It’s not that kind of malicious broadcast

Chapter 57 – We Should Discuss Our Worries, but…

They say that starting is half the battle.

Whatever you do, the beginning is the hardest part—and once the snowball starts rolling, things tend to flow more smoothly than you’d expect.

This applied to worry counseling as well. Once I forcibly opened the floodgates, surprisingly, the worry counseling content worked out quite smoothly.

From “The smell is so overwhelming whenever my boss yawns that I want to quit my job” to “A friend who was in Bronze climbed to Platinum and now teases me daily, which really frustrates me.” and even an abundance of rogue-related worries—

A wide variety of genuine concerns poured in.

“Okay, let’s wrap this up here and move on to the next worry, shall we?”

『Why is this worry counseling normal?』

『Why is it so sincere?』

『I’m so confused because it’s the opposite of what I expected』

Through the process of thoughtfully sharing my ideas while drawing on paper with a handcam, it seemed the viewers started to understand my sincerity.

『Anonymous has donated 1,000 won!』 –

【I thought you prepared this content to pull some crazy stunt, but is this really legit worry counseling?】

『Anonymous has donated 1,000 won!』 –

【I thought you’d answer all worries with ‘Just play rogue,’ but why are you so sincere about this?】

『Seriously』

『Really LOLOLOL』

『Wait… you seriously just wanted to provide genuine worry counseling…?』

『Who could have predicted this LOLOLOL』

『Your hands are really pretty』

『Why is the drawing like that LOLOLOL LOLOLOL』

If I hadn’t played the ocarina at the beginning, maybe it would have gone more smoothly.

There was a bit of regret thinking I should have held back.

『Anonymous has donated 1,000 won!』 –

【If you hadn’t messed around with the ocarina at the start, we wouldn’t have misunderstood】

Seeing reactions like this, I felt it wasn’t a bad choice after all.

“It seems the ocarina wasn’t well-received. I promise I’ll practice more and come back better next time.”

『No, no』

『Nooooooo』

『I’m so confused about how to make you stop doing it』

『You played really well, maybe you should graduate now』

『Sing a song instead』

『Maybe if we say we want to hear it, she won’t do it』

I let out a small laugh. Despite the rough start, it seemed like the viewers were warming up to the worry counseling session.

“Alright then, let’s move on to our next worry post.”

I refreshed the browser to reveal the next set of viewer worries.

Seeing the chat quickly fill with excitement at the mere mention of the ocarina, I couldn’t help but let out a small laugh.

『Anonymous has donated 1,000 won!』 –

【This 『expletive』 seems like she knows exactly what she’s doing, or is it just me?】

… That’s an unfair accusation. During practice, I estimated a 90% success rate.

-Drip.

I refilled the red espresso cup and raised it to the camera, to which the chat responded with a flurry of ‘cheers’ and ‘toast’ emojis.

Unnecessary suspicions aren’t good.

… Truly.

In any case, while I’ve gotten a bit used to it, streaming remains an unknown territory for me. And in my experience, when stepping into the unknown, making unpredictable moves often results in at least average outcomes.

… In hindsight, I can’t deny that I’ve made moves that went beyond unpredictable to downright unexpected. Finding the balance is a process… and I hope viewers understand it as a journey of growth together.

Since I can’t lay my heart bare and show my genuine intentions. Maybe sometime in the future, a drunk broadcast might allow for some heartfelt truths—idly pondering this, I scanned through the rapidly moving chat.

『By the way, how about a karaoke broadcast?』

『Your voice sounds amazing, you’d probably be great at singing』

『Your tone would be incredible, seriously』

“Singing… I’ll think about it. I wonder if I know any songs.”

Though I’m not someone who listens to music often, I do have a few go-to karaoke songs. I’ve never actually been. The idea of fumbling with a karaoke machine with nothing familiar to sing was a scenario I really didn’t want to experience.

Ah, unnecessary thoughts. I sighed lightly, shaking off the faint gloom, and clicked on another post.

“Alright, let’s go over one or two more worry posts… then we can jump into some ranked matches?”

『That’s the spirit!』

『I believed in you, host!😭😭😭』

『No weak-hearted fools who couldn’t handle genuine advice, right?』

『Woohoo!!』

『Please do some Knight gameplay, request number 23』

They’re comrades who’ve joined me in this intimate worry counseling. They’ve earned the right to request Knight gameplay. Not that I’ll do it.

As I launched KoK in the background, I read through the highlighted post.

The author, who introduced himself as a 20-year-old man from Seoul, started off as if seeking advice about his young love life but quickly veered into harsh criticisms, wondering why I hadn’t been invited to tournaments, and accusing me of ignoring emails.

Out of the two remaining worry posts, one turned out to be this. The last one had better be a good worry.

“… This isn’t really a worry. KingGodDevoured, I’ll note your ID down.”

Opening the ‘Designated Public Defender List’ notepad file, I jotted down the ID and took a swig of my drink. What did I have in the fridge… beer, I think there was some left.

