When I first encountered highly advanced artificial intelligence, the amazement was nonstop.
It felt like being a Joseon diplomat witnessing the electrical fair in New York for the first time.
Later, I learned that even the AI model used for Liri was an outdated version.
“Please tell me that you didn’t role-play in the capsule, or that you didn’t do any family play because you missed your Eomeoni too much… That’s not sad, right…?”
“Nope, not at all, so you can relax. I just wanted to have fun when I was playing.”
Phew The cast let out a sigh of relief.
“Can I guess too?”
Saetbyeol tightly clenched her fist and showed interest.
Nodding, she tilted her head, wondering what the answer could be.
“Correct! It was a roleplay with the Princess and Prince. You know she loves being treated like a princess, right?”
Wrong! “Nope, wrong. When did I ever do that?”
“You definitely did last time when you were lying down and bowing your head, um um um!”
I waved my hand to deny it, saying it was not true at all.
Thanks to the relaxed atmosphere, a variety of witty answers started flowing in.
“Weren’t you playing supermarket? Liri said she was a merchant, right?”
“Yes, that’s linked to a merchant, but I didn’t actually play supermarket myself. Want a hint?”
“Ooh, a hint!”
I pursed my lips and took a moment to think.
“Sometimes, when you order the same item, it might be sold by a different merchant. Think about why that happens.”
“I got it! The answer is…!”
A loud voice from a male confidently declared the correct answer.
“Liri said she only sold potions and boots at the beginning. But now, Na-me and Liri have collected all the items from other merchants and are selling them. If I were to compare it to a civilization game, Liri has conquered my country. Am I right?”
“Oh, Jeong-jin, correct! You guys really guess without a script!”
Jeong-jin did a victory lap around the set.
“Wow, how did you figure that out?”
The items sold to players vary based on the scale of the merchant’s shop.
If you sell little, you get a hole-in-the-wall shop; if you sell a lot, you get a fortress—a sort of Easter egg.
“Of course, I didn’t conquer recklessly. If I present myself well as royalty, merchants trust us with their shops. Then Liri’s outfits change beautifully, and watching that was really enjoyable.”
“You really did everything you could in LoL.”
“Left to her own devices, Liri never seems to come in first.”
“How did Na-me recruit the merchants? For example?”
I scratched my head, hesitating.
“Ah… I made it sound grand, but it was actually nothing special…”
The atmosphere formed as if I had to come forward and show something.
“Here, let’s say Saetbyeol is Princess Liri. I’m the servant role.”
“Um, I’m the beggar princess Liri.”
“Sometimes there are kind-hearted merchants. You just have to play up the pity in front of such AIs. Go over there and ask me if I’m hungry.”
Taking Saetbyeol’s hand, we walked over to the cast.
“Na-me, are you hungry?”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
I relaxed my abdomen, which had been tense from trying to lower my voice in normal life.
Well, it was a song I sang a lot as a kid, so there’s no reason to be embarrassed.
Turning around, I raised both arms high, as if asking Saetbyeol for a hug.
In a clear, slow, and sorrowful tone, I sang a children’s song.
“Hey, Princess, I have something to say. You know, I’m so hungry. So, so, so, so hungry, sniff sniff…”
And I clung to Saetbyeol.
KYAAAAA!
She plugged her nose and let out a high-pitched dolphin sound right in front of me.
I hope people don’t misunderstand what this is.
Singing a children’s song is the most effective way to meet that AI’s child-detection threshold.
Besides, other players couldn’t hear my voice anyway.
I was just choosing the optimal way for fun.
Of course, back then, I was only 2 or 3 years old, so I also just liked the song.
“WAAAAAAAAAA, so cute!”
“Na-me, wasn’t that practically threatening with aegyo?”
“The sniff sniff at the end was the real point. My heart is aching…”
“Hey, look at the director’s expression. He’s totally lost it right now.”
The camera director’s jaw nearly dropped.
I quickly led Saetbyeol behind the podium, hiding my face.
I didn’t realize it during the demonstration, but the embarrassment hitting me now was unreal.
“Anyway, everyone understood, right? I also had a period in childhood when aegyo suited me.”
“No, you still suit it really well now!”
“Yeah, well, I’m grateful to be thought of that way. Hehe.”
All the discomfort I’ve been harboring melted away completely.
The public mistaking me for ASI is tantamount to denying Eomeoni’s daughter.
Even without memories of a past life, it felt great to have my existence recognized.
“Na-me, don’t you do aegyo much usually?”
Saetbyeol shook her head firmly at the question.
“Not at all. Even if I ask her, she never does it…”
“Aah, so Na-me is the shy type.”
“But wait, there’s a video compilation of Na-me’s aegyo on V-tube, right? That video is super popular.”
“Oh, I think I saw that too. It even made it to the real-time search terms.”
“As you know, Na-me Unni is so cute, but she never admits it, so I just wanted more people to see it, so I sporadically recorded and uploaded it.”
“We want to see it too! Is that okay?”
