Chapter 132: Ball

The familiar screen, the familiar lighting. My face, looking at the monitor, was as calm as usual. The microphone was in its usual place.

“Hello, may the blessings of the forest be with you. I’m a little late today, aren’t I?”

It wasn’t a particularly new greeting, but short comments popped up in the chat.

• Leah Leah

• Explain your 8-minute tardiness ㅡ.ㅡ

• But doesn’t Leah seem different today?

• Her voice is the same, but is her tone a bit lower?

• It must be your imagination lol

• Her purity level seems to have increased?

I didn’t react in any particular way.
My tone, my laughter, my expression. All were the same as usual.

…And they probably really were no different.
People sometimes perceive change even in familiar things. Today, there was no particular agitation within me.

“It’s just… I had this thought before the stream today. It was just a dream, but it felt strangely vivid. Haven’t you Pia experienced something like that?”

• Yes, yes

• Suddenly a dream?

• This, this, she was sleeping until just now and was late lol

• 8 minutes after even having a dream is pretty good lol

• So, what was it about?

“I won’t tell you the content. Should I just say that, strangely, it wasn’t a bad feeling?”

I hadn’t felt the need to express it in words from the beginning.

Sometimes, words… make things that are too vivid become blurred.

• Excuse me. What are you trying to do?

• You brought it up first!!

• You’re not going to tell us?

• Area-of-effect provocation right from the start of the stream lol

• The most infuriating way to make someone mad is…

• If you don’t tell us, we’ll assume it was a spicy dream ㅅㄱ

“…It wasn’t… that kind of dream.”

My voice seemed to have lowered slightly. And as if not wanting to avoid the ensuing reactions, I deliberately put on a smile.

Lowering my gaze slightly, I slowly finished my sentence.

“Anyway, I’ll leave that to your imaginations.”

Fortunately, my voice didn’t waver. So, I could continue speaking calmly.

“Today, I kind of… just want to chat with my Pia. Let’s take a break from games today.”

My tone was very light.
Yet, the chat seemed to pause, becoming quiet.

And the next moment, comments rapidly appeared.

• Ah…

• Surprise story time

• You’ve been forcing chat segments during game streams, and that’s not enough??

• No Origin Rift… ?

• I’m lying down, this is going to be long

• Just go with the flow

• It’s about time for another lore dump…

• I was actually waiting for this lol

• Is the Alduras story finally happening?

• What’s Alduras, nerd

• You don’t know Alduras, the 2nd Seat of Varnok??

• It’s a bit much to leave out that part right before the great warㅇㅇ

“I’m sorry to those who were waiting. I’m not ready to talk about the great war with Alduras yet. But I’ll be able to show you soon.”

• Show us, not tell us?

• How many drawings is she planning to make…

• If you keep postponing it, the anticipation will just build up…?

• Then what are we talking about today?

Looking at my Pia’s reactions, I hesitated for a moment.

What should I talk about?

The thought of what I ‘should’ do was often the starting point of my words.

Even when sharing stories of that world…
Perhaps I was actually searching through and organizing my memories to gain someone’s approval.

It seemed like a natural conversation, but there was always a purpose within it.
The desire to prove, to explain, to be accepted.

But now, I felt like I didn’t need to prove anything.

Just the story that came to mind now.

A memory I wanted to share, without any particular meaning.

Wouldn’t that be enough?

“…It was around the time I was 17, three years after the war began.”

I took a short breath in front of the microphone. And looking beyond the screen, I quietly continued.

“Most of the front lines were being pushed back by the demons. News of cities falling came from the east, and the dwarven fortresses in the north were barely holding on. In the midst of that, there was the western ‘Kingdom of Toarel,’ relatively less affected by the war.”

• Another new kingdom appearing

• It’s amazing that you even notice it’s new…

• Didn’t you go to the wiki to review?

• I want revenge on Leah, who doesn’t even play the game

• Look at those rhymes

“That kingdom had many rolling hills and wetlands. The terrain was so vast and complex that it was difficult for the demons to move their troops quickly. So it naturally became a rear base, a refuge, and… a stage for political maneuvering.”

Lowering my gaze, which had briefly drifted upwards, I continued.

