Chapter 34
Chapter 34: A Broadcast? Me? Why? 3
The Hunter Association quickly came to a decision.
[Let’s grant Isiah permission to broadcast as soon as possible and offer her support.]
Over the past week, the Hunter Association had been observing how Isiah reacted to the unintended broadcast and how the netizens from the Hunter Gallery responded to Hunter Isiah.
In fact, an employee from the Hunter Association had been assigned to monitor the genre Hunter Gallery, keeping an eye on real-time information related to Isiah.
They even checked the access logs on Isiah’s smartwatch.
When one of the association employees asked Yeonhwa out of curiosity:
“Wasn’t Unnie bothered by it at all?”
“Not at all. In fact, she even said she was happy. She mentioned that in her previous world, she also comforted the public and healed the sick. She said that even if I filed a complaint on her behalf, it felt like watching children’s antics, so she was fine with it. Unnie might be a bit odd, but she’s a real saint.”
This testimony was given.
The fact that many netizens cheered for the emergence of Isiah, a new S-rank Hunter with presumed immense power, was something the association had anticipated.
The image of an S-rank Hunter that Yeonseo had built carried a prestige greater than that of a hero, so it was only natural for people to get excited.
The biggest concern was how Isiah would take all of this.
If it combined with her mental issues, the broadcast and everything could fall apart.
Fortunately, based on Yeonhwa’s testimony, the Hunter Association concluded that the Saintess of the Dead was not mentally affected, even after witnessing all the outrageous and over-the-line remarks made by those malicious netizens.
Considering this along with other factors, the association judged that Isiah could handle the broadcast more easily than expected.
Broadcasting isn’t something that can be done with just any mental state.
One must be prepared for numerous rumors, slanders, obsessive stalkers from malicious netizens, insults, harassment, and vile ridicule.
But Isiah had the mentality to graciously rise above all of that.
Whether that was because her mental state was genuinely strong or because her already decayed mind couldn’t be affected by such vile things was unknown.
Either way, the Hunter Association’s overall judgment was that Isiah was an excellent fit for broadcasting, and now, the only thing left was to grant her the approval quickly.
The Hunter Association wasn’t simply being nice by accommodating the Saintess of the Dead’s convenience.
By monitoring Isiah and granting her broadcast permission, they found it to be the most convenient and mutually beneficial way to satisfy her ‘malevolent hunger.’
Dragging out the process, on the other hand, could lead to uncontrollable situations if Isiah experienced a hunger attack due to her malevolent devourer ability.
The association had been preparing for this since a week ago, so now all that was left was the quick approval.
“Hmm, there’s some kind of yellow mark showing up.”
“That’s probably the Hunter Association’s certification.”
The Hunter Association’s certification mark essentially guaranteed that “This Hunter is a highly skilled, certified Hunter by the association! Please feel free to watch the broadcast!”
Many Hunters who broadcast aim to get the certification mark, but the process to receive one is extremely strict, and the screening period is long, so most streamers don’t bother going through the hassle.
However, if they did manage to get the certification mark, a certain number of viewers was guaranteed.
There was no viewer who wouldn’t enjoy the splendid battles and almost invincible action of a skilled Hunter.
“Huh… revenue settings? Screen settings?”
“How do we do this…?”
“Yeonhwa, have you ever done a broadcast before?”
“Of course not… Grandma does some streaming now and then, but she went to Afghanistan yesterday, so it feels a bit weird to ask her.”
Wait, Yeonhwa’s grandma streams…?
“Yeonhwa streams…? I can’t picture that.”
“Yeah, she sometimes talks about highland farming in dungeons or something, but I haven’t watched it that often…”
For a while, Isiah and Yeonhwa fumbled with the settings of the Switch account.
The auxiliary AI drone given by the Hunter Association was equipped with the latest technology, so all they had to do was press the broadcast button, and it would automatically optimize the camera angles and compositions.
But the actual process of setting up the broadcast account and configuring all the settings was still a mystery to them.
Honestly, they had no clue.
There were countless options, like broadcast settings, chat window configurations, traffic, and the cons setting, but Isiah couldn’t understand any of it.
She had no idea where to start.
Broadcasting had existed before the Great Rift of 2024, but Isiah had never been involved in it back then either.
And now, with an overwhelming number of new broadcast settings and interfaces, Isiah was clueless.
