Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

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For me, Lemegaton is quite an ambiguous group to deal with.

First of all, their stance is pretty hostile.

After all, they worship demons, and I have a heap of resentment against those demons.

It’s hard to look at them positively.

Sure, there’s that airhead demon named Barbatos raised deep in the forest, but let’s set that aside.

Anyway, because of this grudge, I haven’t accepted any of their recruitment offers so far.

But if you ask me whether I have to crush them on sight, that’s a tricky one.

I’m planning to capture this person named Harold later on.

That guy made me lose Dantalion, and I personally think he’s quite a piece of work.

But now that I think about it, aside from him, the others haven’t been any trouble.

In fact, I even received some kindness from these two.

Niki taught me how to remove my berserker mode, and Sephir provided me with an emergency contact system to call for help.

Thanks to those connections, I was able to go head-to-head with the Knights without any reservations.

Given all that, it’s not easy to be outright hostile toward this enemy group.

Especially not toward these two. Because of that, this delicate standoff has lasted quite a while.

The first to speak up was Niki.

“Well, why’d you attack out of nowhere? I approached because I saw a familiar face, and bam! Surprise attack!”

She looked pretty ticked off about getting ambushed all of a sudden.

I hesitated and came up with a lame excuse.

“Uh, well, I thought I was being followed. Should I have just ignored that?”

There was absolutely no way I could say, “I thought another rapist showed up because I’m just that cool.”

That would be too embarrassing, even for me… I guess all the craziness lately is messing with my brain. I need to reel it in a bit.

Fortunately, it seems Niki felt the same way.

She frowned for a moment and then switched the topic.

“So why are you here?”

I answered.

“Well, I heard a demon showed up, so I came to catch it.”

Not really hiding anything there.

With that, it was easy to guess why they were here, too.

What would worshipers of demons want to be in this place for?

“So you’re here to protect Andras, huh? That’s your job, right?”

That thought made me raise an eyebrow. But it seemed I was wrong.

“No, this time it’s the opposite.”

It was Sephir, sitting next to Niki, who responded. She removed the ice shield she had set up and continued.

“Actually, we came to take down the demon Andras this time.”

At that, I couldn’t help but be taken aback by what she said next.

“How about we collaborate this time?”

After hearing the proposal, I invited them to the inn where we were staying.

Chaerin and Haneul would probably be a bit shocked, but it seemed like this conversation would take a while.

So here I come, wanting to hang out, and suddenly I bring two companions, causing perplexed expressions to appear on my friends’ faces.

Haneul cautiously asks, “Uh… Who are they?”

“Uh… it’s a bit complicated to explain.”

“…So, you had accomplices.”

For a moment, awkward silence hung in the air. Especially between Niki and Chaerin, who’ve met before.

Neither of them could help but feel awkward.

In that situation, it was Sephir, our manners master, who stepped up first.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Sephir, the 5th Leader of Lemegaton.”

“Le-Lemegaton…!”

“…The Leader, no less?”

For a moment, shock spread across my friends’ faces. Especially for Chaerin, who knew Lemegaton but didn’t expect to meet a leader.

A hint of caution crossed their faces.

“Since it’s fate, would you consider joining Lemegaton? If you’re close with Lord Yor, you probably have grievances with the Empire. If you need, you can join anytime. We at Lemegaton are always looking for people.”

Sephir, our saleswoman, smoothly began her pitch.

It’s kind of ridiculous she’s preaching like this considering the situation, but it helped ease my group’s tension a little.

After that, we finished our introductions and sat together at the table.

Though it looked uncomfortable to face figures from opposite factions, they all seemed willing to at least talk things out.

To lighten the mood, I picked up the previous conversation again.

“So, you’re saying you’re going to take down a demon this time? What brought that on?”

“Well, this demon is too violent. It’s gotten out of control, so we’ve deemed it necessary to act.”

“Yeah, and also it’s not the faction we want to align with.”

Hearing that, I nodded.

Apparently, this Andras demon has quite the nasty disposition. Even Lemegaton isn’t too fond of it.

‘That definitely means they didn’t summon it.’

Honestly, that surprised me, but what stuck in my mind was the word “faction.” Just like Barbatos told me, it seems they also know there are multiple kings in the demon realm.

