The Villainess VTuber Tears People Apart

“Did we decide to play a game?”

At my question, Sora tilted her head in confusion. Inagika slowly shook her head.

“We haven’t decided yet… We don’t have to play a game if we don’t want to…”

“Really? But I’d prefer if we did.”

That’s what I said.

From the few collaboration streams I’d seen, if it wasn’t a game, the format was usually one of two: a variety show or a simple talk show.

I thought both required good conversational skills.

In the case of a talk show, pure talking ability was necessary.

As for a variety show, it seemed to require more diverse skills—planning abilities, hosting skills, and so on.

‘With the current 6th generation, it might be tricky either way.’

I wasn’t familiar with variety shows yet.

Even within EYEAI, there weren’t many VTubers who specialized in them. In fact, even across the whole VTuber industry, it seemed there weren’t many who made variety shows their main content.

Stepping into unknown territory isn’t wise. And a simple talk show would be awkward for the 6th generation since we weren’t that familiar with each other yet.

From my experience watching VTuber streams, if there’s dead air, it starts feeling boring.

Since there was a high chance of dead air with us, I thought filling that gap with a game would be a good idea.

“A game… I don’t mind either way…”

“Then, Inagika, why don’t you pick the game?”

“M-Me?!”

“Yes.”

I nodded.

It was clear Sora hardly ever played games, and Chel also seemed to have a narrow range of games she liked.

As for me, I probably played more games than Inagika, but it wouldn’t be a good idea to pick a game based solely on my preferences.

I tended to enjoy games that required control. But if I made Sora play something like Labyrinthos, she’d undoubtedly fall behind.

Inagika was definitely better suited to pick the game.

“But if I pick the game… won’t everyone hate it?”

“Then select a few options and post them in the group chat. At least one of them should suit our tastes, right?”

When I glanced at Sora and Chel, they both nodded, showing no objections.

“Alright… I’ll give it a try…”

Inagika muttered in a small voice.

***

We finished our meal.

In gatherings like this, it’s usually common to head to a café or a karaoke place for a second round after eating, but…

‘…These guys definitely won’t go to a second round.’

Sora glanced at her fellow 6th-gen members.

One, whose thoughts were impossible to read.

Another, who looked like they’d flee at the mention of karaoke.

And one who clearly just wanted to go home and play games.

‘I wouldn’t mind going to karaoke, though.’

But even if we did go together, I didn’t think it’d be fun. It would probably be better to go alone to a coin karaoke booth.

I thought maybe someone might suggest karaoke for the second round, but, of course, that didn’t happen.

“Shall we call it a day, then?”

“I’ll be heading off first.”

It was Chel who responded first to Laura’s muttering.

Chel’s voice was so quiet that it took me a beat to realize it was her speaking.

By the time I noticed, Chel was already standing up with her tray in hand.

“Goodbye.”

Chel gave a slight bow, cleaned up her tray, and quickly left the burger place. It all happened in an instant.

Inagika, noticing the situation, also stood up quietly.

“Then I’ll head off too… My bus is about to leave…”

“Alright. Let’s talk in the group chat later.”

“Y-Yeah…”

With that, Inagika hurried out, while Laura leisurely finished her meal.

She never rushed.

Every movement was graceful, and she even folded her burger wrapper neatly into a square. …It was the first time I’d seen someone do that at a fast-food joint.

“Shall we head out too?”

“Uh, sure…”

Before I knew it, I ended up waiting for Laura. …Then again, it didn’t feel right to leave her behind on her own.

Though it wasn’t my intention, I ended up being the last one with her.

Following Laura, Sora stood up and cleaned her tray, tossed the straw away, and emptied the remaining ice in her cup.

And then she realized Laura didn’t have anything in her hands.

“…Where’s your tray?”

“My tray?”

“No, forget the tray… Where are your handbag and parasol?”

“Oh.”

Laura looked slightly surprised and covered her mouth.

“Well, noble ladies always keep their hands free.”

“You mentioned that earlier… But it’s not because you’re forgetful, right?”

“I told you. I’m just not used to carrying things myself yet.”

“You’re really more of a handful than you seem…”

With a sigh, Sora picked up Laura’s parasol, handbag, and tray.

