Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

Chapter 45

He started by apologizing.

“No, uh... I’m sorry. Just forget about that. I’m a bit sensitive right now.”

“Um... okay. No worries.”

I had snapped at her for a moment, but I knew it wasn’t good to act based on my emotions. She had come all this way to see me, and my earlier attitude wasn’t very pleasant.

After gathering my thoughts, I told her to come inside. Honestly, I wasn’t in the state to welcome guests, but I felt uneasy sending her away just like that.

As we walked into the cave, I could feel her watching me. Her gaze was full of concern, and she kept opening and closing her mouth as if she was trying to say something. Eventually, unable to hold back her curiosity, she cautiously asked me.

“Um... what happened yesterday?”

I knew she usually avoided asking questions about things I was uncomfortable with, but it seemed she was genuinely curious this time. I mean, if I saw someone covered in blood, I would want to know what had happened too. I gave a vague response.

“Menstruation.”

“... Huh?”

“I said menstruation.”

“...?”

Was that correct? It happened roughly once a month, and since there was blood involved, it could be seen as similar, right?

She tilted her head, looking confused, but that was the best answer I could give her. I couldn’t exactly explain the Berserk state, and frankly, I didn’t have the energy to deal with guests right now.

As I entered deeper into the cave, I thought to myself.

‘What should I do with her...?’

I had let her in, but I didn’t have the strength to respond properly. My mind felt foggy, and my body felt heavy, like it weighed a ton. I was extremely tired.

The Berserk state had drained me of both mental and physical energy. Normally, the day after a Berserk episode, I would sleep all day. It was the only way to return to my daily routine.

‘Should I at least have her on guard...?’

For a moment, I entertained that thought.

In fact, there had been times when monsters entered the cave because of the smell of blood. Although the scent of blood from the depths of the cave didn’t spread well, a monster’s sense of smell was beyond imagination.

Because of that, I had experienced a few monster attacks while sleeping. Each time, I managed to wake up and save my life, but there was always an underlying anxiety.

Of course, it was also uncomfortable to leave someone nearby while I slept...

‘Hmm...’

I found myself in a dilemma for a while. Was it better to send her away and sleep with my guard up, or should I set up a guard and try to sleep comfortably?

Fortunately, my deliberation didn’t last long. I asked her.@@@@

“Would you like to do me a favor?”

A little while later...

“You need to wake me up immediately if someone comes. Oh, and don’t go inside at all.”

“Sure, sure.”

“Just in case, don’t do anything weird. I’m a light sleeper.”

“Come on. I wouldn’t do anything weird when I can’t even win. Just go wash up and sleep.”

“... Alright. You can stream if you get bored.”

Chae-rin accepted Yor’s guard duty. Surprisingly, a quest popped up for her. The task was to guard the area until Yor woke up. The quest reward was a small amount of compensation. It was a simple mission, so there was nothing to hesitate about.

Even if there hadn’t been a quest, she was already willing to help. Yor looked too exhausted and vulnerable right now.

With a troubled expression, she thought to herself.

‘What on earth happened yesterday...?’

She had planned to chat about the arena, but she never expected to see him covered in blood right when she arrived. It was obvious that something had happened last night.

He didn’t seem to have any visible wounds, but the amount of blood was enough to suggest that he had bled nearly the equivalent of a whole person. His complexion looked terrible, and he seemed extremely tired. Honestly, when she first saw him, she nearly fainted from shock.

The only reason she didn’t fall back was that her body had stiffened in response to the shocking sight. It was that startling.

But when she finally gathered the courage to ask, the answer was... menstruation.

“Hm...”

After thinking for a while, she decided to start her stream. Even with the sudden morning broadcast, viewers flocked in. This showed how much her channel had grown.

[Oh wow]

[Yoo-ha]

[Oh?]

[What’s with the morning stream?]

Seeing the greetings from her viewers, she asked seriously.

“Let’s go; I’ll take you back.”

At Yor’s words, Chae-rin nodded. She could return alone, but having him accompany her felt reassuring in a way that was on a whole different level. It was much more comfortable to walk out with him guarding her than to sneak around alone.

They had a light conversation as they sipped the soup, and together they stepped outside the cave. Fortunately, there were no monster attacks. It was late afternoon, and the monsters in the forest had their aggro spread across various places.

After walking through the forest for a while, they spotted a group approaching from the opposite direction.

“Hey, found you!”

“Wow, I guess the forest looks the same everywhere, huh? It’s super hard to meet.”

They were otherworlders, just like Chae-rin.

It had been a year since Demons Saga was released, and the average level of players had significantly increased since then. As a result, many players had started to challenge the ‘Forbidden Forest.’

Of course, only about 5% managed to succeed in reaching the mid-level, but still, it meant that some were successful. Consequently, the forest had become quite lively recently.

Occasionally, while wandering through the woods, one could even see items dropped by players who had died.

In a way, Yor’s prediction had come true.

“Hello, I’m a fan.”

“Here’s a gift.”

The otherworlders they met this time were viewers of Chae-rin’s stream.

As soon as they met Yor, they pulled out bread from their inventory and handed it to him.

“...?”

With a wary gaze, Yor looked at them and received the bread with a confused expression. It was a donut coated in sugar.

“Hey, let’s hurry out. I’m on the verge of dying from a lack of mana.”

“Then we’ll be going. Good luck with your stream~.”

The viewers who had made a real-life donation coolly left the forest.

Similar encounters happened a few more times. Each time, viewers who had found Yor approached to say hello. Yor received gifts or was asked for autographs each time.

“...?”

Yor had a vague expression on his face. It felt like he had turned into a zoo monkey after a long time.

Receiving gifts made him happy, but there was a strange discomfort. He looked at Chae-rin with a blank face.

She awkwardly replied, “Ahaha, this is fascinating...?”

“Were there always this many strong viewers among my fans?”

“Right? I’m surprised too.”

Seeing Yor’s uneasy expression, Chae-rin glanced at the chat and commented. She felt grateful but also thought they should stop coming too much.

While the current viewers were kind-hearted, there was no telling when someone more intense might show up. Not all people were normal.

Nevertheless, they continued on their way.

Just after she had asked the viewers to stop coming, they spotted two more people.

Chae-rin was about to say something to them.

“Hey, thank you for your kindness, but could you please stop coming-”

And then, at that moment.

Thud.

Yor blocked Chae-rin’s path. She looked at him for a moment.

His amber eyes were filled with wariness.

Then he asked sharply.

“What are you?”

Chae-rin didn’t know, but at that moment, a spear seemed to arise in Yor’s eyes. It was a different kind of spear than the ones he had seen before with the other viewers.

[Conditions not met!]

['Player’s Eye' cannot be used on targets!]

In other words, they were not otherworlders.