The rate at which the view count was rising was unreal.
Not much time had even passed, yet the numbers were already terrifying.
-Isn’t this edited?
-The chat is right there on the side. What do you mean edited?
-What’s that character on the screen? Is this what no-cam streams are like these days?
-Is this the idol of the OMagal?
-Looks like he’s from the previous game.
-No, I never saw a bastard like that in the previous game either;;
Just skimming the comments gave her a rough idea of the mood.
These people weren’t her subscribers.
They were people who had seen it on communities and come looking.
New viewers.
New viewers were pouring in from every direction.
-I watch streamers’ ranked games a lot, and I’ve never seen anything like that even in the top ranks;;
-Top ranks in a game that came out a week ago? lol
-Are we starting to get VTubers one by one too?
-Seeing it like this, I guess it makes sense that she lost.
-The shock of getting clean-swept by Teacher is fading a little.
Even for her, who had been streaming for more than just a day or two, the view count was something she rarely saw.
The records she had set before had been peaks reached because the timing had been good, or because the algorithm had hard-carried her.
They were records she had thought could never be broken unless the whole universe was helping her that day.
And now those records were being broken one after another.
The upward trend hadn’t even slowed yet.
-That face is hard to forget once you’ve seen it even once lolol
-So that’s a newbie?
-You think? lolol
-A newbie walking around with max combo stacks lolol
-Walking around? Looks more like he’s crawling around because of a bug;;
-Can’t hide that rotten veteran stink.
-Mmm~ that smell~… blech~
She, too, was a veteran streamer.
She already knew.
At this point, what she thought about it was no longer the issue.
-12:46 Wow lolol I thought it was edited.
-How many clashes is he doing? lolol
-I gave up counting at 50.
-Is he filling it with crouch cancels?
-What’s a crouch cancel, you damn nerd;;
Not riding a big wave like this was practically a crime.
-They said Zanshin got nerfed, but if you know how to use it, it’s still good.
-I’m telling you, even Modern needs to use Zanshin.
-Definitely, the very top players use Zanshin even on Modern.
-Mead was at least kind of keeping up.
-I hit Valhalla in the previous game, and if that bastard isn’t edited, he’s hacking.
-What do we call it if there’s no proof?
-Hacks in a game that’s been out for a week? lol
-Then it’s edited.
-Where can I watch this person’s video?
When she refreshed, the comments poured down again.
The speed was so fast that she was stunned.
This was for real. Had it made the rounds through outside communities or what?
Sure enough, someone beside her was asking for information.
It was quick-handed Luka.
“I looked it up, and it’s going around all kinds of communities. Everywhere, no exceptions.”
“Our fan cafe is talking about nothing but this right now too.”
“Wow, insane. Look at the trending ranking.”
“Listen to Namiya unni, okay? And you still call yourself a streamer?”
Being pecked at from both sides left her dizzy.
Luka’s side was fine. She was just riding the mood and pestering her.
Luka had always been easygoing, so she didn’t seem to care much either way.
The boss, on the other hand, was serious.
She was even more excited than Hanami herself and kept pressing her.
“You should respect me. I have almost ten years of broadcasting experience, and…”
“Ugh…”
“What are you even hesitating for!! Do you know how much money went into making that avatar?!”
“I told you to lower the unit price!!”
“Are we not picking a second generation?! Are you abandoning the company?!”
“Oh, seriously, stop!!”
She thought of the avatar that had fluttered around on stream.
At first, she had wondered why they were pouring so much money into something like this, but after getting used to it, both she and her viewers had ended up satisfied with that expensive avatar.
Even the viewers who had been utterly horrified by it had gradually been won over, eventually asking why she wasn’t using the avatar today.
Right. She had been satisfied.
Expensive things really were good.
But it wasn’t as if she had spent that money because she wanted to.
Her unni had dumped her own money into it, made the thing, and set the whole stage herself.
This unni had always been like that.
Since ages ago, whenever something looked fun, she would charge right in, and her drive was so impressive that blowing through her savings had become an annual event.
Ever since they had first met during a collab for a shoddy RPG Maker game… No, that wasn’t important right now.
“Wow, unni, this is crazy. Every time I refresh, the views duplicate. English comments are showing up too.”
“…? English?”
“It’s not just English, though? What is this? French? German?”
Luka uploaded a screenshot to the call room.
-THE WEAPON PARRYING LOOKS AMAZING
-some one call AsgardSoft to let this man …
-this is absoulutely impressive!! …
-Che bello!! …
“…What is this?”
“There’s stuff besides English too. Spanish? What is it? Anyway, it’s multiplying like crazy!!”
“Hey, this really caught fire. Wow, seriously, it’d be a loss not to do it.”
“No. Why do overseas viewers matter?”
“If you edit it nicely and it becomes a topic, people will carry it over to the communities, right? And the people watching those are Korean, aren’t they?”
“…”
Hanami sighed and raised the white flag.
