NPC Code: Red Riding Hood

"What is happening here?" A feminine voice echoed outside of the house. "Why am I feeling magic inside the house! Rumpelstiltskin?! Pinocchio?! What is going on?!"

As the door creaked open, a figure of a girl welcomed our eyes. That girl wore a merchant's dress, with an obsidian hoodie resting behind her head. She had an aptitude for controlling plants, which my system told me. The girl also had emerald hair fluttering over her body, with subtle scales covering her skin.

A splatter of blood stained the clothes of that girl. The vermilion trail of blood reached out at her thighs, telling me she had wounds covering her body. Those injuries seemed fresh to me, showing that girl fought someone or something from the past few hours.

'That girl must be a dragonewt!' I thought, while concealing my blade.

"Olivia? What are you doing here" Pinocchio, the puppet with a long nose, asked, as he too lowered his magic circle.

Rumpelstiltskin also did the same, deeming it inappropriate to fight in front of a merchant and a lady.

"What are you two doing? I thought I told you not to fight inside this house! After all, I've fixed the roof and furniture, and this is how you would repay me-... and who are you guys?"

After saying her fill, the girl-whom I assumed had the name Olivia, raised her guard. As soon as Ryoshi and I met her eyes, the ground vibrated, forcing it to create a noticeable hole. She extended both of her arms and planned on attacking us with her vines breaking through beneath our feet. The creeping plants emerged from the bottom of the ground as if acting like a shield for her body. I could only guess that plant served as an impenetrable cover against normal attacks and weaker weapons to protect her skin.

"Talk, or I will cut you with these plants!" the girl exclaimed, with her hands still lifted at her sides.

"We're wandering players that stumbled upon this house thanks to that guy. We will take our leave. Don't worry about fighting. And I don't plan to do that," I replied, and nudged Ryoshi's shoulders, telling him that our job here was over.

"Are you sure you won't fight those two puppets? And what's about this Alice part? I only heard about her from the mystery articles from the community. Besides that, I'm clueless, Okami." Ryoshi whispered.

I told him that everything would be fine, and I planned on disclosing that information once we stepped out of this mess. Even I would hate to clash swords against Alice's henchmen, especially when they were puppets.

Ryoshi gave me a nod and followed my lead. However, the girl stopped us from going outside. She used her vines and temporarily blocked the exit.

"Tell me who you are, or I will kill you right here and now!" the girl asked, as he pointed the tip of the vines at our eyes. "Are you with the soldiers or players attacking the NPCs? Are you one with them?"

I had never expected this NPC merchant to know about that news. That girl, Olivia, also looked like she knew the world as a game and the soldiers hunting down the NPCs. If I were in her position, I would have done the same.

Ryoshi had an original plan and tried to strike the girl with his arrow. I was fortunate enough to stop him from pulling that string and told him that attacking her would not bring us any good.

The merchant lowered her hands upon hearing my statement. She also knew that I was not conjuring any magic or attacks that would injure anyone inside the house.

"How sure am I that you're not one of those bastards out there?" the girl asked for the last time before accepting my words.

I carved out a smile and answered, "If I wanted to, I could've killed the three of you before you could even enter this house. But I chose not to, and here we are, talking with each other."

What I mentioned was not a bluff, but the truth. I could've killed the three of the NPCs all by myself. And with Ryoshi around, that job would've worked swimmingly as the course of a river. I also let out an ounce of my killing intent in my aura, forcing anyone besides my comrade to feel pain and frightened surrounding me.

This aura affected the girl and the puppets. It was enough to get them on their knees, worried that their life was in danger. But I dispelled those intentions and reverted to my usual self.

That show was the only way of telling them about my business. I never go down on my words, especially when killing anyone inside this game.

The girl did not let herself get provoked, knowing that it had some truths hidden behind my words. She stood up from the ground and gave me a nod, telling me she placed her trust in Ryoshi and me.

"My name is Olivia. I'm a merchant in this town. These two puppets are just here to protect the nearby village," Olivia explained, and offered us a seat near the empty chairs. "Earlier, two NPCs and I defeated an entire squad of soldiers armed with guns. I thought that you're one of those people. I guessed that the two of you are not here to wreak havoc in our village?"

'Robin and his soldiers are already here?' I pondered, while listening to Olivia's explanation.

"Two NPCs?" I queried. "Are those two perhaps named Red and Match?"

Olivia's eyes widened as she leaned closer to my side. "Yes! How did you know? Are you friends with her?"

"Not exactly. But Hunter and I have business with her. Ah, forgive me for my rudeness. That guy's name is Hunter. My name is Wolf. We are just wandering players passing by, hoping to find these two NPCs, Red and Match. We want to end this war as soon as possible. And that girl, Red, knew exactly how to do that."

"So why are you attacking the two puppets here? And what are your reasons for visiting the Goldilocks?" Olivia asked.

"Wait. This entire thing is called the goldilocks? No wonder I smell porridge here!" Ryoshi ejaculated, as he searched for the origin of the food's smell.

Olivia giggled and continued, "We only make porridge here. Pinocchio, can you serve these gentlemen two pots of porridge?"

I stood up from my seat and directed my finger at the two puppets. "Because those two are a part of Alice's works, and I can't let them live!"

Olivia's smiling face shifted into something sinister. She returned my gesture and stood from the chair. "Why? These puppets did nothing wrong to the village?! I doubt they attacked you first!"

"Can't you see, Olivia? These marionettes brainwashed you for thinking that way. You don't even know what that demon is capable of."

"Alice?" Olivia asked.

I gave her a nod. "Alice is the ultimate boss inside this game and the first NPC had sentience over the world. I… someone defeated her and locked her up inside Wonderland, where she rightfully belonged. Alice killed half of the entire population of Code, including players and NPCs."

Olivia became silent as she heard all of those facts from me. She turned her face towards the two puppets while shedding a tear. "Are all of those true? You're working for Alice…?"

"I know it's hard to believe, and I don't know what memories you have with these puppets. But I assure you those things I've mentioned happened a long time ago," I said, while resting my hands on Olivia's shoulder.

"He's lying! Don't believe everything that brat says! Alice was the one that saved the entire world! She governed the land of Wonderland, not until those game developers manipulated her father to continue his experiments!" Pinocchio retorted, and readied a magic circle on his hands.

That puppet schemed to attack me with everything it had, forcing Olivia to believe what they had said. The girl moved in front of me and extended both of her hands. It was as if protecting me from the blast.

"Knock it off, Pinocchio! He has done nothing wrong! We don't attack anyone inside or outside this village! We are not like that!"

"Believe me, Olivia. That boy was the one who killed Alice!" Rumpelstiltskin stated. He did not have any magic spells to attack me. That puppet could only create barriers that protect anyone inside.

"Is that true… Wolf?"

"That experimentation part was not real. During my battle against Alice, all she thought about was the destruction of the game and the game developers. She was a mad person who fell in love with the destruction of Code! And yes, I was the one who ended Alice's life. My name is Wolf and Fenrir, the famous knight inside this game."

Throughout our exchange, a magic projectile hovered in my direction, almost hitting my head…