BLBJ 1.1

BL Game Live On-Air

Life can be so unpredictable. Just like right now.

‘What the hell is going on?’

Eizen had been an ordinary fallen noble just moments ago. Of course, that fact hadn’t changed.

[The Broadcast is Starting]

As an unfamiliar phrase flashed through his mind, memories from his past life flooded in like a tidal wave.

Everything came back to him without omission – the world of the internet, YouTube, all kinds of video media, even live broadcasts.

Eizen couldn’t move a muscle. 

He’d never even considered the idea of a past life. He’d never imagined any world other than his own, so why were these memories surfacing?

They were far too detailed and vast to simply dismiss as madness.

‘What the hell is this?’

Judging by these past life memories, the place he was living in now was a fantasy world. A world with magic. Nobles. Emperors and Kings. 

That kind of fantasy world.

Eizen frowned.

Fine, whatever. Let’s say this is a fantasy world.

But what the hell is this about a broadcast?

The moment he wondered, someone entered.

[Deep Sea Explorer has entered]
[Viewers: 1]

‘Huh?’

Only one thought flashed through Eizen’s mind: ‘Broadcast starting? Has entered? This is totally YouTube, right?’

Eizen blinked blankly, but the notification floating in the corner of his vision wouldn’t disappear.

💬 Is this a BL game?

A question popped up in the chat, but how was he supposed to reply?

Eizen rolled his eyes and instead asked back, “Huh?”

💬 You posted BL Game LIVE Broadcast, didn’t you?

💬Whatever. This is ridiculous.

[Deep Sea Explorer has left]
[Viewers: 0]

It happened so fast he could only feel flustered.

‘A BL game?’

Judging by his past life memories, this was a broadcast. He had no idea how to stream without a camera, but who cares? Just recalling his past life wasn’t normal to begin with. 

Eizen bit his lip hard.

‘BL game.’

He wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with BL games. In his past life, he had an older sister, and she was the type who watched anything and everything related to BL.

Of course, as a heterosexual man, Eizen had never shown any interest in such things himself. Naturally, he respected his sister’s tastes. 

Through violence.

‘Bad memories…’

Eizen forced himself to shake off the painfully dirty memory and tried to understand the current situation.

So, he was live right now, and viewers could join.

He wasn’t sure exactly what the channel name was, but it seemed to be posted as [BL Game LIVE Broadcast].

Thinking it through step by step, Eizen frowned.

‘Why the hell?’
‘Why the hell, of all people, me?’
‘Why the hell, out of all the games, a BL game?‘

The biggest question was the most obvious one: How the hell is this even live?

Eizen was curious. But there was no one to answer him.

He wanted to grab someone right now and say, ‘Right in front of my eyes, [Live] just popped up. This looks like YouTube. What’s YouTube?’

‘Well, it’s the internet…’

He couldn’t possibly explain it all in detail.

[Acorn has entered]

[Viewers: 1]

‘Someone’s here!’

Finally, someone who might be able to help him figure this out had entered. Worried the only viewer might leave, Eizen quickly spoke up.

“Hello!”

💬Hello.

Fortunately, Eizen’s greeting was acknowledged.

💬How far along are you right now?

It was actually Eizen who wanted to ask the question. “Um, I have something I want to ask.”

💬Yes.

“What does the room title say?”

💬What the hell? LOL You’re funny.

💬You put BL Game LIVE Broadcast up there, right?

“Oh, is that so?”

What should he ask next? Is this even a real game? Or how should he proceed?

As Eizen pursed his lips, Acorn, seemingly impatient, typed in the chat.

💬Aren’t you going to proceed? What’s next?

“Well, that…”

Eizen didn’t know either. Just as he hesitantly stammered and closed his mouth, another person entered.

[Misogu has entered]

[Viewers: 2]

💬Drawn in by the beautiful thumbnail.

“Hello.”

💬So you play while chatting? What game is this? The graphics are really good.

💬Yeah. I came in because the graphics looked so awesome, too.

💎[Misogu donated 1,000 won] — Handsome guys are the best!

As the viewer donated, messages flashed brightly before his eyes.

Eizen froze for a moment.

‘Uh, what do I do? Should I react to the donation?’

Just as he awkwardly bent his head to bow, the notification window popped up again.

[Hidden Quest Complete]
★ Receive the donation

[Reward]
★ Shop access has been enabled

The words Shop Access flashed before Eizen’s eyes, and a shop icon began to glow in one corner.

💬Wow, the shop’s open too.

💬Could it be a cash shop?

He didn’t know what it was, but it seemed best to try out this new feature first.

Eizen opened the shop without difficulty. Just thinking about it made the shop appear.

[♥Shop♥]

[Potions]
[Skills]
[Abilities]
[Items]

💬Wow, look, they’re even selling skills and abilities in the shop.

💬This shop looks like it’s just starting up. They’re totally trying to milk us for money.

They’re really going for it.

Eizen licked his lips and carefully selected the Potion Shop.

