Chapter 560

The reputation of Cheon Saetbyeol had already spread widely, including to the nearby Gangnam district high schools like Gu-ryong High School.

The most common title associated with her is undoubtedly “PC Bang Short-Haired Goddess.”

Whenever she occasionally used gaming devices like computers or PlayStations, she became the center of attention for male students.

Not only for her looks, but she also received some brief attention for her skills.

A 17-year-old female challenger who made a surprise appearance in the National High School Moonoa League.

Although she was eliminated in the qualifiers, this unexpected ecological disruptor left a strong impression on some students.

There were rampant rumors about her preparing for professional gaming or being affiliated with an entertainment agency.

Her acquaintances were careful to avoid mentioning Saetbyeol as much as possible.

In return, Cheon Saetbyeol periodically supplied her friends with daily photos of NaeMe.

Once going beyond being the mascot of Gu-ryong High, she had now become a living landmark of the school.

Whenever Gu-ryong students reacted with curiosity about who NaeMe’s older sister was, they felt a peculiar sense of intellectual satisfaction.

Because only they knew her true identity.

[Hey, did you get confessed to by a player from the National Exchange Tournament? Hurry up and spill the tea! LOL]

[OIOI, you naughty little star! How was Muscle Beach? Was it fun? Why are you enjoying yourself alone?]

[Take me with you! I want to see Shark Nae! T_T]

[I just saw NaeMe on broadcast! LOL I thought she was a total weirdo!]

Therefore, when Cheon Saetbyeol’s identity was revealed, it was bound to come as an even greater shock.

[I created Adella’s body.]

The next day, Gu-ryong High School was completely turned upside down.

Students who usually slacked off during summer vacation, as well as those with academy schedules, all gathered at school from the first period.

The teachers initially attempted to calm the chaos but eventually joined in on the buzz about human transmutation.

[Hey guys, have you ever heard Saetbyeol talk about her past? Like from middle school classmates or anything?]

[No? I think she mentioned that she was really sick a long time ago and couldn’t attend school at all…]

[What? That’s the first I’ve heard of it.]

[Oh right, I heard that too. She couldn’t move her body well, but she received magical treatment recently and got a lot better.]

[Is magical treatment the same as human transmutation? What is this…?]

After the press conference, NaeMe’s family suddenly disappeared in Paris, France.

Numerous messages of concern were sent from school teachers and friends.

And when NaeMe finally gave her permission, Saetbyeol posted a message in the group chat to confirm her well-being.

[Gu-ryong High School Class 2-1 Group Chat (26)]

Cheon Saetbyeol: (enjoying a glass of Romanée-Conti.jpg)

Cheon Saetbyeol: Did everyone have a good summer vacation? ^^

Cheon Saetbyeol: (to drink or not to drink.jpg)

Homeroom Teacher: Hey! Are you seriously not putting that drink down?

That day, Saetbyeol ended up talking with her friends on the phone until dawn.

[Bonjour! You woke up early, older sister!]

Without having seen NaeMe’s transformed puppy-like appearance.

—

Saetbyeol, accompanied by friends, visited Ogam Jjukkumi in Dogok.

At the restaurant, she coincidentally ran into her school friends.

“NaeMe, sit in the middle! Come on over!”

The students quickly cleared a spot in the center.

The heat from the well-heated iron plate mixed with the air conditioning.

On it, thick slices of pork belly and spicy, sweetly seasoned jjukkumi were sizzling and cooking.

Surprisingly, Saetbyeol shyly sat down on the cushion.

“What’s wrong?”

“Umm…”

She seemed to be pondering something while fiddling with her lips.

In the meantime, Saetbyeol’s friends quickly set up side plates and cups of water.

“Thank you.”

“No problem! How can you be so cute! I’ll serve you some meat.”

“Oh, I can do it myself…”

After calming down somewhat, she picked up a piece of jjukkumi with her chopsticks and put it in her mouth.

The rich flavor infused with the spicy seasoning and the aroma of grilled meat exploded in her mouth.

‘Oh, this is really delicious. It’s a total gem.’

Thud—

Saetbyeol placed both hands on the table and rested her head on them.

“Guys, I’m really sorry for deceiving you all this time! If I made you feel bad, I sincerely apologize.”

