Who the Hell Is She? (2)

Who the hell is this woman?

'She's utterly unpredictable.'

If someone ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠asked me what kind of person Iaidō is, that's exactly what I'd say.

Iaidō stands out from the first impression. Her softly swaying brown ponytail and half-lidded eyes give off a cozy vibe at first glance, but there's something inexplicably chilling about them. It's like locking eyes with a wolf the size of a person. That mystical yet sharp aura sets her apart from mere beauty, gifting a unique sensation.

Daring to put it into words: the epitome of perfection. A realm worthy of envy.

And right now, she's slice—

"Eek…!"

—Kyaaah—

—Limey...—

—Save our Limey, Chaerin-unnie...—

"Nom."

"Hiiik…!"

"Oh, it'sh good. Wanna try shome?"

(It's good. Wanna try some?)

"No… I'm good…"

She's slicing and eating slimes.

"Tashy."

(Tasty.)

I see. Still, no thanks.

"Iaidō-unnie… our interview…"

"Oh, right."

Iaidō gulped down the half-chewed slime in her mouth.

'I really can't figure her out…'

Reaffirming my impression of her, I glanced at the question sheet floating in the air.

We're in the middle of an interview right now.

Say what you will, but there's more unknown about Iaidō than known. Everyone's just spouting wild guesses.

Then the woman herself shows up and spills all the juicy details people are dying to know. It cools the overheated hype just right while delivering exactly what the masses crave.

Perfect content for this exact moment.

I never imagined it'd turn into this chaos.

'I planned to start perfectly prepared, with question lists and managers all lined up…'

This was my benefactor's first stream. As a 300k-sub streamer, I was staking my reputation on a flawless broadcast.

I'd pulled all-nighters prepping managers and question lists.

Mostly useless now, though.

'Sigh…'

Anyway, the mess happened, so I have to clean ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it up.

I shot a glance laced with mild resentment at my benefactor in front of me.

"?"

Those bright yellow eyes stared back with pure innocence. Like she was saying, 'I have no idea~'

Infuriating.

"Ahem. Anyway, before we start the Iaidō-unnie interview, can I slow the chat? I need to read it too."

"Sure."

I used the manager perms to throttle the chat speed. Added a 3-minute cooldown to tame the spam.

Finally, the chat contents became visible.

Still a madhouse, though.

I wanted to freeze it entirely, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠but that could turn the overheated public into a wildfire.

These aren't normal viewers—they're comm-site locusts. Piss 'em off, and who knows where they'll swarm next.

With all spare managers called in, I can prevent the stream from crashing, but if it spreads to the forums...

'Don't even wanna think about it.'

Shaking off the scary thoughts, I tweaked settings until minimal prep was done. Just one question sheet and a slime-filled meadow backdrop, but whatever—rationalize and roll.

"Before we start the interview, one thing to confirm upfront. Iaidō-unnie, you're the masked woman from the recent B-rank gate break, right?"

"Yep."

Chat jumped the instant she answered.

The theory that Iaidō is the masked woman was already public gospel, but some argued voice alone wasn't conclusive. Most got flamed out, but it wasn't entirely wrong—same lines and voice, yet not 100% proof.

Today settles it. Sure, it's her word, but we can address that here.

I laid the foundation with one question.

"So, have you done your awakener rank evaluation, Iaidō-unnie?"

"Yep, I have."

"Waiting on results?"

"Nah, already got 'em."

"Huh, then why…"

Is the Hunter Association sleeping? Shouldn't they be blasting "New S-rank!" everywhere by now?

As confused reactions filled chat, one possibility hit me.

...No way.

"U-um, this isn't classified or anything, right…?"

Did I just screw up big time?

"Nope."

"Phew…"

Guess I didn't poke the hornet's nest from the jump.

But then why's the Association quiet?

As I panicked a bit, that chat caught my eye.

"Not S-rank? Guys, you saw the footage. How could that not be S~?"

"Exactly."

Iaidō chimed in right after me.

Chat agreed with me.

"And you know I have an A-rank acquaintance? I saw her fight once—"

"You're right, not S-rank."

"No way it's not that level… Yes…?"

"I'm C-rank."

The bombshell froze me and chat alike.

Then it erupted like lava.

Even with restrictions, it surged like magma. That absurd.

"U-um, when did you get evaluated??"

"Around 7 years ago? Check my awakener ID issue date."

Sometimes ranks glitch due to machine errors. Rare, and usually self-reported for re-eval.

But she wasn't "usual." Worst Association blunder in history, exposed.

'Is now the time to eat slime?'

The speaker herself didn't care.

The interview only sparked more controversy instead of answers. Felt like it'd spiral out of control, so I wrapped it quick.

Too late, probably.

'Not my problem.'

Chaerin's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠brain gave up thinking.

"Uwaaa… This is healing…"

Hugging a slime tight and flopping on the grass—paradise.

Three minutes in, the urge to poke her hugged slime moved Chaerin's finger.

Squish the cheek—

The sky-blue body yielded softly.

'Hehe. Cute.'

Sky-blue body, cute little eyes, squishy cheeks—heart-meltingly adorable. They don't even attack people. Even if we strike first, they just freak and flee.

And? Show kindness, and they smoosh! right into your arms. Holding one gives a cool sensation and tiny HP/MP regen.

Harmless perfection.

Slice—

But Iaidō's carving them up like veggies. Dicing, even.

"No heart at all…?"

"? I do."

Doesn't seem like it.

Slice—another slime diced.

Then:

In Rebion Arc, you can tame monsters. Conditions vary wildly per monster.

"…No reason not to."

Squish—tap yes, and the slime glowed white.

'Name: Molrang.'

Staring at her, those eyes met mine—adorable. Poke—

Squish~ shake.

Perfect. 'Molrang' it is.

Eyes sparkled happily.

"Nice to meet ya, Molrang."

Squish!

As Chaerin bonded with her new pal.

"Time to head out, Chaerin-unnie?"

Iaidō strolled over, shaking slime goo off her hands casually.

"What's that in front of your nickname?"

"? Huh, what's this."

Prefixed: 'Heartless Toward People'.

Chowing slimes netted a weird hidden title. Not on wiki—probably first discoverer.

'No one else found this?'

Games mean munching mobs sometimes, right? Slimes taste good too—tangy jelly, plus stamina regen.

No one's tried? Bellies full, these modern folks.

Downgrading humanity inwardly, I popped a slime chunk.

"…Don't eat slime in front of Molrang."

"Okay."

Hng. But it's really tasty.