I used to draw solely for my own satisfaction.
So back then, the only person I could show my drawings to was my Mom at best.
In the past year, I added my Yuyika, Shia Aunt, and members of Star’s Flow, but in the end, my drawings were always just for my own satisfaction.
The drawings I made for the Cultural Festival were done only because they had to be done, and they were completely different from the style I usually drew.
So how did I end up becoming a cultishly popular illustrator called ‘ ’?
The reason was ridiculously simple.
★
It was definitely three years ago when I was in my first year of High School.
Yuyika had already started living on her own, and Mom wouldn’t often go on business trips because of my age back then.
Even then, I would go straight home after School and enjoy my hobbies alone.
I watched anime, read light novels, scoured YouTube for VTubers I would like, and after dinner, I played games and drew.
It was practically a routine when suddenly, Mom called me.
“Mina! Can we talk for a bit?”
“Ah, yes, Mom.”
I was happily drawing fan art of an anime character I had been enjoying lately, but being the good daughter, I immediately put down my tablet pen and went out to sit next to Mom.
“Did you call for me?”
“Yeah. Mina, do you remember when I said I was working on a new game at my company? The one you helped out with the CBT?”
“…Ah. The title was something like ‘Rhapsody of the Shining Sky,’ right? I think that was it….”
“Good memory… The game is about to be released soon, and since it’s a subculture-type game, we were planning to prepare a celebration illustration for the launch.”
Hearing that, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of unease.
It’s customary to prepare celebration illustrations for subculture games during the release, but why was she telling me this?
That thought crossed my mind.
“Well, the illustrator who was supposed to do the illustration for the day before the release had an accident and can’t deliver the work anymore.”
“Ah… Well, isn’t that a big deal?”
While it wouldn’t affect the game’s release directly, revealing a celebratory illustration was a fairly important event in the subculture community.
Before the release D-Day, catching the interest of users who had already decided to buy was a given.
I had heard that the illustration itself also provides a significant promotional effect.
“Yeah… it’s quite a big deal. But the schedule is too tight to ask others who had different dates, and there isn’t enough time to find new people… So, could you do it for me, Mina?”
“…Eh?”
As those words left Mom’s mouth, my mind went completely blank.
…She wants to use my drawing as the celebratory illustration for a game from Mom’s company?
“U-uh, my drawing?”
“Yeah, it would be much more convenient and quicker to ask you rather than try to find someone with more skills and adjusting schedules. Oh, of course, I’ll pay you properly with your allowance, too.”
“But I’m not skilled… and I’m not famous either…”
Taking on a celebratory illustration is something that should naturally be entrusted to an illustrator whose name is somewhat known.
But it feels strange to trust someone like me, who doesn’t use social media or communities at all.
With that in mind, Mom smiled kindly.
“I think Mina’s drawings are better than most professional illustrators. It’s true you don’t work on the internet, but even considering that, I’m sure there wouldn’t be any problems with the illustrations you create.”
“Um, still…”
“If you can’t do it, then I can’t help it…”
Well, honestly, I knew that my skills were above most pro illustrators, but accepting Mom’s request was a different matter.
My drawings were solely for my self-satisfaction.
I had no intention of making money or becoming famous with my art.
And Mom surely knew that.
…But asking me now, although her words seemed light, must mean the situation was quite urgent.
“…Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Really?”
“Yes. When do you need it by?”
“Um, I think it could be done by next Saturday….”
“Understood.”
It’s a game I thought was quite fun when I played during the CBT, and it was the first time Mom had asked me like this.
No matter how much I claimed I had no desire to become famous for my art, I couldn’t refuse Mom’s request.
And anyway, no matter how much skill I had, an unknown illustrator in the subculture scene would quickly be forgotten, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
I was thinking that way at the time.
“Mina! What pen name should we use?”
After I completed the illustration and sent it over, Mom asked me the question, and after a moment of contemplation, I answered.
“Just… don’t write anything, it’s fine.”
“Really? You could write that you’re an employee of Mom‘s company if you want.”
“No, just don’t write anything.”
If I have a pen name and some affiliation, there might be issues later on, you know.
That was the decision I made with that thought in mind.
…And it sounds kind of cool, right?
A hidden powerhouse with incredible skills but whose name is not even revealed is, quite literally, a man’s romantic dream.
“Hehe….”
And.
“Mina! Last time, your drawings gained massive popularity, right?”
“…Yeah.”
“So people are begging like crazy for you to draw an end card for this anime too…”
“Got it…”
When I got asked by Mom for the second time, I became an illustrator under the pen name ‘ ’.
