"The world doesn't make sense. How can someone live for thousands of years? I know there is a magical world, but relying on magic is impossible to have a long life. But if she is a demon, it might still make sense. Also, if it turns out that she can reincarnate into herself, that makes sense. Hm… this gives me a headache," I said, leaning back against my office chair.
This office computer in front of me, my office computer, doesn't give a single clue about Veronica. I checked forums and articles about the game, about Veronica, and all they talked about was their dirty mind.
They discuss:
"Is Princess Veronica worthy to serve as a Waifu?" Very popular and with thousands of comments followed.
"I love her. For some reason, my heart was pounding when I was in that palace and met Princess Veronica. Is this what you call falling in love at first sight?" Very popular and with thousands of comments followed.
"Princess Veronica is wonderful, but she is only an NPC. That is a pity. Even so, I still idolize her as it is my duty as an adventurer. I want her to see me. She is my Waifu. Do you guys know how to make her fall in love with me?" Very popular and followed by thousands of comments, and it became the most highlighted comment.
"I've got a photo of Princess Veronica while having dinner with her family. Would you like to see that?" Very popular and with thousands of comments followed. More male players opened it than female players.
Yeah, they discussed the existence of Veronica, the princess of the Armstan kingdom. Neither of them talked about her past. So, looking at forums and articles about Veronica is useless.
"I wonder, didn't they notice that?"
I am very curious about the photos on the hallway walls of the Jajaro Ruins, whether they realized those or not. It was apparent; the one over there was Veronica. Even Alice, who was an NPC, also realized that the one there was Veronica.
"This is more tiring than I thought. Searching for her is a difficult thing for me. What should I do now? Ask her directly that she is there?"
While I was talking to myself, someone noticed what I was saying and asked.
"What are you going to ask her?"
"Oh..." I responded and turned to him in surprise. "Nothing."
After I responded, he looked at my computer. He saw what was there and started discussing it.
"Veronica? Is that Princess Veronica of the Armstan kingdom?"
I didn't respond, but he suddenly approached me and put his arm around me.
"Bro, I know how you feel right now. I have that too."
What do you have? What do I feel?
"You think of Veronica as your Waifu, right?"
He smiled when he said that to me. His smile was like a genuine smile, like coming from his heart.
"Well, that's normal. I do that too, and so do the other players," He continued. "So you don't have to be ashamed to tell me that. You have the soul of a man, Dude. Think of it as normal, natural."
There seems to have been a misunderstanding here. He thinks of me as an Otaku who idolizes Veronica as my Waifu. He had misunderstood me while I was worrying about Veronica's true identity.
He is Norman Spencer, who sat at my right every Monday through Friday. He is my office mate, my desk neighbor.
"Well, relax. Take it easy!"
He rubbed my back repeatedly. It was as if he had succeeded in lecturing me, giving me advice.
What's with this man?
I turned to him with a confused face, worried about the state of his brain. Then, I looked at him with a face full of pity. I feel like I'm looking at a man who needs the attention of the people around him.
"By the way..." He suddenly let go of me, then leaned back in his office chair and looked up. "Yesterday, I met your girlfriend. I played with her."
"What do you mean?" I was surprised to hear that, and he immediately turned to me with a shocked face.
"You did not know?"
"Do not know what?"
"Your girlfriend plays that game too, EVO."
"Hah?" I was even more surprised to hear that.
"See, you don't know that."
When I was mentally filled with questions about Veronica's identity, he came and explained what had happened yesterday while playing with my girlfriend. It made my head spin even more.
"My party mates and I were very lucky to meet her there. She was very kind. She invited us to play with her. Well, even if she got annoyed with our constant presence following her. But she accepted and invited us to play against one of the BOSS. But by the time we got there... we had humiliated ourselves in front of her. We were overwhelmed and couldn't fight the boss. She fought it alone and almost got killed. But luckily, a player came and sacrificed for her. She managed to save herself, and so did we."
I couldn't help but stare at the story about it. It felt similar when I saved a woman named Lady Martin yesterday.
"Wait a minute..." I accused, finding similarities to what happened yesterday. "What do you call my girlfriend?"
"Lady Martin."
"So she and you..." I was stuck in my thoughts and memories of yesterday's incident.
"What's wrong?"
"N-Nothing."
I just realized this. I haven't called her by that name in a very long time. That is her surname. Martin, it's a name that is held in high esteem because of the degree that the woman's family holds. Karina Martin, that's my girlfriend's full name. I had forgotten the surname she had when I was her girlfriend.
So the woman from yesterday was my girlfriend, Karina Martin? Oh, I see. She played that game too.
"Oh, I forgot something," He said.
"What?"
"You're that screaming new player, aren't you?"
"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion—because no one should have noticed me in that game world.
"Ah, the owner of the inn told me that. He knows you because you often stay at his inn. He told me and my friends your name. Since then, we have heard rumors about you."
"About me? What is it?"
"They said you were a player who often hurt NPCs. There was someone who saw you when you hit a farmer NPC's head with a stick. Someone saw you forcing a girl NPC to speak, but you ignored her and left. Also, most of them see you walking with a female NPC with long brown hair. They feel sorry for her for thinking you have enslaved her. Is that true?"
I fell silent as someone who had just been slandered. Then, I looked at my computer screen and saw Veronica's name.
"Do you believe that?" I asked without looking at him.
"To be honest, I don't believe it. It's just rumored. It's not good to believe it without proof. But I'm surprised to see you've got the game. How did you get the game? What level has your character reached? Do you want to play with us? I'll help you as your senior."
He asked all the questions. It makes me dizzy to answer all his questions. Even so, at least he doesn't believe the bad rumors about me.
What's with the bad rumors? It felt like a statement that was not based on facts alone.
"I'll think about it. Thank you for not believing the rumors. As your senior here, thank you."
***
"The number you have dialed is currently inactive. Please wait a moment longer!"
After arriving home, I rushed to find out the truth about her playing the game. But her number is off, so I can't confirm that. I can't tell if my girlfriend is playing the game or not.
"If she were playing the game right now, then that would be why she turned off her smartphone. And... that means it's true, what Norman said, she played the game."
This is just my guess, which I got from my office mate, Norman Spencer. There's a good chance she's playing the game right now. So, if I wanted to ask her the truth about that, I had to meet her in the game world. I got to meet Lady Martin in the EVO game world.
"Let's see. If it turns out that she is Karina Martin, I have to..."