The main scenario quest had ended, and I was enjoying some peaceful time, having bid farewell to the Demon King.

Of course, I was studying in the meantime.

I started my day with studying at the library, grabbed a quick lunch, and continued studying until the evening.

After timing my exit from the library to match my parents' return from work, I was on my way home when my older sister texted me, asking me to pick up mint chocolate ice cream.

When I walked in with bags of ice cream and snacks from the convenience store, my parents and sister welcomed me warmly.

Although my sister seemed more excited to see the bags in my hand.

After a quick pang of jealousy, I basked in my parents’ hugs and praises for working hard.

“Aww, give me more praise!” I said in a playful tone.

My mom’s eyes widened.

“Oh my, since when did my daughter become so cute?”

As I enjoyed the warmth of my parents’ affection, Yong-yong, my dragon companion, started fussing for food.

“Kyu-uuung!”

“Hm? Tteokbokki? I’ll buy you some later.”

“Kyu-uuu!”

I tried to resist, but when he looked up at me with tears in his big, round eyes, I couldn’t refuse.

At that moment, my mom gently patted Yong-yong on the head.

“Let’s have dinner first, okay?”

“Kyuung!”

Why was he listening to my mom better than me?!

When I looked at him in surprise, he muttered something about not listening to the lowest-ranked person in the household.

I pinched his cheeks, insisting he repeat himself, but he just refused, pleading the fifth.

This little brat! I couldn’t let this slide.

After dinner, I used a gift card from Nia to order some tteokbokki, and Yong-yong drooled as he eagerly awaited the delivery.

But there was one thing I hadn’t told him.

I wasn’t going to give him a single bite until he acknowledged me as his master.

When the tteokbokki arrived, I looked at Yong-yong, who seemed ready to pounce on the food, and asked him pointedly.

“What was it you said earlier, Yong-yong? That you wouldn’t listen to me?”

I raised an eyebrow at him.

“Kyu-uu!?”

He blinked in shock, now claiming he would listen to anything I said and begging for the food.

I patted his head, making sure he understood that he always had to listen. After he nodded obediently, I finally gave him the tteokbokki, and he ate like he was inhaling it.

Yes, Yong-yong may be a dragon, but he knows when to keep his word.

When he finished eating, he looked at me with a realization that he’d been tricked, but it was too late.

“Remember to listen, okay?”

“Kyu-uuu…”

---

A few days after the main scenario ended, a Red Revolution officer rushed into my office.

Breathless, he reported, “Comrade Yuna! Something big has happened!”

“What is it?”

“There are signs of a coup within the Avalon Empire!”

The emperor had abandoned the people and fled; there was no way they would just stand by.

But for us, this meant we now had the moral high ground.

We couldn’t ignore the cries of the suffering people… I mean, this fascinating… no, tragic situation.

“Gather the officers. Let’s hold a meeting.”

“Yes, Comrade Yuna!”

The officer disappeared as quickly as he’d arrived, and a satisfied smile crept onto my face at the thought of the upcoming coup.

“Kyu-ung.”

“Hehe, are you excited too, Yong-yong? We finally have a cause.”

I grabbed the flag hanging on the wall and went to the meeting room, where the officers of the Red Revolution were already assembled.

Travelers and monsters sat together, united in their purpose.

“We, the Red Revolution, cannot stand idly by when the people are crying out for help. We will join them.”

With those words, the preparations for the Red Revolution’s coup began.

---

As countless citizens took to the streets in protest, knights and soldiers tried to suppress them, but something unexpected happened.

The Red Revolution’s movements had been detected.

This threw the Imperial faction into a frenzy.

“How could they be moving? Didn’t we reach an agreement?”

“Look at this.”

Though we had negotiated, there was an exception clause—the agreement to heed the people’s voices.

Heads began to ache across the empire’s leadership.

They thought they could suppress the people by disbanding them before they united and punishing a few leaders, but things had escalated.

And as more and more members of the nobility began siding with us, the Imperial faction’s power weakened.

Fearing they might lose not only the Emperor but their own positions, the nobles turned to Adonis Ether, the Duke and one of the key figures.

“Duke, will you just stand by!?”

“That’s right! This is the time to unite…”

“Enough.”

After silencing the clamoring nobles, Duke Adonis Ether finally spoke.

“I will meet with them myself.”

“Oh, thank goodness.”

“We’re counting on you, Duke.”

Enduring the endless flattery until the meeting finally ended, the Duke held his head as he headed to the meeting place.

In a simple tavern in the western district, he found a young girl waiting for him.

“You’re here!”

The leader of the Red Revolution and a favored ally of the Demon King—Yuna.

For some reason, every time he saw her, it pained him, and her loyalty puzzled him.

As soon as he sat across from her, she got straight to the point.

“Have you considered my offer?”

“It would mean betraying my lord. It’s not a decision to make lightly.”

Her expression changed, as if scolding a naïve child.

She pulled something out of her pocket and handed it to him.

It was a recording orb.

Inside was a vivid recording of corruption and the people suffering under it.

“I am offering this to you because you’re the one I trust the most, Duke. Only you can correct this situation. Countless citizens suffer under a corrupt ruler.”

“…”

He was speechless. Every word was true.

After a long moment of thought, he made his decision.

He would accept their offer.

“Can you keep your promise?”

“Of course! I won’t interfere with the Empire. Our goal is to… well, a little fun… no, a coup… no, no, saving the suffering people!”

The girl couldn’t lie to save her life.

He chuckled, as she asked him to arrange a time and place before opening a portal and disappearing.

To have such power without ambition...

Is it a blessing, or perhaps…

---

Finally, the awaited contact came.

It was from Duke Adonis Ether.

When I rang the bell in my office, my twin assistants, Rang and Ran from the Enho tribe, entered.

“You called?”

“Did you call?”

I’d arranged a contract with them in exchange for mana stones before a goblin attack. Since then, they’d always been attentive.

“Could you gather everyone for a meeting?”

“Understood.”

“Understood!”

The hero always enters last.

After lingering in the hallway for about ten minutes, I entered the meeting room, where everyone was already prepared.

“Is everything ready?”

“Everyone is fully prepared.”

“We can move at any moment.”

Finally, it was time for the Red Revolution to make its move.

I rose from my seat with a grin.

Opening the door beside the meeting room, I stepped out onto the terrace, where a massive crowd of revolutionaries and monsters had gathered.

Easily numbering in the tens of thousands, their cheers rose when they saw me, but fell silent the moment I raised my hand.

Pulling a megaphone from my inventory, I shouted.

“We fight for the people in pain!”

With those words, thunderous cheers erupted, and one by one, the flags of revolution began to wave.

---

The roar of the Red Revolutionary Army shook the ground.

With every step, the earth trembled, and wyverns and griffins took to the sky with wings spread wide.

Travelers and monsters alike marched in perfect order.

Every one of them wore a smile.

How could they resist such an exhilarating event?

After all, there’s only one reason we play this game.

For fun.

In this dopamine-fueled moment, no Traveler could keep from smiling.

Just as the Empire was preparing to defend, Duke Adonis Ether, along with the other nine Swordmasters, stepped up for the greater cause.

And so, the Avalon Empire was about to face a new turning point.