Proofreader & Editor: Lotas
"Sword Girl's Leave Request"
【"I have an important match tonight, so I need to take time off. I hope you won't take offense."
"Effect: Paid Leave (1/15) (Bond Level 1): 30% of the Artificing power you gain from exploring the Virtual Realm will be shared with the team member on leave."
"Effect: Bonus Sharing (1/10) (Bond Level 2): 30% of the faction boundary gains you receive from exploring the Virtual Realm will be shared with the team member on leave."
"Effect: Shared Prosperity (1/5) (Bond Level 3): There's a chance to share special mechanisms encountered during Virtual Realm exploration with the team member on leave.】
Agents can take time off?!
Daring to take leave now, what will they dare to do next? I can't even imagine!
And they want a cut of my commission?! Share my project experience?!
Is this really a game from my company? Shouldn't it be that annual leave is virtually non-existent, sick leave is treated as absence, and personal leave comes with a bonus deduction? And what's with this (1/15)? Does it mean Sword Girl can take 15 days of paid leave?
15 days of paid leave a year, are you exploiting me?!
…Wait, is this quota refreshed annually or monthly?
Asho didn't dare to continue this line of thought, or he'd be dragged into the mire of memories from his years of work, sinking into a depression from which he couldn't extricate himself, like a reformed youth who couldn't recall the days spent in the pits of hell.
However, Asho wasn't surprised that Sword Girl had triggered her personal story arc. He had heard her mention something about a college league at school, and it was clear that this was the path of glory laid out for Sword Girl, a chosen narrative. Presumably, Sword Girl's first main storyline would be to dominate the college league, followed by classic fantasy plots like abyssal trials and noble infighting, eventually becoming a legendary Sorcerer.
Thinking about it, Sword Girl's story arc was much more fantastical than Asho's. Starting at an academy, then competing in matches—just add some national conspiracy, and she'd be part of a team destined to save the world. A complete and orthodox fantasy storyline, unlike Asho's which began with prison drama, a rather rare type even in cop movies.
How I'd love to see Sword Girl's show-off moments…
Speaking of which, although Sword Girl always talked about the trivialities of her life, Asho didn't really have a tangible sense of it. Her life was just a pale story described in words to him.
It was Sword Girl's sudden leave request for a match that made Asho realize she indeed had another life—that was her reality. She had family, friends, mentors, distant dreams, and small happiness within reach.
But Asho wasn't part of it.
The End Watcher and Dead Crazy Sword Girl were just friends in the Virtual Realm, just as Sword Girl couldn't touch his life, he couldn't watch her match.
Thinking of this, Asho felt a tinge of loneliness, like an online friend who you've teamed up with for gaming suddenly says they can't come tonight because they have to be with their girlfriend—it felt like a betrayal.
But he quickly got over this minor emotion and silently cheered for Sword Girl.
As long as Sword Girl won, she'd gain more resources and opportunities to advance her personal story arc…
…But if she lost, would she stop following her story arc and have more time to explore the Virtual Realm with me?
Pfft~
Asho submerged himself in the bathtub, holding his breath for nearly a minute before surfacing, clearing his mind of silly thoughts, brushing his teeth, changing into pajamas, and preparing for tonight's exploration of the Virtual Realm.
Since Sword Girl couldn't come, it would just be Asho and the Witch tonight, right?
In the "Virtual Realm Exploration" – "Team Composition" section, Asho added himself and the Witch to the team.
***
"Sister, help me wash my hair!"
The White Queen: "No, it's been three days, you need to learn to bathe yourself. You can't rely on us for things you dislike!"
"Wah… Soap got in my eyes! It hurts!"
Lis reached for the shower knob but slipped, and just as she was about to fall, she suddenly supported herself on the ground, flipped over, and stood steadily on the wet wooden board.
Half of her white hair turned red, and her expression became very cold as she sat on a small stool and continued washing her hair.
The White Queen in the mirror said irritably: "Red, you spoil her! What kind of child doesn't know how to wash their hair—and look, she even bought new shampoo for herself."
The Black Butler: "Knowing how to wash hair isn't that great. If she doesn't know, she doesn't know. We didn't know how to do it before either."
"You know that was in the past." The White Queen: "All this is to cultivate her independence. She can't always come to us with problems. How is this different from Diya? These little things should be done by herself."
Diya: "What does this have to do with me?"
