There was a mention of Yena’s stalker, but my life didn’t change much.
Well, that’s to be expected because, unless something unusual happens, I always stay at home or Deoen.
I rarely go out unless I’m buying coffee or have a special reason to.
The reason is simple—my real-life self stands out too much compared to my Deoen self.
‘Pretty appearance and body. And blue hair with blue eyes.’
If it were in the colorful world of Deoen, it wouldn’t matter, but in reality, the people around are mostly black, brown, or yellow.
Naturally, blue hair is extremely rare.
No matter how much I wrap myself in a black hat and a mask, there’s always a limit.
So, unless I’m in a place packed with cosplayers like at the finals of the DCK event, it’s almost impossible to hide my identity.
In fact, by the end of the game, I got caught eventually.
It’s said that many people still shout out for my real-life self because of that incident.
‘Please do a cam broadcast or something.’
From the viewers’ perspective, a cam broadcast seems impressive… but from my perspective, Deoen and reality are just the same world.
Since I have the same body, I essentially do cam broadcasts for several hours every day.
There’s really no reason to turn on a broadcast in reality.
“Ugh… my head…”
“Are you okay?”
“I’m dying, meow…”
Of course, someone might say this.
‘Aren’t you saying that reality and Deoen are the same? Then can’t you just turn it on in reality?’
That’s not entirely wrong.
But the reality—more precisely, the fundamental difference between my self in this world and my self in Deoen is this.
“Wait a minute. The antidote I made before… Ah. It’s all gone.”
“Ugh…”
“It takes a long time to recharge. This is bad.”
The ‘me’ here is not as strong as the ‘me’ in Deoen.
By strength, I’m not talking about the level of flying mountains or cutting the sky.
‘Just an ordinary person.’
My real-life self has the physique of an adult man who exercises regularly and has some strength.
The very idea of discussing strength is ridiculous.
Yena probably thinks I can just catch her with one hand and find her hiding, so she sees me as some kind of alien… (which, in a way, is true).
That’s half right and half wrong.
The way Yena was hiding could hardly be considered hiding at all.
At that time, Yena was just thoughtlessly trailing behind and got caught.
It’s just a mere rank.
What I snatched with one hand was merely part of the technique; depending on how you use your power, you can achieve amazing effects with little strength.
“It’s not like I lost my technique just because my power or body weakened.”
If you’re really lacking, just use a speck of ‘mana’ to summon an anomaly.
“I guess I have to boil some ramen. Please sit down for a moment.”
“Ugh…”
“Whoa, if you feel like it, head to the bathroom.”
I lifted the staggering Yena and carried her to the bathroom.
Yena buried her head in the toilet.
Her expression was unusual until just before entering the bathroom, but then she didn’t seem to be doing anything.
Thwack!
Bubble, bubble…
As I boiled the hangover ramen, I glanced at the calendar on the kitchen table, sunlight streaming in.
August 8th.
Finally, it was the day for the meeting with the display case Archlords.
The past four days had been spent exploring the Main Temple and my endeavors as a broadcaster, but for some reason, Yena barged into my house carrying a ton of liquor.
And of course, I happened to be creating a new version of the Celestial Skewers.
…Well, as expected, Yena gobbled down the liquor and skewers and left just like that.
Did the new Celestial Skewers cause another revelation?
Using the already scarce mana to lay down mana arrays must have created some unexpected errors again.
If it were Deoen, he would have solved the problem easily, but I’m not that capable.
Anyway, the chat I had with the departed Yena was rather amusing…
‘…Lady Lily. Be careful.’
‘I’m being careful. But there’s nothing here.’
‘No… there is. There is!’
‘We’ve been checking for three days together. But whether it didn’t appear or never existed, I couldn’t tell.’
‘…..’
‘As Miss Yena said, it might have gotten wise. It probably won’t show up for a while─’
‘Is there a stalker or something! Oh! Suspect! Suspect!’
‘???’
‘There are so many risks in this world. Oh! Being an alien, the National Intelligence Service might take you away! Ah! Is the National Intelligence Service also affiliated with Nutri Company? The houses have plummeted because of those guys… Phew…’
…and with that wise assertion, she fell into a deep slumber.
