A sudden realization

"Hah, finally, they left." 

Willow released a breath and plopped down on the couch. "My god, this second male lead is too troublesome. I mean, what was he doing in Charlie's room at 6 in the morning in the first place? I swear if I didn't know he was a second male lead, I would've almost thought of him as the villainess who likes the male lead. And then, totally unlike what a rational person might do, he freaking started screaming like a banshee-"

"-But that was hilarious!" Adelia laughed, "I mean, normally, a loud scream isn't my ideal wakeup alarm, but god, that was awesome. We should ask Charlie and Claude to sleep over more."

"Heck no." Willow shook his head, "-Never again. I was startled, okay?! It was like, all of a sudden there's this scream and we hurriedly wake up and there's Claude, pointing his finger at us and shouting his head off. It was almost like I was a husband caught cheating or something!"

Adelia just laughed, remembering the earlier events. Just as she was about to say something, a screen materialized in front of them.

"Hello, hosts. Your total is 90 points now, hehe" The system smiled in glee. "Continue to work hard like this, and I might be able to get the gold upgrade I've been wanting for so long!"

Adelia rolled her eyes before asking, "Really? We made 90 points?" She turned to Willow, "It kinda feels unreal, you know? I mean, it seems like it was just yesterday we transmigrated."

Willow smiled, "Yeah. Time flies, right? We're already so accustomed to living here-"

The system, who was still there, cut in, "Hey, hosts! Enough about this talk!" It asked excitedly, "You're almost about to complete the mission! Aren't you guys excited?"

"...Not really." Willow turned to the screen, "I mean, even without the novel and all, things aren't really gonna change, after all-"

"But you can go back to your original world now! Aren't you happy to be able to see your original family and friends?"

Both Willow and Adelia stopped. The system's words made him feel like cold water had been doused on him, making his mind go blank. They... They can go back to their original world. All this time, they always talked like they were always going to live here, never even mentioning going back.

The system didn't notice their pale expressions and continued, "I mean, that's where you're from, right? Your original world. The place you really belong in."

"You must have so many people you know and cherish there considering you did live there for 15 years. This world must be similar to a long trip for you, right? Going by the concept of time, these few months shouldn't be anything compared to the 15 years you spent there."

It rambled on, almost talking to itself, "I don't even know why they give 2 options. Who'd want to stay in an unfamiliar world? Of course, everyone will want to go back. After all, that's their reality and in the end, they're just strangers in the other world."

"I don't get human emotions, but it's what you humans call common sense, right? Home is where you have your real parents, your real family. And every human wants to go back to their home, the safest place for them. Plus, if the hosts decide to stay, they really die in their original worlds. How heartbreaking that must be for the people who really cared about them there."

He turned to Adelia with curiosity, "Although we were never able to have a civil conversation, I still don't think you're that bad, hostess. After all, you're already at 90 points. It might be only one or two-days you guys have left here."

"Can you tell me about your original world? Was it like this? This is my first world, so I'm a little curious." Since it was his first mission, it really didn't know any other worlds. "But you didn't really show any signs of surprise on transmigrating, so maybe you were from a similar one... Still, it must've been hard for you to adjust, right? Without your parents, friends, the people you trust...It must've been awful."

Adelia looked at Willow, panic in her eyes. She seemed really out of it and clutched his hand.

"W-Will... Our original world. We can go back there."