A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 217

“Team Leader, may I come in for a moment?”

“Uh, come in.”

Upon the planning team leader’s words, Hamin, the youngest member of the planning team, opened the door to the team leader’s office and entered.

Normally, her energetic personality played a significant role in uplifting the atmosphere of the planning team, but for some reason today, she was fidgeting and avoiding eye contact.

“…Hamin, what’s wrong? Why can’t you say anything? Is it serious?”

“Uh, well… it’s regarding Rene…”

“Rene?”

At Hamin’s words, the team leader’s eyes widened, and he tilted his head slightly.

“Why is Rene involved? Has she started something interesting again?”

With those words, the corners of the team leader’s mouth lifted slightly.

As a founding member and the first planner of New Advent, the production company of New Dimension, he was one of the few who genuinely supported Rene’s endeavors.

He had envisioned free gameplay right from the start, unshackled by constraints.

Of course, he felt a sense of frustration when his passion was trampled in the “Room of Evil Dream,” but now he could see it as a form of freedom expressed through Rene’s gameplay.

So when Hamin mentioned Rene’s name, an unexplainable excitement began to fill the team leader’s heart.

Yet for some reason, Hamin couldn’t utter a word and her complexion grew darker by the moment.

Even though she surely knew the team leader respected Rene.

“…What on earth is going on? Are you trying to play a prank on me, Hamin? I’m working here too, so shouldn’t you just tell me quickly?”

“Um, that is…”

“Just say it honestly, Hamin. I’m not the type to get angry over mistakes.”

At the team leader’s words, Hamin eventually nodded.

In truth, the team leader was known for being a person of integrity within the company.

“Rene said… she’s going to stage a protest against the cults… on her broadcast…”

However, as soon as the team leader heard those words, he instinctively frowned.

“…Is that really true?”

“Yes…”

Seeing Hamin affirm his question, the team leader lowered his head deeply and after a moment, slowly opened his mouth.

“Tell everyone in the planning team to gather in the meeting room by 30 minutes.”

“Understood…”

Thus, with the team leader’s summons, all members of the planning team gathered, their faces tinted with worry just like Hamin earlier.

The cause, needless to say, was Rene.

“After hearing from Hamin, I confirmed it. Rene is staging a protest against the cult…”

In response to the team leader’s words, no reply came.

They had already received that news from Hamin.

“I doubt it could be true… but if it is, it’s best to speak up quickly. …Is there anyone here who’s in private contact with Rene?”

In response to the team leader’s question, all they received was heavy silence, and that was only natural.

Nodding in this situation would be akin to admitting one was leaking internal information.

“…I’m sorry if it makes everyone suspicious. But given the current situation, I hope everyone understands. …For now, my personal opinion is that it’s just a coincidence. Rene has never liked jobs related to cults, and this World Quest outcome implies so.”

But the team leader continued speaking.

“The timing is too uncanny. It’s impossible not to be suspicious at this timing. …Sungjin, you’re the only one among us who has actually met Rene, right? I’m not asking to suspect you, but have you ever seen Rene appear to have a connection with any of our team members?”

The team leader called for Sungjin… also known as Den, who was the GM of New Dimension as well as in charge of content planning.

In the completely subdued atmosphere, he was the only one who did not seem intimidated by the team leader’s words.

And Sungjin nodded slowly and began to speak.

“Team Leader, I share your opinion.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It’s a 100% coincidence.”

“Why do you think that?”

“After all, there’s nothing to gain from opposing the cults. If someone among us truly had a connection with Rene, they would be better off keeping friendly ties with the cult to later betray them.”

At Sungjin’s words, everyone, including the team leader, nodded in agreement, and seeing that, Sungjin continued speaking slowly.

“Moreover, I would actually like to ask Rene a question. The term ‘protest’ can be interpreted as ‘opposing the cult,’ which is naturally suspect, but… how exactly does she plan to conduct this protest?”

“…That’s true, isn’t it?”

“Does anyone think NPCs will react if she just holds a protest…?”

Sungjin raised the very same doubt as mentioned in Rene’s broadcast, and this time, everyone shook their heads.

Though the NPCs of New Dimension used advanced AI, there were restrictions in place to prevent unforeseen situations.

“Just what is Rene thinking in saying she will conduct a protest…?”

