NOVEL WEB Chapter 26
[VTuber Thread 64 About Izumi Kainoh]
…
38. Finally, today’s the day!
39. But isn’t that game the super scary one everyone’s been talking about? Is Mei-chan okay?
40. Tried it, and it’s seriously scary. I’m not sure if Mei-chan can handle it, lol.
41. It’s received so many awards that it’s at the top of the recent horror games.
42. Crying is a definite, lol.
…
64. The first VTuber avoiding a horror game so much that she doesn’t want to broadcast it, lol.
65. The teaser video was really scary. Honestly, I freaked out watching it.
66. I probably wouldn’t want to play it either.
67. I wonder if Mei-chan can clear it.
…
94. Surprise off-collab just dropped!
95. Isn’t this the first off-collab among the second-gen members?
96. That’s right, it’s the first.
97. Who would have thought Mei-chan’s name would be on the first off-collab for second-gen…
98. It’s a real surprise I could never imagine.
[Virtual YouTuber Minor Gallery]
[Title: ??? – I Tried to Graduate Because I Didn’t Want to Play a Horror Game]
[Posted by: ooo]
This is a Yeo-sang moment, wow.
https://ontu.be/XXXXXXX
[Recommended: 51 / Not Recommended: 21]
ooo: Is this real?
└ooo: Would I be asking if it wasn’t?
Mei-chan Love: Don’t slander our Mei-chan, you bastards!
Es: So Izumi is leaving like this, huh…
hgc: This is a major Yeo-sang moment…
ooo: Does this person have any sense of responsibility as a VTuber?
…
Maker: These bastards are just spinning a whole load of nonsense again, damn it.
Prince: They say it’s fake!
ooo: So Suzuha recommended a terrifying game to scare Izumi into graduating, right?
└ooo: That’s exactly it, lol.
Hujippy: The game spinning technique is ridiculous, lol.
[Title: I Heard Suzuha’s Sitting Behind Mei-chan Right Now?]
[Posted by: I’m heading to meet them now]
Looks like it’s already an off-collab?
https://ontu.be/XXXXXXX
[Recommended: 68 / Not Recommended: 5]
Hwasin’s Opponent: No, damn it.
└Hwasin’s Opponent: Why is it always when I’m working?
└ooo: Is your work really more important than your fave?
└Hwasin’s Opponent: Only if I work can I send hyper chats, you bunch of bastards!
└ooo: You’re a disappointment who isn’t unemployed like me?
└ooo: Was I the only one taking VTubing seriously?
└ooo: You bad guys.
└ooo: That’s too harsh…
Suzuiz: Pya pya pya pya pya!
That’s just who I am!
Please just let me stay as my own nerdy, low-tier Mei-chan…
└ooo: You’re a trash who can’t even wish for your fave’s happiness, lol.
ooo: Izumi doesn’t collab with anyone other than Suzuha / Suzuha talks about Izumi the most among her peers during broadcasts.
└ooo: That’s totally true, ooo.
World’s Best Angel Suzu-chan: Thank you, thank you, thank you!
★
“W-Wait, it’s not that kind of relationship…”
As I shouted, Suzuha Koga, who had been sitting on the bed behind me, stood up and came over to my side.
“Suzuha~! From Star’s Flow, the angel who wants everyone to praise her, I’m Suzuha Koga!”
-Suzuha!
-Suzuha!
“As Izumi just said, I was invited over to the house to hang out together like this.”
“Y-You made me invite you forcefully, though…”
“Hmm? What’s that?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.”
-lol
-Since Suzuha-chi decided the game, it’s not completely wrong.
-Recommending a game like that to someone who hates horror games so much…
“But is there a chair I can use?”
“W-Would it be okay if I just sat on the bed behind me?”
“…Hmmm.”
A horror game in front and Suzuha Koga beside me?
There’s no way my mental strength can withstand this.
Just having her right next to me is automatically making me shrink away.
The bed isn’t that far away either, so this is probably for the best.
“But if you sit behind me, my voice won’t get heard in the broadcast, right?”
“It’s fine! I’ll just reassure you if I get scared!”
Even though Suzuha claimed it was for the broadcast, I turned her down without hesitation.
Because I’m way more important than the broadcast, it’s only natural.
-We’re not okay.
-The off-collab loses its meaning.
-Was it too early for Mei-chan to have an off-collab?
…
“Then, you just have to sit behind me, right?”
“Yeah?”
Suzuha said that and slowly opened the door to step outside.
What’s this ominous feeling?
“Here we go.”
And true to that ominous feeling, Suzuha came back into the room, carrying a chair used for the dining table.
“Uh, uh, Suzuha…?”
“Uptah!”
Thud! The sound of the chair being set down resonated.
Right behind me, of course.
“I’m sitting behind you now!”
“Ugh!”
Suzuha’s breath brushed against my neck.
That spine-chilling sensation made me jump and lean back.
“Eep?!”
My head bumped against Suzuha’s head.
“Su-Suzuha?!”
-What was that?
-Did something happen?
-The sound was crazy loud.
As the thumping noise echoed from behind, worried comments started popping up in the chatroom quickly.
But those comments were only on my mind for a moment.
“S-Suzuha! Are you okay? I-I-I…”
I immediately took off my headphones, stood up, and looked back.
The chair had fallen beside the bed rather than on the other side, lying sideways.
And Suzuha was sitting there, gripping her head and tightly closing her eyes.
“Ugh…”
I could faintly hear Suzuha’s groans.
My head went completely blank.
“Uuuh…”
“I-I’m sorry! I think I went too far with the joke…”
“Waaaah!”
