Game On

Chapter Twenty-Five: Holy Sinner

Sean swallowed as he took in her rather wicked smile. Mustering up enough courage to ask her anxiously. "Depends on what you mean by 'acting.' Acting out what exactly?" Clare blushed a little, folding her hands under her chin as she answered coolly. "Well... Let's just say no one is in a hurry to do this side quest. I was going to do it myself for the experience and money, but I'm just not ready mentally." Shrugging, Mark stated confidently. "We'll do whatever to get out of here." Sean squeezed Mark's hand in silent agreement. Getting to her feet, she told them casually. "That's what I thought. I'll go out and pin the quest for you. Just add me as part of your party. Once you are locked into the quest, you can remove me from your party." Sean's heart ached as she said those words. It seemed so cruel to do such a thing to her. Mark brought up his menu and sent her a party request that she quickly accepted. Afterward, she patted Sean's shoulder as she walked out of the room, Sean inhaled shakily.

Her touch briefly reminded him of his own mother and what she might be going through now. Clare's father quietly collected their empty plates and moved to the sink to wash them. Allowing Sean to whisper to Mark discreetly. "Mark... Would it be so bad if we... didn't remove them?" Mark was silent for a bit as he thought it over. So, Sean added innocently. "Maybe... if we can't get back to Lulu. She could? Just to check on her?" Mark leaned back in his chair with a heavy exhale but spoke out to Clare's dad. "Can I ask why you chose to settle here? Do this as your job?" Clare's dad finished the dishes, turning around to face them as he chuckled out. "Sure. It's as far as we got in the game. My grandson was trying to help us develop different skills as a family. My skills went into being a healer with some divine traits. Which allow me to commune with the gods and gives me some holy magic that I barely understand."

Gesturing off, he added with a little smile. "My daughter was training to be the magic user of our group. She was getting pretty good too. She unlocked a lot of tracking abilities and distant targeting stuff while hunting with my grandson." Averting his eyes to the floor, his voice became hollow when he said softly. "My son was trying to prepare us for our first boss fight. He wanted to be one level higher. When it happened... After, we just took the available job in town. Seemed right at the time... Now I'm thinking it is unhealthy. Being surrounded by death..." Biting his lip, Sean glanced at Mark before openly telling him. "Look... We found this young girl. Lulu. She's all alone and with us being hunted now... I'm worried about her." Clare's father lifted his head to meet his eyes, while Sean nervously told him. "It's a lot to ask. But if you want to go somewhere less gloomy... She could use some help. The scenery is great there and you could try leveling up with fishing or... something. It's a big house..."

Clare's dad tried to hide a sniffle with a deep inhale, before nodding and mumbling out. "Ya. That sounds... That sounds nice. But you don't have to do that. We'd only bring gamers like you down..." Mark chuckled, shrugging out. "We're not bothered by that kind of thing. Besides, in a game like this. We need to stick together to beat it. We could use the help and skills you two would bring to the party. Even if you never fight. The jobs you'd do would help us get resources to advance. Otherwise... we will struggle later on when we have to rely on those things." Giving the older man a charming smile, Mark added hopefully. "Think of it like this. You help us and with every level we advance, it helps you. It's our way of repaying you for doing this for us. And with any luck... we can all get out of here a little faster." The older man nodded, then smiled to himself as he said with a growing fondness. "I see your point. Win or lose, I don't see a downside. It would be nice to feel useful again... and Clare... she could benefit from being a mom again."

The older man let himself smile more fondly, before adding in a cheery voice. "Let me talk it over with Clare. She might resist the idea at first... but after everything... we need this. Thank you." Unable to resist, Sean slipped from the chair and hugged the older man. Sean could feel from how he squeezed him, how much he needed it. It was all too clear how recently they had lost him. Sean didn't pull away. Letting the older man tremble in his arms for as long as he needed. Part of Sean wondered if the older man had allowed himself to mourn or if he taken it upon himself to be strong for his daughter's sake. Sean swallowed back his own tears as he tried to calm down. He couldn't imagine the pain they were going through and didn't think his heart could bear it if he tried. The sudden sound of a door closing made the older man pull away from him. Turning away quickly, the older man discreetly rubbed his eyes and Sean stepped back into Mark's embrace.