The Hyrule Paradox: Worlds Collide | BOTW Isekai (Book 1)

Chapter 32: New Girl

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"So how's Maria?" Olivia asked casually as she sipped from her glass at breakfast the next morning. Jordan almost choked on his food as the question caught him off guard.

"Whaddayamean?" he sputtered, regaining his composure as if he hadn't made a fool of himself. Olivia gave him a mischievous look.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," she pressed, "We both saw her glancing at you last night. She still likes you." Jordan hung his head.

"You know, I was really hoping to not have this conversation so soon." he sighed. "Yes, I saw her looking at me. So?"

"Jordan, things are different now. For one thing, you and I aren't together anymore, and she knows it. I heard Mayla telling her about it last night. I'm not an excuse now." she said matter-of-factly. "You also saved her life yesterday at the Plateau, and I know very well that that didn't help you."

"I only saved her because I had to! I don't actually like her!" he complained in frustration. Olivia only shrugged indifferently.

"Are you sure you don't have any feelings for her? She's really pretty, there were a lot of boys back at school who would have been overjoyed to date her. You are single now, would it really be so bad to get into a relationship with her?" Olivia asked curiously.

"I can agree that she's very pretty, but so what? We aren't on Earth, we're in Hyrule. I'm trying my best to provide and guide everyone through our experience here. Getting a girlfriend just sounds so...childish, I guess is the word."

"...I'll be honest, that's not a very good argument." she told him, a hint of a smile on her face.

"Okay fine, I'll tell you the truth," he said reluctantly, "I'm scared that if I get into a relationship with her, it will all collapse anyway because our experiences and mentalities are too different, and I don't want to be the guy to break her heart if she gets too attached."

This time Olivia listened quietly, nodding her head slowly in understanding. Jordan stared hard at his food. He hadn't expected things to get this far, but he couldn't take it back now.

"Okay...I get it. I didn't mean to push you like that–"

"It's fine." he responded much too quickly, which only made it worse. He sighed dejectedly. "Look, it's really not a big deal. The point is, I'm making sure that I'm being very cautious with her."

"Jordan, I trust your judgment." Olivia told him, making sure he was looking at her before she spoke, "Do what you feel comfortable with. I just wanted to understand how you saw her."

"It's only been a day. I don't want to worry about what might go wrong until things start to happen." he told her, rubbing his eyes and yawning. Olivia nodded in amicable agreement.

"Good plan. I trust you." she said, and he could tell that she really meant it. Jordan couldn't sit any longer and instead decided to limp over to the workbench at the opposite end of the living room. Despite whatever healing magic Olivia had shot at him yesterday, his knee was still very weak and so he had a very noticeable limp whenever he moved.

Ever since Ronny had arrived in Hyrule and been bestowed a catcher's mitt, the two of them had wanted to practice pitching, and they had already been playing catch in the yard space adjacent to the houses. The only problem was that catching was dangerous, and they needed gear to protect whoever was catching in case the pitcher made a mistake.

This had prompted Jordan to try crafting his own catching gear. He had seen leather and wool on sale down in the village and bought some, figuring that they would be the best materials he could use. The local tanner had taught him the basics of working with leather, and he had taken it from there. It had become something of a personal project for him to work on in his downtime.