NoveLight ™
“Kana, it’s time to eat.”
“...”
Journey spoke gently, stopping Kana from opening the box of chocolates. After a brief moment of hesitation, Kana obediently put the box down. Journey, pulling food out from her inventory, held back a smile as she noticed Kana glancing longingly at the chocolates.
No one was going to steal them, so waiting a little wouldn’t hurt. Watching her, Journey couldn’t help but think, “No matter how strong she is, she’s still just a kid.”
“Today’s breakfast is… drumroll, please… ta-da, Jambon-beurre! And a side of sweet fresh fruit juice to go with it.”
Jambon means ham, and beurre means butter. True to its simple name, making jambon-beurre isn’t hard. If you have ham, butter, and bread, it’s something anyone can make easily.
The jambon-beurre Journey was holding now was something she made herself. She thought to herself that “assembly” might be a better word than “cooking,” but the thought quickly vanished.
As long as it’s tasty, that’s all that matters, right?
“This one’s for you, Kana. Lady Yuki, please take one as well.”
“...”
“Thank you.”
Journey picked out the sandwich with the most ham and handed it to Kana.
Kids need to eat plenty to grow strong. Not that the others had less ham, though. In this virtual reality, no matter what you ate, it didn’t affect your real body, so there was no need to worry about calories.
Of course, there was still a sense of fullness in Cilia, so you couldn’t stuff yourself until you exploded, but it was definitely a plus that you could eat all the delicious but unhealthy foods you wanted.
Taking a big bite of her ham-packed jambon-beurre, Journey smiled happily.
“Ah, this is the life. If I ate like this in the real world, I’d get so fat. If I finished this whole thing, I’d probably have to spend hours on a treadmill…”
“Yeah, it is pricey. Buying it from a café is way too expensive. Even making it yourself, the cost of the ingredients adds up… Bread’s expensive, ham’s expensive, and butter’s expensive. Nothing’s cheap.”
Cilia's ham tasted a little different from the ham Journey was used to, but not by much.
‘Well, ham is a preserved food after all.’
Salted and dried for preservation, so it makes sense that there wouldn’t be much difference. Journey nodded to herself, satisfied with her reasoning.
‘Anyway…’
Her eyes shifted to another spot.
A small girl, dressed in pink, sat quietly, taking calm bites of her jambon-beurre. She wasn’t being noisy or sloppy, just nibbling quietly.
Perhaps because Journey now knew the girl’s status, even though she wasn’t using a knife and fork, there was a sense of grace in her movements.
‘Who would’ve thought Kana was the captain of a royal knights’ order?’
At her age?
Looking at her appearance, it seemed unbelievable, but when you considered the hidden power behind her gentle exterior, it started to make sense.
Journey could confidently say that the most popular figure in Cilia Online right now was without a doubt Kana.
First, the discovery of the new raid boss, then the name “Kana” and her soft voice, and finally her revealed appearance and overwhelming power. Each of these events set the community ablaze.
Every time the flames spread, not only gaming communities but even non-gaming forums buzzed with news about Kana.
Considering how popular Cilia Online was, with its large user base and the nature of forums where every little thing was discussed, it wasn’t surprising.
Without a main quest or guide system to steer players, many people logged into the community just to gather information.
Because of the three waves of hype surrounding Kana, even people who didn’t play the game knew about her.
The ripple effect was larger than expected.
Some people, like Journey, became interested in learning Granik, while others began exploring the history of the fallen kingdom, uncovering long-buried information.
Among the stories that surfaced was that of the Crimson Flame Knights, the most prestigious order of knights in Grassis.
Details about the existence of the knights, the castle of Grassis, which was bestowed upon the captain, and the names of past captains came to light.
There was little information about the final captain, but even the bits and pieces were enough to deduce Kana’s identity.
Journey could now understand why the Empire’s knights had called Kana a criminal.
“Hmm? You’re already done? …Wait, don’t tell me you didn’t like it?”
Journey looked at Kana, who had set down her sandwich with almost half of it still remaining.
Could it be that she didn’t like it?
Journey nervously asked, but Kana shook her head.
“I’m full.”
Kana answered matter-of-factly, carefully wrapping the half-eaten jambon-beurre back in its paper and setting it aside.
At least she wasn’t lying.
As Journey sighed in relief, Kana picked up the box of chocolates, opened it without hesitation, and popped a piece into her mouth.
Chew chew.
“Pffft…”
Her expression hadn’t changed, but for some reason, it felt like her mood was different.
