Agnelov stood and clasped her hands together. 「«Embraro»」

Her hands radiated a subtle red glare as she grazed my body. In contrast to the soothing cold, a warmth coursed from her hands that dried the remaining moisture from my skin. It was almost like a massage, but I was getting cleaned as well.

I then glared in the mirror at the young woman standing behind me. 「And you, mute girl. Are you going to just stand there acting cool? You’ve got a lot of explaining to do.」

«Evonika», or whatever her name was, stood idly by with her head bent down to the ground as if she was deep in thought. Her short, inky black hair, shaped like shark teeth, cascaded down to her shoulders and remained unchanged. However, her new outfit comprising a bulky collared turtleneck with a cleavage opening and tight silk shorts. A pair of black leg warmers covered her bare feet.

I smirked as Agnelov finished drying my back and walked over to retrieve my dress.

「What happened to your other outfit? Didn’t want to stand out with that ridiculously large armor?」I said with a smirk.

No response.

Oh. My god. They cannot leave me with this girl. She’s going to bore me to death. Didn’t Tiger say she was a veteran player? She has to know what’s going on. Maybe I should try… being… nice…

「Ahem. Evonika, was it?」

She raised her head and nodded.

「Does anything in the game seem… different to you?」

Evonika nodded again.

「Where are we? And why can’t I access the menu?」

Evonika raised an eyebrow. She opened her palm and swiped down with two fingers. Upon coming to the same realization as me, her eyes widened, and she turned around and crossed her arms.

Oh… oh shit. That’s… that’s not good. If she doesn’t know what’s happening, we’re screwed. How are we going to log out or leave the game?

Agnelov fitted on my dress, tying the last few laces on my front and the bow around my neck. She slipped on a pair of platform heels with sharp spikes on my feet and took a step back.

「If that’s all you need, Lady Yokalen, Lady Evonika, I will excuse myself… I’ll be waiting outside your room for departure.」 Agnelov murmured, then exited the room.

I turned around and began caressing my hair in the mirror. 「So, mute girl. Are we going to talk or what?」

「Don’t call me that.」

My eyes widened, and I spun on my heels. 「Wait, wait. You can talk?」

「Yes.」

「Since when?」

Evonika shrugged. 「Not important.」

Not… not important? She made me look like an idiot in front of my maid!

「Wait… if you’re here, does that mean you’re my maid as well? That’s actually hilarious.」

「You’re loud and flamboyant. No wonder they made you a noble. It suits you.」 Evonika said in a dull tone.

I opened my mouth, only for a brief chuckle of disbelief to escape my lips.

First, she comes into my room unannounced and watches me get dressed. Then she acts like she can’t talk, only to say the most implacable comments afterward.

My cheeks felt hot as I went over my last statement in my mind.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

「A-and to top it all off, you saw me getting dressed, you—」

「You’re so full of yourself. I bet you had no problem with me seeing your naked body. You probably wanted me to see it anyway, exhibitionist.」 Evonika said.

I stepped back with a wry smile.

Who the… What in the… Who the hell is this bitch?!

「Listen here, you little—」

Evonika raised her hand, turning to the door with a squint of her eyes. A few footsteps walked past, and she walked over and sat on the bed.

「Okay, they’re gone.」 She said then curled her finger.

「Uh, who’s gone?」 I asked while walking closer.

「Your maid, Agnelov. I can’t tell if they’re a player or not, so it’s best if they can’t hear us.」

「Wait, but the crystal things that appeared… Oh… Now that I think about it, I didn’t see it on my mother or Agnelov.」

Evonika nodded. 「It seems now the game differs significantly from the beta. This isn’t a starter town, but an entire kingdom estate, nor has a starter mission appeared. I can’t even access my «Character Menu» to look at my «Stats» or anything. Strange.」

「I-Is the game broken or something? Do we need to reboot or whatever?」

Evonika lowered her eyelids. 「Did you seriously just say reboot? This is a Nex-Rig, not a 21st-century old-fashioned PC.」

「Well, I don’t know! If you know the game so well, do something useful and fix it!」

