Maru's Loyal Dog Seon-a
I was serious. Knowing the angel’s secret was taboo. My mouth just wouldn’t stay shut. Before I knew it, I’d blurted everything out in excitement.
“Kuh…”
I glanced at the chat window. It had to be absolute chaos right now.
“Is this a bit? It’s not a bit. I’m serious… In my worldview, I’m serious. Is this a bit too? Hmm… But it’s my worldview. I don’t know. I don’t know!!”
I thought for a moment, then spoke again.
“If you don’t know, is your life over!? Think of something!! But I don’t know!! What am I supposed to do if I don’t know!! Don’t know? Then think of something!!”
“What don’t you know?”
“I’m seriously going crazy today.”
“What are you doing?”
“What are you doing?”
“Ah… Ah!! Ah. Crap!!”
Now that I thought about it, the only people who knew Maru’s secret weren’t just me, Bana, and Raming. The viewers knew too. What the—!! Way too many people knew. There were too many mouths to silence. I couldn’t ban every single one of my viewers just to protect the fact that Maru was an angel. Kuh… I’d been backed into a corner. I had to make a choice. Why was such a huge trial being given to me? Kuh. My hands and feet trembled, but I had to decide.
“Starting today, Maru isn’t an angel.”
I committed blasphemy. I was definitely going to hell. I’d said something terribly wrong. But someone had to do it. And that someone was me. No—actually, it was something I should be grateful for.
“Starting today, Maru is a god. The one true god, Maru. This way, there’s no need to keep it a secret!! Right?”
“I’m an idiot!! No, that’s not it. I just like Maru. I respect her. That’s why. Is it wrong to respect her? Can’t I respect her a little? I can do that too. I just wanted to raise Maru’s status. It’s not brain-melt… No. I really respect her. Wouldn’t you respect her too if you were in my shoes? You would.”
“That could be true…”
“Gae Seon-a is… not a loyal dog. I’m a loyal retainer…”
I’m human. Being treated like a dog feels a bit much. Still, I just wanted to raise her status as a human. Hearing stuff like that made me feel hurt. It’s normal to have affection for someone you respect. It’s not brain-melt… I really respect her. I truly respected her. Why don’t they understand my feelings? Why won’t they get it? I’m really hurt. Why can’t they see that? I really do respect her. It’s only natural to respect your benefactor.
“Huh… Really?”
What a kind person. The donation message felt nice. Maybe because of someone’s support, the chat atmosphere and the donations were gradually becoming warmer.
Even the viewers were cheering me on. I was doing okay, right? It was fine, wasn’t it? I’d almost felt hurt, but suddenly my mood lifted. Even if the trolls and weirdos hated it, the angels liked it. Thanks to the angels, my energy surged back.
“Then… even if it’s brain-melt, I’ll keep doing it. I really respect her. I hope you all understand too!!”
Once I got fixated on something, I kept going. I’d always been like that. I tried hard to fix it, but it was impossible. If I just kept at it, eventually I’d stop on my own. Out of boredom… But right now, I wasn’t bored. I just wanted to show my respect as much as possible. And Maru had said it was okay. She said I could respect her.
“I’ll focus again. Maru… Maru is a god. The one true god.”
“Starting today, Maru is a god. A goddess. A goddess!! I’m going to tell Bana about it.”
Maru wasn’t an angel. She was a goddess. Yeah. Angel didn’t suit her. That pure heart, that spotless spirit… Goddess fit her much better. Kuh kuh kuh. I couldn’t stop laughing. It was my worldview. I was the one creating it. That’s just how the worldview was. It was fine. Starting today, Seon-a’s stream was a room that believed in a goddess. Starting today, it was a religion stream. Don’t call it brain-melt. I was going to do it. I had to. There was no reason. Do you need a reason to believe in a god? I just wanted to believe. So I would. That settled it.
“This stream is now a religion stream. Everyone here is a follower who believes in Goddess Maru.”
“Maem!!”
I had to tell Bana about this wonderful fact. She was going to love it. Eheh.
