The Lord Demon King is Unfathomable!

The winter night came early, as dusk sank into the snow-covered valley, people finishing their day's work gradually gathered on the open space in front of the abandoned inn.

Villagers skilled in woodworking built a wind-and-snow shelter here using lumber provided by the players. Under the shelter, makeshift stoves and cookware were set up, and with the help of life professional players, dinner was being prepared.

Today's main ingredient was pumpkin.

At everyone's suggestion, [Little Fish Cake Juice] decided to cook the locals' favorite dish—pumpkin porridge. Taking charge along with a group of NPCs assisting in preparation, they busily peeled, deseeded, and chopped the pumpkins into large chunks. The pumpkin was steamed and mashed into puree, and they were delightfully busy.

[Little Bunny Juice], on the other hand, was coming up with terrible ideas nearby. They even suggested adding pine nuts and chili to the pot... Fortunately, the little demon players eagerly awaiting tonight's meal stopped them just in time.

Well, nuts were still passable.

Pumpkin porridge with chili? The thought of that flavor was just strange enough.

"Stop messing around. I'll be sending a bowl of this pumpkin porridge over to Lord Demon King later. If you're free, why don't you help me take the pumpkin peels to Beast Ranch?" Closing the pot lid, [Little Bunny Juice] helplessly chastised their friend, who still seemed reluctant to give up.

The pumpkin peels weren't wasted. The Beast Ranch near the edge of Beifeng City had already purchased them from the NPC warehouse as feed for cows.

Even the pumpkin pulp wasn't wasted.

The newly-opened oil press factory in Beifeng City had pre-ordered this batch of kitchen scraps, and several women assisting nearby were sieving pumpkin seeds out of the pulp.

These seeds would eventually be pressed into oil.

"I just wanted to provide everyone with a bit more protein…" Little Bunny Juice sulkily put away the venison in their hands, then changed the subject. "Speaking of which, you're still running errands for the Demon King? How much affection score have you raised already?"

"Two, three thousand? Honestly, it feels like it's constantly increasing, but there's no indication of an upper limit…" Little Fish Cake Juice tilted their skeletal head and said, "Feels like a bottomless pit."

"Pfft! Isn't that just chasing a pipe dream?!" Little Bunny Juice nearly spat out, indignantly grumbling.

Little Fish Cake Juice smiled awkwardly and spoke shyly.

"It's okay. I'm not doing tasks just to raise affection score anyway… Plus, don't you think it's fun? This game lets you command NPCs to do things! And, and, I can feel it, that sense of gradually becoming important."

Not just becoming important to one or a few NPCs. They could clearly feel that as they completed more tasks, their role in the entire virtual community grew increasingly significant.

Although cooking delicious food wasn't something particularly remarkable, when others encountered trouble in the game, their first instinct was to find her for help.

NPCs felt the same way.

In reality, she was just an unnoticed nobody, yet here she was suddenly experiencing the achievement akin to being a "five-star chef."

That, too, was a form of gameplay enjoyment.

Seeing Little Fish Cake Juice's satisfied grin, Little Bunny Juice sighed helplessly, placing the venison on a nearby table and picking up the basket filled with pumpkin peels.

"You're way too easily satisfied."

Little Fish Cake Juice laughed happily and said.

"Thanks!"

"Ah, no need for thanks, it's not like this is the first time I've run errands." With that, Little Bunny Juice dashed off while holding the basket, disappearing into the forest like a rabbit slipping into the woods.

By the time the sky had turned completely dark, the steaming-hot pumpkin porridge was finally ready. [Little Bunny Juice] and the villagers who had been assisting divided portions among everyone with empty stomachs.

The enticing aroma wafted through the air, stirring the hunger pangs in people's bellies and evoking memories of winters past, along with a longing for home.

Holding the pumpkin porridge-filled bowl, Brook, a former adventurer sitting on a tree stump, suddenly realized that the soreness accumulated in his biceps had strangely shifted to his nose bridge.

He couldn't shake the feeling that something was missing this year, but the recent days of endless wandering had left him too preoccupied to think about it.

Now, holding a steaming bowl of pumpkin porridge in hand, his realization crystallized.

He rediscovered his home!

Not far off, hunters returning from hunting arrived, led by the Demon King's minions from the nearby forest.

Their cloaks were covered in layers of white snow, noses and faces reddened by the cold, resembling snowmen that had emerged from the woods.

However, despite their frosty appearances, every one of them carried a beaming smile.

Today's harvest had been exceptionally fruitful.

With the help of the little demons, the conditions of the forest were revealed completely; no prey could escape their watchful eyes.

To ensure future hunting would still yield meat, they even let smaller young deer go, targeting only the larger ones.

A group of children chased little demons, giggling gleefully as they sprinted around the open space, their boisterous laughter lightening the atmosphere significantly.

Several hunters placed their tools into the storeroom, then also picked up bowls of steaming-hot pumpkin porridge, settling themselves around the nearby bonfire.

Watching the hunters sit by the fire, a man with a beard covering his chin smiled and asked.

"How's today's harvest?"

"Absolutely incredible," the hunter grinned confidently and replied, "I've never caught so much game during winter! You really should've joined us!"