〈 Episode 180 〉 External Record (14)

*

External Record (14)

“Yuran.”

During a short break in the broadcast.

While I was sipping on water, Mint Lemon called out to me.

“Yes? What’s up?”

“I guess we won’t be seeing Ershiarah for a while.”

“Oh, I suppose that’s true.”

Allen left Ershiarah behind in the kingdom.

It was because she was needed there.

Maybe that’s why Mint Lemon looked a bit gloomy too.

‘She won’t be seeing her character for a while.’

I should probably say something to comfort her.

“It’s unfortunate, but I think we’ll see her again soon.”

“Really?”

“Yes, it seemed like Allen really liked Ershiarah. He will definitely come back.”

Of course, that was under the premise that he doesn’t die along the way.

Moreover…

‘This situation isn’t good.’

Suddenly, a bounty was issued by the High Priest.

This was something I had never seen before, and the viewers’ reactions were intense.

But this bounty also brought a sense of anticipation.

‘It’s like a new turning point has emerged.’

The fact that something unprecedented happened meant that there was a possibility of reaching an ending we had never encountered before.

‘As long as we can overcome this somehow.’

I swallowed my drink and gazed at the screen with a solemn expression.

Allen had obtained the weapon [Relic Albert Linea] during the fourth trial.

And now he was on a boat with Yusera, heading towards Lucy Teracian.

At that moment, a chat caught my eye.

­No way, that’s really my Lucy.

I wasn’t sure if it was true, but I made a request to Mint Lemon.

“Can you pull up that person’s chat history?”

“This person?”

“Yes.”

Then, the chat history of that user appeared on the broadcast computer screen.

­If we’re at Central Sea System, I should be able to see Lucy, right?

­Huh? She actually came out to greet me?

­Lucy! Do you know how I raised you!

It seemed like the real owner of Lucy.

If so, I had something to ask him.

“Excuse me, Water?”

­?

“Does that Lucy have the Memory Conch?”

Then the chat came rolling in.

­Yes, of course. That’s how you can see the ending.

­It’s a pity that Luel has to die, though…

I suspected it, and it turned out to be true.

It’s tough to make Lucy kill Luel just by ordering her.

However, if she had the Memory Conch, she could definitely be made to kill Luel.

‘If she didn’t have it…’

And if Allen were present.

Maybe Lucy could have been stopped from killing Luel, leading to a new ending.

But with Lucy already having the Memory Conch, everything had become uncertain.

‘I guess I’ll have to leave it to Allen.’

The boat they were on had entered the fog of Library Island.

Once they went inside, players would have nothing to observe but the rising notifications.

“Allen…”

Just as I muttered his name to myself.

“Yuran?”

“Yes?”

“No, sometimes when I see you, it feels like Hundred Braves is more like a real world than a game.”

That was an unexpected comment.

I had never thought of myself like that.

But thinking about it, it kind of felt that way.

“I guess I’m addicted to the game.”

Why was I still so immersed in Allen?

This is just a game…

“In our broadcast, being addicted to the game is a reward.”

Mint Lemon said that with a nonchalant expression.

“Really?”

“Here, it’s practically work. Being addicted to the game essentially means being addicted to work.”

“Oh, so that’s how it is.”

“Yes, and as I watch your Allen, I’ve started to feel like it’s more reality than a game. I guess you could say I’ve become a supporter.”

She pointed at the chat window as she continued.

“Sometimes when the protagonist is struggling hard in a game, I think that way.”

“Like in Dark Souls or Sekiro?”

“Yes, exactly. Watching the protagonist in those games makes me wish that world was real. After all that suffering, if it turns out just to be a game, that’s a bit unfair, right?”

That was a pretty unique thought.

But at the same time, it was something I could relate to quite a bit.

“I think the viewers watching our broadcast might start to feel that way too?”

It seemed so.

Even now, as the fog prevented us from seeing Allen, there was a cacophony of chaos.

“Is that a good thing?”

“Yes, of course!”

­­­This record is a preserved version before it was erased by ? and is subject to leakage restrictions­­­

*