I Became the Goddess of a New World

To hold a beta tester lottery, I even created a dedicated map in Virtual Reality.

The map’s backdrop was the location where my reliable ally, the Crown Prince, held his coronation ceremony.

I will never forget that moment when the Church’s cardinal blessed the crown, and the weight of the crown was inherited by the Crown Prince.

“Master, please look here.”

“….”

Coming out of my memories, I gazed at the camera positioned in front of Akachan.

No.

Akachan can capture everything without a camera since she’s the Akashic Record.

For some reason, a sigh escaped me when I had to introduce my name and age while staring at the camera.

“How did I end up… like this?”

I regretted coming this far.

After all, I had already undergone several rehearsals for the live lottery.

‘I can’t reveal the name “Aurora”.’

In the world of Akare, “Aurora” had been enshrined as a great hero a thousand years ago.

I erased all images and crystal spheres related to me.

‘If I’m not careful…’

If I used the name “Aurora,” I would be labeled as a self-insert character.

In reality, I am not a self-insert character; I am just the character itself…!

“Ugh…”

But if someone asked me if there’s another name I could use instead of “Aurora,” I had nothing to say.

My original name? I could never use that.

If I used a male name while portraying a female character, it would lead to plenty of misunderstandings.

‘I don’t even want to use another name.’

That name was given to me by the mentor who helped this worthless me adapt to this Another World.

“Should I just charge ahead…?”

On Earth, my real name has already been replaced with “Aurora”.

Hiding it here would only postpone the problem, wouldn’t it?

Trying to please everyone, in the first place, isn’t that a bit greedy?

Only an omnipotent god could achieve the feat of satisfying everyone.

As I pondered such trivial thoughts, time slipped away quickly.

Only one minute remained until the time I had scheduled for the live broadcast.

I infused mana into the lottery machine, which resembled a Lotto draw machine, and activated it.

Approximately ten million balls floated within a glass sphere.

‘Since I decided to do this…’

Ignoring the rising shame coursing through my body, I just had to do my best.

Ten seconds before the live broadcast, I adjusted my expression in response to the close-up signal from Akachan.

– You are our hero. A hero must be dignified at all times.

As the Crown Prince’s advice from the commencement speech echoed in my mind.

– In a world without heroes, you represent the symbol of hope. And hope must always be warm.

I smiled broadly, conveying the warm hope the Crown Prince had shown me.

To deliver that dignified and warm, positive hope.

It was the hero’s duty, mission, and the resolve to conquer my inner fears.

[00:10] [00:09] [00:08]···

The countdown started.

***

[Sweet’s broadcast has started. – Talk 32 minutes ago]

[Sweet’s broadcast title: Let’s Watch Akare Live Together]

The countdown ended.

As the screen transitioned, a fantastical location appeared.

“It’s kind of similar, isn’t it? That, what’s it… Ah! Right. The Hall of Heroes.”

Sweet recalled the broadcast of Master Kim that she had watched during her travels.

A starting space where one interacts with maids to choose a profession.

Of course, it was similar to the Hall of Heroes, but completely different.

The screen zoomed in.

The figure of a person, previously faint, and the lottery machine came into clear focus on the screen.

– Hello, I’m Aurora, the Director of the Akashic Record.

The woman standing next to the lottery machine bowed her head.

“What? She looks exactly like the wizard from the trailer?”

―――

Really?

So pretty.

No wonder she looks familiar.

Is she a girl?

―――

The Akashic Record gained its fame primarily from the trailer.

Among all, the final highlight of the trailer.

The scene of the wizard fighting the Elder Lich sparked much discussion with the label ‘otherworldly quality’.

– Today, we will conduct the beta tester lottery as announced in advance… Is this a recorded broadcast? No, the chat window… is scrolling quite fast. Haha… this is awkward.

As Director Aurora waved her hand in the air, I noticed a translucent window there.

“Must be the live chat window.”

Even with the slow mode activated, the speed at which the chat flowed was extremely fast.

Would it even be possible to read the chats? I wondered.

Chinese and English, as well as Japanese, often appeared too.

– First, let me explain the lottery method.

Snap-!

As the Director snapped her fingers, the floating balls within the lottery machine began to drop.

Then, the lottery machine powered on, and the countless balls began to spin quickly.

– The lottery will be conducted in ten rounds. We will select 100 people at a time, and those who win will receive their winning mail immediately.

“What? Is this a Lotto draw?”

Sweet expressed her doubt, but her tone carried a hint of laughter.

As if to convey that this entire situation was amusing.

―――

It’s even more generous than Lotto.

Is it just one lottery today?

I hope there’s a Q&A afterward.

―――

Sweet scanned the chat window before fixing her gaze back on the live screen.

– Simple, right? Now… Let’s go for the first lottery.

A multitude of balls began bouncing all around the enormous sphere.

After about ten seconds passed, 100 balls shot out.

Snap-

As Director Aurora snapped her fingers, 100 balls floated into the air.

The 100 balls were shown in close-up, each revealing numbers indicating applications.

“Ah, it seems my number isn’t there? Has anyone seen 11995?”

―――

Nope, it’s not there.

What were you expecting?

What? Isn’t there a winner in Sweet’s room?

Do you think you’ll win? Hahaha.