“No, no, I-I’m really okay, Izumi! I’m not hurt at all!”
“I-I’m so sorry, ugh! I-I’m just a foolish idiot who gets startled by light pranks, ugh. I always bring trouble onto others, ugh…”
“No. I was at fault! I’m sorry for pulling such a prank knowing it would scare you.”
“Ugh, it’s not your fault. It’s just because I’m an idiot…”
★
…Having been reincarnated, I somehow feel like I’ve become a lot more emotional than in my previous life.
I thought I’d be in a similar mental state because I remembered my past life, but here I am, crying over even the tiniest things.
Is this what they call the effects of female hormones or something?
“…I’m really sorry.”
“No, no, it’s totally my fault for the situation here…”
In simple terms, I’m saying I’m completely embarrassed right now.
Suzuha reassured me that she wasn’t hurt at all, but it took me ten minutes to stop my tears.
Crying like this in front of others…
Ugh, the dignity of my past life as a man in my 40s…
Fortunately, the broadcast was muted by Suzuha, who simply explained the situation instead of letting me completely bawl my eyes out.
“U-Um, Suzuha was caught off guard because I was shocked seeing her lying there…”
Honestly, at that moment, my mind went completely blank, and before I knew it, tears were flowing down.
Immediately after, Suzuha recovered and reassured me, but seeing my foolish self for not being able to take the joke only made my emotions go haywire.
In summary, I couldn’t handle a joke, and Suzuha almost got hurt. > I’m a pathetic person who can’t handle light jokes. > Therefore, Suzuha almost got hurt. > I’m a pathetic person who can’t even handle light jokes… This Möbius strip of logic led me to cry for ten minutes straight.
…So embarrassing.
Suzuha probably lost all respect for me with this sight.
This collab was definitely the last one…
“Izumi! You’re having weird thoughts again, aren’t you?”
“Y-Yeah, what do you mean?!”
“Your face clearly says, ‘Suzuha must be disappointed in me. Maybe this collab will be the last…’”
“B-But it’s not like that?!”
How did she know?!
“I told you, this was all my fault. Don’t feel guilty for no reason.”
“I just…”
“Alright! Then let’s promise we’ll do a collab at least once a month! Then you won’t have to worry!”
“R-Really…?”
“…Ugh, yes! It’s a promise.”
“Hehe…”
“Hah, for real…”
“What?”
“Nothing at all…”
What a relief. I won’t have to lose my first friend in this life.
“Okay then, let’s get back to broadcasting.”
“Y-Yeah, let’s do that.”
“And for now, I’m going to sit next to Izumi.”
“…Huh?”
W-What does that mean…?
“That makes sense. If I suddenly startle you from behind, you would be shocked, right?”
“W-Well, I guess that’s true…”
Honestly, I had no confidence.
I was already shakily scared of the horror game, and if someone suddenly spoke to me from behind, I’d probably drop dead.
“At least sitting next to me means that’s unlikely to happen. And if you do fall while playing, I can catch you.”
“I-I could totally catch you even if you were on the bed…”
“Sorry, but I can’t reach you from down here.”
Ugh, the fact that Suzuha is the shortest among us is getting in the way here.
“…I had a rude thought again, didn’t I?”
“N-No, really?!”
How does she keep knowing?!
“Well, anyway, for this off-collab, my seat is next to Izumi.”
“…Y-Yeah, okay.”
I want to cry….
★
“Ugh, ugh…”
“Are you really that scared, and we haven’t even started?”
Suzuha looked at me, concern dotted across her face.
…She’s the one who suggested the game.
“B-But just the waiting screen is so terrifying…”
The waiting screen before ‘Dawn Doesn’t Break’ is dark and eerie enough to make anyone tense just by looking at it.
Blood is, of course, flowing on the ground, and flies swarm around the decaying corpses while zombies glare at the players with bulging veins.
The sound effects are so realistic that I can’t help but jump every time there’s a scratching sound like nails on a chalkboard.
And with Suzuha sitting next to me, my anxiety level doubles.
-You’re really scared, huh?
-Cute.
-I bet you’ll cry midway, huh?
-I bet 100% you will.
“A-A am not going to cry!”
My tear ducts had already dried up after I had cried earlier.
Heh, I’m now a person who can’t cry over horror games, right?
Sure, my body is shaking, but that’s just the game triggering my primal fear.
“If you think I’ll cry, I’ll set a challenge for the hardest difficulty of ‘Arcana Shooter.’”
“S-Suzuha?!”
-That’s a bit too safe, isn’t it? Lol.
-Setting ‘Arcana Shooter’ as the challenge means there’s no need to watch it, right?
-Honestly, does anyone even bet on you not crying?
‘Arcana Shooter’ is a bullet hell game where players explore the world with fantastical beings.
And the reason Suzuha mentioning this game got the chat room buzzing was that it’s optimized for long endurance broadcasts.
Even the lowest difficulty has some unreasonably high patterns.
This game became famous for its atrocious controls, leading players to doubt if it’s even a recent release.
Even clearing the last stage of the lowest difficulty level is akin to beating the high difficulty of other bullet hell games.
And now, a challenge based on the hardest difficulty endurance broadcast?
In other words, what Suzuha just declared is tantamount to her declaring that I’m definitely going to cry.
“Puhaha. Okay, well! I-I’ll show my absolute sincerity too!”
The sounds of zombies and the eerie rain echoed through my headphones, reverberating in my ears.
The calm before the storm.
I won’t bother refuting what the chat is saying about me crying.
Material proof of whether or not I’m pathetic will show in results.
-How about calming that trembling voice first?
“Shut up?!”
But hey, being scared and trembling isn’t something I can help!