3D Seria
The YoloLive representative office. As a fledgling company that had only just debuted three VTubers, the place wasn't particularly large in scale. Still, thanks to the three recruited VTubers growing so well, the company's revenue was increasing significantly.
"It's all thanks to that Clipper."
The woman sitting in the chair was Lisanne Altraina, representative of YoloLive. As a minotaur, she had faced considerable ostracism throughout her life because of her appearance. Of course, many races had hideous looks, but minotaurs drew even more attention due to their massive size. Yet as a woman who longed to be seen as beautiful, she had worked hard in her own way. Unfortunately, society's colored glasses refused to come off easily.
What she had created to prove that any woman could live receiving beauty and affection was none other than YoloLive. Though the company had been founded in debt and she still had a mountain of loans to repay, she was truly grateful for the three affiliated VTubers who gave their all.
Above all, the reason they had been able to grow—especially the fact that Seria, who had faced the most hardships among them, was holding her own so well—was thanks to the Clipper known as DdalSyong.
"Moreover, that person accounts for the largest share of donations, too…."
He was an incredible person. Whenever he entered a stream, he would casually drop millions of won before leaving. Thanks to him, the revenue Seria generated by herself was staggering. And that wasn't all. Because DdalSyong uploaded clips, the massive promotion brought in an enormous influx of new viewers, and the additional revenue from them was equally huge.
*Knock knock…*
"Boss, it's Seria."
"Come in."
At her permission the closed door opened, and Cecilia Artimedes—active as the VTuber Seria—bowed her head politely in greeting.
"Hehe, no need for formalities between us. Sit comfortably."
"Thank you, Representative."
"Shall I make you a cup of tea? Oh, right—you prefer coffee, don't you?"
"Ah, no!! I'll make it! Please stay seated, Representative!"
"Hehe, it's fine. I have no intention of bossing my employees around in a small company like this. Besides, this is something I want to do for you, so don't feel too hesitant."
"Thank you…!"
Seria really was an adorable girl. Although she streamed using a nun concept avatar, it wasn't merely the concept—her innate personality itself was genuinely kind and warm. Above all, she was a human who treated even a minotaur like herself without any prejudice.
"Thank you."
"What for? It looks like you came because you have something to say. What is it?"
At the question, Seria gazed into Lisanne's eyes and spoke.
"I… I want to dance!"
"What? You want to dance?"
"Yes!!"
Having grasped what the VTuber Seria was asking for, Lisanne nodded, leaned back against the sofa, and opened her mouth.
"You mean you want a 3D avatar, right?"
"Yes. That's correct."
"It's really sudden. Well, with over three hundred and fifty thousand subscribers, it wouldn't be strange to have one."
"I know it costs a lot of money! But! Even taking that into consideration! I still want to request it!"
"Hmm, well, the idea itself isn't strange. But why do you suddenly want to dance?"
Seria's current 2D modeling was already exceptionally well-made. Created with an investment of nearly ten million won, the model had been crafted with tremendous care and divided into many intricate parts, earning high praise throughout the industry. Since even major VTubers typically used models made for under five million won, Lisanne had been boldly investing in her own talents.
"It wouldn't be too late to make one once you hit five hundred thousand subscribers. What do you think?"
"I want it right now!"
"I'd like to hear the reason."
"W-well…."
After hesitating for a moment, she spoke with difficulty.
"I've found a rival I want to beat."
"…."
It was quite unexpected. Seria had never been the competitive type. Knowing some of her family circumstances, Lisanne understood that she had started VTubing with a somewhat desperate mindset, yet even then Seria had always walked her own path slowly without comparing herself to others. So the idea that she would suddenly care about another person was something Lisanne had never anticipated.
For her to have a rival she was mindful of… it was hard to believe. Still, she had a guess.
"Is it Lily, by any chance?"
"H-how did you know that?!"
"Pfft, that's obvious. She's the other favorite streamer that your passionate fan likes, isn't she?"
"Haaah… i-it has nothing to do with D-DdalSyong…."
