Chapter 74: This guy, isn’t he weird.

The winter vacation in Japan is only two weeks long, which is really incredibly short.

It’s so short that I feel like it should be renamed to “crying vacation.”

Or not? It starts similarly to South Korea’s, but the duration is much shorter, so maybe “winter cry” would be more accurate.

And right now, it’s December 30th. The winter vacation, which only lasts two weeks, is already on its fifth day.

I wish someone would tell me it’s all a lie…

[No matter how much you try to escape reality, it’s no use now, Izumi.]

While I was escaping reality, a sharp remark from Koga hit me.

I wanted to tell them to stop reading my thoughts so naturally, but maybe it’s meaningless now?

“…Do I really have to do this?”

[Of course, you do. Were you not planning to?]

“To be honest, it feels so sudden and overwhelming. I wonder if I really have, have the qualifications…”

All I’ve done on my stream is, no matter how much I think about it, just set the community on fire, right?

Of course, I understand that doing so helped my channel grow, something that has no other advantages to speak of,

but still…

[You didn’t even do a special broadcast for hitting 100k, so you absolutely need to do one for 150k!]

That’s right. The topic Koga and I were discussing was about my channel, which was about to reach 150k subscribers.

Currently, the number of subscribers on my channel is 140,893.

Just a few days ago, the subscriber count was 110k, but after the clip from my Christmas broadcast spread, it

skyrocketed, and now I’m about to hit 150k.

Fortunately, the insane growth rate stopped since yesterday.

…Wait, is that a good thing?

But what was so entertaining about that broadcast I did all by myself to make it go viral like that…?

Anyway, once I reach 150k, my channel will continue broadcasting, and after that, there’s definitely going to be a

celebratory broadcast, as Koga says.

“But normally, a subscriber milestone broadcast is just chatting or singing, right? Isn’t it a bit too much for me to do

right now…?”

If I have to wait until I hit 150k to start the broadcast, it’s sure to take quite a while.

It’ll definitely take at least two hours, won’t it?

…Two hours of chatting with people?

No matter how I try to think positively, isn’t that impossible?

I can’t even do a singing broadcast due to my habit of stuttering.

[…Well, you’re right there.]

“Right…?”

It’s not even 200k, and having a special broadcast for 150k feels a bit off, doesn’t it?

Of course, I know that my fans, the Izutomos, want me to do a special broadcast for both my regular broadcast and a

celebratory one.

I wanted to do something similar when Nacchan’s subscriber count hit a multiple of five too.

But since I’m not Nacchan, I think it’s okay to approach it differently in this case.

[You do realize that’s a ridiculous thought, right? You can tell just by looking at the community.]

“…Is my thinking really that easy to read?”

[Izu-mi is quite simple, so it’s very easy to understand.]

I see.

Well, anyway, I already know the meaning of what Koga said.

If you search my name on Natoru right now…

[Mei-chan, you’re definitely doing a broadcast for 150k, right?]

[You skipped the 100k one, but if you skip 150k too, that would be a huge shame.]

[Please do a celebratory broadcast on December 30th and a New Year’s Eve broadcast!]

These are the only opinions I’m seeing.

But when it was 100k… that was, well, a pretty difficult time, so I couldn’t help it.

In the end, it just ended with a simple thank-you message.

Of course, the Izutomos know that, so they didn’t make any complaints about the lack of a 100k broadcast.

On the contrary, I know I should be thankful that they quietly let it slide. I really am grateful. But for them to hold

skipping 100k over my head like this…

“…Izutomos, don’t you think that’s a bit much?”

[If I were an Izutomo, I’d think you were the one being too much for even thinking of skipping 150k.]

Koga’s words were reasonable.

However…

“How, how dare I, out of all people, be the first among the second-year students to hit 150k?”

I heard that Koga, the second-year student who works hardest on broadcasts, was still at the late 120k range.

And Akabane, Aki, and Utsumi are all streaming far more seriously than I am…

Of course, I don’t mean to compare myself to them by subscriber count.

But the thing is, viewership numbers are a huge indicator when it comes to broadcasting.

Yet somehow, I’ve ended up on top of that indicator. It’s weird.

I don’t think I deserve it.

I don’t want to see the hard work of people who’ve been striving for so long get betrayed.

[…What do you mean by ‘that’? What’s wrong with Izumi? I actually think Izumi’s broadcasts are really fun. I’ve

learned a lot by watching them.]

“H-Huh, but I have so little broadcast time, and… I can’t even stick to RP, and all I do is talk about pointless

things…”

[The reason you don’t have much broadcast time is because you’re still a student, right? As for the RP, that’s actually

become part of the charm of your streams. And as for the pointless talks, how many times has it actually been too

serious or excessive?]

