Chapter 9
Chapter 9
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 9
Chapter Title: I Want to Go Back
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It was a mobile game, so the file size wasn't that large.
The download didn't take long, and soon enough, I was able to enter the game screen.
While changing the broadcast tag that had been pinned in the latest chat, I glanced at the viewer count—it had now reached 93.
Spectators were gradually arriving at the venue for my test of wisdom.
And at last, the viewer count broke through 100.
Having people come to my stream was a good thing, but hadn't the chat window turned into a total mess?
"From where have so many of you come?"
Just moments ago, they had been annoying, but at least we could exchange words in the chat.
Now, communication was utterly impossible.
Only after scratching my cheek and kicking out a few who clearly weren't right in the head did the chat room finally normalize.
What on earth had that been?
"They say this game is trending, so have the trend-followers come crawling in?"
That might be it.
Or so I thought, but these didn't look like people who'd come for the game at all.
"Fifty thousand won or eighty thousand won is certainly a large sum, but what can't be done simply can't be done."
I calmly refused and moved the mouse to kick out everyone making sexual demands.
That money was indeed an enormous amount, but that didn't mean I intended to let them toy with this body however they pleased.
If I were chasing money alone, I would have gone out into the night streets and sold this body like some lustful demon.
But I hadn't.
There was a reason for that.
Pride? It wasn't some trivial matter like that.
This body wasn't mine.
Even if I had taken possession of it, I couldn't call this physical form my own.
I was merely borrowing it.
The true owner of this body was not 'Abyss', but 'Ida Yeon'.
So, as someone merely borrowing this flesh, did I have the right to defile it?
Using the appearance was the absolute limit granted to me.
I must not go beyond that and do anything directly to this body.
That was the line I had to uphold.
"I know that humans lack specific mating cycles but have heightened everyday sexual urges, so I can overlook most sexual harassment."
Simple insulting curses or base expressions of lust.
Those didn't matter.
"No matter what you say or write, it is not my concern."
I had invaded, but I had been defeated.
It was only natural for the defeated to bear humiliation.
"However, such direct demands... are deeply displeasing..."
Insulting and humiliating me was one thing I could tolerate, but demands on this body I would not.
I glared coldly at the camera.
I figured that even mouthing off like this with such a frail, magic-less body wouldn't serve as a proper warning,
but this was a matter I had to clearly state and move past.
I intended to warn them once and for all, enduring the malice of those who would mock, "What can you even do?"
"I am far more merciful than you think, yet far more ruthless regarding this body than you imagine. I humbly request that you take heed."
The chat froze at my icy response, with only a few providing info on the situation.
"Is that so?"
Then this mess made sense.
I'd done my first broadcast at a community tournament.
Moreover, Madness had posted promo threads on the community.
An environment where it was hard to avoid community attention even if I tried.
Communities were all interconnected, so trouble in one became trouble in all.
Thus, info about me had spread everywhere, posted across communities, drawing crowds from all sides.
Yeah, it was fortunate it hadn't turned into more of a disaster than this.
"Hoo... Sorry for cooling the mood like that. But wasn't it necessary?"
I shrugged nonchalantly at the viewers' concerns.
This situation was special.
Just the tantrum-throwing of worthless pests that wouldn't last a few days.
"Don't worry about me. Rather than that..."
Among those who'd come to cause chaos, there had to be some who hadn't stirred trouble yet.
I was no lazy lord who offered only carrots, nor an incompetent one who wielded only the whip.
As a wise lord who harmonized both carrot and whip, it was time to offer sweet carrots to those who hadn't misbehaved.
"To those who came because their coords were leaked: this body is the supreme beauty, so wouldn't throwing a tantrum and getting kicked mean you'd lose out on seeing this face?"
I looked at the camera and flashed the cutest smile I could muster.
"Since you're here anyway, I recommend sitting quietly and admiring this face—it won't be a bad deal for you."
"Ahem, praise is pleasing to the ear, but comparisons to other streams are forbidden."
This body's looks were simply too outstanding from the start; it wasn't that the others were ugly.
"They only seem plain because they are compared to me. From a human perspective, aren't they pretty?"
"Why would this be controversial? It is plain fact."
"There is no reason not to be confident, so stop nitpicking and give more praise—I would be grateful."
Praise was truly delightful to hear; I wished they'd skip the arguments and just keep it coming.
Praise was certainly a novel experience.
It tickled right around my chest in the most pleasant way.
An emotion I had never felt back in the Demon Realm.
To begin with, who would dare 'praise' me?
"Come now, say it. Pretty, cute, beautiful, kind, lovely, and so on. You have plenty to say, don't you?"
Insolent lot.
"...I don't quite understand why you'd hit and then pet when petting alone would suffice, but yes. The game should come first."
What should I say?
This appearance was undoubtedly the finest there ever was, yet their behavior made it feel like they were treating me roughly.
"You all need to cherish me a bit more."
I might have been just a tad hurt.
With light grumbling, I started the game.
The mood had deflated, an enervated start, but still—95 viewers.
An unbelievable result achieved in just two days of streaming.
I rallied my spirits and began energetically figuring out the game.
The setting was some castle.
And the game character was locked in one room inside it.
"Hmmm..."
For starters, the game character wasn't under my direct control.
I was in the role of clearing blocked paths or helping find detours.
When I opened a path or dug a bypass, the character would move accordingly.
The character was on the left, and on the right, a treasure chest caught my eye.
Barring the way between them was an iron grate that could be lifted upward.
I lightly manipulated the mouse to raise the central wall, and the character walked right along the opened path to open the treasure chest, ending stage 1.
Then stage 2, 3, and on to 4 in near-identical repetition.
Finally unable to hold back, I spat out words laced with absurdity.
"What... is this...?"
This was too bizarre.
"No, even so, there's no way I couldn't clear something like this!"
I had to question the intelligence of those who recommended this game.
Could clearing something like this really earn recognition for my wisdom and intellect?
I'd started it, so I'd see it through, but this felt like the wrong game choice.
Entering stage 5, I had no choice but to freeze.
A new gimmick: lava flowed beneath the platforms, and atop them stood a hideous demon eerily resembling a Demon Realm denizen.
I got the idea.
Remove the platform to drop the demon into the lava and secure a safe path for the character.
But,
"...Hic."
Tears burst forth in an instant; I tugged my sleeve to rub my eyes.
It felt so good to see a Demon Realm being like this after so long,
and it saddened me that I had to plunge one into lava with my own hands.
Not this ugly world brimming only with depravity and evil,
I want to go back to the Demon Realm.