Journey couldn’t help but wonder if Kana had deliberately eaten less so she could save room for the chocolates.
“This is peaceful.”
If she told Yuki, she probably wouldn’t understand, but Journey enjoyed this kind of peacefulness.
That’s why, when she traveled, she often sought out quiet, remote places and frequently enjoyed calm camping trips.
She wished these tranquil days would continue forever.
‘But that’s probably too much to hope for.’
Journey glanced at the chat.
70% of the comments shared her sentiment, 20% were curious or demanding something, 5% were trying to be funny, and the remaining 5% were complaining or being random.
‘Only’ 5%, but considering the viewer count, it wasn’t a small number.
At first, there weren’t this many, but over time the number had grown until it reached this level.
‘Honestly, we’ve held out for a long time.’
No matter how beautiful a landscape is, if you look at it too long, it becomes dull. Thanks to Kana, they had managed to hold viewers’ attention for longer than expected, but Journey could sense that it was time to move on.
Since she was streaming, she couldn’t completely ignore the audience’s sentiments.
There were still plenty of people—mainly foreigners—who wanted to see Kana, but that wouldn’t last forever.
‘I’ll use this place as a base and explore the surrounding area. I’ll call it “Exploring the Lands of Grassis.”’
Not immediately, but soon, she would need to start traveling again.
With those plans in mind, Journey popped the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth.
Smack!
Before Journey could even swallow, Yuki, who had finished eating earlier, couldn’t hold herself back and attacked—only to get smacked down with a sword and end up sprawled out on the ground.
Thanks to the bribe, it seemed Kana wasn’t in a particularly bad mood despite knocking Yuki flat.
Without any blood on it, Kana habitually flicked her sword once before sheathing it and sitting back down.
“Are you alright?”
“...Heh heh…”
“...Oh.”
Journey shuddered at the eerie laugh that came in response.
She couldn’t understand what was so enjoyable about getting beaten down, especially since Journey hated pain herself.
At that moment, as Kana stared at Yuki writhing on the ground, she suddenly spoke.
“Don’t come back anymore.”
“Huh?”
Journey and the chat were taken aback by the sudden, cold dismissal.
Yuki, of course, didn’t understand and didn’t react.
Journey had never heard Kana speak so firmly before. She had “spoken” through her sword plenty of times, but she had never issued a verbal command to leave.
Maybe she hadn’t needed to because Journey didn’t understand her language at first.
“Yuki isn’t a bad per—”
Just as Journey began to defend Yuki, Kana’s gaze turned toward her.
“You too.”
“W-wait, me too?”
Kana nodded.
Suddenly, Journey felt like an arrow had been shot through her heart. She couldn’t believe Kana would discard her so easily after everything.
“What? Why?!”
Journey, recalling a line from a novel she once read, felt like she had just been tossed aside like an old shoe.
Kana responded with a few brief words that Journey could understand.
“I’m leaving here.”
“...Leaving?”
Journey wanted to ask where, but the Granik word for destination escaped her, so she couldn’t.
Instead, her eyes lit up as she shouted.
“L-let me come too!”
“...Huh?”
“I want to go with you!”
This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and Journey couldn’t contain her excitement.
She had just been thinking about leaving, and now Kana was talking about going. It was perfect timing, as if she had read Journey’s mind.
‘...Of course, Kana still has to agree.’
Realizing she was getting ahead of herself, Journey bit her lip and anxiously waited for Kana’s response.
Kana’s expression was neutral, neither pleased nor displeased.
Journey had to admit that she had little to offer Kana. Her skills were too weak to be considered a companion, and she wasn’t a native of Cilia, so she wasn’t needed as a guide. She couldn’t even continue bringing food like before.
Desperately searching for a reason to come along, Journey finally thought of something.
“Translation! Kana, you don’t know Arkysh, right?”
“...”
“I can translate for you! It’s frustrating when you can’t communicate!”
If she could communicate better, she could be more persuasive.
Journey spoke more earnestly than she ever had before.
Kana blinked a few times, as if wondering why Journey was acting this way, and then after what felt like three autumns had passed, she finally spoke.
“Do as you like.”
“R-really?”
Kana nodded.
“Yes!!”
Journey’s sudden outburst startled Kana, who widened her eyes in surprise, but Journey was too excited to notice.
All the anxiety from a moment ago vanished into thin air.
“Who cares?! I’m going on a journey with Kana!”
Ba-dum! Kana has joined the party!
Journey laughed out loud, caught up in the fantasy, unaware that Kana was watching her like she had lost her mind.