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Man, loading screen tips are useful as hell, aren't they? A lot of games have them. A lot of games shouldn't. Half the time, some of them feel just downright patronizing, honestly.

Like, what am I? Five? I know how to press the 'X' button, game, don't worry. I'm fully capable of using my thumbs.

Over the course of my playthrough, I managed to gather a list of favorites that would occasionally pop up on screen, a few of them, paraphrasing here, are basic things like -

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Favorite one being, after dying from a mob, was: >

Okay, maybe I'm giving the devs a little too much flak here. Besides, they do serve as useful suggestions when I get too cooped up in farming for EXP.

Fast-traveling that one time actually reminded me of a thing that I should be doing that I've been setting aside for reasons of the procrastination kind.

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Convenient timing had me loading into the peaceful province of Astra. A rather prosperous kingdom. Definitely be earning top dollar here.

'Course, I haven't completely forgotten about my true objective here. Like a dried-up desert sponge, I've been absorbing every new info I've come across, truly immersing myself in the world of Asteria.

It's no Kronocia, though, but it's the closest I'll ever get and that's good enough for me.

Now, most will say that for a purpose such as my own, a wise man would simply set himself walking on the path less troubled, and just google what it was that he sought for.

Let it not be unsaid though, that I'd agree wholeheartedly. But this arduous journey has since gone past the point of just simple curiosity. After everything that has transpired, it was so much more.

Asteria was personal. And I'll discover everything it had to offer to me with my own eyes, with my own hands, all in the eyes of Leonardo the Hero. My quote-unquote 'Father'.

That's a commitment I resolve to see through to its end.

Hold your applause everyone. I know. Video games are such awe-inspiring ventures, aren't they? What a brave man I am for sitting in my bedroom fiddling around with a controller. I mean, can you just feel the determination surging through my veins here? I can.

Oh wait, that's Redbull. Nevermind.

Then there was the case with Ash and her polygonized evil alter ego. That… I didn't really know what to do with. As a servant of Terestra, our paths were intertwined… I'm going to end up knowing her story one way or another.

So as they say, come what may.

"How about this one?" suggested a sorcerer companion of mine, pointing to the quest board.

In actuality, what my dear sorcerer companion, with his big hat and robes, failed to realize in time was the fact that I've already swiped every single piece of parchment tacked onto the notice board. So really, he was just pointing at nothing, making himself look like a complete and utter fool.

Which is ironic, since his intelligence stat far exceeded the rest of my party members, including me.

But that's just A.I for you.

Anyway, Dad was a busy guy. Made him run around the entire province doing errands for people with way too much time on their hands.

You can't farm without farming equipment? Okay, sure, I'll get you some. Pretty sure there's a shop literally around the corner where you could just walk your lazy ass over yonder, but whatever, customer is always right, I guess.

You want me to spy on a girl you have a crush on just to find out what she likes? Dude, my armor has been forged with the hardened skin and flesh of my foes. You sure you want me to be your cupid? No problem? Okay. Yeah.

Let me clarify here, you want me, a legendary hero from the past that has been flung forward into the future to save the world from a life-ending threat, you want that very same hero to be running around the entire kingdom just to help you catch your runaway chickens?

Is that really what you want a hero to be doing, lady? Is it really?

Ooo, you're giving away a hundred gold for it? Why didn't you just say so? Hell yeah, m'lady. Lead the way.

Eventually, that long laundry list of quests I've acquired has soon whittled down to just a fair few in the course of just a few short hours. Ticked away the farmer, ticked away the crush, ticked away the chickens, next on the list is…

Search quest. Talk to the Aristocrat. Don't mind if I do.

Just like any other quest, it had a four-step process. Talk here, go there, find this, go back, done.

The first step was talk. So talk I did.

Mr. Aristocrat spoke in a rather pompous manner, so much so, that I was barely paying any attention to him. That was until he disclosed just who exactly I was looking for.

"My Elf has gone missing. Attempting to flee, I suppose. Would you be so kind as to bring him back here for me?"

I shifted in my seat, hunching myself closer to the screen. Now he's got my attention. Sure, aristocrat, sure…

"Splendid to hear! Now I hear talks of Elves being sighted within the greens of Witherwood Forest. I do believe your journey starts there. Do more than just drive them away, will you? Farewell."

The second step and the third, together compacted into words on the upper righthand corner.

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Why was this normal? Why wasn't there any dialogue choice to object?

"Let us make haste, shall we? Those heathens won't linger for long," said with a smile, my sorcerer eagerly marched onwards.

No, no thanks. I don't wanna do that.

"Yes," Leonardo spoke. "Congregating so close to the citizens of Astra… those Elves are getting too audacious for their own good. Let us make an example out of them."