Evonika stood up from the bed and sighed. 「I’m not at a GM anymore. Plus, what am I supposed to do? Let’s just… calm down and think.」

She paced over to the desk and began looking through the scrolls and books on the shelves. 「Did Lady Cheykina say anything to you? Like what’s happening today or special events?」

「Uh, yeah. She told me about this ‘Ushur’s coronation’ or whatever and gave me some information on our heritage.」

「Okay, good. So our stories match up then. At least we’ve got one thing sorted out.」

I gasped with a disgusted twitch of my eye. 「Y-you’re a noble too?」

「What? No. I’m your sister and «Puroper». Didn’t you listen to anything Lady Cheykina said to you?」

「She said nothing about me being related to you? And second off, ew. Why you?」

「You weren’t my first choice either, but here we are.」

I brushed my hand through my hair with a laugh. 「Ha! I think many people would love to be related to someone like me. But it’s obvious I got the most from our gene pool. Your complexion and hair aren’t the best.」

「Careful, you might hurt someone with that heavy ego of yours.」

「Whatever. I heard you say «Puroper» earlier. What’s that?」

Evonika slammed a book shut and threw it on the desk. 「Are you so entitled only to hear your own voice in that thick head of yours?」

「Well, what other soothing sounds would one prefer?」

Evonika rolled her eyes. 「For your information, I’m entrusted to protect the second born as a «Puroper». Or so… that’s how Lady Cheykina put it.」

「That’s nice and all, but aren’t you sort of useless right now? I mean, you don’t have your sword or gear anymore. You’re practically the same as me.」

Evonika grunted beneath her breath, then leaned on the back of the bookshelf. 「That’s why this… predicament is so frustrating. Usually, we’re given cursors and arrows for our tasks and guides explaining our «Main Quest» to gain EXP. But now, nothing. What are the game devs doing up there?」

Her shoulders slouched as she repeatedly tapped on her crossed arms.

I could tell she was getting irritated, but was good at keeping her composure. I really don’t know what she could be thinking about or if I could help any… But maybe I can just say something to keep her thinking of a solution.

「What if, uh… What if we just continued with this coronation thing and see what happens next? Maybe it’s like a story that progresses with the more we do.」

Evonika looked up at me, then closed her eyes. 「Yes, that may work. However, I’m unsure if the game is static or dynamic at this point. During the beta, the game was more or less static as to what you could and couldn’t do. There was tiny leeway for innovative thinking game-wise.」

「So, what you’re saying is we should look for the most optimal path rather than forcing intricate decisions.」

Evonika nodded. 「That’s exactly what I’m saying.」

「Okay, I get it. So what do nobles do in this game?」 I asked.

「Not sure, there weren’t any. Or rather, there weren’t any playable roles in the «Noble» class. And for the most part, they were NPCs.」

So basically, I’m going into this blind. But I mean, how hard could it be? If it’s anything like nobility depicted in feudal systems, all I have to do is build relationships and maintain some portion of the kingdom. Granted, I don’t know how big this kingdom is, but since I’m a new player, I’m sure they’ll give me a manageable size to begin with.

I nodded and began walking to the door. 「Alright, whatever. I guess we’ve gotta play this stupid game until things get fixed.」

Evonika tugged on my arm, and I stopped mid-step. Her gaze was distant, and eyebrows were drawn together as her grip tightened.

「I just… I just wanted to let you know that… We’re a team, okay? And… I’ll try my best to be helpful despite my current information being very limited.」

Her lips pressed closed, and the corners of her eyes were on the verge of tears.

I thought I was the only one scared, but… I guess she is, too. First, she acts all stoic about the situation, then this? … What? Does she think I’d abandon her just because she’s as in the dark as I am?

Is that really the type of person I reflect toward others?

「Ugh, get off me!」 snatched my dress from her hands and continued to walk. 「I’m not going to leave you or anything. If we’re sisters, then we’re family. And last time I checked, abandoning your family is a shitty thing to do… so come on.」

Evonika nodded and trailed behind me.