She Rules the Dungeon

Nervous was an understatement. Richard was shaking in his shoes. Although Otta mentioned that it was alright to dress normally, the programmer still felt that it was better to be safe than sorry. He spent half the morning deciding if jeans would go better with black or white socks. Otta didn't comment and let him be.

It was slightly past one in the afternoon when they finally arrived at Otta's parents' house. It was slightly out of the way and Richard couldn't believe that someone important in the military would live in such an unprotected house. Even Otta's apartment was armed with security cameras and electronic locks that could only be opened with the right thumbprints. Otta merely rolled her eyes at Richard's observation. Clearly, he didn't understand what it meant to have a father who was a prominent person in the military. They didn't need home security, they were home security.

The programmer swallowed uncomfortably as the car pulled up at the driveway outside the humble home. Otta paid the driver while Richard helped to unload their luggage. Otta didn't bring much but Richard brought his entire workstation including two laptops, one headphone, one earpiece, four chargers, an extension cord and many adapter cables. Despite that, he'd still forgotten his power bank back in Otta's apartment much to his chagrin when he realised it in the taxi.

The house was at a cosy corner and had a beautiful garden. The garden was well-maintained and had a small swing tied on the sturdy tree beside a small artificial pond. Otta explained that gardening was a hobby of her father's and he loved tending to the water plants most. Richard wondered if Otta played on that swing when she was younger as they rang the doorbell.

Mrs Olley came out to greet them with a warm hug. The programmer felt slightly awkward when the frail-looking lady pulled him into a bone-crushing embrace. It was slightly uncomfortable for Richard as Mes Olley wasn't very tall. She was about two heads shorter than he was but Otta gave him a look that told him to deal with it.

Mrs Olley chattered away cheerfully and Richard was amused by how Otta's passionate personality took after her mother. Otta had her mother's looks too and Richard tried to imagine how Otta's father would look like. The image of a tough-looking man in military uniform came to mind. For some reason, he imagined Otta's father to have a moustache or beard much like those grizzly melee-combat adventurers.

Once they entered the cottage, Richard was pleasantly impressed by the size of the interior. For some reason, it looked a lot bigger on the inside than it did from the outside. The living room was extremely spacious with a fluffy rug in the centre of the room in front of a fireplace. The sunlight came from the window in the front and Richard saw how there was a rocking chair with a small coffee table by it. It was probably Mrs Olley's favourite spot in the living room from how unfinished knitting projects were left lying around the area.

"Oops! Pardon the mess," Mrs Olley smiled when she noticed Richard's line of sight.

Richard blushed. "No, it's fine. I didn't know that you knit."

Otta paled when Richard mentioned the k-word. Mrs Olley's eyes brightened up and launched into an enthusiastic rant about her latest project. Otta had to interrupt before her mother decided to move on to the technical details of her craft. It was a hobby that Otta didn't find interesting and truthfully, the red-head was embarrassed to wear her mother's creations. Woollen hats and sweaters are great but woollen pants and socks in the city was a different story. Many of her friends had been victims of woollen Christmas gifts and Otta was sure that after today, Richard would be another victim.

"Oh my, you're right. Where are my manners? I've heard a lot about you from Otta and would love to get to know you better! But first, let's get you settled in. Otta, could you be a dear and show him the guest room? I'll prepare the cookies and hot chocolate right away!"

Otta gestured for the programmer to follow her. They lugged the heavy suitcases up the stairs into the guest room. On the way, Otta gave Richard a mini house tour.

"This is the bathroom. We have some spare bedsheets and towel around so I'll get them later. On the right is my room and down the corridor is my parents' bedroom. The other door leads to our storeroom."

Richard nodded. He noticed that the colour scheme of the house was a nice shade of lavender and pale blue with the exception of Otta's room that was a bright orange. It would be a lie to say that Richard wasn't curious about Otta's childhood now that they were visiting her parents. It was weird becoming an Olley. Mrs Olley treated him like any mother would but Richard didn't know how to react to that. He didn't know if he should be calling Mrs Olley Mom like Otta did and honestly, he didn't know if he wanted to. It was simply too odd.

