Chapter 115: Chapter 114

All four teams participating in the Fantasy League had different gender compositions.

Anna's team, Cerberus, included only men—five members, counting the team owner. Anna was the only woman, and one member was presented with an ambiguous gender as part of their persona.

Son Nari's team, Gryphon, consisted entirely of women, including the team owner, a rare case of a female pro-gamer in the league.

Mashita's team, Behemoth, was perfectly balanced, with three male and three female VTubers. The team owner was male.

Our team, Leviathan, had five female VTubers, one male VTuber, and a male owner. So, while our team’s gender ratio was 5:2, it was the complete opposite of Cerberus.

"Hey, Valbara! What color are your panties today?"

One day, I witnessed an amusing sight. A 160 cm tall girl was harassing a muscular 180 cm man with some teasing comments.

"Keep your distance," he grumbled.

"Wow, look at how buff you've gotten since we last met. You’ve got such a hot body! Be honest, you’re trying to seduce me, aren’t you?"

"Why do you always say stupid things every time we meet?"

"Because I’m a fool! A fool who only has eyes for you...♡"

Valbara shoved the girl away, looking exasperated.

Her name was Kaga Mero. She was a female VTuber and a fifth-tier member of Leviathan.

At first glance, it seemed like Mero might have a crush on Valbara or was angling for a “couple arc” with him.

But it turned out that wasn’t the case.

"Rui! What color are your panties today!!!"

The moment Rui logged in, Mero dashed over to him and hugged him from behind.

"Panties? Ah, pink."

"What?! That's so sexy. Damn, it’s turning me on…."

"Oh, really?"

"Rui, you like me, don’t you? You even commented in my chat the other day. That means you like me."

"Yeah, yeah, I like you. But could you back off a bit? It's getting a bit much."

"I like you too, Rui… it’s mutual love…♡ Let’s get married, huhuhu…."

"Nah, marriage costs too much. With inflation these days, staying single is more economical, don’t you think?"

Rui responded indifferently, as if used to Mero’s antics by now.

Watching Mero for a while, I came to understand her pattern.

She didn’t care whether the target was male or female; she would start with physical contact, often escalating to even bolder remarks, especially if her target was a woman.

Her language was rough, her behavior unrefined, and I’d heard she didn’t bathe often—maybe every other day at best.

In every sense of the word, Mero was a "messy" VTuber. But, she’d been around since 2019, making her a veteran.

She often made extreme comments but was careful about whom she targeted.

"Greetings, my lady!"

As soon as I entered MyRoom, Mero bowed deeply, bending at a full 90-degree angle.

"Your voice is loud."

"Yes! I’m loud as always! My only redeeming quality is my loud voice! And, my lady, you look beautiful today!"

She giggled.

Despite her longer career as a VTuber, Mero had always shown deference to me since our first meeting.

It seemed as if she deliberately went out of her way to cater to my whims.

But it wasn’t out of respect or awe for me.

‘She just thinks this is entertaining.’

It appeared that Valbara, the male VTuber, also found it amusing to play along with the harassment. Perhaps that was why he allowed her antics to continue.

It was clear that Mero and Valbara were the mood-makers of our team.

Rui led the team, holding the captain role among us. As for me, I was expected to be the ace, the one carrying the team. Mood-making, however, seemed to be left to Valbara and Mero.@@novelbin@@

‘The team owner, Choi Gaho, really prioritizes team dynamics.’

Gaho’s draft had clearly placed atmosphere at the forefront of his decisions.

But maybe he focused a bit too much on team dynamics, considering the problems we’d been experiencing in-game.

【The enemy Knight has defeated our Cavalry.】 【The enemy Spearman has defeated our Dual Wielder.】 【The enemy Spearman has defeated our Mage.】 【The enemy Archer has defeated our Battle Priest.】 【The enemy Spearman has defeated our Puppet Master.】

We’d lost so many times, I’d lost count.

Thankfully, it was just a normal game, not ranked, so there was no major impact. But I was starting to get annoyed.

"Good work, my lady!"

After the game ended, I entered MyRoom.

All the Leviathan members were already there. I was the last to arrive, which was understandable.

As the designated “stray,” I often acted solo, while the rest had all been wiped out as the main party. That’s why they’d arrived ahead of me.

I had fought as best I could, but with the stark difference in numbers, and since Dark Knights aren’t damage dealers, there was little chance of a solo comeback.

Just as I started wondering if it would’ve been better to play as a Berserker or Rogue, Mero ran over to me.

"I’ll take responsibility!"

She immediately lowered her head in front of me.

