I sat in an empty classroom. Millia stood behind the teacher's desk, wearing a professor's outfit. I had no idea where she got those clothes, and I didn't want to ask. The girl smacked the board behind her with a long rod.

  "Dante, you made it to The Duke's Duplicity's first boss, right?" Millia asked. "You're not too much of a noob to even get there?"

  "Yeah, I made it to the first boss. I never got it past them, though," I answered.

  A smug smirk crossed Millia's face. She folded her arms and grinned.

  "Well, you don't have to worry about that," the girl said. "With all the experience and trinkets I have, we'll beat the first boss for sure."

  Millia's expression turned serious. A sigh escaped her mouth.

  "Is what I'd like to say, but this game is really hard. We'll need all the help we can get," she stated. "I'm sure you know what the next step is."

  I wanted to give her a thumbs up, but this was a very serious situation. So, I nodded instead.

  "Yes. I need to get through the three bonding events," I said.

  "Two bonding events," Millia corrected. "One for Robert and one for Janek."

  "What about the one with you?"

  Millia burst out laughing. A sense of incredible embarrassment flushed through me. I felt my cheeks turn red. Then, the girl shook her head.

  "Seriously, Dante?" Millia chuckled. "I'm already part of your party. You don't need to bother with my bonding event."

  I rushed out my next words, desperate to throw my embarrassment away.

  "But I want to get to know you more. You're nothing like the Millia from the game. And I'm not like the Dante you know. Doesn't that interest you at all?"

  "It doesn't," Millia replied.

  She whacked the board with the stick hard. It was so sudden that I jumped in my seat. A stern expression crossed Millia's face.

  "Listen, Dante. I know you're going to work with me because getting a good ending to this game benefits both of us. And since you're the main character, that means I need to help you, so you know I'll work with you. I don't need to like you to work with you. Even if I hate you, I'll still work with you," the girl stated.

  I frowned.

  "So, you don't want to get to know me better because you're worried you'll end up hating me?" I asked.

  "No, no, no, no, dumbass," Millia shook her head. "I don't care if I'd end up hating or liking you. I can find out enough about your personality to work with you just by doing stuff like this. I can accomplish more doing different things than going on a bonding event."

  Well...I...I couldn't exactly say she was wrong. We were in a dangerous situation, and Millia knew more about the Duke's Duplicity than I did. Right now, surviving is the most important thing. Still, there was something about how Millia said her words that bothered me.

  "Millia, what do you think about Janek and Robert?" I asked.

  "They're interesting characters. I prefer Janek, but Robert's backstory is pretty intriguing too," she answered.

  That helped explain things. But I needed more evidence.

  "Do you care about them?" I questioned.

  Millia looked at me with an expression of confusion on her face.

  "Well, I guess I care about as much as any video game character," she shrugged. "I don't want them to die, and I'd like them to get happy endings if they could, but it isn't like they're real people."

  Ah, that explained it.

  "Millia," I took a deep breath before continuing. "We're in the same world as these people. I don't think we can just treat them as if they're video game characters. I will admit that I sometimes think of them that way still, but I need to break out of it. Even if that's what they were in our world, we're in their world now. If they're just video game characters, then we're the same."

  Hesitation flickered through Millia's eyes. Her brow furrowed, and she looked down.

  "I...Dante, do you know what it's like reincarnating in this nightmare world and being here since you were born? What it's like to jump into dungeons, looking for artifacts guarded by monsters?" she asked.

  "No," I answered.

  Millia shook her head. She then slapped herself on the hip with the rod. It tore her clothes and drew blood. I jumped up and ran over to her.

  "Millia, are you okay?" panic flashed through me.

  She jabbed the stick in my direction as I came close.

  "Stay back!" heavy breaths escaped Millia's mouth. "Please, just stay back."

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  I stopped dead in my tracks.

  "Millia, are you alright?" I asked.

  She clenched the desk so hard that her hands turned white. In fact, her entire body was pale.

  "No. I'm not fucking alright. I don't think I'll ever be okay. Dante, you haven't even begun to see the horrors of this fucking place! You haven't been here since you were born! If I didn't think of this world as just a video game, I'd have lost my fucking mind years ago!"

  Spittle flew from Millia's mouth as she ranted. I took a step back.

  "I'm sorry, Millia. I didn't know how horrible it was," and I still didn't. "I thought you were being cold. I didn't realize it was a coping mechanism."

  Millia raised a fist and slammed it on the desk. Blood leaked from her hand. The girl's entire body was shaking.

  "Call it whatever you want. This is how I have to think. So, just go. Do the bonding events," she ordered.

  I turned and started to walk away. Then, halfway towards the exit, I stopped.

  "Millia, I'm still not against going through your bonding event with you," I told her. "And if you think talking will help you, we can do that instead. Or during your bonding event."

  Her voice came from behind me. It was as cold as ice.

  "Just go. Do whatever you want during the time you would have spent with me. I don't care."

  With that, I accepted Millia's decision and left the room. I hoped to whatever gods were out there that I made the right choice. But then again, this wasn't my decision to make. It was Millia's.

  Of course, that wouldn't make me feel any less bad if this ended horribly.

  A few days later, the time arrived for Robert's bonding event. It was a weekend, a day when there were no classes. Though these were known as free days in this world. Still, I knew exactly where to find the boy.

