Chapter 451

The confrontation with Hibirisu’s father, NPC Brooks, was a deliberate narrative device I had placed in for the tutorial.

“Because you need time to adapt to the changed world.”

It is uncertain if he actually thought that Adella’s tail was a toy of the wolf. Given that he was a soldier from the medieval era, it wouldn’t have been strange for him to say such a thing.

In the front yard, the fierce clash between the two passionate heroes was in full swing.

Ting-!

Brooks deflected the dagger thrown by Adella with his gauntlet.

The dagger spun and landed directly in front of me.

Hibirisu’s face was reflected in one side of the sparkling dagger.

“Did you say NaeMe? I never would have thought your older sister would be the chosen one. She’s incredibly strong…”

With a tone of admiration, she sat right next to me.

There were plenty of seats, so why here?

I lifted my butt and moved away again.

“Chosen one?”

“Yes. People who have received blessings of mana like my father.”

“Oh, I see you called them that.”

The mana concentration in my past life was hundreds of times higher than it is now, yet paradoxically, more than ninety percent of the population could not even feel mana.

Instead, a small number of people grew stronger faster than others through mana and aura.

These were referred to by various names across regions, such as Chosen Ones, Anomalous Beings, and Blessed Ones, and were objects of envy.

In fact, many humans not feeling mana is also a product of survival of the fittest and evolution.

Those who could feel mana simultaneously were adversely affected by magical energies, so genetically, they could be considered to possess inferior traits.

“Are you not worried about your father?”

“Our father is strong. He’s a man who has survived the front lines of Rangs.”

“He must have shared many tales of his exploits.”

“Of course. He proudly talks about having seen Emperor Kaizen’s face every day. Are you curious, NaeMe? I could tell you some stories if you want.”

“Sure, but only until they finish their fight.”

It didn’t seem like something an AI would come up with.

Could it really be Hibirisu’s memory?

Though she looked calm, she chattered on and on nonstop,

Flags were fluttering in the sky, majestic drums and trumpets made the ground shake, and a huge barrier appeared as ominous metal cut through the life’s breath…

It was such a cliché story.

“When this chatty girl stands in front of me, she suddenly shuts her mouth.”

“Huh?”

“It’s nothing.”

I knelt and stood up.

Adella’s tutorial was nearing its end.

“Die, you perverted bastard!”

Swaaaaack-!

Adella swung her hand with all her might.

The aura gathered at her fingertips extended into five sharp streams.

A harsh wind split the ground, and mud erupted.

Ding-

[Achievement: Dark Horse]

[▶ Defeated NPC Brooks without using firearms.]

[Exp. +124]

[Lv. +1]

“What, what was that…? Why am I so strong? Is this really allowed from the start of the game?”

The one actually surprised was Adella herself.

“I’ve never seen such talent in my life. To get stronger even while fighting, are you perhaps favored by the gods?”

“God? I don’t believe in that. Is he suddenly trying to preach? Can you repeat that?”

“Hibirisu, where did you meet them?”

“I met them halfway up the mountain. So, I thought maybe they crossed over the mountain…”

“That’s impossible. It would take even a witch at least a week to traverse that rugged mountain range.”

“Ah, really?”

At that moment, two transparent options appeared in front of Adella.

She alternated her wide-eyed gaze between me and the options.

‘It’s your game, you should figure it out yourself.’

Eventually, Adella interrupted the father-daughter conversation.

“Actually, we seem to be from another world. Do you perhaps know a way back?”

“Hmm…?”

“Ah…”

Brooks and Hibirisu both wore sad expressions at the same time.

“How unfortunate, it seems your head has taken a bit of a hit.”

“What should we do… I need to make you raspberry potato soup quickly.”

“What’s this! I chose as you told me and you’re looking at me oddly!”

“Just go eat your raspberry potato soup. I’m going to take a look around the village.”

“What’s that supposed to mean… Is that a curse? Judging by the nuance, it’s definitely a curse.”

I planned to take a look around to see if there were minor bugs while the story progressed.

* * *

“Would you like to visit the night market, Adella?”

