BLBJ 3.1

XX Skill

[Ad Revenue: 11,380 won]

[Current Balance: 649,380 won]

The first thing to greet him upon opening his eyes was the ad revenue.

“Ten… thousand won range…”

He snapped to attention.

He’d only broadcast twice so far. Yet just from editing and uploading, it was enough to bring in ten thousand won in revenue! Even if he received 1,000 won per donation, wouldn’t that require eleven people?

“Thank you, Misogu.”

Eizen clasped his hands together and offered his gratitude to Misogu, the editor who had been shouting “handsome guy!” at the top of his lungs.

‘I want to check the video, but that’s not possible.’

There was no way to watch YouTube videos. It was a bit disappointing. What kind of video could have earned ten thousand won overnight! 

Ad revenue coming in!

Eizen, feeling quite cheerful that morning, began preparing for the broadcast while humming a tune.

It had only been three days, yet already everything about him felt tailored to the broadcast. Still, it wasn’t bad. This broadcast had changed so much.

“Ah.”

Eizen’s hand, which had been brushing his hair while humming, stopped.

A fact he’d momentarily forgotten came back to him.

It wasn’t just ending with a meeting with the capture targets; he’d planted a flag. What did planting a flag mean? It meant things would now flow into lovey-dovey content.

‘That means… I might kiss them again.’

He could handle kissing. Actually, it felt kinda nice. If he didn’t think about kissing a guy, just thought of it as simply kissing, he could accept it easily.

Eizen was startled by how quickly he’d progressed – just two days, and he was already thinking, ‘Maybe this much with a guy is okay.’ 

Reaching ‘I like guys!’ was still impossible, though.

He stared blankly at his reflection in the mirror before letting out a short sigh. He was both afraid and excited about how things might develop into something romantic from here on out.

“Gasp!”

Excited? What the hell was he thinking?

Eizen buried his face in the pillow. His carefully brushed hair was now a mess, but that was the least of his worries.

Should he be looking forward to a relationship with a guy?

Sure, it was a BL game, but was it really okay for his morals to crumble this easily?

Eizen ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. He was starting to fear how much more he might change each day.

“Aaargh!”

Screaming, Eizen rolled around on the bed, thrashing about for a while before suddenly sitting up.

‘What time is it?’

It was already almost 12 o’clock. 

Eizen hurriedly smoothed out his clothes and neatly arranged his hair.

The moment it hit 12 o’clock sharp, Eizen turned on the broadcast as promised.

[Broadcast Starting]

With pleasant notifications, viewers began pouring in.

💬Saw the promo post and came in!

💬Mr. Eizen, your character seems to be getting more beautiful every day.

💬Really? Seems like you’ve gotten prettier.

💬You’re handsome!

💬Saw the edited version!

Viewers shouted frantically.

It seemed a promotional post with a screenshot had been uploaded somewhere. And people had flocked over after seeing it.

Eizen smiled brightly and bowed his head in greeting.

“Hello. Hello.”

Despite it being only his third broadcast, the chat room people seemed to feel a certain familiarity, calling each other by nickname and exchanging greetings.

Eizen smiled wryly as he noticed the chat window gradually slowing down.

“Today… ”

What should I do? Since there wasn’t much else to do, he’d planned to just go find a capture target to attack.

Suddenly, a quest popped up. As if it had been waiting for the stream to start.

[Quest]
★ Participate in the Hunting Tournament
[Reward]
★ 1 Affection Potion

💬Hunting Tournament!

💬They’re giving Affection Potions as rewards!

“Since the quest arrived, I’ll participate in the hunting tournament,” Eizen quickly changed his plans.

‘For a hunting tournament, I should receive an invitation.’

The moment he thought that, someone knocked on the door.

“Yes!”

Eizen opened the door. The person at the door glanced at Eizen’s face and then called out briskly.

“Baron Eizen Sarnah?”
“Yes, that’s me.”
“Here’s your invitation to the Hunting Tournament.”

💬Wow, just like a game, it came right away.

💬Is it gonna be another “Join today!” kind of quest?

💬Could be.

Just as expected.

As soon as Eizen opened the invitation, the words ‘in 2 hours’ jumped out at him.

“Well, well. Looks like I really have to participate today.”

Eizen looked down at his clothes. He’d had to wear those ragged clothes to the party, but he couldn’t possibly go to the hunting tournament looking that shabby.

