Lick lick lick lick−!»
A warm, damp sensation on my left cheek.
Half-asleep, I slowly lifted my eyelids.
Then, I saw Afungi diligently licking my face.
“Afungi, you’re awake?”
Rat-! -!
I checked the smartphone beside my bed—it was 1 PM already.
“Time’s flown by. Afungi, you must be hungry.”
“Lick lick lick!”
I fed Afungi’s family, then stretched out lazily.
“Yaaaawn… then maybe I should have breakfast too?”
On the desk was the breakfast Jeanne d’Arc had sent.
Freshly baked bread (or so it seemed), mashed potato salad, scrambled eggs, fresh milk, and even some fruit.
Thanks to being able to receive food offerings properly, it was nothing short of a feast.
“…Thank you for the meal!”
I expressed my gratitude and took a big bite of the bread.
It had already been three days since Rivera repelled the Demon Beast legion’s invasion.
Having successfully defended, I thought it was all over, but that was far from the truth.
‘Cleanup afterward turned out to be even harder…’
Burning the Demon Beast corpses, reinforcing the damaged Rivera city walls, removing the glitter grass scattered at the gate entrance, collecting the Lego Traps set up around the Sanctuary…
And that was just the big tasks.
There were countless other small chores.
Because of this, the past few days had been honestly non-stop, no exaggeration.
After working hard, a day of rest is well deserved.
“…No wonder Sundays exist.”
I planned to spend the day lounging around the house comfortably.
But after finishing breakfast, my mind changed a bit.
“Hmm… it feels like a waste to just lie around. I should do something.”
If this were a few months ago, I wouldn’t have imagined saying that.
I’d have woken up late afternoon, lazed about until hungry, rummaged through the pantry for some 3-minute curry to get by, and then sat at my computer playing games all night.
“Afungi~!”
Bwoooong-
As soon as I called, Afungi flew straight onto my shoulder.
I opened the front door and stepped into the yard.
This, too, was unimaginable not long ago.
In the past five years, I hadn’t even stepped outside the front door, let alone into the yard.
But now, going into the yard was smooth.
Of course, I still felt safer covering my face with a mask and sunglasses, but I firmly believed this, too, would improve over time.
‘These small changes in me are probably thanks to the Small World.’
Smiling faintly, I launched the Myutube app.
[Start Myutube LIVE broadcast? …… (Y/N)]
Today’s Creator TV live broadcast theme is…!
[The World’s Most Beautiful Stag Beetle! Afungi Vlog [LIVE]. Creator TV]
Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!
As soon as the live broadcast started, notification sounds rang out wildly—viewers were entering.
- Live viewers: 6,000
Creator TV easily surpassed 6,000 viewers in the blink of an eye.
Soon, the chat exploded with messages.
-“Choha~! Means Creator hi~~!”
-“Afungi, come on in~”
-“Just sitting through a boring class, Creator TV live is the best lolol”
-“Hey hey! Been waiting for you to go live! Jeans!!”
-“Lo Creator should do two live shows a day!”
-“ᄂᄂᄂ Do three broadcasts a day!”
-“ᄂ Just don’t go off topic! 24/7 streaming, let’s go~!”
-“Where’s Afungi? Show us quickly!! I’m getting dizzy!!!”
-“The most beautiful stag beetle Afungi gets countless handshake requests…!”
I had already introduced Afungi to Creator TV subscribers.
With her emerald carapace and majestic three-pronged horns, and her cute, petite size, Afungi instantly became the adorable mascot of Creator TV.
But naturally, some viewers raised doubts.
‘Isn’t that a species we’re not supposed to keep?’
‘What is that? An invasive species?’
‘I think it might be endangered or a natural monument…?’
Though I tried to cover up with claims of ‘It’s a stag beetle,’ some viewers could not hide their discomfort.
However, what really silenced the controversy was Afungi herself.
‘How did she silence the controversy…?’
I grinned and said to Afungi, who was licking my palm.
“Afungi, dance!”
At my command, Afungi wiggled her hips and horns.
She seemed extra energetic today, shaking her horns and behind more enthusiastically than usual.
“Afungi, bang!”
Afungi then dramatically collapsed as if shot by a bullet.
-“Did you see that bullet acting? Mchdmch0”
-“Slapped right on the forehead!”
-“Can a stag beetle really understand human speech this well??”
-“The God Hyunguk of stag beetles ᄃᄃ…”
-“??? : Isn’t our son a genius?”
-“ᄂ Afungi is definitely a genius. Respect.”
-“Animal farm producers, what are you waiting for? Cast her now!!”
-“ᄂ King Beast God: Owner and animal living happily together?? Ahhh, can’t stand it. Immediate release into the wild!”
-“ᄂ Ending line) Afungi! Stay healthy in the wild, okay~!!”
-“ᄂ Satan: Ah.. that’s a bit..”
Thus, even viewers who disliked insects or expressed discomfort became Afungi’s passionate fans before long.
One look at Afungi’s overwhelming cuteness and all negative feelings melted away.
Recently, fans even fussed about when Afungi would appear next.
But Afungi’s talents didn’t stop there!
“…Afungi, spin!”
Afungi quickly spun around on my palm.
“Afungi, ultimate move! Triple Axel!”
With a determined jump into the air, Afungi performed a smooth triple axel that would put a figure skating fairy to shame.
No surprise, the chat exploded.
-“There she is! Figure skating fairy Afungi!!!”
-“Triple axel nailed it~~!”
-“ᄆᄎᄃᄆᄎᄋ!”
-“Noble.. pure.. majestic..”
