Hobbyist VTuber

The Illusionary Realm Baole Scrimmage was a best-of-three match.

In the first set, thanks to Diah’s brilliant performance, the first-gen team secured the victory.

However—

[ Break it down! ]

[ Diah-senpai, let’s gooo— pineapple pizza mukbang!! ]

“St-STOP! No—!!”

In the second and third sets, the second-gen team won by focusing all their efforts on marking Diah.

Finally, with a loud boom, the first-gen team’s tower shattered.

“AAAAAH!!”

—They just needed to defend... 😭😭😭😭

—Carried the team like a log and still lost.

—If she played Knight instead of Rogue, they would’ve won, fr.

—Well... time to order Hawaiian pizza, right?

—LET’S GOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Among the first-gen members, only Diah and Ria had any real Baole experience.

The rest were total newbies who could barely manage their character controls.

On the other hand, the second-gen team had three experienced Baole players.

Ultimately, the skill gap decided the match, and the second-gen team emerged victorious.

Which meant—

It was time for the punishment.

“It's been nice knowing you all... Bye-bye... See you at my funeral....”

Diah’s mournful voice filled the Discord call, as she imagined the horrors of a pineapple pizza mukbang.

Followed immediately by the wailing of her teammates.

[ Nooo, Diah, we’re so sorry!! ]

[ If only we were younger... ]

[ Ah, Diah, I like spicy beef soup. ]

[ Yuna! ]

[ Wow, look at Yuna’s true colors. ]

[ What? It is what it is. Some people are just destined to go. ]

[ You’re so T, aren’t you? ]

Except for Yuna, the rest of the first-gen team played along with Diah’s dramatic lament.

After all, they did feel guilty.

Diah had practically carried them the entire match.

"Good game, everyone...."

Ha-eun, logging out of Discord with a tired sigh, held no grudges.

Everyone had done their best, after all.

Besides, her favorite player, Cream, had performed the worst today—so she couldn’t really complain.

It was just a for-fun scrimmage, no need to take it seriously.

But then—

—♪

—♪

—♪

—♪

[ "Damn Witch (Hida)" ]

A Discord call.

Or more accurately—Da-yeon’s call.

“Uh... hello?”

[ Senpai~. You’re just gonna leave like that~? ]

She’s way too happy about this.

The root of all evil.

Okay, maybe that was a bit dramatic.

But still.

The one who chose pineapple pizza as Diah’s punishment was Da-yeon.

It stung. A lot.

You always tell me to speak up if something bothers me, and then you pull this?

Just a few days ago, Ha-eun and Da-yeon had been giving each other acting advice for Parasite Family.

Da-yeon had even thanked Ha-eun for her feedback.

And now? Betrayal.

A knife straight to the back.

Still—

[ No need to delay it. Why don’t you do the punishment now? ]

“R-Right now?”

[ Yes, now. ]

Da-yeon spoke as if she were talking to a stranger.

Technically, she was.

“I... do I have to eat it now...?”

[ Whether you eat it now or later, it’s the same. Just get it over with today. ]

“...Ugh.”

[ If you insist, I’ll even pay for the pizza. Ugh, I’m too kind for my own good. ]

“Where are you kind?! You evil witch!”

[ Well, who told you to lose~? ]

And so—

Ha-eun had no choice but to prepare for her mukbang stream.

She quickly announced to her Noeulis that she would be temporarily stopping the stream.

“I’ll be back after setting up my camera.... Everyone, prepare yourselves....”

—😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

—Facecam let's go!

—Diah, I fell for you the moment I first saw you. I wanted to confess before summer break, but I was too much of a coward. Now, in front of everyone, I want to say that I only love y— (This user has been banned.)

—Are you sure you're eating pineapple pizza and not poison?

—Damn, she really hates it lol.

—You're not gonna run away, right??

—Do spirits die if they eat pineapple?

“...Bye-bye.”

[ Diah’s stream has ended. ]

If she could, she’d delay the pineapple pizza mukbang forever.

But in the end, she started setting up her camera.

—Ding.

[ Min Da-yeon ] - You have no idea how embarrassing your drunken rambling was in Japan.

[ Min Da-yeon ] - This isn’t even a punishment.

[ Min Da-yeon ] - You brought this on yourself.

[ Lee Ha-eun ] - (crying otter emoji)

[ Min Da-yeon ] - Crying won’t help.

[ Lee Ha-eun ] - (pouting otter emoji)

She brought up the Japan drinking incident.

Fine.

She’d consider this payback and wipe Da-yeon’s “free pass” off the board.

[ Lee Ha-eun ] - Alright, no more “free passes” for you.

[ Min Da-yeon ] - ?

[ Lee Ha-eun ] - Either that, or I cancel the stream.

