The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

It seemed like it.

Rinco probably had a girlfriend.

“No, that’s not it at all….”

Rinco clutched her forehead.

“At the very least, you should avoid this during working hours. There’s a proper collaboration schedule in place. No matter how passionate you are, there are limits.”

“Laura, trust me. I’m really not into that….”

“I’m joking.”

Since she put me in a difficult spot, I just wanted to tease her a little.

Actually, I had figured out who that person was right away.

“Son Narin. This is the first time we’re meeting like this.”

I looked at her.

She was gasping for air as if it were difficult to breathe, and her eyes couldn’t seem to focus on me.

She definitely looked unwell.

It seemed like either a cold or the flu. Maybe both.

Though her condition was clearly disheveled, her appearance was decent enough.

Not an extraordinary beauty like me or Chel, nor someone with striking looks like Rinco.

She had the kind of atmosphere that you’d associate with a girl who isn’t particularly eye-catching but is quietly pretty.

That kind of vibe seemed to suit Son Narin.

“…You recognized me right away.”

“Your voice was unmistakable.”

“I recognized you immediately too.”

“That’s only natural.”

I took off my sunglasses lightly.

“By the way, Rinco, are you planning to keep me standing here?”

“Oh, right…. Narin, you should come in too. You’re not feeling well; you should be lying down.”

Rinco let me into her apartment first, then helped Son Narin lie down on the bed.

“It’s not a cold, it’s the flu. It’s not contagious, but…”

Rinco spoke with a hint of discomfort.

Rinco’s home was a studio apartment.

“For someone earning quite a bit, why are you living in a place like this?”

“I can’t manage a big house. And living like this lets me save more money.”

It seemed she had her own reasons for staying in a studio.

I, however, didn’t like small spaces.

With the living room and bedroom combined, it felt stifling as a noblewoman.

Thanks to Rinco’s tidiness, it wasn’t intolerable.

Still, I had no choice but to stay in the same space as Son Narin, who was now lying on the bed. It was a studio, after all.

“When did you two start living together?”

“I’ve never lived with Narin…. She contacted me today, so I brought her over.”

“I don’t understand. Are you related by blood?”

“No, we’re not.”

Then I understood even less.

I could guess why Son Narin was staying. Rinco was taking care of her because she was sick.

But why was Rinco the one taking care of her?

The first thing that came to mind was family.

If I got sick, Rion would care for me. Or I would return to my family for support.

Of course, there might be times when family couldn’t help.

But if family couldn’t take care of her, her manager should.

And if not her manager, then her colleagues from the same company, like Mashina or Elenoa.

Rinco, who wasn’t family and worked for a different company, stepping in made no sense to me.

“…I didn’t want people to know I was sick.”

From the bed,

Son Narin’s strained voice reached me.

“Especially the Fantasy League participants…. I didn’t want them to find out, so I asked Rinco-senpai, who is the least involved.”

“You didn’t want people to know?”

“Don’t even get me started, Laura. Narin wanted to do a collaboration broadcast with me in this state.”

Rinco let out a deep sigh.

“A broadcast while sick? Why on earth?”

“Well, Narin doesn’t skip broadcasts unless there’s a very special reason. In other words, if she suddenly stops streaming, it signals that something’s wrong.”

“So, she doesn’t want her viewers to know she’s sick.”

And Narin, for some reason, didn’t want her health condition to be revealed. She wanted to stream no matter what.

“But she’s too unwell to stream alone… so she’s asking me to do a collaboration.”

“She’s relentless.”

“Exactly, she’s relentless. …And stubborn.”

It seemed Rinco had been trying to persuade her all this time, but Narin hadn’t budged an inch.

“Now that Laura-san knows, there’s no helping it…. How about we make it a three-person collaboration?”

She even had the audacity to suggest this.

***

People often said I was serious about everything.

It wasn’t always a compliment. Being overly serious could make things awkward.

I was always ahead in my determination.

But others often couldn’t keep up, which happened far too often.

In those cases, I had no choice but to try alone.

Son Narin was that kind of person.

“No wonder you’re sick. You streamed for 16 hours yesterday.”

Rinco sighed, looking at her phone.

“The tournament’s coming up, so I thought I’d get some practice in.”

“Not just once or twice. You’ve been doing this constantly…. Even office workers only work eight hours a day.”

“Our workload is less intense than theirs. Besides, some office workers do overtime….”

“…Are you sleeping properly?”

“Yes!”

She slept about six hours.

