The World Tree continued to grow, and soon its branches bore fruit one by one.

In about a week, many new lives would come into existence.

All that was left to do was wait.

“You seem curious about something,” the Demon King remarked.

“Ask me anything!” I replied eagerly.

He asked why I had come to the Demon Realm.

I explained everything that had happened, including the story of the bounty on my head. His smile widened, and there was a dangerous glint in his eyes.

“Oh? So they dared to mess with our Demon Realm?”

“Uh, no, I don’t think they specifically targeted the Demon Realm…” 

“Yuna, you’re the Duchess of the Demon Realm. In other words, targeting you is the same as challenging all of the Demon Realm.”

Is that really how it worked?

My head was spinning with the complexity of it all, and he gently patted my head.

“Don’t worry. I’ll take care of this for you.”

“Thank you!”

I didn’t realize at the time what consequences this would bring.

---

An alert sounded in the control center of Arcana Online, where the AI known as Eve was having a critical malfunction.

“Manager! It’s an emergency! There’s an anomaly with Eve!”

“Oh no, not traveler ID #1 again, is it?”

“This time it’s worse!”

Checking the monitor, the manager’s legs gave out, and he sank into his chair.

“Manager?!”

“Why is this happening already…?”

On the large screen, a golden message glowed:

[Main Scenario Quest conditions have been met.]
[CHAPTER 1: Protect the Avalon Empire.]
[Time until invasion: 239 hours, 59 minutes, 59 seconds.]

The AI had predicted this event wouldn’t occur for another three years, so why was it happening now?

And why was the target suddenly the Avalon Empire instead of the World Tree?

This was a disaster.

There was no choice but to resort to their emergency measures.

“Could you fetch what’s in the bottom drawer of my desk?”

“Uh, yes, sir…”

The confused employee retrieved a document from the drawer—the manager’s resignation letter.

“What… what is this, Manager…?”

“Can’t you tell? It’s my resignation letter. This is too much; I don’t want to deal with this again.”

“N-No, you can’t do that!”

The employee quickly tore up the resignation letter.

“No! That was my only copy!”

“You’re not going anywhere! Don’t even think about quitting!”

“Then what do we do about that?” the manager shouted, pointing to the screen, while the employee looked away.

He was at his wits’ end, trying to figure out where this mess even started.

“I’ll contact the CEO and try to talk to traveler ID #1.”

Just then, the CEO walked into the room.

“The main scenario quest started earlier than expected, huh?”

“Yes… it’s all because of traveler ID #1!”

The manager pleaded, but to no avail. The CEO simply patted his shoulder, saying, “I believe in you, Manager.”

This was his chance to hand in his resignation—if only he still had it.

“Once the main scenario quest is over, I’ll arrange a group bonus and an overseas trip for the team. Just hang in there.”

“Yes, sir! You can count on us!”

With financial motivation, anything felt doable.

After the CEO left, the manager turned to his team.

“First, locate traveler ID #1.”

“Um… that’s the problem. We can’t locate them.”

“…”

If they couldn’t locate her, even with their monitoring of the entire Arcana continent, it meant she wasn’t on the continent.

If she was in the Demon Realm… then everything made sense.

“Send a team to the Demon Realm!”

“They’ll be slaughtered the moment they arrive, Manager!”

The Demon Realm was a place ruled by the law of the jungle.

The team’s level was far too low to stand a chance.

This was hopeless…

“Where’s the torn-up resignation letter?”

“Manager?!”

---

While the main scenario quest stirred up the player community, there was one group conspicuously quiet: the Red Revolution.

As the largest faction, their stance would sway the opinions of countless players, but they remained silent.

Numerous guilds tried to send spies to gather information, but the spies were swiftly caught and punished.

In the dead of night, assassins from the Red Revolution would find the spies, hang them upside down, and sprinkle salt over them. After one experience, no player dared approach the Red Revolution’s base again.

Meanwhile, Yuna, leader of the Red Revolution and a member of the Frey Guild, was at the library, studying.

Her parents had recently scolded her for spending too much time on games, and she was in danger of having her console confiscated.

After all, she was a student and had been gaming a bit too much lately…

She took a short break, got a drink from a vending machine, and spotted a familiar silhouette.

“Leah!”

“Yuna!”

When I waved, Leah ran over and hugged me. Recently, she’d been more affectionate than usual.

I found myself happily nestled in her embrace, but then she let go.

“Sometimes, it feels like I have a little brother.”

“That… that’s not true!”

“Then why are you stammering?”

“Haha…”

They say women’s intuition is scary, and it’s true.

We sat on a nearby bench, drinking our beverages and chatting. Leah thanked me, saying the equipment I gave her had really helped her level up faster recently.

“We’re close; it’s nothing.”

“Actually…”

She looked at me with a determined expression.

“I think this is an opportunity. I’m planning to take gaming more seriously.”

That made sense; in her previous life, she had been successful through gaming, with sports cars and buildings…

Hold on… if I helped Leah now, would she take care of me in the future?

She even moved next door just to look after me.

When she grabbed my hands and promised to help me with anything I needed, I hugged her, feeling grateful. She was as soft as ever.

After bidding Leah goodbye and watching her walk away, I headed back to the library to study. But a thought struck me.

Should I try making money through gaming too…?

No, my parents wouldn’t let me get away with that.

I’d think about it once I got into college.

This wasn’t a decision to rush.

As I stood there daydreaming, a familiar voice piped up.

“Grr…”

“Oh? You enjoyed the tteokbokki we had last time? Let’s grab some on the way home.”

Ever since coming to this world, Yong-yong had developed a taste for food. Back in the Demon Realm, he only ate mana stones, but here he’d become a foodie, especially for spicy dishes.

Last time, we went out for malatang, and it cost a small fortune…

I even almost called my friend Nia to apologize, but she beat me to it.

“That’s it! You need to eat well to grow strong!”

“Uh… sure…”

I had a good friend in her.

Later that night, after studying, I stopped by a snack shop on my way home, grabbed tteokbokki and assorted fried snacks, and even got an extra serving to take home for Leah.

My parents greeted me as I walked in.

“Our daughter’s back?”

“Good job studying.”

“Hehe, I’m home! Oh! I picked this up on the way!”

My parents didn’t usually enjoy snacks, so I bought just a small amount. But the moment they laid eyes on it, they devoured it all.

I hadn’t expected them to enjoy it that much.

“It’s been a while since we had something like this. It’s delicious.”

“Thank you, dear.”

Then I heard footsteps.

“What’s that smell? It smells amazing!”

With a flourish, Leah appeared, only to find empty containers. My parents quickly vanished, leaving Leah and me alone in an awkward silence.

“Uh… where’s mine?”

“Mom and Dad… ate it all…”

“Where’s mine?”

“Shall we go get some more…?”

“Yes!”

Going out with Leah always felt a bit awkward.

When we were siblings, we might have exchanged a few words a day at most. But since we’d become sisters, we talked so much more.

And the topics changed every day.

“So, is there anyone you’re interested in?”

“No! Absolutely not!”

“I get it, Yuna.”

“What?”

No matter how much I insisted that I just wasn’t interested, she kept telling me I’d find someone nice someday.

It was driving me crazy; I had no intention of dating.

As we walked to the snack shop, hand in hand, we talked about everything under the stars, just like we used to when we went camping as kids.