“Good god—finally. Torea. I’m finally back,” Mickey groaned, his shoulders slumped over, and his face, twisted with misery. “There were too many of those damn bones…” Mickey took a deep breath and massaged his forehead. “Keep your cool, Mickey,” he told himself as he dragged himself to Torea’s gates.

The trek back to Torea was eye-opening. The sun set shortly after Mickey left Lonnie’s midway camp. At first, Mickey was excited to fight the after-dark enemies, but that quickly became bothersome. The skeletons, Enhanced Laughing Bones, gave Mickey 3EXP a piece and were considerably stronger. Not enough to be able to hurt Mickey faster than he could reject the damage, but still stronger. The night did legitimately boost their stats, and there were more of them out and about along the road, but their behaviors were unchanged.

Mickey would have just left them be, but he couldn’t; the experience was too ripe a fruit for him to not pluck. It left Mickey drained, though, which was a valuable lesson in and of itself.

“Hey, Trailblazer! Welcome back!”

Mickey rose his gaze to see the chipper town guard, Albert. “Oh. Hey man,” Mickey replied with a weary wave. “Did you keep the town safe today?”

Albert lit up. “I sure did, Trailblazer! Nothing got by me—nothing showed up, though!” Albert happily reported.

“I see… You still working then? It’s been a long day.”

“Someone’s coming to replace me in an hour, sir!”

Mickey let out a sigh of relief. “Good. Don’t burn yourself out… And hey, my name’s Mickey. You can call me that.”

Albert lit up so much Mickey found himself thinking he was a second sun. “Of course! Thank you, Mr. Tralas Mick! Thank you for your consideration.”

“R-Right… Hey, I have a question for you, Albert.”

“I can answer that!”

“Has any other Trailblazer come back to Torea after leaving it?”

Albert stopped talking—he was freezing. He stared at Mickey. Mickey looked around nervously and then Albert, abruptly, started speaking again, but this time, his cheerfulness was replaced with bewilderment. His lips moved like he was practicing the words he was about to say.

“No… No other Trailblazer has ever come back after leaving… Why did you come back, Tralas Mick?”

Albert’s look—a total reversal—made Mickey take pause and consider his words. “I made a promise with someone here.”

“With someone here…” Albert repeated, his mouth slightly open as he seemed to be familiarizing himself with the words. “You made a promise with one of us? Did you have a quest, Tralas Mick?”

“N-No. No quest… Albert.”

Albert fell silent. A cold breeze blew between them.

“Albert?” Mickey asked, timidly reaching for him.

“Thank you, Tralas Mick,” Albert replied, smiling warmly. “Thanks for making a promise with us.” His smile grew wider. “You’re a real swell guy, aren’t you?”

“I-I don’t think I am bu—”

“Don’t worry, Tralas Mick! Don’t worry about anything when you’re in our town.” Albert nodded firmly. “I’ll do my best to keep you and everyone else safe!”

Mickey wanted to say more, but he stopped himself. Albert’s words weren’t told with the excitement of a chipper town guard. They came out with a warm conviction—one that said Albert wanted Mickey to believe in him. It felt like the most genuine interaction Mickey experienced so far. That was why Mickey extended his hand to Albert with a warm smile. Albert responded with a stunned look that slowly turned ecstatic. He grabbed Mickey hand’s and shook it happily.

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“Hey, Albert, question,” Mickey said, politely ending the handshake.

“How can I help?”

“Is the dispatch still open? I want to turn in my quests, but I forgot that it’s actually really late.”

Albert responded quickly. “Yes! It’s still open! When a Trailblazer takes quests, the dispatch stays open until midnight. Selia is eagerly waiting for your return!”

“Huh?” Mickey was caught by surprise. “Selia? She’s still there? And until midnight? Why?”

“Because we don’t want to inconvenience the Trailblazer, Tralas Mick!”

You don’t want to—The convenience is appreciated but still. Mickey was more astounded than he thought he would be. “Albert,” Mickey said, his next question fueled by concern in response to the zealousness. “You said ‘Selia’—are there no more employees at the dispatch?”

“No, Selia’s the only one, really.”

“I’ve got to go, Albert,” Mickey said, waving as he jogged past Albert.

Albert waved at him as he crossed by. “Have a good night, Tralas Mick!”

Mickey ran back to Torea’s square—

She’s just an NPC, but I don’t want to keep her waiting when she’s been waiting so earnestly.

—and only came to a stop when he saw the dispatch, with its shutters open and with the young lady of tied-back brown hair standing behind the counter, smiling at the near-empty square. She hadn’t noticed him—she only kept her eyes forward.

“She’s actually still there…” Mickey muttered as he slowly approached the front.

To him, with the memories of their last interaction playing in his head, it was inexplicable that she would have stayed, but simultaneously, it was expected. What Selia was doing—was it really any different from what NPCs in less advanced games did? An NPC staring into space—that was normal.

But even so, seeing these characters, who looked real, and who had small moments where Mickey could truly connect to them—seeing them like that—

“It’s so lonely.”

Mickey’s thoughts slipped out as he approached. Selia turned to Mickey, and she seemed to freeze; at least her expression indicated that. Mickey got closer. Right as he was about to greet her, everything happened so quickly.

Selia’s eyes widened slightly, and her lips fell slack, slightly parted. She blinked, and her smile was renewed, brighter than before. Mickey forgot that he was going to wave and instead kept walking toward her. Selia, in turn, waited for Mickey to come before her, her eyes following him as he approached. Only when he came to a stop in front of her counter did she speak.

“Welcome back, Tralas Mick.”

Her grin had not dissipated.

“Hey, Selia,” Mickey kept his cool—he wouldn’t show what he thought an NPC that he was flustered. “I’m back.”

“You came back,” she replied, her voice gentler.

“I told you I would, after all.”

“You… You did,” Selia closed her eyes and smiled. She opened them again, reddened, and said it once more. “Welcome back, Tralas Mick. May I help you with your quests?”

“Of course,” Mickey replied, returning to business as usual. I’ve got these quests here. I’m turning them in.”

***

Rewards Report Summary

Delayed Shipment- Completed

25 Gold, 20EXP, 45EX-EXP

***

With the quests turned in, Selia bid Mickey a warm good night and closed up shop. NPC or not, Mickey wasn’t going to be the guy to wait for a stranger to leave work. He went on his way to the inn across the square. It was when he casually turned his head that he noticed a familiar silhouette coming from Torea’s farmlands.

Mickey went up to her and greeted her. “Hey, remember me? I went to deliver the package to your grandson.”

The little old lady—Lonnie’s grandmother—with a sack of vegetables on her back looked up from the road to see Mickey before her. She smiled at him, “Yes, I remember you, Trailblazer. Did you see my grandson?”

“Yeah. I talked with him some too, ma’am.”

“That’s good, that’s good… My apologies, I will get out of your way now.”

Mickey raised a brow. “No, no, I wanted to check if you wanted help. With your vegetables, I mean.”

She didn’t freeze; instead, she looked astounded. “Oh, no, no. I couldn’t impose.”

“No, please, I insist. I’m not sure I could face Lonnie if I let you carry those home.” Mickey stopped and looked to the side before looking at the old woman again. “And my own grandmother...”

The old woman looked at Mickey for a few moments before relenting. “Very well, thank you very much, Trailblazer.”

Mickey took the bag carefully and nodded at the woman. “You can call me, Mickey.”

“Very well, Tralas Mick,” she replied, nodding gently. “I’m Theresa. I’m very honored to make your acquaintance.”