"That isn't what's important right now."
"Bihyung, don't you want to become the 'Dokkaebi King'?'"
"I'm asking if you don't want to become the greatest storyteller among the [Independent Leg], [Gildal], and [Imoemangnyang], surpassing them all."
I had no idea who Independent Leg or Gildal were, but it was easy enough to guess they were Dokkaebi like Bihyung.
"Dokkaebi Bihyung, make a contract with us. Then we'll make you... the king of the Dokkaebi."
I didn't know what kind of being the king of the Dokkaebi was, but if even a low-ranking Dokkaebi could wield this much influence, it definitely wasn't a weak position.
And the authority to command other Dokkaebi would come as a bonus.
I had already guessed it from the way Bihyung looked at Dokja and me during Sponsor Selection, but as expected, Dokja hadn't chosen a Sponsor either.
The reason I hadn't chosen one was distrust.
Then why hadn't Dokja chosen one?
Knowing her personality, it probably wasn't for the same reason as me. It was more likely because there was some advantage waiting later. I just didn't know what that advantage was.
The Dokkaebi sneered at us, or more precisely at Kim Dokja, who had laid down these conditions, as if testing us.
"You seem to have misunderstood me. I never told you to 'support' us."
"I don't need your power. I need your 'channel.'"
A channel. The system that let the Constellations watch everything we did.
If I remembered right, every Dokkaebi had a channel, and their status was determined by the number of viewers that channel drew.
And judging by the early reactions, Bihyung's channel didn't seem very large.
"You don't seem to get it, so I'll make it simple. I want to sign an exclusive contract with your channel."
"That's right."
'A Stream Contract?'
"What's a Stream Contract?"
The two of them were talking like they were the only ones who understood, so how was I supposed to know what they meant?
"Normally, it's a contract made between a Dokkaebi and Constellations. In exchange for having their Incarnation appear on a specific channel, the Constellations receive a portion of the Coins that Incarnation earns."
She said it was a contract between a Dokkaebi and a Constellation, but we didn't have any Constellation, did we?
I couldn't see what benefit that contract would give us.
"Just watch."
"Watch your mouth when you talk to my sister—!"
"Ah, seriously! Just watch!"
When I finally flared up at the Dokkaebi's filthy mouth, Dokja covered my mouth and yanked me toward her.
Soft
"!!!"
"What? Why is your face all red...!!"
Smack!
"Why is my idiot brother reacting because his hand touched his little sister's chest?! Are you a pervert?!!!"
"Stop hitting me! It really hurts!!"
"I'm hitting you because it's supposed to hurt! And how does a guy who almost beat Yoo Joonghyuk get to complain about pain?!"
I didn't know if it was one of Dokja's skills or what, but even though I was obviously stronger, for some reason it felt like my stats didn't apply whenever she hit me.
The pain landed exactly as it was.
"Anyway, to continue my answer, it's because we don't have a Sponsor that this contract is worth making."
"What do you think Constellations come into channels for?"
As far as I knew, the Constellations had one reason for entering channels.
To relieve their boredom by watching a battle royale fought with our lives on the line.
That was exactly why I hated the Constellations.
Creatures swollen with inferiority, chasing entertainment for its own sake, trying to feel their own superiority without any greater purpose.
That was one side of the Constellations as I saw them.
'That's why I almost prefer the Demon Kings. At least those bastards don't pretend to be noble.'
"To become a famous channel, you need to satisfy at least one of two groups for certain. Either stay true to entertainment, or help them find a promising target to sponsor."
Of the reasons Dokja listed, the one I hadn't known was the search for sponsorship targets, in other words, finding Incarnations worth investing in.
Though even that was probably entertainment at its root.
"I even gave you a hint and you still don't get it. No wonder you still can't break past three subscribers."
"What if there were a channel that could satisfy both 'finding entertainment' and 'finding Incarnations'... at the same time?"
I see. So that was your angle.
Starting with 'finding entertainment,' we were family. A story about family struggling desperately to protect each other.
Put badly, it was such an obvious story it had become a cliché in countless tales. Put well, it meant it was a theme valuable enough to be adopted by that many stories in the first place.
As for the second part, 'finding Incarnations,' I had to admit Dokja was using me here.
After all, I had claimed a narrow victory against that insane regressor.
That meant it wasn't just entertaining. It had become proof of my potential.
At the same time, the Constellations would be thinking, 'If we make even one of those two our Incarnation, the other will follow.'
Especially after seeing how close we were as siblings.
If taking just one as an Incarnation meant there was someone else willing to throw away their life for that Incarnation, then naturally the survival rate of their chosen Incarnation would rise too.
"Looks like you figured it out, Oppa. I can tell because you can't stop smiling."
"You sly little thing. Using even my potential for your 'finding Incarnations' angle. That's my sister for you!"
"I knew you'd say that. The Constellations are probably already in an uproar by now, wondering who these lunatics are that dared stand against that 'regressor.'"
Bihyung started looking back and forth between Dokja and me with a grave expression, like he had been genuinely persuaded by her silver tongue.
"Just open the channel. It's about to start. Oppa, you've rested enough, right?"
"Ugh. I'm sore all over. That bitch Joonghyuk could've hit a little softer."
Ding