Chapter 4: Aspiring streamer Eluke (1)

I showed Seoyoon, who had just returned home, the plans and goals I’d painstakingly crafted.

She’d definitely be satisfied. It was a pretty reasonable plan, after all.

“Hmm…”

But Seoyoon’s reaction was lukewarm, contrary to my expectations.

Her ambiguous expression, slightly frowning eyes, and silence evoked a sense of unease.

Could I have failed?

Honestly, I’d thought she’d pass right away, but her unsatisfactory demeanor caught me off guard.

“This is strange.”

Could something be wrong? Perhaps she had some prejudice against the streamer profession.

Seoyoon, lost in thought, stared at the monitor for a while before finally speaking.

“Oppa, I don’t think it’s bad. Actually, I was considering becoming a streamer myself.”

Fortunately, it seemed she wasn’t silent because she was dissatisfied.

“But there’s something missing.”

“What is that?”

“Content. We need to decide how we’ll present the broadcast. Have you thought about that?”

I nodded confidently.

“Appearance. Shouldn’t this be enough?”

“…”

Seoyoon, who had been gaping in amazement, soon burst into laughter.

“It definitely seems like it’ll have a ripple effect.”

“Of course. The thing I heard most often while working as a Pope was, ‘I’m surprised you’re more beautiful than I thought.’”

“…Really?”

Beauty is a common interest for all of humanity.

Even people from other worlds were fascinated by my appearance. Even the haughty elves were like that.

“You have a face that inspires confidence.”

Seoyoon stared intently at my face and continued.

“But streamers who have nothing but their looks don’t last long. Do you know why?”

Why?

I thought for a moment and then answered.

“Maybe because the viewers get tired of you?”

“That’s right. No matter how pretty you are, if it’s not fun, they’ll all leave eventually.”

It was a valid point, so I nodded slightly.

I needed to listen intently. A wise Pope should not judge unilaterally, but accept all opinions and advice.

Seoyoon then grabbed the mouse and went to a website she had bookmarked.

[YouTube]

A video site that existed before. I remembered occasionally visiting it to look for game strategy videos.

According to Seoyoon, it had significantly more users than before.

“These days, both kids and adults watch YouTube.”

“Why is it so popular?”

“I don’t know? Because TV isn’t fun?”

It seemed that TV, which had been the center of all media before the possession, had now become obsolete.

“The world has changed a lot.”

“Like you, oppa?”

“I think it’s changed less than me.”

“That’s true.”

Seoyoon giggled and entered a search term into YouTube. It was in English.

“This person is the most famous among the returnees.”

A channel with a lipsticked cat face appeared at the top of the search results.

[Sister CAT]

@SCAT · 110 million subscribers

“…100 million?”

An unrealistic number that defied imagination. I blinked silently for a moment before asking,

“Why are you introducing me to this person?”

“Analyze what content this person became famous for. It’s a little different from live streaming, but it’ll help.”

“Okay. I’ll take note.”

“And think about what content you’ll broadcast.”

Seoyoon, who had left me with a pile of homework, quickly went to bed.

I decided to study all night, since I didn’t need to sleep for a day or so.

But there was something I had to do before that.

“Both of you, go to sleep quickly.”

I laid my daughters down on the blankets spread on the floor in the small room Seoyoon had provided for our family.

The room was originally small enough to be a closet, so all five of us couldn’t sleep.

So Liam and I took turns sleeping on the sofa, and today was my turn. I had something to do anyway.

“No. I’m going to play more!”

“No.”

But the twins didn’t seem to want to go to sleep easily.

Their eyes sparkled with determination to stay up, lips pouting defiantly. At a glance, they weren’t going to be easy to put to bed.

Normally, they were good girls who closed their eyes when I told them to sleep, but… they’d suddenly gone rogue.

The culprit, naturally, was the troublemaking, accident-prone former warrior and current unemployed slacker.

“…Liam.”

“Why’re you calling me?”

The annoyingly handsome guy answered while sprawled out. His carefree attitude was infuriating.

“Why did you cast interpretation magic on the kids? It’s just a temporary fix, isn’t it?”

“Still, it’s effective until they learn the language here.”

“That’s a fair point.”

It did save the effort of teaching them Korean. But it came with one fatal flaw.

I barely suppressed the urge to step on Liam’s foot and spoke.

“But why, pray tell, did you show the kids comic books?”

My intended words were all censored, resulting in an unnatural tone. The unpleasant sensation of my tongue moving on its own lingered in my mouth.

Even for me, it was hard to keep my expression in check at times like this.

“Comic books? Oh, you mean those books with lots of drawings? The kids were curious, so I asked your sister-in-law to grab a few from the bookshelf…”

Liam, rambling cluelessly, suddenly trailed off.

Avoiding my eyes, he spoke.

“Did I do something wrong?”

“Yes. You taught the kids ‘fun things.’”

Erina and Ivayla were each clutching a comic book. Judging by the covers, they were popular Japanese manga.

I’d read them long before my possession, but they were a bit violent for five-year-olds. A little risqué, too.

Of course, they weren’t interested in violence or sex yet.

They were just intrigued by the drawings. There were no comics in that other world, after all.

“Erina, Ivayla. Hand them over.”

I spoke more firmly than usual, extending my hand.

But my daughters, engrossed in the manga, didn’t even pretend to listen.

“Ah! His arm keeps stretching!”

“I want to go on an adventure too.”

“Me too, me too!”

“And I want to fall into the sea.”

“I don’t want that…”

They were seriously discussing the story without even understanding it.

They were so adorable that I couldn’t help but watch them for a moment before snapping out of it.

