I Became a Raid Boss

“My name is Garid. I’m the leader of the Crimson Aegis. Try calling me Garid Oppa.”

“…Mister.”

“…Uncle.”

“Mister.”

“…Leader, isn’t it a bit lacking in conscience to ask someone to call you Oppa at that age?”

“Cough…!”

Not long after meeting Garid, I used to call him Mister.

There were a few things I learned during my not-so-long life in the impoverished district, one of which was that not everyone is good, and just because someone shows kindness doesn’t mean you should trust them blindly.

At the time, Garid wore armor adorned with the symbol of the Crimson Aegis, shaped like red flames, but living in the slums, I had no way of knowing what that meant.

The name Crimson Aegis was just a rumor I had heard floating around.

“Kana, how about becoming my adopted daughter?”

“…?”

“Ah, ‘adopted daughter’ means to adopt a child—”

“I know what it means.”

“O-Oh, really? So, what do you think?”

“…That was sudden. Why all of a sudden…?”

“This is fate, right? I liked how you kept fighting against the monsters like a little kid. Besides, you seem to have some talent.”

“….”

“Honestly, I’m not sure if I can be a good dad. I probably can’t. But I’ll make sure you can live without getting your hands dirty. I have plenty of money.”

“Adopted daughter… um, okay.”

“Ooh, really? You won’t regret this, I promise. Now, from now on, call me Dad. Come on, say it. Dad.”

“Mister.”

“….”

As I became Garid’s adopted daughter and time passed, our bond grew stronger.

“…Garid.”

“Uh-huh?”

“You said you’d keep my hands clean. Isn’t what’s currently on my hands not water?”

“Hahaha, I’m sorry! My cooking skills are lacking!”

“…Why aren’t you cleaning?”

“It’s going to get dirty anyway. No need to clean it every time. I’ll do it when it gets unbearable. Hahaha!”

“….”

“….”

“Garid.”

“Uh, huh?”

“Die.”

“Wait, Kana?!”

As I started to trust him more, I began calling him by his name instead of titles.

“Hey, Kana!”

“Leader, what are you doing here?”

“Is this not somewhere I can come? And stop calling me Leader, call me Dad! Or just call me by my name like usual!”

“Leader, keep personal and professional separate.”

“Oh come on… Aren’t you the one who wants to be the leader? …Cough!”

“…Leader!”

“Oh, come on. Here we go again. Don’t make a fuss, Kana. It’s not like this hasn’t happened before.”

“…Why not just take a break?”

“No way! I won’t allow you to be the leader. I can’t just hand over this sweet job to you.”

“Sweet? More like barking at anything that moves.”

“And that’s why I can’t pass this position to you. You’d probably charge in and fight at the slightest annoyance, right?”

When I joined the Crimson Aegis and rose to the vice-captain position, I called him Leader.

In private, I still called him by his name.

“Cough, cough!”

“Garid…”

“Don’t worry… I don’t plan to die until I see you married and having kids…”

“Then you’re saying you’ll die with me when I do?”

“Hey, that can’t happen! Even if you don’t have kids, you have to get married. Dying alone is way too lonely.”

“But you haven’t even gotten married.”

“In exchange, I have a daughter. A beautiful, proud daughter.”

“…Hmph.”

Garid, whose condition had gradually worsened due to the aftermath of a snake bite, eventually lay on his sickbed and couldn’t get up.

“…I’m sorry. I wanted to see you get married… It seems I can’t keep that promise.”

“…You never actually promised anything, did you?”

“Haha, did I…? If so, I’m relieved….”

“Garid…”

“…Kana.”

“….”

“…Canaria.”

“…Yeah.”

“…My proud daughter, Kana. I love you.”

“…I love you too, Dad….”

What’s so embarrassing about just saying Dad?

It was only when the moment of parting came that I could finally reveal the feelings hidden deep within.

*

Recently, if you were to name the most popular broadcast on PC-shik, people would undoubtedly lift their heads to point at one show.

The broadcast of Joanie, shining at the top of the live viewer rankings.

One might say that it was only natural for it to be popular due to the high number of viewers, but the fact that it consistently made a huge difference compared to the second-ranked broadcast every time it aired was no ordinary occurrence.

And that was only possible because of the Gravekeeper… now known as Canaria Gracis, an NPC.

It was hard not to suspect that the developer had downed a few bottles of liquor to create such a ridiculously high-difficulty raid, combined with a tomb adorned with a stylish sword that butchered anyone who came near, altogether rejecting humans.

People were captivated by the overflowing stories.

When the once grumpy Kana opened her heart and revealed her name, there were even those who smiled warmly without realizing it.

Those who watched Joanie getting close to Kana, as if it were happening to them.

And when Kana stood in front of the grave and uttered the word ‘Dad,’ they were stumped.

Because they didn’t understand.

