The Heavenly Demon Teases (1)
Today, after spending the entire day with Enri, I realized just how serious his condition was. How could someone who squandered money every time he gambled be so obsessed with it? Enri himself insisted it was all just for the sake of broadcast entertainment, but I couldn't bring myself to believe him. Those addicted to something always claim they're not madmen. Having seen such scenes in many places, I decided to listen to the people around Enri rather than Enri himself.
At first, I turned to the viewers. To clearly understand what Enri meant by his "broadcast persona," I needed to hear from those watching his streams. Fortunately, many of my own viewers also watched Enri's broadcasts. We were close, after all, and my own streaming career had begun because of him, so our audiences naturally overlapped.
Next, I asked Enri's editors. There was Haneul, whom I had once helped find an editor, and Riha, with whom Enri had exchanged contact information during a joint stream. I figured that if anyone could give an objective assessment, it would be those who watched Enri from closest by. Their opinions matched the viewers'. Enri liked gambling and was destructively bad at it, but it didn't seem like a major issue. After all, he never gambled in real life.
I also asked several other streamers I knew who were close to Enri, but the conclusion was the same: since he never touched real-life gambling, it wasn't a big problem. In other words, the moment he did touch real gambling, things could get serious. It would be better to prevent this kind of issue in advance. Once a problem arises, it's already too late. With that judgment, after the stream ended, I began steadily preparing a lesson for Enri.
"In simple terms, it's a horror gimmick themed around gambling. I think one of my acquaintances can help."
When I asked my editors how to structure it, Hansik gave an unexpected answer. He said he knew someone working in game planning who could probably lend a hand. Deciding that asking a professional would be better than us amateurs racking our brains, I asked Hansik to connect me.
"You're going to bully Enri? Sounds fun."
"I'm not bullying him. I'm teaching him a lesson."
"Ah. Sorry. That came out wrong."
The planner, who said he watched my streams often, readily accepted my request and asked about various details: the layout of the space, how many people I could recruit, what abilities I could use, and so on. After I answered roughly off the top of my head, the planner let out a dry laugh.
"You can really do just about anything, huh. With that level, it'll be easy."
The planner sent me a plausible plan within a day. Liking the plan, I used it as the foundation to prepare my scheme to tease Enri... no, to make him understand that gambling wasn't a good thing. I asked Harin and Seol-ah to find a suitable location, then wandered around the area with Baru to find a place with plenty of vengeful spirits. After that, I renovated the building to match the plan. There was quite a lot of work, but it didn't actually take much time. When someone who could wield martial arts like me teamed up with Baru, who could use Taoist magic, most tasks could be handled quickly. Once the rough preparations were finished before even a week had passed, I returned to Mount Hua to find people who could work inside.
I wasn't planning to ask the people of Mount Hua for help. What help could I possibly ask from those who already looked exhausted just trying to train in martial arts while being crushed by daily life? The ones I came looking for were different people.
"Listen here, Jijon. Isn't something wrong with this?"
"Haha. Heavenly Demon, do you have proof?"
"Tsk. You damn bastard."
"Hoho. Disciple, calm yourself. Isn't that just how gambling works?"
"That's right, Baek Hwaryeong. If you're upset because you lost, getting angry won't—"
"It's fine if my master says something, but I can't tolerate you, divine spirit, running your mouth. Keep it moderate."
"...I'm sorry."
When I opened the door to the room prepared for receiving guests, the sight that greeted me was a group of figures who could easily be mentioned when discussing the greatest under heaven, sitting around a gambling table and bickering. The Heavenly Demon of Hwaryong Muin, Baek Hwaryeong. Her master and my benefactor, Jijon. Baekju, one of the ancient divine spirits. And Hak Yeong-chung, who had been forcibly dragged in because the numbers didn't match and was now sweating nervously. If a passing martial artist were to ask why such a scene—enough to make one faint just from their presence—had been created, the answer would go back several days.
