My Co-Worker is an Elf Girl?! (#thewattys2024)

Chapter 26 - This is All Coming Back to Me

SAMARA'S BEDROOM - DAY
The walls in Samara's bedroom are filled with shelves, top to bottom. Every space on each bracket is occupied by a book or vinyl fantasy doodad, and there are lots of crevices for dust to accumulate.

Samara's floor space is just as sparse. Glass cabinets stand freely in the center of her room, wired with LEDs and keeping Sam's more expensive collectibles safe. It really looks like someone broke into an abandoned hobby shop and decided to squat there.

Remy walks around Sam's room with her arms folded behind her back. She grins like a child loose in a museum. Samara is at her personal desk, trying to clear her gaming battle station to accommodate her new guest.

REMY: "Are you a merchant by any chance?"

SAMARA: "No, not at all; why do you ask?"

REMY: "You have so many possessions. This room is better stocked than many stores that I have seen back at home."

SAMARA: "No, this is my personal stash. The mountain of woman-child gold that I sit on top of like a dragon."

Remy admires the craftsmanship of Samara's plastic, and she lets out a giggle.

SAMARA: "What's so funny to you? No, wait. Let me guess... it's because our concept of fantasy is completely backward to you, and it all seems like some kind of meta-joke."

REMY: "No. I'm laughing because I am only just realizing what a complete loser you are."

The elf girl begins to guffaw. Samara flinches from Remy's jab.

SAMARA: "Hey! Says the girl who has a full card deck based on some dude named 'Jimmy!'"

Remy wipes the tears from her eyes.

REMY: "It may sound like an insult, but I actually mean it as a compliment!"

SAMARA: "Huh?"

REMY: "You clearly hold all of this stuff close to your heart. I could only dream of having so much."

Samara averts Remy's gaze.

SAMARA: "Yeah... my family certainly lives comfortably, I admit. I won't be living out on the streets anytime soon."

REMY: "I'm really jealous. The innkeepers' quarters I usually stay in barely have enough room for essentials, let alone gaming merch."

Samara's ears perk up at the mention of her favorite fantasy setting. She swivels her gaming chair around and clasps her hands, eyes glistening.

SAMARA: "I see! I see! Are you in the mood to elaborate? Or maybe talk at length about the matter? Perhaps for several hours at a time?"

Remy chuckles.

REMY: "We have a task to complete, do we not?"

The human girl deflates.

DEMON KING'S™ CASTLE - DAY

Samara boots up her copy of "I Was Reincarnated Into Another World With a Shotgun?!: The MMO." She returns to the very spot she left off. The floor of the throne room is littered with the bodies of the dead demons from earlier.