Bana had met Maru a long time ago on a Minecraft server. The two of them had similar interests and quickly became close. Bana, who used to be a no-cam streamer, had started doing virtual streaming because of Maru. Maru’s proactive advice had pushed her to begin. No matter what, she was a good social companion and a reliable older sister.
“Bana!! Bana!!”
“Huh? Seon-a? What’s up?”
“I have something to tell you.”
“What is it?”
“Maru isn’t an angel.”
Bana’s smile was already forming. It was really hard to hold back her laughter. Maru the angel. Maru was a baby. Maru was a princess. Maru was a pure girl. Maru was… She’d come up with so many nicknames that she couldn’t wait to tease the person herself later. It had been so fun. She’d thought her stomach would split open. She’d thought it was over, but—
“Why? Puhup.”
The laughter was already coming out. Just hearing Seon-a’s voice was funny. At first she’d wondered if it was a joke, but it wasn’t. It sounded sincere. She couldn’t help but focus on that earnest tone.
“Starting today, Maru is a goddess.”
“Kuhuhuhuh. A goddess?”
“Yes. Not an angel. A goddess. There’s no more blasphemy. Goddess Maru!! Now I can spread the faith. It doesn’t matter if people call it brain-melt. I’ve decided to endure it all.”
“Ah… Ahp. Ah.”
Goddess Maru. She was looking forward to Maru’s reaction. How deliciously would she react? Bana covered her mouth and laughed.
“So starting today, she’s not an angel.”
“Ah… Mmph. Yes.”
“I came to tell you this. I’m going now.”
“Puhuhuhuh. Wait, wait, Seon-a. Seo-na-nem. Ani-nim.”
Bana grabbed the turned-away Seon-a. Was that it? Nothing more? She was just going to tease and leave? She had to make it explode.
“Yes? What is it?”
“Is that all?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you really come here just to say that?”
“Yes!! Maru is a goddess.”
“That’s it? Really the end?”
“Um… It’s the end, but… Yeah…”
Seon-a’s hesitant voice dragged on annoyingly. Still, it was fine. She could wait. The longer it went, the more she looked forward to whatever nonsense would come out next.
“Yeah… So… Yeah…”
“Speak comfortably. I’ll listen to whatever I can.”
“Yeah…”
After about three minutes of nothing but “Yeah…”, Seon-a suddenly burst out.
“Ah!! Right. Bana!!”
“Oh? What?”
“Guilds, right? Guilds. You can create a guild if five people gather, right?”
“We have a guild. Yeah. Why?”
“Then what about religion? Is there no function where you can make a religion if ten people gather?”
“Religion… Hahahahaha. That’s funny? Good idea!?”
Bana couldn’t hold back her laughter once she understood the intent.
“Yes! Religion. I want to establish a religion that believes in the Goddess. It’s Maru’s religion… I’ll spread the gospel far and wide. Leave it to me!!”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes. I’ll do it. Just trust me. I’ll make sure everyone here—viewers and fellow streamers alike—can believe in Maru.”
“I’ll ask if the system supports it.”
“Ooh!! Really?”
“Yeah~ I’ll do it for you. So you’ll spread the gospel diligently, right?”
“Yes!! Of course!! I’ll really work hard to spread the faith so that everyone here—the viewers and the other streamers—can believe in Maru.”
“Puhuhuh…”
Bana couldn’t hold back her laughter. She could already imagine her close older sister’s reaction.
“Seon-a, I’ll contact you after I make it. Please spread the gospel diligently.”
“Understood!! Just trust me. I’ll get strong and even start a crusade.”
“Puhahaha.”
“I’ll get really strong quickly!!”
“Yeah~ Sounds good. Got it.”
“Thank goodness it’s someone who understands. If it wasn’t…”
Seon-a suddenly pulled out a diamond sword.
“Whoa… That’s scary.”
“It’s not. It’s not scary!! Bana is a good person. I only get serious with bad people. We’re on the same side. I’m going now.”
“Okay~ Take care. There are a lot of raiders here.”
“Ah, it’s fine.”
“What’s fine?”
“I’ll convert them all into good people!! The trolls called me brain-melt and insulted me, right? But I realized something. Religious people are supposed to be insulted.”
Seon-a’s voice was filled with strength.