"Anyway, you really like reading books, huh?" Ruby said, as she picked up a book lying next to Aurora. She still couldn't understand the appeal.

"It's fun," Aurora said. "Trust me. You just need to find the book that suits your taste. If you're willing to try, I can recommend--"

"No thank you," Ruby cut her off, putting the book back.

"I see," Aurora said, her voice tinged with disappointment.

"I want to compare notes," Ruby said, trying to lighten the mood. "Is that okay?"

Aurora simply nodded and replied, "Okay."

"I heard that Nova and I were pranking you or something. What exactly did we do?" Ruby asked, curious.

"Ah, things like pouring freezing water on me, purposely hurting me in training, vandalizing my stuff, stuff like that," Aurora replied, trying to keep her tone light.

"What the--weren't we total jerks?" Ruby exclaimed, shocked.

"Well..." Aurora hesitated.

That's just what being a villainess is all about, Aurora thought to herself.

"And she said she went too far?" Ruby said. "What exactly did she do?"

"Nova tried to poison me," Aurora replied. "It ended up making Casper furious and she ended up getting stabbed to death."

"What's up with that girl?" Ruby exclaimed. "She deserved it."

Aurora smiled, "I guess."

"And what about Casper and the other boys?" Ruby asked. "I heard you were close with them?"

Aurora panicked, she knew she was the heroine of the dating sim and it automatically makes it easy for Aurora and the capture targets to interact. Even though, she can imagine that from the in-game characters' perspective, she looked like a bad girl trying to get all the boys' attention.

"Tha-that's just a mistake," Aurora said, trying to explain. "It just happened."

Ruby didn't seem to believe it one bit. But now that Nova had them all, she felt like it didn't matter.

"Anyway," Ruby said, changing the subject. "Nova was mentioning something about revenge."

"I believe Nova thinks I'm the reason she's dead," Aurora said, her voice filled with concern. "So most likely she will try to kill me."

"That's just stupid," Ruby said, annoyed. "Isn't that her own fault?"

"I don't think she cares that much about logic," Aurora said with a smile.

Ruby tightly held Aurora's hand and said, "I understand now. Your relationship with Nova and why she's been harassing you so much. If you'll let me, I'll do whatever I can to help you. Please, rely on me more."

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"Thank you," Aurora said, tears fell from her eyes.

"Geez, you cried a lot today," Ruby said, wiping away her tears.

Aurora laughed. "Sorry, I thought I would lose you. It scared me."

"You're being so unfair," Ruby whispered.

"What?"

"If you're going to say something like that," Ruby said with a smile, "don't blame me if I'm not willing to let you go."

***

Aurora was surprised by how fragile she actually felt. She only realized it when she found herself crying in front of Ruby. All this time, she thought she had everything figured out. She had always believed she was strong, that even in the face of death, she wouldn't falter.

Turn out that wasn't the case.

She pretended not to notice. After all, if she thought about it too deeply, she feared she might fall apart.

Unfortunately, the reality that she was just an ordinary girl who loved playing games finally caught up to her. All her plans, her schemes, the way she confidently acted in front of everyone - it was all just an act.

That's why when the possibility of losing her friend like that came up, she couldn't handle it. She realized how alone she felt in this strange world.

Right now she sat silently, holding her cup of tea that was almost cold. She just sat there, not feeling like doing anything.

"Is something wrong, miss?" Lyra said, looking worried. "You got the book you wanted, but you don't seem happy about it."

Aurora looked at the book Lyra had mentioned. It was an old, rare book with a thick cover and a nice illustration of a boy and girl on it, with the title "Cheerful Mysteries" at the top.

"No, I'm happy with this," Aurora said as she touched the book. "I just... have a lot on my mind. Don't worry about it."

"If you say so, miss," Lyra replied.

Aurora tried to shake off her thoughts and focus on the book in front of her. She opened it to the first page and started to read, trying to lose herself in the story.

The book tells a story about teenage boy and girl who went on fun adventures, uncovering all kinds of mysteries. As a children book, it's successfully depicting the two friends exploring different locations, solving puzzles and uncovering secrets.

Based on the game description, the story seems to match. This is likely the book she is looking for.

"Lyra," Aurora said as she closed the book, "bring me my bag, please."

"Are you going somewhere, miss?" Lyra asked as she brought the bag to her master. "But it's already late."

"It's fine," Aurora said, placing the book in the bag. "I'm just going to the library for a bit."

"I understand," Lyra replied. "Shall I prepare dinner for when you come back?"

"Sure," Aurora said, opening the door. "See you later."

Aurora walked toward the tall building, the area already empty of people. Not surprising, as only those who were going to use the library would be hanging around here and not that many people use the library anyway.

She opened the door slowly and the empty library greeted her. She walked deeper, looking around.

Unless she had something else to do, Aurora thought to herself, Sera should be somewhere here.

As Aurora walked through the rows of bookshelves, she searched for the girl she was looking for. She scanned the shelves, but she couldn't spot her. She decided to check the corner of the building and finally, there she was - a big girl sitting alone and reading a book.

"Sera," Aurora said softly as she approached her, patting her shoulders.

The big girl jumped in surprise, causing the book she was holding to fall to the ground.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Aurora said as she picked up the book and handed it back to her.

"You surprised me," Sera said, taking the book from Aurora.

Aurora smiled, "Yes, that's the idea."

Sera stared at Aurora for a moment, her expression one of disbelief. "I thought you weren't going to come again," she said, quickly adding, "I-I mean..."

"Yes, sorry," Aurora said. "Even though I promised, I ended up not keeping it. A lot of things happened."

"Oh, i-it's fine if you're busy," Sera said quickly. "I wouldn't want you to feel forced to come here because of me."

"No, not at all," Aurora said, sitting down beside Sera. "Next time, I'll try harder to come here. After all, when I'm surrounded by books, I feel more relaxed somehow."

"Oh, I know the feeling," Sera said with a smile. "That's why I spend most of my time in here."

"Are you the librarian?" Aurora asked. "I mean, I didn't see anybody else here."

"Unofficially," Sera replied. "In my first year, I spent a lot of time here, so my teacher decided to give me a duplicate key so I could use it anytime. In my second year, he make me unofficial librarian."

"So that's why I met you that night?" Aurora asked.

"Yes," Sera said. "If I didn't use it, the library would be locked at night."

That makes sense, Aurora thought.

"S-so," Sera stammered. "Are you looking for more novels, or maybe some references for your studies? I... I can help you out, if you want."

"No," Aurora said, setting her bag down on the table. "This time, I'm actually here to see you."

"M-me?" Sera asked, surprised.

"I don't know if you've heard," Aurora continued, "but my family is currently working with a merchant named Nicholas. And he found this book. As soon as I saw it, I immediately thought of you."

She pulled out a book and showed it out to Sera.

"You're a fan of mystery books, right?" Aurora said with a smile.

In the game, the book is a special item that only appears if you choose James Winchester's route, but don't successfully romance him. At the end of this route, James gives the book to Sera. The story is a bit unclear, but it seems like the book is important to Sera. That's why Aurora is trying so hard to find it.

And since James has already fallen for Nova, he doesn't need it anymore, right? Aurora thought to herself. It's a win-win situation.

Aurora looked at Sera, expecting her to be happy or excited when she saw the book. But instead, Sera was crying.

Why? Aurora negative though immediately rushing in. Have I messed something up again? I thought... I was sure...

"So-sorry," Aurora said quickly, putting the book back in her bag. "I didn't mean to upset you."

Sera reached out and took hold of Aurora hand, her voice trembling as she spoke. "That book," she said, wiping away her tears. "Can I borrow it?"

***