Since the day Yoo Chaerin first visited the cave, many others had followed.

And among those visitors were some truly bad people.

One such person had even tried to force themselves on Yor.
Yor had barely managed to kill that wicked player and claimed their items as spoils.
Now, showing those items to Chaerin, he recounted the incident with an irritated expression.

'...What the hell.'

Chaerin cursed inwardly as she listened to Yor’s story.
The cause of all this was obvious, even to her.

'This is all because of me.'

Sure, the blame ultimately lay with the person who committed the crime, but the root cause was undeniably her.
Her broadcast had attracted too many unwanted visitors, and now it was clear how deeply she was responsible.

But aside from her guilt, one thing caught her eye—the dagger in front of her.
She had thought it looked fancy at first, but the more she looked, the more she realized what it was.

'Isn't that... a level 75-restricted dagger?'

She had been eyeing it for a while, planning to buy one when she leveled up.
But here was Yor, holding a weapon she couldn’t even use yet, and he called it spoils of battle.

That thought led her to an unsettling realization.

Wait a minute, does that mean this guy defeated a level 75+ player?

She had always known that Yor, as an NPC living in the Forbidden Forest, wasn’t ordinary.
But to defeat such a high-level player? What level could he possibly be?

Chaerin made a mental note to never cross Yor again.

“Huu...”

Yor sighed after finishing his explanation, his expression still tense but no longer accusatory.
He hadn’t been seeking a solution—just venting his frustration.

Seeing him like that, Chaerin felt a deep sense of guilt.
This was one of the curious aspects of Demons Saga—what players did outside the game could directly affect the NPCs within it.

That’s because Demons Saga was a real-time open RPG.
Once a location or NPC went viral, hordes of players would flock to it.

The game’s high-performance AI would then interact with these players, adapting and producing results accordingly.

There had been instances like this before, where NPCs voiced their dissatisfaction after gaining too much attention.
Notable examples included the commander of the Empire’s 4th Knights and the guild receptionist, Kyle.

Chaerin could’ve made some excuses.

After all, how was she supposed to know there was someone living in that cave?
She had stumbled upon Yor purely by chance while streaming content, which just happened to attract a huge viewership.

Granted, she had gained a ton of views and subscribers from it... but still, she hadn’t known this would happen.

That said, the attempted assault was a pretty big deal.
While things had calmed down since, incidents like these still occasionally occurred due to the sheer number of players.

After pondering it for a while, Chaerin finally spoke up.

“...There’s a way we could catch that bad player.”

“What?”

Yor’s amber eyes glinted with interest, a hint of light returning to them.
He really is handsome, Chaerin thought as she opened her mouth again.

“I could use my broadcast to put out word and track them down.”

She hadn’t turned her stream on today.
After the 4th Knight Commander incident, it became known that reckless broadcasting could lower NPC favorability.

And honestly, fear of being kicked out right away had been her main reason for not streaming.

She praised her past self for the restraint—if she had broadcast her journey to the cave again, more people might have found it.

But now, it was time to use the power of broadcasting.
Bad players like that had to be dealt with, and other players would want to help.

Yor’s first reaction was negative, of course.

“What? You’re telling me to use that broadcast thing again when it’s the reason all of this happened in the first place?”

“Don’t worry! We’re inside the cave, so no one will know the location!”

“That’s not the point. I just... don’t like the idea of it.”

“So, you’re going to let that bad person run free? What if they come back, holding a grudge?”

“...Hmph.”

After a bit more convincing, Yor reluctantly nodded in agreement.

"Alright, look closely. See this red dot next to me? When this shows up, it means I'm streaming, so remember it for the future in case you need to know."

Technically, it wasn’t necessary to mention this because anyone could tell with the Player’s Eye on, but this was something new I didn’t know. That red dot was visible to everyone, not just the player.
It made sense—there had to be some way for people here to recognize it as well.

'But... I don’t see this other thing.'

As Chaerin explained, I glanced at the window floating next to her vision. At least, what I could make out—what she called the “chat window.”
Interestingly, she hadn’t mentioned anything about that chat window, which meant others likely couldn’t see it.

The stream had just gone live, and her chat was already filling with casual greetings and remarks.

"[Heyyo]"
"[What's up]"
"[Oh wait, is that the NPC again?]"
"[Did you meet him again?]"
"[Damn, Chaerin, I knew I could count on you!]"

Among them, several people recognized me and reacted.
There weren’t too many viewers yet, but the attention was unmistakable.
That attention felt strange—overwhelming, but also fascinating.

Then there were... other comments.

