Chapter 20: Let the Horrible Revelation Sink In

Chapter 20: Let the Horrible Revelation Sink In

Are you all right, Miss Guevera? She snapped her head up and swallowed the lump in her throat as Instructor Ignatius stood over her desk. He looked somewhat concerned. You dont seem as attentive as usual.

He glanced down at the few papers in front of her. Tori followed his gaze and her stomach twisted. Her usual page or two full of notes had two or three sentences and none of her doodles or charts she used to visualize concepts.

She looked back at her instructor with guilt. Im sorry, Instructor Ignatius, Im a bit distracted today. This wont happen again. Ill be fine tomorrow.

Her words didnt seem to reassure the man. He thought for a moment. If you need to review todays lesson, come see me after class this week and well go over what you missed.

She took a deep breath and nodded. Thank you. Im sorry about this.

Instructor Ignatius gave her a small nod. I know you have a lot of things going on, but dont take more than you can handle. If you do become overwhelmed, dont be afraid to ask for help. He stepped away from her desk and Tori closed her eyes. She leaned back against her seat and let out a low, frustrated breath.

It was inevitable that personal problems could affect her mental state and then spill over into work, or in this case, school. She was still human. Forty-years-old or otherwise. After running a hand down her face, she collected her belongings and began to walk towards the practice grounds for sword.

Halfway there, she came to a stop. Wielding weapons when she was in a daze was not a good idea, no matter how decent she thought her reflexes were. She had some skill, but she wasnt reckless. The last thing any sort of athlete or martial artist wanted was to be injured.

Tori turned around and took two steps in the direction of her dorm.

Ilyana would be there soon and start doing her afternoon reviews. Knowing her, if she noticed Tori even moderately sad, shed immediately try to find out what was wrong and no reviewing would be done. She appreciated her friends loyalty, even if it was programmed into her, so Tori didnt want to bother her.

The only other place she could think of to be alone was Cafe Fortuna.

When she stepped through the doors, Madam Lillian Jager, Tobias mother, was at the counter. She welcomed Tori brightly, but the plump and rosy womans smile waned as she saw Toris face.

Whats wrong, my lady? She had a deep, rural accent from the northeast that Tori liked. Perhaps because the tones and fluidity of it reminded her of her original worlds grandmothers accent. She wasnt sure what it was, but it was comforting. The woman rounded the counter and walked across the empty cafe. She raised her hands and cupped Toris face. You are...tired?

Tori nodded her head silently. Mama J, can I get some chicken soup? It was her comfort food of choice, no matter what world she was in.

Yes, yes, Mama J will make it for you. You go to the boss room. I will bring you soup.

Tori thanked her softly and trudged to the stairs. She didnt question being treated like a child in need of comfort. She was distressed. She welcomed it.

The door to Piers private room was at the end of the hall upstairs, right above the front of the cafe. Shed only been there once, when Axton invited her and the others up the day he found her seething about the stolen vests. She pushed open the door and walked into the warm room with a large table, chairs, and a plush, oversized settee by the window.

She put her bag on the table and then went to lay across the settee. She needed a moment to decompress, then she could think clearly. As she sprawled on the soft, purple velvet, the weight around her body seemed to sink and she closed her eyes. Her breaths were low and even.

Laying on the settee reminded her of when she first woke up in the game world, trying to make sense of everything. Shed lay on the fancy bed, staring at the canopy, trying to understand who she was and the world around her. Back then, she didnt see a point in panicking or being afraid, though the feelings were there.

Her situation was what it was and without knowing the situation of her original life - whether she was dead or just in a coma - she wasnt about to kill herself to see if shed go back. Thats not the type of person she was and frankly, she thought doing so was ridiculous.

Whod rather put themselves through the momentary pain and stress of death just to see if there was even a chance of returning to her original world when they could live and see what it was like be the beloved daughter of a wealthy and influential family, and explore a fantasy world?

Of course, she missed her family, friends, and carefree life, and the world she grew up in and was used to. To this day, shed have moments where she was reminded of her original home and her heart would ache. There were nights shed wake up with tears in her eyes after dreaming of her mother crying over her dead body or her best friend of 22 years suffering a panic attack after finding out about the accident when she didnt reach Osaka to meet them.

The words Im fine; dont worry about me always died in her throat just as she woke up. All she could do was swallow her cries and turn her back to Ilyana, hoping she didnt wake her.

