Chapter 77: Chapter 76

Even though it was my first time doing a voice recording, it wasn’t really that difficult.

'They don’t expect high quality anyway.'

VTubers are just streamers behind avatars, after all. While many of them role-play, very few actually possess real acting skills.

Sure, VTubers with tons of broadcasting experience are good at speaking. But being good at talking and being good at voice projection are two entirely different things.

So, VTuber voice recordings are usually just about being "good enough."

'I did listen to a few sample voice clips before coming here, though.'

It was obvious from the start. No one in this world expects professional-level quality from non-professional VTubers.

Acting skills weren’t what mattered.

What mattered was how satisfied fans would be when they heard the voice. That’s where the monetary value came from.

'And I’m not exactly lacking in acting skills.'

Thanks to my vast social experience, I’m quite good at acting. After all, the aristocratic social scene is nothing more than a sinister game of make-believe where everyone wears masks and tells lies they don’t mean.

As the villainess, I’ve mastered the art of social deception. Compared to that, a simple voice recording was nothing.

'So the real question is, what should I act out?'

That was the key issue.

The script? It wasn’t with me.

It didn’t suit me anyway, so I left it behind.

That meant I’d have to improvise everything, but that didn’t mean I could act freely. There were at least two things I had to stick to:

First, the theme was “winter,” since this was a winter-themed voice recording.

Second, it needed to have a touch of romance.

Fans often see streamers as potential romantic interests, after all.

Not that many streamers actually end up dating their viewers, but it’s still a profession where we sell dreams.

“──You’ll be living here for the rest of your life.”

After a brief moment of thought, I spoke my first line.

What do viewers want? They probably want to see a different side of me—something they don’t see on my regular broadcasts.

If I did the same thing I always do, how would it be any different from my regular streams? It wouldn’t generate much demand.

'But if I show them something too far from my usual self, it wouldn’t work either.'

My character is that of a duchess. If I acted like a magical girl, it would create too much of a disconnect.

That’s not the kind of performance I should be doing for my first voice recording. Maybe I’d save something like that for the fourth release.

So I needed to show a slightly different side of my villainous duchess persona while maintaining a touch of romance.

Considering I have no experience with romance at all, my best option was to go for a yandere character.

“Were you trying to leave again?”

“I tried to be lenient, but I guess that’s no longer an option.”

“You should be grateful I’m only going to break your ankle.”

Crack

[“…Laura, there’s no need to actually make joint-cracking sounds. We’ll add the sound effects later.”]

I got a little too immersed and was gently corrected.

Romance. It felt so foreign to me.

If I had the time to pursue romance, I’d rather be grinding more levels. Besides, it’s wise for streamers to avoid having boyfriends.

So I couldn’t imagine myself in a romantic relationship. Instead, I pictured locking Anna up in a basement.

'I bet Anna would love something like that.'

She’s the type who bows her head and begs to be taken care of, after all.

Also, my recent playthrough of Dark Deception with Sora helped. The girl’s vengeful spirit from stage two had a bit of a yandere vibe.

With that in mind, I slowly continued the performance.

“You’ll be staying here from now on.”

“Forever.”

I concluded my lines.

[O-Okay, we’re good.]

I heard the staff’s slightly shaky voice.

There were no retakes.@@novelbin@@

Of course not.

“Wow, your voice projection is insane.”

“That was amazing.”

Amid the murmurs of admiration from the senior VTubers, Rion was speechless.

'She’s doing way better than I expected...'

Rion hadn’t thought Laura would do poorly.

After all, she’d always played the role of a duchess—whether from a marquess or duke’s family, who knows—despite her parents being regular office workers.

And the standards for VTuber voice recordings weren’t that high to begin with.

'Though I didn’t expect her to improvise the whole thing...'

But that’s just like Laura. Rion couldn’t imagine a scenario where Laura would fail.

So, from the moment Rion heard that two people had dropped out,

From the moment it was suggested that Laura should fill in,

Rion had known that she would succeed.

'…Even if the content was a bit too niche.'

But thankfully, it was still within acceptable limits.

It might even work out better. Niche products tend to attract a special kind of audience.