‘I need to buy something at the shop.’

“First, I’ll buy some clothes.”

💬You’ve collected quite a bit in donations, right?

💬Thanks to the kisses, you probably made some.

💬Wow, but this is making us spend a ton right from the start.

[♥Shop – Items♥]
[Suit]
[Silk Suit]
[Handsome Man’s Suit]
[Extremely Gorgeous Suit]
[Wedding Suit]
[Hunting Outfit: Event Special Sale]

How considerate. It seemed clothes were added based on events as they occurred.

Eizen selected the hunting outfit without hesitation.

[Hunting Outfit]
➤ 1,000,000 won
➤ Clothes worn for hunting

“Huh?”

One million won? One million won!

💬Aren’t you short on money?

💬You probably are. You couldn’t have saved up a million won.

Eizen bit his lip hard. He cleared his throat once and closed the window.

A moment of silence passed. Eizen’s face burned hot. He’d chosen it boldly, but he couldn’t buy it because he didn’t have the money. He hadn’t anticipated this situation.

💬Couldn’t you just wear a decent suit?

💬It’s a hunting competition. Shouldn’t he wear hunting clothes?

💬But does he even know how to hunt? He’s supposed to be a fallen noble.

💬Oh, right. Doesn’t he need to buy skills?

People started whispering and murmuring.

‘Oh, right. I don’t have any hunting skills.’

What even is a hunting skill? He can’t even ride a horse.

Eizen opened [♥Shop – Skills♥]. Swordplay and archery were there, of course, but the one that stood out was XX.

💬Forget everything else, let’s buy that XX.

💬Do you even know what XX is?

💬Of course XX is XX.

💬Hahahahahaha

💬So what if he’s bad at hunting? As long as he’s good at XX, that’s all that matters.

He knew this would happen.

Eizen pressed his forehead. Of course, these weren’t the kind of people who’d let him buy something like horseback riding without a fight.

“Are you sure you want to buy the XX skill?”

💬Let’s do it!

💬Let’s go all out with the XX skill.

💬I’m curious what it is, so buy it for us!

Eizen selected the skill labeled [XX F].

[XX F Rank]
➤ 100,000 won
➤ XXXXXXXXX
➤ This content is not yet open.

💬Content that hasn’t opened yet.

💬What could it beeee? I’m really curious.

💬Hurry up and open the content!

They say a bad feeling never lies. The thought that must have crossed every viewer’s mind also crossed Eizen’s.

💬Let’s buy it first.

💬Don’t know what it is, but hehehe, let’s buy it early.

💎[SixSense donated 1,000 won.] — XX! XX!

💬SixSense hahahaha

💬Oh god, my eyes deceived me for a sec. I totally read the end of sense as something else.

💬Dude, keep it down, you’re being way too obvious!

Eizen let out a deep sigh.

“Then, I’ll purchase the XX skill first.”

If he’d known this would happen, he wouldn’t have shown the [♥Shop – Skills♥].

‘Why did I even show it?’

[XX has been upgraded to F-rank]

[Current Balance: 549,380 won]

The [♥Shop — Skills♥] is now selling XX E-rank.

💬How much is XX E-rank?

💬Isn’t it around 500,000 won?

💬Crazy. Let’s buy it right away.

“No, shouldn’t we handle the suit first?”

Despite Eizen’s urgent protests, people kept shouting for the E-Rank. Should he just ignore them and proceed, or follow the majority opinion of the viewers?

After a moment’s hesitation, Eizen closed his eyes tightly.

‘Once it’s bought, there won’t be any more talk anyway. Think long-term.’

He couldn’t shake the feeling he was being drawn in, but he forced himself to ignore that premonition.

[XX E-Rank]
➤ 500,000 won
➤ XXXXXXXXX
➤ This content is not yet open.

‘Ah, damn it. I wish it had been a million won instead.’

Unfortunately, it was exactly 500,000 won. Now that he’s shown all his cash, there’s no backing out.

💬This is fate.

💬Someone put on some BGM. Destiny!

💬It’s a sign, a divine revelation!

People cheered.

Eizen closed his eyes tight and pressed the XX skill button once more.

[XX has been upgraded to E-rank]

[Current balance: 49,380 won]

He was broke again. Now he didn’t even have 50,000 won. That meant he couldn’t afford a single clean, decent suit.

