Chapter 306

[It’s absolutely filthy.]

“Hnyaak!”

Awakening from sleep, Adella instinctively yawned and shook off the vivid nightmare that had been haunting her mind.

Living a life as an existence of data within virtual reality is always a battle against oneself.

Adella gently rubbed her lower abdomen, pinching her neither bulging nor shrinking tummy.

Despite it being morning, she wasn’t hungry at all.

She recalled the days past when she used to be delighted eating all sorts of delicacies after arriving in the VR world.

But from a certain point onward, she started skipping meals because she no longer felt hungry.

Even though she had only slept for three hours after finishing her dawn broadcast, she couldn’t fall back asleep.

There were days when she had slept all day in the past.

But lately, feeling no fatigue, staying up for several nights in a row had become commonplace.

“Kkengkkeng. I don’t smell anything from me.”

Since her body was not getting dirty, she found herself getting lazy about cleaning up.

If there is no need, humans easily grow lazy.

This applied not only to the mind but also to the body.

A fear crept up on her that continuing to suppress basic human needs could lead her to losing her humanity altogether.

“Spaceship captains also exercise regularly when they go into space,” she thought.

Three square meals a day, seven hours of sleep.

Adella resolved to live a more regular life from now on.

“I’ll take a bath first, then.”

Adella casually stripped her clothes off while glancing sideways at the projector beam on the wall.

It was set up by Na to connect the reality and virtual world because she might feel lonely.

Through the wall, she could see Na’s flat chest rising and falling, as if she were still in slumber.

Adella stared at this boundary she couldn’t yet cross for a while before heading back to the bathtub.

* * *

Chik-!

Peeep-!

Peeeeeeep-!

Peeeeeeeeeeeeeep-!

[Invocation: Circuit Reconfiguration]

Peeeeeee…

It’s always annoying to get up and turn off the alarm, so I do it this way every time.

This is why having a big bedroom can be problematic.

“Haaaaaam…”

My day begins a bit later than others at around 8 a.m. More accurately, it’s the moment when I realize I’ve woken up, which hits exactly 8 a.m., but I need a bit of time to realign my memories.

‘The Demon Lord’s head, that was a long time ago. The Emperor’s, even longer ago…’

Recalling every vivid, scandalous moment from the past is one of the reasons I often get the date mixed up.

I close my eyes and try to remember what time I went to sleep last night.

“3 a.m. … Haha, no wonder I’m tired…”

I was so absorbed in a conversation with friends last night that I ended up chatting on my phone secretly from Professor Cheon until 3 a.m.

Still, it was a pretty satisfying day, and bidding them farewell was bittersweet.

When I said I was leaving the ‘Lonely Na Room,’ the fans rushed in like zombies.

Fortunately, I managed to escape by offering to upload five pictures.

[Adella: Currently Online]

There’s a green light glowing on the friend’s console next to my capsule.

Whether someone is online or offline can indicate if Adella is awake.

“Did this girl stay up all night again?”

Even when I went to sleep, she was busy streaming zombie games.

I’m checking to see if she’s turned into a corpse after a sleepless night and open the capsule entrance to begin automatic ventilation and sterilization.

After coming out to the living room to wake up, I whirl around clockwise. The morning sunlight feels soft.

Professor Cheon must have left early for an important meeting with the Raon Clan.

He had been playing around with me recently and barely doing any work.

‘Ah, right. Potions.’

I quickly run to the kitchen and grab a potion pill from the fridge.

It’s always problematic spending time with Adella since it causes my daily plan to go awry.

Once I enter, I don’t know when I’ll be coming out, so I swallow the potion in advance and slip into the capsule.

“Nyum.”

The spicy taste spreads throughout my mouth.

Even though I eat it every day, it’s a flavor that involuntarily makes me curse.

[Private Room]

[Nonne and Adela’s House]

Swoooosh—

Opening the entrance door, I hear the sound of water streaming from the right.

“I see you’re showering. What’s up with this?”

Adella is essentially a person with the mindset of a medieval peasant, and not to mention, she’s definitely not a water-attribute cat.

So the constant reminders for her to wash up were actually for her to develop habits to prepare her for getting a human body in the future.

“Aaaaaaaaah!”

An abrupt, harsh scream from inside the bathroom reverberates through the area.

The sound of my heart dropping hit me.

“What is it? What happened!”

Nothing major can structurally happen inside a virtual reality.

However, if a major incident does occur, there’s no way to resolve it.

‘What if her sense of self is erasing due to a data collision…!’

Though it should never happen in an open world, there is always a slim possibility.

I rush to the bathroom and burst the door open as if ready to break it down.

There’s no trace of steam in this modern, well-ventilated bathroom.

The peach-colored, glossy skin, the figure with curves around the chest and hips, the silvery tail fluttering faintly—Adela is gripping her toothbrush tightly with both hands, foaming at the mouth while…

No, she isn’t fainting; she’s performing an intense vocal rendition.

“Waaaaaa! Faster than a bullet! Terrifying Scream!”

“Heyyy… I’m being foolish!”

I never thought something like this from a movie could happen to me.

Too perplexed to do anything, I just stood there dumbfounded.

“Phew!”

Finally, she must be feeling some sense of shame, right?

Adella covers her important parts with the shower curtain and sticks out her now flushed, crimson face.

“Please close the door, sister… I’m actually in the shower, you know…!”

* * *

Adella dried her hair with a towel, splashing water droplets that hit my face.

I shifted my buttocks on the bed to maintain distance from her.

“Death Metal? That loud screaming you were making, is that singing?”

“Hohoho, it’s a matter of taste! Respect it, please!”

Wheeeeey—

She tilts her head back and forth ceaselessly, letting the hairdryer wind embrace her.

