CHAPTER 233: A DATE TO REMEMBER [PART 1]

"Wake up, sleepyhead. How long do you plan to sleep?"

A soft, familiar voice reached Alex’s ears. He hadn’t heard it for a long time, so as soon as it sounded, he slowly opened his eyes.

His gaze then landed on the face of a young lady who was about a year younger than he was.

Her long, silky black hair and her beautiful brown eyes were exactly how he remembered them. She was looking at him with an amused smile, which made his heart skip a beat.

"Guildmaster," Alex muttered.

"Yes, it’s your Guildmaster. Someone who took the train for nearly an hour just to meet you," the young lady replied. "And... your apartment is just as messy as ever. Are the rooms of men always this messy?"

"Not all," Alex answered groggily. "There are decent ones among us who actually know how to clean their rooms. Unfortunately, I’m not one of them."

An exasperated sigh escaped his visitor’s lips before she moved closer to him. She then reached out to hold his hand, only to pull him off the bed.

"Time to wake up, princess," the young lady declared. "Let’s clean up your room a bit before I cook you breakfast. I don’t want to eat in a pigsty."

"How harsh," Alex grumbled. "It’s not a pigsty."

"Shut up, pig," the young lady scoffed. "Wash your face and help me clean your room."

"Yes, Your Highness." Alex’s tone was sarcastic, but he was grinning.

A smile also tugged at the corner of the young lady’s lips. Even her eyes were smiling, which made the young man’s heart slam against his ribcage.

’Am I forgetting something?’ Alex wondered as he allowed himself to be pulled out of his bedroom.

For some reason, he felt that he needed to be somewhere else. And yet, being here with his guildmaster felt so normal.

She visited his home at least once a week to ensure it remained habitable, as well as to feed him—she cooked in big batches, freezing the rest so he could eat at least one proper meal every day.

The two then worked together to clean up the apartment. Halfway through, the young lady left to start cooking, leaving Alex to finish the rest.

After finishing, the young man tied up the trash bags and carried them out. On his way, he noticed a big paper bag sitting atop the kitchen counter. By the looks of it, his Guildmaster had stopped by the market to buy ingredients to cook for her lazy, sloppy Shield Savant.

As Alex came back from tossing the trash out, he heard singing coming from his apartment.

His Guildmaster was singing the song Golden by Huntr*x, and she was hitting the high notes just fine.

’Right, we did a duet of Free last week, and it’s from the same movie,’ Alex thought. ’Maybe we can go to a karaoke bar at lunchtime.’

Going to karaoke bars was already a firm part of their routine. But since it was just the two of them every time, Alex sometimes felt like they were going on a date.

Of course, Alex was quick to clear his head of that notion. Many had tried to pursue their Guildmaster, but every attempt failed. Until now, she had remained single.

Even so, everyone’s guards were up. The men in Endless Horizon, their guild, had even vowed that if any guy were to make their guildmaster cry, they would put his legs in cement and throw him into the sea to feed the fishes.

Alex was one of those guys. He vowed that he would beat the crap out of anyone who would hurt the one person who made him feel that he was not alone in a world where reality seemed too harsh for people like him.

When she saw him enter, she beckoned him to join her in singing the chorus of the song.

Alex knew that refusing was not an option, so he joined her in singing the chorus.

"We’re going up, up, up

It’s our moment

You know together we’re glowing

Gonna be, gonna be golden."

"Oh, up, up, up

With our voices

Gonna be, gonna be golden."

"I’m done hidin’, now I’m shinin’

Like I’m born to be.

Oh, our time, no fears, no lies

That’s who we’re born to be~"

The young lady held Alex’s hand, and the two of them danced as they sang the song till the very end.

For a brief moment, he forgot the nagging feeling at the back of his head and simply enjoyed the moment.

Although magic didn’t exist on Earth, being with her was always a magical moment for him.

If some miracle like money raining from the sky were to happen when they were together, he wouldn’t be the least bit surprised.

Half an hour later, the two of them sat on the dining table and ate the young lady’s cooking.

"So, how is it?" the young lady asked.

"Ten out of ten," Alex answered without hesitation. "Whoever marries you, Guildmaster—he might have saved a universe in his past life."

A giggle escaped the guildmaster’s lips as she looked at Alex with a bright smile.

"Does that mean you saved a universe in your past life?" the young lady asked.

Alex almost choked on his food, but he used brute force to chew it properly before swallowing with great difficulty.

"Guildmaster, stop teasing me. I almost got isekai-d because of you."

"It’s Noelle, Alex. How many times do I have to tell you to call me by my name when it’s just us?"

Right.

Her name was Noelle.

Alex’s Guildmaster and the second lady he trusted—maybe even loved—in his life.

As a healthy young man, it was very hard to have a beautiful girl like her around him, especially inside his room, where it was only the two of them.

However, he never asked her out. He didn’t even dare to ask her why she always visited a guy who lived an hour away from her by train.

He never dared, fearing that if he brought it up, this... dream would finally come to an end.

"What’s wrong?" Noelle asked. "Why are you spacing out?"

"It’s because I saw a beautiful lady in my dreams," Alex answered.

"Oh?" Noelle arched an eyebrow, and her gaze turned threatening. "And who is that beautiful girl? Is it someone I know?"

For some reason, Alex felt that his next words would decide whether he lived or died. Because of this, his brain went into overdrive as it scrambled to find a way out of this mess.

Then it hit him.

A safe answer!

"Um, I’m talking about my four Queens," Alex replied. "Y-You know, in the game?"

"Ah... them." Noelle nodded.

The tension in the room slowly dissipated, but it was not entirely gone.

"You know, I can understand guys liking game characters, idols, actresses, and superstars," Noelle said. "I have a few favorites as well. But, Alex, keep it in moderation, okay? Your trashcan is halfway full of tissue pape—"

"Koho! Koho!" Alex coughed loudly, stopping the young lady from finishing whatever she was going to say.

His guildmaster and guildmates knew the identities of his four Queens because of a random topic in their guild chat.

One of the guild members had asked the guys who their top Queens were and told everyone to post their answer on their guild page under their own Character Portraits.

Almost everyone had given the names of their favorite ladies and explained why they had chosen them.

Wanting to highlight his Queens, Alex hadn’t held back. His explanation had ended up becoming an essay explaining why his Queens were the best ladies in the game.

His seriousness had amused his guildmates.

Noelle had made sure to read everything, but she hadn’t said anything. However, she secretly played ELO using a female character and romanced the ladies whom Alex had called his Queens.

In ELO, it didn’t matter what gender a character was.

The game promoted "Endless Possibilities", so there was no issue even if a player wanted to romance a character of the same gender as their avatar.

After clearing the story mode a few times, Noelle had informed Alex that out of his four Queens, she liked Latifa the most.

The sleeping beauty’s romance route was extremely hard since, well, she was mostly asleep.

It had taken Noelle some time to understand that in order to unlock Latifa’s route, she must first have a good relationship with her other consciousness, which Alex had named Lotte, Lumi, Lulu, and Lala.

While Alex’s naming sense was not the best, Noelle had decided to use these nicknames as well. Surprisingly, she had found Latifa’s route to her liking.

After eating, Alex did the dishes, while Noelle cleaned the table.

When both were done, the young lady asked Alex if he wanted to go to their preferred karaoke bar with her.

Naturally, Alex agreed because he was none other than the Karaoke King... right?