Chapter 8: Family Matter

On one of the top floors of the tallest tower in Ludere City, a young woman sat up from her bed, her heart pounding happily. She had been worried about her boyfriend for a while, but now he seemed fully recovered and better than ever. Tracing her lips, she recalled the intoxicating feeling of their kiss and blushed deeply.

Her blissful reminiscence was interrupted by a holographic projection activated at the far end of her room. A screen like the one in Eden appeared in front of her with a group chat made up of her relatives. Her eyes went wide, and her face went deep red as she saw a post her brother made:

“Hey everyone, Elise seduced her boyfriend.” Following this was a screenshot of the Content Warning she had received from the game, which he had probably hacked from their parent’s digital tracker.

In response, her cousin shot back, “It took long enough. I was starting to think he was in the closet.”

Her grandmother then messaged with a surprising spunk for her age, “Congratulations!! Let me know when to expect my great-grandbabies.”

Her brother responded, “LOL, G-mom, it was only in Eden.”

The woman responded cheekily, “For me, it was in a garden. I know how these things go.”

At this point, her father emerged and messaged, “Mom, stop embracing everyone. Elise, you and Alatar are supposed to be studying, not messing around.”

Defensively, her mother messaged, “I’m sure Elise knows how to balance work and play.” She added, “Just don’t forget, dear, some guys like your father are wolves in sheep’s clothing, so don’t rush into things.”

Her father then shot back, “I remember the start of our relationship very differently, sweetheart. But dido, just be careful. We’ll talk later.” He then followed this with, “Jason, what have we said about hacking the mainframe? Consider yourself grounded for the rest of the week.”

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Her brother then sent back a long “Nooooooo.”

At this point, the chat went silent as everyone waited for her response. Furiously, she typed, “It wasn’t like that. We were just kissing, and the system overreacted. We still studied, and I have the Stat Bonus to prove it.” Then, growing student, she added, “Plus, we’ve been dating for a while, so what if we make out.”

In an instant, her aunt shot back, “You go, girl!.”

Her father added, “Take it up with your grandfather. Our polls show that decreasing the content restriction to 18 would boost our numbers by 12%.” He then added, “Do not consider this me giving my blessing or anything. Keep slacking during your lessons, and you’ll be grounded, too.”

Her usually silent grandfather added, “John, children need to mature, or else they make bad decisions. Elise, you should be focusing on school and Eden right now. To secure your future, you need to focus on building your foundation. If your and Alatar’s feelings are real, they will survive the test of time.”

Silence again ensured, following the words of the family patriarch waiting for her response. She typed back quickly, “I know, Grandpa. My grades are up, and my Guild is still the best. Alatar is not a distraction.”

There was silence again as everyone waited for the man to respond, “Very well, I believe you will make the right choices. Good luck.”

Seeing how the patriarch had not shot her down, the chat exploded with messages, as did other more private group chats. Elise, known as Allana in Eden, let out a groan and flopped back to her bed, trying to ignore her overly excited family. She was the youngest of her direct family, and after her best friend let slip, she had a crush on a guy they had dragged the details out of her.

In this way, she had been thoroughly educated on the dangers of boys, though none of the red flags they mentioned seemed to apply to Alatar. He was as dreamy as he was kind, as level-headed as he was passionate and as honest as he was earnest. Being around him made her feel relaxed and happy, as though the ever-looming weight of reality was gone.

Then again, she knew this was only because he didn’t know her real identity; once he did, everything would change. She was as excited as she was scared about the day she could tell him who she really was, which was why she set a difficult challenge for him.

It would take him a long time to finish exploring the Green Mountains and then grow strong enough to meet with her. During that time, they could continue to get to know each other, far from the influences of Eden or even the real world. It could just be them, with no other worries in the world.

Thinking about the possibility of the future, she smiled and opened her private chat with her other cousin, Emily, and best friend, Riana. In her chaotic life, these two people were her closest allies, and both knew just how long she had been waiting for this day.

They excitedly began to exchange messages as time flew by.