The Grill-Wielding Saintess of the Dead

Chapter 136 Plague Duo 3

It was a story from about 60 years ago.

After arriving in the ‘previous world,’ Shia had held Menelapie’s hand and fought against the Demon King together.

However, while living in the imperial palace, Shia had a sudden realization.

‘The language is… different…?’

She wanted to read books, so she visited the library, or when she faced other attendants besides Menelapie, Shia realized that the language of this world wasn’t Korean.

She had to learn the language all over again from the beginning.

Ugh…

Back in her previous life, she had luckily done well on her college entrance exams and went to a good university, but that was purely luck.

Shia, who naturally hated studying, found it a bit troublesome to learn a new language.

‘But, when I talked to Menelapie, there were no issues…? What is this?’

The first person Shia had met and spoken to in this new world was Menelapie.

They didn’t need to communicate with words to understand each other.

Just by looking at each other’s eyes, they could grasp the situation.

It wasn’t a prophecy, yet Menelapie always acted as if she knew what would happen next.

Later, after defeating the Demon King, when Teresa studied and researched Menelapie’s ability, it was revealed that Menelapie’s extraordinary understanding and analysis were due to her power as a hero.

[To put it simply, the strange power of Her Majesty the No-Panties Empress is analysis.]

[Analysis?]

Menelapie Hailam is a hero.

It wasn’t clear whether she had been chosen by the gods or by the world itself, but she was a hero regardless.

And when there’s a hero, there are naturally companions—a saintess and a witch.

In Yujin’s case, there was also Olgania, a warrior and vanguard.

In any case, heroes and their parties were granted special powers beyond the abilities they had honed.

Yujin, a hero from another world, was given a reality-altering ability that could turn lies into truth.

Yeonseo, a hero from Earth, had the power to manipulate space freely, twist it, and even designate coordinates for teleportation.

However, the martial arts, swordsmanship, and strength Menelapie had accumulated were entirely human achievements.

As a hero, the ability she was born with was called the ‘Golden Eye.’

[The analytical eye encompasses various categories such as understanding, observation, and detection. Her Majesty the No-Panties Empress can understand someone’s intentions, predict unseen attack routes, and this power is separate from mana or holy power. The original analytical eye was artificially created by ancient wizards who wanted to explore the wisdom of objects…]

[Ugh… Can you make it simpler?]

[Good grief. Normally, I’d have to spend all night explaining this…]

Alright, since it’s you, Shia, I’ll simplify it just for you.

[In short, Menelapie’s Golden Eye is an ability to immediately analyze whatever she perceives. While she can gain knowledge and feedback through her innate abilities, interpreting and fully understanding that information is something Her Majesty the No-Panties Empress does because she’s simply smart.]

Wait… so even if I had that ability, it would be useless to me?

Exactly.

Our Shia is unusually sharp today.

[It’s probably not something she can always use at will. Just as a person can’t forcibly stop their own heart, controlling the Golden Eye must be difficult. It’s less about understanding objects and more about comprehending everything she perceives. Although it has no offensive capabilities, in terms of utility and understanding the battle situation, it’s quite overpowered. She can instantly grasp the battlefield, attack routes, weaknesses, and even strategies in large-scale battles.]

If she can analyze and apply this information, Menelapie could foresee movements, countermeasures, and attacks. Even if she lacked the raw strength of the Demon King, Shia’s ability to fight on equal terms before returning from the Void Palace was all thanks to her Golden Eye.

[She can see all the attack routes, and with Menelapie’s physical prowess to exploit those openings… it’s almost like precognition. Though, it’s far from actual foresight.]

It may not be flashy, but it’s definitely a competent ability for a hero.

Besides, Menelapie’s strength and skills come from her own training and efforts as a human, so the lack of flashiness doesn’t matter.

○○○○

And now in 2088.

Menelapie Hailam, who had come to Earth in search of Shia, found her Golden Eye to be just as useful.

It wasn’t that she consciously used her Golden Eye for analysis—it was more like an inherent passive ability.

Thanks to the Golden Eye, Menelapie was more skilled with modern cooking utensils, seasonings, and ingredients than Shia.

