“You are here again, Nio. Where’s Reed?” Sigrun asked as he looks at Nio standing in front of his house.

“Aren’t you with him moments ago? I texted Reed that I’ll come visit you so he knows that I am here.” Nio said as she showed her phone to Sigrun.

“Say, I heard that you started coming to a school lately for grade school. Nio, perhaps…you still haven’t made any friends?” Sigrun asked with a smug.

“That’s mean of you! It’s just that…it’s awkward for me to talk with people. No, it’s more accurate to say that I don’t know how to approach normal people.” Nio honestly said with a flustered face.

“You make it sounds like Reed and the others are not normal. Anyway, come inside.” Sigrun beckons Nio to step inside his house.

Nio obediently follows Sigrun and naturally walks into his room like it’s hers too. Upon arrival at the said room, Nio immediately notices one thing or rather, them.

There, playing with a console, Ruby Mayfarer, one of the Ten Paladins, seats in front of the computer while furiously beating the controller. On the side is Hart Geliet, also one of the Ten Paladins, with his gigantic size, quietly draws a picture of an animal in a sketch pad.

Nio widens her eyes upon the sight of strangers in Sigrun’s room and hesitated to enter, however, Hart notices her and gives a gentle smile unbefitting of his size.

Ruby Mayfarer fails to notice Nio because she is busy with the game.

With Hart’s welcoming aura, Nio entered without delay.

“You’re probably thinking who this two are.” Sigrun asked with a grin.

“Sigrun, I may be a little frank but…” Nio gets closer to Sigrun and whispers to his ear while standing on her toes.

“That is a human over there, right?” Nio continued with a dubious expression as she pointed at Hart.

“He is, and I assume you also noticed it.” Sigrun whispered back.

“Yeah…he is not someone who can really size up with you when it comes to anything but…for a human, he is…strong. There are no traces of magic in his body like there’s none of it and yet, he is strong.” Nio replied.

“Yup, yup, you are indeed correct. They won’t do anything to you so rest assured. Since I am a bit busy for now, please play quietly in one corner.” Sigrun told Nio in a low voice.

“What’s happening?” Nio tilts her head.

“We’re going live streaming today! Ruby here is a famous Eytuber and she has a lot of subscribers. We are going to have collaboration for my debut!” Sigrun replied in a glee as he once again returned beside Ruby.

“Y-Yeah…goodluck!” Nio said half-heartedly.

Ruby then notices Nio sitting on one side. She widens her eyes as she notices something about Nio.

“Hey, you! Come here for a moment!” Ruby shouted as she beckons Nio towards her.

“W-What could it be?” Nio timidly replied whilst walking slowly.

“You are that girl, right? The one that Meld painstakingly made illegal papers, right? Now that I looked at you personally, yeah, you are cute! But too bad, I am the cutest in the world!” Ruby said as if she is boasting.

“Hmmm, okay?” Nio once again is puzzled and confused about Ruby’s action. For someone like Nio who still haven’t grasped the people’s standard of beauty, she doesn’t even know how to react.

“But having no boobs doesn’t really help it, does it?” Sigrun said towards Ruby.

“Boobs are just hideous sack of fat. Having no such dirty thing attached to one’s body is a sign of purity!” Ruby announces with a smug.

“Sounds so cool and at the same time so pathetic. Not that I discriminate between the two. Boobs are boobs whatever their size is. What important is that a girl knows how to moan properly in bed.” Sigrun nonchalantly said with a smile.

“You are as lech as everyone said, huh? That frankness isn’t half bad though.” Ruby replied.

“Can we start already? I’m excited!” Sigurn urges Ruby to start.

“Yeah, they are waiting after all of this. As soon as I start the live stream, we are going to introduce ourselves, tell the viewers what game we are playing, and do a lot of facial expressions while in-game.” Ruby said with a wink.

“What if they find our gameplay lacking? I am not confident of my skills after all. I’ve only played it recently.” Sigrun laid down his worries.

