Chapter 25

Genius Archer's Streaming Season 1 Episode 25

10. Emilia (1)

Swoosh.

Seoja signed the contract very coolly right there.

One would think she would at least ponder between the company and this job, but she showed no hesitation at all.

It seems she had a lot of complaints about the company.

'I understand.'

Sanghyun nodded, recalling his own company life.

"You will receive a base salary of 25 million won per year, and 40% of the AllTube revenue will be given as a bonus. We can also do a clean 50% split without a base salary..."

"No, I prefer having a base salary. It’s more stable..."

"Understood."

Seoja chose the contract with a base salary and completed the final signature on the last page.

Thud.

Seoja shook hands with Joo-hyuk and stood up.

"But what about the videos uploaded to my channel?"

"That will likely need to be re-uploaded to the official channel."

"Hmm... Let me know when something is decided."

"Sure!"

Joo-hyuk and Sanghyun escorted her out of the cafe and then looked at each other.

Joo-hyuk's expression was confident, as if to say, "How was that?" but Sanghyun looked skeptical.

"Is that for real?"

"…What?"

"Partner streamer."

"Hey, do you think I’d lie about that?! Who do you take me for?!"

Sanghyun was finally properly surprised.

'No way, Punk offering me a partner streamer?'

Even though Sanghyun didn’t play games, he knew about Punk, the distributor, because their game distribution platform was so famous.

"Really from the distributor, not the developer?"

"Of course! I was also surprised this morning. What do you think? Are you in?"

"Of course... The conditions are just too good."

Thud. Thud.

Joo-hyuk chuckled, shook the documents, and threw them into his bag.

Then, glancing at the cafe door Seoja had just left, he said,

"By the way, Seoja, she’s really meticulous but also cool, right? I thought it would be easy to get her to sign."

"You’re trying to get something for free. Fan love is one thing, but a contract is a contract."

"Even so, to sponsor that much money... She must really love Almond, right? But she was quite cold, almost didn’t smile."

"Almost didn’t smile? She didn’t smile at all."

They talked about Seoja for a while and eventually concluded,

"Alright. If she can separate work and personal life, it’ll be easier to work with her in the future."

"That’s true."

* * *

Bang.

Seoja arrived home, out of breath.

She threw herself onto the bed and pulled the blanket over her.

"Phew."

She took deep, quiet breaths, trying to calm her racing heart.

She still couldn’t believe it.

She didn’t expect to see the real thing, and even less to sign a contract.

Swoosh.

She unfolded the contract she had just brought home.

'Being recognized... by someone.'

The moment someone recognized her was now etched on this paper.

It was still a provisional contract, but it would become official once Punk approved it.

So now she would become an editor for Almond.

She wouldn’t have to go to the company anymore.

Unpleasant faces of certain people flashed through her mind.

'Hey, what can a junior college graduate do... Ha...'

'What will you do when you leave here? You?'

'Will there be a place that treats you as well as we do?'

'Just do your job for the money. Why are you so stupid?'

Unpleasant voices also echoed in her head.

"Am I free...?"

Maybe she was free.

She had somehow escaped the hellish constraints that bound her.

Would a suddenly freed slave feel like this?

It was a strange feeling.

She had always thought she would have to run in circles in that constraint for the rest of her life.

"Phew..."

She checked the Mad Movie video she had uploaded while lying down.

There were numerous comments.

#Game Category Real-Time Top 56

It had even risen in the rankings.

From 78th to 56th, a jump of 22 places.

A rare smile spread across Seoja’s face.

* * *

As soon as Sanghyun arrived home, he changed into casual clothes.

'I need to start the stream a bit earlier today.'

Almond’s streaming times were random. It wasn’t intentional; it just happened that way, and he found it convenient, so he kept it that way.

Despite the irregular schedule, he streamed almost every day without breaks, and the viewers had no complaints.

Click.

Sanghyun entered the capsule and turned on the screen.

Ding.

[Seoja: It’s the intro song and video.]

Seoja had sent him a file.

It was a video file.

A text file with instructions on how to install it was also included.

Famous streamers use intro videos when they start streaming, and this was one Seoja had made.

Sanghyun was surprised when he clicked on the intro video.

'Wow...'

The quality was better than he expected.

She had just left a short while ago, so how did she manage to create something like this?

[Did you make this already?]

[Seoja: I’ve been working on it bit by bit.]

It seemed she had made the intro video out of fan love.

'If this is what she can do as a hobby...'

Sanghyun was curious about what she could create with a professional attitude.

She was a promising talent.

[Thank you, I’ll use it.]

He sent a thank-you message to Seoja and started streaming.

[Streaming has started.]

* * *

Ding! Ding!

