Chapter 90: Chapter 89

[Virtual AITuber Gallery]

[General] Breaking News: The Main Event Has Ended

Rion: Hardly shows up on streams lately.

Anna: Eliminated from the “Pure Mind and Body Theory.”

Sora: Has nothing to boast of except cooking skills.

Rinco: Mutual suicide award.

Chel: Only knows how to clean.

Ainatsu: Got taken down by Laura personally.

[Comments]

"Ainatsu, the health enthusiast, lol."

"She should’ve laid off the booze."

"I knew she’d mess up one of these days."

"It’s hilarious how Laura’s now her health manager after she puked on her clothes, lol."

"Ainatsu’s just a big baby for Laura."

"Fact."

"Ainatsu’s practically Laura’s baby. Aaah!"

[General] "Why Are You Paying the Child Fare?"

When Ainatsu got on the bus, the driver asked her with a puzzled look.

Ainatsu gave a mischievous smile and replied, “Uuu… Ainatsu is five years old... ♡”

The bus driver shook his head and laughed. “Five-year-olds ride for free! No need to pay, just hop on!”

[Comments]

"This is ridiculous, lol."

"What the hell, hahaha."

"Oh, come on."

"Classic, an alcohol-induced dementia case."

"What a great four-word summary for 'A baby is on board': InaGiKa."

"in aGika Car, lol."

"(Original poster) Lmao!"

"That’s nuts, lol."

[Live Broadcast] Finally Hit Master Master Rank

(Laura reaching Master rank in Duel Mode)

Uuu… Mama (as in MasterMaster, lol)...

[Comments]

"Laura… did she just become Mama?"

"She’s always been Mama to Ainatsu, though."

"They both reached Master Rank, lol."

"Double Masters in just five months, lol."

"2024 really is the year of AITuber."

"Only two months left in 2024, though."

"Does this mean she’s definitely in the Illusion League?"

"(OP) Not just about skill; nothing’s guaranteed yet."

"Isn’t she the hottest topic right now, though?"

"(OP) She hasn’t been around long enough."

"What’s debut time got to do with Illusion League?"

"Would you want to use a newbie?"

"(OP) Doesn’t seem like they prefer newbie VTubers much."

After a long stream, I finally achieved Master rank in Duel Mode.

It was time to send everyone home.

“Thank you all for coming to support me. I know some of you aren’t here right now, so we’ll have a proper celebration later.”

Those who’d stayed up until dawn looked exhausted. I suppose that’s what burnout looks like.

Some people were clearly ready to pass out rather than party, so I sent everyone on their way.

“Alright, I’m heading out.” “Me too…”

Anna, who doesn’t particularly enjoy socializing, headed home. InaGiKa, still awkward around the seniors, also left in a hurry.

“You did well, Laura. You worked really hard.”

Rinco patted my shoulder before leaving.

I hadn’t gotten to talk to her much due to timing, but she didn’t seem to mind. She’d stuck around purely to help with the karaoke stream.

With Rinco gone, Sora left too.

“I’ll go too. My voice is gone, and I have other things to do…”

Since Sora’s channel had led the karaoke stream, she’d put in the most effort, and it showed.

She’d come over out of concern for me, but now that my rank climb was done, there was nothing left for her to worry about. Having fulfilled her purpose, she quietly departed.

And then, two remained.

“When are we doing Sanrabi?”

If Sora represented fatigue, then Chel was all about attachment lately.

And then there was—

“...Can’t I go home too?”

Ainatsu, who seemed to be the embodiment of regret.

To be precise, Ainatsu wasn’t so much staying as she was unable to leave.

“Ainatsu, you live nearby. It’s not that far.”

“Y-yeah…”

“But stay within my sight for now.”

It had been a while since I’d experienced such physical damage upon returning to Earth.

My clothes were utterly ruined, and I’d even incurred laundry costs. Technically, I could call it financial damage.

‘Not that I’m particularly angry.’

I honestly didn’t mind much.

Despite being a duchess with a strong aversion to filth, I’d had my fair share of rough times on the battlefield. My tolerance for unpleasantness is pretty high.

Even so, Ainatsu had caused me trouble, so I figured I might as well put her to work.

“There are places I can’t reach. Clean those, would you?”

Ainatsu’s one advantage over Rion and me was her height, with long arms and legs perfect for replacing light bulbs.

“And try working out, will you? And eat properly.”

That had been on my mind from the start.

I’m not one to be overly concerned about others.

Being a villainess, I don’t usually worry about people.

But even I, as a villainess, found Ainatsu’s physical state concerning.

“InaGiKa doesn’t seem to exercise much either, so join her. If you show me you’re serious, I might let you drink a little.”

“Laura-mama… You really are my mama… Should we go to city hall?”

“You’re older than me, you know.”

From what I understand, you can’t adopt someone older than you. Not knowledge I ever wanted, but now it’s something I know.

Thus began our cohabitation.

Ainatsu’s mind was gradually deteriorating.

“I brought some bread to go with the tea… Did I do good?”

“Thank you. It’ll make the tea party even better.”

“Hehe, I got praised… Wait, why am I here? What am I even doing…?”

Ainatsu seemed to snap back to reality. It appeared that the alcohol withdrawal was hitting her hard.

Still, even if she looked like she was sober, I knew that once I rewarded her with a little beer (+ water), her brain would be back to mush.

So living with Ainatsu was like a life of servitude, but the other way around.

Desperate for any alcohol, Ainatsu even volunteered to be my bread shuttle.

It wasn’t a bad arrangement. I got to enjoy bread that I wouldn’t usually buy, and Ainatsu was getting healthier.

And while it seemed like she was deteriorating, she was just bored. Leave her alone, and she’d keep herself entertained with Rion.

‘It’s actually me who’s a bit bored now.’

