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Chapter 366 - A Familiar Player and a New NPC

Hayato, Esha, and Mist’s clan, the Undead, had established their base in a rocky area to the northeast of the Great Forest of the Undead.

If you left the combat area during the event, you could not return to the battlefield. It was a system where you couldn't go back for forgotten equipment or items.

You could only bring what was in your item bag. This meant that materials for repairing equipment also had to be procured locally. While some battlefields had no place to gather materials, the Great Forest of the Undead had mining spots in the northeast and southeast.

Hayato’s side, the former Demon Lord's Army, had secured one of these spots, the northeastern rocky area.

Many other players were also defending this location, but after yesterday's big win, the players on the former Demon Lord’s Army side were in high spirits.

Though not exactly a major clan, Hayato was well known in Another Frontier Online, and many players casually struck up conversations with him.

Among them was a familiar face. It was the clan he had fought in a Clan War, the Demon Summoning Research Association.

"It's been a while, Hayato-san."

"Adrian-san, it's been a long time."

Adrian, the leader of the Demon Summoning Research Association, greeted him while pulling back the hood of his robe, and Hayato returned the greeting with a smile.

It had been since the Stampede event that he had last seen Adrian. Back then, they had fought the raid boss Agres, who had been an enemy at the time, and Hayato had asked for his cooperation.

"Are you well, I'm sure you are, but why are you carrying a coffin on your back?"

It was probably not something to say to an ally, but the members of the Demon Summoning Research Association usually wore suspicious-looking outfits. It might have been formal wear for a demon summoner, but to the average person, it just looked shady.

That shadiness was now amplified. The reason was that every single one of them was carrying a coffin.

Hayato asked, praying he wouldn't get a morbid answer about carrying a dead body.

"Actually, all of us have been turned into vampires through necromancy."

"I see...? Oh!"

It was a vague answer, but Hayato realized something.

Vampires could be resurrected with tomato juice as long as they had a coffin. It was a tactic Mist often used in Clan Wars, and frankly, it was quite cheap.

And some demon summoning spells required sacrificing one's own life. Hayato remembered Adrian and Mist talking about aiming to become vampires for the sake of easy resurrection.

"So your Necromancy skill reached 100."

"Yes, it was a long road, but we all managed to get our Necromancy to 100. Now, carrying these coffins and tomato juice has become our new style."

Adrian replied with a smile.

Hayato thought they could just put the coffins in their item bags, but he convinced himself it was probably just their style, as carrying them certainly gave off an exceptionally suspicious vibe.

However, a clan this shady should have been the talk of the town, yet Hayato had heard nothing of the sort.

A clan this strange, and an A-rank one from the Clan Wars at that, should have been a topic of conversation, but he hadn't heard anything about them in any event. The only thing he had heard just a moment ago was about a clan summoning a large number of demons.

It was possible Hayato had missed it since he'd been caught up in so many things, but it was a bit strange that they hadn't been mentioned at all.

"Adrian-san, I haven't heard from you all recently. Were you on a break?"

Playing an online game every day was normal for Hayato, but not for everyone. Some people could only play on their one day off a week. Depending on their real-life circumstances, it was possible to take a month-long break.

Hayato asked with that in mind, but Adrian shook his head.

"No, not at all. We were focusing on leveling our skills to master necromancy, so we participated in events sparingly. Plus, with the skill cap removal, we wanted to raise our summoning skills, so we holed up in the Sanctuary of Summoning."

"I see..."

(What's the Sanctuary of Summoning?)

He was curious, but Hayato decided it must be a place for leveling summoning skills and accepted it.

Besides, Adrian's clan had been able to summon Duke-class demons, which were said to be unknown to anyone, back during the Clan War. It was possible they learned it there.

Feeling it would be rude to press for details, Hayato started another topic, though he remained curious.

From what he heard, Adrian and his clan had been coming to Hayato's shop to buy things from time to time. Their schedules never seemed to line up, so they never met Hayato, but they had apparently gotten to know the shop assistant, Rose, quite well.

