Love NPC in Nightmare Game - Chapter 111

Chapter 111: The Real World 9

Alvia and the woman had very keen hearing, almost discovering Zhou Zhou the moment he appeared.

Their embrace only briefly touched before they both turned their heads toward the not-too-distant Zhou Zhou.

“Sorry for the interruption, I didn’t mean to peep!”

Before Alvia could explain anything, Zhou Zhou immediately apologized, covering his eyes with both hands as he turned and ran away, quickly disappearing from sight.

“Who was that?” The woman looked with interest in the direction Zhou Zhou had disappeared, then turned to ask Alvia.

Before Alvia could reply, she teased: “Have you finally found a partner? I thought you’d be alone until you grew old.”

Alvia frowned, from Zhou Zhou’s earlier demeanor, he had clearly misunderstood something. Alvia really wanted to go after him and explain right away, but logically he still needed to accompany this long-unseen elder, he couldn’t just leave her alone.

Yes, this woman who looked very young and dashing was actually Alvia’s elder, despite her youthful and beautiful appearance she was already over fifty years old.

She was also one of the few remaining members of the imperial family.

This woman named Aileen, by generation should be Alvia’s aunt. After coming of age she had left the imperial family, adventuring across interstellar space. It had been over a decade since her last return.

“Aren’t you going to explain?”

Alvia hesitated for a moment, but did not go.

“He just sees me as a friend.” Alvia’s voice was flat, but Aileen could still hear a tinge of aggrieved emotion from beneath his icy demeanor.

“Hahahahaha.” This elder imperial princess immediately broke into raucous laughter, mocking her nephew.

While Alvia just silently watched her.

“You really are…” Aileen patted his shoulder, though she didn’t say anything unpleasant, the sympathetic look in her eyes was too obvious for Alvia to see.

“Your taste isn’t bad at least, much better than your father’s. When will you introduce him to me?”

This unexpected remark actually made the long-estranged aunt and nephew become more familiar.

“Mm.” Alvia gave a brief acknowledgement.

Aileen glanced at him, somehow feeling that Alvia was just brushing her off.

In reality, Alvia really didn’t want to introduce them, he would rather hide Zhou Zhou away by himself. After all, Zhou Zhou’s views on romance were quite different from the norm, and his attitude toward women was noticeably more gentle and accommodating than toward men.

This elder imperial princess had once been renowned as a great beauty. Although her departure from the imperial family to become an interstellar explorer had caused quite a stir, it was undeniable that whether in appearance or free-spirited charm, Aileen was extremely attractive.

He didn’t want to add another rival for himself.

Especially when that rival was his own aunt.

Aileen didn’t say anything more about his brushoff, after all she would be staying at the palace for a while now, with plenty of chances to meet the little guy again later.

Zhou Zhou had zipped back to his home in the game world, burying himself under the covers.

Since being able to freely move between the game and real worlds through his wristband, although they were both very busy, Zhou Zhou would still occasionally come out for a look around.

Even the other people in the palace had grown accustomed to Zhou Zhou’s occasional sudden appearances.

Previously whenever he came out, Alvia was either in his chambers or at work, so Zhou Zhou hadn’t expected to see a scene like that this time.

He had just been wandering through the romance game world with Zeus, learning about how couples often embrace.

So that was Al’s…

Though friends could embrace too.

He and Al had hugged several times before, although each instance had a reason behind it, whether Al was rescuing him or… uh, come to think of it every time it was Al rescuing him.

From that fleeting glimpse earlier, Zhou Zhou had also clearly seen that the girl was very beautiful, she and Al seemed well-matched as a couple.

Zhou Zhou hugged his little stuffed bear, concealing himself under the covers as he pondered, absently squeezing the bear’s soft paws.

After squeezing for a good while, he finally realized, why was he hiding in bed? And why had he run away at the time?

He rolled out of bed, head of tousled hair bent in thought.

No matter how much he pondered, he couldn’t figure out the reason, only growing more vexed.

After tossing and turning on the bed a few more times, Zhou Zhou abruptly flipped over, placing the little bear back on the bed and starting to tidy up the mess he’d made.

But in the process of straightening things up, glimpsing the bear’s chubby, smiling face, for some reason he forcefully poked its nose a few times, before finally sauntering out of the bedroom at a leisurely pace.

Little Bear: ?

Zhou Zhou: Forget it, no point thinking about it anymore, time to design a new instance.

Alvia dined with his aunt in the palace, though he remained completely expressionless the whole time, Aileen could still tell his mind was elsewhere. However, she had no intention of letting him leave, continuing to ask questions related to Zhou Zhou instead.

“What kind of person is he?”

Alvia snapped back to attention, considering before replying: “A very good person.”

Aileen: “…That’s it?”

“That’s it.”

“Then how old is he this year?”

“He’s already an adult.”

No matter how Aileen asked, Alvia guarded everything closely, resolutely refusing to reveal any information about Zhou Zhou.

