“Another beer, ma’am?” the NPC Fabio said to Clara, maintaining a warm smile on his face.

“Yes, thanks,” Clara replied absently while looking through the window. She could see Ashley standing outside. What’s she doing? Clara glanced back at the table full of snacks in front of her and grabbed a fistful of nachos. 

At the other side of the table was Alan, modestly sipping beer while a happy, red-faced Amelia encouraged him to drink more. “Why are you hooolding back? Come ooon…” Amelia was quietly saying. “We’re celebrating.”

“You just want to see me drunk, don’t you?”

“Is it that obvious?” she giggled, hugging him. “I’ve always wondered why you didn’t get drunk at Kathleen’s place, despite being your first time drinking. What’s your secret, hmm?”

“I couldn’t allow myself to get drunk in front of you-know-who. It would have made me lose my focus. That’s why,” Alan said solemnly, before munching potato chips, making Amelia squint.

“What the hell are you babbling about? You can’t develop a resistance to alcohol just by wishing it.”

“Who knows?” Alan smirked, looking her in the eyes. “But it’s kind of embarrassing that despite your Vitality being way higher than mine, alcohol affects you easily. It’s kind of cool being better than you at something for a start.”

“Is that a challenge?” Amelia said, clenching her jaw. “Bella, bring out the Scorcher from Clara’s fridge. Alan and I will have a little competition.”

“W-wait. Hold on...”

“Right away, Master Amelia.”

“I was saving that for later, but go on, use it for your silly drinking game,” Clara muttered before standing up. Bottle of beer in hand, she got out to the porch, sipped, and look outside. “What a wonderful full moon we have tonight!” she said aloud to Ashley, who maintained her gaze forward at the shadows formed by the trees around the house.

“I detected something some minutes ago, and I come here to check if everything was alright.”

“Something? It may have been a low-level monster. Whatever. Come inside.”

“Before that, can I ask you something, Clara Dominguez?” Ashley turned around. Her emerald-colored eyes were shining, showing that she had used a tracking skill just recently. 

And right now, it makes her look inhuman. Clara sipped again from her beer before replying: “Aw, come on! You don’t have to talk to me in such a formal way! I’m not a mayor anymore, remember? We’re all nakama now, so just call me Clara!”

“Very well, Clara.”

“That’s more like it! Wait, we can’t talk with our throats dry. Fabio?” Clara snapped her fingers and the NPC quickly stepped out of the house.

“Yes, ma’am?”

“A beer for our friend here.”

“I have one right here.” Fabio materialized it out of his inventory and approached Ashley. “Here you go, miss.”

Ashley grabbed the cold bottle as if it was a strange object. “This is alcohol, right? Known for dulling the senses.”

“That’s the best part about it!” Clara beamed, sitting on the front stairs, and tapping the spot to her side so that Ashley could join her.

The petite brunette sat beside her, inspected the bottle one more time, and sipped it, forming a grimace shortly after. “I expected it to be sweet.”

“You didn’t like it? Sweet beverages also exist. Fabio, a Goldenbow. Let her taste the power of cider!”

The dark-haired NPC swiftly materialized another cold bottle and offered it to Ashley, while Clara took the beer away from her hands.

“I like this one more,” Ashley said, licking her lips.

“You’re quite fortunate, you know?” Clara said, forming a faint smile. “Unlike my friend here, you can actually taste things.”

Hearing that prompted Ashley to glance at the smiling male servant behind them, waiting for the next order. She then stared at her bottle, containing a golden-colored liquid, and took a longer sip. “It’s quite tasty.”

“What did you want to ask?”

“You have a sister, am I correct?”

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“Yes,” Clara replied, sighing. “She came to town with the rest of Miss Cosmica’s followers.”

“She looked identical to you. Twins, right? I saw you talking to her before they all parted.”

Clara loudly exhaled, gulped her beer, and put the bottle away. “Do you want to ask why I didn’t go with her instead of joining your guild?”

