[“Not just a support, but S-rank combat ability too—Who is the ‘Saintess’ really?”]
[“China’s S-rank Hunter Yang Tenzin—easily wins the sparring match.”]
After the duel with Yang Tenzin, China, who had been picking a fight at every turn, suddenly went quiet.
Most information about his defeat was being heavily censored.
anwhile, for ? It had been a deliciously productive day.
Solid content for the stream, and a whole new series worth of material lined up. Two birds, one nuke.
The mont I got ho, I booted up my PC and launched the stream.
“So? What’d you think?”
[“I literally have no words.”]
[“Normally she's the picture of innocence but when she’s pissed she’s terrifying and I kinda can’t get enough?”]
[“Thought Saintess was just a healer???”]
[“True healers kill the enemy before the party takes damage.”]
“What should we do now?”
Chat threw out all kinds of suggestions—tournants, gas, chatting, Gate raids—but nothing really clicked.
Then, my new manager (a forr viewer) tossed out sothing weird.
[SaintessFootTowel: “This one’s kinda unusual, wanna try it?”]
The ga they suggested was simple: just get to the destination.
Lyla, who was sitting beside , looked over with interest.
“Hmmm... Lyla, wanna give it a go?”
The description said it was a ga about a rookie office worker trying to climb the corporate ladder.
I’d played fighting gas and a few FPS titles before, but they all got boring fast.
Having reaction speed that normal humans couldn’t even dream of made most gas feel like toddler mode.
Although AOS gas were kinda fun.
My ridiculous physical edge helped, but at high ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) tiers, it took more than just chanics.
“I’ll give it a try.”
Saying that, Lyla picked up the gapad.
[“Hehehe...”]
[“LMAO they’re actually playing this cursed ga now.”]
[“Let’s go full ‘Clear The Ga While Streaming’ mode!”]
[SaintessFootTowel donated 10,000 Watts!]
– “Clear it without getting mad and I’ll drop a 50k bonus lol”
“Who gets mad over a ga~?”
Lyla dove in with full confidence.
The ga? Kinda weird. You controlled a normal-looking character crawling on all fours like a worm.
Sotis she’d fall and have to use environntal gimmicks to keep inching forward.
“The controls are a little tricky...”
Her eyelids twitched—just the slightest little shake.
So subtle no one but would’ve even noticed.
“Ugh! I fell again...”
[“LOL Saintess kinda sucks at gas huh”]
[“Not a pro gar, she’s the Saintess, rember~”]
[“Still got pretty far tho, cheers to that”]
“Lyla?”
“...”
“Uhh... Lyla?”
“Yes?”
Her voice just now? A little too sharp.
Again—sothing only I would’ve picked up on.
“I’m gonna go for a walk. Keep playing, okay?”
“Alright. Be safe.”
She must’ve really been focused.
Normally, if I left the room, she’d see off.
****
Outside, the air was still crisp, so most people were wearing heavier coats.
I just walked—no real destination, just following wherever my feet took .
But there were people tailing .
Persistent.
So annoying...
I sped up and turned into a less crowded alley.
When I pivoted around a corner, the footsteps behind picked up too.
And the mont they rounded the corner—
“Who the hell are you?”
─ CRUNCH!
I grabbed the guy in front by the collar and yanked him upward.
Strangely, though, I didn’t feel any hostility from them—not the kind you’d expect from people stalking you.
“Ghk...! We just wanted to talk!”
“You sneak up on soone like a rat if you wanna chat?”
“W-We tried calling, sending mail, ssages—but you didn’t answer any of them!”
...Right.
Now that my face was out there, I’d stopped checking any unknown numbers or emails.
Most people who wanted to work with just asked through donations anyway.
“...”
I let go of his collar, and things got a little awkward.
“If you have ti, could we speak sowhere quiet?”
I shrugged and told him to lead the way.
We entered a nearby café.
But weirdly... no one was there.
Just two cups of coffee sitting on a table.
“It’s empty?”
Not even the café owner was around.
“We asked the owner to step out for a bit so we could speak privately. We compensated him accordingly.”
Ah. That made sense.
That’s how requests work—through money.
If they say no? It just ans you didn’t offer enough.
“So, what do you wanna talk about?”
With a serious expression, he gestured.
A translucent barrier ford around us.
“The topic’s a little sensitive. Hope you don’t mind the precautions.”
He double-checked the area ticulously.
“We did sweep the place, but you never know.”
“Cut the foreplay. Just get to the point.”
“Would you consider naturalizing as an Arican citizen?”
“...What?”
