I Have Returned, but I Cannot Lay down My Gun

Chapter 620

"Today feels oddly quiet at home, seems like everyone went out. I'm glad to see that you're growing more independent."

"I don't quite understand what you're implying, Archetype."

"There's such a thing. Just take good care of Gaia, alright?"

July 5th, 6 PM, Seoul.

After finishing various tasks in another world, I returned home to find no one around. I wondered if they might be hanging out at Dice's house, the lounge bar, or the restaurant downstairs, so I sent out a pulse radius of 500 meters, but there was no sign of them.

It was summer, so the sun was still out, and the evening was just beginning to settle in. The red-hued skyline of Seoul gradually filled my view through the window. Today was Friday, and the number of people strolling around the area was increasing.

In such a busy time, I wondered where they had gone, but asking via phone or text felt like an overstep. I wasn’t one of those obsessive parents who asks where their kids are every minute.

Moreover, if the house was empty, there was something else I could do.

"Back at home for a change, huh, our little Mecha recruits? Gaia must be experiencing this for the first time."

"Right. After leaving us here for so long, it feels a bit too much, don’t you think, boss?"

"Is this really a proper city…? It’s so full of life! People everywhere! From the edge of my sight, all I can see are buildings and people…!"

"…Our new recruit is geeking out over the city’s terraforming."

Well, people did have all sorts of things they enjoyed geeking out over, like trains or buses.

In fact, considering how some people might not even understand a fascination with guns, I couldn't exactly judge. Being into cities was probably on the quieter end of things.

In any case, aside from that, today I brought Nasty along. Now, we had a party of five. The Mecha Bi-Yams could now form a squad on their own. I wasn’t sure if Gaia could be deployed in battle just yet, though.

The larger the group, the harder it was to manage everyone, so I kept it simple with the rule: "Break something, or cause trouble, and you’re out immediately." Then I switched into a more hands-off mode.

I pulled up Tricky.

'If they went outside, there’s a good chance the rumors have already reached here…'

Even without turning on a broadcast, this was the case.

Harmony and Dice had become famous worldwide, and Iris—while her name value might not be as high—was still someone who could be spotted anywhere based on her appearance. With her snow-white tail, hair, and ruby-like, transparent eyes, anyone who saw her walking the streets would undoubtedly take a second glance.

Well, even if Tricky wasn’t live, there wasn’t much of an issue. She’d probably return soon, either today or tomorrow. That was something I didn’t need to worry about.

But—

"…Looks like I’ve hit the jackpot today."

"Huh? Did you say something, Archetype?"

"No, it’s nothing. But, Marv, aren’t you interested in a walk?"

"Mm, I’d be happy with anything as long as we’re going together."

"Just don’t sneak in any cuddles, it’s heavy…!"

Just leaning against me alone was enough to feel a 400kg pressure on my back…

As I struggled with that weight, I arranged Tricky’s live viewer count. Though it wasn't a big deal since I hadn’t turned on my own broadcast, the rankings were still decent, and Harmony didn’t have a broadcast today either.

Dice still had irregular broadcasts, so there was no immediate concern, but as I mentioned earlier, today I hit the jackpot—the broadcast at the top of the list had 1.1 million viewers.

Normally, without turning on a broadcast, the top rank usually had around 500,000 viewers, which was still quite a lot. But setting that aside, I checked the title of the 1.1 million viewers’ broadcast.

<Stella Universe Virtual Tour (Special Guest Included)>

Even though it was a Korean broadcast, the viewer count was still massive.

With the familiar name "Stella Universe" and the oddly suspicious words "Special Guest," it was pretty clear what this was about. There was no need to consider any other possibilities.

So I clicked on the broadcast, and just like that, I became one of the 1.1 million viewers. As expected, donations were partially blocked.

The reason I say "partially" is that donations were allowed only for streamers who had been broadcasting for a certain amount of time or had reached a specific viewer count.

Anyway,

• [So, uh, what’s this place again…? I actually don’t come here often! Who on earth assigned us this tour—!?]

• [Whoa, there are three Bi-Yams here! I think I’m going to lose my mind…]

• [Iris, why are you so fast with everything? I didn’t expect that!]

• [Well, the topic just came up. Anyway, it’s nice to meet you in person for the first time.]

"…But they still don’t reveal who the people inside are. Well, I guess that makes sense…"

"Did you say something, Archetype?"

"Go on and enjoy yourselves. Take good care of Nasty and Gaia."

"Of course, we’re having a blast, heh."

As I scratched the heads of the Mecha Monnani’s, reacting to every little thing I did, I refocused on the screen.

As I muttered before, the avatars visible through the screen weren’t real people—they were avatars used in virtual reality. They weren’t Harmony, Dice, or Iris, but rather the so-called "third-generation" crew.

