Fantasy Realm – Infinite Worlds Adventure

Chapter 551: Lack of Manners

Li Qingfeng leans back in her chair, her expression finally turning serious. “Let’s talk about the Seekers, okay?”“Sure,” Alex replies in the affirmative.

That’s why we are here, aren’t we? Get to the point... I get the feeling this woman lives in her office and is lacking social contacts... this is almost as bad as my daily life before the Realm.... Well... I went to work at least. Maybe I was even in a better spot than her?

Though I better keep that to myself... she looks like the type; once she snaps, she goes batshit crazy.

Li Qingfeng takes a deep breath and begins to talk. “The Seekers are a fairly independent guild that does not have a specialization, thus they have no weakness. At the same time, they are not strong enough in any area to monopolize a service, which means you won’t be affected much. They can’t really use the System economy to attack or suppress you fully, so you shouldn’t be worried—because they don’t have too much influence on the other guilds, and more importantly, they would never openly ask for help. They might try little stunts, but I doubt they’ll be able to cause you any harm, aside from a little inconvenience here or there.”

She explains, pausing for a brief second before continuing.

“The only danger you are susceptible to is that they might use certain items to intentionally join your missions to sabotage or maybe hunt you down. You can’t, and frankly shouldn’t, worry about the threat—you’ll just have to accept it. There is one thing to consider, however. It’s best not to oppose or antagonize them, especially not publicly. If you humiliate them and attack their reputation, they’ll do anything within their power, even at a huge cost to their resources, to get rid of you. Reputation is everything to large guilds. If they appear weak, nobody will join them, and they are at risk of losing influence and even players.”

Li Qingfeng’s smile fades just a little as she continues.

“Frankly, Samir is a reasonable man. He’ll probably know that you didn’t target his guild, and if you lay low, you won’t have to worry about him. Of course, they won’t be friendly with you, but they want to keep what happened to themselves as well.”

That’s... pretty close to what Benezia said! She was right, after all.

Princess Jewel knew this as well!

It’s not a contest, Jewel. Anyway, looks like Benezia has a pretty good grasp of the situation. That’s rather comforting, so we can rely on her guidance. I guess that’s to be expected from a diplomat.

“Should we consider just paying him something... something symbolic to keep him off our backs? You know, maybe a hundred thousand FC or so?” Alex asks. “Would he ignore us then? I’d rather avoid getting targeted later down the line.”

“Unlikely. That would be perceived as weakness, and he would continue to exploit it,” Li Qingfeng replies.

Alex looks at Benezia, who looks calm and emotionless, but nonetheless Alex stares closer at her mouth, seeing the slightest hint of them shaking.

She is holding back her smile... damn her. Right again. So petty... acting all serious, but inside she’s childish as well... at least I think so.

Princess Jewel agrees! She’s immature compared to her!

I hope for your sake that you only shared that thought with me.

Princess Jewel is not afraid...

... though she thought it silently, and only shared it with her Soulmate.

“We are grateful for the advice and will take it to heart,” Tereza replies. “Thank you!”

“Apart from that, congratulations on making it through that mission—you did something quite impressive. I’d love to leak that information to boost the reputation of our own guild, but out of goodwill and respect towards you, I’ll keep it to myself.”

“Wait...  a minute,” Alex mutters, his mouth opening but not sound coming out.

Objection!!!

Regaining his composure, he asks the obvious question. “How did you even learn about it in the first place?” He asks, realizing the glaring contradiction in her words.

“A fair and logical question; I could have sworn you wanted to yell something, but it must be my imagination,” Li Qingfeng says, smiling at Alex. “Let’s just say their little leader complained and wanted to extort a favor from me... in respect to a certain deal. The deal didn’t manifest to his satisfaction, which is why he is now contacting you, since he couldn’t get what he wanted from me.”

“Petty asshole...” Alex mumbles. “I will have to try really hard not to insult that guy and his goons that might approach us... I need to remain calm... calm my mind.”

