I Have a Reason to Hate Streamers

Kelberos’s character loses strength and collapses.

A brief stillness. The message displayed in front of me felt oddly surreal.

The wind that blew rustled the Bamboo Forest for a moment.

I won.

So, I became the champion.

Really?

It didn’t feel real, so I turned off the system message.

A careless gesture. The notification window naturally disappeared from my view, but now that it was gone, a wave of fear washed over me.

Should I not have turned it off? What if something is wrong?

Perhaps due to the anxiety, my grip loosened.

The sword that I had been holding dropped to the ground. There was no one left to fight anyway, so I didn’t pick it up.

I couldn’t have, even if I wanted to. The clang of metal echoed loudly while my body remained stiff in an awkward posture.

I suppose it was fortunate. Or should I say it was expected?

My foolish worries didn’t manifest into reality.

My vision returned, showing the stage once again.

The first place my gaze fell upon was the large monitor in the center.

My nickname was boldly displayed on the biggest screen.

[1st Infinity Arena]

[Winner: Gawol]

Only then were the enchantments that covered my heart dispelled.

Thump. Thump. My heartbeat echoed in my head.

As I stared blankly at the screen, bright lights shone down on the formerly dark stage.

A beam of light mixed with red was based on white.

It felt like the color symbolizing my hair and eyes. It was as if I was given a color that represented me.

The rays of light stretched like pillars, and confetti, along with fireworks, gently fell.

It seemed there was a slight mishap with the sound.

Only then did faint static begin to interfere, and a melody I’d never heard started playing.

It must have already been playing because by the time it reached my ears, it felt like it had already passed the midpoint.

The fast and cheerful sound matched my taste quite well, and soon, the exuberant voices of the commentators started to stream in.

《…And now, I can confidently declare.》

《If someone were to ask, ‘Who is the strongest assassin in this game? And, who is the mightiest swordsman?’ Today’s match will serve as proof.》

《It wasn’t an easy journey. Those who watched the journey to victory will understand. In the qualifiers…》

Being praised is always a joy.

The official broadcast chat was moving so fast, it was practically unreadable.

Even if I could read it, I wouldn’t have understood anything other than Korean anyway.

All kinds of sounds and information overlapped, creating quite a noise.

It was boisterous, noisy, and dizzying.

Still, it wasn’t bad.

I don’t think I had this much excitement even when I won the national competition.

Staff members approached from behind and draped a wide cloth over my shoulders.

It was a large mantle commonly referred to as a winner’s gown.

Walking from the side of the stage was the caster Ho-eun, whom I had seen during the nomination ceremony.

And the female announcer who conducted the winner’s interview.

Was her name Lee Yeon-bit?

I acted like a broken robot when the two greeted me.

“Congratulations on your victory.”

“Congratulations!”

“Oh, um, thank you. No… thank you. Ah, it hurts.”

Huh?

I felt like my stammering had gotten worse.

For some reason, my mouth wasn’t moving well.

The words I wanted to say were already organized in my head, but the words coming out of my mouth were quite different from what I’d imagined.

My pronunciation was off, and my voice trembled.

I even bit my tongue while speaking.

It hurt from the hard bite…

The announcer beamed at me with a smile.

Is this funny? Isn’t that a bit much?

“Now, Gawol. You’ve defeated countless adventurers and become the winner of the Infinity Arena. We can’t miss hearing your thoughts, can we?”

“Um… Well, first of all, I’m happy. And… oh, I’m just really happy. It’s still unreal.”

“Indeed, you seem very delighted. You’re showing such a cute reaction.”

“C-cute? No, I’m not. I’m not cute…”

“Hehe, I see.”

Come to think of it, this person said I was cute last time too.

I know it wasn’t meant badly.

There wasn’t even a hint of malice in those eyes.

But isn’t it a bit much? Such compliments are more fitting for little girls.

I’m a fully grown adult. I’m of legal age to buy alcohol and cigarettes.

Besides, I’m not a girl to begin with.

But I’ve always felt a bit intimidated around women.

I guess I’m not used to it.

