Sandrine sighed contentedly as she let the water of the shower fall on her face. She had already bathed once at the river around noon, but since then she had an exhausting day. She had changed her pitchfork into an axe and fell down a few trees, and she also spent a few hours on the road to do her mileage. No double road this time, but still, she had been drenched in sweat when night fell.
She took a bit of shampoo in her hands and massaged her hair. She didn't lack any hygiene products now. To the contrary, she had quite the stockpile.
While she was taking care of herself, she suddenly realized that, since she had been thrown off by her bad day yesterday, she hadn't checked the server chat and her private messages at all ! AlphaWolf and MomImThristy surely had more wood to give her, right ?
This wasn't urgent, so she first opened the server chat. She scrolled up until she reached yesterday's messages and suddenly froze. This picture… Wasn't it her ?
[Server chat (4,219/10,000)
-PtitPapaillon : Yummy [Picture]
-PandiPanda : Oh my gosh, is that a horse ????
-XavierDu16 : Is it even possible to ride animals ? Where is her vehicle ?
-PandiPanda : Maybe it's a small one like a bicycle or a scooter, and it's tied to the horse on the other side, that's why we don't see it ?
-JusticeBoy56 : @PtitPapaillon You're lucky brother, won't you share your good fortune ?
-IamSn00t : don't be stingy
-PandiPanda : You're both disgusting ! What do you mean 'sharing' ???? That girl is a human being and those are her pets !!!
-IamSn00t : haven't eaten meat in days
-JusticeBoy56 : Yeah, there are people dying from hunger everyday and that girl even has chickens ! Why shouldn't she share ?
-PandiPanda : You're really awful, the scum of the earth, you dare encourage people to kill each other ?
-MostBeautifulCashier : No, what they say makes sense ! Do you even know how many people this horse could feed ???
-JusticeBoy56 : @PtitPapaillon Finished yet ? Send a bit to us !
-IamSn00t : don't boast here and then disappear
-MostBeautifulCashier : @PtitPapaillon ??????
-XavierDu16 : omg his profile just turned grey !!!!!
-MostBeautifulCashier : What ??? That girl is a murderer ! Remember her face !!!!
-XavierDu16 : What a joke. People attack her and want to kill her and her pets, but when she defends herself, she is a murderer ? What are you then ?
-PandiPanda : I hate violence but I have to agree, this is self-defense. PtitPapaillon's message made it clear that they had bad intentions
-JusticeBoy56 : You're really two-faced, endorsing murder !
-IamSn00t : bad people
-BratataCanon : Won't you fucking shut up ??? Who here doesn't know that you are absolute human trash who kill and steal ??? If we defend ourselves, we are murderers ? Then you better pray that you don't encounter me on a double road, or there will be two more heads in my body count !
-PandiPanda : We should all calm down, the game is trying to divide us
-ILoveSocks : Oh my, I almost missed this strong big sis ! Big sis, if you see this message, do you need someone to polish your shoes ? I don't even mind cleaning you horse's poop, just take me along~
-FeetQueen : As if such a pretty sister would want to hang out with a disgusting old man acting cute…
-ILoveSocks : Shut up whore <3
-xXFarandoleXx : I am buying duel cards, say your price
-XavierDu16 : Don't tell me people are buying duel cards just in case they encounter that girl so that she can't escape ???
-PandiPanda : Unfortunately, I just saw that duel card trades have gone up ever since this picture was posted in the chat, I don't think it's a coincidence…]
Sandrine read everything with an increasingly horrified expression.
"Are you kidding me ? The other player had the time to take a picture of me before he died ? And he even posted it ?!"
She had known that this would happen at some point, but this didn't make the matter less shocking. When she was targeted as 84jojo84, she didn't care, because even if she was super rich and people wanted to steal her wealth, there was no way they could guess who she was, they had nobody to attack. But now it was different. They knew her face, Paquerette and Gribouille. And the duel cards thing ? Now she was guaranteed to enter a fight to the death everytime there would be a double road.
"Shit…"
That was truly bad news.
Sandrine took a deep breath. She had no choice now, she could only grow stronger and stronger, and make sure that no matter how many people attacked her, she would always protect her family.
