The group continued to the cafeteria in complete silence. Herculia and Emmy tried to bring up some sort of conversation but since the atmosphere was tense and odd, the conversation wouldn’t last long.
During the entire journey, Arthur was contemplating what he noticed. He simply couldn’t get all of that out of his mind. But, the problem was that he couldn’t really figure out what happened and he couldn’t ask them either.
After all, this ‘family problem’ is most likely not something he could expect from a normal family.
‘I’m sure it ain’t anything normal.’ He thought to himself as he looked at the trio silently. ‘Tsk, I wish I could ask, but it’s not my position to ask them such a thing.’
However, as much as he accepted that he had no right to ask or know, he still wished to see these people smile. They were his very first friends that he could truly trust. They were the first people who didn’t look at him as a weirdo. He was accepted into the group as one of their own and they never looked at him as if he was inferior.
‘How can I even help? Or better yet, am I even in a position where I can help?’ He asked himself as he clenched his fists slightly. Whether he liked it or not, Arthur knew that he had no actual influence in the real world.
Sure, he was the best player in DO, but was that power really translated into the real world? The answer was a clear no. He was as much of a weakling in the real world as he was before the game was released.
That realization made Arthur even more annoyed and he didn’t know why. Clenching his teeth slightly, he tried to swallow the bitterness in his mouth. ‘… Why?’ He asked himself again yet he couldn’t figure out the reason for this bitterness. ‘There is no reason for me to feel guilty that I couldn’t help… They don’t need my help. Yet… Why?’
The question itself was rather simple and if Arthur had more experience he would’ve realized that the answer was right there in front of him the entire time. But, for that moment, he was completely clueless.
The group reached the cafeteria and quickly grabbed some food from the rich buffet. It seemed the food today was different from the previous days as usual. Not only did the academy make sure students would eat a nutritious meal every day but also make sure the meal was different every time so people don’t get bored quickly.
After that, they all sat around one table in the heart of the cafeteria.
“Ugh, finally, some food. I couldn’t be any more hungry.” Herculia said as he grabbed the spoon and started to eat eagerly. “I haven’t had… a proper… meal since yesterday!”
“… Yeah, eat up, big guy.” Emmy nodded her head as she also started eating.
Danny also silently picked up his fork and focused on his food. The only two who didn’t immediately start eating were Arthur and Isla. They weren’t feeling as hungry as those three so they didn’t rush. Arthur was mainly still too deep into his own thoughts to even care about food.
“Were you that busy yesterday not to even find time for food?” Eventually, Arthur opened his mouth and asked.
“Haha, yes… We were really busy for the entire night. There was no time to take a break.” Emmy replied. “It was a rough night, for sure. Hahaha.”
Even though Emmy tried to laugh it off, Arthur simply stared at her calmly. He knew that it was all simply to hide what she was feeling at that moment.
“Did you figure things out?” Isla kept staring between Arthur and Emmy for a few moments before she spoke.
“The situation is stable for now.” Danny nodded his head faintly. “We should be fine for a while.”
“But, it isn’t going to last long.” Isla retorted. “Are you really sure I should do anything?”
“No, please, Isla. It will only cause you even more trouble.”
Danny’s eyes flashed with a weird glint. Arthur could hear the pleading tone in his voice.
‘Why doesn’t he want Isla to help? What kind of trouble is he talking about?’
“There is really no trouble for me more than seeing this situation happen,” Isla said. “I cannot say that this is not my concern anymore.”
“…”
The trio looked down silently, clearly unable to look Isla in the eyes because of her words. Whether it was shame or some other reason, none of them could reply to her question.
Seeing that, Isla nodded her head. “It is up to you and what you do next. But, when I see that it is getting out of hand, I’m going to do something about it.”
“…”
During that entire conversation, Arthur remained silent, simply listening to everything and piecing things together as much as he could. Yet, even when he could’ve asked once in the many opportunities he had, he still didn’t do that.
For whatever reason, Arthur couldn’t do it.
***
Continue reading at empire
The lunch break passed swiftly and the students returned to their classrooms to continue the rest of the evening. For Arthur, it was the same evening as usual, nothing new. But, he was feeling under the weather from everything that happened. His mind kept eating him away and he couldn’t stop it.
As hours passed, he was lost in his own trail of thoughts so by the time the bell rang, announcing the end of another day, he was still completely occupied. He only realized that it was time to go home when Isla approached him.
“Let’s go, Arthur,” Isla said.
“Hm? Oh, it’s already time?” The boy looked up at her, a little taken aback.
“…” Isla squinted her eyes before she shifted her gaze to the rest of the classroom. Since they didn’t have a training class that day, the place was completely empty. So, she sighed, grabbed a seat, and sat down in front of Arthur.
“What is on your mind?” She asked. “Tell me.”
“…” Arthur started at her silently for a second. He was a little speechless by her sudden question. “Uh…”
“I know that you have something on your mind. I’m not blind.” She added. “Is it about them?”
“…” The boy blinked before he looked down. “Was it that obvious?”
“It could’ve not been more obvious.”
“Haha, I’m really bad at pretending, aren’t I? Sigh, it’s really nothing important. I’m just… A little worried that’s all.” He said.
“… Worried about them?”
“Yes, it seems this problem, whatever it is, is quite serious. I have never seen them act that way before. So, I can only think that it must’ve been mentally taxing for them. Yet, I can’t really help even if I know what it was.” Arthur said.
Isla listened quietly to her friend speaking. She didn’t try to interrupt him the entire time.
“It is just… I’m really questioning if I’m good enough of a friend to you guys. I’m really not that special in the real world even if I’m doing good in the game.” Arthur clenched his teeth, feeling very bitter. “I am really not that important.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3