Sigh, Let's Just Eat

After wrapping up that successful first round of RoyalGround, I felt like there was nothing to fear anymore. That said, what was it I originally meant to do? Oh, right—jump into that big corporate streamer's broadcast to promote myself.

I logged back into Zzzk and searched for the streamer's name, but the broadcast had already ended.

"Ah, the timing is just..."

In the end, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the promo opportunity got pushed back. I considered playing a few more rounds, but my stomach, which hadn't eaten breakfast yet, was sending urgent signals for food.

Before logging out of Log, I noticed friend requests from those three teammates. They seemed like good people, so I accepted them and shut down the game.

"If I practice a bit more, maybe I can do skill-based streams too?"

...I thought hopefully.

.

The three who'd just been pulling clips with Neru in Log—Iori, Rei, and Seira—sent friend requests to Neru. She was cute in all sorts of ways, after all.

The requests were accepted right away, but it switched to offline status, which was a bit disappointing.

"We'll get a chance to play again sometime, right?"

"Yeah. Ritsu unnie said she'd be here soon, so let's wait a bit."

Just then, Kurose Ritsu—the final member of the collab group—finally finished her work and arrived.

"Hey, girls, I'm here~"

"Ah, Ritsu unnie! We just played a round with this super cute girl."

"Huh~? A cute girl?"

"Yeah, her name was Neru... I thought she was streaming, but she wasn't."

Kurose Ritsu got pretty curious. She'd just been talking with President Yuseol about Universe's 2nd gen recruits, and now this mention of someone cute.

After her stream ended, Kurose Ritsu decided to check the replay. And just like that, the name 'Neru' was starting to spread, knowingly or not.

And the owner of that name was...

"Hot f*ck..."

"Hot, that startled me..."

I was suffering after burning my hand while microwaving the instant rice.

.

With a small burn on my hand, tears welled up in my eyes. I applied some ointment, but the only bandages left at home had penguins on them, making me feel even more pathetic.

The embarrassment from struggling with that light bag earlier was still fresh.

"...Sigh, let's just eat."

While eating, a status window suddenly popped up in front of me, making me tilt my head.

Oh. Looks like playing with those random teammates helped collect Humanity Points.

Emotions from multiple humans? Weren't there just three?

"...Guess three counts as multiple."

I nodded, not thinking much of it.

Then a sudden curiosity hit me. How far does this AI Neru's body influence things?

"Neru, you listening?"

Neru, listening but staying silent. I frowned in frustration.

"I get the Humanity Points collection thing, but shouldn't you tell me about this body?"

After a short wait, a few more status windows appeared.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

The shop only had one item available anyway.

"What, just buy it, huh."

Having to spend my hard-earned 1.4% Humanity Points. But for the future, it might be good to learn about this body.

"Fine, I'll buy it."

"This body you swapped me into—it has your appearance, but the physiology is just like a normal human's, right?"

"What exactly does that mean?"

"No, what the f*ck..."

"No, this is ridiculous!"

I'm seriously going insane. At least I know the body itself is human-like, so one curiosity satisfied.

If I earn more Humanity Points later, I can buy more Question Tickets.

Seeing the fridge emptying out, I figured I should go grocery shopping...

"...Most stuff I can delivery order, maybe just hit the convenience store?"

Instant rice and water via delivery, grab some ramen and milk from the store.

I opened the closet to find something wearable.

"...Everything's too big."

Clothes I used to wear loose now make me look like a daughter raiding her dad's wardrobe. The hoodie covers my thighs completely.

"...Screw it, too annoying. Just go like this."

With the hoodie hood pulled down, I resembled a cute penguin, though I had no idea.

"Brr, cold."

It was February, with temperatures lingering below freezing. Bundled in hoodie and puffer jacket, I waddled to the convenience store nearby.

The warm smiles from passersby were probably just my imagination.

Inside the store, I grabbed a pack of my favorite ramen, milk, and some snack bags, piling them on the counter.

"12,600 won. Need a bag?"

"Yes, please."

Handed the bag stuffed with my snacks, I panicked at the unexpected weight.

"Urk..."

Not impossible to lift, but it took real effort. The store clerk watched with a worried look.

"Um... need help?"

"Ah, no. It's fine..."

I struggled home with the bag in both hands.

.

Universe President Yuseol and Universe's big sis, Kurose Ritsu, were watching today's replay together via encode.

The reason? To check out the 'cute girl' the members mentioned.

Name was Neru, right? A clear, pure voice and a timid way of speaking.

"Voice passes."

"Right? Bet she can sing well too."

The charm of starting a swear in surprise but quickly correcting it. Even Yuseol chuckled when she unintentionally grenaded two enemies and two allies, apologizing nonstop.

No one among the members could match that 'aura' viewers talk about.

"Sigh, our kids had plenty of aura in their early days too..."

"Feels like they've turned into little demons now."

"Anyway, not bad? We could at least contact her."

Yuseol and Kurose Ritsu were swamped selecting Universe 2nd gen lately. Originally Yuseol's team handled it, but with so many applicants, sharp-minded Ritsu was helping.

"Two confirmed so far?"

"Yes, so many applicants but no real talent..."

"This gen could be small elite. Like four."

1st gen had five, but no rule for 2nd gen. Universe entry was strict, though.

Basic talent and broadcast appeal required. Good voice, vocal coaching available but idols need to sing well. And for potential face reveals, decent looks mandatory.

Others might call it superficial, but Yuseol was firm.

"Well, our girls are pretty."

"We interviewed and picked 'em."

"Rei and Seira were trainees, right?"

In the end, after internal review, Neru was registered as a Universe 2nd ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠gen candidate.

"Kids added her on Log, right? Tell 'em to reach out later—that's our only contact."

"Got it, I'll pass it on."

"Thanks, good work."

Of course, Neru herself had no clue.

"Huff... huff... Why is carrying one bag this hard..."

I stashed the ramen in the low cupboard, milk in the fridge, snacks on the shelf by the computer for easy access.

Exhausted from one quick trip out, Neru vowed to avoid going outside as much as possible from now on.