Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

Chapter 123

Libya’s eyes blinked rapidly.

The mask of a smile vanished, replaced by a feeling of bewilderment. Her red eyes sank deeper into thought.

They say that if coincidences pile up enough, they become inevitable.

A man with black hair? That could happen. It wouldn’t be surprising for him to have amber-colored eyes as well.

But if that man were a manifestation... could this really be a coincidence?

‘...No way.’

Her red eyes blinked again, as though comparing the memories of her childhood to the reality in front of her. Her first love from childhood and the man before her were slowly starting to overlap.

But she still couldn’t be sure.

‘No, I don’t know yet.’

Honestly, it didn’t make sense. The boy she knew was taken by the knights at the age of 10, specifically for execution. Even if he somehow managed to escape... it seemed far too optimistic to believe he could have survived until now.

His face would surely be well known by now, so how could a 10-year-old boy have survived all these years? And why was he involved with the knights in the first place? She couldn’t understand it.

She had been somewhat ignorant of news from the outside world.

Having spent most of her time within their hideout, she rarely heard what was happening beyond it. And because she wasn’t close to Sephir, she hadn’t heard anything about Yor.

That was why this situation was so confusing for her.

To find some clarity, she decided to look for one more clue.

She couldn’t remember the face of the boy from her childhood, but she was absolutely certain about where the mark had been. That memory was still vivid, leaving a deep impact on her.

‘...I just need to check his collarbone.’

So, she decided to act decisively.

It would have been strange to suddenly ask to see a man’s collarbone in the middle of a fight.

Snap- Crackle-!

She created a spark in her hand again. A fire magic she had honed since her childhood when she first joined Remegaton. While her main skill was burning and melting things, she could still use it in different ways.

By greatly reducing the power and widening the range, she could burn only the clothing.

That’s exactly what she did.

"Sorry... this might sting a bit."

Whoosh!

Like sand scattering in the wind, a flurry of sparks covered him. In an instant, a huge barrier of embers appeared in front of the man.

From a distance, someone from his group, probably a woman, shouted.

"Yor!"

Yor... That must have been the man’s name.

Libya quietly stored the name in her memory.

The sparks covered him. He managed to dodge and deflect some of the embers, but it was impossible to avoid all of them. The sparks, which flew like ash, settled on his clothes, burning holes into them.

Sizzle-!

What was revealed was his sensual body glimpsed through the torn fabric.

And on his collarbone, a dark red mark appeared.

"Huh...?"

Libya tilted her head again.

The faint hope in her eyes slowly turned into certainty.

‘Could it really be him?’

Her hands began to tremble slightly.

[Wow, look at this.] [Ooh, damn.] [Chae-rin, instead of hunting, you should show us this kind of thing. Damn.] [Just when I was thinking about what to watch, you’re giving us this. Hehe.] [Perfectly burned only the clothes. Haha.] [Please burn more, please.]

Meanwhile, Chae-rin, who had accidentally filmed the scene, was receiving enthusiastic responses from viewers.

It had been a long time since her stream had captured a scene that made viewers excited in such a way.

It seemed that the group, obsessed with ‘men,’ was reacting strongly even to such a small exposure.

However, Chae-rin didn’t like the reactions.

If it were the past, she would have simply enjoyed it, but after the ‘things’ she had done, she felt a little uncomfortable with anyone looking at his body.

"Ugh, why is it only the clothes that burn? I told you to buy stronger ones. I’ll just cover the screen for now!"

She quickly turned the broadcast screen away from the duel between the faction leader and Yor, instead showing the intense battle between the knights.

"Now this is what I’m talking about. You all like this intense battle, right?"

[Shut up, shut up.] [LOL, I don’t care about that. Hurry up and show Yor.] [What I wanted to burn was Yor’s clothes, not the broadcast screen. Hehe.]

Of course, the viewers' reactions weren’t that great, but Chae-rin didn’t mind and kept filming the knights' battle.

Viewers were adaptable creatures, so she thought it would quiet down if she kept showing it.

However, she kept glancing over at Yor. Something seemed off with the atmosphere. Especially with the faction leader, Libya.

Her usual smile had disappeared, and in its place, a wistful expression had settled on her face. Libya muttered to herself.

"Yor... right. That was his name, wasn’t it? Yeah, now that I think about it, that’s it."

"Why are you suddenly calling someone else’s name? That’s creepy."

"Yor. It’s me, Libya! Don’t you remember? No, you don’t?"

Libya called out warmly, as though meeting an old friend.

But when Yor heard this, he just tilted his head.

He didn’t remember having such an odd acquaintance.

No, in fact, he had lived in the woods for so long that he hardly had any acquaintances.

Fortunately, Libya quickly provided the answer.

"Orphanage! We grew up in the same orphanage! I was always by your side when we were little!"

"Oh."

At that, a memory surfaced in his mind.

He could vaguely recall a child who had followed him around in the orphanage. Now that he thought about it, that child had white hair.

He remembered that child as someone with a cute smiling face.

"Wait a minute..."

As he thought about it, Yor’s expression turned to one of shock.

"That kid... was you?"

Libya nodded happily, her face filled with joy, longing, and excitement.

She beamed at him, saying, "I thought you were definitely dead. I thought about you so much."

Libya innocently continued.

"Come with me. I won’t lean on you like before. I can protect you now! I’ll show you a good place to live. Let’s have fun like we used to, okay?"

At first glance, it sounded like something a nostalgic lover would say. Her expression was no different.

But for Yor, hearing this felt uncomfortable.

"...Hmm, well."

He might have sounded like a jerk saying that, but honestly, he didn’t remember much about it.

His memories of childhood were mostly taken over by the blood of demons.

He was taken by the knights at 10, almost executed, and chased by knights. It seemed too hopeful to think he could have remembered childhood memories clearly.

It was more like, ‘I remember there were times like that...’ but not something he dwelled on.

"It’s a bit difficult."

In other words, her proposal was just uncomfortable.

The Remegaton group and the woman in front of him were both burdens to him.

He never expected that a kid from the orphanage would grow up to be a faction leader.

And now, it seemed her personality had become twisted. How had they managed to raise her?

"I think I’m more comfortable here than in Remegaton."

At those words, Libya’s face immediately stiffened.

"Why?"

The smile that had been on her face vanished instantly. Her emotionless eyes silently fixed on Yor.

Even the Remegaton members, who worked with her regularly, had never seen this expression.

But Yor thought it actually suited her.

Libya continued.

"By the way, why are you with the knights? Didn’t they capture you to execute you? So why are you with them now?"

"Well, it’s a bit complicated... but it’s not bad right now. And if I had to choose, I’d say I’m an adventurer."

Yor felt a strange feeling, wondering why he was having such a conversation in the middle of battle.

But it wasn’t a bad situation. Even if he didn’t remember much, he was still curious about the people he had spent time with.

He wanted to know how she ended up in Remegaton.

But it seemed something he had said triggered something in her.

"...Adventurer?"

At that word, Libya’s eyes narrowed. A deep sense of disgust appeared in her gaze.

Snap-! Crackle-!

Sparks flared up.

"Not that... I can accept other things, but not adventurers. That’s absolutely not acceptable."

Immediately, her magic surrounded them. It felt like she was making sure there was no way to escape.

The dazzling light spreading all around made Yor scowl.

"Ugh...!"

Libya spoke as she looked at him.

"I’m taking you with me, even if I have to force you. You’ll see that this place is much better than being an adventurer."

Without further warning, she charged at Yor.