[Naughty No-Name fooling around with family… A happy award ceremony scenery after winning the National Exchange Tournament] [View Count: 160,000 · 1 Hour Ago]
[Comments]
– It seems like Dad really treats Na-me well, haha!
└ Every time I see him, he’s oozing that middle-aged coolness.
– The scene where they warmly hug each other is so heartwarming, I’m tearing up! T_T
– It’s so amazing to see Na-me looking age-appropriate, haha!
– Your sister looks so dignified but is actually a prankster, LOL!
└ I’ve never seen someone with silver hair suited so well.
– (01:48) Na-me’s killer headlock!
– Awesome, No-Name! Congrats on winning the National Exchange Tournament!
– You’ve already achieved so much at such a young age! Na-me, let’s keep being happy!
– How do you and Adella look so identical?
└ I was thinking the same thing. It’s kinda weird…
During the finals, Cheon Saetbyeol occasionally hit the camera.
Every time she appeared on screen, gasps erupted on social media.
With her unique and attractive appearance, it looked like she popped right out of a high-spec game.
Despite the varying standards of beauty across countries, it’s undeniable that she has a captivating presence.
Especially after the finals, the five-minute walk ceremony with Na-me really set the internet ablaze.
The real-time search terms “#No-Name Unni, #National Exchange Tournament Silver Hair, #Adella Cosplay Girl” started showing up in various languages.
[Bae Da-hee: Saetbyeol, you’re trending! Are you aware of how hot the SNS reactions are right now?]
[Cheon Saetbyeol: Haha, do you know who this body belongs to? Ahem!]
High school friends were bombarding her with messages.
Cheon Saetbyeol knew how to enjoy the fame that was bestowed upon her.
She painstakingly captured all the compliments and community reactions to show Na-me one by one.
“Look here! They’re calling me an elf. Argh, I am NOT an elf!”
“Pfft, haha.”
Na-me plugged her ears and clicked her tongue.
Saetbyeol’s obsession in following her into the locker room was something else.
“Respect me!” — those words had long become white noise.
“But your courage was amazing too. Did I just yell that I’m Adella there?”
“Well, they didn’t seem to believe it anyway.”
Three’s a crowd; it’s a saying that if three people insist, they can even create a tiger out of thin air.
Conversely, if three people don’t show up, people won’t believe even if a unicorn appears.
Na-me recalled the camera operator’s wistful gaze and couldn’t understand why.
“They must’ve thought I was delusional. What do you think?”
“Hm, the sickly cute girl concept could work too.”
“Ugh, so bothersome. Can’t I just stay quiet without revealing anything?”
“Adella disintegrated into 0s and 1s after living out her lifespan… No-Name, unable to withstand the sorrow, started transforming her bloodless sister into Adella… drool Adella-chan…”
“Don’t say such horrifying things!”
Na-me gasped and shivered.
She thought she needed to escape the locker room as quickly as possible.
In the blink of an eye, she changed clothes and grasped the doorknob.
“Unni!”
Saetbyeol urgently turned to call No-Name.
“What?”
“About revealing… You don’t have to if it’s too burdensome.”
“Uh?”
“Honestly, I’m just grateful to have this body. Isn’t it possible that one day I might believe it myself? You know, something like the Ripley Syndrome?”
“Why is the great Cheon Saetbyeol saying such weak things?”
Na-me lifted her lip in a smirk.
Her confident expression contrasted sharply with Saetbyeol’s timid demeanor.
“What I said about not revealing was a joke. It’s too late to backtrack now. And I’m No-Name, can you not trust me?”
“About 7.5% maybe…?”
“Hmm, that feels strangely high? That offends me.”
“No-Name unni, you’re a bit of a show-off, aren’t you?”
Na-me narrowed her eyes at Saetbyeol.
And then smiled softly.
“I had some preparation in mind for this all along. And when rumors go awry, it complicates things unnecessarily. Once a false rumor spreads, it’s tough to fix it.”
Once the wrong rumor spreads, its impact becomes uncontrollable.
Once a perception is embedded in the public’s mind, it’s impossible to reverse, no matter what you do.
Witch, Seed of the Demon King, Cursed Being.
Na-me, who had profoundly learned these hard truths from her past life experiences, resolutely made up her mind.
“And besides, there’s no event that gathers global attention like the National Exchange Tournament.”
Instead of being victimized by malicious incitements and fabrications, providing confirmed information through the most authoritative media is a hundred times better to minimize chaos.
Na-me didn’t even know the extent of the fallout.
But at least she believed she could surely evade the worst-case and less-bad scenarios.
“I’ll be back. No, just call me when you need me.”
*
I hugged the butterfly-shaped championship trophy with both hands and moved to the press conference room.
It was bigger than I expected, so if I tried to lift it with one hand, it would drag on the floor.
“Excuse me, could you open the door for me? Thank you.”
Waddling and holding it like a teddy bear, camera flashes went off nonstop.
Click, click, click, click-
The chairs and desks were all high, making me feel like a toddler lost in a giant world.
