Chapter 57: “Now, Kill Each Other”

Reality often falls short of imagination.

The real-life appearance of a no-cam streamer, the face of someone known only by their voice, or the identity of a popular female gallery user—none of these ever quite match expectations.

There’s a reason the physical appearance of virtual YouTubers (VTubers) is often called the “red pill.” Truth, by its very nature, has a way of cruelly betraying people’s expectations.

Faced with the choice between a painful, chaotic truth and a peaceful, satisfying lie, some individuals stubbornly embark on a quest for the truth despite everyone urging them not to.

Historically, such explorers were destined for disappointment.

The utopia they sought never existed in the first place.

Those who claimed to have discovered One Piece often found Pandora’s box instead.

It was a gamble with incredibly low odds to begin with.

An old-school player of an obscure game, the founder of a male-dominated online community, a mysterious figure obsessed with Camilla to a suspicious degree, the ambassador of a dying game, and an immortal ranker—these were the titles associated with one individual.

The odds of someone fitting all these descriptions being a woman, let alone a beauty, were astronomically low.

Even Yushia, herself a rarity as a female gallery user and moderator, was nothing compared to Kayak.

Thus, Yushia didn’t hold any particular expectations.

High expectations often lead to greater disappointment, so she deliberately avoided imagining Kayak’s appearance before their meeting.

As a fan, Yushia had always half-idolized Kayak, and it was no easy task to suppress her curiosity.

She had often wondered about Kayak’s looks and voice since the days when they created the gallery together and Kayak streamed without a mic or camera.

It was an embarrassing memory.

Looking back, it felt akin to a one-sided crush or the kind of meaningless daydreams common during youth.

But that was a long time ago.

Since discovering Kayak was a woman, Yushia had moved past those feelings.

In any case, as a fan, Yushia resolved not to show any disappointment if Kayak’s appearance didn’t match her expectations.

More accurately, there was no reason to be disappointed.

Yushia didn’t like Kayak for superficial reasons.

Though Kayak’s voice had turned out to be exceptionally captivating, Yushia had been a fan since the no-cam, no-mic days.

She prided herself on being different from the countless new fans who had recently appeared, mesmerized by Kayak’s voice or physique, only to claim fandom while polluting the gallery with inappropriate comments.

Yushia was confident she wasn’t like them.

Unlike those who formed shallow attachments based on appearances, she had admired Kayak’s essence long before the world noticed her.

But now, face-to-face with Kayak, Yushia realized how meaningless those concerns and that pride had been.

All she could do was stare in a daze.

Who was this woman?

What was this appearance?

The more she looked, the more amazed she became.

Kayak bore a striking resemblance to Camilla, yet upon closer inspection, she was distinct—a real-world manifestation of Camilla, as if the character had been perfectly adapted to reality.

“–Miss? … Are you okay?”

Completely lost in her admiration, Yushia hadn’t even noticed Kayak calling her name.

“Miss Yushia!”

“Y-Yes?”

Startled, Yushia snapped out of her reverie when Kayak leaned in close and called her name.

“Are you feeling unwell? Your face is red.”

“No, I’m fine… Yes…”

Yushia nodded slightly to Kayak, who was looking at her with a worried expression.

Even though nothing had happened yet, the meeting with her idol was already a success.

“So, you’re a woman, Yushia? I had no idea.”

“Yes… I thought you were a man, Kayak.”

“Jae joon is surprising too. I had heard that you worked on video-related tasks with Siyeon.”

“Yes, that’s right! I majored in that field in college.”

Yushia, with a somewhat dazed expression, and Kim Jae joon, who responded with stiff answers, both looked nervous.

Their states didn’t seem very good, as though they were both on edge.

As soon as I finished my question, an awkward silence followed.

This wasn’t even a formal question, just something I asked out of curiosity. It seemed they took it as the signal to start a formal interview.

Honestly, I wasn’t planning to have an actual interview. I was just trying to get a sense of these two by talking about random things.

But whether it was because they were nervous or simply because of their personalities…

Now that I think about it, Kim Jae joon had been the same last time I saw him.

Even now, both of them were avoiding eye contact with me while answering, and whenever I tried to make eye contact, their pupils would tremble and subtly roll around.

