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Chapter 4
“What do you mean?”
“Well, it’s nothing serious—I was just wondering. Like… do your emotions fluctuate a lot? Or do you get angry easily… that kind of thing?”
Mona, who had been counting [Mona’s Potions], shot him a suspicious look.
The user—[Hairy Potter], with purple hair, a scar-skin slapped across his forehead, and even an axe hanging from his waist, none of which matched the so-called Hairy Potter worldview at all, in Mona’s opinion—was accepting gold coins with a confident expression.
Is he fishing to see if I have anger-management issues or something?
“There’s no way that’s true, Mr. [Hairy Potter]. I’m perfectly normal.”
“Ah… I see.”
The user buying stamina potions turned away with a deeply disappointed look. Then he muttered loudly enough for everyone to hear.
“I’m short on affection items. I need to get more.”
After lining up again, he kept sneaking glances this way with the party member next to him.
He totally doesn’t believe me!
What’s worse, other users started thrusting wolf claws at the counter one after another like skewered candy, throwing the shop into utter chaos.
Classic questions followed:
“So… can you tell me about that rumor?”
“Mona, you’re not hiding anything, right?”
After days of repeating this exhausting labor, Mona felt like she was the one who deserved answers.
Is there some event even NPCs don’t know about these days?
“Mona, think carefully one more time. I brought thirty claws, okay? You do like these, right? I don’t know if you’ve been out in the field, but the competition is brutal right now.”
“Oh… I see. You competed hard.”
“Now that we’re here, doesn’t it feel like you want to tell us something?”
“Tell you what?”
As if there’s anything like that.
Whatever rumor they’d heard, they’d come to the wrong place.
She managed to fend them off for a while with carefully softened versions of please shut up, but soon even Mona realized something was off. Despite her iron-wall defenses—strong enough to rival a fifty-year lifelong single—everyone seemed oddly fired up.
“How many more do you need, then?!”
As a user slammed wolf claws onto the counter in frustration, Mona gave him an equally exasperated look. The man pounded his chest with a groan, clearly suffering.
I’m the one who’s curious here.
But her answer stayed the same.
“Need what?”
“Well…! Ugh.”
[KkyangKkyang] let out several heavy sighs, then gulped down the [Mona’s Potion] he’d received as a reward, like cracking open an energy drink at a pharmacy.
Thanks to the potion’s effect—[HP Recovery +10% per second, lasts 2.0 seconds, beginner-only]—his body glowed as he slammed the counter.
“Talking isn’t working. Shouldn’t we stop now?”
And what if we don’t talk, huh?!
A troublemaker. Having made her judgment, Mona opened her skill window without responding.
‘[Give Quest]!’
“As you know, wolves are still running rampant.”
“Huh?”
“Could you defeat some wolves for us?”
“Whoa!”
It was the same routine as always, but for some reason, users swarmed around the visibly delighted [KkyangKkyang].
“Did it pop?”
“So close! I was next!”
“No way—share it!”
“What did Mona say?”
…?
These were the same users who usually waved her off or complained, “Why isn’t there a skip button here?” And now this?
Getting this reaction over a daily quest is kind of new.
<SYSTEM> The user has set a destination.
The shop was still ringing with noise, but Mona instinctively noticed the system window that popped up. She quickly turned her head toward the window.
The sun hung between long, stretching branches. At this hour, it had to be Riota.
Ah—now’s not a great time…
Moments later, the navigation window vanished and the door opened. A tall man in a black robe stepped inside, and the murmuring users instantly fell silent.
Mona greeted him with an awkward smile.
“Hello, Mr. Riota.”
“Yes. Hello, Mona.”
He hesitated mid-sentence. It was understandable—the shop had suddenly become as crowded as a theme park souvenir store.
“Should I come back later?”
But he recovered faster than expected. At her reassurance, he placed his heavy sack on the counter as usual.
Mona reflexively pressed [Accept], activating the [Trade] system as a window popped up.
“If you’re very busy, I can come back—”
“Oh, no. Now is fine. We just ran out of potions for a moment. I’ll prepare them quickly, so could you wait just a bit?”
