“The elders and I will hold a meeting soon. I invite you as the representative of humanity and provide your insights in the assembly,” La Finta expressed. “You are their last hope, so your words can affect the rise or fall of your kingdom.”

Her words did not bring harm, but facts that Guinevere needed to know. I nudged my head closer and tried listening to their conversation. There might be information that I could use to my advantage.

A bright radiance enveloped her hands and summoned an ancient scroll out of nothing in thin air. The Grandmother looked Guinevere in the eyes and handed her the sheets from her waiting hands, with her shaking arms.

It was a tense atmosphere.

The scroll presented a screen in front of her with a soft “Zing!” sound. Guinevere took the scroll and laid it open for her eyes to see and read all the contents. A monitor of some sort appeared before her eyes.

After a few seconds, the two of them stood still on their chairs, with their eyes glued to the floating texts. A gasp escaped from Guinevere’s lips as she jerked backwards, almost falling to the ground.

“This thing cannot be real,” Guinevere said, while balancing her body.

She refused to believe what appeared in front of her orbs. Guinevere shook her hand and grasped Eve’s arms, hoping to feel her warmth. Eve looked at her mother with worried eyes, wishing to do something about the situation.

“I hope it was, but it is not,” La Finta replied. “A war is coming in our hands, Guinevere. We need to stop them.”

Her words brought a sorrowful tune. La Finta looked at the window and summoned another scroll, revealing the dozen picture of elves. She mentioned that these were the elders that will take part in the meeting.

Guinevere gave her a nod and listened to her announcement.

My eyes widened while perching my ears to hear their conversation. I knew that something was going to happen, but I did not expect this to happen soon.

I planned this all along, and I cannot wait for the empire to crash. I knew that bringing Guinevere into the Elven Kingdom would create madness and war, and I was correct all along. If there was something that I wish for, I yearn for the destruction of this world. A world where the players will cease to exist, and us, non-player characters, will govern.

La Finta concluded their exchange to Guinevere. With a nod, the queen turned around and spotted us. She looked at Match, Eve, and me and motioned us to the garden.

“I will be back at midnight. You guys can go to the garden or stay here for the time being,” Guinevere said, while turning her gaze to me. “Can you keep an eye on Eve for me?”

I gave her a nod and replied, “Of course, your majesty.”

The queen glared at me with narrowed eyes. I did not know what I did wrong, but her orbs told otherwise, and were enough to remind me of what I just said before. I squeezed myself and rephrased my previous sentence.

“Of course, Guinevere.” I addressed her.

I corrected my statement and urged Eve to visit the garden. However, the little girl became drowsy and laid her head on the mattress. She had a comfortable look carved into her eyes and slept like a baby.

“Show them their rooms, please.” She gestured her hand, calling forth someone from the adjacent room.

Guinevere and La Finta went ahead to the opposite gate. It was the meeting room that the Grandmother explained a while ago during their conversation. The door shut behind them, leaving us four inside the hall.

The ingress slowly slid open, revealing someone running in our direction. La Finta requested the ranger near the gates and asked for her presence. The warden rushed towards us and carried the girl in her arms. She was a petite elf, but had more meat on her chest than mine.

I looked at my front and heaved a defeated sigh after seeing it, knowing I lost something I never had. With a grunt, I refocused my eyes on the ranger. I had no choice but to brush off the indecent thoughts inside my head.

I wanted to be the one who carries Eve to her room, but the ranger insisted. Her soothing voices lured me from taking Eve away from me. The elf bowed her head and offered me the room that Match and I could stay in for the night.

Match trundled towards me and pulled the edge of my crimson cloak. Her face told everything I needed to know as I faced the ranger. I shook my head and told the elf warden that we would wander in the garden for the time being.

The ranger bowed her head and told us to come to find her if we wanted to rest inside the room. She pointed her finger at the gate from where we saw her last time. I nodded my head and expressed my acknowledgements to the warden.

We exchanged goodbyes as I saw the elf girl off to the stairs, carrying with her the sleeping Eve.

“Do you want to see the garden now?” I asked Match.

Her eyes glistened after hearing my question. Without giving a response, Match dashed straight to the gates. She hastily opened them, revealing the park outside the castle. I tagged along and let out a smile, knowing Match and her giddy feet.

She was relentless with adventures and explorations.

The fountain in the middle welcomed us with a bouquet aligned at the sides. We inhaled the ambrosial scent of roses and blossoms near us, paired with the soothing sounds of water cascading in front.

Match went ahead of me and strolled the empty park, only to get lost near the bushes. The little girl shouted for help, hoping for me to come and fetch her. But before I could even arrive, a warden went to her aid and escorted her throughout the place.

Match gazed back at me and invited me to come. But I had original plans and declined her offer.

“Match, maybe next time, okay?” I said, and flashed her a grin.

She just gave me a nod and stormed off towards the garden. I remained alone at the entrance, with the fountain as my only company.

I looked up at the sky and was mesmerised by the glowing moon of the night. The stars sparkled, almost blinking, every time I caught myself staring at each constellation. I remembered how my dad loved stargazing outside of our houses with the rest of the villagers. We would name every celestial rock we saw and appreciate every one of them.

“That one is the Dove, right, father?” I whispered, while weakly raising my forefinger at the stars resembling the flying creature.

It was my favourite constellation among the rest that I saw.

However, a memory disrupted my head, forcing me to stagger in pain. None of this was real. Everything we feel and perceive resulted from scripted codes that came from the game.

But it felt real to me.

I gritted my teeth and scraped the trivial thoughts aside. Blood gushed out from my lips, but I paid it no mind. What mattered most was my revenge against these game developers and players.

Lost in my thoughts, I went near the fountain and sat on the bench. I wanted to calm my senses, so I took a break and closed my eyes.

But a glowing light and the high-pitch sounds awoke me once again. I could not get some snooze.

I peered my eyes wide open and saw notifications spamming my view, one after the other. It even obstructed the garden before me despite their transparent boxes and their texts.

[Behead the king of the mainland and kidnap his wife and daughter!]

[You completed the quest, Red Rose!]

[The system grants you one billion gold coins. Because of the minimum currency of Code, one billion gold coins will amount to a platinum bar, the rarest sum in the game. Five hundred million gold coins will also become a palladium bar.]

[One billion gold coins turned into a platinum bar. Non-player characters, players, and the entire Code will update the game momentarily.]

[Update complete!]

[The system placed the one billion gold coins in your stash.]

The window above me showed the amount of money that I had. The spare coins the merchant gave me became a platinum bar, with the numbers “six billion coins” showing beside the bar.

“I can see you have a large sum of cash in your pockets.”

I heard a recognisable voice up ahead but did not know where. My body stood up from the seat as I searched for the origin of the sound.

The bushes rumbled around me, but there was no wind. Even the trees that stood tall from each side quivered as I heard the same voice from behind.

“How are you, Red Rose?”