"Ren!"
Ren recognized that voice anywhere. A woman with a deep throaty voice.
"Isolde?" Ren stood to his feet and greeted Isolde. She was sporting white slacks, long sleeve polo shirt, and an onyx dangling earrings.
With her strong stride and tall height, she looked classy, elegant, and intimidating, packed in one.
"Fancy meeting you here." Isolde beamed and looked over at Ren.
"You too." Ren was surprised to actually meet Isolde for the second time within just the span of hours. He thought that their next meeting was going to be in the game.
Isolde was about to say something when Leonel shot to his feet and checked Isolde from all angles. His image blurred at how fast he moved, and after seconds, he stood tall and pinched his chin.
"What a tall woman!" In glee, Leonel looked over at Ren while pointing at Isolde. "Ren, this is the first time I saw a woman this tall! She's almost like the same height as me!"
Leonel was ecstatic because he felt that he was no longer a giant. He even forgot about Lira.
Ren drilled his fist into Leonel's head. "Leo! Stop that. It's not polite."
Ren looked at Isolde while dragging Leonel's head down to apologize. "I'm sorry. He's just surprised to see another person who's the same height as him."
Instead of getting angry, Isolde just placed a hand over her tilted hips and smiled. "No worries. I'm used to everyone complementing my height."
Unlike Leonel, who was conscious of his height, Isolde was very proud of hers. And she took everything regarding her height as a compliment.
"By the way, this is Leonel, my friend," introduced Ren.
"Best friend," Leonel corrected and stood straight before his forehead crumpled, and his eyes squinted when he stared at Isolde. "Wait a minute . . .
"Aren't you that girl among that group who's going to attempt Thunder Cave?"
Leonel had an excellent memory for a guy who had a short attention span. Ren thought.
"That's right." Isolde nodded.
"Oh!" Leonel's eyes shone, and then he swept Ren with his knowing gaze while flexing his eyebrows. "Ehehehe. As I thought. Ren, you couldn't just stand there and watch them being wiped out, could you? Did you warn them not to enter Thunder Cave? I knew it that you're a good guy deep inside."
Ren looked at Leonel with dead eyes. Leave it to Leo to always think good of people. He mused to himself.
Isolde chuckled. "Yes. Ren did warn me not to attempt Thunder Cave. Though I still did and got wiped out in the end."
Leonel placed a hand over Ren's shoulder and complained. "Eh? You didn't trust my buddy here?"
"Leo, it's a normal reaction. Who would trust a stranger's words?" said Ren.
"Me, as long as it's you," replied Leonel with shining eyes and a bright smile.
Ren just slightly shook his head with a small smile on his lips.
Upon seeing Ren's genuine smile for the first time, Isolde was awestruck. She knew that Ren was handsome, even with a serious resting face. But when a genuine smile replaced his usual smirk, he completely looked different, and he suddenly became so much more approachable.
She could tell that Ren and Leonel had a very close friendship at a glance. And she couldn't help but be jealous. She didn't have someone like a best friend that she could be close with.
"Anyway, Leonel and I would enter COVENANT after this." Ren said, "Do you want to play with us?"
Isolde's eyes went wide. "Of course," she replied without thought.
"Eh? You will?" Leonel asked in disbelief. He then shifted his gaze between Isolde and Ren when the two looked at him with questioning gazes.
"Ah . . . I mean. It's not that I don't want you to join us . . . is that . . . don't you have friends you'd rather play with than a bunch of strangers you just met?"
Ren was very confused right now. Leonel could be smart and perceptive if he wanted to. But right now, he was mostly insensitive. And he thought he was the insensitive one here.
Isolde wouldn't have agreed in the first place if she would play with her friends. But since she did, it was apparent that she had no friends to play COVENANT with. At least people who were close enough to her that she could call one.
Isolde was one of the boys. At least that was how Ren looked at her, and he wanted to hit Leonel a second time for making things awkward.
Isolde was speechless for a moment. She had friends but not close friends. Just people she knew enough for her to get close but not too close.
Her taste was different than other girls her age. And when others went bar hopping, karaoke, or shopping and hanging out, she was in the shooting range, sharpening her aim.
