Best to Do as I Say

By the time Linton returned to Blackwater Village with Iris, a hazy glow had already appeared on the distant horizon.

Along the way, they did not talk as they had when they went to turn in the quest. The atmosphere was somewhat silent.

Iris was too conflicted to speak, while Linton did not know how to comfort her.

From his previous life to this one, he had never been good at dealing with women.

It was not until Iris saw the ramshackle thatched hut Linton had rented that the mood between them eased somewhat.

"We... are living here?" She stared at the structure before her, which could barely be called a "house," and fell silent for a long while.

The entire house was built from mud bricks. Its wooden windows swayed and creaked in the breeze, combining with the fluttering window paper to create a rather noisy symphony.

If a house's primary purpose was to shelter people from wind and rain, then Iris felt that this building, whose roof was not even fully covered in thatch, could only be called ruins.

"Yeah, for now." Linton answered somewhat sheepishly.

Iris could not help tugging at her hair again.

Although her family relationships were as fragile as this house, at least materially, both her father and mother had given her the very best.

She had never imagined that one day she would sleep somewhere she could see a completely natural starry sky while lying in bed.

Linton also understood that his doll young lady, who had after all grown up in a noble household, might not be able to adapt to her current surroundings. But they had known each other for such a short time, and the sky had not even brightened yet. There was no way to find somewhere better.

"Forget it." Iris sighed. "I suppose that if I keep following you, this kind of environment might even count as good. I'll just consider it getting used to things early."

"This was my oversight. It won't get any worse."

Linton tried to offer his doll young lady some comfort, but Iris merely gave him a sidelong look and asked, "You said before that mages are all lunatics, willing to enter the abyss in search of knowledge. Since you're a mage who studies death, can you guarantee that you won't go crawling into tombs, ruins, or mass graves buried with countless dry bones in the future?"

"..."

"See? I told you. Men's mouths are nothing but lies."

Iris raised her lovely willow-leaf brows. Having won their verbal exchange, she looked as proud as a warrior returning unscathed from the battlefield.

"Anyway, get some rest first."

Linton found his battered chair. "I've got something to do."

"Hm? It's not even dawn yet. What could you possibly have to do?" Iris looked puzzled, then the corners of her lips curled into a teasing smile. "Don't tell me you're embarrassed about being alone in a room with a girl? Logically speaking, as a necromancer, shouldn't you be more interested in corpses than living people? Why would something like this make you awkward?"

"I think I know why you couldn't become an official member of the Knights Order." Linton did not know whether to laugh or cry. "At a time like this, shouldn't you pretend not to know, let me leave, then lie in bed overthinking things and worrying that I might barge in?"

Iris curled her lips disdainfully. "I don't think about that sort of thing. Don't compare me to those little girls who fill their heads with romance all day."

After a pause, she said seriously, "Since I chose to swear loyalty to you beneath the stars, it means I have entrusted everything to you. Even if you encounter danger in the future and choose to abandon me to save yourself, I will still rush forward without hesitation and buy you the time you need. So, sir, you only need to treat me as a doll you can discard at any time, as a replaceable tool. There is absolutely no need to avoid suspicion."

Linton fell silent for a moment.

"What you said is wrong."

The doll young lady's barely blooming smile froze at once, replaced by a hint of anger. "What's wrong with it? Do you doubt that I can do it? Or are you planning to use some overly sentimental, hypocritical words to win my loyalty? Please, do not question a knight's loyalty—even though I have never held that title!"

"I meant the earlier part." Linton's expression turned somewhat strange. "Are you sure you're alive?"

"Crack—"

Iris felt something in her mind shatter.

She looked at Linton in horror. "You really have those kinds of thoughts about me? I said you could see me as a discardable doll... but I didn't mean it like that! Don't treat me like some kind of weird thing, okay?!"

"I—"

"Didn't you say you had something to do? Go, go! I'm going to sleep!!"

Just as Linton was about to speak, Iris abruptly covered her ears, unwilling to listen to him ramble any further. Using strength she had not even used during her knight assessment, she ran into the house, then slammed the door shut.

Outside, Linton looked at the old mud wall, now sporting several more cracks. The corner of his mouth twitched, then he shook his head with a chuckle, picked up his chair, and headed toward the large tree in the center of the village to await the arrival of the players on a new day.

Inside, Iris leaned against the door and looked up at the sky.

The starry sky in her memories should have been beautiful, but the stars in her eyes were becoming increasingly blurry, as though they were drifting farther and farther away. Her body also gradually lost some force holding it up, and she sank softly to the ground with her legs folded beneath her.

In a space that could barely be considered private, the girl could finally carefully take out her vulnerability, wipe it clean with tears, then find a more hidden corner and cover it with a black cloth.

Until one day, the cloth was covered in dust, and she never took it out again.

Perhaps too much time had passed, and she had forgotten where she hid it.

After a long while, Iris raised her head again and placed a hand over her chest.

Compared to a certain person who was shorter than her, had shorter legs than her, whose looks could barely compare to hers, yet possessed an uncomfortably ample chest, her figure was somewhat lacking. Still, it had at least a little curve to it.

At that moment, an organ called the heart was vigorously sending out one powerful throb after another beneath her hand, pumping blood throughout her body and ensuring every system functioned properly.

"I should still count as alive, right?"

She let out a long breath and murmured softly.

"Thank you, but... please don't do that again. Just do as I say."

"That... would be best."

"What the hell is going on?"

Seeing the crowd, mostly women, gathered in several rings around the tree with all kinds of IDs floating above their heads, Linton sank into thought.

Without a version update or maintenance, game time should be synchronized with the outside world. In other words, it was probably around four in the morning.

Are all of you necromancers who don't need sleep?

Or are you here to contribute to necromantic research?

Just as Linton no longer dared to step forward, the wildly excited players noticed him first.

"Wearing a strange black hooded robe, with several huge transparent question marks over his head... yes, that should be him."

"An NPC who gives quests! I finally found one! I finally don't have to work for free!!"

"Mr. Question Mark! I'm your dog!!"

Linton: "..."

I only went and picked up a doll young lady. Where did all you players come from?!