Mia had just finished eating dinner. She had tried to sit with Hei and Kira, mostly with Hei. She felt she had a lot in common with him, both of them being a parent and attractive was foremost at her mind. However, he had been busy chatting with Kira about the fight they had just gone through.

She had tried to join in on the conversation, but the more technical they got in their discussion, the more she had understood how little she knew about the game. Well sure, she knew a lot about the game they probably didn't. However, that knowledge was about crafting, and it just did not seem as exciting as fighting sea monsters. She was very much regretting agreeing to take a crafting role.

“Hey, sweetie, time to go,” she said as she bent down to hug her daughter, who was talking animatedly to the other kids about her latest animal in that game of hers.

“Mommy, I am talking with John and Brian and Tiffany and Fai,” Alicia complained.

“You can talk with them later, you know mommy has to work again soon. So let’s go enjoy some time together,” Mia said with a tone that brooked no argument.

“I have to go now,” Alicia said with a frown to her friends. Mia stood impatiently waiting for the kids to say goodbye, which took almost five minutes.

On the way out of the dining hall, her boss stopped her. “Mia, need a quick word with you.”

“Okay,” she said, repressing a sigh. She was spending way too much time in-game with the guy, and now he was taking some time away that she could spend with her daughter. Then again, if anyone should be allowed it was him. Because of him, she was together with her daughter again. She would never forget that, but the guy was definitely a bore.

“I need you to start acting as my assistant,” he said.

Mia cocked her head confused. “I thought I already was.”

“I meant more like a personal assistant. I’m getting lost in crafting that I forget to do half the things that I need to do. Like finishing the rooms in the guild house. Since you’re around anyway, it would be really helpful if you could help keep me focused on the tasks at hand,” he said with an embarrassed look. As if he was ashamed of asking for help.

“Okay, I guess I can do that,” Mia said. “Does it come with a raise?”

He muttered something under his breath, where she only heard the word “free”, before he said, “Sure, I’ll comp you some contribution points, should lower the burden for you, meaning you can keep more coin for yourself.”

“Okay, that’s a deal,” she said. She then hurriedly led her daughter towards the room. She just wanted to spend some time alone with her daughter.

“Can we go swimming, mommy?”

“Not right now, but next time.”

“Okay,” Alicia said with a pout.

After closing the door to their room, Mia sat down on the throw pillows she had managed to get her hands on. “So, what did you learn in school today?”

“We were reading fairy tails,” Alicia said. “Does fairy really have tails?”

Mia could not help but laugh a bit. “No sweetie, it is spelled T A L E S. It is another word for story.”

“Oh,” Alicia said, then scrunched up her face. “Why do they not say that then?”

“I don’t know, sweetie, I don’t know,” Mia said and gave her daughter a hug. “So what stories did you read?”

“The one about red and the big bad wolf. And then there was the one about a duckling that was not a duckling but a swan,” Alicia started prattling of a list of fairy tales they had read. After a couple of minutes of her listing stories, not by name, but by descriptions, she suddenly went silent for a moment. “The last one reminded me of you, mommy.”

“Oh, which one was that?” Mia asked with an amused smile.

“The one with the princess that goes to sleep forever.”

Mia frowned at that. She did not want her daughter to think about that. Before she could say something though, Alicia continued, “And then Prince Charming wakes her up with a kiss, and they live happily ever after.”

“I know this story, it’s a good one,” Mia said relieved.

“Since Damian woke you up from your sleep, is he Prince Charming?” Alicia asked innocently, making Mia sputter. “Will you marry him? Will he become my daddy? I would like him to be my daddy. He’s very nice, he thought me how to take care of Fluffy and all the others.”

Mia felt a headache coming on. “No, he’s not my Prince Charming. He looks nothing like a Prince Charming.”

“But he woke you up,” Alicia said with a pout.

“His friends did, but it doesn’t mean he’s Prince Charming.”

“But the fairy story—”

“Is just a story, it’s not real.”

“Why not?”

“Because stories are rarely real, they’re often just something that is made up. Just like when we play games.”

“Fluffy is not made up,” Alicia shouted, stood up and stamped her feet.

Mia let out a long sigh. This was going to be one of those difficult talks that only having a child could generate.