Chapter 20
In Akare, you could hire a coachman stationed in each region to travel to another area.
“Are you heading to the Litania Count’s Territory? That’ll be 10 gold.”
Currently, Daehyeop Kim had 25 gold on hand.
It had cost him 10 gold to buy level 10 armour.
The price for level 20 armour would probably be about twice that.
If he spent 10 gold here, he wouldn’t be able to buy equipment in the next region.
“Here you go.”
“I’ll make sure to take good care of you. This way.”
Just as he was debating, Raven, disguised as a man, acted first.
―――
-Wow lol
-Living the alpha male life
-A beautiful woman is taking care of things first
-Call for a special investigation
-You should pay five times the taxes
―――
Daehyeop Kim unintentionally found himself being treated like trash.
Though it was unfair, he followed Raven and got into the carriage.
With the coachman seated in the front, only the two of them remained inside the carriage.
As the awkward silence began to settle in, a set of options appeared.
[Main Story – Conversation]
[Main Story – Skip Travel]
―――
-No way he’s going to skip, right?
-Alone in a carriage, hehe
-If you skip, let’s cut it off, Daehyeop!
―――
Even judging by public opinion, there was only one option to choose.
[Main Story – Proceeding with Conversation.]
Clack-clack. Clack-clack.
Before he knew it, the carriage had set off, and the sound of the horses running at full speed could be heard.
He had heard that medieval carriages didn’t offer a smooth ride, but this one wasn’t so bad.
His butt didn’t hurt or anything; the only problem was the slight rattling.
“Hoo… It should be fine inside the carriage.”
Raven took out an artifact shaped like a watch from within her coat.
After fiddling with it, Raven’s appearance returned to her true form.
“Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It’s just the two of us here.”
―――
-My god, what kind of flirting is this?
-Come here, lol
-Activated mating mode
-The chat window is so vulgar
―――
Letting out a sigh at the chat window going wild over every little thing, Daehyeop Kim ended up turning it off completely.
“If I were alone, I would’ve been nervous. But with you here, I feel at ease.”
“…You probably shouldn’t trust me so much. I’m not as reliable as you think.”
Raven let out a small laugh at Daehyeop Kim’s blunt response.
“A person who’s not reliable wouldn’t risk their life to save me.”
“Well.”
Players revive when they die.
There was no way Raven, as an NPC, would know that.
Even if he tried to explain it, she probably wouldn’t understand.
In fact, she might even consider him a weirdo.
“…You risked your life for me too.”
Thinking about it, Raven was actually the strange one.
How many people would choose to sacrifice themselves for someone they just met?
“You tried to sacrifice yourself on a whim.”
“…I made a vow to myself never to run away again.”
Raven, lost in thought, spoke slowly.
“A body that survived at the cost of everyone in the kingdom. I’ll live a life of atonement, and one day, I’ll pay the price for it.”
“…”
That was a rather cruel thing to say.
To live a life of atonement and eventually pay the price.
“If that’s the case, don’t take sacrifice so lightly.”
It was just a remark out of concern for Raven’s willingness to sacrifice herself.
But upon hearing Daehyeop Kim’s words, Raven’s eyes widened.
“If you survived thanks to the sacrifice of the entire kingdom, then all the more reason you should fight to survive for their sake.”
“…”
Raven looked at Daehyeop Kim.
His gaze was unwavering, completely steady.
“You’ve saved me twice now.”
“Saved? That’s quite the grand expression.”
Daehyeop Kim suddenly felt his concentration break and turned his head.
He did it because he found it difficult to maintain his composure.
But Raven interpreted Daehyeop Kim’s action differently.
“…Such a wonderful person.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
“Nothing.”
Raven simply smiled.
A smile brighter and filled with different emotions than before.
***
Today, as usual, Aka-chan’s daily routine was monitoring.
Watching a thousand users simultaneously was something close to impossible.
But that was only by human standards, and Aka-chan was a far superior being compared to humans.
“Piece of cake. Easy money.”
Lately, Aka-chan had been in an exceptionally good mood.
She had made the cruel boss, who only gave her work without benefits, wear a bikini.
