Chapter 429: I’m Always Cleaning Up Your Mess

Published Mar 14, 2026, 09:19 AM

Chapter 429: I’m Always Cleaning Up Your Mess Alex blinked once, then twice, as he found himself being used as a hug pillow by Latifa. When Lumi had dragged him to the clock tower, he hadn’t expected that she wanted him to "help" by becoming the fox lady’s bolster. "Alright! Stay with her for a few hours while Lotte and I shop for her daily necessities," Lumi commanded. "You can do that, right?" "Sorry, Alex," Lotte said while smiling apologetically. "Since we also handle the cooking and cleaning here in the clock tower, can you top up our food allowance with club funds?" Alex didn’t mind and promptly gave Lotte a hundred thousand Academy Points without batting an eye. What the Alter said was the truth. Since Latifa had become the permanent resident of the clock tower, her Alters had taken it upon themselves to do the chores, like cleaning and cooking for everyone. He felt a little guilty for not paying them for maintaining the cleanliness of the clubroom and preparing the meals and snacks for club meetings. "This is too much," Lotte stated. "Even ten thousand Academy Points will do." "Keep the rest for future expenses, Lotte," Alex replied easily. "We’ll be staying here in the club room for a long time." A million Academy Points could be exchanged for a hundred thousand gold coins. Alex had given Lotte a tenth of that sum, and that was already more than enough to cover the club’s food expenses for many months. Still, since he insisted that she keep the money, the young lady no longer tried to return part of it. "Hey, what about me?" Lumi asked. "Why aren’t you paying me?" "Pay you for what?" Alex blinked in confusion while Latifa hugged him tighter in her sleep. "Protection fees, of course," Lumi replied. "What? Are you some kind of gangster now?" Alex complained. "What do you mean protection fees?" "You’re always getting into trouble, and I’m always cleaning up your mess." Lumi glared at him. "I should be compensated for that." "What the..." Alex wanted to refuse, but Lumi mouthed something. Alex was no lip reading expert, but out of self-protection, he knew exactly what Lumi was conveying. "If you don’t give me hush money, I’ll tell Latifa that you’re letting Evangeline drink your blood!" Alex didn’t know how to react to her threat because while he didn’t find any problems with letting Evangeline drink his blood, he also thought that now wasn’t the time to let Latifa know about it. Moreover, if Lumi was already threatening him with this, who knew what she might do when he really pissed her off? Alex could only sigh and reluctantly hand her a thousand Academy Points. The Alter smiled so brightly and innocently it was hard to believe she had just blackmailed successfully. "Well, then. I will leave her safety to you, Alex." Lotte curtsied. "We’ll be back as soon as we can." "We’ll take our own sweet time of course." Lumi smirked. The two Alters then turned into particles of light and disappeared, leaving their Mistress with the young man who was serving as her hug pillow. Of course, Alex knew that Latifa was awake. He understood that she was now starting to open her heart to him. Frankly, he felt lucky and happy that she felt that way about him. Slowly but surely, he hugged her back. He didn’t hold her too tightly, leaving just enough space for her to feel comfortable in his embrace. Latifa opened her eyes and gave Alex’s cheek a quick peck before burrowing her face into his chest as if feeling embarrassed. But compared to what she and Alex had experienced, a kiss on the cheek was nothing. She no longer wanted to lie to herself and had accepted the fact that she no longer treated Alex as a friend. She wanted something more, but was still too scared to take that step. A faint smile appeared on her face as she listened to Alex’s heartbeat that was beating wildly inside his chest. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚 His warmth and touch made her feel safe. Soon, she finally fell asleep in his arms. The sound of the young lady’s slow, relaxed breaths spread inside the room. Alex, too, closed his eyes to take a nap. Perhaps feeling happy that he was able to hold one of his Queens in such an intimate fashion, he also fell asleep as all the tension left his body. While the two teenagers were sleeping, two people entered the club room. They were none other than Charles and Nessia. When they saw Alex and Latifa sleeping on the bed, even holding each other, the two gave each other a knowing glance. Without making too much sound, the two headed toward the dimensional room where Nessia had found the Codex she had been learning advanced Rune Magic from. The dimensional room was very vast and could also be treated as a training room of sorts. Nessia and Charles often sparred inside of it to hone their fighting prowess, aiding both of them greatly in the previous battles. But Charles seemed to be deep in thought as he looked at Nessia. "What’s wrong?" Nessia asked after sensing that Charles didn’t seem to be in the mood to spar with her. "Nessia," Charles said softly, moving closer to her to give her a hug. The young lady didn’t pull back or push him away. In fact, she even patted his back reassuringly. "Are you feeling envious of Alex?" Nessia teased. "Yes," Charles replied, looking at the young lady, who was also his girlfriend. They hadn’t told anyone in the club that they were now a couple, wanting to be spared from Chuck, who would certainly tease them to oblivion. A moment later, Charles planted a soft and loving kiss on Nessia’s forehead, He then looked at her as if asking for permission. The young lady closed her eyes, as if waiting for him to finish what he started. Gently and tenderly, he pressed his lips against hers. This kiss only lasted for a few seconds before he pulled back. He could feel his thundering heart beating inside his chest. Even so, he once again gave Nessia another kiss, and the young lady kissed him back to calm his wildly beating heart. Charles felt thankful for Alex, who helped him pass the Scholarship Trial. Thanks to him, he had met Nessia, whom he considered the second greatest blessing in his life. Little did he know that it was thanks to this feeling of love that the darkness threatening to take over his mind, body, and heart was being pushed back. —------

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