Chapter 43: Azusa still has professional ethics~

The ring light was too bright.

Olivia squinted, her silver pupils narrowing into two thin slits.

She had never known a lamp could be this bright—

The Frost Crystals of the Silver Dragon King’s Palace were cold, the moonlight of the Elf Forest was soft, and the incandescent lights of the Red Sun Corps hallway were dim.

But this lamp was different.

It was like a sun plucked from the sky, deliberately shoved in her face.

The red indicator light on the camera blinked on and off.

Like some kind of small magical beast she couldn’t name, crouching in the darkness, staring at her with an unblinking eye.

“H…e…l…l…o…”

The comments exploded.

“She spoke!!!”

“Her voice is so beautiful!!!”

“Say something else, little sister!!!”

“Is this voice even real?”

“Forehead, ear pregnancy counts as work injury?”

“It does, go claim compensation from Urske Social Security Bureau”

“Urske doesn’t have a social security bureau”

“Then it’s even worse”

“Little sister, look at the camera, don’t look down”

“She’s shy hahahaha”

“She’s even cuter when she’s shy, I’m dead”

“Before you die, remember to send the tips”

“Already sent, already sent”

Olivia stared at the scrolling text on the screen.

It was moving too fast;

‘She couldn’t read it clearly.

She just saw lines of text floating upward like snowflakes scattered by the wind, rising, disappearing, and new ones rising again.

She recalled the last time she had been watched by so many people.

Two years ago.

The Royal Dragon-Slaying Squad.

Captain Ka’er Feng Bulunruike stood at the front, with Elenora beside him, gripping her staff.

She stood at the very back.

Not because she wanted to be at the back, but because the captain had told her to be at the back.

“Orlando, you’re responsible for the rear guard.”

‘Rear guard means staying farthest from everyone, farthest from the dragon too.’

‘She carried her self-crafted dragon-slaying gun, standing at the entrance of the Silver Dragon King’s Palace, watching the backs of her teammates up ahead.

No one looked back at her.

But she actually knew.

‘Rear guard wasn’t because she was good at it;

‘It was because the captain didn’t want her walking ahead.

A dragon hunter who couldn’t use even a single spell, an outlier who only built strange machines, a commoner utterly out of place in the noble circle.

She spoke too bluntly, couldn’t read the room, and never knew where to put her hands when interacting with teammates.

Every time the team set up camp, while the others chatted and drank by the campfire, she sat alone in her tent wiping her gun.

Over and over again, until the metal surface could reflect her own face.

Later, the captain wouldn’t even let her gather supplies.

“Orlando isn’t suited for dealing with people,” he said to the others.

She heard it.

She didn’t say anything.

She kept wiping her gun.

So later, in Skyreach City, when the captain activated the teleportation circle and left without looking back, she wasn’t even surprised.

“Why isn’t little sister talking”

“Did we scare her?”

“Forehead, tone it down, don’t scare little sister away”

“Zijiang, quick, comfort her”

“Yeah, anchor, little sister is shy”

Zijiang’s hand slid from her shoulder to her back, giving it a gentle pat.

The force was light, like coaxing a cat with its fur standing on end.

“Olivia is a bit shy around strangers, everyone please bear with me.”

Her voice came down from above.

Sweet as if freshly scooped from a honey jar, but not cloying, carrying a reassuring warmth.

Olivia felt her shoulders pressed down by that hand, her back leaning against Zijiang’s shoulder.

The pink ponytail hung down, the tips brushing against her cheek, ticklish.

She instinctively wanted to dodge, but her body wouldn’t obey—

Her back was as stiff as a board.

Another line scrolled across the screen.

“Little sister has a great figure, isn’t that shirt button too tight?”

“?????????”

“Mod, get to work”

“Already reported, no thanks”

“People making dirty jokes, get out”

“It’s a little girl’s first live stream, and you’re making dirty jokes?”

“Forehead is probably an Urske savage”

“Urske savage reputation ruined”

“Mod, ban them”

“Already banned, already banned”

“Well deserved”

“Open the champagne”

“Don’t be scared, little sister, the bad guy’s been thrown out.”

“Mods, thanks for your hard work.”

She patted Olivia on the back.

“It’s okay.”

Olivia kept her head down.

Her long silver hair fell forward, covering her face.

Her fingers tugged at the hem of the pink skirt, crumpling a wrinkled fold, letting go, then tugging again.

Her knees were pressed tightly together.

The edge of her white knee-high socks had been rubbed askew, one higher than the other.

She knew she should speak now.