Rose, for her part, had known Adrian since the Stampede, so they started talking about various things, and she had asked him to side with the former Demon Lord's Army in this event.

Adrian and his clan readily agreed. They had also heard about the plan to rescue Hayato, so they had been holding back until now.

"Yesterday was amazing. Rose-san told us over voice chat, but I had no idea you were that powerful when you got serious."

"I'm sorry for the trouble."

"Not at all. But you never cease to amaze me, Hayato-san. I know you're on good terms with NPCs, but to think you'd get kidnapped. Are you actually an NPC and not a player?"

Adrian said with a smile.

He was obviously joking, but if anything, it was the complete opposite. It was the NPCs who were human, Hayato thought to himself.

"If I were an NPC, I would've escaped much sooner. And I'd make my skill composition more combat-oriented."

"True. Most of the NPCs have combat-focused skill compositions. Oh."

For some reason, the surroundings grew noisy, and Adrian's gaze shifted behind Hayato.

Following his lead, Hayato turned around and was so startled he nearly fell over backward.

Six men in butler uniforms were carrying a palanquin with a lavish chair attached. And on that chair sat a small girl of about ten, dressed in a dazzling gown.

With her short blonde hair in twintails and wearing a gorgeous white dress, she looked like the daughter of some noble family. And the girl was an NPC.

"Adrian, I want to eat something sweet."

"Yes. Will a shortcake do?"

"Yup, that'll do."

Adrian took a strawberry shortcake out of his item bag and handed it to a woman in a butler uniform who was not carrying the palanquin.

The woman nodded and gave the shortcake to the girl.

The girl ate it with a beaming smile.

Watching this, Hayato finally calmed down a bit and looked at Adrian.

"Um, this girl is...?"

"Yes, I'll introduce you now. I'm sorry, but could you please wait until she finishes her cake?"

They were in the middle of an event and the New Demon Lord's Army was on the offensive, yet there seemed to be a complete lack of tension. Hayato waited for the girl to finish eating.

When she was done, the girl looked at Adrian and smiled.

"That was yummy."

"I'm glad to hear it. Actually, the one who makes that cake and all your usual sweets is Hayato-san here."

Both Hayato and the girl looked puzzled, saying, "Huh?" But Hayato was the first to compose himself and bowed his head.

"I'm Hayato. It's nice to meet you."

Then the girl corrected her posture and gave a slight nod.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Mikan, Mikan Barway. Thanks for all the yummy sweets."

"Not at all. I'm just happy you enjoy them."

"This is Mikan-sama. She has mastered summoning magic, especially demon summoning, and is the one who governs the Sanctuary of Summoning."

As Adrian introduced her, Mikan looked a little proud.

"It's not so much summoning as just asking the demons for a favor."

As Mikan said this, the woman beside her began to speak. "That's not true at all. Mikan-sama is our..."

To summarize, the people in butler uniforms were demons, and Mikan was a descendant of the king who ruled over the demons. However, Mikan herself was human, and the demons were taking care of her.

Isn't that a Demon Lord? The question popped into Hayato's head, but he corrected his thinking, concluding that the relationship between a Demon Lord and demons was different.

After all, demons roamed the Demon Lord's Castle, and even Lunaria said she was attacked by them, so there was no master-servant relationship between the Demon Lord and demons.

However, the Mikan before him was a person who commanded even those demons. The reason for this was unclear, but Hayato figured there must be something to it.

He learned a few other things as well.

Adrian and his clan had met Mikan long ago. It was before the Clan War.

Seeking to master demon summoning, Adrian and his group had followed various leads to Mikan's Sanctuary of Summoning.

Mikan and the demons welcomed them, and there they were taught the essence of summoning magic. It was at this time they also learned sacrificial summoning, the Duke-class summon performed by several people.

It was beneficial for the demons as well. They thought Mikan must be lonely on the island by herself, so they invited fellow humans like Adrian's clan to spend time with her and have fun.

