SWNOVELXO Chapter 200
[Just Chatting – Good morning! Or maybe it’s a good lunch.]
[Broadcasting Time – 0:14:49]
[Number of Viewers – 22,920]
“Are you ashamed of the precious name given by your parents? Other people might laugh, but I don’t think you should think like that, even if it’s from Eunwoo Oppa.”
– Right, right! LOL
– Seriously, it’s so funny! LOL
– LMAO
– Dae-sal = Cha Eun-woo
– Wow, our room manager is so handsome!!!
– Jealous! Your name is cool too!
“Yeah, I’m… no, I’m super embarrassed… I feel like hiding in a mouse hole getting roasted in front of 20,000 people.”
“So you need to change that mindset. If you don’t believe in yourself, who will understand you? Eunwoo Oppa, do you have a girlfriend?”
– Oh, no!
– Gasp! Gasp! Gasp!
– A virgin! LOL
– Ugh, my stomach hurts! LMAO
– T_T
– Killing someone twice! T_T
– Is this pure evil? Is this pure evil? Is this pure evil?
– Ah, NoName is totally like Lucifer!
“Anyway, if you have a girlfriend in the future, you’ll be called by that name one day. You wouldn’t still want to be called Dae-sal then, right?”
After five minutes of preaching, the manager was dropped from the camera.
The phone camera was only broadcasting the bed I was sitting on, but there was one child interested in it.
“I want to see too!”
“I’m on air right now?”
“Then I can’t?”
“If you come here, all 20,000 people will be watching you.”
“Yeah, that’s fine with me!”
Yuna was a marvelous attention seeker.
The VIP bed was spacious enough for two kids to sit side by side.
Seo Maru lifted her under her armpits and safely helped Yuna get into the passenger seat.
“Wow! 20 thousand people are watching! Did you see, Na-me?”
“There’s no unit called ‘kilo people’!”
“Oh, really? Ooooh.”
“Cute, right? She’s my friend.”
“Uhhhhh! Aahhh! It hurts!”
The price of sitting in the passenger seat had to be paid properly.
I continued to pinch Yuna’s cheeks while waiting for more friends to come over.
“Oh, I can’t see the donation window right now, so I can’t reply. Sorry to anyone who has already donated, just in case.”
– Why is Na-me apologizing?
– Seriously, the kids are too cute T_T
– This is paradise!
– Mom, I want to go to elementary school!
– Day 1 of recruiting the red-haired friend streamer!!!
– Your hair is so pretty, Na-me’s friend!
“Oh, surgery? It wasn’t that big of a deal, I think. The doctor was so good that I feel fine now.”
– ?
– ???: 12-hour major surgery, can’t guarantee success.
– Truly, the streamer’s life is tragic T_T
– The happiness threshold is too low!
– ???: A first effort in Korea, medical team’s focus is at a crossroads.
– What kind of surgery was it?
If I had to pick one of the most amazing things about modern medicine, it would be that you don’t have to wait for the stitches to dissolve after sewing up a cut belly.
Unlike in my past life where doctors only dealt with medicine and wizards only handled magic studies, recognized Korean medical staff were also skilled in magic, so it was indeed possible.
I chatted with the kids and shared stories about what happened in the hospital during the broadcast.
Before I knew it, the rest of the friends also arrived.
“Hi…! Is Na-me really okay—”
“Hey! NoName! Wassup! Are you okay?”
The last to bring Ji-hye and Seo-ri was Detective Ma Beom-il.
He briefly met my gaze, then quickly turned away, as if he were carrying some guilt about me.
He instinctively took a cigarette out of his pocket, then remembered he was in a hospital and went outside.
At the same time, Director Park, reflected in the translucent glass, also vanished.
“Are you in a lot of pain? Are you really okay?”
“Yeah. Thanks for worrying, Ji-hye.”
“That’s a relief! Oh, and happy birthday!”
“Grattis på födelsedagen! Happy Birthday, NoName, hehe!”
“Is that Swedish? It sounds just like runes.”
“Yep! Totally magical, right?”
She clung to me for a long time, acting like she wouldn’t let go, but soon her attention shifted to the broadcast.
