Draconia Offline vol. 1

12.2. Don't Be Afraid of Us - Part 2

"Oh, right, I totally forgot about her," I chew my lip. "She didn't even add me at Vortex."

"Well... as one of the developers her compatibility level must have been really high, right?" Ingri ponders. "If the Japanese government needed patients for research, I think there's a good chance she volunteered. Taking responsibility is a Japanese quirk, right?"

"Don't look at me, my mentality is European," I shrug. "But I think you might be right."

Then we spend some time trying to find out how all the equipment works. The IT department was very generous and brought also cameras, microphones, 3D projectors and other stuff for professional streamers their employer must have requested.

"Should we wait for Liana to shoot the video?" Fefnir scratches his chin when he positions the camera.

"She's still sleeping, let her rest," I shake my head.

"How do you know that?" Ingri narrows her eyes.

A hint of panic runs down my spine. Does she suspect something? Am I too obvious with Erik?

"She would have called us," I say quickly.

"Hmm," Fefnir murmurs. "AstaTech's servers are really great. It seems I can connect several thousand people into one videocall. Being able to manage such a thing is a different matter but the good news is—we can do it. Can we continue using your account, Aefener?"

"Sure, sure," I nod and hope that it'll distract Ingri.

Fortunately, it does. Ingri turns into my social manager again and eagerly helps Fefnir to set my password and tinker with various settings.

"Damn," my head spins when I see the current count. 102 million followers.

"It's a good thing, right?" Erik nudges me. "It means that you've got many fans who aren't transforming players."

"Y-yeah... if you put it that way," I admit he's right. "It's still unnerving, though. I didn't mind talking to my fans before because it was through my avatar. Showing my true face..."

"Your beautiful true face," he gently grabs my chin and kisses me because he feels my uncertainly and low self-esteem.

"That's exactly what we need," Ingri exclaims excitedly.

Erik rolls his eyes and pulls away.

"No, seriously, something like this," Ingri insists. "Let's make a video in which we show that humans and new races can still love each other."

"I have to agree with Ingri on this," Fefnir seconds. "And Liana suggested something similar."

I'm still not sure about it but Erik surprisingly agrees with the idea as well. We devote an hour to writing a script and preparing the background and it does feel like I'm back to my streaming career.

Don't fret, you've done it countless times before, Erik encourages me since he catches my anxiety.

When Draconia was just a game, I oppose.

It's me who should be nervous, he laughs. I'm basically debuting.

Your nerves are steel compared to me.

Not when it comes to public speeches.

I anxiously look Ingri's way but she's adjusting the camera and doesn't pay attention to us.

We have to be careful with our telepathic communication, I warn him. Ingri suspects something.

But you are considering telling them, right?