Ch.326321 – Footprints

The news of Canon King’s visit to Korea caused quite a stir.

“Thank you all! I’ll never forget this moment! I love Korea! If you’re lucky, you might find me on the streets for the next few days!”

As he announced the end of his fan meeting, about 300 fans let out disappointed sighs.

Some occasionally shouted for an encore.

Canon King turned his microphone back on and returned to the stage to add one more thing.

“Is anyone here planning to attend NoName’s fan meeting later?”

It was a question asked on the off chance.

A fan sitting in the back row raised their hand high and shouted at the top of their lungs.

“Me!”

“Really? No way! Come up and show me your ticket.”

“Here’s my ticket!”

“Oh my God. You’re a spy, aren’t you?”

It was truly amazing.

It meant they had won tickets to both Canon King’s and NoName’s fan meetings simultaneously.

The audience repeatedly exclaimed “Ooooh” in admiration.

“Lucky friend, do you happen to have a car?”

“Yes, I drove here.”

“Then would it be too much trouble if I asked for a hitchhike to the fan meeting venue?”

“What? Really?”

The fan covered their mouth in shock.

Canon King led the bewildered fan to the back door and waved goodbye.

“Haha, farewell everyone! I’m throwing off all the shackles and constraints of this world to find my star! Be happy, everyone!”

* * *

“Wow, there are…”

“So many people.”

Manager Lee Bo-reum and editor So Ma-ru said one after another.

We had just exited the Gangnam Circular Expressway and were passing near Gwangmyeong Station.

“Name, you’ll need to be careful when going out from now on,” Professor Cheon added while gripping the steering wheel.

“These must be fans waiting for Canon King’s arrival.”

Unlike personal broadcasts that reach at most tens of thousands of viewers, the impact of a talk show broadcast across the entire United States was on a different level.

He had made it clear that the purpose of his visit to Korea was to attend my fan meeting, and this news eventually made it to the 9 o’clock news.

I couldn’t help but think he was a smart person who really understood what viral marketing meant.

“Good thing we’re keeping it small.”

“Why?”

So Ma-ru asked from the passenger seat while opening a snack.

“If that person is only meeting 300 fans at his event, it would be weird if I went around meeting thousands.”

“Oh, come on! Name will become much more famous than Uncle Canon, so it’s fine!”

Bo-reum patted my head from beside me.

While we were chatting, we arrived at the Twissy Convention Center.

As soon as we arrived, a Twissy representative greeted us in the elevator going up from the underground parking lot.

“Hello, NoName! Hello, father! I’m Delete Yong Jae-jun, in charge of today’s fan meeting. Pleased to meet you!”

It wasn’t just any representative, but the president of Letterbox himself who had come.

“Why is Delete here? You’re not trying to force Name into a contract after the fan meeting, are you?”

Bo-reum stood protectively in front of me, on guard.

Delete burst into hearty laughter in response.

“We actually help with fan meeting events even for creators who aren’t part of our MCN. Twissy Korea outsourced it to us, in a way. They have fewer than 20 employees.”

“But why did you come personally, Delete?”

“Well, everyone knows, right? Who’s coming to this fan meeting.”

It must be because of Canon King’s attendance.

“I came in person because there will be many things requiring my permission, like how to set up cameras for Canon King Live, how far staff can access, and so on. But we’ll accommodate everything to suit Name’s needs and make sure the fan meeting goes smoothly.”

We got into the elevator.

He kindly pressed the second floor button for us.

“Oh, right. If Name doesn’t mind, there’s one thing I’d like to ask.”

“What is it?”

“How about having Canon King as the host of the fan meeting? He suggested it first, and I think it’s a really good idea.”

“What? Canon King as the host?”

“I don’t mind.”

“Great! Then from now on, please be careful of your eardrums!”

[Second floor.]

The elevator doors opened wide on both sides, and bright light seeped through the gap.

At the same time, a massive roar of cheers pierced our eardrums.

“Wooooow!”

“It’s NoName!”

“Kyaaaa, so cute!”

“I came to see Name! Please hold a bigger fan meeting next time!”

“So tiny! That makes you twice as cute!”

Did people who weren’t even attending the fan meeting come all the way here?

Some even brought enormous telephoto cameras worth tens of millions of won.

As I stepped between the belt barricades, they stretched out their arms and waved like a horde of zombies.

One fan caught in the crowd even dropped their support picket.

I calmly walked over and picked it up for them.

“Here you go.”

“Ahh, thank you! Kyaaaa, did you see that? Isn’t she adorable!”

My head grew hot from the wild cheers and intense energy.

What made them so enthusiastic?

Did I deserve such treatment?

Putting aside such complicated thoughts, I spread my arms wide.

The path from the elevator entrance to the auditorium where the fan meeting was being held was winding.

