Chapter 107. The Sin of Looking at Another Woman(?)
Chapter 107. The Sin of Looking at Another Woman(?)
The tournament ended, and we held a collaborative stream for the first time in a while.
It was a variety game stream with several streamers I'd become close to at the year-end party.
In the chat channel, several people were connected: Nudungji, Lucia, Ellim, Heeju, Geum Ihyeon, and others.
"Ah, right... I heard the manager won this time. Congrats."
After the year-end party, we'd done several collab streams and sorted out how we addressed each other.
Surprisingly, Laila and I were the youngest.
"Hehe... Hoon, congratulations!!!"
"Wow~ Hoon, you're a proper Pokémon master now too."
"W-w-what? Are you saying Lee Chae-hyun is a Pokémon right now?"
Everyone's voices came through.
As I received congratulations amid the somewhat noisy and freewheeling atmosphere, we mixed gaming with idle chatter.
"Nudungji, speaking of which, do you know that game these days? The one that's been advertising like crazy..."
"That one, I heard the concurrent player count is huge right now and it's really popular. A lot of our viewers have played it too."
At those words, I recalled the ad inquiry that had come in a few days ago.
Collaboration inquiries had always been plentiful, but this was a game I occasionally made time for despite being busy.
"Now that you mention it, we got an ad inquiry too."
"Huh? Hoon, even you get ads like that?"
"Pfft! How much would they have to pay to match Unknown Hunter's ad rate?"
"To Hoon, an ad fee is basically pocket change, isn't it?"
"Hoon, just buy me an ice cream or something..."
I just smirked at the usual WWE-style roasting.
That was when Nudungji suddenly shouted.
"Oh! I think Lucia shot an ad for that game last time?"
I hadn't known that.
When I glanced at the chat window, the viewers' tremendous outrage(?) erupted.
[I think she did cosplay back then?]
[Yeah, took a ton of photos too]
[Didn't she do a merch event with photocards and postcards and stuff?]
"Really...?"
I heard the sounds of mouse clicks and keyboard tapping.
Then Lucia, the person in question, laughed and said.
"Pfft... Hoon, you curious?"
"..."
"Just a sec~"
She sent me a few of her high-definition photos through a personal DM.
"These are all photos I've taken so far~ I've got other cosplays besides that game too, so check them out."
[?????????]
[You bitch!!! Don't look at them alone, let us see too!!!]
[You son of a bitch!!!!]
"For reference, it's fine to look at them together with the viewers~ They're photos that are all over the internet anyway."
Saying that, I dragged the photos I'd received from Lucia onto the stream output monitor.
"Oh..."
Her photos spread across the screen.
A photo of her holding a shining purple sword, wearing something like a hanbok(?) with tights.
A photo with blue eyes, a blonde wig, and a school uniform.
'The ring on her head was incredibly detailed too.'
A photo with short black hair, a maid outfit, and holding a spear-like weapon.
'The tail was uniquely... a shark?'
[Wow, there's even a skin commemorating the pro gamer hall of fame induction?]
[You idiot, next to it]
[Look next to it, you dumbass lololol]
[This bastard is hyper-focused on Lucia right now lololol]
These weren't just personal hobby-level outfits, but costumes the company had poured their heart and soul into making.
Perhaps because of that, the quality was overwhelming.
At that moment, a donation alert suddenly rang out.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 30,000 Watts! ]
- Chairman?
"Ah, that startled me!"
Maybe it was because I was too focused, but I jumped in surprise at the trivial alert sound.
"Why?"
[Why do you think, you dumbass lolol]
[You won't get far]
[The second legendary situation after the maid cafe incident lolol]
"Huh...?"
Without turning my head, I just glanced sideways.
Laila, sitting next to me, smiled softly with a subtle curve on her lips and turned her head.
"...Hero?"
She smiled softly.
"I wonder... is that kind of clothing to your taste?"
"Uh, no... that's not it, I was just curious about what I'd have to do if we took the ad... sort of like preliminary research..."
The words spilled out of my mouth without passing through my brain, rambling incoherently.
Laila's eyes narrowed slightly as she shot me a glare.
Those eyes...
They were the eyes that said she was going to squeeze me dry tonight...
"So... does taking the ad mean we have to do cosplay?"
"Well~ shouldn't Laila do it, of course?"
"Hmm..."
In my head, I was already imagining Laila wearing those outfits.
So I just stroked my chin and pretended to mull it over.
Honestly, I did want to see it, but I didn't want to show Laila's bare skin to other people.
Then the perceptive Lucia smiled slyly.
"Well~ the game company is actually pretty considerate. Sensitive or overly revealing stuff aside, they allow modest outfits too."
At those words, I unconsciously nodded my head.
Because that kind of thing(?) could be used for the ad.
'I should ask Laila to wear them for me later...'
[This bastard;; his face is getting all lecherous]
[It's seriously so blatant lolololol]
[What are you imagining putting a person in?]
