Spring break had begun.
After this spring break ends, I’ll be a high school senior.
Thinking about that made me feel a wave of thoughts.
Of course, I no longer worry as much as before about my future career, but I still take time to think it through.
If I want to continue my VTuber activities, what should I do?
If I want to stop being a VTuber and look for a new job, how should I go about it?
What am I best at? What do I really want to do?
Since I thought there was no rush, these worries felt surprisingly enjoyable.
I mean, doesn’t it feel like being an ordinary high school student?
And every time I had these thoughts, the first thing that popped into my mind… was drawing.
I still want to keep drawing as a simple hobby, but Aunt Shia told me that I could debut professionally right away.
After all, I’ve been recognized as an illustrator since middle school.
Do I really need to give up on pursuing a career in drawing?
Those thoughts started to surface.
…Well, still, I should focus on my VTuber activities right now.
Anyway, the place I was at was the headquarters of Star’s Flow.
It’s rare for me to come to Star’s Flow headquarters, but this time, my manager called me in saying there were important matters to discuss.
What on earth could it be?
…Please don’t tell me it’s about being held responsible for the accidents caused so far or something like that…?
Just imagining it sends chills down my spine….
As I waited in the reception room, filled with various thoughts, the door creaked open.
“Long time no see, Izumi.”
The person who entered was none other than the representative and chief producer of Star’s Flow, whom I had met during my 3D debut.
She was known as Aikawa Lenka, but to everyone else, she was just the manager.
“Ah, a, hello…!”
I sprang up from my seat and bowed upon greeting her, and she giggled behind her hand.
Did I do something weird?
My body trembled with anxiety over that thought.
However, her following words were gentle and kind.
“Please, have a seat, Izumi.”
“Ah, yes….”
“I’m sorry. I tried to get here as quickly as I could, but I got a bit delayed due to work.”
“I, I just arrived as well….”
Of course, that was a lie. It had already been over 30 minutes since I arrived.
But sitting in front of me was the manager of Star’s Flow.
She held my life or death as a VTuber in her hands.
I can’t just blatantly say I’ve been waiting for a long time to her…!
I was taught to always be modest in situations like this!
I, Kayanoh Mina, am ready to be a subordinate whenever the manager wishes…!
“Hoho….”
Fortunately, this meekness seemed to have earned me some points, as the manager smiled kindly at me.
I knew I was on the right track….
“Before we get to the main topic, shall we have a little tea time?”
With that, the manager briefly stood up and retrieved tea cups from the shelf.
“Do you like black tea?”
“Ah, yes…!”
Honestly, I didn’t particularly like it, and I hadn’t really had it that much, but it’s black tea made by the manager herself.
I had no right to refuse such a thing as a mere employee.
The black tea turned out to be… quite delicious.
It was bitter yet crisp on the aftertaste and paired well with the snacks that came with it.
“Is it okay?”
“It’s de-delicious….”
“Glad to hear that.”
As she sipped her black tea, the manager gave off an air of nobility.
Must be the power of her blonde, blue-eyed charm, I guess….
As I was lost in those senseless thoughts, it seemed she noticed my gaze and flashed a smile at me.
“It’s the first time we’ve met since the 3D debut, isn’t it?”
“Ah, yes…. I was able to motivate myself thanks to your encouragement back then…!”
“Not at all. That was simply the result of your hard work, Izumi.”
“Th-thank you….”
“So, Izumi, do you have any questions for me?”
“…Huh?”
Questions?
To be honest, I just wanted to get to the main topic as soon as possible so I could wrap things up and go home.
I was a mere employee getting a private audience with the manager. There was no way I could be relaxed about this….
As I averted my gaze, the manager tilted her head, seeming surprised.
“I thought you’d be curious about my relationship with Seona, but apparently not.”
“Ah….”
Thinking back, I recalled the time I last met her, and she mentioned something like that.
“After Seona married a long time ago, we had a nasty fight and split, but it’s funny how we’re working together again, especially with Seona’s daughter, Izumi… Fate is indeed strange, isn’t it?”
…Not particularly curious about that, though.
If the reason for their falling out was my mom, it could get uncomfortable.
But did I really need to hear that story?
“…Doesn’t seem like you’re that curious.”
“Ah, w-well….”
“Hoho, it’s fine. It’s not that someone’s to blame for anything. Seona had her reasons, and I had dreams I was chasing at the time.”
Thank goodness, it seems the manager isn’t too concerned about it.
For a moment, I almost panicked thinking I was in for trouble, but it turns out I was quite relieved….
“So, getting to the main topic, now that Star’s Flow has successfully debuted up to the third generation, right?”