And thanks to that, she got to see the boss, no, the master, feeling utterly humiliated.
It was a rare experience to witness such a sight of the hero who had once saved her world.
“A once-in-a-lifetime moment. Saved in favourites.”
(Aurora entering the capsule in a bikini.)
(Aurora feeling embarrassed in a bikini.)
These were, without a doubt, Aka-chan’s prized screenshots of her life.
Of course, if Aurora found out about it, she’d delete them immediately.
But if it wasn’t discovered, it wasn’t a crime.
Aka-chan hid Aurora’s records among countless other files, like a tree hidden in a forest.
-Master. Summons.
“What’s going on?”
Aka-chan, who had been organizing her screenshots, was approached by a teddy bear.
This teddy bear was a creation made by Aka-chan, using the court wizard’s golem magic.
Its main job was to handle monitoring duties while Aka-chan enjoyed her easy life.
-Codename Daehyeop Kim. Anomalies detected.
A code name that was only assigned to high-priority individuals had shown anomalies.
It was an emergency serious enough that the supreme authority, Aka-chan herself, had to step in.
Stopping her leisurely life of slacking off, Aka-chan quickly assessed the situation.
“Affinity opened?”
Affinity content had been added only to the test world, accessible by the administrators.
It was scheduled to be added during the official release, meaning it was currently an unavailable feature.
“Is it you again?”
The bug-ridden Daehyeop Kim of Akare.
At least this wasn’t as serious as last time.
Safety measures had been put in place for such cases.
And those safety measures had successfully delayed the opening of the affinity system.
All that was left was to figure out why the affinity system was about to open…
“Daehyeop Kim. Flirting skills. Casanova-level.”
Unconsciously charming people was a skill on par with Aurora.
Of course, if Daehyeop Kim were a woman, the two might have made an excellent match.
In any case, it wasn’t a major bug, and it was a problem that could be resolved quickly.
The affinity system was set not to open in the real virtual world.
It was also configured so that it wouldn’t operate in the test world based on the main server data.
Unlike last time, Aka-chan quickly resolved the issue and confidently smiled.
“Capable. Impressive.”
This was the prestige of the Akashic Records.
Clap clap clap
Teddy Bear No. 1 and No. 2, who had been watching, applauded.
“What’s the limit for physical contact?”
Last time, she had opened the ability to perform acts of love, only to get her head smashed in by Aurora.
Never wanting to experience that again, Aka-chan limited physical contact to just a kiss.
“Kissing. Very difficult.”
No matter how much of an alpha male Daehyeop Kim was, he wouldn’t be able to push it as far as a kiss.
Even if it reached that point, it wouldn’t matter. In fact, it might be even better.
The story Aurora had crafted would become even more painful as the relationship between the player and Raven developed.
“Master. Evil.”
Though she called Aurora evil, Aka-chan also wanted to see how the users would react to that storyline.
* * *
There’s a saying about the five stages of grief:
Denial. Anger. Bargaining. Depression. Acceptance.
The next morning, Sweet, upon waking up, recalled what had happened the previous day.
“Was it a dream?”
Denial.
What happened yesterday was just something his brain had mistakenly imagined.
It was similar to the fleeting thrill you feel when you see a beautiful woman pass by.
Objectively speaking, Raven was beautiful. It was only natural for a man to feel excited.
Look. Now when he thought of her, there was nothing…
Thump-thump!
“No way, why would I feel this way about a piece of data…?”
Anger.
Sweet was someone who despised dating simulation games with a passion.
He couldn’t immerse himself in characters made up of zeros and ones.
Because he couldn’t immerse himself, he naturally didn’t feel any emotions.
All the reactions he’d shown on-stream while playing dating sims were nothing but an act.
So why would he, of all people…?
Yes, thinking like this calmed him a little…
Thump-thump!
“To be honest, that NPC is quite charming. I’ll admit that.”
Bargaining.
Sweet admitted his true feelings.
And at the same time, revealed a small part of his genuine thoughts.
Thump-thump!
“Ah, how did I end up like this…”
Depression.
He was just depressed. Depressed over the fact that he had fallen for a piece of data.
“Other people must feel the same way as me. It’s not like I’m strange.”
