Chapter 47: Thanks for telling me

Karen lived in a studio apartment in Seoul.

It was about 33 square meters with two rooms.

Karen greeted me at the entrance.

“Ria!”

“Fuuu…”

Karen’s eyes were still very swollen.

Just how much did she cry?

Is that even possible while playing a single game?

I shouldn’t burst out laughing as soon as I saw her face.

I calmed myself down with a deep breath.

“Take off your mask.

You’re smiling, aren’t you?”

“No.”

I quickly took off my mask and showed her my expression.

“It’s more strange when you make such a straight face.

Sigh.

I need to reduce the swelling quickly… I’m worried.”

“It’s not bad now.

You look like a forlorn puppy.”

“…Is that a good thing?”

“It’s good here.

Looking cute and pitiful makes it easier to gain human favor.”

“Do you know that there are two parts I want to point out in that sentence?”

“I’ll listen.”

“What do you mean it’s good here?

Is it not good elsewhere then?”

“You have to be cautious.

Should we talk about this while drinking?”

“Do we need to go that deep?

Then when you said it like you’re not human… I understand now that I’m saying it.

I’m slowly figuring out Ria’s pattern, you know?”

Karen playfully stuck out her tongue.

“Because I’m a half-elf!

That’s why, right?”

“That’s part of it.

It’s also because humans are particularly emotional.”

Karen chuckled and gestured to the table set with food.

“You have to admit that Ria is a bit odd.

Anyway, thank you so much for coming to my house.

I’m already starting to forget about the game.”

What Karen ordered was neatly sliced raw beef.

“This place is expensive, but it’s really delicious!

I’m glad you can eat this too, Ria.”

“I’m not a picky eater.”

I unpacked the bag and placed the alcohol I brought on the floor.

“Gasp!

Was that all alcohol?

The bag was so big I thought there were snacks in it.”

“Don’t worry.

There’s fruit-flavored soju too.”

“There’s only one bottle.

The rest are all 21 proof.

Ria must be a really strong drinker.

Koharu would be happy to hear that.

She kept singing about wanting to have a drink with you.”

“Is there not enough fruit-flavored soju?

Should I go out and get some more?”

“No.

I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix drinks.

I’ll just drink the red one too.”

We filled each other’s small glasses with alcohol.

“Cheers!”

“Cheers.”

Karen frowned and quickly put a piece of raw beef in her mouth.

“Ria.

Do you remember when we first met?

Sera told us to call each other by our VTuber names.”

“Yes.”

“It was really awkward back then, but now it’s more awkward to call each other by our real names.

When I see how I’ve adapted, I feel like time has passed so quickly.

I wondered when we would debut, but it’s already been a week… Oh right.

It’s a bit late, but let’s have a toast to celebrate our debut.

Cheers!”

“Cheers.”

We clinked our glasses again.

Karen is setting quite a fast pace here.

“Actually, it still doesn’t feel real to me.

That I’ve really become a big-time VTuber, that so many viewers come every day… things like that.

Becoming a successful VTuber was my long-time dream.”

As the raw beef and soju decreased, I listened to Karen’s story about VTubers for a while.

“What I’ve always been curious about… Why did Ria become a VTuber?

Wait, wait.

First, what you said you’d tell me at the drinking table.

Cute and pitiful!

What did you mean that it was only good here?”

“…There are demons called ‘Krixils’.”

“Eeeh?”

Maybe it was because she had some alcohol.

Karen’s pronunciation was slurred.

“To be precise, they’re more like magical beasts.

Since their intelligence is closer to that of animals.

But sometimes they’re not distinguished and are all included in the demon category.”

“Ehhh?”

I picked up Karen’s piece of raw beef that had fallen off the plate and handed it to her.

“It’s a magical beast that lures its prey through partial mimicry.

They transform a part of their body into a small animal that anyone would find appealing.

Like an injured, whimpering puppy.”

“…Oh.

I see.”

“But that’s just a disguise.

It sucks the life force out of the person who touches it, and then it suddenly snatches them with its connected tentacles.

Then you’re dragged to the Krixil’s main body and become a meal.”

“Ugh… That’s a bit too much!”

“That’s why you should be wary of even those that evoke sympathy and favor.

Those guys have even evolved to take the form of young boys and girls.

In a fairly short amount of time.”

Karen tilted her head.

“I don’t know much about magical beasts.

But does evolution usually happen that quickly?”

“No, it’s unusually fast even for a magical beast.

It was later revealed that there were demons behind it, conducting all sorts of experiments on the Krixils.

Eventually, they even reached the level of being able to grasp the memories of the target from a distance.”

