Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Give Me the Money
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Give me money
Eventually, Pastor Kim couldn't hold back and burst into tears.
"...It's all my fault, because I fell short..."
"Yes, no... I don't think that's true at all."
He was saying it was all because of him that I'd ended up in this situation, but... well.
Donating to Suha and the other streamer had been entirely my own decision,
so no matter how I thought about it, it wasn't Pastor Kim's fault.
"Hmm... For now, I'm living pretty content with things, you know?"
If you asked if my life was perfect, I'd shake my head without hesitation, but if you asked if I was dissatisfied, that wasn't quite right either.
Others might see it as impoverished and shabby, but so what.
I enjoyed my current life, and it was fun.
"So... for now, um... you don't need to worry. I'm really doing fine."
"Min-ji... when did you grow up so much... sniff..."
Oh, come on.
No matter what I said, it felt like I kept stepping on landmines.
Setting aside not wanting to see Pastor Kim cry,
honestly, a muscular giant sobbing his eyes out wasn't a pretty sight.
-Gurgle...
"Ah."
...Come to think of it, meal time was running a bit late.
It was past the point where I should've already eaten, but chasing a phantom thief (Pastor Kim) and filming a one-woman Home Alone had delayed dinner by quite a bit.
"...Ah, right, food... I haven't fed you... what kind of state is my mind in..."
Fortunately, the growl from my stomach snapped Pastor Kim out of it.
As I patted my belly a couple times in praise of calming him down, he seemed to misinterpret my gesture.
"Looks like you're really hungry, huh? Let's go out and grab something to eat."
"Eh... Outside...? Won't it be expensive...?"
"There's a kimchi stew place nearby I know—cheap prices and great food."
He'd already made up his mind, grabbing his coat and getting ready to head out.
Of course, he added that the church wasn't so strapped that a single meal would hurt, so I shouldn't feel like a burden.
"Eh, it's really fine..."
"I'm not fine with it. No refusing—let's go."
Truth be told, it wasn't about not wanting to impose so much as hating to leave the house.
Still, it had been a while since I'd seen Pastor Kim, so one meal should be okay. I decided to go.
"I'll wait outside, so change and come out— Mi, Min-ji!"
"...Yes?"
"Even if we're like family... a girl shouldn't just strip off her clothes like that...!"
"Ah."
Oh, right.
"Sorry..."
I was a girl.
"Well then, I'll be off. Call anytime if you need help." "Take care going back." "...Yeah." After a proper meal in ages, Pastor Kim headed straight back to the church. He was already busy running the orphanage and the church with no time to rest. Coming to see me today must've been a big strain for him. Still, what the hell had Lee Min-ji been up to that even a simple "Take care" made him look like he was about to cry. I'd never made him cry, not even once. [Min-uk, please don't cause any trouble...] [Min-uuuuuk!!] [You little... you bastard!] But I'd pissed him off plenty of times.
I was the first to make him curse since he was born,
but still, better anger than tears, right?
Getting mad is a sign of good health, after all.
In that sense, I'd given Pastor Kim a free check-up—talk about filial piety.
'And then I disappeared, leaving someone like Lee Min-ji behind... how tough must it have been for him.'
Suddenly, I felt sorry for Pastor Kim, who'd lived in this world with Lee Min-ji.
Really.
'Anyway...'
How was I going to make money from now on?
It wasn't just about paying rent or not—long-term survival worries came flooding in.
A problem I wouldn't have even considered normally...
[Min-ji, should I order some egg roll too?] [Nah, it's fine. This is enough for me.] Watching Pastor Kim's hand tremble as he ordered the 8,000 won egg roll brought a rush of emotions.
'The situation's still rough, huh.'
[If earnings are tight, come volunteer at our church every Sunday.] [The orphanage kids miss you too.] And he'd still try to give me pocket money.
"Ugh..."
If it were anyone else, I wouldn't care.
But seeing the man who'd raised me like a father living like this gnawed at me.
I might not be able to help, but I didn't want to worry him at least.
I could be happy with just Pocky and lunchboxes for every meal, but how would Pastor Kim feel watching that?
He'd probably strain himself like today to feed me and slip me cash.