“One moment.”

Even as I fetched a cold can of beer, the chat continued to buzz with mentions of emails, tournaments, and invitations.

Emails. Emails, huh.

After returning to my seat with the beer, I addressed the chat.

“Alright, everyone, let’s see what the final worry post is about.”

Refreshed but still curious about the lingering mentions of emails and tournaments, I navigated to the last worry post.

I do check my emails regularly. At least once a week.

From last week’s emails, I remember seeing something with the title… what was it? Untouchables? Anyway, I recall a tournament-related email. I make an effort to skim through the subject lines at the very least.

At the time, I felt terrible physically, was struggling with content ideas, and had no intention of participating in a broadcaster tournament, so I didn’t delve into the details and just skipped over it.

“But since you’ve asked, my manager checks the emails. You don’t need to worry.”

『Manager?』

『Did you hire a manager?』

『No moderator badge though』

『When did you hire a manager?』

『You hired a manager and yet your streams were like this?』

Even if it’s just a fig leaf, I had no intention of saying I read the emails myself.

Even if I didn’t mention it, my inbox was already filled with all sorts of bizarre emails.

After facing my fifth unsolicited male genital photo, I stopped reading emails with attachments entirely. I also stopped reading emails from non-major domestic portals.

In just a week, sorting through these emails by subject alone was a chore. The more unfit to read, the more enticing the subject line tended to be.

The most memorable one was an email whose subject line read, “Can I ask a discreet rogue question?ㅠㅠ Being yelled at by my party’s priest….” but it got cut off. The attachment was another inappropriate photo.

It was especially infuriating because it was clear the person had put careful thought into crafting a subject line that I couldn’t ignore. It showed they had watched enough of my streams.

While I was briefly lost in thought about emails, the chat, which was debating the existence of my manager, shifted back to discussing tournaments after a certain donation.

『Anonymous has donated 1,000 won!』 –

【Is there any better publicity than carrying in a tournament as a rogue? Why don’t you participate in tournaments?】

Well, tournaments in the platform are like festivals.

Viewers want to see the broadcasters they follow confidently participate in these festivals rather than being left out.

However, I wasn’t particularly keen on joining any tournaments.

“A tournament… I’m not a pro-gamer. I don’t think there’s any need to prove myself in a tournament.”

Even though I don’t plan to become a pro-gamer, there’s a subtle belief lodged somewhere in my heart that true tournaments belong to the pro-gamers.

More importantly, Participating in a tournament inevitably attracts all sorts of trolls.

Even maintaining a loyal viewer base at a thousand or so simultaneous viewers isn’t easy.

I wondered if it would be worth it.

『But it’s the most certain way』

『Who will participate in the next tournament?』

『Tournament rules are perfect for publicity』

『As if she checked the rules』

『Publicity my 『expletive』 LOL It’s probably a crappy tournament with a bunch of small broadcasters』

Rules. I did skip over those, but—

A KoK tournament is probably just throwing six people together to compete somehow.

Whether they pick six people from Tw*tter, six from Afreeca, and call it a platform battle, or gather a bunch of items for a point auction tournament, it shouldn’t make a big difference.

“I haven’t checked the rules, to be honest.”

“I should probably look into it a bit more. Who knows, maybe it’s something I could do.”

I continued thinking aloud, trying to balance my personal reluctance with the clear wishes of my viewers. I knew diving into the rules might give me a clearer idea, but I couldn’t shake off the nagging doubt about whether participating would be worth it.

At that moment, I heard another notification sound indicating a donation.

『I knew it』

『Not even surprised anymore』

『I’d be more surprised if she actually checked』

『Why say that so confidently, you 『expletive』』

『I think it was some kind of apprenticeship format』

『Anonymous has donated 1,000 won!』 –

【Teacher, the application starts tomorrow. At least read the tournament explanation】

With everyone unanimously agreeing that I should check the rules, the temptation to just ignore it and start queuing for a match was strong—

But I had to hold back. I wasn’t in the habit of starting fires on purpose.

Sighing quietly, I logged into my email and searched for “tournament”.

Headbutt the tournament… If I participated, I’d get wrecked… Ah, here it is.

“Untouchable—The top 1% meets the bottom 1%… Doesn’t this sound like plagiarism?”

I couldn’t help but mumble my dissatisfaction as I skimmed through the tournament’s core details. Twenty-four broadcasters total, with twelve from Diamond tier and above, and twelve from Bronze tier and below, forming four teams…

“This is definitely not a tournament I should join.”

While I understood the concept behind the tournament, I had no intention of playing with people who couldn’t communicate effectively.

Something within me wouldn’t be able to handle it. Having already decided against participating, I continued scrolling through the email for the sake of due diligence.

Then one line caught my eye, almost as if it was drawing me in.

“Oh…?”

TL’s Corner:

Dickpicks, dickpicks everywhere.