Chapter 21

December 6th, 2022

The smell was familiar, but still out of reach of his memory. It reminded him of his grandparents' farm where he lived for a few years after his mother divorced. It was some sort of flower, but he was never good at recognizing them by scent alone. Was it lilacs? Or maybe tulips? His grandma liked to garden and planted mostly vegetables, but near the house there was a small patch of various flowers she also kept. Numerous multicolored plants each with a distinct look and scent.

Jayce opened his eyes slowly, blinking a few times to help ensure he was awake. He was still on the couch in the room of the inn Jemza and he had rented last night. A lot of last night was a blur, but he remembered enough to know he had told her about his mother and sister. She was the first person in years he had told the whole story to. Argo received a much shorter version the day the portal opened.

He shifted slightly and found it difficult to move. Also, why was there a large amount of something white piled up under his chin? Wait…not something, but hair. White hair in large quantity with something very solid underneath in the shape of a head. Jayce swallowed hard moving his neck back so he could look down. Jemza was curled up against him, her head resting against his chest.

"What did I do?" He whispered his thoughts out loud beginning to panic. A blanket was covering them both, but he could see that they were both dressed. Why was she sleeping next to him? Furthermore, why was her arm draped over him and was that her leg resting on top of his own. He moved his arm down towards his legs until his fingers brushed against bare skin. He found what had to be her knee before pulling his hand back rapidly.

Survival instincts began to kick in now. If she woke up now he did not doubt that she would kill him. Even in the Safe Zone of Urbus, Jemza would find a way to kill him. He didn't even know how she wound up like this, but he would be blamed. He had to get out of this situation and fast. Maybe he could push himself up and over the back of the couch. The fall would most likely wake her up, but he could just say he tripped walking past her. That would work right? He turned his head back forward finding a pair of silver eyes staring back at him.

"Wh…whoa!" Jemza's arms swung wildly as she rolled backwards off the couch landing on the floor with a loud bump.

"Are you alrigh...wow." First instinct was to make sure she wasn't hurt. His first mistake since there was no pain or injury from small falls off a couch in SAO. Second instinct was to stare dumbly at her now that he could see her in a small t-shirt and shorts. Her legs all the way up to her thighs as well as her arms and part of her midsection were exposed. Thus, Jayce committed his second mistake of the morning.

"What are you looking at?!" The girl yelled curling her fingers into a fist and sending it into his face. While damage was negated in the Safe Zone the impact of the blows was not and he reeled backwards into the couch from the strength of her fist. The blanket was yanked from his body as she quickly wrapped it around her body to cover herself.

"Oh…good morning Jemza." How could so much rage exist in such a frame? The blanket was around her, but the stupid grin on his face was telling enough that his memory was functioning and focused solely on what he had seen.

"Round two Alchemist!" A second fist found his jaw sending him backwards again. He didn't mind at all. For once he felt like he could die happy.

"Come on! It wasn't my fault you know that!" A white ponytail of hair bobbed up and down ahead of him as they descended the stairs of the inn.

"Get a good feel of my leg?" What a sharp pain that lanced through his chest upon hearing those words come from her mouth. So she had been awake at that time, but it wasn't like he was doing it with ulterior motives.

"It wasn't like that! I woke up and felt something on me and reached down to see what it was. I took my hand away the second I knew it was your leg." His argument wasn't a lie. He didn't touch her body any more than was necessary to identify what it was.

"I accidentally fell asleep beside you after you passed out. It wasn't on purpose so this is your fault." It almost seemed like she was purposefully ignoring his explanation and trying to create something new to be angry at him for.

"I fell asleep before you. If I knew you were there I would have woke you up and moved you." Again, this wasn't a lie. If he knew she fell asleep on the couch beside him he would have woken her up just out of pure terror.

"Doesn't matter you betrayed my trust Alchemist. I'm disappointed in you." He looked down at the stairs sadly feeling very ashamed. It took a large amount of willpower for Jemza to hold in her laughter, but couldn't help but smile widely ahead of him so he couldn't see.

"Nyahaha! Good morning!" Her smile vanished quickly, replaced by fear as the high pitched nasally voice reached her ears. She heard Jayce groan loudly behind her in response as well. Just as they reached the bottom stair they saw the table with a chair leaning back on its rear legs. Seated in it with her legs on the table was Argo the Rat smiling mischievously.

