The Log Feels Lighter

"Alright, we'll wrap up the roulette here," Yeon-a announced. She added that once this round ended, she'd open a private room and draw eight more players. "You'll still have another chance after this round, so don't worry."

"E-Everyone, even if you didn't get picked this time, there'll be another chance… Please wait for me……"

The viewers were so disappointed that I apologized and asked them to keep enjoying the stream. The chat quickly shifted to teasing forgiveness.

"A-A wink?"

"What, you want me to wink? Just a sec… I'm heading to the waiting room."

Haram popped into my stream and told me it was fine to act cute now.

"…You really want me to do it?"

"H-Hiee……"

They were literally throwing money at me just to see aegyo. Money was precious—ten thousand won was half a life for me.

"E-Everyone… don't waste money on stuff like this. Asking someone like me to do aegyo is worth half a life……"

"Ah… I once skimmed an extra twenty thousand won and almost died."

"F-First, thanks for the half life… Ah, mouth again…!"

"What, that's my reaction!" Yeon-a giggled.

Regardless, I fidgeted before blurting out "Fine!" and giving an awkward wink.

"Wink, there…! Haa… haa… ugh…!"

Seeing everyone enjoying ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it gave me a bit of energy.

"I'm glad you're all happy……"

[…Haa, is that right, little sister?]

"D-Did I say something wrong…?"

[It's nothing.]

Yeon-a brushed it off and started friending the winners, inviting them to the party. I cleared my throat nervously and greeted the participants.

'I'm nervous. One of my fans is here too.'

The name had been suspicious from the start.

I instantly knew which one was my fan.

'FuckingMasochistLoli……'

The moment I saw the name, I remembered how excited they'd been in chat.

"C-Calling me a self-harm addict loli, really now."

"I-I love you… Th-Thank youuu."

Yeon-a sighed while Haram let out an uncontrollable breath.

Just then, one of the viewers waiting for introductions spoke in a clear, innocent high-school-girl voice.

The viewers cheered at the female voice. I stared blankly, trying to locate the source.

'Wait… no way?'

There was no way someone with such a pure voice would have a username like that. My heart settled again.

I focused back on the stream.

"Alright then, FuckingMasochistLoli… I can call you that, right?"

Yeon-a carefully prompted the introduction. The viewer said it was fine and that "MajoWitch" was okay too.

[Ahaha… You can call me MajoWitch.]

"You were a girl…?"

[Yes! I'm a girl! Not a lesbian though… but I do admire the three of you.]

Her voice was so shockingly innocent compared to the username. How could someone with such a destructive name and masochistic wishes sound so pure?

The witch shyly said she admired all three of us. I was flustered, but Yeon-a handled it professionally as usual.

[Oh, then MajoWitch, please introduce ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠yourself.]

While I glanced at the chat, MajoWitch began her introduction.

[Yes! I'm a nineteen-year-old witch living in Seoul! I'm a third-year high school student who gave up on the CSAT! I'm studying to be an editor…!]

[Ooh, for example?]

Haram excitedly started interrogating her.

[Ah, I'm doing Kirinuki for vtubers.]

The viewers erupted in excitement.

'Kirinuki……'

Channels that clip vtubers and upload them to YouTube. There were plenty with huge subscriber counts, so I looked at the witch with respect.

"…I'm in awe."

Then the witch dropped a bombshell that silenced both my respectful gaze and the chat.

[Ah, instead of respect, please insult me… Ehehe, eheheheh.]

[…? Where did the pure teenage girl go?]

[Mom… that's rude.]

"Anyway…! Lately I've been watching the three of you the most. I haven't even turned off Snake Empress's stream since morning!"

The witch called me the best. It felt a little unsettling, but I was grateful, so I bowed my head.

"Th-Thank you… I didn't think I was worth being loved… Thank youuu."

[What are you talking about? You're overflowing with charm. Your only flaw is that you don't insult people. Cheer up!]

"Ugh……"

With that, the witch ended her interview.

People chuckled. Next up was another participant.

[I'm FoxRain, a twenty-six-year-old graduate student living in Seoul. Nice to meet you…! It's an honor!]

FoxRain spoke with tears in their voice. Viewers who had expected a girl from the name were surprised when a guy started sobbing, then cheered.

"E-Everyone… don't tease Woobi… His crying is j-just a little unique……"

[Sniff… Thank you, Snake-nim… You debuted not long ago so my name doesn't have yours in it yet, but I'll definitely add it later…]

People chuckled. We started matchmaking and asked about ranks.

The results:

Yeon-a & Haram: Bronze

FoxRain & MajoWitch: Silver

And me, alone at Ranker.

"Because of me, the tier's going to be set high……"

I was already worried. It was the classic "carry the log" situation.

Just as I was feeling gloomy—

"Huk!"

The committee offered ten thousand won per kill if we won.

"A-Are you sure about this, LogLighteningCommittee-nim?"

One kill equaled half my life because I was worth less than others. I started sparkling.

'If I carry the log just once, that's up to twenty-five lives…!!'

Suddenly, the log on my shoulders felt lighter.