Chapter 5: A True Genius Idol

TL Notes:
-“oshihen” – The act of switching loyalties from one idol (your “oshi”) to a new one
-Kimo-gao – disgust (kimo) face (gao)
-JK (short for Joshikosei) – highschool girl
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“Don’t be nervous. It’s just an independent Vtuber debut, right? Even with Mama’s promotion, only a few hundred people will show up at most. Yeah, yeah. Totally doable.”

Yui slapped her cheeks with a ch ch sound, held her stinging cheeks, and looked at the monitor. Now, in front of this small audience, Yui would showcase all her strengths…

“Eh… something’s. Wrong with the number of people waiting…”

Yui, who was trying to calm her nerves before her debut, crumbled at the number displayed next to the title. It was ridiculous that there were people waiting in the waiting room of an independent Vtuber’s pre-debut stream. She had set up the waiting room to calm her own nerves. She hadn’t expected this.

The disaster caused by Yui’s naive decision was as follows:

[Nice to meet you! A promising independent Vtuber blooming like a flower! I’m Hanasaki Yui! 13,577 waiting, starting in 2 minutes]

A novice broadcaster, an independent Vtuber with no agency. About thirteen thousand people were waiting for Yui, who hadn’t even properly promoted herself.

It was an overwhelming number, even with all her willpower.

“I haven’t even shown my model yet…”

So many people wanted to see her even before she revealed her secret weapon, imbued with her Mama’s blood, sweat, and tears.

She had no idea why this was happening. Her idol, White Palette, was an illustrator who wasn’t very famous despite their skills, so it was hard to imagine that this many people gathered after hearing news from the illustrator.

But that was exactly it.

Prism Entertainment, while falling behind Hanalive, wouldn’t be happy to be called inferior to other companies.

In a way, it was the closest company to Hanalive. One of the aces of Prism Entertainment, which invests a lot of money in technology and art.

That’s right. Shiori Haru.

Her true Mama was revealed.

The true owner of her avatar, which had a novel design but a subpar drawing style.

Nationality, gender, real name, all unknown. A mysterious illustrator who only posts pictures on SNS, occasionally taking commissions.

From their name, White Palette… they had something that resonated with the hearts of otakus.

The information about White Palette, posted on the forum by Shiori Haru’s fans, struck a chord with countless Vtuber fans and former otakus, and they gathered to witness the culmination of this hidden master’s art.

As a result, the chat window…

Welcome, Yui-chan!

First time here, but I’m oshihen-ing from Haru~

Already oshihen-ing…?

LOL

A disloyal girl who abandoned two Mamas is not welcome here.

Haru’s treatment is too much

LOL

A few seconds before the broadcast started, Yui saw the viewers who came to see her and realized.

“Somehow… everyone. Doesn’t seem very interested in ‘Yui’ herself.”

A chaotic situation where countless viewers were casually mentioning the names of other Vtubers they had never met. Yui had to break through 14,000 excited otakus and make her debut broadcast a success. Moreover, this was Yui’s first ever broadcast, and her relationships in real life weren’t very smooth either.

Thinking realistically, considering her characteristics, it was highly likely that her debut broadcast would end with her just stuttering the whole time. Her life history suggested she’d be lucky if she didn’t cry, overwhelmed by the sheer number of viewers and the uncontrollable atmosphere.

But.

“Okay! I just have to captivate them all!”

A star is a celestial body.

A star captivates everyone with its brilliance.

The epitome of beauty and dreams, becoming everyone’s idol and object of faith.

Yui, dreaming that dream, couldn’t tremble in front of a ‘mere’ fourteen thousand people.

She clenched her fists and focused her energy.

Although nothing in the world can be achieved by willpower alone.

“Mama. Watch me!”

Nothing in the world can be achieved without willpower either.

Click!

And a powerful press.

A bold step towards her dream.

“Hello everyone! A promising independent Vtuber blooming like a flower! I’m Hanasaki Yui!”

The chat window momentarily froze at the sight of her model, which appeared without a moment’s delay. The avatar, which even Yui, a Vtuber viewer for over 5 years, deemed the best in the industry, had tremendous destructive power.

Her waist-length blonde hair, swaying with every small movement, caught the light at countless angles. Her small mouth moving softly, her head tilting like a swaying flower petal.

And those eyes. Those eyes that could be considered the highlight.

Green leaves and stars. Playfulness and innocence. Green eyes filled with light.

Yui, captivating everyone, was the perfect ‘summer’ high school girl.

The unicorns fell silent at the sight of her innocent, pure smile.

If there was a unicorn who would define such a girl as impure, it wouldn’t be a unicorn, but just a troll.

Same illustrator as Haru?

Hey, hey, no matter how you look at it, it’s a different world.

The reason why Haru was wronged…

Yui slowly opened her eyes and looked at the viewers.

A playful glint appeared in those eyes that had seemed only innocent.

As UFC champion Conor McGregor said, power beats speed, and timing beats speed.

She held the fastest and most powerful weapon and timed it perfectly.

That’s right. It was gachikoi production time.

Slightly puffed cheeks, eyes furrowed as if angry.

A cute expression that conveyed ‘I’m sulking’ with all her might.

