Of course, Ellen also hoped to forget all her problems now. She and Flint focused on eliminating all the monsters surrounding them. They took out various sharp weapons they had acquired in the game lobby and then attacked the monsters nimbly. Ellen was in charge of fighting the small monsters, while Flint was in charge of attacking the large ones. While Ellen had succeeded in eliminating the small monsters, Flint still had difficulty attacking the large ones, getting hit several times by them, causing his health to decrease.
"Flint!!"
Ellen immediately ran against the large monster and threw a hairpin at its heart. In an instant, the large monster vanished into ash. Ellen now ran to her friend, who was injured on the right arm from being scratched several times by the monster.
"Flint, I'm sorry. I should have helped you fight that big monster."
Flint shook his head slowly. "It's okay. This wound isn't much to me." His right hand slowly stroked his friend's tiny head. "Thank you for saving me, Ellen."
Her cheeks flushed red from her friend's sudden special treatment. She grew increasingly curious about her friend's true identity in real life. Was he really the soft-hearted man he appears to be, or was it the opposite? Was asking for her friend's phone number out of the blue the right decision?
"Just don't do anything stupid again! I'm a detective in this game."
"I know you care about me, even if it's a bit over the top. I never thought you'd be such a talkative woman."
"Of course, because you are a good man." Her head was lowered. "By the way, can I have your phone number?" She quickly averted her eyes while rubbing her palms.
Flint laughed awkwardly. "Why are you so nervous about asking for my number? Is that a sin?"
"Because this is the first time I've ever plucked up the courage to ask for someone's phone number. Especially in the midst of my scandal, no one would want to be friends with me."
Of course, Flint immediately typed his phone number into the screen and showed it to his best friend. "I still want to be your best friend. You can call me anytime you want from now on."
Her head bowed for a moment. "Thank you, Flint."
Flint held out his right hand. "How about we continue our treasure hunt? That weird monster is keeping us from having a proper conversation."
"Before that, your wound needs to be treated first." Ellen took out a needle and injected her friend's arm, instantly healing it thanks to the magic needle. "Next time, don't act rashly. If you can't handle it yourself, I can help you."
"This is just in the game world, Ellen. I won't be seriously injured until the real world."
"Even so, seeing you hurt because I didn't help you earlier, I actually feel even sadder."
"The important thing is, from now on you won't be sad because of your ex-boyfriend and your jerk best friend."
Ellen laughed awkwardly as she tucked her needle back into her bag. "Thanks to you being willing to play with me, I'm ready to forget about them." She jumped up and down happily as she continued on her way.
Flint also laughed with relief, seeing his friend back to his usual cheerful self. They walked together, searching for the treasure, which was located in a clock tower. While looking at the map, his gaze also fell on his friend, who had become even sweeter thanks to his amusement. Despite being attacked by a monster, he was very relieved that his friend's mood was back to normal.
"Flint, I actually want to continue the story."
"It's okay. You can tell me again whenever you want. I already gave you my phone number earlier."
"But aren't you curious about what really happened? How did I end up sleeping with my ex-boyfriend in a hotel room? What happened to me all night?"
"Actually, I'm curious."
"Okay, then I'll continue. Actually, my ex-boyfriend invited me to drink wine at a bar. But somehow, I lost consciousness from that moment until I woke up in a hotel room."
"What?" Flint stopped in his tracks for a moment.
"Even though Harley didn't harass me while I was sleeping, it seemed like he wanted to frame me from the start as if I'd seduced him and slept with him. But I really didn't do anything at the time. I just went along with it. When I asked everyone to search the hotel for CCTV footage, there was no trace of it from last night."
Flint clenched his fists tightly. Was now the time to use his power to access the hotel at will?
"They are really, really jerks."
"Since I've had my fill of telling you, it's time to go back to looking for treasure again."
Upon reaching the clock tower, Ellen struggled to reach the treasure, which had been deliberately placed in the center of the tower, surrounded by a large hole. She also didn't want to rely on her friend to retrieve the treasure, as she had previously helped her fight a large monster.
"Let me touch the treasure box," Flint said, rolling up his jacket sleeve.
"But, is it okay?"
Flint immediately took a slow step back. "How long would you rather be stuck here?"
"But-"
Flint ran quickly towards the treasure spot, which was deliberately placed in the middle of a large pit. He jumped over the hole and quickly touched the treasure box before he could actually fall into the pit.
*****
Ellen returned to her seat on the living room couch with Penelope. She smiled brightly as she added her best friend's phone number to her contacts. This time, they wouldn't have to interact in the game world anymore. She could communicate with her best friend in the real world.
Meanwhile, Penelope could only shake her head at the actress's happy reaction thanks to playing online games. She grew increasingly curious about what kind of man the actress met in the gaming world that had made her forget all her real-world troubles.
"By the way, were you playing with that guy again?" she asked with an awkward laugh.
"Yes, he still wants to play with me."
"I admit that guy is better than Harley." Her arms were folded. "But, I'm still curious. Is he really not a fan of yours?"
"No. At first, he didn't know my true identity. That's why I explained it to him a month ago. But he still doesn't mind playing with me to this day."
drrrt…drrrt…
Penelope momentarily answered a phone call. Her face paled in an instant, and she quickly ended the call.
"Ellen, Mrs. Sora is looking for you right now. She wants you to visit her at the SL Entertainment building immediately."