She clicked the game’s download button.
“Hello? Hanami? Are you there?”
“Yes, understood. I’ll install the game.”
“Nice!!”
“I need to contact him, so be quiet!!”
Hanami sighed and checked the game platform.
When she looked at her friends list, fortunately, the friend request had been accepted.
“So this actually ended up being useful…”
With this, at least they had avoided running aground from the start… but she had no idea what she was supposed to send.
“What should I even write? He doesn’t seem like a viewer…”
“Write with all your sincerity. You can’t miss this chance.”
“But unni, what are you going to do about the appearance fee? What’s the standard rate?”
“I don’t know either, that’s why I’m thinking…”
It was already hard enough to write, and with people adding a word from the side one by one, her head spun even more.
The boss’s nagging in particular got on her nerves.
Hanami wondered whether she should mute her, then moved her fingers. For now, she would write something. Anything.
-Hello, Let’s See Your Back! I’m Hanami, a virtual streamer who runs a variety gaming broadcast.
It was Hanami’s first time sending a collab proposal to an ordinary person, so she had no idea what to say.
Still, forcing herself along, she continued the proposal. Was this the right way to start, at least?
***
In the end, I couldn’t recall the path my fingers had taken.
No matter how much I racked my brain, nothing changed.
So much had happened last night that my brain cells had gone on strike, but after sleeping for a night and waking up, they slowly started drifting back to work.
Even after grabbing my now-refreshed head and thinking again, I still had no clue.
After agonizing over it for a while, I had just decided I might as well go to the mart.
I got dressed and was just about to head out when I heard a distinctive notification sound.
When I checked, I had received this message.
-Hello, Let’s See Your Back! I’m Hanami, a virtual streamer who runs a variety gaming broadcast. I’m contacting you because I was wondering if you might be interested in appearing on my stream?...(omitted)… I apologize for contacting you so suddenly. I’ll be waiting for your reply!!
“What in tarnation is this?”
…No, it was real?
Thinking something might have gone wrong, I read through the message several times, but it was certain.
I had seen it correctly.
It was a collab offer. And from a major streamer at that.
When a game becomes a god-tier game, ridiculous things like this happen too, huh…
“A broadcast…”
To be honest, it wasn’t as if I had never thought about it.
There were plenty of ways to make use of this face, after all.
It wasn’t that I looked down on these people, but if I could just show my face, I was confident I could devour the top of the platform.
I had personally confirmed that much.
Even if I just looked in the mirror and cracked dad jokes, my face itself was entertaining.
The thought of acquaintances or relatives calling me after seeing my face on a cam stream was dizzying… but wouldn’t just my voice be fine?
Ever since I’d seen VTubers, that thought had vaguely crossed my mind.
Though I wasn’t confident I could succeed using only my voice while making such a maniac game my main content.
“But, well… it’s not like I’d be debuting, right?”
Even if I fumbled around and ruined the broadcast, it wasn’t like I had anything to lose.
In this matter, I was the one in the stronger position too.
“I’ll think about it while I’m out.”
Wearing clothes I had already grown used to and pulling a cap down over my head, I set off for the mart.
I still hadn’t gotten used to all the stares along the way, but it was bearable.
Maybe because the embarrassment I had experienced yesterday had been so intense, I could act shamelessly under this much attention.
Was this a kind of shock therapy too?
Holding tofu in my hand, I trudged back home. After going back and forth a few times, I was starting to get familiar with the geography of the area.
Judging from the atmosphere, quite a few of the residents seemed to know me.
Well, with an appearance like this, it would be harder not to become famous.
Should I call it fortunate?
No one spoke to me first while I was cautiously gauging their reactions.
If anything, it was the opposite. Even though I hadn’t said anything, they avoided my gaze and looked uncomfortable.
Since this was near a small villa, there wouldn’t be that many residents, and if we were acquainted, exchanging greetings wouldn’t have been strange.
Though I didn’t know whether what followed would be cheerful chatter or, conversely, awkward silence.
Still, the fact that not even a greeting was exchanged felt a little strange.
It was a little different from fear.
They seemed somewhat surprised.
Getting a rough sense of how things were going, I hurried my steps.
In any case, leaving the uncomfortable silence behind, I returned to the villa.
As I quickly passed the mailboxes, something caught my eye.
“…”
I had an ominous feeling.
When I pulled it out with trembling hands, that ominous feeling grew stronger and stronger.
-Management Fee Payment Notice
“…”
I hurried back home.
I tossed my cap aside and checked the message first.
-...(omitted) I apologize for contacting you so suddenly. I’ll be waiting for your reply!!
“Not this.”
-I’m Hanami, a virtual streamer who runs a variety gaming broadcast.
“Not this either.”
-Would you perhaps be interested in appearing on my stream? Regarding the appearance fee…
“…Hahaha.”
Lee Jincheol.
No, Kang Jimin.
His first-ever broadcast appearance was confirmed!!