Unfortunately, Yeonhwa had never done Hunter broadcasting either, so she couldn’t offer much advice.
And asking the Hunter Association to handle all the broadcast settings for her felt a bit awkward.
After all, who hands over personal broadcast settings to a national government agency?
“It’s fine. Let’s just give it a try.”
“Really, Unnie?”
“Yeah, today’s just a simple self-introduction.”
Something about this… just feels off…
○○○○○
Me, doing a broadcast.
Even before 2024, I didn’t know much about broadcasting.
I had never been particularly interested in any streamers’ broadcasts either.
Before I could even enjoy life properly, I got caught up in the Great Rift.
Of course, I admit that the streamer broadcasts in this returned world were much more interesting and enjoyable than I expected.
The Hunter Streamer broadcasts, which I could watch on TV and the internet, were also quite entertaining for someone like me, who had returned after 64 years.
‘Well, thanks to that, I ended up spending a lot of the 100 million won returnee support fund I received on donations instead of just food…’
I had hoped to live a life of leisure, watching broadcasts, but I never imagined that I would end up doing one myself.
Still, it was really fun.
Seeing my name ‘Isiah’ being called out by people in various contexts on the Genre Hunter Gallery made me happy.
I still don’t know why I felt happy.
Could it be because it reminded me of when I was revered as a saint by the imperial citizens in my previous world?
The netizens from the gallery that Yeonhwa had called malicious didn’t seem as terrible as I expected.
They were actually kind of cute…
If you asked if I was prepared for this, well, I’m not sure…
I never needed to make any special preparations, to be honest.
I didn’t feel nervous about broadcasting.
Although I was still a bit worried about what exactly I should broadcast, it didn’t make my hands tremble or give me any mental burden.
But something else was holding me back.
‘Should someone like me even be allowed to do a broadcast…? Should I really be fooling around and enjoying myself like this?’
I locked eyes with the drone camera pointed at me.
Its cold, mechanical gaze felt like the resentful stare of a person I had consumed.
In my first hunger attack, I ate 192 people, regardless of whether they were guilty or innocent, and whether their crimes were minor or severe.
Some of them were people I had met for the first time, while others were people I had deep ties with, like Tia.
Should someone like me, after all that, be allowed to broadcast and live peacefully?
Leaving behind all my past connections in the previous world.
Forgetting everything, as if nothing had happened…
Am I allowed to be happy?
Do I have the right to live like this?
Is a damned Saintess of the Dead like me allowed the luxury of pursuing happiness?
The shadows of the past, which I hadn’t noticed while walking forward, caught hold of my ankles when I stopped and turned back.
Were they shadows of my sins, or illusions I had created myself?
The horrifying faces of the people I had devoured seemed to appear before me.
[We’ve already forgiven you.]
I heard a voice from somewhere.
It was Tia Lauria, the captain of the 3rd division of the Imperial Knights who had been with me for over ten years… and the first person I devoured during my hunger attack.
Tia, Tia… How could you forgive me? I haven’t even forgiven myself yet.
[It’s horrible, but what can we do? It’s already happened, and there’s nothing you could have done about it. No matter how awful it was at first, after living in your mind for decades, you come to understand, even if you don’t want to.]
[That’s right, that’s right!]
[I’ve forgiven you too.]
[Me too.]
[How many times do we have to say it? We’ve forgiven you.]
Rosimia Maltaris, Gleratia, Zbier…
‘Can you really forgive me that easily?’
[We’ve lived inside your soul for decades. Of course, we’ve seen many of your memories.]
[We know how much you’ve struggled with guilt.]
[Like it or not, we’re a part of you.]
[Sigh, we would have been executed anyway if we were still alive, so this is better.]
[Oh my, it’s so possible to become one with the Saintess…]
[You idiot.]
There were so many gravestones built in my mind.
Whether those voices were truly the souls of the people I had consumed or illusions I had created to justify myself, I didn’t know.
I had no right to speak to them.
But even so, I couldn’t help but smile.
Thank you.
Though it’s a message that won’t reach them, though it’s nothing more than a belated apology for something that’s already happened, and a plea for forgiveness…
Still, I can’t help but be grateful to them.
When I close my eyes, the memories from that time come back to me.
Even now… the terrible memories of the past seem like spiderwebs, trying to trap me.
