The Heavenly Demon Commands a Penalty Broadcast (4)
From the way Enri stared at me with such persistence, I could see her unyielding will—the determination that she wouldn’t go down alone. Oh? So if she’s heading to hell, she plans to drag me along with her? A commendable mindset, I must say. However, it seems you’ve forgotten two crucial facts, Enri.
First, I am currently wearing a mask. When one’s face remains hidden, acting becomes an exceedingly simple matter. And second, it appears you have no idea just how burdensome it can be to stand right in front of someone who is putting on a far more impressive performance than you ever imagined.
“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
Enri. Do you truly believe you can handle my shamelessness? I’m not asking for my own sake, but for yours—so you had better answer with care.
“Of course-nya! Are you scared, Master?”
Goodness. Control yourself. You haven’t the slightest inkling that a disaster is standing right before you. What a pitiful child. Still, this disaster is one you invited with your own two hands, so from my perspective, I cannot simply let it slide. You’ll have to understand.
“Shall we begin?”
The moment I instantly altered my voice, Enri’s eyelids fluttered rapidly. What’s this? Did you actually think I would back down in a situation like this? Your thinking is rather shallow. You should have anticipated that I would respond this way. Even if the experience is unpleasant, the fact that it is still an experience remains unchanged. Through this, you will learn to always remain vigilant. You may thank me later.
“Please lead the way.”
Moe Moe Kyun
The voice that rang in her ears was so unbearably cute and sweet it felt like it might rot her from the inside out. Enri’s smile froze solid. To think that Ara would actually behave like this in real life too! The feeling of putting on an avatar in the VR world and standing in front of a camera in reality were completely different. Even someone like Enri, who had been streaming for a long time, had suffered greatly because of her cat-speak habit. For a complete beginner standing in front of a camera for the first time, the tension would only be worse, never better.
Knowing her as he did, Enri had assumed that no matter how extraordinary Ara was, she would still feel awkward about pulling off a sacrificial lamb strategy in real life. But she was wrong. Ara was shouting that if she was going to fall anyway, she might as well drag someone all the way to the bottom of the deepest abyss and die together. How can she be so confident?! Is it because of the mask?! Can the fox mask really make her this shameless?!
“Miss Maid. The omurice is getting cold.”
“Miss Maid?”
“Understood-nya! So then…”
Enri, who had finally snapped back to her senses, set the ketchup down and recalled the maid chant she had memorized in her head.
“Repeat after me-nya! Furi furi~”
“Furi furi~☆”
When Enri performed the ritualistic gestures first, Ara followed along perfectly. Unlike Enri’s stiff, imitative movements, Ara’s motions were filled with genuine spirit. Her tone, the tilt of her head, the motion of her arms, the lines of her body—everything. It was as if the illusory maid created by humans inside the VR world had descended into reality. Enri bit her lip lightly. Foul play. This is completely unfair. It’s too cute, honestly!
The voice can be excused since the mask hides it and changes things, fine. But how can someone wearing a mask make even a simple head tilt look so bouncy and lively? And how can the lines of her body show through so clearly when she’s wearing an oversized hoodie?! This is fraud! This is cheating!
Enri heard the donation alert and answered as if it were nothing. “We do not offer refunds to difficult customers-nya.” But inside, she was grinding her teeth. How am I supposed to be cuter than that?! That’s the skill of a professional! If you asked whether I’m a streaming pro too, I wouldn’t have anything to say, but still—I can’t copy that! How am I supposed to copy something like that?!
Ugh… So that’s what you meant when you asked if I’d be okay, Ara. You were asking whether I had the confidence to walk into hell, not whether you did?! If that’s what you meant, you should have said so in advance! How was I supposed to guess from just “Are you sure you’ll be okay?!”
“Miss Maid? We still have to continue, right?”
“…Yes-nya!”
The words boiling up inside Enri were overflowing, but that changed nothing. If she hadn’t asked Ara to repeat after her in the first place, none of this would have happened. Yet the one who had deliberately invited disaster was Enri herself.
“Shaka shaka~”
“Shaka shaka~☆”
*
Today, Seol-ah was sitting at the dining table—surprisingly, neither in front of a monitor nor inside the VR world. In her hands was an old martial arts novel she had read long ago. The very book that had led her into the world of murim.
Seol-ah’s impression as she leisurely read the book inside a house that was practically a garbage dump was simple.
“It’s not interesting.”
Memories of the past are always romanticized. Especially when they come from the turbulent days of adolescence. Back then, these martial arts novels had been entertaining enough to change her life. But reading them again after so much time had passed, the outdated elements were glaringly obvious—whether in the story, the supporting characters, or the setting. After all, this was written at least ten or so years ago. It couldn’t help but feel stale.
If it had still felt fresh even now, perhaps this work would have been called a masterpiece of the century. Nevertheless, Seol-ah continued reading. It was a kind of obligation. She needed to remind herself once more why she had wanted to learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art, why she had wanted to become like the protagonist of the novel, and why she had wanted to become stronger.
After struggling with the book in the dark room for quite some time, she finally reached the ending.