If she could go back, she would...within reason.

A chance at returning wasnt worth the finality of death if it failed. At least, not to her.

Even if in eight years she was going to die in this world, she certainly wasnt going to rob herself of an interesting life experience before then. Tori opened her eyes and stared at the exposed wooden beams above her. She narrowed her eyes.

I can do a lot in eight years.... she said to herself. Even if she spent most of it in school, shed get to experience new things, which was always a thrill for her. It was why she took so many classes and learned random things. It was why she traveled the world and enjoyed varied interests that served no practical purpose in her career. Huh....

A knock came from the door.

My lady, I bring you soup!

Tori swung her legs over the edge of the settee and rushed to open the door so Mama Jager didnt have to hold the tray for too long.

Thank you, Mama J. Tori reached out to take the tray. I can get it. Do you want me to bring it downstairs when Im done?

No, you leave it here. Eat and rest, okay? The fifty-something year old woman reached out and patted Toris cheek affectionately. If you need anything, we are downstairs.

She headed back and Tori turned around, using her foot to close the door while she held the wooden tray with the rather large bowl of chicken and vegetable chunks floating in thick soup. There was a hot cup of coffee with milk next to the bowl and her favorite Cafe Fortuna dessert, custard tart. She placed the tray on the table and smiled softly. This was more food than she expected.

Tori sat down and ate what she could before rummaging through her bag for her pencil and some paper to help straighten her thoughts. She needed to at least have an idea or suspicion on what was happening to react. How she chose to react would determine how she faced the world, and how she faced the world, even if she died in eight years, would determine how well she lived.

First thing first: the characters.

Dimitris nonsensical conversation with her that afternoon, asking her to essentially give in to Alessa, was making sense until it didnt. Tori understood why hed ask such a thing: he wanted to help the protagonist. However, Dimitri was supposed to be a sensible character. He was being groomed to one day be a Prime Minister.

Tori gave him a reasonable explanation on why she didnt agree and an option that would give Alessa what she theoretically wanted, which was jobs for her village. Yet he acted as if she was dead set on destroying those jobs and harming Alessa.

First Gideon and then Dimitri, and Adrien, who seemed to insist she was blaming Alessa for the stolen designs when she never voiced it. Even Fabian had agreed to Alessas suggestion that Tori sit at the front of the class for the midterm exam.

Tori wrote out all their names and little notes beneath them. Sooner or later, the other targets would also somehow come into conflict. No matter how reasonable she thought she was or how lenient she reacted to try to mitigate any backlash, they came to dislike her, like the dating sim intended.

She tapped her pencil on the paper.

According to the wiki article, it was Victoria who always plotted against Alessa because of jealousy. It was mostly in the form of bullying, like isolation or verbal abuse. While Tori thought a lot of shit about Alessa recently, she hadnt acted out in any way the game had her act originally. She never sought out Alessa. When they crossed paths, Tori remained polite, but distant. She even put in the effort to appease her.

So why would Alessa and her love interests retaliate and look badly upon her if there was nothing to fight back against?

Tori drew a line from Alessas name to each love interest, trying to remember whatever encounters she could with each. Technically, Alessa never fought back against Victoria. Victoria would confront her and Alessa would be victimized. It was always the love interests protecting her or coming to her defense.

Holy shit. Tori sat up straight and looked at her paper with disturbed revelation. She earns romance points by beefing with me.

If the character Victoria didnt exist, would Alessa need to be protected by the love interests? Of course not. Victoria was a catalyst. She was a plot device and the dreaded cannon fodder.

And now that Tori wasnt causing trouble, Alessa couldnt be a victim. A baby who wasnt crying didnt get attention, after all. It stood to reason that for Alessa to have more encounters and raise her romance points, she needed to have conflict and if conflict didnt come to her, shed proceed to look for it by coming to Tori.

But why does it have to be with me? Because thats what the game is programmed to have her do.

This brought about the question that had been sitting in the pool of dread in her stomach since she spoke to Dimitri hours earlier: was she just in the world of the game or was she in the game itself while it was being played?

Ooh.... She tapped her pencil and grimaced. She saw that movie about video game characters being stuck in their predefined roles and having depression. She knew where it went. I dont like this.

