Sophia was chauffeured over to the mysterious Fletcher Residence.
The Fletcher Family was huge; even though the family had split into several branch families, Stanleyâs branch was one of the most important ones.
In reality, Sophia was feeling rather excited. There was a good chance that she would get to lay eyes on many notable people at Bayside Cityâs military compound such as Old Master Fletcher, who was Fletcherâs patriarch.
Old Master Fletcher was one of the nationâs founding fathers, and his name was known across the nation. He had many children throughout his life as well. Back in the nationâs early days, the country had lost many of its population to war; when the nation called for families to procreate, the man sired four sons and three daughters.
All of his children were courageous and adept on the battlefield. Rumors claimed that they were important and renowned people in the military, but their identities were kept a secret.
Old Master Fletcher was one of those people that even children knew. Over a hundred shows and movies were made about his life, so Sophia had already gotten used to the Old Master Fletcher that was portrayed on screen. It would be great if she could see the actual person in the flesh!
She just didnât know whether he was still healthy enough for visits.
Sophia had studied all about Old Master Fletcherâs deeds every day in history class back in high school.
He had a major hand in shaping the country as it was today, and he was also one of the ten generals in the nation. He was a loyal and heroic man, and his achievements were part of the nationâs high school history syllabus.
They were only allowed to enter the military compound if they had a permit, so Stanley sent someone beforehand to receive them. The car entered the compound, driving for a while more before reaching Stanleyâs home.
The Fletcher Residence was located in a special area of the compound; the entire family lived here, having their own swathe of homes. Stanleyâs own house was a bungalow, and they proceeded to park their car in Stanleyâs garage.
Sophia took Nathanâs hand in her own and entered the Fletcher Residence with a thermal container in another hand.
Stanleyâs house wasnât luxurious in an extravagant manner; it still maintained a style that was in vogue a few decades ago. The house oozed a homey feeling that also felt like it was from years past, and photo frames hung on the yellowing walls. There were pictures of the Fletchers as well as a family portrait.
Sophia gazed at the family portrait, but she couldnât spot Michael anywhere. However, both Joel and Stanley were in the picture.
When she entered Stanleyâs room, Sophia saw him lying half-dead on the bed.
Stanley groaned weakly when he saw Sophia stepping in.
Hale and Gemma stood at the door while Sophia and Nathan planted themselves by Stanleyâs bedside to talk to him. Stanley was hurt as he said, âI went to your house every day while you were sick and brought food for you. I even gamed with you and tutored you in math. But now that Iâm injured, you didnât even come to visit me once. Lookâeven Nate is glaring at me! Iâm the patient here!â
As Stanleyâs childhood friend, Sean was here too; they had been friends since they were still in diapers.
Sean had come over to see Stanley since he didnât have anything else to do, and he covered his mouth to hide his chuckle when he heard that.
Sophia grumpily opened the container and poured Stanley a bowl of chicken soup before handing it to him. âHere, I made some chicken soup. Eat it while itâs still warm.â
Stanley was beyond touched as he said, âSo you do have a heart, Sophia.â
He picked up the bowl and began to blissfully down its contents. The chicken soup was absolutely delicious; all that simmering brought out the full flavor of the free-range chickens, and Sophia had added plenty of other nourishing ingredients as well. The soup was flavorful and the bits of chicken in it were tender. Stanley soon finished off the entire bowl of soup.
Nathan couldnât help but lick his lips as he watched Stanley inhale the soup. When the older man finished it, Nathan peered inside the container to find that there was nothing left; even the scraps had been picked clean by Stanley, not leaving the slightest bit for Nathan.
Nateâs expression fell immediately.
Meanwhile, Stanley didnât let Sophia leave even after he had finished the soup. He tugged on her hand pitifully and said, âIâm in so much pain, Sophia. My leg hurts; wonât you massage it for me?â
Sophia wasnât happy about it as she grumbled, âYou were a soldier, Stanley. Whatâs this bit of pain?
Besides, your leg is fractured. What can I do about it?â
She wanted to pull her hand back without making a scene, but Stanley had a vice-like grip on it.
Stanley continued to put on a frail and weak front as he begged, âGame with me, Sophia.â
She rolled her eyes. âFine,â she replied.
The housekeeper brought two laptops in, placing one of them on Stanleyâs bed and the other in front of Sophia. Sophia logged into her alternate account and played with Stanley, entering a dungeon together before wailing on some random monster. Stanley felt like death in real life, but he was filled with extreme vigour inside the game. Meanwhile, Sophia pretended to be weak and let him have his way.
Nathan puffed up in anger as he watched the pair gaming happily together. He side-stepped them and dashed out with pattering feet to find a deserted spot so that he could call Michael. Nathan immediately went straight to the point when the call connected and said, âSheâs gaming with Stanley, and she looks like sheâs having a lot of fun. What now?â
Michael mulled things over on his end before he spoke, âItâs time to let that stupid dog know the true strength of a little kid!â
Sophia and Stanley emerged from the dungeon after they had defeated the monster. Then, they headed into town to recover their SP and take a break while they were at it.
âCome on, Sophiaâletâs explore the market. Weâll get to see what kind of fun stuff we can dig up,â
Stanley cajoled.
Sophia followed him without a word. They had only just explored for a few minutes when a blond man dressed in gaudy gear descended out of nowhere.
âHey! You look so pretty, milady. Why donât you join me for some fun, eh?â
Sophia took a look at the blondâs ID; the name No. 1 Beast of the Server seemed rather familiar to her.
Not only that, her alternative accountâs ID clearly belonged to a man no matter how one looked at it. How did the guy know that she was actually a girl?!
However, she suddenly recalled Stanleyâs idea of getting Sirius to act as a bad guy. It wasnât hard to figure out what kind of scheme this idiotic Stanley was trying to pull!
Stanley looked fearful as he said, âOh manâthat guy is notorious for his bad reputation in-game, Sophia.
Heâs also a pervert whoâs been giving everyone trouble. Step back and let me teach him a lesson.â
Sophia glowered at him as she repeated a mantra in her own head. Restraint, restraint! Heâs injured!
Injured!
Iâll let you pretend to be a hero just this once since youâre a patient!
Sophia didnât say anything; she simply let Beast and Stanley take the stage. Soon, the two of them began their performance.
âHey, Beastâhow dare you tease a pure-hearted girl in broad daylight! Watch and see how the Snow Fox is going to put you in your place today!â
âCome at me! Do you think Iâm scared of you?â
The pair began to fight in front of Sophia. Stanley tapped into his esports skills for the battle; he was willing to duel his own idol just so that he could show off in front of Sophia. They battled until Beast flew through the air and made a quick escape.
âJust you wait!â Beast seethed.
Stanleyâs character in-game posed mightily as he panted, âDonât let me catch you in-game ever again, Beast. Iâll beat you to a pulp each time I see you, and I mean it when I say I will!â
With his moment of preening over, Stanley thought that he must have been very cool during his speech;
Sophia must be falling all over him.
Sophia played along and clapped. âWow! Youâre so awesome, Sundae Cone!â she wooed.