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Muddy ground.

Dust obscuring my vision.

A metallic scent grazing my nose.

And then.

“Waaaah!!!”

The thunderous roar of cheers resonating in my ears.

Using that sound as a signal, I kicked off the muddy ground and started running.

Mud squelched between my military boots, and an arrow grazed my cheek.

Ahead, I could see a massive castle wall.

Other soldiers like myself were climbing up a gigantic ladder to that wall.

“Ugh!!”

Among them, some soldiers fell as the ladder was knocked over by the defenders above, while others successfully ascended to engage in battle.

“Not to be outdone, Miro the Blacksmith III also…”

-Ahaha!

-What a ridiculous name.

-Let’s not even start with the blacksmith…

“This is my identity; what can I do?”

I called out to the viewers as I climbed the ladder.

The concept of this game is blacksmithing.

But why are we at war, you ask?

Well…

“More importantly, there seems to be a lot of troops here at the castle. I’m looking forward to the loot.”

-True.

-Probably gonna hoard tons of iron.

-Aren’t we gonna lose though?

I need to create weapons, but I don’t have enough materials.

Instead of struggling to gather ores one by one, I decided to just melt down the loot we gain from winning this war.

“Lose? Don’t even think about it. I’ve brought elite soldiers!”

The viewers might have had their concerns, but I was not worried at all.

After all, this time I’d grown my troops with purpose.

Of course, I’m a blacksmith too, but I didn’t just focus on my crafting skills.

Defining Miro the Blacksmith III precisely, I’m a combat blacksmith who crafts and uses weapons.

Right now, I’m wielding the weapon I crafted.

“Hyah!”

“Ugh!”

“Wow, it cuts well.”

-For real, haha.

-This one seems good?

-Let’s just call it the Blue Dragon Crescent Blade!

“That’s not happening.”

The weapon I’m currently using is about the Mark 3 Moon Blade.

My goal is to create the Blue Dragon Crescent Blade.

It’s a medieval game, so why a Moon Blade, you ask?

Well, this world has a concept called mods.

In this world, not only the Blue Dragon Crescent Blade but also the Long-Handled Spear or the Hwangcheonhwaguk can be crafted.

“Oh, right. I think I’ll be broadcasting continuously from today.”

-Haha!

-Miro is the best.

-Really???

-Should we play a long-term game then?

Anyway, I chatted with the viewers while smoothly cutting through the enemy troops.

“But starting next month, I might have a break.”

-???

-?

-Whaaaat?

-Are you kidding me?

“I might get busy… or I might not….”

I can’t tell for sure when the filming for the drama I auditioned for will start.

I think I need to properly sign a contract with the company before I can share more details.

-Once again, a cliffhanger…

-Ugh.

[Miro the Master, thank you for the donation of 10,000 won!]

What the heck is the appearance fee? I’ll just sponsor it myself.

“What do you mean ‘appearance fee’? I’ll send you the account details, but are you okay with that?”

-Hahaha!

-Whoa!

-Really, can you handle it??

-What a true chairman, haha.

[Miro the Master, thank you for the donation of 1,000 won!]

Please rest well, Miro.

“…Geez.”

-Scared?

-Let’s ban the trolls a bit.

-Ugh.

-This is ridiculous.

“Anyway, when the time comes, I’ll still do some broadcasts occasionally, so don’t worry too much.”

[Yes, thank you for the donation of 1,000 won!]

But you’re still remembering the 3rd anniversary in a month, right? Haha.

-For real.

-We’ll definitely celebrate the 3rd anniversary, haha.

-I wonder what we’ll do this time.

“3rd anniversary?”

-?

-??

-What? You forgot?

“Oh.”

Now that I think about it, isn’t the 3rd anniversary coming up soon?

I completely blanked on that.

-Did this guy seriously forget?

-What a doofus, Miro.

-That’s just…

“…I just forgot for a moment.”

What were we supposed to do for the 3rd anniversary again?

…I need to contact my manager.

***

A few days later.

I headed to the studio for the 3rd-anniversary commemorative broadcast.

It’s already the 3rd anniversary for the first generation?

Time really flies, doesn’t it?

“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the studio.”

“Yeah.”

Maho was sitting in the passenger seat of the taxi.

Riding together in a taxi brings back memories.

