Soon, Eirlys left after a phone call came from work. It seems she was genuinely busy, and the times that she spent looking after me, feeding me and talking to me was out of the expenses of her valuable leisure time.

I laid there on the bed, face in my pillow, swollen asscheeks exposed for a few minutes before letting out a huge sigh.

I got some confidence up, knowing that my real life situation was secured, and I only need to care about in game as of now.

"sigh… I guess I'll rejoin society."

It was already five in the evening when I finally decided to leave my room for once after… What, almost an entire day already? I decided to get some fresh air not because I wanted to, but because I couldn't keep breathing the conditioned air anymore.

And honestly, logging into the game and start seriously grinding back to level 53 was gonna be a such a hassle that I couldn't be bothered, so I took the coward's route and decided to get some air.

I have a plan… To basically revive my character.

Matter of fact, revive everyone that died to the supposed Sacrilegous Druid Of The Deep Tree.

But I have to take a walk, first, and maybe, just maybe, I can pull this off.

I didn't even bother changing, instead I threw a loose dress over my shirt and shorts.

The sleeves of my shirt poked out awkwardly from the dress' flowery pattern sleeves, making my fashion seemed stupid. My reflection in the hallway mirror looked like a cave woman trying to fit in to society yet doesn't know that you couldn't wear two pieces of clothes on top at the same time unless you're about to do a money-washing catwalk.

"Where's the… stairs again?" I muttered as I navigated the Sonder's mansion.

The garden greeted me with that deceptive kind of serenity that only money can buy. It was quite unique in the sense that there were flowers I have never seen before in this region, being taken care of meticulously day by day by a South American woman.

The whole field of flora stretched wide like a private park… It was comparable to a maze of perfectly maintained flowerbeds, trimmed hedges, and little gravel paths that glimmered in the little bit of remaining sunlight shining down on me that was not yet extinguished by geography of a supposed round Earth.

The air smelled faintly of rosewater and soil, and even the smell of dirt got prominent as I got near a water fountain.

This was quite beautiful, I guess… If you were a normal person.

But I feel… What's the word? Disassociated from what I perceived as beautiful and serene.

I never cared about caged birds or farms and gardens, yet for this specific instance where I am feeling like a bitch, this whole place, all of it just looked… sterile.

Too peaceful, too curated… To comparea it with something, it felt like one of those old person's retirement home where they put a pond with tiny little fishes… This estate of the Sonder's weren't that ambitious I guess, since the fountain's the only water source I see here for now.

I walked aimlessly down one of the paths, the gravel crunching under the sole of my barefoot, I deserve the pain anyways.

The sky was a bruise of orange and purple. The twilight was so amazing that I felt the need to pull out my phone and take a picture, yet, I never really… Felt like doing that, honestly, it felt horrible.

Instead, I pulled out my phone. My fingers hovered for a second before pressing call on the contact of an old friend, a good friend, a current friend, a very suspicious friend that I have a hate-love relationship with.

It rang twice before her voice came on.

"Cory Jay Smith." She used my real name.

"Ann Murphray," I did the same.

The silence that followed was cold, beause one of us needed to continue, I either get straight into the point, or she asked "What do I owe the pleasure" like she usually would.

So I took the role of the better man and decided to bite the pressure first.

"Do I still owe you anything?"

"Oh, that's surprising." A soft laugh on the other end, and I can imagine this woman sitting with her juicy thighs crossed, "Are you asking for another favor while still owing me something?"

"Just answer the god damn question."

"Well, you do." she said. "You, Cory still owe me for the lead of Toreno town that led you to arrest Jared and bring him to justice."

"Fuck you." My grip on the phone tightened. "You mean the bastard that ambushed Olga's team in the dungeon?"

"Language, my dear."

"That wasn't a favor," I snapped. My voice started rising without my knowledge. "You didn't do that for me, you didn't help me at all! You did it because it helped you wipe out New Destiny! You surely knew fucking damn well that we were going to hold another court case and you used that piece of shit Jared as a red herring. Don't act like you were being generous, you used me."

She started chuckling audibly.

"Intentions don't matter, sweetheart," She mocked me, "You asked and I delivered. That's how favors work."

I started walking around the garden, faster this time, almost jogging through, fast enough to keep my brain occupied and my mouth from saying anything that I'd regret.

The flowers blurred into smears of color as the path wound deeper into the garden. My heartbeat started syncing with my loud and uneven footsteps, my teeth had been clenching for a while now without my knowledge.

"This is exactly why our friendship is the most toxic thing in the world," I said, faking a laugh under my breath. "You do something nice just so you can hold it over me later. What do they call it? Indian giver?"

On the other end, Ann chuckled, a low, warm sound that only made me angrier.

"Oh, Cory," she said, amused, "You can't expect something that big for free, you do know that, right? This was not the first time you lash out at me."

I didn't answer, and she took the opportunity to continue:

"Friendships have their boundaries, Cory. If you ask me for a cup of sugar or a few bucks, indeed, I won't even expect a return or even for any of us to acknowledge it. But information?" Her voice dipped lower, like she was savoring it. "Information is priceless in a little society like Darkmoon Adventure, you should be glad that you're getting any at all."

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