Ahhh, tea in the morning. Ain't that just lovely.
I sat at the coffee table near the window, the one which I quietly moved while Eris was napping on the bed.
Looking outside I saw my train passing by, according to the schedule, and my will, if I wake her up we'd have enough time to reach the train, which leads to Axel.
I sipped, looking down at her. "Well..." My grip on the mug got stronger as I pushed my head back and drank that tea like a shot of hard alcohol.
Stepping to her side I pushed her gently with my hand. "Love... Love."
"Wait." She raised a finger, like instantly aware. She sat up despite waking up just now. Her eyes were closed, but opened after a few seconds. "Yes?"
"Wanna catch the train for Axel? We don't have a guild here, you know." I said gently, although my tone was a bit cocky.
"Oh yeah, the adventure." She exclaimed, before jumping out of bed, after which she headed to the he bathroom.
I smiled as I watched her excitedly make her way towards the bathroom to prepare for the day. "Today's going to be a nice day."
Not long after, less than 5 minutes, she came out looking as her other self - Chris. "I'm ready!" She said happily.
"Glad to see you again!" I smiled.
"Back at ya!"
And with that we moved to the train station to catch the train. She didn't want to put on her winter clothing so she kinda just latched onto me and leeched off my ability. Not that I mind.
All until I just took her on the train and dropped her onto one of the seats like a sack of potatoes.
"Off-" She huffed upon impact before laughing. The sound alone was able to melt my heart with happiness.
"So now, we just wait." I said, moving in sync with her as she sat properly. This way we were side by side. "Man, I wish I woke up later." I murmured as I used the ancient desk sleeping technique and dove my forehead on my forearms, which were resting on the table in front of us.
"Then why didn't you sleep?" She asked.
"I don't know."
...
I must keep myself awake somehow - [insert blueprint creation topped with "loneliness kills" by noriko's missing.
"Hey..." Her sweet voice called out. "Are you seriously napping now?"
"No, I'm awake, you could say I'm in the in-between. My mind feels so vivid and so real, yet it mixes with the sensations of my real self."
"Quite poetic, don't you think?"
"Oh yeah." I replied confidently.
I took a deep breath and gathered my strength to get up. "Yesterday I did a lot, I need to rest from work."
"And that's why I suggested we go on an adventure. You don't go out as you did before. You seemed happier back then. Walked with purpose." She leaned her cheek in her hand giving me a gentle expression.
"I suppose so, but now my purpose is less necessary. Back then I actually fought to survive, until the defeat of the general and my attitude to claim half the price, which I used to create this perpetual system." I began recalling my past.
"Good memory, it seems."
"If I forgot such a thing it'd be tragic."
"Agreed. But still, you traded in your purpose." She said.
"Guess so."
"But I guess it's not as bad... After all you did a lot of what you did for me, right?"
A moment of silence followed, if I do remember correctly, I was so urgent to make the Oasis Fortress so we can have a living space.
"Indeed. Our home..."
"Yeah... Our home." She sighed and took on a dreamy expression. "Can you show me our second home tonight? After this I would really like if we go to our actual home." She asked sweetly.
"To be honest I miss the warmth of the Oasis Fortress. Snow is cool, but seeing it for an entire year would be torture."
"Can't relate, unlike you, i'm used to seeing the afterlife for... I don't know how long."
"That's different." I replied.
"Not by a lot though." She added with a shrug.
"Still..."
Another pause.
"Sooo-..." I began. "How difficult of a quest are we going to take on? Although I'm confident I don't think I wanna fight too powerful enemies. I don't need the bounty."
"But taking away the weaker enemies is also not efficient." She said, leaning back against the plush seat and crossing her arms. "So I think it's best we choose a strong opponent."
"Mhhh..." My eyes narrowed as I looked away. Maybe I'm not as confident as I say. What if those enemies got some insane ability. The Shogun was more of a battle of skill. This other thing might be a stat check...
"Hmm?" She gave me a side eye before turning to face me. "Weren't you 'confident'?"
"Not anymore, I might have gotten rusty. I'm old."
"And I'm older! You will be fine, you are better at combat than me, so..."
"Then why come with me?"
"Listen, I just wanted for us to do something together, and also get you outside, interact with people."
"For real I will use the strategy of the alter persona of my dream persona so I can become an extrovert. We could just go to the guild to eat if you want! No need to do quests."
"Hmmm." She thought for a little. "Perhaps that's best." She then added.
"So, no quest?" I asked like a little child.
"No quest." She replied with a smile. "We will be going to the guild for dinner. Give back to the economy, you know?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. After the passive income has been established, we would really need to start living the noble life, cuz you see, you kind of need to so the money keeps circulating." I explained, as I delved deeper into that thought. Indeed, for a rich person to give back to the economy they need to buy useless to them stuff so everyone gets money. I can most definitely start making deals to buy meats, wines and all that stuff from different businesses, but in the end my income will just keep growing, and so would be the need to buy stuff if I want to follow that rule.
"Yes, but still - don't over indulge." She said with a serene smile.
"Most of that stuff would be useless to us though, I might actually have to buy land and just let it be land... This way I will give jobs to adventurers if the land becomes a place for creatures. And this way I give back to the adventurers... Or we can just go to the guild and always treat everyone, give them a bit of time to save for stuff."
"Very generous. But I'd suggest occasionally treating them. That'd be better for their mood then you always paying, because you will desensitize them." She added.
"You are right. Too much even if it's good is still too much."
And so another pause... I look outside the window. Then I realized something.
I put an arm around Chris/Eris' shoulder and chuckled. "Where are we going then?"
"I don't know." She replied casually.
"Yeah, I don't know either... Guess this is better than staying at the hotel for another day."
"Yup, and it gives me an excuse to stay with you a little longer sooo-"
She just leaned against me.
As much as I'd like to have an idea of what to write after this, I have something else, something personal that I'd rather work on.
Farewell to those who have made it this far, a new story shall surface. Do not be dismayed by the meek nature of the first part, what comes after is my real attention.
My only request: Don't spoil the fact that the first part of my novel is just a bait.