“What about clothes? I don’t even have enough left to buy a suit.”

💎[Misogu donated 10,000 won] — Your face is your weapon, so it’s fine!

Eizen forced a smile. 

It was true, he’d casually mentioned hoping for a donation, but Misogu responded immediately. Plus, since Misogu was also the editor, Eizen couldn’t bring himself to say anything.

💬Actually, if you wore rags, the audience would like you more.

💬Why would they like it?

💬You know why.

💬I don’t know.

Perhaps because it was Misogu speaking, everyone accepted it instantly.

Eizen silently shed tears of regret and let out a small sigh. After the party, the hunting competition would be a total disaster too.

‘I’ll probably meet the capture targets there again, right?’

No, in normal dating sims, don’t you dress up and do all sorts of things to gain favor? But this game… no, reality is strangely…

A flag was planted for Eizen, who was dressed like a beggar.

Wondering if it was the difference between reality and the game, or simply because he was the main character, Eizen shook his head to clear his mind of the distracting thought.

“I’ll be heading out now. I have to walk, you see.”

💬Ah, seriously, please give Mr. Eizen a carriage.

💬Shouldn’t someone be coming to fetch him?

💬He’s not worthy of a carriage.

People were getting angry on Eizen’s behalf when, as if waiting for this moment, a carriage pulled up right in front of him.

“Eizen Sarnah, sir?”
“Yes.”
“I see. You were at home.”

Who is this? The thought barely formed before the man bowed his head.

“His Lordship the Marquis of Nemeo requested I escort you.”
“His Grace the Marquis?”
“Yes. He assumed you received the hunting tournament invitation. He wished to offer assistance.”

💬Tennes! Tennes!

💬Tennes is sharp. Good. Approved.

💬The flag’s already been planted, hehehe

Help? For what exactly?

Eizen blinked, staring at the man before him. But there was no further explanation.

‘Well, I guess I have no choice but to go.’

In the game, whenever an event happened, you just had to respond.

Eizen had already naturally accepted that this place existed on the strange border between reality and the game. Honestly, what other explanation was there?

Here, the moment you thought, ‘Shouldn’t an invitation come?’, the invitation arrived.

Here, the moment you thought, ‘What should I do?’, someone offered a helping hand.

‘Investing a massive amount of money into a skill called XX?’

That stung the most. 

Eizen obediently climbed into the carriage.

💬Tennes is still the main character to focus on!

💬If you show off too much at the start, you might get less screen time later.

💬I’m sticking with Pike, no matter what.

💎[RabbitPrince donated 5,000 won] — Usually when they take someone like this, they lock them up.

“Huh?”

💬No way. The game’s just starting.

💬Looks like RabbitPrince is wrong this time lololol

But why the nickname ‘RabbitPrince’ of all things? 

Hearing someone who spends all day, every day just playing games and wishing nothing but for the game to be fun say something like that… even to Eizen, it seemed pretty credible, which was the problem. 

Unconsciously feeling a chill, Eizen rubbed his arms frantically.

While Eizen was lost in these thoughts, the carriage had already arrived at Marquis Nemeo’s residence, where they had come yesterday.

“Eizen.” As if waiting, Tennes kindly opened the carriage door for him.

💬Already hooked.

💬What’s Tennes hooked on?

💬Mukbang. Mukbang.

💬Ah, right. K-Gong.

“Thank you for having me. But what brings you…”

Eizen took the hand Tennes offered without a second thought, then stepped down, startled. A natural escort? 

Snapping back to reality, he awkwardly tried to pull his hand away, but Tennes gripped it tightly.

When he looked up, flustered, Tennes gave a faint smile.

“I was wondering if you’ve eaten yet.”

💬As expected of a K-Gong. First question is always, “Have you eaten yet?”

💬Definitely a character made by a Korean.

“Ah, no. Not yet…”

Not so much “not yet” as “there was nothing to eat.” Plus, he’d eaten his fill yesterday, so he wasn’t ravenously hungry now.

Tennes smiled at Eizen’s brief reply.

“I thought you might be like that, so I prepared a meal.”
“A meal too?”
“I heard you received an invitation to the hunting competition.”

When exactly? Didn’t he just get the invitation a moment ago?

Eizen shot him a questioning look, but Tennes offered no further explanation.