"[Is it just me, or is the NPC's outfit thinner this time, hehe]"
"[Wow, those shoulders though ㅗㅜㅑ]"
"[Damn, you can tell he’s got a hot bod under there]"
"[Chaerin, come on, ask him to take off just one more layer for us]"
"[Y’all are gross, seriously.]"

For context, I was wearing a leather tank top and a fur coat at the moment.
Though the weather was warming up, the cave was still pretty chilly without direct sunlight.
I wasn’t bundled up in thick winter furs, but I still had to wear something to keep warm.

So, yeah, my outfit had lightened up, but I didn’t expect that kind of reaction.

'This has always been strange.'

But now I felt certain—my suspicions from before were confirmed.
The way people reacted in the chat, and that odd incident with the woman who tried to assault me... something was definitely off.

And now I was sure: the gender roles were reversed in their world, just like they were here.
It was disappointing, in a way—I had briefly wondered if I might be connected to the world I came from... but no, that wasn’t the case.

Still, it wasn’t all bad.
After all, the attention—even if a bit lewd—was flattering. I didn’t get much positive attention these days, so any form of admiration was surprisingly... nice.

"[But why is Chaerin’s forehead so red?]"
"[Looks like she got smacked hard... did someone hit her?]"
"[Chaerin, are you getting beat up now? Seriously?]"

The viewers started to notice her bright red forehead and teased her relentlessly.

Streams, from what I understood, were all about the back-and-forth between the streamer and the audience.
So naturally, they pounced the moment they saw something to poke fun at.
Usually, Chaerin would join in on the banter, but this time, she seemed more serious.

"Everyone, hang on. I’ve got something important to tell you."

She addressed the viewers, explaining the situation—
how one of her viewers, with bad intentions, had tracked down the NPC (me), tried to commit a crime, and was ultimately stopped by Yor.

The chat’s reactions were mixed.

"[His name is Yor? Noted...]"
"[Chaerin, why didn’t you tell us his name earlier?!]"
"[What a mess, something always happens in this game]"
"[People like that need to get permabanned, seriously]"
"[Wait, but if it’s just an NPC, does it even matter? (Genuinely asking)]"
"[You’re being selfish, Chaerin! We all want to interact with the NPC!]"
"[What if the NPC dies? You’d never be able to interact with him again.]"

Some were simply taking notes on my name, while others were angry about the situation.

"So, do you think we can track down that person? We’ve got some clues, like this..."

"[That’s a dagger, right?]"
"[Isn’t that a level 75-restricted dagger?]"
"[That’s a high-level weapon, so it should help narrow things down. Definitely a thief.]
"[You could go ask the auction house NPC—they’ve got a great memory and records.]"
"[Wait, did Yor really kill a level 75 thief? What level is he, then?!]"
"[Could just be luck, right?]"

What surprised me was how seriously they took the issue.
To these people, this was just a game—they could’ve easily ignored it.
Yet here they were, trying to help and track down the culprit.

I was relieved to learn that NPCs like me were more valuable to them than I’d expected.
In my mind, I considered myself human, but to be treated as important by the otherworlders as well... that was a pleasant surprise.

My wariness toward them decreased, if only a little.

Just as I was relaxing, leaning back slightly—

Sssskk...

“Oh.”
"Uh..."

With the movement, my coat slipped off my shoulders, revealing more of the thin tank top underneath and... well, some of my body.
Reactions were instant.

"[ㅗㅜㅑㅗㅜㅑ]"
"[Pyaaa, look at that...]"
"[Damn, look at those abs, I’m dying.]"

I glanced over at Chaerin, whose face had turned a deep shade of red.
Her eyes darted around, unsure of where to look. Finally, in a small, almost pleading voice, she spoke.

“Um... c-could you, like... cover yourself again?”

I couldn’t help but chuckle. Making a playful gesture, I lifted the front of my tank top just a bit and smirked.

"Why? Want to see more?"

It was a bit out of character for me, and honestly, I found it kind of cringe, but the reaction was worth it.

"[Yesyesyesyesyes]"
"[That sly fox!]"
["OptapNyaongi" has donated 50,000 won!]
-"Chaerin, you’re the best!"
["skadur123" has donated 10,000 won!]
-"Oppa, I love you!"

It was almost amusing how much their gaze felt like I was being watched like some zoo animal.
And the truth was, it really wasn’t that different.

The only thing I had wrong was assuming it would feel bad.

Why would I think that? I’d never been a zoo animal, after all.

“Ook ook.”

Being a zoo animal didn’t seem all that bad.