Chapter 4

"Come on in!" 

After the five of us awkwardly had dinner together (Blaze turned out to be a surprisingly good cook), Ettie eagerly invited me into her room.

"Um...?" I asked, feeling self-conscious over her staring.

"Oh, sorry! I'm just really thrilled to have a roommate, so I got a little excited." She laughed sheepishly. "It gets kinda lonely sometimes, so having you here should be fun!"

Her enthusiasm was almost contagious.

"Y-Yeah..." I said with a nod.

"I know it might be too early to ask, but how do you like it here?" She asked while rummaging through her closet.

"Well... I'm not sure exactly, but I don't dislike it here. Everyone is welcoming enough, and I... think I want to get to know Regret better. As a new member."

"That's great! I'm sure the others feel the same way, too! I know I do, at least." She turned to grin at me.

I couldn't help but smile back at her. Ettie really was a nice person.

"Of course, we're all looking forward to seeing what you can do too!" 

"I'm not very good at using my abilities, but I'll try to help as best I can."

 Ettie turned her attention back to the closet in front of her, throwing clothes around.

"Um, you really don't have to search so hard for pajamas... I'm fine with whatever."

She shook her head, "Nah, it's really not a bother. Besides, it's not often I get to work with someone as pretty as you!"

"...Thanks, I think?" 

With an "Aha!", Ettie pulled out a puffy-sleeved lilac nightgown. Her expression was enthusiastic, eyes sparkling and all. 

"Ta-daa! Cute, isn't it?" She exclaimed.

Ettie herself was wearing a heart-patterned pajama shirt with matching pants.

"It's pretty, but are you sure it's okay if I wear this?" 

"Of course, of course! It wasn't getting much use in the closet, anyway." 

She eagerly shoved it into my hands, "Go on!" 

Well... I guess I don't really have a reason to refuse.

*

"Ooh! It looks soooo good on you!" Ettie exclaimed, examining me from head to toe. "Don't I have great taste?" 

"I'm a little surprised, honestly. I mean, I still don't think it really fits me, but it is a cute dress."

"Oh, now you're just being modest!" 

She pounced on me for a hug, "You're super cute, so you should have more confidence in yourself!"

"Nobody's ever told me that before..."

It made me feel... warm inside.

"Well, they should've!" She said with a puff of her chest.

Those words brought a smile to my face. "...Thank you."

Then Ettie gasped, as if she realized something important. "In fact, we should show you off to everyone in Regret! That'll give you a real confidence boost!"

"Huh!? Wait! They're all in their rooms, aren't they!? So let's not do that, okay!?"

I blurted out a quick excuse before she could make her way to the door.

"Aww... But I guess you're right." She released me with a pout.

I couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief. 

The idea of Ettie showcasing me in pajamas was already embarassing enough as is, but then you add directly knocking on everyone's door to hear their opinions on top of it? That would be utterly humiliating. 

...I could pretty much imagine the reactions already anyway.

Robin wouldn't care whatsoever and most likely slam the door on my face. Celine would be polite about it, but probably hint that she likes it better on Ettie. And Blaze...

"Do you like my company that much?"

For some reason, her words from earlier popped into my head.

"What's wrong? Your face is red." Ettie asked curiously.

"N-Nothing! Don't worry about it!" I shook my head quickly.

"Hmmm?" She narrowed her eyes with a smirk, "Very suspicious. Did something happen between you and Boss?"

She was clearly interested in this topic, peering into my face.

"Nothing happened! Really!" 

"It's okay, you can tell me! I'll keep it a secret!"

"...I highly doubt that."

She gave me a pout.

"You're really interested in romance, aren't you?" I sat down on my bed with a huff. 

"Yup! I've always loved it." She said with a giggle, "I'm guessing you're not really into that thing?"

"I can't say I've ever really thought about it much outside of fiction... There's too much on my mind."

...Like finding Violet and Eon, for one.

Though I didn't voice that part out loud.

"Yeah, makes sense." She laughed a bit awkwardly. "But that's why I kinda love immersing myself in romance. It's a good distraction!"

"Is it really?"

"Yup! I mean, I don't think I'm ready for an actual relationship now. The last one didn't turn out so good, haha..." She laughed bitterly.

"The last one?" 

"Aaaaaanyway!" She shouted with a loud laugh, quickly changing the subject, "That's why fantasizing about it is good enough for me! It's cheesy, so feel free to laugh at me if you want!"

She laughed awkwardly, but it seemed like she was letting me in on something that genuinely meant something to her.

"...I don't think it's something to be embarrassed of. If it makes you happy, then that's good, isn't it?" I said honestly.

She stared at me with widened eyes before smiling a bit bashfully. "Ahaha... You're a lot nicer than I thought, huh! Thanks." 

