I Became a Raid Boss-Chapter 225: I hope we become friends (1)

As expected, my appearance on Da-eun's broadcast caused quite a stir.

"Hello? Oh, PD-nim. Thanks again for last time. But what’s going on...? An interview? Ah... I’m sorry, but not right now..."

For the time being, Da-eun had been holding onto her phone for longer periods.

Requests for interviews like this were becoming common, and not just from people she was familiar with, but even those who she had barely met before started calling.

Whenever she thought she was done with one call, another would come, and once that one ended, another would ring in.

Sometimes, multiple calls would come in while she was on the phone, making it impossible to put the phone down.

And that wasn’t the worst part.

[Meanwhile, there are voices ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) calling for an investigation into the game company that created Celia Online, ‘Demonins’...] [The authenticity of the video is sharply contested...] [It’s become a major topic, not only domestically but internationally...] [Some have even argued that the girl in the video should be arrested for violating the sword possession law.]

I turned on the TV, and every channel seemed to be busy talking about the broadcast I appeared on.

This was what I could see, but in reality, there was probably an even bigger ripple effect happening.

Sigh...

Plop.

After finishing yet another call, Da-eun sighed and collapsed onto the sofa.

Her phone, which she had put down in apparent exhaustion, was vibrating again, desperately seeking its owner.

I pointed to the phone, asking,

"Is another call coming in?"

"It’s going to be the same thing anyway. There’s no point in answering. I’m just not picking up."

"Hmm."

Da-eun spoke in a tired voice, and finally, she fiddled with her phone and switched it to silent mode. Only then did peace return.

"Hehe..."

Suddenly, Da-eun started laughing.

Her sinister laughter made me instinctively turn my head.

...Had she gone crazy from all the calls?

Thankfully, contrary to my worries, Da-eun's laughter didn’t last long.

"It’s harder than I thought... But I don’t regret it. If I went back to the past, I’d make the same choice again."

Da-eun sighed deeply and noticed me watching her. She waved her hand dismissively.

"I didn’t say anything."

"You know, Kana, even if you don’t say anything, it’s clear what you’re thinking just from your face."

"...That’s a lie."

"It’s the truth. If you don’t believe me, should I guess?"

Da-eun placed her hand on her chin and pretended to think deeply.

"Kana is thinking... that he wants to eat some chocolate...?!"

"See? I knew it was a lie."

"Then, do you not like it?"

"...I don’t dislike it."

As soon as something sweet went into my mouth, the unpleasant feeling that had been lingering somewhat faded away.

I had prepared myself for this, but it still wasn’t a great feeling seeing people talk about me like that.

However, what truly bothered me was something else.

[The Demon King I was in my past life is now a Hero?!] [A sickly, cute heroine, huh? I can’t stand this!] [Sickly?] [Kana is not sickly... Kana rips people apart...] [Da-eun’s opinion: Kana is a weak child.] [Are you saying the Saint lied?]

Compared to the strict, solemn news and articles, this was a much more relaxed atmosphere on the community.

As I watched people I didn’t even know, who didn’t know my face or name, chatting away, I sighed.

‘I did intend for this, but...’

A hero, huh.

How can they casually use such embarrassing words?

It was almost as if I respected them just for being able to say such things, despite how much I wanted to sigh every time I saw it.

"Hero would be better. What’s with this Saint nonsense?"

Da-eun, who was beside me, also sighed in sync.

Then, she muttered something, and I couldn’t help but let out an involuntary sigh.

"...Heh."

Correction.

It wasn’t a sigh but a laugh that escaped.

It was loud enough that I felt it, and there was no way Da-eun wouldn’t have heard it.

Da-eun, who had been sighing continuously, turned her head towards me with a raised eyebrow.

"You just laughed, didn’t you?"

"...Hmm. I didn’t."

"Your lips are still raised though?"

"...Ah."

Without thinking, I had touched my lips, then quickly pulled my hand away.

It was practically a confession of guilt.

...I’ve been had.

"Hero-nim. If you tease me like this, I’ll be very upset."

"..."

"But it’s okay, Hero-nim. If you’re enjoying yourself, that’s all that matters. I’ll always be on your side. So, you can think of me as comfortable as well."

"...I was wrong."

Wasn’t it a bit too much to keep calling me ‘Hero’ just because I laughed once?

...I thought that, but since I was the one who started it, I decided to admit defeat quietly.

This was also one of the aftereffects of appearing on Da-eun’s broadcast.

During my appearance on Da-eun’s show, I had said that I came to save the world at the request of the gods.

However, that didn’t clear up all the questions, so I added some other stories.

Those stories included details about my relationship with Da-eun.

Some even claimed that we were in cahoots, or that Da-eun had also come from Celia...