Even if they were playing a game in familiar English, they desperately searched for a Korean patch, and very few had bothered to learn the unfamiliar language of the world of Granic.

Foreigners were the same.

Pronunciation, way of thinking, grammar… People are originally optimized for the language of the country they were born and raised in—learning another language abruptly can be quite challenging.

“Games are supposed to be fun, so why do I have to study even in a game?”

For that reason, many people gave up learning Granic or memorized only a few easy words.

However, not everyone was like that—some viewers, including Joanie, diligently studied Granic and were able to translate what Kana said.

“He’s calling her Dad…”

–Gasp!

–Huff!

–Gwaaaaahhh!

–Congratulations!!!

It might have been a slip of the tongue triggered by suddenly missing her father.

But could anyone really think that when she said it with an aching expression, as if about to shed tears in front of the grave?

Unless you were severely insensitive, it was an unavoidably eye-catching sight.

[Hey, you bastards.]

Are you really human??

What, nothing to steal so you try to snag that poor kid?

And in front of her, trying to steal her father’s keepsake?

[Comments]

-? Why is this guy suddenly acting up?

┗ Have you missed your medication?

┗ (Link) Go check it out.

┗ What’s going on?

┗ You bastards; are you even human?

┗ Quick to change your tone, aren’t ya?

The scene of Kana calling out ‘Dad’ in front of the grave and the sword stuck there made it natural for people to assume that sword was her father’s keepsake.

[Because I didn’t know!]

I didn’t know it was a keepsake…!

Did you think I would?

If I had known, I wouldn’t have acted like that!

[Comments]

– It’s only common sense to think the sword stuck in front of a tomb is a keepsake.

┗ Can’t resist Excalibur, huh?

┗ You crazy bastard, that can’t be right.

┗ You really believe that??

– Indie Jones, are you watching?

┗ ???: What the hell, don’t involve me.

Even as they bickered excitedly, the mention of parents brought an abrupt pause—aka the “TALULLAH” moment.

The post by the person who first discovered Kana was bombarded with criticism, and the next target was the various guilds out running for their quests.

They suddenly got shot for no reason and protested their innocence.

[Hey, I wasn’t trying to steal it.]

I just wanted to run the raid, dammit!

[Comments]

– So what you mean is that you wanted to beat up an orphaned girl whose father had just passed?

┗ Wait a minute.

┗ Wow, trash.

┗ Wow, trash.

┗ No, I didn’t!!!

– Officer, this piece of trash here!

– There’s no trash like this in the world.

[Honestly, it’s an RPG norm.]

Didn’t we all do that in RPG games as kids?

If there was an open house, we’d raid it for loot,

Bash any pots or empty boxes,

And if it looked decent, we’d interact with it.

[Comments]

– Dude, the freedom levels are different.

– Nowadays, if you steal in front of NPCs, you get caught.

┗ Isn’t that normal?

┗ Old games didn’t have those mechanics.

– The author is currently imprisoned in the empire. Please take this post down.

┗ How do you know?

┗ I got caught breaking into a house and was immediately thrown in jail.

┗ Why am I here?

┗ You really think you can just not get arrested? Lol.

While not everyone was genuinely angry, most considered it a humorous happening.

After some lighthearted banter, discussions about war and Kana began to pop up.

[Right now, the ones who are the saddest]

Are the Outlaws, huh.

(Lo Arka Empire’s Knights.jpg)

The knights cheered, thinking they had won,

(Kana one-shots.jpg)

Only to be wiped out in one go. Haha!

It’s honestly absurd looking back;

If the top-ranked player is struggling against her, just how strong is she?

[From today, the idol of Silia is Kana.]

(Kana debut.gif)

(Kana one-shots.gif)

(Kana smiling.gif)

(Kana fighting Yuki.gif)

She’s cute and strong, a real goat…

Honestly, looking back, she’s terrifyingly adorable.

I just want to give her a candy and pat her head.

[Comments]

– Creepy.

– Sigh, that’s a bit intense…?

-(Kana in shock.gif)

┗??? Is this a new thing?

┗(Kana nods.gif)

[But am I the only one thinking this?]

Is she the strongest NPC ever? That could be possible.

Sure, there might be a story behind it.

But does it make sense for a middle schooler-like kid to beat seasoned knights?

And she didn’t even struggle; she wiped them out with just two sword swings.

It feels like the game developers are too openly catering to the audience, making me a bit resistant to it.

[Comments]

– I can relate; I have some resistance too.

┗ It’s not resistance, it’s just weird.

┗ Get outta here, jerk.

– Some plausibility is missing.

┗ Not just some, it’s a lot.

– She might actually be a polymorphed dragon.

┗ Oh, it was Gracis!

┗ It must be a Deus Ex Machina moment.

┗ What the hell does that even mean?

┗ Look at those nerds getting excited using big words.

Despite everything, it was undeniable that Kana had become a popular figure in the community.

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