Miss Martin

It's been two days since Alice told me about herself, Michael, and Veronica, and since then, I've always wondered about this quest I got. The quest was entitled: The Liar. The quest description explains that I must find the "Liar" in this country.

Honestly, I don't understand why I can get that and why I should find the Liar. I got it after one day since Alice told me that. Remember, "after one day since Alice told me that", not after Alice told me that. But strangely, I don't understand why it says "Quest of Alice". That's what confused me the most.

This made my brain think twice about finding the answer to the quest. All I can think of right now is I should still carry on the quest, even if it doesn't have a time limit.

I decided to log in to the Evo game today, Tuesday, at 8 pm. I sit in my gaming chair, stare at the clock on the wall, and estimate the time limit for my Evo game. I have time before 1 am.

After my preparations were ready, I turned on my computer. Then, with this damn mouse, the left button that clicks on it, I open the Evo game app and see that I need to do a 48.3 GB app update.

"Unlucky..."

But luckily, since my internet is fast, which I got through a sponsor a few years ago, I'm not worried about the size of the app updates. So, I have to wait a little while, hoping my internet speed won't be reduced.

An hour and fifty-four later...

Done, it's finally done. I can play the game now. Hurray. Damn, that took almost two hours. I've wasted my time just waiting for the update to finish. Damn developers... why didn't you guys tell me there was an update, huh!? That's so troublesome.

It was my fault, to be honest. Before I wanted to play, I should have checked the game's developer site. There must be informed about the update that took place. So it's my fault for not being "anticipated" in the real world, thinking too much about the game world, and being cold to those around me.

I don't have much time, only 3 hours left. I've spent 2 hours updating the game, so I should be able to make the most of the time I have left there. All the players and NPCs must have been waiting for me. I have to go there to make them happy.

That's what I thought before finally someone called me.

*Phone Sounds Ringing.

"Geez, I'm not allowed to enter that world. What is this?"

I couldn't help but pick up the phone call first. Maybe it came from something important. It's probably calling me because there's something important, so I shouldn't ignore it.

I picked up my smartphone, saw Karina's name on it, and picked up the phone call from her.

"Hello?"

"Where are you, Anton?"

"I am at home. What's the matter, Karin? You don't usually call me at this hour. Is something bothering you there? Your work is fine, isn't it?"

"Well, I just wanted to call you. My work here is fine. It's fine here too. It's just that it's a bit cold in here."

"Oh, I see. Keep well! You can't get sick, and I'll be in trouble later."

"Hahaha. I know that."

She laughed, and I was so happy to hear that.

"By the way, have you seen my movie?"

After she asked, I looked at my computer, the sites that provide legal films, and saw a list of films I wanted to watch. There, I saw a movie I hadn't seen yet.

"Ah… I've seen your movie. You did a very good job. Your fans must be very happy to see your acting. Thank you for your hard work."

"Really? Thank you very much."

I had reasons to lie to her, so I decided on that. Even if it hurt her feelings, if she found out I was lying, it wouldn't matter. After all, I have reasons to do that.

"In a week… I'll be home in a week. Can you pick me up at the airport later?"

I was both happy and surprised to hear her.

"Your manager? Didn't she take you home?"

"I told her to go home first. I just want..."

"Okay, I know. Fine, I'll pick you up there."

"Yes."

She is happy. I can feel her soft voice, as well as her happy feeling. Even if she was far away, her feelings seemed to merge with me so I could feel them.

I looked at the clock on the wall; it was already 10:10 pm.

"Karina..."

"What's wrong? Oh, it's 10 pm already? Do you want to go to sleep? Am I bothering you?"

She understands the time difference between us and thinks she has bothered me. She can think fast, much faster than me.

"Then… good night. Sorry to bother you."

Her voice was sluggish as she said that, and I felt sorry for her for ending the call.

"Good night, too."

I hung up the phone.

Honestly, I know she wants to keep talking to me right now. I know. She must have wanted to talk to me a lot about what had happened to her while she was there. She misses me so much but doesn't have time to meet or call me. She must have been very disappointed that she could only call me for a short time.

I'm a bad guy for her. Sorry, Karina, I'm doing this because there's something I need to do now. I love you very much, but for now, I need to put you aside first. I hope you understand my condition, which is no longer a captain of that team or a professional player. I survive in my way. What I'm defending is a gift from my father, this damn gaming chair.