In the past, whenever we went to the studio or dance lessons, we would always take the subway together.

“By the way, didn’t you say we’re doing a talk show today too?”

“Yes, this is the third time now.”

The 3rd anniversary talk show it is.

Seeing that other generations have held talk shows for their anniversaries, it seems like the Celestial Realm has fixed the anniversary broadcast as a talk show.

Well, there’s not much else to do.

Besides, since we don’t normally have talk shows, I think doing them annually should be fine.

Anyway, we arrived at the headquarters of the Celestial Realm after taking the taxi.

“Everyone’s already here. Let’s hurry up and go inside.”

“Oh, really? Early today.”

Did we delay a bit since we took a taxi?

Upon hearing they had already arrived, Maho and I quickly got out of the taxi and rushed to the studio.

“Oh, you’re here?”

“Long time no see, everyone.”

As we entered the studio waiting room, all the members of the Celestial Realm were sitting there waiting.

“You’re the last to arrive.”

“No, you guys just came right on time.”

It feels like ages since I’ve been in the studio.

I hadn’t been here since the concert.

I settled naturally into a seat.

The waiting room seemed a bit decorated.

Since it’s shared, it looks like other broadcasters renting the studio had added some touches too.

“Hey, Soo-hyun, look over here.”

At that moment, Haru tapped my back.

“Where?”

“Here, there’s graffiti on the wall.”

“Graffiti?”

There shouldn’t be graffiti on the wall like in some middle school, but there it is?

“What is this?”

I noticed cute little letters and drawings on one side of the waiting room.

I don’t remember it being here… or did I just not see it?

The bookshelf must have cleverly obscured the graffiti.

But there seemed to be a quite significant amount of graffiti.

It even seemed to continue behind the bookshelf.

“There’s quite a lot, isn’t there?”

“Oh? It seems so. Should we move the bookshelf and check?”

Haru and I showed interest in the graffiti, causing other members to come closer.

“What’s up with all this graffiti?”

“Looks like more than one person wrote on it?”

“Maho unnie, could you move the bookshelf a bit?”

“Huh? Me?”

“You’re the only one who can do it, right?”

With six people’s attention focused at once, it didn’t take long for the bookshelf to be moved, revealing the graffiti.

“Wow.”

“What is this?”

Once the bookshelf was moved, the revealed graffiti was indeed quite extensive.

Reading through it, most of the messages were wishing for a successful debut or hoping for the album to do well.

“This looks like it was written by people who used the studio?”

A famous pilgrimage site or something?

It seems that everyone who came to the waiting room so far wrote a message before leaving.

“All the domestic VTuber handwriting is probably here.”

“Except for us, of course.”

I noticed that even writing that looks like it belongs to second and third generation members can be found.

How do I know?

“Album hwaiting! – Seolha.”

With a cute drawing, it’s no mystery that 2nd generation Seolha signed her name boldly.

Seeing that a 3rd generation member also left their name, the 4th generation probably did too, right?

“Shall we write something too?”

“Here’s a pen!”

Anyway, seeing what everyone else wrote, no one could hold back, so we each grabbed a pen.

“What sounds good?”

“Right? Is there a memorable phrase?”

Everyone had grabbed a pen but seemed to be pondering what to write.

“What’s there to think about?”

Watching them hesitate, I boldly wrote in the empty space.

“Buhwang, the great Miro came here.”

Then above it, I lightly drew Miro’s SD character.

It’s been a while since drawing, but skill is skill; I quickly completed Miro’s character without a hitch.

“Wow, what’s that?”

“That’s really well drawn!”

“Cool.”

Cheers erupted from those around me.

Receiving compliments made my shoulders feel a bit raised.

“Do you want me to draw for you guys as well?”

“Sure! I want to be drawn next to Miro!”

The first to respond was Anna.

“Okay, got it.”

“Draw me too!”

“Me too, me too!”

As everyone asked for a drawing, I nodded in agreement.

“I’ll draw a group picture, then.”

I could just draw everyone close together.

Following Anna’s request, I drew Anna next to me.

Then next to Anna was Mile, then Maho next to her.

And to my side were Loa and Haru.

Hmm… as I drew, I realized I space took up a bit too much.

“It’s a bit big, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it does seem so…”

The members also lifted their heads and commented on the abrupt realization.