“Hehe, I’m sure you’ll manage. Do your best, my friend—your life might depend on it. You can always ‘seek’ revenge later down the road,” Li Qingfeng comments, the seriousness in her voice gone.

Guess her favor is over.

After a little bit of small talk and some pleasantries, Alex and the others exit the guild house and swiftly leave, walking out of the guild area, back into the lobby of the player tower, and finally outside into the Realm. Alex can’t help but stare at the seemingly calm and emotionless Benezia next to him.

“Yeah, yeah, Benezia, you don’t have to hide it. You can act smug. You were right...” Alex mutters, placing his hands behind his head as he walks beside her, trying to act casual about it.

“Whatever do you mean, child?” Benezia asks, acting oblivious.

“Drop the act!” Alex says, pointing at her. “You actually have a tell. Maybe you had it forever, or maybe you just developed it, but I can see it on your face—specifically your lips. They slightly tremble when you feel confident or satisfied. My SNS is high, so don’t try to deny it. You can’t deceive me. You were clearly amused and proud because you were right.”

“I have to agree with him,” Tereza says. “My SNS is even higher than Alex’s, and I noticed it quite a few times last mission. You suppress your emotions, but you still feel them.”

“This is rather... uncomfortable,” Benezia comments, looking genuinely shocked for once. “You players are a little scary. My act worked for almost a millennium.... There was only one person who saw through me like this. Though any thoughts concerning that person only frustrate me, so I’d be happy if you would let these memories rest.”

“Well... see it from the bright side. You are on a crazy journey, while she hands out Gold Label Erasa on Illium. I’d say you come out ahead,” Alex says, shrugging.

“Hehehe,” she now laughs openly, breaking out into a full-on cackle, shocking the others. “You might be right about that.”

“What the?!” Tereza exclaims, approaching Alex from the side, whispering. “Alex, what kind of magic was that?”

“Yeah...” Menchi comments, taking up a spot on his other side. “That was weird... did you flip a switch in her head? Do it again; that is addicting, I want to see more.”

Very subtle...

“Stop whispering, children,” Benezia finally says, returning to her serious demeanour. “We don’t have any time to waste.”

“Yes, mommy,” all three of them say at the same time, grinning at her, her expression souring.

“I wish that was the case, because that would allow me to smack some sense into you using my Biotics, or send you away for a few decades to grow up in one of the famous Asari monasteries for naughty children,” she replies, moving ahead on her own, the others quickly following her.

Rejoining her, they immediately walk further ahead towards the Eternal Coffins, home of not only Glimmerwhisk, but also the public face of the Goblin Union.

Princess Jewel does not want to enter... still, this time she won’t succumb to the Goblin’s vile temptations.

I am quite certain she’ll immediately fold... but whatever.

Not wasting any time, Alex sees Softspark and approaches her with a smile, his mood so good that he’s glad to see her, despite her usually grumpy attitude.

“Oh, Softest Spark, so gentle that even an elephant would wake up after a night of drinking upon feeling your touch. I beseech you, please lead me to your mistress,” Alex says, just mindlessly saying whatever comes to mind.

“...”

“Come on,” Alex says, “no need to become all green with jealousy, hehe. Green... get it?”

“...”

“Okay, I’m sorry. Please lead the way...” Alex adds, feeling a little silly now, even with his great mood.

Is this peasant goblin suddenly unable to talk? Maybe it’s a goblin sickness. She is all green in the face.

“...”

Not making it better, Jewel. You know they can hear you by now... no... you are doing it on purpose.

❤️

Maybe I’m really a bad influence....

Glaring at them, Softspark wordlessly leads them to Glimmerwhisk’s office.

Alex knocks, waits a few seconds, and still hears no answer.

“Can’t people fucking respond to my knocking today? Are my hands cursed or something?” he complains loudly, his mood getting worse by the second.

Let Princess Jewel try!

“How can you knock? Don’t pierce the door with your spear-like legs or she might demand that we pay for the damage...” Alex warns her, looking sceptical.

