My jaw dropped. It was beyond brazenness; I felt a clear malice. I had been nearly killed before, but this was a malice of a different kind. I flinched at that aura, which felt thick and sticky.
The man acting as the host desperately tried to restrain Velvet and attempted to persuade her, but he was brushed off. Noah Heliodor tried to intervene, Blade Max started showing off his muscles, and Jack High tried to get a laugh using a whoopee cushion, but the flow didn't change.
Standing in the center of the venue was Velvet. Amid the chaotic buzzing, heckling flew from the stands.
'Do more,' they said. It was a voice too small to be heard this far. Or perhaps, it was a hallucination created by my heart. The show had already begun. A real-life 'Fight-Callout' between Velvet and Six, the Official Children.
"Even the videos you posted afterward, none of them have views exceeding your first video, right? I thought for sure you'd choose the path of becoming a clown by continuing to upload playing-house content like your debut video, but you've sunk to becoming a damn serious and uninteresting video poster below even that."
But I had no intention of participating in such a spectacle. It was obvious that I, who couldn't even have a proper conversation, could never win against her in eloquence. I had no choice but to wait it out in silence until she was satisfied. No matter what I did, it would only add fuel to the fire.
"Ultimately, what did you want to do? How did you manage to win an official spot? Pomerni's official adoption standards have been full of problems for a while, but I have to say that this time was an undeniable mistake. Your face seems good at least; did you seduce him? So Pomerni was a pedophile. That makes sense."
Yes, staying silent was the best course. But I absolutely couldn't ignore that. I could endure no matter how much was said about me. However, Pomerni shouldn't have anything to do with it. Blood rushed to my head.
"Pomerni... isn't bad!"
A voice louder than I had expected came out. Seeing that reaction, Velvet wore a cold smile. Even if I thought 'oops,' words once out of my mouth couldn't be taken back. It was as if I had exposed my own weakness, showing her exactly where to strike to shake me.
"Hah, that's a textbook Pome-Ki (Pomerni Kid) reaction. Do you like Pomerni that much?"
I thought he was being mocked. If that were the case, it wouldn't change that it was unforgivable, but I might have been able to vent my emotions in the form of anger or refutation. However, Velvet's cutting point wasn't that soft.
"But you're the one who smeared mud on Pomerni's face. An unknown newcomer who hadn't been active at all was given an unprecedented major promotion as an Official Child. Followed by a bomb drop. I wonder how Pomerni felt after recommending you?"
After the uproar, Pomerni told me not to worry about anything, but it had been a constant concern. How did he truly feel in his heart about me, who had become famous as an I-Tuber in such a way?
"Furthermore, Pomerni applied pressure to the management to put out the fire of the festival you caused. It's an excessive favoritism that abused his power. That response also resulted in lowering his reputation. If you trace back to the source, you're the cause of everything, aren't you? To be honest, I don't think you have the value to be shielded to that extent."
What was thrown at me were just words. I hadn't been slashed with a blade. However, the blade called 'logic' could neither be avoided nor blocked, and it put cracks in my heart.
"You've been nervous since the opening ceremony began, frozen like a bronze statue, haven't you? Are you okay? From now on, each Official Child will liven up the offline meeting by showing their own performance, but what can you do? Surely you aren't planning to just sit there like a comedian or talent who's only there to warm the bleachers? Do you think you'll be forgiven just because you're a child, because you're a newcomer?"
I had known it from the start. The people gathered here were top-tier I-Tubers chosen from an enormous number of video posters. Meeting them in person, I realized their greatness. They were all people overflowing with talent that I could never hope to catch up to, no matter how hard I tried.
"You don't even have the qualification to sit in that seat."
I couldn't say anything back. Only frustration swirled in my chest. I shouldn't have come to a place like this. If I was going to feel this way, then I-Tube...
'Six-chan!! MOEEEEEEEEEE!!'
A voice reached my ears as I hung my head. A shout from someone that seemed to tear through the commotion of the venue. The latter half was a shrill scream like a monster's roar and I couldn't make out what it said, but I knew my name had been called.