“Eh? Not really a problem. As long as you are cute, those suckers won’t mind your fails. More like, they find clumsiness adorable. If you are too good at a game, people will start getting insecure and will most likely bash your video. Not that it won’t happen too if you play clumsily but as long as we have the appearance, we will yield more subscribers than haters.” Ruby explained while biting her nail.

“You don’t look…okay…?” Sigrun pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

“Let’s start!” Ruby snaps out of her morbid mood and brightens her face once again as she clicks on the enter button.

Nio peels her attention away from her game and started watching Sigrun and Ruby with their opening segment. Hart who was staying silent for a while also took a glance at the duo.

The segment starts.

“Hello, hello! Ruby here! Today I have a guess and I know everyone already knows who he is!”

“Sigrun here! Today is my debut as please don’t get too hard on me! The link to my channel is in the video description so please subscribe!”

“Sigrun and I are going for a multiplayer mode in StrikeHalt! Though we are not that good, please duly enjoy the video, right, Sigrun?”

“Yeah! Well, I am nervous because this is my first time! I have played the game days ago and it was quite hard.”

“Eh? Let’s just do our best, Sigrun!”

“Yeah, yeah! Though, I can’t believe that one of the Ten Paladin has too much time on their hand to play such complicated game.”

A pause afloat.

“Hey, you little shit. You don’t say that in a live stream.” Ruby whispered quietly to Sigrun with twitching cheek.

“Ah, sorry, sorry.” Sigrun apologizes while laughing dryly.

They resume the happy mood.

“Ah, I apologize for the sudden pause! Well then, let’s start!”

Ruby cheerfully said and took the controller. Sigrun also did the same and they started to join a matchmaking game in the game called StrikeHalt.

StrikeHalt is one of the famous game online this year. The game is a simple shoot and kills the opponent. Find your gun in empty houses and a lot of places, equip any protective gear to heighten your defense, and engage another player in a deathmatch.

There’s a lot of terrains to choose from. From a secluded island to a cryptic abandoned city. Characters are fully customizable and interaction through voice chat is implemented.

That’s the kind of game Ruby and Sigrun is going to play and live stream right now.

“Oh yeah! The view count is shooting up to millions already!” Ruby said inside her mind as she glances at the viewership the streaming is gathering.

The game loads immediately because of Sigrun’s absurd internet connection and without fail, started the match.

Two sides are going to clash with each other in an inhabited island. The first team is the Terrorists that already spawned in the island with terrain advantage and prepared guns and ammunition. The second team is the Enforcers that will come to the island through a speedboat that will spawn in random locations.

Sigrun and Ruby will be playing as Enforcers.

“Sigrun, pick up that Mk! It’s light and loaded with a lot of bullets! It’s good for beginners!”

“Really? I’m comfortable with dual something gun though.”

“And what? Die because you lack the range to reach the enemy?!”

“Well, you are the veteran.”

Ten minutes later.

“Sigrun, pick up that grenade!”

“Yes! I got it! Where do I throw this?!”

“Give to me!”

“Here!”

“Dumbass! Why did you throw it at me!?”

BOOM!

“You said give it you.”

“I didn’t mean you use it on me! Now I’m out of the round!”

Another ten minutes pass.

“We’re onto the enemy base! They haven’t spotted us yet!”

“Ruby, pick up the pace.”

“Wait, where are you going?!”

“Let’s bomb them!”

“No, are you an idiot?!”

“Look, they are coming this way.”

“Hide! Quickly, to my side!”

“Let’s roll a bomb just in case!”

BOOM!

“One down!”

“They spotted us!”

“That’s fine, right? Let’s just fight them!”

“Fall back! Let’s wait for more comrades!”

“Ah, I’m down! Please rescue me!”

“FAT CHANCE! YOU WERE SNIPED, OKAY!?”

“You really don’t have to yell.”

After another five minutes.

