“Chel, do you want to be my mom too…?” Ainatsu cautiously asked Chel.
She was obviously trying to get closer to Chel, but her thod of closing the distance was, frankly, the worst.
Not many people are more twisted than , the villainess, but this...
“That’s enough. How many parents do you plan to have?” I intervened.
Chel was still clinging to my back, frightened.
“Is having multiple moms strange…? Then maybe Chel could be my older sister?”
“Let ask this—how old are you exactly? And I an physically, not ntally.”
“I’m seven!”
“……”
“…I know that’s unsettling, but please don’t look at like that. It hurts my feelings.”
“If you’re going to get hurt, don’t do things that would make people hurt you, Ainatsu.”
I unconsciously crossed my arms.
I knew Ainatsu was older than , but how old exactly?
Had she crossed 30? Or was she still under it?
If she was over 30 and still acting like this...?
A creeping horror, like facing Cthulhu, began to seep in, so I decided to stop thinking about it.
I decided it would be healthier for my mind to just assu Ainatsu was 20 years old. Yes, that’s much better.
“Ainatsu… it feels weird hearing people call that,” Ainatsu muttered, seemingly returning to so semblance of normalcy.
“You’re saying strange things. Do people call you sothing else normally?”
“Not really, but shouting it out like this in the middle of the street is a bit much.”
“Now that you ntion it, you’re right.”
I hadn’t considered that. Rion and I use our real nas as our VTuber nas.
In online communities, there’s sothing known as the ‘red pill’—basically, when people dig into a VTuber’s personal information. Humans have a tendency to be unable to leave the unknown alone, much like Pandora’s box.
I don’t care if my own ‘red pill’ gets revealed, but not everyone’s like .
“I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“It’s fine! Oh, by the way, my real na is ‘Lee Eun-ha,’ so if you can’t call Ainatsu, just call Eun-ha.”
“Lee Eun-ha… Got it. I’ll rember.”
Hearing a VTuber’s real na... this was only the second ti for . The first had been Anna. Now that I think about it, I don’t even know the real nas of the other 6th-gen mbers.
Hearing this made curious about my peers' real nas, but I didn’t need to know. If we started calling each other by our real nas in private, it would be bad if we accidentally slipped up during a broadcast.
It didn’t seem like Ainatsu particularly wanted to be called by her real na anyway.
“Mom! This is Veronica. She’s Anna’s peer—you rember her, right? We judged together last ti.”
“And over there is Michael from the 2nd generation. Oh, and Erica’s with him?”
“That person over there is Ichika-senpai. She’s from the 1st generation and was a classmate of Rinko-senpai.”
Ainatsu introduced us to all the senior VTubers who had arrived before us, using their VTuber nas.
The seniors were all calling each other by their VTuber nas too, even though the staff were nearby. I guess this was the norm in the industry.
‘If you think of VTuber nas as stage nas, it doesn’t seem so strange.’
Most of the nas had a Japanese feel to them, which was a bit odd, but everyone seed accustod to it.
“Do you have any other questions, Mom? You can ask anything.”
“Rinko and Anna aren’t here?”
“Rinko-senpai already recorded her part last ti, and Anna… she doesn’t like doing this.”
“Doesn’t like it?”
“Yeah, she hates leaving the house, so she rarely does stuff like this. They probably invited her once, but I bet she declined. That’s why only two mbers from the 5th generation are here.”
Ainatsu answered my questions earnestly. She seed a lot different from how she was on the broadcast.
Maybe she was trying to take care of and Chel since it was our first recording.
I’d always thought she was a bit eccentric, but I suppose Ainatsu was still a senior after all.
She didn’t exude authority, but there was a quiet dignity to her.
“Okay, everyone, can I have your attention for a mont?”
As Ainatsu finished introducing the senior VTubers and explaining things, the staff called us over.
It seed like everything was ready. The staff were at their stations, and I even saw Rion among them.
“We’ll begin recording now. You’ll each take turns going into the booth to record. You can talk outside the booth, but please keep your voices down to avoid confusing the staff.”
“We’ll go in order by generation. Ichika-san will go first, and the rest of you can wait outside the booth.”
The staff gave us those instructions, paying special attention to Chel and , as it was our first ti.
After the brief instructions, Ichika, the senior with the most experience, went into the booth.
From a bit further away, Rion quickly approached .
“You and Chel are going last. Here’s the script.”
Rion handed both of us thin booklets.
“You don’t have to stick strictly to the script. If it doesn’t work, feel free to ad-lib.”
“That’s what you said yesterday too.”
“We’ll give you two plenty of ti. So even if you ss up a few tis, don’t worry, just relax—”
“Rion, what’s this?”
Ainatsu, who had been peeking at the script over my shoulder, looked puzzled.
“What is this?”
“…It’s the script.”
“I know that much.”
Ainatsu snatched the script from my hands and skimd through it.
“Laura’s character doesn’t seem to match this. Are you sure this script is for Laura?”
“It’s for Laura, more or less.”
“‘More or less’? What’s that supposed to an? Is this a last-minute fill-in?”
Ainatsu’s voice grew cold, and Rion’s face stiffened.
I recalled what Rion had said yesterday.
“Originally, two others were supposed to do the voice recording, but sothing ca up, and they suddenly had to drop out.”
