Chapter 6: It seems worth checking out…

In 2029, advanced AI and automated devices had changed many parts of the world, but they still couldn’t replace the human warmth of a convenience store.

Especially at the entrance of a downtown area, a convenience store had to have a worker at night. They had to deal

with situations like disturbances from drunk customers, damage to goods, and theft. There was also the fact that

tasks like receiving deliveries, organizing inventory, stocking shelves, and cleaning were mainly done at night.

After returning to school, Kim Hyunwoo, who had many places to spend money, was able to breathe a sigh of relief

when he got the job. But while working, there were days when he wanted to quit everything, money or not, and just

stay at home. It was especially true on Christmas Eve when he had to stand guard at the counter alone.

It was already the fourth time today. After witnessing even the most ordinary-looking men buying condoms, his mood sank even further.

“Welcome.”

He said it out of obligation and looked up at the customer who entered.

Hyunwoo’s eyes widened and he stopped breathing.

She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen in his life. They say that models and celebrities have a different

aura when you see them in person, and that was exactly how it felt. Her face was so small, but her features were so

distinct. Her arms and legs were so long. To exaggerate, she was a completely different person from ordinary people,

as if she belonged to a different species.

The woman seemed not to have decided what to buy, so she started looking around the store. He didn’t want to do anything creepy, but he couldn’t help but keep glancing at her.

A mustang jacket hung over her shoulders, revealing a sweater that showed off her ample bust. Her black pants were tight around her hips and thighs, but showed a very slender waist.

Since his gaze had been following her the whole time, Hyunwoo was able to pretend to be looking elsewhere when the woman brought a basket of items to the counter.

The items on the counter were not something you would expect from such a woman, especially a foreigner. Two bottles of red-labeled soju. A few bags of chips. One cup of instant noodles and a triangle kimbap.

He could have pointed at the screen of the register. If necessary, he could have turned on a translator. But Hyunwoo, wanting to make an impression by talking to her, chose to speak in broken English.

“It’s a total of fourteen thousand seven hundred won, please. And do you need a bag, no, what was the word for bag…”

“Yes, I’d like a bag, please.”

She speaks Korean. Hyunwoo’s face flushed as he put the items in a bag. But her voice is so pretty…

The woman, after paying with her card and receiving the bag, smiled slightly at Hyunwoo before leaving.

“Thank you for your hard work. There will be a day when your efforts shine.”

*Ding dong.*

Hyunwoo couldn’t take his eyes off the door the woman had left through for a while.

Encouragement? Did she just encourage me? She’s an angel at heart. Her expression was a bit awkward because she’s a foreigner…

There was no regret about not being able to ask for her number. It was partly because it was difficult to approach someone who seemed so perfect.

“Wow, her boyfriend is so lucky.”

But more than that, it was because he couldn’t imagine that such a woman would be single on the night before Christmas.

***

I didn’t know it was Christmas Eve today.

About a 10-minute walk from the apartment complex, I came to a downtown area. Carols were playing at the

entrance of every store, and the trees were decorated with ornaments and lights. Above all, there were more people

than I expected, so I checked the date.

Yeah, the fact that there were too many people was the variable.

The keen senses of an elf were acutely aware of the direction and duration of people’s gazes. Even the glances that pretended to look elsewhere while trying to take in my body as much as possible.

It was the same for men and women of all ages. I could feel all the attention on me as I passed by. Among them, the gazes of the men were quite blatant, which was a little embarrassing.

Pure admiration. Mixed with a subtle desire.

I could understand. I used to be a man too. But the reason I didn’t predict it was because I wasn’t used to being looked at like that.

Elves had low sexual desire, so I didn’t get that kind of look often, and when I first stood on the same battlefield as

humans at the age of 17, I was already in a fairly high position. Even before I became a hero. So from the low-ranking

soldiers to the nobles, no one could look at me blatantly…

I felt my face slowly heating up. My heart was beating strangely somewhere. It wasn’t unpleasant, but awkward. It was such an unfamiliar sensation.

That’s why I ended my exploration of the downtown area early and turned back.

As I consciously blocked my senses and focused on my steps, the speed of my heartbeat gradually slowed down. It was a meditation technique that allowed me to sink into my inner self in any situation.

But then, the negative thoughts I had created myself began to weigh on my mind.

The reason I received everyone’s attention and focus was undoubtedly because of my appearance. I felt it enough with my body, and there was no need to bring up any other reason.

But what if their attention was not only because of my appearance but also because of curiosity towards a foreigner? Just as I felt unfamiliar with this place, did people also look at a stranger with interest?

They didn’t know I came from another world. So these thoughts were just paranoia. I knew it in my head. But I couldn’t stop the thoughts that suddenly popped up from passing through.

