Chapter 32
Chapter 32
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 32
Chapter Title: I've Never Done This Before
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I’ve never done this before.
“N-No way...!”
Overnight, the post had garnered 20k likes. If 1k is a thousand, then 20k is...
“Twenty thousand upvotes...?!”
The response was unbelievable. Is this the power of Instagram’s user base? I was shocked by how many people had seen it.
“It’s just a picture of me eating bread....”
“It is because you are adorable, Princess.”
“U-Uhm....”
Honestly, I wasn't entirely convinced by that reason, but if Ophelia said so, it must be true. Thanks to Kim Chae-ah’s mention before, I had about 300 followers, but that number had exploded to 8,000 overnight.
It was still climbing in real-time, so it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say I’d gained 10,000 followers from a single photo. Those darn Awakening Bros would only grudgingly show up if I offered them free burgers, type a quick “All hail the princess,” and then disappear.
¡Qué linda! Muy adorable 😍😍😍
かわいい…！最高に癒される
Очень милая! Просто прелесть
But on Instagram, just one picture of me had compliments pouring in from all over the world. The platform’s translation feature let me understand the gist of what they were saying.
Some people guessed I was an Awakened from my hair and eye color, but the comments were overwhelmingly positive.
“Hee hee.”
I suddenly felt my mood lifting. When Chae-ah or Han Do-hee had called me cute in person, it didn't feel like much, but seeing it all written down in comments felt completely different.
“Wait, what about the Status Window?”
“W-Woah...!”
The rank of Issue Command had risen incredibly fast. And for some reason I didn't quite understand, the Summon skill had also gone up a rank, now sitting at E-rank.
“Huh, these went up a lot too.”
I hadn’t checked them properly, but the levels for Golem Creation and Synthesis had also increased from creating Ophelia and doing other things.
“Your Creation level will soon reach level 10.”
“Does something good happen at level 10?”
“The efficiency of creation and repair will increase. You will be able to create stronger golems with fewer materials, and the performance of existing golems will also improve.”
“Wow, really?”
“Repairs will also be possible with comparatively less magic power, allowing for faster healing.”
In short, leveling up was always a good thing. With the rank of Issue Command increasing, I could manipulate materials more freely than before.
But how do I level up the Powerless Princess and Summon skills?
“What should I do about these two skills?”
“You are already diligently preparing to raise the ranks of both skills.”
“Eh? How? What have I been doing?”
“Are you not performing the daily exercises I requested to improve your foundational physical strength?”
“Exercises...? What do exercises have to do with it?”
According to Ophelia, the Powerless Princess and Summon skills fluctuate greatly depending on my own condition. While Issue Command was heavily influenced by recognition, these two skills depended on my own efforts.
“In the future, you will learn the court etiquette that you must master. This requires a foundation of physical strength, which is why we are incorporating exercises to enhance your physical abilities.”
“Etiquette...?”
Aren’t I already pretty well-mannered? It’s not like I go around acting like some villainess from a comic, shouting, “Ohoho, you useless commoners!”
“That sounds really hard....”
“I will precisely analyze your physical capabilities and instruct you within a range that will not overexert you, so you need not worry.”
Isn’t an AI’s definition of a ‘range that will not overexert’ usually pushing you to the absolute brink right before your body breaks down from excessive exercise? The kind that pushes you to your limits for maximum efficiency....
“Uhm... I think it’s fine if I don’t level them up.”
After hearing Ophelia’s explanation, I suddenly realized that building recognition was the easiest method. Even if it had less of an impact, both skills were still slightly affected by my fame, right?
This makes me want to work hard on Instagram... If I get around 8 billion followers, couldn't I get both skills to S-rank even with terrible etiquette...?
“Do not worry.”
“Eeeh.”
* * * * *
“Utaha! Did you see this?”
“What is it?”
Manchuria. The former metropolis of Dalian, located in the southern part of Liaoning Province, one of the three northeastern provinces.
Japan’s S-rank Hunter, Tennoji Utaha, and Mexico’s S-rank Hunter, Camila Torres, had been dispatched for a total of 7 million yuan—1 million per day for seven days.
After clearing out the monsters pouring from the A-rank terrain erosion zone in the Dalian area—a region less dangerous than the core—Utaha was taking a short break when Camila shoved her phone screen in her face.
“Look at this, isn’t she cute?”
“...She’s cute.”
