The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

Today, we went out, and on the way back, because of Alice’s strong insistence, we ended up buying clothes...

"Alice, I’m seriously asking, how exactly does the site’s algorithm work? What kind of videos were you watching to get outfits like this?"

"What do you mean what kind of videos? Obviously workout videos."

"No, I mean, even if they were workout videos..."

Are all the women in workout or fitness videos dressed like this?

......

Well, maybe not all, but it did seem like most of them wore clothes like this. It didn’t seem like it was just to chase YouTube views either; a lot of them genuinely thought the outfits were pretty.

And honestly, to be fair, they were pretty.

Of course, my sense of aesthetics still leaned more toward that of an uncle rather than a young girl. So when I thought people with nice, well-maintained bodies looked good, it was more from that kind of perspective. I didn’t really understand the actual psychology behind women choosing to wear such outfits.

Right.

I didn’t really know.

"An outfit that shows off the body this much... what happened to the sense of modesty in this world?"

And here was another one who didn’t really get it.

"Charlotte, you can’t judge just by the standards of another world. In this world, people have their own standards. Besides, socially and culturally, it’s much more open here. It’s perfectly fine to proudly show a well-maintained body."

Well, it’s true that society is more open, but the degree of openness varies greatly from person to person.

Some people spend their days off club-hopping and looking for a new fling, while others prefer to lounge at home munching popcorn and watching movies. Some people will jump into bed with someone they just met, while others value it deeply and won’t allow it until a long relationship has built up.

Of course, if you bring religion into it, you can find much more conservative cases too—but in this country, those people are a minority, so let’s skip that.

Besides, none of the girls here are the type to suddenly throw away their views on love and purity just because they moved to this world. A little over a month wasn’t enough to change their ingrained values from a much more conservative world.

Anyway.

"Alice. Serious question. Could it be that after escaping from the constraints of the imperial family, you’ve tasted too much freedom, and now you’re craving just a little bit of rebellion, as long as you don’t cross the line?"

"......"

Judging by how she avoided my eyes, I nailed it.

For the record, all five of us here were dressed in that kind of outfit. Tight, form-fitting workout clothes, like what female trainers often wear in fitness videos.

We could’ve chosen looser tracksuits, but because of Alice’s stubbornness, we ended up like this.

Alice was in sky blue, Charlotte in gray, Claire in navy, and Mia and I were in black.

The pants were all full-length but clung tightly to the legs. As for the tops, they varied a little. Claire’s was pretty bold, showing her midriff and fitting tightly, while Mia, Charlotte, and I had slightly looser tops. The outfit Alice and Claire strongly recommended for me exposed a bit of skin around the upper body.

At least Mia’s top was loose—showing that Alice still had a shred of conscience left.

...Of course, it’s true I had worn a swimsuit before. And even a bunny girl outfit, but that was for a special infiltration mission. The swimsuit was normal at a pool, and the bunny outfit was for a very specific situation.

"Still, they’re good clothes for moving around."

That’s true.

They’re made for exercise, after all.

Honestly, these were even better for mobility than the uniforms we fought in.

"Then, should we restart the stream?"

"......"

We had paused the broadcast because we couldn’t keep the stream running while changing clothes.

Even if the camera was off, nobody here wanted to risk changing clothes while others could hear noises.

As I moved the mouse to resume the broadcast—

[ Oh ]

[ Not even in-game skins lololol ]

[ 😳😳 ]

[ Nice ]

Those chats started flooding in,

And a donation message popped up:

[ Your Highness finally gave in to money 😢 ]

"...It’s all for making a living."

It would've been better if the age on my ID was real.

Then I could have used all kinds of excuses to wriggle out of this.

...Though if that were the case, the government office would’ve immediately come after us. You can’t just have a house full of kids without an adult guardian. Not to mention, getting a lease for a place like this would've been impossible.

"Alright then, according to the mission details, I’ll play the game. ...The condition was that I keep playing until the end of the stream, right?"

The chat scrolled rapidly again.

Sylvia as a character had mixed reactions.

Her design was good, and there wasn’t much issue with her character itself. But the biggest problem was that she had suddenly popped up midway through the series. And not just popped up—she had overturned the story carefully built up in the previous installments.

So naturally, she drew a lot of hate. Plus, her blank-faced nature made her a popular target for "breaking" memes, especially on famous Japanese illustration sites. (Not that I looked them up—thinking about it made me feel gross.)

But I was different.

How many of those people actually saw me as the real Sylvia?

Most probably just saw me as some cosplayer doing a themed stream.

Maybe a few thought I was taking the "concept" unusually seriously.

But I was a real person.

Hating a character is one thing—but hating a real person because of it would be pure insanity.

Though being disliked for being a female streamer wasn’t anything new.

"Here."

"......"

Claire, ever so helpful, handed me the ring-shaped controller.

I had been deliberately stalling, pretending to set things up.

But the mission donation had already climbed past 300,000 won.

"...Alright then."

I let out a deep sigh and accepted the controller.

*

And, naturally—

"Haa, haa, haa... huuh."

Before long, I was sweating all over.

At least I hadn’t drooled yet—that was proof my mind hadn’t completely broken.

[ She's dying lolololol ]

[ Fighting! ]

[ Your Highness, breathe! ]

"Haa... huu."

I forced myself to inhale and exhale, trying to reorganize my body.

[ Now, everyone together: breathe in~ breathe out~ breathe in~ breathe out~ ]

A donation came in, playing a recording of a famous female streamer’s voice. It was incredibly annoying. Not her fault, of course, but still—how did they match the voice and donation so perfectly?

"Sis, are you okay? Want me to switch with you?"

"There’s mission money riding on this. Today, I’ll finish it. But next time..."

"Okay, okay. I’ll do it too, happy?"

Alice said with a laugh, and I swallowed my resentment.

This villa was over 30 years old. It was decently soundproofed for its age, but stomping around on the spot would definitely be heard downstairs.

The game company had kindly included an option for people like us: Instead of marching in place, you could slightly squat and bend your knees.

At a glance, it didn’t look like it would use much stamina — but doing it for real felt like hell.

My thighs were about to explode. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Naturally, my clothes were completely soaked.

"Just a little more and you’ll clear it!"

Charlotte, feeling a little sorry for me, cheered me on.

[ Baby Sylvia needs encouragement ]

[ Are you giving up lololol ]

[ What, not taking the mission money? ]

"Here I go... right now."

I forced my body to move again, and ran into another enemy blocking my path.

"Haa."

I let out a heavy sigh and got into # Nоvеlight # position.

And then—

"Another... squat..."

That’s what slipped out between my teeth.

When setting up the game, I had foolishly set myself as someone who "works out a bit," trying to show off. Claire and Alice had egged me on, and I had a little pride too.

After all, I had always managed to keep up with the hyperactive Claire and Alice, and even if I wasn’t a real soldier, I was a trainee once, and I had experienced more battles than most veterans in this world.

But—

The truth was, I had always been using my rewind ability to conserve stamina.

And this game?

It had a hardcore mode specifically for people like that.

That was the mode I was playing now.

Each tiny segment of the stamina gauge was narrower than a pinky fingernail.

"...Next time, you’re all doing this too!"

"Okay, okay, I get it."

Alice laughed as I shouted one word per squat.

The chat was absolutely flooded with lol’s.