A visitor

(Bersleid: Second one)

“The enemies around here are strong. Well, I was saved thanks to you, umm…”

“It’s Crim.”

“Crim. You’re strong.”

“I-Is that so…”

Crim was embarrassed and scratched her head at the man’s excited compliments, which included hand gestures.

The player called himself [Ryunosuke].

It seems that he travelled all the way here for the purpose of sightseeing, because he was curious about the information he saw on a quest.

While we were talking, we left the forest and arrived at the town of Navel.

“Welcome to [Izumigirikyo Navel]. I think this is probably the site where the first emperor lived, that Ryunosuke was looking for.”

“Heh… I wonder what kind of place it is, it’s an idyllic and scenic place, isn’t it?”

“Right. I really like the scenery, too.”

A faint mist hangs over the lake. He says that while gazing at the shadow of the old castle floating on the lake, faintly visible in the depths… Ryunosuke.

Hearing his words, Crim was happy to find someone who shared the same impression, and with a grin, she agreed.

However, he looked around restlessly as if he suddenly realized something was wrong.

“… there are no other players.”

“Yeah, it’s still just Ryunosuke, the only one who’s come this far.”

Only NPCs who originally lived in this town come and go. I’ve never seen another player before.

Naturally, Ryunosuke realised it and asked the question.

“Why is Miss Crim in a place like this?”

“…Because of a glitch, I was the only one who started in a strange place.”

It’s kind of an embarrassing thing, so I replied with a wry smile.

“It can’t be helped… wouldn’t it be better to ask the GM to deal with it? 　With the strength of the enemies around here, with the initial stats, it would be tough, so why…”

“Hmm, well, that’s true, but… they said that they won’t allow it, unless they reset the exchanges I’ve had so far, because I will have various advantages.”

“No… but that is no reason to continue in hard mode like this…”

――It happened right as Ryunosuke was about to say that.

Hiding in the shadows and watching for opportunities, ever since Crim entered the town, now that she was close enough to her, while the man was conversing with her, she jumped out of her hiding place.

She aimed straight at Crim’s stomach and hit her with her whole body. It was like she was sucked into her belly without missing her aim――

“Onee-chan, welcome back!”

“Oops! You’re getting better at tackling, Juna.”

I held the girl who jumped at me, while spinning around and hugged her while killing her momentum, and started stroking her head.

“But it’s dangerous, so don’t jump on people out of nowhere, okay?”

“Yes, I’m sorry”

After nodding “OK” to Juna’s sincere apology, she turned to face Ryunosuke again.

“… Well, it’s like this. If you move to the first town, you’ll reset the relationship with the NPCs, so no way.”

Embarrassed and blushing, Crim scratched her cheek and smiled wryly.

“Hah… Certainly, this guy can’t be easily cut and thrown away.”

Ryunosuke couldn’t help but smile wryly at Crim and Juna’s seemingly good relationship.

Juna, who was in Crim’s arms, tilted her head as she alternately looked up at the two of them as they continued their conversation.

“…Who is this uncle?”

“Hmm, my friend, maybe?”

“Oh, nice to meet you. I’m Ryunosuke. You are…”

“It’s Juna! Nice to meet you, Uncle Ryu!” (Bersleid: Adorable troublemaker.)

Juna isn’t a shy person, so she quickly opens up to Ryuunosuke.

From the fact that he was stroking her head with a gentle smile, and the fact that he seemed to be used to dealing with children, it seemed that he was not a bad person either, and Crim breathed a sigh of relief.

He played around like that for a while…

“Hey, don’t run around like that!”

“I’m sorry, Onii-chan!”

Hearing George’s voice calling Juna from afar, she rushes over.

Seeing him off…Ryunosuke muttered.

“That’s good… I wouldn’t reset this, for sure.”

“Right?”

“Yeah yeah, I also have a daughter in real life, so I really understand. If such a cute girl said, [Who is this uncle?]… I wouldn’t be able to let go…

Ryunosuke sees off Juna, who runs towards George with a smile on her face.

For some reason, Crim proudly puffed out her chest.

“… However, I’ve never seen an NPC that is so intimate with a single player.”

“Really?”

“Yeah… the Windham NPCs I know only give me friendly replies, even if I’m a regular.”

Saying that, Ryunosuke made a serious expression, as if he was thinking about something, while stroking his beard with his fingers.

“… Maybe it’s because you were the only player to interact with them?”

“Ah… I see”

Originally, they were supposed to interact with a large number of players, and if that happened, the NPCs living here, would have had a weaker impression of each individual. (Bersleid: The the good old city vs countryside.)

However, until now, there was only one player in this town, Crim.

And then… Crim ended up monopolizing the affection, that was supposed to be shared by all the players. (Bersleid: Emotional conquest. I think it is clear, who this area belongs to.)

(Of course, this is just a guess… but it is convincing.)

“Then, there aren’t many NPCs there, that you can get along with this much, right?”

“I guess. Take care of her, ‘Onee-chan’?”

“Yeah…I know.”

Needless to say, I love the people of this town, starting with George, Juna, and Ludger, and I am responsible, for making them like me.

Therefore, Crim gave a clear nod.