“You did great, Laura,” Ainatsu said, appearing out of nowhere.

“Ainatsu-senpai… no, Ainatsu-san.”

“Why are you suddenly speaking formally? You were talking casually before.”

The 1st and 2nd generations debuted in 2021, while the 3rd and 4th generations debuted in 2022.

Ainatsu, being from the 3rd generation, and Rion from the 4th generation weren’t all that far apart in terms of time—maybe about six months.

Especially considering Rion’s VTuber persona was incredibly unique, she almost never used formal speech on her streams.

However...

“I’m working as a manager now.”

VTubers can’t be replaced,

But managers can.

That’s why Rion, now acting as a manager, was using formal language even with her juniors.

“I don’t mind, you know.”

“I do. It makes me uncomfortable.”

“Alright. By the way, I’m sorry about earlier.”

“Huh?”

“I think I might have been a bit harsh.”

Ainatsu gave a small nod.

“It’s fine. We were just doing our jobs.”

Ainatsu was known for clashing with the company a lot.

On the surface, she seemed carefree, but she wasn’t one to sit still and stay quiet.

It probably stemmed from seeing too many VTubers hurt after being poorly managed by the company.

That’s why Ainatsu often spoke up, especially when her juniors were in trouble.

“Laura, you did so well. I should make you my real mom. How about we collab on a baby roleplay stream next time?”

Despite spouting such nonsense,

Rion let out a small, exasperated smile and walked toward Laura, who had just stepped out of the booth—an excuse to put some distance between herself and Ainatsu.

“You were great, sis.”

“There’s no need to say something so obvious out loud.”

“…Honestly, you’re exhausting.”

Is there anyone normal in this company?

“Laura, you were amazing!”

“Where did you learn to project like that? Are you self-taught?”

Nothing but praise. Is there any word that suits me better?

“Thank you for the compliments. It wasn’t anything special, but I appreciate it.”

“So humble~.”

One of the seniors, Ichika I think, gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder.

'I wasn’t trying to be humble, though.'

As I reached out absentmindedly, I realized there was no tea. Food and drink weren’t allowed here.

Resigning to that fact, I crossed my arms instead.

While I can pull off a decent performance, I wouldn’t say my acting is top-tier. After all, acting isn’t my main job.

That’s why even though I performed well this time, there’s no point in boasting about it. It’d just make me look foolish later on.

Because there’s one person here who treats voice acting as practically their main job.

[Is it snowing? Could this be the last snow I’ll ever see?]

Delicate.

That was the word that immediately came to mind when I heard the voice.

Through the glass, I could see Chel’s blank face.

But the voice coming from those lips stirred people’s emotions.

[In a way, I’m glad that winter is my last season.]

[Because it was during winter that I met you.]

[I’m sorry, but I have one last request.]

[Please forget about me.]

“Wow…”

Someone among the seniors sighed.

Chel, too, had thrown away the script and improvised the entire performance.

But unlike me, her direction was entirely different.

While I had chosen a yandere theme, Chel had gone with tragedy.

She had probably done that on purpose.

Out of respect for me?

'No way.'

It was likely to highlight her own performance.

Tragedy has a way of drawing people into a darker emotional space, but it also leaves a lasting impression.

She wanted everyone here to remember.

To remember how capable she was when it came to voice acting.

'I can’t deny it.'

No matter how much I, as the villainess, thirst for victory, I can’t win in every area. When it comes to voice acting, Chel is clearly superior.

Which means she’s had some serious professional training.

That’s probably how Chel ended up getting into EYEAI.

Though it does make me wonder why someone with that level of training would become a VTuber.

“Chel, you’re good to go! Great job!”

The staff signaled their approval, and with that, Chel and I had successfully completed our voice recordings.

The senior VTubers’ recordings continued afterward, and while a few had to retake their lines, everything went smoothly.

After all, it wasn’t anyone’s first time doing a voice recording, and as long as they hit a certain level of quality, the staff gave the okay.

So, we wrapped things up earlier than expected.

“Hey sis, how about you and Chel star in a voice drama together?”

Well, we should have been done.

But then Rion came up with a suggestion out of the blue.

“Right here, right now?”