【Settlement Complete.】
【Returning to the Inner World…】
……
……
“Ugh… X﹏X”
Consciousness returned as Nuo Ai’er slowly opened her eyes. The first thing that came into view was an unfamiliar ceiling.
“This is… Huh?”
Nuo Ai’er struggled to sit up, finding herself lying on a soft, large bed.
Before she could figure out what was happening, a tall, slender shadow appeared beside her.
Nuo Ai’er turned her head and met a pair of surprised purple eyes.
The woman before her—with long, straight black hair and a Gothic black dress—was the tall, elegant culprit who had dragged her into this godforsaken place: the witch Weiran.
But right now, Weiran had completely lost the playful attitude she’d had when teasing Nuo Ai’er earlier. Her eyes were wide open, and she looked totally dumbfounded.
“W-Weiran?”
‘That look is bad news…’ Nuo Ai’er instinctively shrank back.
“Oh my god (ΩДΩ)”
“Ehhh (〃д〃)”
Before Nuo Ai’er could react, Weiran suddenly pounced, pulling her into a tight hug.
She even rubbed her cheek against Nuo Ai’er’s soft face.
A voice then rang out in Nuo Ai’er’s head:
【Weiran’s affection has increased significantly…】
Nuo Ai’er was completely stunned.
‘What’s going on? Did this witch take the wrong pills?’
“That’s great… that’s great! I knew my judgment was right!” Weiran let go of Nuo Ai’er, cupping her little face in both hands, speaking excitedly and incoherently.
“You actually cleared it!”
“It hurts, stop rubbing X﹏X. What do you mean by that?” Nuo Ai’er rubbed her sore cheeks and asked.
Weiran sighed, looking a little embarrassed as she averted her gaze.
“Ahem, well, here’s the thing… I’m the Inner World Administrator, a member of the 【Witch Council】 . My job is to recruit new players—to bring high-quality players into the Inner World.”
“But how should I put it… I’ve always had a big problem…” Weiran scratched her head, too shy to speak up.
“Huh?” Nuo Ai’er’s eyes went wide.
“Almost every player I’ve recruited failed the tutorial stage.” Weiran hung her head in frustration. “They either failed, gave up, or died. In the end, I had to erase their memories and send them back to their original world.”
“Died?”
Nuo Ai’er seized on the key point: “Wait, are you saying that dying in the game isn’t real death? All those failed players get sent back?”
“Of course.” Weiran nodded matter-of-factly. “The Inner World is dangerous, but we witches have professional ethics. We don’t just run murder games. At worst, we wipe their memories and make them think it was just a nightmare.”
Hearing this, a huge weight lifted from Nuo Ai’er’s heart.
‘So dying in a dungeon doesn’t mean real death… No wonder her time-rewind talent had also given her the option of whether to revert or not.’
Back then, Nuo Ai’er thought she would really die, so she chose to rewind every time. Looking back now, there were times she could have chosen to give up.
“Getting back to you, little Nuo Ai’er. Actually, at first, I just wanted to punish you for being an online troll and keyboard warrior.” Weiran pinched Nuo Ai’er’s nose with a mischievous grin.
“So this time, I didn’t have high hopes. I planned to wait for you to fail the tutorial, then wipe your memory and send you back. I never thought you’d give me such a big surprise!”
“…Ah (´-﹏-`；)”
‘What the hell? She was so cocky before, but she’s actually a useless witch.’
Nuo Ai’er fell silent for a moment.
She had calmed down.
She remembered again…
In her mind, Leinata’s emerald green eyes appeared, along with the crying figure kneeling on the ground that she’d seen in the white light.
“Um…” Nuo Ai’er looked up and asked seriously, “Are all these dungeons designed by you witches?”
‘If they’re just data, then she should be able to rewrite a good fate for Leinata.’
“No, they’re not.” Weiran shook her head, her expression turning a bit more serious. “Actually, every dungeon is an independent ‘world bubble’—a real parallel world. They’re not programmed levels we designed.”
Nuo Ai’er: Eh Σ( ° △ ° |||)︴
“A real… world?”
