Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: There's No Way I'd Let You Go Alone!
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Finally, after a long wait, we were able to step into the Atex building together.
The festival hadn't stirred much emotion in me the first time around, but somehow, just the fact that I was wandering around with a woman made it feel more exciting. Was I just another guy after all?
"Wow, there's more here than I expected."
"Yeah, they said this event was bigger than usual, but I didn't realize it'd be this big."
My sister let out a quiet sigh of admiration as she looked around, and I nodded in agreement.
She wasn't wrong. Just as the articles had said, there were way more booths than last year—so many that it would be tough to see them all.
Among them were booths for anime I'd enjoyed watching, and even ones for the mobile games I played regularly. It wasn't limited to just new anime or games, apparently.
"Sis, is there anywhere you want to check out? You said you came to see all sorts of things besides Last Destiny."
There were a few booths I'd been eyeing myself, but since I had company, it made sense to ask her first. If it was somewhere I wanted to go anyway, it'd be even better to enjoy it together.
"M-Me? I don't really have anywhere specific in mind..."
But contrary to what she'd said earlier, she looked a bit troubled, like there wasn't any place she particularly wanted to visit. Or maybe there was, but she was hesitant to say it.
Hmm, in that case, we should probably hit up the Last Destiny booth first since we both wanted to see it. Then, if we had time left, we could slowly check out the rest.
"How about we start with Last Destiny?"
"Yeah, sounds good."
Fortunately, she agreed, nodding as she trailed right behind me. Not figuratively—she was literally waddling along like that. Anyone watching might mistake me for a mother penguin with her chick following close.
Was I making her uncomfortable? She could just walk beside me. No way I smelled or anything—I'd showered thoroughly that morning, corners and all.
That said, I didn't have the guts to say, "Come walk next to me," so we headed to the booth in this awkward formation. Thanks to the pamphlet they'd handed out earlier, it didn't take long to find it.
"Oh, that must be it."
We arrived at the booth greeted by a grand banner in ornate lettering proclaiming LAST DESTINY. As expected, there was a long line snaking out from it.
Wow, getting in was already a nightmare, and now we had to queue up here too? I got that it was hyped as Korea's first open-world gacha RPG and all, but I hadn't expected this many eager players.
"The line's pretty long. Must be a big deal."
She seemed a little flustered by the unexpected sight too, murmuring with a wry smile.
Did I mess up suggesting we come here first? Now I was the one feeling awkward.
"The trailer videos went viral, so that's probably why."
"Is that so? I don't know much about games... You seem to know your stuff, Cosmo."
She looked at me with interest, but somehow her words hit like a jab. Not that she meant it that way, but it almost sounded like, "As expected of an otaku—you know all about this."
"You can tell from watching my streams. I'm an otaku myself, so yeah, I'm pretty clued in on this stuff."
I tossed in a bit of self-deprecating humor with an awkward grin, and she widened her eyes before bursting into a chuckle.
It wasn't mockery—it felt more like the fond amusement of an older sister watching her little brother put on a show.
"Come on, let's get in line. If we wait too long, you might miss out on those other booths you're excited for."
"Right."
With that bright smile, she tentatively reached out, her hand brushing just close enough to my fingertips before taking hold. Then she led me straight to the end of the long line.
How long had it been since I'd held hands with a girl? It felt fresh in all sorts of ways, but then I remembered we'd done this just recently—with her, no less.
This pretty woman had initiated hand-holding twice? Good call becoming a streamer...
"Even here, you've got couples showing up..."
"Ugh, hope they all drop dead..."
"Girl's super hot too... Lucky bastard."
As we stood side by side in line, chatting away, faint voices started filtering through the surrounding noise. Mostly from guys.
Couples coming to a place like this? Whoever they were, I was jealous as hell. Totally agreed on wanting to rip them apart.
Otaku events had an unspoken rule: come alone, in glorious solitude. Tsk.
At absolute best, bring a same-sex friend.
"You must be really looking forward to it too, huh? Willing to wait in this line and all..."
"Mm, yeah, I guess. It's a pretty rare type of game in Korea, after all."
Her follow-up question got a half-hearted, noncommittal reply from me, and she tilted her head curiously.