There was no need to guess what that was about. Before I revealed myself a couple of years ago, I hadn’t walked around like that either. To be more precise, I had lied about walking around like that.

But when I thought about it, those functionalities—namely, the hologram overlay feature for drone cameras—were a real thing, so everyone had been fooled. And that proof was right in front of me.

As Nasty’s body temperature increased, I kept her pinned to the couch.

"I want to go out, Archetype. With Nasty’s cuteness, I’m sure the whole world will accept her… Waaah! Don’t mess up her hair!"

"Stop saying weird things and stay in the balcony. I’ll take you out later. It’s not like you’ve never been out before."

"I’ll wait!"

I have no idea how these guys would manage without me.

Thinking this, I typed on the hologram keyboard. Since there was still some spare change in Tricky, and sending a donation would likely be more effective than a message or a call.

Nasty, who had evolved from a Mecha Monnani into a new type, was going out for the first time. I figured I could throw a donation or two her way as a compliment.

I finished the message and sent it off.

With a soft clink, the partially blocked donation system started working again.

<Eugene(Official) has donated 500,000 KRW to Stella Universe! Thank you!>

• [I’m not sure how you got there, but go ahead and enjoy yourselves. I’m assuming I’ll eat dinner first, so I’ll start without you. Hope the third-gen does well! XD]

• [Wait, Yujin, how did you know we were broadcasting?]

• [Wow, Yujin just sent a message of encouragement to the third-gen! This is insane! I’m keeping this as a memento!]

• [This is all thanks to Iris!]

• […Eh, were you watching us?]

• 500,000 KRW hahaha

• What’s going on here? Hahahaha

• How did they know we were on? Hahaha

• Big sister vibes, haha

• Are they really living together??? What does “starting dinner first” mean???

• When did Dice move in next to Bi-Yam’s place? Hahaha

A memento, huh?

Thanks to my sudden donation, the atmosphere in the stream became even more intense. However, the third-gen guests who had been hosting seemed to be growing more stiff.

They must’ve been nervous.

Anyway, there were no broadcasts scheduled for today, so I assumed the evening would end with a visit to the Stella Universe tour.

As the Mecha Monnani continued to watch the stream, they kept pouring out childish comments like "There are so many Bi-Yams! What is this!" but my attention was entirely focused on Iris.

‘To be honest, I felt it the last time too, but there’s no need to worry about Dice and Harmony.’

Their bodies hadn’t changed that much, and their relationships with their families weren’t drastically different.

They just had snake tails, ears, and sharp fangs added to their original bodies, so it was only natural that my attention was drawn to Iris, whose transformation was a far more remarkable one.

Adding to that, Harmony and Dice didn’t require my focus.

My acquaintance was much more likely to grab my attention.

And then—

Beep beep!

"Just as I thought, I figured a call would come through around this time."

Considering the group call from Lauren Tina, Logan, and Olivia, it became clear who was paying attention to Harmony and Dice.

And as soon as the call started, a familiar voice echoed.

"I’ll empty my account and buy three one-way tickets to Virginia Beach. Tell those friends of yours to get there immediately, youngest! I can’t let the army steal any more of our new recruits!"

"Shut him up, Yujin. I’m going crazy."

"Don’t worry, Jin. I warned them that Shark’s after them."

"…I’m losing my mind here."

It felt like my eardrums were going to burst.

Looking back, I realized my acquaintance farming had gone wrong in many ways.

"By the way, Iris, how is the revenue distribution for hologram idols?"

"…Suddenly asking?"

"Well, it’s a bit abrupt, but I heard Iris-chan’s avatar concept was inspired by Yujin’s meme. I was wondering if Yujin ever mentioned anything about revenue sharing."

"Ah, so that’s what you meant..."

• Suddenly? Hahaha

• So random haha

• Random? Revenue share is a 'major issue'...

• But I don’t think Bi-Yam would care about that, haha

• Yujin’s probably made so much money by now that they don’t care about cash, haha

Revenue…?

As the red glow of the sunset surrounded Seoul, the artificial lights began to gradually push away the darkness, and suddenly, that question tickled her ear. It was a question she had never considered before, which made it oddly thought-provoking.

‘Let’s see… Honestly, except for the early days, even back then, I didn’t really care much about the revenue I earned through Iris.’

By June, the money Iris earned had surpassed the editor’s salary by a considerable amount—but Yujin never took a cut from that.

As Iris recalled and explained, everyone nodded in understanding.

"Maybe the early viewers would know, but basically… our employer is a complete hands-off type. So, unless it causes harm to them, they don’t really care about revenue… maybe?"

"Why the question mark at the end?"

"I’ve never caused any harm, so that’s why. I’m super careful about how I broadcast. For me and my employer, no news is good news."

