Connect

"Where am I?"

I got up on my bed, holding my aching head, and saw Alice sitting next to me.

"You're at my house."

She responded, but strangely, she lowered her head. She looked like she felt guilty in this state.

"Oh, I see."

Awkward, I have made this atmosphere awkward. I responded to agree too quickly, so she must be waiting for my other questions.

I remember what happened before. Before I was here, Alice bit my neck to make me see her past, about her, how she struggled to live, and how she has survived to this day. Everything about her that's all I can know and feel. What she has been through all this time, I can feel. What she hates and loves, I can tell. And what she wants, I can help.

I stood there, going slightly away from the bed and Alice. Then, I opened the Bag Menu and took out the Water Bottle item.

When the item was in my hand, I drank it. I'm recovering my character's stamina, so I don't get dizzy from being forced to sleep. In other words, I'm recovering my character by using plain water. After that, I glanced at Alice for a moment and saw her still in the same position, sitting there with her head down.

I wanted to approach her but couldn't. I don't know what she feels right now, but for me, the story about her is too sad to talk about right now. I don't want to hurt her by discussing her past. But maybe because "I forced her to show her past", I have to take responsibility for that all. If I ignore her, it's like a loser who can only hurt a woman's feelings after getting pleasure from her.

"Alice..."

I sat beside her and tried to put my arm around her shoulder but hesitated. Then, I canceled to put my arm around her shoulders and chose to put my hands on both of my thighs.

Alice didn't look at me. She kept her head down and stared at the wooden floor of her house.

I want to say something that can motivate her, but since I've watched her struggle since the age of 2, I'm hesitant to motivate her. I don't want to say anything at this point, leaving her alone for a while.

Well, since I'm already sitting next to her, then I have to be able to give her a new spirit, the spirit to stay alive and move forward to look to the future. So, I decided to cheer her on.

"Alice, the reality remains the reality. Sorry, you've made me look into your past. Even so, you can still live the way you want. It doesn't matter if you have a sad past. It doesn't matter if you have honest feelings. It doesn't matter if you have a grudge against that man. You're still you. Be what you want. Achieve the future you want. You have freedom, and your freedom is still within you. However, remember one thing, look for me if you need my help. I will help you. I will always be by your side. Remember that!"

What did I say?

After I said that, encouraging, Alice's head bowed more and more. Then, when her head was thirty centimeters above her thigh, she wrapped her arms around herself and covered her head with crossed arms.

I rubbed her back slowly. I had a feeling she was thinking about her dark past. This must have been very hard for her because she had to accept that her mother and father had left her.

"Well, anything can happen. But how much you are prepared is what determines it. If you are not ready to live and move forward, you will never accept the reality you are experiencing. But if you are ready to live and move forward, you will get through it easily. I will be your motivation for you to live. I will be the first to care about you. Look at me, Alice!"

I grabbed her face and pointed it at me.

When our faces met, I saw her tears stuck to almost all of her face. She cried without me knowing it, without any sound of crying from her.

"Alice..."

Her eyes sparkled, but on the other hand, her eyes showed she was looking into her past.

"Do you believe me?" I asked, making sure she believed me.

I want her to trust me as I believe her. If she believed me, she would openly explain what she found out about them to me. But she will keep hiding it from me if she doesn't believe me.

I held her cheek. Her cheeks get chubby when I hold them. It's because I'm holding them a little tighter.

She responded by nodding. Then, I let go of her cheek and looked into her eyes, waiting for the words to be spoken.

"That… It concerns me, who I am, who was involved in this all, and why Veronica did that."

She said something that was not my question. Well, I'm sure she wants to tell me what she thinks now. Maybe she already believed in me and wanted to tell me that.

"What do you mean?"

I responded as if I didn't know anything.

"I remember everything about the incidents that happened to me, this country, and the kingdom of Armstan. I remember everything, and it was because of your help, Anton."

Well, that includes because of me. She had saved the king and his family and regained her memory because of me. It was all because of that incident that happened within the royal palace, so she had accidentally regained her memories of them.

I stood up, walked to the window, saw some farmers still working, saw buffalo lying on the rice fields, and saw some rice blowing in the afternoon wind. Then, I looked back at Alice.

"Well... you're welcome."

At least, I've been ahead of her. I'm sure she will say "thank you" to me. Or maybe I'm just overconfident and assume she'll thank me?

"So?"

I watched the play her hand in doubt. She wanted to tell me something but was still contemplating the risks of what would happen next. Maybe, if I'm right, she's currently afraid to get me into her troubles. That's why she thought of that first.

Well, I don't mind that, actually. I'm very happy if she tells everything and gets new quests from her to make my character level up.

"It's okay, tell me. I will always be by your side, no matter what. Take it easy. I won't leave you or die."

Yeah, that's because I can respawn when my character dies.

"My Uncle..."

She stood up, looking at me with conviction.

"Your uncle? Who?"

"Michael..."

"Michael? The one who brought your father and mother?"

She nodded after I asked that.

"He… he is my uncle, my father's eldest brother. You remember the witch who came to this village, right?"

She once told me that a witch she didn't know came to this village and said Veronica would summon the dragons.

"I remember that."

"She didn't come just to say that Veronica was going to summon the dragons. When I wasn't sure whether Michael was my uncle, she suddenly came to this village and revealed that it was true: Michael was my father's eldest brother. She said Michael was the best of the Velnis family. All the demons respect him; even the higher-ups of the demons like him very much. However, there was one demon who didn't like him. That demon was his brother, the traitor who broke the rules. A demon who doesn't like Michael is Gio Velnis."

"Is that your father? Your father's real name is Gio Velnis?" I asked, remembering that his father's name was not that.

"After he married my mother, he decided to change his name. He took my mother's surname. He lives as Gio Heilig, not as Gio Velnis."

"Oh, I see. That makes sense. That means your father is Michael Velnis' little brother?"

"Yes, it is true."

"Then who is that witch? How could she know that?"

"I don't know, but she helped me explain that Michael is my uncle. Since I lost my memory and managed to get my record of Michael, I've been hesitant to find out about it. But when she came, I finally discovered that Michael was my father's eldest brother."

I can put aside the reason Michael brought his mom and dad first. I thought he did it because someone told him to, so he did it. The most important thing is where Michael is now, who Veronica is, and why the incident that caused the creatures to lose their memories happened. Those are three things I need to find out. That's the most important thing I can think of to take care of Alice and the game's NPCs.

"Have you remembered about Veronica? Who is she?"

"Veronica..."

She lowered her head, hesitant to answer what I asked her. After a minute of lowering her head, she finally lifted and looked at me.

"She is my cousin."

"Hah!?" I was surprised to hear that. "W-What do you mean?"

"Michael… she is Michael Velnis' daughter."

"..."

What the fu*k? What happened to this game system? W-Why are they tied together and connected? What kind of relationship is that? That doesn't make sense.