Chapter 43
[InsaengAnManghaetda : hehe
Active Hunter Gallery regulars, fighting too~]
[174(92) Best★] [↓Downvotes 63]
I had only left a short post on the Active Hunter Gallery, but it shot up to the best post in no time and kicked off season 2 of the mutual-name-dropping cartel's dogpile. Fake verification this, AI compositing that. By coming back and posting, I poured oil on embers that had just been dying down, and the Active Hunter Gallery guys got mad again and started tearing into me all over again.
Mmm-heh, that's it.
Serves them right. You can't just tear someone down like that when you don't even know their face. They've all spent about ten years grinding away as hunters, so they're probably not exactly young. Think of it as a life lesson you only get after getting old!
[RareHealer : But that kid sure has a bright future...
Even though they're still young, they're already an A-rank hunter, have tons of connections, and are cute to boot]
-RungA : The world is definitely unfair, for real
ㄴ RareHealer : Agreed lol...
[KoreanPharaoh : I came to Japan on a trip, and the gallery's gone to hell
But a cute kid did come by, though.]
-Bonsodu : Please come back
ㄴ KoreanPharaoh : ??
“Heh-heh, my fame is getting bigger and bigger.”
I don't really use the Active Hunter Gallery, but I still like that they're seeing me in a good light. I've checked the atmosphere enough, so maybe I should go back to the other galleries!
[InsaengAnManghaetda : It's still before lunch, so why am I this sleepy;
Did I catch some kind of illness?]
-Anon : Don't get sick, gallery star
ㄴ InsaengAnManghaetda : Why am I your gallery starㅡㅡ;
-Gyahong : Princess-nimㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ You have to stay healthyㅠㅠㅠㅠ
ㄴ Gyahong : (Duaaa) (Duaaa)
ㄴInsaengAnManghaetda : (Beepy?)
-KimHeukgan : Make sure you eat something good
-Anon(51.15) : Ughh ughh
ㄴ Husta : Thor, you punk
ㄴ Anon(51.75) : If you block the IP, what are you gonna do? I can just come back with another one. Ugh.
“Mmm-hmm....”
But after hanging around the other galleries, I realized this wasn't the kind of gallery life I wanted. It was true that I wanted a name everyone knew, but having people keep coming into the comments to shower me with praise feels a little different.
What I wanted was something subtle..! Not blatant coddling and babying, but more like, 'Whoa, that person was actually amazing? No way, that's insane.' That's the catharsis you get when some dumb regular user you used to joke around with on the gallery turns out to be a top-class A-rank hunter.
“Sigh... maybe I should take a little break and come back.”
At times like this, the best thing is to step away from the gallery for a while. The other galleries get a surprising number of newcomers, so if I wait about three months, maybe there'll be a lot of people who don't know me.
I usually keep notes on most of the semi-anons, but somehow they all disappear and new semi-anons keep popping up. Anyway, Ophelia will tell me to eat lunch soon....
“Princess.”
“Yosh! Is it mealtime!”
“No, it's something else. It's a message about a collaboration from Royal Mayfair, a premium British brand.”
“So it's not food....”
“I'll serve your meal first.”
No, this makes me sound like some grade-school kid who's just mooching food.
* * * * *
“Ang-nyang-nyang.”
“Is the meal to your liking?”
“Huh? Ah, it's delicious! Ophelia's cooking is the best.”
“Thank you.”
I do feel like I should be the one saying thank you, but if Ophelia beats me to it first, that's a little awkward. As always, Ophelia fills up on calories to cut down on mana consumption, slowly chewing on something that looks like a white brick.
“Ophelia... does that taste good?”
“Taste isn't very important to me. What matters most is getting high calories at a low price.”
“Hmm... I think it'd be nice if we ate together.”
“Is that so?”
“Meals are tastiest when you eat them together.”
Except when you're absolutely starving and the portion is tiny. Back when I worked part-time at a convenience store, I once had to split a leftover lunchbox that was about to be thrown out with the guy from the previous shift, and it was incredibly annoying. I wonder what that guy's doing now.
“Then, if you'll excuse me, I'll briefly explain while you eat.”
“Yes, I'll listen while I eat.”
Royal Mayfair, the famous British clothing brand, started in Mayfair, the British equivalent of Cheongdam-dong or Apgujeong. The part that contacted me was a modeling offer from Mayfair Kids for children's clothing promotion.
“They offered 650 pounds a day for 8 looks.”
“Pounds... eight looks..? What does that mean..?”
“It means they'd pay 1.2 million won for photographing eight outfits.”
“Whaaaaat!!!!”
No way, so they're saying they'd give me 1.2 million won just for changing clothes eight times? Isn't that insanely awesome?
