Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

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“Currently, the top rank in Demon’s Saga goes to the USA.”

But the place with the highest average level? None other than Korea.

Unfortunately, it’s not due to the users having high intelligence or the stereotype of Koreans being gamers.

Simply put, it’s because the Korean server had a great starting geographical location.

They were one of the few countries that began in an empire with excellent surrounding facilities.

Because of that, they gained many advantages and managed to surge ahead overall.

Of course, this doesn’t mean other regions are severely lagging behind, but it can’t be denied that there is a clear upper hand… Haneul explained lightly.

Upon hearing that, Yor nodded slightly.

‘No wonder… I hardly see any other races.’

So that’s why I was only spotting similar races; it turns out each country is further divided regionally.

They’re even reportedly so far apart that there’s not much interaction. From the perspective of Otherworlders, they’re too busy leveling up to care about moving to other countries for weeks or months.

Considering the round-trip costs and the potential variables they might encounter… One wrong move, and they could easily end up isolated like the Earth Defense Headquarters.

“The place we’re going is technically in another country, but… I probably won’t run into anyone. I heard the area next to it is a no-go zone, so there shouldn’t be anyone around.”

Just a bit further south from the split plains, the land is literally ablaze.

Thus, people are scarce due to the heat.

For sure, being around Otherworlders allowed me to gather such information.

Yor spoke to her with a slightly apologetic look on his face.

“Thanks. It must be a long two weeks for you guys too, but… I didn’t expect it to take this long.”

“No worries. We’re all doing the escort quest together, so there’s no big loss. And…”

Traveling together, isn’t it even a bit fun for them? Haneul forced herself to hold back her words.

Even though they were going because of a demon, it was still several weeks traveling with a ‘guy.’

For someone as conservative as her, that was an unbearable situation.

Even in a game, Haneul didn’t want to miss out on this chance.

“Ugh, why on Earth is finding a merchant going south so hard… But who am I? With my incredible negotiation skills, I managed to secure one!”

As they chatted for a bit, Chaerin arrived with a confident smile.

Yor didn’t have knowledge of merchants, and Haneul wasn’t sociable, so it was Chaerin who was securing the merchant.

They then headed to the place where the merchant was waiting.

Upon arrival, the merchant leader eyed them suspiciously for a moment.

“Hmm… Are these your party?”

“Yes. Don’t worry. Their skills are solid.”

He recognized their skills. He had already confirmed they carried B-rank adventurer credentials.

However, since the place they were headed was dangerous, he needed to double-check.

Suddenly, the merchant leader’s gaze landed on Yor.

After a brief silence, he cleared his throat and said, “Ahem, then hop on the carriage.”

It was a consent that felt like it came with ulterior motives.

As it usually goes, such treacherous jobs mostly involved ‘women.’

These kinds of tasks typically required strength and courage, and it was ‘common sense’ that women tend to have higher average physical abilities.

Naturally, merchant jobs were predominantly filled by those women.

They’d have to set out far to sell products and constantly worry about monsters or bandit groups they might encounter along the way.

It was a job that required a certain degree of bravery.

Given that, it was no surprise that stares were centered on Yor.

“This… is a bit overwhelming…”

They were currently inside the third of five carriages.

So far, that was no big deal.

Given they’d be traveling for two weeks, the ride was comfortable, and there weren’t many people in the carriage.

The issue arose when they camped at night. Regardless of their journey, when it was bedtime, they would have to pitch tents and spend the night in a suitable spot.

And during those moments were when the flirtations would occasionally come flying in.

“Need anything?”

“Oh, no. I’m good.”

“Hmmm… If you need anything, just let me know. I’ll give you as much as you want.”

Starting from such simple kind gestures from merchants.

“Hey bro, want to come to our tent?”

“Yeah, hehehe, we can have a great time.”

“We might even send you straight to heaven.”

“Hey you crazy girl! Hehe…”

To the disgusting advances from fellow adventurers as well.

Perhaps because it was a long mission, there weren’t many Otherworlders, but there were a few other adventurer parties around.

“Should’ve just brought a hood,”

I honestly enjoyed it for a few days.

For someone who lived in the forest, such safe flirtations were a rare occurrence.

Whenever meeting someone, I’d be worried about dodging death most of the time.

This time, I was even satisfying the creepy gazes of other men.

But that only lasted a day or two; once it crossed a week, the stress started rising.

And maybe because I didn’t respond in particular, the adventurers’ flirtations were gradually becoming bolder.

They’d boast about how they could send me to heaven after sending dozens from brothels.

Some even showed blatant physical contact. And all this happened even with Chaerin and Haneul beside me.

It was truly typical of adventurers who only sought money without any class or manners.

“Wanna cast an illusion spell?”

“Nah, they all know anyway.”

Of course, Yor’s party felt similarly uncomfortable with the situation.

Especially Im Haneul, though she’d deny it… deep down, she had been hoping for such a scenario.

‘Still, it’s been over two weeks with each other.’

Granted, their tents were separate, but still, with time on their hands, something might eventually happen between a man and a woman.

Yet, nothing happened.

For her, it was nothing short of disappointing. She thought about taking the initiative, but… lacking experience in such matters, she regrettably didn’t have the courage.

Instead, she began sensing something else.

For instance… the peculiar atmosphere lingering between Yor and Chaerin.

They say even a dog can learn to recite poetry after three years.

She wasn’t a dog, nor had three years passed, but at least the smart girl had picked up on the vibe between them.

Of course, it didn’t look like they were dating.

But it seemed they had minimized their physical distance.

For example, casually placing a hand on a shoulder or poking a cheek; it was nothing major yet noticeable skinship. Even Chaerin seemed unbothered by such contact.

