“Bang! Crash!”
Mei, who was working inside the Flower House, heard the commotion and dashed out.
“Oh, you’re here.”
The Giant greeted her.
“Ah! Hello, Giant. I’m glad you’re feeling better… no, this is not the time for that! Something terrible has happened!”
Unlike Jaeho, Mei, who had only been casually browsing the community, was already aware of the wanted order issued by the Brown Bear Guild.
It was a notorious incident from the start.
Moreover, with the Elf Great Migration revealing the exact location of this place, it was only a matter of time before trouble arrived.
“Luxi Royalty, come out!!! We know you’re here!!!”
“If you surrender peacefully, there will be no bloodshed!”
“We’ve already marked their faces, so intimidation won’t work!!!”
The voices were rough and ragged, but……
“Mei!”
“Ah, sister!”
Samantha, who was in the garden and had also heard the intrusion, came rushing back.
“What should we do?”
“What does Alicia say?”
“That’s nonsense.”
At the same time, Jaeho was meeting Runior in the Mana Tower.
Those who knew were aware, but inside the tower, a Mana Barrier blocked all communication between players.
“What should we do?”
“Hmm… but I don’t think it’s really a problem.”
At Samantha’s words, Mei waved her hand dismissively.
“It’s the Brown Bear Guild, after all!”
“Well, yes, but…”
She knew all too well the Brown Bear Guild’s notorious reputation and wanted to avoid trouble as much as possible.
Luckily (?), here there was no need to worry about such things.
“What? That shabby-looking, utterly despicable lackey is Alicia?!”
“?”
“???”
Samantha cursed Jaeho in a surprisingly quiet voice.
Mei and Giant were too stunned by Samantha’s sudden outburst to react, their gazes fixed on the door.
“What are you talking about?”
“Hey?!”
Elves suddenly appeared like phantoms, glaring coldly at Samantha with hardened expressions.
“How dare you slander Lady Alicia?”
“I thought from the start she seemed unpleasant.”
“No, I didn’t say that.”
Samantha hurriedly spoke before a knife could pierce her chest.
“The ones who just appeared…”
“If you don’t keep coming out, we’ll tear this place apart! You’re already a wanted criminal by the Brown Bear Kingdom…”
“Dirty double-faced bastard, let’s see about you!”
Just then, their adversaries shouted their own purpose once again.
“They’re looking for Lady Alicia.”
Samantha quickly confessed.
“Ah!”
“Ugh?!”
Only then did Mei and Giant realize how terrible Samantha’s action was!
***
“Guild Master… no, Your Majesty!”
A Brown Bear Guild member who had already been imprisoned once by the same mistake spoke up.
“What is it?”
Crowing asked irritably.
“Well… there was contact from the guild members who went to the Fermasa Desert…”
A damp feeling of unease spread.
“The vanguard was completely wiped out.”
Bang—!!!!
Crowing smashed the chair he was sitting on and grabbed the guild member’s collar.
“What kind of idiots are they? They weren’t even killed but still got wiped out?!”
“T-They said the Elves were swarming…”
— CROWING. It’s serious!
At that moment, a report arrived for Crowing from the Deputy Guild Master.
—I already know! Those idiots handled things like that?
— Oh, you knew? Then this story will move fast.
— Why? Is there some other messed-up business?
— Someone broadcasted what happened at the scene. The whole community is in chaos now.
— What?
***
The Great Archmage, the master of the Red Mage Tower, and the king of the Rasel Kingdom’s back alleys — Red Balloon — were all the same person?
Knowing the truth, the old man’s warm impression began to seem like that of a cunning swindler.
“What a hobby you have.”
“Heh, you’ll understand when you get old. It gets boring, you see.”
It sounded like nonsense, but Jaeho didn’t want to waste energy arguing.
“So, why have you been so eager to meet me?”
It seemed he had no hostile intentions.
Otherwise, Jaeho would have beaten Red Balloon up or done something at the gambling den the moment he caught wind of it.
“I think he had his own reasons… but shouldn’t we hear his story first?”
Runior gave Jaeho the floor.
“Well, it’s true that I came because I need help… no, isn’t this just a sly attempt to get the upper hand in the deal?”
“Heh heh.”
Reading that look, Runior laughed aloud.
“Fine.”
Well, from the start, he was the one who needed something.
“Do you know of any magic technology that can maintain a set temperature for a certain period and allow adjustments?”
“Hmm… an example would be helpful. Why do you want such a technique?”
“I’m trying to run a flower shop.”
“Flowers?”
For the first time, a flicker of confusion appeared on Runior’s usually relaxed face.
“Running a flower shop in the desert means the flowers are quite vulnerable to temperature. Most of them don’t grow properly.”
“Heh heh… that’s unexpected and quite surprising.”
“You’re a Desert’s Noble or something, and yet you don’t know much?”
“Oh dear, my expression betrays me.”
“… Are you poisonously sarcastic? I’ve never met anyone who can read my expression before.”
[ <Spirit of Vitality> thought, ‘That’s true….’]
“Of course, most people would be intimidated just by looking at your face, but an old man like me who’s been through countless battles can see right through you. You seem more honest with your emotions than you realize.”
“?!”
It was a remarkably accurate analysis.
Jaeho himself hadn’t made much effort to hide his feelings.
“Actually, your aura is more striking than your appearance. It startled me how unusual it was. The aura of a loser, yet you run a flower shop… well, that makes it even more interesting. Hmm… yes, yes.”
Nodding, Runior muttered as he smiled broadly at Jaeho.
“To be honest, I don’t know your true identity very well. I only know you’re at the center of the Elves gathering in the Fermasa Desert. But after hearing about everything you’ve done recently against Angler and today’s events, I want to be involved. It sounds very interesting.”
