POV Ethan
"Waaa! Now I'm a widow *sob, *sob."
(Widow for a day...), I silently added in my mind.
It goes without saying that the person hugging me while crying is Rebecca, right?
Moreover... looking at her more closely...
(Fake sobs?)
I didn't see any tears coming from her eyes; she was just pretending to be in pain.
(Well, I guess she doesn't get carried away by the realism of the game...)
*Hug
"Yeah, yeah, it was definitely tough..." I hugged her and patted her back to 'comfort' her.
"Yeah, it's really tough that my husband sacrificed himself for another woman while I'm here waiting for him."
I really didn't know how to respond to that since, technically, she was right.
To understand this better, let's put this scenario in reality.
Why would you sacrifice yourself for someone you barely know when you have a sexy wife waiting for you?
Is it because she's a woman? Is she younger? Sorry, from my point of view, I come first. After all, once you die, you die, there are no extra lives, you know?
(Besides, once you die, you leave the path open for bastards like the one I'm impersonating to take advantage), with that in mind, I thought about my next words.
"If I were your husband, I wouldn't dare to even look at another woman in your presence," I said, a rather cliché line.
"Is that so... then it seems I chose the wrong husband," she replied.
*Hugging tighter.
She pressed herself closer to my body.
Her action gave me a glimpse of some of her physical power, especially the attributes used for breast-feeding.
(Here's where you hit the brakes...)
But I knew perfectly well that if I responded poorly, I'd be forced to act like I did back then.
(I like women, especially sexy ones, but you have a husband; that's a no-go), despite my actions during our previous interaction, that kind of behavior disgusts me due to my past experiences.
"Yeah, thanks to your example and how bad you feel, I won't try to save another woman who isn't my fiancée," I said, a line that emphasized many things.
*Staring intently.
-...
She didn't speak and didn't have any dark thoughts.
This comment emphasized two things mainly.
First, I have a fiancée, and I care about her a lot (a lie... but who cares?).
(Even though my previous behavior might be contradictory, I could excuse it by saying it was a joke).
And second, I won't sacrifice myself for anyone other than my fiancée, including you.
(That should put a brake on her heated interactions, right?)
I felt a bit of pity since Rebecca has that level of beauty (at least in the game), but I'm not that desperate.
Moreover, her provocative actions from the moment we met seem quite unnatural...
(I don't think I'm very handsome, even with my current appearance, I just look more imposing, but the core of my original looks is still there, so... is it for money?)
It's plausible, but also keep in mind that both spouses (Rebecca and Thomas) attended that meeting in pretty good suits...
That lessens the weight of money... so... revenge? It's the most likely.
Especially considering Thomas seemed to pay more attention to Yuki than his own wife...
(I don't like being used... let's end this quickly), I really didn't want to be part of that strange relationship between those two.
*Squeeze.
This time, I was the one who hugged her tighter, and while doing so, I asked her.
"Where are those two?"
"...there, past the curtains," she said dryly while pointing to the curtains separating the 'rooms' in this shelter.
I left our embrace, and with a pat on her back, I said:
"Cheer up; after all, it's just a day, right? Ha, ha, ha."
I said it cheerfully as I approached that curtain.
--
Upon entering...
"I see you're whole, welcome," Frederick instantly stood up and greeted me.
"I was hoping you'd survive, after all, you survived that shootout, didn't you?" Luke also greeted... in his own way.
"H-Hello," and finally Yuki, the woman with white hair and blue eyes, greeted me.
(Why is she here? Did Frederick also include her in our guild? Is she also a millionaire or something?), I couldn't help but question internally.
"It wasn't easy, but I managed to get out unscathed," I said as I took a seat on a nearby couch and briefly smiled.
"Earlier, I talked to Luke about the situation, and we've decided to scale up the operation," Frederick started.
"We'll hire more people, and we'll also begin the construction of a small town near the mountain so that we can have people here constantly for defense and support," Luke added.
(So, we're also going with numbers, huh... about time, after all, this is a cooperative game.)
"What's my role there?" I asked.
There's no need to tell me about these things if they don't need my involvement, so what will they need from me?
(I have some ideas, but let's hear what they have in mind.)
*Steps Steps
At that moment, Rebecca entered the room and sat on the same couch as me, but a bit further away.
She just crossed her arms and didn't say anything else.
Everyone nodded in her direction as a greeting, and we continued our meeting.
"Well... we'd appreciate it if you could provide some financial support, but what we really need is your mere presence," Frederick said.
"You're an excellent deterrent, and the more competitive people will come to challenge you. After all, you're still humanity's only champion," Luke added.
(I see...)
They want to turn me into a promotional element?
Something like: Here's the strongest player in the whole game! Do you want to see him in person? Do you want to be like him? Do you want to join his totally non-exploitative guild? Then come here and collaborate first!
It would also work quite well if someone wanted to cause trouble. After all, being an enemy of a P2W player is a pain in the ass.
Now add to that that this player is the best in the game currently...
"I'll manage the city when everything is established, so I'd appreciate your cooperation," this time, Rebecca spoke.
(She'll manage the city, huh. I guess administration is her strong suit or one of her virtues.)
-...
Looking into her eyes, I didn't hear anything strange.
"Sure, sure, as long as it's entertaining..." I agreed, while maintaining my character.
"There won't be many issues in that sense. Many people want to meet you, so if you play your cards right..." Luke said something quite intriguing, hinting at something.
(I see...)
"Alright, now Frederick will explain our future operations."
And so, a not-so-boring talk about how we'll reclaim that mine in various ways.
I didn't pay much attention since I wasn't very interested in this.
(There isn't a real money market in this game yet, but it's getting more popular...)
--
I returned to my mansion after that meeting.
Surprisingly, nothing strange happened on my way back.
Players set up their homes and businesses, met up with friends, and well...
*Bang! *Bang!
The occasional argument here and there.
I walked to the mansion's door and when I opened it...
*Jump
"Nyan!"
"Wow, ha, ha"
A wild cat girl jumped on me. She wasn't heavy, so she didn't manage to knock me down, and instead, I held her.
It was Lumina, the golden-haired cat girl.
My heart lightened up seeing that cat girl; it was a good feeling...
"How are you? Did you miss me?" I asked while petting her.
*Purring *Purring
"Ha, ha"
I entered the house while holding Lumina, and upon sitting on the couch, I realized we weren't so alone.
*Meowing Meowing
Probably all the cat girls were here, waiting for something.
(Should I pet them?), I wondered.
As for needing something more, it wasn't very likely since I had previously taught Selene where to go if she wanted something like food.
"Boss," speaking of her, Selene called me using her collar.
While holding a can that was quite familiar to me.
"More," Selene said, wanting more of what was in that can.
I took the can and looked at it.
(Hmm, sardines? Must have been Eva. I suppose to win her over or make her do something...)
It wasn't hard to speculate why Eva would give something like that to Selene.
"You want more of this?... let's see how much it costs."
That's when I opened the tower interface and realized something...
[Remaining balance: 5,300 credits/112,937,000 premium credits]
"What the...."