"Hoon...!"
"Hoon? What are you doing?"
"Isn't your mic off?"
For a moment, I imagined Laila in various outfits.
"Ah, I was just thinking about something..."
"Hmm..."
"Were you thinking about Laila doing cosplay by any chance?"
"Gasp... Laila, would you maybe like to do it together with big sis?"
[Wow, I just imagined it too...]
[That's high-end...]
[Meaning high-end residential area lololol]
We kept going with the collaborative stream, but I couldn't really focus well.
For various reasons...
---
Inside a luxurious office.
The foundation's representative and the legal director were sitting with documents in hand.
Those were their official titles, but in practice, they were no different from our personal secretaries(?).
"So... you're saying the chairman and the headquarters director are going to do what...?"
"We were thinking of trying a game advertisement."
When I said it nonchalantly, the legal director and the representative shut their eyes tight with a look that said, "It's finally here."
Even now, they were being crushed under a considerable workload.
"...I'm not very familiar with that field..."
Then the representative, who knew this side of things well—since he was literally from the viewer base himself—expressed slight concern.
"I'm worried that Unknown Hunter's image... might develop a negative perception."
So I brushed it off lightly.
"Well, what about it? Is it that weird for a streamer to take a game ad?"
The legal director, thinking about the ripple effect, let out a sigh.
"Of course, it's not unheard of for an S-rank Hunter to shoot an advertisement, but..."
"...?"
"Those were cases with famous brands or luxury brands. A game advertisement, I really never even considered."
"Ah, still, I want to try it..."
He tapped his fingers on the desk a few times.
"Then at the very least, please avoid any ridiculous staging or scenes where you're caricatured. It would be problematic if the chairman's and headquarters director's standing were diminished."
"Don't worry about that."
After all, all profits gained from the ad were set to be attributed to the foundation.
We wrapped things up roughly like that and returned home.
When I contacted the game company, they replied that they could meet as early as tomorrow.
"Hero."
"Yeah?"
"Shower first and come~♥"
"Huh...?"
---
"Ughh..."
I definitely slept and woke up, so why am I this tired?
"Hero~ wake up."
I heard Laila's voice waking me from my half-asleep daze.
And from outside, a delicious smell wafted in gently.
"Ughhh..."
As soon as I got home yesterday, I had been sucked dry by Laila.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Laila's face, glowing with luster, smiling contentedly.
"Oh my, wash up quickly and... hmm...?"
Grinning, Laila's hand slowly crept downward.
"R-right, right! The meeting is today...!? I gotta get ready quickly..."
Startled by her actions, I kicked off the blanket and headed to the bathroom.
"What a shame..."
I desperately pretended not to hear Laila's voice coming from behind me.
I quickly showered, ate, and headed with her to the promised location.
In front of the game company's high-rise building, people were already waiting there.
"Pleased to meet you... Song Hoon Hunter, and Laila Hunter."
He cautiously offered a handshake as he spoke.
We followed their guidance to the meeting room.
'Oh... their company loyalty was impressive?'
Even the employees seemed to love their company's game, with keychains and badges visible everywhere.
And here and there, character standees and posters were stuck up.
They even had costumes displayed on mannequins.
Once we settled into the meeting room, a middle-aged man who appeared to be the highest-ranking executive spoke first.
"Actually, we were aware that Song Hoon was interested in our game. But we never imagined you would even accept an advertising appearance."
His voice was mixed with both pride and nervousness.
"Well, it's fun. The characters are pretty too."
The staff members exchanged glances with tense expressions.
The man with the highest position smiled softly and spoke.
"To be perfectly honest..."
He bowed his head slightly with a sheepish smile.
"We thought an advertising model fee was honestly meaningless. The two of you are... Unknown Hunters who surpass S-rank, after all. So we seriously agonized among ourselves. Aside from the ad fee, what in the world could we possibly offer you..."
He paused for a moment, then carefully continued.
"We even considered giving you a super account with all data and skins unlocked. An account that includes items, currency, top-tier characters, skins, even exclusive effects—everything."
"No, I'll decline."
"Uh... pardon?"
Playing a game with hacks or cheats takes the fun out of it.
The most fun way to play a game was by trying all sorts of things yourself.
"By any chance..."
I leaned my upper body forward and put on a serious expression.
At my expression, the staff members tensed up as well.
"The character costumes outside... could you give those to us...?"
"Pardon?"
Their faces, which had been imagining company shares or an enormous percentage of the profits, went blank.
"When I came in earlier, I noticed them... the quality was really high..."
These weren't costumes made by ordinary people.
They were high-quality costumes custom-ordered directly by the game company itself.
And I sneaked a glance at Laila, who was sitting next to me.
'...'
Even yesterday, I'd already had my vitality thoroughly absorbed.
This bewitching Saintess somehow always managed to restore me and get me standing again.
In the midst of being wrecked like that, I attained enlightenment.
'If you couldn't avoid it, enjoy it...!'