Back in my previous world, when I struggled with guilt, Menelapie stayed by my side.
At some point, Teresa had also come to stand by me.
But now, who’s with me…
“Unnie, are you okay?”
“……Yeah.”
Seeing Yeonhwa looking at me with concern, I realized once again how fortunate I was.
Even a damned Saintess of the Dead like me had such overwhelming connections in my life.
“Unnie, I’ll start now.”
“Ah, yeah. Please do.”
As Yeonhwa gave the signal from behind the drone camera, I lifted my head.
The dark shadow that had been holding my ankle was no longer visible.
‘Goodbye.’
The cold, mechanical gaze of the drone camera no longer felt so unfamiliar.
○○○○○
[Hey hey hey hey hey, Hunter Isiah’s broadcast has started.]
『Damn, I’ve lived my whole life for this moment.』
[Are you insane?]
[This guy must be part of the Dead Saintess Cult.]
ㄴ[What’s that?]
ㄴ[The Saintess of the Dead Cult.]
ㄴ[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ This is so vulgar ㅋㅋㅋ]
ㄴ[But I kinda like it.]
ㄴ[ㅋㅋㅋㅋ]
[(Breaking News) Hunter Isiah starts a broadcast after one week.]
『She even has the Hunter Association’s certification mark.』
[For real?]
[Don’t they hardly ever give that out?]
[It seems like the broadcast from a week ago was deliberately exposed by the association as a form of promotion?]
ㄴ[Dunno.]
ㄴ[That sounds plausible though.]
ㄴ[Maybe.]
The malicious netizens from the genre Hunter Gallery swarmed into ‘Hunter Isiah’s’ broadcast in an instant.
There wasn’t much difference from her previous stream in the Kurutala Mountains.
Hunter Isiah’s broadcast had no title or planned topic.
It only had the host’s name, ‘Hunter Isiah.’
The only thing that had changed was that the Hunter Association’s yellow certification mark was now displayed next to the host’s name.
[5252!]
[Wow!]
[Is this the Boobs Stream?]
[Explain yourself, explain yourself, explain yourself, explain yourself, explain yourself, explain yourself, explain yourself, explain yourself…]
[Mom, I’m cold, Mom, I’m cold, Mom, I’m cold, Mom, I’m cold, Mom, I’m cold, Mom, I’m cold…]
[Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?]
[Heueung, Noona…]
[Boobs! Boobs! Boobs! Boobs! Boobs! Boobs! Boobs! Boobs! Boobs! Boobs!]
[Why did you stream after a week?]
[Why did you start so late?]
There were a total of 4,000 people who entered Shia’s official first broadcast.
Even that number continued to increase in real-time.
Watching this unbelievable number of viewers and the sheer firepower, Yeonhwa, who was observing from the side, was shocked.
There were many B-rank Hunters who stream consistently but couldn’t get an average of 1,000 viewers, so how many rumors and interest were focused on Shia’s stream that so many people gathered the moment it started?
Of course, none of this mattered to Shia, who was just sitting quietly on the sofa, staring at the drone camera.
[Wow, look at the channel owner’s boobs, they’re so damn huge.]
[The Saintess Noona’s holy power pouch… Heuuung…]
[Totally doable.]
[Noona, let me touch your chest!]
[Please speak more politely.]
[Oh my gosh, I want to suck on those exploding maternal pouches, chuap chuap.]
[Crazy bastard, LOL.]
[Hey, isn’t this going too far?]
[Just accept the lawsuit when it comes, LOL.]
“It’s fine. Hello?”
[Oh…]
However, Shia, who seemed to be reading each chat on the holographic screen, gave a brief greeting, causing the chat to momentarily freeze.
[Oh my!]
[What’s with that voice!]
[Wasn’t she hilarious when she stole the wyvern eggs? Why is she acting so normal here?]
[Why is this Noona so calmly beautiful? I thought she would do something really bizarre.]
[Noona, show us your tentacles!]
[Heuuuung, Saintess Noona’s tentacles…]
“Tentacles?”
[Miracle – Holy Body Descent]
“Will this do?”
As soon as a light pulse of holy power vibrated through the room, five tentacles blossomed from Shia’s waist like a flower.
[Oh shit.]
[That’s it, damn it!]
[I want to be penetrated by those tentacles.]
