I May Be a Virtual Youtuber, but I Still Go to Work Chapter 147

Before the balance adjustnt, the scoring ratio between Magia and Luna was 1:3.

That ant Magia had to get three kills to equal just one of Luna's...

The final score before the adjustnt was 28 : 18(6), a whopping 10-point difference.

Talking while playing an FPS ga was already tough.

But with Magia subtly probing for details, there was no way Luna could show off her actual skills, practice or no practice.

Even after everyone agreed there was a balance issue and adjusted the ratio to 1:6,

out of habit, she'd asked soone she really shouldn't see face-to-face out for dinner. Luna’s ntal state shattered completely.

Things couldn't get any worse, so ironically her mind relaxed and her chatter increased.

But her ga concentration hit rock bottom, preoccupied as she was with how she'd report this ss to the higher-ups and how much trouble she'd be in.

Thus, the final score beca 15 : 0(0).

That's a full 150 gifted subscriptions.

:: Natsuki Luna has gifted 150 subscriptions! ::

— It's Santa!!!

— Woohoo!!

— Luna-nim, thank you!!!!!!

— Great Luna!

— Luna supremacy!

— Successfully fard subs, niiice~

— Ping

— Gifting even more subs, LOL

— Is this corporate class?

— ARGH WHY JUST

— There aren't any slugs who didn't get a sub, right? LOL

— WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST WHYJUST

— Wait, you're kidding, right? How could 150 subs miss entirely LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL T_T T_T T_T T_T I'm gonna explode T_T T_T

:: PIN0 donated 10,000 Clouds! ::

:: I didn't get any, so I'm exploding out of frustration~ ::

— You're already premium subbed;

— Bruh

— Were you really trying to farm subs with this?

In truth, gifting 150 subs could have easily been spun as a generous flex from a big corporation.

She didn't lose on purpose, but as long as Parallel's people enjoyed it, then all was good.

Sothing along those lines.

But the biggest issue was the fact that a single slip-up might've exposed Luna's identity to Magia.

Actually, she'd probably already been discovered.

Magia visited the recording studio often and they'd even greeted each other there. Unless Magia had a severe face-recognition issue, it would be weird for her not to recognize Luna when they t for dinner.

Of course, she could reveal herself openly and ask Magia if she's really Fan_C. But that would only harm Natsuki Luna—no, harm IYURA more than anyone.

After all, the more soone had to lose, or the bigger their hidden truths were, the more heavily they'd feel burdened, even when sharing the sa secret.

What worried her most was that the longer their dinner got delayed, the more Magia's suspicions might grow, expanding into conversations with others.

After all, people naturally share their suspicions with soone close, trying to confirm their findings, right?

Then rumors would spread like wildfire, and more and more people would discover Luna’s past life, which no one had ever managed before.

At tis like these, direct confrontation was the only solution.

Expand quickly into a friendly industry acquaintance, senior, junior kind of relationship, then appeal to her to keep it secret.

That's why Luna went into crisis mode.

Just before the stream ended, her voice rose in desperation.

“Senpai!!!”

[Whoa! You startled . Nearly burst my eardrums.]

“Um, just in case... Wanna have dinner today, right away?! We just worked really hard on stream and... aren't you craving so late-night snacks? I know several good places open even at night!”

[As expected of soone aiming for the VTuber industry's top spot—you're even prepared for this kind of thing.]

“It's... it's all to treat my senpais! Haha! So, how about it? Wouldn't it be easier for you, Gia-senpai, to wrap everything up today too?!”

Magia surprisingly agreed without hesitation.

[Sure. If we’re having dinner, today's better. If we delay, who knows when it’ll happen. We're both incredibly busy after all.]

“Thank you!!”

— Damn, things are moving fast LOL

— This is the power of max-level friendliness doggo

— Practically missile-level speed LOL

— Please take good care of our Luna!

— Oh, our precious Gia too, please take care of her

— Nope, ours is more precious

With Movgun’s closing words, the stream ended,

and viewers dispersed warmly to their own spaces.

Luna finally relaxed a little.

The remaining issue was whether Magia would accept being persuaded.

Even if she agreed, what if she set troubleso conditions?

If Luna ended up needing to fulfill difficult requests, how would she even explain it to Taro, who'd said to always talk to the operations team if trouble ca up?

