“Here we are! My very special place!” Elise said with a smile as she stopped her Sonic Board in front of a random building in the city.
“Oh, a restaurant?” Arthur asked. “I thought we were going to a cafe or something like that.”
From what he could see, the restaurant looked smaller in comparison to the other places he had went to. But, it certainly looked very cozy and quite empty as it was in a calm section of the city, away from the main streets where most students go.
“Oh, it is great and quite empty most of the time so it’s perfect for us to have a chat without anyone annoying us,” Elise said.
‘Well, that would certainly be perfect. Isla would stand out wherever she went so if it’s quiet, it would spare us the headache of all the students who want to talk to her.’ Arthur thought to himself as he looked at his silent friend. ‘I never understand how she can handle being this popular so calmly. It’s really amazing.’
Arthur tasted some of that popularity through his alter ego Persona and yet he was already feeling a little overwhelmed. He can’t imagine how he will handle being known as Arthur in the real world.
Yet, Isla was living that life without any apparent problems. Arthur assumed that she learned how to handle it because she was born into that life. Being the descendant of an extremely influential family, she most likely had to live that life and nothing else.
In other words, she had no other choice but to accept the fact that wherever she went or whatever she did, people would always look at her. She never tasted a moment of peace where she didn’t have to worry about being the target of an enemy or a pawn in a giant scheme.
People see the gold and the luxury Isla was living in, but forget that all of that comfort was simply a cascade that hid a very horrible life filled with anxiety. A single mistake could end her life. She had no room to actually try, she must do everything correctly every single time.
Just thinking about that made Arthur feel a little bitter. He knew that Isla’s life had not been easy at all and he didn’t even hear any details yet. Knowing his friend perhaps suffered till she reached this point didn’t sit well with him.
“Arthur?” Isla noticed that Arthur was looking a little dazed so she called for him.
Her soothing voice shook him off his thoughts and made him realize that he had been standing there silently the entire time and the two girls had already reached the glass doors.
“Oh, wait for me!” He said as he rushed after them.
“…”
“Hehe, that’s so much like you, Arthur. You used to disconnect every now and then.” Elise laughed.
“Hey, I was simply focused on reading the book. Don’t go around spreading misinformation about me.” Arthur retorted with an exaggerated angry face.
“My apologies, mister. I stepped my boundaries.” Elise tapped his elbow.
“Good. I shall not excuse this mistake next time.”
Watching the two speaking, Isla squinted her eyes before she opened the door and walked inside.
“Hey, Isla, wait.” Arthur realized she had already left so he followed her. The interior of the restaurant was quite soothing with simple furniture and decorations with tame colors that blended well to create a classic yet also familiar vibe. It didn’t have the luxurious and booming aspects of the rest of the city.
‘This place was probably made for people who hated exaggerated luxury and comfort and were seeking a very simple experience.’ Arthur thought to himself.
He could see a few students sitting around. Mostly couples who choose this place to have some peace of mind. The atmosphere was quite romantic due to that fact.
However, upon seeing who walked in, the students were completely shocked. After all, Isla’s familiar face had already spread across the entire student body.
“Is that…”
“Oh my god… She looks so beau- Ouch!”
Many of the male students were completely entranced by Isla’s ethereal beauty which garnered them strong glares from their partners. The entire atmosphere of the place turned tense due to that.
Arthur watched the scene amusedly. ‘These guys will have a very interesting evening for sure.’ He thought to himself.
“Here, this seat is perfect.” Elise guided them to a spot away from the rest of the students and sat down. Arthur sat facing her with Isla next to him as if it was the most natural spot for her.
A second later, a waitress approached them and gave them the menu. Looking at it, Arthur realized that the restaurant served quite a variety of food from all over the world. They didn’t have any noticeable specialty.
“What are you getting, Arthur?”
“… Uh, I guess the burger and fries look good.”
“Nice choice! What about you, Miss Isla?”
“The chicken curry.”
“That’s really delicious too! I’m going with a chicken curry too.”
Hearing their orders, the waitress wrote them down before she walked away. After that, Elise finally turned around to look at Arthur as she rested her arms on the table.
“So, tell me, Arthur. How was life? It has been so many years and it seems a lot has changed.”
“Indeed. Well, to be honest, everything happened so quickly so I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything.” Arthur smiled as he rested his back on the chair.
“Oh, what happened? Tell me.” Elise said as she stared at him with eyes full of curiosity.
“Well, after primary school, nothing really happened. I simply continued living as usual. My grandmother died around halfway through my first middle school year so I had to move out to the city.”
“Oh… I’m… really sorry to hear that.” Elise’s eyes flickered with sadness.
Meanwhile, Isla simply listened with her eyes closed. Nobody knew what was going through her head at that moment.
“Haha, it is fine. In any case, I moved to the city and lived alone. I also started working part-time jobs to pay my bills and other necessities. I was able to graduate middle school safely for the most part. There were some problems here and there but things were fine.” He said as he rested his hand on the table. “Uh, around that time was when Divinity Online was announced and I was able to get my hands on a capsule. From that point on…”
Arthur’s face turned serene as he smiled widely. “My life changed completely.”
“…”
Elise and Isla stared at Arthur silently. That look on his face simply captivated them in a unique way. Something about the sheer happiness in his eyes was simply mesmerizing.
“Everything that happened after was a blessing in my life. I was able to become a better person, meet good people, and befriend them. I was accepted in their group and treated just like an equal.”
“…” Isla’s eyes flickered with a hint of complicated emotions before they vanished as quickly as they appeared.
“… I’m still taking my very first steps in this new world and perhaps many hardships are awaiting me. But, I am grateful for having this second chance at life again. It had been nothing but a blast.” He said.
“… Arthur…”
Elise was completely speechless. The words she heard resonated deep with her heart. After all, those words came straight from Arthur’s soul and he meant every single one of them.
Although he might forget every now and then, he will never forget that moment when he received the capsule. It was truly the life-changing point he was seeking his entire life. The moment when those doors opened wide for him.
He could not believe that after a month or so, he was now in a completely different place in life. A place he always sought but deep down didn’t think was possible. Yet, in a moment of fateful irony, he was pulled out of the abyss and into the light and was given a chance to hold on to that light for as long as he could.
All of that came to him out of nowhere and most of it didn’t make any sense yet. But, Arthur didn’t really care. Whoever the person that gave him this opportunity might be, evil or good, he still wanted to thank them for this opportunity.
‘You gave me something I only dreamt of. Even if you want to harm me, I will still thank you for doing this. But, I will still beat your ass if you try to take everything from me again. I will work hard to earn all of this even if I didn’t work hard to get the opportunity.’ He thought to himself.
“Well, that is basically the entire story.” Opening his eyes, Arthur said. “Very quick and sweet.”
A//N: Don’t forget to give the book some golden tickets for good luck! :3