It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

‘Is this the place?’

At 1:50 PM, as usual, Arc, who had arrived earlier than the appointed time, peered inside the café from the entrance where a stylish sign read ‘Café & Pub.’

The café was astonishingly beautiful and sophisticated.

‘I thought she’d say to just meet up at the VR room immediately.’

Could it be that she also liked cafés, unexpectedly?

For some reason, Arc felt her heart beating a little faster. It might have been more due to worry than excitement.

Regardless, it was an oddly long relationship. If someone were to ask Arc to rank the people who had influenced her streaming life, this person would undoubtedly be in the top three.

The problem was that they were ranked both for good and bad reasons—an extremely love-hate relationship, or perhaps a relationship of mutual interests that had long since passed. Recently, their internal familiarity had grown unbeknownst to her.

Perhaps the feeling of needing to keep an eye on her, sensing that something might go awry if left unchecked, had developed into a maternal instinct.

Thinking back to the countless times she had wanted to verify Yena’s face, Arc unwittingly smiled lightly.

‘I always thought if I ever saw her face, it would definitely be at a police station.’

Even now, she was curious about her face. No, she was more curious than she had been in the past, though for somewhat different reasons.

With her heart pounding harder as the day to finally see the face of this layered relationship arrived so unexpectedly, Arc opened the café door.

-Tinkle

A clear bell sound resonated as she looked around briefly. Perhaps due to its ambiguous location, the café, despite its appealing ambiance, wasn’t overly crowded. There were three couples and five… no, six solo customers.

One of them widened her eyes and slightly stood up.

“Hello!”

It was StarPork. Could she be not hiding it much with her cam setup? Her face radiated the youthful energy of a 21-year-old, looking even more charming in person than on the screen. Lightly bowing, Arc took a seat opposite her and spoke quietly.

“Hello. Are you StarPork-nim?”

“Yes, Arc-nim! I always watch your streams! It’s really great to finally meet you today!”

StarPork responded with a smile, her tone filled with excitement yet maintaining a low volume as if to scream quietly. Notably, she whispered ‘Arc’ in such a way that it was barely audible.

Perhaps this was to prevent anyone from recognizing the name if overheard.

‘How considerate.’

It was a mature gesture, not fitting her youthful face, likely considering the upcoming arrival of Lee Yena, who hadn’t disclosed any personal information.

“It seems GetDevoured-nim hasn’t arrived yet.”

While talking, StarPork stretched her head upward expectantly, swiftly scanning the surroundings. Her movements reminded one of a meerkat, making her look quite adorable.

“I’ll go get a cup of coffee. How about sharing a piece of cake, StarPork-nim? It’ll be a good chance to recharge our energy before we get moving. What do you think?”

“Oh! That sounds great. This one’s on me! You’ve come all the way here to give a lecture.”

“No teacher lets a student pay. Just come with me and help pick out the cake.”

After a short playful banter, they returned with cake and coffee. They chatted about various things for a while.

“……Should we try contacting her?”

Checking the time, it was already 2:05 PM.

Though it wasn’t late enough to be alarming under normal circumstances, today’s schedule was quite tight. It seemed necessary to at least check.

“Yes, I’ll do it! Just a moment.”

『StarPork: Arc-nim and I are sitting at the table right in front. Message us when you arrive!』

Arc, having glanced at the message StarPork sent, shook her head lightly while operating her phone.

“They might not use mobile Discourse… I’ll give them a call.”

-Ring

“Hello, this is Arc.”

The call connected before the ringtone even completed a single cycle.

“Ah, Yena-nim! I was wondering if you’ve arrived.”

《Yes, I’m here.》

Perhaps hearing the faint voice, StarPork widened her eyes and half-rose from her seat, peering outside through the large window.

“We’re sitting at the left corner from the main entrance. You’ll see us as soon as you come in.”

《Oh, I see. I’ll head over there.》

-Squeak.

With the sound of a chair moving, the café momentarily fell into silence. It was a woman who had been sitting in the corner, facing the wall, making her less noticeable.

In the now-quieted space, only the softly playing background music filled the air. As she rose and walked lightly, she momentarily drew everyone’s attention in the café.

With such appearance, it was understandable why she had been hiding her face against the wall. Anyone who had seen her face couldn’t help but glance her way repeatedly.

The large, distinctly visible eyes and the snow-white skin that appeared translucent even under the yellow lighting were striking from a distance.

Despite wearing flat sneakers, her height seemed quite notable, likely not just due to her proportions.

Seeing a celebrity in real life, Arc momentarily looked at her own fist, recalling the saying that a celebrity’s face is only the size of a fist, before lifting here head again.

Perhaps it was the contrast between her jet-black hair and pale skin or the perpetually bored expression she wore. Her appearance seemed somewhat unreal. The 500cc beer glass in her hand also seemed surreal.