I was able to feel a little better at the convenience store I entered as if possessed. It was the same brand as the

convenience store I used to work at. The logo and even the name were exactly the same. I often found something that

matched my past life in this way. I also chose products that mostly had the same product names.

Seeing the part-timer who was keeping his seat on Christmas Eve reminded me of old times. I was also confirmed to

be promoted to manager after a long part-time job. I even received a handover from the store manager. But I died

just before becoming a manager.

I went home after comforting the part-timer. I wasn’t sure what the first outing meant. But for now, I decided to be satisfied with taking the first step towards change.

***

When I got back, I changed my clothes and brought a few things on a tray.

Cup noodles with hot water poured in, triangle kimbap, shrimp-flavored snacks. A water glass instead of red-lidded soju and a soju glass.

At some point, meals had become a time to supply the minimum calories needed for survival. After many disappointments with numerous delivery foods, the mass-ordered meal kits were filling that time.

But I had never tried these ordinary snacks. Maybe they could help me regain the joy of eating. I slurped the undercooked cup noodles into my mouth.

“…Ugh. It’s not enough to regain my appetite.”

A shot of soju in a glass was better. I couldn’t throw away the food, so I picked at it while turning on the computer and searching.

Since I had made the effort to go out, I wanted to finish what I had planned. I decided to look for the parts where I appeared in the VTuber stream.

Since I didn’t know which platform she streamed on, I typed ‘Tsukishiro Miya’ in the search bar and went to the wiki that appeared at the top.

*Name: Tsukishiro Miya

*Race: Demon

*Age: 777 years old

I was surprised. I almost dropped the soju glass.

I knew that wikis, which anyone could edit, had low credibility. I had seen many cases where people crossed out words as a joke or added a lot of personal opinions.

But profiles usually contained objective information. Whether it was a celebrity, a politician, or a streamer, it was rare for a profile to have completely wrong information.

Then what. Was she really a demon? Was that why her avatar was a demon? Like how I set my avatar as an elf?

[Miya, who dreamed of becoming the ruler of the demon world but was not recognized by her fellow demons because she was weak.

One day, Miya, who observed the human world through a rift of chaos, realized that in the human world, ‘cuteness’ could be power, not strength.

So she came down to the human world to gather information and fell in love with games.

[Miya, who wants to spread her cuteness and gaming skills to conquer the world. She meets Blooming Core, which can help her with her plan.]

[Blooming Core Official Profile]

It wasn’t an impossible story. Wasn’t I also a half-elf who came from another world?

This was a parallel world with many differences from my past life. Here, it might be natural for beings who crossed dimensions to be accepted by people and live together.

My heart raced. I forgot about the food and focused on searching.

As I searched, I found out that most ‘VTubers’ were similar to Miya.

Beastmen, dragons, aliens, goddesses, spirits… There was even a VTuber who claimed to have defeated a demon king in another world and returned, just like me.

Immersed in information gathering, wrapped in a faint heat.

I finally reached an uncomfortable and enormous truth.

The profiles and stories of VTubers… were mostly just RP.

RP stood for Role Playing, and VTubers’ RP meant acting according to a set setting such as the character’s personality, tone of voice, occupation, race, and worldview.

I felt deflated. Come to think of it, there were VTubers in my past life too. Of course, they would have presented these settings.

But.

Really? Were all these VTubers just making up stories?

It was the same as the thought that came to mind in the downtown area. At that time, I knew that I was only being noticed for my looks, but I couldn’t resist the delusions that came to mind and became a little depressed.

It was the same this time. VTubers just broadcast with unique characters, and there were ordinary people inside. This was the truth, and there was no need to add anything else.

But maybe. Someone might be presenting a sincere story with a 2D avatar similar to themselves. It was hard to stop such thoughts from popping into my head.

‘But this… seems worth checking out. It’s not like there’s no possibility at all?’

I entered the platform where many VTubers broadcasted and clicked on the name that immediately caught my eye.

《Tsukishiro Miya》

《Christmas Eve with Ori》

《Origin Rift/4520 viewers》

“Alright! It’s the promotion match again! Ugh, it’s so bright. I can see the shining gem in the distance……!”

– It’s the 4th promotion match, but she’s so excited

-It’s amazing though, she invested two whole days and finally made it to the promotion match

– Can she even come tomorrow? I’ve been waiting for the Christmas Just Chatting All Day

-She has to come, I invited all my family, relatives, and friends to watch the Christmas stream together tomorrow

A VTuber who was streaming Ori. I topped up the amount and sent a donation with a question.

『Curious Elf sponsored 1,000 jellies!』

『Are you really a demon?』