Chapter 13: Create an Avatar

In the early days of debut, the original Cornelia was a group composed of a total of 7 members.

Myself as the leader and Nano as the main center, Yui as the rapper and Hina as the main vocalist, Natsume and Airi as the dancers.

And finally, Mayuri as the lead vocalist.

Most, including myself, were characters appearing in the original game, but among them, just one person, Mayuri, was a character not from the original work.

‘Well, that’s because she was someone I brought in based purely on skill, regardless of the original story.’

Back in the arduous trainee days, Mayuri was a junior who joined the debut class a little later than me.

Seeing Mayuri, a talented individual rare in the Japanese idol industry, I later proposed that she join my group.

Perhaps because we were close since our trainee days, Mayuri readily accepted.

However, she eventually ended up leaving the group.

The reason was quite spectacular.

It was that Mayuri was involved in a drug crime.

‘Of course, it wasn’t that Mayuri did anything wrong.’

Otherwise, there’s no way I would treat her like this.

Mayuri neither distributed drugs nor administered them to herself.

She was just helping an old woman struggling to pull a cart on her usual way to the practice room, and received a drink from that grandmother.

And shortly after, a call came to the agency president.

The content was roughly this.

Mayuri used drugs, and they had the evidence.

If they didn’t want this fact known to the world, send money.

‘If it were a normal agency, responding accordingly would be the natural decision.’

Whether a large corporation or a small enterprise, if an artist under their agency is threatened, the common sense response would be to issue a rebuttal article or something similar.

However, as always, the president’s response surpassed my imagination.

He immediately notified Mayuri of contract termination and expelled her from the company.

He got scared prematurely without even thinking of properly confronting it.

‘F*ck, the more I think about it, the more pissed I get. That damn old hag.’

How dare she repay kindness with enmity?

If I had my way, I’d want to beat her half to death, but they say the gang already fled overseas, making them impossible to catch.

More importantly, even if the matter were resolved that way, Mayuri’s already ruined life wouldn’t return.

Knowing how hard she had prepared for her debut, we were completely in a funereal mood.

We struggled quite a bit to overcome that.

‘Back then, I just thought it was an unlucky incident.’

Thinking back now, it might have been a kind of ‘restraining force’ simply making things flow according to the original story.

However, even in that situation, Mayuri didn’t give up.

After recovering from her wounds, she debuted as a freelance illustrator using her drawing skills.

Currently, she was living her own life in her own way.

‘You really have to acknowledge her willpower.’

It would have been understandable to fall into despair, but the fact that she kept trying deserves praise.

“So, is your work going well these days?”

Pushing aside the bad memories, I asked Mayuri about her well-being.

She’s a reasonably popular illustrator.

She must be earning quite well.

–Yes! Ah, let me show you something I drew this time!

Mayuri answered my question excitedly.

“….Really? Then can you show me?”

–Yes, I drew this for a commission that came in… Just a moment….

How long had it been since her reply? A picture arrived via messenger.

I slowly examined the picture I received from her.

Perhaps because it was touched by the hand of Mayuri, who certainly had good drawing skills, the quality of the drawing itself was very high, even to my eyes, uninterested in art.

“…This isn’t an illustration for a light novel, is it?”

It felt distinct from a novel illustration, yet strangely familiar…

–Ah, this was a design commission from a virtual agency called ‘YourLive’. It’s drawn quite well, right?

“….Virtual?”

Instantly, a realization flashed through my mind.

Right, why didn’t I think of that?

Virtual streamers, those who can convey their expressions and actions to viewers without revealing their faces.

They were the type of broadcasters I liked the most in my past life too.

‘Why did I forget about this…?’

Was this the source of that feeling that something was missing?

Vtubing was also a good choice for grabbing initial attention.

Seeing an avatar that looks like it came out of an animation move and talk to people makes anyone enter at least once out of curiosity.

I myself entered the Vtuber scene that way.

–Unnie? What’s wrong?

Seeing me silent, Mayuri asked me with confusion.

“….No, it’s just that I thought of a good idea.”