Zijiang had said her name was Olivia, little sister, here as a guest.

A live stream was one person talking to a screen, with thousands watching.

Thousands typing, thousands sending gifts, thousands waiting for her next word.

Her lips moved.

Her silver pupils stared at the red indicator light on the camera.

On and off, on and off.

Like the eye of some small magical beast.

She opened her mouth, then closed it again.

“Is little sister socially anxious?”

“Probably, look at her hands constantly pulling at the skirt”

“So realistic, I do that when I’m socially anxious too”

“Forehead, socially anxious people wouldn’t even appear in a live stream”

“She was dragged here by Zijiang, hahahaha”

“A little sister kidnapped by the anchor”

“Kidnapped +1”

“Poor little sister, but so cute”

“Want to hug”

“Forehead, line up, I was first”

Zijiang’s hand moved from her back to her shoulder, giving a light squeeze.

“Olivia is a bit shy, so I won’t let her talk too much today.”

Her voice carried a smile.

“But she’s really cute, isn’t she?”

The comments flooded with “Exactly right,” “Crazy cute,” “Come hang out often, little sister.”

Olivia kept her head down, silver hair covering her face, the tips of her ears peeking through the strands, red and translucent.

She could feel her own heartbeat, pounding in her chest, thump-thump-thump-thump, fast like the rhythm just before Wei threw a bomb in the church.

How the live stream ended, she didn’t really remember.

She only remembered that the ring light stayed bright, the comments kept scrolling, and Zijiang’s voice kept coming down from above.

Sweet, like a layer of frosting, wrapping everything in sound, turning it all fuzzy.

Then the ring light went out, the red indicator on the camera stopped blinking.

Zijiang helped her up from the chair, and only then did she realize her legs had gone numb.

“Hey, Olivia.”

Zijiang’s voice came from very close by.

“Are you okay?”

She didn’t answer.

Her forehead rested against Zijiang’s shoulder, silver hair sliding off her shoulder, spreading over Zijiang’s pink streamer outfit.

Pink and silver mixed together, like strawberry cake drizzled with melted moonlight.

Her breathing was steady, silver eyelashes drooping, a hint of something shiny at the corner of her mouth.

“She’s asleep.”

Zijiang looked down.

The pink ponytail hung down, the tips landing on Olivia’s silver hair.

She reached out and brushed aside the stray strands on Olivia’s forehead, revealing a sleeping face.

Silver eyelashes, a small nose, slightly parted lips.

That shiny drool at the corner of her mouth was slowly trickling down.

The captain is really too heartless.

Such a small child, first time on a live stream, stared at by thousands of people.

Even though she had no idea Olivia was this shy before she invited her.

The captain just messaged saying she was his little sister—

Silver hair, silver eyes, the little sister of the Red Dragon Queen’s daughter.

Probably an adopted little sister, then.

But this kid was way too cute.

Cute to the point of breaking the rules, cute to the point of being illegal.

The captain probably just wanted her to see the world.

Despite how casual she usually was, playing games until dawn, at least she wasn’t a bad person.

Zijiang pulled Olivia closer into her arms.

Silver hair slipped through her fingers, cool and smooth, like silk drawn from a deep well.

‘Ah, forget it.’

She shook her head, her pink ponytail swaying with the motion.

‘Can’t let this kid stay in my stream too long.

Otherwise, ‘my outdoor streamer channel would turn into a place for people to virtually pet a baby silver dragon.’

No one watches landscape videos; the fans all just wait for little sister.

The tip amounts would go up, but she still had professional integrity.

She looked down at Olivia’s sleeping face.

A silver eyelash twitched, and a very faint, indistinct murmur escaped her lips.

Like she was dreaming about something to eat, her cheeks puffing up slightly, then deflating.

Another trickle of drool oozed out, dripping onto Zijiang’s pink streamer outfit, staining a small dark spot.

‘Forget it. Let her sleep a little longer.’

When Olivia woke up, what she saw was a pink ceiling.

Not the ceiling of that room on the second floor of the Red Sun Corps—

The light in that room didn’t work.

This lamp was on, a pink chandelier, with a plush bear hanging from the lampshade.

She blinked, her silver eyelashes sweeping up and down twice.

Prunier’s room.

Pink sheets, a game console on the bedside table, the screen black.

She was lying on the pink sheets.

A thin blanket covered her.

She turned her head.

The other side of the bed was empty, the pillow showing no sign of being slept on.

Prunier wasn’t there.

‘Looks like tonight I’ll have to…’