I think if anyone around me knows how to enjoy life to the fullest, it’s definitely Claire.
Most people can’t be bothered to remember foreign holidays, but she makes a point to celebrate them.
Of course, even some Koreans dress up for Halloween and throw parties. But unless you’re quite passionate about it, you probably wouldn’t go to such lengths.
Thinking about it, Claire is something of an ‘influencer’ in that sense. If she were born in this world, her smartphone would be packed with countless contacts.
Though, come to think of it, she didn’t have that many friends in Azernar.
…Could it be my fault?
Being around someone as socially awkward as me might have deprived her of the chance to make friends in the triple digits.
Now that Halloween has passed, is the urge to dress up related to her influencer instincts erupting?
“How about it?”
Seeing Claire holding her costume with a big grin, we were momentarily at a loss for words.
No one had really put it on yet, but that outfit looked like something witches would wear.
Did you know? Even in Azernar, where actual mages exist, there aren’t any women magicians with such archetypical witch costumes. So, this witch image is something she learned after coming to this world.
Her learning ability is quite scary.
“It looks pretty! I think it would really suit you, Claire.”
“Huh? What are you talking about, sis? Obviously, we should all wear it together!”
Yeah, that seems about right.
“Do you know? Our workout video views skyrocketed to an alarming level! If we keep dressing like gaming characters, it’s going to lose its freshness! We need to switch up the outfits according to the occasion!”
Speaking of timing, Halloween is already long gone, and even if we wanted to match the location, we’re not even broadcasting outside.
Of course, saying such things to the exuberant Claire wouldn’t matter anyway.
I looked back at the other three. They all seemed somewhat bewildered, but oddly interested.
…As I pointed out earlier, the image of a ‘black-cloaked witch’ doesn’t really exist in this world.
So, it’s understandable if they didn’t feel like Claire’s outfit was particularly special. They might just think it has a fresh design.
Alice didn’t seem to have any objections even when she wore a hanbok last time. Of course, I also wore it without any issues back then.
Wondering how to explain that a hanbok is different from a witch’s attire, I decided to just give up.
*
[What? Is it Halloween? Didn’t it just pass?]
“You do know it passed, huh?”
Eventually, we donned the witch outfits and started the broadcast.
Not all witch costumes are the same. Claire’s and mine were your typical “Gothic-style” outfits. Honestly, without the hats, it would be hard to tell they were witch attire.
Alice and Charlotte’s costumes were a bit more subdued in decoration but revealed a bit of cleavage.
Alice seemed a bit bashful putting hers on, but surprisingly, Charlotte had no resistance at all. From what I’ve heard, the dresses worn at gatherings and parties are often even more revealing than this. Still, the back was not particularly exposed.
Now, Mia’s outfit… was honestly closer to a magical girl than a witch. Unlike our mainly black costumes, hers was a vibrant purple.
Though it suited her, I would definitely not pick that one if I had to choose an outfit for everyday wear.
Not that we were going outside anyway.
“Even though Halloween has passed, we didn’t celebrate it, right? So this is our slightly late Halloween special broadcast!”
At least we can be glad it’s not an early Christmas broadcast?
There’s no doubt she’ll be preparing Santa outfits for Christmas.
“And!”
Claire leaned forward to grab the mouse. I quickly moved back to give her space.
She wanted to decide the content of today’s broadcast herself, so I let her be. After all, I didn’t prepare anything big for today.
As long as she doesn’t make us sweat while wearing these costumes, I’m fine.
“Today’s broadcast is this!”
“…What’s this?”
And the game Claire set up was something I had never heard of or seen before.
“Voice Recognition Game!”
Ah, I think I remember hearing about those.
Even among major games, there are some that utilize voice recognition, but it’s not common to use that as the main content. Even if it’s fun for a time or two, playing such a game alone can feel kind of awkward.
Besides, even if it’s called voice recognition, the tech that actually recognizes ‘voice’ is more advanced than you’d think. When the language changes, it has to be developed anew, so usually, it just reacts to the loudness of the sound. You might have to blow into the microphone or, on the other hand, not breathe or scream.
The most unique indie game I saw was one where you had to shout while controlling the pitch of your voice.
“Tada!”
But the game Claire brought out was a bit different from that.
It seemed like a completely new type of game.
It looked like a side-scrolling shooting game.
“This isn’t an officially released game yet; it’s a shooting game being developed by an indie game maker in the U.S.”
Having accumulated experience from streaming so far, Claire skillfully explained the game.
From what I heard, the game itself was a very difficult bullet hell shooting game if you just played normally.
However, there’s one unique aspect about this seemingly standard shooting game – the ‘bombs.’
In typical shooting games, you have a few lives, and there’s a super attack where you wipe out all enemies with a barrage. In this game, you can use those bombs infinitely. Magical girls confront enemies with courage, after all.
But, those bombs can’t just be used by pressing a button—
“You have to say the designated lines to use them!”
“…Wait a minute, Claire.”
I pressed my nose with my fingers as I spoke.
“Can voice recognition honestly be that detailed in a game made by one person?”
“Of course not. That’s why the creator said, ‘It’s up to the magical girl’s conscience.’”
“……”
“Actually, if we look at the system, you can just scream for a certain amount of time to launch the bombs. You don’t even have to use your own voice; you can play a pre-recorded sound or just blow into the microphone. But!”
There are witnesses in the form of viewers.
This is clearly a game for streamers.
“From now on, we’re going to take turns playing this game. There’s only one stage since it’s still in development, but I heard the difficulty is higher than other bullet hell shooting games. Since it hasn’t had a balance patch, random bullets can lead to situations where you can’t avoid them at all. So it’s better to get rid of bullets beforehand!”
[LOL]
[Where did this crap game come from? LOL]
Viewers reacted in awe after hearing Claire’s explanation.
[Anyone try to clear it within the broadcast?]
Ding!
A mission was immediately placed. The mission amount was 100,000 won.
[Last place gets a three-person dance time.]
Ding!
This time, someone placed another mission. Again, it was 100,000 won.
That’s free money, but… why does it feel so unsatisfying?
“Alright, alright.”
Claire’s eyes sparkled as she said that, then she looked at us.
I glanced back at Claire and the others.
Alice and Charlotte’s expressions seemed similar to mine. It didn’t look good. But somehow, they seemed confident.
Those two were surely good at motion detection. If I had them play a different game instead, they’d likely do fine. They struggled at first because they weren’t familiar with the controls, but they typically performed above average in purely physical games.
So, what face would Mia make, who had lesser physical abilities—
“Oooh!”
Having heard Claire’s explanation, Mia was shining with excitement.
Ah right.
She’s still watching that magical girl anime.
Moreover, her outfit was the closest to a magical girl’s among the five of us.
[Mia is so cute.]
[Agreed.]
Seeing Mia enjoying herself alone, people reacted like that.
This… I guess I can’t avoid it.
I held back a sigh that was about to escape.
“Oh, by the way, you can’t just imitate someone else’s lines. Originally, magical girls have different identities.”
Do you also watch magical girl shows?
When our eyes met, Claire grinned.
Could it be that she set this Halloween setup as a buildup for the broadcast?
What a scary kid, seriously.
For a moment, I felt like I was looking at Claire from the game.
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