Chapter 129: Chapter 128

Turning Back Time

Aurora said to Anna:

"Thinking you can handle everything by yourself is a foolish idea."

Even a perfect duchess couldn’t excel in every field.

In fact, it was precisely because Aurora was a duchess that she understood this better than anyone else.

After all, aren’t nobles fundamentally those who employ commoners to do their bidding?

It’s commoners who build the mansions nobles live in and farmers who harvest the ingredients for the meals they eat.

Would a noble ever roll up their sleeves to work directly?

Being in charge simply means figuring out how to delegate work to others.

And a duchess? She has even less reason to do everything herself.

"There are experts in every field. So, leaving what you can’t do to others is the way of the world, isn’t it?"

"I agree with that sentiment, but isn’t that why we’re relying on takeout for all our meals?"

Because Aurora and Anna couldn’t cook, they had to rely on people who did it for a living. That was the only reason they weren’t starving.

"In other words, if we could find someone to cook for us without spending money, there wouldn’t be an issue."

Fortunately, Anna’s fridge had a decent stock of ingredients.

Her family, knowing that Anna lived off delivery food, often sent her supplies like kimchi and other ingredients.

Although Anna came from a wealthy family, she had a surprisingly frugal streak.

If her family sent her perishable vegetables, she would feel too guilty to waste them and would try to use them up somehow.

It wasn’t as though she had never attempted home-cooked meals. But after a few tries, she lost interest and gave up.

Still, she hated letting ingredients spoil, so she would repeatedly shove everything into the freezer.

Thus, Anna’s fridge was full of frozen ingredients of indeterminate age, along with remnants of her home-cooking experiments—like salt, sugar, tempura flour, and butter.

Aurora couldn’t understand why Anna kept even processed powders in the fridge. Her lack of culinary knowledge was astonishing.

"Let’s entrust these ingredients to someone else."

"But would anyone actually come if we called them?"

Anna started to grasp what Aurora was implying: they needed to find someone to cook for them.

However, Anna’s guess was only partially correct.

"If we’re asking for a favor, we can’t just expect them to come to us, can we? We should go to them."

So Aurora carried the ingredients herself.

Why? Because she was currently a maid.

As a duchess, she wouldn’t have bothered with such tedious tasks, but as Maid Aurora, she was different. You could even call her a flawless and pristine maid.

She deliberately avoided using buses or taxis.

Why? Because the 30,000 KRW daily budget included transportation costs.

Saving, always saving.

She didn’t even consider a bicycle. Her body, hardened by ten years of battlefield experience, didn’t need such weak modes of transportation.

Communism ought to thank her. If Aurora had joined the military, North Korea’s leadership might already have been overthrown by now.

Thus, the indomitable Aurora arrived at Inagika’s house in no time.

"Are your parents home?"

"They’re all at work during the day."

"I see."

Inagika led Aurora into her room.

It seemed that had been Aurora’s goal all along.

Inagika’s Channel Chat:

-?

-Is that Aurora’s voice?

-What is she doing there? lol

-Wasn’t she on Anna’s stream earlier? lol

[Aurora’s Footstool has donated 10,000 KRW.]

[So, you’ve escaped from Anna’s place...]

To Inagika’s surprise, many viewers on her channel had also been watching Anna’s stream.

After all, there weren’t many VTubers streaming during lunchtime. Evening streams tended to get better viewership.

So, viewers who had been idly watching Anna’s broadcast moved over to Inagika’s channel when it went live.

"Do you have a spare mic?"

"I didn’t prepare one..."

"Then we’ll have to share one."

Aurora placed a headset on Inagika’s head with meticulous care.

She gently pressed Inagika’s shoulders, seating her firmly in place, and then quietly left the room.

Perhaps she was going to the bathroom, Inagika thought—but no.

Aurora returned carrying a chair she had taken from the dining table, effortlessly lifting it with one hand.

Gracefully closing the door, she set the chair beside Inagika’s and sat down a bit roughly.

