My Childhood Friend, a Vtuber, Treated Me Like TrashโIโm Never Producing For Her Again
โW-well, how is itโฆ?โ
The moment I picked up a piece of karaage and brought it to my mouth, Mizuta-san asked me that.
I hadnโt even taken a bite yet.
With her looking up at me with eyes filled with a mix of anxiety and anticipation, I couldnโt just stay silent.
โItโs delicious. The seasoning is just right, too.โ
โI-is that soโฆ? How does it compare to momโsโฆ?โ
โHuh?โ
Wait, wouldnโt it be rude for me to bring that up?
As I hesitated, thinking that, Mizuta-san slumped her shoulders in disappointment.
โI guess itโs a bit iffy since itโs my first time. My momโs looks at least a little better, but mine doesnโt look so great eitherโฆโ
โNo, no, no. Yours tastes better, Mizuta-san. Iโm not just saying thatโI really mean it. To be honest, umโฆ your momโs cooking is, well, a little too healthy for my taste.โ
โR-reallyโฆ? So my momโs cooking really is bad, isnโt it!? Phew, if youโd thought mine was worse than my momโs, I wouldโve cried all day longโฆโ
Wait, why is she trying to one-up her own mother?
Or maybe itโs just a backlash from having to eat those bland meals for so long.
Still, if this is her first try, Mizuta might actually have a talent for cooking after all.
After Iโd neatly polished off my bento, I broached the main topic.
โMizuta, about the computerโฆโ
โYes, Iโll somehow manage to come up with 300,000 yenโฆโ
Wait, when she puts it like that, it sounds like Iโm extorting her.
โIโm not against you working part-time, but why are you focusing on that game in the first place?โ
โHuh? You mean OpEx?โ
โYes. Do you like OpEx?โ
โNo, not reallyโฆ Iโm just playing it because itโs popular, I guessโฆ?โ
โHuh? Is that so?โ
โYeahโฆ I mean, shouldnโt you focus on popular games when youโre streamingโฆ?โ
In other words, youโre doing it not because you like it, but just because everyone else is.
And youโve been doing that for over a year.
In a way, at least your determination is genuine.
โSo, youโre not really a huge fan of OpEx, and youโre not aiming to be a dedicated streamer, right?โ
โYeah, I do like games, though.โ
โโฆWell then, letโs just stop streaming OpEx for now.โ
โHuh? W-whyโฆ?ใWouldnโt playing a popular game attract people who are interested in that gameโฆ?โ
I instinctively put my hand to my forehead.
Of course, Mizuta-san has a point.
If it works out, we could attract a whole bunch of new listeners at once.
The problem isโ
โThe competition is fierce. There are way too many OPEX streamers. Thatโs why you need something unique to stand out. Mizuta, do you have any ideas?โ
Like being a top-ranked player, or pulling off some outlandish moves no one would ever think of.
โUh, wellโฆ Maybe a cute avatarโฆ?โ
โโฆNo, well, it is cute, I guess.โ
How could I put this without hurting Mizutaโs feelings?
I decided to sugarcoat it as much as possible.
โArenโt all VTuber avatars basically cute anyway?โ
Thatโs rightโweโve already exhausted all the visual options.
Weโre in an era where even animal ears have become overused, and thereโs a limit to the variety of good-looking characters.
โW-well, thatโs trueโฆ But my avatar isnโt any worse than anyone elseโs, is itโฆ?โ
โNo, itโs plenty cute. I think the design is great, too.โ
โHeheโฆ Pink hair really is cute on girls, isnโt it? Donโt you think so?โ
โUh, yeahโฆโ
The topic changed abruptly.
โAnyway, I watched a bit of your stream, Mizuta-san, but as far as OPEX streams go, it didnโt strike me as particularly special.โ
โI-Is that soโฆโ
โYeah. It was justโฆ neither good nor bad, I guess.โ
On the other hand, if you were hopelessly bad, you could cut those parts out and turn them into comedy.
But in Mizuta-sanโs case, thatโs not really the case.
At the end of the day, a stream needs something that stands out.
