The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

[When I realize it, I’m always searching.]

[For the definition of happiness or a place to discard sadness.]

[From birth to the end of my life.]

With wireless earphones plugged in, Sora pressed her ears tightly.

If she had been at home, she would have shut herself off with a headset, but it wasn’t feasible to bring such a big item all the way here.

It felt like she had settled into an inner world, separated from reality.

As if her body was slowly sinking into the music, and once her vision was completely obscured, it seemed like there was nothing left in the world but the song.

“Huu… I feel calmer.”

Sora let out a breath.

Music really was the best. It was like a drug and sex.

‘Am I actually mentally weak?’

She had never thought of herself as mentally weak before. However, seeing how her emotions had been like a rollercoaster recently, she began to seriously consider assessing her mental durability.

The good thing was that her mental recovery was fast. No matter how down she felt, after listening to or singing a few songs, she usually felt better.

Of course, since her peers were waiting for her now, listening to just one song was the limit.

Sora quickly washed her hands and stepped out of the restroom.

“You’re here?”

Waiting outside the restroom was Aurora, standing idly by, and they met eyes right away.

Sora looked around, but there was no sign of anyone else.

“Are you alone? Where are the others?”

“Yes. Inagika said she was going to make a quick call to her family. Chel said she’d wait outside.”

It seemed that Rion also had some things to organize. Things like the monetization contract she signed today or keeping a record of the things they discussed.

And so, Sora found herself alone with Aurora.

‘I’m getting used to this…’

Earlier, in the meeting room, she couldn’t help but glance at Aurora’s face, but after seeing it repeatedly, she felt a bit more familiar with it now.

Still, she deliberately turned her gaze away, fearing that if she let her guard down, her eyes would wander back again.

“Huh? What about your parasol?”

Sora noticed Aurora’s empty hands.

“Where’s your parasol? And weren’t you carrying a handbag too?”

“You have a good memory. You’re right, I did bring my parasol and handbag today.”

“I’m asking where you left them.”

“It seems I left them in the meeting room.”

So, Sora and Aurora headed back to the meeting room.

When they opened the door, the handbag was, of course, still sitting where Aurora had been seated.

“Ah, I did leave it here.”

Aurora nodded a couple of times and exited the meeting room—without picking up either her handbag or parasol.

She really just closed the door and walked out.

“? Why are you coming out empty-handed?”

“Oh dear, I must’ve made a mistake.”

Aurora rubbed her cheek as if embarrassed.

“Noblewomen usually walk around with their hands free. They leave the little things to their servants, and noblewomen only move their bodies, don’t they?”

“…So? What are you trying to say?”

“I’m still not used to carrying things like parasols myself.”

“…”

What nonsense was that…

Was she joking? …But she didn’t seem like the type to joke.

‘Did she really grow up in a rich family…?’

That was the kind of atmosphere she gave off.

Honestly, even if someone told me she was the daughter of a high-ranking official, I would believe it.

But if she really grew up in such a prestigious family, why would she become a VTuber…? There were quite a few things about Aurora that I just couldn’t understand.

“Sigh…”

Sora shrugged her shoulders and went back into the meeting room.

She picked up the handbag and parasol and handed them over to Aurora.

“Oh my, thank you.”

Aurora smiled sweetly.

…She really was disgustingly pretty.

***

Since it was Sunday, most restaurants were closed. Maybe it was because we were in a business district.

There were many suggestions among the 6th generation members about where to eat lunch, but—

“How about burgers…?”

Inagika, who had been relatively quiet about her opinions until now, suddenly proposed.

“Do you like burgers?”

“Yeah, I guess I eat them pretty often… And they’re doing a collaboration promotion right now…”

“A collaboration?”

“Yeah…”

According to Inagika, it was a collaboration with Blue Record. If you ordered the collaboration set menu, you’d get an in-game coupon and a photocard.

“Let’s go with burgers.”

Even Chel, who had been silent up until now, chimed in.

