Still being clung to, Ice glanced at Ithiel. The elf tugged at his clothes, looking up with a hidden desperation in his eyes. Ice smiled, and the elf relaxed, returning it.

He was still the same, even if he looked different. He came to keep his promise.

With the attachment of a newborn chick to the first person it saw, Ithiel decided to stick to Ice in any way possible. After all, that Bloody was allowed to do it too.

(At this point, little Ithiel with no social experience was even more dense than Ice, and so it would take a bit longer for him to realize the exact nature of their relationship…)

Only once they reached a little hidden area behind one of the houses could they stop to talk. The brothers began explaining to their cousin, while Ice took Ithiel a bit to the side to talk to him. The NPC’s eyes were constantly stuck to him, confused by the visual difference.

“I… haven’t heard of anything else”, Ithiel stuttered when they were out of earshot from the others. “I didn’t want to ask your friend, I didn’t know if it would be bad?”

“You can trust him”, Ice promised. After some deliberation, he tried to think of a way to sum up the situation for Ithiel. “Would you like to continue accompanying us? I think it might be interesting for you to see the way we live.”

Ithiel’s eyes regained some of their sparkle. “May I? I’ve always been so curious about you Foreigners! Where you came from, what you’re doing here-”

He stopped himself, lowering his head while peeking up at Ice. Sensing the other’s worry of having said something wrong, Ice managed a smile.

“I’m sorry, everything is a bit hard to explain. You must be confused why I look different, too.”

Ithiel nodded like a chicken.

“You can think of your world as… as like a globe that exists in the one we come from. Your creator, too, was born in our world, but he moved over to this one. We are merely visitors. Tourists.”

Ithiel knew the word tourists. He didn’t understand why a tourist would enjoy hunting, but maybe that was just how these people were?

“Our bodies here are just… copies. I’ve met your creator, and they gave me a new form in return for leaving my old one here.”

It was hardly easy to explain everything without mentioning gaming terms.

“You met them?” Ithiel deflated, pulling his shoulders up. “Are they… very mad at us?”

Ice shook his head. “No. Your creator has their own problems, that’s why they went into hiding. You don’t have to worry about it right now. In fact, your changes - being able to hear us, being able to mourn - are good things. They’re not scary.”

The expression on the elf’s face told Ice that he thought it was plenty scary.

“Should I… continue to act like I can’t hear it?” The librarian let his gaze wander over the other three players at the side.

Ice considered everything for a moment. “No. You can act like you’re one of us. I’ll cover for you.”

Was it going to be hard? Obviously it would be, but if Ithiel was integrated within the group of players, he might develop even quicker. His development was what Ice needed to convince Little Droplet to believe in his own creations again.

Moreover, if he couldn’t work it out on his own, wasn’t there still Bloody?

Ithiel held the tip of Ice’s shirt as they returned.

“Bloody”, Ice asked, instantly having the full attention of the lovestruck beastman. “Do you mind if we take Ithiel to level, too? Since he’s more of a lifestyle player, he has issues raising it.”

“Huh? Wasn’t he-” Dead Rabbit spoke up in surprise, but Bloody hit the back of his head without even looking.

“Of course! No problem at all!”

“You’re a lifestyle player?” The scary-looking Huntsman raised an eyebrow at Ithiel, who couldn’t bring out a word in response under the cold gaze.

“He’s here for the lore. He knows a lot about Haven.”

Ithiel didn’t understand a single word, but confirmed Ice’s words anyway.

Huntsman hummed in understanding. “That explains why he looks so weak.”

“Long Xin, can you stop scaring the poor guy?” Bloody snorted out a laugh. He wrapped an arm around his cousin, kindly patting his shoulder. “You’re in Haven now! Relax, and have some fun! Sorry, Ithiel. He looks scary, but he’s actually very nice.”

In reality, Long Xin was the kind of guy who’d feed a stray kitten on the street, pick up abandoned animals, and help out in shelters. Animals generally liked him a lot, maybe seeing through his fierce looks and only reacting to his kind soul.

Still, Bloody’s words weren’t a hundred percent correct - there was one instance when Long Xin was as scary as his looks, and that was when he felt that his family was being threatened.

For example, when he coincidentally found out that his cousin was still stalked by his ex.

...Wrong information, but a worried mind is quick to twist things to suit their imagination.

“Then, if everyone’s ready, let’s go hunt some wooo…” Bloody glanced over at Huntsman. “...Tigers.”

“I’m fine with the word. I just won’t think too much about it”, Huntsman responded stiffly. “Let’s get on with it. I want to raise my level quickly.”

Ice had originally been worried about their leveling pace, but in truth, it was kind of insane.

Bloody and Dead Rabbit were mowing down enemies like grass, casually throwing whatever items they found to Ice and Huntsman. Huntsman was originally uncomfortable, wanting to progress on his own, but he soon accepted the treatment.

The two players officially joined Bloody’s guild, with Huntsman developing himself into a tank-dps mix like White Light, and Ice deciding to go down the assassin path.

He couldn’t be a mage, and assassins weren’t frontal fighters. He liked that. He had a feeling he wouldn’t be a good archer.

But having knives felt weird to him - he sorely missed holding his staff.

On the internet, things began to burn.

Many people were demanding to know who the newbie was that Bloody was so attached to, but the public’s screeching soon changed into confused screams.

Although they were cuddly, there were no kisses.

People had also noticed that Dead Rabbit was Bloody’s brother, and Huntsman his cousin - so, was this new guy also a family member? But why does he look so much like the Ice Emperor?! How dare he???!

The confusion twisted into an outrage when shippers realized they wouldn’t feel comfortable shipping Bloody with someone who looked like a relative, but they were also unwilling to give up.

Either way, it was a mess, and so Ice used the general confusion to quietly level up to 50...

 

***

 

Since they were boyfriends and neighbors, Xi Yang regularly started coming over. He often didn’t announce himself either, simply ringing the bell to see if Jian Lin was at home.

He always knew when Jian Lin was online anyway, and they were offline at the same time.

Humming a tune to himself, Xi Yang hopped over to the next door and rang the bell. Even now, he was still ecstatic that Jian Lin was his neighbor. It was so convenient!

The door opened after a moment… revealing an aged face.

Stunned, Xi Yang stared wide-eyed for a moment before he started beaming. “Mister Jian! Long time no see! Am I interrupting something? I wanted to bring over lunch for Jian Lin.”

Xi Yang lifted up a little container.

Grandfather Jian was equally surprised for a second. That little brat hadn’t told them anything about Xi Yang having found out! Still, it was a good thing. Xi Yang had to be kept close. In an instant, he made a choice, and smiled amicably. “Not at all. Do come in!”

Xi Yang was half pushed into the living room, where next to Jian Lin, an overly gorgeous woman and man sat in the midst of several bodyguards.

“You’re… sure I’m not disturbing?”, Xi Yang inquired awkwardly, giving a little wave into Jian Lin’s direction.

“Not at all!” It was Jian Su who answered. She was suspicious the very moment her father invited someone inside, checking him out carefully. Her eyes were roaming over the young man - black hair and black eyes, tall, well-built, with a sunny smile. Good!

Xi Yang flopped down on the sofa next to Jian Lin, shortly leaning in for a whisper. “Should I leave?”

Jian Lin shook his head, warmly looking at the bright pair of obsidian eyes.

Opposite of them, Grandfather Jian and Jian Su slowly lifted their eyebrows, while Anthony started rubbing his chin.

“So”, Jian Su asked in a deliberately loud voice, “he’s your friend?”