"A-Ah? I did because you asked me to keep strong."
Fran tied her hair into a high ponytail, which swayed along with her ears with a cute bounce when she moved. Then, a bang sounded from the wooden walls. After the sound, Fran gazed at the back room but looked embarrassed, so Julian ignored her.
’It must be her family in there.’
So he passed the subject along faster. "Do you want to join for a hunt again, Fran?"
Julian’s lips curled into a gentle smile. He knew Fran could get scared and nervous, but he noticed her gaze seemed different.
’Maria?’
That’s when Julian noticed Maria sitting on the small bed in the corner, made of what seemed to be furs and spare wood, but that wasn’t the issue. He couldn’t focus because she sat with her legs crossed. Maria’s eyes gleefully narrowed as she put her crotch on display.
"Hm?"
As if she knew every little thought in Julian’s head, she curled her lips and smiled like a bunny. Then pulled on her dress, revealing even more of the dark cloth and her smooth, fleshy thighs.
"I-I would love to join, but… who is this woman?"
"Hm? Oh… she’s Nora, an annoying friend of a friend?"
"Hey?"
"What, it’s not far from the truth, right? Our current relationship, that is."
Julian’s slight quip made Maria’s eyes flash as she opened her mouth and turned away, huffing hot air from her flared nostrils. "Idiot."
Fran, being an NPC, seemed oblivious, or at least she should have.
"I see, well, hello there Miss Nora. I am Fran. Julian’s friend."
’Huh, this isn’t right.’
Once again, the difference between the two game modes made his eyes twitch.
Julian didn’t want to think that the people in this world weren’t NPCs. That would cause too much mental stress and the weight on his mind to log in every night.
’If this is true though, what will happen to Fran when the worlds combine?’
Then a thought occurred to him, as he sat on a wooden seat, gazing at Maria and Fran who started chatting quietly in the corner.
’Why didn’t I think or consider these things, even in my past lives?’
Did the system control and influence people’s minds? Maybe Maria wouldn’t ask these questions even now. Countless thoughts, theories, and questions popped up in his mind as he noticed Maria winking at him.
Then her lips traced the words. "Do you plan to kidnap this rabbit?"
Julian shook his head, annoyed that Maria always seemed to think of him as a horny dog that couldn’t do anything but play with his cock.
The important things remained and lingered in the back of his mind.
’Does it relate to my title?’
The chance to become a divine.
What exactly did that mean?
It clearly signified more than what Solaria let him know.
’No… let’s leave it for now, I cannot waste time tonight on these things. Let’s speak about it with Sena when I get out of here.’
"Fran, we’ll be heading north tonight."
"N-North?"
The very mention of the north seemed to make her tail fluff up. Her eyes narrowed, and she started to backpedal, growling, and unable to control her emotions.
He leapt forward, grasping her shoulders and steadying the terrified Sakurapaw rabbit.
"I know what you fear, but haven’t you noticed things are different today?"
Snap!
Julian snapped his fingertips before Noctua, Umbra, and then he pointed at Maria. "We’ve got a tank, a healer, and two damage dealers now."
"B-But… that monster lives there."
It was a terrifying beast. In the normal game, it would be a level 10-15 dungeon, but in this distorted world, it might be twisted and changed. He presumed it would be a dungeon for roughly 15–20 levels at most.
’Well I can summon two more shades… I wonder what types will come.’
"Please, I promise to protect you—"
Fran’s ears fluttered at his words, swaying as her cheeks became bright pink. Julian’s serious gaze left the poor NPCs with nowhere to escape.
"I can have Nocta stand beside you and stop anything from harming you."
Julian’s eyes then flicked towards the wooden walls, and he snapped his face back to Fran, their noses almost touching.
A sudden memory of their time together in the pool replaying in her mind. The refined and muscular parts she couldn’t help but save to her mind.
"If you worry about the village, I will leave two of my Shades here to protect your dear family."
Maria quietly observed the entire conversation, her lips slightly moving as she murmured words of insult and jealousy. "When did he become so smooth…? He used to stutter when holding hands."