I placed the shimmering trophy in the most visible spot and hopped onto the chair.
“Thank you all for your patience!”
“No problem!”
“Congratulations on winning the National Exchange Tournament!”
“Let’s give a round of applause to celebrate! Woohoo!”
Out of nowhere, I received a standing ovation.
I got off the chair and bowed in gratitude, only to struggle my way back up again.
The reporters had bright, eager eyes.
In this calm atmosphere, the championship interview began.
“Congratulations on becoming the champion of the National Exchange Tournament. You won at the youngest age ever. How do you feel?”
“It feels like a dream. I dreamed of winning before the competition, and now that dream has come true.”
“Oooooo…!”
Click, click!
“I was just making an icebreaker comment, but it seems everyone is taking it too seriously, haha…”
Despite the fact I wanted to retract my earlier statement because I felt embarrassed, it was promptly dismissed.
“During the 8 matches, the Republic of Korea spent sleepless nights. Would you like to say something to the passionately supporting citizens?”
“As you know, there were a lot of controversies before I participated in the National Exchange Tournament regarding my American nationality, and I sincerely thank the citizens who believed in and supported me until the end. I’m happy to keep my promise to bring home the championship title.”
“This year’s National Exchange Tournament had an increased number of wins required from 6 to 8 due to group preliminaries. Did you feel physically disadvantaged?”
“I believe all the players struggled just as much as I did. I think it was a great opportunity to face off against talented seniors from around the world.”
Questions about memorable matches, the situation during the Saudi match, and details of personal broadcasts made during the games followed.
“Have you thought about what you will do after the National Exchange Tournament? I’m also curious about your vacation plans.”
“For now, I plan to spend time with family, um… yes, that’s it for now.”
“When do you plan to return to the Republic of Korea?”
“That’s still undecided. Any other questions?”
A small commotion stirred among the Korean reporters.
This time, a kind-looking uncle raised his hand and gained the floor.
“Is it okay to ask a question unrelated to the matches?”
“Feel free.”
“Perhaps you’re aware, but No-Name’s sister is attracting a ton of public attention.”
“Yes, I know. I was just looking at SNS with my sister a moment ago.”
“Oh really! In fact, your sister looks exactly like the VR artificial intelligence lifeform Adella that you own. There are ridiculous rumors among netizens that you were once hacked for DNA info by Wearsoft or that your sister had expensive cosmetic surgery done. I apologize for the intrusion, but I wanted to ask for the clear truth.”
Finally, the moment had come.
The press conference room began to buzz with excitement.
From “Who’s Adella?” to “Are those terrorist bastards making her via brain replication at ASI?”
And there were those who searched online and compared Saetbyeol’s face to Adella’s.
“What? They look identical!”
“Wasn’t Adella a character model from a game? Wasn’t she released years ago?”
“About 7 years ago, right? Because Wagal is an old game, it must have been quite some time.”
There might be slight differences, but it could safely be said they were essentially the same person.
If you transported Saetbyeol into virtual reality, she’d be Adella; if you brought Adella into the reality, she would be Saetbyeol.
Anyone who has used the capsules even a little would be able to infer this.
I scrunched up my face as I waited for the press conference room to sink into a heavy silence.
One by one, the reporters began inserting holograms, with only the occasional camera flash going off.
“I understand that everyone is feeling confused. Why does my sister’s current appearance match that of a character from a game released 7-8 years ago? No, I’ve never had my DNA info stolen, and of course, I didn’t undergo illegal cosmetic surgery that costs millions. You’d see the traces of surgery right away, right?”
Then suddenly, I recalled an unfair post defaming me.
“Oh right. Some people say I forced her to get surgery. Am I a psycho? I’d prefer if you didn’t spread insane rumors, I firmly warn you. But the truth is really simple…”
Taking a calm breath.
I directed my gaze straight ahead, slightly pursed my lips which were drying out, and spoke.
“I created Adella’s body.”
“…”
Click!
A single, faint flash.
The reporters remained in absolute silence.
By now, everyone should have jumped up from their seats, and the conference room should have been chaotic, but…
My expectations were hilariously wrong.
Maybe the reporters here were composed?
That couldn’t be true.
Looking at the slightly confused brows, it was clear they didn’t understand a word of what I was saying.
Seeing is believing.
I snapped my fingers to call out the girl waiting outside.
Tap, tap-
Cheon Saetbyeol, also referred to as Adella, manifested her aura over her head and tailbone.
The hazy orange light flowing from her body coalesced.
At that moment, one could perfectly gauge the delicate forms of her cat ears and tail.
Perk!
Swish-
Saetbyeol flapped her ears and gently swayed her tail left and right.
Even with the experience from my past life, I had to rely on the “Demon King’s Horn” spell to manifest the wings of a demon.
Manifestation of virtual mechanisms that humans could never deploy.
“How long do we have to do this?”
“WAAAAH&^@$&*#@!?@#&!”
At those words, the reporters clutched their microphones, screaming wildly as they rushed out.
Click, click, click, click, click-
A bright flashing of lights threatened to blind me.