“Indeed…”

Ultimately, the conclusion they reached in the unexpectedly convened meeting was twofold.

First. Rene’s current actions are, quite literally, coincidental.

Second. Do not judge Rene’s actions based on common sense.

★

Rene declared she would start the protest from next Monday in New Dimension, but honestly, she hadn’t thought about how to actually stage a protest at all.

What even is a protest…?

According to online dictionaries, a protest is described as “the act of publicly expressing opinions and demonstrating or marching to show power.”

That being said, does that mean I have been protesting all along?

I thought I had been consistently informing people just how terrible the heretics are…

Then just how strong are the heretics’ forces in New Dimension if nothing has changed?

It’s such a lamentable situation.

…Well, I’ll just take my time thinking about the protest later.

After all, what’s important right now isn’t that anyway.

[Tuni: Then I’ll be there by 7 PM!]
[Inquisition Officer: Yes…]

Today was finally the day.

The day Tuni and I promised to drink together just the two of us.

Just the two of us drinking with Tuni.

Honestly, it felt immensely burdensome.

Of course, I had gotten quite used to seeing Tuni’s face by now, and we did share a meal after the last NAK ended, but…

Still, that’s completely different from inviting her over to my house to drink together, right?

Besides, I didn’t even drink when we were at the restaurant…

Honestly, I wanted to create some excuse right now to cancel the whole plan.

But it was so sad to think that pushing it aside wouldn’t solve anything…

…Well, I still had some liquor left from last time, and Tuni said she would bring some more, so I wouldn’t need to prepare anything extra.

Then what should I do about the snacks?

I thought maybe ordering some chicken skewers or takoyaki for delivery and cooking something like stir-fried pork myself would be okay…

After all, Tuni still had quite some time before she’d arrive, plus I had all the ingredients at home.

I even informed Remagal that I would be doing a liquor broadcast with Tuni tonight.

In that case, I could just turn on the broadcast in advance while I cook.

★

[Rene]

[Hello everyone, I’m going to cook now]

[Talk | 7,655 viewers online | 00:01:23]

─What is this? Cooking broadcast?

─My wife is cooking starting now!

─I’m sorry, but everyone, she’s my girlfriend… please leave…

─I’m about to get off work soon, so ㅠㅠ

─Didn’t you say you’re drinking with that girl Tuni?

─Looks like she’s preparing snacks?

─You messed up the category, Rene, you should change it to cook!

─Is there really someone who’s not off work yet?

─Isn’t it strange to still be getting off work at this hour?

─I didn’t know because I’m unemployed, sorry; LOL

Huh.

Rene’s fans are lively again today… I thought as I opened my mouth.

“Hello everyone…”

─Raha

─Didn’t you say you were drinking with Tuni?

“Oh, right… Tuni said she’d come by 7 PM, so I thought I’d prepare some snacks in advance… I mean, chicken skewers and takoyaki might be different, but I could quickly make stir-fried pork at home, right? It’s cheaper too… So I decided to start the broadcast while cooking. After all, I’d need to have it on once Tuni arrives anyway…”

As I spoke, I turned on the stove, and soon warm heat began to rise from the frying pan.

“What I’m making now is stir-fried pork… I made it when I was broadcasting with Bora last time, right?”

Back then, Bora had said she liked it spicy, so I made it with some heat.

Today, since it will be paired with drinks… I thought it’d be best to make it a bit spicier than that.

─But when are you turning the camera on???

─Seriously, it’s suffocating, turn the camera on already please!

As I thought this, the chat was filled with the fans expressing their frustration for some odd reason.

“Camera…? Is there any reason I need to turn on the camera right now…?”

─Then you’re not going to?!

─Who doesn’t turn the camera on during a cooking broadcast, like seriously?

“I just turned on the broadcast to cook and chat with you all… So, strictly speaking, it’s more of a chatting broadcast than a cooking broadcast… That’s why you can see the category was set to ‘Talk’ from the beginning, right?”

What exactly is it that makes everyone misunderstand…

It’s their fault for not paying attention.

─If you didn’t know the category Talk <<< you should really be ashamed! LOL



─Guess I shouldn’t have mentioned changing the category; LOL



─Seriously, no reason to even consider changing it since it’s not a cooking broadcast!



─Looks like the power struggle has begun again!



Power struggle?



I felt so sad thinking how outlandish it all was.