Chapter 23

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 23

Chapter Title: Chapter 23

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 23

Chapter Title: Sounds Plausible, Right???

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1.

The first broadcast had begun. Since no one knew it was streaming from my account, viewers trickled in slowly.

Still, somehow they'd found my account, and viewers started filing in one by one.

"I posted on my fan community that Carrier-nim's channel is going live. Just wait a bit and they'll pour in."

Elena said to me. She'd been fiddling with something next to me—it looked like she was posting the notice.

"Ah, thank you."

"No biggie. More eyes is better for both of us. Should be good content for my viewers too."

"Me too! I'll do it! Little sib!!!"

"Uh, uh... thanks...."

Sis bellowed in a booming voice. Elena tilted her head beside her. She must've been wondering if this was her usual personality.

"Ahem."

Ignoring her glance my way, I checked the chat window.

Word must've spread, or maybe Elena's notice had done the trick—viewers were surging in.

Viewers had broken a thousand before I knew it. This felt like enough of a crowd.

"Alright, turning on video and mic now. You two ready?"

"Yes."

"I'm already reaaady!!"

Sis thumped her chest with a loud thunk! Her speech was slurring a bit, hyped up from the excessive courage.

'Should I yank the Blessing of Courage now?'

I pondered for a second but shook my head. Too late for that.

If I'd planned to do it that way, I shouldn't have cast it in the first place. Pulling it now would just make Sis crumble.

'Please. Just get through without any incidents.'

I prayed for the first time ever as I fiddled with the streaming program.

"Hello!"

For now, I set the screen to show just me. Better to introduce everyone one by one.

"Ah, first time seeing me like this, huh. Let me greet you properly. I'm Carrier. Nice to meet you all!"

I bowed deeply to the viewers, then turned my body slightly to show my profile and back view in sequence.

"Sis made this avatar for me. What do you think? Pretty, right?"

"I made it, so of course it's pretty!! That's a given!!"

While I was showing off the avatar, Sis suddenly strode in from the side. Flustered for a moment, I opened my mouth to keep the stream going.

"Sis. Introduce yourself to the viewers."

"I'm Noir, The Legendary Arena specialist streamer on Jijijik! Nice to meet you!!!"

She bowed at a perfect 90 degrees. Her overflowing energy left some viewers taken aback.

Yeah, even I—who'd cast the Blessing of Courage—was thrown off, so ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the viewers must've felt even more awkward.

'No helping it. Gotta push through. That's the answer.'

I had no choice but to let her keep going until everyone got used to it. They'd come around eventually.

I turned my head sideways. Elena was watching us with a smile. Might as well introduce the guest right after.

"Hello, everyone!"

I shot her a look, and she nodded lightly before stepping into frame.

"Red pill reveal? You think I'm nuts? Company'd never allow it."

True to her status as a major corp streamer, she effortlessly took control of the chat vibe.

Viewers spiked the moment Elena showed up.

"Okay, before we dive into the real cooking stream, I wanna clear up some viewer questions first."

"Questions like, how the heck do you even do a cooking stream in a virtual space, right?"

"Exactly."

I nodded emphatically and adjusted the camera. The zoomed-in view widened out, capturing the whole studio at a glance.

"As you can see, this is a kitchen. We'll be doing the cooking right here."

I zoomed the camera back in and walked up to the counter. I pulled out a cutting board, then bought an apple from the shop.

Plop—

An apple slowly dropped from ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠thin air. I snatched it smoothly and grabbed a kitchen knife from nearby.

"You can handle cooking prep just like in real life here."

The blade slid gently between the white flesh and red skin. The peel curled off in an instant, blooming like a rose on the cutting board.

"Wow."

I unfurled the apple peel—it was so thin, I could faintly see through to whatever was behind it.

"Beyond simple prep like this, you can cook all sorts of dishes and even taste them. That's why we're doing a cooking stream here."

Gauging the reactions, I turned to Elena and Sis.

"You two wanna give it a shot?"

"I'm not great at peeling apples... but I'll try."

"I'll do it!!!"

I set out new cutting boards and knives for them. Bought two apples and placed them in front.

"Here goes."

Elena and Sis gripped their knives and started peeling.

Elena went slow and careful, but the result was so-so despite her effort. Sis was fast alright... but her apple was now tiny.

"How's that!"

"G-Good job."

I had to praise Sis as she proudly held out her apple.

"This is way harder than it looks. How'd you peel it so perfectly, Carrier-nim?"

"You just gotta do it a lot."

Feed the hero party for a year in another world while scrapping with monsters. Elena could probably nail it too.

"Alright, we've all confirmed ingredient prep works. Now for the most important part: taste testing."

Elena and the viewers alike would be unfamiliar with Flavor Link. This was a must to build credibility for the cooking stream.

"Hieeek…!"

Sis yelped at the taste test mention. Elena tilted her head at the sudden reaction.

"...Noir-nim? What was that all of a sudden?"

"Ah, n-nothing..."

Sis suddenly snapped back to normal. A check showed the Blessing of Courage had temporarily weakened.

'Reactions like that only come from crushing evil or overwhelming terror...'

Rare even on the battlefield, and here it was. Was yesterday that awful?

'Felt fine to me.'

Compared to eating that giant cockroach from the Evil Forest that devoured humans, it wasn't bad at all.

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Gulp—

Elena started looking nervous because of Sis. I smirked and pulled various seasonings from the cabinet.

"Wanna try this first?"

I scooped some honey onto a tiny spoon and held it out. They exchanged a quick glance before popping it in their mouths.

"Mm! It's sweet."

"Tasty!"

"How's it compare to real life?"

"I don't eat honey straight like this, but it feels the same?"

"Totally the same!"

Viewers voiced doubts at Elena's take.

The question dropped at the perfect moment, so I jumped in right away. Had to clear this up.

"Spot on. Flavor Link's default taste implementation is pretty bland."

Had to concede that much. Plenty of folks had tried it already.

"That's why I tweak the settings meticulously for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠each person. Lets me replicate near-real-life taste."

"For real? Custom settings per person? That's possible?"

"Yep. Sensory correction values. Ingredient reaction curves. Oral feedback coefficients. Environmental perception index. Taste synthesis matrix. Cognitive response filters. Tweaked 'em all."

"When'd you even...?"

"Started when I invited Elena-nim. Been working on it since then."

"No wonder you asked for access to personal settings! All makes sense now."

I smiled and nodded. That was one of the foundations I'd laid in advance.

Viewers were skeptical. I breathed a sigh of relief looking at chat.

'This much is a win.'

Everything I'd said up front was total BS. Just sounded good on the fly. But if it came off plausible, mission accomplished.

If viewers and streamers bought it? Good enough.

'Flavor Link company calling me out would suck, though...'

I'd deal with that if it happened. The stream right now was priority.

"Seems like you're mostly convinced, so shall we keep testing?"

"Sure."

Viewers still doubted, but I ignored it and pressed on with the stream.

'Still need to pull some aggro my way, though.'

Letting it sit might kill the vibe. Time to redirect attention.

"Plain testing'd be boring, right? That's why I prepared this! Taste Roulette!"

"Hieeeek!"

Elena and Sis gasped in shock.

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