Chapter 45 : Princess Maker

The fact that Barcode and Nayeon Queen are the same person being discovered.

Even if it gets discovered, thinking about Curry’s reaction, it didn’t seem bad. But I didn’t want this thrilling secret that only I knew to be discovered so soon.

“I need an alibi…”

To enjoy this situation for a long time, a perfect alibi was needed. Last time, I sniped with the Nayeon Queen account, matched with the same team, and dodged before the game started to create an alibi. But a hastily made alibi wouldn’t protect my secret for long.

In fact, creating a perfect alibi was simpler than I thought.

Nayeon Queen/Barcode and Curry meeting in solo queue and playing together.

I could hire someone to create an alibi, but there was a risk of my secret being leaked. Even if I wrote a non-disclosure agreement, I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks.

It was nearly impossible for me to play Nayeon Queen and Barcode simultaneously.

No matter how good I was at multitasking, I couldn’t play two accounts at the same time.

Eventually, I needed someone to act as ‘Nayeon Queen’ on my behalf.

Someone who would unconditionally keep my secret and act well.

The problem was whether there was such a person around me…

“…Ji-hye?”

The only person around me was Ji-hye. Ji-hye would definitely keep my secret. But could Ji-hye act as ‘Nayeon Queen’?

Ji-hye had shown versatility so far. Housework, cooking, video editing, even being a broadcast manager.

Even though she was trained, she did well as a manager from day one.

Maybe our Ji-hye had a talent for gaming too?

Because of the things she had shown so far, I couldn’t help but have high expectations.

How could a person be perfect in every aspect?

Contrary to those thoughts, my body was already out of the room, heading towards Ji-hye’s room.

Knock knock-

I knocked on Ji-hye’s door.

Seeing no response, it seemed she was engrossed in editing.

More important than the video was creating my alibi.

Creak…

After waiting for a while without any response, I just opened the door.

As expected, Ji-hye was sitting in front of her computer, focused on something.

Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t video editing, but LoL.

“Oh! I died…”

Why does she react so cutely while playing games alone?

She seemed like a person made purely of cuteness.

No, more importantly, if I wasn’t mistaken.

Just a moment ago, Ji-hye was taking down five enemies.

After taking down four enemies alone and then dying, she said, “Oh! I died…”

Ji-hye said she didn’t play LoL, but could that really be a beginner’s skill?

“This, well! I thought it would be strange if the LoL streamer manager didn’t know how to play games, so!”

Noticing my intense gaze, Ji-hye turned her head to look at me and hastily gave an excuse.

She looked like a child caught playing computer games secretly by their parents, which was adorable.

“I said you can do whatever you want in your free time, didn’t I? Don’t worry, I won’t scold you.”

“Really…? You won’t scold me…?”

There was a clause in the contract stating, ‘Guarantee the freedom of Party B during non-working hours.’ And she even confirmed it herself.

Why was she trembling like a puppy afraid of being abandoned by its owner?

She asked subtly while looking at me with pitiful eyes, which made me smile involuntarily.

“By the way, when did you start?”

“Oh, I didn’t start long ago. I began 3 days ago.”

“Level?”

“Level 17! Buying the experience booster and playing made it level up quickly!”

She proudly revealed her level, and for a moment, I thought I had misheard.

Even if she bought experience boosters and played games, reaching level 17 in 3 days? Sure, I had reached level 30 in a similar amount of time. But I had hired people to level up quickly for me.

If she played alone, sometimes winning and sometimes losing, leveling up wouldn’t be that fast. How many victories did she achieve to level up so quickly?

While pondering this, Ji-hye’s game ended, and I checked her nickname on the result screen.

[CutieBarcodeNim]

“I…”

“I-I’ll change my nickname right away!”

“…No need. You don’t have to.”

I sighed inwardly.

I had been worried since assigning her the job of managing the chatroom.

I didn’t expect our Ji-hye to be influenced by the troublemakers so quickly.

Taking out my smartphone, I accessed the LoL record site and searched for ‘CutieBarcodeNim’s records.

The record screen for ‘CutieBarcodeNim’ appeared, and I scrolled to the bottom.

