Chapter 225
As expected, my appearance on Da-eun’s stream caused a huge stir.
“Hello? Ah, Mr. PD. Thank you for last time. But what is this about…? An interview? Ah… I’m sorry, but right now’s a little…”
For starters, Da-eun was spending more and more time glued to her phone.
Interview requests like that were becoming commonplace, and not only from people she was close with—calls came from people she barely even knew.
Just as she finished one call, another would come in. Then another.
Sometimes, she’d even get calls while already on the phone, to the point that she couldn’t put her phone down at all.
If that were the only problem, it would be fine.
[Meanwhile, there are calls to investigate ‘Demoninus’, the developer of ‘Silia Online’—]
[Debates are raging over the authenticity of the footage.]
[The incident is a hot topic not just domestically, but internationally as well—]
[Some are arguing that the girl in the video should be arrested for violating sword possession laws.]
No matter which channel you turned on, the broadcasts were buzzing about my appearance.
This was just what I could see directly—surely, the ripple effect was even greater.
“Haa…”
Flop.
Da-eun sank onto the sofa with a sigh after ending yet another call.
Her phone, set down like she’d had enough, started buzzing again with another vibration.
I pointed at the desperate-looking phone and asked,
“Aren’t you getting another call?”
“I mean, it’s always the same thing. No point in answering. I’m just not going to pick up.”
“Hm.”
Speaking with a voice full of fatigue, Da-eun eventually fiddled with her phone and switched it to silent mode.
Only then did peace finally return.
“Kekeke…”
And then, suddenly, Da-eun started laughing.
The sly, mischievous sound of it made me turn my head.
…Had she gone mad from answering too many calls?
Thankfully, her laughter didn’t last long.
“It’s tougher than I thought… But, I don’t regret it. Even if I could go back in time, I’d make the same choice.”
Letting out a long sigh, Da-eun noticed me watching and waved her hand.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“Did you know? Even when you don’t say a word, it’s written all over your face what you’re thinking, Kana.”
“…Lies.”
“It’s true, really. If you don’t believe me, should I try guessing?”
Da-eun put her hand to her chin and pretended to think seriously.
“Right now, Kana is thinking… ‘I want to eat chocolate,’ right?!”
“Knew it. You were lying.”
“So, you don’t want any?”
“…I don’t hate it.”
The sweet taste in my mouth helped soothe my irritated mood.
I had prepared myself for it, but watching people gossip about me still didn’t feel good.
But that wasn’t even the most annoying part.
[So the Demon King reincarnated as a Hero?!]
[A sickly beautiful girl Hero? I’m in.]
[Sickly? Weak?]
[Kana’s not sickly… Kana tears people apart…]
[Da-eun’s take: Kana is a physically weak child.]
[Are you saying the Saint lied?]
Unlike the strict, serious tone of the news and articles, the online communities were full of casual chatter.
Watching people I didn’t know, with faces and names I’d never seen, chatting away—I couldn’t help but sigh.
‘Well, it’s what we intended…’
But still, a Hero?
How could they use such cringe-worthy lines with a straight face?
At this point, it wasn’t even just sigh-worthy—I felt a weird sense of respect.
“I’d rather be a Hero. What’s with this Saint nonsense?”
Da-eun, sitting next to me, let out a sigh of her own.
At her complaint, I let out a breath without realizing.
“…Pfft.”
Correction.
Not a breath, a laugh slipped out.
It was loud enough that even I could tell—there was no way Da-eun hadn’t heard it.
Sure enough, she turned her eyes toward me, her brows lifting dramatically.
“You just laughed, didn’t you?”
“…Ahem. No, I didn’t.”
“Your lips are still curled up, though?”
“…Ah.”
Realizing I’d subconsciously touched my mouth, I quickly dropped my hand.
That was basically a confession of guilt.
…She got me.
“Respected Hero. If even you tease me, I’ll be terribly hurt.”
“….”
“But it’s okay, Miss Hero. As long as you’re happy, that’s enough for me. I’m always on your side, so please be comfortable around me too, Miss Hero.”
“…I’m sorry.”
Calling me “Miss Hero” over and over just because I laughed once—wasn’t that a bit much?
…That’s what I thought, but since I was the one who threw the first punch, I raised my white flag without protest.
This, too, was one of the aftereffects of appearing on the stream.
During Da-eun’s stream, I’d said I came at the request of a god to save the world.
But that alone didn’t answer every question, so we’d added various bits of context.
That included the nature of my relationship with Da-eun.
Some were saying we were in it together, or that Da-eun had come from Silia too…
Most of it was baseless speculation, but for that very reason, it had to be addressed.
After all, the purpose of the stream in the first place was to prevent false rumors from spreading like truth.
How could we build a more positive image?
Me, Da-eun, Edel, and even Yuki.
