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Chapter 56
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The Elder Lich raid with Aka-chan was an incredibly enjoyable experience.
From my perspective, as long as I could somehow get through the first gate, the Great War, everything would be fine.
Mages were like gods in the Great War, after all.
Thanks to Aka-chan’s hard carry, we safely cleared the first gate.
From the second gate onward, I performed well.
Together, we successfully completed the Elder Lich raid.
You might wonder if there was even a need to clear it.
But to move to the next region, Elderheim, clearing the Elder Lich raid even once was mandatory.
The story dictated it, and for the progression of the game, the Elder Lich raid clear was absolutely necessary.
In any case, I had the chance to raid with Aka-chan and collected abundant rewards from the clear.
Thanks to that, I thought I had a pretty fulfilling day.
However, as if cursed, Fera found herself at the centre of controversy once again.
“Ridiculous.”
I chuckled dryly as I watched the post and video that Golden Sun had exposed on the Incident Page.
A manipulated video where all the parts where he cursed first were edited out, leaving only content favourable to him.
It seems many people aren’t aware, but Akare’s capsules support an automatic recording function.
In other words, my perspective captured the exact moments when Golden Sun hurled his insults first.
“Uploading the original video alone would cause a massive backlash.”
How irritated must he have been by the accusation that he only climbed up through connections?
To have his intelligence drop to such an embarrassing level…
How should I deal with this?
I didn’t need to overthink it.
Simply uploading my recorded footage to MoTube and making it public would suffice.
Golden Sun would then face a backlash similar to the time when I was exposed on InGameGal as a hacker and “rice-coin saint.”
He’d endure a frustrating Akare life moving forward.
[Whisper from Suzuka: Fera-nim]
[Whisper from Suzuka: I have something to discuss. Could you come to my territory for a moment?]
As I was checking my recorded footage after logging in as Fera, a whisper arrived from Suzuka, who was probably busy preparing for the Twisted World Tree raid.
[Whisper to Suzuka: What’s the matter?]
[Whisper to Suzuka: Is this another collab request?]
[Whisper from Suzuka: No, no.]
[Whisper from Suzuka: It’s not about that.]
[Whisper from Suzuka: I have a suggestion related to this incident!]
[Whisper from Suzuka: I’m not even streaming right now.]
A suggestion…
Was it really necessary to meet to discuss it?
Couldn’t she just convey it via whisper?
Of course, I thought so internally.
But business and human relationships aren’t that simple.
Would Suzuka not know what I was thinking? No, she probably knew.
If she still suggested meeting directly, she must have her reasons.
If I blatantly revealed my thoughts, I’d just end up being labeled as one of those “selfish T-types” people often talk about nowadays.
[Whisper to Suzuka: I’ll transfer to your territory.]
[Whisper to Suzuka: Please accept the entry request.]
After replying, I opened the friend window and sent a visit request to Suzuka’s territory.
Territory.
This was a sub-content unlocked after completing the Elder Lich raid.
Despite my efforts to protect Raven, I earned enough merit to receive a territory from the Emperor.
Defeating the Ancient Necromancer, one of the Objects of Destruction?
That was undoubtedly a monumental achievement worthy of being immortalized in history.
But siding with the Objects of Destruction had left me with a blank canvas of a territory, granted by the Emperor.
Well, since players are the protagonists of this world.
Although I’m just a Baron of an empty territory now, as time passes, the territory will develop, and my rank will rise.
“Fera-niiiim!”
Thud!
Suzuka, who was rushing to greet me, tripped on a rock.
“…Are you okay?”
“Hehe… I got so excited to see you after a while that I couldn’t help myself.”
Suzuka quickly stood up, brushing off the dirt as if it was no big deal.
She opened the territory management window, and with a few gestures in the air, a portal appeared before us.
Free movement within the territory. A convenient feature that allowed travel to any desired location.
“A café?”
“Yes, I love cafés.”
Don’t most people start by constructing essential facilities?
This felt like a Starbucks in the middle of a remote rural village.
“Ever since I started Akare, I haven’t been able to leave the house.”
Well, ever since transitioning to an Akare streamer, she’s been on the rise.
Even now, she’s still gaining popularity, and her growth shows no signs of stopping.
With Korean Twitch’s return approaching and Suzuka’s contract with her current platform nearing its end…
Suzuka, who’s already the unchallenged number one VTuber in the world even under her current limited circumstances…
If she moves to the global platform Twitch, she’ll probably reign as the undisputed king of VTubers for a long time.
After entering the café with Suzuka, we talked for quite some time.
Catching up, sharing little life stories, discussing Akare-related rumours, and so on.
Two hours of “girl talk” passed before we finally got to the main point.
“So… what’s your plan for this?”
“I’ll just upload the original footage to the community…”
I had already gone through a similar controversy in the past when I was involuntarily dragged into the spotlight on InGameGal.
Back then, I appeared on Suzuka’s stream to clear up misunderstandings.
This time, appearing on Suzuka’s stream to explain things would be the simplest solution.
But for some reason, Suzuka seemed against that idea.
If that’s what she wanted, she would’ve suggested it by now.
I was about to post an explanation directly on Akagal, but Suzuka seemed to have a different thought.
“Uploading the original footage would solve the problem immediately, but… don’t you think it feels a bit lacking?”
She spoke as if she was certain that I had done nothing wrong.
Her tone made me feel uneasy, so I asked.
“Don’t you think I did anything wrong?”
