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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: FusionX
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Yor apologized.
“Sorry… Forget what I just said. I’m a bit on edge.”
“Oh… Okay. It’s fine.”
He’d snapped at her, but he knew it was a bad habit to let his emotions dictate his actions.
She had come all this way to see him, his behavior had been unacceptable.
After composing himself, he invited her inside. He wasn’t in any condition to receive guests, but he felt bad sending her away.
As they walked into the cave, he could feel her staring at him. Her gaze was filled with concern. Her mouth opened and closed several times, as if she wanted to ask something.
Finally, unable to contain her curiosity, she cautiously asked,
“…Did something happen yesterday?”
She usually refrained from asking personal questions, knowing he disliked them, but she seemed genuinely curious this time.
Well, even he would ask for an explanation if he saw someone covered in blood.
He answered casually,
“Period.”
“…Huh?”
“I had my period.”
“…”
Was that right?
It happened roughly once a month, and there was blood involved, so it was close enough.
She tilted her head, clearly confused, but that was the best explanation he could offer.
He couldn’t explain the Berserk episodes, and he didn’t have the energy to entertain guests.
As he walked further into the cave, he pondered.
‘What should I do with her now…?’
He’d let her in, but he didn’t have the energy to deal with her. He felt mentally foggy and physically heavy. He was utterly exhausted.
He hadn’t slept all night because of the Berserk episode, and he’d depleted both his physical and mental energy.
His usual routine after a Berserk episode was to sleep the entire next day. It was the only way to recover.
‘Should I ask her to stand guard…?’
He briefly considered it. Sometimes, monsters entered his cave, attracted by the scent of blood.
The blood came from the deepest part of the cave, so the scent didn’t spread easily, but a monster’s sense of smell was exceptional.
He’d been attacked by monsters in his sleep several times. He’d always woken up in time to survive, but it was still unsettling.
Of course, having someone nearby while he slept was also uncomfortable…
‘Hmm…’
He was torn.
Should he send her away and sleep while on guard?
Or should he ask her to stand guard and sleep more peacefully?
His deliberation didn’t last long.
He asked her,
“Do you want a job?”
A short while later…
“Wake me up if anyone comes. And don’t go into the back.”
“Okay.”
“And don’t try anything funny. I’m a light sleeper.”
“Look, I can’t even beat you. What could I possibly do? Go wash up and get some sleep.”
“…Fine. You can stream if you’re bored.”
Chae-rin accepted Yor’s request.
Surprisingly, a quest window popped up. The objective was to guard the area until Yor woke up. The reward was a small fee.
It was a simple task.
She would have accepted even without the quest.
He looked too exhausted and vulnerable.
She thought with a worried expression,
‘What happened yesterday…?’
She’d been planning to cheerfully tell him about the Arena update, but she’d been greeted by a blood-soaked mess. Something had definitely happened last night.
He didn’t have any visible injuries, but the amount of blood suggested he’d been through a gruesome ordeal. His complexion was pale, and he looked exhausted.
She had almost fainted from shock when she first saw him. She hadn’t fallen only because she’d been frozen in place.
It had been that shocking.
And his response to her cautious question was… period?
“Hmm…”
After a moment of contemplation, she started her stream.
Despite the unexpected morning stream, viewers flooded in. Her channel had grown significantly.
[ㅇㅎ] (Oh)
[Yoo-ha] (Stream greeting)
[Ong?] (Huh?)
[Why the sudden morning stream?]
Looking at the viewers’ greetings, she seriously asked,
“Hey guys, do men have periods…?”
[?]
[What the fuck are you talking about lol]
[No, you idiot]
[Please understand~ the streamer is a virgin who’s never met a man~]
[Didn’t even finish elementary school wwww]
The chat exploded with insults.
Chae-rin nodded.
“Hmm.”
Normally, she would have banned them, but she wasn’t offended.
At least she knew her common sense wasn’t wrong.
‘Then what really happened…?’
Her curiosity only deepened. What frustrated her even more was that she couldn’t ask him directly.
He tended to avoid personal questions. She couldn’t deny that he had many secrets.
And honestly… she was afraid he might actually hit her if she asked him in his current state.
‘Sigh, whatever.’
After a moment of deliberation, she decided to let it go. She was curious, but there was no way to find out.
She hoped she would find out eventually.
“You started streaming?”
Yor returned while she was lost in thought.
He had washed up, as he’d said. The bloodstains were gone, and he looked clean.
[Sudden stream and Yor tooㄷㄷㄷ]
[What’s the special occasion?]
[Yo-ha]
[Did he just shower? Why is his hair so wet lol]
[Wet Yor ㄷㄷㄷ]
[Whoa there]
“I’m going to sleep. Keep watch.”
[Sleep?]
[It’s morning though..?]
