Lisa looked up at me, her wide eyes shimmering with disbelief. “You must be joking…” she whispered, her voice trembling slightly. “Please, Charlie… don’t tease me like this…” She looked genuinely distraught.

  “Uhmm…” Without thinking, I rushed to her side and ed her in a hug, which, thanks to the ridiculously low seating, resulted in her head nding squarely on my cleavage.

  Suffer as I suffered!

  I grinned.

  Or… Wait… What am I doing?!!

  I awkwardly patted her head, feeling the heat rise in my cheeks. “I’m not joking, Lisa. That I promise. But oneet the mythieo’s all on you. Deal?”

  Lisa seemed to melt into the hug, her tension fading as she let out a soft, tented hum. Meanwhile, Katherine burst into ughter, her shoulders shaking as she poi us. “Charlie! Yar two… Same!” Her words barely made it through her ughter as she doubled over.

  Lucas, for his part, was grinning from ear to ear.

  Lisa, now thhly tent, started humming a cheerful tune as I tio pet her head absentmindedly. Her hair was soft, and for a moment, I allowed myself to bask in the sheer absurdity of it all.

  If someone had told me a week ago, when I was drowning my sorrows in my favorite pub, that I’d be sitting here with Katherine and Lucas, mythiises in the air, petting a mage like a cat, I’d have ughed them out of the bar.

  But here we are.

  Right then, the waitress returned. “Any other drinks?” she asked, her toral but her gaze curious as it swept over our lively group.

  Lucas immediately nodded, about to order something. I shot a quice at Adam, who was doing his best not to gre, but was definitely paying close attention. His stare didn’t feel hostile, more… protective, like a parent watg their kid try something risky.

  I won’t let you down, Ady.

  “I’ll have something non-alcoholic, like soda—” I said, but Katherierrupted, her voice full of excitement.

  “Beer!” she excimed, jumping to her feet with enough energy to startle the poor waitress. “Czech tradition! Ya drink beer!”

  I shook my head firmly. “Sorry, Kit, but…”

  “No-alcohol beer!” she cut me off, practically vibrating with enthusiasm as she gestured dramatically toward the waitress. “!”

  The waitress, clearly used to dealing with impulsive -goers, took a careful step bad nodded. “Yes, we have that… I’ll bring ht away.”

  Lisa ordered some super fancy drink I never heard about and, to my surprise, they had it. I sat ba my seat and we all were Lena, who found a new best friend and they were locked in a fierce duel.

  “Charlie… at the performance, you really hyped the crowd with that epic fight, yeah?” Lucas asked, leaning forward slightly. I nodded, catg the curious tilt of his head. “Well, what’s the pn for managing all that? I still have… y’know, other responsibilities. Certain things that aking care of.”

  Damn, I totally fot about that.

  I tapped my thoughtfully, then fshed him a mischievous grin. “Yeah, I ’t just hog all your time, huh? We’ll leave Pearl some bits and pieces to haoo. Bance, right?”

  Lucas opened his mouth, probably ready to fire bae sarcastic retort, but he stopped mid-breath, his eyes narrowing as he eyed me.

  Before I could ask what his deal was, I felt a shift in the air—Adam plopped down beside me, his usual guarded expression intact, while Lo hovered awkwardly he edge of the table, clutg her ever-present tablet like it was a lifeline.

  I raised an eyebrow at her. “What’s up, Lo? You look like you’re about to ask for permission to sy a dragon or something. e on, sit down,” I said, patting the empty seat o Lisa.

  Lo hesitated for a heartbeat, then perched like she was brag herself for an exam. She fidgeted slightly, chewing on her bottom lip before finally speaking. “Lady Charlie, I…” She bit her lip harder, then quickly added, “I overheard… but I wasn’t, like, eavesdropping! I swear! I just… heard you might need help.”

  Her voice trailed off, and she stared at the table, visibly nervous.

  I reached out and dabbed her shoulder, a reassuring smile. “Calm down, Lo. It’s fine. What did you hear?”

  “That you need help,” she repeated, quieter this time. Then, with a sudden burst of determination, she added, “I help! I’m… I’m really good at anizing things. I prove it!”

  I blinked, surprised by her earness. Then I ughed—a light, genuine ugh that seemed to ease some of the tension in the air. Shaking my head, I said, “Lo, you already did. You’ve been incredible all day. Tell you what—do you want to be my steward?”

  Her eyes widened. “Your… steward?”

  “Yeah.” I grinned wider, leaning ba my seat. “Lucas here is my keeper, but I’ve been g a good steward. If you’re up for it, sider your role before the battle as a trial period. Do well, and we’ll make it official.” I winked pyfully.

  Lo blihen nodded furiously, her cheeks flushing with pride. “Yes, Lady Charlie! I won’t let you down!”

  Adam shook his head slowly, the er of his mouth quirking in disbelief. “You all act like this is real life,” he muttered, leaning back with his arms crossed, his eyes flig between us.

  Maybe it is.

  Maybe was Riker right, and Rimelion was real. With all the sequences of that thought.

  As I pted, Lucas shrugged, a half-smile as he leaned oable, fingers interwoven together. “It feels real, Adam. That’s the point.” He paused, gng at Katherine.

  Katherine nodded and shifted in her seat like she was mid-battle. “Thrill! Stream! Blood! Smashin’!” she added her… opinion.