As he unpacked, Richard looked around. The guest room was well furnished. There was a small desk by the window with a study lamp on it. The wardrobe was beside the bed and Richard noticed how fresh the air was with the sunlight filtering in from the window. Curious about the view, he walked over to the window and was amazed by the view of the garden below. The sturdy tree with the swing was quite close to his window and Richard wondered if it was possible to climb to the tree from his window.

Before he could do anything, there was a soft knock on the door. Otta entered and Richard blinked at the new sheets and blanket in her arms.

"Some help?" she grinned and Richard chuckled before taking the bulky linen from her. Working together made the task of changing sheets and airing the guest room a lot faster. Once that was done, Richard got to unpacking his belongings and Otta left him to it while she unpacked hers. The programmer was almost done setting up his portable workstation when there was another soft knock at the door. This time, it was Mrs Olley who came to invite him for tea in the dining room.

Once Richard was satisfied with the setup, he did one last check before leaving the room. As he walked down the stairs, the smell of freshly baked cookies attacked his senses. If it weren't for his superb sense of self-control, he would've drooled all over the floor. Thankfully, Richard wasn't such a glutton. When he found the dining room, Otta was already seated and asking for a refill of hot chocolate. There were crumbs all over and Richard raised a brow. Otta usually ate neatly. Did returning to her childhood home make her mind and mannerisms regress?

Shaking his head, Richard took a seat beside her when Mrs Olley came with his cookies and hot chocolate.

"Richard you must try my mom's cookies! They're heavenly!"

"Close your mouth when you chew and don't talk with food in your mouth!" Mrs Olley chided and Richard snorted at Otta's childish retort. However, he understood at once what Otta meant when he sank his teeth into the cookie. The sweetness that usually repulsed him was something that warmed him up from the insides. Maybe Mrs Olley really knew how to make magical cookies after all! Richard couldn't stop himself from reaching for another and Otta grinned at him knowingly.

After his fifth cookie, Mrs Olley broke into the more serious topics.

"Has there been any trouble with Brandon?"

Richard froze. He knew that Otta often texted and called her parents but he didn't think that she would disclose everything they did with them. The programmer felt the appetite leave him. He didn't want to talk about it. Although Brandon wasn't harassing him or Otta on the surface, he just knew that it would only be a matter of time before he started something again. Right now, FLS was still doing well with the tech team holding it together for a while. A few more months after this, the story would be completely different and once Brandon found out that he was tricked, who knew what he would do.

Otta observed the emotions flickering across her partner's face and gave her mother a look. Mrs Olley looked apologetic and wondered if more cookies would help. Laughing nervously, the lady excused herself and left her children some privacy to discuss matters.

"Richard," Otta called out but the programmer didn't answer.

"Richard!"

This time, it got his attention.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked and Richard shook his head, unwilling to talk about his insecurities.

Otta sighed. It was just one of those days again. "Look, I'm not going to judge. You know that. What's wrong? Are you angry at me for telling my parents about our situation? I didn't tell my mom everything. My dad knows about it though, he's had a few run-ins with Clarkson Inc and is working on the case. Although mom looks like a simple housewife, she's more than that. I don't know the details but mom once mentioned that she worked closely with dad before they got married."

"Sorry... I didn't doubt you and neither was I angry. It's just that I don't want to become a burden to your family when the time comes. You know Brandon... once he finds out, he wouldn't leave it. FLS was a huge investment and you now have the chicken farm. I'm sure he would do something about it directly or indirectly to get back at us. We didn't let him have any of our creations after all. The technology that he wanted wasn't an FLS project. He can't recreate that dungeon space for the disabled or a simulator dungeon with Jenny's AI."

While Otta and Richard discussed in further details, Mrs Olley was listening from behind the door. Her husband was right. There was more going on behind the scenes than what Otta mentioned over the phone. As a businesswoman and housewife, she didn't understand everything that they talked about but she got the gist. Brandon wanted something that would probably do more harm than good and to prevent that from happening, her children tricked him into buying over their company without handing over the relevant technology.

***

Richard was lying on the bed and staring at the ceiling. Otta was right. He should have more faith in her and her parents. However, a small part of him remembers being that scared child who was unable to escape his father's control. Even though he was an adult and officially removed from the Clarkson family registers, he couldn't break free from the shackles of the past. He didn't know what it meant to be an Olley. Even though Otta's mother was a nice person, Richard didn't trust her like how he trusted Otta. He didn't feel comfortable with the woman's easy display of affection for anything and everything.