She finished her shower and took out her towel, drying her hair while shifting her gaze to her private messages. Now that she looked at it, there were a lot ! She first selected AlphaWolf's conversation. It started quite normally, chattering, asking if he could do things for her, sending her what wood he had collected during the morning, but then starting from the moment this picture was posted on the server chat, the tone shifted.
[AlphaWolf : Bro, did you see the picture on the server chat ? It's funny, that girl has a dog that looks like Gribouille !]
[AlphaWolf : I just compared pictures, the dog has the exact same markings as Gribouille, it's strange]
[AlphaWolf : Bro, you're scaring me. Are you a girl ? No, Gribouille must have a twin, right ? You can't be a strong big shot and be a girl on a horse, right ?]
[AlphaWolf : I take it back, if you are a sis, I am very sorry, I still respect you as my big sis, don't be angry with me]
[AlphaWolf : Wait I don't know, are you a bro or a sis ? No, you always sell things and give me gifts, my loyalty is independent from your gender !]
[AlphaWolf : Still, if you're a sis, I'm sorry I called you bro…]
Sandrine's heart was beating wildly but she forced herself to calm down. AlphaWolf was a nice naive guy, he wouldn't tell others who she was. He would probably treat her differently and be more distant because of her gender, but he wouldn't do anything to harm her.
She selected the chat with MomImThristy and, as she thought, it was similar.
[MomImThristy : I must apologize, as I have always assumed your gender. This is not very open-minded on my part. Considering your situation and your set up, I now understand your needs for a lot of water everyday. I have no knowledge about animal rearing and do not know how much a horse drinks, but I guess it is a lot. As you have always been sincere with me, I will also be sincere and reduce the price of the water as an apology for my past rude actions]
[MomImThristy : I have a question, were you sincere when you said I was cute a few days prior ?]
Sandrine sighed. AlphaWolf was confused and panicked, but MomImThristy was a bigger problem, immediately shedding his passive attitude and trying to be more proactive.
"If someone told me that the big muscular guy would be shy but the frail nerd would be getting flirty…"
She shook her head powerlessly. Today was really a disaster for her social life.
"On the good side, none of the two are the type to tell others, they can easily keep the secret. Unfortunately, there goes my credibility and my big shot aura !"
They probably wouldn't treat her the same now, and she wouldn't be able to tease her two cute puppies anymore. This was a big loss. Sandrine felt depressed.
"I should cheer up, the situation isn't as bad as it could be."
People would use duel cards on her for every double road, and her friends would treat her differently, but at least she was strong enough to defend herself and her friends were still as discreet and obedient. Not much would change.
She answered them.
[84jojo84 : I can't deny that I am in this picture. Nothing else will change. Did you find wood today ?]
Admission, and then immediate redirection. She hoped that acting as if nothing was wrong would force the men to do the same. It seemed to work somewhat.
[AlphaWolf : Oh yeah, sis… Should I call you sis ? Or big shot ? Is it offensive ? Anyway, yes, I found some wood]
[MomImThristy : Indeed, I have gathered wood. Do you still offer preferential prices for big sales ?]
It would take some getting used to, but things would happen progressively.
After acquiring the wood, Sandrine was ready to put on her frog onesie when she received another message from AlphaWolf.
[AlphaWolf : By the way, sis… Big shot… Something super strange happened to me today ! I was butchering as usual and then suddenly something appeared in front of me and said I had a job ! Now I'm a butcher !]
Sandrine widened her eyes. A job ? As she thought, AlphaWolf wasn't ordinary at all !
[84jojo84 : That's great ! If you don't mind, can you tell me what it does ?]
[AlphaWolf : Yeah, after all I'm your underling ! I mean I'm under you. No, I mean, I obey… Hum, sis, my job makes me butcher very quickly, I can always know how to butcher any animal, and I can make any meat or charcuterie very easily ! The time is reduced but the taste is enhanced. Also, later it can evolve and give power to the meat I prepare !]
[84jojo84 : What do you mean 'later' ? You can see what your job will become ?]
[AlphaWolf : Yeah ! I have everything here, all the conditions needed to level it up, all the things it can do later… It'll just take a bit of time, but one day I can make super good meat for you and little Gribouille !]
Sandrine gritted her teeth. What do you mean, you can see all the conditions ? Is it only hidden for her ?
Once again, she could feel how unfair the death game was to her. She was clearly targeted, there were no other explanations !
