Never Provoke Her

A barrage of 1,000-won punches exploded one after another the moment I went live, and the chat window boasting chaotic intensity left me reeling, utterly unable to keep up.

"Ugh… S-sorry…"

Thanks to that, an automatic "sorry" slipped from my lips.

Just when the hell could I start my streams with a normal "Hello, everyone" greeting?

The chat was plastered wall-to-wall with abuse aimed at me, but it wasn't entirely baseless slander. The main grievance was why I, with my partner streamer badge, wasn't streaming more often.

Is that even worth calling out? That "moan" or whatever got blasted all over the communities—you think I'd wanna go live after that?

I'm the one who caused it, sure, but the viewers fanning the flames were the ones watching the stream. Part of me wanted to shift the blame to them and vent my grievances, but…

Silence was affirmation, apparently. Even keeping my mouth shut led to this shitshow. Say the wrong thing and I'd get flamed even harder, so I dropped it quick.

How many "sorry"s did I spit out while getting thoroughly thrashed by the viewers? Amid the chaos, a whisper pinged in.

…Huh. Didn't expect her to whisper me so openly.

The weight of the LadyClara name was no joke—viewers quickly dropped the Seola hate and turned to the fresh bait.

What should I reply? While I pondered, more whispers rolled in.

"…Whoa. Listen to this bitch's attitude."

Too absurd in the moment—I forgot my embarrassment and blurted out my inner thoughts aloud. She started it? I was already stressed from chat—perfect timing.

"For real? Jumping into your stream right now!"

Clara, in the middle of her usual Lord of the Warrior broadcast, scrambled into Seola's stream upon hearing the news.

Over the past few days, she'd poured everything into gathering 99 ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Holy Knights, assuming Seola would accept her challenge.

Surprisingly, recruitment wasn't tough. Unlike the hopelessly low playerbase of Berserkers, Holy Knights were everywhere you looked.

Still, Clara didn't half-ass it. Top-spec Holy Knights. Ones with slightly lower stats but god-tier control. Rumored masters of AoE heals. Pros at landing AoE nukes. Support specialists who dropped protection buffs at perfect timings.

Clara had assembled a Holy Knight dream team. Probably because the others harbored grudges against Seola over the "Clickbait Knight" slur too—they jumped at the chance to cooperate.

She was dead certain this squad could not just stomp Seola, but shred her to pieces.

The issue was when Seola would go live. One day passed, two days—no sign. She'd pop into the Berserker gallery now and then to frame Holy Knights as clickbaiters again, but no streams.

Just as Clara wondered if Seola might bail entirely after all that longing wait… today, right now, Seola finally went live.

《Sorry… Hnngh…》

"…Is this really Seola?"

Clara had never actually watched Seola's streams. Like most streamers, she was too busy focusing on her own broadcasts. Plus, dealing with the recent surge of griefers had her head pounding—no time for others' shows.

So this was the first time Clara heard Seola's voice.

Her impression? Pure shock.

《S-sorry… A-and I'm not a perv… Ugh…》

"What the…"

As a woman who'd devoted her life to Lord of the Warrior, Clara had run into Seola in wars a few times. Judging by her chat spam, she figured it'd be trash-talk central—but this? Speechless.

"…"

"W-why bring up boobs outta nowhere! Mod, ban those fuckers all!"

Yeah, uh… sure. They're huge as hell. Not char maker levels. Staring at Seola's character made Clara's own chest… er, heart feel uneasy ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠for no reason.

Anyway. Wasn't she getting flamed too much? Sure, Seola was the queen of bad manners in Lord of the Warrior. All self-inflicted… but that pitiful voice stirred sympathy, and Clara found herself pitying her.

Clara thought: Did I go too far? She looked a few years younger—felt like bullying a bratty little sis, guilt creeping in.

N-no, steel yourself. I escalated this—can't back out now. Plus, she gave me the "Clickbait Sis" nickname. No reason for pity.

Clara provoked Seola. Planned casual insults with swears, but Seola's meek voice stopped her from going too harsh.

Then.

《Whoa. Listen to this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bitch's attitude.》

"…Huh?"

Clara doubted her ears. Not something from the mouth that'd been apologizing nonstop.

Before she could recover, whisper bombs from Seola:

"W-what the hell, this crazy bitch!!!"

Pity? What pity—this confirmed Seola was a crazy bitch who deserved death. Clara gritted her teeth and hammered out a wall of text. Logical enough to shut Seola down and convince viewers.