HC: Pacifist | Ch. 273 - Awkwarrrd

“Have you all been well? How are the Ogres treating you?” Roth asked his brothers.

“We’ve been great,” Andrew replied with a genuine smile.

“At first, we were just enjoying the pool every day, but after a while, we started feeling bad for not helping you. We talked to Drake, and he told us that we could chip in.” 

“We started our accounts, and we’ve been leveling up like crazy. As soon as we reached level 10, we came to Hilsford and joined the Union.”

“Really? You guys are seriously playing the game, too?”

“Yeah, we wanted to surprise you,” Nathan said with a satisfied smirk. 

“If you joined the Union, that means you already have a profession, right? Which ones did you get?”

“I’m working as a merchant,” Nathan said.

“No kidding? A merchant?!” Roth was stunned. Nathan didn’t strike him as the merchant type. “I could throw some work your way. I'm hiring someone from the merchant guild to run my cargo, but it would be much better if you did it. I mean, it's easy money. It would be great for you to gain some levels.”

“That sounds great!” Nathan accepted promptly.

“What about you, Andrew?”

“I’m a merchant, too.”

“What? How?” Nathan, being a merchant, was already quite out of character. But Andrew? There was no way. This couldn’t be a coincidence. 

“What can I say? It just sounded right,” he said, smiling. 

“Wait, you already knew I’m a broker. Didn't you?”

“Maybe,” Andrew said, winking.

“We have dinner as a family every night, and Drake usually joins and tells us about what’s happening in AstroTerra. Linda loves to hear the stories of your exploits.”

Roth smiled, blushing. His brothers had deliberately chosen a profession to help Roth. It would also be a great way for them to talk and spend more time together. One day soon, he could let Bucky go.

“Susie here is working with me as a jeweler. She's really good at beading,” the sergeant interjected, joining the conversation. Seeing that only family members were in the circle, and Sarg had still been gutsy enough to join, Roth's suspicions that something was going on between him and his mother grew stronger. 

“Of course, the most talented of us is your mother. Most of the pies on the table were of her making.”

“Oh, Jazz! Stop! What an exaggeration. I only made two or three!”

He bit his lip, wondering if he should confront him, but seeing his mother and the sergeant so happy, he decided against it. His mother deserved to be happy, and Sarg was a good man. If they were both happy together, so be it. Besides, they weren't kids anymore and knew what they were doing. It was hurtful that Sarg hadn't asked him for permission, though. 

“Yeah, who are you?” Overhearing Maggie and checking his messages, Roth rushed toward the door. He had been so caught up with his brothers, that he missed Mel’s messages. “Hey Maggie, sorry. She's my friend. I've invited her.” 

“Did you?” She looked at the girl again and nodded appreciatively. “Well done, Roth Taylor.”

“Come on, stop it, Maggie. Hey Mel, come on in.” 

Roth approached the door, and the first thing he saw was a yellow blur and then pitch black. “Goldie?!” As soon as Goldie saw Roth, he flew toward him as if he had been flying in the middle of the storm and only now had found a soft place to land. His wings fluttered madly as he landed on Roth’s shoulders and rubbed his head affectionately against him. The hawk was wearing a black vest.

“Hi, Goldie. Good to see you, too.”

“Hey, sorry for being late. I wasn't sure if this was the spot,” Mel said from outside the door. Mel hadn't come in her usual suit of armor but in an elegant black social dress. It reminded Roth of the clothes the Phoenixes representative had worn when she visited the auction. It was the type of garment that made one wonder if he was still inside the game or if he’d gone out into the real world. He realized that Goldie’s vest was supposed to match her clothes.

“H-hey!” Roth was speechless for a few moments. She looked amazing. “Why aren’t you coming in?”

“What’s the dress code?”

“Uh? What do you mean?”

“Argh. Never mind,” Mel poked her head into the room.

“Mel, what's wrong?”

“I don't want to be overdressed or underdressed.” She operated the menu and quickly changed to something more casual. It was a pair of black slacks and a light blouse with golden embroidery. He wouldn't be surprised if Rhapsody or Leanne had crafted it. He noticed how Goldie lost the vest, and instead got a little hat with an embroidery pattern similar to Mel’s blouse.

She walked into the room and looked around. “Woah! So many people!” she said, nervously.

“Marrrtyrrr, I'm so glad I found you,” Goldie said beggingly after he was done greeting Roth. “Please, you need to trrranslate some things forrr my stupid human.”

“What's wrong, Goldie?”

“My human has gone crrrazy,” he complained. “Please tell her to stop whistling, humming, and singing. I'm about to go deaf. She's just not good at it.”

“I don't think I can tell her that,” Roth said, shaking his head.

“Why not?! You'rrre my only hope. Please save me frrrom a life being torrrturrred by my human’s senseless singing.”

“Come on, Goldie, that will hurt her feelings.”

“Good. Maybe then she will learrrn.”

“What's up? What is he talking about?” Mel asked curiously.

“He's saying that you are an excellent singer, that you have a beautiful voice, and that he likes to hear you sing and whistle, and he just loves you.”

“Oh, isn't he sweet? I love you too, Goldie. I'm just going to keep singing more and more for you.”

“No!!! What arrre you saying, Marrrtyrrr? Arrre you crrrazy too? Bah. Humans, why did I ever have to sign a deal with herrr? Why couldn't I sign a deal with a mute knight?”