“I don’t mind. Take your time.”
Riota didn’t seem bothered by the crowd at all.
The real problem wasn’t him—it was the users packed inside the shop. They kept staring back and forth between the two of them with strange expressions.
Ugh, this pressure is real.
But unable to show it, Mona spoke as she always did.
“You brought the most again.”
The ears listening in seemed to perk up even more.
“Huh? What did Mona just say?”
“I’ve never heard that line before.”
Suspicious murmurs rose from all around.
Wait—what?
The users who’d been lining up with wolf claws suddenly rushed the counter. Some even started typing furiously, like they were messaging someone.
What is happening?
Startled by the sudden shift, Mona stepped back. The users ignored the frozen NPC entirely, focusing all their attention on the newcomer.
“Why is everyone acting like this…?”
She raised her hand slightly and asked, but no one bothered to explain.
Mona stiffly turned toward Riota. The [Trade] system had been left open too long and started sending warning alerts.
“P-please take [Mona’s Potions] first. Stay just a moment longer. I-it’s crowded, isn’t it? Haha…”
“Yes.”
Only Riota looked calm, as if oblivious to everything around him. Mona wiped her forehead with her sleeve.
Something’s definitely wrong.
And it didn’t take long for the truth to come out.
* * *
A few days later, Mona let out a deep sigh of relief.
I almost got force-logged out.
She had just finished fending off another wave of beginner users who’d been driving her insane.
Answering the question “How do you hunt wolves?” too sincerely had been a mistake. Seriously—how were there still this many people?
She counted bottles with weary hands, refilling her dwindling stock.
Soon after, a notification sounded and Riota entered the shop, slightly later than usual. As he approached the counter, he asked casually,
“You look busy, Mona.”
“Yeah… I wonder what’s going on.”
“Is there anything I can help with?”
When she shook her head, he paused briefly, then turned away.
“If you need anything, make sure you tell me.”
That was the problem—right after that, the users’ heads all turned at once, as if they’d been waiting for it.
Some even exchanged You see that? Right? looks through the closed door.
Now what?
Mona narrowed her eyes at them and processed the quest notifications that had been chiming nonstop.
Reward Complete
Reward Complete
Reward Complete
“Good work, everyone. Here you go.”
All eyes turned toward Mona as she tapped the counter irritably.
“Oh, right.”
“Uh—thanks.”
Just like that, another storm passed.
Sheesh. What is even happening?
A few days later, as she continued suffering from this oddly sticky popularity, rain poured down from the sky.
The weather system in <The Great Journey> was impressively realistic—stay in the rain too long without a raincoat or umbrella, and your body temperature dropped while your movement speed slowed.
Hearing rain makes me want coffee.
The sound of rain pounding the windows brought a rare sense of peace.
If only it weren’t for this one.
“Mona—Mona! Wolf fangs!”
“Wolf fangs?”
“Ah—sorry. I mean wolf claws.”
“Haha. That’s a funny way to say it.”
Mona checked [Reward Complete] and handed over a potion. The woman with her golden hair tied high accepted it with a prim expression.
Judging by her gear, she’d left the beginner village long ago. She’d suddenly appeared not long ago and now came by frequently—almost familiar at this point.
With NPC mode on, the name [MyNameIsGonan] hovered clearly above her head.
Gonan… Strangely catchy.
“Oh, by the way, Mona. Doesn’t something come to mind again today?”
“Unfortunately… no.”
“Hmmm.”
“Do you need anything else?”
“No, not really.”
The user [MyNameIsGonan] casually pocketed the gold coins.
She lingered and kept starting conversations, while Mona replied with a balanced mix of “What was that?” and “I see.”
She knew what the woman was after. The question was always the same: What are you really?
…Mona didn’t know either.
Sorry.
“Hoo… haa…”
Exhausted by the endless loop of conversation, Gonan fanned herself briefly and stared at the distant hills.
I mean… how many daily quests has this been already?
There wasn’t even an achievement tied to it. Mona started to feel bad.
Still, it wasn’t her fault. When Mona stared blankly, the woman gave an awkward smile and pulled something out again.
What’s that…?
