Chapter 58
Chapter 58
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 58
Chapter Title: Not a Self-Deprecating Stream
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[Me: As expected, Ttalgwi is my precious comrade.]
[Ttalgwi: ?Of course! I'm the royally screwed-up comrade Ttalgwi!]
Royally screwed-up comrade Ttalgwi.
Just reading that one line shot my opinion of Ttalgwi straight through the roof.
I wasn't the only one who'd turned into a bedwetter. Anyone could mess up in a frightening situation.
That realization made my inner affection for Ttalgwi feel like it had pierced right through the ceiling.
Of course, part of me found it a little ridiculous too.
I couldn't figure out why Ttalgwi would bother telling me about her own embarrassing secret.
She must have figured it was the coolest, most spectacular screw-up of her life.
With that thought, I flashed a bright smile for the first time in ages and got down to business.
[Me: Ttalgwi, my real face got exposed. Could you give me some advice on what to do?]
Ttalgwi was a bare-faced streamer who didn't do any customizing.
In a way, she was in a similar position to me, so she had to know how to handle issues like this.
Fortunately, she'd apparently wiped down all her VR gear, because she replied right away.
Shin Ara and I read Ttalgwi's message together.
[Ttalgwi: ?Your real face? That means the red pill's out!]
[Ttalgwi: You haven't admitted or denied it yet, right?]
[Ttalgwi: For now, don't affirm or deny it—just ignore it completely!]
[Ttalgwi: The moment you react, it blows up!]
[Me: Huh? So I should just ignore it?]
[Ttalgwi: I don't know how it got exposed, but isn't there not enough proof that it's you, Sukka?]
[Ttalgwi: Don't add fuel to the fire and make the bait explode!]
[Ttalgwi: On stream, just play dumb like you have no idea!]
[Ttalgwi: ?The red pill is a death sentence for a Vtuber!]
[Me: There's a post up on the community. I'll send you the link—could you check it out?]
With Shin Ara's help, I sent the link to Ttalgwi.
Besides the post I'd seen earlier, there were tons of topics titled "Sukka's Red Pill."
Soon, Ttalgwi fired back responses like a machine gun, having grasped the whole situation.
Thanks to her quick, decisive advice, my tension melted away.
[Ttalgwi: What is this lol? Anyone can tell it's you, Sukka?]
[Ttalgwi: You really did barely any customizing, huh?]
[Ttalgwi: ?At this point, do you even need to hide it?]
[Me: Yeah, I only erased my dark circles a bit with customizing.]
[Ttalgwi: How about ditching the Vtuber label entirely while you're at it?]
[Ttalgwi: With bare-face streams, you can do mukbangs or 야방 freely?]
[Ttalgwi: Sure, you'll get more annoying viewers, but for you, Sukka, it'd actually be more comfortable than usual.]
[Me: Huh? More comfortable?]
[Ttalgwi: If it's your real face instead of a character, guys hesitate to drop sex jokes?]
[Ttalgwi: And you'll get a massive influx of viewers.]
[Ttalgwi: ?How could anyone not watch when the original is that cute lol?]
[Me: I'm not cute.]
The suggestion to drop the Vtuber tag didn't sound half bad.
I'd never planned to hide my face to begin with, so it wasn't a tough call.
Especially the part about fewer sex jokes—that hooked me.
Of course, for every pro there'd be cons too, but it didn't seem like something to worry about now that my face was out.
I should probably consider a proper bare-face debut.
As I fiddled with my face here and there with that in mind, Ttalgwi messaged again.
[Ttalgwi: ?But there's a way bigger problem right now!]
[Ttalgwi: What are you gonna do about that Jäger guy? The toxic viewer?]
[Ttalgwi: You're not seriously believing what he said, right??]
The issue I'd forgotten about amid the Stuka chaos came rushing back.
It was about "Jäger," who'd dragged me into Frontline Archive by holding Irina Morozova hostage.
Then Shin Ara, lying beside me, tapped my shoulder and asked.
She hadn't watched today's stream, so she couldn't follow the conversation.
"A toxic viewer? What's that about?"
"Oh, well..."
I explained everything that had happened today to Shin Ara.
My precious comrade Irina Morozova, the suspected stalker Jäger, and even the cat hunter Katzenjäger. She already knew most of my situation, so I told her everything about the Eastern Battlefield without holding back.
After hearing me out, Shin Ara sank into thought.
With her eyes gently closed, deep in contemplation, she looked just like a detective lost in deduction.
Soon, having sorted her thoughts, Shin Ara's eyes snapped open.
Her words carried conviction and confidence.
"What if that viewer Jäger is the stalker harassing Victoria?"