...Did I really give off a hostile impression? I never realized. 

She gasped after noticing my reaction. "Oh, I didn't mean you were mean or anything! I just didn't think you were the friendly type, I guess? No, wait, that sounds bad!"

I shook my head, "No... It's alright. I've had my guard up with you guys all day, so you're not entirely wrong..."

"Yeah, but that's not unusual or anything! Heck, I'm probably the weird one for getting all buddy-buddy with someone I just met."

I laughed. "Well, I can't say I mind it." 

She beamed at me, "Really!?" 

"Yeah. I've never really talked about this kind of stuff with anyone, so it's kind of fun." I made an awkward smile, "Though I don't really have much to say about love, so it might be disappointing."

"Well, if you really don't mind me talking your ear off, then let's continue!" She laughed cheerfully, "And it doesn't just have to be about love, y'know? Though I'll admit I am interested in hearing about your thoughts on Boss!"

"It's really not like that..." I responded with a sigh.

"I'm just kidding! Though I'm kinda curious what you think of her, even just as a boss." 

I put my hand to my cheek, thinking about it a little.

"....That's a hard one to answer. I mean, I don't really know her well enough..."

I didn't know enough about any of them, really, but I still felt like it was easier to gauge the other three. Blaze was... a complete mystery to me. I couldn't really tell what she was thinking. Or what she thought of me, either...

"...I like her enough as a boss, I suppose. She seems nice, and she seems to care about her allies. She's also...."

"Alsoooo?" She asked with obvious interest.

"......Sort of pretty." I mumbled.

Actually, Blaze wasn't sort of pretty, she was pretty. I thought that since I first saw her.

...But saying that out loud would be way too embarassing.

"Do you like my company that much?"

I remembered Blaze's words again and quickly cleared my throat.

Why am I letting her joke affect me this much!? Seriously!

"Uh, you okay?" Ettie asked with concern.

"Fine!" I yelped. "Um. Yeah. Fine."

She smirked with interest, seemingly realizing why I was acting that way.

"Ohhh. I get it now. You're thinking about Bos—"

"Finish that sentence and I'm going to bed."

"Wait! I was just joking!"

Suddenly, the door slammed open like it had been kicked. Startling both me and Ettie.

"Eeeeek!?" We shrieked in unison.

"Will you two shut up!? Some people are trying to sleep, for crying out loud!" Robin shouted, now standing in front of us.

...It seemed he was the one that kicked it. 

"But did you really have to kick the door open!? Couldn't you knock first!? That scared the crap out of me!" 

"But knocking wouldn't get the point across, would it!?"

"What point were you trying to make!?"

Ettie and Robin yelled at each other, but were stopped by a loud "Ahem". 

Blaze stood behind them with her arms crossed, a menacing smile on her face. "...Might I ask what you two are doing at this hour?" 

"Why are you here!?" They yelped in perfect unison.

"And what do you mean by that? ...Whatever. Answer the question."

I could tell they were both shaken up by her sudden presence.

"He started it!"

"She started it."

They pointed at each other in a hurry.

"......Are you both idiots?" Blaze asked with an irritated sigh. "So. Ettie and Ione were up talking, and it woke Robin up. Is that it, or am I missing something?"

"He kicked the door open, Boss!"

"...You were mad about them being too loud, so you kicked their door? How does that make sense?"

"I don't know!?" 

"Either way! You didn't have to march over to their room, Robin." She scolded, "You're normally up this late anyway, aren't you?"

"There's a difference between me being silent, and two people loudly talking." 

...Robin seemed to be glaring at me in specific.

...Hold on, what? What did I even do here?

"...Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, starting to get more than a little annoyed.

"Looking at you like what?" He asked with a scowl.

"Like you're mad at me? What did I do?" 

"What didn't you do?"

......What? What does that even mean?

"It's true I was talking to Ettie, but I don't think I was loud enough for you to hear me. Unless you're mad at me for something else?"

"...I'm not mad at you in particular." 

"Then why are you glaring at me like that?"

Seriously, why are you glaring at me like that!? I didn't do anything to you!

"...I wasn't glaring at you on purpose. Sorry, I guess?" 

But you're still glaring at me now! Ugh. Whatever...

"Cellie's sleeping, so we probably weren't that loud anyway!"

"That's because Celine sleeps like a log!" 

"No, it's because you're too sensitive!"

"How am I sensitive!?" 

Ettie and Robin argued back-and-forth, and I could tell Blaze was gradually getting more irritated with the whole exchange.

She turned her attention to me, an apologetic look on her face. "Sorry about these two, Ione." 

"It's fine... Sorry, too."

 "Why're you apologizing? I'm used to them doing this." She laughed bitterly. "I should be the one apologizing for them dragging you into this." 

"...You three really are close."

