He stopped and looked to the side only for his entire body to freeze in place as if it was struck by lightning. After all, all he could see in the corner of his eyes was a message notification.
Immediately, his mind thought of all the possibilities. The message could only be sent by one of his friends since that was how the messaging system worked. It helped avoid spam and other unnecessary messages, especially toward popular players.
Arthur stared at the notification for a good 30 seconds before he exhaled a very long breath and closed his eyes. He tried to calm down before he slowly moved his hand to the button and opened it.
Much to his expectations, when he opened his eyes, he saw Isla’s player nickname and their message tab open. She had sent him one single message and rather a long one compared to their usual interactions.
Arthur blinked slightly as he looked down at the message. ‘She sent me another one…’
Although he didn’t know if it was a good or bad thing, Arthur could only smile for a split second as if he felt a rather refreshing sensation wash over him. Something about the fact that Isla was still looking for him gave him a small glimpse of hope in the distance.
At the same time, it made Arthur realize that he subconsciously still wants to
‘I need to sit down before I read it.’ Snapping out of his daze, he looked left and right. Everyone was busy so no one noticed his strange expression. He then walked back to his spot and sat down before he opened the message again.
‘Ok, let’s see what she wants.’ He mused.
Isla: “Can you please reply whenever you see this message, Arthur? I don’t know if you’re in danger or not. But, I wish to see you as soon as possible. If you are reading the message, then please answer, I came to the tower looking for you.”
“Wait, what?!” Arthur blurted out, catching everyone’s attention.
“Is everything ok, sir?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah, don’t worry about it. I was just mistaken.” The boy replied quickly, dismissing them with his hands. Then, he looked at the message again with a deep frown.
‘She has already entered the tower looking for me? What? Wasn’t she going to finish working on the guild before doing that?’ He asked himself. “Is she postponing her work?”
The more Arthur asked himself the more he was confused. Isla wasn’t the type of person to suddenly change an entire plan over something like this. She had a very clear and straight way of thinking where she wanted to reach her goal in the shortest and most efficient steps possible. Detours weren’t something she liked.
‘What the hell are you thinking, Isla?’ He frowned. “It’s not worth it… Doing all of this… For me…”
Normally, Arthur would’ve felt very happy that someone would go to this extent for him. It was a completely new experience for him. However, this felt more confusing than pleasing.
Isla could’ve taken that step without weighing in the advantages and disadvantages. She could very much ruin her plan if she doesn’t act fast enough especially with Lamenter waiting for the right opportunity to destroy everything she worked on.
“Sigh… I really don’t understand that girl sometimes.” He muttered as he opened the keyboard. It had settled in his mind that he could not ignore this message too. If the first one made him feel bad then the second one was the last nail in the coffin of his hesitation.
‘I can’t keep her hanging after she sincerely messaged me twice.’ He thought to himself.
After that, Arthur typed a reply message with a focused look on his face. He had decided that he had no other choice but to meet Isla as quickly as possible. Experience new tales on My Virtual Library Empire
Arthur: “I understand. I’m on my way back to the settlement. Wait for me there. It will take some time.”
Then, he sent the message and was about to close the tab, thinking that it would take some time for Isla to reply. However, much to his shock, he received a message almost instantly after that.
Isla: “I will wait. Thank you for replying.”
“…” The boy blinked a few times before he dazedly typed a reply. “I’m sorry for not responding quickly… I had to think about some stuff.”
Isla: “I want to clarify some things and apologize. I will also tell you what exactly happened. It’s only right I do so.”
“You really don’t have to, I was pushing it far too much.”
Isla: “No. I decided what I wanted to do. Where are you right now?”
“I’m on a ship heading back through the river. It’s a long story, but I will see you there in two hours or so.”
Isla: “Understood. Be careful.”
After that message, Arthur was able to close the tab and look up. The interaction felt rather normal as if the two didn’t have a problem between them. Arthur expected it to be a lot more awkward and weird but he underestimated their chemistry too much.
‘Wow, I was hesitating over all of that? What the hell was I thinking?’ Running his hand through his hair, he sighed. “I really lack experience when it comes to relationships. I don’t get how I should act in certain situations and it can easily spiral out of control.”
Arthur had come a long way and he had learned to appreciate people far more than ever before. Meeting Isla and the others had opened many doors for him and he was grateful for that. However, he was still far from good at keeping friendships. He makes a lot of mistakes and they end up causing trouble to others in one way or another.
‘I want to get rid of that completely. No, I must get rid of it.’ He clenched his fists as he looked down. “I need to grow out of that phase in my life.”
He remembered all those ignorant ideas he seeded into his own mind. Ideas that kept him away from making friends or building relationships. He kept denying the need for them even though deep down, he hated his own life and how miserable it was.
Being alone all day every day ate away at his happiness if there was ever any happiness, to begin with.
“I should cherish it.” He muttered. “But, well, before I can do any of that, I need to get back to the settlement first.”
Looking up, Arthur felt the ship slowly moving down the stream, being carried by the strong wind. The sun slowly rose in the distance, illuminating the dark world and giving the group a well-needed light to guide them.
“Two more hours… Just two more hours and we will be there… Just for once, let things go smoothly, please.” He muttered.
Arthur knew that he was asking for the impossible, but he truly wished that he could reach the settlement without a hitch. It was two hours of time, but it will feel like ages.
‘Hopefully, those monsters had been left behind.’
A//N: Thank you all for the gifts, golden tickets, and PS. Let’s keep it up!