How to survive in the Romance Fantasy Game Chapter 739: Fateful Encounter 3

"Darling~"

Just hearing that voice—

That tone—

Was enough to make me freeze for a second.

...No way.

I turned around, already bracing myself.

"Alice?"

To my surprise, it was just Alice.

She stood there with a slight tilt of her head, looking at me with a curious expression, like she didn’t understand my reaction at all.

"What’s wrong, Riley?" she asked lightly. "Did I surprise you that much?"

"...Yeah."

I let out a small breath.

"You don’t usually call me something like that."

"Hehe~"

Alice giggled, clearly amused.

"Well, I just felt like trying it for a change. It sounds more fun, doesn’t it? More affectionate."

She clasped her hands behind her back, leaning forward slightly.

"No wonder Liyana likes calling you ’darling’ so much~"

"...."

Yeah.

Let’s not encourage that.

"But since she already claimed that one..." Alice tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe I should pick something else."

She started listing them off casually.

"How about ’my dear’? Or maybe ’honey’? Hmm... ’my love’ doesn’t sound bad either..."

Then she looked straight at me, eyes shining with interest.

"What do you think, Riley? Which one makes your heart move the most?"

"...."

"I’ll go with whatever you choose," she added with a smile. "And in return, you have to call me the same thing. It’ll be our official call sign."

She clasped her hands together again, clearly enjoying herself.

"Hehe, I’m sure the others would want their own too~"

I glanced to the side.

Seo and Rose were both nodding.

Seriously?

They didn’t even question when she showed up out of nowhere, and now they’re fully invested in this?

...Great.

Still—

As long as she wasn’t using "darling" anymore...

I quietly let out a breath of relief.

"Honestly... they all sound fine."

Alice’s expression immediately shifted into a pout.

"There you go again," she huffed. "Acting all nonchalant."

She placed her hands on her hips, clearly dissatisfied.

"This is important for our relationship, you know."

Then she turned toward the other two.

"I’m sure everyone agrees with me, right?"

Seo and Rose nodded without hesitation.

"I’m being honest... they all sound fine."

"Uh-uh~"

Alice immediately shook her head, raising a finger like she was scolding me.

"You’re not allowed to dodge this, young man."

"...."

"As your future wives, we’re supposed to have a harmonious and loving relationship together," she continued, completely serious despite the nonsense she was saying. "And just like you’d be happy with whatever we call you—no, actually, extremely happy—"

She leaned in slightly, narrowing her eyes.

"It’s only fair we get the same treatment."

"...."

"And right now," she added with a small pout, "only Liyana has something special with you."

Yeah.

That again.

"Pet names are important, you know~" Alice said, turning to the others. "Right, girls?"

Nod!

Nod!

...Why is she asking them?

And more importantly—

Why are they nodding so seriously?

"...."

Alice turned back to me, clearly satisfied.

"Since you couldn’t pick any of the ones I suggested..." she tapped her chin lightly, pretending to think. "I guess they’re just too hard for you to say, huh?"

"That’s not—"

"Then as punishment," she cut in smoothly, smiling, "you have to come up with something original."

"...."

I stopped.

Slowly.

Very slowly...

I looked at all three of them.

And immediately felt it.

That pressure.

Three pairs of eyes locked onto me.

Serious.

Expectant.

Unmoving.

"...."

Even people passing by had started glancing our way.

Some were definitely listening.

...Great.

I let out a quiet breath.

Honestly, I didn’t care about this kind of thing.

Calling them by name was already enough for me.

Anything else just felt unnecessary.

But...

If I brushed this off now—

It’d feel like I was ignoring their sincerity.

"...."

So, without overthinking it too much—

I spoke.

"...How about... babe?"

Silence.

For a split second—

Then—

"Babe...?"

Alice repeated it softly.

Her reaction was a bit hard to read at first, but then—

Her eyes lit up.

"...Are you going to call me that from now on?"

"...If you want."

"It’s short..." she murmured, smiling slightly. "Cute too..."

She nodded to herself.

"Mhm. I like it."

"...."

"Then as a compliment—" she clasped her hands together, clearly pleased, "I’ll call you ’baby’ from now on."

"...B-Baby?"

"Yes," she said confidently. "We match now, right? That’s how it works."

She gave a small, satisfied smile.

"And since I’m older..."

She leaned in just a little closer.

"It fits perfectly, doesn’t it? Hehe~"

Honestly... I didn’t know what to say.

Hearing her call me "baby"—

It was... embarrassing.

Way more than I expected.

But strangely enough...

I didn’t hate it.

"...Are we going to call each other that from now on?" I asked, just to be sure.

"Not exactly," Alice replied casually. "But it’d be better if we get used to it, right... baby~?"

"...."

Yeah.

Nope.

Still embarrassing.

Before I could say anything else—

"Riley, what about us?"

Rose suddenly spoke up, stepping a little closer.

Seo, standing beside her, didn’t say anything—but the way she was looking at me made it clear she was just as interested.

...Of course.

I let out a quiet sigh.

At this point, there was no escaping it.

"...."

I thought for a second.

Then just went with whatever came to mind.

"...How about ’Honey’ for Rose... and ’Love’ for Seo...?"

"Ah!"