I downed a glass of alcohol without clinking.

“Think about it.

How many people would be able to just pass by when a close friend is bleeding and asking for help?

When a family member whose life or death is unknown is crying?

Even after the Alliance came up with clear detection measures, there were always victims of the Krixils.

Knowing it in your head doesn’t stop your heart from wavering.”

Elves don’t beg so despicable.

That’s why I was able to shoot an arrow at the one who took the form of my father.

Karen wrapped a piece of raw beef heavily dipped in sesame oil with seaweed and said.

“Our broadcast times overlapped, so I only watched the beginning and left, but Ria’s broadcast today was like this, right?

Ria is really amazing.

Creating a story with RP and even making content out of it, I don’t think I could do that.

You can do it because you come up with such detailed settings even in your daily life.

And you practice speaking, right?”

To Karen, who was munching on her food, I spoke in a slightly lowered voice.

“This is something I’m only telling you… I hope you’ll take it seriously.”

“Huh?

Do you have any concerns?

I’ve done a lot of counseling, you know.

People think that if you major in psychology, you can just come up with solutions.

But if it’s Ria’s concern, I’ll really listen seriously.”

“It’s not really a concern.

It’s more like just sharing my inner thoughts.”

“Yeah.

We talk about everything in places like this.

What is it?”

With her cheeks flushed red, Karen raised her head and lifted her eyebrows as if trying to open her swollen eyes wide.

“I’m really a half-elf who crossed over from another world.”

“…Huh?”

Karen’s eyes, which had been shining with focus, immediately became cloudy again.

“The VTuber RP.

It’s not all fake.”

***

Karen rubbed her eyes with her hands without realizing it.

It would take longer for the swelling to go down, but she couldn’t help it.

Didn’t you just say that you were going to have an honest conversation that can only be had at a drinking table?

Why is the VTuber RP story coming up?

I looked closely at Ria’s face to see if she was joking, but there was no sign of that.

Rather, for Ria, who doesn’t usually express her emotions well, I could read a fairly transparent expression.

A bit of worry and anticipation.

She was watching how I would react.

‘Yeah.

I said I would listen.

Let’s just listen to the end for now.’

I got up and headed to the refrigerator.

“Can you wait a minute?

I’m going to get a glass of water.”

Holding onto my mind, which was becoming dizzy from the alcohol, I listened to Ria’s story.

According to Ria, the things she had experienced.

And Ria herself was something supernatural that could not be explained by modern common sense.

‘A world where various races, magic, and spirits exist..?

And she came here through dimensional travel?’

There were many things I wanted to ask, but for now, I nodded and focused on the content.

As I listened calmly, I felt like I understood something.

‘This is… a metaphor.

For the things Ria experienced.

A metaphor for Ria’s state of mind.’

As a student on a leave of absence, I can’t make a clear diagnosis.

I have almost no clinical experience either.

However, it doesn’t take that much expertise to judge that reality is being revealed through a metaphorical narrative.

It’s a universal tendency that everyone has.

People construct their experiences into stories and form their identities through them.

The narrative of another world can be a powerful metaphor to indirectly express complex emotions that are difficult to explain directly in reality.

‘And in Ria’s case… it seems to be close to a defense mechanism or trauma.’

Because Ria’s story was not bright and warm at all.

It wasn’t an exciting adventure story that people usually imagine when they think of a fantasy world.

Being constantly whipped to prove herself in the midst of discrimination since she was a child.

Regretting not being able to protect loved ones.

A constant succession of terrifying situations of war and attacks.

And because of the responsibility of being a hero, not being able to show even a bit of weakness.

“I used to tell you, Saruby, about these things from time to time.

I didn’t talk this long like now, though.”

“Ria…”

Even then, you wanted to confide in someone.

You wanted to be understood and comforted.

‘What did you go through?

How terrible was it that you had to keep escaping by creating and decorating a world?

Were your wounds that deep?’

“Are you crying?”

I heard Ria’s slightly surprised voice.

“Yeah.

Because I think Ria must have had a really hard time…”

“Don’t worry about it.

It’s all in the past.

And I’m satisfied with my life now.”

Her overly calm tone sounded even sadder.

“It must have been really hard for you, but thank you for having the courage to tell me.”

“Do you believe everything I said?

I thought it would be a little harder to convince you.”

Dabbing my tears with a tissue, I met Ria’s gaze.

What Ria wanted was not to analyze and dig into it… I’m not capable of doing that presumptuously, and as Ria wished, just empathize and comfort her… That’s all I can do right now.

“Yes, I’ll believe it.

The story Ria told me.”

Ria showed a slightly awkward smile.