NoveLight ™
[Harmony: Congratulations on first place, Yujin!]
"Ay, what would I do if I hadn’t gotten first?"
This message had arrived about tens of minutes ago.
Sending such a text while the final match of the Final Championship hadn’t even ended yet—was it audacious or what? Unfortunately, by the time I replied, Harmony would likely be preparing for the partner streamer competition that ended on the same day as the Final Championship. Of course, the fact that I had gotten first place would just have been revealed.
If Mina had sent her message a moment earlier, I might have sent a congratulatory reply ahead of time. Still, I wasn’t the type to drink kimchi soup in advance, so I quickly composed a message with somewhat different content from what Harmony sent.
Then I hit send.
"…."
…Was this a bit of a half-threat?
Of course, it was a message that had already been sent. There was no way to intercept and revise a message that had already been sent. I hastily sent a few more texts saying not to feel burdened, but those seemed a bit petty. I began to understand why Dice thought I was quite naïve outside of combat. I would have to ask Harmony later if she thought I was naïve too.
In any case, when you talk about a tiger, the tiger comes.
───Clank!
"Yujin—!"
"Whoa, be careful!"
A splendidly loud cheer and a jumping dive.
In an energetic manner, Dice jumped onto the bed where I was sitting, but it was hard to completely offset the physical force, causing her to fall onto the same bed as me with a “kwak” sound. Of course, Dice wasn’t alone; all the people I had trained came in clapping their hands.
Moreover, I didn’t know where they had sourced it from, but Mikael had brought a small cake with a candle on top and placed it on the table in the center of the room. I couldn't help but let out a shallow chuckle at that.
In any case, whether she had come to congratulate me with a jumping dive or sneakily touch my tail, I pushed Dice aside. Looking at her expression, it seemed like they all had a lot to say to me. The fact that the room I shared with Dice was now crowded with people was enough to explain the current situation.
I briefly pondered what to say, but the answer was already clear.
"I truly appreciate everyone who has followed my curriculum until now."
"Congratulations on first place, teacher—!"
"We worked hard during this time teaching us, who were so useless!"
Everyone bowed their heads in unison. Was this the Yakuza, or was it pro gamers?
It was absurd, but a smile gradually appeared on my lips. I shook hands and embraced those who had worked hard. First was Dice, followed by Mikael, Gambit, and Ink. After that, it included the Task Force members who had taken care of everything for those who had come to America.
Especially Ye-rin had a truly strange expression on her face, likely interpreting my victory with the gun she had used in the last match in some way. I had used the Honey Badger not because it was superior, but to commemorate Dice, so she was roughly on the right track.
With a smile on my lips, I added:
"I won this year on your behalf, so be sure to get first place next year."
"…Aww, yes…."
"Why are you getting teary again?"
I wondered if not getting first had left quite an impression on her.
Of course, judging by her expression and demeanor, it didn’t seem that way, but I would have to explain it later if I asked.
After comforting Dice, it was finally time to try the cake that had been prepared for us. There was even a cup of milk, though I didn't know when it had been brought. Given that I had a somewhat light dinner and had gone through several ups and downs during the debriefing and match, I was quite hungry.
I wondered if it was brought from a VIP reception area or something, but that wasn’t particularly important. I blew out the candle on the chocolate cake and took a large bite, filling my mouth with sweetness. It felt somewhat strange since I was the only one eating, but everyone clapped happily regardless.
As I did so, the past few months flashed through my mind. Just a few months ago, I couldn’t have imagined this scene, but here I was.
'…Come to think of it, I wonder if Harmony is still competing. Or maybe she’ll start soon.'
While it was my decision to start the Dark Zone, it could be said that Harmony had helped me continue it. Without that heavy addition keeping me tied to the game, I might not have been greatly interested in the Dark Zone itself… Well, I might not have even become a streamer.
These days, it had been quite a while since I had turned on the stream.
After briefly exchanging greetings, one by one, everyone began to leave the room. As the once bustling room grew quiet, only five of us remained. Normally, we would be setting off for the hotel soon, but everyone wore odd expressions since I hadn’t said anything specific.
"I plan to stay and watch Moni’s match, but if anyone wants to go, feel free."
