My Childhood Friend, a Vtuber, Treated Me Like TrashโIโm Never Producing For Her Again
Alone with a girl in a house with no parents around.
Aside from Yue, my childhood friend, this is a first for me.
If I start overthinking it, my voice might crack.
I went upstairs and was just about to enter Mizuta-sanโs room whenโ
โW-wait a secondโฆ!!โ
Suddenly, she stood in front of me with her arms outstretched.
Wait, Iโm supposed to help set up the mic, so we canโt start unless I go in.
โItโll only take 10 minutesโno, 5 minutesโฆ!โ
Mizuta dashed into her room as if sheโd been flung back.
Immediately afterward, the sound of her rushing around echoed from behind the door.
It seems sheโs frantically tidying up.
Or rather, shouldnโt she have taken care of that before calling me inโฆ?
โAaaarghโ!! I just bought this!!โ
โI-it wonโt closeโฆ! N-no way, I canโt let Komachi-san see thisโฆ!!โ
โW-why is my embarrassing past here!? It was supposed to have all burned up!?โ
Mizuta-sanโs wildly excited mutterings kept flooding into my ears one after another.
Come to think of it, she really talks to herself a lot.
Well, as a streamer, itโs not a bad habit, though.
Or maybe itโs increased dramatically since she started being a VTuber?
As far as I know, even people who talk to themselves a lot tend to get tired of talking once they start streaming, and actually become quieter when theyโre off the air.
โHaa, haaโฆโ
Fifteen minutes later.
Finally, the door opened, and Mizuta-san peeked her head out, panting heavily.
โC-come in.โ
โOh, okay.โ
When I stepped inside, the room was surprisingly tidy.
Honestly, given those strange screams earlier, Iโd braced myself for a much more disastrous scene.
However, there was one corner that clearly stood out as unusual for what youโd call a typical high school girlโs room.
A dual monitor setup, a microphone, an audio interface, and the PC itselfโall sorts of streaming equipment.
And on top of thatโ
โIt seems like the whole room is decorated in black. Do you like black?โ
โHuh!? N-no, thatโs not it! Iโve definitely outgrown my โsecond-year middle school syndromeโ!! T-this is just a vestigial remnant, so to speak!!โ
Mizuta-san panicked.
Well, I wasnโt really thinking anything in particular, though.
I seeโMizuta-san must have been seriously obsessed with her โsecond-year middle school syndrome.โ
And it seems she was particularly deep into the whole black theme.
โThatโs kind of cute, actually.โ
โEh, eh!? M-my dark past!?โ
โYou can use stuff like that as material for your livestream.โ
โAh, ahโฆ So you were talking about the livestream.โ
Of course, most of the viewers just want to see her squirm and suffer over her dark past.
โWell then, shall we set things up right away?โ
โAh, w-wait a second.โ
What? Not again?
As I tilted my head in confusion, Mizuta-san blushed and looked away.
โShall I make some teaโฆ?โ
โAh, sure.โ
โWould you prefer tea or coffeeโฆ?โ
โThen Iโll have tea, please.โ
It was just a perfectly ordinary conversationโso why was she acting so shy?
Was there some secret code I didnโt know about?
Fortunately, it seems I was overthinking it. Mizuta-san left the room briefly, brewed some warm tea as if it were the most natural thing in the world, and came back.
As I took a sip, she looked up at me and asked,
โH-how is itโฆ?โ
โItโs delicious.โ
โEh, heheโฆ Iโm glad. T-this is actually the first time Iโve ever invited a classmate over to my house to serve tea like thisโฆโ
Iโm not exactly a social butterfly myselfโif anything, I lean more toward the introverted sideโbut Mizuta-san is a die-hard introvert.
Even asking me to help with the mic was probably a pretty bold move for her.
โOh, my mom baked some cookies tooโโ
โOh, Iโd love some!โ
โThat was fast!? Komachi-san, donโt you like my mom a little too much!?โ
Well, I feel like that might be a bit of a misrepresentation.