Each step towards her was as light as a cat’s, delicate and graceful. She held her beer glass carefully, ensuring not a drop spilled. A fleeting thought crossed Arc’s mind as he stared in a trance: the sign read “Café & Pub” – this wasn’t just a café; it doubled as a pub. Though one wouldn’t pick it just for that reason.

“No way, is that really Yena-nim…?”

It was hard to believe. A celebrity randomly stopping by the place seemed much more likely. Perhaps an idol. That made more sense. The notion that she was the very ‘GetDevoured’ who frequently shouted “You guys are the best” and claimed “viewer participation” as she sniped at challengers, played the ocarina upon reaching a milestone, forced her viewers into broadcasts, and targeted her as part of her first broadcast content, grasping the power to expel with a banhammer in hand—anything seemed more believable than that.

Though Arc had often imagined the face of the woman behind her myriad antics, this face was beyond imagining.

Sure, plenty of pretty people can be a bit quirky, but who would’ve thought someone this stunning would be behind the online persona of ‘GetDevoured’? Even the most imaginative fans wouldn’t have anticipated someone this beautiful.

“Yeah. No way, it couldn’t be.”

Lost in her thoughts, Arc couldn’t completely rid herself of the suspicion. All the while, the woman holding the beer glass drew everyone’s gaze, including the café staff, as she approached Arc’s table step by step.

With unwavering eyes fixed on Arc, leaving no room for doubt. Reaching her table, she gently placed the beer glass down. And then.

“Hello, Jinhee.”

Her voice was soft, almost a whisper, but undeniably sweet. There was no mistaking that voice. This was indeed Lee Yena. Yena, who despite being asked to use her real name, stubbornly called her just by her nickname, Arc – GetDevoured.

Slightly bending over to look at Arc, she then turned her head towards StarPork. Perhaps StarPork shared similar thoughts about Lee Yena. StarPork’s eyes were wide open, like a deer caught in headlights, barely breathing.

After a moment, Yena’s gaze returned to Arc. The second their eyes met. Her slightly pursed, red lips curved into a gentle smile.

“Finally, we meet in person. Though there’s no police this time.”

She was like a fox spirit from legends. With that thought, Arc dumbly nodded his head.

* * * *

『CravingWarmAmericano: Revan』

『CravingWarmAmericano: (photo)』

A sudden Discourse message pinged. Thinking it might be tournament-related, Revan opened it, only to find a photo without any explanation.

『Revan: ??? What’s this』

The photo finally loaded, showing two familiar faces. StarPork and Arc. Given this combination… the nature of the meeting became clear. Why CravingWarmAmericano sent the photo was less clear.

『Revan: Ah, did you ladies meet up before the collab?』

Wondering why she didn’t send a group photo, Revan chuckled to himself.

In Revan’s mind, Lee Yena had already formed a pretty vivid image. Perhaps, something rough… with eyes full of madness, and a tomboyish appearance.

He was a bit curious about what she looked like in person, but he fully understood why she didn’t reveal herself. It was something that required a certain level of resolve, after all.

Even Revan, who gained many advantages by showing his face, sometimes envied broadcasters who didn’t reveal theirs.

『CravingWarmAmericano: Our student』

『CravingWarmAmericano: said she will never be a Warrior again』

『CravingWarmAmericano: 🥳』

『CravingWarmAmericano: So, we can skip the mentor rotation』

‘……There’s an emoji like that?’

The tilted hat, the smiling eyes, and the pouting lips – for various reasons, it was a strangely irritating emoji. In Revan’s mind, a party hat was tilted atop the curly bob-cut hair of Lee Yena, the way he pictured it.

Still, if it reduced the burden of mentoring, it wasn’t a bad thing. Despite her mannerisms, there was no one more suitable for teaching the rogue class than her.

When the mentor was confirmed, he was more worried about managing three students on his own.

He felt he should be thankful for the situation.

『Revan: Well, it’s important to play a character that fits you』

『Revan: As long as StarPork-nim is okay with it』

『Revan: It worked out well. I’ll focus on Guntak-nim’s knight lesson.』

Indeed, he thought so.

『CravingWarmAmericano: 😠』

『CravingWarmAmericano: Don’t pretend to be calm』

『Revan: Pardon?』

『CravingWarmAmericano: Crying because you lost the chance to drag our cute student into being a filthy Warrior』

『CravingWarmAmericano: Turn on your cam and cry in a three-way split screen😠』

‘……What is this.’

Revan, who burst into a chuckle, typed busily, the sound of keystrokes louder than usual. His emotions were getting slightly agitated without him even realizing it.

『Revan: No』

『Revan: Did you, by chance, drink?』

『CravingWarmAmericano: I’ll be off now』

『CravingWarmAmericano: Go solo queue and lose by yourself 🤭』

『Revan: What solo queue? We said we’d try a six-man queue later』

『Revan: CravingWarmAmericano??』

『Revan: Hey』