A few days later, the deliveries arrived at Luke’s house.
Of course, they were the packages addressed to Luke.
“Here, please sign.”
“Oh, it came faster than expected!”
As Luke wrote his name in a cheerful manner at the request of the delivery person, he thought, ‘I thought it would take another day or two, but this delivery is really fast. With this, I can move the schedule up.’
After confirming Luke’s signature, the delivery person nodded, adjusted his cap, and turned to leave.
“Yes, confirmed. Goodbye.”
“Yeah, you too!”
After sending off the delivery person, Dayton, who saw Luke moving the boxes with a beaming face, asked out of curiosity.
“Hey, what’s all this? What did you buy this time?”
Luke, pointing at the packages lying in the entrance, responded nonchalantly, as if it were nothing special.
“Not much. Just some equipment for broadcasting?”
These were the microphone and camera, among other equipment purchased for the purpose of broadcasting.
Since he had decided to start broadcasting, he needed the equipment, didn’t he?
Even though he was spending money before making any income, he thought of it as an investment for future earnings.
Just as a fisherman needs a fishing rod to fish, it is also true that to catch a big fish, a high-quality rod is necessary, right?
He was confident that he would recoup his investment quickly.
However, for Dayton, this was completely new information.
“Broadcasting? What are you talking about all of a sudden? Are you going to do broadcasting?”
Luke nodded at Dayton’s question.
“Yeah, I’m thinking of giving it a try. They say you can earn money sitting at home.”
It is a natural desire for everyone to want to acquire maximum economic benefits with the least amount of labor.
In fact, if there is a way to earn money in front of him, he would want to ask why he shouldn’t pursue it.
Even those who broadcast awkwardly can make money, so it’s only natural that he believes he can make a lot more if he tries.
This was the conclusion he reached after exploring various broadcasts deeply in the past few days before the broadcasting equipment arrived.
Among the things he could do while just sitting at home, broadcasting was the only option that required a relatively smaller seed capital while simultaneously offering a significantly higher return.
This was because broadcasting generally doesn’t require additional investments besides the broadcasting equipment.
In order to earn money by selling goods, there are costs for raw materials and labor, but with broadcasting, all it costs is time.
Moreover, if he utilized the network, there was no reason for him to leave the house where mana flowed from the forest; it was even more efficient in terms of mana exposure than street performances and could reach more people.
Street performances are limited by physical space, and it’s difficult to gather even 100 people, while there are no restrictions in the network.
And since he had quite a bit of time left now, wouldn’t it be best if he could use this time efficiently?
Still, if he had to name one downside, it would be that broadcasting inevitably makes one famous.
It’s true that becoming famous can be burdensome, but he already considers himself quite a well-known person.
Even just walking around the neighborhood, half of the people would recognize him.
The owners and staff of the stores he frequently visits, neighbors he has encountered to exchange greetings, regulars at his street performances, employees from the research institute and the power plant…
Listing them out, it’s staggering how many people he already knows.
In this situation, becoming more famous online wouldn’t bring about any significant changes in his life.
Just because he gained a bit of fame from broadcasting doesn’t mean that officials or reporters would start knocking on his door.
The type of attention that Luke is wary of is not the shallow interest from a broad audience.
In other words, what Luke does not want is the kind of intrusive and authoritative attention that could be bothersome.
For instance, the kind of fame that directly affects his life, like winning a Ras Award or a Drag Award, is something he dislikes.
However, when it comes to broadcasting, it would merely be a few tens of thousands of ordinary people watching him, right?
Compared to the number of citizens, that is an astonishingly small figure, and there’s no reason for the higher-ups to care about it.
So, there’s no problem.
Yet Dayton still looked puzzled and voiced his thoughts.
“So, are you saying you’re broadcasting to earn money right now?”
“Of course, because I’m sure I can succeed.”
It’s unsettling to think that he’s not just doing it as a hobby but truly broadcasting with the intention of making money.
