Chapter 14: Fallen lily.

Whenever a new monster appears, the online communities light up.

[Title: Heard about the octopus’s traits?]
They say getting pierced by its central tentacle makes you go wild.
The moment you’re caught, you’re helpless and devoured.

[Does it make sense to send only fifth-gen girls to that?]
[It was rated D, later revised to C. That’s why they didn’t send fourth-gen or above.]
[But there was a 5.5th-gen there.]
[What would’ve happened without Scarlet Lily?]

A monster with such a unique gimmick is impossible to ignore for subculture fans.

Netizens’ imaginations ran wild.

[It even has a paralyzing effect, damn.]
[Like something out of a hentai anime.]
[Magical girl hentai had stuff like that too.]

[You don’t get it. If you can’t resist, it’s pointless.]
[No line-crossing comments.]
[This is reality, not a manga, dude.]
[Look at everyone acting cool but uniting over this lol.]

[Heard some got caught by it.]
[Then Scarlet Beam one-shotted it.]
[Her again?]
[Can’t just praise her blindly this time.]

And the usual hot topic:

[So, stronger than the dinosaur?]
[No way.]
[Stop with the boring bait.]
[Even a dream team of all monsters so far would get wrecked by one dinosaur beam.]

Due to social unrest concerns, the dinosaur’s rank was never officially disclosed.

As a result, comparing every new monster to the dinosaur became a sort of game.

Pointless, since no conclusion could be reached.

Still, it’s obvious it’s S-rank or above.

It’s only natural people question why Scarlet Lily is grouped with the fifth gen.

[Why’s Lily hanging with the fifth gen?]
[The gap’s too big.]
[At that level, it wouldn’t matter who she’s with.]

[Underdog fights are fun, though.]
[Lily’s not that kind of magical girl.]
[From Scarlet Lily’s perspective, everyone’s an underdog.]

[If she’d stream, we could ask.]
[When’s her next one?]
[No announcement.]
[Got 3 million and dipped lol.]

Not as much as her debut, but Scarlet Lily remains a hot topic.

She has a following teetering between fans and worshippers, and most discussions turn into joke fodder.

But deep down, everyone knows.

Scarlet Lily’s presence lets them feel safe in these chaotic times.

Thanks to her, they can laugh and banter online.

Are the viewers coming to my streams doing so on their own?

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.

If Frozen Princess hadn’t shown up during my sleep stream.
If she hadn’t donated 3 million won.

Would people still watch me?

Taking down monsters has drawn attention, but it’s just fleeting gossip.

Even if it boosts viewership, it won’t last.

So I wanted to test it.

[“Come if you dare”]

A provocative title.

I heard my last title was too polite, so I changed it.

I thought humility wouldn’t hurt, but it didn’t work out that way.

Quite the opposite.

The 90-degree bow reaction is black-history-level.
Every night, I kick my blankets thinking of clips posted online.

Realizing I scream “newbie,” I reflected.

And resolved.

I’d keep only viewers who aren’t shocked by the real me.

[She’s back!]
[Thought you quit streaming.]
[Graduating after 3 million is a bit much lol.]
[Why’s the title so cocky today?]
[What changed…]
[Has Lily fallen?]
[Why so grumpy lol.]

The chat lit up quickly.

Viewership’s still decent.

Not expecting it to plummet right away, but still.

“I’ll start with why I’ve been quiet.”

Ahem. I cleared my throat.

Even with a new vibe, I should say what needs saying.

“A lot happened after moving. Had to buy stuff, deal with monsters, and so on.”

Really, it was about adjusting to modern life, but I simplified it.

[Your room’s got a lot more stuff.]
[Bought with Frozen Princess’s money?]
[Jealous you’re independent in your teens.]
[Do you get government funds for killing S-rank monsters?]
[Why the sudden tone shift?]
[Something bad happen?]

Mixed reactions flooded the chat.

Calm voice, steady expression.
They can sense the change.

“Why’d my tone change? This is my real voice. The polite Scarlet Lily is dead.”

