Chapter 9
To start with the result, the [Mona’s Sorrow] keyword ended up going to Ryota.
At long last, the daily quest completion points—so trivial that no one had ever cared about them—were finally acknowledged. Even his pitiful stats were taken into account, along with the credit for charging at the boss monster like a moth to a flame.
She realized later that he’d acted without thinking things through, driven purely by emotion… but in this harsh world, wasn’t such rare selflessness worth praising?
Once the situation had settled, an oddly solemn atmosphere hung in the air as Mona fell into thought.
This should be the moment where I give the keyword and disappear… but like this? Out of nowhere? And to whom?
“Miss Mona, are you alright?”
The voice calling her name snapped her out of her spiraling thoughts.
As the players watched in breathless silence, Mona slowly met Ryota’s gaze. She couldn’t see his expression clearly beneath the robe, but she could feel it.
Is that some kind of treasured item? she wondered.
“I’m fine.”
“That’s a relief. I thought you were in danger—”
Ryota struggled to finish his sentence before clutching his chest and collapsing. A ripple of alarm spread, and at that moment, a system window abruptly popped up in Mona’s view.
“Ah.”
An urgent message from the operations team followed.
[Hurry up! It looks like the system is lagging!]
She understood the urgency, but shouldn’t saving a person come before anything else? Mona’s gaze hardened as she looked at Ryota’s nearly empty HP bar.
Alright… to heal him, I need—
Then a spark flashed through her mind.
Affinity: MAX!
Right. There was no need to hesitate at all.
Unfair connections aren’t limited to school ties or hometown ties.
Ryota had always ranked first on Mona’s affinity chart—a chart no one else cared about. In the brutal daily quest market, that practically meant he’d been carrying things on his own.
Good. With all the affinity she’d built up so far…
I’ll make sure you succeed.
“Ryota, don’t worry. I really am okay.”
“I’m embarrassed you had to see me like this. If anything, I was the one who needed help.”
“Oh my. Not at all. Just having you nearby made me feel safe. And…”
Mona spoke gently, imagining his expression beyond the black hood.
“The sword you’re holding.”
“Yes?”
“I’ll replace it with something better.”
“…What?”
As Ryota stared at her in confusion, Mona smiled and pressed [Here] in the quest window. The letters flashed, and a loud unsealing alarm rang out.
“You already know, since you’ve seen me like this, but…”
I’m actually a witch.
Ryota fell silent at Mona’s shy confession.
“Are you surprised? I suppose I don’t look the part.”
“I—”
“It’s okay. You don’t have to say anything. The moment you rushed out to save me, something inside me shattered.”
Ryota tried to speak again, but Mona quickly raised her hand to stop him. There were lines she had to get through first.
“Black magic… was I even in my right mind? Unless I was possessed, why would I crawl back into a past I tried so hard to abandon?”
“Ah… black magic. So that’s what it was. But—”
“Shh, just a moment! You saved someone like me. You brought me the warmth of the villagers as well. Ah… all the things I’d forgotten. My frozen heart melted away.”
For once, her usual embarrassment vanished.
Mona delivered those shameless lines without blinking.
Because—
Once this is done, I can go home.
Her shift was almost over.
Lowering her voice as the climax approached, Mona asked,
“It’s shameless of me, but… would you help with my [Final Battle]?”
Though the request was sudden, Ryota nodded readily and picked up his [Common Sword]—still lying flat on the ground.
“If I can be of help, anytime.”
The unexpected development moved the other players to tears, and when the video titled Mona’s Past—stuffed with every tragic trope imaginable—began playing, some even sniffled aloud.
Cooperative players, smooth progression. A very desirable outcome.
Mona thought coolly.
One side’s handled. Now comes the tricky part.
But for the sake of clocking out—and for everyone else—the ending had to be beautiful.
She walked slowly toward the man sprawled on the ground, still gripping his sword, and whispered in a deliberately provocative tone,
“Aren’t you curious about that cave over there?”
