Chapter 66
"Time's been flying by like crazy lately."
Dantalian had been resurrected.
And it had already been a week since I heard that news.
Time was moving ridiculously fast. It felt like someone was hitting a skip button somewhere.
Maybe that meant my daily life was peaceful?
After all, relaxing times tend to pass quickly.
'Wish it could stay like this.'
Not that I was complaining. Actually, I quite liked it.
Nobody dislikes peaceful days, after all.
Maybe it was because Dantalian was drawing all the aggro, but lately fewer people had been coming to the forest.
Of course, the Holy Water supply was cut off again, but...
'Well, it'll probably open up again eventually.'
I decided to just take it easy for now. Based on past experience, the Holy Water controls always get lifted once a demon dies.
So my strategy was to just hang in there for now.
Part of me wanted to go out and see the demon for myself, but that wasn't possible.
Unfortunately, I had too many things to do right now.
"Hah..."
I let out a breath. A faint mist formed from my mouth.
It had been 14 months since the Otherworlders appeared here.
The world was preparing to welcome its second winter.
*
Yeop-Yeop thought her luck had been incredible lately.
Just a few days ago, she hit 6,000 viewers while sharing stories about participating in Dantalian's rescue.
Sure, she got flamed on community forums for "ruining the raid by barging in" but...
Still, her recognition went up and she got quite a few donations.
So it was a win for her either way.
She was planning to milk the "saw Dantalian in person" story for a while longer.
'Never thought I'd end up streaming right next to him though.'
True to those words, she was currently live streaming.
And right next to Dantalian himself. Thanks to that, red dots (RED) were floating around her.
[oh]
[hi yeop]
[enjoying being on the cult's side you bitch? having fun?]
[ㄴ Banned by moderator.]
[why's she using in-game cam today? usually says she's too shy and does home cam]
[streaming while leeching off NPCs~ how entertaining~]
[ㄴ Banned by moderator.]
[wait isn't that a demon next to her? wow]
She could see the flood of viewer chat messages.
She'd gotten quite a lot of new viewers after recent events. Well, more like trolls who came to insult her, but still.
'Whatever.'
More viewers meant better numbers, so she considered it good.
The more people watching, the higher chance of hitting the platform's front page. Sure, they might just be here to flame her, but that still counts as engagement.
Plus, Dantalian himself had approved this stream.
As she was calming down the chat, one of the believers walking with her spoke up:
"Um... Lord Dantalion. Are you really letting that woman stream like this?"
"Is there a problem? Do you perhaps disagree with my decision?"
"N-no! I was just worried if it's okay to let people know about the mission like this."
Currently, they were a team of 5 walking through the Forbidden Forest.
Obviously searching for an altar that should be somewhere in this forest.
Unfortunately, besides the demon, none of them were particularly strong. At best, they were Area Leader level.
The Branch Leader class figures were all busy, and Knights couldn't easily enter this forest anyway.
Since it wasn't easy to get surrounded here, they could enter with a small team this time.
Even considering that, allowing the stream was surprising but...
"Well, isn't it entertaining?"
In the end, since it benefited Yeop-Yeop, she decided to just quietly enjoy the benefits.
Someone must have shared the stream on community forums. Yeop-Yeop's viewer count was increasing exponentially.
She glanced over to check the numbers and her eyes went wide.
'Holy crap 8,000...!'
That was the kind of number only major companies could usually hit.
And now she had reached it. Even considering this was a chance to see Dantalian in person, she hadn't expected this many viewers.
Even more amazing was that the viewer count was still climbing.
At this rate, hitting 10,000 viewers wasn't just a dream.
Though about a third were probably trolls.
Yeop-Yeop indulged in some hopeful thinking.
'Would be nice if we could meet that NPC too.'
'That NPC' obviously referred to Yor.
While many users were familiar with him by now, interest hadn't died down at all.
After all, appearance was a cheat key for streams, and he was incredibly strong despite being a 'male' NPC.
Though exactly how strong he was hadn't been confirmed yet... but he was at least A-rank Adventurer level.
Plus he had the unique trait of living in this forest. Just meeting him would guarantee views.
Lost in such thoughts, she continued deeper into the forest.
Luckily, her wish came true quickly.
Because while walking, they came across a hole.
*
There was something I always did as winter approached.
Stockpiling food. Winter might be short, but that doesn't mean animals walk around like tough guys during it.
So I need to hunt as much as I can before the animals go into hibernation.
Fortunately, I was able to finish that work early this time.
Hunting had gotten easier lately. Though the Unicorn died, the enhanced hearing it left behind was still proving very useful.
If I focus my attention on my ears, I can hear even small animals like rabbits and squirrels running around. With such keen senses, hunting naturally became easier.
So I'd gathered most of my winter food supplies.
Now all that remained was preserving them with salt. Had to sanitize them for preservation after all.
'Been a while since I did this too.'
Thanks to that, I'd been cooped up in my cave since early afternoon.
Sprinkling salt on meat like this felt almost like making kimchi. Though I don't think I ever made kimchi in my past life.
"...Hmm?"
Right as I was focused on my work.
Murmur murmur.
Suddenly, I heard commotion outside the cave. Sounded like people talking, multiple voices mixed together. Startled, I quickly focused on my hearing.
"But how far are we going? Honestly, it's getting dangerous past this point..."
"How should I know? We're just following where the arm points, right?"
The voices were quite close. Maybe because I was so focused on the preservation work, I'd missed hearing them approach.
It was a weakness of the ability the Unicorn gave me. If I'm not actively focusing, my hearing naturally dulls back down.
"The demonic power gets stronger the deeper we go. But won't we reach our destination eventually? Everyone, please don't be too hasty."
"Ah, no. I apologize..."
I frowned. More uninvited guests interrupting my peaceful daily life.
Even worse, the voices were getting closer and closer.
Meaning they were walking straight toward my cave.
"Damn it."
I muttered a curse. Why did it have to be this direction?
I didn't mind people entering the forest anymore. I'd gotten used to that by now.
But my home being exposed was a different matter entirely.
Still, at least they hadn't entered the cave yet.
I quickly hid any signs of my presence. The cave was still camouflaged after all.
I'd covered the roof with dirt and leaves to make it look like just a hole in the ground.
With luck, they might just pass by.
"Ah, the arm is pointing this way."
"Is it pointing inside that hole, or beyond the cave?"
"I'm not sure. Well, we can check and find out, can't we?"
But as if to crush such hopes, they stopped right by the cave.
"Tch."
I clicked my tongue.
Should I let them enter the cave like this, or should I go out and see their faces first?
The deliberation didn't last long. I gathered my equipment and headed out to meet them.
They were already right in front of the cave. The group of 5 looked surprised to see me emerge.
"Oh?"
"Wait, where did this guy come from?"
"Ah, could this be him? The one the Branch Leaders had that meeting about..."
I quickly sized them up. Given the mention of 'Branch Leader', they seemed to be Lemegeton folks.
But that wasn't all I noticed. Actually, one of them stood out immediately upon meeting.
A man with a seemingly frail build, but whose facial muscles were visibly moving in real-time.
The trait was so distinctive that I'd already heard about him. Thanks to that, I recognized him right away.
He noticed me and his eyes lit up with interest.
"Hooh?"
The demon Dantalian was suddenly right in front of me.