I mean, Iโve never actually met her in person, but in my mind, Mizuta-sanโs mom had already hit the maximum likability rating.
I mean, just the idea of an older woman who bakes delicious bread and pastries is way too awesome.
Mizuta-san brought over a few cookies, and we enjoyed them with some tea.
โYeah, they go together perfectly.โ
โMother and daughter at the same timeโฆโ
โMizuta-san, why do you always use such suggestive abbreviations?โ
I know you like dirty jokes, but with that kind of abbreviation, it makes me sound like the absolute worst scumbag in an instant.
โEhehe, sorryโฆ But Iโm just kind of giddy, I guessโฆ or maybe a little excitedโฆโ
โIs that so?โ
โAh, s-sorry! I-itโs just me, isnโt itโฆโ
โNo, no, of course Iโm having fun too.โ
โR-reallyโฆ? Well, Iโm glad to hear thatโฆโ
Mizutaโs mood swings are still like a roller coaster.
Well, even so, she wasnโt lying.
When you think about it, being alone in a room with a beautiful VTuberโwhose true identity only I know at schoolโitโs bound to make you feel a little strange.
โWell then, letโs get started with the setup this time.โ
โAh, yesโฆ! T-this is it.โ
Mizuta-san handed me a box.
Fortunately, it wasnโt the USB-connected type.
Butโ
โIsnโt this a pretty high-end model?โ
โAh, yesโฆ It cost about 60,000 yen.โ
The microphone sheโd chosen was made by a famous German manufacturer.
It was high enough quality to hold its own in a professional setting.
It was way overkill for her streams, which only had a measly five concurrent viewersโฆ
Well, sheโd already bought it, and itโs better than having bad sound quality.
โAre you the type who starts with the appearance first, Mizuta-san?โ
โHuh? H-how did you know thatโฆ? A-are you, s-some kind of psychicโฆ?โ
โโฆโฆโ
I thought that if I showed Mizuta-san a magic trick, sheโd probably widen her eyes at every move and be genuinely surprised.
ใโ
As expected, setting it up wasnโt that difficult.
Of course, Iโm no expert, and I was just aiming for a level that would work for a live stream.
โOkay, Mizuta-san. During the actual broadcast, please check and adjust the settings yourself to make sure youโre not picking up too much background noise other than your voice.โ
โOh, y-yesโฆ!โ
โRight now, Iโve set the filter a little stronger. If your voice sounds muffled, please adjust it back little by little while watching these numbers. Itโs all about finding the right balance.โ
Mizuta-san nodded repeatedly while taking notes on her smartphone.
Her fingers are still moving at an insane speed, as always.
โUm, since youโve gone to the trouble of coming all this way, can I ask one more question? Itโs not about the mic, but about my computerโฆโ
โSure. As long as itโs within my area of expertise.โ
โWhen Iโm playing games, wellโฆ the screen gets choppy. Itโs fine when Iโm playing by myself, but as soon as I start streaming, it suddenly gets really laggy. Could it be that my computer is brokenโฆ?โ
โNo, itโs just that your specs arenโt high enough.โ
โWhaaaat!? I paid so much for it!?โ
Even though itโs 2D, rendering a VTuber avatar, encoding the stream, and running a high-load 3D game all at onceโฆ
Doing all of that simultaneously puts a strain on the PC beyond what you might imagine.
I explained that as briefly as possible.
โฆI thought Iโd broken it down simply enough, but partway through, Mizuta-san just stood there with her mouth hanging open, completely dumbfounded.
โIn short, if you want stability, the surest way is to get another computer and run a dual-system setup.โ
โAโฆ another computerโฆ!?โ
โOr, thereโs also the option of upgrading your current PC.โ
โOh, an upgradeโฆ!?โ
Like a deflated balloon, Mizuta slumped over, completely dejected.
โI-I had no idea being a VTuber would cost so much moneyโฆโ