of those Gamer things?"
Silence settled over the room.
This time, Haru didn’t have an immediate answer.
He knew Golden well enough to recognize a particular trait in the way he spoke. Golden could be arrogant, provocative, and, at times, annoyingly full of himself, but he didn’t seem like the kind of person who spoke without thinking.
He had a peculiar way of observing people, piecing together small details, and reaching conclusions that would take others much longer to arrive at.
And when he believed he’d uncovered the truth, he wasn’t one to pretend otherwise.
Golden had just called him a Gamer.
Not out of suspicion.
Out of certainty.
’How did he figure it out?’
"When you showed up here drunk last night, you said more than you should have."
Haru felt his stomach tighten.
’Shit.’
He really needed to learn to keep his mouth shut when he drank.
"And you believe a drunk man’s words that much?" Haru asked, trying to regain some room to maneuver. "Don’t you think that’s a pretty stupid way to draw conclusions?"
It was a reasonable defense.
After all, Gamers didn’t exactly enjoy a good reputation in this world, and Haru had no idea what Golden’s intentions were. He didn’t know whether he wanted to help him, report him, or simply find out just how much of a threat his roommate was.
He had no reason to willingly lay all his cards on the table.
Golden, however, shrugged.
"Depends on the drunk and the circumstances."
Haru narrowed his eyes.
"That doesn’t answer my question."
"I don’t have to give you an answer you’ll like."
’Oh, this guy...’
Golden sighed and added:
"Besides, I talked to my father today."
Haru’s expression changed slightly. He began to lower his guard.
That was when Golden raised his hand and flipped him the bird.
It wasn’t the gesture itself that caught Haru’s attention.
It was the ring.
A metal band bearing an inscription Haru recognized immediately.
Spawn Point.
"I’m part of the Squad now, too," Golden announced with a grin.
Haru looked at the ring. Then at the finger.
Finally, he looked back at his roommate’s face.
"Did it really have to be on your middle finger?"
Golden’s grin widened.
"Of course."
Haru dragged a hand down his face.
He was officially sharing a pact with a man who used his middle finger to announce he’d joined a team. His life was becoming increasingly... increasingly... peculiar?
Some time later, the two of them were standing on the room’s balcony.
Night still covered the Academy, but the sky was beginning to lose its absolute darkness. From up there, they could see the guards’ lights moving across the courtyards as they began their patrols.
Golden was shirtless, leaning against the railing. Haru, meanwhile, was still wearing nothing but his underwear.
Neither of them seemed particularly concerned about their appearance.
Golden reached into his pocket and pulled out a cigarette.
He patted his pockets, searching for his lighter.
"Where the hell did I put that shit?"
He kept searching for a few seconds before letting out an irritated sigh.
Haru raised his index finger.
A small flame appeared at its tip.
Golden looked at it.
Then he looked at Haru with a satisfied grin.
"Had to be your middle finger?"
Haru smiled faintly but didn’t answer.
Golden lit his cigarette and took his first drag.
Smoke slowly escaped his lips.
He remained silent for a few seconds, savoring the taste. Then he moved the cigarette away from his mouth and examined its glowing tip.
"That’s some quality fire you’ve got there."
Haru let out a small smile.
"It’s Valtherion."
Golden took another drag and shot him a sideways glance.
"Start talking."
"Didn’t your father tell you?"
"He told me a few things. But not enough."
Golden took another drag before continuing.
"In the end, I went to see him to confirm what I’d already suspected. I didn’t want to hear some random story. I wanted to know if it was true."
"And how did you know your father knew anything about us?"
"Connections."
"..."
"I have butlers, Haru. People who’ve worked for my family for years. People who hear things, observe things, and know when to pass information along."
Golden turned his head toward him.
"I never liked you, you know? From the day I saw you at my house, I thought you were a thief or something."
Haru stared at him.
"Wait. You guys have spies inside your own house to spy on your own house and then report back to you about what happens inside it?"
"They’re not spies. They’re competent people."
"That makes no sense."
Golden ignored the comment.
Haru sighed.
If there was one thing he’d learned about the Elegantius family, it was that they rarely left anything to chance when it came to information. Their connections were extensive, and their ability to gather intelligence could be just as dangerous as any combat skill.
It was no wonder Golden had managed to find out so much.
The problem was that now he wanted to know the rest.
And Haru wasn’t particularly interested in telling him.
Unfortunately, one small detail made the situation rather complicated.
The ring.
Ever since joining the Squad, he’d felt an uncomfortable pressure whenever he deliberately tried to hide relevant information from the other members. Sometimes it began as a twinge in his chest; on other occasions, the sensation intensified until it became painful enough to force him to stop.
The pact didn’t seem to care about his good intentions.
Haru might want to protect someone. He might believe certain information was too dangerous to share. He might even think staying silent was the best option.
The ring didn’t care.
Haru took a deep breath.
Then he began to explain.
He told Golden about the Gamers, where they came from, and how people from another world had awakened in bodies that hadn’t originally belonged to them. He explained the existence of avatars, the System, the abilities, and the rules he knew.
He told him how the Gamers were guided by the gods, about the competition they were involved in, and about the circumstances that had led him to form the Squad with Genius and Flavius.
He also told him about the dangers he’d encountered, his experiments with the System, and the things he still couldn’t understand.
He didn’t tell him everything at once.
Golden asked questions, and Haru answered them.
Sometimes, he had to pause to organize his thoughts. Other times, he discovered that information he’d considered insignificant raised questions that had never occurred to him.
And despite all his initial resistance, he ended up revealing more than he’d intended.
The most irritating part was that Golden seemed genuinely interested.
He wasn’t just listening. He was trying to understand.
His initially suspicious expression gradually gave way to deeper concentration. Every now and then, he asked an unexpected question, forcing Haru to reconsider how he’d explained a particular situation.
Haru knew that kind of look.
He’d spent enough time studying his waifus’ expressions to recognize when someone stopped listening out of politeness and started genuinely taking an interest in what was in front of them.
And there was a small spark in Golden’s eyes.
Fascination.
It wasn’t exactly admiration, much less absolute trust.
It was genuine curiosity.
For Haru, that was already something.
At least Golden didn’t seem to be preparing to punch him.
Although, considering how the night had started, perhaps it was best not to jump to conclusions.
When Haru finished, Golden remained silent for a while.
His cigarette was almost finished.
He crushed it in a small ashtray beside the balcony door and rested his forearms on the railing.
"So..." he began slowly. "Gamers are people from another world who end up occupying the bodies of people who already existed here."
"That’s a simplified way of putting it."
"But it’s not wrong?"
"No."
Golden lowered his eyes.
"That’s horrible."