While previously the graffiti on the wall was tiny and cute, now we’ve clearly drawn large pictures on the wall.

“…Did we mark a wall or something?”

But then again, so what?

Oh? Considering our shares when we built the studio, we could have easily created this waiting room.

“Is that so?”

“Seems accurate to me.”

“Hmm, with this amount, it’s basically interior design.”

One by one, the members accepted my statement.

“…Let’s just move the bookshelf back.”

“Yeah, sounds good.”

“We should restore it, since it was originally there.”

Of course, we were subtly covering it with the bookshelf.

“…It stands out a bit though.”

“Manager is going to scold us.”

We all said that while glancing at the wall, but nobody’s expressions looked too bad.

Well, in the future, marking this in our company would simply become a memory.

We then casually gathered back in front of the desk.

“But don’t you think there seems to be more snacks than before?”

“Oh yeah, the variety has increased.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, there wasn’t much back then.”

We lightly discussed the snacks on the desk.

“I saw that there were more employees earlier.”

“Exactly. Oh right, Miro, did you see your goods collected?”

“I did~ That’s so enviable.”

The discussion turned to my goods, which are currently in preparation for online sales.

Now that I think about it, didn’t they say they’d be releasing other members’ goods for the 3rd-anniversary special?

Since there’s been no news yet, it probably got postponed or something.

Well, I guess The Six must be busy too.

We chatted at the desk for quite a while.

Knock knock.

-I’m coming in.

Finally, the manager we had been waiting for entered the waiting room.

“Why are you so late… huh?”

But behind the manager, I saw a woman.

A woman with long, straight hair and a pure image that stands out.

“…She said she really wanted to meet you all.”

The manager, who spoke as if puzzled by our curious gazes, turned slightly and moved aside.

In a moment, the manager disappeared, and the woman froze for a moment before bowing.

“Hello, sunbaenims!! I’m Lee Sun-hee!”

Her Korean was very clear.

But she also carried an accent from the neighboring country that couldn’t be hidden.

“Wow, is that a junior?”

“She’s pretty!”

Since everyone already knew about the 4th generation member, reactions burst out immediately.

Most responded by saying she’s cute.

Of course, I thought she was cute too.

She’s a junior I hadn’t had the chance to meet until now, and here she is.

Was she just in the studio?

At that moment of surprise, everyone gazing at her cuteness, the almost folder-phone-like bowing junior suddenly straightened up.

“I’ve come to see you sunbaenims in person, despite the impropriety.”

“Oh…”

And then, I was amazed as she spoke confidently.

Her Korean is really impressive!

It’s quite top-notch.

“The reason I’ve come here despite the disrespect is… to make a declaration!”

The following words sparked my interest.

A declaration?

Didn’t she just come to see her sunbaes?

What could she possibly mean?

“Miro senpai!”

“Me?”

She pointed directly at me.

“I’m determined to surpass you and become the greatest in Korea!”

And then she shouted that.

…What is this, some Japanese anime?

I was caught off guard, being all relaxed, but thinking about it, here she was, coming all the way to Korea to become a VTuber; she must be quite the passionate fan.

…It seems this junior isn’t all there.

“Oh, oh…”

“Soo-hyun? That’s not easy.”

To be honest, things were sudden, and I was quite flustered.

Yet the others looked at me with a sense of intrigue.

Not only the members but also the manager who was standing next to the door.

Even the junior who declared this awaited my response with a proud expression.

Um, uh…

What should I say here?

As the senior, it’s only natural to support her.

However, I also realized that from the junior’s perspective, she’s come all this way, bravely declaring her aspirations.

A cute junior from another country, who’s taken me as her goal.

So of course, it’s only right to treat her with the respect and recognition befitting my position.

Thus, I changed my face from the awkward smile earlier.

Like the expression of Sera or Han Hye-jin at the beginning, but a bit different.

With the expression of Buhwang, which holds the throne of the domestic VTuber, I gave a proud smile as if the fact that a rookie junior dares to have such aspirations is amusing.

“How bold.”

Immediately after I said that.

“Eh?”

The expression of the junior standing proudly before me crumbled.

“Oh, I-I’m sorry…!”

Her doe-like eyes started to glisten with tears almost immediately.

“Uh, uh?”

…Did I go a bit too hard?

 

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