Ruby stepped out of her carriage, accompanied by a tall girl with short hair. Aurora noticed that this was not Ruby's usual maid, as the girl was wearing a uniform and had a sword on her hip.

"Aurora!" Ruby exclaimed, running over to her friend and giving her a warm hug. "I've missed you!"

Aurora laughed. "Are we going to keep doing this every time we don't meet for a day?"

"Why not?" Ruby snuggled into Aurora's warmth.

"Anyways," Aurora said, turning to the young woman who had approached them calmly. "Is she the reason you're going home?"

"Yeah," Ruby said, releasing her embrace. "I switched my maid with her. She's one of the strongest knights in the kingdom. Her name is Rita."

"Nice to meet you, Miss Starlight," Rita said, turning to the blue girl. "I've heard a lot about you from my master."

"Is that so?" Aurora said with a smile. "I hope she didn't tell you something embarrassing about me."

"Well--"

"That's enough," Ruby cut her off, blushing a bit.

"So," Aurora said, turning back to Ruby. "Why do you suddenly need a knight?"

"About that," Ruby said quickly. "I've been interested in coming to town. So, a knight is needed, right?"

"I see," Aurora nodded.

Last time Aurora came to town, she only had her maid, but that's probably not normal. It makes sense for an important daughter of a noble family to have a knight or two to accompany them in town. After all, you never know what might happen.

"So," Ruby suddenly looked nervous. "Do you want to come with me?"

"Sure," Aurora said. Last time she didn't get to go sightseeing, so it could be fun.

"Great!" Ruby can't help but smile widely. "I can't wait!"

Seeing ruby that excited make Aurora smiled too. "You really want to go to town, huh? Have something specific you want to go to?"

"I had a plan," Ruby said. "You better cooperate."

"Huh?"

***

That evening, Aurora was feeling bored once again. She had already done most of the things she had planned for the day, and now she had some free time on her hands. She wanted to take a break, but wasn't sure what to do with her time.

At times like these, Aurora missed the modern world. There were so many things she wished she could do, but there were no ways to do them in her current world. She longed for things like surfing the internet, listening to music, watching movies, and most importantly, playing games.

It's kind of ironic, Aurora thought, that so many people longed to enter the world of a game, but when it actually happens, it's not really like a game at all.

She stared at her hands and thought about how this world, despite being based on a game, seemed so real. She had been thinking about it before, how the NPCs in this world were now more like real people.

Not that she will do it, but if it's still a game, she can just slaughter everyone. NPCs don't matter anyway. But again, it's not like she will do it.

Aurora shook her head. She needed to stop thinking about that.

She tried to distract herself by looking around her room for something to do, but unfortunately, she couldn't find anything that caught her interest aside from her books.

Fine, reading another book it is, she thought as she woke up from her bed. But again, her book collection didn't interest her.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Library then.

As Aurora walked through the corridor, she made a mental note to find some entertainment besides reading later. Especially because her friend Ruby was against this hobby. It would be great if they could find something to do together.

As Aurora entered the library, she saw Sera sleeping with a book in front of her. A small flame from a candle flickered beside her.

Aurora gently tapped Sera on the shoulder. "Sera," she said softly. "If you're going to sleep, maybe you should head back to your room?"

"Mmm... What?" Sera mumbled groggily, her eyes still half closed.

"Sorry to wake you up," Aurora said. "But I don't think it's a good idea to sleep here."

Sera struggled to focus on the girl in front of her. "Aurora...?" she muttered sleepily.

"Yes, it's me," Aurora confirmed.

"Sorry, I'm feeling a bit tired," Sera said, trying to push away her drowsiness.

"Maybe you should take a break," Aurora suggested.

"I'm okay," Sera said quickly. "Anyway, are you looking for something?"

"Just looking for something to read," Aurora replied. "But it's not urgent, so if you're tired..."

"Don't worry," Sera said. "I-I'm not doing this for you--I mean... at least not completely. I have an assignment, you see," Sera gestured to her book on the table. "I need to finish it soon. I can't go back now."

"That sounds rough," Aurora said.

Sera smiled. "Yep."

"Then I won't bother you," Aurora said. "The faster you finish that assignment, the faster you can rest."

"No, no, I don't mind helping you," Sera said, reassuringly. "Plus, I think I'll be able to find the book you're looking for faster anyway."

Aurora sighed. "Okay, forget it. I'll just watch you work then," she said, giving in.

Aurora took a seat in front of Sera.

"Oh no..." Sera said, regretfully. "I-I can't work on my assignment properly when I'm being watched..."

"Too bad," Aurora grinned. "I won't change my mind. Go ahead and work on your assignment."

"Please, Aurora..." Sera begged, hanging her head down.

Aurora just smiled, resting her chin on her hand.

With no other choice, Sera picked up her book and tried to work.

"A-at least, do you want to talk about something?" Sera said, trying to distract herself from Aurora's stare.

"Sure," Aurora replied, happy to chat.