“This is Japanese, right? I want to meet her when I get to Japan!”
“Maxy, that’s Korean.”
“Really? My mistake. I’ll send you the link!”
Even in an erosion zone where the internet was completely down, they could still get online via Starlink. Camila Torres, who had been scrolling through Instagram during her brief rest after a long battle, passed her phone to Utaha to show her a photo that appeared on her feed.
“Hmm.”
“Should I follow her?”
“Maxy, you have that ad deal.”
“Oh, right.”
A famous person’s follow list was a powerful advertising tool in itself. For that reason, even the act of following a single person for a certain period could create a massive ripple effect.
Currently, Camila was in an exclusive follow-ad period for HUNTERS, a Japanese Hunter-related magazine.
“One more person should be fine, right? You can see about six people at once when you open the list anyway.”
“You’ll have to pay a penalty.”
“That’s a shame. Should I send a DM?”
“...Do as you please.”
Utaha sheathed the sword she was cleaning, took out her phone, and checked the link Maxy had sent.
It was a new account, created not long ago. A single post had gained about 8,000 followers. As she scrolled through the account, she saw a tagged post.
It was the first post Kim Chae-ah had made, tagging Eve.
“The Shilla Hotel.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Maxy, you’re heading to Korea on the way back, right?”
“Yeah, I am.”
Ignoring Camila’s reply, Utaha examined Eve’s follow list. The number of mutual follows was small, but one account stood out.
“Looks like she knows Chae-rin. Judging by her hair color, she might be an Awakened.”
“With Hunter Chae-rin? But aren’t there a lot of people with white hair in Japan?”
“Stop watching so much anime. Ordinary people don’t have white hair. This is a Korean account.”
“But... isn’t your mom a busty shrine maiden?”
“...My family is just weird. And could you please not call my mother a ‘busty shrine maiden’?”
“She serves a fox god, too, right?”
“...That’s not true. Stop watching anime.”
“Heeh.”
At Utaha’s sharp retort, Camila lay on the floor and stared at her phone. Their contract for the Manchuria subjugation would end in a day. Afterward, their schedule was the same as before: enter Korea, then return directly to Mexico.
Of course, knowing Camila Torres's personality, she would undoubtedly delay her return to boring Mexico for as long as possible.
“She and Chae-rin are following each other. She might introduce us if we ask.”
“Ooh, you’re right. By the way, I sent her a DM.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she loves me! Isn’t that amazing?”
“That’s incredible.”
* * * * *
What the fuck is this?
The best thing to come out of the Awakening Gallery, for real.
Isn’t Brazilian Miku in Manchuria for a subjugation right now?
What on earth did you do to get Maxy to message you first?
God~damn this fucking world. You have a cute face AND you're an A-rank Awakened? You're done for, bitch. Every time I see your username, I'm gonna give you a taste of my 108-alternate-account poop-pic spam.
“Princess.”
“Hm? Ophelia, what is it?”
“...It is nothing.”
Oh no, does Ophelia actually see everything she censors...?
“Should I tell him to stop...?”
“...That would be for the best.”
God~damn this fucking world. You have a cute face AND you're an A-rank Awakened? You're done for, bitch. Every time I see your username, I'm gonna give you a taste of my 108-alternate-account poop-pic spam.
“Uh....”
“Let us refrain from visiting the Awakening Gallery for the time being.”
“Aww.”
Still, getting a DM from Maxy was amazing. This felt like something that would be in my funeral montage, a true life achievement.
*Ting!*
As I rolled around on the mattress, hugging my phone in delight, another DM from Maxy arrived.
- _camila_MAXY:
[Image of Maxy in athletic wear, posing confidently.]
“Whoa.”
I-Is Ophelia not going to censor this photo...?
I glanced over.
“Is something the matter?”
“N-No....”
I guess this much is okay. Ophelia didn't say anything. Right, it would be wrong to censor something like this.
She’s covered everything that needs to be covered, right? This is just how Maxy usually dresses.
- _camila_MAXY: PHOTO PLZ!!!!!
“She wants a photo? Hmm....”
A selfie...? I’ve never taken one. I’ve never really done anything worth capturing in a photo...
“Will this work?”
*Click!*
- _Princess_Eve:
[Image of an awkward, low-angle selfie.]
- _camila_MAXY: LOL🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
“Hmm....”
I should practice taking pictures later....
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