No, but even then, I couldn't do anything economically.
Couldn't even Gold Farm thanks to that damn trustworthy system or whatever.
All I had was a year and a half of time and this body I'd gained by sacrificing parts of myself.
'...Should I really shake my ass on a girl cam?'
Legal economic activities I could leverage were limited.
As my second-best option tilted toward girl cam dance streams, and I imagined myself doing terminal dance in thirds—
'Ah, no. There's another way I forgot.'
Another method I'd overlooked came to mind.
[Saintess Nice: Suha-nim] "Ugh... haa... so relaxing..." After uploading the 10-minute video the editor sent to YouTube, Suha was enjoying a rare break. Today was her regular off-day. She had to post on YouTube daily and plan future content— but the energy difference between streaming or not was huge. "Hmm... views are definitely down..." Suha's YouTube had fully entered a slump lately. Comparing views from a year ago to now showed the decline starkly. There was a time gap, sure, but the downward curve couldn't be explained by that alone. Of course, Suha knew and investigated the cause. Live stream revenue was separate, but YouTube made up half her total income—impossible to ignore. The culprit? Ias was a total trash game. No proper raid content in a year and a half, users fled, now just Gold Farmers left—pure trash game. Uploading videos for a game like that? Declining views were inevitable. "Aah... should I switch to other games now?" If she had a side gig, maybe, but as a full-time streamer, Suha had to take this seriously. Wait for rescue on a sinking ship, or jump into new waves? "Nah, what other games do I even know? No way." Suha chose the former. Ias was in its worst season, but paradoxically, it couldn't sink lower. New raid content could flip opinions anytime—that was Ias. 'Yeah... this game nails raids.' She believed views would rebound fast once new content dropped, whenever that was. Until then, views would keep dropping. Endure the march of hardship, and light would come eventually. For now, grit and bear it. 'This video's doing well, though.' Amid most under 100k views, one proudly over 200k. 📰 Breaking News [I Got a Master...] It was the edited stream with Saintess Nice.
'Oh yeah, Eder-oppa said his YouTube blew up from collabing with Saintess Nice too.'
Ask for Ias's hottest player? Everyone picks Saintess Nice.
Once spamming hate pics and shitposts, mythic weapon then reset rage-quitter.
Now? Great voice, skilled hidden master.
[Hng... hng...] Of course, she still acted like a crazy bitch often... very often.
If Saintess Nice streamed, collabs could've carried her through this.
[Hmm... Streaming? Not really interested...] But as a normie, couldn't invite every time.
"Sigh, nothing to be done."
Short meeting, but Saintess Nice struck Suha as wildly impulsive.
Less person, more cat.
Those types ignore invites a hundred times, do whatever they want.
Better not waste time.
Resigned, searching ways to cling to remaining views—
[Saintess Nice: Suha-nim] [Saintess Nice: Can you teach me how to stream?] A sweet offer arrived.
"Jackpot!"
Couldn't know why the cat-girl changed her mind. [Hmm... Possible at a PC bang. But do they have single rooms? Oh, they do? Good.] [Yes, set audio to option 2, then screen... Yes, like that.] [Wow, PC bangs have dual monitors now? Ah, chat window space secured.] Suha went all-out to help Saintess Nice's streamer debut.
[Oh, think I get it now.] Goal underneath: collab to save YouTube views.
But helping this much deserved some crumbs, right?
[I'll try streaming tonight.] [Really? I'll promo on my channel! Normally no aggro, no one notices!] And honestly, exciting.
[Su, Pure Advisor was Saintess Nice...?] Pure curiosity: what kind of stream from someone unhinged from first glance?
📰 Breaking News [Suha Yam] [Title: My Saintess Master is Starting a Stream!!] One-Handed Sword Saintess Master Saintess Nice's first stream at 9 PM, come watch! Who could miss this?
Finally, the appointed time arrived.
📺 STREAM START 📺 [21:00] [Saintess Nice has gone live!] Saintess Nice's first stream began.
And watching it, Suha doubted her eyes for a moment.
[Saintess Nice LIVE ON: Give Me Money] "Is this girl actually insane?"