The Return Of The Exiled Villain

"DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!"

"...Gulp, gulp, gulp...!!!!"

"OYEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!2

The tavern was lively as always, filled with the warm glow of lanterns and the loud chatter from other students enjoying the start of summer holidays.

In a large corner booth near the back, the group had already gathered, exactly as Selene had promised.

Gray pushed open the wooden door and stepped inside, Selene walking just a half-step behind him with a satisfied, slightly flushed smile on her face.

The moment he appeared, the table erupted.

"Gray!!"

Maelis was the first to react.

His step-sister practically launched herself out of her seat, long black hair flying as she rushed over and threw her arms around his neck in a tight, overly affectionate hug.

"You’re finally back! I was so worried when I heard you were in deep meditation for months!" She buried her face in his chest, squeezing him harder than necessary.

"Don’t ever scare me like that again, okay? Your sister was lonely without you..."

Lyra, sitting at the far end of the booth, narrowed her emerald eyes dangerously at the hug, her golden strands in her high ponytail catching the light.

She didn’t say anything yet, but her fingers tightened around her glass.

Adrian, Lyra’s brother, gave Gray a respectful nod from his seat, though his gaze flicked protectively toward his sister.

Leon sat with his usual refined posture with a small smile on his face. His were a little annoyed, though, since he had been dragged to this place.

Selina leaned back in her chair with a confident smirk, her dark blue hair tied in a neat ponytail and blue eyes sparkling lightly.

"Took you long enough to wake up, pretty boy. We almost started the party without you."

Claire sat quietly beside Ronan, her cheeks already turning pink the moment Gray entered.

She gave him a shy little wave, unable to meet his eyes for long. Ronan, the resident dumbass of the group, was already waving both arms wildly with a huge grin.

"GRAYYYY! My man! You’re alive! I thought you died or something! Come sit, come sit! I saved you the best seat, right next to me, so I can tell you all the stupid shit that happened while you were napping!"

Lira, as usual, remained completely expressionless, her arms crossed, simply giving Gray a small nod.

Selene slipped into the booth first, deliberately taking the seat right beside where Gray would sit, shooting him a quick, mischievous wink only he could see.

Gray took his place in the middle of the group, Maelis still clinging to his arm on one side while Lyra’s gaze burned into him from the other.

The table was already covered with food and drinks, as clearly Selene had prepared everything in advance.

Seeing this, Gray grabbed one of the beer mugs and took a big sip before finally speaking.

"I simply went into seclusion because I finally understood a certain technique," he explained calmly.

"It took longer than expected. That’s all."

Questions immediately started flying from every direction.

"What technique?" Selina asked curiously, leaning forward but with the intent to show Gray her cleavage.

...He did take a look at it, causing her smile to widen lightly.

"Was it dangerous?" Claire whispered shyly.

"Big Brother! You could’ve at least told me~!" Maelis squeezed his arm tighter.

Gray simply shrugged, brushing off the barrage of questions with a small smile.

Before anyone could press further, he dropped the real reason they were all gathered.

"The main reason I wanted everyone here tonight is that I’m quitting Gloria Academy," he spoke directly without any drama.

The table exploded into chaos.

"WHAT?!" Maelis screamed, nearly knocking over her drink as she whipped her head toward him.

"No way!" Selina slammed her palm on the table, her eyes widening in complete surprise. She really didn’t want him to leave!

"You’re actually leaving?!"

"Gray, that’s... a bit sudden, no?" Adrian’s calm expression cracked.

Leon’s smile froze completely, though a flicker of satisfaction flashed in his eyes for a split second before disappearing.

And well...

Ronan, being Ronan, dramatically threw himself off his chair, crawled under the table, and grabbed Gray’s leg with both hands, shaking it like a child throwing a tantrum.

"NOOOOOO! DON’T LEAVE ME, BRO! I’m only seen as a badass because I hang out with you! If you go, I’ll go back to being the resident idiot! Please don’t abandon your loyal sidekick!"

Lira, the only one who stayed completely silent, simply stared at Gray with her usual blank expression, though her fingers tightened slightly around her glass.

Gray almost face-palmed at Ronan’s "performance". He shook his head, gently kicking his leg to make the idiot let go.

"Instead... I’ll be joining Clementine’s Sword & Magic Academy. So I might meet you guys during the academy’s competition."

The entire table froze.

A heavy silence fell over the group as the implications sank in.

Clementine’s Sword & Magic Academy, Aurora’s academy, was already famous for producing monsters.

In the inter-exchange, they met plenty of them... and now Gray was going there.

No one wanted to face Gray as an opponent in the upcoming competition.

Their gazes instinctively shifted toward Lyra.

The golden-haired girl sat perfectly still, her emerald eyes glowing faintly.

