I Almost Spit It Out
I nearly spat it out.
I kept hunting even after the frog encounter. The new continent was full of special monsters I'd never seen before, so it wasn't particularly boring.
Thanks to that, I was now Level 39. Considering that killing hundreds of lower-tier monsters wouldn't even budge my level bar, mowing down the bosses had clearly been a huge help.
Of course, they say there's no way anyone could pull that off at my current level—that my stamina should have run dry ages ago—but as a Heaven-Scented Human, I managed just fine.
"Great work today, everyone. I'll leave donations open for a little while."
The current time was ten o'clock. I'd started streaming around two or three in the afternoon, which meant I'd spent roughly seven hours doing nothing but hunt.
Maybe it was fine for me, but from the viewers' perspective it could have been a bit dull. Looking at the chat, though, I didn't sense much of that at all. Maybe because so much had happened recently. A single ordinary day wouldn't hurt anyone.
…Or so I thought.
…Right up until a million won landed in my lap.
Leo. The only elemental spirit master in the entire server who wielded four different attributes, and Rank 2 in ranked duels.
Level 87. Not a pro, but one of those rankers even the pros hesitated to face.
And for the past few days, something had been weighing on Leo's mind.
How on earth did they get the blessing of a High Spirit?
It was the recent incident where Yena and Lily had encountered the greater spirit Nerindia and received a spirit's blessing. Leo had long been interested in Lily's skill and looks, and instead of hunting or doing her own activities, she'd frequently tuned in to Lily's streams. Up until then, it had been pure fandom—and an appreciation of skill that rivaled even the pros'. But after the blessing happened, her thinking changed.
How. Did. She. Do it?
Leo had faced countless spirits. Spirits in peril, mischievous spirits, powerful spirits, dying spirits, even Supreme Spirits that surpassed the greater ones. She'd met scores of them and weathered every kind of situation imaginable, yet not once had she produced the bizarre result of wrenching a blessing out of a greater spirit.
"Seriously, what did she do?"
After Lily's stream, Leo had even tried recreating a similar scenario for herself, but all she'd gotten for it was a pathetic little reward. She considered asking Lily directly, too—but Lily was famous for not talking to or associating with anyone besides Yena, so all Leo could do was pace in circles.
That was when Leo learned, through Vlack's stream, that Lily would be participating in the Mock Siege Battle.
The Mock Siege Battle. An annual event held once before the official Siege Warfare season, and Leo participated in it as well.
Which meant Leo and Lily would be in the same siege.
So there's a reason to talk to her.
"H-how much should I send?"
If she sent the minimum ten thousand won, the message would just get buried. A million felt like blatant money-flaunting. A hundred thousand? But wouldn't that be too wishy-washy for a ranker of her caliber?
Ugh, whatever.
In the end, Leo watched Lily hunting diligently through her screen and topped up a million won.
This much should at least get my question read out.
Typing into the donation window with small hands, Leo took a long, deep breath.
She's not going to think I'm too much of a kid, right?
A million won. It was the cap I'd set as my maximum donation unit, but thinking it over again, it really was a lot of money. A million won isn't pocket change—and with how often they come pouring in these days, they pile up fast.
Leo. Now that she mentioned it, I'd heard the name somewhere before. I looked at the chat window.
Ah, the Mock Siege Battle.
I remembered seeing the name "Leo" written down by Vlack as one example of several famous streamers. An elemental mage, was it? I think that was it.
"Ah, thank you for the million won, Leo. You're that ranker, right? The one participating in the siege battle?"
After a brief delay, a single verification badge appeared in the chat.
"I can answer questions. Is it a long story, by any chance?"
I was used to people requesting to talk—plenty of them asked purely out of curiosity, even setting aside private matters. I never coldly brushed them off, but I was always ready to shut down anything that crossed the line.
"Hmm…"
Well, it probably wouldn't hurt. I'd been planning to wrap up the stream soon anyway, and there were a lot of comments saying I only ever hung around with Yena. To be fair, that was both true and not true. I did repay my debts, and Yena herself was sweet and easy to be around—that's why I stuck with her. It wasn't like I was keeping everyone else at arm's length.
"Where should we meet?"
"Looks like Leo streams too, apparently."
Getting to Leo, who was on the other side of the continent, would take a little while. She said she'd rush over using the intercontinental warp gate, and asked me to wait just a bit.
…Couldn't we have just met at the Duel Stadium, though?
So I heard. Beyond that, I picked up all sorts of tidbits about Leo through donations and chat. A ranker even the pros found hard to handle, an elemental spirit master commanding four attributes. Closer to a mage, but capable of melee combat as well—a battle mage. Decked out in gear that rivaled most Legendary Tier equipment, she was an all-rounder who had both skill and equipment in spades…
"Wow, she sounds absolutely incredible."
"I'll come to you. One moment."
I left the rest area in the city—which cost one silver an hour—and found Leo at our agreed spot. Off in the distance, beyond an open lot, something small and adorable came toddling toward me.
She couldn't have been taller than 150 centimeters, with delicate, finely-featured features. Her deep navy hair was woven with four braids, each in a color symbolizing one of the four elements, and she wore what looked like mage's robes. And finally, there were the numerous spirits flitting about her.
Her sparkling amber eyes only made him—no, her—all the more adorable.
"Pleased to—ahem. Hello there."
"Hello. Leo, right? That's you?"
"Y-yes."
"Y-yes. That's me."
Leo let out a long, deep breath—phew. She definitely didn't match her reputation on the outside, but I nodded with practiced ease. I'd known a Heaven-Scented being who'd lived well over a thousand years with the appearance and temperament of a seven- or eight-year-old.
This much is nothing.
"Shall we sit down and talk for a bit?"
"Yes. Let's."
"Right this way."
The open lot was fairly empty of people. Sitting across from each other on a bench, I pulled some food out of my inventory and set it on the table. In DeoEn, if you didn't eat, you'd actually feel hunger—so you either ate regularly or picked up a skill like Hunger Negation.
Leo fidgeted, picked up a sandwich bought in the city, and gave a small bow of her head. So cute.
I took a bite of my sandwich. At around five silver, it was cheap food, but incredibly tasty—sweet, with a refreshing crunch of vegetables. Leo, apparently finding hers just as good, worked her tiny mouth busily and demolished half her sandwich.
"Khh—!"
"Ah— a-are you okay?"
"…Yes. I'm perfectly fine."
I almost spat it out.