Chapter 99: On a Starry Night

Unearthing secrets is human instinct.

Because humans are animals designed to deduce.

Like adventurers seeking treasure. Like a child rummaging through their bedside on Christmas Day.

Humans would thrash about to get their hands on secrets, as if they were grand presents.

In other words, it was perfectly natural for me to speculate why I was left alone in the lodgings.

Where did everyone go?

Did they go play beach volleyball without me?

Lost in a maze of questions, I turned on my voice chat app.

Han Yurim: PaePae-nim. Where are you?

PaePae: Out grocery shopping.

Han Yurim: Why did you leave me behind?

PaePae: That’s what I want to know. Where were you?

Han Yurim: At the beach.

I spent the night alone, got bored, and ended up watching the night sea until morning.

I even thoroughly enjoyed a fireworks set, which was nice.

PaePae: Why the beach alone… Anyway. Barbecue for lunch, so don’t go anywhere.

Han Yurim: Okay.

After ending the conversation with PaePae, I went outside.

I should take a walk.

The sea breeze made me feel relaxed as I walked around the hotel.

If you ask me, a native of the East Sea, if I don’t get tired of the sea, I’d say the sea always feels new.

Actually, everything felt new to me.

Everything outside the house is new to a shut-in super developer.

Please save the super developer stuck in her room.

As I was walking, I suddenly stopped.

I ran into the person I saw yesterday.

The other person also paused for a moment and then spoke.

“…Han Yurim?”

“It’s Mai-nim.”

The hotel I booked was the best-equipped on Mayako Island.

Therefore, it was the most expensive. Mai and Akane made a lot of money.

It was a natural consequence that they were staying at the same hotel as me.

“You’re staying here too?”

“Yes.”

“Is that so?”

Mai answered listlessly and left.

I also left. I had a lot to do.

This hotel had… a top-notch spa.

I couldn’t not enjoy it. I’m not exactly a bargain hunter, but I felt like the spa fee was included in the expensive hotel bill, so my hands trembled at the thought of wasting it.

I quickly returned to my room to get my clothes and entered the facility, which reminded me more of a luxurious ryokan than a spa.

…This structure is similar to the ‘Novella Hotel’ where I first met Arina.

Did Novella Hotel copy this place, or did this place copy Novella Hotel?

Either way, it didn’t matter.

As long as the sauna was refreshing. Who the original was didn’t matter much.

I soaked myself in the blazing hot bath.

“……”

“……”

And I made eye contact with Mai.

The hotel I booked was the best-equipped on Mayako Island.

The expensive price included the facility usage fee. It would be a waste not to enjoy it.

Therefore, it was a natural consequence that hotel guests would run into each other while using the facilities.

Mai got up as soon as I entered the bath.

She must have just come in since we ran into each other outside, but why?

Maybe she can’t stand the heat.

I leisurely enjoyed the sauna and left the bath.

After drinking coffee milk and feeling refreshed, I headed to the hotel restaurant.

This hotel had… an unlimited dessert service.

I couldn’t leave without enjoying it.

I’m not exactly a bargain hunter, but I felt like the dessert cost was included in the expensive hotel bill, so my hands trembled at the thought of wasting it.

I heard the quality was quite high for an unlimited service, so I planned to replenish 10 years’ worth of sugar today.

Don’t use the word “unlimited” carelessly.

You guys are going to lose money.

Arriving at the restaurant, I filled my plate with desserts and sat down.

“……”

“……”

And I met Mai, who was already there.

Mai said,

“Are you following me?”

“There’s only so much you can do at this hotel. It’s a coincidence.”

“Haa.”

Mai sighed as if giving up and inhaled the desserts.

Likewise, I ate chocolate cake, castella, chestnut tiramisu, croissant, blueberry muffin, macaron, eclair, gelato, panna cotta, crème brûlée, soft ice cream, and fig tart.

Mai had a blank expression while holding her fork.

Mai said quietly.

“Did you die in a past life because you couldn’t eat desserts?”

“You have a rich imagination. That’s an interesting opinion.”

“Your eating habits are what’s interesting. And you don’t gain weight?”

“Super developers always maintain a perfect body condition. I don’t gain weight.”

At my words, Mai shook her head in disbelief and took a bite of a scone.

Seeing that attitude, I suddenly became curious.

I asked Mai.

“I’ve been wondering since yesterday, but did you perhaps get burned by my gacha game?”

“…Suddenly?”

“You seem to have something to say. It’s okay. Feel free to say it. So, how many truckloads did you spend?”

“……”

This reaction… at least 10 truckloads?

She spent quite a bit.

“From a physiognomic perspective, Mai-nim likes characters who work hard but don’t get rewarded. It’s an uncommon taste. What did you see when you were young?”

“I don’t play gacha games.”

“You don’t?”

Then why does she seem so dissatisfied with me?

Could it be that she’s keeping me in check because I might evolve from a super developer to a super VTuber?

As if answering my question, Mai slowly opened her mouth.

“That.”

“That?”

“You made me weird in the game.”

“I did?”

