“Big bro. I forgot to bring my bag.”

Lia turned to me with an expression like xe had been wronged for something.

“Left it at home?” I said.

Lia nodded.

“Do you remember where you put it?”

“I don’t know. Somewhere in our room?”

“We’ll just take a trip then. Let’s go back home.”

“Why do you have so much money to spend?”

“I think I told you about that commission I did?”

“Oh, that NFT thing,” Lia nodded.

That project got me six hundred dollars.

“I also left some of my things back at home, so I need to pick them up on the way. No biggy.”

“Is it alright?”

“Yes. It’s alright.”

Thus Lia and I made our way back to our previous house.

{YOU ARE BEING WATCHED}

Not this again.

Since we’re on a moving train, I doubt anything bad would happen.

Still. Could it be that the war in Zone 21 has started? Nobody from 7SEAS took the mission so I wouldn’t know. The most dangerous one we decided on was the mercantile escort quest which Itto took.

“Are you nervous about school? You’re finally entering the second year,” I asked.

Lia turned to me and blinked a few times.

“I can’t wait to meet Tabbie again. Xe’s also bored at home.”

Tabbie is that elf with the grey hair, if I recall correctly.

There are a few angels on the train at the moment. None of them seemed fazed by my existence.

“Big bro. Can I ask you a question?”

“What is it?”

“What is life?”

The train came to the next station and stopped. The door sizzled open.

We arrived at Tameo station.

Lia and I got up and out.

“What kind of answer do you want?”

I suppose Lia’s at that kind of age now. It’s normal for xe to have such questions rolling in hirs mind.

“I don’t know. I want to know why we’re here, in this world.”

“Have you tried asking Innis this question?”

“Innis gave me a Wiki article.”

I wasn’t sure if that’s meant to be a joke. AIs are supposed to be smarter than that right?

“Everyone has their own answer. I could give you my long answer or short answer. Which do you want?”

“I’ll hear both.”

We took the escalator down. Warning signs flashed on our glasses.

“Short answer is to enjoy whatever it is that’s around us. Do whatever we want, achieve whatever we want.”

“What if that’s not possible? Not everyone is lucky like us.”

“That’s why the definition of what we want life to be depends on us, individually. To some people it may be to reach a level of comfort like what we have.”

“Then what’s your’s?”

“I told you just now right? To enjoy whatever it is that’s around us.”

“How about the long answer?”

“The long answer is that people around the age of 12 to 14 begin to find their own identity in the world. You’re growing, your mind is changing, the way you see things is also changing. Even if you don’t get an answer, you’ll forget about it once the period passes. It’s like losing your teeth. Once you lose your milk teeth, and it all gets replaced by adult ones, you don’t think about it anymore.”

“Really?”

“Yes. It’s developmental psychology.”

We reached home, passed through the security of the gate and door before making our way to our old room. Lia and I ransacked the place. My anime figurines and pencil boxes were found sitting at a lonely corner of a shelf. I’ll leave these here to rot.

Lia found hirs school bag and water bottle.

“Do you know that there’s a celebrity coming to our school next year?”

I thought about hirs words for a moment.

Celebrity. That being–

“Stuart?”

“You know him?”

“Kind of.”

“He talks about all these things. Do your best and what not. Just because he can do it, doesn’t mean others can.”

“You’re right about that.”

So one more reason why Lia is so worked up about the meaning of life is because of this guy?

Stuart Asgard, in , is a model and an influencer. He is his own selling point.

In the story, Novelle wrote that he joined Saint High for two main reasons. One was that he had always wanted to experience what it’s like to complete high school since he’s practically rich and gets to do whatever he wants.

The second is that he’s getting paid to study. As I’ve mentioned previously, conventional schools are dwindling as more and more people are getting home schooled. It’s become like college where the education center has to sell some value to entice people to enroll. So his presence in Saint High is bottom line: a marketing strategy.

There’s a lot of money involved, I’ll tell ya. And here you thought it’s some illogical innocent fluff.

“Do you know he has a girlfriend?”

My actions came to a halt.

This wasn’t part of the storyline.

“I didn’t know.”

“Me neither. People are going crazy. I wonder who she or xe is.”

“I didn’t know you follow these kinds of things. I thought you only play games?”

“I use Sharewiw a lot, you know? And my group chat is filled with news about him. That’s why I know.”

I’ve quit the group chat of my previous class, thinking that everyone is going to be scattered into different classes next year. I would’ve been swarmed by such news if I stayed, I think.

The fact that Stuart has a girlfriend poses a serious question. What have I done to cause something like this? I hadn’t even encountered Stuart.

===

It was evening. We had kimchi stew and rice for dinner. Lia didn’t really like it, so grandma had to cook up some chicken slices for hir.

After dinner, Lia and I binged on a movie together. The holidays were ending, and I thought maybe I should at least stop obsessing about my art for some time.

