Becoming an adult means learning to compromise. Thatâs what Rion thought.
How many people actually fulfilled the dreams they wrote about in elementary school?
Even when entering high school, you might write down one of the top universities, like SKY, as your goal, but dreams are always just out of reach.
Yeah, letâs compromise.
The more expectations you pile on the scale, the heavier the disappointment will be. Isnât it always better to give up quickly and look for another path?
Itâs not like compromising will ruin your life or anything.
So, I just took a slightly different direction.
And now, I find myself living a life completely different from what I had originally planned. It makes me fear what my elementary school self would think of me now.
But learning to compromise is part of becoming an adult.
Thatâs why I became a VTuber.
And now, itâs time to stop being a VTuber.
The result of compromise.
[General Chat] Rionâs transition to staff member
Announcement regarding "Nekozuka Rion" and her transition to staff activities
We sincerely thank you for your continued support of EYEAI.
Our virtual talent, Nekozuka Rion, will temporarily halt her activities as of August 31, 2024.
Following this, Nekozuka Rion will participate in EYEAI as a staff member.
Sales of Nekozuka Rion-related merchandise will be discontinued as of August 31, but her ITube channel and live broadcast videos will remain available.
We kindly ask for your continued support as Nekozuka Rion embarks on this new journey.
Additionally, we would appreciate it if you refrained from asking our other virtual talents about this matter.
July 1, 2024
EYEAI
[Comments]
What is this? Is she retiring?
ã´ If the channelâs staying up, it doesnât seem like retirement.
Is she going to be doing both staff work and VTubing?
Honestly, Nekozuka didnât have that many subscribers anyway.
So is she quitting VTubing altogether?
ã´ Maybe not entirely, but probably only occasionally.
Anna killed Nekozuka...
[General Chat] Saw a girl who looked like Rion at the supermarket today
The big mart was closed today, so I went to the local supermarket to buy some food.
I saw a girl who looked like Rion, and out of curiosity, I kept glancing at her until she noticed and looked away.
When I kept watching, she put down what she was holding, paid, and left the store.
So I mustered up the courage to follow her, and she suddenly started running away.
Of course, with my track experience, she couldnât outrun me, lol.
I grabbed her hand and said,
"Hey! Why are you running? Youâre Rion, arenât you?"
Then she suddenly started crying.
"How... how did you recognize me? Iâm already retired, so Iâm not in my streaming persona..."
"Thereâs no way I wouldnât recognize you! Youâve always been my goddess..."
"Vtuber-kun!"
"Rion!"
As we started passionately kissing, the people around us cheered.
"Woohoo! Damn, I knew it!"
"Aah... so this is a retirement marriage... I canât help but accept this..."
Well, I have no intention of betraying my lifelong love for myself, so I wonât get married, but maybe Iâll enjoy a little fun for a while?
[Comments]
She hasnât retired yet, you idiot.
What kind of template is this...
You killed Rion.
Bring Rion back, you bastard!!
This is insane, lol.
Youâre going to get beat up by Rionâs cousin at this rate.
ã´ (Author) Rionâs cousin? Whatâs that about?
ã´ [Hyperlink]
ã´ (Author) Thatâs terrifying...
â...Why are you even looking at that?â
Rion frowned unconsciously.
The homeownerâs strength was that she was beautiful, but her weakness was almost everything else.
She never does anything herself, no matter what it is.
Despite loving tea so much, she rarely even bothers to boil the water herself.
And so, Rion had been called to Lauraâs room to make tea while Laura was browsing the internet, waiting for her.
âYouâre here, Rion. Did you really have an encounter like this at the supermarket?â
âDonât be ridiculous, sis... Ugh, what kind of thoughts go through these peopleâs minds to come up with something like this?â
Just skimming through the post made Rion feel dizzy.
Sometimes, being a VTuber made her wonderâviewers are brilliant, for better or worse.
Do they just eat and come up with jokes all day? Thereâs no way they can write this stuff while being sober.
âIf you ever do decide to get married, let me know in advance. Iâll need to hire a replacement housekeeper.â
âI seriously canât even hit you for that one...â
âBut I donât really understand. Are you really quitting VTubing?â
â...â
Rion hesitated for a moment.