The broadcast notification was sent to Almond’s followers across the country.

- Oh, you’re starting early today!

- Ah!

- I’m not first...?

- lol, so many legends.

The viewers entered almost as soon as the loading of Almond’s old capsule was complete, almost barging in.

[Current Viewers: 214]

Boom... Boom...

The intro video Seoja had sent started playing.

- Oh, what is this?

- An intro?

- Wow.

Seoja’s intro emphasized Almond’s archery skills.

His best moments were shown in still shots, accompanied by music.

The synchronization of the music and the scenes, and the rhythm as the scenes changed, were incredibly satisfying, as expected of Seoja.

- The intro is like a movie.

- Life is beautiful.

- Wow.

- Wait, did Seoja make this?

- It feels like Seoja.

- Could she have been recruited?

Some people recognized that the video was made by Seoja.

[Current Viewers: 1,208]

When the intro ended and enough viewers had gathered.

"Hi!"

Almond’s face appeared in a corner of the screen, greeting everyone enthusiastically.

- Big bro!

- Ah!

- Ahah!

- Hihihi

Numerous chats appeared, and donations started coming in from the beginning.

[RubySword donated 1,000 won.]

[Will we finally see Emilia’s surprised face today?]

[GarlicStirFry donated 1,000 won.]

[Almond, hi!]

Almond gave a brief thank-you and immediately started the game.

As usual, it was Kingdom today.

* * *

The first scene after logging in was a castle that had already become a ruin.

The lord, clad in black armor, lay sprawled on the ground. More accurately, it was the lord’s corpse.

The bodies of the three knights who had guarded the lord were also there.

Apart from these, nothing remained in the castle.

- lol, the guy who destroyed the castle alone...

- Really left nothing behind.

- This is what assassination is.

- Confused with massacre.

- No witnesses, so it’s an assassination.

Almond enjoyed the excited chats and turned his gaze elsewhere.

There were no people left in the castle, but some items remained. Some treasures had not been collected.

"Honestly, since I did all the work, I should get a little reward, right?"

Saying this, Almond began searching the castle.

- lol

- Taking everything is not a crime.

- What did Emilia do? I did it all!

- If it were me, I’d eat it all.

Kingdom is a game with high freedom. There’s no rule that you must only take quest rewards.

Almond wanted to claim a big reward for his hard work...

Thud.

He found a high-quality leather armor and a bow that looked quite valuable.

"Looks good."

- Oh.

- Cool.

- Can’t take more?

- Because of the weight... lol

In a typical game, he would have swept all the items into his inventory. But Kingdom is a very realistic game.

There’s no concept of an inventory. Even gold coins must be carried individually.

It was impossible to take more of such heavy armor.

"This is enough. I won’t die easily now. I’ll go report to Emilia."

At that moment,

Boom.

[Report the mission completion to Emilia.]

A huge text appeared in the air.

- Emilia!

- Sister, I’m not dead!

- lol

- Emilia shock... Almond did the unexpected lol

- Told to assassinate the lord, but who would imagine he’d loot the entire castle lol

Almond chose one of the horses left in the castle and headed back to where Emilia was staying.

Clippity-clop.

As soon as he crossed a certain boundary, night turned to day, and he quickly arrived at the castle where Emilia was staying.

"Almond...?"

Emilia, dressed in bright clothes and returning by carriage, recognized him.

"Lady, I’ve come to report the mission."

"…Already? Did you change your mind?"

Emilia didn’t think he could have completed the mission so quickly.

- What? lol

- No, I came to change your mind!

- Unbelievable speed!

- Can’t wait to see her face when she finds out the castle was looted.

Almond quietly observed the retainers standing next to Emilia.

It meant he couldn’t talk here.

"I’d like a private audience. Please step aside."

"…What? Miss, but..."

"Quickly."

The retainers looked very worried. It was strange to leave the lady alone with a rough-looking mercenary.

But Emilia’s resolve was firm, so they had no choice.

"Didn’t I say to step aside?"

"…Yes, I understand."

When the retainers were completely out of sight,

Emilia gestured for Almond to walk with her.

"This path is empty."

They walked at an awkward distance.

After passing a few trees as tall as the castle,

"Did you complete the mission?"

Emilia turned around and asked.

Almond’s answer was naturally, "Yes."

"Yes."

"…I can’t believe it. It hasn’t been long since I asked you."

"It’s been two days. One day for the trip, half a day for preparation, and half a day for the attack."

- Just a day cut lol

- Half a day, so not even a day cut lol

- Slept well and looted a castle lol

"Attack...? Didn’t you assassinate the lord?"

"Security was tight, so I just..."

"Just?"

"I eliminated everything."

"!?"

Emilia’s face showed an expression she had never seen before.