Then slowly scrolling up the window to check the past records, it was all blue.

There were games where she had lost, but those losses were games where the team luck was extremely bad and couldn’t be helped.

The most played champions were Yone, Yasuo, Talon, Azir, Akali, Sylas…

They were all champions I mainly used in my broadcasts.

Who would think this is the most played champions list of a newbie who started LoL just three days ago?

Seeing these stellar records, anyone would say 100 out of 100 times that it was a smurf account.

“Play one more game.”

“In front of you…? Ugh… I’m nervous.”

“Don’t mind me.”

Ji-hye, who was looking around nervously, then started queuing.

It matched instantly since it was a normal game.

Ji-hye quickly typed ‘md.’

I only played solo queue on the broadcast.

Had she naturally learned it from playing?

Or had she looked up the implicit rules of normal games separately?

Ji-hye, who took mid lane, picked Akali.

She took Ignite and Teleport as spells and chose the Bold Electrocute as her key rune.

Usually, Akali takes Conqueror or Fleet Footwork.

Taking Electrocute meant she intended to dominate the lane phase.

“Why did you pick Akali?”

“Uhm… I tried various things, and Akali was the most fun!”

“Why did you take Electrocute?”

“I tried various runes, but Electrocute just fit my style… so I picked it.”

Ji-hye, perhaps unable to explain the specific reason for taking Electrocute, hesitated briefly before finishing her answer.

Ji-hye’s answer lacked confidence, but I was very satisfied with her uncertain answer.

I also thought Electrocute was the best rune for Akali in the current meta.

Preferred runes vary from person to person.

Everyone has their own style and the runes that suit that style.

But Ji-hye preferred the same runes as me, which was exactly what I wanted.

“Ji-hye, I have a task for you.”

“A task?”

“Yes. Something only you can do.”

“Something only I can… gulp do… I’ll definitely do it!”

Ji-hye gulped and answered vigorously at the words “only you can.”

To assign her the task, I had to explain the relationship between Curry and me.

However, it was awkward to explain in the middle of the game.

I decided to watch Ji-hye’s game for one round and then bring it up.

When I told her I would explain after this round, Ji-hye focused on the game.

After the minions arrived in the lane, the lane phase started in earnest.

I checked the tier of Ji-hye’s opponent, the enemy Zoe, on my smartphone.

[Diamond 2]

The enemy Zoe’s tier was Diamond 2.

For Ji-hye, who started LoL not long ago, this was an overwhelmingly difficult opponent.

In normal games, it was common for unranked and high-tier users to be matched together like this.

Given the high tier of the opposing mid-laner, I expected Ji-hye’s Akali to lose quite easily.

[First Blood!]

Contrary to my expectations, Ji-hye’s Akali scored a solo kill in less than four minutes.

Watching Ji-hye get a solo kill reminded me of a genius’s story.

He first started LoL at the recommendation of friends.

In his first-ever game, he faced an opponent with a Master tier.

In a situation where anyone would expect the unranked first-time player to lose.

The genius ‘he’ dominated the lane against the Master user.

Later, ‘he’ achieved the great feat of filling the top ranks of a server with his account.

Of course, I couldn’t think that Ji-hye’s talent was on the same level as ‘his.’

But it was clear that Ji-hye’s talent was comparable and sufficient to be called a genius.

As the saying goes, there are many geniuses in the world, but only one can be at the top.

Ji-hye was a talent worthy of being called a genius.

Thus, the game went smoothly.

The game ended with Ji-hye’s overwhelming carry.

While she couldn’t perform Nayeon Queen’s role in this state,

If I polished this brilliant raw talent, I could secure a perfect alibi.

After the game ended, I quietly shared my secret with Ji-hye.

The story was longer than expected, and Ji-hye nodded several times and then gave a knowing look.

“I’ll do my best! So Curry won’t find out!”

I worried that she might find me strange.

But contrary to my worries, Ji-hye didn’t think I was strange at all.

Instead, her proactive attitude to help with my ‘prank’ made me smile warmly.

So, I stayed by Ji-hye’s side for a while, continuously teaching her about LoL.