“We lost.”

“Ahahaha! But that was fun!”

“Let’s just do the closing segment. You are more tiresome that I’ve imagined.”

“How was it, everyone? Please post your thoughts and comments about the video! We greatly appreciate it!”

“So as I was thinking earlier, maybe this collaboration shouldn’t have happened after all.”

“Aw, don’t say that. It’s pretty fun playing with you, Ruby!”

“Hmph, you didn’t do nothing but drag me down. Anyway, if you had fun, then that’s fine now, I guess. For all the viewers, goodbye! Don’t forget to click the like button and subscribe to my and Sigrun’s channel.”

Ruby turned off the application for the live streaming completely shutting them from the eyes of the viewers. She heaves a deep sigh with closed eyes while knitting her brows before turning her sight to Sigrun.

“W-What? Am I really that bad?” Sigrun tried to smile but stuck at a forced one from Ruby’s stare.

“Sigrun…” Ruby menacingly called out as she put two hands on Sigrun’s shoulders and stare intently at him.

“…Well?” Sigrun tried to urge her to speak.

“We got…almost three million views in one stream…it was my first time getting so much view…” Ruby said with a face growing pale.

“Yes?” Sigrun tilted his head in confusion.

“In other words, the collaboration was a hit! You and I, we make a great pair! We can dominate the world of social media and become even more famous!” Ruby’s eyes sparkled like stars as she passionately speaks.

“What about your duty as one of the Ten Paladins…?” Sigrun slyly asked, trying to get out of Ruby’s pace.

“Scratch that! I don’t want to work anymore like a sheep! We can make a better living by being famous!” Ruby said as she grasps Sigrun’s hands and clasps them together.

“Hmmm…well. I love the attention that I get. I do wonder though if it is really okay for you.” Sigrun said as he turns his sight to Hart.

“Gramps…” Ruby stared at Hart with puppy eyes to plead.

“…No.” Hart’s immediate answer.

“I knew it! Well, it can’t be helped then.” Ruby’s face is painted with despair from the quick rejection.

“Ruby, it’s time to go. Remember? We are meeting with Seyren today to visit Emeralda at the jail.” Hart said as he stood up, almost hitting the ceiling.

“Haa?! Do we really have to visit that hag?!” Ruby complained with a pained expression.

“We have to. It is something related to the Hoarders after all.” Hart said as he picked up Ruby and places her on his shoulder.

“Wait…this is the first time I’ve heard of that! Again, they are keeping secrets again! Seyren, Emeralda, and Meld! All of them! Let’s go, gramps! I’ll give them a piece of my mind!” Ruby said as she clings onto Hart’s head.

“Please excuse us, Sir Sigrun. We’ll be leaving now.” Hart said as he lightly bows his head before heading to the door.

“Bye-bye, Sigrun! Let’s do a live stream again! Gramps, the doo--!” Ruby said her farewell to Sigrun but immediately got distracted as she hit her head again.

After several minutes, Sigrun sees them off at the front door and quickly returned to his room where Nio is quietly playing her own game.

Nio sprang up to Sigrun as soon as he got there.

“Sigrun, I also went and liked that video that you and that lady earlier made. Guess what, there’s a lot of comments already and they keep piling up!” Nio said as she showed her phone to Sigrun with the video’s comment section displayed.

“Oh? Let me see!” Sigrun took the phone and started reading.

“I look forward to Sigrun’s first video…Can’t believe that’s a guy…I want to see more of him…I’d swing the other way around if Sigrun is my partner…Lady Ruby got outmatched even though she is better at the game…” Sigrun ends there with a smile.

“See? They are all positive feedback!” Nio said.

“Yeah! It feels good when people compliment you for something you did clumsily. Got it! I am going to think of a new topic for my new video! Nio, help me out, okay?” Sigrun said as he took out a pen and paper.

“Yes! As long as Great One ask, I’ll help!” Nio became also fired up.