After her the recent breakthroughs she had displayed, she had become an absolute monster, someone who could probably stand toe-to-toe with the strongest students from any academy.

A collective wave of relief washed over the group.

"...At least we have Lyra," Selina muttered under her breath.

"Yeah... if Gray becomes our enemy, we still have a chance," Adrian nodded slowly, though his lips twitched.

’Mhm... I really need to finish the contract, and quickly!’ he thought inwardly.

"But I don’t want to fight my big brother..." Maelis pouted, still clinging to Gray’s arm.

"So... we’re safe because Lyra is a walking calamity now?" Ronan, still on the floor, peeked up with teary eyes.

Lyra didn’t say a word.

She simply stared at Gray, her expression unreadable, but the faint golden glow in her eyes made it clear she was already thinking about how to "handle" the situation later.

Then, suddenly, Ronan, still on the floor clinging to Gray’s leg, jumped up.

"Alright, enough of this sad talk! If our boy is leaving, then we’re throwing the biggest farewell party ever! Drinks on me... I mean, on Leon, since he’s the prince!"

Leon sighed but didn’t argue, waving over a waitress to bring more pitchers and cups.

The mood quickly shifted from shock to chaotic celebration. Selina slammed her mug on the table with a grin.

"Drinking games! Right now! No excuses!"

"Yes! Let’s play cup toss! The one where you throw the little ball into the cups!" Maelis clapped her hands excitedly.

Ronan was already setting up the table, pushing plates aside and arranging empty cups in triangle formations.

"Two teams! Losers drink! Winner gets bragging rights and the right to make the loser do something stupid!"

Gray let out a small sigh but sat down anyway, knowing there was no escaping this.

The first game was classic beer pong with two teams of four.

Team 1: Gray, Selene, Selina, and Maelis.

Team 2: Lyra, Adrian, Ronan, and Leon (with Claire and Lira as referees/cheerleaders).

The rules were simple and brutal: every time the opposing team scored a point, the other team had to drink. If you missed, you drank anyway.

Gray went first.

Plink!

The small white ball bounced once and landed perfectly in the center cup.

"YES!" Maelis cheered, hugging Gray’s arm.

"Already?!" Ronan groaned.

Team 2 drank.

Lyra’s eyes narrowed as she downed her drink in one go, glaring at Gray the entire time.

The game continued.

Gray was on fire during the games, as every throw he made was deadly accurate. Even when the others on his team missed, Gray carried them.

He sank shot after shot, barely missing any.

Plink! Plink! Plink!

By the time the game ended, Team 1 had crushed Team 2 10–3.

But because of the rules, every single point scored by the opponents meant the winners still had to drink, Gray had downed almost as much as the losers.

His cheeks were slightly flushed, but he still looked completely composed.

Ronan slammed his head on the table.

"This is unfair! Gray is a monster!"

"That’s our Gray! Undefeated even when drunk!" Selina laughed loudly.

Lyra was quiet, but her emerald eyes were burning as she watched Gray.

Selene, sitting right beside him, kept "accidentally" brushing her leg against his under the table, a sly smile on her face.

They played three more rounds of cup toss.

Gray won every single one.

In the fourth game, he was deliberately holding back a little to let his teammates have fun, but he still carried the team to victory.

By the end of it, he had drunk nearly two full pitchers’ worth of strong ale, yet his posture never wavered, and his aim stayed terrifyingly precise.

Ronan was completely wasted, lying face-down on the table, mumbling, "I’m... still... a badass... because I know Gray..."

Claire was red-faced and giggling shyly every time Gray looked her way.

Lira remained expressionless but had a tiny, rare smile tugging at her lips as she watched the chaos.

"My big brother is the best~♡" Maelis was clinging to Gray’s arm even tighter, her cheeks flushed red as she pecked at Gray’s neck.

Lyra’s gaze had grown darker with every game, but she hadn’t said a word, only drank silently.

For someone who was extremely extroverted as her... she had changed quite a bit.

But Gray... decided to ignore her, since tonight was a night dedicated to having fun.

The night continued with more dumb games, flip cup, never-have-I-ever, and a chaotic round of "kings cup" that ended with Ronan singing off-key tavern songs while standing on the table.

Gray had drunk quite a lot by this point, but he was still mostly steady, the alcohol only giving him a pleasant buzz.

Eventually, he stood up.

"I’m going to the bathroom," he announced, stretching his arms.

He weaved through the crowded tavern toward the back hallway where the restrooms were located.

The moment he stepped into the men’s room, he let out a small breath and walked up to the urinal.

He unzipped his pants, pulled himself out, and started to pee.

Leaak...!

Just as the stream began, a delicate, soft hand suddenly reached from behind him and wrapped firmly around his cock, stopping the flow instantly.

"Gray~"