Fwaaaaat-!
Suddenly, the production team projected a hologram, streaming ‘NoName’s Aegyo Compilation 1’ and ‘NoName’s Aegyo Compilation 2 (Watch Without Na-me)’ videos.
When did that video get restored?
“Hold on, PD! This wasn’t in the script…!”
I had no choice but to shout, filled with indignation.
To make matters worse, my image sitting in a car seat appeared, and I buried my face in the desk, letting out a deep sigh.
[Warrior Sticker Accumulation Opportunity!]
[Follow Along for 3 Instances of Aegyo: 0/3]
Ah, so this is what it was.
Warrior stickers were spontaneous missions thrown out during the talk show.
“Na-me Unni, please do it. I’ll take care of the next two missions.”
“Really?”
“Of course!”
Encouraged by Saetbyeol, I slowly lifted my head to face my past mistakes.
‘Huh?’
Watching from a distance, it didn’t seem too bad.
“Ta-dah! Good job. Here’s a little pat.”
It was a video of the time I had delegated the dishes to Saetbyeol because I didn’t want to do them.
“Woo, I don’t want to.”
When I had purposely acted bratty while going to the training arena with Cheon Saetbyeol.
And…
[Are we filming again? Don’t upload it.]
[Quick, do a two-line poem with Na-me! One, two, three!]
“To me.”
[Me!]
“Meow! Is that right? Pffft… I can’t do this anymore.”
After finishing the mission, my face turned hot, and I fanned myself.
“How is it? Now that you’ve tried it, it’s really nothing, right?”
Looking around at the cast and staff giving me a standing ovation, I felt so unfamiliar being someone who could bring this kind of happy smile.
“It’s not nothing, but… it feels good.”
We just ended up smiling together.
*
Cheon Saetbyeol’s talent was her quickness in learning anything.
Was it because she inherited my past life’s physical constitution?
She could memorize songs after just hearing them once and could easily remember all dance moves.
Especially interesting was her endless curiosity and complete lack of prejudice against other cultures.
She absorbed every subculture like a sponge, leaving her cultural knowledge richer than mine in some respects.
This might be why she could adapt seamlessly to the Korean high school environment.
Cheon Saetbyeol showcased her skills as a human jukebox, literally carrying the Room Fortress Warrior filming set.
“Saetbyeol, your talent is no joke. If you go on a variety show, I bet there will be tons of agencies trying to scout you!”
“What about your future plans and stuff?”
“Me?”
“Saetbyeol, you’re acting as Na-me’s right arm.”
“Ah, right arm…”
Cheon Saetbyeol glanced over at me and grabbed her right shoulder.
“Sis, is it okay if my shoulder dislocates for a second? I won’t send my right arm far away.”
“Wha, what?”
Bwahahahaha!
“N-no…! It would be a big deal if it dislocates. Na-me Unni and I are one body. I have no plans yet to work separately.”
“Then eventually means ‘later,’ right?”
“Well, if someone makes me a prosthetic arm… Ahhh, Na-me Unni would get upset! Let’s stop talking about this!”
This girl was secretly dreaming of solo activities.
I thought I’d have to be more careful not to let someone else steal Saetbyeol from me.
After wrapping up Saetbyeol’s introduction, the talk show shifted back to me.
Since the Dream Stones were still a sensitive topic, mentions of them were significantly reduced afterward.
Instead, the spotlight was thrown on the National Exchange Tournament.
“Na-me, while your intelligence is great, you’ve also earned the title of national exchange tournament champion this time.”
“How did you manage such a major achievement at just ten years old? Everyone was shocked!”
“Did you think from the start that you would win the competition?”
Until the group preliminaries, there was a pervasive atmosphere of doubt in Korea.
But after going through the tournament, even those who didn’t know much about Magic Duel joined in on the fun.
“Honestly…”
“Yeah, yeah.”
“I thought it would be weirder if I didn’t win.”
“WOWWOWWOW!”
Clap clap clap clap clap!
“Yeah, that’s it! A champion’s confidence is inherently different!”
“Honestly, even though Aura Heart is small and has many physical disadvantages, winning was not easy. So how could you be so sure?”
The result was that I won the national exchange tournament, which the public was accepting.
Yet, many experts were still analyzing my duel footage, stunned.
“But guys, think about it. When I run 100 meters, my top speed is nearly 70 km/h!”
“Wow… That’s like a racing dog speed!”
“Our Na-me Unni is originally just fast like a dog.”
“…?”
“OWW!”
I pinched Saetbyeol’s thigh and continued my words.
“I’m the fastest among the participants, I handle the sword the best, and I use magic the fastest and most accurately. Naturally, I should be a winning candidate!”
I knew that it was too hindsight-based to claim it like that.
But sometimes, you have to express confidence like this.
“Looks like Na-me has a bit of narcissism too?”
“That’s it! My Unni always says that she’s the best at everything, um um um um!”
“Hey, shut up…!”
I just wanted to look cool for once.
