Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

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The fourth morning has arrived.

Once again, Hanbyeol logged into the game to pass her boring time.

She secretly ate some food last night, so her hunger had diminished a bit, but she was still famished.

On top of that, she was extremely bored.

With her whole body tied up, the only thing she could do was think quietly.

Of course, she occasionally logged out to surf the web…

Being ranked first, she spent most of her time in the game, except for her exercise hours.

Otherwise, she would feel restless. You could say it was a kind of habit.

Anyway, this often left her feeling unnecessarily bored.

Of course, there were things to do in this limited space; the main one being observing Yor who was wandering around.

In the peaceful setting of the forest, he was moving quite busily.

In the morning, he would prepare a meal for himself and then head out for hunting.

Then around lunchtime, he would return, prepare another meal, and do house chores.

Cleaning and laundry, among other things. It seemed that he even managed to take a bath during this time.

Usually, he appeared fresh and clean at this hour.

And then he would prepare dinner again…

By this time, he seemed to have a little spare time. Occasionally, he would show a desire to play with himself.

Of course, it felt more like looking at a dog, so she mostly ignored it…

Anyway, he was spending his day quite busily.

NPCs can move so actively even for small matters…

Of course, she knew this from the community, but seeing it firsthand was indeed quite fascinating.

On one hand, she thought briefly:

‘He really is handsome…’

Despite being trapped, she was still a ‘woman’ after all.

Seeing a handsome man in front of her would naturally elicit a reaction.

Moreover, he wasn’t just good-looking, his aura was sort of unique.

Unlike other guys with soft vibes, he had a sharp aspect to him.

Typically peaceful but felt like he could cut deep if provoked.

This must be an atmosphere honed from living in this forest.

Yet, it didn’t feel particularly unpleasant. On the contrary, it was impressively good in a way.

To be honest, she wasn’t really fond of that soft vibe which was common among men.

It felt like she’d have to protect and lead, which Hanbyeol wasn’t skilled at.

Maybe that’s why she had never dated anyone thus far.

She had been busy, but truthfully, she hadn’t really felt attracted to anyone.

‘…So what? He’s just an NPC.’

But that thought was only for a moment.

She sighed and returned to reality. After all, these thoughts were pointless.

What mattered was how to escape this cave.

And so another day passed.

On the fifth day, she made up her mind.

‘…Alright, let’s just say it.’

What kind of hardship is this anyway? It could be resolved by just giving him some holy water.

Of course, the price of holy water had been skyrocketing recently, but it was nothing compared to her five days.

She’d have to swallow her pride a bit, but she wanted to get out, eat something, and level up again.

She needed to get back to her streaming, which she had put on hold too.

Finally, she called out to Yor.

“Hey.”

“Hm? What’s up, Happy?”

“……….I’ll grant you what you wanted.”

“What?”

“The holy water you mentioned. I’ll give it.”

“Oh…”

Yor let out a subtle gasp of admiration.

It felt good that things were resolving, but he had a somewhat regretful expression.

Of course, regardless of that, Hanbyeol pulled the holy water from her inventory.

She lined up bottles that had a somewhat holy atmosphere about them.

She produced a total of three bottles of holy water.

It couldn’t be said to be a huge amount, but considering that buying holy water was nearly impossible now, it was definitely not a small number. After all, she had used two when fighting him.

Yor smiled brightly as he accepted the holy water she gave him.

“Thanks, man. Yeah, it would’ve been easier if you had given it to me earlier.”

Of course, for him, those three bottles were a tremendous gain.

It meant he could easily endure a Berserk once.

Not only that, but depending on how it went, it could save his life.

Berserk A had the problem of pain, but it also had the downside of the smell of blood spreading everywhere.

Until now, he had been holding out in the depths of the cave, so the scent of blood wasn’t an issue, but now the cave’s location was exposed.

If the berserk triggered while he was hiding, he’d need something to cloak him.

‘I should save this.’

The day when he would face the consequences was not far off.

Still, even if Berserk A activated, Yor had no intention of immediately drinking the holy water.