And before she knew it, she was already nineteen years old without a single close friend enough to call her very own best friend.
Isolde shook her head to get the depressing thoughts out of her system. She beamed and said, "No, I don't. Most of my classmates and friends don't play the game. At least not yet."
"I see." Leonel nodded, and his smile widened as he flashed an okay sign with his hand. "Then let's go and play."
The three of them exchanged contact information before Isolde looked over at Ren and Leonel. "Where do the two of you live? I'll take you home in my car."
"I'm at Zone A district 2 in Zephyrs Academy's dorms, while Ren here lives in district 1 near Fate Academy."
"Hmm . . . so you two are in college just like me. I'm in Zephyr too, but I live near District 1," Isolde said.
"We're in the same school. Cool!" Leonel high five Isolde and added. "Fellow Zephyrans! You can tour me around campus when school starts!"
Isolde shook her head. "I'm actually a freshman this school year."
". . . Oh." Leonel blinked. He really thought that Isolde was older than them because of her built and intimidating face.
Leonel grinned and shrugged. "Is that so? Then I hope we'll be classmates. I'm taking up Academics, Master in History."
Isolde's eyes rounded. "Egh? Me too! I'm not smart with numbers and complicated stuff, and they said that course is the easiest and only takes three years to finish!"
"That's also the reason why I chose it!" Leonel chimed in. "I'm taking it because all I needed to do is memorize!"
Leonel grinned.
Isolde grinned.
"I hope we'll be classmates then."
Isolde nodded. "Likewise."
The two hit it off immediately, and before long, Ren had faded into the background of their conversation.
Noticing that he'd been left out, Isolde glanced at him and cleared her throat, smoothly changing the topic. "If you're heading home, I can give you guys a ride," she offered.
"Sweet free ride!" Leonel said.
"Are you sure? If it's no trouble, then we'll take up your offer." Ren always had a policy not to refuse others' offers.
Nowadays, it was considered rude not to accept the other's goodwill.
Isolde, Ren, and Leonel were about to leave the restaurant when Xian suddenly called out to her.
"Are they your friends?" he asked, his gaze shifting between Ren and Leonel.
Caught off guard, Isolde froze for a moment. The question hung in the air, and she found herself hesitating.
Were they already friends? Was it too soon to call them that? Her lips tilted slightly to the side as uncertainty flickered across her face.
It was Ren who answered, "Yes. We're Isolde friends. I'm Ren, and this is Leonel."
Isolde spun his head in Ren and Leonel's direction. Friends . . . the word was ringing in her head and fell right straight to her heart.
"Hi. I'm Xian Isolde's cousin," Xian said without a care. Not interested in Ren and Leonel since his attention was all focused on Isolde as he asked her," Can I speak with you for a moment?"
Isolde blinked, and clarity returned to her. She looked in Ren and Leonel's direction, unsure of what to do.
"Take your time. We'll wait for you outside," said Ren before pushing Leonel towards the restaurant's exit.
Isolde shot Ren and Leonel an appreciative smile before facing Xian. "What is it?"
Xian stared at Isolde for a moment before clearing his throat behind a clenched fist. He'd already prepared what he wanted to say—words meant to subtly discourage her from competing for the guild leader position.
He planned to use her gender as an excuse. After all, while Isolde was undoubtedly skilled, it was always the men that others preferred to follow in their line of work.
"I just wanted to tell you," Xian began, "that I'll be competing for the guild leader position, and—"
Isolde lifted a hand, cutting him off mid-sentence. "I get it. Don't worry," she said calmly. "I'm rooting for you—and the others."
". . . Huh?" Xian blinked, caught off guard. "What do you mean? You're not competing for the position?"
Isolde shook her head and tapped Xian's shoulder. "I wish you all good luck."
Before Xian could even utter another word, Isolde was already jogging toward Ren and Leonel, leaving him behind—jaw dropped, eyes wide in disbelief.
He hadn't even delivered his speech yet!
A bitter laugh escaped him as realization hit. He'd spent hours preparing, taking this game far too seriously . . . only for Isolde to brush him off without a second thought.
He felt soo stupid all of a sudden.