"Ar…Argo! Why are you here?" Jemza was clearly panicked. Argo didn't respond, but just kept smiling at her which of course was answer enough.

"I had some time before I went back to work on my guide so I…hey!" Jayce kicked the legs of her chair as they walked by sending her backwards. The brown cloak rolled with her as she tucked tightly into a ball flipping back up onto her feet in one smooth motion. There was no flailing of limbs or any sort of panic from Argo when he did it. He thought Jemza was nimble, but Argo was on a different level.

"She sticks the landing!" Argo raised her arms over her head triumphantly with a laugh. This was one time Jayce did not need her services so he kept walking intending to ignore her. Jemza stopped as the girl grabbed her wrist.

"Eh? What is it?" Jayce looked over his shoulder at the two girls. Argo shooed him away with a hand.

"Girl talk for a little bit, go be useful somewhere." Jayce's lip twitched at her rude manners, but he turned away in a huff stomping out of the inn.

"Nothing happened Argo so don't you go providing information about things that didn't happen." Jemza took a seat across from the whiskered girl making sure her tone was serious. She didn't fully understand the scope of Argo's profession, but at the very least she did not want any rumors spreading. Thankfully, Argo waved a hand dismissively.

"Yeah yeah I know. I don't care about that. I was waiting for you because I was curious how last night went. You looked quite a bit concerned about that player who might have attempted an MPK on you." It was strange hearing Argo sound like she was concerned. Jemza figured that Argo didn't care much about anyone aside from the information they may or may not provide. At least for right now, she looked and sounded very much interested in Jemza's wellbeing.

"I was alright for the most part until we got here. Then I started thinking about being alone in a room. I know the System prevents anything from happening in town, but just the thought really scared me." Argo nodded, her hood swaying slightly as Jemza explained.

"Indeed, I would not want to be alone either. I assume your partner took care of you?" Normally a question like this from Argo would end with a mischievous smile. Or she would be looking to gain information, but her tone and expression looked like she was simply having a conversation with a friend.

"He did." Jemza tried not to smile as she said it, but it wasn't possible. Her lips curled upward on their own.

"Good, at least he's not a complete idiot then. You both make a good team. I believe you both will go far and do some pretty great things together. Maybe not quite as flashy or extravagant as Kii-boy and A-chan, but still great in your own ways." Jemza chuckled shaking her head.

"Who?" Argo put both her hands up laughing as well.

"Just a couple friends of mine. So, do you feel comfortable going back out into the wild? Jayce is going to want to track that player down I don't doubt it." Jemza thought about it for a bit and there was a definite hesitation in her mind about wanting to go back out there. Not when she didn't know who was watching and waiting.

"I'm still a bit nervous about it. I can't deny that, but I also don't want to sit here hiding in the dark. That's just not the type of person I am." Now, Argo was smiling mischievously. That could only mean one thing. A business proposition was about to be offered.

"How about if you could gain col and experience here in town without ever leaving Urbus?" Her question piqued Jemza's curiosity greatly. Argo wouldn't have brought it up if it wasn't a real possibility. The real question was how much it would cost.

"Sounds shady to me. Are you about to propose we pickpocket from other players?" Jemza asked the question with a laugh, but Argo kept grinning making Jemza's laughter die out.

"Not too far from the truth Miss White. There's a quest line that I believe would fit right into both of your areas of specialty. There are specific triggers that are hard to figure out to activate the quest, but it would be worth your time. Otherwise you could always join the front line to tackle the next floor boss." Argo snickered at the end of her sentence. Jemza took no offense to that slight jab. Neither her nor Jayce had any intention of fighting with the brave group of people who took down the first floor boss. She found enjoyment in this world, and made some mistakes that almost cost her life, but she wasn't stupid.

"Alright I'm listening." She had to relent to the Rat on this. Her info was always worth the price and a quest line that would allow her and Jayce to work in town and still level up would buy them time to avoid that player from yesterday.

"It'll cost you a thousand col for this one, which of course is after a hefty discount for you."

"Yeah I bet." Jemza opened her inventory and tossed a bag of col across the table. Jayce had paid for a lot lately which meant she had more than him and in a way she hoped this might help repay his kindness.

"Don't worry Miss White, this series of quests is catered towards someone of your…assets." Argo's lips twitched with laughter as she leered at Jemza.