…Oh?
…Well, to be honest, I didn’t feel bad about it.
The fact that many people acknowledged my drawings made me feel good, after all.
That’s why even after the pen name ‘ ’ started floating around online, I agreed to Mom’s request a couple more times.
Of course, that didn’t mean I was thinking of starting social media or a community.
That sort of thing was a line I had drawn, saying I wouldn’t do something with my art.
So I decided to be content with occasionally fulfilling Mom’s requests as an illustrator called ‘ ’, who kept her identity a secret.
But before I knew it, I was now in my third year of High School.
“Kayanoh Mina, your personality is wrong.”
I met my worst nemesis in life.
“Wouldn’t it be better to hang out with friends rather than drawing alone every day?”
Drawing had become so unenjoyable to me that I no longer found it fun.
“Mom. I think ‘ ’ has become too famous; I want to stop now.”
[…I’m sorry. I think Mom put too much pressure on you.]
“It’s alright. I’ll see you next week.”
[Okay. Rest well. Call if there’s any problem at all.]
“…Yes.”
So I stopped drawing until Natsune‘s debut and concluded my activities as ‘ ’.
★
[【Drawing Broadcast】Today, once again, chatting along! #KainohIzumi#Star’sFlow]
-So is Mei really ‘ ’?
Of course, after the questioning about my identity as ‘ ’ came up the next day in the broadcast, countless messages like this appeared in the chat.
Normally, it’s almost a taboo for viewers to bring up information about the ‘inside person’ during streams.
Even if the boundaries have blurred somewhat, the foundation of a VTuber is RP.
But now, it wasn’t like we were crossing that taboo feeling due to special circumstances, as I had expected.
After all, ‘ ’ was just an illustrator who had drawn a few celebration illustrations; there was actually no information regarding my personal life being exposed, so many people found it hard to see it as sensitive information related to ‘previous lives’ or ‘inside people.’
And more than that, the fact I was ‘ ’ could even blend well with my RP.
“Um…”
So, after firmly checking in with the manager, contacting, and finishing consultations, I decided to make use of this.
“Ah, you’re curious about that thing, right?”
-So is one of Japan’s seven mysteries finally getting solved…?
“No, no. It’s not that big of a deal… Well, anyway, my, my famous past… is related to the span of help I received in middle school, and I ended up drawing stuff in return.”
My RP was that of a Water Avatar enjoying High School life.
And enjoying High School life meant, of course, that I had my middle school days too.
In other words, the backstory of Izumi Kainoh before debuting as a VTuber adds that I was, in fact, a famous illustrator…!
…No. Well, not just a backstory; it’s all true!
In reality, I’m a social outcast with communication impairment, who became a famous illustrator with 193,000 subscribers in the online world?
It’s like a situation you’d only see in web novels.
“Since it’s already out there, if you have questions, feel free to ask. I’ll answer as much as I can.”
-Why didn’t you have an SNS or community under the name ‘ ’?
“Um… Well, it’s not like I wanted to get ‘famous’ or make money off my drawings.”
Of course, in the end, I ended up earning money with my drawing broadcasts, and it makes me think that life is truly unpredictable.
“And it’s… kind of cool, right? Someone with incredible skills but nothing else known about them. A hidden talent…”
-That’s totally the most important reason, huh?
-This girl really knows how to play into the male fantasy ㅋㅋ
-This JK knows too well how to play into the male fantasy…
“And honestly, I wanted to hide the fact I was ‘…’ You know, that’s why I had put off doing a drawing broadcast last year since I thought it would get found out right away, but I never expected it would happen in just two days…”
-‘ ’ being known still doesn’t change anything.
“Hehe… It was just a good luck moment, but you all recognized me right away; aren’t you just a bit overly obsessed with me? I mean, you guys care so much about my information.”
=Maker JP¥ 10,000: We watch because we like you.
“Uh…”
-Getting shy!
-So cute!!!
-Thanks for the meal.
“…Sh-shut up! And the name ‘ ’, it’s super cool, isn’t it? It makes it feel like I’d never lose no matter what.”
-You think you’re the world’s strongest gamer? ㅋㅋ
-World’s strongest illustrator, ㅋㅋ
Fortunately, the broadcast where I revealed I was ‘ ’ ended successfully.
[Suzuha Koga: I was a HUGE fan of ‘ ’, can I have your autograph?]
[Izumi Kainoh: I don’t have any autographs…]
And I learned another new fact.
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Should be first year of middle school and third year of middle school, not high school.