Even as she said it, it was clearly because of DdalSyong. Seeing her lovely appearance that revealed her feelings without the slightest attempt to hide them, Lisanne smiled like a mother and chuckled softly.
"You saw that video, didn't you?"
Of course, Lisanne had checked the video that had prompted those words. The clip uploaded to the fan cafe. It was none other than Lily's statement that indirectly sniped at Seria.
"So? Are you going to dance a sexy dance too?"
"Huk, t-that, th-that's…!"
"Besides, you can't even dance."
"Ugh…!"
She was right. Seria was hopeless at dancing. Having spent most of her life sitting at a desk buried in studies, even now as a VTuber she lived far removed from exercise, let alone dance. Dancing was simply impossible for her.
At that moment, Lisanne made a suggestion.
"Then how about applying a program to the avatar? That way the avatar will dance beautifully even if you don't move."
It was certainly a good proposal, or so she thought. But upon hearing those words Seria shook her head sharply in refusal.
"Why?"
"Because if I rely on a program, it would feel like I'm admitting defeat. That side is dancing directly to repay the fans. I can't act cowardly by running a program alone."
"Sigh… You're serious, aren't you?"
"Yes."
Lisanne popped a piece of dried grass from the drawer into her mouth, chewing thoughtfully as she fell into silence. Seria watched the pensive Lisanne in tense silence. After about three minutes, Lisanne swallowed the cud and spoke.
"All right. I'll make it for you."
At the positive answer, Seria's face brightened with joy as she shot to her feet.
"R-really?! Thank you! Representative!!"
"I'll hire a dance instructor too, so practice hard."
"Ah, no, Boss? You don't have to go that far…"
"You're going to dance, right? You didn't know Lily used to be an idol backup dancer, did you?"
"Is that true?"
Lily, who streamed as a female cam girl, indeed had a background as a backup dancer just as Lisanne said. She had originally been an idol trainee but, after failing to debut while working as a backup dancer, had switched to female cam streaming.
I thought her dance lines looked extraordinary, but… to think she was a professional.
That explained why even her casual dancing had seemed skilled. There had been a reason after all.
"So if you want to capture his heart, make sure you do it properly. Once a woman sets her mind on something, she should thoroughly crush her opponent, don't you think?"
Lisanne personally wanted to cheer her on. Of course, if Seria became able to dance, the company would reap considerable benefits. Yet even setting aside such merits, purely as a person she hoped the girl before her would achieve what she desired.
"Hmm, in that case we'll need to change the streaming booth setup too."
"I'm sorry for the inconvenience!"
"It's fine. Since I've given permission, we'll do it thoroughly, so brace yourself."
"Yes!!"
Today as always, I turned on the stream exactly when the red light came on at the scheduled time. Upbeat background music played alongside a repeating animation of Seria's SD character wiggling cutely.
After about five minutes the waiting screen changed, and the familiar kind, beautiful white-haired, red-eyed nun Seria greeted me.
"Hello, believers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for visiting our church again today."
She saw my donation and, as always, gave a kind smile and greeted me.
"Good evening, DdalSyong believer. But aren't you sending too many donations every time? I told you to reduce them, remember?"
"Goodness, DdalSyong believer, you really should live more in the real world."
"Hehe, you've made quite a lot of progress. Until now you never even pretended to listen to what I said."
Right as I was about to press enter and send a reply donation—
"Oh, right! You don't have to reply! Okay?"
Tch, she got the jump on me.
"Today I have an important announcement for everyone."
And then the screen suddenly changed. A silhouette appeared on screen.
"Wait, isn't this…?! This is… no way!!"
My eyes widened as I watched the broadcast. The black silhouette vanished, revealing its true form.
"Tada~☆ Nun Seria's 3D modeling has been completed!"
"Kwaaaaaaaaah!! Fuck!! Insane!! Seria-chan's 3D model!!!! It's so fucking moe!!!!"
I had been sitting, but in my overwhelming joy I fell backward, then immediately slammed in a donation.
"…."
I ignored Mr. Yog, who was staring at me with a strange look in his eyes.