When I opened my eyes in the morning, I was on the bed in my room.
It seems I was moved home while half-asleep.
"Ugh."
My head felt dull and throbbing.
Knock knock - a knocking sound.
Of course it's Chris.
"Come iiiin."
I allowed Chris's visit with a drowsy voice.
Chris came in carrying something on a tray, sighing deeply.
"Haah, are you okay? Why did you drink so much alcohol yesterday?"
"Alcohol...?"
Chris sat on the bed with a playful smile and stroked my head.
"You don't remember anything from yesterday?"
"Umm..."
I clearly remember looking for something to drink in the hall, finding sweet juice and sipping it.
I don't remember anything after that.
"After drinking something like juice... I don't remember after that."
"Hehe, it was quite a scene, I tell you?"
Chris just said that and kept chuckling.
I felt a bit embarrassed.
"Did I do something rude yesterday? I'm sorry."
"Ah, no! What do you mean rude!"
Chris waved her hands. Then she covered her face with her hands and it turned slightly red.
What's wrong with this unnie?
"Unnie liked it."
"...?"
Chris, who said that with a seemingly shy girl's expression, soon turned her head and cleared her throat.
"A-ahem! Anyway, alcohol is forbidden from now on! ...Well, not completely forbidden! If unnie allows it, only drink in front of unnie!"
"Okay."
I don't know well, but it seems what I drank thinking it was juice yesterday was alcohol.
In short, I got drunk.
I don't think I drank that much though. This body gets drunk quickly.
Chris put her hand behind my back and raised my upper body.
"Here, does your head hurt? Unnie prepared breakfast that should help with hangover."
"Oh."
Rice with some side dishes, and clear soup with bean sprouts and beef in it.
I tilted my head.
"I'm not sure, but isn't hangover soup usually spicy?"
"Hmm~ They say that's a misconception. Clear soup is actually better for hangovers."
Chris grinned and put a spoonful of soup in my mouth.
Ah~
Today is Sunday. But Chris said she has to work on weekends.
While others will rest, Chris is often busy even on weekends.
"Take good care of yourself, and don't overdo it."
"Okay. Have a good day at work."
I greeted Chris with just my head poking out of the blanket.
Chris looked at me with a slightly regretful expression for a moment and left the room.
Me, alone.
After tossing and turning in bed for a while, I fiddled with my smartphone.
After about ten minutes of this, I finally sighed and got up.
"Haah."
These days I just can't stay still.
I had excess energy from eating and living well.
Though my body is a bit languid from the hangover, it's not to the extent that I can't be active.
Whirr.
I went out to the living room for a moment and turned on the hologram TV installed on the wall.
"Hmm..."
I don't really like the entertainment shows of this era. I don't get their comedy code either.
Animation? I feel like I have memories of watching that too.
As I was flipping through various TV channels, I stopped on one channel.
"Oh, baseball."
A baseball game was in full swing on the sports channel.
Morning isn't the time for baseball. Is it a rerun?
I heard various virtual reality sports are popular these days.
But even in this era, baseball still has a professional league running in reality.
My past life self had a team I cheered for too.
Where was it? Some Eagles?
It would be nice if there was something I could be interested in in this world too.
It would be nice to go on various outings with Chris unnie, and go watch sports games together too.
As I was rummaging through fragments of memories, I blankly watched the baseball game for a while, then eventually returned to my room.
"Hup."
And, I lay down in the capsule.
I guess I still like the Astria continent the best after all.
* * *
After refreshingly doing one round of daily quests, I opened the messenger window.
"Today... Everyone's resting."
I clicked my tongue.
I want to run buses, but many guild members are offline.
"Oh."
I smiled brightly as I was looking for someone to run buses with me.
Fortunately, Full Moon and Red Hot Chicken, two female guild members, were logged in.
I called them.
Today's Ice Palace bus was decided to be with them.
Frontline is Swordsman Rain, backline is Elementalist Full Moon and Mage Red Hot Chicken. It's an excellent 3-person composition bus.
The Elementalist's spirits have very good utility. They can summon the earth spirit 'Gnome' for tanking, or use the water spirit 'Undine' to seal the Named boss's movements or apply various status effects.
So actually Elementalists who can perform multiple roles simultaneously are preferred in 3-person buses. Of course, the Red-White guild members who are all top-class experts in the advance party did fine even without an Elementalist.
Boom boom boom!
Full Moon put Gnome in front, and battered the 'Shieldbearer' with Salamander's flame skills. The firepower of Mage 'Red Hot Chicken' pouring magic alongside was amazing too.
