The night we were introduced to the training tower, Oboro had me measured for my official uniform for the Order of Heroes. Then she realized that she didn't have a mannequin. Or fabric. Or thread.

"I never thought I'd be shopping for a mannequin." I shrugged. "But I suppose this isn't the weirdest thing I've done here, huh? Why do we need a mannequin anyway if Sharena's mom is already sending fabric? Surely she'd be sending absolutely everything else, right?"

"You… do know how big a mannequin is, right?" Oboro asked.

"Uh, about the size of a person."

She shook her head. "Let me rephrase that. Do you know how to fit a mannequin in a cart?"

My eye pointed skyward as I thought for a moment. "I think I could manage, yeah."

"My mom did say 'everything you need' in her letter," Sharena added.

"I know, but… it just feels weird receiving a bunch of stuff from the queen on a whim like that. Sure, it happened back in Hoshido, but Prince Takumi would come to me and say what it was needed for and specify some things. It was never me saying, 'Hey, I need this much fabric to make something for a total stranger.'"

"It'll be fine!" Sharena assuaged. "My mom loves helping people however she can!"

"Does that usually involve throwing money at the problem?" I asked.

"No, she usually just gives us what we need. But she does send a bag of gold with those deliveries."

"Uh… huh."

We reached the clothing store and stepped inside. Sharena greeted the woman whose name escapes me and asked if we could borrow a mannequin. The lady apologized and explained that she only had the two posing in the store window. When I proposed that we rent it instead, she considered the idea until the seamstress insisted that we could do without it.

"I'm really sorry, you two," Sharena said with a lowered head.

"That's okay, Princess; it's fine. Really!" Oboro said as she tried to cheer her up. "I can still get it done. Easy!"

"But…"

"A setback," I spoke. "Nothing more."

Sharena opened her mouth to speak again, but a fourth voice stopped her. "Ah-hah! Thought you could escape me, did you?!" I turned to the source and saw Alice frowning at me. She stepped towards us (well, me) and said, "You're long overdue for our next meeting!"

"I am? Wait, what? What meeting?"

"Sharena, you must be more responsible! If he won't bring himself to me, then you must bring him to me!"

"Sorry," she spoke.

"Oh! This is about etiquette lessons or whatever, isn't it!" I realized. "Jeez, I didn't think that was official yet."

"Drop the 'or whatever.' Now follow me; there is much work to be done!"

"Ahem. You're forgetting something."

"What?"

I pointed a thumb at Oboro. "We're with a guest."

The noble blanched. "Oh. Yes, of course! Forgive me for getting ahead of myself. My name is Alice. And what might yours be?"

"Oboro. It's nice to meet you."

"The pleasure is mine. Would the three of you like to join me for an early lunch?"

"Sure!"

"Of course!" Sharena chirped.

"I see no reason to decline," I lied.

"Wonderful," Alice spoke as she began leading us to her home. "I hope you don't mind it being a small affair; I have to set out on the road soon, and I hate to travel with an overly-full stomach."

"You're leaving? Where are you going?" Sharena asked.

"To Swanford, I'm afraid."

"All the way out there?! How come you didn't tell me?!"

"I've been too busy; else, I would have spent a whole day or two with you," Alice sighed. "This is the best I could manage. And you're awfully lucky, aren't you?" she added, looking at me.

"I'd've sought your tutelage properly if I'd known this was the case," I lied again, but only halfway this time.

"Is that so?"

I must not have hidden my disappointment as well as I thought as our noble friend looked at me as she said, "I hope this meal isn't too disappointing for you."

"Oh, no, not at all!" Oboro insisted.

"To be invited is honor enough," I added.

"Well, shall we eat?"

"Let's!" Sharena chirped.

As everyone grabbed their spoons, I remembered to make the Sign of the Cross, said a silent prayer, made it again, and followed suit. As I picked up my spoon, I made sure to take note of how Alice was eating her soup: A shallow dip into the bowl, drag it away from you, then bring it back towards you. I knew that, I swear, but doesn't it make more sense to pull it towards you? I know the former method is to prevent it from going on you if you spill, but my method works the same, doesn't it? Whatever.

I mimicked that and pretended I wasn't.

The meal passed as one would expect: The girls chatted happily as I focused on my soup. Eventually, the fun times had to end, though.

"Well," Alice started as she stood up, "I hate to be rude, as I very much enjoyed your company, but I'm afraid that Swanford will not wait."

"Oh! Sharena exclaimed. "Of course! We won't keep you."

"Yeah, it's not a problem at all!" Oboro added.

I gave a quick nod and smiled slightly as I said, "Safe travels."

The noble gave a more proper smile as she replied, "Thank you. And thank you very much for your company." She led us to the front door, and we said our goodbyes before she stopped me.

"You did a fine job mimicking me," she spoke.

"I was just confirming what I already knew. Well, what I thought I knew."

Alice hummed in a way that suggested she didn't quite believe me. Maybe she was catching on to my white lies. That thrice-damned Devil…

"I'm not asking you; I'm telling you to ask Sharena for help with your posture. I'm glad you were conscious of it as we ate, but you simply must fix it properly!"

