Chapter 97 of 100

Chapter 97

7 min read1,638 wordsMature

EP.97 The Commentator, the Saint, and Hawaiian Pizza

“….”

Right after I accidentally ended the broadcast,

I was in a bad mood.

I felt a deep resentment towards the person who had laid out various pieces of evidence to guess that I had the body of a saint.

In fact, that person had done nothing wrong, but I felt pricked by the pure question of whether I was really the protagonist in the video.

Anyway, why did I press the broadcast end button? I felt like an idiot.

It felt cheap to turn the broadcast back on and make all sorts of excuses.

I didn't want to lie anymore.

It would take some time for the fuss to die down.

I came to this conclusion and got up from my chair.

I felt uneasy, annoyed with myself for feeling like an idiot, and my stomach was aching, either because it was empty or because I had eaten dog food.

Anyway, my condition was deteriorating to the worst.

Why is it so cold?

Even though it's the middle of winter, I was shivering inside my house.

It's strange. I was so healthy.

Well, considering I hadn't eaten properly for almost a few days, just snacking on drinks, ice cream, and bits of cookies, and eventually eating dog food, it would be more strange if I didn't have any problems.

I was feeling extremely depressed and looked for a source of vitality in my life.

It was the mirror.

There, the saint, who was extremely dejected and had her head hanging down, was reflected.

Even her chest, which always boasted of its fullness, seemed to have lost its vitality.

Was it because I hadn't provided proper nutrition, or was it defending my complicated feelings?

“….”

No, who checks their condition by looking at their chest?

Anyway,

it's the worst.

It's cold!

I'm hungry!

I'm annoyed!

I'm angry!

I can't deny that I'm being swayed by my own emotions.

I'm surprised at how intense my feelings are right now.

I'm not a child.

Well, I have been eating a lot lately.

Although it was mostly delivery food and snacks from the convenience store, I had been well-fed until recently when I had plenty of money.

So my body, which had become accustomed to that, is now making a fuss because of the sudden hunger.

I diagnosed my current state like this.

I had already applied for a transfer of funds on the platform, so although it might take some time, the living expenses would definitely come in.

It was important to endure the gap during those few days.

There was a little bit of drink and ice cream left, but I couldn't survive on just that.

I came up with a plan.

Should I ask Mr. Solomon for help?

No, that would hurt my pride.

Even though he's not a superhuman, he seems to see through me, so I usually feel supported and want to seek advice from him, but,

because of that, I didn't want to show how pitiful I was.

As I said just now, it would hurt my pride.

Unless I was on the verge of starving to death, I wouldn't ask him for money or food like I did before.

“What should I do….”

No matter how much I stomped my feet, the answer wouldn't suddenly appear.

My mood, which had already hit rock bottom, began to plummet vertically.

And at that moment,

Ding.

A familiar sound effect.

It was a notification from Discord.

Was someone looking for me?

I sat back down in my chair, a bit irritably, and checked the message.

It was from someone I didn't expect.

[ Gang Joon-tae: Hello, Saint! ]

[ Gang Joon-tae: Do you remember me? I'm the commentator, Gang Joon-tae. ]

[ Gang Joon-tae: Is now a good time? ]

I was pretty sure he had used the same lines when we last talked.

Why was he looking for me again?

I thought of a few possibilities but none of them seemed convincing.

As far as I knew, there were no more tournaments after the last 1:1 match.

There was talk of a 3:3 match, but that was still far off and the schedule hadn't been set yet.

So he wasn't asking me to participate in a tournament like last time.

Despite my firm refusal, he continued without showing any disappointment.

"If you don't like it, you can refuse. Hahaha."

"That's not the issue…."

"Ah, right. I said I needed help, but of course, there's a fee. Does 'salary' sound a bit off? Honorarium. That's better. We plan to provide a proper honorarium."

Money?

"Can you give it to me right away?"

"Um? Ah. That's a bit tricky. I need to talk to the management team, but I'll do my best."

