Arin’s stream screen came up.

It was a clipped segment from her broadcast.

Arin started talking.

“Wow… who is this?”

‘This person’ is me.

Arin is watching ‘Korea-Japan grand unification.’

It’s right after I finished my line.

“Phew.”

I let out a sigh of relief inside.

Thank god I didn’t have to rewatch my performance.

I almost died of embarrassment.

“No, the quality makes no sense! What was that outfit stripping thing!”

Agreed agreed.
If you’re jealous then you strip too.
That’s why I voted for Shiroring too.
It went hard.

“What stripping, you crazy old man! That’s not what I mean!”

Why is it always that kind of chat that stands out the most?

It jumped out to me at a glance too.

“I think Ryuko draws outfits really beautifully.”

What.
?
Then why did the 2nd anniversary end up like that lol.

“Guys, this is a bit serious.”

Arin swallowed once and continued.

“Back then I was obviously surprised and flustered too, like it felt like I ruined the event because of me…”

What are you even saying lol.
Not your fault.
Stop forcing it.

“No, seriously, listen.”

Lol ok.
Say it first.

“Even then, there wasn’t a problem with the outfit quality, it was just the rigging that didn’t work well.”

What the hell is this?
Rigging?
That’s true though.

“The way the outfit moves, our side was busy too back then.”

Either way, the fact is it was badly made.
You’re actually defending Ryuko lol.
World-class disease or what.

“I hate it when someone keeps getting cursed out because of me.”

How is that because of you, that’s on her.
That pisses me off even more, fuck.

“Back then honestly, I was struggling too, so I couldn’t think about anyone else at all and I haven’t been able to say this until now because I thought it would blow up like this but—”

Arin kept talking without caring about the chat.

“After watching this, I changed my mind. I think I can say it now.”

The performance was good.
Ryuko, you should’ve just made it like that from the start.
I can’t follow the emotional arc.

“So! At least in my room, if you talk shit about Ryuko you’re banned, it’s in the past!”

Arin said it in a tone that was half whining and half annoyed.

Ultimate move activated lol.
That’s tyranny.
It’s your room so do what you want.

“Alright, listen, guys.”

Arin zoomed her avatar in.

Like she was shoving her face into the camera.

?
Huh?

“A sailor uniform is something you’re supposed to graduate from, right?”

Ah.
This is why otaku are…
Did she do all that just to say the line lol.
It’s cute, stop nitpicking.

The video ended.

My room’s chat popped up.

Hahahahaha.
Legendary freezing it in history.

“Oh right, I’m live.”

I fixed my posture and sat up straight.

I almost forgot I was streaming.

“Uh, um, it’s good, I guess?”

What kind of reaction is that lol.
Are you doing a Kuro impression?

“No, it’s hard to put into words, this...”

I said while scratching my cheek.

Not just anyone can do video reviews.

“It’s exactly the reaction I wanted, I just never imagined she’d show up in person, so I do feel good, yeah.”

Your body is rejecting acceptance lol.
Being a small streamer is like this.

‘Rejecting acceptance’ fits perfectly.

I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.

It’s not like I can take off my pants and dance.

[Ryuko has donated 10,000 won!]

ㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜㅜ (light crying)
Lol she’s showing up again.
She was watching.

“No! Stop donating! You idiot!”

I immediately opened the messenger and sent Ryuko money.

As much as she’d donated so far.

‘It hurts to waste it.’

Four tenths of the donations you sent got eaten up.

The platform, the tax collector, took it.

Excuses like ‘I only borrowed it for a moment’ don’t work.

Money bundles show no blood and no tears.

‘I can’t exactly send it minus four tenths, damn it.’

I stared at the transfer screen to Ryuko.

I hit [Confirm] and reclined my chair then flopped back.

“Stop donating, idiot! I’ll send it back again!”

This is hilarious, payback of payback.
This person is like a weakling of benevolence, they say everything straight out.
Like the king of losers.

“King of losers? Like the human itself is weak, something like that?”

Yeah.

“Bring it on!”

I said while making a bicep.

How to make a bicep.

First, stick one arm forward.

Second, support it with the other hand and secretly use your thumb to push your forearm up.

It’s a hidden technique my master taught me at taekwondo class when I was a kid.

I didn’t think I’d ever use it here.

Hahahahaha.
You’re weak even at making biceps.

“I’m not weak!”

With this body, I’m 0 matches 0 wins 0 losses.

My potential is endless.

‘It’s like an account that hasn’t done placements yet.’

Of course I’m not planning to do placements.

I’d obviously lose miserably.

I’m going to stay undefeated forever.

“Should I do something more, it ended faster than I thought.”

I said while spinning in my reclined chair.

I thought it’d be fun but the ceiling started spinning so I stopped.

Go finish what you were doing.