Bubbles rose in the pot filled with raspberries.

Hibirisu, sweating profusely, put the pot down and playfully nudged Adella.

“Night market?”

“Yes. During the Harvest Festival, the market opens at night too. The scene of cotton wick lanterns burning brightly with oil is just beautiful!”

“Oh, it seems NaeMe has put some effort into this place! Sure, let’s go!”

Excited, Adella started to skip along.

The soft dirt path turned into a stone road, and the once lush trees began to recede.

As they entered the town square, the lampposts Hibirisu mentioned revealed themselves.

Red, yellow, green, blue.

“The color changes slightly depending on the wick’s lifespan. Blue ones are newly replaced, while red ones are almost used up.”

“Wow, that’s amazing! So beautiful.”

“Heh, we haven’t even reached the market yet!”

Adella was beaming.

Hibirisu seemed just as excited, tightly holding her hand.

The bustling sounds of people could be heard.

They were in the central plaza surrounded by red-roofed houses.

At the entrance, a boy who looked to be in middle school waved his arms widely.

At first glance, he seemed to be the same age as Hibirisu.

“Hibi, why are you just showing up now! What about the raspberry jam?”

“I can’t see it… Oh, it’s Billy? It’s too late to make it today, so I’ll bring it tomorrow.”

“Ugh, I reserved a spot for you. Who’s that next to you?”

“Oh, this is a guest at our house. You can’t even look at her because she’s so pretty, haha!”

“I didn’t! If you’re not going to sell today, I’m going home!”

The boy said what he wanted and then dashed out of the market.

Hibirisu was really popular in this town.

As soon as her feet touched the ground, the local merchants greeted her loudly.

“Oh, Hibirisu! Did you come alone? What a rare guest you have with you. Is that a foreigner?”

“Nehehe, I decided to let her stay at our house for a night.”

“Hm, while it’s reassuring that you have Brooks-san with you, we need to be especially cautious with outsiders these days. But that doesn’t mean I have any suspicion of you, so please don’t misunderstand.”

The fruit vendor whispered to the girls.

“Why’s that?”

“Well, there’s been a rumor going around that a witch has been fleeing and made it all the way to the southern continent.”

“Really?”

“Yeah! The lord ordered the gates of Rapavnik to be tightly shut a few days ago.”

“Oh my, the world seems troubling.”

“It really does. I thought the war had ended and the erosion had settled down, but this is quite the disaster, isn’t it? Something might happen soon…”

“Everything will be fine! Then let’s sell a lot, okay, uncle!”

“Hey, I’ll buy you a peach later. Don’t you sneak away.”

Hibirisu led Adella to the other side of the market.

In a small voice, she explained why she fled.

“That uncle’s produce is terrible.”

Adella, staring blankly at Hibirisu, burst into laughter.

“I definitely saw a few rotten ones among the bunch.”

“He should be more conscientious in his business…! I brought you here to get this today. Dana’s rye bread is excellent.”

Hibirisu pulled a few coins from her pocket and placed them in a tin basket.

“I’ll take one from Dana!”

Dana, who was dozing off at the bakery, opened her eyes for a moment before falling back asleep.

“Can’t you check the money?”

“Dana can tell just by hearing the sound of coins dropping. Isn’t that amazing?”

Hibirisu broke the rye bread in half and handed it to Adella.

Then she pulled out her special raspberry jam and spread it on top.

The two girls sat side by side on the stone wall, taking big bites of the bread.

A sweet and refreshing breeze swept between them.

“By the way, what was that about the witch earlier?”

Adella asked with her mouth full.

“Wow, Adella doesn’t know about the witch?”

Hibirisu’s eyes sparkled, becoming serious.

“Yeah, it’s my first time hearing about it.”

“I don’t know the details either.”

“Really?”

“I mean, I’ve never met her. All I hear in this town of Wilhelm are just rumors. Some say she’s a cruel half-human, half-demon who has gone mad with murder, killing humans and demons indiscriminately. Others say she’s a descendant of the dragon tribe that brings famine, and then some say she’s the one responsible for the palace massacre scandal in the past empire.”