Koga countered everything I said with reasonable arguments.

I had a lot I wanted to say, but I didn’t know how to express it.

“Well, still, Koga, and others, they…”

[Izumi, if you’re being overly humble, that’s actually deceptive. You wouldn’t tell people to unsubscribe right now,

would you?]

“That’s true.”

[So, stop burdening yourself. Just do a simple broadcast like reading Mycarong or something. You’ll end up talking

for one or two hours anyway when something you know comes up.]

“…I-I won’t make that mistake again… probably.”

Honestly, I can’t make that promise.

Every time that’s happened, it’s never been something I planned.

It’s always happened without me realizing it.

[If chatting broadcasts are that much of a burden, just do a Dotsumachi. Everyone will be satisfied.]

Dotsumachi, huh. That’s not easy…

[Sure, Dotsumachi might be tough for someone with your personality, but it’s something you can’t avoid forever.

Why not use this opportunity to try it?]

“Yeah… I’ll think about it.”

[Alright. Then good luck with your afternoon broadcast and your celebration broadcast tomorrow! Let me know if

you decide to do Dotsumachi.]

“Understood.”

After Koga left the Miscord personal chat and checked the time, it was 1:00 PM.

• I want to reach 150k as quickly as possible and then rest, so I’ll start around 5:00 PM.

I’ll need to announce it in advance on Natoru.

[Kai-no Izumi★Star’s Flow @Kainolzumi. 6 minutes ago]

I’ll be doing a 150k subscriber celebration broadcast at 5:00 PM today!

I plan to read Mycarong, so please tune in!

[[150k Celebration Broadcast] Let’s spend some time reading Mycarong! #Kai-noIzumi #StarsFlow]

“Alright, so it’s time for Mycarong again after a long time…”

In the corner of the screen, the number 141,001 was displayed.

There was no need to say it aloud—this was my current subscriber count.

• I never thought Mei-chan would be the first among the second-year students to hit 150k.
• How does it feel?
• The Queen of pointless talks who burned through Hellfire is here…
  =Maker JP¥ 50,000: Mei-chan, you didn’t skip 150k, good job!
  =Los JP¥ 30,000: Keep going to 200k, 300k, and even 1 million!
  There were more viewers than usual and more red hyper chats than normal.
  Honestly, it’s pretty overwhelming…
  But now that the broadcast has started, there’s no turning back, right?
  Koga said they’d be rooting for me, so…
  “First off, I guess my current feelings are… a bit? No, they’re actually more like, really, really… stunned?
  I’m still wondering if I deserve this.
  “…But I know that it’s thanks to everyone’s support that I’m here.”
• It’s embarrassing to say it so directly (#°#)
• Mei-chan, you’re amazing for being able to say that!
  =ILU JP¥ 15,000: Thanks to you, Mei-chan, I always get motivation! Keep up the great work!

“…Ugh… The hyperchat is so m-much, I’ll read it later separately.”

There were so many hyperchats now, it was at the level of when monetization had first been approved. If I tried to respond to each one, I would definitely never get around to reading my Maricolon.

“Alright, let’s move on to the Maricolon…!”

[Hyzumi!]

[It’s amazing to see you hit 150,000 subscribers, I’ve been watching since the first live stream, and I have so many thoughts!]

[Now that you’ve been able to find someone to talk to through Star’s Flow, do you have a new goal?]

“Ugh… Watching from the start, huh? That person… isn’t that a weird person…?”

• What are you saying to the veteran viewer, hahaha
• A huge hyperchat for this one!
• This is part of Meichan’s charm!

Isn’t that true? It’s not like I’ve come a long way or anything. When I think about my first broadcast, it’s embarrassing to even remember…

The black cat’s applause level was just… remarkable back then, right? But I’m still incredibly grateful that people have stuck around.

“Goals, goals…”

As Maricolon said, initially, I just wanted to find someone to talk to. After that, I wanted to create a broadcast where

I could proudly say that I’m part of Star’s Flow’s second generation.

If you ask me whether I’ve achieved my second goal… well, it’s hard to nod in agreement. But I still think I’m trying my best.

I think it’s okay to set a new goal soon.

“Yeah… I have one.”

I know it’s difficult for now.

I know better than anyone that my personality and habits make it tough to achieve.

‘But, subscriber count broadcasts, especially casual chatting or singing streams, aren’t really something I can do right now, are they…??’

Yeah. For now, it’s tough. But that doesn’t mean I’m giving up.

[So, next time, let’s be on stage together. Okay? It’s a promise!]

“I want to stand on stage… and do a live broadcast.”

That’s the goal I’ve set, despite my stammering habit that makes it hard to even do a singing broadcast right now.