Sunday morning, Amy was waiting for Ilaria at the Barista Café. It wasn't Monday for a change, since she had met Johnny on Saturday. They ordered their usual drinks, iced coffee for the mage and a milkshake for the rogue.
Ilaria had been thinking about what she had learned on her 'date' ever since she woke up; and, the more she pondered, the more evident it was that her secret plan was doomed. She couldn't fault Amy though; as far as the elf knew, it was all about gathering information. And she was doing exactly that.
Still, did Amy knew more than she had told her?
Regardless, it was pointless doubting Amy at this point. Ilaria retold all that happened the day before; the cooking and how they had taken everything they could from the house before the day ended. Maybe they could figure out something together.
“Did you get any new information from him? Something about Minerva?” asked Amy, after listening to the date's summary.
Well, there was something.
Should she tell her? Ilaria hadn't promised Johnny she wouldn't; but still, she felt like she was told in confidence. Maybe... She pictured Johnny's eyes at the Dungeon Date; it was unnerving just remembering it. She wondered if those were the same glances he had given to Mina. The words fled her mouth without thinking.
“Do you think they really loved each other?” Ilaria locked eyes with a surprised Amy. “I mean Minerva and Johnny.”
Amy looked away. After seconds of silence, she answered in a subdued voice. “They seemed to; but what do I know? I'm just an unexperienced seventeen year old girl.”
The elf lowered her head, hiding her hands under the table, before continuing. “You know, things between Minerva and I hadn't been so good before Christmas. When she just started dating Johnny, she was eager to share everything; even after I stopped playing regularly. But, a couple of months ago, she started avoiding the topic. At some point, she started avoiding me altogether. I can't say that I know what was happening lately; I'm sorry.”
Amy avoided Ilaria's gaze, closing her eyes as she sipped from her drink. She was acting radically different than when she had confronted him the night of the twenty-five. Now the elf looked so sad that the she couldn't help it.
“Johnny's quitting VC after Valentines.”
“What?!” Amy raised her head, looking at Ilaria in surprise.
“He told me yesterday. And, from the way he's been acting, it makes sense.” said Ilaria. “He's spending money like there's no tomorrow.”
Johnny was quitting without telling anyone, and deliberately wasting his game money beforehand. Well, it wasn't so unreasonable if that was the case. As he had said, golden hearts were worthless if you were leaving VC. Even paying for the extravagant Speed Dating Event made sense in that light.
“You know how engrossed Minerva got with the game?” asked Amy, no trace of the melancholy she had shown before.
“Yeah, of course.”
“Johnny was even worse.” said Amy. “I always wondered what did he do in real life. He was supposed to be attending virtual courses in an on-line program. But he never elaborated on that.”
“His life is VC, I don't see him quitting.” Amy ended with a very forceful affirmation, daring Ilaria to refute her.
Maybe that's why.
Amy probably would never understand. Ilaria kept silent, though. Trying to explain Johnny would hit too close to home. There was a time he had taken a very similar decision; long time ago, even before meeting Amelia for the first time.
“Maybe you should talk to Minerva,” continued Amy, now letting their eyes meet.
“About Johnny?”
“Yes. You have never actually talked to her about that.”
“But you did. If she didn't tell you more than that they broke up, definitely, and without any chance of reconciliation; what would she say to me? I never talk to her about those things. I didn't even know she had a boyfriend in the first place.” Ilaria unloaded the excuses one after the other, like if she had prepared them in advance. There was no way she was going to do it.
“But you have been talking with her lately. Maybe it's time to have a heart-to-heart.”
“It's hard; you wouldn't understand.”
Talking to Minerva about those kind of things was even scarier than exposing himself to Diana and Kyle. Nevertheless, there was a lot that she didn't know. Did Johnny always intend to quit, even before Christmas? And why after Valentines? Speed Dating?
'Thought that's a lie.'
He was so infuriating, leaving her hanging like that. Johnny never elaborated on the statement, just that she would know soon enough.
Soon enough was yesterday!
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Ricardo served tomato-based chicken stew for Sunday's lunch. An uninspired choice, but something fast and using what was available on the fridge. It was okay, but he felt the VC stew was tastier somehow, the mystery meat being more flavorful than mere chicken. He was finishing the last bit on his plate, when he heard something that made him raise his head.