“You guys. Are you talking about other girls in front of Yui?”

I didn’t.

Haru? Who’s that?

Forget that big-headed girl, let’s watch the current JK.

First time here, please marry me.

Those who claimed to be Shiori Haru’s fans were instantly captivated.

With that single playful smile, Yui charmed countless people.

Just like the ideal Vtuber she had dreamed of.

Yui erased her smile and put on a determined expression.

Slightly furrowed brows, lips curved into a crescent shape. A powerful gaze.

Ah, it’s the angry tsundere heroine.

I think I’m falling in love.

“I haven’t even introduced myself yet. Tell me that after you get to know Yui a little better, okay? That way, I can believe you’re sincere.”

I love you.

She’s the woman who will be my wife, don’t touch her.

Gachikoi already born

Gachikoi just from the model? Ridiculous.

Her voice is good too.

Really, I decided based on her voice.

[Currently 27,538 viewers – Streaming started 4 minutes ago]

Those watching her debut, not only did the number of viewers not decrease from the initial number, but it increased.

The excitement wasn’t the chaotic frenzy from the beginning, but the excitement of a new star being born.

Yui, who captured the atmosphere of the broadcast in an instant with her shining talent, continued her stream.

Slap.

Various stickers attached to the blank profile section.

Childish yet cute stickers that looked like a high school girl had personally put them there, decorating the profile section.

“I’ll start my self-introduction. Everyone has to listen carefully, okay?”

Yes.

Okay.

This Vtuber is too cute

I’ve prepared my notes.

The first thing to fill in was, of course, her name.

Next was her RP, and after that, it was up to the Vtuber’s discretion.

“Ahem. My name is Hanasaki Yui (bloomed).”

Since her name was already in the broadcast title, there wasn’t much of a reaction. Yui read her name and calmly recited the life assigned to her.

Since expressing her own life poetically would be similar to her RP life, she didn’t feel any resistance.

“I’m a former dandelion spirit. A life of only smelling methane gas on the asphalt without anyone looking at me was too miserable. I became a Vtuber because I wanted to sing in front of everyone.”

Plainly pitiful

Unique RP.

What did this idiot just say?

You must have had a hard time.

It would be funny to pretend to cry here.

Anyway, these people didn’t know Yui’s circumstances or story.

It was best to move on naturally. A story to tell later, when they become true fans.

“It’s okay now, because I’m here with you. Now, then, please guess this perfect beautiful girl’s age.”

7000

Isn’t that a grandma?

15?

Around 20?

8! 8! 8! 8! 8! 8! 8! 8! 8! 8!

17 years old!!!

Yui’s expression crumpled.

The light in her shining green eyes disappeared, and a dark shadow fell on her face.

“The ones saying 8 years old are a bit disgusting…”

Thank you.

I’ll enjoy this.

Disgust, enjoyed it!

Disgust from day one

Yui secretly chuckled off-screen.

It was surprisingly easy and successful. Tens of thousands of people were happy to see her disgusted.

It’s one of the many expressions White Palette drew for her, the ‘Kimo-gao.’

There was no single perfect model that could satisfy everyone’s tastes.

Soohyun tackled this problem with a brute-force but effective method: drawing as many expressions as possible.

“Here’s the answer. You damn lolicons, get out after seeing this.”

Taking a slight gamble, Yui clicked the mouse.

Pop!

As the viewers held their breath in anticipation.

The combination of numbers that would determine their joy or sorrow appeared.

[18 years old]

Ta-da~!

Why!!!

It’s a JK! A real one!

Eh, a grandma?

Ah, the fresh scent…

“Yes, yes. Unfortunately, I’m a current high school student~.”

Even better

That age is definitely the best

Why!!!!!!

Get that guy out of here.

Yui glanced at the viewer count.

Overwhelming. What independent Vtuber has this many viewers on their debut broadcast?

“Hehe…”

And so, Yui released the tension she shouldn’t have. Any other Vtuber could relax at this point, but…

She didn’t know that there was a senior aiming for her.

“My favorite food is beef yakiniku! Eh, why not vegetarian? Wouldn’t it be strange for a flower spirit to eat her own kind?”

“My height is 157cm. I’m not short. Why do you think I’m toddler-sized?”

“In my free time… I read books. What did I read recently? Hmm. Albert Camus’ The Plague.”

It’s going smoothly. Too smoothly. That’s why she doesn’t know.

That this smoothness is a stepping stone for the upcoming wave.

That a terrifyingly wicked industry senior is coming for her.

Finally, the other small talk-like questions ended.

Finally, it was time to reveal her origins.

Yui smiled innocently and moved her body around.

Since White Palette-san told her to say that Mama and Papa are different people even though they’re the same person.

Continuing her smooth movements, Yui spoke in a dreamy tone.

“Mama is White Palette-san! Papa is Niensha-san. Isn’t that amazing? It’s an honor to be the first to receive this design from Mama and this movement from Papa…”

Ding!

[Shiori Haru] What do you mean first? You damn thief cat girl.

Eh?

She appeared in the chat?!

Salty.

This Vtuber is getting pressured by a senior on her debut broadcast…

Salty

LOL

“Huh…?”

Chaos!