-“ᄂ These are the epithets used to describe Afungi.”
-“That thing might not even be a stag beetle.”
-“LEONA”
Having performed so brilliantly, it was time to reward her.
I took out a Strawberry Jellyppo from my pocket and offered it to Afungi.
[ Lick lick lick lick! »
-“So cuteeeee!”
-“Lol licking jelly is adorable~”
-“Wow.. stag beetles eat by licking?”
-“ᄂ Info) Stag beetles lick tree sap to eat.”
-“This is such a healing moment~ lol”
While Afungi licked the jelly and rested, I focused the broadcast camera on a fruit basket I had prepared earlier.
Then, I placed neatly cut, bite-sized pieces of fruit on a plate for Afungi.
“From now on, we’re going to do a preference test to find out Afungi’s favorite snack. The fruits prepared are watermelon, apple, strawberry, grape, peach, banana, plum, and melon! Before we start, let’s have the viewers vote!”
I created a poll in the chat, and viewers started voting for their preferred fruits.
[1st place: Peach – 45%]
“Peach got the most votes. Now, let’s see Afungi’s actual choice. Let’s check it out.”
Afungi began inspecting the fruits like a discerning gourmet.
She didn’t even glance at melon or apple, but used her front legs to poke the strawberry and grape, tasting them before decisively waving her horn as if to say no.
She was a stag beetle who clearly expressed whether something was delicious or not.
Then, having made up her mind, Afungi solemnly licked the peach.
-“Victory for peach!”
-“Afungi knows how to eat well~”
-“But isn’t that a soft peach? The real truth is a firm peach;;”
-“ᄂ Food noob… juicy peaches are sweeter and way better ᄍᄍ..”
-“ᄂ You don’t know what you’re talking about lol Firm peach is the perfect sweet and sour treat.”
-“ᄂ Did you hit your head with firm peaches? Firm peach lovers… juicy peach is the truth……!”
-“ᄂ Stop the peach debate!!”
Thanks to the delicious fruit, Afungi was in a great mood and began flying freely around the yard.
She darted between the flowers and weeds growing in the yard, touched the soil after a long time, and clung to the tree, licking sap.
Meanwhile, I slowly looked around the house.
The scenery was familiar, yet somehow strange.
Not long ago, I never thought I’d come outside.
My room-bound Creator world was gradually, very gradually expanding.
‘…Not a bad feeling at all.’
I decided to end the broadcast.
[TV: That’s it for today’s broadcast! For the world’s most beautiful Afungi, please like, subscribe to Creator, and bookmark! Then, see you next time~!]
After typing the closing remark in the chat, I put my smartphone back in my pocket.
As I got up, Afungi, who had been happily playing while licking tree sap, fluttered and landed on my shoulder.
“Let’s go, Afungi. You worked hard today… I’m in a good mood! Tonight, I’ll give you the best jelly made by the Baekje Hotel 5-star party chef!”
Lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick lick
Excited by the word “special meal,” Afungi licked my palm and wagged her behind frantically.
Together, Afungi and I slowly entered the house.
The reason I ended the broadcast earlier than usual was because I wanted to clean the house after a very long time.
“…It’s been almost five years since the last big cleaning.”
I tied a cloth tightly around my head, put on a mask, and wore cotton gloves.
The floor was covered in thick dust, spiderwebs hung from the ceiling, and patches of stubborn grime and mold were everywhere.
“Today, let’s clean it all up nicely!”
I started with the bathroom.
Sprinkling baking soda detergent into every corner, I scrubbed vigorously with a steel scourer, and the once-dark tiles became bright white.
“Our bathroom tiles were white…? Not black…?”
I wiped the foggy mirror clean with rinse water and then dried it thoroughly with a dry towel.
After finishing the bathroom, I went around the house sticking kitchen towels soaked with bleach on moldy wallpaper.
“Let’s see… ‘Remove the kitchen towel after about half a day once dry.’ Okay. This should wipe out all the mold, right?”
Afterwards, I used an old vacuum cleaner to suck up dust in every corner of the floor and swept away spiderwebs from the ceiling with a broom.
The once dull and dirty house gradually became visibly cleaner.
Though the work was tough on my body, my mind felt clearer.
It was probably the first time in my life I cleaned because I genuinely wanted to.
Without realizing it, I started humming a tune while cleaning.
“─The rain that poured all night has now stopped~ Look at the sun shining brightly on the world~ᅳMy Small World, now farewell~”
It was a traditional Rivera folk song I heard at the festival with Jeanne d’Arc a few days ago.
I forgot some lyrics, so I improvised with words that came to mind.
But that day, I didn’t notice something important.
Even while cleaning, the Creator TV live broadcast was still going on.
I had clearly pressed the end broadcast button, but due to a Myutube server error, the broadcast hadn’t ended properly.
Yet, Creator TV viewers stayed tuned, chatting among themselves, hearing nothing but the sounds of me cleaning.
-“What was that song the Creator just sang? The melody is insanely addictive.”
-“What song is this? Why is it like this??”
-“Sounds like a movie OST.. Anyone know it?”
-“Is this Korean? I’ve never heard it before…”
-“Who is it? Whose song is it?? I’m curious!!”
-“I’m dying of curiosity! Help me! Speedwagon!”
-“ᄂ Speedwagon: I don’t know either ;; Sorry.. lol!!”
That evening, several keywords suddenly refreshed and rose to the top of the real-time search rankings.
[Real-time Search Rankings]
- Creator TV song title 《New》
- Song title from Creator TV 《New》
- Creator TV music source 《New》
- Song lyrics ‘My Small World, now farewell.’ 《New》
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