Chapter 24. Even a Benevolent Saint Gets Scratched if You Mess With Her During a No-Hit Attempt
Chapter 24. Even a Benevolent Saint Gets Scratched if You Mess With Her During a No-Hit Attempt
[ Not Just Support: The 'Saintess' Possesses S-rank Combat Power — Who Is She? ]
[ China's S-rank Hunter 'Yang Tenjin' Secures a Leisurely Victory in a Spar ]
The spar with Yang Tenjin had silenced China, who had been picking fights at every turn.
Most information regarding his defeat was being censored.
Conversely, it had been a truly fruitful day for me.
I'd gained two things at once: a solid broadcast angle and future streaming content.
As soon as I got home, I immediately turned on the computer and started the stream.
"How is it?"
[idk I'm speechless]
[Something about the usually innocent-looking Saintess being genuinely terrifying is also unbearable]
[Saintess I thought she was a healer;;]
[A true healer kills the enemy before allies get hurt]
"What should we do?"
In response to my question, all sorts of suggestions came in—a World Cup, games, chatting, a gate raid—but none of them really appealed to me.
Then, a viewer who was now the manager suggested an unusual game.
[Saintess's Foot Wiper : How about this slightly unusual game?]
The game the manager suggested was a simple one where the goal was just to reach the destination.
Beside me, Laila was watching with an intrigued gaze.
"Hmm... Laila, want to try this?"
Reading the game's description, it was about a newbie office worker diligently climbing the corporate ladder to get promoted.
I'd tried fighting games and FPS games a bit before, but they were too trivial.
The advantage of having dynamic vision incomparable to an ordinary person made games too trivial.
Of course, AOS games were fun.
Overwhelming physical ability worked to an extent, but in the higher tiers, that wasn't everything.
"Shall we give it a try?"
Saying that, Laila picked up the gamepad.
[Heh heh...]
[LOLOLOL they're finally playing this game here too]
[Going for the clear gg?]
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- Mission 50k if you clear without raging lol
"Who gets angry while playing a game~"
Laila started the game confidently.
It was a slightly bizarre game where a normal-looking character crawled around on their stomach.
Even when she fell while moving smoothly, she diligently progressed by using the gimmicks around her.
"The controls are a bit difficult..."
After repeatedly falling, Laila's eyelids trembled ever so slightly.
So subtle that no one but me could have noticed.
"Ugh! I fell again..."
[LOLOLOL Saintess you're so bad at this]
[She's not a pro gamer, she's the Saintess~]
[Still, getting this far is pretty fast, I'd say]
"Laila?"
"..."
"Um... Laila?"
"Yes?"
Laila's voice had just been oddly sharp.
Again, to a degree an ordinary person wouldn't have perceived.
"I'm going to take a short walk, so keep at it."
"Yes, see you later."
She seemed fairly absorbed in the game.
Usually, she would have come to see me off if I went somewhere.
---
When I came outside, people were still wearing thick coats, as it was chilly.
I was just walking aimlessly, letting my feet carry me.
But then, I noticed people continuously tailing me.
'Annoying...'
With quick steps, I ducked into a less crowded alleyway.
The moment I turned the corner, the footsteps of my pursuers quickened.
And the instant they passed the corner and entered the alley.
"What do you want?"
─ Kwak!
I immediately grabbed the one in front by the collar and lifted him up.
Yet, for stalkers, I felt no malice from them at all.
"Gah...! We just wanted to talk!"
"Do people who want to talk sneak after others like rats?"
"We sent phone calls, letters, and emails, but none of them got any response...!"
Ah, now that I thought about it, after my face became known, I hadn't been checking calls or emails from unknown numbers.
Come to think of it, people with collaboration inquiries had mostly asked through donations.
"..."
When I released his collar, we stood facing each other awkwardly.
"If you have time, we'd like to talk in a quiet place."
I shrugged, gestured for him to lead the way, and followed.
I followed him into a café.
But oddly, the café was completely empty, and there were only two cups of coffee sitting alone on the table.
"No one's here?"
There wasn't even anyone who looked like the café owner.
"We asked the owner here for a brief private conversation. We also gave a small token of appreciation in return."
Hmm, that made sense.
Originally, requests were made with money.
If a request was not granted, it meant the money had not been enough.
"So, what did you want to talk about?"
He nodded with a stiff face and gestured.
Then, a semi-transparent barrier formed around us.
"The topic is slightly sensitive, so we had no choice but to take these measures."
He meticulously checked the surroundings, indicating how secretive the conversation he was about to have was.