Right now, Mizuta-sanโs streams donโt really have any standout strengths.
โDo I really not have any talent, thenโฆ?โ
Mizuta-san slumped her shoulders again, dejected.
Oh no, did I come off a little too harsh?
โNo, you definitely have plenty of talent, Mizuta-san.โ
โHuh? R-really?โ
โYouโve been streaming steadily almost every day for over a year now, havenโt you?โ
โYes, on really good days I get about five concurrent viewers, but usually itโs just one or twoโif thatโฆโ
The other day, when I went to leave a comment, there were actually quite a few people watching.
Thinking about it that way, I felt a little guilty for interrupting her.
Well, but it was definitely way too noisy back then.
โWhen concurrent viewers are in the single digits, comments hardly ever show up. When that happens, itโs hard for the stream to function as a place to interact with viewers.โ
โThatโs trueโฆ Comments really only pop up once in a blue moon. Sometimes the chat suddenly gets busy, and I think, โYay!โโonly to find itโs spam or some outrageous insultsโฆ Iโve been disappointed a lot of timesโฆโ
โBut you keep talking, Mizuta-san. Thatโs a huge strength.โ
โHuh? R-really?โ
โYes. Itโs what you might call โtalking to a wall,โ but thatโs something most people canโt really do.โ
There are streamers who have kept talking almost entirely by themselves for more than three yearsโlet alone a year.
Of course, that doesnโt mean there arenโt areas for improvement in Mizuta-sanโs current speaking style.
Still, her determination to keep the conversation goingโdesperately stringing words together to avoid silenceโshould be a major asset.
โThatโs why Mizuta-san has talent as a VTuber. Please donโt get so down about it.โ
โY-yesโฆ! Hehe, my mom used to always scold me, saying, โYou canโt just sit still and play games,โ but I guess that was actually my talent.โ
โWell, talking to yourself and streaming commentary are two different things, though. Right now, Mizuta-san is still pretty much just talking to herself.โ
โKomachi-san, arenโt you being a little too extreme with all this back-and-forth praise and criticismโฆ?โ
It seemed Mizuta-san wasnโt actually reviewing her streams in detail.
Well, itโs no wonder, considering sheโs streaming almost every day while juggling her schoolwork.
โSo, instead of quitting your OPEX streams entirely, letโs just cut back on how often you do them.โ
โThen what should I do besides OPEXโฆ?โ
โHmm. Itโd be great if you had some kind of special skill.โ
Even if you plan to branch out in the future, itโs better to narrow down your focus at first.
โGamesโฆ? Iโm pretty eclectic, so I can handle most genres. Iโll play crap games, and Iโll play eroge too.โ
โHmmโฆ Letโs set eroge aside for now, but letโs keep it on the list of possibilities. Anything else? It can be something smallโanything at all. It doesnโt have to be a special skill, just something youโre interested in on a daily basis.โ
โW-well, if itโs something Iโm interested inโฆ Lolita fashion, maybe? With a black color schemeโฆโ
โAh, so you do like black after all.โ
โN-no, thatโs not it!? T-that was just a slip of the tongue!?โ
A middle-school-syndrome character who loves black would definitely work well as a contrast.
Especially if sheโs desperately trying to hide it.
โSpeaking of which, Mizuta-san, what made you decide to become a VTuber?โ
Itโs not easy to come up with a special skill or interest on the spot when asked out of the blue.
So, I decided to switch to an interview format for a bit.
Well, to be honest, my own personal curiosity was mixed in there too.
Thatโs because when I went into Mizuta-sanโs room the other day, I didnโt see a single piece of VTuber-related merchandise.
โW-well, actuallyโฆ itโs just that while I was playing a game, I started thinking I wanted to be like that tooโฆโ
โA game?โ
โY-yesโฆ Wellโฆ You know those games where the player acts as both a lover and a producer, and raises a female streamer?โ
โโฆYou donโt mean that game where thereโs this mentally unstable girl based on an angel concept, do you?โ
โYesโฆ! So you do know it after all.โ
So, she started as a VTuber because she looked up to that mentally unstable angel.
I felt a sudden dizzy spell.