• That’s true hahaha

• If Bi-Yam suddenly said "I think our editor’s been getting a bit too cocky lately," they’d pee themselves right there hahaha

• Talk back, and you’ll feel a threat to your life wwwww

• Oddly enough, Harmony and Dice talk nonstop without breaking a sweat…

• I guess they have more than one life haha

I glanced at the chat and saw Harmony and Dice turning their heads awkwardly, as if caught. Iris, watching them with a slightly bemused look, added:

"And, honestly, this might be embarrassing, but… over the past few months, more than half of the money I’ve earned as Iris has gone back into donations and purchasing merch."

• Huh.

"...Doesn’t this mean the revenue issue should be fine?"

"Isn’t that like a tenth tithe? Maybe more like a fifteenth?"

• Hahaha so true

• Seriously, pretending to be a nun and actually donating like this hahaha

• Truly, it’s pure love haha

• Bi-Yam nun with white hair and red eyes—why does this feel so real haha

• Even Dice and Harmony were shocked by this statement ww

At the same time, all the eyes in the room seemed to lose their composure for a moment, then, as if trying to act casual, they nodded, as if saying "I guess that makes sense."

In truth, Iris's character was modeled after a Bi-Yam nun—a servant of the Bi-Yam god—and, as mentioned before, the third-gen crew shared similar traits. So a tithe was something that could be understood in terms of the setting.

No one had expected it to actually happen, though.

"And Iris-chan, are you, like… actually using divine power or something?"

"Throw a beam from your hands, you can bless us right? Show us your powers!"

"Wow, these guys are completely nuts. Harmony and Dice are here, too, and they’re making a scene! We should head to the studio immediately!"

"...Mina. Should I donate more? It might be worth it."

"I guess I could say it’s a fee to pay the toll..."

"They’re all crazy!"

• Sonia hahaha

• No sane person herewwww

• But is there a studio? Do any of the streamers there actually broadcast? I feel like there are a ton of people nearby trying to hit the jackpot with some red pills.

• We don’t need to know about that haha

• But honestly, it’s really well-decorated

Of course, there was one thing they completely overlooked—the fact that there weren’t many normal people here.

Under Sonia’s skilled but tough leadership, the three guests quickly moved toward the studio. Everywhere they looked, there were numerous goods and fantastic facilities waiting to greet them.

And amidst all this, the questions and conversations continued.

"Wow, they’ve got soundproof walls, green screens, and top-notch acoustic materials. But I don’t think many people actually use them..."

"Oh, that’s not a problem. I heard it’s mostly indie artists who book the place. By the way, how’s Iris’s broadcast setup? I bet she broadcasts sometimes in reality too."

"That person? These days, they always stay at Yujin’s house. Harmony stays at mine."

"Wow."

Most of the conversations were light and casual topics.

And as the tour wrapped up, even though the building itself was huge, it wasn’t fully used, and they only rented out a few floors for office space.

After completing the tour, they returned to their starting point. It took about 30 minutes. Along the way, Harmony suggested having dinner together, but, of course, it was rejected because of the red pill situation.

It wasn’t the shortest nor the longest time, but in that time, the emotional distance between everyone in the room had decreased, and they were comfortable enough to joke around.

They returned the temporary IDs and badges. It was time to go.

As the drone camera filmed the ending shots for the broadcast, someone spoke up.

"So, you guys are EM-level now, right?"

"That’s right."

"Well, I’ve been following your broadcasts here and there, and there’s something I’m curious about. Can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

As the elevator they’d called arrived, the question continued.

"Since you’re EM-level now, your physical abilities must have increased drastically. I have a feeling that one of the people who always hangs out with Yujin when he’s in the US might be pretty jealous..."

"..."

"…"

"…Eh, wait a minute. Why are you all silent?"

• That's the danger zone haha

• The shark who’s scarier than the devil haha

• Wait, honestly, I feel like I should’ve received a message from them earlier haha

• Look at their faces, they’re frozen haha

At that moment, the three of them realized that this was not just any ordinary issue, but a deeply unsettling one that they had been trying to bury in their minds.

The last conversation ended, and it was obvious that the topic would be considered taboo between them from now on.

The first outing of the Triple Bi-Yams ended somewhat uneasily.

"Looks like it's finally time for the long-term deployment in Korea for tactical exchange. Perfect timing."

"Finally, the chance to go to that place you’ve been singing about all the time, is it?"

"Heh heh, maybe it’s time for you guys to travel abroad for reasons other than deployment. I’m sure no one will oppose that."

Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away:

The Hammerhead team of the renowned Gold Squadron in the United States was giggling while holding a piece of paper detailing the long-term deployment in Korea for tactical exchange.

It was just a matter of days before Shark would once again assault Korea.