[The Great Archmage Runior shows great expectation toward your actions.]
[The Great Archmage Runior promises to cooperate with you.]
[Red Balloon, the Chief of Red Balloon, desires continued trade with you.]
[You have acquired the title <Acquaintance with the Archmage> .]
[Your reputation has greatly increased.]
[You have acquired the title <Friend of the Dark World Big Boss> .]
[Your notoriety has greatly increased.]
“No, why are you deciding this friendship without my consent?”
Runior unilaterally defined their relationship as friends!
On top of that, he even erased Jaeho’s bad reputation.
“I will provide mages from the Mana Tower to support your flower garden. Research on the magic you want will also be conducted here, so don’t worry.”
Despite his friendly attitude from the start and how easily he got what he wanted, Jaeho felt oddly uneasy.
“Wow, you’re really going all out?”
“You could say it’s a hobby of mine.”
“If it’s Red Balloon’s hobby, that’s understandable. But as the representative of the Mana Tower, I must have a valid reason, right?”
“Oh, a sharp question.”
Runior chuckled and nodded.
“But by asking that, I think you don’t really understand your own position.”
His gaze turned to the Elves sitting around Jaeho.
“No one in history has ever formed such an intimate relationship with the Elves. You even have influence enough to lead the entire Elf Great Migration across the continent.”
Jaeho finally began to faintly understand.
Though sometimes they were a bothersome burden, being absolutely trusted by such a rare and extremely secretive race as the Elves was remarkable.
It was something many powerful figures and nations deeply envied.
In other words, if one could leverage such a special relationship with the Elves, some damage could be tolerated, according to Runior’s perspective.
“I see. That makes sense.”
“Oh, but keep in mind the Mana Tower’s stance is different from that of the Rasel Kingdom.”
“Then does that mean the Rasel Kingdom thinks badly of us?”
“Heh heh heh—”
Runior simply replied with laughter.
The meeting with Runior ended after some more petty exchanges.
During this, Jaeho was introduced to several mages summoned by him.
“These are considered outstanding talents even in the Mana Tower.”
The faces of the mages, acknowledged by Runior himself, were visibly excited and inspired.
However, among them, one alone wore a cold, icy expression in his mind.
The only Player mage: Red.
“W-What is this…?!”
The reason for his great surprise was none other than—
“W-Why is a Luxi Royalty here?!”
Officially, the only group that called Jaeho Luxi Royalty was the Brown Bear Guild.
And Red was a mage belonging to that guild.
— Red, you’re close to the Fermasa Desert, so you’ll be here soon!
— The back room here is not safe! Hurry!
— Hey, the vanguard got completely wiped out!
A location presumed to house Luxi Royalty had been discovered, and the Brown Bear Guild was gathering there.
Of course, Red had to go, but how could he when Runior singled him out and called him over?
Then… suddenly, right before his eyes, a Luxi Royalty stood there.
“I hope you will help Lady Alicia with the flower shop’s business.”
With that ridiculous command.
“W-What is going on here?”
Frozen in place, Red was at a loss.
“Alright, first round, let me show you some real power after a long time.”
Runior began casting magic, and the mages and Red watching were astonished.
“A large-scale spatial transfer spell!!!”
[You have witnessed the great spell of the Grand Archmage!]
Whoosh—
Light flashed, and the scenery before them changed.
***
“Waaah, we’re sorry!”
“Long live Alicia…!!”
Several players, heads buried in the hot desert sand, kept shouting frantically.
The long trench behind them told of the painful crawl from Hell Desert all the way here, heads repeatedly buried in the sand.
Before them stood Elves with expressions so cold they seemed to chill even the desert’s heat.
“I didn’t expect you to have such guts here.”
“You have only survived because of Lady Alicia. She told those humans coming here to at least show some mercy.”
A strangely twisted request from Jaeho.
The Brown Bear Guild trembled at the cruelty of this figure called Alicia.
Meanwhile, from afar, someone had been mediating everything from the start.
“That player burying his head in the middle is the Brown Bear Guild’s ranker ‘Byathlon’, and the one furthest to the right is definitely ‘Arma’!”
The excited voice belonged to Fuka, a personal streamer.
A former Luxi Association member and now a worker in Luxi Forest, he had started New World thinking it was just a personal broadcast.
To stand out with unique competitiveness, he had chosen Luxi Forest.
Still, he had about a hundred fixed viewers.
His slave life, endlessly working between the desert and the forest every day, satisfied his craving for distinction.
But today’s situation turned his broadcast upside down.
In just 30 minutes, his viewer count multiplied by 30.
The number was increasing in real-time, and he had to be careful not to lose his mind!
“Those two are not only top ranks in the Brown Bear Guild but also among the absolute top players overall.
Yet they were completely overwhelmed and defeated by the Elves. And they were even unarmed!”
— nomind: Crazy. How strong are these Elves?
— ham6787: At least like knight NPC level, I guess.
— 4_day: No, no, they’re named NPCs. Didn’t you see Byathlon and Arma during the Deran siege? Rankers can easily crush normal combat NPCs.
— Eldyd: But who exactly is this Luxi Royalty? Why are the Elves so loyal?
— nomind: Not confirmed yet. I’m watching this broadcast hoping Fuka will reveal it but no luck.
Comments were flooding so fast no one could keep up.
Usually, a few chats could be managed, but now he had given up trying and focused only on delivering information.
“The Brown Bear Guild calls this an unprecedented humiliation! They have effectively made the rest of the world’s users their enemies, yet have never been humiliated like this before! And now, here in the outskirts of the desert, they’ve been beaten down and buried their heads! There’s probably chaos in the Brown Bear Guild right now too!”
— Eldyd: Yeah, chaos. They said they’d kill you.
“We don’t know what will happen next in this desert… okay?”