Why are they acting like this?

If this were a big corporate interview, both of them would have been disqualified right away.

I’m not exactly outgoing either, but these two seemed even more shy than I am.

I had planned to lighten the atmosphere before moving on to a conversation about editing, but…

“When did you both start watching my streams?”

“I’ve been watching since the first stream. Well, not the very first one, but the one after you returned.”

“I’ve been watching since the very first stream.”

“Hmm, I see.”

That sentence was followed by another awkward silence.

This was just a question I threw out because I didn’t have anything else to say, but Kim Jae joon, whose streaming history was shorter, looked uncomfortable, while Yushia seemed smug.

Maybe I should just have a drink?

People often bond easily with the help of alcohol.

Sitting side by side, having a drink or two, letting their eyes or tongues loosen, and showing each other ridiculous sides they wouldn’t normally reveal.

Even someone who is naturally taciturn would end up sharing a few things they’ve been holding back, caught up in the mood.

Of course, as the mood rises, voices tend to get louder, and arguments can happen often, but that’s a risk worth taking since the advantage of easily becoming friends is overwhelmingly large.

Should I really just go for it?

I was tempted, but I quickly snapped out of it.

After all, what had happened recently to cause such a mess? How could I already be dealing with this kind of temptation? This wouldn’t do.

I clicked my tongue in frustration. The two of them were trying not to look at me, but I could feel their eyes sneaking glances.

It was unfortunate, but I decided against drinking. Having asked all the usual questions, it was time to move on.

I suddenly stood up and asked,

“You both play Abyss, right?”

“…You want me to have a 1v1 with Camilla against this person?”

Yushia looked at Kim Jae joon once and then at me, as if asking if she had understood correctly.

I smiled at her, nodding in affirmation.

We were at a PC cafe near the cafe.

Since it was a busy afternoon in the downtown area, the place was crowded.

It was so crowded that we almost couldn’t find three available seats next to each other.

Fortunately, we were able to find a spot and sit down.

After confirming that there was nothing wrong with the mouse and keyboard at our seats, I explained to both of them the reason we came to the PC cafe.

“Does the winner become the editor or something?”

“Not exactly, but in my mind, they get a little extra points.”

“Isn’t that the same thing…?”

“So, it’s like ‘kill each other’ from now on. Understood.”

Honestly, both of their editing skills were similar, and in that case, I had no choice but to choose the person who clicked with me better.

This Camilla 1v1 match was meant to determine which one of them was more in tune with me.

I always believed that there were no bad people among those who liked and played Camilla well.

I was trying to find out who the better Camilla player was in this opportunity.

I had just secured my seat and started watching both of their screens.

“Oh, Platinum. Kim Jae joon, what’s your most played hero?”

“I play a lot of Renok.”

“Hmm, Renok…”

I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

Even now, he was playing something like Renok.

I had made it clear in the tournament that Renok was an inferior hero compared to Camilla.

“…Didn’t you also play Renok in the tournament?”

“It was for performance, and my main is Camilla. You saw that too, right?”

“I main Camilla!”

In contrast, Yushia proudly showed me her screen.

It didn’t seem like she was lying when she said she mained Camilla, as her entire match history was filled with Camilla.

“Oh… you really played a lot. But…”

For some reason, her match history was stained with red, like blood.

How many losing streaks is this?

“Hehe… It’s part of the grinding process. You even said on your broadcast that Camilla is difficult when you first start.”

“But you said you main her.”

“Well, now I do! This season, I’ve played her the most!”

Yushia straightened her shoulders with a confident posture.

Indeed, her record of playing Camilla dozens of times was impressive.

She practiced after watching my broadcast.

“Do you think you can win, Kim Jae joon? She’s Platinum, you know?”

“If it’s a Camilla mirror match, I might have a chance, right?”

There was a significant tier difference between them.

Yushia was Silver, and Kim Jae joon was Platinum.

However, Yushia’s point made sense.

This wasn’t a ranked game, just a simple 1v1.

As the designated character for the 1v1 was Camilla, Yushia, who had been playing Camilla until recently, would likely handle her much better.

Hmm, even though I set this up, it could turn out to be a close match.

I happily began watching their match.