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The next Monday after the encounter with the young man nicknamed the ‘Hero’…

“Are you ready? Remember to not show any of our weak spots.”
“Mhm, I’ve memorized all the places we can’t show, I’m ready.”
“Good, I’ll get the Magius Orb up into the air then, if you don’t mind.”
“Go ahead.”

Once Crim nodded, Ryunosuke finished all the final checks and stepped away. That marked the start of the next live stream of Lua Cheia after more than half a month of inactivity. A stream to commemorate the completion of their new castle.

“…Adyyja, thou did well to come, humans. Crim Lua Cheia is my name, leader of the Lua Cheia guild.”

Crim turned around while holding onto a parasol, doing a little squat as she gave her usual greeting.

It had been a while since they had scheduled a broadcast, so Crim was pleased to see the chat window quickly filling with comments. Then she began reciting the announcement she had memorized for the day.

“I deeply apologize for my prolonged absence. To vary our routine, today I address all of you outdoors, and from none other than our new dwelling! …And please forgive the parasol, for it is a sunny day.”

She made her parasol lined with white lace spin around in her hand as she greeted everyone. That was different from her usual appearance, so the viewers would not stop commenting about it, and watching that pleased Crim.

Crim was currently wearing Ariel’s Dress, a piece of equipment she had obtained during the raid dungeon before, which boosted Crim’s stats the best. Its visual appearance was similar to an off-shoulder gothic lolita dress.

It looked like an outfit perfect for the end of the rainy season and all of summer. All of the frills, lace, and overall cute design that was not too exaggerated was also well received by most of the viewers.

As the guild’s leader, Crim felt obligated to represent them properly, and having to strip away and mill down her self-respect by wearing cute dresses to improve the public image of the guild was not beneath her, as long as it made things easier for the other guild members.

She had decided to just let things happen.

“As it turns out, the castle for Lua Cheia has been completed today, so I’ll give everyone a tour of its highlights.”

The comments congratulating them pleased Crim, who nodded a few times. Some were also requesting to see the castle…even though it had been in frame the entire time.

“Well then, glance upon it, the new Castle Seyfert, our home!” As Crim pointed behind her, Ryunosuke played a loud “Ta-da” sound effect he had prepared, while also making the Magius Orb fly higher to raise the point of view.

That gave an overhead view of Castle Seyfert and the surrounding areas, all behind where Crim had been standing.

“Mhm, I spared no expense in fortifying the castle. Thou mayst come to sightsee, but attempt anything untoward and they’ll escort thee out! Heheh… Mwhahahah!!”

Crim laughed about it casually, but building the defenses for the castle and Nebel had consumed so much of her fortune that she only had around 10% of the Points she had started with.

“Hah, of course I’m showing off! I’ve spent XX0,000 Points to build all of this, who wouldn’t want to show off?!”

Crim looked away for a second and the discussion quickly devolved into that request.

Usually seeing that would make Crim feel indignation or shock, but this time she was in such a good mood from the castle’s completion that she would happily oblige the viewers’ requests. And so…

“As you wish! If it’s thy desire to challenge me, then breach these defenses first! But I already know thou art naught but cowardly swine! Isn’t that right? Piigs!!”

Getting carried away by the comments, Crim’s face twisted into a bratty smirk she had been practicing (mostly by studying Frey), laughing loudly while insulting the viewers time and time again.

«The invitation to sightsee is actually true. We welcome anyone who wants to visit Lua Cheia’s territory. You can also buy lunch at the nearby town, and we’ll be thankful for any trade conducted there.»

There was a chime as a block of text appeared on the screen.

And so, Lua Cheia’s live stream began without a hitch(?)

Also, just like many of the viewers had anticipated, that night Kou kept turning around in bed, wincing in shame until the sun began to rise. But that’s a story for another day.

Afterword:
The protagonist has clocked in the most hours logged in out of all hardcore players.