“That’s right. In other words, besides you, no other player has ever entered your tutorial stage world. After you, no new player will enter either. Only you can play through it, because it’s a real micro-world.”
Nuo Ai’er’s pupils dilated.
‘A real world… which means Leinata is still alive.’
“Can I go back to that world bubble and play again?”
“Oh? Hooked already, huh? Hehe, no can do. Once a game is completed, the world bubble usually can’t be re-entered.” Weiran smiled, shooting down Nuo Ai’er’s hopes.
“Why…”
Nuo Ai’er lowered her head.
‘Leinata…’
She killed her ancestor, broke the curse, but also lost the hope she’d fought so hard for.
She must be living in that world right now, all alone, guarding that red hooded cloak, waiting for someone who might never return…
Nuo Ai’er bit her lip.
She didn’t dare imagine Leinata’s expression right now. The heart-wrenching feeling made it almost hard to breathe.
“I… I don’t want to play anymore.”
Nuo Ai’er suddenly looked up, her eyes red-rimmed as she stared at Weiran.
“Since you were going to erase my memory and send me back if I failed, you can do that now too. I don’t want any points. I don’t want to play anymore! Send me back!”
‘As long as I go back to the original world, I won’t have to go through this stomach-churning story again.’
But hearing this, Weiran’s expression instantly changed.
Weiran: ๑乛◡乛๑
The witch, who had been wearing a gentle maternal smile a moment ago, suddenly narrowed her purple eyes, revealing a strange grin.
“W-What’s with that look? ( ๑ŏ ﹏ ŏ๑ )” Nuo Ai’er trembled instinctively.
“Don’t want to play anymore?”
Weiran reached out, long fingers gently gripping Nuo Ai’er’s chin, forcing her to look up.
“Little Nuo Ai’er, did you misunderstand something?”
Weiran leaned in close, warm breath spilling onto Nuo Ai’er’s ear.
Then…
“Slurp~”
Weiran stuck out the tip of her tongue and lightly licked Nuo Ai’er’s pale cheek.
“Yaa ≧﹏≦” Nuo Ai’er let out a cute cry, shuddering, her face instantly turning bright red.
“You’re my first precious player to clear the tutorial stage.”
Weiran’s voice turned domineering.
“I finally got my hands on a top-tier familiar. How could I let you go so easily?”
“W-What are you going to do?! Σ( ° △ ° |||)︴” Nuo Ai’er trembled.
“Don’t be nervous.” Weiran let go, stood up, and gracefully smoothed her skirt. “To celebrate your successful clearance, big sister will reward you today. Let’s go out! You haven’t had a good look around the Inner World yet, have you?”
“I don’t want to! I want to go home! (๑˃ಐ˂৭)” Nuo Ai’er protested.
“Protest denied.” Weiran scooped Nuo Ai’er up from the bed.
“Let’s go, my little cutie. We’ve got a packed schedule today.”
“Nooo QAQ”
Accompanied by Nuo Ai’er’s desperate squeals, the two walked out of the bedroom.
♡♡♡
Meanwhile…
In a dark, forgotten alley somewhere in the Inner World, the space suddenly rippled with a strange distortion, as if something had forcibly torn through the barriers of the world.
A figure slashed through space with two strokes, stepping slowly out of the ripples.
It was a girl with golden hair and emerald eyes, wrapped in a deep red hooded cloak.
At her waist hung a knife that looked ordinary but radiated a biting coldness.
She pulled back her hood, revealing hair as dazzling as the sun and a pair of distinctive wolf ears.
The girl looked around expressionlessly, taking in the unfamiliar yet bustling streets of the Inner World, her gaze betraying no confusion.
Leinata paused briefly, then a newfound, unwavering determination blazed in her wolf-like eyes.
Just then, a cold mechanical voice suddenly echoed in her mind:
【Judgment Passed!】
【Welcome to the Inner World, Player Leinata.】
The girl showed no reaction to the voice. Still expressionless, she spoke coldly:
“So, where would she be?”
“No matter where you are… I will find you.”