Volume I - Chapter 20: Unexpected Interaction

It had been about three minutes since the train had departed. Looking out of the window, I could easily understand how fast we were going with the rapidly changing landscape.

The sight of trees, mountains, and houses passing by in an instant... Honestly, it looked quite nice.

In addition, despite the high speed we were traveling at, there was no engine noise because the train was completely magnetized. So this journey was supposed to be quite comfortable and peaceful...

Unfortunately, I couldn't take advantage of this peace because of the girl next to me.

When Celine sat next to me, I decided to spend my journey in peace, not caring much about her, just like she did to me and others around her. At least that's what I thought, but things didn't turn out the way I thought they would.

Celine closed her eyes and fell asleep the moment the train started its journey.

Honestly... From that point of view alone, it wasn't a big problem, I would even have liked her to sleep. That way I wouldn't have to have any interaction with her.

That didn't happen. Because a few seconds after she fell asleep, her head fell on my shoulder.

Out of the corner of my eye, I looked to my side and then I saw her closed eyelids. She actually looked pretty cute with her dark brown hair sliding in front of her face, but why did she sleep if something like this was going to happen?

If you're going to sleep, why didn't you position your head properly first and now you're giving me a hard time?

I need to wake her up, but I'm afraid of the consequences... Unless I explain the situation properly, I'm likely to be treated badly, but if she wakes up in this position and sees that I didn't do anything, then things will be much worse.

I took a deep breath without shaking my body too much and then thought about what I would say if I woke her up. Then I decided to forget about that and wake her up as quickly but gently as possible.

At least I didn't have to be too embarrassed. Because no one was sitting in the seat next to us. So I wouldn't be the subject of strange rumors.

I eased my shoulder, which Celine was leaning on like a pillow, and nudged her a little with my other arm. This jolted her a little, and then the eyelids that hid her violet eyes, like amethysts, slowly opened to reveal the treasure behind them.

Even if her charm statistic wasn't as high as Lucia's, her bewildered appearance, having just woken up from her sleep, made me hesitate for a moment...

I have to act fast before she misunderstands something.

"Uh, I was wondering if you could move over a little bit."

Celine stood still for a moment after hearing what I said. Then she realized that she was leaning on my shoulder and quickly backed away.

She had a shocked expression on her face, her hair was disheveled and she looked strange, quite different from her usual calm self.

"I- I apologize."

She bowed her head slightly and apologized to me again. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, so I said it was okay and turned away, pretending not to care about her, and started to look out the window.

I had no idea what Celine was doing since all my focus was outside, but she didn't bother me during this time so I didn't pay much attention to her.

In the game, as Adrian, you can marry someone. Although it's more of an engagement than a marriage, you can choose a partner in the game.

Celine is one of those possible partners, and having done everything in the story, of course, I had a few rounds where I got engaged to her.

As a result, I know her personal things, like her likes and dislikes, her weird habits, and so on.

Looking back on it, she always frowned at people who were especially interested in her. And if someone ignored her, she would ignore that person in the same way and not pay much attention to them.

So I thought it was best not to pay attention to her, and decided to completely ignore her for the whole trip.

"You... Was your name Aiden?"

Wait a minute...

What?

What the fuck?

"Yes?"

I confirmed her with a blank expression on my face, but I really had no idea what was going on.

Why doesn't she ignore me? Why does she have a look in her eyes that's more disappointed than indifferent? What the fuck is going on?!

"I apologize again, I just had something on my mind."

After saying these words, Celine took her eyes off me and slid into seat number thirty. Then she opened a holographic screen in front of her and started to fiddle with it by herself.

I had no idea what she was trying to do, or what the purpose of our brief conversation was. But when I realized that she was completely focused on what was in front of her, I turned away with a sigh.

I closed my eyes and then went into my own thoughts.

Celine couldn't have asked me my name out of the blue. I mean, she probably heard the rumors... Given her family's general situation and future, did she think I was worth persuading to work for her guild?

Although I look quite ordinary, my gray eyes make me stand out a bit. So it's possible that she recognized me only after hearing a few things about my appearance... Given her personality and way of thinking, this is the most likely scenario.

Now that I think about it, she had a passive skill of intuition... So when she saw me, contrary to rumors, she must have sensed that I was weak. That explains the disappointment I saw in her eyes just now.

Out of the corner of my eye, I looked at her again and realized that she had fallen asleep again.

When traveling by train in the game, the journey was simply skipped. So I have no idea what the characters are doing during this time, but why does she keep falling asleep? Does she have motion sickness or something?

Honestly, I was intrigued by this for no reason. Because no matter how silly or simple it was, I had discovered a side of a character I knew inside and out that I had never known. So I started to watch her, not realizing what I was doing.

With her chest rising and falling with her slow breaths, her short hair that she had just straightened, and her closed eyes, she looked like a painter's masterpiece. The more I looked at her, the more I wanted to stare at her, mesmerized that the animation in the game had now become real, and I paused.

Seriously... What am I doing right now? I'm stalking her like a pervert...

Snap out of it, Aiden! This is not who you are!

I quickly turned around and then set an alarm on my watch and closed my eyes, all the while repeating two short sentences in my head.

I didn't succumb to the damn charm statistic... I was just excited to see something different, that's all.

*******

When I slowly opened my eyes thanks to an announcement echoing through the train, almost everyone on the train was on their feet. We were almost at the destination.

I stood up nervously, then my eyes automatically drifted to the side and met Celine's back facing me.

Celine seemed to simply ignore me, but as soon as I turned to her, she looked up, then turned back to look at me and frowned.

Our eyes met and then I remembered her skill of intuition.

The fact that she could recognize that I was watching her when I only gave her a glance... her skill seems to be working quite well.

"What's wrong? I'm just looking ahead."

I frowned at her as she frowned at me, and then Celine's expression turned momentarily confused.

So what? Just because you're strong, you have a good background and you're a girl, did you think I wouldn't be harsh with you? Sorry, I believe in gender equality.

"I'm sorry..."

Celine slowly turned away and I ignored her again, waiting for the train doors to open.

I don't mind being harsh with her for now, because I'll inevitably get close to Celine now that I'm friends with Adrian and plan to get involved in the main story, and then she'll see that I'm not so hateable.

And I'd rather her see me as such a person than someone weak. So that when we meet again, she won't think unnecessary things about me. I mean... I hope not.

"Dear passengers, we have arrived at our destination, the Second Wiathen Station. Please leave the train in ten minutes!"

When this voice echoed through the train, all the doors opened with a 'hiss' and the people inside started pouring out.

Celine disappeared into the crowd without a care in the world, and I walked out with a sigh.

I took a quick look around to see if I could see her, but when she was nowhere to be seen, I quickly gave up and opened my map. I typed 'Wiathen Auction Hall' in the search box and found out that I could get there in ten minutes.

*(A/N: Sorry for late update, I overslept.)*