Hayato thought, I see, while looking at Mikan and the female demon.

The male demons carrying the palanquin looked like ordinary monsters. They were probably run by simple AIs. Mikan was an NPC, so she was human inside. And although she was treated as a summoned monster, the female demon was probably also human inside.

Unlike monsters, she could hold a normal conversation. He reasoned that she couldn't possibly be equipped with an AI on par with Diite or Hypnos, so she had to be human.

Under what circumstances did she end up staying in this virtual reality? Hayato wanted to know that as well, but prying into an NPC he'd just met would be rude, so he focused solely on the conversation within this world.

"So, Mikan-sama, will you be siding with the former Demon Lord's Army?"

Since she was a king who ruled over demons, he used polite language even though she was younger than him. The female demon next to him nodded in approval, so this was likely the right move.

"Adrian asked me to help, and he's always been good to me, so I thought I would this time. Besides, I wanted to get off that island."

As Mikan said this, the female demon was moved. "How noble!"

For Hayato, or rather, for the former Demon Lord's Army, this was welcome news. NPCs were incredibly strong. Having a powerful NPC join them who could potentially turn the tide, especially when they were outnumbered, was a huge help.

Considering yesterday's situation, he was confident they had the upper hand, but the enemy had the Demonfolk and Ivan. Even if they were unconscious, they were formidable foes, so having more fighting power was better.

"Mikan-sama also approved of the mission to rescue Hayato-san and held back her power for this past week."

Hayato was surprised by Adrian's explanation and bowed his head.

"Thank you very much. Thanks to you, I was able to return safely."

"No, no, don't worry about it."

Mikan said with a smile. And the female demon was overjoyed. "Mikan-sama, how generous!"

After some light conversation, Hayato gave Mikan a chocolate parfait. He gave it as a token of friendship, and she was quite pleased.

He also gave some sweets to the female demon, which she appreciated, but she said she intended to offer them to Mikan later.

Next, they were going to introduce Mikan to Mist's group, so Adrian and his clan started talking with them.

"Mikan Barway, I think I remember..."

Esha muttered from behind Hayato.

When he turned around, Esha and Diite were standing there, having appeared at some point.

"Someone you know?"

"I believe she was the young lady of a globally famous toy manufacturer at the time. I've heard that company was involved in the hardware side of this virtual reality."

Diite nodded at Esha's words.

"That's right. She lost her parents at a young age and inherited a vast fortune and the company, which led to her life being targeted. And that female demon was her secretary, supporting Mikan-kun in both her public and private life."

In a way, Mikan had invested in the virtual reality to protect her own life and had fled into this world. She decided it was better to leave Earth than to continue being a target. Her secretary stayed with her out of sympathy for her plight.

"I see... so what happened to the company and inheritance she left behind?"

"I've looked into it, and it seems her relatives squandered the inheritance, and the company went bankrupt within a few years. Earth was out of resources, but even when they found resources on other planets, there seemed to be a lot of internal conflict over who would hold power. It was a toy company, after all. Mikan-kun's parents had worked hard to give children hope even in those times, but the company became a battleground for power and shifted towards luxury goods. That seems to have been its downfall."

Hayato didn't know the first thing about managing a large corporation, but he thought, I see. He vowed in his heart to keep his own cafe affordable for the common folk.

"I've never fought her, but is she strong?"

Esha posed the question to Diite. She wasn't one of the top eight members in the Clan Wars Esha's group had participated in, so her combat strength was an unknown.

Diite nodded with a smile.

"I think you'll find out soon enough, but she's quite strong. She has a unique skill called 'Toymaker,' which allows her to summon things she imagines."

"Wha...?"

"And her control points are ten times the normal amount, so she's designed to be able to summon all sorts of things. It seems she likes demons. Well, I suppose that's to be expected given her position as the king of demons."

