Paradoxical Love

Chapter 28: Rendezvous

It's been two days since the Council President became my girlfriend, and truth to be told, in my whole life starting highschool and before even meeting Matilda, I'm actually what they call no girlfriend since birth, though I doubt that's the case this time around.

From another perspective, I call this bad news since she forced me to become her boyfriend, and she's an incorrigible and aggressive lady who I can a-hundred-percent tell that she's a dominatrix in nature. 

I have to be more careful considering we're pragmatically lovers the moment I took her words, and therefore she can use this reason to sexually harass me without actually committing a crime.

But even so, I simply wished to understand the reason behind why she was lonely. It's true that she's alone in her house and had to take care of the responsibilities and burdens all by herself, but I know there's more to her than meets the eye.

I always believed she's very stern and honest, that she has dignity and pride and I respect her for her hardworking. I know for sure the way she touches me was just Matilda being true to herself, it means she never had ill-will for others, and this brings up the possibility that her love might not be a delusional one, it was something I can only fathom once I dive into the abyss of her heart.

As of right now, we are playing DAO in the Gaming Club room, the five of us including me, Ged, Ariel, Sattela, and lastly was none other than the generous and sometimes violent, Crimson Princess, Helenia; the club president of Gaming Club. She's currently in her classroom from a different building, the King Arthur's Hall. But distance won't separate us since we can play online.

Convenient for her that she can get in her club room whenever she wanted with Jacob's help. His inhuman skills and combat prowess conditioned his body and muscles to be strong and agile, and he can certainly carry his princess here in a matter of seconds. I guess she can go whenever she wanted since she can manipulate the principal at her will and never get caught.

Just like yesterday, the Council president is busy in her office handling the upcoming events and organizing several matters. When it's break or lunch, she always goes straight to her office, we hardly spend time with her every afternoon lunch.

I'm completely used to seeing her all the time or observing how she occasionally looks in my direction. But it doesn't mean I'm sad, it's just I got used to her presence, and now that she's occupied, I felt something is off.

"Reyler, use your area healing on me. I'm going to die, go to where Sattela is too." He must've forgotten that my in-game character can't possibly heal.

"How many times do I need to tell you that I'm a mage." I pay no attention and continued to fight the monster, I mercilessly clicked the buttons and threw a barrage of spell at the enemy. It's just Ariel is bad in this game, he gets easily taken down.

"Argh! I died!" Ariel thumped his fist on his chair, he's mad he always gets killed first.

"I'll just end my chanting with my grand magic ... Flenos Ruin!" Enormous holes at the bottom rumbled upwards that vented the wrath of the underworld, a lava ruin surely snatched the death of the boss area. We all got the drop item except for poor Ariel because his character died before even the spoils of war were released.

"Nyaa! I got that Flenos Ring! Thank you―" Sattela's excitement was withdrawn halfway the instance she met an eye with Ariel. "Hu-Huh? W-Why are you looking at me?" She's wondering, and the rest of us were staring at her 'cause she did the cat purs again forgetting everyone is here.

"Are you really the one who purred like a cat?" Ariel's face was blank, he didn't even care if he didn't get the drop items or not and just blatantly stared at her.

"I-I am?" She answered it was her but wasn't sure of herself.

"I don't care about the sword anymore, I heard such an angelic cute side of you, it was worth it." Ariel grinned so proudly, the value of a rare item in DAO is highly limited and considered hard to find even in endless hours of playing, but he confessed Sattela's propensity for mimicking a kitten was more worth than the thing we were getting in the game.

Now he's flirting while we're around, he must have been preparing to make a move on her since getting acquainted among the girls with Helenia's club had become an advantage for him.

"I'm not..." Sattela's stammering, she's humble and bashful now that other than me had seen her eccentric but appealing side, I guess she does the cat purs whenever she's enjoying things, just the same when she reads alone; an introvert like her now also enjoyed getting along through a game.

"Ariel, read the atmosphere." I reminded him that she's getting embarrassed and he caught up with it and changed the course of attention to himself.

"Actually, I'm still the worst player! I was knocked out of the dungeon so easily, now what dungeon will we do next?" Ariel cleared the tension and now we're proceeding to our next quest.

"Before we fight next, accept the trade." I offered to ariel and gave him something which made him widen his eyes as he gets shocked by it.

"Wait... this is the Dark Fury! Isn't this one of the rarest swords in the game?!" His eyeglass almost fell, he fixed it back and accepted the thing I gave him. I have a lot of rare items and I'm a magician, I don't use a sword in the first place so I'm giving away my junk pieces.

"Yes. Now don't get too worked up and let's go to the next dungeon." I'm glad he's content with it, helping them in the lower stage dungeons was a good thing for them to keep up with us high-level.

"Thank you so much Reyler! I will treasure this sword!" He sat beside me and kept clinging, it was the way he shows gratitude so I kinda got used to it.

"You're too noisy, keep it down." I coldly asked for silence and he heeded my wishes.

As our group favorably farmed and leveled up whatever dungeon we clear out; a circular notification appeared on my in-game avatar icon below it. If I'm not mistaken, this is a 'whisper message' which means there was a player who sent me a message specifically for me only.

So when I looked at who it was from, I read the message directly in my mind. The sender had the in-game name Firia, and it was from Helenia's character avatar and I'd never mistake her picture icon other than her.

"Uhmm... I forgot what I was going to say. Because, I mean, later after our club activity, visit me in the next room and enter through the door with a golden doorknob. I guess you've already seen it, am I right? Just go meet me there!" I almost read her entire chat aloud, the way I can tell that she's troubled while typing the message was just like her.

But now that I searched the entire structure of the club room, I looked on the left-corner and saw a door with a golden knob just as she mentioned.

I'm just wondering what she wanted to tell me and why she can't tell me confidentially through the chat system or simply email, maybe it has a connection about why she isn't present in the club today? I'll just forget it for a while and focus on helping my friends in the game since I've been falling behind.

We had been playing until the time was up so we returned back to the classroom. Our playing-session was justified by Helenia under the excuse it was for club activities, so we're fine but we're slightly worried as well.

They tend to get connected in-game that I'm perceiving the club activities as a hindrance in our studies. Though on the brighter side, I can see Kiana was so enthusiastic and comfortable whenever I'm playing with her, though I doubt she'd get interested in DAO by herself considering she's not the type to play such an online game.

It was not long before dismissal came so it's time for me to rendezvous with Helenia inside the club room, and because I'm the one assigned for cleaning the classroom today, the rest of my friends will probably go on their own.

I immediately rushed to sweep below the chair and after everything's seamlessly dustless, and when the task's done, I grabbed my bag and went straight to the stairs and go straight to the gaming club room, and then I encountered Ged and Sattela along the way in the corridors.

"Huh? Where's Ariel?" The three of them went out earlier ago so I expected to see them together.

"Ariel left for his part-time job. Helenia told us there are no after-class club activities for today." Ged told me something that I'm not aware of even though Helenia invited me herself in her personal message.

"Is that so? Then take care." I can't possibly tell them our club president specifically called me in a meeting they weren't involved, maybe it was the reason why she canceled the club activity just so she could discuss an important matter.

"You too, Reyler..." Sattela replied shyly, she's fidgeting just saying farewell, how innocent she can get.

"Good day, we'll see tomorrow."I did a fistbump with them even though Sattela doesn't know how boys actually send each other off. She freaked out when I attempted to punch her on her shoulder as my farewell.

Either way, I went up to the next floor and proceeded to my destination, to meet the Crimson Princess and see what lies ahead of this eerie path.