Yena tried to sprawl out on the sofa, but I forcibly tossed her into the empty room.
Then morning came, and when I checked, she looked like that.
She seemed somewhat awake, but her state was still not good.
Bubble, bubble.
Glibble.
“Ah.”
While reminiscing about something fun, the ramen is perfectly cooked.
I served the ramen in bowls and placed them on the table one by one.
I thought about bringing her, but someone was walking over like a zombie from afar and sat down.
“Here. Eat up, Yena.”
“Where is this…?”
“Hurry and eat. It’s going to be delicious.”
Yena’s eyes were blankly focused on some part of the ramen.
What on earth is she looking at?
Her hand, gripping the chopsticks, carefully moved closer.
Slurp…
“!”
“Is it good? I mixed in some sauce while experimenting with skewers.”
“Wow. Legendary.”
Slurp! Slurp!
Yena’s gestures quickened.
A moment ago she was dying, but now she’s eating well.
Just like that, Yena knocked down two bowls of ramen before succumbing to a food coma and lying down.
“If you eat and lie down right away, you’ll turn into a cow.”
“Cow… Cow sounds tasty…”
“Should I make you some skewers with beef later?”
“Totally awesome…”
“Got it.”
Yena sprawled out right there.
Under normal circumstances, I’d send her home, but she looked so unwell that I decided to keep an eye on her for a while.
‘Should I go buy some coffee?’
A coffee pot is fine, but there’s nothing like café coffee.
I quickly put on my clothes, grabbed a hat and mask, and stepped out the door.
Creak… Bang!
■
“It’s late…”
Very late.
How long could it possibly take?
It had been 12 hours and 36 minutes since Yena walked into Lily’s house with a bunch of liquor.
If things were normal, it wouldn’t be strange for her to have left by now!
‘She’s never stayed overnight… why is that?’
According to my 99 observations about Lily (now only 31 written), Yena’s maximum limit for staying late was 5 hours.
She had never spent this long, especially not over “night.”
If this goes on, how many observations would I have to revise?
“……”
In an instant, countless ‘possibilities’ flooded Aisha’s mind.
She was a fervent fan of the former Sword Saint.
Having once managed a fan club, she was well aware that fandom often leads to the spread of countless ‘delusions.’
And at the forefront of those delusions was the Sword Saint Aisha.
She plunged herself into the endless waves of delusional thoughts.
Yena, who was close to Lily.
The reason Lily started broadcasting was because of Yena, and they had maintained that friendship to this day.
The reason I started broadcasting was thanks to Yena, and I’ve maintained that friendship until now.
The two seem to be quite close even in reality.
If she, who never does streams, visits the DCK offline arena just to follow Yena, it must mean there’s quite a solid trust between them.
Above all, if they’re close enough to enter each other’s homes without any restrictions… perhaps…
“Perhaps.”
.
.
.
“Ugh!”
Aisha popped her head up from the sea of delusions.
How long has it been?
Aisha wiped the drool from her mouth and glanced at the smart watch made by Nutri Company’s affiliate.
“2 PM!”
It’s been 14 hours since Yena entered Lily’s house!
She had spent more than half a day at her opponent’s place.
Aisha revised a few thoughts she had pulled from her pocket and jotted down a few new ones.
Logically, she thought it shouldn’t be possible, but given her actions lately, it was hard to simply deny it.
In the end, it had manifested into reality.
If they were just acquaintances, something like this wouldn’t happen…!
─Thump. Tling~
Aisha pressed her ear to the door, clearing out the dark imaginings that filled her head.
The soundproofing was good, but if she concentrated, she could still hear some sounds from outside.
─Ding! Ground floor. Going down.
Whoa… the elevator is going down.
Looking at how it directly hit the first floor, it doesn’t seem like it’s Yena.
Moreover, the sound of footsteps (which is also part of her thoughts) felt closer to Lily than to Yena.
“Did she go to the cafe?”
Aisha contemplated.
Recently, not only Yena but also Lily had become more vigilant.
Because of that, she’s been observing more carefully than usual, but it wouldn’t be strange if she got caught at any moment.
If she followed them like this, the chances of getting caught would be pretty high.
“…Huh.”
But you can’t live in this world without some risks.
“Shall I show off my skills a bit?”
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
