"This is where you work?" Drake asks as I show him the tavern.

After speaking with Granny, we returned back to Silent Valley. The sun's already set, the crystals in the streetlights providing light for us to see by. Normally, I would have spent the night on the island, especially with my sore muscles, but I wanted to return here sooner so that we could get started on Drake's quest a little sooner.

Well, so that he could. I'm planning on following my goal of hunting treasure.

"Sort of," I tell Drake. "It's where we're based out of, but for the most part, our job is in the Dungeons or doing various jobs around town. Come on, Daniel and Cassidy should be inside."

"There are several people inside," he states.

His senses are greater than mine, but that's to be expected, considering he didn't manage to take a fully-human form. I'm not surprised he can hear people inside, even though I can't.

"Yeah," I tell him. "Come on."

I lead him into the tavern, every seat occupied by customers. It can get pretty busy at night sometimes, with people here to drink away the work of the day. A few of them glance at Drake as we walk up to the counter, though none pay him too much attention. They're probably assuming he's just another visitor, here to see the Oracle.

"Granny confirmed his story," I tell Daniel once we reach the bar, standing at the end of it, since there are no open seats and I doubt we'll be here long. "He was being honest. Completely."

"You thought I was lying?" Drake asks, hurt on his face.

"It did seem outlandish," I state. "So I was thinking you weren't telling the truth. That's why I wanted to talk with Granny, to see if she could shed some light on the situation. Now that I know it's true, though, things are different."

"So what he said is true?" Daniel asks.

"Yeah," I answer. "All of it. Who he is, where he's from, and why he's here. Even though he's never wielded a weapon before, he decided to take on Knight. Do you think you or Cassidy could help him train a little? It might help him to know how to use a sword."

"Sure can," Cassidy approaches, setting a couple of steins of beer in front of us. "We can start tomorrow."

"Tomorrow is good," Drake says as I pick up one of the steins and take a swig. "I do not wish to stay here too long. How fast can you teach?"

"It depends on how fast you learn," she chuckles. "But learning to use a weapon isn't simply a one-and-done thing. It takes practice over time as well."

"But she can teach you the basics," I quickly tell Drake. "And that should be enough to get you started."

"Okay," Drake says as I notice someone enter.

He's our age, with sandy-blond hair, brown eyes, and freckles on his cheeks. At the moment, he's dressed in brown pants, an off-white tunic with a belt around his waist, and dirt-caked leather boots. He's got a muscular build and a decent tan, both of which come from being a farmer. He's holding something in his hands, whatever it is concealed by the canvas wrapped around it.

Immediately, I look away from him and drain the rest of my beer, then grab the one set down for Drake and drain it, too.

"Hey!" Cassidy says. "I got that for him, not you."

"Ben's here," I set the stein down. "Get me another."

"Ben?" Drake asks.

"His ex-boyfriend," Cassidy answers.

Ben and I met when we were thirteen, and he was helping his dad sell some stuff at market. We began hanging out whenever he could make it into town. At sixteen, we started dating, and we were pretty happy. Then on my eighteenth birthday, he took my virginity as a pretty awesome present. Six months later, he ended the relationship on a pretty bad note.

Things have been uncomfortable between us ever since, but since he lives on one of the farms outside of town, we don't really see each other anymore unless it's as I'm passing by on my way to a Dungeon. If we do see each other while I'm on my way to a Dungeon, he doesn't typically bother me, usually because we're too far away from each other. Which has been a relief, because nearly three years of happiness ending the way our relationship did leaves a lot of bitterness.

"You are into guys?" Drake asks.

At least he's just surprised and curious, not disgusted or wanting to avoid me like some people might be.

"Yeah," I answer.

He looks at Ben, who I can still see in my peripheral vision. He's looking around with a purpose. Crap. Please tell me he's not here to look for me. Every time we've talked since he dumped me, we've had an argument.

"Why does it feel like it ended badly?" Drake asks.

"Because Ben cheated on Nate," Cassidy answers, then looks at me. "Want me to give him the boot?"

"No," I answer. "I should head home, anyway. I'm tired from rowing over to Granny's and back."

"Come on," she steps to the side and fills another stein, setting it in front of me. "It's your birthday, stay up late, enjoy the day, drink lots of beer, have lots of pie, and who knows, maybe get drunk enough to sleep with someone."

She gives me a wink, and I roll my eyes. That only happened one time, and he was an adventurer who came to town a few months ago to see if he could get combat lessons from Cassidy, after being able to finally connect to the System.

Despite staying out here, Cassidy is a powerful and experienced adventurer whose name is pretty famous. Being the former Captain of the Royal Guard can do that, though it had surprised us both that he'd known where to find her. It isn't common for someone my age to locate her and ask her for advice. Usually, they're at least eight or nine years older than us, and from the capital.

