Esper Harem in the Apocalypse

Chapter 197 To Stay or Not To Stay

Rudy had never been so conflicted before, even if he had, not to this extent.

'What should I do?' he asked himself.

Rudy had two options. One was to stay in the vampire world, and another was to go back to the outside world. But no matter what he chose, he would have to make a sacrifice.

'I want to stay here for Rias and… Jane too…' he said while looking at the desperate Jane.

'I want to touch Rias. I want to hear her voice. I want her to call my name. I want to see her smile and get lost in her charming red eyes. But if I decided to stay here, I would have to leave everyone behind in the real world.'

'Mom gets so anxious if I don't pick up her call. I can't fathom what she would do if I went missing for 15 days without any notice. I still have to go all the way with Alice, and I need to make a move on Rize too. What about Reina? I was planning to meet her today, but my entire day passed in making up with Alice and mom.'

'I promised Reina that I would repay her loan in two days, and I still haven't done that. But maybe that can wait for a few more days as I am sure Scott's family must be distressed about Scott suddenly going missing. And besides, there is still some time left before the due date, so I am not truly worried about the debt itself, but I am worried about Reina.'

'Reina must have found my phone in the pool, and she could have checked the footage and already realized everything. She could be trying to contact me, but she has no other way to reach me other than to call me on the phone, which is destroyed.'

'I was planning to buy a new phone tonight and meet up with Maria if possible. I wanted to go to the casino with her and win money to pay Reina's debt. Sure, Maria has given me her card, but if I take money from her, I will have to pay her back eventually. Even if she declines it, my ideals won't let me do that. I know the value of money better than anyone.'

Rudy would miss all that if he decided to stay in the vampire world.

'But if I don't stay here, as Jane said, it would be cruel to Rias. I don't want Rias to wake her in my absence.'

Rudy scoffed wryly and thought, 'In the end, It came down to choosing either side.'

Rudy thought if he had a harem, he would never have to choose between the girls, and he preferred it that way as it wouldn't hurt any girls.

While his current situation wasn't the same, he still had to choose between Rias and everyone else.

Furthermore, the most troublesome thing for him was his super libido. The 24 hours were about to pass soon, and if Rudy didn't go back to the outside world, things could happen.

"This really sucks…" Rudy let out a weary sigh and pondered for a few more seconds until a thought crossed his mind.

"What if I chose both options?" Rudy uttered while glancing back and forth and Jane and Virgil.

"I am not quite sure I understood what you are trying to say.." Virgil responded.

"What Jane said is, without a doubt, true. I don't want Rias to wake up in my absence. But I also can't leave my world behind for the next 15 days," Rudy asserted in a calm voice and continued. "So what if I take Rias with me to the outside world?"

"Oh!"

"That way, I would be choosing both options. I wouldn't have to leave anyone behind, and Rias would wake up in my absence too."

"I will come too~!" Jane said desperately. "To… take care of Rias…" she added with a flushed face.

"I agree that's the wisest choice one would make, but unfortunately, that's not possible," Virgil asserted. "You can't take Rias with you."

"Huh? Why not?"

"Why do you think Rias is locked in this chamber of the valley instead of her room in the palace?" Virgil asked, not expecting an answer from Rudy.

"..."

"This chamber is the closest to the core of this world. Surely, you don't think that I would punish Rias that could endanger her life. The shackles were sucking her vampire powers, even though she is the weakest royal vampire ever in history since 90% of her body is human. But the core was recharging her power constantly."

"Even if the shackles are removed, if you take her away or even remove her from this chamber, the balance between her body will break, which could be dangerous for Rias. So I am against it," he said.

"Boomer…"

"Then stay here!" Jane said to Rudy. She hugged his arm and said, "You have to stay here!"

"...!" Rudy was genuinely shocked by the sudden change in Jane's personality. 'What happened to her? Where did the old haughty Jane go? I am not saying that I don't like this meek Jane, but… the arrogant Jane was better…'

Rudy was unintentionally letting out his fetishes.

"You have to decide quickly, Rudy. Only one minute has left," Virgil informed.

'I don't even have much time to think of a new plan!' Rudy panicked.

He turned to Jane and said, "I am sorry, but I need to leave. I can't stay away from my world for 15 days. If it was for one or two days, I could have managed it."

"So… they are more important than Rias?" Jane asked in a low voice.

Rudy knew what Jane was getting at, and he had already prepared an answer for such questions.

"Everyone is equally important to me," he replied in a calm voice.

Then, he turned to Rias and held her hand in his hand. He kissed her on the hand and said, "I will be back in 15 days. Please, wait for me."

After saying that, Rudy patted Jane on the shoulders and dashed out of the chamber. However, Jane chased after him out of desperation.