A Basement-Dwelling Loser, the Inquisitor – Chapter 243

[Rene]

[Let’s talk (This is important!)]

[Talk | 8,664 viewers | 00:54:19]

Jaehun left Miscode, and Tuni returned home.

And in an instant, nearly 3,000 viewers disappeared.

Of course, there were way more people watching the broadcast than usual, but even considering that, my heart wasn’t at ease.

The reason was naturally due to those 3,000 who had vanished.

To be precise, it was because I realized who those disappeared viewers were.

─Ugh, this is such a boring, uptight broadcast now. I’m not watching anymore ㅋ [Message deleted.]

My true fans, the Rebongi, thought it was hard to watch my recent broadcasts.

So-called malicious viewers didn’t actually like my broadcast; they enjoyed the chaotic atmosphere of the chat window.

And the 3,000 who just left… well, they probably all belonged to the latter group, just like that person.

In other words, the main reason I felt this way was that I hadn’t been taking care of my true fans, the Rebongi.

The truth is, I could live like this thanks to them, but I was ignoring the Rebongi all along.

I felt really sorry about that.

─So are we going back to the old NaJwaRae now?

─That’s already too big to happen…

But I can’t just sit here and do nothing.

Earlier, before Tuni left, she said at the entrance.

“Rene, with your personality, I can imagine you’ll be apologizing to the Rebongi… and blaming yourself for it, right? Please don’t do that. The one who should be apologizing isn’t you, but the others. Instead, focus on promising to make a more entertaining broadcast, and that would make the Rebongi happier.”

That’s true.

So from now on, the ones who stay will be the real Rebongi, right?

Instead of worrying about what happened, I should think about what I can do for them in the future. That’s surely the way to become a better streamer.

─So what should I do now??

“Let’s talk about something bright, like I said earlier…!”

★

─But if we’re doing that, then what about the apology video from earlier? Was it really a power struggle with those murder gallery bastards?

─For real, I was super curious about that too.

─Looking at it now, it seems like the frame they desperately created.

─Originally, the Rebongi were just annoyed by the leader’s uptight behavior, so they were joking about it being a power struggle, but then those murder gallery bastards started screaming whenever something happened and the leader got more uptight and the chat window’s atmosphere changed too.

─Stop with the food mountain, damn it.

─The fact that it’s a somewhat plausible explanation makes it even more infuriating, haha.

─Honestly speaking, there were times I was confused about whether it was genuine uptight behavior or a power struggle.

While discussing what broadcasts to do in the future, the apology broadcast I had done earlier popped up again in the chat window.

Thinking back, there had indeed been a lot of such chats when I first turned on the stream.

I couldn’t really talk about it properly, though.

Then since it came up, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to clarify it once.

“I didn’t really have any other intention with the apology broadcast… While talking with Tuni, I felt like it might appear like a power struggle from your perspective… So I reached the conclusion that I should reflect on it, and that’s why I did it…”

─Oh, I see.

─You were able to reflect, huh? Well done, not that it’s a curse or anything, haha.

─Hey, know your place, you bastard!

─How do you even know that’s a murdering gallery term…?

─Whoa!

“However, if you’re genuinely wondering, I really don’t know—that’s why I was curious and didn’t understand… So Tuni said that from a viewer’s perspective, it might come off as a power struggle…”

─So that’s what it was, oh;

─Hey hey hey, wait a second, stop Rene!

─This feels a bit cold, damn it.

─If that’s the case, it can’t be helped, right?

─I think it’s fine not to push it further, Rene. Just take a breather.

─I feel like I’m caught in ‘that technique,’ is it just my imagination???

“But the viewers who mention power struggle…? I had absolutely no intention of that… I should have searched for what I didn’t know; instead, I ended up asking around because of habit…”

In that other world, they didn’t even have the Internet, let alone computers or cell phones.

So whenever something came up that I didn’t know, I would always start by asking Iya, then the Pope Grandpa or Ariel.

It became a habit that probably showed up on the broadcast too.

─These days, you can find anything online; it’s faster to ask AI than to ask a person.

“Ah, before I came to Korea, I was in a place where there was no Internet… I had never used a computer or a cell phone…”

─I told you it’s true; I said it a million times!

─No matter what, that’s a bit far-fetched…

─Damn it, you bastards, just shut up already.

“Ah, that does sound unreasonable…. I apologize…”

I mean, come on.

In this day and age, who would think there are places without the Internet?

It’s definitely inconvenient to not be able to reveal that I came from another world.

“I’m fine if you think I’m strange, too…. Ah, this isn’t about the power struggle either, um… how do I put this…”

Ah, I can explain it like this.

“I grew up in a strange place… So of course, there will be parts of me that seem odd, and I’m sorry for that… I wanted to express that…”

─You’re the one who said let’s talk about bright stuff first, you idiot!!

─I hate the Rebongi… this atmosphere is scary… please don’t do this… I beg you…

─So this was a Rebongi project, huh, damn it…

─I’m sorry… I’m sorry for complaining to my parents this morning over the phone…

─Just let Rene do whatever she wants…

★

A dark room. Crumpled tissues scattered around. Stacked up cup noodles and cola cans on the desk.

To put it plainly, it was a dirty room.

And in the corner of that room sat a man, wearing a headset and gazing at his monitor.

[I’ll strive to create broadcasts that everyone can enjoy…!]

The monitor displayed the desktop, to be precise, the streamer’s desktop.

And from the headset, a woman’s voice echoed.

