Raiden Ei walked slowly toward Kamisato Ayato, who was still completely stunned, and crouched down in front of him.
"Tell me. Are there any other players inside?"
"No."
Ayato immediately shook his head.
Now that he realized his own Shogun wasn't on his side, there was no way he was telling the truth.
"Hm… I see."
After thinking for a moment, Raiden Ei decided Ayato wouldn't dare lie to her.
She waved her hand.
"Withdraw."
In truth, she didn't want to cause too much slaughter.
Capturing a player like this was enough.
Soon, several monsters tied Ayato's hands and feet, threaded a bamboo pole through the ropes, and hoisted him up.
"General, I'm not going to run. Can you put me down?"
Being carried like a pig on a spit was extremely humiliating.
"You're a prisoner now. Bear with it."
Raiden Ei didn't care much about the details.
Mounted on a horse-shaped monster, she led her army toward another village.
Phantylia had already analyzed the situation thoroughly.
The Heroes were still low level.
If they quickly destroyed villages now, the villagers wouldn't be able to provide intelligence or logistical support.
Even if there were seven Heroes, without development they would pose little threat.
After Raiden Ei left, the cellar entrance slowly opened.
Kamisato Ayaka crawled out.
Looking at the ruined village, she clenched her fists.
"Those hateful Demon Generals…"
"If I get stronger, I swear I'll show you what justice means!"
Even though this was a game, the devastation in front of her was too realistic.
Ayaka made a firm decision.
Train hard.
Gain levels.
Find companions.
Then eliminate every Demon General.
Not just to win the game—
But to avenge the destroyed village.
Without hesitation, she packed her belongings and headed in another direction.
Three days later.
Ayaka arrived at a fairly prosperous city.
"This is Norma City. Welcome."
An NPC at the gate greeted her.
She was already used to it.
Every village and town had a similar NPC giving introductions.
Walking through the streets, Ayaka scanned the signs of nearby buildings.
Soon she spotted a sign engraved with a sword.
"Found it. The weapon shop."
Her eyes lit up as she hurried inside.
"Welcome—"
"Whoa! My lady!"
The shopkeeper had been reciting his scripted greeting, but froze when he saw who entered.
"Thoma? You're the weapon shop owner?"
"Yes."
Thoma nodded and quickly walked over, inviting Ayaka inside.
After sitting down, Ayaka began asking about the city.
"My lady, what role did you get?"
"Me? I'm a Hero."
"That's amazing!"
Thoma looked extremely envious.
He was just a weapon shop owner.
Why did everyone else get such powerful roles?
He said excitedly, "My lady, you should visit the tavern later. There are several other players there. They might join your party."
"Really?!"
Ayaka's eyes sparkled.
She had finally found potential companions.
"Great. Once I have teammates, I can deal with that person who's been destroying villages."
"…Uh…"
Thoma covered his face as if he were about to collapse.
"My lady… the one destroying villages is General Raiden."
"…What?"
Ayaka's eyes widened.
The Shogun had become the villain?
And she was doing it so diligently?
That meant…
She would eventually have to fight the Shogun herself.
"Then what should I do? I can't exactly—"
Ayaka couldn't finish the sentence.
Was she supposed to lose this game?
Fighting the Shogun would be a grave act of disrespect.
"Don't panic," Thoma said. "Why don't you ask the head of the Kamisato Clan? He might know what to do."
"…My brother has already been captured."
"…Captured? By who?"
"The Shogun."
Speechless.
So the Shogun was following the principle of dealing with internal threats first.
She had captured her own allies before anything else.
"Well, let's check the tavern first," Thoma suggested. "See what the other players think."
"…Alright."
With no better plan, Ayaka agreed.
"Oh, right," she added. "Do you have any good weapons here?"
Along her journey, she had earned some gold.
Now that she found a weapon shop, it was the perfect chance to upgrade.
"Of course."
Thoma pulled out a long menu.
Ayaka carefully examined it.
There were many weapon options, but most were only slightly better than her current equipment.
When she looked at the prices, however, she hesitated.
"Thoma… can you make it cheaper?"
"…No."
Thoma shook his head.
Game rules were game rules.
Prices were fixed.
He had no authority to change them.
"Alright. Then I'll take a longsword."
Her money was limited.
She could only upgrade her weapon for now.
Armor would have to wait.
"Understood."
After receiving the payment, Thoma handed her the sword.
"Well, I'll head to the tavern now."
"My lady, wait."
"Yes?"
Ayaka looked confused.
Thoma flashed a bright grin.
"Do you have any monster drops on you?"
"Yes… why?"
"Hehe. Let's go to the Adventurers' Guild. I can help you earn money."
Ayaka didn't understand, but followed him anyway.
Soon they arrived at the guild hall.
"My lady," Thoma whispered, "I'll post a request. Then you accept it and complete it. I'll give you all the money."
"…You can do that?"
Wasn't this exploiting a loophole?
Inside the guild, Thoma posted a quest.
Quest: Acquire 1 Slime Drop
Reward: 30,000 gold
Ayaka accepted the quest.
Then immediately completed it.
Thirty thousand gold instantly appeared in her inventory.
Standing outside the guild hall, Ayaka still felt like it wasn't real.
Was money really this easy to earn?
"Alright, my lady," Thoma said. "My activity range is only the East District. The tavern is in the West District, so you'll have to go alone."
"If anything happens, don't panic… General Kujou Sara is there too. You can form a team with her."
"Really?"
Ayaka felt relieved.
Teaming up with someone familiar was much better.
After thanking Thoma, she headed toward the West District.
Meanwhile, in Raiden Ei's army camp.
Raiden Ei sat at the head of the camp.
Beside her, Ayato was tied up.
Standing below them was a black-haired woman.
"You say you want to join the Demon King's army?"
"Yes, General. I wish to serve the Demon King."
"Very well. You'll follow my command from now on."
"Yes, General."
Ayato couldn't even bear to watch.
General Kujou Sara had actually defected right in front of the enemy.
If this were a real battlefield, that would absolutely count as treason.
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