Alice immediately reacted, pointing at me.

"That’s super standard! You just ended up using what I suggested!"

...I mean—

"Babe" wasn’t exactly original either.

I almost said it.

But decided to stay quiet.

Alice looked like she was about to argue more, but—

"It’s fine."

Rose cut in, smiling softly.

"I like it... Honey."

"...."

That was fast.

Seo, who had been quiet this whole time, finally spoke.

"...Love."

Her voice was as calm and flat as ever.

Her expression didn’t change either.

But somehow—

I could tell.

She liked it.

"...."

Yeah.

There was no going back from this now.

Letting the atmosphere settle on its own, I quietly shifted the topic to something more important.

"...Alice."

She looked at me.

"Why are you here? Did things settle down in your realm?"

"Ah—right, that."

Alice blinked, then laughed lightly.

"Hehe~ I got a bit carried away seeing everyone."

She straightened a little, her tone turning more casual.

"Things are calming down on my side. There are still some remnants of that dark energy Rose and I extracted from Duke Raymond that I want to look into..."

She paused for a second.

"But that’s not why I came."

"...."

"I heard from Cheshire that you were having trouble with something, Riley," she added, looking at me more closely now. "So I came as soon as I could."

...Cheshire?

Since when did that cat know about Liyana?

"Trouble?"

Rose and Seo spoke at the same time, both turning toward me.

Their expressions—

Yeah.

Not good.

"Hm~?" Alice tilted her head. "Did baby not tell you anything?"

"No," Rose answered immediately. "Honey said everything was fine."

She narrowed her eyes slightly at me.

"But he’s clearly had something on his mind since yesterday."

"Yes..." Seo added quietly. "My love said the same. That everything was okay..."

...And now they’re both staring.

Great.

Three pairs of eyes.

All on me.

"Haha..."

I let out a small, awkward laugh.

"I’m not lying. Everything’s fine. You know how Cheshire is—he tends to exaggerate things for drama."

"So, it is true you’re dealing with something?" Alice pressed.

"...Yes."

No point denying it now.

"But trust me," I added, keeping my tone steady, "it’s not anything serious. And it’s not something that’ll get me hurt."

"If it’s something normal," Rose said calmly, "then you can tell us."

"...That’s a bit hard."

"...."

Now the silence hit harder.

The way they were looking at me—

Yeah.

No getting out of this cleanly.

"The situation is just... complicated," I said after a pause. "Let’s just say I made a promise to someone."

"A promise...?" Alice repeated.

"I assure you, it’s not trouble," I added. "Not really."

More like a concern.

A possibility.

Something that could become a problem if I’m not careful.

But...

I can’t say that.

Not to them.

Not when Liyana specifically asked me not to.

I was about to come up with an excuse but then....

"Darling~"

This time—

The moment I heard that voice behind me, my body completely froze.

...That wasn’t Alice.

There was no playful teasing mixed into it.

It was her.

Before I could even turn around—

Someone wrapped their arms around me from behind.

"...!"

The sudden contact made Rose and the others stiffen in surprise.

"Hehe~ Darling, I missed you."

Liyana’s voice came soft and warm right next to my ear.

"Even though we spent time together last night... knowing you were nearby all day somehow made me miss you even more."

"...Liyana."

And just like that—

She moved to my side, naturally slipping in next to me and holding onto my arm like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Oh, right~"

She turned toward the others with a bright smile.

"Hi, sisters. Surprise~ It’s been a while since we last saw each other."

Her gaze moved across them, calm and confident.

"You’re all as beautiful as ever."

Rose and Alice were clearly caught off guard.

Then—

Liyana’s eyes shifted to Seo.

She tilted her head slightly.

"Hm~ and who is she?"

A small smile formed on her lips

"Is she part of our little group now?"

"...."

Her tone stayed light, but there was something underneath it.

"Seriously, darling... just how many more lovely girls are you planning to charm?" she added with a soft laugh. "I did say I wouldn’t mind anymore, but at least tell me when you add someone new~"

Before I could even respond—

"Ara... Liyana, you’re here?"

Alice spoke first, clearly surprised.

"Since when?"

"Fufu~ I arrived yesterday," Liyana replied casually. "I’m here on official matters... but I do get some personal time for myself."

"I see..." Alice nodded slowly.

Surprised, sure—

But not unhappy.

If anything, she seemed interested.

Then—

Rose stepped in.

"...You said you spent quite some time together last night."

Her eyes narrowed just slightly.

"What exactly did you and Riley do?"

"...."

And just like that—

The atmosphere shifted.

It got quieter.

Heavier.

...Yeah.

This is bad.

I was about to step in—

"We just went—"

But Liyana tightened her hold on my arm slightly, leaning closer as her cheeks turned faintly red.

"I-it’s a bit embarrassing to say in public, Sister Rose~"

...You—

All we did was walk around the academy.

That’s it.

A normal tour.

A normal date.

Nothing weird.

I opened my mouth to explain—

Then paused.

Liyana was smiling.

That same gentle, innocent-looking smile.

[Warning....!]

[Warning....!]

[Fate: A dragon’s sacrifice is shaking!]

...Yeah.

If I say the wrong thing here—

This is going to get way worse.

"...."

...Shit.