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By the time they were done with their 'shopping trip' and 'sightseeing tour' around the city of Vermillion, there hadn't been much time left before they were forcefully logged out. But fortunately, everyone had been careful enough, and comfortably managed to squeeze into Emilia's room in 'Inari's Inn' before then.

Initially, Emilia intended to just rest well and lay out their 'game plan' a few hours before the next session, but unfortunately, that plan couldn't keep up with the changes.

The controversies that surrounded Arcadia since its launch might have made many quit, but they also made a lot of people curious enough to give it a try. And despite its rather 'uninteresting' gameplay, the unbelievably realistic 'graphics' and its extreme dedication to 'realism' were enough to make many stay.

Of course, its inherent 'flaws' were still there, and as many feared, it didn't take long for the 'bad apples' in the society to start doing in the game what they did everywhere else.

Normally, people turned a blind eye to harassment and bullying unless it was happening to someone they cared about, but Arcadia was already a hot topic in both forums and media, and everyone had a soul for gossip.

"There's already been over forty cases of sexual harassment filed by people who claimed that it happened within Arcadia, and seven have been arrested thanks to the videos recorded by the victims."

"It would be so easy to avoid this kind of thing. The developers should just make it so every female player can instantly shock anyone making unwanted contact with them. Or even better, just make it automatic. We only need to kill monsters in the game, so there's no need for a mechanic that allows two people to touch each other."

"Right? I used to think Darryl was a genius, but turns out even he can be so short-sighted."

Of course, many people opposed this type of opinion, and came out to defend against it.

"If you ask me, Darryl's move was truly the mark of a genius. Only those who already have that kind of uncontrollable tendency would commit such a crime. Instead of waiting for them to do it in real life and possibly get away with it, isn't it a good thing for them to do it in a game and get caught for sure?"

People naturally realized that the victim could always record and share the incident in Arcadia, and might even be able to escape by logging out in time, unlike reality. Moreover, it was impossible for the criminals to silence a victim or witness within the game, unless they also targeted them in real life before their dirty deeds could be exposed.

From that point of view, Arcadia was indeed helping 'flush out' such criminals, and this kind of argument was echoed by many. But a lot more scoffed at such thoughts.

"Calling this kind of heinous crime a 'good thing'… did your head get kicked by a donkey?"

"This game is really a cesspool. I hate it."

Despite all the controversy, however, a lot of people had already become 'dedicated' players, logging in and grinding diligently every time that the server was online.

The fact that even office workers could game just as much as anyone else simply by adjusting their schedule slightly made them very eager to give it their all.

Two sessions of four hours every day was really not much, especially considering that their bodies would be 'well rested' once they were done gaming.

Of course, everyone was very curious about how the 'developers' planned to monetize the game, and many were already eagerly anticipating the launch of the in-game shop.

Meanwhile, with future opportunities in mind, a multitude of enthusiastic player communities and guides also started surfacing one after another.

From the most efficient way to farm copper coins to a complete guide on how to survive the [Boar King] raid, many 'experts' keenly analyzed and explained every little detail, and those who were eager to learn more about Arcadia eagerly gobbled it up.

Under such circumstances, when Danielle and the others escaped from the beginner's town, it was obviously impossible to go completely unnoticed.

And once someone realized who they were, it didn't take long for Emilia's name to catch on fire.

"Fuck! Do these people have nothing better to do than to snoop around?!" Danielle paced back and forth furiously in the strategy room as she groaned. "I can't believe someone found your name on the official government site!"

She couldn't help but curse the person who first came up with the idea of issuing a public notice whenever new 'identity' documents were issued to someone.

Emilia could only smile helplessly. "Well… it's not really that surprising. Even if they didn't go actively looking for it, maybe I would have been exposed by a simple reverse image search."

She actually didn't mind her identity being exposed so much, since with her real face exposed to all, she never expected it to remain a secret for long anyway. If anything, she was surprised that they hadn't figured it out way earlier.

After all, even if they'd only been relatively minor events, her face had already been exposed to hundreds of people as a member of the Crimson Witches.

But Danielle clearly wasn't of the same mind. "Do you even have any idea what kind of harassment you're going to face?!"

Sylvia and the other two girls in the team also nodded grimly.

"Don't take this matter lightly, Emilia."

Danielle sighed. "Since no one can find and question you within Arcadia, at least for now, it will definitely make them extremely eager to find out exactly how you managed to get out of the beginner village so quickly."

Of course, their enthusiasm might quickly die down once everyone else started hitting level ten, but the question was… how do they keep Emilia safe until then?

Sensing an opportunity, Robin coughed. "I can escort you back to your home from now on to make sure nothing happens. How about it?"

Before Emilia could respond, however, Danielle shook her head in denial. "I don't think it's safe for her to take public transport anymore. In fact… how about you just stay here for the next few days, until the situation cools down?"

Sylvia also nodded in agreement. "I hate to admit it, but Danielle is right. Going out at this time would just be asking to run into perverts."

The crimson-haired girl barely managed to resist the urge to roll her eyes in exasperation. 'For supposedly hating each other so much, these two sure have been on the same page way too often.'

But while she didn't really care about running into 'perverts', Emilia didn't want to upset her teammates by appearing too nonchalant, so she obediently scrunched up her face while pretending to be worried. "I-I'll just stay in the office, then?"

With no other better idea, everyone soon agreed to just stay in the 'office' for the next few days as much as possible. But just as Danielle feared, someone soon came knocking on their door.

"Go check."

Nico nervously nodded and left to check who it was, only to come rushing back in panic. "T-There's like dozens of people with cameras trying to break in!"

Fortunately, Robin and Sylvia had followed her out of both caution and curiosity. But even with the three of them together, they'd barely managed to block the crowd and slam the door shut in time.

Danielle's face immediately turned gloomy. "I see… let me call the police to get rid of them, then."

Their office was supposed to be relatively private, with only a few past sponsors knowing its exact location, so the drill-haired girl wasn't sure how everyone managed to discover it. 'Anyway, it doesn't matter! Since they're technically trespassing, I just have to get them kicked out!'

Just as she was about to leave, however…

"Wait!"

The drill-haired girl paused, not expecting Emilia to interrupt her, and she couldn't help but be a little confused. "What?"

Suddenly having a strange thought, she frowned. "Don't tell me you actually plan to throw yourselves to the wolves!"

Obviously, everyone just wanted to know about the secret that the crimson-haired elf had discovered, but she was under no obligation to share it.

Even if she magnanimously decided to let everyone know, Danielle knew that Emilia would only attract more jealousy instead of gratitude. And the more she gave in, the worse everyone's attitude will become.

But the crimson-haired girl just smiled. "Throwing myself to the wolves? Please, whether I am a lamb waiting for slaughter or a wolf myself… I'm sure they'll soon find out."

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