“The Heavenly Demon ascends and becomes an immortal? Is this even correct?”
The Heavenly Demon that Seol-ah knew was an existence that made the Shinseon tremble in fear while still in a human body. For the Heavenly Demon to ascend and become an immortal was nothing short of an insult to the very name.
After checking all the way to the final page, Seol-ah stared blankly at the cover for a moment before tossing the book aside. Though the book itself was dreadfully boring, she had still managed to recall a few important facts. For example, why she had first wanted to become stronger.
In the end, she had desired power for the sake of revenge. She had dreamed of gaining strength while stuck in her room, undergoing a complete transformation. It was the typical chuunibyou sentiment. Then what about now?
So much time had passed that even the past had grown hazy. These days, whenever she indulged in those chuunibyou fantasies, she could only let out a sigh. So why did she still long for the Heavenly Demon Divine Art? Why did she still want to become stronger when she no longer needed such power?
The answer wasn’t particularly difficult. What reason do you need to learn something you like? You just want to learn it because you like it. Even though Seol-ah thought her own answer sounded ridiculous and pondered over it, no other answer came to mind.
…She had no idea how the Heavenly Demon would react to this answer, but she would have to say it anyway. If the Heavenly Demon looked serious, she could think about it again then. Since the Heavenly Demon was generous, she would surely give her another chance. Just like she always had.
The moment Seol-ah stood up and turned on the monitor, a message from someone else flew in. It was Harin. Although Harin mainly focused on editing videos for the daily life channel, her editing skills were still clumsy. That was why she always asked either Hansik or Seol-ah to review her completed videos.
“I wonder how many things I’ll have to point out this time.”
This was also one of Seol-ah’s favorite times. Harin surpassed her in most areas, but when it came to video editing, she was still a complete novice. So whenever Seol-ah roasted Harin over her videos, she felt truly alive. In return, she got roasted just as much in other areas.
The video Harin had sent was from the joint stream between the Heavenly Demon and Enri earlier. In the center of the dining table sat an omurice, and Enri stood in front of it, leading the chant.
‘Furi furi~’
‘Furi furi~☆’
…Crazy. Crazy crazy crazy. Is that the voice the Heavenly Demon used? Right? Last time during the maid cafe broadcast my ears almost melted and disappeared, but this is even worse. So in the VR world she wasn’t putting her full effort into her voice. When she speaks with genuine intent, it feels like I might actually ascend to heaven.
‘Shaka shaka~’
‘Shaka shaka~☆’
Enri standing across from the Heavenly Demon was also incredibly cute. Someone with naturally good looks wearing a maid outfit and cat ears while acting adorable—how could that not be cute? The problem, however, was that the person opposite her was overwhelmingly superior.
Even while wearing a mask and an oversized hoodie, every single word and gesture from the Heavenly Demon oozed cuteness. She was the devil of cuteness itself. There was simply no way for a mere human like Enri to compete.
‘Love love~’
‘Love love~☆’
It seemed Enri was aware of this fact too, because every time she delivered a line, she tried her absolute hardest to be even cuter. But her efforts went unrewarded. Instead of becoming cuter, she only looked more pitiful.
‘Oishiku nare. Oishiku nare. Moe Moe Kyun☆’
‘Oishiku nare. Oishiku nare. Moe Moe Kyun☆’
By the time they reached the final line, even Enri’s viewers—who were usually merciless toward their own streamer—began to feel sympathy for her. “She tried her best.” “She worked so hard.” “Enri is the best!” Such donations poured in. Perhaps because those donations had scratched at her pride, Enri’s face turned bright red as if it would burst the moment she finished all her lines.
Regardless, the Heavenly Demon slightly lifted her mask, scooped up a spoonful of the omurice in front of her, and ate it. Then she smiled brightly.
‘It’s delicious.’
‘Thank you-nya… Master…’
After the video ended, countless ways to improve it flooded Seol-ah’s mind. But instead of typing a reply to Harin, she opened the editing program first. There was something she needed to do before that.
I’ll extract only the Heavenly Demon’s voice from the video. If I play that before eating, even plain rice will taste incredibly sweet and delicious!
*
The day after I finished the fun broadcast with Enri, Seol-ah contacted me. She said she had something to tell me inside the world of Hwaryong Muin. If she wanted to meet me in the murim world to talk, there was only one possible topic. I hoped she would bring a useful answer this time.
With that thought in mind, I logged into Hwaryong Muin and saw Seol-ah waiting for me outside the window. She couldn’t keep her feet still—she seemed extremely nervous. Well, I had only given her negative answers until now, so it was natural for her to feel anxious this time too.
I stepped out the window and landed lightly on the ground. Seol-ah’s gaze immediately locked onto me.
“Have you prepared your answer?”
“…Yes!”
“Let me hear it then. Answer me. Why do you wish to learn the Heavenly Demon Divine Art?”
“Because I like it!”
Hearing such a straightforward answer—one completely lacking in complexity or depth—I kept my mouth shut for a moment before letting out a chuckle as I looked at Seol-ah, who was staring up at me anxiously. Now that is quite an amusing answer.