Life felt richer, but I felt a bit empty.

With the Labyrinthos Master climb complete, there wasn’t much left to do.

I had submitted my application for the Illusion League, and the draft would begin in about three weeks.

In other words, I wouldn’t be able to touch Labyrinthos during that time.

Sure, I could keep playing ranked, but I’d already put in close to 300 hours. Any more and I’d just get bored.

That boredom isn’t just for viewers. I find fun in setting goals and achieving them.

So these three weeks felt oddly unproductive.

Should I aim for Grand Master within three weeks? Three weeks seems too short to take it easy, yet not quite enough for intense grinding.

Both Master and Grand Master are Tier 1 anyway.

Besides, climbing to Grand Master is a competitive feat reserved for the top 2,000 players. It’s something you do at the end of the season.

“It’s time to find new content.”

I’d realized that.

There’s the Sanrabi I promised Chel, a party game with Anna, and maybe a few collaborations with Ainatsu... but that’s not enough for three whole weeks.

I need content to fill those three weeks.

“For that reason, I’m taking suggestions.”

The Grand Duchy Family Meeting, Session 1

Chair: The Great Duchess Laura

Member 1: Chel Sumeragi, honorary family member, cleaner extraordinaire, and houseguest.

Member 2: Tanabe Ainatsu, the prisoner residing in the duchy.@@novelbin@@

Agenda: What content to do for three weeks?

“I think a movie or drama watch-along would be good.”

The guest offered her suggestion.

“Why?”

“I just want to see you cry.”

“Rejected.”

“Laura doesn’t understand subculture.”

When I rejected her suggestion, the guest rephrased.

But she wasn’t entirely wrong.

I’d felt it keenly during the karaoke stream.

Sora, Anna, Chel, InaGiKa, Rinco, Ainatsu, even Rion—they all knew a lot of Japanese songs.

At karaoke, I’d only sung a few songs: “Ripples,” and some English tracks like Imagine Dragons’ “Believer” and “Warriors.” We wrapped up with a group song from our sixth-generation lineup.

In contrast, Anna only sang anime songs. She was quite the contrast to me.

I didn’t mind the idea of watching Japanese movies, dramas, or anime.

“It doesn’t sound like it would make for exciting content, though.”

Shows like that are best when there’s lots of big reactions, and sadly, that’s not my forte.

With someone like Rion for emotional reactions, it might work. But Rion’s often busy, so Chel’s suggestion seemed unlikely.

“Then how about just a regular game? Something like Elden King, Dark Evolution 50, or even Trigger Bullet

—those could last three weeks.”

This time, the prisoner spoke up.

Despite seeming half out of it most of the time, Ainatsu’s suggestions were often perfectly reasonable.

After all, she’s a senior VTuber with three years of experience. If only she hadn’t committed that noble-insult offense.

Her idea was sound enough.

“That’s a little iffy.”

I’d already played through most challenging games like the Souls series, having been a PC gamer once upon a time.

I could try something new, but I doubt it’d fill three weeks. For example, I’ve heard Dark Evolution 50, though it has a lot of bosses, isn’t particularly difficult.

‘Might last a day or two.’

The numbers still didn’t add up.

Story games were similarly problematic.

I’d tried Blue Reco and realized story games just aren’t my thing. Unless I have a reaction-heavy partner like Rion, story games are out.

“How about a survival game?”

Rion, who’d just come back from work, had a suggestion.

“A survival game?”

“Yes. I happen to have a good proposal for you.”

Rion nodded.

“A proposal just came in from Dead Rows Korea.”

“Are you sure you won’t reconsider, Rinco?”

This wasn’t planned, but Rinco was in the CEO’s office.

Not a common sight, but it happens now and then. After all, Rinco remains EYEAI’s flagship member.

As such, she meets one-on-one with the CEO more often than other VTubers.

“Yes. Please forward those proposals to Laura.”

“…Dead Rows specifically wants you for this, Rinco.”

“It’s management’s job to handle that sort of thing, isn’t it?”

Rinco’s bluntness made CEO Jung Ho-young furrow his brows.

“Just say it’s due to health reasons. Anyway, Dead Rows isn’t after me; they’re after Laura, right?”

Rinco folded her arms.

She’d seen through Dead Rows Korea’s strategy.

After the recent EYEAI Labyrinthos tournament, which featured a 1v1 event match between Rinco and Laura, it was clear they’d wanted Laura to begin with.

Dead Rows Korea had been entrusting Rinco with advertising for years, but now, with Laura’s popularity soaring, they were clearly shifting their attention.

Advertising with Rinco again would yield diminishing returns.

Rinco’s audience had already seen enough of their ads to be influenced.

So what would a new ad change? Maybe it’d prompt a few returning players, but that’d be about it.

In contrast, Laura was a new face with a fresh audience.

And with her explosive rise, there wasn’t a better VTuber for the job.

However, there was just one issue.

‘Trust.’

Rinco had built a relationship of trust with Dead Rows Korea through countless ads.

They could count on her for a stable broadcast.

But Laura, as a rookie VTuber, was an unknown quantity.

“She’s perfectly capable of handling it on her own.”

“Alright…”

Jung Ho-young sighed deeply.

Rinco seemed to trust Laura, but he wasn’t so sure. He wanted to pair Laura with Rinco as a safeguard.

“Fine. We’ll trust Rinco’s word on this.”

Having streamed for nearly 300 hours, Laura’s already generated significant buzz.

It made him uneasy, but as CEO, he had to trust his VTuber.

“By the way, Rinco, are you sure you’re not rejecting the ad because you’re afraid?”

“Who knows.”

Rinco gave a cryptic smile.

The game title was “Survive the Apocalypse.”

It was Dead Rows’s newest VR survival game set in a zombie apocalypse.