Martial Arts Returnee’s Game Broadcast

Chapter 142

[? Do not hand over the Mirror of the Clear Mirror.]

The silent swordsman shook her head.
The wandering merchant, struck by an unexpected rejection, fell into an almost pitiable shock.

[W-why?!]
[You heard everything, the circumstances.]
[We made a promise, to bring the mirror!]

In the wandering merchant’s eyes, a look of realization appeared, as if something had clicked.

[Is it because I haven’t paid you yet?]
[When I bring you the Mirror of the Clear Mirror, I promised to give you all the souls I’ve collected, right?]
[Wait~ You’ll be shocked by how many souls I’ve gathered in this pouch!]

The wandering merchant lowered a heavy pouch of souls and, with a cheerful grin, spread both hands wide.

[Here! This is the promised reward.]
[Let’s trade it for the mirror, okay?]

The merchant tried hard to sound cheerful.
Once again, the interaction window popped up.

?Interaction Options?
[In response to the wandering merchant’s trade request, you...]

Hand over the Mirror of the Clear Mirror.
Do not hand over the Mirror of the Clear Mirror.
(Steal the soul pouch.)
(Make the cowardly half-demon give the pouch to steal it.)
(Tell the boogeyman to ambush the wandering merchant.)
Steal. Robbery. Ambush.
All of the options were steeped in crime.

Wow, so the wandering merchant will give all the souls she’s gathered in one go? That’s crazy, right?
That’s insane! With just that, you can upgrade the Bloodline Blessing so much!
Wow... a pouch with the wandering merchant’s entire fortune. With that, you could probably do anything with souls.
Seriously, with that kind of money, you could reach the lowest physical ending.
Let’s steal it! Steal it!
If we get the mirror, the soul pouch, and the infinite pouch, won’t that be amazing, haha?
Greedy viewers, blinded by desire, pushed for stealing, robbing, and ambushing in various ways.
Not long ago, they had been forming fan clubs for the wandering merchant and had adored her. That was all gone now.

Did you forget the memories with the wandering merchant?
Our cute merchant, please take care of her!???
Don’t touch the Dudyu merchant! You wicked slaughter swordsman!!
While there were still some hardcore fans trying to honor their loyalty to the wandering merchant, they were few and far between.
In the sharply divided opinions of the viewers, Hae Eung-eung made her decision.

[? Do not hand over the Mirror of the Clear Mirror.]

The most meaningless option, one that no viewer had ever called for.

Wait, what’s this? Why so half-hearted?
If you don’t want to do something bad, just make the trade!
If she had decided to betray fully, she could have aimed for an even greater gain and betrayed thoroughly.
If she had wanted to maintain loyalty, she could have just traded as promised.
The viewers’ criticisms poured in, but Hae Eung-eung remained unfazed.

‘I know this is a weak decision.’

A choice that was neither here nor there, the most ambiguous option.
But she had her reasons for judgment.

‘It’s true that I need the mirror. But the mirror is ultimately just insurance.’

What is she doing the broadcast for?
The answer was clear.

‘To conquer the martial world. I can’t taint that goal.’

The ultimate goal of martial unification, to unite the martial world, end all battles, and bring peace to the land.
To capture the attention of all VTuber viewers and achieve a 100% viewership rating.
To ensure that everyone lives in peace, all united as one.
Even if it was just a fleeting dream, her heart toward that wish had not changed.

‘I can’t just get my hands dirty like some lawless pirate just because the situation is difficult.’

If she stained her hands with the enemy’s blood, so be it. But she could never stain the blood of an innocent demon-world girl.
So, stealing, robbing, or ambushing by betrayal were not acceptable.

[Ugh, this is too much. You bring the only hope to cure my sibling and don’t give it to me?]
[If this isn’t torture, then what is? If this isn’t betrayal, what is it?! Ughhh!]

The demon girl, crying while hitting the silent swordsman’s arm and waist with her little hands.
The AI controlling the silent swordsman moved her body with one hand on her forehead, creating space between her arms, trying to avoid hurting the girl.
Hae Eung-eung found solace in the movement.

‘I see. The game’s AI understands my intentions. My true heart.’

Had the AI misunderstood her actions, she would have harshly treated the wandering merchant here.
The AI-controlled silent swordsman did not kill, cut, or kick the wandering merchant violently.
Even though she did not give the mirror, the AI understood her intention not to harm the wandering merchant.

?Final Interaction Options?
[As the crying wandering merchant charges, you...]

Apologize, explain the situation, and promise to give it later.
Apologize, explain the situation.
Say you can’t sell the mirror for any price; you need it for yourself.
Pretend to say something then hand over the mirror as a gift.
Tell her to stop bothering you and leave.
Pretend to strike the wandering merchant.
Actually strike the wandering merchant.
[? Apologize, explain the situation, and promise to give it later.]

