[At the same time, a company building in Gangnam, Seoul.]

A conference room overlooking all the streets of Gangnam.

Several people were gathered in a soundproofed room that was completely separate from the rest of the office.

Their ages ranged from early 20s to late 30s.

Surprisingly, they were all executives of the company located in Gangnam.

“Everyone.”

At the center stood a woman with long golden hair.

“How’s the vibe with our people right now?”

“The ones who don’t know are just streaming, but the cuckoos are flying in.”

“E-Executive Vice President?”

“Yes?”

“The investors are listening too, so please explain it so they can understand.”

“Ah, ahem.”

The VP, in his mid-30s, glanced at a tablet on the side and cleared his throat.

“You all know ‘Starflower Production.’ One of the Four Greats of the Japanese VTuber industry… the fourth-ranking company.”

The VP brought up a PPT slide, showing four logos.

“Holi, Niji, V. Then comes Starflower… which went bankrupt. The company dissolved, and the artists under contract suddenly became unemployed.”

“The channel with the most subscribers had 1.24 million. And then there were several channels with hundreds of thousands of subscribers…”

“All were converted from corporate to individual taxation. Thanks to one ‘PD.’”

As he flipped the slide, a photo of a lecture hall appeared.

“Kang Minhyuk. Age 29. Recruited by Starflower—‘SPL’ for short—right after graduating from university.”

[I know.]

Suddenly, a voice from the tablet interjected.

It sounded like a woman around the same age as the CEO, but with a cold undertone.

[He worked here as an editor before going to Japan.]

“Yes. The investor probably knows more about him than anyone. Thanks to his recent actions… the artists under contract are asking all kinds of questions.”

Click.

The screen switched.

A chat window of a private conversation appeared, stiff and serious in tone.

“After a company goes bankrupt, who owns the copyright of the characters? Normally, after leaving, you can’t keep using the character avatar. Because…”

“Avatars created with company funds are company property, and the VTuber is merely an actor using the company’s avatar to stream.”

The golden-haired CEO fell silent.

It was an uncomfortable truth about the red pill, but this was a place where hundreds of millions of won changed hands with a single word.

“I used to like an idol. When they left their agency, they formed a new group under a different name.”

“But they kept the same avatars, right?”

“Yes. But this case is different. Somehow, he managed to coordinate everything so that all the VTubers could maintain their channels independently under personal taxation.”

[I heard he’s back.]

The investors’ words made everyone in the room swallow hard.

[He’s in Korea now.]

“…Yes, sir. That…”

[Find him. And recruit him.]

The investor’s voice carried a sharp edge.

[It’s not that I want to regain past glory with him. Rather, I want the next generation to experience that glory as well.]

“……”

[There’s no editor or planner like him. If he left for health reasons, we can’t help it. But if the company can support him, we can cover his medical expenses. So, bring him here, no matter the cost. I’ll provide the funds.]

“Uh.”

The golden-haired CEO scratched her cheek and spoke.

“Rumor has it, the head of the virtual idol team under Rescal Entertainment personally offered him a recruitment deal.”

[You’re not saying he’s going to Rescal…? Ah, no.]

A faint chuckle came from the tablet.

[He wouldn’t manage male idols.]

“……”

[Don’t worry. He keeps his distance, which is why things only happen when necessary.]

“Oh, that psycho… ahem.”

The executives in the room exchanged glances for a moment.

Even in meetings, some things were better left unsaid.

[That team leader… I heard he received 300 million won with a 700 million won performance bonus.]

“So, they offer 300 million won?”

[Ha, what are you saying? Are you going to pay someone who got 500,000 subscribers in two months just 300 million? And there’s more than one of them.]

“I know… but his achievements were in Japan, not Korea.”

[……]

“He may not fit Korean sensibilities. His methods—”

[They’re different.]

The investor cut off the VP sharply.

“Excuse me?”

[He doesn’t follow the market. He brings out the talent of his subjects. That’s why I once called him a ‘producer.’]

“……”

[I made enough money to call myself an investor partly thanks to his shares. He left for Japan, but things are different now. Right, Madam CEO?]

“Yes.”

The CEO smiled and spoke.

“Our next batch at will recruit him and have him produce.”

“That might cause friction with the senior batch…”

“He’s valuable enough to operate independently. Senior members might even approach him actively. This is a talent worth the risk.”