Sometimes, if she woke up early, she’d sleep four hours and start streaming, but in that case, she’d take a nap after lunch.

She thought it was manageable.

But maybe it wasn’t. Perhaps her lack of exercise was taking a toll on her stamina. If she’d known, she would’ve mixed in some workouts.

“Narin, you should take today off….”

“No.”

Streaming was a promise to her viewers.

Narin, who hated breaking promises, despised missing a stream even more.

On top of that, if her viewers realized she was sick, her teammates might be criticized.

SAN Check

Narin was working so hard, yet people would criticize her teammates, saying, “What are you all doing?”

Either way, it was nothing but unpleasant.

So even if her body was in pain, streaming was better for Son Narin’s mental health.

“I see.”

Aurora, who had been casually glancing at Rinco’s phone, murmured.

And then, as naturally as breathing, she perched herself on the bed.

She showed no hesitation, even with Narin lying there.

Swish.

Perched on the bed, Laura turned her gaze toward this side.

Although Narin didn’t show it, she was clearly uncomfortable with her vision.

It seemed hard for her to keep her eyes open. Her exhaustion was evident, and her vision seemed blurry.

Yet her eyes themselves remained strikingly clear.

‘Ah… so beautiful….’

Once again, I found myself thinking that unintentionally.

Human perception is incredibly subjective, easily swayed by intensity.

When you meet those eyes, for a moment, you forget the pain.

It wasn’t particularly unusual. Like when you’re engrossed in a good book or an exciting game, even while battling a cold, you might momentarily forget your discomfort and focus entirely on it.

It felt similar to that.

A bit exotic.

The reddish tint in her eyes and her sculptural features added to the feeling.

And she was surprisingly flexible.

For Laura, perched on the bed, to look this way, she had to twist her waist. Many VTubers tended to have stiff bodies, but at least Laura seemed to have a wide range of motion in hers.

As I observed these details, I realized how close Laura’s face was.

Her black hair spilled down, brushing against Narin’s cheek.

“Laura-san…?”

“I’ll only say this once.”

Laura spoke right in front of her.

Sitting this close reminded Narin of the “Fake Aurora” from the escape room.

The avatar made of polygons couldn’t compare to reality.

Aurora in real life was far more beautiful.

And, above all, she was distinctly different from the fake she had encountered back then.

The current distance was about 20 centimeters…

Or maybe 30.

Unlike the fake, who deliberately brought her face close enough to feel her breath, the real Aurora kept this much distance intentionally.

Aurora only wanted to look at Son Narin’s face.

“Do you really have to stream?”

Her small lips posed the question.

The word “stream” sent a cold chill through Son Narin.

“…I do. I will.”

She hated running away, hated yielding, and hated giving up.

Son Narin answered firmly.

“I see. Got it.”

Then, Laura slowly moved her hand.

As if checking for a fever, Laura’s hand brushed against Narin’s cheek roughly,

And then her forehead──

“But I have no obligation to listen to you.”

Smack!

Laura snapped her fingers.

Her forefinger struck Son Narin’s forehead with precision.

And Son Narin──lost consciousness.

“What?! L-Laura?!”

“Don’t worry. She’s only asleep.”

Laura, having finished her task (the forehead flick), dusted her hands off and stood up from the bed.

“She must’ve been really tired. To faint from just that.”

“The sound was so loud…. Are you sure Narin’s okay…?”

“You don’t need to worry. Who do you think I am?”

Aurora smiled gently.

Aurora couldn’t cook or clean.

But when it came to “delivering strikes to living beings,” she was unparalleled.

“There’s a thing called ‘knockout play,’ where you put someone to sleep by choking them. Without proper knowledge and technique, it’s extremely dangerous. They say it can cause brain damage.”

“Uh…”

Why was she suddenly saying this…?

Rinco couldn’t bring herself to ask.

“But I am the noblewoman of a Great Ducal Family. I have both professional knowledge and skills.”

“Why…why would you even know something like that…?”

“Would you like to know?”

Laura asked.

Ah, no….

I don’t want to know….

“She’s asleep safely, so stop worrying and let’s finish what we need to do.”

“…….”

Rinco couldn’t understand why the verb “asleep” had been modified with “safely.”

This was the very definition of existential dread.

Now then, it’s time for a SAN check.

If you fail, you’ll lose 1d6 sanity points. Would you like to proceed?

Of course, Rinco didn’t want to experience “fundamental fear.”

“Alright! Laura, what do you want to eat?”

Rise and survive.

Grovel and endure.