In fact, Chae-rin had been quite busy lately.
To produce broadcasts of higher quality, she had been focusing more on leveling up than on streaming.
To be honest, she was still reeling from the shock of losing to a rabbit in a duel the last ti.
At level 80, she was in the top 4% of users. In terms of the now-defunct ga OLO, she would have been in the top tier of Diamond rank.
Still, that ant she was among the very best among regular players. Of course, she fell a bit short compared to ranked players who poured in ti, talent, and money.
But to think she couldn’t even beat a single rabbit!
Yor had praised her for even that, but when you heard it from soone who could take out mutated wolves in one hit, it felt more like a mockery.
So, she had set aside the fun of streaming to focus on leveling up for a while. She wanted to crush at least the rabbits.
Fortunately, all her hard work seed to have paid off; she had made so progress in her growth.
...But who would have thought she’d see sothing like this online?
“What the...?”
She muttered to herself as she leaned closer to the monitor.
Of course, it was highly probable that she was just imagining things. The NPC in the photo was heavily hooded, concealing almost all of his physical features.
According to the players who were there, he had brown hair and blue eyes. Even if his face was hard to see, that ant he had absolutely no resemblance to the Yor she had in mind.
After all, what reason would soone who lived in the forest have to co to the city?
She didn’t know his exact circumstances, but as soone who often visited him, she had a good sense that he was reluctant to step outside the woods.
So, the person in that photo was most likely not Yor...
However, sothing kept nagging at her gut. There was sothing about that picture that she just couldn’t ignore.
Besides, if he had co out, why would he change his hair and eye color? And if soone had changed it for him, who was that person?
“Hmmm...”
Thanks to that, her thoughts only grew deeper.
And a few days later...
‘Yeah, it wouldn’t hurt to check...’
She set out to hunt with her editor for the first ti in a while.
The reason she t with Ha-neul instead of Yor was that she had a hunch about sothing.
Although they t in real life, she and Ha-neul actually spent more ti together in the ga.
Playing together made leveling up easier, and to be honest, there wasn’t much difference between being here and reality.
Of course, the reason they ford a party after so long was not just to make hunting easier.
‘Now that I think about it...’
Recently, her editor had learned an additional skill.
She even used it in combat from ti to ti. According to the description, it was a magic spell that confused opponents by tricking their eyes.
Wasn’t it called 'Illusion'?
With that skill, she could create virtual walls in front of monsters or conjure illusions to confuse them.
Thanks to her support, hunting monsters beca a lot easier, but it also raised so questions.
‘Why did she learn that skill?’
Surely, there had to be other spells worth investing in. And honestly, those would be more effective.
While she had made good use of the 'Illusion' spell, having sothing tangible would have been preferable.
Plus, the timing was quite peculiar. So, Chae-rin subtly asked her.
“By the way, sis.”
“Yeah?”
“You know Yor, right?”
“...Of course I do. He’s our number one star on YouTube.”
Up until this point, Ha-neul had shown no reaction. Well, it felt just like any normal conversation. In fact, it would have been weirder for her to be flustered at this point.
The next question she had intended to ask was, “Have you ever t Yor?”
Conversations usually flow according to context, and there’s always a specific order to that context.
However, this ti, Chae-rin planned to skip that context.
Asking directly would surely stir Ha-neul’s emotions more easily.
So she asked her editor straightforwardly.
“Have you been to the city with Yor recently?”
“...”
And Chae-rin’s guess was spot on. Ha-neul’s pupils trembled violently for a mont. Perhaps it was due to the unexpected question, but she fell silent for a brief mont.
Even the words she managed to muster up after so thought included a slip of the tongue.
“What do you an? He’s an NPC who can’t even go outside. How could he go to the city?”
“...I don’t recall you ever saying that Yor can’t go outside?”
Chae-rin pounced on that mistake like a ghost.
She was glad her editor wasn’t very good at lying.
Thanks to that, her instincts were growing louder.
Now that she thought about it, the wand she used recently had changed too.
What used to be a simple wand made from an old tree now had a massive gem embedded in the center.
That gem looked pretty expensive.
She didn’t know exactly whose gem it was, but the amount of magical energy contained within was no joke.
It was definitely not a material that she could obtain with her current wealth and level.
“By the way, when did you change that wand? I’ve never seen such a gem in the market.”
Chae-rin continued with her questions. Every ti, Ha-neul would panic and avoid her gaze.
Not being able to answer properly and stamring was exactly how soone with sothing to hide would act.
Ha-neul, who lacked social skills, couldn’t easily cope with such sudden situations and was rely flustered.
As she was being persistently pressed, Ha-neul thought.
‘Yeah, I should just say it.’
After all, there was no reason to hide it, right? She had just t an NPC a few tis and happened to go to the city once together.
Of course, there had been various happenings along the way... But she wasn't dating Yor or doing anything inappropriate, after all.
So she lightly shared the facts with Chae-rin.
She told her about the ti she had visited out of curiosity and how that led to her going to the city together.
Of course, she completely omitted any information about the ‘Demon’s Mark.’ No matter what, she couldn’t speak about that to anyone else.
Ha-neul was just conveying the content, but she strangely felt guilty.
Once she finished speaking, Chae-rin expressed her dissatisfaction.
“Hey, sis, how could you...!”
She felt a sense of betrayal. Her closest friend was secretly acquainted with soone she was close with.
It felt like she had beco a tragic character straight out of a drama... and it was all just a bit too much for her.
But that was only for a mont.
‘...Huh?’
As she was about to get irritated, she caught on to a contradiction within herself.
...But was it really sothing she should be angry about?
Sure, Chae-rin t Yor the most often, but they weren’t dating or anything. They were just acquaintances.
And her editor had the freedom to enjoy the ga however she wanted.
Ha-neul was simply spending her leisure ti, after all.
While she felt a bit hurt that Ha-neul had hidden the fact that she had t him, there was hardly any justification for her to be angry.
Of course, in reality, it would have been a different story. Emotions were an important matter.
However, this was a ga. And Yor wasn’t a real romantic interest, but an NPC living in this world.
It felt ridiculous to get upset over a virtual character.
As a result, Chae-rin could only look at Ha-neul without saying anything.
She didn’t really have anything to say anyway, and she was also a bit confused by her own feelings.
‘Why am I so angry?’
Could it be that I...?
No, even so, she didn’t want to be soone who genuinely invested feelings into a virtual character.
“Still... if sothing like this happens again, let know, okay?”
“Ah, okay... sorry.”
In the end, all she could say after much contemplation was a piece of advice like that.
After that, they continued hunting for a while before eventually parting ways.
After all, this was a eting ant for questioning, and she could sense that her feelings were quite turbulent.
Many thoughts swirled in her mind. It was intriguing that Yor was that hooded NPC, and it was also surprising that he was strong enough to cut off Seere’s left arm.
But what amazed her the most was that Ha-neul and Yor had gone on a date in the city together.
In the end, Chae-rin logged off without properly understanding her own feelings.
Yet, her thoughts had shifted sowhat.
‘I should et him more often from now on.’
She hadn’t been able to visit the forest recently, so she thought it was a good opportunity to go see him more often.
She definitely hadn’t co to realize new feelings for an NPC because of this. Not at all.
Whatever it was, it was a thought that would surely annoy Yor if he heard it.
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