“Hm, they’re really taking their sweet time, huh? I hope there isn’t a problem of sorts.” Arthur muttered as he sat there, looking at the clear sky. It had been over 10 minutes since Isla and the others had logged out and there was no trace of them.
He expected them to be back quickly, but he was far from right. That naturally made him question whether they were going to follow him or not.
‘What if they decide to not do it? Does that mean that I have to go in there on my own?’ He frowned. ‘Well, that won’t be a problem. But, I doubt they would want to wait for me.’
If the group leaves then Arthur would have to continue the journey on his own and that was too risky. They hadn’t even crossed the forest and the enemies were already growing stronger very rapidly. It didn’t sound like it was possible for him to actually do it on his own.
“Oh man, I don’t want to miss out on this gate either. What should I do?” Quickly, Arthur started panicking a little. The more time it was taking them, the more he was certain that they weren’t going to accept it. Isla naturally won’t just ignore her group’s opinion just to follow him.
As he was like that, four silhouettes suddenly appeared next to him. Looking up, he noticed that the group was back.
“We’re back,” Herculia said as he sat down again. “Did we make you wait for too long, my friend?”
“… No, it wasn’t much.” Arthur blinked as he looked at their faces. Surprisingly, they seemed happier than before. Or at least, not as gloomy as before.
“So, what did you decide?” He asked curiously.
Isla sat down facing him as she picked up a skewer of meat. “We are going as planned. We will enter this memory gate too.”
“…” The boy blinked in surprise before a wide smile appeared on his face. “That’s great! I was worried for a second that you might reconsider it.”
“It required some convincing, though.” Isla looked over her shoulder at her friends.
“H-Hey, we were just a little worried.” Emmy shook her head.
“Wouldn’t call that ‘little’, to be hone- Ouch!” Before he could even finish speaking, Herculia got an elbow to his side that made him stop. “Just kidding! You need to put points into strength to make that hu- Ouch! Hey! Stop it!”
“Let me pluck your hair out and see if you find it enjoyable or not!”
“I said stop it! You little girl!”
“I am not little!”
As the two were struggling against one another, Arthur could only laugh. It was simply too funny.
“Come on, eat your food, and stop playing around.” Danny picked up a skewer of his own and started eating.
“Tsk, you’re lucky this time.”
“Yeah, sure, sure.”
With that, the group continued eating the grilled meat as they talked about random things. The conversation was peaceful and idle and the atmosphere made it even better. Arthur was surprised to realize that he was having fun talking to them.
Except for Danny, the rest are very friendly and even relatable in some ways. They didn’t seem like they were detached from reality or lacked common sense which was something he would expect from rich people.
On the other hand, they were also very intrigued about Arthur. They didn’t know much about him which pushed them into asking him questions about his life.
“Where are you from, by the way?” Herculia asked him.
“I’m from a small country in the west called ‘Creles’. You probably don’t know it.” He shrugged.
“Hm, interesting. What do your parents do for a living?” Emmy curiously asked. But, Arthur froze for a moment as he looked up.
“… They’re dead.”
“Oh.”
Silence took over the entire campfire for a second. Nobody knew what to say, and then Emmy started to panic. “I-I’m really sorry. I didn’t know that.”
“It’s fine. I really don’t care. I have never met them to begin with so they’re basically like strangers to me.” He shrugged.
“You’ve never met your parents?” Isla was the one to be shocked this time. “That sounds… rough.”
“Eh, it wasn’t too horrible. My grandma raised me in their stead and I lived a normal life for the most part.” He explained. “She’s dead too, though.”
“…”
“Hey, you really don’t need to look at me like that. I don’t need any pity.” He laughed. “I’m fine the way I am.”
“Oh, we didn’t mean to pity you,” Herculia replied. “It just sounds very impressive, doesn’t it?”
“It isn’t that impressive. I just learned to live on my own and take care of myself. Although, if there is one thing I might’ve hated, it was probably having to work to make a living. That I did hate a lot actually.”
“Wait, you had to work? But, you’re very young. How is that allowed?” Emmy frowned. Knowing that Arthur was the same age as them, meant that he had worked since he was at least 13 or 14.
“Ask them, not me. I was able to manage it somehow. Now, since I moved into the Middle Island, things are far better than before.” He smiled. ‘It is really way better now.’
“Is that so…?” Seeing the happy look on his face, Isla felt weirdly relieved. She didn’t know why, but hearing about his past and seeing that his life had improved was nice to some extent. “Though, may I ask you something?”
“Go ahead.”
“If your financial condition wasn’t the best. How did you buy a capsule of your own? Did you save for it?”
This question quickly captured everyone’s attention as it was quite intriguing. Arthur didn’t sound like he could afford to pay thousands just to buy a capsule.
The boy’s expression turned blank before he looked down. ‘Well, this is a little weird. Should I tell them? I mean, I don’t know why I received one myself so this shouldn’t be a problem.’
“You wouldn’t believe me when I say that I received it as a gift from an anonymous person.”
“An anonymous person?” Isal raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, all I know about them is that they bought it and ordered it to my address. Along with a lifetime supply of high-grade serum.”
“… What a generous gift!” Herculia exclaimed. “Kind people are still there. This world isn’t completely gone to ruin yet.”
“I doubt this is a generous gift.” Emmy rubbed her chin. “From what he said, it doesn’t sound like something anybody could afford. A lifetime supply of serum is millions or even tens of millions spent in the long run.”
“Oh.” The big man gasped. “I didn’t think of it that way.”
“I have my suspicions too. But, I couldn’t say no since I was very eager to play this game. I still don’t know why I received it.”
“Have you ever come across anyone rich or influential in your life?” Isla asked.
“… No, not that I can remember.” He said. ‘Why the hell would I come across someone like that? I’m the most mediocre human being to ever walk this world.’
“Interesting.” Isla fell into deep thought as if she was contemplating his words.
“In any case, I’m glad I got this game. I would’ve not played it for at least several more years if I didn’t get it now.” He said. “I am grateful for that.”
As shady as it may seem, Arthur was still happy he got what he wished for. It was surely not something he might like when the truth was revealed, but for now, he was blessed.
However, the others didn’t necessarily see it that way. In fact, what Arthur didn’t notice was that they all had one similar look on their faces. Suspicion.
‘Someone who can afford such things. I wonder who that is? And why did they help Arthur?’ Isla looked at the boy with a cold expression. ‘It is certainly not simple at all and I have a bad feeling about it.’
Her alarms were going off for some reason and every time they do, she finds herself facing a threat. She didn’t know why she felt this way when she had nothing to do with this, but she wasn’t going to ignore this feeling either.
Whatever brought her toward Arthur was bound to link her to him in the long term.
‘Our partnership might not be as straightforward as I expected.’
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3