Since Chel’s main content was streaming Blue Record, it seemed she had a great interest in the photocards.

There weren’t many other options, and I was also curious about what the collaboration felt like.

So, the 6th generation members headed to the burger joint.

We ordered five collaboration set menus, and one of them was packed to go by Rion.

“Enjoy yourselves, 6th gens. …I have to head back to the office.”

“Oh? Is something going on?”

“It’s not that, but since I’m here working on the weekend anyway, I thought I’d get some more work done…”

Rion spoke with a sigh.

It seemed that for VTubers, it was common to stream regardless of weekdays or weekends. In fact, many streamers broadcast more often during weekends, even during the day.

Naturally, the staff often worked on weekends as well.

“It looks like it’ll be a while before I can clock out. You still don’t drive, right?”

“Have you ever seen a noblewoman driving herself?”

“Ugh, there you go again with the role-playing… Fine. I’ll take the car when I leave, so you figure out your own way home.”

And with that, Rion left the restaurant with her packed burger. She really did just pay for the food and leave.

‘Is she trying to make us 6th gen members bond a bit?’

After all, we would soon be doing a peer collaboration stream. Rion probably wanted us to show the viewers that we were close with each other.

Hmm…

Is that even possible?

“Ah, that’s the coupon for Blue Record. And this is the photocard…”

As I fiddled with the items we got with the collaboration set, Inagika spoke up.

“The coupon is for the game, right? What’s the photocard for?”

“It doesn’t really have a purpose… It’s more like a keepsake…”

“I see. Looks like the photocard is a different character than yours.”

“There are four characters in total, and you get one at random each time you buy the collaboration set…”

Inagika explained, her words halting slightly.

Her posture was slightly hunched. She always seemed to shrink back a bit. And there was a slight forward head posture that was noticeable.

Her features weren’t bad, but she was too timid.

People’s beauty often came from their posture and attitude, but Inagika lacked those traits.

‘But she talks better than I thought.’

She seemed a bit excited, too.

When I first met her, she didn’t say much, but maybe she was getting used to the atmosphere now. She was speaking more comfortably.

Though, if you observed carefully, you’d notice that Inagika didn’t really converse with anyone other than me.

She still seemed to find Sora intimidating.

Chel’s reactions weren’t exactly friendly, either.

“…”

Chel remained silent.

She wasn’t as pretty as me, but she was still attractive enough. Some people might even think she was the second prettiest among us.

Her face carried an icy, cold aura. It gave her a unique charm.

But she was utterly emotionless.

I’m not just talking about her expression. She didn’t react to the conversations or actions of those around her at all. It was like she was just going through the motions of finishing what was in front of her.

Even though Inagika and I were having a conversation, Chel just chewed on her fries without a care.

‘She still participates in group activities, though.’

At least she had enough social skills to engage, even if only superficially.

But with how quiet she was, it didn’t seem like it would be easy to get close to her.

Lastly, there was Sora.

Sora had been staring at my face the whole time.

Tap,

Tap,

Taaap.

She hadn’t touched her burger, nor her fries, and just sucked on her straw.

While sipping on her soda, Sora tapped the table lightly with her index finger. She was staring at me, lost in thought.

It seemed like she had been watching me since the meeting room, but it didn’t seem like she had any particular business with me.

Contrary to her usual personality, she wasn’t speaking, as if she was deeply contemplating something.

‘Jealousy? Hmm, maybe not. It doesn’t feel like jealousy.’

Her gaze didn’t carry any hostility. In fact, it seemed like she had some kind of interest in me.

I couldn’t quite grasp Sora’s emotions.

One thing was clear: she was so focused on me that she wasn’t paying any attention to Inagika or Chel. She used to act like she wanted to play the leader among us, but now…

‘Is this collaboration even going to work?’

Just having a meal together didn’t seem like it would make us closer. In fact, it felt like we were a group of people who were inherently hard to get along with.

After thinking for a bit, I finally opened my mouth.

“So, what game are we going to play for the 6th generation collaboration stream?”