A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 240

“First, let’s do a simple apology broadcast.”

Tuni, who had listened to my story and watched my old broadcasts, said that.

“Even if you didn’t intend to do that to Rene, from the perspective of the Rebongi, it really looks like a power struggle.”

…What is this?

I thought it was all just the Rebongi’s misunderstanding, but it was actually my fault?

Did I really engage in a power struggle?

I couldn’t help but feel my mood drop.

“I’m sorry….”

Tuni wouldn’t have taught me this way…

“Huh? What do you have to apologize for… Ah. Just to clarify, I did suggest having an apology broadcast, but that doesn’t mean it’s all Rene’s fault.”

“…Huh?”

So, because I had a power struggle with the Rebongi, it’s my fault, right?

As that question lingered in my mind, I looked at Tuni, who began to explain it to me step by step.

“Like I just mentioned, even if you had no such intention, from the fans’ perspective, there are moments where it looks like you’re engaging in a power struggle. For example, in the last broadcast, the Rebongi answered a question from you, right? But for some reason, you asked the question again. Of course, I understood because I listened to you, but from the Rebongi’s standpoint, they might think, ‘Is she trying to get the answer she wants by asking again?’”

I was just asking out of genuine curiosity. Why would they take it that way?

In that moment, I had that thought, but sensing my confusion, Tuni added that when it comes to communication, you should always consider the listener’s perspective.

“So, let’s make sure to apologize for this in the broadcast. Everyone knows your situation, so if you speak sincerely, they will understand.”

“…What happens after the apology?”

Tuni spoke as if I needed to do more after apologizing to the Rebongi.

So, I asked her what she meant, and Tuni frowned before answering.

“We need to normalize the chat window.”

…Huh?

“Even if Rene made a mistake, we cannot overlook such chats. How could they continue with such comments toward a girl? No, it’s even worse. They know what kind of situation Rene is in, and they’re gaslighting her. This level of curse and this degree of negativity are not acceptable on our broadcast.”

Some complicated terms started coming up.

Gaslighting.

I felt like I had heard that word before, but what does it mean…?

“Honestly, apologies on the internet usually aren’t good. There are many crazy people who see it as, ‘If you apologized, that means you’re ready to get hit, right?’… But if done correctly, an apology can actually be a good weapon. Right now, Rene’s situation is perfect for that.”

“So that means the negativity in my chat window will disappear…?”

“We can’t completely remove negativity directed at a streamer, but we need to make sure that crossing the line doesn’t happen.”

Wait.

What’s different about that?

“…Honestly, I’m starting to think that maybe I shouldn’t be butting in like this. I also feel sorry for that. But I consider Rene my first streamer colleague… my friend, and I call her my online broadcasting master, you know? So I can’t just let this slide.”

She’s putting in this much effort for me, so I don’t need to think that way.

In fact, I feel thankful instead.

I’m not doing anything, but it feels like Tuni is constantly helping me out.

“But why did you let those chats go on in the first place? They clearly crossed the line. They’re filled with curses, sexual harassment….”

Tuni pointed at a few chat messages displayed on the screen.

Starting from “F*cking crazy bastard,” to “I want to grab the moderator’s boobs,” and stuff like that.

“I can somewhat understand light curses or comments about appearance. It’s just that online broadcasting is a service industry, and it involves emotional labor. But we definitely have to take action against such things. Once you allow even a little, people will keep looking for more extreme comments…”

As Tuni insisted I remember that, I asked her in return.

“Is that really crossing the line…?”

“…Yes?”

I didn’t think it was that far out of line, so I hadn’t paid any attention to it.

Of course, in terms of sexual harassment, I might just be insensitive, but can that even be considered a curse?

“Then what does the line you’re thinking of look like?”

The line I perceive?

“Um… Is it okay for me to speak honestly…?”

“Yes. Please speak honestly.”

Well, she asked me like that, so it should be fine, right?

Thinking that, I slowly opened my mouth.

★

“Yes. Please speak honestly.”

At Tuni’s request, Rene began to verbalize what she thought were crossing the line curses and sexual harassment.

“I think it feels like this….”

Tuni suddenly paused to think.

What Rene referred to was something that she wouldn’t dare to say again, let alone recall… It was the level of remarks that made her want to erase that memory altogether.

“W-where did you hear such words…?”

Tuni was already aware that Rene was quite active in community activities.

While she knew that it was only in certain communities, the community Rene was in was generally known for its intense behavior.

But what Rene just brought up was something even in that community you wouldn’t easily see… no, it was beyond the level of being impossible to see in any community.

