173 - Press Conference
Yoonseul and I ended up sleeping in the same bed for the next two days straight. Even though I'd clearly cleaned the room spotless, she flat-out refused to leave mine. In the end, her prophecy about turning me into her personal pillow came true, and every morning I woke up sore from head to toe.
The whole "7-year-old" thing from my VTube video was, of course, just clickbait to rack up views. 7-year-old genius girl (wearing an avatar). It was a ridiculous title, but damn if it didn't work. Perfect snack bait for people who only hunted sensational content. The problem was all the idiots who took the title at face value without even watching.
Lately, I hadn't been going out much, so there was no risk of my face getting recognized. But rumors could only spread so far before I couldn't hide forever. The academy foundation kept student secrets airtight, sure, but there was no guarantee the kids there wouldn't blab. Elementary second-graders were still pretty detached from the news, thankfully, but who knew when it'd trickle to their families and then society at large? Someone might've already spotted me and posted about it somewhere.
So I asked Kariri to spread the word that I was 14 for the time being, and she happily obliged.
"But will that be enough? My streams only pull like 10,000 viewers max."
"I've got my own ace up my sleeve."
"Ace?"
"Yeah. This."
999+
They were basically spam—endless emails with tweaked subject lines. Yoonseul's eyes flew down the screen.
"Hello. This is Clutch Esports, pro team for World of Arceria. Whoa, is this a pro offer?"
"And that's just one. Tons more."
Offers were pouring in from everywhere: pro teams, news outlets, even universities. All sorts of people trying to interview or contact me for whatever reason. I'd ignored them before since they just got in the way of streaming, but now they might actually come in handy.
* * *
The day Nami uploaded proofs for the seven unsolved problems, the hottest reactions—naturally—came from NoName's Together, the NoName Minor Gallery, and the NoName Fan Cafe.
- Lift NoName up.
- Play 50,000 LoL games in 7 years.
- Climb to LoL Master in 2 weeks.
- Clear WoA 10/10/10 in 18 runs.
- Hit KDA 134 in WoA showcase.
- Go undefeated to LoL Worlds playoffs.
- Prove 7 unsolved problems untouched for 300 years.
- Put NoName down.
└ Same exact vibe lmao one of these alone would've had us calling BS but NoName did 'em all so we just nod
└ She dropping another tomorrow? Lmao
└ NoName pls stop!!! We're dying!!!
└ Who cares about games rn! Are those proofs legit?
└ Recruiting for national team or what?
└ There's a minor gal full of journos?
└ Exactly that—50k from S44 to S50
└ Huh??? No way
└ Possible if you eat sleep and breathe LoL 24/7
└ Ham Chorong got Fields at 19, Nobel at 22—that was insane enough lol
└ Fields is cool but Abel's the real deal. 100x prize money
└ How much?
└ 1 mil euros ~1.4 bil KRW
└ Nuts;;
└ Clickbait titles but vids are decent
└ That's brainwashing;;
└ Nah it's actually good?
└ Brain leaking already lmaoooo
NoName had called herself a second-author in five of the seven videos, drawing eyes to the first-authors too. But no university had a "Maria Euphrasia Terarubi" on record. Conclusion: probably a pseudonym. Kinda deflating.
Next hot topic: Professor Cheon Kyujin. The one guy thought to know NoName's identity was Korea University's Dean of Academic Affairs for the Magic College and head of the Theoretical Transmutation Lab.
"No answer, as expected."
"We went through hell for that number... Sigh, oh well."
"Who'da thought she'd accept interviews like this. It's like..."
"A press conference."
"Yeah, total press conference."
The reporters pulled out laptops at their desks, waiting for NoName. Her Twishi and VTube channels had been flooded with interview requests from every network. They'd been thrilled when their outlet got picked out of the pile—but no one dreamed she'd accept everyone at once.
What started as interviews turned into a presser, packed with 47 people from 19 papers. Plus some mystery folks sprinkled in, so Jang, the vet, sidled up to one.
"Where you from?"
"LG!"
"LG? Like, ad inquiry...?"
"Nah nah, LG Game Team! WoA."
"Ah..."
Curiosity sated, he returned to his seat. His nervous rookie whispered in his ear.
"They're staring daggers."
"We're thorns in their sides."
"Why do we pay for their karma...!"
The QBS journos invited to the presser endured glares from all sides—like, who skips reporting unless they know? But as the editor said, you had to be shameless to survive this gig.
Senior Jang cleared his throat loud enough to echo, straightening up. Glares eased; the rookie woman sighed in relief.
"Whoa, she's coming...!"
NoName emerged from backstage. Camera flashes exploded; the woman whipped around, startled.
"Photos even in VR?"
"What, no pic for the banner? Grab your camera."
"R-right...!"
NoName squinted at the unfamiliar flash storm, hopping onto a chair half her height. Adorably odd.
"Genius quirks, huh. Wild tastes."
"Peter Pan vibes maybe. You're seventy in two days, right?"
"Seventy? I'm MacGyver-age!"
"Shh, quiet!"
Tap tap. NoName tested the mic, kicking off the presser.
"I don't have forever, so keep questions non-overlapping, please."
She stated it coolly amid the crowd. But no time to marvel—hands shot up everywhere.
"NoName, you've insisted you're 14... is that true?"
Rude opener from the guy next to Jang. They still didn't buy it. Explain yourself.
NoName shut it down with a simple "Yes" and moved on.
But the rest were sharp too.
"You mentioned co-author Maria Euphrasia Terarubi—who is she, and what's the relation?"
"Teacher-student. No reason to name-drop here."
"Professor Cheon Kyujin from Korea U too?"
"Yes."
"How involved were they in the proofs? And do you really think you solved these alone?"
Icy silence blanketed the hall. Other reporters stared blankly, alternating between laptops and NoName, awaiting answers.
Jang looked flustered by the heavy vibe.
"Why are the questions like this...? Not an inquisition..."
"They came prepared..."
All motives shady. Assuming someone else did the real work.
"Senior, text from the boss...!"
Jang checked: a column on the portal main page.