CH 68

“Enough already. What gives you the right to take our earnings and squander them at a brothel!?”

“…”

One day, Matt was reprimanded by his party members.

Although it’s not entirely accurate to say he was being reprimanded, Matt was clearly in the wrong and was being advised against his actions.

“Come on, Matt. What’s gotten into you?”

Despite recently achieving a great victory at the White Fang, their bonds were on the brink of falling apart.

It all started when Matt began to spend recklessly, melting away their funds at brothels and gambling. And it wasn’t just his own share of the money, but also funds from the party’s savings.

“Shut up! Don’t you dare question me!!”

Matt lay sprawled on the sofa without a hint of remorse.

Seeing him like that, the two male and two female party members shook their heads in disbelief and left.

(… Dammit, she was my first love… My first love!!)

It was nothing more than a simple case of an infatuation gone wrong.

Matt had fallen for the Third Princess, Maria, who was known as one of the Kingdom’s treasures. He had been captivated by her at an event where the royal family appeared in public to convey their message to the people.

“I have nothing… but if I become strong enough to meet the princess, then surely Maria and I…!”

Dreams are free, but whether or not they come true is another matter entirely.

Although breaking through a high-difficulty dungeon was a great achievement in itself, it was still impossible for him to become engaged to the princess.

Of course, if Maria had fallen in love with Matt, the situation may have been different, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.

“I understand… I really do. But it’s not enough… No, it’s because my wish was too much!”

Matt understood in his heart that it was impossible. But dreams must be pursued, no matter how impossible they may seem. If you continue to pursue them, you will eventually reach them, so he never doubted that. This is why his failure was so devastating.

“Haah…”

Feeling sorry for shouting at his party members, Matt took the Haishin-sama badge, one of his treasures, in his hand.

“Haishin-sama… What should I do if you are brought up? I know I can’t beat you… but it’s frustrating!”

By the way, he is a big fan of Haishin. He punched the ground because he was faced with the fact that he could not get the girl named Maria.

“I… I will…”

“I will never forgive Haishin-sama for being brought up,” He would never think that.

This is because Matt has enjoyed a lot of time watching his stream and has become so obsessed that he buys merchandise like this. 

When the badge was previously released, he even raised his voice to those who thought Haishin was annoying… so he didn’t know where to put his feelings.

“Come to think of it, there was an adventurer who got betrayed by his childhood friend.”

While crying, he suddenly remembered a letter from a previous broadcast. He had been waiting for his childhood friend in his hometown, but she was dating the leader of a famous party and was being oppressed. 

Haishin had said kind words to encourage him about this.

“Love is complicated, isn’t it? Well, don’t rot just because you’ve been rejected.”

In this case, it’s not like he got rejected, but Haishin’s words still had power. 

“Compared to that, my situation is small. But… it’s so painful to give up on Maria-sama… Arghhh!!”

He struggled with his thoughts for a while but eventually returned to his usual self. 

His new goal was to grow as a greater adventurer and become a stronger man.

“I won’t give up! So please watch over me, Haishin-sama! With your words in my heart, I’ll work even harder!!” 

He thrust his fist towards the sky.

Although he had regained his usual composure, fate was cruel, and the king’s words at that time were somewhat accurate. 

Maria, the princess who had captured his heart, was in love with Kanata, the person behind Haishin. 

Fate was indeed cruel.

****

“Let’s get started with today’s stream! Everyone, thanks for coming.” 

It was the night when a certain adventurer held a new goal in his heart.

Kanata started his usual stream, but he looked a little different than usual. 

“Sorry, I haven’t had dinner today. So I’m going to chat with everyone while I eat.”

Actually, after he returned from the academy, he was so tired that he fell asleep in his bed. He slept for a long time, and when he woke up, he had missed the time when the dormitory cafeteria was open.

“Well, it’s convenient to have some reserves in times like this. Thanks for the meal.”

Kanata had saved some food for when he was hungry. It was a simple dish of bread and meat, but it was quite large, so it would be enough to fill his stomach.

“Ta-da!”

: Looks delicious.

: Oh, you’ve already taken a bite…

: Haishin-sama, I like the shape of your teeth.

: Exciting.

: There are only idiots here.

: Isn’t it too late for that?

: I’ll buy it for whatever price you say!

“Stop it. It’s disgusting.”

Kanata said, showing the bitten food on the screen while streaming. The comments section was filled with people with eccentric and strange tastes. 

It was creepy, so Kanata honestly voiced his opinion, but he remembered that there was something similar to ASMR chewing sounds in his past life.

(I won’t make a sound of chewing, it’s gross.)

Although he won’t make the chewing sound, his speech inevitably became a bit slurred while he was eating.

“Oh, by the way, about the Empire… Ah! Never mind.”

Perhaps because he was eating while talking, he almost let slip the words as Kanata, not Haishin.

Feeling as if he was talking to a neighbour, he almost mentioned the Imperial Academy and mock battles but quickly withdrew the words.

: Empire?

: Are you coming!?

: Long live the Empire!

: When is it!? Let me know, and I’ll go too!

: I’ll be waiting for you, Haishin!!

: It’s festival time. Let us all celebrate, hoorayyyyy!!

: The Empire should get ready to welcome Haishin!!

Just him mentioning the Empire was loaded with many meanings.

The comment section was in a festive mood, and Kanata broke out in a cold sweat, realizing what he had done, but at the same time, he chuckled wryly.

“Don’t get too excited!! I’m not going there now!!”

And then the comment section fell silent.

Afterwards, Kanata managed to gloss over his talk about the Empire, but he had undoubtedly given the impression that Haishin had thought about the Empire in the near future.

(That was almost a streaming accident. If I had mentioned the group mock battle, they would have definitely found out I’m a student from the Academy.)

Perhaps Maria and Alphana were also anxious about Kanata’s identity being exposed, so he thought they might look troubled when they meet next time.

“Munch, munch… Okay, let’s read just one letter.”

As it was a good time, he decided to read a letter from someone who lived in the Empire.

“Thank you very much for always providing me with enjoyable moments, Haishin-san. I doubt you would read a letter from someone like me, but I couldn’t help but send it to you regardless. I am a slave living in the Empire and was recently taken in by a kind master. Although I am foolish and troublesome, many people, including my master, have treated me well. I think all of this is thanks to your words, Haishin-san, and I believe that your words have helped me through difficult times. If you ever come to the Empire, please enjoy yourself. From Kaya.”

“Did they just put their name in there? That’s not good, right?”

Although it may be a fake name, the message was very warm, so Kanata was very happy to receive it. 

“Thank you. It really makes me happy when you say things like that. Take care of yourself and do your best.”

And with that, today’s stream came to an end. However, because someone had sent such a message with their name attached, Kanata decided to end it with a surprise.

“Well, that’s it for today. Goodnight, everyone! And Kaya, have a good dream too.”

He manipulated the wavelength of his magic and made an echo-like sound as if directed toward Kaya, who may or may not be watching. 

Although it was unclear whether Kaya actually received it, Kanata ended the stream, hoping it had reached her. 

Incidentally, the next day, Maria and Alphana, whom he met at the academy, were staring at him with oddly red faces, but that was to be expected.