“It’s been flying by lately, hasn’t it?”
Dantalion has resurrected.
And it’s already been a week since I heard the news.
What on earth is with the speed of time? It feels like someone hit the skip button.
Does that mean my daily life is peaceful?
After all, time flies when you’re enjoying it.
“I hope it stays like this.”
Of course, that wasn’t a bad thing. In fact, it was really nice.
Nobody dislikes peaceful days, after all.
Maybe it’s because Dantalion is drawing all the aggro. These days, fewer people have been visiting the forest.
Sure, the supply of holy water has been cut off again…
“Oh, it’ll probably come back later.”
For now, I decided to just relax. Based on my past experiences, when a demon dies, the control over holy water is eventually lifted.
So my strategy was simply to endure for now.
If I had my way, I’d love to go out and see that demon, but I couldn’t do that.
Sadly, I had too much to do right now.
“Sigh…”
I took a moment to exhale. A faint breath escaped my lips.
It’s been 14 months since the otherworlders appeared here.
The world was now preparing for its second winter.
*
Yepyeop thought her luck had been pretty good lately.
Just a few days ago, she shared her story about participating in Dantalion’s rescue, attracting over 6,000 viewers.
Of course, she’d been flamed in the community for barging in and ruining the hunt…
Still, her recognition increased, and donations poured in.
So it was a win for her.
For a while, she thought about milking her “direct encounter with Dantalion” stories.
“Who would’ve thought I’d be live-streaming right next to him?”
True to her words, she was broadcasting live now.
Right next to Dantalion, of all places. Thanks to that, red dots (RED) were floating around her.
[Ohhh]
[Yepah]
[Hey, does it feel good to hang out with cultists? Huh, does it?]
[You have been kicked out by the manager.]
[Why is she actually streaming in-game today? Usually, she just does her home cam.]
[Broadcasting by sucking the life out of NPCs~ What a riot, huh?]
[You have been kicked out by the manager.]
[Isn’t that a demon next to her? Whoa.]
A mountain of chats filled her eyes.
Thanks to recent events, she had quite the influx of viewers. To be precise, they were more like toxic haters coming to vent.
“But who cares.”
Her viewer count was still rising, so she figured it was a good thing.
The more viewers she had, the higher her chances of appearing on the platform’s main page. Of course, they were just there to roast her, but still, that was money.
In fact, the one who allowed her to stream was none other than Dantalion himself.
As she tried to calm the chat down, one of the followers walking with her said,
“Um… Dantalion. Is it okay for her to broadcast like this while we’re on a mission?”
“What’s the problem? Do you have a complaint about my decision?”
“Ah, no. I was just… concerned if it’s okay to let people know while we’re on a mission, that’s all.”
Currently, they were a group of five, walking through the Forbidden Forest.
The reason was to find an altar somewhere in this forest.
Unfortunately, aside from the demon, there weren’t many strong individuals in the group. The best they had was someone at the squad leader level.
It seemed that higher-ups were all too busy, and knights couldn’t easily enter this forest.
It was a tricky area to get surrounded, so it made sense they could only venture in with a small team this time.
Of course, it was surprising that they allowed a broadcast but…
“Well, isn’t it fun?”
In the end, it benefited Yepyeop, so she decided to just sit back and enjoy the show.
Had someone announced her stream in the community? The number of viewers was increasing exponentially.
Yepyeop briefly shifted her gaze to check the viewer count. Her eyes went wide.
“Whoa, 8,000 views…!”
That was a number you’d typically need a big corporation to reach.
And here it was, reaching out to her. Even if it was a chance to see Dantalion, she never thought it would draw this kind of crowd.
Even more astonishing was that the viewer count was still climbing at this very moment.
At this rate, hitting 10,000 viewers wouldn’t be a dream anymore.
Of course, a third of those were trolls, but still.
Yepyeop mentally ran through her hopeful scenarios.
“I really hope I get to see that NPC.”
‘That NPC’ obviously referred to Yor.
Now a familiar figure to many players, his appeal hadn’t diminished.
After all, appearances were like cheat codes in broadcasts, and despite being a ‘man,’ he was a formidable presence, making him not-so-easy to encounter.
Though it was still unclear just how strong he was… it was certain he was about the level of an A-class adventurer.
Plus, he lived in this forest’s peculiar conditions. As long as she met him, views were practically guaranteed.
So she moved deeper into the forest with all these thoughts swirling in her head.
Luckily, her wish was soon to be granted.
While walking down the trail, a pit suddenly appeared before her.
*
When winter was approaching, there was one thing I always repeated.
That was stocking up on food. While winter might be short, that didn’t mean animals roamed around like total bosses.
So I had to hunt as much as I could before the animals went into hibernation.
And fortunately, I was able to wrap that task up a bit quicker this time.
Hunting had gotten easier lately. Even though I had killed a unicorn, I was still making good use of the hearing it blessed me with.
Focusing intently, I could hear the sounds of small animals like rabbits and squirrels hopping around. With such keen senses, it was only natural that hunting had become a breeze.
Thus, I had secured most of the food I needed for winter.
Now, it was just a matter of salting those supplies. Preserving them required sterilization.
“This seems like it’s been a while.”
Thanks to that, I had been holed up in the cave since early afternoon.
As I sprinkled salt on the meat, it felt like I was preparing kimchi. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever made kimchi in my past life.
“……Huh?”
Just then, I heard a commotion outside the cave.
Murmurs.
Suddenly, I caught snippets of multiple voices conversing, beginning to mix in with each other. I quickly focused on my hearing.
“But where are we going in? Honestly, this feels a bit dangerous at this point…”
“How am I supposed to know? We’re just following the way the arm points.”
The voices seemed quite close. Perhaps I’d been too engrossed in salting and missed their approach.
That was the flaw of the ability the unicorn had given me. If I didn’t concentrate, my hearing would fade naturally.
“I can feel the mana growing heavier as we go in. Surely, our destination will appear soon, right? Let’s not all panic about it.”
“Ah, no. I apologize…”
I frowned. Another unexpected guest in my peaceful life.
Even worse, the voices were getting closer.
So the other party was heading towards my cave.
“Damn it.”
I mumbled a curse. Why does it have to be this way?
I didn’t mind if people entered the forest; I was accustomed to that now.
But exposing my home was another matter entirely.
Still, at least they hadn’t entered the cave yet.
I hurriedly hid my presence. The cave was camouflaged, after all.
I had made sure the roof looked like a pit by covering it with dirt and leaves.
With any luck, they might just walk past.
“Looks like the arm points this way…”
“Is it pointing inside that hole, or over there past the cave?”
“Who knows? I guess we just find out by checking.”
But to shatter that hope, the strangers stopped right at the cave entrance.
“Tsk.”
I clicked my tongue.
Should I let them wander inside the cave, or would it be better to step out and at least see their faces?
I didn’t dwell on the decision for long. I gathered my gear and walked out to meet them.
The five-person group looked shocked when they spotted me right before their cave.
“Oh?”
“Who’s this guy popping out of the woods all of a sudden?”
“Ah, could it be him? The one who had a meeting with their squad leaders…?”
I quickly scanned their faces. Given the use of “squad leader,” it seemed safe to assume they were from Lemegaton.
But that wasn’t all I noticed. The first figure that stood out to me as soon as we met was a short-statured man.
Despite his small size, his facial muscles were twitching in real-time, making him quite memorable.
That distinguishing feature meant I was already familiar with him.
Upon spotting me, his eyes gleamed with interest.
“Hooh?”
Dantalion, the demon, unexpectedly stood before me.
