My Childhood Friend, a Vtuber, Treated Me Like TrashโIโm Never Producing For Her Again
I patted Mizuta lightly on the back and tried to comfort her as gently as possible.
โฆNormally, Iโm the one who should be the one being comfortedโso why am I the one doing the comforting?
That said, I was honestly happy that he could empathize with my situation to this extent.
โS-sorryโฆ W-well, how should I put itโฆ When I see a plot twist like this, where someone gets banished, it really breaks my heartโฆโ
โWait, โexileโ storyโฆ?โ
Did I used to belong to some hero party or something?
โBut thatโs exactly what it is. They completely failed to recognize the achievements of the person who worked harder than anyone else behind the scenes, cast him aside in such a cruel way, and on top of that, he even got his boyfriend stolenโฆโ
โNo, we werenโt dating, so itโs not like she was stolen from me.โ
If I had to label it, I guess itโd be a BSS.
Anyway, thatโs not whatโs important right now.
โIf anything, looking back now, I should probably say Iโm glad I got to see that side of Yue. Of course, it was tough at first, but as I got closer to Mizuta-san, it really helped take my mind off things.โ
โHuh? M-meโฆ?โ
โYeah. You were quite the character in a lot of ways.โ
If Yue hadnโt fired me, I might not have gotten this close to Mizuta-san.
โSo you donโt need to feel so sorry for me.โ
โI-Is that soโฆ? So I was able to be of some help to you, Komachi-sanโฆโ
โIt wasnโt just a littleโyou helped me a great deal.โ
That was her genuine, heartfelt truth.
At that, Mizuta-san blushed and fidgeted with her fingertips, looking embarrassed.
โW-well then, I guess Iโm likeโฆ what theyโd call in a banishment storyโฆ the slave heroine the protagonist buys for the first time after heโs lost all trust in peopleโฆ!โ
โWait, whyโd you pick that analogy?โ
โHuh? B-but itโs cute, isnโt it? She gradually becomes obsessed with the protagonist and turns into a yandere, heheheโฆโ
Mizuta is way more hardcore than your average male otaku.
She seems to really like shounen manga.
Well, thatโs actually a good thing for her as a female VTuber.
โFrom there, the protagonist teams up with the slave heroine to subdue, train, and corrupt the heroines who exiled him, one by one, to get his revengeโฆ!โ
โNo, noโthatโs definitely not your typical โbanishmentโ story.โ
โHuh? Isnโt that way more interesting than just killing themโฆ?โ
โโฆโฆโ
Itโs not just that Mizuta-san likes erotic contentโshe actually loves extreme plot twists themselves.
โJust to be clear, Iโm not really interested in revenge or anything like that.โ
โHuh? R-reallyโฆ?โ
โYeah. Like I said earlier, itโs not like she was taken from me or anything. In the end, I was just getting my hopes up on my own, got fired, and got depressed all by myself.โ
If I had to say, it was just that I got insulted a little.
But honestly, it wasnโt enough to make me want revenge.
If anything, worrying about Yue right now just felt like a waste of time to me.
โO-oh, I seeโฆโฆ Even so, I still want to get revenge on her, Aizawa-sanโฆ!โ
โHuh? Why is that?โ
Even though I, the person directly involved, am saying I donโt care?
โBecause you have to atone for the sin of insulting my godโฆ!!โ
โNo, noโฆโ
โOf course, I donโt plan on harming her directly or anything. I donโt have the guts for that anywayโฆโ
Well, I suppose that makes sense, given Mizuta-sanโs personality.
She clenched both fists tightly and raised her head with determination.
โIโm definitely going to succeed as a VTuber and rub it in Aizawa-sanโs faceโฆ!โ
I see, so thatโs what it is.
Admittedly, that might count as revenge against Yue, and it would certainly serve as motivation for Mizuta-san.
Just as I thought that, she let out another โHahโฆ!โ
โSince Aizawa-san is your first love, after Iโve shown her up, youโll train her and make her submitโโ
โNo, no, I definitely wasnโt thinking anything like that.โ
Thatโs basically a crime.
