NOVEL WEB Chapter 23
[Virtual YouTuber Minor Gallery]
[Title: Mei-chan Surprise Collaboration!]
[Written by: The Ultimate Socialite Mei-chan]
Yes, that’s our lovely and adorable geek Mei-chan!
https://ontu.be/XXXXXXX
[Recommend: 13 / Disagree: 1]
Hashin’s Opponent is Beastman: Oh
└Hashin’s Opponent is Beastman: I’m working, damn it, lol
└Yeah: Is work more important than your favorite?
└Hashin’s Opponent is Beastman: I need to work to send hyper chats to Mei-chan, you jerk!
└Yeah: Ah!
Yeah: Is this for real?
└Yeah: Then would it be fake?
Suzuizu: Suzuizu really exists…!
└Yeah: Season 1’s miraculous revival, whoa!
Our Mei-chan must be watching: Is this fate for the Starfl 2nd generation? Whoa!
★
[It’s okay, Izumi. It’s just a little scary at first, but you’ll get used to it soon.]
“I-I don’t want to! Koga-san, P-please just once….”
[No way. A promise is a promise.]
Why did it come to this?
If I had to pinpoint a mistake, it’s my fault, but I never wanted this.
[Come on, just give up and accept it.]
“Eeeek!”
Koga-san, saying that, looked rather pleased….
★
“How about it? I-I can do it too! Hurry and praise me!”
-Wow, that’s amazing!
-So touching!
-So how did you call it? Did Starfl make you do this?
Did they really think I would suggest a collab first? The chatroom was full of questions.
“Um, no, actually, I-I suggested it first.”
[This morning, Izumi-san proposed the collaboration, and I agreed.]
-Oooh…
-You’ve really grown!
-The vibe maker Mei-chan scheduled a collab on the same day, whoa!
“Hmm.”
The doubts about Koga-san’s words disappeared, and the praises for me began to increase.
Moreover, the mood that had soured earlier because of that Mycaron had almost disappeared.
Are you watching, another me?
This scene created by your sacrifice, I will never forget….
[So, today’s collaboration theme is just chit-chat, right, Izumi-san?]
“Eh?”
[Hmm?]
…This is bad.
I thought I should collaborate this time, but I hadn’t prepared any content for it!
B-but that Mycaron was hard, you know?
I was just thinking about managing to hold a collab somehow.
[Um, do you have absolutely nothing prepared?]
Koga-san’s voice began to fill with anxiety.
“W-well…!”
…Imagine it.
Always the vibe maker, myself…!
With that mind, I’ll become a super socialite and overcome this crisis!
“Uh, th-there’s nothing, I’m sorry….”
-Haha, no way, this is a bit…
-Collaboration proposal (nothing planned)
-This is, a vibe maker…?
-Isn’t this a bit too harsh, Mei-chan…?
Seeing the problems arise from the start, I really might not be cut out for collaborations.
Know thyself (γνῶθι σεαυτόν)
It’s that Greek phrase meaning “Know Yourself,” known as a quote from Socrates, but actually inscribed in the pillars of the Delphi Temple.
Oh, I see….
I lost because I imagined I could become a socialite and vibe maker without really knowing myself….
[Whew. When I asked about the plan earlier, I figured you’d change the mood with this Mycaron and then take the conversation elsewhere, but I expected it a bit….]
Koga-san’s sigh echoed loudly in my ears.
That sigh felt like the anger of God, making me shrink even though no one was around.
What if I just ended the collab here?
Such thoughts began to creep up.
[Well, since it’s Izumi-san, there’s no helping it. How about we continue reading the Mycaron we were discussing earlier? I’ll answer what I can. And now that you know I’m here, live Mycarons will start coming in too.]
But thankfully, the great angel Koga did not give up on me.
Is she a goddess…?
“Th-thank you….”
[No problem. I should have thought that something like this could happen with you, Izumi-san. But next time, if I have a wish, could you grant just one?]
“Eh? Oh, understood….”
-Lol that fits
-I knew if something happened with Mei-chan, it would be a disaster…
-Pay the price
Koga-san’s avatar was surely smiling, but for some reason, I felt like she was glaring at me with cold eyes.
Well, even if that’s true, I don’t have anything to say right now…
B-but Koga-san wouldn’t wish for something ridiculous, right?
“Okay! Then shall we go back to Mycaron!”
[Hiizuumi!]
[Who do you talk to the most?]
“Koga-san!”
I could say this confidently.
Koga-san, Utsumi-san, Akabane-san, Aki-chan.
All of them are kind enough to talk to me to some degree, but the one I contact the most is indeed Koga-san.
[Huh?]
But Koga-san seemed to question something about that fact.
“D-did I say something wrong, Koga-san?”
Is it possible she contacts other classmates more than me?
Sure, that could be, but I don’t really want to know that information!
[No, well. The classmate I contact the most is Izumi-san, but can we really call that a conversation?]
“Eh?”
Now it was my turn to question that.
I tried to think about it, but Koga-san’s voice kept going.
[Aside from the collaboration proposal we talked about today, Izumi-san hasn’t once contacted me first.]
“B-but that is….”
