"Well, here we are, Theresa."

Mickey and Theresa had finally reached Theresa's doorstep. A ding went off, though Mickey didn't hear it as he shuffled the sack of vegetables around.

"Yes, thank you, Tralas Mick. Please, please come inside. I have some cookies that you can have."

"Oh, no, no, I can't trouble you—"

"It's no trouble," she insisted. "You must be hungry—come in, please!"

"Oh, I really couldn't. I'm not hungry—"

A growl erupted from Mickey's stomach. It had spoken. Mickey was wide-eyed. Theresa was nodding along.

"Thi-This has never happened before—"

"Now, now, Tralas Mick. Don't be shy," Theresa said, pulling Mickey along.

"WOW. These are really good cookies. This is the first time I've had something here. I didn't think I'd actually be able to eat. I didn't think I'd actually feel full." Mickey stuffed the eighth cookie into his mouth.

He had fully made himself at home—not that he noticed—eating Theresa's cookie at the kitchen table while Theresa tended to a simmering stew. Theresa's kitchen, and by extension, her home, was rustic—just like what you would expect from a fantasy setting. Made of wood and stone and filled with the aromas of dishes and herbs, it had a strangely calming effect on Mickey.

"Now, I know Trailblazers don't truly die, but I never heard of them being unable to starve," Theresa said with a chuckle.

"Oh? You knew about the death thing, Ms. Theresa? Me feeling hungry was entirely unexpected for me, though."

Theresa was quiet for a moment—Mickey assumed a freeze happened and waited patiently. "Yes, I knew. We were told about it. Trailblazers don't die; they rest."

"Oh? Okay… Well, I don't want to eat all your cookies, so I'll be going now."

"Oh no, no. Please stay for dinner, Tralas Mick."

"No, really, I can't impose. I don't want to eat all your food!"

"You're not eating all my food," Theresa replied with a mischievous grin. "I've been preparing enough food for four."

"Four?" Mickey raised a brow. "Is your family here?"

"No, but there's a family that visits me here—"

Knocks came from the door, stealing both Mickey and Theresa's attention.

"And there they are." Before going to the door, Theresa stopped in front of Mickey. "Please, do stay. They would be happy to share dinner with you."

Mickey was silent for a moment. "Okay, if it's okay with you, I'd be happy to stay."

"Very good," Theresa replied, her face wrinkling further with her smile. "I'm sure they will be excited to hear that we'll have another guest."

Theresa stumbled off to her door, leaving Mickey at the table, beneath bright candle and lantern light, and with his thoughts.

This is… NPCs coming together? Is this an event?

Mickey did not just stay because the kindly old lady had twisted his arm—he was curious. Upon hearing of a small dinner party, he had wondered what kind of dialogue the participants would have. Truthfully, the scenario of neighbors coming to spend time with the elder living alone—that was more than Mickey ever thought to expect. Would they be stinted, or would they be something reflective of the level of care that was being expressed? Mickey was so engrossed in his thoughts that he hadn't noticed when the party had arrived.

"The cute Trailblazer really is here! How lovely!"

The first voice was familiar.

"Hello, Tralas Mick, thank you for joining us tonight."

The second voice was very familiar.

"I am pleased that you were able to return the light safely, Trailblazer."

The third voice—Mickey was sure he recognized it.

Mickey turned on his seat and saw the three—the item store's keeper, the shrine's maiden, and finally, Mary. All three of them had walked through the kitchen doorway, one after the other, each with a pot or a bag.

"H-Hey," Mickey replied, getting on his feet. "I-I didn't think you would be here—do you need help?"

"How cute!" the keeper replied, waving Mickey's concerns away. "Don't you worry, sweetie. We'll have these meals set, just relax—you must have had such a scary day. Mary, Madeline, speak with the Trailblazer—don't let him feel so strange."

"Yes ma'am," the maiden, Madeline, replied, taking the seat on Mickey's right.