I felt like it was a voice I had heard somewhere before. That voice, which I couldn't identify, somehow calmed me. The threads of my thoughts, which had been tangled in a mess, began to unravel. Perhaps my tear ducts loosened at the same time the tension broke, for my vision blurred with tears.
Using that as a trigger, the air in the venue changed slightly. In response, voices calling Six's name arose. The overlapping cheers reached me without being drowned out by the buzzing of the venue.
At first, I didn't even know my own name. I didn't think a name was necessary. The name Six was a nickname I had given myself out of necessity because it was required when registering as a user on I-Tube. I hadn't thought much of it, figuring I could just change it later if I didn't like it.
But now, by having that name called like this, I feel I finally understand. I feel like I've been recognized—that it's okay for me to be here. Making videos that are better than others, earning many views... even without wearing down my nerves over such things, I might have already obtained the thing I wanted most.
I couldn't show a pathetic appearance any longer, so I wiped my tears with the sleeve of my sweater.
"Hah... I guess I can't beat a crying child."
Velvet shrugged her shoulders irritably. It seemed she didn't intend to pursue it any further.
"Well, whether you stay here or not is up to you, but could you move away from me? Actually, your perfume has been so pungent for a while now that I've been feeling sick. That's why I accidentally got irritated. Even if you hate baths, you should stop trying to hide your body odor with perfume."
Velvet spat out some strange parting words. I had never worn perfume in my life. It was a mystery why she knew I 'hated' baths, but that was because there was no need to take them. The dirt caused by physiological reactions such as sweat and sebum from Six's body was converted into vitality and vanished after a certain amount of time, so body odor didn't occur either. Though, I do need to wash off dirt like mud or dust.
At any rate, if she told me not to approach, it was convenient. I didn't want to be near her by choice either. Blade Max swapped seats with me. Velvet was complaining that it was stifling having a muscular giant come next to her.
"Uh—right from the start of the opening ceremony, the I-Tubers' enthusiasm is at full throttle! As you can see, this year's year-end offline meeting is crazier than ever! Now, with the place sufficiently warmed up, on to the next program—"
The host, who looked as if he could finally proceed with the event, raised his voice as he got the microphone back. Immediately afterward, the venue's lights all went out.
The spectator stands, the stage—the entire stadium was closed in darkness. I thought it was some kind of production, but something was wrong. Even the host didn't seem to grasp what had happened. Does that mean it's a blackout due to an accident? Anxiety began to spread through the venue.
KIDDDDDDDDSSSS!!
AND!!
BROTHERRRRRRRSSSSSSSSS!!
A scream rang out through the speakers. The owner of that voice appeared as an image on the screen. A black silhouette striking a comical pose was illuminated by a light, and a man looking like a punk musician wearing sunglasses was projected.
"What on earth is the meaning of this?! It's none other than that world-renowned I-Tuber King—Pomerni has appeared! There was no such surprise in the schedule!"
Pomerni, whom there had been no word from for about a week and whose absence from this offline meeting had been announced by management, was showing his energetic self. Cheers broke out in the spectator stands. It should have been a scene to rejoice.
'Sei-sei-sei! Is everyone having fuuun! It looks like things are getting quite heated. But... it's still not enough. That's right, for a special event like today, this level of voltage won't satisfy ME-RATCHO! Isn't that right, everyone?!'
An indescribable anxiety was smoldering inside me.
'Now, let the game begin. A battle royale to decide the strongest I-Tuber.'
---
[Variety-type: Pomerni]
[Gaming-type: Captain Trail]
[Prank-type: Jack High]
[Hunter-type: Blade Max]
[Dance-type: J.J.J. Simon]
[Idol-type: Noah Heliodor]
[Magic-type: Answer Bat]
[Mentalism-type: Grandfather of the Galaxy]
[Crafting-type: Tsukuteku]
[Virtual-type: Magical☆Milky]
[Flame-type: Velvet Alecto]
[Animal-type: Six]
[REMAINING: 12]