Chapter 37: you just stay like that for the rest of your life

If I were to compare that world full of fantasy stories with this Earth, overflowing with modern conveniences, I would definitely say that I am much more satisfied with my current life.

It’s not a matter of saying, “This part was better there, and this part is better here…” The quality of life between that world and Earth is completely different, so they can’t even be compared in the first place.

But that doesn’t mean I hated that world.

The frosty breath I exhaled on the snowy mountains after defeating the dragons in the east, the endless World Tree introduced by the elves of the south, the watercolor of fire and ice created by a mage—those sights, which can’t be seen on Earth, were enough to etch unforgettable memories in a corner of my heart.

Maybe that’s why I’m so obsessed with NewD. The fact that I could experience the same awe I felt in that world made my heart race.

…Well, if I had to point out, NewD does feel a bit too fantastical.

“Hoo….”

My body feels cold, and white breath escapes my mouth.

I intentionally turned off the sensory filter in the settings, and it was to the point that I almost forgot this was just a game. The sound of my footsteps crunching in the snow, leaving prints that belonged to only me, stirred up excitement.

“Haaa….”

Before I knew it, I could see the summit. What kind of scenery would greet me when I reached the top? Just thinking about it made my heart soar.

And what I felt when I reached that peak was…

“Wowww….”

A desire grew in me to show this awe to others.

“That was truly amazing….”

The moment I logged out of NewD and awakened my consciousness in the real world,

I was greeted by a pleasant sense of exhaustion. Of course, the cold I felt earlier was gone, but that didn’t matter anymore. Just being able to feel that emotion, that memory, was enough for me.

“Uuughh….”

Stretching and emerging from the reverse capsule, the first thing I did was open my closet. I didn’t look at the neatly hung clothes, but rather at the item on the far left.

A pure white priest’s robe.

And a war hammer, about the same height as me.

These were the clothes I wore and the weapon I used in that other world.

For now, I left the war hammer where it was, and after pulling out the priest’s robe, I took off my T-shirt and dolphin shorts, folded them to the side, and slipped into the robe.

Slowly, I walked over to the full-length mirror in the corner of the room, where my familiar appearance and outfit greeted me, ones I’d seen countless times before.

Even though it wasn’t something I wanted, the reality was that I had spent most of my life in that other world. So whenever memories from that world surfaced, I couldn’t help but put on this robe again.

Well, every time I did, it stirred up some unpleasant emotions too….

“Hmm.”

My long, silver-white hair, which flowed down past my hips, almost entirely covered the back of the priest’s robe.

In our church, letting your hair cover the robe was considered no different from blaspheming against the god, and growing it out was strictly forbidden.

But in my case, they said long hair suited me better, so I was given an exception.

Because of that, the old pope used to rant incessantly. But what could I do? It was a command from the god we served.

…A spiteful woman. She deserved all the insults thrown at her. What kind of god behaves like that?

She probably did it because she knew how much I hated long hair.

“Later on, I thought about completely hollowing out the back of my priest robe because it’s attractive when you lift your hair up, but thanks to everyone, including the old pope, opposing it and me threatening to actually die if I did it, I was able to avoid that situation.

The more I think about it, the weirder it gets. Why is that? Do they really worship me like a god…?

*Sigh.*

Let’s stop these pointless thoughts. I know well that once negative feelings start to sprout, they trigger even more bad memories.

*Hoo…*

“Lene sis!”

“Wha—?!”

I jumped in surprise at the sudden voice behind me, and my legs went weak, causing me to sit down.

Of course, the owner of the voice was Bora. She was looking at me with her big round eyes and a pouty lip.

“B-Bora-ya… When did you get here…? I would have come out right away if you called me…”

“I rang the doorbell outside and called your name the whole time!”

“Ugh.”

So that’s why she looked like she was pouting.

“Did you come in using the electronic key I gave you?”

“Yeah. You gave it to me last time.”

Just as I thought. I had given it to her in case she came by and I wasn’t home, so she could come in and rest. At that time, when she laughed and said, “sis wouldn’t be out, right?!” it hurt a bit.

“So why didn’t you just come in?”

“I think I couldn’t hear because I was concentrating…”

“If that’s the case, it can’t be helped. …But sis.”

“Yes?”

“What’s that outfit?”

…Ah, right.

“Eek?!”

I realized what I was wearing at Bora’s words. It was an outfit that was hard to call casual clothing, and it wouldn’t be strange to consider it cosplay.

