A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 194

[Ede]

[Story about this incident]

[Talk | 13,239 viewers | 01:58:33]

[When I first saw that player there… wow. How on earth am I supposed to beat this opponent? That was my first thought.]

[Honestly, I thought Ga-eun would lose back then.]

[I really thought so too. But then I saw my fans in the stands tearing up. So I thought I absolutely couldn’t lose and went at it with all I had.]

[I was also one of the people crying there. Hehehe!]

“Haha… hahaha…”

─If it’s Rene wanting to run away from a couple, that’s a huge thumbs up, lol.

─Your voice sounds completely worn out, lol.

─Hey, you guys, save this talk for when the broadcast is off!

“Haa…”

Why am I even here…?

Why do I have to listen to their memories since Ga-eun was a kickboxing athlete…?

I thought about it, and really, there was no reason for me to be here at all, right?

Ede has already taken care of the clarifications alone, and the conversation afterward has been just the two of them. I’m not sharing any stories I know, and I don’t have a role in this broadcast at all.

Of course, I’m cheering for them… but I really didn’t want to be here.

So, I hope they’ll let me go soon…

I mean, think about my position having to witness over an hour of this couple’s affectionate antics…

─I guess I’ll just drink some laxatives and go die, kek kek kek…

─I came expecting a broadcast full of chaos, so why the heck am I facing this trial?

─Why do I dislike that lady today…?

[Oh, speaking of which, I think I need to head out as my schedule is coming up soon.]

[Ah… then should we wrap up today’s broadcast here?]

“Y-Yes, I think that would be good…!”

It’s finally coming to an end….

─Look at how your voice is rejuvenating, haha, lol.

─Honestly, I think the one suffering the most out of the 13,000 people here is that beastly lady, haha.

─‘Cupid of Love’

─The fact is that this couple got together thanks to that beastly lady, lol.

─So the result of this tragedy is all because of that bimbo beast!?

[Then today’s broadcast… the hidden camera with Rene ends here!]

[Thank you for your hard work.]

“Ah, the hidden camera was tough… huh?”

─???????????????????????

─Did I just hear that wrong?

─What the heck is going on?

─No way, my two hours!!!!!

★

Sitting across the table were Ga-eun and Edde.

The reason they met today, their dating rumors, had been laid to rest.

However, for some reason, they had no intention of getting up from their seats.

No, to be precise, Ga-eun held Edde back, who was about to get up.

“…Ga-eun?”

“Ah, I’m sorry. I was just thinking about how to phrase this.”

“What are you trying to say…?”

“So, um. If we just end it this simply, won’t it be boring?”

“…Huh?”

Edde tilted her head at Ga-eun’s words.

Of course, neither of them had done anything wrong, but still, the current situation was about clarifying dating rumors.

But if it ends simply, it won’t be fun?

As a streamer who had to be sensitive about such controversies, it was a bit hard for Edde to grasp.

“So… the reason why the dating rumors about me and Edde spread is because of Rene’s broadcast, right?”

“Y-Yes…?”

“But when we clarify, it’s not fun if Rene is just in the background.”

“…I see.”

Since the evidence was already ample, there was no problem revealing the truth to the viewers.

But was Rene’s presence actually needed for that clarification?

It wasn’t.

In the end, the decisive evidence would be the conversation records between Ga-eun and Edde.

In other words, Ga-eun pointed out that even though Rene was the starting point of the incident, she wasn’t actually the center of it.

“So first, we clarify like we just talked about, and then I was thinking we could maybe prank Rene a bit? That could sound like fun.”

“…Do you perhaps dislike Rene?”

To Edde’s question, who was trying to gauge the mood, Ga-eun shook her head in surprise.

“Of course not! I… our team has received so much help. I really appreciate it and think she’s amazing.”

But aside from that… Ga-eun continued her thoughts.

“I mean, there have been quite a few things, including this incident… Should I say I’ve been wronged? It could be seen as a light revenge? So I thought it’d be nice if Rene experienced a bit of that too… haha.”

Ga-eun naturally thought Rene would rise to Ex rank in PVP.

