I was a little scared to say this, but this time I had to be honest with Cyve.
"Cyve, do you want to know where this actually is?"
I swallowed hard because I was a little worried about Cyve's reaction when she heard what I just said.
Her eyes sparkled instead, and now she was holding my shoulders.
"Yukito-sama knows where this is!?" , she looked truly excited.
I pushed her body slightly to release her grip from my shoulders.
And her face was too close, I might lose focus.
"I'm not sure I want to say this… We're both currently inside a game" , I said.
She didn't answer and just stayed silent for a moment, before finally speaking.
"Game… that's like some kind of play, right?" , asked Cyve while staring at me.
I sighed softly.
"Yeah… but from your reaction it looks like you're not surprised? Did you already suspect this from the start?" , I said that because her face didn't look surprised at all.
She shook her head.
"I didn't expect that for the past ten years, I've been living inside a game…" , I could hear the sadness in her words just now.
I didn't know what to say. I also couldn't imagine myself living on a deserted island for ten years all alone.
One hour and I might already be dead. Moreover, I easily panic when I'm alone.
Since Cyve is also a woman… her heart must be softer than mine as a man.
It crossed my mind, has Cyve never cried?
But that was just a fleeting thought, because Cyve must be stronger than I thought.
Everyone has the right to cry, and there is no one who never cries in their life.
"Cyve, do you hate me? All this time we've been together, I've been hiding this fact from you…" , I felt that maybe Cyve hated me.
And she also had plenty of reasons if she really did hate me.
Honestly, I enjoyed my time with Cyve these past few days.
I discovered new things when I was with Cyve, and what stuck most in my memory… was when she slept on top of me.
I swear, I never thought a pretty elf like Cyve would sleep on my body.
That night was truly amazing for me, though I don't know how it was for Cyve.
"I don't hate you… it's just that I keep thinking about what I've done all this time…"
"Yukito-sama is also kind, well just sometimes… but after meeting Yukito-sama, I feel like I finally have someone who shares the same fate with me."
I understood what Cyve had just said.
She must have already known that she was the only one on this island, so after meeting me she must have felt happy.
She had a friend and someone she could talk to, especially since she hadn't spoken with anyone for a long time.
"The point is I don't hate Yukito-sama… I also feel that it wasn't easy for you to tell me that" , said Cyve.
True. I needed the right time to tell her this. I couldn't suddenly tell her she was inside a game when we were just spending time together before.
"Then how did Yukito-sama end up here? Was the reason similar to mine?"
After that, it was my turn to tell my story to Cyve.
I told her everything I knew about this game world of Weinz, its rules, and what I had to do to rescue the hostages.
At times, she also asked me about the things she didn't understand from what I was talking about.
She often laughed when she heard what had happened to me.
"So basically Yukito-sama has to rescue the hostages before you can move on to the next game?" , Cyve asked me.
I nodded my head.
"Pretty much like that… I want to ask you something, is it possible that the hostage in this survival game is you, Cyve?" , I asked her.
That question suddenly made Cyve freeze for a moment.
"There's a possibility of that happening… if yes, how would Yukito-sama rescue me?" , asked Cyve.
She was right… I had to do something that could get Cyve out of this world and return to her original place.
And I hadn't thought of anything yet. This could be dangerous.
"I don't know, I'm still thinking…" , I was forced to say this, otherwise what else could I say?
No ideas or anything crossed my mind at that moment.
"Yukito-sama sometimes seems like an idiot, huh?" , said Cyve with a soft laugh.
"W-what else can I do…" , I said with a slightly red face.
Somehow, tonight felt better than the previous nights.
——
"Yukito-sama, aren't you sleepy?" , she asked after looking at my body.
"I'm used to staying up late… not sleeping all day has become a habit…"
I had to stay awake because sometimes there were people who asked me to work as a cleaner in their place.
Since I was the one who asked him to offer me jobs, I had no other choice.
Rather than not eating tomorrow, I'd rather eat even if it's just a little.
He was just a middle-aged man who often wore his brown suit. He wore a hat and a mask so I couldn't see his face.
Though he seemed suspicious, he always treated me well. Because quite often he offered me jobs.
Sometimes as a cashier, floor cleaner, delivering orders… yeah, there were plenty more.
But thanks to those efforts, my eating pattern stayed safe every day. I chose to earn my own money rather than asking my relatives.
My uncle and aunt had also offered me to live in their house and have all my expenses paid.
But I refused, because I felt that living alone was a little fun and made me feel challenged by the situation.
As if a blessing, my body also rarely got sick. My school attendance was almost daily… except when I overslept.
Sometimes I overslept and woke up late, which made me feel too lazy to go to school.
I preferred to relax in my room and close my eyes again to enter the world of such beautiful dreams.
The electricity and water bills were already paid by someone I might not even know.
That's why I never worried about electricity and water bills.
——
"I thought Yukito-sama was the type to sleep early, but it turns out not, huh?" , asked Cyve.
"You, girls shouldn't stay up late you know~" , I tried teasing Cyve.
Who knows, maybe she'd get annoyed or a little sulky after I said that.
"For elves, not sleeping isn't a problem! We can even stay awake for almost 80 hours" , said Cyve, sounding a bit smug.
Wait, a day has 24 hours, so 80 hours… that's the same as more than 3 days!?!?
Crazy… if humans could do that, they'd definitely stay awake for those 3 days.