Just like last time at the cabin, Relia would take the bed while Oscar took the sofa.
In the narrow guest room, warm food prepared by the innkeeper sat on a small table.
As she ate her soup, Relia stared absentmindedly at Oscar.
While dining, a sudden curiosity struck her.
'By the way, why hasn't his affinity appeared yet?'
A considerable amount of time had passed since they started traveling together, yet still no quest had appeared.
Compared to Calix or Romeo, something felt strange.
'Since it came to mind, let me check.'
Relia looked at the corner of her vision and opened the affinity window. She intended to check Oscar's affinity level.
[Do you wish to check the affinity of special affinity target
'Yes, let me check.'
She answered internally and took a sip of water.
[Unable to view information]
[Unable to view information]
[Unable to view information]
[Unable to view information]
[Unable to view information]
Suddenly, messages appeared in succession as red light flashed like an emergency.
What was this?
Relia froze in surprise at the sight she had never seen before.
At the same time, her eyes met Oscar's as he raised his head.
"……."
Oscar's gaze was directed subtly at the empty space before Relia's eyes.
Relia felt as if someone had grabbed her heart. She couldn't think at all.
Goosebumps rose on her spine and spread throughout her body.
As she watched him tensely, Oscar slowly lowered his gaze before raising it again to look at Relia.
His eyes seemed to devour her thoroughly, and Relia averted her eyes first.
"You're using some strange power."
"……!!"
Relia felt her heart drop and looked at him again.
Since yesterday—no, since she met Oscar while running away—her heart hadn't had a moment's peace.
But this was another matter entirely.
Oscar warned in a low voice.
"I don't know what it is, but it's dangerous. If you meet Griffith again, you'd better be careful in front of him."
"…W-what do you mean?"
When Relia feigned ignorance, Oscar raised one corner of his mouth and downed cold water.
Then he stood up, placed one arm on the table, leaned forward and brought his face close to Relia's ear.
He whispered at her ear as if sharing a secret.
"I'll wash up first, so wait."
His tone was somehow intimate and subtle.
But Relia didn't notice that at all. She was too startled by what Oscar had just said.
Oscar chuckled at her reaction and went into the bathroom attached to the room.
"Ha…."
As soon as he disappeared, Relia put her hand over her heart and exhaled.
Beneath her palm, her heart was pounding wildly.
'What did he see?'
Feeling uneasy, Relia called out to Alchemist internally.
'H-Hey, Alchemist… surely your message windows don't get exposed to other people, right?'
[The quest system is being adjusted due to an information-restricted target. =͟͟͞͞(꒪ᗜ꒪ ‧̣̥̇) The update will take some time.]
'That's not what's important right now! Did Oscar see the game window or not?'
[The system screen cannot be seen by anyone except Master!( •̅_•̅ )]
'Then what did Oscar just see?'
[Unable to verify.]
'Then check it.'
[It is difficult to verify.]
This is really….
Relia bit her lip firmly.
But since Oscar hadn't stated it exactly, he certainly hadn't seen it for sure.
Her head throbbed, and as she blinked her eyes several times, something she hadn't noticed before caught her attention.
It was the 'Announcements' section, the smallest among the menu items.
It was a menu that existed originally, but since coming to this world, there had been no reason to pay attention to it.
But now, she saw a small red exclamation mark floating there. Something that hadn't been there before had appeared.
'What is this?'
An announcement, of all things?
With an uneasy feeling, she clicked on the announcement, and a notification window appeared.
[Ta-da! In (3) days! A large-scale update for the otherworld
•Check patch details in detail•
Relia blinked in disbelief.
So this meant the game from her previous world was scheduled to be updated.
The feeling was strange.
The game 'Alchemist's Lottery' was loved for its charming illustrations, but it was also notorious among users for its tedious, repetitive quests and excessive cash-grabbing mechanics.
Moreover, shortly before she died, the game company had been very negligent with updates as they were making a new game.
Even during holidays, instead of events, they only released packages that encouraged spending.
Yet now a large-scale update?
As a user who loved this game more than anyone, her heart raced.
And if parts of the large-scale update would be applied here too, there was no reason not to agree.
'Still, just to be sure.'
Relia decided to check the patch details first.
※The
•Original patches from the otherworld will be partially applied and adjusted for optimization.
•Weekly packages, monthly packages will be created.
•Special events will be created.
•New dragons will be added.
•New recipes, materials, quests will be added.
•New achievements will be added.
•Security will be strengthened.
Do you wish to apply the patch?
(※It will be automatically adjusted and optimized to fit this world's environment.)
Relia frowned as she read the contents.
Did they not know the meaning of the word 'detailed'?
She was a bit annoyed by the simple explanation, but still, joy outweighed it. Plus, security was being strengthened at just the right time.
She had to do it, if only to ease her anxiety.
Relia pressed the agree button without hesitation.
'If recipes are added, the Philosopher's Stone will get further away….'
Still, if packages worth the investment appeared, that wouldn't be a loss.
To collect 100 million crystals through pure grinding, she would need 100 billion shillings, but with discount packages, she could purchase crystals at a cheaper price.
[You have agreed to the patch. ٩(*•̀ᴗ•́*)و The large-scale update will proceed in 3 days!]
As soon as the final notification disappeared, the sound of Oscar coming out of the bathroom was heard.
'Put some clothes on.'
Relia furrowed her brows seeing him shirtless, then pretended not to see him as she walked past.
After locking the door securely and washing up, she climbed onto the bed without a sound.
The last night before arriving at the territory passed quietly like that.