Nothing looked easy.

What should she treat her to?

She'd heard Magia liked pineapple pizza, but offering pizza on a day like this didn't feel right.

The dilemma dragged on. No answers ca.

Luna agonized over the nu for ten straight minutes, groaning to herself, until—

Bzzz.

“...Ah.”

Magia sent a direct ssage through TalkCord.

She didn't dare delay.

As soone who was currently at the lowest possible rank in this situation, Luna answered the call instantly.

“Yes, Senpai!! I was just about to contact you!!”

But what Magia said next shocked her completely.

[Let's just say we had dinner privately and lavishly. You're busy anyway.]

“Uh... eh?”

[Anyway, about Iyura. Do you know when I could run into her at the studio? You seem close.]

“...?”

She phrased it indirectly, but to sum it up—she wanted to cover things up here.

She basically said, "I kind of know you're Iyura, but eting up directly would confirm our identities. So, let's not dig any deeper, and I'll help keep Iyura and Natsuki Luna separate."

If she was going to do this, why did she subtly press her so hard earlier, making her suffer?

But thinking again, it was Luna who bluntly asked, “Are you working two jobs?” right in her face first.

Though it was purely driven by her passion to collaborate on music, it was indeed way too aggressive, especially for °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° a first eting.

Even if Magia let it slide, Luna needed to sincerely apologize as Natsuki Luna first.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“Before anything else... I’m really sorry. About earlier, when I asked if you were working two jobs. I was terribly rude to you, Senpai! I sincerely apologize! I was just too eager to collaborate on music, and my excitent got the better of . I'm sorry!!”

[It’s fine. Even if you'd said it live, it wouldn't have been a big issue. I would've handled it anyway. More importantly, could you help arrange a eting with Iyura? I have sothing important to discuss.]

The situation was now resolving itself—and it was going exactly the way Luna wanted it to.

Refusing an extended hand from soone willing to bury everything would be sheer stupidity.

“I can arrange it even today.”

***

About two hours later.

The two people who should have t as Magia and Natsuki Luna

ended up eting as Magia and Iyura at an upscale izakaya.

Since they had t before, their greetings were brief.

“Hello, Yura. It’s interesting seeing you outside of the recording studio like this.”

“Sa here! I never expected to be having dinner with you, Gia.”

Of course, given Iyura's relatively disadvantaged position, she couldn't quite show her usual cheerful attitude.

She bowed deeper than usual during their greetings,

and remained humble even while ordering food.

Eventually, Iyura spoke up first.

“By the way... I heard from Luna that you were looking for . She said you had sothing important to discuss, so I was wondering what that might be....”

“Oh, nothing too complicated. We were supposed to collaborate on a song soon, right?”

“Ah... yes, that's right.”

“I heard it was postponed indefinitely due to your personal circumstances. I wanted to ask about that. If it had a fixed duration, I'd assu you were just busy. But an indefinite postponent is concerning.”

Magia briefly ntioned the conversation from a few days ago.

Wait.

Hearing this, Iyura paused and felt sothing strange.

Because Magia had just spoken as if she herself was Fan_C.

“Wait, Fan_C really was you, Magia?! You said earlier you weren't!”

But by saying this, Iyura had just confird that she herself was Natsuki Luna.

After all, the conversation Magia ntioned had been between Magia and Luna.

“Judging by how you reacted just now, you're definitely Natsuki Luna, aren't you?”

“Agh. Ughhh! Yura...! Damn it!”

But Magia, perhaps genuinely intending to let it go, said calmly:

“Let’s just say this conversation never happened. Just as Luna said she had no intention of revealing anything elsewhere, I also have no interest in selling VTuber red pills anywhere. Wouldn't be right for soone who works at a VTuber company anyway.”

“I'm grateful for that, but then why did you put on the spot during the stream...?”

“You suddenly asked if I was doing double-duty, so I wondered if we were in a similar situation.”

Ah, double-duty. That word really had been the problem.

Realizing anew the difficulties of living a double life, Luna resolved to be more careful in the future.

“So, what should I call you now? Luna-chan? Or Yura?”

“Whatever you prefer. After all, this ss was caused by my own greed for music...”

