NOVEL NEXT chapter 3
3. Isn’t this a setting error?
***
[Thanks of the month]
─ Mr/Ms Geoyurorijoah is a [TOP TIER] subscriber.
─ My favorite characters: [Azel] / [Jenna]
─ Messages arrived: [2]
─ Attachments: [2]
“Oh, another one.”
I regretted a bit after subscribing, but I couldn’t stop sponsoring.
Letters full with 200 words came flying from the two characters.
Actually, the letter was written by Vernon God, the old developer with hair on his legs.
But this much dedication certainly fits the geekiness.
Last time, the 200 words were filled with thank-you’s from both Azel and Jenna.
This time was no different.
[Azel: Hello, Geoyurorijoah-nim. This is Azel. I am sincerely grateful for your sponsorship. Thanks to you, I was able to enter elementary school last month. I am truly grateful. I’m at a 3rd-grade age, but I have to start from the 1st-grade because I couldn’t enter elementary school. Still, I am glad. I didn’t think I would be able to go to school, it’s like a dream. All thanks to you, the sponsor! Thank you so much! I promise to repay this favor – Regards, Azel] (200/200)
Azel surely gives a cute vibe.
Last time, it was simple repetition of ‘Thank you! Thank you!’ This time it read, ‘I can go to school thanks to your sponsorship.’
Also left a ‘- Regards, Azel’ message, fitting in the letter count. Considering she’s a little girl around third grade imagined putting effort in writing with small hands made me smile big.
[Jenna: Hello, Joa-nim! It’s Jenna! Ta-da! The attached picture is where I moved to. Isn’t it cool? All thanks to you, Joa-nim! Oh, and I also managed to enter school thanks to you. Thank you! I learned addition and subtraction at school today! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have eaten anything tasty, nor worn any pretty clothes. Right? hehehehe, thank you! And why don’t you ever reply? Please reply!] (200/200)
Jenna is no different. She used to spout ‘thank you’ and all sorts of stories, she seems lively.
Jenna also mentioned ‘going to school.’ And that she bought and wore pretty clothes and tasty things….
From what I saw, Azel and Jenna were both from impoverished neighborhoods.
But.
“Wait a minute. Does it connect like this?”
My in-game contribution ‘sponsorship’ actually applied to the game settings.
The scenario that the children from impoverished neighborhoods just started going to school with my money came into place.
“Is this developer a f*cking genius?”
Is this such an immersive user-engaging game? It feels like I’m raising two real daughters.
But this time, there was something more.
[Attached Photo: 2]
“A picture?”
Is it like giving me a character CG collection?
It’d be too much to draw individual CGs for each of the 300,000 characters. But at least I get a CG collection of the characters I sponsored.
I casually opened it, and the first picture was of Azel.
She stands awkwardly against the backdrop of a unique, slightly old wooden building, bearing a mature smile that’s not very childlike.
From her letters she seems like a little kid, but her facial expression in the CG is quite different.
She looks like she’s grown up too quickly.
On the other hand, Jenna….
“This looks like a setting error.”
I’m pretty certain her background story indicated she came from a slum. But suddenly why does it show a mansion in the background?
Against the backdrop of extremely old-fashioned furniture, she sits like a noble. All the while, maintaining her slum-born character.
I get the concept of me sponsoring her to go to school. But even so, jumping from a slum to a mansion seems like a plot-hole.
I was about to write about this setting problem to the developer when I realised-
it’s just CG, so what does it matter. Even a character with a poverty-concept can wear rich clothing.
The setting detail is a bit disappointing, but it’s still forgivable.
“But this is a bit too much.”
Despite her being of third-grade age, she was enrolled in the first-grade due to being from a slum.
What the hell kind of twisted story is this? No matter how poor she is, she must have received basic education. Do they not know about compulsory education?
And while I keep telling myself not to get too absorbed,
It keeps making me more engrossed.
The developer dude is good at marketing. But 5700 characters are needed, right?
I open my private message box and select ‘developer’.
