Chapter 38: I still don’t know what kind of guy the room leader is lol

[lené]

[Viewer participation content]

[New Dimension | 17 viewers | 0:35:11]

Today, our destination was the highest and coldest mountain in Nibble Road, Rivagar.

“Inquisitor, it’s really cold. Are you sure this is right?”

And before we knew it, it was 7:30.

A total of 13 people gathered at the location I mentioned.

Considering there are 17 people watching the stream right now, that means everyone except for 4 showed up.

For some reason, my viewers were grumbling, but since they were still there, it seemed like they were just whining for the sake of it.

[Inquisitor: Shall we get going now?]

“I mean, you told us to gather, and here we are… but could you at least tell us what we’re going to do first?”

“It’s seriously too cold….”

– Why did so many of these idiots show up despite knowing the location lol

― Do you not know where Nibble Road is???

― Big props if you’re just chilling and enjoying the stream from the comfort of home lol

—Why exactly did you ask us to gather in Nibble Road?;

…Ah. Come to think of it, I told them to gather, but I never mentioned the destination.

[Inquisitor: You’re all watching the stream, right?]

The 13 people who had gathered all nodded at my question.

Good thing NewD voice chat is… off.

That’s a relief.

“…Uh, well. I’ll explain by talking then. Please don’t mute the stream sound. So, um, the place we’re going today is over there….”

Even though speaking in front of so many people made me nervous, I somehow managed to gesture towards Rivagar as I spoke.

Lolololololol

─Run while you still can, guys lol

The chat was flooded with laughter, and the viewers around me all sighed.

Why is everyone reacting so negatively?

They’re going to be so shocked when they see it in person.

“…Uh, is it okay if I go back now?”

“Oh, well…. Since you’re already here, you might as well come with us….”

“It’s just, I’m already too cold….”

Other people had been saying the same thing, and now this person too.

Honestly, I didn’t really get what was so cold about it.

Sure, it’s cold, but it’s not unbearable.

“…Is it really that cold here?”

– Why is this idiot asking such an obvious question

─Yes, it’s freezing cold, teacher

– Has anyone even made it to the top?

─A few Ontubers (Online Streamers) have climbed it before, from what I know

– Less than 10 lol

– A ton of people tried but gave up because it was too cold lol

“……You all really lack perseverance. To be honest, this isn’t even that cold….”

I can guarantee that the eastern snowy mountains, where I fought dragons, are at least twice as cold as this.

Plus, NewD has a sensory-blocking system, so I really don’t get why people are saying it’s that cold.

─Is she actually crazy?

─ “Even with maximum sensory suppression, it’s freezing. What’s going on?”

─ “Well, Niblood’s sensory suppression doesn’t fully work, does it?”

─ “What?”

─ “Yeah, the manufacturer officially acknowledged it.”

─ “Stop acting tough.”

“It’s not acting tough, it’s really not that cold for me…”

“Excuse me, Lene?”

While I was chatting and looking at the screen, someone suddenly spoke to me from behind.

“Whoa?!”

I flinched in surprise, but then remembered that everyone here was a fellow fan of my stream.

Yeah. It’s fine.

They don’t know who I am, and my face is covered, so they don’t even know what I look like.

They’re people who like my stream and came to see me.

“Uh, yes…?”

“The sensory suppression system… what level is it set to?”

And as he awkwardly smiled and asked, I answered honestly.

“Oh, I didn’t turn it on at all…”

“Come on, don’t joke around.”

“Stop pretending to be so tough.”

─ “Lying only works if it’s reasonable, Lene. LOL”

─ “You could’ve said it was at level 3, and we’d believe you.”

But for some reason, no one seemed to believe me. Then, a good idea came to mind, and I made a proposal.

“…Everyone, there are 13 people here, excluding me, which means 4 people are watching the stream but didn’t come in person…”

“Right?”

“So, how about I prove right here that I really don’t have any sensory suppression on, and if I’m telling the truth, the 4 people who haven’t shown up yet should join us? And those here, you can’t back out midway…”

“And if it’s turned on?”

“I’ll buy chicken for everyone watching the stream…”

─ “20?”

─ “Haha, if that’s the deal, I’m in!”

─ “Even if it’s on level 1, I won’t forgive you!”

─ “I’m out.”