[He does look tired]
[I’m good at sleeping too lol]
[Wanna sleep together? ㅎㅎ]
The chat went wild, seeing Yor in such a vulnerable state.
Chae-rin intervened.
“Hey, keep the chat clean. Do you think I can’t ban people?”
Starting the stream so early in the morning had been a mistake. Her manager was probably still asleep, and the viewers were running rampant.
Her warning calmed them down slightly.
[So, what are you going to do today?]
The viewers asked after Yor disappeared into the depths of the cave.
Chae-rin modified the stream title. The more viewers, the better, even for a casual stream.
She needed a clickbait title…
[Things to do while Yor sleeps.avi]
It wasn’t inaccurate.
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Seven hours had passed since Yor fell asleep.
During that time, Chae-rin had done various things to pass the time, as her stream title suggested.
The guarding quest was easy. There were no monsters attacking, nor were there bandits like in an escort mission.
She almost felt guilty for getting paid for doing practically nothing.
So, she decided to do something while he slept.
She cleaned up the blood he’d dripped on the floor, chatted with her viewers, and even made some soup with the preserved food in her inventory.
Her experience living alone came in handy.
Whenever she did something, the viewers urged her to enter Yor’s room, but she ignored them.
She didn’t want to be killed.
As a guest, her access to the cave was limited, but she could tell it was spacious.
From what she’d seen, there were bathing facilities and a storage room. It had everything he needed to live.
“…”
She deliberately ignored the faint scent of blood emanating from the back of the cave. It clearly wasn’t something she was supposed to know about.
‘…He probably butchered some monsters or something? Right?’
She tried to quell her curiosity with such thoughts.
Two hours later, Yor finally woke up.
She could see him rubbing his eyes as he approached. He still looked sleepy.
“Still tired after sleeping so long? You can sleep more.”
“…It’s fine. The sun will set soon. You should head back.”
Chae-rin looked outside. The forest was bathed in a soft orange glow. The sun was setting.
It would be completely dark in a few hours.
She smiled wryly.
‘I’ll have to tell him about the Arena later…’
It was a shame, but she couldn’t help it. She wasn’t confident about returning at night.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you.”
Chae-rin nodded.
She could return alone, but having him as an escort made a huge difference. It was much more comfortable to have him as a bodyguard than to sneak around alone using stealth.
They could also chat along the way.
They had some soup and left the cave.
Fortunately, they didn’t encounter any monsters.
It was late afternoon, and the monsters in the forest were scattered, their attention drawn elsewhere.
After walking for a while, they spotted a group approaching from the opposite direction.
“Oh, we found him!”
“Wow, this forest is so confusing. It was hard to find you.”
They were otherworlders, just like Chae-rin.
It had been almost a year since [Demon’s Saga] launched, and the average player level had increased significantly.
More and more players were challenging the Forbidden Forest.
While only 5% succeeded in reaching the middle layer, that still meant some were succeeding.
The forest had become quite lively. She occasionally found items dropped by dead players.
Yor’s prediction had come true.
“Hello, we’re fans.”
“Here’s a gift.”
The otherworlders they encountered were Chae-rin’s viewers. They took out bread from their inventories and offered it to Yor.
“…?”
Yor, who had been eyeing them cautiously, accepted the bread with a bewildered expression.
It was a sugar-coated donut.
“Hey, let’s go. I’m almost out of mana.”
“Okay, we’ll be going then. Good luck with your stream~”
The viewers, after delivering their real-life(?) donations, coolly left the forest.
Similar encounters occurred several times.
Viewers who had somehow found Yor approached him and greeted him.
He received gifts and signed autographs.
“…?”
Yor made a puzzled expression. He felt like a monkey in a zoo.
He was happy to receive gifts, but it felt strange.
He looked at Chae-rin with a bewildered expression.
She replied awkwardly,
“Ahaha, how interesting…?”
“Were there always this many hardcore fans among your viewers?”
“I guess so… I’m a bit surprised too.”
Seeing Yor’s discomfort, Chae-rin addressed her viewers.
She thanked them for their support, but asked them to stop visiting him, as it could be burdensome.
So far, the viewers they’d encountered had been kind, but there was no guarantee that all of them would be. Not everyone was normal.
They continued their journey.
Shortly after asking the viewers to stop visiting, they encountered two more people.
Chae-rin was about to speak again.
“Hey, I appreciate your support, but please stop visiting-”
And that’s when it happened.
Yor stepped in front of Chae-rin, blocking her path.
She looked at him, puzzled.
His amber eyes were filled with suspicion.
He asked sharply,
“Who are you?”
Chae-rin didn’t know, but a window had popped up in Yor’s vision. A window that was different from the ones he’d seen with the other viewers.
They weren’t otherworlders.
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