Control points were used to control summoned beings. You couldn't summon more than your points allowed, and normally, the limit was eight, even with a maxed skill. Even breaking the skill cap only doubled that, but Mikan had ten times that amount.

Hayato and Esha were a little taken aback by this explanation, but then the surroundings suddenly grew noisy.

"Well, it seems I've received an invitation from Hypnos. I'll be fighting over there. Esha-kun, I'm counting on you to look after Hayato-kun."

"Well, I'd be in trouble if I couldn't get my delicious food, so I'll do my best to keep him from getting kidnapped."

Diite grinned, then left the rocky area and entered the forest.

"Master, you stay close to me, too. Mist-sama and the others are here as guards, but we don't know how the enemy will move."

"Got it. In that case, I'll just quietly mine here in the rocks."

As Hayato said that, he heard the sounds of battle starting nearby. Voices shouting some kind of orders were flying around. It seemed the New Demon Lord's Army had launched a group attack.

Among the voices, one in particular caught his ear.

"There's a Demonfolk here!"

Lunaria's clan, Ambrosia. Its members were now known as the Demonfolk. This meant one of them had come here.

Hayato wondered why they would come here.

Normally, they would aim for the Area Stone or Mist's mansion in the center of the great forest. Instead, they had targeted a mining spot.

A major clan's player might have predicted, as Randa did, that they would target this mining spot, but an attack by the Demonfolk was unexpected.

Esha also seemed to find it strange, a frown on her face.

"I thought that with their consciousness stolen, the Demonfolk would only resort to brute force."

"I thought so too. I wonder what the reason is?"

As they were wondering, another unsettling voice was heard.

"There are seven Demonfolk!"

"What?"

Hayato cried out in surprise.

There were eight Demonfolk, excluding Lunaria and Amanda. However, Xenobia alone was said to be in the dungeon, not participating in the battle. This meant they had sent all the Demonfolk here.

"They might be aiming for you, Master."

Esha said as she readied her Beelzebub. Then she pointed the muzzle at Hayato.

"What will you do? Shall we retreat from the battlefield before you're kidnapped?"

"No, it's fine. I have a self-destruct item just in case, so I'll stay on the battlefield until the last minute. Besides, if I'm gone, Noat-san and the others will also disappear from the field."

"That might be their goal... Still, they really got us, locking the clan leader like this. It's probably Hypnos's doing."

Hayato nodded and sighed.

While Hayato was kidnapped, the clan Daedalus had made Esha the clan leader. But immediately after Hayato's return, the leader changed back. And since then, they hadn't been able to change the leader or swap members.

It was a system where if the clan leader was defeated, the members of that clan, as well as any allied clans, would be removed from the battlefield.

Since resurrection magic and items like Phoenix Feathers didn't work, the clan leader often stayed to defend the Area Stone.

Daedalus wasn't allied with any other clans, but its leader, Hayato, was currently weaker than any other player. There was a chance he could be defeated with just a poke on the shoulder.

On the other hand, since he was in danger no matter where he was, he had come to the mining spot. But now the Demonfolk had arrived, making the situation even more dangerous.

"Hayato-san!"

Mist and her group arrived. It was Mist, Damian, and Ruth.

"We'll guard you here as well, Hayato-san."

"Thank you."

"Noat-san's Requiem is the key to our strategy this time. We have to protect you at all costs, Hayato-san."

"I would have preferred if you said it was to protect me."

Hayato's comment elicited some laughter.

Even with seven Demonfolk here, Hayato didn't feel any panic. The situation was certainly dangerous, but his high level of trust in the members here left no room for anxiety.

"Well, as long as everyone's here, I feel safe..."

As Hayato was saying that, several huge, Duke-class demons were summoned around them. That alone was impactful, but then a giant, black, octopus-like creature appeared in the sky, causing most of the players to look up at it.

The octopus fired black, laser-like beams from the tips of its tentacles, starting to attack the New Demon Lord's Army.

Hayato and the others could only stare at it in a daze.