Certainly, as you face the same Named boss repeatedly and get used to it, damage output increases too.
Though I widen the gap with other users with my adaptability at first, as they become skilled, they gradually catch up to me.
I glanced at the battle situation across the cliff, then raised the damage tempo even more towards the 'Spearman' I was facing.
Swish swish swish!
As starlight raged around me, the 'Spearman's' HP started decreasing rapidly.
Even if I shave it this fast, they can keep up.
It's a happy thing for users to grow.
Even more so if they're our guild members.
Today's bus customer was a middle-aged Fighter of few words and polite manners. He coolly requested 10 consecutive rounds.
Full Moon and Red Hot Chicken, who were chattering next to that customer at first, soon started chattering next to me after reading the customer's mood.
I told Full Moon and Red Hot Chicken to speak comfortably. By appearance and resident registration, I'm the younger one.
"Everyone drank a lot until dawn, you know? At least Hopkins-nim and Disappointing-nim probably won't be able to log in at all today?"
"Huhu, saying things like who can hold their liquor better and such. A drinking contest in such a high-class hotel hall, I thought I'd die of embarrassment. ...By the way, is Rain okay?"
Full Moon, who was laughing while talking about guild members, casually asked me.
I tilted my head, then remembered the fact that Lee Seulbi's body had been drunk yesterday.
"Yes. My head hurt a bit in the morning, but it's fine now."
"A-ahem. That's good."
Suddenly Full Moon blushed and cleared her throat. Red Hot Chicken showed a similar reaction and avoided my gaze.
They who were chattering enthusiastically suddenly blushed as if by agreement.
I became a bit anxious.
Did drunk Lee Seulbi greatly offend the unnies yesterday?
"Did I do something wrong yesterday...?"
"Ah, no! What do you mean wrong! It was so goo... Ah, no, completely sof... Aah!"
"Hey you!"
Full Moon poked Red Hot Chicken's side as she was rambling. Then as if she suddenly remembered something, she clapped her hands.
"Oh right, you said you don't remember yesterday well? ...Perhaps, you don't remember what happened after going up to the hotel room with the guild master either?"
"What?"
Yesterday? After going up to the hotel room?
Full Moon and Red Hot Chicken's faces turned even redder. Then they clasped their hands and started imagining something.
"Rain is an adult too, so you probably know everything? Haah...! It's frustrating, but the guild master is a perfect woman so...!"
"B-but surely she wouldn't take advantage of a drunk child..."
I shook my head.
"We just slept. I remember that for sure."
For some reason, I felt strongly that I should say this for Chris's social reputation.
Full Moon and Red Hot Chicken clicked their tongues with disappointed expressions.
From what I heard, it seems Lee Seulbi was the only one among the guild members who got proper sleep yesterday after all.
Full Moon and Red Hot Chicken were tired all the same. When afternoon came, they complained of fatigue and logged off.
After sending off Full Moon and Red Hot Chicken, I planned exploration of the next area.
"Now I need to level up little by little too."
Actually it's still early in Ice Palace farming. Bus fees are at their peak expensive time.
But I had to make the most of the time when there was no one to run buses with.
I can earn money with solo buses too, but I'm a good kid who listens to unnie well. As Chris said, there was a need to restrain myself if there were no guild members to accompany me.
Three customers and me alone. This composition is insufficient for my body. It was difficult to deal with obsessive users enchanted by my appearance. I can't keep calling admins every time either.
And the temperature of this area has risen slightly.
It's because the cold energy emitted from there disappeared after defeating the master of the 'Ice Palace of the Frozen Land'.
Other users probably won't notice well. Only I, who sensitively feel temperature changes, noticed this fact.
Now this area will gradually find the temperature fitting its latitude.
Even if the snow doesn't melt completely, it will at least regain an environment where people can live.
There's something I learned while exploring this area.
That until about a hundred years ago, there were quite a lot of villages in this area.
I actually saw ruins of several villages with traces of people having lived there.
But currently, 'Valos' village was the only village where people lived in this area. They were the only ones who didn't abandon their hometown in the extreme cold environment.
The source of cold energy is not just the 'Ice Palace of the Frozen Land'.
Cold energy permeating the entire snowy mountain area. Or, demonic energy in the form of cold energy.
To completely erase this demonic energy, how many more elite dungeons will we have to overcome in the future?
And, will I be able to find traces of my companions here too?
Crunch crunch.
Leaving small footprints in the snow, I headed towards the second stage of the 'Extreme Cold Land' adventure.