“The ultimate skill of the character based on me in the tower climbing game… was Akane Summon!”

Ah.

Come to think of it, it was.

As if she felt relieved after bringing it up, Mai poured out her words.

“What’s that? Is my only advantage being Akane’s friend? I got a weird meme attached to me because of you.”

“But it went well, didn’t it?”

“…It certainly did.”

Mai’s Kirinuki, who was dumbfounded because the unique skill of the character she barely obtained was [Summoning the Streaming Empress], was currently recording a huge number of views and creating a lot of new fans.

Thanks to that, Mai’s broadcast was drawing an all-time upward trend, to the point where you could say it was her second heyday.

“Still, you shouldn’t make my ultimate skill Akane Summon.”

“But it went well, didn’t it?”

“…It certainly did.”

Mai fell into an infinite loop.

To not even be able to solve this light loop.

You don’t have the qualities of a developer. Just focus on broadcasting.

“It was a part I was concerned about….”

Mai muttered in a slightly lowered tone.

People think that Akane is the one who built NovelLive.

That wasn’t exactly wrong.

Even when there were 10 viewers, even when there were none, even when Novella, who had concluded that it was a failure, was trying to coldly shut down the business, the current NovelLive existed because of Akane, who was broadcasting with a smile.

But that was the same for Mai.

Even when there was 1 viewer, even when there were none, even when Novella, who had concluded that it was a failure, was trying to coldly shut down the business, even when Akane, her peer, was determined to become a celestial demon and fly away, even when her peers had graduated after slandering Akane, leaving only 2 first-generation members.

Mai worked hard on her broadcasts.

That clearly became the nourishment that created the current NovelLive.

But people only remember Mai as Akane’s peer or friend.

That’s why impact is important.

Because people only remember the first place.

I stared at Mai.

She doesn’t get jealous even when she’s compared to her best friend in the world every day, she knows that she’s not always rewarded for her efforts, but she still doesn’t want to be betrayed by her efforts.

Kurohina Mai.

She was an interesting human.

Whether my tastes were twisted or not, it was also interesting that I liked the development of her falling into despair after working hard and not receiving any rewards.

My inspiration is stimulated.

As expected, travel. It was the most used technique for the Muse’s descent ritual.

I promised Mai as a way to repay the help I received.

“Next time, I’ll add a skill that buffs summons.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to just not include the Akane Summon skill?”

“But it went well, didn’t it?”

“…It certainly did.”

You still can’t solve the loop?

I’ll keep doing it until you solve it, so hurry up and awaken your developer abilities.

We properly enjoyed the barbecue by inviting Akane and Mai as well.

The place I was staying was a separate building of the hotel, a kind of pension, so I could properly enjoy the feeling of traveling.

Maybe it was because we enjoyed barbecue twice, for lunch and dinner. Everyone went to bed early. They must have been tired from playing on the beach all day.

In other words, it was my time now.

For a legendary Tier 0, 1 AM was the time to have fun.

I picked up the plum highball that BbangBbang had bought. Click. I opened the can and poured the contents into my mouth, feeling very good.

But this alone is a little lacking, hmm.

I can’t help it.

I lit the barbecue equipment in the yard.

Crackling. Seeing the flames rising, my mind and body were stabilized. As expected, fire-gazing was humanity’s best brain-cleaning invention.

I piled a lot of meat on the grill, cooked it, and put it all in my mouth in one bite.

“What are you doing?”

And someone spoke to me.

It was PaePae.

I said.

“Iff ou don’t sheep, ou won’t gwow.”

“Speak after you eat. After you eat.”

“If you don’t sleep, you won’t grow taller, PaePae-nim.”

“Who are you to talk.”

PaePae let out a hollow laugh as if dumbfounded, and took out one of the plum highballs I had piled up and drank it.

My plum highball.

Thief.

“Would you like a skewer, PaePae-nim, the righteous thief?”

“I’m okay.”

“If you’re not hungry, why aren’t you sleeping and wandering around like a sleepwalker?”

“Just.”

PaePae answered listlessly. I put a bowl of skewers in front of PaePae.

Then she eats it right away. I guess she was hungry after all.

PaePae, who had finished all the skewers, sipped on the plum highball and then opened her mouth.

“Why aren’t you sleeping?”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Do you have insomnia?”

“It’s a super developer’s privilege. Why aren’t you sleeping, PaePae-nim?”

“I have a super carry’s privilege.”

PaePae smiled and got up, continuing her words.

“If you’re done eating, let’s go to the beach. You were going to go alone anyway, right?”

“No? I was planning to stay home all day today? Honestly, beach walks aren’t that fun. I can’t do it every day.”

“…Then play <Eternal World> or something.”

“To play <Eternal World> even on vacation. PaePae-nim, you’re quite the game addict, aren’t you?”

“So you don’t want to?”

“Log in right now.”

That’s how we enjoyed the game all night.

With BbangBbang, who was kidnapped on her way to the bathroom, joining us in the middle.

It’s like going back to middle school?

My inspiration is stimulated, stimulated.