[Is the G-Star schedule out this year??]
Usually, around this time, someone would always tell me when G-Star is and what games are coming out, but why is it so quiet this year?
– Well, this year…
– This year is just a total flop, yeah.
ㄴ Why?
ㄴ First of all, there are no new releases.
ㄴ Not having new releases is the same every year, what’s with the sudden surprise, haha.
ㄴ Last year had a few hits overseas, at least.
ㄴ There were always only mobile games anyway.
ㄴ The console industry’s shining knight hasn’t appeared again this year, has he…?
[G-Star, which streamers are coming?]
Honestly, isn’t this the main thing?
– I heard a lot of people are coming this time.
– Han Kang is coming to play games, and Nicang and Hakchu are confirmed too.
– Nicang even said she’s going in cosplay.
ㄴ Oh, cosplay too.
ㄴ She didn’t tell me what kind of cosplay, though.
– Is Kayak not coming?
ㄴ If Kayak does come, it’ll be a huge deal, for real, haha.
ㄴ It’d be like a fan meeting.
ㄴ Kayak seems uncertain too, though. They said they’re not sure if they’ll come.
ㄴ So they’re not completely ruling it out.
[G-Star better wash up nice and clean so there’s no smell, okay?]
I’m saying this now, but honestly, last year smelled.
– With so many people, there’s no way it wouldn’t smell, haha.
– But really, are there people who don’t wash? To the point of writing about it?
ㄴ Surprisingly, yes.
ㄴ I go every year, and there are lots of people who don’t even wash their hair.
ㄴ I suddenly don’t want to go anymore;;
– Our kayakers should wash up well; the gallery master might come too.
ㄴ Kayakers probably have dark hearts, so even washing won’t help…
ㄴ For real, haha. Sneaky bastards.
*
Amidst my peaceful daily life, someone invaded and broke my tranquility.
“Teacher, are you going to G-Star by any chance?”
That was none other than my first disciple, the streamer Nicang.
Now that I think about it, we hadn’t exchanged anything since we met as opponents during the Abyss streamer showdown. Before that, I would occasionally tune into her broadcasts and drop comments like, “Are you doing Abyss?” and “Aren’t you playing Camilla?” but afterwards, I got pretty busy myself.
Of course, we were friends on Abyss and Discord, but there was something that held me back from contacting her first. It’s just my nature; I’m not the type to reach out to someone personally first.
It wasn’t in my nature to do that.
Yet, it was truly a contradictory human existence that I felt so glad whenever I received a message from an acquaintance. I pondered for a moment over Nicang’s words.
Now that I think about it, among my viewers, there were quite a few who asked about it. If I went, they wanted at least a signature or something.
It’s not like I have zero interest in it. As a so-called comprehensive game streamer, I thought it would be worthwhile to attend an event related to games at least once.
I could check out the latest releases, experience booths, and all that jazz. While I’m at it, I could also go live and interact with my viewers to let them know I came to the event. Other streamers usually do that, and I had thought I’d like to do a broadcast like that someday too.
If I had to pick, I guess I leaned more toward yes. Sure, there’d be the hassle of figuring out transportation and accommodation, and all that jazz, but considering that, I might as well stay home forever.
Since if not for times like this, I’d be cooped up at home, it wouldn’t be too bad to engage in some outdoor activities for a change.
“Yes, if nothing comes up, I’m thinking of going.”
It seemed like Nicang was also planning to attend the event. That’s probably why she asked. I thought it was a good opportunity since she might have experience going there, unlike me, who was a first-timer.
I decided to ask for advice about lodgings and transportation. Alternatively, there wouldn’t be anything wrong with going together from the start.
Just as I was nodding to myself with that thought, Nicang exhaled a sigh.
“Um, Teacher, do you remember? You said that if I hit Diamond with Camilla, you’d do anything I asked.”
“…Did I?”
Her statement caught me off guard, so my response was slow. As I thought about it for a moment, I realized I might have said something like that.
Since she was my first student and I was genuinely excited, I must have blurted it out. It felt a bit like making a careless promise. However, the likelihood of Nicang reaching Diamond with Camilla seemed quite low.
“Check my stats, please. I hit Diamond with Camilla.”
