A Pleasant Vacation

A week had passed since the World Boss was taken down.

Talikal had returned to its former self, and Lethes County—home of the Snowy Mountain—had come back as well. Just as the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dragon had promised, the brutal winter cold would never descend again, so the residents would never suffer through it. The only loose thread was Count Retes, who was said to be facing judgment from the royal family. Personally, though, I was grateful to him. He may have endangered everyone, but it was thanks to him that Sre and Sgaredo had been found at all.

"I truly thought it would never end."

"Well, I'm glad it wrapped up without any major losses."

The last day of guarding Talikal. I was standing before King Dria.

My contract with Talikal had been simple: protect the kingdom from external threats in exchange for a Masterpiece. That external threat had been the Imperium—until Sgaredo's sudden appearance plunged Talikal and the entire continent into crisis. In the end, everyone had banded together to bring down the World Boss, and the Imperium had lent its aid along the way.

"...Honestly, I still can't believe it. That the Imperium really made no move at all."

The Empire had kept its word. The moment the World Boss fell, Leo and her knights withdrew entirely, and no outside forces marched in. True, only a week had passed, but the Imperium's movements looked no different from usual.

"Maybe war was never the goal in the first place."

"You mean the Imperium has another agenda?"

"Perhaps."

The Saintess of the Imperium. And Duke Hwangyeol. People who could be called the very core of the Empire wouldn't just barge into another nation's territory out of nowhere. There had been far too little hostility for a war to be the aim. Their real objective was likely...

Me.

Otherwise, they'd have had no reason to go to the trouble of hiring users—paying out huge sums of gold—to infiltrate. For someone of the Eight Swords' caliber, slipping in quietly would be ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠trivial. In fact, the Saintess had even let slip, 'I was only told to observe...' Duke Hwangyeol probably stepped in because she'd acted on her own.

"The Imperium won't be able to wage war for a while. Not until they've settled whatever else they're after."

"...I see."

With the protection of Talikal concluded, I didn't plan on returning for some time. I'd been here too long already, and it was about time to tackle the content and dungeons I'd been putting off. Of course, if war or some cataclysm came calling, I'd be back. Privately, though, I hoped that day would never come.

"Then... one final question."

Thud.

"?"

An old book was set on the table. Its worn cover depicted a figure with a familiar silhouette, and standing behind them, a pale white woman holding a spear. I knew what was inside without even opening it.

"When we first met—do you remember the question I asked you then?"

The question.

'Do you, by any chance, know someone named Thalias?'

Of course I remembered. How could I ever forget that name?

"Back then, I assumed it was a coincidence. It seemed absurd to project stories from a childhood myth book onto a stranger from another world."

But Dria had seen it.

That was...

A beautiful figure wreathed in white light. An empress with pristine angel wings, sweeping across the battlefield. Unable to believe his eyes, he'd dug out a book buried deep in the royal archive. Even though the painting was old, the likeness was endlessly familiar. And above all, the name of the savior written in that book was...

"Am I mistaken?"

Dria asked, his expression grave. If I said yes here, he would believe me without a shred of doubt. He might even come to revere me as the possible founder of Talikal itself and enshrine me.

But.

"...Yes, you are."

I don't know. I must not know. Talikal no longer needed the long saga of 'Lily Elbrit.' And above all—right now, I was just an ordinary user.

"I see. Then you would not know this Thalias either."

Dria nodded and withdrew the book he'd never even opened. At a flick of his hand, Sword Shadow sprang out from between the shadows. Thump! Thump!

Heavy boxes were placed on the table.

"It is a modest token, but I have prepared compensation for the protection of Talikal. Should you require more—or ever find yourself missing us—please visit at any time."

"Thank you."

I gathered my rewards and left Talikal without a second glance.

"...You will not detain her?"

"She is not someone we could detain even if we tried."

Still—I hoped she would return someday. That was all I could wish for.

◇◇◇◆◇◇◇

A week had passed since the continent's crisis ended. The world remained peaceful, and people went about their lives, enjoying their own hunting and daily routines.

