NOVEL NEXT Chapter 446
15. NoName Ttakapdae Interview
The Na-me I know is a world-renowned streamer, wizard, and clan leader.
But before that, Na-me must have been just an ordinary daughter.
I can’t imagine how much pressure it must feel to be the center of attention at such a young age.
I hope that instead of facing the heavy expectations of the world, Na-me can think of loving herself and those who love her.
I hope this fanart brings Na-me great comfort—
“Thank you so much for this amazing fanart, Witcher33!”
– Sobbing
– The historic day that introduced NoName to the world…
– The fanart is truly legendary.
– If I set it as wallpaper, I might cry at least once a day.
– Sniffles So sad…
– Where else would there be such a proud daughter?
– I told them not to deify Na-me, and they ended up deifying her mother instead.
– I lived trapped in a capsule with Na-me for over a year; what else could she be if not a god?
– Didn’t Na-me’s mom say she was in her early twenties? Crying She’s younger than us.
I suddenly thought about how looking at a picture could bring comfort.
In the picture, the girl was holding her mother’s hand tightly, not wanting to let go.
Among all these people, I alone know the face hidden behind the veil.
After admiring the fanart for a while in a daze, I finally spoke.
“Would you like to hear a story about my mother in return? I hardly remember anything from my time in hibernation, but she was truly a wonderful person.”
– Do you remember when you were a newborn?
– If Na-me is okay, we welcome it!
– Attention all parents around the world!
– How did she get trapped, I wonder? That’s something Na-me wouldn’t know either, right?
– Just pure regret…
This is a story about the time I spent in the capsule with Seol-ah.
—
I had a long nightmare.
People screaming, hating each other, and spiraling towards catastrophe…
[Just go ahead and kill me.]
I don’t remember the details, but the intense emotions burned heatedly in my head and heart.
‘It hurts… it’s hot…’
My heavy eyelids opened, and finally, I saw the light.
It was cold, like the Lainris Ice Canyon.
‘Is it an eclipse?’
The phenomenon where the moon obscures the sun.
No, this isn’t an eclipse.
Someone above was blocking the light and looking down at me, tears dripping down.
“Sniff Is my baby hurting a lot? What should I do? I’ve never experienced something like this…”
The woman wept sadly while manipulating a hologram.
[38.8°C]
I’ve seen that number somewhere before.
Maybe it was from a dream within a dream?
“I’ve used so many potions, why isn’t the temperature going down?! Sigh!”
I remembered.
The numbers and the Celsius temperature.
She quickly started pulling her hair in frustration.
Her beautiful face getting distorted made me sad too.
She cried and fainted, then woke up to touch my forehead, despairing at the reality of this being virtual reality, only to start crying again.
“Don’t hurt. My baby can’t die like this. Just hold on a bit longer.”
“Achoo!”
Even though my nose was clear, I couldn’t breathe through it.
I kept sneezing uncontrollably, and my breathing quickened on its own.
I felt like I was crying the entire time I was awake, trapped in suffering.
Whenever the woman left the room for a moment, I wouldn’t stop crying until I exhausted myself and fell asleep.
How many days had passed like that?
The once freezing room became warm, and I felt vitality returning to my body.
[37.3°C]
“I’m so glad… You did well. You did so well, my baby. So proud of you!”
“M-my…”
“Huh?”
“Mom?”
“Sniff…”
I didn’t say it with full confidence she was my mother.
It came out unconsciously, wishing she were truly my mom.
It wasn’t meaningless babbling.
The woman’s eyes turned red again as she gently petted my head.
“It’s time to sleep now, my baby. Sweet dreams. I’ll stay strong too.”
“M-mom…
”I didn’t want to sleep.
Because I was haunted by nightmares every day.
As my consciousness faded, my eyes slowly started to close.
In part, I felt relieved that she was indeed my mother.
I dreamt endlessly and received countless pieces of knowledge.
But I still couldn’t understand what those dreams meant.
If I were to describe it, it felt like watching an opera in a language I didn’t know.
Opera?
On the second day of the eclipse, I asked the woman first.
“Am I hurting?”
“Hehe no. I called you because I missed you.”
“Why?”
“Kya! You’re so cute! I want to hug you once we get out of here. I wonder how soft you are.”
“Kyaa!”
“Do you tickle? Here? Here?”
At first, my mom was just touching my cheeks but then poked my neck and sides with her fingers.
I panicked and squirmed away from her, then suddenly sat up.
“…?”
“Wow, you’re sitting up!”
“Uh?”
I tilted my head, confused about why that was significant.
In my mind, it was common knowledge that people could sit.
So I decided to show her I could stand since I was sitting.
As soon as my feet touched the ground, I was startled by the strange sensation and fell back down.
Luckily, the soft carpet cushioned my fall, so it didn’t hurt.
“This is…”
“Ah, this is a carpet, a carpet.”
“I know carpet too.”
“Huh?”
“It’s… something you lay on the floor.”
At that moment, my mother broke down sobbing.
“Sniff… I’m sorry, I’m so sorry for everything, my baby…*”
“Don’t cry. I’m hurting too.”
“Waaaaah!”
It was a struggle to comfort her.
I tried standing up to hug her and even petted her forehead like she did to me.
Before I knew it, she stopped crying and chuckled softly while kissing my forehead again.
“No, I misjudged the moment. Thank you for being born. If it weren’t for you, I would’ve given up long ago.”
“Thank you.”
