[NR] Tainted By Him - Chapter 789 (Patreon)

Rosha sighs and looks around at the crowd that is still gathered. “You know what?”

Courtney glances over as the two sit next to each other. “What?”

Rosha sighs again, “I miss the wilds despite all the niceties of being back in civilization.”

Courtney tilts her head, “Really? I would expect you to at least favor having a proper bath. Cleaning magic works, but doesn’t leave you feeling as clean as a proper bath.”

Rosha lazily waves her hand, “Eh, it is mostly a social pressure thing. Least I suspect so. All the training on being a proper lady while around others. Can’t spoil the family name!”

Courtney sighs, “Ah, I can see that.”

Rosha looks over at her, “Don’t you face a similar problem? If anything, you always seem to act like a maid.”

Courtney puts an arm around Rosha and smiles. “I think I got lucky. I don’t act like a maid.”

Rosha shakes her head, “No, you clearly do.”

Courtney chuckles, “Oh, I’m not saying my actions aren’t those of a maid. Rather, it isn’t an act. Though I’ll also admit the way I phrased it was somewhat to get this reaction out of you.”

Rosha snorts and leans into her, “Well, you got the reaction.”

Courtney nods, “True. Now, maybe we can talk about what exactly is causing you stress?”

Rosha, “I wasn’t lying!”

Courtney, “Ah, let me rephrase that. What part of the act grates at you? Or what is hidden now that you don’t want to hide?”

Rosha looks away, “Well, there isn’t anything specific.”

Courtney squeezes her shoulder, “Do you really believe that? Or have you not thought about it enough?”

Rosha sighs, “I could probably think on it more. Though in general, I feel a tightness while in public like this. Not even back in the wilderness town is it this bad.”

Courtney, “I wouldn’t exactly call that place ‘public’. It was more somewhere between a company town by way of the kingdom and an outpost for the Adventurers guild.”

Rosha, “True enough. I guess while under all these eyes? I feel like a doll. I don’t move so much as change between positions. Oh, the movements are smooth! Can’t be seen as indecisive. Movement like a well-oiled machine. Never in doubt of what I’m doing. A display piece trapped in a glass case unable to do anything. Forever mimicking what could be, yet apart from what is.”

Courtney nods, “I can see that, especially early on when you were always being trotted out for your father’s parties. Like one of those dancing ballerinas in a glass enclosure. The music box plays and you dance.”

Rosha raises one hand dramatically, “Exactly! And I’m afraid to even go to a therapist as it doesn’t matter if they keep their tongue. My father would undoubtedly bug the room or some such. No one I could see could afford to keep him out.”

Courtney pulls Rosha in, “I know, I’ve certainly spent more than enough time looking.”

Rosha, “Worse, even if I found one who wouldn’t mind coming into my private VR room, chances are my dad could get to them. No one is an island, but even if they were? He is like the ocean.”

Courtney, “We’ll figure something out. He is neither all-knowing nor all-powerful. If anything, what Jason is teaching will help us break free. Enough power can solve everything, it is simply a different power from what your father expects. Not that I think we could ever gain more money or political clout than him.”

Rosha lets out a hollow laugh, “Yeah, he has that on lockdown. Not that he’s the richest or anything.”

Courtney, “Meh, concepts like richest don’t mean as much as they used to. What matters more is his connections. The old boy’s club never went away, they simply rebranded and shuffled the membership.”

Rosha, “Heh, maybe we can do something about it with this power we’re now gaining?”

Courtney shakes her head, “We’ll just be starting our own club and a much more permanent one. Not that we can’t do something about them, we simply need to be realistic about what our future holds.”

Rosha, “Forever is a long time.”

Courtney, “Do you actually believe him on that?”

Rosha shrugs, “Forever is a long time. Both in the literal way, and the fact that such stories always involve supposed immortals falling like flies for one reason or another.

“There is a reason for sayings like ‘there’s always a bigger fish’. We might be the first to learn Cultivation here, but what about the wider universe? Multiverse? And beyond? One of the most common tropes in cultivation is that there’s always a next stage.”

Courtney, “Well, at the very least we’ll be around for long enough.”

Rosha laughs, “We could be around for long enough with just our natural lifespans if we do it right.”

Courtney, “That may be the case, but I’d rather be able to spend more time with you than that.”

Rosha snarks, “Oh, don’t you worry. At the very least, I’m going to outlive my father.”

Courtney shakes her head, “I don’t want you living just to spite your old man. I want you to live for yourself.”

Rosha deflates, “I’ll try. It simply seems like everything is tainted by him.”

Courtney gestures around, “This is beyond him. Oh, sure, he might get spies in place. Maybe whispers words in an ear or two. But NeoRealm was designed in part to give everyone a chance. While we have a leg up? Even the lowest can rise up in here.”

Rosha, “They can certainly try. Just like in the past, there were people who won lotteries. Someone always wins. What matters tends not to be if you win, but how many tries. NeoRealm makes things a lot better, but you can’t just start a new character.

“Well, you can, but then you’re behind. So unless you’re hard stuck at level nine? Better to work with what you have. Besides, not all tries are equal.”

Courtney sighs and holds her tighter as they silently wait for Jason to finish up.