Chapter 7: Because I’m The Strongest

TL Note:
RP – Role Play
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Shiori Haru’s saltiness, which will go down in Vtuber history, and Hanasaki Yui’s overwhelmingly high growth rate, surpassing even corporate Vtubers.

Each of these incidents was a major event that even Hanalive’s Vtubers would react to. A time when everyone showed various reactions: jealousy, envy, surprise, interest, and so on. There was one Vtuber who didn’t mention anything.

Isn’t Aya-chan reacting?

Those were pretty rude words.

Talking about another company’s Vtuber like that…

“Hmm?”

Blue hair ripples, and yellow eyes that shine like stars in the night move. It was the person mentioned by Haru. Mizuki Aya, a super-popular Vtuber with the largest number of subscribers in Japan, 3.17 million.

“Ah. You mean Shiori Haru’s incident?”

Aya tilted her head to the rhythm of the flowing music with a light smile. Her swaying blue hair and curved eyes made her listeners fall in love all over again.

“I don’t really care. Let her say whatever she wants.”

Eh…

But still, at least say something.

If you keep putting up with it, she’ll think you’re weak.

“That’s not going to happen, everyone.”

Bam!

The background darkened, and a spotlight shone only on Aya.

Her eyes gleamed. A different dimension from Yui, who was called a rising star.

The brightest star.

The music played, and she was ready to sing.

Aya smiled confidently.

“Because I’m the strongest.”

The intro ended, and it was her time.

“Everyone, are you ready?”

The fresh, innocent smile disappeared, and her eyes sparkled with dreams and passion. A violently intense sparkle.

Let’s go.

Is this real?

Already beyond the level of a Vtuber

The song of the best Utahime, the songstress, began.

Amazing.

This is dangerous, if I keep listening to this

I won’t be satisfied with other Vtubers anymore…!

While the chat window was reeling from the aftermath of her singing ability and tone, on par with famous singers, Aya was already thinking about ending the stream.

Despite the viewers’ anxious pleas, as the next song didn’t start, they began to feel uneasy.

“Ah. Hmm. My throat is starting to tingle. That’s all for the singing corner. Dismissed, my Ayapis.”

Noooo!!!

Don’t go!!!

Sing more…!

They’re reacting like Mama is leaving

Aya glanced at the chat window.

It was fine to ignore them for now. If she sang a few more songs when they got too insistent, they’d be happy with the fan service, so she’d just sing two or three more songs in the next stream.

Aya’s avatar lowered her head with a refreshing yet somewhat bitter smile. Deep regret was evident in her expression.

“I’m also disappointed, everyone. But it’s already been three hours? A hoarse Aya-chan isn’t cute, is she?”

No, you’re deadly cute.

There’s no such thing as an Aya-chan that isn’t cute.

You’re breathtakingly cute right now…

Pretending to think for three seconds.

Then, probably soon.

Ding!

[Egg Donor Eraser 10000
Get some rest, Aya-chan! See you in the next stream!]

Mizuki Aya glanced at the amount. With this, she earned a little more than her target for today. It was okay to end the stream.

“Egg Donor Eraser. Your nickname is a bit weird, but thanks for the Super Chat. I’m really… happy that you told me it’s okay to rest. Yeah. Really. I’m not lying. I’ll buy something delicious with this. Well then, otsuaaya~.”

Click.

She had no intention of reading the viewers’ farewell messages. It didn’t seem like it would be very nutritious.

The eyes of Sumire, the Vtuber, not Aya the idol, furrowed. The face of Hoshino Sumire, not Mizuki Aya, was reflected on the black screen. White hair and red eyes. An unusual appearance that could never be mistaken for an ordinary Japanese person.

Albinism.

The reason why Sumire, despite being a clear beauty, gave off a somewhat eerie impression wasn’t just her personality, but also this condition.

“…Sigh.”

Sumire leaned back in her chair, putting all her weight on it. Her frail body, like that of a prodigious singer, became exhausted with the slightest exertion.

“I earned about 750,000 yen today. Not bad.”

The irony of hating the gaze of others while craving love, escaping the attention drawn by her albinism by becoming an avatar that attracts even more attention.

Sumire earned money as the price of living in this paradox. A large sum of money, incomparable to other jobs where she faced discrimination no matter what she did.

But Sumire was number one. The most insecure in a competition is the one being chased. It was scary to move forward without looking back, fearing those who followed.

Sumire put away her equipment and typed the rookie’s name on her keyboard. She knew all the information and news, but she hadn’t actually seen the avatar that caused such a stir.

“Her name is… Yui, was it? What’s her avatar like…”

Tap, tap, tap.

