Current Situation

"Frey you there?" Shinto whispered to Frey.

"Huh? Oh! Master! What's up?" Almost immediately after he sent the whisper, she replied. "Did something happen?"

"No, nothing much. Just wanted to hear from you on your side," he asked. "How are things in the hotel?"

"Oh! Well... Currently, I'm eating."

...

Within the hallways of the hotel, Frey walked through it whilst eating the spicy rice cakes freshly cooked by Greld. The moment she bit into the treat, the aroma protruded out of it as it spread around the halls.

"Ah, you're proceeding with the plan?" Shinto asked.

"Mhm!" she nodded her head whilst sending the reply. "As for how things are in the hotel... I haven't gotten much information."

"No information? Not even the quest or how things work?"

"Well... They said that they'll explain things after a week since it's my first time with the pass, so for now, I'll only have the ability to access the accommodation and food facilities."

"Hmm... I see, so you can't get anything out of the hotel..." Shinto replied. "Well, for now, just focus on the plan."

"Right, will do!" Frey ended the whisper as she quickly continued walking through the hallway. Whilst she ate, the aroma attracted the curiosity of those who walked by her.

"Mm... Hey! Where did you get that from? The restaurant?" A player asked.

"Ah, I got it from the Tavern Parmic!" Frey happily said.

"Huh? That place...?"

"Yeah!"

"But... I heard rumours that he'll kill you and steal all your items if you enter into there..."

"What nonsense! I came out of there just fine. Stop believing in all those stupid rumours," Frey pouted. "Here! Do you want to try these rice cakes? You won't regret it!"

"O-Okay..." The player hesitantly gulped as he took the rice cake from Frey. Soon after, he took a bite. The next moment, his expression brightened up as he chewed on the soft rice cakes. "...this is so good!!"

"See! I told you, you won't regret it!"

"...you can get these from Tavern Parmic, right? I'll go there when I'm hungry!" The player cheerfully said. "Do they sell buff-type food there as well?"

"Err... I think? You have to ask though!"

"I see, thank you very much!" The player walked away.

"Alright! One down, and many more to go!" Frey said as she headed towards the resting lounge of the hotel.

From the corners of the hallway, a person lurked as they silently walked away.

...

Within the restaurant in the hotel, a young girl sat by a table with her legs crossed. Sipping onto her cup of coffee, she turned to look towards a man in front of him.

"So, what is the report?" The woman asked.

"Well for starters... Brox and his gang failed to subdue Ethaniel due to outside intervention." The man by the name of Lucas replied.

"Hmm, so they failed to kill him? I see... Well, that doesn't matter," she replied calmly. "For now, what is the status of the adventurer Shinto?"

"From what I've heard, some spotted him walking into town earlier. However, we don't know his exact whereabouts."

"So he is in town, yes? I see. When you find him, proceed with the usual approach and make sure to update me on this," she ordered.

"Yes, will do." Lucas nodded his head.

"Now moving along... I've heard that you partied up with him recently?"

"Right, I have. What would you like to know?"

"What do you think of him? Anything special to note?"

"...hmm, well, Shinto's sense of combat is quite high for a priest. He seems rather experienced," Lucas explained. "During the battle in Shivuliz's Den, there was quite a sudden problem. However, that man quickly took the surroundings to his advantage and turned the tides around."

"So, he's a man worthy of being recruited? I see."

"Right. Though... Recruiting him might be a problem."

"Why so?" The woman asked.

"Well, when I tried to recruit him earlier, he showed no interest," he said.

"Hmm... I see. I will take that to note. If worse comes to worst, we will just go with Plan B."

"Might I ask why do we have to keep watch on him?"

"Ah, you may not know this, but, he seems to be planning something against us, but I do not know for sure."

"Oh? What makes you think so?" Lucas curiously asked.

"You know the tavernkeeper Greld, yes? The man seems to be in hands with him."

"Ah... So Greld requested of Shinto's help? Hmm... Even then, I don't think he can do anything to us, so we shouldn't be too worried."

"Well, that is a good point. But, as Greld is on the verge of finally shutting down his business, we might as well shut down all his choices."

As the two conversed with one another, a man silently approached the two.

"Madam Amy, I have some news that you might want to hear," he said.

"Hmm? What of it?"

"It is about our recent new monthly passer. From my observation on her, she has been going around eating the food of Greld's in the hotel. While doing so, she has also been attracting the onlookers," he reported.

"Oh? Interesting... So that is their plan huh?"

"Yes... So what should we do?"

"For now, leave it be. They cannot do anything by only attracting the minorities," Amy said. "Now then... Lucas, would you please inform Brox that he has a new mission?"

...

Inside of Tavern Parmic, Shinto quietly sat in by one of the many empty tables after the whisper with Frey ended.

'So, with that out of the way... The only thing left to do is to pay off Greld's rent and to start the cooking battle with the hotel...' he thought to himself. 'But that will be for later. For now, I'll just log out and wash up.'

Shinto stood up as from his seat as he silently spoke to Kon.

"I'm going to head out for now. Do you need to come out of my shadow?"

"Oh! You're going out? Yes! I want out of the shadow and join you!"

"...Kon, you're misunderstanding. I'm going to the other world."

"Ah- I see... So when will you be back then?" Kon asked.

"Within two hours? Give or take."

"Faster finish up your stuff there and come back, alright?" Kon said. "As for the matter of having to come out of the shadow... Since it'll be for two hours, I'll just come out and explore the town, will it be okay?"

"Will do," Shinto nodded his head. "You can explore the town, but don't get caught."

"I won't, I won't! I'll just hide in the shadows since it's about to be nightfall."

All NPCs in-game have the knowledge of where the players came from, 'the other world', or in other words, the real world. This was due to the lore in-game, where the players or adventurers are summoned to the world by the goddess. Blessed with the power of revival, it was said that they will pave the path of the world, however, the summoned adventurers couldn't stay in the world for long and would oftentimes require to go back to the world they were summoned from.

Although the NPCs have the knowledge of the origins of where the players came from, none of them ever questioned what the other world was ever like. When the topic of this was brought up by the players, the NPCs would usually avoid it.

"I guess it'll be alright then. Anyways... I'm off." Shinto said as he logged off from the game.