"Oh, then I’ll watch too."
"Walking isn't a bad idea either."
So, on one bed were Dice and I, while on another bed were Mikael, Gambit, and Ink. We turned on the projector and projected the screen onto the wall. Watching the number 300 gradually decrease, I figured it was the time left until the match began.
As I wondered what we would do for the next five minutes,
───Clank!
"I found you here."
"…Why here?"
"I came to congratulate you, but since I couldn’t find you anywhere, I ended up searching all the way here."
Logan and Laurentina crashed in.
Even though it was a room with Dice and me, they stirred things up. Sure enough, the three male pro gamers who had little experience with women were stiff as boards, and Dice, who had become somewhat acquainted over the past few days, nodded slightly in greeting.
As I stood to greet them, the polar bear hug began. With a force that could have made strange sounds come from anyone else’s bones, Logan embraced me and gave me a firm pat on the back.
"Well done. You really fought well."
"…Thank you, Logan. I really thought I was going to die. Without a few strokes of luck, I might have lost for sure."
"Surviving is a testament to strength."
As the hug broke apart, Laurentina caught my eye.
I wondered what she was doing when I saw her.
"Here, everyone, take one."
"…What is this?"
"A U.S. Navy enlistment application…?"
"Fufu, I wonder how many of you will make it to my unit among these… guh!"
"Stop wasting paper with useless enlistment applications that don’t even have any effect."
…How long did she plan to maintain that headhunter concept?
Laurentina was suppressed by a punch from the polar bear, and Dice sighed as she picked up the papers that were left on the laps of Mikael, Ink, and Gambit. The expression she wore, genuinely disappointed, was quite something.
Sighing, I added:
"She’s a friend of mine. Don’t worry too much; she’s just like that."
"That she’s like that is more worrying…."
"You'll get hurt if you ask too much."
I really would.
In any case, the rowdy atmosphere finally began to calm down a bit. Of course, that didn’t mean that these two delinquents were going to leave, but since Logan was one of the participants in the Final Championship, he had a common ground with Mikael, Ink, and Gambit, allowing conversations to progress easily.
Naturally, this shark, who was even more cunning than me, could develop the conversation smoothly without needing any common ground.
Anyway, regardless of that, I wanted to wait for Harmony, so I shared that fact first. Luckily, they owned a private vehicle, so they added that they would take me to the hotel afterward.
Besides, if I didn’t establish a friendly rapport now, we would probably be awkward with each other at the New Year’s party hosted by Henry tomorrow.
"Yujin, would you like to come see the penthouse we’re staying in? It’s pretty nice. Surely, it’s okay to borrow it for a day, right?"
"Uh, that’s a bit…."
"Oh my, is this cute little girl protesting?"
This shark…
Of course, the others seemed to be watching me getting pushed around for the first time and didn’t appear to have any intention of intervening. Dice seemed to feel the same way—she was watching with interest and had even taken out her phone to record it.
While I slapped Dice on the head with my tail, the preloaded screen turned on.
Harmony’s match began.
"Now, come down."
After setting Laurentina down, the number of people in the room had increased from five to seven, eagerly watching the final match of Friday.
And—
"That friend was my emotional support during the last Operation Northpierce, right?"
"Yes."
"As expected, fufu…."
With ruby-like transparent red eyes sparkling, Laurentina stared at the screen as if she had stumbled upon a pile of jewels around her.
What on earth was I going to do with this person?
"Wow, the viewer count is soaring. It’s already over 100,000."
"Since I won the final match, just by simple calculation, I should be first in this Final Championship… When I opened the broadcasting room a while ago, there were 3 million viewers, and it seems like there will be even more this time."
"I wonder if the server will crash."
As they said.
The viewer count in the six digits was something I had seen a few times lately, but seven digits was something entirely different. It barely took a minute for it to surpass a million, and when I came back after drinking a cup of water, it had already exceeded four million. It felt as if honey had been smeared all over my streaming session. How was I supposed to accept this? But what could I do?
Perhaps it had been a while since I turned on the stream—though it had only been 1 to 2 weeks—but I struggled with what to say a bit, but in reality, it didn’t seem to matter much. I figured that if I shared some anecdotes, everyone would likely enjoy it. Although it was a somewhat complacent thought.