It did cross her mind that perhaps Alessa was in the same situation as her: a different soul trapped in the body of a mobile game dating sim character. However, that would mean one of either two things: Alessas soul either knew about the game or didnt.

If she knew about the game, then she was playing it in real time. She would know things that Tori knew. More if she played the game previously. Alessa would already have a massive advantage, but that didnt appear to be the case.

If she didnt know about the game, she would likely be much more confused and tense, struggling to fit in and make sense of it all.

Alessa fit in fine. She showed no notable hints of another transmigrated soul.

No modern mannerisms. Specifically, no modern Japanese mannerisms Tori was used to seeing in her Japanese ex-pat co-workers and their families. Tori herself carried over mannerisms from her original life: the way she walked, the way she gesticulated when she spoke, and her facial expressions. Alessa did show the traits of a rural girl in the city, which fell in line with her game backstory.

Alessa also had no significant reaction to the down vest, other than to hand it over to Adrien.

Regardless of whether Alessa was another modern transmigrated soul or not, it didnt change the situation that the game was in motion and the other characters continued acting in line with the original narrative despite Tori being uncooperative.

Her initial suspicion was that she was just in the world of the game. She assumed the plot could be changed with a sort of butterfly effect once one aspect of a timeline was changed. That change being that Victoria de Guevera was now inhabited by the soul of Tori Felix. She doubted such bad things would happen to her and her family if she didnt cause trouble with the main characters.

But if she was in the game itself while it was being played, then she was a glitch in the system and the game was self-correcting to progress as intended. That meant that no matter what she did, shed conflict with Alessa, and her love interests, for one reason or another.

No wonder she had such a deep suspicion of all of them to begin with.

Well, fuck. She tossed her pencil on to the table and leaned back against the chair. She inhaled and exhaled deeply, then reached for her coffee. She took a big gulp and mulled about it for a moment to let the horrible revelation sink in.

Its his grandmothers birthday this weekend and he had to go for a suit fitting, Sonia said, taking a sip of water.

Is it Madam Martin? Tori asked.

Dont know. He didnt say which grandma.

Hmm.... Tori wrinkled her nose. If it was, she wanted to send a small plant to wish the nice lady who helped them at the grand opening a happy birthday.

Albert! Tori lifted her head and saw that JP had opened his comcry. Which grandmothers birthday is it?

...Grandma Letty. Letizia. Albert sounded confused. Is that why youre calling?

Tori leaned across the table and motioned for JP to bring his comcry closer to her. Just wanted to know! Sorry you missed dinner.

They heard him let out a pained groan and laughed. Its because Im not part of your excursion group, isnt it?

Youre an honorary lion, Albert! Ilyana assured him.

I wanted to come eat.

We havent started yet and have room for one more, Tori said with a smile. Is your fitting over?

Yes, were just leaving.

Is it far from the plaza across from school? JP asked.

Uh...not really.

Were in Azul, second floor. You have fifteen minutes, Henrik said as he smirked. Well save you a seat.

Dad, Im going to dinner with my friends! They heard Albert yell to someone on his end. Ill be there! Dont start without me! The comcry went dark and the group snickered.

They put their menus down and relaxed, informing the server that they were waiting for one more and to bring another chair. Tori remained looking out the window, admiring the view. The plaza the night before the weekend was always lively with students from Lyce and Universit, all there to unwind after classes.

She could see some familiar faces below.

Her eyes narrowed at the sight of a young woman waiting by the fountain in her school uniform. A face Tori didnt particularly want to see, yet continued to watch.

Alessa stood by the fountain, in good lighting. Her golden hair was blowing gently in the breeze that Tori didnt recall there being a few minutes earlier. She tried to guess who she was meeting. She was going to go with Dimitri and if not him, then Gideon.

It didnt take her long to let out a little tch of disappointment. It was Montan Alvere.

Whats wrong? Ilyana asked as she leaned over.

I see our classmate and the one who tried to buy our tent, Tori said, lifting her chin towards the window. Her friends all craned their necks to see.

Sonia squinted. Are they on a date?

Did he bring her flowers? JP asked. They all squinted and leaned closer to the window to try to make out if the white bundle in his hands were flowers.

All at once, they confirmed. Its a date.

They all drifted into silence as they watched with critical eyes as Alessa interacted with Montan. They seemed to talk for a bit before Montan led her away, across the plaza to the most expensive restaurant there.