Then, grabbing Inagika by the shoulders, she pulled her close.

"R-Rora!?"

Inagika was half-embraced.

But Aurora paid no mind to Inagika’s flustered state.

She had only pulled Inagika closer to ensure the mic picked up her voice.

"The mic seems to be working fine. To explain briefly, I’m here to prepare lunch for Anna and myself."

Aurora tilted the mic toward herself as she explained. Too close, too close, too close...!

"R-Rora... This position is uncomfortable..."

"We’re friends, aren’t we? So bear with it a little."

"Friends..."

At that moment, Inagika realized something. Physical contact was a sign of friendship, wasn’t it?

Now that she thought about it, even in movies, men often threw their arms around each other’s shoulders to show camaraderie. By that logic, this was definitely something friends would do.

‘Of course…! I’m still Aurora’s friend…!’

Recently, Inagika had been feeling insecure. After all, Aurora seemed to only hang out with people connected to the Fantasy League these days.

To be more precise, even before the Fantasy League draft, Aurora had been close with seniors like Chel and Ainatsu, as well as Sora. Meanwhile, Inagika barely had any interaction with her.

‘I mean, before debuting, I was the one who chatted with Aurora the most on Discord...!’

Inagika had started to wonder if she was being forgotten by Aurora. But look now—here they were, arms around each other’s shoulders.

Inagika adjusted her posture and leaned in closer to Aurora.

Mustered a bit of courage, she even placed her arm around Aurora’s shoulder.

And…! Aurora didn’t seem to mind at all…!

This was what true friendship looked like!

Aurora’s closest friend was none other than Inagika…!

Close enough to share a moment like this, shoulder to shoulder…!!

"So, Inagika, could you make lunch for Anna and me?"

Aurora, her best friend, smiled brightly.

"W-Wait... Are you saying I have to cook lunch for you and Anna...?"

"If we order delivery, it’ll cost money. This is a necessary compromise. Oh, and I brought ingredients."

"That’s not the point... Why me…?"

Could it be because I’m her closest friend?

For a moment, Inagika thought that might be the reason.

"It’s because you’re the only one streaming right now."

Aurora’s response was straightforward.

Streaming during the daytime wasn’t common. As mentioned earlier, evening streams generally got better viewer numbers.

Inagika herself wouldn’t have started streaming this early if it hadn’t been for the recent Authority Update.

"W-What does my streaming have to do with cooking…?"

"Because viewers should know how I manage to get my food."

Imagine Aurora disappearing from Anna’s stream and returning with prepared food.

Naturally, viewers would suspect she had bought it.

The crux of this content was how to survive under a tight 30,000 KRW daily budget. If doubts arose about the authenticity, the whole thing would lose its charm.

In fact, Aurora had already uploaded photos of Anna’s fridge and freezer, exposing their chaotic state to viewers.

What a transparent broadcast this was.

"B-But... I’m not even good at cooking..."

"We’re friends, aren’t we?"

"Uh..."

"And isn’t cooking something a friend could do for another?"

Aurora spoke with conviction.

Was Aurora really saying that, in the end, all she could rely on was "friendship"?

"Yare yare..."

It was time for the Best Friend to step up.

"A-Alright... If it’s like that, I guess I have no choice! B-But can I make one request in return?"

"A request?"

"Y-Yeah..."

Inagika nodded firmly.

Day 4: Successfully cleared with Inagika’s help.

Day 5: Cleared after Aurora invaded Ainatsu’s house.

At Ainatsu’s house:

"Drinking in the middle of the day?"

"I told you to hold yourself back."

"J-Just one drink... Please…"

Aurora, temporarily staying at Anna’s house, had also released Ainatsu from the "imprisonment" she’d been enduring at Aurora’s place.

While under Aurora’s strict prohibition of alcohol, Ainatsu had seemed to become somewhat more normal. But, well, people’s true natures don’t just vanish.

