The marriage contract does not expire outside the internet.

"Hey there, honey... or should I say, Aegis?"

Sora froze in fear upon hearing that. He hadn't heard that name in years. A name he had buried with pain three years ago, and yet a beautiful, unfamiliar woman had just mentioned it.

"h-h-h-honey?!" Sora stammered, unable to process it all. "Who is this girl? I've never seen her before. She's gorgeous. No, no, focus Sora. She just mentioned your old username. This woman is up to something." Sora thought to himself as he looked more closely at the girl. She not only had intense amber-colored eyes but also long hair that reached her waist, complete with an upraised strand forming a big 'C' that matched another strand hanging midway across her face, along with two front pigtails.

Looking further down, Sora couldn't help but glance at her chest and then her clothes. He realized her attire was somewhat... simple yet elegant. She wore a white blouse covered by a long-sleeved pink cardigan, paired with a skirt also pink with white polka dots.

The girl, noticing Sora staring at her, couldn't help but blush and avert her gaze slightly. "U-um... do you remember me now, honey?" she said, unable to meet Sora's eyes.

"No, I'm sorry... I don't think I could forget a girl like you," Sora said, gently scratching his head while letting out a small chuckle.

Hearing that, the girl couldn't help but look sad and droop her shoulders. "Then... you don't remember this either?" She briefly put her hand to her neck to reveal what appeared to be a necklace with an intense green gemstone.

"That's..." Sora said, unable to finish the sentence. He recognized it. It was a necklace, but not just any necklace—it was an Emerald Oath Pendant, a limited-edition item that could only be obtained by completing The Garden of Sighs dungeon on Assassin mode. And he only knew one person who wore it with such pride.

"Y-you are..." Seeing that necklace made his mind travel back in time, to the exact moment he had given that necklace away after saving his companion from some golems and obtaining the item.

"I want you to have this, my dear wife... As long as you wear it close to your heart, I'll always be there to protect you, no matter what it costs," Sora had said with his Aegis skin.

It seemed that promise hadn't stayed in the internet after all.

"Mochi!?" Sora shouted as he remembered the necklace and where it came from, and above all, who he had given it to.

The girl, upon hearing that name, couldn't help but let out a small laugh. Her eyes sparkled with happiness—a brilliance no light could match.

"You remember! I knew my dear Aegis wouldn't forget me!" Mochi said. However, without warning, she closed the distance and lunged at Sora, attempting to hug him. "I've spent three years searching for the right server... and I finally found you."

Sora stood frozen in shock, feeling Mochi's weight against his chest. Her hair emanated a floral scent that made Sora blush and lose his balance. His virtual arms could carry a 200-kilogram axe, and yet he had easily fallen with a girl who, until recently, was a stranger.

"M-Mochi, wait wait, I can't—" Sora couldn't finish his sentence as he suddenly fell to the floor. His legs hadn't withstood so many emotions, causing Mochi to fall on top of Sora.

The fall was so loud that some neighbors' lights began turning on, and apparently Sora was the only one who noticed. Mochi, on the other hand, was so happy to have her "sweetie" that she didn't realize the commotion they were causing.

Sora could hear some footsteps approaching from the neighbors. Panic invaded his entire body, and it was that same panic that got him out of this problem. As best he could, he rolled to the side, grabbed Mochi by the shoulders, and literally dragged her inside the apartment, closing the door with his foot just before a groan was heard in the hallway.

Inside now, Sora realized the dangerous situation he was in. He was on the floor, with a beautiful girl on top of him, and his heart was beating so hard he swore he had internal bleeding.

"This is bad this is bad this is bad," Sora screamed internally while looking at Mochi, who was visibly blushing. "What if one of the neighbors saw me in this situation, or worse, if my classmates saw me, they'd think I'm a pervert who takes advantage of women... although, this feels like something cliché from some anime, right? Damn it, don't look at me like that, I'm just an average student."

"Excuse me..." Mochi said, visibly blushing.

"Oh no, forgive me please, I didn't mean to scare you like that, it's just that my neighbors tend to be very nosy," Sora said while glancing sideways at the door.

Sora helped Mochi stand up, feeling his hands tremble slightly. When he turned on the main light in the living room, the place filled with brightness that made the situation feel even more real. Mochi dusted off her pink cardigan, revealing her slender figure and that air of elegance that Sora didn't remember seeing in the pixels of his monitor.

"M-Mochi... listen," Sora said while scratching his head, avoiding eye contact with her. "It's not that I'm not happy to see you, it's just that... well, three years have passed! And it's not normal for you to show up out of nowhere at midnight!"

The girl lowered her gaze while playing with the edge of her white blouse. The blush on her cheeks didn't disappear.

"I'm sorry, Sora..." she said, and it was the first time she used his real name outside the game. Her voice was so soft and soothing. "But when the Frontier Online server shut down, I felt like a part of me had left too. Aegis was the only one who protected me when everyone mocked my low level. I couldn't let our story end with a message that said 'connection lost.'"

Sora felt a direct hit to his heart. He felt the hero's guilt, a feeling that was slowly awakening.

"I spent a long time searching for you," Mochi continued, recovering her smile slightly but with a blush on her cheeks that was impossible to ignore.

Mochi knelt beside her suitcase, which she had managed to bring in before Sora closed the door, and with a naturalness that scared Sora, she took out a hanger with a uniform on it.

Seeing that, Sora felt his blood pressure drop rapidly. "Is that uniform from..."

"That's right!" Mochi responded, turning to look at Sora again. "My parents moved for work and I managed to get transferred there. Tomorrow will be my first day. Isn't it great? We'll be able to be together again!"

Sora collapsed onto the sofa, covering his face with his hands while talking to himself in his mind. "My god, the universe not only sends me a virtual ex-wife to my house, but also to the same school I attend. The student council president already has it out for me, and when she sees me with Mochi she'll surely expel me from the institute... This feels like it was written by someone who clearly hates my peace of mind. If anyone sees this, please don't stop me when I try to jump out the window, just delete the internet history."

Mochi approached him, placing a soft hand on his shoulder. "Is something wrong, Sora?"

"No... nothing," he whispered. "It's just that... I think I'm going to need a lot more patience than I had to defeat that minotaur."