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In the end, Crim finished her real life duties faster than anticipated, so she ended up logging in sooner than agreed, giving her time to finally visit Nebel again.

She looked around in awe as she walked down the streets, seeing the result of dumping copious amounts of Points and materials into the development of them, when she heard a familiar voice.

“Crriiiiiiimmmm!!”
“Woah… Juna, don’t think your tackles are going to keep working after so many times.”
“Eheheh…”

This time, she was able to skillfully catch the small figure charging at her…and then she hugged the girl tightly as she laughed.

“Stop that you dummy, don’t you know she’s our ruler now? She’s like a super important person around here.”

A young boy came running after Juna in distress. He was George, and hearing him, Crim smiled awkwardly while shaking her head.

“Don’t worry about that, just think of me the same way as before. The shock of you two acting all respectful around me would keep me up all night.”
“Are you sure..? Well…if you say so. It’s been a while, Crim.”

Making sure those two could live safely and in peace was the main reason why Crim had established a nation in that region. She never planned on becoming someone important.

He still seemed a bit embarrassed about it, but as he finally greeted her the way he used to, Crim nodded satisfied.

“Anyway…you really splurged on the streets here, didn’t you?”
“Ahahah…I hope it isn’t a bother?”
“Not at all. Dad and the old blacksmith were really grateful to receive the newest equipment.”

Hearing that took some weight off Crim’s shoulders, and she once again looked at the changed scenery.

The biggest streets had been paved with stone to make them easier to tread, and various stairs that had been decaying were beautifully renewed. Many houses had also been rebuilt and had their gardens mended, but she always made sure that it was in accordance with the wishes of those living there.

There was also that area near the lake shore, where their old guild house was. It had been completely rebuilt into a public park, with benches and gazebos of muted colors so they would not clash with the rest of Nebel, while also offering a relaxing spot to sightsee the lake and the majestic castle beyond.

The Foggy Lakeside Town of Nebel had been improved in all those ways.

It still had that remote appearance, being a far cry from what one would expect from a capital city, but it was enough for it to be seen as something bigger than a town.

“Everyone here is grateful. The streets look way nicer, and it’s also safer to live here, and apparently, there’s also more visitors and people moving in too.”
“You know, we’ve made a bunch of new friends too!”

The two kids spoke with delight.

“I see… That’s good then.”
“Yup, so again…thank you, really.”

Hearing those words from George made Crim feel like all her efforts had paid off, and she could really feel all of the changes she had brought.

◇◇◇

…But she could not hang around for too long. She still had other things to do.

Many of the guilds that were part of the Lua Cheia United Kingdom had gathered in Castle Seyfert, as Crim would lead them on their first campaign across Galardia Bridge.

Crim and her friends could have simply teleported to the area in front of the citadel, but most of the other guilds joining them had not activated that destination yet. And there was the fact that she wanted to see the rebuilt bridge for herself, but…

“Woahhh…!”
“This is so beautiful…!”

After coming out of the ridge, the players with her all let out voices of wonder the moment they saw Lake Galardia.

Just like the previous time, the sky was clear, the mountains surrounding it had a snow cap, and the surface of the water was calm like a mirror. This time, however, they had a panoramic view of their surroundings, something that hadn’t been possible before the upper deck of the bridge had been restored.

“This place looks so pretty, sister!”
“Mhm… I’m glad it suiteth thy taste, Rouge. But it may yet be dangerous, so stray not from my side, alright?”

Rouge flew around with excitement in fairy form, while Crim was constantly looking around wary of any undead that might approach them.

“Oh wow…I was really expecting a really somber place when I heard this is a den of undead, but this scenery doesn’t look like that at all!”
“I…I guess…so… At least someone’s cheerful, Elmir.”

Elmir was following behind Crim as her adjutant, along with his guild, Silver Wings. Everyone quickly forgot about the undead, swept up by the breathtaking view and chatting cheerfully—until…

“…May I have a moment?”

An unfamiliar voice rang in their ears out of nowhere, almost like a faint echo.

“…Who said that just now?”
“Huh…? No one said anything?”

Crim turned around, her movements stiff as if her joints had rusted over, and Elmir spoke up on behalf of everyone, but his face was beginning to turn pale.

Just a few steps away, Lycoris was hiding behind Frey, while Hinagiku and Setsuna clung to each other. All their eyes were fixed on something behind Crim’s ghostly pale face.

The hundred or so players following behind them had also reacted in similar ways, meaning that there was clearly something behind Crim.

She had a terrible feeling about it, and while her mind was screaming at her to face it head on, her body and instincts refused with all their might.

…But at that point, there was no way to run away from reality anymore.

“…May I have a moment, please?”
“Hieee…”

This time, that oddly echoing voice rang much closer, and Crim felt a cold breeze brush against her shoulder, making her let out a shriek and rush to hide behind Freya nearby.

The owner of that voice watched that with a troubled look. It was a figure covered with a black hood, and the scenery behind them was faintly visible through their body.

“I believe you’re the leaders of this army here. There’s some information I’d like to relay, so could I please have a moment of your time?”

The ghost—because there was no other way to describe him—raised his hands to show he meant no harm, and repeated his request calmly.

It seemed that not all ghosts were enemies.

The ones they had encountered before attacked indiscriminately, but this one behaved more like an NPC. Even when someone tried to target him, a warning message appeared: “This is a friendly NPC. Are you sure you want to attack?” Because of that, everyone lowered their weapons.

Seeing that, the ghost let out a sigh of relief and bowed to them.

“I deeply apologize for that, it wasn’t my intention to startle you.”

Saying that, he pulled back the hood of his robes, which were tattered but had clearly once looked impressive.

That revealed the face of a young red-haired man wearing a monocle. At the very least, his eyes looked kind, so he definitely didn’t resemble the malicious spirits they had encountered before.

That helped Crim gather her courage and peek out from behind Freya, eventually agreeing to listen to what he had to say.

He looked mildly amused by Crim’s cautious behavior, but continued speaking without pause.

“I am Spellmaster Alberich, the head sorcerer of the Garland Citadel…or at least I used to be.”

He held a hand to his chest and bowed respectfully as he introduced himself to Crim, who had finally gathered the courage to step out from behind Freya’s back, even though she was still afraid.

It was then, Crim realized that was not the first time she had heard that name.

“Alberich? Isn’t that…in the lower deck…”
“Yes…I was that lich you defeated down there before.”

He said that with a clear voice, and then smiled at Crim…

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