Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

The demon has appeared. This news has been repeated so many times that there's nothing left but to wring out the last bit of stock from the story.

If this were a novel, they’d probably keep reusing it until the end...

But still, the fact that two demons appeared at once, that's something that you can't help but be surprised about.

Of course, this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. When we left to capture Andras, for instance, a demon named Plauros descended midway.

However, that situation had a clear cause and effect. Andras had been looking for Plauros before we encountered him, and his actions were even intended to summon Plauros.

So it’s not entirely unimaginable that two demons would show up at the same time. Although, their slimy, snail-like bodies were a bit shocking...

Anyway, it wasn’t common for two demons to appear at once. Just to be sure, I asked Chae-rin. I asked if the two demons who descended this time were somehow connected enough to engage in a yuri slime battle.

“No? I looked it up and apparently, it happened in totally different locations. One appeared in the west, and the other in the east…”

Chae-rin said, flicking her fingers back and forth. She pointed this way and that, indicating that the demons had appeared in opposite directions. It was clear they were unrelated in some way.

After hearing her, I frowned for a moment. The imps were already causing chaos, after all.

The frequency of demon appearances was shortening. It seemed like they were doing their best to stop it, but people couldn’t help but feel more and more uneasy. In fact, recently, there had been an increase in the number of people joining the Lemegaton, believing in apocalyptic prophecies.

‘As Barbatos said, it seems like the walls are thinning...’

Anyway, now that demons had appeared, we couldn’t just leave them be. We would gather people and go hunting them, or something. To find the right demon for me, I’d have to participate as well.

Since I needed information, I asked Chae-rin again.

“Do you know what kind of demons they are?”

“Ah, yeah. It’s pretty noisy in the community, so I know a few things.”

Now that she was casually mentioning things like ‘community,’ probably due to the fact that chat windows were visible, she explained the demon that appeared in the west first.

“Well, this one is pretty famous. Its appearance is shocking, and it destroyed an entire city as soon as it appeared.”

The 10th-ranked Demon of Operation, Buer. A demon with the face of a lion, with golden claws, and five horse legs attached to its body. It was described as grotesque enough that from a distance, it looked like a windmill made of bones rolling by. It was so large that wherever it rolled, it left only destroyed debris behind.

The good news was that it didn’t seem particularly interested in slaughtering humans. It just kept rolling around aimlessly... Humans didn’t matter much, but it was still urgent to stop it because it was destroying buildings everywhere.

‘Interesting.’

Hearing this, I couldn’t help but wear a subtle expression. Demons, when you think about it, were never normal. Each one seemed to have something missing. And this one—wasn’t it stepping out of the bounds of human nature?

“What about the east?”

I asked, and Chae-rin showed an awkward expression.

“Well, I did try to gather some info, but there wasn’t anything clear. They say a demon appeared, but something’s off about it…”

“What’s off about it?”

“Well, there’s almost no information about the demon in the east. We don’t even know its name, and there hasn’t been any description of its appearance.”

“If it was reported to have appeared, wouldn’t its appearance have been seen at least once?”

“That’s the weird part. The discoverers were all excited and saying a demon had appeared, right? But a few days later, when they met it again, they were actually protecting the demon.”

Hearing this, I tilted my head for a moment. I couldn’t understand what she meant by that. Why would the discoverers suddenly be protecting the demon? Had they been mentally influenced and switched over to Lemegaton, in just a few days?

Then the next bit of information was even more bizarre. The demon that appeared in the east had apparently made a certain village its base. And everyone inside that village had been mentally influenced by the demon, and they were now protecting it.

Nearby soldiers had tried to gather information by getting close, but they were met with such strong opposition from the villagers that they couldn’t get near.

‘I guess [N O V E L I G H T] we can’t just capture all the villagers.’

Something was definitely off about this. Compared to the more straightforward demon in the west, the one in the east felt even more unsettling. The idea that an entire village would protect the demon—there was clearly something more to it.

‘Maybe it’s manipulating their minds...’

In any case, I had gathered enough information. The knights would take care of the response, I figured. They were probably scratching their heads dealing with demons appearing from both directions.

I could just stay comfortably in the cave for now. My only real concern was which one to join. After all, I couldn’t be in both at once.

“Thanks for telling me.”

I said that and glanced outside the cave for a moment. The green, dense forest was gradually growing darker. The sun was already setting.

Listening to the news had taken quite a bit of time.

“...Hmm.”

During the day, people sometimes wandered around the forest, but at night, no one would be around. Everyone knew how dangerous the night forest was. That meant no one would be entering the forest now.

“...Hmm.”

I looked at Chae-rin’s body for a moment and then spoke.