Is he taking her to where I think hes taking her? Henrik raised a brow.

To be fair, he is the Duke of Alveres son. Its not as if he lacks money, JP said as he leaned back in his chair.

Yeah, but theyre not doing too well lately, Sonia said.

Henrik shook his head. I dont think they were doing well since the late Duchess passed away. The current Duke Alvere has no idea what hes doing. You should see how many of his businesses are having issues. Half of them still havent paid their yearly dues to the guild.

Is this the Duke Alvere who married his lover? Ilyana asked, furrowing her brows. Like Tori, she wasnt a local, so wasnt up to date with any gossip or had any idea what was going on in Horizons social circles despite technically being a noble herself.

Hes the one, JP said. Our mother is from the Alvere Duchy originally. It was one of the oldest duchies in the empire. It was the late Duchess who was born into the family and she was doing a great job until she got sick.

Sonia shook his head. It was before that. She looked at her two non-local friends with a glint of conspiracy in her eyes. The late Duchess had a childhood engagement to the son of the man who saved her fathers life.

Oh no, I see where this is going already. Tori frowned.

Up until the two were of legal age, everyone assumed that they would call off the engagement as neither party wanted it. The Duchess didnt want to be with a man who already had a very open relationship with another woman. Honestly, who would? But for some reason, it wasnt called off. Our mom said the current Duke suddenly wanted to go through with it and even broke it off with the other woman.

Ilyana had a displeased expression. But he didnt.

Sonia shook her head. A few years into the marriage, the Duchess became ill and then died. Suddenly, the duke remarried and had a new son.

Our big spending classmate over there, Henrik said, narrowing his eyes as he looked out the window.

Do you really think that theyre going to allow him to become the next Duke Alvere? Ewan asked as if he were watching a play and wasnt sure what came next. I mean, hes not actually carrying Alvere blood.

Blood right is important with the old families, Sonia nodded.

Tori sighed and crossed her arms as she kept her eyes out the window. Yes, but its not like they have a choice, do they? The four Horizon natives gave her a strange look. She turned back to the table and frowned. What?

Tori, dont you know? Sonia asked.

No, no, I dont think hed talk about it, Henrik said. He did denounce and change his name.

Tori squinted. Who denounced and changed his name?

Sir Nassaun, Ewan said. Hes the son of the late Duchess and the current Duke.

Axton? That explains why hes also attractive. She raised a brow thoughtfully. The older brothers of the love interests are so much better looking. Does the game know that?

If he changed his name, he probably doesnt want to have anything to do with the duchy, right? Ilyana said with a bit of sadness.

Of course not, JP replied. He lowered his voice. Theres a rumor that the current Duke had a hand in killing the late Duchess.

Toris eyes widened. The wiki article didnt cover that part. She lifted a hand to her chest, thinking about Axton who tried to cheer her up having to go through such an ordeal.

Dont bring it up to him, Henrik told Tori. Its all a rumor and none of us really know what happened except that he doesnt get along with his family.... He trailed off and Tori nodded.

She lifted her hand and the server came over. A glass of white wine for me, please.

Yes, Miss.

As soon as it arrived, she took a rather large sip.

Somehow, hearing about the relationship between Axton and Montan was both upsetting and comforting. On one hand, she wished Axton didnt have to go through this. He was a good guy and a good friend. On the other, it meant he likely had a certain degree of dislike towards Montan. Even if Montan was innocent in the whole ordeal with their parents, she couldnt blame Axton if he had some resentment.

Still, shed have to get a sense of how Axton felt about his half-brother before she got involved in anything too bad against Montan. In fact, she should also do the same with Gideon because of Piers, but the thought of easing any counter defense against Gideon didnt occur to her until now.

It was bad enough that no matter what she did, the protagonist and her love interests would have conflicts and fight her. Shed also have to be on her guard against them all the time. That was probably what annoyed her the most about the whole situation.

Tori didnt care that there were people who hated her. That couldnt be helped.

She also didnt let herself sink into the dread of an inevitable death in a few years. For the time being, she had resigned herself to that.

Dealing with Alessa and her targets would probably be the most exhausting thing shed face until she either died or graduated Universit, moved back to Presidio, and became a bum. If they continued to be as frustrating as they had been in the few times theyd crossed paths so far, after nearly eight years of it, shed probably welcome the sweet release of death.