But after thinking it over... what was there to hide at this point? Anna had already exposed the fact that she was a VTuber during her last stream.
âYes, Iâm quitting.â
She said it.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, she realized, a beat too late, that she didnât really want to say it.
Quitting.
She didnât really like the sound of it.
âAre you really quitting, even though Iâve been supporting you? Thatâs disappointing.â
Laura spoke as if it didnât bother her at all. Supporting? Support? ...Should I really just punch her?
âI guess VTubing just isnât for me. So, Iâm thinking of becoming a manager instead.â
âA manager? Werenât you going to be a video editor?â
âOh, right, that was also discussed... Initially, I was going to be a video editor, but they asked me to help out with management.â
Rion dragged a chair over and slumped down into it.
Compromising wasnât difficult.
She felt like she had been compromising her whole life.
She had wanted to go to a prestigious SKY university, like everyone else. It didnât work out, so she settled for an average university in Seoul.
She had written down âcelebrityâ as her dream job in elementary school, but she wasnât particularly talented, and her parents strongly opposed it, so she gave up.
So, she compromised and tried becoming a VTuber, but that didnât work out either.
Still, she managed to find a path quickly, so wasnât that enough?
She never thought sheâd end up compromising again, transitioning from a video editor to a manager, but thatâs life. You never know which direction it will take.
âThings really donât go the way I want...â
Sometimes, it felt like she was living her life, but not really in control of it.
Rion thought.
âI see. Do your best.â
Laura continued to sip her tea.
Calm and unruffled. But even that appearance was so beautiful that Rion couldnât even muster a sense of inferiority.
Still, she was envious. She wished she were as pretty as Laura.
But it was pointless to dwell on things she couldnât have, and at least she couldnât bring herself to hate anyone.
Maybe that made it even more painful.
âSis, have you ever thought about becoming a VTuber?â
Rion found herself asking out of the blue.
Laura raised an eyebrow, looking puzzled.
âA VTuber?â
âYes.â
Rion nodded.
Even as an ordinary person, Laura had made quite a stir on the VTuber forum. There was no doubt she had star potential.@@novelbin@@
Just like in games, it seemed like there would never be any hardships for her.
She had talent.
A talent that Nekozuka Rion didnât have.
And Rion was too diligent to just ignore that.
âYouâd be perfect as a VTuber, Laura-nee.â
âVTuber... a VTuber, huh...â
I mumbled as I sank into the recliner.
Today, once again, I logged into VR.
I didnât log in to play ranked games; I had arranged to meet Anna in VR. I was going to train her again today.
I had a little time before Anna arrived.
I thought back to my conversation with Rion earlier.
âThen you should become a VTuber, Sis. You were practically born to be a VTuber.â
âYou were practically born for this.â
It had been a while since Iâd seen Rion so passionate about something.
That meant she was pretty serious about it.
âItâs not like Iâm against becoming a VTuber.â
I spoke into the empty space.
Iâm someone who just wants to play games every day. What could be better than making money while playing games?
But if thatâs the case, wouldnât it be better to just become a regular streamer? That thought crossed my mind as well.
âIâm beautiful, after all.â
That was a universal truth, as sure as the sun setting at night.
As an absolute beauty, wouldnât it be better to just turn on the camera? People would fall over themselves to worship me.
But VTubers are those who stream using Live2D or 3D models instead of showing their faces.
Of course, even if my beauty is hidden, thereâs no denying that I have a lovely voice. But is there really a need to hide myself?
VTubing doesnât seem better than regular streaming.
âBut I donât know enough to outright dismiss what Rion said.â
To begin with, I didnât even know what being a VTuber entailed.
It wouldnât be wise to make a hasty decision without understanding it fully. Whether managing the duchy or fighting on the battlefield, Iâve learned that preconceived notions are never good.
Anna will be here soon, so maybe I should ask her.
âIâm sorry, Sensei! Could we cancel todayâs training?â
As I was thinking that, Anna spoke up, bowing her head repeatedly.
âIs something urgent?â
âYes, um, that is...â
Anna hesitated.
âThereâs a stream I really want to watch! So I canât do training today!â
...What?