Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

The sudden appearance of someone unexpected made me feel a little thrown off.

Though I was surprised, I didn't let it show on my face. There were too many eyes around for that.

Since the meeting wouldn’t end with her disappearance, I decided to just watch for now.

‘Come to think of it, she did seem to show signs of wanting to leave Remegaton last time...’

I guessed that she had probably achieved that goal and was now working as an adventurer.

It was at that moment the atmosphere in the inn, which had been dry and lifeless, seemed to suddenly freeze. I noticed that a few adventurers recognized Nikki.

"Tch, damn it. Looks like that bastard joined too..."

"That girl might betray us any time."

Additionally, it seemed her status as a manifester had spread as well. I could hear their hushed whispers clearly, without needing to enhance my hearing.

Nikki must have heard them too, but she remained calm and composed. This was probably nothing new for her.

"Ah."

She even smiled slightly when she noticed me. I figured I’d have plenty to ask her later.

After Nikki finished her introduction, she disappeared back into the crowd, and the introductions continued.

Aside from her, I didn’t recognize any other faces or people who stood out.

Not long after, it was my turn. I followed Nikki’s example and introduced myself briefly.

"...Yor. Spearfighter."

However, unlike Nikki’s reception, the reaction to my introduction was much more enthusiastic.

"Oooh..."

"Wow."

I could hear quiet exclamations from the crowd.

"Wow, look at him. He should be in a brothel as the ace, not here as an adventurer."

"Hah, I was getting annoyed with the heat, but now it’s all gone."

There were some murmurs like that, and although their comments were crude, it didn’t bother me much. At least the reaction wasn’t entirely negative.

But soon, things took a turn.

"Wait, isn’t that guy a manifester too?"

"What? No way. Are there really two demon-blooded people here? That’s gotta be a rare thing."

"No, it’s true. He’s pretty famous in the Empire."

"So what? If he's good-looking, I’ll forgive anything."

The atmosphere was definitely different from before. I couldn’t help but smile and glance over at Nikki, who had been so calm until now. I could see her pupils shaking uncontrollably.

Suddenly, I remembered what I had said when I first met her: when I asked why our reactions were so different, I had answered "because of the chili."

‘Can you see it? The difference in our origins.’

Just the presence of a single stick in the lower half of the body made such a difference.

However, not all the reactions were positive. As time passed, some people began crossing the line.

"Hey! Since you’re here, show us a performance!"

"At least pull down your pants, you bastard!"

Laughter echoed around us. It was blatant mockery.

"Those guys..."

"Who do they think they’re making fun of...!"

I could see my companions frowning upon hearing that.

‘...Hmm.’

I paused for a moment, thinking. Honestly, I wasn’t terribly upset, but I knew that if I let it go, they’d keep pushing their boundaries.

But I couldn’t just jump into a fight either. These people were all A-rank mercenaries or higher, so if a fight broke out, it could escalate quickly.

I reluctantly decided to target just one of the loudest ones.

But before I could act, someone else stepped in.

"Stop it."

It wasn’t Nikki. Nor was it anyone from my group.

It was a voice I hadn’t heard before—soft yet commanding, as if it were pressing down on everyone around us.

I turned toward the source of the sound and saw a woman with dark green hair sitting casually.

She had the look of someone who must have been quite popular in her younger days. There were some wrinkles around her eyes, but her well-trained physique and light bronze skin exuded vitality.

"..."

"...Ahem."

Her brief words instantly silenced the room. The laughter from before disappeared as if it were a lie. Everyone stopped to listen to her.

From that, I could tell she was someone of considerable presence.

She spoke again.

"We’re going to be fighting together, so there’s no point in arguing."

"...Yurgen?" someone said, looking surprised.

"Yeah, I’ve come because I’m running out of money for drinks."

She chuckled loudly, but the room remained silent. The emotions flowing through the crowd were clear—fear, respect, wariness, and admiration. It was a complicated mix, but one thing was clear: everyone here was intimidated by this person, Yurgen.

‘Who is she?’

"And by the way, I should introduce myself too."

As I was pondering that, the woman smiled and spoke again.

"Yurgen. Swordswoman."

I was stunned, wondering why she was here.

She should have been with Remegaton, but now she was here, among adventurers.

The meeting ended without any further issues.

Drunken Sword Yurgen.

