"Sorryâ¦! I'm lateâ¦!"
Inagika shouted in a trembling voice.
This was a café. In fact, it was a café near Chel's house.
At this place, Inagika was meeting Chel one-on-one.
"Yes."
Normally, a person would encourage them by saying they weren't late, but Chel was her usual self with a short reply. Although Inagika thought they had become quite close, Chel's communication skills were still abysmalâ¦
"Yeah⦠sorry for being lateâ¦."
Inagika bowed her head and immediately took a seat.
Laura and Sora might not know, but Inagika had actually been hanging out with Chel quite a bit recently.
Once upon a time, Chel had seemed like someone who excluded everyone else, but living temporarily at Laura's house seemed to have softened her a bit. Inagika thought she was easier to approach than before.
So, Inagika had suggested they try a TRPG together.
â "Sure." â "I was interested."
Chel was a VTuber who excelled in voice acting. And such VTubers often showed a lot of interest in TRPG broadcasts.
In reality, Inagika was preparing for a TRPG broadcast.
However, even though she liked TRPGs, she didnât have much experience. Due to her shy nature and being somewhat of an outsider, she had only held an interest without ever having the opportunity to play properly.
Thatâs why she wanted to participate in an external collaboration for TRPGs, but she felt a bit scared about collaborating with unknown VTubers.
Thus, it had only been recently that she had managed to convince Chel to try an external TRPG collaboration. As a result, she felt considerably closer to Chel than before.
"Um⦠but is it just us�" "Yes."
Chel nodded at Inagika's question.
"Sora isn't coming." "...Really?" "She said she's busy."
That was a bit disappointing, but also felt like a blessing in disguiseâ¦
After all, it was a gathering of the 6th generation excluding Laura. Of course, Laura wouldnât get mad about this much, but still, wouldn't she feel badâ¦? Thinking about that made Inagika feel slightly guilty.
In that sense, meeting with just Chel seemed like a better idea. If Sora had been there, it might have felt like they were isolating Laura.
"So, what about the draft? How's it going�" "Laura got selected."
With that, Chel showed the broadcast screen.
Cerberus, Gryphon, Leviathan. Three teams had selected Laura.
"Wow⦠three teams picked her at the same time�"
Inagika was astonished.
Not long ago, Chel had suggested watching to see if Laura would get picked in the Fantasy League draft.
After all, the Fantasy League was the biggest tournament in the VTuber industry. If Laura made it, it would be a huge deal.
'...Though it feels like she's a bit further away now.'
From the moment they met, Inagika felt that Laura was an extraordinary presence. Should she say she was like a star? Someone shining from afar, who felt unreachable even if she stretched her hand⦠that kind of feeling.
However, the reason Inagika and Chel could stay close to Laura was that they were all in the same company and part of the same generation. Thatâs why she thought they could maintain a good connection.
But since the Fantasy League had participants from various countries, it wouldnât be an exaggeration to say that Laura had stepped into the realm of global stardomâ¦
It was a good thing that her friend was becoming great, but it also made her feel a bit lonely.
So, Inagika intentionally didn't mention it to Laura and was secretly watching the simultaneous broadcast of Laura with Chel.
"But⦠what happens if three teams pick her�" "They say they'll hold a lottery."
Chel explained.
And as Chel described, the lottery was held to choose Laura. A good-looking guy who looked like a celebrity, a middle-aged man with an unshaven jawline, and a woman who didn't seem much older than them all participated in the draw.
â¦There was also a female pro gamer. That was something she didn't know.
Inagika wasn't well-versed in the Fantasy League. She hadnât followed the "Streamer League" from the previous two years that closely. She had only watched occasionally when it appeared in her algorithm. Since Laura would be participating this year, she thought she would probably follow it regularlyâ¦
"Why did three teams pick Laura�"
Suddenly curious, Inagika thought that getting closer to Chel through this would be nice too. So she subtly tried to ask.
"Because Laura is amazing." "Uh, yeah⦠but we're all newcomers, right? It's strange that a newcomer was picked by three teamsâ¦" "Because Laura is amazing."
Chel nodded with a strangely proud expression, despite her blank face. â¦Was this on repeat or something?
In fact, Chel didn't know much about the Fantasy League either. She just assumed it was a great tournament because Laura was participating!
"Uh, yeah⦠Laura really is amazingâ¦!"
Inagika awkwardly reacted.
What was this⦠a Laura fan club? Wasnât it a bit too simplistic in their praisesâ¦?
If they were going to watch the draft anyway, it would be more interesting to discuss why that team picked this person and why this team chose that person, but⦠what could she do? Since neither of them knew much about the Fantasy League, there was no choice.
ãTeam Cerberus Tier 1 Selection: 'Vincent Edward' from 23:00 Serenadeã ãTeam Behemoth Tier 1 Selection: 'Asahina Hikari'ã ãTeam Gryphon Tier 1 Selection: 'Son Narim' from 23:00 SerenadeKRã ãTeam Leviathan Tier 1 Selection: 'Aurora' from EYEAIã
As a result of the lottery, Laura was picked by the team Leviathan.
Cerberus and Gryphon, who couldnât pick Laura, had no choice but to select other streamers.
"Here comes the important part�"
Honestly, whether Laura got picked or not was the most important thing in the world, but because Inagika had arrived a bit late, she had missed all the good moments.
"From Tier 2, Laura's teammates will be decidedâ¦." "Right."
Chel agreed with Inagika's statement.
