Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

After taking Neria to the altar, I briefly explained the situation to Barbatos.

"This kid is a manifester from a neighboring country. I just happened to meet her. As you know, manifesters are surrounded by enemies, and she has nowhere to go. So, I was wondering if it would be alright for her to stay here."

"So, you're asking me... to take care of this little one?" Barbatos asked, clearly understanding what I meant.

"I’m not saying you need to take care of her completely. She’s not a little child. Just make sure she doesn’t get hurt."

Barbatos seemed unwilling but understood the situation.

"I see," she said, though she didn’t seem too thrilled about it. After all, suddenly bringing someone into her space when she had been living alone for centuries would make anyone uncomfortable.

I handed her a sausage bread and said, "Come on, just watch over her. Don’t you feel bad for her?"

She gave a muffled protest, "Ugh—stop shoving it in! Why do you always push sausage bread at me when you see me?"

"Because it’s fun."

After she swallowed the large sausage bread, she sighed.

"Well, I guess it’s fine, but isn’t this a bit sudden? You’re asking me to let someone into a place where I’ve been living alone for hundreds of years. I value my privacy, you know."

Considering Barbatos only had a neck, it was strange to hear her talk about privacy in this vast empty space. But it seemed she felt genuinely uncomfortable. Though she was missing some parts, she was still a high-ranking demon who had created this entire vast forest.

While Neria, as a manifester, might have been fine living with others, it wasn’t ideal. I had expected Barbatos to be hesitant, but I had come prepared with a few cards to persuade her. For example, today I had an unusually large variety of breads with me.

"What about this bread? What's it called?"

"It's chocolate brownie. Do you like it?"

"Exactly. It’s sweet and chewy, just the way I like it. Not something like sausage bread. Bring more of these next time."

"If you take care of her, I’ll bring more next time."

Barbatos’s expression turned fierce, like a chihuahua.

"You think you can win me over with food?"

"Why not? It’s not such a bad offer for you, is it?"

I continued.

"I’m not planning on leaving her all to you anyway. Unlike you, Neria needs food to survive. She can’t hunt deep monsters on her own."

Neria wasn’t weak.
When I had tried making her hunt, she was able to take down monsters fairly well.
She was a bit inexperienced in combat because she had only lived in the village, but she could handle mid-level monsters without much trouble.

Considering her lack of battle experience, her talent was terrifying.

But when it came to deeper areas, it was a different story.
Even the commander of the knights struggled there, and Neria, on her own, wouldn’t be able to gather food in such a place.

"Considering biological activity, basic supplies are also essential."

The term "biological activity" made Neria’s face redden briefly.
At that moment, Barbatos spoke again.

"Her name is Neria, huh... Humans are always like this. Maintaining such a small body requires a lot of effort."

"Exactly. That’s why I’ll need to check on her at least every 1-2 weeks, not just a few months..."

Barbatos froze for a moment.
I continued speaking.

"Maybe I’ll bring more delicious things more often if I do."

There was no need to persuade her any further.
Once I said that, she finally gave in.

"Hmph... Alright, I’ll take care of the little one."

"Thanks. I knew I could count on you."

With the negotiation concluded, I gave Neria a few more instructions.

"It’s a cave, so it might not be the best, but there’s no better place to hide. Just make sure you don’t go out recklessly."

She quietly nodded.

"Thank you so much for hiding me here. I couldn’t complain about such a thing."

I smiled bitterly at her words.
It was a level of maturity that couldn’t be expected from a 16-year-old girl. At that age, she should have had many things she wanted to do and experience.

But it couldn’t be helped.
The moment she was born with shackles in her blood, hardship was inevitable for her.
I only hoped that someday, she would be able to roam the city freely, just like I did.

After leaving her in Barbatos’s care, I returned to my home.

Time passed quickly.
The Empire soon sent a large number of troops to the neighboring country.
They couldn’t just let the little demons, the "Imps," roam freely, so they aimed to clean them up.

