Pride Online

Chapter 459: Quid Pro Quo Part III

“Hey, can you wait a second? I have something to talk to you about.”

Jeng called out, making those amber eyes of this gorgeous girl turn to glance at him. But then, the slim girl acted like she did not care and just stomped her feet away from him.

“Oi! I said I have something to talk to you about.” Jeng yelled.

“I don’t remember I was named ‘You’ at all.”

Getting retorted annoyingly like that, the man whose nerves were messed with in the very beginning of the day clenched his jaws.

“Fine! May I have a word with you, Miss Vissara?!”

The man shouted at the top of his lungs, making the listener stop walking finally. Wisana managed to give the other a sweet smile, place his hands on his waist, and nod.

“That’s better. You always call me you this you that or puffed chest. That’s very annoying.”

“You’re sure a lot to handle.” The one with pointy hair complained discreetly. “So, do you have time? It’s about the enemies we’ve been facing here.”

Wisana snorted, before nodding in response. So, Jeng led the slim one to the hotel’s lobby afterward. There were many sets of matching couches and small coffee tables in the room. And the lobby was empty with no other guests right now.

Jeng sat down on the furthest couch in the room. Seeing that, Wisana took a seat next to him, making the broom head jump and hurriedly move to another chair.

“W ...why’d you have to sit so close to me?!”

Jeng yelled aloud. Wisana raised his eyebrows.

“What! We’re going to talk, aren’t we? If you don’t want me to sit here, then where? On a PM chair?”

“...You still don’t have to come this close.”

Jeng’s mouth was moving, while he was muttering to himself. Wisana could only sigh after he saw that. Did this guy forget to take his meds today? He acted so weird!

“Okay, let’s hear it.” Wisana cut right to the point.

Jeng looked up at the other in the eyes, while he was trying to put everything he had in mind into words. Then he placed his elbows down on his knees.

“The monsters that keep invading our village, I heard from Grandpa that there’s something else behind the sand monsters, right?”

“Yeah.” Wisana nodded in response.

“What is it exactly?”

“We don’t know yet. But my AI is analyzing data from the battle from yesterday right now. We’ll find out soon enough what the real cause of all this is. And when I know what or who is the enemy, I can end this not so difficultly.”

Wisana said smilingly. But seeing that, Jeng looked down.

His well-shaped eyebrows were knitted together with confusion.

“Why did they target our town in the first place? We’ve never messed with anyone, just wanted to run this hotel for tourism business only.”

“I don’t know about that either.”

Jeng ground his teeth after hearing that, smacking his hand on the table with full force!

“Damn it!” He cursed loudly. “I was about to make our town a popular destination again, but those stupid sand men have ruined it, scaring tourists away.”

Wisana looked at the other silently.

He understood the feeling. Getting targeted by random people without any reason was not fun at all. It made him feel pressured and anxious about when the enemy would attack.

It was very normal to be stressed out when someone was put in this kind of situation for too long.

“We’ve been fighting with these damn monsters for months. We even asked the GMs for help earlier, many times, but there was no response at all!”

“The GMs have probably got caught up with a lot of things lately,” Wisana said in a whispering voice. “They had to deal with the viruses that messed with the server. After that, they still have to work so hard to get everything back on track again, so they don’t have time to help you guys out here.”

“I know that!” Jeng shouted. “I don’t want to ask others for help either. I want to protect Grandpa’s hotel by myself if I could.”

He said, looking around the place.

“My grandfather built this place up brick by brick. This hotel is his dream. He travelled to Japan with his friends when he was young, and he got inspired that he would have his own hotel business someday. I know for other people; Pride is just a virtual world. But for Grandpa, this is the only world where he can live his life.”

Hearing that, Wisana paused. He frowned his eyebrows, before staring at the one before him.

“What do you mean by that?” He asked.

Jeng froze a little. His lips were pressed against each other as he tried to look away.

If it could be avoided, he never wanted to talk about this.

“There’s no place for Grandpa in the real world. He didn’t even get the chance to start his dream there, nor the chance to talk to his children.”

“...”

Wisana was speechless. He still looked curious about what Jeng was implying.

“He had an accident when I was 10. He got injured in his head, and that caused him serious brain damage. And he’s never woken up again.”

The listener’s lips parted after hearing this. Every piece had come to place when the words were spoken. Wisana understood instantly why everyone here protected this hotel with their lives. They did it for Grandpa Khao since this place was like the only home for him.

“Pride is the only place he can live in. It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? People log into this game in their sleep time. But for the one who can’t wake up from his long-lasting nightmare, it’s become his forever world.”

Jeng said, clenching his fists.

“We’ve been trying to protect the hotel because we feel that there shouldn’t be anything else hurting Grandpa more than he already is. Everyone in the town loves and respects him. We gladly stay here just so we can talk to him. You might have already noticed it already that people here barely know how to play the game.”

“Yeah, I have.” Wisana nodded in response.

“But they don’t care and just keep trying. They know that Grandpa’s dream is to have a hotel of his own. So, they’re willing to help until the end, no matter what happens.”

THUD!!

Jeng smacked the table again after speaking. His eyes were flashing with rage.

His lips pressed together so tightly that they became a thin line.

“But why him?! Why do terrible things always happen to Grandpa?” He said, closing his eyes slowly. “I’m going to protect this hotel no matter what. I’m going to protect Grandpa’s dream and make this hotel popular again!”

Hearing that, Wisana let out a long sigh.

Jeng knew that everyone here loved the hotel just as much as Grandpa Khao did. They helped build this place up, and that was why they felt bonded to it. And Grandpa Khao was like the heart of this village.

Even though he barely knew about the Pride world.

He could still be happy and build his dream here.

So, it was not surprising that the villagers kept fighting for it.

Thinking about this, Wisana curled up a big grin.

“That’s great.” He said in a gentle voice. “You’ve got 100 scores for your spirit and dedication, Jeng.”

“...”

The listener looked up at the one in front of him and he saw a gentle smile on this beautiful woman’s face for the first time. It was a smile that warmed his heart the most.

Everything that he was anxious about was completely gone.

“And I believe that if you still have the spirit, Grandpa still has hope as well. And I’m sure that what he wants the most isn’t the hotel, but it’s all of you who are always by his side.”“...You."