“Yeah, thank you.”
Since then, there were a few short days where I would repeat waking up.
Each time, my mom asked me if anything hurt.
I instinctively shook my head left and right.
Even though each encounter was brief, it seemed like we had a lot of fun playing games.
“Barley, barley, rice!”
“Kyaa!”
Personally, I found the barley rice game the most fun.
Because I could keep holding her hand.
“Peek-a-boo!”
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. You don’t like this…”
“Mom, are you hurt?”
“Oh no, that hurt!”
One day, I finally nodded when she explained that feeling unwell and dizzy meant I was in pain.
“Yeah, I think I’m really in pain.”
“I see… Yeah, it hurts, so let’s sleep now, my baby.”
“I’m okay.”
“I’ll specially sing you a lullaby.”
“You won’t leave, right?”
“How could I leave from here? Haha… I’ll always be here by your side.”
I felt relieved by those words and closed my eyes.
Even if I had nightmares, I believed my mom would protect me.
When I opened my eyes again, my mom was gone, and a succubus awkwardly smiled at me.
“Um… hello?”
The art style was disconnected from reality.
“You. You? You… Yeah, who are you?”
“Ah…? Haha, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Seol-ah. As you can see, I’m also a gamer like you.”
“A gamer?”
I quickly realized that this woman was my mom.
She had told me her name for the first time.
From then on, we played games together every day.
Even after not having nightmares for a long time, I was happy to see her again every day.
“Seol-ah, let’s not help the jungler today. We need to secure our spot first.”
“But then…”
“That’s how we can win.”
“Okay. I trust you!”
That match was the first precious victory we earned together.
Although we’d suffered many losses, I was sure we would gather even more wins from tomorrow.
But then Seol-ah revealed that we were trapped in virtual reality and said her goodbyes.
“Make sure to remember, your mom is No Seol-ah alone. Proud of my daughter, Na-me.”
“No!”
I cried out and denied her words.
[
Do Not Disturb Mode is activated: Please input your password.]
“No!”
If you’re going to leave, I begged her not to reveal she was my mom and to stay as Seol-ah.
Now, I was the one who couldn’t stay awake, while Seol-ah was the one eternally asleep.
Was it because I couldn’t play games?
Was it because I made her lose so much that Seol-ah wouldn’t come looking for me any longer?
The late regret washed over me, and I desperately sought survival.
To become a proud daughter, I had to escape this capsule as soon as possible.
And finally, I acknowledged my existence.
The third life wasn’t easy at all.
—
*
“Maybe that’s why even now, when I close my eyes, I can clearly see my mother’s figure… Oh, right, did I mention I was really surprised by the fanart? Even during the interview that day, my mom’s voice whispered past my ear, saying, ‘You did so well. Our Na-me is so courageous.’ It wasn’t sad. It made me really happy. So, the kid in the fanart will surely be happy inside too.”
– Crying a river
– I thought I wouldn’t cry, but here I am again…
– I feel so relatable…
– Na-me, you’re my tear button…
– I cried again and again that time.
– I usually don’t cry, but I can’t hold it back.
– What must the feeling have been like for a mother who had to sacrifice one of her children… It breaks my heart and brings tears.
– It’s just that a great daughter emerged under a great mother…
Seeing the viewers collectively entering sobbing mode made me smile briefly.
I intertwined my fingers and stretched over my head.
“Ugh… So I want to live as best as I can. I won’t feel burdened as you viewers say. Instead, please think of everything I do as something I enjoy. My dad didn’t force me to do it.”
Even now, there were still people spreading ridiculous rumors that Professor Cheon was abusing me.
They had this strange notion that I should remain a forever pitiful person.
Even now, the AI judges are probably sentencing me to six months in prison with two years of probation.
There’s still a long way to go.
But looking at the fanart, the path I’ve traveled wasn’t that short.
—
35. Mephistopheles’ Nightmare
The princess who defeated Mephistopheles in a crumbling world, or
49. A Great Wizard NoName Who Even Defies the Gods
Me casting Unique Magic Adera during the Academy Competition—all sorts of pictures were drawn for me.
“Oh, so cute!”
And I also liked this adorable atmosphere and art style.
63. Aladdin Na-me
A girl played the flute, and out of the bottle, the unexpectedly half-serpent Sebastian popped out.
77. Na-me wants to eat parfait~
The girl was doing her best to keep from losing the parfait in her hand.
And the last, the 100th.
100. Na-me, is this your first time on a rollercoaster?
The girl attached horns to her head to make herself taller and rode a thrilling rollercoaster.
On the surface, she pretended to be calm, but inside the speech balloon, her SD artwork showed a terrified expression, which I liked.
I selected 35, 49, 63, 77, and 100 for the excellence award.
“Congratulations to all the winners!”
– Wow, agreed!
– It was amazing.
– It’s legendary that all five are named illustrators, haha.
– Congratulations, congratulations, congratulations, congratulations!
– What’s with the balance? It’s hilarious!
– The current pro is over the top.
– This means Na-meho Captain is definitely gonna win the grand prize!
– Is the grand prize going to be the Ttakapdae interview?
“Next, I will pick the three main awards. The order will follow the numbers. First, it’s No.1 Na-meho Captain vs Baal Zebub drawn by kdh1010.”
– Unfortunately, it’s the main award.
– I liked this one.
– It was really high quality.
– Baal Zebub was so creepy, haha.
– The competition was fierce.