As soon as Alan and Amelia walked into the Town Hall and were received by a male NPC employee, they grimaced at the same time.

“Welcome, Adventurers. How can I help you?” the NPC asked after making a slight bow.

Alan and Amelia remained silent, showing discomfort in their faces, while the male NPC employee innocently smiled at them.

Their silence prolonged for so long that Ashley had to step in. “We are here to get a Guild’s License.”

“Did I hear that right?!” a woman cried from a couch at the far end of the room. She paused her enormous Video Screen showing Miss Cosmica and dashed all the way to take Ashley’s hand. “I can’t remember the last time we registered a Guild! Fabio, I’ll take care of this,” she said to her NPC, who nodded and walked away.

“Why did I suddenly feel so angry?” Amelia whispered to Alan, while her gaze followed the NPC.

“Because he looks exactly like…”

“What is it?” the woman asked them in a jovial tone. “Could it be that you also enjoy looking at my NPC?” she asked, puffing up her chest. “Isn’t he gorgeous? It took me a lot of time, but I customized him to look like a User who registered his guild here like a million years ago. That guy ended up being famous, so I’ve watched all of his Streams.” She sighed, making a dreamy face. “If I could only see him in person once again.”

“Can you give us the Guild Licence, please?” Ashley asked in a calm voice.

“Oh, right! Sure!” the woman beamed. “But what’s the hurry! If you’re coming this late to the party, you surely aren't in a rush. Come and join me. I have snacks here and we can watch the latest Miss Cosmica stream.”

“Do you have premium access?” Amelia asked, looking at the Video Screen.

The woman adjusted her glasses, smirking. “Oho! So am I perceiving positive Cosmic vibes around me?” She suddenly reached out her hand. “Watch out, it’s a black hole!”

Amelia did the same. “Oh, no! The worst kind of danger!”

“No, no! Will we have to cross it?”

“Oh, yes! If you take my hand!” They both sang along and giggled.

“Is this a requirement to get the License?” Ashley asked, still standing in her place.

“Huh?” the woman frowned for a second. “Sorry! Fabio, do the paperwork, will ya? And you, what’s your name?”

“Amelia Laflamme. Nice place by the way.”

“Thank you. I have remodeled it like a hundred times already. I’m Sarah Dominguez. Nice to meet you. Come, take a seat. I’ve never seen you around...”

While both girls chatted, Alan filled out the digital forms, feeling uncomfortable having the NPC nearby. He looks a lot like Marco...

“There,” Alan said aloud. “We’re officially The Phantom Seekers now.”

“Hey, that’s a cool name!” Sarah said from her couch.

“I came up with the name,” Amelia said by her side.

“Did you? Awesome! Back then, when The Novus recently started, I used to come up with names for those that didn’t have imagination. I easily named at least ten guilds. Maybe you know The Storm Crusaders? That’s my sister’s guild.”

“Never heard of them, sorry.”

“It’s okay, it’s a pretty small guild actually, and they are now called Crusaders United, anyway. What a shitty name! And the disrespect! It took me time to come up with that name, Sis! How could you change it without asking me?!”

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“Excuse me,” Alan said, getting close. “Are you Unus’ mayor?”

“Yes! Mayor Dominguez at your service!”

I kind of recognized her by the pompous statue of her in downtown. That was the last thing I saw before Marissa and the others kidnapped me.

“A mayor?” Amelia said, clapping. “How did you get the job?”

“I just took it,” Sarah said straightforwardly while reaching out for a bowl of popcorn.

“What do you mean?” Amelia squinted.

Sarah replied while munching, “There was this NPC that used to run the Townhall… She would just stand here, like an idiot, once everyone had stopped coming here. So… I just came here one day and started acting up as if I worked here, and voilá... munch... And then, I got bored with her, and traded her for this gorgeous--”

“You ‘traded’ an NPC?!” Alan cried.

“Y-yeah, that’s what I said… Popcorn?”

“Why do you talk about them as if they were things?”

“Because they are? Well no, they are more like walking dolls. At least mine is beautiful and never says no to me, if you know what I mean...” She elbowed Amelia.

“Let’s go, Amelia,” Alan said, tensing his jaw and stomping all the way to the exit.

“B-bye, see you later,” Amelia said, embarrassed.

“Bye! Come visit me anytime you want! Geez, what is wrong with that level five?” Sarah said to herself while stuffing her mouth with popcorn. “Wait a minute… Five?”

“Alan, wait!” Amelia shouted, before pulling him from his arm. “Why did you react like that?”

“Are you telling me there was nothing wrong with her attitude?!” he cried, pointing at the building.

“NPCs are traded all the time, Alan. What do you expect? They’re just programmed to do as they're told.”

“And worst of all, I know where the real Mayor ended up working,” he said in a loud voice, ignoring her words. “She’s a waitress now! Can you believe it?”

“Alan,” Amelia called softly, grabbing his cheeks. “That stupid-looking NPC did his work just fine. We have the Guild License, right?”

“Yes, but…”

“The System doesn’t care who the mayor is. As long as an NPC works in that building, the System provides them with the necessary skills to do the job. They are interchangeable, Alan. They’re just code compared to us.”

“Could you say that to any of the Slime-folk you met yesterday?”

Amelia let him go, and her mouth remained ajar for a couple of seconds. “I-I don’t think it’s the same situation…”

“Yeah, right,” he said, looking away.

Amelia pursed her lips, making her best guess of why he was so upset. She then briefly glanced at Ashley’s neutral expression. Oh, I get it now.

“Here,” Amelia said, opening her Menu System.

Alan immediately got a notification.

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