The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

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【Labyrinthos VR Gallery】

[General] Breaking News: That Dark Knight Got Banned

(Ban Wave History)

“Yeah, it’s not in the ban wave, so it’s not an alt account~”

“After spamming whiny posts, turns out it wasn’t a secondary account, was it? It was the main account, wasn’t it?”

“They blamed it on their inherent personality while brazenly playing ranked games, huh?”

“No skill~ Weak mentality~ Reports didn’t stick~”

“If you’re just a worthless ^worm^, upvote~”

[Comments]

– Why are you even stanning a non-pro player?

ㄴ (OP) Maybe your fav content creator got smacked and now you’re all shaken up?

– Lousy bug, ouch~!

– Where did all those whiny posters go? LOL

– Did they delete their account and make a new one to smurf?

ㄴ (OP) Nope~ They were playing Heroes queue just two weeks ago~

ㄴ No proof it’s the same person, though?

ㄴ (OP) Isn’t it suspicious that the day they quit Heroes is the same day they started Labyrinthos? They haven’t played Heroes since starting Labyrinthos, right?

ㄴ It could be a coincidence, so that’s not evidence.

ㄴ (OP) By that logic, there’s no proof they made a new account either~

– But they’re definitely being a bad sport, right?

ㄴ (OP) Nope~ Even though the jerks reported them, they’re still queuing just fine~ The admins basically confirmed they’re not a bad sport~

===

“…This is dizzying.”

In the taxi, Rion unconsciously rubbed her forehead.

After hearing from Manager Lee Jungwoo and checking the community site, she found out that her cousin had become a superstar.

Rion couldn’t fathom how this happened. After all, she was probably the person who knew Laura best.

‘It looks like never losing and dismembering people are the problem….’

It seemed like this all happened because her cousin was just too good at the game.

That older cousin of hers was freakishly good at games, to the point where sometimes she didn’t even seem human.

That’s what talent is, but Rion knew it wasn’t just raw talent that made her successful. Wasn’t she someone who poured most of her life into games, excluding sleep?

So, Rion felt it was only natural that Laura excelled at Labyrinthos.

If Laura was dismembering people… there had to be a reason.

Though her cousin was somewhat arrogant, she wasn’t someone who would engage in bad behavior. She was someone who purely enjoyed the game.

So, there was no way Laura would do anything to dishonor the game.

“We’ve arrived.”

Screech. The taxi came to a halt.

Arriving at her destination, Rion stopped her train of thought. Though she was concerned about Laura’s situation, she started to feel it might be a waste of time to worry any further.

Laura was probably at home right now, playing games without a care in the world, clueless about what was going on in the community.

Even if she saw the community burning up, Rion could easily imagine her saying, “Oh, is that so? I’d rather keep queuing.” or something like that.

She was truly a game-obsessed unnie….

Laura was the kind of person who wouldn’t flinch even if a meteor fell from the sky.

It seemed far more practical for Rion to focus on her own issues rather than worry about Laura.

As soon as she got out of the taxi, Rion made a phone call.

[Hello?]

“It’s me. I just arrived.”

[You can come in after entering the passcode.]

-Beep

The call ended as soon as the necessary information was conveyed. …Isn’t that a bit rude?

However, since Rion was used to being treated similarly by Aurora, she didn’t feel much about it.

Following the instructions, Rion entered the apartment passcode and headed up to the 12th floor.

And then, Rion… came face to face with a trash heap.

“Ugh, the smell….”

The air was stuffy, with no proper ventilation, and the strong odor of food mixed in, creating a terrible stench.

As she stepped into the living room, she saw empty disposable containers lying around. It seemed like they had ordered strongly scented food.

The kitchen sink was piled high with dirty dishes, and a basket overflowing with laundry was left unattended.

Rion walked on the slightly sticky floor, due to the lack of proper cleaning, and headed to the innermost room.

“Ah, you’re here, senior?”

A woman greeted Rion with a casual expression.

Empty plastic bottles and cans were scattered on the floor, clothes were thrown all over the bed, and used tissues littered the desk.

“…Sorry to say this right after arriving, but can’t you at least clean up a bit?”

“It’s too bothersome.”

“It’s bothersome, but everyone else still does it.”

“It’s my house, so why does it matter?”

Matter?

Rion could easily predict that bugs would eventually appear, which could cause trouble for the neighbors as well.