Before she knew it, she found herself cleaning up Laura’s tray too.

…How did it end up like this?

“Oh my, thank you.”

“Ugh…”

Seeing Laura smile brightly, Sora let out a sigh. Now she understood why Rion had sighed earlier.

They stepped outside.

Unlike the cool air-conditioned store, the sun outside was still blazing hot. The sudden shift in temperature had Sora already sweating from her forehead.

Laura opened her parasol and started walking.

And for some reason, Sora found herself walking right beside her.

Even though that wasn’t her direction.

“Are you heading home, Laura?”

“Yes, that’s my plan.”

“What are you taking? The subway?”

“I’ll take a taxi.”

“Where do you live?”

“Do you know the area near ○○ Post Office?”

“Won’t that cost around 20,000 won by taxi?”

“Will it? I’ve never paid attention to taxi fares, so I’m not sure. ──By the way, do you have something to say?”

…Something to say.

Sora opened her mouth, but the words didn’t come out immediately.

It was strange. Just as Laura said, there must’ve been a reason why she was following her.

But now, she couldn’t quite put her finger on what it was.

At first, she felt a sense of urgency when she saw Aurora.

She wasn’t happy about someone unfamiliar with VTubers joining as part of the 6th generation.

Still, she thought that if she could lead Aurora, she’d gain popularity herself.

But now, it just felt like she was failing miserably.

At the very least, she wanted to show her peers she was better in real life and regain her self-esteem.

But now, she found herself just staring at Laura’s profile.

“Aurora, you know…”

“Yes? Go ahead.”

“Maybe… you should wear sunglasses.”

“…Excuse me?”

Laura’s eyes widened a little, as if surprised by the unexpected comment.

It was understandable. Even Sora herself hadn’t anticipated saying something like that.

“You… You look exactly like your avatar. What if your fans recognize you?”

“Rion pointed that out before. That’s why my avatar’s outfits are as flashy as possible to set me apart.”

“Sure, maybe 99 out of 100 people wouldn’t recognize you. But if even one does, you could be in trouble, don’t you think?”

Sora rummaged through her bag.

She had sunglasses in there. Today, the sun was especially strong, so she had prepared them in advance.

She hadn’t expected to use them indoors all day, but here she was, pulling them out for this.

“Wear them.”

Sora put the sunglasses on Aurora’s face.

A dress and sunglasses.

It seemed like a combination that wouldn’t go well together, yet Aurora pulled it off effortlessly.

Her eyes were hidden behind the sunglasses, but her features were already so striking.

Sora realized it at a glance.

No matter what this woman wore, it would suit her.

“The design isn’t pretty.”

“Now’s not the time to be picky about the design. …You already stand out with your looks, so at least do this much.”

“You’re right about that. I suppose it’s one of the burdens of being beautiful.”

Laura chuckled softly.

“Is that all you wanted to say?”

“Y-Yeah… It’s been bothering me, and now I feel much better!”

“I see. Thank you for the sunglasses.”

Laura shrugged her shoulders slightly, as if amused.

She soon started walking again, slowly moving away from Sora.

She waved gently without looking back.

“I had fun today. Let’s meet again soon.”

Without waiting for Sora’s reply, she disappeared into the distance.

Her figure grew smaller and smaller.

Sora watched until Laura’s parasol completely vanished from view.

Only after Laura was out of sight did Sora mutter to herself.

“…This is absurd.”

She didn’t know exactly what was absurd, but it definitely felt that way.

Later that evening, when Sora checked, her subscriber count had reached 10,008 on her channel.

It was ridiculous.

***

“Hm. It doesn’t look good for a noble lady to be receiving charity.”

Looking at the sunglasses on my desk, I unconsciously folded my arms.

They didn’t seem particularly expensive, but they weren’t cheap either.

“Should I return the favor with a gift?”

I pondered for a moment, then recalled the archive of Sora’s Leathered stream I had watched earlier. She had been absolutely terrible at the game.

A game would be a good gift.

It seemed common for VTubers to gift games to each other. Since most VTubers did game streams, it was usual for them to recommend ‘games for streaming.’

“I know just the right games for Sora.”

I turned on my computer and gifted a few games to Sora’s account.

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