Sandrine grumbled while she started to cook. She first made small cuts on the side of the fishes and then marinated them in a dish with a mix of olive oil, salt, pepper, Provence herbs, and paprika she had gained in a spice set. Unfortunately she didn't have any lemon or lemon juice, so this would have to do.
While the fish was marinating, she peeled some potatoes and the wild carrots she had found, and made them pre-cook in boiling water. While it cooked, she took the mushrooms she had found yesterday and cleaned and cut them.
Once the vegetables were precooked and the fishes were marinated, she took a big dish and put the vegetables inside, adding the mushrooms, the fishes on top, and poured the marinade over everything. Then she put the whole dish in the oven.
While it cooked, she fed her pets and searched through the chicken coop.
"Another egg ? With the one from yesterday, that's two. Not bad !"
With happiness, she finally took her meal out of the oven. It looked very good, and the smell was heavenly. But despite being famished, she couldn't possibly eat everything on her own. So, as usual, she asked her friends if they wanted some. Usually, they would have answered without hesitation, but today they seemed a bit more hesitant.
[AlphaWolf : How could I ! No, eat for yourself, you need strength ! Your cooking is way too good for a guy like me ! Did I say that you were husband material before ? No, it just means that you are too good, you can be the husband and the wife, hahaha… ha…]
[MomImThristy : I do very much like your cooking, but it wouldn't be proper on my part to take advantage of you without offering anything in return. I do recognize that I have often taken advantage of your warmth, and what I accepted without questioning yesterday appears as incredible generosity today. I have often misunderstood you and have been ungrateful in my interactions with you. This kind of domestic gesture should only be performed with your most trustworthy people, and as much as I feel flattered that you offer your dinner to me, I also feel unworthy of such delicate attention]
Sandrine felt she was going blind reading those messages.
"Men are just so weird…"
What did it change, if she was a girl or not ? At least AlphaWolf made an effort to try and act almost normal, just confused, but MomImThristy was totally treating her like a delicate woman, right ?
"Talking about sharing dinner and domestic acts… Does he think I like him ?"
She did say that he was cute before, and she had indeed given him some gifts, but he wasn't the only one.
"Wait… He doesn't know that ! Oh…"
Now it made sense. That guy was totally imagining things and thought they had a special relationship. Sandrine had to stop it before it went out of control !
"Why am I the one who has to take weird ideas out of people's heads ? It's not even my fault if he misunderstood !"
An act that was normal between males became flirting when there was a girl. And it was the girl's responsibility to not make the guy misunderstand. How absurd !
Sandrine sighed and created a conversation group. Anyway, both men were good guys, surely they would become friends ? She had been careful before but now she knew they were trustworthy and had good personalities. Also, they shared the same secret about her identity, they deserved to know each other.
[Dinner Gang (3/3)
-84jojo84 : I've been talking and making deals with both of you, so it's easier if I create a group. Both of you know my real identity because of Gribouille's pictures anyway
-84jojo84 : AlphaWolf is the big shot who sold weapons on the first day, he also produces meat
-84jojo84 : MomImThristy is the big shot who produces water
-AlphaWolf : Wow, big sis is powerful, being friends with the water guy ! Yo, if you need meat, tell me ! I do discounts for big sis' friends !
-MomImThristy : I see. Thanks for the introduction. I can also do discounts]
Sandrine giggled while reading the chat. MomImThristy's answers seemed almost perfunctory. Was he shocked and disappointed that he wasn't the only man in her life ? But it was his fault for misunderstanding anyway !
She shook her head and looked at her still steaming dish.
[Dinner Gang (3/3)
-84jojo84 : You're sure none of you want some fish ? I made too much, I can't finish everything
-AlphaWolf : If there is too much, it would be a shame to throw it away !
-MomImThristy : After thinking about it, it would be impolite to refuse your generosity. I happen to like mushrooms quite a lot, and your dish seems really appetizing. It would be my honor to receive a plate of it]
MomImThristy's answer to AlphaWolf compared to the one he gave Sandrine, it was pretty obvious there was some double standard.
"Did he not give up ?"
Well, she had made her stance clear. If the guy still wanted to hang on to hope, it was his problem.
After eating and doing her usual exercises and stretches, Sandrine took out the VR fight set she had earned yesterday. Now that everyone was targeting her, she needed some real battle practice in order to grow stronger.