Most of these were baseless rumors without any real evidence, but that was exactly why they needed to be addressed.

The reason I even turned on the broadcast in the first place was to stop these rumors from spreading as if they were the truth.

How could I build a positive image?

Me, Da-eun, Edel, and Yuki...

The four of us came up with this scenario.

‘Where... is this?’

A girl shivering with anxiety as she arrived in an unfamiliar world.

‘Kana...?’

Da-eun, who had lost someone she loved and was grieving, happened to discover the girl during a walk.

Suspicious at first, Da-eun soon confirmed that this was someone she knew and decided to help the girl.

‘...Is this a lie?’

A scenario so close to the truth it almost made me doubt it.

If not for the part about meeting by chance, wasn’t it essentially the same?

I had such doubts, but that was why Edel said it would be more persuasive, and the others agreed.

Plus, there was a bigger buzz because it involved an NPC from the game appearing in the real world, so it would be hard to focus too much on these details.

That expectation turned out to be eerily accurate, but there was one thing we didn’t anticipate.

The so-called ‘Da-eun Saint’ theory.

"So you came from another dimension to save the world? Then you must be the hero, right?"

"But if you’re the hero, shouldn’t there also be a Saint who helps you?"

"Then Da-eun, who’s been helping Kana, must be the Saint?"

Something like that.

Even though I was the hero with nowhere to go and nothing to my name, Da-eun took me in, fed me, and sheltered me. She was more than qualified to be called a Saint.

Of course, these words didn’t appear in the news.

If they ever did, it would be something like, "Some people are saying this..."

Communities like this were mainly about fun.

Whether or not the rumors were true didn’t matter. If it seemed even a little bit entertaining, they’d joke around about it.

That’s why people were throwing around terms like ‘hero’ and ‘saint.’

"...Sigh."

"Ha..."

Da-eun and I both sighed simultaneously, facing each other.

We were in the same situation, so what good would it do to tear each other down?

"I wish something would happen..."

Da-eun muttered and quickly covered her mouth.

"...That was a slip of the tongue."

Even though she didn’t mean it seriously, I could tell it was just a light-hearted complaint.

I didn’t feel like arguing since I understood what she was going through.

I shrugged and decided to change the subject.

The sourc𝗲 of this content is frёeωebɳovel.com.

"So, what are we going to do about the broadcast today?"

Though we had cleared up the suspicions, the fire still hadn’t been extinguished.

If anything, it was likely burning even more fiercely now.

Normally, I would be at Yuki’s gym at this hour, but I was stuck at home for that very reason.

"I thought about it for a bit..."

Da-eun’s voice stretched out.

"It doesn’t look like it’s going to die down just by staying quiet. And we can’t just ignore it either."

With that, Da-eun sat up straight from her half-reclined position.

"If you’re okay with it, how about we just show it openly?"

"...What do you mean?"

"Oh, I don’t mean showing anything spectacular. I just meant we should be ourselves, laughing and talking during the broadcast."

"Hmm..."

Setting aside what benefits we might gain from it.

I thought about Da-eun’s suggestion in silence.

Da-eun, noticing my hesitation, asked in a soft voice:

"...Don’t like it?"

"It’s not that I don’t like it..."

What should I say?

As I thought over the words, I eventually came up with an appropriate response.

"I’m just not confident."

"Confident? About what?"

"About laughing and talking."

Laughing and talking weren’t really my strong suits.

Even if I was asked to do one or the other, I’d be hesitant, and doing both would obviously be too much.

"It’s just a metaphor... but more than that, didn’t you speak just fine yesterday? And when you played the cousin role before, you did great, right?"

"That was only because I had to do it."

I wasn’t the type to package boring things in an entertaining way and tell stories.

That was a talent Da-eun had.

But Da-eun, after listening to my explanation, still seemed confused and tilted her head.

"I think you’ll be fine, Kana. You don’t have to make it entertaining, anyway. Well, forget it—"

She moved closer to me, scooting over on the sofa.

The first thing that reached my nose was a refreshing scent, followed by her soft touch.

Da-eun, still brushing my hair away from my chest, spoke.

"I just meant showing your face and talking a little, you know."

"Well, if it’s just that, I think I could do it. But why?"

It’s not a difficult task.

Before revealing my identity, I would’ve refused, but now there’s no reason to hesitate.

If it helps Da-eun, I’m more than willing to agree...

But I still couldn’t understand why Da-eun would ask.

I never imagined she would want to go out like this, let alone suggest such a thing.

While still brushing my hair, Da-eun answered.

"I just want people to feel close to you, Kana."

"Close...?"

I knew what ‘close’ meant, but—

...Why suddenly want people to feel close?

At Da-eun’s unexpected words, I blinked at her