However, Rene had actually quit ranked matches after the PVP against Ga-eun.

Even when receiving help for the AOS tournament, it puzzled Rene that her unique instincts couldn’t be replicated by others.

Especially the phrase “I thought pro gamers could definitely do it…” was repeated countless times, leaving a traumatic mark on the Sirius Team.

Even during the Holy War event, she had coerced the busy Sirius Team into participating due to the tournament schedule, but then just disappeared with the comment to “handle it on your own.”

Of course, Ga-eun didn’t really think Rene did anything wrong.

In the first place, in cases like PVP, it was Ga-eun’s unilateral expectation.

Even when providing help as a play coach, it was a result of her expectation from the Sirius Team.

During the Holy War, Rene had asked the Sirius Team to lead from the start as well.

In contrast, Ga-eun, who had ended up receiving countless help from Rene, felt that a thank you wouldn’t be enough.

…But if you ask her whether she felt swayed by Rene’s unique my-pace, free-spirited nature, the answer would be no.

That’s why she wanted to pull off a light and playful revenge.

“So can you help with that? Of course, with the clarification broadcast led by Edde, I’ll wholly follow Edde’s opinions.”

“Hmm…”

If we had to break it down, Edde’s feelings towards Rene were leaning towards positive.

After what had happened before, she ended up considering Rene as a good person through post-event conversations.

But.

“If you have something to say to Edde, who is definitely going to be a tough opponent…?”

“…Auntie?”

“…Huh?”

“Pfft?!”

“Haha… are you coming at me like this?!”

“Auntie…”

“Sorry, but I’m still at the age where I have to show my ID when buying alcohol. You can say whatever you want, and I’m not fazed at all.”

“Auntie…”

“Right now we’re doing an interview, how about saying something else?”

“Auntie…”

“…I will definitely win today, no, I’ll do my absolute best.”

But that didn’t mean those memories had faded.

“…Alright. I will definitely do it, no matter what.”

“Thank you! Then how do you think we should do it?”

“Um…”

“How about we act like me and Edde are actually dating for a hidden camera prank?”

“…That sounds great!”

Edde immediately agreed to Ga-eun’s proposal.

There was absolutely no personal motive behind it.

Absolutely.

★

[And that’s how we ended up doing a simple hidden camera prank.]

[Did we act perfectly?]

“Ha, hehe…”

I chuckled at the banter between Ga-eun and Edde.

After the hidden camera declaration, I wondered if I would ever forget the voices of those two laughing while looking at the chat window in chaos for a while…

Anyway, the claim that they were dating was a complete lie, and I completely fell for it.

“Wait, was all that talk about the memories also a lie…?”

[Ah, that’s mostly true. Thanks to it, it really helped when I was a kickboxing athlete.]

[We just brought up stories we could talk about without slipping up, in case we might get caught.]

I see.

As I listened to their stories earlier in the broadcast, I really thought they made a great pair, but that was all an act to fool me…

…Wait a minute.

“Even though you say that, are you two really not secretly dating…?”

[What? No, no. Absolutely not. I showed you all the conversation logs earlier, right?]

[Yeah. Besides, I actually have a girlfriend. In fact, when I told her about this hidden camera today, she got super mad at me… If luck hadn’t been on my side, it might have been canceled altogether.]

“Ah… so that’s what happened… wait?”

[…Yes?]

[Ah, I think I really have to go now. Thank you for today, and I’ll see you next time.]

[W-Wait a minute?!]

Edde was taken aback and called out to Ga-eun, but she had already left the Miscode call.

A sudden bomb had detonated.

And left in the bombed-out room were only Edde and me.

In the call room, there was just an awkward silence hanging around, as if it were a matter of course.

Of course, I didn’t think much of the fact that Ga-eun had a girlfriend. Still, something felt off about Edde’s atmosphere, making it impossible for me to speak or leave the call.

And eventually, Edde broke the silence.

[R-Rene…?]

“Yes…?”

[That… my horn… my horn hurts so much….]

…What should I even respond to this?

“H-Hang in there…?”

[My horn hurts….]