Lana and Louise agreed to meet her in front of a certain park, and Lana arrived it first. She frowned when she saw Louise wearing some pretty suspicious clothes. Even though it was night, she was wearing some jeans, sneakers, a black jacket, black glasses, and even a sports hat. Meanwhile, Lana also had orange sneakers, but she was also wearing some jeans and a blue, short-sleeved shirt.
"Louise?" Lana asked.
"Sorry, I am late," Louise said as he raised her hat a little bit.
"Ah, I am so jealous… even while hiding most of your body, you still look amazing," Lana said after a long sigh. "Where do you want to go?"
"Somewhere with few people would be fine," Louise replied.
In the end, Lana just guided Louise to a nearby café since while she wanted to celebrate, it was only Thursday… getting drunk at such point of the week probably wasn't a good idea. Besides, Louise didn't know where she lived, so it would only cause problems.
The atmosphere of the café was pretty nice. While it would be better to visit such place in the afternoon, the owner of the place opens at noon and closes around ten in the night. The café was really calm and had few customers, but everyone looked relaxed.
"Sorry…" Louise forced a smile knowing that Lana was being considerate.
"It is okay, going out to drink when we just met in the real world is also a bit…" Lana said. "Anyway, today was fun, don't you think? I never thought games could be that exciting."
"I am also a bit surprised," Louise nodded. "I heard the game was famous for being difficult, but aside from the first mission and the big fire slime, everything was pretty easy… in my opinion."
"Well, as much as I want to deny that, the fact that we have a front liner helps a lot," Lana said. "Putting Jake aside, it is quite weird how come overcoming something difficult in a game could be so accomplishing."
"I suppose it is because the game feels so real and the stakes are high, lose and you have to start from the very beginning," Louise said and then took a sip of her coffee. "Do you know where things are like that?"
"Only a few ones, but I heard that the things lost can be recovered somehow, or protected…" Lana crossed her arms and looked upward. "Anyways, if it weren't for you, we wouldn't have defeated the boss. That thing you did to increase the size of your spell was amazing. You are the MVP today, let's rub that fact on Jake's face tomorrow."
"Hahaha, you really like to trouble him, don't you?" Louise asked. "Well, I can understand the feeling since he is always trying to look composed. Well, now that I thought about that mission, didn't look like Jake was really in pain? Even if the pain is just an illusion, it seems he had to endure quite a bit… no wonder the veteran players are fully armored from head to toe. Even if they lose some mobility, it is probably the best idea to increase their defense up to its limits."
"I have a feeling that Jake won't follow the main road like others…" Lana furrowed her eyebrows. "I can imagine him saying: it wouldn't be fun to become a wall that just serves to take damage. He is the kind of guy who doesn't feel satisfied unless he is the center of everything he does. I wonder what kind of job someone like him did before… I can't imagine."
"I am a teacher, and you are a medicine student… I guess being a priest suits you, but I am not sure about a witch being similar to a teacher," Louise said. "If he were older, perhaps I would say he served in the army, or perhaps he could be a cop."
"Nowadays, there aren't many options for someone with a kind of personality, huh," Lana nodded. "Well, even if he is like that, he is bound to open up sometime. Despite his rudeness, sarcasm, and many other bad characteristics, he is reliable."
"That is pretty harsh," Louise said. "Lana, you are at the beginning of your summer vacation, right? Do your parents live around here?"
"No, they live in the countryside," Lana said. "They told me that I shouldn't return until I graduate, that I need to grow up by looking after myself as much as possible… I can't say that things are going as they planned, though. I barely cook anything, and I don't messy with my room all that much. So, I only have to worry about college."
"What about your friends?" Louise asked.
"They are mostly working or they are traveling, I am the only one who has too much free time and too little to do," Lana forced a smile. "What about you?"
"I am from Paris, and I was planning to return… but I guess I will stay here for a while longer," Louise replied. "I don't have many friends, but I guess I already got used to this country."
"Paris, huh… it seems like quite the place to live," Lana imagined the touristic places of that city.
"Well, it is that kind of thing, if you lived and grew so close to them, you get used to it," Louise said. "It isn't good not to appreciate some places after a while, but some things just can't be helped."
"Maybe next summer, I will have some money to spend and I will visit Paris," Lana said. "If that were to happen, please be my guide."
"I will do my best," Louise smiled.
"It is a promise, then," Lana smiled as well.