Three people in the chat, except for ‘Lynel,’ agreed, and when I looked around, the 13 people gathered here also nodded their heads.

Well, it’s not like they’d lose anything by accepting.

Even the person who said they wanted to leave earlier was now mingling with the others, united by the promise of free chicken.

“Then, except for Lynel, the other three, please write your nicknames in the chat…”

With the bet set, I opened the game menu UI and hovered my finger over the settings tab.

“You’ve all been watching, so you can see I haven’t messed with anything, right?”

─ “It’s not too late to back out, LOL.”

─ “If you stop now, we’ll settle for a chicken raffle.”

─ “I’ll take golden olive chicken, Lene.”

They were already certain of their victory.

I resolved to personally teach them the truth.

So, I firmly pressed the game settings tab, and at the very top, as expected, was the sensory deprivation system.

[Sensory Deprivation]

(Level 0 (Off))

And, of course, it was displayed as Level 0 (Off).

This was proof that it was turned off.

“…Huh?”

-???

-No way

The air of confusion was palpable, even through the chat.

See, I told you from the beginning, why not just believe me?

I don’t lie about things like this.

-These guys still don’t know what kind of person the room host is, lol

As one of my very first regular viewers, Lynel had completely figured me out by now.

In any case, except for Lynel, who was the sole survivor, the Rivagarde expedition team was complete, consisting of 17 members, including me.

Well, it’s more like a brief hike than an expedition, so the word “expedition” might be a bit much.

After realizing that the viewer participation content was located in Nibrod, he had absolutely no intention of joining it.

There were two reasons for this:

The first was that he knew how cold Nibrod was.

The second was that his main character in NewD was a priest.

[Sensory Deprivation]

(Level 0 (Off))

However, lured by the promise of chicken, he was half-forced into joining the journey to Nibrod, something he absolutely did not want.

“Seriously, what should I do….”

It wasn’t that he didn’t have alternate characters, but their specs were embarrassingly weak, and this became a matter of pride for him.

Of course, neither Lene nor anyone else cared, but men’s pride tends to manifest in pointless places no one else is concerned about.

“Screw it.”

In the end, he decided to go with his main character, the priest.

In the battle between rationality and pride, pride emerged victorious.

‘Whatever, it’s not like I wanted to go in the first place, and they’re the ones dragging me along, so what do I care?’

Having rationalized his decision, he logged into NewD with his priest and headed straight for Nibrod.

The fact that he was the first to give in for the chicken was already lost in the recesses of his memory.

[…Huh? You’re a heretic?]

And shortly after arriving in Nibrod, he heard Lene’s voice over the stream, which sounded like she was slightly laughing, as a warhammer swung at him.

Clang!

(Dead)

It didn’t take long for his head to be crushed.

[Ah, since you’re a heretic, I’ll give you a 3-minute ban….]

And Lene, ever thorough, delivered the final blow of confirmation.

Who would have thought the last viewer to arrive would be a heretic?

Such a shame.

Well, after smashing his head in for good measure, all that’s left is for him to repent on his own.

“Hmm… So excluding the heretics, the total number of people including me is 16, right? Just in case, I went ahead and invited all 15 others to the party. Luckily, there weren’t any heretics trying to deceive me by changing their appearance.

‘We’re about to leave soon, so I’ll hand these out first…’

What I handed them was a consumable item called ‘Skadi’s Tears.’ Nibleroad, due to its cold winds, sometimes causes a status effect called ‘frostbite.’ This ‘Skadi’s Tears’ is a consumable that cures frostbite and grants frostbite immunity for 30 minutes.

Honestly, it’s a bit strange to get frostbite when it’s not even that cold, but I guess that’s just part of the game system.

‘Before we actually head out, if anyone has any last questions, feel free to ask…’

It was the Magic Swordsman, Rebung, standing to my left, who raised their hand.

‘Uh, yes. “Arang” …?’

‘……Are you really not cold? Or does that full body armor of yours have some sort of cold immunity effect?’

Other Rebungs also looked at me with suspicion-filled eyes. Have they been deceived their whole lives? I’m seriously not cold, I swear.

…Of.

‘How about you all try turning off your sensory settings like I did…? I’m really not lying, it’s not that cold…….’

Then,

‘Sorry….’

─Kekekekekekekeke, you really are a crazy bastard.

Why……