Until this meal ended, Aileen hadn’t found out anything.

She was somewhat dissatisfied, after all this was a very important matter, yet Alvia wasn’t telling her anything. Unaware she was viewed as a potential rival, Aileen just felt Alvia wasn’t as adorable as when he was little anymore.

“Alright, alright, I won’t take up more of your time, I’ll go rest first.”

Alvia slowly stood up: “Then I’ll have someone escort you back to your palace residence, the palace you used to stay in has been preserved without any changes.”

This former imperial eldest princess showed a nostalgic expression, each time she returned she would only stay for a few days before setting off on her next journey. But now, her former residence remained unchanged, while all the people who had lived here were gone one by one.

“That’s fine, you don’t need to see me off, go explain things to your little cutie. I know the way, I’ll take my own flight vehicle over.”

Aileen waved at Alvia, then strode off in the direction the flight vehicles were parked.

Alvia saw his aunt off, in reality their interactions from many years ago weren’t that frequent, but Aileen and he were the only remaining imperial family members. This eldest princess, once obsessed with interstellar exploration, had previously been the top candidate for the throne, not only beautiful and intelligent, but also highly gifted in spiritual power.

It was just that as soon as she came of age she went to pursue her dreams instead, while the younger brother who ended up enthroned plunged the empire into chaos. It’s unknown if this princess ever regretted her choice, after all she had once been closest to the throne, and if it had been her, perhaps those later events might never have occurred.

The last time she returned was ostensibly to visit her long-unseen relatives, but ended up being treated as a threat and extremely guarded against by her younger emperor brother, which is why she didn’t come back for so many years after.

Many commoners even thought this renowned princess had died.

While this return was just her feeling whimsical about seeing her nephew and her former home again.

Alvia didn’t start hurriedly walking toward his palace residence until after Aileen had boarded her flight vehicle.

Along the way he kept thinking about how to explain things to Zhou Zhou, but this whole incident was just a misunderstanding to begin with, Aileen was simply an elder relative. As long as he told Zhou Zhou that, he definitely wouldn’t mind.

Moreover, Zhou Zhou had always seen him as just a friend, even if he did misunderstand the situation, judging by his personality he would most likely not only not get angry, but even congratulate them on a hundred years of harmonious partnership.

Thinking of this, Alvia’s pace slowed more and more.

Ryan was making inspection rounds throughout the palace, but as he neared His Majesty’s residence he suddenly noticed His Majesty sitting in a long corridor, single hand covering his forehead looking quite pained.

“Your Majesty, are you feeling unwell?” Ryan asked in alarm.

“No, it’s nothing.” Alvia lowered his hand, continuing toward his residence. Whether Zhou Zhou misunderstood or not, he still had to clarify things, he couldn’t let him dwell on confusing thoughts.

But when he arrived at Zhou Zhou’s home, he found Zhou Zhou diligently working.

Zhou Zhou had granted Alvia and Zeus access permissions, though as the game administrator Zeus could go anywhere he wished regardless. So by that logic, Zhou Zhou had only granted access permissions to Alvia, allowing him to freely enter and leave his home without needing approval.

When Alvia entered, he found Zhou Zhou concentrating intently on work in the study. He knew the other had been busy with matters related to a new instance these past two days, but seeing Zhou Zhou’s focused demeanor, he couldn’t help letting out an inward sigh.

It seemed he really wasn’t bothered by this incident after all.

He had thought too much of it.

For some reason today, after immersing himself in instance design, Zhou Zhou’s thoughts became extremely focused. It was quite a while before he even noticed Alvia standing at the study doorway.

“You’re here.” Zhou Zhou set aside his work, smiling as he spoke.

“Mm.”

The two suddenly fell silent, Alvia still absorbed in the melancholy of Zhou Zhou not caring at all, though he had known about this long ago, he still couldn’t help feeling hurt. Perhaps those who fall in love tend to become more emotional and insecure, especially seeing Zhou Zhou’s indifference, he felt a bit silly for hurrying over to explain things.

What was going on? Why did it feel like the air between them had frozen solid? Even Zhou Zhou, normally rather oblivious to atmospheres, could sense the awkward tension gathering around them now.

Zhou Zhou opened his mouth, then suddenly didn’t know what to say.

Although Alvia spoke a bit more in front of Zhou Zhou, it was usually still Zhou Zhou who initiated conversation or took the leading role. Now that he had abruptly fallen silent, the two of them had become so quiet.

“Did you come looking for me earlier for some reason?” Alvia was the one who finally asked. He had been busy with visitation matters recently, so Zhou Zhou hadn’t come looking for him much, each time it was because he had something to ask. This time he had hurriedly left without even asking what Zhou Zhou wanted.

“Hm? No reason, I just thought of you and wanted to see what you were doing.” Zhou Zhou’s gaze drifted downward, looking at the lamp on the desk.

Zhou Zhou’s words were just as flirtatious as always, remarks that would normally make Alvia’s heart flutter, but now, watching Zhou Zhou’s averted gaze, he could tell with one look that he was lying.