[ Min Da-yeon ] - (thinking cat emoji)

[ Min Da-yeon ] - (OK cat emoji)

[ Min Da-yeon ] - Pizza will arrive in 30 minutes.

[ Lee Ha-eun ] - ...You already ordered it?!

[ Min Da-yeon ] - Yup.

[ Lee Ha-eun ] - (shocked otter emoji)

With the mindset of a prisoner marching to the gallows, she finished setting up her broadcasting camera.

She even ran several private test streams to check the setup.

Finally, 40 minutes later, a warm pineapple pizza sat on her table.

“...If only those yellow things were bell peppers, I’d actually enjoy this.”

The cheese smelled delicious.

The bacon looked crispy.

But then—there it was.

Those warm pineapple chunks.

Just looking at it terrified her.

What would it taste like?

Some people claimed it made them throw up immediately.

Was it really that bad?

“...Haaah.”

She stared at the round pizza on her table.

—Ding.

[ Min Da-yeon ] - The delivery guy just texted me.

[ Min Da-yeon ] - You’re not stalling, right?

[ Min Da-yeon ] - It’ll taste worse if it gets cold~

[ Min Da-yeon ] - (laughing cat emoji)

[ Lee Ha-eun ] - Diah will remember this.

With a heavy heart, she restarted her stream.

—Ding.

[ "The Last Supper (Not Actually a Supper)" ]

On screen—

Diah’s gloved hands.

And in the center of the table—

A steaming, fresh pineapple pizza.

—DIAH.

—OH GOD, THE CAMERA.

—AAAH, MY EYES.

—Looking delicious.

—PLEASE, NO.

—DIAH, THIS IS TORTURE.

—Mmm, tasty.

Noeulis faced the horror together.

But the greatest victim was still Diah.

She sighed deeply.

“...Haaah....”

—LOLOLOLOL.

—That was a real sigh.

—She REALLY hates it.

—Just eat it already!!

She clenched and unclenched her gloved fists.

She was too scared to even touch the pizza.

And then—

—♪

—♪

—♪

—♪

[ "Damn Witch (Hida)" ]

Da-yeon called on Discord again.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Ha-eun answered with an exaggeratedly weak voice.

“...Hello....”

[ Ah! You scared me! I thought I was talking to a ghost. ]

“...This is all your fault, Hida!”

[ Tsk. The defeated have no words, don’t you know? ]

—Hida’s teabagging is on another level.

—Noeulis-born, through and through, lol.

—Diah, look at the monster you created.

—‘If you didn’t want to lose, you should’ve won.’ (Bad manners detected).

From the other end of the Discord call, Da-yeon alternated between pressuring and encouraging Ha-eun.

She told her to just shut her eyes and swallow it quickly, and it would be over before she knew it.

As a special favor, she’d even reduce the punishment to just two slices.

[ Making you eat the whole thing would be too much, so just two slices. ]

“...Can I just take one bite?”

[ I already reduced it a lot, you know~. ]

Da-yeon kept up her twisted form of “encouragement.”

And just as Ha-eun, with trembling hands, lifted the first slice ◈ Nоvеlіgһт ◈ (Continue reading) of pineapple pizza—

[ Wait! Before you eat, you have to say the chant! ]

[ The chant is: ‘Noeulis, I love you!’ ]

“...Do I have to?”

[ Well, technically, you’re eating this for the Noeulis, right? To make them happy? ]

“...If I say no, that makes me the bad guy.”

[ Ah, caught me. ]

—This is pure gaslighting.

—I never knew Diah loved us this much. 😭😭😭

—I’m so touched, mommy.

Ha-eun stared at the slice of pizza, gulping.

Her heart pounded, whether from fear or tension, she couldn’t tell.

Then, she took a deep breath—

“No-Noeulis, I love you!!”

She shouted the chant and then—

Bit into the pizza.

“Mmff—mmhh!!”

The moment the foreign taste hit her tongue, her muffled panic was broadcasted through the mic.

The chat exploded.

—AAAHHHH.

—I CAN’T WATCH THIS.

—Why am I getting nervous over this?

—LMAO.

—Is it just me, or is her reaction kinda cute?

—The expressions are on point, lol.

—Look at her enjoying that delicious pizza all by herself.

Maybe it was because of the hype from the earlier scrimmage.

Or maybe it was because Diah’s facecam was on for the first time in a while.

But—

[ "The Last Supper (Not Actually a Supper)" ]

[ 🔴 20,492 viewers ]

Diah’s viewer count had broken past 20k, setting a new record.

Not that Ha-eun was aware—

Because she was too busy trying to swallow the pizza.

For what felt like an eternity, she endured.

And when she finally finished both slices—

“Gh—gh...!!”

