Ch.182177 – Tallulah

“Professor Cheon Kyu-jin doing pure mathematics? That’s complete nonsense.”

That was the opinion of Professor Baek, who shared the same floor with Professor Cheon.

Professor Cheon specialized in materials engineering.

Even though he mainly dealt with soft materials and had some background in theoretical physics and analysis, he had definitely overstepped his boundaries.

He was convinced that Professor Cheon had accepted a request from the child’s parents to create a star, which is why he was the first to testify that NoName was a fake genius.

“This Maria person or whoever probably wrote the entire proof for her.”

The first author who eventually turned out to be using a pseudonym.

There was a good reason why mathematics, rather than magic studies, was always chosen when creating “fake geniuses.”

The field itself was much smaller than magic studies, meaning there were far fewer people who understood the latest mathematical trends, which in turn meant there were woefully insufficient reviewers worldwide.

Therefore, when someone submitted dozens of pages of proofs, it naturally took a considerable amount of time to verify them.

During that time, they could soak up the fame and then disappear when the truth came to light—a classic method from twenty years ago.

So why did Professor Cheon accept such a request?

‘Even I don’t know that.’

Professor Cheon had followed a typical elite path—graduating from Korea University before going straight to the US for his master’s and doctorate.

Since theoretical soft materials engineering was one of the least profitable fields, Professor Baek cautiously speculated that Professor Cheon might be transitioning into becoming a “polyfessor” (political professor).

Though he didn’t know exactly who the child’s parents were, they must certainly be influential in political circles. Otherwise, there would be no reason to take such a risk.

HONK HONK-!

He honked his horn, condemning the government for making no effort to solve rush hour traffic despite the daily advances in autonomous driving technology.

[172 – Twish TV]

“Whoever used my car should at least change the channel back properly.”

Professor Baek’s commute was always accompanied by channel 132, the golf channel.

His hand paused as he was about to change the channel when some game broadcast appeared.

[Congratulations on The Blory team’s advancement to the finals with a perfect 5-0 record in the DGAD group stage! Wooooooooo!]

He had vaguely heard that NoName had participated in some gaming tournament from a recent press conference.

On screen, a seven-year-old child and a girl wearing an animal hoodie stood nervously on stage next to an interviewer holding a microphone.

Professor Baek continued watching the Twissy broadcast.

They were using difficult gaming terms that Professor Baek, approaching his 50s, mostly couldn’t understand.

Then came the final interview question.

[NoName, along with Kariri, you’re the only underage streamers in DGAD! Your parents must be so proud watching this broadcast! Is there anything you’d like to say to your parents if they’re watching?]

The interviewer passed the microphone.

Kariri, instructed to relay the microphone from the middle position.

The girl’s eyes and hands were trembling.

In contrast, the young child on camera gripped the microphone with both hands and stared straight ahead.

[Um… well… my mind’s going blank now that I have to speak. I think I did pretty well yesterday and today, but I’m not sure what mom would think. I’ll continue to live bravely and confidently… so please keep watching me. Today especially, I miss you so much, mom. I love you a lot.]

[Wow, what a heartfelt confession from NoName! It’s so touching just hearing it! I’m sure your mother will love it! Are you currently living apart from your mother?]

[She’s in heaven.]

[What…?]

“What?”

HONK HONK-!

Professor Baek’s exclamation was drowned out by the horn.

[And I don’t have a father, so I’ll skip that part.]

The interviewer who received the microphone felt her mind go blank.

* * *

In the full league played over two days by six teams, Name’s team secured a direct ticket to the finals with a perfect 5-0 record.

-I believed in you, Kariri!

-You’re our hero!

-Leaf Village level lol

-lmao that complete 180 is hilarious

Some opinions suggested that Name’s performance wasn’t as impressive as before, despite their development in scrims and perfect record in the league, but these opinions were quickly silenced after Name’s interview.

