"Maple, wanna go here?”
“Yes, let’s! These all sound good,” Maple said, eyeing the chalkboard menu outside.
“Cool. After you!” Sally held the door open, then followed Maple in.
It was a modest-size interior, and there were already several other pyers here.
They gnced up when the door opened, spotted Maple, and looked surprised.
Maple had garnered a ton of attention in the first event and, thanks to her distinctive armor, had tio stand out ever sinost pyers knew who she was.
Thanks to the awards ceremony, people assumed she pyer, and everywhere she went, people noticed.
Pig up oension immediately, Sally turo Maple and said, "Man, you're totally famous."
"I-I am?"
Maple seemed utterly baffled by it.
She hadn't even noticed all the looks she was getting.
"Never mind. Wanna sit over there? Looks open."
Sally poio a table by the wall.
"Sure. That seems like a nice spot."
They sat down and sed the menus.
Something was b Sally, and she finally put her finger on it.
"Oh! Okay. Maple, you're wearing heavy armor! Doesn't feel right in a shop like this."
"...Good point."
Maple gnced around at the other pyers.
Everyooday was wearing robes or hter gear, so she really stood out.
Naturally, this game had plenty of pyers who wore armor every bit as bulky as Maple's.
Situations like this might not crop up often, but at the moment, Maple was seriously sidering buying herself a non-armor outfit.
"Maybe we should do some shopping after."
"That could work. For now, let's order something."
"Yeah-lemme gh the menu first."
Maple picked the menu up again, leafing through it. This shop's menu primarily offered re-creations of real-world desserts. Shortcake, vanil ice cream it was easy to guess what most options would taste like. Sally ordered a strawberry tart, and Maple, a slice of chocote cake.
While they waited, their versation turo the future.
"When's the event? Hope it's something we do together."
"Yeah, I'd love to run a with you, Sally."
It had been a long wait, but at st they could py together.
And both of them wao spend as much time as possible helping each other out and having fun together.
"If it's the same format as the first event, that won't be an option."
"Yeah...I don't really want to fight you."
"Oh?" Sally said, surprised.
"I mean, I don't think I could win," Maple admitted.
"I'm not so sure... I mean, I definitely wouldn't make it easy for you, but..."
As she spoke, their orders arrived.
The strawberry tart gave off a sweet st, and the vivid colors sang a bright song of spring.
The chocote cake was a calm brown, with a slightly darker chocote coating.
They each took a bite.
"Oh, that is good! I bet this would be really expensive in the real world," Maple said, sav the slightly bitter tang.
"Yeah, it's ting to eat such fancy desserts like this. Yours looks good, too!"
"Want a bite?"
Sally sidered this for a moment.
"...Nah, I'll just order my own. You should be waking up soon too."
She fgged a server down, ordered a slice of cake for herself, and then started in oart.
"Maybe I should get more, too... You could order as much as you liked in-game, and it wouldn't cost you a dime of real money." Kaede murmured.
And you didn't have to worry about calories.
"Maple! This looks good, too!"
"Hmm...maybe I should go for that."
"Totally!"
---
Her eyes fluttered open, and Kaede sat upright on her bed. Feeling a wet sensation on her cheeks, she raised a hand to her fad ed the tears off.
"..." Kaede blinked, frozen for a moment. "Artificia? Is that you?"
Kaede took a deep breath, her fingers brushing against the smooth fabric of her bhe gentle hum of Artificia’s voi her mind was a f presene she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed until now.
“You’re really back,” Kaede whispered again, her voice trembling just enough to betray the storm of emotions inside her.
Artificia’s tone was calm and even, but if anyone asked, Kaede would swear she could hear a subtle warmth in it.
Kaede wiped her face, trying to gather herself. “I thought I’d lost you food after... well, everything that happened.”
She smiled faintly, her gaze drifting to the ceiling. “I guess we’ve both been through a lot. I’m just gd you’re here. Things have been... plicated.”
Kaede hesitated. Part of her wao dive right into the details, about the Antari, the y, and her vision for their future. But another part of her just wao savor this moment, to feel the reassurahat she wasirely alone in this strange world.
“Not yet,” she said softly. “Let’s take it slow. I’ll catch you up soon.”
Kaede chuckled, the sound light but genuine. “You’ve opped, have you?”
