The train made an announcement 1 minute before departure.
Without saying a word, I just helped her get onto the train. It was a bit packed, but there was some space near the door. To make her more comfortable, I turned her wheelchair to face the door, so her view was just the scenery outside the train. We stayed silent and didn't say a single word.
At first, she looked embarrassed, but finally, some words came out of her mouth.
"So, what's your destination?"
"WOQ event at the mall. My guild forced me to go."
It's a big annual event to appreciate players, with cosplay, merchandise, and meet & greets.
She then turned her head and showed her excited face.
"I'm going there too... so we can go together, Right? Right? Right??"
I felt a little awkward and just nodded. She noticed the situation getting awkward and turned back to face the front.
I noticed that her face looked excited. At least maybe I should ask for her name.
"So, what's your name?"
She shyly told me her name.
"Mia... that... that's my name!!"
"Oh, okay. Nice to meet you, Mia. My name is Shin."
Her cheeks turned bright red, and she kept touching them repeatedly.
30 minutes later...
We arrived at our destination. I thought it would be calm, but the whole station was packed with people in all kinds of cosplay.
I expected us to struggle to walk through the crowd, but something unexpected happened—people started making way. Maybe it was because she was in a wheelchair, giving us some space.
People began whispering:
"That man looks scary... He hugged—"
"Damn, NTR MC, take care of your girlfriend!"
"That girl is his slave... so sad..."
After a while, I started feeling stressed hearing these freaking weaboos. At least have some respect for her...
I glanced at Mia, and she just smiled happily—maybe it was fine.
"You sure are popular, MR. NTR... Kikikiki..."
I was shocked—she actually knew how to tease. I thought she was a pure, innocent person. Well, if it made her happy, I didn't care what people said about me.
We walked around the WOQ event. The crowd was no joke—it was extremely packed, with all kinds of shops.
We took our time, walking slowly to adjust to the atmosphere. The meet-up was still an hour away, so I figured I'd keep her company while we had nothing else to do.
She tugged at my sleeve and pointed to a shop not too far away. I looked to see what she was pointing at—it was a souvenir shop.
I pushed her wheelchair toward it. Her eyes sparkled excitedly as she stared at a necklace, but the shop owner gave me an unhappy look. He ignored me and just attended to her.
I gave him a hint with my eyes, like, "Really?"
"Hello, miss, do you like this necklace?" the shopkeeper asked.
She nodded and asked for the price.
"It's a bit expensive—it's pure diamond, around $500. Do you want it?"
"Yes... pack it for me," she said.
The shopkeeper packed it for her, but when it was time to pay, his eyes kept darting at me, making a subtle money gesture with his fingers.
"Seriously...?"
Did they think I was her boyfriend or something?
Miss, your boyfriend will pay for it... He already gave us the signal to pay."
[In my mind: This motherf—]
Mia suddenly got flustered when the seller implied I was her boyfriend. It was obviously just a sales tactic...
I pulled out my card and swiped it right in front of the seller. My mom's gonna question me about this later. It wasn't about the money—it was about why I'd randomly bought a necklace for no reason.
The seller handed her the necklace with a sly grin. "Thanks for your purchase... Heh. You've got yourself a generous boyfriend."
Mia's face burned red, and she lowered her head in embarrassment.
I quickly wheeled her away from that awkward scene. 40 minutes had passed—maybe it was time for us to part ways.
"Mia, I've got a guild meeting in 20 minutes. This is the last I can accompany you. Will you be okay on your own?"
She nodded.
"It's okay! I also have a guild meet-up. By the way... what's your guild's name?"
"It's a pretty famous one—'Rox Guild.' My friend founded it, and now she's top 10 in the rankings. As for me? No rank. Just the Vice Leader... the Goblin."
She suddenly grabbed both of my hands.
"GOBLIN?!?! It's me—Mia Kluskova, 'The Archer' from the guild!"
My jaw dropped. The legendary badass archer in our guild... was her?! How did this pure, shy girl do a complete 180 in real life?!
"So YOU'RE the lazy Vice Guild Master who only logs in when the leader nags you! Hahahaha!"
I could only grin awkwardly.
"Yeah... that's me. Nice to finally meet you."
"Should we go now?"
Mia nodded and gave me a side-eye...
"I never knew our vice leader was strong in real life but so bad in-game... hehehe~"
She was teasing me again, but this time I couldn't argue—it's true I'm terrible at the game. That witch of a leader forced me to play and kept me as vice leader anyway.
Soon, we arrived at the café I'd booked with the leader. It was paid with guild funds—which I managed.
Our guild only had 50 members, and today just 20 could make it. I opened the café door and motioned for Mia to enter.
The place was already packed. Our members had arrived early. They probably knew each other well from 3-4 previous meetups—ones I'd never attended.
"Miaaaa! You're here!"
A girl called out to Mia. They seemed close, like old friends.
"Where's the leader? Is she here yet?" Mia asked her.
"Yeah, she arrived. She's in the restroom. But our vice leader still hasn't shown up—that lazy Goblin, same as always."
Standing behind Mia, I felt personally attacked by those words...
"Mia, who's that behind you? Is that your boyfriend?"
Mia shook her head.
"Let me introduce him. This is our vice leader, Shin—or should we call him... The Goblin?"
The girl stumbled backward. Everyone chatting happily fell dead silent, jaws dropping. Then—THUD—something heavy (a bag?) hit the floor near the restroom hallway.
Our eyes locked. Without thinking, my mouth blurted out:
"Tea...cher?!"