With so many chats, four screens displayed comments in parallel.
Kids with sharp eyesight read viewers’ comments carefully as if they were easy to read.
“No way! Na-me is the top of the entire school! Wow! But it’s actually not surprising.”
“No, listen closely, okay? Our academy test is really hard; you have to answer 20 multiple-choice and 5 short-answer questions in 30 minutes.”
“I know, I know. So you solved everything in less than 15 minutes, right?”
“Why aren’t you more surprised? Hurry up and be more amazed!”
“Wow, Na-me! Amazing!”
Yuna was explaining to Eun-woo how difficult the academy’s test was.
Perhaps not getting much of a reaction, Yuna returned to the repetitive loop and went back to the beginning.
After all, for a KAIMT graduate, an academy exam would probably be as easy as pie.
– Perfect score on the aptitude test? Whoa!
– This is crazy! LMAO
– How amazing is that?
– The Sephiron Academy is designed so that everyone scores around the low 40s on average for the aptitude test.
– It’s not even about getting everything right; it’s a time attack test!
– Ah, the aptitude test… Ah, memory assault… no, mom assault…
– Are they still doing that horrible ranking thing? Is this 21st-century human rights?
“Wow! Here’s our first-degree student!”
Especially since the kids had less opportunity to meet outsiders, the manager served as a perfect comedic relief in their conversations.
As a grad student, he also had knowledge of magic studies, so they were able to communicate very well.
“So what score did you get on the aptitude test?”
“I got 70 in elementary school.”
“Really?”
“Then I got 60 in middle school, 50 in high school, and… I messed up the KGSAT and had to retake it.”
“I can’t live like Eun-woo Oppa!”
“Hey, is that too harsh? Did it hurt?”
“Ha ha ha!”
Even Ji-hye, who usually didn’t speak much, was energetically sharing her school life stories.
Maybe Eun-woo himself just had an excellent personality for making friends.
By now, the abalone porridge was well on its way to being finished.
Feeling a bit bored, I hugged my knees and swayed back and forth, eavesdropping on my friends’ conversations along with the viewers.
– But wasn’t that guy with sunglasses by the door really a bodyguard?
– He’s from the academy’s elementary division, so 99% chance he’s from a wealthy family!
– Since Sephiron is in Gangnam District, it’s a 100% for sure!
– Poor Na-me can’t eat pizza, what now? T_T
– Get well soon so we can go eat something delicious later!
Drrrr
The hospital room door swung open fiercely, momentarily calming the chattering atmosphere.
“Na-me!”
“Yoon-seul! Welcome!”
“Seriously, you’re so skinny! Why are you so scrawny?”
“Wait, let me check your face…! Ah, is that sweat?”
I almost thought she was a beast the way she rubbed it upon meeting me.
“I thought I was going to die outside from the heat!”
“Just come in and let the air conditioner blow on you.”
“Hmm? Who’s that?”
As soon as Kariri entered, I clearly saw the grad student spring up from her seat.
“Oh, Cha Eun-woo—”
“Yes, hello, is this Kariri? I’m NoName’s manager, Daehagwonsaengsalryeo! Just as I heard, you’re so beautiful… wow… so beautiful, yes…!”
“Ah, yes…! I’m a bit shy naturally! It’s not that I pick and choose, so don’t misunderstand!”
“Oh, no, you don’t seem that way at all! Can I offer you a seat?”
“No, just sit comfortably…!”
While Eun-woo was overdoing it, another kid following Yoon-seul also came in.
This family had a generally superior appearance gene, still looking a bit young yet with a sharp impression.
He looked like he could charm girls regardless of age, but his speech was unexpectedly gentle.
“Hello…! Wow, I’m so nervous. Is this really NoName? No, of course, it must be… what am I saying… wait, should I speak formally or informally?”
“Is it Hoya Muya Ho?”
“Wow!”
The boy cupped his hands over his mouth, eyes wide open.
“Wow!”
If he had tears, it would have been a perfect moment, but it seems he didn’t have that talent.
“It’s okay to speak informally. So… Tae-yang Oppa?”
“No, is this right? I mean, is it right? It’s so awkward being called that!”
