"Look, the boss is about to evolve."

"No way! Were we too late? But how can that be-?"

People questioned as they watched the boss raise its head and beautiful wings sprout from its back. Unfortunately, that was all it could do before the timer hit zero.

[You have successfully stopped the boss from hatching its egg. Task 5 has concluded.]

Rin did not even realize he had been holding his breath until that second. But all tension left his body as soon as that message appeared on his screen.

"Looks like we survived another round."

Rin hated to say this, but the victory this time was only possible due to the system’s willingness to cooperate. Had it not been for the system telling Rin the hatching time, they would have all been dead.

[Oh! You’ll have this senior blush with all your praise. Please don’t discredit yourself just yet. The humans did an amazing job surviving so far as well.]

It felt nice to have that praise. But a lot still needed to be done. The place where the monster had made its nest needed to be cleaned up and any remaining specimens needed to be studied.

Rin stood up to head out, and that was when Shelly reached out to grab his arm.

"Rin, I waited all this time for you, so now it’s time to keep your promise with me."

Shelly reminded him with a smile on her face. Rin looked at her smile and his vision immediately went dark.

The next time he opened his eyes, he was in a dark room where he could move around but could not find a way out.

"Shelly, are you out there?"

"I am here."

"So, can you help me get out of here?"

"Hmm, that’s questionable. Have you thought about what crimes you have committed and why you are being held here?"

So this was a puzzle? If so, then it must have an answer Shelly wanted to hear. Rin could lie to her and tell her exactly what she wanted to hear.

"I am sorry, I knocked you out and handed you off to Albus. But I only did this because this was for your safety. You know I wouldn’t have done it if I truly did not believe that it was needed."

Rin tried to make his voice as smooth and pleading as possible. This was the kind of tone that Shelly always forgave him for. Even now, she should open the door any second now to let him out-

"You don’t sound sincere. I have decided that I am not going to let you out of here until you start sounding sincere. I am sorry, but it seems like you are stuck in here until you reflect on your actions."

Shit! This was not part of Rin’s plan. Shelly was supposed to forgive him and let him out of here soon. That’s why he had taken the risk and allowed her a wish she could ask for.

[(⸝⸝⸝๑´﹏`๑⸝⸝⸝)]

[This is your own fault, Rookie. The system tried to warn you not to play around, but you never listen to this senior. Now you have to deal with the consequences.]

What a load of bullshit. When has the system ever told him this? Wasn’t it the most exciting when Rin decided to knock Shelly out?

Anyway, Rin was trapped in the room so he decided to rest and get rid of the fatigue that had been crawling up his spine ever since he started this task. He slept for so long that he had no idea when the door had even opened.

He heard faint voices speaking and then heading back out. And when Rin finally came out of the room, the base looked like it had changed.

...

"Young master, have you decided it’s time to grace us mortals with your presence? How do you feel now? Better than before?"

Collin’s words were a mixture of concern and aggression. He had not appreciated Rin’s insistence on pushing himself either.. But at least he realized that it had been for an important cause.

’My butler is a reliable person. Now, if only the others were the same, I wouldn’t be having half of the issues I am having right now.’

But because everyone had different characters, they had different strengths and that was much more important in a settlement. So it was a trade offer Rin was willing to make.

"Anyway, young master. Since you are fine and you can even move around now, how about we get yourself checked out by Lady Reina? It would be a good idea to make sure you are ’completely’ healed before we can allow you to get back to work."

Never mind, Collin was no longer the ’chill’ adult that Rin had in his mind. He was the overbearing uncle who needed to stick his nose into every related situation.

But for the sake of Collin’s (and his companions’) peace of mind, Rin decided to follow their wishes and get himself checked out by Reina.

That...was another problem in itself.

"You have high blood pressure."

"But Reina, the readings are normal-"

"And you have a mild fever."

"I feel fine-"

"You need a week of bed rest immediately. Collin, tie him to bed right now."

Even Rin had caught on to Reina’s behavior at this point. and realized that she had been saying all this not because she believed that he was hurt, but because she knew he was fine and could take her punishment.

So Rin complied and lay back on the bed.

Reina’s expression was flat and displeased, but she breathed a sigh of annoyed relief.

"Would it be too hard to share some information with us? A lot of such situations could be avoided if we know where you are and what you are doing."

Reina asked, and Rin had an answer for her this time.

"I want to share the information I have with you all as well, but I cannot freely share all of it without consequences. If you cannot accept this, then I can only give in to your punishments."

Silence followed Rin’s words and Reina lost her desire to hold him captive as well.

"Tsk, this is annoying. What am I supposed to do if you tell me such things? All it does is make me look like the bad guy for pressuring you."

__________

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