“Hello. Good day.”
Calista greeted him the moment he entered the guild, Chione standing beside her. He stopped for a second, before moving away from the exit and toward them, the cloak covering half of his face. Calista recognized him, though, probably because he didn’t change anything following yesterday.
“You’re still here?”
He asked. Calista replied with a nod.
“My friend’s coming to pick me up.”
“You picked up your quests?”
“Yep.”
Both Chione and Ethan still had their requests from yesterday. Ethan then turned around and headed back toward the exit.
Ethan looked at the two girls from behind with his arms crossed and his back resting on a tree. They were once again in the Northern Forest for some practice.
“Did you practice after I left yesterday?”
“Huh? No.”
Calista answered, but Chione remained silent. Ethan imposed the no-pry rule on himself, but he couldn’t help but felt curious. They were way too good for beginners.
“C-”
His mind was so focused on that to the point that he nearly blurted out Calista’s real name. Calista hadn’t said her real name up till this point, and there was no way FireRock would know. He thought up a nickname to call her with, before resuming with his question.
“Swan, have you ever played any games before?”
“Yes, this is the first time I touched anything Dual Reality, though.”
“I see.”
He then glanced at Chione. Chione noticed Ethan’s gaze and pointed at herself.
“Me? No, I’ve never played anything else.”
“As in Dual Reality or…?”
“I’ve never played any other game, either.”
Something’s not right.
It just didn’t click. Ethan wondered if he should break his rule this once. Push her into a corner and ask her for her real reasons, something like that. It didn’t feel right, but if it was FireRock…
“...”
She was good enough to handle the game alone, and now she carried a medium-level bow. She should be able to carry on without him. As long as he didn’t let his real identity slip, he should be fine. He should be fine… yet…
It didn’t feel right, outright wrong, even.
She had her own goals, her own hopes and dreams. He had no right to interfere with them. FireRock didn’t need to know them.
“Is something wrong?”
Calista asked, while Chione eyed him uncomfortably. He had been looking at her for a while now, after all, so she would probably be creeped out. He didn’t have much time, if he wanted to ask, he needed to ask now, before things got any weirder.
To have fun
Chione had been rather silent this entire time. She wasn’t as loud as Calista in school, either, but there seemed to be a difference to the way she acted out here, a different kind of silence, one that felt unnatural, as if she purposely distanced herself from people.
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“Chione, why are you playing?”
He straightened up his pose and pulled his hand backward, pretending to stretch his limbs.
“To have-”
“Eep!”
A double-edged spear clad in dark red stabbed into the tree beside Chione, only a few centimeters away from her face. Calista sprawled on the ground, looking up at the two who stood across from each other. Chione glanced at the spear beside her, its sharp blade digging a few centimeters deep, deep enough to get it stuck onto the tree. It all happened within a few seconds, probably less than two. She didn’t have time to react. Her eyes widened, her mouth opened.
For the first time, it looked like she lost her composure albeit for just a moment, but she continued standing. This game didn’t have permanent death, but being on the receiving end of that piece of sharp metal must have been scary if it threw Calista down to the floor, if it caused Chione to freeze. They remained like that for a few seconds, not one of them opening their mouths.
Eventually, she glanced again at Ethan’s spear, as if confirming that the spear really did stray away from her, even if only by a few centimeters. She let out a sigh and straightened her body out before grabbing the spear’s handle. She plucked it out of the tree and pushed it back to Ethan, who received the weapon with open arms.
“Do I not look like someone having fun to you?”
“Absolutely not.”
“... Shit.”
This was the first time he heard her curse. It was so surprising that it even left Calista, her own friend, out of words.
“So, I am right?”
“Sadly yes.”
“Then why? Money?”
Chione remained silent. She looked around, her eyes wandering through the dense forest, as if looking for a way out. She let out a long breath, as if wondering whether she should tell her tale or not. Ethan and Calista looked at her with curiosity.
“No, it’s my sister.”
“Sister…?”
Calista asked. She probably hadn’t heard about this as well.
“My sister owned the company that made this game. She had been very busy since they relaunched Aldhia Star. We rarely talk with each other, and she never came home.”
Aldhia Star started as a sightseeing simulator, but Aldhia Studios, the company that made the game, bought another company and incorporated their research and development into Aldhia Star, turning the sightseeing simulator into a fully-fledged RPG. The game was launched around two months ago in early July.
“If I made a name for myself, maybe she’ll finally look at me.”
“So is that why…”
“Yeah. I’m Chione, Chione Ayadi.”
Her sudden declaration of her real name left Ethan speechless. She didn’t scream, yet it felt like a call for her sister, so that her sister recognized Chione in the millions of players that played the game daily.
“And if that wasn’t enough, then I’ll climb that tower to the skies. If that could get her to notice me…”
Chione looked south. From this distance, the tall tower that loomed over Adastra was clearly visible. Its top heading high into the heavens, the roof not visible no matter how high they look up. It felt endless, maybe it was endless. Ethan looked back down, back at Chione, who solemnly gazed at the white building.
“Sigh… fine, I’ll see what I can do.”
Chione turned back to him, Calista finally standing up.
“No promises, though.”
“... Thanks.”
No one ever reached that place, not a single person, so…
“For now, focus on training.”
Ethan said as he turned back toward town.
It had only been nine in the evening by the time he left. He took his smartphone off the table and went outside, walking to a door not far from his. He knocked on the door slowly, trying to not be too obnoxious.
It took a while, but the door squeaked open, an eye peeking from behind it.
“What?”
The person said coldly.
“I need help. Information, to be exact.”
“...”
Fiona left the door, leaving it open.
“Excuse me.”
Ethan carefully entered. Fiona’s bedroom felt entirely different from his, despite being the same size. Hers had a large wardrobe on the side, its door opened showing the various clothing items she had. The room’s light green walls looked dirty, its white floor tiling filled with stuff. Ethan held himself from commenting, not wanting to get on her bad side.
“So, yer offering?”
She sat in front of her laptop, the screen showing some charts going up and down.
“Ten bucks.”
“Dollars? Euros?”
“Dollars.”
“What’s the job?”
She asked cold-heartedly, her eyes glued on her laptop screen.
“I need info on the tower.”
“Be specific.”
“Adastra Tower.”
She turned her head very slowly, her light brown eyes locking onto his.
“I told you to be specific, not to say something dumb.”
“I’m serious.”
Ethan replied her stare with another stare, sending sharp knives at her sister’s eyes. Their gazes locked, and after a couple of seconds, Fiona finally let out a tired sigh.
“Dumbass.”
She looked back at her laptop.
“I’m not going to guarantee any information, alright? If I end up with nothing, then tough luck.”
“I know, I know.”
Ethan opened the mobile bank app on his smartphone. He transferred the agreed amount and sent the receipt to her messaging app. From her laptop, Ethan could see her sister opening the receipt.
“Give me two days.”
“Thank you.”
Ethan left the room, slowly closing the door behind him.