"T-then... What do you want to talk about?" Sera asked, trying to steer the conversation.

"I just remembered," Aurora said, "I've been looking for something to fill my boredom aside from reading books."

"What's wrong with reading books?" Sera said, her voice sounding a little hurt, as she looked at Aurora.

"Don't get me wrong," Aurora said quickly, "I have nothing against reading. But I had this friend, she didn't really like reading. So I thought I needed to find something else to do."

"She needs to learn to love reading then," Sera said.

"Uh... You know, forcing something on someone will just make them hate it, right?" Aurora reminded her.

"But reading a book is a good thing!" Sera said.

"I know--"

"And as a noble lady," Sera continued, "it's her duty to have more knowledge than commoners."

"That's true--wait a second," Aurora said. "How do you know she is a noble?"

When it comes to attending a magic academy, it's not just for the nobility. While many noble sons and daughters do attend, there are also plenty of commoners there as well, as long as they have the talent and resources. So when someone mentions their friends, it's not safe to assume they're all nobility.

Granted, Aurora didn't have commoner friends. While some seemed interested in her because of her light magic, they also seemed to avoid her. It's not uncommon for commoners to be wary of nobles, but Aurora suspected that it had something to do with Nova. She wondered if Nova might have threatened them in some way.

After all, becoming an enemy of the Duke's daughter would be a nightmare for a commoner.

"We-well, I mean..." Sera panicked. "U-um, I don't know how to say this without sounding creepy or something... I didn't mean to investigate you or anything--I mean..."

"Yes?" Aurora waiting.

Sera gulped. "I heard you were close to the daughter of the marquis, Ruby," she said.

"Well, yes," Aurora replied. "I see. That's why."

Sera looked nervous--at least more than before. With a small, timid voice, she asked, "D-do you like small girls like her more than big girls like me?"

"What?" Aurora responded, confused.

"N-nothing," Sera stammered, blushed and hid her face behind her book. "A-anyway, how about chess? I heard some people enjoy playing it. Even though it's often said to be more of a training tool for developing strategies."

Chess, huh? Aurora thought to herself.

It was a two player game, so it was possible. But even Aurora didn't really know the rules of playing it. And considering Ruby's lack of patience for reading, Aurora doubted that Ruby would be willing to learn chess.

"It's not a bad idea," Aurora said. "But it would be better if we found something more simple."

"More simple?" Sera said, looking unsure. "I don't know then..."

Aurora tried to think more. Ideally, she was looking for something easy to pick up for a novice, something that could be understood instinctively alone. Probably something like Tetris? But no, that game was too advanced in terms of technology. It would be impossible for her to recreate.

Simple game. Something like Tic Tac Toe then? But no, that was too simplistic. It might be fun for a few minutes, but it would quickly become boring. Similar to Rock-Paper-Scissors.

In front of her, Sera flipped her book. Aurora saw this and something clicked in her head.

Paper, Aurora thought. Something created with paper... Like cards?

Do they even have playing cards here, Aurora wondered. She knew there was a casino in this world, but she had never seen it herself. And in the game, small details like that didn't really exist or were explained.

"In a casino," Aurora said, "what do they play there?"

"Wha--no, no, no, don't do it!" Sera said in panic. "No matter how bored you are, gambling is a bad idea!"

"I know," Aurora said. "That's not what I mean--"

"Please don't!" Sera begged. "Just stick with reading!"

"Like I said--"

"I don't want you to destroy yourself! I can't... You don't know how bad gambling can mess with your life! Like my uncle for example!"

"Sera--"

"Please, don't do it! My uncle used to be a good man, but after he became addicted to gambling, he became a useless man who--"

"Sera, listen to me!" Aurora said, a little bit angry.

Sera flinched. "S-sorry, I'm talking too much, aren't I...?"

Aurora sighed. "No, I'm sorry too. Thank you for worrying about me, but I didn't plan to gamble. I just need it for reference."

"I... I still think it's a bad idea to play it even if you're not using money..."

"Really? Is it gambling if you're not betting anything?"

"Well... I'm not sure, but..."

"Don't worry, I'll be careful."

Sera didn't seem too convinced, but she said, "Mostly they use dice. You know, guessing the number. Or something."

"I see," Aurora said.

That kind of game didn't sound fun to Aurora. Probably because that kind of game is only 'fun' if there's a stake.

"Oh, what about cards?" Aurora asked.

"Cards?" Sera said, confused. "I've never heard of a game using cards. I mean, I know people use tarot cards for fortune telling, but does that even count as a game?"

Aurora wasn't sure what time period this world was based on, but it seemed like card games weren't very popular here.

Card games, that's great, Aurora thought, feeling excited about the possibilities. It should be easy to recreate. And there's a lot of variations they can play with just one type of cards. She can even come up with new types of card games if it's needed.

"Thank you, Sera, you're giving me inspiration," Aurora said, turning to her friend.

"That's great," Sera said, not sounding very happy.

Aurora smiled. "Relax, it's not gambling. I'll show you when I'm done making it."

***