SWNOVELXO Chapter 220
A girl with a very unique pink hair color and eye color.
Of course, pink is unique, but it’s not a completely invisible color.
It was a color sometimes seen in celebrities who needed to flaunt their uniqueness or those who just loved to dress up.
So, the masses, accustomed to all sorts of hair colors, didn’t pay much attention to the girl…
…they definitely shouldn’t have.
People who accidentally stumbled upon the post were too busy admiring the photo attached to the text.
Her hair flowed down to her waist.
The sunlight hitting the lightening pink hair at the ends shattered into sparkles, making her hair glow even brighter.
Even though it was a still photo, her hair looked so natural it almost seemed to ripple.
There was a magical charm about it that couldn’t be achieved through dyeing.
Next, people’s eyes landed on her gaze.
As vibrant as her hair, the lively pink eyes made everyone gasp in awe.
And once they noticed that, how could they not take in her face?
Her features were perfectly cute with a tiny nose and mouth clustered together.
Who could say that her face, with its lazy eyes, baby fat that hadn’t yet vanished, and round cheeks, was anything but adorable?
And then, as the icing on the cake, the moment someone caught a glimpse of a faint smile hidden beneath her cold, expressionless facade—
‘…Should I take a longer look?’
Even those who entered the post with no intention began to think carelessly like that.
Going further, those who found her intriguing… but hadn’t played Silia Online, or if they did, weren’t interested in game topics, were curious about the girl’s identity.
-Who’s this girl??
-A child actress?
-Wow, she’s got the vibe…
-If my sister looked like that, I’d share my chicken leg in a heartbeat.
And then they faced the truth.
What? Silia Online? What’s that?
…A virtual reality game? An NPC from that game?
Her name is what? Canaria? Isn’t that a bird’s name?
And so on.
Hearing that she was an NPC in a game made her surreal appearance make sense, yet there was an unavoidable feeling of disappointment in one corner of their hearts.
However, their interest didn’t vanish completely, so they consumed the content of the post, swallowing their regrets.
Along with the photo came a video.
The girl in the video was undoubtedly the same girl from the photo, Kana.
She was wielding a sword, as big as her own body, possibly even larger, against strange monsters.
It looked so precarious that it seemed odd if she didn’t get swallowed in one bite…
Swoosh!
Surprisingly, the victor of the fight was always the little girl, Kana.
Every time Kana swung her sword, sending pink sword energy scattering, the heads of the monsters flew into the sky, while the razor-sharp claws that could easily shred her skin stayed eerily silent.
Her movements were as light as cutting paper with scissors, yet the outcomes were anything but.
As people gawked at Kana’s prowess, a strange sensation washed over them.
‘…I feel like I’ve seen this somewhere before?’
Déjà vu is when you feel like you’ve experienced something never before, as if you’ve already been in that exact situation.
So what brushed through people’s minds was not déjà vu.
Because the reason they felt that way was that they were recalling something they had actually seen.
-Oh?
-Huh?
A mysterious phenomenon appeared above Seoul.
An individual casually turned a giant arm protruding from a veil covering the blue sky into cube steak.
Thanks to that, those watching below were suddenly bombarded by chunks of meat falling from the sky, but no one could complain about it.
Once the incident ended, the figure vanished, and who could they even complain to if they didn’t know who it was?
Even if they wanted to ask if someone knew about this phenomenon, they couldn’t because it had turned into a huge topic of conversation alongside the odd event…
-Isn’t it a bit… similar?
The face wasn’t visible.
Her distinct hair was hidden under a hood pulled low.
However, the pink sword energy launching toward the arm and the petite figure that seemed like it could be held in one arm overlapped with the girl in the video.
People who realized this divided their reactions into two main camps.
-That’s pushing it too far.
-Overboard much?
-An NPC has appeared in reality? Are you guys nuts??
-Weren’t they already dead?
Responses against the idea and responses for it.
-So, monsters appearing makes sense?
-In a situation like this, there are still people nitpicking about realism.
-Some think they’re the only ones being rational in the world.
-If they made an NPC, why wouldn’t they be able to revive it?
There were differing opinions, and the people fiercely bit back at each other, as if it was their duty to overpower the opponent.
However.
The camp that found it ludicrous and the camp that believed in its possibility encountered unexpected news.
This news appeared in a community primarily focused on streamers.
───
[Just a random thought…]
Doesn’t Joanie have a cousin?
Am I the only one who finds that strange?
It’s weird that a cousin who had never been mentioned suddenly appears, and it’s odd that someone who was mentally broken and took a break for days suddenly came to their senses.
Even if the cousin comforted her since childhood, does that really make sense?
If that were easy, the number of depression patients would have halved by now.
And I just remembered, a few weeks back, there was that bait going around.
The post where someone claimed they saw their cousin and posted a picture?
Weren’t the eyes in that photo pink too?
Back then, it was concluded to be nonsense, but looking back now… hmmm…
Moreover, if you’ve watched Joanie’s streams often, you’d know that the way she talks to her cousin is similar to how she talks to Kana;
Could it be that Joanie already knew?
───
A post raising suspicions about streamer Joanie.
This lengthy post picking apart things Joanie had forbidden mentioning would have been cut off in her fan cafe in no time, but since it wasn’t posted there, it maintained its place safely.
───
[Comments]
-Can I get a three-sentence summary?
┗Could you at least read this much?
┗Waaaah, I can’t read! ‘Summary plz!’
┗(Wow, what the heck)
-You’ve written a whole lot of nonsense.