That’s true, but as someone with communication impairment, I thought initiating a topic might lead to awkwardness…
[Well, while I understand it’s because I know Izumi-san’s personality, even when I try to bring it up, your responses are mostly short. If I don’t ask specific questions, your usual replies are just ‘yes’ or ‘no’, right? Especially recently, it’s gotten worse.]
“Y-Yeah.”
[Can we really call that a conversation?]
Koga-san’s words were like daggers piercing me, and I couldn’t respond.
What is this?
Isn’t it supposed to be my show? Why am I the one being punished here?
Naturally, the chatroom was already ablaze.
-So this is the bond of the 2nd generation?
-Suzuizu doesn’t exist…
-But isn’t Mei-chan being too harsh here?
-Was today’s collaboration for this revelation?
But looking back, this is a bit unfair.
[Well, I just teased Izumi-san who hadn’t prepared properly today….]
“W-were you lying when you said you were happy to talk every day earlier?!”
[…Huh?]
-?
-What do you mean?
“You said you felt good being able to talk to each other every day earlier!”
[H-Huh?! W-what are you saying! It’s been a while but I said it’s fine as long as we talk every day!]
“That’s not true! You clearly said it was good! Even if you said it was okay, I could hear that you felt good inside!”
My delusions are proof of that!
[That’s just an unreasonable interpretation, Izumi!]
-The chaos, lol
-There are doubts about their relationship (•ﾟдﾟ•)
-By the way, Suzuha’s RP just broke, lol
-This is getting interesting
Okay, the flow of the chatroom has shifted to my side.
“Not unreasonable, that’s my true feelings!”
[That’s heartfelt nonsense, I bet!]
★
Eventually, our argument, which lasted about 10 minutes, concluded in a draw.
“It was a good match, Koga-san….”
[Can you not wrap this up in strange words….]
Forget it.
By the way, Koga-san seemed to have resigned, switching to informal speech like she would in a DM.
“It’s going according to plan….”
[Stop with the odd words and let’s quickly move to the next Mycaron.]
“Okay.”
I checked, and there were quite a few Mycaron questions piled up in that 10 minutes.
…Well, there were a lot of unnecessary questions because of the argument earlier, but let’s just skip those for now.
[Hiizuumi! Suzuha!]
[Does Mei-chan and Suzuha like movies?]
“Hmm, movies? I-I don’t particularly like movies….”
That’s because movies have to be watched at the cinema, right?
And the cinema is a symbol of socialites?
If I go there, there might be a mass slaughter by my socialite death beam…
In other words, I’m protecting world peace by not going to the cinema, I can say that.
Well, technically, movies can be watched at home too, but I hardly ever think I’d want to go out of my way to do so.
“The only movies I watch are enough with anime theatrical releases that I see at home.”
[I quite like them, especially dramas.]
“K-Koga-san is such a socialite…!”
Drama movies, huh.
A genre where the protagonist grows and moves people, definitely optimized for socialites.
If a recluse like me sees that, I’d burn up like a vampire seeing sunlight.
[Seems like it’s not something I should be associated with….]
-That’s true
-Aren’t you just a Hikikomori, Mei-chan?
“I-I said before, I’m NOT a Hikikomori?! Next!”
I’m just a perfectly healthy recluse who knows how to go out normally.
No, now that I have friends like Koga-san and Izutomo, I’m practically a super socialite.
I can’t let this unfounded accusation of being a Hikikomori damage my pride.
Wait a moment. Does that mean I could die from my socialite death beam?
[Hiizuumi!]
[Do you like horror games?]
“Ah, totally hate them.”
I can say that without hesitation.
Horror games are the worst genre of games.
Because I’m completely defenseless against that stuff.
That’s how bad it is, that I watch “There’s No Absolute Ending,” which was a stepping stone for Natsune, trembling and barely breathing.
If it wasn’t for Natsune playing, I wouldn’t have looked at it at all.
No matter how much I’m an all-genre-otaku, there are definitely things I can’t handle.
Why would I waste time suffering like that?
That’s just masochism.
[I neither like nor dislike them? Ah, but I enjoy watching others play.]
-Then let Mei-chan play, and Suzuha can watch!
“No way!”
[Oh, I think that’s a good idea….]
Huh?
[Then I’ll use that wish for Izumi to play a horror game.]
“…Huh?”
My thoughts stalled.
Just now, I felt I heard something strange?
[I’ll pick the game and let you know later in a DM.]
“W-wait a moment! I-it’s just a joke, right, Koga-san?”
Crying? Am I really going to cry?
Do you want to see a 40-year-old’s ugly crying?
[It’s okay, Izumi. It’s only a bit scary at first; you’ll get used to it quickly, I’m sure.]
“I-I don’t want to! Koga-san, P-please just once….”
[N-no way. A promise is a promise.]
Why did it come to this?
If I had to pinpoint a mistake, it’s my fault, but I never wanted this.
[Come on, just give up and accept it.]
“Eeeek!”
Koga-san, saying that, looked rather pleased….
In the end, I decided to collaborate with Koga-san on a horror game on August 30, two days before the vacation ended.
★
[Koga Suzuha: If you’re that scared, should I be with you in reality on the 30th?]