Thomas wasn't convinced, though, and he even suggested. "I know. I'll treat you to meals tomorrow."
I think that he wasn't going to let this go until he made it up to me. So it was best that I would calm his mind first.
"Its fine, Thomas. I have gil with me, so I won't be getting any hungry anytime soon." I just hope that he wouldn't ask how much.
". . . You sure?" Thomas asked on the verge of crying.
"Yes. Trust me. I'm not that stupid to deplete all my CR without a backup plan."
Though I was an idiot to forget about the price of that boar, and attracted all this unwanted attention.
What a great first day in here. Mind the sarcasm.
This was not my idea of being an invisible player during my stay here.
Come to think of it, most of the players here were eating vegetables and roots. The portion wasn't big, but it was enough to sate their hunger.
Based on the players' grimaced and skewed lips, I would say that the food wasn't that tasty or that they were sick of the same meal every day. Or probably both.
So I could probably understand were the curiosity, hatred, and envy coming from.
And when our Roasted Boar Meat was delivered to our table, I felt like all eyes were on us. Haven't they seen meat before? Or more like they haven't tasted it ever since they came here.
I didn't know what was worse. Finding that the 500 CR Boar meat was only a platter small or that I wouldn't be able to enjoy the meal because of all the stares directed my way.
ραпdα Йᴏνê|(сòm) "W-why are they looking at us like we have killed their pets or something?" asked Thomas with a meek voice.
"It's because you ordered meat that only a few could afford." a jolly voice beckoned.
We looked over and saw a guy with glasses. He had gold hair, lanky but short height, and his two front teeth buckled out from his lips. Freckles adored his pale face, and a quilt revolved around his fingers.
"The name's Jorge, and I'm a self-proclaimed journalist," he said and sat at our table.
I wonder if it was a thing in here to just sit at another's table even without being invited. It seemed to happen to me often in just a single day.
"You guys are newbies? This is the first time that I have seen you here. Did you just enroll here?" he asked immediately while his eyes were on the food on our table, never settling in one place.
Thomas and I looked at each other first before Thomas said, "Yeah. How about you mister?"
Thomas was probably conversing with him out of politeness.
"Newbies, I see." Jorge wrote in his notebook with glee while picking a piece of meat and throwing it to his mouth. "Me? I already arrived a year here, so I know much about this place."
"You're going to pay for that, right?" I said, looking at the meat he was about to eat again.
I was nice, yes. But I didn't want to be taken advantage of anymore. I wasn't stingy, but if I let them push me around, the others might get the wrong idea and start to think that I was a pushover.
And that's where the bullying would start.
<But Host's current self is really a pushover>
Being good is a mistake nowadays. People would take advantage of you.
<That's the spirit, Host. You're slowly becoming Evil!>
No. I just didn't want to be taken advantage of anymore. I was tired of it.
Jorge only laughed and chewed the meat anyway. I applaud his thick skin, if nothing else.
"As payment, I'll tell you something worth your time," he said between chewing.
I doubt that gossip would cost 500 CR.
Jorge was about to slice another piece when I grabbed the roasted boar, cut it in two, and gave the other half to Thomas.
I knew that it was a jerk move, but he was a jerk to us first, so I was only reciprocating his attitude towards us.
<That's the spirit, Host! You're slowly growing up. The next thing you know, you're already killing everyone that annoys you>
Maybe I would if only you could materialize into a body so I could kill you all over.
<Error!>
Jorge only blinked before he sighed. "Because of that, I'll only tell you one juicy info, the rest you'll have to pay in gil or CR."
And he really was the one who got annoyed when we we're the one who felt victim to his modus of approaching newbies and steal their food in the promise of his unwanted gossips.
"You can give CR to another player, then?" Thomas asked with eyes sparkling in hope, and Jorge answered his prayers with a nod.
Thomas was really thinking of repaying that CR. What a very nice kid. Too bad that he was transported into this corrupted world. I hate to see him get eaten by the backward system in here.
<Host should turn him into your minions, then. Give him the Evil Accessory of Doom to seal his loyalty forever!>
"We're not interested," I said. I think my other self was robbing on me, or it was probably just me living a month in this world. It was a side effect, and I think that any saint person would change too after staying in here – and changed not in a good way.
"We just want to eat our food in peace," I said, and I hoped that Jorge got the clue that we didn't want his presence any longer.
<There's also that option of killing him>
Killing him in front of these many people was never an option.
<Poison him, then and they would blame it on the food>
". . ." Could we just stop with all these murderous solutions.
"You sure?" Jorge wasn't offended one bit. The thickness of his skin was on a whole new level that not even blunt words could pierce him.
"Since you're newbies here, you might want to know about the players here. Players that you should lick boots and rubbed shoulders with and players that you should avoid so your one week stay here is peaceful or at least . . . less painful," he said, full of meaning accompanied by wiggling of his brows.
"So you're like a . . ." Thomas thought for a moment. ". . . an . . . an information broker?"
"Of a sort." Jorge shrugged. "I'm not good in combat, neither with my brains, and no town or kingdom is willing to take me in, so this guy had to be resourceful and use his special skills to survive here."
I didn't know if being a gossiper was something to be proud of, but I had to admit that it was indeed a skill. I knew because my gossiping neighbors was faster than a bullet about rumors. They were there whenever something happened even when they were sick.
But if it was time for the monthly rent, they disappeared without a trace, and not even their shadows were seen.
And their greatest skill was creating amazing stories. They love to talk about a topic that didn't and won't even happen.
"I see that you're skeptical about what I do," Jorge told us, licking the sauce from his lips.
"Haha. Not really," I answered dryly. I actually am, but I didn't want to hurt his feelings.
"Alright, if you're not convinced, then here's a little something to you as my payment for those two slices of meat." Jorge leaned a little, and his voice turned lower as he spoke.
"Do you know that girl over there?" Jorge pointed at a distance, and that was only when I noticed that Amara was there!
She was only a few tables from ours. Maybe I was too busy looking at the floor that I didn't notice her. She was together with a group of women and men, and their table was so full of food that they occupied four long tables.
"That's Amara Goldstein. The current popular player in this school. Do you know why she is so popular?"
Thomas gave me a meaningful stare and teased, "Because she's beautiful?"
"More than that!" Jorge exclaimed. "She's a White Mage and a newbie, but her INT is already in the seventy. What's more, she had a special spell on her that she only had. She's one of those BUG players."
( . . . continuation on NOTES)
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