“So… we will be standing alongside the governor?” Lillia, thunderstruck by the news, asks for a confirmation.

“Haha!” I laugh heartily. “Yes! So hurry up and put on your best dress!” I can erase my dumb smile from my face. I don’t want to! Seeing her as excited as this is irresistible.

“Ah, yes!” And she runs off to inside our warehouse. Well, not ours yet, but John lets us use it. We should be thinking of restarting the business too. Maybe after the parade is done. We have so much to do… Speaking of, how is that old man at the tanner doing? I couldn’t properly thank him for the staff. I should pay him a visit too.

Ah… so many materials wasted on this war. If only we had collected all the weapons and parts from those rats… I’m sure the soldiers won’t have left any. How sad… Ha… if only we could go and gath-

My eyes round as oranges. My breathing rapidly increasing. My mouth wide open. “Wow…” I mean, wow! “Since when do you have this!?”

A long dress falls straight from her shoulders and runs until it almost meets her knees. Tight, to the point her legs can be seen through the cloth when she walks. Far from revealing, it clings along her skin and lets the imagination fly. Red, a red that doesn’t let your eyes go off her. Her arms completely naked dance as she walks towards me.

“So? What do you think?” She says as one leg crosses in front of the other and she leans a bit to the side.

“I- Wow… You are so pretty…” My mind lacks the mental fortitude to process anything at this moment. And, to be completely honest here, it also lacks blood right now.

“Haha!” A timid laugh, not denying my words, hides her blushing cheeks. “You think so?”

“Of course! It looks perfect on you! Really beautiful!”

“Then… what do you think of this?” As soon as she says that last word, she takes impulse with her arms. Wrapped around her waist, her body starts spinning around her feet.

“Oh!” And as soon as she is showing me her back, I see it. Literally, I see her back. The dress forms a big V on her back and folds doing creases just before reaching her waist. ”So pretty…” I repeat myself, but I’m totally at a loss for words.

Finishing her spin, she stops right in front of me. “One of those days that I was wandering around the city I discovered a clothes shop. I know I shouldn’t have bought it, even less knowing we were saving for the shop, but…”

“Nono, no.” Words flow out of me without my express consent. “You HAD to buy it.”

“You silly!” Now, without any way to hide it anymore, I see her cheeks blushing to the point they are almost red. A small silence develops as we both look at each other. “Then… let’s go?”

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

Taken out of my trance, I shake my head to focus. “Ah, sure… but…” I take a good look at her again, and mutter, “dressed like this at your side, I won’t make justice to your beauty…”

I see her genuinely smile just before she starts walking. Ah… I should be wearing a suit… Anyone who takes a look at me would think I’m her bodyguard. The first thing I’ll do next is go bu-

I feel as something touches my hand. That something is warm. An indescribable feeling starts rushing through my arms and straight to my heart. And next, a soft pull makes me look straight.

Wearing her best smile, she timidly whispers, “let’s go,” and pulls one more time of me, as she turns one last time and starts walking away. Now, however, I closely follow by her side.

As we walk to the main square, none of us says anything, But there really isn’t any need to. In my case not because I’m afraid to talk about the situation, well, maybe a little, but mostly because I love it as it is.

I was not expecting this development, far from it, but I’m enjoying every second. Every step we take, I rejoice. I feel the warmth coming from her hand, and I make sure to tightly hold it. I’m sure if anyone would see me, they would see a big smile on my face.

I have never been too good with women. I mean, I have never had any serious relationship. I do have my share of female friends, and I’m okay talking with them and whatsoever. But, when it comes to love, I’ve never taken the first step. Call it being shy, a coward, or a wimp, whatever.

Of course, I was attracted to Lillia. Not precisely for her appearance, which I hadn’t seen until I started playing this game, but rather for her character. We have been playing together for quite a few years, and I’ve enjoyed it every single time.

Her voice is also beautiful. I still remember the first time she came into our voice server. We were raiding a difficult dungeon and were lacking manpower. She, well, at that time we didn’t know she was a woman, entered the party. She had been with our guild for a few days, and up until then, there was no necessity to actually speak. So, imagine our surprise when we heard her voice.

At those times, games weren’t as popular, and most players were men. Of course, with virtual reality and the possibility to play while sleeping, this is not the case anymore. Anyhow, at that moment, we all thought an angel had descended into our party. A melodic and sweet voice, afraid to speak to a group of strangers, reached for our ears.

It might not be an exaggeration to say that we all fell in love with her voice. Maybe, I won’t confirm it, we even wanted to include her into our usual hunting party from now on. But, trust me at this, her prowess and ability inside the game were actually those of a wild tigress, nothing alike the angle we adored. She ended up being a vital piece of our formation, purely because of her merits.

And just like that, we spend hours all together going from game to game. She, along with the other 3, are the closest people I have in my life. I don’t know if it is the same for her, but I adventure to say it is. To think we are holding hands right now.

“What are you thinking of?” Her voice transported me back to reality. I must have been truly out of it, seeing how amused she seems.

“Ah… I was thinking about old times…” I say as I reach for the back of my head with my free hand.

“Old times?”

“Yes, haha.” I scratch and drop my head out of shyness. “When I first met you, do you remember?”

“Of course I do!”

Just like that, we spend the remaining of the walk laughing and talking, reminiscing old times.