"Oh, I suspected that too. It fits perfectly."
"And what if Jäger, the stalker, and Katzenjäger are the same person?"
"Huh?"
Shin Ara's bold deduction made my eyes go wide.
It was exactly what I'd suspected, but unlike me, she seemed utterly convinced.
I clung to her with a please-explain face.
She answered in a serious, calm voice.
"First, assume Jäger and the stalker are the same. Both know Victoria's name and show hostility, so it's a reasonable suspicion. Right?"
"Yeah, exactly. Not many people know my name."
"Now, if we add Katzenjäger as the same person? Doesn't that connect to why the stalker and Jäger are hostile toward Victoria?"
"Oh... because I killed him in the Eastern Battlefield? So Katzenjäger was someone else who got isekai'd into the game like me?"
"Looks likely. Victoria mentioned it before—the Eastern Battlefield incident had multiple victims. Maybe Katzenjäger was one of them?"
"Hmm..."
It was a deduction that made a fair bit of sense.
After all, the protagonist of Eastern Battlefield wasn't just "Victoria Chernakoshka" alone.
If multiple people had been trapped in Eastern Battlefield, there had to have been some on the German side who woke up too.
So it wasn't impossible that the Katzenjäger I'd killed was another player.
But there were still way too many unresolved questions.
How could someone who'd died in the game return to reality? Why had they all survived when I'd been the only one to die? Frustrating mysteries like that refused to resolve.
Part of me wanted to grab Jäger and interrogate him.
Feeling pointlessly down about it, I flopped back onto the bed and replied.
"For now, I'll go with that and try not to worry. Ara unnie, please don't dig too deep either."
"Yeah, honestly, I'd rather Victoria didn't stress over it. No need to understand a stalker's psyche in the first place."
"Right."
Fortunately, detective Shin Ara seemed willing to drop the case.
If the sleuthing kept going, I'd have no choice but to reveal "I'm not the real Victoria," so I'd had to urge her to let it go.
The mental stress made my hunger even worse.
As we wrapped up the talk and I replied to Ttalgwi, the intercom rang—delivery had arrived at the one-room.
- Ding-dong!
"Food's here. I'll get it."
"No, don't!"
I bolted up from bed to grab the food.
It wasn't that I was dying for fish and chips specifically, but I was so hungry I wanted to eat ASAP.
But Shin Ara, lying next to me, grabbed me and pinned me back down on the bed.
Caught off guard, I blinked and asked why.
"Uh... why? Can't I get it?"
"I'll go get it. Victoria, stay hidden under the covers."
"Huh? Worried it might be the stalker? Isn't that overkill?"
"No, not that... you're not wearing a bra right now... Your dress is kinda see-through...."
"......."
It was so valid, yet I didn't want to accept it.
I covered my flat chest with my hands and hid under the covers.
Squirming under there, I heard Shin Ara come back with the food.
Her comment about my chest showing bugged me a little, but since it was her, I didn't mind—I started eating.
The golden, hot, crispy batter was exquisite, and the creamy white tartar sauce was perfect for my taste.
British fish and chips really were an excellent meal.
"Haa... I'm full now...."
"Yeah, they must use clean oil here. It's seriously good."
"I'll get you pajamas. There's a baggy T-shirt."
"Hmm... Will Victoria's clothes fit me?"
"......Are you teasing me about being small right now?"
"I-I'm just stating facts...."
We finished eating and got ready for bed.
They say sleeping right after eating is bad for you, but since I had to wait for Shin Ara to shower anyway, it was fine.
Soon, Shin Ara finished her shower, changed into something comfy, and came out of the bathroom.
Her bursting chest, bare thighs, and dewy pale skin—it was the kind of sight that'd excite any guy, but for some reason, I felt nothing.
Looks like not just my body, but my mind had turned fully girly too.
Her hair-drying just looked like wringing out seaweed stems.
"I'll sleep on the outside. No getting excited and jumping me."
"I'm not gonna! I told you it was a misunderstanding!"
We lay facing each other in the same bed.
The awkwardness from the embarrassing situation lingered for a bit, but when I mustered the courage to snuggle into her arms, it felt so comforting.
A comrade's body heat really did bring me peace.
No vodka scent like Irina's embrace, but the fresh body wash smell wasn't bad either.
Sleeping with Shin Ara had definitely been the right choice.
The severe insomnia that'd plagued me melted away in her warmth.
"You're so cute...."
"......"
"Look at you sucking your thumb...."
"Nyaang...."
Even if weird exclamations echoed whenever I dozed off,
Either way, it was the first time in forever I'd had happy dreams.