CHAPTER 39: CH 39: REAL CONCERN

Cane had a lot he wanted to say to Ai. But first, he needed her to stop running. So he tugged her back, and she got pushed into his chest because of the sudden force.

She felt a little soft and fragile in Cane’s arms, and he almost frowned before he realized what he was doing.

"Ah, I’m so sorry. I panicked and caused this. I-I did not mean to-"

Ai was panicking once more. The turmoil of what had happened outside had not left her yet, but she was forced to endure another one.

Cane felt sorry for her, so he let her actions slide once more.

"It’s fine. I just want you to slow down before you hurt yourself. Now, are you alright?"

He asked, and Ai flushed and looked away before she answered him.

"I am fine...but where are we?"

She asked, and Cane very deliberately ignored the comments going wild on his screen before he looked around as well.

The decoration and the sofa in the room told him that he was in the living room. But he was sure he had run straight through the entrance, so this should be the lobby...?

"Ai, stay behind me. I will open the next door. I need to check something."

Cane told her, and Ai nodded before she got behind him. Once Cane made sure she was in a safe spot he could protect her in, he walked toward the door and pushed it open.

He jumped back in time for a claw to miss him by a couple of inches, and he fired off a few shots.

The monster let out a stretch before it died.

"D-Did we just get attacked? Are we going to be OK?"

Ai asked as she looked around. Her breathing felt short, and Cane relaxed his back for her sake.

"We will be fine. We just need to be a little careful out there. None of the monsters coming after us are attacking directly and are only attacking from the shadows. That means they are not that strong."

Cane told Ai, and she just nodded. She did not fully believe what Cane had told her, but she did understand where he was coming from.

[Shura: Tsk, that was a close call. Also, good job on protecting the girl. I won’t advise dating an NPC, but if you are going to do that anyway, I guess this one is not that bad.]

[Bugcontrol: And just like that, another soldier has fallen to the charms of virtual reality. Soon, our streamer will forget to come back to the real world and his body will waste away.]

People had started to doom-post him already as they made fun of him and Ai. They wanted to see his relationship as what they saw rather than what it actually was.

Cane, more than anyone else, knew how important it was to distinguish between an NPC and a real person when it came to his feelings. Falling for an NPC hardly ever ended well.

He was not going to make the same mistake. He might have crossed a few lines, but anyone would have done the same in his situation.

Who could leave a beautiful girl crying like that?

"Is this...a bedroom? Why did the living room open into a bedroom? That does not make sense..."

Ai whispered as she looked around, and Cane realized that he was getting sidetracked. His first objective was to clear the quest.

The quicker he finished these chain quests, the sooner he would be able to help Ai get back home. And that would also put an end to his weird feeling for her.

"Hey, look at this. Aren’t these jewels pretty? Should we take some of them?"

Ai asked as she opened the drawers to check what was in there. She behaved just like a normal player would and not an NPC.

Usually, NPCs liked to keep to themselves and did not perform actions outside their code or setting. But Ai was different. She was too free with her emotions.

And she had not been the only one. That journalist from before had also done a lot of things that were not usual for NPCs to do.

Even his chat agreed.

[KingCrimson: Is it just me, or do some of the recent NPCs we see in Cane’s quests not feel like NPCs but actual people? Is that some kind of bug as well?]

[Shura: Don’t question it. The world has finally evolved to have NPCs that feel like humans. It’s just a natural part of the progress. We should all embrace this chance and welcome it as well.]

Cane still felt uneasy about the whole situation. But he pushed it all past him because of the quest.

"Ai, take only what you can carry comfortably. It’s not all worth as much as your life."

Cane reminded her, and Ai pouted while putting the stuff back.

"Fine. You are just so boring that it’s not even fun. I will only take what I can carry, alright?"

Ai was slowly but surely blooming into her own person. She was also less shy in speaking her mind after what had happened before.

But the awareness was still in the air, and Cane decided not to push her more than necessary.

He opened the next door, and once again, a monster tried to attack him. He quickly killed it before he headed deeper.

This time, they exited into the kitchen, and all the ingredients looked unused.

Cane immediately advised Ai to keep her distance.

"Ai, don’t touch anything in here. I have a feeling that most of this place is poisoned anyway."

The female quickly pulled her hand back because of his warning and let out a startled laugh.

"O-Oh, I see...I guess I should stop touching things as I please now? Should we head to the next room?"

Ai asked, and Cane agreed. He pushed the door open, but nothing happened. He was not attacked by any monster, which likely meant that this open door was a trap.

The monster should be on the other side, waiting for them to enter.