I Became a 6★ Gacha Character

The morning started with Han Se-ah being Han Se-ah. Since we couldn't have formal banquets for all three daily meals with the Margrave and the Lady, breakfast was a light affair of hot stew and soft bread prepared by the maids. More precisely, it was a northern-style, Russian-style reddish... borscht?

Viewers had become so global that someone immediately identified this unfamiliar food as their hometown dish.

Anyway, after breakfast confirmed that both Kingdom and Empire north were modeled after Russia, we moved to have a relaxed discussion.

"Should we hire those three retired adventurers to go with us?"

"Right. We can't stay at the mansion forever. Who knows when the Demon King's army might move again, and the Magic Tower might figure out how to force open the gate."

"Our family crest, in the Empire, hmm... why? And who could it be?"

"Who could what be?"

"Many heirs gave up their succession rights to go north, so I can't tell which era this is from!"

The conversation topic was naturally about the treasure buried under the rainbow. Both Han Se-ah and I hadn't even mentioned experiencing monster waves - it was just a convenient excuse.

Grace, Katie, and Irene weren't battle-crazed shounen manga characters who'd insist on slicing up monster waves for bloodsport, so the party's goal naturally shifted. Besides, nobody would refuse when Katie was chattering away so excitedly.

While Katie enthusiastically discussed her ancestors up front, viewers in chat were jumping excitedly over Han Se-ah's area attacks.

"Wow, I caught something good. Our Irene wears thin clothes to sleep, and when she opened her door and stretched, her armpit went nyaang~"

-So that's what that mmmnngh sound was, just stretching

-Of course it's stretching sounds in the morning what else would it be idiot lololololololol

-Maybe teacher and Irene were intimately enjoying themselves behind the door early morning until Han Se-ah came and they quickly separated

-These guys write a whole erotic novel from 2 seconds of moaning if you're that good start publishing

Katie chattering away, Irene responding, Grace lazily leaning against me, Han Se-ah trolling viewers, and viewers forever in heat. Since it was the cold north, Grace's armpits weren't even visible through her shirt, but such facts didn't matter to Han Se-ah teasing her viewers.

My lips curved up involuntarily at this unchanging daily life even in the Empire's north, making Grace turn to stare intently at my cheek as if asking what I was happy about. I cleared my throat unnecessarily before gathering everyone's scattered attention.

"First, those retired adventurers seem to stay in this town, so hiring them as guides should be easy."

"But if they're retired, isn't this quite an old story? If the village disappeared long ago, it might be hard to find."

"The location being roughly known is enough. We're not looking for the village but the rainbow near it."

The meeting progressed quickly once we got to the main point. Really there wasn't much to discuss, as what we needed to do was crystal clear.

With only one clue and one witness, we just needed to take the retired adventurer trio to where that 'village' used to be instead of wasting time on other things. Worst case scenarios would be if it was beyond Empire territory lost to monster waves, or if no rainbow appeared.

But even if BB Games was called BB Monkeys, would they put a 5★ quest, not even 6★, in such an impossible place in an RPG?

A character quest activating but requiring areas currently inaccessible, or needing rainbows that never appear. Surely a suspicious but global company running a virtual reality game wouldn't operate that badly - we had to trust that.

"Then, shall we leave today? We have everything needed for exploration in our inventory anyway."

"You mean stuff we used in the tower? We should probably stock up on things for the northern snowfields."

"...Ah, right."

-No you idiot lol Things for 25°C warm plains won't work in -30°C snow you'll die lololololololol

-What happens if you die forever from doing something this stupid? Delete game?

-You can reset to previous days if you die repeatedly in same area but it takes dying so much it's hard to farm intentionally

-Could she even survive without being a streamer

-Her making it to this age unharmed with that intelligence proves Korea's a good place to live lol

"Hey, everyone makes mistakes! Besides, we got winter coats for free. At most we just need like, non-slip shoes and little things like that, right?"

[Russian Camping Man donated 1000₽!]

Sleep in that sleeping bag in the snow and you'll become fresh frozen pollack, though your intelligence already seems raw

[Northern Mercenary Group's Youngest Porter donated 5,000 won!]

Get a magic tent if you don't want to die buried in snow, speaking from experience

"...Ah, sleeping bags and tents."

Maybe we could trust BB Games, but Han Se-ah seemed less trustworthy.

※

Adventurers move immediately once their task is clear. Time is money was practically gospel for adventurers and mercenaries who'd die alone in old age without earning in their youth.

For efficiency, Han Se-ah and Grace went to general stores to check supplies needed for northern exploration, while Irene and I headed to an old building that might be the Mercenary's or Adventurer's Guild to hire the three retired adventurers.

Katie, our only noble-born member, was sent to inform the Margrave and the Lady- perfect division of labor.

"Welcome, oh...! What brings the hero party to a place like this?"

"I want to hire those three who told me stories yesterday."

Opening the creaky old wooden door revealed a plump woman at the reception desk. The same well-built woman who'd been happily cackling yesterday in the tavern while comparing giant privates to forearms.

Did the guild receptionist drinking in the tavern from early evening prove how peaceful and idle this town was?

Well, with at least two knight orders handling monster waves - the lord's knights and the Ice Cross Knights led by the second son - pushing the battlefield far north of the lord's mansion, this place had to be peaceful.

"Those three? Well... they say they're retired, but they'll do anything if you pay well enough."

"I'm from an adventurer background too, I won't use position or fame to push people around. The request is guiding us to that settler village and exploring around it. Payment is half upfront, this much."

"My... if I were just 10 years younger I'd ask to be hired myself, you're so generous."

When I placed a fist-sized pouch before the slightly worried-looking woman, she checked it and made a joking comment. A rough woman who took good care of her people - another strongly characterized personality.

As I thought this, the woman gathered the money pouch and papers, then came out from behind the counter and strode away.

"What are you doing? Let's hurry."

"Hm?"

"Those three will be drinking again by now, so we need to catch them now for the contract. No customers at this hour anyway, so let's quickly go to yesterday's place."

Never thought I'd see a guild worker leave the counter to catch adventurers. Even Irene, quiet beside me, couldn't help giggling softly at this.

Perhaps it reminded her of elderly nuns she often saw at the temple. I took Irene's smiling hand and followed the receptionist. Hearing our footsteps behind her, she strode forward without looking back.

In the late morning before lunch, a middle-aged woman jingling a money pouch led a handsome man and beautiful woman - the Holy Sword's owner and hero party's nun. People's gazes naturally gathered, but she ignored them and burst through yesterday's tavern door.

"Tom! Igor! Olson! Time to earn your drinking money, you lot!"

"Ow, my ears. What's all this noise so early... huh? What's that?"

"What else but a contract! How drunk are you adventurers not to recognize one?!"

"Hey, you need to explain! What receptionist brings contracts to a tavern?"

"You see the contract but not the employer behind me?"

"Behind? Oh, Sir Roland... employer?"

As expected of a tavern near the Margrave's mansion, it was full of rich idlers. When the receptionist burst in and raised her voice while familiar faces were chatting in broad daylight, all eyes turned to us.

"Yes, your employer. An employer so generous it makes me jealous, so read this."

"Orders?"

"I'm working, just one beer."

As I watched blankly while she presented papers prepared in that short time, showed the money pouch, and naturally ordered beer like this was normal, the retired adventurer trio bowed their heads after quickly pocketing the money.

Seeing them bow excessively like receiving divine grace, a thought suddenly struck me.

I'd packed enough gold coins to be considered generous even in the Kingdom's central region, but economic sense must be different here in the harsh north- that explained why the receptionist's eyes had gone crazy when checking the pouch.