But as I looked at the link to the stats site that Nicang sent, I realized my judgment had been way off. There, proudly displayed next to her ID, was the emblem representing Diamond, along with a portrait of Camilla sitting among the most played characters.
I realized I messed up. The diamond emblem proudly displayed next to her ID, and alongside it, Camilla’s portrait sitting in the “Most” section.
It seemed she didn’t really treat Camilla as her one main character, as a few other heroes were mixed in there, but come on, I’m not a pottery master, so I shouldn’t have to be so strict about it. This was enough to pass.
“Oh, you really got a diamond. Congrats!”
“Um, about the wish thing….”
“I’ll give you one wish card. Just don’t ask for something I can’t grant—something reasonable.”
Why did Nicang suddenly say something like this to me? Since she brought up G-Star first, was she like me, without a party to go with?
Was she using the wish card to ask me to go with her? That’s too simple and cute of a wish. She didn’t need to beat around the bush; just saying “please go to G-Star with me!” would have sufficed.
However, only half of my expectations were correct. As Nicang continued speaking, my face crumpled up in shock.
“…Please cosplay with me!”
“Huh?”
“At G-Star! Let’s cosplay…!”
That was a request that was both flustering and ridiculous. On the other hand, it was so out of the blue that it took me about three seconds to grasp the situation properly.
I wondered if I had understood it correctly.
“Cosplay? Like wearing clothes similar to those characters and wigs and stuff?”
“…Yes!”
“Why would I?”
The words shot out almost reflexively. But it seemed like Nicang was prepared for this, as she stumbled over her words in response.
“W-wish card! Wish card! I’ll use the wish card!”
“Ah….”
That was a sigh full of heavy meaning. So that’s why she built up to it—understanding it, but also feeling like I’d been caught off guard.
“Cosplaying might be a bit tough for me since I have no experience… Can’t I wish for something else?”
“But… I got the diamond to make this wish…”
What kind of wish did you need to make to get a diamond for that—?
The words rose to my throat but I swallowed them down again. It was more important to understand the situation first. Why on earth was Nicang asking me out of the blue to cosplay with her?
“Do you usually like cosplaying? Is it a hobby or something?”
“No, it’s just a penalty. We spun a roulette with the viewers, and it landed on cosplay at G-Star.”
“I spun the roulette and ended up having to cosplay at G-Star.”
Even after hearing the circumstances, I found it even more ridiculous than before. This has nothing to do with me, right?
“Well, you could just go cosplay by yourself. Why drag me into this?”
“Hehe… pain shared is pain halved, right?”
“Isn’t it more like it doubles?”
After that, Nicang continued her not-so-convincing excuses.
Though she was supposedly my top student, it felt bad that we were both too busy broadcasting to interact often, and she really wanted to hang out together at this G-Star, even without cosplaying.
She kept insisting that she wanted to stroll around and check out the booths with me, making my heart waver.
Honestly, it wouldn’t have been impossible even if I had died and come back. I didn’t have a strong aversion to wearing all those elaborate clothes for cosplay, and after having already seen everything in Camilla’s body, it would be odd to freak out about how cosplaying would destroy my dignity!
In fact, it was precisely now, after listening to Nicang, that I found myself curious. Since we already looked so alike, if Camilla wore her usual look for cosplay… just how identical would we become?
It was as if Nicang could read my thoughts, as she launched her PR campaign toward the end of her excuses.
“I’ll take care of the costumes, since I suggested it. You just need to show up!”
“You won’t even need a wig. Our hair and eye colors are the same, so no lenses needed either; just a simple makeup should suffice… honestly, I think if you just change outfits, that would be enough. Your very existence is cosplay.”
And then, the decisive moment.
“I’ve been to G-Star a lot, so I know the ins and outs. We can just book the same accommodation as last time, and it’ll be super convenient if you go with me!”
Nicang was a fantastic guide.
Honestly, my heart had already been leaning toward acceptance for a long time, but I pretended to hesitate and replied.
“Alright, let’s do it….”
“Woohoo, that’s our teacher! It’s just a major kayak waiting to happen!”
Excitedly, Nicang started making plans left and right. I added one more thing to her list.
“Can we bring one more person along?”
“One more?”
Hadn’t Nicang just said that sharing the pain halves it? That line was indeed correct.
I smiled slightly and spoke up.
“It’s someone to cosplay with us.”
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