Ryota stared in that direction for a moment before answering carefully.
“As long as you’re safe, Miss Mona, I—”
“Let’s go together.”
Just hit accept, she silently added. Ryota flinched in surprise.
Yes. This is the hidden quest.
Despite her smug, chin-raised expression, his reply was calm.
“I can’t move right now.”
“Oh! Sorry.”
And just like that, Ryota revived.
Whispers spread—Was it him? Did she really give the keyword?
Feeling the sticky gazes of the surrounding players, Mona grabbed Ryota by the collar.
Teleport, activate!
In the blink of an eye, they arrived before the Black Cave, now crowded with players who’d already heard the news. With the keyword revealed, everyone was waiting for the dungeon clear.
Against a backdrop of cheers and threats to hurry up, Ryota placed his hand on the stone door. It crumbled into ash and scattered away.
Empowered by Mona’s witch transformation, the two quickly reached the depths of the cave where the final boss awaited.
Finally!
Clutching his cheap sword, Ryota listened as Mona spoke.
“This is the cave where the demon was resurrected.”
The long-hidden boss of the Black Cave was… a demon.
…At least, that was what she was supposed to say. Mona skimmed the transparent NPC guideline floating beside her and continued haltingly.
“A demon? Then why did no one know until now?”
“Of course no one knew. Everyone who tried the summoning died. Everyone… except me. Now, you’ll be the first discoverer—and the one who seals it.”
She explained how witches and others had offered sacrifices here for years to summon the demon.
It was painfully cliché: the witch regains her sanity and sides with the player. The rushed, flimsy plot made her cringe, but there was no helping it.
“We’re almost there.”
“Yes.”
The cave gave off a chilling, oppressive atmosphere that made one’s back prickle.
Ah… the end is finally in sight.
Mona scanned the interior, her heart light.
Of course, she wouldn’t mind grabbing the demon by the hair and shaking it around a bit. Not that she believed the design team’s rumor that it was handsome, but still…
Besides.
She’d originally planned to just act as a guide, but this man was unreliable. His paper-thin HP wouldn’t survive even a basic monster, let alone a demon.
The thought flowed naturally—from we’ve been through things together to he rushed in alone earlier, and finally to I should help too.
“Miss Mona, I’m really fine.”
“Shh. Be quiet.”
“We can just leave—”
“No. I need to see the demon for myself.”
She swung her skull-topped staff with enthusiasm.
“What? See what?”
“Oh—nothing. Haha. We have to defeat the demon to lift this darkness. The villagers accepted someone like me, so I want to protect them.”
“Miss Mona.”
“I didn’t get to say it earlier, but thanks to you, I came to my senses. Thank you.”
She was glad she’d at least skimmed the setting book beforehand. Please, no more questions.
Because I don’t know either.
Fortunately, Ryota seemed satisfied enough.
“I’d heard rumors you were a witch, but I didn’t mind.”
“Is that so? Even a lie sounds nice. Haha.”
“I’m serious. What does it matter if you’re a witch?”
“Um… thank you. I have to defeat the demon before the darkness seeps back in. I don’t want to lose myself again. You understand, right?”
“Then I’ll help. Because you’re you, Miss Mona.”
“Oh my. How reliable.”
They opened the stone door—and the demon was there. Thunderous sound effects shook the ground.
Wow, custom background music? They spent some money.
“Miss Mona, that must be the [Black-Horned Demon] you mentioned.”
“I—I suppose so?”
A massive system window announced the boss’s appearance.
Mona, inwardly tense, turned her gaze to the unusually dark mass ahead.
A blood-soaked hexagram, NPC bodies scattered like corpses, and—
Ah.
At the center, where the bodies were piled highest, stood the demon.
A massive spear, long claws, vicious armor—and even without wings, it floated in midair. A troublesome attack pattern, no doubt.
Design team… you lied. I won’t forget this.
Mona scowled, having secretly hoped for something handsome.