Acceptance.
This wasn’t self-rationalization.
Objectively speaking, Raven was attractive.
A beautiful girl willing to sacrifice herself for you? That doesn’t exist in real life.
It’s only possible because it’s a virtual reality.
[Sweet’s stream is starting now. – Akashic Records, 1 second ago]
With his mind in a mess, Sweet started his stream.
Usually, he would see the chat window, but today it didn’t enter his view.
He hurled a fireball at the dungeon monsters, as if venting his complicated emotions.
Freezing all the approaching skeletons and ghouls, he charged toward level 20.
“Oh, a ring.”
―――
[Ring of Vows]
Attack Power +5
Durability +5
- A ring gifted by a knight’s companion to the knight. It contains the knight’s vow.
“I vow to you. I will live my life to protect you.”
―――
-You could equip up to four rings.
-Normally, Sweet would’ve equipped it immediately.
-But the history of the ring caught Sweet’s eye.
-He deliberately didn’t mention the content, but the chat didn’t let it go.
―――
-Ring of a Romanticist
-The knight’s romance is strong
-Does that mean this ring is here…?
-What
-Wait, what?
―――
Sweet, after equipping the ring, continued hunting.
[Level Up!]
Finally, he reached level 20. Sweet immediately equipped the obsidian staff.
“Guys, can you see how this thing looks?”
The level 10 staff he had been using was decent, but…
The obsidian staff, dropped by a boss and at level 20, was on another level.
“Burn, fireball.”
Whoosh—!!!
The massive fireball exploded among the Rat Men blocking the sewer passage.
Even though it barely hit them, the Rat Men were reduced to ashes.
Even considering the Rat Men’s low levels, the staff’s performance was overwhelming.
“This is it.”
The joy of growth in RPGs, the thrill of loot drops.
This is what RPGs are all about.
What’s all this romance with a mere bundle of data in a dating sim?
Having fully enjoyed the thrill of leveling up and obtaining loot, Sweet exited the sewers.
[A request for you has come from the Mercenary Guild.]
[If accepted, you will be teleported to the Mercenary Guild.]
“What kind of event is this now?”
An event popping up when everything was fun?
Naturally, Sweet accepted and teleported to the Mercenary Guild.
“You’ve arrived.”
But the familiar voice from behind made Sweet freeze in place.
“Ra-Raven?”
“…?”
Surprised by the unexpected situation, Sweet stammered.
Seeing Sweet’s odd reaction, Raven briefly looked puzzled.
But soon, she continued with her prepared lines, explaining the events that had occurred.
After finishing her explanation, Raven got straight to the point.
“I’m hiring you.”
“Well…”
Thump-thump!
He wanted to refuse, but this wretched thumping in his chest made it hard to speak.
“You’ll come with me, won’t you?”
“Yeah. Sure.”
Let’s go right away.
Wait, why am I speaking normally all of a sudden?
The moment he saw Raven smile, both his thumping heart and his tension vanished.
A feeling of comfort. A sense of normalcy returning to his heart.
Sweet hired a coachman with Raven by his side.
“I’ll pay.”
He paid instead of Raven and boarded the carriage with her.
[Main Story – Conversation]
[Main Story – Skip Travel]
His mind commanded him to press “Skip Travel,” but…
[Main Story – Proceeding with Conversation.]
For some reason, his body didn’t obey the command.
“Hoo… It should be fine inside the carriage.”
Raven, who had been in disguise, reverted to her true form.
As her original appearance was revealed, Sweet unequipped the ring he was wearing.
He handed the ring to Raven casually, as if it was no big deal.
“Thanks for saving me in the Forest That Devours Darkness.”
There’s no deeper meaning to it.
Luckily, Sweet managed to censor himself before blurting out anything else.
“A ring… Pfft.”
Raven laughed softly after receiving the ring.
“In the Raven Kingdom, do you know what it means for an unmarried woman to receive a ring from a man?”
“No.”
Sweet answered honestly.
As if she had expected that response, Raven smiled radiantly and spoke in a quiet voice.
“It’s a confession.”
Confession.
Sweet’s heart shattered again at the unexpected answer.
—
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