NoveLight ™
"My name is Garid. I’m the commander of the Crimson Flame Knights. Call me Garid Oppa."
"…Old man."
"…Uncle."
"Old man."
"…Commander, isn’t it a bit too much to ask to be called 'Oppa' at your age?"
"Urgh…!"
When I first met Garid, I used to call him 'old man.'
During my brief life in the slums, I had learned a few things—one of them being that not everyone was good, and just because someone showed kindness didn’t mean you should trust them blindly.
At the time, Garid was wearing armor adorned with the symbol of the Crimson Flame Knights, with its red flame design, but I had no way of recognizing that from the slums.
After all, the name "Crimson Flame Knights" was only something I had overheard in passing.
"Kana, would you like to become my adopted daughter?"
"…?"
"Oh, an adopted daughter is a child who is taken in through adoption—"
"I know what it means."
"R-really? So, what do you think?"
"…It’s so sudden. Why all of a sudden…?"
"It’s fate, you know? I was impressed by how a tiny kid like you fought monsters to the end. You seem to have some talent, too."
"…."
"Honestly, I don’t know if I can be a good father. I probably won’t be. But I promise you won’t have to dirty your hands ever again. Believe it or not, I have a lot of money."
"Adopted daughter… Sure, I’ll do it."
"Oho, really? You won’t regret it! Now, call me Dad. Come on, repeat after me—Dad."
"Old man."
"…."
After becoming Garid’s adopted daughter, as time passed and our bond grew…
"…Garid."
"Yes?"
"You said I wouldn’t have to dirty my hands. Is this stuff on my hands not water, then?"
"Haha, sorry! I’m terrible at cooking!"
"…And why don’t you ever clean?"
"Eh, it’ll just get dirty again. No point cleaning it so soon. If it gets unbearable, then I’ll clean it. Haha!"
"…."
"…."
"Garid."
"Y-yes?"
"Die."
"Wait, hold on. Kana?!"
As I began to trust him more, I started calling Garid by his name.
"Hey, Kana!"
"Commander, why are you here?"
"Is this somewhere I shouldn’t be? And stop calling me Commander, call me Dad, or just use my name like usual!"
"Commander, let’s keep personal and professional matters separate."
"Sigh… You’re something else. Why don’t you become the commander instead? …Cough!"
"…Commander!"
"Ah, this again. Don’t fuss, Kana. It’s not the first time, is it?"
"…Why don’t you just rest?"
"I can’t do that. I don’t want you becoming the commander. I can’t give up this cushy position to you."
"Cushy? More like a dog that barks when told and bites when commanded."
"That’s exactly why I can’t hand this role over to you. You’d probably charge headfirst into a fight the moment something didn’t sit well with you. How could I trust you with this?"
When I joined the Crimson Flame Knights and rose to the position of vice-commander, I called him 'Commander' in formal settings.
But in private, I still called him by his name.
Hack, cough!
"Garid…"
"Don’t worry… I won’t die until I see you get married and have kids…"
"So, you’re saying we’ll die together when I die?"
"Hey, no! Even if you don’t have kids, you should at least get married. It’s too lonely to die alone."
"You didn’t get married either."
"But I have a daughter. A beautiful, proud daughter."
"…Hmph."
Due to the aftereffects of the injury from a snake, Garid’s condition worsened, and eventually, he was confined to his bed, unable to rise.
"…I’m sorry. I wanted to see you get married, but it looks like I won’t be able to keep that promise."
"…You never promised me anything in the first place."
"Haha, is that so…? If that’s the case, I’m relieved…."
"Garid…"
"Kana…"
"…."
"Kana…ria."
"…Yes."
"My proud daughter, Kana… I love you."
"…I love you too, Dad…."
It’s funny how something as simple as calling someone 'Dad' could feel so embarrassing.
Only at the moment of parting could I finally express the feelings I had kept hidden all along.
* * *
Recently, if you asked people to name the most popular stream on Pisishik, they would, without hesitation, point to one specific broadcast.
Journey's stream, which shines at the number one spot in real-time viewer rankings.
Sure, one could say it's popular because of its high viewership numbers, but it wasn’t a given that Journey's stream would consistently rank far ahead of the one in second place every time it went live.
What made that possible was none other than the gravedigger—now revealed to be the NPC named Canaria Grassis.
With its absurd raid difficulty, which made you wonder if the developer had downed four or five bottles of alcohol before designing it, the tomb with the magnificent sword, and the relentless slaughter of anyone who approached, rejecting all comers...
Anyone could see that there was a story brimming with emotion, and people were captivated by it.
Some even found themselves smiling warmly when Kana, previously cold and prickly, finally opened up and shared her name for the first time.
The viewers, who had been absorbed in watching Journey’s efforts to befriend Kana as if it were their own story, were left speechless when Kana stood before the grave and let the word "Dad" slip from her mouth.
Not because they didn’t care—but because they didn’t understand.
Even when playing games in familiar English, people often searched desperately for Korean patches. So, there weren’t many people who had learned the Granic language, the fictional language of the game world, which was even more unfamiliar.
And the same was true for international players.
Pronunciation, thought patterns, grammar... People are naturally optimized for the language they grew up with, so learning another language suddenly is no easy feat.
"Games are meant to be fun, so why should I have to study even in a game?"
For that reason, many people gave up on learning Granic or memorized only a handful of easy words.
However, not everyone was like that. Journey and some dedicated viewers, as well as a few players, had steadily studied Granic, which allowed them to interpret what Kana had said.
"She said… Dad?"
Maybe it was an unconscious slip, a sudden longing for her father.
But could anyone really think that when she stood in front of the grave, speaking with such heart-wrenching eyes, as if she was about to shed tears at any moment?
Anyone with even the slightest sense would find themselves at a loss for words.
[You bastards…]
Are you even human??
You’ve got nothing better to steal than a little girl’s things, and in front of her, no less, trying to take her dad’s keepsake?
[Comments]
Kana standing before the grave, calling out to her dad, and the sword placed in front of it.
It was only natural to assume that the sword was her father’s keepsake.
[We didn’t know!]
I didn’t know it was a keepsake…!
How was I supposed to know, damn it; if I had known, I wouldn’t have done it either.
[Comments]
No one was really cursing them out, and most took it as a funny incident.
After some time, with plenty of laughs and chatter, posts about the war or Kana started appearing.
[The ones I feel the worst for right now]
Are the outlaws, lol.
(Image of Lo Arca Empire’s knights.jpg)
They came in thinking they’d won, but—
(Image of Kana slicing them in half.jpg)
They were wiped out in one blow, lol.
Even seeing it again, it’s ridiculous.
For her to kill someone that even the top-ranked player struggled with in one hit… Just how strong is she?
[As of today, the idol of Silia is Kana]
(Gif of Kana appearing.gif)
(Gif of Kana slicing in half.gif)
(Gif of Kana smiling.gif)
(Gif of Kana fighting Yuki.gif)
Cute and strong—she’s the GOAT.
No matter how many times I see it, she’s crazy cute.
I want to give her candy and pat her head.
[Comments]
[Am I the only one thinking this?]
Isn’t Kana the strongest NPC so far? It’s possible.
She probably has a tragic backstory.
But how does it make sense that a little girl who’s barely in middle school can beat well-trained knights?
Not just beat them, but wipe them out with two swings of her sword.
It’s so obvious the developers are pandering that it feels off-putting.
[Comments]
Either way, it was undeniable that Kana had become a community sensation.