[♥Shop – Potions♥]

[HP Recovery Potion]
[MP Recovery Potion]
[Stamina Recovery Potion]
[Affinity Potion]

It was straightforward to understand. 

HP, MP, Stamina. Those are the basics of any game. But what the hell is affinity?

Eizen stared at it with a sour expression.

💬They’re just selling Affinity in the shop.

💬They’re practically begging you to spend real money.

He checked the skill, ability, and item shops too, but everything could be solved with cash. 

Even the Skills Shop sold skills like swordsmanship and archery, so it really was a world where money could buy anything.

The Abilities Shop sold things like charm or stamina, and the Items Shop sold all sorts of miscellaneous items.

A thought flashed through Eizen’s mind: ‘With this, you could do anything. Literally anything.’

You could earn money diligently and become a great swordsman, or massively boost your intelligence to become incredibly smart. 

Of course, how noticeable that would be was another matter entirely.

‘With just this shop, I could escape being a fallen noble.’

How dreadful was the life of a fallen noble, worrying daily just to put food on the table.

Though long since fallen, Eizen was still a noble. That fact didn’t help his life one bit.

Anywhere he tried to find work, he was dismissed with a “My Lord” and sent away. And it wasn’t like he had a farm or estate bringing in income either.

It meant a life where he could only scrape together every last bit of wealth, real or imagined.

Even to become a tutor somewhere, he’d need a lot of education. Unfortunately, his family had been ruined since his grandfather’s generation, and they hadn’t been able to educate Eizen well enough for that. 

Eizen swallowed hard.

He’d get people to donate money to him. Then he’d buy skills or items with that money and resell them. 

That way, making money would be quick. 

Articles about YouTubers raking in millions flashed through his mind. 

In a world where making videos for money was a profession, he could do it too.

‘Whatever I do, it’ll be better than being a fallen noble.’

💬So what are you gonna do now?

💬By the way, did you start? Still in the tutorial?

His mind began racing. He didn’t know why the stream started with a BL game, but people were here to watch BL games regardless.

‘I know what BL is.’

Men loving each other… Well, that sort of thing, right?

Eizen bit his lip hard. Should he dream of becoming a millionaire YouTuber while dating a guy to escape being a fallen noble? Or should he just give up this broadcast, claiming he never liked men in the first place?

Just then, Eizen’s stomach growled.

Yeah, he was hungry. 

Damn it, he wanted to escape this damn miserable life as a fallen noble. 

There were tons of people who were successful YouTubers, so why couldn’t Eizen do it?

Besides, this was a fantasy world. There were tons of things people would find fascinating.

The only problem was that the viewers entering this room wanted BL…

That is, Boys Love.

‘Let’s do it. Yeah, I’ll give it a shot. Why not? Even celebrities deliberately put on business gay performances, so why shouldn’t I be able to?‘

It’s all about the money. 

Thinking that way, he figured he could manage things like holding hands intimately with a guy or hugging him.

No, he had to do it. It was the first glimmer of hope he’d seen in his life as a fallen aristocrat.

Eizen smiled faintly.

“We’ve only just begun.”

The show? It’ll work out somehow, whatever. 

Just as that slightly reckless thought crossed his mind…

A notification window popped up.

[Quest]
★ Attend the Founding Party

[Reward]
★ Encounter with a Target Character

💬Oh, there it is. A quest.

💬The target character must be handsome, right?

💬So we’re going to the Founding Party now?

“Yes, I suppose I should go to the Founding Party.”

The moment Eizen answered, someone knocked on the door.

“Who is it?”
“I have a letter for Eizen Sarnah.”
“I am Eizen Sarnah.”

Peeking through the slightly opened door, a man accompanied by two servants held out an elegant envelope. “It’s an invitation to the Founding Party.”

💬Wow, an invitation arrived right after the quest popped up.

💬Guess it’s a game after all; even the NPC delivering the invitation looks above average.

“Thank you.”

Eizen accepted the invitation he received every year. His feelings were a bit complicated. Until now, as a fallen noble, he’d never attended even though he received invitations. He had no clothes to wear. And he knew no other nobles.

💬If you meet a capture target at the Founding Party, shouldn’t you at least try to make an effort?

💬Your face is your weapon. With looks like that, just smiling would be enough to charm anyone.

💬Misogu, you seem to be focusing too much on looks.

💬What else are you supposed to look at besides the face?

💬You’re right about that.

Before he knew it, Misogu and Acorn had started chatting away.

Eizen unfolded the invitation. Its contents were much the same as the ones he received every year. Neat handwriting, likely from a servant or attendant, simply stating the invitation.

‘What on earth should I wear?’

Eizen swallowed hard, suppressing a sigh that threatened to escape.

💬Come to think of it, when is the Founding Party?

💬It can’t possibly be in real time, two days from now, right?

Eizen checked the date written at the bottom of the letter. He glanced at the calendar hanging on the wall, then looked at the date again.

“Tonight…?”