The results that appeared after she typed ‘Vtuber Hanasaki Yui Avatar’ froze Sumire in place.

“What kind of art… no, how far is the rigging even done? Down to the fluff? Every single strand of hair? What is this…”

Sumire boasted that her Mama and Papa were the best in the industry. After all, she had poured in an amount of money that other major Vtubers couldn’t even imagine.

But the best in the industry? What a joke.

“These artists were unknown…?”

Genius, blessed, talented.

There were many words to describe them, but Sumire closed her mouth and played Yui’s debut stream. No matter how good the avatar, there were countless people who graduated because they lacked speaking skills, voice, or broadcasting talent.

Sumire heard that Yui had no past life. Having no past life was an advantage in that her real face wouldn’t be identified, but it also meant she had no broadcasting experience.

After watching 10 minutes of Yui’s debut stream, Sumire came to a conclusion.

“A trifecta of childish fantasies.”

The meeting of a broadcast genius, an art genius, and a rigging genius who had never shown their faces before. Even if she was a rich girl starting this as a hobby, it would be difficult to achieve this.

“That growth rate wasn’t a coincidence.”

Sumire chuckled.

I wonder if this star will be able to reach the sky where she is. For the first time in a while, Sumire felt intrigued by these three people.

Yui’s stream was impressive with its smooth flow, appropriate tsukkomi, appealingly cute voice, and skillful use of facial expressions. There were no actions that broke her RP.

The rigging of her moving avatar was also perfect. Rigging, when you think about it, is similar to sticking needles in and adjusting the size of a person. It’s a highly skilled and specialized task. They would have received at least a million yen for this.

But what looked even more delicious to her than all of that was.

“That art…”

The beauty contained within that avatar itself.

There are many Vtubers with good voices and broadcasting skills. There aren’t many rigging experts, but there’s nothing particularly unique about it. There’s no such thing as Shinkage-ryu style rigging.

Art is different. Every artist has their own style, and the value they hold is different. Yui’s Mama is clearly a top-tier asset.

“…I want it.”

Her red eyes gleamed intensely.

For the first time, Sumire felt desire towards someone.

Meanwhile, Hanasaki Yui, unaware that her Mama was being targeted…

[Hanasaki Yui: Awesome! Wow! It’s really amazing…! Mama! Look at this. I have almost 250,000 subscribers!]

…was messaging her Mama excitedly. Yui’s smile was so bright that it seemed like the smile of someone who had never been criticized in their life.

[WhitePalette: Aren’t you concerned about the current situation? There are a lot of malicious comments, are you okay?]

Ironically, Yui was receiving the most hate she had ever received in her life. It was just that Yui wasn’t even aware of the malicious comments in the chat window.

For example, a comment like [High school level manners w], which would hurt other Vtubers deeply.

Unfortunately, Yui dropped out of high school, meaning she only has a middle school education. To Yui, that comment translates to her having good manners. No damage. Rather, she would have been happy that she made someone laugh.

Other potentially hurtful comments also failed to faze Yui. Shallow wounds don’t hurt if you don’t acknowledge them.

[Hanasaki Yui: I’m fine. There are many more people who like me, right?]

[WhitePalette: That’s good to hear. I watched your debut stream. It was fun.]

[Hanasaki Yui: Really!? I’m glad Mama liked it! By the way, why are you talking so formally? You were so cool in the chat.]

At that moment, Soohyun groaned and covered her face. Was this a side effect of reading too many web novels and manga? Suddenly using that kind of tone while chatting in Japanese.

Thanks to that, various online forums were filled with posts like…

[Stop it, Yui.] [3]

[Ah. Shiori Haru? ‘Ban’ her.] [37]

[We’ll talk later, ‘small fry.’] [71]

…making fun of Soohyun’s way of speaking. Soohyun just hoped that it wouldn’t become a meme.

[Hanasaki Yui: Mama. I’m curious about that too… but I have something I’m even more curious about.]

[WhitePalette: …What is it?]

[Hanasaki Yui: What are you going to say to Haru-chan? She’s completely sulking now and calls herself an orphan without a mother every time she streams. It’s starting to look dangerous.]

“Ugh. So much f*cking stuff to worry about.”

Soohyun stood up in frustration and sat back down.

Everything she had to do could be handled from her room.

“This is… really old.”

She searched for her chat logs with Shiori Haru. No, Takahashi Sayo. Past countless commission inquiries. She scrolled down to messages from when Soohyun was in high school.

[Takahashi Sayo: I’ll definitely repay you. (3 years ago)]

Soohyun thought for a moment about what to write and sent a single sentence.

[WhitePalette: Have you been well? Haru-san.]