Chapter 33: Fairy Tale Playground Concert (3)

After Akira’s confession performance ended—

[Y-Yuwol~?]

[Karma. Yep.]

[That’s what you get for confessing…]

I didn’t say a word.

Akira, who had just returned, called my name in a flustered voice, but I ignored her.

[I was wrong! I-I just wanted to try it at least once!]

[Confessing?]

[This is going to be a whole controversy on its own…]

[No!!! Seniors, stop adding fuel to the fire!]

Honestly, it might have looked like I was upset, but I wasn’t.

I was just taking the opportunity to mess with her a little.

I usually didn’t get many chances to joke around, but Akira had given me the perfect excuse today.

Meanwhile, my viewers had already stormed Akira’s stream, causing absolute chaos.

They were all spamming things like, “What’s going to happen to our brave hero now…”

I hadn’t expected things to escalate this much.

I quietly switched over to Akira’s stream to check her reaction.

“…I’m still too young to be in love.”

[01, 01?]

[Oh…]

[Oh my god.]

I decided to push the joke a little further.

Then, I slowly turned my head away, pretending I had said nothing.

[N-No! Guys, that’s not what I meant! No, no, no! Listen to me!]

[I think I’ll just stay quiet now.]

[I won’t say anything.]

A quick glance at Akira’s chat showed—

–Purge them.

–Give me back my baby…

–Who’s going to take responsibility if our hero quits streaming?

–Who’s going to stream for us now? ;;

–Wuwuwu!!!

…Okay, now I was starting to feel a little guilty.

I should probably stop here.

“Everyone, let’s calm down now. Come on, head back.”

-^^

–We did good, right?

–Yep.

–^^7

–You’ll keep streaming for us, right…?

–Honestly, that was a weak punishment for an ambush confession.

–Tsk… I’m only forgiving this because of Yuwol.

At least they listened to me.

I was grateful for that.

[Lesson of the day: Don’t confess recklessly.]

[Because the fact that I like someone… could end up hurting them instead.]

Anna and Imari took this chance to tease Akira.

[Phew…]

Akira let out a deep sigh of relief.

“To be honest, I was just pretending to be mad.

There’s no way I’d hate someone for saying they love me.

Thank you for telling me you do.”

[Yuwol…!]

Akira suddenly fell silent, seemingly overwhelmed with emotion.

Wondering why, I peeked at her stream again—

‘…Maybe I should start keeping my distance.’

She was writing a whole letter on stream.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d think it was an actual love letter.

Yeah, I should probably avoid responding to Akira for a while.

Just as I was thinking that—

[Everyone, time has flown by so quickly.

Did you enjoy today’s concert?]

The host had started wrapping things up.

The audience let out a collective groan of disappointment.

[It’s sad, but we only have one performance left!

But I dare say!

The cheers for this final act!

Will be louder than any before!

I dare, dare to make this claim!]

[The one who will close Märchen Playground Server’s 4th Season!

The one who will grace the finale—!]

[From KR Märchen Live, 11th Generation!

Yuwol!!!]

The moment the host announced my name, deafening cheers erupted.

It was so loud that some of the audio even peaked and cracked.

Some people might have expected this.

Others who hadn’t checked the participant list might not have known.

But whether they knew or not, the moment my name was called, everyone screamed at the top of their lungs.

I couldn’t help but feel it once again—

I really have become an idol.

“I’ll be back soon.”

[Do your best~]

[We’ll be cheering for you, Yuwol!!]

[Go and shine.]

The three of them saw me off as I moved toward the backstage area.

Meanwhile, the host continued speaking.

[Wow~. Yuwol’s track record is truly impressive!

From the very first day, donating to charity, farming for real instead of just playing around like others, healing with that slow life—

And even taking down a boss meant for a whole raid party all on their own!]

[I watched the video of Yuwol taking down the Demon King, but I never expected them to act so well! It was enough to bring me to tears!]

[Anyway! When talking about this season, there’s no way we can leave out Yuwol! Don’t you all agree?!]

As another round of cheers erupted, the host continued with satisfaction.

[Alright! Then shall we call them up? Let’s welcome our hero, who will bring back our memories and close this season!]

[On the count of three, everyone, call out Yuwol’s name! Ready?]

One!

Two—!

BOOM!

The moment my name was shouted from the audience, I stepped onto the stage.

A massive concert hall.

Countless eyes looking down at me.

It would be a lie to say I wasn’t nervous.

But it wasn’t overwhelming.

After all, tens of thousands had already watched my mini-concerts, and meeting strangers face-to-face had been even more nerve-wracking.

So this was fine.

“Phew.”

–Let’s go, let’s go! (/^▽^)/

–You got this!!

–We’re cheering for you, Yuwol!