Where on earth did she hear that?

If Rene was genuinely getting involved with dangerous sites, Tuni couldn’t help but feel that she had to intervene.

And then, Rene’s response came.

“I’ve been hearing it since I was a child back in my hometown….”

‘Crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy…!’

It was all too shocking.

‘How could there be a place that talks like that to a little girl…?!’

★

Tuni seemed to be quite shocked.

I had just recalled some curses I had heard from heretics, but was it really that severe?

Well, I also remember how astonished I was when I first heard it.

“Rene, please listen well. What you just said is the height of abnormality. The chat window situation of your broadcast is far from normal. It absolutely doesn’t stay within bounds.”

Although I had heard a few times that my chat window was quite intense in nature.

But I thought it was only mildly intense, and other broadcasts would be similar.

Tuni’s chat window also had some curse words after all.

Gaeun’s broadcast had hardly any of those chats, but she wasn’t fundamentally a streamer but a professional gamer, so I thought that was different.

…I guess I might have been too caught up in my own world.

But what could I do?

I really couldn’t remember much from my previous life apart from a select few.

“Then after your apology, make sure to say that such chats will be banned. If you think it’ll be hard to do it alone, I can help you.”

“Yes….”

“And just to give you a heads-up, discussing that could cause your viewer count to drop quite a bit. But that’s not a bad thing; thinking about the future of your broadcast, it will actually be for the best. Just know that.”

“Yes….”

“Lastly, from today onward, all galleries except for Remagal and New Dimension Gallery are off-limits.”

“Honestly, I barely go to any other than those two….”

The conversation grew significantly lengthy, and now restrictions were placed.

But I didn’t feel like opposing or rejecting anything.

I knew that Tuni was sincerely doing this for me.

“And really finally… You’ve been through a lot, Rene… Ah, what should I do….”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Tuni hugged me.

What is this? What have I been through?

I’m not sure, but… Um. For now, maybe I should just stay quiet.

It feels like that’s the right thing to do at this moment.

★

“But now that I think about it, Rene, you filed a lawsuit before as well, right? You talked to me about it.”

“Was that a thing…?”

“Why are you talking about it like it’s someone else’s business…?”

That was already a story from several months ago.

Not a memory… but still, it felt like quite a long time had passed.

“Anyway, having gone so far as to file a lawsuit, why did you leave these chats unchecked? Of course, they might be a bit less severe, but….”

Hmm.

Would it be fine to honestly tell her this? After all, it’s Tuni.

“Well, the whole lawsuit matter was taken care of by Harum… through the Health Project channel….”

“Yes, I know that. They said that the lawyer Harum connected you with handled everything….”

“No, it’s not that. From the very beginning, right from the lawsuit discussion to how to proceed with the broadcast, Harum was the one who directed everything….”

“…Really?”

“Yes….”

Of course, I did see the materials they sent me back then.

But honestly, I felt a bit embarrassed, just a little, while looking at them. However, I never came to the conclusion that they crossed the line.

The only one I felt really crossed the line was that one person who made over 70 posts by themselves.

The rest? I thought they were just having fun like usual and got unlucky.

After all, even that guy wasn’t a Rebongi.

They just acted the same way they would in other galleries, but they happened to go too far at the wrong time.

I genuinely thought of letting it go like that.

But Harum insisted that this should not just be overlooked and that it had to be resolved firmly at such moments.

Seeing how Remagal had become a total mess, I ended up deciding to file a lawsuit after all.

In reality, I told the lawyer connected by Harum to be as lenient as possible if they showed signs of remorse, and since then, I haven’t touched anything.

When it came to broadcasts, I did receive a simple script from Harum regarding how to proceed.

“I really didn’t think it had to come to a lawsuit….”

“Those terrible people, how could they… Even in these times, no matter how soft things are, there are lines one shouldn’t cross….”

While I was having this conversation with Tuni, an alert notification rang out from my phone; a personal call from Miscode.

And the caller was.

[Incoming call from Jaehun]

[📞 | ❌]

Jaehun, the head of the Sirius Team, who could be considered my boss.

★

“Let me handle the apology broadcast alone. I feel like I need to do this myself….”

“Okay. But if any problems arise, I’ll jump in beside you. Is that alright?”

“Yes….”

And so, Rene proceeded to conduct two apology broadcasts alone.

“…I don’t think it’s necessarily negative…I mean, it still feels wrong for those chats…! But, would I get angry too? Cursing is just inevitable, right…?”

Tuni was deep in thought.