“Huh? Umm… if you had actually done something wrong, they wouldn’t have manipulated the footage, would they?”
From a third party’s perspective, the video posted on the Incident Page seemed perfectly natural.
If the edits had been obvious, someone in the community would’ve already called it out and shut down the controversy.
But Suzuka already knew that the footage posted by Golden Sun had been maliciously edited.
How exactly did she know?
“I’ve experienced that kind of thing multiple times myself.”
“Ah.”
Should this be called the hardship of being a popular streamer?
Envy and jealousy. Baseless malice. Simply enjoying the act of tormenting others…
Such reasons for harassment don’t apply only to internet broadcasters.
Influencers, celebrities, and many public figures go through the same.
Even I, the Director of Akare, have faced this kind of harassment multiple times.
Whether it was being idolized as a god, turned into the subject of base desires, or embroiled in nonsensical controversies and baseless accusations.
Thinking about it, I also dealt with such hardships, which made me realize something.
I really have become a Director.
I felt a wave of nostalgia as I reflected inwardly.
Suzuka cautiously brought up the subject.
“Why not try streaming?”
“Streaming? What kind of streaming…?”
For me, streaming had only one purpose.
A means of communication with users as a Director.
I’d never considered streaming for any other reason.
More accurately, the thought had never even crossed my mind.
“A stream to clarify the situation.”
So, Suzuka’s sudden suggestion to host a “clarification” stream left me perplexed.
“You’re asking me to start a clarification stream?”
“Yes. Why not just debut while you’re at it?”
Seeing no sign of me being persuaded, Suzuka immediately revealed her true intentions.
“I honestly think Fera-nim has more than enough potential to succeed as a streamer.”
“I appreciate the compliment, but…”
I was about to decline.
“Could it be… Are you really Aurora… Director-nim?”
But Suzuka’s following words left me speechless.
“Of course, I believe it’s just a rumour forcefully spread by certain communities…”
“Yes! Exactly! It’s just a baseless rumour!”
Crap.
I reacted too strongly in my excitement.
I glanced at Suzuka nervously to gauge her reaction.
She looked at me with a curious expression.
Twitch—
Then she gave a subtle, knowing smile.
“Do you know why I’m making this suggestion?”
“I… I don’t.”
“It’s because I think your distinctive character and charm are too precious to waste.”
Was it for a similar reason as when I mentored Sweet in magic?
Suzuka’s words carried sincerity, enough to momentarily tempt me.
“And though it feels a bit odd saying this myself, being a streamer… is a pretty sweet gig. Of course, you need to have strong mental resilience.”
“Fera-nim has strong mental fortitude, doesn’t she?”
Faced with Suzuka’s next words, I couldn’t bring myself to deny it.
Considering the controversies I’ve endured, it’s true that an ordinary person might have already broken down.
“I’m not forcing you, of course. It’s entirely up to you.”
“…I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I could ask for.”
After wrapping up the conversation with Suzuka,
I logged out of the game as if fleeing the scene.
Was it because I had drained too much mental energy?
The moment I stepped out of the capsule, drowsiness hit me like a wave.
I let myself collapse onto the soft mattress of my bed and fell asleep immediately.
***
I had a nightmare.
I dreamt that I debuted as a streamer and, as a punishment, had to add “meow” at the end of every sentence.
What kind of nightmare was that?
Just in case, I ran a hand over my forehead, but—
As expected, there was no cold sweat.
After all, my body is practically perfect.
“What kind of dream was that…”
Streaming as a debut to clarify the situation?
I never even considered it for a moment.
But after having that nightmare,
I became even more determined.
Streaming? It’s more than enough to use it as a tool to communicate with users as a Director.
There was no reason to stream with my alternate character.
“Goddess.”
“Aka-chan? What’s the matter?”
It was rare for Aka-chan to come out of the capsule.
Could something serious have happened while I was sleeping?
“I strongly recommend debuting as a streamer.”
“Huh?”
What are you saying, Aka-chan?
What reason could there possibly be for me to debut as a streamer?
Granted, I knew Aka-chan had overheard my conversation with Suzuka.
But I never imagined Aka-chan would come to such a conclusion from hearing that conversation.
“If Streamer Fera watches the upcoming winter showcase live, wouldn’t that contradict the theory that Fera and Aurora are the same person?”
“…!”
Fera = Aurora.
The core argument of this persistent rumour (which isn’t true) was “Fera always appears when Aurora has free time.”
But if Fera were to be seen watching Aurora’s live showcase?
Just as Aka-chan pointed out, that would create a contradiction.
One of the controversies disrupting my secret life as an alternate character…
Would be revealed as false and disappear forever.
“But isn’t there no need to go as far as debuting as a streamer?”
Shake, shake—
In response to my valid question, Aka-chan shook her head.
“It’s the easiest way to prove it. Any other method might come across as a staged attempt to escape the controversy.”
A loop.
As Aka-chan said, any half-hearted approach would only cause the issue to repeat itself.
Instead, it might even lead to baseless claims like, “Aurora is just pretending not to be Fera.”
Of course, there might be a better way.
But none came to mind immediately, and debuting as a streamer to build credibility seemed like the best option.
“Continued activity afterward is necessary to avoid suspicion and completely dispel the controversy.”
“That does make sense.”
Streamer debut.
I guess I really need to give this some serious thought.
Thus, Aurora fell deep into contemplation.
And because of that, she failed to notice.
Hehe—
The honest smirk of Aka-chan, who was thrilled to have something entertaining to watch during her “work breaks.”
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