That's Why Popular People Are Like That
That's why popular people are like that.
"The comments? What do they say?"
It wasn't that she was curious about the contents, exactly.
If someone had gone to the trouble of leaving a comment, the least she could do was read it once out of courtesy.
She wasn't genuinely looking forward to it.
"Hmm… should I even tell you this?"
"Instead of stalling, just tell me already."
"It's a little hard to say out loud, so check for yourself."
Ugh, if you're just going to make me look it up, why bother laying the groundwork?
Finding a comment would only take a second anyway. She'd just have to put up with a little hassle.
Grumbling, she reactivated her status window.
And then—
"Yeah… I can see why you didn't want to tell me."
"Right? Told you so."
It wasn't that the comment was inappropriate.
Still, something about it felt… off.
"It's not bad, exactly…"
"It's a generation gap. He's practically old enough to be our dad."
"Old enough to be our dad?"
Ah—I remember now!
That was him. The kendo dojo master who'd taught the swordsmanship lectures.
But wait—this really wasn't the image she'd had of him.
Setting aside how stubborn he looked, he'd been incredibly well-mannered.
Or maybe that very personality meant he knew nothing about social media?
With a face that easily put him past fifty, it made sense he wouldn't care about the latest trends.
The comment itself wasn't mean, either.
Just an ordinary old man's praise about how nice it was to see someone smiling. No need to overthink it.
"So, Seha—what were you about to say earlier?"
"Ah, about that."
"Hold on. Another comment just came in."
Seriously, why is it so hard to just ask her to take one photo down?
The favor she needed from Soli was important, sure.
But first, she might as well check the new comment.
This time she didn't ask Soli to read it for her. She refreshed the page herself.
Hunting these things down on your own was half the fun, after all.
After a one-second load that felt like a full minute, the comment finally appeared.
The author was none other than Yeo Jeong-hyeon—the one who'd taken on the role of their leader.
Only people I already know are leaving comments.
Well, that was only natural.
Even on Bluebird, people said it was rude to comment on a stranger's post. In a place with real-name verification, that rule would only be stricter.
Just ordinary praise.
A comment that simply laid out his impressions, without any over-the-top flattery.
And how did that make her feel?
Being complimented… is surprisingly not bad.
Reading it over a few times, she found the corners of her mouth starting to lift on their own.
"Look at this girl, already knowing she's pretty. Do you like looking at your own pictures that much?"
"No, that's not—"
"With a bare face, no less. This unnie is feeling deprived over here. Sob, sob."
Soli nodded as if she could read every thought in Seha's head.
She hadn't said a word, and somehow she'd already been cast as a princess with a complex.
"So does that mean you want me to take down the story I posted earlier?"
What should I do?
Originally she'd meant to ask for the photo to be taken down.
But after seeing the comments, it didn't seem so bad anymore.
That was when Soli started working on her.
"I think leaving the story up is better for everyone."
"How is one little photo supposed to help anyone?"
"Let's say I take it down. How do you think people will feel? They'll think the effort they put into writing nice comments was a total waste, right?"
"Well… that could happen…"
"People who don't feel rewarded will stop leaving comments. And eventually, an Instar with no activity will just fade from everyone's memory."
"Wait, that can't happen!"
Right now, Soli's story was the only post on Instar.
Thanks to that, it had drawn everyone's attention.
Only two comments so far, but already thirteen likes.
No—make that fourteen, just now.
And there were bound to be lurkers who'd viewed it without liking, so the real number of eyes on it was higher still.
Taking the story down out of nowhere in a situation like this?
Yeah, people might genuinely get hurt.
"Fine. We already posted it, so taking it down now would just look weirder."
"Yay! No take-backs, okay?"
This feeling that I just got played is probably just my imagination.
Soli looked even happier about the answer than Seha did.
She snuck a glance at Seha's face, then shaped her hands into a camera again and aimed them her way.
"No more!"
"Aww, too bad."
I'm not falling for it twice~
Seha clapped both hands over her face in a flash, and Soli pouted, having missed the shot by a hair.
Then, out of nowhere:
"Hold on, Seha—what's that on your hand?"
"My hand? Oh, this."
She must've spotted it when I covered my face.
The World Tree's ring was still on the ring finger of her left hand.