However, Rion knew that saying anything wouldn’t change her. After all, she had looked after Aurora long enough to know that habits and manners aren’t things that can be altered by someone else’s words.

“By the way, is it true that you’ll be my manager now, Senior?”

She—the VTuber ‘Shiroki Anna’—spoke.

Of course, ‘Shiroki Anna’ was her VTuber name.

Her real name was Jeon Sojin, if Rion remembered correctly. That should be it.

But Rion would never call her Jeon Sojin.

In the world of streaming, Jeon Sojin had to live as the VTuber ‘Shiroki Anna,’ and if her real name slipped out, it would break the immersion for the viewers.

Thus, even in real life, VTubers never called each other by their real names. A slip-up during a broadcast could lead to a disaster.

“It seems that way, at least for a while.”

Rion said as she pulled up a chair to sit down.

-Rion, you’ll be working as Anna’s manager for the time being.

-Anna’s previous manager is going on parental leave, so we were about to hire a new manager for her.

-Just take it lightly, as a way to get used to the manager job. Anna isn’t the type to need much attention, so it shouldn’t be too difficult.

-You’re diligent, so I’m sure you’ll do well.

And so, it was decided.

…Thrown right into the field as soon as she signed the contract. And she hadn’t even properly learned the ropes of being a manager yet.

Rion was inwardly surprised at how haphazardly things were being handled.

“Is that so? I look forward to working with you.”

Anna gave a small nod of greeting. Her face was as indifferent as ever.

Shiroki Anna was a 5th generation VTuber under EYEAI.

She was Rion’s junior by about a year.

It was a strange feeling. Just after deciding to retire as a VTuber, Rion found herself becoming a manager for her junior.

But in a way, Rion felt relieved that it was Anna.

Being a manager for a 1st or 2nd generation senior would have been awkward, and it would have been uncomfortable being a manager for her 4th generation peers.

On the other hand, Anna from the 5th generation… was easy to deal with in some ways. Anna wasn’t the type to care much about others, and she was generally unperceptive.

In other words, Rion didn’t have to be overly concerned about her.

“For now, I haven’t received a proper handover from the previous manager. So, if you need anything, just let me know.”

“Something I need…. I can’t think of anything off the top of my head.”

Anna tilted her head slightly.

“I just replaced the streaming equipment recently, and though one ASMR mic is broken, I have a spare, so it’s fine…. There’s nothing particularly wrong, so I don’t know what else to say.”

“Is there anything scheduled? Like going to a studio for a song recording, getting an advertisement deal, attending an offline event, or appearing on another stream?”

“None of that. I don’t really want to do those things…. It’s too bothersome….”

Anna scratched her belly. …Was she lacking motivation?

Come to think of it, Rion hadn’t interacted much with Anna before. Given the gap between their generations and the fact that Anna focused more on solo streams than collaborations, there hadn’t been many opportunities for them to cross paths.

So, from afar, Rion had always seen Anna as the ‘perpetually low-energy junior,’ but meeting her in person, she seemed more like a lazy recluse.

She certainly didn’t require much attention, but was Rion really stuck with this kind of person…?

“Then, as a VTuber, is there anything you want to do going forward? Anything you’d like me to support?”

“Something I want to do…. I do want to participate in a tournament.”

“A tournament?”

Anna nodded.

“The Labyrinthos VR Streamer League.”

***

[There’s a streamer who wants to participate in a Labyrinthos tournament… So, I was wondering if you, unnie, could teach her a bit….]

That’s what Rion said.

A tournament, huh?

“You mean a pro gamer tournament?”

[Not quite. It’s a private tournament that only streamers can join. This time, it’s a bit larger in scale, but it’s not as prestigious as a pro gamer tournament.]

“I had no idea there were streamer tournaments.”

Rion had no knowledge of the streamer scene at all.

[There’s a rank requirement for participating in streamer tournaments, but this girl has a really low rank….]

“So, you’re asking me to impart some wisdom, right?”

[Y-Yeah…. …Would that be okay?]

“Hmm.”

I didn’t really want to.

It wasn’t a request that piqued my interest.

I was busy with my own gaming; why would I have time to help someone else with theirs?

Someone who wanted to get involved in streamer broadcasts might have accepted this job, but unfortunately, I had no such interest.

I had never even taught my cousin Rion how to play games, so why would I teach a complete stranger?

[They said they’d pay for your time.]

“Tell me more.”