The room lapsed into another silence, save for the sound of clinking glasses and the ticking of the clock. Nox was feeling embarrassed from almost blurting out the reasons he wanted to befriend Faye. And Faye, being a quiet person, would not be the one who starts a conversation.

It was uncomfortable for Nox, who was used to the commotion that the players brought to the dungeon. Every day, there was never a moment of peace.

Players were nocturnal creatures who loved to play the game until the early hours of the morning, and when they had enough chances, they would challenge the dungeon. And of course, they didn’t care how much of a disturbance it was to the Final Boss waiting at the furthest end of the cave. After all, he was just an NPC, so it didn’t matter how much noise they made while they got rid of the monsters.

Headaches plagued Nox daily, so he was thankful for the quietness that came with being around Faye. It was refreshing and gave him a sense of harmony; like stepping into a world that just had the two of them, with no outside influences, to ruin the tranquillity.

And then the door burst open with a bang.

“Darling, I’m home!” Ashlyn sang as they entered the living room. Their cheerfulness fizzled out when they spotted the man on the sofa.

With no time to react, Faye found herself behind Ashlyn’s back, who was pointing a magic staff in Nox’s direction.

“What are you doing?” Faye asked, puzzled. She wasn’t confused over the fact that Ashlyn had somehow entered the house, but more because Nox, who had been startled by the loud noise, was now being threatened for no reason.

“Do you know who this is?” Ashlyn hissed, not removing their eyes from the sofa and keeping their arm steady.

“Of course,” Faye replied and peeked out from Ashlyn’s back so she could see the side of their face. Seeing the anger there made her confused even more. “He is the boss of the hardest dungeon in the game. Is there a problem?”

“Faye-Faye, are you seriously asking me that?” And when Faye nodded innocently, Ashlyn moved their head so they could look at her with a look of incredulity. “He’s not only the boss but also a villain. Have you not heard of the stories about him? There are so many of what he does to the players… And now he’s in your house. What if he suddenly attacks? You have to be careful.”

“We were just talking.” Faye stepped out from behind Ashlyn and went back over to the seating area; this time she joined Nox on the sofa. Their legs knocked together, and Nox flinched, but made no moves to move away from her - being this close to her amplified the pleasant feelings that had appeared since he entered the house, and he didn’t want to lose them just yet. It even lessened the biting cold that was emanating from the person across the room.

Ashlyn lowered the staff, a little afraid that it might accidentally go off and injure their dearest friend. They stood still in place and had to take a moment to think up what they wanted to say to the pair, looking content on the sofa.

They took a step forward and said to Faye, “I-I know you’ve been stuck in the shop since you were created, and this is the first time you’re meeting another NPC besides me. And I understand that it would be exciting and all, but he is a stranger. How could you let him into your house?”

Faye avoided Ashlyn’s stare and mumbled out: “He came to my shop and we got to talking. I brought him here so he could tell me what happened after he left the dungeon. His being a stranger didn’t cross my mind… I’m sorry.”

Seeing her looking upset broke through Ashlyn’s bad temper and their demeanour softened. Kneeling down next to Faye, Ashlyn took her hand in theirs and said, “I’m not saying this to be mean, Faye-Faye. I’m just worried about you. We know nothing about Nox, only that he owns the dungeon and the rumours that go along with his name. And when we meet new people, we have to take the time to get to know them before bringing them to our homes.”

“Shouldn’t you do the same with Nox?” Faye worked up her courage to say. “The rumours are there because it was written into this world. We should get to know the real Nox, not the one that was created by the Main Computer to exist as an NPC.”

“You’re right.” Ashlyn looked ashamed of themselves as they mulled over Faye’s words. Then they stood up and held out a hand to the male who had been watching the exchange between the two friends, not knowing how to intervene, and was now staring stupidly at the outstretched hand. “I’m sorry for threatening you like that.”

“What Faye said is true. Before jumping to conclusions, I should talk to the person first and make my own judgements about them.” They laughed self-deprecatingly and continued to speak, “I guess we’ve all been screwed over by the Main Computer, and have stories about us that couldn’t be further from the truth. Let’s start over.”

Nox looked at Faye, and she nodded at him in encouragement and gave him a comforting smile. He returned it and got to his feet. Stretching out his hand, he placed it in Ashlyn’s and said, “yes, let’s start anew.”

“Ok.” Ashlyn let out a breath and grinned happily at the taller male. “Welcome to the club of free NPCs.”