Still, I pretended not to know much and asked them questions, hoping to glean some information.

“You mentioned ‘faction’… suggesting there are of multiple powers in the demon realm. Why does Andras seem to serve another king?”

“Haha, well, if you join our group, we might tell you.”

Sephir answered with a faint smile. It seemed they weren’t about to reveal everything easily.

Still, her attitude hinted that it wasn’t a colossal secret either.

I moved on and asked about other things.

“What does Andras look like? What are its abilities and combat strengths?”

“Wait, before that, shouldn’t we know if you’re in or out on our collaboration?”

Niki interrupted, and I just said it outright.

“Honestly… I’m not sure if I can fully partner with you guys. The Knights will probably show up soon, and it could end badly for me if I’m hanging around you. Helping in a roundabout way could be possible, though…”

To be fair, I felt caught between the two sides.

Neither Lemegaton nor the Knights could be trusted completely. They both seemed to want to recruit me, but our relationship wasn’t exactly cozy. I could switch to the enemy’s side at any moment.

Because of that, it was hard to jump into a strong collaboration with either side.

When I said this, Niki nodded, clearly displeased.

Then she asked me, “About the Knights… I heard the eradication order was lifted. What happened? Is the Empire done chasing you?”

“Heh, you could say that.”

I smirked meaningfully and showed her my identification tag.

This was a certified tag affirmed by an entire nation’s emperor, with an impressive backstory.

It was kind of a boast, honestly. I wanted to share my major achievement like a drinking game story. I simply explained how I received the tag after facing off against the Knights, used a little intimidation and persuasion to blend into civilization.

To be frank, I blurted it out without thinking too much about it. Just some harmless deception for some casual admiration.

But the problem was that Niki’s expression became very complicated.

“That’s… quite impressive. …Congratulations.”

What’s wrong? She says congratulations, but her face looks like she’s holding back a frown. Maybe she looks a bit sad too.

Come to think of it, she’s also a blood manifestor. She might find my trickery even more pointed.

‘Hmm…’

Thanks to that, I felt a little sheepish about the fib I’d just shared. I was hoping for simple admiration or annoyance, but this deeper reaction was unexpected.

Luckily, it didn’t make the atmosphere awkward. Shortly after, Sephir broke the silence.

“Well, helping secretly could be possible… That much is acceptable. To be honest, we didn’t purely come here to catch a demon. It’s not like the Knights or other nations wouldn’t take charge.”

“Then why are you here?”

“We want the items that Andras will drop.”

I was a bit taken aback. I didn’t expect them to reveal their motives so directly.

Demons drop items when they die.

And we’re talking top-notch items. According to Chaerin, if they hit the market, they might be worth billions thanks to their rarity.

Sephir continued,

“So let’s keep things fair. Whoever performs better in battle gets the items.”

“That’s interesting. I didn’t expect a word like ‘fair’ to come from Lemegaton.”

“I dislike cowardly moves.”

Given those terms, I was satisfied. Sure, the Knights were a variable, but still.

After that, I picked up some light information about the demon.

“Andras is a demon in female form with long golden hair. At a glance, she looks pretty similar to a human, but you wouldn’t mistake her. She’s got owl wings on her back and a flaming sword.”

And apparently, she’s extremely violent.

She supposedly tries to kill anyone, young or old, and is all about insane destruction.

Lucky for us, she descended in a sparsely populated plain; if it had been near a city, a massacre might have occurred.

“Also, strangely, she kept shouting a name… Plauros.”

“…Plauros? What’s that?”

“Dunno. Must be another demon.”

Niki answered with a disinterested tone. Looks like my little fib got under her skin a bit. It made me think for a second.

‘Wow, so petty…’

Regardless, we continued to chat for a bit longer. Chaerin and Haneul stayed quiet, but I was curious about a lot.

Unfortunately, our conversation didn’t last for long.

There was a commotion outside.

Curiously, we stepped outside to see what was going on.

“Ah… we’re saved! Finally!”

“Rest assured! We’ll defeat the demon!”

“Thank you! Please protect our territory…”

A crowd of grateful citizens gathered as a woman stood in the middle, giving a charismatic speech.

It was the 2nd Knight Commander, Odelia Pafnila.

‘That was quick…’

Meaning, the Knights had arrived at the scene.

 

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