This time, the adventurers and otherworldly beings from the Luryeon Kingdom took part, rather than the Empire's knights.
Imps weren’t individually strong; they were simply numerous.
Instead of sending high-ranking personnel, people were sending large numbers to overwhelm them.

Fortunately, sending personnel didn’t take much effort.
Otherworldly beings knew where to go on their own.

[These guys give insane EXP, huh?]
It’s a bit tough to catch them, but the returns are guaranteed.
No worries about running out of them, and I leveled up a whole level after just hunting all day yesterday. LOL
+

[Oh really? What level are you now?]
[127 now]
[Whoa! That’s high. I’m stuck at 123, been here for a week.]
[You should come here, it’s so easy.]

The fact that Imps gave great experience spread everywhere.
After all, their levels weren’t low, and they were everywhere.
It was the perfect place to gain real combat experience.

[Fuck!!!]
I went too far in and got surrounded...
I died, but what’s worse is I lost the two-handed sword I bought a few days ago. I spent almost all my savings on it, what am I gonna do? My hands are shaking...
+

[LOL, goodbye.]
[We told you not to go in without better gear. Sucks to be you.]

Of course, there were occasional mishaps, but these were just minor side effects of leveling up.

NPCs found the Imps to be more threatening than Belled, but for users, they were just another sweet hunting ground.
There were many users who had hit a leveling wall recently.
Among the top-ranked users, some hadn’t leveled up in months.
For those players, the Imps were like a gift from the heavens.

Maybe the true 2nd anniversary gift was these Imps, I thought.
Though the Russian server users would probably go into a frenzy if they heard this.

Anyway, countless users headed to the hunting ground to hunt Imps.
But there were also some minor side effects.

"So, I probably won’t be able to level up for a while. If this keeps up, the viewers will catch up to me..."
"Sorry, Yor."

It turned out that Chae-rin and Haneul had gone to hunt in the neighboring country.
As a result, Yor was left alone for the first time in a while.

"…I’m bored."

They say humans live off dopamine.
Being left alone, I was feeling a sense of deep boredom.

It had been a long time since I was left alone like this.
Normally, someone would come visit my cave every few days.
But it had been weeks since I last had company, and the place felt eerily quiet.

I used to be fine alone, but now it felt awkward, as if I had grown used to having people around.
I guess I had developed a higher dopamine threshold over time.

Of course, I wasn’t doing nothing.
I kept busy with hunting and housework, as usual.
Whenever I had free time, I would go deeper into the dungeon to check on Neria, but even so, I was restless.

As I was continuing with my daily routine, a visitor finally arrived in my forest.
It was Shin Hanbyeol.

I was a bit puzzled when I saw her.

"What’s up? I thought you’d be hunting, like everyone else."

If there was one person who cared most about leveling up, it would definitely be Shin Hanbyeol.
Unlike those who were satisfied with reaching a high level, she aimed to maintain the top ranking.

She had been complaining about her level not increasing recently, so I naturally expected her to be hunting Imps.
Seeing her here instead made me curious.

Her answer to my question was a bit shocking.

"…I died."

"…?"

"I died once, but I resurrected and am on my way back to get revenge."

I couldn’t help but be surprised.
She wasn’t exactly weak, yet she had already died once.

‘Are the Imps that strong?’

Before I could dwell on it, she started explaining.
She had ventured into a more monster-filled area three days ago, gotten surrounded, and died.
Now, she had just resurrected and was heading out again for revenge.

"I came here just to check on things while I was resurrecting. I’ve been in a rush because I couldn’t do anything for three days."

"So what did you lose?"

"My steel breastplate. Ugh, it was something I just bought recently."

She looked a bit annoyed as she said it.
I was curious too, especially with all the noise around lately.
Just what were these "Imps," and how many of them were there? I wanted to check it out myself.

So, I looked at Hanbyeol and said,
"Let’s go together."

It didn’t sound like a bad idea to go out for a little while.