"I thought you'd tell me, but did I come too early?"
"Hmm, rather than that... they started the streaming a bit early. I might have missed the timing to speak. But anyway, it’s fine since you came in person."
"In that case..."
Silence.
No, more accurately, it was silence, except for Iris and Eugene. The silence had descended upon the heart of the Dark Zone's Central Park HQ. More than half of the five people present in the private session couldn’t speak a language that any human might use.
No one spoke, only staring at each other. Because of that, all the members of the Stella Universe were unaware that the real-time viewer count displayed on one side of the UI had skyrocketed from four digits to five digits, and almost six digits.
But there was no time to pay attention to it, nor any opportunity to think about it.
The reason was simple. As I had said before, the inspiration for the entire third-generation of Stella Universe hologram idols was Eugene, and at the same time, they were filled with fandom for him.
Of course, Iris was a freelancer with no particular affiliation.
"Nice to meet you. I’m not here to interrupt your stream, so don’t worry. It’s just... I happened to learn about your existence recently. So, I wanted to take the opportunity to meet you in person."
"Ah, e. It’s an honor to meet you in person...!"
"I... I don’t know what to say..."
"Ah, of all things, a handshake in virtual reality... If it had been in real life, I might not have washed my hands for a week."
"Please wash your hands often."
But they didn’t hear any of that.
The reason was simple. The entire third generation of Stella Universe, also referred to as "Biyams," basically... had an unusual level of admiration or fandom for Eugene, more than anyone else.
To be precise, this was intended by the company. However, that didn’t mean they were created just out of fandom—rather, it was assumed that the deeper the fandom for Eugene, the stronger the affection for the character they were assigned.
Additionally, as an unwritten tribute, common terms like "master" or "god" were included in their settings, all pointing directly to one person.
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Since this wasn't just a temporary setting made for external appearances, the hologram idols could more easily immerse themselves in their roles, and at the same time, engage in what could be called "fan service."
That part was fine.
The downside, if any, was that when they actually met the original Eugene, they couldn’t handle it.
"Iris, if you were going to bring the god here, you should have told us in advance...!"
"This is strange. I was sure I was going to tell you, but it seems the people who started the stream were already here... Ugh!"
"Alright, nothing happened here. Salus, due to an unexpected accident, is leaving now. Please go inside."
"Don’t block me!"
"It seems like the stream can’t continue. Should I step outside for a bit?"
Of course, there was no way that was happening.
The three of them, ignoring their pride and everything else, actually grabbed Eugene’s pants leg and wouldn’t let go, while Biyam skillfully avoided them, as if she had experienced something similar in the past.
Could this be the end of the broadcast? Iris thought this, but from another perspective, there wasn’t much to worry about. After all, most streamers do this to increase viewership, gain popularity, and create a positive feedback loop. It might seem weird, but Eugene's appearance was a win-win for everyone. And no one forced him to come out, right?
Iris decided to think that way, and remarkably, it made her feel at ease.
How much time passed? The commotion gradually started to die down.
The unexpected situation was smoothed over, and it was now time for the others, except Iris, to formally introduce themselves.
The woman modeled after the feathered serpent Quetzalcoatl, Sonia Eutero.
The woman modeled after a poison dart frog, with a blue hood, Dendrobia Salus.
The woman modeled after a dragon, the sleepyhead, Evelyn Dreamweaver.
When the introductions were finished, Eugene clapped in response, but thought to himself.
‘...Yeah, I figured something like this would happen.’
Still, she had long since gotten used to seeing female avatars, who clearly didn’t fit into a battlefield, wearing various gear and waiting to be deployed into combat.
Maybe it was because she had become too used to this world, or because everything that had happened recently had been chaotic — but it didn’t really matter.
Delaying in front of those who were waiting to enter battle didn’t match her temperament, so...
Eugene spoke up.
"Anyway, I’ve achieved the purpose of coming here today, and I think it’s time to stop interfering with your stream... it was a short meeting, but I enjoyed it."
"Eh, eh, it’s not a disturbance at all. Really!"
"None of us, including the viewers, think you’re interfering with the broadcast! Please don’t leave—!"
"...Alright, I understand. But don’t cling to me too much. As long as I’m here, I could easily overshadow your existence, so I’ll support you from behind. Make sure to show yourselves off as much as you can up front."
Naturally, no one was particularly moved by that comment.
Strictly speaking, this wasn’t something Eugene was doing for self-promotion through streaming, and he was fully aware that he was the one who had intruded into this broadcast.
But the specifics didn’t matter much to them, and Eugene already knew from Iris what kind of content the streamers were planning for today.
The UN General Assembly’s hardest difficulty, if cleared, the Grand Central Terminal’s hardest difficulty, and then the remaining eight missions, one after another, and finally moving on to AP.
Eugene’s role today was to provide fire support from the rear and play the squad leader.
"You won’t hear strict orders from me, so let’s just go with the flow. I won’t interfere with your personal playstyles, so feel free to play as if I’m here or not."
"Got it."
"Thanks for the fire support—!"
"But how are you planning to do that?"
And so, there was a brief pause.
However, at that point, they had become so focused on Eugene as a person that they briefly forgot about what he actually was, and—Boom.
The Gepard M6, not the 50-caliber, but a ridiculous 14.5mm caliber rifle, was placed with a sound that almost seemed like it would crush the table.
Eugene easily lifted it, inserted the magazine, and pulled the bolt back. With a metallic sound, a long brass shell, larger than a human hand, briefly flashed before disappearing.
With the sniper rifle in hand, almost like a handgun, Eugene set the safety switch and added.
"You can leave the annoying ones to me."
"...We’re leaving the enemies for you, right?"
"Probably."
Of course.
Iris, or rather, the former first editor of Eugene, who had just become one of his followers—she realized for the first time why everyone who played alongside Eugene often lost all sense of reason.
But this was just the beginning.
"PVE mission challenge, it’s been a while. It’s from before I even hired an editor, so has it been almost two years already..."
"...That was before I joined, right?"
"It was the mission to retake the power plant below Manhattan. It happened just a few days after I first met Dice... but why the strange look?"
The first editor’s look was definitely off. Eugene thought to himself while pretending not to notice.
As soon as the mission started, the surroundings changed. It wasn’t the neat entrance to the UN General Assembly, where there wasn’t even a single vehicle, but the scene of a city abandoned during the early stages of the Omega virus outbreak.
An extremely difficult mission that only a few highly trained individuals could attempt. Hundreds of enemy special forces and drones would pour in. Normally, this mission would require 4 teams of 4.
But now, they were only five, which was already an extraordinary situation. Eugene casually revealed that, in the past, he and Dice had cleared the hardest difficulty mission as a duo.
It was natural that everyone’s jaws dropped.
"...Still, knowing that we’re on the same side is reassuring."
"It feels like we could crush everything, not just be reassuring..."
"Stop talking and get ready quickly. Iris, you’re the point man today, so bring the ballistic shield."
"What? Iris is the shield bearer? Can we expect EM-level power from that?"
"Well, I’m not sure if I’ll do it well, since it’s my first time..."
As they prepared, Iris' UI received a secret message from Sonia.
And—
Iris’ red pupils gleamed, and her tail stiffened.
Naturally, there was no way she wouldn’t have been caught.