It was a not-so-normal day for the caretaker of Delish Inn, Helen. Tasked with taking care of her sick father, brother and the inn, her life isn't smooth-sailing. But she manages. Sometimes, she complains but eventually, understands when she considers the bigger picture. While she isn't in a poverty crisis, she does want to make her situation a little better for her little brother.
'So here I am, selling Kiuran Balls at a marriage ceremony.' Humming a tune, she saw two legs in front of her stall.
"2 silver coins for 1. How many do you need?" She raised her head with a smile but that smile became stiff soon after. 'That red hair… He should be the groom. I asked for coins from the groom himself?'
"Forgive my impudence." Profusely sweating, she bowed.
Right then, she heard a familiar laugh. "Look who it is, Helen."
"Sam?" She was in a daze. Previously, she was so shocked by the sudden appearance of the groom that she didn't pay attention to the man standing beside him. "What are you doing here, Sam?"
"Because of this guy's marriage." Sam grinned, pointing his finger at Rewen.
Helen pouted. Everyone is gathered because of his marriage. I want to know why you are beside him but I can't because it's inappropriate.
"I told you that I have a childhood friend living with me, right?"
"Nice to meet you." Rewen stretched his hands forward.
"Ah." Letting out a sound of exclamation, she shook his hand. "Do you want to have Kiuran Balls?"
"Two. One each." Sam answered.
Kiuran Balls are simply a mix of steak beef and rice with added spices and flavors. It is like a rice ball but with extra steps. It is very flavorful and popular among all age groups. Even though it's considered a fast food, that doesn't lessen it's popularity one bit.
Rewen blew air over the Kiuran Ball and took a small bit. "Mmm… the crunchiness is just right. Can I get some Greenwood Wine?"
Helen smiled. This wasn't a stall which sells wine but knew that Kiuran Balls and wine go hand-in-hand. Therefore, she had prepared several boxes of wines in store. Taking out a wine bottle from under the stall, she gently poured some of the wine into a wine glass. "Here you go."
Rewen directly took a shot.
"I feel refreshed. Here, you try it as well." Rewen pushed the wine glass over to Sam.
Sam snorted. "Who would want to have your saliva? Helen, can you give me a separate one?"
Helen nodded.
A minute later, both the men looked very satisfied with the small snack.
"How much in total?" Rewen asked directly.
Helen awkwardly shook her hands. "No. It's fine."
"Do I look like I take advantage of my status?"
"Doesn't take advantage, eat shit. You were shamelessly asking if she would want coins from us." Sam scolded him, then turned to Helen. "Helen, you don't need to be courteous with this guy. Just say how much it is."
Helen lightly laughed. "It's ten silvers."
Sam nodded, then put his hand into Rewen's pocket.
"Wait, why am I paying?" With how stingy Rewen is, simply letting others touch his pouch makes him panic.
"I forgot my pouch at home. Besides, it's your marriage."
"Here, Helen. I'll talk to you later." Sam handed over a couple of silver coins, then walked away along with Rewen.
Rewen was looking at his surroundings, considering what to eat next.
[RoundaboutMageTooLazyToTalkDontDM sent you a message!]
Rewen frowned. 'Why is she here?'
"What?" Seeing his friend abruptly stop, Sam asked.
"My cousin is here."
"Cousin? Did your Uncle come?"
"Not this world."
"Oh."
"Let's go to a quiet place. I have to type words. I will be treated like a maniac if I do it here."
Rewen went behind one of the big stalls, then opened the game interface. A fairly large transparent blue screen appeared along with a keyboard. He then went to the "Messages" section.
---
RoundaboutMageTooLazyToTalkDontDM: Let me enter.
Rewen0624879klofarfuckthisgameanotherwordandillfuckyou: Why?
RoundaboutMageTooLazyToTalkDontDM: Because I want to.
RoundaboutMageTooLazyToTalkDontDM: Just let me enter.
---
Be it OFFLINE or ONLINE, players from other parts of the world can't enter other player's domains without permission. If Player A wants to enter Player B's private territory, he/she would have to request an entry code from Player B. Also, after entry, Player B has every power to kick Player A out of his territory. This is such that a high level player can't bully OFFLINE players.
---
[Status]
[Inventory]
[Mode] (Can't be changed)
[Messages]
[Features]
[Settings]
[Query]
[News]
---
This was his game interface.
Rewen tapped on the [Settings].
---
[Volume]
[BGM] (Off)
[Sensitivity] (100%)
[View] (Realistic)
[Generate Entry code]
[Log Out]
---
Rewen tapped on [Generate Entry Code].
A random mix of letters and numbers got generated.
He copied it and sent it to Denny.
---
RoundaboutMageTooLazyToTalkDontDM: Cool. Send me your co-ords.
---
Rewen copied the coordinates that were given on the top right corner of the game interface and sent it to her.
Denny didn't reply.
[RoundaboutMageTooLazyToTalkDontDM is bringing in other players. Allow?]
[Yes]
[No]
[Let me see the details]
"Fuck." Rewen cursed out loud, then texted her.
---
Rewen0624879klofarfuckthisgameanotherwordandillfuckyou: Who else are you bringing?
RoundaboutMageTooLazyToTalkDontDM: After you left, we were bored and everyone decided to log in.
Rewen0624879klofarfuckthisgameanotherwordandillfuckyou: Fine. But don't cause any ruckus. I'm attending an important event today.
RoundaboutMageTooLazyToTalkDontDM: We aren't kids.
---
Rewen sighed pressing on [Allow].
The whole time Sam was watching his friend pressing his fingers on air. "What just happened?"
"Come, I'll show you my friends from the other world."
"You have friends?" Sam appeared visibly surprised.
Rewen wanted to punch him but thinking about it, Sam's surprise was inevitable. While in the village, he only had a single friend - Sam. It's not that he didn't want to make friends but rather, felt it was too troublesome.
"Not mine. They were friends of my predecessor."
***
Outside the villa, several young men and women gathered.
"Wow, this is a villa, right? Does he live here?" It was a moderately tall skinny youth wearing leather armor. He was Gill. He chose to be a [Warrior].
"Learn something from Rewen. He had already built a villa. What about you?" Kesha poked fun at him. She was wearing a short skirt and a full-sleeved shirt.
Wearing a heavy metal armor with a blue cross on the chest region, Junar asked: "Is today something important? Or is it always this way? Why is the market closed?"
"No, it is an active market. I don't know why it is so quiet today." Denny was also puzzled. She had a black cape on her back along with a pointy hat.
"Looks like today is an important event." Evans said while getting some sounds from inside the villa. He was dressed normally as he was a [Scout].
The brown-haired Bianca kept quiet.
"He is so rude! How can he just disappear before I wished him for his birthday?" Zelic stood in the front while wearing a magical girl outfit.
Salica looked amused at the whole thing and curiously looking left and right.
Isolated from the group stood Svety. Her face didn't look good. After Rewen left, Denny revealed to everyone that she had raped Rewen. Svety tried to persuade others to not believe Denny but that ultimately failed. None of them berated or scolded her. But from then on, she was unanimously isolated from the group.