Evil Clown Evolution [A VRMMORPG Adventure]

"Really? You didn’t do that with her?”

Toma raised both hands and frowned as the question was thrown at him. Why... did this suddenly feel like he was a husband being questioned by his wife after getting caught cheating or something?

"Because of you," she answered.

"Huh?"

"You're wondering why I'm questioning you like you're a husband with responsibilities, aren't you?"

"Since when did you learn how to read people's minds, huh?"

She laughed softly. "You know, when a woman truly tries to understand someone, she can often sense what the opposite sex is thinking."

"I've never heard anything like that. If only there were some kind of system here." He pointed at the empty space in front of him. "Something that could tell me everything happening around me. Like... what the Goddess Zetia sitting right in front of me is actually feeling."

"What do you want to know? You still aren't completely convinced that I really came from Yunatea."

He shrugged his shoulders. "Now tell me... what's it like living in the mortal world? I'm sure it isn't easy. I can imagine how it would feel if I suddenly turned back into a baby who couldn't walk, eat by himself, or do anything."

Zetia looked slightly upward, as if imagining something. A moment later, she stood up. Since she was quite taller, Toma instinctively leaned back a little.

"Back there, I could stand without moving my feet like this."

She pointed toward the kitchen. "I could call for anything I wanted. Drinks, food, anything at all."

Then she added, "And..." She jumped once, then jumped again.

"Back there, I could go anywhere without putting in any effort."

On her last jump, however, her body wobbled. She lost her balance almost immediately.

"Zetia!"

Toma reacted at once. He quickly moved forward, barely managing to catch her before she hit the floor. As her body fell into his arms, he slipped one arm behind her head to keep it from striking the ground.

"Ah..." she said quietly. "I'm sorry. I lost my balance."

"Are you okay?" he asked as their faces ended up only inches apart.

"I am," she replied.

Toma didn't pull away right away. A cold shiver crept down the back of his neck, and his heartbeat suddenly sped up for reasons he couldn't explain. Only when he realized how close they were did he carefully lower her to the floor, helping her sit upright again.

"My ankle," she said.

"You twisted your ankle?"

"It doesn't feel good. It keeps sending this sharp, stinging pain."

Toma gently helped her lean against the sofa before kneeling in front of her. His eyes moved to her left ankle.

"Excuse me. I'm going to take a look."

"Uh-huh." She gave a small nod.

He gently took hold of her foot, only to pause the moment his fingers touched her skin.

Why... was it so soft?

Her skin was unbelievably smooth, even softer than he expected. Then again, maybe it only felt that way because his own hands had grown rough after years of hard work.

"Right there. Around my ankle... it has this sharp, stinging pain," she said.

He carefully placed his fingers around her ankle, gently running them over the area before applying a little pressure.

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"Does it hurt here?"

"No, not really."

"How about here?" His fingers moved slightly lower.

"Here?"

"Yes... that's the spot. It hurts."

A small smile appeared on his face. "It's okay. You only sprained it a little. It doesn't seem too serious." He looked up at her. "I've dealt with this plenty of times. It happens after carrying heavy loads or pushing myself too hard while running."

He carefully set her foot back on the floor.

"Wait here for a moment," he said with a reassuring smile.

Then he stood and walked toward the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator before reaching for the small first-aid box nearby. For a minor sprain like this, a cold pack or some ice wrapped in a towel would help reduce the swelling. If needed, he could apply some pain-relief gel afterward. With proper care, it should recover quickly.

A moment later, he returned and sat in front of her again.

"This might feel a little cold," he said as he carefully pressed the wrapped ice against her ankle. "Just bear with it for a bit, okay? It'll help with the swelling, and your ankle should start feeling better afterward."

After a while, he finished treating her ankle. Instead of getting up, he remained where he was, quietly looking at the girl in front of him.

"What's with that look, huh?" he asked. "Don't tell me you pretended to get hurt just so I'd take care of you."

Zetia smiled before letting out a quiet laugh. "The moment I was about to thank you... you immediately accused me of something like that?"

"Your expression looks suspicious."