And the results for Tier 2 were as follows.
ãTeam Cerberus Tier 2 Selection: 'Kanto Akito' from Dakapo Andanteã ãTeam Behemoth Tier 2 Selection: 'Masina' from 23:00 SerenadeKRã ãTeam Gryphon Tier 2 Selection: 'Shinomiya Yuki' from 23:00 Serenadeã ãTeam Leviathan Tier 2 Selection: 'Hanabane Rui' from Ink Paletteã
"Rui and Laura are on the same teamâ¦!" "Seems so." "Will Rui do well in Labyrinthosâ¦?!" "Iâm not sure." "â¦â¦." "â¦â¦."
An awkward silence stretched between them.
â¦It felt like they chose the wrong person.
Even if Rui's teammate was picked, she couldn't know if that person would be a good teammate or not. She hadnât been paying attention to the Streamer League all this time!
If she had known, she should have tried to convince Rinco-senpai instead⦠Rinco-senpai would have explained it wellâ¦
Of course, it was a meaningless assumption. There was no way Inagika would have the courage to invite a 1st generation member.
"Um, if it's Hanabane Rui⦠isn't she Anna-senpai's oshi?"
Oshi. Oshi is written in Japanese as 'æ¨ã', using the kanji for 'push', which implies 'the person I support'.
In Korea, itâs often translated as âfavoriteâ, but thereâs a considerable difference in meaning between oshi and favorite. It canât be said to be an exact translation. It feels like they are just using the term âfavoriteâ because there isnât another suitable word.
Of course, Anna-senpai would know this difference, but it seemed like she intentionally called Laura her favorite, as Laura didnât know much about subculture yet.
"I didn't know she was Anna-senpai's oshi." "â¦â¦."
What do you even know?
It was a well-known story that Anna-senpai was infatuated with Rui, even within EYEAI.
[Wow! Laura and Rui! My favorites are on the same team! Wow!!!!!] [I get how you feel, but lower your voice. It's hurting my ears.] [How can I be quiet?! This is amazing!]
Look. Anna, who was doing a simultaneous viewing with Laura, was bouncing off the walls, wasn't she? That person, who listened well to Laura, was still causing a ruckus even after Laura had warned her.
'â¦Chel really is on her own wavelength.'
So, Inagika felt her self-esteem subtly boost. She felt somewhat better than Chel.
ãTeam Cerberus Tier 3 Selection: 'Shiroki Anna' from EYEAIã ãTeam Behemoth Tier 3 Selection: 'Orga Hansen' from 23:00 SerenadeKRã ãTeam Gryphon Tier 3 Selection: 'Kuroko Lambert' from Horizon AirENã ãTeam Leviathan Tier 3 Selection: 'Barabara Lian' from Personalã
[Aaaah!! Why is this happening!!!!!]
Then, even after the Tier 3 selection, Anna was still going wild.
[W-why?! Why Cerberus??? Laura's in Leviathan! Rui's in Leviathan too! I wanted to go to Leviathan too!! Why didnât Leviathan pick me!!]
What a scene.
From a third-party perspective, it was quite funny, but of course, she didn't bother to express it. After all, Anna was a senpai.
"Ah, Anna-senpai got picked too⦠Although the team is different, it's still good to get picked, right�" "Right."
It seemed like players from the same Fantasy League often collaborated, even if they were on different teams.
After all, isn't that what the goal is?@@novelbin@@
Itâs a tournament where various VTubers from different countries gather, including some from major companies. Just collaborating with them could yield subscriber benefits. If they form connections? That would be a big gain.
Given that being drafted is no easy feat, it was impressive that Anna had made it, even if they were on different teams.
'I'm not sure why Anna-senpai got pickedâ¦'
It was understandable that Leviathan picked Laura since she was part of their set, but why Cerberus picked her was unclear. However, since it was a professional gamer's choice, there must have been some deep reasoning behind it.
In any case, it was slightly amusing to see a familiar name, but after that, only names she didnât know came up from Tier 4 onward.
There were a few names she had heard of, but that was about it. Since they werenât VTubers she was familiar with, Inagika felt it was somewhat boring.
ãTeam Cerberus Tier 4 Selection: 'Choi Changyoung' from 23:00 SerenadeKRã ãTeam Behemoth Tier 4 Selection: 'Muraya Rei' from Horizon Boysã ãTeam Gryphon Tier 4 Selection: 'Yoshino Aina' from Horizon Airã ãTeam Leviathan Tier 4 Selection: 'Inui Kirin' from Personalã
ãTeam Cerberus Tier 5 Selection: 'Ushimii Jin' from Dakapo Andanteã ãTeam Behemoth Tier 5 Selection: 'Elena' from 23:00 SerenadeKRã ãTeam Gryphon Tier 5 Selection: 'Mary Arma' from Horizon Airã ãTeam Leviathan Tier 5 Selection: 'Kaga Mero' from Blizzard Spotã
ãTeam Cerberus Tier 6 Selection: 'Kazama Izumi' from Ink Paletteã ãTeam Behemoth Tier 6 Selection: 'Suzuki Tooru' from 23:00 SerenadeKRã ãTeam Gryphon Tier 6 Selection: 'Michelle Antique' from Horizon AirENã ãTeam Leviathan Tier 6 Selection: 'Ayano Kouji Sora' from EYEAIã
â¦
â¦Huh?
"â¦Sora?"
Inagika blinked at the sudden mention of Sora's name.
It was just five seconds before Anna's jealousy was about to explode.