So, after a long time, I decided to open my mouth to catch up with everyone.
"It’s been a while since I’ve turned on the stream, everyone. Nice to meet you. I’m finally back after finishing the Final Championship."
"Is this snake pajama? I thought everyone would like it. Of course, I didn’t buy it because I wanted to wear it; these two insisted that it would be great to wear, so they scoured New York to bring it. Anyway, they are perverts."
"I’ll just be a pervert, so it’s okay to touch your tail, right?"
"Look at this."
Of course, Dice received her punishment of being coiled up with the tail for indiscriminately moving her mouth and hands. It might not seem like a punishment, but if I kept her wrapped up for about a minute, GG would be on their side first anyway, so it didn’t matter.
In any case, it was literally a pajama party. Dice, Harmony, and I were all wearing uniquely fluffy pajamas while showing our faces to the drone camera. The current time in New York was midnight, around 1 PM in Korea. Given that everyone had probably been quite sleepy after watching the last match of the Final Championship, it felt quite overwhelming.
"This is Manhattan at midnight, with snow falling. Thankfully, there are still quite a few buildings with their lights on. In about 2 to 3 days, we’ll finally be going back to Korea."
"I think I could live here forever, but Korean food is expensive."
"You always say that after eating the food that Yujin-sensei buys."
"What are you talking about?"
After reading the last message, Dice looked at me with a pouty expression, but I didn’t know what she wanted me to do. After all, it was not a lie, but rather a factual statement that was quite on point.
Anyway, while this small talk was indeed talk, today was slightly different. Specifically, we had received a significant number of gifts from those who had crossed over from Korea to the U.S., or from new fans in America, so we planned to have a simple review session for those gifts.
Of course, I wouldn’t have enough time to explain each and every item, so I intended to briefly describe what we had.
And the first item I would explain today, which also hinted at another broadcast content to come, made its appearance.
───Rustle!
An item wrapped in paper. The packaging was red and black, adorned with skulls, giving an intimidating impression just from looking at it, and the word "DAFUQ" was emblazoned on the front.
One chip.
This was a mind-blowingly spicy item with a Scoville rating that could potentially halve the number of viewers watching this broadcast.
Naturally, since it was my broadcast, both Harmony and Dice were forced to participate.
"Um, teacher…?"
"Of course, I’ll eat it too."
"Then the story changes."
Dice nodded vigorously.
That made me chuckle a bit.
"…Anyway, it’s getting late, and as you know, medical expenses in the U.S. are incredibly expensive. I don’t want to eat this now and end up in the emergency room, so I’ll save it for when I return to Korea."
After a bit of playful banter, Dice had the most curious expression on her face, and it was clear she wanted to say something.
However, she didn’t say anything right away. Instead, Dice threw the question to me in the form of a query.
"But Yujin, can you handle spicy food? Do snakes feel spicy?"
"Do you really think I’m a snake?"
But after that,
"…Actually, I’m not that good with spicy food."
"Everyone, did you hear that? You can look forward to the broadcast when we go back to Korea."
At this point, everyone was most curious about one specific question.
Of course, I didn’t speak up; instead, it was Dice who threw the question at me.
"But Yujin, you did say you would be back in Korea soon, right?"
"Yes, that’s right."
After a lively atmosphere, I briefly announced tomorrow’s schedule.
"…In any case, there will be a broadcast tomorrow as well, since it’s December 31st. We will show you the New Year’s fireworks festival live from Times Square. Of course, there will also be the announcement of the Final Championship rankings beforehand, so I hope you enjoy that as well."
I checked the time. It had been less than 20 minutes since I turned on the stream.
Since there would be no further debriefing and I was completely free from tomorrow, I didn’t have to worry about waking up early.
"So, it’s still a bit early for sleeping… shall we have a little interaction broadcast? Is that okay, Dice and Harmony?"
"Well, if you’re going to wake me up, I won’t mind."
"Are you seeing me as a total slacker?"
What should I say? Despite the skills I had in the Dark Zone, I seemed to have quite a talent for being a sandbag.
In any case, I began a simple talk broadcast.
It was the night of December 31st.
tyfc