Just wearing it raised her Luck by seven, so there was no reason to take it off.
Besides, this ring has saved me before.
She understood now why it had activated so suddenly at the elder's house.
The elder's goal had been to use her to deal with the dark elves.
If she'd mentioned getting friendly with a dark elf right in front of him, it would have been dangerous for sure.
Thank you, ring.
She stroked it gently, pouring her gratitude into the touch—
and maybe that looked strange, because Soli startled and fired off a question.
"That ring—does it mean something? Why the ring finger on your left hand, of all places…"
"Well, it's a really precious ring. Unless there's a special reason not to, I plan to wear it all the time."
"…"
The mood just got heavy.
Soli was looking at her with a meaningful expression.
Suddenly Seha found it hard to open her mouth, too.
Ah! Is that why?
As her second-floor spoils, Soli had brought back a statue that looked exactly like Seha.
Maybe seeing the ring made her think she'd hauled back something just as useless.
There was no need for that, though.
Seha told her not to worry.
"It doesn't really mean anything anymore, anyway."
The real prize she'd brought back was the World Tree's seed.
The ring was more like a free bonus.
"Is that so…? Well, whatever choice you make, Seha, I'll respect it."
Soli said something completely baffling out of nowhere.
Well, she must have her own thoughts on the matter.
I never told Soli about my real spoils, either.
She at least knew better than to brag about her haul to someone moping over a useless statue.
Not from life experience so much as from hanging around the galleries.
This IP has been blocked by a moderator.
Duration: 744 hours
Reason: Trolling
Having seen notifications like that more than once or twice, she could call herself something of an expert on trolling.
This is awkward. Maybe it's time to head home.
She'd already been exhausted, and chatting with Soli had drained whatever energy she had left.
She wanted nothing more than to crawl under a blanket and collapse!
In the end, she was the one who mustered the courage to pick up the stalled conversation.
"Can we head home now?"
"What are you talking about? Didn't you read the message I sent earlier?"
"Huh?"
"I said we should go to the pool."
Did she?
Soli's chat spam had been so overwhelming that the actual contents had slipped her mind.
Thinking back, that did sound familiar.
But they'd only just escaped the Tower—and she already wanted to go play?
Soli stared at her with sparkling eyes, waiting for an answer.
Seha had no choice but to disappoint her.
"I was planning to rest today."
The reply she got was nothing like what she'd expected.
"Going to the pool is resting, isn't it?"
"What?"
"You splash around, lounge on a sunbed—your fatigue just melts away."
"…"
Seriously. That's why popular people are like that.
Their fundamental ways of thinking were so different that they couldn't even communicate.
"Come on, just this once. Even Rigor said rest is important."
"That face isn't going to work on me!"
She'd almost caved to the abandoned-puppy eyes.
Did Soli really love the pool that much?
For a loner like Seha, rolling around alone at home was the ultimate form of rest.
A battle between Seha, determined to go home, and Soli, determined to drag her to the pool.
In the end, Seha won.
Though Soli hadn't surrendered unconditionally—there was one condition attached.
"Then you have to come with me later, okay?"
"Yeah, yeah, I got it."
The condition was that she'd go to the pool whenever Soli called.
Well, Future Me can handle Future Me's problems.
Right now wasn't the time to worry about that.
"Finally—a bed!"
Once Seha refused the pool, Soli's excitement seemed to cool, and she walked with her all the way to the inn.
I was shocked when we first got here.
When Rigor said he'd improved the inn, she hadn't imagined it would be to this extent.
The old building hadn't been bad, but now it felt like—
A medieval palace, almost.
Or maybe more like a mansion out of a romance fantasy novel?
She opened the front door, and in place of her room that had been completely gutted by the explosion, a luxurious chamber welcomed her.
And the bed is so soft!
She could practically hear that commercial jingle about unshakable comfort playing in her head.
With a bed like this, she could lie here all day.
Wrapped in that cozy embrace, she was just about to drift off when—
"Can you hear me?"
Ugh, who is it this time.
The second she tried to sleep, someone always had to wake her up.
Pretending she hadn't heard and going back to sleep would prick her conscience, though.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, she approached the front door.
What greeted her there was not what she'd expected.
"There's nobody here?"
"Not that way."
"Kyaaaaaah!"
She let out a thoroughly girlish scream.