I looked around the scenery with my mouth slightly open.
“Wow.”
"How is it? Pretty nice to get out like this, right? The weather’s amazing!"
Chris turned her head, smiling brightly at me. She was pushing my wheelchair from behind.
“The flowers are blooming beautifully.”
“Spring and autumn have gotten so short, it’s a rare sight nowadays. We can’t miss out on such a lovely season.”
Today, Chris and I had come to see the flowers.
Not on the continent of Astria, but here in the real world, in South Korea.
The cherry blossom trees lined the road like a never-ending tunnel. Walking this path with Chris felt like passing through a tunnel of soft pink petals. Beyond the cherry blossoms, I saw various other vibrant flowers. Forsythia? Azalea? Hmm, I couldn’t really tell. I’ve never been particularly interested in flowers, anyway.
Ten years of living on the continent of Astria, immersed in battle. And now, my hazy memories of a previous life, faded to gray. Neither of those lives had much to do with flowers.
But still, beautiful things were beautiful. Who would’ve thought I’d be admiring flowers now? Do I seem like an ordinary girl at the moment?
"That place is recovering its environment too."
"Yeah."
Chris agreed with my casual remark.
The continent of Astria.
The frozen lands.
---
I had spent a long winter in the northern part of Astria.
After conquering the Abyss Tree, the cold caused by the dark energy had lifted. Although the temperature was still low due to the latitude of the northern region, the environment was slowly returning to one where various plants and animals could thrive again.
"But you really decided to come out, huh? You’d only been going around the house before."
“We did agree to go out together sometimes, didn’t we? We even planned a trip.”
“Cough, c-cough. That’s true... Ah! But this doesn’t count as the trip, right!? Oh no, I’ll be sad if it does!”
“Hehe, don’t worry. I’ll make sure to properly join you for the trip.”
I squeezed Chris’s hand tightly.
“Ahh...”
She started fidgeting with my hand.
Chris’s expression quickly shifted into one of pure joy as she began playing with my small hand.
She went from pouting, to smiling, to a completely blissful look.
Such an amusing Unni.
"And financially, I’m feeling more comfortable now too."
The steady income from YouTube, ad incentives, selling legendary weapons, and running raid buses—after paying back Chris, the cash and gold were piling up in my account and inventory. My plans for *Sweet My Home* were progressing smoothly.
*Astria Online* really was a dream job.
“These days, you can make a living through the metaverse. Was it 20,000 gold? I’ve already got plans for the money Rain paid me back.”
Chris started muttering about wedding funds, and something about spending plans.
“...?”
I looked at Chris, who was chuckling suspiciously to herself. Just then, I spotted a place where the flowers were in full bloom.
I tugged on her sleeve, pleading.
“Unni, let’s go over there.”
“Oh, look at all the flowers.”
There were people nearby too. Some were sitting on mats under the cherry blossoms, chatting, while others crouched down by the flowerbeds to admire the blooms.
"Hey, look at her."
"Wow... Is she a doll? She’s so cute! Her hair color is gorgeous!"
"I feel like I’ve seen her on TV before. Is she a celebrity?"
"The woman behind her? She’s so pretty too."
“But... a wheelchair? Oh no, is she disabled?”
“Shh, they’ll hear us.”
I hear everything, you know.
The number of people and their hushed murmurs made me a little self-conscious, but I mustered up my courage and wheeled myself toward the flowerbed.
“Chris Unni, the flowers are so beautiful.”
I smiled at Chris, standing among the tall flower stems that had grown to my seated height.
I heard gasps around me. All eyes were suddenly on us.
“Oh.”
I blushed slightly. I had spoken louder than I intended.
And Chris?
Her mouth was hanging open as she stared at me, her face completely blank. She looked so out of it that she seemed like she might start drooling any second.
“...?”
Chris’s reactions are always unpredictable.
She really is an enigma.
---
“Oh.”
Chris spread out a picnic mat under a beautiful cherry tree.
So that’s what she had been carrying under her arm when we got out of the car.
“I brought food too.”
“Wow.”
It was kimbap. Slightly crooked, but colorful. Clearly, it wasn’t made by a household robot but by Chris herself.
Looking around, I noticed other people had brought simple snacks, just like us. I wondered if this would create any trash.
“Hehe, of course we’ll clean up our trash. You don’t want to pay a fine, do you? And there are cleaning drones around, right?”
“Oh, right.”