"Of course, Mother," Mary replied, pulling up a chair and sitting to Mickey's left.

"Ahh—Hmm, yeah. Hi," Mickey nervously said, making himself smaller. This… is more awkward than I thought possible.

"Oh, Mary," the keeper hollered. She threw a rag that Mary, panicked, tried to catch. "Clean the Trailblazer's face—we can't let him just walk around like that."

"Yes, Mother!" Mary replied. "Pardon me," she said, averting her eyes from Mickey's as the rag came closer.

Before Mickey could protest, Mary rubbed the rag across his face. Mary, with how hard she was pressing, was surely actually cleaning something off. Mickey, stunned into accepting the gesture, wondered what exactly—

Ahh! Peter's filth! I can't believe I was running around with that on my face. Why didn't anyone tell me?!

"Madeline," the keeper hollered. "Tell him why he shouldn't be walking around with that filth on his face."

"Of course." Madeline turned to Mickey after Mary was done with him and calmly explained. "Running around with the Damned's bodily fluids and the like will attract more toward you." Message delivered, she faced forward.

"Wait, really? I didn't know that."

Mickey fell back onto his seat. Maybe all the monsters he faced were there partly because he was attracting them.

Mickey entered the dinner with curiosity. In a game, a scene like the one he was entering would have been skipped if it were a regular RPG usually. If the game was heavy on character interactions, usually, only a snippet of the scene would have been seen, and it most certainly would not have been as long as a real dinner would be.

So with that bias set in his mind, Mickey thought the conversations would not be deep. He was just curious as to how the NPCs interacted with each other.

Theresa, Madeline, and Mary—those three had conversations Mickey expected. When they led the conversations, the dialogue was simple. They asked each other how their days went and if the food was good. Interestingly, they never involved Mickey in their conversations. Those conversations didn't last long, however. For those three, it would simply be a question and a response, or a remark and acknowledgment. If it were just those three, there would have been uncomfortable silence.

But it wasn't just those three.

Beth, the item shop lady—she was a force all of her own. She took control of the conversation when the silence was five seconds too long, and she was the one to rope Mickey into the conversations.

Beth was a boisterous and jolly woman, and as Mickey observed, those traits let her be a social butterfly. She would have her daughters, Madeline and Mary speak with Mickey on seemingly normal topics with simple suggestions and had gotten funny stories out of Theresa.

Truly, Mickey was astounded. In his mind, it felt like he and Beth were the only real people. That feeling was made even more noticeable when Beth caused the others to freeze with the silliest of prompts. But there was one thing that gave Mickey pause—a small nagging observation. Beth never spoke to Mickey directly. Yes, she would be the one to refer to him, but when she did so, she was instigating another of the three. She would say things like:

"Oh, Mary, don't be shy; tell Little Mick about your favorite bird."

"Madeline, don't you remember the last Trailblazer you saw? Aren't you relieved we got a good one this time?"

"Theresa, you simply have to let Little Mick hear of your story about that turtle I found for you."

Mickey, who was here as an observer, noticed, but all he could think after the hour or so was that Beth was, perhaps, an NPC designed to start conversations.

That was his best guess.

All in all, it was a strange dinner—he thanked Beth for being there, however. That said, seeing how Beth dominated the flow—it unsettled Mickey even more. The thought of having to sit in on a dinner with NPCs and have to experience it in real-time again—he didn't want to do that. The thought made him uncomfortable and made him feel guilty, especially after the food itself was tasty and filling, but it was just too much. Beth had made it all the more apparent. It was too much to sit with people who looked so real but were so… so stripped.

Now Loading... Inter-Chapter Action

Mickey went to the inn.

Characters

Beth- The Item Storekeeper. Mary and Madeline's mother. Most social NPC thus far.

Madeline -The Shrine Maiden. She seems very prim and proper.

Mary- Quieter than her sister, but in a more shy way.