Chapter 32

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Translator: True Detective

Chapter: 32

Chapter Title: Poisoned Chalice

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1.

After finishing breakfast, I jumped straight into streaming. Sis insisted on handling the dishes, so I happily left it to her.

'She even said she'd clean up herself. She's improved a lot in just a few days.'

She might still be gloomy when I'm not around. Still, I'd take it as a sign she was healing, little by little.

I read through the incoming chats one by one while waiting. Once enough people had joined, I turned on my mic.

"Ahem. Nice to see you all again today."

The viewers' questions had me pondering for a moment before I replied.

"Nothing much to do, honestly. College is on hiatus. No friends in Korea. My only hobby is The Legendary Arena, and streaming it beats playing solo."

While scanning the chats, a question about Sis popped up.

"Sis? She's living the dream lately. We started living together recently, and I handle all three meals plus cleaning."

Jealous reactions poured in. I smirked and said,

"You guys watching right now are probably living the exact same life as her. Can't figure out why you're jealous."

"Almost said that~ Nah. You guys are all slacking off at work, stealing wages to watch, right? Right?"

I chuckled at the reactions. Fun crowd to tease. We were having a chill back-and-forth when...

The chat flooded with malice of all kinds. I insta-banned them on sight.

The sudden spam threw even the regular viewers off.

"Looks like they planned it in some community or group chat."

Sis had already filled me in that morning, so no surprise. Even if she hadn't, it wouldn't change much.

"If you're gonna incite and fabricate crap, at least get your stories straight, right?"

Concentrating fire in one direction would've been way more effective. Why spout totally different nonsense?

"Oh, I knew they were trash-talking me there already. No clue why I rubbed them the wrong way though..."

Not that I planned to understand in the first place.

Just as humans can't grasp demon logic, malice-filled folks were beyond me.

"Provoke all you want—no cooking streams anytime soon. Even if there are, not the way you want."

No change of heart there. Ever.

"Viewers spiking? Guess the drama drew a crowd."

Follow restrictions kept chat quiet, but numbers don't lie. This many at morning? All controversy chasers.

Hacks. Proxies. Smurfing.

Nobody serious believed that crap.

VR systems made hacks and proxies impossible from the start. Smurfing? Freshly placed account—no doubt.

One reason folks gathered:

—'Is she really that good?'

Curious if I backed the hype. Especially as a girl.

This was my showcase. Nail it, and I'd gain real followers.

'And that's my strongest suit.'

I smirked and launched The Legendary Arena. Showtime.

"No fluff—watch what happens when a Challenger drops to Masters."

*

2.

'What the heck is going on here?'

Yura was utterly confused. She'd just woken up early for once and started her Arena stream.

Suddenly viewers swarmed in, turning her into the VTuber world's hope and hero—without her even knowing why!

"I dunno why I'm suddenly the hero da yo. What happened da yo? Is it okay for a Japanese girl like me to be Korea's hero da yo?"

Confused but trying to grasp it, Yura soldiered on.

The chat had turned into a battlefield. Her manager was working ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠overtime, but the horde was too much.

"Dunno why you're here, but thanks for coming da yo! First time with this many viewers—feels amazing da yo!"

Staring at the frenzy, Yura giggled. Her Korean sucked, so details escaped her, but the hype felt good!

A loyal fan's quick rundown helped, but it mixed with the chaos and twisted things.

"Got it da yo! Enemy jungler's that bad streamer da yo! You want Yura to punish her da yo!"

Fans and trolls went wild. Some cheered, others despaired.

"Too fast to read da yo. Calm down a bit da yo..."

The speed spooked her—a VTuber averaging 80 viewers couldn't handle this.

'This is my chance da yo...!'

She bounced in excitement. Over a year of scraping by—finally, a breakout!

"Believe in me everyone da yo!"

Yura daydreamed: Carry hard, bask in worship!

"Hehe..."

Imagination alone thrilled her; reality would be even better!

"I'll punish her da yo...!"

Oblivious to grasping a poisoned chalice, Yura queued up.

*

Yura stared blankly at the blazing nexus.

Engulfed in red flames, it crumbled slowly. The heat melted surrounding snow, turning the ground to slush.

Standing there dazed as chats rolled in, Yura bit her lip and typed.

Her Korean was rough, but she knew it was all hate. Still, her bad play lost the game—she apologized.

'Good words in, good words out... right da yo?'

But only curses came back. Worse was her stream chat.

Mockery and contempt. Blatant curses. Yura hung her head.

"Sorry da yo... Really sorry da yo..."

Bombarded by hate, she lost her composure.

Her body trembled. On the verge of passing out, but duty held her.

"N-Next time I'll do better da yo! Keep watching da yo!"

Forcing a smile, she tried brightness. Reality stayed ice-cold.

Over 1,000 viewers vanished instantly. Back to normal—no, worse.

Price of the poisoned chalice.

"......Gonna end stream for today da yo."

She'd planned to keep going. But the drop shocked her into quitting.

"I-I'm fine da yo. J-Just tired da yo... S-See you tomorrow da yo..."

Chat gone, her forced smile crumbled. Tears streamed down.

'Just work hard, right da yo?'

Even as a lowbie streamer, hard work would shine eventually—or so she believed.

Reality was a sewer.

A year's fans scattered. Her heartfelt stream used like a rag and tossed.

Everything she trusted, denied.

Could she stream happily now? Doubtful. Today's views and venom would haunt her.

Never dreamed her casual morning stream—for viewer joy—would end like this.

'What do I do now da yo...'

Alone in a foreign land, Yura lost it all. No path forward, no anchor. Just homesickness and deep scars.

But she didn't know. This was a new opportunity.