“Ah, yes….”
“So, this summer… to be exact, during your summer break, we’re planning to hold the Star’s Flow Festival.”
“…Huh?”
What expression did I just make upon hearing that?
One thing is for sure… the manager seemed satisfied with my reaction, smiling as if pleased.
★
A Star’s Flow Festival.
I felt my head go blank with the sudden news.
Indeed… if I think about it, there used to be festivals during the peak of the VTuber craze.
Well, festivals don’t usually hold anything too special.
The main event of a festival is basically live broadcasts, after all.
Usually, live broadcasts happen on special anniversaries for the members.
Like birthdays, anniversary broadcasts, 3D debuts, etc….
And to put it another way, that means there’s always a protagonist in the usual live broadcasts.
But in this festival, nearly all members of the company participate in live performances.
That said, it’s not merely live broadcasts; there are also various event stages and planned broadcasts. Plus, there are offline audience events as well.
Literally, it’s a festival… a celebration.
“…I never thought of that at all.”
[I just heard about it the day before yesterday. Apparently, it got approved recently when I asked.]
Suzuha didn’t seem too surprised.
But then again, Suzuha used to be an underground idol, so perhaps she was used to such events.
[That aside… we’re in big trouble, Izumi.]
“Eh?”
Big trouble? Suddenly?
As that thought crossed my mind, Suzuha chuckled and looked at me.
[Don’t you remember what happened last year?]
Last year? What happened last year…?
“Ah.”
Suddenly, I felt all the strength drain from my body.
[They intentionally scheduled it during your summer break, so it’ll probably be in August.]
And my birthday is on June 12th. And the debut date is July 11th.
That’s right. The start of my hellish live broadcast schedule.
In my previous life, I only ever watched the festival from a viewer’s perspective, and VTuber markets hadn’t even gotten big enough to hold festivals back then.
So when I heard that they were hosting a festival now, I was quite excited…
But suddenly, that expectation felt deflated.
“C-can I skip my birthday live broadcast?”
[Wouldn’t that be something you’d have to ask the manager about, not me…?]
While I’d like to think of those past memories as mere nostalgia… the time I prepared to create those memories was anything but nostalgic.
I really hope someone tells me this is all just a dream….
★
[【BuildCraft】I am the Water Avatar! You better respect me! #KainohIzumi#StarsFlow]
– Water Avatar (laughs)
I had been enjoying BuildCraft far longer than I expected.
Well, saying “enjoying for a long time” might be a bit misleading.
After finishing our house with Suzuha, Kurokami-senpai, Kaguya, and Tsurusaki, I planned to stop, but it turned out that the Izutomo loved BuildCraft so much, I kept going.
Anyway, my recent content in BuildCraft was constructing my temple.
Lately, it felt like the Izutomo were teasing me even more than usual, so I chose this method to show off my skills.
If I built a grand temple, wouldn’t they be impressed and maybe tone down their teasing a little? That hopeful start didn’t quite go smoothly… not at all.
“I’m low on dia, dammit….”
– Since I lost everything during the last all loss.
– Losing all those materials back then hit hard.
I lost all the materials I had saved up when I foolishly wandered around without storing them, accidentally falling into lava and burning to death.
Because of that, the community was flooded with comments.
[Are you, the Water Avatar, burning to death? LOL]
[Water Avatar (laughs)]
[Izumi is just the Water Avatar, but that lava is evaporating her water…!]
All sorts of reactions flooded in…
…Wait? Why am I still playing BuildCraft while getting treated like this?
In an epiphany, I was about to face reality, but first, I needed to start moving to gather diamonds.
With crack, I swung my pickaxe, setting down torches to illuminate the dark surrounding.
This is the repetitive task of digging until I reach the diamond layer.
It’s a boring task, but when I chatted with the Izutomo while doing it, time surprisingly passed quickly.
“Well then, I’m wrapping up for today. Bye, everyone….”
– Bye Izumi!
With that, I ended the stream once again without finishing the temple and leaned back in my chair, when suddenly, ding! a notification from Miscode sounded.
[Sakuya Suzumichi: Are you there, Izumi-senpai?]
DM sent via Miscode by my junior, Sakuya of Atlas, who plays a maid in RP.
[Kainoh Izumi: Yes, I’m here.]
[Sakuya Suzumichi: I’m inviting Izumi-senpai to ‘Sakuya’s Time’!]
And what I received was… an invitation from Sakuya Suzumichi.
My site has received a lot of DMCA notices, lol. From now on, I will update the MTL on https://darkmtl.com/.
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