None of this makes sense. Ren stared at Mary. Her features were sharp and defined. The way her hair slipped and fell over her shoulders as she bent over to look at him was too realistic. He could see her chest rising and falling. Her eyelashes and the shadow they cast over her face was way too defined for the game. Mary-chan is real. If she’s real, then where am I?

“Ren? Are you feeling alright?” Mary tried to reach out to him and he flinched instinctively. She paused and slowly pulled her hand back, looking hurt.

“M-Mary—Millar-san.” Ren corrected himself. Mary paused, then crossed her arms and frowned at him.

“Why are you being so formal? I don’t like it.” She pouted.

Ren fidgeted in his seat and looked down at his lap. That was when he remembered his shirt was still down. He quickly tried to dress himself, but a sharp pain to his shoulder made him let out a loud hiss.

Mary sighed. “Don’t put that back on. It’s ripped and covered in blood.”

She pulled a spare shirt out from his bag. Before he could protest, she helped him take his blood-stained shirt off and put the clean one on. She left the strings at the top untied. Opening a chest at the edge of the bed, she pulled out a spare scrap of cloth and used it to make a sling from his arm.

“Who knew you could be shy.” Mary chuckled as Ren blushed at the contact. When she finished, she clapped her hands together with her eyes sparkling. “I bet your hungry.”

He wasn’t feeling hungry, but she ran away to the tiny kitchen area before he could turn her down.

“Come sit at the table,” Mary commanded with her back turned as she pulled out a pot from a cabinet.

Ren didn’t have the courage to tell her not to bother. With great effort he stood up, his shoulder throbbing, and walked over to the tiny wooden table. Once he settled down at the table, he watched her work. There was a small hearth in the kitchen area. She lit the hearth with a piece of flint and steel. Carefully, she hung the pot on a metal bar over top the fire. He watched her cut up some strange green and orange looking fruits that were in the shape of a pear and dumped them into the pot. She let them simmer for a moment before taking a pitcher from the counter and pouring water into it. Ren knew little about cooking, but he thought it seemed a little strange what she was doing. After a few minutes, the room filled with a rich savory flavor that smelled like meat and his mouth watered.

“Um… Miller-san,” He tried to call out to her, but she only responded with a harsh look that sent a chill down his spine. “M-Mary-chan?”

This time she smiled at him as she stirred the contents of the pot with a wooden spoon. “Yes, Ren?”

“Where am I?” Ren asked.

Mary cocked her head. “In my apartment, silly.”

Ugh, that’s not what I meant. Why is communicating so hard?

“R-right, but what world am I in?” He tried to be more specific, but this time Mary just looked at him confused.

“World?”

“Right, what planet am I on?” He tried to clarify.

She seemed at a loss. Am I not being specific enough or does this world not know about planets? It’s going to take a long time to explain that if they don’t know about that concept. He made his question simpler.

“What city am I in?”

Mary seemed visibly relieved to be able to answer this question. “The city of Amore.”

So, that’s the same as Y.O.W, but why would they even be the same? Is it a coincidence or is this some weird parallel world? Why would the world be parallel to a game, though? His brain hurt thinking about it and shelved that thought process for now. He didn’t have enough information about his situation to come to a reasonable conclusion.

“Miller—,” She glared at him, “Mary-chan, where is the city of Amore located?”

She raised an eyebrow at him and pondered his question for a moment. “Oh! Amore is in the province of Ai. It’s the third largest province in the kingdom of Liebe. Does that answer your question?”

Ren just smiled politely. It’s where and where? Province? Kingdom? It’s true there was a kingdom in Y.O.W. called Liebe, but it certainly wasn’t divided into provinces or anything that complicated! Without a map, it’s hard to imagine what that all means.

“M-Mary-chan, you wouldn’t happen to have a map… would you?” Ren asked hopefully, but her face fell.

“I don’t own anything that expensive.” She looked crestfallen.

“Oh, I, uh, sorry….” Ren felt like he’d insulted her. It really was an innocent question. I swear!

She recovered quickly and shook her head. “It’s fine. The library has a map. I’ll take you there… Next month.”

A library would be perfect! I might be able to get a better grasp on where I’m at.

“W-why n-next month?” He asked.

Mary mumbled, and he had to strain to hear her, “Because it cost money to get in. And I won’t have enough to get us both in until next month.”

“O-oh.” Ren flushed and looked at the table, feeling very uncomfortable. I didn’t mean to make her feel bad!

“It’s fine… You can’t leave until you get better, anyway. We don’t want to agitate your wound.” She changed the subject and taste tested the soup. Nodding her head and appearing satisfied, she spooned in some orange soup and placed a bowl in front of him. The smell was stronger than before. Ren stared down at the soup and listened to Mary hum as she prepared her own bowl. She sat down across from him, put her hands together, bowed her head, and closed her eyes. Curious, Ren looked up and watched her intensely.

“To the Great Mother Spirit that protects us, thank you for this food and for bringing Ren home safe.” She opened her eyes and smiled at him. He flushed and looked down at the table. Ren looked at the spoon she’d set next to his bowl. He tried to lift his hand, but flinched at the pain. Looks like I can’t use my dominant hand right now. Using his left hand, he picked up the spoon and tried to feed himself. Most of the soup ended up on the table instead of in his mouth.

“So-sorry,” he wanted to hide under a rock.

Mary giggled and stood up, coming around to his side. Much to his surprise, she seated herself in his lap and snuggled up to his good shoulder.

“You’re being very shy today.” She played with the tassel on his shirt.

His face was on fire. The real Mary-chan is so bold!

“Ah um,” he looked into her eyes and tensed up. She’s so pretty.

She tilted her head and looked at him, concerned. “Ren?”

A thought occurred to him. The real Mary-chan… Does that mean there is a real Knight in this world? Did I take him over? Am I stealing someone’s life right now? He looked at her sadly. If I am, then I’m lying to her.

“M-Miller-san,” Ren stammered.

Her eyes narrowed, and she leaned away from his face. “Why do you keep being so formal? Are you mad because I told you not to kiss me in public?”

“What? No, that’s re-reasonable, th-that’s not what I—”

Mary turned to him, her eyes wide. “Reasonable? Did you hit your head too?”

Ren took a deep breath. “M-Mary-chan, I-I need to t-talk to you about something… please?”

She looked nervous and got out of his lap. Slowly, she sat down across from him and stared at her plate. “What did you want to talk about?”

Oh, my gosh, she’s so cute!

He cleared his throat. “Well, th-this is going to sound cr-crazy, actually I’m pre-pretty sure it’s crazy, that or I’m cra-crazy…”

Mary looked up at him suspiciously.

He took a deep breath and said it, “I-I might not be your Ren.”