‘Oh come on. A broadcast everyone can enjoy? That’s so obvious.’

The man at the center was one of the infamous known users active on a certain internet community.

To someone, it was a place referred to as the ‘murder gallery.’

And one of the community’s characteristics was that it found joy in swarming and shaking up the atmosphere of a targeted specific streamer, essentially gaslighting them.

However, such behavior was typically only possible against real bottom-tier streamers with very few fixed viewers.

Once the broadcast quality reached a certain level, gaslighting was nearly impossible.

But their recent target… to be exact, the woman streamer he’s watching now was different.

Her nickname was Rene.

Recently, she had become the most talked-about streamer on a live streaming site.

Despite being backed by a well-known corporate entity, her rules were so lax that it was almost non-existent.

‘She’s probably just too used to that gallery vibe herself.’

And taking advantage of those weaknesses, a few infamous users including this man invaded Rene’s broadcast.

The mere fact that the infamous users targeted her broadcast naturally drew interest from others as well.

As they gathered, they began to rotate through countless alt accounts to change the atmosphere of the chat window, causing newcomers to mistakenly believe that was the vibe of this broadcast’s chat.

Then, naturally, the existing concrete participants were pushed out.

Eventually, a broadcast completely transformed into an unrecognizable chaos should have been completed… until it was shattered in a day.

“Damn it…”

The tower they had built over more than a month crumbled down in just a day.

Of course, given that Rene was part of Sirius Team, known to always genuinely protect their streamers, this was only to be expected.

Ultimately, their gaslighting came to an end.

It was now impossible for them to turn the chat window of a corporation-like Rene into their own league.

The evidence being that over 3,000 viewers had already left her broadcast.

Of course, out of that more than 3,000, about 10 percent were from that gallery.

The rest were likely the viewers who had come later and left on their own accord, but either way, those from that gallery had withdrawn from Rene’s broadcast.

But the reason the man continued to watch Rene’s broadcast… was purely because he was feeling bad about things.

‘No way, the chat window was originally leaning that way, and it’s ridiculous… How clean do these “old fish” think they are?’

At present, the chat window’s management was strict.

However, before the broadcast ended, there would surely be a moment of negligence.

The man planned to type something in the chat that would make the fans of this streamer feel bad about watching.

‘No internet? What a load of crap… It’s total nonsense, and it’s surprising that there are idiots that actually believe that.’

─But why don’t you file a lawsuit?

─For real, I wish those murder gallery bastards would open up a hellgate in life.

[Why don’t you sue them…? Um… honestly speaking, I didn’t see it as real insult or sexual harassment…]

“…What?”

Till he heard that from Rene.

[So um… if I hear something vulgar, of course it’s embarrassing, and if I’m cursed at, it makes me feel uncomfortable…. But I’ve heard that close friends often joke like that, so I kind of thought of those recent chats as part of that category… since me and the Rebongi are friends, right…?]

─No, but even so, there were plenty that obviously crossed the line;

[…Honestly, I still don’t know if they crossed the line. Do you consider it that much…?]

─Then what in the world is crossing the line???

[Um… the weakest insults I heard when I was little from heretics… like ………………………………….. so… damn it, I’m sorry if it offended you…. I shouldn’t have brought this up….]

─This is crazy.

At that moment, the chat window came to a halt.

And so did the man’s thoughts.

‘That was the weakest insult she has ever heard…?’

As the chat froze, that single line showcased the man’s emotions.

─I mean, how can you say that to a girl?

─Wow, this is tough to handle.

─Hey Rene, can we please change the topic?

[I’m so, so sorry…]

─Why are you apologizing, damn it!

The man knew about Rene.

But to him, she was just a woman.

A complete stranger with no connections to his life.

So he thought he had no reason to care about such things.

─I hope those bastards who tried to gaslight this girl die.

[Please don’t say such things…. They probably didn’t have bad intentions…]

But what Rene just recounted about their outburst.

The shocked chats.

Her calmly smiling and saying it was okay.

All of it began to intensely provoke the man’s guilt.

“What’s wrong with me…?”

After that deep thought, his actions were swift.

He deleted the ID he had been using in the gallery.

Made a new ID and after posting an apology in the Remagal he previously disturbed.

Then he sent a long apology chat in Rene’s broadcast.

The reaction in the Remagal was negative.

Of course.

And his chat was scolded by the Rebongi too.

That was only to be expected.

However, Rene was the only one to react differently.

[Everyone, please don’t do that… As I said before…? People naturally make mistakes in life… If someone truly regrets and repents for those mistakes, I think that’s enough…. So I hope we can get along going forward, please do so, Frens-nim….]

“What a saint…”

The words slipped out unconsciously from the man’s mouth.

Until now, he had watched broadcasts solely for his own amusement.

And he didn’t care even if some streamer got hurt because of that.

He thought that was just how streamers are—they’re clowns for fun, so it’s okay, and he brushed it off.

But now everything was different.

Thanks to Rene, he realized his own faults.

‘Let’s go apologize to those whom I made suffer. And…’

He silently promised that he would live under Rene’s grace going forward.

And the next day.

The man was unable to watch Rene’s broadcast.

★

[Rene Galleryⓜ]

[Title: I’ll be on a week-long break, I’m sorry]

[Author: Rene🔸]

[Hello. Rene, you are temporarily suspended for violating the live streaming policies.]

[Reason: Hate Speech]

[Duration: 7 days]

Hehe;

[Recommended: 101 / Not Recommended: 0]

ㅇㅇ🔹: Yeah, the Rebongi will starve…