Chapter 2

"Hmm, did I fall asleep...?"

Muttering to no one in particular, Goushi, who had been sitting on a rock, rubbed his sleepy eyes.

"Phew... It's been half a year since then..."

The events in the capital city of Graham—where he was forced to drive out the *Great Flame Serpent*—had appeared in his dream.

After shaking off his drowsiness, Goushi found a vast landscape stretching before his eyes. The land, which extended to the foot of distant mountains, was filled with various crops.

These were the vegetables and grains that Goushi had cultivated with great care.

"Today's weather is nice, isn't it? You guys, soak up the sunlight and grow strong."

Goushi was now in the outskirts of "Mosrif," a remote land far from the capital city of Graham. In this land rich in nature, he had started a new life by farming.

"---Well, let's get to it today."

As Goushi murmured something, a semi-transparent image appeared before his eyes.

At the top of the image, the words "Fairy Tube" were displayed in a stylish, rainbow-colored symbol.

He cleared his throat and began his "broadcast" for the day.

"Hello everyone, good afternoon. Today, I'll be introducing the crops I'm growing."

A mechanical sound, "Piron," echoed, and the text "Nyaochin has entered the room" appeared in the video before Goushi's eyes.

"Oh, hello Nyaochin. Thanks for coming to watch this old man's broadcast again today."

"Hello~♪"

In response to Goushi's broadcast, new text appeared, and an image of a cat raising its hand floated up.

---Half a year ago, Goushi was suddenly fired by the guild leader of *Great Flame Serpent*, Asrels.

Not only was he fired, but he was also falsely accused of misconduct within the guild, and it was even used as a topic in his broadcast...

In a world where people's interests shift rapidly, fortunately, Goushi's reputation did not spread. However, it would not be unusual for such a bitter memory to linger.

But Goushi decided to look forward.

He believed that the first step was to show gratitude and repay the land that his parents had left him, and that led him to where he is now.

"Look, this is the 'sweet-sweet tomato.' Isn't it red and beautiful? I originally planted 'bitter-bitter tomato' seeds here, but when I used the stones from the nearby cave as fertilizer, they became incredibly sweet. Let's take a bite... Yeah, it's delicious!"

"Wow, it looks delicious!"

Seeing the comment in response to his words, Goushi couldn't help but blush.

But soon, a number displayed on the screen caught his eye, and he sighed inwardly.

[Current Viewers: 4]

"..."

The current viewers count indicated the number of people watching Goushi's broadcast. It meant that out of all the people in the world, only four were watching his video.

"What the heck. I came to check it out because it was listed as a recommended broadcast, but it's just an old man farming in the countryside. Boring."

[Current Viewers: 3]

(Huh...)

The information that followed increased Goushi's melancholy. Since starting his broadcasts in Mosrif, it had always been like this.

If one were to describe Goushi now, "a bottom-tier rural broadcaster" would be an apt term.

---Still, there were two reasons why Goushi stubbornly continued his video broadcasts.

One was gratitude.

This land, which had provided him solace after being fired from a major guild in the capital, and the peaceful yet fulfilling days given to him by his parents, made him want to show a lively and energetic side.

The other reason was his admiration for a person who had taught him the wonders of video broadcasting.

(I have to work harder to get closer to 'that person.')

As Goushi motivated himself, a comment from a certain person appeared before his eyes.

"I think it's great! Thanks to farmers like you, we can enjoy delicious vegetables. Your broadcasts always make me feel better!"

"Oh..."

Seeing the comment from one of his few viewers, "Nyaochin," Goushi felt a warmth in his eyes.

"Thanks, for always watching. I really appreciate your support, Nyaochin."

"No, no! I come because I want to watch. But I'm glad you're enjoying it!"

Moved by the sincere comment, Goushi felt a lump in his throat. He couldn't see the person's face, didn't know their age or gender, and had never met them.

Still, Goushi was deeply touched that someone was watching his clumsy broadcasts.

(Ah, even though I was fired from *Great Flame Serpent* and went through a lot, there are still kind-hearted people in the world.)

While gazing at the comment from "Nyaochin," Goushi reaffirmed his resolve to continue his broadcasts.