Deciding to push his thoughts aside in favour of working on Jenny's AI, Richard cracked his knuckles and got to work.

Hours passed before he realised it. The sky had gotten incredibly dark and Richard felt his stomach protest. He looked at the time and it read nine in the evening. Sighing and leaning back into his small chair, Richard closed his eyes for a little while. The conversation from tea was still heavy on his mind and Richard didn't want to go down in fear of running into mother or daughter. When his stomach protested loudly once more, the programmer admitted defeat. Reluctantly, he went downstairs, hoping that he could find something to eat while avoiding the ladies.

He did find something to eat in the dining room and managed to avoid both ladies. Mrs Olley was sitting by the fireplace with her latest knitting project in her hands, deeply engrossed in it. Otta was most likely in her room and Richard heaved a silent sigh of relief.

What Richard didn't manage to avoid was a meeting with his new father.

In the dining room, Mr Olley was finishing up his share of dinner when Richard walked in. The programmer froze when he saw the military man. Mr Olley was nothing like he'd imagined. Mr Olley was a man in his late forties with streaks of grey in his hair. The man had angular jaws and bright eyes that seemed to penetrate souls. Richard was pinned by that very stare despite Mr Olley's thin build.

"You must be Richard."

The programmer didn't trust his voice so he nodded.

Mr Olley chuckled and gestured for Richard to take a seat while he grabbed extra utensils to prepare Richard's dinner. Richard absent-mindedly noticed that Otta had her father's eyes and that similar look of intense focus.

Once dinner was prepped, Richard dug in quickly. He was famished from what Mr Olley could tell. Thankfully, the man didn't question him or attempt to make any form of conversation while Richard ate. Instead, he decided to do the dishes while Richard wolfed down his meal.

After letting out a loud belch, Richard felt a lot better. Mr Olley was a patient man and Richard didn't feel good about keeping him waiting for long.

Seeing that Richard was ready, Mr Olley invited him out for a night walk around their neighbourhood. Richard obliged and they bade Mrs Olley goodnight before they left.

The neighbourhood was a quiet one but it was pleasant. Back in the city, it was always noisy. Otta's apartment was located in one of the quieter streets which was something Richard was thankful for. His previous apartment was located in a poorer side of town where the nightlife was bustling. He often slept during the day to make up for the sleepless nights when he lived there, not that much has changed after living with Otta.

Still, Richard couldn't believe how peaceful it was. The wind felt good in his face as he walked in a comfortable silence beside his new dad. Mr Olley didn't seem to be in any rush and he wasn't pushy like Mrs Olley. Richard decided that he like the man.

"How do you find the room?"

"It's good, sir."

Mr Olley chuckled. "We're family now, don't get all formal with me."

Richard didn't know what to say next. Was he supposed to call Mr Olley dad?

Seeing the confused and slightly troubled expression, Mr Olley laughed. "I'm not expecting you to call me dad like Otta but names are good. I'm Oscar in case Otta hasn't mentioned it."

Richard blushed. He had forgotten to ask Otta about her parents' names. Oscar raised a brow. "I take it that my girl has forgotten to do introductions? Well, my wife is Holly so feel free to call her by her name too. We roughly understood your situation and agreed to adopt you on behalf of Otta. You don't have to feel pressured into becoming a family with us. I'm assuming that this is merely a temporary situation. I won't pry too much into what you and Otta are doing but if you need help, we're here."

Hearing what Oscar had to say, Richard felt better as if someone had taken a mountain off his shoulders. There were many underlying worries about becoming an Olley but they were blown away so quickly by Oscar. Richard couldn't help comparing Oscar and Otta. They were both people who were able to resolve Richard's most troubling problems effortlessly.

"Richard. There's just one thing I want to know away from those ladies. Tell me honestly as a man to a man... are you interested in my daughter?"

The programmer froze in his step. His blood ran cold at the question. Wasn't this too soon?!

When Richard didn't answer, Oscar smirked. Instead of confronting the programmer or getting angry, Oscar merely gave him a good-natured slap on the back.