"It's not something you're that excited for?"
"Oh, no, I was plenty hyped. It's just... that's not the only reason I came here."
"...?"
She looked puzzled. I scratched my cheek awkwardly, cleared my throat, and spoke up again.
"Truth is, if I hadn't taken the sponsorship, I probably wouldn't have come all this way to wait in line. I'm not the type who enjoys unnecessary hassle."
"Huh? But on your stream, you said..."
She must have remembered me mentioning that the sponsor said attending AGP wasn't required. Indeed, almost none of the other streamers who got Last Destiny sponsorships had shown up.
So she probably figured I was here out of personal excitement, enough to brave this line. Half right, half wrong.
"Sure, but I'm sponsored now. You might think it's mercenary, but once I take the money, I feel like I owe them my best effort."
Just doing the sponsored stream would satisfy the sponsor well enough. But from the moment I accepted, I'd wondered if that was truly all.
"It's a win-win, right? I get paid, they get exposure to more people through me. So I started thinking about what more I could do for the game."
I could just show off some pulls on stream, play a bit of in-game content, enjoy the cutscenes, say "That was fun!" and call it a day—no one would complain. Most streamers handled sponsorships that way.
But if I'm getting paid, I want to at least give it my all within my means. That was my stance.
Might just be first-sponsorship jitters, but I didn't see it as foolish.
"So I figured experiencing stuff like this and sharing experiences or joys others can't during the sponsorship stream might help."
"Ah..."
She let out a soft gasp, gazing up at me intently. The look made me shift uncomfortably, averting my eyes without thinking.
"I probably made it sound too grand. Point is, take the money, do the job. That way, sponsors will keep liking me and offering more, right?"
I tried to lighten the awkward air with a money-grubbing quip and a self-mocking laugh, but her eyes curved into elegant crescent moons as she watched.
"Hehe, if I were a sponsor, I'd definitely want to hire someone like you, Cosmo. In this industry, it's rare to find people who consider others' positions and give it their genuine all."
"Whoa, that sounded like something from a high-up exec in your world just now."
The line felt straight out of an interview with a company bigwig, and I blurted out my admiration. Her crescent eyes shot open wide into full moons.
And then,
"N-No, that's not it...! I'm not involved or anything—it's just that I can tell you're always sincere, and that feels nice...!"
She waved her hands frantically, her face full of fluster, spilling out words faster than I'd ever heard from her.
Whoa, she could talk that quick when she wanted.
"Got it. I'm actually grateful you see it that way."
I'd worried it made me sound like a corporate slave, but at least from her view, it landed well. That was enough to satisfy me.
"Next group, please come in."
Before we knew it, amid our chit-chat, the pair right in front of us was heading in.
Just one more group, and we're up. I'd suffered through the wait, but she must have too—glad it was almost over.
"Our turn's coming up soon, huh."
"Y-Yeah. Time flew by."
She smiled back, but there was a hint of reluctance in her tone. No real reason to feel that way in this situation, so probably just my imagination.
"Yes, next group, please..."
Just as the people right ahead of us were about to enter,
"Waaah─!"
A child's wail pierced the air from somewhere nearby.
What happened? I turned toward the sound and saw a little girl—kindergarten or early elementary age—sitting on the floor, sobbing her heart out.
No way she'd come here alone at that age, so she must have lost her parents.
"Mommy...!"
"......"
Watching her desperately call for her mom dredged up bad memories, tightening my chest.
Our turn had come—the staff was calling us—but their voice barely registered.
I noticed my sister standing beside me for a split second, but there was no helping it. I stepped out of line.
"Sis, sorry, go ahead and look around. I'll catch up later."
"...Huh?"
"I can't just leave her. I'll find her parents and come right back."
I knew acting on my own with company wasn't ideal, but humans aren't purely rational creatures.
I apologized to her and turned to leave the booth area when,
Grab.
Something yanked my wrist, tilting my body back slightly.
What the—? I whipped around to see my sister glaring at me, looking oddly upset.
"There's no way I'd let you go alone. I'm coming too...!"
I wonder what my face looked like right then.
I genuinely wished there'd been a mirror in front of me at that moment.