With tearful eyes, the demon girl glared up at the silent swordsman, as if suspecting whether she was lying again.
In contrast, the silent swordsman looked down at the girl, observing her little horns and tear-filled eyes.

‘... This is the last time.’

The wandering merchant wiped her tears with the back of her hand and spoke.

[Remember the innocence of the human I saw in the demon world? For that reason, I’ll believe in you one last time.]

Hae Eung-eung had a strange realization.
This game constantly stimulates human desires.
The desire to become strong easily.
The desire to earn money easily.
But each time they pursue convenience, the consequences are never good.
If you drink the blood of demons to become strong, you’ll fall into a non-human existence, and if you chase profit through evil deeds, relationships can never be restored.

‘Thanks to not committing evil in our first meeting in the demon world, we avoided hostility.’

By avoiding negative choices in the last meeting and not crossing any lines this time, the wandering merchant gave her trust again, despite the harm.

[For now, I’ll excavate the hidden relic of the demon king from this garbage dump.]
[So if you want the mirror back, you’ll have to come back here. Got it?]

The silent swordsman nodded.
With that, the story mode ended.

[Player Mode]

As Hae Eung-eung regained control of her body, the viewers expressed disappointment that they couldn’t loot the soul pouch and the infinite pouch.

Are you going to let this slide?
You’re going to let her live after this (wandering merchant)??
You’re going to let her (not catch the greedy scammer)?
That’s not what I meant, LOL.
I see why there are so many religions in the Bible, LOL, they all interpret things the way they want.
Are you interpreting things how you like, huh?
Your mom’s not home, right?
Yes, she’s here (you jerk).
The parentheses are meaningless, LOL.
True men never use parentheses.
True men actually use parentheses. So, all real men are gay. Proven.
LOL, these guys are insane.
This is all because the silent swordsman keeps not using her sword.
The viewers’ reactions grew more bitter as the silent swordsman’s bad habits grew.

We don’t need the wandering merchant, just finish the game and turn on the whip simulator already!
Jumping Rabbit showed that kind of play at a tournament; how come she can’t do it once, damn.
If she’s going to quit anyway, why not just let her play in space?
The upper levels have completely turned upside down.
I’m watching the broadcast to see space, but what if she gets so hooked on living in space? Haha.
She’s been spending 10x more time in space than watching the stream. LOL.
At this point, she’s probably spent more time in space than at home.
In the end, the result was her own doing.
But she had not just built up bad karma.

[Challenge Completed]
[Stopped the artifact excavation (achieved)]
[Destroyed the attribute sealing ritual (achieved)]

[Clear Rank SSS]
[Subjugation Rank SSS]
[Challenge Rank SS]
[Overall Rank 8?/3?(+500%)]

[MORE THAN PERFECT]
[The base difficulty of the next field has reached its maximum.]
[Emergencies now "always" occur.]
[Hidden events will "almost always" occur.]

[Cleared the fifth field, the junkyard.]
[Event count in all fields has increased by 1.]
[In all fields, entering from the rear may trigger hidden events that didn’t occur when entering from the front.]

Finally, the notification window appeared, revealing the final accounting of events with the wandering merchant.

‘It’s lower than clearing a 10-star field in the demon world.’

Thanks to this, it was clear.
The number of stars you can earn isn’t always higher just because it’s a late field.

‘Clearing three challenges and one hidden route. This changes the highest rank of stars you can earn in each field.’

In fields with lower importance, there might not even be three challenges.
Some fields might not even have hidden routes.
Unfortunately, she didn’t think that the junkyard would be one of those cases.

‘This field is a bit more predictable.’

Had she teamed up with the wandering merchant for excavation, she could have recovered the demon king’s relics.
If she had prevented the crocodile handler from leaving and wrapped things up, that too would have been a significant achievement.
Had she achieved 10-star clear, she would have created another turning point right there, and collected two of the three turning points needed to change the ending.

‘There are still things I’m lacking, whether physically or in terms of progress.’

Reflection ends here.
She could no longer be entangled in fields that had already been completed.
Hae Eung-eung opened the option to head to the next field.

-?
-?

Why are the choices like this?
At the same time, viewers noticed something strange, and the hooks poured in.

?After the Junkyard?
[The direction you are headed...]
[1. Returns to the fading entrance of the mansion.]
[2. Returns to the entrance of the ruined fortress.]
[3. Enters through the back entrance of the ruined fortress.]
[4. Follows the ash-covered path where embers drift.]

Is this a backdoor?
There was a backdoor to the ruined fortress?
For the first time in Half-Demon Valley's ten-year history, a back path was revealed.