NOVEL WEB I was staring blankly at Liam, who had his head buried in the floor.
I wondered how long he would keep this up, and already five minutes had passed without him moving an inch. He was as still as a statue.
[A viewer, Samgyeop Jjamppong, donated 1,000 won]
– Isn’t it about time to let him off the hook?
Perhaps a kind viewer, feeling worried after watching, made a concerned donation. But it was unnecessary worry.
“It’s okay. There’s no problem.”
If it had been something physically burdensome, I would’ve certainly pulled him away. After all, he’s a father of three and my husband.
However, right now, Liam didn’t seem to be struggling at all.
“Everyone, that’s a former hero. He could stay like that all day and be just fine.”
The hero who had awakened and reached the realm of demigods. It was hard to believe based on his usual behavior, but nonetheless, that guy was extraordinary.
For Liam, the battlefield of embarrassment wasn’t a punishment but just a unique pose. It meant he wasn’t suffering at all.
Him burying his head like that was merely a kind of show to express remorse for all his past mistakes.
“He’ll stop when he wants to, so just leave him be.”
I soon took my eyes off Liam. Fiddling with the frame of Haemaki in my hands, I spoke.
“Actually, this isn’t the first time he’s done this. There have been several times before he’s apologized physically. I forgave him every time, but here he is making a fuss again.”
Liam regularly apologizes to me.
It wasn’t such a bad thing. It was commendable that the perpetrator didn’t forget the past and reflected on it.
Of course, just thinking about the hardships during the hero party still made me flare up. But I didn’t want to hold him accountable anymore. It was all in the past.
What I whined about earlier was just something that suddenly came to mind. It wasn’t like I brought it up to blame him or anything.
“Anyway, please don’t worry and focus back on the game.”
Just as I smiled and grabbed the mouse, Liam suddenly spoke up.
“Actually, when I apologized physically, I didn’t mean it this way. It’s hotter than that.”
“…Liam!”
I tried to brush it off, but he interrupted. I yelled again while using Haemaki.
However, it wasn’t enough. That rascal completely ignored me and continued speaking.
“Actually, when you were pregnant with the twins, I was a bit sulky about the past, you know? So, I reacted intensely…”
In a panic, I finally lunged forward and covered Liam’s mouth. Even so, he kept trying to chatter away, so I hit him gently on the back.
It was only after that that he finally quieted down.
But he had already loosened his bomb drop position and was lying on the floor, looking at me with a soft smile on his face.
“What are you looking at?”
Why would he smile after bringing up such an embarrassing topic on the stream? I shot him a glare because it was annoying.
But even as I glared fiercely, Liam’s smile seemed to deepen.
“…Why are you smiling?”
“Because you’re talking casually, I’m reminded of the Saint days. You always spoke roughly but ended up supporting me to the end.”
“…….”
The playfulness disappeared from Liam’s expression. Suddenly, he struck a serious note.
“Thank you for not giving up on me.”
Slowly, he began to rise and leaned closer to my face. Instinctively, I closed my eyes and clenched my fists.
“…Wait.”
But I snapped back to reality and pushed his face away with my hands, thanks to Haemaki, which helped me keep my calm mind.
After a brief pause, I quietly whispered.
“Let’s do it later.”
“What?”
Liam feigned ignorance and raised his voice in response. Every time he did this, I had an urge to throw a punch.
If it were any other time, I likely would’ve given in to his wishes.
“Get out quickly.”
However, with Haemaki at hand, I was able to make wise decisions in any situation.
This time, I didn’t back down and grabbed that rascal by the collar, pushing him out. Finally, peace returned to the bedroom.
Yet, it wasn’t exactly a pleasant situation.
‘…Everyone saw this, didn’t they?’
Talking about various personal things live, and almost committing something embarrassing… it was inciting enough mischief in the already mischievous crowd.
I could already guess how they would react. The donation alerts had been ringing non-stop since earlier.
‘Should I run away?’
For a moment, I seriously considered escaping, but eventually, I tiptoed back to the computer and sat in the chair.
Cautiously, I turned my gaze to the right side of the monitor. That was where the chat window, which was rising at an astonishing speed, was located.
I watched the frenzy of the stream for a moment, suppressing a smirk.
“…Why are they so thrilled?”
– Acting like you hate it but actually loving it.
– Hahahahahaha
– Your face is all red, haha.
– You’re such a softie in front of your husband.
– Is this what 36 looks like…?
– They look good together, though.
As I read the chat, my face grew warmer. Had it not been for Haemaki’s tranquilizing effect, I might’ve been too embarrassed to handle it.
Meanwhile, donations continued to pour in.
[Corporal Nung donated 1,000 won]
– Why is the lady embarrassed? Isn’t that delightful?
[SunAe Joah donated 1,000 won]
– Good.
[GoraniNi donated 1,000 won]
– Did you see her closing her eyes when he tried to kiss her earlier? Hahaha.
While everyone was enjoying themselves, I was left alone, unsure of what to do. Even with a calm heart, I couldn’t make a proper judgment.
Once Haemaki’s help became unnecessary, I decided to deal with the situation directly.
“Everyone, please calm down. You’re getting too heated.”
Naturally, my words didn’t reach them. It seemed like they were having a party among themselves, ignoring me.
Wouldn’t it be okay to just turn off the stream now? After all, they seemed to be having fun without me.
I fought against that urge to shut down the stream and finally managed to regain my composure. Thanks to the calming ability I developed as a Pope.
“Please focus back on the game.”
I ignored the still-laughing chat and directed my attention to the game screen. The abandoned character, ‘Young Eluke, the Pope,’ was staring blankly into space.
Now, I had to complete the quest given by Bishop Christina, but for that, party play was essential.
Even if I just wanted to see the story, I had to team up with others. To me, it felt like a higher barrier than most fortresses.
“I actually barely played multiplayer games even before I was reincarnated. I didn’t want to leave the outcome up to how well my team members, whom I didn’t even know, performed.”
Since party play was mandatory, Solar Scepter would surely have a random matching system. That made me dislike it even more.
Even the hero party, where I was familiar with everyone, was tough because of Liam; how would I survive with people I didn’t know? It was a terribly awful system.
As I hesitated to continue the game, loathing the idea, I suddenly had a great thought.
“Everyone, do you remember when I publicly recruited someone to work with me during the last stream?”
I had sought a representative for external operations for the top-ranking paladin in this world.
The applications were received via Seo-yoon’s email, and it turned out there were more than I had expected.
With more people applying, there would be more talent, and among them, a few specialized in gaming.
In other words, it meant I could easily gather the type of people I wanted.
“I’ll give you a heads-up. For those who didn’t make it in the recruitment interview for the external operations representative, you’ll have another chance to apply for a different position.”
I smiled gently and pointed at the webcam with my index finger.
“From now on, I’ll be looking for allies to join me in Solar Scepter, the ‘Metaverse Hero Party!’”
As soon as I made that announcement confidently, donation alerts chimed in.
[Havant donated 1,000 won]
– The name smells stale.
“…Is that so?”
It seemed that ‘metaverse’ had become an outdated expression.
Fortunately, a word came to mind that could replace it. It was a term I learned while surfing the internet on my smartphone.
“Then let’s go with ‘Cyber Hero Party.’ Doesn’t that sound good?”
Since it was a trendy term, I thought it would seem stylish this time. But reality was harsh.
[Birapbabab donated 1,000 won]
– That sounds even worse.
“Why is that…?”
I’d felt this way before, but I really couldn’t grasp modern sensibilities.