I start leisurely walking, keeping my pace nice and slow, enjoying every second. The city has just started to wake up too. People can be seen walking around or occasionally blinking in and out of existence. Regrettably, with the introduction of warp technology, the tram network has been decommissioned, with the space it took up swiftly reclaimed for other purposes. More greenery is an acceptable substitute, so I won’t mourn this loss for too long a time.
Interestingly, even if there are not a lot of people, no one has recognized me yet, focusing on their own day to come. Hmm... Never mind.
I give a small wave to a little boy who is staring at me with very wide eyes. He prepares to pull his mother’s attention, but I put a finger to my smiling lips. His eyes light up and track me silently as we pass each other.
Soon, my walk brings me to my destination. The Guild Hall has its doors open wide, welcoming anyone and everyone, as intrinsic to the city as it ever was. I climb the few steps and enter.
The regular loungers are animatedly gesticulating and excitedly discussing something utterly random. Same as ever. Only difference is that they are also exchanging funny pictures on either their devices or neural interfaces. My arrival does not elicit a reaction, their awareness overwhelmed by other matters. And is that a vending machine in the corner?
I shrug to myself and approach the counter. A lone Attendant Ania is looking ahead, her eyes unfocused and darting around.
She notices my presence and says, eyes focusing and wandering over to me, “What can I—” She clears her throat politely. “You are either the real Lucius, which is good. Or you are not, which is bad. For you.”
As I extend a hand, I reply, “You can’t fool me, Attendant Ania, it’s going to be bad for me either way.”
Before she has even grasped my hand to check if I am utilizing illusions to make a tasteless jest, her smile has visibly grown, breaking the perfectly calibrated customer service face. A pulse leaving her form looks like it takes her strength with it. But the smile grows wider.
“No missions for a week,” she says.
“I’m an S-ranked adventurer now. Would you really take me away from the fight for survival?”
“Two weeks.”
“Yes, ma’am. Shutting up, ma’am.”
A brief chuckle is all it takes to open the dam. But as a couple of tears trickle out, a sniff closes it back up. “When did you...”
“Not too long ago. Wanted to personally inform some people first.”
“I see.” Another sniff prevents another opening. “I’m glad that you are okay, Lucius. And thank you for everything you’ve done.”
“Of course.” I fail to stop myself from blushing. Trying to conceal my embarrassment, I quickly add, “Want to mess with someone with me?”
The smile goes back to customer service levels instantly. “You are aware that I am currently working, yes?”
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“Please?”
“...Just this once.”
I gain a devilish grin, and before she can regret her decision, I say, “Thank you, Attendant Ania. Now, ignore my existence and handle the next person that approaches you like you normally do.”
She playfully sighs but follows the instructions.
I turn around and lean against the counter, using my elbows to rest some of my weight. After not even half a minute, three warps bring in three people. My face is subtly turned away so they don’t recognize me yet. Two start talking to each other, while the third approaches.
A ways away from the counter, Miv greets Attendant Ania, bundling me in too, “Good morning.” She returns the greeting verbally. I make a polite nod. “We saw that there’s a need for the culling of higher grades over here.” A location is sent to her. “Thus, we were thinking of shifting our efforts there for a time.”
She confers with the dungeon management system and approves the relocation, sending a quickly compiled list back. “Start with these if you can.”
I take this moment to chime in, “Want some help?” Miv turns to me and prepares to offer an excuse, but his words are quite shy, refusing to come out. “Do I have syrup on my face or something?” Mmm, delicious pancakes with syrup.
Miv shudders and hisses out, “Brother.” Pemik somehow hears him and blurs over, reacting instantly to his elder’s tone of voice, and leaving Sini a little confused.
One set of eyes is staring at me with apprehension, bordering on displeasure. The other isn’t staring at me at all.
Pemik has shut his eyes tightly and is currently massaging the bridge of his nose. He groans out, “It’s definitely him.”
As Miv turns to his brother for further clarification, Sini has walked over. “What’s going— Lucius?”
“Hello, Sini.”
She automatically greets back, her voice still confused, “Hi.” Then her mind finally catches up. A hand shoots out and grasps my clothing. A freezing pulse hits my body, not having any other effect except the brief moment of bliss. The hand that’s holding me pulls me into an embrace. “You have some serious explaining to do, young man.”
“Young man my ass,” Pemik says. “He’s like five hundred.”
I mumble out from a suffocating and unbreakable hold, “That’s still young for an AI. ...Maybe.”
“Luci...” Miv quietly says, glancing at a mildly amused Attendant Ania to confirm the reality in front of him. “You’re okay? You defeated...”
I mumble out again, “Yup.”
Pemik nonchalantly says, “I knew, you know.”
As Sini decides to let me go, I say, “What? No you didn’t.”
“...Okay, maybe I didn’t know exactly, but I knew something with you was weird.”
“No shit, Pem Pem,” I fire back. “I let a monster kill me, ran a rebellion, and prevented a war.”
“In my defense, I only knew about two of those.”
Before I can add anything more, Sini levels a frosty glare my way. I clear my throat performatively. “Right. Explaining. But before that...” All electronic devices make a sound, causing everyone in the hall to either study the notification they got on a screen or in their mind. “Okay, I’m done. Wanna get some tea?”
Attendant Ania sighs. Pemik snorts. Sini and Miv shift their attention between the notification and me.
One of the loungers’ gaze brushes past the counter. A hushed discussion propagates like a wave. I’m buried under a barrage of winks and nods.
***
I take sip out of my cup. Sini adds some more honey into hers, now pretty much just honey, and takes a very goopy sip. Miv is processing stuff.
Pemik and I are keeping intense eye contact. He refuses to send me a message, relying on good ol’ telepathy. I make a small nod. He returns the nod. We then quite loudly clasp hands, drawing the attention of the other two.
“What was that for?” Sini asks.
Pemik and I are still silently locked in the clasp, our muscles straining against one another’s. Sini shakes her head and deposits some more honey in her cup.
***
While handling the flood of messages, I get one I both looked forward to and dreaded.
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There’s a delay in the reply, each second containing an eternity. But then...
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***
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