And the reason she was able to blend into this world and the Hunter Era without difficulty was due to her exceptional abilities in analysis.

At this moment, Menelapie was using her Golden Eye more intensely than she ever had in her life.

No, rather than intensifying it, it was more like a volcanic eruption.

“Um, eh… Menelapie…?”

Shia was flustered, but the murderous aura swirling in Menelapie’s Golden Eyes was no joke.

Who was Her Majesty’s Golden Eye targeting?

Of course, it was the drone camera.

Specifically, the broadcast screen and chat box that displayed someone calling Shia a ‘shared toilet for the hero party.’

And it was aimed at the person who wrote that comment.

Crackle, crackle…!

Menelapie’s golden eyes gleamed more brilliantly than ever before.

No, it wasn’t just glowing—it was sparking with an aura, like electricity jumping from her eyes.

‘Understood.’

She understood what Shia had called a broadcast.

It was a means for countless humans from afar to gather and watch Shia, displaying her image to an unspecified number of people.

Menelapie also easily analyzed and predicted the reason why Shia was doing the broadcast.

Despite always smiling brightly as the Saintess of the Dead, Shia was a child who suffered from deep loneliness.

She had been like that in the previous world, and she would surely be the same now that she had returned to Earth.

In a world completely changed from the one she knew, and separated from the people she had known, how lonely must she have felt?

Perhaps just as Menelapie missed Shia in the previous world, Shia missed Teresa and Menelapie, suffering from loneliness.

Shia was the kind of girl who couldn’t even eat alone without feeling empty, so if Menelapie or Teresa were busy, she would grab any member of the Rose Order or any saintess and eat with them.

If not, she would even drag a passing villager to share a meal.

Shia was that kind of person.

This ‘broadcast’ thing was probably something Shia started to cope with that loneliness.

Alright, she understood what the broadcast was.

And she understood the chatbox where unspecified humans gathered to admire or praise Shia’s appearance or power.

Of course, she also grasped that broadcasting was a form of entertainment, like playing a clown.

And naturally, clowns make people laugh by being ridiculous, so she had considered the possibility of Shia being humiliated as part of the act.

Menelapie, too, had been prepared to play the fool for Shia’s broadcast.

After all, on Earth, she wasn’t an empress but Shia’s hero, so playing the clown for Shia didn’t seem like a bad idea.

That’s what she thought.

‘But what? A shared toilet for the hero party???’

Damn it.

How wicked.

How vile.

You wretched…

With your filthy mouth…

How dare you.

Call my dear friend,

My precious saintess,

The light more valuable than my own life,

What?

A shared toilet for the hero party?

You dare insinuate that Shia, my Shia, would sell her body like a whore?

How dare you.

How dare you.

How dare you.

How dare you.

How dare you, you damn bastard!!!

“Me-Menelapie! Calm down! Calm down!”

“No, I cannot calm down! I swear upon my name as an empress, I will massacre those damn scum!!!”

[What’s with this broadcast??]

[Hey, show us what’s happening!]

[The streamer just abandoned us, lololol]

[Did mom abandon me? Did mom abandon me? Did mom abandon me? Did mom abandon me? Did mom abandon me?]

[What’s the streamer doing, lol]

[Is the camera showing something?]

[If it’s the streamer, it must be some sort of view-baiting carpet, lol]

[LOL]

[Ew, stop that, you idiots]

[But, seriously, the streamer looks like a view-baiter though?]

[Lololololol]

[But what’s with the empress talk now? Is that a new concept or something, lol]

[What kind of nonsense is this, lololol]

Of course, the screen now showed nothing but an empty sofa as Shia ran off to stop Menelapie.

However, with the crackling sound of electricity, Shia’s desperate voice, and Menelapie’s shouting, the viewers had no idea what was really going on and just let their imaginations run wild.

[Menelapie? Who is that?]

[Heyyyyy, found it! Listed under the Returnee Bureau!]

[A returnee??]

[Post a picture.]

[Do you have a picture?]

[No, no picture, but it’s listed as Menelapie Hailam on the returnee list.]