“I was worried you might not have suitable attire, so I hurried to bring you here.”
“Ah, thank you.”
“I should have contacted you earlier, I apologize for that.”
“No, it’s fine. I’m just grateful you thought of me.”

Eizen bowed his head, almost as if competing with Tennes, before he could finally step inside.

💬Tennes is totally a sweetheart.

💬I’m still team Christian, though.

💬Isn’t Tennes a little too smooth, though?

💬Usually they lock you up at times like this…

💬Mr. RabbitPrince hahaha

Delicious smells wafted over from the dining area. Eizen’s arm, which had unconsciously started moving in that direction, was grabbed abruptly.

“Let’s pick out clothes first.”
“Ah, yes.”

Eizen followed Tennes upstairs in a daze.

He’d been fretting about how to manage after pouring all his money into XX skills and ending up penniless. He never imagined someone would appear out of nowhere to solve his problem like this.

The place Eizen followed Tennes into was a fairly spacious room.

‘This is the legendary dressing room!’

All sorts of clothes, shoes, and accessories hung neatly in rows, filling the space.

“I’d like to buy you new ones, but the hunting tournament is imminent, so please make do with mine.”
“No, this is more than enough. Thank you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

Tennes dismissed the servant and personally retrieved a garment. It was a hunting outfit adorned with elaborate patterns. Eizen, who reached out to take the impeccably clean garment – so pristine it seemed it had never been worn – bowed his head.

“Thank you. Truly… How can I ever thank you…”
“No, you should try it on first.”
“Huh?”

Tennes smiled brightly and gave the garment a light shake.

“You won’t know if it fits unless you try it on.”
“If you’re lending it to me, I don’t need to be picky… as long as it fits roughly…”

Wasn’t he just lending it? Eizen tilted his head in confusion.

Then Tennes’ words pierced his ears. “Take it off.”

“Huh?”
“You have to take it off to try it on.”
“Th-that… ”

Suddenly told to undress. The unexpected demand left him speechless.

💬Seriously, the brakes are broken.

💬Did he have brakes to begin with?

💬Seems like the word ‘brakes’ isn’t in his dictionary.

💬LOL What happens if he takes it off?

💬Locked up for sure.

💬RabbitPrince hahahaha

They were all laughing and joking like it wasn’t their problem!

Watching the flood of cheerful comments, Eizen could only let out an awkward, strained laugh.

“Then I’ll change and come back out. Where should I change?”

Eizen reached out again, but Tennes didn’t hand over the clothes.

“You’ll need help putting it on, so take it off first.”
“Why would I need help putting clothes on?”
“That’s just how noble clothing is supposed to be.”

That doesn’t seem right.

But Eizen had no rebuttal. Though he was a noble, he was a fallen noble who’d never lived a truly noble life.

Eizen pursed his lips.

“Th-that’s fine, I’ll manage on my own.”
“Why are you acting like that? Do I make you uncomfortable?”

The word ‘yes’ pushed against his tongue, but Eizen forced himself to swallow it back.

“We’re both men. What’s the big deal?”

‘It’s precisely because we’re both men that it’s a problem.’

If this were just a regular dating simulation game. If it were a typical game where a man and a woman connect. Eizen would have laughed heartily and replied, ‘You’re right!’

Unfortunately, this was a BL game.

Meaning the person to be cautious around wasn’t a woman, but a man.

And not just any man, either.

His opponent was a capture target, someone Eizen knew for certain already had feelings for him.

“Well, um…”
“Your embarrassment is making me feel embarrassed too.”

Tennes chuckled softly, then approached and casually placed his hand on Eizen’s shirt button.

“Huh, Your Grace!”
“Call me Tennes.”

His long fingers undid Eizen’s button without a second thought.

💬He’s undressing you?

💬Things are suddenly moving fast!.

💬How far do you plan to go today?

💬Just like they say, strike while the iron’s hot. Let’s just go all the way.

💬Usually this is when you’d XX.

💬RabbitPrince hahaha… Have you given up on the confinement story?

Eizen blinked rapidly. 

‘Don’t do this!’ 

Should he grab his clothes and run? Or just obediently undress?

‘If I take my clothes off, won’t this be rated R?’

Worrying about the broadcast in the middle of this? Eizen let out a hollow laugh. He was already scared of himself, reacting as if he’d sold his soul to the broadcast.

While he was lost in thought, Eizen’s shirt slipped off his shoulders with a soft rustle.

“Eek!”