She swung her legs over the side of the bed, the cool flroundihe faint light of dawn was starting to seep through the cracks in the walls, painting her room in soft hues e and gold.
"Ah. It's nothing, just a dream." She murmured. "I've been having them for a few days now. It doesn't matter now that you're here though. I'm really happy you're back."
Kaede stood, stretg her arms above her head. “All right. Time to get moving. There’s a lot to do today, and I ’t afford to waste any time.”
She stepped toward the door, pausing for a moment to gnce back at her bed. Memories of the dream lingered, bittersweet but f.
“Artificia?”
“Remio check if the Antari figure out desserts. It’s been too long since I’ve had cake.”
Kaede smiled, shaking her head. “You’re the best.”
With renewed energy, she opehe door and stepped into the day, the warmth of the m light chasing away the lingering shadows of doubt.
As it wasn't meant to st, as Kaede received a mental message from Crimara.
(Master, a situation has arisen.)
Not bothered by the sudden message, Kaede answered. (Crimara, what's going on? Is there a problem with your hunt? A powerful monster?)
(Not at all master, I'd be hard pressed to find a force strohan us at the moment. No mere monster is worth your attention. The issue is with the... locals.)
(Locals? You know what, standby I'll be there immediately.) Kaede said in a reassured tone.
(Uood master.)
Kaede prepared to activate her cover move when Artificia interjected.
Kaede raised an eyebrow. "You just did that thing again."
Kaede frowned. "Just like back then at the camp, you sound way more fluent than before." In her mind, a chibi version of Kaede pointed acg fingers at a rge orb of glowing threads.
Kaede sighed, shaking her head with a small grin. “You’re a terrible liar, Artificia. But fine, I’ll let it slide. For now.”
Was... was that sarcasm? Kaede rolled her eyes and moved to her designated bathroom. The feeling of cool water did its job refreshing her and helping her fully shake off the lingering grogginess of sleep. She bed her fihrough her hair, quickly tying it bato a loose ponytail.
“Good enough,” she muttered, adjusting her jacket. Although she wasn't sure how she felt about wearing the uniform, falmuth had given her. All the more reason to start produg clothes soon. “Now, let’s see what Crimara’s dealing with.”
Kaede paused for a moment. “You do that now? But I have cover move though. What's the difference?"
Kaede sighed. "You just want to use your teleportation skill don't you?"
<...>
Kaede ughed. "Yeah sure, go ahead."
A soft hum filled her mind as Artificia calibrated the coordinates. A shimmering blue circle appeared at her feet, the familiar pulse of energy ing arouhe world around her blurred, colors and shapes melting together in a dizzying swirl before snapping bato focus.
She found herself standing on a rocky hill overlooking a small clearing. Crimara and a group of Antari were stationed he treeliheir sleek forms blending seamlessly with the shadows. The tension in the air alpable. Across from them a few hundred feet away, a group of humans, wielding ons stood their ground.
“Crimara,” Kaede called out, her voice steady. “What’s the situation?”
Crimara turned, her crimson eyes gleaming as she approached. Her movements were precise and fluid, a testament to her strength and discipline.
“Master,” she greeted, bowing her head slightly. “There is no immediate danger, but we have entered a group of locals, a settlement, he edge of our hunting grounds, b our territory."
Kaede frowned, stepping closer to get a better view. “How many are we talking about?”
“Approximately three hundred,” Crimara replied.
Have they seen any of you?”
“Unfortunately Master. Although we’ve remained hidden and monitored them from a dista seems one of them was able to spot us."
Kaede nodded. "I see. I’ll approach them myself.”
Crimara’s brows furrowed slightly. “Master, is that wise? If they prove hostile..."
Kaede raised a hand, cutting Crimara off. “I’ll be fine. If they’re willing to talk, I want to hear them out. We ’t build anything meaningful here if we start off by making enemies of the locals.”
Crimara hesitated for a moment before nodding. “Uood, Master. We will remain on standby, prepared to assist if necessary.”
“Thank you.” Kaede’s voice softened. She started walking toward the group, her boots g lightly on the dry grass and rocks underfoot. Each step carried a mixture of fidend caution.
As Kaede approached the humans, the details of their appearance became clearer. But theopped abruptly, her eyes narrowing in surprise.
They weren’t human at all.
Their sharp, angur features, elongated ears, and graceful postures left no room for doubt. Elves.
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