Chapter 23 : Are you stupid?

“… You live in a nice place, don’t you?”

That was the first thought Tuni had upon arriving at Renee’s apartment.

The transportation was convenient, the nearby amenities were close, and since the apartment building seemed newly built, it definitely looked clean and fresh.

“Didn’t she say she was trying out streaming because she needed money?”

At least from Tuni’s perspective, this was definitely not an apartment someone with financial issues could afford.

“…Well, I guess there’s a story behind it.”

However, Tuni kept those thoughts to herself and made a mental note not to bring it up since it could ruin the atmosphere. She continued walking.

Someone seemed to be moving in, as the entrance to the apartment complex was open, and there were a moving truck and a ladder truck parked in front. After passing through the entrance, she took the elevator and pressed the button for the 17th floor. In no time, the elevator arrived at the 17th floor.

The view beyond the railings was quite the treat for the eyes.

Ding dong~.

As she listened to the sound of the intercom, many thoughts ran through Tuni’s mind.

What kind of person would the Inquisitor… Lenee turn out to be?

Well, she’s definitely not going to be an ordinary person.

But aren’t streamers usually attention seekers with something a little off about them?

She didn’t know any streamers personally, but the corporate streamers she had studied were mostly like that.

So maybe someone who enjoys role-playing with such a concept could even be considered relatively normal.

No matter who comes out, don’t be surprised.

They might feel offended.

[Who is it?]

While thinking about all this, a lethargic-sounding female voice came from the intercom.

It was Lenee’s voice, which Tuni had heard a few times from Misscord and her streams.

“It’s Tuni… Jung Se-yeon. I told you I was coming today~.”

[Ah, okay…]

Click.

With that sound, the front door opened.

And what appeared before Tuni was a beautiful foreign woman.

“Oh, hello…”

“Hello? …Wait a second?”

Her long silver-white hair cascaded down to her hips, swaying softly as if well-maintained.

Her red eyes were so striking that they could almost be mistaken for rubies, and her flawless, lively skin radiated a bright atmosphere.

Despite wearing a casual outfit of a black short-sleeved top and dolphin shorts, she looked like she had put in a lot of effort.

Her appearance defied expectations.

Tuni could now clearly understand the meaning of the phrase “appearance makes believability.”

“So this is… the Inquisitor, huh?”

The same inquisitor from NewD, who smashes heads whenever she sees a priest or paladin?

Tuni had known she was a woman, but was this concept-obsessed inquisitor really this innocent-looking beauty?

“No way…”

Did I accidentally go to the wrong house?

With that thought in mind, Tuni pulled out her phone and opened Misscord.

[Inquisitor: XXX Apartment Complex 1, Building 103, Unit 1702]

“1702… that’s correct. Could I have come to the wrong building or unit? …No, this is definitely the right place.”

Just as Tuni’s head started to spin from the confusing situation,

“Um, are you Tuni?”

“Ah, yes?! I’m sorry!”

She… Lene… NewD’s “Inquisitor” called her by her streamer nickname.

It was as if she was telling her not to turn away from the truth.

“Uh, um… Excuse me, Inquisitor… I mean, Lene, right?”

“Yes, that’s right….”

She wished someone would tell her it was a lie. That was Tuni’s unfiltered, honest thought.

“Sis! When are you coming back?”

As Tunie continued to deny reality at the entrance, a little girl peeked her face out from a room inside. She had short, dark brown hair and big, bright eyes that were cute but looked nothing like Rene.

“Uh… Is she your sister?”

“She’s a girl from upstairs. I just watch over her for a bit when her parents are out….”

Well, that makes sense, Tunie thought, nodding her head. No matter how big the age gap was, they didn’t look alike at all.

And then—

“It’s the other way around, Lene! I’m the one watching over you!”

“…What?”

Tunie tilted her head, unable to understand the girl’s words.

“Oh, um… That’s because…”

“I come over because I get worried about you being alone, sis!”

The sincerity in the girl’s eyes was unmistakable as she said that.

Of course, it could just be a playful comment typical of kids her age, but to Tunie, those eyes didn’t seem like they were joking. And to make matters worse, Rene, the person in question, was flustered and couldn’t even properly respond.

…What kind of person is she, really?

Here was someone in NewD who was so extreme in her character that she hardly made sense, but in real life, she couldn’t even hold her own in front of a much younger girl.

There was no way not to be curious about her.

Tuni’s mind was slowly filling with confusion.

“Anyway, um, Bora. This is Tunie, she came to help me with some things today. Tunie, this is Bora, the girl I take care of during the day, like I said….”

“Hello! I’m Yu Bora, first grade at Areum Elementary School!”