The four of us put our heads together and came up with this scenario:
‘Where… am I…?’
A girl trembling with anxiety after arriving in an unfamiliar world.
‘Kana…?’
Da-eun, still grieving after losing the person she cared for, discovers the girl by chance during a stroll outside.
Da-eun, who had been suspicious, became convinced after talking with the girl that she really was the person she knew.
And soon, she decided to help the girl…
‘…Is it really a lie?’
It was a scenario so close to the truth that one might wonder.
Other than the part about meeting by coincidence, there wasn’t much difference, right?
That question did arise, but that’s exactly why Edel said it would be more convincing, and the other two agreed.
And since the idea of an NPC from a game appearing in real life was already sensational enough, no one would care much about the rest.
That prediction turned out to be remarkably accurate.
But there was one thing they hadn’t anticipated.
Namely, what came to be called the “Da-eun Saint Theory.”
“She crossed over from another dimension to save the world? Then she’s a Hero, right?”
“But if she’s a Hero, shouldn’t she have a Saint as a companion?”
“Then Da-eun, who helped Kana, must be the Saint!”
Like that.
Though I was supposedly a Hero, I was homeless and had nothing.
People said Da-eun, who took me in, fed me, and sheltered me, was more than worthy of being called a Saint.
Of course, those comments didn’t appear in the news.
Even if they did, it was just briefly mentioned as “some people are saying…”
Communities, after all, are driven by entertainment.
Whether something is true or not is a secondary concern—as long as it’s funny, people will jump in to joke about it.
That’s why all the talk of Heroes and Saints spread like wildfire.
“…Sigh.”
“Hoo…”
Facing each other, Da-eun and I let out sighs at the same time.
We were in the same boat—what good would come from tearing each other down?
“I wish something would just happen already…”
Da-eun muttered, then hurriedly covered her mouth.
“…That was a slip of the tongue.”
It seemed even she realized that wasn’t something she should’ve said.
I knew it wasn’t a serious statement, just a light-hearted complaint, so I didn’t feel like pressing her.
She must’ve been really worn out to think that way.
So I shrugged my shoulders and brought up a different topic.
“What are you going to do about today’s stream?”
Though we’d cleared up the suspicions, the fire hadn’t gone out.
If anything, it was burning even hotter.
Normally, she’d be at Yuki’s gym by now, but she was holed up at home for that very reason.
“I thought about it a little…”
Da-eun’s voice dragged on slowly.
“No matter how quiet I stay, it doesn’t feel like the fire will die down anytime soon. But it’s not like I can put it out either.”
Saying that, Da-eun sat up straight from her half-lying position.
“If Kana’s okay with it, how about just going all out and showing them?”
“…Show what?”
“Ah, I don’t mean anything big. I just meant, like, laughing and chatting together on the stream.”
“Hmm…”
Putting aside whether or not there’s any real benefit to doing that.
I let out a small hum in response to Da-eun’s suggestion.
Seeing that, Da-eun asked in a shrinking voice,
“…You don’t want to?”
“It’s not that I don’t want to…”
How should I put it.
I searched my thoughts, and finally found the right words.
“I’m just not confident.”
“Not confident in what?”
“In laughing and chatting.”
Laughing and chatting weren’t things I was used to.
Even doing just one of them would be hard, let alone both.
“That was just a figure of speech… More importantly, you spoke just fine yesterday, didn’t you? And when you played my cousin on stream before, you spoke well then too.”
“Both yesterday and that time… I only did it because I had to.”
I don’t have a talent for making even small things sound interesting.
That kind of talent belongs to Da-eun.
But even after hearing my explanation, Da-eun tilted her head as if unconvinced.
“I think you’re more than good enough, Kana. And it’s not like you have to be funny or anything. Anyway, forget that—”
Da-eun scooted over and sat right next to me.
The first thing I noticed was a refreshing scent brushing past my nose, followed by a soft touch.
Da-eun gently brushed the strands of hair that had fallen over my chest to my back and said,
“When I said laugh and chat, I just meant that as a metaphor. I just meant let’s show up together, let people see your face, and say a few words now and then.”
“If that’s all, then I think it’s okay. But why?”
It’s not difficult.
Before revealing my identity, I’d have refused without hesitation, but now I had no reason to hold back.
If it could help Da-eun, I was more than willing to accept.
But I couldn’t guess the reason Da-eun was making that suggestion.
I thought she would go out of her way to keep me hidden, not bring me along.
Without stopping the motion of brushing my hair, Da-eun answered,
“Because I want people to feel familiar with you, Kana.”
“Familiar…?”
It’s not like I didn’t know what the word meant—
But to suddenly say she wants people to feel familiar with me?
At Da-eun’s unexpected words, I just blinked blankly.
—
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