Even if he had to endure that terrible pain, he planned to save as much as possible until he got more surplus holy water.

He thought this as he carefully stored the holy water in the storage area.

Having acquired the holy water, it was now time to extract its origin from her.

He looked at Hanbyeol and asked.

“From what I hear, even if I go to the cathedral, I can’t find holy water. Where did you get all this?”

“…I have connections with the knights.”

Hanbyeol continued.

“While the knights gather holy water, they don’t use it all. Thanks to that, having connections makes it quite convenient. With the right trade, you can gain a lot.”

“Hooh.”

At her words, Yor let out an impressed sound.

This was an unexpected fact.

Come to think of it, long ago, the knight order had promised to buy a fixed amount of holy water. Since they buy it regularly, it seems they have some spare.

And Hanbyeol, with her connections, managed to obtain it easily.

“Then did you learn that swordplay from the knights? It looked quite elegant.”

“Well… I did get some help. It wasn’t taught directly, though.”

Yor nodded briefly.

There were many things to ponder considering the unexpected sources.

The knight order was also a closed group, making it difficult to gain information.

Given their strong security.

Thanks to that, Yor thought.

‘If I play it right…’

He might acquire new information he didn’t know about.

“Surely, the bounty on your head was placed by the knight order, right?”

“Well… probably, yeah.”

“Then just how strong are the knights?”

“What? Pfft.”

At his words, Hanbyeol chuckled lightly. He seemed to express a slight anxiety while cautiously asking.

“Are you also scared of the knights? Well, you’ll get hunted down if you meet them, so heh heh…”

“………”

Yor didn’t respond to that. Instead, he silently flicked her forehead.

*Thwak!*

With a dull sound, something sensual slipped out of her mouth.

“Ah…!”

“Stop talking and just answer me.”

Hanbyeol wriggled in pain for a moment before speaking.

“…It’s not an easy question to answer. The knights are individually skilled, but their strength comes from their teamwork.”

She continued.

“Especially the captain of the knight order, those guys are monsters. It’s a position that only the Empire’s best talents can reach after decades of training.”

“………”

Yor nodded.

After that, Yor asked Hanbyeol a few more questions. What the knight order was currently doing, if there was anything strange going on, and so on.

However, it was difficult to get a satisfactory answer.

Hanbyeol wasn’t deliberately hiding information. After all, she was an outsider too.

There was a lack of connections to access proper information.

But still, it was helpful.

After hearing all she had to say, Yor stood up from his seat, satisfied.

Seeing this, Hanbyeol spoke to him.

“Is that enough? Now let me go.”

“………Hmm.”

Upon hearing those words, Yor wore a meaningful smile.

Indeed, he had fulfilled everything promised initially.

Yet, he felt hesitant to let her go, and he wondered why.

Perhaps it was because his inner plan had been disrupted.

Thus, Yor grinned mischievously and said to her.

“I don’t want to.”

“…What?”

At those words, Hanbyeol instantly started to freak out. The resistance was so fierce, it felt like the first time she was bound.

“You damn bastard…! This wasn’t the deal!”

“Whoa, whoa, calm down! If you just fulfill one of my requests, I’ll let you go. It’s not even that hard.”

And naturally, that request was for her to eat the food he made.

With her face pressed against the plate like a dog. Of course, upon hearing that, Hanbyeol frowned and refused.

“I won’t do it! Just kill me! You don’t have to let me go, just kill me and liberate me!”

“Wow, you really don’t act like an Otherworlder when you casually mention death.”

Of course, Yor had no intention of sending her off in that manner.

The reason was simple. He still hadn’t seen her eat.

But since her resistance was incredibly strong, he had no choice but to take a step back.

As they arrived in the kitchen with the fire crackling, Yor began to contemplate.

‘What should I make that she’d want to eat…’

Right now, she was putting up that front, but that wouldn’t last forever.

After all, she too would need to get out of the cave, and her hunger would remain.

She had eaten a bit of fried rice previously, but apart from that, she had been starving for nearly five days.