She couldn’t help but want to tease him…
"I…" Fran hesitated still, but for a different reason.
She couldn’t take how passionate and close Julian acted.
Because her skills were lacking and the people of the village disliked her kind. Fran never became close to other males.
Julian never told her anything negative, complimenting her skills and helping her grow stronger. She couldn’t help but accept his request, even though her class wasn’t suited to dungeon exploration.
"Even in my dreams you helped me… without asking for anything in return."
’Huh, can an NPC dream?’
The thought so preposterous Julian almost ignored it instantly, however, when he remembered the situation already seemed strange. He stopped thinking of these worlds as games. Especially the nightmare world.
And once again, his brain started to race.
"You dream about me, what kind of dreams?"
"D-Dreams…?"
Maria tilted her head as she looked at Julian, who continued to stare into Fran’s eyes like an idiot.
"I-I mean—never mind, sorry."
Fran seemed weak to Maria, who pulled away and grabbed her bow. "Wait?" Her bow seemed different, a little cleaner and less crude. It resembled the bow he saw hung on the wall in the item store when shopping with Sena.
"I like your bow, Fran."
"O-Oh… I managed to buy it before the collapse. When I was younger, I learned how to hunt, thanks to the help of some kind adventurer." Fran’s gaze moved to her bow. A gentle smile appeared on her face, as if she remembered fond memories.
"Adventurer? There is another player in this hellhole?" Maria questioned, confused about the world, but Julian’s attention perked up at the sound of an adventurer.
’Does that mean the quest I complete caused this?’
The thought that his actions in the dream world might affect the futures of the people in the nightmare world made his chest tighten with dread.
Although this could be a good thing, he also understood it could be negative. He gazed at Maria. What if something that happened in this world influenced the past, too?
’I should be careful, death isn’t an option anymore.’
"Well, I am glad you started sooner, here are some special harpy feather arrows."
[You handed Fran Harpy Feather Arrows x 150]
’Thank god they transferred straight to her inventory…’
When Fran noticed what Julian had given her, her eyes shone like pink gemstones. She couldn’t help but perform a little jump, which caused her chest to wobble and almost slip from the cheap cloth tunic she wore.
’After all rabbit girls are the best...’
A dark memory and moment in Julian’s history surfaced, but thankfully, his D-drive was empty and safely cleaned.
"Ah... thank you. I love you—I mean, I love the arrows!" Fran exclaimed excitedly. Even though she was only an NPC, Julian couldn’t help but enjoy her soft, melodic voice and squishy, warm body.
Maria rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Damn playboy, this isn’t an adult game you pervert."
"Hm? Didn’t you know, Maria?"
"W-What?" Her eyes darted away when he suddenly gazed at her with a strange expression.
"The couples capsule seems to remove that limit?"
"Pfft... ahaha!"
Maria giggled, covering her mouth with both hands while Maria burst out laughing. "There’s no way! Hahaha."
"Ask Sena, and what happens if you change your outfit in this mode, also your crotch has been on full display since earlier, isn’t it a little hairy?"
"!!!"
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Julian turned away and patted Fran’s head as Maria suddenly stopped moving. Her face turned bright red as she touched and checked herself.
But he couldn’t help but feel like Umbra lifted her nose and sneered at Maria, making fun of her while floating around Julian’s back.
"Let’s head out, I don’t want to be here all night. Fran, let’s go."
After leaving Fran’s house, he wondered if she had saved her family members because he had changed the past.
These thoughts almost made him want to keep helping the past Fran. Read exclusive content at freewebnovel
He started wondering if she would leave the village and show up in the capital... then he thought about that small Eleanor and wondered if he could change her fate.
’No, stop it Julian... right now you can barely protect yourself. Think about overs when you’ve become truly strong!’
But, even though he kept telling himself this, he couldn’t help but want to do something more. So he resolved to make sure that each time he visited the Nightmare world, he’d try to find Fran and help her.
To convince himself, he just remembered the warmth of her soft body when hugging her.
However, Maria seemed to hold a grudge against his words. Her eyes were slightly puffy and red, as if she’d been crying somewhere.
"Keep up, Nora."