That’s what most people called her. It was a nickname given because her sword moved freely like it was drunk during battle. It was said that she sometimes even fought while drunk.

But more importantly, she was a top-tier adventurer, one of the few S-rank mercenaries. Among them, she stood out as an exceptional figure.

Her fame alone was enough that even adventurers were reluctant to mess with her.

I had no trouble gathering information about her, especially since Nikki, who had already met her, was familiar with her background.

After finishing explaining, Nikki smiled brightly.

"Anyway, it’s nice to meet you! I never thought I’d see you here. It’s good to catch up after so long."

"..."

Her face was filled with friendliness, but I couldn’t shake the strange feeling that something was off.

‘She’s never been this welcoming before.’

I guessed that after escaping her berserk state, she must have had a change of heart.

At least it wasn’t a bad change, so I decided to let it go.

I then asked her another question.

"So, what’s going on with you? You... aren’t exactly the type to be out here. How are you even allowed to participate?"

"Ah... that’s actually something I need to explain. I quit that group."

Which meant she was no longer a member of Remegaton.

I had suspected it, but hearing it confirmed was still a surprise.

How did she manage to leave? At least in my understanding, criminal organizations didn’t just let people walk away.

Well, maybe if she was just a low-ranking member, but she was a high-ranking official.

Even more so, she was one of the few who had escaped the berserk state.

The thing was, even if she had removed the weaknesses of demon blood, I couldn’t imagine Remegaton letting her go so easily.

As I was lost in thought, Nikki answered.

"They let me go more easily than I expected. Sure, we had a big argument, but I officially left after following all the procedures."

"....."

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but wonder if Remegaton was a crime syndicate or just a regular company. It was hard to tell.

"Of course, I can’t go back now..."

Nikki said this with a bitter expression. Whether it was due to lingering feelings for Remegaton or because she had become a wandering soul with nowhere to turn, I couldn’t say.

But her eyes seemed to show that she didn’t regret it.

I then asked her something else.

"Well, it’s one thing that you left, but do you really have permission to hunt demons? They probably wouldn’t like that."

I thought it would be uncomfortable for her to hunt demons, especially since she had once been part of Remegaton.

Nikki shrugged and replied.

"Amon is fine. Didn’t Sephir say it before...? The southern king is too violent, even Remegaton avoids him."

"Oh, right."

It came back to me. I had pushed it out of my mind because it seemed too distant.

Feeling a little awkward, I quickly offered Nikki a handshake.

"Anyway, thanks in advance. It looks like we’ll be working together again."

"Yeah."

Nikki smiled brightly and shook my hand.

The very next day, the hunting party began preparing to depart for the Burning Plains. Now that enough people had gathered, they intended to strike before the altar's seal weakened.

We didn’t know when Amon would rise, so it was better to leave as quickly as possible.

Before setting off, I asked one of the mages who would cast buffs on us about the journey.

"How long will it take to get to the altar?"

"It won’t take long. If we move quickly, we can get there in a day. Though there will be plenty of monsters along the way."

Hearing this, I sighed in relief. If it took too long, it would have been troublesome since the berserk state would be close.

I had even considered joining late with Neria if it took too long... but thankfully, that didn’t seem necessary.

So, we walked up to the edge of the Burning Plains, where the mages cast their buffs on us.

Tap-tap...

The land stretched to the horizon, burning as if the world itself were made of fire. The sight of the flames was magnificent in itself.

The problem was, I had to go in there.

‘...I’m definitely going to need that buff.’

As I thought about that, the mage in front of me explained the buff’s effects.

"This spell will increase your flame resistance significantly for up to five days. It won’t protect you from the flames the monsters breathe, but at least you won’t get burned by the fires coming up from the ground... though it will be a bit hot."

I didn’t remember the mage explaining things so thoroughly when casting on others... but since they were being extra careful with me, I let it go.

"The magic lasts longer than expected."

"Yes, we had to hurry and develop it. But... there are some minor side effects."

"Side effects?"

The mage hesitated, glancing down at me, and then quickly shifted her gaze, slightly blushing.

"This spell doesn’t completely cover your clothes... so, um, please be careful, sir..."

"Ah."

I hadn’t even considered that—my clothes might catch fire.

"Then... let’s get going!"

Just as I was processing this new issue, Vivian, the 3rd Division Commander, announced the start of our departure.

We couldn’t afford to turn back now, so we entered the forbidden zone.