---Piron.

"Huh?"

Reacting to the mechanical sound, Goushi looked up to see a bell icon displayed before him. Thinking it was just another notification from Fairy Tube, he said, "Please wait a moment," and opened the notification to check its content.

"Let's see, what is it? 'There have been multiple incidents of broadcasters forgetting to end their streams. Please be careful when ending your broadcasts'...?"

It seemed that some broadcasters had forgotten to end their streams, resulting in unintended private scenes being broadcast.

"Got it, I'll be careful. But, considering that there are few people watching my videos, it's not a big deal. Ha ha ha..."

Just then---

The area around Goushi began to shake violently. Looking in the distance, he saw a giant monster appearing.

"Oh! That big red lizard again!"

Goushi shouted and stood up, seeing the red reptilian monster rampaging in the distance.

For Goushi, this was not unusual. However, as a farmer, it was a serious issue when his fields were ravaged by monsters.

Goushi, seeing this, grabbed the large sword for monster extermination that he had leaned against a nearby post and ran out.

"Hey, you! Don't you dare mess with my precious crops!"

Goushi charged towards the red monster.

Meanwhile, frantic comments from his viewers began to appear in the video chat.

"Hey, isn't that a Flame Dragon?"

"Really? The new species that the Adventurer's Guild recently designated as Class A danger?"

"Uh-oh, this could be bad."

"Yeah, an old farmer can't handle a monster like that. It's a job for a specialized extermination team."

Unaware of these comments, Goushi approached the monster that was destroying his crops.

"Grrrrr!"

With the momentum of his charge, Goushi swung the large sword, which was as tall as he was, at the red monster's body.

---Gyaahaaaas!!

After the attack, the red monster's scream echoed. The force of Goushi's swing was so powerful that it decapitated the giant red monster in one blow.

"Phew. ...But, there's another one over there. These red lizards have been appearing a lot lately. I never saw them in the capital. Are they a new species?"

Goushi looked at another red monster that had appeared elsewhere. This time, there were three.

"If I leave them, they'll destroy the crops I've planted. Sigh..."

After a small sigh, Goushi ran out again.

He swung his large sword and eliminated the giant monsters one by one, but he had forgotten something important.

"Wow, this old man is amazing!"

"He took down a Flame Dragon in one hit!? He did it again!?"

"Mr. Goushi, you're awesome! So cool!"

"Whoa, this old man is something else."

"I'm going to tell my friends."

"Me too."

The micro-spirit, which had remained in communication mode, continued to broadcast Goushi's battle against the red monsters.

"First time here."

"I heard there's something interesting to see."

"Wait, what? That's a Flame Dragon!?"

"Whoa, this old man is taking down Flame Dragons? Is this a farming video or what?"

"I encountered a Flame Dragon before and ran back home..."

"Ah, I should have tried to take it down in one hit. ...But could I do it?"

"What's going on here?"

"The old man's movements are not ordinary."

"This should be shared more, right? w"

Before long, the comment section became lively, and people began to invite others to watch.

By the time about an hour had passed, something incredible had happened---

[Current Viewers: 17,190]

***

"Oh, no. I left the broadcast running."

After finishing the extermination of the monsters that had been ravaging his fields, Goushi realized he had forgotten to end the broadcast.

"Sorry, I forgot to end the broadcast! ...But, there's probably no one watching anymore. Anyway, I'm ending it! Excuse me!"

Goushi quickly ended the broadcast, his mind filled with the realization that he had left it running. He didn't even check the viewer count and closed the Fairy Tube screen.

"Ah, I'm such an idiot. I should have checked the viewer count to see if anyone was watching, but I ended it in a hurry. ...Well, it's fine. I'm tired, so I'll check it later."

Muttering to himself, Goushi picked some vegetables into a basket. For Goushi, who lived a self-sufficient life in the remote village of Mosrif, eating the crops he had grown was the greatest pleasure.

It was a bit early for the harvest, but he planned to enjoy a snack for dinner. Singing a cheerful tune, Goushi headed home, completely unaware that the broadcast he had forgotten to end was becoming a topic of discussion around the world.