"You'll have to work hard to get her to recognise those feelings. My daughter can be many things and dense is one of them. I'm not against the idea of having you as a son-in-law but you'll need to be ready for what it means to be an Olley. As for your ex-father... allow me to settle that. I'm sure Otta will be bored of chicken farming soon, the dungeon is the only place that she belongs to."

Now that, Richard would agree with.

"You're really not against me dating your daughter?"

Oscar gave Richard a puzzling look. "Did you think that I would allow any man to live with my daughter under the same roof for such a long time without doing any kind of background check? If you were someone with ulterior motives and twisted morals I would've sent someone to get rid of your body."

With that, Oscar continued his evening walk as if he hadn't just threatened murder less than a minute ago. Richard shuddered. He now understood what Otta meant by not needing a home security. With Oscar around, no thugs would come within a ten-mile radius.

***

"I take it you've met dad?"

Richard stopped typing and grinned. They spent nearly a week in the cosy cottage. Richard had gotten very comfortable living here. Holly took the responsibility of showing Otta's childhood pictures and sharing with him all of her little girl's embarrassing moments much to Richard's amusement and Otta's misery. Otta took a few days to visit all her favourite spots in the neighbourhood, often dragging Richard along. The programmer didn't mind and was fascinated to learn so many new things about his partner. The spent the days lazily and Richard wondered when Otta would be ready to break the news to her parents.

Otta groaned. "What did he tell you? He didn't threaten you or anything of that sort... right?"

Richard thought back about it. While Oscar did low-key threaten him, he didn't think it was a cause for concern. Oscar only cared about his daughter and Richard wholeheartedly agreed with that.

"Don't worry about it," he smiled. "When are you going to tell your parents about our plan?"

Otta wrung her hands and looked away. Richard knew what that meant. "Otta... it was your idea, you know?"

The red-head groaned and buried her face in her hands. She knew that it was her idea but she was half-regretting it already. Asking a favour from her mother from a business perspective was simply weird. Otta just knew that when her mother was in business mode, there was absolutely no way Otta would win. Richard experienced it too and it was simply shocking to see such an easy-going woman sharpen into the shrewdest negotiator.

"I'll do it at lunch. Have you found out what everyone is up to? Brandon should be making his move soon. It's been three months."

Richard nodded. "Half of tech team left. If Brandon's legs still worked, he would be jumping up and down in rage. FLS is on hot coals at the moment with the pressure coming from adventurers for more dungeon developments. Clarkson Inc may have programmers but when it comes to the driving force and innovation, they're severely lacking."

Otta grinned. "Think they will engage me to do it?"

Richard rolled his eyes. "Right... engage your enemy to save your country. What a great move. Brandon won't do something like that. The contract didn't state that we couldn't start another dungeon creating company after selling FLS. I'm sure your parents will approve of it if you decide to explain to them your reason for leaving the chicken farm in their hands. Besides, we have more than enough money to start any kind of business. If dungeon development isn't all you want, we can start a guild for research. Anything is possible at this point, you know I'll follow you and support you in whatever you decide."

Otta hummed. "Dungeons... aren't they just virtual spaces? I'm sick of the battle concept despite the RPG themes. I'll leave that to FLS for now. What do you think about a dungeon concert? I heard that the tech team is working on a new AI idol... what if we can create virtual idols in dungeons to act like concerts and sell those tickets to the masses who aren't adventurers? I'm sure we can find a way to make non-combat dungeons accessible to the public. When that happens, creating dungeon spaces for the physically disabled would be possible too. A school, an office, the beach... the possibilities are endless!"

Richard nodded at Otta's enthusiasm. Although Adrian had rejected their proposal, it didn't deter Otta from trying again. In fact, Otta worked a lot harder to make it come true, exploiting all the loopholes in the law and finding a way around it. He admired the way her mind worked and wondered if that was how he started falling for her.

Beaming at Richard, Otta thanked him and left. She was probably going to talk about it with her mother and Richard decided to return to his laptops. She will definitely be telling him about the good news later so he wasn't worried. On the other hand, AI idol personalities will not create themselves. He better get started on several prototypes before Otta returned.