[Excuse me, Developer. What’s with Jenna being from a slum and suddenly ending up in a mansion? I can let the CG go, but isn’t the idea of her entering first grade at third-grade age due to poverty too over-the-top? Also……]
[At any rate, please change them both to 3rd-grade, it’s honestly too much. I’m not saying this because I’m a pedo, but even if they’re meant to be my daughters, this is just……]
Thud─
After diligently typing away 5700 characters and sending it off to the developer, I went back to being fully immersed.
Regardless, since Jenna asked me to reply, I must send a response.
I then sent responses to both Azel and Jenna, acting as if they’re my real daughters.
***
Vernon Elementary Academy.
Azel and Jenna were sitting side by side on the sofa in the director’s office.
Next to them was a female teacher.
“…Anyways, Azel and Jenna, you two have moved up to 3rd grade. Since you’re in the same class, you should be friends?”
“Yes!”
“Yes.”
“I’ll be stepping out for a moment, so behave while I’m gone.”
“Yes!”
“Yes.”
The moment the teacher left the office, Azel and Jena were left alone on the big sofa.
It was their first encounter. Both were from the slums.
However, they did not know each other as their residential and activity areas were different.
Yet, they both had the fact in common that ‘they were from the slums and had patrons,’ and ‘originally third-graders, they entered as first-graders.’ They were both already aware of this fact.
Instantly, they felt a kind of kinship with each other.
“Hello?”
Jena was the first to greet Azel. At first, Azel hesitated but then raised her hand in greeting.
“H-Hello.”
“You found a patron this time too, didn’t you?”
Jena already had a memory of hearing the name ‘Azel.’ When she was being chased by Sara’s sidekicks, the one who was first chosen by a patron was Azel.
That’s why she initiated the conversation first. Azel responded with a faint smile.
“Yeah. You too?”
“hehehehe, yup, me too. Have you thanked your patron?”
Those chosen by a patron had to send a thank-you message once a month. It was a way to express gratitude for the sponsorship. This could be sent using the [Patron] app on their identity cards, limited to 200 characters per month.
Sometimes there were those who did not send it, in which case the patron was more likely to terminate their support.
Therefore, the beneficiaries strived to show as much gratitude as possible within the 200 characters.
“Yeah. I even sent a picture this time.”
“Wow! Me too!”
The [Patron] app rewarded some sort of points every time a patron provided support. These points could be used to upgrade the app.
Upgrading the app unlocked features like increased character limit, picture sending, voice messaging, video sending, etc.
Among these, the picture sending feature could be unlocked right away, even with just a month of sponsorship.
It was an unspoken rule in the kingdom of Vernon to send a picture in the second month of sponsorship right after unlocking this feature. Even these two juniors knew this.
Seeing Jena excitedly bounce up and down on the couch, Azel asked with a thin smile.
“So then… did you receive a reply from your patron, Jena?”
“A reply? No, not yet….”
Jena’s cheerful expression suddenly turned sour.
Both of them had received sponsorship from patrons for two consecutive months. It was a happy thing considering that some patrons disappear after sponsoring for just a month.
However, typically, those who received prolonged sponsorship got replies from their patrons pretty quickly.
Unable to quickly get a reply, the concerned Azel let out an immature sigh.
“Haah…. Me too.”
Suddenly.
Jena’s identity card beeped.
Beep─
[Patron sent you a message.]
“Wow! My patron replied!”
Jena excitedly pulled out her identity card. A holographic status window, invisible to anyone else, popped up before her.
Jena, who received a reply from her patron.
Azel said, wearing a thin smile.
“I’m relieved.”
At least I received a reply from you.
Only then did Zena wipe off the excited expression on her face. She seemed apologetic for being excited all by herself.
“I’m sorry, Azel. I’m sure your Patron will respond soon.”
Typically, a Patron only supports one believer.
Assuming that Azel’s Patron was someone other than her own Patron, Zena made this assumption.
At that time, the Patron of the two, Cheonun….
Tap Tap─
“Would this much be enough?”
Azel sent a reply with 200 characters filled in.
Totally absorbed, he grinned with satisfaction.
Is this the joy of raising a daughter?
Azel was looking at Zena with a face full of envy without knowing it.
Soon, her identification card rang as well.
Vroom─
[Your Patron sent a message.]
“Wow! I got a reply too!”
“Really?! Congratulations!”
“I am so relieved….Seriously.”