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Nekozuka Rion
[As a staff member, Iâll make a brief announcement.]
[Thereâs been a slight controversy, but the company will handle it.]
[So, all of you talents, please donât cancel your streaming schedules, and continue as usual.]
Itâs been a while since Rion last streamed.
Ever since she posted the announcement about transitioning from being a VTuber to working as a staff member, her streaming frequency had dropped significantly.
Even though becoming staff didnât mean she was quitting as a VTuber entirely, Rion had no real desire to continue streaming.
"Since things are like this, Rion, could you take on a role similar to B-chan from Horizon Air?"
"It would be beneficial for us to have someone who can represent the companyâs stance."
Thatâs what the CEO had said.
It sounded niceârepresenting the companyâs stanceâbut in reality, it was just a polite way of saying sheâd be the tank, taking the brunt of any criticism.
"In a way, this is utilitarianism at work too," Rion thought.
VTuber companies often take a lot of heat.
The history of VTubing began in 2017 with the very first VTuber, and now, in 2024, it had only been about eight years since the industryâs inception.
An industry with a short history meant that it lacked the accumulated know-how of other sectors, leading to many mistakes along the way.
How many incidents had occurred during the industryâs growth?
And in that process, countless VTubers had left the scene.
Whenever a VTuber retired, the company inevitably got blamed.
"Why didnât you protect the VTuber?"
"Why did you allow the VTuber to retire?"
"Why didnât you care for the VTuber before they broke down?"
If only the company took the heat, that might have been fine, but the other colleagues would also get dragged into the criticism.
Although it wasnât certain, Rionâs fellow generation members probably received flak when she announced her departure from being a VTuber.
"Why didnât you take better care of Rion?"
"Why didnât you guide Rion more?"
"Why didnât you collaborate with her more to share subscribers?"
And maybe even Rionâs seniors got criticized, along with her juniors, like Anna.
"Maybe itâs better if I take all the criticism on myself from now on," she thought.
Is this what a world without harm to others looks like?
It wasnât a pleasant feeling.
But after turning her back on her fans, Rion figured this was the end she deserved.
"Letâs start once we gather more people."
- Nyanha
- Why donât you say ânyanâ anymore?
- Whereâs all the 'nyan-nyan' gone?
- Did you sell your concept off somewhere?
"Uh⦠today, I have something important to discuss. So Iâm going to refrain from being playful for now," Rion said politely.
Ugh, that was cringeworthy.
As a manager, Rion tried to pay more attention to how she spoke. After all, a manager speaking in cat puns would be a bit odd.
Still, while she could maintain a polite tone in the chat, speaking that way in person made her feel embarrassed. It was the backlash from having played a concept-heavy VTuber for so long. I should have just done things normally, like Anna.
"I started this stream suddenly because thereâs something I need to explain to everyone. Our companyâs VTuber, Aurora, who is debuting this Saturday, has not engaged in any form of 'smurfing' or used an alternate account. I want to clarify that in advance."
Rion displayed several documents on the screen.
"These documents were issued by Deadraus Korea, which operates LabyrinthosVR. I personally accompanied Laura-unnie to Deadraus Korea."
"Iâve blurred out some personal information to avoid misuse, but these are Laura-unnieâs account records. As you can see from the documents, Laura-unnie has never created an alternate account using proxy authentication."
"In addition, Iâve also prepared records showing that before playing Labyrinthos, Laura-unnie had been playing Heroes. I want to clarify that Laura-unnie started playing Labyrinthos fairly recently."
"And since there are some blind spots in the documents, some of you might think theyâre fake or that these are records of someone other than Aurora. To address those concerns, Iâve prepared an audio recording from a Deadraus Korea staff member, which Iâll now play."
Rion played the audio file.
Itâs not common, but there are cases where a VTuber retires shortly after debuting.
Most of the time, itâs because of a troubled pastâthings like having been involved in compensated dating or a one-night stand.
Naturally, if such a past exists, public opinion can turn sour.
Thatâs why Rion did everything in her power.
"And this includes the biometric registration records of the VR capsule, Laura-unnieâs Heroes playtime, and the purchase records for her PC and VR equipment⦠I brought as much documentation as I could to help you understand. Collecting all this nearly killed me."
- So thorough, lol
- Where are all the people who called her a smurf now?
- People just suck and then blame others, calling them smurfs, lol
- So sheâs just talented? Wow, sheâs a legit prodigyâ¦
"Yes. Laura-unnie is genuinely talented. Thatâs why our company brought her on board."
Rion discreetly breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that the smurfing accusations against Laura were finally cleared up.
But there were still a few hurdles left.
[Anonymous donated 1,000 KRW]
"So, why did Rionâs cousin debut?"@@novelbin@@
"â¦Ah, I shouldâve disabled donations for this stream. Hang on a moment, Iâll turn off the donation feature."
Accepting donations during a clarification stream wasnât a good look, so Rion quickly disabled the feature.
"First of all, Iâve already announced that Iâm transitioning from being a VTuber to working as staff. But I want to clarify that this has nothing to do with Laura-unnieâs debut."
"Iâll explain more on my personal stream, but my transition to staff was decided quite some time ago. Laura-unnieâs debut was decided fairly recently."
"Laura-unnie hasnât even debuted yet. So, before her first stream, I wanted to explain everything as a staff member."
