ASTRID watched the video with a mix of fascination and disbelief. It was not because he had never seen an unboxing video before. It was because Wulfric was the one doing it. How had he even thought of this? Had someone suggested it to him, or had he come up with the idea entirely on his own?

If it was the first one, the only person he could think of was the current president of his fan club. But if it was the second, then he had to give Wulfric credit. The man’s dedication to being a fan was truly over the top. Then again, Wulfric was his self proclaimed number one fan, so maybe this should not surprise him. Still, it was something else. Wulfric had even changed his voice to sound deeper. Now that was real dedication.

The video reached the part where Wulfric showed the photo he had received. When Astrid saw it was the one of him in his Luan Escanor costume, he raised an eyebrow. Getting one of the rare photos meant luck was definitely on Wulfric’s side. Then he heard Wulfric’s voice, sounding genuinely surprised that the gift turned out to be a photo card, and Astrid could not help but let out a small laugh.

He knew Wulfric was trying to act like he didn’t know what the gift would be, even though Astrid had already told him. Wulfric was putting in the effort to keep up the act for the video, and Astrid was amused and moved by it at the same time.

Once the video ended, he scrolled down to read the comments underneath it.

~~~

- So the surprise gift was a photo of Aster that people can take with them wherever they go? That’s... that’s such a smart idea.

└ I know, right? Now I regret not taking that quiz.

└└ Same here. I did not see the post when it came out. By the time I clicked the link, it was already gone. TT__TT

└ What’s so smart about it? Is this not kind of weird? Why would you want strangers carrying around a physical picture of you?

└└ What’s wrong with it? Digital or physical, it’s the same thing. A physical photo is even better because it shows how much thought and care Aster put into this gift.

└└ Just so you know, we’re not strangers. We’re his Starlights.

- Wait, I just opened mine a minute ago. Why did I not think to film it?

└ Well, not all of us have the kind of foresight that Brother White has.

└└ Haha true.

└ Which photo did you end up getting?

└└ Oh, it is a photo of Aster in a cute jumpsuit.

└└└ So it is not one of his character costumes?

└└└└ Maybe it is a mix. Some photos are him in normal clothes, and some are him dressed as his characters.

- Brother White’s voice is really deep. I feel like he would make a good voice actor.

└ LOL why do I get the feeling he altered his voice?

└└ So what if he did? He clearly wants to keep his identity private.

└ I noticed the table more than anything. It looked expensive. Seems like our Brother White has money.

└└ Is that not already obvious from how he talks? And from what he usually posts online?

- Do you think we could figure out who Brother White is from this video?

└ Why would you even try to do that? He clearly does not want people to know who he is, so why are you trying to invade his privacy?

└ Do not call him Brother White if you are trying to expose him. You are obviously a spy and not a real Starlight. Hmph!

└└ What spy? Is Starlight Astrid’s fan club or White Wolf’s?

└└└ See, you called him Astrid and not Aster. You are definitely not a Starlight. Besides, any real Starlight knows that Brother White has been there since Aster was just starting out.

~~~

Astrid stopped scrolling through the comments, but the last one he read lingered in his mind. With the kind of posts Wulfric had been sharing lately, there was a real chance that people online might figure out who he was. He remembered how easy it had been to get someone’s personal information exposed in his past life. How much easier would it be now, with technology being far more advanced?

He considered warning Wulfric, but then he thought better of it. Wulfric was not stupid. He had to have some way of keeping his identity hidden. With everything the Fenris Army had access to, there had to be technology in place to prevent something like that. The only way Wulfric would get caught was if he said something in his videos that gave himself away, not because of anything else he posted.

He was still thinking about it when his Terminal lit up with an incoming video call from Ellis. He accepted it right away.

"Have you watched the video?" she asked.

"Yeah," he said. "It was interesting."

"More than interesting," Ellis said. "Your number one fan really knows how to get people talking about your movie."

Astrid let out a small laugh. "Yeah. He really does."

"The president of your fan club reposted his video," Ellis said. "He told everyone on the fan site to make their own if they had not opened their gift boxes yet. Because of that, the whole thing actually took off on Cyberspace. It’s slowly becoming a trend now."

That was unexpected. It would definitely be great promotion for [The Shadow Within]. Maybe he should give Wulfric a reward. He had certainly earned it.

***

After dinner, Astrid went to take a bath. He spent about forty-five minutes soaking and relaxing. Once out, he dried off and put on his softest pajamas. Though ready to head straight to bed, he decided to check his Terminal first. He had intentionally left it in his room and silenced notifications while bathing, ensuring he could relax undisturbed.

He sat down on his bed and opened it. And just as he expected, there were several missed video calls. All from Wulfric.