Popular NPC in a Gender-Reversed Game

Chapter 137

“Con artist…?”

I asked again, puzzled by her harsh words. The Belled I had seen was undeniably intimidating and grotesque, so it was odd that she was calling him a con artist out of nowhere.

“Well, he may look ugly, but when I fought him, it wasn’t easy. He even called himself a lord,” I explained briefly, recounting the recent events.

I told her how this demon named Belled appeared and claimed to rule the northern lands. And, in line with his supposed stature, he managed to take down a king in just two days.

After hearing this, she scoffed.

“A lord? Ha! That bastard called himself a lord? What a joke. I can’t believe this…”

“So you’re saying that’s not true?”

“Of course not! That bastard doesn’t have the power or the ability to be a lord. He’s one of the most despised demons in the Demon Realm. He’s only running wild here because this is an alternate world.”

“…”

“Besides, there’s no way a king would appear so early. Do you know how much mana is required to summon a high-ranking demon? The only reason a demon like him, who requires less mana, would show up is because he’s pretending to be a king. Tch, judging by the northern claim, it seems he managed to get permission from his master, but...”

As I listened to her, a question arose in my mind.

Her tone was unusually hostile, even for a demon. Normally, demons are cautious when talking about their kind, but she was speaking so openly, almost angrily. It felt odd, like something was off.

I couldn’t help but think that this might be a clue. So, I decided to ask her directly.

“You’ve been really emotional about this. Did you lose to him or something?”

“Ah, I DIDN’T lose!!!”

So she did lose.

It seemed my comment triggered something, as her expression twisted even more into a scowl. She was clearly angry, but with her lack of intellect, it wasn’t really intimidating.

After she huffed for a moment, she finally sighed deeply and continued.

“Ugh... well, even though he’s not a true king, he could be nearly as strong as one if certain conditions are met. The problem is that those conditions are nearly impossible to meet.”

She went on to speak ill of Belled for a little longer. It was somewhat embarrassing to hear her talk this way after having lost to him, but it still gave me some useful information. It was completely different from the rumors I had heard.

That’s why she was calling him a con artist, I suppose.

From what I gathered, I learned a few things: First, Belled wasn’t a king, but he still had some sort of connection to the northern region. Second, considering how she spoke about him, it seemed that she wasn’t aligned with the northern faction.

This is the kind of information we can extract, not just from what people say, but from the subtle clues hidden in their words. If we’re able to make reasonable inferences, we can uncover unexpected truths.

But there was still one thing I wasn’t sure about.

What exactly were the “conditions” she mentioned? What could those conditions be that would allow such a con artist to bring down a kingdom in just two days?

Honestly, I had a guess, but to be sure, I decided to ask her directly.

“So what’s his power?”

“I can’t tell you.”

“After talking all that, now you won’t say?”

“I’m sorry, but there are things I just can’t say. I would like to tell you, but it directly violates the rules. I don’t want to be caught later and end up getting killed by the northern king.”

“…Hmm.”

I nodded. If she was going that far, I couldn’t push further.

“Well… since we’ve known each other for a while, I can give you one piece of advice.”

As I was thinking, she suddenly spoke up again.

“Don’t shrink back.”

“…”

“The moment you shrink back, you’ve already lost. So don’t let your momentum falter.”

Hearing her words, I stood up. I figured I’d gotten enough information for now. I gave her a parting thank you.

“Thanks. This has been really helpful.”

“Well, since I gave you some advice, you should be grateful. Hmm, speaking of which… don’t you have anything for me today?”

As I was about to leave, she hesitated and asked me. Her green eyes gleamed with anticipation.

It suddenly occurred to me that whenever I visited, I always brought something for her to eat.

She spent so much time at the altar that it must have been boring for her. And it was amusing to see her gobbling up what I gave her, like a little bird.

But today, I hadn’t brought anything. I had come here in a hurry because of the Belled issue.

I quickly apologized.

“Sorry. I didn’t bring anything today. I’ll make sure to bring something next time.”

Her face hardened into a cold expression.

“Forget everything I just told you. Foolish.”

It seemed she was a little upset.