"Y-yeah, I… Yeah."

"I'm serious; not only is it a matter of blending in with the nobility, but your health, too."

"I'm aware."

"There are also other noble Heroes, I've heard, so get their help, too."

"Okay."

Robin stopped me in the hallway. "Maxis, I had a look at that book you lent Alfonse, and… well… it was more of just a collection of quotes than any kind of strategy book." He held it out for me.

"It was? Hol' on, lemme see this thing." I took the book from Robin and scanned through the pages. "Yeah, I guess you're right… Well, to be fair, the last time I read this, I was probably… twelve? A kid would definitely hold it in higher praise than, uh, us. Tell you what, though, it's always good to remember the basics, so why not hold on to it? I don't mind having it away from my bookshelf."

"I suppose…" he said as he took it back.

Book successfully disposed of!

I turned away to continue on my back to my room/computer.

"What are you planning to do now?" Robin asked.

"Play video games," I said in an impatient voice.

"Ah." His face went from blindly understanding to seeing that he knew nothing. "Uh…"

I resisted the urge to sigh. "Come with me, and I'll show you."

"A-Alright."

When we got to my office, I sat down and then gasped for an extended period of time. "You should play Darkest Dungeon! You're going to play Darkest Dungeon!"

"Wha—? A-alright."

I booted up the game and watched the opening cutscene with newfound excitement now that I was sharing it with a newfound friend. I let him read the opening text, as well, and his only words were, "…I see."

I clicked on 'Campaign,' deleted one of the save files—a file in which I was doing a playthrough with only Vestals thanks to a mod, but it got boring quick—and turned over to the control to Robin. "Alright. This" I pointed to the mouse "is a computer mouse. You rest your right hand on it so that your pointer finger is on that left button and your middle finger is on the right button. The mouse is the only thing you need to play this game. There are exceptions, but I'll show you when I need to."

"Alright," Robin replied hesitantly.

"Now, rest your hand on the mouse."

"Okay," he said as he did so.

"Now, as you drag the mouse across the mouse pad, that piece of fabric on the desk, that little arrow on the screen will move."

He moved the mouse and watched the cursor mimic his motions. "Ah, I see!"

"Good. Now move the cursor so that it's over that unopened letter."

"Alright."

"Good. Now use your pointer finger to click the button on the mouse."

"Okay." He clicked it. "Oh!" he exclaimed as the DLC options appeared.

"Oh, that's just— Hold on." I took the mouse from him and unchecked 'Crimson Court' and 'Color of Madness' before clicking the confirm button. "Alright, easy, medium, or hard?"

"Uh…"

"Maybe I'll just… yeah, easy will be your best option." I clicked on 'Radiant' and asked, "Now, your name is spelled R-O-B-I-N, right?"

"That's right."

"Alright." I typed out the name and hit enter. I let go of the mouse and said, "Now click on your name.

He did so, and the next cutscene started. Once it was over and the game was done loading, I hit the space bar to get to the game. Then, a tutorial popped up, and I realized that I didn't need to hold Robin's hand. "So click that 'x' in the top right of the box, then there's the map button," I said as I pointed them out on the screen.

Dismas gained three stress from only walking, and Robin took note. "What was that?"

"Your heroes will gain stress throughout the game from many different sources, one of which is simply moving through hallways."

"Alright. How do I keep them calm?"

"I'll get into that more later. Or the game will tell you."

"Okay." Then an enemy appeared! "Ah! 'turn-based?' Hmm." I pointed out the skills that the game referred to with its tutorial, and he took the time to read all of their text.

"So pick a highlighted skill, then click the guy you want to kill."

"I see." He masterfully dispatched the thug in his path, and I taught him how to put money in his inventory. Then I showed him how to click on doors. Then his heroes got ambushed! Ah! "Why did they swap places?"

"Because they were surprised. When that happens, all of your heroes shuffle places, ruining your team composition so that you have to waste turns putting them back in the correct spots. The enemies can also be surprised, which will delay their turns."

"Alright." He put the pair back in their positions, then continued on. The game taught him that he could always ask it for help, and he started browsing the hamlet as someone who's used a computer before would.

The next time I gave him a pointer was when he was buying provisions and suggested twelve rations, six torches, and two shovels. I added, "Be mindful of your money. And those free items you have are because some heroes will bring them themselves." His first expedition went as well as it could have, and I was quickly left by the wayside as this baby bird flew from the nest. Oh, that's a… pun—ignore that!

I already want my computer back.

Would you believe me if I said I got most of this chapter done in a day and the only reason I didn't upload it was because I got swamped with work?

Also, I eventually plan on retconning how Maxis gives his name to Anna. Hence, it's "I accidentally gave her my online username because that's what everyone calls me" instead of "I fumbled my words so that the first half of 'Max is my name' became Maxis which is also my username" and changing all mentions of door knobs to door latches because it would fit the world better. I know this isn't supposed to be the next Silmarillion (until I get to Book III), but… whatever.