┗The best evidence you have is they sound similar when speaking, lol.
┗Does that mean you’re the same person if you talk the same way to Cheolsu and Younghee? lol.
┗Oh… this is a bit interesting.
┗?
-So, what’s the conclusion? Cousin = Kana?
┗(Yeah, yeah)
-Theory crafting!
-In the past, I would have called this nonsense… but why does it sound persuasive now?
┗I agree;
───
Even if there are quite a few users, a community is still a community.
The sparks that arose there seemed far too weak to become the mainstream opinion, but—
The sparks were definitely growing, little by little.
And the first place it caught fire was in a fan cafe of a certain streamer.
The one who had the closest relationship with Kana…
And the main character of the text.
Joanie.
In her fan cafe, the flames of speculation ignited.
Da-eun witnessed the flames blazing in her home.
* * *
She decided to let things flow without intervening.
A considerable time passed, and when Edel returned after a talk with the manager, she shared thoughts almost identical to what she had previously stated.
I was a bit puzzled by her stance.
“Didn’t Earthlings create Silia as a game to nurture the strength to fight dimensional beings?”
“And to diminish their power in the process.”
“So then, why haven’t they executed it yet?”
I’d heard that the plan was to implant the power derived from the fake body used to access the Silia world into the original physical form.
But even though things had spiraled out of control, Edel shook her head.
“…Don’t tell me they’re still not ready.”
“How long have they been preparing? Surely that can’t be the case… Hmm. No, you might be right, they could still be underprepared.”
“What are they doing?”
“I’m referring to the preparations on the human side.”
“…?”
Do people have things to prepare?
In response to the questioning look, Edel sincerely complied.
“It means the situation hasn’t ripened yet. The awakening we had in mind was for a situation more grave than this.”
“…Won’t that be too late? People need time to adapt.”
“Even so, right now is still too soon.”
Edel’s demeanor was resolute.
“If they suddenly gain power, will they really unite? No. They’d certainly be too busy bickering and fighting among themselves with their new strength.”
“….”
“Do you know what the most effective way for humans to strengthen their internal cohesion is? It’s by creating an enemy. A common foe that they can all loathe, detest, and battle against. That’s how human societies have operated.”
“So? What are you trying to say?”
“I already told you. It’s too early.”
When the invasion by the dimensional beings begins in earnest, they won’t be able to face opposition unless they unite. Rather than fighting among themselves, they’ll have to struggle to survive against an external threat. That’s when the time will be ripe, according to Edel.
“Sure, there will be people who die from not adapting, but honestly, this way might minimize casualties. They’re not likely to stop squabbling and join forces if the third party shows up.”
“…You’ve got a point.”
I couldn’t refute that claim.
When you think rationally, it’s obvious that they should cease fighting immediately and band together against outsiders. But people don’t always think rationally.
What caused the astronomical damage during the first race war was precisely because they never ceased their infighting even when the demon race invaded.
I guessed that not revealing all the facts was probably for the same reason.
“Can’t you do something with your powers? Like altering perceptions?”
“You think powers are omnipotent?”
“?”
Aren’t gods supposed to be omnipotent?
“Even just synchronizing the physical forms is an incredibly resource-consuming task. I’d say we might be paralyzed for a while. There’s obviously no spare time for such things.”
“Ah, I see.”
That made sense.
It wasn’t just a matter of shortening what Silia’s people had worked decades or even a lifetime to achieve into mere months. Transferring that newfound strength back into their true physical forms wouldn’t be easy either.
Wouldn’t it be a problem if they messed up and their bodies just went *boom*?
“Well, I guess Edel will figure something out.”
I had asked everything I wanted to know.
One lingering wish remained; to see the face of that god called the Manager, but Edel dissuaded me.
Unlike her lamentable self, the Manager possessed complete divinity, so she didn’t recommend meeting them directly.
Even if I did meet them, nothing weird would likely happen, but since they didn’t particularly want to cross paths, I gave up.
I wouldn’t want to force a meeting with someone who didn’t want to see me…
As I was getting ready to leave, Edel looked at me and suddenly asked a question.
“What are you planning to do?”
“Well… I thought I’d consider a few options.”
I shrugged.
“First, I want to have a chat.”
Just like Edel has the Manager, I have Da-eun, a wonderful ally by my side.
“…Pfft!”
As I answered, for some reason, Edel burst out laughing.
“…Why are you laughing?”
She couldn’t seem to contain her laughter.
When I shot her a disapproving glare, her laughter began to die down gradually.
“I just found it funny.”
“So what’s funny?”
Does this diva of a deity not understand what I’m asking?
As my gaze sharpened, Edel waved her hands frantically.
“The way you referred to that girl as your ally. It made me think how much you depend on her.”
“…I’m not depending on her; I’m just asking for her opinion. Maybe she’ll have a great idea that I wouldn’t think of.”
“Sure, sure.”
This is not what I meant.
“That’s not it.”
“I got it. Who’s questioning you?”
“…Hmph. I’m leaving.”
“See ya~”
She waved her hand as if to send me off.
I scoffed and turned my back on that gesture, leaving the office…
“…By the way.”
-I peeked my head back in.
“Is there a vehicle I could ride?”
Thinking back, I had come all the way here bare-handed.
I could go back the same way, but I felt like it would turn into a hassle…
Riding a taxi in this situation would be quite a commotion as well.
Doesn’t the company have something like a company car…?
So I asked.
“…Ahaha, ha!”
All I received in return was a hearty laugh.
…This is really annoying.