"And yes, I did persuade Laura-unnie to become a VTuber. So, in a way, I bear some responsibility for this, and thatâs why Iâm doing this stream."
- Trying to boost your own performance metrics?
- Wow, Rion, youâre scarier than I thought.
- "Ambitious climber."
- Rion, turns out youâve got some ambition!
"Performance metrics⦠Sure, letâs go with that⦠If Laura-unnie succeeds, itâs all thanks to me bringing her in, right?"
It was a misunderstanding, but not entirely untrue, so Rion decided to just accept it.
Rion knew that the more someone tries to appear squeaky clean, the more things fall apart.
Instead of awkwardly trying to be perfect, itâs sometimes better to embrace the weird memes attached to you.
â¦Better that I be known as some ambitious climber than have unnie or the company get caught up in strange misunderstandings.
Though it didnât feel entirely fair, what could she do? If Iâm going to tank the hits, I might as well take them head-on.
She could even be content with it. Being known as the 'ambitious climber' was a relatively harmless misunderstanding.
â¦Probably?
"And next⦠regarding the question, 'Is Aurora, like Nekozuka Rion, also a princess from the cat planet?' Iâll leave that to your imagination. Please watch Laura-unnieâs debut stream."
After that, Rion continued fielding various questions from viewers, addressing them one by one.
Are you really living with Laura? What was that appearance on Annaâs stream before the debut? When was Lauraâs debut officially decided?
Though many questions came up, once the biggest controversyâthe smurfing accusationâwas cleared up, the rest were easy to handle.
Except for one.
- So why did she act like a jerk?
"â¦â¦."
Rion hesitated for a moment.
She briefly hoped the flood of other chats might bury that comment.
But reality rarely works out so optimistically.
- Why did she act like a psycho, cutting people down?
- Stop deflecting, explain the smurfing.
- So sheâs not a smurf, but why did she teabag?
- She clearly has a personality problem.
"Well, about thatâ¦."
That was the one thing she couldnât prove with documents.
Sure, she had records showing that Laura had never received any warnings or suspensions for misconduct in games.
But people could still argue, "Does that mean bad behavior is okay as long as youâre not penalized?"
In the end, people see what they want to see and hear what they want to hear.
Especially in matters of morality, an abstract field.
Itâs all too common for offhand remarks or actions to be blown out of proportion.
And equally common are instances where a statementâs original intent gets twisted into something entirely different.
What was once trivial can snowball into something massive.
How many VTubers had been forced to apologize for trivial matters up until now?
â¦Looks like someone posted a rally point on the Labyrinth gallery.
Some people dislike Laura because she beat them. Some hold grudges against her, which they likely vented on the gallery.
And there were probably others who jumped on the bandwagon to stir up drama. Maybe even fans of teams Laura had beaten, looking to take a shot at her.
This collective dislike for Laura had snowballed.
Now, with nothing left to accuse her of regarding smurfing, the only thing they could attack was her personality.
If the controversy surrounding her behavior grew and led to her premature retirement, some people would undoubtedly feel satisfied.
Whether modern society had conditioned them to crave instant gratification or they were simply wired that way from the start, Rion couldnât say for sure.
Sigh.
Rion sighed.
"Laura-unnie isâ¦."
Creak.
Before Rion could finish her sentence, the door suddenly opened.
"Uhâ¦."
Rion was startled. This had never happened beforeâher door opening like this.
Whenever Laura needed Rion, sheâd call her over the phone.
Laura had never physically come looking for her.
"â¦Unnie?"
"Move aside a little."
With a soft smile, Laura approached.
As always, her steps were graceful and leisurely.
But they were so natural that it was impossible to detect any shift in her center of gravity.
By the time Rion realized it, Laura was already standing right beside her.
"When did she get so close?"
Before she could even process that, Laura leaned in and glanced at the monitor.
"Nice to meet you all. Iâm Aurora."
Laura spoke into the mic.
Of course, it was the mic Rion had been using just moments ago. Positioned close to Rionâs face.
As a result, Lauraâs hair brushed against Rionâs cheek.
The scent of roses, or perhaps her shampoo, filled Rionâs senses.
For some reason, the fragrance made her feel lightheaded.
If she turned her head, their cheeks would surely touch.
Even though she was trying to avoid that, she couldnât help but notice Lauraâs profile, causing Rion to gulp unconsciously.
"Iâll be starting my stream soon. Letâs meet on my channel, everyone."
Tuk.
With that, Laura placed her hand on top of Rionâs.
Her slender fingers slipped between Rionâs.
Soft⦠It didnât feel like the hands of someone who played games all day.
Somehow, Rion felt as if she were selling her soul to a devil.
Click.
Laura applied a gentle pressure, pressing down on Rionâs index finger.
With that, the mouse clicked, and the "End Stream" button was pressed.
The stream ended.
"â¦Huh? W-waitâ¦! Unnie! What are you doing, ending my stream without permission?!"
"You looked tired, Rion."
Swish.
Lauraâs hand slid away from Rionâs.
But her warmth lingered, like an afterimage, on Rionâs skin.
"Get some rest."
"â¦â¦."
Rion opened her mouth, but no words came out.
Laura simply smiled and exited the room.
_____________________________
@Aurora_EYEAI
"Iâll be doing a test stream as my first broadcast before debut. Come join me for:
ãAudience Participationã How Well Does Tea Pair with Retirement?
ãAurora/EYEAIã
Looking forward to seeing you all."