Around fifty people surged into the battlefield. Some wore the polished silver armor of knights, while others looked more ragtag, dressed as mercenaries.

  Vio was stunned in shock at the unexpected reinforcements.

  And the one who had frozen the wolf earlier was a girl in a plain white robe. No, not only one wolf, but the entire group of beasts had been turned into statues of ice by her spell.

  “Nice save, Frostina.”

  The robed girl gave a small nod at the words of a female knight. The knight’s commanding voice then rang out.

  “Protect the survivors! Healers, tend to them!”

  ““Yes!””

  The knights and mercenaries replied as one, quickly forming a perimeter. They cut down any monsters that approached, while several healers hurried to cast recovery spells on the children.

  The female knight who had given the orders approached Vio.

  “Are you alright?”

  “Y-Yes,” Vio answered nervously as she tried to steady herself.

  But then Lavin winced and cried out.

  “Ugh…”

  “L-Lavin?!”

  “I-I’m fine, Sis…”

  Her words tried to reassure, but her bleeding legs told the truth. She had been injured when she fell earlier.

  “What a tough kid,” the knight said with a smile, then waved for a healer.

  Lavin’s eyes brightened with relief as warm light enveloped her, mending the wound.

  “As for you… here, drink this.”

  The knight handed Vio a potion. And Vio stared at it in disbelief.

  “T-This is… a high-ranking potion! I-I can’t possibly accept something so expensive—”

  The knight silenced her firmly.

  “As a fellow girl, I’d say your face is worth far more than the potion. Don’t worry about the cost. If my lady were here, she would give you the same.”

  “B-But—”

  The knight pressed the vial into Vio’s hand, leaving her no room to refuse.

  “I… I will repay this one day.”

  Vio drank the potion. The magic spread instantly, sealing every scar on her body. The deep wound over her left eye vanished, and the vision she had long lost returned.

  She opened her eyes slowly.

  “I… I can see again…”

  Tears streamed down her cheeks. She had steeled herself to live with the loss forever. Never had she dreamed of regaining her sight.

  “Thank you… thank you for saving us.”

  “T-Thank you!” Lavin echoed, bowing alongside her sister.

  The knight shook her head softly.

  “No need to thank us. It’s our duty. I am Reina, Captain of the Starlace Order from Stelluna.”

  Her dark brown side bangs framed her face, and her clear brown eyes carried both strength and beauty.

  “I am Vio.”

  “L-Lavin!”

  Reina nodded at their simple introductions.

  “I’ve heard about you from Hiro.”

  Vio’s eyes widened as the words reached her ears. For a second, she even doubted what she had heard. Then, she seized Reina’s shoulders desperately.

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  “L-Lord Hiro?! He’s alive?!”

  “C-Calm down.”

  “A-Ah… forgive me…”

  Vio quickly released her.

  “Phew… Yes, he’s alive. Look.”

  Reina pointed toward the battlefield. Vio followed her finger, and saw the knight who had saved her hours before. Hiro was cutting through wolves alongside the others.

  Vio covered her mouth, her eyes brimming with tears.

  “Lord Hiro…”

  She longed to run to him, but Reina’s firm voice restrained her.

  “You can see him soon. For now, we must focus on escaping. Are there any other survivors?”

  Vio counted the children, then shook her head.

  “No. It’s only us.”

  “Understood. You two stay with the other kids. We’ll depart as soon as the healers finish.”

  “Thank you.”

  The healers not only closed their wounds but also cast spells to hasten their speed. When all were ready, Reina stood at the front and raised her voice.

  “We break through to the village! Cut down any monsters that block us!”

  The group surged out of the cave. Vio and the kids were surrounded from all sides, protecting them as they broke through the horde of various monsters.

  Monsters swarmed at the sight of their numbers, but it was futile. Everyone fought like a seasoned veteran. Their vanguards cloaked blades in aura, thieves leapt into the air to strike flying bugs, and mages hurled devastating spells. The one who saved Vio earlier, Frostina, even wove multiple spells at once, freezing wave after wave without even chanting.

  For the first time in weeks, Vio’s heart eased. Her desperate gamble to head north had been right. Though many children were lost, she had saved fourteen lives.

  After a quick march, they finally reached Lua Village safely.

  Hours earlier, the village had been crawling with monsters. But now, thanks to the Starlace Order and their allies, it stood reclaimed. Knights dismantled monster corpses while mercenaries hauled them aside, some players even already relaxed and chatted with each other.