"Taking care of me was the least you could do." She met his eyes without looking away. "I ended up like this because you stole my divinity."

"I grabbed it by accident," he replied. "And right after that, I was forced to log out. Besides, why would you leave something that important lying around in a place like that?"

Zetia let out a quiet sigh before shaking her head.

"No one was supposed to be able to enter that place." Her gaze stayed on him. "You're the anomaly here."

Toma fell silent again.

Their eyes met, but every few seconds, one of them would glance away first. It felt strangely awkward, just the two of them sitting there while Lina was asleep. He wasn't really used to talking with someone like this, especially for so long.

Even so... for some reason, Zetia's presence had slipped into his life surprisingly naturally. Just yesterday, she had been a complete stranger. Now she was here, living under the same roof as him and Lina, as if she had always belonged.

"Can I ask you something?" he said.

"Mm?"

"I have a few questions about Yunatea. Would answering them go against your authority? I mean... if I ask about things ordinary people aren't supposed to know." He paused for a moment. "You're the Goddess of Chaos. You've lived there for thousands of years. There has to be a lot only you know about the game."

"It's not a game."

"Okay, it's not a game." He nodded without arguing. "Then I want to ask about the Goddess of Calamity. You must know them, right?"

Zetia opened her mouth to answer. But no sound came out.

She slowly shook her head.

"You'll probably think I'm making excuses again, but... I can't answer questions about things that aren't meant to be known by ordinary people." She lowered her gaze for a moment. "Like about the Calamities."

Toma simply smiled.

"I hate you," she muttered, turning her face away with a small pout. "I've been trying so hard to convince you that I'm telling the truth, but I don't have any power left to prove it."

She let out a quiet sigh. "If only I could use even one percent of the power I had as the Goddess of Chaos..."

"You threw those thugs around with one hand," Toma pointed out. "I don't think many normal people could do something like that."

She looked back at him.

"That?" A faint smile appeared on her face. "To me, that was nothing. It's because they were just ordinary humans."

Toma let out a quiet laugh.

The conversation drifted from one topic to another. They talked about all sorts of random things, and before either of them realized it, time had slipped away. Only then did Toma remember that he had planned to go for his morning run.

"Can I come with you?" Zetia asked.

"Has your ankle recovered already?"

"Yes. I'm completely recovered. Completely." She gave him a bright smile, like a child who had just been handed her favorite treat.

Before long, they got ready. Fortunately, Zetia had also picked up a set of workout clothes from the store yesterday.

Soon, the two of them stepped outside while the sky was still dark, the sun not yet showing itself over the horizon.

Toma lent her his spare sports watch, helping her fasten it around her wrist before they started running together.

At first, he thought she'd need some time to adjust. Then he remembered what had happened yesterday. They had run together after dealing with those thugs, and even then, she'd had no trouble keeping up with him.

"You don't even look out of breath." He glanced at her in disbelief. "What's your heart rate at this pace?"

"Heart rate?"

Toma reached over and checked the display on her sports watch.

His throat tightened.

90 bpm? Seriously?

They'd been running at roughly a four-minute-per-kilometer pace for the past ten minutes. For most people, that would already be a hard run, enough to send their heart rate climbing well into the triple digits. Yet hers was sitting at ninety, closer to what someone might expect during a brisk walk.

There were only two explanations. Either she wasn't exerting herself at all... or her cardiovascular system was fundamentally different from a human's.

By now, beads of sweat had begun forming across Toma's face.

Zetia, on the other hand, still looked completely fresh. She wore the same cheerful smile as if they were simply taking a leisurely stroll through a park instead of running for miles.

About an hour later, with the morning sun finally rising, they sat together in a nearby park.

Toma was breathing heavily as he tried to recover, while Zetia sat beside him with her legs gently swinging back and forth, looking as though she'd barely exerted herself.

"You really aren't normal," he said.

Zetia turned to him. "Huh?" She tilted her head, looking completely innocent.

"You're trying awfully hard to convince me that you really came from inside that... game."

"That's not a game!"

"Okay." Toma chuckled. "It's not a game."

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