“Did you know Ricardo also cooked stew in VC?” asked Amelia, smiling.
Mom and Dad were still at the table; she was breaking the unsaid rule of not talking about Virtual Connection in front of them.
“Ah, that VR game you play?” said mom, smiling. She would always smile at Amelia, no matter what. Both Amelia and him knew that the topic wasn't sensitive to Minerva anymore, but mom didn't.
I guess she trusts Amelia that much.
“Yeah, I started playing a few weeks ago,” said Ricardo, stealing glances at Amelia as he smiled for his family. “It turns out, you can cook inside the game.”
“I would like to try it.” Minerva's voice made Ricardo turn his head. She looked excited.
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Because of Amy's calculated comment, Ilaria found herself going up the hill of Torinelo City with Amy and Mina after finishing lunch. They would have a picnic at the scenic overlook. Stew wasn't exactly the type of food for that; but the magical containers kept it warm until their expiration date, so the location didn't matter. Johnny had given her half of the leftovers; she had enough for them and more.
“They introduced cooking a couple of months ago, when they started renting houses,” said Mina, going up the hill in front of them. “Sadly, I don't know anyone with one. Where did you cook?”
“A friend lent me his kitchen,” said Ilaria, relieved that a pulsing red button interrupted her. “Sorry, a Private Call.”
Ilaria stopped, moving to the side of the road, letting the girls go ahead.
“Hey, are you free right now? There's someone I want to introduce to you.” Diana's voice always cheered her.
“I'll have a picnic with Amy and Mina, at the top of the hill of Torinelo City. You could come if you want, we have plenty of food. It might not be what you expect, though.”
“That works great. I'll meet you there in a bit!”
Amy and Mina were already at the top, settling for a spot in the open area, under an evergreen tree, when Ilaria finished the ascension.
“Diana, Kyle and another person are coming,” said Ilaria, as the girls set the blanket on the lawn. “Lets wait for them before eating.”
“Alright.”
The three of them sat facing the road, over the big light blue blanket. The lawn felt cool and fluffy under Ilaria's hands, a cool breeze blowing through her hair. The sky was bright, no clouds on the horizon. A perfect spring day, even though it wasn't that season anywhere in the world. Amy sat in the far left, not very talkative for a change. Mina, seated in the middle, gazed sideways to Ilaria from time to time.
No, sister; I haven't told them yet.
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“Hello!” Diana crossed the last distance between them in a trot. She was flanked by two tall guys, half a step behind her. At her left, Kyle smiled bashfully, dressed in his casual clothes for a change. And, at her right, a short-haired, athletic guy in a printed black T-shirt and jeans smiled confidently.
“Ilaria, Mina, Amy; he is my boyfriend, Dave,” said Diana, half-embracing the guy.
“Glad to meet you at last,” said Dave, smiling while he looked at the girls. “I have heard a lot about you.”
“We also heard about you,” said Ilaria, feeling Dave's black eyes on her. “Diana told us you are the best VC player there is.”
“She's exaggerating,” said Dave, laughing. “Well, at least I'm good enough to be hired as a beta tester.”
“That's awesome,” said Mina, suddenly getting interested in the conversation. “Anything you can tell us?”
“Hmm, it's hard to go into the specifics,” said Dave, pretending to ponder. “Let's say I'll have to work later. And, if everything goes well, you'll know by Tuesday.”
“So cryptic, as always,” said Kyle, with a look of admiration. Ilaria wondered, it surely was different if you were the younger sibling. She didn't think she would ever think of Mina's boyfriend in that way.
“You should sit down,” said Amy, motioning to them. “We have drinks and homemade food.”
“Oh, how come?” asked Diana, as she sat in the middle, facing Mina. The six were now in a circle, Kyle next to Ilaria, and Dave to Amy's side.
“Ilaria cooked; in VC,” said Amy, as she took out an assortment of cans from her handbag.
“Is it okay?” asked Diana. “We dropped on you without notice.”
“Nah, don't worry,” said Ilaria, materializing her handbag too. “I cooked in a twenty liter pot, there's enough for everyone.”