• (M2Ù’M )( ‘~’M )( ‘U’ )

–(/^^)/(/^^)/(/^^)/

–(/^^)/(/^^)/(/^^)/

–Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!

–Wow, seeing it like this, there really are so many people.

–(/^^)/

–9(m>V<m)9(m>V<m)9(m>V<m)

–Hoo!

–(/^^)/(/^▽^)/(/^▽^)/

No problem.

I stepped onto the stage and sang Hero and Remärchen.

By the time the two songs ended, I was out of breath.

“Haa… Haa…”

A concert inside a game.

And yet, the pressure was no joke.

How many times had I ever been in a situation like this in my life?

Maybe those times back in school, when the shy kids got dragged up on stage during retreats or field trips.

But unlike back then, this time… it was fun.

“Hmm. Ah, ah. Hello, everyone.”

Since I had launched straight into singing, now was the time to introduce myself.

My signature soft and calm voice spread through the venue, carried by the echo.

“I’m Yuwol, the hero in charge of closing out this season’s Märchen Online Concert.”

The server chat scrolled by at lightning speed, voices calling my name from all directions.

“Ahaha… Thank you all for calling out to me like this.

To be honest, I didn’t think I had done that much in the server…

But I guess that wasn’t the case, huh?*”

The server we all enjoyed together was closing.

It was bittersweet.

These had been some of the most fun days.

Though, I never expected to be standing here today.

“*Ah, do any of you remember the first day?

A bunch of you crowded into the town hall just to see me—*”

I was given permission.

Permission to share a bit of casual conversation.

As I spoke, memories from Märchen flooded back.

Big moments, small moments.

Someday, I’d look back on this and talk about it in a stream.

I was sure of it.

And if that was the case—

Until the very last moment, I wanted to make this a memory worth keeping.

For 1.2 million, no—1.3… 1.5 million people to remember.

“Just one thing I want to say.”

And for them to remember me, Yuwol.

“Until we meet again, have a good morning, a good evening, and a good night.”

With that, I blended the song title into my closing message.

The melody started playing in the background.

“Everyone! Let’s meet again next time!!”

With the highest energy I could muster, I smiled and began my final song.

lyrics-

Maybe we are destined to meet again.

Even among countless moments, the memories will remain.

Even if those dazzling days pass by,

The warmth we shared still lingers.

Like a promise that never changes with time,

I hope we can meet again someday.

Until we meet again,

Holding today’s memories close to our hearts,

Even if we’re far apart, let’s not forget each other.

We will meet again someday.

The seasons change, and the world moves on,

But our story will continue.

The moments we laughed together stay in our hearts,

And I will always call them back again.

Even if we’re apart, our hearts remain connected.

So I will keep singing, waiting for that day.

Until we meet again,

Holding today’s memories close to our hearts,

Even if we’re far apart, let’s not forget each other.

We will meet again someday.

Even as time flows,

Our precious memories will never change.

And in that same place, we will meet again,

With bright smiles on our faces.

Until we meet again,

When that day comes,

With even greater joy, waving our hands,

We will meet again.

Even after the Märchen Online Concert ended, the server had not yet shut down.

The server was set to close at midnight.

It was still 11:30, so there was some time left.

I was retracing my steps—passing by the house where I had lived, the fields I had wandered, and the farming shop.

“It was short, but it was fun.”

–That’s right!

–It really was fun.

–This was the best season yet.

–But it’s so sad…

–I wonder when the next server will open.

–Yuwol must be feeling so bittersweet…

–It was really fun.

–Yes, it truly was.

The house I shared with Akira.

After today, I wouldn’t see it again.

The fields I had tended so carefully would also disappear.

“It would be a lie to say I’m not sad. But I think this is the perfect time to end it.”

It was time for everyone to return to their own streams.

I was satisfied just to have created some short but meaningful memories here.

I had gotten closer to strangers, built relationships with seniors.

If we ever did a collaboration in the future, it wouldn’t be as awkward.

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t even done a collab yet.”

The first-gen members… well, I wouldn’t really call what we did a collab.

That was something else entirely.

Anyway, as I chatted casually with the viewers—

[Notice: 5 minutes until server shutdown.]

“…Should I just throw a tantrum and beg them to keep it open a little longer?”

–LOL

–That sounds like a great idea.

–Right? Babies can throw tantrums, it’s fine…

–LMAO

Seeing the server shutdown notice gave me an indescribable feeling.

“It was fun.”

But this was the right place to say goodbye.

So, until the very last moment before the server closed,

I stayed at home, laughing and chatting with the viewers.

I liked this peacefulness.

The day after Märchen Playground closed.

[Collab! Collab! Collab! Collab! Collab! Collab! Collab! Collab! Collab! Collab! Coll—]

[Akira: Collab with me.]

[;;;] Yuwol:

A collab request came in immediately.

From none other than the person who had once been my housemate.