If this were reality, her posture would have been exhausting. But here in virtual reality, such stances were no trouble at all.

I glanced down at Mero, then casually sat on her back.

"Ah…!"

"Rui, play the replay."

Sitting on her like a chair, LOL

This is harsher than the army, LOL

But hey, at least she gets to feel my lady’s weight. Isn’t that a win?

【Ararararagi Sora donated 1,000 yen.】 【Sora, you missed your chance to be my lady’s chair?】

The chat was, as always, astonishingly lively.

Crossing my arms, I crossed my legs, letting my weight settle more firmly on Mero’s back. She would endure it somehow.

While I waited, Rui started playing the replay, allowing me to watch the party’s defeat in detail.

"You rushed the initiation again."

"Yes, ma’am!"

Mero shouted from beneath me.

"But my lady, wasn’t my timing beautiful?"

"And?"

"It’s the team’s fault for not following up!"

"Be quiet."

"Yes, ma’am."

Mero shut her mouth.

Rui sighed and added,

"Sorry, Laura did her best, but we lost because of us."

"That’s what practice is for. Don’t let it get to you."

I was, after all, the perfect noble lady in this world. But even I didn’t excel at everything from the beginning.

They say failure is the mother of success.

Learning from defeat often teaches more than winning, and from that data, we would secure our victory next time.

So, even if we lost in practice, as long as we won in the main event, it would be fine.

However,

"Getting too used to losing isn’t a good thing either."

If you experience too many losses, you might forget how to win.

While losing wasn’t inherently bad, failing to learn from it was a waste. This constant stream of losses wasn’t entirely welcome.

"The problem lies in two things. First, our teamwork isn’t coming together as expected. Second, there’s a lack of understanding of each position."

"That’s true."

Rui nodded.

"Besides me and Valbara, everyone else is new to the Fantasy League."

Rui was right.

Honestly, everyone’s gaming skills weren’t bad.

Most of them had decent physical abilities, even the lower-tier players like Mero and Sora had a certain level of individual skill.

The issue was that they were playing this as if it were solo queue, not a team game.

‘The problem is that they don’t take their teammates into account.’

The tank, being at the front line, is the anchor of the party. When the tank moves forward, it shifts the team’s center of gravity.

If the tank gets eliminated too quickly, the frontline collapses, and with no proper formation, the party ends up scattered and defeated.

It wasn’t just Mero’s fault as the tank; it seemed the rest of the team lacked finesse. Mero’s mistakes just happened to be more noticeable.

They were too focused on their individual play, struggling to coordinate with teammates.

Sora, for instance, was used to playing 3-player arcade modes but had no experience with 6-player teams, so it was understandable.

"Let’s swap positions."

Rui proposed.

"Mero’s tank skills are lacking, so let’s have Valbara tank. Mero can be the sustained damage dealer, and I’ll go melee DPS. How does that sound?"

"It’s a good suggestion, but it doesn’t seem like a fundamental fix. The real issue is Mero’s tendency to charge in recklessly."

"I’ll change that, I promise!"

Mero responded quickly.

"I’ll be more careful next time! Please trust me, I’ll do it right this time!"

"I find that hard to believe."

The problem felt less like an issue of positional skills and more like a matter of mindset.

If there wasn’t a shift in awareness, similar issues would continue cropping up. Even if Mero switched roles, it would just mean reckless attacks from a DPS position instead of a tank.

"Sora."

"Yes?"

"Listen to Rui."

"…Huh?"

Sora tilted her head in confusion. I stood up, pulled Mero up, and grabbed her by the collar.

"Wh-what’s happening…?"

"Rui, teach Sora well. I’ll need to handle Mero one-on-one."

I dragged Mero off with me.

Our team’s lower-tier members, Sora and Mero, were currently ranked Unranked and Silver, respectively.

There are two main ways to win a match: you can either block the opponent’s strengths or exploit their weaknesses.

Naturally, the latter is easier.

And our team’s weakness was clearly the lower-ranked Sora and Mero.

The opposing teams would likely target them instead of me, focusing their efforts on breaking down Sora and Mero.

Therefore, we needed to patch these weak points in our lineup.

How much Sora and Mero could improve before the league started would determine our success.

"Um… my lady… can you… please let go…?"

I glanced around; the others were nowhere in sight. Only Mero and I were here.

I finally released her.

"Ouch… My lady, you’re so tough. So, what’s the plan from here?"

"Drop the formalities."

"Wh-what?"

My tone must have surprised her.

Seeing her startled expression, I reassured her with a gentle smile.

"I said, drop the formalities."