บท 16: A beer and a favor
"Seriously, it's been too long," Marvin said, bringing the bottle up to his lips.
"Yeah," Tom leisurely answered. Stretched on a portable camping chair, the young man could relax a bit.
"Don't forget about the meat," Cleo warned the two of them, taking a sip of her beer.
'Just an hour earlier, she looked like a proper schoolgirl, and look at her now,' Tom thought, puzzled by the sudden change to the girl's appearance.
She moved all of her hair to one side of her head, revealing a bald patch. It wasn't some kind of scar or birthmark, just an avantgarde style of combing one's hair.
Tom brushed those thoughts off, turning his attention to the meat instead. The special goods he talked about with the twins were now frying in a pan.
'A true organic meat!' Tom recalled the scene where his father would passionately utter that motto.
"Okay, let's eat," Tom said while sprinkling the fried pieces of meat with the last dose of spices.
"Count me in," Cleo shouted, instantly bringing her plate forward.
"Here you go, princess," Tom said, jokingly referring to the girl per her childhood nickname.
"A worthy tribute of a vassal!" Cleo said with a voice full of pathos, before taking a bite at her portion.
'It's hard to look at her when she's dressed like that,' Tom lamented in his thoughts. With her sleeveless top that covered only half of her stomach and shorts that neared the border between pants and panties, this girl was truly a sight to behold.
'No wonder I fell for her back then.' Tom couldn't help but recall the shameful part of his newly gained memories. 'Well, what's in the past, is in the past.' he forced himself to think about something else.
"Where is my share?" Marvin questioned in a threatening voice. Tom only required a single look to realize his friend noticed his moment of uneasiness.
"Here you go," Tom said as he filled the plate and passed it to Marvin. He then served himself, adding a piece of traditional countryside breed.
"So, how was your life in the city?" Marvin dropped the bomb.
'Either way, this topic was inevitable,' Tom thought, shaking his head. "As you can guess, I didn't come here without reason," Tom said as his lips twisted in an unpleasant grimace.
"Let me guess, dungeons?" Cleo asked, resting her head on her hands. "I remember it suddenly became a big deal to you," she added, sending a curious stare on Tom's face.
"Yup, I lost my avatar," Tom admitted with no reservation.
'Strange,' his thoughts stopped for a moment, 'why am I not disturbed by talking about it... even in the slightest?' he asked himself. Sadly, he ended unable to answer this question.
"Ouch." Marvin shrugged. "What was its level?" he then asked.
"It's hard to say..." Tom hesitated for a moment before lowering his head and mumbling, "Sixty-seven."
"E-Excuse me?" Cleo asked, as her eyes widened.
"Yeah, sixty-seventh level," Tom confirmed. "Well, that was quite a weird situation, but that's only to be expected from the dungeon," he added, attempting to calm the worries of his friends down.
"Man, that sucks," Marvin said as he patted Tom's back. "Well, it's not like you will have any trouble picking up the pace," he then added, shrugging his shoulders.
"What do you mean by that?" Tom asked, raising his eyebrows. He then shook his head with a bitter smile. "I won't deny you are right, though." Tom raised his eyes to the darkening sky above.
"Right." Tom shrugged, pushing away the sleepiness. "I might need a favor," he added randomly.
"If it's about boosting, you can count on me!" Marvin said with a wide smile. "I might not be in the ranks, but I could easily get you to the soft cap in a few weeks!" he explained. He then leaned forward, clearly agitated by the idea.
"It's not like that," Tom exhaled through his nose, just as he would if he found a funny mem on shitposting site. "With DO, I can deal on my own. I have high hopes for it," Tom explained, gently shaking his head.
"Lemme guess, more meat?" Cleo made her shoot, only to miss it.
"I need to get some arms," Tom announced in a relaxed tone. He raised his face to the sky. "Life in the city is different," Tom explained in a calm voice.
"Since I'm back here, I wish to understand the things that defined my dad," he added, moving his eyes back to the twins.
"So that's what you want," Marvin replied, standing up. "If that's the case, I'll go take a piss. You two can have a talk in private," he explained, moving back into the farm.
"What do you need?" Cleo asked in a sweet voice, leaning her head over her arm. "Personal? Rifle? Airsoft?" she proposed, taxing Tom's face.
"I think a hunting rifle would be a good start," Tom replied with a relaxed smile before nodding his head towards the grill. "I can't keep relying on you guys to get me fresh meat!"
"That's a good point," Cleo replied with her lips forming a tiny smirk. "I will take care of it," she added, raising her hands in defeat. "I really wish we could be all like back then," Cleo suddenly confessed. Her eyes were empty.
"So, everything set?" Marvin asked as he returned from the farm.
"Yeah." Cleo nodded her head before raising the bottle to her lips. She then drank all the beer left before standing up. "We are done for today," she announced.
Her lips formed a sour smile as she looked at Tom. "Sorry for that, but let's meet some other day."
"Sure, just don't make that face you are making ever again." Tom shook his head before lowering it in defeat.
"Until next time, bro." Marvin clasped Tom's hand before escorting Cleo to the doors.
"You drank a bit, so be careful on the road," Tom requested, sending the twins off. A mere moment later, they already disappeared down the road, heading back to their own place.
"Shit," Tom uttered, resting his back against the wall. "What the hell was that?" he asked the air. In the end, the air never gave the answer.
"Damn it!" Tom whispered, tightening his hands into fists.
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