Chapter 32
“I-I can't believe it..!”
Overnight, I got nearly 20k likes. Since 1k means a thousand..
“20k likes..?!“
What insane firepower. Is this what Instagram's user base looks like? I was shocked by how many people saw it.
“It's just a picture of me eating bread....”
“Because Your Highness is cute.”
“U-Um....”
It wasn't really a convincing reason, but if Ophelia said so, then that was that. Thanks to Kim Chae-a's earlier mention, my follower count, which had been around 300, had shot up to 8,000 overnight.
And since it was still increasing in real time, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say I got 10,000 followers from a single photo. Those gallery bastards only wander over if I say I'm handing out Cyburgers, then go, 'Praise the princess,' and call it a day.
¡Qué linda! Muy adorable 😍😍😍
かわいい…！最高に癒される
Очень милая! Просто прелесть
On Instagram, even though I'd only posted one photo of myself, compliments were pouring in in languages from all over the world. Instagram had a comment-translation feature, so I could at least get the gist of them.
Some people even guessed from my hair and eye color that I was an Awakened, but either way, compliments were the majority.
“Ehehe.”
It was like a strange, sudden lift in mood. In real life, when Chae-a unnie or Han Dohee praised me for being cute, it felt normal, but seeing it left as comments felt very different.
“Wait a second, then what about the status window?”
[ Status Window /Name: Eve
Age: 10 / Gender: Female
Class: {Princess of a Fallen Nation}
Rank: A
Skills: {Golem Creation: EX}, {Powerless Princess: F}, {Command Issuance: C}, {Summoning: E} ]
“W-Wooah..!!”
The rank of Command Issuance had shot up insanely fast. And for some reason I didn't really know, the Summoning skill had also gone up one level and was now E-rank.
[Golem Creation: EX
The last bastion for rebuilding a ruined kingdom. By consuming currency and materials you own, or their value, it creates golems to serve you.
Golem Creation: Lv. 8
Golem Fusion: Lv. 5]
“Gasp, this went up a lot too.”
The levels of Golem Creation and Fusion, which I'd never properly checked, had also gone up while I was making Ophelia and doing all sorts of things.
“The Golem Creation level will reach 10 soon.”
“Does something good happen at level 10?”
“Creation and repair efficiency will increase. You'll be able to make stronger golems with less material, and existing golems' performance will improve as well.”
“Wow, I see.”
“Repairs can also be carried out faster while using relatively little mana.”
In any case, leveling up is always a good thing. As Command Issuance ranked up, I also got more freedom than before to do whatever I wanted with materials and so on.
But how were the Powerless Princess and Summoning skills supposed to level up?
“What should I do about these two skills?”
“The preparations to raise both skills are proceeding steadily.”
“Huh? How? What have I been doing?”
“Are you not doing the calisthenics I asked you to perform every day to improve your basic physical strength?”
“Calisthenics..? What does exercise have to do with that?”
According to Ophelia, the Powerless Princess and Summoning skills fluctuated a lot depending on my condition. Command Issuance was heavily influenced by recognition, but those two depended on how well I performed myself.
“From now on, you'll be learning the court etiquette that the princess must absolutely master. For that, you need a physical foundation, so we are pairing it with calisthenics to improve the princess's physical abilities.”
“Etiquette..?”
For someone like me, I guess I'm still fairly polite, aren't I? It's not like I go around acting like some cartoon villainess, saying, 'Ohoho, you useless commoners—' or whatever.
“It sounds really hard....”
“I'll accurately analyze the princess's physical abilities and teach you within a range that won't overexert you, so there's no need to worry.”
When an AI says 'within a range that won't overexert you,' doesn't that usually mean it stops right before your body breaks down from overexercising? That whole push you to the limit and squeeze out maximum efficiency thing....
“Mm.. I think it'd be fine not to level it up.”
Hearing Ophelia explain it suddenly made me realize that building up recognition was simply the easiest method. They were affected a little less, but both skills still had some influence from recognition, right?
I should really work hard on Instagram.. If I got around 8 billion followers, wouldn't both of them hit S-rank even if I didn't have much etiquette..?”
“Please don't worry.”
“Waaah.”
* * * * *
“Utaha! Did you see this?”
“What is it?”
Manchuria. Dalian, a former major city located in southern Liaoning Province, one of the three northeastern provinces.
Japanese S-rank Hunter Tennoji Utaha and Mexico's S-rank Hunter Camila Torres, each sent in for seven days at 1 million per day, for a total of 7 million yuan.
After clearing the monsters pouring out of Dalian, an A-rank terrain erosion zone with a relatively lower danger level than the deep zone, Camila thrust her phone screen at Utaha, who was taking a short rest.
“Look at this, isn't it cute?”
“..It's cute.”
“It's Japanese! If I go to Japan, I want to meet them!”
“Maxy, that's Korean.”
“Really? I mistook it. I'll send you the link!”
The internet was available via satellite Wi-Fi even in erosion zones where the internet was completely dead. Camila Torres, taking a brief rest after a long battle, turned on SNS and showed Utaha a photo from her feed.
“Hmm.”
“Should I follow them?”