I replied to Mayuri’s question with a slight smile.

It felt like I had found the answer to a problem that was tightly blocked and wouldn’t resolve.

Vtuber, or Virtual Artist.

A broadcaster who conducts broadcasts through an avatar that represents a person’s actions or expressions using special camera equipment.

‘There was a market for it in Korea in my past life too.’

At first, perhaps due to the unique prejudice against ‘otaku culture’, the perception wasn’t very good, but around the time I was reincarnated, the scale had grown considerably, becoming one pillar of the internet broadcasting world.

And in this world too, the concept of Vtubers clearly existed.

‘Although the scale isn’t that active yet…’

Perhaps because the game itself was old, the number of Vtubers was very small.

Only about 20 operating within Japan, and barely exceeding 30 even on a global scale.

It was a number incomparable to the past life where the number of Vtubers active in just one company exceeded several hundred.

‘But below that lies a vast number of potential fans.’

In short, the Vtuber industry itself was no different from an unexplored new continent.

Especially since there were no Vtubers active in Korea at all, for me, who intended to broadcast to Koreans, it was something beyond a blue ocean.

‘Still, the things that bother me are the perception and… the price.’

There’s the negative view towards Korea’s unique otaku culture, but the biggest problem was the price.

The cost of creating an avatar, which can be seen as the core of a Vtuber, falls on the high side.

‘The most expensive is original 3D, then 2D, then the generic avatars.’

Since the price of original 3D avatars is very expensive, those simply starting out usually use generic 3D avatars, while those intending to start broadcasting seriously use 2D avatars.

‘For now, using a generic one would be impossible.’

As could be known from Mayuri’s words just now, other Vtubers were already active, receiving original avatars through their agencies.

In this situation, if I push forward an avatar of mediocre quality, what else would happen but being compared to others?

Furthermore, the fact that the industry itself is nascent meant there weren’t even any usable generic avatars yet also played a part.

“….Mayuri, are you perhaps very busy these days?”

–Ah, no?

As my thoughts reached that point, I quickly spoke to Mayuri.

–The writer I was originally in charge of is currently on hiatus, so actually, this is also me doing side work. I have plenty of time.

“…Then, when that job is done, could you draw something for me too? I’ll pay properly.”

I could sufficiently trust Mayuri’s drawings.

Considering her personality and skills, she would surely create a wonderful piece.

Isn’t it better to entrust it to someone I can trust and whose skills are certain, rather than someone I don’t even know?

–Ah, yes! What should I draw for you?

Mayuri replied to my request.

“…..Well, can you draw me a picture I want in that art style you’re using now?”

–Yes? Ah… Yes…

Mayuri accepted the request, albeit with slight doubt at my words.

It’s probably better to keep the internet broadcasting and virtual debut a secret.

If I told her, she would surely just worry again.

“Well then, the drawing seems somewhat resolved….”

Now what remained was the technology to move the avatar.

Fortunately, this time, there was no need to bang my head against the ground like before.

‘Well, it’s not like I’m the only one doing this, right?’

I immediately turned on the internet and searched for ‘YourLive’ in the search bar, entering the company’s homepage.

“Let’s see… ..”

After searching the homepage for a few minutes, I succeeded in finding a list of related personnel written in a corner of the information section.

Now, all I needed to do was find someone among them whom I could commission the work to.

‘Well, if I had my way, I’d entrust it to a professional company, but….’

As is often the case in the entertainment industry, most companies don’t readily accept requests from individual artists.

‘Even if they accept, there’s no guarantee they’ll do it properly.’

Suddenly, I remembered something from my underground idol days.

Back then, because another major agency’s job came in, the quality of the finished product came out disastrously.

Since there was no way to protest to them, I remember somehow fixing it up and releasing the music.

It’s better to find a relatively flexible individual artist instead.

There isn’t much difference in terms of technology yet, and the price is comparatively cheaper than commissioning a company.

“….Found it.”

After searching the internet with the information obtained from the homepage, I found a worker with decent quality.

I should send an email so I can commission them immediately when Mayuri’s work arrives.