Soulmate, please lower your head.

“...”

Fine...

Jewel, with unbridled confidence, now that Alex has lowered his head, knocks on the door around a hundred times, tapping so fast it turns into a soft, relentless patter, almost sounding like a fast-paced, highly erratic song.

That is... Megalovania?

❤️

Damn... you are skilled. Maybe you should play the Piano or become a tapping artist or something.

“Come in, please,” a sickly sweet voice echoes from behind.

See, Soulmate, Princess Jewel did it.

“No... you just convinced me that she is messing with me...” Alex mutters.

“It’s good that you realize that, just don’t take the bait,” Menchi says, supporting his suspicion. “Now keep that in mind and go in. We have a lot to talk about, and we don’t want to get sidetracked into pointless word games.”

“Indeed,” Benezia replies.

Alex then opens the door and confidently strides in, seeing Glimmerwhisk sitting on an extremely tall, luxurious chair. It’s stacked with pillows made from some glimmering, sparkling silver material, the whole thing appearing almost godly. Glimmerwhisk herself is wearing a bright gold dress, giving her a stark contrast to the chair, causing Alex to stare at her in amazement.

So sparkly! Princess Jewel likes the dress and the chair.

“Welcome,” Glimmerwhisk says, smiling at them. “If it isn’t my favourite spider. I’m glad you like my dress and my new chair. Why don’t you sit down on it? I have some space in front of me.”

❤️

Jewel, as if pulled by invisible strings, immediately crawls towards the chair, climbs up, and sits down on the sparkling silver cushion, looking extremely fulfilled, while Glimmerwhisk pets her.

“What a surprise...” Alex mumbles, deadpan.

“Did you expect anything else?” Tereza asks. “This silly spider needs to grow up.”

“It was really quite obvious...” Even Benezia says, taking part in the banter for once.

“Please, sit down and relax, you look a little tired,” Glimmerwhisk notes, pointing to the sofa in front of her.

Until just a few minutes ago, I was highly motivated.

Alex, Benezia, Menchi, and Tereza sit down on the sofa that is barely large enough to fit all of them at once.

Did she redecorate? Guess she is bored... a lot.

“It’s so nice to see you all again. Lady Benezia, Menchi, and Tereza, you all look quite well.”

“Yeah, yeah, skip ahead,” Alex immediately stops her upon noting that she didn’t mention his own name. “I can see the punchline from a mile away, and frankly, we don’t have the time for that.”

“You three ladies really should relax once in a while,” Glimmerwhisk continues, ignoring Alex entirely. “I can recommend some great products that will revitalize your skin, refresh your mind, and make you not only look but also feel truly glamorous.”

Princess Jewel wants to be glamorous too!

Glimmerwhisk smiles and pets Jewel again. “Of course, little princess, I’ll personally help you apply it to your shining body.”

“Now... I’d love to go on, but I am a busy woman. Little Alex, why don’t you tell me why you have come to visit me?”

Alex calmly breathes, not responding to her taunt, just staring her in the eyes.

“How boring...” she says, acting calm, yet leaning back a small but noticeable distance. “Anyway, I heard you stirred up quite some trouble during your last mission,” Glimmerwhisk says. “I’d love to hear the details.”

Taking turns, Alex, Menchi, Tereza, and Jewel narrate their last mission, with Benezia occasionally correcting them when she deems it intolerable to remain silent.

“... I saw some mission details, such as which players joined and then left the mission, but this... is quite a surprise. I am not sure I can believe it. Is that possible through your LUK stat? It’s quite unbelievable....”

Finally, Alex grabs the head from his inventory and tries to present it to Glimmerwhisk, but she immediately yells, “Not here! You can deposit it on your way outside. How rude. How dare you take out that gory head in my room? Don’t you have any manners?” 

“I... guess not,” Alex says, putting the head away again.

“Now... why have you come to visit me?” Glimmerwhisk asks with a knowing grin.