The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Since we were unboxing live during the stream and checking out the item in real time, the video quality wasn’t exactly as polished as a professional reviewer’s would be.

Well, of course not. Those reviewers probably use cameras way better than the little webcam we have, with lenses just as expensive as the cameras themselves.

Still, somehow... this atmosphere suited us better.

“The box... shows the product properly. The face doesn’t look exactly the same as the illustration, but you can tell they tried their best.”

It would have been great if it looked exactly like the illustration, but it was a fundamental difference between 2D and 3D.

Just like how the Azerna Chronicles’ package art differed from the in-game 3D models, it was natural that the figure wouldn’t be an exact match either.

Of course, given how expensive figures are, the quality was way higher than typical in-game models.

Though, so far, we were only looking at the box.

Sometimes the front of a figure box has a clear plastic window so you can see inside, but this one didn’t.

It was thick cardboard with a printed photo of the figure and some text introducing the product.

“Here, on the back, it shows what's inside—ah.”

While Alice was turning the box around to show it, she suddenly flinched and quickly turned it back.

“......”

I kept silent.

“Well... it can't be helped, considering the figure’s outfit.”

Claire, sitting next to me, tried to comfort her.

...Yeah.

[lolololol]

[White underwear lololol]

[Princess lolololol]

There it was—

The color of the figure’s underwear was blatantly shown.

If the figure isn’t specifically themed around fanservice or set up to wear a swimsuit or colored underwear, then it’s usually white.

Also, cheaper figures just hint at the color, while expensive ones actually sculpt it properly.

This Sylvia figure, even though it was subtle, clearly had detailed folds sculpted into the panties.

...They could’ve just given her shorts or something.

But I understood.

That kind of thing was part of the selling point.

If they had put shorts on her, there would have been complaints about censorship or whatever.

I probably would’ve been one of the ones complaining—well, if it were before I became the figure’s subject.

“Ahem.”

Alice cleared her throat.

“Well then, let’s take the contents out.”

[!!]

[Ohhh]

[Finally]

She carefully cut the sealing tape with a cutter we had set aside and opened the box.

“Ah, so it’s packed like this.”

[First time seeing a box like that too]

[Who even buys figures over a hundred bucks lolol]

[I don’t buy figures either]

Makes sense.

People might buy model kits, but figures?

That’s harder.

There’s always the judging looks at home.

And even after moving out, it’s not like it gets easier.

Figures are like Legos—you think about all the other things you could buy with that money, like living expenses.

Plus, finding the space for them is a huge problem.

That’s why they say an otaku’s ultimate goal is a big house—not for luxury, but for storing all the merch, books, and packages they accumulate.

Screech.

There was an unpleasant scraping sound.

It was the thin plastic inner casing inside the box.

The molded plastic clamped the figure tightly from both sides.

You could separate them, but they were snug and didn’t come apart easily.

It was to protect a piece of plastic worth over 100,000 won.

Pop.

Still, against Alice’s strength, it didn’t stand a chance.

“The body’s separated.”

Claire pointed it out.

The figure’s torso and lower body were divided to prevent paint transfer and potential breakage.

A thin plastic sheet was inserted between the waist parts.

“So we have to assemble it?”

“Yes.”

I nodded at Alice’s question.

“Alright...”

Alice, looking a little nervous, carefully pulled the parts out.

...Honestly, she looked like a bit of an otaku, but I didn’t say it aloud.

No need—everyone watching probably realized it anyway.

She first fitted the lower half onto the transparent base.

It seemed stable enough to stand without a support rod, likely because the pose wasn’t too dynamic.

There was a support rod included, though.

And then—

“Ah, oh!?”

The moment Alice lifted the plastic off the waist, the skirt fell off with a clunk.

It wasn’t broken or anything.

Just like how the torso and waist were separated to prevent damage, the skirt was also a separate piece.

It wasn’t a snap-in piece like a model kit—it was meant to be sandwiched between the upper and lower halves.

So naturally, the Sylvia figure ended up standing there...

in just her white panties.

[lolololol]

[Too lewd]

[Freezing frame moment lolol]

“......”

I silently picked up the fallen skirt and was about to gently place it back on the figure when—

Ding-dong.

[A figure completed without a skirt]

—a 10,000 won mission popped up.

[Money-hungry]

[Capitalism's child]

“I’m from the Azerna Empire. It’s natural, coming from a land ruled by extreme capitalism.”

At my words, the chat immediately flooded with agreement. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

“...Will you be alright?”

“It’s fine. I’m not the one taking my clothes off.”

“Unni, your face is red.”

“...I said it’s fine. I’m not the one stripping.”

Claire’s comment made me reaffirm myself once more.

Meanwhile, Alice, probably relieved by the chaos, relaxed visibly.

“Alright then.”

Moving a little faster now, she pulled out the upper torso and head, assembled them, and placed them atop the waist.

A coat was draped over the back.

I had wondered earlier why there was a support rod if the figure could stand on its own—

Turns out it was to hold up the coat.

The character wasn’t in a very action-heavy pose—just crossing one leg in front of the other and aiming her rifle.

But the coat was dramatically fluttering, making the scene much more dynamic.

Even the hair was sculpted to flow slightly.

The shoulder area had deep grooves to properly fit the coat if you wanted to attach it.

Or you could leave it off.

“Hmm... complete.”

Alice said, pushing the completed figure slightly toward the camera.

Standing proudly, it looked like Sylvia was about to lift her rifle and fire at any moment.

The coat and hair gave it a lot of movement, so it didn’t look boring at all.

Except—

[Did you forget the skirt?]

[Even better]

[Honestly, feels kind of in character for Sylvia lol]

[Forgetful Sylvia forgot her skirt lolol]

“...I’m not the kind of person who’d ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) forget to wear a skirt, thank you very much.”

Still, looking at it now, the outfit was... really perverted.

It wasn’t like she was wearing shorts.

Not even a leotard.

Literally nothing but panties.

And with that serious expression and pose, it made her look even more like a pervert, as if this was just normal for her.

[Sylvia hypnosis edition]

“......”

I couldn’t even refute that.

After finishing the unboxing, we quickly put the skirt back on the figure.

Partly out of embarrassment, but mostly because I was afraid the stream would get flagged.

I wasn’t exactly sure what this site’s standards were, but it was safer to play it safe.

"Alright, let’s move on and play Azerna Chronicles again."

Not for very long, though.

With the earlier Claire talk and the figure unboxing, we had used up a lot of time.

If we ended the stream at the usual time, there wasn’t much left.

Maybe just enough time to see one cutscene?

Continuing from the last save point, the story had definitely passed the halfway mark.

While the protagonists were diligently going about their school lives, suddenly, news arrived that the Imperial Army was advancing toward the Belvur border.

From here, the tone of the game shifted sharply.

"Charlotte..."

Looking at the in-game Charlotte, Alice murmured sadly.

From that point on, Charlotte, usually cheerful and energetic, couldn’t even respond properly when spoken to, and kept staring off into the distance.

"I wonder how Charlotte would react if she saw this?"

Yeah.

I wondered too.

Just a little.