“We usually release eight voice recordings, but releasing only six wouldn’t look good this ti…”
“It’s really hard to reschedule recording dates because of the staff, venue rentals, and matching VTuber schedules…”
“So I was hoping you and Chel could step in. It’s hard to pull in other generations, and the only ones with open schedules right now are the 6th-gen mbers…”
That was the situation.
“…Who were they? Actually, don’t tell —I think I know.”
Sigh.
Ainatsu exhaled.
“But is it really okay to put 6th-gen in this? Shouldn’t seniors be handling this kind of thing?”
“Ainatsu, what’s with you all of a sudden?”
“Is it right to just dump sothing even veterans struggle with on newbies?”
As the atmosphere grew tense, Michael tried to calm Ainatsu down, but her expression only grew darker.
“Shouldn’t managent be handling this? What are the staff even doing?? Rion, you’re a VTuber yourself—you should understand our position. Shouldn’t you be on Laura’s side here?”
“…I’m sorry.”
“...Right. You’re just a powerless cog in the machine... Fine, let talk to them.”
“That’s enough.”
I stepped in.
“It’s been a while since I’ve been so doted on like this. It almost feels like we’ve switched roles, and now I’m your daughter.”
“...Laura, don’t get involved. This is wrong.”
“Oh, is it wrong for to speak up about my own situation? What a strange thing to say.”
I placed my hand on Ainatsu’s shoulder.
“I appreciate that you’re speaking up for , but there’s no need to worry. I accepted this fully aware of what’s involved.”
Even if I refused, Inagika or Sora would end up filling in instead.
Sora might manage, but there’s no way Inagika would do well. Plus, Inagika isn’t the type to decline even if she’s uncomfortable.
It was also awkward to put this on Sora. She’s great at singing, but her acting skills are a different story.
‘Besides, Sora seems busy these days.’
Up until recently, Sora would pop by my place all the ti, but lately, she’s been scarce.
While Chel has been coming over practically every day, Sora hasn’t even dropped by once.
It seems like she’s preparing for sothing after the tournant, but she hasn’t said what. She’s been pretty secretive.
I didn’t want to disturb her.
One of us has to drink from the poisoned chalice, and it’s best if the person most suited to it takes the hit.
There’s no one better suited than .
“Rion, rearrange the order.”
“The order?”
“They won’t be convinced until we show them, will they? You’re up for it, right, Chel?”
I turned to Chel.
She had been silent this whole ti but now nodded confidently.
“I’m ready.”
Ainatsu was starting to regret how harshly she had spoken to Rion.
But it couldn’t be helped—she had been furious.
Why does this company always handle things so poorly?
Ainatsu had been a VTuber for three years now.
And in those three years, she’d learned one thing: every fandom complains about their managent.
It’s no surprise.
VTubing hasn’t even been around for ten years, and many companies are still new.
Sharing expertise between agencies isn’t easy either. Knowledge is a company’s competitive edge, so why would they give that away?
So, each company is forced to learn through trial and error.
‘But there’s a limit.’
If about half of the people who leave VTubing do so for personal reasons, the other half definitely leave due to poor managent.
In Ainatsu’s opinion, “retiring for personal reasons” is sothing that managent should at least try to mitigate.
Failing to persuade soone to stay is also managent’s fault.
It’s not that much to ask.
Just take care of the little things.
Those little things pile up, and soon enough, many VTubers quit. EYEAI had lost quite a few because of this.
…I’ll have to have a talk with the boss after this is all over.
“Are you ready, Laura?”
As Ainatsu sighed, Rion was speaking into the mic.
[I’m all set. We can start anyti.]
“Take your ti. There’s no rush, and you can do retakes if needed.”
[You underestimate . One take will be enough.]
Through the glass, Laura flashed a confident smile.
Seeing her like that, Ainatsu felt a twinge of discomfort.
She’s too admirable. Even though she was forced into this, she still exuded confidence.
‘I’ll treat her to dinner later.’
That’s the least I can do.
While watching Aurora’s recording, Ainatsu suddenly noticed sothing off.
“Where’s the script?”
Laura’s hands were empty.
Glancing around, Ainatsu noticed the script lying on the seat Laura had left behind… How could she forget it?
“Hey, wait—”
Just as Ainatsu opened her mouth to stop her,
[──You’ll live here for the rest of your life.]
A freezing voice echoed through the booth.
It was a chilling coldness that squeezed the heart.
The air seed to freeze, making it hard to breathe. Just exhaling felt like it could shatter everything.
A sense of danger crept up the back of her neck.
And through the glass, Aurora stood there, her face as pale as a sheet.
[Oh, it’s snowing, isn’t it? Not that it matters to you.]
[Snow is a filthy thing, dirtier than it appears. If it touches your skin, it’ll only harm you.]
[Just watch it from a distance.]
[Don’t even think about leaving.]
[Lunch is served at 11:45 AM. Any other ti, and I won’t allow it.]
[You won’t be getting any tea either. Caffeine is probably the last thing you need.]
[Brush your teeth after als.]
[Your bedti is 11:55 PM. And take your shower one hour before that.]
[Oh, is this hard for you to rember?]
[It’s fine if you forget.]
[I’ll rember everything for you.]
[Got it?]
[You’ll live here for the rest of your life.]
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