[Is she a foreigner?]

[Seems like one of those amnesiac returnees judging by just the name.]

[Really?]

[Her voice is hella sexy, so she’s definitely a hot chick.]

[Considering she’s always with the streamer, she’s probably top-tier.]

[Heu-eung, Menelapie Noona’s voice is so good…]

[Step on me some more…]

Even in this situation, the viewers were just curious about Menelapie’s face, chatting away.

They, of course, didn’t know.

They didn’t know how terrifying an enraged Menelapie was.

And they didn’t know that her Golden Eye was gradually completing its analysis of the individual IP addresses linked to the internet-connected drones, and through those IPs, the actual addresses of the vile bastards who had sexually harassed Shia in the chat.

“Menelapie, stop! Stop it!”

Shia, hopping up and down desperately, tried to cover Menelapie’s eyes with her hands, but she couldn’t stop the angered Menelapie, who was more furious than she had been in decades.

‘IP address…? The actual address behind this invisible network… This address, this terrain, can easily be searched through the smartwatch.’

‘Good. I see it. I see you… Wait there. Stay right there…!’

Analysis complete… 10… 9, 8, 7, 6…

Ding-dong~

The sound of the doorbell suddenly interrupted Menelapie’s Golden Eye.

The analysis, which had been in progress, was disrupted by the unexpected intrusion.

“…”

“Phew, phew… Oh, it must be mom…”

It seemed that Yoon-jung, who had taken Yane for a walk earlier, had returned.

Though Shia hadn’t expected her to return this early, since she said she’d be back by evening, it was a relief that Menelapie had calmed down before she actually tracked down one of the viewers.

“Guys, hold on for a moment… I think someone’s coming to my place for real—kyaaah! Menelapie, why did you draw your sword?!”

Just as Shia was about to excuse herself to the viewers to greet her mom, Menelapie, without giving her a chance to stop her, suddenly drew her sword and strode toward the door.

‘There were no footsteps.’

Menelapie already knew.

This house.

She had sensed any presence approaching Shia’s home from long ago.

If it had been Yoon-jung or Yane, there would have been faint footsteps or other indications getting louder as they got closer from outside.

However, there had been no signs or sounds at all, as if someone had suddenly appeared from thin air and pressed the doorbell.

Sensing an unusual presence, Menelapie gripped her sword firmly, ready to unleash her aura at any moment, and opened the door.

“Ah, Shia, it’s been so lo…”

“Who are you?”

“Huh?”

Between the white hair, there was a streak of blue, like a bridge.

‘She looks like that child, Yeonhwa… Is she a relative of hers?’

Menelapie realized that the woman’s appearance and blue hair resembled Yeonhwa, Shia’s close friend from Earth, whom she had met at the Returnee Bureau.

And just then, Shia, who had hurriedly calmed down the chat and rushed to the door, saw the face of another familiar person.

“Oh, uh… Yeonseo Unnie?”

Yeonseo, who had been very busy with matters in the north and in China, had come to visit.

●●●●●

A little while later…

Smack!

“Is this the bastard you were looking for?”

“Eek…!”

With a snap of her fingers, Yeonseo had caught a man wearing a headset, who now dangled helplessly from her hand.

The man had an utterly confused expression, half in disbelief and the other half filled with terror.

‘What the hell is going on!?!?!’

Internally, he was in turmoil, but the man couldn’t say a word.

He had been watching the streamer’s broadcast from home on his computer, never imagining that he’d end up as part of a forced viewer-collaboration event like this.

And then…

“…Unfortunately, no.”

‘…Holy shit.’

Oh damn.

Who is this?

Seeing the tall, blonde woman looking him up and down, the man froze as if he had met Medusa’s gaze.

Well, she was beautiful.

Of course, the man, who had frequently watched the Hunter Gallery’s broadcasts featuring the beloved streamer Shia, knew that Shia was a beautiful and strong woman.

But in this case… the blonde woman in front of him gave off an entirely different vibe.

The streamer felt soft and fluffy.

Though Shia was tall as well, she gave off a generally gentle and warm impression, with a soft-looking, delicate complexion.