“Geez, none of those are easy to deal with.”

Adella’s cat ears flinched.

She must have felt a sense of crisis instinctively.

Hibirisu nonchalantly stuffed the remaining pieces of bread into her mouth and jumped down from the stone wall.

“Anyway, a villain like that wouldn’t come to our peaceful and boring village, right? By the way, isn’t this raspberry jam delicious? If it goes well here, maybe I’ll sell it in Rapavnik. When do you think the gates will open again?”

Adella clenched her fist tightly.

She was not only setting the flag but also nailing it down firmly with double and triple doses.

‘If a major NPC mentions it so much, the final boss must definitely be the witch.’

There was nothing left to explore in Wilhelm.

Originally, it was a village consisting of scattered houses at the very outskirts of Rapavnik.

Based on her previous gaming experiences, Adella built the most optimal route.

‘If I stay the night in Wilhelm, I’ll probably get a quest the next day. The city gates will open, and I’ll be tasked with escorting Hibirisu to Rapavnik. And then I’ll level up hard in Rapavnik. NaeMe, did you really make this game too simple?’

Just as they say, when you mention a tiger…

NaeMe appeared, gnawing on a wooden skewer.

Unlike Adella, who had changed into medieval clothing, she was still in her military uniform.

“Did you two have fun together?”

NaeMe’s tone held a hint of disappointment.

A smile spread across Adella’s face.

It was time to cheer up NaeMe.

I grabbed NaeMe by her armpits and lifted her up.

The startled NaeMe dropped the wooden skewer she had been holding in her mouth.

“What are you doing? Put me down.”

“Yay, let’s go home like this! NaeMe’s chariot is leaving!”

“Adella, it’s dangerous to run like that at night…!”

The three girls dashed through the market.

Colorful lights flashed and left long trails behind them.

Not wanting to simply go home, Adella kept circling around Hibirisu’s house.

Hibirisu was panting behind them, barely managing to keep up.

In the deep night, as the girls’ laughter resonated, only NaeMe’s face held a perplexed expression.

“Enough already. How long are you going to stay awake?”

“Ah, this is all part of my thorough alpha test. Aside from the spawn point, the first area is good to go! The festival was beautifully decorated.”

“Yeah, I fixed that earlier.”

“Now, are we done with the sulking?”

“When did I sulk?”

“Okay. Then, shall we set off on our next adventure?”

Hibirisu offered rooms to NaeMe and Adella.

Creaking beds, a half-broken glass mirror.

“But I wouldn’t mind if I could hug NaeMe.”

“Get away from me, it’s hot.”

“Shirundeng!”

The space went dark.

A faint neon message appeared, and Adella blinked lightly.

[▶ Would you like to save?] [Y/N]

[▶ Progress Save]

Then the day Adella had been eagerly anticipating dawned.

* * *

[▶ Day 2]

Bang bang bang-!

Hibirisu burst into the room of her sisters, who were still lost in dreamland.

“Haah… haah…”

She was excessively panting, her face pale like a corpse.

With the sudden sunlight pouring in, Adella rubbed her eyes and asked.

“What’s wrong?”

“My father… my father is missing!”

“He went hunting?”

“No. I mean, there are no traces of him. No sign of my dad. Not even my stuff. It’s all gone. What is going on…”

Hibirisu told them with a face that looked like she was about to cry.

NaeMe and Adella came out to the living room.

“Gah.”

Just the day before, Hibirisu and Brooks’ house was livable, but now it was more like a deserted ruin.

It looked as if no one had lived there for at least several decades.

Cobwebs were on the ceiling, and glass shards were strewn across the floor.

Fresh raspberries and jars of aged raspberry jam were nowhere to be found.

“Ugh. Hic. Hic… Dad… Daddy…”

Kneeling and collapsing, Hibirisu started to sob.

Adella frowned and turned her gaze to NaeMe.

NaeMe looked at them with a completely different expression than yesterday, gazing at them with cold indifference.

“It’s a time attack from now on. I hope you both manage to survive.”

[▶ You feel a formidable energy faintly from beyond the mountains.]