Chapter 17: A cold is just a nuisance.

A week had passed since the collaboration restriction was lifted.

During that time, I had three more collab streams with Tsupi, and now, I could collaborate with other members from different cohorts as well.

However, before I even got the chance to do that, a new event had popped up.

Just before midnight, after I had ended my stream, I received a message from Tsupi.

[Tsupi: Wanna take a look at Cream?]

[Muil: ? Uh, yeah, sure.]

Curious, I logged into Cream, only to be greeted by the profiles of numerous members.

That was the main screen. But what I was supposed to check was somewhere else.

<Season 4 Märchen (Mining Craft) KR Märchen Playground Server>

[Apply for Playground]

[Playground Preliminary Information]

A small notification for this event was tucked away in the bottom-left corner of the screen.

“Oh, right. This was a thing, wasn’t it?”

KR Märchen hosted large-scale content events twice a year—once in the first half and once in the second half.

That meant, twice a year, comprehensive game servers were opened for a month each time.

This time, the event was centered around Mining Craft, a game that was globally popular—better known as Mark.

[Muil: But can I even join this?]

[Tsupi: Why wouldn’t you be able to? As long as you meet the requirements, anyone can join.]

[Tsupi: It’s written in the preliminary details. Go check it out.]

[Tsupi: And don’t worry too much. If they don’t let you in, I’ll go protest.]

[Muil: Please don’t do that…]

Well, since it seemed possible, I decided to skim through the preliminary details.

[Guidelines]

[Requirements]

[Server Manual]

[Item Tier List & Explanation]

[Jobs & Hidden Job Conditions (Undisclosed)]

I clicked on the Requirements section.

[Requirements]

• Basic Requirements for Playground Participation:
  • Minimum 30,000 YouTube subscribers or 5,000 Twitch followers.
• For KR Märchen-affiliated VTubers:
  • Each cohort selects one representative.
  • After selection, they can invite other members using General or Special Invitation Tickets.
• For Non-KR Märchen Streamers:
  • A maximum of 10 external streamers may join.
  • Must have at least 500,000 YouTube subscribers or 100,000 Twitch followers.
  • These streamers can also invite others using General or Special Invitation Tickets.
• The selected 10 external streamers must have a stable streaming schedule
  • Minimum 5 days of streaming per week required.

It seemed complex at first, but the system was actually pretty straightforward.

It might be fun to use a similar setup for Warrior’s Märchen later.

Now that I thought about it, didn’t this mean I could join without an invitation? Since each cohort had to pick a representative, and I was the only member from Cohort 11, I would automatically qualify.

‘If the server is too crowded at launch, managing it might be a nightmare.’

To be honest, I had never participated in a server event like this before, nor had I even watched any of them.

There were plenty of reasons, but the biggest one was that I had always been too busy with work.

Because of that, I had never seen any of the large-scale servers that KR Märchen had hosted, which meant I had no idea how things were run or how participants were selected.

“Well, since I’m the only one in Cohort 11, I just need to apply.”

Voting for myself and becoming the representative felt kind of weird.

But I had already met the requirements, so there wasn’t much for me to worry about.

‘So that means the initial number of participants will be 21.’

There would be 11 people from Cohorts 1 to 11 and 10 external streamers, making a total of 21 at the start.

Later, once all KR Märchen members joined and streamers invited their own guests…

‘…At least 100 people? No, probably several times more than that. Even for Märchen, managing that many people would be tough.’

Since I had never seen other Märchen servers before, it was hard to gauge how things would go.

But that wasn’t really something for me to worry about.

I just wanted to enter the server, farm peacefully, and enjoy a relaxing time.

But I wondered—was Tsupi planning to join too? Curious, I asked.

[Tsupi: The managers have to be on the operations team to manage the server…]

[Muil: That’s unfortunate.]

[Tsupi: ㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ]

Well, that’s how it was.

I had no choice but to heal and relax twice as much—for Tsupi’s sake too.

A few days after applying for the Playground Server, something happened.

Even though I could have done collaboration streams with my seniors during that time, I didn’t. Or rather, I couldn’t.

Why?

Sniff.

I caught a cold.

And not just any cold—a really nasty one.

Because of that, I ended up taking a break from both streaming and work. Normally, I wouldn’t stop just because of a cold, but Tsupi and Jiwoo insisted, practically forcing me to rest.

“I’m bored.”

My hoarse voice made me sound worse than I actually was, but in reality, I felt completely fine.