Jijon, who had suffered a crushing defeat to me in gambling not long ago, had visited Mount Hua the very next day. The fellow had come shouting that he would win this time. There was only one future awaiting him: an even more miserable defeat. What could he do? I was better at both martial arts and gambling than he was. How could Jijon, who was inferior in both, possibly beat me? Unable to accept his loss, Jijon began visiting Mount Hua every day to challenge me to gambling matches. Then Baek Hwaryeong, who had come looking for delicious food, ended up joining the gambling table. After watching Jijon get crushed by me and teasing him, she was dragged in when Jijon told her to try it herself. Naturally, Baek Hwaryeong lost not only to me but also to Jijon. While her martial arts skill might be formidable, her gambling ability was no different from a newborn baby's, so there was no way she could beat the two of us who had been rolling around gambling tables for so long. With her pride wounded, Baek Hwaryeong kept participating, claiming she had only lost because of bad luck.
Since Baek Hwaryeong and I were staying here, my benefactor who was interested also dropped by, and Baekju, who had been bored alone, joined in as well. Hak Yeong-chung? That fellow was an unfortunate victim. He had no interest whatsoever, but had been dragged along because they needed to fill the numbers. He had no choice. With four people far above him watching, how could he refuse? The result was this scene: people who could change the entire murim just with their presence gathered here, laughing and crying over a single hand of cards. I felt like selling this information to the Hao Sect and spreading the rumor, but they would surely scold me for spouting nonsense, so I decided not to bother.
"Min-ga! You came at the perfect time! Come on, sit down quickly!"
Baek Hwaryeong brightened the moment she saw me. It wasn't because she was genuinely happy to see me. The game was going badly for her, so she was just planning to use me as an excuse to start over from the beginning.
"No thanks. I didn't come to gamble."
"Tsk!"
"Then what brings you here, Mount Hua Sect Leader?"
Hak Yeong-chung sent me a pleading look. His face was pale. Was sitting in the middle of this really that painful for him?
"Jijon."
"Huh?"
"Hak Yeong-chung."
"Yes!"
"Baekju."
"Yes?"
"You all need to help me with something."
After all, these fellows had nothing better to do than play around here. If they were going to waste time on pointless gambling, they might as well work. Hak Yeong-chung and Baekju nodded, saying they understood, but Jijon was different. He asked what right I had to order him around. Expecting that reaction, I said nothing and simply took a seat at the gambling table.
"If you're upset, then win."
"...Fine."
I won't bother explaining the result of the gamble. Jijon's reputation and pride are at stake, after all. But it was clear that he had agreed to do what I asked.
*
"Let's stop here for today."
"Hweeeeeeh."
The moment Ara spoke, Enri, sprawled on the floor, stared blankly at the sky before turning his head at the sound coming from beside him. Nasa and Nyangnyang Fist Technique were there. The two editors who were also learning martial arts under Ara had arrived earlier and endured even harsher training, yet they still looked energetic. How on earth did those two manage to withstand this training? Judging from the videos Ara uploaded every day, they didn't exactly have light workloads either.
"I'm not that much older than them."
Enri grumbled, but the viewers didn't pay much attention to her words. What mattered to them wasn't the facts, but the fact that they could tease Enri. Watching the scene where viewers called her "auntie" or "grandma," Enri staggered to her feet and stretched. Originally, she had planned to wander around the Hwaryong Muin world alone and try out what she had learned from Ara today, but that was impossible in this state. Ara had worked her way too hard. Everyone kept saying how grateful they should be that Ara personally taught them, but still, exhausting was exhausting! She decided to spend the rest of today's stream doing something relaxing. There was that new game called Mini Game Park that everyone said was really fun, so maybe she should give it a try. With that thought, when Enri said goodbye to Ara, Ara stopped her, saying she had something to say.
"Enri. Are you free in two days?"
"In two days? Yeah, I'm free."
She didn't have any ad streams or external schedules, after all. Enri nodded unconsciously despite her exhaustion, but soon realized her mistake. The mastermind who had dragged her into the Hwaryong Muin world hadn't even begun yet. At Enri's suspicious gaze, Ara smiled and shrugged.
"It's nothing special. Baru said she's never seen the sea, so I was thinking of going on a trip and wanted to ask if you'd like to come along."
"You're trying to lure me with that so you can punish me, aren't you?!"
Did she think Enri hadn't fallen for this kind of trick a couple of times already?! She wasn't going to fall for it!