  Lucas seemed to agree, so he tinued, “For a few hours, it’s like you’re someone else, somewhere else. No stress, , no obligations… just being free. You get to be part of a world that’s bigger than you, and if you’re lucky, you leave a mark on it.”

  I observed Adam, curious about how he’d react. His expression didn’t ge, but he didn’t interrupt, which was a good sign.

  “Why do you think people keep ing back? It’s not just the game meics or the loot, or… money.” I could see a glint in his eyes. “It’s because, for a little while, you fet about real-world crap and just… exist in something epic.”

  Adam snorted, unimpressed. “Yeah, but it’s fake. None of it actually matters when you log off.”

  “Maybe not to you,” Lisa piped up, twirling a lock of her fiery red hair around her finger, her voiimated. “But to me? It’s everything.”

  “There must be a story!” I grinned.

  Lisa nodded. “I’ve got a routine bae. Wake up, school, homework, maybe hang out with friends if I’m lucky. And it’s all… b. Normal. But there?” She spread her hands, mimig the roar of fire. “There, I be a fire mage. I burn things, make fmes dance, and fight mythical creatures.” She shot me a grin. “It’s exg! It’s freeing.”

  Adam raised an eyebrow at her. “So, you’re saying it’s an escape?”

  “Exactly!” Lisa grinned. “But not in a bad way. It’s like… I get to do something that I ’t do anywhere else. I get to be someone who literally ge the world. Bae, I’m just Lisa. Here, I’m Lisa the Fme… Uhmm… Whisperer.”

  She struck a dramatic pose, which earned a chuckle from everyone, even Adam.

  I chipped in, not wanting to miss the ce to tease Adam. “e on, Ady. Don’t pretend you don’t get it. Remember when we pyed that pirate game? You had a bst being Captain Ady, terror of the seas. You were telling everyone in school you sank six ships solo.”

  “That was different,” he said defensively, though his lips twitched. “That was… okay, maybe not pletely different.”

  “Exactly!” I grinned, pointing at him. “It’s all about the experiehe fun. The feeling that, just for a little while, you’re part of something bigger than life.”

  Maybe part of the real reality.

  Adam sighed, shaking his head but smiling. “Fine, fine. I get it. But don’t expect me to cospy as some epic mage soon.”

  Lisa gasped dramatically. “You could totally be a fire knight! I see it now—Adam, wielding a fming sword, battling sns with me!”

  “Hard pass,” Adam said ftly, though his amusement was clear.

  Then we all turo Lo, who had been sitting quietly, her hands fidgeting nervously with the edge of her tablet. She noticed the attention, her eyes widening slightly before she gnced away, as if the holo-lights refleg off the tabletop suddenly became fasating.

  “Well…” she started, “I… I have nothing, you know, cool like that. No fmes, no pirate ships, no magical swords.” She hesitated, her fingers gripping the tablet tighter as she tried to collect her thoughts. “But I like… finishing tasks.”

  There was a beat of silence, broken only by the faint hum of the bar. Lucas blinked, fused, while Lisa tilted her head, her fiery hair catg the soft pink glow.

  Even Adam looked intrigued.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Finishing tasks? Like… errands?”

  Lo nodded, still avoiding eye tact. “Yeah. It’s just… satisfying, you know? Starting something, w through it, and then seeing it done. I like whehing’s , anized, and… plete.”

  Then we all got our drinks, and Katherine rose, her expression as intense as ever. “Okay! Everyone!” she announced, her voice carrying enough authority to make us all pause mid-versation.

  “g gsses! Look into eyes!” She nodded as if this were some a ritual passed down through geions. “The gss smash table, and then drink! Important!”

  She was adamant, her serious tone trasting with the instru.

  Still, none of us dared question it. We obediently ked sses together, log eyes with one ahen, following her lead, I smashed my beer gss onto the table—just hard enough to make a satisfying thunk—before taking a sip.

  It was bitter.

  Duh, Charlie, it’s beer.

  I fought the urge to grimace, gng at Lisa, who was eagerly gulping down her super-duper fancy drink like it was ambrosia. Katherine grinned in satisfa, clearly pleased that we had followed her peculiar tradition. “Good!” she decred proudly, raising her gss again. “Czech style!”

  We all ughed, and soon the versation resumed, flowing freely like the drinks.

  We sed stories, joked around, and ughter filled the alcove. Lena climbed onto Lucas’s p at some point, insisting on beiertained with his “hacker feats.” Lisa debated heatedly with Katherine about who would win in a duel—aal mage or a berserker—while I leaned back, happy with friends.

  I’ve never felt like this.

  Time seemed to blur. It felt like only minutes had passed, but it must have been longer because, eventually, Lo’s tablet beeped with an urgent tone. She quickly skimmed the message, her expression turning apologetic.

  “Uhm, dy, I’m sorry, but we have to move to the event,” she said, gng at me nervously.

  I frowned, pulled out of the cozy feelings we’d created. “Didn’t we have, like… time?” I asked, my tone full of fusion.

  Lo blinked, looking down at her tablet again as if it might offer a different answer. “We… already spent it?” she said, her voicertain, as if she couldn’t quite believe it either.

  I was fused.

  She was fused.

  We were fused together, staring at each other in mutual bewilderment.

  “Well, it was fun while it sted,” Lucas quipped, draining the st of his drink with a grin.

  I nodded, still a bit fused, standing up and adjusting my tiara—which Lena had returned earlier with a solemn thank you, Auntie Charlie.

  “The’s go be the Sword Queen.”