She clenched her fists and shook them in the air victoriously.

At the same time, her high-pitched scream filled the stream.

—DIAH WINS! DIAH WINS! DIAH WINS!

—She really worked hard for this one, lol.

—I’ve never seen someone struggle so much to eat pizza.

—Be honest, it was actually delicious.

—Now Diah understands the greatness of pineapple.

—You finished it, might as well celebrate with a drink!

Most Noeulis cheered her on.

Some mocked how much she overreacted.

Those messages were swiftly dealt with by the mods.

But whether the chat was lively or not...

Whether the viewer count had skyrocketed or not...

“Ah... ah... I feel... drained...”

—??

—Wait.

—Why does she sound like she’s actually dying?

—Uh...

—Did... did she not survive?

Diah’s RP of pineapple pizza being her mortal enemy remained unchanged.

And then—

The stream started fading into grayscale.

“...Kyaaaaaah....”

Diah groaned weakly as the screen transitioned to a funeral setting.

A memorial frame appeared around her VTuber avatar.

—?

—What is this??

—NOOO, DON’T GO! 😭😭😭

—WHO WILL STREAM NOW?!

—LMAO, WHY DOES SHE HAVE AN ECHO ON HER VOICE.

A sudden funeral broadcast.

Confused messages filled the chat.

And then—

“To revive Diah... You must keep chanting... ‘Diah, I love you...’ If not... Diah will be gone forever....”

A wave of frantic chat messages flooded in.

—DIAH, I LOVE YOU! DIAH, I LOVE YOU! DIAH, I LOVE YOU!

—Avada Kedavra.

—LMAO.

—Did we really kill her?

—Rest in peace.

—Chat is completely unhinged.

—Diah, I DON’T love you.

—Just die already.

—(Noeuli clapping emoji) x6

—Diah, I love you.

—Just go to sleep.

She peeked at the chat.

The messages lagged the screen from sheer volume.

Then—

—Slide.

She dragged her VTuber avatar back onto the screen.

Restored the color.

And—

"Edo Tensei—!"

Quoting a famous resurrection spell from a Japanese anime, Diah revived.

Accompanied by sacred-sounding BGM, she continued her RP.

“Thanks to Noeulis’ love, Diah has returned to life...! I will now live as a new spirit...!”

—GHOST! GHOST!

—She’s back!

—LMAO, the background music is killing me.

—DIAH RESURRECTED.

—Someone exorcise this child already.

—Ding.

[ Jjurin donated ₩10,000! ]

💬 “#1 thing you shouldn’t do at a funeral: Revive.”

[ ㅇㅇ donated ₩10,000! ]

💬 “Can I get a refund on my condolence money?”

“Oh, oh no... Maybe because I just revived... I feel so sleepy...”

—?

—???

—Is she setting up a logout build-up?!

—Wait, no.

—DON’T LEAVE US.

"Newborns need lots of sleep, right? Alright, then~. Bye-bye~."

Diah’s VTuber avatar closed her eyes—

And poof.

Stream ended.

Ha-eun immediately left her soundproof booth and rushed to the bathroom.

She needed to wash out the lingering taste of warm pineapple.

It was too much.

That’s why she ended the stream earlier than usual.

But—

The six remaining slices of pineapple pizza were still a problem.

—Slide.

—Step.

—Step.

She carried the pizza box to the dining table.

Then, she hesitated before speaking.

“Uh... Dad? Do you want some pizza?”

“Hm? Pizza?”

“Da-yeon ordered it, but there’s too much for me alone.”

Her dad, Seong-yoon, stepped out of his room.

He paused when he saw the pineapple pizza—

Then, without hesitation, took a big bite.

And started eating slice after slice.

“...Dad, how did you know I was hungry?”

Watching him eat without issue, Ha-eun’s eyes widened.

She never knew her dad liked pineapple pizza.

“This was from Da-yeon, right? Aren’t you having any?”

“I-I already ate two slices... You can have the rest, Dad.”

She awkwardly smiled, backing away.

And as soon as she returned to her room—

She felt deep gratitude and respect for her father.

How could he enjoy something so bizarre?

...Maybe I got my mom’s taste buds.

At least the pizza wouldn’t go to waste.

But just as she relaxed—

“Oh, Seol-ah. Do you want some too?”

“!!!”

A horrific sound came from the living room.

Ha-eun sprinted out, scooping up her dog, Baek-seol.

"THAT’S DOG ABUSE!"

"W-What? Pineapple is safe for dogs to eat."

"No! Absolutely not!"

"...Huh?"

There was no way she was letting Baek-seol taste something so horrible.

Come to think of it, it was a bit strange that she was fine with Seong-yoon eating it, but not Baek-seol...

But some things just weren't allowed.