Chapter 116: A Walk with Chloe
Max stepped forward and bowed slightly to the king.
"Your Majesty... would you mind if I take the woman on a tour of the castle?"
He gestured discreetly toward Chloe.
"While the librarian retrieves the book."
The king observed him for a moment... then smiled, satisfied.
"Of course."
He straightened his posture, regaining that air of authority he had tried to maintain earlier.
"It’s part of my pet’s training."
He made a dismissive gesture with his hand.
"Don will inform you when the book is ready."
Chloe looked at all of them, completely lost. Her brows were furrowed.
"...okay... this is weird."
She looked at Max.
"Is everything okay?"
Max turned to her and smiled calmly.
"Yes, relax."
He pointed toward the doors of the hall.
"I’m going to show you around the castle. So you can get to know... your new home."
Chloe blinked.
"...what do you mean, my new home?"
Her expression changed instantly.
"I want to go back."
Pause.
"To my normal life, my job, my routine."
Max hesitated for a second.
But he didn’t avoid the answer.
"Chloe..."
He looked straight into her eyes.
"From what you told me about the truck..."
A brief silence.
"...it’s very likely you’re already dead in your world."
The words hung in the air.
"...this..."
He gestured around them.
"...is another chance. To start over. A new life in another world."
Chloe didn’t respond right away. She lowered her gaze. Her thoughts began to race.
Her family. Her pets. Her home. Her routine.
And then—
"...I had just broken up with my boyfriend..."
She murmured, almost to herself. She stayed silent for a few more seconds, processing. She took a deep breath, then looked up again.
"How did you do it?"
Her eyes locked onto Max.
"To adapt to all of this."
Pause.
"...don’t you miss your family?"
Max didn’t answer immediately. His gaze dropped to the floor.
For a moment, all the noise of the hall disappeared. He thought of his parents. His past life. What he left behind. What he would never get back.
He exhaled slowly.
"...yeah."
Very quietly.
Then he looked up, forcing a faint smile.
"But..."
He turned toward the exit.
"Let’s talk about that while we walk."
He gestured with his head.
"You coming?"
Chloe hesitated for a moment. But finally, she nodded.
"...yeah."
And together, they left the throne room behind.
***
The castle corridors were long, tall... and full of life.
Max walked calmly, hands in his pockets, while Chloe moved beside him, looking at everything as if it were a living museum.
Decorative armor. Tapestries. Creatures moving back and forth.
"...wow," she murmured. "This is too much."
Max let out a small laugh.
"You’ll get used to it."
Pause.
"In this world... there are no humans."
Chloe turned her head sharply.
"...what do you mean there are no humans?"
Max shrugged.
"We’re the only two."
He pointed into the distance, where a couple of figures passed by.
"There’s everything here. Elves, goblins, dwarves... creatures that in our world were fantasy."
Chloe observed in silence.
"...this feels like a game."
Max smiled.
"It is."
She looked at him.
"Huh?"
"This world... is literally from a very famous video game in our world."
Pause.
"It was my favorite game."
Chloe froze for a second.
"...I can’t believe I ended up in a video game... because I got hit by a truck."
They both laughed.
"Yeah," Max said. "It sounds ridiculous when you put it like that."
They kept walking.
"By the way," he added, "if you see something... unusual, don’t panic."
Chloe raised an eyebrow.
"More unusual than all this?"
"Like a demon, a dragon... things like that."
Pause.
"Inside the castle, most of them are friendly."
Chloe thought for a second.
"...the elegant guy with donkey legs already caught my attention."
Max nodded.
"Don."
"Don?"
"The butler. He’s a faun."
"Okay."
Chloe made a writing gesture in the air.
"A faun. If I could, I’d write that down."
Max laughed.
"You should."
Then he glanced at her.
"How about we stop to greet a friend? She’s a dwarf."
Chloe nodded.
"Yeah, I know people with dwarfism. It must be the same."
Max looked at her.
"...no."
Pause.
"It’s not the same."
Before he could explain further, they turned down a corridor that opened into a courtyard.
And then, Chloe froze.
Three figures were walking toward them.
Two small, green... deformed creatures. And a massive woman. Literally a giant.
Chloe swallowed.
"...don’t look, don’t look..."
Max spoke calmly.
"It’s fine. She’s the cook."
He pointed at the giant.
"She’s a giant. And those two—"
He pointed at the smaller ones.
"—are goblins. Her assistants."
Chloe nodded slowly.
"...right... assistants..."
Max continued:
"The one with one hair is Bim."
He pointed.
"The one with two hairs is Bam."
Pause.
"And she’s Bertha."
Chloe made a writing motion in the air again.
"Okay... noted."
Max smiled.
They kept walking until they reached a warmer area.
The sound of metal. The heat of fire. A small figure was working in front of a lit furnace, fully focused.
Chloe looked around.
"...this really feels like a fairy tale."
Max nodded.
"It’s better if you see it that way."
He approached the figure from behind and cleared his throat softly.
The dwarf turned around, and her eyes lit up.
"Max!"
She hugged him without hesitation.
"You’re finally back!"
She gave him a couple of pats on the back.
"I heard you returned from the trip, but I didn’t think you’d come say hi so soon."
Max laughed.
"You’re still just as talkative."
"Of course I am!"
Frida let him go... and immediately pointed at Chloe.
"And who’s your new friend?"
Chloe looked at them strangely. The language. The gestures. Everything felt off.
Max noticed.
"She’s the king’s human pet," he explained. "She was summoned recently."
Pause.
"She doesn’t understand our language yet. I’m in charge of her until she can manage on her own."
Frida observed her from a distance. Analyzing her.
"I see..."
She smiled.
"Then I’ll give her a welcome gift."
Chloe took a small step toward Max.
"...uh... is everything okay?"
She looked at him.
"Should I be worried?"
Max shook his head.
"No."
He smiled.
"She wants to give you a gift."
Chloe frowned.
"I don’t get why everyone’s so excited about me being here... they don’t even know me."
Max shrugged.
"You’re in a castle."
Pause.
"And you’re the new guest."
Frida was already rummaging through her things. She pulled out a few steel rings.
"These don’t fit me anymore," she said.
She approached Chloe and, with exaggerated gestures, offered them to her.
Chloe looked at them. They shined.
She hesitated for a moment... then took them.
"...thanks..."
She tried them on. They fit perfectly.
She smiled.
She tried to return the gesture to Frida with an awkward but sincere bow.
Max watched the scene. And smiled.
’She’s doing well... she’s already starting to adapt...’