“Hmm?”

At that, her friends tilted their heads in confusion, then burst into laughter.

“What are you talking about? Hurry up and eat jjukkumi.”

“Did NaeMe make you say this?”

“No, it’s just that I lied and deceived everyone. So I’m really sorry.”

“What if you had told us the truth? You expected us to believe that?”

“I’m actually a character from a game! I was born into this world through human transmutation! Hmm, that’s a bit too high-difficulty? If it were me, I’d be too embarrassed to live.”

“Pff.”

Saetbyeol chuckled, letting out a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, her friends still seemed to consider her a friend.

“But then, aren’t you one year old? So you should call us older brother and sister…?”

“Oh.”

“Ahaha! Baek Yu-geon, you seemed genuinely excited by that just now, huh? Ugh, that’s so gross!”

“No, it’s just that it seemed like a correct statement, so I went and agreed.”

“Oh, dear Saetbyeol, please call me ‘Sister Chae-eun.’”

“Do you want to die? I can’t call you older brother and sister, even if it kills me.”

“But you call NaeMe ‘Older Sister NaeMe,’ right?”

“NaeMe is Older Sister NaeMe, so that’s exceptional.”

The girl sitting next to me held my arm tightly and said.

“Please continue to take good care of us, Older Sister Saetbyeol.”

“Oh, I will. I’ll keep an eye on you.”

“Then I’ll mess with you. I’ll flip the table over.”

Saetbyeol grimaced and glared fiercely.

The mealtime proceeded slowly and laboriously.

Everyone was busy tasting the food and getting red sauce on their lips, claiming it was delicious.

Especially, the male students were focused solely on consuming calories without a word.

“NaeMe, NaeMe.”

“Yes?”

“Is there any side effect to human transmutation magic? Is there a chance that Saetbyeol has a limited lifespan? We don’t know the principles behind it, so we’re curious.”

“Uh, yes, limited lifespan.”

Saetbyeol suddenly perked up her ears.

“However, if I keep exercising regularly and stay away from alcohol and smoking, I should live longer than average.”

“Oh my god, you scared me there! Why is that limited? Don’t worry, there are no side effects.”

“Saetbyeol, can I shake your hand?”

“Suddenly?”

“Me too! Me too!”

“Next is my turn.”

In an instant, Saetbyeol’s hand got busy.

“Can I touch your cheek?”

“You guys are the same as everyone else!”

“No, it’s just fascinating! Since back in the day, Saetbyeol’s skin has been smooth and baby-like.”

“NaeMe, then how did you do human transmutation? Does it require like 35 liters of water and 20kg of carbon like in anime?”

“It’s not quite like that; now, you need highly pure magic stones, as it consumes a lot of mana. You’d probably have to rent out a magic power plant entirely.”

“Wow, the costs are insane. So that’s why everyone calls you a 200 billion-won body.”

“You should be thankful to NaeMe for life. She gifted you such a beautiful face and body for free.”

“I also have my hardships!”

“What hardships did you have?”

Saetbyeol puffed her cheeks out in a sulking manner.

She stabbed her chopsticks hard into her rice and said.

“Do you think getting a body is easy? It’s truly excruciating. You have to endure the pain of being butchered all over your body for a minute. Because of the aura heart, I obviously couldn’t have anesthesia. I lack the expression to tell you in words.”

With a somewhat wronged expression, Cheon Saetbyeol thumped her chest.

“Is it really true?”

She nodded at the students who were looking at her suspiciously.

“It’s extremely painful, but it’s not to the extent that it’s unmeasurable. Just consider it about 1.5 to 2 times worse than CRPS.”

“What’s CRPS?”

“Or it’s about five times the pain of your whole body burning? But you—Cheon Saetbyeol… ah, never mind.”

Most of the time, I had cast the pain synchronization magic on her.

Perhaps recalling that moment, she scooted closer and hugged me, letting out a shy giggle.

“I really appreciate you. I’ll pay you back the 210 billion won someday, okay? Okay?”

“The meat will get cold; let’s eat quickly.”

“Then let’s eat a lot and grow tall!”

After finishing the jjukkumi samgyeopsal and waiting for the fried rice, we exchanged names.