Deoen's main draw was dungeons and hunting, but there was farming, fishing, gathering, and more besides—countless PvE activities of every variety. Most modern people, far removed from combat, used Deoen to enjoy what was known as a "healing life."

Travel and hobbies cost too much money and time in reality, so people did it in-game instead. Some might call it "just a game," but unlike ordinary games, Deoen matched reality in sensation and everything else—or exceeded it. In fact, the game was so immersive that Deoen had its own dedicated travel agencies.

"But then why am I~ still ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sitting here like this~"

A tiny one-room apartment in Seoul. A woman with a stack of chicken boxes piled high around her was darting her bleary gaze back and forth between two monitors, hands moving busily. Behind her sat unopened delivery boxes—all traces of her moving preparations, left untouched simply because she'd been too busy.

"Ahh, happiness. There's so much work to do~"

Lily's editor and manager, White Autumn, sent off the finished edit by email with tired hands. The thumbnail would now be handled by Jjoa, the manager and thumbnail artist. The hot clips went to Apple Flavor, the other main videos to Battery. Manager duties were covered by Hyuji and Jjoa...

"Hooo... ughhhhh...! Done for today!"

I'm seriously going to die. Lately I've genuinely been feeling the need for more people. Making good money is great, but no matter how much you earn, there are only two hands on your body—and above all, it's exhausting.

"Still, it's better than when I was living off hardtack..."

A well-dressed ghost beats a starving ghost, doesn't it? Mm-hmm. Having rationalized as much as she could, White Autumn confirmed that Lily had received the email, then checked the Discord room as well.

"...Wha—?!"

And she shot up out of her chair. The one-room was so cramped that her expensive, plush chair rattled loudly against the boxes behind her, but every shred of her attention was pointed elsewhere.

A single photo posted in the Discord announcements channel.

"A trip?"

Wait, we're suddenly going on a trip?

Of course, she had wanted to go so, so badly—and it had come up now and then in the Discord voice channel that a group trip would be nice—but she'd never actually believed it would happen. The boss was impossibly busy, and the editors and managers who supported that impossibly busy boss were just as swamped.

And on top of that—the Kiki Beach Resort. One of Deoen's three great tourist destinations, where the cost of a trip supposedly rivaled a real-world world tour.

And it was free...

"Uwaaaaaaaaah..."

People were already flooding into the voice channel.

Ding-dong.

"BOOOOOSSSSS!!!"

─Ow.

"Are we really going? Really? Really?"

─...Yes. We're going, so please relax a little.

─Unnie, my ears are bleeding...

"Ah, sorry."

After apologizing repeatedly to the boss, to Jjoa, and to the entire Discord room, she got down to business.

"But why so suddenly?"

─You've all been working so hard, haven't you? Deoen's supposed to be a healing game, but lately all anyone's seen is blood and gore.

─That's true, I guess.

─I've been staring at nothing but snowfields for two months...

Nobody had said it out loud, but everyone had been living busy lives because of the raid. The editors had to keep cutting an endless flood of footage, and the managers had to keep managing the broadcast, which ran nearly every single day. No matter how well they were paid, they all needed this kind of healing time once in a while.

─I'm covering all the expenses. And I'm not taking no for an answer, so you're all coming. No exceptions.

"Like anyone would refuse?"

─Everyone's free that day, right?

"YES!!!!"

─I'm free too.

─I'll come as long as there's no work.

─Count me in!

─...I can make it.

Everyone was in. If they went, they'd all lounge around and have a blast. It was the Kiki Beach Resort, after all—there'd be special systems and effects, plus scenery you could never see in real life. And above all, if summer or travel attire was mandatory...

Does that mean I'll get to see Lily in that kind of outfit?

"Gasp."

Good heavens.

White Autumn was grinning ear to ear, daydreaming about the glorious future ahead, when she suddenly froze.

...Though it does always seem like some kind of incident breaks out wherever the boss goes.

Pfft. Come on, what could possibly happen?