I didn’t have a fever, and my throat wasn’t sore. The only issue was my stuffy nose.

Every time I caught a cold, my sinus congestion would get worse, making it hard to breathe.

I wasn’t really sick, but at times like this, I kind of wished someone was around to keep me company.

That thought didn’t last long, though.

Knock, knock.

Hearing the knock on my door, I murmured a response and pulled my blanket over myself.

Then, a breathtakingly beautiful woman entered my room.

“I brought porridge, so sit up.”

“I don’t want to eat.”

“You need to eat if you want to feel better. Come on, sit up.”

“Ugh…”

As I sluggishly shifted in bed, my sister placed the packaged porridge on my desk and pulled me up.

Don’t ask me why my sister was here—I didn’t know either.

Two days ago, when I caught this cold and was lying in bed trying to sleep, someone suddenly opened my front door and walked in.

But I wasn’t particularly surprised. The only people who knew my house’s passcode were my family.

‘I don’t know why my sister is here, though.’

I had originally planned to visit them this time instead.

Anyway, after hearing that I was sick, she insisted on staying at my place. What if she caught my cold?

“You don’t even have money…”

“I have enough to buy a bowl of porridge, okay?”

I sniffled once and grumbled while staring at the packaging. She let out a teasing laugh in response.

Then, she pulled a small folding table from the corner, placed it on my bed, and started unwrapping the porridge.

“Open up.”

“I can eat by myself.”

“Just eat. My arm’s getting tired. Hurry.”

“…Ah.”

Honestly, this felt a bit awkward. I never thought of myself as particularly close with my sister, and we barely talked.

Maybe ten sentences a year, if even that.

When was the last time we had a phone call? I think it was two years ago.

That’s how little we interacted.

She held the spoon up to my mouth, and I hesitantly took a bite.

She flinched slightly, seeming surprised, but soon scooped up another spoonful and held it out again.

After a few more bites like that…

“I don’t want to eat anymore.”

“You’ve barely eaten half.”

“I’m full.”

“Eat a bit more. You’ll recover faster that way. Also, you need to gain some weight. You’re too skinny.”

Right. What felt the most awkward to me was my sister’s attitude.

I didn’t mind that she was in my house, but the way she kept giving me attention—it felt strange.

Were we ever this close?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t recall a time when my sister was this affectionate.

Thinking that, I took another bite from the spoon.

A few more bites later…

“I’m really full.”

“Your stomach is ridiculously small.”

I had eaten half of it—wasn’t that a lot?

Besides, the container was way too big in the first place.

My sister took the container away and returned shortly after.

“Get some more sleep. I saw some ginger in the fridge earlier. I’ll make you some ginger tea.”

With that, she left the room and closed the door behind her.

‘…What is going on?’

This unfamiliar side of my sister made me feel both awkward and uneasy.

They say people’s personalities change when they’re terminally ill.

Could it be that my sister…?

…No, that didn’t seem likely.

She was ridiculously healthy—someone who wouldn’t get sick easily.

I sighed internally and scratched my head.

Even though my body had changed, both sets of memories coexisted, and my environment remained the same.

Nothing about my memories had changed.

That’s what made this even more puzzling.

If it wasn’t because of my body changing, then why was she acting so differently toward me?

Could it be…

“Did she mature?”

“What did you just say?”

“…Nothing. Never mind.”

As I muttered with a serious expression, my sister was suddenly right in front of me.

When did she come back?

“Drink this.”

“Uh… Thanks.”

I took the glass she handed me and thanked her.

The ginger tea she made was much sweeter than I expected.

How much honey did she put in this?

Even so, I drank all of it.

If I left any, she’d probably nag me about it.

“Do you need anything else?”

“No, not really.”

“…I see.”

She gave me a look, as if scrutinizing me, and I turned my head slightly.

This was unbearably awkward.

“Lie down. I’ll help you sleep.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?”

“What did you just say? Nonsense? Just shut up and do it.”

What the hell was wrong with her?

I shot her a weird look, and she finally turned her head away.

“It’s just that… I want to get closer to you from now on.”

“Did you fail another exam?”

“You. Come here.”

Turns out, she was serious.

I had assumed she failed another civil service exam as a government job hopeful, but that wasn’t the case.

She genuinely wanted to get along with me.

“I found out last week that you’ve been sending us money. I just… felt bad.”

It seemed like there had been a misunderstanding between us all along.