Welcome to the Innocent World

The lift doors opened with a quiet ding. I stepped out first, leading the girls to my flat.

Claire's eyes widened the moment she stepped into the hallway. Her ponytail swished as she spun around in awe, taking in the glossy flooring and the warm, ambient lighting. "Woahhh! This place screams 'rich boy,' Austin!"

Natasha followed quietly but couldn't hide the glint of admiration in her eyes. "It's... impressive," she murmured, adjusting her glasses.

Maya, the only one who had been here before, stayed calm, a small smirk playing on her lips as she trailed behind the others.

Finally, we reached my door. With a small click, I unlocked it and pushed it open. "Welcome to my humble house," I said, stepping aside to let them in.

Claire darted in first, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "This isn't humble at all! Look at this place! Dim lights, soft wallpapers, and everything spotless—it's so spacious too!"

Natasha entered next, her gaze taking in every detail with quiet appreciation. "I didn't expect it to be so organized," she said, almost like she doubted I could keep a place this clean.

Maya simply walked in, heading straight for the couch, her smirk growing. "You act all cold and bored at college, no wonder you're living like a king here, Austin."

"Hehe, it's nothing like that.."I said with a tensed smile.

I shrugged, trying not to think about how thankful I was that Beta wasn't here. If my overly affectionate cat-girl jumped on me in front of them, I'd never hear the end of it.

"Make yourselves at home," I said, waving toward the dining table where they began setting down the groceries we picked up on our way here.

Beer bottles clinked as Natasha lined them up beside the chips, instant noodles, and some snacks. Meanwhile, Claire was already exploring.

"Is this your room?" she called out, peeking into one door.

"Claire, don't go snooping!" Natasha scolded.

Claire only giggled. "Austin doesn't mind, right?" she asked, looking at me over her shoulder.

I laughed lightly. "Not at all. Think of this as your own house."

With that, she threw herself into the role of a curious guest. She opened the door to my bedroom and gasped, "Your bed is huge! You could fit 4 people here!"

"Claire!" Natasha protested, her cheeks flushing slightly.

"Just saying!" Claire replied innocently before moving on to the bathroom. She peeked inside and exclaimed, "You have a rainfall shower?! I'm so jealous!"

Natasha adjusted her glasses and muttered, "It's not polite to look through someone's stuff…"

While Claire was busy snooping, Maya had made her way to the balcony. She opened the sliding glass door and stepped out, taking in the fresh air. "This view is something else," she said, leaning against the railing. "You can see the entire city from here."

Claire joined her, pressing her hands against the glass. "It's so chilling! Imagine watching fireworks from here!"

I leaned against the doorframe, watching them with a small smile. Natasha finally joined me, glancing around the flat one last time before nodding. "Alright," she said. "I'll admit, this is pretty impressive."

"Glad it meets your high standards," I teased.

Natasha gave me a rare smile, then turned toward the dining table. "We should eat before the drinks get warm."

With everyone gathered around, we started on the snacks and beer. The room quickly filled with laughter and teasing as we relaxed.

Claire gulped down half her drink and leaned back, resting her head on bed's edge pointing at me. "So, Austin, are you always this mysterious, or are you just hiding some big secret?"

I choked slightly on my beer. "What? No secrets here," I said, trying to sound casual.

"Oh, come on," she said, leaning forward with a mischievous grin. "A guy who lives in a place like this, keeps his bed that tidy, and knows how to cook delicious foods—there's gotta be something."

Maya chuckled, taking a sip of her drink. "Maybe he's secretly married to a rich CEO."

"Yeah, and she pays for everything while he plays househusband," Natasha added dryly.

"Hey!" I protested. "What's wrong with a guy keeping his place clean?"

Claire wagged her finger at me. "Nothing. It's just suspiciously perfect, like you're hiding a double life."

I sighed, shaking my head. "You're overthinking it. I'm just a regular college student like you guys."

"Regular?" Natasha smirked. "You ran into the bathroom to hide yesterday. That's not regular, that's a survival instinct."

Maya laughed. "At least he's honest about it. Most guys would have made up some heroic story."

"Yeah," Claire said, narrowing her eyes playfully. "You better not be lying to us, Austin."

As the laughter died down, we continued eating and drinking. The conversation drifted to the events at college.

Natasha adjusted her glasses and leaned on the table. "It's still hard to believe what happened yesterday. Zero showing up out of nowhere, fighting off that crazy witch..."

~Crazy Witch....I repeated in my mind. Poor Nebula.

Claire nodded enthusiastically. "It was like something out of a movie! I mean, who is Zero, anyway? Where did he come from?"

I tried not to choke on my noodles. "Probably some undercover knight or something," I said quickly.

"Undercover?" Maya raised an eyebrow. "In a school? Doesn't seem very knightly."

"Well, maybe he was investigating the artifact," Natasha reasoned. "That would make sense."

"Or," Claire said, lowering her voice dramatically, "maybe he's one of us—a student pretending to be normal by day and a hero by night."

"That's ridiculous," I said, laughing nervously.

"Is it, though?" she countered, staring at me with mock suspicion.

"Alright, enough with the conspiracy theories," Maya said, shaking her head.

The girls laughed, and I silently thanked Maya for saving me.

After we finished eating, Claire leaned back again, spreading her legs with a satisfied sigh. Her panty line was visible just above her thighs. She is drunk and completely off guard.

"Okay, this was fun, but I have an idea to make it even better."
Stay tuned with My Virtual Library Empire

"Oh?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow.

Claire's mischievous grin returned as she grabbed her drink and tilted her head toward me. "Let's play a game, guys."

I blinked, feeling the warning bells go off in my head. "Uh, okay. What kind of game?"

Her grin widened. "Strip Poker."

The room went silent for a beat.

"Claire!" Natasha exclaimed, her face turning bright red.

Maya choked on her drink, she nearly dropped her beer glass.

And me? I just stared at Claire, wondering if I'd just made the biggest mistake of my life inviting them here or maybe I will have the best night of my life.