***

I managed to get into the game, wake my character up in bed, and then tidy up the gear I'll need for the day. Then, I chose to wear a cloak that covered my head.

I feel nostalgic when I'm in this inn. I feel nostalgic for neighbouring rooms, the mattress I've used, the sitting position, and what I do.

"Ah~... ah~... ah~..."

I came out of my room, but I didn't do that, knocked on my neighbour's door and shouted there was a fire in here. I immediately rushed downstairs and met the owner of the inn.

"You want to go now, Anton?"

He and I had gotten along quite well, so I had allowed him to call my name.

He's Ricky, the owner of this inn, who has a bald head. He has been the owner of this inn for thirty years and has the experience to keep adventurers and newcomers staying here safe. Also, he can defend himself and has a strong body and fists capable of breaking walls with just one hit.

"That's how it is. Are you doing well, Ricky?"

I benefit from being friends with him. I can get discounted rates every time I want to rent a room at this inn. So, being friends with him is an advantage.

"Well, lately, I've been getting a lot of reckless adventurers."

"Umph? What's that?"

It was very interesting to hear, so I decided to sit down and hear the story.

"Since that woman came here to stay, many players have been staying here."

"Isn't that good for you? They come, you get new customers, so you get money from them. Isn't that great?"

"Well, that's good."

"So what? What bothers you because of them?"

"It's just; they came here to..."

Before he could finish his sentence, I heard voices coming from the stairs. I heard there were a lot of people heading toward the stairs. That's why Ricky stopped and looked at the stairs, and I had to look in the same direction too.

A woman gets down there. However, for some reason, there were many men following behind her.

Judging from their character, I could tell they were players. They were not NPCs but players.

A beautiful woman of fair skin, having long navy blue hair and let her forehead show, wearing a white knee-length dress that looked expensive because it was obtained through gacha, and a very cold look on her face was familiar to me, was descending the stairs with the men behind her.

I can only see them without wanting to make a fuss about their presence there.

What the hell is this? Is she the princess?

As she almost approached me, I turned my face towards Ricky, who was staring at them by tapping his forehead.

Oh, I understand now.

I understand why Ricky took issue with their presence, even if they were customers at his inn. He must have had a hard time seeing them over and over again. It must have made his days hard.

You're so unfortunate, Ricky. I had that feeling, too, at my high school. This must be hard on you, right?

This isn't very pleasant. I had an experience like this when I was in high school. Many people chase the most beautiful woman in my school. They always followed her as if that girl was a goddess to them. Somehow society's environment can change if there is something more beautiful than them. They will uphold it more than themselves, but when they lose it, they will lose themselves—and when they hate it, they will hate it very, very, very much.

That's what I learned from what happened at my school before.

"Miss Martin, I will always take care of you. I will protect you. Watch me!"

"Me too..."

"Me too..."

It's too noisy in here. They, behind her, kept on shouting and saying nonsense. All I could do was keep my head down, tap my finger on the table a few times, and hear their bullshit screams.

After they came out, I finally felt a sense of calm here. I feel like I just got past the morons.

I turned to Ricky and saw him put on a relieved face. I smiled when I saw his face.

"Because of those?"

"Yeah, because of those. I don't know who that woman is. They called her Miss Martin. Maybe she was a famous adventurer. She gained followers due to her fame. They're always behind her, even if she doesn't think they exist."

"Well, that kind of thing has always existed. No matter where you stand, you can't avoid something like that. We live in a society, so we have to be able to accept things like that."

"You're right, Anton. I have to accept people like them. After all, they are my customers. I will always warmly welcome people who want to stay at my inn."

I smiled sarcastically before finally speaking.

"You're a good person, Ricky. By the way, I dropped some ink on your bed sheet."

"Damn it… why did you do that? Those stains are very hard to remove."

"Ah… didn't you say you would warmly welcome your customers?"

"Still, you have…"

He held back his anger, trying to stick to what he was saying.

"Haha, I was kidding. There are no ink stains there, so you don't have to worry."

"Oh, thank goodness. I should clean those overnight."

Well, an NPC was still an NPC, but in this world, I had to consider an NPC as equal to the players. They are human too, so I shouldn't assume they are a system. Even if they are a system, I shouldn't think like that. They are human. That's an absolute fact in the world of Evo games.