  Robert was digging in the school's garden. It was a grand and beautiful place with fields of flowers, patches of crops, and a great hedge maze. A massive fountain stood in the center, depicting a vigorous god pouring water out of a bowl.

  Next to Robert were several flower pots. A few were empty, and the next one would fit nicely in the hole he was making.

  "Hey, Robert!" I waved as I approached him. "How are you doing today?"

  He turned to me with a slight smile on his face despite himself. For a moment, I thought I saw fear in his eyes and that his skin became paler. But that faded swiftly. I knew from the game that Robert was generally a tense and angry person, not just because he was a commoner. The only time Robert was truly relaxed was when he was gardening. That was the best time to approach him.

  "About as well as ever. What about you? Has the Bloodbath Princess given you any battle scars yet?" there was suspicion in his voice.

  I shook my head.

  "You don't have to worry about that, Robert. Augusta's getting really good at holding back," I said.

  Robert narrowed his eyes. He looked me up and down.

  "Well, you're not dead despite fighting every day," he replied. "So, I take that as proof."

  See? He is more relaxed. I suspected Robert would be on the verge of yelling at me any other time. Or at least raising his arms in exasperation.

  "Do you need any help gardening?" I asked.

  Bonding event starts in 3...2...1...

  "No, but it would make things go faster, so I'd appreciate it," Robert answered. "If, of course, your princess friend is okay with you getting your hands dirty."

  A flicker of annoyance pulsed through me. I get that Augusta's my training partner and he hates nobles, but does he have to harp on like this? Most of the students in King Casimir Academy are nobles. So, if someone has a friend here, they're most likely a noble by statistical odds.

  "I don't think Augusta cares if I garden. And even if she did, she isn't here right now," I pointed out.

  With a perplexed expression, Robert looked behind me. I turned around. Just as I suspected, Augusta wasn't there. There were just some bushes. So, I fixed my gaze on Robert once more.

  "You don't have to worry. I can help you," I said.

  "Very well. Thank you," Robert replied.

  "Just...one thing first."

  I doubted that Robert would believe me if I told him about what would happen later in the bonding event, but I wanted to give him at least some warning.

  "What is it?" he asked.

  "Are you armed?" I questioned. "With more than the sword at your hip?"

  "Yes," Robert said. "Why?"

  I shrugged.

  "I'm worried that we might get attacked. I want to make sure you're safe," I stated.

  "Don't worry about it," Robert waved it off. "No one would dare hurt the Bloodbath Princess' only friend. And as long as you're here, no one will try to hurt me either."

  The two of us did garden work for the next hour. It was literally dirty labor, and we washed our hands off in the fountain when it was finished. Thankfully, there was a spell on the fountain that kept its waters eternally clean. Otherwise, we'd have to spend time cleaning the dirt out of it.

  "You were working on your own until I showed up. Do you like doing that?" I asked.

  "Yes," Robert answered. "To my surprise, I'm one of the only two commoners in the gardening club."

  He scoffed.

  "And I refuse to work with nobles."

  "But these nobles are willing to garden. That's something that they normally hire commoners to do," I pointed out. "Doesn't that make them different than other nobles? At the very least, they might appreciate the work their servants do more."

  Robert shook his head. He placed a hand on the rim of the fountain before gazing up at the statue. There was an expression of contempt on his face.

  "Different? Perhaps, but a noble is still a noble. Not one of them gives the faintest crap about anyone below them. And anyone who thinks any of them are different is a fool."

  I waved it off and shrugged.

  "Hey, I think that most nobles are scum. The same thing is true of leaders people vote into office in things like Republics. Power corrupts, no matter the political system. It's an inescapable truth of humanity."

  Then, my gaze turned to the statue.

  "But just because most people in power are scum doesn't mean they all are. And thinking there are no good leaders is just as foolish as thinking leaders in general are good people. At the very least, some nobles have good intentions. Didn't you discover that when you did your own research on King Casimir?" I asked.

  Robert grimaced hard.

  "They say King Casimir was a great ruler. But not everything King Casimir did was good. At least, that's what I think," he answered.

  "But were the bad things he did mistakes, or were they done out of malice?" I questioned. "And weren't they outnumbered heavily by the good things he did?"

  Robert shook his head. He looked away from the statue.

  "The king and the land are one. That's an old belief from my homeland. When the land prospers, so does the king. There's no way King Casimir was altruistic. He only wanted to benefit his land because he'd benefit from it too."

  "We're not in your homeland," I pointed out. "The legend of the Fisher King isn't a thing here."

  Then, Robert turned to me. He raised an eyebrow.

  "I didn't think you'd know anything about the Fisher King. Your last name is Montressor, right? That's a Calavon name," Robert pointed out.

  Oh, crap. I messed up. I needed to fix this, fast.

  "Speaking of your homeland, doesn't it have any beloved kings? Any nobles whom the people like? Anything like that?" I asked.

  Robert scoffed.

  "We do, unfortunately. But I refuse to believe that any of those kings and nobles were actually good people. They were just selfish in a way that benefited the people they ruled over. Those people then mistook that selfishness for altruism," he answered.

  Before I could say anything, Robert started walking and spoke fast.

  "I'm getting tired of this talk. Let's get some food. We can go back to gardening after."

  And thus, the bonding event continues.

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