―――

Sweet’s mouth, filled with excitement, fell at that moment.

―――

Look at that expression, lol.

So funny, seeing him disappointed.

What an honest guy.

―――

“It’s okay. There are still nine more chances, right?”

Following that, two more lotteries were conducted, but Sweet’s number was not drawn.

―――

10000 won from user, ‘ㅇㅇ’

– Don’t worry, Sweet! I sent 100 threatening emails to Akare asking them to pick you!

―――

“…”

―――

Wow.

Thanks.

You’re my only hope.

What a loyal friend.

―――

As the lottery progressed, Sweet’s speaking decreased rapidly.

Meanwhile, comments and donations teasing her increased exponentially.

– The chat is filled with questions. It seems many people want a Q&A… so after the lottery concludes, we will have a simple Q&A session. Please concentrate for now, okay?

As Director Aurora offered an awkward smile, the chat exploded with energy and momentarily froze.

―――

The first-ever broth ceremony, we are the Director, lol.

So incredibly pretty.

The Director’s charm is overwhelming.

―――

“Seems like she has a bit of flair.”

―――

10000 won from user, ‘ㅇㅇ’

– But isn’t this just virtual reality? What’s the difference from a VTuber? She has real-life beauty…

―――

Rustle-

Before the TTS could read the donation, Sweet shut down the troll donation.

―――

Huh?

What?

What does that even mean?

Is this room a troll zone or something?

―――

The influx of users meant the trolls were mixed in as well.

I had anticipated such a scenario, hence I set my donation minimum to 10,000 won.

If the minimum had been 1,000 won, it would have turned into a playground for trolls long ago.

“Everyone, let’s stop the trolls. If you can’t, we will make a scene.”

Sweet took control of the chaotic chat atmosphere and refocused on the live broadcast.

Fourth lottery, fifth lottery, sixth lottery, and even the seventh lottery.

Unlike expectations, Sweet’s number still didn’t appear.

“Honestly, I wasn’t really expecting it.”

―――

Not expecting (totally expecting).

An honest guy until the end.

Are you still pretending to expect it till the last?

Give up, Sweet!

―――

Though Sweet pretended to have given up, deep down she wished more than anyone.

Even for someone like him who had no religious beliefs, he desperately searched for God and Buddha in his heart.

Could such earnestness reach the heavens?

“Wait? Just now, wasn’t that my number passing by?”

Among the multitude of balls, one bearing Sweet’s number plopped out of the machine.

***

Conducting a live lottery is no easy task.

Of course, the lottery itself is just about selecting the winners.

However, I had to filter and find readable chats from the rapidly rising chat window.

As the Director in charge of Akare, I had to provide exemplary answers.

‘I only intended to conduct the lottery.’

Throughout the lottery, I was distracted by the influx of questions related to Akare.

[The Communicative Director]

More than anything, the sharp gaze of Akachan holding such signs behind the camera was painfully noticeable.

“With that, we have reached the final lottery. Welcome and congratulations to those who become beta testers.”

Having merely conducted the lottery, I felt as though my energy had been siphoned away.

I wanted to just end the live broadcast and lie down in bed while watching the gallery.

But every time I felt that way, Akachan‘s piercing gaze would return.

Was she going to make me clear all the accumulated energy I had rolled around with?

Even when I sent her a conciliatory look, it didn’t work.

“Now, as promised, let’s have a simple Q&A session. Please chat your questions, and I will read and answer them.”

This Q&A was hastily prepared, so there wasn’t much prepared.

Suddenly, the Virtual Reality space changed from the lottery location to another map.

A setting common when game directors open communication broadcasts.

A room unified in monotonous beige tones, with white tables and desks.

On the table sat a laptop with the live chat window open.

‘How sincere is Akachan?’

She prepared something like this the moment I brought up the Q&A.

One by one, I scrutinized the chats coming in.

Though it might have been hard to read them all as they were scrolling quickly, given that my physical form had transcended human limits, I was able to catch every single one.

―――

Was the trailer filmed in Virtual Reality?

―――

“Yes. We filmed it within Virtual Reality.”

Just as I finished reading the question and was about to move to the next, the following message appeared in the chat.

[The Communicative Director]

[The Humble Director]

‘When did they make that?’

Seeing Akachan’s signs now doubled, I began to speak again.

“I played the role of the wizard myself. It was a difficult schedule, but I was satisfied with the quality achieved through the effort made.”

As a flurry of messages like ‘The Director chose the wizard profession’ flooded the chat, I deliberately chose to ignore them.

Questions related to Virtual Reality were ignored as well.

I couldn’t explain how Virtual Reality was realized.

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Even if I were to explain it, they wouldn’t be able to replicate it.

―――

Was there a particular reason for revealing it first to Master Kim, the streamer?

―――

As I read the question, an immense influx of ‘gasp’ messages flooded the chat.

“I wanted to showcase the game we created. I had a strong desire to show off something we worked hard on. Of course, I am very thankful to that streamer but also sorry, which is why I think that decision was made.”

After taking a moment to catch my breath, while watching the incoming chat messages, one caught my eye.

―――

Many opinions suggest that wizards are inferior to warriors. Do you agree?

―――

“No? In fact, it’s the other way around…”

Though I belatedly closed my mouth, it was already too late.

Oh, I can’t take it anymore.