Last night, after wrapping up a brief test broadcast, I explained my brilliant plan to Claire and Alice before dozing off.
Honestly, I never thought the broadcast would go well from the start. No matter how pretty the person is or how much like the character they look, unless the broadcast spreads by word of mouth, it’s not easy to gather viewers.
Plus, the broadcast yesterday was a haphazard mess, just me with a smartphone camera, no lighting or anything. Pretty people don’t magically look good in front of a camera without some decent lighting.
But surprisingly, we had two-digit numbers in our room! And the tens place wasn’t even 1!
After the broadcast, I searched online and found that our three faces had been captured.
It was from that gallery I often visited in this world. Since it was a place where fans of the Chronicles of Aetherna gathered, I figured it made sense. Those who joined the broadcast must have seen the posts about it and hopped in.
For a brief moment, I thought about logging in with my account to say, “Hey, I’m the one doing that broadcast!” but that seemed like a risky move in various ways.
Galas don’t allow socializing. Even though I was a well-known figure, it was obvious that promoting the broadcast with that would get me blasted by trolls. Plus, I’d already made a mess with that nickname.
I finally had my identity washed clean, so there was no need to drag up my dark past just for a tiny bit of publicity.
Secondly, I saw potential.
It was just once, but we did receive some donations during that short time.
After all, online broadcasting donations exist to attract the streamer’s interest, so as we kept cosplaying—though technically, we were just being ourselves, in a way—the effort would surely help our finances.
If it doesn’t work out, I can always sell the stuff we gathered and look for a part-time job.
Anyway, the plan I explained to the two of them was to broadcast consistently and sincerely for a while. Claire seemed to agree happily, and Alice looked a bit relieved at the thought that it might help our living situation.
“But why would people give us money just for watching us talk?”
“Think of street performers. People toss coins into hats in front of them. On top of that, they earn the right to say something with their money!”
“Is that how it works?”
When I explained this to Alice, she made a funny face but didn’t seem opposed to our plan.
So the next day, we decided to head out a bit further to buy what we needed for the game broadcast.
And during that process, I stumbled upon a situation I never expected.
“…Where did this come from?”
“It was in my wallet.”
What Alice showed me was a resident ID.
Yes, it was the kind of ID that ‘Fanggriffon Sylvia’ magically appeared on when I crossed into this world, only with the name flipped to match the Korean order.
Naturally, Alice’s name on it was ‘Fanggriffon Alice’.
“I have one too.”
Claire chimed in, handing over her ID that read ‘Grace Claire.’
Both their wallets contained IDs we must have acquired while shopping for clothes together. Naturally, it should have only had transportation cards!
Yet both of them had IDs confirming they were adults.
“Did we undergo some sort of adjustment when we crossed over?”
I thought for a moment after Alice’s comment.
“…Maybe the Goddess oversees ‘order.'”
I wasn’t sure if that goddess controlled this world, but anyhow, our appearance here and Claire and Alice’s entry broke the order of this world.
And if we just left that empty spot after entering, it would create a significant hole. It would become a situation where no one would know where or how the two had come from.
We needed to create a reason; in that case, it was better to handle us as just Koreans rather than treat us as ‘illegal residents’—obviously, the former leaves fewer holes. Just because we were labeled illegal doesn’t mean we’re without nationality.
Creating an explanation about how we came here, how we settled… simple was better just to treat us as Koreans overall. After all, we’re all from another world, so there’s no nationality that wouldn’t cause a hole.
“The Goddess of Order is trying to make us blend into this world?”
“It’s not strange to think that.”
“Then the longer we stay here, the further we may drift from our original world?”
“…Sure.”
Indeed, as time passes, the Goddess of Order might attempt to fill our ’empty holes.’ After all, she’s been someone who wanted to create the orderly world she desires, even if it meant consuming the world itself.
Perhaps from the goddess’s perspective, this world is already perfect. Not in an ideal sense, but based solely on the one law of physics. Despite her creating a massive hole when she took me along with her.
“But in that case, the solution is simple.”
I replied to Alice.
“We just have to not forget that we are ourselves.”
“And tell others that we are indeed ourselves!”
Claire chimed in as she listened to our conversation.
“We should live in a way that screams we don’t fit in, making even the Goddess of Order cringe. That’s what you mean, right, sis?”
“Exactly.”
“……Indeed.”
So, it seems my plan should be to act as if I were waking from the illusion the goddess created.
I just need to show as many people as possible how bizarre everything feels.
“You really seem to enjoy opposing the Goddess.”
Alice noted with a smirk seeing my expression.
*
What we purchased was an external capture board, a microphone, a mic stand, and a monitor.
When I went to buy lighting, I found it was too expensive and more complicated to set up than I’d thought. For now, we decided to broadcast without it and adjust if we felt the need.
And…
“Is that really you drawn there?”
“You said you didn’t realize you came out of the game?”
“That’s right.”
And the latest product of the Chronicles of Aetherna.
Surprisingly, the cover featured me right next to Leo.
“It looks a bit different from the real deal.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. This one looks a bit cooler.”
“……So I’m not the real me?”
“Yep, the one drawn here looks a lot cooler.”
“True. It’s quite different from your real image… Ah.”
Alice, who had been chiming in beside me, seemed to have realized something and kept quiet.
Could she be recalling me from childhood? I hid my emotions far better back then.
[Claire really seems to have grasped it]
[It’s already evident that this world is a joke lol]
Then, while we were talking and looking at the game package, the viewer chats popped up.
…Are they saying my personality is just a concept in the game?
What on earth is my character like in that game?
“Anyway, today we will play the latest Chronicles of Aetherna. I’ve never played this game before, so please refrain from spoilers. If I see any, I’ll ban you right away.”
With that, I started unboxing the package.
*
The introduction of the game felt so familiar.
“Ah, just like when we first entered the academy.”
[???]
[Wait, did they really make that the concept? LOL]
[LOLOLOL]
Indeed.
Before the broadcast, I told them.
Since we agreed not to hide, they could just say whatever came to mind while playing.
Non-believers would think no matter how we acted, it was just a concept tied to the game characters.
And even if one of those people happened to believe it, what did it matter?
That was what we were genuinely aiming for.
Just—
“[Sis… Is that you, Sylvia, right?]”
—The issue is that, as always in the game, it wasn’t ‘fully voiced.’
And since it wasn’t fully voiced, parts of the dialogue were only presented in text.
Essentially, it meant I had to read the lines myself wherever dialogue didn’t show up.
I told Claire and Alice, who were worried, that I would read it without thinking, but this was far more embarrassing than I expected.
“Sis, really? Are you stuttering?”
“There weren’t any ellipses in the dialogue, were there?”
[LOLOLOL]
[She’s blushing over it! LMAO]
[She’s just like the real Sylvia, hahaa!]
[Concept, huh? LOL]
…..
Maybe I should just quit.
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