"Of course, we checked the café interior beforehand, but you never know."
"Stop beating around the bush and get to the point."
"Would you consider naturalizing as a U.S. citizen?"
"?"
"We are different from China. We pride ourselves on judging you more objectively than any other nation."
He took out a naturalization document and a catalog filled with detailed benefits.
"If you just write the two syllables of your name, Song Hoon, right here, you will become a citizen of the United States from that very moment."
"Is naturalization usually that simple?"
"Normally it isn't, but this is not an ordinary person's naturalization."
"Not interested."
As if he had anticipated my refusal to some degree, he calmly explained the benefits without panicking.
Among the benefits he listed, there was one item that piqued my interest the most.
That was immunity from arrest.
"Unlimited immunity from arrest. While you're not that kind of person, you would not be held responsible even if you were to kill someone."
"Too bothersome. I don't even speak English, and more than anything, Korea is comfortable to live in."
They continued to persistently court me.
And it was a one-sided courtship relying on my whims, with no threats whatsoever.
"What if... after naturalizing, I killed you all because you annoyed me?"
I glared at him with a blank expression, and he tensed up, gulping.
"Since we were the ones who naturalized you into our country... it wouldn't matter..."
"...That's quite some patriotism you have."
"It is my one and only country."
A sigh escaped me.
It wasn't a sigh born of pity for them.
It was simply a sigh of amazement at their patriotism.
"Your patriotism is remarkable."
At my casually spoken words, he seemed to relax slightly and smiled faintly.
"In that case...?"
"I'm not going to naturalize. I only heard you out because it was admirable of you to ask purely without threats."
"Still, we will continue to make constant efforts to build friendly relations with you...!"
I downed the rest of my coffee and slowly rose from my seat.
Then, I poked my index finger into the semi-transparent barrier.
I slowly tore the barrier downwards and stepped outside.
"Go back carefully."
Walking down the street outside, their words lingered in my mind.
'Hmm... Patriotism, huh...'
Another good content idea came to mind.
'What could I do with soldiers? In a good way, preferably.'
Something like donating to them or holding a tournament.
I heard kids these days like games.
'But would it be a problem to give them prize money?'
From what I knew, soldiers were prohibited from having side jobs that generate income...
I wasn't sure since I hadn't served.
I would remain unserved in the future, too.
I was wrapped up in various idle thoughts when my phone alarm went off.
The fact that my phone alarm was ringing meant the person was saved in my contacts.
"Who is it?"
It was a call from Pajijik's Hansia Manager.
- Hoon, are you perhaps interested in the year-end party?
"Year-end party?"
- Yes, we invite streamers and hold a party every year-end.
"Hmm... I'll drop by if I have time."
- Yes~ Would you mind asking Laila as well?
"Understood."
A year-end party.
Come to think of it, over there I had attended various events like banquets a few times.
But on Earth, I had never been to a proper bar, let alone a party.
Because I was summoned to the other world before I could even enjoy a fresh campus life.
'Speaking of which, what was Laila doing right now?'
I opened the Pajijik app and connected to the stream.
But Laila's face looked extremely haggard.
By my standards.
'Laila, just what in the world happened...'
"Ah, seriously...!"
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 10,000 Watts! ]
- How many tries is this? Seriously don't know
[LOLOLOLOLOL hey hey hey!]
[Hey hey hey]
[It's hilarious how she keeps messing up at that part LOLOL]
[This new side of the usually serene saintess... could it be good?]
"I'm definitely going to clear this...!"
The mission to clear it without raging currently had a prize pool worth a million won.
Additionally, the mission to clear it within today had another 500,000 won on the line.
I looked closely at Laila's face on the screen.
Her eyelashes were drooping ever so slightly, her lips were dry, and her brow was faintly furrowed.
Poking her when she was like that would not end well.
'If I poke her for no reason, I might get purified too...'
However, like any other ordinary woman, she was the type whose anger would quickly melt away if she ate something sweet or delicious.
I put my phone in my pocket and headed straight to a nearby café.
I bought cakes, bread, macarons, and various other things and headed home.
"Laila... what are you doing?"
"Hero, you're back..."
"Um... want to eat some of this first?"
"No, I'll do all of this first and then eat."
I glanced at her screen, and she had already been promoted to a fairly high position.
The clear was in sight.
But as if to mock that thought, her character fell again.
[ Saintess's Foot Wiper has donated 50,000 Watts! ]
- Going to sleep, call me when you get back here lol
Very slightly...
Laila's eyelid twitched minutely.