"The Second Eclipse Event."
It marked the moment when the game's UI disappeared and the game system revamped. Why was Mr. Moustache so hesitant to explain it?
An in game event accompanied by a game update seems normal enough to me. Could it be that he had a personal grudge with the event? No, Celeste also didn't want me to know about the event. An AI is preventing me from getting information; that's something you don't see every day.
I sat there on the edge of the fountain as the questions kept popping up in my head. What is the event? What was it for? What happened in the event?
I couldn't just sit and think about it. My feet, my hands—they're all scratching to know more about the event. With a name as cool as "The Second Eclipse" I thought people would be excited to tell me stories of the event. But the way he presented it was the other way around.
"Maybe Ms. Elith knows a thing or two about it."
Her shop was bustling with people at this evening. Through the window, I saw every seat and every table filled with customers. There were people talking, reading books, and even playing board games. The orange glow of the building contoured the colors of the evening skies. The place inside looked so cozy.
As I entered the building, little bells rang to decorate my entrance. Some people glanced, but most people didn't mind my presence at all. As I expected, the room wasn't freezing cold, nor was it freezing hot. It was at the perfect room temperature with sufficient airflow. It wasn't too dry, nor was it too moist. It was all just right.
Ms. Elith quickly popped out of the counter and welcomed me. "Welcome to our sh—Oh! Hallowell!"
Her loud voice reached the whole room. It must've been rare for her to recognize someone in her shop. The people noticed it. They must think I'm a friend of hers, or something. It was embarrassing to be in the spotlight; nonetheless, I waved my hands and replied to her, "Hi..."
"Have you figured your stuff out?" she said while cleaning her fancy mugs and jugs.
"Well, no. I managed to talk to some people but that just gave me more questions than anything… I'm sorry, do you have free water?" Passing through the tables of people drinking made me realize how thirsty I was. My throat was in drought after talking to 4 people straight; I desperately needed some water.
Ms. Elith let out a little laugh. She took out a glass and scooped some water out of the pool of water that was behind the counter. "Here." She handed it to me.
Though I thought that it was unsanitary, it was still in game water, so I didn't bother complaining about it and drank the whole glass of water down in several gulps. I felt fresh as the drink completely quenched my thirst.
Ms. Elith said, "That one's on the house. But next time, you're gonna have to buy them from me."
I took note of that as I placed the empty glass back on the counter.
"So, what brings you here?"
"Right, um. There was this boss guy. He told me about this thing he called the 'Second Eclipse Event'. I was wondering if you know anything about—"
Before I could finish my sentence, my mouth was covered shut by Ms. Elith's hand. She quickly shushed me into silence.
Her palm was stuck on my mouth as I struggled for breath. I kept tugging away at her hand, but her grip was just too tight for me to pull off. I could utter no words except "Mmpph!'
"Shush! look around!" she whispered. "Everyone's looking at you."
Her eyes were glancing back and forth between me and the crowd of people drinking. As I looked at the crowd, they were looking back at me with eyes of disdain. I wondered what I had done to offend each and every single one of them.
It must've been something reasonable if the people here were collectively looking at me with contempt. I saw it as a sign to stop struggling and chill out in Ms. Elith's grip.
After I had completely stopped struggling, Ms. Elith let go of me, allowing me to breathe normally. "Let's go to the back. We can talk there," she whispered to me.
I complied with her. Those death stares everyone gave me were unsettling, to say the least. Although I did not know what caused it, I knew it was definitely my fault. Better avoid ruining my social status in this game for now. It's my first day after all.
----
The backroom Ms. Elith referred to was the staff break room. There was a single window that gave a view of the outside streets. There was a sofa and a TV device in the corner for staff to relax on. Beside the TV, there was a bookshelf filled with books. On one corner was a pot of a green plant that looked like a mix of cacti and vines.
There, I was introduced to two staff members who worked at "P-Elithra of Drinks". There was Mr. Markole, the man with long hair who was gaming on the TV as I was walking in. I didn't even know you could play a game inside of a game. Then there was Wombat, the girl who sat right next to the shelves reading a book. They paid me no attention as we walked in.
"I'm sorry for what happened just now, boy," Ms. Elith said. "That phrase is considered taboo around here."
"The Eclipse Event?"
She didn't like what I said just then. I could see it in her eyes. "Boy, Hallowell, don't try to talk about it with the people here. What happened then won't be forgotten by the people here."
There it is again; she mentioned something that happened at the event. What is it?! I just couldn't take it anymore; why won't she tell it to me straight?! I just want to know what it is!
"What happened?! Why is everyone so upset about the event!?" I shouted.
The way I acted was beyond any level of proper manner I knew. As I realized that, I immediately covered my mouth in shock at my own actions. "I—I'm sorry!"
Mr. Markole and Wombat took notice of my disruptive actions. They didn't say anything, though their stare was enough.
"Boy, there are limits to what I can or will say. No one in this town is willing to talk about that forgotten past. Markole, Wombat, and I all witnessed the events together. It's something we can't explain to you, boy."
"But why??"
"I told you, it was a forgotten past. For some reason, almost everyone who witnessed the event remembered nothing about it. And every time any of us tries to recall anything around the time of the event, our minds are filled with sorrows."
"What do you mean?"
"It's like our memories are blocked… Every time we try to remember, we feel so much despair and fear."
"Is that even possible?"
"We don't know."
Ms. Elith's tone had gone soft. Her face was in disarray as she told me about what she knew. The longer she spoke, the weaker her expressions became.
But eventually she got through with it. She blinked away all of her thoughts, bringing back her determined face. "Boy, if you want to know more about the event, then I—"
"S—Sorry! If it hurts to tell, then i—it's fine. Please, don't force yourself!"
"Oh! No, no. I was going to say, if you want to know more, then you can check out the forums when you log out."
"…What?"
Miss Elith took out a piece of paper, a feather quill, and a bottle of ink from the shelves. I watched as she wrote something down on the piece of paper. What could it be?
She passed me the paper after she was done.
「gerhana.forums.stars/EclipseMysteries」
It was a… link? A link to a forum page for this game? I've never heard of it before.
"Remember that website carefully, boy. You won't be able to find that anywhere on the internet."
"Thanks…"
"The people who post there are the ones who remember what happened at the event. I warn you though, the stories they have are unsettling."
I nodded as I tried to memorize the link to the forums.
"Anyway, boy. Have you found out what you're going to do in this game?" Ms. Elith asked.
I had completely forgotten about the quests. In fact, I realized just then that I had only asked a few people in the hub, and everyone told me that they don't do quests. Right! Mr. Moustache said that it was because of the event, and that's why I'm here in the first place.
"No, heh. I think I'm gonna look this up for now. I get sidetracked really easily… I don't want to miss any crucial information I might need, so… yeah… this first."
"Well, whatever you say, boy! Hey, after you do all that, how about you work as a staff member here? The pay is pretty good, you know?"
I casually shrugged it off as a joke. Why would I choose to be a drink maker in an RPG game? That's laughable.
"It's getting quite late now; customers are probably waiting for me. You can log out here, boy. I'll put the price for tonight's stay on the tab."
"Awwh. What?!"
"Pfft. I'm joking."
Miss Elith walked out of the staff room along with her two staff members. I was left alone with a paper note and a link to a forum website. If I wanted to get to the bottom of this event, I should at least do a little research offline.
Now to figure out how to log out of this game.
『Don't worry, I've got it』
I immediately blacked out before I could even respond to her.