“Who are you even talking about?”
Toma frowned slightly.
"This, this game capsule? It's a gift for you?" he repeated. "But... how? This... this is incredibly expensive." He continued, still unable to believe what he was seeing.
Lina let out a long sigh. Then she walked over to the sofa and sat down, crossing her legs while keeping her posture straight.
“This game capsule is the newest product our company is promoting,” she said. “And because I sold way beyond my target, my manager promised me a reward.”
Toma looked at her with a deep frown. "The one you said was after you? The same guy who got you fired from the company?"
"Yes. That asshole," she replied without hesitation.
"Then isn't this a good thing? He already sent the gift, and this thing is worth a fortune. Besides, you've already been fired from that company anyway."
Lina still looked troubled, as if she could not convince herself everything was really that simple. "I don't know. I'm not sure," she admitted. "That asshole is cunning. You never know what he's planning. This could be a trap. I just don't know how to deal with someone like him. He'll do whatever it takes to get what he wants."
"This asshole wants you," Toma said. "Then let's just return it. Problem solved."
"I don't know." Lina shook her head again, still looking genuinely confused.
It was obvious this game capsule was incredibly valuable. It was the newest model, much more advanced than the previous generation, and worth a huge amount of money. If Lina sold it, it could become a major blessing for them. But at the same time, it could also bring serious trouble if accepting it led to something far worse.
Toma turned back toward the game capsule that was still sealed inside its package and fell silent.
Damn!
He cursed under his breath. For a brief moment, he found himself thinking about opening it and using it to play Eternal Legacy.
Seriously?
Lina might be walking straight into a dangerous trap, and here he was thinking about playing a game?
Lina stood up a moment later. "Just leave it here for now. Don't touch it. We'll think about what to do with it later."
She turned to look at Toma, her eyes searching his face as if trying to read his thoughts.
"What?" he asked.
"Are you interested in playing the game?"
"Yes, of course."
“I heard people can make an unbelievable amount of money playing this game. Maybe you could too if you gave it a try. What do you think?” she asked.
Toma let out a tired sigh. “I don't know where you heard that, but most people spend a fortune on games like this instead of making money from them. So no, I think it'll only cause us even more problems if we get involved.”
She shrugged. “Ah, whatever. I'm exhausted. I'm going to bed.” She headed toward her bedroom. “Lock the door if you go out, Toma. And don't stay out all night. I don't want to be here by myself. Just... stay with me tonight.”
“Stop saying things that people could easily misunderstand, Lina.”
A moment later, the bedroom door closed.
Toma remained seated in the living room, his eyes fixed on the large package containing the game capsule.
His thoughts were a complete mess.
He had lost his job. Lina had lost hers too. And now there was an unbelievably expensive game capsule sitting in their house, leaving them caught between wondering whether it was a blessing or the beginning of a disaster.
One thing was certain. Getting involved with someone who had that much power would never end well.
He walked into the bathroom and wiped the white clown makeup from his face. After that, he put on his long coat and pulled up the hood that covered most of his head before heading toward the front door.
"We're out of groceries. I'm going shopping," he called out.
There was no answer.
Toma simply stepped outside as evening began to settle over the city. He locked the door behind him, then walked away.
He went on foot because that had always been their usual routine. They didn't own any kind of vehicle, maybe just a bicycle, and even that still hadn't been serviced. Well, there was a unicycle too, but that was only for doing tricks.
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It didn't take long for him to reach the nearest supermarket. It was a weekday, right around the time people were getting off work, so the place was a little crowded.
He still had enough money left from his latest paycheck, so he headed inside and started picking up ingredients that would hopefully be enough to feed the two of them for the next week.
He picked out a few fresh fruits. His hand paused on a bunch of bright yellow bananas, the price tag hanging neatly from the display.
“Bananas are supposed to help improve your mood... right?” he murmured quietly.
He continued walking through the aisles until his eyes landed on a bottle of orange juice. After a brief moment of thought, he placed it into the shopping basket as well.
“Orange juice is supposed to help too... isn't it?”
After a while, Toma finally looked down at his shopping basket. It was nearly twice as full as what he usually bought.
“I live for today. I don't really have a future anyway, so I might as well just think about today's meal,” he said with a faint, ironic smile.
Once he finished paying, he left the supermarket carrying two heavy grocery bags. Everything they would need for the week was inside, and he was ready to head home.
“I should head back,” he said quietly. “Lina probably hasn't eaten yet.”
Truthfully, Toma had grown used to living with Lina supporting most of their expenses. Even though he had been working since his school days, she was still the one who covered most of what they needed.
She had really carried them through everything. Lina technically still had a father, but he was the kind of father she had never wished for. In the end, the two of them were practically orphans in everything but name.
It was almost like they only had each other.
The only dangerous part was that the longer he lived with Lina, the harder it became to ignore certain things.
Seriously! The girl was still completely careless and never paid any attention to how she dressed around the house. He was still a guy, wasn't he? Seriously... was he the one in the wrong for thinking about it?
No! It wasn't because he was some kind of pervert or anything like that. He had never thought of her that way. To him, Lina was practically his older sister. He genuinely cared about her.
But still...
Sometimes she would casually walk out of the bathroom completely naked just because she had forgotten to bring a towel.
“Idiot.”
Toma continued walking home without paying much attention to anything around him. Every now and then, he passed other pedestrians while cars rushed by on the road beside him, the passing traffic sending brief gusts of wind that made his long coat sway.
Then, at one point, he suddenly stopped.
He simply stood there, staring blankly into the distance.
Someone walked straight into his back.
“Hey! Watch where you're standing! If you're going to stop in the middle of the sidewalk, at least look behind you first! Seriously, what is wrong with you?” the stranger grumbled before giving Toma's shoulder an annoyed shove and continuing on his way.
Toma remained where he was for another few moments.
His attention was eventually drawn away by the loud cheers and excited voices coming from his right. When he turned his head, he found himself looking at a massive game center, one of the biggest in the area. The building stretched ten floors high.
“Can I?” he muttered to himself.
“No,” he answered immediately before continuing his walk.
He continued walking with determination, ignoring everything around him.
Until...
Until the moment the door closed behind him.
Toma was already standing inside a private gaming booth. In front of him sat a sleek capsule pod with glowing blue lights running along its edges.
His expression instantly brightened. It felt as if the weight pressing down on his mind had been cut loose, and all the exhaustion that had been building up throughout the day disappeared in an instant.
He set the grocery bags neatly against the wall before eagerly pressing the power button on the capsule. Soft lights flickered to life as the machine hummed awake.
“One hour is enough,” he said.
Without wasting another second, he climbed into the capsule and settled into the reclining seat. Once he was comfortable, he pulled the VR helmet over his head.
The system powered on, accompanied by a series of electronic chimes.
“Time inside the game moves three times faster than it does out here,” he murmured. “Three hours in the game for one hour in the real world. That shouldn't hurt too much.”
[Connection Established.]
[Welcome back, Jester.]
[Entering Yunatea...]
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