“Stew?” Diana looked at the warm container with curiosity. It seemed like cooking was still rare in the game.
“This looks good,” said Kyle, opening his container. “It smells good too.”
“I haven't eaten player-cooked food since the time we were testing it, months ago.” Dave scooped a piece of meat with his spoon and bit on it.
“How's it?” asked Ilaria, expectantly.
“It's good, way better than what we came up with,” said Dave, laughing. “You must be a great cook in real life.”
“She is,” said Amy, smiling.
Ilaria drank from her soda bashfully.
“I'll tell you a secret,” said Dave, putting the container on the blanket. At the mention of the word secret, everyone stopped eating, turning towards Dave with anticipation. “Virtual Connection's engine is staggering in its realism, way beyond the competition. I have no idea how it ended up in a freemium dating RPG, from all things. Most of our work as betas is to give the okay to the modifications to make it simpler. Combat is the least realistic part of the game, by design.”
At first, Ilaria didn't understand it. Why would you make it unrealistic in purpose? But then she realized the logic of it. Very few people knew how to fight for real. If combat was a perfect simulation, almost no one would be able to fight the monsters effectively. You would need to train for years, becoming a true martial artist, to be able to beat the game.
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Having finished eating the stew, Dave had to go, as he anticipated before. Ilaria was left wondering about the new possible update. She would need to wait for Tuesday.
They wrapped up the picnic and the group moved as a whole to the Troll Caverns, for another Otterfly Queen boss run. This time Amy got underneath it on purpose, knowing she wouldn't get killed from one hit. To her credit, she did last more with each repetition, reducing the time taken to kill the boss in a significant amount. Watching Amy get thrown away like a rag-doll was hard on Ilaria's heart, but it was objectively the best move.
Afterwards, Ilaria and Amy took turns dungeon dating Kyle. Ilaria went first, leaving Amy with Diana, who was instructing her as the senior rogue. Mina logged out, giving Ilaria a concerned look as she disappeared.
I know, sister, I know.
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Ilaria and Kyle's date had gone as well as they expected. This time they not only killed all the nightmares, they also did most of the otterflies. Nagas had been a problem, though, not being able to finish them before the salamanders. The one that appeared from the door behind them took Ilaria by surprise–not that she would have been able to do anything differently anyway–she was running on fumes at that time, her mana already depleted from killing otterflies and healing Kyle.
Getting back to the cavern, Ilaria was left with Diana–alone, together–as Kyle dated Amy. It was probably the best chance she had to come clean at last. She pondered in silence, pacing a bit, not knowing how to start. The catgirl looked at her with concern, before breaking the silence herself.
“What do you think, about Dave?” asked Diana, softness in her voice.
“I don't know, he seems like a nice guy,” answered Ilaria, taken back from her contemplation.
They stood in silence for a few seconds, the rumble from the waterfall taking the role of a relaxing background sound. Diana's profile was illuminated by the blue crystal light coming from the roof, as she looked towards the lake in which the otterfly boss had been.
“Do you think it's possible to fall in love in Virtual Connection?” Ilaria had opened her mouth to say something at last, though not what her sister would have liked her to.
“Ah, that, I think so,” said Diana, being taken aback. She turned around, motioning Ilaria to sit down. “Not by personal experience, though. I met Dave at school first.”
Ilaria sat down next to Diana, looking towards the waterfall. The rock floor was hard and cold, but not unbearably so.
“He was one grade above me, but we met at the VR club regularly,” said Diana, smiling. “The time passed and I never said anything; until the night before he was off to college. Out first date was in VC.”
That explained why the catgirl took in-game dating so seriously. But it didn't answer the question in the clear-cut way that Ilaria would have liked.
“Anyway,” continued Diana. “I don't think there's a difference between VR and real life relationships. As long as you are willing to bare your heart, to close the distance, to risk getting hurt, it's real enough for me. Maybe I'm being a hopeless romantic, but I think so.”
Ilaria glanced at Diana and couldn't help feeling admiration, even if she didn't know if she shared the same thoughts. The short girl, with the youthful face and the cute cat ears, looked wise beyond her years.