Chapter 24

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Translator: penny

Chapter: 24

Chapter Title: Leaving Azelchen (2)

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"There has to be a way."

Cheisi was convinced by the viewers' reactions.

'There definitely is one.'

Her experience as an Abyss viewer was telling her so. The audience was clearly hiding something.

Cheisi fell into thought.

She had checked the community boards before starting her stream and knew there were no other users who'd come to the Falling Star Island.

So it wasn't something on the island itself. Even if there was, the viewers wouldn't know about it.

'Did a way to control Siurug pop up?'

It was just a hunch, but that didn't feel right either. There was no way to control that insane serpent.

What could she have missed—something the viewers knew from Ariant World info that was usable right now in this situation?

"...Guess there's something in the settings menu, huh."

She tossed out the guess, and it looked like she'd hit the mark.

Opening Ariant World's settings menu, Cheisi found the warp option.

It was a function that let her teleport to a specific point in a previously visited area after a 30-second wait outside of combat.

Three points were already registered: Runein Village's Adventurer Guild, in front of Azelchen's fountain, and the shore of Falling Star Island.

Using this, she could return to Azelchen.

Cheisi responded leisurely to the slow donation notice.

"I had a feeling there was a way. Thanks for the donation!"

"I saw a lot of people getting frustrated, so I decided to open donations starting today."

"But I won't have big reactions to them..."

The viewers were disappointed, but Cheisi was firm.

'Cute acts are impossible...'

No matter how good the reactions were, it was physiologically impossible for her.

"Before we head back, let me circle the island one more time..."

...

Donations exploded one after another.

Cheisi responded to them, chatted with the viewers, and gathered up the junk items on the island once more.

After activating the warp function and waiting 30 seconds, Cheisi was at Azelchen's fountain.

The sensation of her surroundings changing in an instant was pretty novel.

Cheisi listened to the fountain's gentle trickle for a bit before standing up.

"Now, shall we go hunt the Merman King?"

As she turned to leave the fountain, someone called out to her.

"Hey, adventurer! Toss a coin into the Sea Serpent fountain... Huh?"

"Nell?"

Cheisi's eyes met those of the hooded girl.

"Adventurer!"

Nell came trotting over to Cheisi.

She looked just like a little puppy.

"Did you make the dish?!"

The first thing she asked after running up like a puppy was that.

Cheisi pulled out a skewer from her inventory and showed it to Nell.

"I did."

Nell's eyes went wide.

"...No way, you grilled it with meteor fire?!"

"Y-Yeah."

"Whoa... I haven't even managed it a few times myself."

Nell seemed to admire the skewer for a moment before speaking excitedly.

"Every dish has a special recipe that makes it even more unique. Grilling Riebpstar skewers in a meteor shower makes them sparkle like this."

New info.

'Special recipes...'

Cheisi decided to remember Nell's words. In a VR game that gave away nothing, every bit of info like this became an asset.

"Oh yeah, I heard a meteor shower fell last night. I always wanted to see it—such a shame I missed it. Hehe..."

Nell said it like it just occurred to her.

Her voice was bright.

But with a hint of bitterness, she cast her eyes downward for a moment.

Cheisi said to her,

"Want me to show you right now?"

"Y-Yes...?"

"It might not show well in broad daylight. But stars—"

"You can make stars fall?"

"Yeah."

"......"

Nell went quiet for a bit. She looked like she was debating if it was a joke or serious.

Then she shook her head vigorously, as if shaking off doubt, and said to Cheisi,

"L-Let's go to the beach... The sky's clearest there..."

Cheisi gazed at the sky from Azelchen's beach with Nell.

It was clear, with clouds drifting lazily by. If she dropped stars now, they might pierce right through the clouds.

"You can really do it...?"

"Of course."

Right in front of Nell, who still looked half-doubting, Cheisi used the warp menu to head to Falling Star Island.

She pulled out meteor stones from her inventory and used them a few hundred times.

Warping back to Azelchen's fountain and heading to the beach, stars were already pouring from the bright sky.

Cheisi spotted the blonde girl sitting on the beach.

Nell was staring blankly at the sky.

Cheisi sat beside her.

Meteors falling from a bright sky was a striking sight.

"...It's amazing."

Nell couldn't tear her eyes away.

"When I was little, Siurug took me to Falling Star Island once."

Nell continued.

"I didn't know it then, but I'd become one of his collectibles. My parents went berserk and wanted to hunt him down. Of course, nothing came of it since I came back safe the next day."

Nell removed her hood.

"That was the first time I saw stars falling."

Without the hood, the lively, quirky boatman vibe was gone.

Her bright yellow blonde hair reached her waist, giving her an elegant, demure air.

She looked like she'd suddenly become a little noble lady.

Cheisi noticed a long scar above Nell's eyebrow. It had been hidden by the hood before, but without it, it stood out prominently.

"I got this scar back then. I got too close to the flames where the meteors fell, and a spark hit me. Hehe, pretty dumb, right?"

Nell brushed her hair behind her ear to show the scar clearly.

"But I'll never forget that meteor shower. I always wanted to see it again..."

Nell's eyes turned to Cheisi.

"Thank you, adventurer—or..."

Nell asked carefully.

"Can I ask your name?"

"Cheisi."

"Cheisi sis. Thank you. Thanks to you, I got to see the view I wanted again."

Being called "sis" shocked Cheisi for a moment, but she didn't feel like forcing a change in address.

She'd accepted being a woman for a while now. It was just a mental jolt.

She didn't want to interrupt Nell's reverie either.

Cheisi just thought maybe they looked the same age because they were the same height.