After all, Zhou Zhou was really bad at lying, his small giveaway movements were always so obvious it was hard not to notice.

“If there’s anything you need to ask or need help with, I’m available.”

“No, no problem.” Zhou Zhou shook his head vigorously.

“Right, about the person you saw earlier.” Even if Zhou Zhou didn’t care, Alvia absolutely wouldn’t let any misunderstanding arise between them. “That person was my aunt.”

“Huh?” Zhou Zhou’s eyes opened wide in surprise. “Aunt?”

“Yes, that was my aunt, my father’s sister. The last time we saw each other was over a decade ago.”

Zhou Zhou was indeed very surprised, after all that woman didn’t look very old in age, many would even agree she seemed around Alvia’s age.

“But your aunt looked so young and beautiful.” So that’s why he had mistaken her identity, never expecting Al’s aunt to be so youthful.

Alarm bells immediately rang in Alvia’s mind: “She only looks young, she’s actually over fifty years old.” In reality, with modern improved bodily health and technological developments, everyone aged more slowly these days. But for Aileen to maintain the same youthful appearance for decades was not only due to her mentality, but also related to her powerful spiritual power.

“Wow, to still be so beautiful over fifty years old.” Zhou Zhou praised her wholeheartedly.

Alvia: “She’s only staying for a few days this time before leaving again.”

For some reason, he felt the more he said, the more interested Zhou Zhou seemed to become in Aileen, so Alvia abruptly changed the subject.

“All the preparations are done now, we’ll be setting out the day after tomorrow.” Alvia shifted the topic to their upcoming travel plans.

“Oh, what do I need to prepare?” As expected, Zhou Zhou’s attention was diverted, he was more interested in the travel itself compared to the other matter.

“During interstellar travel, certain star domains have various interferences that disrupt normal starnet connectivity, so we won’t be able to connect to the game.”

“You mean I won’t be able to come out?” Zhou Zhou glanced at the wristband on Alvia’s arm, he not only constantly wore the wristband in the real world, but had even used some method to replicate Zeus’ wristband in the game, always wearing it there too.

“No, at that time I’ll store all of your original data in the wristband, you may not be able to enter the game for a while and will have to stay in the real world instead.”

This was actually Alvia’s little stratagem, after all the interference in some star domains was too strong and could last for several days. If Zhou Zhou stayed in the game during that time, it would mean going many days without seeing him or being able to contact him. But if Zhou Zhou’s original data was stored in the wristband, even without the starnet he could still remain by Alvia’s side the whole time, plus without Zeus’ interference during that period.

“Oh, okay.” Zhou Zhou fully trusted Alvia, so he naturally didn’t object. Although he wouldn’t be able to return to the game for a while, his second instance would probably be nearly completed by then anyway, so whether he stayed in the game or not didn’t matter. Moreover, being able to witness the interstellar vistas was an incredible bargain.

During the previous Battle to the Top, when Zhou Zhou accompanied Alvia aboard a starship he had glimpsed many interstellar sights, though those were virtual, they had still left him immensely awed. Now being able to see the genuine scenery of real life, he was already very satisfied.

Zhou Zhou excitedly asked what places they would pass through, what kinds of planets and scenery he could see, what sort of people they might encounter.

And Alvia patiently answered each question.

The previously frozen atmosphere had dissipated, restored to their usual dynamic.

“Were you coming to ask me something earlier?” Alvia asked once more before leaving.

Zhou Zhou blinked at Alvia: “I did originally have something I wanted to ask, but it’s not urgent now.”

It was probably about the instance design, Alvia guessed. After all, almost every time Zhou Zhou came to find him it was related to instance content. Though Zhou Zhou had done his best to quickly learn common interstellar knowledge, the gap of thousands of years was still impossible to make up overnight.

So whenever Zhou Zhou was unsure about something he would ask Alvia’s opinion.

“Actually, it’s better if you don’t come out for the next couple days. If you have any issues, just set them aside and I can go over them when I log in tonight.” After all, Zhou Zhou and Aileen both seemed interested in each other, so he felt it was better if those two didn’t meet for now.

Zhou Zhou obediently nodded: “Oh.”

His well-behaved demeanor was especially endearing. Even knowing that Zhou Zhou didn’t care where he was, Alvia still felt he had inconvenienced him.

He ruffled Zhou Zhou’s hair: “The day after tomorrow, once we’re aboard the starship, you’ll be free to come and go as usual.”

On the third day, after Alvia had secretly brought Zhou Zhou aboard and departed the imperial capital planet, Aileen finally received her nephew’s message.

He was asking her to stay at the palace a few more days, while also granting her access permissions to handle state affairs.

After all, the former eldest princess had been raised as the crown princess heir. Despite spending so many years exploring the galaxy, her political acumen remained sharp, so she could serve as regent handling some state matters while the imperial emperor was away.

Aileen, who had only planned to briefly return home for a visit: ??