“W-wow! 1.2 million won just for taking a few photos..!”
Back when I worked as a convenience-store clerk, the only ways I could think of to make 1.2 million won a day were insurance fraud or selling a kidney. This is basically an industrial revolution.
“No, not at all.”
“Huh?”
But Ophelia's reaction was extremely cold.
“For a children's clothing brand of Royal Mayfair's caliber to offer 650 pounds for eight looks in a day... is a huge insult.”
“Huh..?”
Honestly, I didn't quite get it. Isn't wearing eight outfits and getting 1.2 million won amazing? But Ophelia is smart... I had zero interest in modeling work, so I don't really know.
“Then... what would be a fair amount?”
“The princess's appearance is priceless, but if we compromise realistically... I think you should be getting around 3,300 pounds for three looks a day.”
“U-ugh... my head...”
“That's 6 million won.”
“Eep..!”
Had I been underestimating models a little? Sure, they look good, they're tall and striking... but somehow, in an industry packed with influencers and celebrities, I thought it was a job that was a little less prestigious.
So they make that much money..?
“But... isn't getting 6 million won for changing clothes three times basically robbery..?”
“In reality, one top-and-bottom set—one look—can easily take dozens of photos, and sometimes more than 100 shots.”
“Ah, ahh... I see.”
Come to think of it, that does make sense. It's not like when I take selfies at home and just strike a pose and flash a V sign before calling it done—you have to properly showcase the clothes' cute points. They probably take dozens of shots per outfit, changing poses each time.
“On average, shoots where the brand's importance or overall quality has to be high can take anywhere from 20 minutes to as long as 40 minutes per look.”
“Hee, then clothes... eight looks? Eight times four... twenty-four...”
“It's 32.”
“...Ah, I really messed up.”
“Yes.”
Anyway, that means I might have had to work 320 minutes. And 1.2 million won... still seems like a lot, though? But it does seem a bit harder than what I was thinking earlier.
“Then... Maple...”
“It's Mayfair.”
“Ah, Mayfair. Why did they make an offer like that?”
“They probably undervalued the princess. Your beauty is certainly one of a kind, but your recognition is still seriously lacking.”
“Recognition... how much does it need to go up?”
“Mayfair Kids model Eloise Whitmore, who works as a brand ambassador and influencer, currently has 1.8 million followers.”
Huh, wait. 1.8 million is kind of a lot. Maxi has 4 million? Utaha has 8 million? Chaerin has 6.8 million? Arjun has 800 million SNS followers?
Should I go to Bollywood too, eat a bowl of curry, and dance with Arjun? If Arjun mentioned me on SNS and even just one-tenth of his followers followed me, I'd be at 80 million followers??
“Right now, Eloise Whitmore is 11 years old and has been active for 3 months.”
“Ah, that's a lot.”
Hearing it like that suddenly makes it sound intense. 1.8 million in just three months? Then in 30 months it'd be 18 million... well, it wouldn't actually be that simple, but still. Suddenly I feel small.
“Then what should I do?”
“For now, I want to ask for the princess's wishes. Needless to say, I have no intention of accepting the terms Royal Mayfair has offered right now. However, in my opinion, Mayfair is a brand sufficient to make the princess's charm shine.”
“You're asking whether I'd be willing to work if Ophelia renegotiates?”
“That's right. I'll bring back terms that the princess can fully accept.”
Honestly, even 1.2 million won for eight looks was tempting. And if Ophelia is saying this much, it's hard for me to refuse. And... it's a famous British brand, right? I don't really know much about it.
It seems like it would be great to post on my SNS, and taking photos in Britain sounds like it might be fun. More than anything, I'm too curious about how the gallery would react when I brag about it.
“Okay! If it's a condition Ophelia can be satisfied with, I think I'll do it.”
“Understood. Then I'll take my time and renegotiate.”
Now that the Mayfair discussion is over, I feel drained. Time to eat. I said I'd listen comfortably while eating, but somehow listening is making it harder to swallow my food.
“Then on to the next matter.”
“Huh?”
* * * * *
“Ugh...”
—beep-beep
My phone. Why did I make it into a puppy golem?
“Doggie, could you just be a cat instead?”
If I'd made a cat golem instead of a puppy golem from the start, wouldn't there be no need for walks? No, wait—it's a golem in the first place, so why would it even need walks? Come to think of it, it kind of looks like a cat too. Of course, Ophelia only told me to take it for walks because it might get fat. She said if I want to work as a model, I have to manage my figure.
“And this thing doesn't even go on walks properly.”
—pitter-patter, pitter-patter
“Hey, you. Are you going to keep bothering the princess?”
—beep..
“You say I made you myself, so I should take responsibility? Fine, fine....”