(36) Why Would They Be Wet?

“I will return at a later date,” Nephthys bid in farewell.

“I look forward to speaking with you more, Miss Nephthys. It has been a pleasure,” Grant replied, his left hand squeezing her shoulder.

“You, too, Yvette,” Nephthys said with a small smile.

She and Tara exited the guild, Nephthys sorting through her badges.

“Tiers three, four, and five. Unbelievable. Does the guild just…do anything high-level people want?” Tara groused from Nephthys’ side.

Indeed, Grant had been rather cooperative, gifting Nephthys her choice of identifiers. The guild used a tiered rank system from one to five.

Tier one was for fresh adventurers, people who had just joined and did not have enough levels to qualify for a higher tier. Tier two generally started around level one hundred, three at two hundred, and four at the soft cap of three hundred.

Levels were not the only marker for tier advancement, and this was especially the case for tier five. While four generally marked someone at or above the level cap, tier five was only granted to adventurers who had contributed significantly to society in some manner.

Participation in a high-stakes raid, helping fellow adventurers out of a bind, or any number of good deeds could contribute toward advancement, but it was a high barrier to clear.

Grant had, undoubtedly, been so pliant with Nephthys in consideration of her record in Prelude. Grant was an NPC that she had met way back during vanilla Prelude, when she was called—

“So, is it Nephthys or Adelaide?” Tara suddenly asked.

Nephthys winced, wishing her shame would just stay in the past.

“It is Nephthys…now,” she replied.

“…okay. Why?” Tara asked, a follow-up Nephthys probably should have expected.

What was she supposed to say? How was she meant to explain to Tara that Prelude was her first online game? She had not realized you weren’t supposed to use your real name in online games!

The character remake that the Ashreach expansion allowed had been such a blessing, yet now, when the world was real, her past ignorance was coming back to haunt her like a ghost!

“How about a trade? I will answer your question, and you answer mine afterward. Fair?” Nephthys offered, feeling clever.

Tara was so guarded. She surely would not want to talk about herself—

“Sure,” Tara responded.

Nephthys sighed, not expecting an affirmative.

“Alright, well…I am somewhat embarrassed by that name. It is the name that my parents gave me, yet for reasons that would be difficult to explain, using it is…mortifying,” she explained with a grimace.

“Oh, okay…why, though?” Tara asked.

“Ah-ah, a question for a question, yes? It is my turn. Where are your parents?” Nephthys asked.

Tara froze, her eyes wide as she stared down at the path before her. Nephthys stopped, glancing around as people shoved past them. They stood in the middle of a wide footpath through the park, the crowd parting around them and shooting them annoyed looks. The sun was high in the sky, and this area was likely a popular lunch destination.

Nephthys gave Tara a few moments, but when she did not move, she started to worry.

Uh oh.

Nephthys was reasonably confident when it came to leading a team. She had been a shift leader for almost a decade by this point, and she knew how to keep her team running. She knew about inspiring and momentum. She knew about negotiating with suppliers, conducting interviews, de-escalation, and all aspects of socializing as they pertained to leadership.

In basically all other walks of life, however, she was a complete novice.

Thinking quickly, she put her arm around Tara’s shoulder and ushered her away. Reaching a bench a little off the path, Nephthys quickly erected a privacy barrier, the two vanishing from sight and hearing, taking the whole bench with them.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

What do I do? What do I do?

Nephthys gently lowered Tara onto the bench and sat next to her, her arm still around the girl’s shoulders. Tara’s eyes glistened, and Nephthys squeezed her close, placing Tara’s head against her chest.

“We are alone. No one can see or hear us,” she whispered.

Surprisingly, Tara did not burst into sobbing tears. She did not seem to do much of anything, merely relaxing against Nephthys, emitting the occasional sniffle. The two sat for several long minutes, the birds chirping around them, basking in the high noon sunshine.

“They’re gone,” Tara finally whispered, her voice sounding hoarse, despite her lack of sobs.

“I see,” Nephthys replied simply, her hand atop Tara’s head.