“Got it. I'll alternate depending on the situation. You can call Fan_C at tis like this, too. Anyway, what's the reason for the indefinite postponent? Are you sick or sothing?”

“Huh?”

“Well, judging by how energetically Luna sings, it doesn't seem health-related—but you never know, it could be one final burst of energy.”

Iyura waved her hands hurriedly and mumbled,

“It’s nothing like illness or anything serious. It’s just contract issues. I signed it without thinking, so it’s my own fault, I suppose...”

“Oh. So you’ll have to focus entirely on Luna for a while. That makes sense.”

In a way, the whole project had fallen through because of Iyura's oversight, yet Magia looked visibly relieved that it wasn't a health problem.

Seeing Magia like this, Iyura couldn't help but chuckle bitterly.

After all, Iyura knew better than anyone how important a collaborative track with her would have been to a rookie utaite like Fan_C.

Why had she tried so hard to arrange a collab with Fan_C as Natsuki Luna?

Why had she insisted on asking Magia if she was an utaite, despite knowing how improbable that was?

Maybe, just maybe,

it was because she desperately wanted to make up for the missed opportunity by promoting a collaboration as Luna instead of Iyura.

Magia asked,

“But why didn’t you discuss this with CAT in advance?”

“Well... I honestly never dread I'd get accepted as Natsuki Luna. I also didn’t know there would be an exclusivity clause. I assud it would be fine to continue working simultaneously, just like when I signed with CAT.”

“Well, I think it's understandable to have a restriction for the first half-year or even a year. You need ti to establish your image clearly with the fans. If other activities disrupt your streaming schedule, it could cause problems.”

“Yes, half a year— Oh, wait. Was I supposed to say that?”

“Most companies do sothing like that.”

“Oh, I see.”

Suddenly, a thought occurred to Magia:

Maybe the impulsive, reckless persona of Natsuki Luna wasn’t entirely fictional after all.

Hidden behind the mystique of an utaite who rarely engaged in public activities outside song releases and social dia, her real personality might actually be quite close to Luna’s.

“So, Luna was a hastily created character?”

“Whoa. How did you guess that so accurately?”

“I've spent six years buried in VTuber culture. It'd be weird if I didn’t know.”

“Huh... Anyway, you’re exactly right. I really made her in a hurry. You know how sotis you suddenly feel a strong urge to challenge yourself?”

“You wondered if you'd succeed at sothing other than being an utaite? If you could still succeed without your original na?”

“Yes. So I auditioned with a completely different style and singing thod, totally unlike my usual self, and sohow passed.”

“And since you didn’t know if you'd ever get such a chance again, you signed the contract imdiately. That's how you ended up here?”

“Yes...”

“As for indefinitely postponing our collab, you probably said that because people around you scared you by saying your debut year would be insanely busy, and you didn’t want to give false hope. Or... were you planning on leaving CAT entirely?”

Magia gave her a pointed look, causing Iyura to frantically wave her hands side-to-side.

She seed desperate to deny it.

“If Parallel had partnered with CAT sooner, I probably would’ve applied to Parallel instead! Because of the bond we've built over ti. It wasn't like CAT’s terms were bad or anything, making want to break the contract!”

“I never said anything about that. If you're going to experience sothing, better to do it on a bigger stage anyway. You said yourself you didn't expect to pass.”

“Yes! I really never intended any betrayal. I didn’t realize I’d have to pause Iyura’s activities for so long... Sigh... This was all my mistake.”

Though she was teasing Iyura a little, Magia honestly didn't see it as betrayal either.

After all, in this industry, talents with both high brand value and skill get whatever they ask for. They're the ultimate commodity.

Iyura—the top utaite in the Korean scene—wanted to work with both companies, so who could bla her?

Bachubachu pulling exclusive rights in the debut phase was standard practice. And even though it was closer to Iyura’s oversight, CAT temporarily letting her go was the only realistic option.

The real issue would co after the six-month exclusivity period ended, when both companies would undoubtedly fight fiercely over her.

That's precisely why Bachubachu assigned Taro as her manager from the start.

To ensure she stayed put, and to make her produce even more content exclusively for them.

Well, Iyura had stamped that contract without thinking of the consequences.

Of course, Bachubachu wouldn’t be foolish enough to let her go easily.