[LOL.]
[What’s with the channel owner? Is she a transformation type?]
[Is she a Hunter?]
[Why did you stream after a week!?!]
[Answer the question!]
[Give me your phone number, channel owner.]
[So many crazy bastards, LOL.]
Despite the chaotic and amazed atmosphere in the chat, Shia smiled.
Even looking at this confused situation, Shia remained unbothered.
It wasn’t an illusion; the foolish antics and what people commonly call ‘toxic’ behavior from these kids were nothing more than cute actions that couldn’t even scratch Shia’s heart.
[Look at those tentacles, I bet they suck really well.]
[Crazy bastard, LOL.]
[Sex! Sex!]
[The sex-parrot is here again, LOL.]
The tentacles, which had been watching the chat, seemed to be slightly annoyed.
Hey, calm down. Listen to me.
What do they even know?
I calmed the tentacles down and let them wrap around my body like snakes, then turned to look straight ahead again.
“Hello. From today, I’ve received the official Hunter Association certification mark and will be streaming as a Hunter under the name Isiah.”
[Shia Noona…]
[Heuuung.]
[Are you a Returnee?]
[What’s your highest Hunter rank?]
[What rank are you?]
[What’s the size of your maternal pouch?]
[Where is it?]
“It’s fine to ask slowly. I’ll answer most of the questions today.”
Saying that, Shia smiled softly and slightly bowed her head toward the camera.
“And thank you so much. I didn’t expect so many people to come.”
[We can see your cleavage.]
[ㅗㅜㅑㅗㅜㅑ.]
[Hya-hya-hya-hya…]
[Possible.]
[Totally possible.]
Oh, men…
Well, I used to be like that too. It’s not something I can’t understand.
“Then, let’s start with a simple question.”
[Are you a Returnee?]
[Is she really a Returnee?]
[She’s not on the new Hunter list. She’s not on the promotion list either.]
[Did you actually look all that up?]
[Crazy, LOL.]
“Yes, I’m a Returnee. I returned a month ago from the Nafthar Great Forest Dungeon.”
[Nafthar Great Forest? Isn’t that the one that got upgraded from A-rank to S-rank due to the Dungeon Overbreak?]
[Don’t know?]
[Pretty sure that’s right.]
[So the channel owner survived there?]
[Then, are you S-rank?]
[Stop bullshitting. Even A-rank Hunters assist in S-rank dungeons. Surviving there isn’t that hard.]
[An expert has arrived, LOL.]
[Then what’s your Hunter rank, channel owner?]
“Who knows?”
[Stop dodging and just answer.]
[LOL, for real.]
[What rank are you?]
“I don’t know either.”
[How do you not know your own rank??]
“The Association told me not to say. I haven’t taken the promotion exam or undergone proper combat assessments yet. Just think of my rank as Schrodinger’s rank. If you want, I can be C-rank. If you want, I can be S-rank. Think whatever you like.”
[Schrodinger’s rank, LOL.]
[It’d be hilarious if she was D-rank despite beating up a whole wyvern pack, LOL.]
[Is she stupid, LOL.]
[Channel owner is definitely S-rank, right? She’s not saying because she’s S-rank.]
Yeonhwa, watching Shia answer skillfully, was amazed.
Although this was her first broadcast, Shia, who had worked as the Emperor’s right-hand Saintess for over 60 years, effortlessly led the conversation with her viewers.
Though her overwhelmingly beautiful appearance and her alluring maternal aura caught attention, ultimately, what captivated the audience was the streamer’s wit and ability.
Perhaps it was all thanks to her life as a Saintess, where she had grown accustomed to conversing with countless people.
[Age?]
[Age!]
[How old are you?]
[Channel owner, how old are you?]
“85 years old.”
[?]
[Uh?]
[??]
[???]
[What?]
[LOL, what the hell.]
[That’s a joke, LOL.]
[She knows how crazy the creeps in chat will get if she reveals her age, so she’s smart for keeping it hidden, LOL.]
“In 2024, I was 21 years old at the time of the first Great Rift. After the Rift, I was flung to another world and returned a month ago. So, in simple terms, I’m 85 years old.”
[Wait, what? Is she for real???]
[Ugh, gross. It’s an old lady’s tits.]
[Oh, rather nice.]
[Totally doable.]