“What kind of clothes are those, sis?”

The curious gaze of a 6-year-old overwhelmed me.

I felt the heat rising to my face as embarrassment surged. I wanted to jump onto the bed and cover myself with a blanket, but thanks to my legs giving out earlier, I couldn’t move.

“sis, you wear the same clothes every day!”

All of them are different clothes, though. I just bought a bunch at once because they were cheap and alternate between them. The colors are slightly different too.

“It’s a completely different vibe from usual, so it feels strange!”

Is she teasing me? About how it doesn’t suit me at all? I already stand out, so why wear something like this? I was just reminiscing about old memories…

“It looks great on you!”

“…Huh?”

“You’re pretty, Sis!”

“…Really?”

“Yeah!”

Her innocent eyes seemed not to know the word “lie.”

“…Bora, is there anything you want to eat?”

“Pizza!”

Alright. Dinner is pizza tonight.

“…It’s too expensive; can we get something else?”

“It’s okay! Mom said we can use this card!”

“Ah, um… Th-thank you……..”

“Tell Mom directly later!”

“….”

“Bye-bye, sis!”

“Thank you for today, Lene.”

“Yes. Goodbye….”

After sending Bora off, I sat down in my chair and quietly stared at the ceiling.

The first thought that came to mind was, of course, concerns about the future.

And the next was worries related to my broadcast.

Well, if I had to categorize them, they would be of the same kind of story, but… they felt slightly different?

I started broadcasting seriously wanting to earn money, but my income is almost non-existent, so I could quit anytime if I wanted to.

However, that doesn’t mean I would easily give up.

I wanted to try everything I could, and if it still seemed like it wouldn’t work, I wanted to quit.

And among those types of concerns, the one that has been bothering me the most right now is my broadcast screen.

Right after I found out about the direction of being a VTuber, it felt like a little hope was in sight, but I never expected the costs to start were going to be so high.

I even researched separately just in case Tuni was mistaken, but it turned out to be more expensive than I thought, not cheaper.

If I had started broadcasting a little earlier, before spending all my living expenses, would it have been different…?

…I don’t know. Let’s just do the broadcast.

Actually, I had already said I would take a break yesterday, so I didn’t really need to turn on the stream, but I wanted to share the scenery I saw earlier with my viewers as soon as possible.

It was an act I did to organize my thoughts for taking a day off from broadcasting, but it ironically became a reason to turn on the stream again.

Life truly is full of surprises, isn’t it?

Thinking that, I began preparing for the broadcast.

[Lene]

[Viewer participation content]

[New Dimension | 17 viewers online | 0:00:13]

– Didn’t you say you were taking a break today?

– Here I am, my drug ᄏᄏ

– Why is the broadcast on?

– Participating????????

– Lene, sis, I’m so cold…

– It’s been a while since New Dimension ᄏᄏ

“……Um, hello.”

I had clearly said I would take a break today, but to see 17 people come to watch as soon as I turned on the broadcast was both surprising and delightful.

Even if they are people who don’t know who I am, it must mean they are affirming me.

“Sorry for the completely black screen right now.

‘Originally, I was going to take a break today like I mentioned yesterday, but… I ended up wanting to do something, so I turned on the stream.’

It seems like the chat is quite excited about the viewer participation content.

Well, to be honest, it’s not that big of a deal, so if they expect too much, it will just add pressure.

– Is it PVP?

— Didn’t Tagirion end already?

‘It’s neither PVP nor Tagirion. You just need to come to my location by 30 minutes. We’ll leave by 35 minutes at the latest, so I’ll be counting on you.’

The land of eternal winter, Nivlroad.

A harsh area covered in snow and ice.

Even with the sensory blocking settings at maximum in NewD, you can feel your body getting cold; it’s a land of perpetual frost and absolute zero.

Because of that, there are almost no monsters appearing, and very few items to be obtained, making it one of the least popular regions in New D.

In other words:

– What kind of place is Nivlroad for viewer participation? LOL

– You just stay a noob forever, Lene.

— Isn’t this usually a penalty location?

— I just arrived, and it’s freaking cold. LMAO

— I set my sensory block to 5, but I feel cold all over. WTF

It’s only natural that complaints from the viewers would pile up against Lene, who chose such a place to gather.

‘This isn’t that cold, is it…?’

Lene was unaware that her standards were a bit strange.