Chapter 98: Say what you want to say

On Friday evening, an announcement appeared on Cradle’s website, timed for maximum visibility.

I enlarged the screen and read it in a calm voice. It was a little embarrassing to do this myself, but…

[Notice] Announcement of Cradle Official Partner Streamers

Hello, Heroes.
This is the Cradle Korea Official PR Team.

Cradle selects official partner streamers through internal reviews to foster a fair gaming culture and support excellent content creators.

Accordingly, we are pleased to announce that ‘Esumi Ria’ has been selected as a Cradle Official Partner Streamer.

• Partner streamer…
  – Cradle doesn’t usually select partners…

• They’ve become a small company; how can they choose someone controversial?

• Are you crazy? Going with a hacker?

I decided to reveal my thoughts later and focused on reading the full announcement.

● What is an Official Partner Streamer?

A streamer who creates game-based content and hosts official events with Cradle.
A creator recognized for fairness and reliability in gameplay and broadcasting activities.

● Reasons for Selection

Passed thorough verification of unauthorized external program usage allegations.
Possesses outstanding gaming skills and creative content creation abilities.
Holds significant influence and a large fanbase in the gaming community.

– Oh, she passed the verification~
– Of course, that was settled months ago…
– Their logic = the person is the same, but verification must be redone!

• Why are they recycling this controversy? They should recycle their own lives.

• They’re already waste, so they can’t be recycled~

• Wow, this is practically official praise lol
  – Outstanding gaming skills^^ Holds significant influence and a large fanbase^^
  – Yeah, can’t believe it without video proof.

• Wow, it’s shocking that the game company is covering for her… Did Blooming lobby for this?
  – Why does the controversy keep arising? Isn’t it a reasonable suspicion about unresolved issues?
  – You’ve just decided not to believe her.
  – Close your eyes… Please just fall asleep forever…

The latter half of the announcement, the game company’s stance, was quite lengthy.

● Cradle’s Stance

Regarding certain issues raised in the community, Cradle previously conducted a thorough verification based on the player’s gameplay records.

The verification at that time confirmed that Esumi Ria played the game in a legitimate manner, complying with all regulations, and no new evidence to overturn the controversy has been found since.

Cradle has selected Esumi Ria as an official partner streamer through internal review and will continue to maintain a fair gaming environment and actively support excellent creators.

Thank you for your continued interest and support, and we will do our best to provide a more enjoyable gaming environment.
Thank you.

“…Sincerely, the Cradle Korea Official PR Team.”

Those raising suspicions wouldn’t have much more to say if they followed along this far.

The game company’s ‘final conclusion’ that there were no further grounds for questioning had been released.

And she wasn’t just cleared of suspicion but also given an official position.

• Hmm… with an official announcement like this…
  – It’s practically a declaration of shared fate… If Leah is a hacker, Cradle is screwed now.
  – All the haters silenced!
  – If she’s not hacking, it seems like a very reasonable contract. There’s no other streamer who can play like Leah.
  – Didn’t they get shocked seeing her carry with a weak character?
  – Developer: This… works…?
  – We, the Origin Rift community, fully support Esumi Leah^^7
  – Choeun, I believed in you!
  – Leah! You’re the hero of our village!
  – It’s creepy to think that the trolls from earlier are mixed in with these chats…
  – I’m trying to write a letter of apology… Do I just join the fan cafe?
  – Just leave.

“Yes, Pia. Through this announcement, Cradle has officially recognized me. I’m grateful that they believed in me and not only cleared my name but also gave me the opportunity to work as a partner streamer. So, from now on, as Cradle’s official partner streamer, I can show you new content. Shall we go into Origin Rift together?”

I changed the stream title from ‘I’m Sorry’ to ‘The Half-Elf Recognized by Cradle.’

– Wow, I thought she’d just make the announcement and end it.
– I didn’t know she’d turn the situation around like this…
– Seeing her calmly read the official announcement in front of 30,000 people shows her guts.
– Maybe it’s because she was trained during her Choeun days…
– Let’s not talk about that.
– I wonder how much those who gathered to hate on her are hurting…
– They must be seething lol
– They came to see her fail, but they witnessed a complete resolution of the controversy + career growth + free publicity~
– But we need to fact-check the title, right? Did Cradle recognize her as a half-elf?
– Why is she twisting it as if her skills and RP were recognized…

A representative benefit of partner streamers is all skins. Origin Rift had a space where you could check your owned skins without entering the game. I showed off the limited edition and premium skins there.

