CHAPTER 98: SWEET DREAMS, CORY JAY SMITH

By the time I’d run out of tears and finished running my mouth full of saliva and inaudible words, I was flat on my back, stretched across a few barstools we’d dragged together.

My head was pillowed against Gimsen’s lap, his rough hand idly patting at my hair while the other reached across the sticky wood to mop up the mess I’d left behind with a rug. It was weirdly tender for a dwarf of his stature, this gruff man wiping away my snot like a father figure I never had, who’d seen it all.

I sniffled, half a hiccup.

"So... You’re suggesting... what, gather evidence? Buy hidden cameras, set them up, and- gulp. Set them up and get the law involved?"

"There yee go, lass," Gimsen said, satisfied, his voice a warm rumble above me. "Ya figured it out by yourself."

I closed my eyes, trying to imagine it, the evidence, the confrontation, the cops, arrest, then the headlines. It made my stomach twist in a kind of reassuring way.

Gimsen sighed, thumb brushing hair away from my eyes.

"Truth be told, ye should just leave that mansion outright, yeah? Anshur, was she? She’ll never let it go."

I waited for him to continue,

"She sees ya as a rat in her polished halls, aye? A vermin sneakin’ where only silk-stocked folk should step. An educated servant still looks down on ya like you’re dirt, that won’t change. If ye walk out, lass, the problem walks with ye."

I stammered"

"B-but the food, the housing, the bath, then the clothes, Gimsen... It’s all... free, it’s free! Three meals a day, dresses I could never afford, hot showers whenever I want... I’m living the NEET dream and... if I leave that..." My throat closed up. "It’ll be more of a curse than a blessing, I won’t survive out there."

"It’s weird, y’know?" I added after a long pause. "Two weeks at best I’ve been living like this, and I’ve already lost all my bearings on how to... actually live, even though I’ve been managing well for the last few years in my own apartment, I’m scared, it’s scary."

His hand stilled for a moment, then resumed its steady patting.

"Well," he said gently, "Ye can always fly over here and live with us. I’ll put ya in me auto shop, teach ya to work with yer hands, ye’d earn yer keep and meals"

I twisted my head to look up at him, eyes still swollen. "Having a job is against my moral code, unc." I pouted, complete with a little ":" face.

"Whatever yer say, lass." He let out a huge laugh, "My offer stands, at least ’til the day public vehicle’s perfect and I’m out of date"

That cracked a chuckle out of me, enough to shake away the last of the tears.

"Yup..." I whispered, groaning a bit to let go off the last bit of stress, or whatever was left over.

I sat up with a dramatic flourish, smacking the bar and yelling for another drink.

"ANOTHAAAAAA"

The poor foreign bartender girl jumped nearly a foot, clutching the mugs like they were grenades.

I laughed until my ribs hurt, then suddenly, just as suddenly, the laughter faded into a long sigh.

"Y’know... I miss it... I miss the old times, nothing ever feel the same after a few years... I don’t know if it’s a me thing or just degrading quality thing, nostalgia thing, or the game’s just leaning too much into the competitive side thing."

"Aye, I’d say it’s nostalgia." Gimsen tilted his mug in a slow toast.

I rolled my shoulders, staring up at the rafters.

"We met ten years ago, right? I wasn’t even that good back then. Not a newbie either, but... good enough to hold my place in a guild, and then Destiny was born... God, I wonder if anyone even remembers I’m one of the founders, not that I cared but... Maybe some praises from cute girls would’ve suffice."

Gimsen’s beard twitched with pride.

"We remember, at least I do, and you, lass, were one of the first names carved into Destiny’s history. We’re dungeon clearin’ specialist, aye, you and Ann and that one guy was inseperable, always itchin’ for blood."

"... Yeah" I snorted, "God, I remember that. Our guild’s went looking for trouble, didn’t we? Whole server hated us for it."

"And I missed every damn second," he said, eyes sparkling.

We started tossing names like coins across the counter.

"Remember Jared?" I said. "He’s in jail now."

"Figures," Gimsen muttered. "Too much problem in that one. But do you remember the elf healer?"

"The one with the... Uh..." I stuttered.

"Doe horns." Gimsen said.

"Yeah yeah, doe horns with the curves and... I remember," I nodded, "I wonder where she is now."

He stroked his beard, thoughtful. But couldn’t give an answer, either, because just like any video game players, they grew out of it, a lot of things seems more interesting, and life was way more important. Not everyone’s a loser like Cory, has ample time after work like Gimsen, or rich like Hailie.

There was an option of making a career off of these, but the VR was an untapped market, mostly livestreamers right now.

"I’d like to think she’s happy." He said, before changing subject, "Jessie married, did she ever send ya the photos?."

"She didn’t... She doesn’t really like me after I made a joke about... Ahem, after I uh-"

"Oh..." Gimsen stopped me there from awkwardly exposing myself.

I leaned my head against his shoulder, closing my eyes.

"There’s only so much of us that remembers the warzone how it used to be," I murmured.

"Aye," he answered, and for once there was nothing else to say.

"I think I want to go to sleep soon." I said, "I’ll buy some cameras... I think."

Then I also have to ask Eirlys about the Null Shepherd and Titan of Ashen Bark, I thought.

"Good night to ya, lass. Make here a call whenever you need, you know me number."