Chapter 169: Ch 169: Checking on Reina - Part 1

"Rin, are you alright? Did the monster get to you?"

Shelly looked worried as she stepped over the dead monster and immediately came to check up on Rin.

"I am fine. But what are you doing here?"

Rin asked Shelly while pushing her hand away. He was slowly coming out of his surprised phase and started to notice what was going on.

"I came here because I was worried for you. There are a lot of monsters and some managed to get past. I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Shelly confessed, finally leaving Rin’s face alone once she had made sure he was alright.

The monster Shelly had hit before tried to get up and she reacted before Rin had a chance to do anything.

Her knife dug into the monster’s throat and she tore it apart with a smile on her face. It caused blood to splatter across her face, giving her a disturbing look.

But somehow, Rin did not feel as grossed out by this as he initially thought. Rather, he could not help but feel like being covered in blood suited Shelly somehow.

’I must be losing my mind if I find her adorable even now. I need to get my head back on track.’

Rin shook his head to get rid of that thought before he turned toward Shelly once more to confirm what she was going to do next.

"Are you going to head back out to help others now?"

Shelly looked at him with a firm look. But she showed no signs of hurrying outside.

"I am going to stay with you and protect you from now on. The others can take care of themselves. My only priority is you."

Shelly’s words sounded selfish, but Rin could not find it in himself to tell her to go back out. Having her by his side was a huge relief he did not even need to feel.

So he nodded and Shelly’s expression eased out before she walked to his side.

The silence felt a little awkward and Shelly’s intense gaze was even more unnerving. So Rin decided to speak up to break this silence.

"You likely won’t have a lot of fun if you stay by my side. I am going to spend most of my time in my room anyway. If you feel bored, then you can leave to help others."

Rin told Shelly but she kept smiling at him in the same way as before.

"I don’t think I will ever get bored just looking at you, so don’t worry about me."

Shelly promised and Rin almost opened his mouth to tell her not to force herself when he recalled Shelly’s confession.

It made his mouth go quiet and he decided that it would be better to control himself around her a little more.

...

Rin kept an eye on the situation from his office, but things had become stable after Reina took hold of the situation.

But while his people were fighting alright, Rin was getting worried about Reina. She had been using her ability non-stop for a whole day now and he knew how draining it was.

So Rin decided it was time for him to pay Reina a visit to check up on her.

He stood up and headed toward the door, and Shelly instantly followed his moments.

"Where are we going?"

She asked and Rin almost jumped once he heard her voice.

Honestly, Shelly had been so quiet until now that he had even forgotten that she had been here until now. It just showed how used to her presence Rin had gotten by now.

He somehow calmed his racing heart and answered Shelly’s question.

"I am going to check on Reina. She must be exhausted after using her abilities for a whole day. I want to make sure she can last for the next two as well."

Something shifted in Shelly’s eyes which made Rin a little uncomfortable. His instincts told him that he needed to keep an eye on Shelly before something happened.

He tensed up and Shelly noticed that immediately. So she eased her expression to help ease his tension.

"I see. So we are going to check up on Reina now? I don’t think there is a need to. But since you are worried, I will accompany you."

Shelly maintained her smile but the displeasure remained in her eyes.

Rin was beginning to notice more and more of Shelly’s true self after her confession.

No, that was not it.

He had always noticed Shelly’s true self. But he had somehow convinced himself until now that he was mistaken about her.

’I better keep an eye on Shelly from now on. I have a feeling things are about to get a lot more complicated.’

It made Rin sigh but he decided to push the feeling back and head out toward Reina’s location.

Shelly accompanied him and also made sure to clear the way for him. Between Shelly and Rin, it was easy to get to Reina’s location.

Albus and Collin noticed him immediately and gave him a worried look. They were assigned to protect Reina while she was using her skill, and they knew that he was not supposed to be here. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"Rin, what are you doing here? You know it’s not safe. You should head back to your room."

Albus immediately rushed toward him, but hesitated once he saw Shelly right behind him. Even he looked scared of Shelly, which was a statement Rin never thought he would ever say.

"I came here to check up on Reina. How is she holding up?"

He asked and Albus, who was looking at him (maybe behind him) flinched at his question and immediately answered.

"I don’t think there is any need for you to worry about Reina. We are keeping an eye on her. We will give her a potion as soon as it looks like she needs it. You should head back to your room and not worry."

Albus tried to deflect the situation and send him back. He looked nervous and Rin also found himself turning around to take a look at Shelly.

Shelly looked normal, but she must have made a face that caused Albus to worry. It made Rin wonder how he could have been so blind all this time to not even notice this?

’Did everyone know about Shelly’s true nature but me? Why did no one bring this up?’

Rin questioned, but even he knew that it was useless to pin this on other people. After all, he was the one who chose to turn a blind eye to Shelly’s true nature.