Another me, declared dead.

Today’s vibe is aggressive.

I took control, taming the viewers.

[The pure Lily’s dead?!]
[No more standing-up reactions?]
[Noooo!]
[Lily’s corrupted…]
[If you fall, Korea’s doomed!]
[You were supposed to be gentle!]

Some were shocked, others amused no matter what.

[From pure to tsundere?]
[Can’t pin down her vibe lol.]
[Split personality lol.]

Right then, before the intro even finished, the first donation alert popped up.

[‘Frozen Princess’ donated 100,000 won!]
[I think you’re great as is.]

Of course she’s here.

[Frozen Princess is back lol.]
[Caught the stream live, as expected.]
[Why’s the donation smaller?]
[Princess’s wallet struggling?]
[After triple 1-million, 100k’s still big.]

One less zero on the donation.

Not because her wallet’s shrunk.

I asked Frozen Princess to lower the amount since 1 million was too much.

I suggested 10,000 won…
Rich girls have a different sense of money.

[Why’s Lily not standing up today?]
[Your senior donated, and this is it?]
[Where’s the reaction?]

Viewers were puzzled by my lack of response.

“Oh, Frozen Princess said I don’t need to react to this amount.”

Relaying what she told me:

[Oh~]
[‘This amount.’]
[Sorry for doubting you, Princess.]
[Her generosity’s unreal.]
[Controlling our dopamine.]
[They’re basically married; big donations just lose to fees.]

The misunderstanding about Frozen Princess being broke cleared up fast.

[How’s it going with the fifth gen?]
[Feels like it’d be awkward, but you mesh well?]

Questions like that stood out.

“I’ve been hanging with the fifth gen lately. We get along pretty well.”

There was a hiccup with Aqua, but it’s resolved.

[Isn’t the skill gap huge? No shade, just reality.]
[Any hazing?]

Fair question.

“No hazing, they’re all sweet. Great teamwork too.”

Not empty words.

I’m no rookie, so the skill gap’s unavoidable, but their coordination is impressive.

[‘Kids.’]
[Sounds like a guardian herding them lol.]
[Fifth gen got owned.]
[5.5th gen’s scary.]

They never take things at face value.

“Not like that, we really click.”

Maybe because teammates came up, the topic shifted naturally.

[Tell us about the octopus fight with the fifth gen.]
[Heard getting pierced by tentacles makes you helpless?]
[Paralysis or aphrodisiacs work, but would Lily cry if caught?]

Chat teetering on the edge.

I get it, as a guy.

An octopus monster invites those kinds of jokes.

“Paralysis or aphrodisiacs probably wouldn’t work. Sorry, you won’t get the scene you’re hoping for.”

[‘Sorry.’]
[Immune to poison? That’s cheating.]
[She’s even resistant to dirty jokes.]
[Maybe immune to radiation too.]
[Ultimate lifeform Scarlet Lily!]

I said it casually, assuming poison scales with rank, but they blew it out of proportion.

[‘Frozen Princess’ donated 3,000,000 won!]
[Awesome.]

Frozen Princess, with her consistently cost-inefficient communication.

[Saving up for one big drop lol.]
[Is this pocket change too?]

I told her not to…

Here we go again.

In a dark room with the lights off, a girl watches Scarlet Lily’s stream.

“Fun kid.”

Munching potato chips, she focused on the monitor.

Pink hair, cute face.
Charming, but lacking the gravitas of a warrior.

“Doesn’t seem that strong.”

They say she one-shots any monster.

Aside from the dinosaur, just using basic Scarlet Beams.

Overwhelming power, unbound by tactics or strategy.
Everyone praises her, but can they swear it’s not exaggerated?

“Hm?”

Frozen Princess donated 3 million won.

Dropping that much just for brushing off lewd comments…
Hard to accept as normal.

“She’s getting cocky for a bit of fame. Let’s see how she fights at the upcoming ‘banquet.’”

The girl chuckled.

Like she’d found an intriguing toy.