"Well, we've known each other since we were kids. Celine joined a little later, so it was just us three for a while." 

That surprised me.

"...You formed Regret when you three were kids?" I asked.

"Hm? Yeah. Well, it started off with just me and Robin at first... we only really came up with the organization once Ettie joined." 

"...I see."

Of course I was curious to ask about their origin, but this... definitely wasn't the time for that. 

Blaze seemed to get the idea of what I really wanted to ask, though, since she murmured a quiet "....I'll tell you some day." before leaving it at that.

"I was just telling you two to quiet down, I wasn't telling you to shut up entirely!"

"That's not what you said a few seconds ago!" 

Blaze visibly twitched at their continuous arguing. 

...Yeah, she's definitely too mad for a serious conversation.

She turned her attention back to Robin and Ettie with a piercing glare.

They immediately stopped arguing at that look.

"Enough." Blaze said sharply, "Both of you, back to your rooms."

"What!? But—" Robin yelled in protest.

"No buts! I'll talk to her if you really want me to, so just shut up and go back to bed already!" 

Robin was powerless in the face of that glare. He opened his mouth to speak back, but closed it. 

".....Fine." He grumbled, lowering his head in... what seemed to be shame?

....Huh. Blaze could actually be strict when she wanted to be.

That left only the three of us once Robin left.

"I'm in my room, Boss." Ettie answered. 

"You know what I meant!" Blaze sighed again, "Look, just... keep it down a little, alright? Okay?" 

"Fiiiine." 

Blaze twitched, but seemed too tired to fire back. "Okay. Goodni—"

"Wait! Before you leave..." 

Ettie interrupted before Blaze could shut the door.

"What is it now?"

"What do you think of Luna's pajamas, Boss?"

If I could have predicted anything Ettie would have said there, it was not that. 

Blaze was making an expression of complete and utter confusion. "........Excuse me?" 

"Ettie!" I shouted, face red in both embarrassment and anger.

"What? You wanted to know, didn't you?" Ettie asked.

"No!? When did I ever say that, even!? Don't put words into my mouth!"

Blaze scratched her cheek awkwardly, "......What kind of question is that?" I could hear her mutter.

My face was definitely burning at this point.

"Please just ignore her!" I yelped.

Blaze gazed at me for a moment before speaking up.

".........They're pretty." 

"......Huh?" I asked in disbelief.

Even Ettie looked shocked at her answer.

"Ohh? That's the first time you showed interest in that kinda thing, Boss!" She teased.

Instead of denying it, like I thought she would, Blaze quickly turned away. Her cheeks a faint red. 

".........Goodnight." 

"Huh? Wai—!" 

I yelled after her, but she immediately shut the door without so much as another word.

What... was that about...??

Ettie looked at me with a wide grin, "Isn't that great, Luna? Boss thinks you're pretty! And you think she's pretty too! The feeling's mutual!"

"When did I ever say she was pretty!?"

""She's also sort of pretty"! That's what you said earlier."

I threw my pillow at her on reflex.

"Woah!? I was just repeating what you said, sorry!" She laughed, throwing it back at me.

I caught the pillow with my hands, using it to hide my face. "You don't have to remind me! Uggghh..." 

"Aw, there's no need to be embarrassed! This is better than any novel, really!" 

"Just stop talking about this, please..."

I groaned into my pillow while Ettie continued joyfully talking about love and whatnot.

".....Maybe I should have picked Blaze's room instead." I muttered to myself.

"Uh, wouldn't that make it worse for you? You'd be sharing a room with the girl you have a crush on." 

"I don't have a crush on—!!" 

I covered my mouth, realizing how loud that yell was. 

"Now I would comment on how that's a lie, but you'd probably throw another pillow at me— Hey, you don't have to glare like that!" 

Ettie was definitely annoying, no doubt about that, but something made it hard to be mad at her for long.

I frowned at her, "...Goodnight, Ettie."

"...A-Are you mad at me?" She asked nervously.

"I. Said. Good. Night. Ettie."

"You definitely are, aren't you!?"

I flopped onto the bed, turning over on my side.

"Wait, now you're no longer looking at me!? I'm sorry!" 

".....You're lucky you're nice." I mumbled to myself, quiet enough that she couldn't hear.

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Just go to bed!" 

"Yikes! Going to bed now!"

She hurriedly turned off the lamp, and jumped into her bed. 

I couldn't help but snort.

.....I can't stay mad at someone like her.

Despite the overall circumstances being... less than ideal, I found that I might be able to make friends with these people.

They were all weird in different ways, sure, but... I didn't dislike any of them. ...I mean, Robin was a bit much, but I got the impression he wasn't necessarily being mean to me on purpose. The four of them seemed like good people overall.

Maybe Regret isn't so bad...

As I thought such things, I slowly closed my eyes.