The CEO stamped the approval box on the document in front of her.

“Wherever he is, we must bring him here. At least…”

“At least?”

“If we can’t have him, we must not let him be taken.”

The CEO and everyone in the room looked beyond the curtains.

“There’s more than one party interested in him.”

“…Even a large corporation?”

“Now that it’s a virtual industry, yes. I don’t know where he is now, but he’s probably finding a new base somewhere in Seoul.”

In front of the house.

Through the yard and out the gate, food was waiting at the door.

Not a remote area with extra delivery fees, but still a standalone house, so it caught attention.

Especially with a peculiar being present, it was even more noticeable.

“Is this the power of modern alchemy? Amazing. Just with money, you can get hot food delivered like this.”

Yet Rasianne focused only on the food laid out on the living room desk.

“This is a hambugi.”

“Hamburger.”

“That angel said ‘hambugi.’”

“…It’s just an internet term.”

Good thing she didn’t say whatever “Hamburgerucks Stax” nonsense.

“Understood. Hamburger… confirmed. People call it ‘burger’ or ‘bugi’ sometimes. Noted.”

Even beings from other dimensions are susceptible to internet culture.

“…But why is it called a hamburger if it has chicken instead of ham?”

“…….”

“Alright. I’ll restrain myself.”

Or perhaps, impressive as it was, she had already grasped enough of this world to exploit its quirks to frustrate me.

“I’ll enjoy it.”

Rasianne picked up a burger with a chicken patty using both hands.

She took a bite—but ate daintily, more like a hamster nibbling sunflower seeds.

“…As expected.”

As she bit, her eyes lit up.

“I think I can convert this into mana.”

“…Mana?”

“Yes. Not high-quality mana, but it seems I can accumulate mana through food consumption.”

She put down the burger and sampled fries, nuggets, and cola individually.

“This isn’t limited to burgers. Other foods work too. If I had to call it… caloric mana conversion.”

Rasianne patted her stomach and laughed.

The Great Mage apparently had magic that converted ingested food into mana.

“……”

I was curious but didn’t dare ask.

As long as there’s input—

“Just so you know, the bathroom problem has nothing to do with me.”

“……!”

“How did you know? Can you read thoughts? If that’s what you’re thinking… no.”

Rasianne sighed and pointed to her stomach again.

“Everyone makes the same face when I first teach this magic to acquaintances. No matter how good at controlling expressions, people react this way. And you thought the same thing.”

“What… what did I think?”

“You’re not going to the bathroom.”

“……”

“Unfortunately, it’s not a spell you can cast on others. I made it precise for myself. Only exceptions for those who learned directly.”

“……”

Perhaps a professional instinct.

Normally, envy or admiration would come first.

But the first thought I had was…

“Streaming would be so convenient.”

For a female streamer, a problem that is fatal yet inevitable for humans doesn’t exist here.

-1:02:11 01
-2:40:53 02
-2:55:40 03
…

When managing VTubers in the past, some even tracked how many times they went to the bathroom per day.

-“This… is about how many times she left her seat, right? It’s just that, right? It’s a coincidence that it’s tracked so accurately when I say I’m picking flowers?”
-“We’ll check immediately. Don’t worry too much.”

I was so upset back then.

Eventually, I prevented that info from appearing in the chat. But such things happened.

Of course, some were worried about bladder health if they didn’t go enough.

“In that sense, I’ll ask for more burgers to be ordered.”

“More burgers?”

“Yes. I also want to try a bulgogi patty.”

“……”

“Why?”

“Nothing, never mind.”

What was I thinking about toward a Great Mage from another world?

‘A half-cam mukbang… insane.’

Had humans become too obsessed with work?

Even while resting, she thought about work this much.

“I see. True. Externally, if a man alone orders nearly ten burgers, it might seem odd.”

“Not so much these days.”

“Why not?”

“You just stream it like YouTube.”

“Really? That’s fortunate.”

Rasianne sipped cola through a straw and continued.

“Ten should be enough to replenish my mana for the return journey.”

“……”

?

“What did you say just now?”

“Oh.”

Rasianne was about to take the last bite of her burger and suddenly widened her eyes.

“I forgot to mention.”

“C-could it be…?”

“With dimensional magic, I can go back. Like a warp gate.”

“……”

…

Ding.

…the spell of the people!!