[In World of Arsheria, not everyone can be the protagonist. And our team, The Blory, has decided that Kariri is our main character.]

[Results vary dramatically depending on who gets the resources. Building me up wouldn’t change much, but building up Kariri can win us objective fights.]

[Regrets about character selection? No, I don’t think it’s unfair. Kariri’s tank assassin that everyone calls overpowered is the product of our entire team’s efforts. I hope everyone recognizes that effort.]

[Not everyone can be the protagonist in a single story, but I believe everyone has their own story where they are the main character. For those who want to see me shine, I’ll be the protagonist in the upcoming Downfall Battle in Legacy of Legend, so please watch that too. This is my first interview so I might be rambling a bit, but thank you to everyone who has supported us.]

-Wow

-Daaaamn

-Well spoken!!!

-“Everyone has their own story where they are the protagonist” – that’s profound

-NoName seems to have a talent for profound statements lol

-Still better than those “cool kids” who dismiss everything as cringe

-So adorable lol

-Kariri was the one actually rambling

-Turning on Kariri’s voice made even the English interpreter give up lmao

The audience responded enthusiastically to the two girls’ unique personalities.

This encouraged the interviewer to ask a question that wasn’t on the original list.

Requesting video messages to parents usually captured players’ embarrassed reactions on camera.

It could wrap things up with a heartwarming atmosphere and help change middle-aged viewers’ perceptions about gaming—truly killing three birds with one stone.

-I want to be NoName’s parent too!!!

-Should this kid be studying or gaming?

└ lol that’s a happy dilemma

-I wonder what kind of people they are

[Are you currently living apart from your mother?]

But she shouldn’t have asked that.

[She’s in heaven.]

The chat exploded.

Or rather, everyone thought it had exploded.

The fast-moving chat actually froze for a moment.

-Huh?

-Did I hear that wrong?

-Heaven…? Heaven…?

-She meant SKY, right?

-????????

-Emer… emer… emergency!

-EMERGENCYYYYYY!

-We need damage control… NOW!

-This is a real emergency!!!!!!

-No parents? Both of them?

-Oh no!

-OMG this seems real;;

-crying

-Is this for real…

-What did NoName just say? I missed it

-That interviewer is so screwed for real

-She’s really an orphan? At just 14?

-Tattoos, dropping out, hikikomori… ah… so that’s why…

-crying This foreshadowing…

The broadcast crashed immediately after.

* * *

“I’m well past the age where something like that would hurt me. Besides, you didn’t know. I’m really fine, so you can stop apologizing now.”

I helped the announcer, who was bowing with a solemn expression, to stand up.

Every time she tried to speak, her trembling lips made her choke up again, so I ended up exhausting myself trying to comfort her.

Honestly, I didn’t think not having parents was that special. Sure, it would have been nice to have them, but even in my previous life, there were plenty of people who had to give up their dreams because they were held back by their parents.

Especially after the war, there were so many children growing up without parents on the streets that blood relations became useless in life-threatening situations.

After receiving the interviewer’s sincere apology and the affectionate gazes from the World of Arsheria team members, the atmosphere in the team was quite unsettling as we prepared for the LoL tournament.

“Name…”

“No, Sia, you don’t need to make such a big deal—”

“Name! Waaaaaah! I didn’t know and hic!”

Yoo Sia picked me up in a tight hug. If I’d known this would happen, I wouldn’t have changed my avatar before coming.

“What’s wrong? We have a tournament to play. What if you miss ganks because you can’t see the minimap?”

“You… you…”

“What…?”

“Waaaaaaaaaah!”

“Stop crying and just tell me!”

“Hic… I’ll! *sob* I’ll be your mom, Name…!”

“What are you talking about?! I’m already adopted and living well! Besides, there’s at least a thirty-year age gap between my adoptive father and you.”

Sudden silence.

“*sniff*… That’s true.”

“Right. Let’s prepare for the pick and ban phase.”

“Okay…”

Everyone is really overreacting.