I walked along that narrow path, trying to hold each hand that reached out to me.

This must be what it feels like to walk on clouds.

I had to work quite hard to keep my smile from growing too wide.

* * *

[NoName]

[Just Chatting – Name’s Fan Meeting Live]

[Broadcast Time – 0:56:48]

[Viewers – 34832]

-3 minutes left, heart pounding

-Got a high five with Name’s left hand lol. If I want to pass my exams this year, I should start practicing writing with my left hand

-Where is Canon sitting?

└ Can’t see from this angle because of the shadows.

-NoName and Canon dual fan meeting, this is so precious…

-Canon applying for this is such a troll move lmao

-Whoa, one light just went off!

-Is it really starting now?

The fan meeting held in a small theater-like venue was modest compared to Name’s popularity.

Staff members passed around sticky notes to collect questions in advance and bustled about the stage arranging chairs and tables.

As the appointed time approached, the lights turned off one by one, and the projector started up.

A gentle Brahms piano piece began playing as the video started.

[2050/07/14]

[First Stream: I’ll Solve Problems For You.]

This was a broadcast that wasn’t officially recorded.

A photo automatically captured by Twissy’s management AI for detecting unauthorized programs appeared.

There were only 3 viewers, including the AI bot.

-Wow, was that NoName’s old broadcast?

-Those were really the struggling days…

-crying crying crying

-Exceptional from the very beginning, truly.

Everyone has their humble beginnings.

As if to prove this, Name’s obscurity continued for half a year.

Then one day, she started a game she said she would never play.

[2051/01/20]

[World of Arsheria Start.]

-She played World of Arsheria before LoL on stream?

-This is my first time seeing this, wow

-The legendary tutorial.

A game started because of a donor’s mischief.

It was a screenshot taken by her current manager, who was just a viewer at the time, in complete surprise.

She had accomplished the feat of clearing the tutorial quest without learning magic.

The piano accent shifted the mood.

The video began to pick up speed, showcasing unrealistic achievements.

[2051/01/24 ~ 01/30]

[50 Wins, 0 Losses, Master Achieved]

She reached Master rank with an account that had received every curse imaginable from 7 years of abnormal play, then disappeared, only to…

[2051/03/19]

[Nightmare 10/10/10 Balum Benaons First Clear]

Return like a comet and unlock a story that hadn’t been cleared for 6 years.

Her long-time subscribers proudly talked about being able to witness these moments live.

-Why only Master after 50 wins?!?!

└ Double promotions were impossible back then

└ Even when winning, you’d get terrible points and your MMR would be destroyed;;

-NoName… just hearing the name makes my heart swell…

-If only I had known then! If only I had known!

The scenes that followed were ones everyone had seen at least once on VTube.

Story Mode Ranking #1, winning both the Revenge Tournament and Downfall Tournament simultaneously.

Not limited to gaming, she solved mathematical problems that seemed completely unrelated to streaming, and even held mock debates with university students.

She proved that her very existence was content, bringing her to where she is today.

[Can you say a few words of encouragement to the senior class representatives going to rehearsal today?]

[After all the help I’ve given, they better not lose or they’re dead.]

Fans laughed at the interview she gave while wrapped tightly in a blanket.

NoName eventually caused quite a stir at the Academy Competition.

[Is this even possible! She won! NoName from Cephiron defeated two seniors 7 years her senior!]

[I dare say to our viewers that you are witnessing a historic moment right now!]

The projector’s beam dimmed.

Hot spotlights came back on, illuminating the stage.

“Hup…! There!”

“Finally!”

-Something big is coming!

-NoName is coming out!

-lololol

-The atmosphere there is insane lol

-Is she really going to keep this up until the end?

[2052/01/21]

[Fan Meeting]

The large screen simply displayed the current event in white text on a black background.

Just as fans began taking out their cameras…

Click-

“…!”

There was a sense of someone passing behind the curtain.

The stride was short but quick.

Black shoes first appeared in the spotlight circle.

Following them came a red checkered skirt and a warm navy blue sailor uniform.

A red ribbon extended down to her navel, with gold buttons occasionally gleaming.

“Woooah!”

“Something’s different!”

“What’s with this vibe!”

“Waaaaaaah!”

Cutting through the enormous cheers, Name sat down in a child-sized chair placed in the center of the stage.

With the help of staff, she put on her earpiece microphone.

She tossed her hair in the air to arrange it.

Black strands scattered in all directions.

The sound of Name clearing her throat with a “hmm hmm” was picked up by the microphone.

It was a refreshing voice that sounded as if she had never breathed in a speck of fine dust.

She spoke her first words.

“Can you tell what’s different about me?”

A question truly anyone could answer.

Her long, straight hair, not tied with a hair band, settled calmly down to the floor.