As they spoke, the Redeemed had already efficiently finished washing her hair and returned the body to Lis. Knowing her sisters were upset, Lis obediently completed the rest of the bathing steps, dried every inch of her body with a towel, put on her pajamas, and brushed her teeth ahead of time, which softened the White Queen's expression in the mirror.
Lis returned to her bedroom, sat in front of the dressing table to dry her hair, but then saw in the mirror that she licked her finger and wrote a few words on it:
"Open the Gate of Truth tonight."
Lis was startled: "A message from Brother Watcher?"
"Hmm?" The sisters were puzzled: "What happened?"
Lis told them about the incident, and the White Queen pondered: "I almost forgot that entering the Virtual Realm requires passing through the Gate of Truth. I thought the Watcher had other means… So the last two nights, they opened the Gate of Truth?"
The Black Butler: "Why do we have to open it tonight? Is it a trap?"
Diya: "Maybe it's taking turns. Tonight it's us, tomorrow Sword Girl, the day after the Watcher…"
After discussing for a while without any conclusion, Lis, having dried her hair, couldn't help but yawn. So Diya took over, summoned the Sorcery Spirit mask, captured the Gate of Truth, sank into consciousness, and connected to the Virtual Realm.
When Diya opened her eyes, she found herself sitting in the front seat of a sports car. The car, which last night could have been scrapped and turned into a public toilet, was now completely renewed.
Diya was actually the most worried of the trio about whether the car could be fixed—after all, the other two hadn't experienced the hardship of trekking through the Virtual Realm on foot. Only she, who had once trekked through the wilderness of the Virtual Realm for over a month, understood that driving in the Time Continent was a supreme privilege not even worth trading for an emperor.
Stretching comfortably in the seat, she bent her head back in an arc that could cure cervical spine problems: "Sword Girl, I—"
Diya's words suddenly stopped as she stood up on the seat, looking left and right: "Where's Sword Girl? Did she get lost in the reverse golden rain?"
"She has a match tonight and took the day off," Asho said. "It's just the two of us exploring the Virtual Realm tonight."
"What kind of match?"
"I don't know, but it's probably a Sorcerer battle."
"Ah, I really want to watch!"
"Me too."
After a brief exchange, Diya sat down properly, looking at her knees, twirling her fingers. Asho opened the Virtual Realm map and shook his head: "Bad luck, we didn't land in a mapped area of the Star Hall this time. We'll have to continue exploring the unknown."
"Okay!"
The sports car charged into the reverse golden rain, rolling over grass, breaking through trees, and racing wildly. The car was quiet, the two of them like a driver and passenger abiding by traffic laws, the passenger not chatting with the driver, the driver not talking to the passenger.
For some reason, they both felt a bit awkward.
Although they had previously spent time alone with 'Watcher' and 'Witch,' those were instances where the other party had business and left immediately after discussing it, without any dawdling. Now, during the downtime of exploration, they didn't have any serious topics to discuss and needed idle chatter to fill the time.
However, Asho and Diya rarely engaged in idle chatter.
Previously, it was either Asho chatting with Sonia or Diya clinging to Sonia. As the most emotionally intelligent of the trio, Sonia was subtly the core of the team. When chatting with Asho, she would guide Diya to speak, and when Diya clung to her, she would pretend to be annoyed and start talking about Asho, always ensuring everyone's participation and preventing anyone from being excluded.
This wasn't something Sonia did deliberately; rather, the social skills she had honed over the past year had become second nature to her. Every glance and every word was a natural miracle, a testament to her social prowess.
But without Sonia, the emotional intelligence issues between the two were immediately exposed—Diya not to mention, and Asho's emotional intelligence was a 'male artifact.' With men, he could quickly become familiar, but with women… he didn't know what topics to talk about.
If Igura were next to him, Asho would start with "Are you dating? Planning to have kids in the future? If you could become a beautiful girl, would you want to be a voluptuous lady or a soft-bodied loli?" and so on, spouting nonsense until dawn without stopping.
Diya was the same. With her rich experience as a younger sister, she could naturally seek Sonia's affection. She dared to please Asho before because Sonia was there, like a child who is bolder with a parent around.
Damn it, she thought, if only I hadn't exposed my sisters yesterday, then I could switch to the White Queen now. But since the Watcher knows the characteristics of my sisters, switching would seem impolite and even more awkward.
"There's a Sorcerer projection ahead," Asho suddenly said.
"Oh, just run him over."
"Okay."
A mundane night began.