I may have called it an all-nighter challenge, but that didn't mean I was actually going to stay up all night playing games.
Not me, at least.
"I can pull an all-nighter with the power of magic."
Unlike Rasian, who could overcome human limitations with magic for just about anything, I needed to sleep.
Even if Rasian hit number one on the rankings while I was asleep, I had a daily rhythm to maintain and couldn't afford to break it carelessly.
"Hoo..."
I lay down on the bed.
From the game room, I could hear Rasian still deeply engrossed in the fighting game. I checked in on her indirectly through my smartphone while gauging the reactions online.
YouTube channel.
Sort comments by: Newest.
-Is the owner of this channel the same Rasian who's playing King of Fighters 35?
"They found her."
A significant reaction had appeared.
Just because they used the same nickname wasn't proof, but Rasian the Party People 1 speedrunner and Rasian the fighting game ranker had a few things in common.
They were good at games.
They aimed for the top ranks.
They used the same nickname.
And most importantly, they were a complete unknown.
Because of this, some strange theories were starting to pop up.
-This is actually a super AI lol. A company deep-learned an AI specifically for gaming.
Or.
-I heard this is a TAS secretly uploaded by the game company to snipe the human who was #1 in PP1~
Or.
'Nowhere does it say she's a grand archmage from another world.'
Fortunately, no one had come close to figuring out Rasian's true identity.
It meant people were still judging within the bounds of common sense, and that the idea of a being from another dimension was just that unbelievable.
'It'll be a huge problem if she gets caught using magic.'
If someone saw her using magic, the jokes in the comments would escalate into an all-out war.
You could see it just by looking at the Shorts videos featuring some amazing magic trick.
Comments like, 'This person is from Hogwarts. Please take this down,' or, 'We're here from the Clock Tower to apprehend them,' were standard fare.
Debuting by mixing truth into jokes might become Rasian's selling point, but as I watched over her, I couldn't help but establish one clear direction in my mind.
'She's not a clown.'
Click.
I switched from Rasian's stream to another one.
It had about 3,000 viewers, and on the screen, a pitiful-looking blonde girl character was making a tearful face at the camera.
[Am I... really a moron?]
Thwack.
A block of cheese flew at the VTuber who had just asked if she was a moron.
The message seemed a bit long for a one-dollar donation, but even so, the avatar's head snapped back as tears began to stream down her face.
[B-But I tried my best...!]
-?
-??
-That was your best?
[Believe it or not, I was first in my entire school...!]
-Was it a school with only one student?
-The end is nigh.
[Hwaaah...! Mommy, they're making fun of me...!]
The higher her crying voice became, the more 'lol's flooded the chat.
A classic clown-type VTuber.
These were streamers whose content revolved around getting financially bullied by their viewers, all of them masters at the art of milking their obsessive fans.
'A completely different kind of stream from Rasian's.'
If Rasian were to act like that?
The slightest provocation from a viewer would make her snap, "You foolish mortals who couldn't even enter my magic tower... ahem, my apologies," while subtly showing her irritation.
'...Could that work, though?'
A strong-willed VTuber who never yields to her audience.
It might be too rigid to aim for mainstream success, but if she pursued the path of a skilled gamer, it could become her character concept.
The problem was... besides the skilled gamer route, Rasian's personality was completely unsuited for the path of a typical VTuber.
Watching her study internet culture and drop memes mid-stream, it seemed she was learning, but as her producer, it was hard for me to say, "You should do it this way."
If we had to define our relationship, Rasian was the one in charge.
That's how I had to think of it, and that was the reality.
If this had been a virtual idol project team I was producing, I would have called Rasian in for a private talk.
Let it go.
Don't try to get into a battle of wills with your viewers.
It's good to value your roleplay and character concept, but stop trying to constantly one-up your audience.
A senior of mine once said something similar.
-Minhyuk. At the end of the day, being a VTuber is about farming simps. Just like the idol industry runs on fans, VTubers live off their obsessive followers.
It was a universal truth of the VTuber market.
-You think you're going to create high art as a VTuber? You're an entertainer who chose the internet over TV. Comedians and entertainers on TV break their image to make viewers laugh. How can a VTuber expect to gather an audience without being willing to do the same?
"...You've got a point."
A sigh escaped me.
'Can she really attract a large audience in this industry just by being a skilled gamer?'
The whole "skilled gamer" angle was just meant to be a launchpad to generate buzz for Rasian.
It was a choice I made as Rasian's producer, setting aside the gamer ego of Kang Minhyuk, who was once obsessed with games.