She had to be hungry.

Thus, what he needed to do now was to cook something delicious enough to even tempt her.

Fortunately, Yor was somewhat confident in his cooking.

Not voluntarily, but he had over ten years of cooking experience.

There happened to be one good ingredient.

That being the troublesome tail of the Mountain Lord Tiger.

It was a magical creature, and eating it could restore vitality, but that was only once or twice.

After eating the tail multiple times, Yor was slowly becoming accustomed to its effects.

Having eaten it so often, he was beginning to get tired of it too.

Hence, he had left it in the storage until it was on the verge of spoiling, but now it seemed he would have a use for it.

Though he was a bit tired of it, the meat of the Mountain Lord Tiger was great in terms of nutrition, flavor, and uniqueness.

“Alright. Let’s give it a shot.”

And with that, Yor started to cook.

*

Meanwhile, Hanbyeol was chewing on Yor’s words while suppressing her anger.

“Good grief, I shouldn’t have trusted him. That lunatic…”

Why was he so obsessed with his meal? He clearly didn’t seem normal. Did he have some kind of fetish for faces in plates?

However, beneath these thoughts, a sliver of anxiety lingered.

‘Could it be he really won’t let me go?’

That seemed likely.

The demeanor he had shown her over the past few days had been quite resolute.

Thus, the final choice presented to her was singular.

Thinking about the image of eating with her mouth brought heat to her face.

After waiting for a moment, Yor finally brought the meal.

However, this time, it had a rather unique smell. It was slightly tangy and also had a savory aroma, reminiscent of cheese.

The richer scent of the dish stimulated her salivary glands even more.

Finally, Yor placed a plate in front of her.

The system of [Demon’s Saga] had a rather unique trait.

Basically, almost all items had descriptions pop up.

Among them, there were even small effects noted for items or potions.

Now was no different.

+

[Dry-Aged Mountain Lord Tiger Tail Cube Steak]

This is slightly over-aged tiger meat. However, it’s filled with mana, so it hasn’t spoiled.

Eating this will permanently increase your health a little.

+

The description of the food continued on.

Tiger meat? Where on earth did he get this?

Moreover, the mere fact that food had stat boosts attached was something she had never seen before.

Was this food akin to a potion or something?

Of course, the description mentioned “a little,” so the effect probably wouldn’t be significant…

But stats obtained for free were always valuable.

Thanks to that, her interest in the food leaned ever so slightly.

During this moment, Yor spoke.

“Here you go. As promised, eat this and I’ll let you go right away.”

“………”

“Why the long face? It’s not that hard, right? Besides, it benefits you as well. This is meat you wouldn’t be able to eat for thousands of gold.”

It certainly looked that way.

Such foods that impact the body always commanded high prices.

To top it off, she couldn’t leave anyway if she didn’t eat.

Having nearly starved for five days, her desire was now filled with hunger.

Gulp—

Her throat swallowed audibly.

It was as if an earthquake had struck her pupils; her eyes twitched violently.

Generally speaking, pride is hard to bend once.

Once bent, the psychological barrier becomes significantly lower.

People are adaptive creatures, and habits can exert a stronger influence than one might think.

It’s said that the first time is always the hardest.

“………”

Thus, she bowed her head silently towards the plate.

A slight embarrassment and self-loathing weighed heavily on her. Because of that, her tied hands trembled slightly.

However, in contrast, the reward entering her mouth tasted incredibly sweet.

Tenderly cut meat melted in her mouth.

Savory flavor filled her mouth. The first meal after almost five days was supremely delicious.

As she ate, Yor quietly laid his hand on her head.

Contrary to his expectations that she would flinch in shock and push him away.

Hanbyeol only flinched for a moment before accepting Yor’s touch, pretending it didn’t happen.

A strange sense of dominance and accomplishment enveloped Yor’s mood.

Smiling, Yor patted Happy’s head.

“Looks like you’re enjoying it, our Happy.”

Hearing that voice, Hanbyeol felt something stir inside her.