[Heuuung, Grandma… give me your boobs.]
[These crazy boob-obsessed guys, LOL.]
[Wait, why is she 85 years old? That’s ancient.]
[What’s ancient about that?]
“But the Returnee Management Bureau determined my mental age to be 21.”
[Oh, then you’re a Noona.]
[85 years old on paper, but mentally 21… Legal Noona? Heuuung, totally doable.]
[Wait, what the hell is a legal Noona, LOL.]
[But honestly, she does look around that age.]
[Her body looks a bit older than 21, though.]
[Who cares about age when her maternal pouch is so grand?]
[True that.]
[Sex! Sex!]
“So, I’m going to speak comfortably. It’s better for you guys too, right? If an 85-year-old grandma spoke formally, wouldn’t it get boring to have a conversation?”
[Doable.]
[It’s up to you, channel owner.]
[But honestly, it’s better if the channel owner speaks casually.]
[Heuuung, Noona… give me your boobs.]
[Stop obsessing over boobs, you crazy bastard.]
[Do you not like boobs?]
[Love them.]
[LOL.]
[LOL, LOL.]
[LOL, LOL, LOL.]
Sometimes Shia collected hooks, and at other times, she swung the viewers around like a professional streamer.
Yeonhwa couldn’t help but marvel at how this was actually the first broadcast of a Hunter.
‘She’s truly not just a Saintess for no reason….’
Even though she didn’t speak much, Shia’s unique gentle atmosphere and her overwhelming skills, presumed to be of an S-rank Hunter, gradually tamed and adapted even the most toxic netizens to her broadcast.
“Honestly, I haven’t decided what kind of content I’ll be streaming yet. Even though I received the Hunter Association certification mark, it seems a bit difficult to simply enter dungeons and wipe out monsters like other Hunters.”
[Why’s that a problem?]
[What do you mean?]
“Well, it’s because I’m an outsider in this world, right? I might unknowingly harm other Hunters who are already streaming. Maybe just by starting the broadcast, I’m already causing some harm. Anyway… To be honest, there are already so many broadcasts about killing monsters, right?”
[But isn’t that what Hunter broadcasts are? Killing monsters? What else is there?]
[LOL, exactly.]
[That’s what we came to see.]
[Noona, just go into a dungeon and have an awesome fight. The drone camera will take care of everything.]
[The drone camera’s quality looked top-tier last time.]
[Stop with the nonsense and just go to the dungeon already.]
[Or show us your boobs.]
[Can’t someone kick that guy out? He’s been talking about boobs non-stop.]
“It’s okay. Don’t criticize him too much. That kid is just a pitiful soul. Since he can’t meet a woman in real life, he’s trying to release his slimy desires on me from behind the screen. Although I can’t actually show him anything, it’s not hard for me to become the subject of his sad fantasies.”
[???]
[Uwaaah.]
[Aaaaahhh.]
[Aaaaaah, nooo.]
[What was that area-wide bombardment?]
[Wait, is she a Saintess or a damage dealer?]
[Is this what it means to be a Saintess…?]
[No, mom, I’m sorry, no, mom, I’m sorry, no, mom, I’m sorry, no, mom, I’m sorry, no, mom, I’m sorry, no, mom, I’m sorry, no, mom, I’m sorry.]
“Hehe, just kidding. Don’t take it too seriously. Anyway, I want to do something a little different from other Hunter streamers.”
Shia smiled leisurely as she got up from the sofa.
The tentacles that had bloomed like flowers followed her movements, writhing as they reached out and grabbed the drone camera.
[ㅗㅜㅑ, why are the tentacles so seductive?]
[Heuuung…]
[Saintess Noona and her tentacles, I love it so much…]
“Do you know the Blade Centipede?”
[Wasn’t that a B-rank monster?]
[Yeah, it was.]
[Since they live in groups, a Blade Centipede swarm is treated as A-rank.]
[Why are we talking about Blade Centipedes?]
[Is she going to do a mukbang with them?]
[How do you even eat that, LOL.]
[No way.]
“As a first broadcast special, I’m going to do a mukbang of fried Blade Centipedes!”
[?]
[??]
[?]
[??]
[What?]
[????]
[???]
“Huh? What did you just say, Unnie?”
It seemed that not only the viewers were hooked, but Yeonhwa was also caught off guard.