I noticed drones patrolling the area. Even in nature, the lifestyle of the future peeked through.
Sitting on the mat, enjoying the beautiful scenery and eating a simple meal.
Faint memories stirred, recalling the days of my past life when I’d gone on picnics as a child. Those memories quickly faded again.
“It feels kind of nostalgic.”
“Huh? What does?”
“Oh, nothing.”
I shook my head, trying to erase the thoughts from my mind.
It was irrelevant to who I am now.
There were times when I struggled with a sense of identity between "that" and myself, but now I am just *Rain* and *Lee Seulbi*.
I picked up my chopsticks and placed a piece of kimbap in my mouth.
"It’s delicious."
“Right? Right? I woke up early this morning to make it!”
Chris puffed out her chest with pride.
It’s hard to define the taste of kimbap. The sourness of the pickled radish, the taste of ham, the flavor of rice, the richness of sesame oil, and the crispness of seaweed—it all blended into a complex harmony. Koreans really seem to enjoy mixing things together in their food, huh? Well, it must be tasty for them to create dishes like this.
I kept stuffing kimbap into my mouth, and Chris, watching me with a loving expression, suddenly looked around and spoke.
“Isn’t it strange?”
“Huh?”
With my mouth full of kimbap, I made a weird sound. After swallowing, I asked again.
“What is?”
“Even though people can experience much more beautiful scenery in virtual reality, they still come outside like this in the real world.”
“Ah.”
That was true.
Families, couples, and groups of friends were enjoying the scenery around us.
“It’s probably the sense of reality. Even with today’s technology, virtual reality still has limitations in terms of immersion.”
“...”
“As someone working to make virtual reality feel more real, I sometimes wonder—what will happen to the world if everyone starts living in hyper-realistic virtual spaces and begins neglecting the real world?”
I stayed quiet, chewing on my chopsticks.
A sense of reality.
Something I had been missing.
Something I hadn’t found here.
Something I had regained in the world of Astria.
These people were different from me. I found my sense of reality in Astria, while I couldn’t find it here.
What about now?
After finishing my kimbap, I drank some water and laid my head on Chris’s lap.
*Rustle, rustle.*
A spring breeze gently blew by. Pink cherry blossom petals softly landed on my silver hair. Chris’s gentle hands brushed the petals away as she stroked my head.
For now, this place isn’t so bad.
Enjoying the warmth of Chris’s touch, I slowly lowered my half-closed eyes.
And looked down at my legs.
---
*Whirrr.*
On the way back to Chris’s car, still in my wheelchair.
Maybe it was because of all the thoughts running through my head, but I had stopped talking after our conversation under the cherry blossom tree.
"...?"
At some point, Chris had also fallen silent. I looked back at her.
She was staring at me with a worried expression. Had she noticed that my mood had shifted?
Letting out a deep sigh, I pouted.
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"Unni, why do you look like that?"
"Huh? What do you mean? What’s wrong with my face?"
Chris quickly started feeling her face in a panic. Her pretty face twisted in all directions. I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Haha!
“Unni, your face looks hilarious!”
“H-Huh? Really? Ugh!”
Chris rubbed her nose, then grinned. Seeing her act so silly, the charismatic raid leader was nowhere to be found.
Her goofy antics chased away my gloomy thoughts, and I felt lighter as I moved my wheelchair forward.
*Ding, ding.*
The sound of Chris’s phone ringing. She took it out of her pocket.
*Whirrr.*
A hologram of a cute female mage with pink hair appeared in the air.
Chris tilted her head and spoke to the hologram.
“Beimerung? What’s up? A direct video call from in-game?”
"Unni, Unni! There’s an event happening in the Elf Forest! ...Wait, is that Rain behind you?"
“Beimerung Unni.”
The hologram of Beimerung grinned mischievously at me from behind Chris.
“What the... Are you two on a date? Flower viewing? Unni, that’s
not fair. You didn’t invite me!”
“Uh, um! I just brought Rain out for some fun! ...Wait, does this really look like a date? More importantly, what’s this event you mentioned?”
Blushing slightly as she glanced at me, Chris quickly changed the subject.
“The Emperor’s envoy from the Alpharion Empire has arrived in the Elf Kingdom. It looks like a special event.”
“An event?”
“They’re looking for the raid teams from the Abyss Tree first clear to third clear. That’s Crimson-White, Noname, and Skada raid teams.”
Chris and I exchanged glances.
The Alpharion Empire? A sudden event?