Ding~
“Welcome…”
“Wow.”
In front of the apartment, at the cafe.
The cafe door opened, and a woman naturally walked in.
Even though she was wearing a black hat and a mask, there was no way to hide her figure.
Especially since it’s the middle of summer.
She was wearing a short-sleeve shirt and jeans, making her stand out.
She approached the kiosk, placed a few orders, and then sat down in a quiet spot where the sunlight streamed in.
Her blue hair poked out from under the black hat, and her eyes were as blue as the sea.
And her skin was flawlessly white.
No matter how indifferent modern people were, they couldn’t help but steal a glance at her.
However, she was staring only at her phone and out the window, so everyone began to mind their own business.
The only one who couldn’t take their eyes off her was the cafe staff.
He had developed a crush on her since she first came to the cafe.
‘What the hell…’
Even though 80% of her face was covered, as mentioned, it was impossible not to notice.
Her voice was lovely too, so naturally, his interest was piqued, and soon he thought, maybe she could be ‘Lily.’
It made sense, as her appearance and voice were strikingly similar to Lily’s.
Though it’s conceivable there could be someone who looks like her in body and eyes.
‘That blue hair is for real…’
In his life, he had seen very few people with that kind of blue hair.
Of course, one wouldn’t expect such a blue hair from a game to occur in reality, but didn’t he see it at the DCK finals?
‘There’s a possibility!’
After all, this area is home to streamers, broadcasters, and even Deoen rankers including Yena, so it wasn’t a far-fetched thought.
He had asked the streamer Yena, who often came here, but she didn’t provide him with an answer.
It’s not surprising, really.
He thought he should at least give it a shot this time.
Of course, if this resulted in losing a regular customer, the manager would likely shed blood tears, but considering all the hard work, he hoped they’d understand just this once.
“Everything’s ready. Big brother.”
“Wow… um, uh.”
“…What are you doing?”
“Oh, nothing. Just go ahead.”
“……”
As she prepared the deliciously packaged coffee and desserts and pressed the signal, she slowly approached.
“Here are your two iced Americanos and cheesecake.”
“Thank you.”
“Um, excuse me.”
“Yes?”
“Sorry, but do you happen to have your number…?”
Ding~
“Is it over by now?”
Aisha quickly followed Lily from behind.
Of course, following from behind didn’t mean trailing her like a lost puppy.
“That sort of thing gets noticed right away.”
After guessing the ‘location and action’ Lily might head to, she trailed behind her.
Doing so would reduce the risk of being caught, and even if they accidentally bumped into each other, it could just be brushed off as a chance meeting.
Sure, if her guesses were wrong, it’d be a wasted trip, but Aisha was quite familiar with such situations.
Being the president of someone’s fan club was no easy feat, you know.
It takes a significant level of skill and devotion to pull it off.
Thanks to her various experiences, Aisha managed to enter the cafe at the right time.
Lily was receiving her ordered coffee and snacks, but the man’s expression as he handed them to her was quite unsettling.
“…No way?”
For a moment, Aisha froze and watched the situation unfold, but Lily’s response was a simple, “I’m sorry.”
“Phew…”
She instantly felt relief wash over her.
Based on all 99 of her observations about Lily (which she’d updated to 39), the chance of her accepting was nearly zero, but you never know.
The cafe worker was pretty good-looking too.
Not quite the Sword Saint level, but in reality, he was quite impressive.
No matter how great Lily was, in reality, she could still not be as cold as ice, unlike Deoen.
“Or maybe…?”
“Eh…”
She got a bit lost in her daydreams for a moment, but after cooling her head, she realized that wasn’t the case.
Lily seemed like someone who had reached enlightenment or something.
No matter who the opponent was, she might have affection as a person but wouldn’t see anyone as a romantic interest.
“Yikes.”
Aisha suddenly realized she was blocking the door.
Lily was looking at her with wide eyes.
It seemed like she was staring at her a bit too intensely, but thankfully when Aisha stepped aside and nodded, Lily lightly returned the nod.
Ding~
Leaving behind the disappointed-looking man, Lily exited the cafe.