“Maxy, there's an ad campaign.”
“Oh, right.”
A celebrity's following list creates a huge advertising effect all by itself. That's why even following just one ad target for a set period can create enormous ripple effects.
Camila was currently in the middle of a solo follow-ad campaign for HUNTERS, a Japanese hunter magazine.
“Isn't one person enough? Once you open the list, you can see about six people at once anyway.”
“You'll have to pay a penalty fee.”
“What a pity. Should I DM her?”
“..That's up to you.”
Utaha sheathed the sword she'd been polishing, then took out her phone and checked the link Maxy had sent.
A brand-new account, created not long ago. The follower count had apparently increased by around 8,000 from a single post. As she slowly browsed the account, a tagged post caught her eye.
It was the first post Kim Chae-a had uploaded earlier, tagging Eve.
“This hotel.”
“Huh? What is it?”
“Maxy, you're going back to Korea when you return, right?”
“Right?”
Leaving Camila's answer behind, Utaha looked through Eve's following list. There weren't many mutual follows, but one account stood out.
“Looks like she knows Ms. Chae-rin. Judging by the hair color, she might be an Awakened.”
“Hunter Chae-rin? But aren't white-haired people common in Japan?”
“Quit watching so much anime. Ordinary people don't have white hair. This account is Korean.”
“But... your mom is a busty shrine maiden, isn't she?”
“..Our family is the weird one. Could you stop calling other people's mothers busty shrine maidens?”
“You even worship a fox god, don't you?”
“..That's not it. Stop watching anime.”
“Eeeh.”
At Utaha's rebuke, Camila lay on the floor and stared at her phone. One day from now, the Manchuria subjugation contract period would end. After that, as before, they'd go into Korea and then head straight back to Mexico.
Of course, given Camila Torres's personality, she would definitely delay the boring trip back to Mexico for as long as possible.
“She's mutual-following with Chae-rin. If you ask me to introduce you, I might do it.”
“Ohhh, it's real. But I already sent a DM.”
“What did she say?”
“She said she loves me! Isn't that amazing?”
“That's impressive.”
* * * * *
[인셍안망헷다 : gallery guy DM'd Maxy
(photo)
Said I was cute, and I said I loved them too]
-ㅇㅇ : What the hell is this?
ㄴ 인셍안망헷다 : (That's me)
-김흑간 : The gallery's best output, for real
ㄴ 김흑간 : Please ask her to send a panty pic, please
ㄴ 인셍안망헷다 : WTF
-ㅇㅇ : Isn't Brazil Miku on the Manchuria subjugation mission right now?
ㄴ 인셍안망헷다 : Don't call her Brazil Miku; she's Mexicanㅡㅡ
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Mexico Miku
ㄴ 인셍안망헷다 : That's a little better;;
-우타하의물방울모양팬 : What on earth did you do to make Maxy send a DM first?
ㄴ 인셍안망헷다 : I just posted a photo..
ㄴ 우타하의물방울모양팬 : Are you seriously a eunuch?
ㄴ ㅇㅇ : Didn't you know I posted proof last time? lol
-엘르엘 : Fucking hell, in this shitty world you've got a cute face and you're an A-rank Awakened? You bastard, I won't let this go. Every time your nickname shows up, I'll spam you with 108 anonymous-clone poop pics.
ㄴ 인셍안망헷다 : Do whatever you want; I'm immune to that ㅎ
“Princess.”
“Hm? Ophelia, what's wrong?”
“..It's nothing.”
Ah, no way, was Ophelia actually checking everything herself before censoring it..?
“Should I tell them not to..?”
“..I think that would be best.”
-엘르엘 : Fucking hell, in this shitty world you've got a cute face and you're an A-rank Awakened? You bastard, I won't let this go. Every time your nickname shows up, I'll spam you with 108 anonymous-clone poop pics.
ㄴ 인셍안망헷다 : Do whatever you want; I'm immune to that ㅎ
ㄴ 인셍안망헷다 : But don't post poop pics..
ㄴ 엘르엘 : (There's no time to hesitate!!)
“Uh....”
“Let's stay away from the Awakened gallery for a while.”
“Sniff.”
Still, Maxy sending me a DM was huge. It honestly felt like a funeral-home highlight reel—the greatest achievement of my life.
ㅡDing!
As I rolled around on the mattress clutching my phone to my chest in overwhelming emotion, another DM came in from Maxy.
-_camila_MAXY :
“Gasp.”
T-This photo... Ophelia isn't censoring it..?”
ㅡglance
“What's wrong?”
“N-no, it's nothing....”
I wondered if this was okay, but Ophelia didn't say anything in particular. Right, this much shouldn't be censored either.
Everything that needed covering was covered, right? Maxy normally goes around like this anyway.
ㅡ_camila_MAXY : PHOTO PLZ!!!!!
“A photo, I guess? Hmm....”
A selfie..? I'd never taken one before. I'd never done anything that would warrant leaving a picture behind..
“Would this work?”
ㅡClick!
-_Princess_Eve :
ㅡ_camila_MAXY : LOL🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
“Hmm....”
I should practice taking photos sometime....