The Righteous Player(s)

Chapter 548: Former Ace Duo

“…Ah?” The silver-haired girl named “Husky” showed a confused expression when she heard those words, “You don’t get to choose during character customization?

“There’s the ‘Are you male or female?’ prompt.”

Upon hearing this, Thirteenth Fragrance immediately fell silent.

When he customized his appearance previously, such thought flashed through his mind, and he had a vague guess in this regard. However, he did not have the guts to choose randomly.

After all, the scene of entering the “game” at the very beginning was terrifying.

Rather…

“As expected of you.” He really lived up to his name.

Sure enough, there could be a wrong name, but there was no inaccurate nickname.

Despite being unsure whether this is permanent world travel or whether you can return to the earth, you actually have the audacity to open a female account without a second thought.

“What if you can’t change back from now on? Have you thought about it, stupid dog?”

“Of course not.”

Husky put her hands on her hips, smiled slightly, and said with great certainty, “I have never considered this problem.

“If this is a game, shouldn’t it be called the second life? Since it’s my second life, I have to experience a life I can never share.

“As for the great adventures in the legendary stories or fighting against formidable enemies, you must first win if you want a good experience.

“—But I am a noob!”

The silver-haired girl said confidently, “Since I am uncertain whether I can get the best game experience, I created a female account. So, I can experience the second life I can never experience in real life.”

Since you put it like this…

Upon hearing these words, Thirteenth Fragrance and the person next to them, Ah Dian, immediately showed signs of being persuaded.

It seems to make sense?

But it still feels a little weird!

It was unlike looking at the back of the little girl in front of the computer screen but becoming a little girl!

“Are you Thirteenth Fragrance?” At this moment, Ah Dian came up.

She looked a little reserved, “I really enjoy watching your shows…”

“Ah, hello, hello…”

Instead of facing his old partner, Thirteenth Fragrance’s tone suddenly softened. He reached out his hand to the black-haired girl with short shoulder-length hair, “Ah Dian, right? I have also heard about your channel. Your singing is sweet!”

—Of course, these were just pleasantries.

Thirteenth Fragrance just happened to know this streamer.

As for listening to the female streamer singing or something, wouldn’t it be nice to just play Splatoon 2 instead?

If he wanted pretty ladies, he would prefer to play with Bishoujo Mangekyou [1].

—Thirteenth Fragrance was the man who married the game!

Even though he said it so confidently, it did not feel cool.

“Stop it, you old pervert. Hurry up and let go of the little girl’s hand!”

Husky, on the side, did not hold back at all. He just went to the side to pick up a snack, glanced at Thirteenth Fragrance as he passed by, and said unceremoniously, “Didn’t you see the girl smiling awkwardly?”

Only then did Thirteenth Fragrance realize he did not let go of her hand.

He quickly let go of his hands and apologized to her with his palms together, “I’m sorry, Ah Dian…”

“No, no… I was just lost in thought.” Ah Dian also quickly diffused the tension.

She was not embarrassed by it. It was just that Husky and Thirteenth Fragrance was a pair of well-known seniors who had been famous for a long time. She did not know what to say after having them appear in front of her and share a common secret with her.

After all, there was more than one generation gap between them.

Thirteenth Fragrance was in his early thirties, not yet at the level of the third zodiac year (36); the Husky was three years younger than him. They used to have a senior-and-junior relationship at a university club, and they were only two semesters apart.

[TN: Each zodiac year is 12 years. Namely, the Chinese Zodiac.]

Ah Dian was only nineteen years old this year and was still in college.

It was fair to say that she “grew up watching the shows these two had hosted”.

Before Thirteenth Fragrance and Husky started their own business, Thirteenth Fragrance was also a TV host for three years.

After graduating from graduate school, Husky went to the same TV station in the game industry. The game industry was still a new thing at that time. They were responsible for broadcasting some game industry news or trying some games and showing the audience the game’s plot and process.

That was the story before the rise of the live-streaming era.

The female hosts who co-hosted with them were now the top players in international e-sports events.

If it weren’t for the internal conflicts between them and the TV station—mainly about the Husky’s promotion and salary issues, they should also be treated at this level now.

When Thirteenth Fragrance joined the industry, the TV station was short of people.

However, when Husky joined the company, the industry was no longer so unpopular… Husky did join the company because of his relationship with Thirteenth Fragrance.

His real name was “Huohuo”. He gave himself the nickname Husky to match Thirteenth Fragrance, role-playing the meme of spice and wolf [2]. Of course, he had his motive here: to form a concept of a “duo” in the audience’s perception.

In this case, the Husky would have a competitive edge as a rookie.

Unlike Thirteenth Fragrance, Husky’s understanding of games, knowledge of the game industry, and game technology were inferior to Thirteenth Fragrance. However, this was not the reason why he was excluded. The real reason was that they were too tacit, and the entertainment value of the program was superb.

Indeed, it was because they were enjoyable to watch.

—It was so good that after the two of them chatted, the hostess next to them could not participate in the conversation at all. Forcibly interjecting the discussion would make the audience dissatisfied; if she did not interrupt, she could only be an eye candy who could only say “yes” and “right” like a robot.

This was actually not a good thing.

Husky was too aggressive without being irreplaceable.

Thirteenth Fragrance could act as a commentator and the stage controller on his own. He could pair him with any host and work well with them. However, if one of the hosts was Husky, who only contributed entertainment value, the third person would be limited. She could not participate and follow the pacing of the show.

If Husky was delegated to host the show independently, he would not be able to achieve the value Thirteenth Fragrance provided. If he was delegated to be in a supporting role to accentuate others, he could not achieve such a tacit understanding and humor as he did with Thirteenth Fragrance.

In the end, when it was found that this defect could not be corrected, Husky was persuaded to resign.

Well, he was not blatantly fired. Instead, the bosses moved him to backstage and transferred him to the position of post-production director. However, the seeming promotion to the director role was a demotion. It was an indirect persuasion to resign. After all, Husky focused entirely on the host position.

He did not lack that salary.

Thirteenth Fragrance saw that the Husky he worked with was leaving, so he resigned without hesitation. Although the TV station tried its best to keep him with them, it still failed to do so.

Thirteenth Fragrance cared more about his friend than his favorite job.

Husky was just as talented as Thirteenth Fragrance was — even more so as a graduate student. Unlike Thirteenth Fragrance’s major, Husky’s major was highly demanded. However, he rejected many offers from big companies and went to a small TV station to be a host with Thirteenth Fragrance.

In fact, how much would a host make?

Husky was fired.

Thirteenth Fragrance thought this friendship would be over if he did not say anything at this time.

He could always find another job.

If he lost this friend, then he would truly lose him.