Instead, they'd tempt her continuously, offering opportunities and incentives to keep her tied down—just enough to make sure she stayed.

'If things go like this...'

Honestly speaking, Magia felt there wasn't much she could do in the battle between CAT and Bachubachu (not to ntion the involvent of SB behind them).

With three corporate dinosaurs snarling at each other from two different sides,

there wasn't much Magia could actually do in this situation.

Parallel was just too small to intervene directly.

But if Iyura genuinely felt guilty towards Magia, she'd surely cooperate whenever Magia asked.

Such chances wouldn't co often, of course.

An utaite with 2.5 million global subscribers.

Iyura, a top-ranked utaite both in Korea and internationally.

Even if Magia couldn't do much, Iyura’s cooperation alone would grant enormous leverage.

Although, truthfully speaking, Magia wouldn't have cared much if her identity as Fan_C got exposed.

She'd only kept it hidden because she didn't want attention diverted away from Parallel's mbers. Sure, holding onto the secret for a long ti might make it explode more dramatically later, but it wasn't strictly necessary.

As long as unexpected issues involving the mbers didn't force her into extra overti, Magia was largely indifferent about it.

“I think a collaboration between Natsuki Luna and Fan_C will be difficult. Bachubachu, SB, and even CAT’s approval would all be needed. Too many companies are involved.”

After a short pause, Magia added calmly:

“Instead, how about we just do our original planned collaboration after your exclusivity ends—say, after about six months? That should be enough. It shouldn't affect Luna’s schedule much either.”

Iyura nodded eagerly, eyes shining.

“Although that diminishes the impact a little... In any case, I really want to make a song together. I'll push for it from my side as Luna too, even though it might be tricky.”

“Why?”

“The song! I know it’s difficult, but Luna herself wants to collaborate with Fan_C.”

“...I'm grateful, but why are you insisting on working with ? It’d be far more beneficial for you to imdiately work with Taro, who's already like the king of Bachubachu.”

“Yes, it would. But do people always have to collaborate based on money alone? Sure, I'll give the company what it wants. But Fan_C is my personal choice. At least that much is certain.”

Honestly, when Na Hyun-gon had first suggested a collaborative song between Fan_C and Eula as the next project, Magia had been skeptical.

She felt the sa sort of doubt she'd experienced earlier when Movgun had told her, "Your talk-show guest will be Taro."

That thought hadn't changed, and Magia still appeared unconvinced.

Seeing this, Iyura quickly spoke up:

“Ah, seriously. If Parallel had partnered with CAT sooner, I probably would’ve applied to Parallel instead! Because of our longstanding relationship. It wasn't because CAT’s terms were bad that I considered breaking the contract!”

“I never said anything about that. Anyway, since you already got this far, experiencing the bigger stage isn't bad either. Besides, you said yourself you never expected to pass.”

“Yes! I really never intended any betrayal. I didn’t think I'd have to pause Iyura's activities for so long... Ha... It's completely my mistake.”

Magia had teased her a bit, but she never seriously thought Iyura had betrayed her.

In this industry, talents with strong brands and proven skills nad their price. Iyura was simply the ultimate asset.

Iyura—the absolute top of Korea’s utaite scene—wanted to work with both companies. Who could fault her?

Bachubachu securing exclusive rights in her debut was natural. Even if it was Iyura’s oversight, CAT had no real choice but to let her go temporarily.

However, after the half-year exclusivity period ended, there’d certainly be fierce competition between both sides for Iyura’s ti and attention.

That's exactly why Bachubachu had already assigned Taro as her manager.

To ensure she stayed bound to them, continually producing content exclusively.

Magia spoke with certainty.

“For now, let's settle on our collaborative track. We’ll worry about the rest afterward.”

“Yes. Let's do that.”

With everything clarified, dinner beca a much more relaxed affair.

Iyura—also known as Natsuki Luna—was so naturally personable that, although the situation was uncomfortable, conversation flowed without pause.

And that’s exactly why Magia started to worry.

No matter how impressive the real person was—a globally popular utaite with 2.5 million subscribers—

Iyura had trouble fully separating her identities.

“You should be careful though. You keep mixing Luna and Iyura without noticing.”

“You’re the only one who figured it out so far, Gia!”