“We’re not like China. We pride ourselves on being objective. We see you for your worth.”
He pulled out a citizenship application... and a catalog loaded with benefits.
“Just write your na here, and from that mont, you’re officially a U.S. citizen.”
“Isn’t citizenship a bit more complicated than that?”
“Normally, yes. But you’re not just ‘so guy.’”
“No thanks.”
He seed like he’d anticipated my refusal and calmly continued listing the benefits.
One caught my eye: immunity from arrest.
“It’s an unlimited arrest exemption. Not that we expect you to kill anyone, but even if you did—we wouldn’t press charges.”
“Too much hassle. I don’t even speak English. And honestly? Korea’s a comfy place to live.”
They kept pushing.
Not threats—just obsessive offers, desperate to cling to the possibility that I might give in.
“What if... I accept your offer and then kill you just because I feel like it?”
I stared him down, stone-faced.
He swallowed nervously.
“If you’ve already naturalized as one of our own... then we wouldn’t care.”
“...You’ve got so real patriotism going on there, huh?”
“Because it’s my one and only holand.”
I let out a sigh.
Not because I thought they were pathetic.
It was just... I was honestly impressed by their patriotism.
“You’ve got so serious national pride.”
I said it casually, and he relaxed a bit, even cracked a small smile.
“So then...?”
“I’m not gonna naturalize. But I’ll give you credit—it’s kinda cute that you asked so politely instead of threatening .”
“Even so, we’ll continue our efforts to build a relationship of mutual trust with you...!”
I downed the rest of the coffee and slowly got up from my seat.
Then, I poked the translucent barrier with my index finger.
It tore down the middle like plastic wrap as I walked through it.
“Be careful on your way back.”
As I walked along the street, their words kept echoing in my head.
“Hmm... Patriotism, huh.”
And then—bam. Another great content idea hit .
“What if I do sothing with soldiers? Y’know, sothing positive.”
Like hosting a tournant, or making a donation.
I’d heard kids in the military these days love gaming.
“But wait—would giving out prize money cause problems?”
I was pretty sure soldiers weren’t allowed to earn inco on the side.
Not that I’d know.
I haven’t served.
And I never will.
While I was lost in random thoughts, my phone buzzed with an alarm.
Which ant—it was soone saved in my contacts.
“Who is it?”
A call from Han Shia, the manager over at Pajijik.
– “Hun, would you be interested in coming to the year-end party?”
“Year-end party?”
– “Yes, we invite strears every year for an end-of-year celebration.”
“Hmm... If I’ve got ti, sure.”
– “Great~ Would you mind asking Lyla too?”
“Got it.”
A year-end party.
Co to think of it, I’d attended plenty of banquets and formal events back there.
But on Earth? I hadn’t even been to a decent bar.
Never got to enjoy that vibrant campus life either.
Got summoned to the fantasy world before any of that.
“Speaking of which... What’s Lyla up to right now?”
I opened the Pajijik app and tuned into her stream.
And—her face looked completely drained.
To , at least.
“Lyla... What the hell happened to you...”
“Ugh, seriously...!”
[SaintessFootTowel recharged 10,000 Watts!]
– “How many tries is this? I honestly lost count.”
[“LMAOOOO”]
[“Hey hey hey!”]
[“She keeps crashing in the sa exact spot, it’s killing lmao”]
[“Sweet noona’s got a spicy side and I’m kinda here for it?”]
“I’m gonna clear this no matter what...!”
There was now a 1 million won bounty on clearing the ga without losing her temper.
On top of that, another 500k if she could clear it today.
I looked closely at her face on screen.
Her eyelashes were drooping ever so slightly.
Her lips looked dry, and her eyebrows were just barely furrowed.
ss with her now, and you’d only be asking for pain.
“If I push the wrong button here, she might ‘purify’ too...”
Still, Lyla was like any other woman—give her sothing sweet and tasty, and the anger lts away fast.
I shoved my phone back in my pocket and headed straight for a nearby café.
Bought cake, bread, macarons, a whole mix of stuff, then made my way ho.
“Lyla... whatcha doing?”
“Oh, Hero. You’re back...”
“So, uh... Wanna eat so of this before you keep going?”
“No. I’ll finish this first, then eat.”
I glanced at her screen—she’d actually climbed pretty high in rank.
Victory was in sight.
But that thought aged like milk—her character slipped and fell again.
[SaintessFootTowel donated 50,000 Watts!]
– “I’m going to sleep. Ping if she gets back here again lol.”
Just barely...
Lyla’s eyelids twitched ever so slightly.
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