Otherwise, it may just be that I’m still feeling under the weather. I haven’t told anyone about it, but I feel slightly feverish ever since that day I was dragged into Trisha’s ploy.

Randell didn’t say anything either. So I assume it hasn’t gotten to a point where it’s noticeable.

A mild flu that’ll go away in time. I just don’t know where I got it from. Maybe because of my repeated visits to the hospitals?

“Oh my gawd. He’s going to die!”

“Compared to the billions of people dying. The main lead is probably the only one that’s going to survive.”

“Stop ruining the movie.. see! See! He’s going to jump off the cliff! He’s going to die!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Lia’s taste for someone hir age is plain weird. Xe’s into those thriller crisis and disaster call stories.

On the topic of taste, unlike Lia, I like to spend my time reading web novels and comics. The simple things.

My etler is more complex, with a diverse range of entertainment options xe catches up with like ShareWiw, videos from the most popular AR video service in call Bdio, chatting with friends on TalkMS or movies using the streaming platform ChillLax– to name a few.

The disaster movie ended with the main lead sacrificing himself for his girlfriend. How anticlimactic. It wouldn’t be surprising if Lia had been watching R21+ rated movies behind my back.

“Big bro, what do you normally watch?”

Lia backpadel into the menu interface.

“I read, normally.”

“Didn’t you used to watch v-tubers?”

“That was a long time ago,” a few months ago.

“You pick the next movie.”

“I don’t know what’s good.”

[How about Into the Eye?]

“What’s that?”

“Oh! That one. It’s abou..”

And so my etler and I watched movies deep into the night.

===

I wasn’t sure why or how it happened. I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night.

The movie was on pause, Lia was already sound asleep on my mattress.

I held my throbbing head.

I’m I getting a headache now? Or is it because I forced myself to wake up? My body feels sluggish and tingly.

I removed Lia’s glasses and placed them on the table. I shook hir awake.

“Nmm.. don’t bother me..”

“You fell asleep.”

“Good night..”

“No, I mean, sleep properly.” Sleep on your own bed, not mine.

“Go away.. don’t bite me.. nm..”

You seriously need me to carry you?

Without any resistance, I rolled Lia onto hirs mattress. Xe snuggled up on hirs pillow. You. Cute. Lazy. Bastard.

[Avner. You're having a fever.]

“It’s showing already?”

I’ll just take some medicine. I wonder if there’s paracetamol in the fridge.

[Any other symptoms besides a fever?]

While preparing the water and such, I noted myself for any pains.

“Joint pain, a little sore throat and fatigue.”

Then I examined my skin. No rashes or bruises.

“Probably a mild flu. I’ll see.”

[Do tell if the conditions become severe.]

“Okay. Actually, Randell, are you able to diagnose disease?”

[If not to the point of absolute accuracy, the answer is yes.]

“Then wouldn’t that mean there’s no need for so many doctors anymore?”

I popped two pills from the strip. I’m surprised they still use this conventional method for medication distribution.

I swallowed both pills with water.

I noticed that the time now is 1 am.

[I wouldn’t say doctors aren’t needed. They still play an important role in managing the hospitals.]

“But there are AIs that are more capable in diagnosing someone, aren't they? The bar set for healthcare workers is getting higher and higher. Just like in any other industry I suppose.”

I feel like doctors have to reach the level of research to be able to earn a lot. Things like manufacturing systems and softwares to improve the care that can be provided to humans through AIs and robots.

I can imagine a future where all the med pod becomes an actual thing. The nanomachine era is already in its infant stages.

“Will AIs take over the world? I wonder..”

[Don’t be concerned. If it does come to that, we’ll always be grateful that humans gave life to us.]

“Really now? That’s a little scary.”

The movie Lia and I slept on was about AIs running a world where we humans just spent our days lazing around in that utopia. One day, the AIs were hacked by some smart syndicate and the world became a slaughterhouse for humans. It turned into a global battle royal game, it’s a crazy plot.

[I recommend that you take a rest.]

“Alright.”

I cleared up the kitchen counter and walked back into my room.

I shut the door and noticed my coat hanging there.

I can’t believe I've completely forgotten about it.

I took out the small paper from the pocket. The one Lucia passed to me.

[Where did you get that from?]

“From a pureborn.”

I unfolded the paper no bigger than the size of my palm.

It’s another blank.

I’m going to have another dream tonight?

Odd. How is Lucia involved in this?

[I am unable to comprehend your actions sometimes, Avner.]

“That’s just how it is. Turn off the lights when I hit the sack. Good night Randell.”

[Good night.]

I took off my glasses and took my spot on my mattress.

I didn’t need to fight for a blanket anymore. Nice.

{ALPINE has requested for your aid}

{Call distance: 23km/10km}

{A penalty of -13% all attributes will be applied}

{Areais Cass has requested for your aid}

{Call distance: 23km/10km}

{A penalty of -13% all attributes will be applied}

There goes dreamland.

===

dotturndot: This is a major arc, grab your popcorn.