Although smart, Luke was still a 10-year-old girl who had her naive sides, and it felt like an adult should stop her from trying to make money through broadcasting.
Dayton spoke with concern.
“… I feel uneasy about this. Can’t you just refund these and not do the broadcasting?”
‘Isn’t this just going to be like throwing the kid in the water?’
However, Luke’s resolve was firm.
“Why would I refund something I’ve already bought? Don’t worry, what you’re worried about won’t happen. I’m going to pursue a calm and serene atmosphere in my broadcasts, without touching on anything provocative.”
“… You’ve already decided the direction of your broadcasts?”
As Dayton asked in disbelief, Luke nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Of course, I wouldn’t be pursuing things without a plan.”
“Uh… Were you always this organized?”
Was Luke really someone who wouldn’t push things forward without a plan?
From the side, it didn’t seem like Luke lived life with meticulous planning.
And Dayton’s innocent demeanor appeared quite irritating to Luke.
“What do you take me for?”
Luke raised his voice slightly in response to Dayton’s words.
Is he trying to talk about his organizational skills when he himself has no plans?
How meticulous does he actually think Luke is in his planning?
“You should have seen me plan something at least once. I’ve never witnessed you create a holiday schedule.”
“… I mean, that’s true.”
Thinking about it, Luke had no grounds to refute that statement.
In the first place, when it came to planning, he simply adjusted schedules based on priorities in his own head, rather than making it recognizable to others.
“Moreover, it doesn’t seem like you live as regularly as you used to.”
“…”
Luke had to acknowledge Dayton’s argument as well.
These days, he wasn’t getting up at particularly regular hours.
If he were to make an excuse, he could say he was just tired from various things and couldn’t help it…
Yet somehow, that also felt like just making excuses.
Well, in fact, it was an excuse.
Isn’t it a more ideal type of person to maintain a regular lifestyle no matter how tired?
And somehow, he felt like he hadn’t been able to make a proper plan recently.
Reflecting on the previous café incident, if good fortune hadn’t turned in his favor, that plan would have fallen through completely…
So Luke had nothing to say about that.
“…”
So there it was again.
Experiencing the feeling of being refuted by his own words was enough…
It was quite embarrassing.
Why did he even say such things?
He had been making a lot of slip-ups lately.
He shouldn’t be doing this.
At the moment when he would usually have made some rebuttal, Luke found himself silent, bowing his head instead.
Seeing Luke like that, Dayton finally decided not to press further about Luke’s lack of planning.
“So, what kind of broadcasting are you trying to do? Let’s hear it.”
“Well…”
Luke shut his mouth again.
He had been discussing his lack of planning until just moments ago, but if he said his broadcasting theme was a “variety show” where he would try anything, it would only confirm his lack of a plan.
In fact, doing such a format in the early stages of broadcasting shouldn’t be a big deal, but wasn’t the timing a bit off?
In the end, Luke shouted out again.
“It’s a secret! Why should I tell you everything in detail?”
Dayton stretched out his hand, looking at Luke darting into his room while clutching the box of packages, but Luke was so quick that he was already inside, locked the door.
Click, click.
“Hey! I’m just worried about you because I’m the dad right now!”
Then came the voice from beyond the door.
“Don’t play dad with stuff like this! I’ll handle this myself!”
“Hey! What’s with the sudden change? Are you really going through a rebellious phase?”
“Of course not!”
“Then what is it!!”
No further words followed.
Dayton tugged at the still-locked door a few more times, then let out a hollow laugh.
Luke wanting to do broadcasting suddenly…
“Well, what’s with this kid getting the taste for money already…”
It’s not that he didn’t understand why Luke was obsessed with money.
With that kind of past, anyone would feel that way.
And recently, the kid had come to see some actual money too.
Nevertheless, he has a hunch that he’s going to get burned badly…
“Hmm…”
In that moment, an idea flashed through Dayton’s mind.
“… Should I tease him once?”