“I’m Tunie. Nice to meet you, Bora. Let’s get along well from now on.”

“You can just call me Bora!”

“Alright, Bora. You can call me Tuni sis. Let’s take care of each other, okay?”

“Okay!”

Of course, Tunie kept her expression neutral.

She still didn’t fully understand the relationship between them, and she absolutely didn’t want this light conversation to turn into something serious.

Even though she was a small-time streamer, hiding her emotions after over three years of streaming wasn’t hard for Tunie.

But if she realized one thing for sure—

“I’ll go prepare some drinks… Please rest in the room for now….”

“Ah, okay. Thank you.”

—It was that the ‘Inquisitor’ from NewD and the real-life ‘Rene’… were worlds apart.

“Lene,sis! I’ll find out if Tuni sis is good or bad! You’re so innocent that you might have been tricked by someone strange!”

“Haha, okay…”

Not at all.

It was completely different.

“Tuni sis.”

“Yeah?”

“What does Lenesis do? I asked earlier, but she said it was a secret and didn’t tell me!”

Bora asked, her eyes sparkling with curiosity as she looked at Tuni.

But Tuni, having just heard Bora’s words, had already realized Lene’s intention.

‘She’s probably trying to hide the fact that she’s broadcasting on purpose.’

Since Tuni herself didn’t like letting people around her know about her own broadcasts, she could fully understand Lene’s feelings.

“If Lenesis didn’t tell you, I think it’d be hard for me to tell you too.”

“That’s so mean!”

Bora said this, but she wasn’t upset, giggling instead.

Seeing Bora’s bright and energetic behavior, typical of a child, Tuni smiled gently and patted Bora on the head.

‘She’s adorable… I wonder if Lene gains energy from being around Bora too?’

Of course, that was entirely wrong.

While Lene didn’t dislike spending time with Bora, it definitely didn’t energize her. In fact, she often thought, ‘It feels like my energy is being drained….’

But, of course, no one was there to correct that misunderstanding.

Not knowing what Tuni liked, I decided to prepare my favorite—honey water.

A bottle that cost 1,800 won.

The legendary drink you can’t have unless it’s a special occasion…!

Normally, I wouldn’t serve something like this to a simple guest, but I couldn’t just offer a regular drink to someone who came to help me.

After all, I’m a person with manners.

“Here’s some ho-honey water….”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll enjoy it.”

“Would you like some too, Bora?”

“I told you to just call me Bora! Thanks, Lene sis!”

“Ah, yes….”

And so, the three of us lightly enjoyed something like a tea time? After that, we got down to business.

“B-Bora, could you wait in the living room for a moment?”

“Huh? Can’t I stay?”

“It’s, it’s a bit of a private matter….”

“…Lene sis, you’re mean!”

It was still a secret because I wanted to tell Bora once I had everything in place.

After all, the reason I started streaming on the internet was because of Bora.

“You two seem really close. It’s nice to see.”

“I-I didn’t even do much for her….”

“Haha…. Anyway, to the point. Did you prepare what I mentioned yesterday?”

“Oh, yes. I’ve prepared… everything.”

After watching a replay of my stream, Tuni pointed out that there was an issue with the video quality.

If there wasn’t a problem with the reverse capsule itself, she said, it was probably an issue with the broadcast settings.

However, since the reverse capsule with physical information already registered is difficult for others to adjust, I was asked to connect it to the computer and make the adjustments in advance.

“As expected, the bitrate setting is wrong.

The sound quality setting is also two levels lower… It seems you’ve started with the default settings.”

“Ah, yeah… I heard online that it’s okay not to mess with it….”

“It’s not entirely wrong, but if you’re serious about streaming, it’s better to change the settings. Small details like these accumulate and eventually lead to a better stream.

Well, I’ve been streaming for over three years and I’m still a small-time streamer, so I might not be the best person to give advice… haha.”

With that, Tuni spent about 10 minutes fixing all of my stream output settings, then stretched and asked me.

“Oh, right. I’ve been meaning to ask, why do you tell your viewers that you’re using a voice changer, René?”

“Oh, uh… that’s because… I thought if I use it to, to grab attention and later reveal that I was actually a woman… it would become a big topic and, um, attract more viewers…”

I firmly believed it was a foolproof strategy.

No, it wasn’t just foolproof; it was a stroke of genius.

When I eventually succeeded, wouldn’t other small streamers follow this method too?

If that happened, I was sure I’d leave a new mark in the history of the streaming world.

Tuni would definitely be shocked and call it a genius idea when she heard it too….

“…Uh, Lené? Are you, by chance, an idiot?”

I thought it was foolproof…