"Will you stay in Azelchen long, sis?"

"I'm heading to another area today."

"Right. You said you're going somewhere else because you hate priests."

Cheisi felt a pang of guilt at Nell's subtly pointed look.

Nell smiled.

"Priests are just like that. Boo. I curse this world that doesn't know Siurug's grace."

Despite the words, her playful tone made it feel harmless.

"Oh, and I almost forgot to give you this."

Nell handed Cheisi a piece of paper.

It was a small coupon with a stamp.

"It's a coupon for our restaurant. Collect ten for a free menu item, but since you're leaving Azelchen, that doesn't matter much."

Nell took the coupon from Cheisi's hand, stamped it full, and gave it back.

"So consider it a souvenir. You can come use it for real if you want. Oh, if bugs eat it, I'll reissue it. Bugs keep trying to munch on my coupons for some reason."

Nell flashed an innocent smile.

It was a meaningful gift, matching that smile.

Cheisi was about to put the coupon in her inventory but slipped it into her pocket instead.

She wanted to keep it on her person.

Cheisi checked the chat for a moment.

"Nell, could I ask a favor?"

"Sure! Anything!"

Cheisi summoned the Lens Monster.

"Could you do 'ara ara' in front of it, just once?"

"...Huh? What's that?"

"Well..."

Cheisi glanced at the chat, which looked deranged.

The chat had been like this since Nell took off her hood.

Cheisi muttered quietly to the viewers.

"...Looks like she doesn't know ara ara."

'Gotta demonstrate, huh?'

The chat was total chaos.

"Ahh..."

Cheisi rubbed her forehead.

What a ridiculous situation.

'They're so enthusiastic... can't exactly say no.'

It wasn't hard. She just didn't feel like it.

"Sigh."

Ara ara. One of Abyss's memes. As a long-time Abyss viewer, Cheisi knew it well.

"Try following me. 'Ara ara.'"

"A-Ara... ra?"

"Say it like this."

A type of cutesy act mostly done by female streamers in a mature voice.

"Like this."

Cheisi decided to set her self-consciousness aside for a moment.

"Ara ara~."

After a brief silence, Nell averted her gaze and spoke in a trembling voice.

"...I'm weak to temptations like this~."

"......It's not a temptation. Just imitate me."

"Ah! It's time to pray to Siurug! Gotta go!"

Nell flashed a troubled smile and scampered off.

Cheisi stared blankly at her retreating figure.

It was definitely a retreat.

"Why are you disappointed?!"

Cheisi was baffled.

Cheisi sat at the fountain and decided to try the skewer that gave an attack buff.

Pulling it from her inventory, it was still piping hot, like freshly made.

"Let's give it a taste."

At the viewers' protests, Cheisi said,

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

"You can't eat it anyway."

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

"Should I give a bite to the Lens Monster too?"

Accepting the public opinion, Cheisi called the Lens Monster closer.

Rwooo?

Looking at the Lens Monster, Cheisi realized something.

"It doesn't even have a mouth."

"Too bad, guess I'll eat it alone."

"Don't worry about me eating tasty."

Cheisi bit into the plump Riebpstar and pulled it off the skewer.

Filling her mouth with the mild crustacean meat, she chewed and savored it before moving to the sweet, well-grilled veggies.

Then the crispy fish.

The sparkling marshmallow at the end tasted just like grilled marshmallow—a perfect palate cleanser.

After devouring every piece, she remembered she was streaming.

Cheisi realized she'd eaten silently without much reaction.

"...I think I ate kinda blandly."

Fortunately, the reaction was good.

Confirming her attack power had hit three digits, Cheisi headed to the Priest Guild.

With sunglasses on, she entered and saw not just NPCs but a few users.

But no one recognized her, so no hassle.

Cheisi went to the Training Dummy.

The reason for coming to the Priest Guild: to test her damage on the dummy that used to feel like a mountain.

She swung her dagger, slicing the straw like real hay.

The damage on the dummy—set to Merman King's defense—was impressively high. A smile crept onto Cheisi's lips.

"This should land solid hits on the Merman King."

It felt like her veins were unclogging.

"Let's go straight there."

"Side quests?"

Come to think of it, she'd seen mentions of that while scouring the internet.

No wonder the Merman King felt impossibly hard—they were supposed to spec up that way.

"...Does it take long?"

"Then skip."

"If I get stuck, I get stuck. Run till then. If I hit a wall, figure out how to break it. Time to adventure."

"Right? Titles are sweet too. Anyway, no grinding till I hit a wall."

She didn't want to spend ages just for minor stat boosts.

That was her thinking.

Feels iffy to me. Can't you fill the fish guidebook at least?

"The fish guidebook?"

Right, the fish guidebook was at 99%.

Leaving Azelchen like this would feel unsatisfying, so Cheisi pulled it out and opened it.

Originally missing two, she'd gotten Riebpstar, so only one left.

She could complete it after beating the Merman King, but Cheisi decided to speculate with viewers on the missing fish first.

Despite gathering fresh fish around Azelchen, it wasn't registered, so it had to be something special.

"...What could the last fish be?"

The second fish on the first page was still a black silhouette.

The silhouette looked bizarre, not fish-like.

Fins dangled loose, eyes bulged out.

"Borrowing the power of crowd wisdom."

"Hmm, usually the first page has common ones."

The other fish on the first page were the ones Cheisi had caught most.

"That's a monster item, not for the guidebook."

Monsters don't go in the guidebook.

Cheisi used cat-like thinking.

And finally, enlightenment struck.

Not really deduction—just remembering something.

She shared her realization with the viewers, and they all agreed.

Cheisi felt satisfied.