She listened well to real-time feedback and quickly absorbed advanced concepts.

The process of making Ji-hye the new Nayeon Queen, a Princess Maker project, was progressing smoothly.

I went upstairs after having dinner prepared by Ji-hye.

Though I wanted to continue the Princess Maker project,

Ji-hye was too exhausted to continue the  tutoring today.

Feeling a bit disappointed, I returned to my room and lay down on the bed.

Among the notifications on my smartphone, there was one for Curry’s broadcast, so I immediately logged into Twitch.

I expected another scrim broadcast today.

But surprisingly, Curry was playing solo queue on his stream.

The stream title read ‘Solo Queue for Skill Improvement.’

Seeing that title, I felt an inexplicable sense of discomfort.

Curry’s broadcast had attracted a lot of troublemakers from Yellow City.

Even with the recent increase in viewership, the chronic sniping problem hadn’t been resolved.

If anything, it had likely worsened rather than diminished.

Playing solo queue for skill improvement in such a situation?

Considering the upcoming platform battle, scrims should have been the priority.

If the goal was truly to improve skills, he wouldn’t be playing solo queue during the preseason with the broadcast on.

Moreover, playing with high-tier players through scrims would be more beneficial for skill improvement.

Why was Curry stubbornly doing a solo queue broadcast under such a flimsy pretext?

I focused more on Curry’s facecam than the game screen.

For someone supposedly aiming for skill improvement, he wasn’t focused on the game.

He looked as if he was waiting for something, and there was an anxious look in his eyes.

“Oh, I died.”

[Not feeling well today?]

[7-loss streak incoming~]

[?? : There was a story…]

[^1/10/5 all for a reason]

[Yesterday’s scrim results were shocking]

[If you’re tired, take a break, Curry…]

[Worried while watching]

Even the usually harsh viewers were worried about Curry.

‘Was I too harsh yesterday…?’

Thinking that Curry’s condition was because of yesterday’s events, I felt guilty.

Indeed, looking back, the torment yesterday seemed excessive.

Showing such a scene in a scrim broadcast with so many viewers must have been mentally shocking.

I didn’t know why he was anxious or what he was waiting for.

But I didn’t want to see this lethargic Curry, nor could I stand to see him fall apart.

{FlowerShopOwner donated 100,000 won.}

Logged in with the FlowerShopOwner account, I immediately began the capital treatment.

“Oh my! Our FlowerShopOwner donated 100,000 won! Don’t worry! I’m full of energy! Kiyoooooo!”

Curry quickly showed a crazy level of energy in response to my capital treatment.

Seeing Curry return to his usual self with just one donation made me smile.

“If I just say don’t worry, our chairman will surely worry, so how should I ease your worries…”

After finishing his reaction, Curry tapped his fingers on the desk, deep in thought.

Soon, as if he had a good idea, he opened his eyes wide and spoke.

“Alright. It’s a mood. Just for today, I won’t say anything if you snipe me, so go ahead, you sniping bastards!”

Curry quietly declared ‘sniping allowed.’

In the cam, Curry was looking straight ahead.

As if looking at ‘me,’ I wiped the smile off my face.

I had to.

I realized the source of the discomfort I felt earlier.

I could no longer smile or laugh.

A solo queue broadcast with a nonsensical reason.

While doing that solo queue broadcast, he seemed to be waiting for something.

There was an inexplicable anxiety in Curry’s eyes.

Crucially, Curry allowed ‘sniping’ as soon as a large donation came in, as if he had been waiting for it.

Could a person change so much just because they weren’t feeling well?

Curry’s state was so strange that it was hard to believe he was the same person.

Curry had never allowed sniping during his broadcasts.

Though he was lenient towards sniping, he hated and despised sniping that ruined the broadcast.

Yet Curry allowed ‘sniping’ just because he received a 100,000 won donation?

Thinking about the reason for such a drastic change, only one conclusion came to mind.

“…He figured it out?”

I had thought he would figure it out eventually.

But Curry realized the secret faster than I expected.

The secret that Nayeon Queen and Barcode were the same person.