But the blonde woman in front of him was the epitome of strength and violent beauty.

Tall.

Even with her clothes on, her toned, muscular body, abs, and thighs looked like they could explode.

And her motherly chest was no less impressive than Shia’s.

All of it combined, the man was completely entranced by the woman standing before him.

However, he quickly forced himself to snap back to reality.

“That guy’s the one who typed ‘suck on Shia’s tits’ in the chat.”

‘What…?’

Uh… how did they know?

The man, now held by Yeonseo, glanced over and saw Shia shyly covering her face with her hand, giving him a small wave.

‘Wow, she’s even more gorgeous in real life… and so big… no, wait… I’m so screwed right now…!’

While the man panicked, he finally realized the gravity of his situation.

Ah.

This is a viewer collaboration.

And it’s…

A forced viewer collaboration…

“The one I’m looking for is the person who typed ‘shared toilet for the hero party.'”

“Hmm, with so many kids, it’s easy to get confused.”

[Lolololololol]

[Holy shit, lololol]

[Is this a viewer collaboration????]

[It’s Yeonseo, lololololol]

[Doomed, hahaha]

For reference, Yeonseo had tracked the viewers’ IP addresses using the latest drone technology she had obtained from scolding Director Lee, allowing her to pinpoint their real coordinates and addresses…

“The next one is 14.2.2.342.142. In Icheon, Gyeonggi-do, Shinhyeon-dong 142-2312, Unit 291 of Yongma Villa. There will be two people. The shorter man is the one.”

“Hoho, I found them.”

It seemed Menelapie didn’t need any such tech.

Smack!

“Eek! Wha-what is this…?! I’m sorry!!”

“So this is the one?”

“No. This one is the one who made nonsense about a view-baiting carpet.”

“Eek…!”

[???]

[Holy shit;;;]

[Public execution, lolololololol]

[Omg, what a horror show]

[LOL, this is wild]

[Hah, I didn’t say anything, lololol]

[Keyboard warriors getting their due?]

[Hey, the chat is way less active now, lololol]

[Of course it is, lol. Yeonseo showed up, lololol]

[Hey, streamer, can you turn off the perceptual filter, lololol]

“No…nooo…”

By the way, Menelapie had set up a perceptual filter so that the viewers saw the captured chatters as 2D characters or with enough distortion to hide their actual faces.

Unintentionally becoming part of a forced viewer collaboration, Shia felt utterly embarrassed and flustered by the current situation.

Why was she embarrassed?

Smack!

“So, this one?”

“Eek!?”

“…No, that’s not the carpet guy. That’s the guy who typed about sucking tits.”

[Lolololololol the tit-sucker, lol]

[Tit-guy steps in, lololol]

[This broadcast is fucking hilarious, lololol]

Now, please stop…

Saying those things so confidently—how could she not be embarrassed?

No matter how thick-skinned Shia was, even she couldn’t outdo Menelapie’s fiery and outrageous pestilence-filled rage.

“Me-Menelapie… Yeonseo Unnie…”

“What is it?”

“Haha, what’s the matter, Shia, my little sister?”

“I-it’s fine now… so, c-could we stop…?”

Even if it’s a concept broadcast… I’m seriously embarrassed now…

“Ah, Shia, we must teach these vile ones a proper lesson!”

“Yeonseo is right, Shia. If you were too kind, that Black Witch would spew nonsense like wanting to grope your luscious breasts every time she saw you!”

“…Hic…!”

[Shhh.]

[Everyone, stay quiet.]

[If you don’t want to get collab’d, stay quiet.]

[Just type ‘LOL’.]

[Lolololol]

[Lololol]

[Lolololol]

[Fuck it, I’m ready for the collab. I want to grope the streamer’s tits too!]

[Is he insane?]

[That guy’s crazy, lololol]

“Let’s deal with this one first.”

“Good idea.”

Smack!

“Eek?! Where am I… Wow! It’s the streamer! The streamer! The streamer!”

“Quiet down!”

“Gah!”

Pl-please… stop… stop…!

I get it now!

Yeonseo Unnie and Menelapie are both messing with me on purpose!!!