“What I was doing?”

You have to keep farming.

“Oh right, should I farm a bit more then end it?”

Go go go.
Oh we’re streaming more?

“Shall we go! Tractor, wait for me! I’m coming!”

Let’s goooo.
Waiting waiting.
I’m excited.
Isn’t it about time?

* * *

“Phew.”

I wipe away the sweat running down.

I’m still wearing the hanbok.

Today I’m going to stream like this.

The afterglow is still there too.

I’m standing on top of a hill that rises high.

I looked out over the cornfield stretching far into the distance.

My chest swells, as full as the corn kernels.

“This is healing, yeah.”

Agreed agreed.
It is healing, right.

“Huh?”

I could see people lining up and coming along the paths between the cornfields.

They’re wearing straw hats and have katanas at their waists.

“What is that!”

I hurried down the hill with quick steps.

By the time my stamina hit the floor, I could start seeing the straw hats.

All of their faces are covered so I can’t make them out.

The person in front spoke.

“Sharecropping rent.”

“What?”

For a moment I thought I misheard.

“Sharecropping rent.”

The man repeated it flatly.

“This wasn’t my land?”

Even in a game, do you have to pay rent?

If I’d known, I wouldn’t have expanded the field this much.

I have no money because I spent every spare bit on corn seeds.

“Is, is this enough?”

I pulled out the 138 gold I had and held it out with both hands.

It’s an amount you could hold in one hand but doing it like this makes it look like more.

“Sharecropping rent!”

The man reached out with one hand and took all the money.

I could only stare at my empty palms.

“That’s enough, right, yeah?”

With 138 gold, you can make that just by selling a few corn.

I can just earn it again.

“9,862 gold.”

What.

Why is that number so weirdly specific?

Where did that even come from?

If I sell corn, it’s enough to pay but this is all the money I have right now.

“9,862 gold!”

His voice keeps getting louder.

The man reached for the sword hilt at his waist.

“W-wait a second!”

There’s no way.

I don’t even have harvested corn.

I only grew it because I was going to do it all at once.

“Just one day! No, just one hour, please wait! Yeah?”

I said it with a wink.

It didn’t work and my face twisted up like an idiot.

There’s no way that would work on an NPC.

It wouldn’t work on anyone else either.

“Sharecropping rent!”

“Eek!”

The man drew his sword.

The others around him draw their swords too.

The ones holding torches lit them.

“Please spare me!”

I raised my hands to show I don’t want to fight.

I backed away one step at a time so I wouldn’t provoke them.

The man swung his blade.

What he was cutting wasn’t me.

With one slash, several corn stalks fell like scarecrows.

Corn dropped and scattered like popcorn.

“Noooo!”

All I could do was stomp my feet and watch.

The corn I worked so hard to raise collapses helplessly.

The time I spent with the corn flashed by like a panorama.

The time I lay in the corn shade to rest, the time I tilted my head up to look at corn taller than me and even the time I looked down over the cornfield from the hill.

“Uuugh—”

I let out a groan that boiled up from my lower abdomen.

There was a smell.

A delicious smell.

The smell of roasting corn.

“Aaaagh!”

I grabbed my hair and tore at it.

The cornfield is on fire.

Flames shoot up high into the sky.

It’s a campfire.

It would’ve been great if the firewood wasn’t corn.

When I came to, I was charging at the sword-wielding man.

“Waaah!”

I can’t see anything.

Tears blurred my vision.

“Gah!”

I stepped on my skirt hem and fell.

My knee throbbed.

I grabbed the ankle of the man in front of me.

“No! You can’t! You bastard!”

My small hands were too weak even to hold an ankle.

I didn’t have the grip strength so I slipped off.

The straw hats don’t even pay attention to me.

They mechanically cut through the cornfield.

“It’s a dream, it has to be, there’s no way.”

I curled up at the corner of the path.

I folded in on myself and crouched down.

I didn’t even wipe my tears.

A faucet left wide open is pouring water nonstop, wiping it is pointless.

“Hic.”

Everything is blurry like a car windshield fogged up.

It’s better not to wipe it.

I don’t want to watch everything I have turn into ashes.

Hahahahaha.
Ah, that reaction is delicious.
That reaction is generous, agreed.

“You, you! Traitors!”

I shouted while pointing at the chat.

Blood started flowing again through the body that had gone slack.

My blood boiled.

I’m a berserker.

I just don’t have a sword in my hand.

If I had a sword, I would’ve snapped you viewers like corn stalks.

I imagined cutting down my enemies with a flaming katana.

“Y-you… you tricked me!”

I can barely get the words out.

Did a blood vessel in my brain snap and drop my intelligence?

I thought you were the reliable ones.

It hasn’t even been half a day since I felt warm in my chest.

As expected, all you guys ever think about is messing with me.