Sometimes, if they have potential, she'll give them a few lessons. After seeing a bit of his skill, she agreed to give him a few tips.

He and I had gotten pretty drunk chatting about… I honestly don't remember, I was pretty drunk. We woke up the next morning in the room he was renting for the week he was here, naked and spooning. He seemed pretty embarrassed by it, but that didn't stop him from inviting me back to the room the rest of the nights he was here.

Other than that, though, it's just been me when I get off. I've been careful about that, and with my high alcohol tolerance, it does take me quite a bit to get drunk. The three steins of beer I just had won't even affect me in any noticeable way. For the three months after Ben and I broke up, I drank pretty heavily, but after the adventurer, I've been more careful, never drinking enough to take off my edge.

I'm about to tell Cassidy I'm heading home to avoid a scene when Ben seems to find what he's looking for.

"Nate!" He calls, and I ignore him as I drain the fresh stein Cassidy set in front of me.

Well, she put it in front of Drake, who doesn't seem bothered at all by the fact that I'm drinking his beer. He's probably never had alcohol before, being a dragon, and it's likely he doesn't even realize the beer was for him.

"Nate," Ben reaches us. "Can we talk?"

"You and I both know you possess that ability," I state.

"Nate," he sighs. "Please? Without the attitude?"

"I don't know," I glare at him. "How soon do you plan on this 'discussion' turning into a fight?"

I tried being civil to him the first few times, I really did. But everything he said just made things worse, so I gave up on it. This isn't the first time he's done the 'can we talk without the attitude' thing, only to aggravate me more. He's even tried 'let's talk in private, so that we can be a little more honest and not worry about what others hear us say' thing, only for it to turn into a shouting match.

Ben doesn't respond to that, and even he has the audacity to look guilty.

"Drake, let's go," I look at Drake.

"Me?" Drake asks. "Why?"

"Because you need a place to stay," I state. "And you don't have any money, so they aren't going to let you stay here free, even with your quest. You can crash on my couch. Come on."

"I don't want to crash on your stuff," Drake says with a mixture of worry and confusion on his face. "It might break."

"I meant sleep," I tell him. "I only have one room, so there's not a spare bed, but the couch will work just as good for the time you're here."

"Oh, okay," he says. "Thank you."

I ignore Ben as Drake and I leave. I guess to Drake, me being into guys doesn't matter. That's a relief, I know how some guys could be about sleeping in the same building as a guy into guys, and I offered him my couch. I don't actually have any plans to seduce him or anything, I meant what I said about him needing a place to stay. It'll actually be a bother to me, because I won't be able to just jack off with him there and him being there is going to make me hard and think about him.

"Nate," Ben follows us out. "Please? Just for a minute?"

"It's my birthday, Ben," I say. "I don't want to get into an argument, you're ruining the mood. Screw off."

"Do you want me to get rid of him?" Drake asks, and I glance at his expression.

The question seems innocent, and his expression betrays only curiosity at my answer to his question. However, I feel like him getting rid of Ben would involve getting rid of a dead body.

"I just wanted to say I'm sorry," Ben hurries in before I can figure out how to respond to Drake's question. "About… everything. I was an ass. I took advantage of a situation I found myself in, and ruined something I had that made me happy just for some physical pleasure. I've thought a lot about it, and I wanted to apologize to you."

"He's being honest," Drake tells me.

Do his superior senses let him know that, too? Hearing the heart or something? His own expression says he's honest and thinks he's being helpful, so I'm going to assume he actually can somehow tell that Ben was being honest.

"Yeah, I am," Ben steps up closer, holding out the bundle in his hand. "I saved up to have this made for you, Nate. As an apology and a birthday present. I'm not asking you to get back with me, not after what I did and said. Can you forgive me, though?"

I'm tempt to turn and continue walking towards my apartment, but decide not to be the kind of ass that Ben was. I take the package and open it up. Inside of the canvas wrap is a pair of brown leather gloves, worked to a soft, supple feel. They're rather simple, but I can tell the quality of the leather is actually pretty good. I can wear them on my journey, and with the make of them, I won't be affected while wielding a weapon, either.

It could not have been easy for him to save up for these, especially not in a short time. Farmers don't make that much money, usually little more than enough to pay taxes and keep themselves fed. Just what did he have to sacrifice in order to buy them?

Whatever it is, the fact that he went to this length suggests to me that he's definitely serious about making amends.

"Thank you," I return the canvas to him, and he tucks it into his belt. "I'm leaving here soon, now that I'm connected to the System. I just need to make some final preparations and max out my CP runs for the local Dungeons. These gloves will likely be useful."