I didn't know how many more games she planned to master, but was her ultimate goal simply to show off her gaming skills?
No.
She wants to show her world.
Her objective is to reveal her world through the space of VR, and gaming is just the backdrop to reach that space.
'Should I make an indie game based on Rasian and her world?'
Maybe create a dating sim or a visual novel—
"...Hoo."
I set my smartphone aside and closed my eyes.
Thinking about work right before bed could be a headache, but the moment I finally drifted off was incredibly peaceful.
'I really do need to work.'
After the company collapsed, I had planned to take a short break.
But my decision to actively help Rasian after meeting her, to throw myself so sincerely into this VTuber business, wasn't just for her sake. It was for my own as well.
The pressure of performance metrics.
Caring for each individual VTuber.
Resolving conflicts among the VTubers within the project team.
If someone were to ask if all the things that happened in Japan were stressful, I'd say they were what made me feel 'alive'.
So.
'Work hard again tomorrow.'
To keep on living, I surrendered myself to the encroaching slumber.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...What should I do, Producer?"
"...."
When I came to my senses, I was sitting across from a black-haired woman in a quiet conference room.
"Do I... have to quit streaming for good?"
The woman with the short black bob had bloodshot eyes, as if she had been crying for a long time.
"Quit streaming..."
I recalled the memory from the dream.
If you were to ask why I thought of this moment as a dream.
"Do it."
"What?"
"I said do it. Quit streaming."
It was because this was a past experience I had already lived through, a memory.
"If crying solved problems, all the world's issues would be fixed. Turn on the green screen, put on a suit, bow at a 90-degree angle, and apologize."
"But, th-that's...!"
"Miss
"Hic...!"
I searched my memory.
For the words I had said back then.
"Did you tell me you had a boyfriend or not?"
"N-No, I didn't..."
"You said you were taking a break to visit your parents, but you were staying with your boyfriend at a five-star hotel in Tokyo, weren't you?"
"Yes..."
"Shall I tell you the company's official stance? For now, they've decided to stick with you."
"!!"
At the time, that was the company's decision.
"The whole thing started because someone recognized you from a leaked real-life photo that was circulating and spread it to the tabloids. It's not like you made a slip-up while streaming on a personal account, or got caught playing duos with your boyfriend specifically on your days off."
"Th-Then...!"
"But, I'm stepping down as your manager."
"!!"
The company was willing to keep her, but I no longer wanted to.
"If you had told me about your boyfriend beforehand and asked for a response strategy, I would have given you the manual I'd prepared."
"But...!"
"A man? You can date one. What can I do if you're willing to risk your viewer count for it? I even had a talent who graduated from the agency because she was getting married in real life. And she was one of mine, too."
"...."
"She went indie, but I still keep in touch and help her out. Her viewer count dropped a lot, but she's growing her channel with the concept of a married VTuber's parenting stream, forming a bond with viewers who have become parents themselves."
It had been a difficult road.
Someone who had 300,000 subscribers was reborn with only 10,000, but she was ecstatic when she got an offer from her local government to film a promotional video encouraging childbirth.
"If I had known you had a boyfriend, we could have tackled it head-on with your concept or managed it somehow, but you didn't say a single word to me during the whole process."
"...."
"So—"
"Are you dropping me because of the new talents who are debuting soon?"
The moment she lifted her head, I met a pair of demonic eyes.
"Because I got caught with a boyfriend, you're worried the fallout will hit the other girls?"
"It's more than just fallout."
"...."
"There's an unwritten rule in this industry. 'Just don't get caught.' You got caught, and you never told me a thing."
"...And you, Producer."
She twisted her lips into a sneer and said to me.
"You think you're any different?"
"What?"
"Someday."
As if casting a curse.
"A day will come when you'll be in huge trouble because of a dating scandal with a VTuber you manage. I guarantee it."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇
"...."
It was a terrible dream.
"Ugh..."
Of all the dreams I could have had, it had to be one that brought up a bad memory from the past.
'Seriously, why did I have to dream about someone cursing me?'
Kinoshita Ruri.
She was one of the first VTubers I managed. After she was forced to graduate, she tried to go indie, failed spectacularly, and, from what I heard, became a regular person.
She attempted to reincarnate several times, but I remember she was publicly sniped by haters every time she tried.
Such a random, terrible dream.
If that was some kind of premonition...
"...Miss Rasian."
Without a moment to dwell on my thoughts, I posed a question to Rasian, who was staring down at me intently.
"What are you doing?"
"I have a question."
Rasian held up her fingers to form the number '9'.
"Is it possible with 50 hamburgers and 50 McMornings?"
"...?"
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