“As you all know, one of the advantages of skins is that you can play the game as unusual races, not just the default ones. Of course, for some elves like me, that’s not an advantage.”

– Because your race is fixed as an elf?

• I’m so jealous of all skins ㅜ If you’re not going to use them, give them to me ㅜ
  – Cradle put pearls on a pig…
  – Pig??
  – Saying Leah’s waist and butt have gotten fat is a no-no.

“And today, I’ll try using the streamer-exclusive broadcast UI. It’s a feature provided by Cradle, and they plan to eventually make it available to all Origin Rift streamers. However, partner streamers get early access. This feature applies only to the broadcast screen you’re watching, not my screen.”

Additional information related to the game progress would be provided on the broadcast screen, and automatic camera AI would allow for more immersive viewing.

Since I couldn’t check it myself, I just focused on the game after matchmaking. Fortunately, Spirit Marksman wasn’t banned, and I did my best to prove my skills in front of many people.

“Ha… ha…”

• ???

• Oh…

• Why is she panting after one game?

• She does this every time she plays Spirit Marksman lol

• Hey trolls, if Leah quit Spirit Marksman because of you, we wouldn’t have gotten the regular event.

• Moaning = Event?????
  – Pia-splaining.

“Phew… I’ll end the stream here today. The main purpose was to convey my thoughts to you.”

– Good work, Leah.
– It was just one game of Origin Rift, but the broadcast felt full…
– Origin Rift in one game.
– Turn on donations and go!!

“Alright. If you have anything you want to say to me, go ahead.”

The Pia who have always been with me must have found today’s broadcast a bit frustrating. I wanted to hear what they had to say.

[3-year corporate s*ave donated 100,000 Jellies!]
[Choeun, you might not remember, but I was a fan of your broadcasts. I was a little surprised when I found out you weren’t a Netkama and were actually a girl lol Anyway, it must have been tough, but thank you for coming back and streaming. I was worried a lot today, but seeing you so composed, I’m really relieved… and even touched. I’ll keep watching and supporting you.]

– A mountain of rice from the first batter…
– Are you the only one using the donation window?
– Hey, he matched the price.
– 100k is understandable lol
– There’s a fan from her Choeun days? She didn’t even have that many viewers back then.
– Jealous that he knew Leah first…

“Spirit arrow explosion to 3-year corporate s*ave! Thank you for looking favorably on my past self and coming back like this. Actually, we didn’t part properly back then… I hope we can stay together for a long time from now on.”

If I consider my current self to have formed connections with Pia, was my past self also forming connections?

Not just for immersion in my RP,

but because fans like him created an opportunity where I didn’t have to speak in riddles.

I felt like my choice to fully acknowledge being ElfChoeun wasn’t wrong.

After the broadcast, I had a call with Sera. It was about things that weren’t completely settled yet.

“Leah, you checked the company announcement, right?”

“Yes, I saw it. But… it seems a bit strong.”

Sera spoke in a cautious tone.

“Since it was reviewed by the legal team, we don’t have room to adjust it.”

But…

“I said on the broadcast that I might give them a chance to apologize, but there’s no mention of that in the announcement.”

“That was a bit of an impromptu remark on your part during the broadcast, right? As I said, there are things we can’t overlook just because they apologize. It could actually be problematic if the announcement is ambiguous.”

“How… could it be problematic?”

Sera’s voice became firmer.

“Because legal action is already underway. We need to take official action as a company, not through broadcast content like apology letters.”

I paused for a moment and sighed briefly.

“That’s true. I just… wondered if there were people who believed and had expectations based on my words.”

Sera added, a little more gently than before, but in an unwavering tone,

“You don’t need to worry about that, Leah. There are people who have already crossed the line.”

“…I didn’t think it was that serious.”

As I continued to hesitate, Sera gave a longer explanation.

“Leah, those who posted apology letters on the fan cafe probably weren’t the targets of the legal action in the first place. The people who actually require legal action wouldn’t participate in such content. Far from apologizing, they continue their malicious actions or attack in even more aggressive ways.”

“Hmm… I understand. Thank you for your concern.”

Right. The announcement was already up; what could I do? I could only hope Sera was right.