“Hey.”

“Yes?”

“Take it off.”

“...Okay.”

With a pout, she started taking off her shirt.

A few more days passed.

The knights finally started recruiting for a hunting party. They had come up with a plan to capture the demons that had appeared in each region.

When I arrived at the meeting spot, I saw knights immediately stepping in to organize the participants.

“We plan to divide this hunt into two groups! Everyone, gather together before we organize the teams!”

Knights were repeating this like parrots all over the place. I went to where the participants had gathered and looked around to see who had joined.

Of course, Chae-rin and Haneul were there. They had come with me after all. There were also many adventurers gathered, waiting. Hunting demons was a popular endeavor, both for the fame and the rewards.

‘I think Shin Hanbyeol is joining too...’

If you are reading this translation anywhere other than Novelight.net or SilkRoadTL, it has been stolen.

When Hanbyeol spotted me, she waved her hand lightly. So far, it was the usual setup. But this time, there was a slightly different group. A dozen or so individuals, escorted by knights as if they had been invited...

‘...Clerics?’

They were the priests. Those who spend their days in the temple, producing holy water. They were now out in the field. Seeing them, I couldn’t help but tilt my head.

‘That’s unexpected.’

Clerics were as valuable as gold. They weren’t particularly strong in combat, but their abilities made them natural enemies of demons, so their demand was always high.

However, the number of clerics was relatively small. You had to have strong faith, and to become a cleric, you needed years of training. Even fewer were from otherworldly backgrounds. Naturally, no one would choose to pray in a game when they could enjoy themselves.

That’s why it was rare for clerics to be on the front lines. It was more beneficial for both parties if they stayed in the temple, producing holy water. But now, here they were—maybe the knights had specifically called them in for a certain purpose, I thought.

“So, how will the teams be organized?”

Once the participants had gathered, one of the adventurers asked.

The knight commander, who stood at the podium, answered.

“We’re going to focus on hunting the demon in the west. We’ll divide the teams 80:20.”

The knight commander on the podium was Serena, the commander of the 5th Knight Regiment. Behind her, I could also see Odelia, the commander of the 2nd Regiment. Since two demons had appeared, it seemed like both of them were participating at once. While I was nodding alone, the adventurer who had asked the question followed up.

“80:20? Does that mean the east gets 20 percent? How are we going to deal with the demon in the east?”

“We don’t need to deal with it right now. We don’t know anything about it, so we can’t invest too much manpower. We’ll send 20 percent to investigate, and in the meantime, we’ll focus on the west.”

That made sense. We didn’t know how strong the demon in the east was yet. We couldn’t just blindly try to defeat it. The adventurer who had asked seemed to understand and nodded.

“So, how are we going to divide the teams?”

“It’s simple. We’ll draw lots.”

That wasn’t exactly a satisfactory explanation. Suddenly, drawing lots? This isn’t a seating arrangement for students.

Other adventurers, too, seemed to have doubts, and questions immediately flew.

“Drawing lots? What do you mean by that? What about the parties that came together?”

“Sorry, but we don’t have time for a debate. If we discuss it, it’ll take all day, won’t it? Hahaha.”

It was Odelia who answered this time. It wasn’t the most rational explanation, but it was a realistic one.

Time was a precious resource for the knights, with tasks piling up. Odelia used a lighthearted tone to calm the voices of the adventurers.

Honestly, I didn’t mind which demon I was assigned to, so I just went along with it.

“Let’s not grumble too much. The knight commander will be with each of the teams anyway. Now, come up and draw a lot.”

So, the lot-drawing began. Blue was for the western demon, Buer, and red was for the eastern one. Since it was urgent to deal with Buer, blue had a higher chance of being drawn.

Chae-rin and Haneul, who came with me, also drew slips with blue tails.

When my turn came, I drew a slip without much thought.

“Ah.”

“Eh.”

It was red. Unlike my companions, I was assigned to deal with the eastern demon. Looking at the red slip in my hand, I was left speechless.

‘This is going to be troublesome...?’

I hadn’t expected to end up with the 20 percent chance.

Even though the hunting parties would be moving together, I was hesitant about going without knowing anyone. Fortunately, this unease didn’t last long.

“Oh.”

Shin Hanbyeol, who had come alone, had also drawn a red slip.

She looked around briefly and, when she saw the red slip in my hand, smiled brightly and waved at me.

Chae-rin and Haneul gave me strange looks.

Of course, I sighed in relief inwardly. It was more comforting to know someone.

“We’ll make some quick preparations and leave tomorrow!”

With that, I said goodbye to my old companions and set off on the journey with the new group.