"I'm glad," Ben sighs in relief. "Good luck, Nate. And happy birthday."

He walks off, then I send the gloves into my Inventory, before resuming the walk home.

"Was that you forgiving him?" Drake asks as he falls in-step with me.

"Not quite," I state. "But it was me accepting that he was serious."

"Okay."

We reach my apartment a minute later, I don't live too far from the tavern. I lead Drake up to the second floor and open the door, letting him into the apartment. It's a single-room apartment with a bathroom attached. I have my bed, a couch, a low table in front of the couch, my dresser, a shelf of items and supplies, and the kitchen.

"So this is an apartment," Drake mutters.

"I guess dragons don't have them," I say.

"No," he answers. "We have dens in caves and caverns, and sleep on nests made of gold, jewels, and-or straw."

"Straw?"

"For some added stuff," he nods. "Or if you don't have a horde to sleep on. I had a nest entirely of straw, I didn't get to go out very much."

He looks mildly bothered by that, and I have to wonder why he didn't leave much or have a horde, yet was chosen to come here to save the world.

"How come?" I ask.

"I was too young to leave," he answers. "They don't let us leave until we're at least fifteen. Erm. Seventy-five, in your years. Our years are five times as long as yours."

At least he expanded on that explanation. I guess he felt it was necessary to explain why he was able to link into the system. It makes sense that my world and his would have two different lengths of the year. It would be strange if two worlds had the same amount of time in each year.

"So in your world's years," I say. "We'd not even be four yet."

"Yeah."

"Okay," I point at the couch. "That's the couch," I point at the bathroom. "And that's the bathroom. You used the one at Granny's, but if you're still a little confused, let me know."

"I think I understand how it works," he tells me. "Do you have family here?"

"Not here in town," I answer. "There's Granny, who you met, and me. The rest of my family lives in the capital. Why?"

"I can smell someone related to you," he points at a box I hadn't noticed, sitting on the table in front of the couch. "They put that there. The scent appeared here, then disappeared."

The scent appeared, then disappeared?

"Do you mean there's no entry or exit path?" I ask.

"Yes."

My eldest brother, Calvin, can teleport. Did he drop the box off? They normally send a courier to deliver my birthday gifts.

I walk over and pick it up. It's fairly light, made of some sort of polished wood with a reddish hue. A pair of gold hinges are fixed onto the back. Probably an alloy so that it had the golden look.

Opening the box, I find that it's cushioned, with velvet lining it. Inside are a pair of combat knives of a far higher quality than anything I'd find here. They're rather simple, and made of a steel alloy, but I know they'll hold their edge much longer than normal. More likely than not, they were made in Forgetown, knowing my family.

A letter was fit into the lid, a piece of parchment cut to fit the space, black lettering written on it.

I had these made for you over in Forgetown, little brother, I hope you enjoy them! They'll probably last longer than that normal steel one you've been using. We've got a much better pair of knives for you, for when you complete your quest. Good luck, and happy birthday!

Calvin

Yep, it was Calvin, though the wording of the letter implies that Dad was probably in on the gift as well. He was probably the one who commissioned the knives, but decided to have Calvin write the note to pretend as if he was upset with me for ignoring his letters. That's what normally happens with my presents, anyway.

"It's a birthday gift from my family," I tell Drake, who gets a wistful look on his face. "Hey, don't worry too hard, Drake. I'm sure it won't take you too long to complete your quest. Once you do, you'll be back home, and it'll feel like no time at all has passed."

"Yeah," he mumbles. "No time at all. I'm going to sleep."

"Same here," I put the knives and the box into my Inventory, then walk over to my bed.

As I debate on sleeping in the nude like I usually do or keeping at least some pants on, in case me being nude will make the meteor dragon uncomfortable, I hear the rustle of fabric behind me. Turning, I find Drake undressing.

Immediately, I freeze up, not sure what's going on. As soon as he finishes getting naked, he climbs onto the couch and lies down on his right side, facing the room as he uses his right arm as a pillow, his tail crossing over his legs to rest in front of him. His eyes are closed already.

Crap. He's hot, and he's naked, and he's in my room. I wasn't expecting that particular combination of things when I left home this morning, nor for the middle one when I invited him back here. My intentions were pure, I really did just want to offer him a place to stay, since it's better than leaving the guy meant to save our world out on the street at night.

After a few moments of staring at him, I decide that my normal sleeping state probably won't bother him, since he stripped naked. So I undress, then climb into my bed and pull my blanket over myself. I'd offer him another blanket, but it's not that cool out and I don't have a second blanket.

He doesn't seem bothered, though. I can already hear his breathing has slowed and turned rhythmic. That's pretty normal for a person who's sleeping, so I guess he was exhausted and comfortable. Time for me to sleep, too.