The reactions from those meeting me for the first time were all similar; since my avatar looked almost identical to my real-life self, it felt odd whether they treated me like in virtual reality or like a younger kid.
Anyway, after finishing the handshake with my first fan, Professor Cheon brought out the cake he had shown me just last night.
“Strawberry cake!”
“There are too many people, right?”
“I can only have one bite each, ha ha ha.”
“Wait, why are there only 8 candles? Can you believe this, viewers? I’m only 8 years old?”
There were really too many people.
Even though it was a VIP room costing hundreds of thousands of won per night, it seemed just this amount of people was enough to fill it up.
So perhaps that’s why I felt so good about it.
Even if someone offered me billions, I wouldn’t change the treasured relationships I had; everything gathered as one erased the solitude I felt when I first entered the room.
The academy friends were the ones placing the candles on the cake.
Professor Cheon handed each of the kids two candles and asked them to place them nicely.
True to their magic abilities, none of them did it carelessly.
“Seo-ri, a little more on the outside! No, left! Right!”
“Which way is left or right on a cake! There’s no direction on a cake!”
“If you plant it like that, you’ll ruin the cake! Please, slowly!”
Using a circular arrangement to keep the distances consistent, their earnest efforts to place the candles were too cute.
It reminded me of,
[Clauss, you’re definitely a man meant to wield only a sword. I said to stack wood for the campfire, not to smash the tree! If you had been born in Beaver World, it would have been a brutal execution.]
[Is it really so hard to stand the intact logs upright on the marked spot? Is it your eyes or your hands that are failing you? If you’re this senseless normally, heartless Hetaira will just run away without paying you?]
[Ugh, please just stay still! Then Sylvia, Remilia, do you want to do it? Huh? Do you want to do it? Why do you keep giving advice to the person working hard? Hey, Master! Now you finally understand how much madness I’ve lived through because of them?]
Thinking of those trivial times full of laughter made me feel nostalgic.
“Na-me! We’re all set!”
Sitting on the bed, lost in thought, the kids scrambled over to grab my wrist and led me to the table.
Meanwhile, others had drawn the curtains over the windows, turned off the lights, and lit the candles.
That’s when it really sank in.
Oh, it’s my birthday.
[The youngest princess of the great Kaizen! Happy ninth birthday to our Aesha!]
[Many, many congratulations!]
Even Hiasen and Niobe joined in.
[Wow, I can’t believe I keep track of these things. I almost forgot my own birthday. Hey! Happy thirteenth birthday? I’m sorry for being a little mean before.]
Even Maria-sensei, though a bit less straightforward.
[Anyway, it’s complete…! How’s that, Sensei? This would definitely be worthy of the name of a hero’s party, right?]
[This day has been ordained by Jehovah; on this day, we rejoice and be glad in it. Happy twentieth birthday, dear teacher.]
[Teacher or Mentor, whatever. I’m not good with words, but happy birthday and… thank you so much, sister. If it weren’t for you…]
Claus, Sylvia, and Remilia made a 30-meter bonfire out of an entire conifer tree just for me.
And if you combine that with various connections that aren’t in my current memory,
Looking back, it doesn’t seem like my past life was filled only with tragedies.
Is it too greedy to say this now?
There’s a saying that life is a tragedy when viewed up close, but a comedy from afar.
So keep the sad things away, and bring the happy things closer.
[Do you understand your sins?]
There are so many, but I think I understand at least one.
The fact that I made you, Hiasen, stain your hands with blood on my birthday.
[The last princess of the high Kaizen… Estasha Latias Kaizen’s twenty-fifth birthday… now cannot be celebrated…].
I’m always sorry. But look, I’m doing well like this.
“Na-me!”
Someone was calling me.
The fading consciousness returned.
It was a voice that brushed past my ears so fleetingly that I couldn’t discern the owner, but that didn’t matter much.
Keep the sad things away, and bring the happy things closer.
“Na-me! Happy eighth birthday!”
If I were NoName, I would live for myself, and if I were Estasha, I would live for you, NoName.
With a determination I wasn’t even aware of, I blew out the candles.