[Thank you, thank you!]
[Wow!]
[I’m happy, but this seems a bit much…]
The firepower in the chat was immense.
Well, if I were surrounded by girls who looked just like the heroines from the game, I wouldn’t be able to resist joining in either.
And it’s not even a major game; it’s just some indie game developed by a small company that only a few people know about, so it’s even more tempting.
I wonder if Millennium is watching us?
It would be nice if they were.
I wonder if we could do a collaboration someday.
“But we said it’s a Christmas broadcast, what should we do?”
I asked Claire.
By the way, we’re not in a broadcasting room but in a living room.
We set the camera up temporarily and connected the computer to the TV instead of a monitor. We were using a huge TV as if it were multiple monitors with a capture board.
Even if two guys were missing, there were still nine girls. The broadcasting room wasn’t too cramped, but it wasn’t big enough to accommodate nine people either.
Since we hadn’t done soundproofing here, we promised not to be too loud for now.
Claire held up the console game software that was connected to the TV.
“An intuitive game would be nice, right?”
It was a cart racing game that allowed four players to play at once.
“But before that…”
Claire set the software package aside and said, “Since it’s Christmas, how about we all watch a movie together?”
“I’m not saying we should play the movie on the TV. We’ll watch it, and other people can play it simultaneously from their own TVs or computers.”
Oh, I see.
I guess that sort of content exists—like watching anime together.
“Oh, but of course, you have to pay to watch this. So… um, anyone who really doesn’t want to see it can just chat while watching our stream?!”
Isn’t that a bit irresponsible?
Well, we aren’t exactly people who need money.
It’s not like we live here. We usually stay in Azernar and only come here for some relaxation during holidays, spending the money in our accounts, and then going back.
[Oh, I know this movie!]
[I’m logging in now!]
[It’s been a while; it’s nostalgic.]
[I unsubscribed yesterday, though.]
Various opinions came up in the chat. Most were saying it was a movie they enjoyed from childhood and that it seemed fun, but a few people were grumbling about not subscribing.
Well, if we don’t do something like that, we won’t have much to talk about. Claire, Alice, Charlotte, Mia, and I had plenty to discuss since we’d been together for a long time, but these kids had nothing but tales from Azernar.
“Ah, the boys decided to watch separately in another room, so you don’t have to worry.”
Claire whispered in my ear.
…Well, the two of them are pretty close, but is that alright?
There’s nothing more dreary than two guys watching a movie on Christmas. But then again, for these guys, Christmas isn’t exactly a significant day.
“By the way, what movie are we watching?”
Rena’s eyes sparkled, as she was usually very interested in animated movies.
Having already experienced the concept of animation and movies from this world through the TV, she seemed excited about the movie we were about to watch.
“This one!”
Claire selected a movie from the streaming site and said.
It was quite an old Christmas movie that they used to air every Christmas during my childhood; a movie about a child thwarting thieves trying to invade where he lives.
“I enjoyed it when I was little.”
“Then I picked well.”
Claire replied with a smile.
“Alright, everyone watching, get ready! We’ll start in five minutes!”
Claire shouted at the screen with a grin.
*
“…Seriously, if you keep running around with your feet getting stuck like that, you might lose a leg.”
“That’s brutal…”
Hmm.
Hearing Sofia and Roti’s comments while watching the movie felt a bit strange.
Is it brutal? Well, it kind of is. But this is a movie made for kids, and that brutality is exaggerated like in children’s cartoons.
The problem is that all the kids sitting here have experienced ‘real combat.’
Ordinary people might laugh at seeing a comedic scene where someone steps on a nail, but coming from a background where they’ve fought with swords and guns makes that scene look different.
Wait, did I think it was brutal when I was a kid?
“How did someone become a skeleton and come back?”
Electricity turned them into a skeleton and then they returned to their original state… If you just look at it, you could probably express it that way, but that’s actually an attempt to depict the commonly seen cartoonish scene of “the bones becoming visible in a shocked state” in a somewhat realistic way.
But it seemed that, in Lily’s eyes, it looked like someone suddenly turned into a skeleton and then came back.
Now that I think about it, electricity must be strange to her. Besides, it’s not like you would have bones visible if you were electrocuted.
If you don’t understand cartoonish expressions, it’s natural to react that way.
If anyone enjoyed the movie the most, it was Rena.
She enjoys watching cartoons quite a bit. I only realized this recently.
So, she could naturally understand the cartoonish exaggeration often used in movies from the early 20th century.
But the issue is…
Seeing her bursting with laughter while trying hard to keep her mouth shut among all the kids watching solemnly felt a bit—um, how should I put this?
Honestly, it looked a little creepy.
[The normal among the abnormal is abnormal.]
[Among the newcomers, only one of them is normal.]
[The kid’s concept is heavy too, lol.]
That was the sort of chat that popped up faintly in the corner of the screen.
Well, even if there’s a normal person, standing among the abnormal makes it look abnormal.
Usually, Rena is full of concepts, but for just this moment, she was the opposite.
*
The four people with me had to learn letters to live in this world, but the others didn’t.
Sure, they had ID cards, but they weren’t planning to be serious since they would just be hanging out here before going back.
So, the game Claire chose was a racing game.
As long as you know how to press a button, you can somehow play it, and the items are pretty intuitive.
After finishing the broadcast, we were all engrossed in the game.
I actually had a negative perception of online games. When RPGs go online, there are too many tasks, and when FPSs go online, you’re forced to cooperate.
But playing a game together like this made me understand why people play online games.
Playing with people you know is just so much fun.
“I won…!”
“Ah!”
Just for reference, what we were doing now was the real finals, including the two guys after the broadcast.
The ones who made it to the finals were Claire and Leo.
In a sibling rivalry, the one who won at the end was Leo.
“Is it really that hard to give the finals to your sister?!”
“Who’s calling you sister?”
Claire huffed, and Leo looked utterly dumbfounded.
We laughed watching the two bicker.
The floor was littered with snacks, and there were remnants of the takeout food as well.
Time had already passed midnight. We had lost track of time while playing games.
Now that we had the finals, it was about time to clean up and get ready.
“Tomorrow is a holiday in Azernar, right? Should we just all sleep here and go back tomorrow afternoon?”
Claire made that suggestion while cleaning.
“Then can we watch one more movie?” Rena asked.
“Since tomorrow is a day off, if you can manage it without staying up all night, I will allow it. For those sleeping in the living room, is that okay?”
“Why don’t we all just gather in the living room?” Jake suggested.
“You trust me and Leo not to do anything weird, right? We’d just need to change into our pajamas, right?”
“…”
“What’s the big deal?”
The first person to speak up was Claire.
“As long as you all don’t do anything too weird, isn’t it fine to be in pajamas? Especially you two… you know?”
We all looked at Roti.
“…I will manage it well.”
Then our gaze turned toward Sofia.
“Uh? Me?”
Sofia looked very flustered.
Well, neither of them are dating, and Leo is pretty much oblivious, so they have a long way to go to get closer…
But it would be nice to have at least one person marked.
“I’ll help too.”
Claire sighed deeply and said.
“Well then, let’s watch a movie before we sleep.”
I said that and asked Rena, “What kind of movie would you like to watch?”
“Do you have any recommendations?”
“Me!”
Mia raised her hand excitedly.
“Is it okay if we watch a cartoon?”
“I don’t think that would be a problem.”
Charlotte said with a smile.
Certainly, Rena’s expression brightened up significantly.
I even briefly thought about getting her a figurine or something as a gift.
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