Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 21
Chapter Title: Eyes of Love
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Yeona, a million-sub Nutuber and Myth's close older sister, stuck out her tongue.
'Ugh, what kind of mid-20s romance is this?'
It was sweet.
Sweet to the point where her stomach ached from it.
Even after downing the after-meal coffee in one go, it was so sweet that she'd asked the server for another cup.
The bitter aroma and taste of the coffee lingered on her tongue, overwhelmed by the bursting sweetness.
Did they think she couldn't see them holding hands under the table, with just one table between them?
'Even high schoolers these days probably don't have romance this fresh and innocent.'
What high schoolers?
These days, even middle schoolers knew everything and fooled around in relationships.
For a man and woman in their mid-20s to have such pure love—it was a miracle, if anything.
'One spent three years secretly making an avatar, and the other waited seven years for the guy who received it.'
Oh right, add in the life-saver backstory too.
Crazy. It wasn't even a shoujo novel.
Of course, Yeona had someone she loved and was about to marry soon, but this went beyond the emotion of love from the start.
Yeah, if she had to put a word to it, madness. That fit.
'...Or maybe they're both just idiots.'
Thinking about it, that seemed more reasonable.
Yeona nodded.
Idiot couple over madness couple. Hmm. Didn't that have a nice ring?
"W-Well then, I'll step out to the bathroom for a bit!"
"Sure, sure. I won't touch your boyfriend, so don't worry and go ahead."
"S-Sis...!"
Myth said that and left her seat.
Whew, just moments ago, when Legend had been about to call this girl by her real name, Myth's blank stare from the side had been terrifying.
'Even thinking back, my legs go weak.'
The look in her eyes, claiming she was the only one allowed to call him that—it made Yeona shudder just recalling it.
Anyway, raising her like a little sister was pointless.
Yeona let out a half-joking, half-serious sigh inwardly.
At a glance, it was clear this Legend guy was going to suffer under Myth's grip.
'Alright, so Myth definitely has feelings for Legend.'
More than feelings—love, but whatever.
Yeona looked at Legend, who was poking at his empty steak plate, looking unsure what to say.
Yeah, from what she'd heard, they could confess and start dating right then and there without it being weird, but they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend yet.
That one thing was the snag.
'So, what to do.'
She knew she was good at reading the room and toeing the line.
That was her greatest talent, the reason she'd become a million-sub Nutuber.
"So, Legend."
"Yes, Yeona-noona."
What to do—ask or not?
Should she ask how he felt about Myth?
Yeona knew it was a pretty dangerous line.
Other people's relationships, especially romances, were among the riskiest boundaries.
One wrong step, and it was irreversible.
But—she'd raised this kid like a little sister, pouring her love into her, and the other side wasn't giving a clear answer.
For Yeona, that was enough to plant a tiny seed of doubt.
"No need to worry."
After a split-second of hesitation, she was confident she'd mastered her expression and never revealed her true feelings.
Yet Legend pierced right through her heart and answered her inner thoughts.
"It won't take long."
"...You look so clueless, but your instincts are sharp, huh?"
He was a really likable kid.
Of course, as a person, not as a man.
Especially how he still had that pure heart despite being in his mid-20s.
Well, he'd only woken up a few weeks ago after seven years in cryo-sleep.
Maybe she should see his age as truly 20.
Yeona sipped her second coffee.
No sugar added, yet it still tasted sweet as she chuckled in disbelief.
"Myth won't let you off easy, you know?"
"I'll endure it for now."
"For what?"
"For Myth."
It was an immediate answer.
For Myth—he wouldn't fully accept her heart.
At least not for a while.
What did that mean, exactly?
She wanted to ask more, but Yeona pulled back, realizing this was the limit for someone meeting Legend for the first time today.
Well, it didn't fully resolve her questions, but the doubt vanished cleanly.
As someone who loved and was loved, she could tell.
'Ugh, so pure.'
Those eyes—they were the eyes of someone in love.
A deeply passionate love, at that.
Ugh, hot.
Yeona fanned herself.
Hot, so hot.
Hot enough that the flames might leap to her, just sitting there facing them.
"Alright. You'll send me the wedding invite first, right?"
"Yep."
"Good, then I'll head out first."
"Huh? Not waiting for Myth?"
"Nah, something urgent came up. Oh, here's my card. Definitely keep in touch. If any issues with Myth come up later, call me."
Ahh.
Today felt like a day she wanted to make love.
'He should be off work by now~.'
Yeona fiddled with her phone as she left the room.
Thinking of her fiancé.
"Hello? Yeah, off work? I'm coming to meet you now—wait for me!"
Today, she wanted a hotter love than usual.
After parting with Yeona-noona, we headed back to our respective homes.
Well, "respective" homes— they were right next door.
It felt surreal, like the whole floor had become "our" home.
Like turning childhood dreams into reality.
"Yay~ Sinha, Sinha. Today's stream is full VR Chat tracker! Time to explore VR maps."
"VR Chat?"
VR Chat? I selected one of the double—no, triple monitors Myth had set up for me and pulled up info on VR Chat.
This girl had monitors everywhere. Not that I minded.
A desk packed with multiple screens had that something that stirred a man's soul.
I was endlessly grateful to Myth for recreating the room I'd only dreamed of as a kid.
Anyway, what was VR Chat?
"Virtual reality platform?"
The world had changed so much— even stuff like this existed now.
From a quick read, it seemed like a place where users had near-dev rights: they could create and share their own maps, or play in them using VR gear.
"Cool."
"Ooh! This map's nice—could use it for content later, like hide-and-seek or something."
Myth's eyes sparkled as she toured a maze-like map,
"Oh, this map's stars are pretty."
gazed up at a starry beach night sky,
"Waaah?! Hey, I told you to warn me before horror maps! You wanna die?!"
"I'm speechless. You guys are hopeless. Time to run House of Horror 21: The Pouring Supernova Cats, 30 Days Before World Destruction and restore some discipline."
She got jumpscared in a horror map.
"Damn, I spilled my cocoa from the scare."
Thankfully, the cocoa hadn't seeped into any electronics. I quickly wiped it up and kept watching the stream.
As I watched, something felt off.
"...It's mismatched."
The same opinion popped up all over the chat.
Definitely, Myth's avatar quality was... well.
Maybe immodest to say, but top-tier.
Too much so to blend with those maps.
Even accounting for paid pro maps vs. user-made ones, the gap was huge—enough to make viewers squint.
"What about other VTubers?"
I moused over to another monitor and fired up videos from popular VTubers.
"English spheres treat VTubers mostly as pancakes... Japan has good refs."
Japan actually underused VR Chat.
They stuck to their own high-quality custom maps.
Especially eye-catching were the "live maps."
『Thanks everyone who came to my birthday live today! I'll sing my best!』
Glamorous lights, like a full idol stage recreated.
It showed me plainly: when map quality matches the avatar, the avatar shines brighter.
A way to make "Myth" shine even more.
"...Sounds fun."
A spark lit in Legend's eyes.