Chapter55

[ Soul Energy increases with active viewers, positive engagement, and gifts. ]
[ Current trend: Rising ]
[ Effects: Feeds directly into the Goddess Fragment Recovery. ]
'The more people watch and engage, the faster I can regenerate the Goddess,' he thought, glancing at the stream chat. 'And any actual donations convert to stream credits.'
It wasn't much right now, just a slow trickle, but the math was simple enough. More viewers meant more energy for the fragment, and any gifts would translate into real money or gear so he wouldn't be stuck scraping by on six silver for the rest of his life.
'Not bad,' he thought, closing the panel and focusing back on the road ahead. 'Just gotta keep moving and not die.'
He was still running the numbers in his head when a sharp voice cut through the street noise, "move out of the way!"
Juna's hand grabbed his arm before he could even process what was happening, yanking him to the side just as a guard on horseback rode past, the horse's shoulder missing him by inches.
He stumbled, catching his balance while his head snapped up, finally noticing the line of armored guards glaring down at him from their saddles, a heavy noble carriage rolling behind them with two more knights flanking the sides.
One of the knights pulled his horse to a stop, turning in the saddle to fix Hajin with a cold stare. "Watch where you stand next time," he said, his voice flat and carrying an edge of actual threat. "Or you might lose your head before you realize you're in the way."
Hajin swallowed hard, feeling the weight of the knight's glare while his pulse climbed a little. 'Shit, I really wasn't paying attention,' he thought, gripping Juna's shoulder for a second before letting go. 'Thanks for that.'
"Sorry about that," he said, keeping his head down while the knight held his gaze for another second before finally turning his horse around and catching up with the carriage.
He let out a slow breath once they were moving again, watching the carriage roll past while his attention drifted to the window without meaning to.