Became a Health Boosting Elf

Bora kept browsing NewTube on her computer, then muttered that it was time and approached me.

I was sitting next to Bora, sucking on grape-flavored candy. Even though I could eat real food, I craved junk food like this since I could survive on just sunlight and water.

Bora was sitting in a chair, swinging her legs, wondering when the work would end. She looked at me and said, “Hana, you can do well like you have so far, right?”

Seeing the look in Bora’s eyes, it seemed like the time had come. It wasn’t just a pre-recorded broadcast anymore; it was time for a live stream. We had to gather viewers in a different way since we already had a decent number of subscribers.

“I’ll do my best!” I said, trying to sound confident even though I wasn’t. I couldn’t let Bora down. Seeing my determination, Bora smiled and nodded.

“Hana, you’re so reliable,” she said, patting my head. It felt surprisingly nice, even though I wasn’t a dog. I didn’t know why having my head patted felt so good.

—

The setup was mostly done. My usual hoodie and shorts had disappeared thanks to Bora’s strange magic, and instead, I was wearing a bright, lacy outfit.

Bora’s skills were amazing. In less than an hour, she transformed me from a slob into a completely different person. Her magic was so dazzling it was hard to look away.

I couldn’t help but fidget at my drastically changed appearance. It was hard to adjust to how different I looked.

It wasn’t like I was being dressed up like a doll or anything.

Bora looked satisfied with my appearance, nodded, and started the camera. She showed me the laptop, indicating that the setup was complete.

“Hana, just act like you usually do, okay? Got it?”

“Okay,” I nodded, trying to convince myself. Just act normal… I stood in front of the camera with a determined look, different from my usual self.

“Don’t stress too much~”

“Hueh…”

I must have been too tense because when I relaxed my muscles, a strange sound escaped me.

Bora did a final check before starting the broadcast. Today, we were just going to have a little chat and film some sunlight.

Once everything was ready, Bora started the live stream without hesitation.

The Starlight Research Institute channel had a decent number of subscribers, so people started joining as soon as the broadcast began.

– Hi hi

– Wow, I thought this channel never did live streams

– Is Hana appearing today? She’s so cute, I only watch her videos

– Show us the saber tiger

Within minutes, dozens of subscribers joined the stream. Thanks to the chat window on the laptop, my earlier tension started creeping back.

In other words, I got nervous.

I felt my mind go blank as I stood there, frozen.

– LOL, she’s nervous

– Hana, snap out of it!

– She’s so cute, I want to hug her

– Saber tiger, pls

Since not many people had joined yet, I could slowly read the chat.

In front of me, Bora was gesturing wildly behind the camera, asking me to do something. What was it again…?

“Ah… Hello, I’m Hana from the Starlight Research Institute. I’m 10 years old.”

I bowed deeply, introducing myself. Since today’s broadcast was supposed to be short and just an introduction, this should be enough, right?

– Is this what it feels like to raise a daughter???

– So cute cute cute

– If I had a daughter like Hana, Korea’s birth rate wouldn’t be in trouble

– The bow is so cute!!!

Luckily, the tension eased as I greeted everyone. I calmly answered Bora’s questions, and the first broadcast ended smoothly.

—

No matter how expensive green tea became, the Starlight Food factory kept running.

Rather than hoarding green tea and raising prices later, it was more costly to break existing supply contracts. So, Starlight Food reluctantly supplied green tea at 3,000 won per box.

However, while the Starlight Food factory ran smoothly, the market’s reaction was intense.

Consumers who had heard rumors about Starlight Green Tea’s price increase…

At first, I was skeptical.

“Come on, no way they’re raising the price of a 300-won green tea to 5,000 won?”

“I admit Starlight Green Tea is effective, but isn’t the price hike too steep? At this rate, it’ll make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.”

“If I drink it as part of my daily routine, it’ll cost me 30,000 to 40,000 won a day. Surely Starlight Food won’t raise the price like that, right?”

“No way! Starting my day with a cup of Starlight Green Tea is the highlight of my life!”

But soon, articles started popping up, and Starlight Food officially announced it on their website. The market’s reaction was split into two camps.

“Does the CEO of Starlight Food even have a brain? How are regular people supposed to afford it if they raise the price like that?”

One side was fiercely criticizing Starlight Food.

“Honestly, the new price is reasonable. It didn’t make sense to drink it at the old price for so long. Ah, at least I won’t have to line up to buy it anymore.”

The other side was happy that they wouldn’t have to compete as much to buy Starlight Green Tea now.

But aside from these two groups, there was one place where the reaction was the most intense…

That was the stores selling Starlight Green Tea nationwide. Even before, there were severe shortages, but now it’s gotten so bad that people are nostalgic for the old days.

As soon as Starlight Green Tea arrived at stores nationwide, it sold out instantly. Rumors that the 300-won green tea was now 5,000 won spread quickly, and even housewives who usually stayed home joined in.

“Hey, didn’t you say you couldn’t drink green tea because of your allergy?”

“Allergy or whatever, that’s not the issue now! If you buy it, it’s like printing money!”

“Right.”

Even consumers who originally had no interest were swept up in the hoarding frenzy. It felt like nine out of ten Koreans were participating in the Starlight Green Tea hoarding.

Even students in school uniforms lined up at supermarkets. They aimed to get there by 8 a.m., right before the stock arrived, before heading to school at 9 a.m.

From the students’ perspective, it was almost like making 50,000 won for free. Since they couldn’t work part-time jobs, this was a golden opportunity they couldn’t pass up.

Even distributors who didn’t participate in the hoarding last time were now storing stock separately. Of course, some distributors still delivered Starlight Green Tea to the designated stores out of conscience.

But others broke contracts, paid penalties, and made excuses to hoard Starlight Green Tea. They knew they’d never be able to distribute it again, but the immediate profit was too tempting.

It was like killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, but they didn’t seem to care. With a gold nugget right in front of them, many weren’t wise enough to think about the consequences.

As the price hike drew closer day by day, the employees at the stores were miserable.

The number of difficult customers was overwhelming. They even wondered why Starlight Food announced the price increase a day early, giving people time to swarm the stores.

But for Starlight Green Tea, it was an unexpected windfall. Without any TV or newspaper ads, just the price hike alone made every person in Korea aware of Starlight Green Tea.

The reputation of Starlight Green Tea had been spreading quietly, but no one expected it to explode like this.

And once people tried Starlight Green Tea, they could feel its effects firsthand. This meant Starlight Food wouldn’t need to spend much on advertising in the future—they’d already hooked every consumer.

However, the executives who knew what went into Starlight Green Tea had one fatal concern they couldn’t bring up.

“What if this ‘ingredient’ stops being supplied?”

There was no guarantee that this magical ingredient would be available indefinitely. If the supply suddenly stopped, Starlight Food would be in big trouble.

But it was such a sensitive topic that the executives just exchanged glances, not daring to say a word.

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