Lily, who looked just like Deoen—though not completely identical—contrasted with Aisha, who was nothing like Deoen.
Deoen’s Aisha was purely a customized character.
In other words, unless she spoke, there was no way anyone would figure out she was the real Aisha.
There was no way to notice looking at Charles.
In fact, Lily had faced Aisha directly and still didn’t realize it.
‘She’s more nonchalant than I thought. Well, maybe she’s used to these kinds of confessions.’
Aisha was no stranger to confession attacks, like being asked for her number.
Even during her professional days, she had heard that line numerous times. Though it became somewhat less frequent after the Sword Saint’s fan club took off, it certainly hadn’t disappeared.
Since she was already there, Aisha ordered a few things to eat before sitting in the spot where Lily had been.
She could feel Lily’s warmth.
Had she been sitting there for about 5 minutes?
‘It would be nice if I could discover something special.’
So far, she was just an outstanding-looking recluse broadcaster.
Aisha thought there must be something special about her in reality, but… she couldn’t really find anything striking.
After all, there are limits unless you approach directly.
At the very least, the only unique thing she could think of was the ‘skewers’ that had been frequently mentioned lately.
She had heard a few times that Lily made Celestial Skewers from Deoen in real life.
Of course, it was often the case that cooking in games gets replicated in reality.
Various YouTubers and media used it for content as well.
But the skewers Lily made were somehow different.
‘She eats it too often.’
No matter how you slice it, they must be regular chicken skewers in reality, so why does she eat them all the time?
It made her wonder if there was some secret recipe that even people making good money were cooking the same dish repeatedly.
“Phew…”
Lily had brought back two coffees.
It was rare for her to drink two alone, so it must be for Yena.
‘Approaching… might be tough, right?’
Aisha pondered.
When she first started out, she thought she’d take some risks to get closer.
In reality, she had brushed past and even faced her directly.
For a moment, she thought she had been caught, but luckily that was not the case.
However, seeing someone else’s failure made her decide to take a step back.
This wasn’t Deoen.
Given that this was reality, reckless approaches weren’t socially acceptable and could lead to considerable issues.
It would be difficult to approach unless she became close like Yena in reality.
Yet thinking about it from a different perspective, Lily and Yena hadn’t known each other from the start.
They got to know each other through Deoen and became close friends over time, which led them to become friends in reality.
It seemed likely that they ended up living in the same apartment through Yena’s introduction.
“There’s an opportunity. Just in time for the Siege War.”
If I build some proper connections in Deoen, I might be able to figure out their true identity.
Aisha stood up after jotting down her thoughts, promising for the next time.
40. It seems like I’m getting pretty used to rejection. This also applies in reality.
+Maybe Deoen might be more lenient?
■
“…?”
As I walked out of the cafe, I suddenly turned around.
It wasn’t because I was concerned about the guy who got my number.
Such cases happen often enough that going out once leads to two or three encounters, and I had heard in advance through Yena.
There was absolutely no reason to be surprised or concerned about it.
Rather, what was bothering me was a completely different person.
‘Something feels…’
A woman blocking the door.
She had long brown hair and was wearing a white hat, looking quite pretty.
Not to the level of an idol! But she ranked pretty high among ordinary people.
Though she wasn’t the type to stand out right away.
‘A made-up Yena version 2.0?’
Yena in Deoen was based on the reality Yena but was a far superior version.
I wasn’t really trying to talk about looks, though.
‘I’m not the type to judge someone based on appearance.’
“…She wasn’t ordinary, though.”
Changes in Deoen have slight impacts on reality too.
For instance, Yena using cat language in reality is one such example.
Although she seems oblivious to it, subtle changes are indeed happening.
And that woman just now felt a bit different from regular civilians.
‘Like Yena.’
Could she be a ranker or something?
Curiosity sparked, but I didn’t approach her.
No matter how top-tier rankers are, in reality, they’re just civilians.
“Have I seen her somewhere?”
However, there’s no way someone of that level could impact reality as she did, so I might have met her before.
I had encountered most of the top rankers.
I’ll have to discuss this with Yena later.
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