NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

(We are back to Red\'s Perspective!)

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After taking down the two boars, I placed them inside my [astral space]. I meant to store them inside my inventory and present them later to the village. Since carrying these hogs with our stark hands seemed pointless, stashing these meats in that realm would ease my job. And I forgot to do that to the other four, which made my life miserable. Match and I would have to retrace our steps and store those boars inside our storage.

"How is Match doing with her opponent?" I wondered, and raced towards the forest\'s right side. "Whoops! Match better win that fight, or else she\'s going to fight me! Match! I\'m coming to save you!"

I almost forgot about Match and her fight against the pig I left for her. I knew the girl would stand her ground, considering that Match was up against an animal, not a player. Animals did not have the brain to strategize in a fight compared to people. But these beasts could use their predator ability to catch their opponents off guard.

But now that I had mentioned it, I became unsure. A pig could do something nasty to a twelve-year-old kid.

"Match, are you here! Are you alive?" I shouted.

Upon arriving at the meadow, a figure of a girl laid on the ground. Match was in a vulnerable state that even a level 1 player or NPC could kill her. But at the side of that unconcerned child was the shape of a pig. It was a burned hog she needed to fight.

And Match won that battle.

"You did it, Match! You really outdid yourself! Phew!" Match exclaimed, while looking at the sky. I kept Match waiting for my return.

I sat beside the little girl and stared at the horizon. The grass field made me remember the first day that I went out of the village to fetch some pail of water from the lake. It was a fun experience. It was a fun event until Clementine fell down and broke her arm, and I came tumbling after. (Author\'s note: Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water~. Jack fell down and broke his crown, and Jill came tumbling after~.)

"I can see you defeated the swine," I said, and carved a grin on my face. "And burned the boar as if you already cooked the poor guy. How was your fight against the boar without me?"

"It was a horrible experience! Terrible! If there\'s a word that exceeds that, I would use it! I hope I can never fight something like that again!" Match exclaimed with eviction in her tone. However, her eyes looked towards me as Match continued her sentence. "But, then again, I don\'t want you to fight those players all alone. I want to be there for you when you need me the most."

Match\'s words pierced my already melting heart upon hearing those words. This girl reminded me of the sister I lost from my village. But now, Match became my sister in this different world.

"Thank you for being here for me when things got rough," I remarked, and shuffled her already crazed hair. "But promise me one thing, okay? Don\'t die on the battlefield. If you die, I will…"

I couldn\'t continue my sentence. My mind refused to imagine that scene before me. A world without Match was like my devastated self when I witnessed Clementine\'s death.

Match felt my worry as she clasped her hand into mine. "I know, I know. You don\'t have to tell me that twice! Tehee~."

After our exchange, the two of us rested on that spot for fifteen minutes before collecting the wild boars on the road.

...…..

I knocked on the front door and called out for anyone inside. The night still covered the sky, but it would be a matter of time before the morning would greet our eyes.

The door squeaked open, revealing the merchant girl I saw from earlier. She still had a hungry look on her face and drooling saliva. The girl\'s eyes stared at me for a brief second before shaking her head.

"Ah, yes! D-do you have the meat…? I\'m sorry for asking."

\'The girl must have been starving for days,\' I thought, and swiped my azure window to the side.

"Yes. We got the meat that you ordered. Seven of the boars in total." I claimed, and revealed the stored flesh from the remaining boars. But before the girl could take them away, I entered inside and asked, "We need a place to stay. And I believe we may live with you now?"

"Of course, of course! You\'ve been a really great help for the village and me!" the merchant girl replied, and looked at the spiralling [astral space] floating in mid-air.

I asked if the girl knew how to cook these meats. The merchant girl told me she knew some cuisines that Match and I would like. Since the two of us had travelled for miles already, frying them became a delightful meal for us. However, seeing the enthusiastic girl\'s eyes, I could only guess she has spices hidden in her sleeves.

"You have my faith," I remarked, and handed the girl all seven boars.

The merchant lass stored the girl inside a chilling box. She told me that this item makes the meat fresh despite putting it in there for days. It was a tool that helped her throughout her journey. That girl called it a fridge, which was not something that I could see every day.

The tradesperson let us inside the house and took us towards the mattresses. There were two of them already prepared for Match and me to stay in for the night.

The girl ate a humble pie for me, saying that this was the best place that the village could offer. I shook my head and told them that a bed meant everything to us.

"I will leave the two of you, then until you wake up!" the merchant girl said, and unravelled the curtains.

"Thank you," I replied.

"Thank you, kind lady!" Match expressed her gratitude as she sunk her body into the futon.

The two of us took some shut-eye until the morning sun burned our eyes.

...….

The window on our side welcomed the sunlight. A hot ray of luminance entered the room, almost frying our face as if it were not for the blanket that the merchant girl provided us.

I thought at first that Match and I should have a guard duty of some sort, since I did not trust this place. However, upon waking up having no injuries at all, the idea of patrolling the townlet became an overstatement.

"Food…. Pancakes… Don\'t get that… Red… That\'s mine…" The girl beside me mumbled these lines. It was tiresome to believe that Match killed a terrifying boar and would sleep like a baby beside me.

Upon witnessing such an act, I gave Match a karate chop on her head, which made her jolt awake. Match yelled, "I AM AWAKE! DON\'T TAKE MY FOOD," and recognised that all those scenarios were just a lovely dream.

"Don\'t wake me like that, Red! I hate it!" Match snorted as she stood up from her mattress.

I gave her a nod and gave Match my promise.

The smell of something frying went through our nostrils. But the fragrance was not something that we had during our trips. It was a divine savoury aroma filled with thousands of seasonings for a meal.

The two of us could not wait any longer and went outside the room, only to find the merchant girl and other villagers cooking up a storm. There were more grills and frying pans outside of the house. There was a feast happening inside and outside the village as the people cooked three hogs.

"Wow! This place is amazing! And the smell is really delicious! It\'s like I\'m full already, Red!" Match exclaimed, and went to the kitchen, which was everywhere in the house!

The merchant girl noticed our figure. She took off her apron and went in our direction while waving her hands to say hello.

"You two are awake! Perfect timing. The food is just about ready," the girl announced, and offered us a seat outside the shack.

I touched the door and stepped on my foot outside, with Match tagging behind. The silent village turned into a festival with various plates ready on the table. Every villager we found had a beam on their faces as they stood by to fetch the food on the pan.

Match and I sat on the empty table and gazed at the scene in front of us. Match wanted to dance, but I told her to sit tight and wait for the food.

"We don\'t want to join their fun when our tummy is growling now, don\'t you?"

With a reluctant nod, Match obeyed my words and became silent in her seat. But as time passed by, the door opened, showing the merchant with a gigantic plate.

"Order up!" the merchant girl yelled as she placed a plate of our own on the table.