I’ve never really been good at socializing, and my school years were spent in an all-boys environment. College was also a pure male build focused on athletic scholarships.

Throughout my entire life, I had few opportunities to converse genuinely with women.

So I couldn’t muster the courage to protest.

I had no choice but to answer the questions well.

“Looking back, Gawol, you showed a very confident demeanor from the early stages of the tournament. Did you expect to win?”

“A little. I didn’t think I would definitely win… but I did believe I could reach high if I gave my all.”

“So, you had confidence that you would achieve good results?”

While my words were a bit disjointed, Lee Yeon-bit added to them, making them sound plausible.

Thanks to that, even though I was stammering, there were no significant issues during the interview.

At least until I made a mistake.

“Then, on the contrary, in today’s 3rd set, you lost two sets in a row to Kelberos. How did you feel at that time?”

“Ah, that was… ugh… I messed up. What to do? I felt definitely cornered.”

I almost slipped an expletive out without thinking. And then I quickly corrected myself.

The caster who had been quietly listening suddenly jumped in.

“Wow, as expected from the best assassin! The broadcast was nearly cornered too, but Gawol’s quick wit shone through. Quite impressive!”

“Haha, cough cough! Ugh.”

Ah, I couldn’t hold back my laughter.

No matter how I think about it, the quick wits belong to them, not me.

Their acute response covered for my mistake well.

Is this what they call the experience of professional commentators?

After that, I was asked various questions.

From minor details of the combat to thoughts on the moments that determined the win or loss.

When the question about swordsmen came up, I thought, here it comes.

“The reason you didn’t use a swordsman… it wasn’t because you looked down on your opponent or anything like that. Just… not a good memory with swords? Uhm, I don’t think I should go into it too much. Let’s just say I have personal reasons…”

Having achieved the victory I had long wanted, I thought things would improve.

But that was pure delusion.

I had only spoken a few words, and my stomach roiled.

Perhaps sensing my condition, the questions about swordsmen ceased.

It felt like I was being taken care of in every aspect.

However, it seemed they didn’t expect this bit either.

Neither the questioners nor myself.

Just as most questions were wrapping up and moving toward minor topics.

“There’s a lighthearted viewer question here. Before the match, what did you eat?”

“I had… salmon. Grilled. I feel like I always eat it on important days.”

“Salmon! I love that fish too. Do you enjoy it often?”

“Not really… it’s not that I eat it because I like it. Just, in the past… sniffle!”

I was holding back just fine, yet why?

Why am I tearing up over such a trivial matter?

My voice slightly quivered with a hint of tears.

Human emotions resemble a dam that holds back a river; once it breaks, it’s not easy to calm down until everything is released.

My choked voice sniffle, sob echoed through the live broadcast.

It was a disaster.

The first champion of the Infinity Arena… became a girl who cried over a salmon story.

*

[Streamer ‘Elderin’s Lounge.]

[Author: Elderin]

[Title: Notice of Friday Break~]

Hello, this is Elderin!

As the title suggests, I’ll be taking a break on Sunday (~♡’ㅅ’)~♡.

The reason for the break is amazing!

I’m meeting Gawol for a meal!

You all know, right? She won recently, and this is a celebration.

It’s not just the two of us, though.

We’re having a small gathering with Sulbbang, and a few party members we hunted together.

If given the chance, I’ll introduce them to you as well.

I’ll also take plenty of photos!

I wanted to avoid possible broadcast days… but circumstances didn’t allow it.

Please forgive me!

[Comments]

– So will Gawol appear as a guest later?

└ Nothing is confirmed yet, but I’m hoping to discuss it!

– The first meeting was when you got PKed in the field, right? Why are you so close now?

└ Right? How did it end up like this?

– (Hidden comment: Going for salmon?)

[Author: Elderin]

[Title: I Met Gawol]

I’m going insane.

Wow.

Whoa.

Ah…

ᅟᅪᆼ

Wooow.

[Comments]

– Speak like a human, please!

– Why suddenly like this?

– Why are you only looking at her?

– If you’re going to act like this, at least show us!

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