“Actually, I want to ask you what having a sister is like.”

“Oh!” Clara opened her eyes wide and cleared her throat. “Well… Is like… W-why do you ask?” Clara turned to her, expecting to find a melancholic expression, but Ashley’s neutral face was the same she always wore.

She looks ‘lively’ only when she’s eating… Dammit, Comatose Alan! I don’t know if knowing the truth about her was a good idea!

Before Clara could say a thing, Ashley continued: “I have always said that I have a sister. Her name is Elizabeth, from the Alvearium Enterprise.”

“I suppose that’s the name of another AI, right?”

“Yes. But, I do not know if someone programmed me with that knowledge. The case is that I do not feel close to her at all. We only shared a common network to share information, but nothing else.” She suddenly got closer to Clara. “Having a sister is like having a close companion, is it not? Like the relationship I have with every member of Phantom Seekers. Being related is only a technicality, correct?”

Clara’s mouth remained ajar, speechless. Her anxious gaze turned to Fabio before shaking her head. What am I thinking? Asking a bot to help me solve the existential crisis of another machine? Wait, no… Ashley is more than that.

Clara burst out laughing. “Nya-ha-ha! Why are you concerned with such human matters?! You are Ashley, the only one of her kind! Nor human, nor machine now! And answering your question is kind of tricky, you know? Just because you share parents with someone doesn’t automatically make you a companion.”

“Correct. It has been documented that not all siblings get along. There is even an ancient legend about a man killing his brother.”

“Um… I don’t know about that! But to expand what I was saying, you may not have a saying of whom you get related with, but you can choose whom to stay with in the long run. Those new people may become a better family than your actual one. It happens!” Giggling, Clara hugged Ashley by the neck. “For instance, you could be my new sister. How about that?”

A voice echoed inside Clara’s head: ‘We’re both parts of a single being!’

“Yeah…” Clara muttered. “We could all be a new family…”

“Does that make Fabio your brother?”

Clara formed an x with her arms. “N-NO! That would make my interactions with him a lot creepier!”

“What do you mean?” Ashley asked, tilting her head, as she had seen other Users do.

Now you act like a sweet, innocent child?! Clara thought, swallowing.

“L-let’s not talk about that, shall we? And if you really care about that, the closest thing you have to a sister is yourself… outside the system.”

“Are you talking about my Original?” Ashley asked in a softer voice, pondering. “Or as Alan calls her, Isabella I… Your assertion is correct. Although I’m technically a copy of her, she is figuratively my twin sister, right?”

“Y-yes! Exactly.”

Phew… Safe! I don’t know if Ashley is prepared to know something as dirty as…

“By the way,” Ashley whispered, standing up. “We have company.”

Clara followed her gaze and squinted. In front of them was nothing but darkness until silhouettes stepped out of the shade of trees. “Fabio? Warn the others.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Splendid night, ladies!” the man leading the group said in a jovial tone of voice. His skin was as pale as the moon, and his black cloak lined a slender but strong physique. “Would you mind telling me if this is the home of Alan Warden?”

Who the hell is that? And why do I have the impression that he’s not a User? After glancing at the info above their heads, she smirked. What’s with their levels? This guy is only level 15.

“What’s happening?” Alan asked once outside, watching the group of five, 50 feet away from them.

“Alan, these people are asking for you,” Ashley informed. “Do you know them?”

“They’re not people, new sis, they’re NPCs!” Clara scoffed. “And very weak ones, in fact. My Fabio here could crush them all by himself.”

“True, but…” Alan whispered, trying to discern more about the info the system was giving him. “Count… Dylak? As the name of the first dungeon, Count Dylak’s Mansion?”

“Huh?” Clara grimaced. “I don’t know him.”

“There you are!” Dylak cried joyfully, making a quick bow. “We have been looking for you for the last week, Mister Alan. And that you know about us makes things simpler!” The middle-aged-looking NPC formed a wide grin. “We have come here to level you up…”