โY-Yeah, youโre rightโฆ B-Butโฆโ
Mizuta-san gave a small, โHehe,โ laugh.
โI just really hope youโll include a slave yandere heroine whoโs on the protagonistโs sideโฆโ
My face flushed involuntarily as I caught her glancing at me from the corner of her eye.
โY-You donโt need a yandere.โ
โOhโฆโ
When I smiled slightly and looked back at her, Mizuta-san smiled back at me.
ใโ
A week passed, and it was now May.
During that time, Mizuta-san created several video clips on her own and uploaded them to YouTube.
She researched what kinds of titles and thumbnails would catch peopleโs attention, and Iโd check her finished drafts and give her feedback.
โI, I did itโฆ!โ
Lunchtime.
Today, too, Iโd asked the president of the Visual Arts Club to let us use the clubroom.
โIโve been getting at least five concurrent viewers nowโฆ! Sometimes as many as ten show upโฆ!!โ
โWow, thatโs definitely increased. It looks like youโre getting traffic from YouTube.โ
โYesโฆ! Thereโs still only a little chat, but itโs flowing more than beforeโฆ!โ
Mizuta-san flashed the brightest smile Iโd seen from her in a while.
It was almost blinding.
She must be truly happy to have gained new listeners for the first time in over a year.
โHehe, thank you so much, Komachi-saaanโฆ!โ
โNo, no, you did all of this on your own, Mizuta-san.โ
All I did was offer a little advice; I hardly ever got directly involved.
So this is, without a doubt, the result of her own hard work paying off.
โBut if it werenโt for you, Komachi-san, it wouldโve stayed that way forever. So, thank you so muchโฆ!โ
Mizuta-san bowed deeply to me.
Then, she smoothly held out her bento box in front of me.
โThis is an offering, Godโฆ!โ
โโฆโฆโ
Well, being treated like a god is a little much, though.
I guess that just shows how grateful she is.
I took Mizuta-sanโs homemade bento and dug in right away.
It was just as delicious as always.
When I sincerely praised it over and over, her expression softened slightly.
โOh, by the way, how did you do on that pop quiz the other day?โ
โOh, that went really well, tooโฆ!โ
Mizuta-san beamed and made a small peace sign.
โI got half of them rightโฆ!!โ
โโฆHuh? You got half of them wrong?โ
โW-well, itโs the first time Iโve ever gotten even half of them rightโฆโ
โโฆโฆโ
It wasnโt even that difficult of a quiz.
When she says getting half right is progress, Iโm at a loss for what to say.
Iโll have to seriously help her study so she doesnโt fail.
โO-oh, come to think of it, the physical fitness test is coming up soonโฆ!โ
Mizuta-san hurriedly changed the subject.
Sheโd made progress, after all, so I shouldโve praised her first.
But I ended up making a snarky comment before I could praise her.
โAh, yeah, thatโs true. How are you doing with your physical fitness, Mizuta-san?โ
โIโm a total klutz when it comes to thatโฆ!โ
โWhy are you so nonchalant about itโฆ?โ
โWell, if I had any physical strength, I wouldnโt be such a social outcast, would Iโฆ?โ
Even though that isnโt necessarily true, I found myself strangely convinced.
Come to think of it, the other day when she bolted out of the classroom, she was already gagging before she even reached the shoe rack.
โWhat about you, Komachiโฆ?โ
โWell, Iโm just a little above average, I guess.โ
โWhoaโฆ As expected, Komachi, you can do anything, canโt youโฆโ
โThis is nothing specialโitโs perfectly normal.โ
Anyway, physical stamina, huh.
Since Yue was so physically capable, I hadnโt really given it much thought until now.
But come to think of it, isnโt physical stamina pretty important for VTuber work too?
Especially if you want to keep it up for the long haul.
โMizuta-san.โ
โYesโฆ?! Youโre suddenly looking so seriousโIโve got a bad feeling about thisโฆโ
โLetโs work out together.โ
โI knew itโฆ!!โ
Mizuta-san clutched her head.