Though it felt somewhat delayed, isn’t food more important than names?

In the end, all matters in life revolve around the pursuit of food.

Problems arise because of those who always want more than they deserve.

I appropriately shared a bowl of rice with Saetbyeol.

One and a half bowls for Saetbyeol, half a bowl for me.

“Hey, if you eat like that, won’t you gain weight?”

“Surprisingly, I do gain weight well! Honestly, I want to take the fat from my sides and stick it to my chest. If I were to build a body, I wish I was made into a body type that doesn’t gain weight.”

“Wow, where’s your conscience? It’s so misleading for you to say something like that.”

Since it was an opportunity to meet school friends, I decided to ask Saetbyeol the questions I was curious about.

“Saetbyeol, have you ever had a boyfriend during this time?”

“Huh? That’s what we wanted to ask! Seriously, have you never had one?”

“I’m serious. I don’t lie very often.”

“A one-year-old dating? Go drink some milk!”

“Ugh.”

“But you’ve been on love shows like Love Castle and Heart My Life, always broadcasting live to our class every morning.”

“I guess the dopamine released during the dating process is great, but I’m not really into it.”

Her friends looked at her as if they thought she was nuts.

“So this is a side effect.”

“This was a side effect.”

“Even if you say it’s not a side effect,”

“Then, do you have even a little bit of romantic feeling?”

“Well, it’s not that I don’t have any feelings? As long as it’s an ideal type.”

“What’s your ideal type?”

“I just like perfect people.”

“For example?”

Saetbyeol gazed at me silently.

She chuckled to herself and then provided an answer to her friends.

“Um… I’d say someone like me is more than enough, right? Wait a minute. Why is everyone looking at me like that?”

“Hahaha!”

Everyone burst out laughing uncontrollably.

I almost choked on my water from laughter.

Then suddenly, I looked outside through the window on the second floor.

There were crowds of people gathered on the street.

“There are so many people.”

“Whoa, why are there so many people?”

At my words, all gazes turned toward the window.

“They all came to see NaeMe.”

“Oh wow, that’s amazing.”

Now that I think about it, I hadn’t seen the restaurant owner for a while; it seemed he had gone downstairs to manage the incoming crowds.

“Shall we leave now?”

“Staying longer would be a nuisance.”

I took selfies with each of Saetbyeol’s friends and hurriedly scribbled my signature in their notebooks.

“Thanks for lunch!”

“Thank you!”

“NaeMe, I will always support you! You too, friend with white hair!”

“It’s silver hair, not white!”

Clap, clap, clap—

As we started to prepare to leave, applause echoed from another table.

“Where are you going?”

“We’re heading to study time now. Haah…”

“Oh, I also want to go see my friends after a long time. NaeMe, what will you do? Shall we go together?”

“Me too?”

“Yes! The high school self-study group is an essential part of a trip to Korea, right? Let’s go together! I’ll ask the principal for permission. It won’t take long.”

Saetbyeol suddenly took out her phone and called someone.

“Are you really calling the principal?”

“Wait, how did you get their number?”

“Hello? Yes, yes, it’s me. Yes. Ah, yes!”

Her friends were simply astonished.

“I’ve got permission for now. Older sister, you decide. Do you want to go or not?”

I paused for a moment.

The school isn’t a place I particularly like.

But at the same time, I also felt a longing to see where my family spends their long days.

I started taking out my hologram and turned on the broadcast.

[NoName]

[Just Chatting – Korea Travel Day1 – High School]

[Broadcast time – 0:00:07]

[Viewer count – 1,395]

“I originally planned to stream later, but is it okay to do it now? Is everyone fine with their faces showing on stream?”

“Hehe. I figured you’d want to come along.”

“Wow, I’m actually watching a No Name live stream?”

“You’re a hero, Cheon Saetbyeol!”

“I was sure of it! Thank you!”

“What a bunch of nonsense; you didn’t believe it at all!”

Receiving the cheers from the students, I stepped out of the building.

In the midst of this chaotic atmosphere, I launched into my opening statement.

“Hello, this is NoName. I’m currently in the capital of Korea, Seoul.”

First, I need to think about how to navigate through the crowd of hundreds of people.