“And in Harmile, the capital of Toarel… a ball was held.”

I laughed briefly. It was a slightly melancholic laugh.

“Of course, the format of a ball itself… didn’t suit the times. The situation on the front lines wasn’t good, and the demons still had the upper hand. Nevertheless, that event was absolutely necessary.”

• Gotta do what you gotta do…

• Stress management on

• The club is open?

• I don’t think it was just a place to shake your
  lol

“Toarel was a western city-state, but at that time, it was a hub for diplomacy. Countless refugees and representatives from neutral countries flocked there, and each faction fiercely competed for influence. And among them, the diplomatic line with the elves was a very important strategic card.”

I briefly closed and opened my eyes.

“Spirits, magic, natural resources, passage rights through the forests… forming a relationship with the elves wasn’t just a matter of image. So they demanded it. They said, ‘Someone who is actually cooperating from the Elven faction must be present.’”

I could still clearly recall the atmosphere at the time, the moment the invitation arrived, and the expression of the messenger delivering the message.

“At that moment, among the elves remaining on the front lines, the only one officially capable of diplomacy was… me. Seraphil refused the invitation.”

• A ball? Why me?

• Refusing does seem more fitting lol

• Giga-Chad Seraphil…

“She was… an archmage, of the Elven Queen’s lineage. Literally, no one could force her hand. ‘I must become the storm, so I cannot stand in a flower garden’ – that’s what she said.”

• Kyaa

• That’s pretty cool

• Why do elves like metaphors so much? lol

• Especially nature metaphors

• Wake up, it’s just Leah’s preference…

• Leah is a flower, so she goes to the flower garden ^^

• ???

• Is this Leah disease?

“But I was different. I wasn’t as strong as her, nor as free in the hierarchy. And if there were no elves present, it would create the misunderstanding that the elves weren’t cooperating. And I knew all too well how such misunderstandings could crumble the front lines.”

• So she got the short end of the stick lol

• Seraphil saving face and passing the buck lol

• Leah’s even the Minister of Foreign Affairs…

Although my Pia were being a bit blunt, I think I also felt a bit envious of those words at the time.

I didn’t have the option of getting out of it with a single sentence like Seraphil.

“The dress arrived the morning after I arrived in Harmile. It was sent directly from a noble family of Toarel, as a courtesy to an officially invited guest.”

Tilting my head slightly, I recall the sensation.

“The outside was silk, but the lining was much stiffer than I expected… and rather than draping around my body, it felt like a shell, separating me from the outside.”

As I spoke, my body gradually reacted, as if following the memory.

“The hem fell long below my ankles, and the back trailed along the ground. The layers of the skirt added weight to my every step, and I had to hold my breath even when going up and down stairs.”

• This is the vibe of someone who’s actually worn it…

• Wh-what?

• Leah, if you’ve worn something like that, I can’t hold back…

• Calm down, she could have heard it from a friend

• Then how old are her friends…?

• Unni…

“The waist was tightly cinched, and the upper body was so stiff that it barely allowed for movement. It was a meticulously crafted dress, but… there were some parts that didn’t quite fit my physique.”

I lightly clasped my fingertips together. The feeling of standing in front of the mirror for the first time that day came back surprisingly vividly.

“Especially… the upper body. It was designed with strings that tightened from the inside, but perhaps because mine were a bit more… ample – the front kept lifting. When I inhaled, the fabric would push upwards, and I kept having to smooth it back down with my hand.”

• What’s… ample?

• I didn’t understand ㅜㅜ Please tell us clearly what was ample ㅜㅜ

• She’s saying her chest was bigger than the dress design~

• Lol

• Leah is big… confirmed

• Look at this sly fox subtly flexing

I needlessly touched the nape of my neck with my fingertips, briefly averting my gaze. I realized I had spoken carelessly, too engrossed in the story.

“The sleeves were the same. I couldn’t raise my arms because of the way the fabric constricted.”

Speaking so freely had its drawbacks. I roughly concluded the story of my first dress-wearing experience and gave my overall impression.

“Thinking back, that dress was more nerve-wracking than the battlefield. Once you get used to a bow, your body reacts before you even think. But a dress… without any explanation, it was a garment that dictated, ‘Now you must look like this.’”