“Liam. Open your eyes and look. This is the chaotic and grim reality your irresponsible actions have created.”

Maybe realizing his mistake, Liam kept glancing at me nervously.

Then, cautiously, he said,

“Clitia.”

“Why are you calling me?”

“Want a kiss?”

“…”

Did he really think that would work? It wasn’t even funny. It was an utterly absurd attempt.

“…I’ll let it slide just this once.”

And I was the fool who fell for a guy who pulls stunts like that.

“Come here.”

Liam grinned and patted the spot next to him. What a maddening guy.

“I’ll take it later. The kids are watching.”

“So what? We do it all the time.”

Facing Liam’s sly gaze, I suddenly recalled what the ‘Sage’ from our warrior party once said.

– You like the Hero? No way. You’ll definitely regret it later.

I was worried back then, but thinking about it now, I could only laugh.

‘Regret? I ended up having three kids with that Hero.’

The future is truly unpredictable.

Shaking off the thought, I smirked at Liam.

“Take responsibility and put the kids to bed.”

“Got it!”

His response was quick, at least.

I was browsing the ‘Sister CAT’ channel while holding Rohan, who had just woken up.

“Tta tta.”

Rohan babbled, interrupting me, but I patted his back and focused.

‘Interesting.’

Sister CAT.

This American woman was a returnee who’d been possessed by a character in a niche TRPG world.

A world where evil gods and demons waged war. According to Wikipedia, she’d lived a pretty tough life.

Anyway, Sister CAT’s main content was ‘experiments.’

Recreating the swamp of an evil god as a set.

Summoning a low-level demon.

Testing what happens when borrowing a tiny fraction of an evil god’s power.

All of them were reckless, thrilling videos.

Was she risking her life to film these? That’s what I thought, but apparently, Sister CAT literally had multiple lives.

‘No wonder she’s popular.’

Stimulating content impossible for ordinary people.

Even I, who’d been through all sorts of things, found it intriguing, so it’s no surprise she captured the attention of this world’s people.

I hit the ‘Subscribe’ button and opened a blank document. I planned to decide what to do on my stream by referencing her channel.

First, I mentally listed my strengths.

Unparalleled beauty, miraculous healing abilities.

I thought hard, but nothing else came to mind. That was it.

‘…This is tricky.’

Both were far from ordinary, but beauty and healing alone had limits.

This was going to be more complicated than I thought.

Feeling overwhelmed, I closed my eyes for a moment.

“Ttaa!”

Rohan patted my shoulder, as if cheering me on.

“Rohan, are you encouraging your mom?”

“Ttaaa!”

“Thank you. Keep growing up like this. Don’t take after your dad.”

He’s my son, but he’s so cute I can’t take my eyes off him. Just looking at him was healing.

I spent a while tending to Rohan, letting time slip by.

Then, a sudden thought flashed through my mind.

‘Isn’t my very existence a massive piece of content?’

I was a walking storybook.

Tales from my nun days, my first meeting with that rogue Hero, battles with the Four Heavenly Kings.

Just sharing what I’d been through would cause a stir. I had an abundance of stories people would find fascinating.

And if I got tired of storytelling, I could just perform a miracle or two. I could ask the Goddess, who’s close to me, for a favor.

‘No need to overthink this.’

I gathered holy power in my hand as a test.

A soft pink holy light formed instantly. Even after crossing dimensions, the Goddess’s grace still protected me.

This allowed me to be bold and confident.

“I’ll just give it a try.”

After much deliberation, the conclusion was relatively simple. That made me even more satisfied.

“Tta, yea.”

“Rohan, be happy. We’ll be rich soon.”

Rohan smiled brightly, as if he understood what I meant.

Perhaps it was thanks to my son’s cuteness. Just then, a thought occurred to me about what to do during the first broadcast.

I opened Wikipedia and found the article I wanted.

[Apolis Tales]

The very game that had engulfed me.

The article on “Apolis Tales,” the object of love and hate in my heart, was quite informative.

“This is it.”

A smile naturally formed on my face.

It was a smile that spilled from my heart.

The next day.

I stopped Seoyoon, who was preparing breakfast.

I couldn’t just keep taking, so I decided to return the favor.

“What’s wrong?”

“Please wait a moment.”

I clasped my hands together in front of my chest, closed my eyes, and muttered softly.

“Bright sun, may your graceful rays shine upon those who endure this arduous day.”

The prayer’s effect was immediate.

“Huh?”

A faint pink glow fell from Seoyoon’s head.

Soon, Seoyoon’s eyes, which had previously looked slightly tired, became clearer.

Furthermore, her skin became smoother, and her hair became more luscious. It was as if time had turned back.

“What did you just do?”

“It’s a blessing. I’ve generously given you a week’s worth.”

“…”

Perhaps she had finally grasped the power of the Pope. Seoyoon remained silent for a moment before speaking.

“Thank you. What is the name of the person you believe in?”

“Are you interested in the Goddess? But Seoyoon, aren’t you a non-believer?”

“But if there is a real God, there’s no reason not to believe in her.”

Indeed, I had fallen for the same reason.

I gazed at Seoyoon’s vibrant face and smiled slightly.

“Let’s talk about the details later.”

“Yes. I have a lot to say.”

Seoyoon followed me, her lips curled upward.

But her reason for smiling was different from mine.

“Oppa, how about proselytizing on TV?”

“…Yes?”

“A system where you can join if you donate a certain amount. Wouldn’t that be great?”

Was she suggesting that religion, which is supposed to be sacred and holy, be openly linked to capital? It was an unbearable thought.

“That’s a really good idea.”

I couldn’t help it because I liked it so much.