Goldie flew away from both of them, landed on one of the tables, and started pecking some appetizers. Before Roth could realize where he’d come from, Lin was already at the table talking to Goldie. Out of the blue, his niece had also come to the animals. Goldie looked at her without any reaction, but Lin was already ready to play and pretended to pounce, making the little girl giggle. His brother and sister-in-law watched from across the room, smiling tenderly. 

“Who’s the little girl? She’s so cute!” Mel asked.

“She’s my niece,” Roth said, melted by the sight of Linda playing with his cat.

“Niece? As in a real-world family?”

“Yeah. I’m sorry. I’m being rude. Let me introduce you to some people!”

“W-wait. You don’t have to do that.”

Roth had already disappeared into the crowd, and Mel followed nervously. “Mel this is H and Charlie.”

“Miss, pleasure to meet you,” Charlie said diplomatically. H just nodded courteously. 

Roth kept walking. “Mel, this is my mom.”

“What? Mom?” Mel changed colors. From an embarrassed blush, she became ghostly pale. 

“Hi. Hello. Roth, she's so pretty!” 

From ghostly white, Mel’s face again shifted to tomato red. She looked like a traffic light. “Thanks, ma'am. You're pretty too,” she blabbered. “I'm sorry! What am I saying?” 

“Just call me Bessie.”

“These are my brothers, my sister-in-law, and my niece. Hey guys, this is my friend, Mel.”

“Hi, Mel. I’m Nate.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Drew.”

Mel shook hands with everyone. 

“So, Mel! Are you in the Union, too? What profession—” 

Just before they could finish the question Mel was already taking off. “Roth, I'll finish saying hello to everyone. See you later.” 

And she disappeared. What was up with her? 

“So Roth, you've been busy in the game, uh?” Andrew teased. 

“Come on, it's not like that. She's just my friend.” 

“Really? She's just your friend? And why was she so embarrassed? Aren’t you guys a couple?”

“No! Why would you say that?”

His mother giggled. “Okay, y’all, you've got to excuse me. I'm going to make this girl feel a little bit more at ease in a room full of strangers after she has just met the whole family of someone who is just. her. friend,” she said, giving Roth a bone-chilling look. 

“What did I do?” Roth demanded from his brothers after his mother had left.

His sister-in-law was happy to spell it out for him. “You don't know? Roth, you just invited a girl to a party, and introduced her to your mother, and your brothers.” 

“What if she likes you?” Nathan chimed in. “That's a big thing, meeting your family like that.”

“Oh!” It was Roth's turn to become fully flushed. He hadn't realized that he had thrown Mel into such an embarrassing situation. Hopefully, she didn’t get the wrong idea. He hadn't meant it like that. He was just trying to be polite. He spotted his mother with her arm wrapped around Mel's, towing her along as she introduced her to everybody. She said something that only she and Mel could hear, and the girl giggled, seeming more comfortable.

Instead of staring, he should probably start mingling, too. He found Drake happily pouring H and Charlie a drink.

“Hello, captain!”

“Hey, Roth. What a party!”

“Where did you find all this food?” Roth asked.

“We have many chefs in the Union, so I might have told them that I was hosting an important reception for the organization, and then, some of them might have volunteered to cook for us,” he explained with a grin.

“I see. And how have you been, Drake? How's the Union quest?”

“Good, good, good. Enough chit-chat. Who's the girl?”. 

“What do you mean?” Why was everyone suddenly so fixated on Mel? He was starting to regret inviting her.

“Come on, Roth. You gotta admit. She's pretty.”

“She's just a friend.”

“Just a friend? Why do you need to say just a friend?” 

“L-listen, her name is M-Mel. She's f-from the Krakens.” 

Drake's eyebrow raised slightly. 

“I know, Drake. I know. But she’s d-different. She was the one who tipped me about the guild's spying on me.”

“Ah! So that's the girl. Of course. That's why she has the hawk.” 

Roth continued, seeing his narrative gain traction. “I also asked her opinion about the Ogres’ contract. She gave me some great suggestions.”

“You did. Wow, you really trust her, don't you?”

“Uh, I don't know. It's something quite new. We've kind of been chatting now and then.”

“Chatting? Okay.”

“Uh, well, I just thought inviting her would be a good idea. I've also invited Leanne and Rhapsody.”

Drake watched with a mischievous smile but didn’t say anything.

“What?” Roth pressed. “Out with it!”

“I just think you should be honest with yourself. There’s nothing wrong about liking the girl and enjoying spending time with her. She obviously cares for you, at least a little. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have shown up tonight or returned your calls.”

“And here I was thinking that you would scold me for trusting someone from the top 10.”

“Love is always a risk. And you have trust issues. I trust your gut. If you think we can trust her, trust her.”

Roth scratched his head, embarrassed. This was not how he thought this evening would go. 

“If you like her, you should just tell her that, man. You deserve to be happy.” 

“I-I don't know what to say.”

“Okay, let's leave it at that. Just enjoy the gathering and spend time with your friends. No talking shop, you hear me? We'll take care of gaming stuff later on. You're just going to enjoy yourself and talk to people. Okay?”

“OK,” Roth agreed, grateful for the respite. “What about you? What are you doing?”

“I'm on drink duty,” Drake answered with a smile. “I'm making sure everyone has their mug full. Can I interest you in some cider?”

It was a good idea. His throat felt dry. “Yes, please.”

“Do you want to get one for Mel?”

“Drake!”

“Just kidding.”

Roth glanced over at Mel. She was laughing at a joke that his mother had just told her. He blushed and took a deep breath. “Fine. Give me two drinks.”

Ch. 272 - Cocktail Party 

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