The demon’s appearance in the arena quickly spread through the community. It was already near the Empire, and many otherworldly beings had been watching the match at the time.

The news spread quickly, especially on the community platforms. Some even managed to snap pictures of the event.

[Did they really design this to be won?]

(png) This was taken just before the teleportation happened. How the hell does an arm cover half the sky? ???

[What the hell]

[Wow, that’s disgusting. Is that the demon that appeared this time?]

[Yeah, I think so. I was there almost until the end, and I remember seeing him barely block some attacks.]

[The neighboring kingdom was caught off guard too. It’s impressive that someone managed to stop it, but who was fighting him?]

[Yor, that NPC was fighting him. I think I came back just as the hammer was about to fall. I’m a little worried… he probably got crushed.]

[No way, really? He was there? What a fucking unlucky bastard.]

[Yeah, the guy’s been getting a lot of bad luck.]

[Haha, really? You’re saying someone as powerful as him got crushed by a demon?]

[Yeah, but you know... I don’t think anyone saw it, so we’ll never know what really happened.]

Unfortunately, no one believed Hanbyeol’s account, but at least it was confirmed that she survived. Yor, on the other hand, had yet to show up.

And the situation continued to unfold.

[Attention, those participating in the subjugation team]

We’ve figured out Belled’s general movements. We’re going to attack before he reaches the Empire. The knights who had been receiving refugees rushed toward the demon’s location.

If you’re in the subjugation team, head out to the plains right now.

[Ugh... this looks tough]

[But it’s been ages since we’ve had a subjugation war.]

[Are we getting our items back if we die?]

[Well, they’re offering compensation just for participating and the return of lost items... but we need to win first.]

[Shit, we might just get shut down if we lose, but I’m joining anyway.]

[? ???? ???? ???????????!]

[What’s this red-headed freak talking about?]

[He said the Russians are joining in too. They want revenge.]

[???? ???????????!!!]

[What’s with this ice-cold Russian asshole?]

[He said if we keep calling him red-headed, he’ll kill us.]

[Oh... well, okay.]

[Right, we’re sharing servers with the Russians now.]

The demons’ sudden appearance, the reaction to it, and the actions that followed. The Empire, having experienced several demon invasions, quickly adapted to the situation.

All of this had unfolded within just a day of Belled’s appearance.

With a subtle feeling of tension and fear, people slowly gathered toward the plains.

The next day, Yor finally returned to his cave. The altar was deep underground, so it was common for him to spend the night there after a visit.

Not to mention, he still had to calm down Barbatos, who was probably upset with him.

“Ugh… what kind of high-level demon was that? Just a kid, really. A kid.”

Yor arrived at the cave around morning. And as soon as he entered, he saw Haneul, waiting anxiously.

“Where have you been all this time!”

She rushed toward him the moment she saw him, inspecting his body to check for injuries.

It was strange that she had come so early. The forest was a considerable distance away, and getting here by morning would have been tough.

Which meant she had either rushed here since early morning or arrived last night and spent the night here.

Either way, it was clear that she had been worried about him.

Yor figured she must have heard about the incident in the arena.

He felt grateful for her concern and opened his mouth, though he chose to keep the demon issue hidden.

“I just... went somewhere. But more importantly, where’s Belled?”

“Are you asking about that now? How long has it been... don’t you think you should rest?”

“No, I think I know how to stop him. If we leave him alone, things will get worse.”

Even though there were conditions to meet, she had said that if they were fulfilled, Belled could match the strength of a king.

And no one knew his weaknesses yet.

If things went wrong, it could cause huge damage to the Empire.

In response to Yor’s question, Haneul answered calmly.

“I heard he’s still coming toward the Empire. To stop him, the subjugation team has already moved out. Chaerin, who arrived early, was watching the broadcast, and it looks like a battle will happen soon.”

“What?”

Yor frowned slightly.

He immediately took Haneul in his arms and rushed outside the forest.

Even though he lived alone, he couldn’t just sit by and watch as someone else died needlessly.

“Where is it? Let’s go now.”

Without hesitation, Yor began running toward the battle site.