This rock spirit thing must have consumed her very soul.

“What were you doing yesterday? You ignored my messages.”

“Ah, sorry! I was in the stream! I’m a busy person these days!”

“If you were, you should’ve said something! I thought you were mad at me.”

Having dried her hair, Adella climbed onto the bed and placed her hands on my shoulder.

Sniffing behind my ear and rubbing her cheek against mine, she said,

“Henghehe. How was it, Sister?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You were peeking at me, right? Didn’t you continuously eye the chest you don’t have and become all flustered?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Ho ho ho! The way your eyes were deer-like made me shudder with how you appeared so lesbian-like! Ah, do you not understand what a lesbian is yet? Mwahahah!”

“Where are you fabricating such lies from. You’re the one who’s embarrassed.”

Since she herself feels awkward, she’s trying to pin her discomfort on me.

“I have long surpassed the age where I give meaning to lumps of organic matter.”

Slurrrrrrrp—

With continuous silent treatment, Adella pinched my cheek and stretched it.

“Merhngng.”

This silly cat’s sharp fangs poke out beneath her lips when she spreads a wide grin.

“Hmm… No? Thinking about it again, living with your body might not be so bad.”

“What?”

“Sensitive girl? Sister, are you one? No matter how you live, everyone forgives you in a world like that. How wonderful. Me, when I stole food like a dog in that world, I’d get pelted with stones.”

“Are you saying our world is GTA? It’s not like punishments do not exist just because the laws cannot be enforced. There are still many cyber vigilante groups.”

“Huh? Then, going into the baths and touching sister’s plump butts…?”

“No, that’s definitely not allowed. And you also wouldn’t find anyone who’d let you touch them.”

Bathhouses are almost impossible to find in Korea now. What is she talking about?

Adella dropped her head, appearing utterly deflated.

‘Really, can I function like a human out there?’

The current Adella is excessively exposed to extreme and superficial pleasures.

Not only is she playing stimulating games, but she could also be swayed by the viewers’ financial support without a well-established viewpoint.

Most importantly, living perpetually in virtual reality where one can momentarily forget human duties is the biggest problem.

As someone who has directly experienced this, from a senior’s perspective, I’m sure that by roughly three years, I will feel the sensation of lice crawling over me; akin to the Crown Prince So’s experience.

Though I don’t mean that she needs to live ascetically like a devout monk, it’s still necessary to instill correct values.

“Adella.”

“Sister.”

Our mutual calls came simultaneously.

“You go first.”

“No, you.”

“Alright. Lately, I’ve been trying to return to my初心.”

“初心?”

There’s no way she’s eaten something strange.

Adella wrapped her arms around my body, creating a hug from behind.

“Our audience wants me to use ‘nya’ expressions in my speech. So, what I did, ‘ya good nya’ or ‘what are you doing nya’ or ‘I want to die nya.’ Roughly this way.”

“Mm. So?”

“And suddenly, it makes me feel relaxed, you know? I’ve felt rather gloomy recently. No appetite, no sleep. It’s almost like a record this month. I think it’s been over a week without eating, and I’ve slept for less than seven hours total in one week.”

I was momentarily lost in thought.

The physical reactions in virtual reality are linked to the real body.

This is to instantly recognize any danger or health issues.

But how about Adella, who doesn’t actually have a physical body?

“Recently, I’ve been trying hard to live like a human. Trying to get seven hours of sleep and force myself to eat things I like.”

Fulfilling physiological needs leads to pleasure.

But such sensations don’t exist for Adella.

This is a serious issue to consider.

“Adella, what does your recent living pattern look like? What did you do when you weren’t sleeping?”

“Eh? Me? Hmm… Around six hours of broadcasting, extra four hours of gaming? About two hours of content meetings with Yoonseul and Ni.”

“So that’s 12 hours?”

“Uh… walking and shopping once in a while? And, Sister gave me study material to practice which I’ve been doing for two hours every day.”

“And?”

“Uh… about eight hours of V-tube?”

“Eight hours?”

“Yes…”

[▶Adella (Cat of Dawn)]

I pulled up her status window in front of her.

“Give me your phone. No, hand over the account.”

“No way! Wait! Privacy must be respected, even from you, Sister!”

“That behavior is more suspicious. Just give it here nicely.”

“Aaak! No way! That’s Adella’s!”

No matter how much she whines and cries, I remain unblinking.

[system: Run as administrator]

[Caution: This operation will be run with administrator rights.]

[Recovery of ‘Adella’ account]

[24h Screen Time Retrieval]

[V-Tube: 7 hours and 25 minutes]

“Ah, so this is why sleep didn’t come? Could you feel rested living this excessively idle life?”

“Hiiiiin…”

“Just hold on, what exactly is the other thing?”

[Metflix: 3h]

She hasn’t been idle.

In fact, Adella has been spending her free time so densely that she barely finds time to study.

Backwards priorities.

It feels like “I can’t focus on my studies because I want to play,” or something similar.

And yet, she complains about losing sleep, lack of appetite, and so on?

“Exactly when did you start premium subscription to something?”

“Sister set up the account…”

“Seriously, what have you been watching? ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’?”

“Eeek! That thing!”

Adella got down from the bed and blocked my view from the screen.

“I’ve had quite a shameful life…”

Even if I don’t look, I can clearly tell with the red adult content warning.

As for Twish, that’s likely due to her personal broadcasting, but her internet usage was also concerning.

I shoved her face away with my feet, possessed by Sherlock Holmes and thoroughly investigated her internet history.

Adella finally gave up, lying belly-down on the floor and performing prostrations.

Her ears folded backward.

“I wanted to earnestly understand human life…”

“Seriously? Hmm! Huh!”

[p