When Aurora found Ainatsu starting a daytime drinking stream, she promptly stepped in to rein her in.

"If you cook a meal, I’ll let this slide for today."

"O-Okay… Love you, Mom..."

"Hmph."

Watching this unfold, Sora couldn’t help but feel oddly irritated.

She wasn’t sure why, but it just rubbed her the wrong way.

"What, relying on someone else instead of me?"

Sora realized one source of her annoyance: the fact that Aurora had gone to Inagika’s house yesterday and Ainatsu’s house today.

For someone who prided herself on her cooking skills, this was a blow to her pride.

While Anna had given up on cooking entirely and relied on takeout, Sora had chosen the opposite path. She cooked for herself.

She genuinely enjoyed cooking, and lately, she’d been putting even more effort into it. Partly because as a VTuber, there were times when she’d cook for others.

And, well, in the distant future, wouldn’t Sora get married someday? Cooking skills would surely come in handy.

Besides, she had been trading recipes with Rui recently.

Hanabane Rui

[@Ayano Koji Sora]

[Found the recipe for beef and potato stew! Here it is!]

[(Link)]

[This person is a Mahjong pro, but they cook like a professional chef.]

[(Link)]

[(Link)]

[And here’s a recipe from a former chef VTuber.]

It was a well-known fact that Rui was a very domestic person. She had even said she’d cook a delicious meal if Sora ever visited Japan in the future.

Despite all the effort Sora had put into learning cooking, Aurora relied on someone else?

Was this what it felt like to have one’s pride wounded?

“Phew… Calm down, calm down…”

The root of all evil wasn’t Aurora, but Anna.

Anna, a senior VTuber from the 5th generation, one gen earlier than the 6th. Yet, she had no qualms about making a junior cater to her needs. It was outrageous.

Poor Aurora.

What could a girl who barely touched housework possibly do? ...Was there even any household task she could manage?

Exactly.

At her core, Sora wasn’t upset with Aurora but angry at the unjust reality of the situation.

Especially since Sora had always been the one looking after Aurora in various ways.

In short, it felt like someone had stolen her little sister.

Sure, Aurora was technically older, and yes, during a recent escape room game, Sora had called Aurora "big sister." But still.

If someone’s younger sibling started dating a shut-in, wouldn’t any older sibling in the world feel the same way Sora did right now?

It wasn’t as though she was jealous of Anna for turning Aurora into her maid or anything.

Of course not.

She would never stoop to feeling such petty emotions.@@novelbin@@

“Maybe I should start streaming from midday tomorrow.”

Sora muttered quietly to herself.

♪♬♩♬♩♪♬♪

Just then, her phone rang.

Caller: Aurora

"...!"

Sora hurriedly answered the call.

“Hello?”

[Are you watching my stream right now?]

“W-What? N-No~? Not watching…~?”

Sora deflected with a flawless performance.

It wasn’t technically a lie. She had been watching Ainatsu’s stream.

Aurora had simply appeared on Ainatsu’s stream, so it couldn’t count as watching Aurora’s stream. See? Case closed. Q.E.D.

[Start your stream tomorrow afternoon.]

“Huh?”

[It seems no one’s planning a daytime stream tomorrow.]

“What are you talking about all of a sudden... Ah!”

She’s coming to my house, isn’t she?

This person really is high maintenance.

Anyone watching might think she was my actual younger sister. Even though I’m the younger one here.

Well, there’s no way around it.

“W-What? I was kinda thinking of streaming in the afternoon tomorrow anyway. What a coincidence~.”

Sora masked her feelings with another flawless performance.

And the next day, Aurora showed up.

“Hello, Sora-chan! I’m here to mooch a meal!”

With Anna.

“Get out.”

If you reverse the Korean alphabet sequence 가나다라마바사, you get 사바마라다나가.

Now remove the last two syllables.

Na-ga. ("Get out.")

It was a joke to lighten the mood, not an act of rebellion against a senior from an earlier gen.

Absolutely not.