I thought for a moment, my mouth shut tight at the mention of money.

I was indeed in urgent need of money.

From what he had said so far, it seemed he really needed my help.

But meeting new people in real life was always an anxious affair.

Especially when I was feeling so sensitive.

Perhaps sensing that my internal balance was tipping towards refusal,

he quickly spoke up.

"Have you had dinner? I'll buy you something. Is there anything you want to eat?"

"I want Hawaiian pizza."

"…."

Oh.

My mouth moved on its own.

...

Because of this conversation,

I found myself going out after a long time.

This "outside" wasn't just the convenience store in the park or near my house,

it was the city center, which required a long train ride.

I was out of money, hungry, and had just received a message offering to buy me dinner, so,

I dragged my heavy bottom, which I usually wouldn't move, and set out.

If it weren't for the pizza, I would have stayed locked in my room.

But what could I do?

I couldn't stay inside forever.

The gazes directed at my chest were a bit annoying, but I tried to ignore them.

This body fat had become so striking that even I, who had grown accustomed to it, sometimes found myself mesmerized by it, so I thought it was inevitable that people would look at my chest.

Maybe because I had been sexually harassed so much on the broadcast.

As long as people didn't say things like, "Wow, those tits are so big, I want to squeeze them and make milk spray out," I could probably handle it.

Thanks to the viewers, I was benefiting in real life.

I'm not sure if this can be called a benefit, though.

Anyway, while thinking about all this, I arrived at my destination.

I double-checked the name of the place on the address I had received and entered the store.

The jingling sound.

The inside of the pizza place was large and somewhat luxurious.

It felt a bit fresh to me, as I was only familiar with delivery and takeout places.

In one corner of the store, the person who had arranged the meeting was there.

It was easy to spot him, as I had seen his face so many times on the broadcast.

I saw the commentator, Gang Joon-tae, sitting at an empty table, organizing various documents, and walked over.

He was so focused on something that he didn't notice my arrival, almost burying his nose in the documents.

Feeling a bit awkward about sitting directly opposite him, I greeted him first.

"Hello."

"Ah. Yes. You're here. …Ack?!"

What's with the "ack"?

Why do real people react like cartoon characters when they see me?

He almost fell off his chair when he saw my face.

Although he quickly composed himself as a professional broadcaster,

his frozen lips were still trembling.

His pupils, which had been trembling pitifully, finally calmed down as he spoke.

"R, really."

"Um?"

"T, the Saint really looks the same in real life as in the game…."

"Ah. Yes."

There wasn't much to say about that.

But it seemed the other person had different thoughts.

"I'm relieved."

"Um?"

"Well, the reason I said I needed help is actually related to your appearance."

"Um."

"I'm not sure if you know, but there are rumors on the internet that the Saint looks exactly like the in-game character."

"…I know."

"If it's true, the team making the opening title thought it would be great to cast you. I was skeptical when I contacted you, but it's really true. So…."

The rest of his words were long and included terms I didn't understand, so I couldn't really follow them.

No, it's because I'm hungry.

I kept being aware of my hunger,

and my body felt hot, as if I had a fever, so I answered carelessly.

"I'll think about it if you order Hawaiian pizza."

"Y, yes. Of course."

"And you have to eat it with me."

"…Okay."

"Should we order ten pies?"

"…."

"Can't do it?"

"Well, that's, even if, ten pies are a bit. Too many, aren't they…?"

"Just kidding."

"…."

Actually, it wasn't a joke,

but he looked like a prisoner about to be tortured, so I just said that.

I feel too kind.

Hehe.

A Word from the Author (Author's Note)

Thank you, 1233779, for the 60 coin donation.

I finally arrived… Nice to see you.

Thank you for discussing the previous chapter's afterword with me.

Thanks to you, I was able to decide on the direction. I'll probably write it in the next part.

And just a personal note, please don't fight among yourselves. Let's avoid harsh words.