Not Some Tool

"Ahhh! The seafood here is amazing! The lobsters are so meaty and tasty!!!" Lin Ke exclaims as Lin Ke and Lia walk out of a restaurant labeled: Bob's Seafood Joint.

"Mmm! It's really good." Lia agrees. "Vidensalle is really close to the Spirit Skylakes, so many people go over to the Spirit Skylakes to fish. Then, they bring that here to sell. That's why the food is so good."

"Oh, that explains it." Lin Ke nods while sighing in contentment. The night air was cool and refreshing, and unlike Origin City, it didn't have an extremely stale smell.

Lin Ke and Lia walked through the city, heading back towards their hotel. They walked in silence, neither of them speaking much, each lost in their own thoughts.

"So Lily?" Lin Ke calls.

"Mm? What's up?" Lily answers.

"So… I was thinking through what happened when I met the Queen earlier…" Lin Ke began.

"I mean… since it was such a tense situation, I sort of… maybe just kind of forgot to ask her a few things."

"And you want me to help you answer them?" Lily says.

"Yeahhhh…. I mean, I thought that, if anyone knew the answer besides that Queen Mary lady, it would probably be you!" Lin Ke says.

"Huh? Yeah, of course I know! Ask what you want! I know the answers to everything!" Lily answers proudly.

'Hah, I knew it would work.' Lin Ke thought.

"Anyways, Queen Mary had said that me dying was just a 'convenient excuse'... What did that mean?" Lin Ke asks.

"Ah? She said that?" Lily pauses.

"About that… I'm not all too sure about the reason. It probably has to do with something between the worlds though."

Lin Ke blinks. That small bit was nowhere close to helpful at all. In fact, Lin Ke was even more confused now then before. Between the worlds? How? What? Why did they choose him? How did they even go between the worlds?

Unfortunately, it seemed as though Lily didn't know any more than Lin Ke did.

"Alright well, besides that, Queen Mary also mentioned your name being S5? I think she said something about you being the 5th Iteration or something? The 5th Iteration of the System?"

Lily, who was currently residing in Lin Ke's head, feels a slight chill after hearing that. "I… I don't want to talk about that…"

"I… I'm not an iteration… I'm not some tool, I'm not!" Lily vehemently spoke.

Hearing Lily's tone, Lin Ke panicked a little. "I'm not saying that you are! I… It was just… I mean… You called yourself a system… and systems are usually non sentient y'know." Lin Ke quickly explains.

Then came an awkward period of silence. Lily went completely silent in his head, not uttering a word. This, of course, made Lin Ke a little worried that he might have touched on a spot he shouldn't have… Maybe he shouldn't have said it that way?"

Meanwhile, Lily was trying hard to calm herself down. 'Listen, you're not a tool! That bitch doesn't know what she's talking about. You're you… Remember yourself… Remember who you were, remember your old strength…"

After a few minutes of Lin Ke continuously trying to communicate with Lily, she finally answers.

"Lily? Lillyyyyy? I'm so sorry!" Lin Ke calls in his head.

"Mmmmm hush!" Lily shouts in annoyance. "I heard you the first time! I was thinking about something!"

"Lily, you know… you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. If you want to talk about it… I mean, I guess I'll be here to listen, but if you don't then it's totally fine too!" Lin Ke says in a worried tone.

For some reason, hearing that made Lily feel extremely warm inside. Slowly, she smiled.

"Why is it that your thoughts come through so coherently and so senseful but when you speak, it's a whole new manner?"

"Huh? There's nothing wrong with how I speak!" Lily indignantly shot back… before realizing that he spoke out loud. All the people loitering around in the streets immediately turned to look at him as if he was a weirdo. In fact, even Lia was looking at him kind of oddly.

Lin Ke's face immediately turned red. However, thankfully, due to it being nighttime, it wasn't entirely apparent.

Sheepishly, Lin Ke put his head down and walked like that until there were a few streets away.

"Thanks for proving my point." Lily laughs.

"You know what? I'm not going to argue with you." Finally, they had arrived back at the hotel. The moment they reached their room, Lin Ke collapsed on his bed in exhaustion. He kicked off his shoes and rolled around on the mattress a little.

"I'll go shower first, okay?" Lia suggests after seeing Lin Ke plop down on the mattress.

"Mmm mmm." Lin Ke says, his voice slightly muffled.

Taking that as a yes, Lia stepped into the bathroom. Before long, the sound of water could be heard hitting the bathroom floor.

"Ahhh, what a long day…" Lin Ke muttered. He felt his eyelids getting heavier."What… a long...day…"

"Lin Ke… Lin Ke? Do you want to take a shower first before sleeping?" Lin Ke slowly opens his eyes.

Rolling around, Lin Ke turns to the source of the voice. Lin Ke came face to face with a beautiful face extremely close to his. Her wet long hair hung loosely around her face while her large brown eyes stared straight into his. She was so close Lin Ke could smell the shampoo she had just used.

Then Lin Ke realized she was only wearing a towel that wrapped around her still wet body. Her cleavage was also completely exposed.

Lin Ke scrambled back before accidentally collapsing out of his bed. "Wh-w-ww-waah!"

"Owww." Lin Ke mutters as he rubs his head.

"Lin Ke are you okay?" Lia worriedly asks. She rushed over the side of the bed where Lin Ke had fallen.

"Ahh, I'm fine, I'm fine…" Lin Ke glances at Lia, catching her full figure with only her private areas covered by a white towel. Her long legs were still slightly wet from her shower as one hand held onto the towel. Tearing his eyes away, Lin Ke hurriedly glances away. "Lia… maybe you should put on some clothes…"

"Hmm?" Lia glances down before realizing that she was practically wearing nothing. Her face changed colors instantly. "Wh… I-I… I'm sorry! I forgot that I was… I didn't mean… I forgot my… to bring the clothes- they- I…" Lia stumbled over her words.

"Ahhh, don't worry about it." Lin Ke says, his face also slightly red. "I, uh… I'll go take a shower now…" he awkwardly walks into the bathroom before shutting the door behind him.