What the fuck…

Apparently, it didn't matter what I wanted to do. This was what Leonardo wanted to do - what my Dad wanted to do.

The Hero of Prophecy.

I don't think a hero should be saying things like that.

"Perhaps by chance, we'll be able to capture one of our own too," spoke the sorcerer again, chuckling. "We could really do with a servant of our own, don't you suppose?

Leonardo shook his head. "I fear I may not be able to resist the urge to kill them myself."

I…

I paused the game.

Forget Terestra, what the hell was up with Leonardo's skewed perspective on heroism here?

Was this how far the hatred against elves reached? To the point where not even the hero of justice himself is exempted from displaying prejudice against them?

What of Kronocia? How deep did the enmity lie? Was it just as bad?

'She's just an Elf!'

Irene's words rang loud in my head. Maybe it really was that bad.

'There was an incident involving Elvenkind.'

Ash had claimed long ago. But what incident?

Well… only one way to find out. I was committed. I was determined. I unpaused the game.

Then came a knock at the bedroom door, shutting me away from the realm of fantasy as I hastily slammed the laptop shut, forgetting that I had locked the door already.

A knock on the door. Adalia was fast asleep, there was no one else in the house, so whoever was at the door could only be…

"Who is it?" I yelled into the quiet.

"It's… it's only I," muttered the soft muffled voice of Ash.

Bingo. Big one-in-a-million change bingo.

I could barely recall the last time Ash actually approached me of her own volition. It was always me coming to her. This was a new development, one that arrived at the worst possible time.

My mind was so wracked with sprouting up endless speculations as to what could possibly be the reason for this sudden shift of the status quo, that I nearly forgot the option of just simply opening my goddamn mouth and asking.

"Did you need something?" I said, frantically at war with the quiver in my voice. "What's up?"

The sliver of light funneling in from the narrow slit in the doorway painted a shadow onto the wooden floorboards. It was a rather twitchy shadow, one that shifted about in place… timidly, hesitatingly… matching well with the voice that belonged to it.

"I've overheard you," Ash slowly said. "The previous day… I've overheard a mention that we were in dire need of supplements for the coming days ahead. You were… supposed to head out for fresh supplies today? I fear you may have forgotten is all."

"Oh." I did forget. "You're right, must have slipped my mind." But she remembered for me.

Every room had a clock. Don't know why but they did. I glanced at the one hanging above the doorway.

Already one in the afternoon…

"I'll go get them now, Ash," I said, rising from my seat. "Thanks for the reminder."

"Yes," she said. "Not at all…"

Right then, I was thinking about how much I wanted that door to be see-through. The slab of timbered wood between us… I wanted to see her face, how did she look at the moment?

Open the door, simple as that.

'Course the moment I took a step forward, the shadow on the floorboards shrank back.

"Okay," I heard her say. "I shall… I shall go now."

Was that it?

The most she's ever interacted with me in weeks, and you're going to let fly by you? Let that shadow fade away into the light? Listen to that shuffle of feet growing ever distant?

How many times are you just going to let it happen?

Remember, four steps to a side-quest. Go and take the first step.

"Hey, Ash?" I spoke out. "You wanna come with?"

Silence. Not even the sound of footsteps. So I continued, doing the utmost to stifle the apprehension threatening to burst out.

"It won't exactly be a light trip. It's a long shopping list, and I only have one pair of hands. But with you, it'll be much easier and also faster, but I'm not forcing you! It's not an order! I just thought that maybe we could use some - well, I thought we could, but - okay - look, what I'm trying to say is… it'll be nice if you followed… you know?"

The silence immediately after was a deafening one. I admit I could have been more eloquent there. Alas, Martin Luther King Jr I was not, so there I stood, waiting for her reaction.

And just how well did I fare on that front?

Well, footsteps sounded again.

Steps fainter. Steps further. Drawing away from me.

Maybe... maybe we just weren't there yet, is all...

Maybe we never will be.

"I'll get changed," A voice as tense as my own echoed. "I shan't be long… but you needn't wait for me."

"It's okay!" I said on impulse. "I'll... I'll wait."

Her door shutting close reverberated in the quiet.

Whether or not she heard me didn't matter to me. I was just delighted that some headway was actually happening after so long.

But I wasn't done yet. This was just the first hurdle. One step down, three more to go. I grabbed my wallet, my phone, a coat, and after unlocking the door, I headed downstairs, where I began my wait by the front door.

Don't know exactly what I could do to coax her out of this shell she made for herself. Whatever the case, this barrier between us, this rock on the bridge? It was going to shift. One way or another.

This is going to be an interesting side quest...