  Although these mercenaries and players failed the test, the Starlace Order had given them a mission to join them along with others who passed the second test. After all, this was the first time they tried to save wanderers, and they didn’t know the dangers around this area. So naturally, the Starlace Order brought more people to prepare the worst case.

  From a distance, Vio saw Reina salute another knight, likely her superior. Beside them stood a noblewoman.

  But Vio’s eyes searched elsewhere, until they found him. Hiro, laughing and chatting with others.

  Her heart swelled, and she couldn’t hold back anymore.

  “Lord Hiro!”

  “W-Whoa…!?”

  She embraced him from behind.

  “You’re alive… I’m so glad…!”

  “V-Vio…?”

  “Un! It’s me!”

  Nearby players muttered in disbelief, some stared with jealousy.

  “Damn, it’s really an NPC…”

  “So romance with NPCs is possible…?”

  Vio paid them no mind. At this moment, she could only think of the man before him. She looked up at Hiro as he turned, her face glowing with gratitude.

  “Thank you. You saved me not once, but twice. Lady Reina told me it was you who called them to help us. Thank you!”

  A window appeared before Hiro:

  ? Favorability +50 ?

  He suppressed a grin and smiled warmly.

  “Saving you is my priority, my lady. And now that your scars are healed… you’re even more beautiful than I imagined.”

  Vio’s cheeks turned crimson.

  “D-Don’t call me that, Lord Hiro. Just… call me Vio.”

  “Alright… Vio. Then you don’t need to call me ‘Lord’ either.”

  “Nope! Lord Hiro is Lord Hiro!”

  She stuck her tongue out playfully.

  “Eeh… That’s unfair…” he chuckled.

  Vio couldn’t recall the last time she had laughed so freely. Perhaps before her mother died, or even further back. Yet here she was, smiling with someone she had just met. And strangely, it felt natural.

  From a ruined house nearby, Frostina watched them silently while sitting beside Silica.

  “You’re staring a lot,” Silica teased with a grin. “Jealous? Do you like him?”

  “What? Haha! No way.”

  Frostina brushed it off with a laugh.

  “Then what is it? Are you curious that players can really make NPCs fall for them? Are you planning to look for a male NPC?”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to find a female one? Then dress her up like a doll?”

  “Whoa! Your imagination’s wilder than I thought.”

  “What the heck, you’re the one who started it.”

  Their laughter carried. To Silica it was a harmless joke. But Frostina knew that one day, Silica herself would be adored by female NPCs, and would dress them as maids under the excuse of guild recruitment.

  But that was a story for later.

  Right now, Frostina’s thoughts circled back to Vio. The system had recognized her as a Legendary Wanderer. Yet in her past life, Frostina had never once seen Vio mentioned in any forum. Even the first Wanderer discovered back then had only been Common-rank, several weeks later.

  Cryssa’s voice stirred in Frostina’s mind.

  (“Isn’t that a good thing? It means the rumors we spread weeks ago weren’t wasted.”)

  “Well, yeah.”

  Even if the effects of the rumors were limited to Arkavia Kingdom, it was still better than nothing.

  Her eyes then settled on the noblewoman nearby, Lyra Stelluna.

  The moment the operation to reclaim Lua Village began, Lyra had followed, claiming it was her duty as lord. Everyone in the Order knew the truth that Lua wasn’t under Stelluna’s jurisdiction. Her presence was simply proof of her fierce protectiveness over Cryssa.

  Still, Lyra would cover the costs of reconstruction. Before long, Lua would belong to Stelluna too.

  Suddenly, a quest window appeared before Cryssa, and her gaze stayed fixed on her screen.

  ? NPC Quest Completed! ?

  ? Save the Survivors! ?

  ? Rank: Legendary ?

  ? Location: Lua Village ?

  ? You have reclaimed Lua Village and rescued 15 survivors successfully! ?

  ? Among them is a special figure of Arkavia Kingdom! Special rewards will be given. ?

  ? Congratulations! ?

  ? Rewards: ?

  ? Enhanced NPC System ?

  ? You may now delegate lordship of any Stelluna territory to individual players or groups, receiving 50% of their monthly profits without reducing their share. ?

  ? Special Rewards: ?

  ? Enhanced NPC System ?

  ? You may now track any player’s location across Arkavia Kingdom. ?

  ? You may now post quests to any player within Arkavia Kingdom, regardless of distance. ?

  ? Arkavia Treasure Vault Key ?

  ? A key granting access to the Arkavia Kingdom’s treasure vault. ?

  Cryssa blinked at the screen in disbelief.

  (“…What is this?”)