These little things stood out without even trying. From Haneul’s perspective, it was hard not to take notice.

‘Have they really… been together…?’

Of course, she only had those thoughts internally and wouldn’t dare voice them out loud.

Anyhow, time drifted by like that.

Just when Yor was about to overreact to the countless flirtations, monsters ambushed the merchant convoy. Hyena-like monsters… specifically, a pack of ‘Noles.’ And it wasn’t just a handful; it was several dozen!

According to what’s known, Noles are annoyingly clever creatures.

They thrive on scouting and shy away from fights unless they see a clear chance of victory.

So, their ambush meant they thought they could take the whole merchant caravan.

“Damn it… Of all times, it had to be those guys.”

“First, get your parties organized!”

It seemed even the merchants understood what was happening, and their faces stiffened for a moment.

In that situation, Yor quietly stepped forward.

He had already been feeling the stress recently, so this suited him just fine.

“What are you doing? It’s dangerous, get to safety!”

“You guys should stay out of this.”

And just like that, he dove right into the pack of Noles.

“Grrraaah!”

“Kyaaaaa!”

It didn’t take long for the dozens of Noles to turn into a pool of blood. Amidst the stench of gore and the pile of monster corpses, he remarked with a refreshed face.

“Hah, that clears my head a bit. I almost thought I’d blow up at someone there.”

The adventurers still stared at that scene with tense faces.

They could feel cold sweat trickling down their backs.

….

After what felt like a long two weeks of traveling, it finally came to an end.

Fortunately, after dealing with the Noles, there were no more flirtations.

They realized that messing with them could lead to serious consequences.

‘Should’ve done this sooner.’

That was the thought I carried while feeling regret internally. Still, the initial good mood was enough to let it slide.

Currently, we were stationed in a territory slightly southwest.

We needed to go a bit further to reach where Andras had emerged, but the merchant caravan was set to stop here for now.

“Well, we’ll take our leave here. Thanks for driving off those Noles.”

“No need to mention it.”

After parting with the merchant convoy, we took a moment to ponder.

“So, what do we do now…?”

“To meet the demon, we probably need to venture in a bit more, but I’ve heard that place is a wide open expanse… kinda tricky.”

“For now, let’s find an inn and rest. We can log out later, but Yor must be exhausted after sleeping in the carriage for two weeks. And we should eat something.”

I nodded in agreement with Chaerin’s suggestion.

Looking for a nearby restaurant, we stepped inside.

“Welcome!”

The restaurant inside was rather empty. With it being a small territory, there seemed to be few people around.

I briefly worried about the taste, but having fewer people around was a good thing for me.

Having been through enough experiences, I realized how inconvenient it could be to draw too much attention.

I promised myself to definitely bring a hood next time as I relished the meal served by the waiter.

Thankfully, the food was decent.

“So now we should think about finding an inn… want to go together?”

“Nah, I’ll move separately this time. I also want to explore the city a bit.”

“Hmm… Alright then.”

Having finished my meal, I briefly separated from my group.

After all, I wanted to explore the city.

After receiving my Identification Tag, this was my first time walking the streets confidently.

Even if this city wasn’t within the empire, walking the streets with confidence was a novel experience for me.

As I wandered around, I glimpsed various people.

Some cast sidelong glances my way, while others were filled with worry over the newly emerged demon.

Given how near it was to where the demon appeared, it seemed news about Andras had spread.

‘Looks like the Knights haven’t arrived yet,’

True, once they prepared a few things, unlike me, they would have much more to ready.

While lost in thought, wandering the streets, something suddenly crossed my senses.

In the crowd of people passing by, someone was quietly following in step behind me.

At first, I thought it was just my imagination, but even after turning a corner, they still trailed me.

If it were Chaerin or Haneul, they would have called out to me long ago.

So, someone was tailing me.

‘Sigh… this popularity of mine.’

That’s the kind of thought that came to mind.

After all, it was a small territory with not many people; it seemed some folks wanted to make a quick score off me.

It felt a bit self-important, but honestly, that’s all I could think of.

For now, I was covering my collarbone, so I wasn’t in a situation where I could be exposed as a Manifestor.

Plus, after the past two weeks of blatant flirtation I’d received, it wouldn’t be surprising to think in such a direction.

‘Alright, let’s entertain them a bit.’

Of course, in a different manner.

So, I turned my steps toward a less populated stretch of street.

Unless an S-rank adventurer showed up, I should be able to deal with them easily.

I intended to confront them directly. If anything went wrong, I could always flee.

“………”

As I ventured into the sparsely populated area, those tailing me began to approach.

There were two of them, both cloaked deeply, so I couldn’t see their faces.

First, I swung my spear to subdue them.

Vwoooooosh!

The spear rushed forward, tearing through the air towards my target.

However, the spear never reached them.

Crash!

Suddenly, a thick defensive barrier materialized right before me. A cold wall of ice!

I managed to shatter part of the ice, but that was as far as the attack penetrated.

“What?”

Just as I was taken aback for a moment.

Immediately, a hurried voice came from the other side.

“Wait, wait! Don’t attack!”

The voice sounded strangely familiar. After a moment, they pulled back their hoods to reveal their faces.

I had no choice but to be more surprised.

“…It’s us.”

The figures were associates from Lemegaton.

The fifth wave representative Sephir and Niki were standing right in front of me.

Meeting them unexpectedly in such a random place piqued my curiosity.

“What the heck are you guys doing here?”

Niki frowned at me and shot back, “Why on earth are you here? You’re supposed to be stuck in the forest all the time!”

“………”

A moment of awkward tension lingered between us.

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